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11/24/2021 Glucometer Home Testing Kit - Sinocare "Safe-Accu" - Promo sale from a Lazada seller - Includes 10 lancets and 10 strips. ➡️ Super easy to use. Just follow the instructions included in the box. ➡️ TIPS :   • Cough when you lance to distract from the "prick" haha.   • Lance on side of finger para di masakit.   • Prep, prep, prep. _ About Home Testing Kits Glucometers --   ✔ Lancet must be compatible with lancing device.   ✔ Strips must be compatible to glucometer brand. _ The Experience -- My fingers are not callous. Lanced the first time at 3.0 = too much blood! But almost painless 👍 Tested 3 hrs after brunch and it read 144 nyak... Too high! I will test next time after 12 hr fast and will lance at a lower depth like 2.0 or 2.5. _ Why did I get a glucometer home testing kit? We have a history of diabetes in the family. Both sides in our case. I am getting older and screening has been advised. Getting tested for Fasting...

It is over 20 feet high! The condo's HOA puts up a really tall Christmas tree every year. The trimmings change each time but still so neat and beautifully designed.

Atcharang Ampalaya... Pickled Ampalaya... Ampalaya Salad It doesn't look like a lot from the pic pero bawas na yan kasi kumain ako. Super simple to make with 1 Ampalaya + 1/4 White Onion (or 1 small shallot) + 1 Tomato + Vinegar, Sugar, Cold Water. Prepare the ampalaya properly: Cut lengthwise, slice thinly. Put it in a bowl, add lots of coarse salt + water (a.k.a brine) until submerged. Leave it to brine for ~30 minutes. Then, massage it hard with your hands - drain the brine - add water - massage again - drain water - done! This really removes most of the bitterness from the ampalaya. Prep the tomato by removing the seeds first and slicing to about the same size as the ampalaya. Slice the onion the same way. Put the prepped ampalaya, tomato and onion in a container. The pickling juice/marinade is 1 part vinegar to half parts sugar and cold water. In a separate bowl, dissolve the suger in vinegar first before adding the cold water. You can adjust this ratio to however you l...

  We get good water pressure. But a few times a year, it gets too strong that our kitchen faucet, bathroom shower, and bathroom sink faucet will leak. Nevertheless, we normally average maybe 15 cu.m. a month and our bill would be around 300 pesos depending on the rate. *This is a 1BR/1BA unit.  September 2021: Our water consumption spiked to 35 cu.m. compared to the previous billing. It was over 600 pesos! The water pressure was so strong that I had to replace the kitchen and bathroom sink faucets to stop the leaks. Water started to run into the toilet bowl too -- but we could fix that just by tapping the flush lever.  However, we did notice loud noise coming from inside the toilet tank like it was refilling itself sporadically -- I ignored this thinking that it will eventually stop when the water pressure in our building returns to normal. October 2021: Our water consumption is higher at 42 cu.m. and the bill is over 800 pesos! Crazy. I went down to get my statement of...

We had our first dose of Sinovac yesterday morning. Our community submitted a request to the local government a couple of months ago to conduct Covid vaccination here and it was approved. It was held in our clubhouse yesterday at 8 a.m., and it was a smooth process. It was well organized which shows that they know what they're doing. First Dose Experience Woke up at 6 a.m., ate breakfast, and got ready. We went down to the clubhouse a little before 8 a.m. We showed our ID for confirmation that we were on the pre-registered list. We filled up the consent form, went through screening/interview, got our shot, and waited at the observation section for 15-30 minutes. While we were waiting to leave, a doctor with a microphone thanked everyone for taking the vaccine and spoke about how important it is to get vaccinated, common side-effects, etc. All good.*thumbs up* The Side-Effects I got up really early for this. We went around the community afterwards since it was nice and cool...

KonsultaMD Video Call Waiting Time The First Time The first time we used KonsultaMD was via the app last June 2021. Globe had a promo that offered the first video call for free. It is so hard to use it because you'll be in the waiting room for a doctor and it will take so long that the app will log you out when you've been, as it says, "Idle for 10 minutes..." or something like that. BUT after multiple attempts for several days, we connected and it was a great experience. The doctor was kind, helpful, and we got what we requested. It will take a while for the app to reflect the completed call and consultation result, but it will be there in the files and you will get a text as well. Fast Forward to September 2021 We needed to video-consult with a doctor again so we registered for the P60/month subscription. But using the app was... Just NO. The wait time was too long and it would log me out every 10 minutes while I was in...

