Here in Singapore, Chinese New Year is a big holiday celebrated island-wide. It is usually a 2 day holiday or even a week long holiday for most of our friends with traditional Chinese roots. So, what are your plans this Chinese New Year holiday? I will share with you some ideas I have in mind.


Most people have it already planned when it was released that it'll be a 2 day holiday. You see, February 5 and 6  2019 were declared a holiday, which falls on a Tuesday and Wednesday. If you are a budget traveller (or a wise one), you'll be filing your leave to maximize the whole week, which will give you a 9-day holiday (Feb 2-10). It'll just cost you 3 paid leaves to enjoy the 9 day holiday. YAY!!


So, where can you go on a 9-day holiday? This is the best time to check off some places on your bucket list. If you have saved up and ready to go, there's the US, UK, Europe and Japan trip just to name some. But for us, budget travellers, these trips need more in depth planning and saving up to do, so they are still out of the picture (maybe someday).

If big and expensive trips are out of the picture, I'll share with you other places that you can go for a holiday. I made a list long before of places you can visit this Lunar year holiday. Here are some suggestions:

I have taken into consideration that most places with a strong Chinese community will probably be on a holiday as well, so most establishments will be closed. Hongkong, Taiwan, Singapore, and most of China for example. Here in Singapore, most hawker places and restaurants are closed for days due to the holiday.

If you are just planning it last minute, like us, don't worry. I have taken into consideration that flying out is not an option due to budget constraints and that no paid leaves will be used (that has been allocated on a different holiday). Here are some doable places you can visit to enjoy the Chinese New Year holiday:

1. Johor Bahru

 Johor Bahru is a popular place for Singaporeans to go. It is near and accessible by a highway. A trip down there calls for an enjoyable road trip. A word of caution, the highway can get clogged up, especially during the weekends. The influx of people crossing the border, undergoing two immigration stops, you can expect a bit of waiting time to cross.


Some things you can enjoy in Johor Bahru are Legoland Malaysia, Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and the newly opened Desaru Coast Waterpark. If waterparks and theme parks are not your thing, fret not because you can also enjoy shopping at Johor Bahru's outlet stores and eat your way along Johor.

2. Batam, Indonesia

Batam is also just a stone throw away from Singapore. You can easily drop by Batam via ferry. Batam is known for a place to unwind and relax for hey have beaches, rich food culture and best affordable spas.


Your Singaporean Dollars have better purchasing power versus the Indonesian Rupee. Most Singaporean escape to Batam for spa excursions, food tripping and a bit of shopping. 

3. Bintan, Indonesia

Same as Batam, Bintan is also near Singapore, just a ferry ride away. Bintan is a bit further down Batam. Bintan is known as a beach haven for they have nice beaches and resorts. Bintan is a bit pricey than Batam because they are more detached to the city. You are looking for more of an island vibe, Bintan is the way to go.


We have been to Bintan Lagoon and I must say we enjoyed our stay there. It was a great way to unwind and chill after a weeklong city hustle.

If you are in no mood to get out of Singapore, there are a lot of places you can check out in the island. There are a lot of celebrations island-wide that you can join in. Just be informed that most places to eat and stores are closed for days here.

It's exactly 12 days before Christmas. While most are busy opening their presents/advent calendars, I decided to join in the trend. Instead of opening presents, I decided to jump start my metabolism by doing a fitness challenge.


It's been almost two years since I had a good workout routine. I attempted several times post pregnancy, but my hormones keep messing me up. My appetite was out of control, adding the fact that I am fully breastfeeding, my metabolism was hibernating.

To start off one of my goals for 2019, I am doing a 12 days of fitness challenge to shake things up. Here's my plan:

Day 1 (That's today!) - 1 full run at the oval near the community center
Day 2 (Dec 14) - Push up exercise for at least 14 minutes (10 modified pushup and 3 full pushup).
Day 3 (Dec 15) - Finish one Insanity routine. THIS.IS.INSANE.
Day 4 (Dec 16) - Abs Exercises for 16 minutes. 4 variety of ab exercise.
Day 5 (Dec 17) - Arm Exercise with weights for 17 minutes.
Day 6 (Dec 18) - Push up Exercise for 18 minutes
Day 7 (Dec 19) - Squats (using weights) for 19 minutes
Day 8 (Dec 20) - Ab Exercise for 20 mins doing 4 variety.
Day 9 (Dec 21) - Arm Exercise (with weights) for 21 minutes
Day 10 (Dec 22) - Finish one Insanity routine. Let's check my stamina here.
Day 11 (Dec 23) - 2 full run at the oval near the community center
Day 12 (Dec 24) - Squats (using weights) for 24 mins.

If you'll observe, There are 6 types of exercises namely running, squats, arms, pushup, abs and cardio. My weak points will be running, arms and pushup (cardio, if I can actually last the Insanity workout). I strategically placed exercises I'm struggling at the earlier days. Adding the Insanity routine is a bit ambitious, so we'll see how far I can go from there.


