Cassidy: The Dreamer Just tidbits of what goes on in my mind…

How long has it been since I have last updated this blog? Oh dear, it’s been a couple of months. Gosh, I’ve been busy with work that I’ve totally forgotten that I even had a blog LOL. But hey — I have a good excuse for that. Guess what, I got that promotion that I have always wanted, I am now a Sous Chef! Finally, the 18 months of hard work in the kitchen paid off!

What is a Sous Chef you may ask. It’s actually a French term and it just means under-chef of the kitchen. As the second in command, a sous chef is responsible for scheduling and substituting just in case the Chef is off-duty (which usually happens two days in a week).  As the Sous Chef, I take commands from the Chef and it is my responsibility to conduct line checks and rotation of all products in the kitchen.

Apart from doing some supervisory work for food preparation and safety with the kitchen, I still get to cook of course. I also am the “eyes and ears” that ensures everyone works on their dishes in life with the standards of the chef. Sometimes, the chef lets me submits my own recipes and puts it on the daily specials!

Well yeah, a Sous Chef is an under-chef but I am the second in command and the direct assistant of the chef now. That is naturally way better than being a line cook for the past 18 months, right?  Naturally, the compensation for being a Sous Chef is better than being a line cook. Apart from the salary, what I love about it is that it gives me so much self-fulfillment that my hard work finally paid off.

But of course, being a Sous Chef also entails some trade offs. One of which is actually sacrificing my time. Thus, I have to let go of this blog. It has been my dream to be a writer, and my dream to inspire other people with my writing and with what I do. But I guess since being a Chef is the biggest of my biggest dreams, I’ll bid adieu to writing and inspire people instead by my cooking.

As a little girl, I was one with the rest of the little girls from all over the world who really adore and go gaga over Barbie. But back then, Barbie was nothing more than just literally a doll that you could dress up and play make believe with. Since back then, anyone can obviously see that the doll has gone a long way.

From being just a doll, Barbie went into books. Not just that, various Barbie merchandise materialized – from intimate apparel, sleepwear, footwear, casual clothes, school supplies, bags, accessories, to even scents and make-up. The Barbie brand has taken over the world!

Today, Barbie isn’t anymore known as that inanimate pose-able doll. Now, little girls know Barbie as that computer animated character that has a wide variety of full-length animated films that showcase different adventures. Barbie is now literally just that brand as the character itself now takes on different names in it s different animated films.

Thanks to the introduction of Barbie’s adventures in books and in VCDs and DVDs, the entire Barbie collection also has grown. So when you now go to the toy store in search for a Barbie doll, there are tons of Barbie characters to choose from. Not only could you buy dolls, you could also buy other accessories that go with your doll to the point that you could even dress up like your doll.

They say it is ideal to start training kids at a very young age since when they’re young, they’re absorbent like a sponge. Isn’t it amazing how those kids in that Junior Master Chef TV show manage to cook such fab dishes to think that they’re what — 8 to 12 years old? Isn’t it pretty cool to see really young kids in white chef’s uniforms whip up a scrumptious banquet in the kitchen?

I do believe that it is pretty nice to teach a kid to cook at a very young age. But hey, not literally when you say start ‘em cooking young like this photo a friend emailed me a while ago LOL!

I went to the Philippines a couple of months back when my brother got married to his Filipina girlfriend. I have never been to the Philippines before that trip – all I knew that it was a tropical country and my sister-in-law said that the most comfy set of clothes to wear are shorts, sleeveless tops, and flip flops.

When we got there, to my surprise, it was as if everyone was wearing the Havaianas brand Who would ever think that Brazilian-made flip fl ops would take the Philippines by storm? Way before 2003, flip flops were nothing but footwear that were ordinarily used at home. Come on, they’re just “tsinelas” as most Filipinos would refer to them. But since Havaianas was introduced to the Filipinos in 2003, flip flops became a fashion icon.

