Malapascua Island

What can I say? Beautiful island, wonderful friends, totally kid free. It was an awesome vacation. So hard to come back to the reality of Manila, which hit me with a big smack in the face as it always does when one of us is out of town (Husband is back in the US for his job interview). Actually, there's tons to say about Malapascua. We'd been planning this trip for ages, long before I got all knocked up again. We went with a couple of other couple friends (one of whom we did our dive certs with) and left all our childrens behind, woot! The big draw here is diving, particularly to see the thresher sharks. Of course, there's no diving for me, so I just did some snorkeling. Unfortunately everything close to the beach is either covered in sea grass or has died thanks to dynamite fishing, which is really a shame since the outside is so breathtakingly gorgeous. Mostly we sat in sun (I got burnt to a crisp thanks to not remembering that I live in Manila now, not in Florida, so I don't have the base tan I used to anymore), drank (okay, everyone else drank liquor and I drank banana shakes, yum!), and ate a lot. There was an awesome Italian restaurant that we ate at every night.* It was just really nice to relax, leave Manila behind, and enjoy some adult time with some really wonderful people.

*The Phils in general is not exactly known for its food, so this was a big draw!

The Name Game

We went through this with J and it.was.ugly. J almost didn't have a name thanks to her early arrival. We literally decided on a name as we were headed to the fateful doctor's appointment where they turned my world upside down.*

Not so much with A, since I was pretty adamant that this was the name I had always wanted to give my son should I be lucky enough to have one. With the Pu family propensity for birthing girl babies, I was pretty sure we'd never have to deal with this again, but now the name wars have reared their ugly head once again. Husband has the absolute worse taste names. If it were his choice alone all of our children would be named after old, fat Italian New Yorkers. And I just cannot imagine having a baby named Frank. Or Jimbo. He, natch, cannot stand any of my names choices. I like names like Nicholas, Ethan, and Isaac.

J likes the name Peter because Peter Pan, Mom, duh!

Of course, if it were up to A, we would name the baby Farticles McJumpJump, so I guess there are always worse options.


On a totally different note, wtf is up with this? My nose isn't located anywhere near my fucking uterus, so I'm not sure what the connection is, but it is really fucking annoying.

*Plus side being that J came out just fine and even had perfectly functioning lungs.

Monsooned!

Well after such a mild summer*, rainy season is truly upon us. The Embassy was closed yesterday and today, and even the school closed today.** Although I love having the extra time with my kids, being trapped in the house without respite is less than ideal. Cue the maniacal laughter. Not such a happy birthday for me. :( But we are truly the lucky ones. It is so much worse for so many others. They're saying it's already worse than Ondoy. Husband took the older kids out in our very high clearance Land Rover to check out the damage.

These pics are from our neighborhood and the surrounding area. It's so much worse in other parts of Manila.

Although waking up to this:

kind of makes up for it...just a little bit. :)


*Summer being the 3 months the Western world designates as summer, that is.
**The Embassy is right on the waterfront, but the school is on much higher ground. 

Embracing the Bump

***Warning: pregnancy bitch ahead****

I am trying so hard to embrace the bump, but it seems at odds with me. I would like to meet these crazy women who don't know they're pregnant until the baby falls out because they must be the most fucking clueless people in the world. I'm only in month 4, and already I feel like an enormous cow. My thighs have definitely expanded, my arms are softer, and I have no waist to speak of. My skin, never a smooth, clear palette, is rebelling against me by erupting all over the place. Cause, you know, the weight gain alone is not enough to make you feel unattractive. My hormones are all over the place, one minute I'm fine and the next I'm blubbering about toothpaste commercials or giving my husband the evil eye.* I can't do any of my workouts because the minute my feet leave the ground I feel like I'm going to pee.** Half the time I feel like this baby is about to fall through my pelvis even when I'm just sitting around. And did I mention that it's only month 4??!! Ugh.

On top of all that this is our last week with the s-kids, so Husband is a moody bitch, and it's raining like crazy so there's not a whole lot we can take them out to do. I'm working on how to best arrange my preggo medevac back to the States, and just found out that I have to identify a dr and hospital before they can cut my orders. Not having given birth in the DC area, I don't even know where to start. The other 3 kids are back to school, thank goodness, but that means parent-teacher meetings (all of which have to happen sometime during work hours, natch), learning support meetings for A, and all sorts of other appointments that take me away from the office. High school kids here are required to have a laptop (cause in order to afford going to this school we must all be rich, right?) so we got her a cheap one that turned out to not be compatible with some of the software her teachers are using (like the special software for her Chinese class that only seems to be compatible with Mac). So we had to return it and shell out a shit-load of cash for a used Mac anyway. Because what I really wanted to do while buying all new baby gear*** and a short notice ticket and hotel arrangements for Husband to go back to DC to take the FSOA is shell out a thousand dollars for my 14-year old to get a new laptop. *sigh* Wah, wah, wah, wah!

