SMP No More!

Have you heard about SMP? If you haven’t, well it’s an abbreviation for “Samahan ng Malalamig ang Pasko”. A term used for people who spend their Christmas alone. It just sucks when you wake up in the morning, get off from bed, check out the calendar, saw it's already December and the simbang-gabi-turned-into-a-date scene just flashes in your mind, and you realize that you, a gorgeous head-turner, the all time sexiest in the class (according to your mom!) just don't have any reasons to celebrate the cold season of Christmas and worse be an official member of the SMP club.

Fishes are found in the ocean, beasts are found on land, and the girls and the guys...? They're actually everywhere! If you're already desperate, or say, just "eager" to find Mr. & Ms. Right, or simply just wanna find a date this Christmas, here are some tips on how and where you can find the guy/girl of your dreams- QUICKLY!

1. GO ONLINE! - Come on, there's nothing quite more effective than broadcasting yourself to the world! There's a lot of "romantic sites" available and I personally view it as the easiest way to find a girl or a guy for yourself.

2. AT THE COFFEE SHOPS - The place is just so relaxing and the place is just so perfect for a nice talk. Here's how to build a rapport, if you spotted a guy or a girl, don't hesitate to approach him/her, ask him/her if he/she wants a cup of coffee and that's it! Plus, psychologists say that the aroma of coffee stimulates the brain and shifts a person's mood into romance.

3. AT THE CLUBS AND BARS - Alright, the place is wild, the crowd is wild. Everybody's drunk. That simple.

4. JOIN TEXT CLANS - It's just amazing how a hundred people will be instantly added to your phonebook. The bigger your network, the bigger chances of meeting people.

5. AT THE MALL - The mall offers a lot of department-salons, restaurants, arcade stations, cinemas,restrooms(LOL. Kiddin') and a lot more. A lot of people go to the mall specially during Christmas sale, so there's a big chance that you will spot a lot of potential sweetheart, too.

6. ASK A FRIEND - In Advertising, they say that the best way to sell is through recommendation. High five!

Alright, now that you already know some tips as to where to find a potential date/lover/sweetheart or whatever you call it, then what are you waiting for? Make a move and “carpe diem”!

Say Hello To Monbis Halo-halo!

Life served up with a scoop of acceptance, a topping of tolerance and sprinkles of hope is what we call "HAPPINESS".

Halo-halo has been one of my favorite desserts. It is my comfort food and it spells H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S to me. It has always been associated with the hot summer season of our country. However, this sweet refreshing dessert is just so hard to resist even during the cold rainy days. 

I am a sweet-toothed monster who is in search of the sweetest, mouth-watering and most delectable dessert and let me tell you about my first encounter with Monbis' Halo-halo.

I live in Labangon for quiet some time now and all I thought siomai and steamed rice are the only food I can devour in this place. We (cebuano) all know that Labangon is known for its famous "Siomai sa Tisa" and "Bradex Steamed Rice", but wait! They have something sweet to offer too. Monbis is a roadside food store located just right next to Bradex in  Tisa, Labangon. They offer sizzling meals, but their best seller is their ohh-so-yummy-and-ohh-so-refreshing layered and vibrant bowl of halo-halo.

Their halo-halo is deifferent from the usual halo-halo. We usually see halo-halo with overloading ingredients, but this one is a minimalist. Their only ingredients are: fresh banana, mango, buko strips, corn, crushed ice, wafer stick, leche flan, ice cream, sprinkled with corn cereals and Graham crackers, finish with a slush of chocolate syrup.

Their halo-halo is just so heavenly. Why? Because instead of  crushing ice, they crush ice candy. How cool and sweet is that? Plus they put a generous amount of cream and condensed milk (Yes, condensed milk not evaporated milk.) as sweeteners. HARDCORE! The magic trick is to mix all the ingredients and eat it slowly. Eventually, the shaved ice candy, condensed milk and cream will liquefy slightly and turn into a sweet treat. A slushie slash melted sundae into a bowl. A surprisingly toothsome liquid mess. As soon as you take your first scoop of your halo-halo, your tastebuds will definitely be confused whether it is a halo-halo or a fruit salad. I can compare it to Razon's, but I must say my vote goes to Monbis. With a price of 65.00php compared to 92.00php of  Razon's, this halo-halo is by far my new favorite among all the halo-halo I've tasted.

