TOPAZ HORIZON

A few months ago, I discovered Gold Seas Tuna—and it's one of my best mom finds this year!

I love tuna. I've loved tuna forever! I make the best spicy tuna sandwich spread. I know because I've not tasted any tuna sandwich better than mine and everyone who's had my tuna sandwich says so, too. I make really amazing tuna and roasted tomatoes pasta. Super quick and easy to make and everyone who's had it thinks it's so gourmet, they get shocked when they find out my tuna's canned. Yes, I'm very mayabang when it comes to my tuna recipes!!!

Maybe one day I'll share the secrets of my super special tuna recipes with you, dearest Loyal Readers. One day, but not today!


Today, I'll share with you the delicious shepherd's pie we made with Chef Rosebud Benitez (the lady at center, with glasses) at The Cookery. With other mommies, I learned to make shepherd's pie with tuna. Not just any tuna but with Gold Seas Tuna Chunks. It is the very best canned tuna in the Philippines, mamas!

• 3 medium potatoes, peeled, chopped, boiled and mashed
• 30g unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 720g jar tomato pasta sauce
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed, chopped
• 150g broccoli, chopped
• 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 cans Gold Seas Tuna in Spring Water, drained, flaked

This post is brought to you by Gold Seas Tuna.

It's the last quarter of 2017! I'm almost 41! I haven't done any real consistent fitness regimens at all this year! This time in 2016, I promised myself that because I'm turning 40, I need to be fit and fab. I was going to use #FrancesFabAt40 and #FrancesFitAt40 to document my journey to fabulosity. Alas, it din't happen, mamas.

I did do more physical work than I ever have this year. But since I wasn't consistent, I guess the effects weren't visible. I do feel stronger. I'm doing things I've not done in decades—briskly walk 3 kms straight, jog, climb stairs without dying, heck, I actually can even run up stairs now! So, yes, I am healthier and more fit, but I also want this new strength to be visible on my body.

Problem is, as a super busy working mama who can't rely on yayas and kasambahays to look after the kids while I go to the gym, I can't go to a gym. So let's do this fitness thing at home!!!

I went on YouTube and found this lovely woman who does exercises at home. Bodibiday deserves more views and subscribers, mama, so let's give those to her. Watch her videos and WORK OUT WITH ME!!!

Okay, so I collected the videos I plan to do every MWF (let's start slooooow) on this blog post so I can just keep going back to this page every time I need to exercise. Here we go!

Because I need to tone my arms. My arms are strong. After seven years of lifting and carrying babies and toddler, lifting heavier loads of groceries and diaper bags, I know my arms are. I just don't like that all those muscles are buried by fat!


Because I have a big belly and a big belly doesn't look nice on a skinny lady. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm pregnant again.


Because I want to lose my back fat. How can I be skinny and have back fat anyway???


Because I want nice wide hips. My hips already widened after three pregnancies but I have these awful things called hip dips.


Because I want a big butt! I used to have a cute butt but when I became a mama, it flattened to pancakes. Whhhyyyyy???


Because I want toned legs. I know my legs are stronger than they've ever been. I run after little boys! I run up MRT steps! I walk everywhere! But they still don't look firm and toned. So I'm doing this.


Okay, yan na muna, mamas. I'll start this week and then I am super hoping that in a month's time, which would be my birthday week, I'll not only feel better, I'll also look better. Good luck to us!

For mamas like me who have asthma, we're familiar with nebulizers. It's one of the best tools to manage asthma attacks. My first nebulization was in my teens, and nebulizers back then were big, heavy and so loud it woke up the dead. I think that's part of the reason I survived my asthma attacks haha

The last time I was confined at the hospital for a deadly asthma attack was 7 years ago.

Joking aside, asthma is serious business. It's life-and-death. A lot of people who don't have asthma never could understand it. I tell them, "Imagine suffocating. Drowning. Being strangled. Still can't fathom it? Then stop telling me to 'Breathe!' because asthma is not being able to breathe, you dimwit!"

Okay, I don't say that last part. All I say actually is, "I will never wish asthma on anyone, not even my worst enemy." It's sobering to always confront one's mortality when you have an attack. Your first thought is, "Where's my inhaler?" If that doesn't work, your second thought is, "Looks like I'm going to die today." You learn how to be calm in the face of death because you've looked at it in the face too many times. And to be honest, I'm not afraid to die anymore, having been on that brink too often. It really isn't so scary. If anything, all I feel is sadness and acceptance—acceptance because we all die and this is how mine will go, and sadness because life is good and I have a wonderful husband and amazing children and I don't want for us to part ever. I really never want to die.

