Easy Chicken Tinola

Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken thighs (or any choice part)
1 piece sayote, sliced
1 bundle chili leaves (dahon ng sili)
1 tbsp. fish sauce (patis)
2 tablespoons ginger, julienned
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
6 cups water
2 tablespoons oil
about 1/3 Maggi Magic Sarap
salt and pepper to taste


In a casserole, heat oil and saute ginger and onion until soft. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for about 5 minutes in low fire. Season with patis and add the water. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer until the chicken is tender. Add the sayote while and season with salt and pepper. When both sayote and chicken pieces are already tender (check with fork), remove from heat and add the chili leaves. Stir once or twice for the leaves to cook.


* Season the chicken with some salt minutes before you put it in the pot. Seasoning earlier will strip your chicken of moisture.

* Fresh garlic is the key to a savory tinola. But if you want a greater chicken taste, feel free to add a half or whole chicken cube.

Body Scrub for a Softer Skin

Intent on maintaining your youthful glow and super smooth skin? Have a complete body exfoliation in the hands of experts by getting a body scrub.

What to expect: a shower, a steam bath (to open those pores up) and then the body scrub itself. Expect arm pits and that area between your legs and magic region to be scrubbed as well. If you're not used to exfoliating or using body scrubs/sponges, this procedure might hurt. Or worse, ticklish.

And yes, you have to strip down to your birthday suit.

After the scrub, you'll have to shower again.

Costs vary from P700-1500, depending on where you go and what kind of scrub is used on you (basic salt scrub, tamarind, whitening, etc.).

The good thing about a body scrub is you also get a body massage of sorts, since the attendant will be scrubbing your entire body. Plus, it will get your circulation going so you'd really look glowing after.

Time special dates and meetings after, to capitalize on that glow!

Elegant Weddings 2008

Over 120 of the Philippines’ most respected wedding suppliers will be gracing this Yearend Wedding Fair at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel (Mandaluyong City, Philippines) on 29 – 30 November 2008.

EDSA Shangri-la Hotel shall feature their theme wedding set ups in their various function rooms (the better to give you an idea of what the hotel can offer!), and Themes & Motifs will officially introduce T&M Gifts, the Philippines' first gift registry portal (the better for you to get the gifts you want from your loved ones all over the world).

Free admission await soon-to weds who will pre-register here.

Baby Steps in Going Green

Going green is all about saving the environment, a big part of which is reducing energy consumption and waste production. But a lot of people balk at the suggestion to go green, thinking that they are being expected to stop breathing to reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Nothing that drastic, my dears.

Taking baby steps is the key. Changing one (bad) habit of ours can already impact the world to its betterment without our being aware of it.

Take for example, not letting water run while you're brushing your teeth. Maybe, if I tell you that you can save about 20,000 gallons of water a year (that's enough to fill a pool!) if you learn to turn your faucet off while brushing would inspire you to do just that.

One other thing is to not overstock, especially without noting and tracking the expiry dates on the products you purchased. This will save you money since it will limit the number of items you'd have to throw out monthly, and save your health too as you don't risk it from eating expired food. Another reason not to feel bad about not studying those insurance quotes more judiciously, surely?

I shall post more baby green steps in the coming days!

Thrice Disappointed

I was looking forward to the weekend, expecting to have a blast at the two convention/exhibits and the halloween thingie we were going to.

I shouldn't have bothered.

First, there was the WORLD OF CHINA EXHIBIT at the World Trade Center. Not sure if it was because it was running for almost a week then but there really wasn't much to see or interest someone at the exhibit. Shopping in Divisoria is more exciting, at least you get to see Nokia knock-offs (in the form of Nokla) and binge on Chinese food.

But yes, there were Crocs shoes and sandals being sold for P350 each (or 3 for P1000) but they only had limited stocks and colors. And yes, there were several exhibit booths selling exercise machines and herbal/organic stuff that supposedly helps one to lose weight.

