A VERY SPECIAL OCCASION TO CELEBRATE!

December 29,2008

Its been 9 years and still happy to wake up beside YOU. To the MAN who holds a very special place in my heart. HAPPY 9th YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Thank you for another year of GREAT LOVE and not SO GREAT -ahihi- Here's wishing US more years of blessed bliss to come. I LOVE YOU and no one else can change that! MUAH!!!


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Lets embrace 2009 with a SMILE! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

GIFT GIVING!

The polvoron was a success alright. But I had a change of heart. The original plan was the hubs would bake some homemade cookies then at the last minute I decided I wanted to make polvoron to go along with the hubs cookies. I just thought it would be nice to have just a slight touch of home ( Philippines). If you know what I mean. :) ( Since I know how my FILIPINO friends love it as PASALUBONG. So I said why not?) The hubs liked it and surprisingly AJ loved it too. To tell you the truth I was surprised too since she's not too fond with these kind of sweets. She'd prefer fruits instead. -hahaha- I'm so glad she liked it. She actually ate it with GUSTO.



Polvoron is actually really easy to make. No sweat if you didn't have crazy ideas like mine... to make the story short holiday cookie cutters didn't work with the polvoron if only I had the proper tools (polvoron press). With the polvoron press it should have been a breeze but that's not the case so I had to improvise. Lets just say I'm going to make this again ONLY IF AJ requests. -haha-

Anyways, I made a small batch then divided it to two flavors. The regular plain flavor and Cookies n cream. The hubs liked the plain one while the little one preferred the cookies n cream. I liked them both if you bother to ask me. ;)

So we went with the original plan and actually distributed the first batch the hubs made during a x-mas get together at one of our friends house. We still have to do the second batch though. Homemade cookies makes a great gift. Not only are they delicious but its a treat your friends get to enjoy. It also means you made great effort of your TIME and LOVE. Isn't that a great feeling?





Tips to make a beautiful package!

* I used TIN CANS
* You can wrap them in an attractive box and basket
* How about the Chinese box take out. That would be great too. (Undo the artsy side of you) :)
* You can place them in a decorative plate.
* You can use different sizes of plastic bags per piece or more in one package, just add ribbons. VOILA!

Continuation....

Since it's the holiday season I think its okay to indulge your kids just as long as you have the extra money to spend. Anyways, this is AJ's favorite time of the year second only to her birthday. I mentioned that she is going to get the DORA Wii Game and that would be from SANTA. But AJ had a change of heart. Its pretty amazing how kids can change their mind so quickly. Now, she's asking for a ROBOT. The AUTOBOTS and she prefers BUMBLEBEE! You may ask why? (I thought of that too hehe...) Well according to AJ, he's cool, funny and he turns into a car. Good thing we can still return the game. So the hubs went out to scout for the BUMBLEBEE ROBOT and got her two. (A small one that turns into a car and a big one that can talk since she also requested for a talking one at the last minute). We were lucky enough to get her the Robot and couldn't wait to see her reaction since she said it would really make her happy if she got one. -haha- It so cute how kids think! We couldn't resist to get her the Barbie DVD: MARIPOSA, Disney DVD: CARS (Blu-ray), A Nintendo DS Game: BUILD A BEAR (We know how much she loves playing dress-up) then a HELLO KITTY MAKE_UP SET and more RING POP CANDIES. YUP! We spoil her rotten! (OK. Maybe sometimes!) I call this a FIRST and only CHILD SYNDROME -HAHA- Oh! Let's not even discuss how many dresses she wants to wear this holiday with matching shoes harhar...

WHAT I LEARNED AND STILL LEARNING BEING A MOM!

Its true that kids grow fast. My advice is to make time with the kids while you still can. So the hubs and I fully indulge and enjoy every moment with our precious little Princess. If your kids wants to shower you with hugs and kisses let them. Soon they wouldn't want to give you any. 2 years ago AJ told us not to call her a baby anymore. She was only 3 at the time. Hay! *Big Sigh*

Warning! Never say anything in front of your kids that you don't want repeated. And believe me! Sugar really does make kids go crazy- Avoid it! Little treats are fine. Just don't over do it. Some kids have no idea where money comes from and they don't care. LOL! AJ once asked me for some money for a ride in one of those that you put quarters on. I told her I didn't have any. (I don't want to give her the impression that whenever she asks I would give). I was hoping she would let it pass Oh Boy! I was wrong and got shocked when she said this:

AJ: Mommy, why can't we just use your card?

I'm like...WHAT??? Nyahahaha.... Geez! I can't blame her. She is used to seeing me pay with my card and seldom use cash.

