made-by-me meals

On my attempt to exercise my culinary prowess, this lazy Sunday, I made two mouth-watering, lip-smacking meals. Only for my loved ones. Oh yes, my “culinary prowess” (ahem!) weren’t used for ages and I hope my made-by-me meals won’t be a failure!

BULALO

I admit I am not a fan of beef. But why am I making a beef bulalo if I don’t eat beef. You’d ask. I guess when it’s for somebody you love, you’ll go extra mile for your love. Cheesy it may seem, but it’s for my much loved Lab, Logan! Yes, I said it right. I cooked for the much-needed soup of my dog. Actually, it was my uncle who prompted me to cook for Logan. Thanks to him, I’m loving the voracious, satisfied look of Logan.

Prepping up for the tasty bulalo.

Hot and spicy soup for no less than the king and baby himself, Logan!

Logan getting all excited and thrilled. He can’t seem to wait!

And he busied himself. Finishing first the “sabaw” before the “laman”. I’m just loving him getting happy with this extraordinary treat.

PEACH PANCAKE

Last week, I was craving for something sweet. A hint of sweetness. Something that’s easy to prepare, something that doesn’t need baking. And presto, pancake came up! But it isn’t just the ordinary pancake. I want something fruity, something peach-y. It’s peach pancake!

Btw, it’s not for Logan anymore. It’s for my family’s tummy! Ha-ha

For this recipe, you’ll need eggs, yogurt (preferably peach yogurt), low-fat, canola oil, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and peaches (I used Dole peaches, yey!). And oh, don’t forget the pancake syrup from Pillsbury. Next time, I’m going make my own syrup. For directions, please direct yourselves to food.com.

snacking healthy, peaches!

Stuffed tummies, happy faces.

Indeed, it’s resto-worthy pancake. It’s easy to pull off at home.

A Lab stars in a movie.

"A person can learn a lot from a dog, even the loopy one like ours. Marley taught e about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things - a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in the shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grow old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and above all else, unwavering loyalty."

Just when I thought I’m tough, this movie has overwhelmed and moved me – big time! The Marley and Me movie had me laugh, made me stifle a sigh and brought me to tears (mind you, I almost cried a river). Well, Labradors really have this thing that will make you love them to bits no matter how annoying they can get

Here are my top scenes from the movie

Jen and husband meet Marley! Yes, just like any other puppy, Marley is that entire cuddly dog you could ever wish for.

Marley goes training. When Marley has become outrageously stubborn dog, the couple take him to training along with the other dogs. The fun part is when Marley never obey any command from the trainer when all other dogs perfectly obeys. Marley also ran away when the master is supposed to walk the dog with them. Impatient, the trainer took the lead in making Marley follow and uses the whistle. Never did the trainer know that Marley goes crazy upon hearing the sound of the whistle. He just instantly wanted to “mate” with the trainer. Outraged, the trainer immediately dismissed Marley and asked the couple not to bring Marley back again.

Marley plays with other dogs. On his brief visit to the beach, John unleashes Marley to cool down. Marley runs to the water and plays happily. Other dogs are unleashed also and everyone just play on the water. Until Marley spoiled the beach with his poop. How gross. Ha-ha

Jen finds comfort with Marley. When the doctor declares that Jen isn’t carrying a baby inside her tummy, Jen winces in pain and cries her heart out. Marley, clueless about the whole thing, sits by her side. Jen hugs Marley and later on puts his head on Jen’s lap.

Marley on his old days. While we have witness Marley as very active, athletic and restless, it’s excruciating to see the huge change in his activity. He began to have difficulty going upstairs. He would suddenly lie down feeling ill in his stomach. I almost wail on this part. It’s just depressing knowing his days on earth are coming to an end. The used-to-be-the-world’s-active dog is now limp and “wilted”. Nevertheless, it did not make him less of a dog. You’d still pour your heart out on Marley.

Marley bids goodbye to his family. When Marley was in his hospital bed, lying so calmly, my tears were streaming down my face – uncontrollably. "Then I dropped my forehead against his and sat there for a long time, as if I could telegraph a message through our two skulls, from my brain to his. I wanted to make him understand some things.

"You know all the stuff we've always said about you?" I whispered. "What a total pain you are? Don't believe it. Don't believe it for a minute, Marley," He needed to know that, and something more, too. There was something I had never told him, that no one ever had. I wanted him to hear it before he went.

"Marley," I said. "You are a great dog." - John Grogan

I felt like I lost a dog too. I can’t imagine myself when my own Lab (Logan) will go to heaven too. But dogs will be happier in heaven. As one of the kids said, “Hope you’ll have more bones to chew on heaven.”.

Heart-warming, tear-jerky and commendable. Two-thumbs up for the movie!

Indulge your kiddie side.

February 17, 2012 – Almost late in the afternoon, we noticed the dreary clouds that sprawled across the sky. Then immediately rain came pouring down generously and folks settled indoors. But hey, it wasn’t even adequate to put a halt to our merrymaking mood.

It all started as a whim – a childish whim to celebrate a Jollibee birthday party. Lo and behold, it came true just like any magical wishes in our favourite fairy tales. Bob, Elaine and Vincent all celebrated their birthdays in the month of February. So off we go to their oh-so-famed KIDDIE PARTY! All dressed as kids and donning our Jollibee party hats, everyone was all hyped up to be kids again. Like any other parties, we all say our prayers for the birthday celebrants as well thanking God for the loads of blessings.

