My bestfriend is due to give birth soon and I'm so excited for her. Two days ago, she called me at the office and I thought she was about to give birth already. We made a pact that as soon as she goes on labour, she or Husband will call me. Her tummy is feeling very heavy and she related that she might give birth before her due date.
As always our phone call turned out really funny as we talked about what her Husband will wear when she gives birth. Her Husband is a nurse and I jokingly asked, "Is he wearing his nurse uniform or green scrubs? Or maybe he has a lab coat too?" And we laughed. I know we sound lame but I guess that's what makes us the best of friends. We can laugh about anything we talk about.
I'm looking forward to hearing from her again, hoping that it soon be about her going on labour. I'm going on a holiday soon and I would really like to be there for her in this very important occasion of her life.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Why It's Always a Pleasure To Visit Melbourne
We were surprised to be given an opportunity to visit Melbourne twice last year. The first one was to celebrate the Husband's birthday and the second was a mix of business and pleasure.
Here are some photos from our December trip which reminds us how much we love (and probably won't get tired of) Melbourne.
This place is always camwhore-friendly. Whether in the streets, in an alley or in a restaurant, there's always an attractive backdrop somewhere.
You'll always discover a place to have brunch, whether in the city or in the suburbs. On our last trip, we spent more time in the suburbs than in the city. Loved this cafe called "liar liar" where we had Saturday brunch.
"liar liar" also served syphoned coffee which made me very happy.
Chocolate will always be part of the agenda. We love Koko Black so much, we just had to go back and have afternoon tea there.
It is also a place for discovering an old favourite. The biggest surprise we found in one of the suburbs we visited was "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf", one of my favourite cafes in the world.
Being reunited with my beloved Spanish Churros is another big treat. We had to stop over at Flinders Station on the way to the airport because I can't leave Melbourne without having a bite.
And of course, being with our friends. Melbourne, we believe, is like a second home to us because we know that whenever we visit, we will always be in great, fun company.
Lastly, the trip was an opportunity to capture a special event in our friends' lives.
I wonder when we'll visit again.
Here are some photos from our December trip which reminds us how much we love (and probably won't get tired of) Melbourne.
This place is always camwhore-friendly. Whether in the streets, in an alley or in a restaurant, there's always an attractive backdrop somewhere.
You'll always discover a place to have brunch, whether in the city or in the suburbs. On our last trip, we spent more time in the suburbs than in the city. Loved this cafe called "liar liar" where we had Saturday brunch.
"liar liar" also served syphoned coffee which made me very happy.
Chocolate will always be part of the agenda. We love Koko Black so much, we just had to go back and have afternoon tea there.
It is also a place for discovering an old favourite. The biggest surprise we found in one of the suburbs we visited was "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf", one of my favourite cafes in the world.
Being reunited with my beloved Spanish Churros is another big treat. We had to stop over at Flinders Station on the way to the airport because I can't leave Melbourne without having a bite.
And of course, being with our friends. Melbourne, we believe, is like a second home to us because we know that whenever we visit, we will always be in great, fun company.
Lastly, the trip was an opportunity to capture a special event in our friends' lives.
I wonder when we'll visit again.
Smile!!!! It's Monday Again!
So this is how Disney's Princesses look when they have their wacky shot. Hehehe.
"Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one." - Oscar Wilde
Good morning and may you find a lots of reason to smile today!!!!
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Quiet Valentine
We usually celebrate Valentine with the "Kolokoys" (the name we gave our group of friends) but since we all had a busy December and January, we decided to give ourselves a rest from all the partying that we've done.
This year, the Husband and I turned Valentine's Day into a Valentine's long weekend. We decided to in sync our day-off today so we'll have an extra day of just staying at home.
We never usually go out on Vday. I remember when we were still going out as boyfriend/girlfriend in Manila, we'd go home early, order take-away food from a restaurant and have dinner at home. Our way of avoiding the crowd in restaurants and the traffic.
Since Vday's eve was a Sunday, we went to church as usual and dropped by the mall to have lunch and do some grocery shopping.
The only "special" thing we did was eat at this not-so-new Thai restaurant at the mall for the first time. Hi Thai had been opened in Blacktown for awhile now but we never had the great urge to eat there.
We had the Mixed Entree which was the only dish from Hi Thai that I liked. All four components on the plate: puff pastry, spring roll, fish cake and satay chicken were very tasty and flavourful.
Their Pad Thai and Chicken Barbecue were average, not good enough for me to come back soon.
