We were one of the families affected by the Typhoon Ondoy, but still, we were lucky enough to be able to save most of our appliances and things. Thank God that we were able to save them and we were safe. The appliances that we weren’t able to save were 2 refrigerators, 1 freezer, and our sofa. We tried to elevate them but the flood waters continued to rise up to the waist. The flood waters started to rise Saturday afternoon at around 12:30 PM. It all happened so fast because we were still watching Wowowee that time in our room to watch mom and dad because they were there to watch the show live. My sister, who is a TFC subscriber, arranged a schedule for them to watch the show live. We saw our dad being chosen as one of the players on one of their show segments and didn’t won. But, it was okay because he was given the chance to be seen in the television. During commercial break, we have noticed that the flood water started to rise. We decided to start lifting our things in the living room and kitchen. While Abeth is busy clearing the first floor, I also started cooking rice and frying the fish and have put all the books, picture frames, and photo albums in a basket at the same time. We had our breakfast at 10am that’s why we haven’t cooked yet for our lunch.

The flood outside was still more than a foot away from our house when I started cooking the fish. We thought that we have still enough time to lift our things but it all happened so fast. I started cooking the fish without floodwater in the kitchen and finished cooking them with my feet being immersed in water more than 1 foot deep. Just imagine how fast the water rushed off our feet! In 10 minutes, our house was flooded. Abeth and I started to lift the electrical appliances. We were able to lift the smaller refrigerator and freezer. Next was the sofa. We had elevated our sofa using 2 monoblock chairs and put the two remaining sofas on top of it. We have elevated the freezer using 2 dining chairs. We didn’t lift the TV rack because the TV was still there and we thought that the floodwater won’t reach the level where the TV was placed. I also asked Abeth to switch off the main switch because we might be electrified because we are using electric gas stove for cooking. The fish was able to be cooked just in time when Abeth had to switch off the main switch. Abeth and I weren’t able to lift the bigger refrigerator because it was too heavy. Buti na lang, one of our neighbors saw us and helped us to lift the ref. After cooking, we elevated the gas range using a small table. The oven of the gas range was partially immersed before being able to lift them. Lastly, we have elevated the washing machine using another table.

We almost forgot the motorbike. We were able to partially lift the motorbike, but the water still reached the engine. It was very difficult to lift because it was so heavy. One more thing! We were lucky enough to bring our car to an elevated place. Abeth was awakened at 430am and saw that there were already floodwaters in our street. He decided to bring the car to the topmost part of the bridge so that we won’t worry about the car when worse comes to worst. We were lucky to be able to save the car because our neighbor wasn’t able to do so because their cars were trapped in their garage. It was very tiring. Grabe ung adrenalin rush namin ni Abeth because we were able to lift all the appliances, furniture, and motorbike. It’s equivalent to a complete workout. No need to take fat burners to burn calories. Hehehe!

We thank you Lord for keeping us safe and all our relatives as well. We are very thankful that our place was more elevated and we had a second floor to stay at. My in-laws experienced a more devastating experience because flood waters almost reached the second floor of their houses. It was just 1 stair away. We were luckier because we had enough supply of food and drinking water during the typhoon. We had canned goods and our favorite food during the typhoon, KokoCrunch with milk! I taught Andre to pray for the rain to stop so that the flood waters won’t rise anymore. We continue to pray for those who were affected by this devastating experience. We pray that this won’t happen again and more families would be saved.

Narito ang lahok ko para sa tema ngayong linggong ito: Mamahaling Buko!

Lubhang napakamahal ng buko sa Boracay!!! Samantalang ang isang piraso nito ay mabibili mo lamang ng PhP18 dito sa aming lugar. Iba kaya ang lasa ng buko sa Boracay? Hindi namin tinikman dahil mahal nga.
Sa bahay na lang kami babawi ng buko. Hehehe!

