occupation: SAHM

*Picture from AllPosters.Com

It feels great to be back home. You see, I’ve been out everyday for almost a week now- errands here, papers there, work work work, here and there- that I have neglected my home. I’m glad to have this day to get back to homekeeping, finish my chores, and make home feel like home again.

Continue reading ‘Back Home’ »

One wall in the bedroom used to be the canvas of my daughter’s *sigh* art work.

“Used to be” - because now it’s gone. The wall is now graffiti-free.

Thanks to Mr. Muscle Kitchen Cleaner. That’s right, a Kitchen Cleaner. The one used for cleaning stoves. It costs PHP 99.75 which is way, way cheaper than repainting your wall. A friend hired a painter to re-do her walls. Me, I used a Kitchen Cleaner.

I didn’t plan on using it. I was just cleaning the stove, then I went to the bedroom to change the sheets, and grimaced, once again, at the sight of that wall. Continue reading ‘Clean Slate’ »

When we’re not feeling so good, we do things to beat the blues. Some people shop, some people go to the salon, some people eat.

Me, I clean. My mood changes, I feel light, my outlook is brighter when the house is in order.

I have recently purchased a new duster from Rubbermaid. It costs Php 135.00 in Ace Hardware.

Dirt on the walls that cannot be easily wiped off are swept away by the Rubbermaid duster in one swoop. Under computer monitors, back of the shelves, no problem. They are easy to reach, again thanks to this duster.

Here’s the best part. The dust doesn’t fall off, immediately or as you make your way out the door to shake off the dirt. The dust clings to the those fibers until you give it a good shaking.
Continue reading ‘Clean Fun’ »

Come and take a look at some of my favorite stuff in my kitchen.

My 2-year old daughter still drinks from this kiddie cup. The color has faded and Minnie Mouse is barely there, but she uses it anyway because “it’s pweettee.” Continue reading ‘In My Kitchen’ »

And that would be Mr. Muscle!

This product was introduced long ago but I bought my first bottle only last week. The bathroom tiles had become an eyesore, the water stains and scum were just unbelievable. I tried all sorts of cleaning products and of course, elbow grease. But they just wouldn’t come off, grr!

I was skeptical of Mr. Muscle Mold and  Mildew Killer because I have tried a similar product months ago. Just spray it on your tiles, then rinse it off, the commercial said. It didn’t work, like I just splashed the wall with water. Either the product was blah or my tiles were hopeless.

I had resigned to the fact that we might need to re-tile the bathroom, when I saw a bottle of Mr. Muscle Mold and Mildew Killer on the shelf of a hardware store. Why not? It would be my last attempt at getting the tiles back to pristine white.

I sprayed it on the bathroom wall as soon as I got home. I saw a spot of white on the tiles. Boy, I could see results, in seconds! Seconds! I got excited and sprayed it all over the problem areas.

The commercial said there would be no need to scrub. But the product was a little foamy and couldn’t cover every inch of the wall, so I had to scrub. No matter, the grime would have softened and it would be easy to scrub them all off. In less than 30 minutes, my bathroom was back to the way it was.

I am NOT a paid endorser of this product.  I am just a happy and satisfied customer, and I would like to spread the news. It costs PHP 99.75 per spray bottle, and the bathroom looks like new again. Beats the cost of re-tiling.  

Remember to use gloves though. I didn’t, and my hands felt very dry after cleaning. Also, do not close the bathroom door while using the product, and go out once in a while for fresh air. I stayed in the bathroom for at least 15 minutes while using Mr. Muscle and I got very dizzy. Then I heard someone actually fainted, but then she mixed it up with bleach, I think.

I saw an interesting article from an old, yellowing issue of Reader’s Digest (April 1995!) written by Mary Roach about Dr. Clean.

Dr. Clean’s real name is Chuck Gerba, a microbiologist, who studies bacteria in kitchens and bathrooms. He became famous because he discovered the phenomenon, aerosolization.

