Max's Restaurant is Giving Away Tickets for the Bruno Mars Concert

We Filipinos are always happy and proud whenever someone with Filipino blood make it big time, especially if it meant penetrating Hollywood or the US Pop Charts, so when Bruno Mars etched his name in the music industry, the whole Filipino nation was elated about it.

As far as I remember, he already staged a concert here in the Philippines, but wasn't able to attend it. This year, he is going to have another concert, but from what I heard, tickets were selling fast and it is now difficult to score a ticket, since his concert is a few days away already.


Fret not, because we all still have a chance to get tickets for the Bruno Mars "The Moonshine Jungle Tour 2014" here in the Philippines. Max's Restaurant is giving away 2 tickets everyday! No need to buy anything, no need to dine at the restaurant... all you have to do is like their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/maxsrestaurant) and click on the link that will lead you to the contest form. So easy!

The concert is going to be on March 22, so there are only a few days left... hurry and join now. Good luck to us! To be up to date with promotions and new dishes, do visit their website (www.maxschicken.com).

Part of the proceeds from this concert will be given away to the Yolanda survivors.

* Jesz *

Happy First Anniversary, Moonleaf Tea Shop!

Even if it says stressed is just desserts spelled backwards, but no matter how much ice cream I eat, I still can't shake the stress in me. Well, even if I am stressed, I am thankful for having such kind of stress because it keeps me striving harder.


About a week ago, I received an invitation for a night of music via Moonleaf Beats - in celebration of Moonleaf Tea Shop's first anniversary, which took place at Moonleaf Makati at the Columns 1. Well, I love milk tea, I love music... and this had been a great way to shake off a little of the stress.


First to hit the stage was the band Anyo. What can I say? They perform really well. The vocalist/guitarist has mad guitar skills!


After a round of pop rock music, it's time to mellow it down thru the songs performed by AI dela Cruz and LM Cancio. They performed feel good acoustic songs making sipping tea more relaxing.



The highlight of the night would have to be the pumped up performance by Ebe Dancel. I may not be super familiar with his music, but everybody at the event were highly amazed at how he performed.


Between performances, there were raffles and I was blessed to win a lasagna gift pack, which I took home for the family to eat for breakfast the next day. Moonleaf offered discounts and free add ons on their drinks, and I had two cups of milk tea - my ever favorites Wintermelon Milk Tea and Hakka Milk Tea.

The event ended at around 9pm... still early to go home, so we took time to pose for pictures and the cherry at the top of the cake was having a picture taken with the great Ebe Dancel.

Moonleaf Tea Shop has been one of the popular choices when it comes to milk tea and other cold beverages. Pretty soon they will start serving hot tea, and of course serve a wide array of snacks as well. They have branches all around... please like their Facebook Page for more updates.

16 Years of Hanson Happiness!

If it were up to me, I was supposed to be at the San Juan Arena watching two of my favorite volleyball players (Jeng Bualee and Rubie de Leon) play live. Instead, I am stuck at home because I got sick this morning.

Since I started reading books, I have skipped eating breakfast and would just eat brunch around 10am. I have adjusted to that eating scheme, so just like the usual, I ate my brunch with sister around that time. Mom joined us (she's on leave) and together we ate rice, some mussels, sister ate siomai, and I had sausage and egg. It was just fine... but about an hour later, my tummy started rumbling and I just rushed to the toilet to throw up. This continued within the next two hours, and every time I'd drink a glass of water, I would find myself back in the bathroom. By noon, I started feeling dizzy, and by 1pm I couldn't walk straight anymore - my sight was so dark, my vision was spinning.

At first I thought it might be red tide (because of the mussels), but my sister and mom ate some of the shellfish, too, but they were just fine. Now I don't know if I had a heatstroke or what. No one in the family was alarmed, so I thought no need for me to be alarmed, too.

I just found it annoying that I would go back to the bathroom every 15 minutes or so, and my tummy was already tired, and by 3pm, I felt extremely hungry. Good thing mom steamed some sweet corn earlier today. I feel okay now, though my tummy would still rumble.


But hey, this is supposed to be a happy post, right? Well, yesterday is 06 May - Hanson Day! It was in 1997 when then Governor of Oklahoma declared this date as Hanson Day. It was just a day to give recognition to the sons of the state, but fans all over the world just celebrate it annually. I wasn't able to attend the little get-together with fellow fans last Sunday, but yesterday, I just celebrated by watching a few videos on YouTube and listening to their songs (of course).

16 years. Wow... I have been a fan that long now, but I am not getting tired about it. I will always be a fan.

The picture I took was the most precious Hanson posters I own - both posters were used during the two times they held a concert here in the Philippines (one in 2004, the other in 2012). Very precious posters to me because I got to attend both concerts - the highlight of being a fan is always watching/seeing their favorite celebrity in person... and not only was I able to see and hear them play live, I also got to shake their hands and exchange a few sentences (and smiles) with them.

