Sunday, December 11, 2022

My favorite Lazada finds (plus: a peek at my cart!)

Last huge sale of Lazada tonight at midnight and tomorrow kasi 12.12 na! Hindi 'to sponsored post (I wish!) but I'm on the shopping site right now, adding stuff to cart like crazy. 

So, andito na rin lang ako - and bet ko kayo rin hehe - share ko what my favorite Lazada finds are. Sorry, no actual pictures of the products I have. This post is kinda spontaneous kasi. If you like, leave a comment if you want me to do a review of a specific item. Basta lahat ng fave finds ko, I really bought and I recommend as great gifts for yourself or your loved ones. 

Here they are!

EMS Sports Sets (sports bra and high waist shorts) for yoga, running, fitness for women

I bought a lot of colors because for only P220 a set, okay siya! Very stretchy and yet I feel na contained lahat ng flabs ko. Love the wide waistband. It doesn't roll down kahit malaki tummy! Very comfortable! Sulit sobra lalo na kung araw-araw ang exercise niyo. Buy one set for every day!

My one dislike: Yung light-colored sets, wag niyo bilhin kasi kita kaluluwa niyo. As in. Kaloka, parang hubadera ako. But the dark colors (black, navy blue, forest green), yan, buy those.


Papemelroti Philippine folded hand fan

Okay, so I bought two of these fans (that black one sa picture and the pink jeep one) because I'm perimenopausal and I am overheating like crazy. Even if I'm in a room na naka-aircon, init na init pa rin ako so lagi akong may dalang pamaypay. To avoid looking like a donya, I got these kasi cute ng designs nila, hindi pang-matanda. And patriotic. And sobrang good gift idea this Christmas! 


Golden bamboo handle barber scissors set

Mine are actually silver, not gold, but out of stock na the set I bought so I'm featuring this golden one. If you follow me on social media, you'd know I learned to cut hair during quarantine. No choice! After endless YouTube video tutorials, I got brave enough to try it and I've been cutting my hair and the hair of my husband and sons for the last 2 years. #proud #achievementunlocked #supermama #levelupskills

Try it! Laking tipid. Hindi pwede ang basta-basta na scissors. Kailangan barber's scissors talaga. And I highly recommend this set. 



Oh, I left a review for this purchase on the listing so I'll just copy and paste my photo and review:

I love how the serum pads soothed my skin, which was inflamed by maskne. I even used the pads all over my body (after I used them on my face, there was still so much product left). And my skin felt so hydrated. 

The stretchmark cream is thick and creamy but easily absorbed. Not too sticky and very moisturising. I don't know if it works yet since I just started, but I like it so far. I'll do a review on the blog soon!



This is soooo nice! Lakas maka-shala ng phone case na ito. I swear, every one who has seen it comments na napaka-yaman ng dating niya and I always trill, "Mura lang yan!" Best of all, di na nahuhulog sa mukha ko yung phone ko dahil may bracelet sa likod. 

Yun ang pros. Yung con? Kailangan naka-manicure ako para bagay kamay ko sa kanya haha 



I just did a review of this! Click here: OMOGS Women's Probiotic supplement for weight loss?! 

A lot of people bought this and emailed me how happy they are with the results. This is possibly my favorite find of 2022!


This is another great find for my health. I've been feeling exhausted and yet sleepless for a couple of years now. One of the changes I made was to take a daily supplement. I chose Kirkland Daily Multi kasi kumpleto talaga siya. As in lahat-lahat-lahat! After a few weeks of taking this, I didn't feel so tired anymore (must be the iron), my skin improved (biotin, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C and E), and I just felt healthier and stronger.  


LifeFood EstroG-100 (oh, this was gifted!)

I love this drink! It did so much for my sex life!!! Yes, since we're all friends here, we can talk about how perimenopause makes women dry up down there. Which makes sex uncomfortable, diba. Yes, even if you use KY, dropping estrogen levels makes women lose interest in sex anyway. Then there are the hot flashes, the anxiety, the insomnia... What fresh hell. Ang hirap maging babae!!!

LifeFood EstroG-100 acts like phytoestrogen. So aside from my perimenopause symptoms easing, I also found myself suddenly super interested in sex again! And dry vagina? What's that??? Thing of the past. This drink has saved my marriage! Try it!!!   


Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

This is such a good book! It's just maps but explained so well that I had a vast new appreciation and understanding of culture, why countries behaved in certain ways (in war and peace), and why we should worry or not worry about certain countries invading others. It doesn't read like a textbook at all. Very friendly and conversational. I just wish the maps were in color!

So there it is! My list of my favorite Lazada finds this year! Highly recommended. Just click the product names for the affiliate links to buy!

And in case you want to buy stuff for me (hehehe), here's a sneak peek at just six things that are in my cart (I have 138!):

SHOES!


This is actually a rip-off of Meghan Markle's favorite Aquazurra heels. I can't afford the original but I super am obsessed to own this pair!


