Of Serendipity and Advocacy And other Etceteras
I really have nothing prepared for today so I hope you’ll give me a weekend pass and let’s call today as a Slack Off Saturday 😅. Instead, let me go and pick some random questions from this website link: https://conversationstartersworld.com/, it has 350 questions total. I will pick some of them and answer as truthful and thoughtful as I can but this time let us give it a twist, aside from my answer, I will attach personal pictures or videos taken from my cloud albums, nothing from unsplash or pixabay and post it here together with my answer. So Game!
`11. What movie can you watch over and over without ever getting tired of?`
I am not much into movies, if during my elementary days I will instantly answer 3 Ninjas and it’s prequels, but adult life wise, watching a movie once is enough, I don’t do replays. However, if we are talking about a tv show or a series, one show I will never get tired watching is FRIENDS. It’s timeless! David Beckham, BTS, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and the rest of its million of fans all over the world can relate to this FRIENDS fever. Check my video below to see some FRIENDS merchandises I own for the love of this series.
https://vimeo.com/638176075
`46. What’s the most interesting building you’ve ever seen or been in?`
I would say World Trade Center in New York City, New York. It was in September 11,2001 when it was destroyed by terrorist and when I was there in 2010, the said building is still being rebuilt. Kindly refer to the photos below of some pictures I took using my digital cam during my brief visit in NYC.
`50. If someone narrated your life, who would you want to be the narrator?`
When I first read the question, the first person that came to my mind is @MommyJaytee , she’s inactive here at read.cash but noisy at noise😅. I am not allowed to post her picture here so i will just post a screenshot from noise about the last time we saw each other.
`55. What are you interested in that most people aren’t?`
Two words: Animal Welfare. I can attest to the number of friends and relatives whom I can call for support when it comes to rescuing pets in distress and supporting my fund raising causes in support of these rescues, maybe 1 percent. LOL! It’s okay, I understand, i call it `“kanya kanyang tawag ng habag”`
Sharing to you below, a screenshot taken from an FB page I made for my beloved rescue, Odie.
This is one of those endless crying I did regarding a dog I rescued who has a terminal case of cancer, that i had to adopt and gave him a lot of TLC he deserves, til it’s time for him to go.
Reposting here as well one of the most tearful words I wrote regarding Odie and I’s fight for cancer from his fb page Odie the Golden Pogi.
Reposting with some edits. 😭😭
`When do you know it's time? Do we hold on longer than we should? Do they hold on longer because we need them to be? At this point, my heart breaks, and I don't know what is the best decision. And I don't want to make that decision, and I don't want to be the one to say when does he gives. All I know each day, just breaks my heart, knowing that it's coming, I am only prolonging the inevitable, but I won't let go, because I just need to have and to hold him... one more day to hold. Sorry, but this is breaking my heart but this one is so dang special, He was from the day I met him last November and till the day he leaves us. I miss his happy days, I miss his powerful bark and excited happy eyes when he is about to eat. Now, I believe, he just holds on, because he knows, he knows how much he is loved. 😭😭😭`
`58. What’s something people don’t worry about but really should?`
The afterlife. This bible verse is an eye opener for me:
*2****Corinthians 4:18***
`75. What’s the most comfortable bed or chair you’ve ever been in?`
Fortunately, I have it, I own it. My Serendipity Sofa🥰. I bought the said sectional sofa in 2009, when we finally moved in to our own house. Serendipity means finding something good without looking for it and that is what this sofa is giving to everyone who seats on it. My friends and sister who are frequent visitors of our house complaints how sleepy they are once they seat on our sofa. It’s been 12 years and our sofa is still in very good condition. We already have a new sofa located in our main living area and our old sofa is moved to our 2nd floor but that sofa is stil the best one to go to when you need some quality snoozing. The picture below is taken in 2009.
So there you have it my Saturday entry with 6 questions answered. I had to end this here and hurry up because time check it’s 11:49 pm, i had to post it now otherwise it’ll be considered a sunday article. 😅
**all pictures and videos are mine.**
Before I go, please do check my awesome sponsors below. Special thanks to a lovely sister of mine here at read and noise that has always been very giving and very welcoming eversince i started posting at these two platforms. Thank you @Pichi28 for the sponsorship renewal. Blessed to have you as always. God’s grace and more blessings to you and your fam. 💕
That Dosido Song
Earlier today, I asked my husband if we could go out and bring some of our dogs for a walk. We have 10 dogs total and as much as we want to bring them all for a walk, that will be such a challenge so we had to do it by batch. For this dogs’ day out we brought with us Tinker, Krusher, Pepper and Matty. Matty being the newly adopted, is his first time to go out with us. We plan for the rest of the pack whom we weren’t able to bring today to have their turn next week.
Tinker, my 1st female dog who happens to be a tripawd(three legged) seems to be the one enjoying the most as she was put off leashed and run around the grasses of Camp John Hay. If you want to ask why she only has three legs? She had a nasty tumor in one of her legs when she was only 2 years old. ( she is 8 now). The tumor turned out to be malignant and her affected leg needs to be amputated to prevent the tumor to metastasize all over her body. I am thankful through God’s grace that the said tumor never recurred. I have nothing but praises for the Lord Almighty for hearing my prayers for Tinker.
I remember sharing this bible verses, my prayers and my worries during that time we are battling with Tinker’s scary tumor:
`Words of Assurance that everything will be okay. We will fight this together, Tinker my furbaby.`
`Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.`
`—Philippians 4:6–7`
`Turn your worries into prayers. The next time you are gripped by fear and worry, turn it into a prayer like this one: "Lord, I don't know what to do, but I trust You. You are in control, and I commit this to You right now." Look to the Lord, and let Him give you His peace.`
💕 `The Lord indeed is a Mighty healer.` 💕
When we got home, I was trying to post at Facebook a video of the dogs’ fun day out when I noticed that Facebook allows you to add music in every video or photo you want to upload and I came across this fun song by George Ezra. Since I can’t post here a video from Fb, i’ll use Vimeo with the help of Tiktok to show you my dog’s video and the song I am referring to.
https://vimeo.com/637886414
This song of George Ezra is entitled Budapest. I only came to learn about this singer a few years ago and I could say that he is one of the most underrated international singer. His songs are mellow with an impact to every listener. For the song Budapest, I had to google its lyrics to learn that it also has a very nice message of leaving everything he has if it meant having to be with his beloved. In so much ways, I can relate to giving up a lot to my loved ones and even my dogs. When it comes to my dogs wellbeing and welfare, my husband and I made a lot of adjustments and sacrifices for them. If i hadn’t go through the lyrics I would mistakenly hear the words: “I’d leave it all” and “I’d lose it all” as simply mumbling it as dosido 😅
Here’s the full song for you to hear and I’m sure you would mistakenly hear the same 😅
https://vimeo.com/391969230
and here’s the lyrics of the song for you to connect it too:
`My house in Budapest`
`My hidden treasure chest`
`Golden grand piano`
`My beautiful Castillo`
`You`
`You`
`I'd leave it all`
`My acres of a land`
`I have achieved`
`It may be hard for you to`
`Stop and believe`
`But for you`
`You`
`I'd Leave it all`
`Give me one good reason`
`Why I should never make a change`
`And baby if you hold me`
`Then all of this will go away`
`My many artifacts`
`The list goes on`
`If you just say the words`
`I'll up and run`
`Oh, to you`
`You`
`I'd leave it all`
`Give me one good reason`
`Why I should never make a change`
`And baby if you hold me`
`Then all of this will go away`
`Give me one good reason`
`Why I should never make a change`
`Baby if you hold me`
`Then all of this will go away`
`My friends and family`
`They, don't understand`
`They fear they'd lose so much`
`If you take my hand`
`But, for you`
`You`
`I'd lose it all`
A very nice song right? That’s how the crazy beautiful furmom’s Friday went. Full of furbabies as always. I hope you had a good TGIF as well. 💕
*All pictures and videos are mine unless stated otherwise.*
That Spur of the Moment Getaway
Before Coron Palawan and Bani Pangasinan, this beach destination was the closest to my heart. It was one of those weekend afternoons in 2014 where I casually meet some of my bff’s for some coffee, or so I thought. What is planned to be just a day to meet my friends turned out to be one of those impromptu getaway that is so much fun I just had to write about it and share it here.
Dasol is one of those hidden gems of Pangasinan, we’ve been exploring a lot of those white sands that Pangasinan is offering like Anda and Bolinao but we had never heard of Dasol. The only other white sand beach I know during that time that is also located in Northern Luzon was in Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte. I brought up Dasol to my two bff’s on how my cousin who went there a few weeks ago, marvelled about how beautiful the place is. Both of my buddies has no idea of Dasol as well and before we knew it, we were rushing home that same afternoon to pack our bags and before 12 midnight we were there at the island. It took us seven hours which includes three bus transfers and one tricycle ride. If it is through a private car 3-4 hour trip will normally get us there.
Here are some photos taken during our first visit to Dasol.
The island doesn’t have any of the usual resort with a pool or a restaurant, Dasol is just a fisherman’s island however the residents are getting aware that many tourists are already discovering their place so some residents are offering homestays. It was my first time to go island hopping and I was so much in awe how clean the ocean and how fine their white sands are. I was also surprised that we only spent more or less 1,000 php (20 USD) per head for this incredible experience.
Sharing to you below what I have written in my facebook account about my experience in Dasol:
`Spontaneous Getaway with two of my Best Buds. Backpackers Style. 7 hour Trip. Bumpy road. Staying at a Fishing Village. No hotels, No big resorts, no souvenir shops. Island Hopping, A place that holds surprises for a not so popular destination and finding a pristine white beach which I found to be the most beautiful I`ve been to.`
Take Two!
I got so fond of Dasol that I can’t wait to go back, so less than a year after, we backpacked our way to the same place this time with my daughter, my 2 bff’s who were with me the first time we discovered the place, and two other girl friends. It was my 2nd time, but the trip felt like as magical as the first time with more people to share it with. Here are some photos during my 2nd time exploring Dasol:
We created a group album and posted them to our Facebook account and this is what I wrote on my Facebook summarizing my 2nd visit of Dasol.
`It was Summer of 2014 when we first invaded this paradise with two of my best buds. I made a promise that the next time I will visit this place, I will bring my daughter who loved the beach as much as I do. When the opportunity to go there for the 2nd time arrived, I knew we wouldn`t miss it for the world. With arms that ached from climbing the boat, cuts and scratches from those rock formations, aching legs and butts from the long hours of travel, the trip was again worth it.`
The Third Time
Yep, the island is so beautiful i had to be there again, this time with my hubby (who haven’t been there), my daughter, my friend and his two siblings. This time, we are travelling using our own car with my husband as the driver so the travelling time is lesser. Our wedding anniversary falls in the summer, in the month of May, we made it a tradition since our first anniversary to go for some R&R. The thallosophille that I am always chose the beach, so two years after my last visit, we chose Dasol. I felt like one of my bucketlist was fulfilled when I finally brought my husband and daughter together for my favorite place.
Here’s one of our best photo as a family taken at Tambobong Island, Dasol.
Reminiscing and looking at these island adventures makes me want to blame Covid again for over staying. The tradition of going to a beautiful beach for every wedding anniversary we had has been halted because of this pandemic. Please Covid, have mercy on us and go to Mars or Neptune or any planet you choose from. Kidding aside, I really pray that next year will be Covid free and full of family and friends getaway for all of us.
**All Pictures Are Mine.**
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I Scream for Ice Cream!
`You scream.`
`I scream.`
`All because of ice cream.`
`Ice cream is the devil.`
`It is a sin.`
`I can’t eat ice cream if I want to be thin.`
`There’s too much sugar.`
`There’s too much fat.`
`There’s too many calories in stuff like that.`
`You scream.`
`I scream.`
`All because of ice cream.`
`It’s not healthy.`
`It will go to my thighs.`
`All I need to eat is more of your lies.`
`I don’t like ice cream;`
`At least that’s what you say.`
`Besides, I’m not hungry anyway.`
`You scream.`
`I scream.`
`All because of ice cream.`
`Make an excuse.`
`Tell them you just ate.`
`Eating that ice cream will make me gain weight.`
`I won’t be under pressure`
`If I just don’t go.`
`I’ll just stay home so they won’t know.`
`You scream.`
`I scream.`
`All because of ice cream.`
`I don’t need friends`
`If I have you.`
`You wouldn’t tell me something untrue.`
`Ice cream is the devil.`
`It is a sin.`
`I can’t eat ice cream if I want to be thin.`
`You scream.`
`I scream.`
`All because of ice cream.`
This poem is entitled A POEM: ICE CREAM (I SCREAM) and was written by Lauren Burkholder. I came upon this poem today as I try to get inspiration on what to write about Ice cream. LOL! Yes, Ice cream haha!
