Apple Tree Hotel and Resort, Cagayan de Oro City: Tuz’s 5th Birthday Hoopla

December 8, 2020December 8, 20201 Comment

Ever since Tuz was born, we’ve always celebrated it by traveling to the beach or a nice hotel resort, just us three. I do plan to make a blog post and/or vlog of his past birthday celebrations so watch out for those soon…

Just a little flashback on his past nativity celebrations:

1st birthday at Acuarverde and Laiya Beach Resorts in Batangas

2nd birthday at Ultrawinds Mountain Resort in Baungon near Cagayan de Oro

3rd birthday in Siargao where we spent 9 blissful days on this lovely island I also call my second home! (If you’re from CDO, you can read this blog post: HOW TO GET TO SIARGAO FROM CAGAYAN DE ORO VIA BUS AND BOAT RIDES)

4th birthday at the newly constructed C-Resort in Libertad, Misamis Oriental

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A Little Thanksgiving Post

November 26, 2020November 26, 20203 Comments

Year 2020 started with me getting sick with an unknown sickness (doctors couldn’t figure out why my white blood cell count was high at that time —- sometimes I wonder if that was Covid even when Covid hasn’t been announced to the world yet since we spent New Year’s partying at NHotel with Chinese nationals). I thought it was dengue but I tested negative for both kinds of tests I did. I planned to redo my bloodwork but then the pandemic happened, I got scared of going to the hospital and we got busier pivoting our business strategy.

The year is about to end and we have been quaranting at home for the most part, continuously praying that we stay safe from Covid especially now that we just found out someone close to us recently tested positive for the dreaded disease. (Covid became more real for us!) Nevertheless, there’s still so much to thank God for…

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How to Celebrate Major Holidays During a Pandemic: Halloween Feature + a Guide

November 24, 2020September 30, 20214 Comments

In case I haven’t said it enough, Halloween is my most favorite time of the year! So we celebrated it in a major way the past month. Maybe because I feel like I’m still a Wiccan at heart (I used to cast spells, call out spirit guides, and share my experiences in my old Wiccan blog), but more importantly, for some reason, I turn into a child-like nymph whenever Halloween is around the corner! Teehee. Suffice it to say that I’d like to celebrate it for as long as I can, even after it’s over. Haha! So this blog post here is my last attempt to still hold on to it. After I publish this, my next blog posts will be about other aspects of my life like Tuz’s exciting 5th birthday, our everyday life, travels, Christmas, etc.

Before the pandemic, and as far as I can remember, during Halloween, I used to go out, attend costume parties, and even host events during Halloween. It’s the most magical time of the year for me and doing those things really made me happy! I know it’s hard now that we are living in this new normal but it is still possible. I made it possible, and I will continue to make it possible. Haha! Watch my Halloween vlog below:

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How to Celebrate Mother’s Day in This Time of Pandemic? [4 Tips]

May 9, 2020June 12, 20204 Comments

I think this is the hardest time in recent history for all kinds of moms out there —> for moms who are forced to be at home with their children 24/7, especially school-aged ones; moms who are forced to be away from their grown-up children because of the quarantines and lockdowns; moms who are pregnant and about to give birth and are scared of finding themselves giving birth in overcrowded hospitals; moms with babies, with sickly children, with big kids, with teenagers… basically all kinds of moms.

The pandemic has placed us all in situations that are new to many of us, and for this reason, I salute all moms out there. There is a saying that goes “I can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood.” by Lance Conrad, The Price of Creation, and I do think it’s true.

Just the other day, Mahal jokingly asked me: “So, where to this Mother’s Day?” I just laughed! Of course, there is no other place to go but to stay home. Whether you celebrate Mother’s Day in the kitchen, in the bedroom, the living room, the bathroom (LOL)… staying home is still the safest place to be in this time of the pandemic. Though some quarantines have been eased in some parts of the country (like in Cagayan de Oro City, some malls have already opened, to the dismay of many residents), it still feels unsafe to do any kind of celebration outside. So we must stay at home. What can we do to celebrate this special day? I have listed a few things I would love to do as I celebrate my special day as a mother. Feel free to add more as you see fit in your situation.

