I love to eat!  Who doesn't?  I eat when I'm stressed, when I'm bored, and when I'm neither.  During the later years in high school and college days I didn't have much to do during summer so I am often left at the house (except when I'm on vacation and the last year in college where I had summer school).  I didn't have any money so I couldn't buy anything that I wanted to eat, that was when I started to make my own (just simple ones though because I only used whatever was left on our kitchen).

Nowadays when I'm living alone, I am forced to always eat outside or just prepare something instant.  Sometimes I use that "alone" time to try dishes that I haven't made before so I wouldn't be embarrassed if it turns out bad.  When it turns out good I make it again for the family when they're home.

Yesterday I wanted to try and make Tuna Pesto Pasta for dinner, so I looked for easy recipes online and knew about Clara Ole's Cheesy Pesto Pasta Sauce and saved the rest of the ingredients on my phone.  But the pasta sauce wasn't available on the grocery store :(  I was already there and I didn't want to leave empty handed.  Plus I wanted to make something new really bad but the data on my phone was so crappy I couldn't search for other recipes.  I just trusted my gut and bought whatever was on my mind. hahahah

I just eyeballed most of this because I didn't have any recipe to guide me.  I didn't document the time but I was sure that I finished it within an hour.  So.. follow at your own risk hahahah  I am sharing this because my "experiment" went well - I took the rest at work and I was happy that my colleagues liked it!

Ingredients:

1. 250g penne pasta

2. 250g Italian sauce

3. Cream of mushroom - Campbell's wasn't available, I just used 1/2 of Knorr cream of mushroom soup instead

4. 1 Hungarian sausage 

5. 1 Onion - next time I'll add one more ;)

6. 5 cloves of garlic

7. 1 tablespoon butter

8. 1/2 cup cheese - a mix of Eden and Quickmelt

9. Ground pepper

10. Parmesan cheese (optional)

I hope I get to explain and break it down properly though.  Here it goes...

1-Cook the pasta & mushroom soup / prep other ingredients (est 15min)

While I waited for the pasta and mushroom soup to cook (just followed the instructions on the packet), I chopped the onion and garlic, sliced the sausage and grated some cheese.  I took the pasta and mushroom soup aside when it was done.  

2-Cook the sausage / mix cheese and soup (est 15min)

Using the same pot I used for cooking the pasta, I melted the butter, added the onions and the garlic, then the sausage.  When that was cooking, I added and mixed 1/2 cup cheese to the mushroom soup that I cooked earlier.  

3-Mix the sauces (est 10min)

Poured the Italian sauce to the cooking sausage.  Mixed it and covered it until it started to boil.  Poured and mixed in the mushroom-cheese sauce.

4-Mix the pasta and sauce / add remaining ingredients (est 5min)

I added and mixed the pasta with the sauce.  Turned the heat off, added pepper to taste and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top.

You could save time if you use Campbell's cream of mushroom

I forgot to include the butter and pepper

Finished product! Yey!

I think this is just a simple twist to when you make spaghetti, I don't know if other people have been doing this.  Friends have told me that they put condensed milk and/or cream when they make theirs.  I'm not a big fan of a sweeter taste in pastas so I haven't tried that when I make my own.  I'm not a fan of spicy food as well, but the touch of spice from the sausage is just right for me.

***I am not a chef and I don't always cook.  Sometimes when I do, it turns out bad.  But luckily this turned out to be good hahahah So again, follow at your own risk :) ***

So my phone crashed, its stuck on the apple logo.  I googled it and tried to troubleshoot it myself but nothing worked.  So I am left with having the factory settings restored and lose everything in it.  I was upset because I was going to lose all of my files!  The recent pictures that I took at the beach and when I was out of town - just petty stuff really.  But seriously... I am going to lose my updated schedule/to do lists for the remaining days of the year which I was not able to back up recently!  I remembered a couple months ago someone told me to write down my schedules when I thought that I accidentally deleted one category on my calendar, but what I actually clicked was just the hide button.tsk  Yep!  I'm a bit of a klutz.  Okay, maybe a big one.  I'm just hoping the phone isn't dead yet though the thought of it dying is already there.

So I thought... What about going back to using old school paper planners?

The planner that I used for 3 consecutive years was the Belle de Jour Power Planner. Aside from the usual planner pages, they also have other useful pages such as the goals page (which is basically at the front portion of the planner where you write down your major goals for the year), a page to plan your vacation (what to bring, how much money you need, who you are travelling with,), bills/cash flow tracker, a sort of bucket list or checklist page, menstrual tracker (which I find very helpful as I used to have bad menstrual cramps back in college) and tons of discount coupons!  I actually got it for the discount coupons because I don't like spending too much (my friends know how kuripot I can get 😉).  It was fun having a planner for many years, jotting down notes using my colorful pens. ✒️ Yep, I had tons of them!  I had this "system" where I categorize my schedule/to do lists by using those different colored pens (ex:red-urgent matters, blue-personal matters, green-school, violet-work, and black - for doodling or what not).  At the start of each month, I was able to basically see a snapshot of all the things I needed to do/get per category.  The pages after that would be the details per week.  And I would place different sizes of sticky notes either to emphasize the urgency of something or just to show the quote that I recently like.  I also doodle a lot, so there are a lot of random notes all over the place.  There are also days when I would write down what happened during the day.  Simply put its not just a planner for me but a journal as well.  What I don't like about using planners: a bit heavy and bulky to carry everyday.  Or maybe I just needed to work out. 😜

Dear Diary: embarrassed in 2013 and tired in 2014.
Its nice reading what you wrote down years ago when you barely even remember what really happened.
Its like the "memories" in facebook nowadays.

I decided 2 years ago that I no longer need those paper planners because I didn't find it necessary anymore compared to just typing all of your schedules down on your smart phone or tab which will remind you of the things you needed to do/get.  What I really like about it is that you can repeat these reminders/alarms on your calendar in a jiffy!  You can also group your activities per category using different colors as well.  For Apple Calendars, I like that I can put labels on different colored categories.  I tend to forget what certain categories are for so the labels are a plus for me.  On Samsung's SPlanner, I like that there is a function where you can enable the country's holidays to appear.  So you don't have to put it one by one.  Both things didn't appear on both devices though, or maybe I just don't know how to.  I can sync my gmail account (or even Facebook) to my phone as well (both Apple and Samsung).  So any birthdays or what have yous on your gmail account will also appear on your device as well.  Aside from that, they don't take up much time inputting new activities and you could share your calendar with family/friends!  I used to have this school app on my tab so I can be reminded on the exam schedules especially when I get too busy at work.  Its funny now that I remember it, I actually uninstalled it after one semester.  Do you really need different apps when basically it provides the same purpose - to help you plan, organize and be reminded.  What I find very useful was this savings/expense app that I had which allowed me to track my expenses from my daily transport to monthly bills.  So at the end of the month, I would know where I would need to cut down costs (if any).  What I love about planning/organizing on a smart phone/device is its convenience - I take it anywhere with me and it doesn't give you additional weight.  What I don't like about it is the fact that your phone or device could get corrupted - but you can always back it up... which I didn't. zzzzzzz

So here are some links to help you organize your Apple Calendar/Samsung SPlanner just in case you are having trouble with it.  I just couldn't find anything that is more updated for Samsung.
https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/138740?hl=en
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202337
http://www.macworld.com/article/2928281/10-gotta-know-calendar-tips-for-ios.html
https://www.gadgetdaily.xyz/how-to-use-the-s-planner-app/
https://www.gadgetdaily.xyz/s-planner-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/

I tried looking for my 2012 one, but I couldn't find it. 

So which one do you think is better -  paper planners or smart devices?  Or is it both?  With all of these things in mind... I prefer this time around to use both side by side.  I think I just found the "perfect" planner and then maybe I can frequently back up my devices so I wouldn't have to worry if it bugs down 😉

Check out my previous blog post about 2017 Planners that are under Php 600.00 (USD 12.25). 😉

**I am no expert on planning/organizing.  Well...  I am no expert on anything! hahahah  These are just some of the things that worked/works for me and I hope that you find it helpful :) 

We only have a few weeks left before 2016 ends!  And along with that comes the excitement of what the new year will bring.

Are you using old school paper planners?  Have you already picked out your planner for the new year?  What are your considerations when buying a planner?  Do you like colorful ones or the classic, more simpler ones?  Are you getting the same one from this year?  Does weight matter?  Do you like it personalized?

I was with my girlfriends a few days ago and the timing was just right as they were also planning to go back old school and use paper planners.  We hung out at a coffee shop and asked about their free planner.  And so the frugal side of me immediately popped out and I started computing for the total amount of money to be shelled out for a good number of coffee stickers in order to get the free planner.  After seeing the amount thats over Php 2500.00 (USD 51.16), I was like "heck no, its too expensive!"  Back in college and the first 2 years of being employed, I used to think that my planner that annually costed me Php 598.00 (USD 12.24) was too much and it was even providing me with tons of freebies and discounts to restaurants and so much more.  So I told the girls about it and showed them that there are a lot more choices that are cheaper than that coffee planner.  Sometimes when we see or hear that a certain something is free, we get overwhelmed and take hold of that free thing without even realizing that we actually paid for it.

What makes the "perfect" planner?

I know... Nothing is perfect.  It would be if we can create planners based on our needs, then choosing wouldn't be a problem at all.  I have been scouting for the "perfect" planner, the one that would seem to fit just right.  Unlike before, I am now wanting a more functional one.  Not just tons of pages that I wouldn't be using at all.

Out of everything that I've seen so far, these are the planners that caught my attention from the 3 companies: Filed, C&S Designs and Viviamo.  All of these planners are sold at less than Php 600.00 (USD 12.25) which is a plus.  I've also found undated planners that were released for 2016 that are still available and are being sold at a much affordable price now (Camper and Doodle) so go grab them while you can.

If you opt for something that you can carry everyday without giving too much extra space from your bag and is lighter than the rest, then I recommend the Camper Planner / Keepsake Planner / Scribble Planner / Petit Planner.  If you prefer functionality over everything, then I'd go for the Back to Basics Planner / Limitless Planner / Focus Planner.  If you are on the artsy side or you like those with more color and style then the Doodle Planner / Keepsake Planner / Scribble Planner / Design Your Life 2017 Planner / EIP Planner is for you.

So if you are interested in any of these planners, I have linked their websites so you could see a more detailed view of each one.  Tried getting all of the details which I think are important, but some are just not included on the websites.

FILED PLANNERS

Camper Planner on sales @ Php 295.00

~ 6" x 6"

~ Smyth sewn

 Hardbound

~ Undated

~ Finance tracker

Doodle Planner on sale @ Php 395.00

~ 8" x 6"

~ Smyth sewn

~ Hardbound

~ Undated

~ Finance tracker

Keepsake Planner @ Php 545.00

~ 7.5" x 5.25" x .75" 

~ Smyth sewn

~ Hardbound

~ Undated

Scribble Planner 2017 @ Php 595.00

 ~ 8.5" x 6" x .75"

~ Smyth sewn

~ Hardbound

~ Dated

~ Finance tracker

C&S DESIGNS PLANNERS 

Back to Basics 2017 Planner @ Php 595.00
~ 7.75" x 8.5"

~ Ring/coil bound

~ Hard cover*
~ Dated
~ Project tracker
~ Finance tracker
~ Travel planner

Design Your Life 2017 Planner @ Php 595.00
~ 6.5" x 7.75"
~ Ring/coil bound
~ Hard cover*
~ Dated
~ Project tracker
~ Finance tracker
~ Travel planner

Limitless Planner @ Php 550.00
~ 7.75" x 8.5"
~ Ring/coil bound
 ~ Hard cover*
~ Undated

~ Project tracker

~ Finance tracker

~ Travel planner

*Not hardbound covers.  One youtuber sort of described it as a cardboad-like type of cover.



VIVIAMO PLANNERS

EIP Planner @ Php 598.00
~ Smyth sewn
~ Hardbound
~ Dated

Focus Planner @ Php 450.00
~ Smyth sewn
~ Hardbound
~ Dated

Navi Planner @ Php 598.00
~ Smyth sewn
~ Hardbound
~ Dated
~ Travel Planner
~ Comes with over Php 25,000.00 worth of discount coupons

Petit Planner @ Php 320.00
~ Petit version of Viviamo's BDJ Power Planner*
~ Dated

*with finance tracker, travel planner, etc.

So have you found your planner?  I sure have found mine ;)

I hope this post helped :) 

***all images are from the planners' company websites***

But I've got high hopes, it takes me back to when we started
High hopes, when you let it go, go out and start again
High hopes, when it all comes to an end
But the world keeps spinning around

-High Hopes, Kodaline