Thank God This Work-Week is Over

This is one of the most exhausting work-weeks of my life in Australia:
- for the first time that I've worked here, I brought work home on Tuesday. When I moved here I swore I'll never bring work home EVER especially now that I'm a wife already. I have made a rule (for myself) that home is just for homely activities.
- I've never heard so many F-words in my life this week. My team seems to be swearing so much, it's really not funny anymore. I've heard myself say the F-word once or twice and that is a sign that I'm really getting frustrated on some things.
- heard myself say "Dammit!" so many times. I'm not an F-word user, so "Dammit" is my default word when getting pissed off.
- the pile on my desk seemed to have doubled since last week, when before there was never a pile there!
*sigh* This too shall pass. I really hope, for our sanity's sake, that next week will be less hectic for us. Thank God this work-week is over. I can't wait for the weekend to begin.

Wine Tasting Adventure at the Hunter Valley

Last Saturday (27/11/08), we saw endless hectares of vineyards!!!! It was so beautiful and mesmerizing.

Hunter Valley is the most well-known wine regions in Australia, about two hours drive from Sydney. Other than being abundant in vineyards and wines, their produce also includes cheese, olives and olive oil.

Other than enjoy the beautiful sceneries that Hunter Valley can offer, people often come here for Wine and Cheese Tastings, have long lunches in one of the many restaurants, explore the Hunter Valley Gardens, enjoy Horse Drawn Carriage Tours, ride on Hot Air Balloons, and visit Historic Villages and Museums to name a few.

On our first visit to Hunter Valley, we went there solely for three wine tastings (not one, not two, but three!).

Our first stop was at the McGuigan Winery. Twas our first experience at wine tasting and the best of all the three wine tastings we attended last Saturday. Here's why:

When we arrived there, we were ushered in to a private area and all of us were sitted as if we were in a bar. On the table, we were welcomed with a small wine glass each, a piece of paper that has a list of the wines they offer, a pencil so you can take down notes, biscuits and a bottle of water. Very organized, aye?

All we had to do is just sit, listen to the winery host, drink the wines they pour on our glasses, jot down what wines we like and just enjoy! And did I mention that this wine tasting was free??? So yay!

After I taste each wine, I jot down how my tastebuds reacted to the wine. In McGuigan's, we tasted about 3 whites, 3 reds, 2 dessert wines and the last one was their Tawny Port (that according to Chris tasted like Kiamoy hehehe).

After our wine tasting, we bought about 7 bottles of wine. They gave 10% discount for every bottle and for those who bought 12 bottles, they got another bottle for free. Very very nice. Session was free but you still get a 10% discount.

Our next wine tasting session was at the Tyrrell's Winery. Now, this was where we got really tipsy.

The session started with a short history of Tyrrell's Wines and we were shown where the wine was created and stored.

They had these big barrels worth AUD$15,000 each (barrel palang yun, wala pang laman) where they store their red wines.

After that we were ushered in to their bar, standing room only this time. No chairs, no pencils, no paper. We just stood near the bar and waited for the wines to be poured into our glasses.

Now what made us really really tipsy was that they poured the wines too quick. The wines kept coming one after another. Good thing they served cheese and biscuits.

Before I knew it, I was becoming "happier", laughing like crazy with Faith (family friend)--in short, makulit na kami bigla. May tama na kami! :) And you know, the thing with me when I get tipsy, I never turn red...I turn the opposite--I become pale. So this is me, tipsy and happy...

We never bought anything at Tyrrell's. For one, we cannot remember the wine we liked and two, we paid $5.00 for the wine tasting and we weren't even given a chair to sit. Although they do have wines that was good, I just jotted down the name on my notebook (yes, I brought one) and will just buy it in the liquor stores.

So what did we do to get rid of our "amats" (tipsiness)? We explored Tyrrell's vineyard and took photos under the shining sun.

After session number two, we had lunch outside the Hunter Valley Gardens. That gave us a chance to sober up. At 2:00pm, we went back to McGuigan's for Cheese Tasting. Wasn't really interested so we just hang outside and waited for our group to finish.

Last stop was at Rosemount Winery. Paid $4.00 for this session but they had chairs to sit and we were given a wine list so we can at least take note of the wine the host was introducing.

The photo above seemed like I was a drunkard with a wine glass in each hand but no, I'm also holding husband's glass while he takes photographs. And I really avoided getting tipsy this time by passing off on some of the wines offered to us.

We bought two bottles of "O" at Rosemount. One of the best wines I've tasted so far.

We loved the vineyards at Rosemount, they're taller compared to others. Before we left, we had one last photograph near their vineyard.

