My Bad Eye

I have always had migraine. Known triggers of migraine are lack of sleep, food, strong scents and bright lights. For more literature on migraine you may want to check out www.migrainehelp.com.

For me, more often than not, very strong scent and glaring light are the usual culprits. And when I get unusual headache attacks, like one straight week of daily intake of Advil or Flanax (should not be taken on an empty stomach), I would usually see my ophthalmologist, Dr. Lionel Francisco, M.D. at Asian Hospital and Healthway ATC. Nice and funny fellow, that Dr. Francisco. In a check up more than 4 years ago, he noticed that my right eye iris does not constrict, the pupil is just a hole made by the iris, thus I easily get glared. I was advised to see a Neuro-Opthalmologist. I went to see one at Makati Medical Center, I forget the name as I only went to him once, and like any other neurologist, consultation fee’s higher than MDs in other field of specialization. The good doctor tried drops, reading, flashing light to my eye for hours, but it still won’t constrict. As it was not really something unmanageable, I was just given some drops. Pilocarpine Hydrochloride, I think. Not sure about the name, and DO NOT try medicine without checking with your physician first. And of course, dark glasses for daytime. I just used the drops for a while, as I try not to be too dependent on a medicine. Sunglasses and avoiding having to stay under the sun helps. It’s just kinda hard at night though. Especially when driving. Oncoming car headlights are equally glaring, high-beamers pay attention and take it easy on the beams please. ;-) Don’t look straight into the oncoming car and look sideway to the road instead, like what they advise in driving school, it’s actually in the Driver’s License test questionnaire you know.

Going back to my bad eye, until now we don’t know what is causing it to be like this. We even tried MRI (now that is another story, I had elevated prolactin level which suggests an abnormality in the pituitary gland function and osteoma) to check for tumor in the area, as the tumor can block the optic nerve thus resulting in malfunction of the iris or blindness…but initial reading showed no tumor growing in the area, thank God! I’m yet to go back to Dr. Francisco and a neurologist (for the prolactin and osteoma thingy) to show them the plates. I’ve been putting it off because they might suggest I get another MRI. I’m wearing braces and braces cause image artefacts (distortions), and they had to be taken off and put on again after the procedure. I’m almost done with these brackets. In the meantime… I just gotta wear shades!

*photos from vision.about.com and nymag.com

It Was A Good Weekend

The family and the household staff spent the day together yesterday. Except for Bea’s tantrum in the shower, it was a pretty good day. She was crying and crying, when asked what was wrong she said “I don’t like the shower because it’s too fast and I don’t like shampoo!”---Okay. You know kids, they have their own “logical” way of looking at things. So I just asked her to stop crying and told her if she didn’t stop we wont go out anymore. That calmed her down and they were done in 5 minutes.

First we went to the cemetery. We really avoid going on All Soul’s Day and All Saint’s Day. And I need not explain why. We usually go before or after. This year we went after. Got flowers and candles from my usual vendor just outside the cemetery. And visited our dearly departed.

Then we went to Mall of Asia for lunch. The hubby was craving for seafood and we decided to try their food at Marina.We ordered halaan (clam- ginger soup), calamares (batter fried squid rings), grilled prawns in lemon butter sauce, baked oysters, grilled pork liempo (country style ribs), lechon cebu (roasted pig, Cebu style), adobong kangkong (water spinach cooked in soy sauce and vinegar), and rice. It was okay. Food was good except for the oysters. The husband and I love oysters. I asked for Oysters Rockefeller, and the way they cooked it was pretty far from the Rockefeller I’m used to. Should have gotten Oyster on the half shell instead. We would have enjoyed it more. And their sago at gulaman drink (tapioca pearls and gelatine served with caramelized sugar, water and ice) is not something I would get from them again, give me the one from the chinese guy at Makati Supermart ATC or Goldilocks anytime!

Afterwards, we went around the mall. My hubby’s been asking me what I’d like to get for my birthday next week. Told him, he really doesn’t have to get me anything this year, as we are building our house, this year ONLY though. LOL. He insisted that I should get something, even a simple present. So I did. He got me a pair of Kenneth Cole sunglasses. Bea broke my Ray-Bans a couple of years back, and I shied away from eyewear since. Now that she is older it will be easier to ask her not to touch or break things. So thank you, my babbu love! Now my eyes have protection from the sun’s glare again! LOL. Seriously, I appreciate it! Thanks! Thanks! :-)

Little Imelda

Being the only child, and the only “apo” (grandchild) on my side of the family, Bea gets to enjoy being the recipient of attention, affection and numerous presents, not just from the dad and myself, but from our family and friends as well. Before she came along, my hubby and I only had each other to shower presents on. Now when we go malling, we just can’t help but get her stuff. And there are just so many tempting things out there to buy…especially for a little girl. Our little fashionista can really put a stylish outfit together. Even before she turned 2 years old, she’d choose which clothes to wear and with matching shoes to boot! And does she love footwear!

Sandals, flip-flops, sneakers, kitten heels, boots, etc. From the day she said goodbye to her baby booties, she’s had this on-going love affair with footwear. Owning more or less 40-50 pairs, there came a point when we just had to stop getting because there were like Bea’s shoes everywhere. She has outgrown, literally, most her shoes. Some were just worn once! Gave away most of them to friends, neighbors and whoever was in need of girl shoes. Kept the “firsts” though. First flip-flops. First mules. Something to show her when she’s older. Now it’s time to get new ones again, her feet are beginning to look “hulk-like” with her older pairs.

