Simple Meal: Ginisang Munggo

Another meal that I love to cook (because it's easy) is Ginisang Munggo. Usually, I cook this alone but this can be served together with pork chop or fried fish.

My father used to cook this one when we were children but I never learned to cook it.  Only now that we are here in MY.

You will need the following:

1. 1/2 kilo Munggo Beans
2. 1/8 kilo minced pork
3. Onion, garlic, oil and pork cubes
4. 1 piece medium tomato
5. 4 tablespoon fish sauce

Very simply done:

1. Put your Munggo Beans in pan of water and let it stay there overnight
     ~ this will soften the beans
2. Boil your Munggo Beans for an hour, stir occasionally so that it will not stick into the pan
3. In another pan, heat oil and cook garlic, onion, minced pork and pork cubes
4. Pour the boiled munggo beans and stir
5. Pour the fish sauce

If you have talbos ng sili then its good to include that in this dish.

Happy Eating! 

Happy Friday: Excited For Christmas

Just when the "ber" months were about to come, I got very excited about Christmas that I forgot Halloween is coming before Christmas.

I started to think about Christmas decorations and gift giving that I totally forgot that pumpkins and candles comes first before the stars and the wreath.

Oh how I love Christmas Season!! but why is it that this feeling only comes during the "ber" months?  It is because of tradition? Is it because of what we were used to?

I think this is something that we need to reflect more often.  How can we make each day of the year as if everyday is Christmas, or the season is here? I guess it's about the spirit within us.  For me, how we want to share our lives to others is a testament that Christmas is just around the corner, we just need to nurture them.

Now what do we need to do? We just need to be ourselves, share our smiles and it will be Christmas everyday!

^_^

Pick yourself Up!

This was exactly what Daniel Rosa did and I was very proud of him!
Read full story here --> Daniel's Story
Daniel's 2nd Season Audition story.

I like watching singing competitions (mainly because I am a frustrated singer).  I like to hear people sing and I am inspired with what they have to say with their music and where they got the inspiration.

Well, if they are getting their inspiration from somebody else then I want them to be proud of themselves because I am getting the inspiration from them.  

Especially for this very special person Daniel.



Just when I saw his blind audition from Season 2, I immediately felt my heart for him.  I remembered by brother (Mika), apart from the body size, he resembled the person who wanted to prove something, not only to my family but to me (Mika, you have always and will always make me proud!!!). 

I know that Mika will go a long long way more than what I expect him to be (Pressure :D).

This is what I always tell myself and I want to tell everyone else.  There will be times that we will fall into pieces but we need to remember that this is not the end of the world.  It is just a reminder that LIFE is a sea of opportunities for learning.

We need to grab them and grow from it.
That's a life worth living and worth to be proud of!

-----------------------------

Update: The battle round.



Xoxo

How do you want to Live?

Sometimes I ask myself what I want to do with my life.  How I want to be remembered and what impression I would like to leave behind?

Being the practical person that I am, I always think that what I want in life is just a simple one.  Live within my means and share what I can share!   

Couple of weeks back I had the opportunity to watch Ladder 49.  This movie was very inspiring, I was moved by the fact that there are people who are ready to give their lives for others. Literally give their lives so that someone can live another day.

Have you ever felt the urge of doing something that you really want and enjoy?  This is what I have seen from Jack Morrison.  The passion to help people is burning inside him and not even his wife can stop him from doing such.  

The photo above was when he fought his first fire with Mike (John Travolta) as his mentor.   Never in his 10 years that he got tired of sharing his passion and life to others.

How passionate one can be with this kind of attitude?  This is a personality that I admire the most!  Someone who has the courage to do what he likes and do not regret anything at all.  

This is where a person feels fulfillment and contentment in life.  
This is where people become HAPPY.




A challenge that I am posing not only for myself but for all of us.  When are we going to have the courage to live our lives and be someone?

We don't need to be a firefighter to be able to prove our courage.
We don't need to be a policeman nor a navy to show our strength.

We just need to be ourselves.  

In my heart of hearts, at the deepest spot of my soul, I know that at some point in time, in my own little way, I have shared my LIFE to others!

