Baking Nostalgia

My temporary little blog space at home--the attic, whilst my cat 

is busy watching the cars passing by the highway.

July is almost over, like it just flew by when you're busy with a lot of things. What kept me busy lately? Cooking and baking.

The advent of YouTube has made everyone's life so much easier. I learned the proper way of face contouring through YouTube, how to blend in those eye shadows, the art of applying under eye concealer, how to make no bake cakes and lately mug cakes. Yes, cakes directly mixed in one of those little coffee cups then baked using a microwave oven.

Cookies n Cream mug cake

Chicken Pesto Pasta served with chilledRed wine
(wine from Bugnay Berries). I cook and bake
alternately.

Baking is such a tedious process and this is what I learned when I was in Junior high, I had baking class and you can't just pop in all the ingredients without properly measuring them. With cooking, you can still alter the taste during the process since you can always grab a spoon to balance the mixture of each and every ingredients. Unlike baking, once the product is done, if you poured in too much salt whilst making the batter you're done, it won't be edible trust me and you have to start over.

Some dessert I made--
sliced apple and dragon fruit
with condensed milk.

My sister and I at one point enjoyed baking during our teens. Our parents even bought us this huge oven to further our passion for baking but we just gave it up as time went on because of the cost of ingredients and the time spent waiting for a finish product. Our oven turned rusty and old until we can no longer use it.

Chocolate mug cakes topped with
Oreo cookies and rainbow sprinkles

As I got older I still had my penchance for cooking but I never thought that I would reconcile my love for baking until recently. I started out with my home made pancakes since the ingredients were simple: eggs, all purpose flour, milk, butter, sugar and you're good to go even without baking powder then top it up with some strawberry jam! My sisters said it was phenomenal so I was encouraged to make other products out of flour such as Japanese cakes, waffle etc.

My steam baked chocolate cake with
rainbow sprinkles.

steam baked cookies n
cream chiffon cake

I got bored and scoured YouTube to try something else until I stumbled upon these mug cakes you can make just by using a microwave oven. I bought some more ingredients such as vanilla extract, baking powder, low fat cocoa and some rainbow sprinkles to begin with then I tried a couple of mug cake flavors: Chocolate and cookies n' cream. I wasn't happy with them although my sissy said it was fine. I found the cake's texture kind of rubbery because I did not follow the instruction which is to cook the cakes in just two minutes since our microwave oven doesn't heat up fast anymore so I extended the cooking time to almost four minutes. I quit making mug cakes and turned to cooking the batter by steaming them. The baking process took kind of long (about 20 minutes or so although you can check it from time to time) but the outcome was better. The chocolate cake I made was moist and no longer rubbery, very fudge cake. I topped it up with rainbow sprinkles afterwards and I was happy.

I found recently that shopping for baking products is my new happiness. It may sound funny but I frenzied over baking supplies and ingredients whilst at the supermarket. I don't know, I guess I'm just nostalgic sometimes.

No Magic Pill

photo from Pinterest

I'm frankly alarmed by the growing number of people dying from taking diet pills, the fastest and dangerous resort to losing weight.

Let me tell you my story. This happened wayback 2011.

I must admit that back then, during the peak of my career, I was also conned into taking diet pills because I was too lazy to work out since I found it exhausting and I cannot control my relationship with food. Those were the days when people started worrying about looking good and fit, build those muscles, tone those abs and lose the flabs. Guilty as charged I also took numerous dietary supplements such as FitShape, Fitrum, down to the most deadly ones Brazilian diet coffee, slimming tea and last but not least this slimming orange juice called Curvy which made me lose one pound a day which, as expected, made me lose weight tremendously that everyone else already began to notice. I did get nice comments when I started losing weight back then and those that made me worried as well. Some people at work said I should stop whatever I'm doing to lose weight because I may have gone too far. For the rest, they even asked me what the hell I was taking thus made me lost so much weight in a snap. I then gladly shared.

