In Other Words...

Top 10 Things I Miss About My Childhood

2005-06-09T16:26:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, I daydream about how we're going to raise our child, and how much I really want our family to be the "closely-knit" type. Being an expectant mom, I can't help but fantasize about the "wholesome quality time" we will be spending as a family together! Haha! :P (However, I am also aware of the nightmares of screaming baby in the middle of the night, diaper changes, if and when baby gets sick, etc., etc. So my head isn't totally in the clouds...)

These thoughts have got me looking back at my own childhood, and sometimes you can't help but miss being a kid. Here are the top 10 things I love to look back on (in no particular order):

1. We never failed to spend time as a family every Sunday. My dad and mom used to take us out to lunch right after church. I want to pass this tradition down to my own family. My siblings and I used to go ga-ga over the ebi tempura whenever we went to a Japanese restaurant. Thinking about the family lunch also reminds me of:

2. The "Old' Pizza Hut and Shakey's. I don't know if it was because my tastebuds were different when I was a kid, or if the quality of these two pizza joints have dramatically diminished in quality as time went by. But whenever my daddy & mommy took us here, we would always order a family-size pizza with a pitcher of rootbeer and I always remember the pizza there as HEAVENLY (as opposed to how it tastes today). The pizza was piping hot and the cheese was long and stringy when you took a slice from the pan.

3. Travelling with the family. My dad loved to go on outings and he was a great travel guide. He especially knew the ins and outs of Tagaytay and we'd explore all the little, obscure, hole-in-the-wall places that were well worth the visit. Like I remember this tiny shop that sold fresh, Barako coffee beans that were grown at the store owner's farm in Tagaytay and they gave out free cups of coffee (one of the rare times my dad allowed me to drink coffee). I also miss the picnics at the picnic grove (when it was still free), even if the food we brought wasn't very good (a bag of sliced bread and a freshly opened can of luncheon meat, for example - yech!). But I also remember my dad loved Mushroom Burger, which was always one of our stops in Tagaytay, much to my delight.

4. The garden in our old house in San Juan. Before we moved to Mandaluyong, we lived in San Juan, in a house my grandparents put up. My favorite place in the whole wide world was our sprawling garden, full of trees, flowers and all sorts of plants. This place was a child's paradise - we even had two types of swings - the type with a seat for one, held up by two chains on both ends and a big, round one that could seat 4 people or more. The chains on the swings were extremely long so you could twist them, sit on the swing, and let it spin until you wanted to throw up! I loved to pretend I was an acrobat on those swings. The place was so big that I used to ride my bike around there when I finally learned how. I wish my kids could grow up with a garden like that.

^ The big, round swing in our garden. Yes, that's me, the kid doing the insane stunt on the swing, hanging on for dear life. I'm not sure, but I probably learned how to do this from my siblings -- hehehe! I was 3 years old here, almost 4. I don't know who the other kid in the picture is.

5. My dad used to make us breakfast at least once a week, usually Saturdays or Sundays. This is actually a bitter-sweet memory because we'd be dozing off happily in bed, when my dad would all of a sudden bang on our doors without warning, early in the morning, so that we can all eat the food he prepared together. Even though some of the stuff he made was kinda weird most of the time, I sure do miss his french toast.

6. My mom. we lost her when we were very young, but I remember a lot about her. I remember how after eating her meal, my mom would make "rice balls". She would take the grains of rice that fell off her plate, and she would rub them between her fingers until they formed into a tiny ball. One of her habits which I have acquired, is while eating at home, she used to raise her left leg so her left foot would be resting on the seat of the chair. I don't know why, but I feel much more comfortable eating whenever I do this. Hubby notices this habit and a few days ago, he told me once my tummy gets really big when I'm further into the pregnancy, I may not be able to do that anymore!

Although I always hated nap-time when I was a kid (I can't remember a single time I actually fell asleep), I still have warm memories of those moments, because I would always snuggle in the blankets with my mom, and as she slept, I liked to grab and feel the coldness of her ear lobes (a weird habit of mine).

