Author: Yelly

Taking each day one smile at a time!
Yelly Writes

Getting organised

Yelly

I need to get things back on track.  My life has been, essentially, been put on hold for 8 weeks.  I’ll write about that later because I’m not sure who reads my blog and there are people who I do not want to worry.  They have enough on their plate.

I’ve been reading a lot of books and ezines lately about meditation, health, getting organised, getting my career straight and I’ve had a lot of time to think about it.  I’ve had time to think about what I want to do and I didn’t want to do; what things I think I can apply to my life, my routine (or lack of it) and what I can keep doing (I am known to have issues with being able to “follow through” and finishing what I start).

My “time out” has helped me think about things and get my head on straight.  I am learning to value myself much better.  I want to get me back.  I will definitely post pictures of my projects.

Watch this (creative) space!

planning

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Yelly Eats

The power of the crinkle

Yelly

I comfort eat.  Now I know psychologists and nutritionists and every healthcare professional reading this will be gasping and tutting and shaking their head right now.  Comfort eating is a terrible coping mechanism and will have far reaching consequences.  Ha!  How highfalluting and technical-sounding is that sentence, eh?  Mind you, I am very aware my comfort eating has allowed me to balloon and gain a whole child in terms of weight since I moved to the UK.

Apart from the comfort eating, I’ve been comfort cooking and comfort baking.  I’ve been trying to recreate in my kitchen the food that was readily available to me in the Philippines.  My favourite English proverb (which helps me justify my kitchen sessions) is: “Necessity  is the mother of invention.”  Mind you, the food that I produce in my kitchen aren’t necessarily my own inventions.  Sometimes it’s a result of me trawling the internet for tips on how to cook Filipino food.  Since Filipino food isn’t readily available to take away or to buy at the nearest convenience store, I’ve got to learn how to make things myself if I miss eating them.  I’m quite pleased that I’m able to make things that I would normally just go out and buy if I was in the Philippines.

I finally gave in to a long-standing baking to-do: making chocolate crinkles.  Chocolate crinkles will feature in most Filipinos’ top 10 list of their favourite cookies.  I’m not entirely certain whether it is a Filipino invention but it is certainly readily available in the Philippines, everywhere.  Say the phrase “chocolate crinkles” to a Filipino and you more often than not will hear them say “Awww chocolate crinkles!”

For those of you who don’t know, chocolate crinkles are soft, fudgy chocolate cookies that are slightly firm, almost crispy, on the outside and moist and cakey on the inside.  It’s covered with a generous coating of icing sugar outside and when you bite into the cookie, it’s rich and indulgent.

I’m going to share the recipe here once I’ve tried another test run, just to make sure that the recipe works properly.  Any taste testers available?

Chocolate crinkle

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Yelly Writes

Me before Me Before You

Yelly

I’ve read the heart-wrenching book (twice – yes, I thought I could handle it.  I was boohooing half-way through the second read because I knew what was to come!  My eyelids were sore from all the tear-Kleenex soaking.).  I think most of the people who wanted to watch the movie version of Jojo Moyle’s wildly successful book have seen the movie.  I’m one of the stragglers.  Mostly because Alan didn’t want to watch the movie.  I’ve not yet taken to watching a movie on my own here yet.

But I’ve seen it now.  Despite the reviews about how it glorified suicide, I think some people took the wrong way and didn’t notice that the movie was about falling in love and letting yourself spread your wings and widen your horizons.

I don’t know if I can review the movie objectively.  I’m still sobbing, so, obviously, it has touched me and affected me.  It hasn’t made me cry as much as the book, and strangely, Emilia Clarke wasn’t how I pictured Lou at all, but Sam Claflin was a good Will (Sam’s features sort of fit how I pictured Will Traynor in my head).  It’s hard to dig into the meat of the story when you only have two hours to go through everything written (if you haven’t read the book, you need to!  Remember to get a box of tissues, a bottle of water – you’ll need the water for the possibly dehydration because of the possible crying – and the book.).  But it was a good movie.  I don’t think Jojo Moyes would be too disappointed.

But now, I’m going to nurse my sore eyelids.

mebeforeyoumovieposter

Yelly Writes

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

Yelly

No I wasn’t in New York, I was in Atlanta the day the two planes crashed into the Twin Towers.  I think most of the people in the world who were old enough to remember and understand what happened can remember where they were when they learned about the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers in New York, into the Pentagon in Washington DC and into that field in Pennsylvania.

