let's talk about kitchen gadgets ;-)

when cooking there is so much mundane tasks one need to do. from chopping, mincing, mixing, peeling, blending, marinating and so on, cleaning up after adds to the list. modern innovation has come our way though and, kitchen gadgets have been sprouting like mushrooms. there were already so much of it from fortune cookie maker to a bowl which could hold an iphone on the side of it - called the "anti-loneliness ramen bowl". not all gadgets though are very efficient in speeding up a task. mostly, i noticed, are just a huge waste of space in the cupboard. also a huge waste of money. during one of my breaks from work i wander around in my favourite dollarama store to check out what is new on their shelves. and i found these:

the egg cracker gadget: they look cool huh? but not for me. if i count the seconds from the moment i touched the gadget to setting the egg to the cracker and pushing the handle to crack the egg, i save more seconds when i crack the egg the conventional way and,  i don't have a gadget to wash.


next that i found was a plastic container for making hard boiled eggs. it is for boiling eggs without the shell. the gadget eliminates the peeling process when the eggs are boiled. a bit skeptical about the product because of these questions. would the texture and taste of the egg white the same as when it is boiled with shell? is it safe to boil the egg in the container? how many boilings can a container take before it gets worn out? the other factor, as always,  is the additional thing to wash after the use.

when i saw the bag cap, it made me smile because this is something that is very useful. the cap serves as a lid for any plastic bag you have to store left over treats and goodies. an opened potato chips bag could be closed by this cap by just inserting the top of the bag through the cap. this is very ideal to have especially when travelling with little children.

lastly, the robostir which according to the packaging has been featured in As Seen On TV. well, i didn't feel so much elated about it. sort of, ummmm, 50/50 i guess. as i look at it, could be very useful for your time. let robostir do the stirring while your hands get busy for some other kitchen tasks. i gather though that this might only be useful for soup dishes, not stews with chunks of meat in it. i wonder if the robostir could do the job.

here is more! i would like to have a one-step corn kerneler because me and my youngest daughter loves eating corn off the cob. we drizzle the kernels with butter and that is heaven to both of us!! ;-)

this cake decorating pen is a perfect christmas gift for my youngest daughter who loves baking! 

the functionality and usefulness of these gadgets remain though on your own experiences and discoveries. what can be ingenious to a person can be ridiculous to someone.

beadyful centrepiece. . .

repost from january 24, 2012: freezin' out and ditched swim class. thought of something creative to do in between chores. thought of sprucing up the centre-table piece i made years ago. 6 hands did the job. cailean named it "beadyful centre-table piece".

magazine rack made out of plastic planters

reposting from january 28, 2012:i found a use for my 2 brown planters which have been lying around for sometime in my balcony. i knew i would have some use for it so i kept them aside until today when i attached them together, spray painted and decorated for use as a magazine rack. it's just feels awesome each time my hands and brain do something creative!! ;-)

wire the bottom of the planters to attach them








spray painted with yellow and orange to add colours












added a plastic pine leaves and cone 

run a ribbon around the attached bottoms of the planters

here you go!! a magazine rack made out of plastic planters.

migraine and the backrub i have this afternoon ;-)

"my head is on fire!" says migraine chick in one of her blog entries. i could relate to her painful experiences as with other migraine sufferers in the world. the kind of headache i have is the kind that is hard to shake off. literally speaking, i live, everyday, with head pain. i was prescribed to take amerge as soon as i have the aura. the supposedly magic bullet though is a hit and miss. it is suppose to dull the pain after one pill, but mostly, two 0.5 mg pills a day for ever 4 hours would do the trick.

i suffer from headaches for as long as i could remember. i was already headachy when i was young but my aura migraine started when i was pregnant with my second child in 2003. i didn't know what it was until i consulted my family doctor about the bright flashing lights i see. after the lights wear off comes the throbbing headache. i remain to suffer from aura migraine and i just didn't have a straightforward answer as to what really triggers my blood vessels in the visual part of my brain to go spasmic; hence the bloodfloow changes in that area which cause visual abnormalities (flashes of light, zigzzagging pattern, blind spots). there is throbbing on either one or two sides of my head and sometimes pain in my eye sockets. it comes along with nausea and sensitivity to light. it could also come with numbness, or tingling sensations and speech difficulties. the cause could be anything so i was told by my doctor. it could be hormonal, the food i eat, barometric pressure, stress, lifestyle etc.

