Finally! SIARGAO happened to me.

Gensan-Digos-Davao-Panabo-Tagum-CompostellaValley-SanFrancisco-Butuan-Surigao-Siargao Island.

4 nigths. 5 days. Long road trip. Worth it. 🙂

We departed from Gensan around 6 in the morning and arrived at Surigao City about 5 in the afternoon. I have to commend our driver was fluent with the road. Kuya popoy is a friendly, funny and experienced driver.

SURIGAO CITY

First impression for the city of surigao, it was actually more urban than Iligan. The city were big and streets are congested. The people have surigaonon as their dialect which is quiet difficult to understand at first.

I also noticed that their airport is very small and well cute. You can easily see it. As we arrived at the area, we asked where the port is so that we can inquire the schedules for the ferry to siargao.

To go to Siargao, you have two options. You ride the Roro or the ferry where cargo and cars can be brought or the small fast track boat for people only. The fast track is located along what they call the boulevard, full of very insteresting boats with unique design, more like an airplane if you might ask.

Schedules of departure and arrival:

Roro                        11:45 AM    3:00 PM – Surigao Port to Dapa port of Siargao Island

(fare 200)                 6:00 AM     9:00 AM – Dapa port to Surigao Port

Fast Track            5:00 AM     8:00 AM – Surigao Port to Dapa port of Siargao Island, different route

(fare 250)

Prices and schedule may change. They have discounts for children depending on the age. 7 years old and below are free.

After checking the boulevard cause we opted to ride the first trip on the following day and deciding we will just leave our vehicles on the hotel’s parking lot, we went to the Tavern Hotel to see if there are rooms available. The hotel is very nice but sad to say they were all fully booked. So we opted for their annex which is just in front of the main hotel, you can easily see it. The annex is budget friendly. 🙂

We settles ourselves cozy in our beds as our relatives arrive. One big happy family.

Morning came and we went to the boulevard. After some time where everything is set, the little ferry started its course.

#ProjectSexy2014 #FitnessAndWellness2014

I’ve got this thing going on. I read from a newspaper one time that it’s hard to keep up with your new years resolution, let alone wonder what your new years resolution would be. So in order to make it,  the article writer suggest you do a theme for the whole year and align your focus and activities on the theme that you want to achieve.

Some suggestions where noted using a hash tag so you can easily upload your pic on Twitter and Instagram like #Fearless2014 #Organize2014 #FitnessAndWellness, #NoToDrama2014, etc.

I decided to take on this challenge so this year  I have my own mantra with a theme of #ProjectSexy2014 #FitnessAndWellness #Fearless.

#ProjectSexy2014

For me this means that I have a goal to cut some flab’s off my tummy and thighs because that’s where it really frustrates me in which I can’t find any good pants to fit me without thinking its over sized.

For my #ProjectSexy2014 to be fully realized I had to squeezed in an hour or more of exercise between my some what busy schedule at work, school, and extra curricular activities. I started on February, before I go to work I do some beginners Cardio work out that I looked up on YouTube. There are a lot of exercises to do so I just choose those that I feel would best serve me for now.

1. Squats 20 preps 3 sets

2. Lounges 10 preps 3 sets

3. Heel raise 10 preps 3 sets

4. Side lounges

5. Forward and back kicks

6. Mountain climbers 10 preps 3 rounds.

7. Crunches

8. Leg raise

9. Russian Twist

I mostly mix them up and add some more from the work out videos I see online. Thank God for them. I’m a bit  health conscious except for when there is pizza and pasta around. Hee! 🙂 This of course has been on ever since I was in high school. I remember borrowing some work out videos from Ma’am Babes Ferolina, a fitness instructor who teaches our church aerobics and belly dancing and now is the number one instructor for Zumba in Gensan. Through her videos I got introduced to Yoga, Aerobics, and Pilates. I love Pilates but I find it very challenging! Not to mention my sporty lifestyle. #SelfAwareness 😀

