I'm Bad This Lenten Season Because...

May the Almighty forgive me for I have sinned a thousandfold this season of Lent. Instead of penny pinching, tummy trimming and soul cleansing, I indulged and fell victim to my earthly cravings. But before you judge me with my wicked ways, allow me to defend myself. And please pretend that this is serious.

1) Because I ate beef! I dread having anemia (heaven forbid!) and poor memory (oh no!), so I need to stock up on vitamin B12. And for me, the most tastiest beef meal is beef chelo kebab meal!

2) Because I ate a fat burrito! I think I need calories and fiber to survive the daily grind. Believe me, I think I can survive without cheesy tater tots and nachos but the cashier insisted they're part of the meal. So I blindly said yes. I also think I helped make their cash register ring that particular moment.

3) Because I've been eating juicy mangoes, plump avocados and sweet bananas nonstop! I want to nourish my body with vitamins and minerals, so I ate a lot of delicious fruits. Summer time is the time of delicious tropical fruits. Lenten season always falls on summer.Okay, you get the picture.

 

4) Because I spent a precious hour admiring future Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales. That's only because I love the British Royal Family and the fact that fairy tales can happen to real people. And oh, since it's fiery hot these days, I almost devoured this tub of heavenly chocolate ice cream.

5) Because I ate half of that meaty pizza! I badly need protein. It's a fair share, after all. I skipped lunch that day just to have that pizza I badly covet.

6) Because I ate pizza fries! For analogous line of defense, see # 5. I love pizza fries. Never did I love any kind of fries, only pizza fries. Even that flavorful twirly fries that entice the Mcdo Republic once a year, I abhor. 

7) Because I couldn't resist eating a plateful of spaghetti! Tomato sauce is a tremendous source of lycopene and I need all the antioxidant properties to endure our present unhealthy environment!

I know I'm bad. But not bad bad. Just this Season of Lent.

I may have transgressed the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding fasting, but I still thank the Almighty for all the blessings I have received. My cup of gratitude is overflowing at this very moment. Holy Week reflection doesn't have to entail supreme sacrifice on your part. I live by the Golden Rule and I always try my damndest to follow the commandments. That's all that matters! :)

Eat-All-You-Can Hainan Rice @ Hainanese Delights!

First week of March

Robinsons Galleria

I know, I know. It's a serious mortal sin to stuff yourself with scoops of rice during dinner. In my case, I had four (4) scoops of rice that fateful day, excluding breakfast & lunch. I can give construction workers a stiff competition when it comes to Hainan rice.

                           

Blame Hainanese Delights. It was relatively new when we dined here at the LGF of Robinsons Galleria. They serve delicious Hainanese chicken with rice till you burst!

Would it be too much to say that I love their Hainan rice? I do. So so so much. So, I had two servings. Pffft, gone!

 

So I asked the server to gimme two more cups. Oops, the chicken looks untouched. Okay, I lied. That's fiance's chicken. Hihihi. BUT the rice was all mine.

 

The secret weapon to my rice frenzy - ginger & chili

 

So there goes my rice adventure. And I ain't gonna repeat it again. Not too soon. Give me a couple of months to shrink my waistline a wee bit. :)

Another Busy Weekend

March 19-20, 2011

Believe me, this ain't my typical weekend. Weekends prior to our vow to togetherness (there goes the silly word again!) were always spent at home doing DVD marathon etc. Laid-back, slow weekends are the best so when I uploaded these pictures, I suddenly miss the art of doing nothing. But for now, I suddenly miss this native pancit from the north. Oh yes, before we proceed to our home improvement project, we must abide with rule # 1 - eat breakfast!

We had breakfast at the weekend market at the QC Circle early in the morning. I therefore conclude that alarm clock is one of mankind's greatest contributions to productivity.

 

My first time to eat this pancit...

That's why I took extra effort to take a picture of this...

 

... and this. Now I know.

Super special pancit batil-patung with chorizo, beef, liver, lechon kawali and egg! Looks and tastes yummy!

 

Sidekicks: chopped onions & calamansi (soy sauce & vinegar joined the mix later) and the soup (not necessary, IMO)

Just when I was about to give up walking along the entire food section of this weekend market, we found shrimp okoy! This was my favorite circa HS days.

Shrimp okoy for breakfast? Why not?

 

So crispy and so oily (which translates to unhealthy?)

And that ends our breakfast/food trip. So off to home improvement project we went. 

