mike's august visit

late, late post :(

mike visited me on my birthday.  this was his first visit after he went home.  all good :)  too bad he didn't make it in time for my birthday dinner.  food was great, courtesy of chef aldwin :)

on my way to the airport, i saw these candles.  they celebrate the hungry ghost festival here.  candles abound :)

the next day, we went to ICA for mike's long term visit pass renewal.  it went by so smoothly.  he got his ID that same day.

so we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted to do!

here is mike enjoying his hokien mee.  our fave!

 

at the bonsai garden while thinking of somewhere we could go to:

we finally decided to go to the asian civilisations museum.  here are some good finds:

a model of a mosque

"women are a ray of divine light," it says

the sarimanok from the philippines!

the quran

i like the background!

 

keep on searching for the light!

it was a fun day!

gratitude

more than a month after my 32nd birthday.  i guess it's never too late to say thank you for being blessed.  they say you should not be sad for what you do not have, instead you should be happy for what you do have. :)

gestures, effort, material gifts from friends and family - for all of these, i am grateful.  i feel loved.  i feel special.  above all, i am thankful for the gift of 32 years of good health and good life.  a song comes to mind - something about life being borrowed from God, about you and me being presents, about not ever wanting to be born, but nevertheless being grateful that we are gifted with life.

dear jan,
thank you for the books.  i haven't started reading them yet.  soon i will!  i had a good laugh when i saw the excel bible.  hahaha!  very fitting for us who excel in excel (thus the need for a guide hehe).  i especially loved the greeting card/artwork!  i'm 100% sure it won't fade or get crumpled.  it's laminated!  ikaw na ang pinakabonggang gumawa ng greeting cards!  i love it!  thank you for the generosity.  i will forever be thankful for the gift of friendship.

dear april,

thank you for my midnight birthday cake, despite having a hectic life juggling motherhood and livelihood (naks).  i loved the frosting.  it tastes so sinful.  i believe that sinful = good in terms of baking.  hehehe.  special mention to keyla for putting the freckles (aka sprinkles).  cheers to more years of baking!

here's the sugod gang on the eve of my birthday.  they came bearing good cake.  keyla did the honors of blowing the candle. 

dear chef aldzwen,

thank you for the sumptuous dinner!  you never fail!  you should start building a restaurant!  menu was taco salad and chicken quesadillas.  ariba!  thanks for the mexican dinner.  i loved it!  i know there's a beef ban in this house, but because it's my birthday, beef galore :) food was great!

mike arrived on the evening of the 17th.  he brought birthday presents and a mountain of imported goods from the philippines.  his suitcase could pass for a sari-sari caravan :p

dear mike,

thank you for celebrating my birthday with me.  thank you for the watch.  i love the color.  one day, we'll buy the "his" version of this "hers" watch :) thank you for the pasalubongs.  century tuna, purefoods corned beef, tj hotdog, chiz whiz, boy bawang, bangus belly, tang, magic sarap, etc.  ang dami! yehey! 

dear ate yogi,
thank you for the pearl earrings.  i love the simplicity of little pearls.  they don't sparkle like gold or diamonds, but they look elegant and simple.

dear mama,
thank you for the blouses.  you are very good in size estimation :)  i have new blouses and dresses! yey!

dear UBS teammates,

thank you very much for this cake :) thank you for the video that you prepared. thank you for sharing 5 years of my work life :)

dear Father,

for all of these, and more, thank you! thank you for always giving me the promise of a better tomorrow.  i am looking forward to more years of love and life. help me to fulfill your plans. 

love,

your daughter

lola's favorite dish

lolas nowadays are so groovy and trendy they're like barkadas with their apos. you get to have a lolo/lola + a kakuchaba in your kalokohan. that's cool, i know, but i am proud to say that i grew up with a traditional lola.

she's the type of lola who got stern when you didn't take your afternoon nap. she knew how to wash clothes. i mean the serious, clean wash. kusot nang todo, bilad sa araw, tatlong banlaw, may almerol pa, at stiff like hell after ng plantsa. she believed that washing machine isn't washing the clothes; it's simply twirling the clothes around.

she told me tales of her childhood, how she survived the war, and how she was deprived of education. God is fair. while she lacked academic skills, she was gifted with embroidery skills, and she used this to make a living. they made pillow cases, bed sheets, dresses pretty by manually sewing designs on them.

she knew how to read and write, do simple math, pray the rosary, and she knew how to run her household. it was enough to keep her going when she started a family with lolo, who worked in restaurants as a cashier.

lola knew her house and her kitchen. pamatay ang mechado! at lahat na ng filipino dishes na hinahanap-hanap ng panlasa mo.

