Wala lang.

 

Just played with a couple of photos taken today. If you notice two photos with somewhat different skintones, those are just results of some photoshop actions I'm experimenting with. It's amazing that I have the same formula with these two photos and yet have different results: one became more orange while the other became greener. It had to do with the different exposures of each photo. Wala lang, trip lang.

Cafe in the Middle of Somewhere

One of my usual coffee tambayan is Fresco Espresso cafe situated in the middle of QVB's basement. As much as I appreciate cozy and quiet cafes, I also sometimes enjoy cafes that gives me a chance to people-watch. 

I like seeing people walking past me as I sip my cup of coffee, most of them walking so fast in order to catch their train home. I like watching people and their outfits for the day, hear their laughter as they chitchat with friends, mothers and their bubs in strollers, backpackers with their big bags on their back, tourists trying to catch up with people walking so fast while taking photos--those are some of the things I see.

In the midst of hustle and bustle around me while I have my "me" time with a cup of coffee, I feel a sense of peace and quiet as I appreciate other people's lives unfold before me.

The Magic of Talbos ng Kamote (Sweet Potato Leaves)

Took a different route going home this morning after my errands today and I passed by this Filipino store and noticed they were selling some vegetables. At first glance, I thought it was Kangkong but I noticed color in the leaves and I realized it must be Talbos ng Kamote..and it was! I bought a bunch for only $1.50 and since it's Friday today, I decided that this will go well with our Flounder Fish which I planned to cook for dinner.

Talbos ng Kamote, also known as Sweet Potato Leaves or Camote Tops (scientific name Ipomoea Batatas) is another one of my favorite vegetables but I never get to eat them all the time as they are not always available in Asian Markets or Filipino Stores here. Other than buying them from markets, sometimes friends give them to us straight from their garden.

I love Talbos ng Kamote for its health benefits:

(a) Excellent sources of antioxidative compounds, mainly polyphenolics, which may protect the human body from oxidative stress that is associated with many diseases including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. source

(b) High in iron. I grew up being anemic for a long time and part of my doctor's suggested diet then was to eat lots of ampalaya, liver steak and talbos ng kamote so my mother made sure we had a steady supply of all these.

(c) Good source of vitamins A, B and C, calcium and phosphorus. source

I love Talbos ng Kamote because it's so easy to cook. Just boil in hot water for a few minutes, transfer to a bowl, squeeze lemon or calamansi on top and serve. Then magic happens as the acidity of the lemon/calamansi will make the soup turn red. That's why I call them my magic vegetables because they turn red with just a few drops of lemon and magic too because it does make my blood healthier.

You can also make Camote Tops Salad. Blanch leaves in boiling water and drain. Add cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. Then pour a few teaspoons of Vinaigratte dressing.

Tonight, I cooked them the old-fashion way (by just boiling) and dipped in Bagoong (shrimp paste).

I hope one day, when we have a house, I'd get to grow some Camote Tops in our own garden so I would always have a fresh supply of this wonderful magic vegetables.

New Season, New Haircut

Finally got myself a decent haircut after three months. It took me awhile to decide on whether I will just have it trimmed and continue growing it long or cut most of it off. I decided to cut it short since the cold months are creeping in, it's getting harder to blowdry long hair. Takes me longer time to prepare to go out when I have longer hair. The last thing a woman needs during cold days is a high maintenance hairstyle. I swear, mauubos na oras mo sa pagpatong-patong ng mga damit, dadagdag pa ang pagpapatuyo ng buhok. 

So my first stop for today was at the salon...and voila! New hair to welcome the new season---Autumn starts on Monday, 1 March. :)

That's my stylist Ching as she walked behind me. She even cooked Tikoy (New Year Cake) and made me eat them before I left her salon. She just arrived from the Philippines for a vaycay and she was able to bring home Tikoy (the Tikoy that I want) from Manila. May haircut na, may libreng meryenda pa haha. She's sweet like that, she almost always feeds me when I have my haircut.

I feel so much better now. Having a haircut is such a pick-upper isn't it?

Thursday Funny

I'm having one of those busy weeks in the office and I'm so glad it's Thursday today--my last day at work for this week. In a few hours, I will be saying "Hello!" to my weekend. I can't wait.

I can't wait because this week, I've been feeling really really lazy. If you're a woman, I guess you know that we have certain days when we just feel so 'blah'. Like you know you are happy and you are grateful for what everyday brings you but you just have that feeling of so-so. The feeling that you love your job but on some days you just feel tired and you just want to stay home and sleep. Those are my feelings this week and I've been managing it by trying to focus on work and laughing my negative feelings away.