Because it's a classic. This comes in seven colors and I want them all!


DRESSES!


Because I like classic styles and polka dots.



I actually have a similar dress that my Mama had in the '70s. It holds good memories for me and Vince (I was wearing it the week we fell in love). I still have it but it's very fragile now so when I saw this, I have to have it.


BOOKS!

I want to read about how Roxane Gay's reshaping her feminist views. I can totally relate because I was raised in a toxic masculine/toxic feminine household and so I know I have very traditional views in here somewhere. Becoming feminist is the greatest thing to happen to me, but I realize that it's an evolving process. I have to arrest thoughts from my upbringing and mindfully change them. I think this book will help me!  


I have heard so much about this book but I've never read it! It's all about the Wild Woman - the woman who is passionate, instinctive, creative, wise, and courageous. Basically, all girls are born wild but society tames us ruthlessly so that we become meek and silent. My gulay. Uso pa ba yan??? This book is all about reminding women to claim back their power, to not be ashamed of their passion and love, to trust their instincts and innate wisdom, and to be proud to be women! 

Gosh, just writing that gave me goosebumps (or horripilation - did you know that's the technical term? It sounds horrible haha). I have to read this book! 

Anyway, shopping starts at midnight! What's in your cart???
Typed away by a bleary-eyed at No comments:
Filed under: , , , ,

Sunday, December 04, 2022

Ang mahal na ng gulay grabe! Plus, 5 tipid tips

Well, doing the grocery is crazy these days. This is half a cabbage head for P95 and it's the size of my hand.


I have small hands. So that's not a lot of cabbage for that price.

Here are 4 small onions that fit in my hand. These cost almost P80. The secret of my delicious meals pa naman is lots of onion and garlic! They add that umami taste without the need for MSG. But now, kailangan i-ration ang bawang at sibuyas. 


I understand that the world is going into a recession so life is going to get harder, if it isn't already. This year's been financially tough on us because of my medical situation a few months ago. But I'm not going to lose hope. I'm just going to keep looking for a better and more stable job. Wish me luck!

Yeah, being an entrepreneur in these times is not working out for me anymore, unlike in 2012-2017, when the economy was so strong and the country had huge money reserves under the Aquino administration that buoyed us up even when we had a change of government. But now we're drowning in debt again and will continue to be dragged down into the depths if the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) gets approved. 

The MWF is not a new concept. Many countries have also set up a sovereign wealth fund (SWF). It's a great way to preserve the transfer of a nation's wealth from one generation to the next and to stabilize macroeconomics. But the MWF bill is frighteningly not the same. According to Businessworld, here's just one reason of many: 



Grabe, hindi pa nga resolved ang PhilHealth P15-billion corruption scandal under the Duterte administration, may nahanap na namang pagkakataon ang bagong gobyerno na nakawan tayo, this time using the pension funds, among others. Sana kilatisin talaga ng Senado ang bill na yan. But with pressure from the president himself, the bill speedily approved by Congress may be a law by next week.  

Scary. Even the president's sister said it's a bad idea.

But I'm going to trust our Senate will do a good job! Pray for them please.

Anyway, today I'll share how I cook our meals with tipid tips I learned growing up in a 10-member household that had a P100 daily budget. Syempre, this was decades ago! And yes, that was my job - feed 10 people for just P100 a day. Here are a few tips:


1. Cut your veggies finely. Not naman minced, mga tiny cubes lang. Same with meat. More mileage yan hehe

2. Cut off the fat from your pork and fry that first. And that's now your cooking oil! May instant homemade chicharon ka pa after!

3. Make masabaw na ulam. Tinola, nilaga, sinigang, ganyan. Soups go a looooong way.

4. Buy canned and frozen vegetables! Mas mura. Don't be afraid of canned and frozen produce. They are processed immediately after harvest so their goodness is preserved. And you don't have to worry about your fresh veggies rotting in case you were too busy to cook.

5. In case you do have veggies that are wilting in the ref, gawin mong vegetable soup. I like roasting them and then blitzing in the blender with chicken stock. Or just roast them and meron ka nang delicious side dish! Pwede mo rin gawing atsara. 


And here's my tomato soup recipe. But replace the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes roasted in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Sigh.

I'm tired of having grit and being resilient. Yes, it's an amazing quality to have. I want my kids to have these. But they also mean that life is so hard and we've had to bear it and do what we can to survive. But, honestly, in our country, life doesn't have to be hard all the time. Look at how Pasig and Iloilo are doing so well - proof that when a city is free of corruption and is transparent and accountable (no to confidential and intel funds!), the people benefit so much.  

Let's not be resilient anymore. Let's demand accountability, transparency, honesty. Let's demand that all of our taxes work for us and us alone. Let's demand that the government we elected be true public SERVANTS, serving us instead of themselves. Grabe, Pilipinas, ilang dekada na tayong ganito. Mangarap naman tayo at gumawa ng totoong pagbabago. Kakasawa na. Kakasuka na.

