Pre Baked Gingerbread Cookie kits and House

A picture of a ready to make Gingerbread House from the kit.
Gingerbread has been baked in Europe for centuries. In some places, it was a soft, delicately spiced cake; in others, a crisp, flat cookie, and in others, warm, thick, steamy-dark squares of "bread," sometimes served with a pitcher of lemon sauce or whipped cream. It was sometimes light, sometimes dark, sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, but it was almost always cut into shapes such as men, women, stars or animals, and colorfully decorated or stamped with a mold and dusted with white sugar to make the impression visible.


The term may be imprecise because in Medieval England gingerbread meant simply "preserved ginger" and was a corruption of the Old French gingebras, derived from the Latin name of the spice, Zingebar. It was only in the fifteenth century that the term came to be applied to a kind of cake made with treacle and flavored with ginger.

Designing your own gingerbread house or gingerbread man is something kid's will truly remember this Christmas season. So I bought this Gingerbread kit from Gourdo's in Trinoma mall to add to our Holiday Christmas Activities.

The kids Natalie, Justin, and Jordan were so exited to design the Gingerbread Man. When we opened the kit me and my sister tin2 also joined coz we had 8 cookies to design. And it did look a lot of fun adults would love to do with their kids.


And since it was Christmas everyone had a price after the contest. All the kids designed their Gingerbread man so temptingly delicious that my daugther Natalie was eating her Gingerbread even before the contest ended.

I would recommend that you add this to your activities next Christmas. There are also other kits they are selling in Gourdo's that you might want to buy. They also have Gingerbread Christmas tree kit that you can choose from aside from the Gingerbread Houses and the Gingerbread man. The kits costs around 500-750 pesos.

Reasons why Eating Chocolate is Good for the Heart

Almost everyone loves Chocolate. And not a lot of people now that Chocholate is actually a very Heart Healthy food. Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.

Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Two heart health benefits of dark chocolate are:
Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.
Other Benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Chocolate also holds benefits apart from protecting your heart:
it tastes good
it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
it contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants
Doesn't Chocolate Have a lot of Fat?:
Here is some more good news -- some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid:
Oleic Acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
Stearic Acid is a saturated fat but one which research is shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol. Palmitic Acid is also a saturated fat, one which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.
That means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you.

Chocolate Tip 1 - Balance the Calories:
This information doesn't mean that you should eat a pound of chocolate a day. Chocolate is still a high-calorie, high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.
One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same.

Chocolate Tip 2 - Taste the Chocolate:
Chocolate is a complex food with over 300 compounds and chemicals in each bite. To really enjoy and appreciate chocolate, take the time to taste it. Professional chocolate tasters have developed a system for tasting chocolate that include assessing the appearance, smell, feel and taste of each piece.

Chocolate Tip 3 - Go for Dark Chocolate:
Dark chocolate has far more antioxidants than milk or white chocolate. These other two chocolates cannot make any health claims. Dark chocolate has 65 percent or higher cocoa content.
Chocolate Tip 4 - Skip the Nougat:
You should look for pure dark chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavorings. Avoid anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings. These fillings are just adding sugar and fat which erase many of the benefits you get from eating the chocolate.
Chocolate Tip 5 - Avoid Milk:
It may taste good but some research shows that washing your chocolate down with a glass of milk could prevent the antioxidants being absorbed or used by your body.
Sources: Chocolate Manufacturers Association; Journal of the American Medical Association

Hongkong Disneyland Experience

This is a happy picture of Natalie and Justin in the beautiful Hongkong Disneyland Hotel Garden.

It was pretty cold when we arrived, it was winter during the 2nd week of December and this particular day there was an intense winter monsoon from China making the weather colder then ever that the coldness of the wind stings when it touches your skin. Even winter clothes is not enough to keep you warm if you're not used to the kind of weather.

It was quite tiring when we arrived coz initially i have reserved a room over the phone which did cost a lot for the long distance call to hongkong using my mobile phone. I have paid it using my credit card and to our surprise when we got there we didn't have any reservation. It's painstakingly hard to communicate if customer service of the hotel is not very fluent in English.

This is not really good for a big company not to have a record of your reservation when they've already charged your credit card, I already gave them a copy of the amount credited in my statement and they told i'll find out the next day if i really had a reservation coz they will talk to accounting.

