Archive for December, 2006



03
Dec

December Stress

The Christmas rush usually stresses people out. Now that it’s only a few weeks before Christmas, some people may be itching to spend their well-earned bonus to buy gifts and food and/or go on a vacation. I don’t blame them. I know Christmas should be a time for family and for simple pleasures but a fast-paced life in the city often results in lesser time for oneself and for quality rest and relaxation.

I have signs of stress for the past couple of months. I haven’t consulted a doctor but had signs like missed periods, falling hair, impulsive buying and eating. When a friend asked me why I think I’m stressed I has difficulty pinpointing the real reason why. I said maybe because I think too much. She asked me what things I think about and I realized it’s the little things– family, my inability to save money for myself, my so-called love life, missing my sister, gaining weight, work– all these little things piled up can really affect me. She suggested I listen to mellow music. I am doing that now while typing this. I hope I can afford getting a whole body massage session too. I think I need that as well, so I can just sit back and breathe.

My sister left for Ternate, Cavite early this morning for their immersion, one of the requirements to finish her Nursing course, and she’ll be staying there for the next 3 weeks. I’m glad she’ll be home before Christmas and New Year but will go back there again on the first week of January to spend probably another month there. It’s sad. I haven’t caught up on sleep since she left at 4 AM today. I’ll be missing her despite the fact that I’m gonna have the bed and the room to myself (Haha!). It’s like losing a part of me and we all have to adjust having no "noisy one" in the house. So, I decided to file for a 4-day leave after Christmas (and hope it will be approved). I just want to give some time for myself and for people who matter the most to me.

Any other suggestions on how to battle stress? Feel free to comment. :)

02
Dec

Sinful Escape

It’s not as sinful as one might think, but since I desperately wanted to convince myself to start going on a diet, I committed a "crime" against myself. After shift and hanging out with 3 my friends, I found myself alone and killing time in the mall. I got hungry after a few hours and I "discovered" Penny Brown. I ordered a Smacker! Imagine about 2 hefty scoops of ice cream sandwiched between 2 freshly-baked cookies! Not only that, you can choose your own ice cream flavor and choose your fave cookies. I got a white choco loco (coz I love white chocolate) and a Penny Brown classic (coz I don’t wanna miss that) and sandwiched between is a caramel/pastillas ice cream (coz cappucino was not available then). Yumyum! I called it "Karen’s Sinful Escape". That’s my Penny Brown moment.

Diabetic? No worries! Just add a few pesos and you can choose sugar-free ice cream and sugar-free cookies so everyone can enjoy this treat! I know my father would love that. Look for the stand on the 3rd floor, Glorietta 4 Food Choices. :)

After that I found myself watching "Borat". I miss watching movies alone and the movie was so funny! I recommend watching it with a group of friends. Although I didn’t care laughing out loud despite being alone (especially when I saw *that* scene and I thought, now I know why that’s the movie title and it’s NOT because of the lead character’s name. Hahaha! Evil me.) Oh well, I broke my promise of not being a glutton anymore but it was worth it. I think I deserved that treat. Now, I need an activity to sweat everything out, but the holiday season is not exactly the best time to go on a diet with all the food around, right?