My Sugar Free Sweet Life

The Christmas season becomes the brightest season in the Philippines because of the well-lighted and decorated roads, establishments, and homes. Christmas lights are standard Christmas decorations in every home. In fact, Christmas lights shaped as a star or a Christmas tree are common sights in the country this time of year.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) also "lighted up" their Meralco compound for the holiday season. The company has opened its Meralco Liwanag Park last November 25, 2011 with no other than Miss Universe 2011 3rd runner-up and Meralco Ambassador of Light, Miss Shamcey Supsup, gracing the event.



Aside from the expected lighted attractions, Meralco has prepared a light show, a Christmas village, a night bazaar, and electric rides to its visitors. There's no entrance fee to visit the Meralco Liwanag Park but the company asks only a simple favor from its visitors and customers.



Begun in 2006, Meralco's Maliwanag and Pasko campaign serves as one of Meralco's channels for supporting various charities. This year, in line with the theme of love and light, the company's One Meralco Foundation supports at least 1,000 Filipino children's schooling. The company is asking for the public's support by just lighting up their homes with Christmas lights this holiday season. How easy is that?

All you have to do is to email your photo (maximum of 1MB in size) to maliwanagangpasko@meralco.com.ph with these details:

• A caption of 60 words or less describing how you're making this Christmas brighter for the family.
• Your contact details: Present address, landline/cell number, official email address, and your Meralco Service ID Number (SIN).

All qualified entrants will receive an email from Meralco and the photos will be posted on the Meralco Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/meralco). That means you should also LIKE the Meralco Facebook page to be able to see your photos. Also, the email from Merlaco will include a customized Maliwanag ang Pasko Facebook badge to display on their own FB pages. Qualified photos submitted from November 18 to December 20, 2011 will also be posted on the Maliwanag ang Pasko site (www.maliwanagangpasko.com)

The Meralco Liwanag Park will be open until December 30, 2011. Just bring an ID to leave with the guard by the gate (in front of Shell Ortigas-Emerald) for your Visitor's Pass. We were also told that the park closes at 10PM.


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Today, November 14, 2011, is World Diabetes Day. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) focuses on "Diabetes education and prevention" since this is the third year of it's 5-year plan of action.

This year, I am guilty of not having participated actively in the campaign. I have been very busy with work that I failed to prepare for the Big Blue Test. Yeah, great, I ran out of test strips and all I got are blood glucose urine test strips so I wasn't inspired to share my test results online.

Nevertheless, I can say that I have been a "sweet" obedient diabetic this year. I'm glad that my husband's new company has provided us with free health insurance and that my clinic is part of their accredited list of health providers. I have visited my doctor regularly and, with her help, I was able to normalize my blood pressure and cholesterol. My proteinuria has also improved and it's because I've gotten rid of my hypertension. I've also started to dance by playing Just Dance on the Wii. I am still way above my ideal weight but I'm optimistic that I'll get there with just diet and exercise. No more diet pills this time because I love my liver so much. The only pills I'm taking now are Metformin, Oleia Soft Gel capsules, and vitamins.

I hope you can help me educate more people and prevent diabetes by clicking the banner under my blog header that says "Yes, I agree." Clicking the banner will automatically include you in the number of people worldwide who agree that all people with diabetes need essential care, no matter what age, race, or social status. You can also like the World Diabetes Day Facebook page to see how diabetics around the are celebrating this special event.


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On November 22, I and the other mommy blogger members of the Pinay Mommies Community will have a Grand Eye Ball. It's actually the 2nd year of the Grand EB but I wasn't able to join the first one because it coincided with an important family event. This year, I made sure that I'll be there because I want to meet the faces behind the mommy blogs that I have been reading. We have already been interacting with each other in Facebook that it feels that I already know them for a long time.

I've got a small problem, though. I still don't know what to give them. All of us were asked to bring tokens for everyone, if possible. It's already 10 days before our EB and I haven't prepared anything yet. If only I had a bigger budget, I could have already oredered from the online flowers site orderflowers.com. But since I can only afford Php 30 for each token, I might just have a some customized button pins made. Anyway, we have agreed that it's the thought that counts.

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“At first glance, D.I.A.B.E.T.E.S. is Difficult, Intense, Anxious, Bothersome, Everyday, Timely, Eerie, and Sugarfree. But as a whole, D.I.A.B.E.T.E.S. is Discovering Internal Abilities to Boldly Encounter The Earth with a Smile. Sometimes life can be hard (for everyone), but you can do anything you set your mind to even with diabetes. Nothing can stop you if you approach it with the right attitude!”

