We have a big bottle of ube haleya in the fridge which has an expiration date of one month so I don’t know how we would finish it. Of course I don’t want to waste it as it’s not cheap and it’s made by nuns in Baguio. Have you tried it? It’s really good and made with no preservatives hence the short expiration date. So I thought about baking ube bread. Wow it’s been a long while since I last baked something. Hmmmn… let me think when’s the last time… I really can’t remember so I guess it’s been almost a year.

Another factor why I baked? It’s because of the weather! It’s so hot outside it will be perfect for dough rising. And I was right.

Ube Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. lukewarm water

1 small egg + 1 egg yolk

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp. melted butter

1 1/4 cup bread flour (additional for dusting)

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup ube halaya

6 inch diameter round baking pan

So I had ideas about shaping them. I don’t want to make a loaf because in my experience before in baking monggo bread, the filling inside didn’t distribute well. It didn’t have that nice design even though I rolled it well.  I thought about making it cinnamon rolls style too. Also individual buns where I’d use my muffin pan. But I ended up making knots and baking them close together in a round baking pan and it turned out really pretty. I haven’t made knots before so I’m just glad it turned out well.

I had a lot of thinking these past days mostly about how things are much different now than when I was about eight years old. During those times, only a handful had their own mobile phones and I was lucky enough to have one when even my teachers didn’t have one. They’d even borrow one from me. No pre-paid lines as well. So not responsible with using it then, I’d call people I didn’t know and hang up on them just because I was bored. And calls per minute then are way more expensive too. My dad would reprimand me when my line’s bill reached more than Php3000 plus. I do not remember if texting already existed then. Or maybe I was just not aware about it. Now there’s internet.

There’s video calling and it’s free… well kind of as you still need to pay for your internet connection. I just hope internet here doesn’t suck this much. Another thing I love is online video conferencing, I could talk to Daddy and Bee at the same time. There’s blogging too. An online journal. These are just some of the things I appreciate having been born in this day and age. Will I ever survive in the 1800′s if I was born then? I guess so. You don’t long for something you have no idea about.

Got this from Facebook

Kapag hinuli ka ng traffic enforcer at alam mong wala kang violation:
1. kunin mo ang mission order nila upang malaman mo ang kanilang area of responsibility, time of duty and official function;
2. “SWERVING” ay HINDI isang traffic violation.

Tandaan:
1.Hindi maaaring kunin ang iyong driver’s license maliban na lamang kung ikaw ay sangkot sa traffic accident o nakalikom na ng 3 o higit pang traffic violations.
2. Walang karapatan ang traffic enforcer na pababain ng sasakyan ang driver.

Ipadala ang pangalan ng traffic enforcer at ang reklamo sa email@mmda.gov.ph

Tita’s still relatively new abode is somewhere in the heart of the city so when we needed a place to stay at during a very busy week, we stayed there a couple of nights. Man, I like their house. It is an inspiration.

I love how close it is to so many eating places! That would be like heaven to me if I could live there permanently but could be so bad to my weight. I remember there’s a Ferino’s Bibingka there that I want to try. And a pancit malabon place I still have to try yet. Ahhh so many. Now I appreciate living in the city. It’s not so bad really.

Then I love some of their “stuff”. I love their really nice chandelier, their ceramic switch plate covers and the less than 10 minute drive to Quezon City hall. So close to malls and close to NLEX. Hmmmn in time, we’ll have our place piece of land in that area as well.

Is how it feels like for me when my baby kicks. Sometimes the baby’s movements will catch me off guard but it’s a welcome surprise. I love that feeling. Now it’s like I have a more concrete evidence that my baby is there, moving. Before I only get to see the baby move and feel assured that the baby’s ok during ultrasound. So far I had two. First and second times was to find the heartbeat. Ooh that tormented me but that’s over now and I’m happy. My baby’s so active even at this very young age.

In 3 weeks time, my husband and I will have another ultrasound, that one’s to finally know the gender of the baby. I can’t wait to know! Well I guess there’s no surprise there that I’m so eager since patience is not one of my strengths. So it’s a good thing we can finally know soon. To have to wait almost 5 more months to know my baby’s gender would be very hard on me. Hmmmn I really can’t wait to know. A boy or a girl? I need to know!

Lumpiang Sariwa with veggies as filling is what I want so bad. With sweet potato, turnip, carrots, tofu, and more veggies wrapped in a soft crepe like wrapper with sweet and salty sauce. Before if I want to eat and if how I want it is not available then I’d just buy the ingredients and cook it myself. But given my current state (pregnant) I am still not myself yet. I just want to eat but I can’t cook. So how? I tried to trace the old vendor in our village who prepared my sought after lumpiang sariwa just like how I want it. Actually, I didn’t like lumpiang sariwa before I tasted one prepared by her. She used to sell in our village beside the Admin office but she’s not there anymore. Oohh I will not stop. She used to sell it at only 20php or 25php only. How I miss cheap and good food.

