I've been here in Manila for a week now and I can honestly say that I am enjoying it. Well, except for the humidity which is unbearable at times. Thank goodness for air conditioning, or else I wouldn't last long in this heat. One drawback in this vacation though is all the delicious food that I haven't tasted for a long time. Now is my chance to try it again and it is wrecking havoc on my diet. I am trying my best not to over-indulge on all these delicious Filipino foods. By the time this vacation is over, I need to find a diet pill that works to be able to fit into my clothes! I hope not. Anyway, it is hard to stay on a diet during vacation. What with all the get-togethers with old friends and family, one is more likely to fall off the wagon. As usual, it all boils down to self-control.

There are studies that linked coffee drinking to lower risk of breast and ovarian cancers. Now, Japanese researchers found that drinking a cup of coffee once or twice a week may lower the risk of mouth and throat cancers by up to 50%. I'm glad that there are more positive things about drinking coffee. I just started drinking it a couple of years ago. I used to drink only orange juice for breakfast which is also good. But after I started hearing about the benefits of coffee, I learned how to drink it and get past the bitterness. It helps that there are different flavors of coffee creamer too. So now, coffee is on my list everytime I go to the club store along with a nice heart pendant necklace, laundry detergent, paper towels and a pack of canned tuna.

Aside from doing fun stuff in the summer time, there is also hard work like tending the yard, cleaning the outside of the house, painting the deck and swing sets. I'm on a month-long vacation here in the Philippines and so far, I am enjoying it. Well, except for the heat and humidity, which comes with the territory. Upon returning from this vacation, I have a lot of things to do on my list. I'll have the month of August for these chores. It looks like a busy month for me so while I'm here, I'm going to savour every minute.