Thank goodness, this work week will be over soon and if you are having lazy feelings or blah feelings like me, I hope this photograph cheers you up:

Hehehehe. This photo of a seal trying to get in the photo of penguins cracked me up this morning and it gave me a little boost of energy and happiness at work today. I hope it makes you laugh too. 

It's always the little things that make one happy.

Our 3rd Anniversary

20 January 2010. :)

For this year, we chose a more relaxed and spontaneous anniversary getaway.  

On the morning of our anniversary, we started a 3-day road trip to experience the Grand Pacific Drive, a drive from Sydney's Royal National Park to the south coast area of New South Wales. I will tell you more about it soon (with more photos!! hehe). For now, let me share with you snippets of the things we saw and enjoyed on the day we celebrated our 3rd year together.

Not-so-early in the morning, we drove down to Royal National Park to see Garie Beach. 

Then we headed down to Bald Hill and had lunch inside the car. Had an ice cream for dessert as we are mesmerized by all the beautiful scenery below us. It was beautiful. 

Next stop was Sea Cliff Bridge, spend a few minutes there to take photographs. 

Then off we went to Wollongong, our home base for two nights.

After we checked-in at the hotel, we just rested a bit then went out to have afternoon tea. We walked along the streets of the CBD and found this pretty boutique cafe called Lee and Me. We had a cake and coffee. There was a kebab place beside it and since I was pretty hungry from the traveling and heat (one of those hottest days in NSW that time) I bought a chicken kebab (a.k.a Shawarma)

After our yummy afternoon tea, we walked around some more looking for a resto to have dinner at later. We didn't have any reservations anywhere--no idea whatsoever on where to eat. We wanted to play it by ear and just follow our senses (the way we mostly did when we went to Melbourne for last year's celebration). After an hour and a half of walking, we found nothing--nothing that we liked. We went to the hotel and decided it was time to look online.

We decided to have dinner at Harbourfront Restaurant. We came in with no reservations but thank God, we were accommodated and even got a table with a great view of the small lighthouse and sailboats. We loved it! :) And the food was delicious. I would go back here just for their rib eye steak (will share in a separate post).

After dinner, we sat by the harbour and enjoyed the serenity around us and the cool breeze that night.  We went back to the hotel and since it was still pretty early, we sat by the bar and had wine and talked some more.


It was a great day for an anniversary celebration: the roadtrip, the sunny weather, the amazing sceneries we saw, the fun drive, the restaurants we discovered, the delicious food we ate and the time spent together. We are grateful not just on "our day" but everyday that we are experiencing this wonderful journey called Marriage. :)

For more photos of our 3rd anniversary celebration, please check them all here: Our 3rd Anniversary

How Do You Like Your Ampalaya (Bitter Gourd)?

Amplaya (or Bitter Gourd) is one of my favorite vegetables. When I lived in Manila, my mom and I used to cook this every week. This dish was usually a Saturday treat for me.

Now that I'm married and cooking for our meals at home, I cook this in bulk once every fortnight which usually equals to 3 servings. I keep the other two servings in containers, put them in the fridge and we eat them in the next coming days as a siding to any meat or fish dish during dinner.

I'm grateful that my Husband generally eats vegetables. Although he eats Ampalaya, it is not his favorite vegetable which I understand. As we all know, Ampalaya is not a loveable vegetable because of its bitter taste. However, I was able to find a way to make it more likeable to my Husband's taste buds---by adding in a few teaspoons of honey. Yes, honey makes it a little more sweeter. And according to my Husband, it is healthier than adding sugar (which I used to do).

Other ways to make Ginisang Ampalaya a little less bitter and boring:
(1) Before cooking, soak in water with salt for 10-20 minutes and squeeze some of its juice out. Some people don't squeeze it anymore but I squeeze it at least once coz it does lessen the bitterness a bit.

(2) Add egg. When I was a kid, my mom used to add egg and it made it bearable for me.

(3) Add tofu or shrimp instead of pork. My Husband loves it too when I add tofu, so once in a while I saute the ampalaya with tofu.

(4) Use other seasonings like soy sauce, fish sauce or a teaspoon of shrimp paste (bagoong). One of these days, I will try using herbs to give it some other flavor and aroma.

(5) If you don't have honey, you can use sugar as a substitute.

