These days...

While K is washing her Barney bag (Tita Pam gave her this):

Yana: Daddy, stop! Put Barney up there! (pointing at the clothesline...)

Daddy: Uhm... (then remains silent, and decides to hang Barney to avoid being 'reprimanded' further).

Yana: Ok, very good.

Hahaha! O-k, little dictator. :-)

------------------------------------------------------------

Lola Mommy has visitors, including a 1-year old boy:

Yana: (turns to the lil boy) You like popcorn?
Lil boy: (blank look)
Yana: Lola, baby like popcorn! Give popcorn Lola!

Popcorn, as a matter of fact, is "corn on the cob." She insists it's popcorn. :)

------------------------------------------------------------

Called her up on the phone last night:

Mommy: Hey baby, how're you? What did you do today?
Yana: Eat pansit Mommy. Ok, love you, bye, take care, later.

Then she hangs up. This is 'baby love' telegram-style. :)

------------------------------------------------------------

This one tops 'em all:

Mommy: Anak, do you love Lola?
Yana: Yes, love Lola.
Mommy: Do you love Lolo?
Yana: Yes, love Lolo.
Mommy: Do you love Daddy?
Yana: Love Mommy also!

Knew it!!! Loves me to bits. :-)

Yana's alphabet song

This baby loves to sing:

Mommy: Anak, sing ABC for mommy please?...
Yana: A,B,C,D,E,F,G.............. Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X.... Y daddy?

Really now! Why Daddy?! :-)

Yana says...

"Lo like bubbles Mommy." --- When taking a bath, it stresses her out when the bubbles start going down the drain.

"Where heart? There heart." --- Referring to her hairclip with a yellow heart accent, given to her by Doc Ninang Ina (my Ob-Gyne who eventually became Yana's godmother) as a post-Christmas gift.

"Where Boots? There Boots." --- Referring to Boots, Dora's sidekick. "There" is when Boots appears on the screen.

"Cook egg Mommy. Pis...?" --- She sometimes has a fancy for eating eggs, though she leaves the egg yolk untouched.

"Mommy pis milk." --- Her usual 'lambing' when asking for milk.

"Put aid (bandaid)." --- Whenever she sees tiny scratches or insect bites on her arms or legs, she'd tell either Kris or me to put bandaid on them. She sometimes tells us to put 'vicks' on them. I think she got this from my parents.

"Picture Mommy. One, two, chi!" --- Using her toy camera on us. She does this all the time, even using her Dad's keitai.

"Watch TV/VD Mommy." --- Ah, this is a sad manifestation of how much we have allowed Yana to watch VCDs on a daily basis. Although I try to control the number of hours she could watch, it has become my last resort when there's a task that I should work on and Yana needs 'diversion'.

"Higa Mommy." --- This is when she wants me to just lie down beside her and do whatever she does. :-)

"Chu (sorry) Mommy." --- Whenever she feels like she has offended me or anyone for that matter. She's a very sensitive child (I take this positively). She understands when her actions have offended or hurt someone.

"Ay, cai (cry) baby?" --- She's a very emphatic child and she really gets bothered whenever she hears other babies cry, especially within an earshot.

"Come baby!" --- Her usual remark when inviting her cousins to come play with her. She says the same thing to kid-strangers who she thinks want to play with her. I don't encourage her to do this, really.

"Eww. Yuck." --- Whenever she sees something gross. This is the trickiest part. Only heaven knows what's gross to her hehe.

The toddler count

Last night, while trying my darn best to sleep (downside of work travels --- it just feels awful without Kris beside me):

Mommy: Let's count sweetheart, ok? 1..2..
Yana: 2..3..2.....6..7..8..9..10!

Not bad for a 27 month-old toddler, huh!

With love, from Manila to Mumbai

Mumbai’s Special Things to Buy
(link here)

As in most places one visits, the things to buy while in Mumbai are the local handicrafts. There isn’t much technical wizardry to look at, but Indian handicrafts - especially the stuff on display in Mumbai - are arguably the best one can find anywhere in the world. Among the things that are a ‘must buy’ when in Mumbai include:

CARPETS
Carpets from Kashmir, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and parts of Andhra Pradesh are very famous. They are among the best carpets you can buy anywhere in the world - positively superior to most Persian Carpets you will come across. However, theKashmiri Carpets are rather expensive, unlike the Tibetan carpets from Lodakh and Himachal Pradesh which are very good and comparatively inexpensive.

PAPIER MACHE
Papier mache work is found in Kashmir. Depending upon the complexity of the design - an article can cost anywhere between Rs.lOOto Rs.7000

POTTERY
Basically, the pottery business thrives in Gujarat and Rajasthan in its most traditional forms. In Bihartoo, one is likely to find good pots. Pots can also be purchased relatively cheap at Dharavi for those not wanting to look around too much. However the best and most articulate pots remain in Rajasthan.

If buying me any of these isn't possible, a nice postcard with your note on it would do. And just hurry home. Yana misses you a lot. And her mom does, too.

On perseverance

"How long should you try? Until."
- Jim Rohn

Gastronomic indulgence: Mentaiko

I've been feeling nostalgic lately and it's most apparent with how our old pictures from Japan (both in Tokyo and the Kansai area) have found their way in my Friendster and Facebook accounts. As a matter of fact, I'm planning to upload some more in the coming days when I'm less busy.

