Sunday Miracles: Dealing with Trust Issues

The past week has been very challenging. Aside from food poisoning we had to deal with some adulting issues. It felt like a barrel of worms was let loose (yes a barrel, not just a can).

I've been suffering from PTSD since my medical issues escalated. Dealing with the thief last year made it worse. It made me more cautious and picky on who I trust. 

I thank God that the issues that cropped up the past week didn't drag on. It just took me awhile to work out a solution. I feel God has been testing me because I've been praying for Him to heal me both physically and mentally.

The issues took up a couple of hours to resolve. I know I stressed out Sweetie when I was working through the issues (he and Miggy have been my rock). For both issues I went back to what Dad taught me when he was grooming me to be a lawyer* - seek the truth with facts and don't be overly emotional. Easier said than done when you have PTSD. So I asked myself, what would Daddy do?

So that's how I dealt with the issues that involved trust this week. Seek the truth and get help if your gut tells you otherwise. And pray. 

Thank you Kaley Boo the Cat for slow blinking me even though you haven't seen me for a week. You're truly a sweetheart for calming me down.

#BeKind #StaySafe

*a half baked one since I didn't pursue law, but I was his "legal secretary" for two decades

Plantita Saturdays: Bottomless Spring Onions Grown from Kitchen Scraps

Friday night last week I used some spring onions for dinner. It had roots so I thought I'd give planting spring onions again. I soaked the roots in water overnight and planted them on Saturday afternoon. My previous attempts at doing this always ended in disaster. 

The biggest mistake I did before was I soaked it in water for a few days. This time I immediately planted it the day after. This probably prevented it from rotting. 

Day 1 - planted it in soil with some composed. I made sure to wet the soil properly so that the plant would be encouraged to grow. I placed the pot beside the kitchen sink so I could keep an eye on it.

Day 2 - I was surprised to see it grow almost an inch overnight. Watered it a bit since it was a hot day.

Day 3 - I had food poisoning so Miggy took the photo for me. Jay said he sprinkled some water on the plant after washing his hands.

Day 4 & 5 - I was so sick I forgot about everything else.

Day 6 - feeling better I managed to check on the plant. Soil was pretty dry so I watered it well, making sure to let the excess water drain out. Also moved it away from direct sunlight since it's been so hot the past few days.

Day 7 - not entirely sure if I'm over watering or under watering. Will use my soil test gadget to check whether to water or not. 

Hopefully I could use it for cooking in a few days. I might buy another batch to make another pot.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Will AI Outdate You?

There's been so much news about artificial intelligence (AI) the past few months because of ChatGPT. Some are excited about it, some skeptical, some worried and some just don't care about the hullabaloo. 

Outside the tech industry there's been much talk about it because of plagiarism. Students have been caught having their homework done by AI. I have a friend who caught two job applicants who submitted AI written essays. That's the "popular" way so far of using AI, but it's actually been integrated already in many of the things we are using/experiencing, ie automated traffic lights, magic eraser on Google Photos, self driving cars etc. 

My career focused on introducing technology to the masses since I graduated. I was always challenged to think about how to introduce new things to the market. From what I experienced in the last 25+ years, there are new things that the market easily adopts to and there are things that are just really hard to integrate. 

There's still so much that tech has to do to really define how their product will be useful for our everyday lives. I read an article that it could also disrupt  white collared jobs. I immediately thought about the work I used to do. I was a program manager and what I did changed almost everyday, so I think my job would have been safe from AI but probably from the randomness of getting laid off. Well, I've retired and that's something I don't need to worry about.

Adoption of new technologies takes years and will never reach 100%. If you look back at history, the introduction of machines was a major disruption. The market adjusted and other types of jobs were created. What I think big tech should think about is how to use AI for good because it's the best way to use something powerful.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: That Time I was a Fairy

While we were sorting our stuff when I saw the fairy dress my beloved Gaylas made for me. They dressed me up as a fairy when they surprised me during my 40th birthday celebration.

