Coffee and Walnut Pie

@ mirandablue

I admit I'm a nutty person...I like all kinds of nuts, that is.:p  I finished my errands early one afternoon, and I returned to Icing's Bakeshop for coffee with the delightful accompaniment of their walnut pie.  Visualize me in the couch with a book.


Ah, being my own boss can be overwhelming but I'm loving the schedule.:p

@ mirandablue

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Comfort Eating? [T2Q]

@ mirandablue

It was one of those days when I wasn't really hungry but wanted to munch on something.  I was not tense or stressed, just bored.  My first instinct was to get a fully-loaded burger and fries at Wendy's but as I thought of calories and high blood pressure, I made a beeline for a Chinese restaurant.  At least, it would give me better choices.:p

The chicken and corn soup was really hot--it forced me to concentrate and kept me occupied for a while.

These steamed vegetable dumplings with shrimps were delicious, love the dipping sauce!  Too bad, I was already burping after finishing the soup and wasn't able to finish the dumplings.  I had the remaining pieces bagged for takeout--my nephew finished it off.

My questions for Thursday 2 Questions - you are invited to answer and join.

1)  What are your favorite comfort foods?

2)  Do you or do you not believe that people resort to comfort eating when times are hard?

@ mirandablue

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Thursday Brownies: Light up my life

@ mirandablue

As any interior designer would tell you, nothing complements a room like lighting.  The brown tones of this capiz chandelier evoke a mood, engage the senses, and create an ambiance.  And it's proudly Philippine-made.

Join us at Thursday Brownies

Overlooking Lina-on Bay [Watery Wednesday]

@ mirandablue

This was a stopover on our way back from the Cauayan market.  A quarter of a mile's walk from the highway near the boundary of Brgy. Bulata is the edge of a downward slope to Lina-on coast.  It's a point where the sea, mountains, clouds, palm trees, huts and distant bancas paint a rustic tranquility we city-dwellers crave time and again.  

@ mirandablue

It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.  ~K.T. Jong

@ mirandablue

Cauayan, Negros Occidental

March 2011

Join us Watery Wednesday

Orange Tuesday: Lantana

@ mirandablue

My neighbor's Lantana in April...they were blooming all summer long.  And stopped when the monsoon rains started.

My first contribution to Orange Tuesday

Blue Monday: Bangles

@ mirandablue

It's impossible not to be enthralled with these bold bangles.  These will add a colorful splash to your everyday garb.

My contribution to Blue Monday

Cards [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

After leaving Hallmark for more than a decade, I still have some of the cards we worked on.  I kept some of the designs that gave the team the biggest headaches to remind myself of small victories.  The Manila office specialized in handmade cards in those days---we started receiving card designs from Hallmark (Kansas City) around the mid-90's.  Vendors utilized handmade paper and applied natural materials such as shells, twigs and dried flowers to embellish the cards. The card above was different because of the hand-sewn doll (to be used as pin or brooch) attached to the card.  The project was a nightmare!  The designer specifically wanted a curl on the doll's forehead and the blush should be perfect.  Because of the doll's size (about 3" tall), it was difficult to get a consistent curl or a perfect blush.  About 30,000 units of this card were shipped to the States---imagine the hair and sleep I lost on this one.*LOL*

I had a "thing" with a guy named Miguel many years ago, and here's what my friend who lives in California sent me for Valentine's Day!  

@ mirandablue

This V-Day card gave me a huge belly laugh!

Greeting cards with the sender's sincere sentiments can really brighten our day.  But with the advent of e-cards, it seems only a few people mail "real" cards these days.  I miss the thrill of receiving cards from friends.

Enjoy Photo Hunt

Morning flight [SWF]

@ mirandablue

There's nothing much to see at my sky right now.  It's just a blanket of grey.  A typhoon went and another arrived---what can I say, we're a typhoon super-highway.  So I'm sharing with you skies from a few months ago, in mid-February to be exact.  Taken in Clark Field during the hot air balloon festival. 

I felt like a kid as I watched the light planes glide across the morning sky.  I stood, my eyes turned upward, as they soared to the clouds, weightless in flight.

