My very own "Husband Appreciation Day"

This is not one of my usual posts.

This one's not my typical blogposts. No. No recipe or whatevs. Just a plain "I appreciate my hubby" kind of post.

No. It's not our wedding anniversary. Today, I just woke up listening to Paramore's "Still Into You" and thought of making this for him... Just because.


Our story.

I have been married to my husband for more than 5 years now, and we have been together for almost 7. The marriage wasn't always butterflies and rainbows, BUT never rocks and thorns. I haven't told him how much I appreciated him for all those years though. So I thought this would be my chance. :)

You see, my husband has been in a band for almost half of his life. He has been playing the bass and guitar as far as he can remember. Surprisingly, he has never strayed, took any substance, smoked nor drank alcohol EVER. I never thought that it was possible, considering he's not even in a Christian/gospel band. Believe it or not, he's in a rock band.

I'll forever be your fan girl. 

For years, he had his own fair share of fans, groupies--even stalkers. He has always kept a distance from them. And since he never got drunk, nor have ever been under the influence, he never had any problem of making huuuuuge mistake/s of having to sleep with or do whatever crazy things anyone could possibly imagine to any of them. I am indeed one lucky girl. Well, me and my girls are soooo lucky.

I can still remember the first time that we met. He and his brother had a day job, aside from being one of those pogi-rock bands in the country back then. At that time, I was his brother's officemate. Since I had a band myself back then, he invited me to tag along at one of his band's radio tours. The rest, as they say, is history.

By the way, NO, I'm not a groupie-turned-rockstar's-wifey. No babies before the wedding and all that stuff neither. We had an old-fashioned courtship. We dated and got married a year and a half later. :)

So fast forward 7 years later, we already have two kids and he's still in a band. We're still together, without any complications. I couldn't be any happier.


Thank you, video games and comic books.


As I have told you before, he never strayed, smoked, nor took any substance or alcohol. Don't get me wrong, he's no wuss. Just because people don't do those things, doesn't mean they're wusses. In fact, I find those people way more courageous. Having the resolve to stay away from those vices is just remarkable. I have nothing against people who love alcohol and all that stuff, because I, too, smoked and drank when I was younger as well. But I never regretted the day I stopped.

I found him interesting back then, for having such profession BUT never had the urge to take those stuff. Nope, not even a sip of beer. Root beer, yes. But never THE beer. And for that I am truly thankful. I need not have to worry about nursing a hungover husband, an emphysemic one, nor have an eventful "Surprise! You have a love child." moment.

In my opinion, it was all because of the comic books and video games. When he was younger, he just loved LOVED playing video games. He always told me about his love for video games. How he's been playing them waaayyy longer than he has played any musical instruments. And that he's been collecting all these comic books and action figures for so many years now.

I figured this may have attributed to his personality. How calm he seems in dire situations, how great of a driver he is, and how much of a child-at-heart this man is. Probably the reason why he also doesn't have any other vices. I mean, have you seen Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory) got drunk?

Okay, fine. Yep. Sheldon did got drunk once over a Long Island Ice Tea. Forget that I compared them then. Haha!

Anyway, he may not be a rocket scientist or a physicist, but I got me a computer geek. You see, aside from being a musician, he's also a computer guy. An IT dude whose got lots of certifications in his belt, just like a doctor with a lot of specialties (if there's one).

Yep. I married a computer-geek-slash-comic-book-nerd-slash-rockstar.

He may not have that typical "musician look" we usually see, with all the tattoos and what-nots, but he just plays the guitar and bass beautifully. He doesn't look like a nerd either. He may look like your typical Average Joe, but for me, he's just exceptional. Kinda like Clark Kent. He's my Superman. :)

Aaaand cue John Mayer's "Daughters" :)

I know our marriage isn't perfect. But I have always known that he's the best. How he has provided for me and our daughters the things we needed for all those years, while I stayed home to take care of them, after I quit my job 6 years back after almost having a miscarriage. How he nursed me when I gave birth to both daughters, and all those times that I get sick. How he has always appreciated my cooking, and even the smallest things that I do. How he never gets mad at how much I have been a Somerholic (haha!). How he suddenly became a cat person because of me. How he has always been there for me and the kids through thick and thin. How he always And how he always makes us feel loved.

He loves computer games... Now he loves cats, too!

You have a genuinely pure and gentle heart.

Thanks, Dad.

I love you. And I intend to love you even if we get waaaay too wrinkly, and too old to even walk a mile.


Lovelots,

Mom



This post is not your typical mommy blog post. No recipes. Just a plain "Thank you, husband. I appreciate and love you so much." kind of blog post.

Easy-To-Cook Creamy Carbonara and Garlic Bread

Pasta night at la mia casa. I just love eating and cooking pasta! I loooove Italian food too. I could move to Italy, if I could... But then again, I don't speaking Italian. Hahaha!

Kidding aside, the little one asked me if I could conjure up a nice pasta dish for dinner. Since my daughter would only go for pasta with white sauce (she hates HATES tomato sauce!), it is usually carbonara or alfredo that we end up making... ooooor mac and cheese. Hehe!

So for now, kitchen rockstars, I would like to share with you my Kuya's carbonara recipe... And my garlic spread recipe (for the garlic bread) as well. :)

For the carbonara, you will need the following:

200grams pasta

100grams bacon, cut to small squares

50grams ham, cut to squares

1 medium onion, cubed

8-10pcs button mushrooms, thinly sliced

2tbsp olive oil

2tbsp butter

1can Cream of Mushroom

250ml evaporated milk

250ml cream

parmesan cheese

salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste

Procedure:

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.

2. In a medium saucepan, pour olive oil and melt butter on medium heat. Make sure the olive oil goes first, to use as buffer, so the butter won't burn.
3. Brown the bacon, until it turns a bit crispy. Drain and remove from pan.
4. Throw in the ham as well using the same oil + butter. Once golden brown, place HALF of the cooked bacon, leaving the other half for garnish.
5. Sautee the onion with the meat until translucent.
6. Mix the sliced mushrooms for about a couple of minutes.
7. Pour cream of mushroom, evaporated milk and cream into the mixture. Mix thoroughly until it reaches into a boil.
8. Add nutmeg to enhance the creamy flavour, salt and pepper, to taste.
9. Serve with parmesan cheese  (I used the store-bought grated parmesan. Not as good as THE parmesan, but it'll do this stormy day,) and crispy bacon on top, as well as garlic bread on the side.

Kiddie and adult servings. Yum!

Now, for the garlic bread, you will need:

bread
4 cloves of garlic, smashed to release the flavour
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp basil, minced

Procedure:

1. Under low heat, melt butter with olive oil.
2. Sautee garlic until golden brown.
3. Mix basil. If you can't find fresh basil, use about half a teaspoon dried basil instead.
4. Spread mixture on bread. You can use any type of bread. This time, I used the left over pandesal from breakfast. :)
5. Pop it in the toaster for 3 minutes.


Happy eating... or should I say, buon appetito! :)