It was such a beautiful day to be at the Hunter Valley...and to get drunk hehe. Husband and I really enjoyed it a lot. We hope to visit again next year.

Litratong Pinoy: Kadiliman

Ito ang aking lahok sa Litratong Pinoy na may temang KADILIMAN.

Ito ang view na kasalo namin sa tuwing kakain kami ng hapunan sa aming munting tahanan. Kapag maganda ang sikat ng araw during the day, ganito ang kulay ng langit kapag palubog na ang araw. Sobrang ganda diba? Nakaka-relax talaga at nasasambit ko ang mga katagang, "Salamat sa Diyos at nakauwi na ako."

Maligayang Huwebes!

This is the view we have at home during dinner time. When the sun shines brightly during the day, this is the colors that you will see in the horizon during sunset. It's so beautiful, isn't it? The view is relaxing and always make me say, "Thank God I'm home."

Happy Thursday!

Specials for the Day

The husband brought me pasalubong today...

Banana Cake from McCafe

...only to find out that I never really eat banana cake. But I was nevertheless very very happy for the husband's thoughtful gesture. I had a bite and that was it. I just enjoyed watching him eat his pasalubong for me.

And it so happened that I cooked Binagoongan today...

I added eggplant because I always want that our every meal has a vegetable. The husband said it was delish.

Thank you, Amazon!

Some things I buy via Amazon because either what I want are not sold here and/or it is cheaper to buy online.

Thank God that before the Australian dollars went down three or four weeks ago, I was able to purchase these:

LeSportsac Backpack and Shoulder Bag

I've been wanting to buy these LeSportsac bags everytime I make a stopover at Singapore and always, I would forget to buy at least one item from their store. I had about four stopovers in Singapore in the past two years already and the last time I was there, my last stop at the airport was at the cosmetics store. So now that I don't have plans of having any stopovers there and found out that Sydney doesn't have LeSportsac stores, I decided to buy via Amazon. I love LeSportsac for their funky and colorful designs.

lovemarks by Kevin Roberts

I discovered this book via Chris' workmate and found the book very inspiring. The book talks about brand marketing but the concepts Kevin Roberts shared in his book can be useful for those wanting to start a business. It also relates to customer service and could be a tool for improving attitude in the workplace . I love love love it! I saw this book at Kinokuniya sold for AUD$40++ but when I checked Amazon, it's about 60% less than the price here---and it's the expanded edition and brand new!

Thank you, Amazon!

Cooking Journal Week 1

I just want to record my cooking adventures so I'll have an account of all that I am able to cook in my kitchen.

For the first week of our stay in our home, here's what I've cooked so far:

Saturday (18/10/08): Adobo with Bean Sprouts

Sunday (19/10/08): Spaghetti (Italian style)

Monday (20/10/08): Barbequed Chops and Green Salad with French dressing

Tuesday (21/10/08): Sinigang na Baboy (with Chili and Kangkong)

Wednesday (22/10/08): Daing na Bangus and Ginisang Sitaw at Kalabasa

Thursday (23/10/08): Dinner at Pepper Lunch

Friday (24/10/08): Did not cook today, we ate leftovers

Saturday (25/10/08): Breakast Night with a twist! I cooked Egg and Spam and Sauted Cabbage. I also cooked Fried Rice.

Pinoy Top Ten: 10 Paborito Kong Pagkaing Pinoy

Pinoy Top Ten: 10 Paborito Kong Pagkaing Pinoy

1. Adobo

2. Tapsilog

3. Binagoongan

4. Suman

5. Sisig

6. Bicol Express

7. Laing

8. Kahit anong inihaw: baboy, hipon, lobster, etc

9. Crispy Pata

10. Taho

[photo source for tapsilog] [photo source for laing] [photo source for binagoongan]

Kamusta Ako?

Tagged by Eve (salamat!). According to Eve's blog, kailangan ko daw isulat kung kamusta ako ngayon, pero dapat 10 ang sagot ko, hehehe. Puro something about 10's yata ang entries ko since yesterday. O sige, eto ang sagot ko:

1. Feel kong mag-taglish ngayon kahit sa totoong buhay eh ayoko nang nagsusulat at nagsasalita ng tag-lish in one sentence. Pero dahil Friday (anong connect?) at pagod ako today, magsusulat ako na parang sumusulat ng email sa isang kaibigan.

2. Mabuti naman ako. Recovering from my ubo (nung Monday sipon lang eh, pero meron na rin akong ubo ngayon) and pharyngitis. I'm really trying to get well as soon as I can.

