Spices of My Life: February 2011

Monday, February 21, 2011

Busy... Busy... Busy...

Whew!!! I'm stressed out... I'm uber busy these days, trying to manage 2 jobs, review IELTS and my masteral studies.... and I almost forgot, blogging. Oh I miss blogging, but I have to prioritize my review and studies. If I have extra time I'm gonna blog hop and visit you guys.

By the way, if you know a free online review for IELTS please let me know. It would be a big help. Thanks!

Friday, February 11, 2011

TABASCO® Original Red: My Appetizer

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m not really a huge fan of hot sauce. But I will admit I can’t also resist it; bit by bit I taste it, feeling the tangy taste in my tongue, until unnoticeably I ate almost a whole platter of rice. No joke! Hot sauce serves as my appetizer. I can still remember when we were having food trip with my friend; each of us ordered one large pizza. And yup! I finished it! Yes, the whole round of pizza. LOL…. The TABASCO® Original Red Sauce even makes me want to eat more.

TABASCO® Original Red is not about heat for heat’s sake. It’s about what heat does to the flavor of food. The simple combination of salt, red pepper, and vinegar are perfected in a 3-year aging process that produces a hot sauce with the uncanny ability to bring the most out of your food. Other hot sauces add their own specific flavor to food. TABASCO® Original Red simply enhances the flavor of food.

It is known that Tabasco® Original Red Sauce is great partner for pizza, eggs, fries, burger and a lot more. But I have also a different weird idea for this hot sauce. Our family loves vegetable salads, grilled or boiled eggplant, lady’s finger (okra), or other leafy vegetables. And these healthy foods are yummier when a hot sauce is serve for dipping.

Aside from vegetable salad, here’s a very simple menu that you can enjoy:

Banana fries enhanced with the pungent-taste of TABASCO® Original Red

Ingredients:

Green banana cut into thin slices

A pinch of salt

Oil enough to fry the green bananas

Procedure:

Heat oil in a pan.
Deep fry the banana slices. Wait until golden brown .
Then while hot , sprinkle a pinch of salt and put an amount of TABASCO® Original Red (depending on how hot you want it)
Then toss

This best serve while hot. Enjoy!

By the way you can visit Tabasco® Original Red Sauce home page for the Pizza Perfected as well as other exciting and simple ideas and recipes!!!

Enjoy the hotness!!!!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Joining Mommy Rubz Thanksgiving Giveaway!!!

I think Mommy Rubz is aiming that all bloggers (or at least more) will have their own self-hosted blogs. Because for this year alone this will be my second time to join a contest with prizes of self-hosted and own domain name blogs… So generous of her as well as the sponsors.

I didn’t win the previous contest that’s why I’m taking my chances for her latest giveaway.

So, what am I thankful of?

Looking at my surroundings…. Looking back at my past…. I could only say that the words “Thank You” is not enough. There’s so much to thank of… So here are just some tidbits of what I am grateful of for the past few days.

1. Baby Hannah turns 1 last February 1. Her birth was unexpected thinking that my brother and sister-in-law can’t have a child. Imagine it was more than eight years before she came. Indeed she’s a special gift.

This kiddo brings so much joy to our family

2. When it comes to my blogging career, I’m so grateful that paid adsense is back as well as the page rank for this blog is back. I’m still working for the page rank of my other two blogs. Another thing is that, seeing all other craft blogs motivated me to continue my passion in crafting. I’m currently challenging myself for Ey to Zee (A-Z) Valentine Craft Ideas. And of course meeting bloggers in the blogosphere is super exciting. They are one of the reasons while I’m still here – blogging my darn feeling (paid or unpaid….. LOL!!!)

PR from 3 to 0 to 2

3. And am thankful that the application for approval of the Local Market Opinion (LMO) of my Canadian employer was approved… and my name was included. But I’m still asking for God’s discernment. If this is His will then so be it…

Of course this Thanksgiving Giveaway would be impossible if not because of the generous people behind this. Thus, I would like to thank Mommy Rubz and all the sponsors of Pinay Mommy Online's Thanksgiving Giveaway!!

Azumi - Kawaii Princessâ€™ Story

Marikenya's Travel and Resource Blog

The Miscellaneous Me

Family and Home Living

i am woman hear me rawr

Lifestyle & Homemaking

Kero's Celebration

The Peregrinator

I Love Hate Blogging

Web Design Philippines

jared's little corner of the world...

Nutrition and Health Care

The Domain Angel

Eat, Drink, Blog

Our Kids Plus Us

If you want to join in this fabulous giveaways, please visit Pinay Mommy Online's Thanksgiving Giveaway post.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Life Must Go On…

I would like to thank you all especially those who drop by to say their condolences and prayers for my aunt who just passed away.

Today is my cousin’s birthday. I know it’s hard for her to celebrate her birthday especially that the body of my aunt is still in their house. I pray that may God be with her and strengthen her as she face the new challenge in her life as she take the responsibility of her three younger siblings.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Heartbreaking Experience

Last night I went to a hospital to visit my aunt who was confined at Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A lady in front of us was crying, I don’t know the exact situation of their patient but I know it’s critical. I didn’t expect that a few minutes we’ll experience the same heartbreaking emotion.

(Photo source)

When I arrived I thought my aunt will be okay. Until we noticed that the doctors and nurses are hurrying and running inside the ICU, I think that’s what they called cold blue. A few minutes the doctor looked for my uncle and told the sad news… My aunt’s heart stops beating… But the doctor gave us a hope that the patient may survive if she’ll respond after 15 to 20 minutes… I think it’s the longest 20 minutes I had experienced…

20 minutes passed. Another doctor approached the whole family and told us the real situation. My aunt was clinically dead. It’s only the machine and medicines that kept her alive… how long? Maybe minutes or hours… it’s only miracle if she’ll survive.

It’s the most heart breaking situation when the whole family broke their emotions…seeing my uncle trying to be strong for his children… seeing my cousins crying... hearing one of them asking who will accompany her on her graduation. It’s hopeless and helpless case. Only God knows the answer….

This morning when mama’s phone rang, we already knew what it means… My aunt didn’t make it…

P.S. Please pray for her soul and her family….

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Need to Invest for Self-Hosted Blog

I need cash… lots of it. My salary is not enough for all my obligations: monthly payment for teeth braces, payment for my tuition fee and for the fieldtrip, which was agreed by the majority of the class in our seminar subject. I know I overspend but those are necessities also. I have no choice but to borrow money from my mom.

My online earning is not that big considering that I’ve just recovered from my PR 0. And you know low PR means few or no tasks at all. In order for me to maximize my earnings in blogging I also need to invest. I’m thinking of purchasing domain and moving my blogs to a self-hosted blog because advertisers prefer a self-hosted blog. I actually had reserve money for the domain name but I have to prioritize my expenses for my fieldtrip since the date is close.

My problem is that I do not have the knowledge about self-hosting blog. There are many web hosting sites like Hostgator hosting, bluehost, Dream Host, to name a few. But I need to consult blogger friends about these webhosting services to check the reliability and services they offer as well as the payment. I need to check since this involves money and I can take the risk of losing even a single penny.