photo from google images

I was so happy at first when I started taking Curvy Slimming Juice because the outcome is so fast like magic. But then, when I started experiencing insomnia, heart race, shortness of breath and felt disoriented to the point of almost passing out whilst commuting on my way home I decided to stop taking Curvy. I thought I was dying when I felt those symptoms. I got really scared. That never happened to me before until I started taking that darn orange juice. I wasn't obese back then just a little chubby I should say which made me conscious and avoided wearing body hugging clothes that's why I resorted to fast dieting through slimming juice and pills. Stubborn as I am, I tried this Brazillian coffee after Curvy which eventually led to another scary experience although just a little milder than that of Curvy. Nevertheless, I also had insomnia and the same shortness of breath. Then, I finally stopped taking any of those stuff you buy online with Chinese labels on them.

Prior to Curvy I took FitShape which did not really work for me that much. I lost quite a few pounds but not as fast as that of those Chinese and Brazillian slimming stuff. FitShape is a safe way though to lose weight but you have to of course incorporate proper diet to it, same applies with Fitrum. So, my point is, anything that's not over the counter is not deemed safe, please bear that in mind because It only means that BFAD (Bureau of Food and Drugs) did not allow them to be sold/circulated on local drugstores simply because they contain ingredients which may be harmful (if not deadly) to one's health.

Please be also wary on the authenticity of every dietary product you buy on local outlets or online stores because not all of them are authentic. On the other hand, let me also remind you that not all over the counter slimming products are safe until you consult a physician such as Xenical for instance. I also took it (yes I did), this is one of those extreme measures I tried because of my desperate attempt to lose weight in the past considering I'm below 130lbs. I pooped oil, lost some weight but felt dehydrated as hell. I stopped taking Xenical after roughly two weeks. Same goes by the way with slimming teas such Kankunis etcetera, they will eventually leave you dehydrated and dying if not kept yourself hydrated. Ask a specialist first if you even need to take any of these.

After all the dieting troubles I've been, I finally resorted to the safest and healthiest way to lose those flabs which is working out. Along with it, I started boxing back then and ate healthy. I've been watching my diet even up to now and It is indeed true that once you started eating ang living healthy, you don't ever wanna go back to eating junk and earn back those weight you difficulty shed.

I also just want to share that taking those slimming stuff such as Curvy had also taken a toll on me, a side effect which I will be enduring for the rest of my life, my Hypothyroidism. It was an effect of my thyroid ablation (RAI) due to Hyperthyroidism, this is when your thyroid starts producing too much hormone more than what your body requires triggered by some sort of drug possibly as It hastens your metabolism.

Slimming products attacks the thyroid gland which is responsible for your metabolism--how fast the food you take is burned by your body, how come you don't get hungry or what have you. Imagine, I only took Curvy for less than five days and look what I got months after. It took me over a year before my Hyperthyroidism symptoms manifested actually which I obviously knew where It came from as it is a condition that's metabolism related. I extremely lost weight so suddenly to the point that my eyes bulged (a.k.a Grave's Disease), heart raced, hand tremors, feeling extremely hot even if I live in a place with such a cold climate, difficulty sleeping which is reminiscent to insomnia, always weary probably caused by my always fast heart beat, loose bowel movements (which I thought was normal at first until I noticed that I go to the bathroom almost every single time I eat something), the worst--extremely itchy rashes on my fingers and leg weakness to the point that I could no longer climb stairs without looking like I lost a limb or something.

Hyperthyroidism

I went to an Ortho at first thinking my leg weakness has something to do with muscle and bone problems such as low calclium level or something to that extent. It didn't take long for the Ortho to figure that I might be Hyperthyroid because my sister who went with me to the hospital mentioned that I lost weight so suddenly and my eyes don't look normal anymore.

