Plumsky is here!

Hubby and I have a habit of naming our furniture, appliances and other things after we purchase them. It's also our way of remembering the grace given to us by God every time.

So who's Plumsky? She's my brand new Kitchen Aid Artisan Series stand mixer! Her color is Deep Plum (violet and other shades of this are my faves), hence, the name. Cute, huh?

My hubby's high school classmate ordered her for us from the US after I saw it in the Kitchen Aid website (www.shopkitchenaid.com). It was offered as a promotional item so the price was a steal! I am very grateful for Eugenio for this huge favor to me.

I have been dreaming of and waiting for this mixer since I began baking last January. I guess it's the ultimate heavy-duty mixer for all bakers out there. I can't wait to bake a vanilla chiffon cake and whip up some light buttercream frosting. Yum!

My First Cake!

I am absolutely thrilled! I was finally able to bake and decorate my first real cake two weeks ago. It's a simple chocolate cake with a choco fudge frosting and white melted chocolate for the decoraion. Since I don't have exact settings on my oven, I just try to adjust as much as I can.

The cake turned out better than I expected. It just needs to be baked at a much shorter time, though, so I'll apply this adjustment to my next one. It was a two-layer cake with frosting in between layers and all over the cake. I gave it as a thank you gift to our friends Tony and Tess for their generosity and kidness toward us.

Soon I'll be mixing away in my new mixer. That's my next story.

Kwentong Bacolod

I am finally able to squeeze a few minutes of blogging after a hectic week. I feel like I am just beginning to recover from the trip and from the packing, unpacking, laundry, cooking and a baking business on the side. It's challenging without a helper, but I'm okay.

Our friends' (Tony and Tess) eldest son, Al, attended summer camp in Bacolod for the very first time -- and he's a virgin in many ways too! It's just too bad that I can't seem to find our photos which I know I already uploaded a couple of days ago! Pahabol na lang later.

His mom came along too, and this is nothing new to us. Part of the fun of serving in youth camps is traveling with friends and meeting a lot of new people. We've been to many camps together and we already know how it's like to share a room (my husband, me and Tess), so we have no worries in that area. But for her son Al, everything was brand new.

It was Al's first time to ride a plane (not the tool used for shaving wood) and he ended up at the last row, right before the toilet. Hmmm... not a very aromatice experience! He didn't mind it at all, especially since we also met a former youth camp staff in the same place, and a flight attendant at that. She recognized us but I hardly recognized her because she had her hair up and she was fully made up. She was thrilled to see us, I'm sure, because she immediately gave us drinking water even befor the plane took off!

After some stories with her, she proceeded to do her duty of demonstrating the flight safety rules, complete with facial expression and cool gestures of the hands. Tess was so absorbed in her demo (which she hardly ever is) that we thought she had plans of being a Lola Flight Attendant! "Announcing the launching of Lola Airlines! The airline for geriatrics, complete with wheel chairs, canes, and spare false teeth. Enjoy our special massage with White Flower for that amoy lola experience."

Anyway, back to Al. Because we knew the flight attendant, we were able to request for photos taken in the cockpit and with the rest of the crew. As Al would say, "astig!!!!" He needed those photos to prove to his friends that he really rode a plane. And why not? We also took photos of him and ourselves crossing the tube, by the plane, walking through the airport, and going to other places we used to ignore. We got to experience traveling in a new light. Aaargh! I really wish I could find those photos!!!

Al enjoyed his Bacolod camp experience despite the fact that everyone spoke to him in Hiligaynon. He would just give them a bewildered look which, I guess, they took as confirmation. He got along with his camp "brothers" and ate as much rice as they did. As my hubby would say, "gabundok ang kanin."

But the icing on Al's cake was winning the Best Bed Award (it was neat and tidy for the first time in his entire 15-year life) and the Mr. Congeniality Award. Friendly!!! He was the perfect gentlemen and danced with every single female camper on the dance floor. No wonder the girls voted him Mr. Congeniality! He did his mother proud!

