Geek Chic

Cute picture of the day: My little brother trying to geek it up with 3d glasses :)

Pinay!

Cute picture of the day: It's Pinay, the wandering cat. This cat has no owner and wanders off in my friend's backyard to forage for food. She is very cautious and does not want to be held, but she is so fluffy and cute! ^_^

Acne and Food Sensitivity

Myth or Fact? Food has something to do with acne. My aunt who is also a nurse would always tell me that food has nothing to do with acne. She would always tell me to eat whatever I wanted because acne will go away eventually when you get older. I would always just smile and nod because she can be pretty scary sometimes haha. When you go online and search if food affects acne, they would usually say no. Even my past dermatologists would tell me that food has nothing to do with acne. But sometimes, you have to dig deeper if you want to know the truth. The truth is, I have learned that the food we eat has a big impact on acne. It can either help heal it or make it worse.

I used to think that maybe acne was a way of karma, that if I did something wrong, then it will turn up as a pimple or something. Well, it kind of works like that. What you put into your mouth will reflect on yourself, your mood, your thinking, and even your skin. I'm not saying that diet is the only main reason why people have acne. There are a lot of factors involved. That's why we can find vegetarians who still have acne. 

We may not notice it, but food can also be an allergen (causes allergies) and trigger a breakout. Sometimes I would eat a pineapple and suddenly notice a pimple appearing out of nowhere. It could be coincidence, but it could also mean that I was sensitive to pineapple.

My naturopath recommended a food sensitivity test a few months ago if in case I wanted to find out what I am specifically allergic to, so I know what food to avoid. I put it off for now since this test is not covered by insurance, and is pretty costly. I will save up for it and try to do a food allergy testing and blog about it sometime soon. What she told me to do for now is to do an elimination test. Here is how to go about it:

• Go with your guts and be observant. Sometimes I noticed that after eating a certain type of food or drinking some sort of medication that I get itchy, red, and start breaking out. That gave me some suspicion and I would list it down.
• Try taking in the suspected food for a couple of days and see if you get worse. I found out that chocolates, peanuts, citrus (pineapple, oranges), tomatoes, shrimp, dairy products, soy, corn, potatoes, even ascorbic acid triggered my acne. I'm sure I will get a better picture of what I am sensitive to when I take the test but at least I have an idea on what food I am sensitive to.  
• Avoid it. I love shrimp, dairy (ohoho cream cheese and ice cream), and pretty much all of the food that I am sensitive to, and it makes me so sad when people can go about their daily lives and enjoy chocolates and not break out. But if you want to achieve something, sometimes we have to give up things we enjoy. Plus, I found that there are alternatives (almond milk, rice milk, etc.). 
• Most importantly, my aesthetician told me not to be too hard on myself. I would deem my food insensitivity as "bad food".  She told me that when you do that, you are actually sending negative vibes to the food. That negative energy will affect you emotionally and physically. Let's say it's your friend's birthday and she has some yummy cake. You know you will break out if you eat it but you don't want her to think that you're a party pooper so you eat the cake, knowing that it is "bad".  Although you will still break out even if you give it a more positive outlook, but at least the food will not go in as hard as when you give it the negative energy it doesn't deserve.

I hope this helps :)  

Choosing The Right Product

I have learned that the right product is one of the most important things to help with acne. Here are some tips that could help: 

