Triple X+1

The mister and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary last Saturday.

Reaching this milestone, I am very sure that my father would be really proud of me and Jay. Like I wrote in some of my previous posts, my Papang was worried about Jay as my boyfriend when we were 18 years old. My family, relatives, some friends, and most neighbors knew that I had an attitude and temper. I admit that I was difficult to deal with. I didn't communicate my thoughts and feelings gently but expressed them in anger. I had childhood trauma that I had to manage with, unload, and heal. No one knew about it but Jay.

But here we are! We're on our 36th year of friendship and 31st year of tried-and-tested marriage.

We didn't really have plans of going out of town until my little sister decided to take her favorite nephew (our son) to a baseball game in Baltimore.

We left earlier than agreed because of the NO KING protest in the city.

Traffic wasn't really that bad, but finding a spot to drop them off near the stadium wasn't easy. 

Eventually we succeeded and dropped them at the nearest gate we passed by.

They got in the stadium with enough time for them to get settled, buy souvenirs, and get their food before the game started. The Baltimore Orioles were playing against the Minnesota Twins.

We headed to Artifact Coffee after. We are frequenters of this coffee shop when we're in the city. 

We were very lucky to find a table for two the moment we entered the shop. The place was packed, and the people arriving after us took so much time to find a vacant table. 

I had a cappuccino, and Jay had their cortado.

We also shared a serving of their crustless squash quiche. 

The quiche was to die for. It was so much better than the spinach quiche I've tried.

While still dining, I was already on the internet looking for a recipe. I really want to try making this at home.

It'll be very soon!

No Need To Cook

"Let's go!" 

He blurted that out when he got home after work today. 

"To where?"

"To happy hour at, maybe, Thai Meric Eatery and Bar."

No way! That's a restaurant and not a beer house.

It's the eve of our wedding day anniversary, so I am off of my kitchen duties today. 

Before happy hour was over at 6:30 p.m., we ordered a Moscow Mule and a hot sake.

We were too excited for their goat Massaman. We had this last December with my little sister, Charmaine. This is, by far, one of the best goat dishes in town. 

We also had their beef hot pot. 

For our dessert, I wanted to get their Mango Sticky Rice, but I told the mister that it would be a rain check for our next happy hour at this restaurant. Instead, we had their crispy fried banana with their jackfruit coconut ice cream. 

By they way, we finished everything just in time for Jay to go back to work at 7 p.m.

I can't wait for the next happy hour. 

3/24/2026 at 12:35 p.m.

 "Some goals may take a long time to achieve. Don't give up hope!"

3/24/2026 at 11:18 a.m.

I need to finish at least 10 new listings on my online stores before noon o'clock, but I got distracted. 

I baked another batch of Hamsaymada the other night, and today, they're all gone. Jay and I had the last 2 pieces with café lattes this morning.

I surprised our friends yesterday and sent them freshly baked goodies. Jay brought them to work, and I asked my little sister (who works with the mister) to hand-deliver them. It was teamwork. 

Back to the hamsaymada, I topped them with buttercream plus freshly grated cheese.

While at work, I thought of improving the topping. I searched online for a better version of it, and we'll see. 

I'll be baking a new batch later today, and I'll be using the better buttercream topping recipe I came across.

And that, my friend, is how I got distracted at work.