silent healing

We all experience emotional struggles and each of us has our own way on how to deal with it.

In my process of self-healing, i usually write quotes that i could relate to based on what i have experienced and what i am trying to heal from. It is not easy getting over pain, heartbreak and hurt and betrayal. Inspirational quotes motivate and inspire me to go on. They uplift my mood, encourage me to be positive and make me feel hopeful and happy.

And what else could make me happy? These cuties.

Star

Akiro

I just hug these fur babes and i would feel okay. Cat’s purr is believed to have therapeutic effects on human as it is both relaxing and healing. Cats spread a lot of positive energy too which is exactly what i need.

The Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: SILENCE

a time to celebrate

New year marks a new beginning… a fresh page to another year. I resolve to be happy, embrace positivity, find joy in little things and just go confidently towards my goals and dreams.

Starting the year 2018 by celebrating Star’s 6th birthday.

Star @6yrs

I have so much to be grateful for my furbabes. I just hug them and my stress magically disappears.

I have faced a lot of challenges in 2017. I hope that 2018 would be a better year. I sincerely want to have a more relaxed state of mind… to be genuinely happy and to be FINALLY free from all the negativities.

Overthinking, worrying and feeling regretful are some of the things that made my 2017 challenging. Overthinking just doesn’t get things done. It is stressful and only causes restlessness and sleepless nights. This year I should try to focus more on self reflection and to accept the fact that life is not perfect. I should not also waste my time with too much worrying as it causes too much anxieties.

May 2018 be a good one… Hello positivity, hello new dreams, hello new me.

Happy New Year to all.

 

priceless things i could afford

A Hermes Birkin designer bag is priceless for an ordinary person like me. I couldn’t buy an island nor have my own jet.  But the rich and the famous could afford them and they don’t seem to be that priceless. Lucky me, i do have priceless things that i really could afford.

Time. Yes, i could afford to live every moment of time. With so many bad decisions in the past i need to be really careful now in the choices that i make. What’s done is done and i cannot turn back the time.

Happiness. The key to achieving happiness depends upon one’s outlook in life. I may have endured a lot of challenges and problems because of a failed relationship but the power to be happy rests on me alone. I choose to be happy in spite of everything. As they say, happiness should not depend on things that we don’t have but appreciate and be happy on things that we have.

Family. I am thankful for having a wonderful family. It is a busy world and we all have our own lives to live but we do make it a point to celebrate every occasions together.

Nature. The gift of seeing nature is priceless whether it is just a pocket garden of flowers or just a tree in the yard. I love watching the birds that occasionally visit my one and only citrus tree. I love butterflies that hover from one flower to another. I love the bees that make stopovers from one flower to the next. I love watching the sky on a clear night. I love to watch the phases of the moon. Just yesterday i managed to take a photo of the sky and saw that the moon is almost full. Maybe tonight it would be.

Oh wait, i almost forgot… My cat Star is PRICELESS too.

star at play

I’ve been hibernating for too long… and to make up for that, here’s a collage of photos of my cat princess at play to make you smile.

Star had so much fun playing with fur balls. What to do after so much playing? Sleep and be a big fur ball.

In case you’re wondering what those fur balls are. They are actually Star’s own fur.

How i made a fur ball? So easy… here’s how. Just have enough fur on your palm, roll it with both palms, slowly and gently at first. And if you notice that it is becoming to be a ball then gently apply a little bit of pressure while rolling it with your palms. Keep rolling until it’s firm. Too little fur will result to a very small ball so eyeball the amount of the fur you will roll to come up with a desirable size for your own liking.

Anyway, i had fun making fur balls. Hmm… not yet sure on what i would do with those but i found a tutorial on the web on how to make them into bracelets or necklace. I think i would make them into a necklace for Star but i would experiment on dyeing the fur balls with different colors so when Star wears it, the necklace would really stand out. To avoid using artificial food colors, I am planning to use real food coloring instead like juice of carrots to make it orange, beets for red or pink, spinach for green and turmeric for yellow. I would keep you updated on this experiment.

Today weather is so hot. It is supposed to be the start of the rainy season. Thermometer reading is at 32 degrees C. Too hot even for the fur babes. My german shepherd Marwind enjoys water sprays from the hose. I wet him regularly and give him lots and lots of water to drink to prevent heat stroke. The kitties sleep under the sofa or cabinet where it is a bit cooler but Puti prefers to hang out at the cat condo.

mushroom and vegetable chips

I hope everyone is having an awesome Wednesday.

I had some free time today and managed to clear out the garage of clutter. It was tiring but so worth it. As a reward for myself i munched on my new found love and addiction… mushroom chips.

I super love the crunchiness in every bite. It has that deep umami flavor that brings out the taste of the mushroom. I’m quite sure it is dehydrated thus it doesn’t have the greasiness found in most chips. Unfortunately it is not available locally which means i need to tell my sister that the next time she comes home from Dubai, she should bring me lots and lots more of these chips as they are so incredibly good. I think this is a healthier version of the usual kind of chips. Based on the product description, there is no chemical preservatives as it only contains canola oil, salt and sugar.

Last night i tried the vegetable chips… they are absolutely addicting too.

I love the crunchiness of the vegetables. Like the mushroom chips, these are also dehydrated and almost greaseless. Included in the pouch are sweet potato, purple sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, green bean, okra and onion. Oh gosh, it’s heavenly in every bite. I could taste the sweetness of the veggies and that hint of saltiness from the sea salt. Too bad, these are also not available locally.

It’s 3 days before new year and sooner it will be Star’s birthday too. Yep, she was born December 31 and will soon be turning 5. How time flies. Will surely give Star lots of cheers and kisses on her birthday… and gifts too.

