Planning How to Work from Home? Read Up.

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, or currently working from home as mom-entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, freelancers, or working full time outside the home and planning to work from home in the near future, this post is for you. ManilaWorkshops.com and the WAHMderful Life Community invites you to The Work at Home Expo 2015! For moms who have been regular attendees since 2012, they mark their calendar once a year for a full-day expo of talks and mini-workshops geared towards the encouragement and empowerment of Filipinos who are working from home or would like to be work from home professionals.

This year, The Work at Home Expo 2015 will be bigger and better! This event will be held on September 26, 2015 (Saturday) from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. The venue will be at the Bayanihan Center, Unilab campus, Mandaluyong City.

Morning Schedule:
9:30 AM – 9:50 AM Welcome remarks and overview of the day; Opening of the WAHM Support Central section.
9:50 AM – 10:10 AM It’s a WAH-nderful Life Video
10:10 AM – 10:40 AM Panel of Work at Home Moms
10:40 AM – 11:00 AM Raffle Draw
11:00 AM – 11:40 PM Panel of Work at Home Singles
11:40 AM – 11:45 PM Raffle Draw
11:45 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch Break / Booth Stamping game / Play Video of Sponsors

Afternoon Schedule:
1:00 PM – 1:20 PM Keynote Speaker
1:25 PM – 1:50 PM Talk: Balancing Business, Home and Heart (Marilen Montenegro)
1:50 PM – 2:00 PM Q&A
2:00 PM – 2:25 PM Break / Sponsor’s Slot
2:25 PM – 2:30 PM Introduction of next speaker
2:30 PM – 2:50 PM Social Entrepreneurship and Foundations
2:50 PM – 3:00 PM Q&A
3:00 PM – 3:25 PM Break / Sponsor’s Slot
3:25 PM – 3:30 PM Introduction of next speaker
3:30 PM – 3:50 PM Time Management for the Work at Home Parent (Teresa Dumadag)
3:50 PM – 4:00 PM Q&A
4:00 PM – 4:05 PM Introduction of next speaker
4:05 PM – 4:25 PM Fitness Factors for Work at Homies (Monica Manzano)
4:25 PM – 4:45 PM Q&A for and Raffle
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM Closing

MK TAN (SPECIALIZED TALKS)
*Only starts in the afternoon!

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM Set Yourself Up for Work at Home Wealth (Lianne Laroya)
1:45 PM – 2:00 PM Sponsor’s Slot
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM WAHM Collaboration: Where it Begins, How to Earn from It (Martine, Frances, & Ginger)
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM Raffle and Afternoon break
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Best Practices of a Work-at-Homie by Lyle of Raket.ph
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM Sponsor’s Slot
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM How to Go Global with Your Expertise by Anthony and Tippy Pelayo-Go of Googly Gooeys
4:30 PM – 4:45 PM Q&A and Raffle Draw
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM Closing

Tune in to Making Working Moms Work author’s first and upcoming podcast interview due out on 11th of September at http://www.workingmotherhood.com/podcasts/ (also available on iTunes)

Life in Pictures : Writing on Me-Time Mornings

In just a few weeks, we will now be ushering in the ‘ber’ months, if you are like any Filipina mom I know, we all get giddy and excited around what the ‘ber’ months bring, cooler days, family celebrations, reunions, more holidays to bond with kids. Before we welcome September, let me share with you several scenes from my working-mommy-world.

Work Shoes

My roster of work shoes is a reflection of my season in life. It is a mix of footwear that can take me from posh events to roughing it out with kids to errands days. Mommies, look around the shoes you wear and thank God not for the shoes, but what you wear them for.

Faith Matters

I have learned to appreciate how God has enriched culture, a culture that stretches out and gets reflected on families, how you decorate your house, how you celebrate with friendships. I am also passionate about faith and it is critical to have both culture and faith aligned with what the Bible calls as truth. Thanking God for taking me to places whose culture and faith are different from mine, tugs at your heart to have the passion to know what to pray for. Opens your eyes from what you want to be thankful for and opens your doors to friendships that allow you to share a kind of peace that can be present even in the midst of being different.

Leaving Footprints

There was this pocket restaurant near Mekong River in Laos that provides an entire wall for any visitor to leave notes. More than just looking at the wall full of notes, brings me to the walls in my workplace that tells everyone what we want to be famous for. As wives and moms, what notes do we want to leave behind and what do we want to be famous for?

