Jackie-ism

Then what used to be only two now widened a little more to form a triangle... :)

I met Jackie on another interview bout, which was initiated about three months ago as I needed a replacement for Kay as my assistant. She was the first person I got to interview amongst the several applicants for the said position. My first impression was that she was simply laid back, not in a negative way, mind you. She was very easy to like and as talkative as I can be :) I instantly felt that she was a perfect match. However, things did not work out as planned. Kay who was about to resign was the one left and I became an instant "resignee" if there is even such a word (even synonym.com could not locate it's definition hahaha). In other words, hiring Jackie for the said purpose did not go through (although we hired another Filipina, she was sent to a branch in Dammam). I felt bad not being able to help a kababayan land a job. I wanted to be able to give the same opportunity to another kababayan. And perhaps it was because of that need that another friendship began to form :)  

We were both in search of something that would appease our need to while away and earn at the same time. And realised later on that we shared the same passion for cooking. While I tried to discern my purpose whilst looking for a job that I can do homebound ... Jackie happened. God is good! In His infinite goodness he sends me friends who would strike my heartstrings and prompt me to move. Jackie's culinary ability inspired me and so prompted me to follow the path that the Lord has laid down for me. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And he shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5

Jackie helped me bring back my zest for entrepreneurship but I did not want to stand her way, I do not want to be a competitor. So I took on the other road, I took to baking and serving pasta instead. In this way we will always complement each other.

I believe that, not only as a Filipino, but as part of our humanity; we should not take advantage but rather take action to help each and everyone we come across with. Again, we have sealed our faith... friendship is also God's wonderful work so there is nothing else to do but to move forward and to take care of the friends He has sent our way.... :)

In the meantime, let me take this time to promote my good, good friend Jackie's catering service. I have tasted her Laing and it is one of the best laing that I have tasted in my entire life. Having enhanced tastebuds, I know good food when I've tried one. 

"Kay-ism"

I was going through some blogs that I have not published for one reason or another. The reason these blogs are still in my editing tab is either because I was too busy to go back to it or such was an incident that happened eons ago. Yet old news is definitely still newsworthy and I stumbled into this which I realised I've been meaning to published 2 weeks back. Read on...

Almost a year ago and a couple of days to the last quarter of the 2011 I felt terribly sad to be leaving friends behind. I expected that making friends in a country alien to foreign women going out at their own liberty, would be doubly tough and that I'm wont to just staying indoors and "behind the scene' so-to-speak. It's a good thing that I was still able to work for even  5 months because that paved way to forming a very good bond with Kay. 7 months ago being the only female at the HR department who was tasked to organise the files from scratch and to assist in the improvement of an existing system, my boss felt that I needed an assistant. So I went on a rampage to hire someone who shared my own "work principles". I did not have to wait for long because out of 4 interviews, I knew that Kay was the person I wanted to work with. (refer to previous article I WILL SURVIVE) 

And the rest is history, what started out as a need to have an assistant sealed our faith, we have grown to be very, very good friends. I continue to rejoice in the Lord and in the fact that He has sent an angel into my life! :)

Buon Apetito

It's a weekend and as we've all grown accustomed to, the man of the house has another bread idea. He's raising his dough for Pizza tonight! Yey!

Busy daddy :)

"First bite" :)

It was really really good!

Ratatouille

I have watched this animated movie more than once and never grow tired of it as the movie reminds me of my own heart's yearning. My enduring relationship with cooking is and always will be. Both my parents are wonderful cooks but I inherited more than the ability to do so. I can say that my passion for the culinary arts is so deeply rooted and yet it was a realization that came only later in life. As a child, I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. My dream of becoming a doctor was to evoke fondness and approval from my parents but was never realised. Instead I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Albeit always with a steady and promising career, I found that it was one without direction. Always a job that I can never be too passionate for. 

Then...

One day I woke up with a better perspective, everything seemed to fit like a puzzle. But I was scared because I did not know how to start though the eagerness was definitely there. So on one of my evening shift at work, I brought sandwiches which became an instant hit to friends and colleagues.  By word of mouth alone, advertising was not a problem.  But I had to transfer to another job and it was only after 4 years in that job that I began to be able to sell openly on the floor. Again I started with sandwiches, and added pasta, then rice meals. Cooking in the morning and working nights was tough but my passion for the former made such difficulty manageable. 

