Prenuptial Checklist

I've been married for more than 3 years now. I'm blessed to have married a man who is God-fearing, patient and always tries to be a better man for the family. What he might lack in a few things is more than compensated on how he takes good care of our kids, cooks well in the household and tries to look for ways to earn better financially. I am thankful that he is secure with himself and never gives up. He continues to do more despite the trying times we've encountered especially in the financial aspect of marriage.

Some of my friends are married and a lot are thinking of getting married soon. Getting married is a major decision in one's life and I would like to share my own random list of things to know or do before getting hitched:

• Try to get to know better your husband-to-be. Join a discovery weekend the soonest you plan to be with each other forever. Discovery weekend is a reaffirmation of your initial decision.
• Silently ask yourself if you've seen him in good and trying times. How was he during these times? Have you seen him both at his best and at his worst?
• How does he handle your arguments? Did he hurt you so much physically or verbally before? If you answered yes to any of these, it might be best to rethink your decision of marrying the person.
• Have you seen him get angry with a stranger? with a relative or family? with friends? with you? Assess if you will be able to stand with his behavior on challenging times.
• Have you met his closest friends? Observe how he is with them. This will tell you a lot about him.
• Have you met his mother? How is he with her? This will tell you a lot about how he will treat you in the future. 
• Know at least a few (in case there is) of his past relationships. Especially on the reason why they broke up. Ask nicely if he was not been able to open up with you on his previous relationships. Do not be overly persistent though. Let him volunteer information as much as he wants depending on questions you will ask. (Friendly Tip: Engage in a game of truth and consequence with only the 2 of you as game participants. Ask questions that you've been dying to ask him)
• Have you met his family? Do you agree or do you see yourself imbibing their "culture"? Are you willing to give up a few of the family traditions you've been accustomed to the new ones your in-laws have grown with?
• How is he with his work? This will tell you a lot about how he will pursue in the future to make your family ends meet.
• Discuss and open up the topic of money. Ask how much your husband to be currently earns. How much is his savings? Investments? And other valuable assets one can think of. This would help you initially assess if it is indeed enough to raise the family. Do not be offended if he will ask the same of you as well. Get into a mutual agreement on what to do with accumulated assets prior to your engagement/wedding. 

It is such a wonderful feeling to have a partner you've committed to spend the rest of your life with. There might be challenges along the way but it is part of the marital commitment you've made in the entire Church community.

The Secret on Christmas Party

Did you ever believe that whatever it is that you think of would likely happen? My mantra has always been to keep on thinking positive thoughts, keep on dreaming and keep on believing!

I just practiced The Secret during our Christmas party earlier. Few hours ago, while attending the Christmas party, I was joking with my colleagues that I will win a prize in tonight's Christmas Party raffle. They initially laughed at my idea but also supported me on it. We had an agreement that we will not go home until all winners of the Christmas party raffle have been announced. 

True enough, I wasn't able to contain my excitement when my name was announced as one of the major prize winners. I got so happy that I won as I've originally thought! 

Iloilo Breakthrough

We went to Iloilo for  a business trip. It was my second time to visit the place. The first time was about 6 years ago enroute to Boracay from Davao City. I never had a chance to visit the place since then. 

I used to remember that Iloilo's airport was near the sea. I was quite surprised that we were about to land in an airport amidst green fields. The airport was relatively new - clean and sleek. It reminded me of a junior version of the Davao City International Airport. 

The city was a few minutes away from the airport. We were billeted at the Westown Hotel in Smallville area(I hope I got the names correct). My colleagues and I decided to be adventurous then as it was mostly our second time to go to Iloilo but we never had a chance to tour the place during our first visit. Included in our list of things to do list in Iloilo was to try their Batchoy, eat in a great local restaurant and try out Chicken Inasal as well as fulfill our business duties of going on trade checks, cascade to the Iloilo team our plans for next year and attend the provincial Christmas party. 

