Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Perfect Combination

After I gave birth, I just felt that everything on my face was so dry (like it had been drained of all its youthful moisture), and that everything just wasn't as firm as it used to be.  To top it all off, I am only 32!  Everybody was telling me that your body will never be the same again after giving birth...and in some ways they are correct....it won't, but it's a battle I'm waging now to try to get some of it back.

(excuse the snake, i thought it may give the 'Post' photo a fighting chance)

So I decided to try some new skin care products that claim to provide firmer, fairer, and blemish free skin.  An added bonus is that they are all natural, all organic products!  I used Guava Facial wash, Rose Hips cream, and Lemongrass Toner from the 'All Organics' brand.


Guava Facial Wash
The guava facial wash comes in foam form, the liquid is clear, and the smell is clean and fresh.  I noticed immediately a lightening of my skin after just a few days using this product.  I use it day and night.   It's also handy enough to bring with you on trips. I think the 60 ml in a foamer bottle costs just a little over P150.  300ml refills cost P300.

Lemongrass Toner

After the facial wash, I use the Lemongrass toner.  The toner is made out of 100% all natural ingredients.  It comes in a spray bottle and the liquid is a cloudy white.  It needs to be shaken before use.  The scent  is really Lemongrass!  I guess it was designed to be sprayed onto the face and left to dry, hence the spray bottle.  However, it just doesn't feel like a Toner to me unless I swipe it on using a cotton ball.  At first I worried that I wasn't getting enough product on my cotton ball so I had to spray it a couple of times.   But you really don't need a lot of product for you to see the effects.  I noticed that my skin feels more refined, as if my pores got tighter after only a few days of using this.  

Rosehips Cream


 The Rosehips Cream is the most potent product of the three.  Of the three products this one promises the return of youthful skin.  I expected it to be very heavy and so had planned to use it as a night cream only.  In fact, the manufacturer suggests to use it at night only.  However, I was surprised to find it very light but also very emollient.  So I'm able to use it both day and night.  During the day I use a small portion of it under my tinted sunblock.  I found my skin to be firmer and less dry after using it for a few days.  I worried that my skin would become oily, but it never did.  Instead my skin became soft to the touch, losing the slight abrasiveness that I suffered during and right after pregnancy.

So here I am, about a month into using the above products and I love the way I look.  Here's a picture of me and my son taken a week ago, sans make up and glowing!  



Now...can anyone recommend a good eye cream??? :)

The above products can be purchased at Pickled Cucumber

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Geek Trip: Mighty Beanz

I was on a routine site visit with my colleagues a few weeks ago when one of them told me about this new toy her son is so OBSESSED about...Mighty Beanz! Her son collects them, races them, trades them, etc! So the geek in me got so intrigued! Intrigued enough to go to Rustan's and purchase a few just to see if I get inspired enough to collect them. And this is what I found:



They're little plastic beans, with little metal balls inside that causes them to twitch and jump. They also have colored film on them that give each of them a special character.  The ones above, from L to R, top row first, - Astronaut Bean, Drill Sergeant Bean, Football Bean, Musketeer Bean, Hotdog Bean, Bloodhound Bean, Snowboard Bean, and Karate Bean!  Beans are either common, rare, or ultra rare.  From the few packs that I got, I got mostly commons and one rare - the Drill Sergeant Bean.  You can only get rare beans from the multi-packs, and you can only get the ultra rare beans from the six packs.


I think they are a great collectible!  And fun for kids 5 years old and above to collect, trade, and play with!  Plus each bean is only P49.75 so it won't break the bank for Mommy and Daddy.

So far I've only seen them in Rustans but will keep a look out on where else they can be purchased!  Mighty Beans were created and manufactured by Moose Enterprise, in Australia.

Monday, June 6, 2011

The Shiny New Toy

So last weekend Caleb got a few shiny new toys! Chuck & friends from Tonka!  We got him all five small trucks - Chuck the Dump Truck, Handy the Tow Truck, Tucker the PickUp Truck, Rowdy the Garbage Truck, and Boomer the Fire Truck!  Here's a picture of the five of them together!
www.hasbro.com

Caleb loved playing around with his new trucks! He just loves things with wheels!  It's great that we have five of them coz Caleb now likes to throw things!  So at least he will go through five before we have to go and clean them up.




Hey...and Mommy got a new toy too...

I love it!

Addicted to angry birds!



Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Frontseat Romance

This morning, my husband and I were on our way to work, when we noticed the couple in the blue car in front of us kissing. So at first I thought it was cute (this was right before we entered McKinley Road from Fort Bonifacio), then when they just kept on kissing I thought...hmmm...(this was about a minute into McKinley road), then when they kept coming back for more I thought...'Get a room!' (this was about the time we reached Santuario de San Antonio)...then when we saw the guy licking his lips...I thought...eeww.