one episode i had was triggered by a light that bounced to my eyes from a shiny metal turnstile in the subway. i was in shape that morning; i must say in perfect health. but what was mind-boggling was how that harmless light brought me to such a debilitating migraine. after a few seconds lights started to flash in the corner of my eyes and moved around the surface. when this occur, i got to take my pill at once to avoid the migraine headache. the aura was very disorienting which makes it dangerous for me to move around because my vision is impaired so i tend to lose my balance. i sometimes have a long episode and normally climaxes in unendurable pain.

i get aura migraine attacks sporadically but there were moments, especially if my period is near, when it comes 1 to 2 and sometimes 3 times a week. but no matter how rotten and crappy i feel it's a must to be on my feet to do what i need to do for the day especially tending the needs of my children. i'm a single mother and i single-handedly do the chores aside work and my volunteer job. i give credit to my steadfast determination to battle this debilitating illness. i would sometimes miss work though during a really bad migraine attack or if i failed to take my medication at once. all i need to do is to get a good rest in a quiet, preferably dark room until the aura is gone and the throbbing becomes manageable. in my case, after taking amerge, i feel hungry and parched so a good meal is a source of comfort.

photo from the great american backrub website

migraine dawned on me since sunday night and continued on this week until lunch time when i decided to visit the Great American Backrub. i wanted to feel good over the weekend so i thought of finding myself a fix. the clinic was full and a 15-minute back rub was all they could spare. i took the bait and i was glad i did! i requested for the therapist to dig deep into my skin to loosen the knotted muscles. the strokes she applied at the back of my head offered relief and by the time my 15-minute rub ended, my headache subsided. here i am now blogging away this entry, something which i wouldn't have the luxury to do had the pain in my head remains. i hope for a migraine-free weekend! and for those of you who don't have migraines, consider yourself as fortunate, be thankful and love life!

allergies and mineral based cosmetics

i did not have any issues with make up until a couple of years ago when my lips started getting dry on the sides and when both my eyelids started getting itchy and peeling. the allergic reactions started very slow and has progressed through continuous use of the products which contribute to my skin irritation. i tried some hypoallergenic cosmetics but even that did not solve my problem.

this dilemma led me to use mineral based cosmetics which seem to be a growing trend these days because it uses less ingredients like mica, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and bismuth oxychloride, another kind of mineral. the news about mineral based cosmetics is that it has less irritants. hence, with my now sensitive skin, i could say that this is a good option for me.

for this reason i tried using a product by pur minerals which i hope will not irritate my skin. currently, the brand offers a 4-piece collection of lipstick, blusher, eye liner and a contour/highlight duo. this set is a smart way to try the products. i still need to buy though a mineral pressed powder and mascarra to complete my cosmetic trial kit. other famous brands of mineral-based makeup are bare escentuals, and mineral hygienics.

i have been using the product for three days now and, so far so good. no irritation on my under eyelids from the pur mineral eyeliner. i will try pur mineral eye colours once the puffyness and redness on my upper eyelids subsided.

foreign aid transparency hub

Folks, I would like to encourage you to regularly visit FAiTH (Foreign Aid Transparency Hub) to check the inflow of pledges and gifts for the typhoon haiyan project. the site also describes the designation of the fund and to whose accountab...ility. the site also gives the public a chance to comment and discuss about the fund. i already posted my first comment. this is a government site. let us make use of this site to voice out our concerns.

