you live in a dream world

However long it takes, however difficult it seems, or however lonely you may become, Kat, remember, you live in a dream world where everything can change in an instant.

Especially when you've been visualizing.

Love, love, 

The Universe

PS

And especially when you know "The Universe," Kat.

take chances

Look mom, I'm listening to Michael Franks!

Today I rediscovered Michael Franks. Who the h**l is he you say? Here's a snippet of his bio from michaelfranks.com:

Over the languorous course of 33 years and 16 albums, Michael Franks has mesmerized an international legion of fans with his one-of-a-kind artistry. Seamlessly weaving lyrics of stunning sensuality, wit, reflection and literary eloquence over music that tastefully utilizes top shelf shadings of jazz, soul, pop, chamber and music from around the globe, Michael Franks the songwriter has set a bar in the music world that places him as nothing less than a statesman of song craft. 

When I was much younger, Mommy listened to his music. We had cassette tapes of One Bad Habit (released in 1980) and Dragonfly Summer (1993). Mommy enjoyed listening to Michael Franks but back then, my taste in music was limited to OPM, R&B, hip-hop and rock. I didn't appreciate Michael Franks' mix of "jazz, soul, pop, chamber and music from around the globe." It was just too complicated for my barely teenage ears. I remember even asking Mommy why she listened to songs with lyrics that were difficult to understand and titles not even mentioned in the verses! Haha. Children do say the funniest things! 

Fast forward to the age of the Internet. I Googled Michael Franks to give his music a listen. I found his myspace and now, as I am typing this, I'm listening to his soothing voice and relaxing tunes. It's the perfect background music!

Shrimp and asparagus stir-fry with bihon

Ingredients:
Leftover chilli shrimps (you can use fresh shrimps)
about 150 grams of bihon (soaked in water for 20 minutes then drained)
asparagus, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
half a bell pepper, sliced into strips
half a cabbage, sliced intro strips
spring onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon dark soya
about 1/4 cup of soy sauce
ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Saute the garlic and onion.
2. When the onion becomes transparent, put the shrimps. Saute for a minute then add the asparagus and bell pepper.
3. Put in the oyster sauce, dark soya and soy sauce and mix well. Simmer for half a minute then add in the cabbage.
4. Put ground pepper to taste.
5. Add in the bihon and mix thoroughly.

Serve with toyomansi.

Lechon paksiw

Description:
This is one way to recycle leftover lechon or crispy pata. Garantisado, there'll be no more leftovers after you serve this.

Ingredients:
Leftover crispy pata, chopped to bite-sized pieces
1 ladle-full of vinegar
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
About half a cup of Mang Tomas
Ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Saute garlic and onion.
2. Add the pork and saute for about one minute.
3. Put Mang Tomas sarsa then mix a bit.
4. Put the vinegar (don't mix!) then simmer for about three minutes.
5. Put ground pepper to taste.

leftovers

What do you do when you've got leftovers in the fridge? Why you recycle them, of course! Sa mga panahon ngayon, dapat iniiwasan ang mag-aksaya ng pagkain. 

Here's what B did to the leftover crispy pata:

And what I did to the extra bihon and the leftover shrimps:

Check out the recipes at the recipes page. 

don't wait

cute

You can rest assured, Kat, that those who have hurt you had absolutely no idea of what they were doing and what was really going on.

It never occurred to them that you'd become even more magnificent. That they'd be invoking your sympathy, adding to your compassion, and increasing your "sparkles." And it will still be eons before they can grasp that you actually welcomed them into your life and played their little games for some of these very reasons.

Cute.

Love you with all of my heart, 

The Universe

PS

And look how much zippier, zappier, and bouncier they made you, Kat.

all when you feel love

Did you know, Kat, that whenever you feel love, you literally begin to glow? You probably did.

But did you know that the glowing is actually made up of zillions of minute sparkles? And that these sparkles receive as much energy as they create? And that because of this energy exchange you completely stop aging and look younger? Abundance is immediately drawn to you? Healing powers fill you? Muscles are strengthened, pounds are shed, and your vision improves? Lingering questions are answered? New friends are summoned? Old friends are poked? Problems are solved? And maple syrup tastes more maple-y?

All when you feel love.

It's true -
The Universe

PS
You sparkle, Kat. 

pay attention

my wordle

This is made of things/persons I'm grateful for, things/persons that/who bring joy to my life, and things/persons/values that/who are important to me.

Make your own Wordle here.