After checking in, we decided to go out for lunch. Unfortunately, most of the establishments near the hotel are only open from 5pm onwards as the area was known to be a gimmick place. We asked the taxi driver on where it would be great to eat for lunch and we were led to Breakthrough - a seafood lover's delight. The place was quite far from the city proper but the long trip was all worth it after savoring their version of Aligue rice, fried and grilled version of hito, Halaan soup, sisig na lechon among others. We even had a refreshing Buko Juice! We loved everything that we ordered. Moreso, we were shocked to see that our bill was only half of what we've expected it to cost. We had a hard time looking for a taxi back to the city but we cared less as we were fully satisfied during lunch time.

Afterwards, we did our trade check at SM, bought a few pasalubong from BongBong's stall and proceeded with our cascade to field sales in the afternoon. At night, we attended the area's Christmas Party held at Nelly's Garden. I was relatively impressed with the set-up that I would like to commend the organizers for putting up a great show. Since we were not able to eat Batchoy and Chicken Inasal for lunch, after the Christmas party we decided to try La Paz Batchoy at Deco's and had to give up trying Chicken Inasal since we were already full.

In my next Iloilo business or personal trip, I would definitely try out Chicken Inasal and hopefully visit the famous Miag-ao Church which is a few miles away from the city. 

Please Save Up

In trying times everybody needs to save.. This is a request I always tell myself and always pray that my husband will finally learn how to do ....

With marriage, one's money is in a way the other's money.. One's success is the family's success, debt by one is also carried by everyone.

For a family of four with house mortgage, bills and monthly dues to pay, children to feed and needs that should be taken cared of at a given fee, every peso counts.

I used to struggle to make ends meet. With the recent salary increase I'm glad I've managed to keep the family finance afloat...For now, I hope and pray that my husband will try to manage his finances better as I know he has started to be conscious of his spending.. 

Spend less is the priority for now..Save up and invest if can be done simultaneously or a choice between the two. I know in time and in the very near future we ( I mentioned "we" as his expenditure is also in a way our spending as a family, my savings and investment will also be his investment and the entire family's) will be able to spend less, save some more, invest wisely or be able to look for decent ways to augment income for the family.

Learnings from Work

I've never been conscious about positions, salary compensation and compared myself relative to others. Despite having many encounters, it still came a shock to me how others put high importance on titles and how they place a high regard of themselves relative to others. I've always thought that everyone should be treated with the same respect as a person and not purely base it on positions and salary compensations.

Good performance never fails to be rewarded.. It might not come at times when you want or expected it to be but the company or others always have a better way of making it up to give what one truly deserves. 

Friends may they be in your workplace or somewhere else are there to strengthen you, to guide you.. They are also there to help you and teach a thing or two which can be valuable in life.

Different Folks, Different Strokes

In our daily lives, we meet different types of people.. I tried to do my own classification. Within the categories, there are varying degrees... Here are some types of people most of us meet and deal with in our lives. They may be found in your community, office, at the restaurants, malls, church, schools..

• Friend - you can feel in an instant their genuine concern for your welfare. They are those whom you can trust,a shoulder to cry on, a confidant. Some wrongly categorized as "friend" can fall in the other descriptors as well.
• Relatives - bound by affinity or consanguinity.. Sometimes, you are left with no choice but to meet and interact with your relatives. They can also be your friend or any other type of person as well.
• Colleagues - Normally you work towards a common goal in any given situation. This allows room to choose who your colleagues are.. Rare is the occasion that your friend or relative is a colleague unless you are managing a family business. Colleagues can be any of the following below as well.
• Protector - you always feel secure when you're with them as if nothing wrong is going to happen.
• User - They might initially be friendly to you but in the end you'll realize that they want something from you
• Plastic - Fake Ones. Best in acting out. You might never know how they truly feel. They appear to be good initially but sooner or later, you'll see their true color. It might be difficult to distinguish plastic ones from friendly ones. With this, you have to go with your instinct.
• Trying Hard - They always try hard to blend in the crowd, try hard to impress somebody or everybody.. 
• Safe - the not so obvious version of trying hard.. they try not to take any stand/side.. if in case they need to, they go not necessarily where it is the right one to go but where it is safe for them to do so.
• Toxic - they are the type of people you want to run or stay away from as they sometimes can be a burden to you or drains your energy in a way.. Somehow when you're with them you feel that you are just compelled to be with them but you wish that you'd do something else instead. It's your duty to be with them rather than your want.
• Bully - They love to power trip. They love to brag a lot and belittle most of the time hurt verbally or physically others.
• Kisser - no they don't kiss your lips but they kiss your ass instead. This is a very common experience for people in the senior management position.
• Lover - Normally we only have one at a given time but for others, it might be an exception and they might have 2 or more at any given time.
• Loved - We are entitled to have as much as we want with these types of people.. they can also be our friends, they can even be relatives or colleagues.

