Tita Baby Was Here!

My bestfriend Pat's mom, tita Baby, went on a business trip in Bangkok and she spent the weekend with us. Pat was supposed to go with her but it didn't push thru. Pero ok lang kasi parang si Pat na rin ang nandito. Parehong-pareho talaga ang mag-nanay! They way they talk, their comments and expressions...same level ng kadaldalan...and even their love for dessert!

Syempre, hindi nawala ang mga pasalubong. Pat sent me a couple of goodies like Tang Orange and Lily's Peanut Butter -- thanks, Pat! My online buddy Fides also sent me mamon and cake from Goldilock's -- thanks, Fids! And of course, thank you tita Baby for the yummy Delifrance ensaymada that you brought! Tita also had a touching gift for Alyannah...

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I-miss-you cards from her old classmates at Kidcore. How sweet!

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Here's a closer look at the cards that they made.

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They also made matching beaded necklaces and bracelets for me and Aly. Thank you to the Kidcore kids for the pleasant surprise! We'll see you all in December!

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On her first night, tita Baby took us out to dinner/dessert at Secret Garden. Sorry, Pat pero wala akong picture with your mom. My camera's battery went dead when I was about to ask Richard to take our picture. Don't worry, I was able to take food shots naman. Haha!

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Paad Thai

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Fried rice with salted fish.

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Blueberry cheesecake.

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And my favorite crepe cake. Layers of crepe and whipped cream with strawberry sauce. So heavenly! Pat, you should try this when you go here!

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Richard was amused by the similarity between tita Baby and Pat. He would always tell me na parang si Pat na mismo yung nandito. More than that, Pat and I have been friends since we were in grade two so tita Baby is like a mother to me. We really enjoyed tita's company. She was super fun to be with! We also learned a lot from her like where to buy fruits in Bangkok, where to find the cheapest towels, where to shop for certain items, investment tips, etc. She also introduced us to her friend Malou who lives here.

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I know tita will not be able to read this -- she told us that she does not know how to use the computer and she has no plans of learning -- so Pat, just relay the message to your mom. I hope tita enjoyed her stay and if she's planning to go back to Bangkok, she is welcome to stay with us again.

Little Chef in the Kitch

If you ask Aly what she wants to be when she grows up, her answer would be, "I want to be a restaurateur". Naks! Actually, the very first time her dad and I asked her this, she said she wanted to be a restaurant, so we explained to her that restaurant is the place and the owner of the restaurant is called a restaurateur. She still can't quite get it so there are times when she would say "restauranteur". Haha! But still. Bongga pa rin ang anak ko, dba? Nung panahon ko, we only had three options: either maging doktor, abogado o pulis ka. Iba na talaga ang mga bata ngayon.

She actually has the entire restaurant all planned out -- she will name it Valdez Restaurant, she will have seven chefs, 20 chairs and 20 tables...her special dish will be spicy fish, which she will sell it for THB50,000!...I love asking her about her future restaurant because her creativity and ideas truly amaze me and it never fails to make me laugh!

Aly said that in order for her to become a chef, I have to teach her how to cook, so little by little, I'm starting to wean her on kitchen stuff. It's not difficult to teach her because she's really interested. She loves watching me while I'm cooking! She also used to be my baking assistant back home -- she'd sift the flour, count the eggs and put paper cups on the muffin pans. Last week, Aly prepared her favorite Strawberry + Banana Dessert for her daddy. As usual, the proud mommy took photos so she can brag to everyone about her little girl's latest achievement.

So without further ado, I present to you our future restaurateur!!

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Hi there! I'm Aly and today, I will prepare my favorite strawberry and banana dessert!

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My lovely assistant, my mom, has already prepared the strawberries for me so now all I need to do is cut the bananas.

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You cut them into bite-size pieces...

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...like so...

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...and put them in a bowl together with the strawberries.

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Then, you mix the bananas and strawberries together...

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...and add cream.

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You mix them again carefully, making sure that the fruits are evenly coated with cream.

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Then, you add condensed milk to sweeten the mixture.

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It's up to you how much milk you want to put. I want it a little sweet so I will add a bit more.

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Then, you mix again to make sure that the milk is blended into the fruits and cream mixture.

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This dessert is best served cold so I'm going to put it inside the ref.

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I'm sure my daddy will love the dessert that I made! I can't wait for him to taste it!

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A few hours later, daddy was finally home so after dinner, it was time to bring out my masterpiece.

