I agree...

...INDEED! :)

Advertising These Days

I have noticed that some people these days would go to just about any lengths to advertise anything. Of course am not saying that's a bad thing...on the contrary, I think it's great! It's a good thing that advertising in this 'modern times' is no longer limited to printing it on paper or word-of-mouth. You can shout it to the world using the internet at a minimum cost, or even have lapel pins made for your cause and distribute to your family, friends, or even to passers-by! Isn't that awesome!

Honestly, I am loving the technology that's readily available to most of us right now. Of course, like anything else, the same technology can be used for bad, too. But let's not talk about the here...lol. :D

Optimist and a Pessimist

...first time i read that quote i immediately loved it!! it sounds so optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. lol.

Sunglasses. iNeed.

Earlier today, when we went to buy some stuffs I tried on a pair of sunglasses. I don't have a pair {well, I used to have one eons ago, lol} so I tried on a few pairs. Some designs reminded me of Native Sunglasses {which I found online} and I tried a few of those, too. However, hubby and sons were in a hurry, so I told myself I'll buy them another time...

I know, owning sunglasses is really a necessity these days, specially if you are out in the open sun most of the time. I'm usually just at home, that's why I haven't given it much thought. However, this summer that might change; hence my compulsion to get me a pair before summer begins. :)

Red Little Dots

...have always been fascinated by this plant. they are quite a hardy bunch. and they grow just about anywhere in my sister's garden! :)

Food Friday

This week's Featured in Food Friday player is ...

Ms. Tetcha who owns the blog Delight My Appetite with her post: Delicious Spam Musubi from Mister Musubi!

I know, millions of people absolutely love Spam (in fact, I think there are even restaurants who's recipes/dishes revolve around Spam!) so this business venture by Ms. Tetcha's friend/former classmate looks like it's going to be a hit! A blog that deals mostly with her family's food adventures, including some honest reviews and deals around town, you won't get bored while reading her blog. In fact, I suggest you go and check out her latest foodie find (it's Cinnabon's Valentine Treat!)...but shhhhhh...don't tell her I told you! ;)

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My post for this week is another simple and easy dish again (oh yes, the simpler the better it is for me!): Sauteed Water Spinach (Kangkong/Potato Vine) with Ground Beef.

ingredients:

• ground beef (mixed with diced onion and garlic, soy sauce, salt, pepper, egg, and mixed herbs - marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and sage)
• water spinach leaves
• oil for frying and sauteing
• sliced red onion and crushed garlic cloves, soy sauce

procedure:

• Everything's just a matter of mixing (mix the ground beef with the seasonings and herbs), frying the beef patties, removing most of the oil from the pan, then dumping the sliced red onions together with the crushed cloves {on to the pan} and sauteing the water spinach leaves with some drops of soy sauce till wilted! Whew, that's quite a long sentence!
• I didn't add any salt while sauteing the leaves since the soy sauce is already salty.
• Best served hot, together with steamed rice. Or you might want to pair that off with any type of loaf. Your choice. :)

Reminder: Please don't forget to link back (a simple text would be great, or you may use the buttons provided here). Also, please visit the other party-goers and leave some commentluv to let them know that you dropped by. Many thanks!

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Lord Nut Levington Giveaway!

Who wants peanuts?? Not just any kind of peanuts, mind you, but something much much more... Lord Nut Levington peanuts!

Lord Nut Levington is a new line of delicious seasoned peanuts available in five gourmet flavors that will tickle your taste buds while engaging your mind with the adventurous and, at times, scandalous life of their fictional namesake, Lord Nut Levington. If you think that a peanut is just a peanut then let us introduce you to the founder of the Taste Resistance, Lord Nut Levington. While he may be fictional (shhh…don’t tell him that) he is on, what he believes to be a life threatening mission, to lead the Taste Resistance and take a stand against bland. Join Lord Nut in the mission to liberate our taste buds from a flavorless existence. Jumpstart your taste buds back to life with Lord Nut Levington’s flavor packed peanuts that of course, contain no artificial flavors or colors…c'mon, you know you want to!

