2011 that was...

and so 2011 had been quite a year. my patience was tested, i questioned almost everything, got in and out of the hospital a dozen times, cried buckets of tears for painful experiences and lost few things along the way.

but as the year went to an end, somehow it's as if the dark cloud was finally over. c",)

...i may have lost but i gained MORE.

...i learned how to SPEAK UP. and to FIGHT for what i believe is right.

...had better HEALTH (thanks to my nutritionist. i now have a controlled blood sugar.^_^).

...i was able to travel with my family to cebu and bohol. ticked few more items on my bucket list for places to go to (la iya, caramoan, camsur).

...went on various food trips with my mom ^_^

...i learned how to SWIM (though i still can't tread =p)

...i somehow CONQUERED my fear of cats (not unless i'm eating and they're around me. yikes! =p)

...ME time: finally gathered the courage to curl my hair. c",)

...finished my target for coop and got a promotion =)

so life isn't that bad after all, right? c",)

come 2012, i pray for good health for my whole family, finish my masters degree, be free, kiligin and be truly HAPPY.

happy new year everyone! be safe this new year's eve. i wish you all of your heart's desire for the coming year. cheers! ^_^

healthy eating ^_^

i know, i know. it's still a fastfood burger. but aside from the flame-grilled (in fact, this is a healthier way to cook!) beef patty and mayo, wouldn't the lettuce and tomato plus the OATMEAL bun suffice to call it a HEALTY food?! =p

and so my mom and i decided to stop over at Brothers Burger located at Alimall and give in to our cravings. we don't have Brothers Burger back home. =p

brothers burger, we MISS you!!!! ^_^

my HEALTHY food choice =p

i'm really, really, reallllllyyyyy curious on where to buy this one. can't find it at SM supermarket. =c

my pretty, loving mom =)

with a happy tummy =p

the burger's soooo good. that we had to buy again for take out (mommy and my brother's dinner). =p just writing about it makes me want to go back there ASAP!

rating: nonetheless, 5 out of 5! happy food indeed! ^_^

missing bubba...

it was years since we last went to Bubba Gump. so one night after going to Glorietta to hear a healing mass, my mom and i decided to eat our super late dinner at Bubba Gump.

still the same old place i've grown to love. full of stuffs from one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump. since we're in a hurry to catch the last bus heading home, we just had "i'm stuffed! shrimp" and "alabama mud pie".

i wasn't able to take a picture of the "i'm stuffed!" shrimp coz i was sooo hungry. =p so I grabbed this from Bubba Gump Philippines website.

Alabama Mud Pie - I told you, I was hungry. Picture of slightly eaten mud pie. =p

i'm not a fan of the shrimp. i don't like the idea of a shrimp stuffed with crab. they just don't compliment each other. especially since the dish was dripping with i don't know...salt water?

the alabama mud pie was (as always) their saving grace for me. ^_^ layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with my favorite chocolate, snickers... truly a haven for sweet lovers out there. i guarantee you, no "umay" factor eating this one. c",)

so, overall rating: due to the shrimp, i'll just give it 3 out of 5. for now at least. =p

my subconscious mind's nagging me

it is and in a form of dreams. they say that every detail of your dream means something. you have to consider everything - the color, number, size and so on. dreams that were repeated twice or thrice must also be taken into great consideration.

i had also read somewhere that dreams reflect our everyday lives. it shows us what has been consciously or unconsciously occupying our minds. thus, to dream several times (in a symbolic way) of something that i've been trying to forget can get so frustrating. anyway, it's just all in the mind right? why can't we just pick it out and bury it somewhere else where it will never be found nor felt? i just want this to stop.

The Original Savory Restaurant

i've mentioned this before and i am saying it again, i LOVE food blogs. however, reading one has pros and cons.

PRO: i get ideas on where to eat =)

CON: gets me hungry whenever i read one. who doesn't? lol. =p

it's one of my first love. eating out with my friends or my family. gathering to enjoy each other's company and the good food. trying out something new. and then asking my mom to recreate it for me. =p she's good at doing that. i wish i'm not that lazy to cook though. haha!

the pics below were taken using my reliable blackberry phone. c",) we just came from our weekly grocery at the mall and decided to eat dinner at The Original Savory Restaurant. Savory's one of my mom's fave. she used to relive the old days saying that its first branch was located at Escolta. she loooves their chicken, though i find it too salty. =p

for that night's dinner we ordered lechon macau, salt and pepper squid and yang chow fried rice. 

lechon macau

salt and pepper squid

yang chow fried rice

i'm trying not to eat pork nowadays so i've let my mom and my brother dig into the lechon macau. the salt and pepper squid was good as always. one of my faves here. c",) though i still think that the one from David's Tea House tasted better. =p the rice was also good though i prefer the one from Chowking. less expensive and has more flavor into it. c",) my rating out of 5 as the best, i'd give it a 4. =)

my brother and my mom =)

i swim to conquer my fear

apart from my phobia on cats, i am also afraid of swimming. i guess it started with my mom telling me as a kid to don't go near the pool or i might drown. her intention was good and that is to keep me safe. but i guess my subconscious mind took it as water is something that is not safe. =c 

anyway, since my 26th bday travel to cebu and bohol, i vowed to learn how to swim no matter what. this is so that i can enjoy my travel especially if it involves a body of water. when i had a chance, i took swimming lessons at Lozada. my coach was indeed extremely patient with my fear. since then, i now swim as my form of relaxation and exercise. i still can't tread the water (i still have some fear) but it's a good start. c",)

this pic was taken when my mom and i ate at Slice N' Dice before i went to swim. =) eat first then burn. lol. this is where i learned that kangkong with garlic bits is a yummy meal.

pork steak and kangkong with garlic. yum!

