Chef DJ

Hubby had a best time cooking during Thanksgiving. He termed it as 'cookin' up the storm'. But we helped each other in cooking. He made some dishes and made mine too. We thought of brining the turkey but we just didn't have the time. We had it marinated though overnight with spices and then early morning we put it in the oven. The butter and vegetable we put inside the turkey and inside the skins made the meat tastier and moist. It was well-cooked and the browning was just perfect.

As I have said we split the dishes. He made turnips casserole, yam with marshmallow and pecans, blueberry muffin, cabbage with bacon, and macaroni and cheese. I made the cranberry sauce from scratch, sausage stuffing from scratch, potato salad, gravy, and potato gratin. I got my recipes from Paula Deen at Food Network, Ron Bilaro of Lifestylepinoy.com and some other recipes online. I will share some of the recipes of the food that I made next time. The stuffing was really perfect. It's Paula Deen's recipe. I will sure make it next time.

Get Detoxed

My husband's cousin on his mother side are mostly male. Every Thanksgiving when they are all together they will joke at each other about grubbing too much food. You know when this holiday come you expect a feast. So when I witnessed it with my husband's family I told him that afterward we really need to detox our body because the food are not only great but it can also add up calories and cholesterol to our body system. I meant it as a joke but honestly for the four Thanksgiving that I shared with hubby we tend to over cook and over eat as well :-) I may have to use an Orovo detox for this matter after every Thanksgiving :-)

Give Thanks!

Daddy's Training

Between me and my husband, he is more cool when it comes to training our DD. I am the worry-wart. He will always tell me that I need to loosen up because I am so uptight with things. I need to relax. I agree and accept that. It may just be my personality but I have to make adjustments because our DD copied some of my traits now and I don't want her to grow up uptight and a worry-wart as well.

Anyways, hubby have a way of training our DD with simple things. When she is playing, of course all toys will be all over the place, afterward hubby will tell her in a playful way, 'clean up, clean up'. He will let her copy what he is doing. So now when we tell her to clean up she will put her toys back in the bin and her stuffed animals on top of the side table.

Her Daddy also let her do the cable connection for our laptop. When her Daddy ask her to get the cable she will get it and bring it to him. Then he will aid her to connect it through the connector. We are watching her when she is doing it and for 3 days now she's able to do it by herself.

Grant a Wish to Our Heroes at Home

As the holiday is closing in we are all getting busy to check out our kids' wishes and somehow do what we can to fulfill them. We go through many lengths to at least grant their wish because Christmas is all for giving and granting a wish. As a parent I can feel how hard it is for those kids to celebrate the holiday with simple wish not being granted. Not only that, but how about if one parent or both is not around because they are in far away land doing their duty protecting our freedom?

Being a military family I can so relate how hard it is spending holidays and family occasions without your love one because they're deployed. It is very hard to fulfill all your love ones wishes when you don't have enough to give to them. This is why I am glad that there are kind and generous people out there that are trying their best to reach out to our service members, veterans and their families. They make a difference in giving happiness to those that are left behind by our service members who are deployed.

I am thankful also of the Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry program that grants the wishes of our heroes and those left at home. This program is in collaboration with Sears and other Non-profit organizations. If you want to check out and make one family or kid happy this holiday, you can make a donation of any amount. The donations made to the wish registry are not tax deductible.

Thanksgiving Box of Goodies

I remember when hubby was stationed in Ft. Benning, during Thanksgiving all of the instructors with dependents received a Thanksgiving box full of goodies including turkey. It really helped in our budget because we already have the things we need for the celebration.

The other day I asked him what they are planning to give out to their soldiers. He told me that their brigade is preparing to give out Thanksgiving baskets to their soldiers. They will give baskets to those soldiers E4 below with dependents. I guess it is a good thing to give out something to those who really need it the most.

