Adulting Levels Busy

I haven't been able to blog since we've been busy with adulting stuff. I had to complete the tests my doctor ordered. Sweetie and Miggy also had to complete their check-ups. We also completed payment for our real property tax dues. We prioritized that to get the 20% discount from city hall. Also brought Anakin and Grogu to the vet to update their vaccination. Anakin's eye also had to be checked because it had a scratch. We're still not done with our tasks and I still have an appointment with my doctor. 

One fun thing we did was complete our Christmas list. We were able to mail a few Christmas cards. I am not confident though it will reach the recipients. I hope the post office staff will actually put stamps and send the cards on their way-- I saw the cards stacked on other cards that didn't have stamps on. Postage cost has gone up.

We also had fun buying gifts for our support teams. Half of it are our doctors, their staff and my pulmo rehab team. It takes a village to keep me stable, haha. The other half are the ones who help us maintain our home. I had completed the other gifts a few weeks ago. I just got items from my friends businesses. 

The difficult part, as usual, is finding something for my boys. My usual theme for Christmas for them is something they could add for their toy collection. I take cues when they mention something in passing, but I couldn't differentiate what they already have in their collection. So, I have to be creative this year. Wish me luck!

We plan to just stay home for now. Traffic has been so bad. It took us almost two hours to get home from BGC the other day. We skipped some stopovers since I didn't want to get stuck longer. We also have to finish decorating and I hope to finish my Christmas quilt throw pillow covers by this weekend.

BTW, my pulmo rehab therapist reminded to wear mask whenever I go out. He said there's a lot of people who are sick. So best, to be  inconvenienced with a mask for now. 

Happy weekend everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Adulting is Not Fun, but Fulfilling

There's something we've been trying to do for our home for almost two years now. We tried outsourcing it twice. The second set of folks made us feel they were just juicing us. We decided to do it in our own.

Mae from our homeowners association told us just to hire someone to do it for us. We told her it seemed we couldn't find someone to trust and it's been two years since we tried to get it done. The process is indeed tedious, so we set a goal to really work on the task.

After getting the requirements from the utility provider via email we gathered the documents needed. This took awhile since we had to coordinate the paperwork and visit our barangay hall a couple of times. 

Today took us around our city. Luckily, JM the customer care person from the utility company was very helpful. He gave us a key tip to resolve the issue. He also helped us with a future project we need to work on.

After visiting the utility company we headed to city hall. I'm so grateful that our city hall is so efficient, we finished getting our cedula and requesting a document in under an hour. Everyone we needed was still around even at the last hour! Yay!

I'm really tired now, but I feel fulfilled. We hopefully saved over 20k if we continued to outsource the task. Who knows, maybe we'll finish the whole task by mid-November. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Hello Makati! Saw Dad's Old Office

Went to meet a friend this morning in Makati. His office was near one of my Dad's former offices. I was sad though to see the building abandoned already. Makati was surprisingly quiet. It felt more like a Sunday than a weekday. We were even able to park on the street by the building we visited. I guess not many people go to the office yet. It really felt like it was a Sunday. 

It was a rare treat to dress up today. I wore pants and a blouse! And shoes! I just normally wear a t-shirt and pambahay shorts  at home. I started wearing a t-shirt when I began hanging out in the craft room. I did that to feel a bit dressed up in case I had to get a delivery (which I never do since the boys forbade me hehe). Well, now I wear a t-shirt so they can be used and laundered. It's a good practice since it forces me to be more productive. 

I wanted to check out the new restos in Magallanes. There's a new nook there where the famous windmill resto used to be. I'm not sure when Starbucks, Pancake House, Krispy Kreme and Yellow Cab moved to the area, but it's a nice area since you can just drive through or do curb pick-up for your orders. We decided to get take-away at Pancake House. We were sitting outside when it started pouring, so we were forced to go inside.

Downpour!

