Community quarantine started March 15 of last year.  Almost a year has passed and we’re still in General Community Quarantine here in Manila.  I could never forget that day because it’s the day my dad turned 80.  We were supposed to plan a grand milestone birthday party for him where his friends from previous work and his new friends he met in AM radio program gatherings, events, and radio station visits. But because the pandemic happened, we had to strictly follow all health guidelines for everyone’s safety.

The first three to four months was the quietest the country had ever been.  I honestly had fears and even experienced anxiety attacks because I didn’t know what will and may happen.  But slowly, health and safety guidelines were set, implemented, and all we just have to do is simply FOLLOW.

Many lost their jobs, their businesses (both big and small companies), experienced deaths in the family, and even had depression.  But from this same season of our lives, rose many food trends, digital content creation ideas, instant celebrities or influencers, and the most important, are realizations of what are truly essential in our lives. 

THE ESSENTIALS.

Health.  We’ve never paid closer attention to our health until the pandemic began. I realized that it’s true that health is wealth.  I make sure our family’s well-being is prioritized.  Simple handwashing and sanitizing are observed.  We wear masks should there’s a need to go out to run errands.  We do social distancing, and avoid letting my dad and the kids go out.  Health supplements are religiously taken for immunity.

Food.  We all went back to the basic necessities especially when it comes to managing finances and expenses.  We all need food.  In fact, there was a rise of food entrepreneurs in the Philippines.  That’s why we are planning to put up ours soon and make sure our kitchen is sanitized and exhausts should be thoroughly clean such as how Express Hoods does it.

There was one day or two, oh I think lately because of the holiday season (busiest work month of the year for me) it's been happening more frequently - that I forget to cook lunch or dinner for the family.  I've been too busy working at home that I don't notice time pass by. Next thing I know, it's already 1PM or 7PM and realize that I haven't cooked anything.

HANGRY.

That's how everyone would end up feeling when my mombrain (the side that is forgetful) is activated.  I usually rely on having fast food delivery or still cook (for at least 30 mins), but this option makes them even HANGRIER.  I know these band-aid solutions aren't healthy but I had to resort to them to feed my hungry favorite people.  I feel bad about this, but fed is best.

I'm so happy about this new discovery because:

• It's so easy to cook!  Just boil your spaghetti noodles and heat your thawed Purefoods TJ Slow-Cooked Spaghetti Sauce.  This means even if there may be times that I get too preoccupied with work, I can still serve heart-warming home-cooked meal that's delicious too!

• It only takes 10 MINUTES Amazing, right?  I also can't believe that I don't need to spend extra minutes to chop anything like garlic or onions.  But it's true, when I tried it, easy peasy cooking!  Super convenient, super fast!  Saves me a lot of time.

• Its ingredients are complete starring the #1TJHotdog we all love, other meats, spices, and the yummy Pinoy- Style sauce.  No need to stress out looking for other ingredients or the chopping part, because the ingredients are complete!  

• It can be a bonding activity with the kids!  Because it's easy to cook, even kids can join you in cooking without any fuss!  cooking with them makes it a perfect bonding or teaching activity.

• I can do more with less!  I can do more of my duties as a wife, a mom, and a working mama with less cooking time!  With Purefoods TJ Slow-Cooked Spaghetti Sauce, I can do more with less.  Having said that, it's indeed a practical solution for me on days when I get too busy to cook meals for my kids.

More than a decade ago, I almost accepted a job I was offered in Canada.  The job opportunity just came to me and my then-boyfriend-now-husband.  We didn’t really apply for it.  I’ve always believed that some opportunities knock just once, that’s why we grabbed it right away without any second thoughts.

We were supposed to migrate here - Edmonton, Alberta, CA

It just sank in to me a few days after submitting the required documents to our employer that this decision would also mean leaving everyone and everything behind.  Back then our eldest was just two years old and I couldn’t bring him with me.  I suddenly doubted my decision.

Part of me wanted to pursue that dream of finally being able to give our family a better future.  But the larger part of me didn’t want to leave my son.  The contract with our supposed employer stated that we’d have free board and lodging, and meals for the two-years we’ll be working for them.  But that we cannot bring the rest of the family just yet.

To cut the long story short, maybe also due to some divine intervention, we didn’t leave for Canada because of employer-related issues with some of the applicants in the batch we were supposed to leave with that year.  I may doubt my decision, but never the plans of God for me.  I knew it wasn’t for us.  We were able to let go of it without a heavy heart.  But there were some what ifs. 

