Gardenia Plant Tour

We are indeed frequent buyer of Gardenia bread so when I’ve learned that it is included in my son’s field trip; I became excited because I wanted to see how they make our favorite bread. I love plant tour, when I was still in elementary we visited Yakult and Coca-Cola Plant na sobrang nag-igib kami ng coke using our Coleman. Actually, Gardenia Plant is one tollgate away from our place, it is so near but I haven’t visited.

The Plant Tour started with a film showing explaining the brief history of Gardenia Bread and how it is made. We were seated beside the marshall amplifiers at musicians friendshall amplifiers at musicians friend and LCD TV.

After that we went to the production area where we can see the whole process from handling, mixing, proofing, baking, slicing and packaging of the bread. Taking pictures are not allowed.

Our last stop is the bread store where we can buy Gardenia bread at factory price. You can see classic white bread, healthy-licious bread, flavor-licious bread, bunch of bun, crunchy-licious toasts and snack line.

Of course photo-op. Oh I love Gardenia.

Trivia:

1. Gardenia’s roots go back to Singapore where it began as a humble in-store bakery in 1978.

2. From Singapore, it expanded its operations in Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.

3. Gardenia Philippines started its full operations in 1998.

4. The first to introduce G-lock in its packaging.

5. The first to introduce 2 in 1 concept – the Gardenia Double Delights.

Five Point Bread Goodness Test

1. Great Tasting

2. Softness

3. Oven-Baked Aroma

4. Guaranteed freshness

5. Nutrition Packed

My Favorite Things to Do in Africa

There’s just something about Africa that hooked you as soon as you set foot on the continent. It’s a place of such vastness, intensity, and diversity that you can’t just visit once. Katie, a travel addicted blogger from the UK shares just a few of her favorite experiences in Africa so far.

Camping and camels

One of the most unique tours I’ve ever been on, traveling by camel in Morocco is an unforgettable experience. It’s part of a two-day trip, which was fairly pricey at 130 euros, but it was all worth it. Setting off from Diabat, which sits between Casablanca and Essouira, we ride through eucalyptus and mimosa forests, before camping overlooking the sea. One of the camels wanders over when we’re finished and we give him some leftover bread. The next morning, we head to Essaouira for a ride across the sands. The infamous winds here pick up as we ride, keeping us cool and providing perfect conditions for the kitesurfers we can see whizzing across the waves.

Snorkeling in Sharm el Sheikh

I’m a bit of a water baby so I’m in heaven during a trip to Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh. Most of the hotels here have their own private beach, but so long as you pay for your sun lounger and have a drink there, you can usually use them. The Red Sea is as warm as bath water and less than 20 yards from the shore, I spot an amazing array of marine life, including a stingray which swims right beneath me, spiky lionfish and strange looking parrot fish.

Up in the clouds

In Cape Town, I head to the city’s most iconic landmark, Table Mountain. It takes around four hours to get to the top on foot, but I take the cable car, soaring across the city. From the top, you can see the whole of Cape Town, including Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean below. There are walking trails and viewing points at the top, along with a café. I’m lucky enough to see lizards basking in the sun and a dassie, which looks a bit like a giant guinea pig, darting into the undergrowth. After I get back down, I see the famous cloud, known as the tablecloth, descend onto the mountain.

A picnic with penguins

Boulders beach must be the only place in the world where you can sit in the sunshine eating your picnic, while penguins stand within touching distance. Boulder’s Beach near Simon’s Town in South Africa is home to thousands of little African penguins. You can see them from a wooden walkway. But, if you walk across the first beach you enter and clamber over, or under, some giant boulders, you’ll be one of just a handful of people sharing this space with the penguins. We watch captivated as they waddle their way down to the water looking clownlike, before plunging into the freezing waters and swimming like bullets under the water.

