Tell Them You Love Them

Sometimes it's hard to imagine that you can actually lose someone you hold dear.

I was at a wake 2 nights ago. It was Mama Beth's. She was a widow, a woman in her late 60's who suffered from a stroke and had cerebral hemorrhage in the process. Her daughter works for me and has been doing so for the past 8 years. Before she came, it was her sister who was with us. Thus, the whole family has become so close and familiar to us that we had established close ties with them and even treated them as members of our own family. We gather every Christmas eve at my house to party - their family and mine.

Lately, though, their family have been having some trouble. Some of Mama Beth's children had marital problems while others lost their jobs. As a mother, she felt their pain - the pain of not being able to feed your family, the pain of leaving home and losing a partner, the pain of not seeing one's children - all these piled up on Mama Beth's shoulders as she went from one home to the other to counsel and console her children. Needless to say, she did all those without expecting anything in return. She told me all those too so I know how she felt.

The one thing that struck me so much was that one of her daughters cried while telling me about how she suffered at the hospital. But she cried the hardest when I asked if she had told her how much she loved her mother. She said "No, Ate, I did not. I was not even able to thank her for her love too.". It all happened so fast.

When someone dies or is dying, there's nothing much that we can do for them. Not us nurses, not the doctors. Noone can really help. But, the best thing that we can do for them is to assure them of how much we love them and that we would be in good hands when they finally leave us.

Rest in peace Mama Beth. I shall forever cherish your friendship and your love.

A Yummy Mayo - DIY

I had earlier made some sardine out of the barracuda that my dad brought from Palawan. One of the many ways I enjoy it is making gourmet sandwiches out of the fresh sardine dish. However, I realized I had run out of mayonnaise because I made some dip for my duaghter to bring to her boarding house. So, because I still wanted to have my sandwich, I got out some fresh organic eggs and made mayo myself. It turned out that the one I made is close to the taste of the commercial brand I normally buy. You may want to try it too. Here's my recipe:

1 organic egg
half a calamansi (I usually use lemon but ran out of it too)
1/4 teaspoon salt
some freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 cup virgin coconut oil


Procedure:
In a blender, put in the egg, calamansi, salt, pepper and sugar. Switch on the blender to the fastest setting. Add in half of all the oils a drop per minute starting with the sesame oil. Then add in the rest of the canola oil in a thin steady stream.

Note that some oil maybe left because the amount of oil depends on how large the egg is. Also, once you have started to put in the oils, do not stop until you feel the solution can no longer take in any more oil.

Eggs can be sources of salmonella so I use organic eggs. Not that it is a sure way to avoid the bacteria but there's a lesser chance of those eggs being contaminated. If you can get hold of pasteurized eggs, those will be better. We don't have them in the Philippines. Too bad.

Everyday Items Cause Cancer - Going Green

I'm back with a vengeance! LOL
Been busy with my daughter's transfer to the university and her moving out of the house too. But that will be for another blog. I have so much to write about.

Anyway, on days when I was rather lonely at home, I do some research on cancer and guess what I found - even baby shampoos contain chemicals that cause the ailment. Shampoos, soaps, hair dye, baby wash, processed food, etc. all contribute to the risk of having the disease. Here are some things you can use instead of these items:

No poo instead of shampoo - Baking Soda and Lemon


Dissolve about half teaspoon of Baking Soda in half cup of water. Apply to wet hair and scalp as you would your shampoo. Rinse and condition with freshly squeezed Lemon (or orange for dry hair). Your hair will be rid of smell from chemical build up and will be smooth too.

Henna and Chamomile For Hair Dye

Henna is the most natural way to dye your hair. My daughter lightened her black hair with chamomile tea before she used red henna.

To use chamomile tea, simply take about 3 to 4 bags of chamomile and steep in 1 cup of boiling water. Do this at least 3 times then dye your hair with henna.

To prepare henna, simply make a thick paste with your henna powder and add some lemon to it. Then apply to hair. Leave on till it dries. That should take about half a day. Leaving henna on your hair makes it soft and manageable anyway.


Apple cider vinegar for Female Vaginal Wash
add about half tsp of apple cider vinegar about a liter of water and use it to wash vaginal area.

Fruits to lighten the skin
Use fresh papaya, lemon, or calamansi, directly onto skin. Leave for about 5 minutes and rinse. Using these twice a day is good but once will be enough too.

Parsley for Mouthwash
Make a tea by steeping parsley in hot water to make mouth wash. Simply boil some water. When in a rolling boil, turn off heat and quickly add to a glass with a handful of parsley and cover for 5 minutes.

Vinegar for Underarm deodorant
Just dab some vinegar directly to underarm and dry it first before wearing any clothes. The smell of vinegar will go away when it dries.


So there your are. All of the above tips have been tried and tested (by me and my family of course) to be safe for us. However, if you are allergic to any of the components, do not try to use it. It's better safe than sorry.

Let's be green and healthy.