Milk Tea: an old habit

Even before the milk tea fad, my sister and I have been drinking hot tea with milk. I won't deny that I jumped into the bandwagon at its height. But eventually, I missed the warm, bitter taste of real tea leaves. And here I am, back to my old "drinking habits," hot tea with milk.

This concoction has been my comfort drink since my college days. And right now, it brings nostalgia drinking it.

The past year was challenging and overwhelming with uncertainties. Having a feeling of familiarity and calm doing activities has become distant for me. I guess this is why I like drinking hot tea with milk. It makes me remember the serene and joyful moments in the past - a break from the present chaotic situation that we all face right now.

If ever someone is reading this right now and feels anxiety from what is happening around them, I hope you find time for a break. And do activities that are close to your heart, activities that make you serene and strong inside.

“When the storms do come; you can only allow them to slow you down, but don't let them stop you, there will be delays, detours, and disappointments but you have to keep pushing through it.”

― Bernard Kelvin Clive

Vino

I have read in a website or two that Taurus can be an alcoholic and one on their preference is a good red wine. Well, I can’t say that’s not true. 😏😏😏

It has been approximately four years since I last drank an alcoholic beverage. A few nights back, I indulged myself in a goblet of wine, of course with my confidant 101, my sister Rei. She also gave me dark chocolate to go with the drink. I took my precious time, savored every sip and slightly intoxicated myself. Was still sober when I went to bed (of course, it’s just one goblet) but definitely satisfied. I can’t get too intoxicated as I still have to wake up early to prepare my daughter’s breakfast. I might give myself another goblet in the near future.

We’ll see.

Salud!

dunkin donuts

a new branch opened near our office

i love their bacon, tomato and lettuce croissant and their hot choco.

i love dunkin donuts, period. (^_^)

ps. love the box for the croissant. (^_~)

another treat?

another treat for myself again?

(^_^) i just can't control my craving!

sorry! (^_^)V

another super update

hi everyone! it's been really hard for me to update my blog recently due to work and limited internet access. there have been a lot that has been happening lately, and to tell you all the truth, i can't even remember some of them. i do have pictures so... i'll just tell you all about these pictures are. (^_^) we will start with the albums.

1st SFC Big West Conference

we are all proud to say that we are the pioneer members who attended the conference. (^_^) the venue as at my alma mater, Miriam College. There were 3 talks, praise fest, mass and dances. i also bought shirts, but no pictures yet of the shirts. you will all see them in my future pictures. (^_~)

next, the birthday celebration of Rex, our manager, and also the quarter celebration of our company since we reached our quota for this quarter. yosh! it was all a treat from our boss, James. thank you! (^_^) the pictures will tell it all.

next, pictures i have "edited"

there has been an on going campaign to lessen the garbage and plastic usage around the world. it's now advised to bring your own bag for groceries and stuff, or they use paper bags. one particular establishment took it a notch higher. the design of their paper bag is a copy of a painting by a filipino painter. really awesome! i couldn't throw the paper bag because it was eye-candy for me. i kept it for myself. (^_~)

second picture? it involves cold treats! korean ice cream, because my friend at office wanted to try it for the first time. the second treat? earl grey ice cream! no kidding (^_^) best only when served cold though. if it melts, it's not that enjoyable anymore. then again, that's just me. it was the first time a tested this flavor in an ice cream. i mean, i drink earl grey tea, but ice cream? i just had to try. (^_^)

you have all heard of the sandwich shop Subway right? well... i only at there recently and i realized ho much i as missing! hehehe! the sandwich as just great. i would definitely buy there at least once a week. (^_^) i am so behind with a lot of stuff so don't be surprised hen you see "first time" in my entries. (^_^)

rarely do i go to Starbucks because i have this notion that drinks and food are overpriced there. but i do admit that there is that rare moment that you think you just really deserve it after busy days and stressful tasks. (^_^) choco-glazed donut and strawberry and cream frappe. (^_^)

our team leader treated us to frozen margarita and snacks is celebration of those e have hired for the client company, kampai! (^_^) yes, another first time for me. (^_^)

and lastly, friday was a holiday here. but i went to work for half day. i jut had to take a picture of myself. i don't know why, i just had a feeling i had to. (^_~)

there are so many things i missed telling in this entry, but as i said earlier, i can't remember the other events anymore. please forgive me. m (_ _) m

chao~

super update

hi everyone! how are you? (^_^)

it's been almost a month since my last entry.

