MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan

I Wish They Taught Money In High School – A Book Review

March 12, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 16 Comments

I’ve said it several times on this blog – I am not really good with budgeting and financial management. It’s just not a strength of mine. I do know that it’s something that I want to figure out though, but every time I try to read up on the topic or attend talks about money, a lot of it doesn’t make much sense to me. I mean, I’d like to think that I’m pretty smart. It’s just that it takes me a while to register anything that has to do with numbers. That includes money. And so I found it totally amazing that I found I Wish They Taught Money In High School to be a quick an easy read.

Yes, finally, a super simple book about managing your money.

I literally finished this book in one afternoon. And no, I didn’t just skim through it. I actually read it, understood it and appreciated it. I must admit though that I enjoyed reading the I Wish They Taught Money In High School So I Can Start My Own Business Right Away part more. This is probably because it’s something that’s more appropriate to my present situation, and therefore, something I can relate to better than the second part, I Wish They Taught Money In High School So I’m Not Dependent on my Paycheck. Both are totally informative, though, and great to read for financial dummies like me. It would be a great book for those of you who do you understand your money matters too, because it gives a great perspective and ideas on how you can look beyond your paycheck for you to earn and become financially free.

Paycheck to paycheck no more.

I Wish They Taught Money In High School So I’m Not Dependent On My Paycheck

In this part of the book, author Clarissa Seriña-de la Paz talks about how she learned to look beyond her paycheck in order to grow her money. She shares her ideas on how you can invest, whether it’s through stocks or mutual funds, so that your money continues to work for you after you’re done working your 8-hours for the money. I love the concept of paying yourself first, which I heard about before at a financial talk I had attended. This is probably my best takeaway from this part of the book, a reminder that yes, you should be setting aside money to either save or invest, so that you will have money for the future when it’s time for you to retire.

You can start a business with little capital. Yes, you can.

I Wish They Taught Money In High School So I Can Start My Own Business Right Away

A friend and I have been toying with the idea of starting our own business since last year. There just are so many fears that come with taking a leap so big, but honestly, reading this book helped answer a lot of questions and clear up some of the doubt. Sharon Que who authors this part shared a lot of great, inspiring stories about starting small, about overcoming obstacles, and how patience and persistence can really pay off when it comes to business. I absolutely love how this part ends with steps on how to register a business, something that is super necessary for anyone who is even thinking about taking on an entrepreneurial venture to know. The author also shares a few ideas for businesses that don’t require a lot of capital, like online businesses and some franchises. My best takeaway from this portion of the book is the idea that yes it can be done, and the inspiration to just go and do it.

I’d say that this book is totally worth it, especially if you’re seeking any form of wisdom or clarity where your finances are concerned. In case you do decide that you want to read it, you can get a copy of I Wish They Taught Money In High School here. I’d love to know your thoughts once you’re done with the book!

Building Better Family Routines and Habits

March 11, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 14 Comments

This is my second post about the #BetterMe session that I recently attended with Coach Pia, The One Core and the SoMoms about strengthening and developing better family habits this summer. Part one is here.

Before anything, I want to share what I had for lunch during our session.

I love that the Dads, Saisaki and Kamayan restaurant chains are run by a family. This is such a family place to be, after all. That explains why these restaurants do celebrations so well. I love how Mara Villavicencio, now the Managing Director of Dads Ultimate Buffet, told the story of how the restaurant started in Megamall 20 years ago, and how it has innovated over the years. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by their new offerings that include shakes and juices, plus Milo for kids, oysters, a seafood grill, Chinese food and other Asian selections. In my opinion, all that’s missing now is a branch in the south! Haha.

Mara Villavicencio, Managing Director of Dads Ultimate Buffet

Now, back to the session. The reason why I decided to write this part separately from my first post is because building better routines and habits for the family is something that I know I need to work on, not just over the summer, but for the entire year. I tend to completely wear myself out with overloaded days filled with family time, celebrations, errands, homework and review time, cooking, writing jobs, blogging, and all sorts of other activities. And then I end up with a series of totally unproductive days where I’m burned out and unable to do anything but play video games, blog-hop and watch movies on TV. And then things pick up again, and the cycle goes on and on.