My Super Easy Beef Caldereta  I cooked this last night... My version of super easy beef caldereta!   INGREDIENTS (Only 3-4 ingredients /Serves 2 people /Cooking time <1.5 hours) 1. Mama Sita's Spicy Caldereta powdered mix 50g but only use half (though meron na atang 25g pack nito so you can use that)  2. Beef brisket, this is 1/3 kilo cut into thumb-thick strips  3. Potatoes 3-4 medium pcs, cut into medium cubes 4. Green peas 1 can 155g, strained 5. Bell pepper 1 medium, cut into strips (I didn't have any last night but if you have this, use it para mas masarap at mukhang caldereta talaga)  ... What about carrots, you ask? I am starting not to like it in red stews so no carrots here. STEPS: • Salt + Pepper the beef, pinch lang • Heat vegetable oil and fry the beef until after blood shows and then, it browns    As you can see from the picture, I used a small pot so I fried my beef in batches. It needs space to fry until brown kasi. • Put all the br...

Tapsilog with Jollibee's Ready-to-Eat Tapa  Since the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of the fast-food chains started to sell their food products marketed as ready-to-eat (RTE) that consumers can buy pre-packed. This one is Jollibee's beef tapa from their dedicated commissary. It is marinated beef tapa that you cook ala Jollibee style na medyo saucy pa... do not overcook it or else, it will become too salty and tough. Malasa na talaga sya for me at di na kailangan ng sawsawan. Very tasty and tamang-tama for "tapsilog."

 I don't cook regularly but I think I know how. Like in cooking pork adobo, for example, there are various versions and your preference might lean towards what you grew up eating... What I Grew Up With Ours was salty, sweet, sour, oily, almost dry. It was delicious after it was boiled down and fried in its own fat, or they would add more oil at the end to do the job... They did not put potatoes when I was growing up.  What I Made Last Night  I cooked pork adobo last night. We had old potatoes that needed to be cooked that's why I added them here.  A few thoughts I had while cooking this were: • Fry the potatoes first and set it aside to add later when the meat is almost tender • Boil the pork with crushed garlic cloves, laurel leaves, peppercorn, and just a little bit of soy sauce because I will still adjust the taste later • Only add sugar after the pork and potatoes are cooked because I only want to sweeten the sauce, not the meat • It will r...

I bought a bunch of Ottogi 3-minute ready-to-eat (RTE) food products: meatballs, burger, curry, chicken teriyaki. We've had the burger and meatballs so far... Masarap! Delicious! It's enough for 1 person. I did not heat the foil pouch in boiling water or empty the contents para i-microwave per instructions. Ang ginawa ko is I poured the contents sa small saucepan and let it boil over low heat. NOTE: I also added some water kasi thick at konti lang sauce nya… Pakuluin lang ng konti, yum! Madami nadin yung mini meatballs, maybe 1 dozen? It tastes homemade ala sweet n' sour. Yum 👍 Ottogi is a Korean brand. I want to try their other products because they make delicious RTE food. I bought the Ottogi 3-Minute Meatballs online sa Shopee . It's also available on Lazada here .

One week na since I ordered from the Watsons app but still… nothing. I last ordered our vitamin C from Watsons in April 2021 and it was delivered in one week so I thought maybe they caught up with their backlog na (I like the Watsons brand of vitamin C because it’s a coated tablet.). However, this recent order is taking too long again like what most of us experienced in 2020. I followed it up via chat within the Watsons app and they told me the status will automatically update when it is out for delivery. My concern is that the actual Ximex XDE tracking app says it's still preparing to be shipped… hay, ano bang tama? Ewan. (XDE is the courier per the Watsons app.) *Update 7/19/2021: I got my package na... It was shipped via LBC, not XDE - that's why tracking was wrong! FYI, the app still shows the same "shipping" status as the pic above as of now. I feel for the reps answering the chat because the app is not reflecting the order's status in real time. Anyway,...

