I woke up early to prepare the food and other things we need to celebrate NEW YEAR'S EVE. The new year always, always excites me!
It will get so busy as the day progresses so let me just make a quick but sincere and really excited and happy greeting here in my blog. :)
Thank You, God, for all the blessings of 2011. Lessons learned, experiences gained, loved with all my heart, happiness earned. Life well lived. I am looking forward to another wonderful year. Thank You for providing me great family and friends I can count on.
Welcome 2012! Cheers! God, let the good times roll! Thank You! I'm looking forward to my breakthrough year this 2012! :)
I wish everyone a truly fulfilling and happy 2012! A peaceful and joyful year ahead of us. May all the desires of our hearts come true according to God's will.
I met with my two college best friends yesterday afternoon after my business in one of the offices in Ortigas. I was really looking forward to this day because I haven't been with my friends for several months now. We have been so busy for the past months...well, throughout the year, that we cannot find a date when the three of us are available. The last time I met with one of them was around April this year.
This meet-up has in fact been postponed I think twice already. We've talked about this since mid-November and finally it pushed through, thanks to the holiday break. :) We were supposed to go to Serendra but I suggested we try Yabu, The House of Katsu. I have been reading a lot of good reviews about this restaurant - from the warm ambiance to the good service and the great food. Also, I have not been to SM Megamall's Atrium for a looooong time.
I must say I like the interior of the restaurant. I like the soft, warm light which gives some touch of intimacy among groups of diners but it does not make you feel stiff and too business-like. It's cozy-laid back as a matter of fact. I like the murals on the left side of the dining area - kind of cartoonish focusing on Japanese characters and katsu. Next time I will take pictures of the mural as well as the facade.
The service is prompt too. Someone hurriedly went up to me smiling just as I was about to enter the restaurant. This gave me the feeling of being so welcome as a special guest. We didn't have to wait long for our food. Maybe it's only about 5 minutes. The food servers are also very polite and fast.
I have been eating katsu dishes for years but I don't exactly know what it means. I know the food is breaded and fried which are also two descriptions I find in Google. It also said katsu is a shortcut of katsuretsu which means cutlet.
Katsu sets all come with miso soup, shredded cabbage, about three slices of fruits (watermelon and pineapple). Katsu sauce will also be served where you can dip your pork or chicken cutlets - toasted sesame seeds to mix with katsu sauce. I must say the chicken katsu can stand by itself even without the katsu sauce.
My friend ordered chicken katsu. I tried it and boy, it's soooo tender. Next time this is what I will order. I love the Japanese rice too - sticky, soft and chewy.
Chicken Katsu, 190 g, about P250 (I missed the exact price)
The other friend ordered Rosu Katsu Curry Set. I am not into curry so I passed on this.
Rosu Katsu Curry Set, P295
I ordered Rosu Katsudon which is very tasty. I love eggs so I love that this is covered with lightly scrambled eggs.
Rosu Katsudon, P265
All the servings are quite huge for one person. Is it value for money? I must say it is. So far, it's the most tender meat cutlets I have ever tasted. Pork and chicken are covered with panko (Japanese bread crumbs) which make the meat really crispy but very tender and juicy once you have taken a bite of them.
I will definitely go back here with my family even if it's far from our house. It's that good.
Great place, great food, great friends - I am very grateful about all these. :)
To my friends, thank you for the gift of friendship. :) I love you, girls!
Finally it pushed through. We have been planning to go to Ayala Triangle to witness the play of lights and sounds but almost always there's a glitch in our plans. Either it rains or there is something that needs to be attended to, mostly husband's work. Since this is the last week of the symphony and husband has no work yesterday, we proceeded last night. Thank God the weather was good. It's a bit chilly in fact which we love.
There's traffic from Ayala Avenue going to Tower 1 of Makati Stock Exchange. This serves as the parking area for Ayala Triangle. I appreciate it that even if we lined up for a few minutes, it was organized. They don't let cars get in unless there are already vacant spaces for incoming cars. We were able to spot parking immediately and then off we went to see the lights and hear the sounds.
