Counting My Blessings the Past Week

I always keep a positive attitude. Even if I see a dark cloud looming over certain stressful situations I am in, I can still see that thin silver lining ahead.

Although there are occasions when my temper breaks loose, those incidents do not happen that often. I attribute such calm and worry-free attitude to God’s love. I cannot claim about having a strong faith. I have my weaknesses but even with my fragile faith, God never failed me.

1240be3ae07888841cca9d2ccecb5652

There is so much to be thankful for. So let me count my blessings the past week. Even the littlest of things matter. Simple things can already bring me tremendous joy.

1.  The gift of laughter. I bought these almost a month ago. I am a fan of the radio tandem. I get their sense of humor so when I remembered their book, I bought a copy the first chance I get.

I was able to read the magazine but I was not able to find time to read the book until last week. I was on field work for a few days with no internet access (I do not own a laptop nor a smartphone).  Good thing I brought the book along so I spent the night laughing alone silly. 😀

2.  Family conversations. There was one dinner when the food did not seem to fill our hungry stomachs. We opted to buy these post-dinner snacks while we chitchat.

I am thankful that I have a family to talk to even without these delicious snacks.

3. Simple tools that get things done. I am not the type of person who buys the latest gizmos in the market. I was asked to document a certain forum.  These are the simple tools I use. (These also remind me that I need to write that report. Oh my!) Newsflash to the younger generation, the old school pen and paper still work.  😉

4. Full breakfast. We often hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

5. Daily walks. I walk the dog regularly. This is already my exercise.  When I am busy, my cousin does this task for me. I think she is enjoying the walk, too, because she did not complain when I gave her this task.  Walking the dog is also a  stress-reliever for me.

6. Surviving a freak accident.  One Friday afternoon, it was already dark when the dog and I returned home from our walk.  Joacqui (dog) was panting hard so I went to the laundry area to get water for Joacqui. The area was not lit but I knew my way through that dark nook. I was a few steps away from the faucet when I heard a screech and I felt pain on my left foot. I realized that I stepped on a rat and it bit me.  Crazy, huh? The bleeding did not stop as I was washing the area with running water. Thank God I have an aunt whose a nurse.  She told me to clean the wound with alcohol and apply Bactobran, an anti-bacterial ointment.  Here is my makeshift bandage: cotton and tape! (Warning: ugly foot!) 

There was swelling in my foot the following day so my aunt suggested a warm compress. Another aunt was cooking banana that afternoon. So we had the idea to use the heat of the banana peel (the real one, not the slipper brand) in order to apply warm compress on my foot.  I wrapped the banana peel in a clear plastic and stepped on it.

Thank God for the nursing wisdom from my aunt. I took some antibiotics and continue to clean the wound daily. Btw, a rat does not carry rabies.

7. Cheap finds. I went to the grocery with the intention of buying the Head and Shoulders buy one-take one pack for Php118. It was not available so I bought what is in the rack: the Pantene buy one-take one pack for P98. I went to another grocery in another day to check if it had the Head and Shoulders buy one-take one pack. I found a Rejoice buy one-take one pack for Php83.25 so I bought it because I need an anti-dandruff shampoo.  When I went back to the first grocery for another reason, the Head and Shoulders buy one-take one pack was available so I bought one for fear it would sell fast.  Thus,  I ended up being a shampoo hoarder! I  think these will last me for more than 3 months.

 I also found this cheap belts. I hope they are not as durable as their price.

8. Getting paid. I got paid for a freelance work so I shared my blessings with the family. Magnum is back!

9. New bank account. My parents have instilled in me the value of saving for the rainy days. My savings is what kept me afloat the past four years of living without regular income. Because I started earning again this year, I wanted to return to the habit of setting aside for my emergency fund.  Hopefully, in the future, it is investment plan that I am going to think about.  I am taking baby steps for now.

10. Seeing an opportunity. I went to get my cedula. The lady at the counter did not have enough change for my bill so I have to pay using the loose change in my wallet. It left me without small bills for the tricycle ride home. Then, I remember that I wanted to try the buko pie near that area so I thought of just buying buko pie so I will have loose change to pay for my ride home. We had this for dessert after lunch yesterday.

11. Enjoying a family favorite. One type of dried fish we enjoy is buwad na haw-an (dried mudfish). This type of dried fish is seldom sold in the market.  It is often peddled in the neighborhood by people from Agusan del Sur.  The mudfish thrives in vast waters in the Agusan Marsh. In the past, electricity was not available in the marshland so residents in that area learned how to preserve their food through sun drying.  Even with electricity, they still dry the mudfish for personal consumption and commerce.

I sleep with a grateful heart every night.

f4d84a87d875b6447ceec83fbd53812e

Source: etsy.com via Emily on Pinterest

 

This post is a BC Bloggers‘ meme for the week sponsored by Yashiro.

34 Responses

Leave a Reply to Kat Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *