Gaining weight

I've been targeting to gain weight lately after losing weight which I really didn't intend to do. In the past weeks, my weight fluctuates from 81 which I was really worried about to 83 and hardly reach the 84 lbs. I didn't mind weighing myself anymore and today I remember to weigh again. I was surprise that my weight is now 85 lbs. Hmm Now I'm worried if I keep on gaining weight. 85 is my ideal weight but not more than that because of my height. I am still careful of what I eat like low fat ham and liverwurst with whole grain bread for my lunch at work and low fat milk every morning and evening. I try to avoid drinking soda after I had my UTI and now I'm used to drinking water specially the tap water. It seems that my taste buds becomes sensitive now that I'm not drinking soda everyday and only drink it twice this month because for me the taste is too sweet. I can now drink unsweet tea and add the no calorie sugar substitute but still I prefer not to drink caffeine. I guess what the Doctor tells me when I had my UTI now sinks in my brain that water is the best than anything else. Shen even told me to avoid the juices and just drink lots and lots of water. I'm wondering if water will make me gain weight. I hope not.

Birdie

As I was taking a picture of the clouds yesterday while trying to get some fresh air outside, hubby told me that the bird was on top of the tree. I then took a picture of it and here's the result.

See the bird?

I already saw this nest last week and yesterday I had the chance to take a picture of it but to my surprise, the baby bird was there opening the mouth. It's so cute! :)

When I looked for the baby bird, I saw the mother standing next to her baby. I think she's feeding her baby before I took this picture. :)

Fresh Air for Me

I tried my best to think of what's wrong with me after what happened this noon at the Church. You can read the story HERE. I don't know the real cause yet but maybe because I don't get enough sleep or I just need some fresh air. I noticed that I didn't get enough fresh air starting this summer. Though I go out to go to work, grocery shopping, to Church and Restaurants but because it's hot outside I prefer to be in an air-conditioned room. I didn't remember that we open the windows in the house since summer start and I rarely open the windows of my car when I go out. The mall, stores, house, car and the building where I work are all air-conditioned. So today I decided to get some fresh air outside. Hubby and I were sitting at the porch and look around. There's no wind outside and it's warm so I started to whistle coz the oldies in the Philippines said that that's how you call the wind. There was a little wind but not enough for me to breath. We didn't stay long outside because I feel tired and I started to sweat. I still don't know if I'm really sick. I hope we'll find out soon. :)

Too much food

I had an invitation last Friday for another gathering but I refuse to go. It seems that I've been going out lately so I told my friend that I better stay at home than going out for last night's event. She told me that we'll just go to another friend's house and eat there but I really don't feel like going out so I said "I better not". I think I'll go if my buddies for Ladies Night Out were there but they're not. Besides, if I go with my friend then I can bring leftovers again and I don’t have room for that anymore. When I was new here I was ashamed to bring leftovers coz I'm not used to it. But then I realized that it's an insult to the host if you refuse to bring what she cooked or prepare coz she might think you didn't like the taste. So now, even if I don't like the taste, I still bring some as a sign of respect. Good thing hubby is not a picky eater (as long as it's not poisonous) so he ate the foods that I don't like to eat. Lately, I’ve been throwing foods that were buried in the fridge coz I forgot to eat them. That’s why the freezer is now full coz I try to put the foods that will spoil easily into the freezer. I can use them later when I crave for it and when I’m too lazy to cook. Whew! I think I don't need to buy Filipino foods for month’s coz I still have some in the fridge. Waaaaa! How I wish I can give the foods to the people in the Philippines, it will surely solve the problem.

Cleaning My Blog Roll

I've been cleaning my first blog's blog roll and this will be the next. As you can see, I have a lot of bloggers listed in my blog roll here but this blog is not on their list. That's because I just copy and paste my first blog's blog roll into here but didn't have time to visit everybody on my list to let them know that I listed them here already. Anyway, after cleaning my blog roll (which I know for sure will take time before I can finish it) I will start to do more blog hopping for this one. How I wish I can finish this blog roll cleaning very soon. :)

