Diner Dash

After installing a game of Diner Dash in my Android, I was literally hungry for some diner food.  A invited me to go to Johnny Rockets at the newly-opened Veranda at the Robinsons Galleria. She said it was famous for the milkshakes and the burgers, so we went.

You could tell it took inspiration from the 50's: checkerboard floor, jukebox, and diner uniforms. I was looking for a diner, and I got my wish.

Dramatic shot taken with my phone camera. :)

 

I had A take a picture of me while waiting for our food to arrive.

And yes, the jukebox that really works!

Just like in the US, the crew entertains you every 20 minutes or so. Not that the food took a long time to prepare. :)

Yummy milkshake was the first to arrive. We had to split it in half. Diet, you know.

Chili dog and onion rings on the side (for an additional P50).  Yum!

J.R. Original burger for A. She wasn't too excited about the small order of fries on the side. 

:(

Overall, Johnny Rockets is a great place to treat the kids. There's definitely something for everyone in the family as well. The ambiance and the entertainment sure do make up for the pricey meals. :)

Remembering Mom.

Today,  I honor my  mom. She passed away suddenly 24 years ago. Remembering her reminds me how short life is and how much I have to start enjoying the little things in life more often.Like playing games with my son, spending quality time with the special people in my life, and meeting up with family every now and then. Those, and to start eating and living healthy.

Thanks mom, for all the life lessons you imparted to me in the 12 years I had with you.  I will never forget you. :)

Lucky Me

It's just the first work week of the year, and I've been quite lucky! Got a free phone in a cake for the first time!

Next time you get a cake from friends, poke it first. :)

I love surprises.

Dealing with a son with AS really beats you out sometimes.  Some days I come home from work and ask him how his day went and he'd say something like : "Normal. Mama, I don't want to talk about it, if that's ok."  That, coupled with a somber look on his face.  I just know that someone at school made fun of him for behaving in a weird way. Or he went berserk because he got frustrated over some little thing at school that ticked him off. Those times I feel totally useless and worthless to him. That really sucks.

BUT there are days when he surprises me.  Just last week, he asks me: Mama, how do you make friends?  I ask him about who it is he wanted to be friends with and it turns out to be a neuro-typical girl in school who likes Pokemon just as much as he does. I was so excited, I rambled on and on about how to make a good impression, how to find the right timing to approach her and talk about stuff. I've been there, done that, I know how to catch someones' attention.:) My son is growing up!

He also gets asked to go on "playdates" and sleepovers more often. He looks forward to these and actually tries to convince me that he's going to be ok.  That is a big step. Normally, he wouldn't care to spend time with friends. He'd much rather stay home and play alone. He's turning independent, slowly but surely. :)

One morning after a particularly long night at the office, I wake up to this on my mirror:

He never told me about joining the Quiz Bee! I didn't even see him preparing for anything remotely close to a contest. But this just blew my mind! I love surprises!

Cool Sticks!

 

Who doesn't like ice cream? Well if you do know someone who doesn't appreciate one of man's best inventions, tell him he's  missing a lot.  Yummy, creamy, milky, flavorful, nutty, sweet, chocolatey, fruity, delectable dessert no one can deny. 

One of my latest discoveries in Trinoma mall:StickHouse.  I've seen it around but never had the chance to try it until now. And boy I was in for a treat! 

 They come in Regular, Premium, and Sorbet flavors. Regular flavors priced P70 are: Milk Cream, Gandua, and Chocolate. Premium Flavors priced at P80 are Pistachio (my favorite!) and Coffee. Sorbet flavors  priced at P60 are Strawberry and Mango.

You can choose from a variety of toppings (full - P25, half - P15)such as almonds, pistachios, coffee, and hazelnuts. You can go for milk chocolate or white chocolate dip for an additional P25.



The taste is very different from the Magnolia or Selecta flavor we're all used to. It carries a distinct flavor of powdered milk, at least for the pistachio bar I go for myself.

 Do give them a try at Level 1, 2, and 4 of the Trinoma mall. There's surely a new personal favorite waiting for you.

Pistachio bar with chocolate drizzle and pistachios

Cool Sticks

Tsk! Tsk!

My view for the next 3 days.