NeverForgetI was living with my relatives in Atlanta and it started out like a normal Tuesday.  I’d started helping my uncle with his medical records.  I worked at his clinic, in the back office, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.  They were transitioning into digital records so I was doing data entry for them, taking patient records and inputting all the patient information, doctor’s notes and procedures into a patient records management system that they’d just installed.

I got ready to go to the clinic, went down and had coffee and a piece of toast and left the house with my aunt.  We had a small white TV in the kitchen and it was usually switched on whilst we had coffee.  Strangely on that day, I don’t remember the TV being on.  We got to the office shortly before 9AM.  The first plane had already hit the North Tower so it was definitely after 8:46AM.  I don’t remember what time we got there.  But I remember one of the patients in the waiting room saying “Oh my God!” over and over again whilst staring at the TV.

The TV in the clinic’s waiting room was tuned into CNN (we were in Atlanta after all).  I remember switching on the computer and walking to the water cooler to get myself a huge glass of water. I can still remember rounding the corner and walking into the waiting room.  I remember looking at the television and seeing the the second plane crash into the South Tower.  I can still see it.  I don’t think it’s something you can “unsee”.  It’s one of those images that embeds itself permanently in your brain.  I’m sure it all happened in real time but it I know that I can see it in slow motion.  How the plane flew straight into the South Tower and the ball of fire that exploded shortly after.

The rest of the day passed into a blur.  I don’t remember much about what happened except for all the TV watching we did.  There were a few panicked hours because we couldn’t get in touch with my cousin and her husband who were both in New York.  But at the end of the day, we were all accounted for, safe and sound, rattled, unsettled and terrified, but scared.

I think I never really understood the feeling of helplessness until that day.  Even now, it isn’t difficult to remember the feeling of not being able to wrap my mind around the enormity of what happened to America on that day.  The shock, grief, utter helplessness and eventual anger that everyone felt on that day.  It will always be a day that I will sit quietly and think about life, how blessed I am to have all my loved ones with me.  My heart goes out to all those people who lost their loved ones on that day, not just in New York but in Washington DC and in Pennsylvannia.  We will never forget all those senseless deaths.  Know that we will always remember.

Last year, in November, was the first time I went back to New York after that day in 2001.  We went to the 9/11 Memorial and did the walking tour with a firefighter and a lady who worked in an office across the street from the World Trade Center.  Before we went on the tour, we walked around the 9/11 Tribute Center.  I was fighting the tears by the time we finished walking around the exhibition.  Our tour guides talked about their experiences, what happened to them on that horrible day.  It was heart-breakingly poignant.  They were ordinary people who were thrust into extraordinarily horrific circumstances.  But what struck me was the underlying spirit of hope and the indomitable human spirit.

The enduring Sphere sculpture by Fritz Koenig was once the center of the the Austin J. Tobin Plaza.
The enduring Sphere sculpture by Fritz Koenig was once the center of the the Austin J. Tobin Plaza.

We must all never forget.  We must all remember so that this will never happen again.  We should always try to walk in someone else’s shoes.  Our first response must always be peace.  We must always be guided by love.

NYC Skyline

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Yelly Writes

Moving across the pond!

Yelly

Well, okay, strictly speaking, this turn of phrase applies to people moving from the States to the UK, the pond being the Atlantic Ocean, and strictly speaking, the flight route from Manila to Heathrow doesn’t necessarily involve flying over the Atlantic Ocean at all.  But allow me the poetic license.

It was 8 years ago, on a hot and muggy afternoon, that I got on a plane with two suitcases and moved to the UK.  When I watched The Woman in Gold, a line that the character Gustav Bloch-Bauer said struck me as true for every Filipino who has moved countries: “We [will do] everything to contribute and belong and we are proud of what we’ve done.”  This is true not just for every Filipino, but for everyone who has left home to find a better life.  For those of us who do, we go to our chosen country, respect and follow its laws, its social mores, its norms, learn the language, the vernacular and its culture.  We want to be productive citizens and we want to contribute, we want to make sure that we put our best foot forward because we know, intrinsically, that whatever we do, our actions reflect back on our country, whatever we do forms people’s opinions of our country.

