Fitbit Alta HR announced!

Info and photo from Fitbit website

Finaaaally, Fitbit is releasing the much anticipated HR version of the Alta! So what's new? Well it has a heart rate monitor now (duh), an improved sleep tracker, and a buckle strap. Yey! And it costs $20 more than the debut price of Fitbit Alta. Fair enough?

Right now it's available for pre-order at $149.95. Expect it to be released around April in the US and Australia. It will be out on March 26 in the UK though. :)

I'm actually very happy about this and I think I'll get this version when my Alta retires && my wallet agrees. So far, it's done all the upgrades I wanted for the Alta, which is really just an HR monitor haha and a better strap. So plus points for changing the bands to a buckle strap yey! Curious about the improved sleep analysis though. Really, it can track the REM stage? Ooooh. But I figured, with a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking could be made more accurate so... argh I want to test this feature out! Oh wait, I hope they improved the charging cable. Can't be sure but looks like they didn't hehe. The original one has a clamp that's quite a hassle to put on. The clips on mine have actually snapped off already and is only being held by rubberbands haha. Looking forward to a wireless charging option in the future, or just a better charger design.

GPS? Nope it doesn't have one but since the Alta is geared towards the less hardcore fitness enthusiasts, dude this one's already too frkn feature packed (says someone who thought the Alta is enough)! :D

For more details, read here: Fitbit Alta HR

Related:
Fitbit Alta unboxing and review
Setting up Fitbit Alta for the first time

My 4 Dream Wedding Hairstyles

I got one of my good friends to be my hair and make-up artist for my wedding and we're both excited to plan for my look! I haven't really checked at the different hairstyles I could possibly wear but in my head I want something neat and clean. It's also because I wanted a lot of options for my hair that I'm growing it long. Right now it's dangling a few inches below the shoulder but here's to hoping it'll grow longer and more beautiful in time!

Here are a couple of styles I've searched around the web that I definitely want to wear on my big day:

1. Clean and neat up-do

Coupled with a pretty hairpiece, this definitely looks clean and elegant! I don't mind getting hair extensions just to achieve those clean buns. :D

2. Loose curls

Cheap African American wigs and discount wigs for women

Maybe good for a second look, after the ceremony. I've always dreamed of having long, flowy, and seemingly natural curls for an everyday look, but I'm not too keen on maintaining something like that so maybe I could indulge on one for my big day! I found these styles over at Cocowig.com, it's an online shop for high quality wigs and they have a vast collection of styles to choose from! I don't really suggest getting a wig for your wedding (lol, why not), but it's a pinterest of sorts for hairstyles with its huge gallery of inspriation. Check it out!

3. Short beach waves

12 Inches Wavy 120% Lace Front Cap Human Hair

Well, we're not holding a beach wedding but it's gonna me a very simple ceremony so I guess this casual look would be good too! This style is made from curling your hair then messing it up a bit. It's pretty doable for me as long as I don't mess with the curling iron haha.

4. Messy but classy up-do

I'm torn between getting a neat or messy updo. This one looks so chic, I'm just not sure if it will sit well with the shape of my face, or if it's gonna be flying all over during photo ops haha. This remains a strong option for me though!

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It's always so fun looking at inspiration over the web, if only my pinterest boards would magically turn into reality without me having to worry about the nitty-gritties, what a relief would that be for brides-to-be. How about you, what's your dream wedding hairstyle? :)

[Food Phase Fridays] McCafe Iced Coffee

Resurrecting the tag with my current addiction, McDonald's Iced Coffee! I love it primarily because it's made of brewed coffee and just the right amount of milk and sugar (syrup). It's not as strong as Starbucks' version but it has enough strength and flavor to keep my day running. Best of all, it's only ₱47! Sooooooo affordable. It's now my go-to coffee.

I didn't realize I was getting addicted to it until I found myself at McDonald's drive-thru every day before coming to work. Well not every day, but mostly whenever I have the car with me haha, like 3x a week.

Earlier was one of the best "cravings satisfied" moments for me. I can't sleep and was craving for coffee (ironically) so I went out and bought one, and since I'm already within the area, I got a bbq/wasabi mega fries from Potato Corner as well! That explains the sly brown bag peeking from behind my coffee. Haaaay, food is life.

Random fun facts about McDonald's!

