I WON!

I am one happy girl here! Let me share to you why. Yesterday kasi, my officemate/friend Cel told me that Grand Cinemas has this promo/ contest in Facebook. I just have to like the page and there’s a post where I need to comment about my favorite film of Anthony Hopkins.

Eh since hindi ko sya kilala, I immediately searched in Google and learn that he’s the lead role pala in the remake movie of “The Wolfman”. So here’s my comment:

I wasn’t expecting to win, honestly. Until I received a notification in Facebook this afternoon that I was one of the 10 winners of double passes to the premiere night of Anthony Hopkins’ latest movie “The Rite”. Wow this will be a free date for me and Poy! Happiness!

I was very delighted! First time ko lang nag join and I’m fortunate enough that they chose my comment over others. Thank you so much Grand Cinemas!

But the unlucky part is, hubby and I can’t come to get the pass and watch the premiere night. Tonight kasi is our scheduled church service. But let me correct that, I am not unlucky, because I know our date with Papa Jesus is far better and more worthy than watching a free movie. I’m just happy I won! =)

See you later Papa Jesus in our date! =)

DATE NIGHT AT SUMO SUSHI

I was craving so much for Japanese food since the other week. It’s been almost a year since I last tasted my favorite katsudon. I wanted to eat so much because feeling ko eating will ‘somehow’ ease my sadness. It’s been a week since our darling Mimay left back to Pinas. Hubby’s always telling me to focus and don’t be sad about Mimay. He told me that Mimay is happy and in good hands in Pinas. So okay, i-date na lang kako nya ako so that I won’t be sad anymore =) He immediately agreed kesa nga naman magpabili ako ng bag to ease my sadness hehe.

So last Sunday night, we went to Sumo Sushi in Al Garhoud. It’s our first time to dine there and we wanted to give it a try since I heard and read many nice reviews about this Japanese restaurant.

The restaurant is almost 10 minutes walk from the GGCO metro station. The wooden wall beams, dim lightings, wooden chairs and tables and the minimalist designs created a very classy and elegant ambiance to the restaurant.

For the starter, we ordered Crunchy Crazy. Shrimp tempura covered with sweet chili sauce and drizzled with teriyaki sauce. AED 29 (P348) for 6 pcs. We were a bit disappointed with the restaurant’s staff because this order came after na our main course. Eh pano pa naging starter yun db? So effect is we’re already full and didn’t finish all the 6pcs. Anyway ok lang, I brought it to the office the other day hehe.

Then hubby ordered BBQ beef bento for AED 38 (P456). Thinly sliced beef sautéed in Sumo’s very own bbq sauce and toped with sesame seeds. Very tasty and the meat is very tender. When Poy first saw the bento box, it looks like the servings is makonti and feeling nya it will not satisfy his hunger. But he didn’t actually finish the rice. Ang bilis daw makabusog.

For me naman, I ordered my all time favorite Katsudon at AED 32 (P384). Yeah na-miss ko to!! Unang subo pa lang, ay heaven! It’s breaded pork cutlet simmer with egg and served over steamed rice. Ang sarap ng sauce ah! Goodluck diet!

For our dessert, we had the Red Bean Ice Cream for AED 15 (P180) which they gave us for free. Complimentary daw because of their palpak service on our starter. Atleast db? Ok Sumo staff, forgiven na kayo. I’ll come back pa din promise!

And for the drinks, Poy ordered this tall glass of delicious lemonade with fresh orange cut at AED 15 (P180) while me naman ordered the green iced tea at AED 7 (P84) na walang lasa! Naku don’t order this ha? Hindi sya masarap even if you put the syrup. So Poy shared his lemonade with me and he finishes my green iced tea.

Sumo Sushi didn’t disappoint our hungry stomach. We will surely come back!

On our way home, I was so guilty for the extra pounds that were added to me for eating so much. Lalo ako na-depress kasi ang taba ko na lalo! So to compensate, I didn’t use the escalator and elevator, instead I walk up and down the stairs.

I hope it does help me drop those extra fats!

Thanks to my bibi for a very delish and fun date night. Para na naman kaming jowa days lang na holding hands while walking at pa-sway sway pa haha! 

MY SWEET BIBI

I was browsing my FB page, when I saw this note from my dearest hubby entitled Chef Nani, back in August 2010. He will be late that night that’s why he asked me to cook our dinner.

Read on and I’m sure you’ll smile of Poy’s sweetness especially of those under Safety remarks=)

Thank you Lord for my wonderful Poy!