We’re now in the 3rd week of September and it only means that Christmas season is near. When I was still unmarried, I organize a Christmas party for our less-fortunate neighbors in my hometown every year. It is my simple way of sharing the blessings that we receive everyday. I cook spaghetti and hotdogs to feed them. I also prepare games for them to be able to enjoy the party more. But since I am now relocated to my hubby’s hometown, I intend to continue what I’ve been doing for the past years. I started my “little charity work” last year in a Barangay Daycare Center in our area by giving packed foods and cookies. It is the same Barangay Daycare Center where Andre is currently enrolled. This year, I am thinking of hosting their Christmas Party if the Christmas bonus allows me to do so hehe. Abeth is also thinking of donating a preschool furniture like bookshelf, book displays, and bin storage. These things will surely be useful to the kids.

I’m currently reading about colon cleanser reviews as well as information about breast cancer. It seems that there are an increasing number of deaths due to cancer. These include the late President Cory Aquino who died of colon cancer. I also have an officemate who is diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. We were shocked when we heard the news because she was able to discover that she has a breast cancer thru our annual physical examination (APE). We have our APE regularly and it only means that the cancer only developed this year. We pity her because it isn’t easy for her to accept this kind of ordeal. She is her family’s bread-winner. Due to her sickness, she won’t be able to work regularly because she has to undergo chemotherapy. Aside from the expensive chemotherapy treatments, she also has to take her medications. How will she able to conform to these requirements to alleviate the cancer if she can’t work? That’s why we are organizing a fund raising in the office to help her with her financial needs. That’s the least that we can do to help her. I hope the company will approve our proposal for the said fund-raising so that we will be able to help her.

I  have noticed that Andre shows interest in cooking. He sometimes imitates what I’m doing in the kitchen. One time, while I am in the market, his dad saw him beating an egg using a bowl and a wire whip. The funny thing is that he put the whole egg in the bowl with the shell on and mixed them together. So, I decided to let him participate on my cooking occasionally. I will share with you our first time to cook together.

A few weeks ago, I decided to cook Spahetti for dinner. But, this time, I decided to cook Spaghetti with meatballs the Filipino style. Why the Filipino-style? It is because we don’t like our spaghetti to be too sour like those sold in the restaurant. Also, instead of using parsley, I used kinchay. I asked Andre to help me with my cooking and he agreed willingly. I asked him to form the ground meat into balls just like the clays he used to play in school. Andre said, “Parang clay mommy! (Sabay tawa)”. He enjoyed it as well as I did because it’s a great time for bonding and it kept him busy.

Here are the ingredients:

MEATBALLS
500 grams ground beef
fresh bread crumbs from 6 tasty bread
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup water
1 large onion, minced
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup kinchay, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 pcs eggs, beaten

TOMATO SAUCE
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz. can
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 beef cubes
¼ cup sugar
500 g UFC sweet style Spaghetti Sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, milk, and water. Allow to steep for 3 minutes.
2. Add the ground meats, onion, garlic, kinchay, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Mix until just combined.
4. Add the eggs and mix until blended.
5. Cover bowl with a cling wrap and allow mixture to rest for at least an hour.
6. Roll into balls and fry meatballs over medium heat in oil until browned and finish off cooking in the tomato sauce for another 5-7 minutes.
8. For the tomato sauce, sauté the onion and garlic in large sauce pan.
9. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and spaghetti sauce.
10. Add the beef cubes, sugar, salt, and pepper.
11. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until thickened approximately 30 minutes.
12. Put the meatballs and let it simmer for another 2 minutes.
13. Mix the sauce with cooked pasta and top them with cheese and fresh parsley.

Here are some of the photos during the preparation.

I’ve learned about Link from Blog as another opportunity to make money online. I’ve been a blogger since 2007. I love its idea wherein I can share my experiences and adventures as a wife and mother. Through blogging, I can also share our travels and most importantly my life as a home-cook. In my 2 years of blogging, I was able to earn a few bucks from blogging and was able to buy stuffs like my KitchenAid Stnad Mixer and Andre’s collections of Disney Pixars’ Cars characters. With Link from Blog, I am looking forward to earn from them, too!

Happy blogging!