My Wicked Wonderland

2007-11-07T12:54:00.000+08:00

Beyonce arrives in Manila for Wednesday concert

MANILA, Philippines -- International pop superstar Beyonce Knowles flashed a wide smile upon arriving in Manila amid a light drizzle Tuesday afternoon.

Here for a one-night show in Taguig City on Wednesday, Knowles and her 70--member entourage-concert crew, musicians and personal security--arrived from Shanghai via chartered jet at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 2:10 p.m., drawing a crowd of media and airport workers at the rain-soaked ramp.

Before the star got off, a flight attendant hurried ahead to place an arrangement of flowers at the bottom of the stairs and lay a blue carpet at the landing. Black-clad private security meanwhile positioned themselves around her waiting Ford Excursion, scanning the crowd in front.

A few minutes later, with a bodyguard ahead of her, Knowles emerged from the aircraft.
As she descended the steps, the wind caught her curly hair, slightly covering her face, but Knowles quickly swept it aside to smile and wave to the media who waited behind a security cordon.

The 26-year-old artist, the voice behind hits like "Irreplaceable" and "Baby Boy," wore a plain white long-sleeved shirt over tight-fitting jeans. But the star in her shone through with the choice of matching gold jewelry and high-heeled shoes and a blue-gold scarf around her neck.

Flanked by her bodyguards and locally-hired private security, she paused briefly to face photographers then boarded the waiting SUV. Airport workers, and even police, tried to take snapshots of the superstar with their digital cameras and camera phones.
The five-car convoy then sped off as the rest of her entourage continued deboarding the plane and headed for their chartered buses.

Knowles' aircraft, a chartered 172-seater MD-83 Blue Line jet will stay at the NAIA's remote parking area until the artist flies out Thursday morning.

( www.inquirer.net )

Very bad for a first timer.

2007-11-06T21:14:00.000+08:00

Tonight i did something that i have never done in my life. i felt so nervous while doing it. mixed feeling of fear, anxiety, uneasiness. i was very uncomfortable. imagine doing something you don't do on a regular basis. like rock climbing in the himalayas or go skinny dipping @ d red sea. i went nuts.

i will not go into much details but the ending? so sad..i did very bad; lousy performance..for a first timer.

guess i will not be allowed to do it anymore.

sad.

Pretzel-licious

2007-06-18T15:39:00.000+08:00

Just recently, I bumped into Auntie Anne's and discovered a whole new way of eating the century-old snack, pretzel.

Auntie Anne's introduces the 8-grain Pretzel - a combination of oats, corn, rice, millet, quinoa, sesame seeds, rye, and barley in a very tasty mix.

Sold @ a discounted price of P38.50 (originally priced at P48.00/ 20% discount)/ piece.

and, aside from enjoying this sumptuous snack, you get a FREE 1-day trial work-out @ Fitness First (any branch).

So rich in fiber, So full of healthy nutrients, a guilt-free filling snack!

Happy eating.

What and What Not to eat - Part 2

2007-06-08T15:40:00.000+08:00

the list continues:

EAT THIS

mc donald's quarter pounder with cheese (4-oz beef patty)
510 calories/ 43 g carbohydrates/ 25 g fat (12 g saturated)/ 29 g protein/ 1,150 mg sodium/ 3 g fiber

NOT THAT
burger king whopper with cheese (4-oz beef patty)
800 calories/ 53 g carbohydrates/ 49 g fat (18 g saturated)/ 35 g protein/ 1,450 mg sodium/ / 4 g fiber

Why?

The Quarter Pounder, is in fact, king: almost half the fat and 300 fewer calories.

EAT THIS

1 bacon slice
42 calories/ 0 g carbohydrates/ 3 g fat (1 g saturated)/ 3 g protein/ 0 g fiber

NOT THAT

1 sausage link
82 calories/ 0 g carbohydrates/ 7 g fat (2.6 g saturated)/ 0 g protein/ 0 g fiber

Why?

Bacon has roughly the same protein as sausage, but half the fat and calories. And since it takes up more visual space on the plate, it seems just as big.