Aerosolization is a fine spray of droplets that gets propelled in the air everytime we flush our toilets. Pretty much like what happens when you sneeze without covering your mouth.

These droplets are so fine they are invisible to the naked eye. Gerba proved aerosolization by pouring food coloring into the toilet water. He held a piece of paper over the bowl, then flushed the toilet. True enough, there were fine dots of colored water on the paper.

But then, we don’t always put food coloring into the toilet water, so you can just imagine what the fine spray regularly consists of.

Uh-huh. Yes, that’s right.
Continue reading ‘how to have the most sterile toilet in the world’ »

There was a strong cool breeze last Sunday so my husband and I opened all doors and windows at home. We even brought out the couch.

Then come afternoon, I saw two rats scurrying from under the oven. After screaming like mad, I immediately took all food, even the dishwashing liquid and the sponge and put them all inside my trusty steel cabinet.

I didn’t want to cook dinner, how could I cook dinner when there were rodents living under my stove. So we went to a nearby restaurant, proceeded to the grocery, and took sheets of rat traps and a box of Racumin.
Continue reading ‘a community of exterminators’ »

Pagbukas mo ng ref, walang malamig na tubig. Wala ring yelo. Maya’t maya kasing inom ng inom, hindi makahabol ang ref sa lakas nyo uminom ng tubig at juice.

May tao sa labas. Ah, yung nagde-deliver ng tubig na ino-order mo sa Pure Canadian Water. Bakit Canadian samantalang nasa Pilipinas kayo, hindi mo alam, basta sila ang pinakamalapit na nagbe-benta ng drinking water sa bahay mo.

Nagbayad ka ng buo, pero wala siyang panukli. Di bale kamo, tiyak namang magkikita kayo sa makalawa dahil o-order ka uli ng tubig. Ibawas na lang.

Pag-alis niya, bubuksan mo ang motor ng tubig para maipunan na ang inyong Best Tank. Bobombahan mo ang iyong inflatable pool,at iipunan din ng tubig, siguro mga kalahating dram. Tiyak na maglulublob na naman ang mga bata. Araw-araw na lang silang nandyan, pero hindi sila nagsasawa.

Actually, gusto mo rin sanang magbabad sa pool nila, kaso di ka kakasya. Di bale, sa Linggo, magi-ipon ka naman ng tubig para doon sa isa nyong pool, mga apat na dram ng tubig ang capacity ayon sa manual. Sa ngayon, mag-imagine ka na lang muna na magda-dive ka sa swimming pool na punong-puno ng crushed ice habang naglalaro na ang mga bata.

Naalala mong lumalago na ang damo sa harapan ng bahay mo. Pati ang mga halaman dahil hindi mo nati-trim ay malapit na magmukhang damo. Sa totoo lang, hindi mo maisip kung kelan mo aasikasuhin ang garden mo, samantalang minsan mong nasabi na hilig mo ang mga halaman. Kelan ba ang tag-ulan, sabay sulyap sa kalendaryo ng iyong cellphne. Para nga naman madaling bunutin ang damo.

Malapit na ang tanghalian, pero tinatamad kang magluto dahil pakiramdam mo pati ikaw ay maluluto. Pa-deliver na lang, sagot ng asawa mo. Tumawag ka sa Jollibee 87000, pero tatlumpung minuto ka na duma-dial puro “The number you dialed is busy at the moment” ang sagot sa iyo. Nagbukas ka na lang ng de-lata.

Bago kumain, inutusan mo ang asawa mong bumili ng Coke sa tindahan, love ka naman niya kaya siya na lang lumabas ng bahay. Pagbalik niya, wala na raw Coke. Sa apat na tindahan.

Pagkatapos mananghalian, magkukulong na kayo sa kwarto dahil sa kwarto nyo lang may aircon. Naglitanya na naman ang asawa mo na gusto na talaga niyang mag-install na rin ng aircon sa sala, ikaw lang ang matigas ang tanggi dahil tiyak na bubulusok ang meralco bill ninyo. Pero ngayong halos isang buwan na kayong nakatira sa silid, parang gusto mo nang bigyan ng approved by signature ang mga plano niya.

