Kids and Critters!!

Kids and Critters Summer Camp!!

Enjoy 2 Fun-Filled Afternoons of Pet Care Demos, Interactive Games, Arts & Crafts and Film Showing with Guest Celebrities & Pets

The camp is for kids aged 6 to 12 - with pet dogs. =) Fee of P700 for 2 days (2 hours per day) is inclusive of t-shirt, bag, snacks, materials for Cooking for your Pet, Pottery Session, and will benefit the Philippine Animal Welfare Society =)

HURRY! ONLY 30 SLOTS AVAILABLE!Upon completion of the Course, all “Graduates” automatically become members of the PAWS KINDNESS CLUB who will be entitled to discounts on PAWS Merchandise and in PAWS-affiliated stores

P 700.00 Registration Fee includes :

• Official Camp Shirt
• Official Camp Knapsack
• Snacks for Kids
• Materials for Arts & Crafts
• Certificate upon Completion of Course

All proceeds from this event will go to the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC). For inquiries,please call 4751688 / 0922-7135828 / 0922-8815600 or email us at philpaws@yahoo.com

The Spaghetti Factory

http://agapeia.com/reviews/the-spaghetti-factory/

A few weeks ago, I was having such a craving for ramen or noodles, or something like it, and I was determined enough to go an hour north or south just to have my noodle fix!

People were suggesting left and right anywhere from Chowking to Pot and Noodles. And my dear old Google suggested this: The Spaghetti Factory!

It looked fun enough for me, and had a menu wide enough for a vegetarian (moi) and a pile of carnivores (them LOL). And, though it wasn’t there that I ate that day, I made sure that I’ll be visiting the place really soon. And soon was yesterday at SM Megamall!

While I was at Tally’s, I showed her the website for The Spaghetti Factory and not much convincing had to be done. They had a VERY wide variety of dishes, but all she had to hear was “walnuts” and off we go!

She was craving for Cibo’s Pumpkin Soup, and since The Spaghetti Factory offered the same, we decided to try it- split it. Oh. MY. GOD! Heaven in a Bread bowl! Who’d have thunk it! Their’s is the best Pumpkin Soup I’d ever tasted! Better than Jack’s Loft’s!

It’s so creamy and thick, one can probably eat it from a strainer! The soup itself was so full of flavor, you just have to let each spoonfull set in your mouth a bit. INDULGE! That’s the only way to eat this soup. INDULGE!

And to those who are turned off by the idea of “pumpkins” being the base for a soup- get over it and try this! It’s like soft curry (less the spice), made just mild enough to be eaten on its own. The only thing not right for me in this dish? Chili. The soup lacked that kick that I adore so much. But hey, that’s just me since I’m a chili addict! For everyone else, it’s damn perfect!

Their pasta dishes can be fun to order, since it’s a mix and match game. Choose which type of pasta (noodle) you want, and what sauce to use it with. Deciding what type of pasta to use was easy. Linguine for me. Fettucine for Tally. But the sauce… well… I had to take a moment to get to that part.

After a very intense decision making on what pasta sauce to choose, the coin I drew chose tails- ergo, Forest Mushrooms. Very close call! One turn tot he other direction and I’d have gotten the Mediterranean Sun sauce. According to their menu, Forest Mushrooms is…

A rich combo of shitake & button mushroom in a cream & herbs sauce

Hmmm… I love shitake.. I love cream… I love herbs… GO!

Tally, of course, skimmed the menu for “walnuts” and headed to order the Salsa De Noche,

Delicious fusion of tasty walnuts in a smooth ricotta cheese-cream sauce

You know, our pastas were served at the same time and MAN DO THEY LOOK ALIKE! Like really! But since we both got cream-based sauces, I guess it shouldn’t have been that surprising.. huh?

I was quite disapponted with my dish. There wasn’t a tad of Shitake mushroom in that pasta. Not even in spirit! LOL! I mean everybody knows that Shitake mushrooms are quite strong and infuse that particular unmistakeable tang of their own. But it wasn’t there! At least not in my pasta. What happened? Did you guys ran out of Shitakes? I can see the Button mushrooms. I can taste the Button mushrooms. But I wasn’t in it for the Button mushrooms, man! I didn’t even get to finish half of it. Note to self: get something else next time.

All their pastas are served with a side of Foccacia slice and grated Parmesan cheese. Nothing special there.