7. The "Original" Sesame Street and "Muppet Show". Meaning, the ones that were produced by Jim Henson himself when he was still alive. These shows were funny, wacky, and was evident of Jim Henson's weird sense of humor. At the time, Elmo was not a main character in Sesame Street, thank goodness! It's a shame he is now. The original "human" cast was a lot more entertaining, too. I learned a lot from that show and I could never get enough of it.

8. Christmas. It's still my favorite holiday, but Christmas is very different for kids. The kids get the most presents. When I was a kid, I could never resist the temptation of peeking at some of my gifts (I think I got caught), and I always felt giddy the entire few weeks before Christmas. Our tradition was to go to Simbang Gabi on Christmas eve, after which we would go to my grandfather's house (mom's side) to have Noche Buena and open gifts with all my aunts, uncles and cousins at midnight. We would then go home, wake up early the next morning, and open gifts from the immediate family together. Afterwards we would spend lunch at my aunt's house (dad's side), then open more presents!

9. When you're a kid, it's easy to find something to do when you're bored. My dad got a video camera from one of his visits to Hong Kong (it was big and heavy because it used betamax tapes to record!). When we had nothing else to do, my siblings and I would make home videos of ourselves. We did the weirdest things - home-made music videos, pretend TV commercials, and my brother and his friend made "documentaries" and a "TV series".

My sister and I also used to record our voices on tape. I particularly remember one time when we made our own audio story book of a disturbed version of "Tom Thumb". Sound effects were courtesy of our Casio(?) synthesizer, also from my dad's trip to Hong Kong.

We had a weird gadget called "Orpheus Music Painter" (yes, it was also from Hong Kong), which sort of reminds me of Window's "Paint" program. It was something you plugged into the TV and you could draw and color your own stuff and even add music to it (the gadget came with midi tunes). Again, our (whacky)imagination went wild. We made cartoon versions of crazy soap operas with main characters named "Ozzie" and "Lulu", and "Mini-series" with the characters "Jijing" whose super-powers was an ultra-sensitive nose, and "Bastos Baboy" who was a pig but also a mad clown you could hire for children's parties (I was probably inspired by "Homie the Clown" of In Living Color).

10. The big, old turntable. Sometimes I would spend the afternoons in the living room with my coloring books, listening to The Beatles on our turntable. We had it for a very long time, and I never got rid of it until we moved in '95 (I gave it away). I still miss the nostalgic, scratchy sounds the old records would make. It took me a while to get used to the way The Beatles sound on CD. Somehow, they sound better on a vinyl record to me.

Just a Little Shameless Plugging

2005-06-07T11:08:00.000+08:00

French Kiss has something unique to offer for Father's Day (June 19).

Perk up dad's spirits with a "frothy mug of cappuccino"! Our version is actually made of moist, chocolate cake with rich chocolate frosting, topped with vanilla buttercream and finally garnished with chocolate sprinkles!

Only P210 each. Choose from a large cappuccino mug or a tall sports mug in either a basketball, baseball, tennis, or golf design. Comes in a clear box tied with a decorative ribbon and a gift tag.

For more details or to order, go to www.frenchkisspastries.com.

My Take on Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller's "Sin City"

2005-06-05T12:49:00.000+08:00

I promise, I rarely ever rate movies as "Guy Flicks" but "Sin City" is a bonafide "guy flick"-to-the-core movie. Now, I have never read any of Frank Miller's stuff, especially any of the Sin City books, so I really didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that it was a Robert Rodriguez film with an all-star cast, so I wanted to watch it.

Why is this a guy-flick? Too many butt shots of scantily clad "women of the streets" shooting their guns and flying into the air. Like Robert Rodriguez' "From Dusk Till Dawn", I honestly think this movie aims to please the guys. But other than that, I think the three main characters in this movie are the kind boys like to relate to, or wish they could relate to. Now, I'm not saying all guys are like that, or like the same thing - I'm just talking about the general population... :P There is no denying that, right? :)

This movie made me feel uneasy. It wasn't the violence that bugged me...which is probably a bad thing, because that means movies today are so over-saturated with violence, so watching stuff like this is nothing new. I actually liked Tarantino's "Kill Bill", and I really liked Rodriguez' "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". The violence in these movies were so extreme, that it became hilarious to watch.

