One Second Everyday: July 2026

I'm trying to make sure I post my one second a day a week after the start of the month. Good thing I remembered to do it today for Throwback Thursday. 

The highlight of the month was celebrating Mando Laura and Grogu's birthday. They were born on different days, so we celebrated across the week. We even got cake! Haha. I couldn't figure out where to get cake that's safe for cats? The cake I got was devoured by the hoomans...

The rainy season is back, so I got to re-open my kitchen and cook homemade meals. Gardening time reduced a lot because of the rain. I water only when needed to make sure the roots don't rot. It will probably be this way for the next two to three months until the weather changes. 

We also go to see two friends from abroad. One from Australia earlier in July and the other one from Singapore at the end of the month. It's really fun to see friends who come and visit. I must admit, we've been hibernating and only go out when really needed, haha. It's hard to get around when you're on a wheelchair. 

I only finished one measly quilt project. We got busy with other stuff, so I had to de-prioritize sewing for the month. I've been a bit picky also on what I do since I have other ongoing non-sewing projects which take up time. I'm now choosing between three possible projects for the month. I'm having a hard time choosing since it will definitely take more time to make, heh. Here's my 1SE video for the month of July:

I hope the month of August would be a bit more productive. It's been raining like crazy, so we'll see...

How was your month of July?

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Month of June

June is always set as a month to celebrate for us. Sweetie and Miggy's birthdays fall on the same month, so it's a month-long "cheat day" for us, haha. Oh! And we also celebrate Anakin's gotcha day.

I realized I haven't been posting my monthly one second a everyday videos, so I'm going to back-track and upload the months I skipped (March to May). Here's the one for the month of June -

The biggest highlight of the month was a day trip to Tagaytay. It's been three years since we went and we feel very lucky because the weather was good and there was barely any traffic (despite typhoon Francisco*).

Here's what I also accomplished for the month:

• Completed two sewing projects - a bag and a couple of Yoda-inspired coasters
• Finished doctor check-ups
• Went shopping with Architect Ed and cleared the rest of Mom's jungle
• Tomato plants started growing fruit! Also got to sprout orange seeds! 
• Survived the month without getting sick!
• Re-opened my kitchen and cooked Spanish adobo

It doesn't seem much, but when you're operating on a limited capacity reaching 1,000 steps per day is already an achievement. :)

*Thank you to my Papa Lolo for watching us when we traveled! He has the same name as the typhoon, so I felt he helped give us a reprieve so we can go out. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

  

February, the Love Month

February was an interesting month for me. I explored a lot of stuff I love doing. I tried to cook more homemade dishes. I tried growing more plants and worked on my garden. I tried sewing a quilted piano cover (not yet done though). And spent more time exploring with my boys. 

I completed another month of 1 second everyday. A second is too short, so I made it 1.5 seconds everyday. I've also been posting weekly ones (when I remember, haha). It's easy to forget already what happened a month ago, so a second everyday helps. 

Here's last month's #1SE!

Happy March everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

A Grateful Year-end

I'm writing this as I cringe since a neighbor just lit what sounds like a large size Judas belt. It ended with a loud bang. I never really liked firecrackers and I'd hide inside the house on new years eve. I'm just glad none of our immediate neighbors use it (well, so far). We've set up hiding places for our cats. Bailey had me stroke his back longer than usual earlier since firecrackers were going off as early as 4 in the afternoon. 

Anyway, I'm just grateful I have a nice hiding place in our basement. We turned on two air purifiers to make sure I don't have an asthma attack. We'll just have some pasta and barbecue for media noche. I also got a small basque burnt cheesecake from a neighbor, so we have something sweet. 

I'm happy I was able to complete another year of one second everyday (#1SE). I just make it a point to take a photo everyday to remember what I did for that day. Majority are probably photos of cats, my plants and us dining somewhere. Here's the video for December -

May you all have a blessed and safe new year! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

What Happened in October (2025)

I'm glad I made it this far recording at least a second everyday on my One Second Everyday account. October has been our most productive month this year. It was good we started it by having buffet breakfast in a hotel. It was my belated birthday celebration :)

I've been a bit more mobile this month and having a wheelchair really helps getting around. It's added cardio for the boys (haha). I stretch my knee often when we're out since it still hurts. I start PT next month, but Miggy has started his wellness and nutrition journey. It's the reason why we've been out more often. 

