I’m not alone

There were several times that I was suddenly attacked by depression, frustrations, sadness and loneliness, especially when I’m alone though I really tried to be strong.

One time, I can’t hold my emotions anymore and my tears fall while doing something. I thought I was all alone so I continued my drama in one corner of our room but suddenly I stopped when I noticed that someone was watching me. I looked at him and his eyes seems asking me what had happen and what can he do to please me?

I wiped my tears and smiled and hugged him. Told him not to worry, I won’t cry anymore ‘coz there’s him that made me smile.

Can you guess who's he?

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Yes...it's "Market"

Our one and only very spoiled beloved pussy cat. He’s the one who gives joy to my kids and me.

Grow my own

Here in our new place, I’m so glad that we have a vacant space at the back.

I can grow again and plant what I want. That’s one of my hobbies even before I was a child – gardening.

I planned to plant some vegetables and my children help me and our “market “too (see him?).


We planted upo (bottle gourd), patola (luffa), squash, eggplant, okra, snow peas, tomato, hot chili, red bell pepper, sitaw (string beans), saluyot (jute), talinum or talelong, alugbate, gabi (taro), and sweet potato (kamote), luya (ginger) and even spring onions in the pot.

I planted lettuce too but its rainy season so it doesn’t work. I’ll plant again later.

My effort of planting and caring everyday my garden was paid in just few months passed. Now I’m harvesting some already like the green leafy…..

It’s a nice feeling to harvest your own veggies and cook it right away because the nutritional peak of veggies is at the moment they are harvested. It’s so fresh, crunchy, and delicious.

Today I harvested my Ampalaya or bitter gourd or bitter melon or Momordica charantia. It’s a veggie or fruit that known for its bitter taste.


Both the Ampalaya leaves and fruits are rich in fiber and nutrients such as iron and potassium; it contains beta carotene, calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin B, too.

Ampalaya is recognized as herbal remedy for a variety of ailments: protects spleen and liver problem, lower blood pressure, for diabetes -regulates or control blood sugar level, relieve skin diseases, sterility in women, kill parasites, relieves fever and cold symptoms, HIV, boosts immunity and used as a disinfectant for cuts and scrapes.

This was my first harvest…and cooked it like this.

Ampalaya con Carne

Ingredients:

Cooking oil
Crushed or minced garlic
1 sliced onion
2 tomatoes cut in cube
¼ kilo ground beef or pork
2 to 3 big Ampalaya (cut length wise and take off the seeds using the spoon, then slice thinly)
1cup of beef broth or water
Salt & pepper
2 to 3 beaten eggs

Procedure:

1.Heat the cooking oil first then sauté the garlic, onion, tomatoes and ground beef, add salt and pepper.
2.Then mix the sliced Ampalaya, stir once, add the broth or water and cover.Take note: never ever stir again until cook to avoid the much bitter taste, believe me.
3.When the Ampalaya is cooked, pour the beaten eggs, cover again and turn off the fire.


This was my second harvest… I added the extra shrimps from my fridge.

Calling Him at the last moment

One time last summer, when we’re newly moved here in our place, I was so busy cleaning and fixing our things down stairs.

My new neighbor (again, she loves to disturb me) came and had chat with me. It’s summer and sooo, so, so, so hot and I’m so tired and all in sweat.

While my neighbor kept on talking, I felt something strange in me. First I felt like vomiting and then dizziness, next my sense of hearing seems like I’m boarding on a plane. Then my eyes were blocking out and headache.

I made an alibi to my neighbor, told her that I have to go up stairs and prepare for our lunch. She said “OK, perhaps you’re hungry that’s why you look so pale”. Therefore she noticed that am not feeling well that moment.

I was really in bad condition, that when I started to climbed up the stairs, I can’t step my foot anymore it’s so heavy and can’t see anything. Seems that I wanted to pass out, but I tried to crawl to the stairs and thought of my 3 children and prayed to the Lord that if I die, please not now.

I’m half way of the stairs when my youngest saw me and asked me what happened. I don’t know why, but in trembling voice, I just asked her to get me very cold water.

Then before she gets the water she called her big bro to help me. My son helped me sat on the sofa and asked him to open the strongest electric fan and I drunk the iced water that my youngest gave me.

And miraculously after drinking the iced cold water I felt that it seems I was showering under the icy falls. All of my senses came back and felt fine and only slight headache remains but later it’s gone too.

They said I suffered heat struck. If I didn’t force myself to go up stairs and w/o the fast help of my children, I might die instantly at that moment.

At my age, I’m still a very healthy person, never suffered any major illness. But with that kind of attack, it’s so frightening because I’m not ready yet to leave my children behind. Still they are enduring when their father abandoned us, specially my son.

