i was able to blog about this green smoothie before, month of may 2012 to be exact - click here. i started with a not so complex recipe from my previous post but now, i have the simplest recipe. thanks to burnz for the advice, as always. my recipe now became cheaper and healthier. apart from that, i have colleagues who are now hooked to green smoothie. it was like, i discussed it with them, let them taste it, then next week, they're already drinking it! lol ..by the way, i make my green smoothie at work everyday, for the entire work week. thus, i get to share this to those who are curious. so, here's our latest ganap in the office.

gera is a teammate of mine who started being curious with what i was blending in the pantry while making my smoothie. then, i get to let her taste it, and she loved it. the next week, as soon as i arrived, she greeted me with her green smoothie. she used apple in making her smoothie. if im not mistaken, she also added honey. :)

same day that gera greeted me with her green smoothie, nina and carmen also greeted me with their own concoction of green smoothie! :) .. nina used chinese pechay for her green smoothie while carmen used kangkong. both used banana as a fruit combo for their smoothie.

notice the blender! hahaha... i chill the blender with the smoothie in it. when chilled, i bring the blender in my workstation and share it with this guy! lol :) ... i make sure that i make more than a liter of smoothie everyday and consume at least 2 tall glasses of it daily. :)

according to burnz, i should use different type of green leafy vegetable everyday when making a smoothie. and from the research i've done, the reason behind it is that, when you use the same leafy green everyday, it forms an alkaloid in your system, causing unwanted symptoms of poisoning. leafy greens contains minute amount of alkaloid, and if you continue to consume same leafy greens for a week, the length of time allows alkaloids to form in our system. its best that you rotate the leafy greens you use everyday. for me, i rotate only three type of leafy greens, and that is, pechay, kangkong and lettuce. the fruit that i use is banana. as an added info, fruits dont contain alkaloid. so, its ok to use the same fruit everyday in making your green smoothie. :)

my recipe is simple : fruit (banana), water, and leafy green (pechay, kangkong, lettuce)

may you get to try this and experience its health benefits. live healthy, guys! chos! :)

tight hugs,
AC

sorry for the week long silence. it was a busy "business" week for me. lol... i'll tell you in my upcoming posts what i've been busy about. so, last friday, June 22, was yoga day for me. this time, we did partner yoga after doing normal individual yoga exercise. our yogi taught us new partner yoga poses. doing partner yoga exercise stretches your muscles to its optimum level. i haven't felt that so much stretch in my lifetime! hahaha... the next time you go to your yoga class, request your yogi to do partner yoga poses, i highly recommend it! here's the ganap during my yoga class. :)

the pose above shows me doing downward dog with a partner on top. in fairness, im strong! hahaha :)
when it was my time to be on top, ethel wasn't able to carry me, kaloka! my yogi said that ethel's legs aren't that strong and that she needs to work it out and do more downward dog poses, and other poses that strengthen the legs.

on the pose above, i felt that i trampled ethel! i felt her wobbling! hahaha...hello, im a 180 pounder kaya! lol :)

this crescent moon pose is hard. i cant find my balance yet doing this pose. i just cant sustain doing this pose for a long time. luckily, my yogi was able to capture this pose where i was still able to hold my balance. i think im just able to do this pose for only 2 to 3 breaths only. :(

rachel (yogi) is really strong! imagine, she can carry me (180 lbs) on her back! im impressed, super! this is what yoga do to you, friends! :)

tight hugs,
AC

last june 16, cody, joepet and myself agreed to watch Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme at Ayala Cebu. the day before, cody suggested that we book through sureseats.com. so i did, since i was the only one who has a sureseats account. on the day i claimed our movie tickets, i learned that, had i used my Ayala card or VIPinoy card when purchasing the movie ticket, i'd get a 5% discount. but since i booked our movie tickets through sureseats.com, there's no 5% discount anymore. lesson learned? - purchase movie tickets next time using the Ayala card or VIPinoy card! anyways, here's our ganap at Ayala cinema 1. :)