So serious! I'm actually here to tell you about the new OMRON nebulizer!!! OMRON invited me and other mom bloggers to a delicious lunch at Stacy's BGC where we learned about asthma and allergies and how to manage them well. We also found out about the new OMRON Compair Nebulizer System NE-C801 nebulizer.


Like I said, if you have asthma, you know those nebulizers can be very loud. If you're a mama of asthmatic kids, then you know those loud nebulizers scare kids, especially babies and toddlers. Most of them time, the nebulizer upsets them so much, their crying exacerbates their condition. So you beg, plead, bribe, threaten, weep. Usually doesn't work. What we used to do was wait for the kids to sleep before we put the nebulizer as far away from the bed as its cord and air tube allow, muffle our nebulizer behind (not under) a pillow, and then only then do we turn it on. Now that they're older, they've dealt with the noise so this isn't a concern anymore.


With the new OMRON Compair Nebulizer System NE-C801, however, you won't have to worry about scaring your kids anymore. Hooray!!! Here's why I want to buy it:

1. It's so portable.
Well, all nebulizers are portable but the OMRON Compair Nebulizer System NE-C801 is more so because it's so small and it's so light. It's just a little bigger than my hand, about as big as a Polaroid camera. And at 270 grams, it's so light! If ever I need my kids to get it for me, they can carry it. And if I ever need to bring a nebulizer when we travel, I can! It comes in its own nifty little bag that contains two face masks (one for kids and one for grownups) and one mouthpiece.

2. It's efficient.
This little nebulizer uses Virtual Valve Technology, which efficiently compresses the liquid medication and turns it into the finest vapor so that you get most of it into your lungs.

3. It's affordable.
At just P3,280, the OMRON Compair Nebulizer System NE-C801 is not an expensive medical equipment. It's available at leading drugstores. And because it's being launched to the market, for the month of October, it's only P2,980! Bili na, mga mommies!!!


Oh, by the way, my kids don't have asthma—so if you're a mom who thinks this is all useless information, think again! What my kids have is allergic rhinitis. Then when they have a bad cough or cold, their pedia recommends nebulization with saline solution, sometimes with a few drops of decongestant or mucolytic mixed in, to ease their breathing. So even if you and your kids don't have asthma, as long as you have allergies or you get colds and coughs, a nebulizer at home is still a great thing to have.

To know more about OMRON medical devices and how to lead a healthy life, like their Facebook page.

*This post is brought to you by OMRON. Photos courtesy of OMRON Facebook page. 

Too many things have been happening these past few months (hence, the absence from the blog!) but one of the very best that happened was my Vito's birthday last August. Seven years old! Seven years of absolute joy, my friends. Absolute joy!


I won't share so much about my 7-year-old son. He's aware of social media and he's aware of his right to privacy (they discussed it in school). But he allows me to post his photos now and then, sometimes he even tells me to take his picture, checks it if it (and the caption haha) meets his approval, and then he tells me to show it to my friends on the internet. He told me recently we can share a few photos from his birthday because he wants the world to know he's 7.

Seven! Where did the time go? I grabbed him a few days after his birthday and gathered him into a tight hug. I didn't say anything but he hugged me back and said, "Don't worry, Mama. I'll be your baby forever."

This kid! He always knows how to squeeze my mama heart!


Okay, enough about him. I don't want to spill too much about what a wonderful boy he is and that he's doing so well in school, and he's such a good older brother, and that he's incredibly smart and talented, and that I wish I can tell you every single detail about how this boy makes me so proud!!!

Let's talk about his mini birthday party instead!


Vito wanted a rainbow cake from Red Ribbon. Every time the TV commercial went on, he yelled, "Mama, come and see my cake! This is the birthday cake I want!" So off went his Papa to the mall and got him a rainbow cake, which actually just had three colors, but the boys didn't mind at all. They liked that it had candy lollipops.


Vito also had a short list about the gifts he wanted. Minecraft was on top of his list. He's crazy good at building amazing worlds in Minecraft. He even built me a pink-and-orange house and a village, too, so I can shop. That kid, always thinking about me!


Anyway, we got him a Minecraft set and his cousin got him the exact same set so Vito had two. So, being the silly kids that they are, he and his brothers decided to make one set a cake topper.

We had cake then he opened the rest of his gifts. Then we went to Landers because we had to do the grocery, and Vito, always the good sport, didn't complain and instead rejoiced that he can have his favorite pizza (Landers has really good pizza and chicken). Then we went home so he could rest because he was still recovering from a really bad cough. He played his video games, played with his brothers and his new toys, and went to bed early, happy and content.

A sweet and simple day for such a wonderful boy!


I still don't know why God gave me such a perfect little son. Oh, he's not so little anymore. In fact, he's long and gangly, helping take care of his brothers, mostly getting bullied by his younger brothers. He has so many friends in school that the other moms call him Mr Popularity. My husband and I, we were never the popular kind so this is so strange to us. I guess it's a good thing. It's always a good thing to be loved, right?

