Throwback Thursday: Ice Scramble Memories

I craved for chicken wings after watching a travel vlog. I randomly saw that the shop was also selling ice scramble. It's been decades since I last had ice scramble, so I added it to the order. Got busy while waiting for delivery and forgot I got it. Only remembered when I saw it on the fridge and Miggy said it was on the receipt, haha. Then I remembered what it was. 

I was surprised when I saw it had a lot of add ons. It had tiny marshmallows, chocolate chips, cream cheese, chocolate syrup and pearls. I used to buy ice scramble often from the street vendor outside the school gate. I think it was just one peso or two pesos back then. It was just pink juice with crushed ice. Manang usually added a teaspoon of powdered milk. 

I would normally put my bag in the school bus and then go down again to buy snacks. Ice scramble is a refreshing snack. I drank it while waiting for my busmates to arrive. Just saw many recipes on how to make ice scramble, maybe I'll try making some one of these days. I'll probably just make the drink and won't put the add ons. 

It was nice to try ice scramble again. I split the order with Sweetie and Miggy so they could try. Sweetie said he used to buy it with his classmates. Miggy can't remember if they had it in their school. Ice scramble brings back warm, fuzzy memories of hot afternoons waiting in the school bus. 

Did you have the same drink in your school? 

P.S. I stopped buying it from the vendor when I saw a coin drop in the styro box. She continued selling! Eeeeep! Well, I never had food poisoning from anything I bought from the street vendors, so I guess it was okay hehe. 

#BeSafe #StaySafe

Wellness Wednesdays: Tips for Those with Invisible Disabilities

If you look at me you'd never think I am disabled. People always assume I function very well. What they don't know is my mobility is limited and I need help with many things. My energy and stamina is also very limited and I can only last 15 minutes on video calls. I rarely go out because I am immunocompromised and well there are good days and bad days. My boys keep me indoors so I don't get sick. 

Managed to pull myself together the day after a bad night.

I'm a handful to take care of, so here's a few tips for you and your carers (and spokespersons):

1. The Nile is not just a river in Egypt. Denying your medical condition is just going to make things harder for you and your carers. This was probably the best advise I got from my OG allergologist. It's easier to power on when you know what you're up against. 

2. Know your body. It took me awhile to understand whether I need medical attention from a doctor or when I can just solve an issue at home. It becomes more problematic when you have PTSD. Since I got home I've been more mindful of what's going on with my body. My doctor here advised that I should avoid going to the hospital as much as possible. 

Bad night due to bad AQI. Oxygen went down to 90 and I thought I was going to pass out. 
Really useful to have an oxygen concentrator. Solved the issue in 40 minutes and then I went to sleep.
 

3. Voice out what you need. I immediately tell the boys when I am having a bad day or when the AQI is bad. They change "modes" depending on how I'm doing for a day. When my triggers are turned on I discovered that sometimes you just need to rant to a trusted person and then you'll be okay. [See also my post on "Managing Stress and Triggers"]

4. Address issues as they come, don't wait for things to get worse. If you're in pain, it's better to do something about it than wait for it to go away. Things normally just don't "go away", they get worse! My physiotherapist advised that oftentimes there's pain that can usually be resolved with exercise. I exercise whenever I have back pain, leg and arm pain. I follow the exercises my PT taught me and that oftentimes resolves issues. 

5. See a doctor when you are "concerned". A lot of patients in the PE group I'm in ask whether they should see a doctor when they experience symptoms (i.e. leg swelling, shortness of breath). The advise of other patients is always the same, "Don't search your symptoms on Google. See a doctor." Our bodies are all different, so if you are having concerns, go see a doctor. 

6. Surround yourself with people who understand. I've been ridiculed because of my medical condition. Not everyone would understand so let it be. Just focus on those who truly love you. 

7. And most importantly, pray. Draw strength from your faith and the love from your family and friends. 

Having invisible disabilities is hard to manage and not easy to understand. Don't let it keep you from doing things you love. Just accept it and adjust as needed. Work with your doctors to see how you can improve the quality of your life. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Quilt Blankets I Made for Friends

I finally found the first quilt blanket I made. It was a baby blanket I hand-sewed just before Miggy was born. It was my Mom though who finished the process since she was more knowledgeable in binding than me. When I took up quilting again I realized my knowledge was incomplete. 

I took up quilting again I think in 2014 or 2015. I told myself I had to learn how to finish a quilt. Every project I started had to have a learning goal. I also wanted to make friends happy. In 2019 one of my favorite colleagues was about to give birth to a miracle baby. Armed with my rainbow fabric collection, I embarked on making a baby quilt. I sewed everything by hand and I was still sewing it when I went to Syndey. Luckily, I was able to finish it before I left and I gave it to her in between the events we were hosting. She has since sent me many photos of her baby playing on the quilt. 

