Anakin's First Gotcha Day

Three hundred sixty six days ago, we found a black kitten traipsing around our garage. It noisily demanded us to feed it. 

Our first reaction was to find someone to adopt it, but the kitten proved to be the most affectionate. Luckily, no one volunteered to adopt him. I named him Anakin because of his color. 

From the first time we saw him, he never left. We suspect it was Grey who brought him to us. By then, Bailey also decided not to go with his Mama Kaley whenever she left. Anakin and Bailey became fast friends. They became besties and would play all day.

We made sure Anakin was vaccinated and neutered. He's always in the mood to play and would be very affectionate during meal time. We always have a hard time reeling him in whenever we need to leave. He never wants us to go out, haha. 

He made us worry one time when his eye was accidentally scratched by Bailey. We immediately brought him to the vet. Good thing the wound didn't affect his eyesight and it eventually recovered after a month of daily eye drops. 

Anakin, the youngest of our pawmily. Happy first Gotcha day with us. We love you forever!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried Panda Express Ice Cream

The boys stepped out for an errand and came back with Panda Express' Ice cream. They were surprised that the resto had ice cream, got curious and bought some.

They have two flavors available: cookies & cream and coffee almond. I got to try the coffee and almond flavor. 

I like coffee flavored ice cream and usually buy a pint every so often. I was eager to try what the boys got for me. Sweetie ate his right after dinner and said it was okay. I had it after doing some sewing.

I was expecting the cup to be full almost to the brim (like how Magnolia does it), but I was surprised to see it looked like just a scoop. I'm not sure if they just scooped it and put it in a covered cup for takeaway. 

What I enjoyed about the ice cream was the nuts. They were chopped bigger than usual. The coffee flavor though was too mild. Maybe I've been spoiled by my favorite brand. Oh well, at least we got to try it.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Watched "My Future You"

Netflix just added a whole bunch of MMFF movies the past week. We were looking to watch something light yesterday and selected the FranSeth film. 

What made us curious about it is the time travel aspect of the film. We wondered how it would work out. I was also curious why the film got several awards. 

It was unpredictable. We couldn't really say what would happen next. They were able to intertwine the timelines perfectly. The story was also able to convey family values across the film subtly. I like how it wasn't over the top. 

I won't spoil the ending for you, just go watch it. We were so engrossed we ended up eating a lot of tacos made by our friend Nina. It was yummy! You can order through her IG at https://www.instagram.com/therapynitita?igsh=aGN2b2RwZ2hyamZs

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Zinnia!

I planted some zinnia seeds last April. It took awhile before it sprouted. The stem grew longer when I transferred the pot to a sunnier spot. I started questioning myself whether I planted zinnia seeds or sunflowers since the stem was really long.

I supported the stems with bamboo sticks. It was really surprising that it kept growing. My garden doesn't get enough sunlight because of our location. Anyway, I monitored the plant closely as it grew.

I was surprised early this week when I saw a bud growing from one of the stems. It was the longest stem. I was still unsure whether it would be a zinnia or sunflower (LOL!). It's been raining also so I kept my expectations low.

It was sunny the other day and I was surprised to see a blossom. It was a beautiful orange zinnia flower! Woohoo! I'm so happy I was able to grow a plant that produces flowers!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Brunch at Nono's

We used to avoid dining at Nono's because it's quite expensive! We relented when it opened a branch nearby. After trying it we've made it a point to dine there once in awhile. 

The announcement about EDSA's new regulations, the rising health issues and heavy traffic had us re-programming our trips to BGC/Makati. We now plan to spend the least amount of time when we need to go to BGC/Makati. So, we ended up having brunch at Nono's the other day.

I like the food at Nono's and I try to order a different dish everytime we go. It's just frustrating that my first choice is always unavailable! I ended up ordering the waffle eggs Benedict. Oh my! It was huge! The waffle was completely covered with ham, eggs and hollandaise sauce. Of course, weird lil me ate it with ketchup, hehe.

Sweetie got a pulled pork sandwich and it was huge too! He said he liked it. Miggy got his usual chicken (I forgot to take a photo, haha). We were all properly full after the meal and then left for our appointment.

Our plan to eat nearby worked. We were able to avoid heavy traffic. Luckily, we didn't wait long to see the doctor and was in and out of the hospital in an hour. We went back towards home immediately to avoid traffic and just had a stopover to buy meds. 

It's been a long week! Happy long weekend everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Booksale, Again!

A trip to the mall nearby is not complete if we don't drop by Booksale. We finished our appointment early, so we dropped by the mall to buy meds. Of course, we dropped by Booksale before we did our errand.

We usually park on the other side, but since it was just a quick visit we parked in the building where Booksale was located. Oh boy! The elevator sounded scary! We originally thought the strange sound was from a car. We realized the weird sound was the elevator! We'll stick to parking on the other side next time!

Anyway, we reached Booksale safely. The staff smiled after seeing us. She always tells us to come on a Tuesday. They get new stocks on Mondays, so there's always fresh books on Tuesdays. 

