Be Sweet and Healthy with Splenda this Christmas!

At a very young age, we were already told on what’s good and what’s bad; what’s beautiful and what’s ugly; and what’s real and what’s fake. But one thing that doesn’t need teaching - tastes – what’s delicious and what’s not. But of course, when we are kid, all that’s delicious to us is good and all that’s bitter is bad.

As we grow old, our sense of taste develops; hence eating a lot becomes our next problem. From gaining weight to really getting out of hand, all of a sudden we are like Santa Claus from one Christmas to another.

Scary, right? 

A study says that one factor why we gain weight is having too much sweet in our meals – yes, rice has sugar in it too! And the only way to start losing weight is to avoid them and some alternatives. But just like what I always say, IT’S HARD TO LIVE A LIFE WITH NO SUGAR!

Happy Christmas from the Middle Child!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy Christmas, friends!

I really don't have much to offer to all of you, but I do hope that my friendship is enough to keep you smiling everyday! And may this simple e-card be enough to say how thankful I am to have you guys in my life this year! 

Til next, year? Muah to all of you! :-) xoxo

A Splenda Christmas and Healthy New Year to All!

Having a diabetic family is a real kill joy during this festive season. With dishes that we’re not allowed to prepare to avoid them from having those in their systems, it always challenge us, non-diabetic members of the family, to prepare something that can still bring that Yuletide cheers!

Thank goodness, my love for sweets won’t be sacrificed anymore, because by just having Splenda on my leche flan or halayang ube or fruit salad or refrigerated cake, all of us will have one sweet and healthy Christmas and New Year!

When it comes to dessert, I’m the one who’s always in charge about it in our family. They trust my taste because my love for sweets have brought me to a lot of places and met some great chefs and bakers that offer nothing but the best. That’s why when I tell to the family what kind of sweets will best fit to our Noche Buena or Medya Noche, their eyes glimmer like they don’t have health to worry about!

A Disappointing Christmas Shopping at SM San Lazaro

Since it was just yesterday that I've got my 13th month pay from my very generous company, I don't have any other choice but to do my Christmas shopping today. From buying gifts for my godsons and goddaughters, to buying some stuff from the grocery for our noche buena, all of that I've done in one day at SM San Lazaro.

SM San Lazaro is the nearest mall from home. Just like their song says, they've got it all for you, which means us, and no doubt about it, they really have everything there - that's why I went there today to do all of those stuff that I mentioned.

I spent three tiring hours picking gifts for my godsons and goddaughters, and though I was lucky that I didn't have to fall in line to the cashier that long, my world turned upside down when I went to their Gift Wrapping Section and met this "supaldo" staff. 

I guess he's already tired when I got there, which I fully understand, it's already past 6 in the evening, and with three customers there, including me, I know that there's a little pressure to him. He was all alone there so I didn't bug him, I waited in line patiently just like any regular customers, because, hey, it's a free gift wrap. I bought 15 different stuff for my 15 godsons and goddaughters, so I'm aware that it'll take a moment to wrapped it all.

Upon receiving my bought items, he told me to just return at around 11:30 p.m. In my mind, I would say "Are yous serious?", but since again this a free gift wrapping section, I politely said "Okay."

Whiter Christmas with Oral-B and Crest!

I'm sure that if there's one thing that you cannot miss to do this Christmas season is to SMILE! And what better way to do it than to have a fresh breath and whiter set of teeth! ain't it nice to have a stunning smile amidst the smile of your family and friends this Yuletide cheers?

Last week, I received an early Christmas gift from our friends of Crest and Oral-B. And as I look inside, I was surprised to see three of their most helpful and most effective oral  health aids that can help me have a sweet smile this Holidays.

The Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste, the Oral-B Pro-Health Clinical Pro-Flex Toothbrush and the Oral-B Essential Floss.

Celebrate a Sweet and Healthy Christmas with Splenda

Now that Christmas is just around the corner, how are you planning to celebrate it? Do you want it sweet with load of desserts and all that stuff or you want healthy with green veggies and exercise even on this Yuletide cheers? Well, if you’ll ask me, why chose between the two if you can celebrate with both of these things in mind!

With a market that’s full of food preservatives and food additives to maximize the flavor of your meals, are you one of those people who ask first what’s in their food before eating it? It’s a little risky to have them all and not worrying about tomorrow, right? But with Splenda now in the market, also known as sucralose, a no-calorie sweetener that can be used as part of a healthy diet to reduce the calories and carbohydrate from sugar that you consume, don’t you find sweet and healthy Christmas more exciting?

This Christmas, Splenda is happy to share some sweet and healthy recipes that you can share to your friends and family. From the all-time favourites, to the new and easy-to-do ones, you’ll be delighted to know that you don’t have to sacrifice your health during these Yule.