Go ask Al to tell you more of his stories. I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige. As for the three of us adults, we enjoyed our "ago-go" (known as ice candy in our world) courtesy of Nonong, the good food served by the CICM staff and their friendly smiles, the airconditioning from 12:30 PM - 2 PM and 8 PM - 6 AM (tipid), and the friendship of Terence and family and Boyet and Rizza. We all gained a few pounds from being fed soo generously and we will now try to lose those pounds here -- mahal na ang bigas.

As for our stay at the Business Inn, that's another long story. Go ask Tess or Al about it.

SEP Bacolod

It has been four days since I last checked my site, and I am sitting on a bench in our hotel room here in Bacolod. Thank God for Wi-Fi! It's also great that Business Inn offers this service for free. We need to get ready for our dinner date with Rizza and Boyet in a Japanese resto so I can't stay long. More updates and stories about SEP Bacolod will be posted here when we get home tomorrow. Of course, I'll also post some photos. Meanwhile, God bless!

Rebonding Issues

I must say that the hair rebonding technology is one of the best things to happen to women's hair. Before rebonding came along, we used to have our hair straightened or relaxed. Straightening made my hair springy, brittle, and not at all "touchable". I wonder what kind of toxic chemical they used then. Relaxing made my hair nice and straight for a day. After shampooing, forget that you ever went to the salon the day before! What a waste of time and money!

Whoever came up with the rebonding technology is some kind of hair genius - serious! Imagine altering the molecular composition (or arrangement) of your hair - from frizzy to downright straight. It's amazing! I know several ladies who had low hair-esteem before rebonding, and then start swinging their heads confidently after.

I haven't tried the procedure simply because I have been wearing my hair short for many years now. It saves on shampoo and combing, although I used a lot of gel to style it. I am seriously considering it now, though, since I've decided to try to grow my hair again. I don't have a lot of patience anymore so it's a feat for me to just wait it out. And this brings me to the top three salons I inquired at yesterday.

I decided to ask three salons in SM Sta. Rosa if my current hair length can be rebonded and if so, how much it would cost. First stop was David's for Rever.

I personally like the service of this salon and I've tried those in Festival Mall and Paseo De Sta. Rosa (plus others I can't recall) a few times and their service is good - plus, they give good shampoo, massage, haircut and coloring. But I was sorely miffed by their branch in SM Sta. Rosa. When I asked my rebonding questions to the receptionist, she simply looked at me, hesitated a moment, then told me my hair length is alright for rebonding and that it would cost me P4K. Whaaaat? My hair length hasn't reached my chin yet! My hubby reacted violently as well and made sure the receptionist heard it.

So off I went to Ricky Reyes Salon and asked the same questions to their receptionist. My hair got the same cursory glance and I was hit with the P5K rebonding cost. Uh-oh! No way, tooth decay! I'm on a tight budget, remember?

Last stop was Ystilo Salon. This is a much younger salon than the two I've mentioned, but it has been receiving good reviews. I asked the same questions with a nice smile and their receptionist did what I had waited the other two receptionists to do all along. She called their senior stylist who approached me and checked out my hair. He lifted the back to see how short my hair was in that area. After only a few seconds, he told me that my hair cannot be rebonded yet because it was too short at the back, ergo, my scalp will get burned. Finally, some professionalism! They then told me that it would cost P4.9K once my hair length reaches chin level.

Now that I know the going rates of rebonding in the top salons, I can start saving for it. I am just thankful that Ystilo Salon was very professional and was not just after another "sale". A burned scalp is not worth the rebonding trouble. Kudos to their staff and management team!

Try Karate Kid

Despite a limited budget, hubby and I make it a point to eat out every now and then. This pleasurable activity is also enjoyed by my sis and niece. One of our fave eating places nowadays is Karate Kid in SM Sta. Rosa.

If you want no fuss, semi-Filipinized Jap food that tastes great and is budget-friendly, this is the place to go. I'm sure there are branches of this franchise in other malls -- we just haven't tried them elsewhere.