I thanked God so much that He hears me again.

Calling God even at the last moment is so powerful. Believe me.

August

Aug 11 – Again my youngest brother brought me a new pet. Now it’s an Askal, a native or local white dog. She’s not so cute, she’s so little and lot of fleas. First, I thought not to accept her but my children wanted to adopt her, so she stays. We gave her a bath and put a dog powder for the fleas. First we can’t decide what name we shall call her. So many choices, everybody was suggesting different names. Every name I gave her my children disagree. Ivory, Snowy, Erika, Konata, Sol, Fishball … but finally mommy’s choice wins…. it’s Barbie...^-^...

She’s in the pocket of my brother when they came to us.
This was the exact picture

“Market”, our spoiled cat was so jealous. Every time my son touches Barbie he murmured. But after several days he had no choice but to accept that he’s not the only baby now in the house.



Aug. 14’10 - The Happy Joggers Club presentation for this month was held inside the campus of the public school of Barangay Camachile.


Mycah‘s with me, she’s the one taking video to us but the video was again started at the last half of the music

(Since January I’m not attending my aerobics due of conflict schedules and I was always been tired. It’s been 8 months already since my last attendance, the outcome….. I’m one of the candidates already who have excess baggage (big tummy), yaaaeks…I gain weight, I’m in 60 kls now. My ideal weight is between 48 to 52 kls. So I have to do exercise again but for now still have no time. And I can’t do dieting too, ‘coz I really love to eat. Oh so bad, bad, bad, what a big problem.)

Before the presentation, I told the club members to get another dance instructor ‘coz I can’t teach them now. But actually I really don’t want to choreograph them anymore because the elders were always complaining about my steps. They don’t want so many steps and turnings. They only want simple and lots of repetitions, so boring I thought.

I didn’t rehears, I just got there during the actual presentation, and the dance instructor they got told me that she had a headache and most of her steps were canceled too, he he he.

I told her that we can do nothing, they are not really a dancer and most of them are elders already that can’t bend their bodies easily and quickly anymore that’s why it’s hard for them to follow, but they love to dance, huh.

Believe it or not

Last May 20, me and my 2 daughters went to the mall to shop some school needs and personal things. And before 7:00pm we’re home.

Around 9:00pm after we have taken our dinner, my youngest was complaining her head was aching and felt dizzy, she’s not feeling well, and then suddenly she vomited.

I gave her cold water because I thought she had eaten bad foods or poison (while we’re shopping she ate a lot again) so to take it out of her system I let her drink cold water to blow everything she had eaten. Then I gave her medicine and I let her sleep.

But around 3:00 am she woke me up and she vomited again. I was so worried already and gave her something to fill her stomach because I know it’s very hard to vomit but nothing comes out. Then she slept again.

Early in the morning she vomited again and she’s so weak already, I was so nervous and in hysteric mode too. But I managed to prepare our tricycle out (a motor bike with side car) to bring her to the hospital, when my neighbor saw me and asked me what happened.

I told her that we just went shopping yesterday and eaten the same foods, so if there’s a poison on the foods why it’s only my youngest was affected.

She said perhaps my youngest was “nabalis” (a sickness supposed to have been gotten from someone who has taken fancy on her or a sort of a slight witchcraft). Perhaps yesterday while we were shopping somebody might admire her secretly.

She told me to try to do something like boiling the dress my daughter worn, or the second option – find a person with black gums and ask her or him to lick the stomach of my child. Yaaaeks, my daughter might be infected with more viruses if I follow the second option, I told her I rather do the first option.

But before doing so I ran and bought more medicine to the drugstore (very near to our house). Then I gave her a bath because she smelled like vinegar already. And I boiled her dress and at the same time I cooked a bone soup for her and after that she fall asleep ‘til lunch time.

I never left her, I stayed by her side worrying so much, I watched her while she’s sleeping. If something bad really happens then I would run her to the hospital. But when she woke up, she smiled and said she’s already “OK”, that seems nothing happened to her. I asked her if she’s very sure, nothings painful, she said absolutely “Yes”.

But still I doubted that something ‘s wrong with my daughter and I want to be sure, in that afternoon still I brought her to the doctor, but the doctor just laughed and said my daughter is very healthy after checking her and taking some lab test.


Wow! … Should I believed the “balis and the boiling ritual” or it’s the medicine and my hot bone soup that cured my baby. I never believe in any superstitious beliefs and stuffs because of my strong faith to God.

But whatever it is, I’ll do anything for the sake of my children.

And thanks GOD, He always helps me.