View from the Boardroom

Boardrooms have a way of limiting your views. It is so easy to see yourself as just an integral part of the boardroom, blurring everything else that you need to play as your role. It blurs away your urgent need to go home to complete homeschooling for your kids, or blurs away the weather outside, or blurs away the excessive time you spend in the boardroom. I especially like the boardrooms that gives you the real view outside. It reminds you about the real reasons why you work, the real reasons why you want to excel and reminds you about the beauty of what God surrounds you with as you work, as you play mom, as you play wife.

Kids’ Imprint Everywhere

Of course, I forever thank God for my boys and mini-me at home. It helps grow me, give me more than enough reasons to be happy, and gives you a reason to get up each morning. Brings you back and clues you in to what makes their world turn. Gives you laughter days, rough it out in play days and even travel days!

Holding Hands While Driving

I married a man who hears from God, fully trusting his leadership in the family and in our marriage. I am sure that no matter how brilliant my ideas to lead are, the role to be both a mom and dad for my family is something that I have not been wired to play, my big God will always have a way of telling my husband how to lead, without me taking away his role to lead in the family. This is not meant to discount what great things God has been doing for single moms. Thanking God for being the purposeful and Sovereign God who is a personal God of perfect timing, aligned with our seasons and roles in life. So let there just be one driver in the car, but feel free to hold his hand, and squeeze it with love and a wink or smile anytime.

Terraz : OpenRice.Com Food Review

Terraz is becoming a sweet spot for our team at work, that it has saved us twice after a full day at work, by giving us the comfort of enjoyable food. It is convenient that it is actually on the same building where I work towards the end of week. Among the things that I like about Terraz, as well, is that it never gets into uncomfortable crowded resto that we can always find the best table where we can talk away everything funny about our work days.

So the other day, after completing back to back conference calls and performance review meets, stretching up until almost end of day, we promised to have a sumptuous and yummy lunch. I tried Florentine Beef Lasagna and I was not disappointed. I was quite surprised about the big serving, I knew I just had to share this one, except the bacon on top, of course, which was among the first ones I gobbled up.

The first time I visited Terraz several days prior to my lasagna experience, we just had to try all the cakes we can order. It was definitely a cheat day, as we hopped from tasting jackfruit sansrival, frozen brazo de Mercedes, Impossible Cake and three other cakes (the names escape me as I write).

I will definitely go back to taste more and have more of the quiet space we have always loved about Terraz. Going on my next blogging project: enjoy marriage, family, kids, relationships, friendships, work over food! Will be writing more food reviews I can get my hands on from the resto list from Openrice.com.

E-Commerce Show Philippines – September 2 and 3

Hear from Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Undersecretary Prudencio M. Reyes Jr., as he shares the very latest updates for the e-commerce roadmap, specifically for SMEs, in the Philippines. This will take place at the on-floor seminar theatre. Day 1: 2 September 2015, 10:30am

Product demonstrations

Tour the exhibition hall and discover new and innovative products and solutions by leading suppliers in the cards, payments and e-commerce industries. This is your opportunity to touch and see some of these exciting innovations as exhibitors provide live demonstrations at their booths.

Partners seeking distributors

Solution providers in the region are constantly on the lookout for local partners to distribute their products and solutions.

Gain access to the event networking tool and meet the sellers

Plan your meetings before the show! Take advantage of our exclusive networking tool when you pre-register to attend the exhibition. Set up meetings on-site with sponsors and exhibitors before the event and get the most of your visit to our show. Registration is free and it only takes a few minutes

Register for your FREE Expo Pass Now!

Tune in to Making Working Moms Work author’s first and upcoming podcast interview due out on 11th of September at http://www.workingmotherhood.com/podcasts/ (also available on iTunes)

Top Christian Mom Blogs and My First iTunes Podcast Interview!

The internet is swarming to the brim of all imaginable pages and resource links to help the nanays of our generation (it includes this writing working mom). And so, the only way you can prevent yourself from spending too many hours on the internet looking at perfect articles tailor-fit to your special mommy-needs, let me do the legwork for you and list down what for me, are the top 5 Christian Mom Blogs for the year. Please note that this ranking is based on my personal insights, according to my mommy-needs and not based on traffic, view or share rankings.

5. http://www.thesongsontheway.com/

The topics are perfect for those who have small kids/babies as author is a Christian mom to a baby daughter who writes for her blog and is writing for her first book. Topics are varied which covers breastfeeding and month on month baby milestones. I also like that the author is keeping a Thousand Thanks, she is currently on her 60^th thanks as of this writing. I would have loved to complete her 2015 Mom’s photo challenge. (pictured below).

