Major life update: we got a dog!

My dog. Our dog. Five days in and I still can't believe it.

Friends, meet Lucy. She's a shih tzu and she's the sweetest little puppy. 

Here's the story of how she came to be a part of our little family.

A month ago, J's uncle offered us a doxiepoo (cross between a dachshund and a poodle, v cute). I didn't really think of myself as a dog person as the only pets I experienced taking care of are a martinez bird and fishes in a fish tank, and if anything I was looking to adopt a cat. But the doxiepoos captured our heart and we chose a black-colored puppy with a white mark on her forehead. Since they were only two weeks old at the time, we were told we could get her by May or June.

We looked forward to it, and I even started adding to my online shopping cart cute little dresses and collars I wanted to make her wear. We even named her Vienna. Vienna = sausage = because she was a sausage dog.

Unfortunately, she died. :( We were heartbroken but after a couple of days of thinking about it, chose another puppy from the litter. This time, it was a black-colored boy puppy with white markings on his belly and paw. I scrapped the dresses in my online shopping cart and chose stuff for a boy puppy instead. We named him Cole, and we were very excited because we were told we could already get him over the weekend. Cole = coal = because of his black fur.

Sadly, whatever afflicted Vienna must have affected the rest of the litter because they also didn't make it. They passed away on Tuesday morning. I was DEVASTATED. I was too sad when J's uncle messaged me about the bad news that I had to skip the rest of the work day. Thank God for considerate bosses and workmates that I was given the chance to grieve and let myself be sad.

However, I was dead-set on getting a puppy so I looked around Facebook Groups offering puppies for adoption for free. I was actually talking to another fur parent already about adopting one of her puppies, until Kookee (J's brother Jecco's girlfriend) messaged me about a surprise.

 We picked her up on Wednesday after work. ♡ 

My first picture with Lucy We were choosing between Luna and Lucy for the name, but when we saw her, she's definitely a Lucy.

First time to go to the mall!

Kookee even drove us to the mall so we could buy essentials and food for her. Thank you, Ninang Kookee! We are so grateful.

Cutie Lucy

We got her a really nice bed but she prefers sleeping on the floor because it's been so hot and humid lately.

No worries though because J boought her her personal electric fan and an air conditioner yesterday. Wow! Last night was the first night she slept on her bed. :")

Hehehehe she looks like she has another dog face on her back

Lady Lucy

Out and about to get a package downstairs The harness and carrier came from Sarah, who sent a lot of stuff over! She even sent a bottle of Beachborn Beachdog Pawnitizer. Thank you, Ninang Sarah!

We spent the long weekend just acquainting ourselves with her here at home, As per the vet's recommendation, her first vet visit will be on Wednesday. They said puppies need to adjust in their new home for at least a week as vet visits can be quite stressful for them. I'm looking forward to having her vaccinated so we can already take her out and meet other fur babies!

So there! I never imagined I'd be a first time fur parent at 37, but here we are, and it's been nothing but joyful. :) My favorite part is when I fix up her meals and she gets too excited that she wags her tail, and whenever J or I or both of us play with her and she wags her tail. Basically I love when she shows us she's happy by wagging her tail. :")

I also didn't think I'd be the kind of person that will open social media account for her dog, but here we are. She's on Instagram and TikTok, please follow her if you'd be so inclined. I am amazed at how much more reactions my Instagram Stories about her get as compared to my regular IG Stories HAHA. 

Thank you for loving Lucy. ♡ 

So you want to try and get a little healthier in the kitchen? We’ve all been there. When J and I get too busy with work, we end up ordering food and the expenses pile up. Aside from that, it's really not healthy in the long run. But at the same time, the idea of getting healthy can seem really daunting. Either you’ll be hungry, it’ll be hard work, and be tasteless — but that really doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, you’ll find that you can welcome healthy eating with ease when you take the right approach in the kitchen. Here are some tips you need to get healthier with your cooking.

Incorporate More Water

Staying properly hydrated is essential for good health, so where you can, try to add more water to your cooking. Things like cucumber (except I hate cucumber LOL), watermelon, and lettuce are great for this. It’s also important to make sure you’re drinking enough water throughout the day. I have a tumbler even though I work from home, to make sure I always have drinking water on hand. If you’re not a fan, you can also try adding fresh fruit to your water to give it an extra boost of flavor and nutrition.

Low carb cream cheese muffins with fresh strawberries

Opt for Whole Grains

A simple way to get a little healthier is to swap out white bread and pasta for whole grains. Doing so will add more fiber and nutrients to whatever meal you’re making. Sometimes, you’ll worry that this will change the recipe, meal, or taste — but it won’t. Most of the time you’ll find that they taste just as delicious as regular bread and pasta.