Today, we just rested and enjoyed the quiet of our home. An ordinary day turned extra-ordinary not because it's Valentine's day but simply because we are together.
How was your Vday?
This year, the Husband and I turned Valentine's Day into a Valentine's long weekend. We decided to in sync our day-off today so we'll have an extra day of just staying at home.
We never usually go out on Vday. I remember when we were still going out as boyfriend/girlfriend in Manila, we'd go home early, order take-away food from a restaurant and have dinner at home. Our way of avoiding the crowd in restaurants and the traffic.
Since Vday's eve was a Sunday, we went to church as usual and dropped by the mall to have lunch and do some grocery shopping.
The only "special" thing we did was eat at this not-so-new Thai restaurant at the mall for the first time. Hi Thai had been opened in Blacktown for awhile now but we never had the great urge to eat there.
We had the Mixed Entree which was the only dish from Hi Thai that I liked. All four components on the plate: puff pastry, spring roll, fish cake and satay chicken were very tasty and flavourful.
Their Pad Thai and Chicken Barbecue were average, not good enough for me to come back soon.
Today, we just rested and enjoyed the quiet of our home. An ordinary day turned extra-ordinary not because it's Valentine's day but simply because we are together.
How was your Vday?
Wine Openers Are Good Investments Too
The other night, my dear friend shared on her FB status that she can't find her rogar estate wine opener so instead of drinking wine, she turned to eating ice cream instead. How funny! Oh well, I can relate to her especially when I'm in need of a good drink at the end of the day. They say that drinking wine at least once a day is healthy so my Husband and I do stock up on a few bottles of wine at home. We don't drink everyday but we drink often enough even if there are no special occasions.Like my friend, we sometimes take wine openers for granted when it is an important factor in drinking wine. We have wine openers at home but how I wish one day we can have proper ones like those of Rogar's champion wine opener and estate wine opener.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Recipe: Spicy Adobong Pusit
This is our dinner tonight! :)
What you need:
1/2 kilo Squids
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Bay leaf
1/4 tsp Pepper
4 cloves Garlic, mashed
1/3 cup Vinegar
1 tbsp Sugar
1/4 cup Water
3 tbsp Canola Oil
1 Onion, diced
Red Chilies or a dash of Chili flakes/powder (optional)
Red Chilies or a dash of Chili flakes/powder (optional)
What you need to do:
1. Clean the squids by pulling out head, tentacles, innards and transparent ribs from body of squids. Discard innards and transparent ribs. Wash bodies and tentacles.
2. Marinate squids in salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar, water, sugar and bay leaf. Leave for an hour. After an hour, drain and set aside the marinade.
3. Saute onion in hot oil. Add drained squids and mix for about 10-12 minutes (or until juices evaporate). Strain your marinade then add to sauteed squids. Simmer for another 10 minutes. If you want your Adobong Pusit spicy, add chopped red chilies or a dash of chili flakes/powder.
Serve Adobong Pusit with steamed rice.
What's your dinner tonight???
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Sun Sets...The Moon Shines
Before the atmosphere was enveloped in darkness tonight, I had the best of both worlds as I stood for a moment in our home's balcony.
On my left, the sun sets and the sky was a rainbow-full of colours.
Here's another photo...this time I used an effect from instagram.
While the sun was slowly setting, this was what was happening on my right.
The lovely moon illuminates. I used an effect from instagram to enhance this photo.
Those were my left and right views as I stood in the middle of our balcony. A lovely way to end a happy and productive day. A great reminder that no matter how our day has been, the sun will set, the moon will shine (sometimes at the same time!) and tomorrow is another chance at hope, happiness, opportunities and love.
How was your day today?
(All photos taken by an iPhone 4)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
What's for Morning Tea?
If I'm not having fruits for morning tea, my alternative is bringing a peanut butter sandwich to work.
I make my peanut butter sandwich healthier by using multi-grain bread or wholemeal bread because it's high in fibre and an organic peanut butter spread.
The organic peanut butter we buy is not as flavourful (read: not sweet) compared to the usual peanut butter I grew up eating but the best part is that the peanut butter we use for sandwiches is made of real peanuts. Every bite is truly crunchy! Eating peanut butter sandwiches is so guilt-free nowadays as I know it's all natural.
What did you have for morning tea today?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
A "Singing" Bug in my Ear
This is one of my cutest finds last year. It's called "Earbugs" because it is a pair of earphones in ladybug form. Isn't it cute???
I bought this last year at Typo, a one-stop concept store, for only AUD$9.99.