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My exercises are put on hold because of my situation, but I will try a few things just so I won't be stagnant again. For tonight's dinner, I don't know what will we have, but I am seriously craving for Coke right now. I hope my brother helps me by not buying a bottle... I might give in to cravings if I see some Coke in the fridge.

A Happy Friday!

I was out all day yesterday, and got home pretty late... so I wasn't able to blog right away. Anyway, I had a very great Friday yesterday and here are the five reasons behind such happiness:


1. Books!
I finished reading "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer a little past 1am, and since I allowed myself to read books until 2am, I started reading "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.


2. Spending time with a friend.
When I went to Makati last Tuesday (23 Apr), I wasn't able to message my friend SJ because I know he's only available during lunch break and when I told him about the footwear sale at Glorietta, he was a bit upset that I didn't tell him I was in the area. Since I had an event to attend to yesterday, I decided to tell him that I will be in Makati and because he has to go to the dentist in the morning, we agreed to meet for lunch.

Good thing I arrived in Makati early, because the dentist in the first clinic he went to wasn't available. When he went to the next clinic, he said he was given #16 card, so he went to meet with me first. We had a quick lunch at the food court of SM Makati, then he asked me to accompany him at the Medicard Lifestyle Center for his dentist appointment. Well, we stayed at the lobby for more than three hours, but it was a great thing that we could share jokes and that the building has a free WiFi connection. We also shared a piece of Blueberry Cheese Muffin while he made a little boy happy by giving him origami - a little box and a boat.

He still has to go back to work, so he suggested scenarios. Either we take the cab and ask the driver to drop us off Glorietta (where he could walk back to his office, and I walk to my sister's workplace) or we ask the cab driver to drop him off first before taking me to sister's workplace, but he later realized that even if he give me money to pay the fare, it would still feel awkward, so in the end he told the driver to take me to sister's workplace first before dropping him off at his office building.


3. Hanson app on my phone. 
It was difficult to grasp WiFi signals from our neighbor's house, so even if I wanted to install the Hanson app the time it became available, it was just now that I was able to. I know this app is something I can't use much because it requires Internet connection, but still... being a fan, it's great to have them at the tip of my fingers, so to speak.


4. Dinner at Max's Restaurant
Since last month, I rarely attend food events because I want to help myself lose weight and going to food tasting events here and there was a big "sacrifice" I had to do. However, I have been a part of Max's Restaurant family for two years, so when I received an invitation from them, I didn't turn them down. This event was the awarding night for a contest they had for the Max's Restaurant bloggers... siblings and I didn't join, but I did win a GC for 1 whole fried chicken when they did a small trivia game. Happy I was to be seeing blogger friends, and happy that I was with my siblings and cousins (Marge and husband Jonel were there, too).


5. Sticker Happy!
When I decided to do the "Movie a Day" 365 Challenge, my friend Jessica (she's a Hanson fan, too) suggested I join GetGlue because whenever I watch a TV Show or a movie, I can check-in and might be rewarded with stickers. Not all check-ins meant 1 sticker, but... should there are movies and TV Shows with corresponding stickers. It was last 16 Mar that I completed 20 stickers, which meant I could order real copies of the stickers. Waiting time would last up to 8 weeks, and Jessica and I had some concerns that maybe they won't really send the stickers because not only does GetGlue have a lot of members, we also live outside of USA. For us, the real stickers are just cherry on top of the cake; that checking in and unlocking stickers are enough to make the GetGlue experience fun, but a few days ago, she posted pictures of her stickers, which got me excited for my copy. I knew she ordered her stickers long before I did, so imagine my surprise when siblings and I got home last night and brother handed me the envelope! For sure I won't really use the stickers, I will keep it for sentimental reasons. Thank you, GetGlue!

Of course, it's not really just a fun, fun, time for me... I also had some low moments -
1. While I was waiting for sister to time out from work, I received a text message from my high school friend Liza saying she's in Mindanao going to Bukidnon to meet another one of our friends. I was happy that they goet to see again after more than a decade, but I also felt sad that I wasn't with them. :(

2. After the Max's Restaurant event, us siblings walked from Greenbelt crossing three malls - Landmark, Glorietta, and SM - and when we got to Glorietta, we caught a glimpse of the Brazilian Madness Sale and sister and I were a little upset that they further reduced the price of some of the footwear.

3. While traveling home, the bus stopped at the corner of EDSA and East Avenue, and even if there were a lot of people waiting for their rides, my eyes caught the eyes of Angelo, one of my high school classmates. There was the initial surprise look followed by a hand wave... but I felt bad that he didn't hop in the bus (it wasn't that full) so we could chat. Well, he isn't a stranger (I mean, we talk every now and then thanks to Facebook), it was just sad that we had a chance to catch up on life and it didn't happen.

4. I couldn't register for Kindle... so I might take the app off my phablet. Just fine, I guess... Aldiko's a very great eBook app, and because most of the books I have are epub, I think I will stick to Aldiko for now.

