March Photo-A-Day: Third Week

March is passing by so quickly. I just finished the third week of this challenge. One realization of this challenge is I get to share our daily life here in Bangkok. It is an excellent way of documenting our time here.

Day 15 - Car
Was too lazy to go outside the house. Luckily, I have a little boy who has a number of toy cars.

Day 16 - Sunglasses
Javi loves wearing sunglasses. He would grab it from the counter and puts it on before going out.

Day 17 - Green
Care package of Pinoy goodies came with the Kalamansi flavor of Lucky Me Pancit Canton. I also received another mug which is green, Ciudad de Mexico.

Day 18 - Corner of your home
My favorite corner - where I write, journal, blog, and work on our finances

Day 19 - Funny
I had a hard time with this one. Then it instantly hit me while watching Parks & Recreation that Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope is funny.

Day 20 - Before/After
Our dinner for that evening Chicken & Soda Casserole.

Day 21 - Delicious
Magnum Ice Cream Bar is such a big hype now in the Philippines. Let's just say  the Magnum craze hit me, too. I blame it on this post by my favorite food blogger, Lori Baltazar of Dessert Comes First. I also like the Almond.

Enjoy the rest of the week. Tomorrow is Friday. The weekend is here!

And may the odds be in our favor! (Yes, I'm a big Hunger Games fan.)

Yummy Magazine's Braised Beef Salpicao

My cooking skills have greatly improved over the four years of being married. I actually enjoy creating meals for my family. 

I still rely on recipes. I cannot cook wonderful meals on my own. I tweak the recipe a bit so I could call it "my" version. Truth is I omit/substitute when I fail to find an ingredient. But the dish would still turn out well. 

I recently brought a dish to a potluck gathering and it was a hit! I was surprised at how good the dish tasted when I first cooked it. And it was relatively easy to make. 

Thought of sharing the recipe here. I'd also mark this dish as one of my favorite dishes to cook AND eat. 

Yummy Magazine's Braised Beef Salpicao

Serves 4 to 5  
Prep Time 15 minutes + 3 to 4 hours simmering time  
Cooking Time 10 to 15 minutes

1/2 kilo beef brisket
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 piece beef broth cube
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon corn oil or cooking oil
2 tablespoons butter
6 to 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 small can button mushrooms, halved
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, chopped (optional)

1  Cut beef into bite-size cubes. Combine soy sauce, water, beef broth cube, and sugar. In a pan, put beef and pour soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil then transfer to a slow cooker. (Don’t have a slow cooker? An ordinary cooking pot will do. Just increase the water to 1 cup.) Leave it to cook 3 to 4 hours or until tender. Strain meat. Set aside sauce. 


2  In a nonstick skillet, heat corn oil and butter. Sauté garlic until brown. Add meat and mushrooms and sauté for another 2 minutes. 


3  Pour in the sauce. Add Worcestershire sauce, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with chopped parsley.



Those who love beef, garlic and mushroom would love this dish.

Try it out and let me know how it turns out!


Happy Monday!

"I Don't Have to Do What Everyone Else is Doing"

The quote that stood out for me from Pinterest is --

Photo source

Facebook, Twitter and the likes have been influencing our lives in a big way. The power of suggestion had never been this effective. When something goes viral then one is probably on the right track. 

The social media world buzzed about a video by Invisible Children to make Joseph Kony famous. One day, my Facebook and Twitter feeds were all about this video. I did watch the entire 30-minute video. I was moved, and knowing how I have a heart for injustices and children, I cried. I said a prayer for the kids and those who are behind the movement.

The automatic thing to do was hit the Share button which I did and I shared it via Twitter and Google+. But not on Facebook where I have more contacts. Something was just not right in my heart which I cannot explain. I went through my Twitter feed and my curiosity led me to reading articles from TIME, Huffington Post and Mashable. 

Then I found this tweet from Louie Giglio --

#makeJesusfamous
— Louie Giglio (@louiegiglio) March 8, 2012

Why yes? It will always be about Him. In my heart, I'd rather make Jesus famous first. PERIOD. I am not saying I do not want to help out Invisible Children and their cause. I am being called for something else. 