Anyway, the good thing is that we're definitely on the slide out from out Manila adventure and getting ready for our next chapter.**** As much as I complain, I am so excited about this baby. I have so missed having a newborn, and I cannot wait to finally have a baby in my arms again. I am blessed to be healthy and active, and everything with the pregnancy is going along swimmingly.***** Things seems to be falling into place. W've made all the big decisions about who is going where and when in terms of medevac-ing and PCSing. I've made my list of things to do (as overwhelming as it is), so all that's left is to start crossing things off. And we've got a whole slew of trips already paid for in the wings. In two weeks we head to beautiful Malapascua, and while I won't be able to dive down to see the Thresher Sharks, I will be able to hang out, sans kids, with some very dear friends in one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Then we head up to The Farm for 3 days of pampering (a birthday gift from Husband) before we jet off for a family vacation with some dear friends and their kids at the Shangri-La Hotel in Cebu. And that's just in September, yay! We are determined to get in as much travel as possible before we leave the Philippines for good. :) Husband is getting ready to take a very challenging test/interview for a great job, but even if he isn't successful, he has an almost guaranteed job wherever we go thanks to his special designation with the State Department. We are very fortunate to be in such a position, as stressful as it may be sometimes.

See, I don't take my good fortune for granted, but that doesn't mean that I can't bitch a little...or a lot...if I want to.


*Even though he totally deserves it most of the time.
**and sometimes I do, so fuck off.
***after al, it has been 6 years, 2 counties, and 4 states since the last time I squirted one of these little monsters out. 
****Hong Kong here we come!
*****Genetic testing says: low risk for abnormalities

Singapore Fling Part Er

So I meant to post this about a week ago, but I am pregnant and that is my excuse for everything nowadays so just go with it. Anyway, I spent my free day in an epic skype chat with the parents (child-free!), and then explored the city. I thought I took so many pictures, but it seems my memory has failed me as I did not have nearly so many as I thought when I downloaded them onto the computer. I started off in Chinatown, which I just love, love, loved. It's everything you love about Chinatown without the hordes and hordes of people streaming around.

Plus, yum! I dined on Soy Sauce Chicken in one of the main hawker centers. I picked the stand with the longest line because I figured it had to be good, right? It also meant I had to stand around sweating for about 20 minutes, but the result was worth it.

Sorry, I know my shitty photography does not do the meal justice, but it was dee-lish. And I was the only white girl in the joint, so I figure it had to be pretty authentic. :)

Next up was Clarke Quay where I wandered around the waterfront and completely forgot to take pictures. :(

Then it was on to Little India where I had the most fabulous samosas (and also forgot to take pictures of those. Sorry, ya'll. I blame baby brain. I did however take some photos of the various, so just feast on those instead and pretend they taste like samosas.

All in all, this little trip just whetted my appetite to discover more of this awesome city. I'm so excited to be coming back here with Husband and parents in a few months when I'll have more time to really explore the city and all it has to offer.* Plus, my mom will be doing the photography, so you know the pictures will be a million times better!

*Read: FOOD!

Singapore Fling

So I've jetted off to Singapore for a few days on my medevac and immediately began my love affair with this beautiful, wonderful, amazing city. Although I've only been here for a day, I can already tell that this is a place I would love to live. From the moment I stepped off the airplane into the gorgeous, clean, quiet airport* to the lovely greenery and parks that whizzed by as I took my clean, sleek cab down traffic law-obeying streets and through the working infrastructure of an Asian city that clearly works. It was like Japan except everyone speaks Chinese. Yay! Actually, I shouldn't say everyone. True there are many Chinese speakers here, but I have been astounded at the multi-culturalism I've encountered. In my hotel I've already had pleasant exchanges with other visitors from Japan, Australia, India, Brazil, and the UK. Jus in my small doctor's office I heard French, English, Chinese, Hindi, and Japanese. I loved it!