Chef Nani :) (http://www.facebook.com/notifications.php#!/notes/poy-aguilar/chef-nani-/139908276048891)

by Poy Aguilar on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 3:33pm

Bi eto step pagluluto mo mamaya :D

GINISANG KALABASA

Balatan at hiwain ang kalabasa into cubes na tama lang ang kapal

Sibuyas (sliced)

Bawang (pitpit)

Knorr manok or pork (1 box)

Sotanghon (konteng konte lang) ibabad na sa tubig

Paminta

Patis

1. hugasan ang kalabasang gayat na

2. igisa sa mantika ang sibuyas bago ang bawang

3. ilagay ang kalabasa at lagyan ng patis

4. igisa ng 5 minutes para magkalasa ang kalabasa

5. tubigan na at ilagay ang Knorr

6. pakuluin hanggang sa medyo malambot na ang kalabasa

7. (optional) mag ligis ng ilang piraso ng kalabasa para kumulay sa sabaw

8. pag malambot na,ilagay na ang sotanghon at tikman ang sabaw at tingnan din ang dami ng sabaw

9. pakuluin ng 2 minutes para maluto na ang sotanghon.

10. luto na! takpan at ialagay sa isang tabi :)

FRIED PORKCHOP

1. palambutin muna ang porkchop, pwedeng ibabad sa mangkok

2. kapag malambot na, budburan ng asin ang magkabilang side

3. hiwain ang porkcop para madali ang pagpprito

4. painitin ng mainit ang mantika para di dumikit :)

5. iprito ang porkchop sa tamang apoy lang

6. luto na! ibukod na ang pambalot para bukas. Hehe

SAFETY:

ü Ingatan ang talsik ng mantika

ü Dahan dahan pagbubuhat ng mga pinaglutuan baka matapunan

ü Wag susunugin, baka di mo din makain. Hehe. Joke :)

ü After magluto, manood ng tv para marelaks ka naman :)

ü PINAKA IMPORTANTE: I LOVE YOU :)

CHOPPED 101 VERSION: NANI VS. CARL

For those who doesn’t know me and for those who will be reading my blog for the first time:

My name is Nani, a loving mother to our 23 months old Mimay and a spoiled wife for 33 months to my very domesticated husband Poy. Yes you read it right. Si husband ang domesticated kesa sa akin. From laundry, cleaning, ironing, cooking, name it… its all hubby’s work. Spoiled wife nga eh db? ;p

During my childhood days kasi, I was never trained to be like that. My mom would do all the chores for us, basta magaral na lang daw kami mabuti. Eh obedient ako, eto ang ending, I am efficient at school and work but when it comes to keeping the house, bagsak.

So I came to realize (ang tagal ng realization haha!) that it’s not right especially the fact na hindi ako marunong mag cook. What if the time will come that Poy will be assigned somewhere, di na kami kakain ni Mimay?

So with that, together with our 101 friends, we thought of planning a weekly cooking competition. I was super excited because this will help me practice my cooking skills. As if I have cooking skills haha!

So for the official debut of CHOPPED 101 version, it’s a battle between the BRATS! Nani, the spoiled brat wife versus Carl, the spoiled brat girlfriend who doesn’t know anything in the kitchen. Parang ako lang hehe kaya bonggang match talaga. Our respective partners, Jay and Poy were the ones who bought the ingredients, then bahala na kami on what to cook. Kalorkei talaga because we don’t even know how to cut the onions and garlic. We started at around 9pm and finished at 12 midnight! Hahaha imagine the gutom of our housemates. Literally nagwawala na sila kahihintay sa niluluto namin. Let below photos do the talking about what happened on the launching of CHOPPED 101 version.

Carl cooked pork ribs caldereta while I made the pork garlic barbeque. I can say it was a success because edible naman ang mga niluto namin. It’s actually masarap! Eh ikaw ba naman magdinner ng 12 midnight, natural lang masarap ang magiging judgement nila sa niluto namin right? The dishes were judged by our 5 friends who don’t have any idea who cooked the caldereta and the barbeque. Para fair ang judging. The result was 3-2. Carl won and she super deserves it. I love her caldereta. Very tasty and the meat is very malambot. My barbeque daw is masarap din but Carl’s caldereta is far better than what I did hehe. But hubby told me I have a future in cooking naman, konting improvements na lang. Naks!

So for those who think my barbeque is delish, like my friends Cha and Abby, here is the super simple recipe for you guys.

Ingredients:

Pork liempo thinly cut                             Catsup                          Lemon

Sugar                                                   Soy Sauce                     Sweet soy sauce

Oyster sauce                                         Tons of garlic                 Onion

Pepper

Marinade the pork with lemon, toyo, little sugar and catsup for like 30 mins. Then sauté the garlic and onions, set aside. Since the pork is being marinated pa, you can make the barbeque sauce na. Just combine the toyo, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, catsup, water, pepper and sugar. The catsup will make the sauce a little thick. You can now fry the marinated pork, take care not to over cook it like what I did. Nagiging mapait kasi kapag nasunog sya. After all the pork are fried, put the pork back in the pan together with the sauteed garlic and onions. You may pour in the barbeque sauce to the pork or arrange the pork in a plate and drizzle the sauce on top. Fried some garlic with chili to serve as garnish to the dish.

There you go! Hope it helps somehow =) May lasa sya infairness haha!

SNEAK PEEK TO MIMAY’s 2nd BIRTHDAY PREP

My baby’s 2^nd birthday is coming soon! Talking about how time flies fast. May 2 years old na kami ni Poy!