Tally finished her dish off. I forgot to taste it LOL!! I’m guessing it was pretty okay, since I didn’t hear no complains from her end.

We took the Foccacia slices and the (almost) whole bread bowl home for Tally’s dogs. And I had what’s left of my pasta wrapped for Sonny, Malyn and Liza later that night.

All in all- their Cream of Pumpkin Soup??? An instant fave!! If you’re going to SM Mega, Ayala Center, SM Manila, or SM Fairview, you can’t leave without trying their Cream of Pumpkin Soup first!!!! Trust me on this one- damn good!

Everything else, from the pasta to the service, well, nothing special. It’s not a fine-dining resto, so not for intimate dates. But for family day outs, barkada foodtrips, or casual meetings, it’s do-able. Again, aside from the Pumpkin Soup, there’s nothing that would piss you off, but nothing to drive you gaga in love either.

hmmm… reading this.. the pasta wasn’t bad. Actually, my friends liked it. I was just really disappointed because i LOVE Shitake mushrooms. they could have exploited it waaaay more than they did, coz honestly, there was no shitake tang in that pasta. btu i bet their other dishes are good too!

Stupid Pickpocket!

Darn person took my wallet. From my bag. Here’s the thing, somehow, he/she/IT got my bag open. So, that’s it right? All you have to do is get the wallet? But no- IT still tries to slash the edge of the bag. I wonder why… The wallet’s right there, not hidden at all. Maybe IT’s thinking that would have been too easy.

Well, off IT goes slashing the edge of my bag, but like I said, nothing’s there.

SOOOo.. IT sees in my bag.

• Cellphone (inexpensiveish)
• Wallet
• Heavy Duty Camera
• Mini Digi Camera

And what does he pick?? The wallet! LOL!!! If I were to choose between those, adn take note, I don’t look like a settled, rich, housewife or nothing. I look like a lost little twenty something girl with no source of income whatsoever LOL!! And IT chooses to take the wallet. Over everything else. (Heck I’d have taken the camera! The big ass one! Or the mini one!)

Poor IT, all IT got was like definitely less than a thousand pesos.

Everytime something gets stolen from me, cash especially, I just tell myself, “It’s okay. IT needs it more than I do.. Maybe for IT’s kids’ tuition fees or rent or something more important than a pair of wedges…” - but right now? Well… what you got in my wallet ain’t gonna take you far, my friend. Ish.

I get to have to take my bag (like REEAALLY now) to Mr. Quickie, and you? Well…. here-

What’s in my wallet:

• Bills amounting to less than PhP 1000.00
• Credit Card - cancelled. Goodluck using that.
• Gym ID -uhm… sure…. just try LOL!
• UP ID - yeah so what? now you know that I’ve never been to the library. bleh!
• Healthy Options ID - okay… go get your free magazines.
• Old Calling Cards - meh! am getting new ones anyway
• My Brother’s Calling Card - argh!!! THIS i want back! hmpf!!
• Other people’s calling cards - hmmm…. press people.. and animal welfare groups… and veterinarians.. okay….
• Picture of me and my highschool friends - okay, I sorta want this back too
• Picture of my nephews G.E., N.E, and J - well it was a nice picture.
• Picture of Hershey - DAMN YOU!!!! i want THIS BACK YOU LIL MAGGOT!!!
• Old ATM Cards - yeah all cashed out when I decided to donate everything to charity last year. nye nye nye nye nye
• 0920 500 0505 - Sim Card given to me before. i really liked this number…. hmpf! but that’s like inactive already and suspended coz it hasn’t been used in over a year!

So…. whatcha gonna do with these items now huh? Just call me. My card’s there. It’s the pink one. And give me back them things i want. And I’ll treat you to like merienda at new City or Buddy’s.

Mr. Quickie best be able to work miracles….

Seriously… I wonder what IT’ll do with these junk in my bag?

What’s for breakfast, err.. merienda?

http://agapeia.com/food/whats-for-breakfast-err-merienda/

Good Morning, Sunshine!

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been getting home to bed at around 12ish am. Argh! Too many things to do, too little time! So today, Wednesday, i decided to indulge a bit and NOT do anything. Just yet.