While I was torturing myself with this craving, another fire related news came on tv. The fire trucks wasn’t able to go in the street in front of the burning house because there’s a big hole in the middle of the street. Some renovations has been started but it was left unfinished for two weeks and then the fire happened. Only one fire hose was able to reach the house. Whew! Again, I couldn’t believe myself. My dear Philippines.

So I have mentioned before just how hot it has been in the Philippines since it’s summer and how it made sleeping difficult for me. We finally took the plunge and bought an air conditioner and had it installed just now despite the fear in the back of my mind about the sky high electricity rates here. Now I realized something, my taste is leveling up. I mean with everything. If it’s with food then I want it prepared with the best ingredients and cook just after I order it… With music, I have to have the best as well like drawmer products… If it’s about sleeping then I must have the best factors to have a great sleep… I guess this is fine but the money that’s going in must increase as well… OOOhhh that got me thinking… Hard.

Almost 3 weeks ago, one of my dreams as a 13 year old girl has came true. I finally got to lay my eyes on Taylor Hanson, who is my first love. ♥ It has been one of of those questions in my mind then, and I didn’t really know if it was ever going to happen, if I would ever see him in flesh and moving and singing. I can’t explain how I was feeling when I first saw him, disbelief and in awe I guess? Wow, it took 15 long years of waiting! Had I known in 1997 that I’d be able to meet them in 2012.. I honestly don’t know how I would feel. That’s longer than the years I have lived then!

So I brought my pregnant self to their cd signing and waited for hours just to make sure I have a nice seat. Haha this is only for Hanson, I’d never do this for other artists, I promise. Choosing what to wear was no easy feat as my belly is growing and I still want to feel pretty and not look like a whale… It’s Taylor Hanson for Pete’s sake!I imagined in my mind every little details of our first meeting and how I would be, but I never thought I’d be pregnant when it happens. Seriously, I can make my pick from nurses uniforms and wedding gowns and it wouldn’t make a difference, I am just another face in a crowd for them It’s alright, I know it’s the reality and they are not my reality either. Just a once in a blue moon fantasy to indulge myself in.

Is crazy! I can’t say what I like and what I can and cannot eat. It’s so hard. Forgive me for complaining but this is really difficult for me and to be honest, I feel like it has kicked me out of my comfort zone. See, food used to be my comfort zone. Now, I lost it. This pregnancy has made me feel like I have healthy trim side effects I am experiencing all day everyday since the moment I learned I am pregnant.

One of the thoughts that has helped me get through from day to another is the assurance given to me by my Mom and OB-Gyn, that the moment I pass through my first trimester, I’d feel much better and I’d be able to eat well to the point that I will have to stop myself. Hmmmn… I’m passed my first trimester and I feel much better but not when it comes to food. I have really bad food aversions and I have more of it than the foods I can eat. Did I mention that I still can’t cook? Whewww! This is the longest break I have from cooking.

I guess I just have to wait until things get better.

Wow, I am back. It’s been a long hiatus. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I had a bout of not being able to eat that I had no energy for anything else, including writing in this blog. But now as I am already in my second trimester and feeling much, much better, I am back. I feel like I am 80% of my old self again.

So, pregnancy and food. It hasn’t been a walk in the park for me when it comes to food and eating ever since I learned I am pregnant. Since my 6th week, I started to have food aversions, and what’s worse it i can’t stand the food that I used to love. I even stayed in Singapore thinking this pregnancy would make me eat like a pig and what happened? I wasn’t able to stand any food, and I starved to the point that I was crying everyday because of hunger. And now that I feel much better, I can eat better but I still don’t like rice. I used to love rice all my life, until pregnancy happens. Now I just eat it because I have to.

Another thing is about the food that I was able to eat. I was only able to eat the stuff that I stayed away from before. Like pork and beef, and lots of sweet stuff. It’s just the opposite of myself. Also, now I’m craving for the things I wasn’t particularly fond of, like coffee. Now I want it, so much that I’m thinking of having my own. I can’t stop looking at starbucks coffee makers. But I can ony have decaf.

A big surprise to me is that I eat less now. I’m contented with just enough food and I even have to force myself to eat more whereas before I constantly have to stop myself from eating waayyy too much. I guess it’s a good thing as I don’t want to be as big as Jessica Simpson. We are about the same height so I can’t imagine if I get as big as her. Plus I don’t have all her money to help me get back to my pre-pregnancy shape, so better be careful Niceyfemme.