Green hills

Today Lynette, Debra, Cindi and I went shopping at Green Hills. When Deb called this morning to see if I was interested in going I of course wanted to go. I needed to buy two frog purses and some other things. That place is pack with a lot of merchandise.

It is usually ok except when buying purses because depending on the salesperson you never know how much something is worth. I have paid from 500 to 1500 on those purses. I will not pay a cent more than $30.00 for a fake purse no matter how good it looks.

I will also not buy from aggressive transvestites who make the shopping experience so unpleasant. Today one of those guys just irritated me when he was trying to sell a purse to Cindy for six times more than what it should be worth. The problem is asking how much? because they will just give you any price. I simply go there and say is this purse 800 pesos and go from there.

There is a lacoste tote bag that I really like and I know I could get that for 500 or 10 dollars. I will probably stick to buying those  types or what I am familiar with. Another thing that bothers me even more is that even after they sell you something for a lot more than what it should, they ask you for a tip. They want to make you feel as if they did you a favor. Finally we got a a vendor who sold us some purses at a more reasonable price. Not exactly my price but close enough.

Anyway, to say the least, It got tense for a moment when some some guy had the nerve to ask 6,500 pesos or $130 for something that should only be $20 max. I  hope I don't get the urge to buy any more purses for months to come. Other than that unpleasant experience the ladies outing was good. We decided to try the Wildflower cafe. It was good. This day I am thankful that I got to go shopping for things I need to take.

Con amor,
Vero

Dinner with our Dentists

Today we invited the Dental clinic missionaries to dinner in our home to say goodbye to the Burtenshaws.  They were responsible for having a Dental Clinic serving our missionaries here in the Philippines. This is a state of the art type of facility, perhaps the best one in the Philippines. It was interesting to find out how much this was needed.

Each missionary that comes in to the MTC goes to get their teeth checked before they continue on their mission. They are so busy doing every kind of teeth repair and the regular cleaning as well with just our missionaries. Having this clinic helps the missions budget. What is amazing is to find people so willing to come serve for two years. They are all top Dentists who have retired and want to make a difference.

The menu consisted on the most delicious pan con pavo, potato salad, fruit plate, zucchini rolls, and pasta frola. All these have become my favorite recipes. The potato salad was a hit and is one I will post in here. The optional ingredients are there in case you have them on hand.

Vero's potato salad (Ensalada rusa)
You will need:
5 large potatoes
1 carrot
2 hard boiled eggs
1 Tablespoon of red onion
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1 stack of celery diced (optional)
I clove of garlic (optional)
1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro (optional)
2 apples (optional)
1 beat (optional)
1 teaspoon of paprika (optional)

Boil potatoes, carrots and eggs
chopped everything else
combine all ingredients
add the mayo mixture

Enjoy
Con amor,
Vero

Filippino Delicacies

Today the Latin Ladies had their luncheon at the most beautiful home I have been to so far. The group hosting the home made it a  Filipino theme since one member in the group is from the Philippines. The food was what would be expected. They had several dishes and some local traditional dishes as well including balut to see if anyone would dare try them. They first had one volunteer from each table and then we were all welcomed to try.

At this event I met one girl from Mexico, Lourdes who lives in valle verde and Carolina Suarez de Escalante from El Salvador who sadly is moving back to El Salvador in two months and the other woman there who came for the first time is another Veronica, there are three now in the group, she is  the wife of the Chilean Ambassador.

 I sat next to Sofia since she is the one teaching me how to knit. Next time I will try to find Carolina and sit by her. She was so happy to find someone else from our little "pulgarcito" and have exchanged email and phone numbers here in Manila. She is relocating again in El Salvador.

Sometimes I think it would be great if I was the Honorary Consul of El Salvador in the Philippines and meet all these women whom their husbands have posts here. I do have the time and the resources as well to get involved this time around but don't know how to go about it. I don't even know the where is the closest Consulate office in Asia.

I love meeting new people and today was a good day for that!

