Time to Unplug

Social media became popular since the evolution of mobile technology. Smartphones made it easy for us to get caught up in the virtual world to the point that some forget that real life is happening in front of them and if they don’t take the time to unplug they just might miss those moments. For example, I agreed to meet an old friend at a local restaurant for dinner to catch up with her.  I have known her for a long time, which makes me believe, that she is a social media enthusiast – a person who regularly post status updates and pictures about their life on social media – but while we were in the middle of our conversation, she whipped out her iPhone and started taking snapshots of our food while nodding her head up and down prompting me to keep talking. Pleased by the results, she finally settled on her seat and put her phone on the table winked at me while she cheerfully said, “let’s ask the waiter to take a picture of us and then I will tag you on facebook.” I replied with a question, “I have noticed that you are constantly on your Facebook and Instagram how does it affect your real life?” She replied, “Oh, don’t be silly. I use it to keep my friends and family up to date on what’s going on in my life, totally harmless!” I told her, “No, unfortunately, it has become more than that”.

Woman of Valor

My mother was a religious woman who knew the bible; one important chapter my mother taught me was from the book of Proverbs which describes a “woman of valor”:

A wife of a noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies;

………………………………......

She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,

and teaching with kindness is on her tongue. (31:10, 31:25-26)

My mother exemplified this idea of a valorous woman, and as such, gave me a model on which I could aspire to imitate.

Skin deep Issues

Acne maimed me emotionally. If you have suffered acne like I did, you would agree that it can be embarrassing, frustrating and depressing which can also lead to social withdrawal and low self-esteem. It has been a topsy-turvy ride for me battling acne and I finally found an effective solution. This isn’t one of those DIY home remedies or just another DIY beauty regimen. I’m talking about a medical intervention --- Isotretinoin or commonly known as Accutane. I know, I've taken the road less traveled but the final destination was worth the distance.
      I started having acne in my early twenties and back then my pimples were manageable. When I immigrated to the US about two years ago my acne worsen. I thought it was stress induced acne due to some changes that I had to go through acclimating to a new country so I gave myself some time to be well adjusted to my new living situation. The next thing I knew my face was full of humungous throbbing break-outs and no amount of make up can cover it up. It sure did ruin my day and my already bruised self-confidence.

Holy Week in the US: Pinoy Native Food Special

Let's talk about Filipino Native food --- Food that is not readily available when you live outside the Philippines. Ingredients can be a challenge to obtain but if you are near an asian store, then you are closer to tasting heaven.

Today's blog is all about native Filipino food cravings and how I conquered and satisfied my palate. I spent my spring break doing a lot of DIY home improvement projects as well as DIY home recipes which included making Filipino native food specifically my favorite, Binignit and Kutsinta. I will share below the ingredients, steps, tricks and tips to get a mouthwatering finish product.

A Painful Mishap

It was an unremarkable afternoon; nothing at all was unusual. Aaron, my husband, had just come home from work and was relaxing on the couch. I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. It was a Monday, or perhaps a Tuesday. It really could have been any day of the week as all of the usual pieces of my life were in just all the usual places. Everything except one piece, and that one item sitting in its wrong place was about to change everything. 

I brought the carrots out of the refrigerator and reached for my favorite J.A. Henckel’s chef knife. To my slight surprise, it wasn’t in its usual home, sitting with its knife friends in its convenient hardwood knife block. That’s right, I remembered, I had washed it and it was drying in the lower rack of the dishwasher. What happened next turned my very ordinary day into one of the most painful experiences of my life. You see, the chef’s knife is very sharp, but many things in a modern kitchen are sharp -- Including the curved steel blades of my Ninja Master Prep professional blender. 

Im Turning Two!

     That's right folks, it will be officially my second year in California in the next three days  and I have decided to write something about it on my blog because it's somewhat an appropriate time for me to do so.

     You probably don't care and I wouldn't mind if you don't want to read through but for some of you who want to get to know me more, THANK YOU! It means a lot to me. 

     Below is  a list of 24 random facts about me that commensurates to 2 years that I have been in CA. You might find it interesting, maybe streamlined or probably you can relate so here goes:

Seafood kind of Night

     Lastnight was an awesome dinner with friends. Everyone enjoyed the filipino dish that I craved for sooo long and finally lastnight I got a chance to cook and eat it with friends. You might ask, why wait when you can cook it anytime? That's true I don't have to wait and I can cook it anytime but I realized that food taste even better when shared by many. Aside from that my husband is not into seafood except for fish (selected few) and shrimps mostly because he is grossed out by the sight of it and partly because of his religion. So when I found out that my american friends was feeling adventurous and would like to try my filipino crab dish, I was stoked! 

    I went to Seafood City Supermarket (Filipino store) to get Callinectes sapidus or better known as Blue crabs. I only know a few facts about crabs so I was lucky I came across an elderly who was also buying crabs. He told me how to distinguished the fatty crabs from the bunch by pressing the apron (picture below will show you where it is). Solid or full apron means more meat to hunt. He was very helpful that he even helped me fish the crabs out from the ice bucket LOL!. Below is a picture of my blue crabs that i moved to the ice cooler to keep them alive.

Alive and pinching blue crabs but not for long..