Chocochip Cookies Recipe

We're slowly eliminating chips and other junkfood in our household. This is to supplement the effort that my son's school has been doing ever since the school year started. I am also not buying cookies from the supermarket anymore since I know how to make them already. I bake assorted cookies and baked treats during the weekend and keep them in the refrigerator for a week. We call this our Weekly Snack Stash!

Oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. Both chewy!

I am sharing the chocochip recipe I used. The oatmeal cookies were made out of pure luck, hahaha! No, seriously. I made the cookie dough and divided it in half. Then, I just substituted half of the chocochips with instant oatmeal. The substitution was a success. Anyway, Chef Patty of the Heny Sison Culinary School told us that cookie recipes are always fool proof and very easy even for the beginners. You can also do what I did this to save you some time in preparing another cookie dough for the oatmeal cookies.

Chocochip Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress Farenheit.
2. Combine the dry ingredients first: 4 cups sifted all purpose flour + 1 tsp baking soda + 1 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp salt. I combine my dry ingredients in a Manila paper because, in Heny Sison, dry ingredients are always mixed in craft paper. It makes it easier to combine it with the wet ingredients.
3. Prepare wet ingredients: Mix 3/4 cup white sugar + 1 cup brown sugar + 1 cup melted butter. Use an electric mixer to cream until sugar is well incorporated. A friend of mine just asked me about the mixer I am using. I'm just using the cheapest Imarflex electric mixer I found in Abenson, haha! It came with a stainless steel bowl and the standard prongs. I don't have a budget yet for the pricey KitchenAid. ;-p The mixture should resemble a beige-like color by the time you're done with it.
4. Reduce mixer speed and add 2 whole eggs one at a time. Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp glucose. When you use eggs, make sure that you crack it one at a time. Put the egg in a small bowl first and inspect it first. The, put in the mixer if it's not spoiled. Wet the measuring spoon with water first before scooping out glucose. Then, with wet fingers, push the glucose out of the spoon and into the mixture.
5. Remove from mixer, add the dry ingredients, and hand fold the ingredients. The cookie dough should be a little tough by this time. Add 340 grams of chocolate chips or mini kisses. But as I told you earlier, I equally divided the cookie dough in half, used 120 grams of chopped Goya chocolate for the chocochip cookies and 120 grams of instant oatmeal to make the oatmeal cookies. :)
6. Scoop into prepared cookie sheets and bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cookies are ready. I used an ice cream scooper to make the sizes uniform and I placed a Glad baking sheet so I didn't have to brush shortening on my cookie trays anymore. By the way, do not overbake if you want your cookies chewy. You can also flatten the cookies while they are still warm and soft. My boy likes his scone-like so I didn't bother flattening them anymore.

I'm thinking of giving baked treats as gifts this Christmas. I'll also be giving some of these to friends who gift me with natural weight loss products just for the laughs, hahaha!

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Hair woes

I badly need a hair rebond. Nowadays, I keep my hair neatly tucked in a bun not because it's hot but because it's all wavy and uncooperative. I want my hair to look like this again:

That shot was taken from my last hair rebond exactly a year ago. I'm planning to have my hair treated when I go to Naga City this weekend (yep, just myself without the boys). My sister-in-law has a trusted parlorista over there and I love the way her hair looks right now. It's also cheaper to have it done over there so spending for the treatment would be the least of my problems. What my problem is, however, is my falling hair.


My falling hair problem was not solved even when I used the Human Nature hair products. I knew that my hair problem is hormonal but I bet that I wouldn't need to apply testosterone cream yet. Would Regroe do wonders? I really want to have the hair rebond done next week without the hair fall.

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Setting my priorities straight

Today, I wrote a former client to say that I can't accept the job that's being offered to me. As much as I want the extra moolah, it dawned on me that I might be spending all of my waking hours in front of the computer. I'm a 24-hour mommy, first and foremost, and I reminded myself that writing is just my sideline. I know that I shouldn't grab more than I can chew unless I want the other aspects of my life, including my family, to suffer.

You may think that I am writing this piece just to assure myself that there'll be more writing jobs for me after the one I declined. Yes, perhaps, this is the way I console myself over the loss of an earning opportunity. But life is short and children grow up so fast that I don't want to miss ever second of my boy's growing up years. I can multi-task, yes, but I know that that wouldn't be fair. Such is my dilemma. Oh, how I salute all working moms. If a work-at-home mom like me has this much to think about, what more about the other moms who go to the office each day (or night)?

