pandesal attempt number 4

it's good enough to eat right now. i just wonder if it will rock hard by tomorrow morning. we'll see.

i have another formula that i'm eager to try out tomorrow. =)

wicked

on thursday night we went to see wicked at the orpheum theater in sf.

we wanted to have dinner prior to the show but i couldn't go because i didn't want to leave michelle for too long knowing she's not feeling 100%. claire couldn't go for dinner either so the plan was scrapped and we all just went to the show. (tipid pa!)

we got the cheapest seats but still managed to have a good view of the stage. orpheum is tiny so it doesn't really matter where you sit. i wouldn't have gone to see it if we couldn't get cheap seats anyway. (tipid again)

but on to the musical. 'twas great! i loved the actress/singer who played the role of elphaba. my goodness! what a voice!!!! personally, i think the relationship between glinda, elphaba, and fiyero's relationships could have been stronger...maybe it was in the novel from which the musical is based. i guess now i have to read it to find out. =) (yes, i have the book. bigay ng friend ko na si gracious. thanks, g!)

go see the musical. i truly enjoyed every minute of it!

stuck at home on a gorgeous day!!!! =(

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
nope. my dad found my name in a book and he liked it.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
kahapon. mega-tantrum si michelle kahapon with mega-iyak. nahawa ako.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
abosolutely not!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAL?
ginisang munggo, shanghai, alimasag

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
isa, at wala akong balak sundan! (not after this week! hahaha)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
oo mabait naman ako madalas e.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
oo

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
oo. (jean kasi dito pag namamaga ang tonsils minsan tinatanggal. i don't know how or why they do it. di ko gets.)

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
i highly doubt it. but i surprise myself sometimes

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
kashi go lean

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
hindi

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
rocky road, bi-rite, and ghirardhelli

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
ngayon, i go, 'buti pa sya payat' or 'buti di ako ganon kataba' haha

15. RED OR PINK?
red

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
huminga lang ako, tumataba na ako

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST??
husband ko syempre

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
hindi. hahaha kasi alam kong hindi ko naman mababasa lahat

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
my husband's pajamas na gray (taba ko kasi kaya kanya yung suot ko. mas maluwag) and i am barefoot

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
the sound of toot and puddle on noggin

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
walang kwentang tanong, wag na sagutin

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
amoy ni michelle

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
asawa ko

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO tagged THIS TO YOU?
of course. best friend ko sya e.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
basketball

27. HAIR COLOR?
black/brown/gray

28. EYE COLOR?
brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
no

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
di ba katulad to nung favorite lunch?

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
happy endings. i still don't get the point of paying $10 so people can get the $#!+ scared out of them

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
UP

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
brown na tank top. sexy kasi ako haha

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
hugs

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
ice cream and tiramisu

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
wala naman ako ita-tag e. bored lang ako.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND??
paul. i don't think he'll even read this.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
the shack

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
wala akong mouse pad

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
kung fu panda (i wasn't impressed)

42.FAVORITE SOUND(S)?
chris tomlin and hillsong

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
let it B

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
marami. kung san san ako nagpupupunta

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
like stupid human tricks? no.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
sa pilipinas

get back up

i hit a bump. need to refocus. ohhhhmmmmm

Michael Jackson - Thriller

you will forever be remembered for your contribution to music and to history. may the lord bless your soul.

fantastically frugal tip: my $20 massage

no tax, no tip, no sales pitch. these factors constitute to the best massage, dollar for dollar!


i went to get a massage at the national holistic institute in sf today where the students practice their skills on customers like myself. they have a promo on wednesdays and thursdays where massages are only $20 (they are normally $35 for a 50 minute massage).


there are several downsides to this...there is no pre-massage pampering (no footbath or whatever else you're used to at the spa). you fill out the form, wait for your name to be called and off you go. you can't choose between a male or female therapist. they go by which student is available at your appointment time. you can't choose between swedish or shiatsu massage either. this depends on what your student masseuse needs to practice.


so i went to my appointment hoping i get a female therapist for a swedish massage. lo and behold, i got a male therapist for a shiatsu. the good thing about it is didn't have to take off my clothes (no oil involved so no need to strip!). i was thinking in my head that it would be a so-so massage. but 3/4 of the way thru, i fell asleep. i guess that's a sign that he did a pretty good job. i would still prefer swedish over shiatsu, but for $20, i'm not complaining!!!