8,300 miles afar

Published in Rappler.com on

November 15, 2013 TORONTO, Canada – It has been almost a week and Filipinos continue to reel from the effects of Super Typhoon Haiyan. The food and medical aid situation remains grim as thousands cry for food. Many nations have given generous financial, medical, logistics and in-kind support, and Filipinos in the country continue to unite while the government is doing its best to supervise calamity operations. Filipinos abroad have stepped up as well and have mobilized themselves – from soliciting monetary support, food supplies, in-kind items to cargo services that could help speed up shipment of relief items for the survivors.

But there are children too who felt saddened and touched by the plight of the people in the Visayas, especially when they knew that thousands have died. This prompted them to think of the ways of how they could help too – from selling lemonade to baking cupcakes for their school bake sale, to selling cookies. These were just some of the ways for them to show they care. Two days ago, after a friend posted a message that his group plans to ship food and clothing items to the Philippines, my 12- and 10-year-old daughters Cerniel and Cailean busied themselves gathering items in our household which we do not use anymore and packed them in a box to make it ready for pick up. They said “we are far away and still it is possible to help.” My daughters love to write poems and so on Thursday night, they shared their minds together to come up with a poem dedicated to the victims and survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. Cerniel and Cailean want to share their poem “Sending Love 8,300 Miles Afar.” 8,300 miles away we see you in our thoughts

So far far away we share you our support 
8,300 miles away we hear your lonely cries
So far far away we sense your worried sighs 

8,300 miles away we send our love so strong 
Our wish that all your sufferings won’t really last for long 
8,300 miles away we pray for God’s true mercy 
His everlasting kindness and endless generosity 

8,300 miles away we reach our arms for comfort
We want to show we care and keep you from all hurt 
8,300 miles away, we offer you a home 
To make you feel so safe from further hurt and harm 

We hope to see big smiles by these little things we share 
And hope these words can make your days so truly fair 
All things are made possible so here we send our prayers 
From Toronto with love 8,300 miles afar 

on philippines' emergency relief operations

base on what I have read, it seems that the relief operations are moving in a very slow pace. If I’m not mistaken, there are more foreign military presence in the rescue operations than that from our own government. I may be wrong and I’m not writing this to add to the bashing to the president’s governance, the government itself, senators and other officials but to share what I think are the weak points in the rescue operations and the infrastructure plans especially to natural disaster inflicted regions that should have been done eons ago. On the aftermath of the storm it was already determined that the roads are unpassable therefore what could have been decided at once for alternative measures are by air and sea. Helicopters could drop food supplies and if there is not enough air transport, the government could have requested use of private helicopters from private organizations. Survivors in Ormoc, Tacloban, Leyte, Samar have already lost their houses so at the moment they have nothing to look forward to there which means these survivors must be relocated to a region where all the operations and logistics could be very well performed. It is a huge struggle to disperse medical teams, distribute relief aids, and much more to strategize channels of communication if the survivors are randomly scattered in various areas. These isolated clusters of survivors must be all gathered in or relocated to perhaps in Cebu or Davao. Before the calamity, Yolanda’s coming was already announced so it has been expected that the local government and jurisdictions, to name Department of Health and Department of Social Work, started planning on emergency preparedness, preservation, relief and recovery plans, have assessed susceptibility and determine risks involved and alternative plans. As well, the same plans should be also implemented by local communities of various regions. I trust that all these have been done before the onslaught, but looking at how these are being done, I am starting to doubt that the disaster planning and strategy measures had infact ensued. according to typhoon statistics, Philippines gets 20 cyclones in a year. I was only 5 years old when Yuling and Sening made a landfall and caused havoc to our country. Forty three years passed since my first experience of Yuling and still our country remains groping in the dark on evacuation centre management. Have there been funds allocated for capital projects like building evacuation shelters not only for flood but also for other disasters like earthquake, equipped with necessities like toilets and water tanks? The answer, I believe, is explicit by the way the past and current calamities are handled and from the stories, photos and dissatisfied comments of Filipinos nationwide. There must be a huge and significant overhaul to be done in order to strengthen the capacity of our government’s response for the sake of its countrymen especially in times of natural disasters. It is certainly is high time for Philippines to experience a momentous change.

photo courtesy of newsinfo.inquirer.net