And I will not stop because I know that this is what can make me HAPPY!

~ Spread the happiness and love and we can never go wrong ~

Infographic: Getting Your Caffeine Fix (in the office)

Another Inforgraphic that is worth sharing!
To all my coffee lover friends, please read on. :)

INFOGRAPHIC: Getting Your Caffeine Fix (in the office) via Cool Daily Infographics

Just sharing and enjoy your cup of coffee!

Infographics: Social Cheating

Sad to know but are happening! Let us all be mindful in what we do especially online! :)

Social Cheating: A Look at Social Media's Influence on Infidelity [INFOGRAPHIC] via  

Cool Daily Infographics

Just sharing!

Happy Friday: What boosts you?

Was there ever a time when you felt that all of your energy were lost and you need to re-charge?

All of us has the tendency to lose our energy in anything that we do.  May it be at school, at home, in the office, while driving or while having any activity. My question would be how do we keep going?

Being exhausted may mean physically, emotionally or mentally.  Physical exhaustion is something that is very usual if we are doing physical activities - like sports or anything that involves body movements.  This one is very easy to cure, we just need to take the needed rest, get nutrients from food and we are ready to go.

Emotional exhaustion is another thing - it is a chronic state or physical and emotional depletion that results from excessive job and / or personal demands and continuous stress.  It is manifested both by physical fatigue and a sense of feeling psychologically and emotionally drained. (from Wikipedia)

This is where the word burn-out comes to play.  This is a very dangerous word and I don't want myself to feel this way.  For me it means that I am pushed to my limit and it's either I quit or I do something bad.  So before reaching that level we all should know how to prevent it. :D 

We are always talking about how we can be happy with our lives, how we can be positive despite the challenges that we face and how to always keep that smile on our faces.

One simple way is by thinking about the things that "Keeps us on the Go" ~ things that boosts the hidden energies that we have!

We can all have our list of "Energy-boosters" but here are mine:

1.  God - He who gave all the strength for me to move forward to any challenging situation that I encounter.  This is anchored with a sincere prayer and guidance from Him.

2. Family - Whatever I do at work and with myself I always think of the things that my family will be proud of me.  These are the people where I can get unconditional love even without asking.

3. Good Friends - I may have e few but I consider them as jewels in my sea.  They keep me up and running when I feel down.  Just thinking about what they have to say in a challenging situation already makes me smile.  Friends are family that you can choose, so choose wisely as I did!

4. mySelf - Yes, I think of myself as a source of my own energy.  This is because I know myself better more than anyone else.  I know where my limits are and where disappointments can lead me therefore having the edge of using them to my advantage.  Aside from dedicating my actions and achievements to the people I love, I also make it a point to make myself proud.

Choose where you want your energy to come from and you will never go wrong!  You will feel energized even before you feel exhausted. 

 After all it's all about learning how to be happy and alive! :D

XOXO

My heart is full of everything!!

Nothing more to say!
 

Happy Friday: The Donut Theory

Krispy Kreme - Photo from guardian.co.uk

If you have watched The Five-Year Engagement, definitely you have heard of the "Donut Theory" from that movie.  In the movie, Violet (Emily Blunt) got her new job in Michigan under professor Winton where she based her main thesis on people opting to eat stale donuts versus waiting for fresh donuts, associating impulse-control problems with personal and professional instability.  Then there was a time when Tom (Jason Segel) ate a stale donut instead of waiting for a fresh one, this is where she felt something was wrong with what they have.

Anyways, I do not want to focus on this theory because I haven't seen a study about this one yet.  Also, there can be thousands of other explanation why a person ate a stale donut and this is another discussion all together.  What I want to focus on is what I see about the donut.

We can look at the donuts as our own LIVES.  There will always be something missing in us but there will always be sweetness in it.  The hole is smaller than the entire donut and thus it will not make any sense if we focus on what is small in our lives.

This is where most of us struggle.  Instead of being happy and thankful with what we have, we tend to look for other things that we don't have, making us want more than what we can have.