Yesterday, an unfortunate incident happened to Jason Russell, the filmmaker of the Stop Kony/Make Kony Famous video. I learned about it from a blog post of Donald Miller -- 

I was told to be compassionate towards Jason Russell and Invisible Children rather than be judgmental. I greatly appreciate reading this post first than the news. Oh, people were definitely judgmental and hurtful based on the comments and tweets.

My lessons learned are (1) It is okay not to do what everyone else is doing, and (2) I should hold off being judgmental and practice compassion instead.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!

March Photo-A-Day: Second Week

I am enjoying this challenge. I am now on Week 2.

Day 8 - Window
The view is one of the reasons I love living in our apartment.

Day 9 - Red
Now what could be more red than Elmo or a family of Elmos. I am raising a toddler thus the need for Elmos.

Day 10 - Loud
I picked this car as it is visually loud. It was from a display from Paul Smith.

Day 11- Someone you talked to today
I had the pleasure of enjoying lunch and chatting with this wonderful couple. 

Day 12 - Fork
Salad fork from IKEA which I need to use more.

Day 13 - A sign
This is the sign that would welcome guests at our home. Shoes are the worst carrier of germs.

Day 14 - Clouds
It was overcast and very hazy in Bangkok. 

For more of this photo-a-day challenge, check it out here.

Again, you may find my photos in Flickr, Twitter and Google+.

Monday Morning Reminder

It's Monday morning and all I want to do is go back to bed and sleep. Not good.

Have you ever had one of those Mondays?

Thank goodness for routine and discipline, I am up on my toes. It's a brand new week. There is so much to do.

I need a reminder today.

Photo source

Let's all have a great week!

March Photo-A-day: First Week

 I came across the Photo-A-Day idea from Mashable. I was then introduced to Chantelle or more popularly known as Fat Mum Slim. She is a famous blogger from Australia. As it turns out, I adore Chantelle's blog. I immediately subscribed to her blog. And I welcome a blogger from Down Under as I mostly follow bloggers from North America. 

What I liked about her Photo-A-Day challenge is she comes up with a subject everyday. It is not just taking photos of random things. I looked at her list for February and I wished I knew about her challenge at the beginning of the year. I had to wait for March to start my photo-a-day challenge. I also wished I have an iPhone so I could use the Instagram app. Well, I only have my BlackBerry so that would have to do for now.  And of course, there is our trusty camera.

For March here is the list for the challenge. It's up to anyone who joins the challenge to interpret the subject for the day the way he/she wants to. 

My first week goes like --

Day 1
Up

Day 2
Fruits

Day 3
Neighborhood

Day 4
Bedside

Day 5
Smile

Day 6
5PM

Day 7
Something I wore

You can find these photos in Flickr, Twitter and Google+.

I am enjoying this challenge. It's a little break from my daily routine and it helps me be resourceful and creative. 

A special thanks to my dearest friend, Ms. Kitty, for encouraging me to blog about this.

Pinterest Quote for the Week: Motherhood

Pinterest has too many great and interesting quotes. I have three major boards on just quotes. Yes, I definitely need constant reminders in my life. 

Thought it'd nice to feature my favorite find for the week. For this week, I have something on MOTHERHOOD.

When I saw this one, I laughed. 

I honestly never thought about what the poster was saying. 

It is absolutely TRUE.

Photo Source

I experienced this time - being a stay-at-home mom without kids when I was still pregnant with Javi. It was fun having the time for anything I want to do. When I looked back, I wished I accomplished more. 

It's a different life now. I have my precious little boy. Being a stay-at-home mom now is exhausting BUT the most rewarding thing. My little boy is adorable. The joy he brings to us is immeasurable. I am falling in love with him every day. 

I would be thinking how would life be like if I didn't have Javi. What would I do when Jed works late? Our home would be very quiet and lonely. 

Now, I actually dread when Javi has to go to school. I have gotten so attached to my little boy.

Life has definitely a way of turning things around. 

Happy Sunday!