For a Child's Better Health

I hope my son will be in better health.. have a stronger immune system and will not require any surgery from hereon..

Let's all pray for my son's better physical health..

"O most beloved Saint Gerard, who like the Savior,

loved children and by your prayers freed many from disease 

and even death, listen to us who are pleading for our sick child.

We thank God for the great gift of our son/daughter and ask God to restore

our child to health if such be the holy will.  This favor we beg of you through your 

love for all the children and mothers."

Amen

Wake Up Routine

I have a few morning habits that I have been accustomed to. Sharing some of them in random and wishing to continue these habits until I grow older:

• Pray. Give thanks to the Lord for giving us another day to live.
• Urinate. I used to urinate in the middle of the night but nowadays, the first thing I do upon waking up is to go to the bathroom to pee. Sometimes I feel the need to pee few minutes than my usual wake up time. I don't mind though as it cleanses my body from toxins.
• Drink a glass of water. I always feel thirsty in the morning when I wake up and so I drink a glass of water to quench my thirst. I've learned that drinking a glass of water upon waking up is a good practice as it replenishes the moisture lost in our body the night before.
• Give your loved ones a hug and/or a kiss whichever comes first. This habit always makes me feel good once done.

I then proceed to eat a healthy breakfast and start doing things that I need to do for the day!

Tribute to Helpful Neighbors

I've noticed that the squatters near our condominium started to evacuate the place since last week... I've lived in this neighborhood for about 4 years now and learned that the squatters area got burned twice ever since we occupied our place. As I watched them dismantle their house peacefully, I can't help but admire their resiliency through the times and started to silently thanked them as I reminisce all the contributions they've done for me..

Before I got married, I used to live with my cousin and two of my girlfriends in Tower A. We used to hire ladies residing in the squatters area to do general cleaning in our household whenever we feel that its already super dirty and beyond our control. 

We bought a unit in Tower B after getting married and we've sought the help of our friendly neighbors to transfer my stuff to our newly bought place. They were the ones who installed aircon in our rooms as well. Some became my regular contacts in case I need an extra hand to clean our place, check the leaks, do minor carpentry and plumbing jobs, "hilot"(massage) for my babies and do minor alterations in our pants/clothes. 

I hope and pray that they will be able to adjust well to their new community and may the new environment lead them to a better life.

Night Time Routine

Once I get home from work or during my usual weekend nights, I've somewhat established a routine that I usually practice. Here goes my list:

• Drink a glass of milk (or sometimes pineapple juice) - From dairy dose to fiber drink -these are my magic drinks. The importance of dairy in our diet has always been known and emphasized. They say that drinking a glass of milk before bedtime is beneficial as milk has serotonin which makes us sleep calmly.  A glass of Del Monte Pineapple juice is my milk substitute whenever we ran out of milk in the household. I've recently observed that drinking pineapple juice at night enables me to have a regular bowel movement the morning after. I've heard that drinking pineapple juice at night also increases your body's tendency to burn calories while sleeping.
• Take a bath - It has been a habit since childhood to take a warm or cold bath at night. Although I normally don't wet my hair unless I feel so icky and dirty. I tried once not to take a bath at night and found it a challenge to get to sleep thus I got up and took a quick warm bath and slept peacefully after.
• Watch prime time television shows - With the proliferation of DVD series and with the digital age that almost everything can be found it the internet, I still can't get hold of watching tv.
• Check my email and surf the net while watching TV - Thank God for the internet as I can now keep in contact with my relatives and friends who are far away. I almost forgot how it is to miss someone courtesy of  Skype, YM and other networking sites such as Facebook and Multiply.
• Brush my teeth and drink a glass of water afterwards - This routine marks that I am about to go to sleep in less than an hour or so.
• Apply facial moisturizer on my face and neck, apply eye cream near the eyes and lotion all over my body - I sometimes skip applying lotion all over my body especially if I have a massage session at home since I ask the masseuse to spread either lotion or oil all over my body .
• Go to bed.
• Pray and give thanks to God for the day that has been.
• Read a few pages of a certain book or a magazine until I feel sleepy - I always have a "flavor of the month" book or magazine which I always keep at my bedside for night time reference.
• Give hubby a good night peck on the cheek - I feel guilty of not consistently doing this habit. What I sometimes do as a substitute is to say good night to him when laziness strikes that I don't want to get up the bed anymore as hubby always sleep later than me. 
• Go to sleep.