I guess everyone can agree that aside from cakes, ice cream is rated also as one of human’s all time favorite dessert because of its gazillion of flavors to choose from. Even those who are not a sweet tooth will not ignore an ice cream offered to them if they happen to like the flavor.
Being on a low carb diet, the key is to feel full, starving yourself is not an option and you can eat in an unlimited amount as long as the food has zero carb content. It has been tried and tested on my end that I can lose weight, be healthier ( i haven’t had any gall stone pain attacks in the past 2 years) even if I ate a lot of those fatty foods. They can be eaten without any guilt as long as it is not paired with any carbohydrates. Sad to say, as fatty as the ice cream it might be, the sugar content is a no-no. Low carb way of eating is cutting on sugar as well.
Ice cream to me is my go to dessert whenever I feel stressed, depressed or disappointed. Ice cream has this magical way of making me feel better with no ounce of guilt after finishing the a whole pint in 10 mins. 😅
Since I can’t eat much of those ice cream right now, I might as well write about it and those ice cream adventures that topped my list and where to find them.
Baskin Robbins and Coldstone Creamery
Living near Bonifacio Global City for the past four years before the pandemic hits us, I am a fan of these two ice cream parlors. I liked that you get to have a free taste of all their available flavors before finally deciding what to get. Both shops are located in Serendra Bonifacio High Street, so everytime I need to get a quick fix, these two ice cream shops is where I go to. I particularly loved Jamoca Almond of Baskin Robbins and Cheesecake Fantasy (cheesecake, graham pie crust, blueberries and strawberries) of Coldstone. In a way I am glad these two shops doesn’t have a branch yet here in Baguio because surely I and my daughter will always go bankrupt by stopping over at their store often 😅.
Those Walmart Ice Creams
My 2nd time to go to the US was in March 2018, I was able to stay at my friend’s place in Tyler Texas. In one of our grocery shopping in Walmart, my friend told me to choose any ice cream I want and she’ll buy it for me. I was literally in awe how cheap the prices of their ice creams are. As you can see below they are roughly around 175 php for a half gallon, while here in the Phils, half a gallon normally cost around 250 php. I have seen in S&R here in the Philippines and these brands of ice cream below like Blue Bunny and Great Value were being sold around 500 php or more.
I ended up choosing the two flavors in the picture below, the Mint Cookie Crunch and the Strawberry Cheesecake. If only ice cream would’t melt inside my two luggage, i will surely buy atleast 20 of this and bring it home. American ice creams are so good and with more flavors to choose from compared to our Selecta and Nestle where I always go with Double Dutch and Cookies And Cream or sometimes Quezo Real.
House of Aerith Mei
The one that tops my list and ranked it as 5 star to me. This ice cream brand is not that popular but it is one of the best I have tasted ever! The owner/creator of this ice cream used to live here in Baguio City and they have a small ice cream booth located at Upper Session Road. Their unique ice cream flavors reminds me of Coldstone and Baskin Robbins but the amount of sweetness they put is way more subtle. You can get two big scoops for only 89 php.
Here are some of their Ice cream creations that I loved:
Matcha Fudge Cake, Banana Pie, Butterbeer, Mud Pie Moody, I can’t believe at first that they are all homemade but they are. They also have the Yin Yang Ice Cream - it is an activated charcoal flavor with bits of cream fillings and chocolate cookies. It literally looked like mixed cement and will surprisingly greet you with all its creaminess and cookie taste. They also have their own version of spicy ice cream- The Dark Chocolate Chili Pralines. If I would rate what is my top one from all their flavors, I will go with the picture I have below: The Charcoal Cheesecake! 😋. It’s hard to describe what made me love it so much. Does it matter? I don’t think I had ever took the time profiling why I love it so much the moment it was handed to me. 😅 All i know is that it tastes like heaven sent and more 😍.
To date they have atleast more than 150 ice cream flavors. Not all Baguio natives are familiar of this ice cream place. It’s like a hidden gem that only foodies will know, that’s the reason I know. LOL!
Right now, they have relocated in Cainta Rizal, so if you are in Metro Manila or somewhere near, book your favorite errand service may it be grab, lalamove etc. Go check out their facebook page and start ordering. It is that good!
How about you guys? What ice cream do you love most? If you’re not an ice cream lover, what staple dessert can’t you live without? Let me know in the comments section. 😊
***All Pictures Are Mine.***
#SaBaguio
With the recent typhoon behind us, I am pretty sure I gained some weight because of all those binge eating I did LOL! So let’s do another foodie article to make it a three part post about my Food Adventures. Here’s a list of my Foodie Articles:
1. Of Good Food and Happy Feet (US, Singapore and Coron Food Trip) https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/of-good-food-and-happy-feet-13c43cc4
2. Chronicles of a Foodie (Bonifacio Global City Food Trip) https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/chronicles-of-a-foodie-22d1906f
Bonus article: That Cheesy CLOY Chicken https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/that-cheesy-cloy-chicken-f48cbaa1
This time let us go to my hometown Baguio City for that. To me, I consider someone a Foodie if every restaurant or cafe a foodie goes to, a foodie will remember a specific food, dessert, coffee or drinks that is being served in those places he visits and will remember to revisit them again. If a foodie cannot remember a particular food he likes in a resto or cafe then it means the said place is not worth revisiting.
Tip for tourists visiting Baguio: if making the most of finding good food and place to eat with a good view aside from enjoying the cool weather is your goal in visiting the city, you have to be willing to go to the outskirts of Baguio to find them and do not settle for those located at the central business district.
For this article, instead of the usual description of the food why i like them, i will just mention the name of the cafe or resto then enumerate what food they are serving that i recommend and be the judge if you happen to visit Baguio and try them. So let’s go.
1. P&F Estacion De Cafe
Located at Upper San Carlos Extension Baguio City, the cafe features majestic sunrise and sunset views. The cafe owners are a good friend of mine and my husband. They also have a bed and breakfast transient units named Micasa Micama located the same place where the cafe is. Here are some of the sunset view I took in my numerous visit of the said cafe.
This is my dog Mia doing some emo dog pictorials 😘
For this cafe, I highly recommend their house burger, their hawaiian pizza with double cheese, their longsilog rice meal , their cinnamon rolls that can beat Cinnabon anytime and their New York Cheesecake cookies that i always order to go because I and my daughter are a fan of their chewy soft cookies. You can see some pictures of them below:
Their nutty cookies of New York Cheesecake or Matcha cookies.
2. Canto Bogchi Joint
This restaurant is located at Kisad Road Baguio City is becoming a crowd favorite for both baguio locals and tourists for one reason: their lomo ribs! It is not hyped or overly rated. Their oven baked and grilled bbq ribs with their house blend bbq sauce served with salad and a choice of rice or mashed potatoes deserved the long queue of customers waiting to get a taste of their main entry. Half slab is good for one regular sized tummy 😜 and i like to pair the ribs with their mashed potato.
Their freshly brewed french press coffee paired with their red velvet cheesecake is a must try too.
3. Love Mattet
Located at Upper General Luna Road infront of UB Square. I wasn’t able to take many pictures of the food I liked but I can recommend their Chicken Cordon Bleu. I particularly like this place for one main reason and totally zeroing in on their Alcapone Cheesecake. It’s the best i one i have tasted may it be locally or abroad. Before Love Mattet, my favorite was Raincoat Cafe’s Blueberry Cheesecake (located at G1 Hotel Upper Leonard Wood Road).
4. Romantic Baboy
Located at Romel Suites Lualhati Drive near Mines View Park this korean resto is the place to be for all samgyupsal lovers. Two of my friends always make it a once or twice a month date for us to go to this place. I especially love their beef bulgogi and rolled pork belly dipped with melted cheddar cheese. For their side dishes, i tend to cheat from my low carb way of eating and get tempted by their fish cakes and fried camote cue 😅🙈.
5. Ocha Asian Restaurant
If you don’t want to go far and prefer a place centrally located, I will recommend Ocha located at Upper Session Road. I am fan of their Shrimp Paad Thai and their Ocha Premium Ice cream especially their Butter Pecan and Pistachio.
6. Vizcos Restaurant and Cake Shop
This place is sharing space with Ocha also at Session Road and I usually order more from Ocha when I go there. I am not a fan of their food as a whole and I am zoning in and featuring them only because of one of their main entree, the Italian Gambazette and their Strawberry Shortcake which the restaurant is famous for.
7. Half Cup
Located at Km. 4 La Trinidad, I first tried this place in 2016 and literally blurted out the words: Sarap! (Yummy) as i am tasting their Strawberry Chicken Basil Sandwich, Signature fries (topped with tomato based beef sauce, tomato salsa and house cheese), Marinara Meatballs and my fave: Banana Hazelnut Waffles.
8. Pizza Volante
They have 2 branches, one is centrally located and one is near Wright Park. I am not a fan of their restaurant as a whole, i only go here for two reasons: their Kenny George Pizza and their Vanilla Affair.
The Vanilla Affair,served in freshly baked and hot chocolate fudge topped with a scoop of ice cream. A Yin Yang concoction I must say.
9. Patch Cafe
The cafe is located inside Bloomfield Hotel also in Upper Leonard Wood Road. I particularly go here for their Champorado with Tuyo, Beef Yakiniku Don, Spiced Cinnamon Chai Latte and their Tuyo Pasta.
10. Sage Restaurant
Located at Military Cut Off, Baguio City, I am a fan of their Creamy Bulalo. Their Shrimp Pomelo Salad, Beef Caldereta, Bicol Express Bagnet and Baked Prawns are also a must try.
11. Mines View Park Hotel and Le Monet Hotel
Located at Outlook Drive and Camp John Hay respectively, they both served one particular dessert that I liked: The Strawberry Champorado.
12. The Night Market Food Street
I tend to have most of my energy in the evening so the night market which is open 10pm to 1am pre-pandemic is my go to place for night shopping and food trip. Their mini food park which mostly offers tapsilogs, beef and chicken kebab, Abra Miki, Binatog and Ube Taho are some things that you will surely enjoy.
13. Seollem Cafe
This newly opened Korean Cafe located in Camp 7 Baguio was already featured in my article last month entitled That Cheesy CLOY Chicken but I will still add it here for your reference in case you get to visit our city. Their cheesy chicken is so much like the one in the hit K-Drama Crash Landing on You. I also liked their Blue Pea Tea Latte.
My daughter made a video of the said korean resto and you can check it out below:
https://vimeo.com/631040748
My article is getting lengthy here again so I will end this here. I may do another article in the future of more places to try here in Baguio City, I still have a lot on my list so we’ll see. I’ve been writing this article since 6pm so time to park and publish.
Please do visit my awesome, wonderful and brilliant sponsors below. A big and warm hug and thank you to sis @LykeLyca for the sponsorship renewal. Deeply Humbled for all your generosity. 💕
`🍬all pictures are mine🍬`
Everything is Furry About This Article
My phone is full of my furbabies’ videos that I uploaded some of them at Tiktok. As i try to think of something to write, the song I used to make the video about Matty my newly adopted dog kept on playing on my mind so I might as well try to write something about it. It somehow compliments how today my sunday is like so here’s the video:
https://vimeo.com/625310390
Matty
I would mention about Matty from time to time here in some articles and I refer to him as a dog I fostered. He is actually rescued by a friend running in a busy highway one early evening in July. He was running with a chain leash attached to him and my friend even asked the driver of the jeep she was riding to stop in order for her to contain Matty. I am amazed by my friend how she was able to spot him considering it’s evening, it’s almost dark and Matty is colored black. Matty was so matted and dirty, full of tick and fleas and he obviously looked neglected by his owner. My friend who rescued him has a lot of family health problems a week after he got Matty and i volunteered to take him in for the mean time. 3 months later and Matty is still with me, he already felt at home, he used to be shy and a loner but lately he is initiating playtime with our other dogs. He obviously is thriving and loving his new home with us. So i messaged my friend what her plans for Matty is and to make the long story short, we agreed to co own Matty. So oops, I took back my words that I will stop with 9 dogs and will not add more. 🙈😅 As for my husband’s knowledge of Matty’s status, i haven’t told him yet but i don’t think it’ll matter. I think he likes Matty anyway. 😅😜
Here are some of Matty’s pictures. Our dogs Hermes and Prada had their 2nd birthday last August and since we don’t know Matty’s birthday I included him and made it his birthday too.
So now I have 4 black dogs LOL! (Pepper, Kisses, Prada and Matty) Matty is the tiniest adult shih tzu I have seen and weighs only 2 kilos so it wasn’t hard for me to decide about keeping him because of his size. If Prada and Hermes (the 2 dogs above) is just 2 yrs.old, I estimated Matty to be 4 or 5 yrs. old.