What and What Not to eat

2007-06-02T11:36:00.000+08:00

if you have been browsing through men's health magazine for quite sometime now, you may be familiar with their nutrition feature on The Better Alternative: EAT THIS, NOT THAT.

if you have not, well here are some food to indulge in or steer away from:

EAT THIS
a piece (1.5oz) of fruit cake
139 calories/ 26.5 g carbohydrates/ 3.9 g fat (1.9 g saturated)/ 12.8 g sugar/ 1.8 g protein 0.8 g fiber

NOT THAT
3 medium-sized pieces (1.5oz) of unenriched chocolate chip cookies
205 calories/ 28.5 g carbohydrates/ 9.6 g fat (3.2 g saturated)/ 13.2 g sugar/ 2.3 g protein/ 1.1 g fiber

Why?

A bit low on the calorie count and the fat, plus the brandy in the fruitcake gives out antioxidant potential equivalent to the daily recommended intake of vitamin C.

EAT THIS
3 tablespoons (1oz) of brewed coffee
139 calories/ 26.5 g carbohydrates/ 3.9 g fat (1.9 g saturated)/ 12.8 g sugar/ 1.8 g protein 0.8 g fiber

NOT THAT
3 tablespoons (1oz) of hot chocolate
205 calories/ 28.5 g carbohydrates/ 9.6 g fat (3.2 g saturated)/ 13.2 g sugar/ 2.3 g protein/ 1.1 g fiber

Why?

The hot chocolate is loaded with sugars and carbs. and coffee contains more antioxidants that help fight the big C.

My Diet Plan

2007-05-26T02:05:00.000+08:00

been working out for almost a year already, it's so damn hard to maintain this kind of body and make it even leaner, and bigger.

i recently found out that i have been following the 3-hour diet pala, just recently, but i have been doing this since then.

diet plan:
(may be a combination or all of the following food per meal)

breakfast

2 slices whole wheat grain bread (gardenia is one of my faves! with 170calories @ 1g fat, good source of carbs @ 35g,dietary fiber @ 3g,and protein @ 7g)+tuna spread+lettuce+tomato+cucumber

2 cups of TAHO minus the arnibal (sweet ingredient, the brown one, luv d sago,hehe..) i usually buy kay manong sa tabi ng edsa shrine @ 10.00/cup. he is there from 6:00AM 'til supplies last.

1 cup nestle fruit selection yogurt - zero% fat! (beat that!)

1 piece cavendish banana from Dole

1 FUJI apple

1 serving of quaker oatmeal (choco flavor is addictive @ p10.00/pack gives you 134.5 calories)

2 glasses of pineapple juice - unsweetened/ DOLE is great!

brunch

1 can del monte fruit express - w/ peach

lots of H20

1 pack Oheya chicha, d blue one (yup, it's one of the healthiest junk foods in the counter ryt now)

lunch

1 serving pasta (any kind) spag, fettucine,zitti,marinara, lasagne,penne - avenetto, chef d angelo and sbarro serve d best pastas! yum..

1 half roasted chicken minus the skin (yaiks greatest source of FAT and cholesterol), prefers the breast part

2 servings of siomai (luv dimsums)

1 slice papaya and pineapple (help convert protein to be taken in by muscles)

1 can pineapple juice (fiber, man!)

merienda

1 serving of pancit (need carbs..hehe..)

lots of H20

before hitting d gym

pre-dinner

(can be a choice frm d ff:)

a> kenny roger's SOLO B (breast part CLASSIC please, hate their inasal version..eww)/ side dishes:(HOT) either Corn&CarrotsCorned beef w/potato&cabbageMixed/steamed veggies! too bad they removed tuna pasta in d menu..:( (COLD) either potato salad or fruit bowl (w/out mayonnaise)
lots of H20

b> World chicken! (G4 fudcourt) ALL of their menus are perfect! @ p135/serving, not bad...just wish they open earlier as scheduled so i could enjoy it 4 bfast/brunch..yummm

c> i recently had a taste of Plato Wraps - 1 serving Wheat bread + tuna spread - i think u need 2 add p5 or p10 2 upgrade frm d regular bread into wheat bread, not bad.