Here goes…

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Updates in the Midst of Covid-19: My Health, Tuscany Highlands, Training Workshops CDO, BuQid, Travels and Celebrations

March 8, 2020May 10, 20205 Comments

This is probably the longest I haven’t blogged. It’s been so long that I have to read what I wrote last time coz I don’t remember anymore, lol. And it made me cringe a bit that my last post before this was about my health and my suspicion of having Dengue which happened before all this Novel Corona Virus, now called Covid-19, started hitting the news.

Anyway, as an OC person, I want to have some semblance of chronology about what has been happening to me the past several months so this long overdue blog update might be a bit long. Just bear with me. I’ll try to only give you the summaries and I’ll just write more about them, one topic at a time, on my next blog posts. For now, here are the abridged versions:
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S&R Members’ Treat 2019 and Online Giveaway

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019Leave a comment

On Sept. 9, I received an invitation from Ms. Maria Irene Aserios of Mindanaoan.com to attend the S&R Members’ Treat Bloggers’ Meet which was held last Sept. 14, 2019, at 9AM Philippine time. I was excited! I’ve been a member since 2002 when I was still living in Quezon City and the last time we visited their branch here in Cagayan de Oro was when we bought that big hospital toy for Tuz. I was excited to come back and know the exciting updates about our favorite warehouse membership shopping club! Continue reading →

TUSCANY HIGHLANDS MUSIGA AND MUSHROOM POLVORON 2ND ANNIVERSARY and EARLY CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!!!

September 2, 2019December 13, 20194 Comments

Hello September!

At last, the Ber months are here — my favorite last few months of the year because it means that Christmas is just around the corner, Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas in Our Hearts has started playing in the radio again, and of course, my most favorite holiday, Halloween, is happening before all the pre-Christmas and New Year hullabaloo! In short, I’m just in a very festive mood! Weeeee!!!

A huge part of this joy I’m feeling right now is the realization that I really am blessed despite all the seemingly stressful dramas I indulge myself in from time to time (lol). I am officially and legally single, I am loved, I have my babies with me, we are healthy, Mahal and I are growing our businesses and life together, and it’s all great!

And because of these blessings and the overwhelming gratitude I am feeling towards God and our life in general, I am also inspired to give back. We don’t have many material things as we have been living sort of a semi-minimalist lifestyle since I exchanged my big Alabang townhouse lifestyle to tiny pad living in Cagayan de Oro City, but we can definitely give some things to people, albeit strangers, we consider important to us, and these “some things” are no other than our farm products, for our precious target market, the very people we would like to keep serving through our organic mushroom food product offerings.

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Momtraneur Attends Solane Kitchen Hero Chef’s Edition in Cagayan de Oro

August 17, 2019August 17, 2019Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I last said yes to an event invite because of all the travels we’ve been doing from June to August. The last was when we, CDO Bloggers, did our general assembly at Seven Seas and when we also held our GTKY meeting at Seda Centrio back in May 2019. So I was very excited to find out that Solane was heading to Cagayan de Oro, more so when the invite didn’t come from CDO Bloggers Group but was personally emailed to me by FuentesManila.com for their Solane Kitchen Hero Chef’s Edition in Cagayan de Oro which happened last August 15, 2019… the same week that we were going home from our very long road trip and on the same day that my grandfather was celebrating his 95th birthday and Mahal and I were celebrating our 5th Anniversary as well. My schedule was really packed that day! I actually thought I wouldn’t be able to make it because of the typhoon that came and our stay in Cebu City and Oslob got extended. But thankfully, the weather cleared up eventually and now we’re back in Cagayan de Oro and yes, I was able to attend Solane’s media luncheon at Missy Bonbon prior to the cooking competition held at the Atrium in LimketKai Mall.

I am a fan of Solane which is the leading LPG solutions brand in the Philippines. I’ve been using them for years! And I’m sure many of you (my dear readers residing in the Philippines) are using this brand too and I’m excited to share with you today their latest project.