So what bugged me so much about "Sin City"? I think it was the fact that the three main characters, who are somewhat the "good guys" in the movie hardly had any redeemable qualities. The "purest" character in the movie was Hartigan (Bruce Willis' character), whose plotline happened to be the only one I liked and the only character I felt had the most satisfying plot - from beginning to end. I don't feel that the other two main characters developed much by the end of the movie. Dwight (Clive Owen) is boring and monotonous. Marv (Mickey Rourke) is tough, violent, obsessed with "Goldie"...and other than a few other details...that's it.

There are, however, good points to this movie. If there were none, I would have walked out, just like when I walked out from "From Dusk Till Dawn". (That reminds me, I noticed three couples walked out of the theater. And old couple and two young couples, and I have a feeling it was the ladies who wanted to get out of there.)

So here are the good points: The art direction was creative and fun to watch. It's like watching a moving comic book. Even the dialogue seemed to be taken straight out of the comic book. It's done entirely in black and white (It almost had a similar feel as "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", but was more comfortable to the eyes than "Sky Captain" was) except for a few details like they colored in the eyes of some of the characters, some clothing, some blood, and "Goldie" was in color. And the way it was colored in was like the way they colored in black and white photos way back in - was it the 30's and 40's? Some lighting was also colored in, like the flashing of police sirens.

Sometimes the actors looked super-imposed onto a virtual set. The car chases looked like they came straight out of a comic book and the movemements were sometimes intentionally unrealistic. There were scenes that were shot at certain angles so they looked like a panel from a comic strip (a lot of "fore-shortening").

And finally, a special mention to Elijah Wood's character, a very intriguing villain, even though he never says a word.

So, in conclusion: This movie should go on the same shelf as The Fast and The Furious 1 & 2, XXX and its sequel, and "From Dusk Till Dawn". Guy Flick, guy flick, guy flick.

Over-the-top Baby Names

2005-06-04T17:51:00.000+08:00

I've been doing a lot of research on baby names nowadays. We have an idea what to name it if it's a boy, but we're all out of ideas for if it's a girl. Through my research, I came across a thread in the forum website Pinoy Exchange called "The Cutest Baby Names" where people can contribute the best names they could think of. Some of these names are what some people actually named their kids, or are planning to name their kids.

I must say, people sure like to be creative and I'm curious as to how they came up with these. I came across some really cheesy, odd-ball ones and some that were just...way over-the-top. I just had to share this. But I do hope I don't end up offending anyone. In the highly unlikely event that your name is on this list (these are very unique), please keep in mind this is just my personal opinion...maybe I'm the odd-ball one.

Over-The-Top

1. Jersey Gaea and Jelsey Gray (twins)
2. Jacob Arione Lex
3. Aldrin Sirius Jonah
4. Bianca Alyanna Earth
5. Akira Jessamine Leeia
6. Lance Alford Gerard
7. Edel Daniel Bien
8. Pierce Ashford Phillippe (sounds like it's straight out of a romance novel with a Fabio-esque hero)
9. Hamlet Alfred ("To Be, or not to be?")
10. Harshille Drey Evan
11. Skylah Shamelle
12. Darko Alessandro

Most of these kids are going to have to deal with 5 names, including their family name; SIX if they include the mother's maiden name.

"How Do You Spell/Say That?"

1. Xayene Gayle
2. Alessandra Czereneih
3. Aiane Franxine
4. Czereeneiah Karan
5. Aiane Franxine
6. Ione Rain
7. Jzade Chrystle

Can you imagine how frustrated these poor people are going to be when they have to constantly remind their teachers and eventually their bosses or co-workers how to say and spell their names? Or when they try to order a coffee at Starbucks? The baristas can't even get my simple right most of the time.

