Sweets for my Sweet

Long distance relationships are a brain drainer when it comes to gift giving ideas.  Every time there are special occasions like Birthdays, Christmas, Easter or Valentines Day, I rack my brain for something I can send to my sweetie. It is not easy as they have to fit in a small packet/box, deliverable, would survive the trip and most important, not that heavy as the postal charge can be a killer sometimes.  Add to that, he already has most of the stuff he wants.  I’ve tried all the cheesy, a bit kinky (wink wink), romantic, funny, practical gifts I can think of. This year though, I have run out of ideas. I think my undying, honest and faithful love is more than enough, right? RIGHT! hahaha…

Anyway, I thought I will just DO instead of send something.  So I went to buy small cupcakes (yummy!) from Cielin’s Cakehouse and put candles for him to blow, on webcam!  He was very amused at my antics and that made my day.  He was worried though that I would eat all the cupcakes I bought. Worry not.  Although I had a couple of tiny ones, the rest went to the neighbors :-)

Captured thru webcam. Sweetie cropped out because he is shy

Surviving a long distance relationship is hard as it is.  However, we don’t choose who destiny has in store for us.  We just keep our fingers crossed, pray and, diabetic or not, make things as sweet as it can get. I know, CHEESY!!! But, that’s just me :-)

And to my sweetie, (in case you read this) HAPPY  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Boodle Fight and Sinful Gelatos

After my fateful heart attack almost two years ago, I have come to realize that a lot of my usual vices would have to go. Oh, I have to correct that.  I never had vices in that sense of the word.  I don’t smoke, drink alcohol or dabble with drugs. I never did. Eating was my only vice. But after that event, I had to go on a strict diet. And it looks like a forever thing. 

Avoiding food bad for my heart is a lot easier for me than food bad for my diabetes.  But once in a while, I do indulge. And last Friday, as a pre-mother’s day celebration, indulged I did.

After my doctor’s check up, I went to Greenbelt, Makati to meet with my sister, brother in law and niece. She wanted to eat seafood and since that’s not so bad for me, I can join in the boodle fight with less feelings of guilt. We went to Seafood Island in Greenbelt 3 and had the Tali Beach Feast. An order of grilled pork chops were ordered for my seafood allergic niece Micaela.  I could only comment on the grilled squid, chicken and a tiny piece of the pork barbecue. They tasted yummy and tender juicy especially the squid. From the aftermath though, I can conclude that the food was great since not even a grain of rice was left on the banana leaves hehehe.

grilled pork chop for seafood allergic Micaela

fiesta sampler

Tali Beach feast: crab, mangoes, grilled chix, tilapia, talong, shrimps, squid, tanigue, giant pork bbq, tahong and lato, watermelon for dessert (photo from Melanie's cam)

yummy squid

After walking it off, we decided to have some dessert. My sister wanted some cake but later on we settled for ice cream instead. We went to Caffe Ti Amo. Unfortunately, they did not have sugar-free gelatos. With a twinge of guilt, I ordered the smallest serving. I had 2 tiny scoops (minimum order) of blueberry cheesecake and chocolate. The blueberry cheesecake was alright but since I’m more of a chocoholic, I should have stuck with the chocolate. It was yummmyyyyyy!  I tried the choco hazelnut from my sister’s order and it was ohhhhhhhhhhhh sooooo good too. She wanted to order again after their order of 4 scoops of ice cream disappeared but I stopped her hehehehe. 

blueberry cheesecake and chocolate gelato

I didn’t dare check my blood sugar after that dinner as I didn’t want to stress.  I immediately took my meds though.   I checked my blood pressure and fasting blood sugar the next morning and it was fine at 120/80 and 97 respectively.   It is a very rare occasion that I give in to my cravings.  Im just too scared.  I feel bad that I have to be careful with everything I eat. I ohhh so miss those days when I can forget about the measuring cup, calories, fat content and the carbohydrate exchange. But, that’s the life I now have and be that as it may, I still feel lucky I have this second one. :-)

The Day Cuddles Found Me

This is my baby CUDDLES...

Before I bore you with our love story, I will give a background of my experience with pets first.