Oks start for the year of the Ox

B and I hosted a dinner party last night to celebrate the first day of the Year of the Ox. We invited long-time friends as well as our housemates and had a blast eating and watching Mr. Woodcock! Haha.

Here is the feast we prepared for everyone:

Clockwise from left: Pancit bihon, steamed rice, kinulob na manok, crispy pata, roasted pork belly and chilli shrimps

I cooked the pancit and chicken while B cooked the shrimps. We bought the crispy pata and roasted pork from Cold Storage and just reheated it. We had more than enough food and ate leftovers today for brunch.

We enjoyed the food with iced tea and red wine. (Thanks Raymond for bringing the Bordeaux wine!). Since we didn't have enough plates, utensils and glasses, we bought disposable ones from the grocery. 

A lazy host's best friends :)

I  the disposable wine glass! It's so cute!

What's a party without decoration and favors? 

We bought this from Giant two days ago. It had cute oxen and the Chinese characters for Gong Xi Fa Cai and Luck. (Thanks Tin for translating!)

I'm a sucker for favors so I prepared ang paos for our friends and housemates:

Free ang paos from Parkway Parade! I put gold choco coins inside and wrote these at the front:

Everyone appreciated our simple souvenir! The chocolates tasted okay naman.

Of course, for a party to be a party, there should be lovely guests!

From left: Tin & Christian (former GS officemates and now housemates), Marjon & Christine  (Reden's friends from college), Frank & Map (Reden's friends from college), Us, Daff & Jops (housemates)

My friends from highschool, Raymond and Giftos

We have good-looking friends and housemates, noh? 

It was a fun night and we really enjoyed catching up with everyone. At the end of it, B and I were immensely satisfied with the get-together we organized. Indeed, food, very much like life, is much more wonderful when shared.

And to our families back home and you, our virtual friend, we wish you a prosperous, healthy and blessed Year of the Ox! 

PS

Thanks to our housemates, Tin, Christian, Daff and Jops, for contributing drinks and dessert, and for helping in the work! We really appreciate it!

and...

I'm discharged! Thank God!

Now it's time for an annual physical exam.

discharged

I'm praying that's what I hear from the doctor later.

I have an appointment at the KK Breast Centre today. The doctor will check me up again to determine whether they'll let me go or continue monitoring me. I think I might have to undergo an ultrasound or mammogram (which I prefer not to have).

Since Dr Chuwa is on study leave, I've been assigned to Dr Hong Ga Sze, the head of the breast unit. B and I checked his profile yesterday and he seems really capable.

My horoscope said it's a good day to have a check up ("January 23 to 24 or the days leading up to it"). I hope Susan Miller's correct.

Later.

BFFs

When I first met Marge I thought we wouldn't become friends. She had this city-girl vibe going on and to a probinsiyana like me, that was kinda intimidating. She grew up in Makati, while I grew up in San Pablo, which although a city, is still very provincial. Marge exuded confidence and seemed so sure about herself, while I was struggling, at that time, to fit in University and the big city.

Marge and I were blockmates so I sort of had to always be around her. I couldn't remember the exact circumstance when we became friends but I know it was a gradual process. We got to know each other very well that in our senior year, we decided to do our thesis together. As other groups tried to get over their differences and get the job done, we were breezing through the project.

One time, after an interview with then COMELEC chairman Alfredo Benipayo and commissioner Rex Bora, I cut class to watch The Planet of the Apes with Marge. During nights when I stayed over at their home in Fort Bonifacio, I would play (as in role-play) DJ at their library, amazed at the Windows Media Player on her dad's laptop. Visualizations were quite new at that time.

We had awesome teamwork, too. When we had to catch Benito Lim at the Asian Centre, Marge did the calling while I did the stalking. We got him and it was one of the happiest days of our college lives. Haha. We wouldn't have been able to submit our thesis on time without that crucial interview. We got 1.25 for all our efforts--or lack thereof. Hahaha, yabang.

I guess that was the turning point of our friendship. It was then that we knew we could rely on each other in good times and in bad. Now, we're just a few months shy of our 11th anniversary. I'm still at awe at how quickly a decade passed by.

Today, Marge turns a year older.  So much has changed in that girl who I thought was too scary to be my friend. At the same time though, so much in her has remained the same. She's still a most-trusted friend.