From PLDT to Bayan Tel

I've always been a PLDT subscriber for more than 3 years now but after checking out Bayan Tel's attractive offer in the daily newspaper, I decided to give up my PLDT subscription and shift to Bayan Tel Wireless phone. Although monthly subscription fee is relatively the same between the two networks, what's good about my new subscription is that I could take unlimited calls nationwide. I even have about a few hundred bucks worth of SMS and calls allocation made to other cellphone networks. 

Bayan Tel has improved on their coverage. I'm relatively happy with the switch as I now have a wireless phone that I could conveniently bring anywhere we go. I don't have to worry about long distance calls as I could call my family back in our hometown for as long as I want since they are also Bayan Tel subscribers for about 5 years now.

Making a Difference

I need to make a difference - to my family, to my colleagues and to my friends.. Many may find it relatively simple to do but I find it quite a challenging task. 

How do I make a difference if a lot sees me as a wallflower? I'll take it one day at a time.. slowly but surely.. I've got few ideas of my own but what would really matter for me is that from now on, I will try to show to others how sincere and genuine I am in trying to make a difference as vague as it may seem in their daily lives. It's time to come out in my shell, time to reach out to others - make and show the "waiting potential" happen.

Wishful Thinking

I wish my husband will overcome his forgetful ways..

Three days ago he forgot to wake up early in the morning in time to make his flight. Good thing there were still available seats in the next flight. He had to pay almost the same price with the original cost of the ticket that I purchased for him though.

Later in the evening, he forgot where he placed his personal cellphone....

The following morning, he forgot where he placed his business cellphone...

Today, his outgoing calls and messages where barred as he realized that he forgot to pay his cellphone bill before the due date. I was quite concerned as the account is under my name and I've been doing my best to protect my credit reputation and has always been sensitive about it. I avoid any unpaid balance due as much as possible. I wasn't able to stop myself requesting him to pay his bills in due time as I don't want him to return to his premarital bad habits of not paying his debts in due course.

Just this evening, he forgot his credit card in the province... Good thing my brother will be coming over in the next few days and we have requested to bring his card with him. Currently, he is using our "emergency credit card" in which I had him as my supplementary holder.

A few minutes ago, when I asked him what time his flight will be for Christmas, he also forgot about his flight schedule! In addition, he also forgot where he placed his ticket to check on his flight schedule. I helped him look for it but unfortunately, our search for the missing ticket remains to be futile. He was supposed to be back earlier than us in time for a friend's wedding. I wanted to change my flight to accompany him since travelling alone with an infant during Christmas time can be quite a challenge. I wanted to book our flight online as soon as possible as plane tickets during the holiday season tend to skyrocket when purchased at a later date. Unfortunately, I have to postpone my plan until such time that he can find for his ticket or would determine his flight schedule for Christmas soonest.

I hope that this forgetful habit of him will be a thing of the past or at the very least be minimized. I also pray for a better presence of mind, a better memory and better discipline for my husband. If all else fails, I need to forget that these series of unfortunate events happened and accept him together with his forgetful ways.

Christmas and Birthday Wishlist

It's Christmas time once again apart from a wish list consisting of good health, more happiness and success for myself and my family, one can't seem to avoid to wish for material stuff needed and wanted.