I'm now back to researching about adult acne solutions. But this is only after the four hours I spent cooking my son's merienda, chatting with him, and tutoring him for his two quizzes tomorrow. I may not have earned extra money today, but I know that I have earned tons of love from the boy who's now fast asleep in his bed, all happy and ready for another challenging day.


Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Termite Problem Solved!

Our home was built in 2006 and we have been living here for 4 years. Imagine my dismay when we saw this pesky termite gnawing away my gorgeous wooden staircase!

Apparently, there were more from where that one came from. So we had the staircase's wooden planks removed and replaced which cost us around 10 thousand pesos inclusive of materials and labor. After the repair work was done, we called up Topbest Pest Services, Inc. and had a free inspection scheduled. The next working day after the inspection, we were sent a quotation through email and we found it to be reasonably priced. A contract was furnished and an installation schedule was agreed upon.

Last weekend, 6 days after the initial inspection, a Topbest pest control technician came in and installed termite baits inside my storage area which was under the damaged staircase.

See the termite trails near the boxes that were installed? As it appears, the termites have also started to invade the storage closet and I'm glad we were able to save the boxes of stuff that were kept in there. Unlike traditional termite control methods, the Sentricon System that Topbest uses does not use liquid chemicals which are usually sprayed all over the house. The boxes (referred to as Recruit AG baits in our contract) are filled with bait mixture that are designed to recruit the worker termites and bring the poisoned "food" into their colony to feed the queen termite and the other members.

It's quite logical isn't it? Actually, what scared me most about termite control was the vision of us holed up in a budget hotel for days while we wait for the smell of the sprayed chemicals to fade. With this method, we did not need to leave the house. The installation was even done in less than an hour. In fact, much of the time spent by the technician inside our home was during the final inspection before installing the boxes. If you are interested in inquiring about Topbest's Sentricon System, you can visit Topbest.com.ph and fill up the Free Inspection form. Their contact numbers, both landline and wireless, are also posted within the site.

At last, I can now check the box beside "Termite Control" along with life insurance and health insurance plans for the family and the fire insurance plan for our home in my priority list. We learned the lesson the hard and costly way. I hope your home is also protected from termites.

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Rap's New Veggie Discovery - Spinach

My son is a picky eater and he seldom eats vegetables. Uhm... ok, the frequency is actually in between NEVER and SELDOM. His choices of veggies only revolve around kangkong, asparagus, chinese cabbage, and malunggay. In other words, my boy can survive on green leafy vegetables.

A few days ago, I was surprised to hear from him that he bought crispy spinach for lunch in school. I guess, it's like the Crispy Kangkong I cook for him often. By the way, I commend their school administration this year for totally banning junk food and soda pop in the school canteen. That's what made me allow my boy to have lunch money so that his meal will be warmer and yummier.

My boy loves fish and soupy dishes. So when we ate out at Savory Restaurant after one of his singing engagements, I chose to have the Seafood Spinach Soup served for us. I thought that my boy would push his bowl away after seeing the soup all thick and greenish but he gamely took a sip and finished off his bowl right after. It is truly yummy and healthy. But don't have too much of this unless you want to browse through diet pill reviews after. I'm sure this one is loaded with cornstarch basing on its thick consistency.

So there goes one more dish in my son's limited fave dish list. I'm now thinking of more spinach dish recipes that I can whip up at home while spinach is still in his like list. ;-)

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Frontierville Mission: Thorny Problem No More

I promised myself not to play Facebook games anymore but here I am posting about it, LOL! Anyway, I'm playing Zynga's new game on Facebook which is Frontierville. What drew me towards playing Frontierville are the missions I need to complete. The game is based on the goal of improving a homestead. So you are given a piece of forest land and you will have to cultivate it for your homestead to prosper while completing the missions on the side. I also love the energy bar prevents me from staying in the game for so long. I can't do tasks without the energy and it takes 5 minutes for one unit energy to be filled.

A week into the game, I encountered the "Thorny Problem" mission that required me to have my "child" remove 5 thorns and 1 cactus from our homestead. The cactus was no problem but the thorn requirement took me another week to complete! You see, I got so excited in improving the landscape of my homestead that I cut up all the trees and installed fences all around it. Major fail. Three days went by but not one thorn grew back. I read some forums and did some tweaking and redesigning and voila!

I found these thorns in my homestead after a few hours of redesigning the landscape.Three more thorns grew back when I checked back a day later. Problem solved! Plus, I like how my homestead looks now. :)

Do you also play computer games like me. I do indulge in computer games once in a while especially when I'm in between writing projects. It gives my brain its much needed break. Try researching and reading about North Carolina health insurance companies for the whole day and you'll understand what I mean, haha!