Happy birthday Marge. Thank you for being a constant in my life and for letting me be a constant in yours.

money matters

I registered for Oprah's Best Life Webcast series and have been receiving the links to the webinars daily. I never actually make it on time for the live broadcast but today I was blessed! I clicked the link to the webcast and I was right on time! Oprah and Suze Orman just went on air and they were going to discuss money.

I watched and listened to several people ask their questions. I didn't really know how bad the situation is in the US until now. Unemployment is set to rise as well as credit card interest rates. Credit card companies will be raising interest rates to 32% on those who only pay the minimum amount required on their balances. That's a lot! Imagine, each time you make a payment, 1/3 of that will only pay for the interest.

About three years ago, I also had credit card debt which I wasn't paying off completely. I didn't or chose not to notice that my balance was growing. I was fortunate that B was there to help me get out of debt. I credit him (no pun intended) for helping me set my priorities straight. I was able to wipe out all of my credit card debt just before I left for Singapore in February 2007. I'm really, really thankful I was able to do that.

Fast forward to now. We still have credit card debt, but we pay them off completely every month. My husband just won't let those banks earn interest on our debt! No way! Haha.

Other than that, we owe money to the hospital where I had my mammotome done last July but we're about to make our final payment in two months. That procedure was just too expensive and even if we could afford to pay it in full that time, we didn't want to get the money from our wedding savings so we opted for the zero-percent interest installment plan to pay for it. (See what happens when you don't have an emergency fund?!)

Just last week, I was planning to purchase a digital SLR camera and have been scouring the web for reviews on the models I've been considering. But today I changed my mind. I'll delay my purchase until I've reached my goal of having enough (read: good for 6 months) emergency fund in my bank account. That's my pledge. In times like this, liquid is the way to go. We'll never know how long we'll have our jobs so we need to save, save, save. As much as I'd love to stimulate the economy by going shopping, I couldn't afford it at this time. Those of you who can, though, go and spend! The economy needs you!

Anyway, here are three things from Suze that can guide us in these tough times:

When it comes to money, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.--> If you're considering investing your money in anything, make sure you completely understand what it is you're putting your money into. Here in Singapore, a lot of retirees lost all their life savings due to misinformation. They didn't completely understand how the money market worked so now they're left with nothing.

If you can't afford it, don't buy it.--> Being able to afford something means not putting yourself or your family at risk. Right now, I can't afford to buy my first DSLR because if I lost my job or B lost his job (knock on wood many many times) we barely have enough to cover our living expenses for six months. So, no to instant gratification until our bank accounts are full.

Always choose to do what's RIGHT instead of what is easy.--> It's easier to buy that DSLR on installment than doing what's right, which is waiting until the market is more stable,  waiting until B's job or mine is 100% secured, waiting until we have enough emergency fund in the bank. Now, I'm choosing to do the right thing.

I'm really thankful though that despite Singapore being in a technical recession, B and I are still living a comfortable life. We have what we need and at times like this, that's what's important.

I hope y'all are financial healthy as you read this.

TGIF!

Kat's Tuna Fusilli

Description:
This is an easy recipe you can whip up in 30 minutes or less.

Ingredients:
250 grams fusilli (we used whole wheat)
1 can of tuna with chilli and tomatoes (you can use any tuna variant)
5 to 7 tablespoons Ragu Traditional pasta sauce (add more if necessary)
6 to 7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons capers
dried basil, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook pasta as per package directions. Set aside.

2. Just combine the tuna, basil leaves and capers in a hot pan. Add dried basil, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about two minutes.

3. Take it off the heat and pour the sauce onto pasta. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top.

last night's dinner (and today's baon)

paired with

We topped off our meal with Meiji Black.

Since the weather last night was lovely, we upped our butts and strolled at the linear park. It was windy and cool--perfect for an easy evening walk. When we realized though that it was the first night of American Idol, we rushed back home.

You can check my pasta recipe in the recipes section.

Bolt 3D

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Animation

I love dogs, and I loved Bolt. It was warm, fuzzy and heartwarming, like real dogs!

MILK

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

In MILK, Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. Even if you don't know who Harvey Milk is, go watch the movie. It's perfect! The acting was brilliant; the screenplay and cinematography faultless. Aside from that, the issues Harvey Milk and his friends were fighting for are still the same issues we're fighting for today.

Verdict: Go, go, go watch it now! It's definitely one of the best films of 2008.

let it exist first in your mind

Are you so sure it's not the dancer who creates the music she moves to? Or the painter who manifests the mountains he captures? Or the tycoon who builds the empire before there's a dime?

