Chopped. Inspired.

I love watching cooking shows. Cooking is like art, science and emotions all rolled into one. Since I became a stay at home mom, I developed the interest in cooking and baking. The pleasure of seeing my daughter eating what I made or my husband cleaning out his plate during meals is just special!

But this post is not really about food. It's about how I found my "getting inspired" moment from Chopped. For those who doesn't have any idea about what I'm babbling about, Chopped is a cooking show contest. There are 4 competing chefs given a basket of ingredients. Each will have to do an appetizer, main course and dessert. One chef is eliminated on each course. So you ask, how the heck did you get inspired by that? It's their mystery basket of ingredients that they are required to use that got me:

In one recent episode these are the ingredients in the mystery basket:

Appetizer: huckleberries, black beans, green plantains, octopus

Seriously, for the life of me, I can't think of any dish that I can make with those ingredients. 


Then these 4  contestants come out with beautiful, yummy looking, jaw dropping plated dishes. And one by one they answer the judges' question.... "WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION?".  Really? Can anyone find inspiration in that??? Then, they answer with ease and shares with everyone what inspired them; their mom's cooking, their cultural background, their children's fav food, etc.


As I was watching this, I suddenly thought about my life: the complains I have, the problems I thought I have, and all the other stupid little things in my head. Surely,  my life's "mystery basket ingredients" are far better that the ingredients above, yet I fail to find any inspiration. Chopped made me realize that creating something beautiful, yummy looking and jaw dropping should not depend on the ingredients life throws at me. I should be more like those chefs, finding that inspiration that would make my life a reflection of who I am and come out with a plate of life's deliciousness!


Then there, right in front of the TV... Inspired, I was.

Hi-Five!

She knows Elmo, Big Bird, Zoe, Cookie Monster, Dora, Barney, etc. by heart. So we figured it was time for Ysabella to know about Baby Jesus through her books.

Me: Into the world, Mary's son came,
Born in a manger, Jesus His name.

Ysa: Hi-Five!!!! (giving the book a nice hard tap)

A little confused with her reaction, I looked at the book.... the hand of baby Jesus was slightly raised. hahaha!

Next lesson, Respect :D

Honey Bunny

Ysabella hiding beside the couch:

Me: (pretending I don't see her) Where is my honey bunny? Where are you? Where is my honey bunnyyyyy????

Ysa: (running towards me) Here's your BUNNY BUNNY!!!

Then gives me a big tight hug! Arrrr too cute I want to eat her up! hahaha!






This is the reason why I started calling her honey bunny.

Wonder Womom

Do things one at a time...


If you're a mom ---- you know this statement is taboo!

I don't know if it's just me, but I never seem to do just one thing at a time! I do two things at a time, all the time!

I clean: my hands on the mop but my ears are listening to her every move.
I cook: my back turned battling the meat while my eyes are rolling at the back of my head to check if she's not standing on the couch.
I do the dishes: my hands washing the plates while I shout "honey, what are you doing?".
Even when she's asleep, I do my thing while listening (and looking) at the baby monitor!

Multi tasking is an understatement. Supermoms. Yes, being a mom develops enhanced senses :)

Getting to know me

In 2010, my husband Oliver, got a job offer in New York. After 2 months we packed our bags and moved from the Philipines to the USA. It was me, Oliver and our then 6 month old daughter, Ysabella.

After recently moving from another country, my life has never been the same.

I left my family.

I left my friends.

I left my job.

I left the convenience of everything familiar.

My life was changed.... 

It's hard knowing that my parents and siblings are not a drive away, or that I don't have my friends to have coffee with. I don't have a job and can't have one because my visa doesn't allow me to. On top of that I became a full time mom, nothing could have prepared me for that.

It was the time of my biggest life adjustment. Even how I was called had to change! Can you believe that? My name is Eva and in my home country E is pronounced as E in Egg, but here, I had to be called Eva like the Langoria (but I like that changed, it made me feel pretty! hahaha!)

After over a year, I have finally settled in. More relaxed, happier and importantly --- adjusted to my new situation. I learned one simple lesson: Get inspired. Finding that inspiration in almost every thing that I do kept me sane, made me look forward to tomorrow's surprises while enjoying what today is giving me.

I am Eva, this is my blog. My thoughts (sometimes organized, sometimes scattered, sometimes crazy.) The things I did. Things I might do. The things I like. My rants and my raves. The documentation of how I'm  discovering the new me. The relationship I'm making with people I may only meet through words. My ideas. Me, opening my world to yours.

But most specially, this is me Getting Inspired.