Then...

I found myself bidding farewell to friends and colleagues again because my children and I had to leave the country to be with my husband. I left behind loyal client-colleagues and loyal client-friends. It was another journey to the unknown. I had to find another job to sustain the family's needs. And again found myself lost in the haze and maze of my career. So, I resigned but with much difficulty because my former boss would not let me go. But resign I did and for a few months I was just plain mom to my kids and wife to my husband...no career...everything was zilch except for my blog which I tried to keep alive.

Then...

a bright idea began to form again. Remember my previous blog? Baking Buddies? This revived my passion so I started with cookies, while my husband started with bread :)  I began to explore the possibility of learning how to bake with the aide of  technology...the internet was like a long lost friend.  My first try with bread was making my first croissant. Boy! That was hard but it was the next best thing to my first roller coaster ride. That was my first step and I went on to baking cookies and bars and then cinnamon rolls. I was in my own heaven! The house smelt of cinnamon, the warmth of the oven brought me home. I was at peace with my career and the "self" I wanted to re-create.

Now am a full time mom, wife and entrepreneur. And I can finally say that I have nurtured the gift that the Lord has bequeathed to me. Wisely said...

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Colossians 3: 24-24

A 10-minute conversation with my son

My son, coming home from school one day, was so silent and seemed to be contemplating on something. So i asked what was bothering him but for a while there I felt like he was sort of figuring out whether it was a good topic or not. Then he suddenly said "Mommy kakainis po kasi yung kaklase kong babae hingulangot ng hingulangot sa harap ko!" ("Mom you know my seatmate who is a girl, keeps cleaning her nose in front of me and it's  very bothersome").  I felt relieved that it was something that trivial but at the same time almost fell from my chair laughing. This was the flow of our conversation:

 Me: (still smilng) "Anong ginawa mo? May sinabi ka ba sa kanya?" (So what did you do? What did you say to her?)

My son: (still agitated) "Wala po. Sabi ko lang wag niya ipahid sa upuan ko." (Nothing. I just told her not to wipe her booger on my chair)

My son: "Mommy bakit po ganun, hindi po siya nahihiya mag kulangot sa harap ko?" (Mommy, why is she like that, she does not even feel ashamed of cleaning her nose in front of me?)

Me: "Hindi ko alam anak e, baka meron siyang nakikita na ginagaya niya" (I wouldn't really know son, perhaps she sees it from someone?)

My son: "Ay oo nga po pala kasi nakita ko yung nanay niya nung sinundo siya ganun din" (Oh yeah, I remember seeing her mom doing the same thing)

Me: Ngek!

End of conversation. hahaha 

Story of Mom and Dad

I mentioned in my previous blog that my husband and I received interactive homemade cards from our kids. This is one of them and was given by Alloy. This is how he depicts our love story...

Cover of the mini book that he included in his card

According to our son's story, this is how his dad and I met.
 His dad saw me from afar and fell in love at first sight. (so true! so true! hahaha)

So terribly in love that his dad woeed me with flowers and a box of chocolates.

We decided to get married. That's the priest over there marrying us. 

After the wedding his dad carried me over the threshold. :)

So sweet!

This is something that money can't buy! :) Thank you son!

You complete me

Finally, my husband was able to buy a 7-seater sofa set for a song! Really! He bought the second hand sofa for only SAR 125. Originally he wanted to buy a new sofa set but then we would not really be able to bring everything with us back to the Philippines. I had to wash the covering 3times just to make sure that it would be rid of dirt and grime. The first wash was such a nightmare hahaha the water that came out of our washing machine was so black you would not believe that something like that can happen. I had to rinse it more than 3 times for good measure.

I can finally say that we have completed the stuff that we need for our living room...we can live without a center table. But if there would be a chance to buy one in the future we might consider. In the meantime, I just want our flat to look comfortable, and smelling of baked goodies, cinnamon and freshly brewed coffee. That would be good right?