Friday and Saturday

There's a light at each end of this tunnel,

You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again
If you'd only try turning around.
- Anna Nalick, "Breathe (2AM)"

Day 70

Rains don't normally make me sad, but the on/off rains all days of the week is now starting to make me blue. I am starting to feel bad about not being to do my morning walks, but of course, it's Mother Nature's choice to cry if she wishes to, I just hope she'd stop crying for a while.

For a few afternoons now, brother and I have been walking to the market to buy ingredients for our dinner. Sure felt nice walking with him because he walks faster than I am. Anyway, I am slowly going back to regular programming, but I only allowed myself to do the Hip Hop Abs Cardio as I don't want to shock my body. I still could feel that itty bitty tummy pain, but it was something I can manage.

By the way... when I opened this day, something "shocking" was on my list of blog comments to approve (I just took the screen shot today so it reads "two days ago"). It was a type of comment that would shoot me to the moon, but it didn't. Well, not because I don't believe it (this comment is actually legit and the bloggers mentioned did go to the HK Disneyland because of them. Why this comment didn't make me uber happy? Well, first... not only don't I have a passport, I also prefer to discover my own country before I go out (take me to either Batanes or Biri Island in Leyte and I'd be the happiest travel blogger), and second... I found out that many Filipino travel bloggers received such messages and to be chosen for this kind of "gig" would go through rigorous tasks and they would consider statistics (GPR, number of visits, subscribers, etc). I do know that my travel blog isn't up to par to some of the Pinoy travel blogs, so even if I attempt to submit my credentials, I don't have what it takes to be chosen. Maybe in time... but I still am a baby travel blogger.

Food? Well, I wasn't able to take a decent picture of any of my food today, so let me just share the list:

• 8:03am - 2 pieces sliced White loaf bread (toasted) + thin spread of Magnolia Lite margarine
• 1:35pm - 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup Sauteed Green Beans (green beans - thinly sliced, diced chicken breast, sauteed in garlic, onions, and tomatoes; seasoned with salt and pepper)
• 7:20pm - 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup Sauteed Green Beans (green beans - thinly sliced, diced chicken breast, sauteed in garlic, onions, and tomatoes; seasoned with salt and pepper)
• 9:01pm - 1 Yakult
  

Total Cups of Water: 15
Normally, I'd cooked my sauteed vegetables with ground pork, but since I am no longer eating pork, switching to chicken breast is a good way of keeping things healthier. Mom went out with friends (Friday night out), so we didn't cook what we bought, I decided to just reheat my leftover from lunch and shared the rest to brother.
Three things that made me happy today:

1. One of our neighbors saw me and the first thing she said was, "Oo nga, nag-slim ka na!" Well, we may be next-door neighbors, but we don't get to see each other everyday and we could only know updates through Facebook; she wanted to lose weight, too, but never had the time for it... I guess she saw my picture and seeing me in person confirmed what was on the picture. She did ask me what I did, but when I told her everything I did, she quickly gave up and say she can't do what I did. I feel sorry for her, but I felt proud of myself because I am way too heavier than she is, but I had more strength and endurance to do it.
2. When mom came home, she handed me two bags and asked which one I think looked better. I went for the black one (will share on my personal blog tomorrow), and she just said, "It's yours then." Oh-Em-Gee! Well, it's not an expensive bag to begin with - she said she bought it at the Surplus Shop, but she didn't want to say how much. I am not sure if this was a reward for anything (maybe for the weight lost, maybe for the hearty talk we had the night before), but I was happy about it.
3. Pipoy calling me while on his way to work. 'Nuff said.

Day 71

Sister's day off was switched to Saturday, so us girls went to the Tiangge to shop... er, window shopping that is. My sister's so ready to shop, but like Pipoy said, I am such a frugal person that I just wanted to enjoy the day checking shops to see what they have to offer and will just come back once I gave it some thought. Things on my list to buy include: a dress, a pair of shoes (to go with the dress), and a pair of flip flops for usual walk around. I wasn't able to see a store that sells dresses, but we saw a shoe store that carry interesting designs. The brown shoe (right picture) was something I wanted sister to wear - quite affordable for 400 pesos, but we didn't settle for anything just yet. We found another store that sells shoes with more interesting designs (from Korea) - something we get to see from online stores on Facebook, but their shoes were quite expensive at 650 pesos (last price at 500). Like I said, we just did window shopping, we would make our choice a few days before Christmas. Based on what I saw, I plan to buy a pair of wedge shoes, a pair of flip flops, some brassiere, and cosmetics (mostly Human ♥ Nature).

By the way, mom's closest friend from the church org (tita Lisa) came by because they would attend a birthday party (for lunch). She gave mom a bag of clothes from the US, given by her sister. The clothes were too big for tita Lisa so she gave it to mom and while waiting for mom to come home (before we go to the tiangge), we checked the clothes. Most were size 12, there was a size 14 skirt and a size 16 dress. Sister asked me to try on the size 12 one and obviously, the skirt could only go up to my thighs, but the size 14 skirt I was able to fit into. The size 16 dress looked just fine for me (but the strap needs a little adjustment as it was a little big). Wow. When I started losing weight, I was about size 18... now I can confidently wear size 16 and with a little effort, I can fit into size 14. Well, I do remember wearing a size 14 dress when I graduated in High School and I was about 72kls. back then, so I still can't claim the size 14 slot, I still am a size 16. Even so, dropping sizes felt really good!

Aunt and her family visited us (to get the remaining money they were asking mom), and I got to see them earlier this year, and all of them said I did lose weight; my aunt actually told me I am no longer fat. Hahaha. Well, she is my favorite aunt (mom's side) and she always sees me as someone pretty and sexy, so I allowed myself to bask in the glory of losing 19lbs.


What I ate today -

• 7:36am - 1 piece sliced White Bread (toasted) + thin spread of Magnolia Lite margarine
• 11:53am - 1 cup Chunky Chicken Pasta (spaghetti, shredded chicken breast, minced carrots cooked in chunky tomato sauce)
• 7:59pm - 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup Ginataang Sitaw at Kalabasa (Yard long beans and squash cooked in coconut milk, seasoned with salt and pepper), 1 crab (claws, covering shell, and fat removed)
• 9:04pm - 1 Yakult

Total Cups of Water: 13 + 2 tall glasses of water while at Pizza Hut

I mentioned Pizza Hut. Well, mom and sis decided to eat snacks at Pizza Hut since McDonald's was full, but for some reason, I told them, "It's not my time to eat yet, I'd just sit and watch you eat." Well, we did talk about some things, which helped me not to give in to the cravings. They had a serving of Lasagna and a regular size of Supreme Pizza with Sausage stuffed-crust. They took home the remaining slices of pizza for brother. I was thankful I didn't eat the snacks... I wasn't able to exercise well this week, the least I can do for myself was to eat less.