Broadening my Horizon

I put up a blog for three primary reasons:

1. To brush up my writing skills.
2. To document life events and happenings.
3. If all goes well, to make money out of blogging in the future. (no matter how long it takes)

As a neophyte, it's baffling to decide what contents my blog will be showcasing. I originally opted my blog to mostly feature food and traveling since I love eating and discovering new places. So for the first month, I posted food trippings at least once a week. Then, I reckon it stands to reason that one post a week would be ridiculous and useless. On the contrary, food and restaurant hunting spasmodically is impossible bearing in mind that I'm no rich kid with a thousand bucks allowance a day to support such. What more in financing  out-of-town excursions. I resolved to making the blog a little personal featuring all things random, including thoughts, rants and my say on things (albeit I still continue posting yummy foods every now and then cos first love lol). Last night I went on reading personal blogs for some ideas on interesting topics to post. I was dumbfounded at how adventurous one can be in a personal blog. You can post basically anything you want! It seems quite liberating. I especially stumble across this enthralling and entertaining blog, myblogexactly I managed to read all the entries.She has these certain types of posts scheduled to be blogged on specific days/months/events that encourage her to maintain blogging engaging stuff consistently and prevents her from slacking off. I was so inspired I decided to adopt few of her categories into my own blog.

• Weekly Round-up on Sundays. Summary of the happenings in my life for the past seven days. This includes: Face of the Week, Stumble of the Week and Gratitude of the Week.

•  Top 7 on Fridays. Random lists of my top seven picks. It could be a list of my pet peeves, celebrity crushes, favorites etc.
• Writing prompts and challenges. Weekly writing, photo challenges and daily prompts from the Daily Post

So there you go, a motivation for this craft. Hopefully, I get to stick to this posting schedule for as long as the summer vacation permits at least. Maybe I could start right now!

HBD Mommy :)

picture taken three years ago at my highschool graduation :)

 I don't know if my mother will see this in as much as she perpetually stalks me online but I hope not. Today, she turned 50 and I haven't even greeted her yet. 

Growing up and entering this roller coaster ride of emotional disturbances and hormonal imbalances, my mom and I do not go along with each other on a lot of things and we often engage in heated arguments and altercations both of us, most of the time, not backing down. My parents separated when I was 6 and since then, I never experienced having a dad. I do still have a father around checking on me every now and then, but not a dad. I know this has bearing upon every aspect of my being; my self-esteem, behavior, personality etc. Given this ugly circumstance, I expected more understanding from my mother, more empathy, more compassion, more gentleness. Rather, I feel attacked, misunderstood and completely alone for I don't have anyone to talk to inside this house other than myself. I hated her for that. I hate her for judging me instead of understanding where I'm coming from. I hate her for saying rude things to me, cos those words affect me more than she could ever comprehend, shattering any confidence I have left in me. I hate her for pushing me away when I was little every time I hug her. I hate her for not saying sorry, I love you and goodnight to me as I grow up. I hate her for making me not say those things to her now because it's just awkward and not me anymore. I hate her for bitching around whenever I disclose problems and difficulties about school and stuff. I hate her for acting like she hasn't had any idea how I came to be myself today, when in fact, she's all the reason I am what I am now. I hate her for being so pessimistic about life, I'm afraid I'm starting to acquire this thought process already. I hate her for having so many issues, pushing me to understand her in this time when I have issues myself, to deal with. I hate her for hundreds of reasons. But in spite of this, I loved her. And I always do. Because she's my mother and I'm nothing without her and no amount of money will ever equal the sacrifices she took raising me. I may not be admitting this to myself (and to her as well )most of the time, but I'll always be forever grateful I have her in my life.

Friday Summary - Catch up Date!

Red Mango's green tea and banofee yogurt parfait

Stackers' Philly cheese burger and cheese burger

Caffe Bene's chocolate gelatto

❤ I rolled out of bed at 9 am today for my bestfriend and I's catch-up date, feeling groggy and out of it after reading all-night. My bad.

❤ My bestfriend made my day! It's been forever since the last time sis and I spent one whole day to ourselves in light of our knee-deep school works and busy schedules. But since vacation has already started, I'm more than free and vacant. Wistfully, this is not the case for sis. She will be spending her's at school, studying.  Nope, she's not making-up for failed subjects or whatsoever, it's required. (sucks ass huh?) And it's so sweet of her to make time for me amidst this crazy predicament she's in.

 ❤ We talked for hours, only taking breaks to hop from one place to another around Eastwood. And when I say ~talked~, I mean, we looked back and reminisced, lost ourselves in contemplation and fantasy, laughed at our own mishaps, laughed at our futile friends, backbit and cuss people (yea behind their back what now? hahah), shared our sentiments, made fun of ourselves and anticipated our bright future. It's gladdening to have those people in your life to whom you can be completely comfortable with.

