TOPAZ HORIZON

I wrote an article for ANCx a few days ago about how Filipinos are helping the people affected by the Taan Volcano eruption. But it was a short list and doesn't even begin to cover just how Pinoys are once again rising to the occasion of facing calamity with bayanihan.

Puntahan niyo yung Crisis Response to The Volcanic Eruption sa Facebook and it's story after story of how people are helping. Nakakataba ng puso! 

At first, sa Facebook feed ko, ang dami kong nakita na reklamo about the helping. Bakit daw kailangan pang i-post sa Facebook. Kung totoo raw ang tulong, hindi na kailangan ipagyabang. You know, I never thought of those stories as pagyayabang. In my mind, they are like reporters. "Guys, andito kami sa Lipa and eto ang sitwasyon dito and eto nag-abot kami ng 150 food packs pero kulang pa!" And madalas the reports are funny and silly, sad and alarming, amusing and inspiring.

Tumpak!

Here are a few of my favorites:


First on my list is CDO. My family has been buying CDO Bibbo hotdogs and other meats for years now. So I'm so happy that CDO is one of the many brands that are helping the evacuees. Look at their happy faces! And look at how every balde of goods (very useful ang balde also!) has a sweet and encouraging note! Kung pansinin niyo yung last photo, every note is different. Personalized and handwritten! Talagang galing sa puso. Salamat, CDO!



Next is this super viral photo on how the evacuees look like they're having a fashion show with the donated clothes they received. May mga nainis sa kanila kasi wag na raw mapili. Guys, mukha bang ungrateful yang mga mukhang yan? They look like they're having fun! Honestly, it is so hard to have fun if you just lost your home, everything you own, your way of life, and you're relying on other people to feed and clothe you. Ewan ko, ha, pero feeling ko if nangyari yan sa akin, iiyak ako every day. So to see our fellow Pinoys having a good time despite everything inspires me!

That said, organizations are appealing to us na mag-donate po tayo ng maayos na damit. No gowns, lingerie, stripper shoes, and the like. Isipin niyo, "Kung ako nasa evacuation center, ano ang gusto kong suotin?"


I like this also: the soldiers are here! Historically, when it comes to calamities, medyo palpak ang pamahalaan natin. Mas mabilis pa mag-respond ang civilians sa pag mobilize ng rescue and relief efforts. Tapos, the current admin slashed the annual calamity fund by P4 billion. We are a country of super typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions! Ewan ko na lang talaga! But this photo of our soldiers and the many other photos of government organizations galvanizing their people and resources to help the evacuees is a good thing to see. Kasi tumutulong naman talaga ang public servants natin. More stories like this please!

So thoughtful—from mask and kumot to fresh underwear! Thanks, Ana!

SLEX was so full of volunteers that the traffic was so bad. But everyone was happy!

Happy birthday, Nanay Belen! God bless you po!

So many stories of private citizens helping out! Seriously, it's so wonderful how Pinoys always band together in times of crisis. Kasi personally, the money that goes to buying these relief goods come out of their own pockets. The time spent to buy, pack and deliver these goods! And all done with smile! Sobrang nakaka-proud of Filipinos, diba!

Every time we suffer from a calamity, nakakaiyak but very quickly, the stories become really uplifting. I am so grateful to the many Filipinos who keep us updated, entertained, and inspired. Grabe ang generosity and pagmamalasakit ng mga Pinoy.

Please keep telling us all how to open our hearts, our schedules, and our wallets to help out. This is what makes us Filipinos great. Post lang kayo nang post please! And God bless you for your help!

I know you all have noticed that I'm not really sharing personal stories and photos anymore. Ironic since I blogged last year that I'm ready to blog again. You know what happened? My kids discovered my blog.


Yep. And while I don't mind spilling my guts to you all, I found that I was uncomfortable with the thought of my kids reading how I feel about motherhood. Because you know too-honest me—I just don't enjoy motherhood 24/7. I don't even think I'm a great mama 24/7. Who is???

But that's the whole thing about motherhood for the last few millennia. We mothers kept quiet. We just say, "Oh it's the most wonderful thing, a woman's peak accomplishment, the only thing worth living for!" We basically never talk about how hard it is, how it wrecks your body and your sanity, how punishing it is. We just grin and bear it.