Clawi Updates
Remember Clawi? the hit and run dog we rescued last September who has broken pelvic bones that was initially planned to have pelvic reconstruction via surgery and may go totally crippled? Here she is now almost a month after being rescued:
https://vimeo.com/628116919
Clawi’s amazing healing inspite of all those depressing diagnosis presented to us by her vet is a testimony of how God answers prayers. I really lifted up to the Lord my predicament about Clawi and the loving and compassionate God that he is, He delivered. The promise of always being there for us. Trials are there for us to strengthen us and to test us and it is up to us to respond if it will be in faith or in defeat and disbelief.
Clawi will be up for adoption soon, atleast before Christmas. I pray she gets to go home to a loving family who will pamper her and shower her with love and will never give up on her.
More Dog Videos
Having multiple dogs are indeed tiring but i wouldn’t have it any other way. It requires passion and dedication and getting educated on how to take care of them better everyday. For me, i always make it a point to make time with them individually or as a group. I make sure all of them are getting hugs and being assured vocally as well as in actions that they are loved in order for them to thrive, feel loved and feel accepted. Here are some play times I do with them.
https://vimeo.com/625444585
And There’s Shaningning
Shaniya whom i fondly called Shaningning is the smallest among our furbabies. I adopter her from a breeder when she was 2 yrs. old. Unlike Matty who is beginning to socialize, Shaniya remains to be a loner. It’s been 2 years since we went home in Taguig and we left her toy husky that she likes to play with and dominate. I believe the reason she likes the said toy because it is smaller than her compared to our other dogs who are bigger than her. My husband is again home for vacation and my only request to him before travelling back here is to get Shaniya’s toy husky that we left in our humble place in Taguig. So here’s a video of Shaniya’s reunion with her toy 😅
https://vimeo.com/628006066
Have a blessed Sunday everyone. Hug your pets if you have. They are created by God to for us to be their stewards so let’s do our best to love and protect them. They deserve it. 💕
`🐶 all videos and images are mine 🐶`
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Chronicles of a Foodie
Alrighty! Let's do some Food blogs. This is supposed to be a continuation of my article entitled Of Good Food and Happy Feet that I wrote almost two months ago but ended up seating in my drafts section for quite some time. At my previous article , I shared here some of the food that I missed and experienced in my local (Coron, Palawan) and international (US and Singapore) trips. Lately, my facebook memories were filled with posts of the last time we went home in Taguig so I will try to relay as much as I can some cafes and restaurants I liked to go to because of their food or dessert. https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/of-good-food-and-happy-feet-13c43cc4
Bonifacio Global City
Oh how I missed thee! On top of my list is the food street of Mercato Centrale. I can't find the video I took of the few times I was there so let's use a video taken by some vloggers and post it here:
https://youtu.be/kKCihOx38vA
I have gone to a lot of food parks as far as Singapore, but to me Mercato Centrale BGC is still the supreme! From Filipino street foods to italian pastas to salads, shakes and desserts this is the place to be. There are so many videos about Mercato Centrale at youtube on how it looked like now with the new normal set up but I chose to post the video above on how it was like pre-pandemic. The last time I was there was October 2019. I was on my fourth week of my low carb and intermittent fasting diet, I lost almost 9 kilos that time and a friend introduced me to this place. I was so unready to go on a cheat day but it didn't get me long enough to decide to do some minimal intake of carbs and opted to still go for their barbecue and other grilled food (which is accepted on a low carb diet) then eventually gave in to their sticky rice (biko with latik on top) that I've been craving and their oozing gooey cheesecake on a stick that you can watch how it looked like at the video below.
https://youtu.be/-TrKeR-OR94
On my 2nd trip to Mercato, I was with my husband, I wasn't on a modest cheat day like the first time I tried the place and I got to try their entrees at their seafood booth plus their to die for lasagna. I am trying to look for some photos and videos saved on my external hard drive but I can't seem to find those pictures I took of the food there so for now these youtube videos will suffice for the meantime.
Bonifacio High Street and Serendra
Living in Taguig for four years and in the constant lookout where to go, a friend from Baguio told me about Serendra. The only places I know on my first year living in Taguig was just SM Aura, Mckinley Venice Piazza and Market, Market. It took me two months before I found out that Serendra and Bonifacio High Street is just at the back of Market, Market. Ecstatic to discover that aside from those numerous shops and branded boutiques, they have a dog park and several cafes and restaurants that although most are commercialized, has not reached my hometown Baguio City yet. Here are some of the restaurants that topped my list:
Marugame Udon
I got curious when I saw this Japanese themed restaurant on one of my afternoon walks in High Street. True to its hype and long queue of customers waiting in line in order to get their seats, their variety of udon and rice bowls are a must try. Pre low carb days, I loved their Beef Yakiniku Don not just for their soft and thin slices of beef but how authentically Japanese their rice is when it comes to being fluffy and slightly sticky enough to be picked up using a chopstick.
Shake Shack and Tiger Sugar
If you are looking for the best tasting burger, Shake Shack to me is the winner. Their burger aside from having the softest bun ever, also comes with a juicy patty that lived up to my expectations on what a New York burger should taste like with lesser salt to live up to the Filipino taste. (Burgers served in the US that I have tried in Texas and my 3 day brief stay in New York are too salty, actually everything is salty in US fastfoods, you can read more about it in my Of Good Food and Happy Feet article). Their cheesy fries are a must try also if you happen to visit this burger place. I remember my daughter even spotted basketball player/celebrity Ricci Rivero a few tables away from us and was daring her I will go near him and asked him for a picture but my daughter was too shy and discouraged me to approach the said athlete 😅. https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/of-good-food-and-happy-feet-13c43cc4
With my daughter’s influence I got hooked with milk tea two years ago. My all time favorite is Tiger Sugar’s Boba Sugar Boba, this shop located at the center of Bonifacio High Street got so famous that it had a lot of copy cats when it comes to their brown sugar recipe but nothing beats the original. This shop is also true to its hype and deserves the long queue of customers waiting in line to have a taste of their concoction. I was happy when I found out last year even in the middle of the enhanced community quarantine that it will open a branch here in Baguio. I was scared to go out because for sure it’ll have a long line of people on it’s grand opening that I opted to order using an errand service on its opening day. I got disappointed, it doesn’t taste much like the one I used to love at their branch in BGC. It is as if the branch here in Baguio only did their milk tea training online. I shifted to Macao Imperial ( I liked their matcha cheesecake best with white pearls) and Nham Cha ( my fave is their Cha Yen and opted to add Macchiato Cheese). Early this year, I gave Tiger Sugar Baguio a second chance and finally, the original taste I came to love in BGC is finally achieved.
PaperMoon
If you are looking for the best crepe cakes ever, I only have one place to recommend: PaperMoon! I spotted this cake shop at the lower basement of SM Aura and it has become my instant fave. I had to close my eyes when I first ordered a slice of their Mango Crepe Cake because it is undeniably pricey. The risk was all worth it once you take your first bite that literally melts in your mouth because of its surprising softness. I am also a fan of their ube crepe.
Mary Grace Cafe
Baguio has a lot of outstanding local bakeshops and Baguio natives are not a novice when it comes to knowing the best bread and pastries. Even our neighborhood street bakery can easily bake an award winning pandesal, sadly I can’t say the same for bakeshops in Manila. I have to go to a shop known commercially to get my money’s worth. For all those commercial bakeshops in Manila that doesn’t have branch yet in Baguio, i recommend Mary Grace Cafe. Their cheese rolls are the fluffiest ever!
For specialty cakes, I am in love with their Limone Santi. It is the closest taste I can get to a key lime pie that I first tried in Holiday Inn Club Vacations Orange Lake in Kissimee Florida during our incentivized company trip in 2010. According to the cafe’s website, their limone santi is a Frozen lemon filling over a buttery graham crust, topped with chantilly cream, candied lemons and zest. I had once this yearning to finding the closest I can get to a key lime pie here in the Philippines and tried Sagada Mountain Province’s lemon pie and Mario’s Restaurant’s own key lime pie but so far it is Mary Grace’s version is the nearest I could find from where it originated… Florida. https://www.marygracecafe.com/shop/limone-santi-55
I can’t find my own picture of Mary Grace’s Limone Santi or HCV Orange Lake’s Key lime pie so let’s try some images from Unsplash. Yikes, there’s none. So let’s check Pixabay.
There it is. Thanks Pixabay.
As for my ultimate coffee shop to go to, my top choice is the aesthetically designed and instagrammable cafe owned by billionare Manny Villar none other than….
The Coffee Project
The village where we lived in Taguig happens to be just a five minute walk from this coffee place and I frequently go there during zoom client meetings and client interviews everytime our home internet provider sucks. My husband who is not much of a sweet tooth loved their decadent chocolate cake. I on the other hand loves to order their Bullet Proof Coffee. Sharing to everyone below some photos I took of the said cafe:
Buffets!
For buffet restos, I have tried Vikings, Niu by Vikings and Buffet 101 but if there is something that I would like to go back to is the Seven Corners of Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Ortigas. It was in 2010 when I first went there so I can’t find any pictures to share but it happened to be my most memorable one.
Whoops, my article is becoming lengthy again and is getting into more than a 7 minute read so I will stop here and I may do a part 3 next, this time it will be Baguio’s finest in the eyes of a crazy beautiful foodie. 😋😛
`Photo credits mostly belongs to me unless stated otherwise.`
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Caffeinate and Conquer
Finally…Back to writing. Last week was an erratic one. I usually just came here too tired, post my random impromptu thoughts to make me sleep, do some replies and some rounds of tips and comments and I’m gone! I think I was only able to submit two articles (sheepish grin) but anyway, I’m back and I think most of my to do lists are cleared and will have more time to do more hustling here. So what’s up with everyone? I hope everything is well at your other side of the world. With me I guess I’ll start by sharing what I have been up to for the past days.
`Image Credits: Mine`
Barista Goals Achieved
Last Friday we had an initial assessment at our Barista Class with our instructor, our schedule is 8am and for some reason I chickened out, I don't feel ready, I am not up to attending class that early so for the first time I was absent. I plan to join the other class but I learned later that day that all the other classes were done with their assessments as well. I felt bad, my instructor told me it's okay but I need to make sure I will pass the national assessment. That is the one counted, it is the one that will certify us as a Barista. The pressure is on! I regretted being absent, I would have had more idea how the national exam would be like since the initial assessment would atleast give me an idea if I am competent enough.
Then came Monday, our day of National Assessment for Barista NCII certification. It is a whole day activity, we started 8am and ended at 530 pm. We were the first batch in our class to take the exam. We were 11 in the group, the second half of the class is scheduled for Tuesday. We have a guest assessor, He owns one local coffee shop in La Trinidad Benguet and he seemed to be nice but meticulous. As for our exam, it has three parts:
The first part is the manual brewing, we were asked to brew coffee using the V60 and the French Press and we had to present and taste profile the coffee we made in front of the assessor in terms of Aroma, Body, Acidity, Flavor Notes and the coffee's After Taste.
This is how the V60 looked like, we have to do some pre-heating stage and the paper filter needs to do a pre-wash and pre warm phase to remove the paper taste. The result is a very aromatic brewed coffee and will be best enjoyed by coffee lovers who prefer plain black. It does not taste good if creamer or milk is added.
`Image Credits: Unsplash`
Up next, we have to do the French Press, best brewed using medium fine coffee beans and brewing time recommended is 3-4 minutes before you dip completely the plunger. I was not proud of my french press coffee since it is underextracted and tasted so bland but oh well, had to shrug it off and moved on to the next part.
`Image Credits: Mine`
The second part of the assessment is to make a Ristretto and present it to our assessor. Ristretto is a version of an espresso and prepared with the same recipe similar to a Latte but lesser coffee extraction time so expect a darker and more concentrated coffee taste. I believed I did well for this. Latte Art is not a requirement so I didn't do much effort making one.
`Image Credits: Unsplash`
After serving the Ristretto, we were asked to make two kinds of Cappucino, the wet and the dry version. Dry Cappucino has more foam while the wet one has lesser foam with more steamed milk. I am so proud that I was able to create the wet and dry version flawlessly even if I can't do instant pouring of the milk foam for fear of spilling them and opted to do manual foaming using a spoon. The picture below is an example of a wet and dry cappucino.
`Image Credits: Unsplash`
The third part is the oral exams. I think it lasted 10-15 minutes per person and we need to take turns being called one a time and I was even the last one to be called. While the others were so pessimistic about not being able to pass the course, I had a good feeling the whole day. I guess it also helped that my work as a Virtual Assistant trained me to undergo numerous interviews and I just felt like going through another interview but this time I need to memorize and take heart the class modules given to us.