Sweetie got a huge haul. Twelve books for just PhP220! I saw a number of books that interested me. A few were craft books, but one was a music book of nursery rhymes. That's where I started when I learned to play the piano. My first recital piece was "Old MacDonald" :)

I haven't been buying fiction books since I have a huge pile of unread books. It's Miggy who's been buying fiction books. He got a book by Michael Crichton, "Sphere". We had it before, but it perished during Typhoon Ondoy.

Before we left I saw a child holding a magazine about ships. We always try to find books about ships for Dad. I told Sweetie about it and I went to the back part of the store and promptly found a book on naval aviation. I know we probably won't find a similar one, so I got that too. Dad received the book today and he was fascinated with the book, especially with the emblem. I'm glad we got the book for him. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Got My Ears Checked

Finally got to see my ENT yesterday. It was a good timing since ear pain woke me up at dawn. I was groping in the dark to find some paracetamol. I ended up taking my migraine meds. I also had a headache anyway. Played the white noise and I soon fell asleep again.

We headed to the hospital after eating breakfast. We had a hard time finding a spot to park (as usual!), so Miggy and I went ahead to the clinic. We didn't have to wait long and the doctor immediately checked my ear after I told him my symptoms.

My ENT in Singapore told me that ear tunnel is narrow. My ear issues recur every 5 years (more or less) and an ENT has to clean it. I'm glad my new ENT is very adept with cleaning. I didn't feel any pain and I felt I could hear clearer.

The ringing and buzzing reduced over the weekend. My hearing wasn't affected, but the doctor advised to monitor for the next two weeks. If tinnitus persists I have to do a hearing test. I hope my ear will heal in the next few days. 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

New Eyeglasses

Miggy and I have been overdue to get new eyeglasses. Five years overdue! My eyeglasses frame broke while I had it on. We immediately visited an opthalmologist last week

It takes a week for my eyeglasses to be made. I've been using progressive lenses for almost a decade now, so I was happy when the shop pinged me this morning that our eyeglasses were available.

Got our new eyeglasses today. I selected a plastic frame since I've been using a steel frame the past five years. It's lighter and with the correct grade the world feels brighter. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Month of May (2025)

Completed another month for my one second everyday project. May will always start heavily for me since Mom passed on the first of May two years ago. After that we celebrate Dad's birthday by the 19th. We spent most of the month at home. It was still too hot to venture out, so most of my daily 1SE was taken at home. 

We focused our time on health maintenance. Got our annual flu shots and did some check-ups too. The cats weren't spared and unfortunately Grogu got a deep wound which had to be stitched. We brought him home yesterday, but he kept licking and biting the wound. He was brought back to the vet and would best stay there until he completely heals. We have no idea how he got his wound. 

I spent a lot of time tending to Mom's plants. I tried propagating her bougainvillea and I re-potted a couple of plants we rescued from our childhood home. It's a lot of work and I'm still sorting her stuff (it's bottomless!). The boxes for donation is now a huge pile. We have to follow-up to have it picked up. 

The most important thing we did for the month of May was to vote! Only two of those who I voted for senator won. It was also very hard to chose who to vote for the local positions. Oh well, I hope the new generation can produce more diligent and effective leaders. 

Here's the one second everyday video for the month of May:

Since we only went out when needed, we squeezed in time to eat well. We were able to try Panco Cafe and the newly opened Brooklyn pizza place near our home. I also did a quest to find the best spinach pizza. Tried Pizza Telefono's and luckily got a free experience pizza from Shakey's. It was both good. Maybe next time we'll try Angel's Pizza. 

I'm so glad the rainy season is around the corner. The weather has improved a lot in the past week. We've also been able to collect rain water and the plants love it!

June will be about the birthdays of my boys and we have to plan for the second half of the year!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Checked Out an Australian Surplus Shop

Randomly watched a video about an Australian surplus shop at midnight. Found ourselves at the shop the next day, haha. We were curious, plus Sweetie needs a few things for Dad.

It just took us 10 minutes from Bicutan to reach the location at Tunasan, Muntinlupa. A far cry from the 90 minute travel time to BGC! The store was inside a warehouse in an industrial complex. Parking was relatively easy.

The store had a mix of goods. They had appliances, house ware (mostly from Anko), furniture, tools, toys, gadgets and cat stuff! I think it was the tail end of their sale, but they still had a lot of stuff. 

The furniture selection was on the second floor. The stairway was pretty steep and was a workout for my knees and lungs. They had a myriad of stuff, but what caught my eye were the garden furniture. I'll come back for something in the future. 

They had Chromebooks, but it was already sold out by the time we came. They have tablets for under PhP1,000. Useful if you know how to install earlier versions of apps or you can use it as a photo album.  

A lot of the houseware items were useful. They even had a small aquarium. I didn't need anything so just enjoyed looking at stuff. Don't expect much on the toy stuff, most were for younger children. 

I think the JVC branded gadgets are on 50% off until month end. Most were speakers for partying, you can check it on their FB page.

We skipped the tools and equipment section, but I saw they had a lot of lawn lowers and hand tools. Oh, I forgot to check the power washer! Maybe next time!

Here's the addy:

Shop and Save Australian Surplus 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/9wciKE3bA335nG199

#BeKind #StaySafe