It was beautiful. My husband captured a few minutes of it in video. Of course we took a lot of pictures from the two cameras I bought and from our cell phones. Haha. Talk about not getting enough.
We arrived at a little past eight in the evening. The lights and sounds are already playing when we got there. We had to take out our food from CBD (Cheesesteaks, Burgers and Drinks) so we can watch the last full show at 9 PM.
We had fun! A park turned into a sea of lights for about 20 minutes. I guess it's longer for the last show. It's good to note that the park is clean. The people are not throwing wastes just anywhere. There's only one cleaner which I saw and didn't see much trash bins but just the same, the park was clean. Also, I didn't see much security guards going around. Just one Or two I guess but anyway, it was a peaceful, lovely night. :)
As expected there were a lot of people but towards the end of the show, the crowd gets thinner which is good for our picture taking.
I thought I couldn't make it to our dinner date. My friends and I scheduled this two weeks ago I think. I suddenly had an appointment on the night of the date we are going to have our dinner. My appointment was in Makati and our meet-up will be at Quezon City. Oh.
I was done with the meeting at almost 8PM. Luckily I was able to get a ride fast and I was able to locate Tatung's easily. Thanks to the cab driver for being nice while we were looking for the street. Simple blessings. :)
I was not able to take any pictures of the foods as they were all half-way with all the dishes. But I was glad I proceeded even if I was tired already. I just have to meet my friends.
Tatung's is a house converted into a restaurant. It has a classic Filipino theme into it. It looks cozy and intimate with soft lights in some parts of the dining area.
I love the food served to us - Chicken Sisig Lettuce Wrap for our appetizer, for the main dishes - Tamarind-glazed Butterflied Tilapia, Honey-glazed Slow Roasted Pork Belly, Bam-I. The white rice was good too. I think it's jasmine. We had our dessert - coffee and the Warm Chocnut Chocolate Cake which was so divine!
I will go back there with family and friends! I love it there!
My daughter is a grown-up. She's thirteen I know but slowly I am realizing she is not a little girl anymore. I feel a tug on my heart thinking about this.
We were talking about buying her dress for the Year End Thanksgiving the other week. I was thinking our talk will linger here, on what style she wants this time, will it be a top and bottom ensemble or a dress. She suddenly mentioned she said she also wants a dress for their school's Xmas party. I thought it was just a fancy thought but she was serious about it. She wants something like outfits of Taylor Swift, soft and flowing. Oh. Well, even then during her recital and practicum at Center for Pop, Taylor Swift has always been her inspiration with some of her outfits.
Another tell-tale sign that my daughter is feeling like a lady already is her want for shoulder bags. We were scouting for her varsity jacket when we passed by the bags section. I was looking around for a nice bag. Little did I know that she spotted something she liked. She even touched it and said it looks nice. She can use it for her church. Awww, the mother in me said I will buy her that for her use in our Thanksgiving Day at the church.
God, my daughter is not anymore all about sneakers and jeans and shirts and boyish tops like how it was just a few months ago. She is now in touch with her female side. She is turning into a lady.
Yesterday we fit a lot of clothes and bought her V-jacket and her dress for church this weekend. We will go back to buy her dress for the school party because she is really bent on wearing a skirt for a change as she say it.
Well I need to accept this change. From now on, girlie stuffs are included in my list whenever I think of updating her clothes. It's just the start I know. I need to be sensitive to my daughter's needs, her needs in every way.
My daughter, her friend, and I watched Breaking Dawn last Sunday. It was a good experience being with the two kids. I really encouraged my daughter to bring her friend along because I want to meet her friends. She's new in school coming from a different grade school but it seems the closeness my daughter and this girl forged is so strong already. They have the same likes in music, movies, books, accessories, etcetera. I learned that they knew each other from the internet through their tumblr accounts. It was a great surprise for both of them when they met at school and learned that they are actually good tumblr buddies.
I know my daughter's friends when she was in grade school. These are the kids she's been with since their preparatory school. Now that she is in high school, her circle grew larger. There are a lot of new people in school which she is friends with. Oh yes, I want to know them up close.
