Happy 11th Birthday, to my son Calix

11 years ago today, I became a mom for the first time and it only seemed like yesterday I gave birth to my son I named Claude Calix Murphy :) My life was forever changed dramatically, and for the good, I might add. At 17, I had no idea what was in store. None whatsoever, I guess no woman can truly know what childbirth or having a child of their is like until it happens for the first time. He's the one to introduce me into motherhood and taught me so much about the demands of parenting - which is as tiring as it is fun. He allowed me to make those mistakes all first time mothers make and through them we both grew together. Calix is a very loving son, he's able to let go of offenses in the blink of an eye. When I make mistakes, as all moms do, his heart is forgiving. And believe me I've had to receive his forgiveness many times over. I wish I can be more like him: quick to forgive, open handed, soft hearted and prepared to understand.

And here goes to Calix, my once so little baby and yet still the smallest in his class and football team hehe :) I can still see the little boy in him and yet I can also see the fine young man he is becoming... and it is indeed a bittersweet change to notice.

Calix, right from the very first time I held you in my arms, I knew you are special and I will always be thankful to God because not everyone is as lucky as me to be blessed with a son like you. I know sometimes I may be a little too hard on you but I only want you to understand your mistakes so that you learn from them. I want you to see that you can be anything you long to be, that you can stand on my shoulders to reach the heights I have only dreamed of. I will always be here for you, every step of the way and in every walk of life.

I love you more than I can say and your Dad and I couldn't be more proud of you our hearts could burst. Thank you for bringing such joy and sunshine into our lives, for being the loving, caring, and giving Kuya to your little brothers like no other! Sometimes you could even understand them much more than I do :) You and your brothers are the best and I am so glad you are all my sons!

Happy Birthday, anak! May these upcoming years be filled with fun, growth and adventure.


P.S.

Didn't you tell me you wanted to see Cirque Du Soleil - Dralion? Oh lookie, what do we have here?! :D

Chicken and Sultana Casserole

Je suis un peu triste en ce moment in english, I'm pretty sad right now lol thank you Google translate :) Missing the hubby like mad who is in an oil rig somewhere in Egypt since Thursday 13th of September (my birthday!) hence I decided to cook and blog to cheer myself up a little bit ;)

So our dinner for tonight is called Chicken and Sultana Casserole...

Total Time:

15-20 min

Prep

5-7 min

Cook

8-10 min

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 60g (2oz) butter
• 500 g (1lb) chicken strips
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 red onions chopped
• 155g (5oz) button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
• 125g (4oz) sliced ham, chopped
• 185mL (6fl oz) chicken stock
• 4 tbsp white wine
• 440g (14oz) canned peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 90g (3oz) sultanas (Sultanas and raisins are both dried white grapes but sultanas are from seedless varieties. They are golden in color and tend to be plumper, sweeter and juicier than other raisins)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

How To Cook:

1.  Melt butter in a large frying pan and cook chicken over a medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan using slotted spoon and set aside to keep warm.
2. Add garlic, onions and mushrooms to pan and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute longer. Return chicken to pan with ham, stock, wine, tomatoes, sultanas, parsley and basil and cook until sauce thickens slightly. Serve with rice.

 Happy eating and see you again next time!

Fettuccine Carbona and Peaches in Cinnamon Syrup

Here's another budget-friendly quick-fix recipe to get a simple meal on your table for you and your family. One of the easiest and quickest pasta you can make is Fettuccine Carbonara plus Peaches in Cinnamon Syrup as your desert.

FETTUCCINE CARBONA

Total Time:

30 min

Prep

5 min

Cook

25 min

Serves 4
Ingredients:

1. 500 g (1lb) fettuccine
2. 1 tablespoon olive oil

CARBONARA SAUCE

• 4 eggs
• 3 tablespoons double cream
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• grounds black pepper
• slices of bacon

How To Cook:

1. Cook fettuccine in boiling water in a large saucepan following packet directions. Drain then toss through 2 tablespoons oil and set aside to keep warm.
2. To make sauce, place eggs, cream and Parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl and beat well to combine. Season to taste with black pepper. (I've added an extra egg as well as a little bit more of cream because my kids love the sauce like scrambled eggs)
3. Heat remaining oil in a large-frying pan and cook bacon for 4-5 minutes or until crisp. Add fettuccine  and toss well. Pour egg mixture into pan and toss over a low heat for 1 minute or until egg is almost cooked. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

PEACHES IN CINNAMON SYRUP

my boys helping mommy prepare our desert

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons orange juice concentrate (I used freshly squeezed oranges)
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• canned peaches, drained
• you can also add 1 tablespoon Cointreau (Orange liqueur) if available

How To Prepare:

1. Place orange juice concentrate, caster sugar, lemon juice, Cointreau, water, cloves and cinnamon stick in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until mixture becomes syrupy.
2. Place peaches on a plate and pour syrup over.

