Archive for December, 2009

The New Me in 2010

No, I am not getting the Lady Gaga look nor  I am dyeing my hair blue. I am PLANNING to change myself within. “Planning” because I am not even sure if this will really push through or not and “within” because I know that I can no longer change my physical appearance. LOL

In 2009, there was one person who inspired me to see the brighter side of things, to think positive in everything, and to believe that I deserve whatever it is that I want. I must admit that it was hard – super hard for a bitter person like me to be positive. I am such a pessimist and I complain even before I do something. But everything changed the moment I followed her advice. Surprising things happened to me because I believed that it will happen.

2009 was a very challenging year for most of us and I can say that this was probably one of the worst years ever but despite everything that happened I am still here, ready to embrace the blessings including the challenges 2010 has to offer.

So bring it on 2010, I am ready for you!

My Starbucks Planner 2010

Today my uncle Yves handed me his promised Starbucks Planner 2010 and I totally flipped with happiness. I am not a Starbucks person ever, simply because I think their beverages are outrageously priced. I am poor as a rat, you know =)

Should I psyche myself to really buy coffee from Starbucks because of this planner, boy, the nearest Starbucks outlet I have from home is in MOA. Lugi naman ako di ba?

Thanks to my loving Tito (who spoils us, ehem)!

The Limited Edition Starbucks Coffee Philippines 2010 Planner is available in 3 different designs: the Bean, the Coffee Grinder and The Espresso Shot.

To get this 1 planner, one has to complete 17 stickers by buying 9 Starbucks Holiday Featured beverages and 8 regular Starbucks beverages. By getting 1 planner, you are in a way helping beneficiaries of SparkHope, Starbucks program for early childhood care and development in partnership with Unicef.

A Belle de Jour 2010 Planner Contest

This is a very, very, very late entry.

Kikay Corner’s Win a Belle de Jour 2010 Power Planner contest ends in 4 hours but here I am, still making an entry about the contest. sigh.

You see, I got my first Belle de Jour last year, I also won it from an online contest. I have this giddy feeling that I will win again this time.

Belle de Jour + Kikay Corner = ♥

Want to join? You still have 4 hours until the December 22, 2009 11:59PM deadline!

Krispy Kreme’s New Friendster Doughnuts

Krispy Kreme together with Friendster came up with newest Friendster doughnuts.

This season, let Krispy Kreme and Friendster remind you of the wonderful gift of friendship.

With the newest FriendsterTM doughnuts from your well-loved doughnut brand Krispy Kreme, get to share a smile to your friends as you enjoy this perfect partner to Krispy Kreme’s Signature Coffee. Indulge as you choose from the raspberry or lemon-filled doughnut – topped off with a candy FriendsterTM smile!

So bring your friends (or win new ones!) at the Krispy Kreme nearest you, as you share this delicious reason to stay in touch this season!

Anyone here wants to try it with me?

I ♥ Revel Bars

Revel Bars Entrepremom

I was so upset that I didn’t get to attend the Blogs4Review Christmas party so I decided to bake one comfort food  - Revel Bars.

The usual Revel Bars has three layers: butter mixture – chocolate mixture – butter mixture but mine only has two layers because I needed to come up with 36 pieces LOL!

I used the finest ingredients (Van Houten for the chocolate chips!) and Queensland butter so my recipients will not complain :) These are for Yona’s Kumon teachers and her pediatrician, Dr. Centellita Javinez.

Revel Bars Entrepremom

I find baking so therapeutic though I must admit that the mess I make just adds to my stress :)

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf FREE MOCHA!

The best things in life are indeed FREE!

FREE MOCHA ICE BLENDED from THE COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF!!!

CBTL Rockwell Business Center Branch is an OPEN HOUSE on Friday, December 18, from 3pm – 5pm ONLY.

Everybody’s welcome to come! Bring all your friends and enjoy your Mocha Ice Blended!

Tomato-based Calamari with Cheese

This is hubby’s recipe but I enjoyed it a lot so I am sharing it with you.

As much as possible I veer away from seafood because I vomit each time I eat it. Good thing I can still eat squid and fish :)

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Hubby’s Tomato-based Calamari with Cheese recipe is just a very simple one yet made tasty with Kraft Eden Cheese.

Ingredients:

Squid, peeled, cut into strips and head removed (can’t find the exact term!)
Native Tomatoes, cubed
Onions
Garlic
Cheese
Finely minced dried garlic

1. Sautee onions first and add garlic. Mix until its color turn golden brown.
2. Add the cubed native tomatoes.
3. Add the squid.
4. Add salt and paper pepper. (sheer stupidity!)
5. Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes. Don’t overcook the squid or else it will harden.
6. Add grated cheese and finely minced dried garlic on top.