Anyway, we watched Breaking Dawn and the two liked the movie being fans of Taylor Lautner. My comments about the movie (and the kids watching this movie) are reserved for my movie review post.
We went around the Christmas Village of the mall, took some pictures of course. Afterwards the two bought their ballers at a particular retail shop. They seem to know where to buy really.
We headed to Fully Booked where my daughter's friend bought her book. We proceeded to Power Books at another mall because it's only there where The Hunger Games trilogy are available.
After that we went back to the first mall where my daughter's friend was picked up by her uncle. My daughter and I were kind of starving so we had our snack at Papa John's Pizza.
I love this day. It was a great bonding time with my daughter and her friend. I love seeing how kids have their fun and giggle at things which they find cute and must-have. To be young and just happy. I love the feeling.
I created my Facebook on 2007 but I guess I started using it actively around the later part of 2009 or maybe a the start of 2010. I'm a Facebook veteran now, haha. I am not addicted to it as I am more of a Twitter person for its fast updates and more relevant interaction among "common" people and politicians/celebrities and other worthwhile entities/groups - government/marketing/advocacy/quotations (lol at this one). "Worthwhile" of course is subjective here. :D
Facebook as well as other social networking accounts show a person a part of who he really is. Let me just say that I don't exactly hate anyone in my Facebook. If I do, why will I add/accept them int he first place. But you see, some people I know do that. LOL. They add people only to talk behind their backs because they hate some of these people's guts.
Let me just say I add a few people for networking and they can't see everything I post especially photos. What I am going to post here are the characters which amuse me or make me blurt out a laugh or two. Who are they?
1. Those who love to be socially-relevant. People who keeps making a repost of what they think the speaker said nicely and too good to pass up so they re-quote. LOL. Magpaka-socially relevant ba talaga. I only have a few in my list whom I know indeed are socially relevant. The others, they just ride with the current news.
2. Those who love to share the latest news in whatever field in the hopes of being the first to share thus making them well-informed citizens. Blech. LOL.
3. Those who keep on posting how busy they are. Some I don't doubt they are but it's like these are the people who have been doing routinary works for months or weeks and then they started getting some extra work and tell the whole world, "hey, I'm functional, I'm useful unlike some of you, I have work and I'm busy". These are the people who keep on saying it's great to be a homemaker when I know deep inside them they have some reservations about it.
4. People who post their latest acquisitions with the end in mind of just bragging about them and not actually doing their network good tips and a good review of the product.
Well, there's always the HIDE feature in Facebook or better yet, do not add people who just make your eyes roll. Haha.
Finally our dinner pushed through. We were supposed to celebrate my husband's special day on the night of his birthday at Romulo Cafe but he received a call, business-related, which he needed to attend to immediately. Work beckoned. I'm not really complaining, work and business are both blessings. I just have to cancel our reservation.
It was raining heavy last night but we proceeded after attending our Thursday church worship service. Our reservation was actually for 9 in the evening, a good way to cap the day is to have dinner together somewhere cozy, to a dining place recommended by friends.
The parking in front of the restaurant was still full but we got a good space. I have been reading a lot about Romulo Cafe, various reviews actually. There were raves and some were saying it's a fine restaurant but nothing really life changing so to speak. Friends suggested that we go here. So what do I think?
I have to agree with some who said it's fine but nothing spectacular. I don't know maybe the function rooms are a lot better because the pictures that I've seen were really good. They have different color motif for the rooms but the black and white ensemble still dominates the whole place. I did not find the dining area cozy but well, functional, like your average good-to-go-to restaurants. The sofa of the waiting area is cozy alright. It's huge and soft.
One of the walls in the dining area decorated with framed pictures of Mr. Carlos P. Romulo
Well that's my daughter. Pretty. :) And look at the flooring. It's nice.
The service attendants were prompt and courteous. What can improve if I am the owner of this restaurant is the "suggestive selling" part or at least mention the best sellers, any new product, ask us for dessert, etc. But that's alright.