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How To Make A Relationship Last [3 Major Tips for Those Living Together]

August 14, 2019April 16, 20204 Comments

We’re home now from our very long road trip starting from Cagayan de Oro to Oslob, then Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo, Gigantes, Boracay, back to Iloilo, Bacolod, Oslob, Cebu City, Dapitan, and now back in Cagayan de Oro. Whew! What a blast it has been! We are so tired from our trip but so rejuvenated as well.

We came home just in time for a few things:

my grandfather’s 95th birthday celebration
an event I am attending later for Solane as a blogger
a package that arrived from Blue Bee which I will be using and reviewing before I join their affiliate program
and most especially, just in time for our 5th anniversary as committed life partners ❤

Wow! So many blessings! Thank you, God, for all these love and opportunities in my life right now. I really feel blessed despite the fact that I am oh so tired (which is why I am now taking Thiocell to give me more energy, aside from my usual multivitamins and organic supplements — perhaps, I’ll blog about them next time).

Anyway, that long trip of ours really tested our faith, our patience, and ultimately our love for one another. We are used to traveling together, but it’s not always that we travel with a group, more so, our extended family. I must admit that on a few occasions, it did make me feel like I wanted to give up on us because of the little stresses that came along the way (you can read about it here: How to Avoid Travel Burnout When Traveling With a Group) but as always, after every storm, a rainbow always comes and I’m glad that we always get out of it stronger than ever.

So how do we keep managing to strengthen our love and commitment for each other (as if we’re falling in love for the first time all over again) despite our imperfections? How do we make our relationship last year after year after year and hopefully until death do we part? How do you make your relationship last longer… until marriage… how do you make a marriage last a lifetime?

Below are the major 3 things I learned along the way (which I learned the hard way by the way) and which I want to share with you in case you’re in a relationship too, whether a new one or a seasoned one, and you want to make your relationship stronger too. As I continue to embark in this amazing relationship with my best friend, my life partner, my soulmate, my Mahal, here are the 3 major tips I can give you based on our own experiences: Continue reading →

Momtraneur – Now an Official Brand Ambassador of EyesUp + Higher Alexa Ranking

August 7, 2019August 9, 20192 Comments

We are on the last stretch of our series of travels from Mindanao to Visayas (Cagayan de Oro to Oslob, then Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo, Antique, Boracay and back) and I just found the time to rest just now.

It’s August 8, 2019 today in the Philippines (my blog is on US Time Zone so this is dated Aug. 7) and if you add all the numbers ( 8+8+2+0+1+9=28; 2+8=10; 1+0=1) until you come up with a single number, you will see that it will all boil down to number 1, which has a spiritual meaning of:

The 1 is a doer, a powerful force that produces results and does not allow anything or anyone to limit its potential. The 1 is aggressive, a necessary energy for creating and producing. The 1 is always in the forefront: a spearpoint directing and leading others. The shape of the number 1, just like the shape of all other symbols, reflects its meaning; it walks upright with pride and purpose. Strong, determined, unwavering and with specific goals in mind, the 1 can turn dreams and ideas into reality. It pushes obstacles aside or simply drills right through them. – https://www.numerology.com/numerology-numbers/1

I don’t know if it’s just coincidence, but today… Continue reading →

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Momtraneur.com! A Thank You Post

July 24, 2019July 24, 20191 Comment

Good morning from Bacolod! I have been traveling the past few days from Cagayan de Oro to Oslob, then Dumaguete, and now we’re in Bacolod — very hectic schedule! I’m squeezing some time in to update my blog before we go because I just realized now that today (July 25 in the Philippines) is a very special day!

It’s my blog’s 3rd anniversary today! Happy 3rd Birthday, Momtraneur.com! I have nothing special planned, nor did I come up with something amazing for my readers because I truly didn’t think that my blog would reach this milestone of now being on Top 1.3M of Alexa’s global engagement ranking and Top 5.5K in the Philippines which, a month ago, my rankings were just 6.5M and 21K respectively. Thank you, really, for finding my articles worth reading and for coming back here and even checking my old evergreen blog posts (I have a lot!) Continue reading →