Tag Archives: shopping

They’re growing up so fast

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This morning I had the white chrysanthemum tea I ordered from Lazada and it tasted like the essence of those old stuffy rebultos (statue) of saints that my grandma had in her altar.

White chrysanthemum tea. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I went to my dentist right after lunch because one of my crowns got loose (the curse of being a clencher and grinder). I parked in front of the old house because that’s the only legal place I can park my big car. I saw the forlorn state of the garage and how dusty everything was. Then one of the old lady neighbors saw me and asked where the girls’ dad was, how are the twins, and are we living now in the province. I really felt uncomfortable with her quizzing.

After that I went to SM to buy the girls underwear, pants, shorts, and T-shirts. They’re no longer little girls.

Pre-teen. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

When J left in December, they were still “whiny little kids.” Now that they’re finished with fourth grade, they’re now transformed into little ladies–I needed to buy them sando-bras now (not pictured). It was so fast.

It’s true what they say: the nights are long but the years are short. When I was sleepless when they were infants until toddler years, I thought the hardships would never end. I barely had time for myself to comb my hair. Now their aesthetics are almost like that of a teenager. Their thought process especially daughter I, is no longer childlike. They know what J and I were. They understood what happened and what I went/am going through. They’re smarter and more understanding than I gave them credit for.

They grow up so fast that soon I may no longer be able to catch up.

I’m growing old too and have yet to find my place in this world.

Revenge spending

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Chairs in SM Department Store. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I know I could have bought these chairs online but for some reason I was on a revenge spending binge for some random shit from brick-and-mortar stores this week. Maybe because I allowed myself to spend on the bathroom. Maybe because I was too cooped up at home because of the never-ending lockdown. Whatever the reason, I bought these chairs to replace my daughters’ battered computer chair that I passed down to them a year or so ago and the red plastic chair that’s unstable.

I bought again a new humidifier, which I really don’t need but I just want to have a beautiful scent wafting in my bedroom while I slave away on the computer. I’ve been buying random stuff online as well. 💣

I almost bought a guitar online. Good thing I checked myself and asked, do I really need this?

😁 Better bathroom now. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

So taking showers are much better now that I no longer have a grungy bathroom. I couldn’t add a small sink without chipping away at the walls and burying pipes on concrete floor. Besides this carpenter is a crook. Too long a story to tell but he is a jackass that I just want the job to end. Because he did a bad job, I had to bring in another guy to rectify the errors, including a clogged shower drain.

New contact lenses and eye glasses for me. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

And since my headaches coincided with my revenge spending, I had my eyesight checked yesterday for any changes on my nearsightedness before buying a new set of contact lenses. My suspicion was right that my astigmatism got worse. So now I ordered new toric contacts and will have my eye glasses fitted with new lenses. Too much screen time 🤦🏻‍♀️

I now gained back all the weight I lost biking a few months ago. The last time I biked to buy veggies was two weeks ago. Too exhausted by work to ride.

Vegetable run. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I will try to get back on the saddle again this weekend. I need to reclaim my physical health and sanity. And to make me stop shopping for random stuff online because I’m bored.

Shopping in the time of COVID-19

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Because of social distancing, there is a long queue before you can even get inside the supermarket. Photo taken from outside Save More. This photo is owned by callmecreation.com

Grocery shopping for me is an undesirable chore. Moreso with this pandemic. It’s torture. As much as possible I try to minimize the time spent grocery shopping. Pre-COVID-19, I allot an hour for grocery shopping. But now…🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ll be lucky if I only stay in line to enter the supermarket for 30 mins, an hour to get what my household needs, and another 30 mins to queue up for the cashier.

The long line to the supermarket that I must endure every week. This photo is owned by callmecreation.com

I used to shop at Hi-Top Aurora Blvd in Project 4 because 1) there are so many choices there; 2) they have items on sale every week; 3) they have Monterey meat section; and 4) grocery items are cheaper compared to bigger chains. But because of the pandemic, the lines are now unbearably long there. I am forced to stick to the big chains like Save More which do not give me choices that much and grocery items are more expensive.

This is what my grocery cart looked like in Hi-Top:

This can last us for two weeks and I only had to do a top-up shop the following week for perishables like vegetables and eggs. This was taken before the lockdown at Hi-Top. This photo is owned by callmecreation.com

But because my grocery shopping has gotten more expensive as I now do shopping closer to home, my cart now looks like this:

Let’s not forget the uncomfortable masks. Good thing that the masks I made are breathable and snug but my other masks that were bought from tiangges and street vendors are so thick that I may end up with carbon dioxide poisoning.

Now that the Monterey Community Market is open in my village, I can do now my weekly shopping for food in the nearby mini mart, vegetables at the vegetable stand infront of it if I’m not able to go to UPD (the fruit and vegetable stand in the old tennis court) then meat at Monterey. This way I can avoid the long lines at the bigger supermarket chains.

Grocery shopping these days requires more strategizing. Tedious. I want my weekends back.