Con amor,
Vero

Shame on Disney

Today we went  with the Area Presidency, all eight of us, to see the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy." It had just come out and we had seen the first one and thought this next one would be just as good but we were wrong.

This supposed to be PG show where you can take your four year old to watch but to my great disappointment it was not all that good nor enjoyable to watch because Disney has decided to join the rest of the filthy film industry and show profane language and untactful innuendos on their movies.

I felt that using profanity is not necessary. I don't speak that way and I know children who come see the show don't either so why on earth do they have to get down to the lowest level. There were some good special effects but other than that, I don't recommend this new movie to anyone.

Fortunately not all movies use profanity but more and more they are becoming the exception rather than the rule. One movie we saw that was a good example of a clean movie is Hidden Figures. Not only was well made but the story line was also amazing and it is a movie I could take my grandchildren to see.

I only like to purchase movies that are wholesome in nature and Hidden Figures is in that category, and from now on, I will be careful whenever I chose to see a Disney movie or any PG movie for that matter. What has this world come to. Sad!

Con amor,
Vero

Farewell to outstanding missionaries

Today was the farewell for two missionary couples. The Soderquists and the Burdenshaws. They each spoke about their service here in the Philippines.

The dental clinic would have never happened if it wasn't for the vision of a dear former mission President. What stuck in my mind is when he said:

"In this life it's all about how much difference we can make in the life of others not how important we can become."  Just to give you an idea, this dear doctor is an important man. Important enough to donate $400,000 to build a clinic.

He also said: "Key to success is when you do a little bit more than the minimum required. Miracles happen!"

He was very impacted as a mission President to come back one day and do something significant. He said: I probably forgot about all the struggles people deal with day by day but I didn't forgot their smiling faces no matter their circumstances and those smiles needed care.

 When he was released as a Mission President he remembers how he didn't want to be released. He said: " This is a Church of workers and not a museum of Saints." He is a Dentist by profession and his dream was to build a clinic for all missionaries to be care for free! He works on all missionaries who enter the MTC He loves to hear their stories. They all have stories of their conversion. He had us recite D&C 4: 1-7 Every missionary know this scripture by heart.

Remember he said: We all need to do a little more!

Sister Soderquist spoke of her journey to weight loss and how we could  apply to spiritual things too.

She had the top ten things to do:
1. Believe in yourself
2. Rely on God
3. Focus on what is important
4. Do not rely on will power
5. Use correct principles
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Sister Soderquist lost 20 kilos or almost 50 pounds while on her mission. She has become an inspiration to people like me.

Con amor,
Vero

Keeping a secret

One of the hardest things for me is to keep a secret. I am good a keeping confidential things a secret. I know of various times when to this day, I haven't said a word about something I know. Having said that, I have the hardest time when the secret is a surprise from me to my dear loved ones. Like when I buy a special gift and I have to keep it guarded until its time to give it away. I won't say much about this other than it will take place by he end of this week. I am looking so forward for this day to come like you can't even imagine.

This bit of excitement is what keeps me going. I love giving surprises but sometimes I worry that because they are not planned. they might not work out the way I envisioned so I have to do whatever it takes to still go with the plan but someone make sure that I don't mess up. That is what makes it tricky. I remember going to see my father on father's day before he passed away and I didn't tell anyone about it. I had an old friend pick me up at the airport and as I came in to his bedroom to where he was sitting and will never forget his face and how happy he was to see me. Another time it was mother's day and went to see her in Miami and again I did the same thing on my mother's birthday and surprised her in Mexico. I hope this does not become so normal that everyone will expect me to show up at anytime but I must say, the excitement is unbelievable.

I can't wait for this day to come.

Con amor,
Vero

Words from our dear Apostles

Today I want to share two talks from October Conference 2016.  I was asked to teach a class in Relief Society on these talks and it's fresh on my mind.

