Body Shop Tea Tree Mattifying Toner.

I am not at all flawless. In fact, I am flaw-ful. So, since I was a teenager, I have tried all sorts of facial products. The years of trying has actually brought me to where I am now -- uneven skin texture and a very oily face.

I do actually have a hormonal problem which I found out during my twenties... after years of experimenting. And that was the root cause of my imperfect skin.

Now that I am in my 30s, I have made a few adjustments to my lifestyle that have made me a bit more healthy. I should've done that years ago... but it is never too late to start taking care of your health.

As for my skin, I do not try so hard anymore, accepting my fate of having an imperfect, flaw-ful skin. And then I changed work and met new people. An officemate convinced me to have another go to taking care of my skin more. I does not really hurt to take care of a part of your body... only on the pocket!

My first plunge into the beauty world was the Body Shop Tea Tree Mattifying Toner.

I use this every night, after washing my face. Body Shop recommends this to be used both in the morning and at night but I resorted to just to do a thorough cleansing at night.

The product lives up to its promise of lessening the oiliness. I have indeed been less oily especially on my T-zone. It kind of smells like medicine -- but I think that is how Tea Tree smells. After several use, I was able to get used to it.

I think I may have found the right toner for me after years of experimenting.

(Not a paid entry)

Making Tea.

Growing herbs is my on and off hobby. I buy herbs, plant, grow them. They sometimes stay with me, they sometimes die. And then I have those that almost died -- but got rescued. There are also who are just so fit, I am able to propagate.

The best thing about growing herbs is when you get to use (or harvest) them.

Take for example my taragon and my mint. 

My sister M was the one who started it -- making tea from the dried herb leaves.

It's not really rocket science. I just cut the dried leaves from the plants.

Taragon

Mint

Dried leaves

I place the leaves on a coffee paper filter... paper filter placed on a teapot, poured hot water on it.

After around 4 minutes, voila.

Your homemade tea.

Learning Again.

My last post was back in February. Happy that it did not take me a year before writing another entry.

I have no other excuse but that life is indeed hectic. Every now and then, I find time to relax but the time is spent either sleeping or bumming around.

Yes... a lot of things has happened already. Big things. I hope to enumerate them in several posts. I might end up not actually blogging about them but will try my very best.

One recent thing that has made me be in touch with my creative self again is baking.

I had my kitchen re-done which meant buying a new oven. Of course, the idea is for me/us to use it.

But the inspiration really came from Gemma, a UK-based colleague from my ex-office. She was here on a 6-month assignment and had been baking whilst she was here in Manila, sharing her finished products to everyone in the office. She grew up in a place where baking is like cooking, anybody can just do it without any degree or extreme passion. All you need is be interested, a bit of research, some tools and ingredients.

I have attempted twice already. Both successful. I don't think I am a talented baker but I can do this, just like cooking, and come up with decent products that will certainly satisfy the diners inside our homey home.

My first legit baking - Chocolate Cupcakes. The recipe, I found in this link.

Ingredients 
Serves: 16 

• 1 1/3 cups (170g) plain flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
• pinch salt

• 50g butter, softened
• 1½ cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¾ teaspoon (7ml) vanilla essence
• 1 cup (250ml) milk

Directions
Prep:25min  ›  Cook:15min  ›  Extra time:5min  ›  Ready in:45min 

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a muffin pan with patty cups.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until a fine skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Ice with your favourite icing when cool.

And after, Choco Banana Cupcake which was a big success. All consumed in 5 hours by the kids and adults.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup mini chocolate chips

sugar for sprinking on top

I added: 1/4 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine bananas, oil, egg large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate large bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder (and the pinch of salt). Add to banana mixture. (Add the vanilla). Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with 1 teaspoon of sugar.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.

The second time felt easier with me baking much faster. I think I will be doing this for a while. 

Butter or vanilla cupcake, next?

Idioms.

It is the 2016 GREAT British Festival weekend so do not forget to drop by the Bonifacio HIgh Street grounds.

I thought of writing about the one thing that constantly amazes me while working with colleagues from the UK... their idioms.

