Boredom and Cooking

I am looking for a new passion.

I have been a teacher for a decade now and I thought that it was my calling. Well, I think it still is. I know that I am good at it but at present, I have to still land a permanent or temporary full-time or part-time teaching position. I think it's still not in His immediate plans for me to be back in the teaching field, the way I want to and the way I used to.

Admittedly, I miss teaching.

It is actually the reason why I have been down the past few days.

Don't get me wrong, I still love and enjoy every minute spent with my growing kids. But since they are both growing up (so fast), their routine is quite predictable and I don't have to be tutok with them, unlike before. As a result, I have more time now ( as I would like to think). I still have plenty of things to-do at home, sometimes doing hubby's chores, when both kids are in daycare and I don't have substitution calls. I guess time- management is not really a problem for me. :)

I would have loved to spend the entire "free" days in front of the computer, but suprisingly, I have been able to avoid that. The last four days, I only sat in front of the computer for only an hour, an hour and a half at the most.

Needless to say, I am starting to get bored. I am not a TV fan, so watching TV is out of the list. I get a migraine if I watch too much TV.

What to do now? The past days I have been thinking and reflecting on what to do with my (extra?)free time. I considered home-schooling my children, but after reading a couple of articles about it and looking at the requirements at the NSW Board of Studies, I dropped the idea. LOL :) I'm not yet ready for that BIG challenge. And with the looks of it, I think I can't be an effective teacher with my kids because we just might end up arguing and getting mad with each other. I'll just continue to give Liam extra exercises at home, one step/level higher than his present level.

I also considered going back to school. Yep, another degree. I still have 4 years before I work on my Professional Competence accreditation with NSW Institute of Teachers, so I guess I can still squeeze it in. I did look for Open Universities here, but sadly, the course that I want is not available online. I have to attend to the classes in the campus, which I think is impossible as of the moment. Oh well. I was actually up for it.

My list is getting shorter.

Then it hit me. I'll just cook.

Yeah. Cook.

Hubby seems to be supportive and appreciates the meals (yummy meals according to him) I prepare for them. So, why not? :)

I have yet to experiment and create my own signature dish, but I have started cooking some meals I have been reading in magazines. I'm not focusing on desserts this time because I have a problem with design (LOL) or presentation. I am focusing on entrees and mains.

I already have a short list of mains that I plan to cook this week.

I know that hubby will be my critic, but I'm still excited to see his reaction and my kids' reaction when I start cooking new meals. Their reaction takes the blues away.

For the meantime, I am taking a break from the usual Pinoy ulam and start whipping up new dishes for my family.

Who knows, one day, I might take cooking really seriously :) Who knows, cooking might be my newest calling ;)

Just thankful that I found a new outlet for me to use my skills, creativity and energy :)

Hubby Cooks!

I have been actually down the past two days but I'm on the road to recovery.

Hubby was actually a big help, without him knowing it.

Last week and just last night, he commended me for my cooking :) Last week, he was telling our son, Liam, that "Mama has greatly improved on her cooking. Before, she only knew how to cook meatloaf, egg, or hotdog!" The nerve! Hahaha

I told him I knew how to cook even before we got married, it's just that I was not given the chance to practice it since my Mama or his Mom was just around, there were many good restos back in Manila, or he cooks more often than me, unlike here in Sydney. :)

Last night, he was looking at the Woolies catalogue and suddenly said: "Naiingit na ako kay Mama, ang dami mo ng specialties e! (I'm already jealous of Mama because you already have so many specialties) You have Roasted Pork, Pork Crackling, Spicy Mussels, Sukiyaki, Sizzling Tofu with Shitake Mushrooms, etc."

I was actually surprised with that comment. And I was a bit kilig :) It was actually one of the reasons why I'm feeling a lot better now :)

He is actually the better cook between the two of us. If I cook something new, he'll be my first and worst critic. I actually sometimes don't want to tell him how I cooked something because when he tries cooking it, it ends up tasting better hehehe :) And when I cook and he starts meddling, we end up arguing hehehe He knows that when he starts meddling when I'm the one cooking, I get mad and turnover the entire cooking to him! So it would be disastrous if we both join a cooking competition! LOL!