The quilt wasn't perfect, but was made with love. I was a few months into making the Harry Potter quilt blanket for friends who just got married. For this quilt I wanted to improve on my stitching and piecing corners. I also wanted to use a sewing machine for piecing the bigger parts of the quilt. The small parts of the quilt were all sewn in-flight. It reached Australia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. It took me two years to finish it since I got so busy in 2020. I finally sent it to Canada last year. 

Before I went back home I had this great idea I could make multiple quilts by using short cuts. I wanted to learn the shortcut to making pinwheel quilts. I told myself, ahhh maybe I can make two blankets. I ended up making four and gifted it to my friends in Singapore. 

Another friend got a different version of the Harry Potter quilt blanket. For this I followed a design from a book. Miggy helped me with the colors. 

Of course, I made baby quilts for my favorite doctors. I made two versions of it. By this time I was  quite confident at machine sewing. I slowly moved to machine quilting while making the blankets. I had to because I was starting to get pains in my arm haha. I enjoyed making the blankets for my doctors. My cardiologist has been sending me cute photos of him using it. 

Oversized lap quilt blanket for my cardiologist.

Lap quilt for my respiratory doctor.

I can't believe I made 8 baby blankets last year and I haven't even finished any this year. Well, I hope to finish my t-shirt memory quilt soon! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Coptotermes

I'm finally living in my dream home now, but I wasn't counting on living with coptotermes. Termites! A week ago I was surprised to find debris in one of the cabinets. I cleaned it up and didn't think much about it. Last Saturday, the contractor sent a carpenter to fix some things and the cabinet door came away when Sweetie opened it. When they inspected it they came to the conclusion that it was termites. Yikes!

I immediately sent an SOS to the pest control company who's been servicing my Mom's home. They sent someone to inspect today and they confirmed that it was termites. They even saw some insects and said that it's the most destructive among the 4 common varieties that plague houses. They did say that it looks like it's still pretty new, but be wary because they bite! The good thing is it's only in that corner for now and it was detected early enough. 

This photo was taken late last year. It's now a gubat!

I guess that's the drawback in buying a renovated old home. The crew told us though that it may have come from the bamboo also. We'll never truly know and the best recourse is to address it immediately. Most of the materials of our home are "yummy for termites". We weren't there when the old house was renovated and we're just discovering all the materials used for the house. My friend who is a contractor said not to worry for now because I can just upgrade later on when things deteriorate. 

Well, now I really have an excuse to get the kitchen the way I want it. I've been browsing on Pinterest on functional features that will be useful for the upgrade. I'm still very undecided on how it should look haha. A friend though advised not to use granite because it apparently causes cancer (also quartz!). She said it's better to use synthetic. 

I super loved the clean, white look of the kitchen in our last apartment in Singapore.
I'm kinda torn between this and mixing in some color. Definitely want something neutral.

We have to resolve the pest issue first before doing any work. Good thing we discovered this before it got out of hand. I remember my Mom used to DIY pest control in her home. At some point it got out of hand, so I got an expert to address the issue. Most of the original materials used in her home are still intact. Her wood floors are much better actually than ours. The engineer who inspected the house said it's still looks good. I hope to be able to take care of my home like how my Mom did. We told Miggy though to force us to move to a smaller home when we become too old for a bigger space.

Well, Mondays are supposed to cover home, dreams and wishes. I know it's a headache to deal with pest issues, but I see it as a blessing. It's good we discovered it now than when it's wreaked more havoc. It's also good we've been working with a trusted partner for pest control (found them through a trustworthy friend). Well, as Kulas of Becoming Filipino always says, "Power on!"

P.S. My friend, Boss, pointed out that there is a miracle everyday. There is! So I thought I'd add clips of nice things we can reflect on everyday. Here's one from GodWhispers today -

#BeKind #StaySafe

Sunday is for Miracles

Getting takeaway.

I was honestly planning to stop blogging daily. I just didn't feel inspired and felt things were going nowhere. My doctors made me promise though to keep my brain working, that's why I blog everyday. I knew if I gave up daily blogging I would definitely deteriorate fast. I introduced daily blog themes to keep me going and to avoid focusing too much on things that don't inspire. So Sundays are for miracles!

The Miracle of Life

I have been through many nerve-wracking health episodes. I am grateful that I've always pulled through them. My doctors are actually amazed how I have survived two OHS and two PEs. They were so shocked when I climbed the Borobudur Temple a few months after surgery.

