10 Must Try Desserts in Paris

There are so many types of of sweets in Paris. It is impossible to try ALL if you will just visit for a week.  Imagine mo ha, if you will eat sweets after lunch, during merienda, after dinner. On average you can only eat mga 3 a day. Or maybe ako lang yan.  Hindi ako ma-lafang. And it's also nakakaumay to eat too much matamis.

So if you find yourself in Paris anytime bukas, I'm sharing a few of my favorites. In MY OPINION, these are the top 10 desserts you must try while you're on vacay.

Invasion of Dreams

When you have OCD, sleep is the best cure. So, that's what I do. I make sure I sleep a good 8 hours every day. It gives me better perspective. 

However recently, my fears managed to creep into my dreams. I wake up feeling very tired and distressed. 

At least when I'm awake, I can distract myself or keep myself busy. When I'm asleep, I'm forced to watch my own horror movie.

I've had good nights. Last weekend, I dreamt Ted Mosby ( How I Met Your Mother) was my boyfriend. The bad ones involve blood. 

I have ask my parents to pray for me. I feel so helpless! Maybe something is bothering me that I am not fully aware of.

Last night I had no bad dreams. I think that's because my husband put the holy water from Lourdes on my head.

Do you have recurring nightmares too???

Troubled,

L

Pua Tiong Chiu 2015

This year I celebrated with my mini family, that includes one college friend, my brother and ofcourse my husband. 

I have learned in my many years of hosting parties that you don't need that many guests. You can have 20 boring people and the party will still be boring. 

Hosting a party doesn't mean that you have to entertain everyone. You can choose your guestlist wisely in such a way that the guests will entertain each other.

Sadly, most of my friends are OFWS and are all working abroad. I only have 2 ilonggo friends left in Manila and one had to work. Nevertheless, even with only 2 guests we had so much fun! My brother and Joy have known each other for more than 15 years. 

Sadly, my husband couldn't understand us so he felt out of place. That's okay. I wasn't bothered. I feel out of place everytime I am with his family and they all speak Chinese anyway. So weather weather lang di ba!

And the best part was, no one was on the phone. I really hate it when you invite people to your house and they spend most of their time texting. I have only experienced it once and I have never invited those people ever again.

My friends in Singapore celebrated the mooncake festival by lighting and hanging lanterns. How did you celebrate yours?

Sleepy,

L

Mooncakes For Family and Friends

Every year, my aunt from HK sends us mooncake. Now that I am married, I decided to follow her footsteps and also send out mooncakes to my other relatives and friends.

Marriage, I feel, makes me an adult and adults start or continue traditions.

So yesterday,  I went to Shoppers in Ongpin to buy all the mooncake I need to mail.

That night I called mama to tell her to expect her mooncake by Saturday. She said...

"I got really nice mooncakes from your brother. The lata is so sosyal. Very beautiful. It's from Shangrila."

I told her na talo ata ako because I just got mine at Shoppers lang for 500 pesos.

She replied, " It's okay, I expected that. Barat ka naman talaga kahit nung bata ka pa."

Kung alam ko lang na impress na sya sa lata, sana I just gathered all the mooncake tin containers at my Inlaws' house.

Tipid tipid,

L

Give Him Space And Sleep On It

Last night, my husband was upset at me. I forgot my Ipad charger and phone in Binondo.  AGAIN! 

This is not the first time I have forgotten stuff. In fact my mother said in Ilonggo..."If wala gatapik putay mo, nadula mo na ina".  In English, "If your vagina is not attached to your body, you will surely lose it."

Basta, I'm notorious for leaving stuff here and there. I'll share a story...

One time, My husband drove us through the horrible ROXAS BLVD traffic to drop me off at a company event. When we got there, I realized I left my wallet and he had to drive back to Unilever in Paco! 

Understandably, he is very sick and tired of this bad habit.

So, last night he just wasn't in the mood to tolerate it. He refused to pray with me and he just slept on his corner.

I just gave him space. I could've easily snapped too...but I was not in the mood. It was already 11 in the evening. 

We slept far apart.

At around 4 am, I felt him hugged me. I'm not sure it that's out of habit...like sleep walking.  

When we woke up this morning, he was already talking to me. It's as if nothing happened. 

I realize...lot of the small fights we have had, started from a small issue. One gets agitated and the other gets defensive. BOOM! WARLA! 

