GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE: Spice Girls

SPICE GIRLS is my favorite girl group when I was young. I remember that the CD's and tapes that they had came in different colors! I remember, my dad bought me a tape that came in color blue. It was my favorite color back then. I used to play the tape in the car all the time that my parents and brother knew all the songs after some time.

They started out in the music industry in 1994. There are 5 members in the group: Victoria Adams (now Beckham), Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm. They also have their own nicknames too.

Victoria Beckham as POSH SPICE

Melanie Chisholm as SPORTY SPICE

Emma Bunton as BABY SPICE

Geri Halliwell as GINGER SPICE

Melanie Brown as SCARY SPICE

These were how they looked when they first came out. Every time they have music videos or tours or media representations, they would dress up as their spice nickname. I loved all their music videos because they were so girly and dancy. Ofcourse, that was when I was still young!

This was their comeback during the Victoria's Secret fashion show singing Stop. How I wish they went here to the Philippines to have a comeback concert. If they did, I will surely watch it!! They all look so different now! I love all their songs!

• Stop
• Spice Up Your Life
• Wannabe
• Who Do You Think You Are
• Holler
• And the list goes on!!
  
  
  
  

I remember that when I was in grade 2, 5 of my classmates were copying the Spice Girls! They acted as if they were the Spice Girls by bringing accessories in school. They even named themselves after each Spice Girl. They were soo funny!

GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE: Backstreet Boys

BACKSTREET BOYS is another boyband I used to like when I was still young. The group started out in the music industry in 1993 together with 98 Degrees and N'sync. The group has 5 members: Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson. They released 5 albums from 1993-2000 and made their comeback last 2005. Since then, they have released 4 more albums to the present.

Backstreet Boys have sung different soundtracks for movies such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996), Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997), Princess Diaries (2001) and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). They have also won numerous awards and have collaborated with a lot of singers and producers in the music industry. Such collaborations are with T-Pain, Akon and Neyo.

My favorite song from Backstreet Boys is All I Have to Give.

I don't know, what he does to make you cry

But I'll be there to make you smile

I don't have, a fancy car

To get to you I'd walk a thousand miles

I don't care, if he buys you nice things

Does his gifts come from the heart?

I don't know

But if you were my girl, I'd make it so we'd never be apart

But my love is all I have to give

Without you I don't think I can live

I wish I could give the world to you

But love is all I have to give

When you talk, does it seem like he's not even listening to a word you say?

That's ok baby

Just tell me your problems

I'll try my best to kiss them all away

Does he leave, when you need him the most

Does his friends get all your time?

Baby please, I'm on my knees

Praying for the day that you'll be mine

But my love is all I have to give

Without you I don't think I can live

I wish I could give the world to you

But love is all I have to give

Hey girl, I don't want you to cry no more inside

Oooh, all the money in the world

Could never add up to all the love I have inside

But my love is all I have to give

Without you I don't think I can live

I wish I could give the world to you

But love is all I have to give

To you

Oooohh

Without you I don't think I can live

Give the world to you, lady

But love is all I have to give

That's all I got to give

GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE: Polly Pocket

POLLY POCKET is a toy where you can bring anywhere you go. As the name implies, "pocket". It is handy and includes little people to go along with the toy. There are a lot of themes to choose from, a house that has living rooms, televisions, bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, etc. to pools, shopping malls, libraries, tree houses, and a whole lot more! It's nice to play with because there are little people included and you can move them around the place.

This is the tree house theme. I used to enjoy playing with these with my friends because when were together, we combine all our Polly Pockets and play with them together. What is also interesting with Polly Pocket is that it comes in different sizes, colors and shapes. Some would come in a heart, square, circle, flower, and oblong shapes.

This is the church wedding themed Polly Pocket. I didn't have this kind but it's a very interesting piece because the people who are included are dressed up in a wedding gown and a suit. It really looks like a church with all the flower details and wedding essentials.