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One bowl for my dad...

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...and another one for my mom.

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It was a success!! Dad and mom loved my strawberry and banana dessert! Yipee!! Now it's my turn to eat :)

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Clearly, this is one of our favorite homemade desserts. If you want the complete recipe, click here.

Krisan's School Year Resolutions

With Aly back in school, I now have more free time in the morning. So aside from my usual morning routine of doing the laundry, ironing clothes, cleaning up after breakfast and watching Ellen on tv, here are three more things that I should do while my daughter is away.

In no particular order...

• Go to the gym and spend at least 20 minutes inside.
• Water the plants regularly (in other words, everyday!).
• Spend more ME time i.e get a manicure/pedicure, have lunch at the mall, read a book at Starbucks, etc.

I'm starting to get tired of my old routine so it's time I spiced it up a bit. I should start trying to do things on my own and stop feeling lonely and helpless when my husband and daughter are not around. If I keep doing this, I might end up being losyang. Yikes!

This afternoon, I went to the mall by myself, had lunch solo and surprisingly, I found it very relaxing! I felt more productive. I just wish the malls here would open earlier than 10.30am so I have more time to go around. I guess I will just have to figure out a better way to spend my me time.

Panic Tuesday

This happened yesterday at around 10:00am.

I was happily getting my dose of morning tv when suddenly, the phone rang. I knew right away it was my husband (sino pa ba ang tatawag sa kin dito dba?) and I thought he was calling me to just to say hi -- my husband does that sometimes; he would call me in the middle of the day just to ask me what I'm doing, if I'm ok, etc. Well, it turns out that he didn't call for chit chat. He called because one of his officemates told him that there was a bomb scare in Alyannah's school and he wanted me to go and check if it's true. I didn't believe the news right away, but it wouldn't hurt to go and check so I grabbed my bag and went.

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When I was inside the elevator, I still had my doubts. I mean, a bomb scare in my daughter's school? Come on. Impossible. It can never happen! But it all changed when I saw other NSIS mommies at the lobby rushing towards the school. Oh god...don't tell me...Then my cellphone rang and Richard said he was able to talk to Walter (the school's deputy director), who confirmed that there was indeed a possible bomb threat -- they do not know if it's just a hoax or a real bomb threat -- and as a precaution, they moved all the children to a room that has no windows.

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When I arrived at Bangkok Garden, my fear escalated when I saw police cars and policemen all over the parking lot. Shiyet, this cannot be happening to me. I have to get Alyannah out of the school. Now. But I can't because the parking lot has been cordoned off so I can't get to the gate. Then I realized that the bomb was not inside the school. It's in the bus that's parked outside the school. And to get to the gate, I have to pass by the bus! Yikes! Buti na lang, Aly's classroom is at the other end of the building, far away from the bus. I called Richard and told him I can't go inside, but I will find a way. He was really worried so he dropped everything at work and headed home.

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Okay, I shouldn't panic. The next thing I did was, I looked for someone who can speak english. Thankfully, one of Bangkok Garden's security personnel can speak a little so I asked her how I can go inside the school. She said I can go to the other side. So I went. I was relieved when I saw that there were no police cars at the parking lot, but they were not letting people inside the school. Good thing Richard's officemate, Morgan, was there (his son, William, is Aly's classmate) so at least there's someone I can talk to. So we waited a bit, but after realizing that's there's nothing that we can do, Morgan decided to eat breakfast. As for me, I headed to Starbucks and bought myself a Caramel Frapuccino to calm my nerves. I tried to call my husband again, but there was no phone signal. I thought they probably cut it off as a precaution.

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I went out again to the parking lot and saw more mommies so I stayed with them. Moments later, the policemen were telling us to move back. They were all moving away from the bus too. Then, I heard someone shouting something in Thai and all of a sudden, we heard some sort of explosion. It sounded like a contained explosion (like it exploded inside a box) so I didn't hear any broken glass, people shouting, or anything of that sort so it wasn't too scary. But still. I told the mommies that we can go to the other side, but they said they were too scared to go. Ok, kung ayaw nyo, ako na lang. So I left them and went to the other side. I'm so glad I did because I saw another batch or mommies walking towards to school so I followed them. When we were finally inside the school, Walter was there to meet us. He explained the situation and told us that we can take our children home as they will be closing the school for the rest of the day.

