The Year We Stayed Home Christmas Ornaments

It was November 11 when I finally tried shopping at Lazada. It feels like I am living under a rock and I haven’t tried it for a very long time. Hehehe! It just so happened that my husband was looking for a watch and it is not available at the store so we checked if we can buy it online but unfortunately, it was out of stock too. Then my son wanted a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller for Christmas so I bit the bullet and ordered online.

Since I’m new to Lazada and I’ve been reading a lot of horror stories, I chose the COD to make sure that I will get my order. I was glad that I received all my orders and they are in good condition. But of course, there are hits and misses too, just like these ornaments that I bought from Hong Kong. I carefully checked the photos and read the product descriptions so I know what I am really getting. But in the end, I received some products that are slightly different from the sample photos. Among the 3 ornaments, only one passed the description and photos.

PHP148

Anyway, I still use the Christmas ornaments for our Christmas tree. I like this because I can personalize it, I just use a Sharpie to add the text. 

Round Ornaments PHP85

PHP118

Read: DIY Christmas Ornaments using Cricut Maker 

How to Make Polymer Clay Christmas Ornaments 

DIY Gingerbread Ornaments 

DIY Salt Dough Ornaments  

DIY Paper Christmas Ornaments 

DIY Christmas Ornaments Angels 

Things to Consider When Buying Your First Home

In this article, you can read about some things you need to know before you buy your first home. Here is a list of tips and thoughts for those people considering their first home purchase. These may help you get through the process, save money, and complete the deal as quickly as possible.

Borrowing money responsibly

Most homebuyers need some financial help, whether they are buying a home for the first time or the third time. You want to borrow the right amount and that means borrowing what you can afford. Speaking to a home loan advisor can help you here to stay on the right track. Speaking to real estate agents is essential for getting the right information, Richard Morrison Vancouver Homes can help you decide if you can afford to buy a house in their region. You can check online with mortgage websites that often have calculators for you to see instantly the kind of amount you may be able to borrow.

Allow for changes in finances

When borrowing the home loan also consider whether the payments will go up and by how much. In the past, there have been incredible rises and many people became homeless. You would normally be made to take out insurance as part of your loan and it makes sense to check what cover this has. Is it interest only or does it cover the full monthly repayments if you are made unemployed?

Credit ratings

To get the best mortgage at a low interest rate you need to have good credit. Make sure you are paying your credit cards and other bills on time. Get your free credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Go through these and look for any problems. If there is anything serious like County Court Judgments then you will need to fix these before going ahead. 

Keep your credit cards 

Many people think that paying off their credit card and ditching it will help their rating but it won’t necessarily work out that way. To explain why you need to look at your overall available credit. 

To work this out with simple maths this example will assume you have 4 credit cards with a $2500 limit on each. 1 of your cards is at $1500 and another is at $1000. The others are basically at zero. So at the moment, you are using 25% of your available credit. You then decide to cancel the two cards that you don’t use and that leaves you with a $5000 credit limit spread between 2 cards. The problem is you are now using 50% of your credit line.

This is not an encouragement to spend money on them only to keep the lines of credit open. Your adviser will let you know if you should make any other changes.

Checking out the neighborhoods

As real estate experts always say the 3 most important things are location and......you can repeat that 3 times if you like.

It may be a bit of a cliche but it still stands true. You might find a large wonderful-looking house and put your money into buying it only to find out the crime rate is sky high, you have terrible neighbors and the local government is about to build a waste incinerator nearby.

Look at public records for planning applications. Check crime rates online. Read the local news. Ask the seller about the immediate neighbors and other people in close vicinity. He or she may be getting out for other reasons that they are saying. You can visit the area at different times of the day and at the weekends to get an idea of what it is like to live there.

Local amenities

How the area is and what is planned for the future will affect how much your home is worth. You need to look at public transport and the schools to start with. Is the area due for gentrification? If so this makes the area promising for the future. Is there a good employer in the area or is it easy to get to the city for commuters?

When you buy a property you have to think about who you might sell it to in the future too. A cool bachelor pad might be really appealing to you but when you try to sell it you will find that something more practical would have had a broader appeal to buyers.

