The Cooking Dream

Learning how to cook this year is a must for me, that's why I'm thankful that I became a part of the cooking class last summer. Now that I'm armed with the basic knowledge on cooking, I think I'm ready to have a little adventure in the kitchen. Bring it onnn! :p

I happen to come across this site, thanks to Saab Magalona, when she posted the link on her Twitter. She was looking for recipes on Google when a friend of hers recommended They Draw and Cook to her. As curious as a cat, I also clicked on the link. Upon seeing it, I bookmarked it right away. This site is pure awesomeness! Cooking will be a lot easier too because the cute and funky illustrations can help you. Hence, this is perfect for those who really want to pursue their cooking career. ;)

Because I'm a huge fan of pasta, pizza, desserts, and anything cute:

 

azucar: sugar | cucharados: small spoons or teaspoons  | taza: cup

Also, I got surprised when I saw avocado pizza, homemade tilapia tacos,  tuna mousse, spinach dumplings, and the like. I never imagined that such recipes exist! It's all in the imagination and creativity, don't you think? 

Check out They Draw and Cook and be amazed as well! :)

*Photos retrieved from They Draw and Cook*

The Toastbox Date

Since it opened in Solenad 2, my colleagues-friends and I have been wanting to try the food at Toastbox. At first, I thought it only serves breakfast food because of the word "toast". I proved myself wrong when Mariel and I decided to eat lunch there last Saturday, after work. While thinking of what food to eat, I found out that besides toast, Toastbox offers a variety of food and one of the best sellers is the Hainanese chicken. It also offers pastries and other sweets.

Milo Dinosaur

Iced Lemon Tea

 That's Milo Dinosaur and Iced Lemon Tea. Milo Dinosaur looks so yummy! I will order this drink when I go back to Toastbox. :p The Iced Lemon Tea is neither sweet nor bland. It's just right and it goes well with the food I ordered. 

Hiananese chicken

Nasi Goreng

Mariel tried the Hainanese chicken rice while I chose Nasi Goreng--- fried rice with fried egg, vegetables, and on the side, there's dilis and bagoong. It's a little bit spicy but flavorful and I finished it! Mariel said that it tasted better than the one they had when they went to Singapore before. The Hainanese chicken, on the other hand, is the total opposite of Nasi Goreng--- sweet but flavorful too. And I think that it will definitely make everyone's tummy happy because it is served with a cup of rice, " 3 dips" (I don't know what it's called haha) and a bowl of soup.

June 16, 2012 | Photo from Mariel's Blackberry

What I love about Toastbox, aside from the food, is it's homey vibe. It would make you feel like you're at home, specially when you dine at their soft couch and coffee table corner. It's now officially my second favorite place in Solenad 2.

It was nice spending time with you, (Teacher) Mariel! I really had a great time and I learned so many things from you. Here's to our Saturday classes! :)

The Foodtrip

It was the first day of June. I went straight to Alabang Town Center after school dismissal to meet Margaret. We ate dinner at BonChon, the Korean fastfood chain that has been making waves in the Philippines since it opened.

It was my first time to eat at BonChon. Margaret is quite familiar with the food because she had been to its branch near our school in Taft before. I ordered its sensational chicken while she opted for the crispy squid. I got my chicken for free because it was Margaret's treat. :p

We went around the mall to look for that perfect graduation dress. I remembered the day when I was looking for my own graduation dress; It was not easy. It took us half a day! It was summer at that time so most of the shop displays were summer dresses. Well, there were some dresses appropriate for the big event but they were beyond my budget. :l Margaret's graduation day was last Saturday, June 9, by the way.

After a few rounds here and there, we finally found the perfect dress for her graduation. Lady luck was with us because the dress used to be more than a thousand bucks but because it was on sale, Margaret got a 30% discount. PLUS she was able to buy a very nice lovely pair of shoes. She also bought a necklace and a bracelet that complement the colors of her dress and shoes. She was like, as Patty Laurel says it, a mowdel that night.