I love their newest offering, the Fish Katsu which tastes really fresh, comes hot and crispy, with rice, a side dish of mixed veggies and your choice of tartar mayo or wasabi mayo sauce. I tell you, their portions are huge for an asian fastfood offering. The photo of the dish is a realistic depiction of what they serve you. They beat Tokyo Tokyo anytime. I also love their red iced tea which, according to them, is real brewed tea with fruit. It's my fave iced tea so far and I'm beginning to crave for a bottomless order in this heat!

Hubby loves their Chicken Yakisoba and Gyoza. The Yakisoba is almost good for two people and is sooo tasty! It comes with grilled chicken bits and veggies so the whole dish is well worth your hunger. The Gyoza tastes better than those we've tried, even in Japan. I don't know, maybe their chef just got our tastes spot on.

We've also tried their rice bowl toppings and california maki and they don't disappoint. Perhaps they can try making the maki a tad bigger to fill us up, although I doubt it will fit my mouth in one go.

And while sampling their food, we enjoy our usual people watching, especially the kids who always fall for the huge Karate Kid statue. They never fail to dip their tiny hands into the rice bowl of Mr. Karate Kid and pretend they're eating from it. Cute!

I must also commend the manager of the SM Sta. Rosa branch for being friendly and professional, and for still honoring our expired free meal ticket. It was a great freebie at P200, which gave us two full meals plus iced tea. Not bad for a couple on a tight budget.

My Niece Turns 12!

Time really zooms! My niece Eunice, who was a cute "siopao" at six months old is now hitting the roof of tweendom. In our Purple Wedding photos, she was just three years old!

How I wish hubby and I could celebrate with her and her mum in KL. They had lunch (and yummy dessert) at Secret Recipe in The Curve. I love this place! It's classy and not crowded at all -- plus, it's close to IKEA! And that particular branch of Secret Recipe is our favorite. Now if I can only actually taste the American Brownie I asked them to order for me...

My sis sent me text messages about this birthday lunch plan, as well as her gift to Eunice, a couple of days ago. So, I'm in on the surprises. Since I don't think Eunice will get to read this before she gets her surprise, I guess I can divulge it here -- it's a Yamaha C40 guitar!!! Cool!

My niece got interested in playing the guitar during their visit here last December. I have a guitar that looks so much like hers (now), but it's not a Yamaha -- boohoo! My envy aside, she picked up some basic chords pretty fast from her mom (who plays the guitar much better than I do), and I guess she got bitten by the guitar-bug. I guess she'll be strummin' away tonight!

Eunice also plays the piano and is continuing with her lessons. Her mommy dearest is also taking (or should I say "continuing") piano lessons at the same school.

Have I mentioned that my niece is also a chess geek? She's been winning school and inter-school tourneys left and right! I never took a liking to chess, so I'm hardly a candidate for a chess playmate. I'd rather play Equalizer with her (great game for practicing your Math). Anyway, I'm just happy that she is given many opportunities to grow and develop her skills and talents. Later on, she will start using and recognizing the giftings God gave her.

She does Math in her head (like her Aunt Goo), reads a lot of books, likes solving Sudoku puzzles (I do crosswords instead), loves licking peanut butter off her spoon (yuck!), goes for wrestling in bed (I'm too old for that, please!), writes her own songs, poems, and stories, loves to sing (she and her mum know the latest songs and artists), loves to tell jokes, and runs around after me just to pester me -- he-he! That's my niece!

So, here's to a very happy and blessed birthday. God loves you and will always be with you. I love you very much, my little big niece!

Other Blog

I have been busy lately writing Christian articles which I have not been able to do in a while. You may view them on my blog site http://purplethoughts.wordpress.com. I also have this link on my home page links.

The challenge I face whenever I try to write an article is not uncommon. Sometimes the experiences I go through are too painful for me to pen, but then again, writing about them can be therapeutic. It is also sobering to realize every time that I am completely under God's grace and mercy -- especially when I write articles. I am an empty and useless vessel without his divine inspiration.

So I am somewhat relieved that the "ice" has broken and I am able to express myself again in deeper ways. I praise God for his never ending patience with me.