The thing is, I don't only feel nostalgic about the places we've stayed or visited in Japan. I also have this funny feeling of badly missing Japanese food which I know I cannot find here in Manila, even in the most sophisticated restaurants in five-star hotels (didn't find them at Senju - that pricey Japanese restaurant at EDSA Shang-ri La).


I'll start with mentaiko or spicy cod roe. Mentaiko is a popular product of Kyushu, Japan. It is usually fermented with spices which give it that spicy and flavorful taste. For me, the rich flavor actually comes with the aftertaste, especially if taken just by itself. Most Japanese people I've spoken and compared notes with say that they prefer their mentaiko cooked. But since I'm a big fan of spicy foods, and cooking mentaiko somehow diminishes its spicy appeal to my taste, I prefer mine uncooked and cold. I'm not sure though if that was the reason why I ended up frequenting hospitals in Kobe when Kris and I were still in Japan. I hope not. :-(

After some time I realised that mentaiko could also be enjoyed with pasta, bread, and rice. To preserve them for over a week in the fridge, I'd heat 2 packs of mentaiko (sack excluded) in olive oil in really low fire. I remember being very careful not to overdo the process so they wouldn't come out dry. I would then let the mentaiko cool down a bit before putting everything in a tiny jar with a tight seal. That, and a bowl of newly cooked rice, could last me a good three or four days! Such bliss! ^_^

One day I'll post my mentaiko pasta recipe which is best topped with bits of nori. Cooking it is absolutely simple and doesn't require a lot of ingredients (thank heavens for that as two sacks of mentaiko could cost 500 Yen/ 230 Pesos already).

Below are pictures of my favorite mentaiko goodies:

Oishii desu!

P.S. Photos are not mine. Grabbed 'em from a website but forgot to copy the link.

For K, on our 7th anniversary

We're both up to our necks with loads of work. No dinner yet. But we managed to squeeze in our crazy schedule Noel Cabangon and Gary Granada's gig at UP. Thanks to A (from work) for the tickets.

Today we celebrate seven years of being married to each other. And I heard our song there:

Pag-ibig Lang
(Gary Granada)

Ako ang dulo at ikaw ang umpisa
Dal'wa ang dako ng landas nating dal'wa
Ika'y apoy, ako ay tubig
Duda ko'y iyong pananalig
Ang tiyak sa iyo ay aking pangamba
Ako'y maghapon at ikaw ay magdamag
Ika'y matapang kung saan ako duwag
Ang iyong huli ay siya kong una
Madali mo'y di ko kaya
At ang aking sige ay siya mong huwag
At pag tayo'y nag-uusap
Parang lupa't alapaap
Nagtatalo ang sigaw at ang bulong
Sala sa ikli at haba
Parang timog at hilaga
Di mahuhulaan kung saan hahantong
Bakit hanggang ngayon tayo ay narito
At may kutob akong kapwa natin gusto
Paano mo maipaliwanag
Kung paano di natitinag
At pagkakaiba ay di naging hadlang
Dahil kaya pag magkasama'y masaya
May kaagapay o kaya
Baka naman pag-ibig lang

(Interlude)

Sala sa ikli at haba
Parang timog at hilaga
Di mahuhulaan kung saan hahantong
Bakit hanggang ngayon tayo ay narito
At may kutob akong kapwa natin gusto
Paano mo maipaliwanag
Kung paano di natitinag
At pagkakaiba ay di naging hadlang
Dahil kaya pag magkasama'y masaya
May kaagapay o kaya
Baka naman pag-ibig lang

Love you, Kris. Always, always.

Credo

My credo in life is simple:

"If plan A fails, then move on to plan B, pronto. Nothing on earth is pure coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. Every little thing leads us to another. So once something goes wayward, something else will definitely go forward. And we have to move along with it. Forward, always." --- 2005, Japan

Am feeling over the moon so I'm just sharing. ^_^

On character association

(Was asking Yana if she wanted to watch Piglet's Big Movie)

Me: You want to watch piglet honey?
Yana: Lo like Pooh. Lo like Piglet... Lo like Iya.

Hahaha! Iya's the housegirl of my Mom! =)

Random things

1) My Peace and Conflict Studies graduate course ended last night. The course involved amazing individuals who worked really hard during the entire sem. It is, by far, the most difficult course I've ever handled since I started teaching. It was engaging, yes, but it really demanded so much from me. After our class last night, which finished at 9:20 PM, I felt kinda weak and eventually ended up with slight fever. Was just tired I guess.

2) It's fun listening to Yana articulate what she thinks and how she feels. Some excerpts of our daily grinds:

(During snack time)
Me: You like some bread honey?
Yana: Lo like bread Mommy.

(going upstairs to her gradnparents' room)
Me: Lemme me help you baby.
Yana: No Mommy. Ako! (which means she wants to go up the stairs by herself)

(Before leaving for work)
Me or Kris: Bye Yana, be a good girl. See you later.
Yana: (a bit of sobbing here) Bye Mommy, Bye Daddy, take care, wabyu... (for the "wabyu" part, she'd put her hand on her chest hehehe. Don't know where she got that). Office?

(When she wants something, or wants to do something)
Me: What do you say honey?
Yana: More please?... Balala please?

(And when she gets her "balala")
Me: What do you say now?
Yana: (in her tiniest voice) Te you...

Ahh. Bliss. =)