Banana Nutella Matcha Crepe

I've been thinking about making this for quite sometime already and Yey!!!

I got the time and the mood to do it.  WOohoo! 

Well, I took the recipe from the internet and it's very simple.  And I would like to share it with you just in case you wanted to indulge in this sinful food. 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon Matcha Green Tea Powder

Pnch of salt

1 Large Egg

1 cup milk

Butter for the pan

Banana (or any fruit that you'd like to mix in)

Nutella

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, salt and matcha powder in a medium bowl.  Whisk together.  

2. Add the egg and half of the milk.  Whisk until smooth then add remaining half of the milk and whisk again. 

3. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.

4. Pour in about 1/3 cup of the batter into the center of the pan.  Immediately tilt and swirl the pan, allowing the batter to fill out the pan.  Do this quickly as possible. 

5. Cook the crepe over 15 sec and using a spatula, turn the crepe on the other side and cook it for about 15 sec. 

6. Once cook, transfer the crepe on a plate.  Spread Nutella and put banana over it.  Then flip on the sides. 

7. Eat immediately.  Enjoy! 

* You may add whipping cream and other nibbles like cocoa nibs to add a variety of taste. 

Carabao Island : Ngiriton Cave

Ngiriton Cave

A cave that's located at the top of a hill surround by forest is the so-called Ngiriton Cave.  The word "ngiriton," has the same meaning in Bicol dialect, which means smiling.  I guess our close proximity to the Visayan islands makes it means identical.  

By the way, the cave is part of the half-day tour which can be reached by riding a habal-habal and doing a few hikes up the mountain.  

* For formalities, when you reach the area, one needs to register in the Logbook just to keep track of its visitors, and he needs to pay an entrance fee of Php 100.      

The hike up was not as tiring as it seems because it is not that long but for some, it might be taxing. 

*Just an additional information, they used to climb up the cave on an uneven soil while holding to certain roots but now, they have provided the site with stairways so it'll be easier for visitors to climb up thus avoiding injuries.  

When you reach the opening of the cave, on its right side, you'll notice 2 cave rooms that are barred with wood.  They said that the ancient people used them as a hiding place against guerillas.  

When you turn your back to the cave, a beautiful sight welcomes you.  Here you'll have a view of Carabao Island overlooking Boracay.  :)  Awesome, right?

Moving a bit down and to your left is the rest of the cave.  The magnificent greenish structure of the cave welcomes you with some swirling bats.  They are not that many, however, compared to that of in Samal Island, so it isn't that smelly.  :) 

*Caution: Just mind your head as you explore the rest of the cave.  

Inside, you'll see some bats sleeping and comfortably hanging on the walls of the cave.    I tried capturing them, but my photos will not give justice to what I really saw.  

I also spotted stalagmites and stalactites.  Again, my photos wouldn't give justice to its beauty.  

spot the smiling face 

A bench for resting is also provided just outside the cave.  

And of course, to quench your thirst, a fresh buko juice, taken straight from the coconut tree,  is provided to you as a complimentary drink when you descend.  Actually, it is included in the entrance fee so don't worry. :) 

Compassion Fatigue + Work Burnout

I was making my homework for a small talk (only about 2 mins) tomorrow when I got this thoughts along the way.  

Well, my topic tomorrow is about the story of A Good Samaritan where it presents the value of compassion.  I bet we all knew the story of this as this is known and taught while we were still in school.  Anyway, as I was browsing Google for examples, I came across this Compassion Fatigue.  And I was like?  Seriously?  There is such a thing like that?  Coz, it was my first time to see it and I wonder what it meant.  *Curiosity alerts*

So what I did was searched for it, read a few and told myself, "Ooops, I know this." Haha!  I was actually pertaining to myself.  I don't know but I guess, I came to this point when I am overly tired of almost everything.  Work, family, friends and life as a whole.  I don't know.  

However, according to one definition of compassion fatigue, it is a state of tension and preoccupation with the individual and cumulative trauma of clients in one or more ways including re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance/numbing of reminders of the event and persistent arousal.  While work burnout is associated with work overload and other environmental factors like assignment levels and scheduling.  

I think work burnout and compassion fatigue somehow go together.  I mean they are somewhat related to each other.  Others might just mistaken it as burnout when you could be feeling the other.  Oh, well, let's just look deeper as we try see its signs and symptoms. :) 

The warning signs of Compassion Fatigue are: (those that are applicable to me)

- blaming others

- complaining too much and too often

- not expressing emotions in a healthy manner

- isolating from friends and family

- tired all the time

- loss of purpose

- emotional rollercoaster

- anger

- self-doubt

- lack of self-satisfaction

- irritable

- impatient

And what I can do as self-care for CF:

- be aware of the symptoms (recognize and monitor the changes)

- make personal life a priority

- make a connection with family and friends

- revitalize sense of life's purpose and meaning

Professionally, this is how you can beat CF according to NurseBuff:

1. Set boundaries at work

     - accept that you're not superhuman

     - you can't fix everything

     - determine until when or where you shall intervene

2. Talk about your emotions

     - don't keep negative emotions all to yourself

    - vent out your feelings

    - seek help professionally 

3. Don't go beyond the limits you set

    - learn to say "no"

4.  Practice positive self-talk

     - makes you aware of your feelings and issues

     - identify when you need to take care of yourself first before others

5. Smile

      - easiest way to brighten up your day a little

      - take a deep breath and smile

     - having positive outlook improves positivity at work

6.  Forgive and move on

     - don't keep the hate all to yourself

     - forgiveness is not something you give to others but to yourself

7. Socialize

     - spend time with friends and participate in social events

     - attention is diverted into meaningful activities rather than sinking deeper into depression

8.  Be creative

     - do creative activities like writing, dancing, etc to release stress and negative emotions

     - focuses you more to your inner self

9.  Go on a retreat

      - change your surroundings 

      - will have a refreshing break from your life

10.  Develop  a career plan

      - to have a good reminder of your dreams and aspirations

      - serves as a driving motivation in getting yourself together

11. Relate with other nurses

       - talk to fellow nurses and take note of their advices

      - older nurses have time-tested strategies in overcoming CF

12. Keep in mind that you have a purpose

       - remind yourself that nursing is a noble career and everything happens for a reason

       - take sad experiences as opportunities to learn and grow

13.  Whenever you feel yourself going down the slide, reach out for your victories

        - celebrate moments of triumphs

  
That's a lot of information, right?  But I thank my leader for giving us this task.  At least I've learned something today.  :)