I had so many nicknames through the years. People picked up the nickname Winston gave me, Ms. Google Earth Philippines because of the mapping program I initiated. A few years later, the Gaylas started calling me FGM, fairy godmother, haha. It stuck and they still call me FGM until now. 

So that's probably where they got the idea to dress me up as a fairy with a crown to boot! Haha.

Love you girls ❤️

#BeKind #StaySafe

Wellness Wednesdays: Dealing with Food Poisoning

Food poisoned twice thus month. The first one was probably due to a salad I ate at a resto. I was better in less than two days, but still took it easy with what I ate for a few days. I'm still dealing with the second one. It was likely caused by a bite I took from the salmon omelette Sweetie ordered from a cafe. He was also downed by it, but recovered faster than me.

My tummy is usually strong. I can eat anything outside my restrictions (grapefruit and anything too salty). I can still enjoy a cup of coffee a day and sometimes milk tea if I feel like it. I'm just usually careful with the water since that's where my tummy is picky. 

I didn't worry the first time I had food poisoning. I just rested and hydrated a lot. Thought it would be the same the second time around. It was unusual for me to still be having symptoms after three days so I decided to consult a doctor. He confirmed I have infectious diarrhea due to what I ate. He prescribed antibiotics and told me to drink 4 liters of water a day to make sure I don't get dehydrated. I'm not fond of running to a doctor, but I knew the issue won't resolve by itself. It's really important to know your body and seek help when needed.

Reported the issue to the cafe. Told them I hope they could check the food since it may happen to others. No response so far. Not surprised since their service on ground was very dismal.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Creative Happy Tuesdays: Resting

I had the misfortune of being food poisoned again. Again because it's the second time it's happened this month. I guess I'm still recovering from the first one, so the second one brought me down hard. Gaaah.

Well, I had good few days last week and I was able to organize my craft room a bit. I was able to arrange some of my quilting books on a shelf. I removed the fat quarters from a box, but still thinking about how best to organize it. 

Thought I'd be done with the kitchen curtains by now, but I have to rest for now. Anyway, I could imagine what I'll do to my craft room while resting.

Hope you're having a great day.

#bekind #staysafe

Home on Mondays: We Hired a Coach to Help Us Declutter

It's been almost 15 months since we moved in our new home. We suspended unpacking all our boxes because we didn't have storage. We only got to install proper cabinets after 12 months. Works on the house was extended though since some serious issues needed to be addressed. 

Merging two households is hard. We decided to get help from a decluttering coach because it was too overwhelming. It was also very stressful to see towers of boxes in our living room. We haven't invited anyone over because it's ugly to look at. 

Our architect introduced us to Ally Canita. She is the founder of Align Your Home and has been working with us for a few months now. The journey started with some introspection on where we our in our lives. She advised it will help us while we sort through our things. True enough, we were able to donate 7 boxes of books, clothing and kitchen stuff just before Christmas.

After we finished addressing the issues, we finally had our first 2-day session to deal with the boxes. Ally and her team sorted the boxes, cleared out space for storage and organized our kitchen. I had been working on organizing our kitchen since we got back in February. It was helpful to have Ally's expertise since she was able to put in a system in the kitchen. I just told them how I moved around in the kitchen and then they took care of organizing it. 

There were more boxes and bags behind the counter before Ally's team organized the kitchen.
It was a huge mess! (*Backsplash being replaced).

The contents of the boxes were sorted out. They found 7 boxes of bags (hand bags, eco-bags and travel bags)! They reduced it to three boxes after categorizing the bags.  This is where I really trimmed down. Kept only a few bags that would fit in my closet. I even let go of bags that had sentimental value for me. I knew I wouldn't use them anymore and knowing where I am in my life made it easier to let go. After some overnight sorting, we sent out 7 boxes for donation. 

The journey isn't over yet. Sorting items takes a lot of time. We sort in the evenings when it's not so hot. It's going to take time to finish. We will have another round with Ally to organize the items we decide to keep. At least the kitchen is now organized. Ally said we'll finalize how it was organized when they come back. Just need to see first if we're comfortable where everything has been placed. Still a long way to go for the rest of the house. 

#BeKind #StaySafe