Well, I don't. Not because I hate motherhood. I love it. I love it so much actually, it's so corny. But I can love it if I can be honest about it. There's something so incredibly liberating and there's so much tension and worry released when I can say, "This is hard and I want to scream and just curl up and sleep for 10 years!" Then after I say that, I feel better and I can be a better mama. Anyone else feels the same way???

Anyway, well, my kids discovered ze blog and now it's weird. I dunno what to do.


Well, I will still blog. I'll definitely still blog! I just don't know what I'm going to blog about. Maybe I'll just do reviews now—Frances Finds stuff for your home! Frances Food! Frances Fun! Frances Faves!  It's all going to be beauty, fashion, food, travel and more! That sounds safe, right. Also I must admit, it's more guaranteed to get more search results than my usual weepy confessions. What do you think???

It's so exhausting how my blog keeps evolving. But at the same time, it's kinda nice, seeing how I evolve, or how my circumstances change. I used to be so chill and full of myself, like, I was the coolest mom in the world because I got everything under control—my weight, my hair, my nails, my schedule, my kids. Coolest mama evah! Ya, I said that all the time.

But now I'm a mess haha I'm happier now actually, even though I'm never on top of things. Weird. I feel like every day now is SURVIVAL! And yet, because I'm just letting go a lot, I'm more relaxed. What will be will be. And I also depend on God a lot now. "Lord God, You love my boys more than I do. You love me more than I love myself. So I cast all my cares on You and You just do everything through me. Amen!" And you bet I can breathe after that!


Anyway, it's kinda nice (and kinda not nice haha) that my kids know I'm so in love with them. And that their Mama is just human and has struggles even with such a gift as them, and that I am—more and more—learning to trust God with this whole motherhood thing. I hope that they see that no matter how hard it was for me, especially when they were young, we more than survived and thrived, we had a great time. These last 10 years were the most challenging but also the most amazing years of my life. And it's because of them, my three boys. I hope they read that!

*My prayer claims God's promise in I Peter 5:7: "Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you." I love the play on words in that verse, how the meaning of "cares" is "worries" or "anxiety" and then the meaning becomes "to look after, to feel concern, to love" in the second part of the verse. 

My son, Vito, helped me out in the kitchen last weekend. We checked out the stuff in our ref and pantry and I decided I have ingredients for a curry dish. Vito has never had curry before so he declared he'll cook it but he won't eat it. Well, we'll see about that!

So this is my recipe for Shrimp Curry in Coconut Milk. But further down this post, I'll tell you how you can make it your own with a few tweaks. That's what I love so much about cooking—you can take any old recipe and make it your own!


Shrimp Curry in Coconut Milk

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used Fisherfarms Shrimp Cocktail)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of green peas (I used Jolly)
1/2 tsp curry powder (I used McCormick)
salt to taste
1 can stewed tomatoes (I used S&W)
1 pouch coconut milk (I used Coco Mama)
1/8 cup calamansi juice (around 6-8 calamansi)
(optional) 1 tsp red pepper chili flakes
(optional) 1 tsp dried basil OR fresh basil, chopped

Procedure:
Heat oil in pan.
Add onion, garlic, and peas. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the whole can of tomatoes (juice and all!) and coconut milk. Mix well.
Add a pinch of salt and curry powder.
Bring to boil. Cover and simmer on low heat until sauce thickens or about 10 minutes.
Add shrimp and cook for 5 minutes or until shrimp is pink.
Add calamansi juice. Sprinkle basil. Stir.
Serve over hot rice!

He loved it! He ate it all up and asked for another bowl!

This was SO GOOD!

Now here are the ways you can tweak it:

1. Shrimp. If you're going more plant-based or are vegetarian, you can easily swap out the shrimp with chickpeas or broccoli or cauliflower. I'll make vegetable curry next and put red bell peppers, chickpeas, spinach!

2. Canned tomatoes. S&W is my favorite canned tomatoes brand because it's already stewed with other vegetables and spices so it tastes wonderful. I use it for tomato soup, pasta, and other tomato-sauce dishes. I just revealed one of my top kitchen secrets!!! But you can choose other brands and other kinds of canned tomatoes, but it should be canned. If you must use fresh tomatoes, use really ripe ones and boil them first so they're really soft and tender and juicy.


3. I think this recipe will be better if it has heat in it. I really wanted to add chili flakes or chopped chilis, but since my kids don't like spicy food, I didn't add any hot stuff.

4. You can use any cooking oil but I like coconut oil with this dish because I think it will really bring out the flavor of the coconut milk.

Tell me once you try it and tell me how you tweaked it, too!