OOTD: something gray and gold

another OOTD this time wearing what i call as my magkaribal dress. got it from Tomato on such a good price. c",)

dress: Tomato, watch: Fossil, bracelet: Welmanson, wedge: Payless 

it's already November but it feels like summer. honestly, i've been itching to chop my hair off. it's soooo hot! but patience, patience, patience. i've waited this long to have it curled. though i'm still having second thoughts about it. kinda scary to do something to my hair for the first time. ='c watdya think?! =p

flip a coin

i've read this somewhere:

"when you have to make a hard decision, flip a coin. why? because when that coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you're hoping for."

funny, right? and wouldn't life be so much easier if we'll just flip a coin and we'll already know what we want to be and what we have to do?

i call it the twenty something syndrome. and i've seen it a couple of times. lost souls. tired. hurting. people who don't know what they want. searching for that greater purpose. and sometimes it is sad that we settle for mediocrity. because that's what's safe. something familiar. not ground breaking.

i say, take a calculated risk. knowing is so much better than a life lived on pure what ifs. and if still lost, take a time out. be alone. reflect. pray. have faith that God is on top of it. if everything else is chaotic, it is He who never fails.

be vigilant

with just 4 hours of sleep, i woke up and prepared to go and hear this week's Good News with my mom and brother.

it's mommy's special day so right after mass, we just went to do our weekly grocery then headed to Joey Pepperoni for lunch. c",)

i bought this cute red angry bird chocolate cupcake from bonggak pastries to make her birthday extra special. the design was made of fondant, the cupcake's moist and overall, it really tastes good. job well done to bonggak peeps. =D

angry bird chocolate cupcake ^_^

the birthday celebrant, my Mom with the angry bird cupcake. haha! =p

then off to our lunch. my mom loves Joey Pepperoni because of their thin crust pizza. Joey Pepperoni's our usual date place. =p

gelato's new at their menu list so we decided to give it a try. the chocolate gelato of course tasted like chocolate except for the part where you can eat a bit of whole ice. kinda weird.=p but the pistachio's the one for the win! it tasted better than that of Yellow Cab's. mind you, it really tasted like pistachio. finally found the perfect pistachio ice cream. c",) 

chocolate gelato

pistachio gelato ^_^

sorry for the crappy pic. my brother already mixed the spaghetti bolognese before i was able to take a decent pic of it. =p

my staple order - Carbonara. creamy. superb. =p

i REALLY like the fries. crunchy on the outside. mushy on the inside. that's it. i don't like the chicken fingers. there's something about the oil where it was cooked upon. haha!

the WORKS. mommy's fave =D

my brother and my mom

with my mom =) i love you to million bits mommy! <3

it was supposed to be a happy lunch until an unfortunate event happened to one of the dining customers seated just beside us. i've already seen that kind of modus operandi while watching the evening news a few weeks back. they come inside the establishment as a group then they will hurriedly go out taking your valuables with them. =c 

i saw that at Mang Inasal's CTV shot. unluckily, Joey Pepperoni doesn't have a CTV camera. what i remembered of the incident was that the man left around 80 pesos worth of Php20 bills on the floor. i even thought that he's asking us if we left it. and found it weird that he just hurriedly went off without taking his money with him.

then right at the middle of our lunch, the girl beside me went hysterical upon losing her date's pouch. apparently, the Japanese or Chinese guy (her date) just left his pouch at the chair beside him. in it was their car keys, cellphone and medicines.

they've reported the incident to the mall's security but still. i pity them for losing their things. and i also feel sad for the foreigner that he had to experience this during his visit here at Philippines. totally not good for the image of our country right?

why do people have to do such kind of things? i know the answer. poverty. but i think even poverty's not enough reason to do such an unkind act to anyone.

it's a dog eats dog kind of environment outside the comfort of our homes. let's be vigilant. always.

OOTD: olive green IT is

today is a not so good day for me. and i am writing to end it with a happy note.

this is an OOTD post. i love this dress because it brings back so many happy memories. c",) when you're down, you don't just stay there. do something to stir things up. smile. watch a feel good movie. eat an ice cream. <3 just don't stay at rock bottom. we owe it to ourselves to be happy. life's too short to spend it on disappointments and tears. <3

olive green dress: Jellybean white bag: People are People

bought this bag for formal occasions. it's a clutch / shoulder bag. ^_^ 

i made this earrings using green and golden brown crystals. ^_^

you can call this bracelet an antique. i think it's with me for 9 years now. thanks to totz. =p

pumps: Charles & Keith

a night of good food and pure fun ^_^

thanks to AJ's birthday treat at Riverview. c",) photos are not mine (thanks to Alain and Evie =p). just want to share with you my new found lunchmates and friends. people who'd get mad at me if i'll eat or drink something sweet. and it's okay. because i know that they just care. and i really appreciate it. <3

yummy food! =p

birthday celebrant, AJ, and his fondness of the big frog he saw around the area

notice that i'm always on top of the bench for all the pics? only one reason. CATS. lots of them roaming around the area. ='c

lana. ronjo and melch's little miss U. such a pretty baby c",)

who's the sexiest? =p i know. the one in pink. =p

this night was the first time i tried underwater shots. we just spent the night posing for the underwater shots instead of swimming laps. =D arvic, please upload the pics soon. we're waiting...c",)