New Weight Loss Supplement

Losing weight has been a problem to a lot of people, and I am not exempted to it. This is why a lot of doctors and professionals are also researching and making weight loss products that will help people who has this kind of problem. I learned there a new supplement right now in the market called Anoretix. According to some reviews this product received good reviews from its users. If you want to know more about this product you can check out sybervision.com and search for Anoretix reviews. They have the review there as well as more information about this new weight loss supplement.

Sports Day

Today is hubby's Battalion sport's day. The sports that they picked is bowling. So all of them are now in one of the bowling lanes near post. Hubby came home a few minutes ago and asked me if I want to tag along. We both love to play bowling and even if I want to go with him I just don't feel to go out in this cold days. I also have a class this evening and have to finish some tasks so decided to stay home.

One thing I am grateful of is that hubby will always ask me to go with him if they will have activities such as this. Before, pre-baby times, I always tag along with him. I even went with him at the shooting range and watch them on training. This time that we have our DD it is impossible because I will have so much preparation to do before we can leave the house. Maybe when she's big enough and at least can do things on her own.

Holiday Sale

There are only 30 days left before Christmas. It is the time of giving and sharing as well. If you are planning of giving your love ones gifts for the holidays you can find great deals in almost all the stores either online or at the mall. I have seen a sale going on at buy.com with any electronics you need and want. You can find up to 75% off on selected merchandise and big savings on others as well. One best thing I like in shopping online aside from getting good deals is the convenience. You don't need to go out and drive. You can shop at the comfort of your home in your pajamas and slippers. So check out your favorite store and grab the chance of holiday sales.

Sunday Picture

Last Sunday our Daddy went to church by himself. We did not go with him because we woke up late and I don't want him to be late. Since he is already dressed up I told him it's okay we will just stay home. I just made lunch and do my household chores after I bathed our DD. When hubby came home from church DD ran up to him. Daddy asked to take picture of them together. I asked him to pose as well. Pardon the LBC box at the background :-) It is up for pick up :-)

Company Profiling

With the advent of modern technology, that is the internet; businesses are now able to have their business published online. Not only their locality who will know the existence of their business but worldwide as long as internet is accessible. If you have your own business and you want to expand and cater world wide, you can check out services that does company profiling. There are services wherein you can join and linked in your business. I learned about this when I saw the linked in profile of a company name Spectrotel .

Spectrotel Company offers phone services for both business and residential. They have the mission of giving an excellent to their customer not only giving a fast internet connection but also an excellent customer service that other phone companies lack. Their company profile not only tells me about the goodness of their company but also the people that are working there have a great sense of giving a valuable service. So if you need to boost your business and maximize your asset being a good company to do business with or work with, link in your company profile in profile services now.

Pinoy Fear Factor

Reality TV show is now becoming a trend in the Philippines. The first reality tv show that I know Filipino derived from US is the Pinoy Big Brother from the hit Big Brother here in the US. And now they have the Pinoy Fear Factor which was shoot in Buenos Aires, Argentina in South America. I guess the Filipinos are now very acceptable on seeing such shows. Being most of the population are still conservative but is now watching different kind of show. It is a good thing though because it shows how Filipinos are very versatile and can adjust to whatever conditions we are in. We are also appreciative of the new thigs we see so this goes for watching reality tv shows as well.

I have been watching the Pinoy Fear Factor since it was aired and I would say the stunts are really hard and dangerous that I can't fathom how the participants were all able to pull it through. But they did a good job with this tv show. It is something very new to us Filipinos but it is a diversity in the Filipino television.

Harley Davidson Bike

Are you a biker? I have friends, husband and wife, that joined a biker club in their city here in the US. They said that it is really fun. They have usual bikers get together and fun driving around. It helps them to relax as well as enjoy each other's company. They also drive for a cause and it is one of the activities that she likes the most.

