.crock pot meals.

I've been obsessed about using our crock pot/slow cooker. I want to try to slow cook all our dinners just because it requires no work at all. We get home from work so late that an already-home-cooked-meal is always a treat. My only problem is figuring out what kind of meals to make in this contraption. So far, I've made the typical meals like pot roast and chili. But we can't and will not live off of those two meals. So, I am on a quest to find good-tasting AND healthy meals that can all be cooked in the crock pot.
Any recipe suggestions are welcome.
Wish me luck!

If I find any fun meals, I'll be sure to share :)

.thankful.

Other than the love of my life - my husband... I completely adore and love my parents. I rarely say it to them, but I know that they know. I didn't get a chance to blog about my Thanksgiving, so I am taking the time now to say that I am thankful to have great parents who have always been there through thick and thin. Like all people, there are times when I get annoyed at little things, but that's just how it is. They get annoyed. I get annoyed. But that never takes away the love I have for them. And with that, I thank my parents for their unconditional love and support.

I love you Ma and Da!

.ouch.

So I just got my gallbladder removed! Talk about an ouch. It was definitely the BEST sleep I ever had, but the aftermath was not as great. I have to admit that it is painful, but definitely bearable. I'm sure childbirth is ten times more painful. That's a pain that I am looking forward to in the future :)
The best part about surgery is the post-surgery care that I am getting from my husband!
He is cooking (semi-cooking), cleaning, doing laundry, taking care of me, and entertaining me while I recover.
He is the best husband ever! love him!

.blogspace trial.

I just downloaded this app on my iPhone and wanted to try it out. Well, here is the test run. Now let's see how it looks with an uploaded picture.

.trick or treat.

Trick or treat from my desktop friends.
Goody bag compliments of Paul, my office neighbor :)
.Happy Halloween.

.baklava.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my sister-in-laws gave me some baklava made by her mom and sister. It was the best tasting baklava I have ever had. No exaggeration. It was so good because it was not too sweet and not too crunchy or dry. It was just right. So after tasting the best baklava ever, I was on a mission to find a place that sold baklava that tasted just as good or maybe even better (if that was even possible). I tried some at this middle eastern restaurant in midtown. Bad idea. It was super sweet and dry. Not very good at all. I won't mention the name of the restaurant. I'll keep that info to myself :)

So, I then started an online search to see where baklava was sold in the area. (As you can see, I was really determined as well as craving baklava, in a non-pregnant way.) I came across a bakery's website, called Sam's Bakery in Brooklyn. The website was cute and they claimed to have the World's Best Baklava. My first thought was, "Yeah right, I already had the world's best baklava!" But of course, I had to try it.

To keep a long story short...
I ordered it...they delivered...I loved it.
Their claim to the World's Best Baklava definitely holds true.

So, of course I had to blog about it, so I can share where I found this yummy treat with all of you.
The awesome bakery is called Sam's Bakery.

You can find them at: 275 94th St, Brooklyn, NY 11209
Contact them at: 347.560.6657
They are open during the hours of: 7am - 7pm all week, 7am - 11pm Friday & Saturday

You can even order online (which I did): http://www.samsbakery.com/

I have to admit that I have yet to enter their establishment. All the treats that I have had (baklava, spinach pie, & lamb pies) have been ordered online. Although, I did not order the pies, they were given as extras to me to try :) I sure love freebies!

So, If you're in Brooklyn, definitely check them out or even just order online. Trust me. It is so worth it!

.i know you are but what am i.

Guess who is coming to Broadway?!

Yup. Pee-wee Herman! Okay, so if you grew up in the 80s you would definitely know who this guy is. He introduced the phrase "mecca lecca high mecca hiney ho!" and "I know you are, but what am I?" And know who Chairry, Miss Yvonne, Captain Carl, Jambi, Mr. Window, Clocky, and the Penny animation. I remember getting up on Saturdays and watching this show with my brothers. I was highly entertained by Pee-wee's silliness and his famous ball of rubberband and ball of foil. I actually started a rubberband ball because of him :)

But now that I'm an adult, I wonder if I would still be entertained by him. Hmmm...Is $122 a ticket for his show worth actually finding out? I guess we'll see if I decide to shell out the money for an hour and a half Broadway show.

The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway! from The Pee-wee Herman Show on Vimeo.

.crafty technician.

Don't let this cute little face fool you! She can be very cute, but very crafty at the same time. So, I received an email from my cousin this morning with an attached picture.

Apparently, my cousins' 2 year old daughter will be a future computer technician! She took apart their laptop keyboard. I know you just pop them off, but when a two year old does it, it makes you think of how smart she really is :)

Note: Keep your electronics away from baby Lulu!
Cousins: Lesson learned!

