Category: Travel

travel with baby

How to Travel with a Baby? (A 2016 Travel Recap)

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Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!

I took an almost month-long break from blogging to enjoy the first month of the new year. I didn’t work as much, I had some legal stuff to take care of and we headed to exciting adventures as a family. Now that the Chinese New Year has just ended, we’re back home concretizing our new plans and new adventures for 2017. It’s gonna be exciting!

New year, new set of goals and travel plans. Yey! Like I said, we just started traveling again, hence, the super busy schedule we now have — juggling parenthood, business plans, work and leisure. But before I share with you about our current adventures, I want to do a recap first of the travels we did last year through this blog post of knowing how to travel peacefully and enjoyably with a baby. Plus, I still want to share with you one by one those places we visited before that I still haven’t published yet (to be done on some future blog posts). But first things, first…

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responsibility

How to Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life

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A BUSY introduction

I know, I know, I KNOW. It’s been 10 days since my last post and I have so much to share! Before baby Tuz’s first birthday, my life partner, Mahal, and I have been having sleepless nights taking care of work, parental stuff and domestic duties because we wanted to celebrate our baby’s first birthday on the date of his birthday itself, which was the 17th, a Thursday. We could have just decided to have it on a weekend so all our work responsibilities have already been done by that time and we can all relax and enjoy our son’s birthday beach celebration. Well, we did enjoy, but it could have been better. And it’s all because we wanted it celebrated on the birthdate itself, which, now, looking back, has been a semi-terrible idea! Continue reading →

birthday cake

Cake Story – Our Baby’s First Birthday Bash

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Our precious little miracle from heaven, Baby Tuz, has just turned one. He was born on Nov. 17, 2015 at 11:47 PM after a whole day of a painfully induced labor which still ended in an emergency C-section. Still, Mahal and I are just so overwhelmed right now with so many emotions we couldn’t help but become teary-eyed with happiness… overjoy… disbelief… amazement… plus over fatigue from a full year of being full-time, hands-on, work-from-home parents with no yaya nor helper, just us three all this time. We couldn’t help but wonder how we were able to raise Tuz — a happy, fussy, gimmicky little boy who wears us out every day, every dawn and every single night to the point of insanity but whom we love so, so much!!!

Having said that, my next several posts for this month will be about our little big boy Tuz plus how we celebrated a year of sleepless nights, tremendous joy, mood swings, unexpected blessings and so much more!

Let me start by sharing with you the cake story… Continue reading →

meditation

The Power of Meditation and What I Learned in Taiwan

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The year is almost over and I still have so many things to accomplish on my plate — work, business, pleasure and leisure, passions and hobbies, the upkeep of the house and everything it entails, maintenance of good health, taking care of relationships, etc.

But since we only have 24 hours a day to do everything we can to be productive and live a balanced life, more often than not, it really takes a strong willpower and determination to be able to squeeze in everything we need to do day in and day out including the not-so-important and urgent tasks. Because of this need to be “superwoman” (or superman for our men out there) in so many ways, I remembered the importance of meditation. I am after all, a full-time and hands-on work-from-home mom, which means I am an all-around 24/7 caregiver, helper, yaya, breadwinner, homemaker, partner, cheerleader, and everything else in between and I need all the help and support I can get to remain sane, healthy and happy. I am just so thankful because I have a male counterpart doing same things I do to lessen the burden while at the same time doubling the joy and fulfillment in our little family. But still, there are days when I get so overwhelmed and having a great partner is not enough… Continue reading →

Nuvali

Top 8 Things to Do in Nuvali 2016

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“Set to bring fun and one-of-a-kind activities and events all year-round, activities reflect NUVALI’s values anchored on the Evoliving (Evolved way of living) principle.

Structured on a system that encourages modern, responsible living supported by a belief in maintaining balance between development and nature, NUVALI’s framework allows each individual the space for a well-enhanced sense of oneness with the natural environment and its bounties.” – http://nuvali.ph

Even before Nuvali opened to the public, this has always been their principle. I was one of the lucky few who got invited back in 2010 to witness everything Nuvali has to offer and as the years passed by, I make it a point to visit the place once in a while because aside from Sta. Rosa being near where I live, Nuvali is just really a fun place to be whether you’re alone, with your significant other or with your family. Continue reading →

Nuvali Night Sky Cinema

Nuvali Night Sky Cinema 2016 Family Event

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I blogged last time that we were attending the Nuvali Night Sky Cinema event. So that’s where we came from last Saturday with my family and as usual we had a blast! We were there early in the afternoon so we did a lot of things first before finally heading to the Open Fields for the 2016 Night Sky Cinema. I’ll blog about that on another post after this — about things people can do in Nuvali.

For now, here’s a photo essay of how our Pre-Halloween Family Get-Together at Nuvali Night Sky Cinema went and a guide as well for those who plan to do this next year in case you missed it last Saturday.  Continue reading →

surfing

Surfing – a History of Conquering Love and Fear

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When I started this new blog, I’ve shared with you that I’m re-reading Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project because I want to bring more happiness into my life, the kind that really comes from within me and not the type that is pressured into my life by other people or caused by pride and envy (which is why I started this whole new blog and let go of my old persona even if people close to me advised me against it). I want to be just me. Be me. Be Jen. Which is why I am writing a lot more now about my life, my thoughts, my past experiences, etc. because I am first and foremost a diarist more than a typical blogger, more than a marketer or any other kind of writer. I like looking at my own past experiences, enjoying those happy forgotten memories and using the positive energy they give me to bring more good things into my present life so I can forge ahead with a bit more wisdom, inspiration and strength towards a brighter future. And one thing about my not-so-far-off past that gave (and still gives) me so much joy is SURFING.