It has become a topic of conversation recently in the office so one of my colleagues volunteered to write an idiom for the week in our board with the definition and give examples of how to use it. But even before that, whenever I hear something new, I would google the meaning then send a quick email to my husband -- maybe we could use them in our conversations (not really)!

Here are some and how I understood them.

1. "throw your toys out of the pram" - You make a big deal out of a small problem.. therefore you act like a baby.

2. "running around like headless chickens" - You quickly do things with no control or no aim. Or doing things without a plan, very disorganised.

3. "can't see the wood for the trees" - You are unable to see the big picture and there is too much focus on the details.

4. "cut off your nose to spite your face" - You purposely go through an inconvenience just to annoy someone else.

5. "pull up your socks" - You double up your efforts to improve.

6. "in a pickle" - You are in a pretty big mess.

7. "handed a hospital pass" - A term in football where the ball is passed on to someone who will more likely be hurt... apply this to everyday life.

8. "the jury is still out" - There is no decision or answer yet.

Filipinos do have idioms - we call it "kataga". While writing this entry, I did some googling and was surprised that we use quite a lot of idioms in our daily conversations, too. Perhaps, if my UK colleagues can understand Filipino, they will also scratch their heads when we say "bukas palad" or "mababaw ang luha". And they might also make us write the kataga for the week in our office board.

The #GreatBritishFestival is only until tomorrow. Please join the fun.

Art, Science, Toddlers and Sleep.

It has been more than a year since I had AC. More than a year of having two kids.

I had been a mom of one for six years before my girl came. I think I have raised a well-mannered, healthy, smart boy.

But nothing prepares you 100% for another new child.

The drills I have concocted on JG when he was a baby did not all work with AC. I had to find other ways to make her stop from doing something short of a disaster, make her sit on the car seat without any fuss and, yes, make her sleep.

It has been a year of theories, experiments, success and failures.

While I am no expert mom (again I only have two), I hope to share some of the ways I found to be effective in making my babies, actually toddlers, sleep... so the Mom can sleep well, too.

The Science of Pattern. This other moms swear by. And it has been effective on my two kids. Babies need to understand that there is a time for everything and having a pattern signals when the next activity is coming up. If you give him/her a bath or read a book before s/he sleeps, repeat that every night at about the same time leading to that quiet hour when they need to close their eyes.

Now, the tricky part is to deal with how your kid reacts to the signal for sleeping. My JG took it as it was - a segue to sleeping time. AC dreaded it.

The Art of Isolation. It is indeed challenging to have their playmate be in the same room while it is sleeping time. By playmate, I refer to their Dad. The sight of Mr. Mascot/Clown/Magician does excite these little creatures so the dad really needs to get into the program.

Again, JG with one stern look managed to simmer himself down. AC, on the other hand, does not back down while her father is within reach.

I have managed to be in control by putting the daddy (and AC's bro) to sleep first - which he, of course, welcomed wholeheartedly. Further to that and even if I love the feel of our bed, I have moved to the sofa bed with AC so she has no distractions but me. I missed my bed but I love my sleep more.

The Science of the Expensive Diaper. This worked for both kids. I am a cheapskate so I stock on cheap diapers used for the day and then stock on the expensive 12-hour dry feeling ones for the nighttime sleep.

Weighing the pros and cons of the expensive diaper was an easy one since as you may have realized by now, I value my sleep more than a pair of diamond earrings. So netting it all off, I think I have gained.

The Art of Suggestive Selling. This goes hand in hand with setting a pattern. And has worked with my little girl. She, as with other tots, always wants to have a bottle before sleeping. A few hours before bedtime, I bombard her with our codename for bottle - "didi". She laughs, I say "Didi?". She shouts, I say "Didi?". She dances, I say "Didi?". And then finally, she gives in and says, "Didi?". Sold.

The Art of Pretending. Worked well on both of them. I wanted my kids to sleep, my kids wanted me to play with them. It's all mind games - whoever is stronger in mind, wins. Of course, there were days when I was tired from office work and I just wanted to be still. These are the best times to pretend - pretend that I am asleep. Eyes should be super shut because of the serious eye poking attempts.

