Anong Trip Mo Ngayon?

Today is Sunday and while everyone else around the world is still savoring the relaxing Sunday we in the Middle East are already on the go. It's the start of the long week stretching until Thursday.  While my kabayans here are probably all dressed up and beautifully made up for work, I am again so alone in the house- with ruffled hair and still in my pyjamas - all set for a serious cleaning after a messy weekend.

But wait, I had a craving, cravings pala. I want banana with peanut butter. I want to eat chicken macaroni. 

And I want that bun, yes that bun.

This is our weekend treat. Everyone in the family loves their buns, just the plain one.
Comfort food, yeah.

Last night, I told my husband I want to eat banana with peanut butter. He said, "Anu un?" But I had to stop myself. Calories!!! So today, I gave in. Or else the whole week is going to be a disaster. haha.

DOLE bananas from Philippines! Wala ng sasarap pa sa saging mula sa Pilipinas.

While I was cooking our breakfast, I suddenly thought of making chicken macaroni. I checked the fridge and saw I had an extra chicken breast, cheddar, mayonnaise and carrot. When I finally had the time to cook my macaroni, I discovered that I didn't have carrots. What I saw this morning was actually pepper not carrots! Ouch.

So I said "don't lose hope". Kaya natin yan.

Anyway, the next step was to choose which type of macaroni would I use.

The tricolor or the plain one? I chose the simple one.
So here are the ingredients minus the carrots and the raisins (Yes! I don't have raisins either hmp)

Lesson of the day: Plan your cravings! :)
Pero sa awa ng Diyos eh natapos ko rin naman.
Here is the finish product , ready for an hour of cooling inside the ref.

I sprinkled some dried parsley. wala lang.

What's the verdict? I had second serving when I ate it for my lunch. baka gutom lang. :) 

It's better if I put two cans of pineapple tidbits, but I only had one in my cupboard. Of course, it would be aesthetically palatable if it has carrots. But nevertheless,  it had satisfied my cravings. I just don't know if my employers later on will give me a passing mark. Baka NI. heehee.

Hoping you had a great great weekend with your loved ones. Have a stress free week everybody!

Oh Tuesday

This morning I felt lazy to do my chores. Tinatamad si Inday magtrabaho. So I thought of something else to do just to break my morning routine. I decided to cook pork adobo by using the salpicao recipe. Hmmmnnn.

Here is my finished product.

I tasted it and pasado sya. I just got a little bit sad because I didn't have laurel on stock. But anyway, masarap pa in naman. And I think boiled eggs on top would make it yummier on a hot rice. You want to try? Here is my adjusted recipe.

1. Mix your 1/2 pork belly (cut them smaller than this) with salt, pepper and garlic,  amount of which will depend on your preferences. I put a lot of garlic, though. Marinade it for at least 10 minutes.

2. Put your olive oil. I don't measure. Just enough to grease them when I fry the meat later on. Leave the mixture for at least 1 hour.

3. On a high heat, put everything on a frying pan. Don't forget to turn the meat to avoid burning it or browning it too much. I also added 2 spoons of butter. Lower your heat. 

4. When brown, put your oyster sauce (4 spoonful) and worcestershire sauce (7 spoonful). You may add water (just estimate) later on if  you think your pork is not yet tender.

5. When there isn't much sauce anymore and your pork is already cooked, add 2 spoons of butter. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. And voila! 

While I'm waiting for the pork to be cooked, I thought of baking brownies. My kids prefer cheesecake but for a change, I will make them brownies. Wala namang pinipili pag gutom. So after just 30 minutes, I have my brownies. Thanks to Nanay Betty Crocker. 

Now, I am ready to resume my Inday duties. Our dinner is cooked at may snacks/dessert pa.
Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Honey and lemon and buhay Abroad

When hubby's country of assignment was confirmed to us during the last quarter of 2013, one of the first things we did immediately was to look for schools because we were told that due to the number of expats here in Dubai, schools were always running out of slots. Clueless as I was, I began visiting websites of schools and one of my criteria for choosing where to go was their fees. My assumption was you would get what you pay.
I came across this site www.expatwoman.com and there they had a summary of tuition fees of all the schools in Dubai. Although when we actually enrolled fees were a bit higher than what was posted. Nevertheless, it was helpful.  There I began sending out emails for inquiries and school tours. 

All were gracious but three of my most preferred schools informed me that they could no longer accommodate my children for SY2014-2015 because of full slots but nonetheless we were encouraged to have a tour around. These three schools have been in operation in Dubai for quite a number of years already.  The American School of Dubai (ASD) for instance was established in Dubai 40 years ago and their school really looks stunning, absolutely jaw dropping, but unfortunately for Filipino families they prioritize seats for US passport kids, and if we are interested they said, waiting time is two years, more or less. 

To cut the story short, my kids went to GEMS World Academy. GWA is less than ten years old but it has the second highest tuition fee that time tied with a British School. So far, we don't have any major complain, my kids look happy and I guess as foreigners all we need is to feel comfortable and safe. I may have some expectations in their primary school program (Grade 1-5) but I have hopes that their academics will catch up later on. For the meantime, they need to enhance their Arabic language literacy.