I hope to buy mostly those in my list before Christmas but since we only have a few extra monies before the year ends and other financial obligations are of top priority, I need to delay my purchase probably early next year when we receive our perquisites. 

Suddenly, wishful thinking kicks in and I hope to receive a few in my list at Christmas time or as a birthday gift from my parents, relatives and closest friends. Since most of them don't have access and time to read my blog, this will be a game of mental telepathy for us or a situation of "ask and you shall receive" answer when they will inquire on what I want for Christmas:

1. Gym Clothes - sports bra, dri-fit top/bottoms and gym bag. I haven't invested much on gym clothes yet even if I wanted to. I have to sacrifice my vanity for proper gym attire with regular jogging pants, cotton and company shirts since I need to spend my money on other important stuff. Out of resourcefulness,  I am currently using my firstborn's big baby bag as my gym bag!
   
2. All around carry bag good for office and casual wear. The last time I bought a bag for myself was more than 2 years ago.. Most of my bags are relatively given to me by relatives. 3 of my bags already said goodbye to me. Another 2 are about to retire but I pleaded with them to stay with me a little longer (read: still continue to use despite their condition) until I find a good replacement. I've found a great red replacement thanks to my sister in law who gave me a bag for a souvenir. Still need to find a replacement for my black,cream and mustard/brownish one.
3. Comfortable High Heeled Shoes - I need to invest for more office appropriate shoes. What usually works best for me are those in bigger type of heels, wedge type and not much of the stiletto ones.  I wish I could have pairs of the following hues: silver, white, gold, brown/tan, black
4. Radio/CD Recorder/Player - My little daughter loves to hear songs from the player unfortunately she got so fond of the remote that volume of our CD player seem not to work anymore.  I hope I can find a good replacement for this to play her lovely nursery songs.
5. Oven Toaster - Our oven toaster recently malfunctioned and it is already beyond repair. We are tuna sandwich or cheese pimiento sandwich lovers in the family. We are toasting our bread currently at the teflon as we don't have time yet to buy a good oven toaster that will last for years. Hope we can find a good replacement soonest.
6. Bed Frames - Single Size and Double Size Bed Frames are needed soon in our house. I am currently seeking for a great and affordable bed frames for our extra room and the kid's bedroom. I hope I could find one that fits the budget
7. Table/Rack good for magazine and newspapers in wenge color.  We only place our magazines/old newspaper on the floor. Still hasn't found time to go out to home stores and buy a magazine stand/rack to our fancy and color requirement.After visiting my friend's lovely abode, I now started to become conscious of color coordinating the stuff  in our place. Most of my stuff in our place were purchased in my single years and majority were only hand-me-downs by relatives who already returned back in our province. Since their function was of a necessity, I did not mind initially that they don't mix and match. Nowadays, for additional household purchases, I try as much as possible to have the items mix the color scheme of our current house.
8. Condo Unit makeover. We bought our condo bare and simple. We just repainted the house and placed necessary fixtures given limited budget we had then. Imagine on the same year we got married, bought a condo and gave birth! Nowadays, I start to ask myself on when we could possibly have our unit renovated. Perhaps in the next 3-5 years once our little tots go to big school. Probably this makeover list will remain in my wish list for the next few years or so.  Or maybe there's any home makeover promo that we could participate nowadays? :)
9. Tops - casual shirts or office clothes. I think I need to upgrade my wardrobe. I hope to receive a few tops that I can use either for casual wear or for office wear.
10. Havaianas. My pair used at home just got destroyed from wear and tear for about 2 years. I have another pair but I normally use it for yoga classes and after gym wear. I currently settled with my crocs at home (used during my last pregnancy about 2 years ago) as havaianas replacement.

On Barbecue Marinade

I've tried to improve on my barbecue marinade for the past few months.. Here's my standard marinade ingredients that I want to share:

1 can Coca Cola Regular

2 tbsp Peanut Butter

few pcs of Calamansi

1 sachet Maggi Magic Sarap 

Garlic - minced and chopped

Ginger- chopped

Brown Sugar

Pork Spareribs - almost 1 K

I always boil the spareribs before I marinate it. I place salt and pepper prior to boiling to add some taste. After boiling the spareribs, I add the ingredients above. 

