A New Era

It's my birthday today and I honestly feel like a new chapter of my life has opened. It feels comparably different from when I became a golden girl last year. I didn't celebrate last year because of the accident* and I focused my time on physiotherapy. 

First Birthday

Anyway, we had a brief respite from the southwest monsoon (Habagat) for a few days, but it's back and we received an orange rainfall alert this afternoon. I checked and so far, no flooding in our city and the metro. It's nonetheless still very hard to get around when it's raining. Good thing we just ordered some food and it arrived before things can start going crazy. 

As a child, I never really liked parties. I remember I'd even hide when guests started arriving. I'm an introvert, so the attention was overwhelming. I still feel the same and I just celebrate with smaller groups. I didn't plan any since I wasn't sure about the weather. 

After 5 years, I think I've finally accepted the fact that I'm retired. I had been so anxious about it, but the Nile is not just a river in Egypt. Acceptance is key and now I'm enjoying my time. There are days when I'm unstable and that's just how things are nowadays for me. I just follow my doctor's orders to be stable and be healthy (as healthy as I can be). 

So, what's next for me? I don't have any "grand plans" and I'm just taking things one day at a time. All my "projects" are "home"-based:

• 
  Currently working on a Baby Yoda quilt 
• I have gardening goals which isn't moving much right now because of the weather
• Still blogging everyday and need to do that long overdue mitral valve replacement
• Biggest project to complete in the next six months, move to our forever home. Then, sell our current home (we hope someone buys it sooner than later!)
• And most important for me is to make more happy memories with my boys

All my "projects" depend on God's Will and grace for me. I have accepted my reality that my world will be smaller compared to what it used to be. It's fine, I've had my fun the past three decades. Perhaps it's also time to write the book I started during the pandemic? Hmm... we'll see. 

Happy birthday to me!

#BeKind #StaySafe

*Fell down a step and had a knee contusion

Throwback Thursday: GTD Days

Before I became part of the yellow pages, I handled the local version of Wand.com's trade directory. It was called Global Trade Directory where we encouraged exporters to sign up to find customers abroad.

The work tied up nicely to my previous job of exporting stone craft products (my Mom's company). I learned a lot about marketing a local products through the world wide web which was still a fairly new way to market.

I enjoyed joining trade fairs and getting exporters to sign up for our directory. We did well and even got a visit from Wand.com. That directory is still up and I still get regular updates from them. Ah, that was my first stint collaborating with an international team.

I was in my mid-20s back then and a fresh MBA grad and I definitely learned a lot from that stint. I didn't know back then, but looking back, God put me on the path for bigger things.

Just believe 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

Saw a Menopause Specialist

The genX generation are on the same perimenopause/menopause boat. My high school friends and I have been moaning about it on our group chat the past two years. We've all entered a dreadful era where our bodies are changing. 

I think I was 43 when my cardiologist noted in his report that I was perimenopausal. At that time I didn't really feel any different and brushed it aside. He must have seen it from my tests. I was probably having minor symptoms, but it was last year when I started experiencing the awful ones.

It started with hot flashes, then itchy ears, itching all over, and joint issues. The itchy ears went away and was replaced by tinnitus and now that includes pain behind my right ear at night. I've done a lot of adjustments. Changed to lye soap and have been slathering on lotion all over twice a day. I've also seen an ENT and neurologist on top of my regular cardio and pulmo appointments. 

I met a menopause specialist on Threads and thought I'd consult with her. The symptoms are not as bad as it was last year, but I feel I still need help. She spent more than an hour with me to figure out what I could do to ease symptoms. I'm taking various medications and I can't do hormone therapy because of my medical conditions. 

I'll start with some lifestyle changes. I'm now adjusting my sleep hours and will go on a Meditteranean diet, plus eat fermented food everyday. Sounds easy, but adjusting has to take into consideration the medications I drink. She wanted me to try intermittent fasting, but since I can't do it because I have time bound medications that require a full stomach. 

I hope the symptoms will be kinder as I adjust my lifestyle and maybe it will also help bring down my weight. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Baby Yoda Project Update

I decided to break the piecing part of the project into 3. Working with small pieces is hard and you're bound to make mistakes! When I made the Pikachu project two years ago, I followed the grid and pieced together 1" x 1" squares. It was HARD and I remember making mistakes since most of the pieces had the same color.

This time, I thought I'd try cutting the fabric based on the length. It won't take me a gazillion years to piece everything together. I cut a third of the needed fabric and it was less overwhelming to piece together. Whew! Doing it this way might motivate me to make the other characters I want to do. 

I hope it turns out cute!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Keeping Tabs on the Construction

We wanted to keep an eye on the developments and since we installed CCTV a few years ago, we had it moved so we could see all the sides of the house. We also added some cams indoors. Through the cameras, we were able to see how the house was slowly chipped away. 

Since the house was being demolished, the team created a "server room" which reminded us of Dr. Who's telephone booth. The booth even had a door and was made from materials that came from the house. The team even found wallpaper and decorated it, haha. 

The CCTV has been very useful in making sure the site is secure. We also use it to ask architect questions especially when we need something adjusted. Some funny moments were also captured by the camera and sometimes we chance upon Manong Lito singing especially on weekends. 

Thanks to Netoy for making sure the CCTV we invested in a couple of years ago is still useful :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Blep

I accidentally sprayed some water on Meredith. She gave me a blep face after she cleaned up.

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Grew Curry Plant from Seed

I've had a curry plant for a few years now. I was trying to buy lemongrass, but the garden nursery made a mistake and sold a curry plant to me. It's very tall now and has been producing berries. It usually just falls off or eaten by birds. 

The curry plant produced berries again, so I planted the seeds. I chose black ones, removed the flesh and placed them in 3 pots. Two pots of seeds without the flesh and one pot with whole berries. I covered the pots with cut plastic bottles to increase humidity and encourage the seeds to sprout. 

A few weeks later it started to sprout. 

I eventually removed the cover when it looked a bit stable. I also moved it with other plants I'm growing. I would water it sparingly to make sure the roots won't rot. Then it rained and it rained. I only got to check my plants again yesterday. 

The sprout has grown! It's now what I think you can call, a seedling! I'm happy since it was just an experiment to see if the berry seeds would grow. And from that experiment, only the seeds without the flesh grew. Nothing grew from those I planted whole. 

Ahh, new skill unlocked! Yay!

#BeKind #StaySafe