The result of our assessment were given to us a few minutes after my orals. We were asked to enter the room and we were given a piece of paper with our name written on it. I got the Barista Competent check and will be given a certificate. Happy Dance! I can finally call myself a real Barista! Yay! I thought all of us passed the course but was surprised when I asked the other 10 of my classmates and found out most of them failed the certification. There were 4 out of the 11 of us that were certified as competent. I really feel bad most especially for one of my group mate whom I knew makes better coffee than I do and can even do latte art. I don't know why he failed. The ones who failed can apply for re-assessment but will need to pay 1350 Php in order to do the re-take.
So what's in it for me?
Some may ask what made me take the Barista Course, I am already middle aged, I have a full time job that I find fulfilling and what am I planning to do with my Barista Certificate? To be honest, I only took the course in order that I can maximize the use of my espresso machine and to make better tasting coffee. I thought learning to become a Barista is an easy peasy course, it's just coffee making right? But it was not. Being passionate and being deeply interested about the coffee making business is a must in order to appreciate the said course. My second reason for taking the course is I want to learn something new, a new skill I can be proud of. I do not want to just be contented with what I am doing for a living. It's some sort of self upgrade I guess.
My daughter also enrolled in a baking class a few months ago and can already bake cakes and pastries. She made a birthday cake for her dad last August. I am a cake lover so I am a critique for her baking, her own personal taste tester and to me her baking recipes still needs some improvement. Most are too sweet for me. Last week, she spent some of her money buying pastry molders and made some cake popsicles that she plans to sell. I made a video of her cake popsicle creations and you can check it below:
https://vimeo.com/624519475
`Video Credits: Mine`
Our friends are telling us that I and my daughter can already put up a coffee shop, she will do the baking and I will be the Barista. In a way I am entertaining the idea, however I don't think my daughter can do full time for that and she's still in college and wants to be a flight stewardess someday. I do have the ambition to put up my own Pet Cafe soon given that I am a dog lover and I also have a dog community to market this pet cafe business but we'll see. God willing, it will happen.
For now, i will just enjoy my coffee creation. I noticed lately I can now sleep soundly even if I drink more than 2 cups of coffee. Yay! I used to be stubborn and drink coffee late at night and then regret being awake past midnight. LOL!
Also, I plan do some self learning how to make matcha latte soon and other gourmet coffee recipes like those Korean foam lattes that are becoming a trend lately.
So that's atleast 7 minutes of coffee rambles for me. If you happen to be in noise.cash please join the noise channel I created earlier today called Kapetography. Let's share our coffee stories. See you there caffeine addicts. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwirhsHM97XzAhUGxYsBHVYmBrIQFnoECAMQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnoise.cash%2F&usg=AOvVaw1IODQJvie9aRnZBoAouV7x https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnoise.cash%2Fc%2Fkapetography-gnvzvskr8w7%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0lKyVcOLl7vNjDXrGwOvDkIBiV8zi6jGoj-eGmCRtw4oXg28qXM-rPquE&h=AT2Qe-WClj5OVwGPrTbJn-AHjF8Z3JFdbsaR7BbJ9UsMxln8-rgi4l1kSFHwhhjEao-Y24rEtXl1UrXMqxKtUVvdXPBjWJzU3MMYRmpRQxKYmHet4c_rYTD-bPGzUDiyZYAK6ziP
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Yay! Super blessed! Happy dance here. Thank you @bbyblacksheep. 💗💕
Wanted Helper
This furmom here is super tired. This furmom here had a goal to bathe all 10 dogs but ended up again with just 6. This furmom here misses her helper she had for almost 3 years. This furmom here badly needs a helper slash pet sitter. This furmom here wishes to find a loyal and caring helper.
These and more are my current thoughts as I struggle to come up with something to write as it has been 4 days since I last posted. So many articles lined up and drafted that I can’t seem to finalize which are mostly about travel and foodie adventures and yet here I am again jotting something impromptu. I hope my tired and worn out body can come up with something to talk about before my sleepiness takes over.
Having multiple dogs is yes tiring but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I guess you can call it passion and love and the willingness to do a lot of adjustments in order to become a responsible pet owner.
Since i already mentioned my need for a devoted helper, let me share what made me start hiring one. After learning how unstable my chosen career as a VA is and sticking to only 1 client is not wise to do so , it was in mid 2018 when I accepted and work for 7 clients. I was unexpectedly earning a lot, but was suffering from burn out that I had to outsource some of my work in order that all my tasks and deadlines were met. I was so busy that cleaning the house and bathing my dogs who were just seven that time was such a struggle. That was when I thought of hiring one that can do the house cleaning and dog bathing that is a must to for me to be done atleast once a week since all my dogs sleeps with me as well.
One requirement in finding a helper is it that it is imperative that she is a dog lover. I am blessed that i was able to find one whom I have met from doing dog rescues before. I am not that meticulous when it comes to cleaning, as long as my dogs are bathed, my house is kept clean and someone will cook for me and my daughter is enough. It was a good 3 years full of trust when she worked with me. I also liked to travel and do a lot of out of towns that will require a day or two of not going home and I felt so lucky and blessed to find a helper I can trust to leave my dogs to for a couple of days. In return to her service, i treated her as a family, gave in to her frequent cash advances, gave groceries to her family, pays double if she needs to stay overnight at our house, extends my help to her 4 kids who tends to be sickly and even hired his husband who is good in working online to work for me full time. Most of all, i showed how much i care for her by becoming like her big sister whom she can run to anytime she has marital and family problems. I cared for her so much and i thought she felt that way too, til betrayal and stealing money from us became an issue. I cared for her too much that second chances were given and was again taken for granted. I had to fire her. I needed her but she had to go.
It’s been 7 months since we parted ways and i had to admit i still missed her. I was able to find two helpers when she left that are more trustworthy, also loves dogs and cleans way much better than she does but i felt like it is all just work for them. I also can’t count on them to stay over night if i need to. They also have the habit to go absent without prior notice. I wished my old helper just talked to me more about her needs and didn’t get tempted about stealing from us. My husband and daughter treated her as a family and what she did came in as a shock to them as well. I really wish she’s still here, i miss having her, i am tempted in taking her in again but i knew those ideas are no longer feasible. Praying i will find another who will treat us as her family too. I believe that was what’s lacking with our old house help, she was caring and very reliable, we can always count on her but i guess she never treated us as her family.
`All Image Credits belongs to Unsplash.`
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Thanks manen @Bloghound. Lalab yu always! Akyat na dito ulit dito Baguio. The guest room and the dogs are always ready for you and Yani 💕
Random Monday
Monday tends to be an extension of the weekend for me. It’s a slack off day no matter how much I plan to be productive. Let’s do something spontaneous by answering some questions I found from this article: https://conversationstartersworld.com/good-questions-to-ask/ This article has 350 questions and I picked 8 questions that I find interesting to discuss or share my thoughts on. Here are the questions:
What’s the most creative use of emojis you’ve ever seen? http://emojipedia.org/people/
This one below. I had the best laugh out loud moment when I saw this posted as a comment in response to a facebook troll who keeps insisting what she knows is correct to a dog owner fb group I belong to. It was such a popcorn moment reading all their comments againts her. LOL!
What’s the funniest actual name you’ve heard of someone having?
When I was still working in a BPO company and there are new batch of trainees we need to handle, there is a certain trainee whose real name is Mayfour. I doubt if there’s anyone who knows her will forget her birthday. 😅
If you were moving to another country, but could only pack one carry-on sized bag, what would you pack?
A bag that can carry all my dogs. I don’t think I can ever move in another country if it meant leaving one of them.
If magic was real, what spell would you try to learn first?
A spell that can make me invisible. It would be nice to roam and snoop around unnoticed and hear other people most especially around my friends and pull pranks on them 😅
Who do you go out of your way to be nice to?
Dogs. Always dogs. It’s a natural reaction for me to get friendly whenever I see one. Most especially if I saw a golden retriever, I will instantly follow, touch and hug them. Golden rets are the most adorable big dog for me. They are so crush worthy. If there is a breed of dog I need to be cautious to are the Chow Chows. They looked so cute and adorable but not everyone knows of their guarded temperaments so better ask the owner if it is okay to pet them.
What’s something that will always be in fashion, no matter how much time passes?
Converse sneakers, most especially the one at the picture below. They’ve been in fashion during my childhood years and i still saw this specific design being used by all ages and gender even with today’s genre. It is so timeless, classic and very conventional which can be paired with pants, shorts, skirt or a dress.
If someone narrated your life, who would you want to be the narrator?
Definitely my husband. My husband rarely answers whenever I asked him what endeared me to him in the first place so it would be nice to hear him tell stories about me from his own perspective and knowledge about me. It will give me an idea how attentive he is and how much does he knows about me.
What are you interested in that most people aren’t?
I guess animal welfare? Many people I knew loved animals but will not go through the extra mile knowing what could possibly harm them. One example is going to zoos and amusement park with animals in it for the sake of entertainment without giving much thought if those animals are happy? Or being disturbed, in captive or forced to live out of their natural habitat. For me, we are created to be higher than animals to be their stewards. Let us co exist.
That’s it for my Monday randoms. Time check 1:07 am. It’s technically Tuesday now. A busy day is anticipated for me with my furmom duties in the morning, taking care of Clawi my current rescue, Barista class in the afternoon and Client meeting in the evening. My daughter is also having the chills because she had her 2nd dose of Moderna Vaccine this morning so I have to be on guard and make sure the after effects of the vaccine is bearable for her.
`Images of this post are mostly from Unsplash unless stated otherwise.`
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A Pop Star for a Client
I have shared here in this platform for atleast two or three times in my previous articles about my life and journey as a Virtual Assistant. In one of my recent posts, I have talked about my first two years as a newbie in this online career I have chosen. How I was blessed to work with a client who have taken care of me and taught me a lot of tools and skills as a VA l, and how after almost three years by reason of overall reorganization my client had to let go of me. You can read more about it here. https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/cheers-to-mr-c3501d61
Moving forward, I was back to being unemployed and back to job hunting in 2018. I went back to my old recruiter and they lined me up for several client interviews. On top of those, I have sent numerous CV’s (curriculum vitae) at job postings I saw at an FB group called Online Filipino Freelancers, I also searched and sent applications at VA jobs posted at Linkedin and even signed up and made an account at onlinejobs.ph. I think I have attended atleast twenty interviews and after almost a month of job hunting, I was hired by a client from UK to do Linkedin Marketing for him. I only lasted two days working with him. I was stressed out and pressured since I have to log in and being timed for my work using Hubstaff and I had to do all the self learning and do all the game plan on how to market his Linkedin presence. It doesn’t help that he is monitoring me all the time. It added to the pressure that I literally cried out of frustration. It wasn’t the kind of work scenario I am used to. For me, working as a VA should also be enjoyable aside from being profitable. Long story short, I quit.
Then I saw this job post, I immediately composed a very personalized cover letter describing my growing passion as a VA and sent my application.
Names of the company or client are not usually divulged in jobs posted and we will only learn about it once we received a response regarding our application. Imagine the excitement I got when I got a response from that specific job post and learned who I may be working with.
Here is my prospective client. If you are from the 90’s, you will remember who she is. 🤩
https://youtu.be/EIhSnaqou0I
Surreal right? Spell Starstruck and Ecstatic that after the final interview and agreement of a trial period, I landed the job plus the original plan of just hiring me for part time became a fulltime one. Yay!
She just wants to be called Jen.
After the final interview and I was hired, all our conversations were mostly made through skype and email plus video walk throughs of what she wants to be done.
The Plan
If you have been following Jen’s career, she had several hit songs, formed a ban and went on some world tours. Her music career lasted for atleast ten years and it slowed down when she got married and now has a beautiful daughter. Her daughter was I believe four years old already when I worked with her and Jen felt that need to do some career and business advancements on top of being a busy mom and a wife. Unlike the British client I found, she had everything sorted out and she just wants a VA to do the back end administrative part and do the executions of tasks needed. She is like my architect client so the work set up is what I wanted as well.
The Tasks
Her goal is to become a music coach to aspiring female singers who wants to get into Hollywood.
She wants help in being active in Twitter and Facebook by following and making engagements with followers who follows specific singers in her genre like Alanis Morisette and Adele. This includes creating engagements by leaving likes and comments to everyone who tweeted or posted about her. She made a beautiful template in Canva that I just need to update in order to achieve an IG feed she wanted. She also wants help with her essential oils business and I was challenged by her to learn email marketing via Active Campaign. I was so proud that time that I was able to do my own research, self learn and was able to connect those mind boggling email prompt triggers that she needed for her email subscribers.
