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Food Happy Things Hobbies Secrets

Happy Things #31: Valentine’s Day Edition

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It’s a date!

November pa lang, alam na namin kung anong plano namin for Valentine’s Day. Naghahanap kasi ako ng mga activities na pwede naming magawa during winter, at na-encounter ko yung suggestion na mag-cooking class. Nakahanap naman ako agad ng cooking school, kaso hindi ko in-expect na super in-demand pala nya. Yung mga upcoming classes, puro sold out agad. Bukod pa dun, may kamahalan din sya kaya naghintay ako ng December para mag-book. Para lang din makabwelo ng konti sa gastos. Fortunately, hindi pa sold out yung Valentine’s day couples class nila nung ready na kaming mag-book.

Cooking time

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Food Money Diaries Secrets

What I Spend in a Week: Ang Ayoko sa Canada…

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Before we go to the weekly breakdown, as usual, Best Buy and Bye-Bye of the week muna:

Best Buy

Easily, it’s the honey butter red bean toast na binili namin sa Mari Bakeshop. Homaygash sobrang sarap!!!

$7

Hindi talaga ko masyadong interesado sa kanya nung una kasi, toast? Na may red bean and cream? Eh. Since minsan lang kami mag-drive ng malayo papunta sa bakery na ‘to, I want to make it count. Pero nung nakita ko yung IG reel kung pano nila ‘to ginawa, nabudol ako. At ang pinaka-selling point: exclusivity. It was their ‘weekend special’. So hindi ko alam kung kelan ulit ako magkaka-chance na ma-try sya.

Kung titingnan mo, parang ang tigas kagatin diba? Ni-ready ko yung ngipin ko sa matigas na toasted tinapay. Pero pagkagat ko, it was perfectly flaky and crumbly. Una kong natikman yung tamis ng pagka-honey butter nung toast (yum), tapos biglang may creaminess contrast nung fresh cream and red bean paste (ugh!) Hindi sya papasa sa, “Masarap, hindi masyadong matamis.” kasi sobrang tamis nya. Pero wag ka, hindi sya nakakaumay. Nakakaadik pa nga. Dire-diretso ang kagat ko sa sobrang sarap.

UGHHHH

Nung pinapa-try ko kay Kenneth, skeptical din sya. Pero tuwang tuwa din sya after. Pramis nakaka-amaze talaga yung sarap. Nung gabi during our weekly couple’s sesh at nagtanungan kami ng things to be grateful for, yung honey butter red bean toast ang sinagot nya. Ganun sya ka-impactful.

Bye-Bye

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Free Posts Hobbies Ramblings

My Love-Hate Relationship with the Algorithm

Dahil mahilig akong mag-journal at meron akong physical planner, naturally, magiging interesado ako pag nakakita ako ng article na ang title ay, ‘Everyone’s going analog’ or ‘The Analog Bag’ (analog bag??). Ngayon ko natutunan na maging extra careful sa mga kini-click kong links kasi once pumindot ako, kukuyugin na ko ng algorithm ng mga content na puros yun na lang. Nakakaumay!

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Food Hobbies Pals Secrets TV

Life Updates | Chef Bumburumbum + Disappointing K-Drama + Protein Bar Wrapper

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1.

My cooking enthusiasm continues! Tuwang tuwa ako sa pagluluto ko recently. Ang dami nya kasing benefits:

  • hindi nasasayang yung mga binili naming gulay
  • nakakatipid kami at nasusunod ang food budget namin
  • homecooked meals are healthier
  • happy si Kenneth na laging may food tuwing lunch break nya
  • I feel somewhat creative pag mino-modify ko yung mga recipes na nakikita ko
Chia pudding with blueberry-blackberry jam and peanut butter

Happy ako sa discovery ko na ‘to kasi ang dali lang pala gumawa ng fruit jam! Kala ko kelangan pa ng heat at pakulo, pero may simple version pala. Few months ago, bumili ako ng blackberries at na-disappoint ako kasi ang asim. Yun din yung nangyari sa blueberries na binili namin last month. Hindi matamis. Hindi ko titiisin na kainin yung mga yun kasi bukod sa hindi enjoyable, magkaka-heartburn lang ako sa asim, so nilagay ko na lang sila sa freezer. Gagawin ko na lang silang smoothies in the future para hindi masayang. Kaso hindi nangyari kasi nawala na yung hilig ko sa smoothies. Kaya ang perfect na nakita ko yung simple jam recipe na yun. Nagkaron ako ng idea kung pano i-consume yung sour frozen fruits. Na-counter nung honey yung asim kaya palatable na sya for me.