#FitnessAndWellness

This theme goes hand in hand with the #ProjectSexy2014. It means complimenting my daily routine with not only the right food to eat but totally changing my lifestyle and habits to whats best for my over all being. ahem. 🙂

Food – to eat as much green vegetables and fruits as possible. Its a bit hard to totally change your diet if you are a meat lover. So for the transition I had to seriously cut on the meat that I eat, as if I eat a lot of meat. Usually I eat pork menudo for dinner everyday or BBQ at Gina’s so I had to do something with that. It depends on my mood on what I eat as long as I know what I eat. I got help again online for some diet food weekly planner. Your intake would depend on your height, weight and the level of activities you do for the week. It is important to incorporate all those in the food pyramid.

I drink soya milk, yogurt and yakult. I eat my fave pork or beef twice a week. Pasta, pizza, fruit shakes, fresh juice and lots of water.

No alcohol just sparkling wine. hehe 🙂

Spirit and Soul – I have to take care also of my spiritual time so a 30-45 min quite time I have incorporated on my morning which is always every time I wake up. I usually wake up 6 am. Currently I am reading a daily devotion entitled Enter His Gates. This was bought at your favorite OMF Lit. store. Being one with the Almighty in serenity coupled with meditation helps a lot and empowering when you start your day with it.

Mind – The mind is a battle field. It takes effort to change your mind, to change your perspective and with my theme I got to take the extra mile. So for this battle field I turn to reading books. Books give me insights and broadens my imagination. Books not only the Bible or daily devotions but also those inspirational, motivational, financial, and sometimes fictional. It depends really.

Positive affirmations and believing on what is the truth will help to have a light aura and a positive vibe which all starts in the mind. No negative talks. No gossips. No worries. No fear.

Believe me its a lot harder that you think. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. In the end you will be happy and proud of yourself for doing what you want to do and sticking to the plan as opposed to complaining why you didn’t do it in the first place.

#Fearless

It’s a theme for daring to go out of my comfort zone. Now this is a very HARD thing for me cause I am an introvert (just making an excuse maybe). For me being fearless is to face that audience and crowd whenever I step on the stage. Gosh I really get so freaking afraid and conscious that sometimes I forget every thing even if i prepared for it.  I have nothing else to say about that for now but will update you all on my status on #Fearless soon  as I am trying my best to step it up 😉

 

How about you, what are your plans for the year? Share your journey on the comment section!

 

Roti – The Indian Meal

 I kind of have a thing for flat bread and this post would definitely talk about a famous snack or meal called the Roti. I notice a new store came up across the university, along the overpass one day and had to try this food that everyone has been talking about. I am not familiar about Roti but after my fist piece with the Beef filling I know I had to come back for more. As far as I know, they have a mobile stall on the street at the city along BPI, BDO, and Saint Michael’s College.

The way I can describe it is it’s like a flat bread with a filling of either beef, tuna or chicken. It is cooked on a flat iron griddle side to side until burned spots from the surface tells you its done. From my readings over the net, I learned that Roti  is an Indian Bread, made from stone ground whole meal flour, traditionally known as atta flour (wikipedia.com). I found out that there are many variations, not only with the fillings but originally they just have a side dish of curry or gravy and scoop the sauce and food with the Roti. The best way to eat it is with your hands of course!

You could also try at home. Recipes of how to make the Roti are on the web and you can  try with your own choice of filling. I think its cool to have one around so that I can easily buy whenever I am a hurry going to school. And a lot of people as I observed are buying from the stall. Its a perfect light meal for students. I guess this one’s going to be on my fave food list together with the Tortillas, Tacos and Shawarma. I love them! ^_^

Why don’t you have some? Try their Chicken flavor filling, I think it’s delicious. 😉

Panini – small bread roll

Congratulate me guys, first post of the new year. wooOOoohh! lol! 😀

What else could I start with than to talk about food food FOOD. And I wanna share to you another fave – The Pannini.

The first encounter I had with this sweet snack was at the cbaa at msu-iit. As part of their curriculum, marketing students would sell all sorts of stuff, but mostly food as it is a consumer’s necessity. So it was here that I was introduce to that non-so-common food – Panini.