So we had to wait for a room to become available around 3pm when we arrived 11am. So the children went out in the Garden, i had a bit of a headache coz we were already awake since 3am with almost no sleep to get to the airport for the flight early that morning and it was already a tiring day. The Hongkong International Airport  was so huge we had to ride a train going to the other side just to go to immigrations and get our luggage.

When we arrived the Disney princesses were at the lobby with a lot of people in lines taking pictures. No one was in line with Mulan so we easily got a picture taken with her.
We stayed at the hotel lobby restuarant for a while to eat lunch. It was a little expensive for a noodle soup that costs around 800 in Philippine pesos when converted but it was good and the serving was big so it would be wiser to just share it with the kids if you have kids with you coz they won't be able to finish it.

They had very beautiful chrismas designs all over the place. It looked so much different since the last time we went coz it was summer the first time we stayed at disneyland hotel. And Santa was also at the lobby so we had our picture taken with Santa too. And he does sound like the real santa when he laughs he does the hohohoho really well the disney way :) The music all over the place was also filled with the spirit of Christmas. They were playing "The Christmas Festival" which reminded me of my childhood coz i used to play that piece with my violin in an orchestra.
Eventually a little earlier than 3pm we got our rooms. It was smaller than our first room last summer with no balcony, to think rates during december is a lot higher than rates during summer because it's peak season.
By the way if you want to stay in their hotel it would be wise to get an annual pass so you get around 40-50% discount on room rates every Sunday to Thursday I used my annual pass and we got the room for around P8000 in Philippine Pesos or $1254 Hongkong Dollars for a Garden View room , this rate was half the price last summer. But it's still worth the price to experience Christmas in the Air in the cold weather in Hong Kongthe disney way :) There are also cheaper rooms in their other hotel the Disney Holywood Hotel if you want to save!

Yoville at Facebook :)

Yoville is a world similar to the SIMS, but you get to interact with other characters in the game real time online! You can buy new clothes for your character and stuff for you house or apartment. There are also real time events like parties and trading which you can join. I got to play this application from my facebook account where my sister invited me to join.

This is my starter apartment in Yoville. I got new stuff today like my heart shaped rug and Girly Girl Furniture, flowers, and plant.

I wanted to buy more stuff but i didn't have enough budget to do so.

To able to buy furniture you also need to use coins which you earn in the game.

This is a picture of the Widget Factory where people in Yoville work to earn money. You can earn around 200 coins every 6 hours by working in the factory.

And to my surprise you can actually buy quick coins in the game using Paypal or your credit card, thru SPARECHANGE and SOCIAL GOLD. And it's expensive around 50 coins for $1 where you can only buy a virtual plant in the game for that amount. That's a fast way to earn money for these companies where you exchange real money for virtual money which you spend for virtual stuff you don't really use in real life for virtual computer characters. I might sell my coins at a lower price to other interested players in yoville to earn real US dollars. LOL

You also earn by inviting more friends to Join Yoville.

Well i'd say it's fun playing it. You also get to meet different personalities in real life. This is a picture of the night club where people hang out and chat with each other.

I just joined a few hours ago. I met nice and mean people. There were nice ones who gave me free gifts. And i also got a water bomb splashed in my face by a mean character in the game. Well i splashed the water bomb back :) LOL.

I would say it's a fun addicting game afterall. But i love the Neopets and SIMS better. :)

Life’s little blessings

Life’s little blessings. October 2nd, 2005


Work has been so hectic. I’ve been working for 14 to 16 hours a day. Sometimes I feel like I live in the office. I barely spend time at home. Sometimes I think of getting another job…. i might in the future. Sometimes the reality of life sucks. Most of us have jobs we’re not happy with, were stuck in deciding what we want to be and what we need to earn, and most of us end choosing the latter.


Since my life seems to be so stressful lately, I can’t help missing how life is when i was still single… I miss enjoying a cup of coffee with my best friend in her house having a makeover. Reviewing in starbucks before class starts and chatting at the same time. And strolling in the mall, shopping about girly stuff, staying for hours in powerbooks reading a book. Jogging down the road listening to the birds, feeling the heat of the sun and the cold breeze of the wind.
Life’s little blessing though simple they may be seems to get unnoticed. Lucky are those who still get to drink a cup of coffee with a friend or even chat about what’s new? We experience All those little things that get unnoticed and then one day we’ll realize how special those memories were. How much we want to hold on to it… and relive it if we could. Sometimes all we can do is make most of what we have right now in the present and make it count and make it worthwhile. Although sometimes we don’t have the luxury of time.