Today was mostly full of doctors appointments and a quick visit to the Embassy here to get my medical clearance back.** I did a lot of walking up and down Orchard Street, which is the main shopping drag but also the street where my hotel and the hospital were located. Tons of high end stores like Gucci and D&G mixed with other smaller malls touting more reasonably priced good and hiding tons of little food courts. Malling here is even more of a national sport than in the Philippines! After my walk to the Embassy, I stopped by a grocery store in one of the malls and had a bit of sticker shock (a liter of milk is about $10!). I did splurge on some cheese and cold cuts, though, because you simply can't get them in Manila. I also picked up a delicious spicy tofu soup from one of the food hawker stalls, which was just what I needed for dinner. Despite the tropical weather*** I was just really craving soup. French picnic and spicy Korean soup, sounds like a perfect pair, right?

Tomorrow is basically a free day. They make your medevacs for 3 days just in case there is a problem and they need to do additional testing. My appointment went smoothly. Everything looks good, healthy. They were not able to do the test I had originally come here for because it turns out I am too far along! The test is supposed to be done between 11-13 weeks. According to the ultrasound, I am 14w2d today. So they had to do a different set, an older test, which is only 60% accurate, which ups my chances of needing am amnio (which I had wanted to avoid) should the results come back positive, which is a bit of a bummer. I won't get the results of that test for another week, so it's more uncomfortable waiting I'm afraid. So I'll console myself by trying to enjoy as much of this lovely city as possible in the time that I have here. I'm excited to go explore Chinatown and Little India tomorrow and maybe to scout out some neighborhoods where we might consider staying the next time we come to Singapore.**** Orchard Street is very nice, but it's quite high end and not so much the down and dirty, street food experience we'll be looking for next time around.

Anyway, it was so cool to get my 3D ultrasound today. When I had my first pregnancy they could barely tell the sex at 20 weeks. Today I saw everything! That baby looked like a little freaking baby, not some crazy alien blob. It was so cool. Oh, and we do know the sex now. :) It made me a little sad seeing all the other couples in there, and I was the lone singleton sitting in the room. We just couldn't justify shelling out the cash for the Husband to accompany me, particularly when we just got back from our R&R, so I came here sans family. I really wanted him to experience getting to see that ultrasound, too. But then, everything seems to bring out the tears in me now, and it reminds me that I haven't posted anything even remotely funny in a while. My last pregnancy brought out the sarcastic wit in me, but this one seems to be making more more emotional and nostalgic. Sappy posts are great every once in a while, but no one wants to read sad things all the time. For realz, I just watched a McDonald's commercial (in Chinese, oh I'm so rusty!) with a grandma and her granddaughter and started crying. I need to get my shit together, people! So here's some funny kid stuff that I keep meaning to post but never get around to randomly thrown into this post for no real reason at all.

J: Want to play doctor?
C: Sure, whatever.
J: *tugs on C's left ear* Does that hurt?
C: No.
J: *tugs on C's right ear* Does that hurt?
C: No
J: *hauls off and smacks C right in the face* Does that hurt?

A: I want oatmeal, please.
Me: Would you like it with raisins and brown sugar?
A: I would like it with all the oatmeal things...except pickles.

J: I want the blue bowl!
A: Can I have the red bowl?
Me: *sarcastically* No, J will be get both bowls.
A: I have to eat off the table? Cool!!


*A total 180 from the gross chaos that is Terminal 1 at Ninoy Aquino International. It was like stepping into a dream!
**Turns out when you medevac for any reason (even just for routine testing) you automatically lose your medical clearance, so I had to see the Regional Medical Officer to get mine back before I head back to Manila.
***Nowhere near as oppressive as Manila but still pretty dang hot, especially if you've been walking around all day.
****Already planned in Dec when my the 'rents are visiting.

Stunned

I had a funny post* all ready to go about "embracing the bump, " which probably had way too many references to my lady parts to amuse the general public. But then I got this news and it broke my heart. Life is short and precious. You never realize it until it hits home so deeply. My heart is breaking and no words I can send seem like they are enough. It's hard to support the ones you love from half a world away. Hug someone you love close today.

*Funny in my opinion anyway

Officially T2

Today marks the official first day of the second trimester. At least according to my What to Expect app it is. So it must be true, right? So why am I still so freaking tired!! Ugh! I'm so tired of being tired. I went from exercising 6-7 days a week for 60-90min a day to exercising, well, kind of whenever I have the energy. I can no longer get up in the morning, it is just too damn hard. I cram in a 30min walk & light weights at lunch (45min max) on days when I'm not feeling nauseous or light-headed. I do usually manage a workout on the weekends, but it just feels like such, well, work.

