My 4-day summer trip to Boracay Island was over in a flash. I can’t believe that I am back to reality. It was my second time in Boracay and it was better this time around. I will be posting an update to My Boracay Guide because it’s a little bit outdated from my 2009 trip.

NAIA Terminal 3:

We booked our flights with Air Philippines. It was our first time to fly with them and it’s not too disappointing. Our flight was supposed to fly at 11:40AM but we ended up flying at 12:20PM. There was a little bit of delay due to air traffic, but it was a smooth take off and landing, so it was an “OK” flight. We arrived at Caticlan Airport at 1:20PM and we were surprised at how the airport looks like right now. It has highly improved from the last time we saw it. It used to look like an old seaport. I love how the Php20 terminal fee works for us!

Cagban Port

From Cagban Port, we were just a tricycle ride away to White Beach Boracay. The tricycle ride still costs Php100 for up to 4 persons. Ryan and I were both super excited to hit the beach! We arrived at Budget Mart in White Beach after 15 minutes. We already know where to go so we bought some stuff from Budget Mart first before heading to Tans Guesthouse.

Tans Guesthouse – Annex

Here are photos of the rooms we stayed at. Since it was our second time to rent from Tans Guesthouse, we only paid Php5,500/night for 2 rooms. The family room can accommodate up to 6 persons. The room includes a dining area, a kitchen, a water dispenser, a place to cook, a rice cooker, a toaster, a fridge and a veranda. It also has a flat screen TV. We were able to take advantage of the kitchen and cooked our own rice and viand for 2 nights. Review to follow!

Snorkeling

Basically, when we say snorkeling, we do it floating above water with snorkeling paraphernalia. I had my Canon G9 with me wrapped up with Dicapac. There were lots of fishes, but we forgot to bring some bread to feed the fish, so we only saw itty-bitty ones. I think I might try getting certified for SCUBA diving. I think that’s a better adventure for anyone who loves going to the beach.

Puka Beach

One of the destinations for our Island Hopping was going to Puka Beach. What we did here was take lots of photos and we ate lunch at Tesebel’s. Unfortunately, we were all hungry that we forgot to take photos of the delectable dishes that we devoured! Their Prawn in Honey and Butter was to die for! Well, not really, but it was really good. I also bought pearl rosaries here to take home for my family.

Reef Walking

Early the next day, we headed out for our first water activity, reef walking a.k.a. helmet diving. You can watch our video if you want to sort of experience how it’s done.

Helmet Diving costs Php350/person. That includes 30 minutes of being submerged in 30-feet of sea water, mingling with the fishes and getting photographed by the guides. Some of us were reluctant to take a dive because some of us don’t know how to swim.

Walking and breathing down below felt normal. I guess, the only thing that is different is the pressure that you will feel in your ears. Other than that, it was a walk in the park sea.

Buggy Carts

We rented buggy carts to do side trips in Boracay Island. We rode 3 buggies to go to Everland Aviary Farm, where birds, bats and other animals can be found.

We were able to go up top to overlook the island of Boracay.

Red Coconut

After all our morning activities, we were famished! We decided to eat at Red Coconut.

We had Pesto, Bolognese, Carbonara, Pizza and Crepe for dessert. Their pesto needs more salt. The desert is nothing special, but it looks delicious, right? The pizza is okay, the cheese tastes yummy.

Swimming with Friends

Why else are we in Boracay? To enjoy swimming and Frisbee!

Our next barkada trip will be to Palawan! But this November, I’m off to Singapore.

I’ve been eating healthy for nearly two months now, and I am always in search for new recipes to try. I came across my friend, Pao’s, vegan blog and found the recipe for Tofu and Eggplant Stir-Fry. I decided to try it today. I must say, I do like it. I did add my touch to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4  Squares of Tofu cut into thin squares
• 2 Eggplants cut into small pieces
• Garlic
• Onion
• 6 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 3 tsp Vinegar

What to do:

1. Fry the tofu until golden brown.
2. Saute garlic and onion. Add in the tofu when the onion is translucent. Set aside.
3. Mix soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and water on a small bowl (or use barbecue sauce)
4. Fry the eggplant until brown.
5. Pour the sauce onto the pan, and add in the sauteed tofu. Mix well for 2-3 minutes.
6. Done.

Serve and eat it with a cup of rice. :)

Today, I had a healthy lunch. You might want to try it.