Since I want our home to look more accommodating, we spent a lot of time this month organizing. We got help from Ally Canita and her team. They helped us finish the rest of the boxes from my childhood home. It was a good decision to do that, since we're now ready to decorate for Christmas! Hooray! 

We also got help from a landscaper, Manong Henry, to clean up our front yard. The bamboo trees got so gnarly and I was afraid snakes might start living in it. What pushed me to get help was seeing a very long snake skin on our neighbor's car. It probably shed on the car while we were all asleep! The landscape project is my gold birthday gift for myself. Ahh, seeing pretty plants make me happy. 

Here's my 1sec video for October:

In between all the activity we rested and calmed down with our cats. They calmed down when August (now Gus) and Little Grey moved out. I'm really glad we were able to find the best fur parents for them. I guess the orange energy they had was too much for us and the tabby brood. Things are back to normal and I plan to bust out the new cat tower for them this weekend.

Happy end of October and Happy Halloween!

If you're bored and want to be scared, you may want to read some scary stories here -

https://moonlesstales.blogspot.com/

#BeKind #StaySafe

Most Unproductive Birthday Month Ever!

I'm a bit relieved that I made it to the end of August. It's one of the most unproductive months in my entire life. I did celebrate a milestone, but we were stuck at home for most of the month. We only ventured out because I had to see my doctor and I had to buy a wheelchair (I wanted to try it and didn't want to get it online). 

Anyway, it was still a beautiful month. I did spend almost a week in the hospital, but I got to eat my favorite spaghetti. I got a better view of what I'm up against. I did have a bad fall, but I was saved from further injury by a bag I made from my Mom's unfinished project. I've only been given what I can bear. 

Here's a glimpse of the entire month through a one second everyday video:

Recovery has been slow and I still need to do a number of tests. I'm spending time doing things I wouldn't normally do, i.e. daydreaming and going through the quilting books I collected the past year (all from Booksale!). I've also been able to write a couple of posts about what's going on and just focusing on praying for truth and justice and everyone's safety. 

Happy Sunday everyone! Don't forget to check out the eclipse tonight!

#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

One Second Everyday | February 2025

Oh my! The first quarter of the year is almost over and I completely forgot to upload my one second everyday video for the  month of February! 

I spent most of the month at home sorting through my Mom's stuff (yup it isn't done yet). I did manage to go out at least once a week just to see the outside world. The highlight of the month for me was getting to watch a movie in an actual theater! We watched "Ex Ex Lovers". It was a rare treat! Hopefully I can persuade Sweetie to watch another movie before the month ends.

Here's the video :)

Note to self: don't buy any more books until you figure out how to fix your shelf! Haha. 

I still have so many things to do! I'm exhausted though and have to take things slow to make sure I don't get sick! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

February 2024 One Second Everyday

February flew by faster than January. We were also quite busy the whole month with medical check-up a. Got to make sure we're in tiptop shape (well, stable). Also did other home errands. 

Our errands brought us to far away places. Road trips always give me a happy boost of energy. A favorite go-to place is Chef RV's shop in Binan where we always get bibingka. 

Highlight of the month was completing the first phase of my pulmo rehab. My therapists even made a graduation ceremony for me, haha. We treated it like a real graduation and had lunch at Lore to celebrate. That was fun.

I will probably have to slow down this month since the heat is terrible. Well, this will give me the chance to work on home projects. Just need to make sure I'm always at <30'C temp. 

Here's the #1SE for February 2024 -

#BeKind #StaySafe

2024, New Year in Manila

Happy New Year! 

Celebrated the new year at home contained in our family room. Had to do this to avoid the bad air quality. Didn't want to welcome the new year with asthma, haha. We also just prepared the ready to cook food Kuya and Ate Joy sent. I'll cook pink pasta today so we could have noodles.

I was so surprised so many neighbors had fireworks! There wasn't as many last year when we welcomed 2023. By 11:20 pm it was super noisy in our neighborhood. It wasn't the same though as the 80s/90s when it was non-stop. There were moments of silence in between. Of course, the loudest bangs came five minutes before midnight. 

I feel 2024 is going to be very different! I haven't crafted any goals yet, but I have some ideas in my head. I'll let it simmer for now and will write it out in the next few days.