As I am writing this, I have checked all her Social Medias since I help managed it in 2018 and I noticed that it is still not that active. My work with her as exciting and promising as it seemed lasted for a good three months. She wasn’t that ready. She may have everything figured out but she hasn’t had the time to go all out for it. That was my observation. She has some posts a year after I worked with her saying she is working and launching something but no follow ups after. I don’t know. It can be the ongoing pandemic that is halting her as well. I wish her the best and I hope her plans will succeed soon. She is a beautiful person and I had fun working with her.
`Credits to Unsplash for the Lead Image and Content Image.`
Friyay Indeed
To start of, let me share to you some passages of the song I came to love almost ten years ago. May you be blessed and humbled by the meaning of the lyrics below and be in so much awe of God’s overflowing love to us especially in this time of pandemic where everything still remains to be uncertain.
`We pray for blessings`
`We pray for peace`
`Comfort for family, protection while we sleep`
`We pray for healing, for prosperity`
`We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering`
`All the while, You hear each spoken need`
`Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things`
`'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops`
`What if Your healing comes through tears`
`What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near`
`What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise`
`We pray for wisdom`
`Your voice to hear`
`We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near`
`We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love`
`As if every promise from Your Word is not enough`
`All the while, You hear each desperate plea`
`And long that we'd have faith to believe`
`When friends betray us`
`When darkness seems to win`
`We know that pain reminds this heart`
`That this is not our home`
`What if my greatest disappointments`
`Or the aching of this life`
`Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy`
`What if trials of this life`
`The rain, the storms, the hardest nights`
`Are your mercies in disguise`
The song is entitled Blessings by Laura’s Story. You can also hear and watch the song here below:
https://vimeo.com/427441942
It seems like with my several posts submitted here, I am unintentionally advocating about being thankful and grateful to our Ultimate Giver. Since it is Friday and the weekend, why not make a recap of the blessings of this week. It’s the 3rd week of September and let me highlight some of the things that happened that I am most grateful for.
1. Latte Macchiato Achieved
My Barista NCII course is only 23 days so this is the final week. Next week will be our Finals and I am praying hard I will pass this course. I never thought learning how to make coffee is hard. Everything looked so easy, I have watched several tutorials at youtube on how to make a latte or a macchiato and this week’s lesson of learning to prepare different hot espresso based drinks proved to me that what I have watched at youtube were all wrong LOL! Frothing milk and achieving the right texture in order to achieve the right amount of foam is already tricky. It became trickier when we had to learn the appropriate timing in pouring the milk to the cup.
The first I was able to achieve is the three layer look of the Latte Macchiato.
The picture below is the one created by our instructor:
The one below is the one I made when I did my own practice at home:
I only have a 300 ml Milk Frothing Jug when I made this compared to the one above wherein a 500ml jug was used which explains the lesser milk used. I felt so proud that after a lot of tries I was able to achieve the 3 layer look. The technique here is to slowly pour the one shot of espresso on top of the foamy milk.
2. My first Legit Barista Standard Latte
I am a latte fan most especially the flavored ones, and my all time favorite is the Toffeenut Latte of Starbucks which is unfortunately being served only during the Christmas season. When I first bought an espresso machine I watched youtube videos how to make a latte. This is how my 1st latte looked like:
https://vimeo.com/605737315
It actually looked more like a Cappucino except for the wrong method of how it was poured LOL! 😅🙈🙊
The one below, is my first ever legitimate latte that I was able to make last Tuesday.
See the difference compared to the one on the video? 😅 Mastering and Doing latte art is not a requirement in our class but I hope I will get to learn some of them soon.
3. My Cappuccino Struggle
Making cappucinno as of this writing is the one I am still too clueless how to do it correctly. All my attempts in the pouring process all ended up getting spilled waaah! There is also the differentiation of what a wet and a dry cappucino that I need to know that I am still confused at. Here is what a cappucino should looked like:
I don’t have a picture of how I made my cappuccino during our class practice since all of them were disastrous but here is how my cappucino looked like prior to enrolling barista and just youtube as my guide 😅
I’ll be alloting tomorrow as a day of practice for me. Wish me lot of lucks with the cappucino. I really need it bad. 😅
What i am thankful for? The opportunity to learn new skills that I may invest into something big later on (praying for that).
4. My growing love for Caramello
This week, just two articles back I have written about my growing love for cats and for the past years i’ve been wanting to keep one but I can’t since I have a lot of dogs. I have written in my past article about Caramel, a stray cat who decided to live in front of our main door. I wrote in that post how I am 95 percent certain that Caramel is a female and I want to have her spayed but I am suspecting she is pregnant. It turned out he is a boy! He is not a Caramel but a Caramello!!! LOL! It was such a relief knowing he is a boy, not pregnant, no kitten problems in the future and will be easier for me to have him spayed. Thank you Father God, that is one lesser thing to worry about. I became so fond of Caramello lately, seeing him everytime I opened our door and being greeted by him is one of my simple joys lately. I felt like having a cat for the first time that I bought him a scratch toy 🥰
Even Krusher, our dog who is a cat hater is warming up to Caramello’s charms💕:
You can read more about my fondness to Caramello here. https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/the-frustrated-cat-lover-1b6a3136
5. Walking Clawi
Yes, you read it right! After Clawi’s x-ray result showing broken and fractured pelvic bones and the possibility of not being able to walk, Our Almighty God, the amazing healer that He is reversed all those diagnosis and showed me earlier this week what He can do for Clawi. Clawi’s story is at this link:
Here’s a before and after video of Clawi when she was confined at the vet and 11 days after: https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/the-plight-of-a-rescuer-2bd55ed9
https://vimeo.com/614067818
Amazing God we have right? 💗
*1 Thessalonians 5:16-18*
*Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.*
***All photos and videos rightfully belongs to me.***
Thank you Sir Brian @MegaKyodaiBanrai. Blessed and honored to be added to the list of people you want to share your blessings. 💕
Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper…
`🎶 Even when I don't see it, You're working`
`Even when I don't feel it, You're working`
`You never stop, You never stop working`
`You never stop, You never stop working (come on) 🎶`
`Excerpts from the song Waymaker by Leeland`
It’s been almost two weeks since Clawi’s rescue and until now her owner is still a no show. After all those fears and worries that I may not pay the vet bills, the possibility of taking her in for good because no one for sure will adopt a disabled dog. The agony of thinking that Clawi may end up having two back legs amputated, half of her body paralyzed in a wheel chair all her life or worst of all… taking care of a dog until it’s time to put her to sleep, it was really too much for me to absorb that I really plead God for help. His answer to my helpless cry was and is nothing but total sovereignity as He took charge and took care of all my worries and He continues to do so. 🙌🏼
One of my co-advocate from Citizen’s League for Animal Welfare and Safety (CLAWS) who was also with me when Clawi was rescued made a rescue video about Clawi and we posted in our FB page. You can also watch it here below:
https://vimeo.com/612678785
You can also check my previous article here at read.cash about Clawi here. https://read.cash/ https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/the-plight-of-a-rescuer-2bd55ed9
As an update, I brought home Clawi after four days of confinement from the vet and his vet bills of almost 12,000 PHP were paid in full with the help of generous donors and my co-advocates from CLAWS who rallied with me and shared Clawi’s story.
Here are some of the fund raising my co-advocates did for Clawi:
Here is also a copy of her vet bills that just a week ago I had no idea if I could pay them in full most especially if it will take atleast a month before she can be discharged.
As for Clawi’s condition? I have nothing but gratefulness to God for His goodness to Clawi. Instead of bringing her to Manila for a pelvic reconstruction surgery, we opted for home confinement, cage rest for Clawi with high hopes that her broken bones will fuse and regrow and for her to undergo therapy later on til she can finally walk again on all fours. At first, I don’t know if I can foster her properly most especially I have 9 of our owned dogs to attend to and I still have Matty, another rescued dog I am pet sitting for almost 2 months now on behalf of a co-advocate. Adding to this is my full time work and barista class to go to. So I, and my co-advocates ask around if anyone can foster her. One responded to our call and volunteered to take home Clawi temporarily but it was I who decided to put off having Clawi being fostered by others.
I don’t know but I felt challenged and wanted to be there for her. I also have this so much faith that Clawi will get well. The first 3 days was a struggle as I do the cleaning of her wounds, giving her her medicines and shifting her body side to side every 3-4 hours to avoid having bed sores from lying all the time. The goal is to restrict Clawi from moving too much until she is totally healed. I was up for the challenge that it may take several months before she can walk again and I am even willing to do the daily therapy she will need later on and may even brought her for a swimming therapy but just like one of my favorite worship song our Almighty Father is indeed a Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper and a Light in the Darkness. When everything seemed to be uncertain, God gave me one of the biggest surprise of my life.
Exactly a week after Clawi’s hit and run, I witnessed Clawi standing up as she tries to pee and poop 😭💗. It was a mixture of happiness and worry. Happy that she can walk and worried that it may be too early and she may hurt herself. I immediately told her vet and she said it is okay, a very good improvement and that small movements for her are fine and we just need to continue to restrict too much movement for her. I got the second surprise from Clawi when I transferred her to a mini playpen just enough for her size because I need to clean her cage and she jumped, escaped, walked and made her way to our terrace. 😅💗
Overwhelmed and nothing but praise to our Lord Jesus. He really delivered and never left me and Clawi. 💕
Right now, Clawi is still on cage rest but I don’t need to shift her body every four hours because she can already move on her own. Her follow up check up is on the 30th of this month and I ask all of you here to please continue to pray for Clawi’s continous healing. Thank you very much.
Ending this post with the Waymaker song cover version of Caleb and Kelsey.
https://youtu.be/2-duG0KuYU4
The Frustrated Cat Lover
Time for another impromptu article. I have one lined up in my drafts section but wasn’t up to finalizing it till I thought of writing something about what I am feeling about a certain lovable creation of our Father God that is consuming a part of my heart lately.
I am known as a multiple dog owner, but a few people only knew that I love cats too. I’ve been feeding stray cats for atleast 3 years now. I have also rescued some newborn kittens but the longest I was able to survive one is 3 days 🥺. I had also tried rescuing a stray senior cat who doesn’t want to budge in the middle of the road as if he/she wants to go on a suicide by getting run over by a vehicle. I brought it to the nearest vet and the cat died overnight. 😞 My last rescued cat was I think around 4 months old, I picked it up in a nearby park, brought it home and fed it then an hour later it went comatose and died. Again! 😭 Until now, It baffles me on what was it that I have done wrong. Because of that recent episode, it became my last straw, I vowed never to rescue a cat or a kitten. Feeding them is enough and I promised myself never to attempt to rescue them.
There is this male cat that I’ve been feeding for more than 3 years now. He just appears in the morning and in the evening just to be fed and he’ll be gone. He is the reason I always have cat food on my grocery list. He is the most aloof cat I had ever met. I had never experienced holding him, he is always on guard and very cautious even if I had been feeding him for quite a long time now. I have no idea how to check a cat’s gender. I am positive though that he is a male because I never saw him pregnant. I named him Meowdy, short for Meow Daddy. Sometimes if I woke up late and opened our door and see him at our main door, he would give me this frowning, demanding look as if to say “How dare you made me wait and feed me so late, you lazy servant!😅”
Let me pause this article of mine and check my phone’s photo gallery if I can find a photo of Meowdy….
Okay, i found two, Here he is 🥰
My reason by the way for naming cats even if I don’t officially own them is that most of them are born strays, no owners at all to give them names, so atleast once in their lives somebody gets to call them by a specific name.
Lately, just weeks ago there is this new cat who suddenly appeared at our doorsteps. My hunch is she is a girl and was on heat and Meowdy impregnated here. (Praying I am wrong and she is not pregnant). I am 95 percent certain she is a girl because Meowdy is not scaring her away. I named her Caramel. She is the total opposite of Meowdy. Caramel is very sweet, clingy and such a crybaby who always wants attention. I began falling in love with her last week. My dogs are cat haters, just the mere smell of cats nearby will give them instant fight mode reactions. I’ve been feeling bad lately whenever I see Caramel attempting to go inside our house only to be halted by my furbabies. I also noticed Caramel never left our backyard. She never goes at the road like Meowdy does.
Here’s me and Caramel’s bonding moments:
https://vimeo.com/610838692
I asked my co-advocate from an animal welfare group I belong to who is a cat lover if she can adopt Caramel and she sadly refused since she has atleast 20 cats, all rescued. I would really love to see Caramel be adopted and become an indoor pet. My co- advocate told me we can try posting her up for adoption but expect it may take some time or no one would want since most prefers kittens and Caramel is already an adult.