Before she left going to Pinas, we scheduled her for a photoshoot with my friends Lyn and Carl which will be used for her birthday invitation, tarpaulin, cake, etc. And since her birthday theme would be something SPORTY, we made her wear Badminton sports attire. The excited me can’t help not to post this as my profile pic in FB because my baby is very adorable here. She had so many comments and likes in FB and I’m a happy momma! Maybe because she’s so me in this photo. Bigla ko nga naalala ang Ms. Intrams Days ko in Letran. Kakatuwa!

For Mimay’s 2^nd birthday, my sister will be incharge of the party. From the venue reservation (thanks to Jollibee’s manager, Mimay’s ninong Jhayz), invitations, birthday theme, cake, mimay’s outfit, etc.  Well, it will just be a super simple celebration. Nothing bongga! OA lang ako mag-planning haha! Since Mimay adores Jollibee so much, we thought of doing her special day there na lang. I’m sure Mimay will be very amused once she sees Jollibee and Twirlie dancing right in front of her. And you know what makes me more excited about Jollibee? It’s their free WIFI! So even if we won’t be with Mimay physically on her birthday, we will be joining the party through Skype in LCD projector. Yey!!

To end this, let me share just 2 more photos of ineng during the shoot ha? Super cute na cute lang talaga ko sa kanya. I know, I promised not to share these photos yet kasi it’s for her birthday pa nga, kaya lang ang hirap eh. Promise this will be the last. I won’t post the other photos not until April 4.  

Thanks Lyn and Carl for bringing out the best from our baby. Thanks for the patience. Mimay and I will forever treasure the experience.

WHY I LOVE POY - Part 10

Just may I share this ha? Natawa ako eh =)

Last night, hubby and I were inside the bathroom to wash up when he made paalam if he can still stay in our living room to watch an action movie with our housemates. I said ok and told him that I’ll just wait for him in the bed. Our conversation was like this:

Nani: Ok lang bi nood ka muna. Ano ba yung movie na pinapanood nyo?

Poy: Check ko yung title mamya bi pero mukang maganda eh, about soldiers.

Maisingit ko lang, my ex-bf was a military man. He’s a CAT and ROTC commandant way back and a Lieutenant in Army. So I thought of joking Poy when I learned that the movie is about soldiers.

Nani: Wow bi favorite mo movies about soldiers? Sure ka? Haha!

Poy: (biglang napa-isip) Oo bi favorite ko yun. Gusto ko yung mga movie na pahihirapan mga soldiers tapos mamamatay! Dapat sa ending mga rebelde ang buhay, lahat ng sundalo dapat patay!

Hahaha!! Bibi, bitter?? :D

BE POSITIVE!

I have to share a secret to all of you guys. It’s been months that I’ve been in blogging so I think it’s about time to share this secret of mine. We’re all close na naman right? So I think there’s nothing wrong if I’ll share this. I just thought also that this post might help others who have the same condition as mine.

I have psoriasis.

For those who don’t have any idea what it is, psoriasis is a chronic disease that appears on skin. Chronic which means, that this type of skin disease is recurring and medicines can just help to prevent it from spreading. I have it since my college days. I’ve been to different dermatologists ever since. According to my favorite dermatologist, Dra.Pisano who’s already in Canada right now, my psoriasis occur and aggravates daw when my immune system is low and when I’m stressed and puyat. The cause of this disease is not yet fully understood until now, because it’s genetical she said. There are different types of psoriasis, but mine is psoriatic arthritis. Sore appears on my body joints such as knees, elbows, ankle and finger joints.

There’s no definite remedy for my psoriasis. As I researched it from the internet and and as per my derma’s advise, most topical ointments should not be applied for longtime or else it is useless. I have to make sure din daw that my skin is always moisturized and I have to wear gloves whenever I’ll do the dishes. And most importantly, I should not STRESS myself or else the lesions will get worst. And it’s really true, whenever I am on a very stressful situation; the lesions are breaking out seriously. Like now. I actually have to be absent from work the other day just to have this check by a dermatologist. Natatakot na kasi ako because it’s spreading na on my ankles. She gave me antibiotics (Augmentin AED100/Php1200 for 20 pcs) for my sorethroat, because she said everytime I have infection it will make my psoriasis worst. Telfast (AED45/Php540 for 1 box) was also prescribed to me for anti-itching, while Daivobet (AED150/Php1800) and Diprosalic (AED30/Php360) ointments are for the lesions. I’m also now using baby soap, same like what Mimay is using, which is made for delicate and galisin skin like mine.  I cannot use pampaputi/fragrant soap and lotion anymore. That’s sad no? I know.

I remember back in college, I am so paranoid of my psoriasis. Nakaka stress sobra! I have to be in the derma almost twice a month and hindi biro ang ginagastos ng mommy ko just to keep my skin clear. Sometimes nga I’m asking, why of all sakit eto pa ang napunta sa kin? Ang gastos kaya! But I also thought that God’s ways are always better than mine so I just learned to accept and be positive about it.

God has given me too blessings in life para maging bitter ako sa aking psoriasis? Right?? Right! =)