My Dream Kitchen

In between bouts of dizziness, I've been pushing myself to move more. Discovered some more things that needs attention in the kitchen. A tile broke, another one is jutting out from its place and the cabinets are smelly. Not really sure what's going on there since the pipe isn't dripping. Also discovered that the cabinet is breaking up. The cabinet doors were just installed when we moved in last December. One of the original workers who built the house mentioned there's an underlying issue that wasn't fixed before. 

Monica's kitchen (Friends). Not the look I want, it's just nice and cozy.

I honestly want to re-do the kitchen. It looks nice, but it's so far not working well for me. I told my friend who's going to fix it I want to have a proper place for everything. He advised me not to spend a lot on it and we can work on the "face" for the meantime. I agreed, but the kusinera in me wants a better one. Well... since I found the cabinet issue this morning I think I have an excuse already to have it customized. For this, I'm invoking the mantra, "You Live Only Once". I've always wanted a nice kitchen and I just worked with what I had when we moved to the condo. 

So I thought, I'd list out what I want in my dream kitchen. Maybe the universe will finally give it to me:

Current kitchen.

1. Granite countertop, not the ugly fake one that always needs cleaning. 

2. Properly planned cabinetry where I have enough cabinets and drawers to fit my kitchen items. I need a place for: pots and pans, serving dishes, glasses and mugs, plates and bowls, baking stuff and a place to keep smaller kitchen gadgets. Also need a proper place to dry dishes. 

3. A decent coffee nook. I have my eye on the coffee maker that Anne recommended. I need a better place for it. 

4. I have the induction stove and oven which I like. Just probably need to work around it. 

5. A better functioning pantry cabinet. I have a big one, but I haven't been able to open the door fully because it's hitting the drawer beside it. Also thinking of switching it with the fridge (my fridge is so fat though). 

6. Maybe replace the kitchen table to a bar table. Not sure how it'll look aesthetically, but I think it'll work. 

7. I also need enough space for prep work and baking. 

Now that I'm retired, I'm finally living my dream to be a housewife. I may not be able to fulfill my duties fully, but one can hope and pray for a better quality of life. 

Happy Monday everyone. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

3 Months Back Home

We've been home for almost 3 months now! Woohoo! And I'm happy I managed to stay stable for three months and didn't need to see a doctor. It's an achievement for me since I saw a doctor weekly for a year. I could have probably avoided getting sick, so I need to be more vigilant. My mistake was I didn't wear a dust mask when I did some cleaning and I failed to use an air purifier during the day. I was feeling good, so I thought I didn't need those things anymore. At least I know what I need to do to safeguard my health.

 

We arrived on November 4. Completed quarantine, got reunited with family and moved to a new home. The first two months was really crazy! It's not a good idea to move weeks before Christmas! We were only able to decorate two days before Christmas. We managed to have a nice noche buena and Christmas lunch with Mom. By New Year though we were so tired from cleaning and organizing, we ended up having delivery on new year's eve. 

The post holiday surge though forced us to just stay home. All our "outdoor plans" were shelved. That gave us time to rest and organize our new home. It's still incomplete, but at least we now have a makeshift living room and craft area. Sweetie has started to organize the family room. We probably need to spend more time at the basement because of the warmer weather. 

One thing we've been busy with is gardening. We're trying to grow our own veggies. Growing veggies progressed better at our balcony in Singapore. We realized that the sprouts haven't been getting enough sunshine, so we're moving them to another location today. We hope that would help them improve and give us a good harvest in a few months. It's been fun taking care of new plants and getting supplies is much easier here. 

I hope to feel better in a few days. I had to find a GP since I couldn't locate my regular GP. My new GP was happy with the results of my blood test. She also said I'm so blessed to have survived two PEs and reminded me to keep praying. I told Sweetie I never got that kind of advise in SG hehe. I appreciated it though since it was a good reminder. She was yesterday's guardian angel. I'm back to being cheerful today. Yay! 

Stay amazing friends!

#BeKind #StayHome

Becoming a Homemaker + Made Pinangat Pasta

I'm terribly slow when it comes to fixing stuff. It was the one thing that Mommy always scolded me on. I usually know where everything is, call it organized chaos. Well, they say mess creates stress. I remember in high school I would spend a lot of time fixing my room first before studying for final exams. I carried that on at work and when I do home projects. Doing that isn't really effective, so I've been correcting the habit by fixing as I go. I now try to integrate chores in my routine, i.e. putting away newly washed flatware while waiting for the water to boil. 

I'm not a natural homemaker like my Mom. I learned on the job when Sweetie, Miggy and I moved to our first home. It was a good thing we had home eco class back in high school, so I learned some basic stuff. The other skills I learned by watching videos on YouTube and doing research. I think the best way for me to tackle this is to look at it as home management rather than home making. That way it won't be as overwhelming. 

My Kuya will probably laugh at what I'm trying to do. I told him a few years ago that it was my dream job to be a housewife. He said, "You're not going to last. You'll probably want to work again after a few months." Well... my doctors recommended for me not to work because I shouldn't get stressed. My body also reminds me about my limitations everyday. So I have to be realistic with my expectations. 

Here's my plan:

1. Tackle things by parts.

2. Get help where you can. (Asked friends for suggestions on how to fix our pantry aka sari-sari store).

3. Fix as you go so chores don't pile up. 

Overworked yesterday and had to lie down after dinner. I was finally able to get to know my new induction stove. It was mind boggling how it could have 10 temperature levels! My simple one-burner induction stove only had 5 levels. Well, it was fun swiping left and right to find the correct temp, haha. Made some pinangat pasta with ready-made pinangat. Here's how my cousin, Ate Odette, taught me how to make it --

Still hoping things will be a bit more organized by Christmas!

