Michi Photostory

Day 14 of community quarantine and we still don’t know when this will end. I’m thankful that we are #SafeAtHome but of course, I can’t help but feel worried too whenever I hear or read some news. I’m praying that we can survive this health scare and one day the Philippines will be covid19 free.

Just last week, I've learned about Globe Rewards Donate Campaign so a few days ago, I informed my husband about it so we can donate our Globe Rewards points. We’ve been Globe postpaid subscribers since we started working and we’ve been collecting and redeeming points for the last several years.

I love using the Bill Rebate of PHP50 or PHP100 so less payment for my bill so I’m a little bit disappointed when they increase the amount to PHP300 and now PHP500 for BILL Rebate. I’ve never reached 500 points so for the last few years, we use our points for shopping (Bench) and free movies.


You can use your points for shopping, entertainment, dining, travel, Globe promos and lastly, you can also donate your points. You can donate to ABSCBN, Hineleban Foundation, PAWS Philippines, Save Philippines Seas, Virtualahan and now you can donate to Globe partner hospitals.

 "Your donation will help provide test kits, alcohol, and PPE to all health workers at RITM, San Lazaro Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center and Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Hospital."

So even you only have few points, it can help other people kaysa naman magexpire lang din points niyo, idonate niyo na lang. Last year, naexperience ko na rin maexpire ang points ko, I was not able to redeem my rewards because there was an error sa app and kahit sa website nila hanggang sa napagod at nakalimutan ko na balikan at nag-expire ng March 31, 2019. Now, I’m glad that I can use my points to donate.

Two days ago, if I remember it right, when I donated my points PHP50 pa yung minimum amount to donate and sabi ko pa, "sayang naman yung matitira kung mag-expire lang din, sana pwede yung ibang amount" But today, I've checked the Globe Rewards App again and I was surprised na as low as PHP1 pwede mo na idonate. Yehey!

How to Donate your Globe Rewards Points 

1. To donate, simply go to the Globe Rewards app
2. Click Donate or search COVIDHELP and you will see the list of amounts.
3. Click the amount you want to donate.

HELP500
HELP100
HELP50
HELP20
HELP10
HELP5
HELP1

4. Click Redeem
5. Click Confirm
6. You will receive a confirmation text regarding your donation or you can check your Globe Rewards App History.

Note: 

Globe extended the validity of Globe Rewards points that you have earned in 2019 from March 31, 2020 to June 30, 2020.

There is also a limit of 3 redemptions per day. I’ve got an error message of “Sorry, your request can’t be processed. You’ve reached the maximum number of redemption for the day. You may try again tomorrow, Thank you!” 

Read: How to Save Money by Using your Loyalty Cards

Day 13 of Community Quarantine and the last time I went to the supermarket was 17 days ago. We wanted to go to the grocery and pharmacy to restock but we were hesitant because the line was so long and the things that we wanted to buy are out of stock like fresh milk and vitamins.

I asked friends who already went to the supermarket and they took more than 4 hours just to finish. I’ve read that some people went to the supermarket as early as 7AM just to fall in line and went home past 1PM. Waah! So we really try our best to stretch our stock because we don’t know when we can go back to the grocery.



Anyway, while browsing my phone photos, nagutom ko bigla sa complimentary dinner roll of Texas Roadhouse. We dined here during our Staycation at Sheraton Manila Bay last January, which I haven’t blogged yet but you can watch the video here. This is one thing that I like in this restaurant, the free peanuts and dinner rolls.

Watch Staycation at Sheraton Manila Video 

It’s been 12 days since the last time I went out and today is Day 8 of Community Quarantine. I mentioned before that I have no problem with staying at home because this is my life for the last 12 years. I’m an introvert and full-time mom so I enjoy being at home pero iba pa rin pala yung feeling na hindi ka talaga makalabas ng bahay because of Covid19. I suddenly miss going to the grocery, lalo na ngayon na na nasa bahay kami lahat. Mabilis maubos ang food supply.

We always have bananas at home so my husband bought a bunch of banana day before the lockdown. I’ve been saving the few pieces of overripe bananas so I can bake banana cupcake but two days ago, my husband made banana smoothies so nabawasan pa. Waah! Since we don’t have loaf bread at home, I decided to use the remaining bananas so we have something to eat. If there is no quarantine, we can easily go to the market or grocery so we can buy other ingredients pero sa panahon ngayon, it is better to stay home and use whatever ingredients we have.


