sara lives!

CSI's Sara Sidle lives! After managing to crawl out from under an overturned car, surviving a desert flashflood, a hungry coyote, and the scorching desert heat -- our heroine was saved just in the nick of time (pun intended since Nick Stokes found her -- har-har!). Grissom's usual poker face breaks into a sweet smile as Sara is taken to the hospital. Sigh! But according to showbiz gossip, Sara (Jorja Fox) won't be renewing her contract with the show. But then again, we all know how fickle the biz is. Let's see what happens on the next episode.

picture perfect

If this won't make a Mom's heart sing, I don't know what will.

rewind

I'll backtrack a little, give my legions of fans a quick peek of what I have been up to for the past weeks. Hey, I'm conceited enough to think that some people might actually be interested in my day to day goings on, like voyeurs skulking in the dark alleys -- of Google that is. I know there are people out there who type my name onto their PCs in the secret confines of their badly-ventilated bedrooms and spend hours reading and viewing my blog and my friendster profile. They smirk and they laugh, but they know that the envious green-eyed monster is slowly gnawing at their little evil, jealous hearts (this is the part where you will suddenly hear diabolical laughter). So, as not to disappoint -- I will indulge...

Last January 31, 2008, the University of Iloilo invited me as resource speaker. I talked about "Power Dressing" which included corporate dressing and "Resume Writing". I enjoyed myself immensely in spite of the fact that I was sick at that time. It's also great to know that the graduating students learned something from that talk (see Maddox's comment in the 'spit it' widget on the right) . I've done a lot of these talks through the years, but the one last January was by far the most successful considering the number of attendees and sessions. UP Visayas as well as St. Paul's have invited me in the past as well as a few organizations here in Iloilo. I guess there are only a few people, okay, maybe one here in the city who can get away with two extremely different topics: fashion and resume writing -- er, and that one person is me. Hurrah! Which reminds me, I have to post some photos of the talk here as soon as I get copies from the UI organizers.

Like the true advocate that I am, I and my group also did some socially relevant activities these past weeks. We fed 60 elderly folks from Asilo de Molo and 50 kids from Barangay So-oc in Arevalo. Thanks to some kind sponsors, we were able to pull these 2 activities through without a glitch and much success. Thanks to Injap Sia of the ultra successful Mang Inasal who sponsored lunch after I harassed him through text and of course my good friend Eric de los Santos who also shared his blessings with us. McDonald's also provided snacks for the kids at So-oc and Raymund of Iloilo Drug gave some vitamins for the oldies. My gratitude to your generosity sponsors, I know you'll be blessed ten-fold! (photos to follow)

And of course, my life wouldn't be complete without a fashion show. Last Friday, my mom and I watched "Hinabol by Nono Palmos" which showcased the beautiful fabrics of Panay / Western Visayas through the auspices of the Ilonggo Producers Association (IPA) headed by Tita-Ninang Valerie Maravilla whom I deeply admire and good friend Weng Zulueta. Senator Loren Legarda was there to support the event and a lot of government officials like Governor Sally Zaldivar of Antique (who happens to be a sorority sis by the way -- go Sigma Deltans!) who also walked the ramp. Iloilo's creme de la creme converged, of course. I had a ball admiring some of the attendees' outfits and bitchy me couldn't help but say "what in the?!#@*" after seeing some wannabes strut their stuff (believe me, it was too early for Halloween but some people were dressed for trick or treating) .

Oh, by the way, aside from socializing and doing charity work (what's next, lunch with 50-something women? Yikes!). I also did a lot of cooking (and eating!) and here's one I did for the kids which was both healthy and yummy:

Verdure al Forno with Zucchini and Eggplant

And, because I'm a multi-tasker mom, I made Zach and Ripley a healthy but delish pizza made simply of tomato and basil to go along with the Verdure. (The photo was taken before I stuffed the pizza in the oven so the mozzarella has not melted yet -- this was done for aesthetic purposes, people).

Tomato and basil pizza

For the Verdure al Forno, I have to thank Giada of Everyday Italian for that. I made variations here and there but essentially, the dish is made of bread crumbs, 3 kinds of cheese which I made into a sauce first before pouring it all in, cream, butter, salt, pepper and zucchini. The one in the picture was a combination of zucchini and eggplant. If you know how to make the usual lasagna, you can do this one.

The pizza of course is idiot proof! Bon Appétit!

should Sara Sidle live or die?

3 more days (GMTime) and that question will be answered CSI fans. Will the Miniature Killer triumph? Hmmm... I can't wait to know the outcome of last season's teeth-gritting finale. In the meantime, if you're ruminating over the pros and cons of whether Sara lives or dies but can't decide -- this might help: Sara Sidle.

absolutely no excuse

I know, I know. I'm the girl who cried wolf. There is absolutely no excuse for not blogging. It's just that I was caught up in a lot of things, you know, 5 year plan and all. But I'm back -- again! My schedule is a little bit flexible this month (gosh, it's march now! how time flies...) so I think I can manage this daily (blogging) ritual once again. I also haven't been writing in my newspaper column for a month so those of you who are keeping track of Serendipity at The News Today, forget it, I took a sabbatical for the whole month of February. I'll be writing again this march, so watch out for that.

I'm so excited! So many new things are unfolding. I'll be ending something very soon and beginning with a new chapter of my life. Thanks for good friends and family who have rooted for me and who have supported me all these years -- I am truly blessed!

V-D

There are days in the calendar that give me goosebumps -- today is one of those days. For sheer corniness, I give Valentine's day or V-D (just so it would be mistaken as an acronym for that other VD as in Venereal Disease -- har-har!) -- a 9 out of 10. It's up there with mawkishly sentimental weddings and creepy declarations of love under the twinkling stars.

Before hubby went to work today I told him to go easy on the V-D surprise, but I told him I'd rather stay at home than go out on a dinner date along with a million other people like a bunch of lemmings ready to jump at the sight of a dozen red roses and chocolates. Gag!

Forgive my sarcasm, but it's a conspiracy, really. Restaurants, malls, greeting card companies -- it's all a scheme to milk romantic suckers of their hard earned cash. If you really want to declare your undying love, do it everyday and not just on this day, puhlease!

Missing Blogging

I've been a bad girl. I haven't blogged like I promised... you see, when life takes over, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. I got sick and as a result, got swamped with paperwork. I'm better now with the help of some potent meds and positive thoughts -- and once again, here I am, all ready to take on the rigors of daily life! Bring it on!

As far as "swamped with work" goes, I did a lot of paperwork and typing these past few weeks. I know that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is not far away, what with the abuse to my wrists, hands and fingers with all the tiptapping on my pc keys. But I don't have much choice, CTS or bust.

I've also been a lousy mom. I haven't spent a lot of time with them lately because I got sick and had to make up for all the crappy work that I wasn't able to do. Ripley's getting bigger and smarter and so is Zaki. My two kids are growing up and there's just not enough time for me to really savor each precious day with them. It's hard when you're multi-tasking. The irony of it all is that you're supposed to be doing all of these for your family. But in the process, you miss out on a lot of quality time with them. Ugh!

The next few months will also be crucial for me. I have to prepare for a major change so I have to try to toughen up. Before I go on a dramatic litany about my life, I have to go. But before that I just have to say -- it's good to be back!