The one with home ideas

As i said before, we are getting busy and in full blast with our house finishing.  We are now in the process of building the dirty kitchen.  It's extra hard now because we don't have a foreman to help us.  We buy the materials ourselves, go to the site everyday to make sure they finish on time.  I just hope we can move in there before december.  We are just so excited. I want to post some pics but i don't have them right now so let me post some pics i found nice. :) here are some space-saving ideas.

i want this at the back of the main door.

the husband drew this to transform our office cabinet to my office. im just so excited! yihee!

The one with hopefully for good

I know, i know! i'm just so ashamed i have'nt been able to maintain this blog. I have a LOT of things on hand now, it feels like i'm moving like a robot, with everyday and unending list of things to do. it just doesn't stop. Anyway, just for a welcome back blog post, let me share a parenting tip on how we, as mothers, should talk to our daughters about her body. I got this from a blog, you can check her blog as well. How to talk to your daughter about her body. Step one: don’t talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works. Don’t say anything if she’s lost weight. Don’t say anything if she’s gained weight. If you think your daughter’s body looks amazing, don’t say that. Here are some things you can say instead: “you look healthy!” is a great one. Or how about, “you’re looking strong.” “I can see how happy you are – you’re glowing.” Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body. Don’t comment on other woman’s bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one. Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness towards yourself. Don’t you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don’t go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don’t say “I’m not eating carbs right now.” Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself. Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that’s a good thing sometimes. Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you’ll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn’t absolutely in love with. Prove to your daughter that women don’t need men to move furniture. Teach your daughter how to cook kale. Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter. Pass on your Mom’s recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love being outside. Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It’s easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don’t. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can lift up the world, if she wants. Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.

The one with breastfeeding month

August is breastfeeding month too! Yay! And since i have a lot of friends who are breastfeeding counselors/advocates, indulge me with promoting their event tomorrow.

see you there!!!

The one with music in our blood

I'm so blessed that our family is a family of musicians, singers and artists...and they're not just musicians...they're good at what they do. They are gifted musicians (haha, got to love your own!) And so when i saw a bass clarinet at musicians friend, i wondered if any of my family members can play it. they can easily adapt to learning something new and i'm sure it will not give them a hard time. I wonder what musical instrument simone will learn in the future???

The one with birthday month and christmas feeling

It's my birthday month this august!!! wohoo!!! I'll be changing the age on the left part of this blog again...ugh! haha. but i'm grateful for the 34 years of my life. i'm blessed. And after my birthday, Chrismas air is just around the corner. Wow, time flies really fast..as in! Before you know it, you'd be shopping again at radko from christmasplace and wrap some gifts again for family and friends. i love it! Sooo excited for my favorite season of the year! and super excited for our Hongkong trip too! wohoo!!!

The one with Simone's painting lessons

Simone has always been in love with crafts and paintings. So we decided to ask someone to go to our house once a week and teach simone the basic strokes and techniques in painting. I think it will be more beneficial for her as she will be guided accordingly as to what brushes to use or what to do when painting. If it's just me, nothing will happen as admittedly, im not good in painting. haha. Here are here pics from her first day with kuya marvin:

The one with dream vacation

I was browsing online deals and was actually surprised at how affordable vacations are now. there are like P9k deals with airfare and hotel accommodations included. Soo sweet! But I really have to say that my most ambitious dream vacation will be a trip to europe. I'd love to stay on one of those luxury paris vacation rentals and just enjoy eiffel, strolling around the country and shop. I heard LV stores there are huge! Someday...somehow... :) in the meantime, asian travels are not bad at all. haha ;)

The one with Uniwide sale

It's been ages since i last stepped on a Uniwide warehouse. Back then, there was a Uniwide branch near our place. I always remember going there with big smiles thinking that i'd be able to buy something with a very good deal. I've always loved good deals and I always enjoy doing it in this warehouse. So to cut the long story short, when i went there last weekend, I intentionally stopped myself from buying a lot of things. I needed to control my purchases as we are trying to declutter but going to Uniwide will not help in doing any of my plans. I was able to buy plates, ikea pot holders, coin banks, owl figurines, etc. :) Here are some pictures of the place

The one with small reunion

My husband has a group of friends since childhood. These friends are musicians as well. One of his friends, Dino, migrated to Los Angeles ten years ago and he went home because his mom passed away and had to hold a service here in Manila as well. Dino accepted his mom's passing already that's why he did'nt have a hard time with it. They even scheduled a jamming session just like the last time he was here four years where they stayed at my brother in law's studio. The equipments here are really high end. You can't find any cheap audio technica microphones at musicians friend because everything is well chosen and of high quality. They recorded their jamming session. It was nice seeing you again Dino. :)

The one with almost done!

