Jem's Surprise Visit in Alabang

Jem has been one of my BFF's since forever! Okay, not really forever but since my call center days back in 2001. We are both graduates of Ateneo who topped (it was a tie) our batch in Etelecare at a time when it was considered as the best call center in the industry.  We were Quality Monitoring Specialists. We were both competitive and driven but that just all the more forged our bond as friends. She saw me through my ups and downs and has not forsaken me, not even for one second. Jem is my gem. She is one in a million and I will forever be grateful for her friendship. She has long pursued her career abroad and from time to time would come home and visit us. This year, I thought she was scheduled to go home in December like last year and we were supposed to do another Asian trip. But being the adventure seeker that she is, she surprised us by coming home sooner than expected. I was busy with work; I haven't had real sleep for three days now but for her, I will always, always make time. I just love her to pieces. 

Whenever I'm with people I love, it doesn't really matter what we do or where we go. I just want to be with the person and bond with him/her til we run out of stories to tell. I'm like this with Jem. So on this one special day that Peter and I were with her, we stayed at home at first and just bonded. 

Manila Ocean Park, The Pergola, etc. - a Happy Birthday Weekend Celebration

I was on a 24 hour shift when I realized that it was my birthday and I didn't have anything planned, hence my birthday post over at my Kicking Pinay blog last Saturday morning. I was so focused on everything else that I didn't have any more time and energy left to plan for my own birthday. Saying a simple prayer of thanks to the Almighty is enough for me as I have already received so many blessings in my life. Looking back, I ended up having such a blast last weekend. I guess that's what happens when you don't expect a lot and you start getting blissfully content with your life. The universe just gives you more of what you already have --- a husband who loves you and a life full of happy adventures. :)

Below is a summary of the wonderful birthday weekend I had which I ended up celebrating with the most important person in my life, my partner, my better half, my husband, Peter. ^_^

Saturday at the Pergola in Paranaque

We've been living in the south for 5 years now but we haven't really explored its nearby cities. I normally sleep on Saturday morning til afternoon and wake up just as the sun is starting to set. My body clock is perpetually on U.S. time no matter how hard I try to change it. Surprisingly last Saturday, I wasn't sleepy at all despite the fact that I just got sick the previous week and I've been awake for almost 24 hours by then. I guess I was just happy to be alive on my birthday and I didn't want it to pass me by. True, I wasn't feeling 100%, but I was energetic enough to at least go out of the house and experience something different.

Jayme Timbol, Yoga and Creative Dreams

It's almost the new year and I'm glad that I spent Dec. 29-30 with my friend, Jem, who came home from Utah, U.S.A. We've been friends since our Etelecare days back in 2001, meaning we've maintained our awesome friendship for a decade now! I may have very few NEW friends these days, but those I keep, I do intend to keep them for eternity. (^_^)

Proactive Strategies for a Better Life

Have you been wanting to live a healthier and better life? I started it a few years ago when I practiced The Secret to manage my stress and live my dreams. I also went for a more vegetable-based diet and now, I am being more cautious about it by going alkaline --- no oil, no salt, limited sugar, no acid, and sometimes almost raw but frequently baked or grilled food.  I call it my sexynomnom diet. A diet like this makes me healthy and generally gives me more energy to do the things I want.

Another thing you can do to achieve a better quality of life is by becoming more proactive. Don't wait for something to happen before you react to it. Make things happen no matter how small.

I know that doing the right thing is usually hard. There are just so many temptations around and most of the time, it's easier to just succumb to your natural desires, proclivities and impulses. But if you are focused on what you want and you are committed to getting it, then nothing ought to stop you. 

Below are some of my personal strategies to help me keep on track.

Fight the urge to hibernate.

Whenever the yuletide season comes in, I'm always hit by the hibernation bug. I feel lazy, I like to sleep all day or watch DVDs... I basically like to hide in my cocoon and be as lazy as I can be [enter Bruno Mars The Lazy Song]. Maybe it's the cold weather (although lately it's more wet than the typical December cold).

But for someone who's a workaholic like me, being bitten by the hibernation bug is actually like being forced to a much-needed vacation. Perhaps, it's my body's way of saying that I need to rest and take a break.