In response to The Daily Post daily prompt: OVATION.

sleeping beauty

Finally, the orchids awakened from their deep slumber and bloomed. I remembered i was just talking to them (yes, i talk to my orchids hehe!) the week before and i was telling them that they are supposed to be flowering by now. And today… these beauties greeted me this morning. Thank you orchids. Hmm… did they really ABIDE by my request?

I love the crinkled edges of the flower’s intermediate lobe and they really give it that distinct dainty characteristic. Oh, did you notice the insect inside? Surely, it was attracted by its mild sweet scent.

And speaking of beauties… here’s a photo of my sleeping beauty.

Star loves to sleep on my pillow. I usually reserve a pillow just for her because when i hop in bed she would follow and lay beside me.

Happy Sunday everyone!

 

ready to bloom

I woke up this morning finding Star intently staring at me. I noticed that it’s only 6:30am and since i was feeling a bit lazy i stayed tucked in bed, watched the early news and finally went downstairs at 8:30am. I was greeted by all the other kitties and my son told me why i was late in waking up and informed me it’s actually 11:30am. Oh my gosh, my wall clock maybe stopped in the middle of the night and was 3 hours late. Poor fur babies, late feeding time today.

“You’re late mom, come feed me… i’ve been waiting for hours.”

It was a stressful morning doing all the chores simultaneously. Anyway, seeing these flower buds in my garden made my day. They are so ready and UNSTOPPABLE to burst open. For sure, i would find them in full bloom tomorrow. Ooh, i couldn’t wait.

This plant is called garlic vine and is also known as garlic creeper because of the garlicky smell of the leaves and flowers when crushed. When in full bloom, they are a sight to behold. More photos coming soon…

 

they brighten up my day

Flowers make me happy. It lifts up my mood and makes me cheery. If only i could display flowers inside the house then i would be happier. But i am afraid the kitties will just make a mess of it as i have experienced having one of my indoor plants in a glass vase got broken because of their wild chasing. For now i would just enjoy taking photos.

Flowers are beneficial to a person’s emotion. I believe that it’s because of their bright colors and a connection to nature. Nature also makes us feel better as it soothes and eases our stress and anxiety away.

There’s also one very important part of my life that always brightens up my day.. It’s Star. Here’s a photo i took of her in the morning when i woke up. She’s up and about and greets me hello with a soft meow and an invitation to caress her soft fur. Isn’t she lovely?

Star stays most of the time in my bedroom . She is not FORBIDDEN but free to go downstairs as she pleases but she seldom stays longer. My only princess definitely hates rough play and wild chasing among the four princes. She is the mellow and laid back type and my bedroom is her peaceful refuge.

It’s #TBT or throwback Thursday. Here’s another photo of Star playing with my ipad when she’s just about 7 months old… actually we were both enjoying answering the word hunt game.

Happy Thursday to everyone. I hope i made you smile today.  🙂

feeling hopeful

It’s a good morning. The kitties are hungry and waiting for me at my bedroom door. Well, all the kitties sleep downstairs and Star is the only one who sleeps with me. I guess it’s what you call “privilege” because Star used to be the only kitty in the house but now they are 5.

While feeding the other outside cats at the back of the house, i saw a nice cloud formation. I ran inside to take my cellphone but the CLOUDS drastically changed its shape and i wasn’t able to take good shots. Must be the strong wind up there. So instead i would like to share these photos i took when we visited our hometown.

Clear blue sky, lovely weather and nice view overlooking Laguna de Bay.

My province became a popular local tourist spot and bikers’ destination since the construction of wind turbines.

Wind turbine up ahead… Our trip to the province was so worth it as it’s the first time i have seen turbines this close.

Today is a brand new day… a new beginning and everyone is very hopeful for a better nation as the new President of the country has just been sworn into office. Thank you June and hello July.

For more good vibes, here’s a photo of Star with her #wokeuplikethis looks.

 

no partner, no problem

I only have four flowering plants in my garden. Oh well, blame it on the dogs because they destroyed almost all my plants, broke a lot of terracotta pots, trampled and messed with good soil that i was supposed to use for planting. I always wake up in the morning with the sight of a very messy and dirty garage with pieces of chewed up plants scattered everywhere. It stopped when there’s no more pots to break and plants to chew on.

At the onset of rainy season, i noticed that my two gardenia plants started to bloom. I often wonder why plants love rain WATER. As i search the net for answers, i found out that rain water is slightly acidic and it contains some organic matter that plants love and need to thrive and bloom.

My dogs Marwind and his partner in crime Raf-raf  (click my ABOUT page to see their photo) most likely knew that they should not mess with this plant as it is included in the list of toxic plants that i found in the ASPCA website. Now i know why they were spared. If you’re interested to know the complete listing of toxic and non-toxic plants to dogs, here’s the link.

And speaking of PARTNERS, here are photos of my adorable buddies.

As always, Tiger is my ever loyal laptop buddy. The moment i open my laptop he will jump on the table and flop himself right away to catch my attention then he’ll take a nap.

Here’s Boots with that mellow stare as if begging me to give him a piece of my sandwich. Boots is my all-time food buddy as he’ll always at my side when i eat. Well, he wins most of the time as i give him the chicken treat that i personally prepare for him. He loves boiled chicken meat.

Here’s the ever so playful chubby Ashton who loves to sleep on top of the laptop and is also my alternate laptop buddy.

And at the end of the day… here’s my adorable sleep buddy Star. She instantly made one of my pillows her own but that’s okay. (Umm … mom i think you need to clean my nose now to remove those food marks so i would look prettier , haha.)

No partner in life.. no problem. My furry partners keep me company and i adore them to bits.

It’s a wonderful day. Don’t forget to smile 🙂