Here's how my 2023 went as a one second everyday vlog!

Have a blessed year everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Month of November 2023

Before the year-ends, thought I'd look back at the month of November since I'm still seriously a month behind everything. Nothing much happened in November since I was hospitalized for 3 weeks! I still managed to take photos while stuck in the hospital. The boys also took photos of the kittens and my flowers. 

The misadventure reminded me that God only gives you trials that you can bear. You should also respond to challenges as soon as you can. My doctor said that I was brought to the hospital just in time. If I waited a little more my risk for sepsis would have been higher. And after facing the challenge, rest and pick up the pieces after. 

To be honest, we were all derailed from what happened in November. It delayed all our plans and preparations for Christmas. My energy partially came back just in time for Christmas. I wasn't able to prepare any gifts though. We were also not able to send any Christmas cards. Priority for now is to get better and be stable in time for New Year. 

Well, here's my one second everyday video for the month of November. Just a few more days and I'll be able to complete it for 2023!

#BeKind #StaySafe

October 2023 One Second a Everyday

October was a really good month for me. It was productive and we managed to do some lakwatsa. Miggy and I were able to cook quite a bit. Started the month off by making pancakes, special fried rice, arroz ala cubana, pork sisig and discovered how to make really good tomato cream pasta. 

I managed to do a lot of sewing and gardening. I worked on several scrap fabric projects and was able to make several items. I don't like throwing out scrap fabric so I was happy I was able to make a pot rug, coaster, pincushion and a tablet case. I also made two things that I recently shared, Daisy's baby quilt and the holiday potholder (which seems to be very popular on YouTube). 

For my garden, I re-potted all the orchids. Results came almost two months after when one of the orchids bloomed. I'm so happy about that! I also got a bunch of herbs and 4 gumamela plants from Mahogany Market in Tagaytay. Still no luck with trying to grow veggies. I think the issue is I don't get enough morning sun in the garden. 

Lakwatsa included a visit to Tagaytay. We had been meaning to do that for many months now. Luckily Taal Volcano quieted down and we were able to bring a friend visiting from Malaysia to see it. That's also when we bought several plants. We were also able to dine out a few times. That included trying out Sobra Cafe and a breakfast place in Nuvali. 

How I wish every month would be like October. We were aiming for that in November, but learned a hard lesson -- avoid going out by November since it's flu season. I realized I haven't posted my October 1SE, so better late than never!

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Month that was August!

August turned out to be a better month than the previous one. We took care of our health last July and last month was quite chill. Stayed home a lot. I managed to cook and bake. Baking though saps so much of my energy, hopefully that would improve. 

I think the highlight of the month was seeing our friend, Marcus, again. It was a quick visit for him, but I'm glad we were able to catch up after 3 years! I think the last time I saw him was when the office was still open in 2020. I'm glad we were able to meet up!

We also worked on further decluttering our home. We finally saw our living room floor after almost 2 years of being filled with boxes! There's still some and we're aiming to clear that up so we can decorate for Christmas. Also starting to plan now what to do with Mom's things. It will still take awhile, but it has to be done sooner than later. 

Here's the August 1-second everyday video

Of course, August is my birth month! We planned something that's on my bucket list. I'll blog about that soon. I preferred to stay home for my birthday. Luckily, Kuya and Ate Joy send this ginormous porchetta! It was so delicious! The serving though was so huge, it took us four days to finish (hahaha!). I think I'll get one for Christmas! 

The kittens have grown a lot too. Brimsley moved them around a lot and eventually settled in the laundry area. That was the first time we got to see them properly. Soon enough they escaped their box and started walking around.  They are now almost two months old and are due to be brought to the vet. The little rascals are now trying to climb everything. We had to close the side garden for safety. Let's see where this goes, so far Brimsley hasn't weaned them away. 

Someone asked me if I get bored just being home. I don't! There's so  much to do and I try to keep busy. I do things based on the available energy I have for the day. I think I was more active in August because of the meal plans. I got the right nutrition and was able to control what I eat based on my needs. I slept much better too. I stopped though for my birthday and plan to get back on it soon.

How was August 2023 for you?