Put in the oven to melt the cheese if desired.

You will love this recipe if you are a tomato lover like me!

Kid-Friendly Sugar Cookies

It was my first time to make Sugar Cookies since I am more of a cupcake person. I told Yona that she will get a chance to roll the dough and pipe the icing so she was overly excited to start it!

PICT0009Sugar Cookies Recipe:

(makes 3 dozens)

3/4 cups butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour

1. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy.
2. Beat in egg, lemon, vanilla extracts, and salt.
3. In low speed, beat in flour in two additions until blended.
4. Divide dough into two, shape into a disk and wrap in a plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll or about two hours.
———
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees celcius.
2. Roll 1 piece of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Flatten in about 1/4″.
3. Cut-out desired shapes with cookie cutters and re-roll scraps.
4. Place the cut out dough 1 1/2″ apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cook on wire racks before decorating.
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We chose to decorate our cookies with Royal Icing since its easy to make and do not require much ingredients. We ran out of pastry bags hence the funny-looking icing – daughter enjoyed doing it nonetheless :)

Royal Icing Recipe

1 large egg white
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

Beat them all together until fluffy. Divide into portions and add desired color.

Baking is surely a fun way to bond with your kids! Our sugar cookies may look funny but its not hard and yes it’s yummy! Yona was so proud because she did the piping all by herself :)

Get Glued with Gloo

I’ve heard a lot of Gloo buzz over the internet the past few weeks but I never really got the chance to try its features. But last Sunday my friends and I were planning our get together when I needed a service that will allow me to chat with them at the same time show them old photos and videos. I thought of Gloo. Yeah, Gloo will definitely help!

Gloo is a web application that helps me collaborate with friends through a virtual “space” by uploading images and videos. My friends can then comment through virtual post-its and even create doodles in real-time! Aside from that, my friends and I share a common space so we can chat and send SMS/MMS to each other.

Gloo is more like of a bulletin board were you and your friends can post photos, reminders and notes to each other. Families with members abroad will benefit much from Gloo’s features as anyone from your invited friends can post, comment and chat with you real time.

Tonight, I invited my friend Mhellai so we can discuss our plans for Caine and Yona.

Through the Post-It feature we were able to list down all the items we need to buy for our little girls and the place we plan to go to next year.

The To-Do list feature is very helpful in keeping notes on the things we need to do before December ends.

And yes, we were doodling on the photo of the girls using the Draw feature.

All these were done as we were chatting using the Chat feature!

Entrepremom Gloo Yona Caine

These features are so amazing!

Here are the standard features of Gloo and my comments on each feature:

Get to:

  • Watch your favorite videos and share them with your friends. (Yes, it’s cool to watch your fave videos and discuss it with friends as you watch.)
  • Chat with your online contacts. (Share all those “hahahas” , “hihihis” and “LOLs” real time.)
  • Post reminders with your very own Gloo post-it pad.
  • Listen and share your favorite tunes with friends and family.
  • Doodle, stick, and decorate! (We did this and it was actually really neat! I love this feature to bits! I just hope that there’s an option to upload photos directly from the computer. Currently the user has an option to post photos by URL, from Google,  and Facebook.)
  • Personalize your space with customized themes. (Below is a space I made for my little girl, Yona)

Entrepremom Gloo

Want to enjoy these features? Get an all access pass to Gloo for every purchase of Globe Broadband today.

Using Gloo is at at first hard but you will get the hang of it and you’ll definitely enjoy this as you uncover each feature. Need more help? You can inquire about Gloo online.

I am starting to love Gloo and so will you!

T.G.I. Friday’s Chicken Fingers Limited Offer

Because T.G.I. Friday’s turning 15 tomorrow, December 11, 2009, they are offering their Chicken Tenders for only P145! Chicken Fingers

Chicken Fingers are hand battered chicken tenders, golden fried and served with Friday’s fries. Get to choose from barbecue sauce or honey mustard. Original price is P280.

Tomorrow is the best time to celebrate any occasion with friends. Call them now and bring them all to any of these TGI Friday’s branches:

Sta. Lucia, Alabang, Tomas Morato, Glorietta, Robinson’s Manila, Robinson’s Galleria, Bonifacio High Street, Trinoma, Mall of Asia, and Ayala Center Cebu.

Remember, this offer is only for tomorrow, December 11, 2009!

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