Odd-Ball...Strange...Weird

1. Essence
2. Moonyeen
3. Sophia Lauren (hmmm...as in, the actress?)
4. Someone claims that she/he has a friend who named his twins "The Dawn" (as in the OPM band) and "Abbey Road" (as in, the Beatles album).
5. Another person claims she/he has a nephew named "Abcde" (pronounced Absidi) and another named Xyza.
6. Ser Krome Anjelo, nicknamed JLo. (What the...?)

I know I'll be secretly critisized by some people with the name hubby and I are eventually going to name our child (that's why I don't announce the names we're thinking of to everyone!). But I guarantee it won't be anything like "Jzade Chrystle"!

The Beatles' Biggest Secrets

2005-06-03T12:05:00.000+08:00

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was going to watch The Beatles Special on Star World. Well...somehow, I probably learned way too much info that I don't think I really wanted to know. Then again, with a title like that, I should have expected some less-than-wonderful things to be revealed. But I didn't expect to be shocked.

The biggest shocker of all was the fact that John had "relations" with their manager, Brian Epstein. Oh, fie! :P I had no idea. Ugggghhh....

It was, indeed, a shocker, and I wasn't sure if I was hearing it right. Maya could not help but text me about her utter dismay. John is her favorite Beatle, after all.

I also had no idea that John and Yoko broke up for a while, during their marriage, during which Yoko encouraged John to have a relationship with her friend, Mae Pong (or something like that). Weird people.

I always knew that The Beatles were into drugs and all that (Duh! Just listen to their songs like "Wild Honey Pie" or "Why Don't We Do It In the Road?"), but I had no idea they were already into it so early into their career. It turns out they were already using the stuff way, way back, even before their sqeaky-clean image days, before they were even discovered. I always thought they started when they first recorded "Revolver" or something.

Oh, well. Despite their insane background, there is just no denying their music. Here are my top 3 favorite albums:

1. The Beatles (aka The White Album): Note-worthy songs: Black Bird, Julia, Mother Nature's Son.

2. It's a tie between Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: She's Leaving Home, Fixing a Hole, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

and Abbey Road: Come Together, Something, Here Comes the Sun.

3. Revolver: Here, There and Everywhere, Got To Get You Into My Life, Yellow Submarine.

Samosa Dreams and Curry Fantasies

2005-06-02T15:19:00.000+08:00

I love Indian Food. When you eat this stuff, all these wonderful flavors explode in your mouth - fragrant and spicy - and sometimes tangy - at the same time. And I adore the herb often used in these dishes, cilantro. It's just one of those things that you either hate or you love, and I definitely love.

Last week, we had dinner at New Bombay, an Indian restaurant owned by an Indian family, located at Wilson St. corner P. Guevarra St. (It's the one with the huge sign and the logo has two swastika-looking symbols on both ends...haha!) They have pretty good authentic stuff at decent prices (their rice dishes are a bit pricey, though). The servings are pretty decent, each dish is about good for two, but if you order two or more dishes, each dish is probably good for about 3 or 4 people.

We ordered vegetable samosas, of course. (Have you ever seen "The Kumars on No. 42" on Star World? It seems they always serve samosas to their guests. "Do you have proper food in Hollywood, or only hamburgers?") Yummy stuff. It's sort of the Indian version of our local empanada. These are savory pastries stuffed with potatoes, garbanzo beans, peas, carrots, etc., which are then deep-fried to a crisp. At New Bombay, they serve four pieces with three kinds of dipping sauces: cilantro chutney (my favorite!), tamarind sauce (my second favorite!), and mango chutney.

I love the Rogan Josh (about P160) over there. It's a yogurt-based chicken (or mutton) dish with a red sauce (it's red from the paprika and ground chilli) filled with lots of fragrant spices.

The chicken curry there is good, too. It's excellent paired with roti canai, a flaky, chewy bread with just a tinge of sweetness (but I think that Banana Leaf Curry House has the best roti, ever!)