4. http://womenlivingwell.org/

The page is aptly named, women living well and encourages all women in the world to find joy in God, in marriage, in parenting and in the home. The page currently has a series of blogs written to understand the Songs of Solomon focusing on keeping the intimacy in your marriage. She also has articles on choosing to have joy in the midst of mundane mommy tasks, what to do when your husband is not a Proverbs31 husband and glorifying God with your shopping list (yes, it is possible!). The author has countless years of leading Bible Studies and is the creator of SOAK Bible Study Method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Kneeling in Prayer).

3. http://www.beyondsilverandgold.com/

Perfect resource page for homeschooling moms in the Philippines, as author writes and shares about an endless list of homeschooling events that are open to everyone. It even has a review of DepEd’s Alternative Learning System and Family Discipleship, the page also covers mommy-friendly events such as Zumba Marathons and seasonal meet ups such as the Magical Easter. The main topic of Beyondsilverandgold.com is to provide inspiration for homeschool families, product reviews for homeschool materials, books, places and events. It gives more than a glimpse into a Filipino family’s homeschool journey. It is written by a Christian work-at-home, homeschooling mom who multi-tasks as a homeschool mom for twelve years, a blogger, a product reviewer, an event director and a life insurance agent. This blog’s mission is to encourage homeschooling and work-at-home moms as they pursue their family and personal goals. Michelle envisions this blog to be the go-to resource for homeschool families in the years to come.

2. http://www.ricaperalejo.ph/

Among the most viewed articles on the page are her birth delivery story, her wedding story, and mommy-friendly product reviews. This page gives us a glimpse of how the author juggles mommyhood, marriage, ministry and everything in between the interesting things she has to do week on week. It further encourages mommies like me to have that balance while ensuring not to miss the important milestones for family. Mrs. Bo surely has her readers learning with her and discovering God more in their mommyhood journey.

1. http://thammiesy.com/

The family category on her pages are full of lesson-filled points and valid questions mommies like me should be asking. The page has a big range of relevant mommy topics covered such as: Sex as a Discipline, marriage check, the oh-so-familiar mommy-guilt and even interesting analogies like Parenting the Smart Gilas Way and Lessons from the Goose Family. It also clues us in on what God is doing in our ministry as she tells us about what happened in the Arise Conference or the National Singles Getaway in Dubai.

All of these pages have one thing in common. They all write from their hearts. Mommies really need all the help they can get. Growing in mommyhood, afterall, means growing in our relationship with God, as we see His handprint on everything we have to be concern with daily.

Feel free to bookmark any of the pages listed above or this page. Tune in to Making Working Moms Work author’s first and upcoming podcast interview due out on 22^nd of August at http://www.workingmotherhood.com/podcasts/ (also available on iTunes)

July Blog Giveaway Winners

I would like to thank everyone who joined and participated on my July Blog giveaway. I am so happy to announce the winner who will take home 1.5L Salav Garment Steamer from Lazada Online. I still have two remaining days to stay in Thailand. And I am just so happy to share some of the pictures and adventures I will be writing about Laos and Thailand.

But before I do, there is another exciting thing to look forward to for all my mommy readers. Lazada Online is making available Dr. Brown products such as feeding bottles, storage pods, drying racks and more items that are essential in taking care of your little kids or babies.

Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow baby bottles are BPA-free and contain no PVC, lead or phtalates, and have received numerous design awards and acclaim from the medical community. In fact, many of Dr. Brown’s bottles go to hospitals, NICUs and doctor offices. Most important, moms like me are talking and sharing about their excitement around the improved feeding habits of their babies. I won’t be surprised if you will end up buying an item or two from Lazada Online for your babies.

As promised, announcing July Blog Giveaway winner below who will take home the 1.5L Salav Garment Steamer from Lazada Online. Congratulations to Camille Quiambao. We will send via email the instructions on how you can receive your prize.

Please bookmark this page to be notified about upcoming blog giveaways. With Lazada Online Shopping page, you cannot go wrong with choosing an item you can always use for your family. It has been found out to be mostly cheaper, time-efficient and easier every time you decide to buy online instead of stepping out of the house to shop.

Wake Up Healthier, Mommies!

