Mga Ka-BLOG-an ni Zimberloy

Yesterday, I was craving for original Filipino food again so I decided to cook something I’ve never ever cooked before, not even in the Philippines (as if I cooked in the Phils :D). It was the monggos with dried fish! weeeee!…. :D

I invented the recipe. I didn’t look it up online or asked my mom or anybody. It was all common sense and memories from our old restaurant back when I was in highschool.  I soaked the monggo (mung) beans overnight to soften it then cooked it in the pressure cooker for a few minutes. This I learned from our restaurant cooks back in hiskul while watching them prepare the ingredients for all the dishes they were going to cook. I then sauteed the spices and squash on a lil bit of pork fat then added some lean meat then the cooked monggo beans and previously fried dried fish (that I cooked outside of our house!) plus sikwa (found it in my garden) then let it simmer for a bit. Didn’t need to add much salt as the dried fish was already salty. That’s it. It turned out to be soooo good and it smelled so good. The dried fish gave the dish the kick.. as in manipa jud! I thought Kyle would like it but he didn’t and of course Brian would not even try. Oh well, more for me! :D Kinsay mangayo?!

Last week, I cooked pinakbet following my mom’s recipe (of course from hiskul) and it tasted good also. Now, I gotta think of another original Filipino dish for this week.

p.s. I don’t like to look at recipes online. Most of them don’t taste right. I prefer trying my own or asking my mom.

2008 was the most exciting, most accomplished, most memorable year of my life. A lot of FIRST’s for me…

JANUARY: Vacation in Bahamas.
FEBRUARY: Brian received some hefty bonus from his company plus pay raise.
MARCH: Bought our first house. First time to meet lots of new Filipina friends in the US that were around my age, not my mom’s!
APRIL: Moved in to our first house. Bought my first car.
MAY: Passed the citizenship test.
JUNE: Officially became a US Citizen. Had our first party in our house.
JULY: Got my driver’s license.
AUGUST: Went to Niagara Falls, Canada. Went to our friends’ wedding in Pennsylvania and had a reunion with old friends.
SEPTEMBER: Our first hurricane experience!
OCTOBER: First vacation in Europe– celebrated 28th bday in London, 5th wedding anniversary on top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, vacation in Barcelona.
NOVEMBER: Our second baby was created! :D
DECEMBER: First time to celebrate an actually fun holidays in the U.S. Kyle had his first real bday party.

…not to mention all the parties that we had celebrated and had attended last year..

But the experiences weren’t all good of course. A few bad things had happened last year –had a big fight with Brian (never again), lost some friends (emotionally), fought with Brian’s family. But I believe these things happened for a reason and I’m glad they did happen. It taught me and Brian some few lessons in life, to not trust people so easily and to not let anybody ruin our relationship and how to better handle it. Brian and I have grown more mature and our love for each other is even stronger. I’m so impressed how much my husband has changed over the years. For the first time, he actually wasn’t afraid and stood up for me against his own parents. My own parents trusted me with my new life and stopped interfering after I got married, so having other people to always tell me what to do, criticize, and spy on me everywhere 24/7, especially online, is plain irritating and invasive. Last year, I’ve regained my freedom and am so happy about it. Life without inlaws is way much better and peaceful (although it’s the opposite to Brian with his inlaws). Now, Brian doesn’t act like an obnoxious little brat who complains about everything anymore. He’s not as impatient nor as quick-tempered as he used to. He became more responsible as a father and husband. I’ve changed alot also. I’m not anymore moody, not as bad of a worrier, and not as passive as before. I now fight for what I believe is right, not anymore the girl who’s afraid to speak out and just sits in the corner and cries. I’m also now very optimistic and happy with life.

All the good happenings and the bad turning out to be good made me regard 2008 as THE BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE. I don’t expect 2009 to be the same or be better than ’08 but I do hope and pray that we can get through 2009 with less bumps in the road.

It’s only 6:05 PM and we’re already back to our hotel. Our fun ended early as it’s raining hard outside. We got to see the infamous Bourbon Street of New Orleans, Louisiana, a street made to fulfill the fantasies of single guys (or unhappy married men!) and a place for single girls to pick up guys (or have the chance to flash boobs in public during Mardi Gras). It is the…. READ MORE HERE.

Our New Year’s Eve in Houston wasn’t boring unlike our past New Year’s. Aside from the many parties, daghan sad fireworks dri sa Houston. As we were driving from one party to the next, we saw fireworks in every direction. There were also so many street parties in neighborhoods. It really reminded me so much of New Year’s Eve in Philippines. We never experienced these when we were living in Pennsylvania and Chicago. Brian was very impressed and said he never experienced these in Virginia, Kentucky or other places either. That is why we’re lovin Houston even more. Everybody should move here (except for party poopers)! :D