On Making Choices

Just wanted to drop a quick hi! No i'm still not over my current predicaments but I do hope they will soon find their closures on their own. I sound really funny I know but when it's work issues I promised myself I will never, ever talk about them in detail here.

Apart from the eternal exhaustion, I do find silver linings on my daily struggles. I am learning a lot. And I really mean A LOT. That is enough for now. One day. My break will come. Note to self: Just sit tight. Be patient. Never forget.

Image Source

Scenes From Japan: Mother's Day Soon!

We passed by this dainty flower shop several times today while we were in Ueno. I can't find a wi-fi hotspot today so I thought, I might as well share it here and hope that the two loves I left at home sees this and picks my message up.

I am not the biggest fans of flower bouquets but who doesn't like getting them? I think that flowers are just the perfect pick-uppers to a lousy day. (But Tibs, just in case you're reading this, you won't need to buy me flowers from here. Hahaha. It's so expensive here!)

Marking This Career Milestone

Today marks the day my career prayers were answered. I have been with my current employer for almost 6 years now. And today, I finally received my promotion. Well actually, my first ever promotion since I started working. So yes, it's a huge milestone for me. And I am giving it all back to God. For guiding me through it all. And to my family for just being so supportive.

I now have a huge challenge to face. And it's going to be a rollercoaster ride from here. But I'm confident I can pull this off. Exciting times ahead!

photo from Pinterest

Grateful Existence

So apt to this day, woke up early to get my performance evaluation for work done. I'm trying to recall the things I've done good at the past year. But as always, I'm a big procrastinator. So yes, 30 minutes after, I still haven't done anything in there. Not even a word.

Then again, this time for reflection has filled me with overwhelming gratefulness. For what? Well, a lot of things which are mostly of intangible nature.

Financially, we are far from good. We're actually just surviving. But yes, the key word there is SURVIVE. And for that, I am extremely grateful.Even more grateful that all my efforts at work are finally being recognized and rewarded. That is more than enough because it affords us sustainability.

Materially, we are far from good. We are actually in a bad situation. We have several appliances (a fridge that turns into Antarctica in just a day, for example) and furniture that is dire need of replacing. But they will have to wait for a few more months or maybe a year. But again, we will survive. It's nothing life-threatening and a little bump here and there won't really hurt.

'

Physically, we're doing well I guess. We've started a more rigorous exercise regimen this year having decided to pursue our marathon dream in Feb next year. And we've been eating more fish than meat (a big pat on the back for the hubby for finally conceding). We probably can do better but I'm happy we're finding the time to do more healthy things these days. Yes, that makes me very very grateful.


Spiritually, we can work more on this aspect. But I'm also grateful I am surrounded by co-workers who help me nurture my spirituality without pressure. That to me works because I'm the type who would rebel when I'm being forced to do something. And right now, I'm with the company of spiritual friends who are there to guide without being compelling or imposing.


So yes, we are in a good place right here, right now. I am happy and contented for the most part. Contentment is hard to find nowadays and that's another thing that makes me really grateful these days. Yes, I do feel envy some days. I am but human. But the envy disappears fast (and that still surprises me somehow), and I will be enveloped by gratitude again.

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving on this part of the world that I come from. But I guess it won't hurt to take more gratitude pills today. After all, gratitude is something you can never overdose on.

All photos were taken from Pinterest.

LSS: Metropolis

For weary corporate slaves like me.

Cheers!

Hang in there, respite is within reach already! I personally can't wait for the very long weekend ahead!

In the meantime, sharing with you this wonderful song that has been on repeat in my head for the past 2 days already.

Hello August!

I am an accountant by day. The end and the beginning of any given month is always the busiest for me at the workfront. So right now, I got my hands full. I have A LOT to do, A LOT that the mere thought of them makes my brain freeze and in turn awakens my lazy bones to the point of me ending up with these on my desk:

For my loved ones. Tibs and Maia, most especially
I know I have the worst wire bending art skills (I don't even think what I did could pass up as a skill)

The incessant patter of thick, rain pellets (yes pellets because that's how they really appear from where I'm sitting) on the glass wall in front of me isn't helping at all. Now all I want to do is to go home, slip under warm bed covers and cuddle with my adorable-curious-little-but-growing-up-so-quickly-little-miss.