there have been so many things that has happened but to tell you all the truth,

i cant remember most of them anymore.

hat i can assure you though is that i feel always tired.

if you have been following my entries,

you'll know very well why i have been so tired and busy to the point of not being able to update my blog. (^_~)

moving forward, i will now post an update of what has been happening in my life.

since i am hungry at the moment, i will start with food.

carbohydrates and brewed coffee.

my lifeline at work at the moment.

i have a bigger appetite now because my body really needs the extra energy and the caffeine to make me feel like i am always in a hurry.

i am careful not to over do it with the coffee because i can get too hyper that it won't really help me finish my work.

next, the "poison" at work.

those commercially, over coated chocolate thingies!

yes, there are lots of those at office.

so dangerous i'm telling you.

the manifestation that i have not been taking care of myself well lately?

severe lower back pain!

i'll let you all research what that means (^_^)

moving on...

every sunday is family day.

12:01am, sunday, we ate donuts and ice cream while watching tv.

hey, isn't this dangerous for family ho has history of diabetes? (^_~)

anyways, so, sunday is family day.

we go out, we eat, we window shopping...

anything, as long as we are together.

oh, did i mention we sometimes fool around? (^_^)

my parents took the picture.

thanks parents. (^_^)

as for my sfc household,

were have been meeting quite regularly.

in one of the sessions, we had this activity where we share a food/milk that represents us.

the sharing was great and what did i share?

milk! i'll leave it up to you the reason behind that. (^_~)

oh, before i forget.

i was able to watch the Phantom of the Opera with my siblings!

it has its greats and disappointments, but overall it was a chance of a lifetime. (^_^)

now on we go albums.

on the first day of september mama and kuya benjie had a big party to celebrate their birthday.

i'll let the pictures do the talking. (^_^)

also, rei attended the asian pop convention a few weeks back.

the whole family was there to support her because she sang.

our parents felt awkward but my brother enjoyed it at some point. (^_^)

let pictures do the talking once more. (^_~)

and lastly, to finish it off before i go to sleep.

i would like to share a picture of the Quest team (not everyone though)

colleagues out for a sweet evening treat.

scoops of ice cream, tacos, cake and more!

despite the stress of work, i'm still happy and surviving with where i am now. (^_^)

i am blessed!

chaio~

work is a killer but hey, i'm still alive

minna-san!

how are you?

sorry i have been super behind with updating my blog. m(_ _)m

busy. tired.

thats all i can say.

due to the obvious lack of time in blogging,

i decided to cram everything in one blog or two.

depending on how far i can go.

rather rare but this may be the only time i would be able to blog.

work has been unbelievably stressful.

nobody in our team was expecting this.

i remember i tried to have a tea break during one of the stressful days,

but it was only effective for a short time.

remember the sweets used to eat/drink just to have that sugar rush to boost myself for the day?

doesn't work anymore. (TwT)

so how do we survive?

carbo loading is our temporary solution.

when we are given that CHANCE,

rizell and i would go out to eat food that has HEAVY CARBOHYDRATE just to fulfill that hungry, tired feeling.

all the work these past few weeks are definitely a killer.

if we did not have a sense of humour left in us,

we wouldn't survive.

so how do we amuse ourselves, other than the usual jokes and all?

we notice the things around us that we rarely appreciate. (^_~)

an example is the old, dilapidated, looks-like-does-not-work-anymore-but-it actually-works-well vendo machine.

proof is the coooooolllllddd mango juice i ordered from it.

plus, what made me notice it is the face that it was the type of vendo machine you see in japan.

yes, it was obviously made in japan and no part of the machine was in english!

what else amused me recently?

oh yeah, that time when our company phones were all waiting to be charged.

yup. all our phones look the same, but rarely are they all in one place like this one time.

oh! what really amused me this week was when i was trying to get my phone from my bag then...

click!

i accidentally clicked the capture button of the camera phone.

and here everyone, is the outcome. (^_^)

my oh my!

work is definitely a killer,

but hey!

i'm still alive and surviving!