However, as I am becoming more conscious of my health, I am no longer allowing that to happen. Being an Aquarian, I can be  quite extreme. I either sleep all week, or I don't sleep for a month at all! I can't do that anymore. I love myself too much to fall into that trap once again. Yes, I still do rest. I sleep 8 hours a day now and take catnaps when necessary but I don't do my usual hibernation mode anymore, nor do I plaster myself in front of my PC, slaving away all day. I need to be active. I want to be active. I have to be active.

And so, the moment I felt that the hibernation bug has bitten me (after sleeping for 8 hours, I still wanted to sleep for 8 more), I forced myself to get up and break out a bit from my usual routine (which is to make sure the house is orderly and clean, exercise, prepare a healthy meal of oatmeal with cinnamon, apple cubes and honey + Vita Plus vegetable drink, shower then work). Peter and I this time, went to the park again, jogged instead of walked, and played some badminton. (And once this rainy spell is over, I plan to take out my bike too.) 

Change in Lifestyle

 

It all started last weekend when Danes, Tina, Radz, Peter and I went to Lake Caliraya to windsurf our Sunday away. I forced my body to change its body clock which has forever been in U.S. time. It was successful! Well, sort of... I now sleep at around 6:30-7:00 pm and I wake up before 3 am. I'm slowly moving my sleeping time to 9:00 pm at the latest so I can wake up at 5:00 am. At least now, I'm awake during the day. Plus, I don't travel feeling zombified anymore. Yay!

For the first time, I was able to windsurf all the way to the middle and other end of Caliraya lake, for an hour, without rest!

Remember when I said that some things will have  to take a backseat as I change my lifestyle a little bit? I didn't mean to but it seems like my blogging has naturally been included in that list.

I now focus on things that make me happier and when I get tired, I rest. Blogging does make me happy but I can only do it  when I really have the extra time. I got a couple of posts to finish but I no longer stress about them. I've noticed that other things make me a lot happier now like:

Weekend of Healing, Passion and Discovery

I went through a lot a couple of weeks ago but through the help of my husband's continuous loving support, care of my friends, and my own will and desire to battle the rut I was in, things have been getting better and better.

Just like these vegetable plants which I have grown from when they were just seeds despite the many typhoons and cold weather they have braved since day 1, (they are now growing so beautifully and standing tall against our balcony window -- a sight I always behold first thing when I wake up and last thing I check before I go to sleep)...

... I, too, have grown a lot the past few weeks. Like my plants which need to be transplanted to bigger pots soon, for them to bear fruits and continue to grow, I, too, need to be uprooted from my comfort zone so I may take root in a bigger, wider, and more fruitful enterprise that I am really passionate about. *crossing my fingers* It would of course take careful planning, organization, determination and a lot of hard work. I need to invest my time, energy and resources to building this thing and some of my other lesser passions may need to take a backseat.

How are you, Jen? (a diary entry on GERD, stress and happiness)

This is an entry that I thought long and hard about sharing here. Some things are quite secret and some information are quite sensitive.  Then I figured, not a lot of people can handle a very long post so I guess not a lot of people will really know what has been going on....

It's been 4 years since I started practicing The Secret. That was late 2007. Prior to that, I've been an emotional wreck (since my adolescent years actually) and I was always stressed out, if not in school (all the way to taking my master's in U.P.), then at work, which is why I like to write about my life be it in a notebook or in my online diaries that are my blogs. Writing has always been a form of catharsis for me.

To Diet or Not

Buffet lunch in Misibis Bay

The past couple of days, we have been pigging out a lot, most especially my husband. Buffet dinner here, buffet breakfast there, and before we know it, we've already gained pounds which can be so difficult to lose. It also doesn't help that when we're not traveling, we pretty much live a very sedentary lifestyle, what with being in the south and sitting in front of our computer desk all the time (Peter actually has a computer bed instead of a desk, so his case is much worse, hehehe). So, we've been thinking of doing some drastic changes in our diet, exercise habits, and intake of diet supplements like meizitang.

Scouting for Cheap Boracay Buffet

When Peter was still here in Boracay with me, there was one time when we would walk from Station 3 to Station 1 at around 4:00pm to look for possible places to eat.

We noticed that many of the restaurants at this time prepare their buffet table arrangements, and some restaurants would even have a guy or a girl telling passers-by about their menu and pricing.

Buffet prices at Boracay range from Php250.00 to Php385.00. The closer we got to Station 1, the more expensive the prices of the food got. We still wanted to make sure though. So even if we had to climb this mini cliff due to the high tide, we still did it just to check out if there's anything exciting to eat at Station 1.

