busted

everything's busted:

. my cellphone

. the light in my room

. my wristwatch

all in the same day. ack.

in memory of

at lunchtime today, Dad's cousin, Dominic died of stroke. At age 71, she's a spinster who lived a very frugal and almost Scrooge kind of life. Although we all know she has amassed a huge amount of personal wealth (from the pension she's receiving from American government and just the fact that she doesn't spend for anyone but herself), she was not in good terms with most of the people around her and her health was spiraling down. when we saw her for a family dinner last December, she just got out of the hospital from a week's confinement. I heard she's had grievances with the sister who lived right next door to her. She's also not in speaking terms with one of the nephews she financially aided when he was building his own house.

as i sat at her wake thinking about these, i wonder if there was any person who actually felt her loss. was there anyone at all who was grieving at her death? or was she a dead person to those around her even during the time she was alive?

it was a disturbing thought and one i wouldn't want to happen to me.

in several events, this theme has been recurring for the past months--life is about relationships, not about financial wealth.

what are you building your life on?

{not as sweet}

Mom's side of the family has a history of diabetes. to ease my qualms of inheriting it, we both decided to have our FBS (fasting blood sugar) taken on heart's day. normal would be 120.

mom was overboard at 256!

i guess i'm just not as sweet as mom. mine was normal at 92. sweet!

{beautiful am i? i am beautiful}

30 years on earth and only two people have told me up front that i am beautiful. thanks to the Philippines' bias towards fair-skinned women, nobody even turns to take a second look at me.

this morning we had our usual bible study at the office and my sister surprised me when she revealed in our cell group how much she admired how i can keep a secret and keep my mouth shut specially in trying times. that, to her, is a beautiful thing.

a friend sms-ed:

"a truly beautiful person is one whose heart rests secure in God's love, who no longer seeks man's attention, but is concerned with what pleases her Maker."

then i remembered my favorite passage [I Peter 3:4]

Be beautiful in your heart by being gentle and quiet. This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special

-Contemporary English Version

belly laugh

getting my daily dose of 3 belly laughs. teehihihihi.

de - caffeinated

i thought it was the usual pain that came with my monthly period. but it came off the schedule nd the pain was unbearable. i felt like someone who had been beaten on the chest. like a battered wife.

when i finally had the courage to face it, the doctor said it's just fibrocystic changes--women who reach the age of 30 normally experience that. nothing to worry about. just take in 600 iu of vitamin E everyday and steer clear of any caffeine-- coffee, tea, mocha, chocolate, soda.

and so i was determined to fight this battle. even if coffee had been a vital part of my life as breathing, i strictly obeyed the doctor's orders. sure it mellowed me down and i didn't feel any more pain, but drinking only milk and juice for 5 straight months? something's gotta give.

i self-declared i was healed. so at the beginning of the year, my supposedly 6th caffeine-free month, i drank a cuppa. then the following day, i took a bite of a litl bit o chocolate. so far so good. no more pain. i felt invincible and this girl was back to her caffeinated lifestyle again.

less than two months and that's when the pain started again-- like rekindling an old flame. aargh. just when i was about to enjoy...

what's left for me to do now? back to square one: the doctor's boring orders.

but, when life throws lemons at ya, make a lemonade. God must be smiling at me when He made two of my greatest caffeine-free fixes ever:
1) decaffeinated earl grey tea
2) coffee made from roasted rice

oh and another thing, a good friend doctor of mine recommended that i get these too:
1) exercise (crunch time, baby. let's do the jiggy)
2) 3 belly laughs a day (someone, make me laugh, please?)

ollie bollen

Marleen and Michelle preparing the ollie bollen

Finishing touches

Yummy oily balls!!