The goal of this challenge is to jump start my metabolism (and to sweat buckets!). One of my goals for 2019 is to get back on exercising and modifying my eating habits so I could lose the pregnancy weight.

If you also want to do the challenge, feel free to use this (or modify to your preference). I'll update my progress on Instagram (follow me @carolranas) using the hashtag #12daysofxmasfitness #becarol.

Let the Fitness Challenge begin!



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:

If you have been following my instagram stories, I've been posting this challenge there. I even made a highlight on my profile page. Anyway, I just want to update my blog readers on what went down on this challenge.

I was able to do diligently up until Day 6. Day 7 - 9 was a bit of a struggle. Sadly, I did not make it to Day 10 - 12. Time constraint and procrastination were the culprit (I'll mix in the holiday spirit as well). Day 12 was our flight back to Manila for the holidays. Few days before that, we were busy packing (and shopping) for gifts and pasalubongs. I know those are just excuses, I really fell short of motivation.

LESSON: Buy cute active wear outfits so I'll look good in my insta stories. HAHAHA!
Kidding aside, I learned that procrastination got the best of me. I modified the challenge from the start so as towards the end of the challenge, I would still be able to do it. AND I DID NOT.

My cute baby was a big help because he joined me in my exercises. My friends and sisters were happy watching the video because of him. My sisters even reminded me of the challenge, just because they miss seeing the cute baby hanging out with me while I exercise. (WATCH MY INSTAGRAM STORIES HIGHLIGHTS SO YOU'LL SEE). 

Goal for 2019, END PROCRASTINATION! Be more productive on all aspects. ^_^

Hope you had fun with the challenge as much as I did. I am now researching for other challenges that I can do to increase my productivity (and to feel good about myself as well).




 

It's exactly 12 days before Christmas. While most are busy opening their presents/advent calendars, I decided to join in the trend. Instead of opening presents, I decided to jump start my metabolism by doing a fitness challenge.


It's been almost two years since I had a good workout routine. I attempted several times post pregnancy, but my hormones keep messing me up. My appetite was out of control, adding the fact that I am fully breastfeeding, my metabolism was hibernating.

To start off one of my goals for 2019, I am doing a 12 days of fitness challenge to shake things up. Here's my plan:

Day 1 (That's today!) - 1 full run at the oval near the community center
Day 2 (Dec 14) - Push up exercise for at least 14 minutes (10 modified pushup and 3 full pushup).
Day 3 (Dec 15) - Finish one Insanity routine. THIS.IS.INSANE.
Day 4 (Dec 16) - Abs Exercises for 16 minutes. 4 variety of ab exercise.
Day 5 (Dec 17) - Arm Exercise with weights for 17 minutes.
Day 6 (Dec 18) - Push up Exercise for 18 minutes
Day 7 (Dec 19) - Squats (using weights) for 19 minutes
Day 8 (Dec 20) - Ab Exercise for 20 mins doing 4 variety.
Day 9 (Dec 21) - Arm Exercise (with weights) for 21 minutes
Day 10 (Dec 22) - Finish one Insanity routine. Let's check my stamina here.
Day 11 (Dec 23) - 2 full run at the oval near the community center
Day 12 (Dec 24) - Squats (using weights) for 24 mins.

If you'll observe, There are 6 types of exercises namely running, squats, arms, pushup, abs and cardio. My weak points will be running, arms and pushup (cardio, if I can actually last the Insanity workout). I strategically placed exercises I'm struggling at the earlier days. Adding the Insanity routine is a bit ambitious, so we'll see how far I can go from there.


The goal of this challenge is to jump start my metabolism (and to sweat buckets!). One of my goals for 2019 is to get back on exercising and modifying my eating habits so I could lose the pregnancy weight.

If you also want to do the challenge, feel free to use this (or modify to your preference). I'll update my progress on Instagram (follow me @carolranas) using the hashtag #12daysofxmasfitness #becarol.

Let the Fitness Challenge begin!

Thanksgiving weekend is fast approaching. Everyone is busy for it is one of the busiest time of the year (crazy black friday and cyber monday sales). Evenwith all the buzz, we should remember what this Thanksgiving holiday represents.


Thanksgiving is a celebration of the things we are thankful for this year. In the Filipino culture, Thanksgiving is not widely practiced. I do believe that Thanksgiving is as important as the Christmas holiday. It is good to stop for a moment and reflect on the things we are grateful for.

In spite of tough times and crazy frenzy in these times, I'd like to share with you some of the things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for family.

Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash

They say that family is everything, and it is true. God have blessed me my own family, a loving husband and a wonderful son. Even with the imperfections we each have, I am happy to have them in my life. Also, my family circle have grown. I know that not all families are the same, mine is no different as well. We were able to work with the difficulties.

I am thankful for the time I get to spend with family. 

Photo by Natalya Zaritskaya on Unsplash

I am a stay-at-home wife and hands-on mom. I am grateful for my husband because I was able to be both. We both have worked out our situation into something great. Leaving a career (or your home country) is not easy. But now, I am happy to take care of them. I get to spend a lot of time with my son and also take care of  my husband. Seeing my son grow to be a happy person is priceless. It may look easy, but I tell you it is hardwork.

