The numbers don't lie but I don't want to die ( I mean, go on a diet.).

Home-made pizza. 

With a new year upon us, people ( well, some anyway ) get into this habit of doing the "resolution" thing. And always, most of the time, it is geared towards getting fit--say like, exercise more, eat healthier and so on and so forth. I think it is a commendable undertaking, one that requires a strong resolve and commitment. Something that I'm not too keen on taking on.

I'm a "food person", whatever that means-- the only thing I can come up with, as some kind of an explanation, is that I love to eat. I rarely say "No" to food. I am all for it. And to be hungry is something I don't want to get in to because "I'm not myself when I'm hungry." ( To quote a Snickers chocolate bar ad. )

So, for obvious reasons I can't go on a "diet" or try to follow one because I know I'd end up not doing it. A few years ago, I put on excess pounds, that got me the moniker "Pooh" and "Panda". I was so fat that I was mistaken for being pregnant. And one time, when I had to buy a shirt and needed a size past large, I was directed to check out the men's section. Embarrassing, I know. But it took me awhile to realize that I need to do something about it.

I get to play with my food and eat it too.

Anyway, I did lose weight. And what drastic moves I did, you wonder. For starters, I didn't "starve" myself. By this, I mean, I didn't skip meals. I even eat more. I think the only thing I did different was I started running. And to have the energy to do so, I need to eat more.

For me, food is too hard to pass up, especially desserts. I have this reasoning that, I should eat and enjoy food while I still can and not worry too much about calories. I'm not saying that I eat like there's no tomorrow or in excess. Of course, there's always the second helping but I know when to stop when I've had enough. Just because I profess to love food and eating, doesn't mean that I'd eat anything there is. I have reservations too, mind you.

I also enjoy an occasional drink or two.

I don't step on the scale every day to check my weight and fuss about it. It's pointless. One thing I know for sure is that, it is nowhere near the ideal weight that I should be in, especially if I want to run faster. Of late, I've been bogged down with this idea---lose weight---just so I can run a bit faster than what I normally do. An acquaintance told me that running is easier when you're lighter. Now, that got me thinking too.

But really, no amount of resolve will stop me from having another slice of cheesecake or a couple more biscuits. Or an extra butter tart or another piece of fruit cake. Perhaps when I get so desperate ( I'm not sure when that will be though.), I'd put blinders on or stuff my nose so I'd be oblivious to the sight and smell in the kitchen.

For now, I'd enjoy food as I can. And run on the side, I guess.:-)

My cheesecake love affair, I wish I know how to quit you.

I have a sweet tooth, that much I can say. I love desserts of which I rarely get to indulge before. So, desserts of all kinds---I'm all for it. I can't exactly remember when I first had cheesecake but I'm sure it was when I moved in with my "adopted" family in Cowichan Bay.

Amarula Cheesecake. The best one I've ever had and much more so because Rita made it for my birthday. 

I am fortunate to enjoy the kind that you don't get from the store. The ones I have had were all made from scratch. And what's more cool about it, is I'm there to witness the whole process. Then afterward, I get to lick bowls and spoons.

Lemon-Lime Cheesecake. I don't know about you, but to say "No, thanks." to this is crazy. 

Cheesecake is not something to be devoured. For me, it is delicate, so you just don't go and dig in. The "melt-in-your-mouth" sensation has to be enjoyed at leisure. Like any other desserts, it is loaded with tons of calories that any sane individual try to avoid ( at all costs ). I, on the other hand, become oblivious to the caloric content of my new-found love and lose myself in it. Calories? To heck with it.

Here's hoping for more cheesecake in the years to come. :-)

...will miss them like crazy...

favorite fries

my Nanay's "benignit"

I " heart" Halo-halo

bagoong rice... I like

there's "Nai Cha" like no other

Tofu Biryani

eat up!!!

More to come.....

...awesome birthday...

 now, look at this...

I woke up a bit groggy this morning. I was thinking of going out for a birthday jog but I was not able to do so. I slept late last night over the excitement of my new books and the feeling that I am about to turn a year older.