Okay...what's up with our family??? A big development as we are soon moving to our new nest! yay! Praise God for all His provisions. We've been busy visiting the house and making sure that it will be done this month. We've suddenly been addicted to furnitures, interior design and appliances. I've been cheating on fashion for furniture. We love the details, even the wing knobs have to be well thought of. and hopefully we won't just settle for something just because we don't have budget anymore. hahaha. And i'm loving every moment of it. Here are some pics of our nest.

The one with branding of a work at home woman

Saw this article. a good read :) 3 Tips to Discovering Your Brand as a Work at Home Woman Tags: Brand, Branding, Business, Discovering Our Brand, Martine de Luna, Personal Brand, The Work at Home Woman, Work at Home Women Posted in Marketing & PR 2 Comments » By Martine de Luna Building a personal brand is something I sort of “fell into” or did “by accident.” It was sometime last year that I realized this, over lunch with a chic and acclaimed, couture bridal designer here in my country. Looking at my blog, she quipped, “You don’t just have a blog; you don’t just write; I can see you have built a brand.” By this, she meant two things: One, that I had grown my blog to a certain level of influence and that it became synonymous with certain qualities. Two, that I had developed enough of an online presence, so that people could identify me as a kind of “go-to girl” if they wanted to start a blog, or build a website, and my blog as a “hub” for women who loved working from home. We All Are Our Own Brands: Like I said: I did all this unintentionally; it sort of just happened. That’s the thing with being a brand: it’s who you already are, and the emotional connections people have with you when they think about you. You don’t fake it; it’s not a put-on. As work at home women, we each are our unique brand. The question is, do we know what our brand is? And if we do, how are we going to leverage our personal towards our business or freelancing? 3 Tips to Discovering Your Brand as a Work at Home Woman: Your brand — the way your existing and potential customers see you — is directly aligned with what you are known for. It’s worth it to delve deeper into your brand, so that you can gain insight into the services you provide (like if you’re a virtual assistant) and the products you sell (if you’re a product-based business owner). Here’s how to know what your brand is, and how to leverage your brand towards your success. 1. Discover Your Brand, if You Haven’t Already. One of the best ways to find out more about your personal brand is to ask people: existing clients, potential customers, even friends or family. What do people say about you when you’re not around? What do people perceive about you? These findings are all related to your brand. You can use these to work on your brand, to improve your personality, and even make a few changes, if needed. You can use guide questions to help you along this act of discovery. For instance, ask yourself: What do people associate me with? What am I known for? What do I bring to the world? What comes to people’s minds when they hear my name? For instance, when someone hears “Holly Hanna”, they associate it with The Work at Home Woman, with Holly’s platform as an expert in the work-at-home lifestyle. In your case, what do people associate your name, your services, or your business with? Use this to help you understand your brand. 2. Create a Definition for Yourself. When you know a bit more about how people perceive you, as well as your work, your services, try to create a definition for it. This is much like a “company vision” or mission statement. Business coach Jess Lively (who helped me to further refine my brand) recommends that business owners or solopreneurs imbibe their “purpose equation.” This is essentially the result of two key elements: your unique gifts + helping people = your purpose equation. As work at home women, this is something we naturally imbibe, but have likely never clearly defined in our work or business. What is your purpose equation? For me, it’s “to provide creative business solutions that help small businesses thrive,” because that’s what I am known for and what I excel at. What could be yours? Define it, and let that give you clarity. 3. Craft a Brand Identity. Once you decide you want to establish and build your brand, it is wise to invest in a brand identity, or the visual elements of a brand. Many work at home women — especially those that offer professional services, or have a business — invest in a professional logo and photography. A great photo, even on your About page, is key to personal brand recognition. These visual elements of your brand should be seen across your website and social media profiles. Your photo should accompany everything from your author bio, even your email signatures. This way, your clients and potential customers easily recognize you, wherever your “brand” follows you. Investing in a brand identity, however, takes a lot of time and clarity. Spend time developing these visual elements of your brand, because they will represent you, your values, your brand promise. These are just some basic steps to discovering and defining your brand. Having a brand can really help give you clarity about your ideal customer or client, so that you can refine your offerings and really work with the people who are perfect for you. Finally, branding is never a “once-over” process. Your brand evolves as your offerings evolve, even as you evolve. Knowing and understanding your personal brand is really about bringing the heart and soul of who you are as a work at home woman into your business, into your unique work ethic. Most of all, it can give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are fulfilling a unique purpose, based on your natural gifts and skills. Have you started building your personal brand online yet? Have you ever even thought about what your brand is or might be? Let’s talk about it in the comments. Martine de Luna is the director of The WAHMderful Life, an inspirational business suite comprising a blog and live training events for work-at-homemakers. The WAHMderful Life blog and workshops are designed to inspire and equip mothers and married women to work from home, profitably and with intention. Martine began working from home as a freelance copywriter, and eventually ventured into blogging; her lifestyle blog, DaintyMom.com, has received accolades internationally, including an award for Best Home and Parenting Blog at the 2011 Philippine Blog Awards. Today, Martine runs a boutique consulting service, which offers mentoring for mom bloggers and work-at-home women. She also conducts writing workshops for women, writes marketing and communications copy for for small-to-medium businesses, and offers web design services for SMEs. Connect with her at Martine de Luna Creative Services and the WAHMderful Life website.

