Ginataang Sitaw at Kalabasa

One of my favorite vegetable dishes is Ginisang Sitaw at Kalabasa (Sauteed String Beans and Squash). Last Saturday, I tried a different approach and used a ready-mix called Ginataang Gulay. The ingredients are still the same (pork, onions, garlic, string beans, squash, soy sauce, salt and pepper) but I added the Ginataang Gulay mix which has coconut cream powder. This added a whole new dimension to the dish because of the coconut milk flavor and creamy texture. Needless to say, it's another sumptuous dinner for me and my loved one, all for the economical amount of Php 50!

My Home-Cooked Chicken Curry

I cooked my first chicken curry yesterday and it was a success! We were just supposed to buy a rotisserie chicken in the grocery last night but after passing by the spices and ready-mix aisle, I became curious about curry mixes. I decided to buy the Yellow Curry Mix packet and proceeded to get 1/2 kg of chicken, carrots, potatoes, red bell pepper and onions. When we got home, I turned on the stove, started chopping the vegetables and followed the instructions on the ready-mix packet. Thirty-minutes after, my chicken curry was cooked and ready to be enjoyed. It sure beats the rotisserie chicken :)

Home Is Where the Heart Is

It has already been more than three weeks since we moved into our new condo and I'm sorry I wasn't able to post about it sooner about it because everything's been so hectic. The first week was about getting things in order -- where to put our stuff, buying what else we lack and planning our chore schedule and cooking menu. On the second week, our electric stove got busted so cooking time was freed up to do other chores and TV time. Hehe. By the third week, we were mostly settled. Our family and friends have already visited as well and they have high praises for how our place looks. Us, we're just happy to have a place to call our own :)

My other blog

If you don't find me active here, it may be because I'm posting at my other blog, Ramp Up To Riches. I've decided to put up another blog so that I can create a site for my finance-related entries entries. See you there!

Just some updates

First off, I was surprised at the new look of blogger for posting entries. This just shows I haven't been posting for a while.

So much has happened since my last post so I might as well update you on what I have been up to. Since my last entry way back Feb, I have been to the US embassy to apply for a B1 Visa. I took down notes on the process and how much time I spent on each step because I wanted to share this on my blog. I wasn't able to do that but I was able to get a 10-year multiple entry tourist visa so yay for me! :)

Next, I went to New Jersey for a 3-day business conference. I got to match the faces with the names and voices of the people I work with because I would normally just interact with them via emails and conference calls. It was the first day of spring when I landed so it was still a bit cold, especially for someone who grew up in a tropical country. I enjoyed my hotel stay but it was not reachable by public transportation so I hired a cab service to take me to the malls and factory outlets. After the business conference, I took the train to New York and stayed with a former colleague for some fun over the weekend. I will never forget Times Square! I also met with a friend from high school who treated me to the Spider-man play on Broadway. We were even able to go backstage because she's friends with one of the cast members. I took a lot of pictures of course! I did some more pasalubong shopping and I had to buy another bag because the things I accumulated would not fit in my luggage anymore. I even thought of shipping my pasalubong via balikbayan box service but decided against it. Next time I'll consider it because it was so difficult lugging around three suitcases on the travel back home. You think that it's too much but it's nothing compared to the cartful, even more, of luggage and boxes that our kababayans had at the airport terminal. That's how I knew that I was lining up at the right queue of the Philippine Airlines flight to Manila; I just followed the brown, and sometimes white, balikbayan boxes :)

Then I was chosen by my former roommate to be the maid of honor at her wedding. It was my first time to be a MOH so I researched my duties and how to throw a bridal shower. We went with a spa party theme and I'm proud to say that her guests enjoyed the experience. We rented a hotel room and had foot spas, back massages and facial masks. We even had chocolate fondue for snacks! I also prepared some games and gave away prizes. It was so much fun! The next day, my friend and I had to get up early because she was going to have a make-up trial session. I took pictures while she was being made-up and so it was easier to decide which look was best for her. I also had to prepare my MOH speech and I'm glad I was able to deliver my speech without my voice trembling so much out of nervousness. Hehe :)

Finally, I attended the Money and Wealth Summit 2012 last week together with my boyfriend. It was my first time to attend and I really learned a lot. I think I want to try out forex trading and later on gold investing. I plan to enroll in Mark So's Complete Forex Trading Course and set-up an account in FXCM Of course I have to power up my savings first and I have begun to do that by setting up an automatic savings account. Unfortunately, I don't have an emergency fund yet so I have to save that up first before I dabble into the riskier forms of investing. I also met the 9 to 5 Millionaire, Leila Hernandez, and I want to emulate her so I bought a copy of her book and workbook CD. Maybe one of these days I'll also attend her workshop and intensive training. Another good thing I was able to take away from the wealth summit was that I was able to submit an application for a housing loan. My condo balance payment is due next year and I want to be able to compare what rate I'll be able to get from my bank against what will be offered by the affiliated bank of my condo developer. Right now I'm researching what the best is for housing loan rates and terms. I hope I make the right decision this time because I got burned the first time I got a condo, I opted for in-house financing because I didn't know any better :( But past is past, that condo has already been fully paid and I've learned from my mistake. From now on, it's just brighter and wiser investing decisions for me :)

Wii want to Zumba!

Finally, I found a fitness regimen that I can stick to! I tried the Zumba Fitness on Wii last night and I enjoyed it! I've already tried Wii Fit Plus, The Biggest Loser and Gold's Gym Cardio Workout and though I was able to sustain my workouts over the Christmas break, my enthusiasm fizzled out when I went back to work. It became a chore I began to dread so most of the time I just opted to veg out in front of the TV instead of exercise. Hopefully this time I can go back to exercising regularly. Right now, I'm already itching to try out the other dance moves and classes (I tried the short class last night which included 3-4 dance songs plus stretching) and I can't wait to go home!

I'm going to look for other dance games, especially those carrying pop and hip-hop tunes so that I don't run out of dance moves :-)