And because I have the stronger mind (and eyelids), the little critters just give up. And sleep. 

The Art and Science of Letting Go. If all else fails - where my cognitive and physiological strength cannot handle things anymore (we have our days), either I go ahead and sleep, or I do a bit of drama. With both kids, it has never failed, the Daddy wakes up and intervenes.

Peace and quiet.

This is how I am surviving two kids of different sleeping personalities.

Fishy. Fishy.

A few minutes after I published the entry about our house pets, I found Red Star lying on the his tank on one side. He died.

I was not devastated. I just had to re-live my failed attempts at taking care of an aquatic animal. My little boy, JG, was not sad but was quite scared - it was his first time to see a dead pet. And it did not help that our dinner that night was fish.

I went through a very short period of mourning while I tended to Red Star's vacated tank the next morning. I fixed the plants, cleaned the small cave, brushed the sides of the tank in and out thoroughly.

While I was at it, I realized that it was time to be serious about having a pet fish... thanks to my son's friend who gifted the fish, Red Star the fish and his therapeutic effect during my fish watching time.

That evening, we went to the Pet City in Bonifacio High Street. It has become my favorite store actually - very helpful and very patient to my endless questions and my piecemeal purchases.

We got five -- 3 Pink Danios and 2 Neon Tetras.

Aren't they cute?

And yes, I finally bought a tank filter.

When Red Star was around, I also found out that aquarium planting is relaxing. So I got myself into it. It does not take a lot - pruning and re-planting here and there. Sometimes, I re-position the plants and then, I think about the next plant to add into the small ecosystem.

The tank filter made the water quality even clearer -- I now have a nicer view of my pets and plants.

Extra Housemates.

I grew up with animals around. At one point, my parents' house had tons -- dogs, cats and chickens. Dogs, we had a lot until I grew up. My parents still have dogs until now. Then, there was the time when I attempted to take care of a few goldfish (they all died after two weeks), not to mention the snails I brought home from school (they all crawled away and got lost)! 

I have not seemed to outgrow pets. We did get one three years ago. Our yellow lab named Percy. Here he is now.

We got another dog two years later. This time a chihuahua. We named him Jake. Here he is the day I brought him home.

And now look. All grown up and playful as ever.

And then just recently, my boy got a gift from a classmate for the National Pet Awareness Day. He got a betta fish and named him Red Star.

He was in a fishbowl for a few days. Then, we upgraded his tank!

Red Star now has another companion - a snail named Garri.

I have been contemplating getting some more fish but my strong obsession about conserving electricity has been getting in the way. I know at some point my desire of seeing more fish in the tank will overcome me. Or perhaps, I will end up adopting birds instead.

Coloring Books.

I love coloring since I was a child. I secretly stole a page or two from my younger siblings' coloring books and colored them. Good thing that kind of 'stealing' was not an issue to them so there was no shouting or hair pulling about the coloring books.

Until now, I would color some pages of my son's coloring books. I'd use his used crayolas and at one time I even used his watercolor.

I was ecstatic one afternoon when my boss told me about the latest trend - adult coloring books. They are for the very busy and stressed people who needed zen moments.

Off I went to the malls to get my own books. Here are my books and what I have done so far.

It's amazing how we now "adultize" kid activities. Just goes to show that it is indeed fun to be young.

The Milk Challenge.

I came across this facebook page recently -- Breast milk is best, but only if you have breast milk. And after reading through the information, I felt that I had to write something about my experience.

This is for the mothers who painfully and wholeheartedly tried but decided that motherhood is not based on another one's facebook page.

With JG, my firstborn, I was not able to successfully breastfeed him exclusively. No one guided me or perhaps I was just not into it so for one year, I mixed feed him with both my milk and formula.

Before AC was born, I was very determined to breastfeed. I thought I know better, I was more prepared. There are more ways to ensure successful breastfeeding and more support nowadays. We have websites, blogs, facebook pages and lactation consultants. Armed with all these, I purchased the best pump in town and all the other things necessary for successful breastfeeding.

I gave birth in a hospital that is a 100% advocate of breastfeeding. Newborns are roomed in... the babies are actually beside their moms straight from the tummy regardless of how they came into this world -- normal or caesarian.

