Tuesday, June 30

The Sickly Me has just made a comeback

Yes and it really made sure it's presence was felt :/

My cold and cough started last week when I had my monthly flow. I was not sure if it contributed to what I have now but I felt really weak that time and the weather was not cooperating either.

It was soooo HOT (include all the exclamation point you want)!!!

R, being the sweet husband that he is, immediately bought me medicine and calamansi (so that he can make me a local version of the hot lemonade with honey). Good thing that the last time we went to Tagaytay, we finally bought a bottle of honey (I think we got it for Php 120 - cheap! Compared to what you buy from the supermarket).

I have been nursing this cold and cough combo for a few days now. R's sister recommended taking Fern-C (it's a Vitamin C supplement) but when we went to Mercury Drug, they do not have that supplement and instead referred me to buying BeWell-C. It's as effective as Fern-C according to the pharmacist so I will take her word for it (note: so far, I am on Day4 now and I seem to be doing pretty well. The cough is still here but I seem to be losing the cold already).

Before going back here in the Philippines, a friend has already warned me about the weather here and that my body will need to adjust (including the lifestyle! This is self-imposed, unlike the weather). He suggested taking Vitamin C to boost my immunity since I was also sickly when I was in Dubai most especially when the weather changes.

I took that on board and I have to say, this is my first official sick record here in the Philippines. I am kind of happy because usually what happens is when we come home for vacation, I always (and I mean always) go back sick.

I just hope that this will not be as frequent as before because that also means I need to have myself checked as to why my immune system is poor.

Right now, I enjoy being a princess being served hot calamansi with honey ;=)

Went for a trip to Silang, Cavite to experience a change  of weather 

Friday, June 5

Gostoso Deliciosio?

I always believe that great conversations happen when you have good and delicious food in front of you. It is as if food is the driving force for everyone to produce great topics in dinners or functions. This happened to us when R and I met up with my sister after her shift at Capitol Commons.

Whenever my sister and I would chat over Viber, she would always tell me to try out the restaurants along Kapitolyo or the restaurants near her work place because there are a whole range of cuisines to choose from.

R and I decided to give one of the restos a try since my sister was with us. After searching for a place where there is parking and a space for us to eat, we end up going to Gostoso.



The place had an industrial kind of design with pipes exposed, rough brick walls (I do notice that this seems to be the trend these days for restaurant designs) and wooden furniture. The place was a bit packed when we came in and were lucky because one of the groups were about to leave.

I was told that the restaurant specializes in the peri-peri kind of chicken (the first resto that came to mind was Nando's in Dubai). We browsed through the menu and ordered their Piri Fries for our starters and their Have it All combo which showcases all the meat in their other combo items in the menu - chicken, pork and shrimp with rice and your choice of sides.

The place is not too noisy and you can still hear the person you are talking to and at the same time, tap your fingers with the sound beat that is being played.

Our orders came and visually it was okay. I was thinking since it was a platter for sharing, I was again expecting for portions to be humongous. However I think I have downplayed the portions because we did get full!

Our Have it All platter with the side dishes (see small shrimps) 

I think more than the food, their main attraction were their sauces. They have 3 variants - the garlic butter, the marinara sauce kind and their spicy sauce (I asked R if it was indeed spicy and he said yes).

The trio in their full glory
Parking can be an issue because they can only accommodate 3 cars in the front of the restaurant though they have (I think) hired people to guide and watch over your car in case the spot is full.

Overall, we collectively like the vibe of the restaurant, the food was delicious though I am expecting bigger portions and the staff are courteous and attentive (very important).


Tuesday, June 2

How to motivate yourself

This is what I always ask myself.

When I was still working, I would always tell myself that I will read later or write later which would mean nothing will be accomplished.

Now that I have a lot of this free time in my hands, I still ask the same question - how do I motivate myself?

to go back reading?

I see a lot of articles, news features or books that I really want to start reading but for some reason, I always get held up by other things -- the best word to sum this all up --- distraction.

Yes, I get distracted or get lured easily to either browse on new website finds or I get stuck with sorting out my emails (yes, six months of being idle and I still have tons of emails to read and delete).

It was only last week when I started reading an ebook. It was good. The words seem to surround me with happiness that I cannot explain. However, after my initial read, I have not gone back :-(

to start writing my book?

It was just recently when I had a chance to reconnect with my friend, Rob . After our usual Hi and Hellos, he asked me what's keeping me busy (to be quite honest, this is the reason I do not want to meet up because I do not have anything else to tell them except for the fact that I have been busy being a dog mother to my puppies).

Dead air... and lots of dead air... Rob asked me if I was still there so I took a deep breath and told him what I was doing. I can sense his disappointment and I kind of felt it too.

Back when we were still working on the same company, we have talked about what I really wanted to do and I told him that I want to write a book. I have always set myself as a novelist even when I was still a kid. He asked me what's stopping me from realizing this dream and I pointed out the pile of paperwork at my desk.

Now that I have all the time in my hands, he again urged me to write. Rob said the time is now or else I will never be able to do it anymore.

I know that he is right but I am not sure what is keeping me from doing it.

Is it the weather?
Is it the distractions?
Is it the slowness of my laptop?
Is it me just being lazy?

I, too, cannot figure it out or I just won't admit it.