So note to self and to everyone, the car is not exactly private space.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Caleb's Reads: My Many Colored Days

We got this book as a gift from Caleb's Tita Lexi.  It talks about how days have colors and how each color corresponds with a feeling.  It teaches kids how it's ok to FEEL, and that no matter how many different feelings you experience, no matter how angry or sad or happy or lazy you are...you're still YOU.


"My Many Colored Days" takes the reader safely and painlessly through several transformations of colorful and wonderfully illustrated spreads.  The writing is lyrical and rhyming. It piques the reader's creativity as it encourages the reader to become a red horse, or a yellow bee, or a gray owl, or a brown bear in order to express the feeling of each color.  There's even one spread where the reader becomes all the colors together in a happy confusion of feelings. 

I've often wondered how I will teach Caleb to deal with anger or fear.  Right now, at 9 months he's just happy most of the time and when he wants something and doesn't get it fast enough he cries.  It's easy to anticipate his needs and read his cues.  However, I know separation anxiety will start soon.  Pretty soon he will know those feelings of anger and fear.  Why is Mommy leaving again?  Will Mommy come back?  How do I re-assure him that Mommy needs to leave for work but every night she comes back again.  "My Many Colored Days" is a book both of us enjoy and it helps me, subliminally, communicate to him that feelings of anger and fear are just part of growing up.


How Do You Tie Your Shoes?

We all grew up tieing our shoes in a certain way...but are you doing it the right way.  This 3 minute video shows us that there is a strong form and a weak form of everything we do.   Sometimes we overlook the simplest things...but a stronger shoe knot will keep us from stumbling over our own laces and keep us standing tall.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

What Inspires Me

So what would inspire a 30 something Mom with a 9 month old son, who works full time in probably one of the most difficult professions (business development) to start a blog?  I actually went back and forth on this one.  I thought about being 'ningas cogon' - starting something, hitting it with all I've got for a while, and then losing speed so fast and being forgotten.  It's happened to me before, to many of us I'm sure.  I hope it will be different for me this time around.  This time I’ve got a couple of things to keep my fingers typing away, like the proverbial feather on parchment with ink blots every few strokes.

My husband Alain.  It’s been almost 11 years since we met in Bacolod.   I can say without a doubt that he is the most important person in my life.  We maintained a long distance relationship for 7 years!  (Not something I would recommend to most people…but if you find yourself in an LD situation email me!)  Now that we’re married he takes care of me, and when you’re as busy as I am…it feels good to be taken care of.



My son Caleb.  He’s almost a toddler now but I remember when he was just a thought in our minds.  We wanted to get pregnant so badly and couldn’t.  And so about two years after we got married, when we finally did get pregnant, we felt so blessed.  Even more so when Caleb was born…perfect in every way.


The generosity of those who share.  I’ve been an avid reader of many blogs (most especially during those bed rest days when I had nothing to do but ‘lay’).  I’m astounded by the creative ability, the capacity to share, and the aptitude of the Filipino bloggers.  They are amazing.  I used the word ‘generous’ because that’s the best adjective I could think of to describe their willingness to give of themselves and to share with others what they know.   So here’s a sample of the bloggers and groups who I have religiously followed, (they don’t know I’m quoting them here but I hope somehow they find this post):


I first read Neva's blog when I was still pregnant with Caleb.  I was on bed rest because I had asthma and of course the ever 'pispita' mommy that I am I was planning Caleb's baptism party already.  I stumbled upon Neva's blog to read her supplier ratings. 

Little did I know she was the Neva from way back N@W days, when we were both Mimi & Karl clients!  I love the rubber duck with hearts!

I knew I wanted to nurse Caleb exclusively, hopefully at least for a year.  Jenny's blog helped me muddle through all my breastfeeding questions and helped encourage me to continue even when I started working.  Happily, Caleb is still on 100% breastmilk until now and this is the post that helped me do it.


I read Frances' blog because it was fun reading about her opinions and seeing her try out so many different products for Vito.  The first time I read her blog was when I was trying to decide whether to give birth in Makati Med or St. Luke's Global.  I read her post then on St. Luke's.  I eventually gave birth in Makati Med at the advice of my O.B. though and was very happy with my experience there.



Lori Baltazar's blog is the epitome of a well written, well thought out, and well documented blog.  Her professional approach at blogging, her amazing pictures, and  her prose makes for a really good read!


There was a time when before we went out for Sunday lunch with my family we would first check which resto Anton was reviewing.  :)  We wanted to try every single one.  Now, whenever there's a new resto in town we would still check Anton's blog, to see if he's been there, what he ate there, and what he thought of the place.  

So there...hope this is the start of a long and meaningful relationship with Pispita's World.