Grapefruit Caught My Eye

I dropped by Gaisano Tisa last night after our window shopping at SM. Pinauna ko na lang sila Olive umuwi dahil gutom na and we’ve exhausted yung baon naming feeding bottles and milk. Wala kasing breastfeeding station sa Gaisano, dyahe naman. And besides, I can see sa face ng makulit na pagod na din siya (pati si Jane).

I’ve been carrying a grocery list since we left the house but I didn’t want to shop at the SM grocery. Bukod sa expired na ang SM Advantage Card ko, cheaper talaga yung merchandise sa Gaisano and the store is just small na kabisado ko na kung san hahanapin yung lahat ng kelangan bilhin. I hate getting lost on the grocery especially if malaki. I had an experience na pabalik balik ako sa magkabilang dulo ng lugar para lang makuha yung isang pack ng powdered milk at isang pirasong butter. Lurky much!

Anyhow, so nandun na ko sa grocery. To follow si Mr. H after making sure that Olive’s rested at home. Start na ko with the shopping. First sa toiletries. Last time, I tried Camay’s Vanilla Shower Gel. I was pleased kasi medyo kaamoy niya yung Body Shop Vanilla Buttercreme Shower Gel that my friend Cecille gave as a present on our wedding. Aside from the scent though, it wasn’t any much better than Safeguard Aloe liquid soap that I’ve been using since nagbuntis ako. I was expecting a cleaner feel and soft feeling as promised sa commercial. Bumenta kasi sa ‘kin si Angelica Panganiban.

Camay Shower Gel in Vanilla (white) and Grapefruit (transparent bottle)

I was going to buy Safeguard na lang again pero nakita ko sa shelf yung isa pang Camay na Grapefruit naman ang peg. I admit, as a designer bumenta din yung packaging! ^_^’ AND ubos na din yung Safeguard liquid soap sa shelf kaya its fated na subukan ko yung Camay. I checked the price on the scanner and I think its a bit pricey for 62 pesos. Pero ganun talaga, kailangan bumawi sa cost ng advertisement and packaging. Pag-uwi sa bahay I tried it. Dito kasi sa Cebu, mas prefer ko maligo sa gabi kesa sa umaga. Parang Amerikana no? E kasi nakakahinayang din kapag naligo ka sa umaga tapos habang nagbibihis ka sa kwarto, tumutulo na ulit yung pawis mo. The entire day maaalikabukan lang din and papawisan. I also love going to bed na malinis ang pakiramdam. Parang mas mahimbing yung tulog ko kapag bagong paligo.

In fairness energizing naman ang peg ng Grapefruit Camay Shower Gel. Pangtanggal pagod after the long day we had at the crowded mall. Like the Vanilla version, clear din siya and it lathers well when you rub it in your skin. I just hope the liquid is thicker in consistency. The bottome line is that you feel happy when you smell yourself after a long day. There’s also a feeling that you’re detoxified when you smell like fruit. It gives a luxurious experience without regret that your bathing with something super expensive. All in all, if I’m not tight on budget, I’d try Camay Grapefruit and Vanilla Shower Gel again.

Oh the things that we can’t buy

Daddy H, Olive, me and Yaya Jane are all tired tonight. We went to SM (SM City Cebu) to canvass a laptop and digicam. The laptop is a replacement for Toshi (Daddy H’s 4-year old Toshiba laptop) who retired last January. We’re eyeing for a Lenovo Thinkpad. The specs are compatible for Daddy H’s work related requirements. Meanwhile, we’re hunting for a Lumix LX7 to replace his old digicam so we could capture Olive’s growing up moments more dramatically. We’re opting for the LX7 because of its semi-DSLR features.

 

image from http://tech.gaeatimes.com/

image from http://www.geeky-gadgets.com

Fortunately and unfortunately, we came in time for the last day of mall-wide sale. It was great that there’s so many tempting bargains and we’re both armed with our credit cards. Unfortunately, there were so many people (more than the crowd at the Ayala Mall sale I went to last Thursday) that it killed the mood for me to enjoy window shopping. The people made me nauseous along with the fear of losing the sight of Olive and Jane from the sea of shoppers. Despite that, I think Olive enjoyed seeing so many colors around. She was never irritated all the while. Just sobbing a bit when she’s beginning to feel hungry. We bought her glow in the dark stickers of celestial bodies and a few scrapbook picture frames. Later, we had snack at Starbucks using the GCs Daddy H won from the Emerson event.

Prizes from Emerson’s Product Launching Event 🙂

So after whirling around the mall, we found our target gadgets on display at several retailer stores in the Cyberzone and at the SM Department Store. They’re available for purchase on 12 months zero interest installment. The sad thing is that they’re also offering the items with a bigger discount if paid in cash. *SIGH!!! So much savings if only we have cash!