I clung on to my faith and the love of my family after surgery. I remember I kept playing my church songs playlist on my iPod nonstop. It did eventually drive my family crazy, but tbh I had no grasp of what was going on during that time. I was probably dazed from the anesthesia and medication being pumped into me. I think though it was all the prayers being said for me that really helped pull me through. 

I oftentimes stop myself from asking "Why?" I just remind myself to trust and follow God's plans for me. What I have been through health-wise is not for the faint-hearted. Aside from physical issues, it has also affected me mentally. It's not been easy for me and my family. 

This is my cross and I carry it with faith and love. There are good days and there are bad days for me. When it's a bad day I rest, when it's a good day then I can be a bit more active. It's alright, I'm just happy I'm able to spend time with my family everyday. 

Be grateful for the cross that you carry. Remember, God only gives you challenges that you can bear.

Happy Sunday everyone!

*OHS - open heart surgeries

PE - pulmonary embolisms

Plantita Saturdays: Saving My Garden!

The past few weeks have been challenging. We were surprised with the invasion of higad in our garden. I immediately sprayed neem oil, but belatedly realized that it takes time for it to take effect. By the time we found the best solution to get rid of the pests the damage was already done. All my citronella plants died and the new seedlings were all eaten. When the numbers finally dwindled new pests started to come in -- slugs and millipedes. 

The most important thing I learned when I dealt with the higad infestation is don't just use one solution. Research and try different solutions until you find the best one. The best one for us wasn't spraying neem oil everyday or squishing the critters (it became messy). We were wary about using fire, so Sweetie did the opposite -- a water bucket. I added a teaspoon of neem oil to it and they died in less than 10 seconds. Add hydrogen peroxide and that will take care of slugs and millipedes. Those two are sturdier than the higad so they need something stronger. 

Proud plant momma! I planted this from seed! :)

I try to use organic solutions only because there are a lot of birds in our area, so I'm sticking to neem oil and the tanglad+oregano concoction to spray the leaves. My efforts have paid off and my blue ternate which I planted from seed has been blooming more. The flowers are also bigger than what I normally see. I'm glad I actively battled the pests because I could see that the plants I managed to save are all fighting back also and recovering nicely.

The last living pothos from Singapore. Decided to plant them in soil because they were not growing.
They don't seem to like the water and honey mixture here.

Writing this post mainly to remind myself of what I should do when it happens again next year. Research is key. There is so much to learn from gardening. Each plant has it's own needs. There's no one size fits all solution, so I like the challenge. My goal is to have a mix of food producing plants, plants that would protect other plants and I hope I'll finally be successful in growing flowering plants (to make my Mom proud). 

To motivate me to do better at gardening, Saturdays will be plantita updates! I'll post more specific tips on our gardening blog.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Lakwatsera Fridays: The Best Bulgogi I Ever Tasted

One of the things I miss from my "past life" is traveling. Majority of it was done for business, but what I enjoyed was experiencing different cultures and meeting people from other nationalities. I told myself that someday I'd write about it. Well, that time has come and I promised my doctors I'll write everyday so I can keep my brain well oiled. 

Back in 2019, I found myself in Yeosu, South Korea. It's not a common place for tourists, but I immediately fell in love with it. It's a port/fishing town in the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. I took a bus from Incheon International Airport to Gimpo International Airport and stayed at the hotel across the airport. I took a short domestic flight the next day and checked in The MVL which had a great view of the bay. 

In the evening, the community brought me to have a walk-around in the city. We ended up in this quaint place that served bulgogi. I left the ordering to them and they got this huge pot of bulgogi. I told them it was so huge we might not finish it. They just laughed at me and said not to worry. True enough, the two pots they ordered was gone in a jiffy. It's the most delicious bulgogi I've tasted in my entire life! Like wowwwww. It was really far from the ones I've tried and cooked at home. Ganun pala ang original. I told myself I'll look for the original recipe and make some at home (note to self!). 

After a hefty dinner, we walked to Yi Sun-Sin Square. I enjoyed seeing the monument of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, the greatest military general known for his victories against the Japanese navy. I was among teachers so they made sure I understood that part of their history. I loved walking around the square, but soon enough they sent me back to the hotel because they were going drinking. I capped the evening by getting coffee at the hotel cafe.  

Someday I hope I'd be able to visit Yeosu again. Something about being in a fishing town always makes me happy. :)

More about my trip to Yeosu on this blog post: http://aileenapolo.blogspot.com/2020/01/that-time-i-went-to-yeosu.html 

#BeKind #StaySafe