now i know where to go for a massage that wont break the bank. check out massage therapy schools in your area for a fantastically frugal way to relax. =D

neda

i could not watch the full raw video of her death, neither can i post it on my blog. i clicked the video once and i lasted about 5 seconds and had to close it. it was too powerful...the kind of video that makes you close your eyes and pray really hard. i'm sure many of you have seen or heard of her in the news, on facebook, on twitter.

keep praying for iran and the future of its people. i pray for the comfort and the love of god to envelop neda's family and wash away their sorrow.

under the weather

i'm lying in bed with my daugher as i type this. me blogging and michelle watching wow wow wubbzy. she has been sick since sunday...taas baba ang lagnat. haaaay. all of her friends are not feeling well either. ang bilis magkahawahawa ng mga bata.

livestrong

livestrong ate ana! your courage and positive outlook is an inspiration to me! love you!

bread overload

rye, challah, loaf bread, multigrain (batard), wheat (boule)

white pan bread (loaf)


braided egg bread (challah)

rye

baguette (i made 60 of these in 1 week. no kidding!)

soooooooooo tired

i have not been this tired in a looooooooooooooong time.

i need sleep, foot spa, and a good long massage.

sibling revelry

i mentioned several blogs ago that my relatives from guam are in town for vaca. last night, my uncle from seattle flew over and so my dad and his siblings had a reunion of sorts, albeit for less than 24 hours. sayang lang kasi the bunso, tito mon, is in guam. at least they have a reason to all meet up again and catch up. they're not getting any younger. =)

ang pogi ng mga sugatan, no?

.

.

tong-its session with matching hennessy

.

.

the siblings
.

.

the siblings + ramon jr.

(a basketball team, and their muse)
.
.

.

the siblings + their better halves

(wala si tita myrna, nasa seattle)

.
.

.

sibling revelry

.

.

i hope this happens more often, because i haven't seen them this happy in a long time.

This Is Our God

Freely You gave it all for us
Surrendered your life upon that cross
Great is the love, poured out for all
This is our God

this is not how i wanted to spend this day

i am not in the gym today but i am sooooo itching to go kasi hindi ako nakapunta kahapon! hindi ako makaalis ng bahay kasi may 'job' prospect akong hinihintay and i don't want to miss the call and play phone tag with the person calling me. so i'm stuck here at home drinking green tea, converting my avi videos to wmv (para productive ng konti). i don't know why but my movie maker does not see my raw videos as video files but only audio. so the whole reason i got the new vado hd pocket camera defeats the purpose kasi i'm wasting my time converting the files to a readable format. with my old video camera, my problem was uploading the videos to my hard drive kasi it uploads in real time....naku, who said technology saves us time? most of the time, it causes stress! some users have no issues with their camera and movie maker....why do i have to get stuck with this problem???? kainis

it's not a codec issue because the right codecs are in the computer (at least that's my understanding). i can't find a fix that will end this video nightmare!

ayan, nafrustrate nanaman ako!

tip-top by thirty

that's my new goal - to be in tip-top shape by the time i hit the big 3-0! (which is about 11 1/2 months away).

of course i've said this before, in different ways, at different times, with different moods. but this time it's different (naks). i'm doing it for life, for health, for family, for friends, for prada!!!! bwahahahaha!!!

4th of july plans brewing

hubby will be here for the 4th of july long weekend. i told him we should go to yosemite but as i researched where to stay, i said to myself, 'yosemite is too big to explore in just 24 hours. this park is so huge, we will need 2 days if we want to make the most of it.' in addition, the hotel rates are high anywhere near the park and this girl aint going camping!

but trust this her to have a plan b!

yosemite

or the avenue of the giants?

i know yosemite is gorgeous, but with the size of the park/time/budget ratio just wont cut it.

plan b now has an edge!

a case of the stupid

it is the attitude of people like this that makes everything so expensive in america. oh how it makes my blood boil!

job hunting...

not!

i started to type careerbuilder.com when i stopped, bakit ba hindi ako talaga maghanap ng trabaho???

kasi i know that deep down, ang gusto kong gawin is to start my own business. deep down i know that God is laying out his plans for me. if it is God's will for me to go back to merrill, he will do that without much effort on my part -- obedience lang ang kailangan kong gawin. if it is baking, then next week's (very expensive, nilagnat ako sa mahal) baking workshop will wake me up from my baking slumber and get the gears going again for that bakeshop.



God is in control. =)

reminder to self: must borrow 'bakeshop books' from the library.

my challenge is...

lose 25 lbs and win this:

prada tessuto + saffiano bowler

my husband's very words were: 'we only live once, we should get what we want.'

i am sooooooo gonna lose weight now! hahahahahaha!!!!

my favorite superfood!

whenever summer comes around, i look forward to the delicious abundance of one of my absolute favorite fruits in the world...blueberries!!!



i put them in yogurt, cereal, i eat them while watching tv, in the car. haaay! sarap! hindi lang masarap, they are super nutritious, too.