One of my friends just recently bought used Harley Davidson motorcycles. Her husband had one already but they traded it in and also got another one for her. Now instead of back riding she can drive her own bike. She told me about latus-harley-davidson.com where they check out also for used Harley Davidson motorcycles. My husband asked me if it is okay with me if he decided later on to get a bike. I really don't mind. If he wants it and we can afford it then go for it.

Daddy Felt Bad

This morning was our DD's appointment with her Nutritionist. As usual, I am the one who brought her to the hospital because our Daddy is busy. When we were still in Ft. Benning, hubby will always find a way to be with me when there's an appointment for our DD. Since we got here, he is always busy with his work. This is because he is in a regular company and not an instructor anymore. He said that he feel really bad because he wanted to be there as well and become hands on also in whatever appointment our DD has. I understand him though. I assured him that I will relay to him whatever findings the doctor have and I will consult him for decisions that we need to come up. But it is good to know that he is still trying his best to make time. I just don't have to expect that he can 100% sure to be there because I know his work demand so much of his time. To our DD, we still love you and we understand you have job to attend to.

Director Recruitment Expert

We heard every day on the news that big companies and banks are on the losing end as this economic recession is not stopping. I was thinking how the other CEOs and directors of big companies are working to shield their companies from possible bankruptcy. Some companies are even working on merging in order to have a forceful and stable business. Just like the merger that I heard with Northwest Airlines and Delta. There are other companies also that try to buy out other companies. I am not really sure how this work but if you are also interested, like me, I saw this article by Dennis Carey entitled How Boards and CEOs can Create More Value with M&A Post Merger. I also learned that Dennis Carey is also an expert when it comes to director recruitment. In his article I read that during merger of two companies a good director to handle in the operation of the business matters a lot. So to those who have companies and trying to merge with another business, you can hire Dennis Carey to choose a good director to work for you.

To be a Soldier

I was with friends when I flew here in the US from the Philippines. The three of us met during our interview at the US Embassy in Manila. When we are all settled here one of them asked me if I have idea to become a soldier. In short, if I want to enlist. I really thought of it. I wanted to go into becoming a Medic or maybe just work in the military hospital. But when I thought that I need to go through boot camp it scares me :-)

That friend of mine who asked me really enlisted herself and went through boot camp. She survived even though she dislocated her arm during one of the trainings. She was in reserve then and since her hubby is with the national guard she decided to be in his husband's unit. Both of them are in NG and with the Medics. She said that if I did enlisted we could have been together during boot camp as well as during the Medic training in Ft. Sam, Houston.

I think it is not for me. I may not be able to survive the boot camp :-) I will still pursue to work in a military hospital or any hospital as a civilian. I think I can still serve even if I am not in the military service, I should say.

Great Online Deals

Shopping can be daunting especially this holiday season. A friend of mine said that maybe the stores are not really that busy because a lot of people are cutting back. But honestly people may be cutting back but still the malls are busy. One place you cannot experience waiting in line while doing your shopping is going online. I am loving the internet technology because it enable you to do things that doesn't need driving and getting dressed. So for this holiday you can try online shopping to keep away from the hustle and bustle of overcrowded malls and department stores. You can also get a lot of good deals online that you cannot see in store.

You can try shopping at Kmart online now because they have so many deals and discounts on different items. For four days only, until November 26th, they have additional 5% off on electronics with exceptions and extra 10% in everything else. You can check out their website to see the different merchandise on sale. I am looking at this two items, the Abbey Hill bedding Medallion Dream bedding collection which has extra 30% online only with search ID# 96096112 and the 1/4ct tw Diamond 5-Stone Journey Pendant and Earrings Set in 10K Yellow Gold which has extra 10% off online only. I can give the jewelry to my Mom for the holiday. You can see the additional percentage off at the cart during check out.

Through December, Kmart.com will be offering additional 10% discount on these categories below:

• women's plus sleepwear
• womens attention brand
• girls tops
• ALL juniors
  
• boys tops
• mens shirts
• mens shirts and bottoms
• big mens shirts and bottoms
• infant and toddler bedding

So, shop online at Kmart.com now because these deals are unbeatable. In this time of economic crisis this deals are hard to pass. As a Mom I make sure that I know where to go for good deals and shop wisely. I am happy that I can go to Kmart and get more at a lesser expense.