Surprised to see that Pancake House now sells bread and ready-to-cook food! They have Pancake House spaghetti and country sausage, Teriyaki Boy chicken teriyaki, Dencio's krispy sisig, Yellow Cab toaster pizza and many more. We'll try it next time, but it's interesting to see how they expanded their menu to include ready-to-cook items. 

After getting our food we ended up in Krispy Kreme since it was still raining. Got tempted and got an OG card. We've been consistently buying doughnuts at KK the past two months so though we could maximize our purchase and give Mom free doughnuts too. Registering took a bit longer than expected, but we went home with half a dozen free doughnuts! Yay! By the time we left, the sky was blue again. That made it easier to get to the car hehe. 

Suddenly bright skies! Moody po si sky!

Traffic has always been light, the few times I've had to go out. Yay! I hope it stays this way since my legs start swelling when I sit too long. Hope my new cardiovascular doctor can figure out what to do with me. It was a nice day to go out today. Seeing Dad's old office building reassured me that we're going the right direction. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Next Level Adulting

 I was going to blog about this yesterday, but got distracted and the thought slipped my mind. Remembered it a few hours after when I was, well... adulting. If I new there was a next level to "adulting" in your 20s, I could have saved myself from the pain I've been going through the past few weeks. 

If you're in your 20s or even younger, I have one important advise for you -- keep your affairs all in order. The only thing I have in order are... my photos. Majority (I can't claim all) of my digital photos are in proper folders and kept in Google Photos. I used to store them in countless CDs, but after Typhoon Ondoy I have been putting them on the cloud. Well, managing photos is the easiest of the lot. Managing countless documents and papers requires skill and a lot of patience. 

Here's a general list of what you need to keep in order:

1. Medical records

2. Utility Bills

3. Car/vehicle documents (OR/CR, maintenance records)

4. Property records (mortgage, title, real property tax records)

5. Bank accounts 

6. Employment records (or business papers)

7. Travel documents (passport, visa etc.)

8. NSO Certificates (birth, marriage etc.)

9. School documents (diploma, transcript of records)

10. Legal documents (contracts, affidavits, SPAs etc.)

11. IDs (license, TIN, voter's etc.)

My idea of organizing documents was to put them in folders/envelops. Sweetie leveled it up and put them in clear folders so it's easier to find. Good thing we'd spend time organizing papers whenever we went home. It made it easier to manage things remotely. Miggy just had to find the right documents for car registration and paying real property tax. 

My Mom was really good at managing. Her long banking career was interrupted only because of me (I was fragile since birth hehe). She had a proper filing cabinet and an enviable filing system. I remember she started purging documents after Daddy passed away. I've had to rebuild her system the past two weeks. It was hard especially since the papers were not properly kept. I did discover though that most utility companies have online customer portals now. That helped a lot especially for bills that were missing. 

I feel so accomplished after rebuilding my Mom's documents. I still need to find a couple of things and I hope I don't uncover more unpaid stuff. The boys are taking care of the docs for our homes. We're trying to find the best way to file everything properly. It really gets gnarly when you don't organize often. I digitized all of my Mom's bills and now I'm asking her if she had a pool installed because there were two months last year when her water bill was 5x than usual. 

And having everything organized is a good way to understand how you could live better. My cardiologist forced me to organize all my medical records so it would be easier for other doctors to review me. I just share an online folder for my newer doctors. I also have a calendar of when I have to do annual car registration and pay real property tax. Keeping scanned copies of all your docs also helps. 

Oh, now I understand when elders used to tell me that high school is the best part of your life. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Joker had No Remorse

I always wondered why Gotham City had a very dark setting. The places Batman went to always looked filthy and scary. It was a permanent crime scene. Batman was after all the cape crusader. He battled Joker, the supervillain who has a manic laugh. I've associated that laugh to someone who has no remorse. 

I thought things would be quieter yesterday after the debacle we went through on Sunday. Our neighbor's revelation was an eye opener on what happened in the last two years we were all forced to be away. She judged me for not taking action immediately and allowing things to get worse. 

