Super Excited!

Finally, we can push through with our get-together/bonding/outing!!!!! Mindanao Heart Center Recovery Room and Surgical ICU will have their much awaited break from duty! Its going to be at Forest Hill Resort!!!! Pool Party it is!!!! Tomorrow is a date!!!!

I want to....

there's a lot of things going through my mind right now..... let me share them to you.....
... I want to study culinary and learn how to cook and bake so that someday ican put up my own business
... I want to take a break from work, just relax and try to get pregnant!!! By the way, I have a polycystic ovary that's why i have a difficult time conceiving
... I want to go to somewhere else, reflect and recollect...
... I want to travel with my family and my hubby to singapore...its been a while since our last trip together
... I want to earn money even if I'm at home..... work on my blogs and start making reviews....but i don't k now how!!!! will somebody please help me????

these are among other bubble thoughts inside my head and its driving me crazy!!!!!!..... *wink*

I'm taking it one day at a time.... May God bless my plans...

Real Finds

I have always been a fan of trade shows and things that interest me most are the ones you see inside the home. I personally without any doubt by items from the trade shows that are of household use. I am also eyeing for some products that would help beautify our home, like for example at present, we have just finished putting up our floor tiles and my husband and I agreed to use carpet to put accent on our floor. I look into some trade show flooring and trade show carpet. I was so amazed to see various designs and different combination there is. I also checked into the website's logo mats for our rooms and logo canopy for our garden and patio. Indeed the online trade shows was a big help especially that they are highly specialize in home beautification or enhancement. In addition, this awesome website made home carpentry materials available for the consumers who are busy enough to go to hardware and furniture showrooms. So those of you who are planning to beautify your home check this site out!

A must try recipe

I got this from Oprah.com and i forgot the name of the cake!!!!

Banana Cake with a twist of Hazel Nut

Ingredients:
Banana cream:
· 3/4 pound very ripe bananas , cut into 1-inch chunks
· 3/4 cup whole milk
· 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
· 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
· 1/2 cup sugar
· 1 Tbsp. and 1 tsp. cornstarch
· 1/8 tsp. salt
· 3 large egg yolks
· 1 cup heavy cream , cold
· 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter , cut into pieces
Hazelnut brittle:
· 1/2 cup hazelnuts
· 1/2 cup sugar
Hazelnut crunch:
· 1/2 recipe hazelnut brittle
· 1 cup hazelnut paste
· 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
· 3/4 tsp. salt
· 3 cups crisp rice cereal
Cake:
· 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
· 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
· 3/4 tsp. salt
· 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , at room temperature
· 2 cups sugar
· 2 large eggs , at room temperature
· 1 pound very ripe bananas , mashed
· 1 cup buttermilk
· 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Hazelnut frosting:
· 1/2 cup hazelnut praline paste
· 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter , at room temperature
· 2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar
· Pinch of salt
Chocolate hazelnut ganache:
· 1/2 cup hazelnut praline paste
· 4 ounces Gianduja chocolate , coarsely chopped
· 3 Tbsp. good-quality hot fudge sauce
· 1/8 tsp. salt
· 1/2 cup heavy cream , cold
For assembly:
· 1/3 cup whole milk
Directions: Note: Gianduja (a hazelnut-flavored chocolate) and hazelnut praline paste are sold at lepicerie.com. The first 9 steps can be done in advance.To make banana cream: Combine bananas, 1/2 cup milk, and lemon juice in a food processor; process until smooth. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over remaining 1/4 cup milk.Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in banana mixture, egg yolks, and 1/4 cup heavy cream until smooth and well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in butter and reserved gelatin mixture and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, to dissolve gelatin. Pour mixture into a bowl and set in a larger bowl of ice water; stir occasionally until cool.Whip remaining 3/4 cup cream just until stiff. Fold into banana mixture. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.To make hazelnut brittle: Preheat oven to 350°. Spread hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 12 to 15 minutes until toasted. Remove from oven and immediately rub nuts with a clean dish towel to remove as much of skins as possible; let cool. Spray another baking sheet with nonstick spray; set aside.In a small saucepan, heat sugar over medium heat, swirling pot occasionally, until sugar melts and is amber in color. Stir in hazelnuts to coat with caramel, and pour onto prepared baking sheet. Spread nuts in a single layer with fork; let cool.To make hazelnut crunch: In a food processor, grind half of hazelnut brittle to a powder.In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat powder, hazelnut paste, confectioners' sugar, and salt until blended. Add rice cereal and beat until blended.To make cake layers: Adjust 2 oven racks to divide oven into thirds. Preheat oven to 325°. Grease three 10" x 2" round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment. Grease paper and dust pans with flour; tap out excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy. Gradually pour in sugar; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk, and oil; blend until combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until blended. Divide batter between prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around sides of pans and turn cakes onto racks. Remove parchment paper; let cool.To make hazelnut frosting: In a small bowl, beat hazelnut paste, butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until firm enough to spread, about 15 minutes.To make chocolate hazelnut ganache: In a medium bowl, combine hazelnut paste, chocolate, fudge sauce, and salt. Microwave on medium for 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds. Remove and stir until chocolate is melted. Gradually whisk in cream until blended. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.Right before assembling, set bowl with ganache in a larger bowl of ice water and beat with a handheld mixer until ganache is fluffy and thick enough to spread.To assemble cake: Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate; brush top with whole milk. Spread with half the ganache. Sprinkle evenly with half the hazelnut crunch. Spoon half the banana cream over top and spread evenly. Repeat layering once, then top with last cake layer (brush top with milk), and spread the top with hazelnut frosting. Refrigerate cake at least 1 hour, covered loosely with plastic wrap. To serve, break remaining hazelnut brittle into small pieces and arrange on top of cake.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

