Weighing In: Guess Who Got It All

A heathy breakfast really goes a long way. It's a shame I only discovered this late in my life. I used to skip breakfast and lunch when I was in my 20's and now I am suffering, changing my eating habits and lifestyle.

One of the new habits that I've incorporated in my life is to eat breakfast everyday.

I used to eat Kellogg's All Bran flakes daily. But nowadays, I eat breakfast on the way to work, so I prefer food that are easily held by one hand. I only get to eat it occasionally on weekends.

My normal breakfast would comprise of my one fruit (the banana), one starch (40g all-bran), and 125ml low fat milk.

I'd jokingly mention that this was my cardboard breakfast but in truth, I do enjoy my All Bran more than other cereals.

What is your favourite breakfast?

Movie Watch: Let Me In

PHOTO BORROWED

Beware: Written for pure enjoyment and spoilers are included.

I recently spoke about the Box Office and how much of a wonderful innovation it was.

One of the first movies we rented through Box Office was Let Me In. To tell you frankly, I happened to just stumble upon it while looking through the movies that were on offer at Box Office at that time. The movie came highly rated on RottenTomatoes and as I'd been on a rampant lookout for a good horror flick, I thought I'd give it a try. The film does not star popular actors and is off the beaten track when it comes to the horror genre but is definitely highly enjoyable.

I convinced the family by showing them the trailer and although Box Office categorised this movie as a drama, you can clearly gather from the movie trailer that it was definitely not just that.

The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Owen, who leads a lonely life - being bullied in school and neglected by his divorced parents. He then meets Abby, a 12-year-old girl, who recently moved into the same complex that Owen stays in. They form an unusual friendship.

However, Abby and her "dad" lead a secret life. At night, Abby's dad would go out and kill local residents to collect blood for Abby, who is actually a vampire. One night, the attempted abduction of a victim goes wrong and Abby's dad is captured by the police. To avoid recognition and a possibility of a connection back to Abby, he poured acid on his face. Later in the hospital, when he is visited by Abby, he encourages her to kill him.

Abby is left all alone now to fend for herself. One night while out with Owen, she shows her vampiric self when Owen suggests that the two do a blood pact together. Once calmed, Owen confronted Abby where she admitted that she was indeed a vampire. Owen also discovers that Abby's dad was not her dad at all but was actually a man that Abby knew since he was a boy.

Towards the end of the movie, Abby comes back and saves Owen from the school bullies that have been hounding him. Owen accepts Abby for who she is and runs away with her.

The film was very haunting and very sad in the end, knowing that Owen's life and fate would turn out, most probably, like Abby's "dad".

If you haven't seen this and are in the mood for some mental scaring, this is definitely worth the watch.

Let me in...and tell me what you think.

The Dragon Lady Gets Her Year

Yep, that's right! I am a dragon. And I am a dragon, through and through. No, don't be silly now. I don't breathe fire. But all the other good things that they say about dragons, those qualities I'd like to think I have.

Dragons, being mystical and the mightiest of all the signs in the Chinese zodiac, are considered to be dominant and ambitious. They are full of vitality and strength. These traits lead to successes in life. The Dragon is also a symbol of power and wealth. (Okay, I'm still working on this "wealth" part.)

This year will be another Year Of The Dragon as we celebrate Chinese New Year today. I can hardly wait what the year will bring.

I know it seems silly to be believing in this stuff but that's just the way I feel. I've always believed that dragon years are especially lucky, and luckier for dragons. I don't know why I believe this though because there's no evidence this is true. I can't recall having anything big happening in my life during the dragon years. All I know is I've had it good.

And I'm really proud and lucky to be a Dragon. Any other dragons out there?

DSTV Box-Office

With the purchase of our new DSTV HD PVR 2P, came along DSTV Box Office.

Box Office is a new service offered by DSTV where subscribers are offered movie rentals at the comfort of their own home. What this means is that you don't need to visit your local rental video shop to get to watch the latest video releases.

With this new innovation, I am really loving the PVR even more. Which gave me an idea further for possible blog material. I thought I'd preview some of the movies the family rents from time to time. Not that it's gonna be the latest but it will work out to be some sort of review/aftermath analysis. So watch this space!

Like Box Office says, "never miss out on another blockbuster again"! To find out more, visit Box Office.

Disclaimer: Neither DSTV nor Box Office paid me to write this post.

My Kids And The Arts

Sample of MZ's drawing: counting the days

My kids are brimming with creativity.

My eldest simply loves sketching and my youngest just can't stop drawing.

Their imaginative sides have got me questioning how they got started in art in the first place. I'm a "figures" person and hubby is more mechanical, so to have kids that could give Rembrandt a run for his money is quite surprising to say the least.

I'm proud and I hope that when the time comes, they'll be doing (work with) something they really love. And that's all a mother can ask for!

Sample of Missy's drawing: Daisy Duck

Häagen-Dazs And Me

Häagen-Dazs.

That was all I could remember of my first dreamy experience with Häagen-Dazs.

I could not even remember the name of the ice cream flavour I had just now. Lucky I took a picture of it to remind me. All I could think of was "Häagen-Dazs. Häagen-Dazs. Häagen-Dazs." as this exhilerating, silky caramel-flavoured frozen delight washed down my tongue and throat. I had conjured up this image of an old man, searching the desert for water, just as if I had been searching for the perfect ice cream and found it. The Häagen-Dazs effect has just hit me.

I seem to remember there were also bits and pieces of nuts as I dug into my small cup although like the flavour name, this particular nut is lost in my mind.

I just knew. I had to have another one.

Häagen-Dazs is a brand of ice cream established in 1961. Contrary to what I thought were German origins, Häagen-Dazs was actually established by Jewish-Polish immigrants who used foreign branding making the name Scandinavian in American eyes. (Wikipedia)

Disclaimer: Häagen-Dazs did not pay me for this post. Although I wouldn't mind if they sent me a pint bucket of ice cream. Any ice cream flavour will do. :-) Häagen-Dazs, are you there? Can you hear me?

My Häagen-Dazs
unknown ice cream flavour

"Abundance" According To Hubby

When they say that your partner gives you meaning, I'm pretty sure they were talking about my hubby right there with the best of them. He always cracks me up whenever we have some debates around the house with regards some English words, and then he decides to put his little spin on them.

In today's post, I just wanted to share this play on words hubby did a few weeks ago.

I was reading a forecast of the new year's horoscopes when I mentioned a word that my eldest didn't fully understand.

Eldest: "What is abundance, ma?"

Daddy: Abundance is a dance performed when you are hungry and craving for bread. A-bun-dance. Also known as "sayaw ng tinapay" in Tagalog, which literally translates into "dance for bread".