after work-out

2 cups of TAHO (this time, manong can be found in front of robinson's galleria at the bus stop)

dinner

1 whole roasted chicken (andok's/mang boks/baliwag is gud enough, mura pa)

lots of fruits (mango,apples,papaya)

1 serving Kenny's Healthy Plate (contains: 1/4 chicken minus d skin, classic of course!, Fresh fruit salad, Corn muffin, All-vegetable salad, iced tea @ p135 only!) this meal is 27% less fat than d usual meals out there, cool! gud thing restos nowadays are also concerned w/ healthy eating)

And drink ur vitamins! vitamin E/C/multi-vitamins-kirkland :)

dont's

1. ice cream! (took this out of my list looooooong ago..)
2. soda (eww, in-cans & tru soda dispensers frm food chains, nothing but sugar in it. better drink lots of H2O)
3. cakes (those überly-coated cakes suck big time...adds up 2 ur saddle bags & luv handles/ although i do indulge sometimes-once in 3months i guess..)
4. sisig/chicharon-all sorts of it (2 of d unhealthiest, read: DEADLY pinoy deli)

Bread Talk

2007-05-25T17:47:00.000+08:00

If you are a frequent loaf buyer like i am, you must be very familiar with gardenia - the bread brand that has been in the consumer market for quite sometime now and has pioneered the introduction of fresh, healthy, and diet-friendly breads.

but have you ever wondered if their breads in the stack are really fresh? how would you know which one is fresh and which one is not? The twist tie is the key. i emailed gardenia's customer relations and personally called their hotline to verify any truth to this, and here is what i found:

did you know that gardenia philippines delivers fresh bread seven (7) days a week, that's monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, and sunday and each day corresponds to a different twist tie color. they are:

monday - tan
tuesday - orange
wednesday - yellow
thursday - blue
friday - green
saturday - red
sunday - white

so the next time you will hop in the grocery, and assuming it is sunday, you would not want to pick the tan-colored twist tie as this bread has been in the stack for almost a week already.

you might ask, hey, how come all the twist ties i see are always, say for example, orange, or blue, etc.? this only means that the turn-around of bread in that particular branch is fast, so breads in there are always delivered fresh!

so for those gardenia bread lovers out there, take note of the right color twist tie to enjoy fresh breads from gardenia. so good, you can even eat it on its own! :)

hey, before i forget, another diet-friendly advise to you guys. the healthiest bread to eat offered by gardenia is the whole wheat bread - with:

170calories @ 1g fat
good source of carbs @ 35g
dietary fiber @ 3g
protein @ 7g (enjoyed with +tuna spread+lettuce+tomato+cucumber)

SRP : ~ P54.00 - P56.00

food tripping - Jatujak

2007-05-24T01:21:00.000+08:00

Oh well, same old dilemma: WHERE TO EAT?

it was a very lazy sunday last May 20 and i woke up at around 4:30pm (whoah, am such a sleepy head! hehe) and the first thing that came to mind was FOOD!

a bunch of friends decided to dine @ Jatujak Restaurant in Mall of Asia.

Resto Logo:

Jatujak (read as: Chatuchak) is Bangkok's famed weekend market, so obviously, it is a blend of thai food. the food was great although i really don't enjoy eating spicy deli's.

Best-sellers:

the chicken pandan is to die for - specially-chosen lean chicken meat wrapped in an almost sun-dried pandan leaves with a sweet chili sauce on the side (yumm).

(Photo Courtesy of clickthecity.com)

another favorite is the thai chicken curry - soft chicken strips seasoned with special spices and green curry paste blended with coconut milk, sweet peas and green chilies. loved it since the spicy taste is tolerable!

here's how it looks like:

(Photo Courtesy of plaza-brighton.co.uk)

what's ulam without rice, right? and Jatujak has this special brown bagoong rice to 'carbo'-nate the dishes - a platter of steamed rice sauted in bagoong with neatly arranged roasted garlic, julienne-cut fresh cucumbers, and pinches of bagoong around it.