What makes their rice dishes expensive is because of the fact that they use a fragrant, long-grain rice called basmati, and it's not readily available in the Philippines. So far, the only places I've found that sell this type of rice are Uncle Ed's at UN Ave., Manila - an Indian specialty store and restaurant, and Healthy Options. Try New Bombay's saffron rice (about P180) - basmati rice infused with saffron and butter, toped with cashews, peas and raisins (pick out the raisins if you don't like 'em).

Keep in mind, though, that New Bombay is not a "date place", so make sure you're not going there to impress your significant other (or your significant other-to-be). The interiors are very kitschy (huge, stiff, black wooden chairs and tables with gold trimming; excruciatingly fake pink roses with matching fake dew in tiny white vases; weird table settings; and the staff have no dress code, whatsoever.) But the lady who owns the place is extremely sweet, she will talk to you and she loves to hear your comments on the food. She will gently shake your hand and is not ashamed to show you that she's grateful for your patronage.

A couple of nights ago, we indulged in the dinner buffet at Circles in Makati Shangri-la for my birthday. A couple of my friends were raving about this place, so we decided to try it out, and I do not regret it. What depressed me was that they had a very huge spread of sushi, sashimi, raw oysters, and smoked salmon - and I am not allowed to eat raw stuff right now. They also had Indian food that night, and I was sooo happy they had my favorite indian dish, Chicken Makhani, or Indian Butter Chicken. It looked deadly because it was topped with tons of chilies in all sorts of colors and sizes. I even noticed it was the only dish that was left untouched out of all the others, probably because this. But I decided to brave it and was surprised to find out that it was hardly spicy at all. Chicken Makhani is a dish with a tomato and yogurt-based sauce and tons of spices. It hardly has any butter in it at all, so I have no idea why it's called Butter Chicken.

Now I want some more! :P

Late Bloomer in Music Appreciation

2005-05-30T16:39:00.000+08:00

I can't wait until Wednesday, 8pm. I am going to be glued to the 'set watching The Beatles special on Star World (channel 25 on Home Cable).

That reminds me of how I was such a "Late Bloomer" in music. I'm not sure if that's what you would call it, but it took me a very long time before I could start to appreciate other kinds of music aside from those of The Beatles (I had such a huge crush on Paul), The Police, U2 and David Bowie, and other classic oldies (I loved the "Stand By Me" and "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack). And believe me, when I say "Late Bloomer", I do mean LATE.

I think I only started to appreciate other types of music such as modern pop, R&B, jazz, etc. when I was 18. But before I did, I went through a weird stage in music appreciation first.

Like I just mentioned above, starting from the time I outgrew nursery rhymes, my world of music was always The Beatles, The Police, U2 and David Bowie. I was heavily influenced by the music preferences of my elder siblings, and there is about a 7-year age gap between me and the sibling closest to my age (I'm the youngest in the family). That was the music that most caught my attention (they were also very into Duran-Duran, though...but that didn't rub off on me too much).

I was so comfortable listening to this music, that it was the only kind I ever listened to until I was about 15. I didn't really have any friends or classmates (or at least I didn't know of any) my age who liked the Beatles until I met Mayalyn. When I found out she liked the Fab 4 as much as I did, I knew it was meant to be that we become friends! Hehehe.

When I was in grade 2 or 3, we had to perform a musical number in Music class. We had to either lip-sync or dance to the song of our choice. There was no doubt about it, I just had to do something by The Police. I decided to lip-sync to "King of Pain". I reviewed the song at home and copied it to a cassette tape, like we were told, so our teacher could play it on the mini component while we perform. On the day of the performance, my other classmates probably looked oh-so-cute to our teacher performing Madonna, Michael Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Debbie Gibson songs. I remember the big smile on her face as she watched each one perform. But when it was my turn...oh, boy! I can still remember the half-smirk on her lips, and half-weirded-out look in her eyes. And I was really hurt when she blurted out, "okay!" and she turned the component off when I was not even a fourth of the way through the song (I didn't even finish the first chorus! I was just starting to warm up). But my classmates were able to perform half of their performance or more. Needless to say, I was extremely embarrassed. Did she not think "King of Pain" was an appropriate choice? :P

I went through other musical stages, and when I was about 13, I was into my worst one, ever. I was such a rebellious, angst-ridden teenager, and I developed a liking to heavy metal! It was so gross. I actually liked Guns 'n Roses (read: baduy). I loved Metallica most of all (the Black album, of course) and Nirvana. I even tried to like groups like Sepultura and who knows what else. Good thing I outgrew it in about 2 or 3 years. Then I went back to my plain old comfort zone of the Beatles, et. al. and even Enya.