Baked salmon with quinoa, veggies, and creamy dill dressing

Since puro karne kami last time, naisipan kong lutuin naman yung salmon. Simpleng bake lang with garlic butter. I partnered it with quinoa and veggies para ma-utilize ko yung zucchini at bellpeppers. Gusto ko lang ng konting crunch kaya nilagyan ko ng potato chips on the side.

Binagoongang tokwa’t baboy with talong

Eto mainit-init pa. Kakaluto ko lang kanina. Tofu at eggplant lang talaga yung nasa recipe pero since meron kaming tirang isang slice ng pork belly, isinama ko na. Happy ako dito kasi nagamit ko dito yung kamatis at talong.

2.

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Food Free Posts

Good Food

Pag nakakakita ako ng mga videos ng mga farmer’s market haul, natutuwa ako. Parang ang saya nyang activity. Na-experience ko na sya dito pero hindi ako natuwa. Hindi kasi maganda yung farmer’s market dito sa Calgary—to be fair, isa pa lang naman yung napupuntahan ko. Pero ang layo rin kasi dito sa lugar namin. Tapos hindi sya yung farmer’s market na na-iimagine ko. Ang gulo dun sa napuntahan namin. Ang isa ko pang dilemma, once andun na ko, na-o-overwhelm ako sa nakikita ko at hindi ko alam kung anong mga bibilhin ko. But I think nakahanap na ko ng solusyon.

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Happy Things Hobbies Money Diaries Pals Secrets TV

Happy Things #30

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Binge Galore

Ang daming magagandang series na lumabas nitong January! May mga times na wala na kaming mapanood ni Kenneth (evening routine naming mag-couch potato), pero this time ang daming options!

  • Can This Love Be Translated?
  • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
  • Shrinking (season 3!)
  • Frieren (season 2!)
  • Bridgerton (season 4)

Lahat yan sabay namin papanoorin ni Kenneth except Bridgerton (hindi sya fan) kaya nasimulan ko na sya kahapon. Episode 2 pa lang ako at okay naman sya. Mala-Cinderella ang istorya.

Ang pinapanood namin ngayon ay Can This Love Be Translated? Maganda naman. Kaso minsan, nakaka-frustrate yung subtitles kasi parang hindi sya na-itranslate ng maayos to English. Lalo na dun sa isang scene na yung sinabi nung bida, hindi akma dun sa ginawa nya. Kaya may times na naguguluhan kami ni Kenneth, tapos ip-pause muna namin para i-decipher yung words.

Can this show be translated??

New Colours

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Money Diaries Secrets TV

What I Spend in a Week | Marty Obscene

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Before we go to the weekly breakdown, Best Buy and Bye-Bye of the week muna:

Best Buy

Si Cashew, bigla na lang hindi kumakain nung wet food nya. Samantalang dati, marinig lang nya yung pagbukas ng delata ng cat food, tatakbo na papalapit sakin tapos ingaw na ng ingaw. Sobrang worried ko kasi hindi raw magandang sign yung walang ganang kumain. May sakit daw pag ganun. Pero, ganado pa naman syang kumain nung dry food nila. Basta lahat normal except sa hindi nya pagkain ng wet food. I’m confused.