Low carb banana peanut butter mug cakes I made using my air fryer

Focus on Fresh Produce

Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to improve your diet and get healthier in the kitchen. So why not bulk out your meals with more fruit and veg? You could even focus on veg-heavy dishes and try making this cabbage soup. Also, think about buying local produce from farmer's markets or grocery stores whenever possible to support small businesses in your area.

The broccoli and young corn from this beef with broccoli dish I cooked came from our Baguio trip

Use Healthy Oils

Olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil are all excellent choices when cooking meals that require oil. They all contain heart-healthy fats that can help reduce cholesterol levels and improve overall health. Where you can, try to avoid using vegetable oils like corn or soybean oil since they can be high in unhealthy trans fats.

Experiment With Herbs and Spices

And finally, herbs and spices are a great way to make your food taste better. Instead of extra calories or fat, you’ll get a much-welcomed burst of flavor. Don’t be afraid to explore some new spice combinations. You might even discover some new favorites along the way.

Mealtime Doesn’t Have to be Unhealthy!

So there you have it. Now you can see that making healthier meals doesn't have to be hard. All it takes is to focus on making small changes over time that will help improve your diet while still keeping things tasty. Choosing to hydrate more, opting for whole grain, bulking up dinners with fresh produce, switching to healthy oils, and using more herbs and spices can work wonders. It’s all about working to achieve a healthier lifestyle without sacrificing taste.

Hello, it's been a while. I hope you are doing well. ♡

A lot of things have happened since I last took a peek here, most notable of which are that I moved to a more spacious unit in a better location but also within the same community and I took better care of my health. A little more than a month ago, I started taking pills again to hopefully manage my myoma (yes, I have them again) and I've generally been okay in the sense that I don't get as much mood swings as when I was using another brand years ago, although I have noticed that I now feel more. Every emotion is magnified: happiness, glee, giddiness from being loved, but also sadness, anger, and even anxiety. Last Friday I spent about two hours crying inconsolably because one of my dolls got destroyed. It's exhausting. I always tell J that it's so difficult being a woman, and I mean that each time. 

Last night I was able to finish my first book for 2023: Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson.

It's a big deal to me because from being able to read at least two books per month, I seemed to lose my reading mojo and for the whole of 2022 I was only able to read one book. One. And it was a graphic novel! How embarrassing. To be fair, I also reread the entire The Sandman series in time for the Netflix TV show, but rereads do not count. 

Anyway, I enjoyed this story because it's about books, authors, the publishing industry, and how the main character Nora finds purpose and navigates her mental health issues. For fans of romance, it's an HFN ending with FilAm author Andrew Santos. Content warning: contemplating suicide. 

It was never devastating events that sent Nora's mind spiraling towards a place that scared her. It could be a major change that slowly gnawed at her, or several insignificant moments that piled up and sent her right back to the thoughts that she tried to avoid. She felt sometimes that her mind was always in some state of interacting with these thoughts, whether it was gravitating toward them, trying to move away from them, or pretending they didn't exist. But they were always, always there.

I related with Nora because I recognize feeling stuck. I spent a long time in my previous job waiting for a promotion that didn't come, underpaid even though I was working way past working hours and even on weekends. My situation, career-wise, is so much better now thanks to my huge leap back in 2021, and I couldn't be happier with my current team. 

However, there are still days when I feel how easy it would be to just... cease to exist. It could be my PMDD talking; I recognize it's just my brain telling me these things, and I know I will never harm myself, but sometimes the thought of being unalive sounds so tempting. Imagine all your problems disappearing and just floating away into the void, versus feeling all these emotions and dealing with all my issues, how easy it would be. I think of these things, but then almost immediately images of my family and J come to me, and how I wouldn't want them to be subjected to something like that. Not like that, when I lost my Tatay almost two years ago and I am still reeling from the loss.

This should be a celebratory come back post, promising more blog posts in the future, but I don't have it in me to try to be cheerful today. Maybe I can do it tomorrow when I try to write about my current hyper-fixation: Leigh Bardugo's Crows from the Grishaverse.

I hope you are doing well. Well, better than me at least. :) 

We work from home, and I only see my workmates once a month during our monthly team lunches. Earlier today, one of my new workmates asked where I buy my clothes as she loves the colorful stuff I wear, and I blushed at the compliment! :)

This is what I was wearing earlier today

Truth be told, I love buying clothes but I need to be mindful because I am not rich and I have a lot of other expenses, so I have learned how to purchase clothes more efficiently.

There are many ways to lower the cost of clothing without compromising style or quality, whether you're on a tight budget or just want to save some money. Here are some suggestions on how to purchase clothing while saving money.