i like the black and white horizontal stripes of cody's shirt! cute diba? i prefer lang the vertical para nakakapayat. chos! hehe ... we also had other colleagues from work who joined us to watch the movie. i'll show the pics later. here's the waiting line of people who wants to watch the movie. :)

my review on this movie is that it was just ok. there were parts of the movie that was dragging and was not funny anymore. actually, i just smiled and giggled but didn't laugh really hard. to be honest, i cant barely remember significant scenes that i like. sad to say though but im just being honest. the 1st kimmy dora movie, that was really funny! i laughed so hard watching it. and i could still remember significant scenes i like from the original movie while writing this blog. like the scene in the rice field, where Eugene "Uge" was doing ballet in the rice paddies. that particular scene was so hilarious! also the scene where Dora had to portray both as Kimmy and Dora, in the absence of Kimmy since she was kidnapped, and had to change outfits every now and then while his father,  having breakfast in their garden, keeps on calling Kimmy and Dora alternately. my stomach ached from laughing so hard on that scene! :)

so, after the movie, we all grouped together and noticed that it was kind of a reunion for all of us who all hail from the same previous company. hahaha! plus, we were all bursting with colors on this day. strangely, orange was the color of the day! seemingly as if we were Cebu Pacific employees! hahaha :)

we then decided to have dinner. next stop, Pizza Hut in Ayala Cebu. here's our group pic at Pizza Hut.

we were all pissed off to some waiters at Pizza Hut Ayala Cebu. most of the time, we were ignored! we have requests that we had to request again and again before its given to us. but if the foreigners are the ones calling their attention, its given right away! kakaloka diba? in fairness, may mga hitsura waiters ng Pizza Hut, but HELLO, ang customer service, VERY POOR! namimili sila ng customer na aasikasuhin! they prioritize the foreigners over the local consumers. yun ang napansin naming lahat, as in! going back sa mga may hitsurang waiters, akala mo kung sino makaasta, eh mga waiter lang naman! pweh! ako, hindi ako nangmamaliit ng tao pero pag ako ang minamaliit, i'll surely get back at you. but i was not on a fighting mode that day. pinalampas na lang naming lahat. but one thing is for sure, im not going back to that branch of pizza hut again, ever! just recalling the incident makes me go to war, as in! ggrrr!

anyways, i'll just recoil and think of happy thoughts in ending this blog. hahaha... tumataas na bp ko recalling the Pizza Hut incident. Pizza Hut has this value meal where they have starters and main course, costing Php 199.00, good for two people. they give extra garlic bread if you avail of this one. in fairness, masarap na, matipid pa. avail niyo ito at other Pizza Hut branches, wag lang sa Ayala Cebu na branch. hahaha :)

tight hugs,
AC

last june 9, 2012, was my landlady's birthday. she asked me where to order lechon. i told her, let's try Rico's lechon since this was recently endorsed by Kris Aquino in Kris TV, when she featured Cebu. since we're a fan of Kris Aquino, we ordered lechon from Rico's. hahaha! here's the ganap. :)

Rico's have two flavors in their lechon. they have the regular lechon and the hot and spicy lechon. they were the first one to come up with a hot and spicy lechon here in Cebu. this is my first time to try the lechon from Rico's. since i am from cebu, lechon is something that is considered as a staple by the cebuano's. its not that special anymore since most lechon here tastes good. what makes Rico's different from the others is that, they use native pigs for their lechon. native pigs are known to have less fat in their body. indeed, when we started devouring the lechon, it didn't have that much fat, as in! at first, we wanted to order the hot and spicy coz we all know that the spiciness will take out the "umay" factor sa lechon but there will be kids during the party, so, we ordered the regular lechon na lang so that the kids can also eat. :)

more than halfway devouring the lechon, we didn't expect to discover uncooked parts! kakaloka! there were still stains of blood on some parts. eeeww! i told my landlady, whom i fondly call ate leizel, that we should complain about this coz some still want to eat lechon but did not na lang coz of the bloody parts. so, i took pictures so that my landlady can let the owner see the bloody parts of the lechon. here's the pic that i took. :(

