In the tradition of....

Funny how I began thinking about my New year's resolution days after January. Although I've made a promise to myself never to make a New year's resolution list to follow through the year 2011, I've had a change of heart, or more specifically a change of food preference. Following in the tradition of doing something worthwhile or productive for the following year, I've come up with the perfect New year's resolution for 2011: cook up some real food in the kitchen. 

As much as I would like to admit that I'm a stay-at-home mom, I don't cook much. Although I could not count the number of times I cooked for my family with my fingers and toes, I could count with my one hand the so-called food I cooked for them. One was fried egg, then there's fried fish, and some ready-to-cook food stuffs and that covers everything. My one attempt at making something different was a veggie recipe, which consisted of potatoes, cabbages, and carrots. I just sauteed everything in the frying pan, added some salt and sauce, then viola, my kids and partner didn't eat it. Although by the time I was done cooking I was really famished I almost finished everything. I failed to notice the bland taste of the stuff I've prepared because of my hunger. 

Sometimes, it embarrasses me how my partner is the better cook. When he prepares our meal, my little tykes would all get excited and look forward to meal time. I'm not jealous though that he can whip up something good in the kitchen, I'm just a bit frustrated because I don't know a fig about anything in the kitchen. This issue has been niggling in the back of my mind since we moved to an apartment late 2009, and I just couldn't ignore it anymore when, at the right moment, another realization helped me make up my mind.

Another mind-opening event happened on New year's Eve when I was forced to pay an exorbitant amount for a pan of lasagna. Since I don't know how to bake one, and I was really craving for lasagna for our New year's Eve dinner, I ordered from my sister's friend. Upon eating a slice of lasagna I realized that I could make one just like this if I have the recipe for it. I'll just start with a simple recipe and just add my signature to it later when I become an expert.

If this ain't delicious, I don't know what is....

Photo source: recipe-to-make.com


So, topping the list of meals I have to learn this year is: (drum rolls please) Lasagna! I've found a relatively easy to make lasagna that I can follow without putting a hole in my pocket courtesy of the Pinoy Food blog. I'm confident that if I just follow each step carefully, I'd be able to make a passable lasagna and with constant practice, I'll be able to ace the recipe. Aside from this recipe, the site also offers so many other Filipino style recipes that I can go through and try cooking. I'm pretty excited to make my first recipe and I'll post pictures of my creations if embarrassment doesn't get the best of me.

Since food is one of my greatest passion, I'd also like to try cooking some of my fave foods. The second and third recipes to top my list are chicken salad and pansit palabok. I've just found the perfect site that offers free recipes: Filipino recipes. I hope to be able to cook any of these three recipes by February 22 for Smokeshade's birthday. It's the least I could do for all the yummy cooking he's done for us. Yum.... Thinking about it makes my mouth water...

Photo source: filipinodesserts.net and http://www.kusina.info.ph.

Since it's almost lunch time anyway, I'm off to buying food for our lunch. Wish me luck everyone!

One fine afternoon at MELs

   As I have been working at home for more than 4 months now, I can already feel some of its disadvantages. For one, no amount of chatting or posting shoutouts compensate for the desire of a face-to-face conversation. In my case, when I suddenly decided to resign from my current job to pursue a freelance career, I didn't think to stop and consider leaving some of my closest friends in the office. As I made a hasty leave in the office, afterwards being caught up in the adjustment period of my new job, it was only recently that I realized that I miss my friends.


  So, how do you remedy this? The answer is plain simple: Go out and meet people every once in a while. As soon as I realized that I missed my friends I immediately grabbed the opportunity of meeting them when a friend issued an invitation to meet, and fair enough, I had a good time catching up with them. Although the group was not complete because a couple of friends were missing, we still managed to have a good time.

     Aside from this, we tried a new place in town called From the kitchen of MEL's cafe and the food didn't disappoint. It was fairly priced and the servings are just enough to satisfy one's palette. The place has a relaxed ambiance and although we had to wait for the food for some considerable amount of time, there were a lot of diversions to keep us busy. The resto offers a game called dodecamino where your analytical skills and patience are challenged and you get to receive some cute stuff when you form some of the shapes they specified. If you don't want to stress yourself out, you can also listen to some good music while reading a bestseller from their book collection or browse through entertainment magazines. For the most part, all we did was talk until the food arrived.


   All in all, we had a blast and I get to relax and meet my goal of meeting my friends. I tagged my oldest son along and thankfully, he really behaved all throughout the outing. At the end of the day, I find myself looking forward to another social activity where I can really interact with people. Although I usually like to be by myself most of the time and I love being a home-based ghostwriter and copyeditor, it still pays to establish some connection every now and then. My friends and I have already planned to meet next month and I'm already looking forward to it.

     Sometimes it galls me to see people who I know are having a hard time in their personal lives but still want to put up a facade that everything's right for my benefit. !$%@ I really hate it! I was suppose to make this note on Facebook or Twitter, but I don't want to give these people an idea that i'm talking about them. I'm just really pissed with it. At one point in time, they've been part of my life, but things ended because I ended it and I think they've been bitter ever since. Effin people! They don't even know that I know what they've been going through right now, so don't give me that you're-highly-successful-and-rich attitude because I know the real score. You're more messed up than I am and I really hate your guts... You can't even fix your own problems so stop looking at mine...

     I think this will do for now. I just need to get it out of my system and set the record straight. I really effin hate you...

     

   I'm trying to keep my blog updated and I really am staying true to my word. I'm having a grand time choosing templates for my blog and I think I've found the perfect template. It's all about books, books, and more books. Although my blog focuses on my everyday activities and not particularly on books, I still find it the perfect fit because I love to read, read, and read. Ever since I can remember, I've been reading books. I grew up surrounded by books and I read voraciously, so I am really pleased to choose this template for my blog.

