Green Tea Fix

My favorite Starbucks drink is Green Tea Frap. I like the slightly bitter tea aftertaste and crave for it regularly. But as in most Starbucks drink, while I'd say it's worth it, it can still be quite pricey. So, imagine my giddiness when I found a cheaper alternative for my green tea Fix - S & R's Green Tea Smoothie!

At Php 99 and at a size which is a little smaller than Starbucks' Grande, it's definitely a lot cheaper as Starbucks' version is already priced at Php 145 and that's just Tall. S&R's version is somewhat more artificial in flavor, but is yummy just the same. I'd definitely go for this smoothie next time I'd have my green tea craving.

White Oleander

White Oleander is a story that speaks of the bond of a mother and her daughter, that sacred bond that ignores time, distance, beliefs and even how they treat and feel about each other. That sacred bond, that is ultimately based on love, longing and belonging.

Ingrid and Astrid Magnussen are mother and daughter living a somewhat average life, as average as a home headed by an artistic single mother can get. Everything changed when Ingrid fell in love with Barry Kolker and later found herself heartbroken. She then went for revenge by murdering Barry using her favorite flower, the poisonous white oleander. When she was imprisoned, Astrid at fifteen years old had to go through several foster homes, thrusting her to the harsh realities of life way too early and without the guidance of a mother. Astrid coursed through her young life alone and away from her home and her mother, but always finding herself never free of her grasp.

What I personally like most about the book is how beautiful the words are. And how much it spoke to me. There were times it was painful to read, but it was so real, you find yourself nodding in agreement as you read. I intentionally hold on to the book and did not finish it immediately, savoring each page. I rarely reread books I've already finished, but this one I intend to read again. Beautiful, poetic, real.

Sharing one of my favorite lines from the book, and it came to me at a time I can relate to it the most:

How vast was a human being's capacity for suffering. The only thing you could do was stand in awe of it.