Chasen Dreams

My very long weekend starts at this very moment. As I’ve told you in my previous posts, I’m a civil servant and government work in NCR is suspended from November 17-20, 2015 for the APEC Leaders' Meeting.  I won’t discuss my opinion on this APEC something though.  What’s  in my plate right now is a six-day vacation!  I’m very excited.  No. We will not travel or hole up in  a posh hotel in the metro.  We don’t have funds for that yet.  I will just stay at home with my darling girl.  We will play, sing, laugh, dance and make yakap-yakapan. Moms especially working moms know how exciting days off are.    Here are my other plans: 1.        Finish my work backlog 2.        Buy and wrap Christmas gifts 3.        Clean our house 4.        Finish the remaining episodes of Scandal 5.     ...

This post has been sitting in my draft folder for days already. I was a little bit hesitant to publish this because I don’t want to be judged. Actually, being judged as a woman, wife or employee doesn’t give me a fright.  But, I fear being judged as a mother. I fear being judged on how I raise my daughter.  I don’t know how to explain this to you (without oversharing) but  I feel that the world expects me to be the perfect mom to Baby C.    I am expected to shower her with so much love (which is so easy for me) and to raise her well (which is a tricky thing). Although I fear to be criticized, I still decided to click the publish box.   It’s a way for me to accept and to admit to the whole  world, that I am not perfect…that I am far from being a perfect parent but I am striving to be the bestest mom to my daughter…that I make mistakes but very willing to correct them. Days  ago, Baby C had her monthly checkup and vaccination. ...

At 1 year old, Baby C has more or less 20 books.  She can’t read yet.  She even tears and “eats” her books. Despite the tearing and eating, we still continue to buy her books.  We want her to be exposed to books at an early age.   We want her to know that reading is cool.  When I saw the facebook status re: BOOK EXCHANGE  on my newsfeed, I spontaneously commented, "Count me in".  Actually, it was not the 36 books that Baby C might receive that lure me into signing up.     It was the idea of spreading the love for reading.   Besides, giving a book to a kid won’t hurt, right? The facebook status goes this way. “Calling all mommies, daddies, mommies-to-be, teachers, grandmas, grandpas, and all book lovers! I need friends of any age to participate in a BOOK EXCHANGE! You only have to buy ONE book and send it to one child, then your child will receive 36 books or more in return! Let me know if you are inter...

I was born in the 80s and I consider myself as Batang 90s. Trick or treating was not part of my childhood. Halloween for me then was going to the cemetery, making balls out of candle wax, eating balut with cousins and listening to scary stories.    And  I only received treats during Santacruzan or Flores de Mayo. In this day and age, we have adopted the way the Americans celebrate Halloween.  I believe it’s not a bad thing.  For me, celebrating Halloween by wearing costumes has no religious implication.  In my opinion, it’s not about worshipping devil or whatsoever. It’s only about having fun…no more, no less.  It’s the time of the year when kids and adults can wear spooky, cute or whatever costume they want to wear.    But of course, for us Catholics, it  is  the time when we remember and offer prayers for our departed loved ones. Last Friday, we had a Halloween party at the office.  It’s actually for ...

Our financial status is not at its best.   Our household expenses have bloated while our cash inflow has decreased. I think I already mentioned  that I no longer receive windfalls.  Also, my husband’s salary increase this year is  below 5% of his last year’s salary.  While we are not on the phase where our cash outflow is more than our cash inflow, the fact that I sometimes regret our decision to invest in  real properties is alarming.    I don’t think my salary will  augment  in the near future.  Although  I heard that there is a bill seeking the increase of salaries of government employees, I’m sure that the increase would not be that dramatic. Spell INCOME TAX!   To receive a higher salary, my only recourse is to pass the exam and automatically hop to Salary Grade 23, which is a few notches higher than my salary grade.   Believe me, it’s easier said than done.  I’m still hopeful though...

One of the applauded dishes I’ve cooked at home is Chicken Cordon Bleu.  According to my husband, the dish reminds him of our Biggs (local food chain in Bicol) dates in Naga.  Okay, I admit, my version is not at par with  Biggs Cordon Bleu. But,  my version is also yummers. It’s just that Biggs Cordon Bleu is soooooo good.  They also use pork while I use chicken. (I tried to use pork but for some reasons, I can’t achieve the tender and juicy pork cordon bleu.)    Chicken Cordon Bleu is soooo easy to prepare. Promise.   The level of difficulty in pronouncing the dish is inversely proportional to the level of difficulty in whipping it up.  It may sound foreign and complicated but actually the recipe is so simple.   It’s budget friendly too. Ingredients:  Chicken Breast Fillet Sweet Ham, cut into two Cheddar Cheese (I used Eden Cheese) Thyme Ground Pepper Butter Egg (beaten) 2 tbs milk (I used evap)...

I’ve been receiving Uber Promo Codes from friends and acquaintances on Facebook.  Although I already heard and read about Uber, I thought the invites were just spam messages so I didn’t bother to acknowledge them.   I thought Uber is a pangmayaman thing. Other than it sounds shushal, it also involves gadgets and apps.  You know, when I hear “Install this,  download that blahblah”, my brain automatically shuts down.   Yes. I’m not techie.  I’ve embarrassed myself so many times because of that.  “What’s tether?” “What’s power bank?” Boom!  Ang jologs lang.   I even discovered Viber just recently.   I know. I know. I’ve been living under a rock.  In one of our conversations, my officemate told me that he tried Uber and his experience was pleasant. Some of the positive considerations he cited: 1.         No need to hail a taxi 2.        ...