I woke up later than the usual, around 2:40pm. Yeah. I know. So I got off my bed, out the common area and took a shot of this timer thingy. (Poor lighting here in my room. Very.) Actually, that picture there’s a bit off. here’s the first shot I took: 2:46pm, January 5, Monday, 2004!! Waaah! And I never noticed before that!! So, after tinkling with the thing, I finally get to set the date right.

Damn! Is that temperature for real? 34.2 degrees celsius???? LOL!!!

Anyway, looks like my brother’s back in town. I woke up with pasalubong beside my bed. All the way from Iloilo - my fave BARQUILLOS (wooot!) and Butterscotch (the local version of Max’s Caramel Bars, which I still like better than this, not that I don’t like this at all hehe). Uh oh… this isn’t good for my diet.. not that anything I’ve been getting recently is.

Barquillos, to those who don’t know them, are sugar wafers flattened til it’s almost paper-thin, then rolled to a hollow stick. See pic. It’s sweet and crunchy. A bit messy to eat since you’ll get crumbs everywhere, so I decided to save this one til I’m fully conscious. I’m still half asleep at the moment. Hmm.. how else can I describe it…Think of a very thin crepe, rolled to a tobbaco’s diameter with a hollow inside, and toasted to a crunch, without losing the sweetness. MMmm….

Butterscotch are just soft sweet brownies (think cookie dough, without the chocolate). It’s softer than a cookie dough, and it has nuts in it. Yummy as heck. Addicting. One of those things you nibble on, and not notice that you’re going through half of the bag already until you feel sick in your tummy coz of all the sugar.

My breakfast: 1 piece of the Butterscotch thingy. I think I even took a pic of me with my “nibbled on” butterscotch lol

After a few minutes (more photos), Charm sends me a text message. “Patambay naman sa boarding house mo” (”Can I hang out there for a bit?“) Woohoo! Sure! And help yourself with the Butterscotch while you’re at it. hehehehehe… Less calories for me, good.

As soon as Charm arrived, I told her about it and off she goes to the fridge to get the Butterscotches! (That even right?? Don’t care!) Weeeee!! Hmmm… I wonder if Sonny’s gonna throw a fit when she finds out I needed help trying to eat sweets and she wasn’t first in line to get them? Hehe… nevermind, I’ll just make sure Charm leaves some left for later.

“If you’re on a diet, then why not just ask your brother to not send these things?” Charm asked as she munched on the Butterscotch. “Well,” I told her (as I was typing not munching, take note) “it’s sorta his simple way of reminding me the he luuuuvs me, you know?” Charm doesn’t look like she’s buying it..

“Plus you know, these are my faves and I do love eating em hehehehehe“. “Ah ok! Understood!“, she grinned.

I decided to put the goodies back in the box. And seal it. Not that THAT’s ever worked before. It didn’t work with the Caramacs. It didn’t work with the Royal Dansk cookies. The powers of Scotz tape isn’t strong enough to keep me from getting my sweets- har har

I don’t have plans today. Except check my emails. Tomorrow, lotsa things to do. But today… none.. damn.. I’m craving for Grilled Tofu! aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

WEeeee!

Agapeia.com is back up weeee!!! Finally! I never did get an explanation from the hosting company though.. hmmmm...

Metal Dog Tags

I’ve been recieving inquiries regarding the personalized metal dog tags that many pets are donning at the moment. There’s really not much to say about it except this few tips:

1. Get the one from Doggieland: Pet Tags
   • These are MORE durable. True, you only get the basics. You have limited (but already of a varied set) stainless steel frames to choose from, but this will still have served its purpose. Plus it will last longer. Practically and personally speaking, get these stainless steel frames.
   • PhP 350.00 basic order
     • Stainless Steel Tag, 0.050″ thick with ring/hoop
     • Total of 4 lines on the front and/or back of the tag
     • 15 characters per line
     • PhP 40.00 additional per line
     • MAXIMUM of 8 lines (max: 4 additional)
     • Full Payment required
     • For pick up either on the day itself, or on the next couple of days.
2. Don’t get one from Metazza, unless maybe you’ll use it for your indoor cat
   • “Wear and tear” people. The ones made from Metazza are, yes, way prettier and customizable- BUT they also fade easier. Let’s take into consideration the fact that our dogs or cats would wear this. It’s gonne get tried and tested like a Range Rover on the roll. There’s heat, water, mud, spit, and other elements that our fur babies come across in their daily lives. If the letters on the tag fades away, then the frame would be nothing but of ornamental, not practical.
   • PhP -to follow-
     • Different frames to choose from
     • Letters or graphics are embossed on the frame

Testimonials to follow. To those who have tried either or other metal dog tags, please post your testimonial thru the comment area below. Thank you

Goto King and your Bathroom??