Home inspection

Once you have found the place you want, get a home inspection to check for mold, pests, and structural problems. This is an absolute must to make sure there are no hidden costs about to spring up at you. What problems are found will depend on the type of house you are buying. Are you looking for something you can move straight into or somewhere that needs fixing up and some DIY to get a lower price?

Negotiate

So you are happy with the area, the home, and the report. Now it is time to make an offer. Obviously don’t try to steal the house (unless you can) but ask your estate agent what they think you can offer sensibly and get it as cheap as possible and then you may get your first step on the property ladder.

DIY Christmas Ornaments using Cricut Maker

I have so many stories to share but I have very limited time to blog because of the holiday rush. I became busy ordering and preparing my gifts. I’m finishing some client tasks and I’m trying to update my shop. Lastly, I am now enjoying my new toy and I’ve been doing a lot of craft using my Cricut Maker. 

And one of my projects is Christmas Ornaments, I wanted to make more of this but I only have 4 acrylic blanks. I ordered twice from the seller but I don’t know why I can only order a maximum of two. Shipping is not cheap so I did not reorder. I planned to add this to my Christmas gifts too but maybe next year. 

Read: Cricut Maker and Cricut Essential Tool 

Anyway, since I am still exploring the Cricut Design Space, I just searched and downloaded some FREE SVG files on Pinterest except for our family name, because I used Photoshop for it. I have tried a lot of designs and I wasted a lot of vinyl stickers. Hehehe! But after a few hours of trying and learning how to do it, I finished our four ornaments and I’m happy that I’ve made it. 

The new members of our Christmas tree will be part of our Christmas tree story. Sharing some of the DIY ornaments that we made in the past several years. I’m proud to say that we are still using these ornaments except for the salt dough ornaments. 

Read: How to Make Polymer Clay Christmas Ornaments 

DIY Gingerbread Ornaments 

DIY Salt Dough Ornaments 

DIY Paper Christmas Ornaments 

DIY Christmas Ornaments Angels 

“Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow. They represent a gift of love given a long time ago.” - Tom Baker

Over the Moon Movie

I was browsing the Netflix List and I saw Over The Moon movie and I asked my son if he already watched it and he said yes. I got curious so while ironing our clothes, I watched this movie. Over The Moon is a 2020 American-Chinese animated film. I think this is the first animated film of Netflix so you can’t compare it to Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar, etc. 

The story is about a girl named Fei Fei, when she was still young her mother always tells her story about the goddess of the moon “Chang’e”. Her mother died and a few years later, her father was engaged. She was upset and decided to build a skyrocket that will reach the moon. This movie is not only for kids because even adults can enjoy this movie. 

What can you learn about Over The Moon movie? 

This movie will make you understand how people deal with losing someone. Grieving impacts everyone and we handle it differently. There is no time limit on mourning because whether we like it or not, the pain remains with us. But it doesn't mean that we stay that way, it is a process of accepting, letting go, and moving on. 

This year, I lost my father and my sister so our family is trying our very best to go back to normal. There are days that we are okay and there are days that we are not. So I can totally relate to the story of Fei Fei because it is really hard to move on. Even though we know that they are in a better place, we can never deny that we will always miss our loved ones. 

Sharing some quotes about grieving and moving on. 

“It has been said - time heals all wounds - I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” - Rose Kennedy 

“Let it hurt. Let it bleed. Let it heal. And let it go.” - Nikita Gill 

“You may no longer be able to hold the one who has gone, but you hold them in your heart and you continue to love them in a different way - by channeling that love into acts of service for other people.” - Mitch Albom 

“It’s hard to turn the page when you know someone won’t be in the next chapter but the story must go on. -Thomas Wilder” 

"Grief, I've learned, is really just love. It's all the love you want to give but cannot. All of that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go" Jamie Anderson

Typhoon Ulysses Experience

Until now, I don’t understand why our 2020 is like this, it seems that this year is full of challenges and difficulties. We experienced Taal Volcano Ashfall, and just recently, typhoon Ulysses battered different parts of Luzon. Last Thursday, we had no electricity and water for 16 hours. Even mobile data connections were down. 