i took this photo on a saturday night. since Rico's don't hold office on a sunday, we opted to complain first thing on monday. when monday came, ate leizel went to Rico's and complained to the owner and showed the pics that we took. good thing that ate leizel was really able to talk to the owner of Rico's and there she explained why we were not able to call last saturday when we discovered the uncooked parts. ate leizel said, and i quote, "that we started the dinner party by 8pm, and we were all busy entertaining guests. complaining was the last thing in our mind. we are not here to oblige you to replace the lechon but its all really up to you, and i want to let you know that i am also into a food business, just like you. we ought to let you know that this is not the kind of quality that we're expecting from you since you are highly endorsed by Kris Aquino, of which we are a huge fan." oh diba, very well explained by ate leizel.. all stress of the explanation was accounted to "Kris Aquino"! hahaha... but its the truth, its all because of Kris that we bought Rico's. haha... and you know what Rico's did? they replaced the lechon! oh diba?! hahaha... with all due fairness, what Rico's management did was excellent customer service. that's how you should take care of your name and your customers as well. this time, they let us choose what flavor of lechon we want as replacement. without batting an eyelash, ate leizel said, we want the spicy lechon. hahahha! and here's the spicy lechon from Rico's! :) 

everybody in the household were rejoicing for another set of lechon. same size but this time, a different flavor! :) ... it was a lechon feast for everybody in the household of ate leizel. of course, im part of the devouring act! hahaha... now, i'll just share my personal evaluation on the taste of Rico's lechon. from a scale of 1-5, i would rate Rico's lechon a 3. here's the thing, Cebu is known for the best tasting lechon in the country. if i compare Rico's to other lechon makers here in Cebu, it wouldn't stand out. i still prefer Alejo's lechon, CNT lechon, and Zubuchon, who makes the tastiest lechon here in Cebu. its just that, Rico's is highly endorsed by big stars, and most are from the Kapamilya network. check their website - Rico's. but for me, when it comes to food, my personal taste matters. hahaha :)

tight hugs,
AC

last friday, june 8, 2012, influenza struck me. my body felt so tired, non-stop sneezing, and headache. i decided to go on sick leave to recuperate. i went to SM Cebu to buy meds and fruits. accidentally, i passed by the launching of this art exhibit at the 2nd Floor of SM's North wing, entitled "Portraits & Scenes. here's the ganap. :)

 i took pictures of the paintings that caught my attention. i'm not an interpreter of paintings nor am i aware of the different genre. for me, what makes a painting beautiful, especially if the medium is "human", is when an artist captures the expression and feelings of the medium. here are some of my favorite paintings during the exhibit. :)

the zhang ziyi look-alike painting captures the "wondering" look of the medium. the look that says "bakit ka nakatingin?". haha :) ... anyways, Portraits and Scenes will be open for public viewing at SM Cebu from June 8-20, 2012. If you're an art enthusiast, you might want to check this out. :)

tight hugs,
AC

my teammates are raving about this Army Navy joint when they first tried it. so, last night, june 4, 2012, my team went to Army Navy. a burger and burrito joint at I.T. Park, Lahug. its a fusion of american (burger) and mexican (burrito) staple food. i have to try it to know if its worth raving about. hahaha!  here's our ganap.

here's a full listing of their menu with all the descriptions. :)

here's Bully Boy Burger which has .75 lbs. of beef! my gad, mahohospitalize ka after you eat this, i tell you! hahaha :) ... here's a full description of its ad in their store. :)

im really not a fan of burgers but i know what's a good burger and what's not solely because of the reason that i know how to cook. for people who knows how to cook, you have a different perspective when it comes to food tasting. you have an idea of the ingredients used and what to include to improve the taste. correct me if i'm wrong though but i'm speaking only from personal experience. i ordered their classic burger. just by looking at the pic, i know it has roasted sesame seeds and plain sesame seeds on the bun. here's how it looks like. :)