I was really craving for Banapple and I promised Margaret that I'll treat her to dessert so we went there before going home. We had to wait for some people to leave because it was jam-packed. Banapple is indeed a real heaven for people who have a sweet tooth!

Cherry Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Oreo Brownie Fudge Cheesecake

These cakes tasted so good I almost forgot their names. I owe this to Google, for being a reliable source of information. :)) Also, I was so amazed with Banapple's M&M-inspired table that I took tons of photos of it. Here's one of them. :))

Then we walked around ATC until its closing time. ATC looks so different at night. It's so nice! Having dinner with friends here will be more frequent, since my Saturdays are now dedicated to school/work. No more lunch dates for me. But it's okay. :)

No, we didn't eat at P.F. Chang's. We only passed by the restaurant and this big white horse in the front door caught my attention.

 

Welcome to the real world, Margaret! We are so proud of you! Remember, you are one step closer to reaching your dreams. ;)

And to all who just graduated this year, let me end this blog entry by quoting the great Steve Jobs, "... have the courage to follow your heart and intuition... stay hungry. Stay foolish." Congratulations! :)

The Update

School is just around the corner and I'm looking forward to meeting our kiddos. :)

The School Talk

It feels like I'm back to my college days because I'm reunited with the theories of childhood development. Last Monday, our directress gave us a workshop on preschool teachers' responsibilities and lesson/theme planning. We tackled mostly on Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories and Bloom's Taxonomy. I encountered these topics last year though, when I was reviewing for LET but my mind turned into a tabula rasa when she began asking questions related to these theories (examples: What's the focus of Piaget?, Who introduced scaffolding?, What does SMART stand for?). Haay, I need to review my notes.

Since Monday, I haven't stopped thinking of what theme to use for this month. I spent hours checking one preschool site to another to get ideas because seeing my word document empty was a little bit frustrating. :p After 2 days, I was able to think of a theme for toddlers and make a web. 

My theme is about sea animals. My toddlers will learn about fish, octopus, and jellyfish. The activities that I'm going to use integrate the five senses, colors, and numbers. I made the activities more interactive (and hopefully interesting for them) because toddlers have short attention span. Anyway, I'm ready for the constructive criticism.

I'm not sure if my theme will get approved but I still searched on classroom decorating that is related to sea animals. I came across this blog and I was left in awe.

                 

Who doesn't want to work on fun sheets with this table? And who doesn't like being a star student? Kids will definitely feel like a star!

Well, what do you think? There's so much effort and creativity in this classroom! My favorite is the waterfall corner. ;) Unfortunately, we can't decorate our classroom like this because it's "multi-purpose". It's a preschool setting in the morning and it transforms into a tutorial class setting in the afternoon. Also, 1) Teacher Serie and I share the same classroom. 2) We're both dealing with different age groups. 3) We have different themes. 4) We only have a particular corner for our respective class. Hence, decorating a classroom as bongga as this one is not really possible. Oh well. :p

*Photos retrieved from Clutter-Free Classroom*

May mga alaala o bagay na kailangang ibaon sa limot... o sa loob ng kabinet. 

Ganun talaga. Wala tayong magagawa. Kung hindi talaga nakalaan para sa iyo, huwag na ipilit. ;)

The Lost City of Pompeii

If I were as eager as Patty Laurel when it comes to looking for good travel deals, I would probably have traveled to some of my dream destinations. Unfortunately, I have this habit of spending my money on clothes, accessories, and food so I always end up with little savings. But I'm trying to cut this habit by trying to stay away from malls and bazaars unless I need to buy something really important. Needs over wants. ;)

I came across Patty Lloren's blog the other day and read her entry about her recent trip in Italy. They had a tour in Pompeii, a town that had been buried due to Mt. Vesuvius' eruption. I remember when I was in my sophomore year in high school, I learned about Pompeii when we had discussions on different world civilizations. The lesson didn't focus on Pompeii though, but its pictures in the book has left me interested. From that time until today, I've been dreaming of touring this place in the near future.