It was interesting to watch a tea ceremony in real life, however, and the exhibit was free and you get canvas bags. And yes, they did set up a Great Wall there for photo opps. But still, it was truly a let down.

So we rushed to the SMX Convention Center for the Consumer Electronics thingie. Apart from seeing the latest models of Mac PCs and Nokia phones, the highlight of the exhibit would be watching photographers take pictures of a model who seemed to have been paid to pose all day and getting a free canvas bag from Philcopy. One other disappointment is that i've been to a few similar (and better) exhibits at Mega Trade Hall that cost me nothing while this cost me P50.

Sigh.

And then there's the Halloween Fun Craze at Alabang Town Center spearheaded by Kidsters, Inc. In retrospect, maybe I should have given into my misgivings when I was told that pre-registration is done there and then (sorry, but i've always thought pre-registration involves filling up an internet form or e-mails or calls are made to register BEFORE the event happens). I was also told that they'd be there from 10 AM to 5 PM.

So we got there at past 2 PM, I think, looking forward to loot bags at least for the effort we invested on our costumed kids (Lilo, Snow White and Tiger... and the tiger costume wasn't made for tropical weather!). Or at least, great photo opportunities. To our dismay, the event was set up on a non-air conditioned plaza and they were already awarding the costumed kids (winners, I think, were one dressed as a KAPRE and the other is an AXED LADY). But we were told that there'd be another batch of costume contest at 4 PM. The emcee announced it several times as well, that they were going to pick four other winners (most inventive, cutest, scariest and one other criteria) at 4 PM. The emcee also said that there's no pre-registration anymore in the afternoon. So our lot decided to give our kids a wardrobe change first and eat snacks... and just get back there at quarter to four.

We did just that. Imagine our shock then when we saw all the booths being dismantled and all the tables and chairs being taken away. They were packing up! And when we tried getting the organizers to explain, no one had an answer.

What a waste of an afternoon indeed! We could have gone to Powerplant instead... or baked cookies. Tsk.

So good luck to those attending the Halloween Fun Craze in Glorietta.

Exhibit Halls: A World of Possibilities

Thinking of where to go on weekends? Looking for business ideas or ways to add to your network? Looking for the latest innovations or professionals to hook up with? What about good bargains, discounts and freebies?

Check out the nearest exhibition hall from you for their calendar of events.

For World Trade Center Manila, here are some of the remaining events that may interest you:

October 23-26 - World of China

November
3 American Women's Club Monthly Bazaar
6-9 Taiwan Show and Technology Fair
7-9* Paskong Pilipino Shopping Expo
13 Trust Family Fair
15-16 Kapamilya Negosyo Fair
21-23 The Grand International Christmas Bazaar
22 Abba Concert
25 Salon Spectacular
26-30* Christmas Shop Expo/Noel Discovery Bazaar 2008
Christmas decors, novelty items, fashion acces., RTWs & etc.

December
2 American Women's Club Monthly Bazaar
5-16 World Bazaar Festival
18-21 OFW & Overseas Fair 2008
19-21 Christmas Shop Expo/Noel Discovery Bazaar 2008
19-26* Christmas year-ender Inventory Sale
28 Charity Bingo Fiesta


For the SMX Convention Center, here are the events of interest:

Philippine Fashion Week 08 October 22, 2008 - October 26, 2008
Consumer Electronics Live Manila 2008 October 24, 2008 - October 26, 2008
2nd Asian Computer and Consumer Electronics System Show (ACCESS 08) November 6, 2008 - November 9, 2008
PHILCONSTRUCT/PSVARE November 13, 2008 - November 16, 2008
Manila Auto Salon 2008 November 20, 2008 - November 23, 2008
Asian Business Expo November 28, 2008 - November 30, 2008
COMDDAP IT Expo December 4, 2008 - December 7, 2008
Christmas Treasures Expo December 5, 2008 - December 7, 2008

Practicality of HMOs

You often hear people complaining that the doctors they get from their HMOs are no good. Some are too quick to dispense prescriptions without throughly interviewing you first, or you get shunted from doctor to doctor (whoever is available), or you literally have to threaten them before they'd issue laboratory orders.

