Busy October Here I Come!

It's Chuseok holidays right now in ROK and most Koreans are really busy. Foreigners, on the other hand, who doesn't really have any Korean connection can be pretty much free. I don't belong on that category. I have to be involve somehow this weekend. The two days after that are the chances that I can do something else.

As much as I want to go somewhere or do something fun, I don't think I can since see my October becoming a little well-filled with new classes for me. September had been good to me with new teaching classes while October is another start to get back to the Korean language opportunities.

What do I have to do in order to prepare? At least I can try to print out my month-long outlines for these classes. With that, I only need to worry about the dailies which I can do on weekends. I'm a big-picture kind of gal so I need to be able to see the whole-big-month-thing so I can tune in to the details of the task at hand.

And this is what I will have to do today until Monday. I should be able to send out emails by Monday and start prepping for my classes. And I am just doing part-time or both now! The bulk of my time nowadays is work as it has shifted from mostly studying like before. I have to hang on to this for a while.

Now, if I can only squeeze the driving lessons somewhere. I need to get that thing out of my life's to-do list until my next birthday. Can do this in November? Or in the cold December-February? Or wait it out til March or April? Or push it more to warmer May? That is a long shot! Let's take it one at a time.

But not only that, I should also be able to do the month menu (or skeleton at least) and sort out our fall/winter clothes before I end up buying new ones which we might have better done without. It's all about planning a little ahead in order to survive and have less stress in my daily life. I really don't like to panic coz I just want to be chill since I had already got some plans anyway. Whew! Now to get started on that planning!

Parents as the First Teacher

This truly resonates with me as a parent. Even before I got married and had a son, I knew that my kid will have to enjoy reading as much as I do. Why? Because I will totally expose him to the printed world, a world that can be altogether different from his everyday life. 

Once he gets into reading, I am pretty much sure that half the battle of making a kid succeed in school is won. I don't exactly mean having stellar grades or such but keeping him interested in learning and finishing school can be easier. You won't have to beg or bribe your kid to go to school everyday because he will want to go not only because of his friends but also because it's fun to learn.

Instead, you will have to beg, bribe, and punish him to put his book down to stop reading and do something else. We went a little overboard in his reading although my husband doesn't think so. I, myself, was addicted to it specially during my adolescent and early teen years. I can almost imagine how my mom felt being frustrated when I simply disappeared to my room to read. Or how my Social Science teacher got mad when I kept on reading furtively while she was discussing history. 

Nonetheless, the value of reading in one's academic and real life is not something that can be overlooked. A parent's responsibility is not just about feeding their mouths but also the mind and spirit. And all of these starts at home. With the mother. And the father.

NHBS: Judy's Choco Chip Cookie (Canola Oil) and Maangchi's Milk Bread

Sept. 18
Tried the Judy's choco chip cookie today. Either the recipe is actually a bit dry to start with or I over baked it. It's pretty crunchy and not that sweet coz I didn't totally filled up the sugar to the brim.

I started trying out Maangchi's milk bread tonight with the first proofing. It should only be an hour but I'm planning to leave it overnight. Then do the next proofing tomorrow morning for the 2nd round for 30 mins. Divide into six and shape it. Then wait another 1 hour proofing before popping it in the oven.

180 C for 15-17 pre-heated oven. Milk wash + 1 more minute bake.
Her recipe steps seems a bit strange but we'll see how it works tomorrow. I will have 1.5 hours waiting before tasting it.

Update: Sept. 19
Finished baking the Maangchi's recipe for milk bread this morning. It wasn't very sweet. We needed to put strawberry jam on it. (I think I will let P eat all the cookies now. He will REALLY like it.)
I just proofed it for another 30 minutes after shaping it in the pan. Then baked at 180 C for 15-20, plus the remaining heat in the oven. I like the crust crunchy. 

Tech Notes

This coming days are going to be a bit of another adjustment. I have to get my notes and tech stuff organized. I got to figure out which app to use according to my need and availability.