Thank goodness my sister introduced me to Jars of Clay in 1995. I think that was the start of my appreciation for (good) modern music. From there, my music appreciation started to branch out and now I don't even know what my favorite kind of music is anymore. However, I will have to admit that I still can't appreciate any kind of Hip Hop and I can't stand Heavy Metal anymore. But I still love the Beatles! ;)

^ Photo of the action-figure set of the Beatles as depicted in the animated film "The Yellow Submarine", of which I am a proud owner of. By McFarlane (love the stuff they make!)

Catching Up...

2005-05-27T11:45:00.000+08:00

Underwood vs. Bice
I'll have to admit, I used to like Carrie a lot better than Bo, but as the number of contestants decreased (when there were about 5 left or so), my appreciation for Bo increased. I like the fact that, for this particular show, he's unique, and it would have been really interesting to find out how his album, made by these particular producers, would have turned out.

Oh, well.

I still like cute-as-a-button-country-bumpkin-girl Carrie, and I think her performance of "Angels Brought Me Here" during the last show was much, much better than her performance the previous night. She missed a lot of notes on all three songs, she seemed nervous and edgy. Bo looked uncomfortable, too, but I think he handled it a lot better than Carrie.
Nevertheless, I think they both deserve to be "American Idol", they're both good in their own way, and I love 'em both!

I'm Such a Couch-Potato Nowadays, it's Sick
I haven't been updating lately, because I've been stuck on the couch most of the day. First, hubby and I bought some Playstation 2 games to make the most of it. We haven't played with it for a long time, and it breaks our hearts to watch it accumulate dust in our living room.

We like to play co-op games because otherwise, I must admit, I tend to get very "pikon" and get hot-headed the rest of the day. Hahaha!

First, we started off with TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. Very fun game, but I hated it at first because the controls were very confusing and disorienting. Three stages in the game, after getting extremely frustrated, I finally customized the controls, and got to play it much better. We finished it in less than a week. One caveat for those thinking of playing it: We had to rest our eyes frequently because this game made us dizzy after an hour of gameplay or so. It also made our stomachs queazy.

Next, we tried Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. Great graphics. But 'twas a snore-fest for me. It took us a long time to learn the ropes. I like the concept of where you play this super-spy and you have to be on stealth-mode most of the time, but the second stage was too chaotic and frustrating for me (I hate it when there are machines and choppers shooting at you and you have to find a way to avoid them) and I gave up then and there. Hubby started playing one-player mode, though, and he seems to be enjoying.

Now, I am playing Katamari Damacy. It's the cutest, weirdest, and "Japanese-est" game, ever! It's really easy to play, but also quite challenging because of the time limit on each stage. Even the plot is weird. The king of the cosmos, on a drunken (or drugged?) rampage, accidentally lost all the stars in the sky. He sends you (the prince) to get them back. You are given a Katamari ball, which you use to roll things up from the earth (things like pins, pencils, sushi, caramels, fences, flowers, cows, people, etc.), which the king will release in the sky to create stars. The more things you roll up, the bigger the ball gets. And the bigger the ball gets, the bigger the items you can pick up. The soundtrack is very entertaining as well (by Japanese musicians). Very fun game, I love it!

Addiction to 24
Aside from PS2 games, we have been "busy" watching season 4 of 24 on vcd. The copy isn't that great, but we'd still rather watch a mediocre copy straight than have to wait for what happens every week (the suspense will kill 'ya!). I still love this show, even though sometimes, the plot and the characters, particularly this season, can get predictable. According to the website, season 5 is coming up next January. Wow. Somehow, I can't believe it. I mean, how much more can this Jack Bauer take, 'ya know?!