• Try to consult with a dermatologist or an aesthetician. Dermatologists can help diagnose and prescribe medications as needed to help like if there are infections and such. With aestheticians, they look beyond the medical side and help soothe your skin and heal it with gentle facials and extractions. Not all aestheticians are created equal, so find a good one. I am lucky to find an aesthetician who has helped me to  soothe my irritated skin caused by years of lack of knowledge and overdoing product after product. 
• Read the ingredients. Do your research. Like what I said before, there are some chemicals that actually do more harm than good. As much as possible, stick to products that are less chemical-ish and more natural. You may like using benzoyl peroxide and drinking antibiotics but make sure you know the side effects of taking them more than you have to. I know I may sound biased and seem to tend to favor natural made products, but I believe that chemical based products have more harmful side effects in the long run. 
• I have very sensitive skin so whenever I buy a new product, I put a small sample at the back of my ears and observe for redness or itching. 
• Make sure the product is non acnegenic and non comedogenic.
• Sometimes, less is more. Be wary of people who say that you have to use tons of amounts of this and that to help with acne. I've learned that the hard way. I used to slather everything at one time, with huge amounts, and it only made my skin more irritated. 
• If you have a product that is working, stick to it. Or if you have a product and after a few days you don't notice anything, give it time to do its job. This doesn't always happen but some products make your skin worse and "purge" before it starts healing. But it does get kind of tricky. If you think that the product is not really doing anything but making it worse, it's time to change it. Products are never an exact science.
• Celebrity endorsed products are not always the best thing. Its a matter of Quality over quantity. You can read reviews online and see how people are doing with the product. Not all that glitters is gold :)

Where Are You Bob?

Top Of The Mornin' To Ya!

I woke up at two in the morning to call in sick. My gums were still a little bloody and a whole lotta sore. What did I expect, I got four teeth extracted at the same day. Sigh. But now, I'm hungry! My sister bought me some ice cream and pudding, but i'm still starving! I need a whole meal, something that I can chew on and stuff -_-

Erngh...Wazzablahblah...

I just woke up after the dental extraction and I feel so horrible... I don't even know how I got to my bed. That anxiolytic knocked me out goodzzzz....

Hunger Pangs

I was supposed to wake up earlier so I can eat to my heart's content before I can't eat or drink anything else, but sadly, I woke up later than seven, and the lady specifically told me not to eat ANYTHING before six hours of your operation OR ELSE the doctor won't do your surgery. Gah, so hungry right now... So i'm in my room, shunning out all the temptations this house has to offer... I can smell the fried rice and eggs my grandma cooked... Gah! I'm hungry!

Buster?

Cute photo of the day: I think it's buster... My cousin from San Antonio has four dogs that look exactly alike, so I'm not sure if it's him or not, but isn't he cute? Although I am a little curious on how these dogs can see with all that hair ^_^

Where The Wild Things Are Lost Part 2

Old Spice Guy

Those new Old Spice commercials crack me up. He makes me want to buy old spice and make my man smell like the man my man can smell like hahaha. This guy can turn stuff into diamonds! Now that's awe-some! Not that there's anything wrong with how my man smells like, they just have good marketing strategy :D

Too Much Passion Can Sometimes Stink

Nasty

Yesterday I was checking my mail at work (It wasn't that busy at that time, I was not slacking off haha). I had an email from a site called nasty gal, where they were advertising their new shoes. Being the shoe lover that I am, I had to check it out. I mistakenly wrote nasty girl and was surprised to find that the site was a porn site! I was in panic since number 1, it's a porn site. And number 2, I was at work! I heard stories about a nurse getting fired for checking a porn site on his computer at my other job, so I'm a little scared. I told my best friend about it and I was LOL-ing at his message: he wrote: It's still complicated cause it's like "I wasn't surfing porn! I was just using company internet to... shop... for... shoes... ehehehehe". I could not agree more :)   

Oreo!

Cute picture of the day: It's Oreo! She falls under the category of weirdish cute :) This dog is super friendly and super hyper! 

Brain Fart

Why is it that whenever I'm trying to think of something to write, nothing comes out, but whenever I'm busy at work all those creative juices suddenly start flowing and I have to stop and write it down so I don't forget. I guess the workplace is my source of inspiration! Maybe that's one reason to be excited for work haha. :)

Where The Wild Things Are Lost Part 1

The Last Airbender

Image via Wikipedia

 

Okay, so I (finally) got to watch The Last Airbender. Me and some of my friends are avid Avatar The Last Airbnder watchers, and learning that it was going to be a movie was like sweet, sweet music to our ears. But much to our dismay, seeing the movie provoked major disappointment. They were all oh it sucked, I can't believe I wasted my money on this and all that. Their rants sort of amused me though. Yeah, I am amused with the weirdest of situations. :D 

Some things that made my eye twitch:
> Aang, was pronounced as Ung, and Iroh is pronounced as Eero. Eero! I know that is petty, but when you're used to hearing something, you notice those subtle differences, and you kind of find it to be annoying.  