I welcome any suggestions you may have on how to prepare a great pork barbecue marinade! Suggestions on chicken barbecue marinade will be appreciated as well. :)

 

Great News at Work

How sweet it is to receive great unexpected news!I cannot contain my happiness when my boss announced the good news. 

I always marvel how God's hand work in our lives. Whenever we feel low, He always have His way of lifting us up. I've almost reached financial and career lowdown but I never stopped dreaming that someday, money will start pouring in and I will soon climb the senior management corporate ladder. 

It's been almost a month since I hoped and prayed for a promotion by next year to help augment our family income. I was relatively surprised and thankful that I got promoted earlier than expected. I thank our boss and the upper management who had us for exceptional promotion effective this month.

With higher position comes bigger responsibility. I am not afraid to fly and I know they will now grant me the opportunity to do so---- My wings are now ready and I am about to soar for my family, for myself and for the company I'm currently working with.

I look forward to spending more exciting years ahead. I wonder how I will look like when I receive my 40 years of service award in this company by 2040! 

Newspaper Ad Erratum: The Enfa Equation

9+5x2-(7x2)=14 

Right???? Absolutely wrong!!! 

Whoever got the same answer as the above has long forgotten the MDAS Principle (Remember My Dear Aunt Sally or My Dear Ateneo Students? )

I was embarrassed for Enfakid's latest broadsheet campaign printed in Inquirer today. I now question their credibility regarding their product claim on nourishing the brain to pursue excellence.

Would they issue an erratum? I don't think so but I dare them to do so.

Will they cancel their other placements on this particular material? I hope so!

Whoever proposed the ad and approved of the ad need a major and immediate math remedial class. 

Lessons Learned at Work

I had an unusual month at work. I look forward to better days... I've always chosen the less travelled path but I know in time my efforts will pay off. After eight years of working, I want to share with you my own random list of things learned at work: 

1. Always be a helping hand - in simple and complicated things. For you it may be nothing but for others it is a big thing. Be ready though as some may use you and some may abuse you. Take each situation as a preparatory to the next big thing to come at work or in life in general.
2. Politics is everywhere. It is present whatever position you are into. I've never been a fan of politics. Maybe that's why my growth is relatively slower than expected by others. I would rather do my best in the most sincere way possible even if decisions made will be quite unpopular or disliked by many.
3. If you've decided to stay longer and grow old in the company you are currently into, do not let someone take that away from you or alter your decision. Be strong enough and swallow few pride left. Try to stay away from that person in all ways that you can.
4. Don't lose hope. Always believe in the saying "there's a light at the end of the tunnel". Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down but never forget life's experiences and learnings along the way. Whatever worries you have at work, this too shall pass.
5. Be happy for others even if it means sacrificing your own happiness. There may be times that senior managers fail to see what you've done (or worst credit it to someone instead!). When this happens, give yourself an imaginary pat at the back.
6. Don't wait for the company or your boss to reward you for a great job done. Go ahead and treat yourself to a massage or buy that great pair of shoes you've always been eyeing for!
7. Be tenacious. It will help prepare you how to handle frustrations and hurdles in the future.
8. Some boss might fail to praise nor thank their coworkers. Never acquire this habit. Always appreciate everybody's worth. A simple thank you to colleagues inspires them to do more and hopefully would make you become a better leader someday. 
9. Share your glory. Give chance (a chance to be recognized) to others! Always remember, no man is an island  for every work you do, I'm sure others have helped you did a wonderful job. When your boss praise you for a great work done - be brave and generous enough to acknowledge in front of him who have helped you along the way. A true leader is never selfish enough to share his success!
10. Disagreements might come along the way. Choose your battles - small enough that you know you can win and big enough that matters. 
11. Champions and leaders are positioned not for others to serve them but for them to inspire others to do a fantastic job.
12. Trust your instinct - they are always right. In whatever situation you are in - be honest. This is relatively self-explanatory.

