We decided to forgo  our old sphygmomanometer in favor of a wrist digital blood pressure monitor.   We  decided to  buy the latest apparatus with LCD screen so that hubby can constantly monitor his blood pressure even if I am not around in the house.  It is handy and convenient to use too!  My husband got alarmed when friends one by one had stroke or heart attack that are associated with hypertension.  And he is one candidate because he too is hypertensive and on maintenance medication.

Our BP apparatus is ever reliable having served its purpose to the fullest…lol… it is now high time for it to retire.  Hubby will no longer bother to wake me up at night to have his blood pressure reading because with the new digital blood pressure monitor we bought, he can do it himself.   It is easy to use with its large LCD display and comfortable wrist cuff.  The systolic and diastolic pressure reading will be displayed in the LCD monitor.  It’s handy!

Actually both apparatus have their own advantages and disadvantages and it all depends on what you prefer to use.. The manual or the digital?  For us?  We want to go modern this time!

Bye.. manual bp apparatus! You’ve been with us for decades already… good job!

from manual to digital……

Coffee in the morning…coffee during office break, coffee before retiring to bed.  Obviously, I  have caffeine overload but I need a cup since it is a powerful booster especially in the office where stress looms and became a part of our daily life.  I take my coffee with creamer and 2 sachets of sugar and aroma and taste of brewed coffee keeps me mentally alert.

Since, it is a must for everybody in our administrative section to be always ready for stress or for  any eventuality that our job entails because we are handling physicians.  They have moods (we too!)  most especially ours is a Cardiovascular department with Adult, Pediatric, Intensive Care and Cardiac Surgery sections under one roof.   You could just imagine how to work in a department where tensions are usually high especially when surgeons had come from Operating room and had a difficult procedures done.   Laborious 8-10 hours operation and that would somehow produce a toxic surgeon (of the day).   Whoa!  expect to deal with a difficult, unreasonable person!   Add to their stress is when their patient became a Mortality and Morbidity case… the emotions are understandable.

Oh well… coffee is also a stress reliever… Care for coffee doctor???? lol

Receiving party invitations  most often than not  makes me worrisome.  So seldom that upon receiving an invitation I would not be bothered.  Why is it so?    Bothered because I have to start rummaging again my closet on what proper attire to wear.   One thing that I first check on the card is the attire required.  If it’s strictly formal,that’s the time that I will begin to panic (exaggerated word huh),  because I have only a handful of  gowns and with the same circle of friends, I don’t want to use the same gown to another friend’s party.

Well, if that is my line of thinking… surely, my worrying will be endless considering almost every month we have party invitations.  Sometimes, due to lack of proper attire I have to turn down some.  Buying gowns is somehow a dilemma for me because my body type sometimes don’t conform to the standard US and EU sizes.  So, if I buy one, it will need repair and adjustment especially  the bust and length size.   I  have also considered having a gown customized but to my dismay, sometimes the couturier can’t get the exact style and design of gown I prefer.   Or even how professional or how good the seamstress is, the fabric really is very important in having a customized dress.  If you will just go for cheap fabrics, sometimes, the outcome is “run of the mill” dress.

Not everyone can afford a personal designer but it really depends on your budget.   Personal dress designer will see to it that the cut, pattern and color of the dress is to one’s satisfaction and it carries a label that command a high social status value.  Usually, it is mostly for the large segment of the rich because, you can be assured of dresses produced in fewer numbers (not mass produced) so there is slim chance of bumping into someone in the party with exactly the same dress you are wearing.   If it is  personal styled dress, you can expect an original and unique one but be ready to spend so much more.  I must say that only those that belong to the high profile names in the society can really afford to have a personal dress designer.   Yes.. true.. count me out….

Since, I can not spend afford to have someone design a dress for me for a particular event only, I would rather patronize our local seamstress.   Her long years of experience in customizing dresses commendable.   Just need to make sure to that the fabric I will give her will be A1 quality and not cheap if you really want something grand looking and will make you stand out from the crowd…. for your gorgeous and elegant gown not because people will talk about how cheap your gown is…  I hate the thought of it…

But be reminded that even how expensive and gorgeous your gown is, it is your posture and how you carry your outfit with confidence matters.   For sure, if I will have the proper party attire, it will give me a five star presence in the party…

Grand entrance huh! (just dreaming!)

taken in a JS prom but I am showing only the style of gown…ladies are too shy to reveal themselves in this pic.

can you spot the  RTW (Ready to Wear) from the Customized one?