So while ur enjoying those little things that you think don’t matter. Think again… One day you might just miss it.

Door To Door - Persistance and Perseverance An Inspiring Story

Last weekend I’ve wached a movie called Door to Door. It’s was a true story about this Salesman named Bill Porter. He has an existing website called http://www.billporter.com/ if you want to check it out. What facinated me was that this guy is crippled but he managed to be the Salesman of the Year for Watkins a company the sells goods through a catalogue. Bill’s motto was "Persistence and Perseverance". Something I personally believe in. Despite Bill’s disability, he worked all his life going door to door in a village that no sales man would want to go to. And he touched every person’s life there in such a way that touched their hearts. He made a difference. He was an inspiration.


How many people do we know makes up excuses for not being able to do their responsibilities. People who are gifted, who can talk, walk, sing, and dance in a normal manner and not know they are special. Sometimes, people complain with what God has given them, not thinking that there are a lot of other people out there with less but still strives to make the most of their lives. We must see that we are all gifted in every special way that God made us. Whether we are disabled or not we are all equal in God’s eyes. We must not discriminate people around us no matter what they may be, what faults they have for we are all not perfect but we are perfect in God’s eyes.


Door to Door is a touching movie that I could relate too. There were times in my life that I did exactly the same thing. I went door to door, to people’s homes, people I don’t know. There was always the chance of getting rejected but you’ll never get a sale if you never try. People starting at you, and even telling you they don’t need anything even before you start your sales pitch. But when you overcome that barrier where that other person who is not interested becomes interested. That is a great accomplishment that will just make you feel so good even if that person just buys something inexpensive. Sales is a very challenging job.


Looking back in my past I would say that "Patience and Persistence" these are values I’ve learned in life. I love selling. I’ve done door to door, telemarketing, direct sales, I’ve started my own "tiangge" been there, done that. Sales is a tough job, it’s for people who can go out of their comfort zone, and risk rejection. Even in telemarketing, you have to be persistent, keep your morale up even if people had been cursing you for the next 4 hours. You have to pe persistent to keep going, and still treat the next customer like he’s the first one you spoke with during the start of the day when you were supposed to be so positive. It teaches us to be positive no matter what. And that is really important in life.


My job right now is so different from selling. I’m working in a call center where I handle 16 agents doing troubleshooting for one of the top 5 providers of DSL in the United States. It’s so not related to sales. But sales is something that remains in my heart. I still plan to have my own business again, one of these days… I might open my own store again.

A Cup of Chocolate

A cup of chocolate
All about life’s little blessings and some thoughts to make your heart warm with love. Just like sipping a cup of hot chocolate =)

A hugmug chocholate experience…
I checked out this new cozy place at the Trinoma Mall called Max Brenner. We ordered cups of hot chocolate. Not that normal hot chocolate we’ve expected.
It was served in a HUG MUG, it looked quite unique to me, a mug with no handles. The mug is especially shaped for hugging in both hands so that it creates the ultimate drinking experience of coziness, warmth and fragrance. Quite a unique experience to drink chocolate. The place was all about chocolate culture. A new way to experience your favorite chocolate drink… much better than coffee for me with it’s rich aroma.
I took a sip of my venezuelan milk chocolate, with traces of hazelnut…it was a warm and cozy experience. We stayed there for about 30 minutes or so. I checked out their other unique chocholate merchandise.
They were selling this chocholate egg ball, that was supposed to be shared by lovers, until it melts in their mouths with a surprise in the middle. We’ll that was a unique product. =)
All in all it was a fun, warming experience. I’d recommend you try one of their unique chocholate drinks, they still have other unique and surprising ways of drinking chocholate there, i might try a new one they call "suckao" next time derived from two words Suck and Kakao. It’s a unique utensil you use to drink a chocolate shot of your choice.
According to max brenner…"I don’t invent anything in chocolate. It all exists in people’s minds and hearts."