But maybe all that can be minimized by going for HMOs that do not promise much for so little. You get what you pay for, always remember that, and you have to keep in mind that health insurance is a business. So do not expect to only pay P5k and get the royal treatment.

This is not to say that you should settle for crappy service. But before enrolling in one, review the terms, compare it with other proposals or ideal setups (like maybe, ones like what NC health insurance offers). Is it too good to be true? In home tv shopping speak, are there way too many freebies? Read the fine print. Don't be enticed by extras that you don't really need (pap smears should be standard in a package for a woman in her 30s, but colonics are not). And be willing to pay good money.

Because, at the end of the day, having a health card does save us in medical emergencies. We don't always know when we'd be involved in a car accident or would require an appendectomy. Even the fittest and healthiest can suffer from dengue in our country. A good HMO will take care of the initial, if not all, part of our consultation and hospitalization bills. A bad one will require nurses to triple check, a representative to conduct interviews and make recommendations, a committee to approve, and the injured/sick to come up with deposits or advance payments (supposedly, to be reimbursed after two months or so).

Believe me, you don't want that kind of hassle on top of a medical emergency.

Win free passes to Consumer Electronics Live!

Thinking of where to bring your gadget-freak hubby? Win free passes to Consumer Electronics Live!

The event will be held for three days (October 24-26, 2008) at the SMX Convention Center bseide Mall of Asia. Get a chance to win Nokia and Samsung cellphones as well as a BOSE Sound Dock. Get discounts from Canon (up to 40%) and My Screen (up to 70%) purchases as well as freebies.

Eat Right

Before pouring over magazines and websites for diet pill reviews, make a list first of what you normally eat and crave for.

After doing so, identify which are healthy foods (those with actual nutrients) and which are actually just junk foods (no matter how 'fortified' or 'low fat' they claim to be). Replace the junk food with healthy food. Make this the first step to eating right and actually losing weight.

Do you crave chips for their crunch? Munch on cereals instead. Or nuts. Or fresh salads.

Love french fries? Cut potatoes in fry-sizes and bake them instead!

Love iced treats? Puree fruits instead and freeze, or make sorbets of them, or add them to yogurt.

Love sweets generally? Eat a lot of fruits and eat some dark chocolate instead (they're good for the heart too).

Use fruit jams/jellies or honey to sweeten desserts.

And make batches and batches of vegetable soup to eat with your meals. You can just reheat what you need for every mealtime and add fresh veggies and some meat to it. The soup will help you feel fuller sooner (aside from giving you that warm, comforted feeling that soups usually give to our tummies).

Keep at it over time and watch yourself start to lose weight brought about by too much fats, sodium and sugar in modern day eating. Then you can start to tone and lose more through exercise.

Good luck!

Digiscrapping Notes

Because this was originally part of a post of another title in another blog of mine, I decided to edit it some and post it here where it might be more helpful.

Some friends have taken up the challenge to digiscrap. I guess if you're a beginner like me, and intimidated by Photoshop like me, here are a few pointers that could prove very useful:

1) You only need internet really to download kits, and maybe upload your pictures. And since kits are usually big files, dial-up connections would suck.

2) But when you're obssessed about getting better, learning more, or getting a kit for free, you can also join chat sessions (they usually announce the date and time in their message boards and newsletters).

3) If you're just starting out and not yet an addict, get the most out of FREEBIE offerings. ShabbyPrincess.Com and Scrapbookflair.com are great sites to start downloading from as these offer complete kits with alphas (letters in .png format), elements, papers, etc. already. Go through the top Digital Freebie Sites if you have to so you can also check out TUTORIALS and actual LAYOUTS as well as register for the FORUMS. You also try ikeagoddess.blogspot.com

4) If you don't know sh!t about Photoshop, do what I did... I printed tutorials. Of course, some tutorials prefer certain PS versions. And yes, you can also use Paint Shop Pro or Corel Draw and some sites offer tutorials for them too. Make Google Search your friend.

