Hi, I did not die. Literally, no. After all, ghosts don’t write blogs, right?

I had been very busy with work – I know not the most colorful excuse of the day but I don’t know any better and it’s true. It’s a shame that it’s true. Two of my colleagues are still in their home countries and I’m still doing a workload of at least 2 people.

It pains to end the day, with an hour of overtime (at least) and think I’ve not written anything. This has been going on for days which is not nice because blogging had been my cheap (free) therapy.

Quickie updates:

• My close friend/confidante Rose has left the UAE last Friday for the Philippines to deliver her baby. I will miss our chats. She’s a ray of sunshine and a great listener to my sometimes pointless blahs. She’s just gone for three days and I already attempted to call her, forgetting that she’s not here…

• We watched Alice in Wonderland last Friday and I enjoyed the movie – but still insist that the Mad Hatter could be Elijah Wood and not Johnny Depp! The audience won’t know the difference!

• The little birdie in our window sill isn’t so little anymore.

..which reminds me, I actually have something to say.

Pristine has named the little bird “George” because lately, she’s been obsessed with the name “Georgia” (I don’t know why). Since the bird is assumed to be a boy bird, considering the size and all according to my mother who majored in Biology before (not sure if that has any connection, just thought I’d mention it heh). The male species are always bigger in built, and George is robust.

So George it is! In a few days, we think he’ll be able to fly.

Oh and the other egg didn’t make it. Mommy bird pecked it but the chick inside didn’t come out to see the light. Somehow, it made me kind of sad.

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Pristine screamed from the other room. “Maaaamaaaaa, come! come!!!!”

I ran like a mad woman, with soapy hands thinking of a thousand and one things as the reason for all the panic. “Get the camera! Get the camera!”, she said. Pristine was by the window, all smiles and eyes oh so wide for this:

The nest outside our apartment window had just showed some drastic changes.

Closer, closer.

Awww. Isn’t it the cutest? But made us wonder, how did it ever fit into the egg as small as the other one in the nest? HOW?

While we were busy cooing over the new baby bird, the mom came back. Pristine said, “Congratulations, mommy bird!” LOL. The mommy bird was pacing back and forth, cautious of our movements. Though the mirror is one-way (we can’t be seen outside but we can see from the inside), the bird definitely knows someone’s near.

After she thought everything was clear, she came back to the nest to warm her new baby and the other egg too.

Now, we are anticipating the arrival of the other baby bird inside egg #2. That egg was laid a few days after egg #1 so it might crack soon…or not. It’s exciting.

Now, Pristine is busy thinking of names for baby bird #1. Any suggestions?

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As I’m writing this post, I’m on my 22nd hour without food. The last meal I had was during dinner at 6 pm yesterday and my next meal will be at 6 pm today. So far, I am still alive, moving and my mind is as alert as ever. I’m at work, focus unchanged, if not sharper and I don’t have that after lunch sleepiness where I used to yawn almost every minute.

I even went to the gym and was able to do my usual workout routine.

I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for more than six months now. That is, dinner-dinner fasts twice a week. Fasting means no solid food for 24 hours but all non-caloric drinks like herb teas and water is ok. I drink more than 2 liters of warm fruit flavored tea all throughout the day.

Sounds over the top just to lose fat? I thought so. I was probably the person who had a lot of skepticism when I first heard of intermittent fasting. I thought only loonies do that kind of torture.

What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a pattern of eating in which one alternates periods of fasting and non-fasting.

What is the purpose of intermittent fasting?
To create  a calorie deficit* to promote fat loss.

* We need to create 3,500 calories deficit (through diet or exercise) to lose a pound of fat

How to do intermittent fasting:

1. Pick a day when you feel you can best accomplish this. (I pick a day of the week when I’m at my busiest at work. )
2. Eat a sensible, filling dinner at night and go to sleep. When you wake up the next day, skip breakfast but drink lots of liquid, then skip lunch again.
3. Drink lots of liquid throughout the day. Now’s the time to experiment on various tea flavors. (I have 5 different boxes of tea flavors I love and use throughout the day.)
4. Plan your post-fast meal. (I eat a banana or a handful of almonds to break my fast.)
5. Eat dinner as if you did not fast the whole day. There is no need to “make-up” for the meals you skipped. (Contrary to what I thought at first, I wasn’t ravenous at all and did not consume a whole horse after 24 hours without food!) 

 The benefits of intermittent fasting for me: 

1. Helped improve my relationship with food i.e.,  identify which ones that really nourish hunger or make me tired and bloated, etc.
2. Weaned me from my sugar addiction and junk food cravings
3. Released me from the chains of consuming 4-6 small meals per day
4. Saves me time in the morning to prepare my food for breakfast and my lunch box
5. IF gives the body a chance for internal cleansing that improves immune function and overall health (it is even linked to longevity).
6. Decrease not just in weight but also in fat in the belly which is the most difficult to burn.

