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.

cleaning up with a smile

Less than three weeks and I will be saying goodbye to my "2nd home" for more than 13 years. As they say, some good things never last. 
Yesterday, I did my first step of tidying up my soon to be vacated workplace. As I unearthed my old things, I couldn't help but smile, laugh and nod my head as memories of the past kept rushing back.

I have this hobby to buy cute post it, those not found normally in Batangas NBS. 

Floppy disc. Mike says it's equivalent to our external disc now coz it has large capacity unlike the normal floppy disc. 100mb. anu raw un?

I have lots of photos of employees past and present, accumulated through the years. aliw. I don't remember all the names anymore.

Should I throw this or not?

 Notes.I have 7 planners/notebooks either half/barely consumed. I gave away the decent ones.

I found coins under the files of paper and I found this bill inserted on this notebook. Bakit kaya hindi na lang Php1000k ang siningit ko.

CBA minutes. I have tons of CBA notes, now all shredded.

I doubt if I was able to finish this book, I suspect I was looking for it then but I was unaware that it got buried somewhere.

one drawer down.

mga naipong sweet and nice na kung ano ano.

ready for the next HR Staff. savings ko na office supplies :)

Today, my next mission is my cabinet. But they are all serious business. all for shredding.

my kuya

how time flies really.

every thing in its own time

I am leaving one month from now, ok, a little more than one month. When people ask me if it's official, uhhmmm yes. It's filed and its dated. However, I have yet to see what I will be asked to do regarding my replacement, if there is one, coz if you have to ask me, my duties can easily be integrated with anybody's job in the P&GA. Before I go, I want to leave every little thing to be as smooth as possible.

Several years back, I already contemplated leaving my work. I felt so devastated with how things were going on around me. I didn't know what I did exactly and what went wrong. Admittedly, I went through some kind of depression (not clinical, though) but because I had a solid support from family and real friends, I survived and came out fine. But it wasn't easy, it was very difficult in fact. Some meaningful officemates who were my contemporaries when I joined this Company had to talk to me about the very messy situation. Out of desperation, I told them that I wanted to resign that very moment but they said NO. "If you like to go, then go, but NOT now. Leaving might be read as guilt on your part." So I stayed. 

Now, as I looked back, those two guys were right. The situation may not be perfect now but it was 200% better than before. If I quit that moment, then I was the sore loser in front of everyone, I was the guilty party and more importantly I would never have the chance to have these valuable learnings: 

1.) I discovered that I was made up of strong stuff inside.

2.) I learned that in moments of strife only true friends will bravely stay by your side, but eventually, you will also forget the pain brought about by those who drifted away from you. 

3. ) I realized that the saying "truth shall prevail" is indeed true. 

4.) And most of all, I learned  that every crisis has an end. Thus the saying, "That, too, shall pass."

I am glad that I also listened to the wisdom of my two officemates (truly, they deserve to be where they are). Had I remained stubborn, then I won't be able to have the chance to witness how broken relationships could still be fixed despite everything that had happened and also how wounded spirits were healed in the process.

I knew then that there could be no excuse for all my mischievousness and meanness and there was no doubt that I needed to be punished for those things whether I was at fault or not. That time,I needed to see the ugliness of my actions and its consequences so that I wont be inclined to do those things again. But I knew very well that before I could move on  and move out of the pains I needed to forgive myself. So, I went through the process of forgiving my frailties and weaknesses as a human being. And afterwards, I felt so free to place everything to God. I am not a religious person but moments like this, I knew where (and whom) to turn to. 

These days, I feel like I am starting a new leaf in my life.  My heart is filled with gratitude, good memories and lessons. Definitely, I will be shedding tears when I go but it is not because I feel sad but it's because of the happiness of having been given the grace to enjoy renewed relationships.  

Let me close this article by sharing to you few lines from one of my favorite Bible verses:

Ecclesiastes 3:1

"And there is a time for every event under heaven".


"A time to kill and a time to heal:

A time to tear down and a time to build up"


"A time to weep and a time to laugh"


"A time to embrace and a time to shun from embracing"


"A time to be silent and a time to speak"


"A time for war and a time for peace" 



To God be the Glory.