An unforgettable Sunday...

I am writing this down to always remember this spontaneous, lovely, family oriented Sunday that we had. 

No plans were made.  But we spent the morning blending with the tourists. Hahahah I guess it´s one of the perks of living in downtown.  

We had our breakfast in Starbucks hahahaha (thanks to our company´s food stubs hahaha), went to Reina Sofia Museum and we toured the Atocha Train station, the biggest train station in Madrid that connects to all points, big cities in the N-E-S-W of Spain.  

As you can see nothing fancy, but the emotions that go with this day, as we walked hand in hand, enjoyed the day at our pace and talked and looked at each other with love, surely makes this day memorable. 

Thank you Lord God for this truly wonderful day!! 

I did not marry my best friend...

Many times I  have read and heard others say "I married my best friend" and that the key to a happy married life is marrying your best friend. 

I do not disagree to that perspective as maybe to most it has worked - as they already know the person prior to being involved in a romantic relationship so there was no need to put the best foot forward. 

However, in my case.. I did not marry my best friend but still, I am a happy, satisfied, love filled married woman. Hehehehe 

I still remember the first time I was introduced to my husband, I was very shy.  He asked to go out with me and I am glad I gave him that chance Hahahaha. Had I not go out with him at that time, my goodness, I could have missed the perfect chance of getting to know the good guy in him.  Eventually, we got along well. I still remember with fondness, with gratitude and with so much love, how I knew and felt that he was the one I will spend the rest of my life with.  I felt God´s divine intervention and there was peace within me.  We survived almost 2 years of long distance relationship with occasional visits until we decided to get married in my country, the Philippines. 

We came from very different backgrounds although we are both corporate professionals.  My husband is more technical oriented and I am into program and projects management.  On another note, we are both funny in our own way, we love each other´s humor, we love food, we respect each other´s space as individuals, we are very pragmatic individuals and most importantly, we are partners in building our young family.  

My husband, together with my son, is my biggest cheerleader!  My husband has always been very supportive of my cooking. I am no great nor excellent cook. I learned how to cook when I got married. But my husband has always been appreciative of whatever comes out of our kitchen as he knows that I cook everything with love and with passion. Hehehehe 

My husband introduced me to football. Before I just watched football because of CR7, Cristiano Ronaldo. hehehe But he has explained laboriously what makes a great football team and why he is a huge fan of the Barca club.  Hahahaha Nowadays, everytime Barca is in a football match, I always wish for Barca to win so that my husband will not be a in sad mood. Hahahahaha.  My husband would give me his insights, points of view regarding politics, etc. We would argue but we would always end respecting each other´s opinions. My husband supports my cravings hahaha for asian food. Hahaha He has been with me in my quest for asian restaurant hopping. hahaha We have both felt success and failure in our quests for the best asian food. hahahaha 

In as much as I bring happiness and love to our home, to our family and to my husband, my husband is the peace and the order that I have in my seeming busy schedule.  My husband gives me unconditional patience and understanding.  My husband accepts and forgives my moodiness, my ill temper, my trash talking hahahaha.  My husband is the epitome of generosity, silent water runs deep (he is never flamboyant with words hahahaha) and responsibility.  My husband has seen me at my worst physical and emotional states but still he makes me feel loved and beautiful. He provides a strong sense of moral support.  

My husband accepts the shallow Filipina in me hahaha - how in my early 40s I continue to go crazy with my favorite Asian superstars hahahah - Jerry Yan, Kim Soo Hyun, John Lloyd Cruz - how I drool over these matinee idols. Hahahaha How I am capable of memorizing my favorite movie dialogues hahahaha, how I cry bucket of tears when I watch drama movies and my fascination with Disney movies. hahaha He accompanied me twice to watch High School Musical. Hahahahhaa 

My husband accepts the profound love I have for my family in the Philippines.  He understands the strong bond that I maintain with my family.  Why I always have this need to get in touch with my family and this notion that a sibling´s problem is also our problem.  