Tuna, Corn and Mushroom

What you need:

• 1 can of whole baby corn
• 1 can of whole mushroom
• 1 can of Century Tuna Lite in oil
• dash of iodized salt (1 pinch)
• 2 tbsp of butter

What to do:

1. Cut the baby corns into three; slice the mushrooms into 4-5 sections
2. Heat the butter on a pan.
3. Before all the butter melts, add the baby corns.
4. After 2 minutes, add the mushrooms.
5. After 4 minutes, add the can of tuna, mix well.
6. Add a dash of salt to taste.
7. In three minutes, it’s ready to serve.

Let me know if you’ve tried it. It does taste really good.

Yesterday, R and I went to SM Megamall to watch Hancock. A lot of people have given it bad reviews, giving it 2 or 3 stars, sometimes less, but in my opinion, the movie is worth watching. It has its own flaws, like any other film, but this one’s got a heart. Yes, it touched my heart, and that is a major purpose of the movie, I think.

It’s got an unexpected twist. Don’t expect heavy special effects, if you’re like me who gets impressed with the simplicity of a movie, then you would appreciate this movie. It will make you laugh and it will also touch your heart.

We also ate at Sbarro. We ordered Baked Ziti for me, Spaghetti Meatballs for R, and a Blueberry Cheesecake for us.

JayR was also having his Soul In Love Album Tour, so I dragged Ryan into meeting him, because me and JayR are like *chums* :D Well, we talk via MySpace or in emails. He invited me for his victory party last June 20 because he won an award, but I was either busy or lazy, so I didn’t come. It was funny when he greeted me, he stood up, which he doesn’t do because he’s signing autographs, and gave me a peck on the cheek and slightly hugged. The girls from the crowd squealed with delight, ‘coz I’m the only one he kissed on the cheek and I was the only one he took a picture with standing up, R, too.

We went home after that. His PA also told me that he’s in SM North next Sunday, so if you like him, catch him there.

Now the sad part.

She was having a hard time breathing last night and before I went upstairs to sleep, she tried to stand inside her basket, but couldn’t so she leaned on the side for support. She was looking at me with her puppy eyes but breathing really hard. I picked her up but it’s as if she was hurting because she was letting out a slight yelp. I brought her to our room upstairs to keep an eye on her. She was scheduled to go to the vet this morning, my sister saw her still breathing at 7:30am, but when my mom got inside our room at 7:45am, she’s gone. :’(

Anyway, I was able to buy Butterfingers for me-self, courtesy of those beloved butterfinger donors Thank you, thank you! For those who wants to share a Butterfinger blessing, I would so much appreciate it!

Last Sunday, my nephew, Benjo, celebrated his 1st birthday at McDonald’s. I honestly don’t like birthdays in McDonald’s or any other fast food places. The time is limited, only and hour and a half, and it burns a big hole on your pocket. But then, I can’t deny the fact that my cousin was able to spare himself all the trouble of preparing the food. I think there were more than 70 guests who showed up. It was a fun party for a kid’s birthday celebration. Benjo cried a lot of times because of the noise. He’s not used to more than 5 kids shouting a big “Happy Birthday” to him. I think he enjoyed the Ronald McDonald mascot. He touched his face a lot of times. I remember my sister being scared of mascots, that her body shook literally out of fear. She thought that mascots were small toys, as seen on TV. I actually laughed when she shook uncontrollably, ice cream at hand, looking at Hetti (the Spaghetti mascot of Jollibee). I thought she was just playing, but when my mom saw her, she started to cry. I’ve never had any fear of mascots, but I don’t really like them.

So I’ve been stumbling for the last few hours and found a Kaleidescope Painter. It is actually pretty cool. I think I am addicted to stumbleupon.

Care to spread some technorati love?

It’s a great thing that Lexie‘s brother helped us out. He’s really good with programming. He’s actually working on his thesis, but he took time to help us out. This afternoon, we were able to accomplish the flowchart of our proposed program design. It was really hard for us to use our own brains to come up with our own program, since we are not programmers. I was actually annoyed at our professor. He knew that we have other requirements to submit in other subjects, but he gave us barely 2 weeks to work on this case study. Anyway, it’s done. We just have to face him tomorrow for our defense.

[Update] We survived and passed the case study defense! No one got a failing mark from our group. Yay! [/Update]

The highlight of this week is, Booboo’s paws are healed. Her paws are more prone to getting blisters, so we bought her dog boots to protect her paws because the pads on her feet were removed, and it will take some time before it goes back to normal. She’s back to her normal self, very sweet and playful; jumping and running around the house. The vet advised that we continue to give her vitamin C to give her immune system a boost.

