Craving for the real tender juicy hotdog

Migrating to another country entails a lot of sacrifices. Aside from being away from my family and friends, ang pinakamalaking adjustment ko na siguro ay sa food.

I am a very boring eater, I don't eat much variety. I always want to eat what's familiar. One of my favorites at home (i.e. in the Philippines) is Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs. Tsk, too bad bawal i-export ang mga meat products dito sa Canada. Kung meron lang sigurong TJ hotdogs dito, solved na solved na ako.

Yung dating taken-for-granted red hotdogs ko sa Pinas, miss na miss ko na talaga ngayon. Especially now that I am pregnant, grabe lalo ang pagkatakam ko.

We were at Lucky Supermarket last week and I grabbed a pack of this Pinoyfoods Tender Juicy Hotdog. I knew malayo sa lasang hinahanap ko (sa kulay pa lang iba na eh) but still, I gave it a try. Baka sakaling ma-satisfy ang cravings ko.

Pero syempre, BIGO ako. Imported sausage talaga ang lasa niya. Sana di na lang nila ginaya ang packaging ng Purefoods kasi medyo hopeful yung bumibili eh. Ganun ba talaga kahirap gayahin ang pulang hotdogs ng Pinas?

Anyway, after posting this hotdog thing in Instagram, my cousin Sarah from Illinois suggested that I look for Martin Purefoods Hotdogs. Haha, another so-called "purefoods hotdog." This one looks better though, pula na nga kasi talaga. And according to Cha, its taste is the 'nearest to the real thing.'

Photo taken from  http://www.philamfood.com/ (credits to the owner) 

The bad news is, I am sure we don't have it here in Edmonton. Kung meron nyan, matagal ko na sanang nakita. I always scout for Pinoy products in Asian supermarkets and Filipino stores eh.

My parents-in-law, who are based in California, are coming here soon to help us with the coming of Baby Chicklet. Ford said we could ask them to bring some of these hotdogs for us. Sana may makita sila. Since they will be coming from the US, they are allowed to bring some meat products here in Canada. 

Hay, pag-uwi ko sa Pinas kakain talaga ako ng TJ hotdogs every day. Promise yan!

-----------------------------------------

For a follow-up post, please click ---> There are No Purefoods Hotdogs in Canada

The start of Chicklet invasion

Baby Chicklet is not even here yet but his things are quickly invading the house. How can a small baby need so much stuff?

We temporarily stored some of the baby things in the guest bedroom.

These baby things are the result of the countless shopping trips that we did the past weeks at Walmart, Babies "R" Us, Target, Carter's / OshKosh. We almost hit the deadline I set last August. Yesterday, we were able to finally buy the last in my list of essential things to buy - health and grooming kit.

We decided not to get a baby monitor yet. We'll just get one later on if we feel that we need it.

I believe we are now ready for Chicklet's arrival. Lucky boy, his daddy has spent a fortune for him to have a nice and comfortable life outside my womb. Thanks, Daddy the Pooh! You're the best!

Housewarming + Birthday = Party Fun

We've been invited to a housewarming (plus birthday) party last Saturday, September 27, 2014. I was happy, may social life na kami kahit papaano haha!

As expected, Joy and Mark prepared so much food! May steak and pork chops pa sa labas.

Sinabay na nila ang houseblessing sa birthday ng eldest child nilang si Czesca. Joy and I are of the same age but she already has a 14 year old daughter. Si Chicklet ko nasa tiyan ko pa lang. May advantage din pala kung maagang nagbuntis. Now Joy is like a dalaga na lang uli.

The very pretty birthday girl.

Cakes here in Canada are very simple.

We've met a lot of people in this party. There was this nice couple (with a 7-month old baby) who were planning to buy din a townhouse in our place. They came by our house the following day and Pod accompanied them to the show home to introduce them to Cris (the sales agent) so we could avail of the referral fee (na ibibigay din namin sa kanila) pero sold out na pala lahat ng units dito. Sayang, gusto ko pa naman silang maging kapitbahay. On the other hand, happy na rin kami kasi mukhang tumaas na ang value ng bahay namin. Booming ang real estate ngayon dito sa Edmonton, sa dami ba naman ng new immigrants.

Joy and Mark's house is not new but it is located in a nice neighborhood and has a huge backyard. It's nice.

Too bad I wasn't able to take many pictures during the party because Chicklet wasn't cooperating. Ang sakit ng tummy ko grabe.

Picture courtesy of Joy

Picture courtesy of Joy

Picture courtesy of Joy

The party was well-attended. Ang dami nilang friends nakakatuwa. Most of our conversations revolved around kids. Conversation magnet talaga ang baby bump hehe.

Sa dami ng food, may take-out pa kami!

Again, thank you Mark and Joy for inviting us! You welcomed us in your circle of friends and we really really appreciate that. Cheers to you and your new home!

------------------------------------------

Ooops, this was our housewarming gift pala for them.

Soon I will learn the art of gift wrapping!

I don't know if they'll like it but I am guilty of choosing gifts that I personally prefer haha! I also do not like giving "practical" gifts that the recipients would and could buy for themselves. Gusto ko medyo kakaiba.

These four wine glasses represent Joy, Mark, and their two kids. Super colorful ng personalities so I thought of them when I saw these.

I don't need a BMW

We dropped by my husband's office last Sunday afternoon because he had to check on something. A BMW car was parked in front of their building.