Thanks for reading and I'll catch you all next time!

Pork Stroganoff

And today's quick and easy meal menu is... Pork Stroganoff :)

Total Time:

40 min

Prep

10 min

Cook

30 min

Ingredients:

• 375 g (12 oz) fettuccine
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 500 g (1 lb) pork fillet, cut into strips
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, halved or quartered and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup flour seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon salt, dash pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 can (14 ounces) cups beef broth
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup sour cream

How To Cook:

1. Cook   fettuccine in boiling water in a large saucepan following packet instructions. Drain and toss through olive oil, minced garlic and poppy seeds (I used sesame seeds as an alternative as poppy seeds are not available here in Dubai) Set aside to keep warm.
2. Sauté sliced mushrooms in butter in a large skillet until just tender. Remove to a bowl; set aside.
3. Toss pork in seasoned flour to coat, shake off excess. 
4. Add oil to skillet; brown pork with onions, stirring frequently. Add back the mushrooms, the beef broth, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer briskly for 5 minutes. Cover and continue to simmer over low heat for 20 minutes longer.
5. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve immediately with fettuccine. 

Enjoy and Happy Eating! :)

Orange Pork Chops

I know..I know...I haven't been on since no one cares how long, but now I'm back so let's get down to business and cut the crappucino LOL! :p

I am by no means an expert in the kitchen. In fact, this is one shortcoming that really plagues me as a mom. Luckily, my hubby is one helluva great cook (master chef in his past life as he says although he's not really good in clean ups :p) but I really did learn quite a lot from him. So recently,  I’ve made it a personal goal to cook more, and to experiment in the kitchen, to put more wholesome, home-cooked meals on my family’s table. And to keep myself accountable I am going to be blogging about this journey. Woop! =D>

So here's a quick fix meal I prepared for tonight. I hope you enjoy this recipe, just as my family did! 

Total Time:

30 min

Prep

10 min

Cook

20 min

 Orange Pork Chops

Ingredients: 

• 5 Pork Chops
• 250 mL (8 fl oz) orange juice 
• 2.5 tbsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp orange marlmalade
• ground pepper
• 1 tbsp oil
•  15 g (1/2 ox) butter

How To Cook:

1. Combine coriander and black pepper and sprinkle over chops. 
2. Heat oil and butter in a frying pan and cook chops over high heat for 2-3 minutes each side.
3. Add orange juice and marmalade and cook for 10-15 minutes longer, or until chops are cooked through and sauce thickens slightly.
4. Prepare vegetables of  your choice to accompany Orange Pork Chops

 
Optional Desert:
Melon Salad
Ingredients:

•  250 g (8 oz) natural yogurt
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lime rind
• 1/2 melon, peeled, seeded and sliced
• 3 tbsps honey
• 3 tbsps chopped walnuuts

How To Prepare:

1.  Combine yogurt, lime juice and lime rind in a small bowl
2. Arrange melons on individual serving plates. Spoon yogurt mixture over fruit, drizzle honey and sprinkle walnuts.

Happy home cooking! Until next time... /bye

Virgo-gos Road Trip

Awesome weekend getaway with two of my best girlies, Therese and Tracy! And here the best highlights of the first of many road trips to come:

1.       Hotel Hopping: Switching hotels all around Abu Dhabi in attempt to find restaurants/bars serving alcohols which didn't came too easy considering it's the Holy month of Ramadan

2.       Speed Craze: Drove the Ford Mustang GT hitting 210km/hr speed on our way to Liwa.

3.       Cheeky Weather: Experienced sandstorm then rain showers in a scorching 117 degrees summer heat within 10 minutes ;)

4.       Sands of Liwa: We got stuck in the sand attempting to find a great spot for taking pictures. Two men with a pickup truck came but failed to help us out. Luckily a tanker truck carrying sweet water finally pulled the Mustang out. Fact: people from the Western Region are very generous and really helpful without expecting anything in return. But then of course we insisted to give them some money for the trouble we've caused them; not to mention eating probably a handful of sand grains during the attempt but hey so did we plus stiff, brittle and dry hair!

  

@Aloft Hotel - our dwelling for one night

@Le Meridien Hotel

@Capital Gate Hyatt

Roaming around Abu Dhabi

@Emirates Palace Hotel

@Hakassan- Emirates Palace Hotel

candid shot taken by Tracy

photo taken by: Tracy :)

photo taken by: Tracy :)

somewhere in the middle of Liwa Desert

 
 Therese made this beautiful, movie-like masterpiece video (naks!) so as to keep the good times rollin'! Cape girls, c'est la vie!!!