For now, I made a furry bed for Caramel at the little space she chose to sleep at in front of our main door. I also ordered online a cat scratch toy for her and I am so excited to give it to her. 🥰
I may be posting Caramel for adoption soon with my furvent wish to find the best cat loving owner who will keep her indoor and will give her the best cat life ever. If I can’t find one, I may as well try my best to secure her most especially that she lives outside and will have her spayed soonest.
Ending this note from a quote I read online:
“Perhaps one reason we are fascinated by cats is because such a small animal can contain so much independence, dignity, and freedom of spirit. Unlike the dog, the cat’s personality is never bet on a human’s. He demands acceptance on his own terms.” – Lloyd Alexander
*Lead Image taken from Unsplash, the video of Caramel and photo of Meowdy rightfully belongs to me ☺️*
Cheers to MR
It was in 2013 that I braved and prepare myself of the possible outcome as I finally left the corporate world. I had no definite plans on where to go to and what to do after, all I know is I will make the most of anything online and make sure I will profit from it. My first year as unemployed, I made it productive through online selling and blog writing. In 2015, through the help of VA friends as my mentors, I ventured into the world of Virtual Assistant and built my career as an online freelance professional.
It wasn't easy at first, most especially the late night online training part where everything is virtual and you had to learn fast. Compared to working in a BPO company wherein even if it is late at night, you have co-trainees to talk to and keep you awake. I guess most of us can relate now to the hardships of online learning since it is becoming a part of the new normal because of the pandemic. Part of being a VA aside from the trainings is investment in a quality laptop/computer that is good for multi tasking , fast internet speed access plus back up internet in case of internet problems. You also have to have a back up workspace in cases of power outage.
After those vigorous trainings, we had to undergo numerous client interviews, most are on the spot wherein you had to log in at night, wait for a call from one of the VA (virtual assistant) agency handlers and schedule you for a client interview which is mostly booked at the same day or in a few hours. I got lucky that I don't have to wait long and I was able to nab a client 2 weeks after our training.
I became a part time VA for 3 months with a Real Estate Agent. My work schedule is fixed from 6am to 10am weekdays. He made me write travel and food blogs as if I am experiencing them first hand and that the one writing it is located in San Diego, USA. In short I became a ghost writer for his website. I also did bookkeeping for him. I had to learn bookkeeping fast because I have zero knowledge how it is, I am thankful I have an accountant sister to go to for help. I learned later on that as a General VA, content writing is a different payment and it shouldn’t be a part of what I applied for but well who I am to complain right? I am just happy someone hired me.
Later on, I learned about another VA Agency wherein once we got hired as a VA, we will work and get paid directly. Unlike with the one I am working with that it is the agency who will give us our salary. I tried applying for a full time job with them and again I was blessed to be hired. Very much thankful even, because the client is aware that I am still a newbie but he believed in me and he knew he can easily teach me.
Knowing that VA jobs are unstable, I took a risk and resigned from my part time VA job and chose to work with this direct client. He is an architect in the US, let us call him MR and choosing him was one of the most valuable risk taking decision I made when it comes to my new chosen career.
MR taught me everything and made video walk throughs of all the tasks he needed help with. My task is mostly Social Media management. He even has a social media page for his dog that I also need to manage. I also managed his blogs for his state to state bike tour.
What I liked most about my work is the flexible hours, no time doctors to log in too and regardless if the task given to me will only take less than an hour, my salary is fixed and paid bi-monthly. All that is expected of me is to submit or finished the task before the day ends and send him a daily report. MR took care of me as his employee, he pays my salary on time, gave me salary increases yearly, pays my 13th month bonus, paid holidays and vacation leaves and even sent me some computer equipments so I can work more efficiently.
One of the things I am most thankful for is when he learned that one of my dog Tinker had a tumor that needs to undergo surgery ASAP. I was only working for him for two months but he did not hesitate sending me money so that Tinker can have her surgery.
In 2018, during my 2 week trip to the US, I had the chance to meet MR in person in Warrendale Pennsylvania. He was with his dog Molly, we had breakfast and we talked for at least 2 hours before he headed to his next conference to a city nearby. During that time, he talked about finally finding a personal secretary who will work with him side by side and has a background with Architecture. I was secretly worried he will no longer need my VA services. Two months after, my hunch was correct. More than two years of working with him and when I read his email of letting me go, I literally stared at my computer dumbfounded of what to do. I was heartbroken. I remember waking up the following day realizing I no longer have work. MR still thought of my welfare and gave me a separation pay on top of my last pay plus a recommendation letter that he knows can be of good use to my job huntings.
I had to blur our pictures here because
1. my face is so puffy and haggard, I still had a major jet lag here
and
2. I do not want to expose MR's face as a respect to him.
Here's what was written at his endorsement letter:
`To Whom It May Concern,`
`I am very excited to write this letter of professional recommendation on behalf of Xris. She has been an employee of mine for two years now and a very important part of my business. As an employee, Xris is very loyal, hardworking, dependable, and all around a great communicator. Working virtually has its challenges when coming to tracking what an employee is doing, but Xris always communicated with me flawlessly her achievements. Staying on tasks without me having me having to worry or follow up.`
`Xris was always willing to learn new tasks and in fact learned how to manage my very active social media platforms. She had a wide variety of daily, weekly and monthly tasks with my company and always delivered. Ultimately it is only because of recent growth and an overall reorganization internally that I had to let her go.`
`I would though with the utmost confidence, recommend Xris for any similar type supportive role. Overall she is a fantastic employee and a great human. She will be an asset to whomever she works for next.`
`If you should have any specific questions for me, please do not hesitate to reach out.`
Six months later, MR reached out to me to work for him for a one time project. This time the pay is per hour but the rate is better to what he used to pay me. His letting go of me taught me a lesson to never settle and work for just one client. VA jobs has a high paying rate but it is unstable. I was already working with at least four clients during that time but in a heartbeat I took his offer. I worked for him for another four months on top of my other clients until the project I helped him with was finished. All in all, I have nothing but gratefulness for everything MR taught me, the opportunity to work with him is already a blessing enough and when we finally parted ways professionally, what happened next when I was back for job hunting is such a humbling and rewarding experience. I will talk about it soon in my succeeding blogs.
`PLEASE DO CHECK MY GENEROUS SPONSORS BELOW.`
`ALL PICTURES ARE MINE AND MOSTLY TAKEN FROM MY IG ACCOUNT.`
Coffee Intoxication Is There Such A Word?
Timecheck 12:07 am. I had no plans submitting an article tonight because I am tired with today’s activity and yet here I am typing my thoughts away. I hope I’ll get my sleep after this.🙏🏼
It’s the second week of our Barista Class so I might as well share to you what I have learned so far.
I attended my 8 am to 12 noon class and I and my group mates spent two hours non stop of making iced cold coffee beverages and frappuccinos. We made a total of 8 beverages individually. Let me share to you the ones I have made. 😊
The Irish glass cup on the left is Salted Caramel Frappe while the small cup which we call demitasse, (the one on the right) is called Espresso con Pana. We had to learn also to use a whipped cream shaker so as not to rely to the disposable whipped cream cans.
The third beverage on the farthest right is called Espresso Shakerato. I added pistachio syrup for a more distinct flavor rather than the usual simple syrup (sugar and water). The clumsy side of me had to re do this beverage because I carelessly shook the shaker bottle in an attempt to froth the coffee mixture faster. LOL! Lesson learned. Everything takes time 😀
I also made Iced Cafe Latte, Iced Cafe Mocha and Black Forest Frappe but hadn’t had the time to took more pictures since I got a little behind on the coffee making activity because of re-making the shakerato.
Finally, my own recipe: Double Dutch Mocha Peppermint Frappe with Cinnamon Garnish 🥰. We were instructed to come up with a frappucinno wherein it’s recipe cannot be searched online. We have many coffee syrup and sauces as well as fresh milk provided by our class but for ingredients not available we had to bring our own so I brought my own Davinci Peppermint Syrup from our coffee nook, Hershey’s cocoa powder and Cinnamon Powder.
All of these beverages has one shot each of espresso coffee so imagine me tasting all of my creations and at 12:34 am as I am typing away is still awake. Caffeine and sugar overload waaah! I hope I can sleep after this.
After our class, I dropped by a gift shop that also sells coffee brewing products.
The one below is the coffee bean brand we are using in our class. It taste so good and smelled so good I decided to buy one. I always choose to get the whole bean not the grinded ones because I prefer to just grind them a handful at a time everytime I make my coffee. Freshly grounded beans is the best route for me when it comes to making the most out of our coffee.
I also made a quick tour at their coffee shop and checked their menu.
So that’s how my Thursday went. If there is ever such a thing called drunk with coffee. This is the day I got baptized with it 😅
Off to La La Land after this.
All pictures are mine.
Project Nook
Yay! My long overdue article that I’ve been wanting to post is finally here. 😍 I had a lot of distractions and activities outside read.cash and noise.cash that most of my posts are journal types but tonight let me share my nine months in the making project(a baby, you may say?)… my favorite space in the house: Our Coffee Nook. 😍
How it Started
We did some major renovations of our house last 2019 and it is almost 95 percent finished as of this writing. We used to have a one story house before and the changes we did included adding a second floor. After going through finding the right color paint, tiles, lightings, curtains, living room sofa, window blinds, closets and dining table, the goal to adding and finding the right home decor that suits our taste inevitably followed next.
Having my own espresso machine never occured to me even as I stumbled at several coffee nook ideas via Pinterest. I was just mindlessly saving pictures of everything I liked but never thought of making my own nook. I was contented with just brewing my coffee with the use of a coffee maker or through our blender if I want some bullet proof coffee. (Low carb/ketogenic version). It was only when my sister in law sold me her espresso machine that I thought of making lattes and cappucinos with the guide of youtube how to’s and later on made me think of creating a coffee nook which will serve also as an added home decor in our kitchen.
The picture below is how my coffee space looked like during the first quarter of this year:
After three months enjoying my espresso machine and serving coffee to my friends visiting, the preloved coffee machine of my sister in law broke down 😢. I tried bringing them to some repair shops but they can’t find a steaming coil to replace it. It turned out that the espresso machine I got was running on 50 hertz thus the overheating. Our electric system here in Baguio City has a 60 hertz requirement. Appliances with a 50 hertz capacity will still work but expect shorter machine lifespan. I was heartbroken.
Delonghi to the Rescue
My friend who just came from Dubai and has a beautiful coffee shop with majestic sunset views happened to be selling some brand new espresso makers and she offered to sell me one that comes with an electric coffee grinder. (my first espresso machine doesn’t have one and I just bought a manual coffee grinder which i thought was fun at first but became tiring later on). The one my friend is selling is pricey and five times the worth of my original espresso machine but I do know that the Delonghi brand is never cheap and after thinking atleast a hundred times and made a lot of research when it comes to customer reviews, I decided to buy it. The Delonghi Dedica is one of the nicest when it comes to espresso machines intended for personal and home use and even made it to the top 3 of the most recommended espresso machines to buy. The Dedica is even featured as one of the best “budol” finds in the facebook group Home Buddies.
Here’s my newly improved coffee nook looked like at the moment. Our fireplace project was also finished so it made the coffee space more cozy compared to the first one.
💗💗💗
Each item in the coffee nook has it’s own story and there are special reasons why they are there and I will share them to you the details on my next post.
For now let me virtually make you a latte as a thank you for reading my almost daily rambles. You can also comment below what latte flavor you prefer and I will virtually serve you one 😊.
I made this video below last June, I haven’t started my Barista class yet so forgive me for my you tube guided latte making. 😀
https://vimeo.com/605737315
Please do check also my awesome sponsors below. They make my stay here in read.cash more worthwhile. 💕
All Things Are Possible Because I have You
This has been a crazy start of the week for me. After those blessings of September I just recently posted, here comes the trials. My response? Bring it on Father God! I may feel so defeated right now, I know you will never leave me and You will always be there for me. <3
Before I open up what's making me worried lately, I would like to share first the fun part of what I did for today.
Cold Espresso Brew and Frappe Making, Yay!
I attended my Barista Class at 1pm to 5pm today and I had a good time with today's lesson.
Let me show you what I was able to create through pictures:
After teaching us the correct extraction of espresso through the espresso machine, I took 1 ounce/1 shot of espresso brew, added half ounce of simple syrup (mixture of sugar and water), ice and fresh milk mix them altogether and voila! My first ever iced coffee latte.
Woot woot.. my first frappucino! This concoction is made of 1 ounce simple syrup, 3 ounces of fresh milk, 1 ounce of mixed berry sauce and blended crushed ice.