AC's first two days were promising... not a single drop of formula. During our third day in the hospital, she did not stop crying... I offered my breast, she would latch but got irritated after a few minutes. I kept on asking for the nurse's help but she repeatedly said that my baby just needed a few drops of my milk -- she was fine. After 4 requests and one mad and desperate face, she pushed that I be quickly visited by the resident pediatrician. Two residents came and examined AC. They quickly observed me while breastfeeding and said that it was all about positioning. I resigned to the doctors' advice and adjusted more despite the painful stitches on my tummy.

The following day, our last in the hospital, we realised that AC did not pee nor poop for almost a day. Thank God for her pediatrician. She spent time to observe, examined AC then decided that we should supplement. Before leaving she was given 10ml of supplement... she slept so peacefully for a good 3 hours. Imagine - AC was starving the whole time.

For one month, I strove to feed AC exclusively. I had to supplement once in a while because I just cannot keep up. My supply did grow but not as much as she needed so my days were filled with just feeding and feeding and feeding. 

And then after a month, I decided to give in. I decided to give her a bottle of formula. Why? Because my JG also needed me and my sanity was on the line. 

From then on, i gave her both my milk and formula. I felt a better me. 

AC is almost one and still latches every night. I think we are down to just a few drops of my milk now but she is still fond of me. And yes, so is my 7 year old son.

I salute all mothers who exclusively breastfeed. They have done very well.

But I don't think I am less of a Mom for not being able to do so. And this everyone should openly see and celebrate as well. I felt extremely guilty - not being able to exclusively give the best milk for my baby because they always say, almost all women can do this. And then, I quickly realised that it is not about the milk we give, it is about being a mother and doing a good job as one. 

There are a lot of pressures that mothers need to go through. All the advice and information available are there for us, ONLY as a guide to be the best. At the end of the day, one should just listen to her heart (and to her kids).. that is what it's all about. 

I am a Mom. I am trying my best. And that's enough.

Parting Ways.

I had her for the last 35 years.

Many people told me to get rid of her but I just could not. Either I did not have time or I thought it would be bad luck to let go of her.

How do you ever part ways with a little mole friend of 35 years?!?

See her resting on my nose.

I must say that she grew up not really as beautiful but I am sure she made me different.

It just felt right and I knew the timing was now. So four days ago, I said goodbye to her (and her twin on my back!).

Still have the stitches on my nose but I can't wait to see the finished product.

Goodbye, Mole/s. Thanks for making me stand out from the rest.

Open Spaces.

I recently went on a trip to London. I {heart} London. I think it is one of the amazing cities in the world, if not the most. With so much history and character, a first timer will always be in awe. Actually, I have been there twice yet I was still in awe.

London has a lot of parks and open spaces. They do not run out of greens. And this is one of the things that I appreciate in this city a lot.

On a sunny day, you will find everyone out enjoying the sun and the grass. They spend a lot of time in the park but make sure that they keep it clean.

During my visit, I tried it for myself. Walked to St. James's Park. Grabbed my coke and phone. Sat on the grass. Watched the passersby and relaxed. It was nice and peaceful.

How I wish we have the same here in Metro Manila. The only one I know is UP. We have Luneta but is it still as grassy and clean? It's been years since I last visited.

I saw High Street yesterday. I think it is the next best thing. And while it's a compromise between concrete and grass, I am happy that most of the time people were allowed to step on the grass.

I have seen parks with cordoned grasses. It's such a shame.

High Street greens welcome everyone... even the pets.

I still think Metro Manila could do better parks with less structures and retail area. But this is fine for now... somewhere where AC can practice walking.

Yoga.

Believe it or not, I have been doing yoga lately.

It all started with a bad back which I had way back. For a while, it has stopped but carrying a baby has helped pave the way for its return.

The overreacting side of me has caused me to panic a bit so off I went to the an orthopedic doctor. He fully supported my then just thoughts about yoga.

My friend Faye was the real yogi in all of this. I always thought that she does not really need yoga as she is super skinny. She was happy to accompany me to Yogaplus and 'ninang' me to my very first yoga class.

