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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Quick update

I'm super duper overwhelmed with work right now and I don't know where to start. All I know is that:

  • I'm being pressed to finish migrating our timekeeping system this week
  • I haven't started developing this robot for a marketing group and I need to present something by next week
  • I have two other RPA projects to do
  • Issues keep popping while I'm in the middle of something
  • I have so many enhancement requests lined up after I'm done with #1 and I don't know where to squeeze them in my freaking life.

I'm a big mess when it comes to prioritizing.

I also always procrastinate.

Sometimes I wish people would stop coming to me directly for a project because I'm bad at assessing and I'll most likely say something along the lines of, sure I can do that when do you need it? Instead of stepping back and saying I'm fucking loaded right now please talk to my manager about that. Urgh.

Can I please have that? Like a filter? Oh yeah, a project manager? All my projects right now are frkn delayed.

This sucks.

On the lighter side of work, I signed myself up for this daily guided meditation thing our L&D group set up to help us uhm, meditate? And somehow find peace and clarity in these chaotic times. It's been generally helpful. For 15 minutes we just pause and breathe slowly, focus on the calmness of our breath, acknowledge distractions but not act on them. It's super nice and I always feel very light and sleepy afterwards. I was hesitant at first because I'm averse to subscribing to anything new age spiritual, but this practice is fairly okay. No summoning weird energy, no commanding the universe like you made it lol, and no false affirmations. Totally cool. Just allowing the science of controlled breathing to work on your nerves. See? No need to get fake meta just to promote calm.

Anyway. I'm interested in reading The Daily Stoic. It's a daily devotional based of stoic philosophy and so far, from what I see from my friends who post daily screenshots from the book (thanks!), it's actually full of practical advice! Maybe I'll try it! Let's see if I can cut down my overthinking to just thinking.

So yeah, that's it! Back to work. Whew.

Thursday, August 13, 2020

[Unboxing + Review] Xiaomi Mijia Humidifier 4L Capacity MJJSQ02LX


I waited over a month before writing this post so I could review it completely. In three words, the Xiaomi Mijia 4L Humidifier is such an ACE! Affordable, convenient, and effective! Ohaaaa hahahaha! This is model MJJSQ02LX.

Video review

Apart from this lengthy blahber you may also watch my Youtube review here:

 

Backstory

I got this product for health reasons. The air in our room becomes super dry with the AC on every night when we sleep. It has resulted in me waking up with sniffles and dry throat almost everyday. There were nights I had to sleep with a face mask on just so my throat wouldn't get super dehydrated in the morning. That's when I decided to invest in a humidifier. To relieve the dryness in the room, in my throat, in my life. Charot. I thought a small diffuser would help, but our current EO diffuser only works for 3hours max so it still doesn't do the job completely. Plus, it can only hold 150ml of water HAHAHA so wa-epek. It just makes the room smell nice.

Research

I have no idea about humidifiers but generally I just want something with a bigger water tank that could run for more than 8 hours, and can diffuse aromatics too. I looked around online and found that Xiaomi has the biggest variety of humidifiers out there.


There's a gazillion brands under Xiaomi I have no idea what to pick, there's SmartMi, Deerma, Mijia, all of them looking great and priced affordably too. So I used the The Three Great Shopee Filters in narrowing down my choices:


✔️ Price
✔️ Location
✔️ Ratings


The Deerma FXXX line turned out on top of the list. High star ratings, priced below ₱2k, big water tank, ultrasonic feature, smart capability, and loooks reaaaally pretty.

But one thing turned me off. The water inlet is AT THE BOTTOM of the tank. Which means you have to turn the fuselage upside down to put water in, then breathe in and muster some strength to set the 5kg water tank upright. For a weakling like me, that process sounds too troublesome and accident prone. In fact, the moment I saw where the water inlet is, so many unfortunate things ran in my head. My face flowing with frustrated tears, a broken humidifier, and my husband trying to calm me down. Oh yeah, a flooded kitchen too.


So I had to let it go and look for alternatives. And that's how I found this baby...

Xiaomi Mijia 4L Humidifier MJJSQ02LX


It's super basic, can carry 4 liters of water, runs up to 36 hours, and the best part? Water is added directly from the top making it so convenient, and with a spacious mouth like this I don't have to worry about dying spilling or having to carry it somewhere safe to refill water.