Home improvement thingies

 

Trying hard to decipher the closest shade to the granite counter top we already had

Then the part where my ear drums almost gave up because of too much noise.

The noisy

the noisier

and the noisiest!

 

Fiance didn't mind the noise.

 

So, Toonie & I went outside of the room to escape the noise...

... and celebrate life

while drinking Coke to escape the scorching heat and noise (the reason I stepped out of the room, right?).

Etcetera, etcetera...

Ain't it funny?

Waiting for one whole month ain't funny. But to have the most durable furniture in the land, I wouldn't mind waiting.

Somewhere in Commonwealth

Say hello to the "national" seat!

 

Too common design. That's why we didn't get this. LOL

Home Improvement + Food Trip + Wedding Expo = Helluva Busy Weekend!

March 12-13, 2011

While writing this entry, my leg muscles are certainly painful as a result of a lot of walking and more walking. And yes, I am also certain that this is just the beginning of helluva busy weekends ahead. My fiance and I are really active participants of this journey to - pardon the silliness - togetherness. So, we started this togetherness by making the necessary improvements in our future abode. And this is where I truly internalized that I am indeed an adult! Bye singlehood, hello marriage! 

On the eve of our first busiest weekend ever, I took a picture of my fiance who bought some food for the workers. My heart goes out to blue-collar workers of this godforsaken country.

 

A Leyteño-Samarnon will always make sure that his fellow Leyteño-Samarnons are properly fed. Hahaha!

March 12, 2011, Saturday

Flourishing Villa (invented by yours truly)

We arrived at the Flourishing Villa at 7: 30 in the morning. I refused to let my migraine ruin the day. Waking up very early sometimes gives me migraine.

 

 

So we waited until the admin office opened. Decaf coffee didn't help AT ALL.

Home improvement permit and the workers' IDs are all ready. No choice but to follow THE rules.

 

Then we walked to some hardware store to get the ceramic tiles we ordered a couple of days ago. Hello morning sun and jeepney and bus fumes! Argh.

Instead of complaining, I looked around for some amusement. In a hardware store, yes!

 

I don't know with you people, but I really find this sign funny. Dear owner, we can't speak Chinese so say it in Filipino.

 

Ceramic tile installation 101, you just enlightened me.

And because we're not superheroes and fiance is no Samson also, we hired the deluxe transport called...

 

... tricycle! Hahaha!

Manong driver of trike # 313 is our Samson that day! 425+ kilos imagine that.

 To counteract further sleepiness, we had our first meal of the day at the nearby Puregold Supermarket. I didn't mind the excess grease since I was really hungry.

 That's the home improvement permit up there. Okay, you're now permitted to improve your home.

 

Bye vinyl, hello ceramic!

 

Wiping off the excess cement (the foreman is barking orders like a drill sergeant)

 See?

And because I can't tolerate the smell of newly-painted cluster stairs, I went down to the clubhouse of this community. Let's welcome the scorching heat.

 

These kids didn't mind the midday heat at all. Amazing. My migraine's killing me at this point.

Green, green grass of (future) home... Ready to go home at last!

March 13, 2011, Sunday

SM MOA

Wedding Expo Philippines

We got complimentary tickets for this wedding fair. But before heading to the area, we got stranded at Onesimus for a while.

 

Uh-oh, someone's so excited for 062411.

And someone's getting hungry from all the walking and walking. Next stop: Karate Kid.

 

Beef gyudon for me and me alone. Fiance's got his own bowl. 

 

To support my healthy food campaign, I had tofu furai (fried tofu) as side kick, er, side dish.

 

And he's always partial to california maki.

Japanese cheesecake as dessert. Yum.

Wedding fair time!

 

Not as crowded as we thought, yey!

 

I fell in love with the wedding gown in the middle. Again, I fell in love with the design and not with the hefty price tag. Honor thy budget.

Taking pictures inside the area is prohibited as it violates the intellectual property rights of the exhibitors, unless one is a member of the press. Good thing no one caught me violating the rules with the wedding gown above. Bum. Mer. So we walked and walked and walked around the whole wedding fair area in search of good deals and bright ideas. When we could walk no more, we decided to exit (duh) and only to find out that we walked out with our pockets intact. What a relief! Hahaha!

 

Honor thy souvenir freak (that would be me). Keep the name tags & the free loot bag full of colorful ideas.

Lastly, honor thy sweet tooth. Have some hot fudge sundaes before going home.

I'm looking forward to more busy weekends like this one. And that's the adult in me speaking.