Monthly Archives: September 2010

The Sims 3 Barnacle Bay Trailer

Avast, me Simaholics! Want your Sims to go “Aaarrrrr!”? I don’t know what pirate speak will sound like in Simlish, but it would be interesting to find out. Electronic Arts has released their new downloadable expansion called Barnacle Bay. New objects! New locations! New characters! My favorite — new clothes and hairstyles weeeeee!

Here’s the trailer. Aarrrr!!!

Barnacle Bay can be downloaded from The Sims 3 store. You need 1,650 Sim Points to purchase it. Aaarrr!!! Now that wasn’t pirate speak but more of a frustrated “Aaarrr.” I’ll get this game soon!

“SooSoon!”

Added 10.10.10: More Barnacle Bay screenshots after the jump!

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A Nice Day’s Random Thoughts

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On wolves and girls who like wolves: I’ve finished reading Maggie Stiefvater’s “Shiver” and its sequel “Linger.” Young adult reading for the win! “Shiver” is a love story about Grace and Sam. Grace is fascinated by the wolves in the woods. She is especially drawn to one wolf with yellow eyes — Sam. When she later meets a boy with yellow eyes, she knows it has got to be her wolf. It’s a sweet story and makes for a good weekend read. The stories of Grace, Sam and other wolves continue in “Linger,” which I thought was just okay compared to its fulfilling prequel. There’s another book coming out soon to complete the trilogy — “Forever.” I have my own theories about how the story will end. If you’re a reader of this series, I’d love to hear yours!

On The Sims 3: I’m close to finding more reasons to play The Sims 3. I’ll tell you why soon. *cross fingers* Meanwhile, there’s a new Sims world called Barnacle Bay which I’ll write about separately. I. Love. The Sims. 3.

On babies taking their first steps: I am soooooooo glad I was home when I saw Timmy taking his first unassisted step(s). He grabbed on to the railing of his playpen after one step but it was still a triumph! This baby of mine has been crawling away from me already, especially during diaper changes. I can imagine how he’ll be running away once he discovers the power of his walking legs. Chasing time!

On healing the natural and sensible way: I have been incredibly stressed out the few weeks. Sorry for the blog entries shortage. I wanted to blog everyday but work called. When I’d get home, I’d just complete a little bit more of work and then play with the baby. All that stress added up to a couple of migraines and really bad cases of hyperacidity. Instead of taking medicine and altering my diet, I went straight to the source: CUT OUT STRESS. Ta-da! It worked. I am now hyperacidity and migraine-free.

On moving down my life path: The baby isn’t the only one taking his first wobbly steps into a new world. I can’t wait till 2011 begins. With a new schedule, I’ll have more time for my son. I am happy, happy, happy. The journey of being more than just a weekend Mom begins soon. Thank goodness.

What’s up with you? Let’s catch up!

Thoughts on Top Chef Season 7 Episode 13: Season Finale Part 2

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If you have not seen the final episode of Top Chef, read no further. This post contains spoilers!

How’d you guys like this Top Chef episode? Here are my random thoughts. Would love to hear yours!

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Berries and Ice Cream

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Anyone want to share a quick snack? C’mon, grab a spoon and let’s dig into this treat.

Semi-frozen strawberries topped with mango ice cream. Mmm.

I like buying frozen strawberries from S&R. They sell really HUGE bags of frozen strawberries. They’re not always sweet, but that’s fine with me. I like my berries a little sour. You can always tame the tart berries with ice cream anyway.

If the berries are too hard to bite, you can always defrost them for a few minutes in the microwave. I don’t like my berries fully thawed though. I love biting through a little of the ice crystals that coat the berries’ skins.

It’s comfort food. It’s anti-stress. It’s semi-healthy (fruits and er, calcium from the milk in my ice cream?). Ah, I just know berries and ice cream make me feel better!

What do you like to pair with your berries?

This is the way I fry my rice

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Fried rice is nothing more than leftover white rice and yet it’s one of the best comfort foods ever. Fried rice just doesn’t have the same texture and taste if it’s made with freshly cooked rice.

I enjoy my fried rice with lots of fried garlic, a dash of soy sauce and a sprinkle of salt. This is my ultimate fried rice dish.

What’s great about fried rice though is that it can be a meal in itself. Got some leftover adobo? Shred the meat and stir it into the fried rice while it cooks. Want the kids to eat their vegetables without you having to nag? Mix in peas, carrots and corn into the fried rice. It’s versatile, filling and hits the spot all the time.

Fried Rice Recipe
Cooking fried rice is fairly simple. All you need is a hot pan, your leftover rice, your choice of seasoning/s (soy sauce, salt, pepper, cinnamon, curry powder, etc.), your additional ingredients (shredded chicken, chopped bacon, eggs, whatever’s in the refrigerator that needs to be consumed ASAP).