So Workaholic

Saturday hubby dropped me off in school. So he is left taking care of our DD for half of the day. When they picked me up after my class he was telling about something that happened to one of their soldiers. I was thinking he got the info from those on duty but the truth was he went to his job to get his work laptop to work something at home. We discussed about this all the time and I am giving in on it. I told him that if he brings work at home I won't say anything. If he will tell me that he will not bring the laptop home I will stop him by telling "I heard it before and I won't believe him".

It is very consuming when you always discuss about work so I told him to do whatever he want to do as long as he can divide his time for us as well. The good thing though is that we can have a healthy discussion about it without hurting each others feelings :-) He doesn't mind as well if I stay too much in the computer either :-)

Holiday Frames from Zenni

One of the things that I like during holiday season is wearing something festive. You can find a lot of accessories that have Christmas accents like earrings, necklaces, bangles, bracelets, and also in clothing. But if you want just a subtle accent to wear daily during the holiday you can try wearing eyeglasses with Holiday frames. Zenni Optical, the leading seller of affordable prescription eyeglasses, also offers glasses with holiday themed frames. You can get glasses from $30 and under. The designs are great and even if it is cheap but the quality is not compromised. I have a favorite design that I find very adorable.

This is a Stainless Steel Full-Rim Frame with Flower Printed Temples and it will look really pretty to wear during the holiday; don't you agree? If you know of somebody who wears glasses, you can also get Holiday frames and give it as gifts. Frames are usually expensive especially if you get designer ones. At Zenni Optical, since they manufacture their own, designer frames are at a lesser cost compared to its competitor. You can find wide selection as well in different styles. So think of these as another holiday gift item to give to your love ones.

Gmail Update

Gmail is launching its update wherein you can set the appearance of your email and I kind of lovin' it. There are many template theme choices although most of it are very simple but with color effect. I tried all the themes given. If you are using the beach theme it will ask what country and city you live in and it will set you as it is. So far one theme catches my attention and I changed my theme into Candy because I like it's pastel color and very girly effect. Have you changed yours already? It's a good thing they have this and you can play with your account, like playing dress up :-)

Applying for a Job

When you apply for a job it is best to be well prepared. You need to have your resume ready and updated. I am taking a certificate program right now in Medical Coding and Billing. My instructor was telling us that they are hiring in her job place. I really wanted to apply so I have to make my resume. I am searching for best resumes online and Dallas resumes gave me a lot of options. At this site, dallasjobsite.com, they have resources that can help job seeker like me. In this time of high unemployment rate the job market becomes very competitive. So a bankable resume as well as skills is very important. I hope I will be able to get my resume as soon as possible so I can apply for the job.

Missing the Lechon Baboy

Lechon baboy (roast pig) is common offering during big celebrations in the Philippines. I was watching TFC and of course in the Philippines Christmas preparation is big. I remember that during Christmas time we celebrate it with family and we have lechon either during Christmas time or New Year. I haven't seen or eat lechon for almost 4 years now. I know it is not the healthiest food because of fats but I still crave for the crunchy skin and juicy, tasty meat. I was looking online to grab picture but most of the nice looking ones are copyrighted so I will not post any picture of lechon here. To those who very well know what it is will agree that it is really yummy :-)

Fat Burner Review

Are you looking for fat burner products? If you are, check out fatburnet.net because they have an extensive review on any fat burner or weight loss products available. If you go online and search weight loss products in any search engines you will get myriads of results. By going through the site I gave, you can right away see and read the best fat burner and also the cheapest you can find in the market. As of now there are 25 best fat burners in review at fat burner.net. Head to the site now and check what are those. Maybe you will find the one you are using there and see what more other users say about it.