I am thankful we are in Singapore

Photo by Sven Scheuermeier on Unsplash

My husband was fortunate to land a good job here in Singapore. We are able to be together and live comfortably in Singapore. Growing up in a third world country, we were raised to be resilient despite the worsening condition of our country. But living in a first world country opened my eyes. There are more to life that we deserve, if we look (and work) really hard for it. A clean and safe environment for my family to thrive and live in. A place where you feel good being a dutiful citizen and paying taxes because of what you can enjoy with it (efficient transport system, clean and safe surroundings).

I am thankful for the comfortable lifestyle we have.

I know most of you know the horror stories of Filipinos working abroad. Most of them are working their asses off 6 days a week for 10-12 hours so they could send almost all of their earnings to their loved ones in the Philippines. Little do we know, the living expenses here in Singapore is high. Think of what they eat everyday here if almost all their salary goes to the Philippines? I assume none or not so healthy processed food.

It is the sad state that one cannot control. So I'm thankful that we are able to live an okay life here in one of the most expensive cities (with me not having to work yet). This is not to brag, but just to appreciate what we have been given.

I am thankful for a wonderful opportunity that came our way.

Experiencing the perks and opportunities the first world countries offer, I can't help but reach and dream higher. Singapore is a good place to raise a family, if you can get a permanent resident visa or even citizenship. As of the current statistics, it is near impossible for a foreign family like us to be granted permanent residency here. The cost of living here is way too expensive to sustain a growing family for a foreigner.

Photo by Joël de Vriend on Unsplash

So we are venturing other countries that are more open to us in terms of permanent residency. I am quite ambitious to say that I yearn for that dual citizenship status where I get to enjoy the benefits the first world people enjoys. Call me spoiled, but free health care and education for my son sounds like a good deal to me.

Photo by Ty Williams on Unsplash

Don't get me wrong, this post is not here for me to brag. This is to acknowledge the things that I am grateful this year. I am lucky that God has given me these things. I am trying to see the positive despite of all the noise and negative things in this world. If you personally know me, I am a big worrier and I get stressed easily by the little things. Having your own family makes you appreciate what you have instead of being stressed on the things that you don't have. Being grateful and positive is something that I've been working on this whole year.

What are you thankful for this year?

I wanted to share this easy nutella recipe for those who are vegan or people cutting/allergic to dairy. I found an easy recipe from Chocolate-Covered Katie which I followed regarding the measurement of ingredients, and adjusted it to my taste.


This Dairy-free Nutella is not the healthiest one because I adjusted the sugars according to my liking.
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1,5 cups raw hazelnuts
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup honey (you can use whichever sweetener you like)
8 tbsp white sugar (I added this to adjust the sweetness to my liking)
pinch of pink himalayan salt
1/2 cup milk of choice (I used soy milk)
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Instructions:

Roast raw hazelnuts for 10 mins at 200degC. (Note: I used a small convection oven)
Blend the roasted hazelnuts until you reach the butter consistency. This may take time depending on the type of blender/food processor you have. I used my baby's food processor which took quite a while. A high powered/heavy duty food processor will make the job easier.
Melt the chocolate chips with 1 tbsp of oil
Add the melted chocolate along with the other ingredients.
Blend until you've reached a nice buttery consistency.
I added 2 tbsp of cocoa powder because I wanted a pronounce chocolate flavor (and failed! Didin't add more as not to ruin the taste)
I also added a splash of soy milk to adjust the consistency for I find it to heavy to my liking.


And viola! Even my son with dairy allergy likes it. The spread has a pronounced nut taste because I went heavy on hazelnuts than on chocolate. (you may adjust nut-chocolate ratio for your desired taste) The recipe yielded two small jars (as seen in the picture)


Hope you liked this recipe!

If you did follow this one, let me know what you think.
I'm open to suggestions. :)


P.S
I am not vegan. I follow vegan recipes for my son who is allergic to dairy (includes any milk derivatives, eggs and chicken). Vegan recipes has been helpful to me since.

Hi Everyone!!!

Sooooo I finally was able to squeeze some time from motherhood to revamped my site. If you dropped by my blog in the past few weeks, you may have noticed that my site was wonky and out of control I was trying out some free blogger templates that had the "wordpress-minimalist-theme" feel.

I know what you'll think. I chickened out the last minute and backed out on migrating my whole site to wordpress. Also, my web developer (aka loving husband) got his hands full and I couldn't wait for his schedule to free up (I would most likely want him to play with his son than spend hours in front of the laptop trying to perfect my site in wordpress).

I did what I do best. I befriended google and searched for free templates and tweaked it out a bit to fit to my liking. It was really hard coz all the html codes are too foreign for me. Luckily, Google was able to find me a site who gave free templates and have an easy guide on how to install the template.

After a lot of trial and error, Here's my newly revamped site: