Make Miracles Happen with the Miracle Machine

Kraft, through Miracle Whip, wants to whip up miracles outside the kitchen for this Christmas. It is inspired by the collective efforts during Typhoon Ondoy last year when many people turned to social networking sites like Facebook to mobilize rescue, feeding and rehabilitation efforts.

Out of this inspiration, they created the Miracle Machine, a Facebook application whose objective is quite simple: to get people, their friends, and their friends' friends working together to make miracles happen for the less fortunate.

11 beneficiary organizations were selected after a screening process. Each organization was asked what their Christmas wish was. Beginning December 1 and every day thereafter, an organization will be featured by the Miracle Machine with a list of tasks that volunteers like us can fulfill if it is within our capabilities.

The idea is that each of us is a working part of this machine. For every task that each of us can do for any or all of these beneficiaries, your name will be put on a cog and added to the Miracle Machine. If all tasks are fulfilled by the end of the 12 days, the Miracle Machine will work perfectly and all 11 beneficiary organizations would have their Christmas wishes fulfilled.

Will you help whip up miracles for these 11 beneficiaries? It's very simple.

Krispy Kreme's Ho-Ho-Holiday Doughnuts Are Here

This was the surprise that arrived today. Krispy Kreme's holiday doughnuts are out!!!

Kids really love the way Krispy Kreme celebrates events and special occasions because they come up with the most creative, yummy-looking doughnuts. My own kids love Krispy Kreme a lot.

There are three variants this year. First is Mr. Snowman. He was around last year too with his red and green scarves but they gave him a slightly new look this year. Next is the vanilla-frosted square-shaped doughnuts decked with green and red icing ribbons. They almost look like tiny presents. And third is the round-shaped doughnuts with vanilla frosting and green and red sprinkles.

My Christmas doughnuts came in a very simple but elegant-looking metal Krispy Kreme can in Christmas-y colors. 

If you are still wondering what to give family and friends for Christmas, look no further. Your yummy present will look great packaged in a KK box like this one.

And yes, I had to hurriedly take pictures of the doughnuts before all my kids come home from school and devour them all. :-)

Visit any of the following Krispy Kreme Branches: Bonifacio High Street, Greenhills Shopping Center Drive-Thru, SM Mall of Asia, Trinoma Cinema Level, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia Drive-Thru, Ayala Avenue, Robinsons Galleria, Gateway Mall, Glorietta 4, SM City Annex (North EDSA), Annex 2 SM Fairvew, Eastwood, Marquee Mall Pampanga, SM San Lazaro, SM Manila, Robinsons Place Manila, Paseo Center (Makati City) and Valero (Makati City) or call 0917-8053000. Also, be sure to log on to www.krispykreme.com.ph and be a Friend of Krispy Kreme to get updates.

Penshoppe Style Closet Goes on a Mobile Tour

A makeover is coming to your office or school!!!

Penshoppe is stepping out of its stores!

That's right. The Penshoppe Style Closet will be traveling to selected schools and offices in a few weeks. It is a real walk-in closet with several cubicles and rows of clothes and accessories. Stylists will assess your style, skin color and body physique and recommend a combination of outfits that suit you.

Here's how the mobile tour will go:

1. On announced dates, the Penshoppe Style Closet will travel to a specific school or office. Their "spotters" will choose students/office workers who will get a VIP pass. (Hint: if you want to increase your chances of being "spotted", dress up a bit more on the day they visit your office/school)

2. If you are one of the lucky ones given a VIP pass, it entitles you to a makeover from a Penshoppe stylist. That means you get to try out recommended outfits inside the Style Closet. As a token of appreciation from Penshoppe, you will get a free pair of jeans.

3. Those given VIP passes may also be given up to two more VIP passes that you can give to your best friends so they can also enjoy the experience like you. (Hint: if a spotter did not choose you to get a VIP pass, at least befriend someone who did so you also get a pass, hahaha)

4. Those who are not chosen to receive VIP passes but are interested in buying Penshoppe items will be given 10% discount.

My stylist, Mia, dressed me up in a black tank top, draped a circular, black & white scarf around me (I love the versatility of this type of scarf!), and black bead accessories.

(Mia)

And this was how she dressed me up!

Mobile Tour Schedules

As of this posting, here are the schedules for the mobile tour of the Style Closet as provided by Penshoppe:

1. Nov. 22, 23 and 24 – UA&P (confirmed)

2. Nov. 25 and 26 – St. Benilde (confirmed)
3. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 – UP (confirmed)
4. Dec. 2 and 3 – UST
5. Dec. 6 and 7 – ATENEO
6. Dec. 9 and 10 – Pacific Star/PBCOM
7. Dec. 13 and 14 – Pacific Star/PBCOM
8. Dec 15, 16 and 17 - Teletech

Watch for the Penshoppe Style Closet on these dates. Who knows? You may just get an instant clothes makeover.

One Day Only: Goodles Pasta for P100 Only

Some time back, several of us bloggers were treated to the soft launch of Goodles, a new concept in pasta-to-go. Gourmet pasta, the kind you normally have in sit-down fancy restaurants, are now available in to-go tubs that you can take with you into the moviehouse.

Goodles uses traditional imported Italian pastas and handcrafts its deliciously rich sauces using all natural farm fresh ingredients, pure dairy products, hormone-free meats, extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs and spices.

My favorite of all the items is Grape Carbonara, carbonara with a twist -- it had grapes!

On November 24, 2010 (take note, just this day and no other), Goodles will drop their prices on select popular Goodles pasta to only P100 in celebration of its 1st anniversary. Promo is good for dine-in and take-away (delivery not included).

(click to see enlarged photo)

Live Curious, NatGeo and Regatta Say

When my kids were small, they'd pester me with so many quetions. Why is the sky blue? Is there really a man on the moon? How does Santa distribute the gifts all over the world in just one night? 

As they grew older, curiosity continued but this time the questions had to do with more mature topics. Why is my body changing? Why is breakfast important? Even the proverbial -- Why do we have to have homework on weekends?

Studies have shown that curiosity is what leads to experimentation, discovery and more learning. When a child asks a lot of questions, it is because that child is thinking about things that don't make sense to him at that age. This is the start of what will later become research - a longing to find the answer.

The National Geographic Channel (NGC) recognizes that living the curious life leads to myriad possibilities for adventure and knowledge so it wants to continue promoting this trait in the young people of today.

NatGeo, as it is called for short, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. It has produced beautiful magazines that take you on adventures as you turn the magazine pages, teaching you more and more about places you have never been to, making you aware of the environment, the wonder of archaeology, appreciation for natural science and better awareness of geography. With the advent of cable, NatGeo created its own channel, showing the beauty of our world and its creatures. Truly, NGC is one of my favorite TV channels.

NatGeo has tied up with Regatta, a leisure wear brand that offers high-quality casual wear, as both of them share similar values, i.e., promoting the love for a good life as well as love for adventure.

They've launched the "Live Curious" campaign which believes that no matter what country we live in and regardless of the language we speak, "Everything deserves a 'Why'". This slogan is now one of several statement shirts launched and available at all Regatta boutiques nationwide when you sign up for a National Geographic society membership.

The Pacman Up Close

The whole Philippines stands still today. Very few vehicles were on the road when I went out earlier. Almost the entire country is at home, at pay-per-view establishments or on the internet intently looking for livestreaming links.

I had the chance to meet Manny Pacquiao a few months back. He was shooting a TV commercial for a pain-relieving drug, Alaxan FR, and I stayed quietly in the background watching him go through the shoots, joking with the staff in between takes, and noting how lean and muscular, absolutely no excess fat, and lithe his body was (a sign of the rigorous training and care he had for his body).

Oh Baby! All Natural Baby Food

All my four kids grew up on imported and locally available baby food. I guess I could say I had no choice then. I was a working Mom and had no time to osterize or blend baby food on demand. I just had to trust that the people behind these baby food lived up to the quality standards appropriate for baby consumption.

Recently, I was invited to an intimate gathering of mommies and bloggers. A locally made line of all-natural baby food was being launched - Oh Baby!

My curiosity was piqued. My kids are all teens and adults so why did I want to go to this launch? Mainly because I am a Mom and I know that many of my younger friends and blog readers are moms or soon-to-be Moms and if this product was any good, I want to put it out for them to have a choice as to what to give their youngsters.