Note that it's not suitable for essential oils, it's not a smart humidifier, you can't link and control it using the Mi Home app. Below you'll see what happened when I tried using essential oils with it.

Unboxing

You may refer to my Youtube video for the unboxing but basically the package comes with the unit and a Chinese manual. That's it.




What I liked (aka all of its features haha)

Like mentioned, some of its key features include:


✔ 4L capacity
✔ Upper head injection



✔ Up to 36 hours of continuous humidification and it's not loud at all. You'll barely hear it and if you do, it sounds like raindrops.

But apart from those, it also boasts of the following:


✔ Adjustable fog settings (low, mid, high)

Low, mid, high respectively

It humidifies at a rate of 280ml/hour and has up to 99% bacteriostatic effect. Even at the low setting, the strength of the mist is strong enough for a small room.


✔ Low level indicator



Which automatically powers off when water level is low and when the water tank gets detached from the dock.


✔ Size is just right




A bit bigger than a kitchen towel, just the right size for a bedside table or even the floor.


✔ Comes with a 220V type A power plug (2 flat plugs)

Which is normal here in the Philippines so no need to use an adapter.

✔ Easy to clean
✔ Simple knob switch control
✔ Looks sleek and is made of hard and durable matte finished plastic
✔ Super affordable

What I don't like 

✖ No English manual



✖ Not suitable for pure essential oils

See troubleshooting items. The seller mentioned I can use water-based aromas, but I have yet to find official literature confirming that it's indeed okay to use with EO's, specially that, unlike the Deerma line, it doesn't have that yellow tray at the base specifically for EOs. Maybe I can find this info from the manual, then again it's Chinese, so if you can help me translate or just give me a clue if it says anything about using essential oils... that would be awesome!


✖ Ok, not advisable for aromatics at all


Since you can only use water-based essential oils, you have to keep adding and adding because the smell doesn't last long and eventually it starts smelling funny when it's only the residual aroma left to atomize. Also, it's a hassle to lift the water tank just to add the oil so I'd rather not bother with it. Aromas clog the system easily too so you have to clean more frequently. I like to diffuse scents pa naman when I'm sleeping but I find that the product works better with just pure water.

Troubleshooting

In the one and a half months I've been using it, I've ran into two problems, all because I tried to use essential oils with them.


1. Very little mist coming out
And I mean less than what you'd expect from the Low setting. This happened when I tried adding waterbased essential oil in the tank. It worked for a night, then eventually residue formed and it clogged the system. Solution? Just clean it!


2. No mist coming out
Now, this happened when I tried to put PURE essential oils on the base. I put a few drops of what I thought was waterbased EO (it's too cheap to be pure so I thought it's actually water-based even though it says PURE EO on the label haha!). It worked fine for a few minutes then suddenly the mist was gone. I could still feel some air coming out but there's totally no fogging going on.


I thought I broke the unit. Thank God I was able to save it by cleaning it. Now I can prove this model isn't meant for any type for EO at all. Just look at how dirty it turned:





Yikes right? That's oil residue that I scraped off using cotton buds. Fortunately, it's easy to clean. And after unclogging it from all that gunk, it starts to work fine again.

Cleaning 

So how do you properly clean this thing? The water tank is fairly easy to clean, you can just reach inside with a damp cloth and wipe it clean.


I was also able to clean it with soap and water, it's pretty safe since there are no electronic things at the top part. Just make sure to dry it completely to remove the odor. And avoid getting water inside the mist outlet, just because it looks like it's not supposed to get wet hehe.

Now for the base...


I just use cotton buds to scrape off any residue. Just clean the sink area of the base, avoid wetting anything that's not touched by the water coming from the tank.

Our humidifier sits on a plank of laminated MDF and I noticed some kind of moisture settling at the bottom like this:


Just wipe it off, it's not a stain anyway hehe. It's probably due to the air coming in from the bottom of the humidifier because the air intake is positioned there (notice the round grills)




Maintenance tips

1. Avoid EOs, just use water. Pure or distilled water, preferrably.

It acquires residue faster when you use essential oils so I advise you to just use water and nothing else, if you don't want to clean more frequently! Also, I use water straight from the tap so maybe 


2. Don't let the water run low

I refill the tank with a pitcher of water every night before going to sleep just to keep it running uninterrupted. In my experience a full tank lasts me 3 days on low setting so that's around 24 hours of sleep time.


