Living a Sugar Free Sweet Life

Finally! My house helper is back. This is the first night, after almost a month, that I did not wash the dishes and cleaned the dining area after dinner. This is also the first night that I did not feed the dogs their evening meal. The next time the house boy will be on vacation is in two years, thank goodness!

I cannot afford a day without my trusted house helper considering the amount of workload I have. I have pending wiki articles to finish not to mention the travel posts that I haven't written yet for my other blog. I tell you, I won't need effective weight loss supplements when Junin is on vacation.

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If ever you're wondering why I am not able to update this blog more often, it's because my trusted houseboy is on his month-long vacation. It's his turn to have his much-needed rest after our return from Bacolod. So aside from doing my writing tasks and editing and uploading our vacation photos, I am also trying to keep my sanity intact while keeping the house spic and span. How do I keep sane amidst all the work I have to do? I daydream that I'm back where I was a week ago. And that is in Sipalay, the white beach I wrote about a week ago.

Upon waking up, I realize that there are chores to do even before my boy wakes up for breakfast. I tried walking our enormous American Pitbull this morning and I promised myself never to walk the dog again. My goodness, I almost lost my mind when it slipped itself off its collar! I had the presence of mind to wrap the chain of the leash on his neck until I was able to slip the collar back on again. I cannot imagine what could've been if I wasn't able to put the dog back inside its kennel again. Gah!

It's almost dinner time, I'm glad my mother-in-law cooked dinner for us tonight. Of course, I should wash the dishes after. Hmmm.... maybe I should pretend that I have pretty stone sinks than the boring stainless steel ones I have in my kitchen. I think I'll be like this until Junin gets back.

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Over the weekend, I met up with blogger friends for a writers' meeting. We just signed a 5-month contract as contributing writers for a local website! Actually, it's my second contract for the same local client and that is why I am so happy. At least, I am sure to have a steady stream of writing assignments until July. I am still praying for more writing gigs until my youngest brother graduates in 2011.

Compared to what I earn from my oDesk writing projects, my local client pays more. Besides, I find it better to coordinate with fellow Filipinos than foreign bosses. Not that I'm complaining as I have had the best foreign bosses in oDesk, too!

Tomorrow will also mark the start of our major home renovation project. We were blessed with extra savings this time that we could finally afford to build my dream kitchen and dining area. It would be built as an extension at the right side of our home. That will give our main home more space as we can already transfer the dining table to the extension. We have found a reliable contractor in the person Mang Bobot, a neighbor's relative. We have already seen his past construction projects within our village and he's earned our approval. He's taking care of everything including the coordination of tasks among his pool of workers. At least, we won't need to conduct an employee screening of construction boys anymore. After everything's built, all we would need to do is to buy a new oven and hood. By the way, Mang Bobot's going to build me a kitchen counter that's going to look like a mini-bar.

Oh, I forgot to write about the new 2-seater couch and coffee table set that we ordered last week. It's made to order and will be delivered by March 17. Happy happy, joy joy! Am I excited or what?

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I believe that different scents can affect our moods. There are scents that are calming and there are those that wake all the other senses up. For me, there are certain scents that bring back memories. Like when I remember my grandmother when I smell even the faint scent of a roll of cigar. Or when I remember the place we lived in when I was little when I smell the scent of ylang-ylang flowers in the air. Scents are indeed powerful.

I am such a fan of aromatherapy. I have oil burners positioned in different parts of our home where I burn essential oils depending on the effect I want to have. I only mix two to three drops of essential oils with water and it's enough to last for two hours. You can do this at home, too.

Basically, I recommend that you have bottles of these:

• Lavender - Burn lavender oil before going to sleep to relax and calm the nerves. This is not recommended for pregnant women and people suffering from low blood pressure since the scent can induce blood flow.
• Citronella - Burn citronella oil from late afternoon until night time to ward off mosquitoes.
• Eucalyptus - I burn this oil when my nose is clogged. It's like inhaling Vicks.

The two industrial fans that we bought in 2006 are now starting to conk out and I'm getting frustrated. I thought industrial fans are supposed to be more durable than the less expensive plastic ones. The industrial fans are being used in the living room and in the dining room. Every time I try to use one, I need to get a fork to wind up its blades first to get it to move. Funny but totally frustrating, really.