Meet my 2013 Bo's Coffee Book-slash-Planner

I'm changing something next year, and I personally think that the best way to start these "changes" in my life is by having a different strategy in life - a different plan. And by changing a life plan is by changing a planner, of course, so this year, I'm not doing the old Starbucks planner thing - I'm doing it in a real Pinoy way - The Bo's Coffee Book 2013 way.

While almost all of you guys are busy getting high on coffee on some lousy coffee shop, I myself had a wonderful time earlier as I received a sweet gift from Bo's Coffee. Apparently, they also have this "collect the sticker and get a free planner" thing, but the difference is you don't need to get high on coffee to have it. Hahaha!

One of the country's leading all-Pinoy coffee shop is happy to announce that they are giving away free 2013 planner to their loyalists in exchange of Php200.00 food purchase. So, whatever you buy from any Bo's Coffee as long as it reaches the Php200.00-purchase mark, you'll get one sticker to complete their 14-sticker Coffee Card.

The 2012 Christmas 3D-Street Painting Competition

Dubbed as “Pasko Natin: Ang Diwa Ng Pasko Sa Pilipinas”, Avida Land held last weekend its second 3D-Street painting Competition at its compound at Avida Centera in Manadaluyong City. With 20 participants from different universities in Metro Manila, three emerged as the the winners of the 2012 Christmas 3D-Street Painting Competition.

For the the second time, Avida Land organized an exciting and really creative competition that tested the skills of our young Filipino artists to showcase Filipino's amazing talent and culture. Through these competition, Avida Land aims to promote painting as a medium or art and for them to join together in celebrating the spirit of Christmas in the Philippines, which is so uniquely festive and joyous. 

Shining and Shimmering Christmas with GUESS Jewelry

This Christmas, shine and shimmer as Yuletide cheers brings happiness and prosperity to everyone with the latest collection of GUESS jewelries. Perfect for this Holiday Season, may you want something classy or wild, GUESS Jewelry this Christmas is a perfect accessory for this twinkling season.

Complementing the fun and vibrant Holiday Season, GUESS recently launched their latest line of classy and heart-warming jewelry pieces perfect for woman in love! Aside from their world-renowned jeans and apparels, Guess presents this Christmas a collection that's gonna be an apple of the eyes of many Filipinas.

And last week at SM Mall of Asia, staying true to its reputation for designing cutting-edge and iconic silhouettes, GUESS Jewelry pushes the limits, presenting an unforgettable look with Wild at Heart Collection.

Circulo Verde: An Ambition Come True

With it’s grand 10-hectare development by a riverside that boasts of 70 percent open space, Circulo Verde, a residential hub in Bagumbayan, Quezon City, is indeed by far the most ambitious project done by Ortigas & Co.

Ortigas & Co., the developer, which has more than 80 years of experience building known residential and shopping areas like Greenhills, Greenmeadows, Greenhills Shopping Center and Tiendesitas, has set its brilliants eyes on a piece of property that features the advantages of Marikina River as backdrop and a location very near commercial business districts and schools.

Commissioning DCCD Engineering, a company with 50 years of experience in hydrology and flood control, to conduct a comprehensive technical pre-engineering study to ascertain the geographic soundness of the site, Ortigas & Co. is happy to share that DCCD’s final report was their basis for a final evaluation and recommendation for the type of structural foundation to be used for the development of Circulo Verde to ensure the safety of the residents.

O+ and Bench Mash-up!

Nothing more exciting for a guy like me to see two of my favorite things in life come together. And this time, I know that it isn't just me that gets excited about it, but as well as the millions of their fans all over that world that's been looking up to their product and the innovativeness. It's the O+ and Bench mash-up, baby!

Last week, as the country officially and fully welcomes a new brand of gadget that will make every techie Pinoy's nerve so excited, O+ USA launched an astonishing and exciting show with one of the country's leading retail brand, Bench, at the newly reopened Glorietta 1 Activity Center.

Showcasing O+'s unique features that are not yet available on other gadget brands, Bench tied up with them in one all-star cast fashion show featuring  the country's top and in demand young fashion stylish.

Meet the Top 30 of The Multiply Origination Awards

After months of rigorous searching, this year’s top e-commerce products have been identified and now that their names are part of the finalists' list,  it's time to start judging and voting on which ones stand out from the rest to honor the best 3 of Multiply Origination Awards!

From almost 1000 nominations, 30 of the most original and creative brands and products have emerged to be a part of the first Multiply Origination Awards. Local products in fashion, food and beverage, and home and family care that available on the Multiply Philippines website have been narrowed down to be the  2012’s most outstanding brands and products and its up to us and to the judges who will take home the exciting prizes!

The judges for Multiply Origination: the Call to be a Business Stand-Out are GoNegosyo Founder and RFM Corp. CEO and President Joey Concepcion; Sulit.com.ph; Co-founder and Managing Director RJ David, BDO’s Sr. AVP for E-Commerce Lending Cofa Gutierrez; Multiply.com Philippines Country Manager Jack Madrid; and Chuvaness.com founder and lifestyle blogger Cecile Van Straten.

