Quote of the Month: Love and Opportunity

“Tell him yes. Even if you are dying of fear, even if you are sorry later, because whatever you do, you will be sorry all the rest of your life if you say no.” - Gabriel Garcí¬a Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

This may, or may not teach anyone life lesson of some sort but I chose this quote because it really fits my situation now. I’m not sure if you have read it here before but I am sure I have mentioned once or twice that I am getting married and that happened just three days ago.

The quote describes exactly how I feel during our courtship stage. When I agreed to be his girlfriend, I had mixed emotions. My heart was filled with happiness and love at the same I was a bit doubtful about him and how our relationship will turn out. But perhaps what I see in him and my willingness to give him a chance to share his life with me emboldened me to give this relationship a go.

Four years after, I said “YES” to him again complete with documents and ring. LOL!

I may be doubtful during the courtship and early stages of our relationship but I am glad and thankful now that I said yes to him when I did. It is one of the decisions I never regret making and I thank the Lord for that decision.

Four Years and Forever

When you love someone, you’ll do everything to keep that person; in sickness and in health, in richer or poorer… naks! I did just like that. Proof? I and my significant other are celebrating our 4th anniversary as a couple today.

Today should have been our church wedding as well and the blog title must have been our tagline but due to some family emergency, we decided to cancel the church wedding and have wedding through civil rites instead.

I am just thankful that I accepted him to my life four years ago. Our relationship isn’t without its ups and downs or good and bad days but we managed to get through everything because of one thing - our love for each other. Naks again! :D Because of love, we learned to see each other beyond our individual imperfections, accepted that no one person is perfect and respect each other. We may not be like other couples who lavish each other with material gifts (because we are practical like that) but that isn’t a problem to us. Instead of material gifts, we instead spend on creating experiences and memories together like going on trips during our anniversaries and birthdays. To each its own anyway. :D

Tomorrow, we will be exchanging “I do”... oh not really. I mean I’m not sure if exchanging of “I do” is part of a civil wedding ceremony but I’m sure that today is the last day that I will officially use my own family name. I’ll be a Mrs. tomorrow. :D

I know this post is not of significance to others and I am not even sure if I’m making sense here but I’m posting anyway to commemorate our relationship. My senses will be back next month! LOL!

Review: Human Heart Nature Strengthening Conditioner

Having dandruff with dry and frizzy hair is not easy. It greatly affects my self-confidence and often leads me to having my hair in ponytail to conceal such less than desirable sight. But for someone who believes that giving up is not an option (LOL!), I am always on the lookout for hair care products that can help me address my problem.

When pimples started attacking my face, I decided to switch from formula hair care products to natural/organic and mild products hoping that it will lessen my skin problems. I first tried using Nanny Rose’s Gugo & Lawat Shampoo then changed again to Lauat Herbal Hair Treatment shampoo however, the two shampoos failed to give me something that I need so I switched again to lactacyd (blue). A short while of using lactacyd as shampoo, I started switching my conditioner to Human Heart Nature Strengthening Conditioner in soothing aloe variant. I first bought the smaller bottle then bought the bigger one later on.

So what made me buy the bigger size? This review will tell you why…

Review: Sunskeen Protech Sunblock

In a tropical country like ours, sunblock should be used all-year round. Fortunately, health and beauty stores as well as grocery stores are teeming with products claiming to protect the skin against the harmful rays of the sun. The challenge, however, lies in choosing which product is right for your skin type.

I, for instance, have oily skin hence choosing a particular sunblock that will not make my skin oilier and my acne worse can be challenging. It’s always a trial and error method for me until my dermatologist suggested a product she approves.

Keep reading to know the product…

Product Description:

• Hybrid. Physical and chemical properties
• Versatile. UVA/UVB protection
• Elegant. Less viscous formula
• Enduring. Stable under the sun
• Affordable. Less peso/g protection
• Non-irritating. Minimally absorbed by the skin

Pay for Nothing with PLDT

I will not be talking about new services offered by PLDT or its sister company Smart, instead, I will be ranting how this company created new wrinkles to my already pimply-face. (This is one of the longest posts I have written so please bear with me.)

Actually, the accounts (yes, there are two accounts involved here) I am having problems with are not mine (thankfully, mine is okay). The first one is registered under the name of my cousin who is based in UAE together with his wife. Internet connection is very important to them because it is one of their ways to communicate with their eight-year old son who lives here in the Philippines with his grandparents, my aunt and uncle. They have been a subscriber of Smart’s 999 plan for five years already.