Since meron syang gingivitis, na-research ko na meron daw palang type of wet food na masakit for them. Kaya mas okay daw yung purée or mousse type, para hindi na nila kelangan nguyain. Pero bakit yung dry food kinakain nya? Diba mas masakit yun?? Pero ito ang sabi:

Okay, good to know. So in short (haba ng kwento 😂), kinakain na nya yung bagong wet food. As in simut sarap! I’m so happyyy 🤍

$2.60 per pouch

Bye-Bye

Nung Saturday, down yung mood ko, so niyaya ko si Kenneth na manood ng sine. Sakto discounted yung movie tickets buong January. Out of curiosity, ang pinili ko ay Marty Supreme. Bukod sa crush ko dati si Timothée, maganda raw talaga yung film. Tapos nalaman ko pa na dalwang best actor awards na yung nakuha ni Chalamet, so mas na-curious ako.

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Food Secrets

Life Updates | Game Plans + Funny People + Frozen Embutido

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1.

Every year, I make a post about the goals I want to achieve for that year (I call it my game plan). Dun ko rin nilalagay yung naging result nung previous game plan ko. But this year, I decided to keep my 2026 goals private until the end of the year. Since there won’t be a game plan post this year, dito ko na lang ilalagay yung naging outcome nung 2025 goals ko:

2025 RESULTS

  1. Maintain an organized and clean home 😊
  2. Visit PH again, this time for Mama’s 60th birthday 😊
  3. Take one or two C level French classes 👎🏼
  4. Don’t go a 3rd day without working out—or doing yoga at the very least 👎🏼
  5. No sugar Monday 👎🏼
  6. Practice having my last meal at 3 or 4PM 😊
  7. Start building 3 months worth of emergency fund 😊
  8. Invest more than we did last year 😊
  9. Find a remote job 👎🏼

Out of the 9 goals I set, I was able to achieve 5. Okay lang naman kung hindi sya ma-achieve lahat, kaso mas satisfying sana kung na-achieve ko yung numbers 4 and 5.

Note dun sa goal #1: Magkakaiba tayo ng standards ng kalinisan. So pag may pumunta sa bahay namin at nadumihan sila, it’s a them problem 😂

2.

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Books Free Posts Hobbies

The 12 Books I Read in 2025

I was able to achieve this year’s reading goal (yay). Since 2023, my reading goal has been the same: read 12 books in a year. This number feels right to me—it’s not too many, but still personally challenging enough.

Here are the 12 books I read in 2025 (with quickie reviews), starting with the ones I liked the least:

LOWEST RATED

I rated these books 2 to 2.5 stars

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Annoying kid. Mean boy. Bad friend.

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Happy Things Hobbies Life Secrets

Happy Things #29

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Feeling Pro

First time kong makagamit ng stand mixer nung nag-bake ako sa bahay ng friend namin (Hello Aryan and Hudas!) Ang saya pala talaga nyang gamitin! As in konting seconds lang combined na lahat ng ingredients. Walang kapagod-pagod. Sobrang bano ko. Noon, ang tingin ko sa stand mixer ay pang-pro levelzz lang. Napapanood ko lang yun sa mga experienced bakers. Pero nung nakita ko sya sa bahay ng friend namin, at ginamit ko sya pang-bake ng revel bars, napaka-smooth and convenient pala talaga!

Nung una nga na-intimidate pa kong gamitin. Plano ko na talaga na i-mix lang yung dough using a spatula. Pero sa sobrang thick nung mixture, sumuko na ko. Sinubukan ko na yung stand mixer kahit hindi naman ako marunong mag-operate ng ganun. Pero siguro sa dinami-rami ng napanood kong baking videos sa buhay ko, na-figure out ko sya agad. Na-amaze din ako sa sarili ko kasi alam ko kung pano i-tilt yung head, kung pano i-detach yung mixing bowl sa base, kung pano yung pag-push and turn to remove the beater—all in one try. I was practically a natural at it. Meant to be talaga kami! Haha! Kaya naman sa isip-isip ko, “Gusto ko nitoooo!” And that’s what I got for my birthday!!

Hindi ko pa naman birthday pero in-advance ko na hehe. At buti na lang merong 12 months to pay, 0% interest sa Amazon (may kamahalan din baga). Sa sobrang excitement ko, chinat ko si Aryan para i-share ang good news. And her response made me cryyy…

I Love My Friends

This is my second happy thing. Literal na naiyak talaga ko sa reply ni Aryan:

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