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?

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.

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.

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.

Almost A Year.

Indeed.

I have never thought I would be this busy. From trying to conceive to being pregnant.

Yes, I am pregnant again with my second child. It has been a six-year journey... filled with ups and downs. Finally, the baby is coming very soon -- and she is a girl!

God works in mysterious ways.

The boy is now going to a big school. Hubby is enjoying work. Things are okay now. I am thankful that I am blessed.

In the next few weeks, I will be busy prepping the house... making it baby-ready and, at the same time, maintaining the 6-year old's space. Tricky.

To start with.

My boy's hand-me-down crib still looks like brand new. This was purchased six years ago - at half the mall's price. Thanks to my good friend from my former office.

The first purchase at Php 6,000 is an old school rocking chair from Market Market's Home Market. Made in Vigan. Something very useful for sleepless nights... and for a not so sleepy baby (oh, please be sleepy!).

 

Slowly getting back into the groove and revisiting my creative side. I miss it a lot.

I will see you a bit often again.

New Therapy.

I found a new pastime recently - gardening.

I remember being able to make plants grow back in my elementary days when mongo planting and onion growing were major Science projects.  Still, I was surprised to rediscover my green thumb having saved a mint plant and a eugenia plant from near death experience.

It is a good therapy and a worthwhile 'me' time - taking care of very passive living things, beautifying them and even talking to them sometimes (with the risk of looking insane to the neighbors).  I got my boy involved... he enjoys it, too.

I have been re-planting the extra Irises that were not used by my bro for the landscaping he did for our place.  It is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

This is the Iris in the temporary plastic pot.
I got my pot.  It is a cement pot which I purchased from the rows of gardening stores along White Plains.
Bro advised me to use a potting mix instead of the garden soil.  This helps the plant grow well in a pot.  Nutrients are limited in a pot of garden soil - the potting mix is sort of your fortified soil.
To re-plant, remove the plastic pot but cutting it exposing the mound of soil with the Iris.  Place the mound of soil to the cement pot then start filling up the pot with potting mix.  Tap it once in a while to ensure that the soil is tight.
I prefer topping the soil with rice hulls to absorb moisture and for aesthetics as this is an ornamental plant.  This should be easily available in your ordinary garden store.
Place the pot in your preferred area.  Do not forget to water the plant after transplanting.
Iris is actually a flowering plant.  It is easy to grow and care for according to bro - low maintenance, very much compatible to my less active lifestyle.  It needs sunlight but will still thrive in areas with shade only that the flowers may not bloom.  

Here is the Iris flower in our pocket garden.

Wall Two.

I have decided to set my home-decorating mission into very small milestones so I will not feel so overwhelmed with filling up our small abode.  As you know, I started with the one-walled foyer.  I am proceeding with the "wall milestone" approach which, in my estimate, should get me to complete the whole mission in 2-3 years!

I have just finished another wall.  This is one of our living room walls.  At the back of which is our jungle storage area.
Let us start with my nice jar which I got from Mandaue Foam for a little over PHP2,000.  It  has the same design as my other jar in the foyer but in a different shape.
This is my cute red cabinet which I purchased from iDeas almost a year ago.  I did a bit of an overspend on this one because I fell in love with it.  It looks antique and is not an ordinary furniture piece.  This holds the mini DeVant TV which we got from a sale. The TV, by the way, only costs more than PHP7,000 and is doing pretty well.

The paintings I purchased from the Home Market section of Market! Market!  They have the original paintings done by Filipino artists... not as famous as Arturo Luz but their works are very nice, too.

This is a depiction of Old Manila by a certain painter with the last name Cruz.  I apologize for not getting his full name.  I need to go back and ask.  Price of the painting plus the frame is PHP450.
The black and white painting captures the Eiffel Tower.  This is by another Filipino painter with the last name Alvarez... again, I am not doing my homework.  Sorry.  This cost me around PHP700.
The most expensive art we have is a painting of the Magellan's Cross by Antonio Calma.  Not too expensive still because we got this for just PHP3,000 after haggling with the art store.  We are after all their "suki" already.  I really liked the color and how it blends with the furniture placed on this wall.

That's 2 down and more than 10 walls to go.  

By the time I finish, I may need to start re-decorating again.  But, I guess, this is the fun (and pocket damaging!) part of building a home.

Foyer Done.

It is a project that has a moving target completion date.  I guess it will take some more months (perhaps, years?).  The more important thing is that there is progress.


I am happy to tell the world that our foyer is now complete.

Our house is not big so don't be surprised if the foyer I am talking about is just one wall.  This took 10 months to finish.  See...

The sunburst mirror I got from True Value in the Powerplant.  Sunburst mirrors are said to be lucky because they symbolize glowing or bursting energy.  Damage was Php5,000.

Elephant figurines also help bring good luck especially if their trunks are pointing upward.  They also say that the figurines should not face the door else luck will escape.  Got my set from Mandaue Foam and costs Php800.

The two picture frames we got as gifts while the wooden piece was from the Home Market at the Market! Market!.  It was made from Bulacan and costs Php180.

All of these from Mandaue Foam.  Damages were Php1,000 for the bowl and Php200-220 for those round stuff.

The console table was a great find from the Home Market at Market! Market!.  It was from Ilocos, made of Mahogany and costs only Php2,300 (after bargaining).

