Hipon with Tomato Sauce and Oyster Sauce Recipe

1 kg medium to large sized shrimps, washed and antenna cut
200g tomato sauce
30g or 5 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
Malunggay leaves
Cooking oil
1 cup of water
Salt, pepper, and msg
1 teaspoon of patis (optional)

Procedure:
1. Sauté garlic and onion.
2. Put in shrimps, after 5 minutes add water then let it simmer for another 5 minutes
3. Add tomato sauce and oyster sauce.
4. Add salt, pepper, msg, and patis to taste and stir. Let it simmer for 10 minutes
5. Place malunggay leaves. Stir. Let it simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Serve.

2018 Project#1: Our Living Room

This post is sponsored by Photowall but the opinions and the rest of the blog content are of my own.

This was our living room, this is my family's favorite place. It's comfy and homey but having lived here for over three years, the look was also getting a bit old and tired. Besides, 2018 was just around the corner, new years are opportunities to feel inspired and refreshed but having not enough craftiness and artsiness to summon in me, i put it on hold until...

One day, I got an email from PhotoWall, asking me to try out their photo Wallpapers or Murals. I was hesitant at first because having never tried it before, wallpapering seemed to be such a daunting and time-consuming task but watching this video of a Dad and his little girl putting up a giant Photo Mural made me go for it.  They could do it so err, why not?

They let me choose any wallpaper design for our living room in Photowall website and it's not an easy feat because there are countless great designs to choose from, there are those for bedrooms, hallways, kitchen, dining rooms, bathrooms, etc plus different categories on its own. I have a fickle mind so it took me a week to finally have a decicion.

Since New York is my dream destination I chose this design. It's modern, picturesque, a great contrast that will bring dimension and colors to our plain and simple living room.

The package came after nearly a week. I'm so thrilled! It came with paste powder and these tools. And so this is it! The wallpaper came in numbers so it's perfect for dummies like me :)

It's super easy to use! It took only 5 hours for my sister and me to put everything together, rest and procrastination included :)

Dyaraaaan! The result! It's perfect! Put just the right amount of depth, color, and personality into our favorite spot in the whole world and it looks like an actual painting. New Yorkers, we are!

And because I love it so much, thinking of what house beautification project to do next. Thanks, Photowall!

11 Self-portraits and 11 Shoutouts

What if fear is the only thing that separates humans from gods? What if we can do anything we can imagine, we're just so used to the limitations of the "reality" we're born into. What if our eyes and ears, nose, and skin don't really help us to see, hear, smell, and touch but just limit and debilitate our perception? What if the Big truth is just around us or in front of us and we only have to be fearless and free to get there?

Calapan Zoological and Recreational Park

Or simply Bulusan Park.

Last holiday(EDSA day) was my turn to kick stress in the ass and go somewhere new! I particularly intended to go to a zoo because of my wildlife photography assignment in a course in UPOU. With bonus pa, my daughter will surely love to meet face to face with some animals she has only seen on tv and on her alphabet books.

Well, first off, I know what to do, Google has the answer.There were two options it gave me, this and the reptile zoo in Puerto Galera. But we opted for the Calapan zoo because it's more accessible and Puerto Galera seems to be a place that is too good for a one day stint, we don't wanna insult its beaches, so I mentally tagged it as "later".


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An Attempt at Animal Photography

It's been a while. I've  been busy with life, meaning getting on with my daily routines, trying my hardest yet to be a hands on mother and working my way being well-attached to my little girl and between and midst those things, nursing some dark feelings and thoughts that I can only surmise as depression. Big word.  But that's a different  blog post.

Photography, among other things, feels to me like a lover I am falling out with, I think this comes with having a world view of a tired old woman seeing not much of a purpose on most things. The gnawing feeling of triviality and superficiality while looking at all these images in the social media and elsewhere. But I'm trying to wiggle that away, especially that there is a photography course I have to complete this term or at least try to.

Luckily, some days I win.