Another scenario, I went to a Dermatologist regarding the itchy rashes on my fingers and I was advised that It might be Dermatitis or the rashes might've been triggered because of a thyroid problem. That's it, I then went to an Endocrinologist and through blood test it was confirmed that I was indeed Hyperthyroid. I did not mention I took slimming products in the past because my siblings already suspected that so the Endoc thought it might've been hereditary. I later on found out that it might've been partially hereditary because my cousins (mother's side) did have thyroid disorders. On the other hand, I also thought that I was healthy before and my unhealthy and dangerous way of losing weight in the past must've triggered it.

My sudden weight lost might've also caused sudden formation of gall stone in my gall bladder which I have endured painful attacks for about a year ago until I decided to have my gall bladder removed. Thank God for Laparoscopic Cholesystectomy that I recovered in just a couple of weeks with just a couple of less than an inch incisions. Mind you, once you developed a gall stone, there's no other way but have your gall bladder removed unlike kidney stones which can still be dissolved through shock way and stuff.

Hypothyroidism

To date, I am enduring my Hypothyroidism (opposite of Hyperthyroidism: difficulty losing weight, very slow metabolism) condition for life and no GB (gall bladder), all because of improper eating and dieting measures. It's payback time. I am now on lifetime intake of hormone replacement medication called Levothyroxine (Euthyrox) because, since after my thyroid ablation, my thyroid gland can no longer produce hormones on its own. When I get depressed that means I am lacking on hormone meds so I may have to adjust my intake of Levothyroxine. My mood now is affected by the adequacy of hormones I get from medication. I stopped and went tired of taking Levothyroxine at one point but I felt like dying because I gained weight tremendously again, went on puffy face and experienced painful muscle twitches so I took it again and accepted the fact that my bodily functions will never be the same again.

As an end note, think before you take those slimming pills or any dietary products per se as there's no short cut to getting fit and healthy but exercise and proper diet. You eat more, you gain more especially if you're not getting any younger, your metabolism slows down thus your body can no longer break down those fat the way it used to when you were younger. I am proud to say that even if I am Hypothyroid, through controlled eating, I don't gain much like I thought I would since after my radioactive iodine treatment. I am also considering hitting the boxing gym again once everything in my life has already fallen into place. Right now, being busy with moving has made me move around a lot more packing, lifting things. Being stagnant leads to weight gain so make it a point that you move a lot, climb up stairs, get busy with a lot of stuff. I am not writing this blog to blaspheme these products I've mentioned here but to share my experiences being a first hand user. I used these prodcuts out of my own free will without any aid or advise from physicians.

I am also writing this bloggie right now to advise readers out there to think twice (or more). If you're looking to lose weight, do it the legal and healthy way. Losing weight through slimming pills is cheating and may lead to life threatening side effects if ever you still get to this point. If you have been watching or reading the news feeds on TV, facebook or any social media avenues lately, I think you may have come across the news regarding this beauty queen who recently died due to slimming pill overdose. This is what I'm talking about, slimming pills is even more deadly than crash diet because it amages vital organs. Nevertheless, they are on the same neighborhood. Please consult a specialist prior to taking any dietary product because the dosage is never the same for everyone. You only take certain number of pills depending on how much your body is able to contain. A 200lbs person is definitely not expected to take 1-2 slimming pills a day compared to a less than a hundred pound person. I hope this news will serve as a warning to people desperately yearning to lose weight. Lose weight fast and endure its effects later or lose weight the hard way and ot feel guilty about it and live a long and healthy life?

I hope you make the right choice after reading this bloggie. Your life, you choose.

There's a sunshine after the rain

 It's been three days since the sun came out again after the two week long heavy rains. The laundry piled up what to expect and I was stuck at home watching movies after movies after movies! It gets scary when the wind blows so strong outside as nature lashes its wrath and you can't do anything but wish for the sun to shine again. The two weeks felt like forever and It made me wonder where in the planet am I that It's raining almost half a year? It was said that our house is where the wind trail is so expect that It's going to rain more often. It feels so gloomy here up north without the sun thus reminded me of this movie I watched long time ago called City of Ember wherein the entire city is only powered by generators because they were built underground, the sun never shine. Imagine the world without warmth, no sun to dry your clothes out, what a despairing thought.

So, I was happy to see the heavens blue again after the nimbus clouds got dismissed when the sun shone out again. The plants are green again and my cat is the happiest as he's able to bask in the sun again. He despised the rain of course. My sister and I even came up with a plan to put a hot bag underneath his makeshift leather bed during those two weeks to keep him warm since an electric blankie is not popular here in the country because we don't have winter while we suit ourselves with warm porridge, rice coffee and even pancake on some days. Moving on, got extremely busy tending on our laundry these past few days since not even a dryer could totally dry our clothes out because again only the sun can make your clothes crisp dry.

monday afternoon pancake, Yumi the
dog is not allowed as it's choc'lit!

I'm currently still enjoying my no work yet stress free life as of right now because I get to do things that I love such as blogging, cooking and above all doing nothing. 

My sister and I watched What Happens in Vegas (for the nth time) last night and this line from Joy McNully (Cameron Diaz but originally from Ashton Kutcher aka Jack Fuller in the movie) got stuck in my head. The line goes like this “I'd rather do nothing and be happy than do something I know I don't love.“ True enough. I just love staying up all night--watch movies, work on household chores, surf the net endlessly and experiment on what food to cook for dinner or breakfast or snack time. Yesterday I made some pancake for me and my sister then come night time sipped some of that Twinning's Apple and Cinnamon Tea.

Simple things in life makes me happy which is kind of ironic since I am an ambitious person. But then, during my quiet moments I often ponder and talk to myself in solitude and ask Am I really happy? I make money working but I was never happy yet here at home even If I don't earn a single dime I can say being worry and stress free makes me happy. Work is a drag and stress 99% of the time is the fastest way to age and get sick. I am not saying that one should stop working and just put everything in God's hands, no it just doesn't work that way in reality. My point is take time to rest when you're tired, quit your job when you're not happy with it anymore, figure things out first before throwing yourself out in the jungle and be part of the work force again. Rest is very vital, mind, body and soul. Don't keep on dragging yourself since we only live once. Travel when you have time, read a book, be inspired again. When your passion for life has wane out, recharge to put things back into perspective.  

New Beginnings

heavy traffic jams..blame it on the rain..lol.

I am officially unemployed and I'm currently loving it. I never had all the time in the world except now. I can sleep soundly and not be wary of the time. When you have work, time enslaves you, breathing is your only consolation when you're all stumped. 

I can stay up late now without thinking about enduring another day at work the next morning. A taste of freedom I haven't had for a long period of time. I left my job for three years (and three months) roughly a week ago because I haven't been earning enough to fend for myself and that defeats the purpose of having a job--to be able to fend for myself and afford life's basic necessities. 

I tried to love the north thinking I would settle here for good but I was wrong. I never felt I belong here in this cold city since day one. I longed for the cold during summer but despised the frequent rains thereafter, the damp feeling of the rain in my clothes irked me, the really chilly mornings on my way to work. I'll never get use to the cold and the mist I guess. I've never felt so sad especially during rainy days. The gloomy weather and the melancholy it brings to the soul.

I've never enjoyed a dose of hot taro tea 
& brownies' s'morse since recently 
#worryfreelife

I have no regrets for leaving, my decision was personal though. I spent my whole life down south and built my world around there and the big difference between the weather here up north and the culture is something I'll never get used to. Life here moves in such a slow pace. The days, years and months seemed eternal. I hated getting up in the morning when it's so cold, I would rather spend it in bed, reading a book and sipping hot tea or coffee.

I was only grateful that the move my sissy and I made here up north made our Mom happy, little did we know we're just gonna be spending a couple of years with her out of those four years of settling here. I think It was God's plan, for the family to be together during her last few days here on earth.

Now it's time to go back home. I'm planning to relieve and rebuild my life, save up again to further my passion for travel. I don't want to do anything else but follow my heart, work hard to travel. I learned a lot from this experience, that, time is more precious than gold so don't take it for granted. Above all it's never too late to pick up the pieces again.

So for now, I'll try to savor this moment. I'll just busy myself with my new read by Vina Jackson called "Eighty Days Amber," this book is pretty interesting. I'll write a review once I'm done reading it. 

Diplomat Hotel

The clock is ticking and I'm counting the days until my last day at work. I can't wait to leave and explore the world out there again. It felt like I have been on hiatus for such a long period of time. I need to recover from this slumber I put myself into.

Anyways, my sissy and I went for a morning walk/jog at the Grotto this morning since our other sister dropped us off to our flat a little early than usual because of the number coding scheme. If you may be wondering, the Philippine government implemented this whole number coding scheme for vehicles hoping to alleviate the getting worse almost lifelong heavy traffic jams.

Dominican retreat house,
under renovation

Going back, we decided to stroll the Grotto, offered prayers and lighted candles like we always do every time we go up there. I once told my sister that the Chapel is now finished so she decided to check it out as well.

After our walk at the Grotto I told my sister to check out the souvenir shop nearby and by random she asked if I want to visit the infamous and known to be haunted Diplomat Hotel also in Dominican Hill which is just few walks away from the Grotto. Of course I said yes since I haven't been there since we moved here up north. It was also a perfect time since we already went to the chapel we thought we were already blessed so If there's anything sinister about the so called haunted place then we may ward them all off hehe.

The hotel is not so far from Lourdes Grotto.We exited at the Grotto's paid parking space and walked our way up to Diplomat Hotel.

It didn't looked creepy at all to me probably it's cuz it is daytime but I still did the sign of the cross because people might've died there. I honestly do not know the history of the hotel but a place won't be haunted if nobody died there first off. We were asked by the guard to write our names on their log book which we did I guess for visitor tracking purposes. I thought the old hotel was quite small and doesn't offer much that's why there's no entrance fee.

I love taking photos there though. The place looked rustic and I meant it figuratively. It was a cool and nice place suited for Gothic if not high fashion photo shoots really.

Let me also share that I even saw this gallery showcasing photos of psychic surgery sessions held at the Diplomat Hotel during the old days. Have you heard of those weird, painless and invasive surgeries which made its headline on TV magazine shows back in the 90's? Yes its been around long before. Oh I just love oddities. They make the world interesting.

We passed by the Grotto again on our way home to dust off any evil spirits who might've tagged along. I know It may sound lunatic weird but better safe than sorry lol. Had some strawberry taho for some dose of sugar.

Start Over

Four years ago my sister and I moved here up north thinking it would be for good after a long vacation from Singapore. The long vacation eventually helped us figure things out, figure ourselves out. At one point we got tired of the fast paced life in the Metro, the steamy weather and everything else. We quit our high paying jobs down south, left our apartment in the middle of the city. Without any game plan, we just left and abandoned everything we had in the south.

It's been four years, time flies like I always say, life here up north is not as easy as we have imagined. Money is tight yet the work load is heavier. We both came into realization that maybe life here in the cold city isn't for us because we're kind of used to the hustle and bustle in the city, the rush hour cramming and above all being able to afford every tad bit of thing you wanted.

The north could have been haven for vintage finds but it's hard to even afford what you want with very small amount of money you earn. Same work load, provincial rate. Life is unfair sometimes. What can you do but endure when you have nothing to come back to? I was humbled by my experience here in the north, to keep each and every penny because money here doesn't just grow on trees as oppose to down south, you work less and earn more as they value every job experience you've earned. Damn this whole provincial rate shit. They should pass a law to fully erradicate it because it just doesn't make any sense.

I felt like I've wasted all my years because of a poor choice I made in life so I have finally decided to come back home, to where I really came from and just pick up the pieces I left behind. I guess starting a new won't hurt.