Transitioning and Coping

It's been more than 3 months since I gave up my job. I was a corporate slave since 2001. It was indeed to put it lightly - a major shift. But surprisingly, I'm transitioning really well (gauging by my emotional state at the moment).

When my husband and I shared this plan to some friends and family a couple of years ago, we were met with a lot of "apprehensions" and raised eyebrows. Did we think it through? Can't we just take a break?

While majority were cynical, there were a few who showed great support after hearing our rationale behind the decision. Even our company director did not hesitate to show support. Yes, I gave up what would probably have been a good career path given the growing team that I was leaving behind. If there was one thing I feel sad about leaving, it was giving up the chance to mentor and coach my new hires. Which I know has great potential, if only they're taught well. But I have great confidence in that they will blossom in their own perfect time. As long as they keep the fire of learning alive.

Other than that, I was ready. When the time came to pack my things, I walked out of the building with a light heart. I didn't even take a peek. I just walked straight ahead.

So what's keeping me busy these days?

Well, for one, I'm now 8 months pregnant so nesting instincts are on high at the moment. We have this room which ended up being a semi-bodega and I finally was able to clean it out, sort out the 'usables' from the 'throwables' and even manage to put up some in an online garage sale. I proved that there is definitely "pera sa basura". (Bubble thought: I can make a career out of this)

I am now about one-third away from finally finishing Kafka on the Shore which I started reading last quarter of 2017. Haha. It's record breaking considering the last time I finished a book was maybe 3 or 4 years ago (The Gift of an Ordinary Day, great book by the way).

I finished 3 tiny booties. And 2 petal flowers which I can make into a headband for Baby K.

I paint. And do some calligraphy practices. Although not as often as I'd hope I would. (And yes! I'm writing again!!! Isn't that amazing?)

I spend a ridiculous amount of time on Facebook. Hahaha.

So yes, I am transitioning really well. I miss checking my payslip come payday (like today, for example). But those things I can live without (with the right mindset, family goals and budgeting skills of course).

I now live for days when I see my daughter come home looking so cheerful because she knows I'm the one opening the door for her. And she can immediately share her day to me. She does this with no fail since school started. And I am learning and getting to know her more these days.

And look from my husband's face when he smells freshly cooked dinner when he gets home. He tells me waking up so early at 5am and scrambling to get to work early so he can leave early is all worth it. Because we all get to spend dinner time together.

Another major change is coming very soon. We used to be anxious about changes. Maybe this is how a 40-year-old mind works. Maybe it's a sign that we've matured. Maybe it's just us finally accepting that we're now adults.

All is good.

Recipe: Quinoa With Avocado Salsa Salad

Prep time: 5 mins (mostly chopping)
Cooking time: 10-15 mins

This is a very easy recipe (as most salads are). The only cooking involved here is for the quinoa and if you're always in a hurry you can always cook your quinoa ahead (they're usually last for 2-3 days in the fridge). Just make sure you store them using a tightly sealed container. I'm no Quinoa expert but the way I cook it is 2 parts water for 1 part Quinoa (2:1). And I usually just let it boil till the water evaporates (just like how you would cook rice). This is the guide I used when I cooked my first batch and I stuck to it because it yielded just the right way I'd like my Quinoa to be. To be honest, I'm still in the process of discovering and trying out everything I read to be a healthier and better for my body. I'm lucky to always stumble on tasty recipes though and I don't think I'm giving up anytime soon on this experimentation. 

This was the lunch I packed for work yesterday and I shared it with my co-workers who loved it!

I have yet to really incorporate this pseudo grain into my daily meal plan but I usually try to prepare something 2 to 3 times a week. The past few weeks, I did my recipes during the weekends because that's when we buy our groceries and that's also when my ingredients are the freshest. But this week, I got a little lazy and went to eat mostly what was prepared by our helper. Come mid-week however, I rushed to prepare some Quinoa because I was looking for other ways to use the fruits and greens that have been sitting in the fridge for a few days already. So this recipe I'm sharing is sort of a throw-in-everything-in-there kind of thing (hehehe) because I pretty much used what's in our fridge. 