from a scale of 1-5, i'll rate this burger in a scale of 3. my teammates told me that the reason why i didn't like it that much was because i didn't add cheese and bacon to it. oh well, if the burger is really good, even without the cheese and bacon, it should taste really good. i think for me, that's the qualification of a really good burger. this burger is just a "so so" for me. i still prefer the taste of Dong Juan burger. :)

i also took pictures of their amenities and closely observed what's going on. remember, this is a fast food chain. they should be particular with cleanliness coz they are in the food business. :)

more than the lavatory, i was more concerned of the styro piled at the entrance of their kitchen. i'm just not sure if those styro have stocks in it ha. all i can say is that, its an eye sore! please transfer those styro in your stock room. ang dumi tingnan. utang na loob. :(

it was fuuny coz junrex, balor, joan and i were discussing their mission statement which was posted on one of their walls where i made a punch line - Come in Hungry, Walk out Happy with a High BP (Blood Pressure)! hahaha :)

so guys, if you're a fan of burgers and burritos, you should try this out. it may suit your taste. :)

tight hugs,
AC

last sunday, june 3, 2012, after burnz and i had dinner, we went straight to Pal's place for her surprise baby shower. she's due next week! present were the original gang of Pal. some were based abroad but with technology, all were present pa rin. thank you facebook and skype! hulog ka ng langit! haha... here's the ganap at Pal's place during the baby shower. :)

i asked Pal as to how many kids they plan to have. ang sagot, "isa lang! nakakapagod ses, as in!" (without batting an eyelash!) hahaha... ok, i wont argue na but she'll read this blog for sure. so dito na lang ako magcocomment! hahaha.. kung ganyan ako kaganda at ganyan ka-gwapo ang husband ko, may karapatan akong magparami ng lahi! :)

in fairness, parang sinapian ng kung anong hindi mo maintindihan ang mga tao during that night. normally, we eat this cake using a fork lang, walang platito2x! hahaha.. we term this type of eating as "caving". scrape lang ng scrape sa cake kasi halos lahat iniiwasan ang icing! lol. that night, ay, nagplatito kami lahat and got our fair share of the cake. :)

i ordered a mix drink that is orange in flavor but has vodka in it. i forgot the title of the drink but its really2x good! u have to try it. its refreshing but la traydora ang show, which i like! mawiwindang ka slight! hahaha...here's how it looks like. :)

we continued our chika at Pal and Oli's house which is just at the back of their resto. we changed venue coz the women are in the mood for shopping at Pal's home-based rtw business... alam nyo na man, si burnz, queen of hoarding! hahaha.. here's our ganap in the house. :)

i also took photos of my favorite corners of Pal and Oli's house and gave them basic feng-shui tips that i know of. here they are. :)

i love their kitchen coz of its functionality. andyan na lahat! the chandelier in the kitchen is from Ikea. sosyal! the bathroom was also multi-functional coz they have their cabinets there na. sabi ko, ay, pwede pala. it gave me an idea na for my house. hehe... i also like the sliding door when you enter the shower area coz swak talaga ang size nya. Pal told me na pinasukat nila kaya naging ganyan. i didnt know na may ganyan pala kasi ang mga nakita ko kasi are sliding doors na curve na built in na lahat. so, bet ko talaga toh. alam mo yung feel na hindi sya banyo pagpasok mo though banyo siya, yung ganun. haha :)

by the way, to those who are wanting to buy a sosyal car, Oli, Pal's husband is selling their car for      Php 630,000. this is a show car sa dami ng sosyal car accessory upgrades na pinagdaanan nito. 15,000 pa ata ang mileage nito if im not mistaken. see to appreciate. you'll fall in love with this car, i tell you, promise! if you're interested, just post a comment here in my blog. i'll get back to you the soonest. :) 

so, that's all my sunday ganap! di ako busy sa mga lakad ko over the weekend noh? hahaha :) have a great week, guys! :)