As for me, my favorite kind of Ginisang Ampalaya is one that has Okra. I know Okra is another vegetable that not so many people like, but I really really like Okra and I usually add it whenever I saute any vegetables. I don't mind the taste of these two vegetables whenever I eat them. I love them because of their healthy benefits and I focus more on the good nutrients they give to our body.

What about you? How do you like your Ampalaya?

Don't Panic

The first two words that my Husband said to me this morning was...

Woke up an hour late because I forgot to turn on the alarm of my mobile phone. For some reason, I somehow disabled the alarm yesterday instead of enabling it. I think I was too tired and sleepy last night I wasn't thinking straight anymore.

When I opened my eyes, it was already 7am! So I sat up and nudged the Husband to tell him that we've slept in. All he said was, "Don't panic" like there was an emergency or something. It amused me amidst the shock of waking up late.

Good thing I always get everything ready the night before I retire to bed: our clothes for work, bags and lunch boxes (they're inside the fridge so we just have to take them out and put into our bags). I also get our breakfast ready on the table: bowls with spoons and cereal boxes so that all we have to do is bring out the milk, pour it in and eat. It takes awhile for me to rest after dinner because I get everything ready. Other than it has become a habit for me, it's a good safety net for days when things are running late.

So there's really nothing to panic about, and we really didn't, but I appreciated my Husband's first two words this morning. Maybe he was also shocked so his instinct was to say "Don't panic" so both of us will come out of the shock as calmly as we could.

The truth of the matter is, there is no logical reason to panic. We love going to work early so we normally wake up before 6AM. However, our work actually lets us come in late (we can come in as late as 10:30AM) but we like being early at work so we can also come home early. And if we do get late for work, so what? It is not the end of the world and it is very seldom that we're late for work anyway (in my case, never...yet), we're pretty sure our respective offices will understand.

What also helped was the public transportation here in Sydney tries their best to be on time. It's not perfect, anyone who lives here know that, but public transport here have a timetable they try to follow. Most of the time I'm grateful that they are efficient and I'm glad today nothing happened in order for the trains and buses to get delayed (at least in my area).

Running late can make us crazy in the morning. But what saved us this morning are two wonderful words spoken by my Husband, the practice of preparing for early morning rush and public transport that thankfully didn't get delayed.

Hope everyone's having a great Thursday...TGIT!!!

{image source}

Don't Forget the Honeymoon

It doesn't matter where or how you spend your honeymoon, what matters is that you have a break after your wedding.

Preparing the wedding and being the star on your wedding day can be stressful times for you and your future better half--and I mean, stressful in a good way. Whenever soon-to-be married couples ask me advices on how to plan a wedding, one of the things I tell them is "Don't forget to plan your honeymoon". I truly believe that is part of planning a wedding. If you look at certain wedding checklists, there's a part there where it says "Honeymoon".

Why is it important?
Because it could be one of the things you look forward to on your last leg of preparations. I remember on the last week before my Husband and I were to wed, all we could think about was 'soon after the wedding, we will be on our honeymoon'. Don't get us wrong. We loved preparing for our wedding, but there came a point when we got tired especially on the last few days prior to the big day. So during those times, the thought of the honeymoon was of great comfort to us. Not only did we worked hard to have a wedding, but we worked hard to have a honeymoon as well. It became some sort of reward for us.

You need time to relax and breathe. No matter how high with happiness the two of you may be from the celebration of your marriage, sooner or later it will take a toll on you: your body, mind and emotions. The honeymoon gives the couple some breathing space before they face the world as newlyweds. Some couples who never had a honeymoon experienced anxiety attacks a few days after the wedding or have difficulty adjusting to their new role. On the second and third leg of my honeymoon (the first part of our honeymoon we were with relatives), we tuned out from the rest of the world: no internet or phone calls and not much tv. We only texted our parents to let them know that we have arrived safely at our destination. The whole time we just made the most of our time being together. After the honeymoon, we found ourselves with clear minds, relaxed bodies and adjusted to the idea that we are indeed married.

Not enough budget?
A honeymoon doesn't have to be lavish. It doesn't have to happen overseas or in a place where all honeymooners go to. You can be creative when it comes to planning your honeymoon. You might have friends who has houses/apartments in the countryside that you can rent for a few days, that'll be heaps cheaper than staying at a hotel. If you don't have enough time off work, you can stay in the city at an apartment or hotel and just spend a weekend together.

Some couples delay their honeymoon and just have a mini-honeymoon right after the wedding. That works too because they get to rest for a few days.