Whatever you want, Kat, let it exist first in your mind, imagine every nuance and consideration, let the walls have substance, the halls have depth, and the money have weight in the palm of your hand, and then all that's necessary to bring it to pass will be drawn to you.

Sneaky, clever, foxy, wry -
The Universe

PS
Really, Kat, who do you think gave Beethoven his, "DUN! DUN! DUN! DUN!!!!"?

baon for today

Lunch: brown rice, lettuce with italian dressing and fried rosemary chicken

Snack: sliced bananas and strawberries (The sweetness of the bananas complements the sourness of the strawberries--perfect combination!)

our weekend in Polaroids

After hearing mass, B and I headed to our favorite mall, Vivo City.

The first thing we noticed was

They were selling books, magazines, maps, furniture, globes, travel gear, clothes and toys. The clothes were made of good fabric but were expensive! The window display was cool though--

Not me, silly. The horse! It's made of chopped wood in various sizes na parang sinaksak lang together to form a horse.

Then we saw that

There was also a Chinese New Year bazaar at the activity centre. I noticed this, among others:

And


After going around in circles, we headed to

for lunch.


While

We both enjoyed our burgers with


And


Everything was so good! This is B


After lunch, we watched

Afterwards, we had a light dinner then went home. Whew!

It was a great Sunday.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

Rating:	★★
Category:	Other

The musical starred none other than Lea Salonga in the title role. It had two acts, each lasting for an hour.

Unfortunately, instead of leaving me breathless, the show left me yawning! I found most of the scenes dragging and the songs, a bit boring.

I may have set myself up for disappointment for expecting a show as spectacular as We Will Rock You, and something as entertaining as Avenue Q. The show, after all, is based on the fairy tale.

And I may be too old for fairy tales.

However, not all is sleep-inducing in this musical. The part where Fairy Godmother dressed Cinderella up for the ball and where the pumpkin turned to a golden carriage woke me up. The comic relief provided by the rats, the evil stepsisters, the Fairy Godmother, the Prince and the King was also successful in keeping my interest up. The costumes also helped save me from completely falling into deep slumber. They shined! The singing was not bad, but I was not impressed either. I didn't get goosebumps, not even with Lea's singing.

I don't regret seeing the show. I saw Lea Salonga perform, after all. However, this doesn't get my two thumbs-up.

Verdict: Watch it if you want to see Lea or if you'd like to find out how the pumpkin turns into a carriage. Otherwise, you can pass this up.

i'm size 14 and happy

And, according to this news item, so are they.

girlprend bonding

Kahapon ay nakipagkita ako (siempre kasama ang asawa ko) kay Arianne at Sharon, ang dalawa kong naging girlprends sa dati kong pinapagtrabahuhan. Naghapunan kami sa food court ng Marina iskwer. Pinili nila ang lugar na yun dahil mayroon itong view ng downtown. Kahapon lang ulit kami napadpad ni B doon at oo nga pala, maganda nga pala ang ambiance doon lalo na pag gabi. Kita mo ang Esplanade at ang mga nagtataasang building sa siyudad at kita mo din ang ilog, kung saan madaming cranes dahil sa napakadaming construction na ginagawa sa gawing iyon ng Singapore.

Ito ang aming view kagabi:


Di ba maganda? Nakadagdag pa sa ganda ng ambiance ang simoy ng hangin at ang magandang panahon.

Habang hinihintay si Sharon at Arianne, ano pa bang gagawin namin kung hindi magcam whore?




Lalo siempreng gumanda ang ambiance nung dumating sina Sharon at Arianne! Ito kaming tatlo at ang mga kinain namin kagabi:


Si Sharon, gaya ko, ay bagong kasal din at paalis na sa Singapore upang makasama ang kanyang hubby sa Winnipeg, Canada. Si Arianne naman ay malapit nang umuwi sa Cebu upang magbakasyon pagkatapos ng mahigit isang taong pamamalagi dito. Manonood siya ng Sinulog at kakain ng masarap na Cebu Lechon!

Mapalad ako at nakilala ko silang dalawa. Namiss ko ang mga ganitong bonding/chismisan sessions kasama ang mga girlprends! Dati ay isang tawag ko lang kay George o kaya kay Marge ay agad kaming pupunta sa Greenbelt upang lumafang at dumaldal. Kaya naman kagabi ay nagalak ako nang todo at nakita kong muli ang dalawang babaysot na ito. Talaga namang kaysarap ng huntahan kagabi!