The one with open letter to my gradeschooler

Dear Simone, I could not believe that time is like a bullet train with you. Cliche but true. And now that you're in grade school already, i thought i'd handle it well and think that it's just grade school...I was wrong. I can say the first six years with you was really an adventure. You were not high maintenance as a baby but i vividly remember how cute your cheeks were, how hard it was for you at times to poop, and how much you loved to sleep on my chest. I thought it was the hardest part of my life, having to give birth to you but since i had no choice, (i had to do it anyway) I realized what harder challenge can i get after this. I found the answer the first time you got sick. We were in puerto galera. it was the first time i had to leave you for 2 days. your dad and i felt we needed a breather but we were hesitant to tag you along since you were just over a year old. When i found out you got a fever that same night, i knew i was'nt meant to leave you alone. I went back first thing in the morning and rushed you to the hospital. It was the biggest mistake i made, having to leave you just so i could relax for a while. after that anak, i never left you. wherever i go, I can only have peace of mind if you're with me. Six years forward, I'm sending you to your school. First day was a breeze since you were just out for 3 hours. 2nd day, i found myself crying having to see you looking for your assignment notebook in your big, big bag. and i thought to myself if i should go inside and help you find it. When after a few seconds, you found it, that was my moment. You're really trying to do things on your own...without me :( when i told the story to my husband, i cried. I cried because it's just too fast. I hope there's a slow motion button so i could cherish each day with you. Thank you anak for everything. thank you for being you. thank you that we've come to know faith and love because of you. :)

The one with officially missing you

I'm officially missing my blog and i never realized how much i do up until i started scanning my previous posts and thought that this blog is really my life journal of events and it would be such a waste if i stop updating it. So from now on, i'd be more serious in blogging again. Highlights of my life for 2013 ~ Simone is a gradeschooler already. a separate post on that one ~ Really enjoyed summer vacation with the grannies. went back to canyon cove :) love love love! ~ My brother in law, Jayson, left for Riyadh already. super heartbreaking but i salute them for the sacrifice they had to do. ~ Got a new car for simon, hehe. A Mirage. so prooud of you beh. you deserve it :) ~ Underwent D and C last Feb. It was not yet time.. All in God's time. promise to post more pics and stories soon. see you around!

The one with online shopping

My new hobby -- online shopping! Got hooked with the online buying sites but i make sure that i check their seller's official website first to know more about their deals, if it's really on sale or not. There's this store of swimwears, profile by gottex swimsuits, where i can purchase any size or color but the thing though since im not base in US i can't buy it but the items would have been really great on me. :)

The one with business requirements

When handling businesses, one thing that eats time from my schedule is getting requirements done, specially logistics-wise. I'm due for replenishing items in Partyboosters. I also wanted to check if i can start on making carpentry and crafty items for the business like the letter stands i so wanted to do for the longest time, and also the wooden fence i so wanted to start with. I also need to finish printing business cards or maybe just order some again. hahaha, have lots of things to do, have'nt started with anything yet.

The one with churchgoer again

I'm so happy my brother after more than a decade of being absent in church has finally decided to attend service again and i came with him. was so happy to see my brother going back and attending church again, reconnecting with God. I don't know what made him realize to go back to church but it was really an answered prayer. I also wanted to commend him for being able to quit smoking in an impulse. He won't be one of those guys going to a leaf cigar bar and i hope there'd be more good changes to see. love you bro! :)

The one with yoga regimen

Laely, i've been feeling that i'm on my heavy side once again that's why i tried surfing the net for some activities i can try. I inquired for some yoga sessions near our place. They say it will make you more lean and give you more strength. i just hope it won't be as expensive as i thought it is. Just the yoga accessories towel is a little pricey, as well as the mat but gym has made me a more bulky so i really wan to try this one. hope it goes well :)

The one with canyon cove 2013

super fun filled summer outing with the grandparents. :) thank you Lord for all the blessings.

The one with partyboosters summer outing

We had our recent partyboosters summer outing in a clubhouse in village east. We had a night swimming. it was so much fun having to spend time with our team, get to enjoy the evening breeze and water. It was also a bonus that the pool lights were pretty cool. It was really well maintained and it was really big for a clubhouse pool. :) It looked like Jandy pool lights in other premiere hotel pools. Hope next time we'd be able to spend our outing on a beach resort. hehe

The one with bike hobby

It's been months since my husband has been checking some bikes so that he'll have something to use for when buying things in the store, or for some exercise. A japanese bike is nice too and we some some in a japan surplus store but had second thoughts coz i'm not sure if those are the nicest ones.  I have yet to check the yakima rack, if there's something we can buy.  I hope i'd get the hang of it as well. :)