Birthday Scrapbook

I've been working in the corporate world and I have always kept 1 tradition... It's not working on my Birthday. I believe that I owe this day to myself to spend it with the people I love in a stress-free way.

And it was the same as always, spent the day at home, lounging, sleeping and being with my son (hubby has to go to work this year-- he usually take a leave too-- but not today).

So to give you a rundown of what happened today (my 34th Birthday by the way) here are the TOP 10 Special Things on my Birthday (hashtag from my twitter) :

10. Thanks @akosiPektus (my hubby) for my first Jumba Juice. Yes, the California-based purveyor of healthy beverages and "better-for-you" snacks are now here in Manila with their pioneer store at the newly-opened Bonifacio High Street Central at the Fort. Hubby got me their all fruit smoothies...five fruit frenzy which are blends of blueberries, mangoes, strawberries, bananas, peaches, mixed berry juice, peach juice

9. Love This! Thanks to my MIL, Mama Emms! So timely in this season of pig outs :) i'd say it definitely improves digestion because after having this...the queen's throne awaits! (LOL!)

8. Home is where my heart is...always. Whenever left with a choice between responsibility at work and responsibility at home...the latter always wins.. without batting an eyelash.

7. It didn't rain today! (thus no Photo) That's a first!

6. A surprise from Budapest! Thanks to Raffy...he bumped into our friend Fritz and his Nephew Ethan at the mall pretending to be in Europe but our friend is actually here in the country for the Holidays... but it was a surprise nonetheless... sweet!

5. Exchange Gifts and Noche Buena Package - our exchange gift has a cap of P350.. but since the pear shaped ham is out of stock and the fruitcake is out of budget... Raffy settled for a Queso de Bola and a chocolate cheesecake (Kuripot! haha!)

4. My Fab girls. Thanks for spending time with me on my birthday. It's always a sure hit with unlimited laughter and tears of joy when I am with you gals..I love you to the bones!

3. Crazyness ...and not following directions :) I thought of doing a "scary elevator scene" but at Abi... totally not following directions.. and Erben, I say scary...not funny haha!! I guess they are too sleepy to listen to me.. haha!

2. Christmas Tree and Awkward moments (of Erben) because she does not like posing in public places like some kinda tourist from the province. But I love this tree and we all wanted to pose with it... so she doesn't have any choice... haha!

1. Friendship & Laughter. need I elaborate further?

Thank you to all who make my life great with love and laughter (and tears of joy) amidst all the challenges and stress this life brings... it makes me look forward to life head-on with you guys and gals on my side.

To my hubby... you know i love you... (with or without gifts..hihi! but I'll be waiting for my HDD this Q1 of 2012 or else you will incur interest! )

To my son...you are my inspiration. I'll love you until eternity.

xoxo.
S

The Search for Max's Baked Eggs

... is  like a hangover after a period of excitement. I'm not taking about a Chicken Restaurant called Max's but Samantha Sotto's Max in her debut best selling novel, Before Ever After.

But Samantha was kind enough to share these 3 Baked Eggs Recipes which was originally published here. 

4 cheese baked eggs

She mentioned that the Baked Eggs with Avocado and Feta is "Divine".. but Avocado is not in season these time of the year so I tried the Baked Eggs with Bacon... and the 4-cheese Baked Eggs instead. Both were absolute delectable..


We don't have an oven so I used our oven toaster instead. Just to give you a heads up, to avoid burning your cheese, preheat it for 10-15 minutes and  bake the eggs for 10 minutes, when you see the cheese starts to get dark, place a foil over the ramekin so you won't end up eating a dark, burnt and bitter baked eggs :)


Bon Appétit!

XOXO,
S





Baked Eggs with Avocado and Feta
Ingredients:
- 3 baby portobello mushrooms with stems, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- A dash of paprika
- 1½ tablespoons avocado, crushed
- ½ tablespoon feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 eggs
- Fresh basil for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 230˚C/450˚F. Sauté baby portobello mushrooms with garlic in olive oil. Add paprika and salt to taste. Spread mushrooms in a layer at the bottom of a small ramekin. Set aside a few pieces for garnish. Layer crushed avocados and feta cheese over mushrooms. Crack two eggs over the avocado-feta-mushroom mixture. Bake for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on how runny you like your eggs. Garnish with mushrooms and basil. Serve hot with toast.

