Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

This question has been bugging me for months now. Though I know that my daughter could sing and has shown great interest on musical instruments, I still do not know if she indeed has musical talent. You know how moms could get so biased most of the time

How should I know if my child has musical talent?

You see his dad could sing, his uncle plays the guitar soooo well. Right now, Yona would always want to visit the guitar stores of malls on every visit.

So is she really musically inclined? I would want to enroll her in a music class, singing or guitar perhaps but I don’t know where to start. I don’t want to spend on something that she would get tired of after a few classes.

Help me please?

We usually thank the Lord for the good things and results that come our way, but when will we ever learn to thank Him for every crisis AKA bad things that we encounter everyday?

I’ll start doing it now, because of some point we learned something from these bad things.

Thank you Lord for the pain, my tears cleansed my eyes
For my cough and cold, for I was able to rest and sleep for hours
For the disappointments, for I learned to believe in myself and in what I can do
For the failed jobs, I’ll never received new ones without it.
For the traffic jam, I learned to think about new opportunities.
For people who doesn’t like me, they made me love and respect myself more.
And thank you, Lord, for the every day drama. It made me realize that I am human.

How about you, what are the negative things you’re thankful for?

The previous days were hell. My grandfather (86) died so we went back and forth Manila – Leyte. Though he died the ‘normal way/old age’ it was still painful to us, the family he left behind. And you all know how it is when a person leaves 9 of his children, chaos, right? true. Different personalities = different point of views. So you get the picture.

Anyhoo, the positive side of everything that has happened was we were able to bond with uncles and cousins. The day after the burial, all 15 of us went trekking We trusted our feet to lead us to the wonderful side of Abuyog, Leyte – the SABANG. No trail cameras, no guides, just us.

Mid of 2010 I stopped getting projects from oDesk mainly because I gave birth to Project Happiness Bakehouse and the planning, recipe trials and what-have-you’s in building an online bakehouse. It was tough, believe me and it took me a while to get recognized. The continuous flow of orders came at the start of 2011 already and just when the orders started pouring in, I got pregnant, almost lost the baby blah blah blah

So I really stopped working for people from the foreign land. And here comes 2012, while most people are looking for Orderly Jobs here and abroad, here I am, wishing that I could find a suitable VA job for me in oDesk. The business is doing good, I just need an extra job to sustain my “luho” LOL

It’s worth taking the risk, right?

My eldest daughter is 6 and yes, like most techie kids these days, she is addicted to online computer games and would often play with games on Facebook. This makes her our computer prone to viruses and her being exposed to ads with adult content like free online dating. This is a fact but I am just super thankful that she’s not the type who clicks and downloads anything from the net =)

Last Christmas, my brother gave her a super pink Nintendo DS so for now she’s off my laptop and her PC. Don’t know how long will this last hahaha

I have just been introduced to The Vampire Diaries and I am blaming myself for not watching this series that has been downloaded and saved on my external hard drive for a long time now.

After Twilight there’s The Vampire Diaries, so I am so into vampires, right? Seriously I am getting curious on how these creatures live and survive. Their diet and all =) I am almost done with Season 2 and currently downloading parts of Season 3.

Am I losing my bearings now? LOL

Sometimes we’d get up on the wrong side of the bed. Oftentimes OTHER people would piss us very early in the morning without knowing how much they could ruin somebody’s mood. May kasabihan tayo na “Biruin mo na ang lasing, wag lang ang bagong gising”. Pero dapat, “Pestehen mo na ang lasing, wag lang ang bagong gising”. Some people are just plain walang modo or too stupid to piss people in the morning. Matatalino pa naman sana.

Oh well, it happened to me one day. That incident ruined everything for me, thanks to you and your pea-sized brain. So I left home to get a breather. Went out to get baking supplies and ingredients and met Mel, my forever and ever kumare

Mel surprised me with birthday gifts: gorgeous jewelry and blouses for me and Yona and a Pigeon bottle cleaner for Lana. Told her to venture into jewelry selling. Sayang naman ang jewelry tools niya. Here’s a photo of Yona wearing the cute blouse and the earrings and bracelet set from her.

Thank you mare for making my day

I was calling myself a baker until I met Top Pastry Chef Franck Geuffroy. He was just too good that I felt like a dot compared to him

Chef Franck is the training chef and consultant of Alain Ducasse Formation et Conseil.

