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!