Bago isara ang pinto may dala ka nang pagkain, magazine, dvd at wag kalilimutan ang extension ng telepono dahil ayaw mo nang lumabas. Habang nagsi-siyesta ang mag-aama ay nire-ready mo ang budget mo. Kelangan mong dagdagan ang kalimitang budget sa kuryente at tubig, hindi libre ang pang-aircon at pang-swimming ninyo.

Bandang hapon naalala mong kelangan mo nga palang mag-grocery dahil wala nang laman ang ref mo kundi tubig. Ilang beses mo kasing kinansela ang pamimili mo nitong nakaraang araw dahil iniisip mo pa lang na lalabas ka ng kotse sa parking lot na walang bubong ay nanlulumo ka na. Pero ngayon, wala ka nang choice. Di bale, mukhang excited naman ang mga bata, wala sa kanila ang init-init na yan basta layasan.

Pagdating mo sa mall, nagkalat ang mga babaeng nakasuot ng mga t-shirt na walang manggas at mga mini-skirts at hot pants. Kahit may ibang hindi carry, naiintindihan mo. Sa lagay ng panahon ngayon ok nga lang siguro na wag na munang isipin kung bagay ba o hindi ang magpakita ng katawan.

Pagpasok mo sa grocery…. ano?! Wala ng Nestea Iced Tea Lemon? Ang natira na lang Calamansi at Dalandan, hindi mo naman gusto yan. Yung Lipton Iced Tea na lang, Lemon din naman. Bibilisan mo ang pagkuha kasi kokonti na lang rin. Unahin mo na ang pagbili ng ice cream, malamang paubos na rin.

Inabutan na kayo ng hapunan, pero ang gusto mong kainin ay hindi kanin at ulam kundi halo-halo sa Digman. Nagda-dalawang isip ka pa kasi hindi ba, bad example yan sa mga bata. Buti na lang walang kamatayang manok ang gusto nila, di na nila pinakialaman ang halo-halo mo. At large rootbeer.

Madilim na paglabas mo ng mall, pero ang hanging sumalubong sa iyo ay parang galing sa kalan. Bigla mong na-miss ang malamig na mall. Nagmamadali kayong pumasok ng kotse at in-on ang aircon.

Pagdating na pagdating mo ng bahay, diretso ng banyo para maligo, na naman. Wala kang pakelam sa pasma, o sa banta ng sipon at ubo. On agad ang aircon sa kwarto, para kahit anong likot ng mga bata mabango pa rin sila.

Pero isasarado mo na ang ilaw, kelangan nyo nang magpahinga, dahil mainit na naman bukas.

This is the 6th consecutive day where not even a drop of water comes out from our faucets.

We have no choice but to buy water from those delivery trucks, where they charge P25 per drum. Our water tank’s capacity is 3 point something drums, but the men would peg it at 4. And the water is not even clean. Yet we have no choice. It hurts whenever I have to shell out a hundred for a tank when we pay around P150 a month to Maynilad. But that’s still steep since I used to pay only P70 a couple of months back for the same amount of water.

I called 1626, Maynilad’s hotline, to ask them “What the hell is going on here???” but I had been on hold for at least 10 minutes, listening alternately to beeping sounds and elevator music. I read somewhere that they record what you say while you’re on hold, so I had my speech – “Ang kakapal ng mukha ninyo mag-charge ng malaki, pero nuknukan naman kayo ng inefficient at ayaw nyo pa sagutin ang telepono!!! Ikaw, Lopez ka, hindi ka magaling ka magaling na negosyante!! Ipasa mo na kami kay Ayala!!! “

Having no water can really be trying. And after 6 days of scrounging for it, and paying an exorbitant price for it, all of us here in our subdivision are our wit’s end. Anyone who knows anyone from NAWASA/Maynilad? Pakikalampag nga yang mga lintek na yan!!!