I think Evernote can also work the list but it's a bit complicated to access for me still.

As for the Icloud thingy, it makes me feel so ignorant because of the incompatibility with my chromebook, as well as software versions. I need to find alternative way to get around the current blocks but I just don't want to. It makes me frustrated if I go that way coz I'm not really that techy and patient to spend extra time to work it. I'll deal with it in a less "time intrusive" way.

So here is how I'll try to work it out for now. I'm giving it a year, until my next birthday, to decide if I can stick with Iphone or go back to the more flexible android phone.

My Game Plan:

(input in chromebook, syncs with iphone, works offline when out)

For list: Icloud reminder (this will be mostly for to do lists, personal one or quick lists)

For longer notes:

1. Icloud notes (after syncing phone online)

2. Evernote (work related, longer notes, clothes plan or something that will use photo or audio file)

As for the google docs, and other net related, do it in advance. I got to clean up my NI Folder in my old android. Now, off to executive mode!

Mini Loaf Pans

What makes me happy? Something that puts a smile on my face even though it's not smooth-sailing all the time? Baking. Teaching. Small scale gardening.

Atm. 5pm. Waiting for my mini-loaves to cool.
My new mini-loaf pan arrived today! Four of them and it fits well in the oven. I had a basic bread proofed and ready by the time pans got here.

The first kind of bread I proofed was 3 C of AP flour. I halved it, then divided the second one into two to check how much it will rise. I ended up freezing up 1/4 of the whole thing. Why? Because I also decided to try out the a banana bread loaf. The 3 C filled the two mini pans. It was just perfect after its final rise during baking.

Only two made it in the oven. One of the smaller ones went in the freezer. 

The yeast bread, on the other hand, also filled the pan pretty well. So basically, 1.3 C is enough to fill the pan. It crusted well. I had to stop myself from cracking it open while cooling because I was afraid inside will still need the extra heat to finish.

After dinner, I decided to make another batch which I can bake tomorrow or the next day. I decided to double the recipe ending up with 6 C, 2 C ground oats and 4 C AP. It wasn't that easy mixing and kneading it.

I'll let it rise overnight and see how much it would have risen by tomorrow since I also changed the margarine into canola oil and did not double the 3 t of yeast. A lil bit too much in the substitution but we'll see. It's time to sleep and wait for the result.

(Note that they have almost the same baking time and temperature so I had no problem baking them together.)

Here is the original recipe from instructables.
10 mins rise, 350 degrees F for 30 mins

For the Banana Bread (from the freshloaf.com)
Makes 1 full-sized loaf or 2 small loaves
Preheated oven to 350 F or 180 C.

I mashed the bananas inside a ziploc bag. 

Bowl 1: 

2 or 3 very ripe bananas (roughly 1 C mashed bananas in a ziploc bag)

1/2 stick (4-5 tablespoons) butter, softened

2 eggs
2/3 C sugar (this was too sweet so I reduced to 1/2 C on my next try)

Bowl 2:
1 1/3 C all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon (optional)

1. Prep the 2 Bowls.
2. Mix Bowl 1 into Bowl 2. Optional to add: chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cherries or apricots, or chocolate chips. A handful (about a half a cup) is about right.
3. Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Small loaves: 30 minutes, a normal-sized loaf: 50 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven. This bread is great warm, but it is excellent cold too.  
5. After they have cooled for 5 or 10 minutes the loaves can be removed from the pan to cool. Once they are cool they can be individually wrapped and frozen.

Left one was 1/4 of the dough, which I added some cinnamon.
Right one is 1/2 of the dough, almost plain. 

A decent loaf at last! After 14K worth of 2 sets of mini-loaf pans, hours of proofing and mixing, I have finally tasted a decent loaf of bread I had made myself. 