Together with Sweet N Sour Deals and other awesome bloggers, we give one lucky fan a chance to win a can each of Lord Nut Levington's amazing peanut flavors (rebel mary, el cheddarales, mamma mia, thai dyed, cinnapplooza, and sweet miss keet)! That's a total of 6 cans! Whoopeeee! Liking it so far? Read on...

If Lord Nut Levington reaches 2000 fans in their Facebook page (they are currently at 1,818 as of this writing...click here) they will give one super duper lucky fan one year's supply of their yummylicious all-natural flavored peanuts! Now isn't that sweet! Oh yes, they also offer free shipping on all of their items! Awesome, huh?

So, JOIN NOW!

Macro Life

Ever since I had my first camera I became more fascinated with macro photography. When I got my first dslr (would you believe I managed to buy one because of blogging? Yes, I did..and I was - still am! - soooo HAPPY!) it came with the kit, so getting macro shots was quite frustrating. I guess hubby saw my frustration, and that's why he got me my own macro lens (Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens). Not immediately, though..since it was/is quite pricey (for us, anyway. lol). We got the macro lens only after a couple or so of dslr changes later. :)

It's my fave among the few lenses that we own (we only have 3, lol). Right now, am hoping for one of those wide-angle lenses (the 10-22mm, maybe?)...but am not going to cry my heart out if we don't get one this year. I still LOVE my 100mm! :D

*This is my share for this week's Happiness Is... meme by KM

Toge Omelette between Buttered Toasts

We had toge (mungo sprouts) last Friday night, and since I didn't use up all the toge in the pack, I decided to cook the remaining ones during the weekend. We had toge omellete for breakfast. Just a matter of mixing scrambled eggs, around a tablespoon of evaporated milk, salt, pepper, cumin, and toge together. Yup, I added cumin (i just love cumin and toge together!). Since we had a fresh loaf of bread that day, thought of adding some lettuce to the buttered toasted bread and dumping the omelette in. lol.

I liked it. Simple and easy. Healthy too, I think. ;P
...sharing over at Jenn's Weekend Eating

$700 Winter Blast of Cash Giveaway (worldwide)

Welcome to the $700 Winter Blast of Cash Giveaway hosted by Giveaway Promote.

A fantastic group of bloggers have gotten together to give away $700 in cash to one lucky person. Check out the list of participating blogs at the end of this post. Complete the tasks below to earn entries into this giveaway. One winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries.

Bloggers, join us in an upcoming event! Sign up for Giveaway Promote's event mailing list to receive information via email about their future events.

Food Friday

This week's Featured in Food Friday player is....

Ms. Fallenrhainnes who blogs over at eXtraordinary Journey with her blog post: Care to Join Me For Breakfast?

Now that's a meal that I absolutely LOVE! Taste is such a personal thing (I know, I think I've said that often enough. lol) and I just love the combination here: eggs, dried salted fish, some leftover adobo, rice, fruit, and of course, the spicy coconut vinegar {with calamansi/calamondin} dip! Am definite that after such a hearty breakfas, I'd go burrrrrrppp! A personal blog filled with her adventures, you'll surely find something that will interest you...so go ahead and check her out!

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Simple Egg Noodles with Meatballs and Bok Choy/Pechay...my post for this week.

ingredients:

• mami noodles (egg noodles)
• bok choy (pechay)
• meat balls (mix everything: ground pork, salt, pepper, mixed herbs {thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, oregano, and sage}, spanish paprika, soy sauce, egg, garlic, breadcrumbs (not too fine; toasted some day old sliced bread, then crushed them myself), and few drops of milk).
• fish sauce and sesame oil

egg noodles

procedure:

• i cooked the noodles first (followed the instruction written on the package), then set them aside.
• had a few cups of water boiling, then dropped the meatballs gradually.
• added the cooked noodles to the pot with the meatballs.
• sliced the bok choy then dumped them into the pot together with the other ingredients. adjusted the taste (couldn't help adding fish sauce).
• the bok choy didn't take long to ocok...just around 4-5mins. in the simmering liquid. drizzled sesame oil.
• served hot.