I will never forget how my husband supported my decision to take a step back professionally and dedicate one year full time as a full time homemaker (this coincided at a time that I became a freelance consultant and my client did not renew my contract due to bduget constraints).  How I enjoyed taking to and picking up from the school my son and spending all afternoons with him.  But then, reality strikes and I need to go back to work for my own benefit as well.  

I still the first time I told you sweetie how much I love you. It is through a children´s book.  And that this holds true.. I love you up to the moon and back.  :) 

And you see, I did not marry my best friend, but I think the key to a happy married life is the willingness to make it work.  This may sound so cliche, but this is true, marriage is not at all a bed of roses, there will be good and bad times, but it is our commitment to becoming perfect partners, perfect support system to each other that will make it work.  This is the choice to love the person even if you disagree with that person, the commitment to see the goodness of the person in spite of the flaws (again this is a case to case basis because 0 tolerance to domestic violence in all forms).  

I love you sweetie, forever and ever and thank you for loving me always and I thank God for you.  Mahal kita ng bonggang bongga.  Te amo.  I love you very much.  Ichibi den. Kokoru kuru Aishteru. Saranghaeyo.  Wo ai ni. Je Táime.  Ti amo..

photo courtesy of allkpop.com 

photo courtesy of urbanwire.com

My Journey to Overcoming Anxiety: Living and Dealing with Anxiety

I am trying to slow down a bit in my very busy schedule.  As an active, hands on, on the go working mom, I wake up busy and I end up my day very busy.  Anxiety is my body´s signal, warning telling me to take it slow, to take time to smell the flowers, that it is okay if I do not follow my routine and that I prioritize. 

This week, I had 3 anxiety warnings and thank God, I was able to relax right away.  The latest took place Saturday afternoon, in the grocery with my son.  I am thankful, but really grateful that my son understands what I am going through.  He is only 7 years old but when I told him that I am not feeling well, he took the lead and put all the grocery items on the cashier´s deck.  

I am hopeful and prayerful that I will get out of this situation or be able to deal with amxiety as it occurs.  

In order to assist me to destress and take it easy, I am identifying my activities and what really consumes me.  Is it the long commute to work?  Long hours at work and in the process demands at work?  Is it the household chores that I have to do when I get home from work?  I am doing a retrospective of my day to day activities in order to pace it. Also, I am incorporating my diaphragm breathing exercises to help me get by in my day to day schedule.  I also find time to incorporate basic yoga and meditation positions in my night routine.  

I also have my simple mandala coloring books which I work on during my free time.  

I have also enrolled in meditation/relaxation activities to give me that time of the week to help me disconnect.  This is also helping me secure techniques to help me be calm, be at peace with myself, with my world and with my surroundings.  

I love massage!  I have 2 go to massage clinics here in Madrid.  I have a massage clinic where I go for more therapeutic massages and for the times that I want to indulge, I go to a more posh wellness spa.  

I pray a lot to seek for God´s mercy and compassion.  I am confident that as the days pass by, I will be able to deal with this more graciously.  Thank you my dear Lord for your grace and for your generosity.  

Photo Courtesy of art thai massage 

Photo Courtesy of relaxing records

My Journey to Overcoming Anxiety: Conscious Lifestyle Change

I am documenting my step by step journey to overcoming anxiety. I am very optimistic, prayerful and hopeful that one day I will look back and proudly say that I have overcome this phase.  

I will use this personal experience to raise awareness and at the same time to give a message of clarity that anxiety/vexation can be addressed.  Anxiety is our body´s and mind´s way to call our attention to review and re-assess our life, to compose our life to avoid spreading ourselves too thinly and focus on quality living.  

As previously mentioned in my coming out blogpost regarding my anxiety attacks, I am now making conscious efforts to improve my quality of life. 

1.  I conquered the "stigma" associated with people meeting up with psychiatrist and psychologist.  I have therapy sessions with them to help me come into terms with my anxiety. 

2.  I have said goodbye to caffeine! 0 coffee nor tea for me since mid Oct 2017.  This has benefited me as it resulted to a significant decrease in my migraine attacks.   Instead of coffee, I take a lot of fruit flavored and herbal hot drinks.  It is an acceptable alternative. 