The Egyptian Museum

In Cairo, I’ve visited the world’s most famous attractions, climbing down claustrophobic staircases into the pyramids and standing with crowds staring at the Spinx. But, my favorite attraction is the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. Thankfully not there during the uprising, I gaze upon the Tutankhamun treasures, stunned to see such famous finds close up. But, it’s not just these standout pieces that make this place something special. It’s the myriad of smaller artifacts, the crowds, the dust, the handwritten signs. It’s just as a museum should be. I spend around three hours there but must have only seen a quarter of what was there.

It’s an analogy for Africa really. No matter how much time you spend here, there will always be more to discover. It’s no wonder that Africa becomes something of an addiction.

Alice in Wonderland

We must admit that watching stage plays is not our thing nowadays, especially for our kids who just wanted to watch cartoons and Disney movies or just play video games. I do watch stage plays when I was still in school because it is one of the school requirements but of course, when I graduated, no more stage plays. So it’s been a decade since the last time I watched.

Well, last Tuesday we had a chance to watch a stage play in Repertory Philippines. Alice in Wonderland is one of the itineraries of my son’s field trip. Cameras are not allowed inside and no picture-taking during the stage play. Unlike other stage plays that I’ve watched, Alice in Wonderland is like an interactive play; they asked questions and even requested the audience to sing along. “I’m mad, you’re mad, we’re all mad here”.

Honestly, I’m not really familiar with Alice's story, all I know is lumaki at lumiit siya. Hehehehe! Anyway, Alice in Wonderland is a story of her incredible journey into a different world where she meets the most surprising set of wild characters.

I was a little bit disappointed because of the limited time of picture taking. Hindi ka pa nakakalapit sa stage, tapos na.

I was wondering, what kind of speaker they are using for the play because the sound is clear and very detailed which makes the music play so good.

Date of Performances:

August 17 to December 12, 2013

Venue:

Onstage Theatre

2nd Floor, Greenbelt Mall 1

Paseo de Roxas St., Makati City

Microsoft 70-298 Certification Exam

Before taking the Microsoft 70-298: Designing Security for a MS Windows Server 2003 Network exam, IT professionals should have worked for no less than a year designing network infrastructures and implementing desktop operating systems. Their work experience should be with medium to large size companies, who have at least 250 users. The best candidates for the 70-298 exam will have expert level knowledge about network services, connectivity requirements between branch offices and users, and general resources relating to the server, such as messaging, print, firewall, and proxies.

The 70-298 exam can be taken in any of the following languages: English, French, German, and Japanese. The exam is proctored and counts as a core credit towards both Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003 certification and the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE): Security on Windows Server 2003 certification.

Key concepts on the 70-298 exam will focus on the logical, conceptual, and physical designs for the client and network infrastructure security. Candidates also need to be able to understand how to gather and analyze business and technical requirements, and how those relate to designing network infrastructure security. Additionally, takers of the exam must be able to design access control strategies for data.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

My son had hand, foot and mouth disease, we we’re really shocked when the doctor told us that it was not chicken pox. Evening of November 18, 2013, my son had a slight fever so we immediately gave him paracetamol and the following day (November 19) he was fine so he was able to go to school. After school, while we’re studying my son showed me his elbow and he said “Mommy, look chicken pox” so I checked his body and I found some rashes also in his foot.

I was worried and I told my husband about it, when he got home he checked the rashes and he said “baka kagat lang ng langgam”. But for me, it is not a simple insect bite so he said; monitor ko till tomorrow bago kami magpacheck.

The next day (November 20), I saw some blisters in the palm of his hands and sole of his feet so I thought my son has chicken pox. I called my husband and we went to the doctor lunch time.

The doctor checked his hand and body. She did not see any blisters in the body so she said it was not chicken pox. She checked the mouth and found mouth sore and asked if there are any blisters in the foot and we said yes. She confirmed that it was hand, foot and mouth disease.