Waking up to best health is one of the best things Moms can do to their families. With mommy responsibilities requiring us to get up early and sleep late, we can take all the help we can get in keeping our bodies healthy. To keep up with the demands of being a mom, there is nothing more important than our well-being. You may have everything you may want in life, but being healthy is the most important condition to enjoy life, without limitation or fear. ATC Healthcare believes in the same principle; health is the greatest possession in life.

Being healthy requires more than just working out and eating the right food. In fact you can follow a specific diet all you like but if not combined with the right exercise and without food supplements like ATC Fish Oil, these can be useless. ATC Fish Oil contains Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Eicosapentaenioc Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) which aids in lowering blood pressure, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels. ATC Fish Oil is also known to have capabilities in protecting the body from heart attack and stroke. ATC Fish Oil is recommended to be taken one capsule with warm water before every meal. ATC Fish Oil is available at P6.00 per capsule in all leading drugstores nationwide. Protect your heart from the stresses of daily living, protect yourself with ATC Fish Oil. To get more tips about heart health, like ATC Fish Oil on Facebook – www.fb.com/ATCFishOilSoftgel.

Join my July Blog giveaway here and take home a Salav 1.6L Garment Steamer from Lazada

Do you hate Workday Mondays? Read up!

I am sure you have heard about Monday Blues, Monday Jitters or Sluggish Monday. I have heard Monday called everything but I am yet to hear one thank God for a Monday! I am not sure if you realize but it has been found out that every person works at an average of 90,000 worked hours in a lifetime. By WORK, we do not just mean those who are employed full time outside the home, this includes students who labor for excellent grades, those who run their businesses, those who run the homes full time, in short, everyone has been created for a form of work, we have been wired to function as how we have been purposed to function. The internet has a lot of things to say about work, media has a long list of opinions, your friends have something to say about it, your neighbour gets to have a say on it, and even your hairdresser has a perspective about your work. But who do we really go to in order for us to find out what ‘work’ should be for?

When God created me and when Mom gave birth to me, I am pretty sure I did not come with any manufacturer’s manual or a user guide for my mom to use. It just makes sense that the one who has created me is the authority who can also tell me what I have been created for. So when God has wired and purposed me to be the working mom (works outside the home) I am now, it is just right for me to look at Biblical truths that define what work should be for a mom like me.

1. God created work

¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. – Genesis 1:10

God Himself worked. But what was interesting to see was to discover that work is something that was referred to as ‘good’. So work has always meant to make things better. Work that is not good can very well be named a burden. So when one does say ‘work’, I hope that it does not create an image of discomfort or hassle or worst, unwanted labor. Work has been created to be good and pleasant and a blessing. As we know, God does not add any trouble to any form of blessing. So if work is not something good for you, ask God and see if you are doing that which you have been created to do. Is it right for you to work, if so, do you have the right job? Are you able to honor God with your work? Are you able to balance your priorities (mine is God, husband, children, ministry, work and everything else) with your job? God created work that is meant to be enjoyable, fun and rewarding. Otherwise, we can ask God to redeem the way you view work and God’s purpose of work for you.

2. God works

God has modelled work for us, instead of asking the angels to do the work for Him. God has always been working in our behalf, even up until today, I do not think God is in the habit of checking out. He is committed to continue to work so He can prepare our eternal paradise. Scientists would know that the Earth if it moves an inch closer to the sun, it will burn and if it moves an inch farther from the sun, it will freeze. Who do you think keeps the Earth on track, or who keeps it away from crashing with the gazillion things in space?

3. We Should Work

By this, I mean, do the work that God has created us to have. If it is to stay at home fulltime, to work outside the home, to run your own business, so be it! Work is your personal Garden of Eden, it is personal and if you are not yet sure if you are tilling your Garden of Eden at this point, ask God about your calling and what God has created you for. It is most likely aligned with what God has trained you for. God has also made your calling desirable and rewarding for you. This is what work as calling does to moms like us, if you are doing the work you should be doing, you cannot go wrong and will inevitably grow and abound in it. On the other hand, if you are exhausting time, effort and money on work that is not part of your calling, you may be working yourself to death but may never find the joy and the fulfilment that only the ‘work’ God has prepared you for can bring.

If unsure, ask what your strengths, gifting and skills are. What do you find most joyful doing? How are the people around you responding to your role? Whatever your work is, it helps to have a support group who share the same values as you do. Does your support group empower you to be the woman God has created you to become? Does it encourage you to play the roles you play for your family, friendships, work or ministry? Does it create an avenue to raise your questions or share your challenges about your season in life? Does it point you to the truth that is not reliant on what majority has to say or a truth that creates a need for you to please people? Feel free to comment your “why’s” about work below.