tight hugs,
AC

last sunday, june 3, 2012, burnz and i decided to eat japanese dish for dinner after hearing the 6pm mass at Redemptorist church. we decided to dine at Yu-Yu-Tei Japanese Restaurant located at The Gallery. its located along juan luna ave, mabolo proper. it was our first time to dine here. :)

here's how the interiors look like at this japanese resto. the chairs were so comfy to sit on. :)

here's what we ordered. for starters, we were served with potato salad. burnz and i laughed at it coz it tastes like egg sandwich spread. to which burnz retorted to me silently (pertaining to the waitress), "pwede magdala ka ng pandesal next time kasi para siyang egg sandwich spread!" hahaha. its been a long time since the last time i ate salmon. its now time to load some omega 3 to my system! lol :)

sorry but im not a fan of california maki which is burnz favorite, apparently. i dont know why but i find it weird that you mix fruit with rice. i discussed this with burnz when she offered me some maki... hahaha... my all time fave is really salmon.. i can eat 5 regular orders of salmon sashimi in one sitting! hahaha... burnz shared to me though that during her stint at the marco polo hotel in manila, she was able to try all types of fish, including the likes of snapper, sea bass, salmon, and etc... and the only fish that impressed her the most was the sea bass! i've never tasted sea bass, ever! now, i'm super intrigued! hahaha... according to burnz, sea bass melts in your mouth daw. something worth trying! do you know of any resto here in cebu that has a sumptuous sea bass dish? lol :) ... hmmm... san kaya meron?

tight hugs,
AC

last sunday, june 3, 2012, burnz and i met for dinner after not seeing each other for two weeks. actually,  we were suppose to meet at Redemptorist church and hear the 6pm mass. i was halfway on my way to Redemptorist when burnz texted me that she just woke up! hahaha .. so, i told her that i'll reserve a seat for her so that when she comes in, she'll sit beside me... i texted her that im seated beside the 3rd post from the back of the left aisle. ay, walang burnz na dumating... kasi pala, ang hinanap nya ay 3rd seat from the center aisle! kaloka! hahahaha... windang pa kasi from biyahe kaya inintindi ko na lang... hahaha...i took a photo of  the seat beside me that i reserved for her as proof that i reserved a seat for her! hahaha :)

i noticed that bongga ang arrangement ng flowers today sa church. so, i was thinking that we must be celebrating something today. indeed, we are celebrating the feast of the Holy Trinity. here's the flower arrangement on the altar. :)

not for anything else ha but i noticed a partner seated right in  front of me. while the "Our Father" song was sang, they held their hands together, so ok lang. by the time the song was finished, they were still holding hands. then i realized, iba ang pagkahawak ng kamay, then may i hawak na sa balikat... napagtanto ko na, ay, partners... sorry, di ko nakunan nung nagholding hands sila at hawak sa braso... by the time i took out my cam, di na sila magkahawak ng kamay, may konting sandal na lang ang mga balikat nila. hahaha... baka sabihin nyo pakialamera ako ha... hindi naman.. im just happy seeing partners hearing mass together. not everybody does make God the center of their relationship, in this type of relationship ha. pero ako, i prefer siguro na ganito din ang peg. at least, diba, you seek blessings from the Almighty, despite the intolerance of others. with God, you are comforted knowing that whatever you are, you are loved unconditionally. here's the ganap in the church. :)

to this couple : may you have a blessed life ahead! :)

after the mass, nagkita din kami ni burnz sa loob mismo ng church! hahaha... then she relayed to me that she thought, 3rd seat from the back... hahaha. it was nice seeing burnz again. then off we went to dinner.