So if you are craving for halo-halo or you just wanna give yourself a sweet treat, I highly recommend you try this halo-halo from Monbis. I am sure you will also have one hell of a halo-halotastic experience. BURP!

Who Saved the World from Boring Foods? - Its McCormick!

Have you heard the latest news?? YES! The rumor is true. Finally, the best ingredient for your food is now available in just 1 click away. The famous "Green Bottles" in everyone's kitchen, the McCormick products, is now finally taking its steps in the cyber world with their very innovative McCormick Online Store.

Last May 17 2014, I  had the privilege to attend McCormick's Online Store Launching held in one of Metro Cebu's finest Mexican Resto- MAYA, located in Crossroads Banilad, Cebu City. McCormick is finally bringing their store closer to its customer with their tagline

"BRINGING PASSION TO FLAVOR."

The program was divided into 3 parts.
-Education
-Inspiration
-Action

EDUCATION

Many people use the terms herbs and spices interchangeably to mean any product of plant origin used primarily for seasoning food, which I am guilty about.

McCormick invited a food stylist and a chef with over 20 years of experience in culinary, no other than "The" chef Gigi Angkaw to EDUCATE everyone about the basic of Herbs & spices and how to properly store them.

These are the few things I learned during the chef Gigi's talk. By definition “a spice is an aromatic seasoning obtained from the bark, buds, fruit, roots, seeds or stem of various plants and trees.” and "herb is the fragrant leaves of any of various annual or perennial plants that do not have woody stems.”

At first I only knew a couple of herbs & spices. Those are the ones that I usually see in our kitchen. The spices that I knew are pepper, Anise seeds, curry powder, chili powder, Cinnamon etc, while the herbs I knew are parsley, mint, oregano, rosemary, basil etc. Little that I know that there are a number of spices and herbs available in the market and McCormick Philippines definitely have a wide range of selection. (See products here) 

According to chef Gigi, Proper storage of both is really important. A trendy and beautiful spice rack may look fantastic on a kitchen counter but dried spices should NOT get stored on your kitchen counter. Dried spices should be stored in a cool, dark, dry environment, away from direct sunlight, in air tight containers. Inside a cupboard usually works well. Be sure that the cupboard is away from the heat of the oven/microwave.

INSPIRATION

Now to inspire everyone, McCormick also invited MAYA restaurant's Executive Chef, chef Wade Watsons, to talk about his journey in becoming a world class chef and his success story. According to him in order for you to survive in a food industry, you need to have the HEART for food and guess what?---- A THICK FACE! You need to have a passion for food and never limit yourself to try new things in cooking  and to always taste the food is an S.O.P. in the food world. 

ACTION

Kim Deunice R. Gillesania, McCormick's Product Manager for Food & Services, was also there to walk us through 0n their McCormick Online Store. She talked about the convenience their online store has to offer (Talk about saving time & money).

 Imagine yourself getting all the herbs and spices that you need for your recipe in just one click. Spare yourself from the hassle of walking and pushing your cart in a grocery store looking for the items that you need and end up not finding them. Spare yourself from long lines and the best part...SAVE money! (applause!). McCormick offers a cheaper price in their online store since they can give you their factory prices. You will also get 100php from your online orders upon successful registration.(YEY! Applause!). PLUS, for every 5,000php worth of products, you will get a FREE DELIVERY! (Bravo!)

The McCormick Online Store is very easy to navigate. The layout of their online store is simple yet is fully functional and useful. You wont have any problem navigating your way in their online store. If you have any question about product details, delivery, processing orders and the likes, you can check their FAQ's. If you like cooking or you're looking for a new recipe, feel free to browse on their "Chef's Corner".  

And Oh! By the way, before I forget... The event was hosted by the bubbly, witty, and oh-so-handsome Mark Suntay! 