- Christine Burns, 19 years old from Sandy, Utah, USA, diabetic.

Christine will spend a day with Nick Jonas at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Los Angeles Walk to Cure Diabetes. She will also appear in the World Diabetes Day video with Nick to be launched on November 14, 2011 on www.NickSimpleWins.com. All of these she earned after winning Nick Jonas' and Bayer's "Simple Inspirations" contest.

Nick Jonas, who sang with his brothers in the famous teen boy band Jonas Brothers, was diagnosed with diabetes at age 13. Now 19, he is working with Bayer to inspire and educate young people with diabetes. On the site, you will see his blog where he writes about his life as a young person with a lifestyle that is not slowed by diabetes.


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Oh goodness, the pain is back. I felt undeniable pain once again from the index and middle fingers of my right hand. I have not been wearing my wrist brace for a while now and I think my CTS symptoms are coming back. This time, before wearing the brace, I rub moringa oil on my wrist and wrap it with gauze first. I discovered that warming it up actually relieves the pain.

That's the reason why I'm looking for heated gloves. Something that looks like this:

I hope I can find one that's locally made because this one already costs $179 in the US. I also have the option to ask a cousin of mine to buy it for me in the States and just have it shipped together with her balikbayan box. Until then, I will have to make do with the oil and the the gauze. Sigh.


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As much as possible, I choose natural alternatives for my family. Living in the city makes it even doubly hard to find organic what-have-yous. Thankfully, more and more natural products become available in the market today.

One natural product that we've been using for few years now is ASCOF Lagundi. ASCOF Lagundi is made from all-natural lagundi leaves. Lagundi is one of the 10 herbal medicines recommended by the Department of Health (DOH). Also, studies done by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) have proven that lagundi contains chrysoplenon D which is a muscle relaxant with anthistamine properties. Pascual Laboratories, makers of ASCOF Lagundi, ensures everything is as natural as it should be by harvesting and processing lagundi from their very own organic farm, the LAC Farm.



I and other mommy bloggers were invited to take a tour around the Leonie Agri Corp. (LAC) farm which sits at a 42-hectare property in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija. Not only are lagundi plants grown here but also sambong (chief ingredient of Pascual Lab's Releaf Forte for kidney stones) and organic vegetables such as malunggay, amplaya, sitaw, eggplant, and lettuce which they supply to SM Supermarket. It's really the real Farmville for me!



But more than producing organically grown herbs and vegetables, the LAC Farm has helped improve not only the physical quality of the land but also the spiritual and financial lives. Guided by LAC President and Pascual Lab Chief Innovation Officer Engr. Jun Saret and farm General Manager Andy Parducho, each worker in the farm puts God in the center of everything they do. And because of this immense faith and devotion, what was once known as "Lupang Sinumpa" (cursed land) because it was so barren, everyday miracles have transformed the farm into the first and largest organic farm in the Philippines.

Up to now, I get goosebumps when I remember the story behind the irrigation they built within the farm. It was actually inspired by Isaiah 43:19-21 which says,

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."

Remember, the land was barren and dry but they miraculously found a water system from within the property. Through bayanihan, the irrigation is now one of the farm's beautiful attractions.



LAC Farm has transformed "lowly" farmers to their very own business partners. They taught the farmers the basics of the business through an output-based scheme and virtual business simulation. Now, they are able to operate on their own self-directed teams. The famers' personal income have gone up 200 to 400% and, because of this, they are now able to send their children to school and build better homes. Meanwhile, the local Aeta community in Doña Josefa, Nueva Ecija not only learned how to gain income from lagundi farming but also to preserve their ancestral land through reforestation.

In a nutshell, everyone wins in this business set-up. LAC Farm provides organic produce, consumers get to buy all-natural products, farmers uplift their lives, and the land is improved because of the farms environmental practices.

You can view more photos from the LAC Farm tour here.


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Right now, my laptop is a vital tool in my career. That's why I almost lost my sanity the other day when it died down on me. I thought the computer crashed which only meant me losing all my files but, no. It literally died down on me because it lost power. I didn't notice that I run out of battery juice because I knew I kept it plugged in . Turns out, my laptop adapter had broken wires.

I knew I had to buy a laptop adapter right away but it would cost me 3K just to replace it with an original. Even the universal laptop adapters cost around a thousand bucks. I decided to repair it instead. I cracked the housing open, cut the broken wires, reconnected it, and voila! It's back up and working! Of course, I only had to seal it with an electric tape for lack of a heat shrink tubing. What's important is that it works! I definitely saved myself a thousand bucks for that!


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