tight hugs,
AC

last saturday, june 2, 2012, we had our department summer outing at Maribago Bluewater Resort in mactan, lapu-lapu. oh my, it was the BEST summer ender, as in! the theme for this summer event is "Pirates in Rio". allow me to share a short story... long before the theme was announced, i already had an outfit prepared for this event. may sarili na akong peg! hahha.. thanks to peewee sinening (my fave designer). i didnt know that the committee assigned for this event will come up with a theme. i was nervous coz my outfit might not fit with the theme! hahaha... buti na lang, pasok pa rin ang outfit ko sa peg ng department... here's my previous blog where i had my bermuda shorts made by peewee - click here. these bermuda shorts came in with a sleeveless ruffled polo but i didn't blog about it coz i want it to be a surprise. chos! ako pala ang na-surprise! hahaha... my manager, junrex, out of nowhere, told me and my colleague, aki, that we'll be the representatives of the team for the "rampahan" (fashion show) production, which is part of the event. both aki and myself were so clueless, until the rehearsal night came. we were surprised that its a pageant we're joining, at may Q&A portion pa talaga. kaloka! hahaha... but then, we gamely submitted ourselves... of course, babae ang role ko noh! hahaha!

anyways, on the day of the event itself, we had a lot of games under the sun... mabuti na lang at di gaanong mainit ang sikat ni sunshine cruz! haha... here's our ganap during the day... pearls ang peg ng accessories for the day. gume-gretchen ang peg! haha

the games prepared for this event really put to test my yoga skills, as in! 1st game was the limbo rock! here's the ganap during this game. :)

here's our ganap during the "twister" game... another test of my yoga skills! kung saan2x napupunta ang mga kamay at paa namin! haha :)

the sack race. ang nakakalaglag matres na laro, as in! hahaha

"tug of war" game kung saan nababoy ng husto ang general manager namin na si christophe! hahaha ... feeling ko, pagod na pagod ang mga players ng game na ito. di na talaga maipinta ang mga hitsura nila after the game! hahaha :)

our buffet is catered by Maribago Bluewater Resort itself. There were too many to mention so di ko na iisa-isahin ha... hahaha... the food was ok and there's enough supply for everybody. sa sobra ko nang busog, i can't find space in my stomach para kumain pa ng cake! hahaha... dineadma ko ang mga cake. i wasnt able to taste all the food sa dami ng variety. lol :)

later that night was the "rampahan" pageant event. eto na, preparation and all for the kabugan portion of the night. dito ko na nakilala ang mga a for effort na tao na tulad ko! hahaha... anyways, my outfit is rio mardigras inspired. accessories are backpack na may mga twigs at kung anu2x pa at headdress na may pagka las vegas ang peg. kasi nga mardigras ang gusto ko so ganun ang kinalabasan...take note, skin to skin ang labanan ko, NO make-up, natural oil lang ng face ko! o, diba? kahit lip gloss, wala! ganun ako kaconfident! at hindi din ako nagshave ng legs! im not fond of shaving my legs din kasi talaga... ang paninidigan ko that night, babawiin ko sa rampa at Q&A! o, diba?! chos! hahaha... just a little backgrounder... i've never been on-stage for a competition. this is my first time, as in! kahit na for fun lang ito, but still, i was so nervous! hahaha... also, during my college days, i was a catwalk trainer (not a pro) for aspiring models for an ad agency in davao. basically, i know the basics na in catwalk. now is the time to put it to a test. chos! hahaha :)... also, my partner, aki, is one of the "100 mr. awesome" of cebu, to which he has a catwalk ramp experience! pak! kabog! actually, during the rehearsal, wala kaming queue ni aki... parang, just give us the spots on stage and kami na ang bahala...during the event proper, ganuna din... we dont look at each other but we see each other at  hindsight so we know when one has posed or will turn. we were so in-synch without even discussing it! perfect! hahaha... actually, nakakaloka nag show kasi kanya-kanyang eksena, super! ayaw patalbog ng lahat... lahat wants to win... here's the ganap during that production.

again, this is the BEST summer ender for me. i really had so much fun! super thank you LEO for helping me out with my costume even though we don't belong to the same team. hahaha! thank you, aki! we're such a good tandem! chos! hahaha.. .thank you junrex for the sponsorship and words of encouragement! chos! hahaha... tama pala, my costume and headdress  are all by peewee sinening. thank you, peewee! you're such an angel. :)

tight hugs,
AC