  APRIL 2021: This is one beautiful and delicious cake! Red Ribbon's Ube Bloom cake is well-made. That orchid looks too good to eat. This is their "regular" size... Red Ribbon Ube Bloom Cake price via Grab: P649.00.

QUESTION: I use a pocket wifi with a Globe prepaid SIM as back-up when my primary internet connection is intermittent. Since texting BAL to 222 stopped working and we cannot dial *143#, how do I check my remaining data balance now?   ANSWER: Text DATA BAL to 8080  I use a Huawei pocket wifi with a Globe prepaid SIM, and I used to check my remaining balance by texting BAL to 222. Since Globe disabled that feature, I hoped downloading the GlobeOne app and registering the Globe number there would be the simple solution to track my balance - it's not! The GlobeOne app only showed the load balance, not the data balance. The solution is to text DATA BAL to 8080 - done (pic below)! Hopefully, Globe will not disable this code too.  

February 2021: I ordered Korean ingredients online... Nakagawa nadin kami ng bibimbap 😄 Sarap sa unang mga subo pero mabilis din maumay kaya dapat wag takaw mata! Tamang timpla at dami lang dapat para sulit at di maaksaya.

My Cosin Electric Wheelchair for Outdoors UPDATE July 30, 2022:  The wheel must be taken off to remove the battery box. Long story: The lithium battery stopped taking a charge after 20 months -- I even bought a new compatible lithium charger and it still won't charge -- the seller suggested I ship the battery box via cargo to Cebu and they will "troubleshoot." Anyway, after chatting back and forth on how to remove the battery box, they confirmed with the manufacturer that the wheel must be taken off... Sad.  We could not do it ourselves so this Cosin electric wheelchair is just sitting here unused and accumulating dust. FAIL 😭 And I have 2 lithium chargers that I do not know what to do with.  The seller suggested shipping the whole chair, but it will be 2k pesos from Manila to Cebu. Plus cost of a new battery pack 8k pesos, if needed. Plus the cost of shipping it back to me 2k. It's not worth it. MY REVIEW: Long battery life with lithium. BUT the battery box cannot...

 The SSS going digital is one of the best things that has happened there in the last few years. They also made it easy to get an estimated amount of the retirement pension one might get by the time they become eligible by age 60 or 65 years old.  Above is the screenshot from the official SSS website as of February 2021 - this is the SSS Retirement Benefit Estimator . It is really helpful. Here is the direct link:  https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/portlets/retirementestimator/retirementEstimator1.jsp Visit the link, input the required fields, fill the captcha, and submit - super quick and easy to use.

New year's eve dinner... Braised chicken quarters with pineapple ala hamonado 😋 NYE dessert... Silvanas "gems" by Sweet EsCakes. I bought this from a neighbor. Different flavors sya like green=matcha, violet=ube, white=coconut, etc. Sarap din 😋

Noche buena 2020. We cooked the shrimp & green beans. I pre-ordered the beef morcon from a neighbor... 👍😋 Cravings satisfied! Christmas day brunch with the leftovers. Sarap padin.

Ugh... Beware sa mga bank scammers! I answered a call without looking at my phone (I normally look first but since I was expecting a call, di ko na natingnan)... She has a soft voice and asked for my name. I said that's me, and she went on to say that she's from BPI and they are offering to waive the annual fee for life for my card (she said the last 3 digits too) and increase my limit pa. She then said she needs to confirm the code or details on my card... Weh what?! On my card daw = RED FLAG! Totoo lang, I was interested dahil waive annual fee nga daw but since wala pa yung replacement ko, di sya natuloy kasi dapat daw activated ang card. Sasabihan nya daw yung department nila tungkol sa delivery at tatawag naman daw sila ulit para sa offer... At this point, nagtataka nako sa sarili ko - why am I still speaking to this person? Kakagat pa talaga ako sa pain nya ha! Afterwards, nakita ko na cellphone number ang gamit nya = RED FLAG nanaman! OMG, scammer pala yung kausap ko!...