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

First Month of the Year

January felt like a very long month. It was really different from the month of December that outpaced the whole year. I decided to continue capturing a second a day using the 1SE app. It pushes me to be productive everyday even on days that I just tend to my plants and play with our fur babies. 

We just rested during the first week of the month. Then we proceeded with our regular routines. What made this month interesting was ticking off two things on my bucket list last year. We squeezed in time to go to Chef RV's cafe to get some cake and dine at Cochi. 

It was also a very "social" month for me because I joined two get-togethers. One with former colleagues and our belated high school friends Christmas get-together. It all happened on one weekend, so I had to regain my energy for the rest of the month after that, haha. 

One of my targets this year is to grow more veggies. I started the year by sowing seeds on a tray. They've grown and are growing steadily. We've been able to harvest bell peppers also weekly and that's what encouraged me to continue growing veggies (they're quite expensive now!). I hope by end of this month we can start harvesting some mustasa. Yay!

Here's my one second everyday for the month of January 2026:

I was busy doing garden work most of the month, so I just finished my last Christmas project. It's the quilt cover for our blender. I'll start again this week and have an idea what I want to make. It's going to be fun! We unfortunately all had stomach issues at the end of January. We think it's the water from the water refill station we shifted to when Aqua King closed. Sigh. We're recovering right now and looking for a new, clean and reliable water refill station. 

Happy February everyone!

#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

September 2025: One Second Everyday

Focused our time to recover from the shenanigans that was the month of August. I pushed to go out at least once a week to get moving and to have my leg checked. Recovery will likely spill over to October since I'm still hopping around. 

We did spend a lot of time at home since we had to keep an eye on the mother and son tandem rascals, Little Grey and August. They certainly got all of us, hoomans and 8 cats, stressed. We decided to find experienced fur parents to adopt them. We had to be careful when we were around the resident cats since they were really territorial and didn't like that Little Grey and August took over their space. 

Here's my one second everyday video for September 2025:

I tried to get back to sewing since my leg can take some pressure already (a.k.a. pressing on the sewing machine pedal). I haven't gotten around  to editing the video. I'll try to squeeze in some time this weekend. Just really busy with other stuff! 

October will be another great month!

#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

Throwback Thursday: July 2025 One Second Everyday

Delayed posting my 1 second everyday video for July again. Most of this month seems to be dedicated to recovery. 

July though was a very wet month. We were affected by consecutive typhoons. It was really stressful and was what brought me down by month end.

Most of our "outings" happened during the first half of the month. We got to dine at some of our favorite places and then got busy with adulting stuff.

Here's the short video:

I honestly don't want to have a repeat of this month since I ended up in the hospital.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: How June Went

Another quiet month passed last month. Sweetie and Miggy's birthdays were celebrated at home. We just ordered their favorite food and we overdosed on cake! Haha.

In preparation for their birthdays, we all had a haircut. The hairdresser cut about 2 feet of Miggy's hair! Twas crazy long and he said he felt lighter after the haircut. Good thing the cats still recognized us after our haircuts.

One major issue we had was Grogu. We brought him back to the vet because of the wound on his leg. He spent a total of six weeks at the vet! I'm just glad he's fine now and he healed faster the past few days at home.

Here's my one second a day video for the month of June!

https://youtu.be/HOYy5TlkI_4?si=zpPoyjLHDRnQXAED

#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

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