One conversation that I had with my friend, Betchay:

KL: Ang ganda niya noh!  Apat na ung anak niya pero ang bata parin ng itsura niya (I was referring to a foreign national)
Beth: Kung alam mo lang, sabi niyan sa sarili niya, ang ganda ng kulay mo kase hindi ka namumula sa init ng araw.

My rule of thumb: Be Happy with your LIFE and be careless for the things other people have because you never know if they also liked something from you that you just don't realize.

Simple Meal: Ginger Chicken with Oyster Sauce

It was supposed to be my husband to cook this dish but since he needs to stay a few more hours at the office he asked me to do it instead.

I don't want to cook it since I haven't cooked it before (comfort zone) but since he insisted then might as well learn a new thing and cook it.






Ingredients:
1. 1/4 kilo boneless chicken cut into 2inch cubes
2. 2 tablespoon cornstarch
3. 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
4. 2 tablespoon rice wine (alternative is apple juice - don't ask me, it was Sweets' research)
5. 2 tablespoon soysauce
6. 1 teaspoon sugar (white / brown will do)
7. 2 tablespoon ginger (thinly sliced, like match sticks)
8. 2 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
9. 5 leaves of spring onions, cut into 2inches long
10. 1/8 cup water
11. 3 tablespoon cooking oil 
12. Salt and pepper to taste

Very simply done:

1. In a separate bowl, pour in the chicken, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoon of oil - mix well
2. For the sauce, in another separate bowl, pour in all the liquid ingredient (except for the water) - Oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.
3. Heat the pan, when the heat is just about right (we all know how to figure that one out) then pour in your oil and wait until again it's hot.  Saute the ginger for 35-40 seconds and get your ginger out of the pan.  (Ginger tastes bad if its burnt).
4. Saute your garlic and until it's golden brown, pour in the chicken and wait until it's golden brown.  Since this is not deep fried, turn your chicken back and forth so that it will not burn.
5. When the chicken is evenly cooked, give your sauce another stir and pour it in. Then continue to mix the sauce with the chicken for another 3 - 5 minutes.
6. Add water and continue to mix for another 2 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper to add to the taste.
7. Add the spring onions and continue to mix for 30 seconds.
8. Serve while hot with steamed rice.


Note:
~ If you like more ginger taste then add more ginger
~ If you like more saucy then add more water or cornstarch

Yield: 2 hungry persons!

Enjoy!

Thank Therapy By Jim Burns

Photo from holleysoccer.com

If you have read the things that I shared in my blogs, probably you will notice that I always like to "Thank" people and appreciate simple things that Life has offered me.  

Two of the things that I shared was "What are you reaching for?" and "What really matters most" and both discussions were about how thankful I am for the things that I have now.

Just this morning, one of my very good friend Ochen, shared a very nice article by Jim Burns.  

I very much agree with everything that he said and I would like to share this to all of you!

"In studying thankfulness I've learned a very helpful idea: Thankfulness is a key which unlocks your depressive emotions. You cannot be both thankful and depressed at the same time. They are opposite emotions. You can be sad, hurt, or angered and still be thankful; but you can't be depressed and still be thankful.

We can't make the decision about whether some of life's negative "stuff' is thrown our way; but we can decide to be thankful, even in the midst of a not-so-perfect world.

Thankfulness is an attribute which transcends your circumstances. No matter what your circumstances, I believe there is reason to be thankful in them. Your circumstances may never change, but your attitude toward them can change -- and that will make all the difference. 

Above the stove in a friend's home is the modern proverb, "I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet." We must face the fact that some of our experiences may not be the best. But we can always be thankful for what we do have. 

I'm told it takes three weeks to form a habit, and another three weeks to solidify that habit. In my struggle to develop the habit of thankfulness, I tried an experiment I called "Thank Therapy."

Now, the ball is with us.  How do we intend to live our lives!
Be "Thankful" or be "Depressed" 
 
Simple tip from me - If you are "Thankful" it is less likely that you are going to have wrinkles! Choose wisely:D

That moment!

Last Friday (Aug 31, 2012) night we just stayed at home.    I was doing my same routine (FB and Blog), while my husband was playing SIMS City.  It was typically an ordinary night for both of us.

