Positive and Negative

I was supposed to have my colonoscopy last Friday. I was ready and all... having spent my Thursday night feeling the effect of the potent laxative the doctor gave me.

Friday morning was the same... I was instructed to have another dose of the laxative AND fast from 6AM.

The thing that was not instructed but I thought of doing was to take a pregnancy test using a home kit. I do know that Friday's procedure would have me sedated and if in case I am infanticipating, that would not be good.

It came out positive.

Hubby and I had to rush to the hospital to advise the doctor and then we took the opportunity of visiting my OB-GYN.

Of course, my ob-gyn was ecstatic. We have been trying to have baby number 2 for a number of months now so this is very good news. She requested that I have my usual pre-natal exams and of course, an ultrasound of the pelvis.

Hubby was excited while waiting at the ultrasound clinic of the Medical City. But his name was not called. Instead, I was the one who went out... there was no baby. I am not pregnant.

We were a bit disappointed but we did find it funny. The home test kit was a lemon, perhaps. That day was my weirdest ever. I was pregnant for about 6 hours... I hope next time it's for real...

Trying Something New.

Seems to me that my blog is becoming a date/food blog. Forgive me for not having too much variety -- the weeks have become busy and office matters tend to be a little boring for me to post here.

So here goes...

Hubby and I went to the Powerplant Mall awhile ago to try out a new restaurant for change. A walk at the ground floor brought us to Pho24... obviously, a Vietnamese restaurant. Excited to eat here because I just had my soooper favorite spring rolls last June during our vacay (My cousin Joy makes me one lot whenever I visit her in Arizona.) I sure wanted to have another taste of it... though pretty sure that nothing tastes like my cousin's spring rolls.

First order is the Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls...

I was right. Not even close to the Joy D rolls. The sauce was too bland. It does not have noodles plus it has some weird veggies in it.

Next was the Beef Noodle Soup, which has prologue plate of veggies.


This one is good. Light in the tummy and seems authentic to my taste buds.

Drink for the night was the bottomless fresh dalandan juice which both hubby and I enjoyed.


While eating, we figured that the restaurant is something that health conscious people would love. The food we ordered seems like a complete meal with the go, grow, glow food and all. But this is not the Friday treat for me. I will give this one a try again when I am dead serious about my diet plan.

For the meantime... I'd rather go for the really delicioso food on a Friday night. And because of this, I did not go home without a big scoop of Choco Mint ice cream from FIC.

New Look.

My iPhone has a new color and I love it. It's color purple now so it is super girly.

Bought the case from an officemate for a thousand bucks yesterday. It was one of those meant-to-be purchase because I have been contemplating on buying another case for my phone. You see... I have been using a leather case for around a year now. The stretchy sides are already loose and the leather is already worn out.

The offer could not have come at a better time -- it was an early morning sales talk for my officemate and an early morning purchase for me.

See how my phone looks now.







Matches my girly netbook, too!

Chocolat.

About two weeks ago, hubby and I visited his former boss who has been nursing an illness. We were debating what to give her since we do not really know what was the most apt thing at that moment. We thought of giving books, cds, even mango jam.

Our trek to Tomas Morato brought us to cake shop a little after ABS-CBN at Sgt. Esguerra st... the shop was called Chocolat.

The Chocolate Caramel, Chocolate Hazelnut and even the NY Cheesecake looked so tempting. But it was the cake named Death By Tablea which intrigued us. Without thinking much, we bought the 6-inch cake for P345 and sped away to our agenda for the afternoon. We told the staff that we will come back for a taste of their cakes but never got to do so.

Last Sunday, we had another friend to visit. This time near Banawe St. He was with his family and is on a 3-week (?) vacation to the motherland from the UK. And because the Chocolat was on the way, we thought of giving his little ones a cake treat.

This time, we were able to stay and eat.

My golly! The Death By Tablea was divine. The icing was indeed tablea... while the cake itself was not sweet. So, the concoction of tablea icing and chocolate cake was just perfect. The P75 slice treat was a great afternoon delight.



The whole cake costs P620 so we chose the Chocolate Classic whole for P475. The little girls from the UK may not appreciate tablea taste so might be better to get the usual chocolate taste.



Until now, I could not get over the yummy cake. It was love at first taste indeed with Death By Tablea and I want one slice again soon!

John and Yoko.

I was late for my Friday date with hubby because of last minute matters in the office. The original plan was for us to go to his company's new office then walk to Greenbelt 5 for dinner.

Because of my tardiness, we opted to proceed to Greenbelt 5 to have dinner instead. Our extreme hunger brought us to John and Yoko -- a Japanese restaurant at the second floor.

Food for the night were...


California Roll... I was famished so the fastest to prepare was the first order of the night. The crab sticks on top (apologies, we ate 'em all before we took this picture) were such a delight. The orange fish eggs, or whatever they are, are fun to munch. Not one of the best rolls I tasted but it was good for this date.



