Today marks four years since this handsome boy came into our lives. I know it seems sappy and weird to be this attached to a rabbit, but this one, he really is special. He has never tried to hurt or even retaliate any of his sisters. He likes to snuggle up when you’re lying down. He lets even people he’s just met pet and pick him up. He’s just got the best heart and I am very lucky to have had this four years with him. One year left until he’s a senior bunny and I am trying to enjoy every minute, even if I have seen some of his behavior change, the mere fact that I’ve been able to have time to notice has been a blessing. 

Please stay with me and Chibi as long as possible because I cannot imagine our lives without you. I promise to keep giving you as much treats as I can healthily, keep getting you to your vet for checkups and snuggling whenever you want to do so.

I love you!

From the end of July to mid August, I was working on a personal project that I really enjoyed, which was changing the look of my space. I figured, the last time I changed up anything in this space was high school (more than a decade ago), it was time. And I remember it not being a whole lot expensive to do so, just a little time consuming.

So after buying two paintbrushes (one 4 inch one and a 1 inch one) a roller, and two rolls of masking tape at Divisoria, I took the plunge of painting my room.

I knew after watching a ton of Queer Eye that I wanted to paint my walls white, and I did. My two biggest issues were my two roommates (Chibi and Chester, the bunnies) since they couldn’t be overwhelmed with the chemical smell of the paint and I don’t want them to be able to consume any of the paint or get anything dropped on them. In this aspect, I used a pet gate to separate them from the space, used Davies’s Bio Fresh paint and I painted small chunks of wall at once so as not to make the room smell too much at a time. I fortunately have a lot of windows so I opened all of them most of the week except for when I had work or was sleeping.

And as anyone will tell you, it’s not the painting that’s hard, but the putting aside stuff so it won’t get paint on them, and the laying down of paper and taping up of edges. Even with all that, my floor is a mess of paint splotches and smudges as I am not the neatest of painters.

I did finish though. Most of my space is now white (even the wood cabinets) except for one accent color wall which is a mauve gray I had to have mixed special from Boysen’s Healthy Home line of interior paint, which was more of a smell than the Davies.  I wanted a navy but I didn’t want another blue (which is the color I painted over) and I figure, now I know if I want to change it in a couple years I can.

Here’s what I spent on the renovation project:

1. 1 Swiffer (the reusable chamois version) P700 to clean the walls beforehand
2. 1 Gallon of Davies Bio Fresh Paint in Porcelain: P757
   
3. 4 paintbrushes: P329
4. Davies Wood white primer (small): P179
5. Davies 1 gallon white wood enamel P699
6. Boysen Healthy Home Mauve Gray 1 Gallon P1179
7. Blackout curtains P3780
   
8. Light clips and cable hooks P299
9. Christmas LED lights: P249
10. Masking tape: P160

All in a total of: P8331 or around $150 USD. I did realize that the curtains were the most expensive purchase but they made such a difference and with the hours I work, having extremely gloomy curtains just won’t do.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Davies Bio Fresh is less of a chemical smell than Boysen Healthy home, however it takes 2 more coats to cover the same amount of space than the Boysen, and it scratches off more easily (I learned this scratch issue when I was putting away the pet gate)
2. Old newspapers are a godsend for painting, and really helps cover spaces you don’t want to smudge paint on.
3. Take the time to clean the space first. Otherwise you’re just painting over dust and will have dust balls on your walls forever.
4. Painter’s tape can actually be more detrimental than useful if you put it on wrong and take off more paint when you take it out, it sticks so well that it can take some of the paint off with it. Regular masking tape used for school/office supplies is fine if you’re not the most skilled.
5. Rinse off paintbrushes after each use. Otherwise you’ll have to paint with a hardened mess after a day. It’s not easy (or pretty).

With how much I spent and the effort I’ve made, I’m hoping this look will last for at least 3 to 5 years, and then who knows. I really did enjoy myself, even if I may have ticked off my roommates for three weeks with all the activity, it feels like a more peaceful, restful space that I can breathe better in. And who doesn’t want that?

It’s been an interesting week and I have a lot to be thankful for. With all the negativity constantly floating around us, I still hope to remind myself too that there are things to be grateful for every single day. This week, I will share some of mine:

1. I am thankful for really nice physical therapists that fit me in their schedules to make sure my knee rehab goes smoothly.

2. I am thankful for pinaritas and well made pina coladas from Atmoshpere Resort and Spa.

3. I am thankful for catching up, and difficult but necessary conversations that need to happen to give reality a chance to sink in.

4. I am thankful for beautiful sunsets over the sea.

5. And I am thankful for the ability to see and appreciate all of the aforementioned things.

 

What are you grateful for this week?

It has happened. Three different doctors, without consulting each other, have (actually written down in those prescription pads!) prescribed that I lose weight. You know that phenomenon when three people who see the same ghost don’t talk to each other but described the same entity makes it true? Well then my ghost is 20+ extra pounds on my apparently weak frame who can’t (and shouldn’t) support it.

Suffice to say I feel very attacked right now and wanted immediately to dive into a plate of cookies and a jug of half and half as I headed home, but nooo, my rehab doctor (who seems quite strict) said explicitly that the next time I come in (which is in 7 days from now), I should weigh less. Remind me to wear my lightest dress and eat AFTER the consult to help myself without starving myself.

I know I should stop complaining because this is the result of my own choices in overloading my maw every time decent food is in the horizon. I am an emotional eater, and when you work from home AT NIGHT and are trying to stop buying jewelry (which is another issue altogether, I KNOW), the easiest way to get a rush of endorphins when your knees won’t even let you climb STAIRS like a normal 30 something, said cookies and half and half jug sound really good.

I could go on and on and blame my upbringing, my incessant need to have my worth validated which is satiated by making my family food, or everything else, but I am a full grown woman and I know that whining myself through this isn’t the answer. If I want to avoid surgery (which, 2 doctors have said is a very close possibility), arthritis, or further constant pain, I need to get my eating habits out of the gutter and in control.

I will whine myself through this for the next few days but ultimately, I know my stubbornness and fear of disappointing a medical professional will get me through the late night soda cravings and my new recipe for mac and cheese itching to be made and eaten. I don’t think it will ever be this easy like I’m making it sound, but it has be easier than getting my knees sliced open to correct them, or to be constantly hindered in movement.

While my body and I won’t have the perfect relationship and ice cream will always tempt me, this body and I have some 40+ or so years or so together, and that won’t be easy if I have to have outside implements to get it somewhere.

Now to find a doctor who’ll prescribe weight loss surgery (I kid).