❤ Early this morning, I conditioned myself to grab some yogurt parfait alone to get me through the whole afternoon. That means spending more or less 150 bucks only. Without much of a surprise, I had another, what I'd call, a WEAK MOMENT and I failed to stick to the plan. Three hours after we left Red Mango, our tummies began going frenzy I swear I could eat a horse. We stuffed ourselves with yummeh burgers from Stackers squandering another 200 bucks. Only after we were done, did it hit us that we cant stay there longer to continue our rap. We shared a single chocolate gelatto at Caffe Bene just so we'd have somewhere to chill at. That costs 95. Another 50 bucks down. Boy oh boy it was painful.

❤ Just as we were about to leave Eastwood, we happened to pass by this food bazaar called The Mercato Centrale Group. I recognized the name as a friend of mine asked me to check it out. I didn't know they also have this at Eastwood. It was sorta hidden and out of sight so no wonder. The foods looked oh so good and were cheaply-priced I couldn't wait to try them out!

❤ Wrapped up our date with a spa deal for next week! ~pig-squeals ~ 

Stackers' Cheese Burger

Stackers Burger Cafe renders noshes the cozy, homey, friendly and fresh atmosphere we get from coffee shops and cafe. Only here, they cater burgers, not pastries and other confectioneries. Apart from burgers, they serve sandwiches, fries, waffles, salads, soup, pasta, coffee, milkshakes, fruit shakes, floats, coffee and various other beverages as well.  The place is brightly-lit and at daytime, ample amount of light  can seep through inside. The waiting staff members were warm and friendly.

Premium Philly Cheese burger, 195 pesos

Classic Stack Cheese burger, 148 pesos

It's a burger cafe so it'd be just right to snack on cheese burgers right? hah. It took time before I made up my mind as they have a good number of different burgers, each one unique and appealing I practically drooled. We ordered Stack Cheese burger (for le best friend) and Philly Cheese Burger (for me.) I took a peck at the former but I couldn't quite remember how it tasted exactly because I was overly consumed with the awesomeness of my burger. I only recall saying that mine's way better (well it should be, I payed more) and that Stack cheese burger was good but there was nothing so special about it.

Going back, my patty was oh-so- juicy, I savored every single bite! It was cooked into perfection and I can't get enough of it. The burger bun was flavorsome too.  It kind of like has this garlic bread-ish aftertaste. I'm positive each of the other burgers has to offer distinct twang yet equally gratifying zest. The burgers were not as large as I expected nonetheless.

I could picture myself frequenting the place in the future. :D

Stackers Burger Cafe Branches

Stackers Eastwood

Orchard Road, Eastwood City Walk 1, Eastwood City

Tel No. 709-9999

Stackers Mckinley Hills

Venice Piazza, Mckinley Hills

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

Tel No. 403-6512

Stackers Newport

4/F Resorts World

Newport Commercial and Entertainment Center

Tel No. 659-8271

Stackers Alabang Town Center

Lower Ground Floor,

The Garden Alabang Town Center

Tel No. 478-0080

Stackers Promenade

Lower Ground Floor,

Food Court Promenade, Greenhills

Tel No. 451-2957

Stackers The Annex

Upper Ground Floor,

SM North EDSA, The Annex

Red Mango's Parfait

Lemme just tell you guis that yogurt is my fave snack in the whole universe. My taste buds tend to lust after yogurt all the damn time! I buy nestle yogurt in convenience stores nearly everyday (whenever I'm on a tight budget, so yea, that makes it almost everyday) just to appease my demanding urges. I've been cajoling everybody to accompany me for a yogurt break but none of them seems to like the idea lol. So when sis and I met for a catch-up, I took advantage of the fact that she just couldn't say no. HAHAHA.

Red mango is some cozy place perfect for chitchatting with friends. The store is brightly-lit. I felt all snug on their couch. They have the comfiest couch ever.

Toppings

Taking up most of the counter is a selection of toppings ranging from the healthy, guilt-free ones to bonbons like fruits, cereals, beans, cookies, granola and candies.

Banoffee Yogurt Parfait, 140 pesos

Green Tea Yogurt Parfait, 140 pesos

Sis and I opted for the yogurt parfait cosidering the fact that it is one of the newest on their menu and that we both haven't tried it yet. I was so thrilled with the layers of toppings that go with it. They offer 3 parfait variants, mixed-berry, green tea and banofee. I went with green tea whilst sis had banoffee. I kind of like hoped that we could pick the toppings of our choice, though I knew that wont be the case. Indeed, each variant has their own set of toppings already.

Green Tea Yogurt Parfait. Everything about it wasnt my cup of tea, both the toppings and the yogurt flavor. I picked the green tea variant just because it sounds healthy lol. Nevertheless, I wasn't sure if I'd actually like green tea for yogurt. The yogurt itself was okay. It wasn't bad albeit doesn't compare to the classic. It has layers of cereals, read beans, banana slices, mochi balls and nuts if my memory serves me right. Firstly, I wasn't impressed with the mochi balls so I put them all aside. Secondly, I'm not a huge fan of cereals and nuts and sure as hell, not red beans! The red beans suck ass ugh. T'was the   top reason I didn't get to finish the parfait.  I just wanna throw up. I was wrong with the food choice and I'm pretty convinced it wouldn't transpire the way it did had I ordered a classic or a fruit-flavored one where I, at the same time, get to choose my desired toppings. 

Banoffee Yogurt Parfait. Banoffee parfait on the flip side, is impeccably delightful and enticing as sis told me, and I couldn't agree more.She had a different set of toppings that she absolutely liked.The fro-yo, I reckon, was the original non-fat one. She veritably enjoyed hers saying "ang sarap" every now and then. 

This only means one thing, hafta go back sooner and rectify my wrong judgement. 

I'm no different

I endlessly encounter self-references and musings from girls in many blogs I read (especially on Tumblr), about putting up fake smiles when at their core, they're hurting. I've always convinced myself  these statements to be so histrionic and melodramatic of teenage girls these days until TODAY. 

For the past three years of my life, I've always subjected myself in deep thoughts wondering what has changed in me. What has made me suddenly awkward and uncomfortable. What has turned me into this self-conscious, always anxious damsel. What has altered me into mediocrity. What fails me to not be able to flash a genuine smile in front of friends and acquaintances on several occasions. Today, I conceived it's because I'm. not. happy.

HOPELESS over the weekend! - A Book Review

I was contemplating on committing suicide these past days NOT because I'm depressed or anything but rather due to extreme boredom! HAHAHA Kidding. It's been five days since my last social media interaction due to unpaid internet bill. Then again, still a non-capable, 18-year-old dependent on everyone around me, I'm left with no choice but to wait for whoever-is-paying-this-shit to settle the account while drowning in my own pool of misery brought about by this technology-conquered generation. I dont even have a working television here to entertain me and my mother so far, hasn't shown interest in buying a new one or in having someone fix it for us. And in all rotten luck, I couldn't contact any of my friends for a hang out since I don't have a phone any longer for months now. Buying a new phone is out of the question for the mean time because I know for a fact that I'll only end up breaking it or misplacing it or have someone snatch it. I only rely on Facebook for all contacts. Can you imagine 5 days without all of these? If not, well it was awful. I was left to do nothing but read. I finished two entire books in just two days which I highly doubt I'd do had Internet connection's available.

These two books that got me through two days of torture are HOPELESS and LOSING HOPE by Colleen Hover. I super lurveee these books! I find it hard to start puting into words every good thing about these because there's  too much but I'll try.

Colleen Hoover is an incredible romance writer. Actually, I have made her my new official fave author just minutes ago. Hopeless, the first book is one intriguing and gripping novel I couldn't find it in me to put it down. Every page is a masterpiece. It sent me to this overwhelming emotional roller coaster ride that left me breathless and absorbed. I laughed hard, I cried hard, I fell in love hard and I was shell-shocked hard! There are lots of books out there that can be so humdrum in the beginning and then slowly fascinate you to the peak of the story. Hopeless is nothing like that because the moment you open the book, it gets you hooked to it. There isn't any dull moment in Hopeless. The plot is just impeccable. I am in awe of how Colleen Hoover weave and organize every detail of the book. It involves a hell lot of twists you hafta brace yourselves.

I was smitten by ALL the characters really. I thought I wouldn't like Sky at first because of this reputation she has about being a slut and yes I didn't like her because I fell in love with this girl! She's so stubborn, she somehow reminds me of myself lol. She's so cool she isn't affected by all the slut-shaming thrown against her. She's so strong and brave she was able to face her life shattering in front of her and trust herself to a man after all. And then we have Dean Holder, the current love of my life. He has made me all giddy from so much kilig the time he was getting to know Sky more. I caught myself several times in trance, woolgathering at the thought of being  in the panty-dropping situation Sky was in every time she was with Holder. And all those teasing and funny text messages from Holder, God I was twitterpated.

Daniel, Holder's hilarious bestfriend made me laugh so hard I doubted my own sanity. Damn Daniel with all his made-up cusses and nicknames even Holder had no idea where in hell he got them from LOL. I also salute this guy for being such a true friend to my Holder when everybody else were being ass.

From these kilig and funny moments, I was gradually plunged into heartache and disbelief as the past unfolds, the story progresses and the twists were revealed. I felt sorry for Sky, for Holder, for Karen and for (believe it or not) Sky's dad despite everything. Hopeless is a devastatingly sad story. But amidst all the appalling turn outs is a beautiful love story between two people who are meant to be.

The second book, Losing Hope consequently is just Hopeless, this time narrated in Holder's perspective (The first one narrated by Sky herself.) Although most of the parts are just a retell  with some additional Holder thoughts and past life, it didn't in any way faze me from loving this book as well because every missing piece was put into place. The book explained where Holder was coming from in the midst of all his over-protectiveness, sudden mood shifts and intense personality.Towards the end of the book is ONE LAST MAJOR TWIST leaving me staring into nothingness, all wide-eyed and taken aback.

Yes, I was eating popcorn the whole time. The books we're so good I felt like I was watching a movie eeeek :))

I'm proudly recommending these two books for those of you guis who havent read them yet (I admit I was quite late myself). There's just too much feels I needed you guis to share them with me.

HAPPY READING ❤