A New Addiction

A weekend report a week late? Well that's what happens when work gets in the way. Stupid work. But, last weekend was so awesome that I couldn't not write about it. We did our first open water dive ever, and it was SO FUCKING AWESOME!!!! Did I emphasize that enough? I was a little nervous beforehand because obviously diving in the ocean is way different than practice dives in a pool, but the reality wasn't scary at all. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.

We left early Sat morning for Anilao, which is an area known for diving in Batangas about 3 hours south of Manila (we learned from our last fiasco trip to Batangas that nothing on earth could ever compel me to face Manila traffic on a Friday night again). We met up with a bunch of friends who were accompanying us on the trip and caravanned our way down to the dive resort. We took all the kids and our yaya with us for this trip as kind of a test run, and it seemed to work out pretty well. Our yaya is not very good with making decisions on her own, but she seems to work pretty well as a mother's helper. It was a little nerve wracking leaving the kids behind at the resort as we went off on the boat to dive, but it worked out okay.

We did five dives altogether. Two on the first day and three on Sunday. The first two dives were familiarization and skill test dives so we could prove that we could do our safety skills out in the ocean. There were four of us getting certified: Husband and I and our friend I&S. Most of our other friends were already certified and went on a separate dive with a different dive master so they could go out deeper, except for our friend T who was just along to snorkel since she has decided scuba is definitely not for her! It was both good and bad that I and I are at about the same skill level and comfort level in the water, while our spouses are not quite there yet. The four of us have already planned a dive trip for Sep, so it was good that there wasn't just one outlier! I think the concept of scuba is much more difficult for people who are not comfortable in the water in the first place. Overcoming that fear is the biggest block to being able to accomplish the safety skills necessary for basic certification. As someone who has a great fear of heights, I can definitely relate. Water is not an issue for me, but I don't know that I could ever bungee jump or sky dive for any reason. Hell, I can barely fly on an enclosed airplane without having a panic attack. In the end only the two of us ended up getting certified, but I think everyone came away happy and proud of what they had achieved. Our dive master totally rocked (and if anyone coming to the Phils wants a recommendation, I'm more than happy to hand out his info). He took some pictures on our 4th and 5th dives when we were just swimming around for fun. We went to a maximum of 60 feet and our longest dive was about an hour.

As for me, I think I've developed a habit for life. My scuba experience was everything I hoped it would be. It took that little moment of awe I felt when we did the whale shark trip and extended it out for the length of the dive. It is so peaceful and quiet and awe-inspiring. I'm already trying to figure out when I con go out again! What am going to do when we leave the Philippines??

 The Guys

 The Girls

 The Gear

 The Boat

Gorgeous Sunset 

 Action Shot!

 I spotted this one - pretty good for a rookie! ;)

 Flounder

Night Dive! no rookies allowed :(

Newly Certified Diver!!!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

We keep those doggies rollin'.

This last weekend we drove up to Baguio. If we had really thought about it, we probably would have rescheduled this trip because of the timing (3 weeks straight of overseas travel and another trip this upcoming weekend does not a happy camper make). But, we had already made our reservations at the Ambassador's residence, and the kids were really looking forward to hanging out in the woods. And hang out in the woods we did! When I was a little girl my father used to take the family on long walks through the woods near our home in Maryland, and we would pretend to be characters out of a fantasy story he came up with during his college years. He even wrote a book* about it and then quickly buried it away never to see the light of day until we were teenagers! My particular character was Ynnubeno (bunny one, backwards). My little sister was Ynnubowt (natch).** My older sister was a shapeshifter, my father, the Purple Wizard, and my mother was the Snuggly Buggly. And, of course, there was the imaginary evil villain, Lox Norbagel. And, well, if you've been reading this blog for a while, none of this is going to be surprising to you. ;)

My children also took delight in coming up with characters for themselves (most of which were actually Pokemon characters, but whatevs). Hiking through the woods and letting their imaginations run wild was just so much fun. There are a lot of things that make Manila a challenging place to serve, but I think I miss being close to nature the most. I miss being able to take quiet walks in places where there aren't any people, where I can just feel at one with my surroundings. I really enjoyed that aspect of Baguio. It was unfortunate that we could only spend the weekend there. And no matter how insanely you drive, it is still a good 6hr drive from Manila thanks to the infrastructure (or, rather, the lack there of) here. For other FS who serve in Manila or just come to visit, it is so, so worth it to get the cottage at the Ambassador's residence there. It is completely private, right across from a hiking/biking/horseback riding path that cuts through the forest, and it is nice a cool even now during the hottest summer months. We just enjoyed the crap out of it. We'll definitely be booking another (longer) trip whether we can fit it in before the summer or after.

*semi-child inappropriate
**better break out the map and blacklight next time we're in NM, Dad!
**edited because I am old and forgetful!