Blueberries continue to be one of the best choices to include in a healthy diet. Considered a "super fruit," and one of the best antioxidant fruits, blueberries are full of disease fighting and anti-aging qualities.

Among all the popular fresh fruits and vegetables, blueberries are number one in total antioxidant power. Besides antioxidants, blueberries contain condensed tannins that help prevent urinary tract infections.

One cup of blueberries contains 16% DV of fiber.
Blueberries are a source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and folate.
Blueberries are very low in fat and sodium, and high in dietary fiber and potassium – and only 40 calories per ½ cup serving.

nutrition guidelines for cancer prevention

Source: American Cancer Society

Eat a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant sources.

Choose foods and beverages in amounts that help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Pay attention to standard serving sizes, and read food labels to become more aware of the number of actual servings you eat.
Eat smaller portions of high-calorie foods. Be aware that "low-fat" or "nonfat" does not mean "low-calorie" and that low-fat cakes, low-fat cookies, and other low-fat foods are often high in calories.
Switch to vegetables, fruits, and other low-calorie foods and beverages to replace calorie-dense foods and beverages such as French fries, cheeseburgers, pizza, ice cream (please say it ain't so!!!), doughnuts and other sweets, and regular sodas.
When you eat away from home, choose food low in calories, fat, and sugar, and avoid large portion sizes.
Eat 5 or more servings of vegetables and fruits each day.

Include vegetables and fruits at every meal and for snacks.
Eat a variety of vegetables and fruits each day.
Limit French fries, snack chips, and other fried vegetable products.
Choose 100% juice if you drink vegetable or fruit juices.
Choose whole grains over processed (refined) grains and sugars.

Choose whole grain rice, bread, pasta, and cereals.
Limit intake of refined carbohydrates (starches), such as pastries, sweetened cereals, and other high-sugar foods.
Limit intake of processed meats and red meats.

Choose fish, poultry, or beans instead of beef, pork, and lamb.
When you eat meat, choose lean cuts and eat smaller portions.
Prepare meat by baking, broiling, or poaching, rather than by frying or charbroiling.
If you drink alcoholic beverages, limit your intake.

People who drink alcohol should limit their intake to no more than 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink a day for women. The recommended limit is lower for women because of their smaller body size and slower breakdown of alcohol. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.

Alcohol is a known cause of cancers of the:

mouth
pharynx (throat)
larynx (voice box)
esophagus
liver
breast
Alcohol may also increase the risk of colon and rectum cancer.

Source: American Cancer Society

life is short...

it's difficult to write about the many things going on in my head. there are so many things i want to say, too many problems that seem to be pressing me, my family, and my friends. this week has been a barrage of bad reports, one after another; but i refuse to be bogged down by these tests and trials because i know that the Lord is on our side and he will carry us through whatever problem it is that we are facing.

but the greatest thing about being tested, is that in due time, the Lord will turn it into a testimony. today, more than ever before, it made me think about how short life is and how much we should value what little time we are given here on earth. it's made me re-think about the quality of time i spend with my daughter and my family. how good of a mom/wife/daughter/sister have i been? how good of a relative/friend am i? am i living the best life i can?

i should change my lifestyle and not just because of my whole thing about how fat i've become but also because of our family history of obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer and heart disease. more than what the scale is telling me, i have to change my lifestyle so i can be mother to michelle for a very very long time.

i ABSOLUTELY NEED TO PRAY MORE AND MEDITATE ON GOD'S WORD MORE. man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that preceeds out of the mouth of God. i cannot put any more emphasis on this and i can't say it enough. oh Lord! give me the grace to do everything you want with my life!

forgive me if it seems like i'm not making much sense. if you read this, evaluate your life and live it in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. that would be living the best life and making the short time here on earth worth living. keep in mind that how we live life on earth determines how we get to spend eternity.

blog drought

i've been super busy lately taking my relatives around town that i haven't had a chance to blog. here are some of the pics. arlene has more pictures.

michelle is very happy to have another kuya around. i'm sure she's going to miss her kuya jude when he goes back to guam after their vacation. pero i'll reassure her na babalik din ang kuya jude nya and next time, they will live here for good na. (ha! arlene does not read this blog!)

i'm waiting for my blogging friends to update their blogs too but most of them seem to be as busy as i am.


mga pinsan ko...i've created that family website...sana maglagay kayo ng information dyan!