Now, let the party begin! Yeah, who could ever forget to sing a jolly Happy Birthday song the kid way? Everyone was so into the kiddie mood and gamely sang in chorus. The celebrants were interviewed to which each of them lied about their real age. Ha-ha, must we getting really old? There was quite a lot of amusing games that kept our energy elevated. First game was the popular Status dance which me and Pinky won and grabbed the activity book and toys. More equally cool games ensue namely the blue-bubblegum-green-apple-yellow-dalandan, the choo-choo train and guess-that-Jollibee-food- and- character. Peal of laughter fill the place.

You would never trade these party hats for the world, right?

Meet Vincent, Elaine and Bob – the happy celebrants/sponsor of this party in their best ever kiddie wardrobe

Give it up for Pinky and Aethan boasting their scrummy and tasty Jollibee fries and spaghetti.

Ang Bida ng saya, Jollibee striking a charming pose for everyone. Dare to fall in love with this crazy mascot! Ha-ha He’ll drive you crazy too with his engaging moves.

Here’s Hetty swooning over the birthday boy, Vincent. He got her head over heels. How kilig can that be?

The whole party people. Happiness written all over our faces.

Jollibee played around with Sheng with much gusto. They were a sight to behold. Ha-ha

Channeling the big picture.

Indeed, we really had our greatest time with the Jollibee crew and friends. It was fun “wasting time”! It was raining still. But who cares? Our spirits were still up with delight! My hugest thanks to Elaine, Bob and Vince for inviting us. How about you, have you awaken the kid in you?

Be financially savvy.

a single swipe today. then another swipe the day after. it's always been a happy feeling when you buy those fabulous shoes, clothes that are really to die for, those glossy magazines, books and everything! but when pay day comes, the happiness fades out. oh no, not that i am ungrateful. just that the big chunk of my pay goes to my ballooning debt. there's only a little that's left for my daily expenses. and the cycle goes on. it's endless. i badly need to put a stop to this cycle. i've always wished for a financial freedom.

with all these drawbacks in impulsive shopping, i read about this book by Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. My much-needed book to get out of the Rat Race. Let me share few things i jotted down while learning from this commendable book.

1.) "Children spend years in an antiquated educational system , studying subjects they will never use, preparing for the world that never exists."

There's too much to learn in school, from the early writing and reading ABCs to making long paragraphs. From counting simple 123 to wading through complicated algebraic expressions. Getting ourselves amazed with the wonders of Science and soaking ourselves with religion, values and God. Then we moved to College which makes our student life more serious as we learn the fundamentals of accounting or whatever course we are in. What we had in college, in some way or another, will ultimately shape and prepare us for the real world. But reality hits us. Real world is bolder and harsher. Financial freedom is never, or partly, taught. Often, people fail to handle things wisely. We we're not equipped with skills to survive.

2.) Always do the habit of saying, "How can I afford it?" rather than "I can't afford it."

Saying "How can I afford it?" means you are exercising your mind on looking for ways to be able afford little luxuries to big time investments. Ways are countless, we just have to know it and apply it.

3.) "Broke is temporary; poor is eternal."

I often wail "I'm broke!" to my friends and they wail back the same thing. Ha-ha But we all can bounce back so we can't be poor. Knowledge, wisdom and discipline are they key. It could be hard but we might consider making baby steps to be rich!

4.) "In life, it's not how much money you make, it's how much money you keep."

We can't spend everything all we have over those stuffs which do not generate income for us. Or we call it dead investments. It's nice to have those nice and huge houses, classy cars that will bring us anywhere, most advanced gadgets blah blah. But wouldn't it be cool if our assets now have extras to buy these?

5.) "Keep your expenses low, reduce your liabilities and diligently build a base of solid assets."

Needless to say, we should keep our expenses to the barest minimum. Or expenses should be after savings and investments. Splurging would be a no-no for starters and i believe it takes a lot to control. We should be making money working for us, not us working for money, as R. Kiyosaki stressed out repeatedly in the book.

There's a lot more in the book and I can't put them all down here. If you want to be financially savvy, then the book's for you! We can and we will be, all it takes is discipline and constant learning (uhm, about finance). Let's get rich!

A Bang for a Friend

2 days ago, one of my dearest friends, PINKY celebrated her nth birthday. ahem, i am not allowed to disclose her age (since it's just a number). with the onset of the 2rd week of the period, many of us are getting broke. so i haven't got any gift for this dear friend. so i decided to write a letter for her. here it goes...

Dear Bebang,

Happy Birthday to you! I have always thanked the Lord for giving me a superb friend. We may not have asked Him but He has placed beautiful souls in our lives to make His love more felt.

My Thank you’s and Kudos go out to you. For being a great sister to your barakos. For being a super proud Tita to Gabby. For being a dedicated employee (you deserve the Employee of the year award, haha). For being a faithful servant. For your yummy fruit cocktail cake. For being frugal (which I dream of becoming). For being an everybody’s friend. For your gentle and loving soul. For being a confidante. For relentlessly listening to my heartaches, fears and worries. For laughing at my corny jokes. For rejoicing at my triumphs. For crying with me. For your love to old songs and movies, haha. For bearing with us (kalsada? Haha). For your discipline especially in keeping yourself fit. For rocking a healthy body. For being so gay. For being true to yourself always. For the great advices. For being thoughtful and giving just-because gifts. For being assertive and articulate. For being a smart ass. For the good times. For the fun runs. For the cost savings (hehe). For being optimistic. For being a friend whom I can afford to be stupid with. For being an incredibly wonderful and beautiful person.

This page may not be even enough how much I appreciate you, not even enough to enumerate the goodness in you. Please stay who you are because we love you for who you are and who you are not.

May the Lord pour His blessings on you and grant whatever you heart wishes (a loving and God-fearing partner who will sweep you off your feet, hehe).

Cheers to more years!

Lots of Love,

Jang