The quote of Harper Lee, "Things are always better in the morning" came to my mind. My shrink once told me that if I have my OCD attacks, I just have to pop in sedatives and sleep. She said, "Sleep calms you down and brings better perspective. It significantly reduces anxiety."

So, next time you are your husband get into a fight. Give him space and sleep on it. Not sleep on top of him ha! 

Feeling better,

L

Prizes For The Mooncake Dice Game

The typical prizes for a Mooncake  Dice Game are the following:

1. Mooncakes

You can get small mooncakes from Eng Bee Tin Deli and premium ones from Shoppers, S&R and even Shangrila Hotel! 

The cheapest at Eng Bee Tin is a pack of 4 bite-size pcs for 55 pesos. They also have pack of mini mooncakes for 80 pesos. Not bad di ba!

2.  Hopia

There is a hopia set specifically for the mooncake dice game, I saw at set today at Diao Eng Chay for 1,550 pesos.

3. Money

Everyone's favorite prize.

Excited,

L

How To Play The Dice Game for the Mooncake Festival

Last year, we got a bit confused with the mechanics and that confusion significantly slowed down the game. Honestly, it got a bit frustrating because it took us a while to mentally process each throw.

So, this year I decided to simplify it for the game master- ME! 

The only thing I need to remember is the number 4. 

To keep it simple and easy to remember: The number Four (4) will govern the games.

CHAMPION: six 4s

Six 1s, pwede rin pero to keep in line with the simplified theme, 4 nalang.

PUBLIC DISPLAY OF GRATITUDE

My father is a very helpful man. In fact, he's too helpful for his own good.

My father has sent many to school. Some made him proud while some made him feel disappointed. He lent money to many people. Some used it well and paid him back while some squandered the money and purposely forgot their debts.

His helpfulness made us feel resentful in the past. He helped many people and yet his own family didn't really enjoy a life of "abundance." We were never in need but I also never felt we had excess. Growing up, we never owned a car even if we own an auto supply!  I never once in my life felt rich. So, I really wondered why give the "little excess" for others to enjoy. 

I saw the many abuses that came with a helpful heart. I became very wary of people and their intentions. I'm not very close to my relatives because I have seen the burden they have imposed on papa.  I only maintain a very small circle of friends.

Sometimes I wonder why papa helps people even if it's not a guarantee that he will get anything in return. Occasionally, I wonder if he is trying to secure his place in heaven. I also hypothesize that there is a void in his life that he is trying to fill. 

I never really understood papa...until last week. 

One of the people papa helped was Marlon. I call him "Nong" Marlon as a sign of respect. He was a scholar of my father's foundation.  He graduated medicine in UP Manila and completed his internship in PGH. Now, Nong Marlon is married and is a doctor in the US.

Our Time Under The Sun

Over dinner my brother told me...

If you compare the average lifespan of a human being to the age of the earth, which is 4.55 billion years old, you will realize that our lives are so insignificant in the whole scheme of things. 

And yet, our desires consume us and our problems make us feel it is the end of the world. Mathematically, that's impossible. 

At best, you can do something brilliant (or something stupid) and several generations will remember you. 

At best, you become a memory.

My brother is so smart noh? And yes, we talk like this.

If you have the most basic understanding of astrophysics, you will realize that the cosmos is older than the earth and even bigger than we can ever imagine. The universe is so vast. I'm 100% sure there are other lifeforms out there. 

Putting things in perspective, our lives with all its joys, worries and problems, are so fleeting and insignificant. 

99.9% of us will most likely die without the world's population knowing our names. 

King Solomon said...

A New Hobby

The first time ever I had my make-up professionally done for a party, I literally fell in love with myself! If you are friends with me in Instagram, you will feel my overflowing self love.

I swear, I didn't want to remove the work of Eli Santiago off my face! I just wanted to look that fierce forever! 

And so recently, I've been trying to learn how to do my own make-up. 

Thankfully, I got a lot of make-up stuff from my mom and my friends on my birthday. That's a good start!

I also got myself a BUILT Cosmetic Bag that's made of neoprene. I got this from www.beautymnl.com. So just incase I spill my creams, it'll be very easy to wash because the bag is stain proof.

I'm still missing a primer and a very good quality eyeliner. And I need to learn how to put on those fake lashes. It's a hard and really useful skill to learn, I tell you! 

I hope to attend a make up workshop soon! I've been on the look out for postings but so far, there are no classes. Hey! If you hear anything, message me!

Getting dressed for dinner,

L