No work. No classes. No pesky phonecalls. No clients to accommodate. I am on official leave today. Bwahahahaha! After all, i still am entitled for a birthday leave, you know!
Nope, i didn't have a party. I figured it was a nice day to do the laundry. It was a sunny day with some wind. Very good combination!
By afternoon, i was store-hunting in Quiapo with my cousin and we were lucky enough to find what we were looking for. Looked like i hit a goldmine. I was looking for curing salt for my hamonado, but the store also had baking ingredients (choco bars, powdered chocolate, colored sugar, candy sprinkles, etc) and materials for packaging... oh it was wonderful!
I ended up buying not just the curing salt. I also got candy sprinkles and the cellosheet -plastic wrappers- for future use (to wrap my brownies with).
Yeah, talk about being lucky.
;)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Balisong
Today, i'm officially 29.
Like my previous birthdays, it was rainy. When i was younger, my birthday always falls on examination week at school. Now my birthday still happens to be on a school day. And to make it worse, i couldn't have my "birthday leave" because i'm supposed to present my report in my Research subject.
Talk about being lucky.
Sometimes i wish i was born during the summer so i could celebrate my birthday at the beach.
Oh well...
Happy birthday to me!
Like my previous birthdays, it was rainy. When i was younger, my birthday always falls on examination week at school. Now my birthday still happens to be on a school day. And to make it worse, i couldn't have my "birthday leave" because i'm supposed to present my report in my Research subject.
Talk about being lucky.
Sometimes i wish i was born during the summer so i could celebrate my birthday at the beach.
Oh well...
Happy birthday to me!
Monday, August 11, 2008
My Cake
chocolate cake with coffee cream frostingBack to my cake, shall we? The recipe called for sliced fresh kiwis and strawberries or other fruits in season. I opted to use canned fruits instead (consisting of pears, peaches, pineapples, cherries). I use whatever is readily available.
The cake will be left for my family's consumption tomorrow. I'm planning to bake another cake to bring to the office on Friday.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
5th
Happy Anniversary, St. Lazarus Choir!
5 years and counting! I'm on my 4th year with the bunch!
Unlike our previous anniversary celebrations where we just gather and have dinner at some fancy place, we decided to do something different this year. We figured we want to make other people happy and share some of our blessings. So we arranged for a Jollibee Party and off we went to the Pediatric ward of San Lazaro Hospital.
It was heartbreaking seeing kids who were really sick (mostly of pneumonia), babies stuck with tubes connected to oxygen tanks and parents watching over their children. But somehow, seeing those kids smile and laugh at the Jollibee's (the mascot) antics, i felt that we were doing something good by spreading some cheer to the children even for just a few minutes.
*sigh*
I wish all those kiddies get well the soonest.
After the party, we sang in the mass at 5:30pm. Was it just me, or did we just sing with a little more heart this afternoon?
Whatever it was, it was all good. It was for God's greater glory.
5 years and counting! I'm on my 4th year with the bunch!
Unlike our previous anniversary celebrations where we just gather and have dinner at some fancy place, we decided to do something different this year. We figured we want to make other people happy and share some of our blessings. So we arranged for a Jollibee Party and off we went to the Pediatric ward of San Lazaro Hospital.
It was heartbreaking seeing kids who were really sick (mostly of pneumonia), babies stuck with tubes connected to oxygen tanks and parents watching over their children. But somehow, seeing those kids smile and laugh at the Jollibee's (the mascot) antics, i felt that we were doing something good by spreading some cheer to the children even for just a few minutes.
*sigh*
I wish all those kiddies get well the soonest.
After the party, we sang in the mass at 5:30pm. Was it just me, or did we just sing with a little more heart this afternoon?
Whatever it was, it was all good. It was for God's greater glory.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Oh my!
Cold didn't push through (woohoo!).
But i still feel bad.
My camera-phone of 15 months is acting up crazy. I think the screen's backlight is busted coz it won't light up when i use the phone. I can't see the messages i'm trying to read and i can't see stuff i'm trying to take a picture of. What a bummer!
And my birthday's in a few days....
*sigh*
But i still feel bad.
My camera-phone of 15 months is acting up crazy. I think the screen's backlight is busted coz it won't light up when i use the phone. I can't see the messages i'm trying to read and i can't see stuff i'm trying to take a picture of. What a bummer!
And my birthday's in a few days....
*sigh*
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Wrong timing
(Cold Case v.2)
The past few days of taking care of my dad and sister and worrying about other stuff got the better of me. I feel like i'm catching a cold due to sleep deprivation and the very fickle weather that we're having for a couple of weeks already.
Last Tuesday's class was one more to worry about. We're expected to come up with a research project in three weeks' time.
Now's not the time to get sick.
(previous cold case here)
The past few days of taking care of my dad and sister and worrying about other stuff got the better of me. I feel like i'm catching a cold due to sleep deprivation and the very fickle weather that we're having for a couple of weeks already.
Last Tuesday's class was one more to worry about. We're expected to come up with a research project in three weeks' time.