I feel so sad for Teodoro Modesto III , fondly called Thirdy. The baby is only 2 months old and his worried sick parents is appealing for help.  Actually, he was rushed to the hospital early morning of Thursday when  apparently the boy was sweating cold… and since it is unusual to his  first time parents, they wasted no time to have their baby checked.

Actually, the history was, the baby was jaundice at birth.  Actually, when I saw him, I already noticed his yellowish skin but dismissed the thought of something else about him, I am aware that usually babies are jaundice in the first 2 weeks after birth.  Alarmingly,  my friend told me that Thirdy always vomit when fed, profusely cold sweat and pass pale colored stools.  This prompted their immediate visit because from what I’ve heard pale, grey or white bowel movements are probably the most reliable sign of liver problem.   And the boy has those symptoms.

When we had the chance to visit them at  home, I offered help to get second opinion from pedia consultants in our hospital.   I asked for copy of all the baby’s laboratory results and ultrasound plus medical report so that I can immediately present it to a  specialist.   True enough, his bilirubin count is way beyond normal and his attending physician reported of suspected biliary atresia.   When I presented it to the consultant,  I was saddened to hear about his review of the case,  it but try not to show any trace of panic when I talked to the couple.   We told them that we will work hand in hand and we will try our very best to extend any help they need.  In fact, all our friends are pledging their support for the baby.

This afternoon, after office, we passed by their house to check on the baby and get the CD of his ultrasound result so again for more comprehensive review.  The baby looked fine but  for now….but as what the specialist confirmed he needs to have liver transplantation the soonest time possible.   Actually, the couple are still waiting for the other test scheduled tomorrow and we are in the “wait and see” mode.  I don’t want to pre empt or give wrong signals to our friend by revealing the opinion from our hospital not until we have the complete results from their side.

We will continue to pray for Thirdy….

a work of art

With such an innovative mind and an eye for art, my brother cleverly recycled materials which he artistically put together and came up with a beautiful chair.   He painstakingly assembled old parts which to some is already useless…..but to him is worth a treasure….

Except from it’s original seat… the headrest is made of a carabao’s yoke.  Yoke? ….it is a wooden piece attached to the back of the head of the carabao (water buffallo) I’ve seen used  by my grandfather when plowing the fields, the back rest was window rod (?) while the footrest is a treadle or pedal of an old sewing machine.  Other parts were salvaged from a truck , a carriage and some I don’t know where it originally came from…..  Whew… hard to describe but you can just figure it out for yourself….

Amazing!  It is one for keeps….and our brod continue to make us proud…

I am proud to announce  how my hubby  works in the house…. be it with electrical, plumbing, fixing and installation…. He’s the man!  His role is primarily the head of the family while I resigned to the fact that I will only be his support and I should not be taking over his responsibility as the head.  My hubby is an engineer by profession but he is a handy man.   He doesn’t mind  helping around the house and loves to tinker with things too.   Admittedly, I am somewhat a spoiled wife (in tolerable degree!).

He, growing up from a middle class family was taught and trained to do household chores even as a young boy.  So,  it is not surprising that he knows everything and would gladly help me manage our household.  No, not really he is spoiling me but we made arrangements to give and take …. which I believe is  one ingredient that strengthened and made our relationship  last for almost 25 years now.  In fact, in 2 months time, we are  going to celebrate our 25th Wedding anniversary. The relationship is short of  being perfect but I may say, almost perfect…

On days, that he is in the mood to work in the house especially during week-ends, there’s no stopping him doing  like:

cleaning our aircon filter

cooking for us.. (his favorite work in the house)

fixing things

installing florescent light

after washing the clothes.. hanging them

He is also good in ironing clothes… in fact we fondly call him Mr. Iron Man… but I will make a separate posting next time.   One thing good about my hubby is he doesn’t really mind to do odd (?) work because he hates being idle in the house….and for him it will not make him less of a man if he will do housework…. (lol.  that’s my man).

What a good life for me if he will be doing all those chores always!  Just kidding!

When our children were here for their semestral break from school, eating was no doubt a family affair.  And since our children has been away from us for almost a year, making up for the lost time is what we prepared for.   Of course, our wallets are open for their little indulgences like dining out and shopping on the side.  So, we hardly rest our tummies for special dishes each night that we dined out.   Really, “the family that eats together, gets fat together” because no one amongst  us  has ever  thought of dieting those times.

Before hubby and I set off to work, we already had plans where to take our children to dinner.  Yah, kinda spoiling them but nevermind.. both of us are happy to see them full and satisfied!   We know that rarely they can eat to their hearts content because as students , their monthly allowances are on budget.  We are teaching them how to budget their finances and that they are accountable for their expenditures.   So, they really know how to budget wisely.  We have  had imbibed in their minds the value of money and we taught them to cook at home rather than eating out.  I was amazed that despite their limited budget, they can still manage to save.   Of course, the emergency money are sent to my sister and will be dispensed to them everytime a project , field trip or unexpected expenses comes.

Our  food tripping were done successively, till we have noticed that the pounds were slowly creeping in.   We promised to have another motto that is “the family that exercise together, looks better together”.  However, we put off that motto for and let them enjoy their favorite pastime.. eating!

So, we have to double time (?) with rounds of fine dining restaurants in the city.  I will be posting some dining places we’ve been to.  And you will understand why we gained weight…..

1. Turkish restaurant –  eating in a Turkish restaurant is only once a month treat for us especially after payday but for a while we did not follow our regular schedule.

Scroll down..

shawarma

shawarma in plate…grilled lamb chops, homous, khobous, cocktail juice

2.  Steak house

3.  Pizza

5.  Ice cream stands

The pictures posted already depicted how we indulged.   A lot of dining places we’ve been to but  I wasn’t able to take pictures…. next time when we have the chance to go there again, I will surely post or blog about the place.

Oh dear…yah.. we know that gluttony is a mortal sin….. but I believe that we are not in that category yet… Anyway, the children had left already and it will be in 10 months time that they will come back here.  Well, it will give our tummy the time to rest.

My achy, achy feet!

We emceed a Farewell party of a couple friend who will be going home for good.  We have to be attentive with the runnings script and flow of the program….that hubby and I were so engrossed with the whole proceedings that we were on our toes the whole night.  Indeed, the affair was a success!  Everybody enjoyed but with mixed emotions… happy seeing old time friends and sad bidding someone goodbye.  Theres seemed to be no dry eye that night especially when Jun and Aida said their farewell message.  We’ve known the couple for several years now and we treasure their friendship so the program was a fitting tribute to them.

wearing a 3 inches heeled shoes

The program was well attended and went on smoothly.  We had a night of dancing, singing, video clips presentation, hosting and roasting the couple.   I enjoyed hosting along with my hubby but after the lights had been turn off and the guests had gone home, there was someone (something)  still crying… it’s was my tired and achy feet….

I gave my feet some sort of punishment… I wore 3 inches heeled shoes and the weight of my body rested on my feet the whole evening.  My toes (the little one) was the most battered.   This morning, I saw that a small “corn” had resulted from that battery…. lol. Anyway, I promise that I will give my feet much needed pampering tomorrow…. we will go to the beauty salon for foot scrub, pedicure and massage.

My feet deserved all of those services!

Yes!  I am sure glad to be back!  I was able to rest for the whole day but there were times that I was  tempted to go near my computer and start blogging but I restrained myself so that I will get better fast.  I know that all my FB and blogger friends missed me and same here!

Such a pure bliss… RELAX MODE……

There is nothing really serious… I had body malaise,  feverish and my migraine had visited me again (actually, my monthly visitor).  Since I am used to his visitation rights (huh!), I can’t do anything but to take extra care of myself  and just wish that persistent headache will go away fast.  However, I felt the more it makes me sick , just lying in bed the whole day inside our room so I changed venue, I relaxed in our hammock in the covered rooftop.  Reading will only strain my eyes so I put it off for some other days and I avoided the  computer for a while …  I just amused myself with happy thoughts about my family especially my children… I also had the chance to reassess my life and had checked  what are areas of my life that needs strengthening and renewal.  Also I remember my my hubby… in 2 months time we will celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary….and somehow I got a bit depressed because until now, my excess weight is still here with me… OMG.. it has been a long time resident of my body! lol.

I just hope that I will look good in my gown despite the bulges here and there!  I just need to have the RIGHT ATTITUDE!  No worries… today, I feel a lot better and I am happy to blog again…

I need to recharge my weary mind and body.   Due to the changing weather, I am not feeling well today.  But I will bounce back to my old self hopefully soon.

Don’t miss me.. but I will be missing you my blogger friends.!

Take care too and God Bless everyone!