5) When I say you're downloading big files, think HUGE. Usual paper size is more than 1 mb. That's because you want to preserve the quality of every element. Best to use pictures of the same size too (even if you're going to resize them).

6) Have them printed if you want. That was my main motivation to learn it, and i've had several printed and they're all cute. Unfortunately, there are some minor discrepancies between a digital 5x7 to a picture of the same size (5R) but it's ok, you'll learn your lesson soon enough.

7) Consider fancy fonts to embellish your layout. Think Dings but only install those you think you can really use (sooner or later, you'll be confident enough to transform the dings into PNG format and then delete the font from your font folder). Or you can also just install/load them when you need them. The same is true for brushes.

8) Installing so many fonts can be fun, but it will reduce loading time for fonts. In time, you may have to download and install a font manager. Or maybe you can just limit your font options to fonts you know you'd use time and again (I love Lainie Day, beautiful, jane austen and calvin n hobbes), and just install-delete special fonts you'd only use for a time.

9) You'd need a lot of space. Freebie kits and embellishments alone can already take up 1-2 gigs, what more your own layouts. Kits burned in CDs should still be saved in your hard drive, otherwise it will delay your PC's processing time.

10) Don't be scared of making mistakes. The good thing about Photoshop is it has this History column at your right where you can easily return to where you were before you committed the mistake. Do try the different filters. There's no other way to make you feel less intimidated. Save the .psd file before saving in jpeg format.

11) Have and take lots of pictures. But when modifying your pictures, do not save changes when you're closing the file so you perserve the original (or save modified versions as a different file).

12) Have fun. Be honest with your sentiments (journalling). Feel free to fuss and be mushy. Feel free to be wacky.

Year-end Vacation

Take advantage of the yearend Holidays and your Christmas bonus by investing on something no one can take away from you and which will revive you, and enrich your marriage or family as it allows for bonding time. I am talking, of course, of vacations and cruises you can take especially if you're a Filipino living in the Philippines. Why?

Because it would really be unwise of you not to take advantage of your leave credits and use them for the last week or so of the year. If you're lucky (or charming!), you can have around 10-12 days of vacation bliss if you time your leaves appropriately. Here's a hint: December 25 falls on a Thursday and December 26 has already been declared a non-working holiday (in exchange for December 24, I believe). December 30 is a Holiday too.

So do your research now and save for a great vacation to finish off the year. Am sure, nothing beats pondering the highlights and lowlights of the year that was while taking in the sun and sea somewhere.

Cheaper Bikes and Accessories

Sure, we'd all love to own Harleys and have the money for Harley parts when our big bikes break down. But we don't always have the money for these branded stuff. And some things about big bikes do not always have to come branded. We can settle for cheaper stuff without sacrificing our safety and level of cool.

Head to the Raon area of Quiapo. Not only are bike parts sold there (even the brand-name ones), accessories like padded jackets and helmets also are. Even gloves. Get spare helmets cheap instead of letting your partner or friend or date ride without one. A good bargain is something that you KNOW (not HOPE) will protect you. The idea is to get the necessary stuff cheaper... not dirt-cheap. After all, you also get what you pay for and one should always pay a good price for anything affecting one's safety.

Immigrate to Canada

Despite the recession happening worldwide, there is still hope for all those who are dreaming or planning a life abroad. After all, companies may still be hiring one professional for every two or three employees they have to let go. And the caregiving industry is as lucrative as ever in recruiting.

So in case you need information or help to go to Canada, visit my friend's Canada Visa Application Online Resource.

Party Giveaways: Venue for Promotional Materials

Parties where giveaways are common, say, a birthday, are a great venue for those who want to distribute promotional materials to reach target buyers.

For example, sachets of Skeeter Guard patches can be included in the loot bags (sans the leaflet, of course). The promotion wouldn't be too in-your-face and the parents are likely to use it because it was included in something given away by someone they knew and trusted.