Total Scan

Last night I wasn't able to be online because hubby did a total scan in our computer. He said that in his workplace the access for USB port was disabled because they found virus that accordingly was from a memory stick. Since hubby was also using his memory stick at home from work so he initiated the scan and check if ours is contaminated. Thankfully everything is fine. Now, he installed McAffee virus protection and I don't know what else because I cannot access my Yahoo Messenger anymore. I will asked him later when gets home to check on it because I cannot chat my friends and family if it will not be corrected.

Kitchen Accessories

Thanksgiving is coming up and every household will have their own celebration big or small. Since hubby is planning of cooking so I am going to plan what will be our menu for our own little celebration. But before anything else, I asked hubby that I need to have some of our pots and pans replaced. Ours are all worn out and the non-stick is now sticking hard when I am cooking. It has seen better days, I would say. I found great pots at movecookshop.co.uk an infinite circulon cookware and le creuset uk cookware that I think very good to have in our kitchen. It is made of quality material and guaranteed non-stick cooking surface.

Another thing that I was looking for is a bin and at this site also I found the brabantia bins. I like the rectangular one because it will fit in the small cabinet under our sink. The pedal will also help me not to hold the bin itself when I throw in trash. Our bin right now is a plastic one without lid and our daughter keeps coming back to the kitchen and opens the cabinet where the bin is at. I have to replace it fast with the one with lid so she can't dig into it anymore. If you want to check out more of their products just visit movecookshop.co.uk.

So Sensitive

I noticed myself nowadays that I am getting sensitive with critical comments against me :-) Or maybe it is just that I am feeling the holiday blues, you know, away from my family for almost 4 years and going through phases in life that there's only hubby to turn to. But I really try not to get affected in the least because I know how to respect other people's opinion. Nevertheless, I am happy that it never happened yet that somebody throw a criticism on me and if ever there is any I may not have heard it :-)

Anyways, the reason I was saying this is that, when me and hubby talked about exercise and losing weight it brought a pang of pain, due to guilt maybe, especially when he suggested that I do some 'exercising' :-) He said though that it is not that I got big, which thankfully I am not literally, but just to keep me fit and healthy as well as tone my jelly-belly. He got a point but maybe it is with women that we get so sensitive when we are talked into it. It kind of raise a red flag to our self-esteem. I blamed it to hormone too :-) As first time Mom and long to have more Mommy time, it is just hard to swallow the real truth about things that matters most for our own sake. I need to lighten up, right? :-)

Maternity Fashion for the Holidays

Before we got pregnant I envied those that are carrying their bundle of joy in their tummies. I love to see pregnant woman wearing beautiful clothes that even if they are about to give birth they still look fabulous and great. I was always told that even if you are swollen and all, you can still get nice maternity clothes that will make you look sexy. It is very true. When I got pregnant I love wearing maternity clothes that will give me confidence and make me comfortable. And mind you, maternity clothes can get to be expensive too.

Speaking of maternity clothing, Due maternity is offering high end, quality maternity necessities but of very affordable price. If you are pregnant right now and in need of casual, formal, and working maternity clothes you can check them out at duematernity.com. I love their styles; so chic and classy. All collections are gorgeous with unbeatable prices. You cannot find such quality maternity with great prices. For pregnant Mommies and Mommies-to-be, hurry now and check them out! They offer Free Shipping for the Holidays using "BLOG1" when you check out. We are still planning to get pregnant and now I know where to get maternity clothes when I become pregnant again.

Last Minute Duty Call

Yesterday was kind of a long day for hubby. We got out of the house around 11am for church and got home almost 6pm after doing errands but hubby's ended at midnight. We watched movie in the living room and around 9pm hubby got a call from his job telling him that one of the new guy in their company was in the hospital.

As an NCO it is his responsibility to know the situation of the soldier. He was told that he is in the hospital but wasn't told what hospital. He asked me to pull out the number of the army hospital's emergency room and when he called the soldier is not checked in there. He wanted to call the guy directly but he wasn't able to bring home the new company roster.