My Vito. So loved. Thank You, God, for giving Vito to us and letting him show us how to love and how good it is to be loved. Reveal to him his purpose, let him grow in wisdom and compassion, and keep him safe and healthy always. I can never thank God enough for my Vito. Bless him all the days of his life!

I'm 40 years old and while I like to think I look good for a middle-aged mama, I know I definitely am a middle-aged mama. I like my laugh lines, how my eyes crinkle at the edges when I smile. What I don't like? My jowl. I now have a double chin!!! It comes with getting older, I know, I know, but I want my jaw back!

Funny because when I was super young and skinny, I also didn't like my jaw because I have a long face so some people called me "mukhang mangga." Coupled with my huge teeth, I was also called "mukhang kabayo." People are cruel, I've long accepted that.

As I grew older and put on weight, my face widened and so my face didn't look so elongated anymore. Plus, braces fixed my teeth so hindi na ako mukhang kabayo. Then I hit my 40s and my jaw softened, my chin doubled, and... Oh well. Ganyan talaga pag tumatanda. Collagen, which is what makes skin look plump and young, and elastin, which is what keeps skin nice and tight, these break down with age and that's why bumabagsak ang face and neck, boobs, tummy, basically lahat. Ganyan talaga!

As I hit my mid-30s, I started using anti-aging skin care. Now, it is always good to have a good skin care regimen, okay? But skin care products don't really get to the structure underneath. So at my ripe old age of 40 (hahaha), I began looking at treatments that will address that concern. Ayoko kasi magpa-face lift, no. So habang hindi pa bagsak ang fez ko, asikasuhin na natin ang potential/developing concerns!

So when I heard about the Thermolift therapy from Flawless, I looked it up. Thermolift is non-invasive radio-frequency heat therapy. That means no surgery, no injections. I like that very much! I'm so scared of surgery!

Thermolift uses radio frequency waves to penetrate deep into the layers of the skin. This heat stimulates and remodels collagen production, which results to firm and bouncy skin again and a contoured face. Hooray!

At the Megamall clinic of Flawless, I met with the resident dermatologist. She looked at my face and she said na okay pa naman ako. In fact, what she wanted to treat first was my acne scars. But since I was there to try Thermolift, she said that while my face was still young-looking for a 40-year-old woman, the skin on my cheeks and jaw area have started to sag. Started pa lang naman so hindi pa issue, but she agreed that prevention is better than cure so I was whisked off to a private room to get prepped for my first ever Thermolift therapy!

Grid lines are applied on the treatment areas to guide the doctor.

My eyes are red because I was crying na. It was painful! Next time I do this, I'm asking for topical anaesthesia.

The derma used setting #3 on me. A higher setting of 4 and above will give you more visible results but the derma said it's my first time so she wanted to know what my pain threshold is. Also, hindi pa naman daw masyado slackened ang jaw and chin ko so kaya pa ng lower setting. So ang ginawa na lang niya is lower setting but she passed the Thermolift wand several times.

Masakit siya huhu as in umiyak ako sa sakit. As in, after she did one side, I wanted to go home! But after she did one side, I really felt my chin and cheek tightened. I FELT IT! So the nurse brought out a mirror so I can see for myself. See above. Jaw bone now visible. Cheek tightened. As you can see, I'm also red, but that's all the redness that will happen. Hindi ka masusunog. After my session, nag-shopping pa nga ako sa Megamall!

So let's look at my face immediately after my Thermolift! Here's the before-and-after photos:

Kita niyo ba ang difference??? I know it's ever so slight. That's because I don't really have a huge problem yet with sagging cheeks, slackened jaw and double chin. But, ako mismo, nakita ko and naramdaman ko na may difference talaga.

And here's what I look like now:

Sharper jawline

No double chin

It's been a month after my Thermolift and I can say that it really works. I want to do this every 6 months!!! Thermolift starts at P14,000, though, so dapat may budget. The fee will also be determined by how large the area to be treated is. So in my case, jawline lang. Next time, I want to include my cheeks, mouth area, and neck.

If you want to try Thermolift at Flawless, the treatment is available only at the Megamall and Eastwood clinics. Also, it will be good to set an appointment first so that the dermatologist can look at your face and see if it's Thermolift you really need. Kasi may ibang treatments pa ang Flawless that address sagging skin (like Acculift), so you want to explore your options first. In my case, I know Thermolift is my preferred skin-lifting and facial-contouring treatment!

I'm so happy I chose Flawless to take care of my skin. For more promos and information, visit the Flawless website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram (@myflawless).

This post is brought to you by Flawless Face & Body Clinic.