#BeKind #StaySafe

July, Health and Kittens

So far doing well with my one second per day for the year. July was our most productive month this year I think. After our beach vacation we decided to focus on our health. Fortunately found new doctors since my former ones went MIA, plus they were keen to do surgery. My doctors in Singapore repeatedly told me not to have anyone poke me since my body is truly extraordinary. 

It was jarring for me to go out often for doctor appointments and tests. I usually just go out once or twice a month and have been buying our needs online. I changed hospitals also and the vibe has been much better. The med techs don't freak out when they do tests. I like it there because people are more efficient. My new doctor also immediately gave me a certificate for disability. I think my other doctor was focused more on her research than taking care of me. 

Anyway, I did enjoy going for my check-ups and tests because it gave us an opportunity to try new things in the area. Got to eat things not available for delivery and even bumped into friends we haven't seen since 2019. Well, I must admit I had a few toy budols. I really need to work on fixing my Yoda display. 

The biggest surprise we had was Brimsley giving birth in our garage. She squeezed herself into a box set to be thrown away. She give birth over a span of three days. Three kittens I think, but one didn't make it we think. Never saw the third one. Two are now two weeks old and we hope they survive. We're getting a lot of advise from friends on how to care for them. 

We also managed to attend our very first public event. We went to the Coffee Home Brewers grand eyeball organized by Ros and Jose Margo. There was a typhoon, but the weather luckily cleared up on the day we went. Miggy also won a Breville kettle by correctly guessing the number of beans in a bottle. We're so happy about it because I was thinking we needed another one for our hot water needs. Rest of July was very rainy because of the typhoon and habagat. 

August will probably be full of adulting tasks. Of course, it's going to be a month long celebration of my birthday!

Keep safe and dry everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: One Second Everyday, May 2023

It's been a month since my beautiful Mom went to heaven. Spent the rest of May in quiet introspection and recovery. To be honest, I have not gone back to MMP since we brought her there on May 1. I'm still in denial and I can't even bear to go inside her home even though we've passed by several times. I'm just not yet brave enough to grasp that she's gone. 

I survived the month with the support of family and friends. Maybe I'll finally pull myself out of the cave this month and venture out. We'll celebrate Mom's 40th day with hopefully a private mass. After that I'll look into getting her home cleaned and de-cluttered. That task will be very difficult so my plan is to get help. We're also still planning what to do with the house. 

I spent most of the month of May in recovery. The good days were spent decluttering and working on my sewing projects. I only finished the cover for my KitchenAid stand mixer. Hope to finish the others in the next few weeks.

Here's a vid of one second everyday (thereabouts) for May -

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: The Month of March 2023! #onesecondeveryday

Oh boy, it's almost the middle of April and I haven't made a recap of March 2023! I have this ongoing challenge to complete a one second a day video for the whole year. I'm happy to say that I've completed the first quarter. It's been a nice way to document a glimpse of what happens everyday. 

March was a better month than February even though I had food poisoning twice. Yup, twice! The second time had to be resolved by a doctor. I lost a third of the month to tummy issues, gaaah. It was still a good month though since we were able to go on a staycation. I managed to get a haircut and a foot spa. I was also able to cook a few times. 

Fixing our home was still our main focus for the month. We got help from a coach to declutter and organize our home. Improved our home's ventilation to lower the heat. Work to fix our outdoor drainage has begun and will hopefully finish soon. We were gaining some traction with decluttering, but had to prioritize lowering the heat at home and for me to get well, so the organizing part slowed down considerably (again). Also started tending to my garden again. Here's my #1SE for the month of March 2023.

I hope April will be a much better month than March. We're now working on organizing our bedrooms and making other parts of our home more functional. We've been working hard to make our house cooler. It's key to keep me up and about. A cooler environment allows me to have more energy which means I can do more things like cooking. I told Sweetie I hope to learn more seafood dishes, so we can make more nutritious meals at home. 

Just taking things one day at a time. Have to make sure I don't overdo things on good days, so it's not followed by a bad day. I'm just happy we're able to make new memories everyday :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: One Second Everyday | February 2023

February was a much better month than January. It went by so quickly though and has been the busiest month for me. I say busy because I was able to move more, but I still had a lot of bad days. Needless to say, I'm happy i was able to be more productive. 