I'm thankful that we have a small solar battery charger that we can use to stay connected for several hours. My husband designed and assembled it five years ago. We can use it to connect our modem, small fan, and charge our phones. And because of this, he was able to work and my son and I can watch Netflix while waiting for the electricity. 

I'm thankful for leftover foods and easy to prepare dish because we had something to eat. It is hard to cook if there is no water supply. Good thing that I still have stock of disposable paper plates, spoons, and forks para wala ng hugasin. We already have a water drum so even we don’t have water supply we have something to use but of course, we are saving it because we don’t know when the electricity will resume. My husband also saved some water from the rain so we have something to use for the bathroom.

Six years ago, when typhoon Glenda badly hit our place, it took them 44 hours to restore our electricity. So we thought na matatagalan pa magkaelectricity so nung humina na hangin at ulan and paubos na ang battery namin, we went to my in-laws para makiligo and makicharge ng laptop and powerbank. By the time we arrived, I saw one of my FB friends posted na may electricity na sa amin. Thank God that brownout did not last for so long. 

I pray and hope you too are safe after Typhoon Ulysses. 

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2 

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. Psalm 107:29 

Easy Philly Cheesesteak Recipe

I hate food waste because I feel that I’m also wasting hard-earned money every time our foods go to the trash bin. As much as possible I try my best to reduce our food waste by planning our meals every week, making a grocery list, cooking foods enough for our family, pantry inventory to see which foods are near expiration date and lastly, eat leftover foods. 

I’m fortunate that my two boys have no problem eating leftover meals. I’m also thankful for leftover foods because if I’m busy, if we ran out of LPG, if we have no water or electricity, or any other emergencies; we have something to eat. There are times that we just eat leftover meals, it is like a buffet of different viands. Hehehe!

Speaking of leftover, we had a breakfast steak leftover so I prepared my own version of Philly Cheesesteak. I haven’t tried an authentic cheesesteak but my husband had a taste of it during his trip to the USA last year and he loved it. Philly Cheesesteak, or cheesesteak sandwich is made from thinly slices pieces of beef, onion, melted cheese, and hoagie roll. A popular fast food in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the USA.

I have no idea what kind of beef or cheese they use but for my own version, I only used whatever is available in our kitchen. 

Ingredients 

Butter or oil Thinly sliced breakfast beef steak 

1 onion (sliced) 

1 bell pepper (sliced) 

Quickmelt cheese 

Mozzarella cheese 

Garlic Bread and Sliced Bread 

Salt and pepper to taste (I omit this because I’m using leftover beef) 

1. In a pan over medium heat, place 1 tablespoon of oil or butter. 

2. Saute onions, leftover beef, and pepper. 

3. Place the beef mixture on top of the bread. 

4. Add cheese and toast in the oven toaster for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Read: Recipes with Mozzarella 

Homemade Crepe Using Pancake Mix

If you’ve been following my blog, you know for sure that I always have a pancake mix in our pantry. I used this mix to prepare different meals like leche flan puto, steamed puto, waffle, and of course pancake. I have tried different brands of pancake mix already and last week, I finally used my Toro Pannekaker. I bought this during our summer vacation in Norway. 

Read: Chocolate Chip Pancake Recipe

Leche Flan Puto Recipe

Puto with Cheese Recipe

Breakfast Waffle   

My son and I enjoyed the thin pancake of Norway and Sweden. We haven’t tried the pancake in Denmark since we always cook our own breakfast at Urban House Copenhagen by Meininger. And because we love the pancake, my mom also cooks this for our breakfast and of course, I did not leave Norway without buying the pancake mix.  These are some pancakes that we ate during our Scandinavia trip; pancake in pancake in Skansen, McDonalds Sweden, pancake in Scandic Kristiansund, and my mom's pancake using Toro Pannekaker.

Sixteen months had passed and I forgot about the instant mix that I bought. Good thing that I saw the Toro Pannekaker mix last week before the expiration date. I immediately cooked pancake na mukhang crepe sa Pilipinas. Hehehe! What I love about this mix, you just need to add water. So I just add 12dl of water to my pancake mix and cook in a hot, greased pan. 