I’ve learned a lot in the 8 years that I’ve moved, about myself and about what I am able to do.  But the learning won’t stop there.  There are more experiences to be had and more lessons to be learned.  God has blessed me with the opportunity to expand my territory, and has surrounded me with people who will always have my best interests and well being at heart who are willing co-travelers with me on this journey of continuous self-discovery (awwwww!!!)♥

Happy moving anniversary to me!

immigration stamp

Yelly Snaps

Learning mac-speak!

Yelly

So I bought my MacBook nearly 3 years ago now but I’ve only just actually started exploring what it can actually do.  Why buy such an expensive piece of kit?  I honestly don’t know.  I blame Alan as he introduced me to the iPhone (I did have a first generation iPod Touch but I looked at that as my mp3 player and game console all in one instead of a communication device really), and my romance with Apple products began (yes, I’m one of those geeks that can happily spend time at the Apple Store moving from one table to another playing with the new gadgets and looking – very longingly – at the new iterations of the MacBook Air).  I used to be a PC person, and I still am for work, but at home, I am mostly a Mac person (although, that being said, I do have a Samsung Galaxy S2 tablet, which I love, really!  That being said, however, if anyone offered me a new iPad Pro, I’d give up my android tablet in a heartbeat!♥).

I’ve just learned to add text to a picture from my Photos folder (yay me and Google!).  I found loads of instructions on the internet but the Mac tips on Here’s The Thing by Ben Patterson is the easiest to follow.  Here’s the link to the article if you’d like to take a look.

And here’s my newly minted header image!  Ha!

cropped-img_0977.jpg

Yelly Writes

Salt and chilli belly pork

Yelly

The original version of this post is in my personal blog.

I used to buy salt and chilli belly pork from Asda prepacked, premade and frozen.  The pork was lovely, and the flavours were simple, uncomplicated and delicious.  There is nothing more enjoyable than straightforward goodness.  But then Asda chose to discontinue the frozen version of the salt and chilli belly pork that I liked (I’d tried the “fresh” refrigerated version and it didn’t taste as nice for some reason).  I’d lost my go-to freezer staple and I didn’t like the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.  It felt like I was losing a good friend for reasons unknown!

Luckily, I still had the packaging sleeve in my recycling bag so I looked at the ingredients list one evening and thought I could actually make the ingredient list a bit simpler.  The taste reminded me of rotisserie pork that was readily available in the Philippines, so I started from there.  Salt and pepper were the mainstays of this lovely Filipino “fast food” option.

There are only 5 ingredients to this lovely no-fail recipe.  Of course you can change the herb of choice added (I’ve tried dill and it works!), remove the chilli and replace it with just pepper, add soy sauce instead of salt…the permutations can go on forever!  Feel free to customise this recipe according to your tastes!  The beauty of this is that you can make it ahead of time and just store it in the fridge and take it out when you’re ready to cook it.  Oh, and like the supermarket version that inspired me to create this recipe, this freezes well too!  I usually have a pack in the freezer ready for when I can’t think of what to cook for supper.  It’s a reliable old stand-by dish!

Enjoy!

Oh and I’d love to hear how you got on with the recipe, if you try it!

Ingredients:Salt and chilli pork belly

  • 500g pork belly strips, rind removed
  • 1 heaping teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1-2 teaspoons chilli flakes (depending on how spicy you want it)
  • 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

  1. Mix salt, spices and oil together in ziplock lock bag (other brands of resealable bags are acceptable!).  Add the belly pork slices and marinade for at least 2 hours, even better if marinated overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 200C.
  3. Line a baking tin with parchment paper and lay the belly pork slices.  Place in the middle of the oven.  Bake the belly pork slices for 30 minutes, turning the belly pork slices halfway (you can also choose to cook this on the barbecue!).
  4. The belly pork slices will come out lovely and brown.  Cut into bite-sized chunks and serve.
  5. This is great with rice and greens — or if you’re watching carbs like me, just greens (like wilted kale or cabbage, or steamed pak choi or choi sum).

