Proud to be Filipino

Congratulations to Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao!

Pacman stopped David Diaz at the 9th round and won via KO.

I got to watch the said round and it was quick. It seemed Diaz was really hurting and his face was all bloodied.

Pacman now holds championship belts in four divisions.

I just had to post this LOL. Pacman, we're proud of you!

xoxo

Yahoo!

When I came in for work this morning, I panicked because I was not able to login to one of our tools at work. Aside from that, I can't even get in to our chat room so I thought I was doomed.

And then I was told that most of our tools were in fact down and has been the case since 4pm EDT. It was already 11pm when I started my shift but it still hasn't come up. I felt bad for the company but I felt relieved as well because no calls for the meantime! LOL

This went on for a three hours and when I logged out, it was still not fixed. I don't know if this will be the same case this evening when I go to work. My friend asked me to cover for her for just two hours. Of course I said yes as it's additional hours too. I wish we can still relax later :)

That's all for now. I got to cook dinner in a few.

xoxo

APE

I had my APE (Annual Physical Examination) yesterday as requested by Fortune Care, our health card provider. I've never been a fan of this but I had no choice as it was required of us to undergo one.

Anyways, I went there alone as my hubby was scheduled for an exam in the company he applied for. I went to the office first to get the gift that Jean has given me back in Dec LOL It was only yesterday I had the time to pick it up. Len, our boss, just came back from abroad and good thing she was there too so I had chocolates and cookies to bring home.

After this, I went to Fortune Care's office to complete the check-up. My BP was normal and I think my physical check-up went fine too. I then had my xray and then straight to the lab for CBC. I don't like needles and even if I already gave birth via normal delivery without epidural, I still don't like them needles. The MedTech was chatting me up and I looked away and then she pricked my finger. It stung a bit but surprisingly, I didn't react. So I conclude I'm not afraid of it anymore as before.

When I have completed all the tests, I decided to just walk to the building where my hubby is still finishing his exam. It was a short distance anyway and after finding out my weight I got all pumped up to lose weight. Not until the evening where I happily munched on Lapid's chicharon. So maybe I'll start next time *wink*

Good day everyone!

xoxo

Bugsy's Brownies

I was looking at our pseudo-pantry and I noticed the brownies premix I bought last month. I've been meaning to bake this but I didn'thave the time. Today, I decided to give it a go so that we'll have something for snack.

I used Bugsy's brownie mix and it's only less than 50php. I was scrimping on my baking supplies so this really helped as I only added two eggs and 1 stick of butter. I just creamed the butter and added the beaten eggs slowly while mixing and when it's all creamed, I added the brownie mix. That's it! So simple and yet when it finished baking, it was fudgy, kind of like the one I used to buy at Brownies Unlimited but mine is fudgier and I also added mini chocolate chips on top. Pinchy ate a bit because he was still full. He just finished his bottle of milk.



Btw, I've been meaning to buy cornmeal and I was informed that it can be bought at Healthy Options. That's on my to buy list because I am so itching to bake corn muffins. I bet the hubby and baby will love it.

Bye for now!

xoxo

Sucky Thursday

My internet sucks.

Actually, it doesn't suck a lot during regular hours but really, when I'm on shift, that's when it acts up. It totally annoys me and dampens my mood.

I work from home so definitely, I need a fast internet connection. We have a good plan that's supposed to deliver but these past few months, it hasn't done that. The tech guys even came here one time to look at the problem but they can't find any. Tsk.

Maybe we can look for another provider but we'll have to save up for it first. It doesn't come cheap and especially now that things are not doing well at our account, I'm having second thoughts.

Sigh. This day shall pass and I'll just have to wait and see if tomorrow's going to be a better day. I wish.

xoxo

It's Monday Once More!

Hiya!

I have been busy these past few days because Pinchy didn't have a nanny yet but we finally got one this morning. She was recommended by our landlady and I wasn't really going to get one yet but I thought if the hubby will start working on a site-based office real soon, I would need someone to help me in taking care of baby. Especially now that he has a habit of climbing chairs and stairs LOL

I finally got a paid blogging gig. It doesn't pay that much but since I get to post unlimited number of articles every day, it will work for me. I've yet to get a debit card though so I'll work on that tomorrow.

Anyways, I'm not sure anymore if my blog will still be approved by other paid blogging sites. My blog got rejected the last time because it didn't have a high page rank. Oh well, I'll try to work on it in the days to come but if it's not for me, it's not, right? Might as well move on to other things and find other ways to earn online. Good luck!