Check out Inside The Kitchen :)

I smiled to myself and quickly jumped off bed. I got my towel and took a long shower. After an hour, Boo, who was sleeping, jumped to the couch and looked out the window. She heard the service and smelled Ryan. ^_^

We both greeted him, me with a kiss, and her with a jumping spree to his lap! *lol* We had lunch first with my mom and brother. Then we started making the fridge cake.

Ingredients:

• 3 boxes of Nestle’s All Purpose Creme
• 2 packs of Graham Crackers
• 1 pack of Crushed Graham Crackers
• 2 and 1/2 cans of Carnation Condensed Milk
• Ripe fruit, or any in can

Tools:

• Whisk
• Bowl
• Any fridge-friendly Tupperware square/rectangle container

Directions:

1. Mix Nestle’s All Purpose Creme and 2 and 1/2 cans of Carnation Condensed Milk in a bowl. Use a whisk.
2. Align the crackers at the bottom of the container.
3. Add a layer of crackers.
4. Add a layer of crushed crackers.
5. Add a layer of sliced fruit (we used mangoes)
6. Add another layer of mixture.
7. You get the point, right? *lol*

Just alternate the layers, but make sure there is enough mango to place on top of all the layers. Then, put it in the fridge. After about 2 hours (in the freezer), you may eat it. Yum. More food recipe?

After making dessert, we watched DOA (Dead or Alive) then made themes for his cellphone. The reason why we just do movie marathons is to save money. Well, we’re actually low on resources right now, hehehe. We only go out when we have extra cash and if there’s a really good movie.

Another reason is our family, well, the rest of my family, are quite conservative, so we couldn’t just stay in my room without another member’s supervision. I’m 24, yes, but that’s how we live, I’m still 12. Hahaha!

I love how Ryan just surprises me. Sigh… Need I ask for more? I don’t think so!

Six Websites

I was tagged by Theia.

The rules are, list out 6 Web sites that you often surf upon opening your Web browser. Change the Web title and the purpose. Tag 4 people.

Okay, let’s start:

1. Gmail.com : This is my homepage, and I always check my email.
2. My Blog : I want to check if someone left a comment.
3. The Wickeds MB : I administrate this board, so I need to do my job.
4. Stck.Xchng : I love their stocks.
5. Deviant Art : I like changing my wallpaper, and I get cool ones from there.
6. Multiply : I love this networking site. It’s the best, because you can share more in your network, like videos, music, lots of pictures, etc.

I am tagging Felisa, Laarni, Xyla, Shari

Ingredients

• 1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese 8 oz
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 crushed Oreo Cookies
• 12 Oreo Cookies
• 12 Muffin cups [bought in any grocery stores, baking section

Directions

• Mix cream cheese, sugar and crushed oreo cookies.
• Place whole cookie in 12 muffin cups
• Spoon mixture into cups and refrigerate.

Ingredients

• 10 individually wrapped Graham cookies
• 1 condensed milk
• 1 pack of Mello Marshmallows / Nuts
• 1 cup of dessicated coconut

Directions

• Crush the Graham crackers, but make sure it is not too crushed.
• Mix it with the condensed milk, until it is very well blended.
• Get a little portion of the mixture and roll it in your hands to make a round shape.
• Flatten it out, and put 1 pc of marshmallow inside, then roll it again.
• Coat it with the dessicated coconut, be sure to coat it very well.
• Put it inside the fridge.

Ingredients

• 3 boxes of Nestlé’s All Purpose Cremé
• 2 packs of Graham Crackers
• 1 pack of Crushed Graham Crackers
• 2 and 1/2 cans of Carnation Condensed Milk
• 2 and 1/2 cans of Carnation Condensed Milk
• Ripe fruit, or any in can
• Whisk
• Bowl
• Any fridge-friendly Tupperware quare/rectangle container

Directions

• Mix Nestlé’s All Purpose Cremé and 2 and 1/2 cans of Carnation Condensed Milk in a bowl. Use a whisk.
• Align the crackers at the bottom of the container.
• Add a layer of crackers.
• Add a layer of crushed crackers.
• Add a layer of sliced fruit (we used mangoes)
• Add another layer of mixture.
• You get the point, right? *lol*

Just alternate the layers, but make sure there is enough mango to place on top of all the layers. Then, put it in the fridge. After about 2 hours (in the freezer), you may eat it. Yum.