"Now when you go to New York, you see little posters (outside shoe stores saying) 'There's a little Imelda in all of us.' That’s quoting the Philippines' former first lady, Imelda Marcos.

Bea's Room

One of the fun and very exciting things about house building is space decorating. To actually witness something you've visualised be built from scratch, to slowly take shape, one can't help but feel giddy about it. The room I'm most excited about is Bea's. We do not have much shops here in the Philippines specializing in Kids' room. We have Color and Life at Mall of Asia, there used to be one at ATC and I guess there's also Sheridan at Shangri-La Mall. Good thing we have the internet...and Pottery Barn! I just love Pottery Barn stuff for kids. We already have some items ready like the Madison Touch Lamp with pink Gingham Bell Shade, the quilts and beddings, courtesy of her ninang (my cousin) and my aunt. They also have really nice wall decor, window treatment and other accessories. If they weren't that pricey, it would be nice to buy them all. I am thinking of getting her this clock:




Isn't it cute? The theme of her room is basically spring. Dominant colors would be kiwi green, pink and white. I'm scouting for a nice, sturdy, white twin bed, and so far we haven't found one yet (the hubby enjoys furniture hunting too). Will check out other furniture shops, if not we'll probably have one custom made. We want the room to be "fun" for her. So she'd want to stay in it. Until now she sleeps with us eventhough she has her own room at the townhouse. Maybe when we transfer to our new home she'd start sleeping in her own bed.

My 3rd post for today. Slow day, eh? Well it's Friday and no blogging on weekends.

Architect's Perspective

This is my second post for the day. Meaning? I'm quite excited about this blog thing. Novelty, I guess. Or just eager to share my thoughts and the happenings in my life. Well anyway, I attached here photos of the architect's perspective of our soon-to-be home. Construction is in full swing. We're looking into January or February move in. Just in time for our 7th year wedding anniversary. The husband and I are really excited about this. I will be posting more progress photos soon. We're still undecided though whether to use Autumn Mix Slate or Light Rustic Slate for the accent on the exterior wall. But the architect said either will be perfect for the exterior wall color we chose. For the roof, we'll be using CPAC Monier roof tile in Tropical Tan. Finishing will start pretty soon. Now I've been told that's the hardest part in building a house. I'm just glad that my hubby and I are in sync when it comes to our taste in a lot of things, like our preference for Modern-Contemporary design. Just imagine not wanting the same thing? Oh, boy.

Karate Kid In Pink Tights

Bea was barely two years old when my orthodontist gave us tickets to her daughter's ballet recitals at the CCP. Thinking that it would be a good time for Bea and her lola to bond, I asked my mom if she'd like to go instead. So they went and watched. She had a blast! She was the only one standing on her seat shouting, with her little voice, "Bravo! Bravo!", "More! More", "Next!, Next!", and clapping her hands. She's been doing that raising of the leg thing since. Then there were the Barbie movies: "12 Dancing Princesses" and "The Nutcracker". Bea's been wanting to go ballet for the longest time. I've been asking around for reputable ballet schools, cause hey, if you're gonna do it, better do it right. Ballet Phils. (CCP), Steps (Pasong Tamo), Halili-Cruz (QC) came up, but they're kinda far from where we are staying. There's one at Palm's, but the youngest they accept is 4 y.o.. My cuddle pup just turned 3 last July. Then I received a memo from her school, Rosemont, that they'll be starting ballet classes for girls and Tae Kwon Do for boys. I was putting it off until I could see that she's quite adjusted with her schedule and workload at school. We don't really want to overwhelm her. So my Mom and I said November's a good time. While we were buying her ballet stuff at Capezio, ATC I asked the people there if they know of other baby ballet schools in the area, they said BF and they have one at Alabang Country Club. Not that I don't want to enroll her at Rosemont, it's just that I think It'll be better if she could make new friends outside school. So I inquired at the Club and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it's the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet holding lessons there. So we signed up.

She was really excited when my hubby and I told her she's starting ballet lessons. November 4 was her first day. She was so cute in her ballet outfit. You could see that she's really interested as she was listening and following the teacher's instruction. But the execution was so "stiff". It was so funny. It's like karate kid-does-ballet LOL! Well, I guess for a first-timer, she did well. One kid was even crying. My daughter was really feeling it. She's like I don't care if I look stiff. I'm sooo loving this! LOL. In time I know she'll be a graceful dancer... or maybe we can also look into martial arts ;-)

Trick or Treat 2008

For the village Trick or Treat event this year, Bea went as a monarch butterfly. The pretty ensemble was a present from her sweet ninang. We just had to get matching black tights and white butterfy hat. Got her a pair of those inexpensive ballet shoes, but she opted to wear her black boots given by her my mom, which would have been perfect for night time trekking (with the lighting thingies). Her cousin celebrated her birthday at Verdana Clubhouse, just the cousins, that morning. They went swimming for almost three hours and she just had a one hour nap after. So she was tired already and asked to be brought home an hour into house-hopping. She was still able to get a lot of treats though, but she missed the halloween party after. She had fun just the same. Of course, we checked the candies together. She just kept around 1/5 of the entire loot and gave the rest to the household staff. It was good though that there weren't much "china" or unbranded candies given out. With all the melamine brouhaha people know better. Halloween is definitely one of those occasions kids, and adults, really look forward to... dreaded day for the toothfairy though!