if i were a rich man...

...or woman. yes, it's from fiddler on the roof, which was put on by our school as the annual production. i was in the chorus. i had one line. i LOVED it. that was also the end of any promise of a showbiz career. 

anywaaaaay, if i were rich, on the top of my list to spend on would be unlimited fast shipping to our house in costa rica. boy, i could come up with a hundreds of things to ship from manila. and high up on this list (contents of my walk-in closet are top 1...OF COURSE) are...

these! oh my precious little loves...

during my hubby's 30th birthday party, a friend who had lived in the philippines for 4 years had spent a good 30 minutes describing (with me drooling. true story. i actually to wipe off some from the corner of my mouth. gross, i know. but that's me.) every single fantasmic culinary delight - you name it, he got it. adobo, bistek, pork barbeque, jollibee chicken joy (oh boy), sisig, tapa, etc... you get the point. we also got into a discussion about how soy sauce from the philippines is THE best for cooking - it's rich, flavorful, and just plain AWESOME. he has his own stock of soy sauce and other condiments so he can cook up his favorite dishes. and so... i want mine too. give. me. my. toyo. dammit. 

and in the spirit of dreaming and drooling over food tango with these condiments, i give you the best dishes i've ever had with these lovelies: 

banana ketchup 

hands down the best for anything fried - chicken, porkchop, heck even fish. BUT nothing will ever beat spaketchup - the BEST, most comforting food. ever. spaghetti oozing with banana ketchup goodness in the sauce. yum-meeee. if you're in for instant gratification, go to jollibee. otherwise, try this recipe.

mang tomas

who doesn't love lechon (roast pig)? well, a good friend of mine doesn't and we ate an entire one in front of her out of protest. anyway, mang tomas got it right and now i use it for anything grilled - especially pork liempo. oh. my. good God. i thank Thee for the gift of this condiment. but the best is still lechon paksiw, which is the reason thou shall always make sure there is leftover lechon from any party. when supply is running low, direct guests to the...chicken. 

knorr seasoning

your food ain't tasting good? load your rice with this. instant foodgasm. 

soy sauce

the mother of all condiments and the base of lots of filipino dishes, the best of which are: adobo, bistek tagalog (which my husband LOVES), and...shoot me for not knowing this...caldereta. of course, if mang tomas and grilled meat are not your type, you can always just mix soy sauce with vinegar, chopped red onions, and some chilies. dip, pour, drink it. whatever floats you boat. point is, enjoy. 

xoxo,

Janice

P.S. i write this in envy of my sister who lives in new jersey and has ready access to these through the nearby filipino store. lucky woman.

first day

i'm a small girl who lives in the city who married a taller boy who happens to live in a farm...

a thousand miles away.

so to illustrate, i'll show you the difference in terms of views i get in the morning when i walk out the door. 

i went from this:

view of the amenities from my condo. 

isn't the pool rockin'? i thought it was...

 until too many people started peeing, errr, swimming in it

to these:

front yard

   

backyard

(yes, that's a soccer field.)

hmmm why is there no space in backyard? 

or why is there a space in front yard? 

aren't they both positions of yards?! 

don't confuse me, english language!

okay, i digress.

you should probably also know what i am convinced i have ADHD and my parents probably know but are still in denial.

don't get me wrong, i LOVE the change. stress is practically not allowed in our little farm. with all that greenery and the birds chirping while you work on email and excel files?! not happening. 

anywaaaay, i got up and frantically worked to start working on this blog this morning. why? well...let me tell you a story that happened at the crack of dawn. 

at about 530 this morning (hey, I'm  old and I can't help it!!), i got an email from my fantastic relocation agent (fancy people paid to help me make the big move from manila to san jose, at least on the work front..so thanks to my company for the hook-up) saying that my work permit has not been finalized. 

what this means is i get an extra month of bumming around. 

yay!

or...

holy crap.

(i can't even bear to put an exclamation point on the second one)

i've been on leave from work for the past 2 months to set-up house in costa rica, plan our church wedding (which is exactly 3 weeks from today!!! gulp!), and work on immigration papers. i have another month about to kick in. making it two won't hurt right? 

i suppose. 

i figure, i can do any or all of the following: 

1. start cooking meals for my husband (this is #1 on his list) - okay with me too. i started over the holidays and they were all edible. mr. G says they're goood but hey, being married to the cook always ups the taste factor of the dishes. plus, he knows i'll cry if he doesn't like it. kidding. or not. 

2. reorganize the walk-in closet (and kitchen...and living room...and make office space for two. you get the point.) - this was my husband's christmas gift to me (i am eternally grateful and owe him my first child. oh wait, that's already his. crap.) and needs some reallocation of closet space to make sure there is room for all my IMPORTANT stuff. i swear i'm downsizing...until we build the new house. 

3. take spanish lessons - i already started a few months back before coming to costa rica and i was sure i would rock it. after all, we have so many words in common. how hard can it be? until realized that outside of the classroom and in the comfort of the presence of my spanish teacher and my fantastic friend M, i could only utter, at least comprehensibly, "donde esta el bano?" now, this is a really useful phrase considering i pee a lot (small person, small bladder), BUT i can't get on with pleasantries with friends and family with just mentioning toilets all the time, right?! so...this one is essential. although i feel that at some level, we understand each other (we're all humans after all), i need to get this understanding to my front office functions!

4. start a blog - mainly to have a way to share stories with my friends who have also gone off to new adventures in new places and also for brain stimulation. and i ain't talking in relation to the content of this blog people. i truly believe i need the clickety-clackity of the laptop keyboard to keep my brain cells alive. blame it on spending 70% of my time in front of my laptop at work for this little malfunction in my system. 

oh and in between, there's yoga classes too. very important. they're in spanish but i cheat by meditating with one eye open. i need to copy my seatmate's moves! don't bust my chops, eh? i'm trying to survive after all. :p 

adios para ahora (bye for now...or at least according to me), 

Janice