I was up early as usual. Had my usual coffee and continued reading Dicken's Great Expectations. At half past six, I went out to hear mass. Joy joined me, actually, I asked her to accompany me. Afterward, I spent the entire morning in my room, alternating between doing some stuff on the computer and reading. At almost dinner time, we went to Jingle's house.

To say that I was surprised was an understatement. You see, I'm not the kind of person who go berserk when excited or surprised. When I saw the pastel colored balloons with the word "Happy 33rd Birthday, Tata", I was dumbfounded and just grinned like crazy. I did not go berserk on the outside but inside I was on high. You see, I never had balloons on my birthday, not even once, until today.

I did a double take when Jingle placed the birthday cake on the table. I had the suspicion that she and Joy were up to something for my birthday. I didn't know they will go to this extent. My birthday cake, as what would Po said, "AWESOME!"

"We all have something in common. Guess what?"

On one corner of the table were a pile of party favors and party hats in Winnie the Pooh motifs. Food and drinks were present as customary. Jingle's son, Luis joined in the merriment. He prepared games and we had a blast. He was very game and the only kid present.Moments later, Mae Ann and Fritzie arrived. They brought along a pizza. We ate some and drink some. Jingle's daughter, Anna and her friend also joined us.

Joy, Jingle, Luis and me

The 33-year old, cleverly disguised as a responsible adult. Go figures.

Joy, Jingle, Luis, me, Fritzie and Mae Ann

Check out my presents. Something came out good from my "shameless plugging" blog post. And luckily, someone read it too. :-)

and then came Po

 It's good to be 33. Thank you guys...:-)

...recent finds...

After being coop up in my room the whole day, I was eager to go outside despite the heat. I would have love to go out and just walk around more often but because I perspire a lot, I was discourage to do so. Except for those times when I go out to jog early in the morning.

Yesterday early evening, I overlooked this small inconvenience on my part and went out. Joy and I went to Chowking near Fuente OsmeÑa to have dinner. We ordered our usual Nai Cha and their new Limited Edition Duet meals--Sweet & Spicy Mandarin Chicken and Crispy Fish. Afterward, we went to Watson's then proceeded to Robinson's. I went straight ahead to BookSale while Joy dropped by David Salon's.

I have no sane explanation for how I feel whenever I enter BookSale ( besides, I think no one really cares!). My only complaint about this place is that there's no AC unit. So minutes after I was inside, I started sweating but it did not stop me from bending over, poring over the hundred of books. At some point, I kneel down to have a closer look on the books piled underneath a table. If not for other customers present at that time, I would have crawled around. I managed to keep myself in check.

worth sweating over

I did not left the store empty-handed. I was beside myself with excitement when I saw a Taylor Caldwell hardbound novel. The pages were a bit yellowed already but hey, I've been looking for novels written by this author, so...Another cool find was a book by Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man. Check out my other blog for the detail of why I'm interested with this one..

I already have accumulated a lot of books for the past few weeks.I guess this is  enough for my Dec. 5 "readathon".

...watch, shoot and eat...

can't help but listen to them

Joy's pose
the excited crowd
the boys finally arrived
getting ready to sign posters and CDs, then pose for pictures

Last Tuesday, Joy and I went to SM, to catch the group, LIBERA. We waited for almost an hour before they finally arrived. The scream of fans, mostly young people, was deafening. The boys were cute, no doubt. And I believe, it was mainly the reason that a lot of teenage girls were there in droves. Anyone who bought the group's CD or DVD at that time, was entitled to have it signed by the boys and took pictures of the group.

Joy and I took turns in taking photos of them, but it turned out, they were all blurred. The ones I posted here survived the unsteady hands of amateur photographers ( that's us). After almost an hour of standing, my legs were starting to hurt. We left and look for a place to eat. We went to Flavors of China. Finally, I was able to sit down. We ordered food then settled in our seats. I felt very tired. We could still hear the scream of fans in the background. I asked Joy, why we even bothered to come.