Baked Eggs with Bacon, Onions, and Bell Pepper
Ingredients:
- ¼ medium-size white onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon red bell pepper, finely chopped
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 strips of bacon, crumbled
- 2 eggs
- A dash of salt
- 1 tablespoon Cheddar cheese, grated
- Chopped basil for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 230˚C/450˚F. Sauté onions and pepper in olive oil until onions become translucent. Arrange a layer of crumbled bacon at the bottom of a small ramekin. Set aside a few pieces for garnish. Layer onions and pepper over bacon. Set aside a few pieces for garnish. Crack two eggs over the onion-pepper-bacon mixture. Add a dash of salt. Sprinkle the Cheddar over eggs. Bake for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on how runny you like your eggs. Garnish with bacon, peppers, onions, and basil, if using. Serve hot with toast.

Before the cooking began...

Baked eggs with bacon, onions and bellpepper

Four Cheese Baked Eggs
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 eggs
- A few drops of white truffle oil
- ½ tablespoon sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
- ½ tablespoon mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon feta, crumbled
- Chopped basil for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 230˚C/450˚F. Pour cream into small ramekin. Crack eggs over cream. Drizzle eggs with truffle oil. Sprinkle Cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan, and feta over eggs. Bake for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on how runny you like your eggs. Garnish with basil, if using. Serve hot with toast.

Baked Eggs with toasted breads are great with hot tea!

My Annual Birthday & Christmas Wishlist v.2011

wrapped it up and send it!

I usually post my Birthday & Christmas Wishlist a month before my birthday. But since these past few weeks have been like "hell's kitchen" in our office, I'm too tired to post and just want to sleep when I get home. But today, no more excuses missus! 

So here I am on my 7th year of blogging, I'm posting my wishlist...not as grand as it used to be.. I learned to aim for simple things... realistic and achievable :)


UPDATED!!

Books - Thank you to my CorpTeam Family for giving me my birthday gifts in advance..Love yah all!!

I love to read. And I'd love to have more time to read. But I am not wishing for more time because I know you won't be able to give me that... so I'll go for the material to be read. Hihi!

Even if I missed his 1^st ever (and might never happened again) book signing at Podium last month, I still want to read his books. I'm still missing the following titles from my collection: The Best of Me/ The Choice/ Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.

I also love reading the courtroom and family drama of Jodi Picoult's Books. I miss reading it. So i'm including it on my wish list :) - I got the Tenth Circle too from my CorpTeam Family too!!

Flash Drives  (8GB / 16GB) - Thanks to my monito ( Larry ) & My CorpTeam Family (again!!) love love love!

You can never have too much of these little things. It has proved themselves to be very useful in the office, in long provincial drives, and for storing TV series and movies. I need to get another one of these so I can save those downloaded series that I share to Kitchie, Erben & Mary and may not need to bring my netbook all the time.

500GB/1TB /2TB External HDD  - Hubby promised to get me this..after Christmas when prices of these goes down :) ...for now its a raincheck :(

This I really really want, been planning to get myself one of these but some priorities needs to be prioritized so this has to be in my wishlist because the memory of my netbook is not enough to keep my TV series and my movies and my pictures etc...

Screen protector for HTC Desire S and iPod Touch 2^nd Gen

The HTC is for my phone the iPod Touch is for my son. He's been using both gadgets and always ends up with scratches and bite marks... so yes there are holes on them right now. So I need new ones and extra protectors for future use :)

Paul & Joe lipstick – in nude/ natural colors

Erben gave me this last year from my birthday and i love it! There wasn't a day since then that I was not wearing this lipstick (well there were days that don't wear it ...when I'm just in the house hehe!) ...that's why its almost ..near the end of its lifeline. And for this reason I am adding it to my wish list :)

Clip-on-Book light   -Hubby bought me this on one of his trip to Powerbooks *hugs & kisses to you*

 – saw one in Powerbooks when I was paying at the cashier...—hoping my hubby gets me one of these. I need it when I'm reading those Nicholas Sparks & Jodi Picoult books you know :)

The Spa GC - Thanks to my fab friend @kitchied for the fab gift! xoxo.

 Year in year out i need to get these stress out of my system and I am in my most relaxed state when my body is laying face-down in a bed with a whole :)

Knee-high boots - My Birthday Gift to myself :)

 Which I wish to use at our corporate Christmas party –Theme: Glam Rock & Roll..I'm size 7 don't forget :)- Party is on the 15th so send it in advance :)

Levi’s CURVE ID  Jeans

I have explored Levi's website and I took the quiz and the fit finder says I'm a Supreme Curve. Find out your curve too.. click here. 

Android Robot  - I can't wait to get my hands on my Android toy :) Thanks Sonny!!
I want. period. Don't ask why.

Day Off 

A free day where I can do whatever I want. Not be a mom. Not be a wife. Not be a Supervisor. Not be a daughter. Not be an Employee. Just Me. For 24 hours. Me Myself and I. 

And those are my Birthday and Christmas Wishlist for 2011.