They will review these top 30 brands and products and they will judges each one of them base on strength and innovativeness of the product concept, perceived value and marketability.

Fun and Young Christmas with SM Kids!

If there's one thing that really excites me about Christmas is that seeing my little nieces dress something that so hip, and young and pretty. And this time, since I'm feeling so generous, I did their Christmas shopping. And oh, boy, did I say it was more tiring than shopping with my lady friends? Hahaha!

Last week, together with two of my nieces, Nicole and Nickaella, we ransacked the Department Store of SM North EDSA to buy them their "pamaskos", - something that Filipinos, like us, do as the Yuletide cheers come. 

The Philips' The New Obsession Manila Invasion

To bring the best of the best of Philips to the Yahoo! Techno Storm Expo at the Trinoma Activity Center last week, Philips presented a Black Box that contains a special sound cube designed for uninterrupted audio listening and they call it The New Obsession.

Providing an authentic listening venue for consumers wherein they can truly test Philips’ range of Fidelio products and accurately evaluate it for themselves, Philips brings in The New Obsession to give consumers a whole new appreciation of high quality, crisp audio and of hearing music exactly as the artist intended.

And last week, as I join the fun of looking into upcoming "tech stuff", I had a wonderful time trying Philips latest and state-of-the-art gadgets that are sure to love by everyone.

Inside the Black Box are the Philips Fidelio range of headphones and speaker systems, which are all high fidelity audio systems tailor-made for the discerning sound lover.

Topping the list of Philips' high fidelity audio systems, are these bars that their call the SoundBar. The SoundBar is Philips’ range of all-in-one speaker systems that are designed and engineered to play high definition movies and music, wirelessly or otherwise, and at the same time producing high quality audio true to the original.

A Worry-No-More Life With Circulo Verde

The Marikina River has been made more popular after the devastating typhoons that hit the metropolis, but did you know that now that its being rehabilitated, it also poses a potential to be included in the list of famous rivers where a cosmopolitan vibrant community thrives along the river’s precious banks? With a Php15-billion residential development standing right beside it, there's no doubt that make it can be grand river next to Circulo Verde.

Circulo Verde, a 15-billion peso residential development located alongside the Marikina River featuring recreational parks, jog paths, shops and restaurants, is set to become a prime riverside residential hub with facilities similar to popular riverside communities such as those found in River Thames in London, Clarke Quay in Singapore and Hudson River in New York.

Set its eyes on the riverside property in Bagumbayan, Quezon City to offer a world-class community, Ortigas & Co., the company which built Greenhills, Green Meadows and Ortigas Center, has not only provides an upscale riverside living, but also a prime location and key innovations.

A Salute to All of Nation's Heroes at Nuvali

Every year, Filipino soldiers are killed or incapacitated in line of duty, and because of this, many families were left with basically nothing. That's why through the good hearts of the late President Corazon C. Aquino with then Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Renato de Villa, an organization called Help, Educate and Rear Orphans or HERO was created to take care of the families left by our soldiers who were killed incapacitated.

HERO Foundation has been in existence for the past 24 years and has never waned in its commitment to provide educational assistance to the orphans of men in uniform. The HERO Foundation’s advocacy of supporting the education of military orphans is very close to a number of celebrities and TV personalities who've seen - and some of them experienced - the life that these families have suffered, that's why on this year's National Heroes' Day, through the generous help of NUVALI and San Miguel Corporation, a heroic concert was held to give these families a break from the drama and to enjoy a night of good music.

Dubbed as "Saludo: A Concert for Heroes", the concert was held last November 30, 2012 at the NUVALI Evoliving Center dockside with performances by 6CycleMind, IyaVillania, Nina and Bamboo.

The Pekiti-Tirsia Lakan Kali at Philippine Public Safety College's Sportfest 2012

Who would've that even before Martial Arts hit Hollywood, here in the Philippines  our great ancestors tracing back to more than 1500 to 2000 years ago had been practicing our very own Martial Arts to survive and to help others in times of danger.

And last week, as I was invited to witness more than 2000 police trainees celebrate their annual Sportfest at Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba, Laguna, I also get a broader knowledge of the Filipino Martial Arts that they call Pekiti-Tirsia Lakan Kali.

Led by P/Supt Serafin Fortuno Petalio II, DSC, Training Director of Institute Training Group, more than 2000 trainees joined the fun and excitement as they officially opened this year's Sportfest. It was said that Miss Ting Ting Cojuangco is one of the major contributor of the success of this whole group, but since she was not available during that time, she was represented by her beautiful daughter Mikaela Maria Antonia Cojuangco-Jaworski or Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski in short.