According to my research, the batter can be kept at least 3 days in the refrigerator but I cooked all the batter. It’s been a long time since I cooked crepe at home because I always have a hard time flipping it so I was glad that my crepe turned out fine last weekend. My platter of crepe lasted for 3 days only, we ate it during breakfast and merienda. I prepared different types of crepe using what we have in the kitchen. Nutella crepe, Banana crepe and Mango crepe + powdered sugar, whipped cream, and ice cream. Next time, I will add chocolate syrup. :)

Dr. John is Not Your Ordinary Medical Drama

Last week, I was watching Holidate movie on Netflix while my two boys started watching Dr. John. My husband was not a fan of Korean Drama series and I think the last drama series that he watched was over a decade ago already “Jumong” (tagalized Korean drama). They were still watching when I slept so when I woke up, I asked them about Dr. John. My husband liked it so out of curiosity, I immediately watched the first two episodes. After I finished the 2 episodes, we started to watch together, and guess what, we finished this Korean Drama series within 48 hours.

I have watched a lot of Korean Medical drama in the past but Dr. John is not your ordinary medical drama. Just this year, I watched Dr. Romantic, Dr. Romantic 2, and Chocolate, the majority of the doctors in these series are surgeons so most of the scenes are in the Emergency Room and Operating Room. But Dr. John is an anesthesiologist who is a specialist in pain management. 

Read: My Korean Drama List 

Dr. John or Cha Yo-han is an anesthesiologist who is a genius at his work and he can diagnose an illness in ten seconds. He met Kang Si-Young who is also an anesthesiologist, she became a part-timer in prison where Cha Yo Han stayed for 3 years. They both work together and try their very best to find an answer to their patients’ mysterious pain. 

As I mentioned, this is not an ordinary medical drama because this series talks more about pain, suffering, and death. How pain affects both the patients and their families. The role of the doctor whether he can treat or not the patients. We know that pain and death are inevitable. It is part of our lives and we cannot avoid it. 

Sharing some memorable lines in Dr. John Korean Drama Series. 

"Parents can't suffer in their children's stead. Husbands can't suffer in their wives' stead. Children can't suffer in their parents' stead. No matter how desperately they pray for that. It's not just you. No human being can feel other's pain like their own. All they can ever do is try to understand." 

"You are the only person that ever understood me, my illness, and me as a person. My world that was neither hot nor cold turned warm after I met you"

"You feel pain because you're alive. Without life, there's no pain"

"What I can stop is the patients' pain not the hardships in their lives" 

"Don't look at the symptoms, look at the people who suffer from those symptoms. What doctors treat is not a disease but a person." 

"Recognizing and sharing someone's else pain. That is my last prescription for our pain that stays with us as long as we live" 

These lines are so true because I have my own pain too and when I am suffering from severe psoriasis, nobody can understand the pain that I am experiencing unless you have psoriasis too. The same with my family who suffered too because of cancers, COPD, Parkinsons, asthma, and FMS. We can only see that they are in pain but we cannot do anything to ease it. 

I also like the soundtrack of this series, I researched the English version of the song "Star" by Minseo and I found a copy here.

Star 

We can’t see each other, like a closed up dream 

You remain in a dark shadow 

You’re filled with scars and even if I can’t reach 

Like destiny, I can’t avoid you 

Even when you’re hurting over sad days 

I’m right by your side 

Even in all the faint moments 

I always believe in you 

I believe in you 

Feels like I’m looking at a withered flower, only pain grows 

Like an icy heart, you’re so cold 

Like the fading star, the thick darkness comes 

But I can’t erase your star anymore 

Even when you’re hurting over sad days 

I’m right by your side 

Even in all the faint moments 

I always believe in you

I’m by your side 

I’m by your side 

Can you see my heart? 

Can you hear my heart? I can only see you 

When things get so hard and you get tired 

I will comfort your heart 

Just like the day we first met, I still believe you 

Are you listening? 

Are you listening? 

Are you listening? 

This was the first drama of Ji Sung that I have watched and I instantly fell in love with his acting so I decided to check his past Korean Drama series. Currently, I’m watching Kill Me Heal Me. 1 out of 20 Ji Sung Korean Drama List.