(Photo Courtesy of redcrabonline.com)

and of course, their jasmine rice (beautified term for steamed rice..hehe) is BOTTOMLESS (bottomless? i thought the term is used for drinks only, and the last time i read an ad about rice being 'bottomless' was in davao) anyway, tokyo tokyo has a much ear-friendly term for that: rice all you-kanin.

(Photo Courtesy of funini.com)

their thirst quencher: fresh mint lemongrass iced tea! superb drink i must say. much like our infamous salabat - on the rocks. the taste of ginger soothes in your throat after feasting on the sumptuous thai meal!

putting justice to the word gastronomic, indeed.

verdict:
4 spoons FOOD/ 3 spoons TIDINESS

(+) PLUS factor: the attendants readily refills your bottomless drinks, no need to ask them for one. Nice!

(-) NEGA impact: the floor is a mess! previous customers' food crumbs are scattered on the floor area and neath the dining table, eww factor!

N.B. Price is pretty much affordable, if you come in group though so you could share on the bill.

Yogurt the power!

2007-05-23T13:29:00.000+08:00

i miss my yogurt. it has been three days since i last tasted it. and i am craving now.

know why?

just to share with you guys, and for those who have difficulty in losing weight, especially in their tummy areas, adding yogurt in my diet really helped me in shaping my so-called ABS. I consume a cup of yogurt every after meal since calcium-rich dairy foods, including yogurt of course, boost the body’s fat-burning mechanism.

Not to mention that eating yogurt also promotes fresher breath and a health mouth. This is because yogurt lowers levels of compounds responsible for bad breath, may also eliminate tongue-coating bacteria, and reduce dental plaque formation, cavities, and risk for gingivitis.

So, how to enjoy your yogurt?

Try this one from Nestle. I have been eating this since I started going to the gym. Tastes so good, less sour & tangy taste, and best of all, 0% FAT, beat that!

Stay sexy the enjoyable way with NESTLÉ 0% FAT Yogurt. It has the delicious taste of real fruits swirling in smooth and creamy yogurt WITHOUT THE FAT.

Every delicious spoonful contains Live Microorganisms that work wonders on the digestive system to improve one's health. And it's also a great source of Calcium that helps prevent osteoporosis. NESTLÉ 0% FAT is the perfect health snack for everyone! You can choose from Strawberry, Mango, and Apple-Kiwi flavor.

It's the simple, healthy, and delicious way to stay sexy. Feast without the guilt!

Where to buy : All major groceries and supermarkets/ convenience stores
SRP : P33.10 ~ P40.00

talking about being famous (almost)

2007-05-22T00:31:00.000+08:00

so funny. i am not a model but i am featured in a website that runs as an online community and resource portal for models, celebrities, photographers, agencies and media workers, popularly known as TheDailyModel.

how cool is that, huh? this is not a self-promotion but just want you guys to have a feel of what i am talking about.

curse me for doing this.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

on another note, since famous is what i have been blabbing about, here are some cool (?) blog links of some of the country's famous (?) stars that i have been stalking around for quite sometime, please get one and pass:

* [Agot Isidro] Agot

* [Aiza Marquez] Not Your Ordinary Girl

* [Ala Paredes] Alaism

* [Aljur Abrenica] Aljur Abrenica - StarStruck The Next Level ~ I really don't know who the h*ll is this because i have no TV set since november 2006 but according to igma.tv, he is a star, uh, ok.

* [Angelica Panganiban] http://angelicjelai.multiply.com/

* [Brenda Fox] sleep.dream.wake up.dream.sleep ~ former PBB housemate - Teen Edition

* [Bianca Gonzalez] bianca.

* [Bryan Revilla] 'it's either you love me or leave me alone'

* [Bubbles Paraiso] Angel in Paradise

* [Camille Prats 1] Cams (',).. my beautiful,complicated & unpredictably sweet life..:)

* [Camille Prats 2] You think you really know me... but you don't..

