Deja vu?

Behind the scenes of Corona's walk out

Are you proud of your performance? Just one wish...that the absolute truth comes out!

A celebration of sorts!

I've been a blogger since 2008 when I started my call center blog, From the diary of a Call Center Mom. I was searching for that particular time during my Call Center Mom days, when I was given a Page rank of 1, to no avail. You see, I wanted to check the amount of time I had to wait to be given that rank in my first blog as compared to my second and current blog. Am sure though that I got my first positive PR even when I had less site visitors as compared to the current visitors I have now.

Am not too conscious of such page ranks anymore, although it is a good push for my interest in writing. And 19 months from the day that my Diary of an Overseas Filpino Wife was born, and  39,752 visitors later, getting a 1 is still good news for me. So...yipeee! At last am getting enough attention in the blogging world! :)

Perhaps for the professional bloggers out there, this means a little, but for me getting this much is like winning in the lottery! :) (am shallow like that, when it comes to my blog hahaha)

Well, I think this day calls for a special homemade cake...hmmm....I hope I don't lose the momentum though... :)

On Mother's day and my thought bubbles

It was a thoughtful mother's day for me. Though my hands were busy with a new cake recipe, my mind wandered aimlessly with "motherly" thoughts. Thoughts about my children and my own childhood, thoughts about how I fare with my kids as their mother. Questioning myself whether I am doing alright. The following are questions that I have raised for myself and which I would like to be able to answer with all honesty:

As a mother..

1. Am I fair?

2. Am I kind with my words?

3. Am I a source of encouragement?

4. Do I promote happiness?

5. Am I teaching my children humility by being humble myself? or am I so high-strung to admit my own mistakes?

6. Do I seek ways to be a better mother to my children or do I expect my children to be better for me?

7. Are my children coming home to a house filled with warmth or do they find themselves always tensed up when they are home?

8. Am I careful with my words? or do I often choose to say things that cuts like a sharp knife?

9. How often have I allowed my emotions to rule over me? over a sound judgement? 

10. Do I allow myself to hurt my chidlren physically and verbally?   Have I said something to my children that may harm them for life? Or have I always chosen to say things right?

There are so many more in my thought bubbles...but these are the ones that I am more concerned about. 

Being a mother is a responsibility! It is not only by choice that we become mothers but a calling! And just like any other vocation, this calling definitely make us responsible for our actions. Because in the end, we will not only be held accountable for how we fared as a mother, but also how we handled our children. 

There's so much things to change, so much lessons, not to unlearn, but to improve on. I want my children growing up confident of their abilities, determined, undaunted. I want them unafraid to share their opinion and always true to themselves. I hope my children will not be mere reflections of me and my husband but the kind of persons they want to be.

I have simple dreams for my children because I know that the role of dreaming big would be theirs. I am here to guide them not to pamper, not to ridicule, not to underestimate their abilities. I am their mother, and I know I can do more when my hands become an instrument to guide and not to hurt. A mother with fingers that can point them to the right direction, not fingers that will always point out and enumerate their mistakes. Arms that will hold them close whenever they are hurt or when they are victorious in even their smallest triumphs; not arms that will push them away...

borrowed image from lorch-seidel.de

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ~ Washington Irving ~

Hubby Birthday!

This is the 2nd year that we get to celebrate my husband's birthday as a family! When he left for Saudi Arabia 3 years ago, we celebrated his birthday without him. But thanks to technology, he was "electronically" with us, as my children and I shared the dishes that I prepared back then. I'll forever be so thankful that we are together because by being so, we do not merely celebrate my husband's birthday but celebrate the fact that we are no longer apart. 

To my SM (because You've got it all), my Metrobank (because I'm in good hands), my Meralco (may liwanag ang buhay), our Philippine Airlines (with us, you're always number 1), and my Lucky me noodles (Lucky me...but Luckier you! lol).....

So to you, my husband....

Need I say more?