I am so looking forward to the "honeymoon" phase of T2 when the nausea and fatigue fade but the big boobs remain.* I'm still far too small for maternity clothes but have long since outgrown my normal clothes. Thank god for belly bands, but even those don't help solve the problem of regular shirts making you look like you've eaten a few too many doughnuts. We're not making any official announcements at work, which makes me a wee bit self conscious about people looking at my growing belly. This is mostly because I just don't care but also because I find that most people don't seem to know how to react when you say you're pregnant with #4. The responses have ranged from, "Was this an oops baby?" to uncertain looks while people wait for my cue to indicate whether or not we are happy about this development. The only people to react with genuine excitement are the couple of friends who knew we were trying and one friend who already has 6 kids of his own! It's a little off putting, actually, so I just decided I'm already cranky enough and I'd rather just not deal with it at all. I suppose people will figure it out on their own eventually. :)

*Don't judge me, for some of us, this is our only shot of big boob-dom. 

Before There Was You

My Children,

When I was younger I had orange hair. Actually, at different times I had pink hair, purple hair, black hair, red and green hair, blue hair, and pretty much every color under the sun. I got most of my clothes at Good Will as a matter of principle and thought nothing of wearing clothes with cigarette burn holes and sweat rings. I almost never wore shoes, and I didn't shave for 3 years. I drove my mom's old Pontiac 6000 covered in vintage 1960s flower stickers, affectionately nicknamed, Bertha. I loved the Beatles and 311...and carried a secret torch for bad 80's ballads, which I sang alone in my car where none of my friends could see me.

 I was eager to be a grown up. I dropped out of high school at 16 and moved into my own place when I was 17. My roommates and I had all-night keggers...constantly, and I worked up to 4 jobs to pay the bills. When I was 13, I marched on Washington to protest the 1st Gulf War, and I once stumped for Jesse Jackson with my friend D and her dad. I thought I would join the Peace Corps and spend my life working to make the world a better place. I never dreamed I would join the military much less make a career of it.

Now I have Mom hair.  Cut into an "acceptable for the office" style and dyed a sensible color. On the rare occasions I buy clothes for myself, I shop on eBay or at the sale racks, but I am always conscious of the brand. My handbag is big enough to fit a small dog, and contains just about anything you could ever want or need: crayons, Angry Birds bandaids, iPhone and iPad loaded with apps for kids (none for moms), wipes, tissue, snacks. I work for the State Department (aka "the man"), and I do think that all my life's work has been to make the world a better place. And, I am exceedingly proud of that...and I still sing bad 80's ballads but now it's with pride with my friends at karaoke night.

Sometimes I feel that when I became a Mom, I lost a part of myself. Most of the time I don’t miss her, knowing that along with the slimmer waist and greater freedom, was also the inherent ignorance and selfishness that comes with youth.  The ignorance and selfishness that makes youth so much fun, I might add.  Is being a Mom always fun?  Not on your life.  Is being a Mom worth all the sacrifices we make? I deeply, deeply believe so.

To you I will forever be the person who puts bandaids on your boo-boos, makes sure you get the correct lunch at school, and that you brush your teeth at least twice a day. I am the one who helps with your homework, who drops you off at volleyball practice, and who nags you about finishing that same homework.  I am sure you will love that person, but will you really know who I am?

I never truly understood or appreciated my mother until I became one myself.  As a teenager it never occurred to me to investigate her beyond the surface level. She was my mom. A teacher, a cook, a cleaner, a sewer.  She worked, she baked, she made our clothes (and sometimes matching ones for dolls, or in my sister's case, for small unicorns).  She was my mom, but she wasn’t a person with a history, a dream, a set of beliefs.

Of course, I appreciate her now.

More than these mere words can ever hope to express, I truly appreciate my Mom. I can look back and see what she sacrificed for us.  And this is not to say that my Dad didn’t make sacrifices for us, because I know he did.  But I am a Mom, and I can see the path ahead for me.  I can see myself through your eyes, and I realize it will be some time before you see me as a person with an identity above and beyond your Mom.

And I can wait.  But sometimes I wish I could show you my life before, show you who I was when I was younger, before there was you, when I was only myself.

I Am Four

Or six, depends on how you count it. Either way it looks like there's a new Pu heading into the world. I guess we figure with one on the way out of the house, we needed to bring one in.