Now's not the time to get sick.
(previous cold case here)
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
from South Park
recognize this little fellow?
it's Kenny!
it's Kenny!bro's sculpture project in Humanities.
galing no?
galing no?
Blondies
Technically, they're just brownies without the chocolate. Hence, the light color. But i can't resist putting a little of that bitter-sweet stuff so i took out my dark chocolate bar and shaved it to my heart's content, putting chocolate flakes on top of those blondies.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Another one down!
So after 4 weeks of nosebleed-inducing lectures and quizes, the subject has come to a conclusion last Tuesday...and tomorrow starts a tougher subject.
and that's Prof. V with his plaque of appreciation from the class.
He said it was his first-ever plaque that was academic in nature.
and that's Prof. V with his plaque of appreciation from the class.He said it was his first-ever plaque that was academic in nature.
More bread!
Yeah, i was still able to squeeze in some baking yesterday. So dad and my siblings will have something to munch on (besides ulam at kanin) while i'm out at work.And as for me, i had a little fun doing it too!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Long Weekend
and quite an exhausting one at that! But it's all good. At least i could say that my weekend had been quite productive.
Dad was sick since Friday so i had to take charge of feeding the family for the weekend. As if that's not enough, sister got sick yesterday and had a bout with an on-again-off-again fever, so i had to do her part of the household chore and take care of her and papa. Whew! Ganyan talaga pag panganay ka. Then i had to take care of everything else in between--even fetch pail after pail of water because flowing water from household faucets has become a thing of the past here in our area, unless you have an electric waterpump which we don't have because installing such would lead to sky-rocketing electricity bills.
No, this is not a rant post even if it seems to be. I'm trying to see what's good in all of this. For the most part, it was a time for physical activity. Yeah, i was tired by the end of the day but it's all good. Better than slacking my ass off!
So how was your weekend?
Dad was sick since Friday so i had to take charge of feeding the family for the weekend. As if that's not enough, sister got sick yesterday and had a bout with an on-again-off-again fever, so i had to do her part of the household chore and take care of her and papa. Whew! Ganyan talaga pag panganay ka. Then i had to take care of everything else in between--even fetch pail after pail of water because flowing water from household faucets has become a thing of the past here in our area, unless you have an electric waterpump which we don't have because installing such would lead to sky-rocketing electricity bills.
No, this is not a rant post even if it seems to be. I'm trying to see what's good in all of this. For the most part, it was a time for physical activity. Yeah, i was tired by the end of the day but it's all good. Better than slacking my ass off!
So how was your weekend?
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Cheesy...
Following the success of my first white bread, i tried tweaking it up to come up with my version of cheese bread.
I made a mistake of putting grated cheese just before baking the dough. Hence, the black swirls on the bread. Tried to cover it up with a fresh batch of grated cheese when the bread was done and i thought it kinda looked pretty interesting. The burnt cheese also gave an interesting twist on how the bread tasted--kinda like munching on chiz curls.
surprise!
I made a mistake of putting grated cheese just before baking the dough. Hence, the black swirls on the bread. Tried to cover it up with a fresh batch of grated cheese when the bread was done and i thought it kinda looked pretty interesting. The burnt cheese also gave an interesting twist on how the bread tasted--kinda like munching on chiz curls.
surprise!it has cheese inside!
;)
Friday, August 01, 2008
Mom's Verdict
Mama buzzed me yesterday on YM:
Hehehe! Thanks 'ma!
Nanay nga kita! ;)
Your banana bread was hard when it got here and the cookies got soft. Tried to re-heat them, though. They tasted pretty good. Yummy-yummy. No wonder you have fans there. I'm so happy for you
Hehehe! Thanks 'ma!
Nanay nga kita! ;)
Brownies!
(pics backlog)
I stumbled upon this recipe with the title "perfect brownies." Curiosity got the better of me so i gave it a shot. I think its other name should be "easy brownies" because it's so easy to prepare. ;)
I used to shy away from brownie recipes because based on my bro's brownie experience, he had quite a challenging time before finally arriving at his best version of brownies. But when i found the "perfect brownie" recipe, i felt that it was finally time to face it and bake it.
So i did!
;)
I stumbled upon this recipe with the title "perfect brownies." Curiosity got the better of me so i gave it a shot. I think its other name should be "easy brownies" because it's so easy to prepare. ;)
I used to shy away from brownie recipes because based on my bro's brownie experience, he had quite a challenging time before finally arriving at his best version of brownies. But when i found the "perfect brownie" recipe, i felt that it was finally time to face it and bake it.
So i did!
;)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
White Bread
As promised in my previous post, here are pics of my first white bread...
Dad thought i bought the bread when he saw it on the table one morning just as he was about to prepare our breakfast. I was quite amazed at how it turned out too!
My sister bought a pack of instant dry yeast way back when she was still the one who bakes and thought she might be needing some of those someday. But a couple of months later, she got very busy and the pack of yeast remained inside the refrigerator. I just can't bear the stuff to be put to waste (it's a big pack) so i figured to give it a shot.
