The World of Second Chances

Easy Milo Cupcake

August 7, 2017

Wedding & Family Life
Disclaimer: I am just an average cook. The reason why I decided to make my own cupcakes is because the ones available in the market are very sweet!

What you need:
- baking pan (in the absence of baking pan, good old leche flan llanera will do)
- mixer (hand mixer, electric mixer or even fork will do)
- bowl
- steamer and pan or oven
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 3-4 tablespoons of sugar (brown sugar will do)
- 3-4 tablespoons of powdered Milk (I prefer Alaska)
- 3-4 sachets of Milo
- 3 tablespoons of Star Margarine (any butter will do)
- pinch of salt
- 3 eggs
- 5 tablespoons of water
- grated chocolate (I use Beryll’s)
- Hershey’s chocolate syrup
1. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, Milo and salt in a bowl.
2. Mix.
3. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
4. Pour the egg in the mixture then mix until smooth.
5. Low heat the pan to melt the margarine.
6. Pour the margarine in the mixture and mix.
7. Put some water on the mixture for a smoother effect.
8. Put the grated chocolate on the mixture and mix.
9. Put some chocolate syrup on the top of the mixture.
10. Put the baking pan on the steamer and steam for 20 minutes. If you have an oven, you can set it at 5-8 minutes. Don’t forget to test the baking by picking a toothpick on the cake.
Others like moist cupcake while some prefer a dry one. If you want it super dry, you may extend the steaming to another five minutes.
BFF Goals

August 4, 2017

Life & Love

Steph and Annie used to be my officemates in my first job. The pair was inseparable then and you could feel genuine friendship between the two. Steph migrated to the US sometime in 2005, leaving Annie devastated. Annie was happy for her bestfriend but the reality of living without her was just hard to accept at first. A month after Steph’s migration, Annie sent us an inspirational chain message about the good in good-bye. I felt sorry for her because just five years earlier, I was in the same position when my best buddy left the country to settle in Canada. I did not expect that Annie and Steph’s friendship would survive the test of time and distance.

I was wrong! Very wrong! A few days ago, I saw them TOGETHER in the US through Annie’s Facebook post. I was ecstatic to see them together and I realized that there are really some friendships that are meant to stay, no matter what.

Some friends will be there for you as long as they get something from you.

Some friends will dine with you as long as you have the money and fame.

Some friends will forget about you as soon as they leave.

Some friends will claim that they love you though you can hardly feel it.

I am glad because my faith in true friendship is back. To be a good friend to others, you must accept the other person’s flaws and weaknesses. To be a good friend to others, you must be there during his highs and lows. To be a good friend to others, you must open your heart and soul. Steph and Annie made it and will continuously make it. There’s just so much love to share between them. 🙂
Look Back, Move Forward

August 3, 2017

Wedding & Family Life

I just learned that one of our long-time neighbor in the province moved to another barangay. I could not believe it at first so I sent a private message to the matriarch. She confirmed about their transfer last summer and told me that it was probably just right timing when one of the big-time developers bought the large idle land at the back of the family’s ancestral home. The land was unintentionally enclosed by the houses stretching two barangays thus leaving it idle for almost 4 decades.

Our barangay has always been affected by flood during the rainy seasons. I grew up walking through makeshift wooden bridges because of the floodwater inside the compound. Street children loved to play inside the compound because it looked like a big fishpond with milkfish and small fishes.

I stopped appreciating the flood in our area as soon as I hit puberty. It was just uncool to be walking along flooded streets and then crossing through an old makeshift bridge just to get home. I dreamed of college and getting a job after graduation. I dream of buying a new house elsewhere where typhoons and storm surges would never be able to intimidate me. That start of my life journey started in 1994 and since then, I became distant to my own place.

“Actually, another neighbor will transfer soon, too. They have sold their house to the developer” our neighbor’s mother added.

What?! Why are they leaving? How much was the deal for them to just give up decades of living in our beautiful barangay? Hey, those houses are the landmarks of my childhood!

Wait! I stopped thinking to start feeling how I really think of the situation. I was sad for their exodus not because I would miss them because it has been ages since I settled in another place. I was sad for their exodus not because I was jealous of their new home but because I wanted to see their old homes just as they have always been. Then I realized, it was all about me. The sadness was all about missing my childhood. The pain came from the realization that the place would never be the same again on my next visit.

“Mare, it is better to leave the house. It’s old, anyway, ” PM’d my friend.

Yes, it is better to leave the house. It is not practical to live in an old house with flooded streets when your parents are old and vulnerable. The sadness was all about me, my feelings, my memories, my childhood.
Our Tiny Home

July 20, 2017

Wedding & Family Life

Our house hunting journey started in 2009, just a month after I gave birth to our elder son. I wanted a second-hand house and lot with a lot of space because I’ve always dreamed of having bermuda grass and roses in the garden. Our efforts were futile and it took us another five years to finally decide on where to buy a house.

The reason why we chose to buy a house in a gated community was because of security reasons. The downside of this decision was, the cost of the houses were much higher and we felt that it was impractical to be paying a high amortization for an overpriced house so we decided to get a townhouse first and then upgraded to a duplex later on.