Had my 1st ob appt last week and also discovered that Husband's super sperm did not fail us. Turns out I'm further along than I had originally thought.* Baby 4/6 is due at the end of Jan not in Feb as we had planned for. This opens up a whole new set of challenges for us to figure our way through as we navigate through the decisions that face expat moms and FS moms who give birth abroad: do we stay here or medevac (medically evacuate)? What does this mean for our other children? If I medevac, do I take the kids with me or leave them here? What do I do about genetic testing? It's par for the course in the US that moms over 35 get certain genetic tests since the likelihood of having a child with special needs is much higher as you age and your eggs get old and crusty.** But they don't do genetic testing here in the Phils, so I'll have to take a trip to Singapore if I decide that's something we want to pursue. Basically, there's a lot to think about.


*which, on a totally vain note, made me feel so much better since I have already outgrown my pants!
**Or at least that's how all the pregnancy literature makes it sound. It's like you hit 35 and all your eggs shrivel up. 

Happy Independence Day!

I love the 4th of July. I have such amazing childhood memories of watching fireworks over the lake, hanging with my sisters and friends eating popcorn out of paper bags, playing with sparklers in the summer heat, and of course, fire flies! Our neighborhood used to have a 4th of July "parade" every year where all the kids would march around our little cul de sac in wagons and dressed to the nines in red, white, and blue. So very, very 'Murican! Of course, now that I'm a parent myself, I recognize that those memories were not nearly as sweet for the adults shepherding us around, lol.

Now that I work as a diplomat, 4th of July is more about sharing the joy of American Independence with our host country. It is, in fact, the biggest event the Embassy sponsors every year. This year I volunteered to deck myself out in real style and dressed up as Lady Liberty.

I was a hit, if I do say so myself. Uncle Sam and I were in high demand. The Philippines is no exception to the photography rule in Asia. If there's an opportunity for a photo, you better believe they're going to take it! :) I can't even imagine how many photos there are of me floating around Facebook now, haha. We must have had over 1,000 people attend this year's party, and I swear I took my photo with 998 of them! My cheeks hurt from smiling so much! But, it was also really fun. And I got to wear sandals since no one could see my feet under the robes. No standing in high heels for 6 hours for me! And we got to see fireworks this year! I love me some fireworks. Last year they got canceled because of the rain, and I was sooo disappointed. So I was really excited to see this year's show, and it was awesome. I only wish my kids could have seen it.

Today the CLO is putting on a family 4th of July party. We didn't have one of these last year, so I'm super grateful that they're doing it this year so the kids can celebrate too. There won't be any fireworks there, but there will be hot dogs, cotton candy, face painting, and bouncy houses! All worthy ways of celebrating the 4th.

Home

Home again, home again.

R&R is but a distant memory. *sigh* It was a great rejuvenator, though. I really do feel refreshed, like I can make it through another year here without losing my mind. Our last couple of months leading up to R&R were exceedingly difficult. It wasn't just the build up of spending so much time in a difficult city like Manila (the traffic, pollution, dire poverty and squalor really do wear you down). I had debated posting about this at all, but we were forced to move* thanks to a series of targeted attacks on our house and property, including nails in our tires, which culminated in a break in attempt that required us to call the local police and file a report. RSO (our security folks) finally pulled the security certificate on our house, which meant they no longer found it safe for any American Embassy family to live there. We had an armed guard posted at our home for the last month of our stay there while GSO housing found and made ready new accommodations for us. It was highly stressful. We weren't sleeping at all. I was (an am) very, very angry about the whole situation. In a nutshell, I believe it was a targeted attempt by our rich and powerful neighbors to drive us out of the neighborhood since we had lodged several complaints about them illegally running a business out of their home.** It is exceeding unfortunate not just because of the great stress and difficulty it caused to our family (oh, did I mention the move happened while I was in the US, so poor Husband had to do it all himself, and I can home from R&R to unpack my entire house? yeah, that was a blast!), but it has completely colored the way I look at the Philippines. I'll keep the deep feelings I have about the corruption and ineptitude of this place to myself, but I don't think I will ever get over this experience.

Anyway, that's enough about that. I'm really trying to put this behind us and focus on the positives so we can make it through our remaining time here with a good attitude. We've been invaded by the hoards, so we're back up to a family of 7 and in a new house no less. This house is in a new village, and I have to say, we just love our new neighborhood. It is so much cleaner and quieter than our old one! And there are a couple of strip mall areas on the outsides of the village entrances, which are incredibly convenient. We don't have a pool any more, which makes me very, very, very sad! But, the yard is bigger than out old one and is not filled with feral cat shit and piss, so we can actually send our kids outside to play (at least in the early morning before it gets too hot). We are also much closer to the Embassy, so our commute has been slashed by a good 15-20 minutes (40 minutes less in traffic per day, yes please!). Thanks to a great deal of hard work by my husband and oldest daughter, C, all of the boxes were already unpacked when I got home, so all I had to do was put things away in the right place, so I feel like we've already got the new house in order in record time. The other really nice thing is that this place has its own guest room (so it's a 5 bedroom), which means my step-son, T, gets his own room, too.