Had that as a snack...while I was watching television, and it was raining outside. :)

Reminder: Please don't forget to link back (a simple text would be great, or you may use the buttons provided here). Also, please visit the other party-goers and leave some commentluv to let them know that you dropped by. Many thanks! <3

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Let's Dance...

We call them 'Dancing Ladies'...
Happiness is... taking shots of nature's lovely (and even those 'not-really-lovely looking') creations. :)

shared over at:
Weekend Flowers and Happiness Is...

Durian + Chocolate

I know, some people HATE durian, and I can't blame them. The smell takes some getting used to, while the taste is totally out of this world! lol. But, I happen to love durian, and that's why I was so happy when hubby got me these durian-filled chocolates above. Yup, durian-filled. Totally made my day! :)

*i liked them chilled rather than at room temperature. :)

...sharing over at Jenn's Weekend Eating

Food Friday

This week's Feature in Food Friday player is....

Ms. Czjai Reyes-Ocampo who blogs over at The Rebel Sweetheart with her post: Bangus Sisig.

Bangus (or Milkfish) is one fish that's quite abundant around here, so normally you'd see them being prepared in different ways. This is one dish that my family and I love because of the flavors that are at play here (we love it a bit peppery).  The Rebel Sweetheart site is a personal blog where you can find posts about Ms. Czjai's son, some self-pampering stuffs (honestly, I love her reviews!), photography, food, and a list of other topics. She does post interesting stuffs! Do drop by her site and check them out yourself! 

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My post for this week is something that's a bit out of my comfort zone (like the embutido post last week): Steamed Tilapia with Ginger and Coconut Milk.

Ingredients:

• fresh tilapia
• coconut milk
• ginger (peeled and sliced)
• onion (about half)
• salt, chili, cracked pepper
• banana leaves (or you can use aluminum foil/plate to wrap/contain the fish)

Procedure:

• Have the steamer ready; place fresh banana leaves where you plan to put the fish. Turn on heat.
• Clean the fish (or you can have it cleaned by your fishmonger). Make diagonal slices on each side. Season with salt and pepper.
• Once the steamer is happily boiling away, position the fish on top of the banana leaves. Place ginger and onion slices on the fish, add the chili, and drizzle with coconut milk. Cover the fish with another banana leaf. (Or, you may opt to wrap the fish securely inside the banana leaf with the seasonings and the coconut milk already added. Or use aluminum foil, or a plate with a cover, to hold the fish, seasoning, and coconut milk. Your choice, really ... and use whatever available materials you nay already have.)
• I steamed the fish for around thirty minutes, or so.
• Remove from the steamer and serve hot.

I could definitely taste the ginger in this dish (yeah, I think I added way too much! lol). Did I like it? Yes, I did. But, my youngest found the ginger overpowering, so maybe next time when I do decide to cook this dish I will lessen the ginger...and maybe add in some more coconut milk. :)

Reminder: Please don't forget to link back (a simple text would be great, or you may use the buttons provided here). Also, please visit the other party-goers and leave some commentluv to let them know that you dropped by. Many thanks! <3

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Random Acts of Kindness $$$ Giveaway

Together with Coupons For Wisconsin, Operation $40K and 57 other blogs, we bring you the Random Acts of Kindness Cash Giveaway! Random Acts Of Kindness Day is February 17th, and the winner will receive an email that day with the news that he/she is $175 richer!

To enter, log in below, and click the green "Do It" buttons to get your instructions!

Good Luck!

Peach and Valentine's Treat (Giveaway)

Fancy giving yourself some pampering? Then head on over to The Rebel Sweetheart's Peach and Valentine's Treat | Hopping for Your Honey Giveaway Hop!  Since she uses rafflecopter, joining is easy!