I started baking when I got married and I’ve been using this Banana cupcake recipe since 2006. I got the recipe from Yummy Magazine, good thing I copied it because I can no longer find the magazine; nasama na yata sa binaha nung Typhoon Milenyo. Anyway, I like this recipe because my cupcake is soft and moist and even I remove some of the ingredients, masarap pa rin siya. Most of the time, I don’t add instant coffee mix or cinnamon sugar. If I have available chocolate chips or nuts at home, I added it to the recipe.

Banana Cupcake and Banana Bread Recipe 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 mashed bananas
1 + 1/2 tsp instant coffee dissolves in 1+1/2 water
1 cup + 2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Procedures

1. In a bowl, mix together ½ cup butter at room temperature and 2/3 cup sugar.
2. Add 1 egg and 2 mashed bananas.
3. Mix in coffee (1 ½ tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 ½ water)
4. Add 1 cup plus 2 tbsp flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp salt.
5. Spoon the mixture into paper-lined muffin cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (1tbsp sugar and mixed with ¼ tsp cinnamon.
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit about 20 to 25 minutes or till sides are lightly browned and top no longer look wet.

Using the same recipe, I can also make banana bread, I just increase the baking time. It took me 45-50 minutes to bake the banana bread when I use the loaf baking pan. I doubled the recipe and was able to bake 32 pieces of cupcakes and according to my son same taste (meaning masarap) pa rin kahit kulang kami ng isang banana, instant coffee, and cinnamon sugar.

"No matter how clueless you may feel right now, pay attention to suggestions and opportunities that suddenly present themselves...Take the first step in the direction toward something that feels right and see where it leads you. And do it NOW" - Jen Sincero



Stay at Home Mom 

Time flies so fast and I could not believe that it has been twelve years already since I became a stay-at-home mom or a full-time mom. If you think that being a full-time mom is effortless, then you are definitely wrong. It is not really easy; in fact, it is more stressful than working in the corporate world. When my baby came, my life gradually changed because this time, I had little time for myself. It is really hard to become a wife, a mother, and a maid rolled into one.

Choosing to be a stay-at-home mom is not an easy decision for me because I know that I have to give up my career and future income. But still, I am proud and happy because I am always with my son from the time he was born until now. I feel blessed because not all mothers have the chance to be with their children. I witnessed his first cry, first smile, first laugh, first tooth, first crawl, first step, first word, and other milestones. I am present on special occasions and school events.

The joy of being with my son doesn’t mean that I am always on cloud nine because there are challenges and struggles too. The journey is not simple especially if you are not used to it, there are also times that I cried because I miss working and I want to have my own “me time”. But still, I never regret that I chose this path because even I do not have a salary, I know deep in my heart that it is a rewarding career.

Read: How Motherhood Changed Me
Unexpected Joys of Motherhood 
The Mom You’re Meant to be
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Stay at Home Mom
Things You Should Never Say to a Stay at Home Mom

If you are a stay-at-home-mom like me and if there are times that you feel depressed or unfulfilled, don’t worry because it is just normal. You can read the “Professionalizing Motherhood” book by Jill Savage. This book really helps me a lot and makes me realize that being a full-time mom is a valuable career choice and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Stay at home moms do not mean that we are lazy and uneducated because we are not, we just choose our kid/s over career because we feel that this is the best decision for our own family. Instead of focusing on the negative things, look for an opportunity to do the things that you cannot do if you are still working or take advantage of the time to learn new skills.

Read: The Day I Learned How to Bake my Own Bread
The Day I Learned How to Sew 
The Day I Learned How to Crochet 

Work from Home Mom 

When I decided to resign from work, I know that it would be difficult for me because I am not used to being at home. Two months after graduation I already started working so choosing to be a stay-at-home mom is really a challenge. I enjoy the first two months because I have time for myself, no work, no more graveyard shift, and no more deadlines. Aside from the usual household chores, most of the time I watch TV, surf the internet, bake cupcakes, and read magazines and pregnancy books.

But after two months I really feel bored because I cannot do anything and I am stuck at home. I have all the time in the world but I cannot go on vacation because I was on bed rest for few months, I do not want to spend money since I no longer have a salary and I have no companions since they are all working.

After three months of not working, I worked as a real estate agent but it is not easy so I stop before giving birth. After several months, I became a mompreneur, I opened my online store (www.mcsstore.multiply.com), it all started because I want to sell my son’s preloved baby stuff and then I decided to resell some products. I closed my online store because I don’t have time for shipping or meet-ups.