Here's a short highlights video of my month -

The highlight for the month was Sweetie's Valentine surprise. He brought me and Miggy to Nuvali to have lunch at Amare La Cucina. It was a joyous occasion because the last time we ate at Amare was during their soft opening in Baguio many, many years ago. I've wanted to try their pizza again for a long time now, so the surprise was a happy one. We were also finally able to visit Landmark again on the same day (not our usual branch though). 

I rarely go out and it sometimes takes weeks before I get to go out again. I'm content when we go on a joyride around the park to spin Pokestops. Still need to be cautious since I'm immunocompromised. I've made it part of my Lenten 40-day challenge to go out at least once a week. That way I can move around more. So I'm really grateful we were able to go out almost weekly in February. I think that has helped me generate more steps at home. Yay!

March is here now and the biggest challenge would be the change in the weather. We need to make a few adjustments at home to keep the temperature down. Hopefully Architect Wansi and his team can squeeze it in their busy schedule because I don't want to be stuck in the bedroom all summer! 

Let's all make March a grateful month!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Wellness Wednesdays: Chronicling

I have now been blogging daily for 3 years and a month. It started as a 30-day challenge which I've been trying to do since 2014. I did it successfully for a few years, but there were years where I'd start but forget to do, haha. I remember I'd blog on the train on the way to work (originally an hour and 15 minutes commute). 

Back in 2020, I was on break when I started the challenge. Twelve days into the year, the Taal Volcano erupted. Soon after Miggy accompanied me back to Singapore. I ended the month with a blog post about "Jarring January". It was an interesting start of the year and I had a lot to share, so I continued blogging. By mid-February, things started to get weird. We wanted Miggy to stay with us in Singapore, but we couldn't extend his visa. He went home and shortly after that, borders were closed and lockdowns started to happen. 

I continued writing everyday because it helped me make sense of what was happening. The time I spend blogging helps me calm down. Writing forces me to organize my thoughts and ground me. It also forced me to be productive especially when I started getting sick. When my health declined my doctors made me promise to keep my brain working. Blogging has been the easiest way for me to consistently exercise my mind daily. 

The challenge of doing a daily activity is overcoming those days when I don't feel like writing. There are days when I just want to rest. It also gets stressful sometimes and it's better for me if I prepare the post a day before. It's less stressful that way (exactly what I'm doing right now, lol). There are days when I'm in the zone, I write two to three days in advance. Yeah! 

This year I thought I'd try something I've been attempting for a few years now. Vlogging isn't really my thing, but I think the next best thing I can do is chronicle one second everyday. I'm off to a good start and was able to take a photo or video everyday the month of January. Yay! Here's the vid!

Now let's see if it spills over to February! 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Throwback Thursday: One Second Everyday December 2022

I discovered the app One Second Everyday (1SE) from a former colleague. We were at a day outing and he had me take a one second video of him. I asked him after what was the one second video about. He showed me the app. It seemed popular in Australia because another colleague was using it too. 

I've been trying to complete one whole year for a few years now, but I'm so bad at it haha. I was able to complete December 2022. The other months were meh (complete forgot to record). Here's the video -

It's nice to see a glimpse of your life through 1SE. It's just a second, but a good reminder that every single day counts (no matter how mundane it is). For me it's proof of life. :)

Now let's see if I'll finally be able to complete a full year. Wish me luck!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Lakwatsera Fridays: August Round-up

I was supposed to create one second everyday vids this year. The habit though hasn't stuck and I keep forgetting take videos everyday, haha. I've so far only been able to post for the month of January, so I thought I'd do it for my birthday month. I was able to do it for half the month and just caught up with it yesterday, hahaha. Well, I'll try again this month. 

August was definitely not a lakwatsa month. The boys got out of quarantine only on the second week of August and then I had to rest due to overfatigue. The only thing I have to show for the month was baking apple pie and cheese cupcake. The closest we did to a lakwatsa was cooking Ikea meatballs and ordering food in for my birthday! Well, here's the 1SE video -

I guess I'm not a natural vlogger. I'd rather savor a moment than film it, a.k.a. I'm just lazy haha. It really takes a lot of preparation whenever I make tutorials and that's why I'm not consistent with it. I'm the same when we travel. I was lucky to get some footage when we went to Bohol. I've made peace with myself about it and just make do with whatever I'm able to get. 

Let's hope September would be a better month! Cases have apparently gone down. Or maybe we can do some joyrides around the park, haha. 

#BeKind #StaySafe