Our No Meat Fridays Meals List

It's Kent again and one of the things we follow is fasting and abstinence on Fridays. More abstinence for me since I'm technically exempt. I still skip meat on Fridays, but eat proper meals since I have maintenance meds I need to take.

We are trying cook more of our meals at home as prescribed by the dietician. I'm still working on my stamina, so one of my Lenten goals is to make sure we only have homecooked meals on Fridays.

Thought I'd make a list of what we can prepare at home. Here's a rundown:

Baked Salmon in Lemon, Butter and Honey 

Baked Salmon Garlic Cream Cheese 

Pink Pasta with Scallops

Pasta al Telefono

Tuna Alfredo

Tuna Spaghetti 

These are just a list of the more recent ones I've made. We also sometimes make cream dory fillets, Juned's baked Mahi-mahi, fried bangus. I'm scared of frying fish, so I rarely do that. 

What do you usually eat for Lenten Fridays?

#BeKind #StaySafe

He is Risen! Time to Rediscover the World

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a good Holy Week. I just spent it at home with family. It was a good time to reflect, reset, recharge and remember how much Jesus loves us.

In the last few days I realized I need to up my efforts to get better. I was gaining momentum last month, but things went haywire when I got my booster shot. Stepping out in unfiltered air has been very difficult for me. To be honest, I enjoy just staying home, but I have responsibilities. I know Mom wants to see more of me. We could probably bring her to the house until I get a bit better. 

I was ecstatic yesterday when Sweetie said we could go on a joyride. It was a joyride like no other because we were able to go to Alabang! Traffic was light and the parking angel immediately gave us a space after entering the parking area beside Makati Supermart. I only wanted to go to Fully Booked and buy spaghetti at Makati Supermart. We were in and out in an hour (Miggy was already texting after 45 minutes hahaha).

 

I would have loved to hang out at Fully Booked longer. I haven't visited a bookstore since 2019. I wanted to remove my mask so I could smell the books! Haha. I didn't so I just bought some books so I could smell the books at home, hahaha. Which reminds me, I need to watch out for Big Bad Wolf PH heehee. 

Of course, we couldn't resist getting some Krispy Kreme doughnuts after visiting Fully Booked. It reminded me of that time when I did a gig for them together with Mica and Az. I loved doing it, but Sweetie is much better at social media than me. My muse does not want to be tamed. Oh boy, the doughnuts were amazing! I think it's been three years since I had a KK original glazed doughnut. I also strangely liked their iced mocha more than my usual SB white chocolate mocha. 

The highlight of the trip to Alabang Town Center was getting my favorite spaghetti at Makati Supermart. The last time I had it was on my birthday in 2019! I got two orders of spaghetti. I ate one last night and I'm going to eat the other one tonight because why not. I forgot to ask if we could order online and just get it via Grab Express. Since I've been able to get my favorite spaghetti, then next would be my favorite burger -- Dayrits!

And that is how I'm rediscovering the world. I just need to remember to bring my inhaler though hehe. 

P.S. Here are the contact numbers of Makati Supermart Coffee Shop in case you're a spaghetti monster like me! I just copied the numbers from their menu, let me know if it doesn't work. :)

Alabang - 8850-7687; 0995-1343233

Unimart Capitol Commons - 8652-1832; 0905-4973035

Unimart Greenhills - 8721-0594; 0945-1402784

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely  

Reflect, Reset, Recharge and Remember

I remember those days we used to spend Holy Week in Camangui, Pasacao. My parents would forbid me from swimming after 3 in the afternoon on Good Friday. This extends to Good Saturday and explained to me that Jesus is dead and it's dangerous to do anything. Of course, I followed what they said and would just do other things. 

I do remember there wasn't really anything to do back then. There wasn't anything on TV, cable did not exist yet, the radio wasn't to be used. You just had to bear the week in silence. You weren't allowed to do anything. Things got a bit better when I was a teenager because I was able to participate in the activities of our church. I was also able to do Visita Iglesia with friends. 

In the  past decade I was either in Singapore or here and we'd just spend it at home. We were never really keen on going on a vacation during Holy Week since that's what most people do. We'd enjoy the silence in the metropolis with everyone gone. We might go on a joyride today, just to go around and spin Pokestops. I'm treating it as a reward for surviving the nasty booster shot I got two weeks ago. I think I'm finally back to normal now. 

