Ibyang Sanchez, Author at Ibyang

My Photo on Schmap!! Sydney

21 April 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Milestones, Photography

My photo got published on Schmap!! Sydney .

At the start of 2009, I officially wished that someday an article or photo of mine gets published somewhere, either in print or online. Then this happened (yay!), never actually thought it would happen so soon, so I’m elated and actually very speechless last night when I saw the website.

Very timely too, as I’m contemplating of going back to using a Point&Shoot camera and forget about DSLR-ing (in layman’s term: forget about using a DSLR). Maybe this is a sign that I should continue DSLR-ing?

More than anything else, I’d like to thank the Husband for being a very patient photography coach and for being my teammate extra-ordinaire (mwah!!!). Kumbaga sa kanta “he is the wind beneath my wings!” hahaha…ang corny!!! 😛

Photo attached is a screenshot of the website. {Link}

Astroboy 2009 (Trailer)

17 April 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Entertainment

Can’t wait, can’t wait.

The new Astroboy movie looks amazing.

I checked Greater Union for the list of coming soon movies in 2009 and didn’t find Astroboy.

Either it won’t be shown in Australia this year or my eyes are too tired coz it’s already midnight and I’m still awake.

An Awesome Day at Taronga Zoo

15 April 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 5 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Charmed Life of a Mrs, Cherished Memories, Photography, Travel

Today was an awesome day!!!!!!

We were blessed to get free passes to Taronga Zoo today so Chris and I grabbed the opportunity (and took an emergency day-off) as something like this is a once in a lifetime chance to spend a day in Taronga Zoo for free (thanks to our family friend who gave us passes).

Taronga Zoo is the biggest zoo in Sydney and also the most expensive (AUD$41.00 per adult). Chris and I have never been to this zoo before. We really waited for my parents to visit and decided that it would be best to explore Taronga Zoo with them. Then came the surprise yesterday when a family friend told us that he got us passes for today.

Located in the north side of the harbour (hence, the very nice view of the Sydney cityscape), Taronga Zoo is home to more than 2,660 animals.

The zoo is segregated in different areas:

(1) Wild Australia where you can find your Aussie favorites: Kangaroos, Koalas and Emus.

(2) Australian Nightlife where you can find Bats and Rats. This was a scary area for me. It was so dark inside this cave-like rooms, then they have this sound effects that you usually hear when you watch a horror movie.

(3) Great Southern Oceans where you can the Penguins, Pelicans and…

…Seals!!!

We watched the Seal Show at 11:00AM and it was very entertaining. It was so fun watching them, they’re so smart and funny.

Near the Great Southern Oceans area is where you can find the Gorillas. They weren’t particularly a member of any area, but they are placed in the middle of the zoo.

(4) Wild Asia is where you can find the Elephants!!!!

This photo was taken during the Elephant show at 1:00PM. This was also an entertaining show.

(5) African Waterhole was our last stop as we wanted to save the best for last—this is where you can find the Zebras…

and the high-and-mighty Giraffes!!! I love them…I was soooo in awe of their cuteness.

I want to bring one home!!! hehe.

Some animals (like the Tigers and Bears) were asleep during lunchtime, probably because they just had lunch and were too full, hence, it made them sleepy (parang tao rin hehe). So we didn’t have decent pictures of those sleepyheads.

We spent a good five hours in Taronga Zoo and I felt like a kid the whole time we were there, especially that we’re with my parents. It reminded me of our trips to Manila Zoo when I was a kid. I vaguely remember the animals and the place but I remember the feeling of hanging out with my parents and being a kid in awe of the spectacle of nature infront of me.

This is a very memorable experience for me as for the past two years, I’ve dreamt of sharing my love for the zoo with my parents. Chris and I have been to zoos in other countries but this one tops them all, simply because we shared this awesome experience with my parents.

Photos of animals courtesy of my Husband Chris.

For That Perfect Round Fried Eggs

14 April 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 4 Comments Category: Food, Great Finds for the Home, Tips

For that perfect round sunny-side up fried eggs, we use Egg Rings at home. I’m not fussy when it comes to the shape of my fried eggs, however, my Husband is. He wants them perfectly round (like the ones he eats at Mc Donald’s) so he bought me these Egg Rings as soon as we moved to our new place last year.

An egg ring is used to contain the egg in a perfectly round shape while it cooks. This tool is also useful when you want to cook more eggs in the pan at the same time as it keep the eggs from spreading in the pan. It is usually made of stainless steel and some have attached handles that allow the rings to be lifted easily from the pan.

Some tips on how to achieve a perfectly round fried egg:

1. Before placing the egg ring on the frying pan, lightly grease the inside of the egg rings with butter or oil to avoid cooked eggs to stick too much to your egg rings.

2. For eggs cooked sunny-side up and you are not confident with your egg-cracking ability, crack each egg on a small bowl first before placing the egg on their individual egg ring. For those who want to perfect cracking an egg, all you need is practice. For me, it’s having a gentle but firm hand when cracking an egg.

3. Cooking eggs using Egg Rings usually take a longer time than the usual, about three to five minutes. Keep in mind that eggs are thicker when cooked in egg rings, so it requires more cooking time.

4. The longer the egg is cooked, the browner the bottom of the egg will become. I usually lower the heat so the bottom won’t burn.

5. You can also use Egg Rings for scrambled eggs, perfect for a breakfast sandwich made with an English Muffin.

6. Remove Egg Rings before serving your fried eggs.

Purple-y, Violet-y UBE Ice Cream

13 April 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 3 Comments Category: Food, Photography

I’ve been having luck finding stuff these past few days and one of them is my favorite ice cream….Magnolia’s Ube Ice Cream.

I’ve been having ice cream for dessert since Friday night and I can’t get enough of it. I’ve missed this ice cream so much and I’m glad I found this at the Asian supermarket near our place (it wasn’t always available). Hope it will be available for a long time.