Apple Oatmeal Crisp recipe

 

You can do this just in 1, 2, 3... First, you'll be needing the following:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

And then off you go!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Lightly grease an 8 inch square pan.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and butter. Mix until crumbly. Place half of crumb mixture in pan. Spread the apples evenly over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and top with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

My uncle and aunt from the States gave this recipe to us. They got it from allrecipes.com. Food never fails to make someone smile, at least here in the Philippines.

 

Zambales Getaway

Tito Mangks was our designated driver for the trip. He has never been a fan of long hour driving. But this one he had to make an exemption for.

Everyone was all excited to go. Especially Tita Ni, and her daughter, Katha.


For lunch, we ate in Jollibee, because with us was the writer of its ads. (Tito John--dad of Katha)


Photography is my hobby, which was inspired by her.


Finally, we're at Zambales. I bet you know it is popular for its mangoes. (Rajah--brother of Katha)


Since it was Holy Week, we had to visit the church.


And wait for the procession, which was really dragging.



But the night wasn't gloomy at all.


I found it even serene.


What we were really looking forward to was the beach.



I was all giddy, even though I couldn't swim that day (it's a girl thing). So I just took pictures of myself.


But I tell you. Vanity is hereditary.


Yet nothing still could match to this.


We indeed had fun.


If everyday is always like this, then I will always be assured of a good night sleep.
For more photos, visit here

Define Holy

Last Maundy Thursday, my family and I weren't able to do our usual Visita Iglesia because we still had to prepare our stuff for our trip to Zambales the next day. We just went to the Marcelo church at night to do the way of the cross. Having realized that we never ate any meat during the day, we decided to treat ourselves to any open coffee shop nearby. But then my mom has never been really a fan of Starbucks or the like because she finds the coffee prices there absurd. So at 9pm, we headed to Brooklyn Pizza in BF Homes instead, and at around P500, we already had one humungous pizza in front of us! Their White Pizza is the best, I swear. We did our best trying to avoid meat for the first 21 hours, but it did not surprise us that we still had to resort eating a packload of wheat with bacon, pepperoni, and grease on top of it to end the day.



Cooking gives me the high, and I am glad summer months give me the chance to be all squiffy at it. That's spaghetti with tuna, which my siblings did not know of until their plates are all empty.

I will post about our Zambales trip in awhile when Tita Ni sends me the pictures. :)

Rest Stop

My mom reiterates to me the importance of being able to stop the vicious cycle of work. How? Leave the cycle behind, then come back, and you gain your momentum. Puerto Galera is definitely a great breather from all the stress the recent school year has brought me. This is a good start for a less stressful yet fulfilling summer ahead. More pics here.

So Much Has Happened I Can Only Explain in Pictures and Descriptions

I am so happy because:

I finally have my camera!! (Forgive me, I just woke up in that picture)

It's a Canon Powershot A640, with rotating flip lcd, 10 megapixels, etc, etc. Isn't it pretty? (or should I say handsome?) :) I so love my uncle. He even bought me rechargeable batteries and a charger, which can also be used in the car.

I am also really happy because:
Tin is back from the States! She was actually the one who brought my camera home. My uncle and her uncle live 10 minutes away from each other in Jersey! Keeeewl! :) Now when I go there, at least I already have someone to hang around with (given that she's also there).

After our IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) class yesterday, Tin, Mich, and I decided to eat at Juggies in Katipunan.

While waiting for our food to be served, we asked Tin to share how her vacation in the States went.


She told us that it is actually fun to live there, that it's not actually so tiring even if they don't have maids there, etc etc. Lately, I have been pondering if I'm going to take my Masters in the States and work there at the same time after I finish my degree here... Now knowing what Tin told us, plus the fact that she will head over there after college, I have become even more convinced to go.

But no matter what, Mich wouldn't want to live in any country but the Philippines.

She will make sure she'll end up a billionaire so she can bring her family to the States (or any other country for that matter) for their vacation trips.