Interesting, amazing, and perhaps, scary in a way (just looking at the petrified people gives me goosebumps). I'm 101 % sure that Pompeii will spark the imagination of whoever visits it. How it looks now will give the visitors an idea or snapshots of life in the past (most specifically, what happened on the day the volcano erupted).

" Plaster was poured into the empty spaces to create molds of the bodies, which are chillingly detailed – their writhing agony during a suffocating death, the terror on their faces, even the way their hair was styled that day are frozen forever in the casts. Some were found fleeing for their lives while others were found curled up on floors and beds with their hands covering their faces. One cast depicts a thief with his hand in the purse of a wealthy man who is seemingly unaware of the looting while trying to escape the catastrophe. Another cast portrays a frightened dog fruitlessly fighting against the chain that held him captive."- excerpt taken from an entry written by Vicki Landes

 

Wow! The city is like an open history book, don't you think? No wonder why it's called "the city frozen in time". It's good that it has been rediscovered and preserved for us to admire. :)

*Photos retrieved from Google Images*

The Idols

Tomorrow's the big day! Filipinos all over the world have been waiting for the season finale of American Idol and they can't wait to see the showdown between Philip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez. Both are great singers and they really blew us away with their refreshing song renditions. In my honest opinion, Philip and Jessica have what it takes to be the next American Idol and they deserve to win. If only we could have two American Idols. :p

"We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow... why don't you stay?" I was so mesmerized with this song! I think it's sweet and every girl would love to hear her special someone sing this for her. While watching Philip perform this song on our TV screen, I can't help but feel kilig! :p This song was his most heartfelt one, I must say. Just look into his eyes. ;)

Sometimes, I wonder how Steven Tyler feels when an American Idol contestant sings I Don't Want to Miss a Thing right before his very eyes. Well, it's Aerosmith's smash hit! It's a very delicate song and whoever attempts to sing this is already considered a "brave soul" (*ehem*Margaret*ehem*haha!). Going back, Jessica nailed this song. What an amazing performance, don't you think? She never fails to make us feel proud of her. :)

I congratulate them in advance for they have reached this far. :)

The 15th Day of May

We hold on to so many things, that's why it's hard for us to give up some of them. Sometimes, they no longer make us happy, but for some reason we aren't brave enough to cut the rope because we are somehow afraid to take risks and embrace change. Instead, we allow ourselves to cling tighter unto them for the reason that, whether we admit it or not, they have become our comfort zones.

With all the events that are going on in our lives, we tend to forget the things that matter. Once in a while, we need to slow down and make good use of our precious time to think about certain things over and evaluate ourselves--- Is this worth it? Am I happy? 

We are afraid to take risks and embrace change because we are worried about what other people might say. I read somewhere that being ourselves is life's greatest challenge because we live in a world where everything is being dictated to us. In a way, we're too scared of making mistakes for we are too busy giving people a good impression. As much as possible, we don't include the word "failure" in our vocabulary. The pressure is on and all we wanted is "perfection". That perfection is equivalent to happiness.

We've heard this cliche so many times before but we have to remind ourselves that nobody is perfect... that sometimes it is okay to make mistakes because making mistakes make us learn. Striving to be perfect is definitely not the key to happiness because in reality it only makes us feel more insecure, miserable, and emotional. That's why we have to learn to let go of the things that hinder us from attaining the happiness that we deserve. 

Let go of pretensions. Let go of insecurity. Let go of trying to please/impress other people. Let go of close-mindedness. Let go of fears.

Yes, letting go is not easy to do but if we never try, we'll never know.

The Freebie

When you work in a preschool and a kid celebrates his or her birthday, you will always get freebies whether you like or not. ;) In our case, we love the freebies that we get... just like this tiger cupcake.

I love my job, really. :)