Later I discovered that it was just a sandwich with your choice of filling, a nifty snack that can be whipped in minutes. So much for a soxal name, although its catchy.

But it’s not just your ordinary slice bread with tuna,pork,beef filling. Here’s some tidbit for the savory snack:

Panini are small, filled, bread rolls, which are sometimes toasted. They are Italian in origin.In Italy, panino is the word for a sandwich made with a bread roll. Sandwiches there are customarily made from a roll or loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta or a rosetta. The loaf is cut horizontally and filled with salami, ham, cheese, mortadella, or other food, and sometimes served warm after having been pressed by a warming grill.                                                                                                                     -wikipedia-

Thank you wikepedia, you never let us down. lol. It sounds so mouth watering, makes me want to eat one at this very moment. Yum!

The last time I ate such delicious treat was at coffee works, Iligan City when I was visiting there. I tell you their panini is the boom! (say it like thee boom! :D) worth the cost if you ask me, and I tell you I’m such a thrifty person. If ever you pass by the town, drop by at coffee works cafe along tibanga road, Iligan City. 🙂

Here in gensan, we also have a café that serves this baby. It’s at Fagioli Coffee club. Now this one I’m still up for grabs and I can’t wait to taste and critique on their panini. I’ll tell you all about that on my next post If I ever get the chance to. Haha! Or you could just tell me on the comments section after your own experience sooner.

Fagioli Coffee Club is located at Petron Service Station along Jose Catolico Avenue, General Santos City.

 So friends, enjoy life.  Live. Laugh. Love. EAT.    😀

I think I’m Vegan.

It’s Independence day yesterday, June 12. It’s Sunday, the service was great at church and so we opted to eat together for lunch before we go home. I was wondering where my family and I would eat lunch as we crossed the highway near our church. I ended up in a not so familiar carenderia that is, guess what, a vegetarian eatery. You know what I mean. haha. But I never noticed at first, so I was like, “hala duha lang ang sud’an. Ok at least my adobo.” It never occurred to me na hala tofu man day tong adobo so I was like, lami kaha na? Cause last time I ate in “vegetarian” style  it was when I was at Iligan.  There was a vegetarian eatery there, along bonifacio avenue, beside amar apartment. I decided to try it for the sake and I thought, “basin barato lang kay gulay raman ug tofu ug brown rice.” Never though mahal diay pud ang ing.ana na type, may pag nagmanok ko kay sure enough wa jud nako nahurot akong gikaon. kasayang.

So here at EPL Vegetarian Foods, in front of NDDU, corner national highway, kanang atbang sa Queenies Love Village, I thought “oh no. how can I eat this?” but my younger singer told me na masarap daw ang adobo nila. Wow may pa sya sarapan. But I never lost hope. So when we ate na, LAMI kaayo ang adobo oi!. Its like the same as adobong manok but tofu lang siya. So I was so amazed and surprised that a tofu could taste this good. And believe me, I hate tofu. Plus, naa pa jud carrot juice. OMG. I am so loving the thought of it. Murag kulang ra jud tong akong brown rice. hahaha. I got used to drinking fresh carrot juice cause my mom would make some from time to time at our home. Actually lately naman pud ko ka try aning carrot juice, pag.uli nako sa balay this summer lang. A first I didn’t like the thought of it but eventually naganahan na kaayo ko and now I’d prefer carrot juice than the commercial Iced Tea.

For those who want to know the recipe of my mom’s carrot juice, it’s so simple:  carrots and pipino’s that you can buy at your local market, yakult, brown sugar, water, ice. You extract the juice of the carrots and pipino’s using a juicer. Mix it with water, 1 or 2 bottles of yakult depending on your taste, and put some ice so that it’s so refreshing to drink. There you go. Delicious and healthy drink. 😀

For the carrot juice that we bought sa eatery, simple recipe lang din, carrot extract and kalamansi. Or you can use other alternatives like honey.