Our Lovestory

After getting myself into so much trouble trying to get hold of this love letter/story, now here it is...the sweet side of  the love of my life, Joseph King. Written back in 2008, this was our entry for a Valentine's Day treat courtesy of 7Days newspaper called Dubai's Hottest Couple of 2008 where the lucky pair will win an exciting hot air balloon ride but unfortunately we didn't win.

Well, this is a very rare chance to relive these memories so I've posted some pictures in between and I had to go through all our pictures taken all the way back in 2007. But before anything else, I would just like to say I'm sorry first to Joe and I found (well the truth is I've desperately looked for it) this wall post you sent me on facebook on 08 January 2009 at 23:10pm and I guess this time I'll have to send it back to you...

There's one sad truth in life I've found
While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best

I'm sorry mahal ko ♥

And you can change your email password again by the way :p

So without further ado, here's how our crazy lovestory started:

Joe on a land rig before I met him :D Posing for "What's that over there?"

This is my Australian friend, Hayley! I miss you X

And this is Lewis, he will always be a special friend  to me ;)

;) see more of our graffitis in my previous blog!

Our very first photo

He said he never liked taking pictures...

yeah right! ;)

hehe

The Engagement Ring

Our Engagement Party

On a rig in the middle of the sea

Inside his room and he made this out of boredom...

In our first nest and first Christmas together in Mankhool

On the plane to our  first vacation together in the Philippines

Holding a  Balut (boiled duck egg, apparently the #1 Most Terrifying Food in the World) and yes he refused to eat it, lighweight!  - Baguio, City

At the Manor House, for our wedding preparation

New Year's Eve 2007 trying to eat one of our guinea pig

Just arrived in Coco Loco Island in Palawan

Messing about before we go to sleep

After touring the whole island within just 30 minutes he wanted to write the word HELP in the sand

And I wanted to have a picture with the word HELP he wrote in the sand LOL

Lunch in a beach resort somewhere in Puerto Princessa

I'm actually trying to cover his face from getting sun burnt but for some reason, in this pic it looks like he was trying to poke something LOL

My stuntman

And so the story continues:

On our  Honeymoon before our Wedding, 5 months pregnant with Ethan - Long Beach Island, Phuket Thailand

On our  Honeymoon before our Wedding - Koh Phi Phi Island, Thailand :D

Our stag-hen night do in the red light district of Bangkok

Our wedding in Bangkok, Thailand 8th October 2008

New Year's Day 2009 in Hassocks UK - 8 months pregnant with Ethan

The first time he held Ethan - Eastbourne General Hospital UK 5th February 2009

The first time he held Elijah - in the labour room Zulekha Hospital, Dubai 14 September  2010 :)

Ethan David Narciso King - 2 yrs old

Elijah Christopher King - 10 months

the monsters who keep us together...LOL

To Joe, I hope you read this once again. I was actually hoping we could read this together on our Anniversary but I guess that's quite impossible right now. Our story began marvellously – love at first sight, more or less, and I can still remember like it happened just yesterday. And I couldn’t have asked for any other way to meet you, and fall in love with you. I wonder how we found each other, or if we had anything to do with it at all. Was it a chance encounter or was it fate? (credits to myspace and facebook! LOL) Everything was indeed too good to be true but look at us now? 4 years together plus we've had two beautiful boys Ethan and Elijah in addition to our crazy lovestory.

I feel rather depressed right now whilst writing this, looking at our old gazzillion photos and I don't have much to say really (really?!)... other than I really miss the Joe who wrote that love letter/story, my tootsie who frequently asks how was my day going and calls me petal, pumpkin, moody face, babf, life ko, mahal ko and whatevs LOL! Who wants me to give him a call just so he could hear my voice, who tells me he loves me so much his heart's already bursting, so much  that most of the time he can't even find the words to describe it...it just makes him smile...but then again, maybe it's just too good to be true! He said people do change, that marriage is not just all about flowers and chocolates, and no fairytales, boohoo! :( 

But even though there will be rough patches in the future, I know we’ll be alright. Our marriage has been a whirlwind of love. We can’t say that we're perfect, but all of the struggles, doubts, hopes, fears, failures and triumphs of our relationship made us where and what we are today. I know that I have to work at our relationship and keep growing with him and my goal in life is to love him more this year than I did last and keep reading this blog called Why I love My Husband-100 WAYS YOU CAN LOVE YOUR HUSBAND HIS WAY! to keep me going LOL kidding!


Like us, everyone has their own lovestory to write and to share, I wonder tho  if we could still continue writing the next part of our lovestory... This time next year? In five years? Ten years? Fifty years?

Happy 4th Anniversay...