I had this Polly Pocket pencil box when I was in grade 2 or 3. It was a rectangular shaped pencil box that comes with a theme. There are different colors to choose from and mine was pink. My classmates and I would play with our pencil boxes when we were bored in class or during break time. MY favorite Polly Pocket is the swimming pool theme. Aside from the people included wearing bikins and floaters, you can actually put water in it and press a button to create a splash. I loved it so much, it was my favorite piece. I miss my Polly Pocket sets!

GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE: Barbie

BARBIE BARBIE BARBIE! As a young girl, I wasn't a fan of dolls. I didn't like their hair, their eyes, specially those with rolling or closing eyes! They freak me out! But, there was one time when my older cousin introduced me to Barbie, she played with me the whole afternoon and I enjoyed playing with it. She even wore this Mickey Mouse hat, which the Barbie doll also has. Since then, I started to like Barbie dolls. Everytime we go out of the country, my grandpa would get me a Barbie doll from Toys R Us and I'd be the happiest kid! Ohh. I miss those times!

Barbie has been there for 50years now. They just celebrated Barbie's 50th anniversary! All I can say is that, it is really something that little girls wouldn't miss in their childhood. Most of the little girls would have atleast one Barbie doll in their life. As the years pass, Barbie is getting modern and modern and adapting to the styles of the present. They even came up with Barbies that has tatoos and different hair colors. During my time, there were only plain Barbies, the more simple ones. Now, when you enter a toy store, you'll be mesmerized with the diverse choices of Barbie dolls.

Barbie is fun to play with because you can change her clothes, accessories and fix her hair the way you want it to look. They even have little hangers for her clothes! Cuuute. They even have houses and parlors or gardens, and even cars! I even had this bathroom set together with Kelly, and they have tissue paper! It's the cutest!! I celebrated my 7th birthday with a Barbie theme. I had a Barbie doll on top of my cake and. . DISASTER strikes! Her dress got burned from the candle! Boo. Good thing, I was able to blow it immediately!

Ofcourse, Barbie wouldn't be complete without Ken!!

GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE: N'sync

So here's another boyband that I used to like when I was younger. N'SYNC is a pop group which started out in the music industry during 1995. Their first ever single released was I Want You Back, followed by Tearin Up My Heart and Here We Go. I love their songs because they're a combination of upbeat dancy songs and slow songs. They got the name N'sync from their names.

justi N

chri S

joe Y

lanste N (Originally came from Jason, a previous member of the group which was replaced by Lance)

j C

They went here in the Philippines when I was in grade 2, I think. I wasn't able to watch because I wasn't such a fan of them during that time. I had other stuff that I wanted. But now, I wish I was able to watch them! It would've been great watching them all together singing their songs. Now that they're not together as a band anymore, I heard that Justin Timberlake's going to have a concert here in the Philippines. I want to watch! But I'm sure it's going to be expensive!

Some of my favorite songs:

• This I Promise You
• God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You
• Drive Myself Crazy
• Pop
• Gone

GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE: Lisa Frank

LISA FRANK!!!!! I love. I was so inlove with Lisa Frank that all my notebooks and pencils in school were all Lisa Frank. I remember that I was given a whole set of Lisa Frank by my granparents, it was full of stickers, notebooks, pencils, etc. I was soo happy! I love Lisa Frank because of the designs, the characters and the colors. It was very attractive specially to kids like me during that time.

This was my favorite! I used to love unicorns! I don't know why, I just love them.

Here are the other characters of Lisa Frank:

• Rainbow Chaser - a brown horse with purple hooves
• Bananigans - a monkey with a rainbow banana
• Hollywood Bear - a bear in a tuxedo with a top hat
• Panda Painter - a panda in overalls with a large paintbrush
• Ballerina Bunnies - three rabbits who dance ballet
• Max Splash - an orca whale
• Markie - a unicorn with rainbow mane and tail
• Roary - a polar bear
• Mauly - the hippo
• Hunter - ayoung rainbow leopard
• Spotty and Dotty Paws - two dalmatians with rainbow-colored spots
• Peekaboo - a turtle with hippie-style flowers on his shell
• Skye - a pegasus like flying horse

The list goes on! They really have a lot!!