*[Chino Trinidad] Chino Trinidad - GMANews.TV

* [Chynna Ortaleza] The Open Book

* [Chuckie Dreyfuss] A Day In The Life

* [Ciara Sotto] Charmant Papillon

* [Daphne Osena Paez] http://www.flickr.com/photos/daphneosena/ ~ an online photo-blog by the fashionable daphne ('member "F"?)

* [Ehra Madrigal] EhRa MaDriGal's SiTe!!!

* [Francis Magalona] a Free Mind

* [Francis Ricafort] Francis ~ Camille Prats' ex beau.

* [Franco Laurel] Franco the Dreamer

* [Gian Carlo Magdangal] Giancarlo's Multiply Site

* [Grace Adriano-Revilla] PamperedPrincess ~ Yup, Osang's equally intriguing daughter (i heard grace deleted her entries already/ well, just in case she comes back at writing new stuff about her escapades, err, life)

* [Jed Madela] http://jedmadela.multiply.com/

* [Jeremy Marquez] http://jeremxmarquez.multiply.com/

* [Jim Paredes] Writing On Air

* [John Lapuz] Korek Ka John ~ This one i enjoy reading, very much like watching John Lapuz while on cam

* [Karel Marquez] http://sublimebabyk.multiply.com/

* [KC Concepcion] lemon chamomile : : : - Journey

* [Kris Aqino] you and me against the world

* [Lea Salonga] Lea's Multiply Site

* [Lucky Manzano] lucky me..........

* [Marco Alcaraz] marco's Site

* [Maui Taylor] maui (hotbabemaui.multiply.com)

* [Megan Young] envymeg's Xanga Site

* [Mich Dulce] sugarcandypop ~ of PBB celebrity edition (remember rustom's and keeana's batch)

* [Mico Aytona] My fairytale just started..

* [Miko Samson] The Misadventures of Wonderboy and His Broken Hearts ~ used to be part of G-Mik before w/ camille, heart, john,angelica, from abs-cbn. look how he has grown.

* [Nancy Castiglione] Nancy's Site

* [Nina Corpuz] Ninascoops

* [Paula Peralejo] hipstah's Xanga Site

* [Paul Avelino] Paul Avelino - StarStruck The Next Level ~ same comment with that of Aljur

* [Pauleen Luna] Pauleen's NOT perfect. But so are YOU.

* [Paulo Contis] Ako Si Paolo Enrico Contis

* [Paulo Valenciano] PAOLOVOLOAP

* [Patty Laurel] Ohhh LaLa!!! ~ former winner of MTV VJ Hunt Philippines.

* [Pia Magallona] http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowhite/ ~ an online phot-blog of pia, francis m.'s infamous, always fertile wifey.

* [Quark Henares] lightning fast lady killer k

* [Rico Blanco] thank you, bye bye

* [Ruffa Gutierrez] Ruffa's Mindspeak

* [Saab Magalona/Francis M.'s luvly daughter] +focus on hocus pocus+

* [Sam Oh] The Sam Oh Show

* [Sarah Christopher] the mystical mind of the demented ~ i think eto 'yung bestfriend ni heart.

* [Say Alonzo] Hello hello! :) Welcome to my simple multiply site :)

* [Sherwin Ordonez] michael paul sherwin's Site

* [Sitti Navarro] Sitti Cafe Bossa

* [Toni Gonzaga] Celestine's Multiply Site

* [Victor Basa] welcome to victor's vanity moments...vainness!

birth of something new or going with the flow(?)

2007-05-17T12:29:00.001+08:00

I am glad that i have finished designing the lay-out of my blog. after gruesome days of blogger and photoshop alt + tab clicks, twistedlemonade is born!

I dunno if the purpose of this is due to envy for the blogs featured in the http://www.philippineblogawards.com.ph read: mere POPULARITY or just to have some casing to hold my thought bubbles.

OR maybe going with the flow - who doesn't have an online journal nowadays?hehe. Remembering when cellular phones were once a luxury, and stationeries&diaries were must-haves.

Feel free to tag me for any reaction/s that you may have.