We ordered two dishes, beef caldereta with quezo de bola and The General's Chicken. I insisted that husband orders the cucumber drink. He did and said it was good. It tasted like mojito. I didn't take a sip though, haha. And I forgot to take a picture of it.
The food servings were good. This caldereta is good for two to three persons (depending on one's appetite, haha). It think it's because the sauce is really creamy. In fact it can sort of stand alone, partner it with rice even without the beef.
The General's Chiken can be up to four persons. It's baked and smothered with herbs. I think there's more of rosemary in it.
It was a good night. We went home full and satisfied. Oh one more thing, Romulo Cafe offers value for money. The prices are really affordable compared to other restaurants of the same kind. More than the hyped up interior, coziness, spectacular food, these are what I got to love at Romulo Cafe - food tastes good which are reasonably priced. The guard is very attentive too as well as the service attendants. We will be back but maybe not too quick. We will explore other restaurants in the meantime.
The family that eats together, stays forever. :)
Romulo Cafe
Scout Tuason cor. Sct. Dr. Lazcano
Quezon City, Metro Manila
332-7275
I have been craving for cakes the past days again but I am not giving in. I promised myself Death by Tablea from Chocolat will be one of my rewards to myself once I accomplish one of two things, whichever comes first. Yes, I am that easy to please. Cakes can make me happy. What are those two goals which I should achieve this month? Let me just keep them to myself and to my God for now. :)
I am practicing delaying gratification again. This works for me. I get motivated looking forward to my victories but let me clear the challenging areas first. And when I say challenges, I am not just talking about delaying eating chocolate cakes here, haha.
Life...just as I am in my cake abstinence, organizing my blog pictures, I saw these desserts which we had months ago when my friends and I trooped to Tagaytay, had lunch at Breakfast at Antonio's and dessert at Bag of Beans. Life has a way of teasing us and see how far we can go. Haha. But I can't be teased easily. See, I'm even publishing them here. It just might be that familiarity breeds contempt and I might not crave for cakes anymore. *grin*
I am not into blueberry cheesecake but this one got me. It's so creamy! I love it!
I love apples but I am not into any apple permutations. I skipped this apple pie ala mode.
Chocolate Mousse is just okay but it's nice to look at, right?
I think the blueberry cheesecake got me that this panacotta did not give me any impression except that I like its presentation.
That's my daughter. This was taken during the concert of Justin Bieber in Manila, Philippines. As the picture can tell you, she is one big fan of Justin. She has all his CDs. She had been a fan since JB's youtube days.
Get pensive.....
As what I often tell here in my blog, we almost always drop by the bookstore when we go to the mall as both my daughter and I love books. This is the usual scenario when we go to a restaurant and wait for our food. She cannot wait to read her latest find.
Get all patient...
Patience is a virtue. After all you are the only customer there. Haha. You will get what you want. She can't wait to get a hold of her ice cream. Why not if it's as creamy and delicious as this...
Sebastian's Cookies n Cream picture is from their Facebook page.
This is my entry for this week's PhotoHunt, "Waiting".
As part of my hobbies I was supposed to share getting fit, going to the gym and browsing/preparing for more healthy foods for our menu. But I don't think they fit into a hobby. Hobby, as defined by dictionary.com, is "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation". Health and wellness are my main preoccupation for almost three years now - a way of life.
So to make it simpler, let me share with you one of my passions which I have not outgrown - reading books. One thing that makes reading pleasurable for me is because I can have time for it even in an activity-packed day. It serves as my relaxation. I usually read at night until I fall asleep.
I have several favorite books which I read back, at least my favorite parts. Randomly, these are the books on top of my mind when I am asked what my favorites are:
I also have a lot of inspirational books both spiritual and about leadership. I used to buy a lot of books which delves into esoteric, astrology, meditation, about the earth and space.
When I was about 13 years old, I bought my first book on space - about the black hole. This I clearly remember. I bought a book about meditation, maybe when I was about 10 years old, and when I handed it to the sales lady, she was dumbfounded. Like, "huh, you read this? You should be reading Archie" (which I do read by the way).
