Ramblings of a Perpetually Tanned Filipina

I was feeling a little experimental tonight after I saw my friend's photos on food which included this recipe. She had pork instead of beef though. My husband likes beef, so I got beef instead of pork and just kept my fingers crossed while I placed everything in the crockpot. Whoever invented the crockpot is a GENIUS!!! The meat was so tender that it was falling off the bone and the flavor was also absorbed by the meat. My friend's recipe went something like this: Ingredients: 1 Pack Lee Kum Kee Sauce for Sweet & Spicy Beef or Pork Ribs Pineapple chunks (Optional) Garlic and onion Bell Pepper Procedure: 1. Boil the ribs with water and add a little salt until it's tender. 2. Pan fry the ribs when it becomes tender until it turns golden yellow. 3. Sautee the garlic, onion and bell pepper in a separate pan. Add the ribs and add water (estimate how much water you will need for the ribs)  4.Add the 1 Pack Lee Kum Kee sauce and let it simm...

I have very dry lips and I could not start the day without putting lip balm on my lips. My usual routine will be lipbalm then lipgloss. I rarely use lipsticks 'coz it dries my lips out and leaves my lips peeling after an hour or so. I have been looking for a good lipbalm for years now. I loved Body Shop's Born Lippy, but I still have to work on my driving skills to get to the interstate and off to the mall that has the Body Shop. So I settled for Carmex in Cherry and Original. I like the Original flavor even if the smell of petroleum jelly is too overpowering. My lipgloss and Carmex are like lovers - they work really well together. Until one day, as I was on Youtube, I came across one of PinkieCharm's videos about lipbalms.Towards the end of her video, she mentioned Vintage Sisters lipbalms - a lipbalm that actually works. So I went ahead and checked the site, checked other reviews too, and surprisingly, all of the people who used it liked it and even recommended it. Unlike...

March 16th 2011 - I drove on my own to work for the very first time. I was nauseatingly scared that I almost peed in my pants. I'm born and raised in the Philippines and driving is not really a requirement 'coz we have our jeepneys, buses, cabs, tricycles, etc. Public transportation is convenient and very affordable. So when I moved to the US, I have zero experience when it comes to driving. Believe me, the employees at the DMV gave me this "you're 20 something and you SERIOUSLY don't have a driver's license??" Even my current job assumed that I already have a license - 'coz it's a necessity to have a car here to get to places without waiting for the bus for hours and crossing scary and deadly streets. So my husband got me a car on the 11th of March. It's blue with the Jesus fish at the back. We had a very good deal on the car 'coz my driving instructor is friends with the family that sells the car. I never drove it from the dealership...

I haven't blogged in like what - forever? I have been very busy lately 'coz I just got the job I really wanted and I was on training for 2 weeks and 3 days in Denver. I should write about Denver (or part of Denver) since we didn't really get to see downtown Denver. It has been a great start of the year and everything is working out well. Juggling two jobs isn't easy, that's why I rarely have the time to think and write a blog entry. I shall make a come back soon and ramble for a day or two. This blog is still alive - the owner is just plain lazy OR just seriously busy. I miss blogging and I miss sharing my crazy or not so crazy encounters with random people and things. I shall get my tan back on soon! xoxo

One of my favorite fashion/beauty bloggers, April made me want to run out of our house at 10pm and go to CVS to check out their 75% off deal. She got a lot of make-up for less than $50! You can find her haul here:  http://aprilathena7.blogspot.com/2011/01/cvs-75-drugstore-cosmetic-sale.html . I love make-up, but I don't go for the expensive stuff. I still can't convince myself to splurge on make-up, especially that I don't really wear tons of it everyday. Since I was jealous about April's haul, I went ahead and dropped by the nearest CVS after work last Sunday, January 9th. I only got a few items 'coz the store near my place didn't really have a lot of stuff on sale. I think the 75% deal depends on which store you go to. On my first visit, I saved a total of $19.62! Then, I had to visit another store near my workplace 'coz I figured they have a wider range of choices there and I was happy that I wasn't disappointed with what I have found on the sale ...

Let me tell you a story on how I got my driver's license ( cue How I Met Your Mother theme song) On a cozy Thursday morning, I woke up to the sound of a voicemail left on my phone. It was the voice of the corporate recruiter who hired me 2 days ago on a job I really wanted so bad. It wasn't good news. Our room was so quiet, that my husband also heard what the recruiter said - we need your driver's license. We were both in a state of panic. The first words from Tim's mouth was "Oh my God" and I was in a state of shock. I'm glad that I was off for 2 days, so I wasn't able to hand over my notice of resignation from my other company when the new company called me up. I was this close to being jobless, and I'm very thankful that I didn't have to go to work for the past 2 days and put myself in a very bad situation. Tim and I jumped out of bed and we had to come up with a solution asap. I'm glad that my husband is clever and intelligent e...

I haven't updated my blog for ages and I have realized that it's already 2011 y'all! 2010 was a very interesting year for me. It wasn't perfect, but it taught me a lot of things in life. Since I moved here in January, I have learned the value of hardwork, humility, perseverance, confidence, and optimism. From the comfortable life I had in the Philippines, I had to step one notch down and learn the value of time so I won't be late for the bus everytime I go to work, the value of humility as I work as a cashier and not a trainer, and persevere regardless of what obstacles I face every single day. It wasn't easy, but prayers moved those mountains I thought I will never conquer. Everything was different as I celebrate Christmas and New Years here in the US. We didn't have tons of people come over to our house and share a family feast. I didn't see almost a truckload of gifts under the tree, and I didn't see lechon on our dining table. It was a very sim...