Goodbye Auntie Amy!

The weekend was quite sad. My Ima - the youngest sister of my Guama (my mom's mother) was cremated last Saturday - she succommed to Breast Cancer last Thursday. Funerals are really sad, but one good about funerals is that - it brings the family together.

It has been ages since I last saw my aunts, uncles, grandparents (the siblings of my Guama)! The last time I saw my aunts and uncles (cousins of my mom) - most of them were not married yet - and now - they have kids! Not babies - but kids ranging from 10 years old and below. One of my second cousins asked their mom 'Why are there Koreans here?' I knew they were referring to me! Obviously! Hahaha.. And their parents told them 'She's your cousin!' He looked at me confused and looked at his dad again - as if he knew it was a joke. But it wasn't. Haha!! He was a little shocked to hear me speak english!

I knew that I had mestiza and mestizo aunts and uncles - but when you see their kids - gosh - there's no trace of anything Asian with them! They all look of Spanish descent - well, partly they are but I guess the Spanish blood was far stronger than the Chinese blood. For the first time - I had cousins who looked so different from me!! Hahaha.. But mind you - they were not cute - they were all handsome and beautiful!!

My Ima - well, I call her Auntie Amy (even if I should call her Granny Amy) - she's just 7 years older than my mom. We're not that close but there's the feeling of closeness. We've travelled together for 2 years in a row! We went to LA, Las Vegas and joined an Alaskan Cruise. She was really really nice, funny and loving. You can feel the love - I can't explain it but there's this feeling whenever we're together. We learned she had Cancer about 2-3 years ago and she battled it quite well! She was strong and determined to fight. It was only last December that we learned that things were going downhill. She even told my mom that she was ready to go - because she's seen her 2 daughters grow-up, and that was already enough for her.

I can't recall exactly when - but I still got to talk to her a few weeks or a month back. It was actually a sudden thing because my mom and I were just talking about her and she called us up! I was the one who answered the phone - and I was shocked to hear her voice at the other end! I asked how she was and she wall all happy and laughing! I can still hear her laughter and her soothing voice - as if she was just beside me.

It really saddens me that she's gone.

We'll all miss you Auntie Amy. Have fun in heaven!!

ANSON SUPERMARKET - Grocery delivery!!

Sharing is caring, so we can't keep it a secret any longer. THIS is where we get out groceries! Well, Anson Supermarket has been where we have been purchasing all of our kids' diapers! From Kailee to Connor to Shobe! Yes, yes, yes! A week into the lockdown, it just occurred to us that we can get our groceries from them - but then we thought, we didn't want to force them to do it - after all it's a different time now. But when we asked and they said yes, it was like we won the lottery. We sent out our list - a very VERY SPECIFIC list and voila after a day or two (we weren't in a rush) they told us to schedule a pick up. Please remember that I am sharing this with you guys because I believe so much in the saying 'sharing is caring'. Please be mindful of your language and respect those who will call or message you about your orders. Also note that some items might NOT be available - so manage your expectations. They're a full functioning

#CookingQuest: Winter Melon Soup ala Didi #EnhancedCommunity

One of the things that gets ooohs and aaaahs in a chinese restaurant is the #WinterMelonSoup. You may ask why? Well because with this soup, restaurants use the winter melon itself as a huge bowl to serve the soup! It's a sight to see as you'll be amazed how they were able to pull it off. You'll see the whole winter melon, and then suddenly they're take out the top part and when you peek in, the soup is inside together with meat bits and other veggies! My mom has tried it at home, and I remember her being nervous that the winter melon doesn't break apart, kunde sira ang presentation! So during this #EnhancedCommunityQuarantine, I chanced upon Theo's Farm that they have winter melon, so I ordered. When I saw it - I knew I wouldn't be able to pull off the carving and serving the winter melon. It actually made the preparation easier. I had to ask my mom, and she told me to steam the winter melon to soften it. Honestly, I don't think I can w

#CookingQuest: Chicken Stir Fry

When I was little, I used to see my mom, guama and aunt cook in the kitchen. I found it amazing, that they have this idea in their heads on what to cook for us. I remember my guama had small bits of plastic that when opened contained shirmp and cooked pork fat. I asked her what it was for, and she told me that it was to add 'flavor' to the dish whatever it was. I don't remember seeing her look at any cook book or a paper with recipe. She just whipped them all up! When I got older, I became interested in baking - baking because I was afraid of splattering oil. So I stuck to baking for a while. It was only when I got married that I had to dive in and cook. When my Panget and I were newly married, we didn't have a helper during the weekend, so I had to step up. There were times that we didn't have a helper at all (we borrowed my mom's helper to clean), so I had to do all the cooking. It was there that I learned to whip something up with just ing

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