My favorite writer is Mr. Haruki Murakami. His writing is quite convoluted - in a good way - it keeps you enthralled and makes you ask yourself what is next, how come, where to. You need to have a lot of imagination...and patience...but you will be surprised you will be wanting more of his words page after page after page. His writing was described as humorous and surreal. I love the way he composes his words like they just flow and you get caught up with the way he creates his characters, wistful.
I used to cover my books with plastic cover but I don't do that now. A little more trivia with my books... *I highlight every passage or quote I love. *I keep the price tag. I am amazed at how books gets so expensive through the years.
There are some books I did not buy but read them online, thanks to scribd.com. I read all the Twilight series through a link provided by Mo Twister in his blog years ago. I also read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol thanks to the zipped file sent to me by my good friend, Julie. I have searched for Eat, Pray, Love and The Art of War in scribd. But these two I will buy. Yes, I have not read EPL yet. Haha.
Happy weekend. It's a rainy Saturday morning - great for a coffee and a good book.
Much as I'd want to, I don't cook quite often...more like I can't. I know, if there's a will, I should make time. For starters I picked this one which I find a bit easy to prepare plus the fact that it's a healthy dish. I found this recipe from the June 2011 issue of Yummy Magazine (this link is the digital version).
I love the smell! Let me share with you the recipe from Yummy.
For the marinade: 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (but I just used our iodized salt) 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley dash of dried thyme dash of pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon lemon or calamansi juice
8 skinless chicken breast fillets 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the brown rice pilaf: 2 cups brown rice (or as you please) 4 cups water or chicken stock 1 medim onion, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter (I used Magnolia's Lite Butter) 1/4 teaspoon pepper juice from 1 lemon 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons olive oil
Procedure: 1. Prepare the marinade by combining all the ingredients. Add chicken and marinate for at least 6 hours.
2. Heat oil in a grill pan (use 1/2 tablespoon per fillet). Cook chicken for 3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked but not dry.
3. Make the brown rice pilaf: Put all the ingredients in a sauce pot or rice cooker. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook until liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft and fluffy.
I love rice pilaf even then and now it's our usual partner for our dish for lunch and dinner. Happy weekend, foodies!
I came to know this through my friend Cess' link in Facebook. I like doing these kinds of survey...sharing is a better word. It helps me give a quick review of how it is/was with me depending on the questions. Here goes.....
1. Where you named after someone? Yes, my mother named me after the 1963 Miss Philippines winner and Miss Universe 3rd runner up, Lalaine Bennett. Our surname is a bit long already so she shortened Lalaine to Lynn. :) For the first time I thought of checking her on Google. So, this is how she looks.
2. How did you name your blog? My first blog is http://avocado-express.blogspot.com, blog title, Everything and then Some. My husband and I were having some avocado with milk for dessert and it occurred to me I love avocado so why not name my blog after it. The image I see is talking about anything which interests me while eating avocado.
3. Where did you meet your husband? At school. We were classmates in Zoology.
4. How long were you guys dating before you got married? 11 years and 9 months. :)) That long.
5. How did you bond? Music and movies. We both love new wave. :)
6. If there is one song to describe your life right now what would it be? I really love this song by David Isaacs, It's a Beautiful Life. I'm not saying life is perfect but it is beautiful. It is also the theme for Discovery's Travel & Living Channel. This song energizes me so much. Listening to this makes me feel the world is mine for the taking. It's very simple and very straightforward. "These days I'm lost in the beauty of life." This song describes my attitude the past days. Yes, I intend to have this attitude onward.
Now I am going to embed this in my side bar. :)
7. What did you first notice about your partner when you first met? His naturally brown-blonde hair. Haha. His love for music which is the same as mine. I heard him singing Thompson Twins' Doctor, Doctor.
8. If you could have any superpower what would it be? Either I can go invisible or I can read minds.
9. Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people? Yes, during countless school programs in grade school. :)
10. As a child, what did you want to grow up to be? I thought of being a teacher. I also fancied being a secretary because I love having so many papers to write with. Haha.