I started the day… feeling guilty buot the foodtrip last night with Charm, Liza, and Sonny. Oh and the Caramacs? All gone now LOL! I brought it over at Sonny’s and we ate it there.

I was having server problems yesterday so I went to a net cafe to check things out. Then went over to Sonny’s for our dinner spotting. That’s where the Caramacs became extinct. *grin grin*

We all went to Glorietta’s foodcourt. Figured we’d see more people there. Cute guys, you ask? Yeah. One. We bumped into an old aero teacher friend of Liza’s, M. Wait wait wait- M’s not the “cute guy”. It was his “partner”, R. Yeah. M and R, sitting in a tree…

Oh and just so you know, they were wearing matching outfits. Camouflage shorts and tight tees. The couple that shops together… stay together… ish.

Mmmm… I love the laing last night! Liza and I ordered at Evergreen (a Bodhi baby chain). Note to self: NEVER EVER order that slime Liza got last night. Seaweed something. Green and slimy. But everything else, way yumyum! And the Choco Banana Soyamilk! LOL! I can be sucha cheap date huh!

I found out lots of disgusting facts about fastfood chains. You know that at Goto King outlets where they have the porridge on the hole in the table, they refill that using “tabo and timba” (dipper and pail). Wanna see a pic? Here: http://www.storyal.de/weblog2005/Bilder/march/tabo.jpg
Same thing they use for mixing iced teas! Argh… No no no no no. Good thing I’ve taken a single sip of my iced tea at the time. i got up, bought soyamilk. LOL!

There was this one time when Liza (former Goto King addict) was waiting for her order of Goto, the cashier told her to - wait lemme type a sorta transcript lol

Liza: Isang order ng Goto please

Waiter: (Notices the porridge pot table is empty) Ma’am sandali lang po, lalabas lang po bagong luto.

Liza: Okay!

…

… after a few minutes a kargador (truck driver) looking man scurries out from the kitchen with a pail of Goto and a dipper, and, you guessed it, started refilling the built-in pot on the table!

Waiter: Here’s your Goto Ma’am. Thank you for ordering, come again!

Liza: … … (Takes the bowl of Goto and walks to her table where her friends were waiting)

Allain: OMG! Liza! Alam mo kung bakit natagalan pa yung refill? Kasi siguro kinatok pa nila sa banyo yung timba! ‘Hoy pare! Pakibilis naman buhos dyan o may customer na nagiintay‘

How appetizing. After the fastfood que horror story telling (from Dunkin DOnuts to Chowking!), we needed a dose of decent dining. So we headed upstairs to Starbucks (Sonny of course made a pitstop to Wendy’s LOL). Pogispotting hehehe

Nobody good was there. We just went to the arcade and played this Quizbee game before heading home. PS: I ended up ordering fries from McDonald’s on the way home. Hmpf!!!! So much for my lowcal nibble only diet LOL!

Okay enough of yesterday, TODAY- today I have to go to Shangrila Plaza mall to meet a couple of people for doughnuts and talk about confidential stuff. Shhhh…

Then I’ll have to dash off to either Grill Queen or Cello’s to buy something I can bring to the wake-slash-birthday tonight. My friend, R’s, Grandma’s died last week (73 yo), and today’s her R’s son’s birthday. R’s kid is the cutest lil bugger!!! I swear- he’sbarely even 4 and he has his signature “angas” look already that would make future teeners swoon!

Yeah I’ll still bring Royal Dansk cookies to the place, i’ve only sneaked out about three pieces since Saturday. Not bad ei!

In the pics is what I’m wearing today. Pics are for Girl Talk. I’ve been getting compliments for that longsleeve top (yes I know- it’s summer and I’m wearing long sleeves, what the heck am I thinking?? well.. maybe I’m thinking of my hideous arms LOL!!!) - I got that from Oxygen a couple of years ago for PhP 800.00 ;)After I shed off all these extra pounds, I’ll quit it with the longsleeves. TRUST ME!

And the boots over there, that’s Olive! Don’t you just love Olive?