The first one is by Elder Hales: " Come Follow Me" by Practicing Christian Love and Service

Elder Hales explained: The disciples were taught to turn from the ways of the natural man to the loving and caring ways of the Savior by replacing contention with forgiveness, kindness and compassion. 'the new commandment' to 'love one another' was not always easy to keep. The the disciples worried about associating with sinners and certain classes of people, the Savior patiently taught, 'inasmuch as ye have done it uno one of the lest of these my breather, ye have donut unto me.' or, as a Book of Mormon prophet explained, ' when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in eh service of  your God.'

As the Savior's latter-day disciples, we come uno Him by loving and serving God's children. As we do, we may not be able to avoid tribulation, affliction, and suffering i the flesh, but we will offer less spiritually. Even in our rials we can experience joy ad peace.

Our Christian love and service naturally begin in the home. Parents you are called to be loving teachers and missionaries to your children and youth.  They are your investigators. You bear the responsibility to help them become covered.  In truth, all of us are seeking to be converted. which means being filled with our Savior's love.

Youth, you are some of our most effective gospel teachers. You come to church to learn so that you can go home to teach and serve your family, neighbors, and friends, Don't be afraid. Have faith to testify of what you know to be true. Think how full- time missionaries grow because they are faithfully living a consecrated life. Using their time an talents and bearing testimony to serve and bless others. As you share your testimony of the gospel, your faith will grow and your confidence will increase!

Some of our most impactful Christian service is given by holding family scripture study, family prayer, and family council meetings. For more than a hundred years, Church leaders have called us to set aside uninterrupted time each week. But many of us are still missing the blessings. Family home evening is not a lecture from Mom and Dad. It is our family time to share simple spiritual concepts and experiences, to help our children learn to care and share, have fun together, bear testimony together, and grow and progress together. As we hold family home evening every week, our love for one another will grow stronger and we will suffer less.

Let us remember, the most important work we do in our families is through the power of the Holy Ghost. Whenever we raise our voices in anger, the Spirit leaves our companionships and families. When we speak in love, the esprit can be with us. Let us remember that our children and grandchildren measure our love by how much devote time we give them. Above all, don't lose patience and don't give up!

Brothers and sisters, if we hoax to fully done so yer, let us turn more toward forgiveness, kindness and love. Let us renounce the war that so often rages in the heart of the natural man and proclaim Christ's caring love and peace. "

The bottom line as Elder Hales stated is that "as the Savior's latter-day Saints, we come uno Him by loving and serving God's children."

The next talk we discussed was by Elder Holland: "Emissaries to the Church"
He gave this talk on the Priesthood session and told the brethren: " We are asking you as home teachers to be God's emissaries to His children, to love and care and pray for the people you are assigned....that means leaving behind the tradition of a frantic, law of Moses-like, end of the month calendar in which you rush to give a scripted message from the church magazines that the family has already read. We would hope, rather, that you will establish an era of genuine, gospel-oriented concern for the members, watching over and caring for each other, addressing spiritual and temporal needs in any way that helps...we are aking you as home teachers to be God emissaries to His Children to love and care and pray for the people you are assigned, as we love and care and pray for you. May you be vigilant in tending the flock of God in ways consistent with your circumstances, I pray, in the name of the Good Shepherd of us all, whose witness I am, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen."

There you have it. Those were the talks we discussed on service.

Con amor,
Vero

Just 10 pounds

Just 10 Lbs.

By: Dana Baardsen

 Doctor Oz came up with a list of ten things YOU can do right now, to lose ten pounds. My favorite suggestions of his are to cut out soda consumption and stay on top of taking your multi and B complex vitamins.

We only have a few weeks until July, and if you haven’t prepped your body properly for bathing suit season, you might want to take some of his ideas into consideration.

Here are ten tips I’ve created for optimal weight loss in a short period of time:

1. Mindful Eating: It may seem pretty basic, and you might think your eating mindfully– but really take a second to think about what you consume on a weekly basis. Rather than focusing on daily intake, (“I only had a FEW potato chips today”) focus on what you consume during the week.

