Gardening Story

For years, we've been trying our hands at organic gardening but we only got very little success because of the elevation of our lot. It used to be a rice field and would usually get submerged in water when it rains. However, our situation has greatly improved since we had it filled with soil almost a year ago. It took 20 dump trucks of earth to have it filled to the elevation we desire. It's not cheap but it's a necessary expense for us to secure our yard as well as our house. I feel truly guilty too as the method of acquiring the filling is not earth-friendly. We're just making up to the environment by planting more trees on our properties. On our home lot alone, we have planted more than 10 trees, several of them are native.

Homemade Sugar Wax Recipe

Waxing is my most favorite method to remove unwanted hair. Not only it is effective in removing those hair but I believe it also pulls out dead skin and helps smoothen it. I only use other methods, like epilating or plucking, when I ran out of my cold wax and has no way to get my hands on a reliable wax sooner. For years, I've been relying on store-bought cold wax because I didn't have the courage to make one for myself but since I promised to try to live sustainably and lessen my negative impact to the environment so making my beauty products at home is definitely a good idea.

This homemade sugar wax isn't the first one I tried making but this is the most successful and effective so I'm confident to share the recipe with others who are interested in making their own as well. It is actually very easy and doesn't take much effort.

So without further ado, here's the recipe...

Blogger Update

I can't believe how time flies by so fast. Half of 2020 is already gone! A lot has happened during the first half of the year but sometimes I feel like I also didn't do enough. Seems like time is fast but the actions aren't. Maybe because I wasn't able to accomplish what I supposedly accomplish based on the time frame I set. I haven't even updated this blog for more than eight months. There's just so much around that I barely have the opportunity to think about this hobby.

We needed to resolve several issues concerning our house construction, my husband went through surgery to remove his gallbladder, the expensive hospital expenses, the challenges of moving in to our new house, my own health scare, and the fear this Covid-19 brings. I've been paranoid since the first positive case in Iloilo and all I did was over think. There was even a time when I needed to work my ass off in the garden to divert my mind off the issue the world has been facing since the beginning of the year. It's exhausting especially during my husband's recovery period since I needed to be the runner of the family, the only person of the family authorized to leave the house during quarantine period.

My 11.11 Finds

I'm back with a new post and hopefully not the last. I'm just excited to share with you all my 11.11 finds. Actually, it's my first time to shop during such promo and I bought just a couple of items only. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the sale because I was able to save a lot!

From Lazada

I was not a fan of Lazada but I just had a change of heart. I learned that my son's formula milk is cheaper here than in the grocery store. For each box, I get to save Php200. So if my son consumes three to four boxes a month, I will be able to save more than Php500. That's big enough savings for a frugal mama like me. As such, I decided to buy milk from Lazada starting now.

From Shopee

I'm a self-confessed Shopee shopper. I shop through the platform for various stuff probably every month - our organic shampoo and soaps, clothing, and so much more. For this sale, I managed to snag a pair of authentic Crocs Lite Ride sandals for only Php1648. Original price is Php2995. It's almost half the price off! I'm sure of its authenticity because I bought from the official Shopee store of Crocs.

HFMD and What I Learned About It

It was exactly a week ago when we found out that my son has hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). We believe he got it from the kids across our house but we aren't sure how since he hasn't played or had physical contact with them. Upon learning, I felt worried of what he will go through or how things will turn out so I read forum posts from other mommies whose children went through the same.

Before I share what I learned, I will first share the timeline of what transpired.

Saturday

He woke up with the body temperature a bit warmer than usual. I didn't mind it because it happens sometimes. I gave him a bath and we left the house to visit my in-laws. Not even halfway to our destination, he became feverish and less active until he fell asleep. When he woke up, he vomited.

Less than an hour after vomiting, I gave him Tempra (paracetamol) for his fever. When we arrived at my in-laws which is around two hours travel time, his fever has already subsided and he's starting to return to his active self.

Around 3:00 PM, his body started to become hot again so we decided to go home so he can recuperate at home. His fever did not subside the whole night and went as high as 39 degrees despite giving him Tempra every six hours.

Sunday

His body temperature is back to normal but I noticed that he started to frown each time he eats. He lost his appetite for solid food and would only drink water or milk. Seeing the symptoms, I thought it was tonsillitis. I brought him to the doctor to find out the cause and deal with it once and for all.

When seen by the doctor, it was found that there are already white spots on his throat. I never mentioned about red spots on his hands or feet since I haven't noticed them so doctor confirmed it was tonsillitis. He was prescribed antibiotics (co-amoxiclav) to be taken twice daily.

I gave him half bath before going to bed and that's the time I noticed the few red spots on his fingers. I checked his feet and there are red spots too. His temperature remains normal though. But around midnight, his sleep became troubled and he started to scratch his feet. The itch only stopped when I gave him cetirizine syrup.