Read: Travel the World by Watching These Korean Dramas 

Lessons from Angel’s Last Mission: Love Korean Drama Series

It took me a long time to find a good Korean Drama Series after watching "It's Okay Not to Be Okay". I started a lot of series but I stopped after watching 1 or 2 episodes. I always see “Angel’s last Mission: Love” but I was hesitant to watch it because I’m not fond of ballet so in my mind, I will fall asleep if I will watch this series. 

But there is no harm in trying it so I gave it a chance and I ended up loving this Korean Drama series because I like the leading man (L), the original soundtrack, and the flow of the story. It is a blend of comedy, drama, and romance. Though there are some questions in my head about the deity, their punishment to angels, and other things. But of course, I have to remind myself that this is just a series.

Angel Last Mission: Love is all about a talented ballerina who became blind during her performance because of an accident. And because of that, her character changed and she became abusive to her household staff, secretary, and butler. Kim Dan is a carefree angel who always gets into trouble, one of his missions is to help the ballerina to find her true love in order to go back to heaven but he ended up falling to Yeon Seo. 

Somehow, I could relate to the life of Yeon Se because she lost her parents and her loyal secretary. Losing someone we love is not easy and I even mentioned before that I felt that my heart shattered into thousand pieces when I lost my grandmother and sister-in-law last year and just this year, I lost my father and sister. 

I don’t know what are the reasons why it is happening but one thing I know that our life on earth is temporary. Losing someone we love is a wake-up call, we will realize that life is indeed short so we should be ready. We don’t know when it is our time. 

“The reality about death, it has an amazing power of altering what a man desires because death profoundly affects his outlook” Oswald Chambers 

“Death is never the end. Death is a transition. The best is yet to come.”

We cannot deny that sometimes we questioned God because of the sufferings that we are experiencing. We get mad because our prayers are not answered. But at the end of the day, we know that God is God, He alone is our refuge and our rescuer. Let us not lose faith during our sufferings. 

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. Pain, it is a megaphone to rouse a deaf world” C.S. Lewis

“Many times, God has to break our leg to make us learn dependence upon Him” 

I want to end this post by sharing the lyrics of the Original Sound Track of Angel’s Last Mission. I found the English translation of the "Oh My Angel" song here. I also immediately searched the OST on YouTube and Spotify. RIP replay button. 

Oh My Angel 

It's alright

It's alright 

Lost everything that really meant to me   

It's alright 

It's alright 

Somebody's next to me   

Even when I cried when I was alone, 

You have always been with me   

You are my angel 

Oh... You are my angel 

Always... You're here 

Oh... You are my angel 

You are by my side 

Always... Always stay here forever...   

It's alright 

It's alright 

Although darkness envelops my body   

It's alright 

It's alright 

Because You and I are together   

Even when I cried when I was alone, 

You have always been with me   

You are my angel 

Oh... You are my angel 

Always... You're here 

Oh... You are my angel 

You are by my side 

Always... Always stay here forever...   

Love that cannot be done 

Don't be afraid... 

Just leave it to me...   

Even if the world says no to you, 

I will fly with you anywhere... 

We will rewrite our fate together...   

You are my angel 

Oh... You are my angel 

Always... You're here 

Oh... You are my angel 

You are by my side 

Always... Always stay here forever...

Read: My Korean Drama Series List

Travel the World by Watching these Korean Drama Series

Cricut Maker and Cricut Essential Tool Set

We celebrated our wedding anniversary last February and my wedding anniversary gift wish list is “Cricut Maker”. My husband wanted to buy it before our anniversary but I told him to wait because I wanted to attend a workshop first so at least I have an idea how to use the Cricut Maker. I found out that Tees and Prints has a Saturday workshop but I did not register immediately because of the location. It is too far from where I live so I decided that I will just wait for my son’s summer vacation. 

Read: Wedding Anniversary at Cafe Ilang Ilang at The Manila Hotel 

Fast forward to March, Enhance Community Quarantine happened so the majority of the shops close their business. And because of the social distancing, seminar or workshop is no longer possible so when June came, I gave my husband the go signal to buy my Cricut Maker. He was the one who researched, inquired, and purchased the machine. He wanted to buy the Cricut Maker + Cricut Essential Tool Set but unfortunately, the Cricut Tools are not available. I was thinking if I would wait pa para sabay sila dumating pero ending pinabili ko na rin. 