Lisa Frank is now back, but they changed how the characters look like. I still prefer the previous one because they're much cuter and unique. I think I'm biased but I still want the old Lisa Frank! I love the theme, it's full of colors specially purple, and it's full of stars, hearts, rainbows, and music notes!

GOING DOWN MEMORY LANE: 98 Degrees

Ok, so going back to my younger years. 98 degrees was one of my favorite boybands during that time, together with N'sync and Backstreet Boys. 98 degrees started out in the music scene in 1997, I was 9 years old then. I started to like them when I was in grade 4 or 5. In one of our free period classes, we were playing truth or dare and the bottle stopped in front of me. So I said, TRUTH. They asked me, who was my crush. I had nothing to answer. One of my classmates had a crush on Nick Lachey, the lead singer of 98 degrees. I said, "Ok, siya nalang din crush ko." But she said that we can't have the same crush so she said, why not Drew nalang? I said, "Ok sige." and that was it. Those were the kiddie days!

I watched their concert in Araneta Coliseum when they went here. I got so excited that my dad bought tickets for me but I'll be watching with them. Oh well, at least I get to watch, right? I loved the concert!

I like all of their songs but. . .

These are my favorite tracks:

• Still
• Beacuse of you
• This gift

I still listen to their songs sometimes and it just feels so good reminiscing those times that we were so into them.

HEALTHY MAKEOVER: Chicken Divan Casserole

CHICKEN DIVAN CASSEROLE is a pasta dish that has a creamy sauce. I love anything that has creamy white sauce! I love. This dish has creamy white sauce, chicken, and cheese! Which only means one thing, it is fatty and high in calories. But, good thing, there is an alternative for this dish which you can enjoy with the same taste and flavor but less the fat and calories.

HEALTHY MAKEOVER:

• Use 1% MILK THICKENED WITH FLOUR as the base of the sauce.
• Add PARMESAN CHEESE to add more flavor.
• Add MORE VEGETABLES to boost nutrients and fiber.
• Add 1 POUND OF CHOPPED BROCCOLI.
• Add 2 CUPS OF SLICED LEEKS.

See the big difference?

Start enjoying your favorite dish the healthier way!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER: Pepperoni Pizza

PIZZA PIZZA! It's the perfect snack to have with your family and friends. It is also a perfect combination for pasta. A lot of italian restaurants serve pizza with pasta. Yummy! One of my favorite pizza parlors is Amici. I love their 4 cheese pizza! My favorite! Pepperoni pizza is great for all ages, from kids (who don't eat vegetables) to adults (who are kids at heart). It is a simple-flavored pizza with only pepperoni as its topping together with cheese but it tastes so good!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER:

• Use WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA CRUST to boost fiber up to 50%.
• Use LOW-FAT MOZARELLA instead of using regular cheese to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Use LOW FAT TURKEY PEPPERONI instead of regular pepperoni.
• You can also use SLICED VEGETABLES as your toppings to increase nutrients from the pizza.

Start enjoying your favorite dish the healthier way!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER: Whoopie Pies

WHOOPIE PIES are the best! It is a cream filled chocolatey sandwich cookie. It is a cake-like chocolate sandwich. We have our version of this here, but instead of using cakey chocolate sandwich, they use crispy cookies and ice cream as their filling. it's a yummy dessert but it's really fatty! The combination of cream, cake and cookie is FAT. Here's a way to enjoy this pie guilt-free!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER:

• Use HEALTHY CANOLA OIL instead of vegetable shortening for the cookie.
• Use NON-FAT MILK instead of WHOLE MILK in the cookie.
• Use NON-FAT YOGHURT and WHIPPED CREAM THICKENED BY GELATIN instead of using whipped cream or marshmallow fluff.
• Make a whoopie pie with a SMALLER PORTION SIZE compared to the usual which is as big as a salad plate.

