- I brushed up my Dutch and moved forward to the second tower in Duolingo
I am aware that I need to learn Dutch to integrate into society (and start making local friends), but the language is complicated. The inverse sentences and the guttered phonics makes it hard for my deteriorating aged brain. The difference from the American English that I knew my whole life was too broad.
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| Screenshot of my milestone! |
- Perfected a lot of dished that my husband is willing to eat seconds.
My husband is a picky eater and I like recreating delicious food in the kitchen. I want to cook for people who will appreciate the effort I put into it. Imagine having to cook for myself and criticising my own cooking, it was too frustrating. My son is a toddler so he doesn’t count for he will eat what he likes to eat.
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| Banana Cake/bread |
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| Pinoy Spaghetti |
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| Pandesal |
This quarantine was a breakthrough because I was able to make my husband like some of the things I made. I perfected my own recipe of banana bread (hubby doesn’t like sweet pasty), pandesal, bacon aglio olio, pinoy spaghetti…
- Took on some fitness challenges to jumpstart my metabolism
I did Blogilates May fitness calendar fully, like I finished it! Cassey’s exercises seemed easy, but they hurt like hell the next day. I can feel that the proper muscles are targeted, despite my lack of balance and coordination during the exercise. I also liked that she is so bubbly and encouraging throughout the exercise while you are cursing like crazy. I am aware that our fitness level is waaay to far different. She can still talk endlessly throughout the whole exercise while I was grunting and puffing the whole time. She tells you that she also struggle throughout the exercise but her face doesn’t seem to show it.
I did Chloe Ting’s Hourglass challenge for two weeks only for I got bored, but I did see some difference in my glutes and hips. Her exercises are for beginners, building up on strength and endurance. You can see that she also struggles because her form is breaking midway, which is somehow relateable in all levels, like she’s your exercise buddy. She has a cool soundtrack for the routine, and gives out these weird motivational voice overs to help you push through.
- Continued to mind what I eat after finishing my 1 month on Keto
I went from strict keto to low carb after a month. I was anxious to have my veggies and fruits, specially in this pandemic. Most of the essential nutrients are in fruits and veggies. The goal is to strengthen our immune system to lower the risk of further damages caused by covid.
I swapped my white rice with cauli rice or roasted veggies. I liked my cauli rice chopped by hand (or store bought if I am lazy) to mimic the rice texture. But the easiest and yummiest way to get my carbs is through oven roasted/stir fried vegetables. My go-to mix is what is locally available; such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, string beans, bellpepper, and celery. Another favorite of mine is braised cabbage with sausage, easy, tasty and quick.
My go to when I have a sweet tooth is fruits and nuts, specially berries since they are in season and full of antioxidants. I still eat pasta and noodles every now and then. There is a low carb bread available in the store and I grab it whenever I can, but I still indulge in homemade pandesal once in a while.
- Potty trained and gave my kid a haircut
In the mommy group I’m in, this is one of the suggestions to do while being on quarantine (aside from keeping a sane mind while juggling working, distance learning and keeping the house tidy). I did it with my son and we were successful with peeing in the toilet by himself. There are still accidents every now and then. He is still holding it when he is busy playing, but I get his cues that he needs to go.
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| Multi-tasking hehehe |
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| Before |
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| After |
