'tis the season for sneezing

well, it's that time of the year again. spring is here and with it comes severe allergies. it's been really bad the last couple of weeks. i wake up in the middle of the night and get sneezing fits and find it hard to fall back to sleep. i have my humidifier on, and now pulled out my air filter, too. i went to my doctor today to see if there's other things i can do to improve my allergy condition. she suggested an allergy test (i'll get this done on saturday) and all of the following:

nasonex nasal spray
allegra (1 pill in the morning, 1 pill in the evening)
saline solution nasal spray (alternate with nasonex)
allergy eye drops
nasal flush

the most interesting part of this anti-allergy regimen is the nasal flush. it involves using a small teapot looking device, you stick the spout up one nostril, let the saline solution flow in one nostril and out the other. it's interesting and gross when you think about it. michelle is fascinated each time i do this. it provides some relief...i really do it more to entertain my daughter.

my eyes are bloodshot again from all the sneezing and blowing of my nose. as beautiful as spring is, i wish it would end soon so i can get my 'normal' life back.

james beard nominated SF restaurants

below is a short list of james beard nominated sf restaurants.  i crossed out the ones i've visited.  the rest, i want to visit soon.  i'm really itching to try jardiniere.  maybe for our anniversary in september. i want to try the french laundry, too, but getting a reservation there is next to impossible.

gary danko is by far my best meal in the city.  i've only been there once because it burns a giant hole in the wallet for simple folks like you and me.  it was truly an unforgettable meal!  maybe soon i can go there again, kailangan munang pag ipunan. 

Outstanding restaurateur

Pat Kuleto
Boulevard, Epic, Farallon, Jardinière, Martini House, Nick's Cove & Cottages and Waterbar -- San Francisco, California

Outstanding chef

Gary Danko
Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco

Charles Phan
The Slanted Door, San Francisco

Outstanding restaurant

Boulevard, San Francisco

Rising star chef of the year

Timothy Hollingsworth
The French Laundry, Yountville, California

Best new restaurant

Flour + Water, San Francisco

Frances, San Francisco

RN74, San Francisco

Outstanding pastry chef

Nicole Plue
Redd, Yountville

Outstanding wine service

A16, San Francisco

Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco

ants, spiders and worms

last night, before going to bed, michelle said this prayer:

'jesus, Lord, we pray to God..eat lots of vegetables. we don't like ants and spiders....and weeds and worms. in jesus name, amen.'

 today in the backyard, while we were gardening on this, the first day of spring...she saw ants, spiders, worms, lady bugs,snails and a bee.

she's fine with the last three.  but when she saw the ants, spiders and worms, she said, 'mommy!!!!!  jesus didn't hear my prayer!!!  there are still ants, spiders and worms!!!!

thursdays with michelle

i really like working from 630 am to 230 pm. i wake up at almost the same time each morning anyway but i get to get home an hour and a half earlier. it may not seem a lot but i get a lot more done. A LOT!

michelle has been taking 'toddler ballet' classes each thursday and we usually go to tselogs after her class. but today, she wanted to go to the supermarket...so after her class ended at 4:15, we headed to for some bit of grocery shopping. when i pulled into the parking lot, michelle let out a squeal, 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!' when i asked her why she was so excited, she said, 'cuz we're going to the supermarket!' well, she's not really looking forward to the supermarket but the disney shopping carts that they had at the supermarket. our local safeway had 3 disney car-shaped shopping carts with small tvs in them. michelle can pretend to drive while watching mickey mouse clubhouse, handy manny or special agent oso. michelle was out of luck our last two trips to the supermarket since all the disney carts were taken. i'm sure she was praying the carts would be where they were parked when we walked in and sure enough, there was car number 3 waiting for her.

so i shopped for a few things and walked past the frozen food section when she insisted on going back to one of the freezers. she pointed towards the frozen fettuccini alfredo and said, 'mommy, i want noodle-y nooodle!' i told her i'll get her pasta roni from another aisle and 'cook' the fettuccini myself.

when we got home, i cooked the pasta and we ate dinner- the pasta for her and tortang talong for mommy (no rice!). after dinner, i baked a few pies for tselogs and an extra one to take to work tomorrow. while the pies are baking nicely in the oven, i worked out for 30 minutes on the elliptical, watched tv with michelle, took a shower, and now winding down with michelle before going to bed. i did all these after work and it's only 9 pm.

i wonder...if i ask to work from 630 to 230 pm on most days, will my boss say yes??? i feel more productive with this schedule and i am able to spend more time with michelle. when i get off at 4 pm, it's almost 5 pm when i get home and i feel so drained that i don't really want to do anything anymore.

well, for now, i'll look forward to my thursdays with michelle.

how to be the best mommy in the world

i was making my 'famous' buko pie in the kitchen earlier when michelle saw me pour the sugar into the pot. she said, 'mommy, is that sugar?'

'yes, it is sugar. bakit?' i asked her.

