da tomāto

Dune Deck's Mimosa Cafe Corned beef hash plate and a mimosa for Sunday's brunch at Dune Deck's. So good. I like that they have fresh fruit too. Yum... Two of us shared this plate. I would not have finished it all by myself. Half of this was just right for me, I ate like a king which is what I like to do for breakfast. That night, we had dinner at another house and everything was delicious. I usually eat small portions at night but it could not be helped, I was so full when we left.

The powerchair after just 2 months One black plastic cap over a front wheel is lost, seat is squeaking, motor is tick-tick-ticking... Phew. It's been gate-checked at airports 4 times (airline staff here in the US are so used to it that it's great traveling now), strapped inside wheelchair-accessible cab (once) and shuttles (twice), wheeled through some small streets (even brick so it hurt my head because my chair does not have shock absorbers), disassembled to fit in an SUV full of groceries, wheeled through sand (tried to but failed - I got stuck and had to be pushed back to the cemented walkway - terrifying), through grass (never again - dirty and uneven ground), through wet ground (ick), drizzle of rain (ack - this is an electric wheelchair, you know)... What else? Point is, I can't keep it pristine, clean and all in one piece. At this point, I'm happy it's still working and I'm free to move around by myself - yipee!

Sunny afternoon in our corner of Florida Florida has unpredictable weather. It can be sunny and rainy and back in just 30 minutes. This afternoon, I plan to sort my clothes, add Stevia sweetener to my d-i-y mocha creamer mix, comb my hair (haha) and maybe grab a snack.

Food Street game app I'm wasting time on this game. Aaargh!

Gumbo at the Hilton Riverside (NOLA) Gumbo, quiche, chicken kiev, asparagus salad and vegetable lasagna were some of the dishes we had at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans while we attended the annual Myositis patient conference. The conference included some breakfasts and lunches. I looked forward to breakfast. The coffee was delicious and I like to have cold orange juice first thing. For the lunches, they served desserts - apple pie and tiramisu. Some attendees requested the gluten-free menu and were served fish and fresh fruit. There were cut fruit sold at the 2nd floor lobby cafe but they were gone before I had time to buy one. I missed eating fresh fruit on this trip but was glad there were some raspberries in our yogurt in one of the breakfasts.

Golden literider ptc 162 model in red. I have a powerchair! Yay! The first picture is the salesman adjusting the metal plate to go up a notch for me. A powerchair was on top of my to-buy list while in Florida. We headed straight to the medical supplies store our first week in. I love my red chariot! Weeee!

Went to New Orleans in Louisiana. Had our first meal of a catfish po-boy and crab cake sliders at Drago's inside the Hilton Riverside Hotel. They were not yummy, sad to say.

Cafe du Monde beignets ( Riverwalk Outlet Center, NOLA) You have to try the beignets in New Orleans, they say. DONE! And they are delicious! So good that the next day, we came back so that someone can buy more.

From July 2016. Leftovers for breakfast. Just add a sunny side-up egg. Fresh cherries are yummy.

Drove up to Sunrise last week. The sky was beautiful on the way. We went to the local Ikea. I ate their famous Swedish meatballs for the first time. Delicious.

Yay! Find-it organizer/supply caddy was delivered in 2 days with amazon prime. It's well-made and the design is nice. My things fit and they're finally all in one place. Less clutter in my small space.

Maxwell House International Coffee - French Vanilla. Yummy instant dessert coffee mix. It's complete, just stir in hot water. Got this at Walmart for $3.++. I prefer using this as a creamer because the coffee taste is too weak for me by itself. Delicious.

My cousin's on vacation so she stopped by the day before her flight home. We finally went through with our wishful-thinking plan (from years before) of just hanging out at a nice hotel to drink, eat, chat and sleep. It was spur of the moment! Booked a deluxe, wheelchair-accessible room with a king-size bed at Acacia Hotel in Filinvest, Alabang for 1 night. We took their summer promo room rate of ₱5588 that includes breakfast buffet for 2 + ₱1875 (extra bed with buffet breakfast for 1 for my carer). We waited for our ride, ate some dinner at home and left. We arrived at Acacia Hotel maybe after 10 p.m. I was in my wheelchair and didn't know what was happening at the check-in counter. I kept asking but my cousin said it was OK, she was paying the Php 3000 refundable deposit with cash. I signed the forms, they gave us 2 key cards and we were good to go. THE DELUXE, WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE ROOM WITH KING-SIZE BED At Acacia Hotel, a wheelchair-accessible room means the bathr

I'm following this up - trying to pinpoint what I'm allergic to. Apart from biting and sucking on a shrimp's head, I also suspect my lip balm. The lip balm that I started using every night since November last year when it started getting cold: Burt's Bees Peppermint lip balm. I haven't put it on since March when I had that allergic reaction on my lips that took weeks to go away . I tested the lip balm on Monday, May 23, 2016. I applied it on half of my lower lip and a moment later... There it is, that part of my lower lip getting itchy and inflamed. The redness is obvious close to the center. It was swollen when I woke up the next day and the clear bubbles started to appear along the edge as the day went on. Same thing as before. I'm allergic to you. I'm allergic to you... It felt really nice on my lips before I became allergic to it too. Oh well...