I've always been lampa (clumsy). Growing up, I remember coming home from school with cuts, scrapes, and bruises regularly.

Now that I'm all grown, I am very much conscious of the way I walk, go down the steps, and run. I'm flat-footed too, which doesn't at all help with balancing issues. 

BUT, this particular mishap happened while I was quietly strolling in our community bazaar. I was simply looking for something to buy for lunch  and boom!

I tripped and on the way down heard a crunch and I knew right then that I had torn something. The pain brought tears to my eyes. Luckily I was with Alice and Sky and they helped me hop back to our unit and conducted first aid: RICE - Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. (We looked this up online as we were panicking about what to do next.

Oh boy. Lesson learned: mind your footing while at a bazaar. You'll never know if your absentmindedness gets you into an accident!

I'm back!

I haven't blogged in a while because:
1. Work has overtaken most of my waking hours
2. There is no number 2. Just number 1.

But you know what? I realized that is no way to live. Man, it's just work, right? I should really learn to prioritize. Almost every night for the last 2 months, I said to myself  "I'll blog tonight." And everytime I'd go out, I'd take loads of pictures and say "I'll blog about this." But  never did. So here I am. And hopefully, I can keep this up. :)

Yahoo for Yakimix!

 As my first post in months I thought this should be about something I've been excited about for weeks and so here it is: Yakimix!

We got there at &:30 pm and we had to wait 45 minutes to get a table. The staff was friendly and they gave us complimentary drinks: a choice between iced tea,  mango juice, and blue lemonade.

At P580 per head and P65 for bottomless drinks, who could resist such an offer?

Buffet's always excite me. Being presented with so many food choices, I feel a thrill of planning out how to navigate the buffet table properly to make sure I can get a taste of everything they have to offer without overstuffing myself. Plus, at every booth/table restaurant-goers have the option to fry their chosen meats and seafood to however they want.  Now that's what I call fun!

Here's a sampling of what you can cook on your own in the comfort of your own table. The Yakiniku fryer guaranteed no smoke, therefore you wouldn't smell like the food you just ate when you leave the restaurant. Hooray!

There's also something for those who prefer the cooked variety. :) Yummy too, if you ask me.

 

Overall, the experience was quite fun.  I suggest a trip to the salad bar, then the Japanese sushi and maki bar, then to the cooked Chinese food section, followed by the raw meats and seafood for cooking fun. Finally, the dessert bar which offered the following: flan, chocolates, cookies, cakes, jellos, maccaroons, and a huge freezer filled with Selecta popsicles and ice cream.

Try this out with your friends/family soon. Great food, friendly service, and good value for your buck. :)

Learning more about Asperger's Syndrome

Today I have the flu.  I decided to stay in bed and rest as advised by my friends and family. BUT, as restless as I am, I turned on my laptop and searched for Asperger's documentaries to better understand my son K. You see, I have been struggling with him lately.  Unlike before, he's more withdrawn and would rather not share anything about what happened during the day.  He doesn't know it, but he hurts my feelings when he says : "I'd rather not talk about it". I know that the AS makes him blind to emotions because he simply doesn't recognize them, thus making emotions irrelevant. I find this hard to deal with but it's something I need to accept and work with everyday to prepare him for life.

Anyway, allow me to share with you a video I found on You Tube about a teenager with AS. Reuben is a lot like K, being very literal, the bullying, confusion in the supermarket, self-confidence issues. Among all the videos I've seen, this is the one I can relate to the most. And I hope that by sharing it with all of you, you can understand my K a lot better too.

A.A.A.D.D. - Help!

I really don't know if there is such as thing as Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder, but I can relate to the following joke and it's making me worry a bit:

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys on the table,
put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
and notice that the can is full.

So I decide to put the billsbackon the table & take out the garbage first..
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
but first I need to push the Pepsi aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
The Pepsi is getting warm.

I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold..
As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye..
They need water.
I put the Pepsi on the counter and
discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote
someone had left it on the kitchen table..

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs.
But first I'll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers.
Quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then I head down the hall trying toremember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of
Pepsi sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day,
and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
and I'll try to get some help for it,but first I'll check my e-mail....




Goodness... This happens to me a lot. So if any of you find the correct diagnosis for this, do let me know. :(