3.  I am grateful that my son´s nanny is also helping me in this journey.  Our nanny is supposed to work 20 hrs/week, 5 days/week but since I pick up my son my from school every Friday, she´s usually off on Friday and in reality works only 16 hours or 4 days a week though her rate is equivalent to 20 hours or 5 days a week.  As I need to do some sessions, I have requested her to lend me a hand in accompanying my son to his extra curricular activities on certain Fridays that I have sessions.  Thank you so much, J!!! I appreciate your help.  This is just temporary. I will get out of this.  :) 

4.  I have enrolled in the following sessions:  Thai massages, cranial osteopathy and meditation/initial yoga. In my next blog post, I will go into the details of my sessions. 

5.  I am incorporating in my daily routine the breathing exercises, relaxation techniques that the psychologist has shown me. 

6.  I am also reviewing my day to day activities to find out at which point I feel most stressed so I can minimize the pressure/stress associated with it or be able to deal with it more valiantly.  

These are my first steps in transforming my lifestyle.  I am committed to mindfulness.  I am committed to becoming the best, optimistic, most loving mom/wife/daughter/sister/friend/person that I can be.  So help me God!! Thank you!!! 

Image courtesy of theorganicspa.com

Image courtesy of awarremeditationapp.com

Image courtesy of goodhousekeeping.com

The Amateur Cook in me.. Smoked Salmon Pasta

I first saw this recipe of Miss Janice de Belen, a famous actress, celebrity mom in the Philippines, in youtube. I modified the recipe a bit to adapt to the available ingredients in my kitchen. Like using evaporated milk for sauce instead of sourcream. 
The result nonetheless is delish! Masarap, simot sarap, as we Filipinos would say! 
Naimas! Delicious! Comida rica!! 2 thumbs up approval sign from my hubby. 

Complexity: Easy
Preparation and Cooking time:45minutes

Ingredients:
Smoked salmon
Anchovies
Medium sized onion
Pasta
Evaporated milk
Pepper
Parmesan  Cheese
Olive oil 
Chili flakes, optional for additional kick

Procedure:
1. Cook the spaghetti Pasta, approximately 8 minutes depending on the texture that you want. 
2. Slice the onion, smoked salmon and anchovies.
3. Pour olive oil in the coming pan and sauté onion, anchovies and smoked salmon. 
4. Season with pepper.  
5. Pour the evaporated milk and bring to a boil, if you want an additional kick, addthe chili flakes. Mix and bring to a boil. 
6. Add the spaghetti pasta and mix well until the sauce and pasta are properly integrated. 
7. Ready to serve. Enjoy! 

The Amateur Cook in Me. Homemade bizcocho/Sponge cake with love.

This recipe is an invented one, making use of the available ingredients in our kitchen. This recipe is MADE WITH UTMOST LOVE as my littleone, my 7 year old son, chose WHITE CHOCOLATE, KNOWING THAT WHITE CHOCOLATE IS MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE. 

My son and I were doing our morning walk when we decided to prepare our sponge cake. We went to the nearest grocery to buy chocolate for pastry. My son wanted milk chocolate and I want white chocolate. My son offered to play scissors, paper and stone, with the person winning getting the chance to select the chocolate flavour. My son won, but in the end he chose the white chocolate. He said that he chose white chocolate knowing that I like it. 

The recipe and procedure is similar to My banana and chocolate recipe only I used white chocolate and added 2 cups of nonfast yogurt for extra moist. 

This will hold a special placein my heart because of the very kind and generous gesture that my son made. 

The Amateur Cook in me... Fish with honey and mustard sauce

This is an easy, kid friendly meal. I first tasted this combination in a food truck event in the city center. And it was awesome!! I asked the chef how he did it and here I am, sharing it with you. I hope you'll like it. 