Week Before Valentine's 2011

The whole week before Valentine's Day started out beautifully for me.

• I managed to finish work on time.
• I was able to go to VTRs/auditions.
• I got in contact with some of my colleagues in the theater industry which I have been planning for a while now. I know I need to further hone my acting skills and hopefully I find the right theater company for me. If only my schedule is not this toxic (I barey sleep as usual), I'd gladly join PETA. It's on my wish list this year.
• The universe must be listening to my heart's plea when I was given an opportunity to showcase my talent in a video shoot. Honestly, despite my lack of sleep, that was the first time I felt really alive and exhilarated after a looong time. It's really different when you're doing your heart's desire. You don't feel tired, you don't feel short changed. You're just grateful, happy and feeling blessed. Hayyyy....Acting... it's the only one in my long list of passions that I have a love-hate relationship with. Let's just say that I'm in love with it again. Last year, I dodged most of the VTRs my agents sent me to coz I just didn't feel like it. After all, the business of acting is 10% acting and 90% waiting. Nevertheless, this year, if I physically can, I should just say yes to every acting opportunity.
• I made concrete steps to start a career in training. And guess what? The people I'd be working with are mostly theater actors too. I feel that where I'm headed at this point in time is just so aligned with my inner desires. Hopefully, when this new career path gets lucrative enough, I can use big funds for my other passions like soap making, reselling clothes and making beaded accessories which I will turn into regular businesses as well. *Crossing my fingers*

So my week was going well until a little bump appeared. My mom got food poisoned...

Ocean’s Surf at Marriott Cafe : A Weekend Treat

I was having second thoughts when Friday finally arrived and I had this invitation from Marriott to try their Ocean's Surf located at Marriott Cafe. As usual, I had a lot of work to do and going to food blog events like this usually takes time since I'll be coming from the south and I would have to commute all the way to Newport City. I'm also afraid of riding cabs on my own and it was getting dark so I thought of just waiting for Peter to finish work so we can go together. Anyway, it's a buffet, meaning there'll be a ton of food to taste even if we get there late. Marriott has never failed me so far when it comes to their yummy food offerings which was why I was really looking forward to enjoying all the seafood, pasta and desserts my diet will allow me.

Char Sui of Salmon with Crab Gribiche

Finally, after braving the 1-hour traffic from Ayala to Edsa, after getting caught by policemen because we turned at a seemingly u-turn slot fronting Resorts World (the sign says in big bold letters "U-Turn SLOT", then under that, there's another word in tiny fonts saying "ahead". Heck, if the policemen were really doing their jobs, they'd station themselves near the sign to prevent cars from turning there rather than waiting at the other side of the road to catch victims of this stressful MMDA ploy. Better yet, they should've just taken out that stupid sign in the first place. It's very confusing especially at night. In fact, that evening, there were three cars inlcuding ours who got caught by the MMDA coz of that stupid road sign. On the other hand, I think it was because of the negative emotions caused by the traffic we were feeling earlier which caused us to attract this incident. I believe in the law of attraction and I should've known better. Right then and there, Peter and I shrugged the negativity off so we can start enjoying our evening together.

Hibachi river prawns with Thai herbs and red chili sauce

When we finally got to Marriott and started tasting many of the dishes on the Ocean Surf menu, I offered a silent prayer of thanks to the universe because Marriott did serve a variety of scrumptious , delectable and tasty seafood dishes that night. It made the hassle we went through earlier that evening so much more worth it.

Loving the Minute Maid Real Pulpy Deal

I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe... I'd do some more research about it. You know me, I like my 2011 to be healthier and better. No more bad stuff for my body please. I've had it with preservatives, chemicals and other hidden toxic food substances! It's time to be healthy, fit and sexy once again!

I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added. So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED! That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse...carcinogens! Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I...

Post Parvati Date at Bubble Tea... Whut?

Last Sunday was one gastronomical day for me and my hubby. I think we woke up late, just in time to prepare for our afternoon delight at Parvati. It's this new concept store located at Trinoma Mall (Mindanao Lobby) filled with home baked goodies from various sources and home bakers. We sampled almost everything on the Parvati menu and even had some pasta, perfect for cleansing our uber sweet palate.

