Stuffed Fuzzy Squash

This is one of the dishes I learned from my mother-in-law when they came to visit us last month. The steps and ingredients are pretty simple but it becomes complicated because no recipe exists. Everything is a mixture of little bit of this and that - as my mother-in-law puts it, "konti toyo, konti asukal, konti asin, masarap na!"

I did exactly as that and seasoned the pork mixture as per my taste & imagination. I figured, we could always adjust the measurements later. This turned out great!

Ingredients:
ground pork
carrots
corn starch
sugar
salt
soy sauce

fuzzy squash



1. Peel the fuzzy squash and cut into disks.

2. Mix ground pork with carrots and corn starch and season with soy sauce, sugar, and salt


3. Pan-fry and sear / brown the fuzzy squash. When a little bit browned, brush with a little bit of cornstarch on the surface and put a dollop of the ground pork mixture on top. Pour some water in the pan, just at the level of the fuzzy squash, cover and let it steam.

Lost super power :(

I think I may have lost my post-partum weight-loss powers. I started losing weight (without really trying) after I gave birth to Swe-Cha. I lost all the pregnancy weight. Then I lost some more. The pounds just kept going away until I was back to the least weight I've ever had in my adult life.

Oh, and during that time, I've also been shedding hair. Hormones, that's what they say.

Recently, I noticed that I've started growing baby hair. Lots and lots of them. So much that my head kinda looks bushy when I have my hair tied down. Whatever it was that caused my hairloss before is obviously righting itself now.

So I decided to check my weight and I swear, if I hadn't gone to Inpost: San Diego Lasik some time ago, I would've doubted my eyes,

*Gasp* It wasn't a pretty sight. So I guess, no more snacking on chocolate chip cookies.

Pearl Powder

Gave Swe-Cha pearl powder with his dinner a few days ago. Pearl powder is a traditional Chinese medicine that is believed to calm one down, among other things. We're hoping that this will help him sleep more soundly. Parang lagi siyang nagugulat eh.

Got diapers ?

Yes :)

These are the size 3 & 4 boxes of diapers that we have on stock right now. Looks like someone's afraid to run out of diapers :)

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On another note, I recently signed up for an account with Blog Copy. This service monitors your blog and lets you know which posts are being copied by others. I'm thinking this will be a very nifty tool to find out which of my posts are attracting more attention and / or which posts other people find informative and helpful.

This'll help me develop my blog and attract a wider audience.

Homecoming

So I've been telling whoever cares to listen - friends are good :) - that I have my heart set on going back to Manila to celebrate Swe-cha's 1st birthday.

I felt the urge exactly 13 days ago and immediately started looking around and doing research - basically, checking to see how feasible a December vacation will be for our family. It occurred to me that there would be lots of factors involved and that they have to all fall in place but I am hopeful that this will push through.

Among our considerations, the most major are:

- award tickets from PAL (if we do not get the award tickets, it doesn't make sense to fly during that time because of the costs), we're currently priority waitlisted* for a couple of dates and just plain waitlisted for a few more dates.

- award tickets from Delta (not a requirement but would be great if we could get award tickets for NJ to CA tickets for maximum savings)

- a stopover in California (a must)

- leave from work

- trans-atlantic travel with a one year old (eek!)

and with that...

- which baby gear to bring along

- pumping breastmilk and all the parts to bring along & sterilize (unfortunately, my son does not direct feed from me)

- feeding bottles and nipples

Milk-wise, we're going to go with disposables as much as we can so the Playtex nursers are going to get a lot of use. I'm just iffy because our Playtex nursers (premium set) are made of plastic that is easily cracked unlike the older ones, I still prefer the original.

Secondary considerations - and the most fun, if I may say so:

- 1st bday party venue (check, Mom is taking care of this)

- caterer & food (Mom / brother are scouting for suppliers)

- decorations / venue dress up (found recommendations thru n@w)

- entertainment, souvenirs and prizes (found recommendations thru n@w)

- photographer & videographer (found recommendations thru n@w)

- clothes!

Luggage wise, I'm thinking that we could assemble a balikbayan box (for personal supplies and pasalubong) and have this sent ahead to our home in Manila. This should reduce the amount of luggage we have to bring with us.

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* I asked the PAL booking agent what "priority waitlisted" meant and was told that it means that there is a big possibility that our seats will be confirmed.

happiness ...

... is a slice of cake

... or a Jollibee chickenjoy

... or a cup of iced coffee or sweet tea

... or a bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day

... or a nice cool bath or a long warm bath, depending on the season

... or a massage or better, a day at the spa.

But today, happiness is getting to change Swe-cha's diaper. He had 3 huge loads of poop and 2 w/ skid marks throughout the day. It made Mommy very happy because he did not poop the past 2 days.

Updates

We've been invited to a pool party this Saturday. Looking forward to Swe-cha's first swimming experience, hope he's up to it. We did a dry wet run last night in the tub, dressed him up in his swimsuit and put him in the bathtub. He was plenty excited - unlike the first time he was put in the tub, he cried!

I'm also glad that he's liking his suit already because when I first put it on him, he cried too! I'm guessing it must have been the tags poking him and bothering him because he didn't cry till I closed up the zipper (and the back part with the tags must've pressed on him already). I tore off the tags so they won't bother him anymore.

A few weeks ago, we met up with friends, Swe Cha was okay at first but then, some time later, he cried too!

Whenever I run errands nowadays, he shouts from the back of the car (from his car seat). He also shouts from his stroller - he used to be content so long as he's moving and so long as he hears me. But not anymore.

There's a pattern here.

My son - the happy baby that he is - is iyakin now. Hope this isn't an indication of how he will be in the future. I'm thinking that maybe he's uber lambing now because he's not feeling too well (teething).