After hours of watching instructional videos (thanks to YouTube) i finally had my first white bread. This kind of bread requires a lot of patience coz you really have to leave it for a couple of hours and let the yeast do its work. In some videos i watched, they even left the mixture overnight for the dough to rise. But i chose the recipe where you have to proof it for just a couple of hours coz, well, i guess i didn't have that much patience.
So there you go.
;)
My sister bought a pack of instant dry yeast way back when she was still the one who bakes and thought she might be needing some of those someday. But a couple of months later, she got very busy and the pack of yeast remained inside the refrigerator. I just can't bear the stuff to be put to waste (it's a big pack) so i figured to give it a shot.
After hours of watching instructional videos (thanks to YouTube) i finally had my first white bread. This kind of bread requires a lot of patience coz you really have to leave it for a couple of hours and let the yeast do its work. In some videos i watched, they even left the mixture overnight for the dough to rise. But i chose the recipe where you have to proof it for just a couple of hours coz, well, i guess i didn't have that much patience.
So there you go.
;)
Monday, July 28, 2008
For Mama
It's been raining for most of the day and what better thing to do than to curl up in bed on a Monday night after a day's work.
But that's after i finish packing the banana bread and peanut butter cookies i baked to be transported to HK for my mom. Cousin-in-law will be flying on Wednesday morning and mom will meet him at the airport in HK.
It's about time my mother gets a taste of what other people have been raving about.
;)
But that's after i finish packing the banana bread and peanut butter cookies i baked to be transported to HK for my mom. Cousin-in-law will be flying on Wednesday morning and mom will meet him at the airport in HK.
It's about time my mother gets a taste of what other people have been raving about.
;)
Banana Bread v.2
My first banana bread fared pretty well but after some revisions and some add-ins, i think this one finally has that "personality" i was looking for...
banana bread face-off:
version 1 and version 2
banana bread face-off:
version 1 and version 2
Sunday, July 27, 2008
What's up?
I'm back!
Yeah, I've been out of blogging circulation for a couple of weeks coz I've been catching up on quite a lot of things at work and my schooling is adding up to the bulk of stress i had to manage. But with another subject coming to a conclusion on Tuesday, I'm kinda looking forward to squeezing in some other activities/pet projects that I've started but was forced to drop when my schooling started last month.
For one, my "new room project" that was put on hold after the windows got painted. Aside from the lack of funding for the repairs to be done, i find that i also don't have that much energy to sort the things out when i get home from work.
Then there are other things but i figured i only needed to manage my time with the things that needed to be done and then it would be breezy for me. And maybe i needed to take vitamins for the energy boost.
On another note, i think i'm developing an obsession with baking (and then consuming the finished product!). For one, i've just baked my first white bread today. I've also come up with my own version of banana bread (photos on later posts, promise!) and the peanut butter cookies are still getting rave reviews.
But that's just me. I'm no expert at this stuff but i seem to get a kick out of it. I just love the smell of baked goodies. Brings back childhood memories when i used to walk a couple of blocks from home to buy bread for merienda. I didn't mind the waiting time at the bakery to get my pandesal coz my nose was wonderfully bombarded by the smell of freshly baked bread.
Now i don't need to go far for my bread. Perhaps that walking will be useful for another purpose... to shake of the extra pounds i've gained from eating those bread!
;)
Yeah, I've been out of blogging circulation for a couple of weeks coz I've been catching up on quite a lot of things at work and my schooling is adding up to the bulk of stress i had to manage. But with another subject coming to a conclusion on Tuesday, I'm kinda looking forward to squeezing in some other activities/pet projects that I've started but was forced to drop when my schooling started last month.
For one, my "new room project" that was put on hold after the windows got painted. Aside from the lack of funding for the repairs to be done, i find that i also don't have that much energy to sort the things out when i get home from work.
Then there are other things but i figured i only needed to manage my time with the things that needed to be done and then it would be breezy for me. And maybe i needed to take vitamins for the energy boost.
On another note, i think i'm developing an obsession with baking (and then consuming the finished product!). For one, i've just baked my first white bread today. I've also come up with my own version of banana bread (photos on later posts, promise!) and the peanut butter cookies are still getting rave reviews.
But that's just me. I'm no expert at this stuff but i seem to get a kick out of it. I just love the smell of baked goodies. Brings back childhood memories when i used to walk a couple of blocks from home to buy bread for merienda. I didn't mind the waiting time at the bakery to get my pandesal coz my nose was wonderfully bombarded by the smell of freshly baked bread.
Now i don't need to go far for my bread. Perhaps that walking will be useful for another purpose... to shake of the extra pounds i've gained from eating those bread!
;)
Friday, July 11, 2008
Transformation
One of our supervisors gave her a pair of girly sandals and dared her to wear the footwear during office hours so she could see it being used. So our rugged, groovy-mama-of-two colleague traded her comfy running shoes for those girly sandals.
Extra challenge moment!
;)
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