To know more about the products, you can visit McCormick's website. For meal inspirations, you can follow them on Facebook and Pinterest or you can simply contact them at:

McCormick Phils. Inc.,
SYSU Center 145 Panay Ave.,
Quezon City
(+632)-310-6265
store@mccormick.com.ph


P.S.
Some photos credit to my dear friend, Fred Dimaro. You might also want to visit his site. Just click here.

DON'T LOOK FOR LOVE...LET IT FIND YOU

"Don't look for love...let it find you."

I think that is the most pessimistic statement I have ever heard. It sounds like something a person that has "failed" too many times in their pursuit of love says to justify being too afraid to try again. If you want that great job, do you wait for the CEO to approach you, or do you put yourself into the "pool" of sharks and make them believers as to why you are the best for the position?

I think finding true love is the same way. Even when the world is seemingly still, it is still moving at a rapid pace. Light seems constant but does it not move as well? Just because you don't see the "wheels" in motion does not mean that they are not moving.

Love is the same. How can you possibly find love if you are both standing still, waiting for each other? In a matter of fact, how will you know who you are waiting for? We'll wait our lives for someone to come along and all the while realize that we have been duped. I don't feel that we are assigned a single soulmate. With that being said, the possibility of finding the "right one" is infinite (or pretty good at the least).

You shouldn't expect life altering things to happen if you're too afraid to take risks. So instead of asking why is it taking so long for love to find us, shouldn't we be asking ourselves, why are we being so lax in our pursuit of love?

STOP JUDGING.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

I remember listening to sermons on why being gay is wrong. The church started a petition against anything that supports same-sex partners. 


I still don't understand why the gay issue is such a sore spot for the Christian church. If the church were to rank sins, being gay is pretty high up there. Christians are willing to look past lying, gambling, cheating, & drunkenness (which are all mentioned in the Bible too). It's the one sin Christians are unwilling to forgive. Which is ironic -- given that it's not up to us to judge other people. 


There are a lot of religious extremists out there who ruin the whole religious image for everyone. People who aren't religious tend to think we are all just wacko crazy. That's also something that needs to change. 

Really, all problems, whether it be in regards to sex preference, religion, gun rights, race, etc, people just need to be understanding. It's really not anyone else's business what other people do. What right does anyone have to judge someone else? 

Maybe if more people judged themselves, and kept their noses out of other people's lives, we wouldn't have so many problems like judging gays.

THE BEST OF LIFE

I had the chance to have a heart to heart talk with my ex last night..

(yeah,my EX..so please don't make any issue about this.okey?)

we discussed a lot of things like how was my life in manila,about my ex's,previous jobs,etc.

We also talked about what happened between the two of us before.Then we talked about his lovelife.

We started chatting around 12 midnight and decided to call it a night around 4am.

(ala Dear ate Charo ang peg namin)

As I lay down on my bed, a lot of things came up to my mind. Well, we are both grateful that we didn't burn the bridge that connects us. As that moment passed by, I realized a lot of things and here are my realizations...

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will.You'll have your heart broken and you'll break others' hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. you just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts.

Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.

A Visit to Reigne.com

Hi guys. It's been quiet a while since the last time I posted an article here in my blog.It has been a very busy week for me and to my new family "PUSH". I'll tell you more about "PUSH" sooner.For now I just want to share something to you.

Since I love fashion, I would like to share a site wherein you can have an idea what to wear.Well it's basically for girls but I just admire how this friend of mine mix and match every piece of item she have inside her closet.If you have girlfriends or girl friends you can recommend this site.By the way her name is Reigne.

Not only that her fashion taste is on top of the game but she also have a great voice to boast. Aunty Reigne (yeah we call each other aunty) is the lead vocalist of Vida Musica acoustic band. 

Vida Musica already made several song covers like Someone Like you & Chasing Pavements both popularized by Adelle.

Anyway, to see is to believe. I might take all days in a calendar month telling you about this great person/friend..so I would suggest you visit her site for you to experience fashion and music at its finest!Below is the link of her blogsite.

http://www.reigne.com/

ENJOY!