What Makes You Happy?

What makes you happy? It's probably a question all of us ask ourselves every so often. Keep it simple my doctor told me. 

Whenever I feel down, one thing that helps me get back up is counting blessings or things I'm grateful for. This is what taught me to be happy even with simple things.

When I wake up every morning, I thank the Lord for the new day, then I look forward to seeing my boys, our cats and then my plants. 

I've changed a lot since I retired. I used to beat myself up for not being "productive". I kept praying for the next "big thing". My condition just got worse and I realized God is telling me I'm on a different path now. I'm meant to be where I am now.

What makes you happy can change over time. I used to chase wins across the region and now I'm chasing what's within a few meters around me. And it's enough.

#BeKind #StaySafe

My Favorite Fabric Pencil!

I have tried a lot of fabric pencils. I used to travel a lot and I'd usually visit a craft store. I was always on the lookout for better fabric pencils. That quest kinda ended when I found this pencil in a store in Ginza, Japan (Yuzawaya). 

I was curious because the fabric pencil was a mechanical pencil (called Sewline). It was quite expensive, so I removed some fabric from my cart so I could try it. It's the best fabric pencil ever!!! I immediately fell in love with it when I tried it as soon as I got home. Lines were always straight and the pencil would glide smoothly on the fabric (especially when you have sandpaper to stabilize the fabric). 

Here's a demo:

The pencil came with refills, but I was eventually shocked when I needed to buy new ones. The refills are expensive too! I have other white fabric pencils, but they usually break easily and I'm not really happy with big fat lines. I just buy white refills to save.

I ran out of refills recently, so I checked where I could buy. I was surprised to see a new variant of the pencil. It's a trio pencil which includes white, black and pink. I've had my Sewline pencil for 8 years now and thought I'd indulge and try this new one. I also misplaced my original white pencil, so this would be a replacement. 

And just like before, I immediately fell in love with it. The pink pen is quite interesting and I might buy a refill when I run out. 

Finding joy in little things :)

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Wellness Wednesday: Turning a Corner

I'm happy to share that my mind and soul is in a better place now. The past six months has been horrendous for me mentally. There's a lot of things that contributed to falling back into the ugly pit. I had a hard time sleeping, I was unproductive, I couldn't be pushed to do anything and, most of all, I didn't want to see anybody else except my boys. 

I've been in this place before and the biggest contributing factor was bad health and being overworked. I got help and bid goodbye to my doctor just before we went home. He warned me that the change may be too much and I could just holler if I needed him. I thought I didn't since there were times I was okay. I usually equate that I'm fine when I'm productive. 

And it's clearer to me now what sets me off. It's mostly my health. I thought about reaching out to my doctor, but I told myself I needed to respond to this challenge. If I'm able to win the challenge, I'd be able to change how I react whenever I have an issue. I prayed and slowly ramped up my activities.

One night I prayed and told the negative vibe to leave me. I woke up early and was surprised when I felt lighter. I felt like my old self and that week I was able to return to my weekly pulmo rehab. I was shaky and had asthma, but I was able to push through and finish the session. I was also able to complete some paperwork that had been waiting to be done. I also resumed sorting stuff. 

I turned the corner with prayer and continued to do activities that help me cope. I realized I'll be able to move forward only by moving on and doing what needs to be done. It's easier for me to create programs, run events, develop solutions, but I fail miserably at staying put and being happy. My goal is to make more happy memories with my boys and that's what I'll focus on. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Shhh... How I Reduce Noise

Social media has certainly made our world "noisier". I must admit, it was fascinating to be always online. Always on the know. Always connected. If you're not "on", then you'd be behind. It was fun, but it's not healthy to always be in the forefront of things. 

After my second PE*, my doctor mandated me to stay offline. Even in ICU I was still getting calls and pings from work. It was an aha moment for my doctors. They realized my personality is what will ultimately bring me peril. So I was mandated to stay offline. That meant no peeking at my emails or social media. 

Mind you, it took me months before I started appreciating being offline. I did not realize that I had to do that for my own good. I monitored my online time using my phone and watched my time spent online go down slowly. It was a habit that had to be broken.

I learned a lot from those months I strictly reduced being online. I forced myself to be more productive offline. I re-discovered my passion for quilting, gardening and baking. Movement was still controlled so I had to be creative at home. It was easy to fill up offline time, since I was asleep half the time (recovering from PEs requires serious rest). 

Things can get very noisy online nowadays. I don't check my phone when I wake up. I only turn it on after all my routines, eating and drinking my meds. I just take a peek and then move on to do some gardening. Gardening includes playtime with the cats. And this is why lately my posts are done late in the evening, haha. 

My doctors were right. It's really in your hands how you manage your stress. I mute when needed. I unfollow when it's too much. I'm at the age when I feel strongly about protecting my space and my peace. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

What We Learned from Our Decluttering Coach

We are about 85 to 90% done decluttering our home. We just have a few boxes left and we're aiming to clear most of it out before the month ends. We got help from a decluttering coach because merging two homes was overwhelming. It's almost two years now since we moved back to the Philippines and we're hoping to have a more decent living space by Christmas. 