Of course, the first yoga experience was not easy. The 90-minute class seemed forever. I am the most un-flexible person I know and the laziest when it comes to working out so lasting the whole class deserved an A for effort.

I learned that yoga is not only for people for who want to lose weight. It is primarily for people who want to be healthy in mind and spirit. I particularly liked the purpose building at the start where the instructor points out that each one of the participants has their own reason to attend class and so be it. Mine were the bad back and a chance to work out after giving birth.

After 12 yoga classes, I am still at it. I am doing Hot Yoga, mind you. My back is not as bad anymore -- could have been better if I do it more often in a week but nah, I do not have the time. My reason has leveled up - I REALLY want to be more healthy and I have put to heart that some kind of activity will be of great help.

No, I do not do the hard poses. I have not graduated from the basic ones. I cannot and have not attempted to do the hand stand (not the correct yoga name for it). I do not do my practice apart from the once a week class. And my favorite pose is still the savasana or the pose of total relaxation (think lying down on your back, feet apart, hands freely on the side).

Someday. Who knows. I never thought I would go beyond my trial class.

*For more details about Yogaplus, please check this link.

'Like' Notes.

I can't believe notes like these have been written by a Grade 2 girl. And I am amazed that the notes were personally given by the Grade 2 girl to a boy classmate.

While I was proud that this was given to my JG, I was scratching my head... confused that kids, actually, LITTLE GIRLS nowadays are capable of professing love or shall I say like to boys they fancy. 

I was trying to remember if I had the same kind of fondness for a boy when I was 7. There were flashbacks where I was being teased to random boys and being so mad about it. But I do not recall having the courage to give a note of sweet nothings to the opposite sex.

Now, JG is talking about having his first girlfriend. Ha! I was speechless for a few seconds.

What a brave little girl. I hope to see her soon.

Aftermath.

2014 was all about the pregnancy and having AC. It was no surprise that shopping for self was the least thing in my mind.

It is now 2015. Just a little over the half year mark. And I just came to realize that I have busted my shoe shopping budget big time.

Here is the first of the series. Quite expensive Tory Burch so I was thinking back in January that this would be my last shoe purchase for the year.

I was doing great. No purchase since January. Then came the walking shoes which I bought at Aerosoles in May. Something that I said to myself I needed given the amount of walking I was about to do in my business trip to London.

July. Sale season. I have been wanting to purchase another Kenneth Cole as it was the only shoe my feet love dearly. I did not dare getting a pair for the longest time because they cost almost P8,000. But shoes were 50% off this month.

And last but not the least, another damage caused by the July sale season. Reason was to support the British economy through Dune. And oh, I never had any sandals for so long.

I guess things catch up pretty fast. You thought you have lost but no. A shoe shopper by heart will always be a shoe shopper. 

I must point out, though, that I never ever buy shoes that are not on sale - it just does not make sense to buy at full price.

That is it. I am done for this year - let's extend to next year.

Oops. I still need to buy one more for my sister's wedding. Shucks.

Two Kids. Several Roles.

I know that having two kids is difficult. But I never thought it would be THAT difficult.

It is really literally juggling different roles on a daily basis. I am not only a Mom, I am also a:

• wife
• a boss at work
• a subordinate at work
• a colleague at work
• a chief operating officer at home
• a teacher to my 7 year old

Let us not forget that I, too, am a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, an in-law. Thankfully, those roles do not take much of my time but, of course, I need to be where I should be when necessary.

And then there is myself. I do need to do a cameo regularly, don't I?

Oh, I do not want to be glorified for my superhuman-ness. I really have no time for that. They say it is a choice I made so most definitely I have to swallow the consequences of it - and yes fully aware of that. But sometimes, whenever I am in my most sacred alone time (short but sweet nowadays), I do think why things have come to this. Not my choices, but the fact that there needs to be choices between home and non-home stuff.

And that is a bigger question that I do not think will have enough answers. So I carry on as usual and look forward to the time when things get easier - I am sure they will.

Changes.

My life changed all of a sudden. I am now a Mom of two. My sweet boy (let's call him JG) and my new pretty baby girl.