3. Don't fill it to the max

Just for safety. I'm praning it might get knocked over or something so I only fill it with around 3 liters of water max.


4. Clean once a week

I thought now that I only use water and nothing else, it'll be easier to clean. But somehow, after around 3 weeks of use, I notice some dirt forming at the bottom of the water tank. Similar to the brown dirt I scrubbed off when I used EOs. The base is also showing some yellow stains that I can't remove so it's also nice to clean at least once a week to avoid these dirt from accumulating. I'm not sure if it's because I use tap water directly but maybe it's better to use filtered water? 


So is it effective?


ABSOLUTELY. It's prevented my throat from drying and it's something that I noticed instantly like the moment I woke up after turning it on for the night. Amazeballs!


Our bedroom is only around 11sqm small and the low setting is strong enough to relieve dryness in the room the whole time. It's even positioned at the far end of the room (which isn't really that far maybe just 2 steps away from the bed lol) so I know it truly works.

Price and Availability


You can get this for less than  ₱2,000 at Shopee or Lazada. I have no idea of its SRP. Usually it ships from China, but if you filter it by location (which is what I always do), you can save yourself at least a week of shipping time by purchasing from local Xiaomi retailers. Also, for a product like this you'd want to get it locally (the nearer the better) in case you had to return it.


I got it for ₱1,784.00 at Shopee PH from this store.


Congrats on reaching this part! That's it! Let me know if you have any questions on the comments area below. :)

Monday, August 3, 2020

[Stiles PH Review] DIY Installing 3D wall stickers on our kitchen


Can you believe our backsplash is only made of STICKERS?

Hi daw sabi ng tabingi naming outlets

Yep! I ordered a bunch of sticker tiles from Stiles PH to dress up our kitchen wall and I'm so happy about how it turned out! Here's a Youtube video on how I installed them. Note that I didn't do it correctly so please don't take my video as a how-to or a tutorial haha! It did turn out okay naman hehe!


So here in this blog I'm gonna review my overall experience using 3D sticker tiles by Stiles PH.

I waited a long time for the subway tile pattern to get restocked. I've always wanted to have subway tiles in my kitchen, so this is kindof a dream come true! Also, since we're just renting out this unit, we couldn't afford to do any major changes. 


Here's the previous state of our kitchen:


I cleared it up. Removed the stove, the hanging utensils and the dish rack. I also cleaned the wall with Kurin before starting the project.

And here's how it turned out, 4.5 grueling hours after:


I love it! As I said, I did a lot of mistakes on this one pero okay naman diba?! *umagree ka*

Haaaay! I hope our landlord never finds out, joke. I mean, adhesives are allowed but this is one heck of an adhesive lol and it's definitely gonna need repainting in case they decide to tear it out. Praying it doesn't kill our deposit whew.

Anyway.

How did you order and how much did it cost?
I ordered from Stiles PH through Shopee (watch out for promos and cashback)

You can also find them on Instagram and Facebook. Perfect for getting inspiration and seeing actual output and customer feedback:

This specific pattern, the subway white costs ₱148 per panel. All in all I ordered 18 pcs so I spent a total of ₱2,664  + shipping from Cebu.

How did you know how many stickers to get?
Stiles PH helped me with that. I measured the 2 sides of the wall I want to cover and sent it to them through Instagram.

Side 1: 24"L x 18"H
Side 2: 80"L x 24"H

And they responded with 18 tiles. 

Was it accurate?
Nearly! I only used 16.5 stiles. But I think it's only because I started at the wrong end of the wall which prolly messed up the numbers. 

How do the tiles look and feel like?
I was surprised to find that the tiles are actually embossed. I knew it wasn't foam, like those brick foams I see everywhere. I thought it was actually flat, and they just made it so good it looks convincingly 3D even if it's super flat. Turns out there's actually a level of 3D-ness to it hehe so that's really good!