To be honest, I felt defensive. I told her I've been sick and I had to confirm our suspicions first. Actually, I prioritized getting Mom checked up first before I did some sleuthing. Yesterday while dealing with harassment I realized that we were at fault too. 

My Mom is the type of person who would keep things to herself. She'd absorb all the pain to make sure we, her children, were protected. I suspected what was going on and tried to take over the management of the finances, but she refused. She told me she thought it would have been hard for Miggy. That's how she was taken advantage of. 

As a child, I always thought my Mom would remain the same forever. At the age of 78 she took care of me for 2 months in Singapore after I had heart surgery. She was also still managing my domestic finances until just before the pandemic. My Mom is the strongest person I know and I wanted her to remain the same. She's also very independent and never wanted us to hang around with her. She'd get impatient when I stay on the phone with her for too long (she prefers long calls with her amigas). 

Thinking my Mom would be the same was our downfall. In my mind I thought she was the same person she was when I was growing up. Strong, independed, a great admin. She tried to shield us, but I realized there comes a time when you have to take care of your parents differently. She's still very stubborn because I wanted her to stay in my house while I was fixing her affairs. She refused, as usual. 

And Joker would never have any remorse. Kuya said you can forgive, but justice has to be served. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Adulting 101

To be honest, I only learned how to manage a home when Sweetie and I got married and moved to our own home. I remember I was shocked when Sweetie said he preferred not to have househelp. We always had helpers at home which meant I focused more on my studies/work, other activities than learning how to cook and home management. 

We had a lot of misadventures when we moved to our first home. We shared this on our "Mabuhay ang Bagong Kasal". Our brand new washing machine almost blew up. Our sink billowed white smoke. The worst was the septic tank incident. My Mom eventually took pity on us and got someone to help clean the house and do ironing once a week. I think she got worried we might eventually end up hurting ourselves trying to learn the ropes of home management. 

Here's what I learned through the years:

1. Pay your bills on time. Aside from utilities, always pay your credit card bills in full. That also means do not spend beyond your capacity. Save if there's someone you need to buy. 

2. Invest in good appliances. I learned this from my Mom. Her appliances really last a long time (her Whirlpool fridge is as old as Miggy!). The Union fan I brought to Singapore ten years ago, came back home with me. 

We used our first washing machine for 9 years.
It was still working when we gave it away because we decided to get a bigger one.

3. Your first home may not necessarily be your last. This was advise given to me by my Ate. We've lived in 8 different homes in the last 11 years. We moved based on need and our lifestyle. Now that we're permanently home and we won't be traveling we'll be settling in a permanent home now.

4. Budget to save, work to be financially free. I set aside money for savings before I spent it and eventually adjusted it based on the goal to be eventually financially free. I'm not financially free yet and still working on my strategy. 

5. Enjoy the chores. Yes, you need to embrace the fact that chores will always be waiting for you to do. I enjoy doing the laundry and have a science on how I do it. I feel so satisfied when I'm able to complete it. Sweetie took over it the past year, but I started doing it again yesterday. I ended up feeling unwell though, haha, but I was happy I was able to do it again. 

6. Get help where you can. You can't possibly do everything. We continued to have someone come in once a week to do cleaning and ironing for us. Before we went home last week we had our place deep-cleaned. It would have been dreadful if I ended up inflamming my sinuses with dust, hehe. 

7. Ask for help if you need it. It's been very useful for me to check the posts of our neighbors when they need help for something. I normally check previous posts first on our group before I ask questions or I ping a friend or neighbor to ask directly. I needed to have our sliding door fixed and easily found recommendations on who to contact. It's fixed now, yay!

8. Think twice before buying home items. It takes me years before I finally decide to buy something, i.e. my KitchenAid stand mixer. I always ask myself if I'm really committed to it and I set goals I need to meet before buying something. I'm also changing my grocery buying strategy since we ended up throwing away a lot of stuff before we went home. I will strictly adhere to my meal plans to make sure I only buy what's needed. I'll also probably put in an inventory system so we don't duplicate stuff. 