Hubby and I were blessed with a second baby six years after. Imagine the years. I feel like a new Mom. Good thing my boy can fend for himself... and is even another hand when my two ones are not enough.

Honestly, I wanted another boy. I did not believe that I am a Mom fit for a girl. And I love the way boys adore and "fear" their Moms -- oh yes, selfish reasons.

But my girl is so adorable. I cannot believe I wished for a boy. Never mind how cranky she becomes when sleepy. Never mind how hard it is to bottle feed her -- she likes my boobies more. Never mind that she mostly does not sleep long during the day. She makes up for them with her numerous bedimpled smiles, her interesting goo gaa stories, her 7-8 hour sleep at night and many, many more.

Blog, meet my AC. You will hear a lot about her.

Awesome Stuff.

Isn't it great that there are so many intelligent human beings who have a passion for inventing things to make lives better?

We are waaaay past the Stone Age or the Renaissance period so we may not have a 'rock-my-world' kind of invention anymore. And we do tend to take new things for granted now... because things change so fast and life is overly complicated. So, many of the good stuff go unnoticed.

Anyway, I do have a list of awesome stuff that are extremely useful to my boring life. While I can still imagine life without them, I am still raving the fact that they exist and are very affordable to common people like me.

The 3M Command

3M describes it as "Damage-Free Hanging Solutions". And yes, it is true to its promise. The secret is actually the sticky mounting strips and a user who is willing to follow the instructions carefully. 

Our home is filled with it -- for picture frame hanging, hooks, even bathroom stuff.

It can be a bit pricey but your walls are kept intact and bathroom tiles are not damaged. If you do have heavy paintings to attach to the walls -- still best to do it the old way though.


Colored Printers, Photo Papers

At this day and age when a kid's homework involves the use of too many visuals, I am so thankful for printers and photo papers... add on the digital cameras and Google. We do not need to scramble through numerous magazines (cutting them would be heartbreaking, too), rush to a nearby Photo ID shop, or rummage the old cabinet for old photo albums.


The Bra Strap Extensions

I know this is old stuff but has been a very useful bit while pregnancy. For a mere Php50 (price of each one), I was able to manage additional pregnancy girth with this sweet little thing.

The Epilator

This is one of the best advices (if not the best) my sister has ever told me.

Gone are the days of spending too much time plucking. Gone are the days of hair ingrown and chicken skin underarm.

Hello to quick and easy hair pulling. And the best part is... hair grows back thinner!

Why didn't I find out about you years back?!

Ladies, if you don't have one... get one!


I do have some more in my list. But these are my favorites. Whoever invented them, thank you so much. You all made things easy indeed.

David Rocco's Meatball Spaghetti

David Rocco is hubby's favourite chef to watch (man crush?). Probably because he is suave. Lol.

Once in a while I watch Mr. Rocco's cooking show with him. I chanced upon his Meatball Spaghetti that is surely Italian, exciting to taste and looked easy to make.

Ingredients for the meatballs...

Lean ground beef, about 1 Kilo

Ricotta Cheese, 200g

 

1 egg

Sundried tomatoes, chopped

Parmigiano cheese, 1-2 cups grated

Your usual salt and pepper

For the tomato sauce...

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 onion, chopped

Tomato sauce (or puree if you have)

Salt and pepper

I have given measurements above but please feel free to experiment. I am sure your sense of smell and taste will find their way.

How to prepare:

1) Combine the ground beef, ricotta cheese, egg, sundried tomatoes, grated parmigiano, salt and pepper. Make sure they are mixed well and evenly.

2) Using your hands, shape the meat into balls.

 

3) You may add the meatballs uncooked to your sauce or fry them with EVOO. I wanted them fried!

4) For the sauce, cook the onion in EVOO until translucent. Add the tomato sauce then bring to a boil.

5) Add salt and pepper to taste.

6) Throw in your fried meatballs then cook for 5-10 more minutes.

7) If you opt to put in the uncooked meatballs, throw them in the sauce and cook for 30 more minutes on medium heat.

8) Don't forget your pasta.

9) Plate. Serve. Enjoy.

Have some wine to achieve a more Italian dinner!