Complexity: Easy

Preparation and Cooking time: 55 minutes

Ingredients: 

Organic honey

Mustard 

Olive oil

Fish - in this recipe, we used salmon and seacod 

Veggie side dish: potatoes and zucchini, sliced in round, thin slices

Procedure:

1. Pre heat oven to 180°. 

2. Prepare the veggies side dish on a sheet pan and pour a teaspoon of olive oil. Put in the oven for 10 minutes. 

3. Mix 4 tablespoons of organic honey and 2 teaspoons of mustard. Mustard has a strong flavour and taste. Regulate the amount depending on the "kick" that you like. 

4. Pour the honey-mustard mixture on top of the fish. 

5. Put the seasoned fish with the side veggies on the sheet pan.put in the oven at 180° for 30 minutes. 

6. Ready to eat! 

Bon apetit. Buen provecho, enjoy your meal!!! 

My Journey to Overcoming Anxiety: The Struggle is Real. Dealing with Anxiety

This blogpost is a very personal note.  I am coming out in the open as my small contribution to the increasing and growing concerns regarding mental health.  

My struggle is real.. I am dealing with personal anxiety. It is not obvious as I try to always exude a positive, optimistic and cheerful disposition on the outside but I have been going through symptoms of anxiety.  And I am seeking professional help to assist me in dealing and overcoming with my personal anxiety.  

I do not know how this all started. But the symptoms came in strong since August 2017.  

1.  I remember during our summer family getaway, in the banquet hall while eating, I felt the urgent need to just get up and get out of the banquet hall.  I felt cold, my energy was down (all of a sudden) and my heart was beating fast.  I ended up leaving the dining hall with my son, leaving my husband alone on our table as he had to finish his meal. 

2.  My son and I were doing our grocery and while we were in the one hallway looking for the grocery item, I felt cold, holding on to my son´s hand, we moved from one hallway to another, until I left the grocery cart in one corner and told my son that we are leaving the grocery.  I still remember my son asking me what was wrong and why I was behaving strangely.  He looked so puzzle.  

3.  One autumn evening, I was having a great time with my friends and we were walking, when all of a sudden my hands turned sweaty and my face started to sweat as well and I felt again the energy drop.  I had to politely leave them and they were very generous in understanding my situation. 

4.  Recently, and it has happened several times, I am conducting conference calls with our USA counterparts and in the middle of our conversation, I felt short of breath, I felt like drowning.  I also had a moment last week, in the middle of a very important management meeting and I was presiding the meeting, I felt that my heart beat just zoomed and I kept on swallowing and drinking from my bottled water.  I had to excuse myself from the meeting to go to the ladies room and whisk water into my face.  The meeting was a success though praise God.  I told a close colleague about what had happened to me.. And he said that it was not obvious at all, that I did a very good job and he added in jest that he would have had anxiety as well had he been the one addressing the questions of the senior management.  

I had to outline a few of these events to give concrete symptons - sweating, accelerated heart beat, sudden energy drop, sudden change of body temperature.  

As they have been quite recurring, I finally sought medical help, as my husband had advised me to do so. All with the intention to understand how to combat these occurrences in my life.  

I was told by my medical team - psychiatrist and psychologist that anxiety happens, anxiety is not depression and anxiety is sometimes caused by  stress levels triggered by exhaustion, busy schedule, so many things happening at the same time.  It may sound so easy to comprehend as we all know this by heart, but sometimes, we get too busy that we forget to take care of our mental health.  I take these anxiety events as my body´s calls/pleas/reminders that I need to slow down.  So many have happened in the last decade - permanent move to Spain, learning a 3rd language, battling winter which is all new to me, dealing with difficult personalities to survive in the corporate world, motherhood, household and many other things.  

I am learning to meditate.  Everyday, I find a time to connect to myself, my quiet time, my me time.  I am also finding a sport or a physical activity that will help me divert my attention and my stress.  My psychologist is teaching me breathing techniques to help me relax when any of these situations happen again.  I am exhausted so I try to be more relaxed especially in during stressful related situations. I am a very organized, methodical and routine stickler. Like everyday, I wake up, I prepare our family´s breakfast, get ready for work and when I get home, it depends on the day, I do some household chores.  As my husband had mentioned, I need not do all of those things by myself.  Aside from delegating, I should also be patient when my hubby will be able to execute the household tasks at his convenience.  I am also learning to adapt to this lifestyle of delegating, being patient and asking help.  