> I guess the fact that the lead actors were "White" and the villains were "Indian" had a lot of people complaining. That didn't bother me that much though.
> I miss the hilarious and clumsy Sokka :)

> They squeezed a whole book into one movie. The story can be a little bit confusing if you never watched the series.

> Aang, the lead character, looks like one of my friends so I was laughing the whole time while watcing the movie. >:)
> The story lacked that special someting that the animated series had. The movie was, well, pretty dull.

From my standpoint, it was okay. It wasn't anything spectacular. I loved the series and I do wish it could have been better, but it wasn't. So might I suggest they just do an animated movie that had book 4 perhaps? Just a thought :)

Honey!

Cute picture of the day: My sister's boyfriend's slightly obese chihuahua :) She's a good dog, a little spoiled though...

Don't Step On My Taupe Suede Oxfords

I just got them at Forever 21 for 20 bucks! They are so adorable :)

Ready For Dental Extraction?

Waah! -_- So I just got home from the dentist for a consultation on tooth extraction. I need them to be taken out so I can start with my invisalign. I have a lot of crowding on my lower front teeth and because of the crowding, my upper front teeth are slanted. Hopefully by next week I can schedule the procedure and be done with it. I am pretty calm when it comes to surgery and stuff like that, but I am somewhat anxious with  four tooth extractions. Four!

They asked me if I wanted to be asleep during the whole surgery but they would have to use IV drugs. I just opted with the milder sedation. I guess taking halcion before having the surgery is enough for me. I won't panic, I think... Hmm... Nah, I can take it! Just as long as I don't feel anything. Bring on the local anesthetics! >:) 

I have been reading about extraction complications and I hope everything goes well. Some  of these complications are: 

Bleeding

Infection

Dry socket. A dry socket is a condition in which the blood clot that forms in the extraction site becomes detached from the walls of the socket, or dissolves away leaving the bare bone exposed to saliva and the foods you eat.  The bone becomes inflamed due to bacteria and contaminants in the saliva, and this inflammation is  persistent and painful. 

Broken Jaws

Sinus perforation 

Osteonecrosis of the jawbone is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bone.  Without a blood supply, the bone dies. 

Hoo boy. Now that made me a little more anxious ahaha. But, I just have to look on the bright side and think of it as the first step to having better looking teeth :D

sources:

complications of dental extraction     

Fortune Coookieee!

Your everlasting patience will finally pay off soon. 


That was my fortune cookie for today. I just hope hope hope it is what I think it is (my Texas nursing license). Glee!

Brain And Spinal Cord MRI

Last week, my baby brother went for his MRI. He was born prematurely, and had a communicating hydrocephalus a few months after he was born. The doctors wanted to check on him to see if his spinal cord and brain are fine. We went to Dell Children's Medical Center to have the exam. He had nothing to eat since 7 o'clock last night and boy was he cranky! 

              

On the left picture you can see him trying to find the car keys and wanting to leave. On the right picture we got to change him into a gown and made him draw scribbles on the white board to let the time pass.

I didn't have the after pictures, but he did pretty good. They had to put him on general anesthesia since he had to stay still during the whole procedure (which was 2 hours long! Even I can't stay still for that long!) The results came in yesterday, and I am happy to say that his brain is doing ok, his hydrocephalus was resolved through medications before, and I am glad to hear that he is doing well. His spinal cord is ok, but he does have scoliosis, torticollis and is pigeon chested,  which makes us concerned with his lungs. We will schedule him with an orthopedist and find out what they can do to help him.  

