Home is where the Heart is

This is the first time that I have two active blogs on different platforms (Blogger and WordPress)  for the same reason, that is as an online collection of thoughts and what-not. The overlap is quite unintentional, as I was using WordPress before and due to some technical glitch I was denied access to the blog so I created a new one here on Blogger. And then last month, I discovered I could access my WordPress account once more so there you go.

Now, I have this on-going Blog Challenge here, but lately I find myself posting more on the other blog than here. Theoretically, I could just up and close this blog and that would be the end of it, but in reality I could not bring myself to do it. I mean, I did put in time and effort for this one too, especially the design and layout.

WordPress on top, Blogger below

As you can see, they look quite different, given that I made them with different frames of mind. Whereas the  older WordPress blog is very minimalistic and the palette is monochromatic, the newer Blogger one has more intricate details and a pop of color. But both represent me and together the styles embody my knack for opposites and contrast.

So, what to do?

Partial unofficial tally for Taal election 2013

from GMA News Online

Though we've transferred to San Pascual, we still vote in our beloved hometown Taal. Our roots there go deep since both my parents come from there, and from the same barangay to boot. About 95% of our close relatives live there. We only moved because of our work in Batangas City. That said, Taal will always have a place in my heart.

No wonder!

The whole month, aside from that revisit post, all I thought blogged about was FOOD! Uh, can you say matakaw? No wonder I have been blowing up like a goddamn balloon. My clothes are all getting real tight across all the wrong places and that is never a good thing. Tsk. To think I should already be dieting by this time.

I need to slim up by August because that's when he'll be coming home. The last time we saw each other, I was so thin slim that my three-month baby bump was not showing even in fitted shirts and skinny jeans. Imagine that? And now I could barely fit into those jeans. What would he say if he sees me like this?

Okay, so I'm betting a huge all-meat pizza that he'd still love me despite my, ehem, physical excesses. But still. You gotta give your man the best, and that includes the best of you, right? And flabs and love handles are not part of that. I can do better than this current state of my body.

So wish me luck!

Recipe: Tuna Spaghetti

I don't know why I have not posted this recipe sooner, given that this is my signature dish after all. I have been cooking up variations of this since my college and review days. In fact, back when we were reviewing for our Board Exam, my housemates and I used to have what we called Spaghetti Thursdays. That is, I cook my special Tuna Spaghetti every Thursday night for dinner. It just varies in plainness or richness, depending upon our budget. If we're a bit short on cash, it's just a basic tuna, pasta and sauce affair. If budget allows, we go all out with cream and hotdogs and mushrooms and what-have-you added to the basic recipe. Damn, I miss those review days.. *nostalgic* But I digress. I'm sharing with you now my basic recipe. Oh, and pardon the unattractive presentation of the pasta.

Tuna Spaghetti

Of Waffles and College Friends

Here's an interesting trivia for you, my college barkada is called Elffaw. Yes, that's for waffle spelled backward because we're weird quirky like that. The naming was more of a whim than anything while we were eating waffles at the canteen, but it stuck.

(photo from My Happy Realm)

Recipe: Buttered Shrimp

This is actually a very easy recipe, and there are probably hundreds of variations scattered all throughout the blogosphere. But this is my version which I did last night. And it tasted pretty good, if I do say so myself. So without further ado:

Buttered Shrimp

Recipe: Toaster Cookies and Mallows Treat

For some reason, our microwave oven got busted so I could not make mug cookies or those No-bake Chewy Cookie Bars. So you could imagine my frustration when I was craving for those bars and the stupid microwave won't work. There was still the oven toaster, but I am not sure how marshmallows would react. Just the same, I had to try something. And here is that something:

Toaster Cookies and Mallows Treat

2013 Blog Challenge: March revisit

Pangilin

Not that I have really been all that active during the past week or so, but just for the record, I will not be blogging, tweeting, and in general be online in any social networking site. That said, I will be turning off my mobile data starting 12 midnight tonight until Black Saturday. I will be logging in again on Easter Sunday.

So that's it. See you on Sunday!