I used:

1 cup cooked Quinoa

1 bunch Leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
1 tsp black beans (the salted kind in can but i plan to make this using the real ones next time)

Avocado salsa:
1 medium size tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped finely
1 tsp calamansi juice
1 small avocado, diced
1/2 cup ripe mangoes, diced
spring onions, for garnish
a pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Dressing (I just put everything in a small bottle and just shook the bottle till they're evenly mixed):
2 tsps EVOO
1 tsp coco vinegar
1 tsp honey

How I did it:


Toss everything in a salad bowl and drizzle with dressing. If you have some cashew nuts on hand, chop them up and garnish as well. The nutty flavor would definitely compliment all the sweet and tangy flavors in this salad.

Enjoy!!!!

**Quinoa is very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Manganese.

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/10352/2#ixzz1vyU80rOW

A Better Me: An Update

And so, a quarter past me making this post of making a better version of me by the end of this year and actually promising to do something about it in writing, here's how far I've gone:

photo source

Good news:
-I lost another pound so that brings me down to 105 from 108 in the beginning of this year.
-I can now fit into my skinny jeans. (Well I still wore them when my waistline was around 29-30 inches but of course my mid-section wasn't a very pretty sight to look at)
-I feel better, lighter. I wasn't able to do a long run since my 21k stint at Condura last February but I can finally claim that my easy runs these days are really easy and I always feel like I'm flying every time I do my 10-15min fartleks.
-I've been incorporating weights into my cardio workouts and I'm feeling a lot stronger than I've been in years.
-I've been on the green smoothie brekky diet for 5 weeks now and I am positive that I can now keep up with the 5-day a week plan. There are days when I wince at the thought but I just push myself to prepare the greens and I'd always end up finishing a big glass or two. (big yay for me, right?)
-I've been off rice during dinner for two weeks now and I don't wake up starving anymore unlike the first few days that I was on this diet.
-On the work-front, there were recent changes which I hope is going to be for the better (especially for me). I am now challenged as ever (in a positive way). I am also starting my Nihonggo classes soon and some Microsoft excel training which is a BIG motivation for me to do better.

photo source

-My lipid profile in early January yielded normal results for my LDLs, HDLs and Cholesterol. (big yay again!) I've been off the meds for four months now. Doctor says I just have to retain the exercise and the food portioning and I should be fine.

Not-so-good-news:
-I have started reading 3 books. And I have yet to finish any one of them. I have really lost my reading mojo. If you find it, please let me know right away okay? I will come to get it ASAP!
-I have been doing less and less recipe experimenting in the kitchen since I've been eating less and less. I hope I won't be losing my cooking mojo as well :(
-Because the diet seems to be working, I'm getting less and less motivated to do my regular runs. I need to find something to push me harder soon. If I want to be better equipped for July's second half-marathon, that is.
-I am nowhere near my goal to cut down my caffeine consumption. Any tips on how I can curve my caffeine appetite?

photo source

Okay, these are what I can come up with for now. I hope I can make this a regular quarterly update just so I can check my progress. Wish me more luck, I really need it (lolz)!

Taking a leap: Cutting My Own Bangs

I was never vanidosa. But name any girl who would claim not to give a damn about their hair, I don't think there's a lot of them out there. Majority would probably (albeit some maybe hesitantly) admit to the fact that they consider their hair to be their crowning glory.

So yes, I do take my hair seriously. Even more seriously than my skin, in fact. When I was single, I used to frequent salons. I don't get to have regular hair treatments and I've never undergone hair rebonding or any of those hair fads (yes virgin hair, i have!) but I've never ever considered cutting my own hair. Not even my bangs. I was never the risk taker when it came to experimenting with my hair (probably because of a few disastrous incidents when I attempted to do so). I've always entrusted it to professionals. And I've always gone the safer, trusted route (which is baby bangs, soft layers, just a little above the shoulders although a few times in college I did went super short but terribly regretted that-pls refer to above side note).

Today, however, I took a big leap and decided the last minute to do my own bangs. I saw this tutorial by My Soul is the Sky  in twitter a few days ago (via manilamommy) but I did not take it to heart then. I viewed it but didn't think I can do it so I sent it to the back burner (i though maybe one day but not now most definitely). I decided to subscribe to the blog though because she did wonderful braids and I wanted to try experimenting on braids when Maia grows her hair a lot longer and seeing it on my reading list somehow got me visiting the site everyday since then.