Cute Pug Says Batman

Funny, funny pug. I just had to post it :)

Zit Happens

I was watching a commercial on TV where they were showing products that have a brand new totally awesome "quick fix" for acne. Either they have found a miracle cure, or they are totally absurd. (They are full of crap if you ask me.) I hate how corporations try to make money out of low self esteem. But sadly, people will do and buy anything just to have a cure for acne. 

I used to have really bad acne, it was so horrible, I did not want to look at myself in the mirror. I hated socializing with people. My self esteem was as small as a grain of sand. It was horrible. I just had to see a dermatologist and find a cure. The treatment was a crazy cycle. I get zits, I go to a dermatologist, she prescribes antibiotics and creams. I ingest the pills and slather the creams onto my face. My zits kind of go away, but it comes back after I stop taking the pills and the creams. 

I pretty much tried everything I could get my hands on. Topicals, gels, antibiotics, lasers, and even pills. I even took Accutane, which I regret till this day.  None of them really did any good.

Last December 2009, I was prescribed with Septra, a pretty strong antibiotic. I felt really bad after taking them. I was having fever, chills, nausea, and headaches. I had to stop the medication. I realized, I gave these medications to my patients who had strong infections, and yet I am taking it, and I don't really need it! I was sick of it all and just stopped everything. The cycle had to stop. It wasn't doing me any good anyway, why did I think that things will come out different?

And so I had to look for an alternative and found a naturopath that helped me understand my body a little better. She is in San Diego and since I moved back to Texas, I have not been able to talk to her, but she set me on the right path to health. I will be trying to look for another naturopath as nice and understanding as her over here.

My face is not perfect right now, it is still a work in progress. I am slowly finding my way to be clear and get on with my life and not have to worry about other people looking at me like i'm a freak or something. I will be blogging about my experiences on how to get there and with a glimmer of hope, finally become acne free :) 

Blueberry muffins!

Tis time for another sweet treat! Some blueberry muffins that are good tasting and are good for you. I am not Vegan, I still eat meat but I am trying to stay away from dairy. I found this vegan blueberry muffin recipe online, and it turned out quite well.  And so here it is :) This recipe can make up to 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

1.5 tbs margarine
1/4 cup applesauce
1/6 cup of stevia
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs of baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup rice/almond/soymilk
2 cups blueberries

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients into a bowl. Put ingredients in cupcake tins and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Movie Time!

Got Glasses?

And so I finally got my glasses on, and it is taking me a while to get used to it. It feels weird, but wearing them makes a whole lot of difference. I can see! :)

So Different Yet So Alike

Siopao and Kabute are very different from each other. Different hobbies, different personalities, but little do they know they are alike in so many ways. 

I made these mini comics based on me and my fiance's  experiences and characteristics (with a few exaggerations of course). We are in a long distance relationship right now, and I make these doodles so we could laugh about our memories while keeping us bonded at the same time. 

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right Errr...

Ahh... Old school video games. I just love reminiscing them in their 8 bit glory. I remember playing these classics with my cousins on Saturday afternoons. My all time favorites (or at least what I could remember)were Ice Climber, Super Mario Brothers, Contra, Chip and Dale, Twin Bee, Battle City, Circus Charlie, and so much more. Games today have great graphics (almost life like), you can play with other people online and "pwn" them, and you can even do yoga while playing the Wii. But old games have a certain charm that make me want to play them again and again.

I recently found this website NINTENDO 8 (yeah, yeah, I'm always the last to know haha) and it has old games like Wrecking Crew, Tetris, Mario, and all those old games that I loved to play. It made me smile and had me glued to my laptop for hours. It was just gaming bliss :)

I was always terrified of this  game (Bomberman), I don't know why though. It feels good to play it again and conquer oneof my (many) irrational fears hehe.

Sitting Continued

                    

  mmm... yummy, cloth cake!            