I know I still have a really long way to go but I am doing my best to take it easy.  And I putting all my faith and hope to my Lord God, my Saviour. I know He is the best doctor and He will heal me. 

I am writing this down, aside from my personal small contribution regarding mental health issues, I am hopeful that one day, I will look back and say that I have overcome this sad stage of my life that made me afraid, but really afraid... And in the meantime, my heart is content and grateful that I have a strong support system and I will always cling on to my God´s healing mercy. Thank you Papa Jesus... 

Thank you.  

My Top 9 Favorite Dine In places in Madrid

Hello!  Welcome back to my top 10 list!! I would have wanted to make this a Top 10 list, but the truth is I only have 9 go to places for dining in! 

When you come visit Madrid, Spain, please take into consideration these restaurants! They are all in downtown, city centre of Madrid, so very accessible!!  Casa Lucio and Restaurante Botin boast of their longevity, fame and traditional cuisine!  All of these restos, except Casa Tonis accept credit cards.  

Enjoy! Buen Provecho!  Bon apetit!  Thank you.  

1.  Casa Lucio 
Cuisine:  Traditional Spanish 
House Specialty:  Huevos Rotos 
Dessert Specialty:  Arroz Con leche 
Price Range:  40€/pax 
Serves Wine?  Yes
Kid Friendly:  Yes 
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website:  http://casalucio.es/es/

2.  Restaurante Botin
Cuisine:  Traditional Spanish 
House Specialty:  Cochinillo 
Price Range:  50€/head
Serves Wine?  Yes
Kid Friendly:  No 
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website:  http://www.botin.es/

3.  La Veronica 
Cuisine:  Vanguard Spanish 
House Specialty:  Pasta con Carabineros
Dessert Specialty:  Tarta Maruja con Frambuesas 
Price Range:  40€/pax
Serves Wine?  Yes 
Kid Friendly:  Yes 
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website:  http://restaurantelaveronica.com/

4.  Go Hyang Mat
Cuisine:  Korean
House Specialty:  Jap Chae, Jemulchon, Bulgogi
Dessert Specialty:  Not applicable
Price Range:  15-20€/pax
Serves Wine? No but they do offer local beer  
Kid Friendly:  Yes 
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website:  https://www.tripadvisor.es/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d5776136-Reviews-Go_Hyang_Mat-Madrid.html 

5.  Maceiras
Cuisine: Traditional Galician (north of Spain)
House Specialty:  Chorizo, Mejillones, Arroz Marisco
Dessert Specialty:  Queso con Miel, Tarta de Chocolate
Price Range:  15-20€/pax
Serves Wine? Yes
Kid Friendly:  Yes 
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website: http://tabernamaceira.com/

6.  Ginza 
Cuisine:  Japanese - Melts in your mouth sushi
House Specialty:  Nigiris!! Hotate, Anguila, Pollo Yakitori, Pollo Teriyaki 
Dessert Specialty:  Cheesecake, Dorayaki 
Price Range:  35-40€/pax
Serves Wine? No but they do offer local beer  
Kid Friendly:  Yes 
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website:  http://www.restauranteginza.com/


7.  Empanadilla Tres Cerditos 
Cuisine:  Chinese
House Specialty:  Home made noodles with beef, home made steamed dimsums
Price Range:  8-10€/pax
Serves Wine? No but they do offer local beer  
Kid Friendly:  Yes
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website:  https://foursquare.com/v/tres-cerditos/59e2096e002f4c4049f9e180 

8.  Ramen Kagura 
Cuisine:  Japanese
House Specialty:  Ramen!! 
Price Range:  18-25€/pax
Serves Wine?  No but they do offer local beer
Kid Friendly:  yes 
Accepts Card:  Yes
Website:  http://www.ramenkagura.com/index.html

9.  Casa Tonis 
Cuisine:  Spanish Tapas
House Specialty:  Croquetas, Callos Madrileno  
Price Range:  15-20€/pax
Serves Wine?  Yes
Kid Friendly:  Yes 
Accepts Card: NO.  Only Cash Payment
Website:  https://www.tripadvisor.es/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d1907082-Reviews-Casa_Toni-Madrid.html 

10.  TO BE DETERMINED. 

The Amateur Cook in me... Banana and Chocolate Sponge Cake

I was craving for something different.. While commuting on my way home, I thought of this concoction.. Again, it received a thumbs up approval from my son and my hubby. 