As the song goes.... "Sing Alleluia the Lord is Risen, He is Risen Indeed Alleluia"..... Let us celebrate God's victory over death. In the catholic faith, the church begins the celebration during the Easter Vigil Mass which takes place on a saturday night, the night before easter. The gloria is again sung and the use of alleluia in the gospecl acclamation songs and other liturgical songs is now permitted.In the dawn of easter, people would wake up as early as 4 in the morning to join in what the filipinos called the Salubong... This significant event is made even more divine when little angels grace the morning with their angelic voices singing heavenly praises. Holy mass follows and for some churches activities like easter egg hunting is being held. The TRIDUUM celebration may be a yearly routine but for catholics it is a renewal of one's faith.

GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday is the anniversary of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Station of the cross took place at early dawn then at around 12 noon, a live sharing of the Seven Last words of Jesus Christ which in the Philippines can be watch or heard over the television and radio stations respectively. At around 3pm, the veneration of the cross took place. It is when a wooden cross was brought inside the church and the mass goers would line up and kiss or venerate the cross. A procession follows then a visit of what suppose to be Jesus wake happened. By dying on the cross, Jesus proved to us of God's great love for us.... so for me, Good Friday is LOVE day!

HOLY THURSDAY

Holy thursday or Maundy thursday for catholics is the institution of the Eucharist. Meaning to say it was when Jesus had his last supper with his apostles and the it is when the breaking of the bread happened. During Holy Thursday or the last supper, the washing of the feet happened. At present, a reenactment of the washing of the washing of the feet was done after the priest says his homily. Twelve parishoners was chosen to act as the twelve apostle and have their foot wash by the presiding priest. This significant event reflects Jesus humility. Like Christ, may we humble ourselves before man and most especially before God.

Bon Voyage

My friend is leaving soon and my co-nurses and I planned for some despedida party for her. Liezl rented the venue for us and all other things and specific details were delegated among our group. We went early to decorate the venue, prepare the food and clean the place. Other invited guest arrived at around 5 in the afternoon. The place was completely jammed pack during dinner time. After dinner, soda and hard drinks were served. Everybody was having a blast! It was 12 midnyt when we hit the pools. We plunged for about 30 minutes and freshened up. We went to bed at ar0und 4 am after almost everybody was down with alcohol. Indeed it was nice way to send off our dear friend to the next phase of her life. im sure she will never forget that very day when she literally threw up all she took in during dinner.