Got go to. We have some shopping to do.

xoxo

Blog name

When I started this blog, I had difficulty coming up with a name and a header. I wanted it to sound and read catchy and of course, I wanted it to give a glimpse of what my blog is all about.

And so, I came up with what you see now right up there. I know it has been used many times but this best describes my life right now as I try to balance my time and energy as a wife and mom, and also as an independent consultant at work. It's great that I can work and stay at home at the same time but I don't know, sometimes I feel tired and well, maybe this is just one of those days.

Speaking of which, I don't have much work to do because we don't get a lot of calls so I am on the lookout for ways to earn money while at home. We don't have a nanny yet and might not be getting one anytime soon because of cost-cutting measures so I take care of my son during my free time.

That's all for now. Take care everyone!

xoxo

Chicken Cordon Bleu

When I got married, I only knew how to fry food. Or boil. Or just use the can opener and open a standby canned food.

Well, I knew how to cook but I prefer not to unless I have absolutely no other choice LOL With that, we relied on household help to cook our food or hubby cooks when he had time. But as it is, there came a time when I realized that I had to step up and do the cooking too.

I browsed online for recipes and also bought Yummy mags which inspired me a lot to try my hand at cooking again. I preferred those that have been tried and tested and easy to do.

I cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu back in January of this year and it's a good thing I was able to snap a pic of it. I followed the recipe from Yummy mag. If anyone out there would like to try it too, just inform me and I'll gladly share the recipe :)



I'll post the pics of the other recipes I've tried next time.

Take care everyone!

xoxo

Barbershop

Pinchy had his third haircut today and he's still not used to the sound of the clipper and razor which was used by the barber. However, the whole cutting session only took 15mins, shorter than the time we spent back in March.

After that, we went to my parent's house and spent the rest of the day there. Mom cooked spaghetti which is Pinchy's fave and he ate a lot LOL

I'd like to take Pinchy there at least once a week so that he can meet other kids to work on his social skills. He's a happy baby but when unfamiliar faces greet him, he'd really cry. I can't even get others to carry him because he doesn't like it. But now, I can say that he's really improved on that area as he smiles a lot now and would even let others carry him :)

We went home late and good thing we had dinner at my parents's so we all just freshened up and prepared for bed.

Good night!

xoxo

Restday again!

Happy Monday!

I'm thankful that I don't feel bad as I did yesterday. I just took 1 tablet and voila! I'm almost cured :) Well, almost because even if I am not sneezing as hell anymore, I still can't smell anything and I can't even taste food but even so, I ate a lot. Never mind the taste LOL

Today is my rest day so as usual I took the opportunity to catch up on household chores as we don't have a helper anymore. She left more than a week ago with the promise to return but I kind of got the idea that she won't come back because she brought all of her things with her and she only got her remaining salary and didn't ask for a cash advance which was her habit LOL

It's just the three of us again at home and we like it. I'm in no rush to find another nanny for Pinchy. I'm savoring every day that I get to spend with him and attend to his needs. He grows up fast and sometimes I think when did it happen? He's a big boy now and loves to climb chairs, run tirelessly, watch Barney etc. But one thing that reminds me that he'll always be my little baby is when he goes to me and gestures to carry him. I'm not sure of his weight anymore but back in March, he was already 17kgs. My back will ache and my arms will be sore from all the carrying but I can't deny him his simple pleasure. He just loves it when Mom carries him and sings him to sleep :)

Good night everyone!

xoxo

Case of the Sniffles

Sniff. Sniff.

I have allergic rhinitis again :( I'm not even sure when this started or if this is the right diagnosis because I haven't consulted a doctor about it but based on the symptoms I've experienced and from those I found online, yes, I can say it is allergic rhinitis.

We went to the cemetery earlier because it's my father-in-law's death anniv and then we proceeded to hear mass. As always, the culprit is the electric fan at the church which is beside me. I didn't get the chance to change places because mass already started and the church was full so I just carried on. But halfway through the mass, I felt like sneezing but I was able to hold it back. I even had a decent dinner at Tita Angel's house. But when we were on our way to the car, that's when I let out a big sneeze. And then another. One more came. I counted them all and there were 6 successive sneezes LOL! I was sniffing all the way home and my eyes were red and puffy, my nose itchy and runny and my head ached and I too had cough. Whew! What a nightmare! And not to mention that I still have a shift an hour later so I have no time to catch some zzzz's.

While I'm typing this entry, I'm still sneezing. It's quite a hassle but then it feels good to sneeze too. I will have to pop some med later to alleviate the sniffles and for me to get some rest too.