Time for a new laptop? Can you say MAC?

I love this story!
Thanks for sharing Kuya Darbs & Ate Fe!

.footzyrolls.

Oh heck yeah! This is next on my "to buy" list. What girl wouldn't want rollable shoes? I'm not a fan of high heels or heels in general. But maybe if I had these to ease the pain, I would be more willing to wear heels... or not. Who knows. But anyway, I was reading my daily jersey news on nj.com and came across an article saying that Macys in Jersey City is selling these footzyrolls. I'm all over that. However, if you go to their website: http://www.footzyrolls.com/ they are offering a deal for BUY 1 BLACK EVERYDAY AND GET 1 FOOTZYFLOP FREE. Can't go wrong with that deal...don't know if I can pass up a deal like that :)

Now my only dilemma is if I can only limit myself to just one pair?!
Ohhh the dilemma.

.finest hour.

So if you know me or grew up with me, you know that I love the 1989 movie, Teen Witch. I was obsessed with the movie. I honestly thought it was the BEST movie in the world. Hey! I was 9 years old. I didn't know any better. I don't normally like to link videos, but this is definitely an exception. So, to relive and share the movie's "finest hour" check out the clip.

.mmm hot dog.

Anyone want a hot dog? Okay, so if I had a kid, I would totally dress my kid in this hot dog costume for Halloween! Just saying. It's just so cute :)

So, I was at Target the other day and saw so many cute costumes for babies. Here are my top baby costumes (in no particular order):

• Hot Dog
• Car Freshner
  
• Ice Cream Cone
• Tootsie Roll
• Flower
• Raggedy Ann Doll
• Pumpkin
• Gingerbread Man

I want a baby just so I can dress him/her up...well, that wouldn't be my only reason to have a baby. Of course.

.i love lists.

My husband can vouch for this and has also made fun of me for this. But I LOVE LISTS! As in, I really love lists. I list everything from grocery shopping to what I need to do for the day to how many days I have taken off from work. I find that listing everything helps me visually organize what needs to be done or what I need to keep track of. And when I get it done, I check mark it with a red pen. I think I should have been a teacher (which I really wanted to do and went as far as taking the test for it. But decided that it's not the right time for me, yet. Okay, enough of that. That's for another posting.).

So, back to my list making. When I was in high school/college I decided to make an ongoing list for my life. I guess this is what you call a bucket list. I made this list in one of those cutesy notebooks, but since its been many years since my school days I have yet to find that darn little green notebook. I think I packed it when I moved to my house, but no luck in finding it yet.

Since, I've recently entered my 30s (close to a year now), I wanted to find this bucket list of mine and see what I have accomplished since my younger years. Not only do I want to see what I have accomplished, but I also wanted to add more to that same list. I'd feel more nostalgic keeping the list in one book. Weird. But its something I want to do. Little things like that make me happy. Now, if only I can find that little green book!

.pork chops.

My next cooking exploration: pork chops in cream of mushroom sauce. It's Sunday, so I figured I should cook something instead of ordering in (especially since we did that last night). So, I decided to try something new and different. Its kind of a combined recipe that I tried and put together in the hopes of tasting good. yikes!

So, lets start.

Ingredients:
- 4 bone-in pork chops, 1/2-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (but I like to use Pam spray)
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup milk
- salt & pepper



Instructions:
- Start by heating up the oil/Pam spray on medium to high heat.
- Season the pork chops with salt and pepper while the oil is being heated.
- Rub in the salt and pepper with your hands, so it is seasoned thoroughly
- Add the pork chop
- Cook until the chops are brown on both sides
- Remove the pork chops from the pan and set them aside


- Add the soup and milk to the pan
- Stir and heat to a boil
- When it boils, put the pork chops back in the pan and reduce the heat to low
- Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the chops are fully cooked through

And TADA! Pork chops in cream of mushroom sauce. Now you can eat with rice or noodles. I prefer rice. It was actually very good. And that's not just coming from me, but the hubby also said it... I swear. Enjoy!

.id4.

I came out of the PATH train and went to the parking lot for my car and saw this! This completely freaked me out. It looked like the end of the world was approaching. It reminded me of that Will Smith movie, Independence Day and how the aliens were going to invade earth. I just had to take a picture of it because you don't normally see the sky like this. That's all.

.nilagang baka.