Going 24 hours without food is not as bad as it sounds. After all, there’s not a day that you’re not eating anything, right?

Intermittent fasting might not be for everyone but for me, it is much better than “moderation” – those small kindergarten meals that leave me wanting for more. It is easier when your limit is zero. Eating a small doughnut easily leads to a whole doughnut or two, or three…because it spikes the blood sugar making you crave for more.

Remember the goal of intermittent fasting is not about eating nothing (or as people would say “starving yourself” ) to lose weight. It is about just taking a short break in eating in order to aid natural hormonal and evolutionary genetic responses at the cellular level for better health (and weight loss does happen in the process). You will still eat that day and you are not doing this every day.

Disclaimer: If you have any health issues like hypertension, diabetes ,etc., it is always advised to consult your doctor before deciding to make drastic changes to your diet.

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Brava, Valentine is the sequel to author and award winning playwright, television writer and documentary film maker Adriana Trigiani’s Very Valentine, hailed by People Magazine as “Sex and the City meets Moonstruck”.

The book revolves around the main character, Valentine, a workholic shoe designer who after taking over the family’s shoe business that started in the early 1900’s, discovers and learns more about the shoemaking business, love and life.

From Harper Collins:

As Brava, Valentine begins, snow falls like glitter over Tuscany at the wedding of her grandmother, Teodora, and longtime love, Dominic. Valentine’s dreams are dashed when Gram announces that Alfred, “the prince,” Valentine’s only brother and nemesis, has been named her partner at Angelini Shoes. Devastated, Valentine falls into the arms of Gianluca, a sexy Tuscan tanner who made his romantic intentions known on the Isle of Capri.

But it doesn’t end there! After that there are twists and turns and colorful words to delight you. You can check out what’s inside the book here.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I could say that with smiles and a face that would make me look like a child who had just been given free cotton candy and that’s still an understatement. We just finished moving houses and once the dust settled and all things in place, I was looking for a book to help me relax, take me to places (I love how books do that to me). I am so glad to have picked up Brava, Valentine courtesy of Harper Collins. It did not just help me relax, it entertained me so much.

The book took me to magical Manhattan, enchanting Italy and the dramatic cobblestones of Buenos Aires - places I haven’t been to so it allowed my spirit to soar freely and imagine myself being there with Valentine and the whole bunch of vibrant cast. Each page breathes and laughs as you turn it.

The book is full of life, love and family humor. If you’d like to read and get all those warm, fuzzy feeling with a dash of excitement and palpitating surprises, then you’ve got to read this one. 5/5 rating from me.

One last thing – I wish this book will be made into a movie!

Giveaway!!

Harper Collins will send one (1) copy of Brava, Valentine to a lucky reader of this review. If you’d like to be entered, please drop me a comment on this post BUT let’s have fun and answer this question to qualify:

Did you marry your first love? 

(I couldn’t think of a good question for the unmarried so, I guess you’ll just have to leave any comment except, “Enter me!”. You can do better than that!) 

I’ll close the comments in a week and draw a winner by random. US only, please. Sorry international readers!

Disclosure: This post was written for Harper Collins who provided the item for review and wil provide for the giveaway. I was not compensated in any way. 

******

Congratulations to Henria O. for winning 8 e-book titles from Picpocket Books last week!

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A work colleague has asked me, “How’s the new place? Enjoying?”. I just nodded and smiled at her but when I walked to my car to drive back home, I couldn’t help but think : “Am I spending enough time in our new apartment to be able to really enjoy it?”

So I calculated: I leave for work at 8am and come back at 7:30, sometimes 8pm = 12 hours spent outside!!

That means, since like all creatures on Earth, there’s only 24 hours for me and I only spend 12 hours of it in my home, (mostly) 8 of which I’m sleeping, that makes 4 hours ‘extra’ hours only per day.

About 2 hours of that is spent on the kitchen making meals, preparing lunch boxes or in the bedroom folding laundry. No wonder there’s hardly any room for movie viewing or “house decorating”  (our place looks really beige) for me. The remaining 2 hours is helping Pristine with her assignment, listening to her stories, reading her bedtime stories and occasionally listen to my mother discuss about Edward and Bella (she’s almost finished with the 4th book!) like they lived next door.

On Fridays (my day off) I get to lazy around. So thank God for that.

So the point is, I want to spend more time at home but that’s just not possible right now with the extra work I have (not complaining just…tired). I can only maximize the time I have with me to do the things I love to do at home. Right now, it includes watching out for the nest outside our window:

NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT from the last photo??

YES! There are two eggs now! Here’s a closer look:

The mother bird sat on the nest for quite some time and we had to wait and wait until the mother bird fly out to take a photo of the nest. She has to go and find food for herself so we waited for that moment!