Where to Buy Cricut Maker in the Philippines? 

My husband contacted the main distributor of Cricut Maker in the Philippines but they are located in Bocaue Bulacan. Good thing that they provided a list of their resellers. 

1. Tees & Prints - Quezon City 

2. Hey Kessy - UP Town Center 

3. Craft Carrot - Pasig City 

4. The Craft Central - Vertiz North and SM North 

5. Bee Happy Craft & DIY Supplies - Grace Park West, Caloocan 

6. Alyanna’s Nook - Tondo, Manila 

7. Rochas - Binondo, Manila

Among the resellers, he bought my Cricut Maker at Bee Happy Craft & DIY Supplies because they offer FREE SHIPPING. We don’t normally buy appliances or gadgets online, sa dami ba naman ng modus or scam so nakakatakot bumili so we’re thankful that we had a fast and smooth transaction with Bee Happy Craft. 

June 25 - my husband purchased on their website and got an email confirmation. They have 10 different payment options. 

June 26 - my husband deposited the amount of P25,000 and sent the payment details on their link. The shipping will take 2 business days after they have verified the payment 

June 27 - we were surprised when the Cricut Maker was delivered. We live outside Metro Manila so hindi namin ineexpect na madedeliver agad. 

Cricut Maker P25,000 

Inclusions: 

3 meters of outdoor vinyl 

12x20 transfer sheet 

10 sheets cardstocks 

Rotary Blade + Drive Housing 

Premium Fine-Point Blade + Housing 

Fine Point Pen, Black 

Fabric Grip Mat 12x12 

Light Grip Mat 12x12 

Welcome Book 

USB Cable Power Adapter 

Free trial membership to Cricut Access (for new subscribers) 

50 free ready-to-make projects, including 25 sewing patterns 

Materials for a practice project 

1-year Official Warranty 

Cricut Maker "The Ultimate Smart Cutting Machine"

Perfect for Pro-Level DIY performance and versatility

For cutting, writing, scoring, debossing, engraving, and more.

 After one week, I finally set it up; I only did one simple project just to test if the machine is working. I wanted to make name vinyl stickers but I don’t have the Cricut Tools yet so my excitement to explore my Cricut Maker machine was gone. So since then, I was searching for online shops where I can order Cricut Tools. 

Two months had passed and I found The Happy Station website and Facebook page so I immediately browsed their website and ordered my Cricut Tools and other supplies. The timing is right because it was my birthday month and my mom gifted me with shopping money so I was able to buy tools and supplies. You can pick up your order or ship it, I chose the latter and paid P230 for the Delivery Fee. The time frame is 7-10 business days.

Shipping Method

FREE - pick up at san Juan (Tuesday and Friday only, Bocaue, Bulacan, and Recto

P150.00 - NCR (4 to 7 days)

P230.00 - Provincial rates

August 12 - ordered and paid via Paypal 

August 16 - received my order via J&T Express 

October 31 - ordered and paid via Paypal

November 5 - received my order via Blitz 

Nakabox na yung second order ko and may discount coupon ako. Unlike nung first order ko na nakawrap lang sa bubble wrap lahat. No box or plastic, just bubble wrap and no discount coupon. 

Cricut Essential Tool Set Core Color P2,000 

The Essential Tool Kit and Paper Trimmer set includes:   

Tweezers to lift and secure delicate material  

Weeder to remove tiny negative cuts

Scissors with a protective blade cover 

Spatula to lift cuts from the mat 

Scraper to burnish material and clean all cutting mats 

Scoring stylus to add fold lines to cards and envelopes 

High-quality trimmer for materials up to 12" wide 

Replacement blade for the trimmer 

The scoring blade allows you to add score lines to your projects 

I bought my Cricut Protective Cover here.

Cricut Maker Projects 

I have very limited time in exploring my Cricut Maker and so far, I only made 3 projects. First is my DIY Cake Topper using Acrylic Cake Topper and Vinyl Stickers. Second is my late sister’s name for her urn using vinyl stickers. The third project is my son’s DIY Cake Topper using cardstock. I am planning to buy more supplies so I can make more Cricut projects.