The plain bread turned out okay, but the banana bread was a bit too sweet for our taste. I'll have to decrease the sugar content from 3/4 C to 1/2 next time since the banana, specially over ripe ones, can be sweet enough. I decided to freeze the other banana loaf to be used on the following weekday when I'm a bit too busy to do some real baking.  

***Currently watching "the Healer."
1 AM.

Mummy's Thoughts

My son started (again) swimming lessons this week. This isn't the first time that I tried to let him join a class. We tried before when he was still younger but he just can't get over his phobia. I still feel very guilty that he had that phobia. It feels like the time when he fell off the toboggan when he was 2.5 years old. I was the one with him. The same thing when he got to a bit deeper part of the beach when he was below 5 years old. I'm always the one who's with him whenever he gets into trouble in some physical activity. The guilt can sometimes eat me up whenever I remember those.

That is why I really don't like him trying other possible risky sports. I know, it's a bit over reacting. I try to stretch then limit sometimes and loosen up myself. He wanted to try skiing and ice skating but neither my KH nor me will go with him. Good thing, his uncle likes skiing and took him last winter. The multicultural center also gave him a chance to try out ice skating and now, swimming. Hopefully, he'll be able to finish the basic until the December session. Maybe after he got familiar with the water, we can continue the lessons together at a different location next year.

This week's experience was a bit trying one for us. Why? He really doesn't want to do it in the first place. We just pushed harder this time coz he is getting way older. He was one of the older ones when we first got there. Good thing is a classmate and another boy showed up later on. Thing is, it seemed that he is the only real beginner since the other two had already taken lessons before.

I went with him for the first half of the hour but had to go out for a class before I really saw him in the water. The pick-up time went awry because his phone didn't work. And his Dad didn't bother to look for him inside or around the entrance. He opted to wait somewhere in the area in his car. My son, on the hand, also just hang around the hotel entrance and wait. Goodness! I had to go over to the place right after my class and found the kid there to my relief. He also looked relieved and about to cry when I saw him. I'd like to believe that he is old enough to understand and get hold of his feelings now.

Fingers crossed that it won't be hard to get him to go back there next week. I may need to train him more to be street smart. We need to walk around the streets more, and be able to figure out how to work out the streets: reading a map, taking in the streets' layout, remembering the routes and landmarks, asking help, being aware of possible dangers and how to avoid these.

I've tried to teach him a couple during the time we go out for our field trips but I'm not sure if any of those stuck. Like last time when we went to Seoul, he had his nose on his ebook reader most of the time on the way there. He didn't bother to look around, figure things out and absorb his immediate surrounding. I specially noticed this when we got on the bus going to Itaewon and he was still reading. It's almost his first time to head that way (he was too young to remember when we brought him in that area years ago.) I may have to reiterate some street smart skills soon. Off to my list now!

Roasted Chicken

Yay! I've made roasted chicken on the pit in my new oven last night. It was just a hurried one, nothing fancy. I only rubbed salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, and basil. I may have to find some other ones next time. Though, it may take a while coz I still feel guilty about eating the flavorful skin. 

Since it might be a while, I really have to take note what I got to do better next time. 
1. Thaw and marinade the chicken longer, at least an hour. Maybe even try to peel off the skin and just rub the seasoning right on the meat

2. Tuck the chicken wings on the pit. It was a pity watching the wings stretched and be deformed when it start turning on the stick.

3. Preheat the oven. I did not preheat the oven last night and it took me more than an hour to cook it. 60 mins @ 200 degrees Celsius, 10 mins @ 250 (getting desperate) and lowered to back to 200 for the remaining 10 mins. 

If I happen to make a bigger one next time, I may need to adjust the temperature and allotted cooking time. I can probably dream about trying something like Balinsasayaw chicken as the goal. But of course, that is totally a different one coz it's grilled on fire.

Speaking of goals, I've finally placed the order for mini-pound bread pan last Thursday. I forgot to pay it on the same day so I had to go out early the next day at the NH bank to put in the cash. I'm expecting it to be here later today.

