Quickie

It was one of those on-the-spur-of-the-moment thingies. Precious moments we decide to quickly grab from the daily grind.

My husband and I agreed to take a quickie detour up Tagaytay City (considered the second summer capital of the country). I had just taken a break from my online work to finish some transaction at my eldest son's school and he was due for a Bible study later in the day so there was a brief moment of "to trip or not to trip."

"To trip" won. We put our motorbike helmets back on and we were off, stopping only a while at the highway just to slip into our jackets. I was hesitant at first because even if I was aware it might be chilly up there, I thought I'd savor the cool air when I got there so I avoided the jacket. But my husband insisted I put it on. He was right. We were just in Silang, the municipality before Tagaytay City and the air already had a touch of chill.

The sky was a nostalgic overcast. Oh what delight feeling the cool wind rush even with my helmet visor down my face. There was a hint of rain but only ultra light drizzles from fast paced clouds constantly blown by the wind. The green scenery was oh so soothing for eyes that constantly look at the flickering of a computer screen.

We finally arrived at the rotunda where the roads spread out and you decide which of them to take to begin your Tagaytay adventure. We got off our motorcycle at the once popular view deck which, sadly, has been dilapidated for quite some time. I wondered when the city government would get around to sprucing it up again. Still the view from there was breathtaking. And the air was oh so colder than I expected.

This was a quickie so just after a few minutes of taking in the sights and savoring the natural airconditioning, we went for a quick bite at the local 7-Eleven right across the street. Okay, okay...this part isn't that "romantic". We should have probably eaten at some place nice. Well, we wanted to but this was a quickie so even there were hundreds of nice, quaint, romantic spots on the mountaintop where we could grab a bite, time was of the essence so to speak.

We finally settled for a sandwich, a chocolate Mister Donut and two cups of coffee. I had the chicken vienna sausage sandwich (well, half of it) and my hubby chomped down on the choco donut (well, half of it too) then we traded. Washed all of it down with our "starting-to-become" lukewarm coffee. It was super chilly even inside the store which had it's doors open (and saving on electricity with the aircondition turned off).

We were enjoying every precious minute from the time we entered the city, laughing at the chills we were having at the view deck and carrying the laughter into 7-Eleven as we made our pick of a light snack. On our way out, as we were putting our helmets back on, a teenage girl quipped, "Malamig ba?" (Is it cold?) as she pulled the hood of her shirt over her head.

Is it cold? We were close to freezing! Yup, Tagaytay City can get that cold at certain times and this was one of those.

It took us 30 minutes going up to Tagaytay and about 20 minutes back down to Dasma plus a few minutes of fun and laughter with each other...and there you have it----a totally delightful quickie!

Moisturize...moisturize...moisturize

I already have dry skin and to have my hands constantly in contact with soap and soaked in water the whole day long just aggravates my skin condition.

Doing the dishes, doing the laundry, washing the toddlers’ butts, giving the kids a bath, washing the vegetables before slicing and dicing, wiping spills on the floor and the table, working on the computer, not to mention my own bath, toilet routine and brushing my teeth!—these are the everyday chores that real wear and tear the hands.

That’s why my sister’s gift of a humongous bottle of lotion was a God-send. The skin of my fingertips (toetips included!) was all cracked from dryness. At first I was quite surprised when she handed it to me. Afterall my mom had already previously given me a bottle that was the exact twin of what she was handing me.

I said, “Are you sure? I haven’t finished the bottle of lotion Ma gave me.”

“Mommies always need lotion. Especially you—you’re a fulltime mama. Moisturize your hand every time you’re done with any washing…” she replied with a grin.

Her comment made me realize that my hands badly needed moisturizing. “But the lotion will just wash off the next time I wash something (which is like after just a few minutes). It seems such a waste…” I quipped.

“That’s why I gave you a big bottle. Besides that’s what they say—never mind that the lotion gets washed out the next time you wash or clean something,” my sister replied.

So I followed sisterly prescription, trying to ignore what I viewed as a waste of the moisturizing liquid. And it worked. In just a couple of days the skin on my hands healed and got all smooth and soft again.

And just so I remember to moisturize as often as possible, I placed one bottle of lotion beside the dish drainer in the kitchen and the other bottle in the bedroom—the two places where I can be found most of the day.

If I’m not cooking or cleaning up in the kitchen, I’m in the bedroom folding clothes or getting the kids ready for bed. Hmmm….maybe I should go purchase another bottle and put that in the bathroom—my sanctuary (harharhar).