Where Do I Store my Cricut Materials?

For the past several months, I've been using the "Happy Station Box" to store my Cricut Materials but I've been buying a lot of materials for my projects so it doesn't fit anymore. I have Variera Plastic Bag Dispenser which I have bought at IKEA Bangna three years ago that I can use for my vinyl rolls But I only bought one piece because I bought this to store my wrapping paper, I don't have a Cricut Maker yet that time. I searched where I can buy IKEA Variera here but I was so shocked with the price, x3 na lang presyo so I just bought this medium storage box. 

I like this better because it has a cover so it will protect my vinyl rolls from dust. I don't need to display them since I only use my cutting machine from time to time. It is stackable storage so it won't take up too much space. Available in 3 colors, grey, white, and frosted white, and you can also choose sizes; small, medium, and large. Check the links below if you are interested. 

Small Storage Box

Medium Storage Box

Large Storage Box

Small, Medium and Large Box 

Check my Cricut Projects here

Buko Pie in Tagaytay

Buko pie or coconut pie is considered a specialty of Los Baños, Laguna so my ex-boyfriend now husband used to buy this as a pasalubong whenever he visits me. LDR ang peg namin before because I worked in Makati and he worked in Laguna. But he stopped buying this because I told him that I am not fond of buko pie.

When my late grandmother moved to Victoria, Laguna, we always visit her every month. For those seven years of monthly visits, we always pass different stores of Buko Pie and minsan kahit sa daan meron nagbebenta. I think mabibilang ko lang sa daliri ang nabili ko na buko pie, I tried several brands na rin and sa tagal hindi ko na maalala lasa nila. Hehehe!

Cecilia’s Buco Pie 

Last month, my husband went out and came back with a box of buko pie. Mainit-init pa nga ito nung binigay sa kanya, ang sarap sana kainin kaso busog na kami sa dinner. When I checked the box, it is from Tagaytay so I was surprised kasi akala ko puro Buko Tart kapag sa Tagaytay. 

Read: Buko Tart in Tagaytay 

The following day, my husband sliced and reheated this in the oven toaster so I was not able to take a picture of the whole pie. Looking at the slice, hindi tinipid sa ingredients. As I’ve said before, buko pie is not my favorite but I still enjoyed this one. My husband and son love this, yung anak ko na hindi naman mahilig sa mga ganyan na food pero mas marami pa nakain sa akin. 

Speaking of Tagaytay, the last time we went here was January 2 and after that, nagkaashfall and then community quarantine na. Tagaytay is already open for tourism but unfortunately, my son is not allowed to go out yet, sana naman by December pwede na mamasyal. 

12th Birthday

Time passes quickly and I cannot imagine that my son is already 12 years old. Next year, I already have a teenager. Woah! In a span of several months, a lot has been changed. My son is now taller than me, though hindi naman mahirap iachieve iyon but I am happy na hindi siya nagmana ng height sa akin. Hehehe! His voice changed already, parang namimiss ko yung maliit at matining niyang boses. We enjoyed rewatching his videos nung bata pa siya nga kahit naiinis siya pag pinapanood namin, parang hiyang-hiya siya sa mga ginagawa niya dati.

Read: 11th Birthday Celebration

I wish I could stop the time so he will be forever my baby but I also appreciate that he is growing and maturing na, especially this community quarantine and we are stuck at home. My son can do more household chores and he can study on his own. I thought mahihirapan ako this online class kasi baka ending ako rin ang magturo. But I’m glad, kaya na niya and if may questions man, nandito rin si hubby para magturo. How I wish, work from home na si hubby lagi. And because of that, I can still work part-time kahit nagstart na yung school year.

As expected, no travel, no hotel staycation, and no food trip because of community quarantine. So for my son’s birthday, naggrill lang kami ulit like nung birthday celebration ko. My son just wanted a lechen flan but I told my husband to buy a cake. Hubby bought Salted Caramel Cake P895 and Leche Flan P195 from Contis. 