This is delish..rico y sabroso (Spanish)... masarap (tagalog)... naimas (Ilocano).. namit (visaya)... 

Complexity: Easy

Preparation and Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients: 

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2,5 cups muesli or oats

2 medium sized bananas, mashed

1 cup brown sugar 

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablet chocolate bar for baking, melted under low fire and let it cool

2 cups low fat milk

Procedure: 

1. Pre heat the oven at 180 degrees. 

2. Mix all the dry ingredients -flour, muesli, baking powder, brown sugar

3. Add the mashed bananas, melted chocolate, olive oil and milk. Stir until all the ingredients are properly mixed, integrated.

4. Pour the mixture into a baking pan and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Use a toothpick to check if it is cooked. 

5. Let it set. Ready to serve. Good for breakfast, dessert, snacks. Enjoy. Thank you... 

Our family's 1st winter experience..

It rarely snows in the city centre of Madrid. Lately, my son has been quite whimsical if we can see snow. So we organized a day trip to Cotos, a nearby suburb outside Madrid. We took the city train and in 1 hr and 40 minutes, we have reached  Cotos. 

Along the way, my 7 year old son was already in awe at the sight of snow covering the streets and the trees. 

We are not snow enthusiasts so we do not have the gears. We bought the basics - snow proof boots, snow proof jackets, pants and gloves. We were very lucky as there is a rental shop that offers sleigh, skis at a reasonable price. We rented a sleigh and my son was just happy. 

We spent approximately 2 hours in the area, going up and down the slope, sliding in the sleigh. Hehehe. We came in prepared, I packed protein rich sandwiches, water, banana, nuts and raisins for snacks. The beautiful, scenic mountain of Cotos is  a specially conserved and maintained area, littering is strictly prohibited. 

It was a day trip well spent. We went home tired, happy and grateful. My husband and I are very grateful for having organised this trip as our little one was just so happy. He mentioned many, many times how happy he was that we made his dreams come true. Our hearts are full. 

Parenting Journey

We have heard many times that there is no manual, guidelines or handbook to being a parent.  And we know that it is oh so true.  

In every stage of our kids´development, we encounter different challenges and different milestones. And even if we can count on the experiences and moral support of other parents, friends and family, we know that every child is unique and what works well for John may not apply to Paul but it does not mean that John is better or vice versa.  

Understanding our child´s individuality and our child´s specific needs is crucial in providing him the support system that he will need.  

I look back with tears and with gratitude the toddler and pre-school years of my child.  He is now 7 years old but during his pre-school and toddler stages, he was very shy, very introverted, he hardly slept.  He hardly talked and even if the professionals were attributing being bilingual as the cause of the speech development, we were scared especially when the professionals already advised us to start seeing specialists to rule out any potential problem.  Thank you to the mercy, blessing and compassion of our Savior, Lord God.  After several laboratories and many medical appointments, it was concluded that there was nothing wrong with my son, it´s just that he took his sweet time to walk, to talk and to sleep comfortably. Hehehe  That stage was mentally, emotionally, spiritually draining for us and really thanks to the mercy of Jesus Christ that we survived that stage.  

During his preschool years, from 3-5 years old, my son was the only boy in the preschool classes (composed of approximately 95 students in 4 classes) who cried every day going to the school, during the 3 years of preschool.  This was also a difficult stage because realizing the importance of school, we wanted him to feel comfortable, at ease in the school environment.  We scheduled monthly checkpoint sessions with his teachers so we are aligned; what is taught in the school, we reinforce in our home.  As our child is grasping the rudiments of academic learning, we too are learning so much on the resilience and flexibility of our son and on the depths that a parent´s love will go through for his child. We applied teaching fun, interactive teaching techniques to boost my son´s self esteem and confidence.  We organized playgroup sessions with his classmates to get to know them.  