Ladies Night Out postponed

Tomorrows Ladies Night Out will be postponed. We are five in the group and 1 or 2 can't attend for some reason. In the past, our Ladies Night Out is only for special occasion, a birthday treat. It started when a friend of mine called me and asked if I want to go to the Chinese Buffet for dinner which I said yes right away. Then she informed me that she told her husband that it was me who called her coz I want to go out. She explained to me though that she just doesn’t want her husband to think that it's her who always wants to go out if there's no occasion to celebrate. So for a change, she tells her husband a different story of why she's going out. She said that there are times that she wants to eat Chinese food but she doesn't have a partner who also enjoy eating Chinese food. I was thankful that she told me the truth coz when I told hubby about it, he told me that I can go out with the girls once a week as long as it's not a whole day. Hubby was happy to know that I now have partners in going to the Chinese Restaurant coz he doesn't need to bring me there anymore. In short, he can use his free time doing what he wanted to do at home. When I told my friends about what hubby told me, one friend asked if we'll make it every Friday and I think I'm the only one who said yes. hehe Well, with hubby's permission... why not? Besides, I love the seafoods at Chinese Buffet.

But tomorrows Ladies Night will be postponed next week coz we're not complete. It seems that when one can't go with us, there's something missing. hehe But I also don't know yet if I will attend a go away party for my co-worker coz she's moving to Arkansas or attend a death anniversary with my Pinay friends. So tomorrow I might have a schedule conflict. :)

Tinolang Manok (Chicken Stew)

Being far away from the country that I grew up made me miss the foods so much. I think those who are far away from their homeland also feel the same way. Anyway, a fellow blogger who's originally from Philippines but now living in US asked me this recipe. So Jenn, here's your request. :)

Ingredients:

Chicken (I am losing weight here so I prefer the chicken wings with skin on it)
Potato (cut in big chunks)
Ginger (crushed or sliced thinly)
Scallions (sibuyas dahon in bisaya) sliced 3 inches long
Lemongrass (tanglad in bisaya) you can use frozen one but fresh from the garden is better
Horseradish (malunggay or kamunggay in bisaya) frozen is ok
Knorr chicken cubes or Maggi chicken cubes for flavor

Procedure:
1. Boil water first then add the chicken and potato.
2. Add the ginger and lemongrass after 15 minutes.
3. Add the chicken cubes little by little and check the taste if it needs more chicken cubes or not.
4. If it's almost done, add the horseradish and scallions.
5. Serve hot with rice. Enjoy!

Starbucks Ladies

As you know, Friday night is the ladies night out with me and my Filipina friends. After having dinner at the Chinese Buffet Restaurant, we finish our ladies night at Starbucks to have a sip of their coffee. But a friend of mine introduced us this drinks so we tried it and I actually ended up copying it at home.

From Starbucks



From my kitchen.

Cooking with Love

I think you noticed that when you cook and you're happy, the results are good. But if you cook and you're mad, angry or pissed the food you cooked is not good. I remember my Aunt in the Philippines about this. It was Holy Friday and every Holy Friday her family prepares a dessert that can be a meal or snack for everybody. I'm talking about the binignit (in bisaya), guinataan (in tagalog) and I don't know how you call it in English but it's the tapioca pearls with rice, sugar, sweet potato, jackfruit, karlang (I think malanga in English) and glutinous rice. My Aunt doesn't want to cook the meal because she wants to join the Holy Friday event. But unfortunately, if she won't cook then everybody will go hungry. She has no choice but to stay at home and cook the binignit though she's murmuring. When we arrive at my Aunt's house we were so excited to eat the yummy binignit that she cooked but too bad she burn it. I also noticed that eventhough there were times that the foods I cooked were not perfect because of cooking them in a hurry but they're still good according to hubby. I always said to him "You might not like it", but he always answer me "It's not bad. I'll eat it again". I'm sure if you're happy while cooking, the result is a delicious meal. So the next time you cook, put some love to the food. Enjoy cooking! :)

Blogging

At first I really don't believe that you can make money online until one day a Filipina shared her experience about how we can make money online. I call her Pinay A. She was writing a topic in the Bisaya forum and shared her story of how she did it. I was curious and read the comments regarding her topic. There were so many comments asking her how much she make and how it works. I continue reading the comments and there's one Pinay (call her Pinay B) who said that she's not a writer so blogging is not for her but she'll share the good news to her friends who really like to blog. After a few weeks, Pinay B who said that she's not a writer posted a comment again and said she's blogging already and kept dreaming about her blog. Then another comment from Pinay B when another Pinay (Pinay C) had a problem with her blog. Pinay A wasn't able to answer Pinay C's question right away so Pinay B answered it. I then became more curious. So I looked at Pinay B's blog and check if she really can't write but to my surprise she's doing good in her blog. I was amazed of what she did thinking of what she said in her comments. So I thought that if she's not a writer like me then maybe I can try doing it too. And my blog My Small World was born. :) TGIF! *_*

♥ Salamat.. Kadamo ♥

A tag from my sexy friend Francine that I met here in the blogosphere. Thanks!

“Dahil ikaw ay isang sertipikadong blogger, itinuturing kitang matalik kong “KADAMO”

Maraming salamat…

MGA KADAMO:

1.) Janeth Vicy’s Life Journey 2.) My Precious Niche 3.) Just Me.. Eds 4.) Eds Mommy Life 5.Chez Francine 6. Le bric à brac de Cherie 7. La Place de Cherie 8. Michelle's life here and there 9. ADD YOUR BLOG HERE!!

I’m tagging: Juliana, Laura, Sweetiepie, Sheng, and all those who are listed in my blog roll.

Family Fun

Family Fun website and Disney Family are websites for families with kids. I don't have kids yet so I won't be able to use this website for now. I'm sharing this to all mom and dad who wants to get good ideas from other moms on how they raise their kids. You can find a lot of good ideas from the two websites. I know the Family Fun website when hubby and I went to our family Doctor and this magazine catches my attention. I then told hubby to remember the website so I can share it to moms who are interested to know about funny things to do with their kids.

Blame it on me

My friend’s daughter had a birthday party yesterday and I supposed to be at my friend’s house early because I and my girl friends plan to help arrange the stuff needed. I arrived late for almost an hour and hubby told me to blame it on him coz I made a special meal for him that takes time. Poor hubby. He really doesn't want me to cook coz he knows that I have to get ready for the birthday party and he said that he'll just drink the V8 but I insist to cook coz I know that he'll be feeling weak if he can't eat vegetables once a day so I decided to just cook the vegetables with beef and chicken stock and blend it at the blender so his day will be complete. I was happy that he liked the vegetable shake/soup. He said it taste better than the steamed vegetables that he always eat for lunch at work. He thank me for making his special meal and told me to have fun at the party. Sometimes, blaming him is just a joke for me. He's used to it when if there's anything goes wrong I said to him "It's your fault hubby" and he answered "It's always my fault" which made me laugh every time he say that. But yesterday's tone of his voice was different. He was serious telling me that if somebody asked at the party why I'm late then my answer would be "Because I made a special meal for hubby". I was touched and at the same time sad for what he said. I was touched when he thank me for making the special meal for him, that it taste better than the V8 sold in the store and for telling me that he likes to have the special meal but he doesn't want me to spend a lot of time cooking. And I was sad when he blame himself why I was late at the party. I just told him that it's okay. I'm hoping for his fast recovery so he can eat solid foods with me again.

Sweet Home Bloggers Award

Got this tag from a dear friend Sheng. Thanks girl for sharing this to me. :)



I'm passing this to those who are listed in my links. Happy Weekend! :)

Tooth Surgery

Today I took a day off coz hubby's appointment for his wisdom tooth surgery was 7:30 AM. I asked hubby if the Doctor will put him to sleep and he said "Yes, that's what he told me". This is the first time that I'm taking hubby to the Doctor and drive him home because he's not capable of driving after the surgery. I had my wisdom tooth removed when I was in the Philippines and the Doctor just gave me shots to numb my gums, pull the tooth out and that's it! But here it's different. My other wisdom tooth had an infection so the Dentist suggests that I go to the Oral Surgeon and see of what the Oral Surgeon think about my situation. My previous Dentist arranged the appointment for me then I was scheduled to go to the Surgeon the next day for check up then I had another appointment for the surgery. The Surgeon told me to take a pill an hour before the surgery which I did. I felt dizzy when I arrive at the Surgeons Office then they told me to sit down and I didn't remember anymore what happen next. Why? Because they gave me a general anesthesia. Huh! I never heard of such a thing when I was in the Philippines. I thought general anesthesia is for pregnant women only who will undergo Caesarian Section. It really surprises me! Having the general anesthesia disconnects me from the world. I didn't know what happen to me, whether I was still on the chair or bed when I woke up and if I was dreaming or not. I don't even remember what's in the room! I felt like I was having a dream and I heard hubby's voice talking. I told hubby that I had a dream and he said "I was talking to the Doctor while you're in the recovery room". Hubby said that the recovery room looks like an ICU. He's beside me at the recovery room for 30 minutes watching me. He said that they cover my body with a cloth and there are wires connecting from the machine to my body. The Doctor visit me every now and then at the recovery room and telling hubby that my heart rate is normal and I think pulse rate and blood pressure are also monitored, even my breathing. Weird huh! But I was okay after I woke up, just a little dizzy, thirsty and hungry. Hubby's surgery today is different. They told him that he can't spit or drink with a straw to avoid having suction in his gums. He can only swallow but not spit. No solid foods, only liquids (ice cream, soup, puree). Wow, that's hard! I feel sorry for him. He looks so weak but he still manage to show the Surgeon his two thumbs up for the job well done while he's sitting at the wheel chair. I was instructed to bring the car to the front door while the assistant will bring hubby down to the ground floor. And there he was, looked like he just get up from bed and still sleepy. Now we're home. ^_^