TRADITIONAL WHOOPIE PIES

Calories 679

Fat 36 g

Saturated Fat 9 g

Trans Fat 4 g

HEALTHY WHOOPIE PIES

Calories 202

Fat 11 g

Saturated Fat 4 g

Trans Fat 0 g

See the big difference?

Start enjoying your favorite dish the healthier way!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER: Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

PHILLY CHEESE STEAK SANDWICH is one of my favorite sandwiches! I love beef. I love how the beef combines perfectly with melted cheese! Yumm. I also love the fact that most of the philly cheese steak sandwiches here in Manila goes with french fries on the side. Perfect! But. . . what we don't know is that this sandwich contains a lot of calories, plus, the fat from the french fries on the side! So here's an alternative for this fatty but yummy sandwich!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER:

• Use PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM instead of using thin-sliced steak which came from a rich and fatty slab of beef.
• Use WHOLE GRAIN ROLL instead of using a white squishy one.
• Add ONIONS, MUSHROOMS, and PEPPER to still get that Philly Cheese Steak flavor.
• Use thinly-sliced reduced fat PROVOLONE CHEESE instead of using Cheese Whiz.

Also add CRISPY OVEN GRILLED POTATOES instead of french fries!

Start enjoying your favorite dish the healthier way!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER: Burgers

BURGERS is one of the most popular snack on fast food chains! Those thick beef patties are the juiciest and the yummiest! But it doesn't do our body good because of all the oil and the fats that it contributes! Oh my. So here's a healthy makeover recipe of our favorite burger!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER:

• ADD FLAVOR AND MOISTURE TO LEAN BURGERS like cheese, wild rice or barbecue sauce.
• Don't OVERCOOK the meat.
• MIX SEASONING INTO THE MEAT. Don't just sprinkle the seasoning (salt and pepper) into the meat.
• ADD A LEANER, NATURAL-TASTING MEAT like turkey or lamb to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Use FLAVOR COMBINATIONS from your favorite ethnic foods.

Start enjoying your favorite dish the healthier way!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER: Garden Pasta Salad

SALAD is one of the best appetizers for me! It's so good, and at the same time, you know that you are eating something healthy. But what you dont know is that, the dressing (Caesar, Thousand Island, or Vinaigrettes) that you put in your salad is your deadliest enemey here. That's what makes the salad good, but that's what makes you fat too.

Pasta Salad is usually made up of vinaigrette, oil or mayonnaise dressing which most of the time doesn't have much taste. It has differents kinds of toppings because it depends on the country and the preparer. But commonly used toppings are chicken, beef or pork and vegetables. Mayonnaise is mainly made up of vegetable oil and egg yolks. Fatty! And remember, it is used as the dressing. Imagine all the fat in it!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER:

• Use a mixture of REDUCED-FAT VARIETY, LOW-FAT YOGHURT AND A SPLASH OF FLAVORFUL OLIVE OIL to reduce the saturated fat content and cut down calories.
• Use WHOLE WHEAT PASTA instead of regular white pasta to add fiber.
• INCREASE portions of VEGETABLES (crunchy and colorful) like tomatoes, peppers, and carrots and lessen the pasta to have significantly fewer calories.
• BOOST BASIL because herbs produces so much flavor without increasing the sodium and fat content.

TRADITIONAL PASTA SALAD

Calories 573

Fat 41 g

Saturated Fat 8 g

Sodium 516 mg

Fiber 3 g






HEALTHY PASTA SALAD

Calories 205

Fat 9 g

Saturated Fat 2 g

Sodium 291 mg

Fiber 4 g





See the big difference?

Start enjoying your favorite dish the healthier way!