A question, moms and dads, and tell me the truth. Who’s more excited about summer being so close ahead, you or your kids? Between the kiddo and I, I’d say it’s me. Just look back at my blog posts and Instagram feed over the last few weeks, and you’ll see how truly stuffed our first quarter was. I need to learn to pace myself, not just for my sake, but for the boys too. We need to develop a good flow of activities – daily, weekly and monthly – and I know that I should take charge of this. Thanks to the #BetterMe session, I now have a pretty good idea of where to start.

Start with zero doubt in your mind that you are capable of deciding what is best for you and your family.

This is where to start. You need to empower yourself to take charge of building the best routine for your family and household by knowing that you can do it. And, as Coach Pia says, it is in proper planning that this self-doubt is eliminated. Doubt happens when you are exhausted because you either have no plan or have over-planned. So, by believing in yourself and going ahead and planning well, you take care of yourself in the process and eliminate your self doubt.

Second, get organized. Map out your year by quarters, then plot out all of your major activities, celebrations and family events.

Coach Pia gave us all pie charts where we could write the various activities we had in each quarter. Plotting it out this way helps you see just how loaded a month is compared to other months within the same quarter. Just the same, you can also compare one quarter to the others in the year, and there you’ll see when your peak and lean seasons are. Then you’ll know when you have time to spare for things like general cleaning, maybe a garage sale, a vacation, or whatever. It will also help you balance out your major tasks and activities for your family, your personal stuff, social life, work and school. Assess each month or quarter, and if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, simplify. Focus on making the quality of the time spent worthwhile for everyone.

Set aside recreational time for the family.

Find time to play games, have a picnic, or simply share a meal together with your loved ones. Not only does this give you time to bond and strengthen your family ties, it also gives you a valuable opportunity to gather data from your family members. If you pay close attention, and listen instead of talk, you’ll discover the things that they want to do and where they want to go, and it will help you in your planning as well. Try to plan a unique activity that you can do with each of your children and your spouse. These, too, are great opportunities for you to gather more data. Remember, don’t just talk. Listen. And be receptive too.

Evaluate and be open to change.

Take the time to think about how you have been spending your time with your family. Also think about the activities and events that you have planned out for yourself and for the group. Have these been working out for you? If your answer is yes, then great. Keep on keeping on. If you feel that there is room to change, then adjust. Be open to change, and know that it could be for the best.

Finally, don’t forget to set aside time and energy for yourself.

Time and energy, okay, not just one or the other. There have been times when I would schedule a foot spa for myself and fall asleep halfway through it. Yes, I made time, but I forgot to allocate energy, obviously. An unless you have both, chances are you won’t really enjoy your me-time. Remember, at the very start we said that you need to take care of yourself too, and that exhaustion brigs about self-doubt? Well, that’s why giving yourself a break is important. See? It is a cycle.

Now, excuse me while I go sort out our messy schedule.

Thank you again to The SoMoms and Your Brand Story for inviting me to this event. Thanks also to The One Core and Coach Pia for making amazing sessions like this available to mommies like me. Also to Unilab, for supporting activities that aim to help us become better versions of ourselves. And finally, to the people behind Dad’s, Saisaki and Kamayan for hosting us and treating us to such a yummy lunch. Thank you.

For the latest promos and offerings from Dads, Saisaki and Kamayan, check out their website and Facebook page.

Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo

March 10, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 14 Comments

One of the most important roles that I play is that of Driver Sweet Mother to my son. I take him to school and pick him up every day, and while that totals only about 50 minutes of driving time each week, it’s still driving, something that I have never been super fond of doing, but have to do anyway. I am glad that I learned how to drive, though, and that MrC pushes me to go out there and get myself to where I need to go instead of relying on him all the time. It gives me a certain sense of freedom, and that feeling of empowerment, too.

Admittedly, my driving skills don’t compare to those of my friends who are in charge of road trips out of town or regular trips to Divisoria. I can’t even go past Estrella on EDSA. My driving limit is from Alabang to Makati/BGC only, and I’ve never gone south-bound on SLEX. But that’s still a lot more that those who don’t get behind the wheel at all, right? I know it takes guts and nerves to be a driver, especially a female driver, on our crazy streets, and that’s why, for me, driving is an empowering thing. This is also why I totally love the concept of the Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo, which is happening on March 28-30, 2014 at the Alabang Town Center Atrium.