We were tempted to put some grains but afraid some other birds might see it, swoop and destroy the nest so we just let nature do its own thing. It’s difficult to put food anyway because we can’t open the window on that side where the nest is.

I can’t believe the sacrifice made by moms (even birds) — they practically starve just to warm their young. I feel so much for the bird because there’s not much food here in desert land. She flies out and goes back in like, two minutes.

Okies, that’s it for now…it’s the last day of work for the week today. I’m looking forward to ‘enjoying’ time at home on my day off tomorrow. Hope you all have a great weekend!

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All is well in Dubai again after a very strange thunderstorm – the skies have cleared and the sun appeared again. I do not wish for that kind of rain again. The roads are scary and every time it rains I do not have an umbrella with me and there’s not one sold at the convenience store on the ground floor. I miss those very handy transparent umbrellas in Japan.

However, my work desk resembles a place battered by storm. Papers here and there waiting to be tackled on. I came home last night so tired that I slept at 8:30 pm without washing my face (but I do not put any makeup during the day so it’s ok?). I do not like to be tired because of work, especially if I am just sitting for 8.5 hours burning zero calories but  producing enough cortisol to increase my ass size.

Whew.

The thing is, we have a situation at the office. There are 6 people in the team, each assigned specific tasks. One of my colleagues went back to India last January to have his honeymoon for 50 days (wow, I like his life). As soon as he comes back, another colleague will go for vacation, for 50 days again. Not for honeymoon but usual vacation – they do take vacation like a maternity leave! The first guy was supposed to come back a few weeks ago but then someone stole his bag containing his passport (along with money and gold for his new wife) the day he arrived at Hyderabad airport. He said it took the thief only 3 seconds to grab the bag from him when he put it down to call a taxi cab.

Lesson learned: Hold on to dear bag when calling a cab in India. Never put the bag down no matter how heavy it is!

So, he has to apply for a new passport again and in India, everyone swears it takes ages to get it done.

The second guy already booked tickets and he went. The kind of “went without looking, backlogs be damned!”. I’ve taken the work load of the second guy added to my normal work load. And maybe half of the other guy’s work, too. I could go on and on but it only meant one thing: no time for (more) blogging, editing photos to post, not much time on Twitter or for the washroom either.

So yeah, that’s pretty much what’s happening in my life now (work, overtime, home) – I hope yours is more interesting!

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We received a circular at work today regarding weather warning for UAE residents. It seems that Saturday’s rain that left hundreds of people stranded on the road and a lot of flooding wasn’t all – to think the rainfall that single night must be equivalent to the whole year of rain in Dubai.

From the email:

From this evening onwards the weather will become unsettled with thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain, strong gusty winds and the possibility of hail,” the met office said in its warning. “Winds may gust to 40 knots (75km/h) with poor visibility and flooding, making driving conditions difficult. This unsettled weather will persist throughout Tuesday.

Uhm, hello? Isn’t this desert land and not the tropical rainforests of Amazon and Southeast Asia! The people and moreover, the city isn’t capable of handling too much rain. No drainage on most parts, yes?

The circular continues:

All staff should be prepared for delays and make the necessary adjustments to ensure they get to work safely. Personnel who have planned long road journeys should reconsider their travel plans. It is better to delay visits and meetings than to spend hours in heavy traffic, while at the same time running the risk of being involved in an accident. Everyone should drive within their capabilities and anticipate and make allowances for poor driving habits on the part of others.

Aye. There were lots of those kind of driving habit on my way home yesterday. We live in the boundary of Dubai and Sharjah and the number of cars going to Sharjah were utilizing all the roads!

Photo credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News

Sharjah was underwater, with most roads going to Sharjah impassable (even a day after the rains), traffic on Dubai roads connecting to Sharjah were a standstill. It took me 1.5 hours to go home yesterday instead of 20 minutes.

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Looking at the blue skies and sun coming out today, last night seemed like a distant nightmare. It rained heavily, like those rains in the tropical rainforests of South-East Asia. We’re talking of buckets upon buckets of rain being poured all at once kind of thunderstorm.

Ok, no problem…would be relaxing even had we been home, safe and warm under our blankets. After all, I do love some rain.

Thing is, we weren’t home but we’re in a clinic to rush Pristine due to her complaints of pain in her right wrist and forearm. Her hands swelled and she developed fever. After an hour at the clinic, we were given clearance – it was nothing serious but a severe allergy triggered “possibly” by an insect bite (unknown insect). She is highly allergic to these kind of things that’s why I don’t do so many trips back to the Philippines with her.

Anyway, when we went out, there was thunder and lightning and big fat raindrops coming from the skies! We are not used to heavy rains here in Dubai and last night was out of this world. We waited and waited only to see the roads disappear as flood waters rose. We checked our car – half of the tires are submerged and the security at the parking lot has fled, locking the parking barrier.

