Health & Home (May-June 2020)

ISSN 0115-0839

FOOD SCRAPS Fertilizer

DEAR BABY in My Womb

STOBOSA:

Colorful Houses

WEDDING Planning Tips

CONTENTS May-June 2020

REGULARS

FEATURES

8

3

Tips to Planning Your Wedding

Notes From the Frontlines Annabel C. Cebrero

Stress Reliever and Investment

Mae Ann L. Castro

Starting with respecting your budget

16

Dogs in the Chicken Coop Marlo Schalesky

Working against a common enemy Food for the Soil: The Bokashi Way

24

Antibiotics: Are You Using Them Appropriately?

26

Waiting for the Doomsday Disease

30 34

Lanie B. Francisco and Janet R.s Tolete

Fermented fertilizers from food scraps

Evelyn V. Almocera

Life-saving can be life-threatening

Kim Peckham

Hope amid plagues past and present

6

Finance

Michelle Anne P. Diamante

Our World’s Giants

Why We Should Reinvent Retirement

10

Grace in the Act

14

Education

22

Letters From the Heart

32

Arts & Crafts

42

Share a Thought

43

Word for the World

Hillside Homes Artwork: The Colors of Stobosa Angel C. Juarez

A transformational landscape When Do They Grow Up? Ashley Bufe

Staying present in every moment You Should. . . No, You Should. . .

Managing Expectations in Marriage

Karen Holford

Who’s supposed to do what

36

iContact

Rose Fres-Fausto

18

28

4

Growing From the Garbage Dump

Angie Joey S. Abbott

From Teacher I to Head Teacher I

Kaleigh Christensen

Dear Baby I Haven’t Met Yet

Harold Bryan L. Namoca

Googly Pompom Keychain

Mark Jubilee M. Matira

Coping With #Adulting

Jecsoon O. Mariñas

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Working the Night Shift and Your Health Sue Radd

How to eat when you’re on graveyard shift

44 46

38

Rechelle F. Matira

The Power of Hope Series Julián Melgosa & Michelson Borges

An Antistress Day Parenting Portrait Babylen Castro

While She’s Still

Yummy Yacon Arlene May G. Corpus

Crunchy as apple but almost unknown

Coming up… Animal Friends to the Rescue • Chronic Kidney Disease • Divorce From a Foreign

Spouse • Stress Checklist • Lies Cheaters Believe • Pansit-pansitan • Distance Learning

47

Word Play

47

Book Review

Jecsoon O. Mariñas

Toward the Center

Notes From the Frontlines

Subscribers Section has taken on an expanded form. Notes From the Frontlines features our loyal readers and our dedicated distributors who are at the forefront of our mission to share “healthy, happy, and holistic living to the glory of God and the blessing of humankind.”

Stress Reliever and Investment

Petronio M. Genebago

Messages to Young People

COLUMNS

5

Here and the Hereafter Leonardo C. Heyasa, Jr.

Forever Growing

12

Consult Your Lawyer

21

Dear Doctor

Atty. Silvino L. Sumagaysay, Jr.

Proof of Filiation

Linda L. Varona

Ulcer and Stomach Cancer

31

Food for the Family Miriam R. Estrada

One-dish Meal Standpoint

37

Personal Answers

40

Children’s Corner

Nathanlie M. Baldoza

In a Time Like Now

Sheryll Ann M. Castillo

For the Love of Truth

Janet R. Tolete

Beauty and Math

ABOUT THE COVER Unlimited potential. When conditions are right—and sometimes amid blight, a plant can reach its full height as long as there is light.

Indeed, nothing can block the sunbeam of God's love.

Cover photo by shutterstock.com/beeboys Photos and illustrations in this issue are from shutterstock.com unless credited otherwise.

T

he desire to collect books started when I first worked as a neophyte teacher in a private school. I bought big books, which I used as instructional materials during my reading lessons. Since then, it has become my hobby to collect books and journals—until I came across Health & Home, a one-of-a-kind book which contains different articles suited to all kinds of readers.

I subscribed to Health & Home in 1997 when Sael E. Narido, a sales representative, visited our school. I was convinced to pursue my subscription upon seeing the magazine’s contents. Since then, I have committed to getting a copy of the book edition at the end of each year.