Back from Vacay

Every time I go on vacation, I discover a new favorite place in the Philippines. Sabang Beach, Palawan was absolutely stunning. Sometimes the view literally took my breath away. Getting away from stinky, overcast, smoggy Manila is always rejuvenating. I was so looking forward to two weeks in Hawaii back in uniform to add to that feeling, but it's looking more and more like that's going to be delayed til who knows when. No orders yet, and I can't get plane tickets or hotel reservations until I have orders, so the likelihood of leaving on Saturday is pretty slim at this point. *sigh* Well, at least I have Donsol and its whale sharks to look forward to in Feb, and then we're headed to Vietnam with my little sis at the end of March (still debating Hanoi vs. Ho Chi Minh,* any opinions?). So things are looking up. Oh, and New England lost, which was awesome, hahahahhahaha! I'm pulling for crazy ass killah Ray Lewis to finally win a Super Bowl in his last game evah. What can I say, I've got a soft spot for hardened criminals. Double oh, and freaking hockey's back!! Watching the Sabres/Flyers game right now on NHL Game Center. Thank god for technology. What did people do before the internet?? I was alive long before the internet, and I can't even remember!

So much else to blog about, I really need to get that Dragon whatever software that translates talk to text. But, I hear the Mac version sucks ass, so I've held off because it's kind of expensive and I am kind of cheap. I realized when looking back to see what I had actually blogged about in the last month (sorry for the slim pickins, ya'll) that I haven't posted a recipe in freaking ages. So here's what I made for dinner tonight both because it is super fast and delicious and because I am feeling guilty for imbibing an average of 4 banana daiquiris per day for the last 4 days.**

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

1lb ground turkey
Romaine lettuce leaves
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
3 shallots, minced (or 1/2 onion if you happen to live somewhere where it's not easy to get shallots!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp lime juice
black pepper
salt to taste

Use a little oil of choice (I used coconut oil) to fry up the onion over med-high heat for about 2-3 min - just until it turns translucent. Add in the pepper strips and garlic and continue to stir fry for about 1-2 more min (don't burn the garlic!). Remove the veggie mixture and add just a touch more oil to the pan to fry the ground turkey. Cook the turkey for about 5 min or until browned then add the veggie mixture back to the pan. Add in the fish sauce and the rest of the ingredients and cook until mixed through. Then simply put some turkey mixture into a lettuce leaf and voila: Turkey Lettuce Wrap!

Okay, and here's some Sabang pics, too:

Got to add a comment to this one. This is what's known as a woodworm. It's actually a mollusk not a worm, and C ate one. Raw. This one, actually. With vinegar on a plate when we got from our Mangrove tour. Someone book this kid on Fear Factor, stat!

*Hanoi sounds more interesting, but Ho Chi Minh is cheaper to fly into.
**We stayed at the Daluyan Resort where the food was horrendous, but the banana daiquiris were the fucking bomb...except for when they ran out of fucking bananas, not once but twice...in the Philippines. 

B-Traveled

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, it's been a bit busy around the Pu house..or outside of it as the case may be. In a nutshell, we went on vacation to Boracay.*

Then I ran back off to Baguio** for a silent auction to benefit an anti-violence against women non-profit, SAVE Our Women. I've been planning this auction for months, and the last few weeks have been as stressful as any project I've ever headed, so I was thrilled to see its successful conclusion. Thanks to some high-powered friends, we were able to score some huge donations for the cause. With over PhP 1 million raised, I think SAVE is well on their way towards their goal of setting up a half-way house for women and children fleeing their abusers and founding an employment program to help these women learn how to make a living outside of the home. It was a most incredible experience, and I am overwhelmed to have been a part of it.

Now I just have to get through the Mission Holiday Party (co-chairing with my girl K of Adventures in Serendipity fame), and I will be massive project-free!

In between my trips, I managed to squeeze in some quality Mommy time by watching J's first dance recital (they were butterflies, which, coincidentally, was also what I played in my first dance recital - big sis MR was a flower - oh the memories!).

*Awesome beach, great snorkeling/scuba diving, but way to many other people and waaaaaay too many Greenhills-like vendors up in your face trying to sell shit every two steps. My advice, try one of the Philippines many other gorgeous beaches - we go to Palawan next!

**By far my favorite place in the Philippines!

Happy Veteran's Day

How sad is it that I don't have any digital photos of myself in uniform?

We celebrated the weekend by watching the new Bond movie* with our friends G&P and taking a day trip to Tagaytay with the kids. We ate at Antonio's and hit up the lake and spent a small fortune on flowers and produce thanks to all of the stands along the road.** Antonio's is a great deal. By far the best meal we've had in the Philippines, and we only spent about $120USD for 5 people to eat lunch with drinks. The location is also gorgeous. It's basically a big, plantation like house that was converted into a restaurant, and you can walk the grounds between courses, which was a welcome break for the kids. There's also a big koi pond, which was a great kid draw, and they accepted A's order of "yummy egg, please" without hesitation, even though it was 1pm and there was no kids menu. Can't beat that!

*Pu review: very Bond-y

**Even outside Manila traffic is piss poor thanks to lack of infrastructure, so what should be a 20min drive turns into a 2hr drive and you end up buying things just to pass the time!