OUR 10TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN JEBEL SIFAH

I haven't been updating my blog for quite some time. Life happens. Lots of changes going on in my life. Laziness and old age seeping through my system. Also the fact that I lost a years of content in my blog and restarting blogging here in Blogger, I am not sure if my url is really working, makes me feel demotivated to blog.

This post is so long overdue. I have posted since July of this year. Almost 4 months passed. But I wan't to document my 10 years wedding anniversary with J. Our wedding anniversary was on May 18. I know! Like I said, long overdue, really. We celebrated it in one of our vacation place to spend our staycation  - Jebel Sifah. I have several blog posts about Jebel Sifah but since I lost most of content - it evaporated into cloud of smokes from the internet. But anyway, we celebrated our anniversary on exactly on May 18 but in between Zeke's birthday which was on May 9 and May 18. I got a free weekend to celebrate with my family.

Jebel Sifah is 1 hour drive from Muscat. We have stayed in a rented apartment there 2x and in their hotel, Sifawy Boutique Hotel, 2-3x, I think. We just love the feel of the place. It has relaxing atmosphere. Lots of space of the kids to play around. There are several pools for us to choose from in the area. We love hanging out at the lovely atmosphere in The Bank Beach Club where we get to have a free swim too in their pool.

We choose to stay in the previous rented apartment to save cost. We are cutting expenses and saving up. We bought a cake and some snacks. We, of course, did our mandatory family picture before we head out to The Bank.

After a bit of rest, we headed to The Bank for a swim and we will be having dinner there. The music was lively. There were a lot of people there. It was different from the pandemic days when the place was very quiet and hardly anyone was there. We loved it! We just enjoyed our time there. We got some snacks from their restaurant and J bought some beers. We stayed there up to dinner time.

After dinner, we stopped by the nearby convenience store, we got some prepacked Starbucks coffee for me & J and mini milk boxes for the kids to go with our late night dessert  of donuts we bought with us  in our rented unit. 

The next day, we lazed around the apartment then we fixed our things to head back to Muscat. We made the kids play for a bit in the playground before we left. We drove to a mall in Muscat for lunch, a little strolling and grocery shopping. 

That is it for our combo celebration of Zeke's birthday and J & I 10th wedding anniversary. Do you want me to share 10 things I've learned from my 10 years marriage? Maybe that would be my next topic for my next blog post. I hope I will be more motivated to update this space more often.

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MY BLOGGING JOURNEY AND HOW NICE TO BE BACK HERE IN BLOGGER

A few weeks ago, I thought I lost my blog forever......

But I am glad I got it back, even just partially. I learned about blogging from my dear friend Wein, who told me about this blogging like it is an online diary. You see, I love writing. If I am not a doctor, I rather be a writer, if only it can support me financally. So the blogging idea appeals to me. However, I was ambivalent with writing down my thoughts and the invasion of my privacy. I remember how I started writing about how hard my Neurology exam in medical school and I was so scared my Neurology professor will see what I wrote online, I deleted it after writing two sentences in the blog. Then I said I am too cowardly to do this.

By 2008, I just passed my medical board exam. Before I was entering into my Family Medicine residency training, I went to a pilgrimage trip with wonderful young ladies to Sydney, Australia. After our wonderful experience there, we wanted to keep in touch, so we opened a Multiply account (now defunct) that is similar to Friendster and MySpace (remember these?). The Multiply network can allow us to tabs of each other and it has a space to create blog entries which was really cool. KC Concepcion used to have a Multiply account during her school days in Paris and she post lovely blog entries with photos of her life in Paris. So I eventually started writing there and eventually move to Blogpost (or Blogger) when my sister encourage me to join her there. That was 2009. I was a Family Medicine resident training in a hospital in Iloilo City, my hometown in the Philippines. I enjoy writing entries after entries on my blog  - www.littlemisshoney.blogspot.com, though sometimes not really consistently. I started dating my husband in 2010. I enormously enjoyed my blog stories and he encourage me to keep writing. And writing, I did. I wanted to monetise my blog and to actually feel like a "real" blogger with brand collaboration, sponsorships and more readership. Frankly, I didn't know how to do reach that but I just continued writing on my blog. My writing voice would change from time to time, mimicking blog voices of other bloggers. I really didn't have enough blog identity to begin with. 