9. Do tasks by parts. What worked for me was setting tiny home goals per day since I have to manage my energy. I would set one reachable home goal a day. This way I don't end up procrastinating, haha. Give yourself a treat when you complete the task. 

10. Stay healthy, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Too much of anything is bad for you. Don't forget to love yourself. 

Remember, there's no formula to be a perfect adult. Just do what you think is right for you. Our parents had to help us in the beginning to show us the way. Eventually my Mom said we were already doing well and she believed we could do anything now. I still ask my Mom things when I'm in a bind hehe. 

#Home14 #NewG230 #Xmas38 #StayHome #BeKind  

10 Life Skills I Learned from My Mom

It's my Mom's birthday today! I super duper miss her already and wish I could hop on a plane to be with her today. I had a project I planned to do this year with my Mom since I wanted to learn more about her creative process. For now since we couldn't do it I've been sending her materials to keep her busy. 

1 - Praying 

The first thing I learned from Mom is how to pray. I still remember her teaching me how to pray before going to bed and she's the most prayerful person I know. Priority is to trust in Him for everything. 

2 - Diskarte 

One of the most important skills I learned from my Mom is diskarte. When I was growing up I witnessed my Mom working on one of the most important projects she worked on in her life -- helping get our parish church built. And Mom was in-charge of everything at home, so I saw her make things move. 

3 - Organization Skills

Ahh, I may not have picked up Mom's neatness (my home is permanently an organized chaos), but I could easily work out in my head how to deploy a project. Mom always had lists and she would tick things off when a task is completed. She's also great at anticipating things and would always be ready. 

4 - Keep Calm, Do Not Panic

Mom is the most calm person I know. I have never seen her panic. She'd always remind me there's no sense in panicking and it's just a waste of time. 

5 - Keeping Busy

Mom always complains that I never stop doing anything. Well, I got that from her. She's always doing something - sewing, gardening, reading, fixing the house etc. She's always up and about. So I never had issues being stuck at home.

6 -  Saving/Money Management!

Mom was a banker and of course I was one of those kids who had a Banco Filipino Happy Savers Club account! That's how I learned how to save. Originally I was planning to use my savings for my future wedding! I used it to pay for grad school. (More about money management here).

7 - Working for What You Want/Need

My Mom would always remind me that she won't be around forever. I had to learn to be independent. At the age of ten I was already selling things -- old clothes, my hand-made pincushions and homemade cards. If I wanted something, like a book, I'd have to save for it. 

8 - Can't Cook, No Problem!

See life skill number 2! And that's what the telephone is for according to my Mom. (It's my Dad who knew how to cook). 

9 - Girlfriends

Mom always told me to choose my friends carefully. Choose those you can trust and can count on. I have so many aunties who have always been there for Mom. 

10 - Be Yourself

You cannot please everyone, just be yourself and stay with people who have the same values as you.  

Happy birthday Mom! We miss you so much!

#CB//245 #StuckAtHomeDay/275 #WFH163 #StayHome #BeKind

Three White Hair

I thought I'd use the title "Three White Hair" today because it's what made me laugh out loud today. I was chatting with my seatmate when he said he was so sad. I asked why and he said he had three new white hair! I burst into laughter because he sounded so serious! I told him he should treat it as wisdom hair. 

White hair = Yoda = wisdom! Yaaaas!

I definitely have more than three white hair. A huge chunk of it came out only this year. I also have multi-colored hair, but I think it's largely due to my health fluctuating. I don't know about other cultures, but it's a belief back home that white hair can be caused by stress. Inuuban na ako dahil sa hirap ng buhay! (My hair is turning white because life is hard!). 

I used to pull out random white strands I would see. Now I'm just leaving them in there to wear as part of my "evolved" self. Much like how Gandalf evolved as Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White. As I told my seatmate, treat them as your wisdom hair. 