I am thinking of buying a new fan but I won't waste my time in buying an industrial fan anymore. I think I'll buy the ones with plastic blades this time. At least they are easier to clean, lighter to carry, and are more affordable. It's a pity that I can't even have a Minka Aire ceiling fan because the ceiling in my living room is low. I'm left with no other option but to buy a standfan.

I think we've all read and heard it before: Cleaning up is a dirty job but somebody's got to do it. But I dread the thought that it's general cleaning time once again. Believe me, you can count on me to do every household task including those that include fixing appliances but it will take me weeks before I do a general cleaning. Don't get me wrong. I love a clean house but it's the dust that's turning me off. Expect me to have a wheezing cough after doing a general cleaning. That's what I don't want to happen. Once I get the cough, it will take months before my system totally gets rid it even with medicine and all.

My sister-in-law and her kids are coming over for the holidays from the UK so doing a general cleaning is inevitable. I have a male househelper who does almost everything in the house even the cleaning. But you know, and I know the ladies will agree with me on this, that it is totally different when girls do the cleaning. We ladies can really CLEAN! Besides, I rarely ask the houseboy to clean my stuff and that's the reason why my work area is the most cluttered place in the house and my husband can't do anything about it, haha!

During the occasional times when I do the general cleaning, I use a damp rag to wipe away the dust and mop away the floor. I don't have a vacuum cleaner yet but I think I will have to buy one. Probably, I can get a steam cleaner that is compact and lightweight but it's pricey and I still have to save up for that. The other day, I saw a gel-like cleaning tool in the hardware that worked like a blob sucking the dust from surfaces. The printed text on its cover says that the dust will stay inside the blob and it will not touch the cleaner's hand unlike when you use a regular rag. The name escapes my mind at this moment but it's a good option for me. I just hope that it's not that expensive.

Do you have cleaning tips to share for dust-allergic people like me?

If we have known earlier that our water supply here in our location will not be that abundant, we might have made second thoughts in buying our house. Well, actually, I think ours is just an isolated case. You see, our water supply comes from the local water company but it is coursed through our village administrator. The village administrator adds up maintenance fees and village dues to our bill. This is really not much of a problem for me if only we are not experiencing problems with our water supply.

In the beginning, we have only experienced troubles with our water supply during the summer season. After a few months, we experienced water shortage in the morning probably because most of the neighbors are taking a bath and preparing for work and school. We still experience these periods of shortage up to now.

We have showers both in the first floor and second floor bathrooms but we seldom use them because of this problem. Instead of planning to install a bathtub in our bathroom and replace our fixtures with Kohler faucets, we may have to prioritize setting up a water tank and electric pump first. We just need to verify with our village rules if this is allowed.

Do you experience waterless days in your area, too? How are you coping with it?


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I just finished talking to my sister over the phone and she shared the good news that they may be already leaving for Australia in February. I am so happy for her and her husband because the migration is really part of their long-term plan. Now, the problem is they've already been married for more than a year and over that period they have acquired some appliances and furniture. She told me she's not keen on selling her desktop computer and that she'll just be leaving it to my care. But how about their other things? I guess she will have to box the smaller things up and haul them over to my mom's place.

In my entire married life, we have already made three move outs. The last one was the hardest because we had more things to move to the new place. Although the cardboard moving boxes were a big help, we still had to get rid of the bigger furniture that we cannot use in our new place anymore. I remember how happy the garbage collector was when we gave him Ralph's old mattress. At least someone got to sleep on a more comfy place so I don't feel too bad about that.

As much as I am excited for my sister and brother-in-law, I am also feeling anxious on devising the perfect moving out strategy for them.

I passed by the hardware store last weekend to buy some plumbing supplies for our kitchen sink and I saw a stack of AC filter boxes along the aisle where I was heading to. I was tempted to buy a box for our air conditioner but I did not push through with the purchase. Just like many others, the silent voice inside my head told me that it's not really needed. But is it?

Contrary to popular belief, AC filters are actually essential accessories of air conditioning units. Yes, I know, all air conditioners come with a plastic and net filter that is detachable from the grill and can be washed as needed. Still, that filter is not enough to keep the dust from coming into the unit.

So to convince my self, and yours, of the importance of AC filters, I have compiled a list of reasons why we should buy one now. Here they are:

• AC filters keep your AC running efficiently. Keeping air free of dust makes it flow in and out of the AC unit effectively and electricity is utilized well.
• AC filters allow your AC unit to evenly spread the cool air around the home. By doing this, the AC system tends to work efficiently at a lowered thermostat and lowered energy consumption.
• AC filters lessens the need for repairs. Since your AC breathes in and out efficiently, there will be less chances of damage.