Health & Home contains a variety of informative, entertaining, inspiring, and relevant articles.

When my two daughters were still in high school and they had to look for trivia, science articles, etc., the magazine served as a ready reference material.

Meanwhile, Dear Doctor, Food for the Family, Word for the World, iContact, and parenting articles are my favorites.

After going through a day’s work, I find information and

Health & Home ︱ 3 ︱May-June 2020

inspiration from the magazine.

Inspiring stories from fellow subscribers, in particular, are my stress reliever.

Despite the overwhelming presence of the latest gadgets, where children can easily browse and read articles in just a click, physical books are still essential, notably in the developmental stage of our young kids. Health & Home also kindles love of reading.

As an educator, I am encouraging all parents to teach their children to read and love books like Health & Home. It is not just a collection of reading materials but an investment for the family.

Annabel Cat-awan Cebrero is Elementary School Head Teacher II at Kiliog Elementary School in Kiliog, Libona, Bukidnon.

photo courtesy of author

33

By ANNABEL C. CEBRERO

Grace in the Act

By Rechelle F. Matira

GARBAGE DUMP A

s the eldest of five children, I had to work as early as high school to help my father provide for our family. Finishing college was only a dream—until I heard about Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP).

I learned that I could enroll at AUP as a working student.

I was first assigned to the Environmental Resources Management Department. It might sound glamorous, but the work was the opposite. The department was in charge of managing the school’s wastes.

I tried applying to other departments but I was told that there were no vacancies. Soon I found myself as the only girl engaged in the task of sorting big sacks overflowing with filthy and stinky garbage.

Sorting through Drenched by the rain and dried by the sun, I mastered the art of segregating biodegradable wastes from the nonbiodegradable and the recyclable.

Here I became acquainted with maggots of different colors and sizes. In my situation, I eventually learned to eat from trash: moldy bread, rice that may be contaminated with rat urine, etc. I even drank unfinished bottles of soy milk and green tea.

Every time I felt like giving up, my colleagues would always encourage me to endure.

“Be brave. We’ll face more difficult things in life.”

The stench of garbage stuck to my skin despite several rounds of bathing. I felt sad for my roommate for she had to endure the odor, but there was not much I could do.

Some nights I cried in secret, but I toughened up and told myself I would never give up.

Piling up I was then transferred to the Grounds Department and became a street sweeper, landscaper, toilet cleaner, etc.

By 4 a.m., I should already be cleaning the roads on campus.

Health & Home ︱ 10 ︱May-June 2020

DOGS IN THE

By MARLO SCHALESKY

M

oooooom!”

I knew by the intensity of the shriek that something was very wrong. My six-year-old never screamed ssssssslike that. She came bursting through my office door. “Mom! Help! Come quick!”

I leapt from my chair. “What’s wrong?”

She started to sob as she spoke. “The dogs are in the chicken coop. I couldn’t get them out.”

I ran for the door. She ran after me.

“They pushed past me when I went in. I couldn’t get them out. Hurry!”

I was hurrying. I was sprinting out the front door, up the driveway, back toward the coop.

“Moooommmmmyyyy! They’re going to kill all the chickens!”

Probably.

But I wouldn’t say that out loud. Instead, I just ran as fast as I could.

When I reached the coop, I burst inside. The hens were squawking high up in the coop while our white rooster flapped his wings at the two dogs and the red rooster lay, motionless, on the coop floor.

The two little dogs barked ferociously at the red rooster.

Oh no! Buffalo, the red rooster, was the favorite of all the kids.

I grabbed the two dogs and tossed them from the coop. They wagged their tails and scratched at the door to get back in. I ignored them.

Health & Home ︱ 16 ︱May-June 2020

FOOD FOR THE SOIL

THE BOKASHI WAY

By LANIE B. FRANCISCO and JANET R. TOLETE

W

here do your kitchen wastes go? To the city dump? To your compost pile? To a vacant lot nearby? Or to your neighbor’s yard?

Do you know that your food scraps are precious and can be used to rebuild soil that has lost nutrients?