The nice slim jar was from Mandaue Foam and costs Php1,600 (I think I need to put some twigs in there to address that bare part of the wall).  Notice the obsession for things that look like bursts.  For me, they symbolize positivity and energy.

Total cost of this wall was Php11,540.  That's like saving Php1,500/month for the 10 months that we were here and having these savings invested on stuff that make our home even more cozy.

Now, I need to save again for the next wall... er... portion of the house.

Cleaning Up.

It's summer and I have a gazillion things to do in my list.  I do not feel that I have finished even half of it considering that it will be May soon.  May means summer is half done already.


I am, however, proud of one thing.  I cleaned up the house last Holy Week.  I must admit, though, that this is not really a big feat.  We just moved in September last year so the clutter has not accumulated in an alarming level yet.


First major target was my dresser.  It was a dresser, a filing cabinet, a laundry basket and a toy cabinet.  After an hour and a half of whisking away everything, see what's left...
It still looks the same after 3 weeks.  Hooray!


Next was the computer table / my nightside table.  It was a receiving tray, a toy cabinet, sometimes a laundry basket, other times a cellphone charging station.  After an hour of organizing and removing stuff, the table looked pristine.
At this moment (as I am writing this entry), the table is turning into a toy cabinet but the little boy now understands that the air-conditioning will be turned off if he will not  endeavor to keep his toys before sleeping.


Last clean up project was the family area.  This is where my two boys (hubby and the little one) break lose so imagine how "clean" it gets.  The major hurdle is how to control and keep the many, many toys that my little boy has collected.  For that, I searched for the best toy storage and found this at the True Value in the Powerplant.
I find it pricey at Php3,995 but it looks sturdy.  It would probably last several years.  Apart from that, the storage is very convenient for kids... it encourages fixing time after playing time.


Here's the storage complete with my son's toys.
So now, our house is cleaner than it used to be.  It has been 3 weeks and still no dramatic change.  I am giving myself a pat in the back for a job well done... so far.

Assemble Yourself Furniture.

Filling up a house is indeed difficult.  Apart from obsessing on the design that goes with your taste, you got to think about the budget.

Our search has brought us to a lot of stores here in Manila, one of them was SB Furniture in Market! Market!.

We were looking for a bedside table and a desk which would double as the other bedside table.  Hubby and I were having a hard time looking for a pair since all the pieces that I liked were waaay above our budget.

I have seen SB Furniture a lot of times already but got intimidated because the store and the pieces look a notch higher than our budget.  One day, however, I decided to take a look.  I was surprised that the pieces were not too pricey.  And the collection was modern contemporary so it can easily fit into our somewhat bare bedroom.

I easily found the desk that I was looking for... not the ONE that I wanted (it was too expensive) but I can live with it for a very long time.  The thing is... it was white and there was no other color available.  But the store had an answer... they had a white bedside table.  Problem solved.  Purchase made!

The downside to everything was that it had a delivery charge.  The delivery included assembly and/or installation, according to the salesperson... but still, it was Php300 for a few kilometers from Market! Market! to our place.  Hubby and I had a bright idea to bring home the furniture and assemble it ourselves.  People in the states do it anyway.

It took us the whole night.  We were up until 3AM.

It was sweat, sweat and more sweat.  But look at what we made!

The bedside table for only Php2600.

The desk for only Php4700.

We were happy about the two pieces that we purchased the little boy's bed a few months after.  There was a "buy now, pay installment after 4 months" offer so we grabbed it.  

This time, though, we paid the delivery charge and had the bed assembled by them.

December... I Love You.

Our Christmas Tree is up.
And so is my spirit.  I love December and everything Christmas.  For one month, I forget  the challenges of life, my disappointments, my fears.  I just celebrate and laugh and eat.


Back to back parties and get togethers are tiring indeed but I never mind.  I am happy to have family and friends who want spend the holidays together.


I am on leave for the next two weeks and have tons of stuff to do.  I am ready for you, December.  Let's get it on.

Menu for Tita Lei.

Tita Lei, my mom's sister, recently came home to the Philippines for her annual motherland visit.  Everytime she goes home, she makes sure to have a blast.  This visit was no exception -- she went to Singapore with Tita Amy and my cousins... and wore her smashing swimsuit at the top of the Marina Bay Sands!

As usual, hubby and I were so busy with work and a lot more stuff... we never really got to spend time with her.  So, when Mom asked us to host a lunch / dinner party for Tita and Tito Joseph, we said yes right away.

It was a good thing that the Mom and the Titas (and Dad) are always the best when it comes to potluck events.  We were able to come up with sumptuous, very Filipino and somewhat healthy (?) menu.

Pansit from Tita Baby.  Inihaw na Samaral from Daddy.

Hipon from Daddy.  He is really into seafood...

...and greens.  His Talbos ng Kamote dipped in bagoong.

There was also Ensaladang Mangga and Steamed Okra (also dipped in bagoong).

My Mom's specialty - Dinakdakan.  It's Inihaw na Baboy with ginger, onion, kichay (?), with calamansi or suka.

For dessert, there is the classic saging...

...and the good ol' Mango Float made by moi.

Not caught in pictures but equally yummy are Tita Amy's lumpia, puto, and kakanin.

We had a great time that day.  Everything ended late that night.  I hope Tita Lei and Tito Joseph had loads of fun, too.  The next time they come for a visit, perhaps, a dip in the clubhouse pool would be part of the menu, too.

*pictures grabbed from Thea Esteban.