Should everything had ran smoothly before:

I must now be a mortgage professional.  We were supposed to be hired for a mortgage company because of my past working experience in this field before.  I had little but for sure I’ll learn fast, like I always do.  And as long as there are CRM tools such as Blumortgage.ca that’ll make data entries easier, schedules, and tasks easier, I’d be able to ace this job.

My husband must now be a top commercial agent.  I must’ve shared about our dream house many times in this blog.  And a huge part of the planning and knowing what’s a good deal or not because my husband has a huge interest in residential and commercial real estates.  Finding a job opportunity in this field wouldn’t be hard especially if one has an experience and as long as there’s a site such as Truvizo that bridges buyers or leasers to commercial agents.

Our kids’ health care and education are guaranteed free.  This was one of the most important considerations we were weighing on before.  But I just couldn’t leave my toddler back then, I. Just. Can’t.  If there’s one regret, maybe it would be this.

We’d be eating healthier.  I know so because my relatives would always share how important food safety and high-quality food is brought to the tables in every home is in Canada because of regulations set by their Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada.  We are what we eat so we want to always eat healthy, to be healthy. 

We must be vaccinated by now.  Canada being one of the advanced and first world countries has better and faster access to health improvements, treatments, or prevention such as vaccines. 

We almost left for Canada, but didn’t.  Maybe it wasn’t really meant for us, but who knows maybe when all of these are over, we’ll pay a visit to our relatives and my best friend in Vancouver.   

“After the storm is gone” is a phrase I frequently say to family and friends whom I haven’t seen for so long due to the global situation we are all enduring.  We all wish for this pandemic to be over and we always think of things to do, well, after the storm is gone.

I like saying those words because for me, it’s like saying there’s HOPE.  Hoping for something good to happen after an unpleasant experience is a sign that we still believe there will always be a brighter tomorrow.  Afterall, the sun always appears after the storm.  I look forward to that day.

I am sure you are too.  I am also sure, you have a list of people to visit, places to go, and things to do when it’s safer to do so.  Let me share with you mine.

After the storm is gone…

• Health Check for Dad - I will bring my senior citizen dad to a clinic for his annual executive check-up.  He hasn’t been going out since the lockdown.  We don’t want to risk bringing him out without the vaccine yet.  Better safe than sorry. 

• House Tripping – Apart from getting inspirations from websites like my favorite, Pinterest, we want to finally take the house tripping we initially booked with a real estate company.  There’s a row of luxury houses we’ve been wanting to visit to add inspiration as we plan for our own house.  The houses look like those in Sanmiguelsothebysrealty.com – beautiful and posh!

• Go to Boracay – There was an online travel fair last December when flights and hotel accommodations were on SALE!  Travel period is for quarter 3 and 4 of 2021.  I already booked flights for the family to celebrate the birthdays of my sons in Boracay.   Going to Boracay to celebrate a special occasion has been our family tradition.  I can’t wait for all these to be over so we could go back to the normal we all know. 

• Travel to Japan or Korea – I am a self-confessed KDrama addict especially since the pandemic happened and we’re all advised to stay home for safety.   And I’ve always told my husband that I want to go to Korea to actually experience the culture, food, and places featured in the TV series I watch.  I also want to see, touch, and form angel wings on snow and I can do this in Japan or Korea during winter.  I can’t wait for travel bans to be lifted soon.

• Second Honeymoon – My husband and I both agree that we need a break soon, well after the storm Is totally gone!  A much-needed break where it’s just the two of us.  Ever since we had kids, we’ve been too occupied with our roles as provider, nurturer, and teacher, that we rarely have time alone with each other.  The kids are less clingy and more independent so a 7-day cruise would be okay.  We could even extend and visit his favorite aunt in Orlando and finally book a stay at Orlando Resorts Rental.  His aunt has been bugging him about it and said that she’ll take care of the expenses!  No-brainer of course it’s a YES to that invitation.

But all these after the storm is gone.

It’s one thing that we’ve decided to finally move out of where we currently live, and another thing to actually process the purchasing of land, talking to contractors, and computing all costs.  It may be a tedious series of processes in buying a house but my husband and I look forward to the brighter side.  What’s that?  It gets us excited to look for home pegs on Pinterest, look for house inspirations on some port credit townhomes listings that makes our hearts giddy at the sights of wonderful homes for sale.