but this is what i really want to share. despite her excellence in the kitchen, lola had a simple heart. her favorite dish was bunga ng malunggay na isasawsaw sa bagoong isda. lolo used to tell her, "bakit ba masayang masaya ka kapag yan ang ulam?" wow lolo! medyo bitter pag happy si lola?! hahaha

pic 1:
i was at the clinic while waiting for the doctor. medyo dyaheng mag-abang na may bunga ng malunggay na katabi hahaha. sabi nga ni lola, "wala kang ka glamor glamor!"

pic 2:
caths sporting a pink pouch and plastic bag with bunga ng malunggay. sabi nga ni lola, "wala kang ka glamor glamor!"

pic 3:
bunga ng malunggay, onions, tomatoes, malunggay leaves, some
bagoong, patis. boil and eat while hot. yan ang glamor!

parking (like malling, but in parks hehehe)

we have a new hobby!!!  we're visiting SG parks during weekends!  well, if our bodies are not too weak.

for a while, amidst a (seemingly) financial crisis, we thought that the only way to live is to stay at home during weekends, cook, do chores, watch tv, surf the internet, read books.  it's not like i don't want to do these!  i would wholeheartedly choose these over gala.  you knoooow... your preferences change as you age, and i wouldn't trade pagbubulok inside the house over anything else.

lately, we realized that not everyone in this house is aging.  while 3 adults are contented doing nothing, there's one little sponge who's so willing to explore the world.  keyla doesn't deserve to be treated like an adult, does she?  hehehe.

we've been to pasir ris park for a number of times.  it's about 20 minutes from home, and it has everything you need.  a jogging/biking lane, picnic sites, beach, playgrounds.  we love sitting by the beach.  one sunday, april and i decided to jog from our home to the park.  kuya and keyla rode a bike.  ayun.  sinaktan ako ng katawan.  hahaha walang practice.

last week, we went to punggol park.  i wasn't too thrilled with the experience.  there's not much you could do, and there are mosquitoes.  i am a mosquito indicator.  there's a big body of water at the heart of the park, playgrounds, and a jogging lane.

yesterday, we decided to go to sentosa.  because of a secret walk 2 weeks ago, we discovered the sentosa boardwalk.  it's about a half km relaxed, scenic walk from vivo city to sentosa.  it was also because of this secret walk that i discovered that scenic walks involve pictorials every 10 minutes or so. hekhekhekhekhek!

entrance to sentosa is just 1SGD.  you really can't go wrong!  you'll get to see the universal studios, resorts world, sentosa attractions on your way to the beach.  keyla didn't enjoy the walk so much because she's on her stroller. we unleashed her at the palawan beach and did she have a grand time!  she ended up "swimming" at the beach hehehe.  kami na ang tourists!

it was a fun day.  i realized that there's much more you can do in sentosa than just touring visiting friends/relatives at turista rates!  there's also life in sentosa for non tourists woohoo!

finally! chocolate cupcakes!

oh wow!  finally!  here's something that's not red velvet :)  kuya said that he will only eat chocolate cupcakes if they have chocolate filling.  wow, demanding!

i have tried one chocolate cupcake recipe before, but it tasted plain and milo-ish.  tipong sapilitan na kainin at lunukin.  aguy!  

i've searched and searched for a recipe that doesn't use butter.  i don't know.  there's something repulsive about butter.  maybe i'm thinking it's not healthy?  pero grabe nga naman ang sarap ng butter! i opt to use recipes that call for oil (canola or vegetable).  but who am i kidding?  is there ever a healthy cupcake recipe?  i think oil isn't healthy too.  neither are sugar and eggs.

i also prefer to use cake flour.  no special reason.  it's just the available flour at home :p

this recipe is supposed to have a cream marshmallow-like filling.  i used chocolate ganache instead.  and instead of heavy cream, i used evap.  hehe ang daming instead.  ako na kaya ang sumulat ng recipe??!?!?  hahaha. 

ok naman :) i think it tasted like swiss rolls.  there's chocolate ganache filling and topping na rin.  sayang naman ang ganache na natira.  ayus!  

julie's

and again, red velvet with cream cheese frosting and melted chocolates on top.  this set is supposed to be a welcome present for julie and jana, but julie had to extend her leave.  not a problem.  inubos na lang namin sa office.  hehe. 

these are soufflé cups.  the design is cute.  pink with white polka dots.  it's a great cupcake holder, but not so much if you don't have spoon.  unlike cupcake paper liners, it's very difficult to peel these off.  maybe because it's not meant to be peeled off. 

father's day cupcakes

red velvet cupcakes for the nth time.  patawad.  it's the only edible cupcake i know.  