11. Do you remember where you first spent your paycheck? My first job is a part time cashier at Jollibee but I can't remember now what I did with my very first paycheck. But my first paycheck from my first job after college graduation I remember I bought my mother a chocolate roll from Joni's Bakeshop in San Juan which is not around anymore. Buti pa ang Merced, there's still one branch along EDSA.
12. Favorite Social Network? Twitter first, second Facebook. I get to be updated easily with the latest news through Twitter and it also serves as my microblog.
13. Favorite place in Manila? Movie house, dining places, nearby hotels, gym, department stores, bookstores.
14. What are your favorite TV Shows (local and foreign)? Lots but randomly: Glee, The Glee Project, GG, Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock, The Office, Outsourced, CSI: New York, Anything with Anderson Cooper, Rachel Zoe Project, TLC, History, etc, etc.
15. What’s your silliest pet peeve? When people walk so slowly not minding that they are blocking other people's way. Also when my name is spelled with only a single "N". Mine's double. Ang ikli na nga ng pangalan ko, papaiklin mo pa.
16. What’s your favorite quote? From Bob Dylan, "A man is successful if he wakes up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between loves what he does."
17. What’s your favorite smell? My daughter's hair.
18. Say a random thing about yourself: I talk to myself, sometimes out loud.
19. If you could meet anyone (dead or alive) who would it be? Michael Jackson and Michelle Obama.
20. If you could drop everything now and do something what would it be? Travel the world with my family.
Now it’s your turn: in the comment box, answer one question AND if you want to ask me another question go ahead and do that as well and I’ll answer it!
Please give me the link of your post if you will answer and continue this chain in your blog. I'd love to get to know your answers.
At this point I have a very important decision to make in terms of my career. Whenever I am in a difficult situation, this always comes up in my head, "go back to your values".
I know what I value most in my life. I will not enumerate one by one but now is that time again when I am reaffirming my values such that what I do, the way I behave aligns and matches the very things that I value in life.
Reassessing my values help me a great deal. But nothing beats praying and pouring my heart to God. I am not religious but unknown to a lot, I am very spiritual. It is not being fatalistic or being complacent. It's after all I've said and done, I keep still and know that He is my God. This is something I put a great effort on because I am someone who almost always have to see first before I believe. But then I rest my case because I don't know all the answers, because I don't understand everything. It's resting my faith to God Almighty. God is good all the time. I will tread the right path knowing He is guiding me. I can attest to this going back, reviewing the details of my life.
So what are we to do? Trust God, and just like the birds, praise Him. Keep that song of praise in your heart. When the praises go up, the blessings come down. His joy is our strength through the hard times. When you spend your time worrying, you're not putting your faith out there.
The garment of praise says, "Father, I thank you for the victories you've already brought me. Thank you for the favor. Thank you that you're turning my situation around."
One thing I've learned is that you can't worry and praise at the same time.
You can't say, "I know You're on the throne, and You're good all the time. You always cause me to triumph. You make a way when there seems to be no way," and then worry and think, "I don't know how this is going to turn around."
Supernatural things will happen when we praise. Supernatural things do not happen when we worry. Worry does nothing but rob your joy.
You might feel like worrying is getting you somewhere, but it does nothing but zap your strength. We need our energy for the battles in life, and we need the knowledge of who God is during these difficulties to keep singing.
Suddenly, God can change your situation around like Paul and Silas when they were in prison. In the midnight hour, they were set free. But was it from them crying, fretting and wringing their hands, being in despair and complaining? No, they were praising God and the prison door went wide open.
No matter what the news report says about how many points the Dow Jones is down, each day, wake up with great faith and keep your joy and praise God.
And don't forget to enlarge your vision. You can't do that when you're worrying. You might have lost a lot in the stock market, but God can cause you to make back everything you lost, plus more. There is no limit to what God can do. But what does limit Him is when we don't believe, and we allow worry to rob our joy and faith.
This is what Scripture says in Jeremiah 33:11, "'…Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before.' says the Lord."
