just sharing

On my last day in Ilijan, I encountered a very nasty and thrashy "texter".She bombarded me and actually spent her money sending me loud, weird and beyond imagination text messages. She even knew that I only had 5 strands of hair! Creepy creature.

Actually, her text originated from her accusation of me, although if I may say, she just heard half of the story. Somebody fed the details to her and she just exploded and paranoia got the better of her. She threatened me with everything she could think of and even name dropped authority to scare me. To embellish her accusations, she unearthed past incidents; I just didn't know why she sounded very well informed about those things. But because I have been trained to be a "seasoned warrior", I just shrugged it off. You know, you don't lose sleep over someone who is just so adept on hurling harsh words and baseless accusations but who don't have the courage to tell who she is. That's plain cowardice. Or perhaps just trying desperately to cover up something - the TRUTH. But that is not my business anymore.

Frankly, I wanted to lash back at her. But I held back. Some well meaning friends were amazed how I could control my temper.

At the end of everything what good do you think would it do to me? Second, she didn't even have the decency to tell her identity so why give her the dignity of an answer? Third, I have encountered worse people in the past but I was able to stand my ground despite the plots, the ploy and the propaganda. And considering that she was just a speck if compared to them, what harm then could she inflict to me?

So I decided to just do what was necessary in the situation - step back and look beyond the present. Of course I'd be hypocrite if I won't tell that the "human inside me" was revolting and wanted to get back at her.  In my mind these were the things swimming while her texts kept on coming:

"Ignore the ignoramus"
"There is dignity in silence"

And these I wanted to send to her (it's mean yes, But hey! I am not a Saint):
"You know what? YOU are lower than the whale shit at the bottom of the ocean and nothing and no one can ever be lower than you. PATHETIC!
"If I would be given a second chance in life, I will never ever exchange my childhood, my parents, my education, my family etc with what you have. It's just not so equal."

But in the end, I decided to collect whatever was left in my senses and just rose above the whole ugly thing. Oh well just "give it all to her".

Eventually, after 24 hours, she decided to stop sending messages. Good thing because I didn't like to bring negative vibes to my home. If she got tired of falling on deaf ears, then I was so sorry. If she was able naman to check the real facts, then good for her. For the person who maliciously told her about what transpired that "fateful lunch", then I only have one thing to say to you, "What comes around goes around".

Life nowadays is hard in itself, why complicate it even more? It's harder to go on smoothly with life when there is a  lot of negative baggage that you carry esp. also if you are a Mom (yes my texter is, I know). One important lesson I have learned in life is to automatically let go of mean people, whether they became my friends or not because ultimately what is important is you are embraced by those who truly love you, no matter what. It's a lot easier and lighter when you eliminate unnecessary stuff and just surround yourself with happy energy. 

I am sharing this to you only now because i wanted to be objective and free from emotions when I write it. I hope you get something out of this blog.

It's raining so it's the best time of the day to write "inflammable" stuff like this. Rains give people cooler heads. :)

Salad day

Di naman ako contestant ng Biggest Loser, pero pag hindi ako gumawa ng paraan to curb my cravings, soon I will be the True Biggest Loser, as in LOSER! huhuhuhu.

Kaya eto, nag isip ako ng pangsagot sa gutom ko.

Lettuce, yogurt (unflavored), orange and boiled eggs. I put olive oil and a pinch of salt. Ginawa ko na ring medyo sinful by adding konting cheese.

Delicious tingnan, pero not so. kulang sa lasa, compared kung thousand island ang ilalagay ko. But NO Way for Mayo! Resist the temptation. 

Next: Potato and Apple salad. 

Day Saver

May nag text:

"Sakay na ako ng To Go, 12:30pm ang schedule"

Naku, dadating pala si Mudra. Panic Mode. What's for dinnerrrr???

It was a Saturday and my freezer and cupboard were running empty. I checked what was left and I found half a kilo of chicken breast. Next step, check what's in the kitchen cabinet. I found pineapple chunks, and there was also evaporated milk. Owkay! Can I do pininyahang manok? So I went immediately to my favorite food blog at www.pinaycookingcorner.com. Why my favorite? Well, it belongs to my elementary good good friend. Why not best friend? Hehehe. You know when you are in your graders, papalit palit ka ng best friends. But Tina and I had lots of fond memories when we were young, in and out of our school.

Anyways, I am soo glad I found her blog, so she serves as my rescue every time I am at lost for recipe.

My mother was able to eat a satisfying dinner and even asked how I did it. Eve my kids had second servings. Thanks Tina for saving my day. :)

ready get set drive

Now my real work will begin soon. real soon.

time to overcome fear. ilabas na ang santambak na confidence (zooommmm it up baby!) and go go na sa SLEX. ahayyyy!
But Thank You hubby for this brand new toy (sana nga toy lang sya! ahuuuuuuu).
Now I can wear my sosyal white sunnies courtesy of Ms. Franz. awww!Sa wakas, makakapag feeling fashionista rin ako.
At sa aking mga friends, prove to me that you are my real besties. Ride with me. I promise to drive you crazy. :) Sensya na, nagpapalakas lang ng loob. but seriously, kita kits tayo. kape kape sa tabi pag may time.
:)

lifestyle changes

yes there are, but not that abrupt. gradual, that is. everyday, i introduce myself little by little to the things I want to do now that I can control my activities given my new schedule. Oh by the way at the twilight of my resignation from office, I enrolled in a driving school, even though I knew that I detested driving. I'd rather be a snoring passenger than worry about those reckless drivers, insensitive pedestrians and horrible traffic. And also, i didn't like to learn and be used to cursing.
but i had no choice.

after 15 hours of learning manual driving coupled with tired legs and aching muscles (read: fats) I got this! WHOA! surreal! Really?

