He's going to Vic!

I am so glad! After all the NCEA credit dramas, my brother made it. :) He has sealed the deal -- signed and submitted his offer of study. He will soon be the proud holder of a Conjoint Bachelor of Engineering and Sciences degree (after 4-5 years of study of course).

Job well done lil man.

Source Barli Bram's Blog

Wednesday Roast

I promised my boyfriend a nice dinner tonight. Good thing that my friend CKY mentioned that she wanted to make this roasted chicken Parmesan dish and that inspired me to make my own roast. With years of watching FoodTV under my belt, I made my own rendition of lemon butter roasted chicken with potato and onion. It's yummy and it's cheap to make. It cost me less than $10 for 3 servings. It turned out quite splendidly. Pair it with Mang Tomas and you'll have a party in your mouth!

lemon butter roasted chicken with potato and onion

Dinner for six

In a bid to impress my parents, I invited them over to my house so I can cook them dinner--sort of like a post-valentine's treat. Because I was out on a date with my better half on Vday I was not able to participate in my family's festivities. So today I decided to schedule a nice quiet dinner for them. It's the first I've ever officially invited them over to my plce so I am here to impress. This evening's dinner was scheduled at 7. But true to form, my parents arrived late.

On tonight's menu is Mechado. It's a Filipino beef dish usually braised in a liquid mixture of tomato, calamansi juice (can be substituted with lime or lemon), and soy sauce; served with hot steaming rice. I'm sure some sauce mix is available from Asian stores but I made my sauce from scratch. It was a total fluke! They loved it. :)

Mechado ala Ara

Purely commercial: Vday

Source The Purl Bee

You don't have to get me a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, or even an "I love you" teddy bear. You don't even have to take me out on a fancy candlelit dinner for two. Love it or hate it, we know that Valentine's day is here to stay. Once you've been shot by cupid's little arrow all the sound that you will hear is "kaching -kaching- kaching"! Out comes the deniro $$$$. Valentine's simply fosters consumerist behavior. Why then should we single out this day to celebrate love when all we really ever do is buy fancy trinkets, tokens of affection, to gain someone's approval, thinking that they'll appreciate it?

Valentine's day is all about the money. It's all about these big companies -- big box retailers, restaurants-- wanting a portion of our hard earned money. For most of us, thanks to the GFC, we really have nothing left from our pay because all the banks are now harassing us to pay for the debt that we incurred before the recession. The plastic cards are now maxed out. We don't need any more expenses to add to our already long list of payees.

I'd rather snuggle up in the couch, anytime, all the time, while watching something on TV. A cup of coco would be nice too.You don't need to spend to please me.

Happy birthday brother dearest!

The happy drunk - Michael on his 18th birthday

 
Happy (belated) 18th birthday my sometimes not so lovely brother. I hope you had a grand time in your party. Food was superb, of course, it was mostly prepared by yours truly. Booze was great judging by your "I can't feel my numbness" comment which really was a total cracker.

The Coffee Crumble cake that I baked for the celebrations.

The food

Wow! You're 18. I can still remember how jealous I was of you when you were born. You stole my thunder. I was the unica ija and I miss it. Nothing else I can do now, right? I can't really stuff you back into where you came from. Eighteen years have taught me to accept a poo-poo head like you and I've sucked it up since then.

You are now of legal age. What you'll be doing with your new found freedom together with all its complexities is completely up to you. Use it well. Use it wisely. Make mistakes and learn from it.

I love you and happy birthday.

Top 10 Cartoon Body Inspirations

This may sound sick but I do want the bodies of the following cartoon characters. I'm not trying to sexualise them I just love how all of the characters listed below are healthy, curvy, none of them seem to be borderline anorexia nervosa, and all of them are comfortable in their own skin.

In order of preference:

Harley Quinn

 Miss Piggy

Lois Griffin

Catwoman

Kim Possible

Esmeralda

Betty Boop

Princess Jasmin

Wonder Woman 

Jessica Rabbit

 I hope 3-4 days of busting my bum off in the gym will do the trick. Flabs -- be gone!

Not a health buff

I am a slob. Not just a little bit but a whole lot.

I am aware that I'm not the healthiest person in the world. I eat foods that are high in cholesterol and carbohydrates. I eat for 2-3 people in total and I wouldn't start depriving myself now. I rarely eat vegetables. I don't take vitamins. I don't have a proper diet that consists of your everyday "Go, Glow, and Grow" foods. I was a smoker but now am totally smoke-free. And I do exercise 3-4 times a week which I think compensates for my lack of a holistic wellness regimen.

Today, I didn't want to go to the gym. I was lazy because I was tired from work and the sun was out. But I went to the gym anyway. I ended up enjoying it. On the bus home I started watching this Filipino movie called My Big Love about this pastry chef who has been battling the bulge all his life till he met this pretty gym trainer. It compelled me to lose weight.

Source TFCnow

In the movie, the gym trainer developed 5 easy steps that guarantees total weight loss:

1. Goal setting: Lose weight for yourself
2. START TODAY
3. No shortcuts
4. Motivate yourself 
5. Be happy! 

The steps seem easy enough to integrate in our own little routine. If you want to see the movie it should be available somewhere online. For non-Filipino speakers I'm sure English subs are available for download.

The movie on its own doesn't deserve an Oscar but it is sure to make you smile. It's a definite inspiration when you want to lose weight. It's a good motivation -- step 4.

Happy fat burning! :)

Super Mario hearts Princess Peach?

It has been over two decades since Super Mario Brothers. Us 80s kids love these Mushroom Kingdom saving, wrench wielding, trouser hanging plumbers. There was always this sense of nostalgia present when we reminisce about days when we still played Nintendo's Family Computer. I can still remember my first FamCom console - I pissed on it. I was half a decade old (or younger) and I was thankful that my parentals were kind enough to excuse my behaviour and buy me a new console.

So we all know that the object of the game is for Mario and Luigi to save Princess Peach  from the clutches of the evil Bowser, King of Koopas. Throughout the game the player needs to collect coins by hitting on bricks that are marked with a "?" and ones that are scattered around the kingdom, 1-ups for more lives, mushrooms to double Mario's size, the fire flower to shoot enemies and the star so you can run over those little nasties.

After all these twaddle the only thing that I really want to know is the reason why Mario and Luigi are trying to save the princess? Are they both in love with her just like any other "I'll save you, Princess" storyline? They are plumbers after all, why world would they want to save a princess? Are they plumbers from the Mushroom Kingdom? Are they after the reward that comes after saving the princess' life? That could explain all the gold coins and hidden treasures. I started asking all these questions after seeing this:

 Source College Humour via YouTube

It is a bit strange to see them porking but it made me think on the context of their relationship. I really have no idea what they are. From what I see here, their relationship is completely carnal. Is it love? Is it lust? Who knows?

*NOTE*

I must admit that I was never a Princess Peach "damsel in distress" rooter. Her role is unflattering and demeaning. She needs saving all the time when I'm sure she is capable enough to help herself. We really need more heroines in this world!