This is how I welcome August. By being LAZY and opting to take a mental vacation. When I was younger, my lolas would tell me that August is the leanest of all the months of the calendar year. This is apparently the time when you take out/make use of all the bounties that you've saved up during the early part of the year because it's taghirap. I come from an agricultural family and I guess the primary explanation to that belief of my elders is the reality that the rainy season is not the best time to plant your crops. And agricultural families foregoing the planting on this season of course would lead to the lack of harvest. 

So where am I heading with this? I don't know. Haha. I guess what I'm really trying to do is find an excuse for all this laziness. August has always been a so-so for me. Will that remain to be the same this year? I want to think that I can change it. But right now my mind and body is telling me to just CHILL. And embrace all the laziness around me. Haha. 

Not Forever.

I'm missing those laid back days. I miss blogging. But I can't blog a lot because I haven't been playing mommy these past few weeks so I can't think of things to write about. I miss my family. I think I've written that in almost all of the post I wrote this May. Sigh.

But as they say, change is good. We all need to be shaken off our comfortable zones once in a while. And I welcome all this challenges coming my way. But a short breather would also be gratefully appreciated. I hope that comes soon.

Hello May!

We welcomed the first day of the 5th month of the year by staying indoors. When my siblings and I were kids, my late lola always welcomed the first day of May with great revelry. She always looked forward to May because of Flores De Mayo and Her 'Hello May' ritual was usually accompanied by a piping hot pot of arroz caldo or 'palutaw' (which is just like Ginataang Halo-halo). Oh the nostalgia that May brings. I would've wanted to replicate lola's ritual but I fondly remember too how May smelled of flowers and dew and cool air then. It was never like the May that I've been experiencing for the past years that I've been living in Manila and now here in Cavite.

Of late, the summer heat has been almost unbearable that every time we're out and exposed for more than 10 minutes under the scorching sun and Maia would become lethargic, I would shake her just to keep her conscious. (insert Tibs' stiffled laugh) YES, I have heat stroke paranoia. And yes, in my part of the world, the paranoia never goes away. 

So anyway because we couldn't stay out for long unless we're dipping in a pool of water, we instead welcomed the first day of May indoors. Well, to be honest, I was secretly wishing we would do just that because the past few days had kept me extremely busy with work and other activities totally unrelated to family life. I missed my two-some, cool-some duo.I miss storytime with Maia. I miss cuddletime with Tibs.  I miss playing referee to their fights. I miss cooking for them. I just missed my family a lot. So yesterday, we ditched previous plans the last minute and decided to just get lazy and do family time some justice.  We did all the things I missed. Told/exchanged stories, cuddled, tickled, ate tacos and quesadillas, did some crafts (this is fast becoming a favorite bonding activity too in our household)!

Here are some photos I posted at instagram to summarize our day:

Fluffy Bunnies book. One of Maia's favorites since she was a toddler.
This was a gift from Lola Joyce.

Quesadilla/Soft Tacos Galore!
(my cheese dip ingredients on the left, quesadilla in the making on the right)

Maia busy at work

We did a choo-choo train from paper tubes and egg trays. Maia did that one so fast, I got pressured of thinking what to do next. Good thing I kept a Pinterest board of Arts and Crafts activities so I was able to come up with another paper tube (which was the material that I had on hand yesterday) activity instantly. Maia enjoyed the paper tube flower stamping more and I reckon it's probably because she loves painting pictures. At first I thought that making the patterns was difficult but I turned out to be easier than I'd imagined. I made a separate post of these two paper tube craft activities in case you would want to make your own version. Please click here for the Egg Carton + Paper Tube Train and here for the Paper Tube Flower stamps. 