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

So, that's what radar detectors are!

In Global City and other roads of the country such as those in Subic, cars slowly passing through are a common sight. Why? It's because of the speed radars, that's why. Unlike other roads, these locations apply their own speed limits and it's imperative for drivers to comply unless they want to be fined. Traffic police use these radars to check the speed of cars driving by.

Radar detectors, on the other hand, are devices that are installed in the car to warn drivers of speed radars. With radar detectors, the person behind the wheel can have the chance of reducing the car's speed before being ticketed for speeding. In some countries, radar detectors are considered illegal while the law depends from state to state in the United States. I don't know if there are cars that use it here in the Philippines.

Just some food for thought. :)

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Mommy Milkshake Marathon: A Family Fun Run For Breastfeeding

On August 8, 2010, moms, dads,and their kids will walk/run for a good cause, that is, breastfeeding. Now on its 4th year, Mommy Milkshake 2010 is giving up to 400 bibs and is open even to babies, toddlers, preggy moms, and grandparents. Registration fee is P200 for adults, P100 for kids 3-16 years old. Babies below 3 can join for free. This is going to be the healthiest and happiest family bonding event ever!

Wanna join this family-friendly fun run? Register here.

Mommy Milkshake 2010 is organized by Mommy Mundo and PACE, co-presented by GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson’s Baby, Stemcord cordblood banking, with support from Mommy Matters, Havaianas, RCBC Savings Bank, Citibank, Cycles Mild Detergent, Cradle. Media partners Lifestyle Network, MomsToday , Urban Mom and Mommy Pages.

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Give your child the winning edge!

I'm sharing with you what I believe is a worthwhile workshop for educators and parents alike. Thanks to Galileo Enrichment Learning Program for sharing to us this wonderful event.

Build the next generation by equipping them with the right skills and knowledge. The Galileo Enrichment Learning Program invites you to a two-day conference on “Giving Children the Winning Edge”. It will be on October 1 and 2, 2010 at SGV Hall, AIM Conference Center, Benavidez cor. Trasierra Sts., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Speakers for the two-day conference will be Dr. Queena Lee-Chua, Ms. Maribel Dionisio, Dr. Eduardo Morato Jr., Ms. Maricar de Ocampo, Ms. Rowena Matti, and "CNN Hero of The Year," Mr. Efren Peñaflorida, Jr.

The “prime time” for physical, mental and motor development in children happens from birth to 12 years of age. Developing and enriching young minds may be an extensive process, but setting a firm foundation and establishing healthy study patterns will give them the winning edge in the long run. To learn how to raise an exceptional child in this competitive world, the Galileo Enrichment Learning Program invites you to its 5E Series: Giving the Child the Winning Edge. Facilitated by experts in the field of education, family and child development, this two-day conference will help you discover and learn about:

1) The Next Wave: Creating Super Learners

Every child has the capacity to become a “super learner” – an articulate speaker, a critical thinker, a problem solver, a fluent writer, an effective reader, a speedy mathematician. Get inside information on how to strengthen their capabilities and motivate them to become super learners.

2) Good Study Habits Toward School Success

Guiding a child up the ladder of success requires discipline. See a different side to the word ‘discipline’ that will establish a child’s winning attitude.

3) Empowering Child’s Mind by Maximizing the Whole Brain

Each child is unique and has his own style of learning. Maximize his brain’s potential by understanding its inner workings and create an exceptional child who is a cut above the rest.

4) Predictive Indicators to a Child’s Success

Every parent and educator should be able to pinpoint characteristics that motivate children to become the person they want to be. Use these highlights in their lives as a guiding tool towards a confident and successful future.

For ticket reservation please download the registration form and fax to (632)890.2509 or call 895.8095 and 898.1234

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

All in the family

My son has eczema and I wasn't surprised at all when I saw the familiar skin peelings on his fingers. My sister has it, my lola had it, even my mother-in-law has it! Although eczema is an allergic reaction of the skin to some irritants/allergens, it is still a fact that genetics plays a big role in having this disease. Other than genetics, I also blame the weather and some food items for his eczema.

When my son was still younger, his pedia prescribed a topical steroid in cream form. It did help lessen the itching and the peeling but it was still there. After some time, the symptoms just went away without us applying the cream anymore. So we decided to just let it be every time it appears I know that steroids are not too good for the body. Besides, I've seen eczema pictures that are worse than my son's condition so I'm not worrying about it too much.

Hay, times like this I wish my son could have inherited money instead of eczema from our relatives. Hahaha!

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.