UNEXPECTED

Just heard one unexpected news...my friend liezl will be leaving for the states soon.... very soon that what we all expected. She will have her last duty tomorrow and starting March, she's officially out of our hospital. Will surely miss her because she has been my coach when i was still starting and she taught me many things with regards to patient care. She is is truly an assesst in the workplace. Im wishing her well and will be praying for her.

Unfortunate Accident

I received a phone call from my friend who is a nurse working at the emergency room of the hospital where i was working. She told me that my cousin obtained 5 gunshot wounds and is going to under stat operation. I could not believe what I heard.... 5 shots? He's so lucky to be alive then.
I visited him after my duty and mind you he is as pale as a paper. He needs blood transfusion. He was having a difficult time breathing and is too weak to exert effort in breathing. We process the things needed prior to transfusion plus purchased the needed antibiotics and nebulization. After almost a week at the ICU he was discharged to the ward. Thank God he is now out of danger....

HAPPY 3 YEARS MINDANAO HEART CENTER!!!!

last february 14, the mindanao heart center celebrated its 3rd year anniversary and for the first time, we held a sportsfest. Our group was divided into 3 each with an assigned color. We had a motorcade/convoy going to our very nice venue, the palos verde country club. We had cheering competition and bowling tournament in the morning. The lunch at the riverside was refreshing enough to hype us in the badminton and basketball tournment in the afternoon. All in all it a fun-filled day! can't wait what's in store for next year celebration

mourning.....

it was 4 in the morning when someone called....it didn't came into me first so i asked her to repeat what she had just said. This time i heard her loud and clear....Lola aya passed away.... it was never a surprise as we were already primed by her attending physicians that she only has days to live so we might as well make the most out of it. Just that night before she left us, we were planning on getting private nursing attendants who will take care of her during night time. we came into an agreement and finalized the matter. But it seems that lola was not amiable with our plan because she had her last breath at around 3 to 4 am. Our family is in deep sorrow because we will surely miss her but in a way we are celebrating because she will no longer be suffering. Thanks Lola... you will forever be loved

Happy Hearts Day!!

Belated Happy Valentines to all the bloggers! And Kung Hei Fat Choi to all! We spent the hearts day at home. We were all tired because we stayed up till morning at my grandmother's wake. The positive side of it...we get all the rest our body needed to survive the coming week. Hope you guys had a blastful celebration! Ciao!

Getting Cozy!

Last year, we had our garage and veranda done. The garden is almost complete. Next stop...Arranging our furniture! Yippee! I can't wait to get my hands on the furniture and it's perfect set-up I had in mind. Excited as I am, I readily search for my ideal furniture and purchased it as if there is no tomorrow. I found one outdoor furniture that is of great quality and I love it so much. It was made of highly strong and durable materials that would ensure safety to the people who will be sitting on it. I also had the same nice experience with the wicker furniture I owned. It has the relaxing yet strong texture that would really support your weight giving one a full comfort. In addition, this furniture has a very soothing design and color that would surely calm your mood. I personally got the earth-colored designed to match my garden. Indeed, outdoor furniture seating for me is an investment. I suggest you all should have one and in choosing one, it should be the one that would give you the utmost comfort and safety. Of course, it should also get your money's worth. Always bear in mind that the quality of the materials and the finished product should be a priority.

updates! updates!

here's some latest updates on my brother's wedding preparation.

The venue will be at the Blue Gardens, it is located at commonwealth, Quezon City. For me, the place is just perfect for the occasion. They offer reasonable wedding packages that would suit every couples preferences and budget.

My sister Jessa will be one of the bridesmaid, while Ronald and I will be one of their secondary sponsors. My brother Marvyn will be the Best Man while my cousin Andrew will be one of the groomsmen.

Indeed this occasion is the much awaited event in our family this year!