We’re stunned because we really had no idea where my son got the virus. We only went to school, Festival Mall and S&R before he had the symptoms. We immediately asked if it is contagious and if there’s possibility that we might get it. She said yes so I asked her again how long before my son will be okay because we will be having field trip. She said, in less than a week and advised us to stay in the house for 5 days or until the blisters are all dried.

I was paranoid and worried that we could not make it on field trip but I was hoping and praying that my son will be okay because I don’t want to say goodbye to our P5k+ field trip fee. Every day, I was checking and taking photo of his blister to see if there’s any improvement. We wanted to pierce the blister para matuyo agad but I’ve read that it is not advisable. Patience is a virtue and I was glad that we did not do anything. All blisters were dried come Sunday, so I was really happy because he can go back to school and join their field trip.

I consulted Google because I was not familiar with hand, foot and mouth disease. I saw some pictures and I was happy that my son had a mild case of HFMD. But the first two days were very hard for him because he can’t eat properly, blame it to the mouth sore.

Sharing with you some information I found in children.webmd.com

Hand-foot-mouth disease is a common viral illness in children below five years old that causes sore in the mouth, hands and foot. It can also be found in buttocks and legs.

It is not similar to foot and mouth disease that occur in animals. HFMD is caused by a virus called an enterovirus which is spreads though sneezing, coughing, touching fluid from the blisters and infected stool. Incubation period is 3 to six days before you see the symptoms. 

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

Alcoholism Is Nothing to Be Ashamed Of

Some people have the ability to monitor and moderate different areas of life. They can choose to only eat one piece of cake instead of five, only eat French fries once a week, and only have one glass of wine at dinner. Each individual is good at least one thing, some are good at physical tasks, others are good at mental tasks, and some people are good at emotional tasks. 

If you or a loved one is struggling with the ability to moderate alcohol in a healthy way, just remember, everyone has their strengths and everyone has their weaknesses. The only true weakness is not admitting weakness. When you need extra help to conquer the weaknesses in life, look to a professional in-patient program. You can find many to evaluate and choose from such as www.sherwoodhillsrecoveryresort.com and other such facilities you can research on the Internet.

Are You an Addict?

Sometimes it is hard to tell if you are a ‘regular’ social drinker or a person who has an addiction. If there is a question as to if you have an issue that needs to be treated, you can ask yourself the following questions:

 Do you ever lie to your family or friends about your drinking habits?

 Do you ever feel guilty or ashamed about your drinking habits?

 Do you need to drink to feel ‘normal’ or relax?

 Do you drink more alcohol than you intend to?

 When you drink, do you black out and forget what you did?

 Do you have to drink more than usual to get a buzz?

 Do you drink even though you know it causes relationship problems?

 Has drinking caused you to give up activities or hobbies that you once enjoyed?

 Do you have to drink in the morning to not feel ill?

If you have honestly answered yes to any of these questions, you probably have an issue that needs to be addressed.

Treatment

With the professionals you will find while during research at www.sherwoodhillsrecoveryresort.com and other such sites on the Internet, you will be able to get the help you need to be able to moderate your alcohol or quit altogether. The best thing is that you can receive high-quality treatment while staying in a high-quality facility.

Christmas Tree 2013

As they always say, Christmas in the Philippines starts in September so some people decorate their homes as soon as ber months start. But in our case, we usually decorate our home every first week of December but since last year we started as early as November because of my son. He really wanted to put up the Christmas tree because he always sees our neighbors decorations.

Well, since I don’t usually change theme every year because I find Christmas decors too expensive so I will reuse our old decors and just added new ornaments. Our DIY Christmas ornaments and Christmas balls which I bought for less than P200.

After few minutes, our Christmas tree is finally up. Gifts na lang kulang. 

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

Noel Discovery Bazaar

Christmas is indeed fast approaching and bazaars are everywhere. But if there’s one bazaar that I never fail to visit, that is Noel Discovery Bazaar. I always check this bazaar every year since 2007. 