Brother Bo's video today is a great way to look at obstacles. This year has been full of obstacles for all of us, but it depends on you how you treat those obstacles. Lots to learn from this video, go watch :)

I realized today that there's been so many changes to my body this year. I thought that my body would have a boost this year since it's been 7 years since my heart surgery. It didn't happen and I realized that as you age these are some of the things you can expect. There's no way your body is going to be the same and you have to work harder to keep it in good shape. I'm happy to share that I'm feeling much better compared to a week ago. 

My doctor was right, it takes time for your body to go back to normal after a viral infection. You can't wait around though for your body to miraculously go back to normal, you need to work hard to get back your stamina. I'm so grateful I have the most patient physiotherapist in the whole wide universe. 

Work it, work it :)

#CB//243 #StuckAtHomeDay/273 #WFH161 #StayHome #BeKind

A Letter to My Younger Self

Five years ago I did an introspection about the third decade of my life. I've been thinking of writing my younger self a letter. What really helped me get through those crazy years was looking far ahead. 

Dear 20-something self, 

On Career. I'm writing you today to let you know that you are doing great career-wise! Your hardwork will eventually pay off, just keep being yourself and keep shining. You're on the right track there. Focus on learning from the hardships you're going through. As Dr. Ned advised, always have a mentor in mind and keep evidences of everything. You're going to hit rock-bottom with your self-esteem, but always remember you are the talent. You will bring it anywhere you go. 

On Finances. Going into debt to finish your masters is fine. This is going to leave you in the negative for sometime. Prioritize spending only for essentials (which you did). Just make sure you chip off that tuition debt until you finish it (or until someone helps bail you out). That's why you need to work hard so you can finally start saving. Maybe don't indulge so much buying Miggy toys so he can learn the value of what he has. Don't worry that you're starting too late on saving, you'll eventually figure it out. 

On Love. There's nothing missing in your life. You have your family and Miggy. That's all that matters. Do not be distracted by empty promises. And that guy you've been dating? He's crazy. Listen to your parents when they say that you should find someone who has the same values as you. Good job breaking it off. Pray for God to write you love story and stop the distractions. They will just waste your time. Spend it instead with Miggy. 

On Friendship. Your childhood friends are your forever friends. Keep them close and loved. They will always be there for you. Be wary of those who will just use you for their own purpose. It's better to be selective. The others are just distractions. But remember, it is in friendship where you will find your one true love. Read Bo Sanchez' book "How to Find Your One True Love". It will help put you in the right direction. Enjoy with your friends, don't be too focused on work. 

On Faith. It is only when you put God at the center when things will work out for you. Stop being stubborn and just let Him navigate your life. I promise, things will get so much better and everything you hoped for will finally happen. It was only when I gave up that all the struggles stopped. 

It's been five years since I started four-ever. Things were okay, the last three years has been a struggle health-wise. Be careful of picking up germs and viruses. You'll get over them, but the effects will show up later (which is now for me). Do listen to what your allergologist will tell you, it will help you immensely as you go through those health issues. If you can, maybe eat more veggies (and teach Miggy too). 

Just be yourself, listen to your elders, live your mission and let God navigate your life. Stop obsessing about trivial matters and just be your awesome self. Everything else will follow. 

love, 

Your future self 

#CB//229 #StuckAtHomeDay/259 #WFH153 #StayHome #BeKind 

Thinking About My Future Home

I've lost count on the number of times we moved homes in the last ten years. Our first home was an apartment a few streets away from my parents home. It had 3 bedrooms and we used one as our computer room (desktops were still the norm at that time). We had so much fun in that home and we'd stay up playing Plants vs. Zombies. We moved out because there were issues with the bathroom and we wanted to be closer to my parents.

This was when we moved in to our first home. 

Our second home was just a hundred meters away from my parents home. It was a duplex and much more spacious than our first apartment. It had 4 bedrooms and a huge helper's room. I also had a craft room which I think was designed to be a walk-in closet, but I filled it up with craft materials. The house was too big for us and hard to manage. We eventually decided to invest in our first home. 

Christmas in our second home.