2nd fellowship

yesterday we had our second fellowship in our household. (^_^)

it wasn't as grand as the first one,

but it was definitely worth the time.

it was simple but the time talking to each other and sharing the stories of what we have been through since we last saw each other,

was a great time to unwind.

we went to trinoma,

walked around.

at pasta, chicken and rice, and drank lemonade.

talked about experiences and shared advise.

definitely a day full of great worth. (^_~)

party on a thursday night

yes, you read that right.

i went to a party on a thursday night and i need to be very early for work the next day. (^_^)

well, i would not say that it was really a big party.

it was a company party. (^_^)

now that i think about it,

i'm not sure if the fact that it was a company party was a positive or a negative thing. (^_~)

anyways, wine, barbeque and taco's were served.

there was also some dancing thanks to some higher up employees who started dancing. (^_~)

obviously, my most favorite part was dancing! (^_^)

the venue was perfect!

it was on a garden/ gazeebo on top of our building,

it was windy, cools and perfect for the event.

i would say it was a success,

but i really hoped more people did dance. (^_^)

thankfully, i was able to wake up early the next day for work.

hhhmmm... would there be any chance i would be doing something like this again in the future?

hehehe... well, just have to wait and see. (^_~)

sugar rush/ work demands

hello everyone!

i'm sorry for the lack in updates this month. m(_ _)m

as i have mentioned in my previous posts,

been very busy and tired, specially this last weekend.

i know it's not healthy but recently,

my lifeline at work are sweets.

that ain't a joke.

it's not really that we get tired.

it's more of needing the boost to speed things up since we need to be fast-paced in what we are doing right now.

for this week,

i was given a new task.

i hope i can do this well,

and i would be able to balance my old and new tasks.

yoroshiku~ m(_ _)m

updates

so many updates to post... where do i start?

hmmm... let's start with work since that's sort of the reason why i haven't been able to update. (^_~)

during my first few weeks at work,

we were staying at the pb comm building

this was what my table and cabinet looked like.

hehehehe~ just kidding.

i would say these were my boosters when i'm already out of juice. (^_~)

now, we transferred to a different building.

well, more of, we are now part of the internal of our client.

here, it's rather strict so i can't open social network sites or update blog entries.

one of the perks that i like about my current work place?

this is free! (^_^)

for those who have been following me, they would most probably know my history about this drink. (^_^)

so yeah, work has been manageable at a certain point.

we encounter problems but we are able to resolve them in good time.

i hope and pray that we would be able to reach the expectations of our client. (^_^)

cold rainy weather

it has been raining everyday for a week now.

it's been really difficult to wake up in the morning,

fight that urge to go back to sleep,

and force myself to prepare breakfast for everyone.

anyways, i would like to share with you all a drink that can warm up the body specially for those who have errands to attend to and have to run through the rain and the winds. (^_~)

it's a simple concoction of hot chocolate and orange-flavored vodka. (^_^)

that's it.

just be wary of the amount of vodka you put. (^_^)

cheers everyone!

birthday celebration (+preparation)

last june 15 was the birthday of our householdhead, ate jen jen ocbeña. (^_^)

we planned a surprise party celebration for her, and it took us about a week to prepare.

jenette was the one assigned for the greetings,

lara and aiza were assigned for the balloons,

and i was assigned for the cake, i had a little help from aiza.

the surprise was to be held at our house.

wednesday night, aiza and i already baked the cake and stored it in the fridge.

we made a small cake for us to eat to taste our creation. (^_^)

the next day, thursday, i received a text message from jenette saying there was a sudden change at her work and she won;t be able to attend our clp and the surprise celebration itself.

she decided to give me the box she prepared for the greetings and i helped her design it, but mostly it was her idea.

we had a recorded message prepared but the file was corrupted. (TwT)

anyways, i tried my best to get the messages from our fellow sfc friends and, as much as possible, avoid suspicion from our celebrate.

it was a good thing that the upped household of ate jen jen had a surprise for her so it wasn't obvious that we were planning to surprise her again the next night.

we pretended that it was our also our surprise for her.

the next night, we gathered at my house to prepare for the arrival of ate jen jen.

she thought that the only reason why she was going to my house was to bake a cake for our lord's day the next day.

those who went were, her sisters che che and mimi, her former householdhead ate weng, kuya yury, kuya paolo, kuya val and aiza.

for our food, it was bring food for sharing and my mom cooked pancit for us.

when ate jen jen arrived she was surprised even though she had a feeling a surprise was coming.

she said she was very happy because this was the first time she was given a surprise birthday celebration ever since she was part of the sfc.

we then ate after a short prayer.

the second great thing, according to ate jen jen, was the part wherein she was able to bake after 6 years.

she was really excited and happy that she was able to bake again.

everyone was also happy for her and watched her do her work.

while waiting for the cake to bake, we had a jamming session. (^_^)

we just sang the night away.