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The K3 kids were inside the music room watching a movie and when I called out to Aly, she greeted me with a big hug. Boy, was I glad to see her! I wanted to cry! When we got out of the school, Richard was already there. I was happy to see him too. The moment I saw him, I knew our ordeal was finally over.

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I told my husband that we should go and tell the other mommies that they can now get their children from the school. This time, there were more mommies waiting at the other side and when they saw me with Aly, they were kinda surprised. They were probably wondering how I got my daughter. Kayo kasi eh, ayaw nyo sumama sa kin. Anyway, I told them that they can go to the other side to get their kids. Some of them looked like they were about to cry so I told them not to worry because the kids are ok.

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Finally, we were back at the apartment. We also found out that the bomb was just a hoax. It didn't really matter at that point because I had my daughter and my husband with me, safe in our home and away from harm. Richard took the the day off and spent the rest of the afternoon doing jigsaw puzzles with Aly.

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Looking back at what happened, I realized that when it comes to your child's safety, there is no such thing as over reacting. Some of the mommies were practically trembling in fear, especially when they heard the explosion, but you can't blame them. I was scared too. Gosh, I was scared like hell! But I can't just stand there and wait, you know. I knew I had to find a way to get to my daughter. Luckily, I was still able to think clearly in spite of my fear. I was actually proud of what I did :) Forgive me for putting the spotlight on myself, but it's not everyday that I am faced with this kind of situation, nor do I intend to experience this again! Tama na yung nangyari kahapon. Hehe!

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Oh, I think this is worth mentioning...remember I said that I was watching tv when Richard called? Well guess what I was watching? An old episode of Grey's Anatomy, the last episode of season one. Yeah, the one with the bomb. Hay...what a morning!

Filipinos in Bangkok

We finally met some kababayans here in Bangkok! Thanks to my best cousin Chi who hooked us up with JM, her highschool friend, who lives with his family here. The Abuegs (JM, his wife Jenn and their cute daughter Jianna) invited us to a BBQ party where we met more Filipinos. Let me share with you some photos that we took during the party.

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That's Alyannah chatting with our favorite parish priest, Father Dan.

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Ang sarap ng pagkain! We had inihaw na liempo, barbecued spareribs, beef caldereta, pasta, salad, corn on the cob...I brought beef pot roast (thanks, mom for sending me the recipe!). For dessert we had chocolate fondue, super yummy carrot and chocolate cake. We probably gained at least five pounds from that party!

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We also played this really cool board game about Pinoy pop culture called Mismo! and it was super fun! Tawa kami ng tawa. I hope the game will be available by December so we can share it with family and friends back home.

We had a blast! It was great to be in the company of our kababayans. Sabi ko nga, makarinig lang ako ng nagtatagalog masaya na ako. Hehe!

To JM, Jenn and Jianna, thank you for welcoming us into your group!

To Roby and Joy, thank you for welcoming us into your home!

To the rest of the group, thank you for the warm reception! It was a great party and we had a wonderful time. We hope to see you again soon!

Valdez Family Advisory

This post is for our family and friends back home.

You have probably heard or read in the news about Bangkok's current situation. It's true that our city has been placed in a state of emergency because the protests have turned violent. According to the news, the Prime Minister has no plans of stepping down so it looks like these protestors are not going away anytime soon.

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I was able to chat with my mom and my brother-in-law, Eric, last night because they were worried about us so I assured them that we are fine. The news might paint a scary picture for all of you back home, but you shouldn't worry about us. We are doing ok. Thankfully, our apartment is far from any government office so no sight of any protests or rallies here.

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Oakwood issued an advisory to its residents and they are doing everything to ensure our safety. As an added measure, we were given a few reminders to keep us on the safe side:

1. Avoid government offices or places of confrontation -- unless these government offices are selling shoes and bags at 80% off, I'm not going near them even on a regular day.
2. Do not form groups of more than five (5) persons -- even if we bring our driver with us, we are still one person short of being a suspicious group.
3. Refrain from wearing yellow or red -- good thing I don't have much of these in my closet!

Okay, I'm trying to be funny just to show you that we're fine, but this is not really the best time for that. We hope and pray that this will soon be resolved and that no one else will get hurt.

NSIS called off classes today, so Aly and I will be staying at home all day. Richard went to work, but his office is far from any protest areas so he's safe. I promised my mom last night that I won't go to the mall and I'm keeping my word.

Our Blog Gets A Makeover

Do you like our blog's new look?

Thanks, Fids for the inspiration :)