Although learned at work, lessons above largely helped me grow as a person.

TV Experience: On Milk Commercials

With the current issue on the safety of milk products due to adulteration of melamine, I was relatively surprised that no milk company has assured consumers of their product's safety on television except for one milk company. My assumption is that they wanted to detach any association consumers may have on the issue that its sister company face in China. My two other assumptions would be that it is quite expensive to advertise on tv and brands confirmed safe by the local regulatory are responsible enough that they don't need to take advantage of the situation to the detriment of their competitors.

Amongst the all the milk commercials in the market, I was relatively intrigued and a little bit frustrated when I saw Lactum's recent advertisement on television. Sometimes I feel Lactum is reacting to their major competitor's efforts - primarily that of NIDO. 

NIDO launched in succession its t.v. commercial featuring celebrity endorsers starting about 3 years ago with Carmina, then Marjorie, and lastly with Ruffa. Lactum did not hesitate to follow suit with their celebrity campaign this year and got Carmina as well. Objective for this marketing move might be to insinuate to consumers that Lactum is a better brand than NIDO? I wonder if this is so or would it be otherwise. 

I guess NIDO grew tired a bit of featuring celebrity endorsers about late last year and featured non-celebrity moms one after the other. Lactum followed suit with a lot of celebrity (Jodie, Claudine and Carmina) and non-celebrity moms alike about early this year. Perhaps this enabled them to gain a quick win as I believe celebrity endorsement if used properly will do wonders for the product.

NIDO went back to celebrity moms this year featuring the megastar promoting NIDO FORTIFIED as her one milk for her kids. Lactum countered (again!) this proposition saying that there is no such thing as a one-sized milk that fits all your kids. I was relatively frustrated by this proposition and even questioned if there really is no such thing.  I remember in previous years, there were no 1+ 3+ or 6+ type of milks and parents were able to raise kids then with proper nutrition. Ask your parents, your boss or your president if they were given a milk brand with any + or number in linked to their name when they were young. I used to remember when we were still in our early elementary years, my siblings and I used to share one milk - we drank Magnolia Fresh Milk in the glass bottle and NIDO during our younger years. 

I don't mind various milk products trying to own a perception in the consumers' mind as it is a primary need to succeed in marketing. I hope though that they would stop focusing their efforts to degrade competition in order to succeed. 

I fervently wish someday that instead of countering each others efforts on various product proposition, milk companies will help each other out and start promoting milk drinking altogether in the country to help improve children's nutrition in the Philippines.

Mission: Closet Clean Up

I wanted to upgrade my wardrobe for the past few months but since I'm stuck with my basic salary until November (read: no extra money for clothes shopping), I decided to rearrange my clothes hoping to rediscover great stuffs buried inside my closet.

I took out clothes not worn for 2 years and held a mini-garage sale with my house help's friends in the condominium as customers. I managed to sell my stuff for 10-50 pesos and earned almost a thousand pesos as a reward. I gave a few bucks to our house help as her sales commission. 

I then managed to rearrange and pile my clothes according to use: office wear, house wear, sleep wear, gym clothes, casual clothes, dresses and jackets. Afterwards, I grouped those with similar colors altogether for easy reference.

I realized that I do not need to buy new set of clothes yet. I've got office wear that could last me for almost 2 months without repeating them and about a year's worth of casual clothes.

I had a fun time realizing that most of my clothes withstood the trends and times. I still wear at home shirts from my university years. Majority of my casual clothes were purchased long before my husband and I were an item! My oldest shirt has been with me for about 12 years now while I've enjoyed occasionally on weekends wearing my Mango jeans (my oldest pair of pants) for 6 years.

The practical side rather than the fashionista side of me always kicks in. I've learned how to update my wardrobe recently by these 2 simple techniques: mix and match and bring back the basics.

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my site!=)  

I'm relatively a new user and still managing my way in. Albeit late, I am now ready and confident enough to communicate. 

From this day forward, I would like to share with you what I've experienced on motherhood, marriage, building a career, managing a household, products seen and tried, food tasted and places visited.