The size of the panel is 12x12 inches. Which is bigger than their previous version, as I've read. I do hope they also offer something that's half the size for the remaining parts of the wall that don't measure up exactly. 1 panel has 6 rows of tiles, so it would be cool to have something that only has 3 rows at half the price. Or I can just cut through the gaps right? Haha.


The texture of the tile is super glossy. There's a rubbery smooth squeaky feel to it when you run your fingers on it. It's not super smooth to the touch lamuyon? Like it would be hard to wipe it with a kitchen towel but a breeze with a damp cloth. Ayon.

How was the installation?

Frkn exhausting. If they were only based in Manila I would've hired their own people to install it for me. As in. But oh well, they're Cebu-based so no choice but to DIY haha.

Installation looks pretty simple but it actually requires a lot of brain cells to get the measurements right. In short I never got any measurements right. Here are the challenges I encountered:
  • Peeling the sticker is hard. Super hard. Should've grown my nails longer for it.
  • Aligning the tiles is an acquired skill hahaha. And you can't get it wrong the first time because it would ruin EVERYTHING. Thank God my first tile was perfect! Perfectly placed at the wrong side of the wall nga lang aaarghh!!! Hahahuhu
  • Measuring uneven areas is a nightmare. The corner of the cupboard, the electrical outlets, the back of the rangehood. I got pretty much everything wrong. Not so wrong that I wasted a sticker panel, but my measurements are probably only 80% exact, leaving some ugly gaps here and there.
  • Make no mistake. Once it's on, it can never go off. At least not with a layer of paint coming along with it. The adhesive is super powerful.

Now on to my mistakes

I installed the first stile at the wrong edge of the wall, leaving me with this uneven gap to fill...

 
...which could've been mitigated had I only read the instruction manual COMPLETELY. In my defense, nobody reads manuals. I thought my overflowing amount of common sense is enough to deliver me from this suffering. Now look, I have a corner with an ugly overlap, and a folded sticker. Eeew. Good thing I have a dish rag to cover it hehe. So word of advice, READ THE MANUAL! Anything you'd gladly hire someone else to do for you is beyond your common sense. Also, just fckn read the manual.


I also made other mistakes like tile gaps...


... sticker overlaps...


... and wrong cutout measurements...


Uuuurggh, aaaaand I thought I'd make a good architect because I can draw straight lines lol jk. 

But I don't feel so bad about them because overall it still looked really good to me, and it didn't break the illusion at all.

There seems to be a wave though hmm

But see? It doesn't look so bad from afar. And it does the job of uhm backsplashing, so yeah. I'm good!

Finally
I like how it turned out, despite toiling almost 5 hours for it. Real subway tiles cost around ₱30-50 per piece so an 18 pc panel could easily run us at least ₱10k (plus labor, grout, snacks, and permit efforts). And these fake tiles cost around ₱3k only. So it's a really good deal. Also, it's not like real tiles are an option for us hahaha #RenterProblems.

Quality of the stiles are really good, better than expected. Customer support is good too, they're helpful and responsive. Shipping was okay, it arrived a little over a week but that's J&Ts fault lol. They packaged it nice and secure, with bubble wraps and a carton board for support. The tiles came individually wrapped.

There are tons of other 3D sticker tiles littered around Shopee but I doubt they're as good, or that they'd even come in one piece lol. I've read horror stories of the tiles arriving folded and distorted, with tears, or uneven colors. SodDon't bother. Just go for a quality local supplier like Stiles PH.

10 over 10 would recommend to those looking to refresh their kitchen but can't use real tiles!

----

What do you think of this project? Is it a yaayy or a  waayy-ste? Char.

Monday, July 20, 2020

[DIY + Review] How to install paper-like matte screen protector on an iPad and is it worth it?

I made a video on Youtube on how to install a matte screen protector on my iPad Mini. Here it is:


In this blog post however I'm gonna review how it's been like using a matte screen protector, especially its pros and cons with regards to using the Apple Pencil. 

Let's start with WHY?

Why did I get a matte screen protector?
I like the texture and how it diffuses light for people with sensitive eyes like me. Also, the main reason I got a mini is for reading and drawing purposes and what better way to equip my screen than to get a matte protector? I think it's also a matter of preference, even for my phones I always choose to get matte over clear or tempered.