We learned a lot from our decluttering coach, Ally Canita in the past few months. Here's what she taught us:

1. Define your intention. Knowing your intention makes it easier when you need to make decisions on what to keep and let go. 

2. Make a plan. In our case we identified rooms where we needed help. From the room places to keep items in were identified. 

3. Sort everything first. This is where we were really glad to have help Ally and her team went through all our boxes and cabinets and sorted all the items. They were categorized in different boxes. 

4. Identify items that will be kept, decided on later, and for donation. We went through this process a number of times until we were able to choose what to keep and donate. 

5. Integrate a system in storing your items. I was shocked to find out how much dishwashing liquid I had in my inventory. I kept buying whenever we did groceries because I always thought we were about to run out. What we didn't know was we kept storing it in different places, haha. The team organized our pantry and cabinets properly. And yes, we finally ran out of dishwashing liquid, hahaha. The system they did helps us to know easily what items we need to re-stock. 

6. Identify organizations where you could donate pre-loved items. Luckily Ally was already in contact with organizations. The boxes of books we donated were eventually sent by the org to Bicol. We also donated a lot of clothes, bags and houseware. 

I was so happy I was able to reduce my stuff. I really had a lot and defining my intention helped a lot. I also based my decisions on my current situation. I rarely go out, so I don't really need a lot of clothes, bags and shoes. I'm still working on reducing what I still have since I think I still have too much. 

Still a long way to go, but with Ally's coaching we aren't as overwhelmed anymore :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried Ready to Cook Gyoza

I'm so glad Shirni taught me how to cook gyoza. I tried making it on my own, but her mixture is so much better so I gave up making my own. I just normally buy ready to cook from the supermarket. It tastes so much better than what I make. Maybe someday I'll try making it from scratch again, haha.

Anyway, we got some ready to cook chicken gyoza made by Tokyo Tokyo. We just chanced upon it at the grocery and thought we'd try it. Buying ready to cook stuff is a hit and miss, but we were willing to try since it's tedious to make gyoza from scratch. 

The package didn't come with instructions and I couldn't find any online. I decided to use the technique Shirni taught me many years ago when we lived in Singapore. Shirni is a Malaysian friend and she makes the most amazing gyoza (and gyoza sauce) on earth. She taught me how to cook and how to make the mixture. I never managed to get the mixture correctly, so I just wait whenever she sends me a tupperware of prepared meat. It will probably take a long time before I could sample her gyoza again, so have to make do for now with ready to cook ones available in the supermarket. 

Since I couldn't find any instructions on how to cook the Tokyo Tokyo pack, I decided to just use Shirni's technique. I asked Miggy to help document it since it might be useful for others who want to try. I don't remember if we were taught how to make dumplings in foods class and Daddy only made siomai at home. Gyoza isn't really a staple in our culture, so thought this video would be useful. Here ya go :)

The Tokyo Tokyo chicken gyoza was pretty tasty. We only realized later on that we should have halved the package. We finished all 24 pieces for dinner and we felt so full even after bedtime (hahaha). Also, probably need to find how to prepare the sauce. We just used black vinegar. Recos for other ready to cook gyoza is welcome!

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Secret to Fast-Tracking to a Better Life

I read this on Didache last night, "Don't shun the guidance of your elders. Why commit their mistakes when they can teach you a shortcut?*" I thought more about it before I fell asleep and remembered those days after I graduated when my Dad gave me a boatload of advise. I was then young and stubborn and wanted to do things my way. He let me be, but what followed was many years of trial and error and a lot of mishaps and misdemeanors. 

This was taken at the airport in Jakarta. Our flight was super delayed.

Dad regaled the apos with his childhood stories.

It was on September 27, 2007 when things started going the right way for me. That was the day I was on my way home from the US. I sent a plea to Papa God to navigate my life. Through the years I would remember those nuggets of wisdom my parents shared to me. Here's a few of them:

(1) Hardwork pays off. Work hard for what you want. 

(2) Don't show off.  Your efforts will be recognized by itself. 

(3) Find someone who has the same values as you. 

(4) Speak up when there is wrong-doing. 

(5) Do the best you can for your mission. Do this to serve God. 

(6) Don't be a corporate slave (sorry Dad, I still am).

(7) Keep your hands busy. 

(8) Believe in yourself and have faith. 

(9) Nothing is impossible with God.

(10) Always pray. 

Those are just a few of the lessons my parents have taught me. The most important part of it is letting Papa God navigate my life. When I'm in a bind now I always ask myself, "What would Daddy/Mommy do?" 

What about you? Where you always obedient to your parents? Did you always listen to their advise? Or where you like me, stubborn? 

CB//173 #StuckAtHomeDay/203 #StayHome #BeKind 

*Reflection written by Rissa Singson Kawpeng, September 25, Didache