Tagged by Ajay (and a pleasure being called beautylicious), I am now tagging Lani and favorite tagmates Ces and Mike with this meme about describing your top 10 simple pleasures in life. (Wanna tag Toni but Vina beats me to the punch. ) Ajay said “be original with your answers and not repeat those which have already been written by your circle of friends”. Her list is so interesting I had a difficult time completing mine. Funny how hard it is to think about simple things I got stucked at no. 9 for days.
1. Looking at that photo of toothless Cean at the bottom of this site’s sidebar. (Photo no longer shown.)
2. Seeing Cean sticking his doodles on his graffiti wall.
3. Being surprised at still having the stamina for making love after long hours of work.
4. Everything I cook is finish to the last drop. Rice included.
5. Sharing earphones while watching DVD in bed with A before going to sleep.
6. Being told I look like an older sister to my son.
7. I buy jeans or a blouse and fits exactly to the size I pick which is practically my size for more than 10 years.
8. Getting comments about how they tried a recipe from my blog and liked it (which isn’t often).
9. Whenever it is Cean’s bedtime and that after all hugs and kisses he would always say he will call me if he has a problem.
10. Waking up to a bright new day.
I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.
My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.
Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.
I love that toothy grin of Cean too! Always makes me smile.
hi! i just came across your blog. curiously, i scrolled down to check out your toothless Cean. haha, that photo sure could light up anyone’s day, including mine!
http://www.vina-vina.blogspot.com