I got to go and get me some more tissue :D

xoxo

Biscuits, anyone?

The hubby really bugged me yesterday to bake biscuits and with matching white gravy to boot. Anyways, he said it's going to be his dinner and he volunteered to buy flour and milk since I was running low on my baking supplies. So of course, I agreed.

I have been copying recipes from Nicole's blog and all of the recipes I've tried are delicious and easy to follow. I guess I can search online for other recipes but I'd like to follow those that have been tried and tested :)

I've never baked biscuits before and don't even know how they taste like LOL I'm used to the thin biscuits that I see for sale not this one which is kind of thick and flaky and tastes great with white gravy.

Buttermilk is one of the ingredients and I don't know where to buy this so I looked for a substitute and it seemed pretty easy. 1 cup of buttermilk is equivalent to 1 cup milk and 1tbsp vinegar. Wow, that was easy so I guess I can do recipes now that call for buttermilk :)

My first batch of biscuits was thin and small because I don't have a flat counter to work on to flatten and knead the dough. But even so, the smell emanating from the oven was oh so good. I didn't think it would smell that good knowing that there's not much butter and no sugar in the recipe but I guess the buttermilk did wonders :)



The second batch looked fine and at this point, even if it does not look like the biscuits I saw online, it still tasted good and proof is the hubby eating one and more when I'm not looking LOL

I then prepared the white gravy using the recipe I found online and added sausage because that's the way the hubby liked it. I was not really sold on the idea but after tasting it, it worked great with the biscuits. They complemented each other very well and true enough, it was already dinner for the hubby. I think he ate 12 in all and ate 6 more for breakfast this morning :)

Next time I bake these, I'll make sure to make a thicker dough. I'm thinking of what to try next maybe another type of quickbread :)

xoxo

Pinchy and the Muffins

I used to think that baking is difficult and that I would rather buy and eat bread, cakes, cookies, etc. rather than bake them myself. It looked a laborious thing to do and you have to be exact in all measurements.
But then, I tried my hand at baking just October of last year. I started with brownies, cookies and then I summoned all courage to tackle on baking a chocolate cake. It turned out pretty well :) After that, I gave away oatmeal choco chips and macaroons to the guests who partied with us during Pinchy's 1st bday. Ever since, I would bake on a whim. I'd wake up early to bake banana bread and then I also made churros con chocolate :D Now that I think about it, I have baked a lot during these past months.
Now that Pinchy is almost 1yr and a half, he likes to munch on my bakies. He eats cookies and muffins. Just last May 24, I baked oreo muffins and he liked it a lot! I even baked miniature ones for him LOL

Today, my hubby has been bugging me to bake biscuits and he said he'd put gravy. I'm going to check my baking supplies and we'll see if I can bake those today :) But I'm thinking of baking brownies and then eating them ala mode. Yummy!
xoxo

A long, tiring day

I was so busy the whole day. I worked last night from 9pm til 3am this morning then I just caught some zzzz's for almost 4hrs and then Pinchy woke up then I had to feed him, bathe him, cook food for breakfast, then wash the dishes, then took a bath and then got ready for work again at 11am. Wow just reading my post made me tired LOL :)

Well, it didn't stop there. Once I went on available mode, the calls just came pouring in and I answered call after call after call. It was indeed a tiring day as I didn't only answer calls but I also handled chats and email. I even found it difficult to just go on restroom break or check on my son. I think these endless calls went on for about 5hrs and then there was none. Like I was just sitting there and 10mins passed without a single call. It was my first time to work on that shift after being trained for another account so it was a like a baptism of sorts. And then a colleague told me that that's the routine of calls during weekends. And I was like, "Oh ok." I suddenly found quiet time again and it was pretty much like that when my shift ended 2hrs later. Come to think of it, I didn't notice how time went by so quickly when I was busy and then it was time to log out.

I logged out at 6pm and went down the kitchen to see hubby puttering about and busy preparing dinner. Pinchy of course is busy as well playing with his toys. As I sat down the sofa, I just realized how tired I was. My hands felt numb and my back ached with all the sitting but I felt complete. I just thought I haven't felt that in a long time so maybe it just means that I'm doing my job and that I've helped the other team in a way :)

Right now I am soo sleepy and will finally doze off after I finish this post. Our bed is so inviting and I will graciously give in to the temptation :D

I'll be back tomorrow as I have a few things to share and with pictures to boot.

Good night everyone!

xoxo