Fuzion Smoothies - you gotta try it

2005-05-14T23:13:00.000+08:00

If you have never tried a Fuzion smoothie before, you better get off your butt and hop over to the mall right now! Considering that these fruity delights are made of 100% pure fruit, no sugar and, get this - absolutely no ice! - they are very affordable. If I remember correctly, they cost about P60 to P90 or so, depending on the size, flavor, and type of smoothie.

They have what they call Frazzles, which is made with pure fruit and sweetened with a special desert nectar. And they have the classic smoothies, which are thickened with yogurt.

When you take a sip into one, it's like drinking a fruit shake that's been blended with ice, but tastes a lot more fruity. So how do they make icy smoothies without any ice? The fruit is flash-frozen and then blended, so not only is it refreshing, but very filling, too, since you're sipping up all that fruit.

After church, sometimes Leo and I have dinner at Robinson's Galleria, which is really near by. And so far, we have never failed to stop by Fuzion after dinner (2nd floor of Robinson's Galleria. They also have a branch in the 5th floor of The Podium). To date, the flavors I have tried are:

Very Berry Good - a blend of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. This one is tangy-sweet!

Mango-Peach - Can't remember what they call this one, but it's a simple combination of mango and peach. So far, I think it's my favorite! They also have the Fla-Mango, which is mango, peach and banana but I'm not too crazy about bananas in my smoothies.

Bright 'N Cherry - Super tangy, makes me drool when I think about it! I love cherries, so I love this one. I was happy to find a couple of whole cherries on the bottom of the smoothie when I ordered this (the blender missed it!).

They also have meals available. The most interesting ones are the japanese-style salmon or burger steak. They're made of either salmon or beef patties sandwiched between two japanese rice patties. Cute presentation. Quite tasty. They also have the strawberry-balsalmic vinegar grilled chicken meal. Strawberries and balsalmic vinegar are a great combo, so this was pretty good, too. My only complaint is the chicken was slightly over-cooked.

The meals are so-so, but you really want to go here for the smoothies!

Wow, I am SO craving for one right now! *Drool*...

"The Fruit of Bengar" and Other Stories

2005-05-13T17:00:00.000+08:00

Those Buldging Blues
Hollywood's latest buzz about BenGar, or Ben and Jen, or Benifer 2, if you prefer, or to put it simply: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, may be expecting the pitter patter of tiny feet by fall this year. It's so annoying how Jen has this cute little "pregnancy bump" as the journalists like to put it, and the rest of her body is toned, slim and sleek as usual. Kinda like "Rachel" when she was pregnant on "Friends". And I always thought that a pregnancy that looked that good wasn't realistic. Well!!! Obviously I'm wrong, and feeling bitter about it is purely my own fault. I'm probably one of the laziest people alive. If I could have just forced my butt off the sofa more often, then maybe I can look a little better, eh? And I could avoid more unnecessary flab from growing in the usual flabby places. And my doctor wouldn't have any problems about me exercising when I reach my second trimester. (At least I have an excuse right now not to get off my butt, since the doc ordered me to stay home and stay off my feet for now. Har, har...)

So take a look at the current Jen so you know what I mean:

Dentists Are Sadists
Went to the dentist today. It's been a couple of years since my last visit. I know, I know...very bad of me. But who doesn't fear the tooth doctor? I got a prophylaxis today. As usual, the dentist used that thingy with the horrific high-pitched whirring sound to clean my teeth. This intrusive little gadget spits water out as it cleans, and so the entire time it was sprinkling water all over my face. Then there are some sensitive parts in the teeth that make you feel weak in the knees whenever the dentist cleans over those parts. Just thinking about it makes me whince.

Anyway, since it has been a while since I've been to the dentist, my gums got pretty sensitive over time and to make a long, painful story short, it was one big bloody mess.