May 1st came and went. It drizzled slightly during the late afternoon just about the same time when Maia  decided to drag all of her stuffed friends outside to show them the stars. It's a good thing the sky cleared up as soon as she got herself and her stuffed friends seated comfortably so I could claim proudly how we had a tantrum-free day yesterday. That was a first! 

Can you please join me in saying - "YOU DID GOOD, MAIA!"

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)!

Dear Perfect [preschooler] Yaya

Our favorite of them all. Ate Inday.
Puerto Princesa airport.

After going through several nanny heartbreaks and eventually moving on, I thought it might serve us well if I list down the points that I would want to discuss with first and foremost with our prospective [perfect] nanny with the hope that they may guide and help Tibs and me make better decisions and choices. I know that I'm dreaming BIG when I say I now want the next one to be perfect. But who knows, right? 

In the meantime, [while we search and search for the elusive perfect nanny] we took in somebody who we thought was good enough. But since our earlier definition of good enough was very ambiguous and relative we ended up with someone that doesn't even meet half of our expectations. I am hoping that by coming up with this list (which I will probably update from time to time) I would eventually be able to come up with a more specific and concrete definition of what good enough is in our household. Good enough might eventually be synonymous to perfect, who knows again. What's important is we have this guide. 

When I finally cross paths with you and accept you in our home, I would like to be assured -

1. That you be familiar with local vegetables and would know how to prepare, cook and eat them. We would really like for you to feed Maia healthy, nutritious food.

2. That you make the effort to earn our trust and not assume that we already put our full trust on you when we decided to hire you.

3. That you stick to the schedules that we tell you especially on FEEDING and SLEEPING.

Ate Bebing. She fattened Maia up.
She was the most patient when it came to feeding chores.

4. That you exercise (using gentle persuasion) your authority as an adult over my kid. The reason why we got somebody to watch over her is because we recognize that she is still not fully capable of making the right decisions. So when she demands to eat chocolate for lunch, you should know that chocolate is not considered as a meal.

5. That you respect our household rules.

6. That since a phone is provided, you let me know when something is not right. And when I say you let me know, I mean RIGHT away. 


7. That when you’re with my kid, you pay full attention to her. We don’t prohibit the use of phones, but even us are not with our phones 24/7. When we’re at work, we focus on our work.


8. Violence is banned in our household. And that includes violence against animals, insects and every living thing you see within the parameters of our household. Yes. I do not encourage you killing a helpless spider in front of my kid. That is beyond horrible.


9. Profanity is prohibited in our household. And when I say prohibited TALAGANG BAWAL PO. So when I catch you, please expect an earful from me. (the kid is really like a sponge you know.)


10. We encourage you to be observant. Our ways and norms can be easily learned, if you just observe. We don’t shout. We don’t hit. And we demand you do the same whenever you’re around her.

Ate Belen. She was Maia's best friend.
But she was really loud so I avoided conversing with her because I'd always get irritated.

That is all I could come up for now. But I am sure this list will grow. For now I just really wanted to write these thoughts down before I forget about them again.

Home Sick

Maia's first summer vacation. Smell of freshly crush sugarcane abound!

I am suddenly terrible missing this place. And my family in Antique. Sigh. Post-holiday blues and probably due to lack of sleep of stress plus the stress of tending to a sick toddler.

I keep reminding myself that this is just but a small hump that will most likely pass in a couple of days but my mind eventually wandered to different things. And now it's craving for every thing that my home town offers - breathtaking view, fresh air, fresh food most especially.

It's a place that feeds my lazy bones really well. And would be the best cure for my overly exhausted body. 

When they were still signing, non-verbal little beings.

Afternoon fun interacting with cows and goats

Watch the sun set perfectly in our own version of The Shire

View so breath-taking.

There's always a place to feed and let your imagination run wild.

I cannot wait for summer vacation. But I'm pretty sure when that time comes I'd be first to say - HOW TIME FLIES, IT'S ALREADY SUMMER!