Our friend, Reo, was at our house at that time and she told us to look at the moon.  It was light orange in color and we were amazed and thought it was full moon.  I called my husband and he looked at it for 10 seconds.

This is the same moon that we saw the other night. 
(this one was viewed from Guayaquil, Ecuador)

After seeing the moon, all of us went back to do what we've been doing at that time.

Just this morning, we (my husband and I) realized that the moon that we saw that Friday night was not an ordinary moon, in fact it was a Blue moon.

Blue moon is sometimes defined as the second full moon in a calendar month.  The first full moon was August 1 and August 31, 2012 was the second full moon for the month of August and thus it is a Blue Moon! (from earthsky.org)

We've all heard the saying "Once in a Blue Moon" - this means "very rarely" and with what happened last Friday I am glad that at least I was able to glance at it for 10 seconds, because the next Blue Moon will occur on July 2015.

My two cents:  

Most of the time:
     ~ Special moments
     ~ Special people
     ~ Special things

Will come without us realizing how special they are in our lives. 
Life is a fast paced environment and we always need to catch up, 

BUT (a very big B-U-T here!)

Special things comes without prior notice and thus we all need to take each moment / person / thing as a special blessing from Him.  We should always be appreciative and thankful with what we have, with what we don't have and in what we have accomplished!

A "Blue Moon" will always be part of our lives, it is just a matter of being prepared and savoring each moment as if it will be the last.

Aja! ^o^
                   

There is always the first time!

The other day I was just talking about taking risks.  Taking risks does not mean that it has to be a big thing, it can be as small as carrying a new do.

I have this hair do for quite some time now and I have pratically done a lot of changes here and there! Braid, ponytail, hair band, clip, side clip, butterfly clip, clamp etc. name it and I have probably made that do one time or the other.  

I admit, there was this time where I felt I wanted to do something else (with my hair).  I don't want to do something very drastic but I wanted to put some difference into it.

One day I thought, since I dont want to cut my hair short (been there, done that), why not just put some bangs.  Okie, I know what you are thinking! I don't think Dora Bangs will suit me and thus I have decided to have "side swept bangs instead".

After making this decision, I have decided to cut my own bangs! Bang!! Big disapproval from my husband! He said that he can accompany me to the salon to have my bangs cut.  However, I beg to disagree, because this tiny little bangs will consist only 2% of my entire hair population and I don't want to waste money just for that 2% + I believe that I have all the ability that I can cut my own hair.

Sweets' was worried because he felt that something not good will happen if I cut my own hair, like it will be a nightmare.  But wait, if ever it does not work out well then I can always pin it, my hair cannot do anything but grow and everything will be back to normal, right!?

And so after three weeks of continuous persistence to cut my own hair, I finally got the go signal to proceed ~ with these statement: 

"bahala ka! Pag hindi maganda kinalabasan niyang buhok mo, ikaw mag isa pupunta sa salon"

Having my self belief and faith that I can make this work, I finally did it!
Of course I had some help from Youtube.



With this tutorial I was able to successfully satisfy myself with what I wanted to happen.  A very nice side swept bangs!

I am a very satisfied customer to myself! Yay!

----------------------

After one month, I decided to finally put on that full bangs!
When I woke up one morning, I was really decided to take that full bangs but was not able to do so because I will be late for work.

While at work, I was still thinking of cutting my bangs.
Then I made up my mind, went to the washroom to do it and get over with it!

Yes, I did cut it at the office! :D

I had no regret at all!

Xoxo

What really matters most?

Photo from incognito1412.blogspot

We just finished our dinner and while we were thinking of what movie to watch for the night, my husband played one short film from Nestle Philippines.



I have watched it for the nth time but every time that I watch it, it still brings back the soft spot in my heart.

How a simple child can appreciate all the things in the world without even realizing it.  How he was able to influence his friend who was blinded about how simple things can make a person happy.

Most of the time we are blinded with what we already have by asking more.  My favorite quote below speaks so much about appreciation.

It's always thinking about what matters most to us that will make us happy.  Being happy will always be a choice and for me is very easy to determine.

Let us all appreciate the things that we have, we may never know how someone needs it most!