She actually has a point! But I'm not going to do it the same way. Given our economic situation, I doubt if I will become a billionaire by the time I reach 30. I think it would be better if I marry someone who is already a billionaire (hahahaha!). Magpapakahirap ka pa, eh may shortcut naman! Hehehe.

Then, our meals arrived:

Mine is beef salpicao (not so yummy; actually a bit rubbery):


Mich immediately devoured on her sisig (her favorite!). Unfortunately, it wasn't yummy too.


I wasn't able to take a picture of Tin and her also-not-so-yummy spicy chicken. But even if our stomachs weren't satisfied (we didn't finish the whole thing), we still couldn't help but smile at the camera before leaving.


And then we went to Tin's dorm so she could give us our pasalubongs (yey!).

First, she showed us her PostSecret book (I AM SO ENVIOUS!!!).


She gave Mich a pack of Bath & Body Works (which smells so good!) and me, a beautiful journal!!!! :) :)

I love it because it has quotes inside. I can also replace the picture of that blondie kid with mine. My sister actually told me that people wouldn't really want to read my journal if they see my picture on it, hehe.

Then, I already went home and took some shots along the way:



I remember asking Scott (who is a photographer talaga) how to shoot people without them knowing. He told me just to take a shot of them quickly. Most of the time, they don't even know that a shot of them is being taken. Then I told him, "Eh ang hirap kung ang guwapo noong kinukunan mo eh." (It's hard if your subject is handsome). He just laughed!

And then this morning, I went back to jogging again!



Would you believe nuns live there??

And this is what I love about jogging every morning:

Waiting for sunrise :)



For the rest of the week, I was really busy in school. I had my History reporting and Philo orals. I also joined UP JMA'S Lovapalooza Print Ad Contest! :)

Mich, and her boyfriend, JP are my models :)

It's an inter-org contest among schools from UP, Ateneo, DLSU, and UST. The winner will get a P10,000 cash prize plus his/her ad might be used for Close-Up's event this February. :) I am not really booting for myself to win because I only found out about the contest last weekend, to think that UP JMA already announced the contest at around November last year. Nevertheless, I still joined. It will be good for my portfolio and resume :). But I'm proud of my "crammed" work, hehehe.



The write-up:

Celebrating Love

Taken part by scores of couple kissing, some even horridly, Close-Up’s Lovapalooza event has generated a number of disagreeing remarks. With traditional values still prevalent in the country, it couldn’t be helped that some people could not just imagine the thought of couples kissing in public, especially due to our culture’s belief that kissing is a private activity. A lot of Filipinos are faced with misconceptions, and so through these print ads, the designer is trying to open our culture’s heart to what really is behind the gesture of a kiss.

When we see couples kissing in movies, it is a common reaction of Filipino parents to tell their kids, “Oh, cover your eyes”. Our subconscious has often associated kisses to lust; hence the reaction. We have forgotten that kissing is actually a gesture of love.

But then another problem appears: we also have misconceptions on love. We have thought that love is only about flowers and the tingling sensation it brings. We have failed to see that love is all about the growth it allows between two people. In addition, most of us are not aware of love’s premise, which is all about having confidence in one’s self so he or she can effectively support the other.

So behind a kiss is love. That being so, the designer captured moments wherein love can be truly seen. These moments are to be emphasized, for without it, we will not be able to grasp the beauty of a kiss. It can also be said that the moments behind the kiss are more important than the kiss itself, for the kiss only serves as a culmination of these moments and of the love two people share.

That is why it is just right that in Lovapalooza, we kiss, because what else are we celebrating, but love.