Arabic class is mandatory in IS in the UAE.

Anyway, why am I talking about school? I am on honey and lemon right? It's because I found a similarity between choosing schools and buying my consumables here in the UAE. I can't help it, but my husband and I usually buy foods based on their price and country of origin. So unlike in the Philippines. SM Best Buys lagi. 

Example is my honey. I used this for my morning lemon juice and this is very therapeutic when we have cough. I have two brands, one is from Switzerland and the other is from New Zealand but packed in UK.

Kung nasa atin lang kami, wala ng hihigit pa sa galing Lilinggiwan. This is indeed one of the compromises of being away from home.

Talking about honey, if you are interested to begin your own lemon juice/calamansi routine, try Manuka. I think it's available in the Philippines. It's health benefits are in the net in case you may want to know. 

I am also selective when it comes to buying fruits here. Recently, I have discovered this avocado after two failed attempts (Kenya and US avocado are simple not the same with the ones we have there in the Philippines). But this one is a small version of what we have in Pinas but priced like gold. Argh.

This was my dinner last night. Avocado and buttered salmon. Kids had rice.

this is not only for baking as far as I am concerned. Pang all around luto ko. hehe

Walang galunggong dito I noticed. 

Only tilapia from Oman, tuna and bangus. 

The rest looked inedible for me. haha (Mangyan)

Today, I plan to cook my pusit. What's your favorite recipe for pusit? Mine is sautéed in butter, onion with siling labuyo. Saya. 

Have a happy week. Again, let's choose to be happy, despite of, inspite of. Life is good.

my daily face regimen

Someone asked me about beauty tips. Whatever her reasons were I was sure it was never because I was beautiful but perhaps because I was known to be so consumed of how to be a "trying hard beautiful". Haha.

Well, I have to admit that I am conscious of how I look and I doubt if I am alone in this department. 

But how did this "preoccupation" start? 

Ten years ago (more or less), I was so bothered of my melasma. That time, I was not into foundation, concealer or any face powder. One morning, I woke up feeling dreadful because I had a bad dream with melasma almost covering my face. So the following weekend, I went to a skin clinic and I was given this line of skin products called Obagi. 

(image from www.obagi.com)

I used it for almost three years, but I stopped because I got tired of the routine. But it did control my melasma. After that six months "hiatus", I shifted to a simpler routine by using olay regenerist. But when I began going to regular diamond peel sessions, I replaced my regenerist with Moroccan argan oil. I felt that when you are consistent with your DP, all you need is a good oil. Until one day, someone told me about this dermatologist in Alabang. From then on and up to this day, I am using her skincare products.

But, I am still on the look out for recommended beauty care tips by my favorite beauty icons, haha. You may want to visit their beauty column that comes out every Wednesday in the Lifestyle Section of the Philippine Star "Style S.O.S". One of the products that they mentioned a long time ago was Cure. This is a water based gel and it so easy and safe to use for exfoliating our face. It's not painful on my face and I can see dead skin being removed when I gently rub it on the surface. 

 

 (it's from Japan and it's available in Beauty Bar)

And now that I am already in my 40s, I felt that I need to use a more powerful and more concentrated moisturizer. I started using Estee Lauder  since August (or July) of last year and I can see my pores shrinking down. Quite pricey but it's matipid gamitin. Pea size on each side of the face and your 

T zones and that's enough.

This April 1 is our one year anniversary of moving to Dubai. And it's also been one year since I went to a skin clinic in the Philippines. And I am definitely getting by. I also do my own nails in the comforts of my home and the only time I had my haircut was in the Philippines when we were there in October last year. I got myself a side bangs. And that's it. I have no plans of paying for those services here in Dubai. It's expensive!

Hope you get something here. Don't forget also to put DIY masks at least once a week. That is if you are lazy to go to a dermclinic. It's basically the same for me.

Remember, whatever products you are using, whether it's cheap or it's the high end ones, the secret to achieving optimum results is consistency. Do it for 11 days (and nights) without fail and it will become your habit. 

:) Stay beautiful. Choose happiness.

Dressing up

Like shopping we also get an unexplainable joy in dressing up. Do you agree ladies?

Just plain happiness wearing a new dress on an ordinary day.

Wala namang stress dito sa Dubai kundi lungkot at homesick laang, kaya ang pagbibihis at pagbili ng kung anu ano ang aking napagbubuntunan.
I decided to post our FB pictures, hoping I could also inspire mommies out there to focus a little bit on ourselves once in a while.

This is my Alexander McQueen inspired dress. As you can see at sana ay hindi naman masyadong obvious, I am made up here. It took me two hours to complete this look. Ang dami kong oras no? But still, I didn't achieve the "cheekboned" look. teach me how please :)

I am wearing Ms. Poem spring dress here, my favorite Mark Jacobs shoulder bag and my old but super comfy Pabder ballet flats. This dress is perfect na sana for me except for the sleeves. I wish they were shorter so as not to emphasize my big arms. That's why I asked hubby to wrap me around his arms.