Fondant wishes

A month ago, my husband requested that the cake I bake for him should have icing  made of fondant. Making fondant icing was only something that I dreamt of doing after getting formal lessons. But because of my husband's request, I knew it was something that I had to do. So for about a month, I searched online for the easiest and never fail fondant icing. However, I procrastinated and it was only the other day that I got to try out the first fondant recipe. I thought that it was rather easy but it turned out very oily and hard to shape. Putting it inside the fridge, I was hoping that it would harden a bit hence,  easier to roll like clay. I was wrong! So just last night (as soon as hubby fell asleep) I searched online again, and this time I tried doing the fondant with marshmallows, this recipe on the other hand turned out a bit hard to form. With little time on my hands, I was already getting worried that I might not be able to finish the cake on time. So what I did was combine the two fondants and voila! The combination turned out perfect! It rolled, formed and shaped well!

I wanted to surprise my husband as soon as he wakes up. So not being able to get even my forty winks was fine as long as I get to finish doing the cake. I wanted the cake to be a good representation of my husband. A couple of weeks back I came across a photo of a laptop cake, and yep, that's what I did. Mine though, was not as detailed as the one I saw online. My laptop cake was not upright, it was closed and was a crude image of a small MacBook.

My cakes are anything but remarkable when it comes to its shape as I think there's something wrong with my oven as it always turns out lopsided but hey!...am not complaining! :) This oven has done a lot for me and my family since my husband bought it for me over a year ago.

Anyway, I baked two flavors, I made Devil's food cake to represent the laptop and a Golden velvet cake as base. I also made Chocolate buttercream frosting which would act like a glue for the fondant. The first time I laid the flattened fondant I was already on edge, as my cake was  not turning out quite the way I imagined it to. But my passion got the better of me as I continued to make the cake look a lot better outside than how it really looked inside hahaha. It was a good thing that I thought of putting the fondant styled ala ribbon so that worked well.

Not my best work but it's the first and I know that there will be a lot more to learn. All I need to do really is, to try. If it works, good; if not, I know I can always try again.

FB is the place to be or not

borrowed image from trevordixon.co

I've once said that the social networking site, FB or Facebook has helped me so much in finding and reconnecting with long lost friends and relatives. While this is true, most will notice that FB has also been made into a battleground of sorts where some people bashed others and destroy their good name. Honestly, I may have clicked a few likes and even commented on posts that points out a particular truth. Am not saying I'm perfect because I'm not, but there has been some realizations over time... So, I came up with the following which is, once more, a product of my thought bubbles..

"Let Facebook be a venue to inspire people, to reconnect with long lost friends and relatives, to rejoice a milestone or the successes of friends, and even a place to promote one's craft. All in the spirit of good will.

On the other hand....

Let it NOT be a venue to damage spirits by destructive criticism(s), a place to wash your dirty laundry, to crush bridges, to lambaste, to promote havoc and wreck other people's lives.

Always remember that to be struck by a double-edged sword is better than to be destroyed by a double-edged tongue! For wound heals almost immediately, while painful words will always reverberate in one's mind even as you have forgiven the person who has spoken such."

Swell Summer!

I'm enjoying my summer vacation with the kids, though am not really sure if they'd say the same  hahaha :)  Since their respite from the last school year, my children and I agreed that the household chores will be divided amongst ourselves. I'm in charge of preparing food, doing the laundry, ironing clothes, and cleaning the bathroom, while my eldest daughter is in charge of the dishes, cleaning the floor, and folding the clothes; my two sons share in the task of keeping their sleeping mats and folding the blankets, setting the table, clearing the table tops, and also helping their sister in folding our clothes.

Such delegation of work is good training for the children. I don't want them to grow up indolent and without even an iota on how to handle responsibilities at home. My children, when they were a lot younger, has already been trained to fold their blankets and fix their beds as soon as they wake up in the morning. Am glad I started them out early. I love the idea of having armed them with life's essentials. 

I also have a white board where I write down their daily tasks which ends with a simple yet meaningful phrase: "Work hard! Work smart! Work diligently with a happy heart!" 

It's sad though that I have a month left before school starts (am sure they're already excited to go to school hahaha). But at least I can look forward to swell summers from now on. :)