AC filters should be changed as often as needed to prevent indoor air pollution. This is especially needed by homes that are airtight or have poor ventilation. Indoor air pollution may cause allergies and respiratory diseases among the members of the household.

So are you convinced now? Well, I am.

Who ever thought working from home is easy hasn't even tried it yet. As much as I appreciate the times I am able to spend working in bed or in my kitchen, I am now realizing that there's more than there is in being a work-at-home mom.

For one, I need to upgrade my home office furniture. We still need to save up on that. After the major renovations that we made in my son's room, I am left with his old desk and a folding chair. At first, I was happy with how my work station looked like. It was simple and space saving.

Later on, I realized that the old desk and the folding chair doesn't match at all in terms of height. Since the chair cannot be adjusted, I end up getting wrist and back pains after a few hours of typing. My immediate solution would be to prop my laptop on a breakfast tray and work in bed or right smack on the living room carpet.

This cannot go on for long as I am already feeling severe back pains that get too uncomfortable even when I am lying down at night. I'm going to start solving the problem with buying an ergonomic office chair come payday.

Finally! In the past, I have blogged about how we will be starting a summer home renovation project. Thanks to the summer vacation that gave me more time to stay at home and to my handyman slash houseboy, the project is a success! We have constructed Ralph's bed loft and painted the rooms of our home in different colors that showed how young and vibrant our family is!

Here's how Ralph's bed loft looks like:

As you can see, his study area is under one end of the loft. Under the other end is a toy shelf that houses the toys that he rarely use. I am sure that he will now be using his toys more often now that it will be convenient for him to get them unlike in the past. We just bought a sofa bed that can accommodate guests sleeping over. We also installed an exhaust fan on the wall dividing our room and his so we will be sharing our air conditioner instead of us buying a new one. As expected, with the help of the exhaust fan, our 1.5 HP airconditioning unit was able to cool both our bedrooms.

Our bedroom was painted in light pink and magenta. I got to have the final say in the choice of colors in our bedroom. My husband doesn't have a choice but to accept that fact, hahaha! The hallway was painted in salmon, the living room in pastel yellow, and the dining area in light orange.

We have used elastomeric paint on the walls, ceilings, and even on Ralph's wooden bed loft. The paint is odorless although we had to put varnish on the wooden fixtures after it was painted with elastomeric paint to give it a glossy finish. I have done some research about elastomeric paint and, thankfully, I haven't read even a single article that tells of its harmful effect to our health. After learning about the dangers of asbestos and how it brings about Mesothelioma cancer, I have been a little paranoid on how common household products and home construction materials affect our health in the long run.

I am sorry if I can't post pictures of the other parts of the house yet as we are still reinstalling the frames and other furniture that had to be placed in the veranda and the garage while the painting process was going on. I will be posting them soon, I promise.

So, how has your summer been? Has it been as productive as mine?

Ito ang pinagkakaabalahan ko ngayong summer - ang pag-aayos ng kwarto ng aming unico hijo. Nung mabili kasi namin ang bahay ay simpleng simple lang ang mga kwarto. Nagkataong ang kwarto ng anak ko ang pinakamaliit pero may pinakamataas namang kisame. Kaya naisipan namin na gawan siya ng loft para maging tulugan at ang ilalim ay study area naman. Habang ang aking asawa ay nasa opisina, ako naman ang nagsilbing bisor ng aming houseboy cum karpintero. Maya't-maya ay kinukuhanan ko ng litrato para i-email at ma-approve ng aking asawa. Eto ang study desk ng aking anak. Naka-suporta pa ang mga upuan dahil kasalukuyang ipapa-approve pa nga lang at hindi pa nakapako ng permanente. May 3-leveled shelves na ilalagay bandang itaas lang ng power outlet sa pader. Abangan niyo na lang ang kalalabasan!

This is what's keeping me busy this summer - the renovation of my son's bedroom. My son had the smallest room in the house but it's the one with the highest ceiling. We thought of making a loft as his sleeping area and the area below it as his study area. I took pictures every now and then because I needed to email it to my husband who's in the office. He needs to approve the design before my carpenter can permanently hammer the nails in. There will be 3-leveled shelves installed just above the power outlet on the wall. I'll keep you updated on the finished product!