So if you ask me if it's worth planning a honeymoon, I would highly recommend it. The honeymoon will do your relationship good and at the same time help you a lot in transitioning to married life easier.

[image source]

Vday Weekend

As always, the Husband and I never celebrate Valentine's Day by our lonesome. This weekend, we celebrated Vday by spending time with family and friends.

On Saturday, we prepared for two parties.

First stop was our barkada's Vday Salubong Party. Lots of food and booze. Upon entrance to our friends' place, we were greeted by roses (for the ladies of course) and B-52 shots.

The shots were drank by the ladies (except for one) because the husbands needed to drive :P. Good thing we all have husbands who never seem to mind their wifeys having a drink during parties and just enjoyed seeing us have a great time. 

After our party with friends, Chris and I went straight to our relatives' place. My auntie and her family hosted dinner for her brother-in-law's family from Vietnam. So nice to be able to catch up with them. Again, lots of food. Chris and I were so full from all the food we ate.

Today, we just did the normal Sunday activities that we usually do. Nothing special, just attended mass and ate lunch at home. We never really treat this day any special. What's special though was that I got myself lots of keys---heart-shaped keys on a bracelet that the Husband gave me.

So how was Valentine's Day for you? Hope you had a good one.

Tired, Exhausted

I'm grateful that I was able to complete the 5-day work week today. It's been awhile since I've completed 5 days straight at work--I can't even remember the last time I did that. But goodness, I'm really exhausted. I love my job, I love what I do, but I do wish I have no work every Friday. Don't we all love long weekends?
I'm so tired, I bought take away Pad Thai and Roasted Chicken so I can feed the Husband something for dinner.

Early evening yesterday, we had coffee with a fellow blogger now friend, Jeanny. I told Chris that I won't have dinner at home anymore but there's pasta inside the fridge and I can heat it up for him if he still wanted dinner. Being the smart husband that he is, while we waited for our orders to arrive, he went out and lo--he bought Sushi. So there, instant dinner. He bought a few so he shared his dinner with us. Yes, he brought Sushi inside the cafe and we ate it as discreetly as we could.
 
Maybe in a few weeks, my body will get used to juggling work and managing a home again. I still feel pain once in a while (when I move too much and lift heavy stuff--I know I'm supposed to take it easy but I forget) but whatever it is I'm feeling I'm managing well--I'd like to think so. I'm used to moving fast, moving a lot and always on-the-go. Hopefully next month, I can start exercising again. *fingers crossed*

Currently Reading....

The Gospel According to Coco Chanel by Karen Karbo.

I have yet to write about some books I've read in the past year (years?) like Eat Pray Love, Committed, French Women Don't Get Fat, etc. but here I am again sharing with you another book I'm reading.

This book caught my fancy after watching the film "Coco Avant Chanel" (Coco Before Chanel) and I got fascinated by her life. I'm only at the 3rd chapter and I'm enjoying knowing more about her and the things a woman can learn from her.

What about you? What book are you reading at the moment?

Affirmation: Healthier Options

Affirmation:

I will always try to choose

the better and

healthier option.

In our everyday life, let's choose:

Healthy food choices.

 

Healthy relationships.

Healthy habits and lifestyle.

A healthy disposition.

Happy Wednesday!!!

Sources: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5

Life Lessons From The Movie "Julie & Julia"

"Julie & Julia", a movie based on a blog by Julie Powell who found bliss and inspiration thru Julia Child's life and cooking.  This is a true story of two women who heed the calling of cooking and writing which in the process lead them to their successful careers.

I'm personally inspired by the life that Julia Child led.  She's one charmed woman who was graceful, wise, laughed a lot inspite of setbacks, had an unwavering perserverance and loved her supportive husband dearly. 

Julie on the other hand, although I'm not as enamored by her character, is a woman who changed her destiny by following her husband's advice to start a blog in order  to document her cooking adventures based on Julia Child's recipes.  Who would have thought that would lead her to publishing a book and a movie!?!

Two beautiful women, lots of life lessons to learn from their charmed lives:

It makes a difference when you have a supportive husband.  Both Julia and Julie's husbands were pivotal in the success of their endeavors.  Their husbands were generous with time, support and ideas and were very good at listening to their wives' rants and raves.  I believe that in marriage, you and your partner should know when to step back on the sidelines once in a while just so one can achieve his/her personal goals.  

It also makes a difference when you have a husband who asks "What is it that you really like to do?"  In any relationship, it's nice to have someone ask you what you want, what you need and what you love. 