This coming Thursday, we will have our demo class. We are instructed to come up with our own original Frappucino flavor/mixture. It should be something that is not found online. We can bring ice cream, jelly, cookies, nuts etc. as long as it is something new. I am thinking of Double Dutch Mocha Peppermint Frappe but I haven't checked online if there is already a recipe for that otherwise I have to come up with other frappe mixtures. Can you give me some ideas?
So what's bugging me?
My previous article entitled The Plight of A Rescuer talked about my current dog rescue, Clawi. I even posted at noise.cash about praying for Clawi's successful surgery. I want to thank everyone who prayed for her. <3 https://read.cash/@crazybeautifulfurmom/the-plight-of-a-rescuer-093cc42f https://noise.cash/
Together with one of my co-advocate, we did a late night visit yesterday with the night duty vet who happenened to be in charge of Clawi's condition and she discussed to us what they were able to see at Clawi's x-ray that wasn't noticed the night she was first x-rayed. It turned out that it is not only the pelvic bones of Clawi that was fractured but the bone in the middle of her pelvis too. With this new discovery, the vet clinic cannot push through with the surgery and they are referring us to an orthopedic vet clinic located in Las PInas City. This option to bring her there is still pending because the clinic Las Pinas has to check Clawi's case yet. Other options were discussed also like bandaging her limbs and hoping the bones will regrow on its own. This already happened to a lot of our hit and run rescues before but this is still case to case depending on the severity and type of bones fractured so still no guarantee. There is also the option of amputating both legs and put her on a wheelchair or bring her home. Or, give her palliative treatment and euthanized if everything is already painful for her 😞🥺😭. I was so crushed with the news, thinking if I could bear going over the experience of taking care of a dog and have it euthanized soon. I can not! 😭 I had been in that grueling, agonizing experience early this year with Odie, I don't think I can take going through that experience anymore. Adopting a disabled dog on wheels is also not feasible with my situation of having 9 dogs to take care to everyday. I felt so defeated that I resorted to just pray to God to take this cup away from me as I am holding Clawi. I prayed for the Lord to please help me and to please heal Clawi, I only wanted to rescue a dog who is so much in need of immediate help.
The video below is my visit of Clawi last night. She really looked so sad, a broken spirit I may say . She might be wondering where is her family and who are we. I talked to her and told her to please get well, to have the will to fight and recover from her bad accident because a new family is waiting to adopt her, love her and will never abandon her.
https://vimeo.com/604931035
As I was about to end this post, Clawi’s vet messaged me and they have another option for us to try which is cage rest for a few weeks and hope that new bones will fusion and do towel therapy later on. The vet sent me a video of a hit and run dog with the same case like Clawi who was able to walk again on four legs. With this new development, I have nothing but praise to the Almighty Father for this new option presented to us. Vet bills will be costly…I know, and I have to admit I am worried with that but I am thankful I have a support group who is helping me pray for Clawi and raising a donation drive for her. Please do pray for Clawi too? We need all the prayer warriors we can get. Thank you very much. 💕
We are already done with half of this month and still claiming and believing it is and it will be a #BetterSeptember.
****All pictures and video are mine.****
The Plight Of A Rescuer
This is an impromptu article, I was planning to post something that I have been drafting for the past days til the unexpected happens. What I thought to be just a laid back Sunday afternoon turned out to be a long and agonizing evening as I contemplated on what will be my best action with the situation that was presented in front of me.
In my very first article posted here, I introduced myself as an animal rescuer and that animal welfare is my main advocacy. I also belong to a SEC registered animal welfare group located here in my city. All of us are volunteers here and we do our advocacy only during our available time yet most of the time, we try our best to make ways because every now and then reports of pets in distress and animal cruelty needs to be addressed and be responded to. Currently, our group has a lot of inactive members. We also have officers who are on leave because of personal reasons and two of our members are on home isolation and the other one is confined at a hospital because they are tested positive for Covid :(
That Facebook Post
After a tiring day of bathing the dogs, I took an afternoon nap and was planning to go to the mall to buy a bluetooth mouse. I did some quick browsing of missing cats and dogs that are posted which I constantly share at my FB group intended for lost and found pets when I saw this on my newsfeed:
A dog in distress, a case of hit and run 😞
Whenever I saw posts like this, I always make it a point to check the comments first if there is an update if it was rescued or claimed by the owner and the latest one I read was 37 minutes ago: the dog is still there according to the reporter 😞 I also saw that it has been four hours since the post was made and no signs of the owner 😞
Here’s when my dilemma as a rescuer comes in:
Before I decided to get the dog, I was contemplating on a lot of things: Will I have the money to bring it to the vet? What if the owner never appeared to claim the ailing dog? Who will foster the dog til the dog is ready to be put up for adoption? (We also do a lot of interview and screening as well as ocular home inspection to everyone who wants to adopt our rescues). The organization I belong to does not always have a ready and available funds or is getting support from the government. We also do not have an animal shelter or a partner animal shelter where we can bring our rescues. We only rely from volunteer fosterers and donations from the public. We can only help as much as we can. Most of the time it is hard to find a fosterer for our rescues, and sometimes if the funds we got from our fundraising is not enough, we only have us and our own personal salaries if we have extra to cover up the balance we need to pay to the vet.
I knew in my heart I can not turn a blind eye and ignore this dog.
As I was on my way to the reported location of the dog, I could not help but feel disheartened with the sad fact that we only have less than a handful of rescuers in our city and that our local city government does not have that much support. The other members in our org were at work or out of town and I was thankful when one of them was able to join me.
We found the dog tied in a waiting shade, very calm and does not look like in pain. No signs of aggression also and I was able to check quickly that there are some wounds on her right hip but I felt relieved and thought that it is not a major accident.
We got there at the dog’s location at 9pm, most veterinary clinics are only open til 6pm and there are only two vet clinics opened 24/7 so we chose to bring her to Hayop Kalinga.
I was so positive when we were at the vet that what happened to the dog was not major and I am even ready to bring her home for fostering once she is cleared.
We named her Clawi.
Yes, she is a girl. No idea yet on her age. The vet has to do series of x-rays and that is when the bad news came out. Clawi has a pelvic fracture and dislocation and she has to undergo surgery the soonest to align her pelvic bones or else she will never walk again. 😭
Clawi needs to be confined for further observation. The vet told us that no therapy or other options are available except surgery. So after giving our downpayment, (We had to borrow some funds from another puppy rescue I had last month), I and my co-advocate went home and told the vet we will discuss Clawi’s condition with our group.
Here’s the vet’s quotation if we will push through with the surgery: (this does not include yet the 3,000 php per day confinement before and after the surgery).
Our group decided to push through with the surgery, we are aware of the risk that it will be a 50-50 chance of survival but we have no choice since Clawi will go totally disabled or she may also die of complications if her pelvic bones get dislodged to her other organs. We will be posting a fundraising campaign at our org’s FB page for her tomorrow. I pray that many will step up and help with her vet bills but most of all I pray that Clawi will survive her surgery and recuperate fast from this unfortunate event. I also pray that her owner will take heart and appear to claim Clawi. If you are reading this, please help us pray for Clawi as well. I admit whenever things like this happened, I felt like giving up and not do rescues anymore but I simply cannot ignore and sleep on it knowing a dog is in dire need to help and no one seems to be stepping up but just a few of us.
`“Rescuers, rescue supporters and volunteers do not walk on water...`
`We do not wear capes and tights or leap from tall buildings.`
`We aren't better than anyone else.`
`We pursue a cause that we believe makes us better than we were before we started. We make mistakes.`
`We feel we can't do enough.`
`We go broke.`
`We have too many pets at home.`
`We rant out of frustration.`
`We lose our tempers and get snappy.`
`We have to reject people sometimes for the good of an animal.`
`We are not always likable.`
`What we do is draining, emotionally, financially, and physically.`
`Please bear with us and forgive us our flaws, because we are doing work that's bigger than we are." - Unknown`
All pictures are mine.
Thank you @Coquicoin for taking notice and adding me to your list of people to share your blessings here in read.cash. Blessed Sunday indeed. 💕
Superb September
`I really can't stay`
`Baby it's cold outside`
`I gotta go away`
`Baby it's cold outside`
`This evening has been`
`Been hoping that you'd dropped in`
`So very nice`
`I'll hold your hands they're just like ice`
`My mother will start to worry`
`Beautiful what's your hurry?`
`My father will be pacing the floor`
`Listen to the fireplace roar`
`So really I'd better scurry`
`Beautiful please don't hurry…`
Excerpts from the clasical song Baby It’s Cold Outside originally sang by Esther Williams & Ricardo Montalban. I like the song version of Michael Buble and Idina Menzel more, so this is the one I will share to you at the video below. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby,_It%27s_Cold_Outside
https://youtu.be/6bbuBubZ1yE
Without concentrating much on the lyrics, the song above always tops my playlist with bedweather days like we have today. The tune of the song compliments the sound associated with the rain. In a way I can say that I am a bit of a Pluviophile. I say a bit since I am a Thallasophille, a beach lover so beach means sunshine too.
A Pluviophile is a lover of the rain and I find comfort and peace during rainy days. Rain to me has a serene feel as I hear the sound of the raindrops touching the roof. Rain has a way of making me relax. Rain to me has a powerful pull of making me slow down on whatever it is that is stressing me and just rest on it’s calming effect. It is even said that rain lovers love their own lives and understand the real meaning of inner joy. I can very much relate to that. Inner joy and inner peace that focuses on God’s unending blessings no matter how small or big. I guess that is also the reason why one of my favorite verse from the bible is Philippians 4:7.
`Philippians 4:7, NLT: "Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."`
#BetterSeptember
I posted in one of my article and claimed September to be a month of blessings and the past two weeks have been an ongoing of testimony of that. Ever since I was a child I am taught to be always grateful and to always end my day with a prayer of thanks to the Almighty for His everyday grace. I have observed that if we choose to focus on God’s goodness even in times of misfortunes, expect in countless times as he continues to shower us with unending blessings.
Today, I would like to share to some of the blessings I had for the first 2 weeks I am so grateful for:
*1. My Anti Radiation and Anti-Blue Light Eyeglasses.*
I am nearsighted. I have a 150-200 eye grade. I have an eyeglasses intended for that however it was not designed to be used for computers and cellphones. I have been experiencing headaches and eyestrains for the past weeks and with the help of my earnings both from read.cash and noise.cash I was able to buy a new pair of spectacles. So far, with a week of using them in front of my phone and computer, it drastically lessened my eye and headache problems. Yay!
https://read.cash/ https://noise.cash/
*2. Week 1 of Barista Class*
I am not a morning person. It’s a struggle for me to wake up earlier than 7 or 8 am. Last Thursday, I had to go through waking up early, feed the dogs, prepare breakfast and attend my 8am to 12 noon class. Four hours of class and standing the whole time plus doing the demo of the five different coffee brewing instruments, I survived the first week as a Barista student. Next week will be espresso, latte and frappe making. I am again excited. 😍
*3. Hubby is officially back on duty*
My husband, who is a Jail Officer went back to Manila Monday of last week. They had to go on quarantines, swab tests and had to wait for their swab results and executive letter order from their National Headquarters before they can go inside the Jail. This is to ensure that the inmates/prisoners and the whole jail personnels will remain to be covid free. My husband tested negative hurray! After a week of waiting they are back inside the jail last Tuesday. Once they are inside, it will be a total lock in, no going in and out of the jail for the whole one month of their scheduled duty regardless if it is their day off. It is a big sacrifice from the usual work schedule they had pre-pandemic where they can easily go our or go home after their duty or during their day offs but I chose not to complain and be thankful as I look forward to seeing him again next month. 🥰
*4. Low carb week*
I have mentioned briefly in one of my post about the low carb diet way of eating. I started it in 2019, it was effective to me health wise and achieving my weight loss goals but it has been a struggle to practice it religiously most especially during weekends seeing family and friends and dealing with cravings that comes with monthly periods. I vow for September to be a straight low carb month for me and so far today is my 6th day of observing the 20-30 grams limit of daily carbohydrates intake. Please cheer for me that I can successfully do this even just for this month. 💕
5. Grateful Recipient of your Sponsorship
I am not that active here in Read and I really haven’t gotten that so much time to post daily articles and read as many blogs of other writers here but I am so thankful for noticing me, taking the time to read my random rambles and choosing to bless me with your sponsorships. Thank you ng paulit ulit @Bloghound @Pitchi28 @Eylz2021 @LykeLyca @kapeholic @ARTicLEE. Do check them out below. :)
*6. Hurray for Mac!*
I started working in August 2018 with this client from Australia who is a dentist and an award winning author. She hired me to help her jumpstart her dream career as an online motivational coach. Every year during our work anniversary and even during Christmas and birthdays I have , she never fails to give me gifts and incentives. She was the one who gave me the trip to Coron with my husband and daughter that I also mentioned in one of my previous blogs. It’s our third year anniversary working together and I got the big excitement of my VA life when she sent me a brandnew macbook. 😍🥰 It will be my first time using one that I literally googled how to shut it down. LOL! 😅I am still researching what to send to her and my cousin in Sydney suggested a pamper bath kit collection and to make sure it has a personalized greeting card. My cousin told me Australians are a sucker when it comes to cards so I will keep you updated soon once I find the best one to send her. 😊
7. *Good Health*
Our God is a God of faithfulness and I thank Him for continously giving my family, my furbabies and friends good health and protecting us from Covid. Let us choose to have faith in Him because He is also the God of Hope and let us pray unceasingly for this pandemic to be finally over.
