My new kitchen companions

I have been planning to invite a number of friends for dinner but did not have the suitable kitchen utensils to cook for a table of 5 people or more. Next weekend’s Christmas already and we were hoping to celebrate it with friends so we headed to Carrefour last Saturday and did some shopping, making sure we headed for the kitchen section first before anything else. Look what I got…

A typical wok...

A Tefal pan (thermo-spot)
and an Argus Pot

Now, I am ready to cook more than what I usually prepare.

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After Eight

I am supposed to be working on a special project from home but i don’t know how to proceed with what I have on hand so I decided to send several emails to friends, surf the net, upload new pictures in friendster and while doing that, write a blog entry.

Hmmn, I have done more than what I ought to do, hahaha. Anyway, before I end up with an unfinish article, I’d better get to what I am supposed to post.

Last Sunday, after hearing mass and having lunch in a newly opened Pinoy store/eatery in Tamsui, we headed to Carrefour, a mini-mart 10-15 minutes away from town. Surprisingly, we noticed that there were unusually lots of people that day. We used to go there on weekends but didn’t really encounter such crowd. Eventually, we figured out that the mart was on sale. To our advantage, some of the items we bought were on sale. One of which will be discussed in a separate entry (meaning I might have more than one entry tonight or it would be a late entry soon).

After almost one hour of going around the 1st floor area (where I got my main shopping stuffs), we headed up to the food section on the 2nd floor. Few steps out from the escalator were displays of chocolates which were on promo. I don’t have much interest in chocolates; luckily I don’t have a sweet tooth, so we really bother much looking at the displays until a familiar box caught my attention. I saw the brandname and pause to remember where and when I knew about such brand and realized, it was way back in Ireland on my 1st business trip in 2001. Whew, that was quite a number of years ago, huh! Then Dennis also remembered that I brought home such chocolates. It brought back a lot of memories leading me to buy one box at a price of 75NTD (~115PhP). There were two available flavors and I chose to get the “Bitter & Dark Rum”, I forgot the other flavor. Does my pick give a hint of why I had it? Ha! Ha! Ha! But I guess, it was more of the memory that the “After Eight” chocolate that gave me the reason to buy it. Which led me to miss Ireland and I have the same feeling at this very moment I am typing this entry.

Now, enough of the sentiments as I still have to move on and finish this. I had the first bite of it few hours ago and as the brandname implies, it should be eaten after 8PM. I shared the 1st piece with Dennis. I had the 2nd piece by myself after I drank a cup of coffee. Not having eaten chocolate for a period of time, it seemed that the taste lingered in my throat thus I had to drink a cup of warm water so that at the same time, I won’t suffer from sore throat later and might blame the chocolate for it.

Anyhow, I took some photos of the unopened chocolate box, the 1st piece opened and the chocolote with a portion bitten.

PS. Hurray, I was able to finish this entry without any sort of interruption. But it’s almost midnight and I might not be able to do the thing I am supposed to. Poor report, it has been there since last week. My future boss who needs it will be back on Wednesday, meaning I will still have tomorrow to finish it. Ha! Ha! Ha!

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Mirror image

Mirror mirror on my hand, is that me I see around?

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Slumber

Sleep! Sleep! Beauty Bright


Sleep! sleep! beauty bright,
Dreaming o'er the joys of night;
Sleep! sleep! in thy sleep
Little sorrows sit and weep.

Sweet Babe, in thy face
Soft desires I can trace,
Secret joys and secret smiles,
Little pretty infant wiles.

As thy softest limbs I feel,
Smiles as of the morning steal
O'er thy cheek, and o'er thy breast
Where thy little heart does rest.

O! the cunning wiles that creep
In thy little heart asleep.
When thy little heart does wake
Then the dreadful lightnings break,

From thy cheek and from thy eye,
O'er the youthful harvests nigh.
Infant wiles and infant smiles
Heaven and Earth of peace beguiles.

William Blake

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Sentiments of a mother...

Being a mother for almost six months now has led me into a realization that mothers are indeed to be considered heroes in their own ways. I couldn't imagine how much patience, love and endurance a mother has in rearing up her child all through the growing years.

I am in a situation where our baby is under medical observation and to undergo medical testings, which in turn, may lead her to be under treatments. For whatever reason, we are yet to know in two weeks time.

My heart was broken after hearing the words from the babysitter that the first manifestation that I, myself, has witnessed in Jade, had happened for the second time. I had to go to the bathroom and cry my tears out to easen the emotional pain I have inside. It happened yet to Jade, it seemed nothing. Though I know something could be wrong that needs immediate medical attention.

We are lucky to have a very supportive pedia who helped us seek for a specialist in one of the well known hospitals in Taipei. In addition to that, we are also lucky that her medical insurance covers all that we only had to pay the registration fee of 100NTD. Moreover, we are lucky to have understanding and supportive employers and colleagues who, in their own ways, had given us their emotional support.

