Weekender: Cavite roadtrip

After a few months of hiatus from travels(my last was Tokyo in April), we managed to have a quick visit to the province of Cavite this week. We needed to go to a wake in Manila Memorial Park in Dasmarinas, where a sister of my husband's friend died due to breast cancer at the young age of thirty-five. We also planned to visit a longtime friend's cafe. It was hitting two birds in one stone kinda day.

40 days

Today is our beloved Mom’s 40th day after she went back to our Creator last April 24. We miss her terribly every day but we are slowly accepting the fact that we will never see her, hear her voice or touch her physically again. 

Nakaka-miss talaga. I wish as early as a teenager alam ko na my parents are my cheerleader  and the only persons that could give  me unconditional love. I’m very lucky that they gave their utmost love and sacrifices to provide us food to eat, comfortable home and education. Ang swerte namin magkakapatid dahil may napaka responsableng magulang meron kami. They even tried to give their support in their own extended families even with minimal resources. Mabait silang Kuya at Ate. I do confess I could never be that selfless like my parents. Kahit super strict sila sa amin(three girls and one boy) I’m grateful that they are my parents. It turned out na those values that they inculcated were vital to our own “adulting”.

my Mom gave me this plant from her garden a year ago yata.
surprisingly, this flower bloomed just this month only. 

If you have read my past posts, I usually visit my Mom on a Thursday. Naiisip ko lagi yun. Parang feeling ko mayroon akong nakalimutang gawin on a Thursday. And whenever I drop by, it is always a sure thing na may food akong iuuwi from her. 

We had a mass offered for Mom noontime and went to the nearest Shakey’s branch for our lunch afterwards. Usually, when we had gatherings like this, our Mom will pay for it. I told my husband, “wala na kaming financier”. But more than that yung feeling na para kaming orphans magkakapatid is beyond comprehension. Iba ang lungkot kapag nawalan ka ng magulang. If you have them still with you, hug them and do your utmost ability to show you honor and love them for raising, supporting and loving you unconditionally.

Bear with me

I have almost three months worth of blog posts/thoughts.  But, how to ‘write’ again?

I’ve been meaning to post about our Boracay trip, my Mom’s hospitaization and eventually her demise, my Tokyo, Japan trip for my 50th birthday, my grief journey and everything in between.

Ironically, the first quarter of this year was very eventful but I’m loss for words to put it into writing. Life is a mystery indeed.

Sunday shopping and Cafe Via Mare

As I've mentioned in this post, one of my goals this year is to have more bonding time with my Mom. She is 77 years old and still healthy but we all know what old age means. I lost my Daddy almost ten years ago to Liver cancer after four months of going in and out of the hospital and up to this day we all miss him so much. The void that he left in our lives is irreplaceable. That was an eye opener for all of us. Life is short, we should live our lives not only to be happy, but with meaning or purpose. Life becomes meaningful when we give a part of ourselves, be it tender loving care or our precious time to others.

Weekender 05: Procastination ends + Pleasant surprise

Last week was quite eventful. It started with my long overdue dental prophylaxis last Monday. Looking back, I'm glad I stopped procastinating about it because I went to the clinic just in time I needed one. Nasermunan ako ng doctor slash brother in law ko. Haha. I saved a lot of money just because I decided to came by. It caused me a few sleepless nights, actually.

antibiotic for one week

Intermittent Fasting conclusion

I attended another zumba session on Wednesday, again struggling with just water, coffee, banana and three spoonfuls of shredded sweet corn. Parang nabubusog agad ako. One thing I observed from this fasting was it curbed my appetite. Hindi ko na na-eenjoy kumain. Ang sad di ba?

Weekender 04: Australian Open 2019 and Intermittent Fasting

I’ve been watching the Australian Open for almost two weeks now . It’s not a secret that tennis is my spectator sport. Mas gusto ko siya panoorin instead of actually playing it since the late 90’s. I like that a few young and very good ones are emerging like Naomi Osaka, Nikki Kyrgios and Stef Tsitsipas. But they have to wait, my faves are still reigning~ Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer. Their time will come.

Stefano Tsitsipas

At the Men's single finals yesterday, Novak Djokovic emerged as the champion. It was his seventh. As much as I love Nadal, si Novak ang manok ko. It feels good that he's back on being World no. 1 after suffering from an injury and a surgery last year. In the women's division, 20 year old Naomi Osaka of Japan bagged the trophy.

Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic (ctto)

Weekender 03: Seafood and Ribs Warehouse, Coco and Mom's health

Getting back to my exercise routine(at least 3-4x a week) was one of my agendas last week. I went last Wednesday for a workout but after completing my first 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, I got bored. On a regular day, I would gladly do it for an hour. I decided to join the zumba class instead which was about to start. I didn’t realize I miss dancing that much. I really had fun. It’s been two months since I stopped attending the zumba classes. In exchange, I was diligently working out pre-Christmas with pigging out during the holidays as my motivation. Haha.