     

notice a pattern? I'm hungreh! >:)

Sitting

I am at work today, and they have me sitting. A sitter is usually required when patients are violent, suicidal, demented and tend to pull out IV's or foleys or try to get up by themselves but can't and so they end up falling. So today, that is what I do. I sit. I am thankful that they have me sitting today since I have been experiencing massive stress when I am on the floor dealing with 10-15 patients, call lights going off, and everyone wanting you at the same time. I am a registered nurse, but I am not licensed here in Texas, so while waiting for my license to materialize (complicated stuff going on), I am a nurse's aide. Although it ain't so bad, It just gets really stressful, and I can't really do anything without telling the nurse, even if I know what to do. Of course, pride is also involved, but I had to swallow it like a huge, dry pill and wait patiently.

I was expecting my patient to be somewhat unruly, but I got the opposite. This guy is just sleeping. Well, I guess I will find out why he needs a sitter when he starts waking up. But for now, I am bored as heck. I found this cloth tape on the table and started playing with it. I must warn you, keep office or medical supplies away from me when I am bored. I will use it by any means to craft something for my amusement!

cloth tape ravioli anyone?

Hole-ey Guacamole!

I love avocados. They are just divine. And so healthy too! Aside from having Vitamin K, Vitamin C, and Folate, avocados have lutein, which are good for the eyes!

We had a couple of them lying around so I decided snack on them. I usually don't like eating avocados by itself cause I find it weird tasting. So I sweeten it up! A great way to make it into a sweet snack is to:

1. Mash avocados until it looks like paste, greenish gloopy paste :D
2. Add about a teaspoon (or more if desired) of sugar or sugar substitute like truvia or splenda
3. Add milk or rice/almond/soy milk
4. Mix it all together and you get this gooey glop of goodness :) This simple snack takes less than 5 minutes. It looks weird, but it tastes oh so good :)

Time For Trouble... Make It Double

Cockroaches just really creep me out, but I never have the guts to kill them myself.

Cool Pants?

My aunt gave these nifty old pants to my mom but it won't fit her, so I saved it before she gave it away to a thrift shop. Problem is, I don't really know what to wear them with...

Ideas, anyone? anyone? Well, I'm gonna go ahead and rummage my closet and hope I find something to go with it :) 

Oh Sheesh Y'all! Apple Walnut Muffins!

I love watching Jake and Amir from College Humor. Their crazy stints crack me up every time. This episode made my mouth water for some apple walnut muffin! :) I know that sounds weird cause the episode involved Amir having to spit out the muffin, but I felt like having some after watching it so there. Haha! Too bad amir is allergic to apples, walnuts, and muffins, cause this muffin is pretty good.  

  

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Flaxseed
1 and 3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 cup Truvia
2 tsp Baking powder
3 Egg white substitute
2 tbsp Canola oil
3/4 cup Almond milk/Soy milk/Rice milk
1/2 cup Chopped walnuts
1 Large apple, diced

I am getting the hang of baking and I am really starting to enjoy it. I got the recipe from the internet, (again, I do not remember where), but thank you. My sister and I modified the ingredients a little to make it healthier. Vegan apple walnut muffins. Yum. These ingredients make about 18-20 2 inch muffins.

Firstly, Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grind flaxseed to a coarse or fine powder (your preference, we prefer fine) in a coffee grinder.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, truvia and baking powder. Stir in the flaxseed powder. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs with the oil and milk. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine with a few swift strokes. Stir the diced apples and the walnuts into the batter. 

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes. We found that the muffins were a little dry, so to add moisture, we added around a table spoon of maple syrup on each muffin and oh boy did it taste good. Enjoy!

Trying Out Something New: Bento

As I have said before, I was never a really good cook. But I did always enjoy playing with my food. Since I was young, I would play with my pancakes, put smiley faces on them and write words with the maple syrup. Little did I know that in other countries, they made food as art. It surprised me to see how Japanese mothers take their time to prepare meals for their children and make cute designs out of their lunch boxes. Some people even went beyond and made "kyaraben" where they make cartoon characters or other figures made from food! It's amazing what creativity they have. 