I got super excited when my friend, Michelle, invited me to join her at the launch brunch for this event a couple of weeks ago at Romulo Cafe in the super new Azumi Boutique Hotel. I was hitting three birds with one stone – attending a blogger event, checking out a new staycation prospect (which I will write about in a separate post), and trying a new restaurant (which I will write about after a second visit with the boys). Host, Issa Litton, welcomed us as we arrived, and after a hotel tour, lots of storytelling with my new-found south mommy blogger friends, and a really yummy brunch, she and Jeanette Tuason started talking about the upcoming event.

What does it mean to be Chicdriven?

The whole Chicdriven idea sprung from Jeanette’s column of the same name, which basically is all about motoring but in women-speak. I love how she has been able to put something so manly – cars – into words that a girl like me would understand. Like, instead of describing a car based on how many cylinders it has, she would talk about how many strollers would fit into it. She describes Chicdrivers as women who can have it all. Being Chicdriven means striving for the best despite humps and hurdles and pulling it off, not necessarily in an effortless fashion, but definitely still keeping it chic. Don’t you just love it?

Issa Litton and Jeanette Tuason talking about Chicdriven

Here’s a bit more about the event:

In celebration of International Women¹s Month, Zest Asia Inc. has organized the Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo happening in Alabang Town Center Atrium on March 28-30, 2014. This community development event aims to arm women with the different tools, information and skills to help them achieve having it all, the Chicdriven way.

Inspired by the overwhelming response to the Chicdriven Column in Philippine Daily Inquirer Motoring section, this celebration of women empowerment is supported by Alabang Town Center, Bridgestone Tires,Toyota Motor Philippines. The expo offers free seminars and workshops on topics such as road safety, auto maintenance, fashion, beauty, parenting, life balance, health and wellness. Other highlights include the Electrolux cooking demo By Chef Bruce Lim, and a Makeover station by BYS cosmetics. Partners including Standard Insurance, Marie France, Brabantia, Garden barn and Tuason Racing School will offer exciting booth demos and workshops during the expo.

“We wanted to make an event that will bring together different women’s group and advocacies in one celebration. We want the community to be engaged as active participants and not just passive spectators,” explains Jeanette Ipapo-Tuason, author of the Chicdriven and organizer of the expo. “Each seminar represents an advocacy and is co-hosted by a civic or advocacy group such as Zonta Club Alabang, Mommy Mundo, and parent’s associations of the different schools in the south.” she added.

The Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo will run from March 28-30, 2014 at the Alabang Town Center Atrium and will be open during mall hours. The event is also supported by Fringe Salon, Fitness First, Melissa and Doug, Ogalala, Safety 1st, Pigeon, and Gluta White, Has Travel.com. Media Partners are Metro, Working Mom, Chalk, Lifestyle Chanel, E! and Motioncars.com.

I am so sold on this, I tell you, and I’ve already blocked off the event dates on my calendar. I totally need to attend the sessions on road safety and auto maintenance. Not that I’d really do the maintenance myself, but it would really help if I could actually understand what my service adviser at Ford tells me when I bring the car in, right? I really hope to see you guys there, especially those of you who live in the south!

For seminar schedules and more info, you can visit Chicdriven on Facebook or email jnt@chicdriven.com.

My Favorite Restaurants in Alabang

March 9, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 10 Comments

I have lived in Alabang for the last 25 years, and I absolutely love it here. It may be a lot more “chill” here than in Makati or QC, but that’s what I like about the south. So anyway, over the last few weeks, as I’ve been blog-hopping, I’ve noticed a lot of great restaurants that people have been writing about, and of course most of them are in (you guessed it) QC and Makati. There are a few establishments from those blogs that I’ve already marked as places to visit when I head up north. But apart from giving me new places to discover, those posts also made me think about my favorites from around here.

I am a self-proclaimed real housewife of Alabang, and so I figured that I should start writing about this amazing place in the south more often. I’ve tried living further up north before, and I have always came back. It has changed so much over the years, but it remains to be home to me. I’ve seen many old favorites come and go, and new stores and restaurants open up and become favorites too. There are places here that I never learned to love, and those that eventually grew on me. I still mourn the loss of Okasan and Dulcinea, which were both located in the Alabang Town Center of the 90’s. For this Sunday Seven, though, I don’t want to think about old favorites. This is my current list of favorite Alabang restaurants.

