Halloween 2017

Halloween 2017: How to Let Go of Attachments

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Whenever the “ber” months would arrive especially September, I always get excited because it means that my favorite time of the year is just around the corner. No, it’s not Christmas… it’s Halloween! Then I’d start decorating the house, I’d start buying costumes and treats, planning for a house party and scheduling other horror parties and events that my work schedule would permit (like the Nuvali Sky Cinema Event we went to around same time last year).

This year, it’s different. I’ve only come to realize that it’s already Halloween around 3rd week of October when photos of previous Halloween celebrations appeared on my Facebook memories. And instead of feeling happy about it, I felt sad. Continue reading →

White Label Premium Placenta

My White Label Premium Placenta Skin Care Journey

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Becoming a mother really entails a lot of sacrifices. There are the expected sleepless nights and over fatigue from being 24/7 work at home mom.  The fact that I lost my “sexy body” in the process (which I think I can still get back if only I have the time and energy to really work out) is really a bummer. Having this hypertension I acquired after giving birth is quite scary (I’m now taking lifetime hypertension meds and whenever I skip a day, terrible migraines ensue). And then there’s my face. The skin on my face was never perfect but it has never been as terrible as when I became a mother especially when I got pregnant and right after giving birth — so many pimples and bumps and sometimes even acne popping up. Then it would get so dry, scaly and itchy it drives me nuts! This is why I have started trying beauty and facial products and even concocted our own soaps and organic facial scrubs so I can at least have one less stress in my life which is the skin on my face.

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suicide-and-depression

Suicide and Depression – What to Do?

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Do you know anyone suffering from thoughts of suicide and depression? I was reading an article from The Asian Parent about a local celebrity, Nadine Lustre, and her letter to her brother who recently passed away due to suicide when all of a sudden I found myself crying.

My own brother, about 15 years ago, almost took his own life right in front of me by stabbing his chest with a knife and I guess the article just brought back many of those dark memories. He is quite okay now, a dad of 2 kids with a 3rd baby on the way and living with his second life partner. From time to time, he still expresses sadness and depression about his first failed relationship and has had major outbursts of anger and depression, but overall, he is much better now.

I myself, dealt with major feelings of depressions and thoughts of suicide growing up. I had severe teenage angst, anxiety and panic attacks due to the pressure I was put into by my grandparents to consistently be on top of my class that carried well over into my adulthood, which I think contributed to the demise of my first marriage. While I’ve been so much better at handling negative emotions since I’ve been with my current partner of 3 years now, I must admit that it’s just lately that feelings of depression started settling in again.
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big-leap

How to take THE BIG LEAP – 8 STEPS (THE BIG MOVE PART II)

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(Please read Part I to get a better background of the story: The Big Move Part I)

Life is full of choices and more often than not, we are left paralyzed as to what decision to take next. As much as life is a never-ending road of lessons that needs to be travelled so we can move on to the next higher level, many of us choose to stay where we are simply because we are just too lazy or even scared to take responsibility for the challenging consequences that our new choices might bring. We’d rather stay in our comfort zones and revel in there. Anyway, we feel okay, so why bother?

I was in that zone once and it took a while for me to get up, pop the bubble I was in and jump to a new adventure. And when I finally did,  so many exciting events and learnings happened that I think just made me a better and happier person now. It involved a lot of saying no to opportunities, people and events that no longer matter in the greater scheme of things and it involves saying yes to a lot of new and scary stuff. And I wouldn’t be this happy had I not taken that big leap towards this life I’m now living.

So how did it come to this? What did I do? How does one take the big leap of their life?

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momtraneur

Thoughts On Becoming an Entrepreneur, or Better Yet, a MomTraNeur

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What is an entrepreneur?

“An entrepreneur is an individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risks and rewards of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes.” – Investopedia

What is a momtraneur?

I googled what is means but nothing came up except for “mompreneurs”, women who run their own businesses while being full-time parents as well. Am I the first person to coin the term momtraneur? Well, since nothing else is coming up on Google except my blog posts, I guess I’ll be the one to describe it… Continue reading →

house-transfer

The Big Move Part I

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I’ve never been so tired my entire life!

Age is a factor, I suppose. After all, I am 39 and will be turning 40 come Feb. and I am not as fit as I used to be. Although I wanted to, just as soon as I find time again in between organizing my life and taking care of baby Tuz. For now, I am good with 10-minute home exercises I follow on Youtube.