This novice baker just got invited to a live pastry demonstration held in Enderun Colleges –  the L’art de la Patisserie (The Art of Pastry). Why would I say no to this once in a lifetime event? of course I said YES immediately Chef Franck demonstrated advanced techniques in making various pastries including the eye-catching all-edible sugar sculpture.

During the demonstration I learned that a Pastry Chef does more than just bake, he is capable of creating masterpieces. Pastries and desserts should not just be delicious, they must also be artistic, creative and pleasing to the eye.

Here are some of the traditional French pastries fusioned with local flavors giving classic pastries a Filipino twist:

Paris-Manila Brest

Paris-Manila Brest is a ring of golden brown pâte à choux pastry that sandwiches praline cream and sliced almonds. It was created in 1891 in honor of the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race.

Kouglof

Kouglof is a brioche-like coffee cake from Alsace—lightly sweet and studded with raisins.

Tropézienne

Tropézienne, from Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, is a rich orange blossom water scented brioche that oozes buttercream.

St. Honoré

St. Honoré has a base of puff pastry topped with a ring of small, caramel-drenched cream puffs; the center of the cake is filled with clouds of whipped cream.

Citrus Entremet

Citrus Entremet is a confection of coconut mousse, citrus crème, white chocolate brownie and grapefruit.

Intense Raspberry Chocolate Brownie

Intense Raspberry Chocolate Brownie a rich concoction of chocolate brownie and raspberry marmalade.

Enderun Entremet

Enderun Entremet, a playful dessert of buttery shortbread, sour calamansi, intense chocolate biscuit, gingered milk chocolate, and crunchy peanut praline.

As you would notice, Chef Franck has been using various local fruits to flavor his pastries. This is so because this chef just loves our fruits!

“The flavor of calamansi is so strong and so fresh!” he exclaims.  “It is a pure gift from nature.  And the mangos and pineapples here are so flavorful and sweet that they are so much better than what we can find in France.”  He also loves working with coconut paste, saying that the amazing taste of roasted coconut can be used to give classic French pastries a Filipino twist.

L’art de la Patisserie (The Art of Pastry) launches Enderun Colleges’ 3-month Pastry Arts Certificate, which will begin in November 2011. The comprehensive course is ideal for home cooks who want to increase their knowledge in pastry and bread-making, professionals who want to update their knowledge, and anyone considering a career in professional pastry. Students will be given hands-on instruction in basic and advanced techniques to equip them with the skills necessary for mastering French and international pastries, confectioneries, and breads. The program also gives students the opportunity to take further studies at Ecole National Supèrieure de la Pâtisserie, the pastry arts training center of Alain Ducasse Formation.

More importantly, it gives students a chance to discover if they have the passion, creativity, stamina, and skill to be a pastry chef.

For more information about this 3-month Pastry Arts Certificate, please contact:

Enderun Colleges
1100 Campus Avenue
McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio
Taguig City 1634 Philippines
Telephone: (632) 856 5000
Facsimile:   (632) 856 4656
www.enderuncolleges.com

No, I am not talking about 70% Isopropyl alcohol. I am talking about the alcohol that you can actually drink without getting yourself killed. You see, at 30 I have very little alcohol in my body. Call me a bore but really, I am not into social drinking, let alone go out with friends every week and drown myself in alcohol. To some it’s pure bliss or stress reliever but for me, it’s not.

My parents must have been thankful that I am not capable of doing this. They’ve saved themselves from sleepless nights and alcohol rehab treatment centers visits LOL

But sometimes, I would often ask myself. Is this even worth it? Am I really missing “the good days” because I am not capable of drinking hard drinks? A part of me wants to try it. As I have always told my husband, I am old enough for this and I know what I am doing but he still says no. According to him I don’t know myself so I don’t know what I’m capable of doing when I am under the influence of alcohol.

Sa tingin niyo, makatarungan ba ito?

Our health cards are about to expire this month but we’re still not decided whether we’ll renew our contract with Medicard or not. We’re having a lot of financial issues at home this month so help me God. On top of this I am also looking for a reliable insurance company for the whole family.

We’ve been under Medicard for the past 11 years and so far we’re contented with their services. If you have any recommendations like Wholesaleinsurance.net, feel free to leave comments here.

Thanks in advance!