'can i have some?' she asked.

i replied with a firm 'no.'

she paused...then she said, 'mommy, do you want to be the best mommy in the world? if you give me sugar, you're the best mommy in the world!'

i laughed and said, 'giving you sugar doesn't make me the best mommy in the world. i already am the best mommy in the world!'

ako pa inuto nitong batang to.

teaching michelle to eat balut

i love balut!

i remember as a kid growing up in the philippines, street vendors were out from dusk til dawn, yelling, 'ballllllluuuuuuuuuuuuuut!' i would go up to my dad and ask him if we could buy some and he'd say, 'sige tawagin mo yung tindero.' (go ahead and call the [male] vendor). i'd run out of the house and yell 'ballllllluuuuuu!' to get the vendor's attention. he'd look back and hurry towards our house where my dad and i would be waiting.

when we moved to the states, the local asian markets carried them so i can still get my balut fix. every once in a while we would buy some and my childhood balut memories would come flooding back.

we bought some balut over the weekend and i've been teaching michelle to eat this stuff. she loves egg, but balut is not quite the egg she's used to eating. she drinks the sabaw but when she sees the rest of the stuff, she goes, 'eew!' i am dismayed!!! kainis! so i would reprimand her and tell her that i wouldn't eat it if it wasn't good and that ever since i was her age, balut was one of my favorites. she had a small piece of the yellow part and duck embryo part. she left it in her mouth without chewing. however, she finished all of the sabaw inside the egg. then she told me, 'mommy i'm finished with this' and she points towards her mouth. 'no, you have to chew it and swallow it.' her eyes opened wide, but she knew i was serious. she chews and shudders as she swallows. my mom and i started cracking up at the sight. it really was funny.

i asked her how it tasted, and she said it was ok and i knew she'll grow to like it. part of my struggle as a filipina(/american) mom (filipino by birth, race and heritage, but american by citizenship) is how i could raise my daughter the filipino way, in every way, and encourage her to embrace both her being filipino and american. it's hard. she speaks english almost 100% of the time even if you talk to her in tagalog and understand every word you say in tagalog. like this evening, my mom instructed her and said, 'michelle, tawagin mo ang lolo mo sabihin mo magsisimula na ang tanging yaman.' she went to her lolo and said, 'lolo, lola is calling you she said tanging yaman will start soon.' haaaaay! a trip to the motherland is really in order!

she does know how to say po and opo which i'm happy FINALLY picked up as i have been trying to teach her this ever since she learned to speak.

for paul's birthday at the end of the month, we plan on cooking isaw...and again i'll teach her to eat that.

it's fear factor in our fun little household!

there are some things i just don't get

has anyone else seen the show on tlc about women not knowing they are pregnant? the show is aptly called, 'i did not know i was pregnant!'

the first time i saw this show, i said to paul, 'that's a buncha crap! i KNEW i was pregnant 1 week into conception. 1 week. how can you go through 9 months and say you didn't know you're pregnant. that's bull____!' (yes, i really said that and i don't really use that kind of language.)

how can you not know??? seriously?! a woman's body goes through a gazillion changes during pregnancy...how can you not know!?!?!??!

then i read this article on sfgate about a woman who did not know she was pregnant. again, whaaaaa? how????? how big can one woman be that she does not show at all?! they should name the show...you know you're too BIG when you can't even tell if you're pregnant or not. (and yes i can say this because i am not exactly what one would call 'pettite'!)

red eye

i'm not talking about the flight. nor am i talking about the movie about the flight.

i'm talking about red, bloodshot eyes. that's what i have.

my eyes tend to get red rather quickly. i think it's because of my make up and my allergies. but the past 2 weeks, my eyes were red-er than usual. i have tried using visine twice a day but it didn't help. i stopped wearing eye make up but that didn't improve the redness either.

so today, i scheduled an appointment at a clinic a short walk from the office to get my eyes checked. my regular doctor was too far of a walk from my office and i didn't want to walk too far in high heels. i was seen by an awkward ophthalmologist in a dusty, disorganized clinic. needless to say, i will not be a regular patient. the awkward doctor said the lining of my eyes are inflamed but it should go away in two weeks. use 'fake' tears and contact them if it gets painful or blurs my vision.

in my haste to get out of there, i forgot to pay. =) no, i didn't do it on purpose. i just really forgot. they called me shortly after i got back in the office and i paid them over the phone.

my eyes feel weird. i have the urge to keep rubbing it but i know that will make things even worse. i look like a druggie who hasn't slept in weeks.

an excuse to have a 'party'

i love watching the oscars and i love watching it with friends so i invited a few people over to watch it at home. i told them to bring something to eat or something to drink. mahirap naman kung ako lang lahat magpoprovide di ba?

i thought about making bbq ribs and garlic fries this year and some wine. i really need to start drinking the wines i have hidden in my closet before they all turn to vinegar!

anyway, which movie are you rooting to win best picture? 10 nominees and i've only seen two of them: UP and AVATAR. honestly, as much as i enjoyed watching avatar, i'm not that convinced it will win an oscar and i can't really give a good prediction based on seeing just two movies.

anyway, i'm really tired after a long day. it's house cleaning time again tomorrow and kitchen remodel planning. this remodel thing is more tedious than i thought. and we're only in the planning stages!

nothing, nothing, nothing!

i have nothing substantial to blog about. i just want to write. =)

was busy today at work but i went out to have lunch with a friend from my old job. (he was actually my boss). it was good to catch up with him. i'm thinking my coworkers thought i went in for a job interview because i came to work in a suit. hehehe i didn't really. i didn't even ask if there were any openings. i just really wanted to catch up and reconnect. we talked about maui, our respective families at kung ano ano pa. it was good to get out of the office and each lunch without feeling rushed.

i keep forgetting i have a vacation before my vacation. we're going to washington d.c. to visit my in-laws next month. michelle will meet her cousins there for the first time. i'm sure she'll get along with them just fine. ms. personality itong si michelle e. my sister in law is planning our itinerary. masarap din magbakasyon na di masyado nagpaplano no!

feeling ko sa maui, i just want to stay in the hotel, by the pool, and by the beach. we can't really do much of the adventure stuff because michelle's too young. maybe we'll do that next time.

we're considering vacation ownership. i'm torn between ski and beach vacations. bahala na.