As I have mentioned, I got this from Debenhams. Christmas Family Photo

My favorite. it's from H&M. Just perfect for my mini shoulder bag. I didn't know how I achieved my chinita look here but I hope I can do this again. Maybe less make up and little blush.

This is my F21 mustard dress. It's kinda big so I don't really like a full body shot. Not so flattering, but I love the style and the color. I wish I did some contouring here. Super bare faced.

My casual Christmas dress. It's XL size for kids section. Anjo has this also. I got this from a store here named Max. Lots of cheap dresses. Here, i can see some bronzing on my cheeks.

The top I bought from Mango and the skirt I got from Uniqlo in the Philippines. Do you notice my highlights on my face? Konti lang.

Again from Forever21. I also like the style. It's casual but not so.
My nude flat shoes is from Geox. I seldom wear this because it gives me hot feet after a long walk :(

This is it pancit.
Nakakasawa ba ang mukha ko. heehee.

Diet (daw)

So, how was the week that passed? Same same?
I guess so.
Same here.
But regardless how monotonous our life may be, it has to go on. Somehow, we all need to look for a purpose for us to keep on moving. 
It's Sunday. That's why I write like this. Sounding melancholic.
It's Sunday. And again, I am resetting my diet button. Kaya hindi ma achieve ang 110 lbs eh. Laging reset. Laging rewind.
So Sunday, this is how it is today.

My husband: Ang laki naman ng mga yan. (Translation: Ang mahal nyan, wag yan pede?) 
But it has to be this size for it to appeal to my taste buds.

 Low fat daw o. I wish this tastes like ice cream. Pero hindi. But I have no choice. If I don't have this inside the fridge, I will definitely grab those dyaskeng Baskin Robbins na yon. 

 Well, this has been going on for more than 2 months already, I think. Warm lemon juice first thing in the morning.

 Believe it or not, ito ang juicer ko. Haha. Kuripot bumili ng matinong juicer. I am open for donation.

My cheat.

This is from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Taga Saudi yan. :)
Kidding aside, masarap sya. Seriously yummy with warm pandesal and hot coffee. Panalo. I swear.
Paano kaya ako papayat nito? Hindi na siguro. Let's just enjoy life instead. What do you think?

Summer(y)

It's getting hot in here. Although we could still enjoy chilly mornings and cooler afternoons I am already feeling dreadful of the coming hot hot season in the UAE. My twitter says summer is already beginning to set in the Philippines. I know right, it's March. 

And since they say it is in to be fit, I am now to begin (again) my pseudo diet, my yoyo diet. Now I eat, tomorrow I eat more. Argh.

I am back to my whole meal bread. I'm telling you it's not a joke to drastically switch   from pugon pandesal to this wheat/barley tasting bread. But what can I do? I bloated from eating that yummy pugon pandesal for three weeks.

I attempted to eat this healthy baguette from our favorite all day breakfast restaurant but it was awful.

European people why do you so love this bread? Tsk tsk tsk

To make my breakfast a little joyful, I usually make myself a super creamy coffee. This is my newly opened Nescafe Alta Rica, it says its bold and intense.

Oh! I love it. It doesn't have the exaggerated aroma of Nescafe. Actually, I just finished my Nescafe Blend 37, same size of jar, but I couldn't find it anymore in the grocery. I went to 3 supermarkets already but nada. Don't know why. :(

(this photo I got from the internet)

For instant coffee lovers out there, Blend 37 is likewise recommended.

So just like other people who'd go on a diet, I weighed myself. In the Omron I was 115 lbs and in the SPEX I was 117lbs.  Different, huh? So what we did was to weigh this 6 lbs. dumbbell and unfortunately for me, SPEX was accurate. Sad face.

So this OMRON (black) has been "cheating" me for a long time :) Good thing, my husband restored the SPEX weighing scale (Yes! you guessed it right, we brought this all the way from Pinas) last night. 
Good luck to me. My dream summer wangkata is 110 lbs. but I know I could only go down to 112 lbs.

Speaking of summer, I could already check one item in my wishlist. Brace yourself.

Haha. I got all of these for only 450 dirhams. Where? In Dragon Mart. It's a China themed mall located in a suburb place in Dubai. You can bargain and even ask for discount. Malayo lang talaga sya from us and from the rest of Dubai but it's worth it naman. You'll be happy when you go home. When I told Anjo that it was cheap, she told me she was sure I will have burning feet after using it. Encouraging girl indeed. 

And wait, I found more treasures perfect for summer. Take a look.

There's even a Dolce and Gabanna inspired dress (like the D&G dress worn by Heart and Marian) in the store but there was only one available size (XL). So I told my husband that he has to drive me to Dragon Mall again after two weeks. Kelangang maka level ni Inday sina Heart and Marian! har har har. 
These are not exactly cheap dresses but if you see the materials and it has lining pa inside, you'll know why it was priced like that. But compared pa rin buying in Dubai Mall, these are rare finds.

So this is it. I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend. Another week ahead...