C'mon now....JOIN! <3

Eating Out

...both my sons chose this restaurant. Hubby and I went along since we like this restuarant, too. lol. These are just some of our fave dishes: miso ramen, kani salad, and kani tempura. :)

post shared over at Jenn's Weekend Eating.

Hired Help

Nowadays I believe that there are more capable people who can do the job that you want them to do, but it's still important that you do a background check. Personally, I am all for that specially if you entrust something (or someone) very important to that person. Yes, as a mom I guess you can say that I am talking about my family.

My family's always my priority and that's I want to make sure that they are always safe. Taking in another person to help me with the household chores is a big help, but I make sure that that person is reliable. There has been some hit and runs, and it's a good thing that so far we are quite lucky specially with the last one; she's been with us for almost three years now!

...and I hope she stays for always! :)

Photo by Jojo

...yup, not my shot. i like it. taken by hubs, when he went to Iloilo and witnessed the Dinagyang Festival. <3

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

My eldest son will be entering high school next school year (unless the Department of Education states that they continue on with Grade 7) and we've started sorting out all of the stuffs that he won't be needing. We've placed them in separate containers/boxes and used some packing list envelopes during the process. I never imagined he'd have accumulated so much during those few years! So far, we've divided them into stuffs that we'll be sending over to my sister's younger kids, some for my SIL (she uses some of the books to help her with a project she's doing), and some for giving away to different organizations that will be needing them.

I believe that doing this is more helpful, not only towards the community, but also towards the environment. If we haven't done that, well, I guess most of it will just go to the trash.

I agree...let's reduce, reuse and recycyle!

Valentine Paypal $$$ Giveaway!! (Two winners!)

I have teamed up with I Love Coupons & Giveaways and some other AMAZING bloggers to bring you this Valentine's PayPal Cash Giveaway! I'm sure you all have someone special you would love to spend some extra cash on - or hey- even get that "something" that you've wanted for yourself! Nothin' wrong with a little pampering, right?? One lucky winner will get $100 PayPal Cash, and we've even added a $40 PayPal Cash prize for a second place winner! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below for your chance to WIN!

Happy Valentine's Day and I hope YOU win!

click to view rafflecopter

Food Friday

The Featured in Food Friday player for this week is.....

Ms. Dhemz who blogs over at Savour D' Flavour with her blog post: Buttered Prawns

This shot really made me miss home (my parent's home)! I can just imagine the butter, garlic, and prawn taste ... YUM! Savour D' Flavour is a mixed blog where Ms. Dhemz posts not only about food but also about life in general. Interested to know what she's been up to lately? Then do check out her site!

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My food post for this week is something that I made for the very first time...Embutido (Filipino version of the Meatloaf). And as usual, I didn't follow any specific recipe. lol. I also added some ingredients that I believe you normally don't find in the usual 'embutido'. :i

Ingredients used:

• ground beef (around 1/2 kg)
• ground pork (around 1/2 kg)
• bok choy/pechay (jullienned)
• spanish paprika, mixed herbs (thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, oregano, and sage), sweet pickle relish, raw egg, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, finely sliced garlic and onion, all-purpose flour
• hard boiled eggs

Procedure:

• Mix everything except for the hard boiled eggs.
• Slice hard boiled eggs lengthwise then arrange slices on bottom of container.
• Put meat mixture on top of the eggs, then another layer of sliced eggs.
• Finish with the meat mixture.
• Cover with aluminum foil.
• Steam for around an hour.
• Remove from steamer and serve. Or you may place inside freezer (after it has cooled down) if you plan to eat the dish another day.

In our case, I immediately served the dish while still a bit warm. It tasted way different than the embutido that I usually get from the supermarket, but we all welcomed the change. Paired the dish with some tomato slices (sprinkled with salt) and hot steamed rice. :$

I placed the other unopened container in the freezer (which I sliced and fried as part of our lunch two days later). I will be making this again. I might do things differently; or not. Depends largely on what I have on hand. :P

Reminder: Please don't forget to link back (a simple text would be great, or you may use the buttons provided here). Also, please visit the other party-goers and leave some commentluv to let them know that you dropped by. Many thanks! <3

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"Old" Campus

MRH, UP Los Baños 

...never really thought i'd miss this place. lol. but i do. <3

post for: Happiness Is...