3. Busy-busyhan sa trabaho. Ewan ko ba at matapos lang akong mawala ng tatlong araw eh na-doble ang trabaho ko bigla. Pagbalik ko nung Wednesday, nadagdagan ang mga trainees na aalagaan ko. Que horror. Kinausap ako ng boss ko yesterday, tinanong niya kung okay lang daw ba. Eto ang sagot ko kanya, "We can survive (we pertaining to our team), yes. We can do it, yes. But there will be delays in some deliverables." Oh ha? Ang taray! Bakit ba? At least alam niya.

4. Kumakain ako ng Pandesal with Cheez Whiz at umiinom ng green tea habang nagsusulat nitong meme na ito.

5. Nakakain ako ulit sa Pepper Lunch kagabi!!! Yehey! :) For the first time, I got to try their Beef Pepper Rice. Daming kanin, konti lang ang beef. I therefore conclude na bitin sa beef ang Pepper Rice nila. At isa pang conclusion, hindi ako makatagal ng isang buwan na walang Pepper Lunch.

6. May dalawa pa akong tag/meme na hindi nagagawa. Sa weekend sana magawa ko na.

7. Ang dami kong gustong isulat tungkol sa mga bahay eklavu, as in. I really want to write stuff about home management especially now that I'm managing our own home. I've got about two drafts already but I haven't got the time to sit down and work on it.

8. Okay naman ang bahay-bahayan namin ni Husband. Hindi pa kami kumpleto sa gamit. Sa totoo lang, wala kaming lounge room hehe. Kasi ang tanging furniture namin para sa living room area ay ang 2-seater sofa na bigay ng aking tita. Ang aming bedroom ay Japanese style, kasi may mattress kami pero walang bed frame :). Wala rin kaming mga electronics chuva tulad ng TV, DVD at stereo. Halos lahat ay nagtataka kung bakit wala kaming TV. Eh lalo kaming nagtaka sa mga nagtanong kasi hindi naman kami mamamatay kung walang TV. Ang guest room namin ay storage room dahil nandun lahat ang mga nagkalat na boxes at luggages. Ang plano namin ay per area ang pag-ayos ng unit namin. Kaya kung wala pa kaming pambili ng iba pang furnitures, okay lang. We believe that what we have now are enough because what we have are the essentials. At kung magkaroon kami ng housewarming, bring your own chairs hehehe.

9. Anniversary ko dito sa trabaho last Wednesday. One year na pala akong "officially" nagse-serve sa taong-bayan ng New South Wales.

10. Bukas ay my Wine Tasting Adventure kami ni Husband. From morning til afternoon may wine tasting kami. Sana hindi kami ma-lasheng.

Okay, kailangan ko daw mag-tag. I tag: Armi, Frances (chylle), Pizzi, Jo, Gracey, Gneth, Ice, Joy (efrenjoy), Alyn and Maryan.

Happy Weekend!

Litratong Pinoy: Liwanag ng Kandila

Ito ang aking lahok sa Litratong Pinoy na may temang LIWANAG.

Mahilig ka ba sa kandila? Ako, oo. Pag-brownout (black out/biglang nawalan ng kuryente), gustong-gusto kong pagmasdan ang liwanag na dulot ng kandila. Para sa akin, ang pagsindi ng kandila ay simbolo ng katahimikan, pag-iisip o pagpapahinga.

Maligayang Huwebes sa inyong lahat!

Pinoy Top Ten: 10 Bagay Na Aking Pinagmamalaki Bilang Filipino

Pinoy Top Ten: 10 Bagay Na Aking Pinagmamalaki Bilang Filipino

1. Tayo ay magalang lalo na sa mga nakakatanda, tinuruan tayong magsabi ng "po" at "opo" ng ating mga magulang.

2. Tayo ay masayahin, kaya nating tawanan ang kahit anong problemang ating hinaharap.

3. Tayo ay maka-Diyos.

4. Tayo ay mapagmahal sa pamilya, kamag-anak at kaibigan. Natural sa atin ang maging mapagbigay at matulungin sa ating mga mahal sa buhay.

5. Tayo ay masipag at matiyaga, kahit nahihirapan na ay kaya nating magtiis.

6. Tayo ay madaling mag-adjust sa mundong ginagalawan natin.

7. Ang likas na yaman ng ating bansa tulad ng mga dalampasigan, bundok at kagubatan na dinadayo pa mga turista.

8. Tayo ay matatalino at magaganda (naks!).

9. Na sa tuwing may makakasalubong tayong kakilala ay tatanungin natin sila ng "Kumain ka ba?" Tayo ay thoughtful sa ganung paraan.

10. Na ang bawat Filipino ay nagmamahal sa kanyang bansa kahit saan man siya naroon.

marami pa dito: http://pinoytopten.wordpress.com/