1. Cafe d’Asie at The Bellevue Manila

I have always loved The Bellevue. It remains to be one of my favorite hotels in the south, even though it has literally been years since I was there last. Cafe d’Asie serves one of my favorite breakfast spreads. Their burgers are amazing too. I’m making myself hungry just thinking about their buffet. I think it’s time to schedule another visit!

2. Kessaku

I recently wrote about the first time we tried Kessaku. It has quickly become one of our family’s favorite Japanese restaurants in Alabang. I had lunch here with my parents just last week, and the food quality was consistent with our first time. Their sushi and sashimi selections are superb. Must-try dishes are the Tori Kuwayaki and Angus Rice.

3. Hermanos Taco Shop

I love Mexican food, and so I was extremely happy when Hermanos opened in Molito. The servings here are big, and definitely good for sharing. The best part about this place is that they close late, so it’s a great stopover for a late dinner or midnight snacks after a long day. I’ve already asked MrC to stop there for quesadillas after he picked me up from an evening event. I was tired and hungry, and the cheesy goodness really made my night.

Quesadillas. Great any time of the day or night.

4. Barcino

This one’s a recent discovery. MrC and I had dinner at Barcino for Valentine’s day, and we really enjoyed it. If you love wine, this is a place that you will enjoy for sure. At the same time, if choosing wine intimidates you a little, you can always ask your server for a little help. We order red wine more often than white, and so we asked for a recommendation for what would go well with our gambas and paella negra. The wine that our server suggested was absolutely perfect, and we went home with huge, black smiles.

5. Whistlestop

We would eat at Whistlestop a lot when I was still working for Filinvest. It was one of our favorite places to have dinner after a show or event at Westgate. It’s still one of those places we like to go to for comfort-food that we don’t have to prepare on our own. They have really fast WiFi too, and they’re open 24 hours. This one’s another great option for late night munchies, or for a nightcap involving a few bottles of San Miguel beer.

My default order: Boneless Buffalo Wings + Bleu Cheese Dressing

6. Chili’s

Chili’s is on this list simply because the food there is unbelievably good. That is all.

There’s always room for dessert at Chili’s!

7. Cafe Breton

I was so happy when Cafe Breton opened in Westgate, after disappearing from Alabang for a while. This was a favorite hangout of my circle of friends from way back in our high school days. It still remains on top of our list of options for get-togethers now that we have our own families already. Bonus: The kids love it here, too!

My friends and I, plus our families, at Cafe Breton

What are your favorite places to eat in your neighborhood? Do share, so I can remember to check them out if I’m ever in your side of the world.

PS Check out my other Sunday Seven posts here.

Transportation

March 7, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 15 Comments

My daddy collects motorcycles. He loves riding them too, mind you. I think this is a passion that he got from his dad, although I can’t say for sure. All I know is that ever since I was little, there always was a motorbike in our garage. Over time, my dad’s collection just grew, and he now has over a dozen of these 2-wheeled machines parked at home. He likes the big-engine bikes, not those racing motorcycles or the low-cc ones. His are vintage BMW’s and other large ones that I won’t even try to talk about coz I know I’m gonna totally sound like a girl.

I remember there was this one time when my guy office mates came over just so they could take a look at the stuff in our garage. I don’t really understand bikes, but I know that dad’s collection is a pretty good one. Sorry, though, but I didn’t take a photo of any of his motorcycles for this post. I am sharing a picture of a pretty impressive motorbike though, one that was made out of forks and spoons.

Shot with a Sony TX10 camera and post-processed on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Okay, I don’t think I did a very good job with this photo because I couldn’t get the angle right. I really didn’t want to sit on the floor outside, and it was just too dark inside the house to take the photo there. I also used a point and shoot, that’s why my focal point is kinda iffy. And, as you can see, I didn’t bother to dust the figurine. Hahaha! Oh well. I hope you get it though. Like I mentioned, this is a motorcycle made out of spoons and forks, and it was given to my dad by the son of our cleaning lady. Galing no? We have three of these at home, and I hear that the guy has made all sorts of metal sculptures in various designs out of utensils. Amazing.