I do not feel like disclosing the whole thing here now, I will soon as I know it will help others, especially moms like me.

In two weeks time, we will be going back to the hospital. I pray for strength because much as I have, anything related to Jade makes me so emotionally hurt, but I know that I need to be stronger in any means.

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Baby Talk

This photo was taken by Rene, one of Jade’s ninongs, when we visited their family. I love this shot. Jade seems to be talking to Andi, Jols and Rene’s 1.5mos. old daughter. More to be posted.

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5months of existence

We had our family picture taking in a photo studio when we went home to Cavite for a week vacation (after coming from Baguio). Jade has turned 5mos on Oct. 6. She seemed to enjoy the picture taking and easily posed with charming smiles.

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C.A.D.D.

This was forwarded to me by a friend. I laughed after I read it because it hit me hahaha. I thought of posting it here so you may know the other side of me. Read on...

If you have been secretly wondering what is wrong with
me, I now have the answer...

Recently, I was diagnosed with C. A. A. D. D. (Child
Activated Attention Deficit Disorder)

This is how it manifests:

I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the
laundry room, I notice that there are cheerios all over
the floor and my car keys are in the cereal bowl.

I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the
laundry. I lay m y car keys down on the counter, put
the cheerios in the trash can under the counter, and
notice that the trash can is full. So, I decide to
take out the trash.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the
mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay
the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table,
and see that there is only one check left, my extra
checks are in my desk in the office/playroom, so I go
to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm
going to look for my checks, but first I decide I
should put the sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep
it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup a vase
of flowers on the counter catches my eye - they need
to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and
I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all
morning. I decide I better put them ba ck in the
bathroom, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the wipes back down and splash some water on the
flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I get
some paper towels and wipe up the spill.

Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I
was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the
bills aren't paid, there is a warm cup of juice
sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered,
there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't
find the wipes, and I don't remember what I did with
the car keys.

Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done
today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy
all day long, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to
get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message, because
I don't remember to whom it has been sent.

Don't laugh - if this isn't you yet, your day is coming.

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colic, tummy bloat, cough, rashes and oral thrush

Since Jade turned two months, we have visited the doctor several times not for her vaccination but for medical check-up. For three consecutive weeks, we were at the clinic's lobby waiting for her turn to be seen by the pedia.

First, she had not been feeding for several nights - actually she did but not as much as she should have taken in. For three nights, she had drank around 70-90mol of her milk that lasted til the morning, not early morning by around 8-8:30AM. Even if we wake her up during the night, she would resist her bottle. I knew that the amount of milk she drank does not suffice for that long. We tried to convince her - pretending that she could understand our pleas for her to drink even just half of the bottle's contents - but to our frustration - she preferred to sleep. That bothered us a lot. We asked our friends and we were informed that they had the same experience so we thought it was normal. We read from the book that there are times that a baby can last 6-8 hours without feeding. But then, our baby manifested that for three straight days. I cried most of the time because I was so worried that she is very hungry but why wouldn't she drink her milk. Even so, Jade was still energetic - she did not cry in complaint. She feeds well during the day. I called the doctor and told her the details and she immediately asked us to bring her to the clinic. Dra. Irene examined her and it turned out that her stomach is bloated - too much air has filled her tummy - that is why she resists to be fed because she feels full. The doctor asked if we regularly burp her, of course we do. We understand the importance of burping a baby. She was given a digestant that will be mixed with fluid that she will have to take in before feeding. That did helped a lot. We were also given menthol oil which we were asked to apply to her tummy after ther bathe and before she goes to sleep. Eventually, we realized that our Jade is a colic baby.

After she went back to her regular appetite, we decided to change her milk from S26 to NAN HA1 and her appetite improved a lot better. She liked her new milk - less fatty and not sweet! Her tummy did not bloat that worse anymore. The new milk's special formula - hypoallergenic ingredients plus biffidus - helped her digestion. The odds - pungent fart and poop - hahahaha. We have to ventilate the room after she poops so that the smell will fade away - even her babysitter noticed that. The doctor warned us earlier about it so we were already aware. I got used to it anyway that smelling the "scent" of her fart gave me joy and relief knowing that she is expelling the unwanted gas from her digestive system.

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Saturday is Paella Day

Alas, after more than two years, I was able to cook chicken paella again……

Few weeks ago, Dennis and I jumped into a CNN featured clip of Spain’s famous dish – paella. The one featured is chicken paella cooked in a very large pan which served around 50 people. Yes, that much – in a single cooking.

It reminded me of the paella recipe our Spanish friend Rebeca has taught us back in Limerick, Ireland during the ADI days. Dennis asked if I can cook for him, I said of course, but then I didn’t have time to do it until yesterday.