#Home40 #NewG206 #Xmas12 #StayHome #BeKind  

First Night in Our Dream House

We moved to our new home yesterday! This is the final phase of our transition back home. As usual, we're scrambling to find things we need in the boxes that arrived the other day. It's part of the fun of moving to a new home. Sweetie and I learned a few things last year when we moved. We ended up going through a maze of boxes to find beddings and bed clothes. This time around we made a list! 

We always wanted to live in a house. It was our dream from the beginning. Circumstances though had us move from one place to another in the past 12 years. Doing that eventually made us yearn to find a permanent home. The past three years our past time was to look at property listings and watch Presello vids. We would look at the houses and assess whether it would fit our needs. 

Welcome home Stormtrooper!

We knew we had outgrown our first owned home. SLEX was also nearby and the pollution forced us to keep all the windows closed. We were also worried about living in the condo because there were several COVID-19 case surges at our place. We saw a few places that we found interesting, but we really wanted to go back to the place where I grew up. 

I saw a listing last year, but the price was way over budget. Fast forward to May this year, I saw the place listed again. I kept coming back to the listing because it looked like it would be perfect for us. Eventually I found a video of the house on YouTube and was even more fascinated. Sweetie liked it too. We didn't consider it because it was beyond reach. The strange thing is we started to imagine how we'd live in it. I started to pray because I could see us living in the house. 

When things are really meant to be, God will make a way. In late June, I saw the listing again. The price was reduced by 16%. Still too pricey I thought, so I moved on and tried looking for another place. Then I saw the listing again listed by a friend, Ate Maya. I've known her since I was a teenager since she's my choir mate. I pinged her and asked about the house. After some negotiations to further reduce the price, several family meetings and a gazillion prayers, we got the place!

The funny thing is Sweetie and I only saw our new home after we got home and finished our quarantine. How crazy is that noh? Yes, it was really a crazy decision, but we felt it was the right decision for our family. We prayed hard for a permanent home and finally found it. God really leads you to where He wants you to be. :)

P.S. We slept on the floor, haha.

#Home31 #NewG215 #Xmas21 #StayHome #BeKind   

Thankful

We giggled as we ate our "Thanksgiving" dinner last night. It's Thanksgiving in the US and Miggy mentioned it as we started to eat dinner. "While everyone's eating turkey, we're eating Indomie," Sweetie said and that was when we giggled. We did order spinach lasagna for Thanksgiving, but only realized after that it will only be available on Saturday. We seriously need to do better in planning our meals. 

We enjoyed our meal. What's more important for us is we're together as a family. We're able to share stories, memes, weird ideas and funny memories in person. Sometimes when we need quiet time we retire in our room to recharge or do our own thing. Being together again is what I'm most thankful for this year. 

I am also thankful to be alive. I had my second PE* last January and have had complications after. I'm grateful for all the love and care from my family and friends. I'm also grateful to all my doctors, nurses and health workers who have cared for me. I am alive because of them and I thank God for giving me this chance to live. 

My only wish for now is for all my family and friends to be safe, healthy, secure, blessed and happy. I've also been praying for our country to have a leader who would bring peace, progress and prosperity. And, of course, bottomless prayers for all frontliners. My impossible cause prayer to St. Jude is for me to be healed. 

Being thankful and grateful is what has helped me the past few months. It's what has kept my PTSD** at bay. I'm still adjusting to my new life and I'm slowly accepting that my body is very different now. My biggest mistake post-OHS*** was to live like I didn't have surgery. I was bent on proving I could do everything. For now I'll just be thankful and grateful I have this chance to create more happy memories with family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

#Home23 #NewG223 #Xmas29 #StayHome #BeKind   

PE - pulmonary embolism

PTSD - post traumatic stress disorder

OHS - open heart surgery

Our New Life

I'm trying to push myself to move around more. Our tiny place does not allow me to reach my 2k daily steps. It's also been hard to find a corner where I can do my daily exercises. I've started to feel lethargic and my body has been telling me to move more to burn everything I'm eating. 

Yummy lasagna by Drake's Lasagna! Order from my friend Adrian Cruz :)

So yesterday we went down to check out the bazaar in our community. Only residents were allowed and there has been no active cases the past few weeks. It was fun to see the activity organized by the property management office with residents. Red and blue tents lined up the main road and residents sold a lot of different goods. 

It was a good day to go out. The sun was hiding and it seemed like it was going to rain. It was the perfect day for a walk. I was hoping to buy some coffee, but we ended up with three cups of latte, puto bungbong, and kwekkwek, haha. Not the best combination, but the three of us enjoyed it for merienda. The funny thing is Sweetie ended up buying Transformers toys in mint condition. It was being sold for a really good price, so he snatched it up immediately. 

Loving this new experience since I never really got to live long enough in our tiny home. I rarely go out, but I realized I missed it when neighbors and the property staff would nod and say hello. Every morning, the birds who live in our a/c enclosure would keep chirping until I wake up. When I move to the dining table, I'd hear the chickens clucking. There are days when the neighbors from the next property would party with karaoke singing. And, of course, we could hear the sounds from the Skyway. 

It's very different from our very quiet life in Singapore. The energy is very different. I could feel a very strong, lively vibe around me. I'm honestly feeling a bit tired from all the activity. I guess I'm still adjusting to the fact that at least two people talk to me now (haha) and there's more activity to traffic at home. I think I'll have to sleep the day away today, haha. 

I'm happy to be home. Happy I have my family and friends within reach. I'm happy I can indulge them also with a little something like cake or lasagna. And I'm super happy that I can get anything I crave for! I think I have to work on increasing my step count, need to burn all these calories! 

Happy Sunday everyone :)

#Home18 #NewG226 #Xmas34 #StayHome #BeKind