It goes without saying, of course, that hosts should only include stuff they believe in with the loot bags, so this advertising option isn't really open for everyone. Still, this is a great gimmick to dispose of those sachets and packets your company spends on that will really reeach your intended market.

Fringe: addiction-worthy TV series

Fringe is the latest series from Fox and it's must-watch.

BUT... maybe it's only for those with inner-geeks, geeks and sci-fi freaks.

It's CSI and X-Files and Heroes (especially with those lovely place names) and Utopia combined. Or yeah, maybe also X-Men? The first two episodes feel like a movie already, and yes, there is some drag with the pacing sometimes, but overall, I can see this series succeeding. Plus, Walter Bishop beats Dr. House in eccentricity without being offensive (maybe because he's a lovely old man who suffered in an asylum for 17 years?).

Watch it, guys.

Superferry Tripid

Superferry is making more people happy again with their discounted rates. Take advantage of the reduced ferry fares that already include fuel, meal, and security fees.

Selling dates (buy period):October 13 – 24, 2008
Sailing dates (travel period):November 1 – December 10, 2008

Manila to Visayas & vice versa
(Bacolod, Cebu, Coron, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa & Tagbilaran)
Super/Mega :P599
Tour/Business:P999
Cabin:P1199
State/Suite:P2998


Manila to Mindanao & vice versa
(Butuan, Cagayan, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, Gensan, Iligan, Ozamis, Surigao and Zamboanga)
Super/Mega :P899
Tour/Business:P1299
Cabin:P1499
State/Suite: P3498

Purchase your tickets here.

Halloween Costume Fill-Ins

Can't afford to rent or buy so many Halloween costumes for your baby?

Can't afford or don't want to bother with studio shots?

Want pictures of your tot in costume, however? Well, Scrappin Alikat saves the day with her Costume Face Fillins series (all free!!!). Choose among bunnies and butterflies, cat and lion and zebra and devil and monkey and lamb and many more!

Now you can even just use available pictures you have :) Enjoy!

Sony Ericsson World View Photo Contest

Sony Ericsson is holding a photo contest (World View 2008). Terms and conditions of the contest can be found here. The contest will accept only photographs taken using a MOBILE PHONE. Deadline of submissions is on 31 October 2008.

A Tips and Tricks Blog

I know of so many others who are trying to come up with a blog idea or theme which they hope to monetize someday. I always suggest that they consider a tips and tricks blog, much like this one, or Jsprik's weblog (who's keen on blogging about products and ideas). See, all of us grew up and know little bits of information that have been tried and tested that are also helpful.

I know of a site where visitors are encouraged to submit their own tips... but the traffic generated goes to that site. Might as well post what you know in your own blog, right? Who knows, you may even build on a following.

Start small. Blog about what you really know (money, real estate, weight loss, parenting) and expand on those later (with photography, advertising, etc.). Blog about your passions, or something your mother was passionate and had much to say about. You don't have to cover all the bases but you do have to be credible and cosnsitent.

Trust that if what you write are any good, readers will come.

Skeeter Guard

Skeeter Guard is a Peel-stick Patch that does not require skin contact. You can just stick it on your child's clothes or on a table and crib and it will still be one effective mosquito repellent. This way, you need not be concerned about your baby's skin reacting to the lotion or spray that most repellents come in the form of.

Skeeter Guard is also all natural and Deet Free.

Contact exclusive Philippine distributor is Corsan's Pharmacare to stock up or resell:

CORSAN'S PHARMACARE
142 Capetown St.
Pasig Greenpark Village
Manggahan, Pasig City
(632) 645-8094/682-1596
corsanspharmacare@gmail.com
Concon Cordova - 0922-8149008

A box of 10 costs P175 (surely, P17.50 is a cheap price to pay for being mosquito-free for 12 hours?). They also ship (with a P50 charge via Xend Express) orders and are exhibiting in a lot of the Christmas bazaars happening in the metropolis.