I Have High Cholesterol

I have something to celebrate today! I stepped out of my doctor's clinic with a big grin on my face. I have high cholesterol -- good cholesterol, that is!

When my doctor first analyzed my blood test results, she said everything is normal... my glucose level, sodium, insulin, etc... everything except for my cholesterol. As you can see in the image above, I have 229, which is above the range of 125 to 200. I was a bit surprised and I started to worry about the food I would have to give up! (And if you know me well enough, you would know that I love to eat. Fried rice, bagoong, beef stew, cheesecake... etc...)

And then I tell my doctor, I exercise once or twice a week. She says that's not enough. She says I should exercise atleast 30 minutes 5 days a week! I gulped.

And then, she looks at the test results again and says.... "Oh wait! Your cholesterol is high because your good cholesterol is high. And it is exceptionally high!" (See image above)

Whoaaaah! I said, I do eat a lot and I wonder where I got all that good cholesterol. The first words she mentioned were... "Fish... fish oil..." I interrupted her right there and then because I remember I have been taking the Norwegian Cod Liver Oil since summer of this year. She agreed. And she encourages me to continue to do what I do.

Ahhhh...... I feel elated!

Actually, I started taking cod liver oil after I watched a video on YouTube. This may sound funny... but the video was about how to improve one's skin. Yes, my intention was to improve my skin so applying makeup will look better on me.

See? I have shallow reasons that turned out to help me in the long run! Amazing, isn't it?

80 degrees

Today, we had the first 80(F) degrees of the year.  Wonderful!

As soon as I got home, I watered my plants (a new habit, I must mention) and packed myself some food.  I immediately left my apartment and walked to the lake.  Ahhh!  Every tree and flower seems to welcome me as I take steps towards the lake.  I feel relaxed already.

I sat on my favorite boulder when I reached the edge of the shore.  I opened my bag and enjoyed my little sweet snack.  I brought with me my iPod Shuffle so I could listen to music, but, I felt it's such a bad idea when all I really wanted to hear was the sound of rough water splashing onto the rocky shore.  I soaked in the beauty that surrounds me -- the birds flying over the water and then swooping in for a fish kill, the greenery of the park, the seemingly bare trees that have small leaves and flowers sprouting from its tips.

Being one with nature totally relaxes me after a long day at work.

Coupon Princess

This is what has been keeping me up all night.  Let me tell you a short story.

A high school friend in Ohio called me up and tells me about her day.  Then she asked me if I use coupons.  I say I do sometimes, but only when I have them.  She then tells me about her many shopping escapades where she walks out of CVS, several bags on hand, and paid a little less than a dollar!  She said, she's into coupons.  She said she saves a lot of money and has a stockpile of all sorts of toiletries.  She recommended that I read through slickdeals where I can find coupons I can print online.  Cool!

I told my sister about this.  She got hooked more than I did!  She scoured the internet and printed coupons like crazy!  We read though weekly ads of Walgreens and CVS, and we started to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  All it takes is being aware of the weekly discounts of these drugstores, finding coupons to match them up, and most of the time, we get the item for a few cents -- if not free!

I must say it takes time.  It takes time to clip coupons every week (Sunday paper).  It takes a lot of time to sort them and arrange them alphabetically.  (That's how my sister did it, and in three categories so far:  Food, Non-Food, Restaurants).  I takes time to read through weekly deals, read blogs, print coupons online, and match them up.  But hey, I feel like a Princess when I walk out the store and pay so little of the total cost of the items I got!  What's to complain about?

I donated my miles for a greener environment

I earned some 27,500 miles from Cathay Pacific on my business trip to Canada in 2005. Earlier this month, I got an email stating that my miles are expiring at the end of the month. I was very busy so I almost forgot to redeem my miles!

I tried to redeem my miles by buying my mom a plane ticket to LA but it was not enough. Also, it's not transferable! I have no plans of traveling for pleasure just yet so I looked around their website and I discovered that I can donate my miles for a greener environment! The thought of helping the environment by donating something I hardly lifted a finger for sounded encouraging... and it makes me feel good despite the troubles I am facing right now.

Looking at this screen shot made my day.

Chicken Feet or Paws?

We spent the holidays in New York, specifically in Manhasset, Long Island. One day, we went to lunch at a dimsum place in Flushing, Queens. The place feels like another Chinatown outside Manhattan.

At the dimsum place called Ocean Jewels Seafood Restaurant, carts were pushed around with little plates of dimsum in them. We were asked what we wanted and just said yes to whatever they point to us. It was quite irritating though that they continue to speak with us in Chinese. We keep on saying we speak English but they never seem to bother understand us.



At my cousins' surprise, we ordered some Chicken Feet. My sister and I dared my cousins to try them but they just cannot. Well, my sister and I happily nibbled on them.

And then I recall how this delicacy should be properly called here in the US. We call them Chicken Feet but, apparently, they prefer to call it Chicken Paws. Sounds more sosyal, if you know what I mean.

Why Have Another Blog?

This is one reason I keep a separate blog other than my food blog.



Some weird personal encounters amuse me... like this one above. We went to New York Supermaket along Elmhurst and saw these frogs piled on top of each other. They are for sale as food! Did you read that? AS FOOD! They do not look appetizing at all. It make take a good chef to make good use of these critters as food.



Imagine if I post this in my food blog, Pinay Lost in Grocery Lane 33. Wouldn't that be unappetizing, more so appalling? Above are either snakes or eels. Honestly, I do not know. But I pity them for some reason. I stood atleast 2 feet away from them, though. I can imagine them thrusting out of the water in a split second!

Ahhh, New York is such a great place for all things exotic without leaving America!