In the first place, I was the one, urging her that we should go and watch them. I was thinking that they may sing, even one song, but I was wrong. They were just there to sign whatever their fans handed to them and smile at the camera.

soup with quail eggs

fish and tofu

LIBERA's version of ENYA's Orinoco Flow

...Sunday food trip...

I could just not let this pass..yum..yum...

what's left of the Empress Roll after I dig in

Siomai with Quail Eggs ( the eggs were gone in a flash :-D )

this time, I opted for the Yang Chow Fried Rice

I have this quirk thing of watching a movie ( I especially like ) over and over again, to the point that I'd already memorize some of the dialogues. Weird huh. So, the subject of my obsession at the moment is the chick flick "Made of Honor". I guess you probably heard about this movie or watched it already.

For one thing, the movie was entirely filmed in New York City, except for those other scenes which showed Scotland. I'm not sure if it was really filmed there on location.

Anyway, there was one scene in the movie where the characters, were having lunch at a Chinese restaurant. As they went through the motions of ordering their food from the cart that went around the place, I was hit with the sudden craving of siomai, steam rice, egg roll...just typing all these evoke my gustatory experience yesterday.

For lunch, we decided to go to Harbor City in Ayala. I have been to that place but I find it too noisy for such a crowded place of eating. When we went there yesterday, we had to wait for a few minutes to be seated. The inside was full of lunch time crowd, abuzz with life and of course, the mouth-watering smell of food. Finally, we were able to go inside, sat on our table and place our order. I give the menu a cursory glance then place my order.chicken feet ( I prefer the breast part though )

After the sumptuous lunch, we proceeded to walk around the mall, for a while, waiting for the time. We did not go there to have just lunch since Joy had some tasks to do too. I went to NBS and browsed over some books.

Since it was not yet time, we went to MyJoy for our afternoon snacks ( now you have some inkling as to why I'm FAT). I had Halo-halo and french fries. Just love eating....

another of my favorite ( I have lots of favorite when it comes to food)

love their French Fries ( way better than those from....)

Till my next food trip...:-) And mind you, this post is not really about the movie...

...the sandwich and me...

So what's with me and peanut butter? Actually, none. Add in a banana to make it merrier. :-) For the longest time, I've been eating bananas and slathered peanut butter on my bread from time to time but not together. Get my gist? Hope so.

So, as usual, I woke up early today. I read several chapters on The Associate before I had my first cup of instant coffee. I planned to work out a sweat this morning but the lure of the book overpowers me. After three chapters, I decided to turn my attention to the computer. I checked my emails, then my blog and then had another cup of coffee. I ignored the first onset of hunger but after a few minutes, I gave in. I was thinking of having the usual bowl of oatmeal then I remembered something.

I made myself a sandwich. Not the typical sandwich. I placed two slices of wheat bread in the toaster, while waiting, I sliced up a half of a banana. Afterward, I spread a generous amount of peanut butter on one slice of bread, then meticulously arranged several pieces of the sliced fruit.

Anyway, before I begun munching on it, I took several photos ( just for keeps ). My mouth waters just by looking at it and when I finally took a bite...I was so taken by it. The play of of the sliced banana and peanut butter, coupled with the texture of the bread, in my mouth is, as Dora would exclaimed happily, "yum...yum...yum... delicioso..." :-)

...friends and pizza...

Joy and I went out one hot Wednesday afternoon to buy something then on our way home we decided to grab some chow and settled in Da Vinci's Pizza ( Its a stone throw's away from us and I've been bugging her about not yet eating there, so we check it out). Good thing, the place was not that crowded and I welcomed the somewhat cool air that emanated from its AC unit ( though not cool enough for me, still it helps).

Joy demonstrates the art of enjoying a slice of pizza

We happened to brought along her camera so we took pictures of just about anything( an excuse to try out the new lens).

The stray cats caught my fancy while I aimed the camera at them. They were game and I think that they liked the attention:-)