Err. How do you reorient this thing?

Our hosts a few weekends ago had this huge mansion of a house set beside a cliff overlooking a gorgeous view of Antipolo greenery.  I liked the architecture but the interior design was wanting.  I liked the Mediterranean feel of the outdoor though.  I just had to take a snap.

Google Latitude

I like Google Latitude! It works! :)

I made pork menudo for the first time last night. I was craving for the dish so much it made me finally brave what I thought was such a culinary challenge.

As it turned out, doing so made it a lot of firsts for the amateur cook. I used liver for the first time, and I don't even know if it was chicken or pork. DH came home with the bad news that SW had run out of pork liver, and my first thought was, Paano na ang menudo ko? Good thing there was some in deep freeze, left over from the pancit my BIL made months ago.

It wasn't so bad. It passed my standards at least. It tasted even better the next day. The hubby was not so impressed. When I laid out the bowlful of annatto oil-colored feast in front of him, he said, "Asan yung sabaw?" It was a legit question, and I can explain! I should have turned down the heat after boiling the meat. For next time, that is a noteworthy reminder. After all, I had fantasized of a little saucy-ness myself.

The key to good menudo, though? Don't leave out any of the ingredients and stay as fresh as you can afford to be! I think the bell peppers, the liver, the chorizo bilbao, the carrots, potatoes, chickpeas and raisins (another first) were all key to creating that explosion of flavor. After surfing food blogs post-dinner though, I've decided to soak the pork overnight in a lemon juice-soy sauce marinade for next time. That should be more interesting.

Gee. Madali lang pala. One blogger suggests using the ready-made mix to make sure the experiment would really taste like it should. I was almost tempted but immediately thought cheating on my first try would not leave me too happy about myself. Besides, it wasn't I who did the groceries for this particular number >:)

You just need to be OC and a little patient with the prep. I got through mine entertaining my LO, who was observing me a few feet away from her high chair.

And here I thought it was a beef dish all this time. Hahaha. Seriously.

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Dearest Luna,
My online pregnancy tracker advised me a few months back to start writing a journal for you to read when you were old enough to understand. I have not written a journal in ages, to be honest. The closest I have come to doing one is through this blog. And yet, my last meaningful entries are more than two years old now, so I guess that technological transition has gone the bumpy route as well.
I am 32 weeks pregnant this week; we are holding your coming-out party on Sunday! Papa has been working hard to make ends meet as I have quit my job to concentrate on you and get busy nesting. I could say that it is not hard not to like this condition, but beyond the aches and pains is the thought that I never knew I'd ever have you. Your Papa and I wanted this -- and thank God for granting us our miracle. In the words of Oscar Hammerstein II, I must have done something good!
Everything I think and decide on now has got something to do with you, Isabela. You haven't been born yet and you already influence everything Papa and I do. We have so many hopes and dreams for you and cannot wait to meet you soon to share them with you.
Yet, I have so many fears and doubts. Will I be a good parent? Will I be able to teach you and show you the good, the decent, what is right from wrong? Do I need to be perfect now that I'll have you looking up to Mama?
I (will try to) sleep now secure in the thought that you are safe and warm. I wish you sweet dreams; know that you are cared for, loved and awaited.
Love, Mama

Will be reading Dan Brown's latest novel starting this weekend. I hope Pepeng holds off its fury. It's Mica's one year death anniversary tomorrow. Besides, the streets of Manila are still prone to floods after Ondoy.

There is nothing like a treat at the nail spa. I had the Express Hands and Pamper Feet combo at Shang. I highly recommend using OPI's varnishes. It's a Doozi, Says Suzi looks quite cool on my tips and toes! Of course, everything goes downhill in the massage department once they figure out you're pregnant. But that's all right. After all, it's all for Isabela's well-being.

"The answer you seek to a particular dilemma will appear through your nighttime reveries. Make sure you write down your dreams when you wake up."

I am officially reviving my blog today. I stopped right after I worked for GS. A lot can happen in a day, let alone a couple of years.
I'm actually surprised reading my former entries. Especially the older ones. I sound so witty, confident and at ease. I wonder where I've gone?

