NIVEA Fair and Firm

NIVEA FAIR AND FIRM

For those of you who know me, I usually play indoor volleyball. But not all of you know how much I also love playing beach volleyball. This year my team Petron joined the Philippine Superliga Beach Volleyball Tournament. In preparation, we had to train under the scorching heat of the sun from 11:00am to 1:00pm. I can’t believe our training schedule was right in the middle of the day. I was thinking goodbye skin color and my unfortunate soon-to-be-dry-skin :(

After being exposed to the sun the whole beach volleyball season (three months everyday for long hours!) my skin truly needed some care and attention. Aside from that, I had uneven skin tone from my tan lines.

Good thing I discovered NIVEA Instant White Firming Body Lotion with SPF15! It ensures that my skin whitens from within to make it more long lasting and contains 40x Vitamin C from Camu Camu and Acerola Cherry. It’s the perfect product for me!

Another lotion that I use is NIVEA’s Extra White Firming Body Serum SPF33. It’s easy to apply, light, and has fast absorbing formula. It also repairs signs of damaged skin and evens out skin tone by lightening dark spots. Plus it has high SPF33 PA+++ to protect my skin!

If you spend time under the sun (like most of us do!) make sure you choose the right products and get the most out of them J thanks NIVEA!

Fille Came to Surf Day 3

DAY 3

Of course, our beach trip wouldn't be complete without a Beach volleyball game! 

 After a hot and intense game, with equally hot and intense teammates and opponents (team A was … team b was…) show won? it was 1-1

Before heading home I couldn't help hitting the waves and surfing another hour! (addicted?!)

Trips with family and friends are the best and all the memories that we made are unforgettable. Hopefully, we'll be able to this again. I hope we can come back during the BER months as the locals mentioned that it was the best time to catch BIGGER WAVES! So excited and looking forward to SURF again in BALER. 

Fille Came to Surf DAY 2

DAY 2 

This is it! SURFING TIME! I woke up early ate a quick breakfast and was ready to SURF! I hired an instructor (kuya Jay) and rented a surf board for Php 350 an hour

 (not bad for a crash course in surfing). 

 The feeling of SURFING my first ever wave was exhilarating. It was an adrenaline rush just like when you score a point and won a good rally in volleyball (that kind of rush). It was so much fun! I was channeling my inner BLUE CRUSH (surfing movie) fantasy moment and was really feeling the WAVE.

We wasted no time that day and decided to check out Decasalarin Island. One word: Incredible! If you're looking for a place to just relax with an incredible view of the mountains circling a pristine cove, Decasalrin Island is the perfect getaway.  From Sabang beach, It's a  quick 30 min. boat ride or road trip to enjoy this sweet escape of white sand beach, incredible light house structure, picnic areas,  and even a fresh water river connecting to the ocean.  

After our sweet escape at Decasalarin Island, it was time to SURF again! This time I was more confident in standing up and I wanted paddle and catch my own wave. 

Fille Came to Surf DAY 1

FINALLY we're going to the BEACH! Been dreaming of a family beach get away for so long after playing in 2 exhausting leagues this past season. I was so excited when we decided to go to Aurora, Baler and even more when I found out most my friends were also gonna be there.  Its been a dream of mine ever since to learn how to surf and its finally going to come true !(aaaahhh!!! freaking out!). Learning how to surf has always been in my BUCKET LIST! FAMILY +FRIENDS+BEACH+SURFING? WHAAAAAT?!? (woot!woot!)

DAY 1

It was my first time in Baler and I didn't know what to expect. The drive to Baler was pretty comfortable and surprisingly faster than I expected. As soon as we arrived the sunny sky and surfing beach of Baler greeted us. 

#TeamFlex

For dinner we found this restaurant called Baler Surfer Grill with an iconic BEATLE CAR converted into a GRILL (cool). It serves a simple menu with the choice of grilled pork, chicken, or beef for Php 89 (small) or Php 200 (Large) meals. YUMMY!

THE SKORT

When I found out that  we will have a set of uniforms that will sort of be like a SKORT, I got excited. My teammates had different reactions when they knew we were going to wear SKORTS. Some wondered what it will look like, will it fit well, or can we even move in it? But me,  I loved the idea of it! A big part of playing volleyball for me, is having fun! and I was excited to try it on!

When the new set of jerseys arrived. I immediately searched for the SKORT jersey to see how it looked. It was a two piece jersey. I thought it would be like a one piece jersey like a dress (sort of why those female tenns super stars wear)  but it was only the bottom part of the jersey that's made like a SKORT. 

Once I tried it on, I attempted to perform a pancake save in it (to test its flexibility!)  but it was kinda funny to dive since I felt like I was just wearing a skirt. hahaha! The feeling of wearing it for the first time was WEIRD though . But I still liked how it looked on me. :D

During the opening games I could see some of the comments of people on social media that the SKORT jersey  was a bad idea since players kept on pulling it down. I do agree, it feels weird at first. I did try to pull it down a couple of times at the beginning of the game. But as the game went on and adrenaline kicked in I totally forgot about the SKORT. I'm pretty sure my teammates also didn't think about it anymore. We can see that everyone moved well on the court and looked great in it! (the two things that matter the most in a uniform!)

By the way, its not my first time to wear a not so typical jersey. Remember our one piece jersey stint in UAAP season 72?

Elevator Selfies

It's time for me to share my elevator #SELFIES and reveal the different stages of my post baby bod.

No, this is not the kind of post that you see on TV where you see miraculous photos of women flaunting their hot post baby bods weeks after giving birth! Nothing wrong with that but I'm sharing these photos because I want to share to the new mommies out there that its okay NOT to have an instant fit body after giving birth and that there is a sane way to lose all those pregnancy weight.

This is embarrassing but during my pregnancy I gained 50lbs!  Right? Shocking! I transformed from a small little 120lbs girl to a whopping 170lbs big mama bear. hahaha! After the baby, my weight was around 145lbs

. 

Huhu, sad because I thought after giving birth I would magically be back to my normal weight. Reality is the pregnancy weight stayed and I still looked pregnant weeks after! But  5 weeks after my C-section my doctor cleared me to start working out... So I did... Slowly. 

To record my progress, I took selfies in the elevator on the way down from our apartment. 

During the first week, I started to run 10 rounds around the basketball court and do a little bit of court dynamics. Then later on,  I added ball handling and walling. It was hard training without a team when you've gotten so used to it for years! but still...It felt so good to be able to hold and play with a volleyball again. 

The first few week of workout was the toughest my endurance sucked! I was winded right away, but  still kept on going! I was still careful though not to push too much since I knew I was just getting back in shape and i needed to pace myself!

(More on the different ways I tried to get back in shape in  my other post)

So here are my elevator #SELFIES a source of inspiration I often look at to remind myself that though I am not yet where I want to be, I have already come a long way!