So, he went to his office and got the soldier's number. He learned that he was in a private hospital outside post. It is not even 10 minute drive off post so he went there to check what happened and what is his condition. I asked him beforehand if it can wait in the morning and he told me that he is the NCO and he wanted to know right away what happened to his soldier. He is a young soldier and the family live out of state.

It is really part of their duty to be always ready when needed. This is not the first time that hubby was called because one of the soldiers is in the hospital or need assistance. It is a good thing that when somebody call him up he is at home or in town to respond.

Use Coupons for Holiday Shopping

As holiday is just around the corner, we feel the pressure of holiday gift giving and the credit crunch. I know a lot of us are very cautious with our shopping spending because of the crisis. As I sat with hubby discussing our Thanksgiving and Christmas plans, definitely traveling is off the list. We need to make sure that if we travel we are prepared and spend more time in the place we go to make most of our travel expenses. With regards to shopping for holiday gifts, although we started a bit earlier for it we still have some things that we need to get. I am just glad that I have discount coupons that I can use on top of the sale price of the items I am going to pick out.

Another thing of shopping for good deals is to use the internet. There are lots of good deals that you can find online and you can even use ecoupons or coupon codes for most of the stores. I have a Sony Style coupon that I can best use in getting a Sony gadget for hubby, kids or myself. One item in my wish list is to have another laptop. My notebook has a problem with its built in fan and hubby took it to a computer shop for price quote. When it is expensive to have it fix than buy a new one, I would like to have a Sony laptop as replacement. I can then use the coupon for it.

If you are not done with your shopping yet, make sure to use all possible avenue to save money during the holidays. Take coupons and use it to your advantage like what I always do.

Our Weekend

Yesterday afternoon we went to the mall. The day was beautiful even though it is cold. There were so many people there that it is very hard to maneuver the baby's stroller. Santa Claus picture taking is already set up. Maybe next weekend we will have our DD's picture with Santa. After goin in 5 stores we decided to go home. I stopped Walgreens on our way home and used my $5 coupon off with a purchase of $20.

Today, Sunday, we woke up real late. Me and our DD woke up 9:45am and we prepared right away for church. The service will start at 10:45am and we arrived there late :-) The service lasted until 1pm anyhow. After church we went to our favorite Chinese Super Buffet. We haven't been there since August. I was glad our DD did not act up and was contented in her high chair or else we will not enjoy our lunch.

After lunch we did our errands and ended at Walmart to get some stuff. We will do our grocery shopping every Thursday so we just bought more of our DD's necessities and food. I got her educational blocks ($9.97) and Christmas CD ($5). When we got home I let her listened to the Christmas CD and she was dancing to it :-)

Horse-back Riding

One of the things that I wanted to do is to go on horse-back riding. Honestly I haven't tried it in my entire life. I rode in a carriage before but not on the back of the horse like equestrian do. I envy those who have the guts to do it. I had the chance during one of the fairs here but then I did not go for it. I saw this online store that sells all types of equestrian apparel; like shirts, jackets, boots, gloves, helmets and they also have english saddles. If you are fond of riding horses or an equestrian you can check out this site theequestriancorner.com.

Germ-freak

Between me and hubby, he is the most germ-freak than I am. Sometimes I cut sides on my cleaning especially if I have too much work to be done at home. Hubby takes his time making a thorough cleaning. It is a good thing that he balances my shortcomings. Another thing also when we go shopping and we're not able to bring the shopping cart cover for our DD, he will be the one to ask me for wipes if he can't find in the store. He make sure to wipe the shopping cart where our DD will sit and hold. I can't blame him. With all the possible bacteria causing diseases we can get from holding shopping carts I will do it myself too. For him it is a ritual before he put our daughter inside. I am glad that he is very mindful about these things because it is very hard to catch illness these days.