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1.
I’m super happy with my current reads. So far, I’ve finished 2 books (Born a Crime and The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and both were easy 5-star reads. My goal each year is to read 1 book a month, and I’m pretty much on track.
Yayy available na sa Libby
Right now, I’m switching it up with fiction and I’m currently reading The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez. I’m really enjoying it. The kilig is kiliging. People on the internet say that if you love Emily Henry’s books, you’ll probably like Abby Jimenez too—and it looks like they’re right. I’m picky with romance novels so I’m glad to have found another reliable author for my romance fix besides Emily Henry.
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As someone na ang favorite love language to receive ay words of affirmation, pakiramdam ko hindi ako ganun ka-satisfied kasi hindi natural kay Kenneth ang pagiging expressive. Napagusapan na naman namin ‘to, pero talagang may mga bagay na hindi kayang pilitin. Okay lang. Na-accept ko na. Kaya naman pag nakaka-receive ako ng compliments from other people, SOBRANG nakakataba ng puso. And because words of affirmation rarely come my way, sinunod ko yung napanood kong idea na gumawa ng album sa phone, with screenshots of messages from people expressing their appreciation and sending uplifting statements.
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Ahoy,
As an aging woman, ang bilis kong mabudol pag nakakakita ako ng mga skincare product reviews. I am not blessed with great skin, so I do what I can to improve, or at least maintain my current skin situation. To be honest, sa lahat ng ginamit kong serums and moisturizers, wala naman akong nakitang drastic change na nangyari. I think skincare barely does anything at all (despite that, I’ll still share the new stuff I got later). I think it probably just delays the inevitable. At this point, I keep up with my routine not because I expect miracles, but because I worry that if I stop, it will just accelerate the inescapable process of skin aging.
Skincare while watching the remaining chicks (RIP chick #1 😢)
As far as vanity goes, I won’t really try hard or spend so much money on procedures just to look like I’m still in my 30’s. I’ve also read about the harmful effects of botox, so I’m not trying that either. I only have one goal when it comes to aging: I just don’t want to look older than my husband.
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Medyo napagastos tayo nitong week na ‘to pero okay lang, masaya naman. But first, the best buy and bye-bye of the week:
Best Buy
We’re having so much fun playing this board game: Sky Team. It’s a two-player co-op game where you play the pilot and co-pilot with the objective of landing the plane safely with no casualties. I read that a real pilot was consulted in the development of this game, and that it’s so well-made, it won several awards already—I’m not surprised. Ang dami ring possible scenarios, plus may upgrades pa na pwedeng idagdag dun sa basic board (already included in the box) para hindi nakakasawa. Meron din syang separate expansion pack (Sky Team Turbulence) pero mukang hindi pa namin sya kelangan anytime soon since ang dami pa naming hindi nata-try na scenarios.
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For days now, I’ve been ignoring my pelvic pain—maybe even weeks, I’m not sure. My constant pelvic pain is a reminder that I have endometriosis, something that probably won’t ever go away. Ten years of having this condition (going through two palliative surgeries and tons of hormone-altering pills and injections), medical science still doesn’t have much to show for it. The most I could do is get regular ultrasounds just to make sure those pesky cysts remain manageable in size (I hate that they’re also called ‘chocolate cysts’ because I love chocolates).
I try to ignore this pain as much as I can because it stirs up feelings of hopelessness and sadness. And when I feel those things, they only add more stress to my body, which in turn brings more harm since stress worsen the symptoms of endometriosis. So I ignore away. When the pain is sudden and intense, that’s the only time I unwillingly acknowledge the pain because ignoring it is impossible. But as soon as it dies down, I go right back to ignoring it, thinking what I’m doing is for the best.
Sobrang distracted ko panonood ng Crybaby unboxing videos nung mga nakaraang araw na andami kong na-postpone na little tasks, like this monthly recap. Ngayon medyo nag-settle down na yung obsession ko sa Crybabies, but it got replaced by a live feed of bald eagle parents feeding their eaglets. Sooo cute! And I really can’t believe it! Nagugulat na lang si Kenneth pag napapasigaw ako ng malakas.
“AHHHH! OOOMMMMGGGG!!”
“Bakit?”
“NAG-HATCH NA RIN YUNG PANGATLONG EGG!!!”
“Sabi na nga ba eh.”
Cute!!!
The first year I tuned in, bugok yung eggs. None of the three eggs hatched. It was quite heartbreaking. The following year, the same thing happened. Then this year, I was barely tuning in (to avoid another heartbreak) when I saw on my feed that the eggs were starting to hatch! Agghhh! I’m just so happy—that I can’t help writing about it in Ramblings #52. The feeling was just too intense. What an amazing thing to witness. I love watching the feeding sessions and wanting to make sure that all three eaglets are being fed equally (as dominant eaglets tend to get the majority of the food). Okay, I’ll stop with the eagle talks now and get on with last month’s recap.
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We’re two months into the year, and I think I’ve found a planner system that works for my personality. It’s not overwhelming, it’s simple, but not boring (well, at least for me). Also, I say planner, but it’s really an all-in-one notebook. There’s the planning side of things in there, but it’s also my journal, my commonplace book, and more. Again, I’m using the Hobonichi Day-Free in A6 size, housed in a cover that’s also from Hobonichi. On their website, they described this cover design as cats of different breeds and sizes chatting happily with each other and saying, “Listen, listen!”
My planner’s home on its second yearThe very first page
With the yearly view, it pretty much remained the same as last year. I have my color key and my Zebra Mildliners to mark the dates.
Also marked last year’s travels on the right page
I used to make and sell my own stickers. I no longer operate that small sticker shop, that’s why I have plenty of inventory left—some of them I use so they won’t go to waste. One design is this sticker sheet with pastel-colored mini round stickers that are transparent. Those are what I used here to mark the beginning of each new month:
These stickers have barely visible defects, glad I didn’t throw them out.I don‘t know what the gray for is yet. Last year, I think I used them to mark my sick days.
The next page is my ‘call log’ spread. Speaking of making my own stickers, maybe 2 years ago, I had this idea of creating stickers of my family members for this spread. Thankfully, I printed plenty of extras so I can still use them for this year. But now that we no longer have a printer and I gave away my Cricut machine, I have no idea what to do when I ran out of these. The idea of buying a Cricut machine and a printer just for this seems illogical. But I really like looking at their faces whenever I flip to this spread! 😍
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Gleniz da Menace 