Are you going through full bags of potato chips? Or are you going through full bags of spinach? Are you going through a tub of ice cream? Or are you going through a tub of low-fat Greek yogurt? This leads to the second point:

2. Cabinet Makeover: If your serious about ditching this extra weight, then it’s time to cleanse your kitchen! Go through your cabinets and refrigerator and get rid of anything which could be detrimental to your diet. Work out an understanding with your family and try to keep sweet-eating out of the house.

3. Sayonara Sodium!: Salt is SO important for our cells, because (Sodium) is one of the main electrolytes in our bodies. However, excessive sodium leads to water retention…which leads to packing on extra “water” weight.

Foods you should avoid: Pre-made soups, processed/frozen dinners, canned foods, salty snacks etc.

Salt is often used for a preservative, so while your trying to cut these ten pounds, avoid preserved foods. Look for terms like, “low-sodium” or “unsalted”. Finally, try not to add extra salt to your meals.

4. Fat from Fruit?: Eeek! Could fruit make you fat? Maybe. When eating produce, try to fill up your cart with mostly veggies and limited fruits. Fruits tend to be higher in calories and much higher in sugar. When we have excess sugar in our bodies– it becomes converted and stored as fat. It doesn’t matter if the sugar comes from a grape or a donut, if it’s excess then you don’t want it.

Make sure fruit is your main source of sugar-intake and be “mindful” of not over-doing it!

5. Good Morning, Body: Rather than avoiding the world and throwing the covers over your head when the alarm goes off in the morning, try some light stretching. When we stretch before we even get out of bed, it starts the flow of blood in our bodies so that when we actually get out of bed, the idea of doing a few push-ups or sit ups isn’t so painful. Once you get a light workout in at the start of the day, you will be more conscious to avoid unhealthy decisions throughout the rest of the day.

6. Drink!: Soda, Alcohol, and Juices often contain too much sugar or food dyes and chemicals which can hinder weight loss. Even diet soda contains a chemical which actually slows metabolism over time.

By drinking water (add lemon or mint) you will stay hydrated and rid your body of unwanted toxins.

By drinking tea (especially green) you will actually boost your metabolism and pump your body with antioxidants. How could you go wrong?

7. Break Bad Habits: Turn sedentary activities into fat-burning. Walk instead of driving or taking the bus. Stretch while you watch TV. Do a wall sit while you brush your teeth.

The possibilities to be more active are endless! No excuses this summer…

8. Brown vs. White: It’s important to incorporate brown (breads, pastas, rices) into your diet rather than white. The simple sugars in the white product spike blood sugar and increase body fat percentage. The sugars in brown products are often paired with fibers and nutrients which cause a slow release of sugars into the blood stream. There is no overload of sugar into your body which means a less of an impact on body fat percentage.

9. Prepare Your Meals: Know what you are eating, by developing a relationship with food.

When we eat out of laziness or boredom, the last thing we want to do is actually prepare a meal. We might heat something up or grab a bag-o-somethin’ from the cabinet…but never do we find ourselves chopping fresh veggies and making home made hummus to feed our fix.

If your not willing to prepare something, then you probably aren’t about to eat because your body needs to.

By all means, prepare and store for later use…but make sure you are eating for the right reasons while steering clear from a diet which mainly consists of processed foods.

10. Love Your Body, Know Your Body: Remember not to get hung up on the scale. Know what your body looks and feels like. If you lost seven pounds and can’t seem to drop any more weight, but you notice your body toning up and transforming into something more energetic and flexible–than you’ve succeeded. Muscle weighs more than fat anyway and it’s better to just decrease your body fat percentage than to focus on a number.

I am sharing this article because I was talking to Daniel today how we need to start losing our weight before July. At least 10 pounds but 20 would be ideal. We are going to start a routine where we will be counting calories and exercising for the next 8 weeks. It will be a cleansing type of diet. We hope to be successful at least this one time at doing something about our weight. I will report on June 29th before we go on our vacation. 

Con amor,

Vero