Salt and chilli pork with greens

Yelly Reads

Comfort reading

Yelly

There are books that you just pick up and read and it feels like being enveloped in a soft, warm duvet.  These are my comfort books.  Over the years my comfort reading list has evolved and my current list has been my go-to list for a few years.  I had titles by Ingalls Wilder, Austen, Brontës, Keenes, and Blume in my list when I was growing up.  I think these will always be my duvet day standbys, but now that I’m (way) over the age of majority, my tastes are a bit more varied.  I find myself reaching for the following books:

The Languedoc Trilogy by Kate Mosse

LanguedocTrilogyIt’s a series of books that are set in Carcasssone, in the Languedoc region of France, near the Pyrénées.  I find myself repeatedly drawn to books that have a bit of historical fiction in them and these definitely hit the spot!  They are an excellent read.  I started with, of course, the first book of the trilogy, Labyrinth.  Once I’d read this, I knew I had to get the other books to read.  So I moved on to read Sepulchre and Citadel.  It’s not difficult reading, even with the history and the Occitan language inclusions.  I’ve read each book about twice now.  Next on my to-read list is Kate Mosse’s Winter Ghosts, which is also set in the Languedoc region.

Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling

HarryPotterbooksSo who hasn’t read the Harry Potter books?  I fell in love with the world that J.K. Rowling created.  I first started with the Scholastic Books version and moved on to the Bloomsbury editions which I enjoyed the most.  It had all the British references that makes Harry Potter Harry Potter.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

EatPrayLoveI was still in the Philippines when I watched Oprah Winfrey interview Elizabeth Gilbert in 2007.  Oprah waxed lyrical about the book, how the insights changed her life.  That piqued my interest but I didn’t necessarily think it was going to be this mind-blowing read.  It wasn’t until I moved to England that I actually read the book, and I read the book at just the right time.  I read it when I was at a crossroads of my life and needed to make a lot of difficult decisions about the direction I wanted my life to take and who I wanted to have in my life when I moved forward.  It changed my life and helped me get a different perspective.  I still read the book, when I need to be inspired or need to think about things differently.  Yep, the book is amazing like that.  I even did an Oprah – I bought the copies of the books and sent it to my friends so they could read it too!

Julie and Julia: My Year Of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

JulieandJuliaI love this book but I think part of the reason I love this book is because I really did love the movie and I so loved Amy Adams in it.  Amy Adams made the character relatable and made me want to read the book (mostly because I love to cook, read cookbooks and I have a blog where I can be, more often than not, self-deprecating).  I think Oprah liked the book as well, which was another factor (I do love Oprah’s book club choices!).  I know there are a lot of reviews about how bad Julie Powell really is, how selfish she is and self-centered and all that.  But when I read the book, I found myself wanting to find out how she managed to dig herself out of the hole she put herself in.  I mean, I know that she had an affair (this wasn’t in the movie), but Julie Powell in her book certainly wasn’t a flat character!

The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris

thehappinesstrapI was introduced to this book by my therapist.  I needed counselling because I was fast approaching a burn-out at work and I was getting more and more sick because of stress and it was affecting my performance and my psyche.  I absolutely loved this book because it allowed me to learn how to tackle my worrying (most eldest children will be able to relate to the pressure that we put ourselves under to be perfect, how we all constantly worry that we won’t measure up).  The most important thing is that it taught me to think about my worrying differently.  I think I’m a long way away from not being a worry-wort (I think that’s what makes me good at my job – I worry about the future too much!) but I’m getting better at dealing with the stress that worrying brings.  It is a different approach to therapy.  I still read portions of it when I have moments.

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

TheGirlOnTheTrainI LOVE this book.  I bought it off Amazon because it was about a girl who rode a train everyday.  Hello! My daily work commute involves me getting on a train for over an hour to get to work.  It was something I thought I could relate to (no spoilers so that’s all I’m going to say).  But I didn’t expect this lovely little thriller to grip me in the way that it did.  I couldn’t wait to get home so that I could read more of it and find out how the story unfolded.  I nearly missed my several times because I was so engrossed!  Am so looking forward to Paula Hawkins’ second book.  This was an amazing debut!  I would suggest reading it before the movie hits the screens (Emily Blunt’s in it!) because they’ve changed a few things in the screenplay.

Yelly Writes

Say hello!

Yelly

I’d love to hear from everyone reading the blog.  It’s nice to have a conversation.  Could I ask y’all to say hello please and leave comments on the post please.  Feedback is always good!

This may sound trite, but I do look forward to hearing from you!

Nathan Sawaya - The Art of the Brick

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