1. McDonald's started out as a BBQ joint in San Bernardino, California.
2. Ray Kroc didn't actually start McDonald's, it was founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald.
3. McDonalds used to own 90% of Chipotle as an investor back in 2006, but later on sold its stake to better focus on the restaurant.
4. Did you know that there's a ski-thru McDonald's in Lindvallen resort, Sweden where skiiers can schuss through and get their fast food fix?
5. The average drive-thru transaction is approximately 3 minutes (189.49 seconds). Really now? I can only hope the Philippines was factored in this study haha! Wendy's leads with a 133.63 second turnaround time though! 
6. Can you guess what their best-selling item is?
7. They say McDonald's Coke tastes super good and different from other places. The secret? The soda syrup is delivered in a stainless tank to preserve its freshness, compared to other restaurants that get them in plastic bags. I personally don't notice the difference haha.
8. When Sarah Michelle Gellar was 4 (or 5), she was named in a lawsuit filed by McDonald's for participating in a Burger King ad that badmouthed its burger as being 20% smaller than its competitor. Hahaha
9. McDonald's best-selling item is the french fries! I'm surprised! :D

Source: 75 Mind-Blowing Facts About McDonald’s to Celebrate Its 75th Anniversary

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Food Phase Fridays is a blog series featuring the different foods I've grown addicted to for some time! Learn more about them here or join in the fun by making your own Food Phase series!

[Review] Plan:Eat Diet Delivery

Okay so this is my third attempt at making diet deliveries work for me and so far, (I'm) so baaaaaaad.

The good thing with Plan:Eat is that it's the most affordable (so far) among its competitors. While others would charge a gross amount of ₱1,700 to ₱1,900 for 1200cal/week, Plan:Eat only bills you ₱1,300 and that already includes delivery. Havey!

You can trust Plan:Eat to be true to the caloric content of your meals, but if you're more picky and is sensitive to the macro ratio of their servings, go look somewhere else 'cos as far as I've observed, their meals don't seem that balanced hehe. For me though, since I'm only looking into cutting my food intake, I couldn't care less about the protein > carbs > fat ratio. Well, you could say that if I only wanted to eat less I could've just bought my own food and try to eat less with my own efforts, BUT CAN I REALLY DO THAT? lol

The problem with their meals is that it kinda beats the purpose of healthy living and eating a balanced diet. Imagine if you're trying to beef up and you subscribe to their 2000 calorie meal plan to offset your workout routine, I don't think your body would get the right sustenance to keep those muscles pumped.

Anyway, here's my take on their Asian menu:

Day 1: Woooh sarap!

Sorry, forgot to take off the covers!

I super love the Chicken Ginger Jook! It's really just a fancy name for chicken aroz caldo haha but it's very savory. The matcha choco-chip muffin tasted repulsive at first because the matcha is too strong, but eventually I started to like it! I don't drink Nescafe 3-in-1 so I didn't touch it, saved me 12.2g of sugar yesssss (lol as if)!

I ate my lunch and dinner meals at the same time late at night and hoooooly they were so yummy.

And thus I slept with a happy tummy.

Day 2: Hmmmmm

Stupid me microwaved the butter cheese toast and kaya spread so the bread went all soggy and the spread's container got deformed lol. Anyway, I just had to let them cool down so I could eat them in their proper form hehe. Good thing the spread didn't taste like plastic. Uhm, it was okay hehe. Not a fan of toast, and the kaya spread tastes like bukayo.

I didn't like my lunch, I'm not a fan of katsu and the serving was really small so I didn't enjoy it that much. I liked the sesame slaw though. :) I ate the apple and coconut-corn pudding (i.e. maja blanca) as dessert cos I'm still so hungry haha.

The beef pho was the only thing I liked in this set.

Day 3: Errr

Breakfast was weird. The texture of the okonomiyaki and the rice cake (ie. puto) doesn't complement each other, They're both so dry. Lunch was a bit better though! I liked the rice pilaf (ie. namnam rice, or that's just me lol) and bulgogi with veggies. I was a bit worried for dinner cos I don't like laksa but hmm it tastes okay naman! Haha

I noticed there's always anise in their meals. There's one in Day 1 lunch, another in Day 2 dinner, and this time I bit one in my laksa. Wow. Such Asian.

Day 4: Redemption at last!

Everything tasted good! The Japchae was not too savory but the serving is good. Kimchi rice tasted nice too and it's not that spicy so yeyy. Pan de coco tasted nostalgic haha. Pork asado and steamed buns = deconstructed siopao. It's cute.

Day 5: Last ko na to

I ate super late 'cos I thought they forgot to deliver my food, only to find out it's been sitting at the ground floor lobby of our building because the guard (who's new) didn't take it upstairs to my office! That means it's been outside the ref for more than 12 hours. Aaaaargh.