MAY 20, 2016 FRIDAY Fudge it . If I can't see clearly, I can't work. If I can't work, I don't earn. My eyesight is worse: -8.00 for both eyes with astigmatism (R 1.75 & L 2.00). My new prescription eyeglasses is ₱₱ kahit net na ng 20% (PWD-cardholder discount). It will have anti-glare coating to relieve eye strain from looking at a computer screen too long. It will have to be special ordered. The frame I chose. Dropped by Verona Optical in SM Muntinlupa on our way home from Alabang for this. Their shop is on the 2nd floor beside the food court. At least it's done. We can pick up my new specs next week. MAY 23, 2016, MONDAY I can see clearly now, the rain is gone... No glare. Good. I like the case too. Magnetic closure, shaped like a Toblerone box so it's steady on a flat surface.

Blurry pic of yesterday's egg, kalo-kalo & leftover giniling. Very humid that it's dangerous taking a bath, you can slip because you sweat at the same time. Not joking. Getting new prescription eyeglasses deferred indefinitely. Fund will be appropriated to something more important than replacing broken specs and better vision {insert sarcasm}. That "something" is cleaning up after someone else's mistake. Need to fix it to get rid of this headache. Big problem that could've been solved when it was small. Kainis . Unnecessary stress. Most of my hair is quickly turning white. Not joking.

Almost 4 years in and its white rubber covering has started to break apart and fall off. Had to tape it together to keep it from making a mess and exposing the silver hair-like layer and wires inside. Looks ugly now but it still works. At least it didn't fall apart too soon compared to other reports of disintegrating kindle cords . Occasionally been packing my next-day's breakfast when there are leftovers. This baunan is deep. Gives an illusion that there's not much inside but that right there is 2 rice-paddle servings of kanin already (think half a plate-full of rice na).

Lazy, Easy Oreo Cookies and Cream Ref Cake Ingredients 14 Oreo cookies 1 tetra pack all-purpose cream (cooled for 30 mins in the fridge or 10 minutes in the freezer) Directions Whip the cold cream but not too much - we don't want it stiff. In a standard-sized, rectangular plastic container, layer cookies: this container fits 6 oreos flat & 2 standing on a short side. Layer half of cream. Layer last 6 oreos flat; tempting but resist the urge to press them into the cream (we want a defined cream layer between the cookies). Add remaining cream. Top with whatever you like - powdered dark chocolate or sprinkles or nothing at all. Cover and put in chiller overnight so the cookies will soften and the cream, set. "Chiller" ba yun? Basta the compartment that cools things faster than the fridge. Yum. Rich, thick cookies and cream ice cream cake. Eat right away, we don't want it to melt! P.S. I shared.

Warren Buffet Interview from Yahoo Finance in 2010 MR. WARREN BUFFET'S FINANCIAL TIPS FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN (AVERAGE "ANYONE," REALLY) 1. Avoid Debt. Especially Credit Card Debt. Warren Buffet says, "Well, you never want to owe money you can't pay. I'm basically against debt. I mean, I think the average individual will live a lot happier life if they avoid... They certainly ought to avoid credit card debt. I mean, there's no reason in the world to pay 18% for money... I can't make money paying 18% for money so, why should people up and down the street do that?" [Credit card interest rate in the Philippines is around 3.5% a month so, that's 42% a year!] 2. If You Have Savings, Buy Funds Monthly and Buy Them for the Long-Term. Do Not Dance In and Out of It. Warren Buffet says, "If you have savings, and it's a good idea to have them if you can, just buy index funds and just buy them every month. And don't liste

My lamp is broken . Bought this USB LED bulb from the online shop, Lazada PH. Note re: Lazada, since I've signed up, I've received email spam... a lot of it... everyday. From shopping to gambling sites (mostly from gambling domains). Lazada can share our email address with their "affiliates," says so in their terms last I checked. Bad. 04/04/2016 1:58 AM MONDAY No Internet connection. Lost it around 1:10 a.m. Couldn't reach the pldt modem to power-cycle. Waited 20 minutes, thought that maybe it'll come back. It didn't. OK, can do nothing about it now. It'll have to wait till morning. Hello, bed. 04/04/2016 8:59 PM MONDAY Got up at 10 a.m. Still offline. Went to modem. All lights good. Turned modem off. Checked dial tone. It's fine. Checked pldt account. It's current, paid in advance pa nga e. Turned modem on... we're online. SIGH.

Last week's tocilog . Burning wire smell. Amoy kuryente. They told me it was the bulb. I don't care. I'm not using that lamp again. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" Re-listening to R.E.M. I only had "Perfect Circle" in the library before. But there'll be more. Popular music I hear nowadays sound alike. Predictable. Shallow. Where'd the real deal, alternative rock bands go? In-your-face lyrics, strong rhythm, guitar solos. The lyrics though. The lyrics.