With all these blessings, I have nothing but the Lord Jesus to praise to for His overflowing love and goodness. 💕
Ending this note by sharing what is written in my Instagram bio:
A Blessed Weekend to You all. 💕
`All Pictures are Mine.`
Yay! Salamat din sa pahabol na renewal sis @Pitchi28. Salamat sa pagshare ng blessings. Thank you sa inyo talaga ang bait nio sa akin 😭💕
Thank you also to sis @Farmgirl and @bbyblacksheep for always reading my posts.
More bch to all of us para mashare din natin sa iba. 💕
Thank you @Eylz2021 and @Bloghound for renewing your sponsorships and to @kapeholic and @LykeLyca for noticing me and sponsoring me. Blessed and grateful to have you all here at Read. 💕
Better than Monday
`“Tuesday is the day I actually start the week, Monday I just deal with the depression of the weekend ending.” – Anonymous`
If not for my Barista Class yesterday, I could say that my week usually starts every Tuesday. I remember when I was still working in a corporate office, I will always choose to have Sunday and Monday as my day offs instead of the usual Saturday-Sunday. Just like almost all of us, the word Monday is dreadful, chaotic and yes a hangover of the weekend that was. That is my ultimate reason for taking a day off on a Monday. Aside from avoiding the start of the week morning rush hours, having a day off on a Monday always felt like an extended weekend. Same thing if I plan for a travel get away, I make it a point to include Monday, it is provent to have lesser people in many tourist destinations I want to go to, and in my case: always, the beach.
The Digital Nomad Slash Furmom
Before going through with tonight’s ramblings let me share to you this video I created of Tinker and Mia, two of my nine furbabies. I originally made this video at Tiktok and had to upload it to Vimeo in order that I can share it here.
https://vimeo.com/599640555
`🎶I'm just a little bit caught in the middle`
`Life is a maze, and love is a riddle`
`I don't know where to go`
`Can't do it alone`
`I've tried, and I don't know why🎶`
`excerpts from the song The Show by Lenka`
So Tuesday Madness it is! After attending a two hour zoom meeting and listening to the game plan of one of my client, I am excited knowing I will be more involved with her future plans. Yay!
So what else did I do today? For the first time in years, I did some manual laundry ( it sucks when our washing machine is not working and I had to wait weeks before it gets repaired since it is under warranty). I was also able to bath 6 of our dogs, 4 dogs pending but will surely bath them tomorrow. I originally planned to bath all 10 of them though, that includes Matty the rescued dog I am fostering but I guess I am no superwoman. Sigh, I miss having a helper around. We used to have one that I truly cared and trusted for almost three years til she started betraying us. Anyway, that’s another story.
Right now, I feel so tired and worn out that I would like to turn in early but I felt like Tuesday is not yet over until I submitted my daily entry here. This fun platform is becoming a journal to me and I love it!
That French Press
This morning, I made some practice with brewing and I tried to apply what I have learned during our Barista class and i thought of having brewed coffee using a French Press for breakfast. I bought this red french press a few months ago but i felt like it was only through our class yesterday that i am finally brewing my coffee the right way. At first I used the pre grinded Sagada Coffee my husband bought at our local market last month, I did the required water temperature and the three minute brewing and when I get to taste the coffee, it tasted like sour water. I added more coffee to make up for the taste but the end result ended up in the sink. LOL! It made me realize that those ground coffee they are selling are not pure coffee beans and it is best to buy the single origin whole beans if you want to get your money’s worth. It is a little pricey but you will be using lesser coffee beans so it is actually more affordable in the long run.
I am a latte drinker, I am not yet in the black coffee no sugar stage like some of my friends prefer but yesterday at our class, It was the first time I am able to appreciate drinking coffee at its purest and simplest state: just black. Hopefully I get to learn coffee profiling very soon so I can distinguish what kind of coffee is being served to me basing on the different taste.
Good thing I still have the dark roast coffee beans that I bought months ago and with the help of our electric coffee grinder, I set it to medium coarse and redid my brewing using the 1 gram coffee to 10ml water ratio and voila! Caffeinated Tuesday achieved!
😋🥰
As I end this note, I am thankful for a productive Tuesday and it got even better when I got this message from my other client:
I am so excited! Will tell you more about what’s in this message very soon.
Praising Jesus for His overflowing goodness. Good night everyone! 💕
Please do check out the articles
of these awesome writers here below 🥰
`All photos belongs to me.`
The Connoisseur of Last Minute
Social Media Management are just one of those various daily tasks I have as a Virtual Assistant. I used a scheduler called Loomly wherein I load up all at once the scheduled posts of one of my client that are intended for the whole week and Loomly will do the auto posting for us. Loomly can do almost all of the automatic posting for all social media pages except for personal facebook accounts. That’s where I need to come in, log in to my client’s personal FB and do the manual posting. I have 4 clients total and most of them gives me access to their personal social media accounts and it is not a big deal to them.
For more than 3 years now, I post trivias at my client’s FB and today September 6 is declared as Fight Procastination Day.
Here’s what it says:
*September 6 is Fight Procrastination Day. It is an opportunity for you to face your procrastination issues head-on. We have all been victims of that powerful urge to push an important task to a further date. Sometimes, procrastination could be a result of the daunting nature of the task or simply because you’re not feeling up to it. No matter the reason, procrastination can be a major spanner in the works; straining mental and physical health. This observance aims at promoting efforts geared towards combating procrastination in all its forms.*
You can view the whole article and history of Fight Procastination Day at this link. https://nationaltoday.com/fight-procrastination-day/
The irony of things! Today of all days that I will be experiencing the effects of putting everything at the last minute. It really made me reflect on my situation this morning, tired, sleepy and a head that felt so heavy. Aargh!
I slept at 1:45 am last night all because I had to answer all those five quizzes that needs to be submitted for my Barista Class today which was actually sent to us a week ago and was given to us a great amount of time to answer.
Yes, I was able to submit the quizzes on time but I wasn’t proud of myself today when I attended our face to face class.
Today was my first time to meet my classmates and Barista instructor for a classroom discussion and our first lesson was about the different brewing process and techniques using several types of brewing machines and apparatus. Here are some pictures taken this afternoon from our class:
`The Barista NC II Lab`
`The different levels and textures of coffee grinding.`
`Learning to do the pre brew stage: The Bloom, which is the first part of doing manual or drip brewing and making note of the correct appearance of the coffee bed.`
It was a good thing that I have genuine interest when I enrolled this short course so I was attentive and participative during our class discussions. The lack of sleep finally took its toll when my focus and concentration became short lived once we started to have an individual demonstration using four different brewing equipments. I kept on forgetting the required water temperature as well as the brewing time for each brewing machines. Thankful, that today was just a practice and the next class we have on Thursday is the actual graded one. Whew! What a relief. Lesson learned: I will make sure to read and watch again those modules sent to us. I actually started re-reading them when I got home. So far out of the four brewing techniques we have learned it is the Syphon brewer that I need to master. I find it to be tricky and a little scary to use since I knew myself to be clumsy at times so I really need to be careful. The picture below is how it looked like:
Shoo to the Devil Procastinator. I don’t need you. I despise you. I loathe you. Stay away from me. Never again will I entertain you!
How about you guys? How did your Monday go? Any procastination stories you want to share? I hope you had a better Monday than I do. 😊
`All Pictures Rightfully Belongs To Me.`
Of Sundays and My Days
Before the term IG and FB stories, we used to call them My Day. I liked the idea of posting recent stuffs at those sections and it will look like a slide show of everything recent going on with our day captured through our phone. With this 24 hour posting, your social media friends and followers have the choice to view or ignore what you posted unlike before that we tend to post them to our wall/timeline and flooding everyone’s newsfeed.
His Day
My husband is a Jail Officer and after his almost three months vacation, he is back in Taguig for work. Earlier today he called me via FB messenger and showed me they are on their way to Tagaytay with his boss and co workers for some R&R. My husband is not much into taking pictures and I saw through our video call that the views on where they’re at were beautiful so I asked him to take photos. The obedient hubby that he is obliged and sent them to me. Here are some of them:
This one was taken in Silang Cavite. This is a view from the restaurant where they had their lunch
The lovely Taal Volcano.
The Taal Lake. I asked my husband what are those numerous things sprawling all over the lake and he told me those were fish cages.
*Breathtaking, right? The cloud formations made the view more spectacular. Mother nature indeed, doesn’t need a filter. I will Always be in awe of God’s creation. 💕*
My Day
This afternoon, I went to the mall mainly just for a specific errand and I planned to go home right away but I suddenly had the idea to write a blog as if I am just posting them to my social media stories so I stayed at the mall a little longer than my original plan.
I got Spectacled!
Recently, I am getting frequent headaches and my eyes can’t seem to stay longer in front of my phone and computer screen. Hopefully, this will address my vision and headache issues. My eyeglasses name is called Lucille and I loved its pale nude color. I have another one I am using for my nearsightedness intended for daily use.
Tempt me with Those Pastries.
I’ve tried some lose weight diets before like calorie counting, meal replacement protein shakes , some slimming teas and coffee and of course the gym. Nothing seem to work long term til I discovered the Low Carb And Intermittent Fasting way of eating. I used to weigh more than my height’s requirements. I was able to lose 8. 5 kilose after 3 weeks of limiting my carbohydrates intake to below 20 grams. I felt victorious and enjoying almost two size down my usual clothing size, then the great pandemic happens that I guess all of us experienced stressed eating so I gained 2 kilos. Lol! I still practice this way of eating for two years now but not that religiously as much as I want to. What I liked about eating low carb is that even if I only do them a few times a week, I didn’t gain that much weight. I can forego not eating rice but it is the bread that I can’t seem to ignore. Today, I got tempted to try these ones at the mall.🙈
I am a pretzels fan. I loved Auntie Anne’s cream cheese pretzel sticks. I saw they have a new flavor called Mango Crunch added to their menu so with the help of the Booky app, I was able to score a buy 1 take 1 promo.
I didn’t have my usual coffee this morning and this coffeeholic side of me felt a need to drop by Jco and get caffeinated. I tried their Jcoccinno and was delighted that it came with a free donut.
Breadtalk, another current favorite. The scent of their bakeshop that always smells like butter lured me to go check them out. Unfortunately the long queue at the cashier made me bail out and changed my mind of buying some. 😅
This Mall is Getting Pet Friendlier!
As I move my way around the mall, I noticed a lot of mall goers with their furbabies in tow and most of these dogs are in their cute outfits that I just had to stop by and take pictures of them.
Most of these dogs had the instant reaction of smelling me when I went near them. Others may get surprised or afraid if these happens to them but I am a multiple dog owner so I knew it was the smell of my dogs (even if i don’t have them with me) is the reason for them to react like that.
Those 350 Questions:
Slam Book questions were a recent trend here so I thought of making a little twist and pick just one question. I plan to answer one in each of my succeeding posts. You can get the whole 350 fun questions at this link. https://conversationstartersworld.com/good-questions-to-ask/
`What animal would be cutest if scaled down to the size of a cat?`
The adorable polar bears. I’ve learned white polar bears chose to take flight in confrontations, rarely attacked humans unless provoked so if given a choice to downsize them and take them in as a pet, I will choose to have them.
These Polar Bear photos I have here were christmas decors at Camp John Hay Manor during one of our visit two years ago.
Alrighty, I guess I am done with my My Day ramblings. I hope everyone of you awesome writers had a good Sunday too. 😊
`All pictures rightfully belongs to me.`
Cheers to these generous sponsors
of mine,it’s been a month
of letting my keyboards do
the talking. Please do check
out their masterpieces as well.
Happy Weekend Guys. Please do welcome my beautiufl friend for more than 2 decades, @kapeholic. She’s excited like all of us to let those keyboard speak for her. 💕
@crazybeautifulfurmom
