First for 2013

Hello there! Wow!!! Yes! It's been quite a looooong while since the last time I stride my fingers on my lappy just to post for a blog entry.

The last one was about the monsoon way back August of last year. Bbbbooooo me!!

Yeah yeah. Let's just say I made a long hiatus and decided to throw myself to a deep slumber. (I wish)
Basically, it's busy-ness + tamaditis. har har har

Allow me to share (in an outline) what kept me out of the blog zone.
1. Sept 2012 - A's Birthday month
2. Oct 2012 - Trick or Treats
3. Nov 2012 - same same
4. Dec 2012 -

• Charity works
• Christmas shopping
• Parties left and right
• Christmas month and I baked and baked cupcakes and bread as gifts for friends and relatives.
• Reunion with College Barkadas
• Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary (aaayiiii)
• My 30ish Birthday :P

5. Jan 2013 - Happy New Year!!!
So far, did the ff:

• Family Reunion (A's side)
• Catching up with College Barkadas (the balikbayans)
• Out of town vacation in Baguio with A's family

There! That's a quick summary of past events. hehehe.
I have tons of accumulated pictures that I still haven't arranged and edited for posting. Most of it are in FB and instagram.
I hope this blog will be updated more often than last year. ^__^
 

Pinoys, Let us unite again for Monsoon Relief

Today is the 2nd day that I stayed at home due to the bad weather. As I watch TV or hear the radio, news about flood and accidents because of this non stop down pour are very very alarming.

The sky is dark and heavy rains, sheets of rain continuous to pour since yesterday. *Sigh*
Oh Lord, please have mercy on us and let the rain stop and the waters to subside fast.

I want to salute our heroes today. The volunteers and rescue teams who brave the rain and raging currents.

 

 

And only us Pinoys can smile and take light this type of experiences.

I also have my own share of photos of flood within our area:

Left Pic: No flood yet on the main street;  Right Pic: After 30mins of non-stop rain.

Inside our place.

Let us all unite and share what we can. Food, clothes, donations and even SERVICE will surely be appreciated. Ofcourse, PRAYERS is much needed too.

There a lots of NGOs and even mission groups who accepts volunteer help and donations.
For Red Cross, visit and read info here.

Religious Organizations like Victory is also doing relief efforts here.

And please please....those who are saying that this rain is God's punishment and insinuate RH Bill, I strongly suggest, STOP!!!! This is not the time for this. This time calls for UNITY in sharing, giving and helping. Plain as that.
And I just hope with the upcoming election by next year, government officials or candidates will not take this as an advance campaign for themselves.

A Baker is Born

I have a sweet tooth. I love chocolates, ice cream, cakes and anything that is sweet. My fascination and love for sweets made me curious on how they were made. And so one day, I just had this strong urge to try and bake. But how? We don't even have a microwave oven. I remember, every time we visit the grocery and pass on the baking section, I always stop and look at the baking products on the shelves. The devils cake, the yellow cake, brownies, muffin, etc.

And so march this year, when the LPG gas went on crazy high on early part of the year, we noticed that our consumption is getting faster. A's uncle said that our gas stove's burner consumes more than the regular one because it has double rings. To save on gas, we must purchase single ring with lesser holes.

This type of burner consumes more LPG. Double Rings.

Single ring with fewer holes in the middle.
Unlike the picture above, this one can help you consume LPG longer.

Ok...because we are trying to save on LPG, we went out to the nearest mall and look for a new gas stove. Guess what, we ended up buying and bringing home a gas range with oven. har har har!!! Now that's what we call cost cutting! :P
Well, A and I have our own hidden agenda in buying the gas range. We both want to BAKE!!!!
I want to bake cakes and pastries and A wants to bake dishes of fish, chicken, pork and do roasts too!

So now I have the main machine to bake, I started buying baking utensils, cupcake pans, mixing bowls, measuring cups, weighing scale and the newest addition is the mixer!!! Yey!!!

My Mixer

Ultra Moist Chocolate with Chocolate Whipped Ganache

Let's eat?

Chocolate cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

My two recent bake products were both a hit to our tastebuds. And I was so proud of myself. (too proud actually! hahaha)

Thanks a lot to online bloggers for sharing there recipes. I really learned a lot. If you will notice too, I added another blog list on my sidebar on my favorite sites for baking. :P

To get a copy of the Ultra Moist Chocolate Cake, you may get it HERE.
Again, thanks to Aikko of Bake Happy.

I must admit, a BAKER is finally born in ME...hihihi.
Expect more baking adventures.... x-o-x-o

Photo A Day Challenge: Summary for May

I did post a couple of pictures in this blog for the month of May photo a day challenge. And I did try my best to post one picture per day. Unfortunately, I was not able to post 31 photos. But I was able to post a bunch! I think I missed 5 days or so...Pwede na di ba? :P

Too bad when I tried printstagram, they are not offering freebies anymore. All come with prices. And so I tried Instagrid but I can't filter for month May and so I have to manually pick each photo for May Photo-a-Day Challenge by FatMumSlim.

Here's a summary of the photos for the month of May. Enjoy!

Oooopss! I missed 10 days pala! ^__^

Golden B(o)(o)bie!!!

As my ticker says,

So Yes, I earned my GOLDEN B(o)(o)BIE Award! Yey!

I am ofcourse happy and very much contented that for more than 12 months and still counting, I am able to nurse and feed my baby and give him the right nutrition, bonding moment, patience, perseverance and endurance a working mom can give.

Though I am no longer exclusively breastfeeding Jared, still I feel so much blessed.

I really really thank God for this gift a mom can offer to her baby.
I promise myself that never will I stop nursing Jared until the last drop or Jared decides to wean on his own.

Afterall, it's Natures gift...FREE MILK! :-)