It has been a while since my last blog post here. When I normally do a blog post, it's either for work purposes or I try to catch up on my pending travel post. I really missed writing! I can now say that I have more time on my hands to write cos of the recent state we are all in right now a.k.a. COVID-19. 
I know things haven't been easy for anyone. This is our new normal; being stuck at home, living vicariously through our friends' feed on Instagram or Facebook, living on the edge and constantly having to be cautious of our surroundings or people we do interact with. These are, indeed, tough times. But even so, I still believe in having a community to give us a little sanity with our feed being bombarded with dreadful news day in and day out. For the record, I'm not saying that we should stray away completely from listening to news cos we need it too, that's actually crucial. But what I mean is that we should also take a breather from it with the help of our friends. :)
I personally have a community or my best friends on Messenger and we always check up on each other. We make sure each one is fine, healthy and we also share what we did for the day that doesn't isn't virus related. :) Because of that, I decided to share 5 things that all of us can do while we're all stuck at home, being good citizens practicing community lockdown. :) Let's put this month-long time at home into good use!

There was a time that I didn’t have much mind for things like stress relievers or mood lifters, but now that the ‘tita’ in me has awaken, I have found a love for essential oils (EO). I never knew how beneficial they were in my younger years, so now that I do, I’m encouraging, young or old, to try it out because of the many benefits it can actually give you. :) I’ve tried several essential oils in the past and since I’ve been hooked on different kinds, I actually made a corner in my room already that is dedicated to my diffuser + oils.♥ I recently got three new EOs from Legande. :) Before I share more about the essential oils that I got, a little background on Legande: Legande is a fusion of two companies, Multipure Phil’s and Pillars 5. Multipure Philippines is the exclusive distributor of Multipure water systems of USA. Pillars 5 is an all natural nutrition and wellness company. Essential Oils For many centuries, as old as Egyptian times (4500 B.C.E.) essential oils have been used worldwide for many purposes. Even today, we use it for beauty, as flavoring agent, medicine for healing and as aromatic oil. The usual essential oils we see or encounter nowadays can be used topically, aromatically, and internally. It’s a customizable system based on how we want to use them. So, how does EO work? Normally, you can put them in diffusers, steam inhalation or apply a few drops on your palm or cotton and inhale it. Don’t use too much! Just one to three drops is fine. With this, the aroma enters your nose and gives your body different benefits. They can act as mood lifters, stress/pain busters and energy boosters. :) Sharing the EOs that I got and their benefits: The oils that Legande uses are all 100%! Lavender Essential Oil ~Sweet, rich aroma that has a balancing effect on the nervous system ~ ♥ Reduces stress - has a calming aroma that promotes relaxation, an effective remedy for various neurological issues like stress, anxiety and depression. ♥ Improves sleep quality - has a calming and sedative properties which calm down the nervous system. ♥ Prevents skin aging - has a powerful antioxidants which prevent skin aging and promotes cells regeneration which make your skin soft and firm. Tea Tree Essential Oil ~Refreshing, invigorating and sharp aroma targets ailments like blemishes and fatigue~ ♥ Soothes dry skin and eczema - can help soothe dry skin by reducing itching and irritation. ♥ Boosts wound healing - a few drops of tea tree oil can be added to wound dressing to encourage wound healing. ♥ Fights acne - as effective as benzoyl peroxide, the most common anti-acne medication. Lemon Essential Oil ~The fragrance is purifying as it is uplifting and it leaves you with a refreshing scent~ ♥ Cleanses and uplifts - an excellent remover of toxins, assists in rejuvenating energy and can help tone the skin. ♥ Anti-fungal and antibacterial properties - can be used for treating certain skin overgrowths and natural alternative for treating acne. ♥ Helps alleviate fatigue - the smell of lemon can increase focus and ease tension. Among the three my favorite would have to be lemon. I love the refreshing scent of it! Aside from the individual oils, Legande also has the My TLC variant that is a synergy blend of 8 100% Natural and Pure Essential Oils. It helps lift, soothe and calm one’s being. The ingredients in it helps boost energy and alleviate pain. Something that is perfect for the family. It’s easy to bring around too, so if we go out or have trips, this is definitely coming with us! :) It has a calamansi, elemi, frankincense, mandarin, lemon, eucalyptus, grape seed and spearmint mix. :) With the many health benefits of Essential Oils, it’s no wonder why so many people have included it in their lifestyle. I personally love them and can’t imagine ‘ ME-time’ without it. My son Asher at 7 years old also requests it on our diffuser every bedtime. ^_^ If you’re interested in Legande’s 100% Essential Oils, you may check their price list below and where to get them. :)

Good news! Saw this interesting information on how low our power rates are! 

As someone who is in charge of paying the electricity monthly in our household, it's a huge deal whenever I see our bill lower than usual because I get to save a few pesos and I can allot that money for something else or to another utility bill. Every savings counts! I'm sure all of you feel the same way too! It's a great thing, for the second month in a row, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced a decrease in power rates for February! :)

Finally! The much-awaited BIG BAD WOLF Book Sale is here again! It’s officially my third year to attend the sale and I always get so excited. :)  Nothing beats being in a room filled with 2 million new books that are 50-90% OFF! ^_^ Oh and did I forget to mention, they’re open 24 hours at The World Trade Center??

The great thing about our whole Chiang Mai adventure was that all of our activities were booked on Klook. We didn't do any DIY for this trip, so we need not worry about getting lost, navigating to different places and we can rest our minds until we get to the destination. :) Nothing bad about DIY cos I do it often too when traveling, but I pretty much enjoyed taking the back seat on this one hihi!
The start of our Day 2 was early and we were really excited for this cos it has been our dream to visit an elephant sanctuary and turns out, Chiang Mai has a lot of them. :)