I tried my luck and applied to be a ghostwriter. Honestly, I don’t consider myself a writer, because I hate English subjects during my school days. I just took the risk and applied to be a content writer and fortunately I was hired. I have been writing for eight months and I decided to resign because it’s eating my time and I felt guilty because I have no time for my son. It reminded me of the reason why I resigned so I focus on being a stay-at-home mom.

Mom Blogger 

Quitting my online job leads me to blogging. I started my own blog where I can freely write and share my story during my free time. This year 2020, Michi Photostory is already 9 years old, I never thought I would come this far. My blog may not be popular and it may not have a lot of followers but I am happy to help those people who stumbled on this blog.

This blog allows me to earn a little through ads, sponsored posts, paid insert links, and other blogging opportunities. The passive income helps me to support my hobbies, buy the things that I want, save, and invest.

Read: Why I Love Being Mom and Blogger
7 Things I’ve Learned in 7 Years of Blogging

It is not just about the earnings but this blog is the reason why I learned and developed some skills like graphic design and social media management. These skills allow me to have a freelance career. Yes, I’m back to being a work-from-home mom but this time, I only accept short-term projects or part-time work. I’m still a work in progress because it’s been years since the last time I applied for work. I feel like a fresh college graduate student who has no idea how I'm going to sell myself in a job interview.

Check Michiscape Facebook Page and Michiscape Instagram

In a span of 12 years, I became a stay-at-home mom, mom blogger, and work-from-home mom. I know that my journey as a full-time mom will not end and it is still counting. But I’m thankful to God for opening doors so I can enjoy being a mother and at the same time, earn while I’m in the comfort of my home. I just hope and pray that as I walk this path, I will learn to enjoy and appreciate more my chosen career.

Read: Working Moms vs Full-Time Moms 

Life has been so unpredictable these past few days and we can’t help but feel worried. We worry about our health and our future. But I know that worrying won’t help, we just need to have faith that we will get through this and this too shall pass.

I hope you are doing okay despite the coronavirus health scare. Today is Day 4 of community quarantine and it’s been more than a week already that I’m inside our humble abode. I am a SAHM so I have no problem with staying at home because this is my life. We need to stay home until April 14 and I hope that our food stock will last so my husband won’t need to go out anymore. Tipirin na lang kung ano laman ng fridge and pantry namin.

Anyway, we always have a loaf bread at home but there are times na hindi siya napapansin like this week. My husband bought roll cake and mamon before the lockdown and because of that hindi namin nakain yung bread. But this expired bread will not put into waste because there are so many ways to save stale bread or expired bread. Especially now na wala naman kami stock ng loaf bread, may value ito expired bread. You can either make bread pudding or French Toast, I prefer French Toasts because you can cook this in less than 30 minutes.


I always cook French Toast because my son loves it. I remember, when my son was still in toddler years, he is/was a picky eater who only considered breakfast and snacks as his mealtime. He rarely eats lunch and dinner and if he eats lunch and dinner, we are the happiest people on earth. He does not like rice but he likes pasta, noodles, oatmeal, cereal, and bread.

From time to time, I cook French toasts but most of the time, he is satisfied with bread and Nutella. Until now, he still eats Nutella sandwich kahit yan lang ipabaon ko sa kanya sa school, happy na siya doon. And because of that I have no problem whenever we go to Norway because nabubuhay sa tinapay anak ko. lol

Going back to French Toast, this is very easy to make because I’m pretty sure that you have all the ingredients in your pantry such as bread, egg, butter, milk, sugar, and cinnamon powder. Cinnamon is optional because not all people like cinnamon powder. There are so many French Toasts recipes that you can find online but this is how I cook our French Toast.

Ingredients: 

6 slices of bread
1 egg
1 cup of fresh milk
1 tbsp of sugar
Butter

Optional: 
Cinnamon powder
Powdered sugar
Maple Syrup

On the first weekend of the year, my siblings and I went to Manila to visit my late father. While waiting for them, my family ate lunch at Curry House Coco Ichibanya. This restaurant was founded in 1974 at Aichi, Japan by Tokuji Munetsugu and his wife Naomi.

It is the world’s largest curry restaurant chain. They have branches all over the world, so aside from Japan, they have restaurants in the USA, China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, United Kingdom, and the Philippines. The first restaurant in Manila was opened last March 2015 but it was only two months ago when we first tried it at Robinsons Place Manila.



The restaurant was packed, we’re just lucky that we secured a table after the guests left. We took our time in browsing the menu and since this is a curry house syempre ang must try dishes ay yung may curry sauce. We ordered Chicken Wing Basket - P280 + SC, CocoIchi Curry Udon P240 + SC and Pork Cutlet P340 + SC.