Oh, I know they mean well. And what will our teeth be like without 'em? But going to the dentist is always the last thing on my to-do list. Hours before my appointment, my whole body gets tense and my stomach turns into knots as nightmares of killer drills, blinding lights, and fierce "saliva-suckers" flash through my mind.

I wonder what it's like for my old middle-school friend, Kris, whose father is an Orthodontist/Dentist? What is it like living with a dentist everyday? Hehehe...

Baby's First Picture

2005-05-12T11:35:00.000+08:00

This being our first baby and all, how can I resist showing off baby's first picture? Thanks to the wonderful thing called an ultrasound, we were able to get a glimpse of baby at 8+ weeks. And it never fails to make me cry whenever I get a chance to look at him or her. This was my third ultrasound to date, and the clearest and best one yet. The last two ultrasounds I took at the VRPMC (Polymedic). The ultrasound there is pretty good but then I discovered that the ultrasound at the new Medical City is even better (and more expensive!). The doctor was even able to zoom into the shot to get a better view. It filled me with so much awe to see the baby's heart beating and its body moving (too bad they don't have video!).

Thank you, God, for blessing us with this baby.

Uchenna and Joyce

2005-05-11T23:40:00.000+08:00

...of the Amazing Race 7, that is. It's the first time ever the team I was rooting for actually won. I was kicking, yelling and flailing my arms during the climactic scene where Uchenna refused to enter the gates that lead to the finish line was until they paid their taxi driver off. Doesn't it just give you that "warm and tingly feeling" all over when the good guys win??? Hehehe.

Their genuine kindness and their sacrifices (poor Joyce lost all her hair) certainly paid off. I'm so happy for them!

Just a few random thoughts to start this blog off...

2005-05-11T23:12:00.000+08:00

This is my second attempt at trying to maintain a blog. The first one failed because I got too lazy to update it. I never got past the first entry...and I even forgot where in the web it is. I wonder...will I be able to maintain this one?

Currently Experiencing an Awkward Stage in Life
I'm about 9 weeks pregnant...and for those who have ever been pregnant, I'm sure you'll totally relate to what's going on with me right now. It's that horrible phase when your clothes don't quite fit so well anymore and maternity clothes are still way too big. The only thing that is comfortable to wear for me are skirts and cotton tops. Don't get me wrong...a lot of my clothes still fit, but they've become quite snug. So now, the only things that fit me are some of my skirts that were previously too loose. Now, they fit just right. Incidentally, they all happen to be black. So it's in the middle of this stifling summer weather, and I'm in black all the time. When I go to work, my shorts are always unbuttoned and only zipped three-fourths of the way up (I work in a really hot kitchen, so we can wear shorts!). Good thing we wear aprons so I can hide my exposed fly. I find myself eager for that day to arrive when I can wear maternity clothes so that things can finally fit better.

But awkward things aside, I'm ecstatic about being pregnant! I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl. I can't wait to meet my baby!

A New Discovery
Did you know that the french fries at Jollibee taste ten times better than McDonald's? Yes, folks, ten times better. Two nights ago, we were hit by a brown-out at 11:00 pm. Needless to say, IT GOT EXTREMELY HOT and UNCOMFORTABLE. Hubby and I sat in the darkness for an hour or so before we finally decided to go out and look for a 24-hour fastfood to cool off. We drove around everywhere until we spotted the most convenient place we could find and it happened to be Jollibee. I got fries to go with the new chicken torpedo they had (hey, I'm pregnant, I can pig out if I want to, right? Har har...). It was alright, decent enough, but the sweet mayo dressing in it just killed the whole thing. Yuck. However, the fries that came with the meal were surprisingly good.

Now, I just recently had some from McDonald's (I was craving for McChicken for a short while a few weeks back), and the fries over there were just...absolutely horrendous (thank you, Simon Cowell, for being such an inspiration.) They were tough and mushy at the same time. It was like chewing on potato-ish tasting cardboard. On the other hand, the Jollibee fries are crispy on the outside, but tender on the inside and they actually taste like potatoes. So, maybe this will be helpful to you the next time you're craving for fries! Hehehe...

So these are tonight's thoughts. Until next time!