we don't like vanilla.  i haven't found a good chocolate cupcake recipe yet.  so it's red velvet all the way.  white frosting is cream cheese.  since kuya loves chocolates, i used melted chocolate chips for the decors.  next time, i'll try the colored chocolate chips :) para mas colorful :)

mamon with keso

this is the 3rd time i tried this mamon recipe.  i read that you can use this as the base for krema de fruta. the recipe is crazy with egg whites.  i learned that the fluff is made of egg whites in general hehe.  so that's why it's so ampaw, it's just egg white bubbles :p and sugar.

if you make mamon, surely you can make leche flan with all the egg yolks you'll have. 

i remember my second attempt was a disaster.  i didn't know how to fold then.  so i just dumped all the flour in the egg white bubbles, mixy mixy nang onti, ayun.  marami pa palang flour lumps.  when we sliced the mamon (cake form sya noon) surprise, surprise!  raw flour lumps, pampagana!  hahaha.

the third trial was edible :) complete with cheese.  just don't expect it to make you full because it's just air, sugar, egg whites, and flour. 

mother's day cupcakes

again, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for mother's day. 

this batch is for 4 great mothers i know.  my mom, my MIL, my SIL, my SIL's mom.

i find cream cheese frosting so endearing because i love the sour and sweet combination.  unlike buttercream that's just sweet (or i'm probably doing it the wrong way).  the problem i have with cream cheese is, i can't swirl it.  i don't know if it can be used for swirls, or maybe my consistency is just not right.  

i saw this design somewhere in the internet and i found it really cute.  just like coffee :)  the wonders a small toothpick can do!

wawi's birthday

when wawi visited us last april, we decided to give him a surprise-mini-belated birthday lunch.

i remember my first batch of red velvet cupcakes last year - it was a disaster.  it tasted like puto, had a very awkward shade of red/purple/pink, and is simply just a yucky substance.  such a waste. 

these are wawi's red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  we are not big fans of gabundok na frosting, so i just put a small amount on top and went wild with the decors. haha.  wild kung wild!  red velvet cupcakes are my first edible cupcakes from scratch.  i don't know if it tastes like red velvet because i haven't tasted any store-bought red velvet cupcakes yet.  they just look so fancy in internet pictures.  i had the biggest urge to try and do it myself.

well, wawi was surprised.  the set was complete - a good lunch, birthday cupcakes with a birthday candle, a birthday song, and lots of love.

bella

no, it's not bella the vampire. it's ate bella (pronounced a la bella flores, belya). she was our trusted kasambahay in the early 80s. she was a petite, fair-skinned woman. her hair was short and wavy. she was probably in her 20s then.

she was hyper! she cleaned the house like a mad girl. mommy and lola would scold her just so she would stop cleaning at the wee hours of the night (and day too). she even waxed and polished the stairs with a bunot! very dangerous! madulas! i remember one time she fell down the stairs - last few steps lang naman! i think she stopped polishing the floor after that makalaglag-pangang incident.

she was very popular because she called folk arts theater "prok eye" hehehe. that was so cute. we would ask her, "ate bella sama ka?" she would answer, "saan, sa prok eye?"

i remembered her this morning because i saw the scrub on the bathroom and i had an urge to scrub the floor. i didn't. i was late for work.

asan ka na kaya, ate bella?

for now

to my dear husband,

the past year hasn't been very good.  ok, it has been tough.  ok, it has been very, very, very tough.

remember this?  i was very excited then.  i even swore that we'll never be tangled in an LDR again, but look at us now.  we are back to zero, back to where we were a year ago.  we don't have to ask why.  this is the point where all we could afford is to look forward to better days, nights, and lifetime.

for now:

no more bus rides together.  this was taken when we went to the office-that-shall-not-be-named.  we were carrying a big bag of papers.  it was a long ride home, but it was a joyride.  you fell asleep because you were tired.  i love long rides with you!

i sleep with the lamp on now.  you know i'm matapang that way.  nobody accompanies me to late night trips to the toilet.  solution: i don't make late night trips to the toilet anymore.

no more room service of lucky me pancit canton when i'm working from home... complete with iced tea.  after i eat, you diligently collect the plates and glass.  tip-top room service.  serbisyong totoo.  kapuso na, kapamilya pa.

nobody shares an egg with me during breakfast.  i used to take the yolk (aka cholesterol), and you take the white part (aka protein).  now, an egg is all mine.  i'm not happy.

these are your 2 spots when you fetch me from the bus stop every night.  first stop is for bus 12, 21.  second is for 358, 17.  it's always a comforting sight to see you waiting each night.  sometimes, you sport a happy aura.  sometimes, when the boredom is that bad, you definitely look like you badly need a hug.  for the past two weeks, i still try to look for you each night.  maybe you might be there waiting for me.  so dramatic!  bongga!

no more wacky shots with keyla.  we both know it, keyla loves you!  