Last Saturday, my husband told me that he needs to go to the office so I suggested that we will go with him so after his meeting we can go to Noel Bazaar. Yay! win-win situation. My husband texted my mother-in-law who is now interested to visit bazaars too, ever since I brought her to Heat Wave Summer Bazaar last year.

Compared last year, I enjoyed my visit last Saturday because there are a lot of affordable booths. There are booths that sell everything for P50, P100 and P150. There is buy 1 take 1 perfume too at P100 and P350. There are kitchen and other home stuff and I was looking for pull out waste containers from ovisonline.com but I did not see anything similar. I’m happy to see the stores that I follow on Instagram like Mumi Bag and United Village Breadhouse.

It took me more than 3 hours to finish my booth hopping. You can visit Noel Bazaar in World Trade Center from November 22 to December 1, 2013. Entrance fee is P50. 

What is Ultraviolet B (UVB) Phototherapy

Having psoriasis is not easy, though I have this skin condition for more than a decade. There are still times that I feel depressed especially if I’m flare up. I shared my frustration and depression last September because I really don’t know when I will be ok. I have so many sleepless nights and crying nights because of psoriasis. Thank God! I’m ok now, 95% clear. I hope my remission would be long.Though I have black spots all over my body, but it is still better than itchy red spots.

After 19 sessions +methotrexate, I’m happy that my phototherapy session is now over. I started last September 14 and my last session was November 20, it is more than two months of going to hospital three times a week for 5 weeks and once a week for one month. Actually, it became a routine already so after school my son always asks me if we will go to hospital. #nasanayna

I’m happy that phototherapy helps me in clearing my lesions, at least hindi nasayang ang effort and money. My doctor recommend this last summer but I did not do it because I know that it is time consuming and very expensive treatment. As I mentioned you have to go to hospital 3 times a week or it depends on your doctor’s recommendation. 

It is expensive because the rate per session is P845 (Asian Hospital) even it is only 2 minutes, you have to pay P845. My initial time is 2 minutes and they increase it every session. I stop at 15 minutes to avoid sunburn. It took weeks before I can see the improvement. Anyway, before I started my phototherapy, staff gave me a paper for more information. Sharing with you the details below.

This is where I stay for fe minutes every session.

UVB (ultraviolet B light) is the most common form of phototherapy used to treat various skin diseases including psoriasis, eczema, and itching. You will be exposed to this high-energy UV light for a varying length of time. This treatment is not a cure but can effectively control or improve your disease. Patients have used this treatment successfully for many years and often are able to maintain clearance of improved skin over extended periods of time.

Each condition and patient will vary in the number of treatments needed per week and the time it will take to reach clearing. Most patients require 3 to 5 treatments each week to clear lesions. Typically, treatments start only a few seconds of light exposure and increase gradually as determined by the staff. It may take 15-25 treatments or longer to improve your disease. Not all patients will clear completely. Many patients go into remission and may then stop tretaments.

The expected benefits of phototherapy are:

1. Improvement of existing lesions;

2. Reduction of new lesions;

3. Remission- in many cases phototherapy has resulted in a near-total clearing of the disease process. The duration of this reission varies with each patient. Maintenance therapy may be required.

Risks and side effects of phototherapy

1. The most common side-effect of this therapy is UVB-induced sunburn. This may occur anytime during therapy. Certain drugs may also cause you to get sunburn. Please let your doctor/nurse know any medications you are taking or any that you begin while undergoing therapy.

2. It is possible with any form of UV light than an increased incidence of skin cancer may occur late in some patients, usually only with many light treatments.

3. UV treatments may cause dryness and itching.

4. UV treatments age the skin over time and may increase preckles and pigmentation of the skin.

5. Ultraviolet rays may damage the eyes and increase your risk of cataracts. This is preventable with protective eye goggles worn during the treatment.

6. UV light may cause flare of fever blister and mouth sores in susceptible people.

7. Long term UV exposure to the unprotected genital area in men may cause an increase in genital cancer. Therefore all men will wear an athletic supporter while in the light box.