I thought when baby Tuz was an infant, that was the most physically tired (and depressed) I was, not having much sleep, waking up every few hours to breastfeed, nursing a painful (albeit healing) C-section. But I think, with everything I am feeling inside my body right now  — joints and bones aching, tummy aches from eating bad food, eyes feeling hot from disturbed sleep, headaches due to not being able to sleep 8 hours straight, back aches and the usual aches and pains that people nearing their 40’s experience, plus the psychological effect brought about by not being in my element (will explain this later), I guess all these things combined together make me feel the way I do now. Continue reading →

Thoughts of 39-Year Old Mom About Her Dreams, Regrets and More…

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Since we got back from a very long road trip, life has been back to normal. And by normal I mean, very busy being full-time, stay-at-home parents to our 18-month old toddler, Tuz. We’ve gotten back to our natural body clock which is on U.S. Time Zone (I swear, it keeps going back to this time zone for no apparent reason at all!) and we’ve quite settled into our new routine:

  1. Wake up before or after midnight.
  2. Fix bed.
  3. Prepare breakfast/brunch.
  4. Do chores.
  5. Let Tuz play in the rubber pool.
  6. Bathe together.
  7. Dress up.
  8. Go out for errands or food at dawn.
  9. Work.
  10. Provide more activities for Tuz.
  11. Prep meals.
  12. Do other chores.
  13. Wind down.
  14. Sleep before noon or after.

Then the whole thing starts all over again the next day. It’s been like this for a month now.  Continue reading →

Family Matters magazine interview

Family Matters Magazine Features Momtraneur!

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I’m baaaack!!!

Yep, I’m back from a very long road trip traveling almost the entire Philippines mixing business with pleasure, that is, vacationing with family and  taking care of ancestral properties all over. Whew!!! That was fun and tiring and pocket-draining. Lol!

Anyway, I’m back online and let me just greet all mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day! Honestly, I almost forgot about this special day because I’ve been super duper busy! I should’ve posted this at least a day before Mother’s Day but like I said on my previous post, Motherhood always comes first, right moms? 😉

On this particular post, I just want to share how me, Mahal and our baby Tuz got featured on FAMILY MATTERS, a Catholic Magazine which is featuring a handful of moms in time for this year’s Mother’s Day celebration. Let’s get on with it…

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motherhood comes first

Motherhood Comes First – A Mom’s Rants About Being a Mother to a Hyper Toddler

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This blog post is mostly a one long rant so please bear with me…

I was very much excited to write several blog posts about our long Boracay vacation last March. I still am looking forward to writing down all my stories, travel tips and what-have-you but I just don’t know when I’ll find the time. Life just got busier and busier that I didn’t realize it was already April and we are once again preparing for a one long family travel, this time, a fun road trip with my parents from Luzon all the way to Mindanao.

Anyway, going back to life getting busy and all… Continue reading →

Bonueva Home

Bonueva Home Guesthouse – Boracay Cheap Room

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I consider Boracay my second home. If you go to my old Sexynomad blog, you’ll find that I have a total of 30 posts there just talking about my various Boracay experiences all these years beginning 2004.  Here’s the link if you want to visit: http://www.sexynomad.blogspot.com/search/label/Boracay

I started visiting Boracay in 2004 when I first bought a Club Membership at The Panoly or better known as Club Panoly then. It was a ten-year membership that cost me my beach wedding savings of P250,000 which I thought could be better spent enjoying unlimited vacations in Club Panoly’s resort in Boracay and its other RCI affiliates worldwide. Unfortunately, the resort had some legal battles sometime 2009-2010 so suffice it to say that I only got to maximize my money’s worth for 5 years instead of ten years. After that, it was all budget accommodation for me. I got so guilty for spending such huge amount of money on a luxury club membership that didn’t hold true to its promises. Don’t get me wrong though, those five years with them were pure bliss every time I’d stay in their posh resort and other affiliates because they were still properly maintained at that time. The main resort had free shuttle service, butlers everywhere, nice amenities… the works! I’m not sure if at present they’re still in operation. I might give them a call one day and ask if I can refund the other 5 years of my supposed 10-year membership. Hmmm.

Anyway, after that long stint of luxury Boracay stay, I decided to still continue going to Boracay because I honestly fell in love with its fine white sands, amazing sunsets and exciting vibe. But this time around, I’ll visit Boracay on a budget… Continue reading →

Baguio Panagbenga Flower Festival 2017 Guide

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The Panagbenga Flower Festival 2017 is currently being celebrated in Baguio. It started on February 1, 2017 and will end on March 5, 2017. I’m not fond of festivals in general because I don’t like being with a lot of people, getting hot and sweaty (and worse, mugged!) or being caught in horrible traffic but Panagbenga Festival (aside from the Hot Air Balloon Fest) is one of those few festivals I attend almost every year. I even celebrated a long weekend here back in 2007 for my 29th birthday together with my best girls as we were also stalking Brownman Revival (we were a groupie back then, hahahah!) Gosh! That was a decade ago. (Photo below)

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