City Must-haves

Ever since living here in the big metro, i have come to appreciate these necessities which otherwise you would never find in my bag had i still been in the province. These are the old-fashioned fan and umbrella. Some even bring towellettes for the sweats but my hanky is good enough for me.

Really, the sweating is not really that profuse in your face but underneath your clothes especially your back and if you are working in an airconditioned room, you just have to change to dry clothes or at least dry your sweats. Walking towards your work will make you sweaty and the fan and umbrella helps cool you down.

Lucky for those who own cars but for the masses, we all have to make do with cheaper but nonetheless effective alternatives. Which makes me wish for a car of my own. I have narrowed my choices between a Toyota Vios 1.3E and a 1.5G.

Initially i was thinking of an Avanza but the lower models have no ABS and i dont like that. If cost is not an issue, I would prefer the Honda CRV. Of course, it would have to be brand new so i wouldnt worry so much about repairs and maintenance and breakdowns. These remains to be in my wishlist among other things , but for now, i'll have to stick to my trusty fan and umbrella. Hey, one can hope when i wished for a lipstick, a happy hearts perfume and a philip stein watch i got those so i might have that car yet...:)

Limited Pleasures

One of my vices, if you can call it that is a body massage. Pampering myself almost always include a trip to a Spa/Salon but now that i am pregnant, i have manage to stay away from massages. Almost. I still indulge myself to an occasional foot spa, hand spa and hand paraffin treatments.

I have tried the footspa services of Nail-aholics at the 5/L of SM Mega Mall. The interiors where certainly inviting but i have tried it only once so i couldn't say if all the employees where as pleasant as the one who attended me. But i didn't think it was value for money since i paid about P400+ for a footspa and a pedicure. But then it is located inside a mall so maybe the price is just about right. But a Spa/Salon(F) along Shaw near A Bonifacio st offers a much more value for money. Their footspa costs only P100 and an additional P50 for a pedicure. The interiors are in orange but i think its tastely done and because they are offering good service at least cost, they have more clients. Sometimes you have to wait.

Anyway, i think every one needs a little pampering every now and then...

Gift to women this women's month!

I've read today from the Philippine Star that GMA signed last March 16 Republic Act 10028 also known as the "Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. Authored principally by Senator Pia Cayetano, this law provides tax incentives to all government agencies and private establishments that provide lactation stations for working motheres. This is indeed 14th Congress' gift to all Filipino mothers on women's month.

The main points of this law is that it( i have taken the liberty of lifting the entire content of the Philippine Star article and pasted it on here) :

• all private and government institutions are required to put up lactation stations. These lactation stations shall be adequately provided with the necessary equipments such as lavatory for handwashing, refrigeration or appropriate cooling facilities for storing milk, electrical outlets for breast pumps, small table, comfortable chair and other items in accordance with the standards defined by the DOH



• The expenses incurred by a private health and non-health facility, establishment or institution in complying with the new law shall be deductible expenses for income tax purposes up to twice the actual amount incurred. These facilities, establishments or institutions shall secure first a “Working Mother- Baby-Friendly Certificate” from the DOH to be filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) before they can avail of the tax incentive.


• Government agencies complying with the new law shall receive an additional appropriation or budget equivalent to the savings they may derive as a result of complying with the law. The additional appropriation shall be included in their budget for the next fiscal year.
  
  The same law, however, also provides for “exemptions” from compliance “where the establishment of lactation stations is not feasible or necessary due to peculiar circumstances of the workplace or public place taking into consideration, among others, the number of women employees, physical size of the establishment and the average number of women who visit.”
  


• Private enterprises may apply to the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for exemption from this law while government agencies can apply to the chairman of the Civil Service Commission. The exemption is valid for a period of two years.
  
  “All health and non-health facilities, establishments or institutions which are exempted in complying with this law but nevertheless opt to comply are entitled to the benefits under the law provided they give their employees the privileges of using the same.”

• RA 10028 also mandates “lactation periods” for nursing employees who are granted break intervals in addition to the regular time-off for meals to “express milk” or the act of extracting human milk from the breast by hand or by pump. Provided such period shall not be less than a total of 40 minutes for every eight-hour working period.
  
  Health institutions are likewise encouraged to set up milk banks for storage of breast milk donated by mothers and which have undergone pasteurization. The stored breast milk will be given to children in the neo-natal intensive care unit whose own mothers are seriously ill.
  
  The new law encourages the promotion of breastfeeding by integrating in curriculum in relevant subjects in schools under the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
  
  To further promote the importance and raise awareness of breastfeeding, the new law likewise sets every August of each year as Breastfeeding Awareness Month throughout the Philippines.

This is one good piece of legislation i would like to see implemented immediately and really adhered to by the business community.

Thanks to http://celebritybabies.typepad.com/photos/breastfeeding/ashli_grace.html for the photo . I would have used my own but i cant seem to find it anymore.

Pain Relief...

How do you treat pain?

Simple. Get a pain reliever.

For migraine, my drug of choice has always been biogesic. Even before John Lloyd Cruz became its endorser. The reason, its because i believe it is the safest there is in the market.

For muscle pain, i dont take alaxan or its generic counterparts. I make do with body massage, efficascent oil, salonpas and omega. For those who dont like the scent, it must be torture but there is a limit to my pleasing others especially so since i have low tolerance for physical pain.

For emotional pain, i try not to think about it but i fail. And so i cry and i pray. Blogging helps and journaling. Shopping is sometimes therapeutic. I think wine sometimes eases the burden for a certain time period but i have managed to avoid it because i am pregnant. Talking it out with family and friends who care also helps. Others are experts on compartmentalization so that you have no idea at all that they are hurting. Sometimes, i am able to do that. Sometimes, theres just no relief and being numb is in itself already a blessing. There is no drug of choice for this kind of pain.

Classic new scent

Well, it's only new to me because i have only just discovered it and liked it but it's been around for sometime now. I am referring to Banana Republic's Classic Eau de toilette. This one is a gift from hubby's friend who just arrived from somewhere outside of the philippines. he he




It's a very clean mild not so sweet scent. I am using it as my daytime scent now. My old favorite Happy Hearts Perfume from clinique will have to take a backseat for now.