Good luck to us all. Don't worry about me, by the way! We're still fine. I'm just trying to be more frugal these days. Buti na lang we have family and wise investments that helped us. Still, I'm in the middle of a job search because we would like very much to be able to breathe a little. Pray for me! 

Pray for us all.  
Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 2 comments:
Filed under: , , ,

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Blood, books, boys, and my birthday: A busy life update!

Hello, my dear Loyal Readers! I disappeared! My last post here was early October and lookie here - it's almost December! What did we miss???

Well, I missed you, that's for sure. I've always enjoyed sharing my stories here on the blog because you share your stories, too! And then I don't feel so alone. Thank you! But since I've been quiet, we haven't been talking. And I miss you all!

So let me tell you what's been up with me. I'm sharing some posts from my Instagram because I do a few life updates there. So follow me @francesampersales! But I'll do a summary here as well. 

First, some of you emailed or DM'd to ask about my literally bloody predicament in my last life update (School, Sex, Blood & Books). Thanks for asking! I'm better now. Not bleeding anymore. Huge relief considering I was bleeding profusely from August to October. What hell! I had to have a D&C so that the gynecologist can rule out scary diseases. 

Thankfully, I'm just perimenopausal. My reproductive system is okay, just acting up because I'm an old woman. What a relief! But it was a truly stressful week worrying about cancer. I switched birth control and after a few weeks adjusting to the shot, I'm sooo happy. No more blood!

Then right after I got out of the hospital, I was busy supporting my husband and the launch of his novel, The End of All Skies. It's gotten good reviews on Goodreads, Instagram #TheEndOfAllSkies, and blogs.

We're happy fellow Southeast Asians love the book. I'm hoping it also finds an audience globally. Our mythology is very different from the West, which is familiar with East Asian stories. But Filipino, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Thai, and the rest of the region? No. Even Moana was strange for many people in the West. We need to talk about our own stories because ours is so rich and wild and spectacular!  

Please buy a copy of Vince's novel! If you want a signed copy and a FREE copy of his first book, Children in Exile, order from me! It's P1,050 plus shipping. 

Send me an email - frances@topazhorizon.com. Now na! Thanks!

You can also get a copy from Amazon for $24.90 or download the ebook from Kindle for $13.99.

Anyway, it's not all happy news. My sons' hamsters died. It's been sad and sweet, saying good-bye to the cute critters that made the last 2 years so bearable. We thought we'd have one more year with them (tame hamsters can live up to 3 years), but apparently, their sole purpose was to keep my quarantined kids happy while the COVID-19 virus raged outside our home. And now that we're all vaccinated and better equipped to face the world, our hamsters went over the Rainbow Bridge, their task done.

Let me tell you that our hearts were so heavy the weeks we waited for the hamsters to pass away. They were old and slow, spending the days just sleeping. The kids were stressed, wondering, "Is this the day?" Finally, the dreaded days did arrive. My boys were so sad. I was sad, too, because I was the main caretaker of those hamsters! We comforted each other. And it's been 5 weeks but my youngest boy just told me as I'm blogging, "Mama, I miss Chocnut."

Gosh, we love you and miss you, Choccy and Spoody. Thanks for the joy! 

Then I turned 46!

I didn't do anything special. I was recovering from my health scare, neck-deep in homeschooling, trying to write my werewolf romance novel, looking for a job (which means no budget for any big celebrations!), and being a mom and wife. I was exhausted! 

But grateful. Always grateful. Thank you so much for the love! Maybe when I turn 47, I'll have pictures to share! 

Oh, another thing that I appreciate is I found out my blog turned up in these lists by Feedspot:

#26 in 80 Best Philippines Mom Blogs and Websites 

#32 in 100 Best Asian Mom Blogs and Websites

#22 in Top 80 Philippines Mom RSS Feed 

Thanks, Feedspot! I didn't even know I had an RSS feed. I'm kinda bewildered by this all since I was never on these lists when I was one of the top mom bloggers in the country way back from 2008 to 2016. Now that I'm hardly blogging and my stats have understandably gone down, my blog gets recognized. And on 3 lists, too!

I'm thankful. That tells me that despite the sporadic posts, I'm still writing good posts. 

That also tells me to blog again! 

I know everyone's on Tiktok now. Apparently, people don't read anymore and just want to watch people dancing and pointing to floating words while smiling and shaking their heads. But that shouldn't stop me from blogging because I'm writing for the ones who do still read. And you are my favorite people. The best kind of all - readers!

I have sooo many stories. Plus, some of you suggested topics or sent questions about my life and marriage so there - more stuff to blog about! So I'll get to that.

Hey, thank you for sticking around. There are so many other blogs and vlogs and social media accounts to follow, yet here you are. Thanks for caring. It means the world to me. You mean the world to me! I love you all! 

Typed away by a bleary-eyed at 3 comments:
Filed under: , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)