Girls at the farm during sunrise

How to Beat Stress – 3 Simple Yet Amazing Steps I Adopted from Tony Robbins

5 Comments

It’s early Sunday morning today in the Philippines but my body clock is still on Saturday mode, around 6PM US Eastern Time. Since it’s the weekend and I’m at the farm, I want to write a little something about stress and how to beat it. I’m not stressed though. I haven’t been in a while. And I’m always a lot happier when I’m here at the farm.

However, I know that many of us live most of our days in a stressed state despite the fact that we know it’s not good for us. Stress can literally kill you overtime because it can cause sickness, the worst of which is cancer (I’ve personally known 3 people in my life who had cancer and from what I observed, it may be mostly because their family and situations stressed them out so much), and if not cancer, then so many other illnesses are brought about by stress that are slowly building in our body. Cortisol is good in small amounts. We do need it to survive. But if you are constantly producing cortisol in your body because you’re in a constant state of stress, that’s when it becomes bad.

So why not find ways to beat it, right? And I mean, beat it right at its core and not just put some band-aid solutions for it. This way, we get to live longer and better.

Continue reading →

Blogging

How to Increase Alexa Ranking Quickly in Two Weeks + Celebrating My Blog’s Milestones and Blessings

12 Comments

Though I’ve been blogging since 2000 during the advent of geocities, this particular blog of mine, MOMTRANEUR, is only 3 years old. Actually, it is about to become 3 years old on July 25 when I published my very first post here three years ago.

I would blog about twice a week then until it became intermittent because of my very hectic schedule as a mom, a traveler and an entrepreneur. I became more active again around May-June of last year when I did the 30-day blogging challenge. I even joined groups for some comment exchange. After that, my blogging got intermittent until I picked up the pieces again 19 days ago and made a commitment to blog daily from then on.

I’ve mentioned this before — I blog mainly because it makes me a happy. After all, I am a diarist by nature and I like putting down my thoughts in writing to share what I know, what I’ve learned, and what I’ve experienced. It’s okay if nobody reads them because I write these things mainly for me, so I can have something to look back to and reminisce when I’m old and grey. It also serves as my memory bank especially since my memory recall is not as sharp as before… before I had my caesarian operation during childbirth  (my OB Gyne injected my spine with lots of epidural that has probably affected my brain power). Moreover, when details are documented here on my blog, it’s easy to refer back to them for future use, especially those “How to” posts of mine. Like this coming July 20, we’re off to Oslob again and now I can really budget our time and money because I’ve already blogged about how to get to Oslob from Cagayan de Oro.

On the other hand, when people do read my blog and find my articles useful, it really is such a boost in my happiness and satisfaction! Dopamine is released in my system and I feel more happy! It makes me want to write and share more!

Continue reading →

Raise Your Standards

Tony Robbins’ How to Raise Your Standards – Here are the Two Amazing Steps I Took

7 Comments

This is my 18th day of consecutive blogging and I’m happy to say that I haven’t faltered (yet — hopefully, I won’t ever) in my renewed commitment to do one of my first loves which is writing, hurray! I first did this last year, month of May, for my 30-day blogging challenge, which I finished with flying colors. But after that, I went radio silent again for some time before I blogged again. This time, I want to do this for as long as I am alive and not just 30 days. In poker speak, we must always up our ante! So  I’m giving myself a little pat on my back for having done this for 18 days straight so far. Hurray for little triumphs like this!

I think one of the major things that really helped me focus on my commitment to blog daily are the teachings of Tony Robbins, particularly about “raising your standards”.  As Tony Robbins said:

Continue reading →

Road Trip

How to Get to Oslob from Cagayan de Oro Via Car and Boat Rides

19 Comments

We will be going back to Oslob soon and stay at Oslob New Village where we’ll meet with Mahal’s eldest sister, Ate Amae, who just came home from Belgium for her yearly summer break. We’ll probably stay there for a night before we head off touring Visayas (and maybe Mindanao too) just like what we did July of last year when we did the  Bukidnon – Davao – Camiguin – Cagayan de Oro tour which I mentioned in my 2018 Travel Recap.

We will be bringing our car with us just like what we did January of this year when we went home to Oslob for Mahal’s and his mom’s birthday (we’ve been doing that every year since 2016).