When I was still a kid, I grew up with dogs for our pets.  Not a lot, just a couple at a time. I remember we had a German Shepherd and a Doberman. To a small kid, they didn't look like pets at all but guard dogs that were fierce and scary. As I turned into an adult, my dad gave me a German Shepherd named Maka. At that time, there was no internet and I had no clue how to take care of my own dog. In short, she lasted a few months and died. Then I got a fortune lobster, and of course, that too passed away.  I dabbled with a dozen goldfishes and killed them all as well.  A few years ago, a friend gave me African love birds. After a year, they all dropped dead. Every animal and even plants given to me all died. Then, when I visited my Aunt Mavis, I saw she adopted a cat and this cat just had a litter. I thought of getting one but had second thoughts.  By this time, I did not want another responsibility. So I said, nope, never again would I get another pet, most especially a cat...Yikes..shooo..their poop and pee smell sooooooooo bad!!!  Enough is enough. No more emotional ties, no responsibilities. I believed I was never meant to have one.

Whenever a stray cat would attempt to step inside my shop, I would screech and freak out and ask a neighbor to pick it up and bodily remove it. I was worried on what kind of disease or fleas they would be bringing in or that they were sick and would die any moment and I would have to deal with their carcass.  Then my boyfriend mentioned that if he were here, no stray dogs or cats would ever pass by and leave hungry. Now, that made me feel like I was such an evil person.

One day, on May 5, 2011, I was bored and stepped outside my shop.   I found this tiny, thin, dirty looking creature posing as a kitten. She gave me this look as if begging for some food. I remembered what my bf told me about being kind to stray animals and I felt something pull at my heart. I got some biscuits and watched if she will eat it. And she did. I tried to pick her up, amazed that she let me. I inspected her and smelled her. Hmmmm., she smelled okay and didn't seem to have fleas or bugs on her. The neighbor who feeds stray cats saw me feeding this kitten and encouraged me to adopt this one. I said, I will just give her food like they do but I won't take her in.

When I talked to my bf that night, I mentioned about the kitten I fed and my plan to feed her in case she comes back.  He sounded like he did not like the idea. He told me to just adopt it or let it go. What if I kept feeding her and then one day, she stopped dropping by? Won't I wonder what happened to her? He insisted it would be best to keep her indoors and not get run over by passing cars.  Whatever!!! Let's see if she returns.

The next day, I left some food in case she came back. I was so busy working that I didn't check until around 3 pm. I stepped outside the shop and there she was!!! I picked her up and gave her a cold shower under the faucet just to make sure she was clean. Of course I did not know that  I had  to heat water for her. Anyway, I still did not want to adopt her but the bf said he will give financial support for the litter, food and vet bills! That did it and we officially adopted Cuddles. 

I didn't have any idea on how to take care of a cat. This time, I didn't want another death on my hands. So, I researched, researched and researched.  And to the people who personally know me, they know, I can get obsessed with certain things.  I read on what to feed her, brought her to the vets, had her vaccinated, spayed etc etc etc. In short, the works!  I surprised my friends, and even myself that I can get this emotionally attached to a pet, more so a CAT!  Remember, I was not a cat person to begin with. I still DO NOT consider myself a cat person. I'm a Cuddles person. She's special and unique. She's the one who pulled me from the brink of depression.  It was not obvious but in hindsight, I was very unhappy during that time because of a major life altering event.

I know my Cuddles loves me, but she does things on her own terms. She lets me hug and play with her only when and if she wants to.  She sleeps with me and hangs out nearby. She's a totally spoiled indoor, litter box trained cat who acts like a princess and she's the love of my life. (well, aside from the human loves of my life I mean)  I can't imagine life without her.

Looking at her pictures now, I wonder how was it that during that time, I saw only the most beautiful face instead of the tiny, dirty looking, thin cat that she was.  I thank the day she found and chose me to be her forever MOM.

Now, she has me totally wrapped around her paws, claimed my bed and every available space in my place. Everything is hers and I'm just here to share with her

Ice Breaker

I used to write blogs in my Yahoo 360 account. Nothing fancy nor really serious. It was just a jumble of topics that struck my fancy. I do not really consider myself a writer so I guess blogging was just a way of expressing myself when ever I felt like it. Anyway, the 360 feature of Yahoo was taken off and I never got down to writing again. I was just lost on how to actually put up a blog. Until tonight....I googled and found out it is not so hard after all. We will see how this corner goes. The important thing is I consider this my ice breaker BLOG.





Until next time!