For the meat curry meal, you can choose your desired rice volume, spiciness, and toppings. You can choose standard rice or 15-grain rice, price varies depending on the grams and types of rice. You can choose from 150g up to 550g of rice. For spice level, you can choose from mild, standard and level 1 -10. Of course, we chose the mild for the pork cutlet.


I thought my son will eat the chicken but he chose the Pork Cutlet. Waah! Maybe he missed the Curry Pork that we ate at C&C Curry Shop in Tokyo, Japan so I ate the chicken basket. The basket is good for sharing, it includes chicken nuggets, chicken wings, and french fries. I was not able to taste the pork cutlet, my son finished his meal except for the curry sauce.


My husband ate the CocoIchi Curry Udon, you can choose spiciness and toppings too. The Spice level is from standard and level 1 to 10. Add-on items are onsen egg or rice bowl. The price of topping ranges from PHP100 to PHP180, there is cheese, seafood, beef, chicken and pork. I can’t remember the spiciness level that he chose pero ang alam ko, pawis na pawis siya and nakailang request din siya ng water. If ever we will visit Robinsons Place, I will dine here again so I can try the Pork Cutlet Curry.

It is already March and I’m not yet done with my holiday post and my Scandinavian trip series but slowly I’m getting there. Hehehe! Last December, we didn’t have travel trips but life was still so busy because we had so many things to do and buy. Since we were on a holiday break, my son and I went with my husband to Makati.


Insurance Company 

My husband needs to go to his office and while he was working. My son and I went to my insurance company so I can submit my documents needed for my Living Cash Benefits. I bought my memorial plan when I started working and now I am claiming the benefits because I’m still alive and kicking.

Philcare 

My son and I went to Philcare clinic for a check-up, my son has colds and I have a dry cough. The doctor did not give me medicine, he just advised me to buy strepsils max and surprisingly, gumaling naman dry cough ko after few days.

Pag-ibig Office 

It’s more than a decade already since we bought our house but it is not fully-paid yet because we chose 30 years payment plan. We chose that because we know that it is the only amount that we can pay every month. At that time, I just resigned from my job and we were living in a single income but we took a risk and bought a house.

Then last year, I computed everything and I was so shocked sa total kasi lagpas na siya sa total ng housing loan namin so it means I’m just paying for the interest na lang. And because of that, we went to Pag-ibig office so we can apply for repricing so now, mas maliit na yung monthly amortization namin.

The Pag-ibig staff informed us “bawasan niyo po ang principal para mabilis kayo matapos.” so that is why we went back to Pag-ibig office para magbawas sa principal and hopefully we can finish our housing loan soon. How I wish, dati ko pa siya ginawa parang nasanay na kasi ko na kasama siya sa monthly bills namin. Dapat pala ang goal ko, mawala siya sa monthly expense namin. 

Yi Fang Tea 



On our way to Pag-ibig Office, we saw Yi Fang Tea store and wala tao so we took advantage of it. When I saw Yi Fang Tea Store in BGC, mahaba pila so tinamad ako pumila. Since this was our first time, I just ordered kung ano yung una sa menu, the Yi Fang Signature Fruit Tea PHP140. It is a blend of fresh fruits and mountain tea, hindi lang namin type is may buto ko na naiinom but the taste is good.

Read: Food Trip in Bonifacio High Street

Funny story, after ordering, the staff asked me about sugar level and ice level, napatulala ko ng slight kasi hindi ko alam ang choices. Napaghahalata na first-timer ako, hehehe! I chose 80% Sugar Level and Less Ice. If first timer ka rin, ito yung mga choices just in case hindi mo siya mahanap agad sa menu and para alam mo na agad issasagot mo sa staff. You also have the option to choose hot drink or add some jelly or pearl for an extra fee.

Add-ons: 

Aiyu Jelly: PHP25
Grass Jelly: PHP25
Pearl: P15

Sugar Level: 100 / 80 / 50 / 30 /0
Ice Level: Normal Ice/ Less Ice / No Ice
Hot Drink: add PHP15

Lunch at Kanin Club 


After our Pag-ibig office visit, we had an early lunch at Kanin Club. It’s been years since our last visit and I’m missing their crispy dinuguan. It was past 11AM so the restaurant was not crowded yet. We ordered Crispy Dinuguan, Bistek Tagalog and Rice. Kanin Club is one of our favorite restaurants if we want to eat Filipino dishes, check below my food review.