That means when you wake up, praise God. Believe Him for restoration in your retirement and savings. Believe God for restoration in that business you lost. There is nothing too difficult for God to do. Everything that was stolen can be restored in your life. God always gives us double for our trouble, and He likes to outdo Himself. The question is do you believe He will?
Keep your hopes up. Don't let worry have any room in your heart today.
Keep a song in your heart. And when you wake up in the morning and hear the birds singing, let it remind you to praise God during these difficult economic times. He has the whole world in His hands. In fact, He has you in the palm of His Hand. Nothing is a surprise to Him. If you will stay full of hope and praise, God will show Himself strong in your life, and you will not be disappointed!
I love gLee like most people I know - even my husband loves the show. We both love how the songs are arranged. We love the choreography and yes, how each actors suit the characters they portray. My daughter and I love Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). :) My husband loves the character of Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch). She is perfectly cast(ed). Actually, gLee has a perfect cast.
Now the whole family is hooked on The Glee Project. We can't wait for Monday night to watch how it will go. We love the homework assignments given to each participants as well as the music video which serves as a group performance. My favorite so far is Firework and Ice, Ice Baby/Under Pressure. Boy, the slushie must have been that cold. Cameron needed to stop as he appears to be very cold and distracted.
Unfortunately, one of my favorites had been eliminated tonight - Marissa. But hopefully her good exposure in The Glee Project will open doors for her in Hollywood. My husband thinks Hannah, the big, bubbly girl just might end up the winner. I am rooting for Cameron (with his glasses on) and Samuel.
The Glee Project is actually looking for someone not just who can deliver an outstanding performance but someone whose character can evolve and blend with the cast, someone whose personality can inspire the writers to develop a story which will be relevant for gLee.
My husband contests my bet Samuel because he is just like Puckerman. It can be Hannah for him but I am saying there's already Mercedes. But he says Hannah is very bubbly compared to Mercedes' character. But we're both one in saying it could be Cameron since there's no one like him yet in gLee - nerdy, awkward, cute. But that sounds like Finn, right? But Finn is not nerdy.
But you know what? Aside from the participants, I also look forward to the three judges/mentors of The Glee Project - gLee creator, Ryan Murphy, choreographer, Zach Woodlee and most especially Robert Ulrich, the casting director and the show's master host. All three guys are good mentors and are very appreciative of the efforts of each contenders. I like it that they are very encouraging.
I liked Robert Ulrich the first time I've watched him in The Glee Project. He struck me as someone who is so fatherly and who has genuine concern for the kids in the show. Not to mention he is cute, haha. I needed to search for him in Google. And the things I read made me liked him more. He is also the casting director for CSI and other popular shows in the US.
Robert Ulrich, Casting Director of gLee and The Glee Project, among other shows.
"As a casting director, you never tell somebody to their face anything negative really," he remarks, adding that he felt very paternal toward the contestants as many are the same age as his 19-year-old son. "You don't get to share in the joy necessarily, but you also don't see the disappointment, as you're always dealing with the agents. And to be so invested in these kids and see on their face when they were going home, it was really, really hard because I love them all."
We have been so busy the past months that even our weekends are so full, mostly, they are work-related for me and the husband. But this weekend we both went for the laid-back mode. I did work at home, finished a few reports in the morning, emailed them quickly and I was done. My husband needed to go to their place for a while but generally our Saturday was laid-back most parts of the day. Do we have to thank the recent tropical storm for it?
I love it and I miss it already now that only a few hours are left for our precious weekend. We did nothing special but I treasure days when we just stay at home, do simple things like watch DVD together while munching on chips.
Funny thing, my husband frowned at the idea of watching Letters to Juliet and Eat, Pray, Love but he sat with me until the very end of Twilight. Haha. He even clarified the characters he got confused with. I asked him if the movie was any good. He said yes. He's a late-bloomer Twilight Dad. Lol. He was even open to the idea of watching New Moon only I was not able to find the DVD in our storage. My guess is it's in my daughter's stash of DVDs.