when the cake was done, we all helped in the cleaning of the kitchen and the washing of the dishes.

everyone bid there goodbyes and see you tomorrows for we had another busy event ahead of us the next day. (^_^)

cold weather

hello everyone! how are you?

sorry i haven't posted entries for almost a week.

i have been busy cleaning, preparing for certain events and attending the events itself.

i will be posting about the events in my next entries.

for now, i will be talking about the wet and cold weather we have been experiencing for some days now.

even tonight, the rain is pouring hard and it's really cold.

but in a way, it has it's good points since the cold weather helps me sleep better. (^_^)

come morning, it is kind of difficult to wake up and keep myself awake.

a combination of the cold weather and a warm bed is really hard to resist.

what helps stay awake in the morning to prepare a big breakfast for everyone?

taho and black tea

i would say it's because of the sweetness and the caffeine. (^_^)

have you tried it?

calamansi juice

changes in weather may cause sickness every now and then.

add to that, there are ailments that just won't go away whatever the weather is.

so a good way to boost my immune system is calamansi juice. (^_^)

great hot or cold with honey. (^_~)

family trip

hello everyone! sorry i was not able to blog immediately about our trip. it took some time before i could upload all the photos and i have been quite busy... sleeping that is (^_~) since we arrived, except for today, i fixed the condo. (^_^) anyways, here are the details of our family trip. (^_^)

to naga and day 1
the adventure of this family trip started when we rode the bicol express train from manila to naga city, camarines sur. it was our first time to ride this specific train and it was our first time to ride in a sleepers coach. the travel time was approximately 12 hours, but supposed to be it was only for 10 hours. we didn't mind the long travel time because we were enjoying the experience of sleeping and eating in the train. (^_~) oh, i almost forgot, by chance, señor jaime fabregas was on the same coach with us, only on a different sleepers chair/bed. anyways, when we arrived at naga, we ate breakfast at jollibee. then we visited the san francisco church. after our church visit we rode a taxi to pasacao, camarines sur. there we stayed for a night. when we arrived at the resort, we got our room and immediately prepared for the agenda for that day. we rode a boat to an island and swam there. when you look at the pictures closely, the foot of the island is not a beach. it's actually black rocks immediately meeting the sea. i was really amazed! after about an hour of swimming we went back to the resort for our lunch, which was prepared with freshly caught seafood. delicious! we had about 15 minutes of rest then we headed to our next destination, the suminabang cave, via boat. we saw stalactite and stalagmite formations. after that we went to another part of an island and we had our second round of swimming. the sand at the second venue was yellowish and we saw these amazing colored stones. we were there for quite a time before we decided to call it a day and return to the resort. it was still a little early for dinner so we had snacks, bread and whatever leftovers we had during the train ride. i had a bottle of tanduay ice while my parents had beer. my brother still wanted to swim so i accompanied him at the beach which was just a few steps from our resort. come dinner time, we had this large shrimp. yes! a large shrimp! it was the best dinner that we had. and that was the end of day 1.

day 2
we had our simple breakfast, leftover from the train ride, and then we got a taxi back to naga city. on our way, we passed by an old church, the st. joseph the worker church. we said our prayers, looked around then we continued our travel. we attended mass at the naga cathedral. after the mass, we started looking around the church. after that we went to our hotel, golden leaf hotel. though my parents did not like the fact that we were on the fourth floor, they still liked the balcony. (^_~) special mention, the doves beside the balcony. anyways, we then walked around to find souvenirs. after that we had our lunch at the mall. again, the food was delicious! despite the commercial place, the food tasted quite authentic and fresh. after our meal, we went to the supermarket to buy some food to eat during our church visits that afternoon. we passed by the hotel to drop off some things then we rode the tricycle to the our lady of peñafrancia basilica. the church was huge and there were beautiful colored glass designs. we went behind the altar and wiped the statue of the our lady of peñafrancia, and prayed for a few minutes. after the basilica, we then went to the our lady of peñafrancia church, it was the original church of the our lady of peñafrancia. the church was smaller but still beautiful. after visiting the church, we visited the cemetery behind the old church. we took pictures of the designs of the tombstones. you rarely see these designs on the present tombstones. we finished early with our church visits so we decided to take a taxi to another church which was at the other town. we visited an old church, the bombon church and the leaning tower of bombon, the bell tower of the said church. it's not clear on the pictures but the tower was really leaning on it's side. you really have a feeling that it was about to fall. after we said our prayers, we looked around, then went back to the hotel. we rested for some time before we went out for dinner. the dinner was our father's birthday dinner so we ate at a japanese restaurant. oh, his birthday was the next day but we decided to have the birthday dinner that night because the next night, we would be traveling back to manila. anyways, for dinner, we had shabu-shabu and okonomiyaki. really delicious! it did not taste commercial like the japanese food here in manila. the japanese food really tasted authentic. it was such a great meal! after eating we headed back to the hotel to rest and get ready for our last day at naga city.