Happy Birthday Noodles... It was good especially for late dinner. For those who are on a diet, like me, you would not feel guilty eating this because it was not too heavy. Towards the end of the dinner though, the noodles and sauce will noticeably a little bit more on the salty side. Hubby, on the other hand, said it became sweeter.



Dalandan Iced Tea... This one is colored Blue. Oh, this was the heaviest of all! Would not recommend for late dinners. Water would have been just fine.

I was thinking of a Starbucks session while paying the bill but it would be a bit more heavy for my dieting tummy. We capped the night instead with a walk to from Greenbelt 5 to hubby's office to burn all the sugar from the iced tea.

We'll come back for the yummy California Rolls next time!

St. Joseph.

While hubby and I were hearing mass at the Landmark, the priest mentioned that it was though the help of St. Joseph that they were able to get the additional space that a bank was occupying. It was then that we learned that St. Joseph was the patron of real estate or property.



It was as if God's providence was working... we were hoping to have one property sold so we can move to bigger place. Then, for some reason, I remember receiving a small St. Joseph image and placing it to my parents' altar.

I asked my sister to snatch the image from my parents' room and bring it to me so I can concentrate my energies to asking St. Joseph's help.

So far, my prayers are working. This week, he brought me to the most serious buyer. Things are not final yet but I am hoping things fall into place.

Toy Story.

Isn't child development amazing? And more amazing is, as they grow up, they do get attached to cartoon characters.

I am a working mom but has been hands on with my 2-year old so I am there practically every step of the way.

It all started with the Buzz table and chair we bought. From that time on, my boy has been amazed with Buzz. We then got several Buzz items like a doll (from my sister), Buzz shirt, and Buzz bike. When we first introduced Toy Story, his amazement extended to the other characters... but he still adores Buzz above everyone else in the cartoon.

Since then, he has developed longer attention span and is now able to watch a full-length cartoon movie (he started with TV commercials, by the way)... and this convinced us to buy the DVDs (non-pirated!) of Toy Story.



He is hilarious while watching. He cheers when the title of the cartoon movie is flashed in the screen. He re-enacts the characters in the cartoons complete with action and dialogues. He looks sad when the characters are sad... even gets teary-eyed sometimes. And of course, he sings all the songs played in the movie. And these happen EVERYTIME he watches -- except when tired and sleepy when his activities are limited to re-enacting Buzz, Woody, Andy, etc.

And this is just Toy Story. He also has a Thomas and Friends, and a Mickey Mouse repertoire.

I don't know when he will get tired of the Toy Story movies... seems like this will go on for a few more months... maybe years (but hopefully not too many). One thing for sure is I will not get tired of watching him watch cartoons!

Japan, perhaps.

There is a possibility that our office will send me Japan for project. If things push through, it will be just a short trip and the plan is to accomplish everything we can in two days.

While I am not too excited about the airplane ride (4 hours would seem like forever for me!) I do look forward to seeing Japan.
I have always been intrigued with what I will see in Japan -- both the sights and the people.
Here is a list of the things I would love to do in Tokyo if the big boss says yes to the proposal --
1) Explore the city. They say you can do this best by walking.


2. Ride the train/subway. Another way to get to know a city is by experiencing the public transport system.

3. Stroll at the Ueno Park. Though I don't think this is the best time of the year to see cherry blossoms.

4. Shop (?). Uh-oh, they say the electronics there are way cheap. Plus, it's one of the meccas of the fashion industry.

Let's see if I am meant to see Japan this year.

Pictures from photopassjapan.com.

Chicken Tinola.

Here's how I cook Chicken Tinola.



Ingredients --

Chicken
Garlic
Ginger
Onion
Green Papaya or Chayote
Malunggay Leaves
Water or Chicken Stock
Cooking oil
Salt, ground pepper, patis (fish sauce)


How to cook --
1) Saute garlic, then ginger, and onion in cooking oil. Remember that the longer you "gisa" or saute, the better because the flavor or juices of the ingredients come out.
2) Put in the chicken then saute until color is less pink. At this time, you may season with salt and ground pepper.
3) Add water to desired level. Bring to a boil then lower the fire to simmer.
4) Simmer until chicken is a bit tender -- not too tender!
5) Put patis to taste.
6) Add in the green papaya or chayote then continue simmering until veggies are soft.
7) When soft, add the malunggay leaves.
8) Cook for a minute or when malunggay leaves are cooked.
9) Serve and enjoy.

Tinola is another form of chicken soup which they say, helps make one feel okay when sick. This dish is also a favorite of Manny Pacquiao everytime he is training for a fight.

Historic Visit.

We never thought our visit was the last Saturday for Wowowee.