Read: My Quarantined Birthday Celebration

DIY Samgyeopsal at Home

The Salted Caramel Cake is a layered cake of butterscotch brownies, vanilla sponge cake, cream, dulce de leche, and ground cookies. It was our first time trying this cake, my two boys love this but I find it too sweet, ewan ko hinahanap ko yung lasa ng “Salted caramel” parang matamis lahat e. hehehe! Anyway, we all love Contis Leche Flan, one of our favorites na rin ito ever since nung natry namin, early this year. 

And for my 3rd Cricut Project, I made a “happy birthday cake topper”. I just downloaded a SVG file from Pinterest, uploaded it to Cricut Design Space and Cut. Good thing that I have a free gold cardboard stock so I used it, pero mas okay sana kung may glitter card ako. But it turned out great naman, I like this better than the first “happy birthday cake topper”, kasi mas bagay yung size sa cake.

For gifts, my son just wanted a power bank. Oh di ba, binata na talaga, mga panggadget na ang request. Since my mom gifted him money, he asked his daddy to buy a Nintendo Switch game na multi-player daw. He listed 4 games and hubby bought the “Arms” game. Ang mahal ng Nintendo games noh?

Cebu’s Best Rico’s Lechon in Metro Manila

It is not a secret here that I am a meat lover and I love lechon. It is one thing I look forward to if there are fiestas, weddings, reunions, or any other celebrations, kapag may nakita na ko na lechon sa buffet table, masaya na ko. If my husband has a business trip to Cebu, hindi na kelangan imemorize, he needs to buy lechon because that is the key to our house. Hahaha!

Read: Cebu’s Lechon 

Last month was my first time to visit Landers after 7 months, imagine February pa yung last visit ko so I was really shocked na may Christmas decors na sa Landers. How time flies and ganun katagal akong hindi naggrocery because of the community quarantine. So I really took time exploring the grocery, namiss ko ito. Good thing, there are few people lang in Landers which is surprising kasi weekend ako nagpunta. Usually, matao ang grocery kapag weekend pero wala din pila kahit sa cashier.

Anyway, while checking the freezers, I discovered frozen foods from Cebu’s Best Rico’s Lechon. The last time I ate this lechon was 4 years ago, my son and I ate here when we visited Cebu. Though I was a little bit disappointed during my first visit, I still bought 500 grams of regular lechon P472.75 and 500 grams of dinuguan P178.75. You can also buy spicy lechon, lechon pares, lechon binagoongan, lechon paksiw, sisig, and many more.

Read: Lunch at Cebu’s Best Rico’s Lechon

The lechon is carefully packed with reheating instructions and recommended recipes like lechon sinigang and lechon paksiw. Since this is 500grams, I reheat the lechon in the oven but for smaller portions, I also use oven toaster. For lechon, I prefer to use an oven toaster than a microwave oven because I want the skin to be crispy.

Reheating Instructions for Frozen Lechon 

1. Defrost the frozen lechon in the refrigerator overnight until soft.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Once the desired temperature is reached, place the entire meat with skin facing up inside the oven. Reheat for 10-15 minutes. Flip the meat from time to time to prevent the softer one from burning.
3. Reheating in the microwave: Separate meat and skin, microwave meat for 2 minutes, place the skin on top of the meat, and microwave for additional 20 seconds.

* Best consumed once opened. Do not refreeze once thawed.

The lechon skin curled-up and muntinkan pa masunog yung isa, though hindi lahat naging crispy pero okay na rin. Well, the taste reminded me of our first experience in Cebu, the meat was dry, hindi kasi siya belly part e. But anyway, it still satisfied my lechon cravings, at least now I have two choices if I want to eat Cebu’s Lechon. We have Zubuchon and Rico’s Lechon in Metro Manila.

For dinuguan, I just reheat this on the stove, medyo masabaw siya, maliit yung slices of meat and lasa talaga yung ginger. You can also use microwave to reheat it.

Reheating Instructions for Frozen Dinuguan

1. Defrost the frozen dinuguan in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Heat a pan on high heat, place the thawed product.
3. Let it simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.

If ever makapagLanders ako, I will still buy these frozen foods because if I have no time to cook, at least I have an easy to prepare meals.