1. Heat some oil in a pan.
2. Toast the garlic. You can either toast all the garlic till golden brown, take them out then mix them with the fried rice towards the end of the cooking process, or if you’re like me, just toast them till they’re almost golden brown. The less cooking steps there are for me, the better. If you like onions in your fried rice, sauté them till translucent before putting in the garlic.
3. Pour in your leftover white rice. Break down with your spatula so there are no clumps. Sprinkle some water on the rice if they’re too stuck together.
4. Stir in your additional ingredients. If you want egg in your fried rice, you can do it two ways: (a) Fry the egg in the pan. When done, take it out, slice into strips then add to the fried rice later on. (b) Or if you want to wash as less plates as possible, like me, I just create a well at the center of the rice and cook the egg there. When it’s done to my liking, I just shred it with the spatula and mix it in with the rice.
5. Season according to taste.

There you have it – simple Asian food that’s big on comfort and flavor. Partner with your favorite ulam (viand) and get ready to be stuffed, or enjoy a bowl of fried rice with all the trimmings.

Yummy.

Unrequited Love

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I stumbled upon this entry in one of Casa Xocolat’s journals. They have a bunch of journals in their cafe that anyone can doodle in.

Maybe the writer’s in love with his best friend. Maybe he’s in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. I love the simplicity of the entry. It’s succinct but meaningful, and it does make me wonder about the writer of this note. I wonder if he got a happy ending, whether it was with this girl or not.

What do you think the story is behind this message?

Thoughts on Top Chef Season 7 Episode 13: Season Finale Part 1

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If you have not seen this week’s episode of Top Chef, read no further. This post contains spoilers!

How’d you guys like this Top Chef episode? Here are my random thoughts. Would love to hear yours!

Continue reading →

Preparing Food for the Baby

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One of my favorite baby things at home is Timmy’s food grinder. Since he started eating table food many months ago, I was eager to let him try different dishes. Ampalaya? Check! Nilagang baka? Check! Tinola? Check! Any other soupy or sauteed vegetable dish? Check, check, check!

I like my Munchkin Baby Food Grinder because:
a) Dishes for baby are so easy to prepare! No need for electricity. No sharp blades that scare me. Just spoon the food into the grinder and whirl away.
b) The texture of the food comes out consistent and smooth.
c) It’s easy to clean.
d) It comes with a metal grinder, which is great in grinding meat.
e) It’s portable! I haven’t tried bringing it out of home yet. But should my family and I find ourselves planning for an overnight stay somewhere, this grinder is definitely coming along.

Now how about electric grinders? That’s where my Magic Bullet comes in! This is what we use to prepare fresh orange juice or fresh apple juice for the baby. After blending the fruits in the bullet, we strain the liquid and serve it to the boy. He loves it. I like the Bullet because it doesn’t take up a lot of space on the counter. I also love that it’s a high-speed blender. We use it to make smoothies too!

I turn to the manual food grinder for most of the baby’s meals because rice and potatoes get way starchy when whisked in the blender. Who wants gummy food, right?

I still use the good ol’ fork to mash some food like avocados or bananas. But for table food and other fruits, I’ve got these two on standby! Thank goodness for these two inventions. They sure make life easier.

Senti Sabado sa Twitter

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Senti Sabado is going on right now in Twitter! I noticed that most of those who participate were born in the 70s or early ’80s. Hello to my generation! What’s this about? Check out the Yahoo! article (link). If you’re Pinoy and have something to share, go tweet about senti stuff!

Some of the funny ones I like:

Haha! Others I liked: Using Haw Flakes during Holy Communion practice. Bazooka Bubblegum. Kumakain ng aratlis. Sinisipsip ang santan. Seiko, Seiko wallet, ang wallet na maswerte. Little Miss Philippines and the usual ending “I thank you…BOW!”

Some of my contributions:
Ziggy in Tang
Uso ang St. Michael’s na socks with hearts or pwede na rin may mga diagonal (though that wouldn’t have been as cool)
I Am What I Am = Maricel Soriano
nirerecord ang noisy girls sa blackboard tsk tsk
shopping sa Alemars
Chippy chippy gum sweet bubble gum masarap ito at malinamnam. Bumili kayo sa tindahan. Chippy chippy gum sweet bubblegum.
Drinking Coke through a straw from a plastic bag raised no hygienic concerns
#sentisabado

Game! Search for #sentisabado on Twitter to go down memory lane with a lot of other Pinoys. Better yet, join in the sentimental fun. Laugh trip ‘to!