Shakey's Scandal

This is the first post of its kind that I'm going to make. I have to make it clear that I am blogging about this for the purpose of being more keen on what we eat, and not to demean any brand or type of food.

It's a very pinoy thing that we have that certain cheer when we get together around food, especially when it's a treat from somebody.

Yesterday, my retired boss came to the office and, after some teasing, agreed to treat us with Shakey's pizza. He's a very kind person with a generous pocket so it's really good to see him again after nearly a year after his retirement.

Our admin staff called Shakey's and ordered two of each: Pepperoni, Hawaiian Delight and Ultimate Cheese and Garlic. The orders came before 3:00 PM and we happily consumed the sumptuous treat.

At around 6:45 PM, an officemate, who had been in a meeting the whole day, ate his share of the pizzas. Upon consuming the pepperoni and ultimate cheese and garlic flavors, and was about to eat the remaining hawaiian delight, what he saw will make anyone feel like vomiting!!!

There were not a few, but several small white moving creatures on the plate where the two eaten slices came from! Yes there were small worms!!!

To have a visual presentation, here are sequential shots of the pizza (already placed in a transparent plastic) for further investigation.

Notice the small white elongated worms in the encircled portion, how the worms move!!! And oh this is not the only portion invaded by worms. There are other parts but I was not able to focus them anymore.

Early this morning we called Shakey's and traced the source branch to be Shakey's Loyola. Through phone, we explained the story to their representative. And upon their initial investigation within themselves, the representative was insisting that they follow strict protocol before the pizzas for delivery get out of their parlor. She then began probing about our office environment, which we explained to be clean and in an air-conditioned building. She also verified the time of delivery and the time that the worms were discovered. Food, if freshly-prepared, and even if landed on by an egg-laying fly, won't be naturally infested by worms in a span of 3 hours.

Our very probable assumption is that the worms (or their eggs) came from the storage of raw materials or of the packaging box. That's the reason why we were pointing out that they conduct a thorough check on those items or even beyond.

We asked what does the manager or supervisor say, the representative didn't relay an exact message. That was the time when we suggested that they take the pizza slice for further evaluation.

Several minutes later, the delivery boy came with a box of warm Hawaiian Delight flavor pizza. We showed and gave the wormed pizza and to his faint surprise he said, "Akala namin malaki yung uod" (We thought the worm was big).
So the worms are really small that they might have come from the crust or bread. Anyway, he took it and went.

As for the replacement pizza, after careful scrutiny, ended up in some people's stomachs. But not of those who ate the pizzas yesterday.

As for me, well, I'm not a real fan of pizzas. I just ate my share in celebration of seeing our former boss again. I think it will take time before I have a bite of my next pizza, whatever brand it is.

Human Heart Nature Mineral Makeup

The moment I learned to embrace Human Nature products such as the soap, shampoo, etc., I knew that I would also have to give up my old makeup brands. It took me some time to finally give them up because of the cost and because I’ve been used to my old makeup brand for as long as I can remember, from my teenage years! But upon meditating on the harsh effects of the chemicals in them that I expose my skin to every day or every time I put on color to my face, and upon thinking about the positive effects of the natural ingredients of Human Nature, I finally made my first purchase from the mineral makeup category.

The first product to be bought was the Human Nature Tinted Lip Balm in Flame Tree. I liked the idea of having something that I can use while on errands or for simple weekend moments. Something that has a light after-feel but has life-giving color to my lips. This tinted lip balm answered those needs with just a few swipes. Here's how it looks:

Its color looks the same as the color of the cap and it matches my morena skintone well. Another plus is that it leaves a minty feeling on my lips that makes me feel refreshed and energized. With it leaving me satisfied, I decided to try the next product in the mineral makeup line.

Human Nature Mineral ColorCreme Lip Palette. It comes in a classy shiny black container which I like much. It's about 2.5" long x 2.5" wide x 0.5" thick. It's very handy and ideal to be carried around in the pouch. However I prefer to leave it at my office desk since I only use makeup when I am at the office.

Inside are three separate pans for the three different shades (from left to right) namely Pink Smoothie, Lucky in Love and Coral Charm.

For those who have morena skin like me, the best shade if one wants to look lively and dolled-up is the Lucky In Love because it has dark deep red shade, something of more intensity than the Tinted Lip Balm Flame Tree. For days when I feel like being sweet, I use the Pink Smoothie. For days when I feel like being simple, I use the Coral Charm. While for those days when I feel experimental, I combine two shades and the result is equally perfect!

The color stays true until wiped off. It has that lasting shine, too. Plus I am confident that I am not exposing my lips to harmful chemicals but to all-natural goodness. See I am almost halfway through all the three shades!

I just hope that Human Nature can come up with other shades combined in one packaging like this.

My next purchase included the Human Nature Perfect Finish Mineral Loose Powder in Warm Mocha.  Its packaging is okay and it comes with a powder puff which shouldn't have been there in the first place. I'll tell you why. The first time I used this product I applied it using the powder puff and to my husband's disgust: it oxidized on my face that he told me my skin looked old and "greenish".

Maybe it was because of the amount of powder that landed on my face. This product should be applied using a powder brush! The next time I used it, I utilized my own powder brush. I hope this product will come with its own (free) brush! Just hoping. Anyway, upon my next use I find it a little too dark for me so I think I should have bought the lighter shade (Soft Ivory) for my skin color.

I'm afraid to put this to waste or recommend to other girls since most girls I know have lighter complexion than I have. What I did was  add some baby powder to it to lighten the shade. (Sorry but this defeats the talcum-free advocacy of this product). Anyway, it's just for now. Once all has been used up, I'm gonna buy the Soft Ivory shade.

Reviews revealed that sometimes this product becomes so messy, that's why I just opened half of the holes like this and I have better control of the product that comes out every time. It gives me that silky feel and additional power to my foundation.

Next thing on my list is the Human Nature Perfect Coverage Mineral Foundation Honey. I bought this when I had to attend a semi-formal gathering in the office. It comes in a "purplish" rectangular packaging that houses the foundation in one pan and the sponge in the other half portion.

The product applies on my skin easily and fortunately the Honey shade matches my skin and somehow brightens it. It doesn't have that heavy feel which I used to experience with my previous makeup brands. It doesn't make my face oily even after the whole day on. I only need a little for ordinary days that after three months it's as if I bought it only last week:

I'd definitely buy this again. :)

And here's my most recent purchase: the Human Nature Perfect Glow Mineral Blush Sun-Kissed.

I was totally excited to have this addition to my Kikay Kit. The moment my old blush on with another brand went out, I purchased this one. I chose the Sun-Kissed variant since I felt that it will match my morena skin better than the others.

Its packaging from the outside looks very much like the Mineral ColorCreme Lip Palette except that it has purplish color while that of the lip palette is black.

True to my expectations, its color is great and it blends well. I feel that it has some shimmer in it that's why my cheeks look like sun-kissed. :)

Anyway it's really morena skin-friendly that even if I put a little too much it still looks natural. Unlike other brands that look dramatic when overdone a little bit.

The color stays true all day and I also love the brush that comes with it.

I totally love this product from Human Nature.

Now I'm looking forward to trying the Mineral Pressed Powder and Colorcreme Lipsticks. I also wish that they will come up with more colored products like eyeshadows, eyeliners and mascara.

For more information regarding the Human Heart Nature Products, how to order and more reviews by users, visit their website at www.humanheartnature.com.

FM Perfume

As I am not a fan of perfumes, I never buy them with my hard-earned money.
But when they are given as gifts, I appreciate them as they are.
Seldom do I get to love any scent for long, but this one is a bit different as it is pleasing me for almost a month now.

Perfume Brand: FM (Frederico Mahora)
Company: FM Group World
Size: 50 ml
Color: Peach

The packaging is simply classy and is ideal to be given as a gift. The white box has a satin finish. It originally has a peach ribbon tied around the "neck" of the bottle but I already misplaced it.

On my first use I initially had slight headache due to the strong scent. As the day went on and during my next uses, I eventually got along with the smell and slowly loved it.

Its very feminine yet strong scent smells like sampaguita as my officemate described it.
I only need one spray that I distribute to several of my pulse points, and the scent lingers all day.

Will this be the first ever perfume that I'll ever finish? Or will it eventually be given to a dear friend or a loved one, like how my other perfumes ended up?

Let's wait and find out...


Update (5/21/15): I still love the scent!! :)

Update (4/25/16): I really loved the scent but I wasn't able to finish the bottle because after a few months I decided to give it away because of source issues. I mean I didn't like to keep it because of its giver. That's it. 

