vlogging-podcasting

Why I’m Getting Serious About Vlogging and Podcasting in 2025

When 2024 ended, I called it “a year of growth, celebration, and dreams taking shape.” (Read it here).

Then in February this year, I wrote about how it was “the month I finally chose me.” (You can read that post here)—and that choice changed everything. I started saying no to things that drained me. I began saying yes to what felt aligned. I started reclaiming not just my time and energy but also my sense of self.

Now, as September begins, I feel another shift. A new season. A new intention.

And one of my biggest goals for the rest of 2025 is this:

👉 I want to finally take my vlogging seriously. I might even launch a podcast dedicated to self-help, productivity, VA life, and designing a life you love.

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Philippine corruption

Why I Left My High-Paying Government Job: A Personal Story of Privilege, Integrity, and Choosing Simplicity

📌 Editor’s Note:

This post was written in August 2025, during a time of intense public discourse in the Philippines around government corruption, political dynasties, and ongoing lifestyle checks on public officials and their families. It is a personal reflection anchored in the national conversation—one that continues to evolve.


I don’t usually talk about politics. But today, I will.

More than two decades ago, I worked in a large government agency. I was 24-29 years old, earning a salary most people my age could only dream of. My position was high, my pay was even higher—equivalent to that of a VP or top-level manager.

How did I get there?

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Fun & Brain-Boosting Online Games for Kids and Adults Alike

As a homeschooling mom who spends a lot of time curating engaging yet educational activities for my son, I’m always on the lookout for games that are both fun and beneficial. While browsing online, I stumbled upon CulinarySchools.org, a site that offers a variety of online games catering to different age groups and interests. What intrigued me the most was the range of brain games, puzzles, and even sports-themed games that go beyond just entertainment—they also help with cognitive skills, problem-solving, and coordination!

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Teaching My 7-Year-Old Financial Literacy: Exploring ‘The First Ten Rules of Wealth’ by Richard Templar

As a parent, I’ve always believed that education extends far beyond the walls of a traditional classroom. This belief has been a driving force behind our decision to homeschool our 7-year-old son, giving him the freedom to learn in ways that suit his interests and needs. One area that Mahal and I are particularly passionate about introducing to his curriculum is financial literacy. In today’s ever-changing world, the importance of understanding money, saving, and investing cannot be overstated. I grew up with a poverty mindset… that feeling that we’re always lacking… that belief that I’m not worthy of the good kind of life… and it took years of reading self-help books, and wealth-related books, and listening to Oprah and Tony Robbins before I was able to fairly say I that I’ve somehow overcome my poverty mindset and started my journey towards abundance. I want Tuz to have the right kind of thinking when it comes to money and wealth so that he will be able to live a more abundant, rich, and fulfilling life.

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Big Bad Wolf Celebrates the Joy of Reading with Cebuanos

-Aims to empower the community by giving access to affordable books-

CEBU, Philippines — Bringing over 2 million brand new books each year, Big Bad Wolf Book Sale has made literature more accessible to Filipinos by offering huge discounts of up to 95% off.  Best of all, entrance to the Book Sale is absolutely FREE! The sale will feature new and exclusive releases only available in Cebu from September 15 until October 1, 2023 from 10 AM to 10 PM, at SM Seaside City Cebu, Lower Ground level, Cube Wing.

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How to Teach a Kid About Real Estate, Coding, Circuitry and Robotics (A Little Peek at Our Homeschool Life with Tuz)

We’ve been nothing but super busy since we got back from our beach wedding. We actually got a bit sick for 2 weeks after all the wedding tours that ended on May 8, and we had to recuperate up until Mother’s Day last month. It’s going to be Father’s Day soon and we’re still trying to get back to our regular routine here at our mini resort, Oslob New Village, our home in Oslob, by having our morning or evening walks again,  hikes up the mountain, going to the beach, paddle boarding, biking, and playing badminton (for better physical health); planting bonsais, herbs and trees; doing chores at home, taking care of Tuz, spending time as husband and wife (a.k.a. mini dates with Mahal), taking care of my online work, and homeschooling

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Calculators.org Online Games: Perfect for Mental Breaks that Bring Back Good Childhood Memories

Happy Halloween, everyone!!! 

We’ve just celebrated Halloween the last 4 days (Oct. 28-31) and again it was a blast! I’m still in the middle of preparing a vlog and blog post for it so I can share with you all how we celebrated my most favorite season this year. I hope yours was a happy one too! Stay tuned!

On the other hand, I feel like this will be the last time I’m celebrating this way my fave holiday. It’s been 20 years of blissful spooky celebrations, from Malate street and Boracay beach parties in my early 20’s, to Oktoberfest celebrations in my late 20’s, to house and costume parties in my early 30’s, to trick or treating with Tuz and Mahal in my late 30’s to early 40’s. My wish every year was to have more of the same and I was lucky enough to be given that. Thank you, universe! You’ve been good to me all these years, making me happy to have the chance and budget to party. I’m now passing on the torch to our almost 7-year old son, Tuz. I told him about my plan to retire and pass on to him organizing such parties but he said he’s not yet ready! 