With cable and online streaming sites, the silence I used to observe during Holy Week is not the same. I just kept myself from posting on social media. I now know that the best way to be silent is to just stay offline. It's the best way to reflect, reset and recharge and remember that Papa God loves you. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

 

Good Friday 2022

 

Always remember, God loves you. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

How Do you Carry Your Cross?

Time flies so fast. It's the end of February and we're almost 2 weeks now through the Lenten season. Every year we are reminded about how Jesus bore the Cross for all of our sins. The past two weeks the homily has been about that. The priest yesterday though took a more practical approach in his sermon and it got me thinking. What is the Cross that you bear? And how do you carry it?

“The presence of God will be a great advantage to you to help and 

to inspire you to do your actions well.” - St. John Baptist de La Salle

Oftentimes when I'm going through something challenging I always try to remind myself that it's usually not about the person challenging you, but how you react to it. It's so easy to strike back and just hurt the other person. It's oftentimes hard to be the better person. Experience and a lot of patience helps, so I oftentimes find myself revising an email I'm about to send. I reword it so that it's much more constructive than hurtful. Adversity with others is difficult, but what about with yourself?

I think one of the heaviest crosses I carry is my health. I had open heart surgery 5 years ago and things have never been the same. The heart is mechanically good, but for the past year I had a delayed onset of adult asthma. It's under control now, but when I'm unwell my bright, sunny, cheerful world turns dark (like Gotham City). When I'm unable to do anything, I lie helpless in bed and I become really sad. Coupled with grieving and work stress it's not a good place to be in.

I prayed and I prayed really hard. I know God's sends me angels to show me the way, like the uncle taxi driver who drove me to the airport in Taipei. He had a very cheerful disposition in life and reminded me so much about my Dad (see story below). Our uncle shuttle bus driver who said I was special because I had the bus all to myself. The students of my MIL who shared the impact she made in their lives. My cardio who noted during my check-up that I continue to have a sunny disposition despite my ailments (he always puts this on his records). He said that it really helps in keeping me alive. I am also very thankful that my family is very loving and supportive.  It's the little things that usually bring me back to my usual happy self.

We all bear different crosses. I always try to remember as well that God only gives us crosses that we can bear. It's there because there is a lesson to be learned. In the last 5 years since my surgery I adjusted a lot. My allergologist said, "The first step is acceptance." I accepted the fact that my body isn't the same as everyone else and I have limitations on what I can do physically (that's probably why my brain is always so hyperactive, all my energy is there). I have accepted it and just let the Will of God guide me through everything I do. It ain't easy. Just do all things with love.

What about you? What cross do you bear? How do you manage it?


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My guardian angel: Uncle Tiger

Guardian angels come in different forms and sizes. Today's guardian angel is Uncle Tiger. He saved me from the freezing cold lobby where I had a meeting, helped me pick up my luggage and whisked me off to the airport. He spoke very good English so I asked him what his previous work was. He was a mechanical engineer who worked in 5 different countries. He said he is 68 years old now and drives a taxi because he is bored and likes meeting interesting people. Young at heart he said his past time is driving around on his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He had so much infectious joy in him (I need this badly!).. Hopefully I'll see him again when I'm back in Taipei.

The Best Diet of All

For some strange reason I always gain weight towards the end of February. Last year I gained 7 pounds when I went to Jakarta and Singapore because when you eat at McDonald's the smallest softdrink size is already our largest! And the same thing happened this year, so I really looked like a siopao when I went to Puerto Galera early this month.

Anyway, right after gaining so much weight is Ash Wednesday and me and my Mom go on Lenten fasting. No Coke! Believe me, I think we should be a major stockholder already because of our softdrinks consumption. Anyway, since I was a kid we'd try our best not to drink Coke for 40 days. The first 2 weeks is usually the hardest. Withdrawal!

My metabolism used to be so fast! I was just 85 pounds when I graduated and now, um, er... never mind. Anyhoo, I realized that the best diet I've put myself into is - no softdrinks! And I've influenced some of my friends with Winnie the Pooh tummies not to drink softdrinks anymore. And it's working! Oh! And complement this diet with less rice, you'll be ready for the beach in no time.