In life and cooking, never ever give up.  We all know a lot about not giving up when it comes to life in general so I won't go there anymore.  But let me emphasize on the cooking part.   What I notice most about women who says "I can't cook" is that some of them (take note: some of them, not all) tried cooking but failed so they never tried again.  Some women come to me and say "I'm not good at cooking" and I always say, "So what if you're not good with cooking?  Just cook, later on it will get better.  It doesn't have to be perfect, it only has to be edible."

No one is too old to learn.  I never believed in late bloomers.  What I believe is that we are entitled to learn and bloom at our own pace and liking.  Forget numbers.  Forget age.  If you find yourself wanting to learn how to draw at age 40, go and just do that.  Julia Child started attending cooking lessons at aged 37--amazing, yeah?

Find balance in managing family life and attaining personal goals.  Actually, for me, there should always be balance in everything--which is something I always try to attain in my everyday life.  But for the purpose of learning a lesson from this movie, let's focus on what Julie Powell forgot to maintain during the time when she had a fight with her husband over her being a self-absorbed bitch just because she had a deadline on her blog--and that is balance.  Balance is hard to attain AND maintain but it is a vital value in keeping up with a woman's role as she manages a home and achieve her personal goals as well.  It is that value that will keep you grounded and wise when you face setbacks in your goals.  It is that value that will make you say, "Hang on a second, this is not worth losing my husband/family for." 

Remember to have a sense of humour, laugh a lot.  So what if thing are not falling into place right now?  Don't get too disappointed too long because tomorrow (or maybe even in a short while), the sun will peek thru your window again.  When something goes wrong, just laugh it off.  No one is spared from challenges anyway.  What makes a difference is how we react and deal with situations.

 

"Julie and Julia", an uplifting and inspiring story.  And to end this post, let me leave you with this sweet words of Paul Child to Julia:  "You are the butter to my bread, you are the breath to my life."

Recipe: Chili Spaghetti

This is the easiest Spaghetti recipe I've done as I didn't need to prepare any sauces. This also answers the cravings of someone who wants their pasta chili-hot. I had a taste of this during a party and asked my friend on how he did it and boy, it sounded easy--and it is! It had a few ingredients to prepare which always favor someone like me who juggles a home and a career. The best thing is the versatility of this dish as you can add and change the ingredients to whatever you feel like having at the moment or whatever is available in your pantry.


What you need:
Cooked Spaghetti Pasta
3 tablespoons of Olive Oil (or Extra Light Olive Oil)
1 medium-sized onion
5 cloves of garlic
Bacon, sliced
Prosciutto Ham, sliced
3-4 pieces of Red chili, sliced (add more depending on preference)Basil, to taste
Salt, to taste
Parmesan Cheese

What you need to do:

1. Saute Onion and Garlic in Olive Oil.
2. Add in Bacon and Prosciutto Ham. Leave for 5 minutes.
3. Throw in the red Chilis, leave for another 5 minutes
4. Add in the cooked Spaghetti pasta.
5. Sprinkle a dash of Basil and Salt.
6. Mix ingredients and pasta well for a few minutes.
7. Transfer into a serving bowl or platter.
8. Serve with Parmesan Cheese on top.

Tips:

1. For variety, you can change ingredients to tuna, shrimps or vegetables. You can also combine meat and seafood ingredients (i.e. bacon and shrimps) or seafood and vegetables, etc. Very versatile.

2. The original recipe was actually just bacon but since I have Prosciutto Ham in the freezer, I decided to add it in and it brought a bit of smoky flavor to the dish.

3. Take it easy on the red chilis. In order to achieve the right amount of spice, I recommend that you do not throw in all your red chilis in one go. What I did was drop a few slices of chilis when i mixed them with the bacon and prosciutto and when I thought the dish needed more spice, I dropped in a few more during the mixing of the pasta in the end. If you are not a lover of spice, you can eliminate the chili altogether.

Have fun cooking and enjoy!

Say "I love you" All The Time

Say "I love you" daily, many times.

Especially when you wake up and before you go to sleep.
Say it before you say goodbye on the phone.
Say "Thanks honey, I love you" when you want to express your appreciation to your partner.
Say it even if there's no special reason, even if there's no occasion. 
Say it during your most trying times.
Say it in the most unexpected times.
Say it for the rest of your lives together.

Never ever, take love for granted.

{image source}

Express it verbally as well as in action. We all need to hear that magical phrase--it can heal, soothe, comfort. It reaffirms how we feel at any given moment. So, fill your lives with millions of moments of love by saying: "I love you."