Paksiw na Pata

1/2 kilo chopped pork pata, front legs
1/2c Datu Puti vinegar
1/4c Golden Swan soy sauce
1/4c Kikkoman soy sauce
1/3c tightly packed brown sugar
1 head of garlic,peeled and crushed
2 whole onions, peeled and quartered
2 bay leaves
peppercorns
bulaklak ng saging
dried oregano sprigs

Wash the pork pata well and place in pressure cooker. Pour in just enough water to cover the meat. Pressure-cook for 15 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Pressure-cook for 30 minutes or until very tender.

Chill overnight. Reheat the meet with just the sauce and season to taste.

"Editors need to wrest free from the dead hand of print journalism." - M-W

O Children Deaths go breathe your breaths
Sobbing breasts'll ease your Deaths
Pain is gone, tears take the rest

~Allen Ginsberg, Father Death Blues

I somehow doubt, at the back of my mind, that the panic attacks I've been experiencing of late has anything to do with my Luprolex injections. True, hot flashes can occur during an attack, but that doesn't mean they're one and the same. Both though could be caused by hormones, I've read. Now that, that H word, an endometriosis sufferer can relate to. But that's digressing. The fact that I doubt means I'm admitting there could be an underlying cause. Maybe its psychological. They say a significant number of suicides have involved people with a panic disorder.That's no news, especially when you've felt what I've felt. I was answering one panic attack questionnaire off the Internet and it seems I've ticked all boxes describing my symptoms. I once confided to a friend that if it lasted as long as an hour, I'd have jumped from my office building.

Panic attacks
are sudden surges of overwhelming fear that that comes without warning and without any obvious reason. It is far more intense than having anxiety or the feeling of being 'stressed out' that most people experience.

I found a plate of Ramon Magsaysay stamps dating back 1957. Tried to research how much they could be worth over the Internet, but has had no such luck. Are you a philatelist? You might be able to help me out. Drop me a line!

You'll never know how icky it feels to eat sinigang na tissue until you try it, really. I was the unfortunate member of our party to experience the unpleasant when we tried to eat dinner at Sibil's branch in Subic Bay last Saturday night. Try out their fresh mango shake too. Mmm, tastes just like real canned mangoes! :9
Otherwise it was a great last trip with the family before I formally enter the workforce again. It's my first day on the job on Wednesday! Here's to the next chapter of the Elice Adventures.

Coding. Fourth time to happen on a Friday. I was flagged thrice before, because I went ahead and drove to work anwyay, but somehow my press ID did all the talking for me. Today was going to be different though, as my route will take me through the main EDSA thoroughfare. Didn't want to risk it, so I drove back unaccomplished, hungry, and feeling stupid. Argh. The sheer self-knowledge that I am absentminded is enough of a punishment I think, so enough already.

Hungry hippo!
I'm waiting for the LPG delivery guy to arrive, and I can't leave until he does. I have to do the groceries. Wanted to cook something special for bradinch. I guess it'll have to wait a little longer.
I miss Chelsea, my kid brother's 2-year-old Belgian Malinois. Took her for a bath for the first time this weekend. Pretty as you please, that one. She reveled in the attention. Maharot, when she's in her playful self. I have the scars to prove it. It's like attempting to play with a baby tiger. Very dangerous. I know she knows me, but sometimes I can't help but look at her askance.
Researchers say you should watch the tail. When it goes to the right, you're on friendly ground. Beware when it wags to the left!

Flat on my back
Soak up the sun
Counting from zero up to one
And I like it, I like it.
~Avion

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month!

I have decided to take a GnRH analogue, months after being diagnosed with endometriosis. Never mind the cost. Googling Luprolex helped - with accepting the sacrifices that I should make as well as with knowing that there are indeed others, Filipinas too, out there and that I'm not alone. I'm supposed to take it for 6 months, but my ob-gyn said we'd know for sure if it was helping in three months' time.

In all my research, I've always thought that the symptom I haven't had much luck identifying with is heavy bleeding. It just struck me now, when I noticed a Google Ad from one of the related sites, that there was one such episode. The incident happened at work, with my boss giving me the notice of all people. Very embarrassing, no wonder I put out the thought from my conscious mind.

It's probably too early to tell if I'm going to suffer side effects (read: menopause symptoms) from the drug. So far, so good.

"Germany's dream of watching their home team raise the golden trophy in triumph ended when Italy not only crashed the party but ate all the food, drank all the champagne and went home with the family silver stuffed up their shirts."