I am a Mother Packer

OA na kung OA, pero Sophia's clothes for our provincial tour (artista lang?) are already packed. I'm so not prepared. Well, I always pack hers first whenever we travel. She has more needs. I think I can do with a few clothes as long as I will bring the basics. Sophia was a toddling 15 months old when she first rode the plane at ang exaj ng size ng luggage namin. I brought a lot of clothes, akala mo sa Europe ang destination, eh Surigao del Sur lang naman. Ending, we went back home with half of the clothes unused. Now I'm wiser. Since it's really not a fancy vacation, I think I can wash the dirty & used clothes if need be.

The huge pink luggage we used 3 years ago atop our cabinet.

We won't be riding the bus since my kumpare (kumare's husband) will pick up Bebeng the operada & Little Bebeng at home. It gave me an instant thought na 'wag magpigil sa dadalhing gamit bilang may karu naman nga. But of course, baka maloka naman my Rhambo when he sees us with all our things. Baka mag-suggest na 6x6 army truck na ang ipanghatid sa amin pabalik dito. Kaloka naman sa EDSA yun. I remembered nung jowa-jowaan ko pa lang siya nung 2007, we went to Baguio for the Alumni Homecoming of PMA. We only stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights but my packed clothes and other thingmajigs were elope-worthy. Umaasa talaga ako nun na itatanan na niya ako. Hihi. 

Pastillas De Leche for Lazy Mudrabelles

I am so looking forward to live the barriotic way for a few days and my kumare already seduced me with all things probinsiya. Ooh, lesser pollution! Of course, the air must smell like carabao's poop, or goat's or dog's. Basta at least hindi amoy tambucho. And yes, I even told my kumare, who by the way was my Bourne Legacy date before, that she should prepare like a welcome basket for turista with all the food that they have in their purok. Bet ko itong ganitong event, I feel so Manila girl. Duh. Rizal kaya ako nakatira. Feelingera. Haha! Anyways, I was craving for suman with latik and she said they always have it there. I also drooled for pastillas de leche and so asked Ate Maritess (the new help) to look for it, yung mamiso. But she didn't find one. I scoured the net for the easiest way to do it, and some food entusiasts are making it so complicated for me. Until MIL (buti na lang she's being helpful lately) suggested that I try the rhas pakielamera spirit, it's ecipe of one of the people in her office that was given to her. Ay naku, it was so dali! I didn't follow the exact measurements though and again, trusted my instincts. If you want to try, tanchahan system works! Here's what you would need:

Sophia's Happy Bread Day!

Gardenia Philippines made this day their Happy Bread Day in celebration of the World Bread Day, which was created by Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners, an organization of bakers from across the globe whose members were from places where bread plays a prominent role in people’s diet. Gardenia Philippines held their event at Eastwood City, Libis in Quezon City. We were not there to attend the full-of-free-breads event but we celebrated it at home in our own way.

Grabbed from Gardenia Philippines' Facebook fan page

Sophia Goes to School but Nanay Also Learns

Busying herself with the instruction manual. Cool.

One semester has passed for my school girl and there have been obvious changes. Her bulol words had slowly diminished and she has been doing good with her relationship with her vocabulary. Her Tatay Rhambo always brings with him an army truck load of English but he still gets dizzy and yes, his nose bleeds when they talk. Haha! Sophia still watches TV a lot but she's now aware that there are shows she's not allowed to see, like some cartoons from Cartoon Network. She used to spank & slap anyone when she's happy and more so when she's mad, but now it can be avoided. We learned {yes, she's the one who goes to school but we BOTH benefit from it} the phrase from her pretty Teacher Lois, "hands for loving, not for hurting". So when she suddenly has the urge to do so, I'd automatically utter the powerful phrase and she'll gracefully stop. I'm also amazed at how magical my birthday wish was for her. Do you still remember when I wrote it here that my birthday wish for her was for her to wear her slippers without my prodding? Well, she always does now! I think I should make a Christmas wish quick & that is for her to learn how to pack away her toys PROPERLY. Really, it's beginning to be an eye sore.

Bebeng's Bonggang Bicol Express

Whenever I post food photos in my fan page, I've always been asked about its recipe. I admit about not being good in recipe-writing but I have attempted to write one, which you could see here and I will bravely do it again. I will be writing about Bebeng's Bonggang Bicol Express! It is not as photographic as what this blogger posted here, but I will do my best in sharing with you on how I did it. But before we proceed, let me remind you that I am a non-standardized cook. I cook based on my guts, really. As I am poor in Math, measurements will always be "approximately". I believe that cooking is not a skill, it's a talent. Yes, for those wives who can't cook for their husbands, sulk in sorrow, dear; because cooking wives are hot! Chos. I only said that 'cause I know that my husband loves me a little bit more because I CAN cook. For those who can't, there is still time to learn. Remember, you will do it for the one you love. So cook from the heart. Trust me, even if it's burned or bitter, it will weirdly taste good for him. Alright, enough with the chika, here's the recipe, mga mars -

Thoughtful Tuesday: To Keep or Not To Keep?

Today is Sophia's last day in school for this semester. As Primemont Science School's Preschool Department's sem-ender activity, they had a pajama party. And yes, I am at home --- I was not there to witness her first show & tell. I was not there to take photos and videos of my little tattle-tale. But I asked the new helper (au revoir laundry & dishwashing!) to bring the camera and take photos of my little sleepy head. She brought her dinosaur plushie & Hello Kitty numbers book for their show & tell. When I asked her last night on what to bring for today's activity, she instantly grabbed that book and was in panic mode in looking for Dino, the dinosaur; which, was just inside her "box of surprise" when she went to her "imaginary world."

Sophia & her classmates in their blankies

Self-Theories on Why Ectopic Pregnancy Happened to Me

When something good happens to you, you rejoice and happiness is just everywhere! Have you noticed that? But when it's something bad, you question. You sulk in and wonder why of all people, that one bad thing happened to you. It is so human, isn't it? When I knew I had a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, I asked why. I contemplated on why it happened to me. I thought I was at my healthiest. I thought nothing could go wrong. Most of the good people around me said God has a purpose on why He let me experience this phase. These good people also told me that He let me had the pain because He knows I can endure it, because He knows I'm strong. And well, some people even said (I don't know if it's with empathy) that the operation was like giving birth through ceasarian section. Yes, it was actually almost the same, except that a Fallopian tube and an appendix were taken out from me and not a baby I could cuddle with after. I agree that there must be something reasonable about all of these. I am a logical person. I don't just sit in with the idea that something occurs out of nothing. So I asked my OB what caused the ectopic pregnancy. She said, in a matter-of-factly statement: "it just happens, Denise". My battle mode self was not on at that moment that I didn't inquire for a more detailed information. 

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Medical Center

A week after the very cinematic operation I had, I still wonder what caused those lazy egg and sperm cells to form outside my uterus. My mom, a no-nonsense woman, told me that R's sperm cell and my egg cell were too lazy to go inside the uterus and initially decided to relax themselves in the Fallopian tube, thus having what they called a tubal pregnancy. She actually has a point. Being the ever curious cat that I am, I went to my cyber bestfriend, Google. I stumbled upon a million links to my question "what causes ectopic pregnancy?" I scanned all the possible answers and eventually led me to some fruitful but practical explanations. I gathered the causes from different websites, which I deem related to me. First thing that shocked me was from ehealthMD, it says there that "it's important to remember that in most cases of ectopic pregnancy, the cause is unknown. However, several factors can raise your risk for an ectopic pregnancy"; one of the four factors the website mentioned is SMOKING.