So if you’re from Cagayan de Oro and you want to know how to get to Oslob via road trip and boat / roro rides, this post is for you. Let’s go!

Continue reading →

Oslob

Reminiscing My First Time at Oslob New Village Lodge – Cebu Accommodation and Things to Do

18 Comments

It has always been on my mind to blog about Oslob, a quaint and beautiful municipality in southern Cebu. After all, that’s where I met the current love of my life back in March 2012 (check our love story) and which I now consider as one of my second homes because I  can no longer count how many times I’ve been to this charming place known for its whale sharks and beautiful falls. I’ve also mentioned it quite a few times on my blog, particularly when I’d do my yearly How to Travel and Look Back posts, but I’ve never really come up with a detailed blog post about it yet, until now. And this is just the first. More coming as I continue with my daily blogging.

I was also reminded of it once again when I got interviewed recently by BlogMeter Top (the article hasn’t been published yet, I will share once it’s out) and one of their questions was what is my favorite blog post here in MomTraNeur and I mentioned that it was the story of my current love life. I’m a mushy kind of person after all (in case you haven’t noticed yet), hihihi!

You see, I’ve been married for so long before (2002-2012) and it crumbled in 2013. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I will find love again. I never dated. My ex was my first and last. I never had any other sexual encounters aside from my ex. Despite my being “Sexy Nomad” at that time, I really am a naive and conservative girl deep down. Everything that happened after, with my now current life partner, is nothing but miraculous. And the more I look back how it all came to be, the more I cherish our love and the life we have now. And little did I know at that time that it all started in OSLOB.

So back to Oslob…

Continue reading →

The Abba's Orchard

The Abba’s Orchard Cagayan de Oro Free Trial – VLOG

1 Comment

Yesterday, I shared with you a detailed blog post about my three-year-old son’s experience during his free trial at The Abba’s Orchard Alawana Branch here in Cagayan de Oro City and I said I will post a vlog about it. Here it is — if you can head to my Youtube channel and subscribe as well please, I’d really appreciate it!

Continue reading →

The Abba's Orchard

THE ABBA’S ORCHARD, A MARIA MONTESSORI SCHOOL: A REVIEW

11 Comments

To homeschool Tuz or to enroll him in a real school?

I already shared with you a homeschooling seminar we attended November of last year. The month after that, December, right after we went on a 9-day tour of Siargao (which I have yet to blog about), we enrolled Tuz in a 3-day free immersion class at The Abba’s Orchard Montessori School. I was thinking if we have the budget for it (we must make a budget for it!), why not just enroll Tuz in a Maria Montessori school? And according to my research, The Abba’s Orchard was considered by parents as one of the best in the Philippines. And after that 3-day free immersion class Tuz went to, I fell in love with the system as well…

Continue reading →

farm

Farm Life Update – Another Peek Into What It’s Like Living in a Farm

7 Comments

Hello everyone! We arrived safely at the farm around 4:30AM EST (which is 4:30 PM Philippine time.) I was sleeping for most of the 2-hour ride because I haven’t had any decent sleep the previous night. I woke up about 15 minutes away from the farmhouse because Mahal was complaining that he couldn’t see a thing while driving. When I opened my eyes, everything around us was color white! It was so creepy! I was jolted out of slumber and I told mahal to stop the car! We don’t want to hit any cow or anything that might be on the way. The fog was so thick it felt like being in a dream… or a nightmare. Remember that alien movie with the thick fog… THE MIST? It felt like that! Lol!

Mahal kept driving, albeit slowly, so we can get to the part where the fog wasn’t so thick anymore… I took a few pictures around and noticed that my phone had LTE signal so I immediately shared it to my Facebook. A few meters after that, my LTE signal was gone.

Continue reading →

Tuscany

LIVING UNDER THE PROVERBIAL TUSCAN SUN

11 Comments

I’ve been wanting to watch (for the nth time) one of my most favorite movies of all time — UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN — for several days now as a prelude to a perfect weekend I expect to have with my family at the farm. I’ve been so busy with work (and blogging… ha!) that I haven’t found the time until a few hours ago when Mahal arrived from his DTI class and we decided to watch it together.

When I first watched it almost 16 years ago in 2003, I felt like I have already resonated with this movie on so many different levels even if the particulars were still unbeknownst to me at that time.