8. UV light may cause exacerbation of other medical condition such as lupus erythematosus, which have sensitivity to UV wavelength.

DIY Christmas Angel Ornaments

We went to National Bookstore last Saturday, I was buying materials for my son’s assignment which is a world map. My husband saw this DIY Christmas Angel ornaments and decided to buy it for my son. I was hesitant at first because it is made of porcelain but my husband wanted it so much para naman may personal touch ang aming Christmas tree.

It is Buy 1 Take 1 at P99.75, there are Christmas balls, Santa Claus and Angels Figurine. I want the Christmas balls para madali lang but my husband wants the Angels para maiba naman at puro Christmas balls na lang daw.

My son wanted to paint as soon as we got home but I told him next time na lang. Yesterday, we experienced 9 hours black out and because of that we started to paint the Christmas figurines. I thought it was easy but it wasn’t. The box includes the paint, paintbrush and of course the figurine.'

Finished product.

I’m planning to make this a yearly activity and next time I will buy three boxes para hindi na magtampo si hubby at di namin siya sinali. =)

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

Residence Inn Zoo

Though we’re always in Tagaytay, we’ve never visited Residence Inn Zoo (now Zoori) but finally last semestral break, we had our chance to visit the zoo. I checked the rates online so I was really shocked that I paid only P199 per person, I don’t know if there’s any promo but good thing that I did not purchase my ticket online which is P250.

The weather did not cooperate that time because it rained upon entering the premises.  But of course rainshowers did not stop us to enjoy the zoo. At the entrance I bought animal chow for P20. Upon entering the zoo, you can see the tiger but since we had photo op already with the tiger when we visited Baluarte, we passed this one. 

Then we went to “Serpetarium”.

Scary! lumalabas ang ulo ng snake.

After that we watched “Petz Action” at the show area.

We bought bird feeds for P10; my son indeed enjoyed this bird feeding activity. You can check my Instagram account @michisolee for videos.

Animal Feeding

We toured the zoo, it is not that big and you can enjoy the place for two hours including the animal show. We enjoyed this zoo compared to Paradizoo which is also located in Cavite. Click here for the video

But you can visit Paradizoo and Residence Inn Zoo in one day, they have different rate if you will visit two zoos. 

There’s souvenir shop and food area inside the zoo.

Residence Inn Zoo aka ZOORI

Km. 65 Barrio Neogan, Tagaytay-Nasugbu Hwy,

City of Tagaytay 4120

Phone:(046) 413 1376

Klook.com

My Lola’s 75th Birthday

Every month I always visit my grandmother in Victoria, Laguna, and last month, out of the blue I asked her age. I know her birthday but I don’t know her birth year. When she said that she's turning 75, I decided to save the date so we can visit my grandmother on her special day. It’s a diamond birthday and not everyone reaches that age so it is something that we should really celebrate.

When I got home, I message my mom and siblings about it. Para naman marami kami di ba and they agreed to attend my grandmother’s birthday except for my mom of course because she’s not here in the Philippines. But she sponsored some of the food so that’s fine. Hehehe! My sister informed my aunts about the 75^th birthday.

So it is like a reunion, the funny thing is hindi kami nag-usap ng mga dadalhin na food so we ended up having a “Pansit Birthday Celebration”, for long, long and long life talaga. My grandmother cooked pansit bihon, I brought 2 bilao of pansit bihon and one of my aunts brought 1 bilao of pansit palabok. We’re only 25 people including adults, kids, and babies, sobra-sobra sa pansit. Hehehe! 

Sana pala spaghetti na lang binili ko since I bought the cake at Red Ribbon. I was glad that Red Ribbon in Paseo De Sta Rosa is already open as early as 8AM. =)

There’s no specific party time so since our family was the first to arrive and lunch time na rin wala pa yung iba, nagstart na kami agad. My grandmother was really happy, even though she was not feeling well on her birthday. Good thing I was still on my way to Los Banos when they texted me to buy medicine or else dadayuhin pa nila ang Mercury Drug.