Now my son is on the 2nd grade of primary school.  He is now more extrovert though he has his preferred classmates and playmates, he is a healthy boy (praise God), he is one of the best readers in the class, he is bilingual in English and Spanish turning trilingual with my native language Tagalog hehehe, he is into swimming, judo and basketball, he is an active student and he sleeps now!!! Hahahahaha. What a straight 4 hour of sleep can do to our adult mind and body!! Hahahahah 

I know that my husband and I have a long long way to go to our parenting journey. After all, we never stop being children to our parents and our parents never stop being our parents even in our adult years.  I will always give my best love, support and understanding to my son so he can be the best version of himself. 

The Amateur Cook in me.. Roasted eggplant Pasta

Today, I would like to share with you a simple and refreshing recipe. This recipe includes my favorites pasta and eggplant!! Yehey. 
Here it goes and hope you like it... 

Complexity: Easy
Preparation and Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant
Pasta Spaghetti
1 small sized white onion
4 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Brown sugar
Tomato Sauce with Thyme
Cheddar and parmesan cheese

Procedure:
1. Wash the eggplant. Pinch it with fork. Roast it. Make sure that the entire eggplant is roasted. When eggplant is roasted, let it set and then peel it off. 
2. Prepare the pasta.  Bring the water to a boil, add salt and then put the pasta. Cook it according to the texture that you want (al dente or well cooked). 
3. In a separate pan, sauté garlic and onion. 
4. Pour the tomato sauce with thyme and add the cheese. 
5. Put the pasta. Stir until the sauce is evenly distributed. 
6. Ready to serve. Enjoy. 

Thank you January and Welcome February!!!

Wow and just like that January 2018 has culminated.. Thank you January 2018 for the fun filled start of the year!!!

Here´s a recount of our January 2018 highlights:

1.      I kicked off the year with a much deserved 1 week vacation leave from work!! During my leave, I maximized my motherhood/homemaker facets.  I took my son to the Sleigh Ride (Tobogan De Hielo) in Madrid!  We got in touch with family friends.  We watched the movie Coco together. 

2.      We are doing a good job trying to eat healthily. We try to veer away from processed sweets and fried food.  We prepare our food either grilled or steamed.  We try to eat more veggies and more fruits. Although we cannot and will probably never say goodbye to rice and pasta, we are cutting down as well our carbs intake.  We eat as much as we can at home, enjoying home cooked meals though we still splurge our Ticket restaurantes/company sponsored food stubs in our all time favorite melts in your mouth Sushi restaurant – Ginza, right in the center of Madrid!

3.      I kicked off my personal blog, finally!! This has been a source of contentment for me!!! I like writing. It is very therapeutic.  This is an online journal for me where I can just scribble all my thoughts.

4.      My son is doing a fantastic job at school though we have to focus on mathematics.  My sweetie is doing great. 

5.      I am grateful that I have over a 100 followers in Instagram.  I would like to be a part of an online, global community where we can be positive support system to each other.  Thank you to my fellow moms, career women and Instagram colleagues!

6.      We had our 1^st ever hiking escapade as a family, where we walked 6 kms and then we stuffed ourselves with authentic Spanish Andalucian food! Jajajaja

7.      Pintsik is doing great and my family in the Philippines is good as well, though we are facing setbacks.  For sure, we will overcome those setbacks.  Our faith and our prayers can move mountains!!

8.      Work is good, though sometimes hectic schedule. I choose to look at the positive side – I am blessed with amazing colleagues!

Thank you January 2018 for the wonderful moments.  And to you February 2018, we welcome you with open arms!  We will do our best to eat well, eat healthily, exercise more,  work hard and play harder. Please be kind to us..

Have a fabulous February! Spread the love, after all, we celebrate St. Valentine´s day every 14^th of February! 

Take care.