My Sari Sari Store Experience Part 1

         It's been 4 months already since I had my last chemo and I was getting really bored at home. I wanted to find a job, I wanted to do some hard work at home, I wanted to do something else aside from the usual chores at home but my mother keeps on telling me - "Magrelax ka lang, magpahinga o matulog ka lang pag gusto mo or kelangan mong magpagaling muna bago ka magtrabaho." but I can't relax . "Pag nakahiga ako ramdam ko lalo ang sakit ng katawan ko at feeling ko nagsisimula na naman kumalat ang cancer sa katawan since may microscopic element ng cancer na naiwan pa nung nagka-surgical spill during the operation." I think more of cancer recurrence when I'm lying on my bed.  I told my mother I needed to do something else that would occupy both my mind and my body instead of thinking about the cancer inside my body over and over again. That's when I decided to put up a small sari sari store.

           Yes I now have a sari sari store in a small entrance area in our house where our washing machine, shoe rack and other stuff are located. So instead of accumulating some stuffs there I put on a built in cabinet to make the area productive. The built in cabinet materials and labor cost around P 1,600+ and my start up capital on my store is P 2,500+. The profit may not be much since I only put P1.00+ - P3.00+ mark up on every items but its enough to keep me busy.

             I have two major suki in my store - my family and the kids in our area. The concept of self buying is primarily the reason why I put up a store. I've seen the credit card bills of my mother go up and my father and brother usually buy products from other stores. So to control my mother and myself too from unnecessary spending in grocery store I just sell the basic products that we use and buy it in my store when we need it of course with a few cents added on its price ( kelangan may konting kita kahit kami kami ang bibili, heheh). My second reason is for leisure."Nakakalibang sya since a lot of kids were always shouting "Pabili" with one peso on their hand buying only one candy or one stick-o, heheh." And my third reason is for income generating. My family were all against the idea of putting up a store - malulugi ka lang, mauubos ka dyan, uutangan ka lang dyan but I answered them, let me  give it a try. Sari sari stores are everywhere, if others were putting up their store even if they are renting the place why not do the same - siguro may kita sila kahit umuupa.

          I've opened up my store last week and I'm in a process of knowing what products and brands are saleable. Yung tipong bumili ako ng Nescafe 3 in 1, ang hinanap Nescafe creamy white, pagbili ko ng Creamy White ang hinanap, Kopiko Brown, pagbili ko ng Kopiko Brown ang hinanap Great Taste White, Pagbili ko ng Great Taste white, Kopiko Blanca naman, then LA Coffee, then Kopiko Black and so on and so forth, the same goes with other products. That's why I always have notebook on my store to list the products and brands they want. But I am enjoying it and I'm getting more customers lately. I'm getting busier attending to my store and searching for grocery stores that offers the lowest price.
           There goes my new experience in putting up a sari sari store. I hope I'd be able to roll over my puhunan and be able to grow my little sari sari store. Give me some tips and wish me luck guys!!!

            Thank God for giving me an opportunity to enter this new business and pray that He'll continue to guide me.

Have a great week ahead!
God Bless everyone.

ALWAYS TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Going Green & Natural: The Best Things in Life are Free 1

        Libre! Libre Libre! Sa mahihirap na tulad ko, mahilig tayo ng libre! Whenever there are promo products at the mall given for free or whenever there are freebies attached to a product at the store I automatically grab it. Ang sarap pag libre di ba? But in our daily lives we didn't notice that God has first given us freebies that are very essential to our health and these freebies are present everywhere. Here's the list of four freebies that we should take advantage and be thankful for:

1. SUNLIGHT

         We're lucky we live in the Philippines where sunlight is abundant except of course during rainy season. We all know that sunlight is a good source of Vitamin D and doctors usually advise mothers to take out their infants and expose their back skin on sunlight to strengthen their bones. "Noon madalas kong nakikita sa lugar namin ung mga nanay na nagpapaaraw ng baby pero ngayon bihira na." Well, if its best for babies it is also best for adults like us and the good thing is - it is given freely by GOD. So be thankful to GOD if "Haring Araw" strikes his rays in the morning.

2. FRESH AIR

         One of my dreams before is to live and grow old in the province where there are lots of trees and plants around unfortunately we have no place in our province and I live in the city where air pollution is pretty much everywhere. But I am thankful to God that I still see trees around our neighborhood and I can still enjoy breathing the oxygen it releases. We know that oxygen is good for  our brain and lungs so if you happen to pass through an area where there are lots of trees take a deep breath and take advantage of the fresh air that God gave us through those trees.

3. WATER

         I cannot exactly say that drinking water is free although God gave it originally to mankind freely but I guess its the cheapest health supplements I can recommend - Our body needs 2 liters of water to be healthy but its therapeutic if we take 3-4 liters daily. It's what I did 4 years ago that made my cyst smaller and after 1 year it disappeared. And my OB Gyne  before asked me "Anong ginawa mo ba't lumiliit yang cyst? I answered, just healthy routine only (3 liters of water, 1000 steps of walking and vegetables & fruit daily). "Na-stress, nakampante at napabayaan ko lang ang sarili ko sa unhealthy lifestyle kaya nung bumalik na aggressive at malignant na yung ovarian cyst ko.'  So to live a healthy lifestyle, drink lots of water.