   I know I don't sound too good today. I just had dinner with Emman and baby Van and I'm so full I'm bursting at the seams that all I want to do right now is hit the sack. I know I can't do it though! I still have a lot of things to finish like the article I'm editing and I still need to check on my mails. hehe... I'm way behind my tasks and I still have to get up early tomorrow to do the laundry. Isn't it fun being a mom? But hey, I'm not complaining. I love my kids and it doing the laundry is like an exercise for me too.


   Well I just realized something. I'm going to make this short because I can't think clearly anymore. I'm so effin sleepy so I'm really gonna hit the sack! Nyt2x everyone...

Over everything!

   A month ago I decided to make the ultimate decision. I resigned from my stable job and instead focused on being a full-time mother and part-time home-based worker. I wasn't happy with the way things were going on in the office and I could picture myself being transferred from one project to another for the rest of my employment in the company. Although training from one project to another is a blessing, it helped me become very flexible, the constant shift has taken its toll on the quality of articles I produced. I mixed one project instruction with the other project and I was afraid that sooner or later, I would make a major error that can create a major feedback. And something about the atmosphere in the office that's proving to be unhealthy and contagious has been going on lately. There's a certain enmity lurking within the CE group and I couldn't shake off the bad feeling. I was also becoming really agitated and irritable and I didn't like it one bit. Something about the way things are being implemented. I really hated it! 

  

  Going without household help for months has also left me exhausted that I had to resign. I had to do almost everything and I was really burned out. My limit has been stretched and I've been bingeing on all the comfort foods I know as a stress buster. I shop for chocolates, chips, ice cream, and of course, my favorite meringue. Suffice it to say that I've been getting bigger and bigger with each passing day. From 115 lbs. to 130 lbs. and that's really something... tsk..tsk... As much as I'd like to buy new clothes to accommodate my bigger body comfortably, I could not do so. 

     Of course, now that I'm at home I'm bigger than ever, but I'm not worried though. I plan to start a diet and exercise regimen that will surely ensure a slimmer and healthier body. tehee... Hope I can do it. Anyway, I'm trying my hand at writing and I'm thankful for a college acquaintance who recommended me to his boss. I write articles on various niches and I really like the experience although I run out of words to write every once in a while. My boss is  very understanding and our working relationship is A-okay. I also am applying for the freelance program of my previous company because I find the work very beneficial for me and of course, I have to give back something for the company that gave us food on the table for four years. I've always been thankful for the job and even if I sometimes complain about the working conditions, I still owe it to continue working for them even on a part-time basis.

     Lastly, I'm happy with the way things are going because I get to spend most of my time with the kiddos. It's been very fulfilling, although sometimes frustrating, and I'm very grateful for this blessing from the Lord. I love being a work-at-home mom! I'm a certified homebody so a good book is my idea of a quality R&R!

All in a day's work...

  This one's going to be short. Today, the good Lord has blessed me with the best gift possible, a household help! After almost three weeks of toiling like a madwoman, juggling kids, work at home, and work at the office, I got me a new household help. Thank you Lord for your kindness... I got down with the flu, complete with the body aches, the headache, the barking cough, and the runny nose and I still had to work to keep my end of the bargain (Smokeshade was cooking and taking care of the kids while i'm at work!). I learned a lot from this experience and every time I feel like shouting at our household help for some minor mistakes, i'll remember this experience and relive that moment. Borderline insanity... hehe... The greatest thing i've learned though is patience is a virtue... I know it's not one of mine, but i've learned to embrace it for the past three weeks. I love my kids and I love Smokeshade for being so understanding... Even when I ruined two of his favorite shirts while doing the laundry, not to mention Evan's ruined shirt too... Gotta go now! I'm sleepy but happy... I'm floating on cloud nine even if I have no money.... Tehee.... Goodnight folks... Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite...

Home is where the current apartment is!

   Tehee.... here I am again? After a couple of months' absence i'm back, i'm not promising for good but I hope to blog frequently now that a new year's approaching. This is one of my new year's resolution: to blog more often...

   I've been busy, yet again! This time, it's more productive than just sitting around, doing what nots. We finally made the big move! Yup, we moved from The Cave to a sunnier location. hehe... Is that the right description? Everything was a blur... We spent the holidays in our new home and we plan to welcome the new year in our new home too, for good luck. Before anybody reacts, yes, we're still renting for the moment, but we plan to acquire a home.

   It was really exciting moving to a new place, knowing that it really is your new home already. I love the place we found, it's good for the kids. The house has a lot of space where the kids can play and it is secure. I won't have a heart attack at any moment since we are far from the main road and there is a concrete fence around the compound. The big bonuses are there is a lot of windows and sunshine pours in, the ventilation is good and the house is really spacious. Smokeshade and I had a lot of fun shopping for things to put in our new home. Hehe... We bought a new fridge, new stove, thermos. Some things that we can't buy yet like the dispenser, the washing machine, we borrowed from my mom and his mom. But, yes eventually we plan to buy our own everything. But it was really fun shopping for houseware and the basic things that we needed for our new home. The downside of it all was that almost all our savings are spent. Well, you can't have the cake and eat it too, so I guess, i'm just going to settle for a new home now. But i'm floating on cloud 9. Ah, pure bliss... Now, I can do anything I want without having to care for anybody else. I love the feeling and it seems that Smokeshade and the kids are having a grand time too. Even the household help was also enjoying her time, nobody to order her around anymore. So, we're all going to spend new year's eve tomorrow here... I luv it..

   So, gotta go now.... I've said more than enough... Here's something that's really true... Got this from the countryheart.co.uk site.