Pros of using a matte screen protector
It's great for artists. The glide of the Apple Pencil on a matte surface really gives it a familiar paper-like feel. Attaching tempered glass creates a gap between the screen and that pencil that I don't like, and drawing on a glass screen feels weird too hehe.
It's great for reading, I almost wanted to say it's kindle-like now but it's still a far cry from Kindle's e-paper display.

Cons of using a matte screen protector

Before and after applying matte screen protector

It reduces sharpness and clarity. So much for retina display right? But it doesn't ruin the experience entirely. In fact, I enjoy reading more on my iPad because of the screen.

Before and After 1 month of daily use

It wears down the Apple Pencil faster. True enough. The paper-like texture kinda sands the tip, making it pointier but it's expected. Although not at this rate! 

The tip of the Apple Pencil is replaceable by design anyway so sooner or later it will really wear down, no matter what your screen protector is. If you look at the photo above you'll notice how the tip used to be rounder originally. In the After photo the tip looks a bit pointier. And it's only been a month.

Does it affect drawing experience? Not at all, at least not yet. I don't know how blunt it has to be to affect note-taking ability but pressure sensitivity is still there.

Note that the level of wear depends on how often you use it. In this case, that kind of pointiness was achieved after 1 month of DAILY usage. It's really case to case. That's my husband's pencil actually and he's uses the pencil to create dark art pieces using Procreate app. Just for context, here's his portfolio and the type of work he does: https://www.instagram.com/jecdaveart, He does lots of manual strokes and shading I can see why the pencil would give up easily. hehe

UPDATE: After a month and a half of daily use, we had to replace the nib already because the tip has been sanded to the point that the metal thingy inside is getting exposed. Look,


Look there's like a ball point poking out of it hehe. It's kinda disappointing how fast it deteriorates the nib like that. The exposed metal, or whatever that is, scratches the screen protector so it's no use keeping it. Luckily the Apple Pencil comes with 1 extra nib so we don't have to worry for now.

Apple sells replacement nibs too for ₱1,090.00/pack of 4 tips. So that sets the nib at around ₱250/pc. Alright. But if we had to replace it every two months or so, that's gonna be very costly!

So we thought we'd look for cheaper alternatives. Like this nib protector from Shopee


It's just a silicon sleeve that you attach at the tip. It's supposed to project your tip from wearing down faster BUT I find that it's not so good for drawing! It totally killed the paper-like feel of our matte screen protector. Though some of the feedback mentioned it's okay for drawing, I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it. hehe

Finally
My husband's iPad

If you only do regular note-taking you probably don't need a matte screen protector unless it's your preference. 

BUT for artists using the Apple Pencil? You might want to consider getting a paper-like screen protector like this one! If you hate it you can just peel it off and get a clear one, right?

Friday, July 10, 2020

Life lately and probably the scariest day of my life

Updates!



Last week was pretty eventful. Early Thursday dawn I got rushed to the ER after collapsing. But earlier that day I was already having some weird allergy. Been itching and scratching all over. Rashes everywhere. It's the first time I experienced this level of allergic reaction. Just look at this freakin map..

Oh wait, let me distract you with my favorite quarantine dessert first, so that this gets set as the default thumbnail instead of my freaking allergies hahaha


Alright now back to last week's "high"light.

Wednesday afternoon I woke up with these...


I remember getting disturbed in my sleep because of itchiness, but I didn't think it'd be this bad!


I pretty much ignored the annoying feeling for the most part of the day. I took an antihistamine too and just hoped for the best. But as the day progressed, it's become more and more unbearable. After my shift at work I went ahead to rest. I tried to sleep, but grabe talaga yung kati! Around 1 in the morning I was so tired of my allergies and got out of bed to get a drink...

Then it happened. On the way to fetch water from the fridge, I somehow collapsed. Next thing I know I was lying on the floor motionless, my vision a blur, I could hear Jeckie calling my name repeatedly, but I couldn't respond. In my head I was like, Lord help me. Lord help me. Lord help me please. I can see Jeckie's faint silhouette within my peripheral.

I don't want to die.