The best thing about this cheap earphones is that it works like an In-Ear Headphone wherein the sound isolation is good enough for your seatmate not to hear what you're listening to.
Happy Tuesday!
I bought this last year at Typo, a one-stop concept store, for only AUD$9.99.
The best thing about this cheap earphones is that it works like an In-Ear Headphone wherein the sound isolation is good enough for your seatmate not to hear what you're listening to.
Happy Tuesday!
Monday, February 7, 2011
An Hour of Walking
I'm feeling great as I write as this very moment as I totaled an hour of walking today. I usually walk an average of 20-30 minutes per day but on days when the weather is perfect, I add a few more minutes to my daily walking routine.
Walking has a lot of benefits to our body. If you walk on a regular basis, it burns lots of calories. I can imagine it to something like attending several personal training courses or applying for personal training careers for free! Walking does a lot of wonders to me as it is not only just a physical activity but more of a spiritual and mental activity. When I walk, especially in the afternoons, it serves as an avenue for me to think of the things that happened during the day, be thankful for the blessings I received and sometimes think of my dreams and plans for the future. Walking also de-stresses me and keeps me happy.
At the end of a busy day at work, it's one of those activities that I look forward to doing.
Have a great and healthy week!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How We Survived the Sydney Heatwave
Today we finally get a break from the 6-day heatwave in Sydney. I've been here for five years now and this was the longest heatwave I've experienced. It was brutal and stressful. The temperature went up to 42C in some areas, our suburb included. I've tweeted about my experience everyday just to journal everything. I even made a hashtag called #Sydneyheatwave for it.
A few tweetmates have asked me if it's the same as experiencing summer in Manila and I emphasized that a heatwave in Australia is a weather catastrophe and this condition results to bushfire(s) and people die due to the heat. Heatwaves go on for days and it's hard to function everyday even if we are sometimes confined inside an air-conditioned room. As for experiences are concerned, no I have never experienced this kind of heat in Manila. That is all I can say as I've never been in Manila during summertime for the past 5 years so I really have no basis for comparison.
The biggest blow of all was that our 2-year old cooler/humidifier died on us on Day 1 of the heatwave (31 Jan)--how lucky can we get? haha. It doesn't work like an air-conditioner but it helped in cooling down our bedroom before we go to sleep. That was our only salvation in getting a decent sleep and it died on us.
Our home is at its hottest from 3pm onwards. Our balcony faces the west, hence the lovely sunset photographs I sometimes share. So after work, my Husband and I would buy time at a nearby cafe before going home. We'd camp out at the cafe and order drinks to refresh us. We'd stay there until 7:30pm and go home.
Here's us at Max Brenner.
We only hung out here once because it's expensive hehe. Plus, all they ever serve are sweets.
We hung out more at Coffee Culture. They have more options on the menu and we like the privacy of each cubicle there. On Tuesday, I brought BananaQ from a Filipino store (of course, that's not from Coffee Culture hehe) and shared it with the Husband. We ate discreetly so as not to offend the owners. Just one stick to go with my Berry Crush smoothie.
Wednesday and Thursday, we didn't hang out at the cafe and tried to survive the heat at home. But I swear, it was really painful. Cooking while there was a heatwave going on must be one of the worst tortures ever. I'm sorry for sounding so dramatic. I can handle heat and sweat but a long heatwave, that's a different situation.
Friends call me during the week and would ask how I am and my answer would be,"I'm just trying to survive this heat." That was just my focus last week. There were so many things I needed to do, some errands that needed to be done and some articles to write but my mind wasn't as multi-tasking as usual.
I made it to Friday---I was able to work til Friday--which I think was the greatest achievement of my week. Some of my workmates didn't get to finish the week off due to stress and sleepless nights. I'm glad I made it.
As a reward, my Husband and I met up again at a cafe before going home and treated myself to a tall glass of Iced Coffee. Good thing we hung out before going home as it turned out Friday night was another hot night. I wasn't able to sleep til 1ish in the morning but woke up around 2ish coz I was covered in sweat. I went out the living room and lay down by the balcony door to get some fresh air. That's where I slept from 3:00-5:00am. At 5:00am, I had to transfer to our bedroom because the floor was giving me a backache. I was able to sleep some more but I kept on waking up. I got up very cranky and really really tired.
Yesterday was the hottest day, I think. We had to attend a birthday party at a park in Manly Vale. Good thing, the organizer chose a good spot with lots of shade. My Husband and I decided that if it gets too hot to be outside we will immediately leave the party. As it turned out, it was very windy--hot windy--so it was not that bad. And the company was great. It was great to catch up with friends whom we haven't seen in a long while.