Gone were the days where wearing flip flops outside of one’s home was such a no-no. From being just a pair of ordinarily used slippers within the household, flip flops suddenly became a fashion accessory. Nowadays, you can see tons of Filipinos sporting their colorful flip flops at malls, the beach, and some even wear them when they go to special occasions. The Havaianas brand revolutionized flip flops. You’ll see tons of variety in slippers — glow in the dark, ones with high heels, multi-colored sets, and ones that are decorated with gemstones and other accessories. But not just that, they are also the first in the world to come up with the idea of personalized flip flops — you can create your own pair of flip flops.

Havaianas literally changed the Filipino’s perception of flip flops. Recent surveys show that most Pinoys would rather wear flip flops than sandals or closed shoes. The Havaianas brand is owned and manufactured by Sao Paulo Alpargatas S., a Brazilian company. In the Philippines, it is exclusively manufactured by Terry S.A. Incorporated. For the record, since its Philippine launching in 2003, this brand has produced thousands of pairs in the country! Whoa, the brand’s even more popular in the Philippines than it is here in the U.S.!

DreamWorks Animation is at it again with another upcoming hit making film – Puss in Boots. Puss, one of the charming characters featured in the Shrek series, is now the lead in his own movie: Puss in Boots. When you watch Puss in Boots trailer online, you would realize that the movie would narrate the adventures of Puss before he met Shrek. Apparently, this cute but lethal character has already been in the business of saving the world even before he crossed paths with the famous ogre.

The movie has a similar feel to Shrek’s three movies wherein there are cameos and spoofed scenes from other movies and various tracks of pop music are part of its soundtrack. The computer animated full length film stars Antonio Banderas as the voice of Puss (at times, you’ll feel like you’re watching The Mask of Zorro as Antonio Banderas is swash buckling his sword again), Selma Hayek as the voice of Kitty Softpaws, and Zach Galifianakis as Humpty Alexander Dumpty, who is the mastermind that plans to steal the Golden Eggs from the one-of-a-kind Goose.

The Biggest Loser is one of the most well-loved TV shows not just in the U.S., but worldwide. Originally introduced by NBC in the United States in 2004, the show became such a hit that a total of 21 countries also had their own versions of the said reality show.

In the U.S., the show is now on its 12^th season. The Biggest Loser is basically a show about a bunch of overweight (and I mean EXTREMELY overweight) individuals who compete with each other to lose the biggest amount of weight during a period of time that they’re all together in the Biggest Loser Camp. Every weigh-in, whoever lost the least number of pounds gets eliminated. At the end of the show, whoever has the biggest weight loss percentage wins the cash prize.

What’s so special about The Biggest Loser? Well it’s a show that shows the world that it’s never too late to start getting fit and to live a healthy lifestyle. Personally, what I enjoy watching is their workout sessions. I literally can learn a thing or two about how to work out. In fact, too much of The Biggest Loser had inspired me to buy this baby:

Apart from having the best features to ensure a very effective and comfortable workout, what I like about my newly bought Smooth Agile DMT X2 is that it has built-in speakers and an mp3/iPod dock! COOL!

Yippee! Yippee! Nona won, Nona won! Yes, I am obviously routing for Nona. Quite honestly, Nona is very deserving to win. I mean, Russell is very obnoxious and he ought to put his cooking to the kitchen and not just be all talk! Plus, I really do not like how he leads his team. Like duh – everyone in there has professional experience, do you seriously have to yell at everyone like that?

I am such a fan of Hell’s Kitchen that I religiously watched Season 8 right from its pilot episode. The latest season was definitely the best one yet. Imagine – a lot of twists and turns. The part I liked most was when Chef Ramsay walked out on the contestants hahaha!

The FOX Network really outdid themselves with the Hell’s Kitchen reality TV series. For those of you who are unaware of what Hell’s Kitchen is, it’s not anything like Master Chef. It’s not technically a cooking show either.