Maybe I‘m just feeling a wee bit sad, tired, and drained as of late. Adulthood  is probably taking a toll on me and I will soon need a proper break — break from work, break from taking care of Tuz, break from taking care of our household, from thinking and worrying about it all. We’ve just been  on a one week trip to Cebu City to run some errands and take care of some medical stuff. Though the trip has been very productive and positive, it just left me over-fatigued and wanting of a much-needed mental reprieve. 

But since work has always been hectic (which I am thankful for, don’t get me wrong!), I really can’t afford yet to take a real vacation (give me 8 hours/day of sleep please with nothing to do in between if possible!) But I do need to take mental breaks every now and then to keep my brain fresh and ready to tackle again the next task. So one of the things I actually do especially now that HBO’s House of the Dragons Season 1 has ended is I actually play online games. I’ve mentioned to you on one of my previous posts that Tuz and I love to play online games to keep our brain refreshed and functioning well in between homeschooling and work. One of the sites I go to is https://www.calculators.org/games/board-games.php. They have these games that remind me so much of my childhood. My favorites are: 

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Relax and De-Stress with Online Games at Solitaire.org (and Decrease Your Chances of Dementia As well)

Work has been non-stop lately (Well, what’s new? Thank God for work!!!) that the only thing I can do to de-stress is play some online games! Remember before when I shared with you 3 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress During These Hard Times? One of those stress-relieving activities I do (and I sometimes do it with Tuz too) is playing online games.

I discovered another website that brings back so many childhood memories simply because it reminds me of my mom’s favorite game that I’ve seen her play a gazillion times while I was growing up — SOLITAIRE! 

The website is solitaire.org and the best thing about it is, it has a lot of other games you can choose from like other card games, mahjong, logic puzzles, word puzzles and more! But what really caught my eye and what I’ve been playing around the past couple of weeks during my break are these three games:

 

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How to be Unbreakable by Rob Dial and Dean Devries

OMG! I just finished the 1st of 2 live events of Rob Dial and Dean Devries. It’s about how to be UNBREAKABLE despite life’s uncertainties. They are teaching us, FOR FREE, how to be the person we want to be despite all the craziness we are all experiencing in the world today. It was so inspiring and uplifting!!! Thank you, guys!!!

Basically it’s about being a better version of you a year from now. They are teaching us concrete ways on how to go about it. I’m so excited to be Jen 2.0 or maybe 5.0? Lol! I’ve changed so much over the years I’ve lost count! It’s so motivating! Excited for the 2nd part tomorrow! In case you want to join, just head to https://www.robanddean.com/unbreakable-1 and try to register if still possible. Join also the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538088811356136

Just a little background… Rob Dial is my go to podcaster every day when I do my workout and morning walk. The title of his podcast is The Mindset Mentor. You familiar with him? He’s on Spotify and Apple. He helped me a lot get to this level where I am now — more calm, more successful, more positive. And I just want to continue applying what I’ve been learning from him. He’s a great fan of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Gor Rich (a book I super love!), and I assume of Tony Robbins‘ teachings as well because many of his podcasts resonate with Tony Robbins’ teachings. 

One thing I want to share with you that Rob and Dean said is this: 

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How to Get Anything You Want – 3 Strategies to Help You Achieve Your Goals in 2022 

As we begin our journey this New Year, many of us think about having new goals, new dreams, and basically how do we get about achieving them. I’ve thought about these things myself. Mine in particular is about increasing my net worth to a particular amount and this involves budgeting all of my money and assets well. This thought has been ringing in my mind since late last year, especially after Typhoon Rai hit us and I knew in my gut that I should make this financial goal my number 1 priority. 

So, to help me dissect the process of how I’m going to achieve this particular financial goal of mine this year, I listened to a podcast by Marie Forleo discussing the topic “How to Get Anything You Want?” This can actually apply to getting anything you want this year — whether it be getting your life back together, having the kind of relationship you want, traveling to a particular place, getting the job or career you want, setting up your own business, winning a nobel prize — you name it and the strategies here will help you make it happen.

I’ll share with you below the notes I took so that you too, can have some ideas on how to achieve your goals for 2022, especially if it’s a financial goal like mine. 

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Philippine Homeschooling Hack

Philippine Homeschooling Hack In This Time of The Pandemic

To dear parents, are you enrolling your kids in school this year? Or are you homeschooling them? Homeschooling in the Philippines is not yet a common thing but because of this pandemic, it seems to be the only right choice to do to protect the health of our children. If company employees are adapting a work-from-home situation, then why not homeschool as well?

And so, I’m just so excited to share this video intended for parents living in the Philippines who are worried about their kids either missing a year of schooling due to the pandemic or efforting to homeschool their kids who used to be enrolled in either public or private schools, more so those who have lost their budget for private school tuition fees. There’s a hack that you can do that won’t cost you a lot of money, it can actually even be free! Continue reading