Home improvement started in December 2016 and then ended in April 2017. We moved in on the 4th week of April and so far, everything’s fine. Moving in was a piece of cake because our apartment was almost the same size as our house but we decided to let go of 50% of our things to make a fresh start in our new house.

Being a minimalist, we regularly give away clothes, shoes and bags to make a room for the new ones. Old textbooks go straight to the garbage pick up area for junk and scrap collection. We don’t have any figurines or displays at home; we adorn a portion of our wall with our pictures. Being avid fans of red floors, we selected red tiles for our living room so that there would be no need for red waxing—if you’re familiar with old Filipino living room with red floor, then that’s it. I realize that sofa is prone to dirt and foul smell so we bought a hard wooden sofa without the cushion. To date, we have not yet installed curtains at the living room area to make use of the natural light in the morning and afternoon. I am looking for a nice window decal instead.

Maybe, in the coming months, my favorite spot of the house would be the mini-garden that my husband is working on. My request two months ago was to plant ivy plants on the fence because having a green fence is not only cool to the eyes but also unique in this age of wall tiles and decorative stones. He got the ivy plant from his “suking-talyer” when he dropped by for vulcanizing. He also made concrete pots for growing calamansi, papaya, chili and tomato. My next request would be to have a yellow rose garden and bermuda grass for our tiny garden.

I used to say that living in a 50sqm house is not possible. Now that we are in it, I can say that a tiny house is much cheaper and more manageable. 🙂
Paranoid, Hoax or Traumatic Truth?

July 10, 2017

Life & Love
A certain Ralph Miranda appealed to Facebook users to inform him about the location of his girlfriend, a certain Cheanne Diaz, who was said to be riding on a UV express with a driver and two male passengers who were ignoring her pleas to pull off the vehicle.

The last time he saw Cheanne was 11:30 AM in Cabanatuan terminal. Travel time to Cubao would have been 3 hours so Cheanne most likely reached Cubao before 3:00 PM. There were exchanges of chats between Ralph and Cheanne at around 6:50 PM so if she went straight to the UV express, she would have been travelling for another three hours now.

Ralph got a lot of bashing from the netizens later when he declared that Cheanne was safe and home. A lot doubted his story and some posers made the situation worse for the two. Some called him a paranoid boyfriend while others said that it was just a bad joke or a hoax!

While I was very much relieved to know that Cheanne was safe, there were some questions that need to be answered to set the records straight.
1. Was the UV express a colorum?
2. What time did she ride into the UV express?
3. Which part of the UV express was she seated?
4. If the driver and two passengers meant her harm, they could have gagged her and nobody would have known. But instead, she was able to chat with her boyfriend until the driver allegedly asked her to stop.
5. It took her three hours before she finally escaped. Was it because of the traffic situation or she was simply let go after a hold up?
I hope that there are CCTVs around the area so the perpetrators will be caught. No female deserves to be harassed!
Mano Po

July 10, 2017

Life & Love

Adi’s classmate saw me in school this morning. The little girl went straight to me and did the “mano po” gesture. I was surprised and at the same time, elated to know that children of this generation still value this.

On our way to work later, I reminisced about my good old days at the province wherein children were expected to be home by 6:00 PM to participate on the angelus. Then after that, we were required to do the “mano po” to all the elders around.

We also did the “mano po” whenever we were at my father’s side of the family. There was a quick introduction for each that served as a subtle reminder of how and why we were related. As a very shy child, I did not look forward to meeting my numerous relatives from my father’s side except for some who were very close to us. Now that I am a parent myself, I realize that my children are not given the opportunity to know and bond with their relatives because we live far away from them.

I want my children to grow up knowing about old Filipino traditions and practices. My challenge is to let them embrace what “mano po” is all about. 🙂
Ang Kaibahan ng Pagsubok sa Parusa ng Ama

July 6, 2017

Life & Love

Sabi ng aming ministro, ang paghihirap, sakit at lumbay at parte ng buhay ng tao. Lahat ng tao ay darating sa matinding dagok ng buhay. Ang ibang tao ay mas minamalas dahil sa tila hindi maputol-putol na kadena ng problema.

Ngunit paano nga ba natin malalaman kung ang problemang dumarating ay pagsubok ng Diyos o parusa? Simple lang. Kung ang isang taong matuwid at tapat na lingkod ng Diyos ay nakararanas ng kapighatian, siya ay sinusubok lamang. Si Job ang isang magandang halimbawa ng tapat na lingkod ng Diyos na sinubok sa pamamagitan ng pagkamatay ng kanyang mga anak, pagkakasakit, paghihirap at pagtalikod ng asawa. Ngunit sa kabila ng mga ito, nanatiling tapat si Job at nalampasan ang pagsubok ng Diyos kung kaya’t lahat ng nawala kay Job ay ibinalik ng Diyos.

Sa kabilang banda, may mga taong likas ang hindi pagmamahal sa Diyos at kung sila man ay nakararanas ng sunod-sunod na kapighatian, maaaring isa na itong parusa sa pagiging hambog at mapagmalaki sa Ama.