balanced insanity

chie

for a couple of days, i've seen this stand at the cinema level of trinoma. from afar, looks very simple but upon closer inspection, the freezer display shows you what's inside...gelato on stick. yup, gelato. yesterday, i decided to satisfy my curiousity and craving. when given the chance to have gelato, jump on it. gelato is gelato. so, what will it be? i found myself "torn between two lovers" - pistachio and gianduia (hazelnut) ... which is which? i gave in to my "green" side.

the also have mango, strawberry, coffee and chocolate sticks...i didn't have time to memorize the menu. of course, gelato is more expensive than ice cream and at Php80.00 per stick for a plain one, it is expensive. (per stick is half; you can order a pair as well, i guess that would be two sticks more like the popsicle, right?) you can add toppings, dip it in chocolate, and i think there are other add-ons. the guy before me bought a half gelato with some toppings and he paid Php225.00! hmmm, expensive.

but when you "devour" ;) the gelato stick you'll think it's worth it; it's a treat, a reward. gelato is more dense than ice cream and sorbet and creamier too. delicious. :) i wonder when can i reward myself again?

stick house is found on the cinema level of trinoma (beside fuzion cafe and the candy stall). if you're like me and forget where i found such a delight, just look at the ice cream stick :)

you may also want to visit their website: http://www.stickhousesrl.com/ (they have gelato making classes!!! i want to enroll! unfortunately, the classes are in held in italy ... on second thought, i've always wanted to go to there...an added incentive!)

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headbanDgers

chie

this afternoon, my sister and i went to the mall. we had an early dinner, saw a movie, and went around the mall. i remembered that i needed a headband because of my hair that has a mind of its own (i have bad hair days every single day). i bought 2 headbands and my sister bought one to complete her new year's eve outfit. when we got home, we tried them on and so did logan :)

proof of our kabaliwan:

see? kabaliwan talaga hahahaha :)

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should old acquaintance be forgot...

chie

yup, 2009 is about to end and we'll usher in 2010. wow, 2010 - whether we pronounce it as "two thousand ten" or "twenty ten" it's still two thousand and ten years that mankind has chalked up.

for me, it'll mean forty years of existence (hmmm...they say that the 40s are the new 20s - so i think i'll look forward to that. but, to be completely honest, i'm actually ambivalent about it....) and another shot at starting anew. i actually make my resolutions on my birthday but since everyone is talking about resolutions, i have several that i really hope i do get around to realizing:

do something about my health - i've ignored my health for the longest time. ignored for me means, simply that, ignoring it. i've never undergone any lab tests, bloodwork, or annual physical exam even if diabetes and hypertension run in the family. when i have a fever, headache, stomachache, asthma attack, or whatever kind of attack, i reach for a tablet or a capsule. maybe it's time for me to know exactly where i stand in terms of my health.
do something about my diet - this might actually happen when i get the first item done. undoubtedly, there are going to be changes in my diet (or lack thereof) when i know whether i need to watch my blood sugar or blood pressure.
have my eyes checked - argh! i don't want to wear eyeglasses but i suspect that i'm going to ... soon
do something about my means of livelihood - at my age, i should be gearing towards a retirement package (HAHAHAHA). unfortunately, i've been moving from one job to another (or as me and my friends call it - jobhopping). where will i find that dream job of mine?
blog more - time and again, i've said this to myself but i get sidetracked - fb, no internet connection, nothing newsworthy ... :)
travel more - i sort of stayed put this year, no trips anywhere and i miss that. there are places here in the philippines that i still want to see and i hope that in 2010, i can get on at least 2 trips (if #4 will allow it).
strengthen relationships - existing ones and those that will develop ...
stay strong - those who know me well know what i've been through; not just in 2009 but several years running now. and the road to survival hasn't been easy and i haven't reached the end yet. i am amazed at the fact that i'm still alive. there have been instances when i want to throw in the towel but somehow, i keep getting up everytime i fall. i know there is Someone keeping me alive, making me strong, and telling me to keep on believing. even if at times i question all this misfortune, Bro tells me that i can do it and that He is always here for me.

i truly hope and pray that 2010 will be a better year for me, for you, for everyone. for the whole world, for all of mankind.

