Hibiscus

big flower

The hibiscus was one of the first rainbow loom projects I saw when I started browsing online.  I remember though that as I had very limited C-clips then, I could not afford sacrificing five.  Soooo, I didn't really pursue.

Chatting with my niece however, I discovered that she likes this bracelet but somehow feels that it is too advanced to make herself.

As any 'thoughtful' godmother would do, I made one for her.

After making this, I realised that the only drawback for this bracelet is the excessive C-Clip requirement.  It maybe has the highest wow-to-effort ratio!  If you have tons of C-Clips I recommend making a bouquet!  It is easy, promise!

I played around with the colours on this, each petal is supposed to have three colours, I used four :)

I showed this photo to my niece and she's excited--as I am!

Three (once) Painful Stories

Things we buy are bore out of life's issues.  Or frustrations.

I think.

I find that it is true for me.

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When I got my hands on some gift cheques, I made a mental list of the things I wanted to buy.  

Things that will address some life issues and frustrations.

Things that somewhat make the pain go away.

new friends

Chicken.  I am always paranoid that I'd serve raw chicken.  

Salmonella.  

I remember getting the bird in and out of the oven checking and re-rechecking if the entire thing is cooked through.  

I hate hate hate, having to cut through it to see if it is still pink.

There was a time that I got very frustrated because as we were eating, I discovered that I had to put it back into the oven.

Horrible.  

I love mealtimes!  I especially love cooking and serving my husband various dishes.  I look forward to sitting with him, enjoying what food I put together.

Obviously, I was not happy having to 'fix' something while relaxing with my husband.

Not to mention having to change plates and forking through the rest-of-the-chicken--assessing the 'state' of the fowl.  

It was a nightmare.  

I decided then to postpone any whole chicken cooking until I get a thermometer.  

Ahem.

Guess what I'm cooking this weekend? :)

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Apples. And pears.  I love them.  I love them raw, chopped in a salad, dipped in caramel, baked with brown sugar, butter and rum, as pie filling.

I once bought a cheap apple corer because I was making stuffed apple wrapped in a pastry and there was truly no way to core the apple but buy the gadget (none that I was aware of).  It was the only one corer in the grocery store, so I went ahead and got it.

It was able to do the job, I even used it to take the 'eyes' out of peeled pineapple one time.

BUT, as with poorly constructed things, it broke.  The 'blade' twisted.  You get what you pay for, I guess.

Long story short, I was making diagonal cylinders through apples for a while.  It meant getting more flesh out that necessary to catch the seeds.  What a waste of good fruit!

Last night, I threw that flimsy abomination away.  Good times :)

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Meat. 

Okay.  No painful story here.  I lied.

The meat tenderiser however, will enhance the Filipino Tapa I often make :)

in bLOOM

My mom bought me a rainbow loom set.

With it, she got me four packs of rubber bands.  I have the camouflage, skin, opaque blue aside from the rainbow mix that came with the loom.

Seeing my niece hooked and finding out from my sister of my interest, my mom decided she was getting me the kit.  She even hand carried my toy to me :)

I love it!!!

'flower power'

It was really the 'dragon scale' that I wanted to make, hence it was the first bracelet that I made.  I gave it to my niece :)

My next bracelet was the hexafish, that is the blurred bracelet above, left.  It took forever to do, really.  But I love the simplicity of it.  I used a mix of the skin pack and the beige from the camouflage pack.  That bracelet is mine.

Meanwhile, the bracelet with the bright pink flower had found refuge around my good friend's wrist.  

'citrus'

I saw the citrus style bracelet on Friday and made a few.  I love how it looks like a sand dollar.  The puffy effect also makes me want to make A LOT and pile it on.  It's a shame these two don't go well together. If only I had all the shades of nude....  

I had also made other bracelets like starburst/rose garden and a few charms, strawberries, letter A, anchor.  

The intention is to practice so I can make a simple bracelet with loads of charms.  I am wanting to get more rubber bands, in the colours that match my clothes more.  Then, the ultimate bracelet will be made.

first field trip

hello baby

We celebrated my birthday a little late so we can spend it with my brother, sister in law and nephew.

I prepared Guinness Beef Stew, mashed potatoes and dark bread.

(Mashed potatoes is a deceivingly difficult side.  SIDE!  So much work for something seemingly instant-noodles-easy.)

My nephew had milk, of course.

Did I mention that it was his first official social event? Apart from doctor visits and his christening, he had never been out till today.  I'm so happy his first stop was our home :)

Change Request: Implemented

I love chinese sausage.  In Manila, people refer to it as Chinese Chorizo--it is the only reason I could think of why in my mind, that is what it is called.

chinese sausage pocket I made from scratch
(a loooong time ago)

My Mom would put this in Traditional Filipino dishes where you won't expect to find it.

I always loved finding one as I scoop food out of the serving dish to my very own plate.  Truth be told, I do dig for these treasures on specific dishes.

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My husband is not into it.  Maybe, I can even say that he hates it.  

And hate is something that is not quite common to him.

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When it comes to cooking, my husband pretty much lets me take the lead, he is most often happy with anything and everything I serve him.  

However, every time I mention wanting to recreate some of Mom's dishes--the ones where she introduced Chinese Sausage, he would say something along the lines of 'Chinese sausage isn't really one of my favourites'.  

Some days he would say sure, but because suggest against a dish is so rare with him, I end up making or planning for something else.

Compromise.

(He however, loves Spanish Chorizo.  We both do.)

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote Chinese Sausage in our grocery list.  It wasn't a test or anything, I was just craving for it.  I was prepared to make two dishes, or have it as a side for myself.

Putting away the groceries, I was surprised when I saw the packet.  I had forgotten that I listed it out.

That Saturday, I was going to make proper fried rice.

I prepared the Chinese Sausage as a side, but at the last minute, just before we were about to eat, he asked me to mix it in--as if to say, he is giving me (or the chines sausage) a chance to change his mind.

That Saturday, I cooked what my husband now refers to as 'the best fried rice ever'.

While it was A LOT of work, but seeing the look on his face told me that it was well worth the effort.

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Cooking a-simpler-version-of-the-best-fried-rice-ever (lacked some ingredients) earlier today, I asked him if he wanted me to add in some Chinese Sausage, he said that it was actually okay when cut to small pieces and mixed with rice.

Victory.

all by myself

My husband went away for a a few days and I was obviously left home alone.

It was interesting living alone for a while.

When I was living with my brother, him and my sister in law will often go on business trips and holidays, so it was not uncommon for me to be left alone, but with their helper, I wasn't really by myself except on Sundays when the helper took her day off.

So in this true living alone experience, what did I discover?

Some of these I already knew, but knowing and experiencing are quite often, not the same.

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1. You end up with a refrigerator filled with too-little-for-one-meal portions of random food.
2. Having the tv on during mealtime doesn't feel intrusive.
3. Yoga practice at home seems more enticing than in the studio.
4. Watching American Ninja Warrior is not as much fun.
5. Dishes don't wash themselves (gasp).

zzzzebra

One of the first things we got when we got married was a cast iron grill pan, and while I love the char it puts on everything, it was just such a hassle to clean it after use.  It had not been touched since last year.  Sorry.

A month ago, I asked my husband if we could get an enamel coated cast iron grill pan--it will allow us to pimp our bread, meat, pepper, tomato--everything, without the hassle of getting our sink messed up. 

The rest is history.

suddenly, it's magic!

I like the stripes so much that for a moment I forgot just how much I hate, hate, hate, hate while bread!