My Ate gave me valuable advise when I got married. She said that our first home need not be our home forever. She said that things will change and you can certainly buy and sell later on and move to another place. That advise was valuable to me because I lived in the same home since birth. 

I've learned a lot about moving and the most valuable advise I can give you is to hire professional movers to help you move homes. It is the best thing you can do for yourself. In Manila I always use Carepak Movers and in Singapore I always use Soon Seng Transport. I've moved four times in Singapore and cannot imagine moving without help. 

Home #9.

I have a new hobby now -- watching home tours. I've been thinking a lot about our future home. I finally learned how to properly take care of plants, so I want my future home to have some space for a proper garden. I want to have home that's just appropriately sized. Just maybe a bungalow with enough space for my craft materials, toys, kitchen stuff. I don't want a huge house because it'll be hard to clean. I'm actually glad I got to live in a smaller home because now I learned to limit my stuff. 

What about you? 

CB//185 #StuckAtHomeDay/215 #WFH127 #StayHome #BeKind

The Domesticated Goddess Journey: Learning How to Cook

My journey to become a domesticated goddess started over ten years ago when Sweetie and I got married. It was hard since we always had helpers at home when I was growing up. Sweetie and I had to compromise about having helpers. He grew up without helpers (we're complete opposites!) and that meant he wasn't comfortable having any at home. My Mom knew I won't be able to cope so we always had someone who would clean the house once a week and do the ironing*. I had to learn how to cook though.  

I only learned to cook because someone advised me to treat cooking like a science experiment. I was forced to learn because a few weeks after our wedding the party leftovers from holiday parties started to dwindle and buying cooked food got costly. I started with egg, then hotdogs and canned goods. The only real dish I could cook ten years ago was spaghetti and lasagna. I didn't go further than that in the beginning because I have issues with gas stovetops. 

Circa 2007, cooking spaghetti. 

Eventually I expanded to simple Filipino dishes, but I had a lot of kitchen mishaps in the beginning. I cut myself many times cutting veggies, oil wisik and getting burned. I realized I should have paid more attention during cooking class in HS (I only liked doing the groceries hehe). My cooking prowess improved when I discovered electric stoves.

Here are the ways I learned how to cook:

(1) Coaching by friends - the spaghetti I cook for my friends was taught to me by my seatmate at OHSI, Maica. She had to teach me several times until I finally got it. It was the only thing I knew how to cook for many years. I learned how to cook adobo from Mang Gerry (Komikero) and my housemate's ex. Tappy taught me how to bake fruitcake and I ping her annually to review me how to make it haha. 

(2) Attending classes - I used to attend cooking classes hosted at Maya Kitchen. They used to invite bloggers and I enjoyed attending those classes. I was planning to enroll in cooking and baking class this year, but the pandemic foiled my plans. 

(3) YouTube - Would you believe it was Dominic Ochoa (the actor) who suggested to me that I could learn a lot about cooking from YouTube! I learned how to slice veggies properly because of YouTube and I look up cooking/baking techniques also via YouTube. I watch a wide array of cooking videos, I watch Masterchefs, homecooks and oftentimes I just search a dish I'm craving for. My current favorite is Simpol. 

From scaredy cook to baking bread (well funny looking ensaymada here).

I think Miggy is a better homecook than me. He has his Papa Lolo's talent and he is more experimental. One of my goals this year is to learn how to cook our family recipes. I'm stuck here in Singapore for now so I'm starting with recipes. I've been filming how I cook Miggy's favorite recipes so he can make it for himself back home. You can find the "Recipes for My Son" here.

I only started to learn how to cook ten years ago. It's never too late to learn! I'm still picky on what I cook (because I'm scared of oil splatter!), but I'm always up for a challenge. Maybe next year I can finally enroll in the class I've been eyeing to enroll in. 

What about you? Are you a talented cook or are you like me? Haha. 

If you're curious how I started my journey to become a domesticated goddess. Read the starting point here.

CB//176 #StuckAtHomeDay/206 #WFH120 #StayHome #BeKind