day 3 and departure from naga
for our last day, we only had one agenda, to visit the museo del seminario conciliar de nueva caceres. the museum is beside the cathedral. it featured memorabilia of prominent bishops from the town, ecclesiastical vessels and artifacts, paintings and archaeological finds like burial jars and chinese wares. after the tour, we had some rest at a small shop near the area. we then headed back to the hotel to eat lunch and to prepare out things for the trip back to manila. while we were fixing our things, we noticed that it was raining. we were really lucky to finish all our visits before it started to rain. (^_^) before we left, i took a last picture of the view from the balcony, the isarog mountain. (^_^) we did not go straight to the train station since it was still too early for our train, so we went to the mall to buy food for our trip and to each early dinner. after about two hours, we went to the train station. luckily we were able to get tickets for the sleepers bad/room. we once again took our own beds, ate some and slept the whole trip. we arrived at manila after 12 hours.

my family spent most of the day sleeping when we arrived. but for me, i had a different agenda.

please see next post. (^_^)V

oh! by the way, did you all notice that i was wearing dresses the while trip? (^_~)

happy 22nd birthday

happy 22 birthday to my med school friend,

Maricia Diaz!

we had an awesome dinner with her last night.

thank you for the invite my dear,

and thank you for the food, the company. (^_^)

special mention to mikey for sharing his ride so i can go to the party and also for bringing me home.

thank you mikey and nice to see you again. (^_^)

food

first, the green tea cookies i bought from saizen for only P25.

the products from saizen are usually P25, but sometimes, they have a sale of some products and are usually only P20 - P25 only.

i like the cookies (^_^) but for those who are not fond of green tea, i do not recommend it.

the cookies are not sweet, a little deviation from my sweet food posts. (^_~)

next, a delicious milk drink made from coconut juice, milk, sugar and a glass or two of water. (^_^)

yes! i love milk!

add to that, this is very natural not processed (well, maybe except the milk).

this is definitely an addition to my milk list. (^_~)

and lastly, my dinner at 10pm last saturday.

why so late?

i'll tell you all on my next post. (^_~)

anyways, my dinner last saturday was mcdo chicken sandwich and iced vanilla coffee.

not that much but i like the new product, the iced vanilla coffee. (^_^)

then again, maybe i'm just hungry (>_<)

post birthday party celebration

last may 1, i had a post birthday party celebration. (^_^)

this was actually the celebration i have been preparing for. (^_^)

my guests were my med school friends, maricia, cel and david.

the other guests were our neighbors from the condominium.

it actually looked like a kid's party because there were a lot of kids and my height is like a kid's (^_~)

anyways, we prepared all the food just in time before my guests arrived.

this includes the ingredients for the pizza we were planning to make.

everything seemed to go well and everyone seems to like the food. (^_^)

oh! i almost forgot, i made my own birthday cake. (^_~)

i wasn't sure if the cake would be a success since i had some problems along the way.

but according to me guests, they liked it, so i think that means the cake was a success. (^_^)

my med school friends and i had wine when the other guests left.

we just stayed at the house a little longer just talking and laughing.

when everyone already left, my sister and i were left to fix up everything.

we were just supposed to put all the dishes in the sink and we could wash it all the next day.

i guess i was just not comfortable leaving the dishes there,

so out if whim, i decided to wash ALL the dishes and out them all in their proper places.

i asked my sister to help me. (^_^)

when everything was cleaned, that's when we decided to go home to the condo unit. (^_^)

and that everyone was my may 1 post birthday celebration. (^_^)

abra trip 2012

holy week and the santo entierro.

it is the main reason why we go to the province.

it is to continue a tradition.

the preparation was long and tiring but we are glad that we were able to keep up and finish all that was needed.

a miracle even happened during the good friday procession.

despite the hot weather and the busy preparations,

i am thankful that i was able to breathe fresh air, each fresh vegetables, meat and fish,

and most of all, have a more refreshing and relaxing view of the world. (^_^)

pictures here.