Last night was the hottest night. It was already 10pm and it was still 39C. We don't usually eat at this time of the night but it was so hot still so I made baked chips and the Husband made Iced Tea while we watch a koreanovela (currently watching "My Princess).
This afternoon, the weather has changed. It has been drizzling on and off now. And the news has declared, "The Sydney heatwave is officially over". There's a cool breeze outside and our home is slowly getting cooler. However, I made an Orange smoothie (no sugar) to help us hydrate today as it was a bit hot in the morning.
I'm grateful we survived this long heatwave. I'm glad we didn't get sick and hopefully won't get sick in the coming days. I don't know if we will have another streak of heatwaves but my only prayer is that if we do have another heatwave, can it please be a shorter one?
A few tweetmates have asked me if it's the same as experiencing summer in Manila and I emphasized that a heatwave in Australia is a weather catastrophe and this condition results to bushfire(s) and people die due to the heat. Heatwaves go on for days and it's hard to function everyday even if we are sometimes confined inside an air-conditioned room. As for experiences are concerned, no I have never experienced this kind of heat in Manila. That is all I can say as I've never been in Manila during summertime for the past 5 years so I really have no basis for comparison.
The biggest blow of all was that our 2-year old cooler/humidifier died on us on Day 1 of the heatwave (31 Jan)--how lucky can we get? haha. It doesn't work like an air-conditioner but it helped in cooling down our bedroom before we go to sleep. That was our only salvation in getting a decent sleep and it died on us.
Our home is at its hottest from 3pm onwards. Our balcony faces the west, hence the lovely sunset photographs I sometimes share. So after work, my Husband and I would buy time at a nearby cafe before going home. We'd camp out at the cafe and order drinks to refresh us. We'd stay there until 7:30pm and go home.
Here's us at Max Brenner.
We only hung out here once because it's expensive hehe. Plus, all they ever serve are sweets.
 |
| BananaQ and Berry Crush Smoothie |
Wednesday and Thursday, we didn't hang out at the cafe and tried to survive the heat at home. But I swear, it was really painful. Cooking while there was a heatwave going on must be one of the worst tortures ever. I'm sorry for sounding so dramatic. I can handle heat and sweat but a long heatwave, that's a different situation.
Friends call me during the week and would ask how I am and my answer would be,"I'm just trying to survive this heat." That was just my focus last week. There were so many things I needed to do, some errands that needed to be done and some articles to write but my mind wasn't as multi-tasking as usual.
I made it to Friday---I was able to work til Friday--which I think was the greatest achievement of my week. Some of my workmates didn't get to finish the week off due to stress and sleepless nights. I'm glad I made it.
As a reward, my Husband and I met up again at a cafe before going home and treated myself to a tall glass of Iced Coffee. Good thing we hung out before going home as it turned out Friday night was another hot night. I wasn't able to sleep til 1ish in the morning but woke up around 2ish coz I was covered in sweat. I went out the living room and lay down by the balcony door to get some fresh air. That's where I slept from 3:00-5:00am. At 5:00am, I had to transfer to our bedroom because the floor was giving me a backache. I was able to sleep some more but I kept on waking up. I got up very cranky and really really tired.
Yesterday was the hottest day, I think. We had to attend a birthday party at a park in Manly Vale. Good thing, the organizer chose a good spot with lots of shade. My Husband and I decided that if it gets too hot to be outside we will immediately leave the party. As it turned out, it was very windy--hot windy--so it was not that bad. And the company was great. It was great to catch up with friends whom we haven't seen in a long while.
(Thanks to our friend Iori for this photo)
After the party, we went straight to the cafe near our home. Berry Crush smoothie for me, while Cookies and Cream smoothie for the Husband.
Last night was the hottest night. It was already 10pm and it was still 39C. We don't usually eat at this time of the night but it was so hot still so I made baked chips and the Husband made Iced Tea while we watch a koreanovela (currently watching "My Princess).
This afternoon, the weather has changed. It has been drizzling on and off now. And the news has declared, "The Sydney heatwave is officially over". There's a cool breeze outside and our home is slowly getting cooler. However, I made an Orange smoothie (no sugar) to help us hydrate today as it was a bit hot in the morning.
I'm grateful we survived this long heatwave. I'm glad we didn't get sick and hopefully won't get sick in the coming days. I don't know if we will have another streak of heatwaves but my only prayer is that if we do have another heatwave, can it please be a shorter one?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)