Edit:

I have to amend my earlier plan to turn off my mobile data as I conveniently forgot that I use Google Talk to keep in touch with the BF. *facepalm*

So what I'll be doing is keep my mobile data on until after we've talked and then turn it off until the next day. And discipline myself in the meantime not to use FB, Twitter or Instagram. So help me God.

TRESE Comics: Not your average Pinoy komiks

I have made a review of the first three books in my other blog. And I have bought and read the fourth book. The fifth book is out, but I have not gotten around to getting a copy yet.

Repost from my WP blog: Enjoy your coffee!

Good coffee is good coffee, whether you drink it from a cup, a mug or a paper cup.

Recipe: No-bake Chewy Cookie Bars

So. I am still on that dessert-making roll and I made another no-bake treat last night. And I dare say it was a successful experiment since my--ahem--unbiased neighbors and co-workers said they're pretty decent. And it was really easy to make too, with just three widely-available ingredients. Ain't that fab? I just hate those recipes that call for oh-so-exotic ingredients only found in snotty specialty stores far far away from the boondocks where I live. But that's just me. So without further ado, here it is:

No-bake Chewy Cookie Bars

Recipe: No-bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

One of my life frustrations is baking cookies and pastries. With a busted oven, not exactly the easiest thing to do. But as the saying goes, if there's a will, there's a way. And there's trusty Google of course. So armed with a stubborn resolve and a little experimenting, I was able to make a couple of yummy(!) treats for me and my family. Here's the recipe for one of them.

No-bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Day 3: Practice Forgiveness

"Do not hold resentment. Do not get so mad at times when things are a little wrong. Remember that others have as much right to their opinions as self, but that there is a level from which all may work together for good." -- Edgar Cayce

Call this making peace with the past.

Day 2: Practice Letting Go

On this day (only today, tomorrow you can go back to whatever it is you're holding on so tightly), let go of all the things that are toxic for you, whether they are toxic thoughts, behaviors or people... Let go of it all and just be present with what is.

Hmmm... what to let go then?

Day 1: Practice Tolerance and Acceptance

"Acceptance of one's life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary, it means accepting it as it comes, with all the handicaps of heredity, of suffering, of psychological complexes and injustices." -- Paul Tournier

My Day 1 was almost an epic fail. Almost.

2013 Blog Challenge: February Revisit (plus some ramblings on the side)

click to view larger

Wouldn't you know it, I actually made good on my 2013 Blog Challenge for February! Not counting that challenge post itself, I managed to churn out 5 posts (never mind how nonsensical mundane most of them are). Not bad considering I started in the middle of the month. Now if I could just keep up the pace...

The 7-Day Happiness Challenge

my S Planner widget

I am Straight

...but I do know how to appreciate (female) beauty when I see it, hence my tendencies to have girl crushes. Here are a couple of celebrities I'm crushing on at the moment:

Kate Ma from Asia's Next Top Model Cycle 1

Wake me up...

Someone Like Me

One More Try

No, this post has nothing to do with the movie, though I wanted to watch it at that time but didn't. But I digress. This is (for lack of better term) a sorta last-ditch attempt at keeping myself from blowing up from all the food I'm eating losing some much-needed weight. I am by no means obese, in fact I am still within the upper range of the normal BMI for my height. But I am vain like that so sue me. So, you say, what is this post really about?

So many books...

...that I sometimes lose track what of I have and have not read. A perfect example:

Third volume in the Kane Chronicles

Fangirl-ing

This just about made my day yesterday. Because I am a geek like that and wasn't really expecting a reply from him. And yes, I am starstruck (from a tweet, how pathetic backwards is that?). Oh well. Good day and good vibes to you too! ;)

2013 Blog Challenge

Since I am a sorta busy person splitting my time between work and my kid, my blog has suffered as evidenced by my posts--or the lack thereof. And that makes me sad since I do like blogging and had grand hopes of being a semi-regular blogger when I started this.

But enough of the maudlin stuff. What's done cannot be undone. So, to remedy my blog-withdrawal, I am challenging myself to blog at least once a week starting next week. So that at the end of the year I should have a little more than mere pickings to look back and ruminate on while browsing this blog. ;)

So good luck to me!