I am going to try to make nilagang baka or beef nilaga (boiled beef) today. I think it is the most simplest Filipino dish to ever make, but I have never tried making it in my life. I've made a bunch of other Filipino dishes (that are much more complex) but yet have not attempted to make this one. I think it's just one of those things where something is so easy, but so intimidating at the same time. This dish reminds me so much of my childhood that I don't want to ruin the memory of it by making something sub par. But I'll get over it and give it a whirl. Now, lets just hope it comes out just how I remembered it...time to venture into the world of making Nilaga. Ha!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Okay, so my intention was to take a picture throughout each step of the way. But of course, as soon as I got home, I was excited to get started and completely forgot. By the time I remembered to take a picture, I had already sauteed the garlic and onions. And had already added the beef, seasoning, and water. So, it looked like this... so far.

I also already cut up all the potatoes and bok choy. So it's all in a bowl like this below. It would've been better if I remembered to take a picture as I cut each ingredient up... But oh well. Hey, like I said, this is my first blog and I'm not really used to the whole process as of yet. But I'm slowly learning.

I've been simmering the nilaga now for about an hour and I'm just getting really impatient. But I definitely don't want to under cook it cause then the meat will be very tough and I know I'm not going to want to eat it. So, I guess I'll have to wait :/

An hour and half (or so) later, the meat is nice and tender. I added more salt and pepper and a little bit more fish sauce. Now its time to add my potatoes . I have to let the potatoes cook through. As soon as it is tender, I am adding the bok choy. I have to let the bok choy cook through, but not too long, so it doesn't get soggy. You definitely don't want to eat soggy bok choy. (But the again the meal is pretty soupy, so you can't really prevent it from getting soggy. But at least not super soggy.)


Few minutes later and now the Nilaga is ready to eat! I'm very excited to try my first ever Beef Nilaga. I hope it's just as good as I remember it from my childhood.

I make a nice plate of nilaga with rice and I am good to go! It tastes just like home.
I am very excited that I was able to replicate my family's beef nilaga. It definitely is one of the most easiest meals to make. And I'm glad I finally made it. Hope the hubby likes it :)






Now, what will I make next?

.my golden ticket.

I was watching the movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory last night and realized that I want a golden ticket too! That one little ticket brought Charlie to this whole new place that any kid (or adult- me!) would love to go to. Anything and everything can happen in Willy Wonka's factory. I thought that was so cool. BTW - I've seen this movie a million times, so its definitely not something new to me. :)

I just really liked all the different inventions that they had and everything was new and unique. Who wouldn't want a hen that lays a golden egg? Or a fizzy drink that makes you fly? C'mon now! That's awesome.

But I guess that really can't happen in the real world. Boooo to the real world. We all have our own versions of our golden ticket that may bring us to our own special world. I guess my golden tickets are my MTA and PATH cards. Those cards bring me to my own version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The factory of life. Haha. That just sounds so profound (well, not really).


When I took a picture of this the other day, I knew I wanted to blog about it. And how we use these cards on a regular to get to and from work, home, school, events, and etc. But then I saw Willy Wonka on last night and it clicked. These really are my golden tickets.

.happy 10th anniversary dora.

We recently celebrated Dora the Explorer's 10th anniversary with a big party at the Central Park Boathouse. What an amazing experience! I'm not just talking about the party, but also the 8 years that I have worked with the company. I have been blessed to have this opportunity to work with an incredible production team. It may seem I am just gloating about my job, but in all seriousness, I sincerely love my job and look forward to going every morning. It may sound cheesy, but it is surprisingly the truth. Here's to another 10 years!

.a whole new world.

To be honest, I began to think about starting a blog on my way home from work yesterday. As I walked through the streets of Times Square, I actually looked up. I never ever stop to look at the buildings and see what the big deal is. Why are tourists always stopping in the middle of the street and sidewalk to look up and take pictures? They are just lights and buildings! But yesterday, I did it, just like a tourist and realized that I am surrounded by so many beautiful things. Things such as buildings, cars, lights, vendors, people, and culture from all over the world. For the past 8 years I have been taking all of this for granted. I can't believe how oblivious I have been to this world. It is time to open my eyes and appreciate all the good things around me!

Only in NY will you ever see to big monster trucks right in the middle of Times Square.

.the birth of my blog.

I decided to start a blog just so I can share my thoughts, ideas, and day to day life. I started to think of a way to start this blog. How should I introduce it? What should I put out there for people to read? Should I recap my 30 years of life or start with the beginning of my married life? Or should I just start right here? The answer that I came up with is to start right here. In my present time. I guess my family, friends, the internet world, and myself included will learn about me and my animated life by just reading my daily/weekly/monthly/yearly entries. I guess that is the best way to go about this. I'll just write, write, and write until I run out of things to write about.
Since I've never blogged before, it seems as though I have a lot to learn. I have no clue how to make my page look "pretty." So, it will take me some time to get the hang of it. Wish me luck!