So what is Hell’s Kitchen? It’s a show featuring the best chefs handpicked by premier Chef and mentor Gordon Ramsey from across the U.S. who will need to impress him with their culinary and leadership skills in order to win a quarter of a million dollars and to become a head chef at a five star restaurant; which in Season 8 is J.W. Marriott’s L.A. Market. It basically works like this – it starts with two teams that battle it out in the kitchen as they carry out a series of dinner services. Who ever had a better service wins for the day. The losing team will have one of its members up for elimination. So at the end of the season, only two chefs will battle it out.

How much will it cost to throw your little one a birthday party? Well the answer actually depends on a LOT of factors. But let’s say you don’t want to spend more than $500 for a small get together with 10 of your child’s closest friends, is that possible? Yes, it is!

The secret is proper planning. There are many ways to throw a great party but still be within budget. Let’s go through the basics, shall we?

• Invitations
  • Don’t order personalized invitations or purchase them off from a party store – those will turn out to be expensive. Why not make them yourself? You can easily download and print tons of invitation templates online. If you want to get creative, you can play around with art paper, etc.

• Decorations
  • You do not need to hire a decorator to transform your venue into the perfect party place. Balloons and a party banner are all that you need.
    • Food
      • It’s a kiddie party so think like a kid! To start, kids won’t really eat, they’re just in it for the spaghetti, cake and ice cream.
      • Also, why not have cupcakes for the birthday cake? They’re cheaper and they’re easier for the guests to take home if ever their kids can’t finish what they got.

     

    • Loot Bags
      • Create your own paper bags and fill them up with candy and other goodies. Kids would even love to decorate their bags themselves! So why not give them plain paper bags and a couple of art materials instead? After they decorate their paper bag, you can then fill it up with goodies.

Where in the world can you shop ‘til you drop without breaking your bank? Well, there is a place where you could feed your hunger for shopping and you don’t need to have thousands and thousands of dollars for that! Fly to Asia and visit Bangkok, Thailand.

Bangkok is one the many tourist destinations you can visit in Southeast Asia. The capital city of Thailand is approximately 19 hours and 35 minutes by plane from the U.S. Yeah I know, that’s a pretty long flight! But believe me, it will all be worth it!

What can you do in Bangkok? A LOT. The city has tons of must-see tourist spots (temples, palaces, museums, beaches, safaris, etc.) and a wide array of activities (cultural shows, river cruises, etc.).

When in Bangkok, never miss out on the food. Thai cuisine is superb! Although they are spicy, they have this distinct delightful taste that’s totally unexplainable. Of course apart from the food, NEVER MISS OUT TO SHOP.

No, not shop in the tons of malls in the city – I mean shop in its local markets. For frugal shoppers, Pratunam Market is paradise! Ah yes, for as low as 100 Thai Baht, you can already buy a dress! Everything there is pretty cheap! Socks, shoes, shirts, dresses, pants, toys, bags, watches, and many other – Pratunam Market is the one stop shop that if you had $500, you could already go home with a HUGE BOX.

I SO LOVE BANGKOK!!! Shopping on a budget is very much possible and you can do that in Bangkok!

We all need to eat — that’s a fact. One’s diet affects his or her overall well-being. Because our bodies get nutrients from what we eat, it is important to make sure that we have a healthy serving of nutritious food.

But why is a healthy diet very important? Simple, it’s H-E-A-L-T-H-Y:

H – Healthy Physically, Mentally, Emotionally. Healthy diets will mean better overall well-being.

E – Enjoy Life. Why you’re healthy, you will be able to enjoy life in general.

A – Avoid Getting Sick. A healthy diet means that your body gets the right amount of nutrients it needs to fight off possible health issues.

L – Live Longer. A healthy life = a longer life.

T – Take On Challenges With a Breeze. When challenges are thrown at you, you can easily surpass them.

H – Heal Faster. If ever you do get sick, a healthy diet will ensure that you heal faster.

Y – Youthful Glow. Eating healthy will make you look better. In fact, the right diet and exercise can also give you that youthful glow regardless of your age.

Food is a basic need. However, not all kinds of food out there are actually good for the body. Thus, eating the right kinds of food and exercise is the key to a healthy life.