Happy Birthday to me and all December Babies!!! What's on your list this year?

xoxo,

S

Slipper-y Went on Sale

You got mail. And this email brought good news... shopping sale news that its. Our sister company, Digitel, has partnered with retail stores for this season of shopping ... i mean gift giving...last week it was with Celine where they have a buy one take one deal for all shoes and bags... (if you guess that i bought bags and shoes.. you are right!) I bought one bag for me and one bag for my mom... and 2 flat shoes for me :)

This week, its with all-flip-flops a.k.a. Havaianas... and its a 2-day sale up to70% off on their products... And so I took this opportunity to get myself a new Havaianas ... also bought one of my goddaughter, my niece-in-law and sister-in-law and of course my mom on day 1 :) and on day 2 i went back to get my hubby 2 pairs of slippers. But it was unfortunate that there's not enough slippers for boys/toddler... mostly its for girls and 1-2 year old babies.

After paying my slippers, the person who was checking the receipts at the exit, said that I was lucky to get a limited edition crystal sunny slippers... really?? it is? It was actually the first slippers I saw and I just took it for safe keeping without even looking at the size.. it was pure luck because it was exactly my size. : )

my day 2 purchases

my limited edition Crystal Sunny Slipper

the first batch of slippers

the slippers I bought for Hubby :)

The only problem is...you get to have the same shoes as everybody else.

me and Kitchie with our shopping bags

I was a happy shopper since I end up buying 10 pairs of slippers...There are sure lots of slippers under the Christmas tree this season.


xoxo.
 S.

The Journey Before Ever After

one of my SB breaks with BEA

Unlike most books that I have purchased straight from the shelf of a bookstore, I believe that Samantha Sotto's novel, Before Ever After, took quite a journey with me.

Let's start from the very beginning.

In one of our coaching sessions, my former boss and mentor, Ms. O, told me about a mother who turned her back on her corporate career, to follow her dreams. She wrote her book in a cafe near the school of her kids while she waited for them to finish their classes. Fast forward. And now her book is internationally published because she followed the chickens...(you know what I mean if you read the book already).

Ms. O never mentioned the name, I had the feeling that that story is the story of Samantha Sotto, when I saw a link on Facebook about a Pinay who has written a novel which Crown/Random House will publish. I may be wrong...(but who cares?!) All I know is that I was proud of her, of what she had accomplished. She is a Filipino making her mark for the world to see and acknowledge.

And so I did some googling and stumbled into her very nice website and twitter account. I followed her. I learned that she will be at the Book fair in SMX, but it was a Sunday and since its family day, I was not able to go. But I wanted to. It would be my first time to meet an internationally published author. It was not meant to be...at that time. But I know that fate was in my favor because I learned that she'll have a book signing in Singapore on the weekend of September (25) and I happened to be there with my family to watch the SG F1 Night Race.

Our trip to Singapore was a full packed 5-day vacation but I was able to squeeze in a few hours trip to ION Orchard where the book signing will take place. We arrived there early, no Samantha in sight, just a pile of her books ready to be purchased, a chair and a table. So we decided to have a late lunch instead. When I returned to Prologue Book Store, there was already a line of fans, friends and family awaiting for their copies to be signed. As I fall in line, I was giddy and nervous like I was about to meet a celebrity. I can't even take a decent photo of Samantha and the woman before me because my hand was shaking... I tried like 3 times but to no avail...good thing Samantha's hubby was ready to help and he took the picture instead.  He also took the picture of us. Funny because I really felt like a fan. Placing my twitter name on the piece of paper below my name hoping that she would recall and remember our twitter exchanges. Based on our small chit chat, seems like she did remember me....but if she didn't... she was very convincing that she did (haha! but I don't blame her if she really didn't remember me). What's important was I was able to meet her in person (finally after the failed attempt in SMX) and got my book autographed. It really made my day.

With the author Samantha Sotto at Prologue Book Store in ION Orchard, Singapore

my autographed BEA. Follow the chickens!

I have already written so much but I haven't said anything about the book yet. This was suppose to be a book review post...Oh well, all I can say is that I enjoyed each and every character that came alive in this book. Brad, Simon, Dex, Rose, Jonathan, Paolo, Shelley & of course Max. The stories within the story made my imagination worked at its wildest...and the lesson of love, forgiveness and an idea of a great marriage proposal made me love this book even more. And the Epilogue made me think. :) But I am a romantic so I'll keep it at that.

But I prefer the epilogue contains the secret recipe of the Baked Eggs & Cheese. Really.

And with that, I will follow the chickens! You should too but buy the book first :) 2nd printing is now out and available in NBS :)

xoxo.

follow Samantha Sotto on twitter @samanthasotto and visit her website and experience the happy campers.

P.S. Would't it be great if this becomes a movie :) Just thinking aloud... that would be awesome don't you think?