By 2012, I got a job offer in Singapore and started working there by the end of the year. By 2013, I told myself I want to improve my blog and become a legit blogger. First I got my own domain and removed the blogspot in url. I migrated to Wordpress and said goodbye to Blogspot/Blogger. I got a professional blog coach to evaluate my blog and give me pointers how to improve my blogs. She gave me wonderful advice and I even hired a web designer to design my blog. I joined Facebook blogging communities in Singapore. And slowly, I started working with different brands. I would received emails from brands and  PR agency inviting me for blogging events and collaboration. I got lots of freebies, free food tasting, and got modestly paid for it. I met wonderful friends through blog events and had an amazing experiences. It was an awesome gig! I worked with Zalora, SK II, Sephora, Pink Parlour, Tobi, St. Ives, and many more. I enjoyed it immensely though it was difficult juggling it being a mom of young kids. There were times when I did get burnt out. And my love for writing was replace by the need to get more followers in Instagram to keep up with my blogger colleagues. It was all about having more followers to attract brand sponsorships and PR companies. I didn't like that aspect of the blogging world but I have to play that game to keep up. I hate marketing myself and I just want to write. I also have that nagging feeling to keep my life private. 

By 2019, I moved to Oman with my family for another work opportunity. Life in Oman was more laid-back. I relaxed more and I blogged less. Plus we didn't have any helper in Oman so even if my work life in Oman  is relatively relaxed compared to my work in Singapore and work hours are quite short here, when I get home I have to do some house chores and take care of the kids than take some quiet time to blog. I started to become more private that I even stopped posting in Instagram by early of 2022. Though I was still blogging on & off, with long gaps of months in between. I wasn't ready to give up blogging just yet.

Early this year, my website crashed. Sometimes, this would happen and my blog host, GoDaddy, would be able to fix it. But after  3 calls with GoDaddy IT people, they were able to get my website back up. I have to accept the inevitable - I will have to say goodbye to my blog. I told my blog host to delete my hosting even if it means that  will lost my content. I do I lament at the lost content from 2013 to early of 2023. Those years were the years that I was on my A-game in blogging. But thank God, I still have some bits of it, ready to be resurrected. I will still need to fix a bit of my blog because it is not quite there yet. I am taking my time. This is not a race. Hopefully, I can fully put it back again. I hope to monetise it too. I want to write as I used to write, with my voice to tell a story and share a thought, not to become a emotionless copywriter to promote products only because it is the assignment. I will continue writing here. I will write more..... soon.....

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HOW I STARTED FANGIRLING AUDREY HEPBURN EVEN BEFORE IT BECAME A TREND AMONG MY GENERATION

Those who knows me knows that my favorite celebrity of all time is AUDREY HEPBURN. Not the popular actress or social media biggies of these days but an actress from the 1950's. 

 

Let me tell you when I discovered Audrey Hepburn. I was 1st year high school, around 12-13 years old. We just got cable TV. Our local cable station would have one channel which they would play movies after movies before there were HBO and CINEMAX, and of course, NETFLIX came later. We often get excited what they will show on that channel. We can even request sometimes the movies they can play, much like requesting from a DJ in a radio station. Though often they would say yes but never complied to our request. My siblings and I would constantly battle for the remote control until I just gave up, giving my sister and brother (our other youngest brother was not born yet) to fight for it daily. 

 

One morning when I woke up, my brother who won the remote control battle that day (and my sister is nowhere to be found) told me that you like become a nun right, there is a movie about a nun in the TV. You can watch that and handed me the remote. He might have gotten tired of watching so much TV that  morning or my brother was just being gracious to me that day. Trivia about me: When I entered high school, I was enrolled in an all-girls high school run by nuns. I loved their systematic schedule; their prayer time and meal time are based on a ringing of the bell; their early morning mass; their minimalistic cloister. I also developed a deep personal relationship with God that I felt like I had a calling to become a nun. My siblings would weirdly look at me when I would put a white cloth (lampin) over my head with the end just like nuns, with the two sides tucked underneath the back of my hair, as I go about my day in the house. They would find me sometimes prostrate on the ground with my face down with my hand spread in the side looking like a cross when I pray. So the people at home are well aware of my obsession to become a nun during the early part of my high school life. (Think Winona Ryder in the movie, Mermaids.)

 

So back to that day when my brother handed me the remote to watch this black & white movie about a nun. The movie is called "The Nun's Story" starring Audrey Hepburn. I thoroughly loved the movie and the actress. I even called my mother in the phone who is working in an office (we often call her in her work from time to time) and asked her if she knows Audrey Hepburn. I am also a fan of those TNT black & white movies. The local cable TV showed several movies starring Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast in Tiffany's and The Unforgiven. I grew to like her more and more. I started find articles about her too in my mother's magazine subscription.

 

When my family moved to Saudi Arabia when I was around 14-15 years old. My father's company has this huge library for staff and their family to use. I started checking out books about Audrey Hepburn - her life, her style, her beauty. The more things I learned about her, the more I even liked her more. I love her classic style. I love her fashion sense. I love the little black dress, the white big button down shirt with a black tights, her ballet flats. I learned about her humanitarian project and her connection to UNICEF. Not only is she a wonderful actress with a great sense of style but an amazing kind selfless person too. 

 

When I got older, my admiration for her never waiver. I started collecting books about her, memorabilia, photos, poster, necklace and makeup pouch which her photo on it. I just adore her.  I dont often have a favorite current Hollywood or local actress favorite except for Audrey Hepburn.

 

 I will leave you a poem that Audrey Hepburn recited during one of her UNICEF speeches.

 

 

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

 

For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, 

reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

(From: https://thelaglow.com/audrey-hepburn-beauty-tips-poem/)

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I AM BACK!

Yesterday, I thought I lost my blog forever. Technically, it did got lost. I have been blogging at www.littlemisshoney.com since 2013 but 2 days ago, my blog site crashes. The screen flashed - Critical Error. I reached out to GoDaddy several times. They told me to check in after 30 minutes to 1 hour and my site will back up. I waited for 24 hours. www.littlemisshoney.com is not yet back on. I called them again and realized that they can't fix it. So I have to decide yesterday with heavy heart to say goodbye to my beloved 14 years old blog. I told the GoDaddy technician to delete my website hosting. 

Since yesterday, I was thinking of starting a new blog at either blogger (blogspot) again or wix. I been coming up of new names for a new url. I tried to open a blogger window and I connected with my google account. Lo and behold, my old blog prior to my migration to a my custom domain is still here. All the articles and photos from 2009 to early 2013 are still here. I am so delighted! I am currently writing under my littlemisshoney.blogspot. I still have my domain -littlemisshoney.com. I can't bear to lose that. I was surprised that if I sell my domain today. It cost $1,175 already! But I don't think I am going to part with it though.

So here I am blogging in this space again. I have been thinking.... Should I change my blog & url name?

Here are few ideas:

Little Missus Honey - www.littlemissushoney.com

Honey B Inspired Living - www.honeybinspiredliving.com

Honey B Lifestyle - www.honeyblifestyle.com

Or I will stick to Little Miss Honey - www.littlemisshoney.com

I may still be keeping the blogspot.com for now. I am too scare to toggle and probe my old blog and lose the data.

I also deactivated the comment section of the blog because I don't want to attract spam comments which maybe the reason why blog crashed.

I can be reached through my email: littlemisshoneyblog@gmail.com or DM me at my instagram at www.instragram.com/littlemisshoney

Update you soon guys! Bye for now!

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FOUND FOUNDER BAK KU TEH

My friends and I heard about another popular dish in Singapore called the Bak Ku Teh. It is a pork rib soup filled with strong and delicious herbs and spices. One Saturday afternoon, we headed to Rangoon Road to test this dish. We chose one of the most popular Bak Ku Teh branch in Singapore. The locals say if you want to try Bak Kuh The, go to Founder.  Bak Ku Teh is usually a breakfast meal but we decided to have some in a late Saturday afternoon anyway.

After  a few directions given by our google map app, we found Founder Bak Kuh Teh in Rangoon.

The place was packed with people. We were given a table outside. The restaurant wall is filled with pictures of (I assume) famous people together with Mr. Founder himself.

With the help of a very nice waitress in the restaurant, we ordered 3 Bak Kuh Teh, 1 Pig Trotter and Sautéed Vegetables.

BAK KUH TEH 6.50 SGD

Don't let this simple looking soup fool you. This soup packs a mean yummy punch! We all love it! It has a strong delicious taste but not too herbally to put us off. It has a bit of a sourish to mild spicy taste in it. It reminds us of our own Kansi in Iloilo but with thicker soup. The ribs was tender and tasty too.If you have slurp up most of your soup, the waitresses would be willing to serve you more (free) soup. Yes, kaldo, hehe.  We ate the Bak Kuh The with rice, of course. It also comes with you tiao, a fried dough, to dip in your Bak Kuh Teh.

YOU TIAO

We also love the pig trotter. It reminds us of the patatim in Iloilo. It is perfect when dipped in their spicy soy sauce.

PIG TROTTER 7 SGD

The meat was so tender. We are sure they might have the meat boiled for very long hours. We didn't even have to wrestled with out spoons and forks to shred the meat. It has a mildly sweet sauce and a serving enough for a group of five, even six.

We got sautéed vegetables to counteract the flavors of the Bak Kuh Teh and Pig Trotter. It was surprisingly good. And it perfectly neutralized the strong taste of the two dishes.

SAUTÉED VEGETABLES  3.00 SGD

We were very satisfied with the Bak Kuh Teh at Founder. I will definitely take my husband and sister there again.

 Any other Bak Kuh Teh in Singapore you can recommend for me?

Founder Bak Kuh Teh

154 Rangoon Road

Singapore 218431

+65-62920938

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BOOK REVIEW: JODI PICOULT'S VANISHING ACTS

I am in a Jodi Picoult phase right now. My sister and I are crazy about her novels. I believe she is pure genius, breaking boundaries and writing about controversial topics in a very empathic and touching voice. I also vowed I should stop reading her books because some topics could be a bit depressing and heartbreaking. But I couldn't seem to stay away from borrowing more of her books.

Vanishing Acts is the second novel I read of Jodi Picoult after blowing me away with the "The Storyteller". Vanishing Acts' storyline remind me of that acclaimed Filipino film starring Claudine Baretto, Diether Ocampo and Jericho Rosales, "Nasaan Ka Man. Three friends growing up together and both guys falling in love with the girl. Of course, the girl falls in love with only one of them. But no, not one of them is a killer nor the other a bad guy unlike the Filipino movie. It is also more about a story of a love of a parent and the measures he/she will do for the love of his/her child. *Spoiler Alert. Delia, the protagonist, learned only that she was kidnapped at a very young age by her dad when police came to their house to arrest her father. Now, she has to ask her fiancé (one of her childhood friend) to be the lawyer to defend her dad in court. Delia, who is a mother herself, struggles with this new revelation in her life. What if her child was taken by her child's father too, away from her? Would she've done the same thing if she was in his dad's position?

In the novel, you realise the special bond that God had created for a child and parent. It is precious, extraordinary and blessing.  It is a blessing that comes with tremendous sacrifices and selfless acts to testify your love for God's gift to you. Reading this, I salute all parents and my parents especially. Our parents will always have our best interest at heart. They will do anything to give us a better future and protect us from harm even if it means sacrificing their own life, their career, their freedom...

Book Club points for discussion:

1. Who would you want Delia to end up with? Eric or Fitz and why?

2. Would you've done the same thing that Delia's dad did for her?

3. Which celebrity actress you think should best play Delia? 

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HONEYMOON IN THREE COUNTRIES

J and I were psyched for our honeymoon trip. We both love to travel and it was our first time to travel together abroad. We decided to have our honeymoon in three places: HONGKONG, MACAU and SINGAPORE.

HONGKONG

We are a total geeks. We spent out honeymoon in a Science Museum, hehe. We also did a lot of crazy poses at the Avenue for the Stars and hang out for a bit of fresh air at Victoria Harbor.

We did a bit of window night shopping at Temple Street and Mongkok Market. We sampled the HongKong cuisine. Some we like, some we will never try again, ever, hahaha!

We went to Central and rode the tram to The Peak. We love it there. We also visited the Madame Taussauds' Wax Museum. We had so much fun there. I am so happy to be sitting beside my idol, Audrey Hepburn, even if she was just made up of wax, hehe.

Of course, even with a limited time, we dropped by Disneyland. Too bad, our flight was on the same day we went to Disney so we hurried to the airport and we weren't able to catch the fireworks. We will be back, HongKong Disneyland! We promise!

MACAU

Macau is just a ferry-ride away from HongKong. J and I visited this Asian mini-Las Vegas even on a rainy day.

Visiting and exploring the different casinos and hotels in Macau was cool. We get to transfer from one casino to another with the free shuttle buses of the hotel, not to mention free mineral waters in every hotel. People in Macau gives  away a lot of free stuff, hehe. Our favourite casinos are Venetian, the new Galaxy and The City of Dreams with their digital mermaids swimming about.

We give the Macau food with its Portuguese influence a four-thumbs up. We love their food. We love their egg tarts, their bakwa and other yummy dishes. If only we can bring a box load of egg tarts and it won't get spoiled.

Getting to know the history and culture of Macau, one must definitely visit Senado Square, The Ruins and The Mount Fortress. I love visiting these spots because it is what made me fell in love with Macau before, and of course the area near the ruins where vendors would shove free bakwa on our faces. Hahaha! I love it!

SINGAPORE

The last leg of our Asian honeymoon was in Singapore. My hubby was accompanying me back to the place where I am currently residing because of work. It was nice to walk the streets and the places I know in Singapore having him beside me. 

Singapore is a shopping city, so many malls and all the signature brands are crawling in this city. We took a stroll in the busy shopping center of Singapore: Orchard. I also made J try my fave Singaporean foods: chicken rice, prawn mee,, bbq chicken wings, etc.

By nightfall, we went to Marina Bay to see the wonderful lights that illuminates this Lion City. We also caught a bit of the nightly water fountain show on the decks of Marina Bay Sands.

Last but not the least, we have to experience the Universal Studios together. And it was awesomely-great! It was amazing to be trying all the rides, scary or not scary, with someone beside you who you know will be there for you in times when it may be scary in life or not. We had a jolly good time.

I find the Mummy ride still scary but since I am with J so I didn't mind. But we both find the Cylon roller coaster to be kick-ass! One more time? Yeah!

Can't wait for more travel adventures with my hubby.... :)

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