I saw an online summer school program on facebook and decided to try it out. I haven't really gotten down into it that much yet. There are so many accessories available out there nowadays to help make bento boxes cuter, but I don't have any of those. I try to make due with what I have for now and just have fun.  

I know I am a little behind, but....

For week #1, the theme is to make muffin tin. 

I call it Bears Sleeping in the Forest. I made the bears with the muffin tin meatloaf but had to take it out of the muffin cuppy thingy to cut it into a bear shape. The muzzle is made of white cheese, and the nose, eyes, and mouth out of nori. The background is pretty simple, i just chopped up some carrots, asparagus, corn and broccoli, boiled and seasoned it, and neatly (not really that neat hehe) arranged them. And underneath are some alfalfa sprouts with some spinach and lettuce. 

It's my first time so it's not really that pretty, but I had a lot of fun. I might get into more of it and buy some accessories to help me have cuter bento. But first I need an actual bento box. Maybe if I had children to experiment  love and care for and make their meals as they go to school, I can get more practice :D

Curly Tops

I sometimes jokingly tell people (especially my fiance) that I want to shave my head to see what I would look like bald. Majestic, like a bald eagle. Do bald eagles go bald as in bald? 

Curly tops is one of the good quality candies in the Philippines that I used to enjoy a lot when I was younger. And since my hair is curly, Most people called me curly tops too, and I guess the name kind of stuck. 

Gaah! My Eyes!

You see (ha-ha very funny), this drawing really happened. Not that cars suddenly started looking like that or anything. You get my point. But four months ago, my eyes started to get blurry, and my driving was more dangerous than ever. Thankfully, we were unharmed and no tickets have been mailed since. I still get paranoid whenever the mail arrives though. 

When I moved from California to Texas, I thought getting my driver's license over here was easy as pie, but I was wrong. Everything was good except for the vision part. I was so embarrassed because I spent five minutes trying to read one line. The lady working there was going "Tsk tsk, when was your last eye exam?" And I replied, well, my eyes were fine when I got my license in California. And she says, "Na-ah, you have to get your eyes checked then come back here." She was the type of lady you don't want to mess with. And so, I had no choice. I had to get my eyes checked.

It took me a month to have them checked out since I had to wait for my insurance to kick in. And it is good that I waited. Health care costs can get crazy without insurance. I saved around 200 dollars for the check up and glasses with insurance!

I never really had a thorough eye check up before, and it's amazing how many doodads and thingamabobs are there to help diagnose your vision. These were some of the equipments they used when they were examining my eyes.

And so they checked my eyes out, made me read some letters from the eye chart, flashed some lights in my eyes, and put eye drops that made my pupils dilate for 3 hours (It was no fun being sensitive to light and having blurry vision). The doctor was really nice. She told me I had myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism. My eyes weren't that bad, but I did need glasses. My prescription glasses should be available sometime soon. 

Moral of the story, take care of your eyes. My job requires me using a computer, plus I often use my laptop for watching shows and doing all sorts of things. Some things I've learned from this experience:

1. Give eyes some rest. Stare at something far, and if available, stare at the trees. They say green has a calming effect to the eyes. 

2. Do not rub eyes hard. It's a bad habit that I am trying hard to break.

3. Eat more veggies! Vitamin A for the eyes.

4. Drink more water to help rehydrate the eyes. 

5. Adequate lighting when reading a book or watching TV. I used to read in the dark and I am starting to regret it.  

6. Lastly, get adequate sleep. 

Just Dance

Da da doo doooom!!!

Dancing is not one of my talents. My lack of coordination skills hinder me from practicing this form of art. Imagine a skinny frog flailing its arms around. Yep, that's pretty much how I look like. So, the next time you invite me to an event that involves dancing, beware! I just might... step on your toes >:)

Pet Peeve

One thing that really bugs me is when people call me Maria. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely name, and it is close to Marie, but Maria is Maria, and Marie is Marie, dang it! So, it's Marie-with-no-A ok?!