I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
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.
How I wish I could use Molly Weasley's spell to magically organize everything at home. I am getting anxious because I haven't been able to sew and do other creative stuff. Since I overdid things last week which ruined our media noche, I'm going to limit the clean-up time so I can get enough rest and do other things.
I was on a roll yesterday. My arm was hurting so I was forced to just sit still. I ended up writing 4 blog posts and edited one video. It was good to just relax for the day. It also allowed me to work on the design of the maker/craft room. That task has been pending for a few weeks now. Interior design isn't really my cup of tea. It makes me go zzz, hahaha.
One of the things I've enjoyed doing the past few weeks is cook with Miggy. I have been involving him whenever I cook so he could learn firsthand. He is a natural like his Papa Lolo and he seems to enjoy cooking more than me. We've been able to film short videos and that's what I've been editing (check it out and subscribe to Recipes for My Son). The videos are meant to serve as a guide for Miggy. I started doing this because I realized we weren't able to preserve the family recipes of our elders.
Our latest cooking adventure: cream chicken with bacon, mushroom and thyme
On gardening, I think I mentioned in passing that I almost killed the bird nest fern. It was overwatered. The good news is I realized my mistake early and it looks like it's recovering. I should have researched about the existing plants first before I went on a daily watering rampage! Apparently I should just water the plants 3x a week. Since I was on a roll yesterday, I also made a post on The Balcony Farmer. We're still debating whether we should change the name of the blog since we don't live in a condo anymore. Well, our pocket garden is a floor higher than the road, so maybe we could just stick to the name.
I planted some bell pepper seeds before Christmas. I used the seeds from the bell pepper I used for the chorizo pasta. It's been exciting to check on the progress because I didn't expect many of the seeds would sprout. Well, from experience it takes a lot of care to get the plant to bear fruit. I hope to get a couple that would mature so I won't need to buy bell pepper anymore.
The cuttings I brought from Singapore are still alive! I separated the pothos into two jars so they can grow better. Only two leaves of the the baby rubber plant survived when I transferred them to a pot. They look okay, but I'm monitoring them closely for now. My Mom has been wanting to give a couple of plants. I told her I'm taking it slow for now since I want to make sure I keep everything alive. Maybe I'll pick up the plants in a week or two.
Whew! Looking back at the past few weeks made me realize that I've been doing a lot. I'm supposed to be slowing down. I just have this odd compulsion to stay productive even when I'm physically challenged. I told myself I'm going to do what Sweetie does and write down daily tasks. I think that would help temper my compulsion to stay productive, haha.
When I started my YouTube channel over a decade ago I used it to post videos from music events Sweetie and I frequented. Eventually I started to make travel vlogs. Then I started making tech vids. I was always so self-conscious in front of a camera. I never got used to it so I stopped.
I've always been fascinated about creating videos. I used to make videos for my friends who were getting married. At that time it would mostly be a compilation of their photos with a few greetings from abroad. In late 2019 I wanted to resume creating videos again. I bought a camera and thought I'd pick up where I left off. I tried to make some travel vlogs, but I realized I prefer taking videos than being in videos.
To lessen my camera time I shifted to making cooking videos for Miggy through Recipes for My Son. It certainly reduced my time in front of the camera. I only comb my hair twice a day so it just didn't work out for me. I eventually discovered that I could just put captions on the videos. No need for me to be seen or to talk! Ahhh, I think I finally found what I want to do with my interest in creating videos -- just make tutorial vids!
And that's what I've been enjoying doing nowadays. I've been making tutorial videos on quilting and gardening. I'll probably do cooking videos again once I have more energy. I've never enrolled in video editing classes, I just make videos based on how I think the viewer can learn. I enjoy making the videos because it spurs me to learn more about my crafts (and gardening). I hope it'll inspire others to get crafty too!
Here's a video I just made - how to make 8 half squares at a time! I just recently discovered this trick by chance through Pinterest!
Day 23 Gratitude Challenge, Something Nice. I've been appreciating the moon tonight since I saw it through the window. It looks perfect and I tried to take photos of it, but my camera isn't made to take super zoom shots. So I'm just admiring it from where I'm sitting right now. And because of the moon I fired up the Sky View app to know what's around me. Venus and Mars are floating on my left side, while Jupiter and Saturn are to my right. The app also showed me where some popular stars are located like the Ursa Major. It's nice to have this app because I could barely see stars outside because everything is so well-lighted here. Try the app! :)
I moved to Singapore for work in 2011 and that time we had the benefit of staying at a serviced apartment for a few months. It was a spectacular place and I still remember the housekeeper who would come everyday to clean the apartment. She's Filipino and we talked a lot when she was around. The building is gone now and has been replaced by a new one. It was the only time I lived in Orchard.
I moved in my neighbor from Manila after I left the apartment. I didn't have that much stuff when I moved and I just took a taxi to my new home in Sengkang. We lived there for a couple of years and that was the home I lived in when I recovered from my heart surgery. After that we moved to Buangkok. I enjoyed living in Buangkok since the MRT was near and there was a hawker center and 24-hour grocery in the area. It was in Buangkok where I re-discovered my passion for quilting.
My awesome housements, Jajah and Ronnie.
My housemate eventually found love, married and moved to the US. Oh I forgot to mention we also had a guy housemate who was younger than me and my friend. We called him "baby boy" haha. He eventually moved in with his gf and that was when Miggy moved to Singapore to study. Miggy took over "baby boy's" room. My friend though always took care of everything (bills, finding a place, paying rent and moving). I realized how hard it was when Miggy and I eventually moved to Harbourfront. We decided to get our own place since Sweetie was moving to Singapore also at that time.
Walking through the park in Buangkok to get to the MRT.
We loved Harbourfront area since we could easily just walk to Sentosa beach for exercise.
Moving in Singapore is fairly easy. You can just search for a place on Property Guru and book a viewing with the agent. We tried this way in March, but realized that it's much easier if we used an agent. I called up the agent who serviced my friend and me when I moved to Harbourfront. Ahhh it was a much better experience looking for a new place. Here's what's important to know when you need to move -
1. General area where you want to move
2. Your budget
3. Size of apartment
4. Other considerations you may have like proximity to friends, your commute to work etc.
We rushed our move since we didn't want to get stuck in our apartment any longer and we were scared that the #CB may become stricter. I just got the mover that all my colleagues have been using for many years (Soon Seng Transport). I also used them when I moved from Buangkok to Harbourfront. They will just come to visit you once to assess if you need one or two trucks and then bring you as many boxes you need. It took us less than a week to hire the movers and move! It was super tiring though so I'm appealing to my future self not to get excited about moving again.
2008 passed like a blur for me. Started it off with 16 plane rides in January and then I don't really remember anymore what happened till November. I remember though that I was hospitalized in November and so I guess 2008 was definitely a BUSY one. At least I remember what happened this month. I just worked, stayed at home and did not attend any party (by choice!). Inasmuch as the whole year was a flurry of activity, I managed to hunker down and celebrate Christmas simply, just family and very close childhood friends.
I failed miserably with the priorities I had set for 2008. I'm not even pasang awa and I guess I won't list any new priorities just yet for 2009 (well maybe tomorrow when I feel like it). At least I can say I managed to learn how to edit videos and so to celebrate that one bit of accomplishment I present to you an experimental vlog. Watch how I get abducted by a virus and brought back to the age of dinosaurs (oh noes!). Makakabalik kaya ako?