This morning, I was supposed to go to the salon to get my hair done for a wedding we're going to this afternoon (Tibs and I are going to be principal sponsors for the first time, can you believe that? I still can't up to now hehe) but I got really lazy to even leave the house. Tibs told me my hair is nice looking when tied in a bun so I thought I'll just do that instead. I tried tying it and it looked okay. I noticed that my bangs grew really long though and realized they might look better when they're shorter. Light bulb moment and well, maybe I'm really just braver in the mornings, led me to opening the tutorial and tada, a few minutes after, I have new side swept bangs. I got a bit crossed-eyed making the cut in front of the mirror so I kind of cut the bangs shorter than the tutorial suggested (which was supposed to be just right below my nose but I cut mine a good one inch shorter, see how messy I get?) but when I side-swept it, it surprisingly looked good. So yeah, I'm happy with how I did.

thank you fx camera app for hiding my grey hair! (i have a lot of them already!)

Thank God for the internet. And for tutorials like this! Now I'm off to get myself and Maia ready for this afternoon (she's always going to be an instant flower girl, I hope she doesn't fall asleep this time).

Greens For Breakfast

Really?! Greens for breakfast you ask? Very unconventional, don't you think? My co-workers winced when I mentioned this to them. Well what greens are those exactly?

I'm referring to green smoothies and yes, I'm leveling up with this BETTER ME by the end of 2012 thing. I'm now on my fourth day today. I'm been planning to do this for so long but I always manage to come up with valid (who says so? I DO so!) excuses but because of my BETTER ME project this year every excuse I came up with has since seem very trivial. What sparked and moved me even more to finally do it were several photo posts in Facebook by a childhood friend sharing her new adventures with raw food diet. She had been constantly posting her smoothies recipes and it urged me to finally try making my own. Budget was once a major constraint that hindered me from embarking on this 'smoothie' adventure because the smoothie recipes that I came across earlier called for ingredients that were a bit expensive for me and I couldn't honestly squeeze them into my weekly budget. But when I saw my friend's recipes, I was surprised she only utilized locally and easily available veggies and fruits. Super yey! So last Thursday, while I was on a holiday break from work I finally bought some pechay, ripe mangoes, fresh buko (juice and meat), parsley and bananas. My friend uses buko juice instead of water and I guess that's another thing that encouraged me. Fresh buko on its own it already sweet so I took comfort on that. I trusted that the buko juice alone would save me from feeling queasy about the drink.

before the adding the buko juice

I planned to start last Thursday but by the time I had the ingredients on hand I already ate breakfast so I decided to start on Friday instead. I read somewhere that green smoothies are most effective/best taken as your first 'meal' of the day. That way your body can easily absorb the nutrients in the drink. So Friday morning, I finally drew the courage but kept asking Tibs to wish me luck (yes I know medyo OA) because looking at the veggies and fruits (before blending) I can't seem to imagine how they would taste altogether. But when I finally took a sip, it was amazingly sweet with a slight bitter aftertaste (which to me was quite the good kind of after-taste) probably due to the parsley. I've been having the smoothie since Friday and I can't tell yet if it's making any difference on me. For one I guess, I have to really give up coffee so I can maximize the effectivity of this diet to its fullest. Well, I do not have the drive to that just yet. I've cut down on my daily consumption (from 3 I'm now down to 2 yehey, right?) and I'm hoping by the end of this week I can finally manage with just one cup (goodluck, goodluck!)

My friend also referred me to this wonderful site: Incredible Smoothies and I'm so excited to try the other recipes in here. If you're planning to start on green smoothie diet, this FAQ sheet might help you. 

Cheers to a healthy week ahead for all of us!

p.s.

To make 1 tall glass of green smoothie, this is my recipe:

1 handful of native pechay leaves
1 handful of parsley
about half a cup of buko juice
about half a cup of crushed iced buko juice (i freeze them using ice bags)
1/2 cup of ripe mangoes
1 piece medium sized banana

wanna share a glass with me? :)

Tomorrow, I'm going to try using native kangkong instead of pechay. Wish me luck! ^_^

Oatmeal Lovin'

In line with my goal to emerge as a BETTER ME by the end of 2012, I've started a snack regimen of a full cup of cooked rolled oats mixed that I mixed with about 1/3 teaspoon of muscovado rocks.

I've been doing this for two days in a row now and surprisingly, I'm starting to love it. Will I sustain it? I really hope I would. Wish me luck!

Gone by the time my coffee break is over. Nice!