Football Frenzy Giveaway {$115 Paypal Cash}

Now who wouldn't want to get their hands on some cash? I know I do! lol. Together with Centsable Coupon Lady and other wonderful bloggers, we have put together $115 for you to grab!

Giveaway schedule: FEB 2 (STARTS AT 12:01 AM EST ) AND WILL END -FEB 5 (AT 11:59 PM EST) ....

Requirement: WINNER MUST BE 18 YEARS OLD (OR OLDER) AND HAVE A VALID PAYPAL ACCOUNT.

The following blogs made this giveaway possible for YOU:

CENTSABLE COUPON  LADY | SIMPLY RANDOM REVIEWS | SAVINGWITH KAREN | COUPONS IN MOTION | LIL DAILY DEALS | GONE KLIPPIN KRAZY | MOMMY COUPON SWAPPERS | PICTURE CLUSTERS | COUPON QUEEN THAT SAVES THE GREEN | MARYS CUP OF TEA | TRAVEL MOMMY | PARGAS JUNKYARD | THE HOMESCHOOLING BLOG | EXTREME PERSONAL MEASURES | PRACTICAL FRUGALITY | A FAMILY FULL OF OPINIONS | THE UNEXPECTED MOTHER | THE KIDS ARE GROWN NOW WHAT | SUPER FRUGAL STEPHANIE | COLUMBIA GORGE COUPON MOMMY | CHEAPSKATE CAFE | COUPONHAULS | OPERATION 40 K

Disclaimer: This giveaway is made possible only because of the collaboration of the participating bloggers. This giveaway is open to anyone who is 18 years old or older, and has a valid Paypal account. All entries must be entered via the rafflecopter, and will be validated, before a winner is announced.

Read more...

February Fan Appreciation Cash Giveaway! ($80)

Welcome to the February edition of the Fan Appreciation Cash Giveaway!

We want you to know how much we appreciate you. As a thank you to all our loyal fans, Frugal Experiments has teamed up with a great group of bloggers to thank you all with a chance to win some cash!

Prize: $80.00 Cash in your Paypal account

How to Enter: To make this giveaway a huge success enter on the Rafflecopter form below and then share it with your friends and families! This Giveaway will run from February 1st at midnight EST and will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on February 11th . This giveaway is open to anyone 18 or older with a valid Paypal account. Entries are only accepted through the Rafflecopter form and all entries will be verified. The winner will be emailed once we verify they are a fan and have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.

We couldn’t do these giveaways without teaming up with other great bloggers who help contribute to the prize so please take the time to stop by all the wonderful blogs and look around - most are hosting other giveaways that you can enter. The following blogs are all participating in this Fan Appreciation Cash Giveaway:

Frugal Experiments | Spoiled But Not Rotten | My UnEntitled Life | Coupon Savings In The South | Sweeping The USA | Insights by April | Picture Clusters | Literary Sweet | Full Cart Full Wallet | Wild N Mild Giveaways | MommyMatter | Skylar Magazine | Vienna Daily | It's Not Always About ME | The Joy of $aving Money | Giveaway Promote | Swaggin' Momma of Two | Rockin' Deals | Little Bit Of Wonderful | Down South Deals | FreetailTherapy | The Krazy Coupon Queen

Again, thank you all for being our loyal fans. Remember, you only need to enter this giveaway on one participating blog. All blogs are using the same Rafflcopter form. You are only required to complete 1 entry (there are no other mandatory entries except the one telling us which blog you entered on) to be entered to win. The more you complete, the more chances you have to win!

Be sure to put PICTURE CLUSTERS as the blog you are entering on. Good Luck!

Read more...