I took these photos at a zoo here in Oriental Mindoro in hope that I can get good shots for my wildlife photography bonus assignment but it turned out I should do away with catching cages on my frame so as to give an impression of wild(kaya nga wildlife e). I only read up the complete instructions after, that means I'm also not reading much. Thus, consider this as just a warm-up to the real thing.

1/48 Self Portrait

Oh my, crammed my way into posting this photo entry, never thought taking self-portraits can be so mentally draining. Of over hundred shots I got only three is pwede na. None of which is totally mind-blowing, probably that's why it's a daunting task because my goal is to have a pro look, which is not for me to attain at this point. So in the last minute, I just let go of all my expectations and just blindedly pick a photo which I think I'm in my rawest and sexiest.

What do you wanna be?

While my four-year old was watching cartoon, i heard the character says something like "I wanna be an astronaut." So I took that as a cue to start a meaningful conversation with her.

Me: Do you wanna be an astronaut.

Her: No. Aliens are scary.

Me: We don't know that. 

(Pause.)

Me: So what do you wanna be?

Her: A doctor. A teacher. Nagtitinda (seller). Santa.

Me: Why Santa?

Her: Coz i wanna give gifts to kids like Dibo (Disney's gift dragon).

Me: Wow. Miss Universe answer. So generous naman ng anak ko.

Discover Philipines : La Laguna

I would love to roam my homeland and in my case there's almost the whole Philippines yet to be seen, looking forward to Dora-like adventures in this Hello Philippines series i just thought of starting right now. Of course with my best travel buddy no other than my own little Dora, my daughter!

It just dawned on me that I am hardly moving at all, business and saving money always come first in priorities but life doesn't wait for you to be ready, life is this, life is now! I'm not judging those people who are addicted to work, it's just that I'm not that kind of person. I'm mostly hedonistic and get easily weary of routines.

And don't underestimate travelling as learning and socialization resource for your kids. And they get to unwind too from their daily routines (yeah, they need it too!)

First stop: Laguna!

An easy getaway from Manila, in our case from Mindoro. With lots of  free to cheap eye feast and new experiences waiting for you. Diversity plus culture plus history plus nature.

In this trip i consciously tried to get away from commercial places. Malls and touristy destinations are getting so tiresome and plus I don't wanna hurt my pocket, I wish I could afford to at this point :)

Peaceful Parenting 101

Spare the rod and spoil a child.

Our generation, the 80's children, at least most of us, knows this parenting style so well, in fact we know it like a childhood friend. The whipping sound, the physical pain and more than that the cold sensation washing over our faces that we only later on know by its exact name--embarrassment. And they say, violence is a vicious cycle but for some miraculous twist of fate or call it the changing times, the cycle has been broken when it's our turn to take the cudgels. However, change has not happened everywhere, not to all of us. Barbarism is not kept away for good, not every hour of our life.

If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?

 If I can give one thing to the Philippines, I would give her the gift of sincerity. The gift of finding her own voice again and being faithful to it.

I was born in the early 80’s and was too young to fully comprehend what’s happening to my country then in the context of those times. But to my mind now, Filipinos, even the poorest of the poor, used to have dignity. Not because they were economically rich but because cinemas were bursting with glowing vibes of local movies, many are as mediocre as the present time films but some were gems waiting to be found, and there were sterling varieties, genre was a vibrant concept. Filmmakers were ambitious and in several times, rightly compensated for it. Sitting in front of the big screen meant ferreting heartfelt dialogues and emotions. Characters felt real, placed in real situations and predicaments, not some trying hard actors instructed to vomit overly condescending lines.

Music in the airwaves sounded either too dramatic or preachy for the modern taste but they all sounded soulful and genuine.

20 Most Recommended Children's Movies

Just because we're mother-and-daughter tandem of movie junkies. Just because it's a way of relishing our moments of togetherness in watching a screen unfold from point blank to a moving, complex story of humanity or alienity or animality, whether it's on a laptop, or a TV set, or the big screen. Just because it's fun making a list.

I come up with this list with the following criteria:
(1) Watchability for my daughter who is now in preschool age,
(2) Likability for both of us,
(3) The universal message it sends for both adults and kids.