Mercury Drug Suki Day Book 2015

I've been a fan of Mercury Drug Suki Day Books since 2012 when I also started using the Suki Card. For the previous years I used the points in my own Mercury Drug Suki Card to have my Day Book. My 2015 one was lovingly given by my wonderful husband.

Aside from its being a gift from my significant other, it is also the notebook for Mercury Drug's 70th year in the business.

It has several sections which start off with a page describing the stages in our life, as associated with the stages in the 70 years of Mercury Drug.

Here are the sections:

• The Growing Years
• Discovering the Bigger WOrld
• Enjoying Newfound Independence
• Expanding Horizons
• The Age of Stability and Reflection
• Pursuing Other Passions
• Giving Back in Gratitude

It's amazing to have a glimpse of Mercury Drug's beginnings and former successes.

I use my day book for my everyday tasks at work. It's already almost May and I am still writing at the third section. Looking forward to finishing the rest of this year with it.

Catching a Bus Back to Manila

As a sequel to my previous post, here's how me and my husband managed to get back home.

After attending the wedding ceremony and reception of my college friend, we headed on to McDonalds Solano. Two Victory Liner Busses passed by, bound to Sampaloc and Cubao, both full.

Since the bus that we rode on our way here is Dangwa Florida, we decided to go to its terminal in Solano. We rode on a tricycle and asked the driver to take us to the terminal. It is located at the gasoline station just across Chowking. We headed to the office, which was closed, and on which window a note was pasted:

"Office opens at 4:00 PM; All trips on April 9, 10, 11 are fully-booked; Trips everyday at 9AM and 4PM, 9PM."

We were starting to despair as we walked towards the highway, where we waited for the next bus. And along came another full Victory Liner.

We sat along a waiting shed and had one of our treasured conversations, in the midst of the 3PM heat.

Soon it will be getting late, so when another Victory Liner arrived, we prepared to be standing!

Next thing we knew we were standing inside a Caloocan-bound Victory Liner bus.
I was the one to have a seat first, as some passengers went off at Bayombong.
My husband had his seat, and sadly not next to me, at San Jose.

It was a very long trip due to road maintenance works along the way. We arrived at Camachile at around 12 midnight. It was a scary trip from there to Novaliches Bayan, then we briefly enjoyed some hot lugaw at Janet's Pares.

It was a little tiresome but still I am thankful that we finally get to kiss our awake little angel at home by 2AM.

The Commute to Nueva Vizcaya

It has been over a year since my last bus ride to the province of Nueva Vizcaya.

I wasn't expecting much improvement since I always hear stories about the difficult experiences just to be able to catch a bus to Region 2.

Here's my own and latest account:

My last-minute decision to attend the wedding of my college friend made me and my husband "chance passengers" in the terminal of our favorite bus station: Victory Liner at Kamias. We were not able to book our tickets ahead of time so we prepared ourselves to just wait for that "chance" of getting a seat of anyone who will miss his/her reserved seat. Upon our arrival at the terminal at around 8 PM of April 9, 2015, the queue of our fellow chance passengers already extended up to EDSA and it looked so hopeless. It's as if we are not going to board a bus in time, having in mind that the wedding is at 10 AM the next day.

With the advice of my mother who is a frequent traveler just to visit us, we decided to walk a little bit along EDSA (South-bound) to see the Dangwa Florida Bus terminal. It was my first time to go there and I inquired at their office. Unfortunately all north-bound trips are already fully-booked. Seeing the dismay on my face, the clerk was kind enough to ask me where is our destination. Upon knowing that we're bound to Bayombong, he informed me that there is a bus bound to Solano and after advising that I ask the conductor, he showed me where it was. (Solano is the town after Bayombong).

I approached the conductor and asked if there are two seats left. He swiftly scanned his clipboard and answered "Seats 3 and 4".

I almost leaped for joy and we wasted no time. We boarded the bus at once. We left the terminal at around 9:20 PM and we reached Bayombong at around 4 AM. It was a comfortable trip, with a good movie playing (2012 if I remember it right). My husband watched the movie but I preferred to catch some beauty rest.

As we occupied the front-most seats, and the road seem to be next in front of us, I just prayed for our safety. 

We had only one stopover at Aritao (two towns before reaching Bayombong). I wasn’t able to note the name of the restaurant as I miss the famous CCQ. But there we ate some hotdogs and hot goto – nice foods to warm our hungry tummies.

Thank God for this trip as we arrived safely.

Standby for my next post about our return to Metro Manila.