What will I bake on it to test it out? Hmm..maybe a simple bread or milk bread that my husband wanted to try a few days ago. :) KH tried to make the tortilla last night which turned out to be crispy. Why? He made smaller balls, stretched out the dough which in turn produced a thin wide irregular disk. Didn't really looked like any tortilla that can be folded at all. And he thought tortilla is just easy to make? I'm curious if it will try it again. He already mentioned last night about making a pizza dough might be easier. Ha! 

Dear Diary

"Do a what you love and you will not work a day in your life."

This week has rolled in pretty well for me as I started two new classes, as a teacher. I've just finished the second new class today and it just felt good. I've noticed that even though I'm not feeling good before a class, I tend to feel lighter after. I'm usually in good spirits after a class. Not because it's over but because I enjoyed doing it. Although it's not always smooth, there is the sense of fulfillment whenever I hear my students get to practice and speak their minds in the target language. The line above resonates with me as I've found myself in the teaching world.

Today has been pretty upbeat in a sense starting from my language exchange in the morning. I feel more free to speak in Korean than before. I can be pretty talkative once I find my voice and confidence. It helps that I have a language partner whom I can practice without a lot of inhibitions. She helps me practice in a healthier environment unlike if I do it with my husband who has no patience and have the tendency to try to teach me very hard and be frustrated if I don't get something right. Not very helpful at all.

There are still more things that happened today, along with P's swimming lesson. But that will be in another entry somewhere. I'm just thankful for the people I've met and the good things that happened today.

Por Diyos Por Santo...

"Por Diyos por santo...mag-iwan ka naman ng tatak mo." - Alicia Magos, Ph. D., UP Visayas 

(You may try to be open to other culture for Pete's sake, leave something of yourself.)

This came from an anthropologist in Panay who had closely studied the Binukots and cultural epics of the island. It's not saying that one should be open to to learn and adapt new culture but one still has to know and try to keep their own culture. One should not forget and disregard the old ones. One should leave something of himself as his own.

I just had to write this one after watching this Iwitness segment. I seldom get to see this interesting program, as most people also do, because it's airtime is pretty late. That is altogether another blog entry though.

This is really pretty interesting for me because I, myself, is a product of local race but never really learned a lot specially the language. I grew hearing the old folks use it but I  had never thought of using it until when I was an adult. It's not easy. I can barely speak although I can pretty much understand. Between me and my brother, I am not sure if one of us is fluent.

Well, a little effort every once and a while might be good. That's just about it for me. I'm really more comfortable in the English language. But Dr. Magos nailed it.

 "Leave something of yourself."

"Mag-iwan ka naman ng tatak mo!"

Teen Class: Take 2

I just got in fresh from my teen class stint today. This one is a bit more dynamic than the one I tried last year. I started calm with the first ones in class but it got messed up when the C group showed up. There goes my hope of a productive class. I had to adjust my lesson on the spot. It was a bit easier since most were of the same level except for a few. And I already prepared for the lower level.

Based from my initial class, I can probably wing it with simple conversational dialogues. I don't need to into detailed grammar but I do have to cover the vocabulary. (Note to self: translate the "Nice to meet you" things) Next, I'll also design the class flow so that it won't be that chaotic when the late comers show up. I do feel for the U group when they might want to learn but the C group is somewhat disrupting the class. I'll have to let them follow a seat plan.

I noticed that some are confused with the English alphabet so I may have to review it again. Spelling. First meeting questions. What's your name? What's you first/last name? How do you spell that? Where are you from? May need to use the projector next time. It does work.

And one more thing! I'll have to remind them of three things before I finish next time:
Respect. No phones. Speak out in English only.

I've just had KH order the book for me so I think I'll wait for a while before typing out my next LP.
I want to type some out now but I do need to rest my brain that has been suffering with headache since this morning.