Day 35 - 40

Because I'll be very busy in the coming days, indulge me as I squeeze 6 days in one post :)

Day 35 - A picture of your hometown

I've been living here since birth but I don't have a real picture of my hometown. Haha. This will do. :-)

Thanks Google Maps! ^^,

Day 36 - A picture of your favorite toy when you were younger

Polly Pocket. I have a Country House, a Pizza Parlor, a Ski Chalet, a heart-shaped small house and the one in the photo below - a Mansion! I'm pretty sure you can tell which is my favorite! Haha. I and Ate Pants play with these all the time. With our Polly Pockets combined, we get our very own village! Geez, I miss being a kid! :-)

Credits here and here.

Day 37 - A picture taken at school

On our last day as students of our beloved Pamantasan.

Day 38 - A picture of your favorite drink

When I'm too tired or too sad, I buy myself a grande Java Chip and the world is a better place again. Haha.

Day 39 - A picture of your favorite food

No other than home-cooked Pork Sinigang. I am sooooo bringing packs of Sinigang Mix to SG ;P

Me: *drools*

Day 40 - A picture of your friends

Lucky to have these people in my life!

Happy to be almost halfway through the challenge,

In 7 Days...

...life as I know it will turn upside-down.

Remember I told you that there's another reason I bought myself a laptop but can't disclose it until it's a hundred percent sure? Well today, I received the confirmation. I'm leaving for Singapore in 7 days. For work. For the entire 2012.

Sigh.

I know I've wanted this opportunity for so long but now that it's here, I can't help but ask myself if I'm ready for it. Like, emotionally. I haven't been away from my family in my entire 23 years. I can't last a day without Haley. I'm sure as hell I can't take more than a week of not seeing J. I need a regular dose of girl bonding. And in a week I'm off to a foreign land for a year-long assignment. Seriously?!

Sigh.

I have my flight details now and God knows I've been holding back the tears since I opened that e-mail attachment. It's no turning back. It couldn't have happened if it wasn't meant for me. I can do this. I am doing this. For my family. For J and I's future. For my career growth. No one said it's gonna be easy, but I'm certain it's gonna be worth it.

Wish me luck. Lots of it.

And if you have time, listen to this song 'coz I've been LSS-ing on this for the past X days.

Day 34 - A picture of your favorite morning

J and I having breakfast in our veranda at Keni Po Rooms in Tagaytay
- our first out-of-town trip just the two of us :-)

Imagine cuddling the entire night then waking up to a misty morning still in his arms.
Talk about life's simple pleasures :-)

P.S. You don't mind my straight-out-of-bed look, do you? :P

'Tis the Season

Me, Junie, Micah, Dad, Haley, Mom, Faye and Choy

From our family to yours, a merry and meaningful Christmas! :D

May we all experience the joy of the season in the company of people close to our hearts.

And oh, Happy Birthday Baby Jesus! :)

Cheers!

Day 32 - 33

Putting these two in one post coz they're related anyway :-)

Day 32 - A picture of what you did today

Day 33 - A picture of somewhere you went to today

Are we really just a day and a few minutes to Christmas? By looking at the traffic and the crowd at the mall, yes, it really is Christmas. So today I went to SM Makati with J to do some last-minute shopping then grabbed a quick dinner at Mc Donald's (I never realized I miss McD till I got the first bite of the fries.. haha!). We just got home and guess what, I still have a couple of persons in the list without gifts :(

You done with your Christmas list? Clock's ticking!

Day 31 - A picture of food you made

I like the 100-day picture challenge because I get to share photos from yester-years... Like this one... :)

This photo was taken Valentine's Day last year. We just go out on V-day year after year so I thought we needed a breath of fresh air -- We're celebrating at home! I cooked Carbonara for the first time and not to toot my own horn but it was a massive success! J getting a second round was enough proof ;-)

To your left is what we had for dessert, a refrigerated cake also made by yours truly (gosh this feels so long ago -- look how small Haley is in the picture!). I painstakingly wrote those 3 characters using strips of ripe mangoes with oreo bits on the background. In fact, I almost didn't wanna slice my masterpiece when it's time to serve! Hahaha!

I'm making this combo again for Christmas Eve and if you don't have plans yet for your feast, you may want to try them. Yes, I'm sharing the recipe! :)

Pasta in Creamy White Sauce (Instant Carbonara)
Credit goes to my friend Noreen for the original recipe but this one I already tweaked to my liking :-)

Ingredients:
* 1 kilo spaghetti noodles
* Cooking oil
* 250 grams bacon
* 200 grams ham
* 1 chicken breast
* 1 small can of Jolly button mushrooms, sliced thinly
* ½ cup butter
* 2 cans Jolly Cream of Mushroom
* 2 packs of Nestle All-purpose cream
* 1 small can of evaporated milk
* 1 pork cube
* 1 box of quickmelt cheese
* regular cheese (for toppings)
* 8 cloves garlic
* Pepper

Procedure:
1. Cook the noodles according to package directions.
2. Boil the chicken breast, shred then set aside. 
3. In a pan, fry the bacon until crisp. Let it cool down then dice into bits. In the same pan, fry the ham. Cut into squares.
4. In a separate pan, in low heat, melt the butter and sauté the garlic. Mix the cream of mushroom, all purpose cream, milk, pork cube and grated quickmelt cheese. Continuously stir until the sauce starts to boil so that it won’t stick. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water (be careful not to add too much of it cause the sauce will be bland).
5. Add the mushrooms, ham, chicken and about 2/3 of the bacon bits. Add pepper to taste (no need for salt as the cheese is sufficient). Simmer.
6. Put pasta into a plate then add sauce. Top with bacon and cheese. Voila, Carbonara! :-)


Ref Cake a la Maude :P

Ingredients:
* 2 packs of graham crackers
* 3 packs of all purpose cream
* 1.5 cans of condensed milk
(Note: My milk to cream ratio is 1:2 because I have a sweet tooth. By all means, adjust it to your preferred sweetness.)
* Ripe mangoes and oreo bits for the toppings

Procedure:
1. Put the condensed milk and all-purpose cream in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. In a rectangular tray, lay the graham crackers. Make sure that there are no spaces as this will make the cream go all the way to the bottom of the tray once poured.
3. Pour the milk and cream mixture until the layer is completely covered.
4. Put strips of ripe mango on top of the cream. I used to think this is optional but soon I figured that this is the secret to a moist ref cake cause it prevents the layers from sticking together, thus absorbing the cream between them :-)
5. Repeat steps 2-4 till you fill the tray. I can usually make 4 or 5 layers with the ingredients above. Tip: Spare a generous amount of cream for the top layer.
6. Now do your thing with the strip of ripe mangoes and crushed oreos. Be artsy or cheesy, totally your call! :-)
7. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours. Serve with a smile ^_^


Happy Christmas Weekend, dearies!

Day 30 - A picture of your favorite quote

photo credit

Agree? :D