This is more of a story of love and letting go of fear rather than a pure guide to surfing. Although there’ll be bits and pieces about how to surf, where to surf, how much it costs and what not, more than anything, I’d be sharing with you a photo journal about it and how this water sports activity has changed my life and influenced me (hopefully for the better). Continue reading →

Sonya's Garden

Sonya’s Garden Tagaytay Restaurant Review

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Sonya’s Garden’s full name is Sonya Garcia’s Secret Cottage Restaurant Inc. At least that’s what it says on their menu which someone handed out to us as soon as we stepped out of our car after parking. And I’m just so happy that finally, I’d be able to eat here… and during our 2nd Anniversary at that!

Amidst the verdant and flower-laden garden, with nothing but thick hibiscus shrubs and romantic hydrangeas as witnesses, the young man knelt on one knee before the lady and asked her if she would be his sweetheart. She replied with a single-minded “Yes!”

And what better way to celebrate the overflowing of the heart than with the filling of the belly? Dinner had to be served! The table was draped with fine embroidered linen and laden with freshly picked lettuce and arugula, sweet-fleshed mangoes, pineapples, and other fruits in season, and an array of dips and sauces for drizzling over salads and pasta. It was an explosion of flavors and feelings. From this proposal began the public’s love affair with Sonya’s Garden. – SonyasGarden.com

I can’t believe it’s been two years since Mahal asked for my hand from my grandfather, parents and siblings in Cagayan de Oro. Two years? Wow! It seemed like only yesterday! I can still feel my surprise when for the first time my grandfather talked to a suitor of mine. He never did that to any of my exes!

Anyway, it’s actually our 26th monthsary yesterday, October 15, which we almost forgot because we were in Eastern time zone, we had so much going on with baby Tuz’s vaccine, checkup, errands and work around the house (that got a bit flooded recently during a sudden heavy downpour) and we were so busy with so many other things  (like soap making) that we didn’t have anything special planned. The weather is also not very cooperative with typhoon Karen making a landfall this dawn and another one on the way come Monday (stay safe, everyone!).

But last August, on our 2nd anniversary, when the weather was still so nice and cozy, we had a series of anniversary celebrations (in case you haven’t read about some of my posts about that yet) and we headed to Tagaytay once again.  It was just a simple lunch but we super loved it because we had it at Sonya’s Garden! Continue reading →

surfing

Follow Your Fear So You Can Follow Your Heart

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 “The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it… The more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and the growth of our soul. “ – Steven Pressfield of  The War of Art

Marie Forleo is one of those amazing women that I follow and emulate as much as I possibly can (aside from Oprah). And in her Tuesday’s Marie TV episode she talked about following our fears.

By fear, it means the good kind of fear that we know once we overcome, will change our life for the better. It’s the directive kind of fear like an idea of doing something that we’ve always wanted to do. Something that the deeper and wiser part of us wants so damn bad! Not the kind that will have us get run over by a bus, lol!

Come to think of it, when I look back on my life, a lot of the things I did in order to follow my bliss was I followed my fear first. Again, by fear, Marie and I both mean something that can make us doubt ourselves and our capabilities but once we do it, will bring us tremendous joy. Let me give you mine… Continue reading →

Ocean 101

Siargao Cheap Accommodation – Ocean 101 Cloud 9 Beach Resort

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Siargao is one of my most favorite islands in the Philippines! There are so many things to do here, so many places to visit, so many natural wonders to explore and even at night, there are so many parties to go to (yep, I really couldn’t believe that Siargaonons are such party animals). All of these things I will share with you one by one as I blog about all of my visits to the famous surfing capital of the Philippines.

Siargao According to Wikipedia

Siargao is a tear-drop shaped island in the Philippine Sea situated 800 kilometers southeast of Manila in the province of Surigao del Norte. It has a land area of approximately 437 square kilometres (169 sq mi). The east coast is relatively straight with one deep inlet, Port Pilar. The coastline is marked by a succession of reefs, small points and white, sandy beaches. The neighboring islands and islets have similar landforms.

The island is composed of municipalities of Burgos, Dapa, Del Carmen, General Luna, San Benito, Pilar, San Isidro, Santa Monica and Socorro.

And all these municipalities, I’ve already visited! Weeee!

But first things first — where to find cheap accommodation in Siargao?  Continue reading →

Badian Beach

Lambug Beach in Badian Cebu Day Trip Guide

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This is the continuation of my previous post, Kawasan Falls Cebu Day Trip Guide.

As mentioned, I was coming from Manila and was heading to Siargao with one day of stopover at Cebu. Since I wanted to explore a place in  its southwestern part that I’ve never been to before,  I did a day trip to Kawasan Falls and Lambug Beach before I headed back to Mactan Airport to catch my flight to Siargao.

So if ever you have a day to spare in Cebu and you’d like to explore it’s southwestern part,  you can also do the same. Check out my Kawasan Falls Day Trip Guide followed by this post on Lambug Beach Day Trip Guide. Continue reading →