It’s almost a whole day of celebration and a whole day of eating pansit. =) By the way, I did the birthday banner, click here to check my DIY post.

DIY Birthday Banner

My grandmother celebrated her 75^th birthday last Sunday. It was just a simple celebration in her house. I did the Mickey Mouse Banner of my son so I decided to make birthday banner too for my grandmother. I don’t know what the usual color of diamond birthday is so I just used the leftover materials from my son’s birthday invitation. So it is red and white.

Materials.

Printed letters

Cartolina

Yarn

Double Sided Tape

Puncher

1. Cut the printed letters.

2. Make triangle pattern.

3. Paste the letters.

4. Make a hole.

5. Insert the yarn.

After the birthday, I received a message from my cousin asking me, where did I buy the banner? Deep inside I smiled because it means that the banner looks nice. 

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

Super Typhoon Yolanda

I don’t know what’s with the year 2013 because it seems that this year is not a good year for the Philippines. The country experienced war in Zamboanga, flood because of habagat and typhoon Maring, earthquake in Bohol and nearby provinces and just recently almost 2/3 of the Philippines experienced the super typhoon Yolanda.

No classes last Friday and I was monitoring the weather update because we have free movie screening at that time. As I mentioned in my previous post, we were able to watch Thor movie because the weather was not bad in Metro Manila.

Then last Saturday, I was watching the “Bagsik ni Yolanda” of ABS CBN and I was really shocked. Seeing the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda is enough to break my heart. I was so sad to see those victims who lost their homes, property and even loved ones. Mala tsunami + tornado ang aftermath. I’m thankful that we did not experience this but at the same time I feel so sorry for the Visayas region. Imagine, nakanood pa kami ng movie while there are people na wala ng house, food and drinks.

I know there are no words good enough to console and comfort those people because I was not there and I did not experience it. Actually, I was asking myself if I live in Visayas, will I be able to survive? Am I strong enough to experience that because honestly, signal no. 2 pa lang super takot ako. I’m so scared hearing the sound of the wind and I can’t sleep sa sobrang kaba. How much more signal no. 3 and 4, baka nahimatay na ko sa takot.

But like CNN said, Filipinos are bunch of survivors so in time we will rise again. Lord, please help us, strengthen us and heal our land. Remind us o Lord, that You are in control and You will always be faithful.

Sharing to you this information if you want to help.

Ways to Donate

1.Philippine Red Cross

Monetary Donations

-Send cash or check donations to the PRC National Headquarters in Manila or deposit to the following banks.

Account Name: Philippine Red Cross

Banco De Oro: Dollar Account: 453-0039482

Peso Account: 453-0018647

Type of Account: Savings

Swift Code: BNORPHMM

Metrobank: Dollar Account: 151-2-151002182

Peso Account: 151-3-04163122-8

Euro Account: 016-201650005-9

Yen Account: 151-2-15130001-9

Type of Account: Savings

Swift Code: MBTCPHMM

In-Kind Donations

Send to PRC-National Headquartes in Manila.

Arrange for donation pick-up

Note: PRC only accept goods with expiry date of not less than 6 months. It does not accept rotten, damaged, expired or decayed goods.

Donate Through SMS

Text RED <space> AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart)

Denominations: Globe: 5, 25, 100, 300, 500 or 1000 Smart: 10, 25, 100, 300, 500, 1000

Vital Hashtags

#ReliefPH Resource Coordination

#RescuePH Urgent Rescue Needed

#SafeNow Resolves #RescuePH

#FloodPH Damage Reporting

#TracingPH Report Missing People

#YolandaPH Media storm coverage

Note; Do not use #RescuePH unless you are a local citizen in urgent need of assistance.