Points used above have been quoted with permission from a Sunday worship service message of Ptr. Dems Villanueva of Victory Nova.

Join my July Blog giveaway here and take home a Salav 1.6L Garment Steamer from Lazada

Joined KidZania Go! at Rockwell Tent

Do you remember the days past when a student does not get prepared for what course to take in college until your final year in highschool? Long waiting game is over because as early as childhood, your kids can be guided what they want to become and what they want to be trained for, when they grow up. This is where KidZania Manila can help mommies like me. So off we went to KidZania Go!, a sneak peak experience on what KidZania Manila has to offer. KidZania Manila is set to open soon at Bonifacio Global City.

Since the teaser event had all kids join an hourly session, the 2pm session started with gathering all of the kids to work with art materials. Kids were given crayons and coloring sheets to complete and to have the first glimpse of what KidZania is all about. What I appreciate is the teacher ratio. They assigned a significant number of teachers to help the kids go around the booths, complete the activities, sanitize hands, tie up aprons and even help mommies take pictures.

Beebop’s Gallery is where the afternoon started, with my kids handed aprons to wear, paintbrush and paint palette to use. Kids chose to paint on the walls or on the tables. My kids got busy painting a chandelier spot on the wall. Teachers handed them mini-slides to color as soon as they are done.

Urbano the scientist took them all to the Science lab. Kids sure looked so cute wearing lab gowns and gloves before proceeding with the experiment for the day. They tried their hands on mixing ink, water and oil and got a mini Science-class/explanation around the activity.

Chika who has the will to share, encouraged kids to step into her bakeshop kitchen. With hair caps and aprons in tow, kids were given ingredients to a frost-it-yourself cookie sets. With the Kidzania jingle playing, it was not too long before kids started singing along and greeting each other bye with : Zee you! as they all prep to go to the next learning area.

Now Vita, is the agriculture advocate. Kids’ hands got dirty with soil, shovel, plants and mini-watering cans. All of these while donning farmers’ hats. By the way, everything that kids got to prepare, they got to bring home, too.

Finally, it was time to meet the one who completes the KidZania team, Bache dog – and showed everyone how it is to have the will to play. All KidZania character mascots showed up onstage, sang and danced to the KidZania jingle.

Among the highlights of the day for me, was seeing my kids Gab and Sofia sign up on the KidZania Go! wall, answering the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Sofia whose love for Science was driven home by Urbano, signed her name with Doctor before it, while Gab whose love and admiration for his Daddy had to wrote Pastor Gab. KidZania committed to have more profession booths ready in time for opening this year.

Declaring God’s promise for the great future awaiting kids of today’s generation:

Psalm 103:17 ESV But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children.

Joined Diva Channel’s High Heeled Warriors Talk

Women come in all shapes and sizes, women also get to play different roles, women are unique and does not conform to any stereotype, thus is the mix of women attendees on the High Heeled Warriors Talk presented by Diva Channel and Lactacyd at Rockwell Power Plant.

It was interesting to get to know Lactacyd’s High Heeled Warrior Personality: Heartwarmers, Social Sider, Passionista, Trailblazer and Peacekeeper. Fully identified with being a Heartwarmer who are known to be sociable, optimistic and content, mostly needs a wardrobe update and needs to budget for it, too.

Among the highlights of the event was hearing the speakers talk around their strengths as women movers and shakers.  My fave, of course, were the high-heeled mommy warriors Lani of Tweenselmom, Louisa of Art of Being a Mom, Joy of Joybites. They all showed us how to excel in our mommy gifting without sacrificing what we need to complete for our respective families. Also appreciated how they talked about their life adjustments to mommyhood, loving what they do – blogging, and their success story, attributed to a strong support group of mommies who all work at being the best moms in the house.

Sisters Danah and Stacy Guttierez of Plump Pinays also shared about body love and feeling flawsome. It is when you recognize that you are beautifully and wonderfully created by God with a special set of giftings (unique to each other). They help create women who do not strive to be perfect or who do not support anything that drives the wrong mindset around how women look like. These sisters helped drive home the point that it is okay to be different and it is okay to be a different size, after all, confidence comes from knowing who you are before God and what you can become out of what you do with your giftings.

Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.