I was so overwhelmed sa akong gkaon that I thought, my gulay mag vegan nlng ko ani. mamayat pa ko, healthy pa. hahaha. But right now, sa house we’re trying to promote healthy living man din due to the fact na crisis din, unstable income so pa gulay2x rami, isda always, red rice or brown rice, carrot juice. Mao nay secreto nganung namayat npud ko. weeeee. hahaha.

I guess I have been also influenced by all those Illuminati stuffs and how they dumb the society not only thru movies and musics but also to the food we eat and the medicines we take. That’s why we have all those chichiria na wala man puy pulos kaonon. May nalang d ko hilig ug chichiria. If you don’t know what I mean, check out some interesting articles here at vigilant citizen. In the article I saw some facts about cilantro, turmeric, garlic and omega 3. How they can help cleanse our body with  metal elements. I guess now I’m just trying to be careful of what I’m taking in to my body. As the saying goes Health is Wealth.

It’s not easy switching to being vegan. Kay kung sanay kag baka, baboy, fast food, lisud jud sa imung panglasa. But if you got a great cook or if you just know how to mix and match stuffs that make your food tasty then I guess you can survive.

I’m not sure If I’m going to be a full vegan this instant but I love the fact that I am comfortable about it. I’m excited just thinking of it. 😀

Shawarma – ultimate on the go meal

Lately I haven’t got any idea what to blog about. It seems that I ran out of ideas or something. My last blog was about Britney Spears. Good thing I had a drafted article to be filled up. This is about Shawarma.

So what is Shawarma?

Shawarma is a food that has become popular in the Philippines for some time now. According to wikipedia.com, it is an Arab sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a mixture thereof. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. It is eaten with pita bread , Lavash bread, tabbouleh  salad, fattoush  salad,taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus pickled turnips and amba. Whatever that means. haha.

Anyway, the Shawarma here usually cost 40 – 60 pesos depending on the serving and additional toppings. Also, I have noticed that the ingredients of Shawarma can be easily found in supermarkets. The ones I’ve eaten include tomatoes, lettuce or cabbage, onions, and cheese wrapped in pita bread and seasoned with two types of sauce. Now the sauce is quite a catch cause I can’t seem to figure what the ingredients are. Usually every vendor has it’s own taste. As what I have read they call it Tahini sauce and Tzatziki Sauce.

You can try and make some in your homes guys, it really a delicious treat. For the recipes, check it out here. I know the recipe it for Chicken Shawarma, but you can change it for beef anytime you have. For the Tahini Sauce, look it here.

It is good also for business. There are some franchising it actually. When you are in a hurry, Shawarma is like the ultimate on the go meal. Try it out!

Personally it has become my favorite snack. 🙂

Dinuguan – a bloody treat

The secret is Blood.

I thought about writing about dinuguan since just recently I came to a great       revelation that dinuguan is literally cooked from the blood of an animal, usually pig. I was so shocked in the thought of it that when ever I would encounter such viand I would hesitate to eat.

Of all those years I though that the named was just coined for the fact that the appearance of the viand is some what like blood (dugo is the term for blood in the Philippines). My innocence got the better of me. hahaha. It’s like omg, what age am I from that I didn’t know? There is the internet you know Irene. But did itstop me from eating the food? I’m not quite sure if I can answer that now. hahaha!

I tried to search the internet for some background of the birth of dinuguan but my efforts wasn’t successful. And so now I wonder how did the dinuguan started and who created such delicacy that has become a  favorite of so  many Filipinos.

Basically it is “..a savory stew of blood and meat simmered in a spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili’s and vinegar..” according to wikipilipinas.  For more info on the ingredients and how to cook it,  you can visit wikipedia, wikipilipinas, or wikia.

But hey I am not discouraging any one not to eat this, masarap naman and as what they say “depende sa nagluto.” One tip I can share is that eat dinuguan when you know who cooked it whether in a family occasion or eating it in a restaurant. You never know. Magugulat ka nalang na taong aswang pala ang ngluto nian, at dugo ng tao ang kinain. (Now why did i mention that?) hahaha.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading. ^_^ subscribe and like.