Sweet Suggestions for February

Love is still in the air! Here are eight ways you can show your man how he rocks your world. Some are taken from books or articles that I've read. The other suggestions are just from my mind - yet to be fulfilled.

1. At bedtime, put some lotion on his feet to moisturize them during these cold times.

2. Celebrate the chilly nights with an ice kiss. How? Melt an ice cube in your mouth until your mouth becomes cold and then plant a kiss that will give him chills!

3. This Valentine's Day, let him mess up your clean kitchen by cooking his special gourmet thing.

4. Dab a tiny drop of your perfume on his handkerchief or collar. He'll think of you the whole day.

5. Snuggle up to him while sipping that hot chocolate or watching the sad-ending movie.

6. Learn how to whisper in his ear with your mouth open.

7. Dig through his baby pictures and frame his funny or witty poses.

8. Conduct a careful study of his erogenous zones and make use of your knowledge.

Edsa Shangri-la Hotel - A Review

What I like about it: This is one of the best hotels in Manila, that's for sure! Just before you enter the lobby, there are K9 groups that will check your car and luggage that make you feel safe. The location is a major plus for tourists. It's just a stone throw away from Mega Mall, Shangri-la Mall and my favorite thrift mall, St Francis Square.

here's a view from my room

my room

I stayed there for three days and I get a nice bowl of fresh fruit every day.


The bed was comfortable, pillows are huge and fluffy.


And my favorite part, the bathroom! It's complete with a fresh flowers, lovely bath tub, telephone extension, and pipe-in television sounds.


I must say the breakfast at Heat is also superb. It's an open kitchen with varied choices of Chinese, American, Japanese and delicious local buffet. I was utterly confused on what food to eat first because there were like 50 dishes or more.

What needs to be improved: The front desk personnel were polite but I can't understand why checking-in should be a long wait. They stare at the monitors forever, not sure if they need upgraded computers or time management training. No problem for me because I wasn't in a hurry that time but I noticed several guests who are starting to be impatient with the waiting. Overall, I enjoyed my stay!

My ratings for this hotel are:
4 of 5 = Check in / front desk
5 of 5 = Quality of Service
5 of 5 = Value for Price
5 of 5 = Rooms (Bathroom, Kitchen, etc.)
5 of 5 = Cleanliness

Read more about Edsa Shangri-la Hotel.

Touching God

During a speaking activity in one of my training class, a quiet, bashful lady stood up and answered the question, "If you could take away something from someone, what would it be?"

The first two minutes of her reply was plain and sometimes humorous as she talked about her best friend. The last minute of her answer was a bit different. She suddenly turned emotional and her face red. There was a moment of silence inside the room. She chastely shared the ailing condition of her best friend's mother. I remember it vividly when she cried, "I want to take away her mom's illness. I want to help my friend but I don't have enough money. All I can do is pray for her mother."

I waited for the right time within the day and when I had it, I came closer to her and whispered, "You're doing your friend and her mother a really, really big favor." She gave me a confused look so I continued, "Prayer is the most powerful and most precious gift you can give someone. You don't have to say that all you can do is pray. Instead, you can tell her that you will continue to pray for her mother's recovery. That is a very big help, more than you can imagine." I embraced her tightly and she cried even more.

This is the exact message of the author Dr Harold J. Sala in his book, "Touching God: Guidelines for Personal Prayer".


Praying for someone is being selfless. It means you are enthusiastic to prioritize the needs of others than your personal interests. This book talks about the awesome power of prayer which is often neglected and under-utilized. It reveals about how the conversation should just flow out of our heart. The daily reflections deepen our spiritual roots as it increase our faith. Some of the chapters are Praying without an agenda, Praying as a couple, If God doesn't answer your prayer, What's on your prayer list?, When you pray, Forgive and so on.

Gilbert and I started reading it last week, just before we sleep. Every page is indeed very inspiring and life-changing.

May you also be blessed and touch God's heart through prayers.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Those sweet bunch of fresh flowers would surely melt a lady's heart on V day.

Make me an exception.

Well, okay, I lied. I like flowers but a single white rose is enough to make me smile. Watching the late night news, I can't imagine how a dozen of roses could cost up to a thousand pesos. With today's global crisis, it's not really practical to use all that money for flowers.

Gilbert knows me too well I guess. He spent the last few days making me my Valentine's Gift - a gorgeous, sturdy kitchen rack. I've been telling him how I like to enhance our kitchen space for my everyday cooking. He bought the steel from a junk shop, repainted and cut it equally. The thick wood and high pressure laminates (HPL) were purchased from the newly opened Wilcon Builders in Dau, Pampanga.

almost done

All kitchen clutter is now gone!

I didn't get any teddy bear, balloon, flowers nor chocolates for V Day. We didn't dine in an overpriced restaurant along with everyone else in the world. And it's perfectly fine.

Gilbert and I enjoyed the company of our families instead with a home-made dinner. No traffic jam, no horrific crowd. Just tons of laughter and stories. Having all of them in my life means more to me than anything else.

Oh and by the way...

I also got this La Senza sheer luxe mesh from my Valentine date. I was totally surprised and I love it!

Thanks sweetie! Happy Hearts' Day to everyone!

Our Love Potion

While most couples spend on expensive figurines, candles or paper weight as their wedding favors, we opted to give our personal brand of bottled water to our guests. It definitely added a mark of distinction on our wedding favors. The idea is cute, unique and most of all, practical.


We operate a purified water station in Dau, Mabalacat so we decided to customize the water label that would fit our wedding motif. Each bottle has 500ml of Liña Agua Purified Water and a personalized label "Love Potion".

I made the sticker sweet and simple. I've included not only our names and wedding date but also our message of thanks to our family and friends for sharing with us our big day. Check out the personalized nutritional facts and the bar code with a note saying "Just Re-married". (We had a simple civil wedding a few months before our church wedding.)

The bottles were placed on the guest tables so everyone can enjoy a cold, refreshing drink while watching the wedding program. If you're interested in ordering personalized bottled water as your wedding favors, feel free to email me.

Recipe: Lechon Kawali (Pan Fried Pork)

This is a classic Filipino food so if you want to cook for a Pinoy friend or guest, this will certainly bring him a wide smile. All meat lovers will also enjoy this crispy, pan fried pork.


What you need to prepare:
-frying pan with cover
-tissue paper

Ingredients:
-1/2 kilo liempo
-canola oil
-a pinch of salt
-a pinch of pepper
-3 tbsp all-purpose flour

Let's start cooking!

1. Rub liempo slices with salt and pepper. Let it stand for five minutes.

2. Heat oil in frying pan until very hot. Have your cover ready. While heating the pan, sprinkle the pork slices with some flour.

3. Carefully put liempo in the frying pan. Cover the pan and reduce to medium heat. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Turn the pork over and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until light to golden brown.

4. Remove from pan and completely drain on paper towels before serving.

Serve with love!

NOTES:
1.You may also use pork belly however, you my need to boil the meat prior to frying.

2. Sprinkling some flour before frying will prevent the oil to spatter but maintains the meat's crispiness.

3. If you want a less greasy meat, you can simply season the pork slices with salt and pepper and use a turbo broiler. It'll remove the fats and you don't have to worry about the spattering as well.

4. A crushed garlic-vinegar dip or plain tomatoes will be a delicious complement for this recipe. Enjoy your meal!

English P and F sound

When we don't know how to spell a word, we normally just write it like how we say it. The only problem is that if we couldn't pronounce it right then we definitely couldn't spell it correctly either.


I saw this sign in one of the city's markets and as a former call center trainer, I know how challenging it is for most Filipinos to speak words with p and f sounds.

The greeting "Good Afternoon" becomes "Gud Apternun". Saying "I feel fine" becomes "I pil pine" or even explaining a situation like "The charge is part of your monthly fee" may sound like "The charge is fart of your monthly pee."

Doesn't sound good huh?

Mispronouncing both p and f sound not only affects your accent but also changes the message that you want to deliver to the receiver.

To produce the p sound: Place your lips together and force out the air very shortly

To produce the f sound: Gently bite your lower lip and push your voice and air out with a continued sound

Try pronouncing these sounds correctly as a simple drill. It may help improve your pronunciation which will make it easier for you to get your message across accurately at the same time.

Australia Movie Review

"Just because it is, doesn't mean it should be."

Starring:
Nicole Kidman - Lady Sarah Ashley

Hugh Jackman - The Drover
David Wenham - Neil Fletcher
Brandon Walters - Nullah

Two thumbs up for Director Baz Luhrmann. Australia is a right blend of romance, adventure, comedy and drama. It's like watching three stories in one movie: first, the social justice for the half-caste or aboriginal generation; second, the epic romance of Lady Ashley and the rugged Drover; and third, the world war/Darwin bombing.

A young half-caste boy named Nulla tells the story of uppercrust Brit Lady Ashley who arrives in the wilds of Australia to look for her skirt-chasing husband, only to find herself caught in a land struggle with a ruthless competitor. With the help of the untamed cattle Drover and some loyal employees, Lady Ashley tries to lead her herd on a grueling trek to Darwin. Their journey gets more complex after they arrive at the cattle station.

The movie is unbelievably almost three hours long but I had a great time watching every scene. The erotic chemistry between the funny, charming Nicole and the hunky Hugh is simply amazing.

It's an overload of characters, events and styles but Luhrmann glued it together and delivered a big-hearted melodramatic entertainment.

Four out of Five stars for me.