Know what else is amazing? The fact that I’ve so far been able to post on time for this photo-a-week challenge. All but once, I think. And I’m sticking to it, too! It’s lots of fun for me because I get to do it with other mom bloggers, and I get excited over what they post each week. So, at least for this blog challenge, I’m not an incomplete blogger anymore. Yay!

New Babies Are On Their Way + Our Lunch Box Menu for March 7-13

March 6, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 7 Comments

Two very good friends announced this week that they are expecting! I am so, so very excited for them. These are moms who were pregnant around the same time I was carrying Little MrC. Our older kids are batch 1 of our barkada babies. Now, with the recent delivery of another good friend to her first baby boy, plus those two new ones on the way, batch 2 is officially here!

Part of me is starting to wonder if it’s time for us to have another kid. Believe me when I tell you that a lot of people have been telling us to go for it already, with my grandfather being the most persistent of all. I’m honestly not sure I’m ready for another baby just yet. I can barely make it through the day, drama-free, with my one little boy. Oh my gosh, the thought of having to get up at 5am to cook breakfast and baon while pregnant sounds a little wacko to me. But anyway, I am setting these baby thoughts aside for now to focus on baon, which is what this post is about, anyway.

Do you like this featured image? I’m not too sure about it just yet.

First, a few adjustments.

I never realized that I could use a WordPress plugin for my recipes until a couple of hours ago. Oh my gosh it makes life so much simpler! So instead of the downloadable PDF recipe, I will now have recipe cards in these cooking at home posts. Super bonus, there is a template that matches my blog look perfectly. It is so meant to be.

Also, last week I said I’d share more seafood recipes, with it being Lent and all. But alas, I realized yesterday that I rarely cook seafood, and already I shared the one fish dish I am confident about last week. So, sorry but this week’s featured recipe is a beef dish. And I promise to prepare more dishes that don’t contain any meat with feet in the coming days so that I will have something to share next week. Anyway for Lent, I am abstaining from meat with feet, so I really do have to figure out what I can cook anyway.

This week’s recipe.

On we go, here is my featured recipe for the week. It’s a beef tapa recipe that was sorta kinda based on my grandmother’s tapa. We can never get it exactly right though, because she buys a certain portion from a certain cut of meat from her one and only supplier, and that’s what makes all the difference. Me, though, I’m happy with any cut of good beef. Just make sure it’s sliced real thin, and there’s a little bit of fat in there.

This is a dry, sweet-salty tapa. I have yet to try making one that’s a little saucy, kinda like Tapa King. If you have a recipe for that kind of tapa, please share! I chose this recipe for the week coz my friend, Jane, requested for it. So yes, I do accept requests! Though it might be a wee bit ambitious right now, but I will definitely try to make whatever it is that you ask for.

Beef Tapa ala Mama

2014-03-05 18:18:32

A dry, salty beef tapa with a tiny hint of sweetness.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 kilo Top round beef, sliced super thin
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 tablespoon iodized salt
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
Cooking oil for frying

Instructions

Wash the beef slices well to remove majority of the blood.
Combine the sugar and the salt and massage the mixture into the beef.
Add soy sauce for colour.
Marinade for at least an hour, but best if you could do this overnight
Fry each strip of beef until it is dark brown. Be careful not to burn this!

Notes

When choosing your beef, try to find a portion that has a strip of fat on one side.
Since the marinade used for this tapa is very basic, you will really need to find good beef, otherwise it won’t taste as good.
If you can’t find top round, tenderloin will do. Just make sure that it’s sliced thinly.

By MrsC

At Home With MrsC https://blissbysam.com/

Oh my gosh, isn’t that recipe card just PERFECT?!

Download time!

I don’t know if there’s a plugin for a downloadable menu plan or grocery list, but I don’t think I’ll go that far. So this week, you still get my boring old PDFs, but that’s okay, right?

Lunch Box Meal Plan for March 7-13

Grocery List for March 7-13

So, I just want to know if you’ve been able to try any of the recipes I’ve posted so far. I’d love feedback. My boys seem to think that everything I cook is delicious. A second opinion is definitely in order!