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"costume change"

chie

i finally got some downtime from christmas preparations and activities; not really frantic but busy enough to say, "whew!" how was christmas for you and your family?

well, i was about to post some pictures of food we prepared for noche buena when i thought of changing my blog template. a new design, a new look, or even simply rearranging stuff on my blog. the default templates in blogger weren't really appealing (sorry blogger!) so i decided to look around for other blogger templates. i found some and went through several designs before i settled on the current template: coffee desk

my sister says it's "me" because i'm a coffee addict (hehehe) and i still use a planner (yeah, i'm a bit old school).

i'm still trying to put it all together by placing my old widgets but i know i'll get there :) what do you think about my new template?

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happy holidays to you

chie

well, it's december 24, 4 p.m. ..thought i'd squeeze in a post now before we all get busy preparing for christmas eve...

let's stop thinking about our problems, tight financial situations, fights, what you hate about people you know, and all the negative stuff...focus on family, dear friends, the mere fact that we can celebrate the holidays whether it's a lavish or super simple celebration, and the real meaning of christmas - birth of jesus christ.

a wonderful christmas to everyone :)

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who do you call? stressbusters!

chie

sometimes stress can really get to you. it's how you handle it that helps you get on with life. lately, i've been going through prolonged stress attacks :) LOL those who know the source of my stress would probably just laugh but me, i can hardly laugh let alone smile ... vacations are not the way i deal with it although i wish i could. i've realized that there really isn't any vacation for the kind of job i have. i deal with it by eating - LOL! now, why am i not surprised? i guess that's how i deal with any kind of stress :) right now, i find myself eating only when i feel like eating. and sometimes, what i feel like eating doesn't really constitute a healthy meal but it does satisfy my craving.

kitkat dark chocolate - at the grocery i frequent, the kitkat boxes are close to another chocolate (the brand of which escapes me at the moment) that has the same colors, red, white, orange... so imagine the look on my face to see something dark brown/black with the words "kitkat"..upon closer inspection, i find that kitkat has gone dark...as in dark chocolate!

sebastian's bananutella - after a japanese dinner, my friend and i wanted to have dessert. someting other than coffee and cake, chocolate, etc. then we remembered sebastian's ice cream! lady luck was smiling at us because there is a sebastian's stall in trinoma. i already knew what i was going to get: butter pecan. turns out i was wrong. my curiousity got the better of me so i peered at the tubs of ice cream in the fridge and i saw they had banananutella ... have you ever tried eating a banana smothered with nutella? try it, you'll like it and if you're like me, a third of the nutella jar will be gone together with one or two bananas :) the ice cream was good but could be even better if they added more nutella...the banana part, they've got down pat. more nutella please :)

next post: more stressbusters

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damn ...

chie

on the eve of the fourth year - still no retribution in sight...

i hate getting the bad end of a deal...

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finally, i got it :)

chie

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i protest!

chie

my blog says...it has been ages since i posted and while i do visit my own blog once in a while, it's because i have links here that i haven't had the time to list somwhere else.

yeah, i've been busy...on facebook :) (now blog, calm down...please...) yeah, whenever i do have time to spare, i'm there, busy with my cafe :) it is one of my dreams to have my own cafe and in fb (as most of us call it), i have the el ellce cafe (yes, i can hear protests from my family because i haven't actually asked permission from them to use our name...). for my 30-seater cafe, i've got nine stoves (one more level and i can get another), 6 counters, three waiters and a cafe that looks "divided". divided because i've got a portion of the cafe that is actually my idea of a cafe, you know, bookshelves, wooden tables and chairs, lamps, that kind of look. i don't have enough money so i haven't converted my whole cafe into how i'd want it to look like. even in fb, i've got to save money for renovation :)

see for yourself:

even my slaying has taken a backseat to the cafe ... tsk, tsk, tsk...

well, i've got to go...gotta prepare more dishes for tonight so that my customers will have something to eat when they drop by...hope to see you there!

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ondoy

chie

ondoy, ondoy, ondoy...i don't think i'll forget that name anytime soon...the name conjures up images of submerged cars and houses, people stranded on their rooftops, nonstop rain...

i am very fortunate not to have experienced the worst of typhoon ondoy but i know many friends and have seen the reports on those who need help.

i am posting here a link to ms. joelle horca's blogpost (with her permission) which provides more information on how we can help: typhoon ondoy relief efforts

thank you.

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cute :) hahahaha

chie

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for a woman who changed the philippines for the better...

chie

thank you tita cory, goodbye....

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a cool lola!

chie

i've been a fan of lola techie since her first commercial for a local telco. i found her first commercial very amusing but i was really laughing out loud with the second one.