The Start of New Beginnings

I know I've mentioned this in a previous entry. Last July we finally moved in our new house. Mom spent an awful LOT of money to transform it into a cute and charming house. It's not big and it's really nothing grand, but my few friends and relatives who have seen it find it adorable and even say it has character.

It took a lot of getting used to since it's so far from everything. We used to rent this apartment in Makati which was near the mall, the grocery, and work. Everything was accessible. But now that we've moved to Cainta in the province of Rizal, even going to the mall can prove to be a hassle. It's funny cos up to now, we still buy our Alkaline water at the water refilling station beside our old apartment, we still go to Ayala every weekend, and Mom gives me ALL the bills that can't be paid through BPI Phone banking so I could pay it at the bank. I guess old habits just die hard, ey?!

Our life is kind of different, and somewhat complicated, but at least now we have a house we can call our own. And to start our new life in our new home, even if we've been living there for over 4 months now, we finally had our house blessing last November 27.

Mom and our helper, Ate Dor, had been preparing for this since Friday night. Since I'm no good with cooking or anything to do with food prep, I just watched them. And come Saturday, we waited for Fr. Hazel to come and bless our humble abode. Here are some of the photos:




It's just funny that Fr. Hazel seemed to be expecting a big family. He was looking for KIDS, and I think he was sort of disappointed to see adults. Well sorry Father, no kids yet hahaha!

As for the food that was prepared a night before, we ended up having enough food for about 30 people. Mom got this attitude from my grandmother who always made sure there was PLENTY of food. If there were leftovers (which happens all the time), they're wrapped in foils and given to our relatives, much to their delight! :)

We had Chicken Fingers which we fried on the day of the blessing to keep it crispy. We also mopped the excess oil with paper towels. Mom's a health-freak so this HAD to be done.

Also on the health-side, Mom also made salad out of apples and carrots with walnuts. She mixed the fruits in All-Purpose Cream, then added the walnuts after.

Always present in special occasions (especially my birthday, at my request), Mom made her super special Baked Lasagna. My God I will swear on my life that this is PURE, SHEER GOODNESS!

My officemates and friends LOVE this! What I know is that Mom mixes cheese with the spaghetti sauce already, and uses not just any kind of ground beef, but ground sirloin. Then after baking, she tops it off with MORE CHEESE!! Oh yeah! I can die eating this thing! :D

Last but not the least, we had Refrigerator Cake for dessert.

Mom "accidentally" discovered this, because it's not the usual mango ref cake. She told me she was eating Graham crackers and decided to play around with it. She took a banana sliced it and put whipped cream. It was that good, she really had to make it for our house blessing. And true enough, it was good! Not too sweet, just the way we like it. Perfect with coffee, too! :)

That would be my Aunt, Uncle, Mom, and Father Hazel enjoying the food! :) My Aunt and Uncle came in time for chow time hahaha!

It felt so different after the house was blessed, not that there was anything funky going on in there. It's just there's this peace I couldn't put a finger on.

And also this Christmas is going to be our first Christmas in the house. I'm really excited! I'm very sure it's going to be the first of many happy Christmases ahead! :) It's our home now, all ours! No more thinking of rent! It may be far, but I always enjoy coming home to it every night despite the traffic! :)