Years passed and I’d still watch it when I feel sad; when I feel inspired; when I want to be inspired; when I feel happy… basically no matter what my mood is. I just tear up with this movie no matter how many times I’ve already watched it and it always makes me feel like everything is alright with the world after indulging myself with its heartwarming story.

Fast forward to 10 years after that movie was first shown (2013), my first marriage crumbled to pieces… Continue reading →

Cokaliong Shipping Lines

Cokaliong Shipping Lines – a Review

1 Comment

I’m on my 11th consecutive day of blogging which started last June 24 when I wrote that post about being a sleep-deprived mom, and the pressure is getting real, lol! I’ve actually started working on a post about Boracay more than two hours ago. I’ve already published 2 Boracay posts before…

BORACAY 2019 – WHAT’S NEW? HERE ARE THE DOS’ AND DON’TS, UPDATED LIST OF AUTHORIZED AND ACCREDITED HOTELS, GOVERNMENT FEES, AND MORE!

EXPERIENCE THE NEW BORACAY – A VLOG – CHECK IT OUT!

…and there are still at least two more about our summer vacation I want to share with you. But until now, I’m not even halfway through my draft yet! There are just so many photos and videos to sift through and I would need 24 hours of focus to do it which I can’t afford right now since Mahal is asleep and Tuz is being his hyperactive self. I still have deadlines I set for myself at work because I’ll be going to the farm this weekend to take care of our vegetable beds and to do another round of cleanup and redecoration for our bedroom and lounge area in the old farmhouse.

So, I went back and forth for a few minutes between finishing my next Boracay blog post to doing a totally different one when I just decided to tell you about this shipping line we rode on our way to Boracay — COKALIONG SHIPPING LINE. The pictures I took here were the first ones that came up as I was reviewing this trip of ours to paradise. So why not just focus on Cokaliong, right? You might be someone in the Philippines or planning to do boat trips in the Philippines, you might be wondering what shipping line is best to take.

Continue reading →

mommy jen cooks

Mommy Jen Cooks Pasta: Beef Loaf-Mushroom-Veggie Pasta in Olive Oil

8 Comments

It feels like ever since Friday, it has just been one looooong day of work with catnaps in between. If you’ve been reading me since I started blogging every day (again) or even if you’ve read me since way back 2016 when I started this MomTraNeur blog, or even way back in my numerous other blogger websites since 2010, being workaholic (and travelholic) is my middle name. Add motherhood to my journey, so I’m now a sleep-deprived workaholic mom! Lol!

Most of my clients are from the United States which means that before they head off to their summer break this month, they are handing me more tasks than usual which also means, work overload for me. And that’s okay. I appreciate all the work and the $$$ income it brings our family. I’m just at home anyway, I still am able to take care of Tuz and our tiny pad and one of my most favorite activity — I still get to cook my own dish inventions, especially when Mahal is not around to cook for us. #WAHM #WotkAtHomeMom #MommyCooksBest 

I’m not the typical mommy cook (if there is such a thing as “typical mommy cook”). I don’t follow any given recipes. I make my own based on the taste that I am looking for in a given day, and I get a little bit more creative than usual especially when our grocery supplies are about to run out.

And yes, our grocery supplies are about to run out as I write this. Because of the emergency farm run Mahal did last Friday, we weren’t able to do our groceries which usually happens every Saturday. But Tuz and I managed. We were able to stretch our food supplies at home and even as I write this, there are still some food in the fridge and the pantry. Mahal would be proud! I could even stretch them for a few days more… maybe even until Saturday. This makes me save a week’s worth of groceries. Yes! More money for our dream farm fund! #FarmGoals

Anyway, having said all that, let me share with you one pasta dish I like to cook every now and then. I’m such a pasta lover even when I know I should cut back on it because I am not getting any younger and losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight is getting harder and harder every day (especially with my kind of work where I just sit mostly all day in front of the computer when I’m at home). I’ve actually cut back on it. It’s been several months since I last cooked pasta. So now I’m really CRAAAAVING!!!

I posted this on my Facebook Page recently and I’d like to share it here with you. I think I’ll be sharing with you more of my dish inventions in the future. They will be the type of dishes I plan to incorporate in our cafe menu should our dream of setting up our own farm cafe becomes a reality in the future. They’re easy to do and usually with healthy ingredients from our farm and very yummy too!

Continue reading →