I will say this again, being a parent can be so rewarding but it sucks to be one sometimes. There are times that we need to say NO! I know it sounds cruel but bear this in mind, we noticed that the more we give, the more AJ expects. I admit the hubs and I over indulge AJ most of the time with just about anything. (Yeah, were guilty!) But just because we can afford it doesn't mean we should always give in to whatever her hearts desire. We don't want to create a monster, do we now? So saying NO sometimes is OKAY.

BUT, (Yup! I know you read it right there is a but hahaha....)


To be continued.....

Too many plans not enough time...and MY LOVE AFFAIR with....

I just realized that we traveled a lot this year. Went home to the Philippines for a 3 month vacation. Then we sailed to the Carribean "Bahamas" on August. We had more than our usual share of road trips in the past few months ( Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, side Food trip to Georgia then back again to Virginia last month and sent 2 Balikbayan Box for the family in time for X-mas). Which means we ended up using a chunk of our savings way more that we would have expected. The reason why the hubs is against the travel to Florida this month :( since we need to set aside a decent amount of money to enjoy this trip.

I don't know about you, but I hate the idea of going on a vacation on a tight budget. How can anyone enjoy the travel when all you can think of is: this is too much or I just can't afford this. It just kills whatever excitement I've been feeling to tell you quite frankly. ( The reason why you need to PLAN AHEAD, to avoid feeling GUILTY). I think its okay to go all out if you have extra money. But if you don't have anything to fall back on in times of Emergency because you spend all your fortune to traveling, then that's a different story. You can't blame anybody but YOURSELF. If you choose too travel, Enjoy and have the best time of your life, smart enough to think for your future and would still love to enjoy life with a little vacation here and there. then go for it. I would say GOOD FOR YOU! This is just a matter of choice. (Right?)

So it got me thinking If everything goes as planned maybe we could still travel. I can utilize our timeshare points. Hay! Too many plans not much time and importantly not enough money.



MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE SALAD MASTER

I completely forgot besides traveling we also invested quite a lot of money on a new cooking ware that I got last month which is the Salad Master. If you've heard about Salad Master you'll know what I'm talking about. ( http://www.saladmaster.com/index.nws)

So I may miss the fun of traveling but you know what I wouldn't trade the good benefits we are getting right now with the Salad Master. It's just simply AMAZING! The hubs doesn't mind me having an affair with my new found love. (I'm in the mood for cooking:) YAY! ) Just as I don't mind him falling in love with his new toy (SONY 52" Bravia LCD HDTV)hehehe... Although I can't believe what the hubs said about the TV " That it was a love at first sight " SYET NA MALAGKET! GANON? MAY GANONG FACTOR? HAHAHA...

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

JERDETH is the name hihi...

You Are Level-Headed and Trustworthy

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Who could resist a freshly HOMEMADE POLVORON?

For some strange reason I've been wanting to make a homemade POLVORON to give away to PINOY Friends this holiday. But instead of the usual round or oval shape I'd like to use a x-mas cookie cutter. I'm determined to make this so I rummaged through our pantry to gather all the ingredients but unfortunately I don't have all the things I need. Bummer! I have to go to the grocery store to get the powdered milk tomorrow so I can start. I'm excited! Wish me luck! Sana hindi pumalpak! (This would be my first kasi. -hehe-) If this is not going to work, then I'll just make YEMA. I'm confident to say I make mean YEMA! Well I have received a very good feedback from the hubs that the recipe for my YEMA is a keeper. (Oh! Did I tell you he's my number one fan. ahihi...)

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

You Are a Loyal Shopper

You are a very picky shopper and tend to be loyal to a few brands. You are willing to pay extra to buy from a brand you trust. Of all the types, you're the most likely to own many designer items. You don't seek out sales as much as most people... unless it's a sale at your favorite store!

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

Eat All U Can LOBSTER!

This is what I miss in Orlando, Florida.




I would love to go back there on the 26th of this month. I just hope I can convince the hubs soon, very soon. Hay!!!

Whats Cooki'n?

COOKING EXPERIMENT

I had a bag of spinach that is about to expire and I don't want to put it to waste. I had leftover mushroom from the pizza we made last Friday. Then I had leftover lechon Kawali from last week. (TIP: You could put any leftover meat in the freezer for future use in time like these) This was actually just an experiment and I'm happy to say it turned out good. The hubs and I liked it. We both agree that the lechon kawali made it good. YUM!!! ( I just add oil to coat the pan, sauteed the diced onion, then the mushroom, after that add the Lechon K and then the spinach to taste add salt...EASY PEASY!) AJ didn't want it so she had the baked cod fish. Pardon the pix for the fish. I know it doesn't look appetizing but my AJ loved it. She actually ate most of it. -hihi-

I also cooked Pinakbet with the leftover Lechon Kawali. I've been cooking this for a long time so this is not an experiment. My AJ and the hubs loved it as always wehehe...




And here is the pix of the pizza we made. One thing is for sure its good!