Speaking of my daughter, she had a good time watching a special of Justin Bieber which was not a re-run but something she has not watched yet. Our favorite chips and the left-over butter sticks accompanied us while we were having some "the-art-of-doing-nothing-day".
I want more weekends like this - more family bonding. We need to create our balance again. I am eagerly looking forward to it. :)
Just like Mother's Day, it was a very rainy Father's Day last June 19. But we still opted to have dinner somewhere near our place. We managed to go out around six in the evening and head to Trinoma but the road leading to the mall was littered with cars. Heavy traffic so we thought of going to the mall across it, SM North EDSA. It has the same scenario. We will probably consume 20 minutes just for lining up to the parking area and maybe another 30 minutes just for looking/waiting for parking.
We decided to go to Ayala-Technobhub. Good decision as there were still a few slots in the parking area and the place was not crowded. We celebrated Father's Day at The Old Spaghetti House. This was actually my daughter's choice because she loves one of the desserts the restaurant offers - colossal chocolate chip cookie a la mode.
Father's Day in the Philippines coincided with Jose Rizal's 150th anniversary. Jose Rizal is the Philippines' national hero. My father, my husband are heroes in their own rights and in the eyes and hearts of their families. :)
We always have this mandatory pose whenever we go out. :)
Just like how it was back in college. Happy Father's Day!
What can be my husband's Daddy Moments? Well, he loves Top Gear. He loves the magazine and the show. He even bought sets of DVDs of it. He watches them to relax. He loves going to shops for car accessories. We have known each other since our early years in college which was a long time ago. Haha. He was the one who introduced me back then to Transport Show and all other car shows.
From our school in Manila, we go to World Trade Center to watch the exhibit of cars and car accessories. I don't know much about cars but I appreciate how they were modified or designed especially how the hubs, then boyfriend, describe them to me, with all his passion. :)
The last car show we went to was the Manila International Auto Show and yes, this was a super Daddy Moment I want to share here.
My daughter is fond of cars too, obviously influenced by her Dad.
Nice pose, Daddy yo!
And of course, Daddy Moment won't be complete without the family. Simple joys, we love eating out and this is one of them taken during my birthday last May 2011, at Amici.
We watched Super 8 last night. How was it? Not great but good. Honestly my daughter and my husband were not too keen on watching it. They prefer Kung Fu Panda 2 but well, I've been living under a rock for quite some time I haven't watched Kung Fu Panda 1 yet. So I said we should just watch Super 8. On my mind was Super 8 was directed by Steven Spielberg. *Sheepish grin*
It turned out to be an enjoyable movie. My husband and daughter love it, especially my daughter. We both like Elle Fanning too.
I have to say science fiction movies do not at all excite me. I watch, yes, but I am not the first one to line up the cinema just to have that high feeling of "yes! I've watched THE movie". I am not fond of aliens. I rave about the effects and the novelty of watching a much talked about movie (like Avatar, Star Wars, and the like). But how come I enjoyed watching this one?
This movie is like straight from a cable channel you opt to watch in a lazy Saturday afternoon and surprisingly you get so engaged watching it. It reminds me of several movies featuring children and their the friendship that binds them together through thick and thin. No hidden agenda, just plain, innocent, sweet friendship. It reminds me of Stand By Me, Goonies, E.T., War of the Worlds, and My Science Project. Haha.
There were moments when I wish they could speed up the scenes and let me know who the antagonist is. But those scenes were bearable. This movie, though without any popular star, is nice to watch. I like the look and feel of the setting which is the 70s. I like its official soundtrack, "My Sharona". I feel like dancing to it. :)
We stayed until the credits at the end of the movie was shown as it showcased in full the film the kids have created and shot amid the chaos caused by the military and the extraterrestrial being in the little town of Ohio. This short film is also fun to watch.
Super 8 is a good summer ender for my daughter who is about to start her intermediate school next week. If you want to relax, give a little scream, and just have fun while eating your popcorn, go, see this movie.
We always have this mandatory pose whenever we go out. :)
Just like how it was back in college. Happy Father's Day! 
My daughter is fond of cars too, obviously influenced by her Dad.
The family devoured all the food.