Seriously, we have different styles in the kitchen. I want my kitchen clean, while he on the other hand can cook even if there are a lot of clutter in the kitchen. I estimate, he follows the recipe and measurements by the book. He researches and is more serious when he cooks, while me, on the other hand, just goes with the flow. Get the picture?

I think hubby is just missing cooking. I think it is also an avenue for him to unwind and relax and serve us. He just got busy looking after the cars at home.

Well this weekend, we're trying out something new. We'll try quails and I'll give him that chance to again show his cooking skills :)

Looking forward to my big burp this weekend! :)

snippets

finally! after a day of trying to log in and write a blog, blogger.com is now again functioning normally! :)


winter will officially begin by 1st of June but the past few days we have already been having a taste of winter! well, born to a tropical country, most Filipinos, including me, fret when it's winter. they or we see so many bad things associated with this season. but yesterday, instead of entertaining reasons why I don't like winter, I thought of reasons why I love winter. it's still a very short list but hey, it's a start :) this season will not leave me for the next 3 or 4 months so why not make it a pleasant one?

-- i love winter because the grass in our lawn slows down its growth process, which in turn makes my mowing duty not every two weeks but after a month or longer! yipee! :) less stress and less in electricity use as well :)

-- i love winter because i have more reason to snuggle up in bed with my hubby and kids at night and in the mornings. extended when it's the weekends :)

-- i love winter because i have another reason to go shopping hehehe just like what we did yesterday! Liam, Sam and myself headed off to the shops yesterday and bought winter clothes and home accessories

-- I love winter because our leftover foods' shelf life are extended as well :)

more next time ;)

I had my first session/class for Term 2 last Thursday. I can't believe that I'm just two more terms away from finishing my Certificate course! yipee! To think that I almost dropped it last year, at the height of my 1st tri discomforts. Good thing Alvin persuaded me to still try all possible means before quitting. He's really my angel! :) I am actually done with all my term papers for this term ;) I am just waiting for our sessions to submit them. I need to do things in advance because I will go home before my graduation in early December :)

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A few weeks ago Liam told me I'm so fat and even asked if I had another baby in my tummy! LOL! Well, who wouldn't get fat? We went to the market this morning and when I was already fixing the things we bought, our ref ended up almost full! I told Alvin that probably, next week, we can skip going to the market and try to finish everything inside it first, just like my empty-the-pantry project. Aside from saving money, we also get to avoid food wastage (the left overs that got spoiled already because neither of us wants to eat it already!)

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Because of MKR and Master Chef Liam's interest in cooking has tripled! Sometimes I catch him pretending to cook, describing what he is doing like the hosts of the cooking shows, using his fireman hat as a bowl and our toiletries as his ingredients. It's a funny and a beautiful sight! :) He watches a LOT of youtube videos on cake decorating -- especially the Fire Engine Cake. He is even requesting me to make one for his birthday! He is definitely interested in cooking, no doubt about that! I asked him if he wanted to be a chef and he said he wanted to be a Fireman Chef! So cute! Well, whatever he decides to be in the future, I will just support him. But as for now, I will foster his interest in cooking :)

This afternoon I made a very simple fruit salad. Seeing me busy in the kitchen he turned off the TV and asked if he can help me. Of course I said yes! While making the salad, I was also teaching/giving him some tips in cooking like: always first wash your hands before you handle food; you taste what you created; and telling him the names of the ingredients we were using, even the equipment. Today he learned what a spatula is. As for his participation in the making of our fruit salad, I asked him to put fresh seedless grapes in the bowl :) I asked him to make sure that the small branches will not be included, it was such a joy to see him double-checking each grape that he is putting in the bowl :) OC.

I am sure this is just one of the many times we will be cooking together :) When he gets a bit older I will be willing to give him more responsbilities :) Who knows, he might really be a Fireman Chef someday! ;)