We had no umbrella, no rain boots, no car.

At 10:30 pm, Pristine was so tired, sleepy, in pain and hungry. We braved the rain and walked to a hotel apartment beside the hospital building. Soaked and wet we asked for a room and thankfully, there was ONE left!

I ran a hot bath for Pristine and I, ordered room service food for her (what a life! she liked it) and jumped into bed while the rain still battered Dubai way past midnight. When I turned off the lights, it was so dark with the blackout curtains and Pristine said:

“Mom, I can’t see your face!”

I said it’s ok, it’s because of the curtains and told her to close her eyes.

“But I don’t want to close my eyes and sleep without seeing your face!”

Oh Lord, what drama. I turned on the head light she smiled, kissed me and we slept peacefully at last!

*****

Today, there’s news of severe flooding in Dubai and the next emirate of Sharjah with lots of roads being blocked and impassable. That said, the skies are getting dark again, I’ll run now before it rains again!!

(It’s 7 pm, I just finished my work and just have to write a blog post as we have no internet at home…2 weeks after we moved in!)

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I hate the word “diet” because it always meant “restriction”, “restrain” and “hunger” for me. Every diet I’ve tried worked – for a few days/weeks at least! But after I’ve been bored with the routine and tired of all the restrain and restriction, where I end up always hungry, it kicks my butt back. Hard. I’ve been a yo-yo dieter for maybe, 10 years now. Since starting to get serious with my weight loss goals last year, I thought it’s time to overhaul my whole diet and nutrition for the better. Don’t we always wish that, like, every single year!?

I was introduced to The Elimination Diet by UK personal trainer Dax Moy through my bloggy fit friend, Anna over at Pathtofatloss.com. The Elimination Diet is a nutrition program that includes the word “diet” in it but for real this time, this isn’t just another fad or diet for me, it’s a lifetime change.

I’ve been following The Elimination Diet by eliminating ‘possible’ allergens that contribute to the toxicity of my system. NOTE: You will never know what you’re allergic/intolent of if you don’t try to ELIMINATE it from your diet, even temporarily, say two weeks. I’ve eliminated:

• Wheat/gluten
• Dairy (except yogurt with live cultures)
• Sugar
• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Red meats (unless it’s organic, grass fed)
• Processed food (anything from a box, can)

Only by eliminating this major causes of intolerance and slowly introducing them back to your diet will make  you realize which ones make you fell bloated, causes headaches and make you feel tired.

Food should nourish us, not drain us!

I’ve been free from migraine attacks since I’ve eliminated ALL kinds of food with wheat/gluten in it (breads, cookies, cakes…). My belly is also flatter, less flabier without the starch.

How do I know that wheat/gluten is the culprit? Because once I tried to eat bread, I have a headache the next day. I also feel lighter, no more bloated feeling and generally easier to lose weight when I’m off from breads. I should’ve done this years ago. Of course there are days when I can’t avoid bread and I do eat, with caution and then bam! Headache every single time.

You can download a free copy of The Elimination Diet here.  It’s not really rocket science – the diet just wants us to go back to basics, eat whole, REAL food (Special K is not a real food, fyi). Dax explains it so much better in his article so check it out.

Dax requires you to sign up for his newsletter but it’s all good because he’ll be following up with you every couple of days or so as to how you’re doing without the caffeine, etc. You can read in the article why it’s this specific foods are to be eliminated. It’s a great article and a must read for everyone wanting to clean up their diet and have rewarding results. I am no affiliated in any way with this program. Remember, Dax Moy is giving this for FREE.

Dax has a great community of friends discussing about the Elimination Diet and his other awesome programs at Ning. It’s also free to sign up.

Lastly, with Elimination Diet, I am no longer dieting. I’m free.

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I just would like to share a scene you can’t see in Dubai if you’re visiting and only been around to what is called “New Dubai” – all those luxurious street, malls and tall buildings part of Dubai.

(We live in the old part of Dubai, away from the glitz and glamour.)

Here’s an Indian bread maker showing off his skills to us when we passed by a small local restaurant where he works. The kitchen is open and if you do see one, I encourage you to stop by and see.

It’s pretty amazing.

First, the bread maker chips off a dough from a huge block of dough made earlier then kneads it, slaps it back to back with his hands (that’s how I see it!), flattens it with a rolling pin then pastes it in a round thing covered in thick cloth. He then sticks the bread to the hot stone oven for cooking.

He uses long steel sticks to pick out the cooked breads and tosses them out to a nearby plastic container. He hasn’t missed a shot! All breads landed in the container, located a few meters away, safely!

Pristine loved the bread making show so much. Before we left, the bread maker gave us a hot stone-baked traditional Indian flat bread called “Naan”, for free. The smell was great and the taste? It was just as fabulous.

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