After a few seconds I slowly regained consciousness. Jeckie was panicked. I was feeling pissfull, charot lang. Naiihi ako hahaha. So he slowly guided me to the CR.

Then ayun nanaman.

I lost consciousness again while sitting on the toilet. When I got to my senses, napu-poops naman ako. Ano ba hahaha.

Ganun pala yung feeling. It felt like nothing but recalling the whole thing made me feel really afraid for myself. The gaps in my memory after collapsing, Jeckie filled in for me.

I passed out by the ref and fell on the hallway. Good thing I didn't hit my head. The next episode, I just lost consciousness while on the toilet, my back bumping on the seat cover, which prompted my husband to check on me. So yon.

After a few moments of realizing what just happened and waiting for my blood to circulate better (I looked so pale daw, ), we went to The Medical City to get checked.

The triage was quick and I was attended to immediately. They injected some IV, meds, tested my blood, and ran a CT scan because of the fall. Also because Jeckie thought I had a seizure while unconscious. Everything came out normal. After almost 7 hours in the ER I was discharged. They couldn't tell me what I'm allergic to, they said I have to consult an allergologist for that.

I have no idea what I could be allergic to! Last thing I took before waking up with rashes was Smooth Move Senna Peppermint tea. Something I regularly take naman, so I don't know what gives. Our meal the night before was leftover bicol express and chicken tandoori. Mga paborito ko naman, also nothing new! 

Thank God it's nothing serious. I'm supposed to consult to an allergologist pero ang hassle trying to look for one that's Intellicare accredited and available this quarantine period. Tapos kukuha pa ko ng LOA haha. 

I tried to discover which of my tea bags is the culprit to while on medication tinatry ko yung mga tsaa ko. I only have 3 variants. Aside from the senna peppermint I also take Yogi Blueberry Green Tea and Caramel Apple Slice Slim Life. None of them gave me an allergic reaction. Hmm.

Wait ang sakit na ng ulo ko haha

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Life Lately and what's up?

Heya! Here's the latest Weekly Monotony on the channel. :) I've been very religious in updating weekly, you know! So yeah, same old boring clips. Waking up late, cooking dinner, weekend errands. The usual. The normal. Hmm.


You know how other people started picking up new hobbies like gardening, baking, wood working, whatever? Vlogging, or mainly just making more Youtube content, has kindof become my quarantine outlet. Even though I've been doing it way before ECQ (start of the year actually). Damn, now I feel useless. Like what has quarantine taught me, really? Besides splurge on kitchenware and judge my neighbors' sushi bakes?

I actually wanted to be more productive than that, like I want drawing, reading books, and even gardening to be my quarantine thing, but urgh, I just can't find the motivation to pick up a pencil. And even now that I already have a new tablet to read e-books with, I suddenly find it too heavy?! And planting may seem so simple but I'm worried I'd just end up acquiring more clutter (aka gardening tools, pots, planters, that I won't be able to maintain). Daming excuses no. So ayon, no new art, no new books, and a balcony still devoid of plants. I'm so lagging behind my GoodReads 2020 Reading Challenge too. Which is not new.

But anyway. I'm really here to expound on my weekly monotony video haha

Last week we ate mostly leftovers and stocked food items. We didn't buy groceries because we've been constantly overstocking and overspending and it's bad for the wallet. The take-out food we usually buy on weekends end up in the fridge for at least two more days so sobrang sayang if I keep on cooking. Also, for some reason I'm unable to cook just enough for two people. I always end up cooking a lot of ulam. Parang feeling ko ang onti ng 2 servings lang hahaha

Highlights of last week:

✱ Our sofa is back in!

We had it pulled out for repair a week back and it was done exactly seven days later. Earlier than expected! I liked the upholstery, I chose a light gray linen for it. But the repair, not so much. They had to add a leg in the middle to support the new wood plank they inserted, but it ended up kindof unbalanced, we had to insert a riser. Basta iba yung feel nya. I was expecting it to be sturdier but now we have to be even more careful with it. Hay. So much for 10k huhu. But so far so good. Hopefully it'll last a couple more years before we can dispose it for maybe 5k, or even free lol.


IKEA Ektorp dupe no more.

✱ Dined in outside for the first time!