I can only comment on the bangus with veggies 'cos it's the only one that didn't spoil. I love it! It's a very simple meal, kaso white rice sya so, yeyy calories! Haha I actually finished the egg drop soup even though it tasted pasira na, I thought baka ganun talaga lasa ng egg drop soup na madaming kung ano anong gulay so yeahh. I must be so hungry to overlook that. 

The soba noodles with chicken and peanut sauce smelled weird too. It's my first time to encounter this dish so, again, I gave it the benefit of the doubt na baka ganun talaga sya. I endured a couple of forks, thinking this isn't so bad, it's like kare kare sauce with super soggy pasta (would you eat that?). Eventually I stopped my nonsense and threw it away. IT WAS REALLY BAD.

The dessert was super yummy though, really cleansed my tongue with all the bad luck I've allowed in haha.

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Well, I lost a lot... of money, patience, and trust, so I'm never doing this again. In general, I only liked about 50% of the food they delivered so I can't fully recommend it to anyone yet. But if you're looking for cheaper alternatives to calorie counted meals, this will do. Maybe I just got the wrong menu? I was more looking forward to their Italian Menu! Oh yeah, check the menu first before ordering... though I'm not sure if that really helps 'cos meal providers like these like to fanci-fy their dishes to sound sosyal. Ginger Chicken Jook aka Lugaw. Haler.

Also, communication with them is quite a hassle. They're not very responsive even in text. And they will only most likely respond to you if you left a negative feedback on their public accounts. At least diba.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/program.planeat

Instagram: www.instagram.com/planeat_program

Tagaytay Pic Spam (feat. the best Bulalo in town)

In celebration of our third year in the company, me and my batchmates (finally) ate out (of town!!).

After so many failed attempts at dining out, we finally pushed through! It's been a struggle getting all of us together for a meal 'cos we're working different shifts now so it's harder to schedule a time where all of us won't be hassled haha. I'm guilty of bailing out for the last couple of times simply because I'm too lazy. #sorry

Pero in fairness, natuloy rin. I guess it's because our third year marks something super duper special to all of us, and we want to celebrate that. That is -- the end of our bond! I'm quite aware we can always break that part of our contract that says we're tied to our company for three years, but heck we're good kids so we held back updating our profiles on Jobstreet for three years. Char.

Anyway. We commuted to Tagaytay and can I just say that I'M NEVER DOING IT AGAIN. Jusko the biyahe took all of me.

From Gil Puyat, we rode a Tagaytay-Nasugbu bus and dropped off at Olivares. From there we rode another bus labeled Alfonso/Mendez and dropped off at Mahogany Market.

This is (arguably) where the best bulalo in town is. It's on the second floor of the two-storey building labeled "Tagaytay Mahogany Beef Market & Bulalohan"

It was a Sunday okay, and lunch time at that, but I didn't expect the entire place to be soooo swamped with people. I wasn't aware this place was thaaat popular.

We were lucky we chanced upon a group who just finished eating so we were able to get seats immediately. The entire floor is lined with eateries, all serving the famous bulalo. They have free senyorita bananas too (at least from the carinderia we ate at).

Here goes the big caserole (with a burner underneath). This is ₱350 and is good for 3 persons.

Of course they don't just serve Bulalo, they also have common Filipino delicacies. We ordered beef caldereta (₱150), fried tawilis (₱150), fried hipon (₱150), and lechon kawali (₱150). Rice is at ₱20 each.

The servings are pretty small for ₱150, but can be shared by 2-3 persons per plate so pwede na rin!

Aaaah I'm definitely coming back here.

After eating lunch we rode a jeepney and got off at Magallanes to take pictures of Taal Lake, of course. Haha. 

It may not be one of the best locations to get a view of the lake but it's one of the most popular and it has Starbucks too so keri lang. Will visit the other more beautiful Starbucks next time! Hahaha

After lounging around, we walked aaaaaall the way to Ayala Malls Serin. We thought it won't be far from Magallanes but when I started (internally) complaining, the mall is already within sight so pinush na lang namin.

Good thing it was very cool that day, umambon nga lang ng slight haha.

If I were to live in a condo I prefer a low-rise to mid-rise one like the one they're building beside the mall.

Pic spam!

Aaaaand there you go, we walked a bit, drank milk tea, and chatted. Then we crossed the street and boarded a bus back home. The commute was really exhausting. I don't recommend it haha.