Exchange Links

I just felt bad recently that there are bloggers who don't understand that people are busy. They add your link and if they don't see their name in your blog roll, they ask you to add them because you're added already to their blog roll. For me it's okay to remind you because we forget things sometimes but demanding to add them using this "!!!" is rude. In my opinion, if they can't wait to be added then I have a very simple solution. Delete my link! Period! I don't care adding them in my blog roll if that's the attitude. Besides, they don't really visit my blog often so what's the use of linking each other? I don't really wanna burn any bridges but now they get on my nerves. Grrrrr!

Belated Happy 4th of July!

Today hubby and I went to a fireworks show. We walk a little bit to get a better view of the fireworks show. Though it started a little early because of the coming storm but it was successful. We then celebrate by having something from Mc Donald's. Here are some photos I took while watching the event today.

I'm so Sorry...

I might not be able to blog hop this week again. I tried to open both my old blog and this blog to check if I have some comment that needs to be moderated and try to post/update this blog everyday if possible but I don't have the time to blog hop for everybody who visit and leave comments or message in my cbox here and in My Small World blog. This week will be a busy week plus I'm trying to sleep early coz I'm having insomnia again. I don't like the feeling of wanting to go to sleep then my mind is still awake because I'm used to sleeping late already. It's not right and I need to fix this bad sleeping habit that I have. Thanks for the visit and I'll visit your blog if I have enough time to blog hop. Again, sorry.

I'm proud that I'm brown...

Summer time is here and it's the best time to go to the beach. But do you want your skin look darker or you want a whiter skin? We Filipinos like to be whiter but white people like to tan. Is there something wrong with being white or dark? For Filipinos, white people looks better than the dark colored skin people that's why we appreciate white skin color. But for the white people, brown color looks better because for them it's healthy and it made them look younger. Hmm I remember when I was in the Philippines where people use whitening soap and bleach their skin to get a whiter skin. If we go outside and it's sunny, we bring umbrellas to cover us so the sun won't burn us. We don't even wear swimsuit when we go swimming. We normally wear shorts and shirts but others wear pants and long sleeves but the most shocking part is there are some who still bring umbrella while they are swimming. Can you imagine that? It really looks funny but it's true coz a relative of mine did that one time when we went to the beach. Now that I'm here in US, I noticed that white people go out in the sun and lay on the beach with no umbrella at all even if it's very very hot outside. They are not afraid of sun burn because they want their skin to look brown or dark in color. Others always bring sun block lotion to avoid the sun burn but still, it hurts to stay out in the sun for hours. I even have a co-worker who went to a tanning salon for 2 sessions because she wants to look darker on her birthday. For those two sessions she forgot to bring the sunblock lotion. I only know about the tanning sessions that she did because she was in pain when she went to work. She keeps on complaining that her tummy hurt and she showed me her skin around her belly button coz it turned pink already. The next day she was not in the mood because she said that she wasn't able to sleep. She complains that her whole body is painful especially when the blanket or her clothes touches her skin. I'm still afraid of being out in the sun for hours because of sun burn but I'm not afraid anymore to become a little darker because of going outside when the sun is up. I don't bother bringing umbrella when it's hot outside anymore and that made it easier for me to go grocery shopping. How many of you are proud of what skin color you have? Well, now I am...