4. SOIL

          One of my professors in TUP told us, we're fortunate we live in the Philippines where 80% of our soil is productive if only Filipinos take good care of our land and make use of its benefits. So I realize why not take advantage of the soil and since my doctor gave an advice to me that it is always best to go natural I started planting. I wanted to grow my own foods and herbs in front of our house kahit na sa paso o sa balde lang. "Yung tipong pipitas ka lang kapag kelangan ng gulay o dahon pag kelangan." And that assures me that what I am eating are fresh and organic vegetables. I am thankful that God helped me grow plants through His soil and sunlight that He gave us for free. I now have malunggay, guyabano, lagundi,oregano, serpentina, balbas pusa, lemon grass or tanglad, ampalaya in front of our house. I am still trying to grow upland kangkong, kalabasa and camote tops planted in lumang balde, sana lumago sila, heheh. Again, our soil is free why not take advantage of it, we just need to use organic stuffs like vegetables or banana peels and egg shells to fertilize it.


         There you have it, our freebies from God. We may not be financially blessed but we should always be thankful that God is taking care of us by giving the best in our lives for free. As what the Bible says;

 ²⁶ Look at the birds. 

"They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns,

 for your heavenly Father feeds them. 

And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 

Matthew 6:26 (NIV)

ALWAYS TO GOD BE THE GLORY.

Going Green & Natural: In Search for Natural Way of Preventing Cancer Recurrence

       After finishing six chemo session, I went back to the doctor for check up and she told me that even if the result of my CA 125 (tumor marker) lowered there's no assurance that the cancer will not recur so instead of being happy that day I went back to being sad and paranoid about my condition, "yung tipong sumakit lang ang dibdib ko feeling ko may lung cancer na ko or sumakit lang ang ulo ko baka may brain tumor na ko."  I've met some cancer survivors in the hospital who are now facing secondary cancer and they're on the advance stage of cancer already. I've fear in facing this type of illness and it's hard not worry about second cancer. I cannot rely on my own self anymore in recognizing if there is something wrong inside my body. So I started searching in google and you tube about my condition. I began inquiring for supplements that are being sold in the market. I also asked my doctor if she can recommend any supplements that can fight cancer but she didn't give any. She only suggested that it is always best to go natural.

        That's when my mother suggested that we go to a medical center in a particular province (not going to mention its name & place since I was not able to to finish their protocol) that offers a natural way of treating cancer. I became curious about it and wanted to know what foods are allowed and prohibited for cancer patients like me. So we went there last June and we were given free consultation, a protocol diet and a prescribed detox supplement (their product) . Their explanation was I need to expel the toxins from the chemo meds out of my body system. Well logically speaking, the idea behind their treatment for me is okay but I think its not applicable to all. Some may survive (based on the testimonies they've shown in fb) but I think some wont and I am one those people who was not able to continue their protocol treatment. Here's the prescribed procedure I got:

1. On Foods - No carbohydrates, No fruits, No rootcrops, No sweets, No artificials and No preservatives...and that means - no brown rice, no oatmeal, no bananas, no carrots etc. just organic egg, organic meats, fish with scales (except farmed fish)  and vegetables are allowed to be eaten.

2. On Drinks - No coffee, No green tea or any organic tea, No milk, No chocolate and any other fruit juices both natural or artificial juices - only boiled malunggay, guyabano, guava or avocado leaves  are suggested.

3. On Natural Herbs/Meds - 15 leaves of guyabano, 15 leaves of  avocado, 15 leaves of lagundi, 15 leaves of ashitaba (freshly picked/not dried), 3 gloves of garlic, 1 palmsize of ginger, 3 pcs of siling labuyo and baking soda  - blend together, extract their juices and drink 30 minutes before eating.

4. On their products - I bought their prescribe product from their store and vitamin C that I should drink 30 minutes after eating.

5.On Hygiene - No soap, No shampoo, No toothpaste, No cologne or fragrance and No make-up - only baking soda is used as cleaning agent....and jewelries are not allowed to be used also.

6. On condiments & cooking agents - No catsup, No Vinegar, No Soy Sauce, No Patis, No Sauces and No artificial flavors, only salt & pepper and coconut oil are allowed to be used for cooking and flavoring.

        I was advised to do this protocol for one month and guess what I did it for 3 days! Yes, 3 days only - di ko na po kinaya - di ko kinaya ang lasa ng blend na dahon at nanghina talaga ako. So I went to the doctor on the fourth day because I felt something's not right and yes the doctor told me that the diet I did triggered my hyper acidity which resulted to acid reflux. The doctor told me, "Bakit ka nagda-diet e kailangan mo ngang magpalakas at magpakondisyon ng katawan after ng chemo. Pakalmahin mo muna ang sikmura mo, mag balanced diet and regular exercise ka lang muna para lumakas ka."

       Though my experience in following this particular protocol diet is not quite good, I can still see the benefits of going natural. I believe that God is showing me the wisdom behind all the experiences I had in searching for what's best for my health and I always end up with one conclusion - the answer is just around us and the best thing about it is that they are free. (See my next blogpost).


Have a great day ahead!!!
God Bless everyone.

ALWAYS TO GOD BE THE GLORY.