I got to meet the two mommy chefs behind Oh Baby! -- Christina Trillana-Lagdameo and Rebecca Disini-Gomez. Tina studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. She has an Associate of Occupational Studies in Culinary and is Safe Serve Certified. While there, she worked as a line cook in Tabla Restaurant and Catering Manager at Dean and Deluca. Rebecca pursued her passion for food in Le Cordon Bleu in London and graduated with a Cuisine Diploma. She is Food Safety and Hygiene Certified by the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene. She also got to work for Unilever as Regional Chef for Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Mommy Rebecca (L) and Mommy Tina (R) with their babies

Both mommies were high school classmates who pursued culinary courses abroad. When they got married and had kids, they began wondering what preservatives were inside the jarred baby food and teething biscuits they'd buy in the grocery especially since they knew there had to be some amount of preservatives in it so it could have a longer shelf life.

It wasn't long before they figured that putting their culinary skills to task to produce tasty and nutritious meals for babies was the next step. And why stop at giving these to their own babies? They could also make these available to other moms who had no time to prepare these food and would end up buying commercially available ones. Thus, Oh Baby! was born.

Have You Kik'd Anyone Yet?

Got an Android, iOS or Blackberry smartphone? Then you need to check out Kik Messenger, the latest viral app that allows free texting crossing all 3 platforms.

It's FREE. It's pretty fast (real-time). And it's VIRAL! 

According to the Kik blog, they launched Oct. 19, 2010 with 0 users and hit 1 million in just 15 days. If that's not viral, I don't know what is!

I downloaded it just tonight after reading a Tech Crunch article about it being viral. Then I posted notices on my Plurk and Facebook accounts. In just a few hours, several of my friends and family have already joined my network. Here's what the screen looks like.

(Source: Kik Blog)

I also got to text back and forth with friends using all 3 platforms and it works. Beautifully! The user interface is very simple and a new feature it has that was not present in Ping Chat which I used to use (only good among iPhone users) is that it has 3 icons that change status beside each of your posts. S = Sending. D = Delivered. R = Read. Woot!

To download Kik from your smartphone, click HERE.

Congrats to the entire Kik team. I really hope you guys can sustain the amazing exponential growth and keep downtime or lag to the barest minimum.

As for me, if Kik works as they tout it, this might just be my solution to this carrier that did away with their unlimited text promo for Christmas and New Year. Cheers!

The Kik Team celebrating the 1M crossover

(Source: Kik Blog)

Contest: Win a Ticket to See the Pacquiao-Margarito LIVE with Alaxan FR

This coming November 14, our very own Manny Pacquiao will once again do battle. This time, the crown at stake is the vacant WBC Super Welterweight Championship and his fight will be against Mexican Antonio Margarito, former WBA Welterweight Champion.

Once again, this fight can be watched live in different Pay-Per-View (PPV) locations around the Philippines as fans and kababayans empty the streets to watch Pacquiao go up against Margarito.

Alaxan FR is hosting a contest that will give you a chance to win one (1) FREE PPV ticket to see the Pacquiao fight at selected SM Cinemas. And you have 5 chances (5 days) to win that prized ticket. It's simple. Here's how.

Sunsilk's Co-Creations Shampoo Line

Have you gone to the supermarket lately and checked out the shampoo aisle? You probably will notice a whole new line of Sunsilk shampoo products. This is their Co-Creations line.

Why "Co-Creations"? Well, Sunsilk has partnered with some of the best international hair experts to come up with a range of shampoo products that address just about every type of hair concern consumers have. These experts have done the tresses of top models and celebrities in different fields and by partnering with Sunsilk, they bring their expertise and knowledge of hair into each of the products in this Co-Creations line.

Our hair can no longer be handled by just one type of shampoo and conditioner. Situations change. Sometimes, we have hair that is limp and dry due to sun exposure. Other times, we suffer from dandruff. Still other times, hair could become damaged due to color treatments or other hair chemicals applied. In each instance, hair needs a different treatment to squarely address the concern at hand. This is why Sunsilk has this whole range of products, each one with a formulation targeted at a particular need.

Sunsilk sent me their Co-Creations line (plus the complete Creamsilk conditioner line to match as well) to try over the next few months. My kids and I just finished our old bottles of shampoo last night so we are excited to see how this Sunsilk line will work for us.

To help you out with your choice of shampoo next time you're at the supermarket, let me walk you through a short guide. 

Please note that the shampoo descriptions, representations as to what it can do for the hair, as well as contents of its formulation were lifted from Sunsilk's press kit.