Read: Food Trip ay Kanin Club

Imarflex Outlet

I’ve been meaning to buy an air purifier at home but the price is too expensive for my budget. Hindi lang naman kasi siya one time buy lang, you have to maintain it pa because you need to buy a filter. There is a brand na napagtanungan namin and P10K ang filter niya so ang bigat sa bulsa kung every year di ba.


Fortunately, my husband found an affordable air purifier so we dropped by at Imarflex Outlet in Makati. We bought one big PHP6700 and one small air purifier PHP2500 for our home. This air purifier helped a lot lalo na nung hindi kami nagbubukas ng windows during Taal Volcano eruption.

Sesou 

Last year, while I was browsing my Instagram feeds I discovered Kurin Water and because of that nacurious ako at hinanap ko talaga siya. I bought one for me and for my siblings so they can try it too. As of this writing, I bought my second bottle of Kurin na and next time I will buy online na lang, wala kasi refill sa Sesou store.

After that, we went home na, sobrang nakakapagod na araw and I even checked my health app. Naka-16,456 steps ako and 11.75km lang naman ang nilakad ko. Waah!

I’m a Filipino so I love Filipino cuisine. Of course, it is very important that we should love our own dishes. Even though I love Filipino foods, there are dishes that I don’t know how to cook or some I tried but I don’t like the result. And because of that, I visit different restaurants so I can order food that I don’t usually cook at home.

One of our go-to restaurants when it comes to Filipino dishes is Kanin Club. We’ve been here for the nth time already so I decided to compile my old blog posts in one article.

March 22, 2013 Dinner at Kanin Club 

The first time we ate in Kanin Club was four years ago, we’re not satisfied with our order so we never dare to try it again but two weeks ago we revisited this restaurant. We had our dinner here because my mom wanted Filipino food.

We ordered Sizzling Squid P210, Sigarilyas Express P140, and Crispy Dinuguan P244. To my surprise, we all enjoyed the food and we even ordered extra rice. Hehe! No doubt that crispy dinuguan is their signature dish.


April 20, 2015 Lunch at Kanin Club 

If we are in Paseo de Sta Rosa, Kanin Club is our go-to restaurant because I love their crispy dinuguan. I ordered crispy dinuguan + ginataan na gulay when we went back last December 2013. I did not like the ginataan gulay but my husband liked it.


Last March, we ate at Kanin Club before going to Nurture Wellness Village. It was an early lunch so the place was not packed yet. We ordered Crispy Dinuguan P260, Sigarilyas Express P150, Kare-Kare P350 and Pork BBQ P110. I love Kanin Club because the price is very reasonable and the serving is good for 2 to 3 persons. So we took home our leftovers for dinner. 
April 19, 2016 Dinner at Kanin Club

My husband has a business trip in Cebu and this time, we’ll join his trip so we can also have a summer vacation. It’s been a while since we had a family trip, most of the time overnight lang. So to save money, I used my Mabuhay Miles to book our ticket. My husband called PAL reservations to book our ticket and off we went to Philippine Airlines to pay and get our ticket. They moved their office to Westgate Center from Petron Station. 

It's almost 7PM so we decided to eat our dinner in Westgate, we don't frequent this place because there is a parking fee of PHP20. I have no idea na marami pala kainan dito, I though Contis lang. That's where we ate last year.

We ate at Kanin Club and we ordered our all-time favorite which is Crispy Dinuguan P290 and Pork BBQ P125 for my son. I did not enjoy my crispy dinuguan, nasobrahan yata sa pagkacrispy at ang hirap ichew.


We also tried the Turon KC ala mode P150 and Leche Flan P85. We were surprised to see the dessert, ganun kalaki yung turon. Kanin Club’s turon has ube jam, sweet coconut strips, monggo beans, and banana. One slice is already enough, it is like eating halo-halo without the ice and milk. 

It was also our first time to see a Leche Flan topped with Macapuno. My son likes plain leche flan so he removed all the coconut strips. Their leche flan is not sweet and we prefer sweet leche flan. 

March 3, 2020 Lunch at Kanin Club

It’s been years since the last time that we ate at Kanin Club so when I saw this in Makati Ayala Triangle, ito na agad kinainan namin. As usual, hindi mawawala ang Crispy Dinuguan sa order namin. We ordered Crispy Dinuguan P380, Bistek Pinoy P280 and Plain Rice P132 (3 cups). 



Medyo mahal na yung crispy dinuguan kasi yung last time na kain namin, wala pa sa PHP300. It is really nice to have a blog kasi may price watch list ako. Hehehe! As always, we were satisfied with our food. Care to share your favorite in Kanin Club.