And do you know that with that soil, you can grow your own food?

Instead of contributing to the problems of climate change and garbage disposal, your food wastes can actually help you survive amid the ongoing community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How? Through the bokashi way.

The basics Bokashi is a process of fermenting kitchen waste using beneficial, anaerobic microorganisms, which can fertilize the soil and bring it back to life. Yes, ferment—as in what we do with kimchi and atchara (pickled vegetables).

Although similar in some respects, bokashi is different from composting because the former: • Kills pathogens • Makes wastes unattractive to pests like cockroaches, ants, and rodents—even from pet dogs and cats • Compacts wastes in an air-tight container; takes up less space • Allows beneficial microorganisms to multiply and proliferate • Reduces greenhouse emissions by 45 percent • Produces usable compost faster than the traditional method Health & Home ︱ 18 ︱May-June 2020

Text and photos by ANGEL C. JUAREZ

hillside homes artwork

Health & Home ︱ 28 ︱May-June 2020

models not subjects of article

You Should. . .

No, You Should. . .

By KAREN HOLFORD

W

e’d only been married two months when Bernie handed me a potato in the grocery store.

“Karen, do you know what this is?”

“Of course I do! It’s a potato!” Strange question, I thought. Maybe it’s some kind of joke.

“Why don’t we eat potatoes?” He looked puzzled.

“Because. . . well. . . because I don’t like them!

They’re icky! I’ve not eaten potatoes since I left home!”

“But I love them! It’s not a proper dinner without potatoes!” Bernie has a strong German heritage.

So we bought a sack of potatoes. And I learned how to cook them. But I’ll never learn to love them like Bernie does.

Patterns formed When we get married, we bring lots of expectations into our new relationship, including little details like how often we’ll eat potatoes, dessert, or pizza, and bigger ones like how we’ll cope with our conflicts and manage our cash.

The challenge is that we’re not aware of our expectations—until they go unmet. Most of them seem so obvious to us that we can’t even describe what they are.

Our expectations have been strengthened by years of observing our parents and grandparents, reading books, and watching TV shows. Patterns form in our thoughts, slowly shaping how we expect people to behave, including our spouses.

Who’s to do what We rarely discuss our expectations because we just assume that our husband or wife will behave a certain way, or do certain jobs around the house, because that’s what we saw when we grew up.

Our garden was almost overrun by weeds because I expected Bernie to do the gardening, while he expected me to do it.

It sounds funny now, but we know how difficult it can be to manage our expectations, and how complicated it can be to talk about them. It’s painful to realize that Bernie may not be living up to my expectations, or that I’m not living up to his. Which is why it took us two months to talk about potatoes.

Great expectations When relationships don’t turn out the way we expected, we can feel disappointed, rejected, frustrated, hurt, and sad, without really understanding why. We’re just aware that something’s missing.

Health & Home ︱ 34 ︱May-June 2020

Parenting Portrait

Capturing the colorful, challenging, and profound world of parenting

By Babylen Castro

While She’s Still

While she still holds your hands tight, While she still listens, believes you are bright, Lead her toward the light.

One day she’ll spread her wings, Choose her goals and chase her dreams.

Smile.

Let her fly into the sky.

Babylen Castro prioritizes parenting her 8-year-old daughter, Amarah, while pursuing her passion as a Section Cook in an international restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, where they have been living for nine years.

photo/Celo C. Guinto

While she’s still young and sweet, While she still finds pleasure beside you in sleep, Make memories for keeps.

THE FAMILY THAT READS TOGETHER, GROWS TOGETHER.

This comprehensive, colorful, and sturdy set of references will guide your family on: • having hope in the face of global crises • healing not just the body but also the mind and soul • honing young people to live with a purpose and dream higher • handling finances the godly way

Philippine Publishing House 632 Baesa, 1401 Caloocan City (Location) • P.O. Box 813, 1000 Manila, Philippines (Postal) Tel. Nos.: (632) 8363-3024 • 8364-5205 • Fax No.: (632) 8363-4244 E-mail: marketing@pphsda.com • Website: www.pphsda.com Facebook@PhilippinePublishingHouse For more information, contact your local sales representative.