no more meriendate - our favorite prata.  cheese and mushroom for me, onions and egg for you.  happiness is cheap, if not free. :)

no more picture taking anywhere and everywhere.

no more occasionally unhealthy dates.

for now, my dear, for now.  i miss you.  i'll see you soon.  i'll see you when the execution of the most perfect plan takes place.

love,

your wife

liquid soap

i am fond of (read: addicted to) DIYs.  when i see something or taste something good, my first thoughts are always, "how do they do this?  how can i do this?"

ang next ko naming pinuntirya ay ang paggawa ng liquid soap.  hahaha!

a bottle of liquid body soap costs ~ 6 - 8 SGD.
a small bottle of hand wash costs ~ 2 SGD.
5 bar soaps cost ~ 4 SGD.
1 bar soap will yield 1.5 L of liquid soap that could be your body soap or hand wash.
so 5 bars of soap will yield 7.5 L of liquid soap!

please do the math of the savings.  i'm not good at it.

i really want to like regular body wash (ex: dove, johnson's, goat milk).  they smell really good.  the thing is, i have eczema that attacks me maybe once a year, so i have to stick to non harsh soaps like cetaphil (kaching kaching).  so i tried to do the liquid soap experiment with johnson's baby soap.

here's how i did it.  warning: poor documentation ahead.

1. grate 1 bar soap, then you'll have soap chips like this!

2. microwave a cup of water on high for 2 minutes.  

2.1 transfer the water in a good pitcher (one that can hold super hot water).

2.2 add 1/3 of the soap chips and stir like crazy until the chips melt (chopsticks work well as stirrers).

2.3 while you are stirring like a madman, microwave another cup of water.

2.4 repeat 2.2 and 2.3 until you have a total of 3 cups of water and all the soap chips are consumed.

leave the mixture to cool down for about an hour or more.  

once cold, the mixture will solidify - like a big block of soap.

add 2 cups (or 1.5 cups, depending on the mildness of the soap) of tap water and stir like crazy again.

transfer to dispensers.

that's it!  it's not really like the "real" liquid soaps.  this one's a bit like sipon in texture hahaha!  but hey, what's a bit of a slime if you could save a dime?  haha. labo.  i like how it's really mild too!  

even kuya does this with dettol or lifeguard, and he uses it as his body wash and hand wash.

no pic of the final "product".  sorry!  hehehe.

visita iglesia 2012

the whole season of lent went by in a breeze.  no pasyon, no silence, just abstinence from meat on fridays, and visita iglesia last good friday.

mike made the itinerary, complete with routes and bus numbers.  we read 2 stations of the cross for each church, 7 churches in all.

it was hard to take pictures of the altar because most of the churches were closed.  i took pictures of the grotto instead.  loved the grottos!

Church 1: Church of the Risen Christ

Church 2: Catholic Church of Christ the King

Church 3: Church of St. Francis Xavier

it was a long uphill journey from the bus stop to the church.  the church was small but, it felt very peaceful inside.

Church 4: Church of St. Vincent De Paul

this was where kuya and april got married, plus this was our parish church for a year - good memories.

Church 5: Immaculate Heart of Mary Church

Church 6: Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

loved this site.  it looks very regal.

there's a big yard for the stations of the cross.  it's a very beautiful church.

Church 7: St. Anne's Church

this is my second visit to this church.  back in 2008, we also visited this church with the lingkod brothers/sisters.

last stop was dinner at 9:30  - prata, fish soup, rice with dilis at the suking hawker center beside divine mercy church.

bonus: our parish, divine mercy

the journey was great :)  more church visits in the coming years.

roles

i was eagerly anticipating for mid april. wawin and mami are scheduled to be here to look after keyla for 2 weeks. wawin arrived safely on the 13th. today, 15th, is supposed to be a wonderful day. we were supposed to pick up mami from the airport this afternoon, but the reunion didn't happen.

at around 6:15 am, mami's call woke me up. calls in the strange hours of the day mean bad news. she called to say that lola is gone... and that she can't be here... that the sg trip is cancelled... that she was on her way to mindoro.

we were all excited to see mami. she sadly turned her back to her lola duties to keyla. it's been a while since she last saw keyla, and she would have been delighted to see how keyla has grown into a little lady - with her tantrums, new sentences, songs, dances, everything!

she also sadly turned her back to her mami duties to us. we were supposed to have a family meeting about the plans for the near future. we wanted to hear her opinion about our situation. we wanted her wisdom. she always knows what to do. i want to hear her laughter, her voice.

more than the lola and mommy roles, she needs to be a daughter now - a grieving daughter for the next few days.

i want to be a daughter to mami too. i want to support her as she grieve. i want to be beside her, but i am the shoes of the typical ofw. imbis na bumili ng ticket pauwi, i-remit na lang ang pera. :( sad and true.