POD -- Tingnan mo yung technician namin, naka-BMW! Bago!
BIM -- Wow, technician naka-BMW? Talo ka pa, Daddy!
POD -- Oo, kaya ayan linggong-linggo eh nandito. Nago-OT. Palaging naghahanap ng overtime.

I was not surprised though. Common naman dito na crew lang ng McDo ay naka-Mercedez Benz. Iyon nga lang, kailangang mag-triple job para may panghulog.

But this scenario made me remember that many years ago, I wanted a BMW too. Imposible akong magkaroon ng ganun sa Pinas pero dito, kaya naman talaga. I just need to work hard.

But will I buy one later on? Naaah, I don't think so.

You see, Ford and I had a serious talk before I came here. We discussed on what our lifestyle will be like when I come here and we both agreed to a 'simple yet comfortable' living. Actually, my husband has always lived like that (he's an Ilocano eh). It's me who's more materialistic so I was the one who needs to adjust.

Yeah, I would like to think that I've changed. That's the thing with migrating "late" (I came here at the age of 34), you look at things differently. A more matured outlook perhaps? And acquiring a BMW will definitely not be part of the grand plan.

Don't get me wrong. If I am a millionaire, I will surely buy a powerful car as well. But as "ordinary" resident of Canada, I'd be contented with our Subaru that provides us the same comfort and service naman. Nobody really cares about what you drive here anyway.

Many people who came here in Canada are deprived of material things in their respective countries. That's the reason they immigrated in the first place, they aspired for a better life. I honestly respect it if they want to have a nice, big house or a luxury vehicle -- it's their right, of course. But still, it pains me to see them giving up their sleep or precious quality time with family just to be able to afford those expensive stuff. For me, that's not the way to live. You shouldn't spend 15+ hours of your daily life working to pay for a house that you hardly sleep in. You shouldn't spend every minute of your day thinking about your enormous car mortgage. Why put so much pressure on yourself? You are already in Canada, you can relax.

In my observation, most Canadians who were born and bred here are living modestly. I truly admire their simplicity. You can hardly see them carrying Louis Vuitton purses or wearing designer clothes. It's the newcomers (especially Asian haha!) who are very particular with brands.

Oh well, kanya kanya lang talaga siguro yan. But in my almost 11 months of living here, alam ko na kung sino ang peg ko. =)

Pork Sisig in Edmonton (to be updated)

Are you a pork sisig lover just like me? Sisig is my default order in Filipino restaurants (here and in Pinas) so I've decided to compile the different types of sisig dishes that I've tasted here in Edmonton.


Little Asia Noodle House

Max's Restaurant

Summerside Grill Restaurant

Cusina ni Mutya

Lola Emma's Filipino Cuisine

Panciteria de Manila -- the best sisig in Edmonton so far! (10/1/14)

Will update this post later! =)

Another meet-up in Edmonton

September 30, 2014 (Tuesday). Marlon, a kababata, school batchmate, and neighbor in Lolomboy (my mother's home barangay where I grew up), and his family came for some holiday here in Edmonton. They live North Battleford, Saskatchewan. He messaged me on Facebook and asked if they could drop by our house. I suggested that we meet in West Edmonton Mall instead because I don't know how to cook so I have nothing to serve them haha!

I met them the following day after my check-up. It was my first time to get acquainted with his wife and kids who immigrated here in Canada in 2012.

Picture courtesy of Marlon

It's really nice seeing a familiar person from your home country. Marlon and I were not that close in Pinas. But that's the thing with living abroad, kayo-kayo lang kaya dapat maging close haha! Kapag nandito ka pala talaga, hahanap at hahanap ka ng kakilala.

Too bad I wasn't able to invite them in our house. Aside from the fact that I don't cook, I also do not have the energy to entertain eh. Our house at the moment is not at its best form since I am too tired (and lazy) to tidy it up. I hope I could make it up to them some day.

Oops by the way, I really like Marlon's family. His wife and kids (and even his mother-in-law) were all nice. Sana taga-Edmonton na lang din sila.

Get well, Amang... =(

My 90-year old grandfather Amang (in the Philippines) is in the hospital again. I heard he's been asking for me and I feel awful not being by his side during this time that he needs his family the most.

Picture taken from Tita Lulu Cera-Garcia's Facebook account

Seven of his eight children are living in North America and couldn't be with him as well. It is only my father who 'takes care' of him now. My mother and brother, because of some conflict with my father, could not even visit him. Tsk, he's very close pa naman to Mamoosh and has been constantly looking for her.

 Amang actually is an American citizen but he preferred to spend the last years of his life in Malolos. With no one to really take care of him in the US (because everybody's working), he felt better staying in Pinas with Boying and Neng (a longtime helper of the family) as his sole companions.

Getting sick in the Philippines is so difficult especially for the elderly. The costs of hospitalization alone is so difficult to bear. It is sad because not all his children are willing to shell out money for his health needs. Majority are dedma talaga, nakaka-disappoint. I know that life here in North America is not exactly a bed of roses but there are expenses that we cannot avoid and should do something about. One of them is the care for your father. If only I am working, I won't hesitate to regularly send some money for him, if only to make his remaining days comfortable.

My grandfather is a fighter. He's got a very good disposition. He's got cancer and was given six months to live a decade ago but look at him now, still alive and smiling. But of course, at almost 91, his body is deteriorating.

I just wish that he could "wait" for me. If anything happens to him now, I cannot go home. I want him to still see Baby Chicklet. Please get well, Amang. We love you!