I had to recall the ingredients first. I browsed in the net but the recipes there are not as simple as I thought. “Where would I buy those stuffs needed” was the first thing in mind. Rebeca’s recipe was so simple. I only needed 4-5 ingredients such as rice, canned whole tomatoe, chicken and beans. Hey, these could be easily found in the grocery, at least I could see them immediately. Saffron of course is needed but I am not sure if I could find one, I thought of a food coloring as a subsitute (we did that back in LK because saffron is expensive, mind you).

Yesterday was quite a good day to cook the dish since hubs stayed at home (after several weeks of spending OT in the office), he could take care of Jade while I’ll be cooking the paella for our dinner. So off we went to the grocery and I picked up the stuffs I needed. I couldn’t find any food coloring but I thought it wouldn’t matter anyway. Rosemary leaves are also needed but I already got them at home.

Having all the ingredients needed, I started to prepare the dish with excitement. Here are what I had…

5pcs of chicken legs
250gms of beans
2 canned whole tomatoes
3 cups of rice
Rosemary leaves
Salt

…and here are the steps I did to come up to the much awaited paella –

1. Fry the chicken, brown both sides. (not deep fry)

2. Remove most of the cooking oil after the chicken has turned into brown. (and transfer the chicken to the bigger pan, of course a single pan can be used)

3. Add the beans.

4. Prepare the whole tomatoes, squeezed them in a container and added some water. I was able to buy peeled tomatoes so there was no need for me to skin them.

5. Add the tomatoes in the pan.

6. Add salt to taste

7. Sprinkle rosemary leaves.

8. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. This will make the chicken and beans absorb the savor of the tomatoes.

9. Add the rice.

(Tip: Remove some of the sauce and place it in a container. When the rice starts to get cooked, the sauce will be absorbed so if you see the sauce getting dried but with the rice still uncooked, you can pour back the sauce you removed earlier so you can get the rice cooked well).***

10. Let it cook for 20-30mins

11. Serve well and enjoy the dish.

***While the rice is getting cooked, I bathed our daughter while hubby was starting to complain that the smell of the dish made him hungry.

Hhhmmmnn, you can serve it with wine if you are into it. It’s a no-no for me at this time so we had orange juice instead.

I remember a friend told me that lemon can also be sprinkled in the paella before serving.

And here is my “Paella ala Jane” which satisfied Dennis who suggested that I cook paella weekly huh!

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Jade at full month

In Chinese tradition, the baby's 1st full month is a significant event in his/her life. Part of this tradition is the distribution of full month's cakes to people who gave gifts to the baby in th form of the red envelope, commonly called "ampaw" back home. The cake is specially packaged in a way that its box and bag denote that it is a full month cake. Since we are in Taiwan, Dennis and I opted to adapt this in celebration of Jade's 1st month. At the same time, it is our way of saying thanks to those who have gifted Jade red envelopes.

Dennis asked their department's assistant to order the cakes for us. She ordered two kinds of cake but we were only able to taste one kind, the green bean cake. I learned that the other is chocolate cake.Her cake was not distributed on the June 6 however, Daddy Dennis bought a small chocolate cake with matching "huge" candle for us.

We had a very simple celebration with just myself, Dennis and who else ... our darling Jade. We all dressed up in pink. Here are some photos taken during our evening of celebration.

Jade's full month cake (green bean topped with cherries)




Jade and Mommy


Jade and Daddy


Mommy blowing the smaller cake


family picture

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Tabebe

My Daddy calls me Tabebe. Ask him why...

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You Are Mine

You cry,
And I pick you up
I leave the room
And you look for me.
You smile at me
And I smile back at you.


I rock you
And you melt in my arms.
You sleep with me
And we nurse the night away.


I am your mother
And you are my baby.
You need me
And so I need you.

(c) 1997 Ann Kale all rights reserved

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Moonlit Dreams

The night is still and silent.
The moon gives off a cold white light.
There is a chill in the air,
But she doesn't feel it.
She is inside, asleep in her bed.
The moonlight shines through her window,
Illuminating her in its cold white light.
The moonlight lays across her pillow,
And caresses her cheek.
She is sleeping peacefully.
The calm of the night is upon her.
As I stand there and watch her sleeping,
I wonder--
What figures dance through her moonlit dreams?
(c) 1997 Nadine-Brenna McManus All Rights Reserved

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My Baby

Ten little fingers, ten little toes -
Rosy little lips, and a button nose.
So soft and cuddly with a baby sweet smell.
Eyes so full of trust that I just can't fail.
I know a gift of God you had to be -
How else could something so perfect come to me?
You wiggle and snuggle, gurgle and coo -
Do you know of all the love in my heart for you?
Your eyes are getting heavy,
as off to Dreamland you go -
To dream of teddy bears, kittens,
and your Mother's love, I know.
I hold you close, and look at you with awe-
as a little silent prayer I say --
"Thank you God, and please help me mold
this little life the right way."
I put you in your crib so gently, and
turn to blink away the tears.
You're my baby now, but I know it's
just for a few short years.
(c) 1997 Martha Benton All Rights Reserved

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