My husband fetch me afterwards. We tried visiting SM North Edsa’s newest building, the North Towers for a change.

Super Blood wolf moon

Being a "look at the moon" kind of person, I didn't realize I took a shot of this lunar phenomenon Sunday night while I was out in our garden. Wala nagandahan lang talaga ako sa kanya. In my mind, it was incredibly huge for a full moon, so I took my phone and captured the moment. My intention was to put it in my IG story but I forgot. Sa twitter ko na lang nalaman about it. Funny.

Scoliosis and Yoga

I can’t remember if I mentioned here already that I have mild scoliosis. This is one reason why exercise has been part of my lifestyle since my 20’s. It won’t be cured but through proper exercise, I get to strengthen my bones and prevent getting Osteoporosis in the future. 

Stretching one’s body properly is one major concern. I learned that I cant do na pala some Yoga poses because of my scoliosis. 

These poses are advisable and can be done pre and post exercise...

More about Scoliosis and Yoga in these article...

Weekender 02: de-Christmastified, Mom's health and some shopping

Is there ever a word "de-Christmastify"? Well, I just invented it. :D

One word that will describe my Monday last week. I finally had the courage to undress my tree and washed it. Everything that will remind us of Christmas is already tucked away in their respective boxes and cabinets.

Weekender 01: new year meet up and new specs

One of my best friends asked me last Christmas thru messenger if we could meet up on January 6 for some catch up.  I don't usually go out on weekends to avoid the crowd, but twice a year lang kami magkita, plus my son was in Baguio for the weekend, so I agreed. I'm her daughter's Ninang and we usually do this after Christmas for lunch out and gift giving. This was also my signal to dye my hair(last time was five months?) after days of procastination. I'm really too lazy to head to the salon. So I did it myself with a little help from my husband who was unwilling initially. Haha.

2019 goals

Last year, my prime goal was to save up. Medyo nag-fail ako doon. I intend to outdo it this year. I was able to save up but unfortunately, I didn't reach my expectations. My goal to continue with my fit lifestyle was reached but not as good as my statistics last 2017.

For 2019, I want to accomplish the following with flying colors...

* save, save, save!

* travel to a dream destination on my 50th. locally, to a beach destination I've never been to

* post regularly here on my blog(weekenders, not daily para mas achievable)

* buy a dining table or a lazy boy

* follow religiously a healthy diet

* more bonding with my Mom

* to be more tolerant with my husband and son
* be kind to myself(ok lang hindi perfect at times)

* attend a formal cooking/baking class

* minimize shopping for teacups, tableware :D

New Year 2019

This year's celebration was a bit gloomy. Raining incessantly days before the last day of 2018 dampened my spirit.  Akala ko Christmas lang uulan pero due to typhoon Usman, pati rin pala New Year. I think this would be the first time that we'll celebrate it with rain pouring outside. So paano na ang fireworks? It will be a boring New Year's eve, I thought.

Christmas 2018

It’s that time of the year again wherein I become a kitchen slave. But don't get me wrong, this is a small sacrifice for the love of family and of course, cooking. I just don’t normally cook this much during our birthdays or other occasions, Christmas lang talaga. Maybe because of the festive spirit of it or the cooler weather perhaps? 

2018 anniversary

Contrary to last year, my husband and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary in a very simple manner. We just had dinner at Dulcinea Tomas Morato branch. We want it at Concha's Garden sana but the parking lot was full. 

Our usual favorites on the table...

Beef Salpicao

Birthday Merienda at Harlan and Holden Glasshouse

After watching “The Star is born”, we craved for coffee. I like to try a cafe naman na di pa namin nasusubukan. Medyo nagsasawa na ako sa Starbucks and Coffeebean. Ganun din sa Costa  and Seattle’s best. I want something unique. If I have my way, I’ll do that every week; yung try a different Café naman. The quirkier it is, the better.

Harlan and Holden Glasshouse fits the description. I love the interior first and foremost...

hubby’s birthday 2018

My son can’t go with us because he is competing in a tournament(E-sports) so it was just me and husband for this birth date. He had to leave early morn after greeting his Tatay. We planned to go out of town but changed our minds, eventually. 

I bought choco fudge cake from Goldilock’s the night before without him knowing...

Texas Joe's House of Ribs Subic and Cafe France Caltex

We want to deviate from our usual resto picks, so we googled the best eats in Subic. We chose Texas Joe's House of Ribs and Steak, a saloon type of resto near the Harbour front.

Subic escape anew : Camayan Beach Resort

My husband has been suffering from colds for almost ten days already. He insisted on curing it the natural  way because we all know that the common colds can be treated with rest, hydration and nutrition. I made him breath a few drops of Eucalytus oil over boiled water, prepared Ginger tea with lemon and honey plus soupy meals like Nilagang Baka(beef broth), Tinolang Manok(Chicken soup w/ ginger), Sinigang Ribs and Bangus alternately. Over the weekend, he went to Manila Bay twice too, to at least breath some sea air to loosen his clogged nose.