The Women Who Knead

I was one of the nosiest students Tita Leni had in cake decorating class. I think I could even vie for the nosiest student in their culinary studio. I’m not sure if I should be proud of it but I’m sure they miss me there. :-D Before classes ended, I’ve been relentlessly teasing Tita that we have a Christmas party at her Forbes Park residence and yesterday we did. It was very gracious of her to host the party and my family was in full attendance. Ma and Orie were also students of Tita.

Tita’s house was elegant and I love her interiors and how every room was nicely decorated for Christmas. She has a cute little dog named Patches who was very playful and energetic. Patches would prod me to play ball with him and I was already catching my breath and yet he was still high and playful.

It was time for lunch and we all stayed at the dining area. The long rectangular dining table was elaborately set with silverware and fine china. We were motioned where each one will be seated and we took our turns to the buffet table. In attendance also were Tita Peachy, Tita Karen, Tita Lou and Tita Leni’s students from sausage making class. It was a fun group with very good home cooked food. I love the pansit and fried lumpiang ubod. Really excellent cooking.

All the Titas that I mentioned are all moms in their 40s (except for Tita Leni who is in her late 60s) and they’re my good friends. We had lunch once during Tita Karen’s birthday at Cyma and all of us text or call each other regularly mostly to share tips about our craft. We are bonded by our passion and interest in pastry and cake decorating. We will be having our own baking session at my home after Christmas. We agreed to meet and try different recipes. I look forward to this. I’m actually excited about it. I think Tita Leni is coming along too. :-)

A woman who kneads is a friend in deed.

Advent Recollection

The Retreat for Daily Life is about to end. I only have one more consultation with Riza this coming week and the program ends with that. Fourteen weeks passed by so fast. Today, I had a half-day advent recollection at Ateneo to officially end the program. I was both sad and happy at the same time - sad because I won’t be seeing Riza on a weekly basis and to a certain extent I am anxious as I don’t know if my walk will be the same when I’m already alone; happy because I have begun my spiritual journey and I met wonderful people with this group. I also realized that I am happy where He has led me. I remember commencing the program with pain and heartaches. There were tears, confusion and the stream of mixed emotions but all’s well that ends well.

The recollection master Fr. Jojo was an excellent one. He gave three simple points about God’s presence. It is that His presence is surprising, overwhelming and consoling. I totally agree. In the midst of my busy schedule, He makes His presence felt in many different ways. He throws a wild card just when I thought things are going well. Many times, I refuse to deal with His wild cards but He always has His way.

Had I known I’d end up in a better place now, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have cried as much. I should have trusted more. I should have increased my faith but no regrets. It’s all part of the walk with Him. O:-)

New Character Cupcake and Cake Designs

Take a bite from our sweet selection at http://www.sweetsuccess888.multiply.com/. It took us more then three (3) weeks to have all the photos edited and uploaded in our Multiply site. The long wait is over. Finally today, our new designs are out and new albums have been published. New pictures are now available ranging from cupcakes, to fondant cake and handcrafted designer cookies.

Enjoy! Delicioso. Here's a sneak peek to stir your cravings.

Answered Prayers

Moving to Makati has got me “exercising” during the mornings and evenings. My commute demands that I go up and down a plight of stairs and to walk a certain distance. It ain’t bad at all. I’m an absentee from Fitness First for several months now and the daily commute is just what I need. A few weeks back, I saw an article about Christmas gift suggestions and one item that caught my attention was the pedometer. I wonder if I could even walk 10,000 steps a day. Maybe I just could. On certain days, I walk in my ballerina flats. This makes my walk more comfortable. I figured I have to be kinder to my back and legs. You see, I’m not getting any younger. Though the commute was initially such a hassle, I now appreciate it.

For more than a week now, my prayer time has changed with no set time for me to be still and reflect. I used to pray the rosary on my way to work when I was still based in Ortigas and the one hour commute had me sitting down the whole time. It was the perfect arrangement. However, with my commute to Makati, it’s just not the same. I’ve been wondering how I could pray with this setup. I need to. Well, my prayer was answered today. I bumped into a colleague of mine and we had a chit chat and she mentioned in passing that she’ll be going to Mass by noon time. How could I forget that there was a chapel at the opposite wing. Riza, my retreat guide, mentioned it to me before. So today, I went to Mass. I don’t usually go to Mass on weekdays but today I just did and you know what? I like the calm that it gave me. It’s pure serenity.

My First Christmas Gift

When I got home, I saw gifts with greeting cards on the living room. As it turns out, Marissa’s (my sister based in San Francisco) package arrived today. I was hoping that everything would be intact. She informed me that she placed angpao inside the greeting cards and had these sent via LBC. Uh oh. That got me alarmed. Anyway, it was a blessing that her gifts arrived safely.

Shobe, (that’s how I call Marissa) sent me a greeting card and gifts. I was surprised to see a $100 bill inside my greeting card and that wasn’t enough. Separately, I had 2 gifts from her as well. A set of fashionable key holder and a set of metallic canisters for my brick a bracks. I was happy to receive these well thought of presents but at the same time, I was sad that for the 2nd straight year, shobe wasn’t around to celebrate Christmas with us. I felt I miss having her around. I guess that’s just the way it is when all siblings are all grown up and we have our own choices in life. Shobe will be home in February for a visit. I wish Koc will be home too so we can have a family reunion.

Makati Girl’s First Day

I love Makati because of shopping on weekends but wait till you see this business district on a weekday. It’s terrible! My usual commute to Ortigas takes me an hour and I’m comfortably seated the whole time but Makati?! I have to allocate an hour and a half for the commute if I will take the LRT. I was late for work and it’s my first day at Makati. Most of the people at work were late as well.

When I got to the office, the air conditioning unit was not turned on and it was oven hot. It was a pleasant surprise though when I saw my office. I saw my name posted on the closed door and I enthusiastically opened it. Right before me was the view of Makati’s skyline and I had a bird’s eye view of the poolside of Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The floor was carpeted and the room smelled of wood and I had a coffee table with 3 cushioned chairs in the middle of my office. It was a wonderful sight and a welcome change. I can now experience the privacy of talking with colleagues and focusing on tasks that had to be accomplished minus the disruptions. How I love it.

Despite the traffic, I’m happy to enjoy the peace and quiet that I need. This is my sanctuary.

On the First Day of Christmas

It’s the first day of December and our household is filled with so many activities. So much had to be done as we are as usual expecting the stream of orders for Ma’s pastries. I was luckily able to pace myself over the weekend. I finally found the time to watch TV and I consider this a luxury. For me to idly stay in bed and relax, this is such a rare opportunity for me.

I spent the day decorating cupcakes and working on the product shoots with Orie. I was hoping we’ll finish early but unfortunately, we didn’t. We have so far worked on 5 themed cupcakes and all of them are waiting to be uploaded. It’s a lot of work not because it’s complicated to do so but because we have limited time.

I think I’ll be able to pick up more and more of the Christmas spirit in the coming days.