There were other food bloggers as well, tasting each bite of cake, pastries, truffles, custaroons, mochis and other godly and ambrosial goodies to their hearts' content. We have never seen anything like this. Parvati is a dream come true for both home bakers and dessert lovers.

Awesome Bubble Tea Deal of the Day

I'm so happy to share with you the awesome deal that Awesome.ph has in store for all of you --- Bubble Tea food and beverage now only Php99! You save Php201 if you buy this promo now!!!


I'm also very happy to share with you that they featured my Bubble Tea post at Awesome.ph. I really love Bubble Tea! Just looking at all those photos I took before is making me hungry for Japanese fusion food and my favorite Honey Dew Milk Shake!


See yah later Bubble Tea! Peter and I will be dining at your branch in Megamall tonight. ^_^

Bubble Tea: Loving Japanese Food and Milk Teas

Like I said on my Bubble Tea adventure post, it's this amazing Tokyo Milk Tea Place that made me fall in love with Japanese fusion food and discover a whole new first class concoction of milk tea refreshments. It happened last Oct. 26 when my hubby and I, together with other blogger friends, got to taste a myriad of Bubble tea dishes and drinks at their branch in Tomas Morato.

Above: with Lace; Below: with Jennie

They have two other branches which I've already been to before -- one in SM Megamall and one in SM North Edsa. A fourth branch is opening in November at Wilson street in Greenhills. I swear, if I keep doing is, I would have to cut back on my online work just so I can exercise some more and shed off these pounds I'm gaining from eating such exquisite treats. Teehee. ^_^

Binging on Thai Food at Marriott

Being an Aquarian, I can really be extreme sometimes, including with food. There are days that I work so much that I forget to eat, or I'm just so tired to even make some food, and there are days, especially lately, that I get to have the opportunity to go to some food events and end up binging on tons of food!

lemon serbet for appetizer

Nuvali Fun Activities

Whether you plan to buy one of the luxurious eco-friendly houses in Nuvali, or you plan to work at one of the business establishments there, or you simply want to visit this soon-to-be ecopolis in the country, you will have a ton of fun at Nuvali. I know I did. Here are the activities you can do:

Tour of the huge parcels of land being developed by Ayala Land for Abrio, Monetcito, Santierra, Venare, and Avida.

Bird Watching at the Gazebo - Currently, there are around 60+ species of birds found to be thriving here in Nuvali.

Ballet Philippines, Racks, Coffee Dream and Despicable Me: a Whole Day Date with the Hubby

It is quite rare that Peter and I would spend a whole day just having fun these days. Normally, when it's not summer season, we just usually stay home and lounge, do chores, rest or party at night in the city. So I was glad when one Sunday, Peter and I just spent the whole day together on a real date. It helps add a little bit more spark in our marriage, don't you think?

We watched Ballet Philippines' 41st Concert Season September Gala at CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo with my Grade 6 classmates. The show was so mesmerizing! We should watch these kinds of shows more often!

Before heading to Ortigas to check out Travel Mart, we first watched the sunset at Manila Bay...

Light at the End of the Tunnel

It's August already! See here what I've accomplished so far and the things I plan to do this month (God give me strength).

Anyhoo, Peter and I had a big fight. But after those tragic hours, I feel like we've grown closer and more mature. Even before we got married eight years ago, and even before I said yes to him three years before that, we've already made it one of our principles that fighting is just another form of communication. It's similar with parenting, I guess. Sometimes, you have to let your kids have their tantrums so they can air out their grievances instead of letting them build resentment overtime which can cause more psychological damage to the kid (I think this happened to me when I was in high school, no wonder I never wanted to have kids of my own). Anyway, I digress. It's all better now and since then, Peter and I have grown more in love.

Sunday Treat: Club Astoria and Time with Peachie

As I've mentioned in my previous blog posts, I was on vacation leave from work starting Wednesday to Friday (June 9-11). Those days proved to be productive as I was able to apply for my Postal ID, TIN ID and NBI clearance. The rest of the weekend was spent just hanging at the house, doing some chores and basically just lounging at home and watching those DVD movies we've bought a few weeks ago (We still have several more to finish).

Come Sunday, we were invited to come to Astoria Plaza for some presentation regarding their club membership. Since we're already members of RCI and Club Panoly, we no longer availed of their membership. But still, they gave us a voucher for 3-7 free nights stay at their affiliate hotels in US, Asia and the Philippines. Coolness!