So now hubby what's next? I deserve my dream car, don't I?lol.

Connectivity

This is not meeeee! I can just borrow Abi's mini ipad and i'm fine. But hubby really insisted that I get my own.
But it was a tug of war between samsung and mac. Of course samsung is a lot cheaper and reliable naman and besides I am not the techie kind of person so I don't really care if it's samsung or lenovo but you know Mac is Mac. But there is another consideration: getting a Mac means us buying a new printer. Whatttttttt? Buy again???No way! get that Samsung bilisssss!

Next is my eating habits.

I promised (of course that was just a promise, meant to be broken) that I would go veggie. How am I faring? Well, a struggling vegetarian. But I don't think I can be a true blue veggie. Someone please tell me how. :( I can't resist my adobo and fried hamonado. :(

But one major change in my eating habits is a bowl of fruits in the morning. It's my breakfast.

A glass of water upon waking up, followed by a cup of coffee and a bowl of fruits.

I can finish this pakwan while reading my favorite blogs (www.fashionpulis.com) hehehe.

this is avocado. di na sya makilala ano? kulapol sya ng yogurt and muscovado sugar. yum yum yum.

this is guyabano. masarap and unbelievably filling.

pag naubos na ang yogurt, sugar na lang please. delicioso!

eto hindi fruits. i ran out of fruits this week so I have pipino. No its not breakfast. naubos na ang fruits since it's already friday. So I had a light breakfast, and this pipino will substitute my lunch. Lunch is usually pasta.

I can't totally remove dinner from my routine coz it's kwentuhan time. it's the only meal of the day when no one is allowed to leave the table unless everyone is done eating.

Next week, i hope to have more colorful "selections". I need to have cider vinegar, thousand island dressing, extra virgin olive oil in my cupboard for my salad which I plan naman to replace my bowl of fruits. 

I am challenged to continue my eating style as long as I can and I hope eventually it really becomes my way of life. I lost almost 3 lbs. since I stayed home. I hope to speed up my slimming pace when I begin to be busy and occupied with my mommy chores (or kasambahay chores, that's more appropriate I guess).

Slowly but surely. :)

Maraming Salamat po.

this bouquet of roses may have withered and may have lost its glory  now, but the thoughtfulness of its givers will never wilt in my memory. 

this photo may have been taken out of "wala lang" at "trip lang", but for me it has its eternal purpose. this will never happen again and I thank God for this opportunity. (thank you too Jaybee for your effort to include the super nice work of art)

this may just be an ordinary indoor plant. but for  me this is a symbol of forgiveness. thank you for the grace of a renewed friendship.God Bless you!

your kind gesture was more than enough to last a lifetime. thank you girls.

i got two of this size and from two kind souls. thank you for your sweetness.

i left crying a bucket of tears and until now i regret not having the courage to say proper goodbyes and thank yous to everyone. but God knows I couldn't do it that time. the feeling was overwhelming. Sorry to those who called me up to say their goodbye but all i could reply was "goodbye too" and to those who went up to my table and shook my hands but all i could mutter was thank you. so choked up to say more. For all the things I learned from KEILCO, you all are a great part.
Thank you also to JYP for giving a sound advice, that this resignation is a decision and that no matter how I will feel later on I should be able to stand by it. :) I will miss our longgggg conversation on the phone. surely Sir.

For everything, To God Be The Glory!

Signs of me really going

this morning i got these.

Salamat po. really. from the bottom of my heart. Thank you Edgar.

And these I got from a sweet soul weeks ago
Herbs

Soon I will have my cute herb garden. Thank you Sam. I wish you and your family the best! I wish you happiness, wherever and however you may find it!

oil overdose

Last night, while i was doing my evening regimen, I realized that I am almost having oil overdose. Oil dependent?

Anyhoo, if you are interested I am sharing my secrets.

For my hair. Human Heart Nature Sunflower Oil. I sleep on it, don't worry you won't feel any grease after washing your hair in the morning. The bottle says you can use it also on your secret dark areas and it will perform miracles. wow! Let me try one day. But for now, its for my hair.

L'oreal Mythic Oil. I put this after I towel dry my hair. It doesn't repair your hair, but it makes styling easier if you have it on.

Neutrogena Body Oil. While my skin is still damp, I generously apply this on. Ideally, you have to put lotion when the oil has been absorbed by your skin, but because it's hot in the Philippines and it's not fun to put a lot on your body, I just settle for this.

El Shaddai Sampaguita scent Oil. hahaha, I know. Parang out of place. It's almost empty because I used it on my hair. Sunflower ngayon, Sampaguita bukas.

Celeteque Serum. It's a make up and dirt remover. Since, I use make up very seldom now, this is for the dirt that I accumulate during the day. Before washing my face, I use this. After toning, I apply it again and let it stay overnight. I have my "derma regimen" (Vit.A serum, bleaching, moisturizing etc) also for my dark spots, so what I do is I make it alternate. Celeteque Serum tonight, Derma Regimen tomorrow night. Tyaga lang ang drama.

Naturelle d'Argan. I am a fan of Argan Oil. This is my second bottle and my first time to try this brand. The beauty of Argan oil is that you can put it on your hair and face. It smells soo good too. Of course you can apply it on your body also but it will hurt your pocket. :) During weekend when I am home in Laguna, its argan oil for me.

So who needs Botox or IPL when you can have other options, much cheaper and you don't need to leave the comforts of your home.
That's all folks! Stay beautiful.