The second account belongs to my other cousin who works as seaman. Like the first account, internet is very important to him as well because he wants to communicate with his kids and wife.

Given that my aunt and my cousin’s wife are not really knowledgeable when it comes to ISP’s and various matters regarding to it, they would always ask me to check their internet and laptops each time they cannot connect to the internet or if there is something wrong with their gadgets.

Since they were not able to connect to the internet, they asked me to check their laptop and since I cannot fix it or connect them to internet myself, I DMed (direct message) @pldthome and @pldt_cares about my concern on July 23. Since I have not gotten any reply, I messaged them again the next day, July 24, then again on July 25. Their first reply came on the 26th. Yes, it took them three days to reply! For a company whose stock market price per share is the most expensive in the country, they can do better than that I think!

Their reply to me was nothing helpful at all since they only asked me for the account number which I have sent them along with our address on my first message.

New Series: Quote of the Month

I love reading quotes. I even gather those I find meaningful and in which my life can relate and I would usually read them when I’m depressed or feeling emotional. Just recently, I came up with the idea of adding a “quote of the month” series to;

1. improve my writing. Though my current job designation is content writer, I haven’t been writing much recently, spare for the curated article I need to produce once a month. My task nowadays is mainly email support so I feel like my brain is getting blunt from answering those common questions. I want to learn non-product review, non-travel and non-rant writing. LOL
2. inspire others. I know there are others like me who turn to articles or other written media for strength and inspiration during the darkest times of their life. By sharing what I went through and how I got by, I am hoping that they, too, can overcome and get out of the hole they are currently into. Well, I won’t be writing my autobiography here but I’m eyeing to share life lessons other people may find useful.
3. keep me grounded. I see this post as a sort of reflection. By reliving what I went through in life, I will be reminded of my humble beginnings and be grateful for what I have now.

I originally wanted it to be a weekly post but I am not sure if I can keep up with the frequency considering my workload, other articles for this blog and other activities of a sane person hence the monthly choice. I decided to post every last Sunday of the month so my first post will be on August 31. I still have lots of time to write! :D

Rural Dame is Moving!

No, not this blog! This blogger is the one who is moving to what would be her home for at least a year… or two. Actually, I moved yesterday. The rural dame is now city girl, at least for now. :D

With this move comes an important milestone that will greatly affect my future. I am getting married! Although our original wedding plan didn’t come into fruition due to family emergency, I am just glad that we pushed through with the wedding and make do with what we have at the moment. After all, for us frugal couple, it’s not the wedding that really matters but the marriage; our commitment and love to each other.

Starting from couple of months before the move, I have been quite busy with many things. We went scouting for apartment in the city, met the apartment’s administrator, scouted for household stuff and the likes. Moving to a new place is not that easy I tell you. Plus the fact that I haven’t made a big move before and with a family nest I’ve come to love since forever, leaving makes me feel a bit sad. But then, thinking of a new life I am going to build together with the man I am with for four years makes it all worthwhile. I look forward to the future we are going to build together and it just thrills me that finally… we are together most of the time (since we work in the same company, for now). *heart heart* LOL!

So there, moving gave me mixed feeling but beautiful feeling nonetheless.

Before the move. (Sorry for the crappy photo)

So what will happen to this blog after the move?

Wheat Nuts: The Nut-free Nuts!

Ever since my dermatologist gave me a list of foods I need to avoid, my man took over the role of implementing it. Each time I’m craving for something I’m not supposed to eat, he would usually make me choose between clear skin and that food in question. And of course, looking back at the time when my face is at its worst and my self-confidence is zero, I immediately shun the thought and make myself feel better by thinking that I’m doing this to avoid another massive break out.

Actually, the dermatologist’s list is just short but since I spend at least 10 hours a day in the internet and read various health and beauty information during free time, the list became longer. And although the list didn’t specifically mention nuts, I decided to avoid them for some reason.

I’m okay with this diet but I admit, I miss eating foods I used to eat without reservations (because I don’t get fat no matter what I eat!). So when my “guardian” told me that he has eaten wheat nuts bought by a co-worker and that we should buy one so that I can try it, I became quite excited.

Wheat Nuts, the crunchy-good nutty-tasting snack, that is what the bottle says. I couldn’t agree more with the line. They indeed taste like nuts and in fact more delicious than the baked peanuts I have been craving for. They are a bit salty with texture and crunchiness the same as peanut. Aside from the taste, they are also less sinful as they are made without hydrogenated vegetable oil, have no cholesterol and of course, nut-free! It’s like beauty and brains in women standard. LOL!