All in all, I think this house is going to work out just fine. It's really nice to have the whole family together again, and we're focused on trying to just enjoy our time together this summer and put this whole housing/neighbor mess behind us. As difficult as the timing was for us, I feel like in some ways it was a blessing to have this happen just before we went on R&R. It feels like a whole new beginning. And it is good to be home.

*Our 4th move just here in Manila! 
**And I maaay have ruined their company Christmas party when I yelled at them in my pajamas to shut off the outdoor karaoke system...which they were drunkenly playing at 11pm...on a school night...in front of my house.

R&R

Sorry this blog has ben a ghost town, but I do have a really good excuse. We're on R&R! In HAwaii!! For you non-FS types this is our mid-way break where we go back to the US for some overdue rest and relaxation. I combined this trip with some military duty since getting all my yearly reserve points in is tough from such a remote location.

and don't I look happy about it? ;)

I worked for two weeks and then get almost a week and a half of just play. I used to be stationed out here in the mid 1990s, and C was born here, so Hawaii holds a special place in my heart. Plus, who doesn't love the beauty of the islands?? We rented a house on the West side of Oahu (cheaper and more secluded than trying to go to the touristy areas of Hawaii Kai and North Shore), which has breathtaking views on both sides.

My dad's blog has even better pictures

We have spent many hours just enjoying the fresh air and watching the kids play outside in the surf. It will be hard to go back. Additionally, my parents came out here for a week to hang with us and the kids. It's so nice just being around family and relaxing. I can't remember the last time we had a vacation like this. If only my sisters could be here, it would be just perfect.

Me + Food = Luv

So I have made no secret of the fact that I. love. food. Like love, love. Food and me, we're soul mates. I could not live without food.* Before I came to the Philippines and discovered the non-stop 12 hour days and endless traffic that impedes every possible trip one can take, I used to love to food shop. Discovering new produce, new spices, new ingredients period is enough to give me heart palpitations. Sadly, the atmosphere here is such that one cannot go food shopping (or any kind of shopping) without becoming homicidal. And homicide is not a good recreational activity for a diplomat...or so I'm told.

Anyway, I've learned I'm learning to be more creative with the sparse ingredients in my pantry since I am far more apt to let it go quite bare rather than face the grocery store or bare my wallet to the overpriced organic markets. The good thing is that, despite what my recent posts would have you believe, we actually don't eat out very often anymore. The stress of traffic and parking, the lack of service, and the general poor quality of most restaurants has convinced me that unless I get a personal recommendation from someone who's palate I trust, I am probably not going to risk eating out. The other good news is that Shinsen Yasai Organic Farms is back in business after a 6mos hiatus, and their produce is better than ever. Their home delivery prices are very reasonable, and they only ask for a chip in for fuels if you order less than a certain amount. I don't know if they have a website up yet, but I am more than happy to pass on contact information to anyone who wants it. They deliver to Makati and the Fort every Tuesday and to other parts of the city on other days.

Anyway, I'm currently in lurve with BASing** and am constantly on the lookout for salad ideas. Recently I've become obsessed with the idea of salad in a jar. Freaking genius! And my salads don't have to be of the most healthy variety. Mainly I want lots of veggies, some protein, and some crunch. Everything else is superfluous. So lay 'em on me, folks. What are your favorite salads?

*Well, neither can anyone else, but that's neither here nor there. I can't help it if food is a little bit of a slut. After all, don't we all like our mates a little on the trashy side?
**BIG ASS SALAD...ing 

Eating My Way Through Manila

As I mentioned before, we are in the process of seeing off many of the wonderful friends we've made here, and we've been doing so with gusto! As someone who is pushing a healthy lifestyle to the rest of the Embassy it's a bit embarrassing to admit that my entire weekend basically revolved around gluttony (and it was worth it!). Friday night the Husband went on his man outing to play golf in Intramuros. So I ordered fried chicken for me and the kids.* If there is one food that Filipinos excel at, it is some goddamn fried chicken.

On Saturday, Husband and I went to Qi Wellness for body scrubs and a massage. One of my most favorite things about the Philippines is all of the affordable pampering you can get! We followed that with lunch at Brasserie Boheme, which is literally right next door. It was delicious! I had a salad and the hame and cheese panini, and let me tell you, that bread was dee-vine! By far the best sandwich I've had in the Philippines! Husband also had a sandwich along with a bowl of tomato bisque, which he proclaimed to be the best fucking tomato soup he's ever had. And that is saying something! While our lunch was a pleasant surprise, I would have fasted for the entire day if I'd realized the lengths to which my stomach would go to try and digest the mountain of gloriousness that was our dinner at Elbert's Steak Room. It was hands down the best meal I've eaten here. The steaks were phenomenal, the service was wonderful, and the company was perfect. Each dinner comes with a salad and soup. I had the french onion, which was lovely and portioned just right considering the slab of meat that was yet to come. You had the option of ordering sides. Our friends who had dined there before warned us that you didn't really need sides, but I couldn't resist ordering the truffled mashed potatoes. I just can't do steak without a potato! Husband got the baked potato, and they were both delicious. Next time, I really want to tray the duck fat fried potatoes! Might as well go all out, eh? On top of the delicious food, the owner himself came out to check on the tables and see how everyone was enjoying their meal. I just love little service touches like that. It really makes you feel appreciated as a customer. He also offered us a round of limoncello on the house and some complimentary desserts. It was such a nice gesture. Anyway, we just enjoyed the crap out of that meal.

Having barely digested our food from the night before, we headed off to the Sofitel brunch on Sunday. If you have ever wanted to feel like a complete glutton, by all means you need to get your ass to the Soiftel Sunday Brunch! Unlimited champagne and endless variety of food: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Filipino, there's even a cheese room! You really have to pace yourself. We were there for four hours! But, it's the only meal you need for the entire day, so that makes you feel a little better about the P3,000/pp price tag! When we finally got home, we immediately whisked the kids over to Rockwell Mall to see the new Star Trek movie. No food there (ok, I had some Nerds, so sue me!), but I loved the movie! I grew up on Trek (duh!), so I'm constantly amazed that I'm not put off by this new Trek-a-verse. But I love that new life has been infused into the franchise. More Trek for everyone!

*I am so my father's daughter!

Seriously??

It's raining. again. It's only mid-May. How can it be rainy season already? We only had 6 weeks of actual summer. *sigh* Thank god we're going on R&R in a few weeks. 3 weeks of beach-y awesomeness in Hawaii?* Why, yes, I think I will.


*ok, so I'm working two of them at my Reserve job, but still...it's Hawaii!!

Blog Silence = Busy as Shit

First off, happy Mother's Day, everyone! Secondly, I know it appears like I'm slacking on blog posts, but in reality I have been writing blog posts for our new Wellness program at the Embassy, so I haven't exactly been shirking my duties (just here at the Corner, but I know you all will forgive me). We've also been socializing like crazy. The FS is slightly different from the military in that there only two real transfer seasons, summer and winter. Summer transfer season is the bigger one since most families with school age kids rely on being able to move when it's less intrusive for their children. So we've been saying goodbye to all the amazing friends we've made over the last year, which has been really hard (isn't always worse when you're the one being left behind?). I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself as it began to seem like all the people we've grown close to just happen to be leaving right now! But, we went to dinner at a friend's last night, and she had invited several other couples who are also going to be here for a while and it struck me that there are people left at Post whose company we truly enjoy and perhaps, just perhaps, all is not lost and I shouldn't contemplate throwing myself into hermitage just yet.

We've also been continuing our plan of stepping out of our comfort zone. We even went out in the middle of the week...more than once! Just last week we went to the Aerosmith concert at the Mall of Asia and had a total blast. The company was great, and I was shocked at how many Aerosmith songs I not only knew but actually kind of liked. And Steven Tyler, seriously, when you're 70 and can still stage hump, you know you've still got it. Now we've got plans for a Ladies Karaoke night just so we can bust out our rendition of Walk This Way (the version with Run DMC, cause we're badass like that). With our trip to Coron and R&R in Hawaii on the horizon, we're looking at two more weeks of crazy socialization to cram in dinners with all of our departing friends before either we leave on our extended vacation or they leave post for good. It's a rough life.

In other news, I've moved sections. This assignment had me on a rotation to two sections, one for a year and one for the other year (with a brief interlude in ACS, as you'll recall). So now we've most definitely into our 2nd year. It's a bit anti-climatic, actually. I'm not convinced I'm going to love it just yet, but I've had lots of colleagues whose opinions I respect swear up and down that the boredom actually translates into some kind of zen-like tolerance, so I'm hanging on for that! ;)

With all this crazy galavanting about, we've also been eating at a lot of new restaurants. I'll save my reviews for another post (mainly cause I'm watching Amazing Gumball with my kids), but in just the last few weeks we've been to Wildflour, Sala, Cav, Tsukiji (again), and we have plans to go to the Peninsula Hotel next weekend and two other dinners which we haven't picked restaurants for yet. What can I say - we's crazy!

Pho Bo

So one of the things I really wanted to do in Vietnam, besides eat the food, was to learn how to cook the food (so I can eat it later). We took a cooking class where I learned to make Pho Bo from scratch, and they also gave us a little cookbook with various other classic Vietnamese dishes. I'm going to experiment with these in the coming weeks and will report back my findings. But it was really just getting out there and seeing and tasting the food that has inspired me. I am dying to make Banh Mi, but I face the challenge of not only making the meat but also the bread itself. I have yet to find acceptable bread of any kind in Manila, and I.have.looked!! So, I've come to realize that if I'm ever going to have bread that doesn't make me gag while posted here, I'm just going to have to make it myself. There's that tiny little problem of me sucking ass at baking, but my older sister* swears it's not that hard once you get the hang of it. And I am always drooling over her fb pics...*sigh* Wish me luck! In the meantime, here's the recipe for Pho Bo**:

Broth
500g  fresh rice noodles
300g  beef bones
150g  beef butt
150g  daikon or white radish
10g  shallots
10g  ginger
1  star anise (whole)
1  cinnamon stick
1  black cardamon (whole)
5g  whole cloves

Fresh Herbs
Mint leaves
Coriander
Basil
Saw tooth herb (please don't ask me what this is outside of Asia)
Cumin
Bean sprouts
Spring onion

On the Side
Fish sauce
Bird's eye chili
Black pepper
Chili Sauce (like Sriracha)
Black bean sauce
Lime

Roast the ginger and shallots, then place them in a cheesecloth along with the other broth spices and tie well. Boil beef bones in 2 liters of water for about 1 hour, then add the cheesecloth and simmer for another 1/2-1 hour. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar to your taste.*** Set aside the broth.

Place rice noodles and bean sprouts in a mesh encasement and submerge in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Divide into individual bowls. Top the noodles with slices of beef, onion, and whatever amount/mixture of fresh herbs you prefer. Pour soup over top (the heat of the broth will cook the meat). Add in any amount of on the side mix-ins you prefer, and voila Pho!!


Sounds delicious does it not. But, Pu, you say. WTF? I don't live in Asia. Where the fuck am I going to saw tooth herb and whole corianders? So, I feel your pain. Also, seriously wtf yourself 'cause I live in Asia and yet in Manila it is so much easier to order things online than traipse all over town and fight the traffic/parking to find the various ingredients. Sad. Anyways, here's a few interwebs spots I like to hit up to find my various ingredients. Hope you find them useful.

efooddepot = OMG happy, happy, love, love! Sooo happy! Like, if rainbows and unicorns had panda babies happy. And they ship to DPO no probs!

Asian Food Grocer - Big selection, specializing in Japanese items. These guys supply DeCA, so they're very DPO friendly and their shipping rate maxes out at $12.95 for larger shipments, which is pretty competitive.

Thai Supermarket  - despite its name, this site sells all kinds of goodies from all over Asia. Also ships to DPO, but they charge a flat rate fee + extra by ounce, so the shipping can get a bit high if you're not careful.

Yollie's Oriental Market - Willing to ship anywhere (and charge you for it!), this site gets bonus points for its balikbayan boxes! Plus they carry a wide variety of products (not just food stuffs).

The Wok Shop - buy all the cooking gear you want!


*who inherited my mom's baking gene. bitch. 
**sorry for the metric measurements, ya'll. That's what happens when you live overseas! :( 
***In our cooking class they actually added additional beef bouillon granules and some other "seasoning powder" which we suspected was likely MSG. You can add these or not as you prefer. I have made this recipe as is, and I didn't find that I needed those additional ingredients. 

Noted This Morning

Husband: *affectionately* I love that little dimple on your butt cheek.
Me: *not so affectionately* Actually, that's cellulite.
J: You have a lot of dimples, Mommy!

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!!!