This coming Saturday is the awarding night at Temple Bar in Greenbelt 3. Because of the contest, I have also made some Peyups friends, and I am glad I will be meeting them on Saturday. :) Peyups people are so nice! :)

We also went to Campaigns & Grey this Friday. I PROMISE YOU. I AM GOING TO WORK THERE. :)

Third Domingo, a Creative Director in JimBasic (where my other uncle works), is featured today in Inquirer. He's so beautiful (gwapo with a big heart). I ♥ advertising guys! That's why I so love my course, hehehe. :)

EDIT: Pahabol! This video is so hilarious! It's Mich, trying to be a pre-school teacher, with me and Jo, her students :)

Teacher Mich and her Students.MOV

Could it be nothing guy and I will study together tom! Eeeek! Is dees it? Hahaha :)

May 05

May 31, 2005

8:18 AM

indolent: adjective wanting to avoid activity or exertion
i have never been this indolent in my life. the day that i stepped into college was the day i will never forget. the pressure i get at ateneo, where people pay a big amount of dough to manifest their magical brain powers, condenses my self-esteem. now you might be saying that it should be the other way around: my confidence should have bolstered because i was able to get in to the ateneo. i also expected that from myself. i expected a fresh start in college and a total end from continuous ranting and cramming since schoolwork during high school was also hell (medsci...). but not much to my surprise, things have never changed.
there was never a single night that i purposely go to bed to sleep, because even before the middle of the night, i have already fallen asleep (that's me when im stressed. therefore, im always stressed.)! i have gained blah-blah pounds from eating too much. i could count by my fingers the times i have tried not to cram. i could not recall how many times i have been unprepared for a test (because of too much fretting, i found it hard to push myself to prepare). ive lost God-knows-how-many hair from pulling them almost everytime. i have to delay some of my activities because i have not yet started with my papers/homeworks/research/etc. i never had time to just really relax because of my impaired condition. trying to fix myself up is just really hard...
you see, the problem is not because i can't. it's not because i can't be part of the dean's lister, or i can't write a good paper, or do good in recitation, or perfect my exams, or figure out my math. it's not because of that, for i know very well that i can do those stuff. the only problem is it seems i can't be as good as them. it seems their brains are ten times larger than mine! their prose are no doubt better than mine. they can speak more eloquently than i can.
i cant help to think sometimes if i deserve to be part of these savvy group.
however, at the middle of my writing right now, i realize that im acting like a LOSER. i obviously know what im capable of. i have my own set of goals, but these are all disillusioned with the success of others. comparing myself to others is just plain pointless. at one point, i'd be so proud of myself because i seem to fare better than one person; then on a spur of the moment, i'd see one bunch totally better than i am, and before i know it, my heart's already breaking. so see? what's the sense of that?
my superior, competetive, perfectionistic, and vexed nature has been killing my soul for a year now. i never became productive or whatsoever during my first year in college because i always wanted to be on top right away, even if i also know it entails a lot of sweat before i can get on top. i was always in denial. i never accepted the challenges infront of me. i always whine. i always complain. i always grouch. i have never been proactive. i have been so harsh with myself.
having learned all these, i know God's allowing me to prove myself again this following schoolyear. i believe He's just so willing to help me once again! i know He just wants me to concentrate on what i have (my talents, my skills, my experiences) and to use the most out of it. then, i don't have to worry what will happen next--- whether i'd get what i want or not. my future's under God's care, and what He wants for me is surely the only BEST thing for me. i would just have to let go of trying to be in control all the time, and rather just try to succumb to His will invariably...

0 comments

May 30, 2005

12:58 PM

i have been too lazy to blog for the recent months! but anyhow, i'm still alive, just for you to know. here are some of the pictures over the summer:
*Zambales trip with my family and my cousins Ate Ne and Donsky

lalang!

all of us three at zambales..

me and kuya

sunset at zambales

yuckie donsky!

waitin’ for our food!
*Circle of Love (Youth Encounter # 8) : Jen, Enzo, Regit, Dredre, Baby and I were assigned to take over! :D

circle of love facilitators... naks!

circle of love facilitators 2
* FAMILY ENCOUNTER # 11 SPONSORING: After 6 months of practice, we finally did it, all for the glory of God! :) It's just so sad that I missed Besh's debut because I can't leave the sponsoring during that time. Sorry besh. :(

fe practice

smile, even if it’s hot!