I used to believe that its wiser to buy anything in cash than in credit. Never buy something you can’t afford. THEN CAME MY CREDIT CARD. I have my BPI Edge Mastercard for more than a year now and it has been my friend in times of need. The most desperate moments were during my pregnancy and after having delivered Olive. Thank God I’m not that much of an impulsive buyer. I have this constant fear that we might not be able to pay the next month’s bill. Luckily, we haven’t been able to miss a due date. I always see to it that we’d be able to settle both of our credit card bills. My husband has Metrobank with double my credit limit. Oha! Daig ako! The laptop, digicam, the LED TV, and a new airconditioning unit were large eye candies for us. But mentally summing up all of them, I know we’d be in debt for 100,000 pesos. Divide that by 12 months and that’s more than 8,000 pesos on the credit card bill. Ansarap bigla umuwi. I know of a few stores in Manila where we could buy the Lenovo and the Lumix for almost half the mall prices. But of course, they wouldn’t offer installment options.

 

A parody of mall sales as depicted in the movie Zohan. Clearance sale ang peg ng mga Middle-Eastern immigrants. XD image from http://www.movie-censorship.com

I know this is another price to pay since we had a baby in the family. We couldn’t just buy anything at a whim without considering the next month’s checkup, her vaccination schedules, milk and impending baptism. We have to have a purchase plan. This is also the main reason why we as parents are driven to work doubly hard. The gadgets, a vehicle and a house – we need everything but we know we can’t afford to get them all at once. I could double my earnings as a freelancer, but that would need me to stop being a mother. And that is not an option.

We’re not even halfway through Olive’s vaccination checklist @_@

Again, I remember when someone told me “your baby’s gonna be a handful”. I didn’t expect that I’d be almost paralyzed from working. I was even a bit proud to decline my mother-in-law’s offer to send a yaya immediately after I gave birth. I am now thankful that she did. Otherwise, I’d be crazy right now. And even if Olive has recently been sleeping through the night, I could still barely manage accepting new design projects. Add to that my memory gaps – side effects of the general anesthesia administered to me.

Slowly now, I’m like a car being overhauled and tuned up in getting back to work. I wish and pray really hard that this year wouldn’t be as tough as the last financially. I know with faith and action, it will be!

Strolling at IT Park

Bubbling Up

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A post shared by Vanessa Ezra Olaes Goopio (@vanessa_xyz)

I just put Olive down after her 12:30 AM feed. I’m finally at ease that’s she’s been pacified. Sobrang nasaktan after ng vaccination kanina (kahapon actually, 6:00pm) that she won’t stop crying sa clinic and ayaw din dumede. I was anxious for her. Sabi kasi ni Doc hindi siya lalagnatin sa 5-in-1 vaccine ngayon (the combination of which I’m lazy to look up in her baby book), but she would be in pain. She was prescribed with Tempra to relieve the discomfort. Nung sinabi na in pain, I’m already anticipating the similar pain I felt after my HPV vaccine shots. Parang binugbog ang braso ko. I was afraid its the same thing Olive’s feeling. Ang liit pa naman ng hita nya (although mataba), but you get the proportion I’m talking about.

Anyhow, she’s better already. She’s having a favorable sleeping pattern these days – awake in the morning and asleep at night. Thank God dahil nakabawi na kami ng tulog. Although ako, the usual later sleeper, late din magising. Excuse ko — kasi ako nagpapadede sa kanya ng midnight and at 2:00 AM. Olive’s also beginning to do mini-push ups, a lot more coos and gurgles and responsive smiles and laughs! And she’s only just 2 months!

I think, eto na yata yung phase na sabi nila, masarap magka-baby. After the tiring 9 months of pregnancy, the unexpected delivery by CS and a stressful recovery, now ko lang naaappreciate talaga yung gift na may baby. Yes, it is tough physically, mentally and financially. And sometimes the restless crying could drive me insane. But my tiny cupcake gives me all these positive notes:

• Fun and comic relief when she seems to talk back to me in her own baby language
• Contagious happiness when she flashes her smiles and laughs
• Feeling of achievement when she’s able to do something new, as if her progress is also ours
• A more caring disposition (actually, a more motherly disposition)
• Youthful vibes, because when there’s a baby, your inner kid just gets out
• Wanting ALWAYS for the best and not settling for anything second – yung “pwede na yan” attitude (be it toys, dresses, food, etc.)
• A reason to slow down and cuddle coz we’re a family
• Constant reason to accomplish more and earn more
• Alleviated respect to my parents because they must’ve cared for me the way I do with Olive now
• A drive to establish a homey feel on our apartment (or anywhere we’re living for that matter) — yung gusto mo kumpletuhin na yung mga gamit sa bahay although I didn’t really cared before
• And lastly… A daily reason to wake up with a smile

If you have a baby yourself, I’m sure you feel the same. Or if you’re a new mom and you’re stressed to your wits, believe what people say. This That phase shall WILL pass. 🙂