I got hit

"As we grow old, things get complicated. We settle to a less compromising situation. We prefer to dwell in the comforts of our 'safe, routine lives.' We tend to forget what it's like to dream, to take risk & to have fun. We harbor fears instead of challenging them. We have a choice... Choose to be happy & live your dreams. For it is better to have an energy tried & wasted than buried forever in a shady plot."

just want to share one good quote i got from a friend. very timely. this quote really hit me.

it describes exactly where i am right now.

The kitchen is busy

a great long weekend for me:D

finally, i was able to explore & use for the first time, my oven & my kitchen aid mixer. woot woot!!!

as always, being an ambitious amateur chef, i tried to make a lot of different 'not so simple' things from recipes i got from the net. i made bagel last saturday afternoon & sunday, i made pizza & biscotti.

good thing my dad is not here in manila 'cause if he learns that i used the oven & mixer for the first time without reading the manuals (as usual, i was too lazy to read & too excited to use the kitchen equipments) i'm sure to get some scolding from him. the only thing i made sure before using them was to learn what the electricity requirements are 'cause i don't want to end up breaking my precious kitchen tools.

the bagel & pizza which both required yeast didn't rise to almost double though. until now i'm still trying to figure out what i did wrong. maybe it has something to do with the ingredients or the temperature. i'm hoping to figure that out soon when i make my next attempt at baking.
for the bagel, i just made it plain. no flavor in it. the taste was ok & it smelled good. it was a little tough though.

for the pizza, since i like simple pizzas like margherita or just cheese pizza. i worked with what ingredients i had for toppings at home. the sauce i used was tomato sauce & paste. the first pizza i topped with some sliced tomatoes, basil leaves, cheese, olive oil & pepper, the second pizza i added some homemade shredded fish (which my mom made). since the crust didn't rise when i placed it to rest, i just tried to make it as thin as possible to achieve a crisp crust. my sister liked it & she said that it reminded her of pizza from italiannis. hearing such a compliment from my sister made me really happy & inspires me to try & bake more.

the biscotti i made was a simple cinnamon sugar biscotti. the mixture of cinnamon & sugar baking in the oven really smelled good. even after baking the whole house smelled of it.

i know i love cooking but the thing i discovered about myself was that i love baking. surprisingly, what i like to bake are not the usual stuffs like cakes or cookies. i love baking breads.

another long weekend ahead & i'm really looking forward to it. hopefully i'll be able to solve the mistake i made, try out some new recipe & maybe discover something more about myself.

Good green stuff

cooking makes me happy:D

yesterday, i was able to finally make pesto sauce from scratch. yehey!!! recipe was courtesy of emeril, one of my favorite chef.

eversince my basil plant started to grow leaves (thanks for the seeds ken), my sister kept on bugging me to make her pesto pasta. but i didn't feel that my plant had enough leaves yet & i was saving it for the right occassion. so since yesterday was the last lunch we were having as a family before my sister leaves for boston today (for 2 years for her mba) & since my plant had enough leaves already. i made pesto pasta.

hopefully the next time i make this, i'll be able to do the noodles myself too!;)

Dingdongs & reruns

(entry inspired by my senti mood because of the weather & my meet up with 2 sgv friends last friday)

just like the dingdong mixed nuts (simple peanuts, corniks, greenpeas, popped beans & the nagaraya sort of peanuts) which we like so much, me & my sgv friends are all different. different persons with different personalities brought together to make an amazing mix & share a lifetime friendship with each other. no doubt, we can all succeed on our own, but i know that together, we can become even bigger.

coming from different backgrounds (different schools & different blocks), we met at sgv a few years back. all new CPAs, all very young & idealistic. slowly we became friends, shared lunch together, coffee breaks, snack breaks, friday lunch out, OT at the office, drinks & midnight snacks. we shared endless stories, jokes, codes, rants & kalokohans. we shared a lot of laughter & tears.

now we're all living our own dreams, (most have already gone to different countries), but whenever we get the chance to talk (in person, through ym or emails), it's like no time or distance separates us. we are still the same crazy young CPAs we were before. we talk about everything (from serious stuffs to silly stuffs), updates on what's happening to each of us, & more often than not, we catch ourself reminiscing our time together.

i'm really proud to be their friend & proud of what they have all achieved & where they are now. i'll never trade that one year i shared with them--priceless memories. though it's been a short time, it's one year i'll really never forget & will always keep in my heart.

(...manong & his chocolate covered pulvoron. 3 in 1 coffee & instant noodles in the pantry. dingdong breaks. bananacue, turon & camotecue from the jolly jeep. kakanin during lunch. midnight taho breaks. friday lunch out. enchanted trip. starbucks, coffeebean & caffea. kroco & cocktails. bday celebrations together. tripeaks club. :( )

caught the rerun of home alone 2 in star movies yesterday. i didn't realize how much i like this movie until i watched it yesterday. there's something about it that brings me back to being a child. it reminds me of spending christmas holidays in my hometown, of decorating the christmas tree in our living room, opening presents & sharing laughter about silly stuffs with my parents & my sisters.

i'd be willing to trade anything to bring back those times...if only i could be a child again...life was so much simpler then...but i'm a big girl now...& big girls don't cry...

Let's pray

just read about it...like a scene from a movie, but this time it's real.

Minneapolis bridge collapses into Mississippi river. unfortunately it was during rush hour. let's pray for them.

Told you

told you i was bored.

itching for a change...

...so i had my hair chopped off;)

Celebrations

i love weddings!!! most people, when asked why they love weddings, find it to be a very romantic event. for me, it's not only attending the ceremony that i enjoy, what i like most when it comes to this important occassion is getting involved in all the preparations. honestly, i don't know why but i get excited & really enjoy doing research to help. (maybe i should think of becoming part of a wedding planner group as a second career...hehehe:P)

seems like recently, so many people i know are getting married. lotsa weddings!!!:D just this May, a first from our barkada got married. it was such a memorable event & really glad to be part of it. this December, a cousin is getting married & she' s getting me as part of her entourage too. next year, would you believe, 3 more weddings of close friends!!! one in September, one in October & the other one tentatively in December. (feel so honored that 2 of them asked me to be part of their entourage;))

anyone for november? any more to come? hehehe...

another thing to celebrate is the recent passing in the US CPA board exams of my dear friend betc!!! whoopi!!! soooooo proud of u & i knew you could do it:D