Gulo ba hahaha. For a while we were hesitant about dining in at restaurants 'cos we didn't want to be hassled by their rules. But well, di naman pala ganon ka-hassle. For the most part you just have to fill out a health declaration form and sanitize before picking a spot, but that's the most arduous part. You're allowed to take off your mask while eating naman and even share food with your company. It's not like you'll be isolated from each other while eating.

More and more restaurants are back to offering their tables to dine-in customers so we thought we'd try. Dined in for the first time this quarantine at Banana Leaf, and we enjoyed it! The next day we ate at Mesa.

Hassle din kasi mag-take out no daming itatapon tapos magbabalat ka pa ng takip hahaha. 

✱ My first Corelle and Tefal



Aaaaaaaah! My hearrrttt! I got these on a sale at Rustan's. They're like 20-30% off when I checked. Definitely not bad. 

✱ Am I a coffee addict?!

I think I unknowingly went on withdrawal last week. I usually make five cups of a coffee a day. But really it only amounts to two regular sized mugs hehe. Anyway, I decided not to drink coffee one day last week because I wanted to wake up early the next day.

The following day, I woke up with a splitting headache. I thought it was just my usual period migraine so I endured, later on taking mefenamic and trying to sleep it off. But heck it won't go away. 

Two days later it's still there so I got alarmed. I'm unable to sleep well, I didn't enjoy my vacation leave, and I started throwing up everything I ate. I have no appetite and everything I swallow goes straight to the toilet in a matter of hours. Until I made myself coffee. 

I finished a cup and suddenly the pain is gone?! That's when I realized I could be an addict. I deliberately tried to cut off my coffee intake that weekend so I could wake up early and get more daylight lol. So ito na ba yon. Withdrawal symptoms?! Ohnoes. 

Thank God it's over. One of my friends thought I could be pregnant buti na lang meron ako hahaha so ekis agad ang pagbe-baby. Also, we practice safe sex so imposible rin wahaha. 


Yun lang naman for last week! I'm back to drinking coffee.

Hope you're all doing well!

Keep sane!

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Alternatives to Metal Braces that Work Great

Plenty of us have had braces, and those of us who have can tell you that braces are often expensive, painful, clunky, inconvenient and you have to wear them forever. To say nothing of the retainers and other things you have to undergo after the braces come off. Braces are definitely beneficial, straightening your teeth and improving mouth function, and can be a huge confidence boost in addition to improving your overall dental health. But for those of us who can’t afford braces or don’t want to spend years of our life with metal on our teeth, there are alternatives. 

Photo credit: Shiny Diamond

Dental technology has come a long way in recent years, and these days, there are several options on the market for those who don’t want to wear traditional metal braces for whatever reason. Products like clear and invisible braces (one of the more popular brands being Invisalign) are a great alternative to metal braces that achieve much the same result in less time, are more comfortable, less visible/clunky and much easier to deal with. Invisalign is a great alternative to metal braces because they cost only a fraction of what metal braces cost. They’re all but invisible, so the wearer is much less self-conscious about their braces, and they are totally removable. Many Invisalign users remove their braces to eat or sleep. This also means they are less painful, as they can come out easily and be readjusted if you’re experiencing discomfort. Invisalign and other invisible braces are molded to your mouth and teeth and are always comfortable and fit well. There are no bulky brackets or added retainers or anything, either - you just wear them for a few months, and that’s it! Enjoy the benefit of a straight, beautiful smile without paying thousands of dollars on braces that you’ll have to wear for years. No more cut mouths, painful metal equipment or bulky, embarrassing retainers. 

You can find Invisalign and the great invisible braces and products from most dental clinics, including cosmetic dentistry and regular dentists, like DFY Dental. Having beautifully straight teeth can be as simple as calling and making an appointment for an initial consultation. Your dentist will speak with you about your needs and preferences and help you choose the best invisible braces for your needs and budget. Next, you’ll be fitted for your braces and that’s it! You’re well on your way to a beautiful smile, affordably and easily. 

Many happy dental customers love their invisible braces and far prefer them over their metal counterparts. While there are some cons, just as with any product, the pros far outweigh for most dental customers. See if Invisalign or another similar product is right for you. Call your dentist today!