5. I was browsing on EBay UK and checking on the Fifty Shades Trilogy books for sale, I saw one being sold for about £5. That got me super excited because each of the Fifty Shades book cost about 450 pesos here in the Philippines - nearly the same amount of the set of books sold on EBay. Next, I checked out the Harry Potter books, and saw several "all 7 books collection" for sale for about £20 (or below). Between the two collections, I prefer to own the Harry Potter books more (as I only got to read one book from the collection - "The Prisoner of Azkaban"). I quickly told K about it, requesting for him to purchase either one of the two collections (I forwarded $20 to him a month ago, will just pay for the rest when he comes here). Well, as much as he wanted to buy it, the problem would be its weight. He is only allowed check-in a luggage within the allowed limit, and should his luggage go beyond that, he will be asked to pay $50 per kilo. He told me that the last time he came here, his luggage was super close to the limit, and since he will stay longer when he comes here later this year, he was afraid taking the books with him will definitely blow his luggage allowance, and paying $50 would mean us paying more for the books than what they appeared to be. I do understand his explanation, but of course, I can't help but feel down. Well, I will snap out of it in time... hopefully I can find the Harry Potter books here in the Philippines (even second hand books).

Happy weekends, everyone!

05 - 11 April 2013

This week is not so much a good week for me as far as fitness is concerned - there were days that I wasn't able to do my scheduled workouts, but food is still something I control. Clothes start to feel much better to wear, although of course, I still have a lot to lose.

Happies this week:


✩ A gift pack from Caronia.
The blog I share with my sister is still in its baby stages, and it's not the type of blog that attracts a whole lot of visitors, but when I started sharing swatches of the nail polishes I own, visit count also have started to to grow, though not much. I don't have the money to buy international brands, so I am thankful that local brands do produce gorgeous nail polishes, satisfying my budding addiction. Since the blog is still in its baby stages, it never occurred to me to receive a package from a nail polish manufacturer to sample their newest collection. I was surprised to receive such message, and last weekend, I received the package. Super duper thankful to this gift.


✩ Ampalaya plant growing just fine.
At first, I doubted the plants were ampalaya (for we never really planted one - we just saw some seedlings in the garden - neighbor must have thrown mature seeds in our garden), but mom and I still planted them and placed a twig to guide the growing vine. I am so pleased to see it grow from day to day... making me anticipate the day this one bear fruits.


✩ A new book to read.
From time to time, I am still tempted to read the eBooks on my phablet (I must admit I read a few pages of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky), but I told myself I must finish reading the books I borrowed from Uncle Pete, so I can return it in exchange for more books! :) I borrowed four James Patterson books, all featuring Alex Cross, and even if the books weren't in chronological order, I still wanted to read them chronologically. Last week I finished reading "London Bridges," the 10th Alex Cross book, and this week I started reading "Double Cross," the 13th Alex Cross book.


✩ Cooking some food for the guests.
Last Wednesday, mom hosted a little gathering here in the house and I decided to cook some sweet corn puto (using hotcake mix and corn kernels). I was in the kitchen all afternoon cooking these babies (for I only have 12 silicon muffin cups to hold the paper muffin cups), but it was all worth it, because mom said the guests loved it! I actually wasn't able to eat some of these, because the 8 remaining ones my sister brought to work.


✩ Pre-ordering the Hanson "Anthem" CD + DVD package.
There's no way to be sure if the Hanson's new studio album will be released here in the Philippines, so when news came out about the different packages for the new album, us Filipino fansons wanted to buy one. I am not a member of the official fan club, but some of my friends are... and when one suggested for us to buy Hanson merchandise as a group, I was itching to go for it. Well, normally, a CD here in the Philippines is about 450 to 500 pesos (10 to 12 usd), so it was a difficult for me to decide if I will go and buy this one, considering it is priced at 25usd, but because it's a CD + DVD package, I dived for it. My friend already placed the order... I will send my payment this weekend, and then wait for June for it to be delivered.

Happy birthday to me. :)

Crappies this week:


☂ This banner.
I love footwear... but I always wait for the sale to come because I really don't have that much money to burn. However, looks like I am going to miss this, because this just came at the wrong time - with me going to pay the Anthem CD+DVD package... and the router my sister and I plan to buy... I don't know if I still have enough to go to this sale. Although, there's still a little hope in me... and I have my eyes set on that Grendha closed shoes, which I plan to buy for my Aunt Julie, and another one for myself. 

☂ Not being able to follow my fitness schedule this week... but I only missed two days. 

☂ I still can't register for Kindle. I downloaded Kindle on my phablet because I found a website that has a lot of .mobi eBooks, which Aldiko can't read. Our neighbor's WiFi signal is way too weak, I can't register and download books yet.

☂ My cuticles are too dry this week. Swatching four nail polishes... drowning my cuticles in nail polish remover, my cuticles took a big blow this week.

☂ Just feeling low. I don't know why... I just do.

Yeah, I know... life goes round and round and round. I know next week will be a happy one for me.