@ mirandablue

When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.  ~Leonardo Da Vinci 

@ mirandablue

Posted for Sky-watch Friday

Light and easy [FTF]

@ mirandablue
Shrimp and Mango Salad

My dinner buddy had a red meat craving and she got her wish at Tender Bob's.  I, on the other hand, wanted a light and easy dinner---and got my wish, too. Shrimp and Mango Salad for starters and Fish Fillet with tartar sauce and fries for me. 

@ mirandablue
Fish Fillet and Fries

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Brown dogies

@ mirandablue

My first contribution to Gizelle's Thursday Brownies are the dogies I met in the islands last March.  We were not formally introduced but these guys followed me around like we're old friends, and they were very willing to pose for the camera.  The top dog, let's call him Skinny, posed on the beach like a supermodel.  While Furry below, found a cool place to take a nap.  Aren't they handsome?:p

@ mirandablue

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Pool @ Fontana [Watery Wednesday]

@ mirandablue

One of the swimming pools at Fontana Leisure Park and Hotel in Clark Ecozone.

Join us at Watery Wednesday

Blue Monday: Summer's over

@ mirandablue

The endless rain is making me blue.  Summer is definitely over.  Flip flops are water-resistant but I'm not sure about the shell purse. I need to reorganize my closet soon...something I'm not looking forward to.

My first post for Blue Monday

Informative [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

Everyday, all kinds of media bombard us with images and information.  I read books and magazines for pleasure and to lessen my ignorance.  I talk and listen to people and learn something along the way.  There are TV programs that are informative and broaden the mind.  But travel is the most enlightening and rewarding.  It is a fascinating way to discover and know the world, yourself, and experience how others live. Travel dispels our fear of the unknown and teaches us new ways of seeing things.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.  Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetimes. ~ Mark Twain

Join us Photo Hunt

Scatterings of pink [SWF]

@ mirandablue

I was back to the roof deck recently after a long absence.  My view of  Ortigas Center was now obstructed by this new 4-story house being constructed across the street.  But the fat pinkish cloud that looked like a scattering of sand made for an interesting sky-watch.

To my right, looking towards Eastwood, was this dark, heavy cloud that seemed to threaten the dry, quiet dusk.

@ mirandablue

Posted for Sky-Watch Friday

Spaghetti Ai Tesori del Mare

@ mirandablue

My sister and I were supposed to watch a movie but the movie we wanted to see wasn't at the theaters anymore.  We ended up in Amici for dinner.  We shared a pizza [that I don't have a photo of] and a pasta dish, and she got a gelato shake (she needs the calories,  I don't!).  Spaghetti Ai Tesori del Mare is my usual order at Amici---it's olive oil-based, mildly spiced with chili oil, and has a mixture of shellfishes that I like, scallops, clams, mussels and prawns.  Delizioso!

@ mirandablue

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Fallen/Tumba

@ mirandablue

Mga natumbang puno ng niyog sa dalampasigan ng Punta Bulata.

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Fallen coconut trees along the shores of Punta Bulata.

@ mirandablue

For Thursday 2 Questions - you are invited to answer and join:

1.  What are the green initiatives you do at home?

We recycle--water from the washing machine and plastics, reuse glass bottles, aluminum foil, plastic cutlery;  consolidate daily errands to avoid unnecessary driving, switched to paperless bills, save electricity by air-drying clothes, limited use of AC, turn off unneeded lights; we are also trying to reduce food waste.

2.  What are some of the most damaging things we do to the environment?

Irresponsible disposal of garbage, illegal logging, wasting water and energy, over-fishing, dumping of motor oil, paints, pesticides and other toxic chemicals down the drain, air pollution, indifference.

A nameless river [Watery Wednesday]

@ mirandablue

There was no name to remember this river by.  I was a stranger to its turquoise ripples, there was no memory waiting to surface as I watched the current whirl around the rocks.  

I didn't know the river's twists and turns; its scents were sweet but unfamiliar.

Every rock and blade of grass didn't know the texture of my skin; the trees crouching by its banks didn't know my name. 

Yet every playful splash, every refreshing spray, was an embrace.  Its whispers and murmurs sang of journeys I have yet to take.

@ mirandablue

 Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go. ~ Natalie Goldberg

@ mirandablue

Brgy. Purisima, Manapla, Negros Occidental

April 2011

Posted for Watery Wednesday