HEALTHY MAKEOVER: Waffles

WAFFLES WAFFLES WAFFLES. It's one of my favorite indulgences, whether for breakfast or for an afernoon snack. It feels so good waking up in the morning with the scent of golden crip waffles with that sweet maple syrup. Ofcourse, waffles are not complete without butter. Butter is one of our deadliest enemies (if you are health concious). Butter is made up of saturated fat which is not good for the body. But who can resist this yummy indulgence? I can't! It's so good!

While browsing through the internet, I found a site, Eating Well, wherein they are turning food recipes into healthy recipes. This gave me an idea for the blog because I want to share it to all of you so that you can still enjoy your favorite food, guiltless!





HEALTHY MAKEOVER:

• Use CANOLA OIL instead of butter to reduce calories and eliminate saturated fat.
• Use EGG WHITES instead of whole eggs to cut down on calories and saturated fat.
• Use ALL WHEAT FLOUR instead of all-purpose flour to add fiber.
• USe FRESH FRUITS or YOGHURT to top your waffle instead of whipped cream or additional butter and syrup.

TRADITIONAL WAFFLES

Calories 560

Fat 27 g

Saturated Fat 18 g

Sodium 938 mg

Fiber 2 g

HEALTHY WAFFLES

Calories 241

Fat 4 g

Saturated Fat 0 g

Sodium 450 mg

Fiber 3 g

See the big difference?

Start enjoying your favorite dish the healthier way!

SHOW TIME: Extreme Make Over Home Edition

EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION is a reality television series which provides home improvements and renovations to deserving families. Each episode, a family with an on-going challenge such as illness or caused by a natural disaster will be featured and will have their house renovated or demolished by Extreme Makeover. The whole renovation will last for 7 days while the family go on a vacation, all expense paid trip! The producers of the show don't pay for the cost and materials used in renovating the houses but they are mere donations from different organizations.

TY PENNINGTON is the host of Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

The design team of Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

I love this show because I love architecture. When I was in high school, I was thinking of taking up interior design but I'm not that good at drawing. So I ended up taking up Business Management and eventually shifting to Organizational Communication. If time allows me, I would still love to take up interior design courses. I love how the design team create the rooms with themes specifically to what the owners wanted. They have created many unique and creative rooms already. And, whenever they make a room or a backyard, they do it all out. When a child wants his room to be a race car theme, they would really put real cars as the frame of the child's bed. They really want to make every room and every place in the house special for the family. Whenever I watch this, I'm touched that there are still good people helping others who are in need. I love this show, it's really worth watching!

If you want to see how this show works, I have provided links for you.

EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION - BELL FAMILY

1 of 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdfyrVrX2IY
2 of 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d65JN4QhpFY&feature=related
3 of 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7gI6Wocd9o&feature=related

4 of 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TInXQyoS3w&feature=related

5 of 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iaoQ0UOwAA&feature=related

SHOW TIME: Project Runway

PROJECT RUNWAY is a show which focuses on fashion design. A group of contestants compete with each other to create their own clothes based on the theme per episode. They are restricted with time, money and materials that they have to create the best outfit. Each episode, one or more contestants can be eliminated. They are judged with the outfit they present to the judges.

Supermodel HEIDI KLUM is the host for Project Runway. She exudes beauty and has a keen taste in fashion. She is also the judge along with Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and Tim Gunn.

ULI HERZNER one of my favorite designers in Project Runway. She was only the runner up in Season 3, where Jeffrey Sebelia won. I absolutely love her final collection because it's super light and flowy, vibrant and edgy. I love her cuts because it's different, and all her clothes are wearable! I love the styles, the colors and the prints. I absolutely love every piece in her collection!

Here are some of the pieces from her collection.

LEANNE MARSHALL is also one of my favorite designers in Project Runway. She won the latest season, Season 5. I absolutely love her collection because of the design and color. I love how she worked with the waves and the folds. She definitely showed her style and range in her collection. I love the short dresses with the details! The colors are so calm, it reminds me of the ocean. I love her finale piece, the wedding gown. It was so nice! I'm actually considering the design to be my wedding gown in the future!


Here are some of the pieces from her collection.