Here are some of the houses we’re eying for:

Now, from the exterior, let’s paint the interior picture.  I’ve always been fascinated with the minimalistic modern Scandinavian interior designs.  This will be best for a well-lit interior.  I see macrame wall backdrops and plant hangers for my trailing indoor plants.  I can imagine lots of my big-leafed plants enjoying its presence as complementing focal points in the living room.   The couch should be comfortable, spacious, and have lots of soft pillows and furry blanket on it.  Since we’ve started living intentionally, we want to have pieces of sustainable furniture in our house so that we help the environment and have a sense of giivng back.

Now let’s talk about security.

My husband takes special note on the family’s safety and security.  He plans to install security cameras or CCTVs in and out of our dream home.  This way we’ll be notified if ever there will be any intruders, trespassers or if there will be any incidents that may happen that needs documentation.  We’ve had this unfortunate experience before and this time we want to make it right.  My husband is even eyeing for the best crossbow cocking device for added protection.  But I said, maybe a steel baseball bat would do.  Of course, husbands and dads know best on protecting their families, so this I leave it up to him.

We’re just waiting for results of our housing loan applications to make all these dreams happen.  I’ll make sure to update my blog when we get our approval, when building finally happens, and when we’re going to have our housewarming too!

This pandemic has taught us to not only be frugal and wise in spending our money, but it also taught us not to let every opportunity to earn more money to just pass us by. We need more emergency funds as it is very obvious that this extraordinary time is here to stay longer than we expected. A good paying day job is not enough, we need to start side hustles which can allow us to earn extra money that can help achieve our financial goals faster - whether it's paying off the loans or saving for retirement.

Here are a three side hustles you can start today.

Online selling

If you have the skills to craft or create things to sell, then why not sell your products online? You can start getting creative and artistic with stationary and unique gifts, household items, printable and downloadable cards or activity sheets, and more. Using the internet to sell your own stuff offers a limitless potential to earn especially nowadays that the whole world is going online because of the pandemic.

One of the best stuff to create and sell online are shirts such as these Tee Rex tee anime t-shirts. Shirts never go out of style. Everyone from kids as young as 3 or 6 months to teens, to the yuppies and seniors – both male and female – they all use and love shirts because shirts are comfy to wear, versatile and you can always refashion them.

Rentals

One of the coolest new ways to build a passive income is to rent out your property such as your house, your car or the tools you have at home. If you have properties and things that you don't use that often, you can rent it out to others. You can actually rent our anything and everything to others like what this best fiber blower rental is offering its customers.

From buildings, office spaces and houses, to power tools, home appliances and even fashion items; you can actually earn money by renting them out.

Sell your property

No one likes to get to this point of selling their property such as the home. But if you have a property that no longer generate income for you, you better let it go before its value depreciate more over time.

One good reason for selling properties you don’t always use is you are cutting unnecessary spending such as maintenance, insurances and taxes. It’s also no longer a wise move to continue paying for mortgages for a house or condo that no one lives or rents. Selling properties such as the house nowadays is so easy because there are online services such as these best cash buyers in Houston, which help you earn back of what you have invested the fast and easy way.

You can actually think of a lot of other ways to earn from side hustles. You just need to be creative and smart with your ideas.

Side hustles are actually empowering as you are having multiple sources of income and the extra money you earn can be used to build a wealth if you turn your side hustles into a job you love.

You are your parent’s first child. They may be clueless about parenting, but that doesn’t make them less as parents. To cover this ignorance, they started reading how to raise kids and even attended parenting seminars. If you think these are not enough to make you feel good about yourself.

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The most documented childhood

Your parents may not have all of your milestones listed but check your photo album or mom’s scrapbooks. Most of them are about you. You will find it amazing that your mom even recorded and kept that first haircut and even that first tooth.

The first of almost everything

You are your parents’ first travel buddy. The first hugs and kisses are exclusively thrown to you. You own all the baby clothes first, which possibly means no hand-me-downs for you! All the baby products belonged to you first, from strollers to toys. You might even be the first grandchild in the family or your uncle's favorite.  No doubt, he may even give you his precious Stndrdz collection of blings.

The professed third parent

First, you are the house in-charge whenever your parents go to an important meeting. Second, you have the final say until your parents come home. Also, your opinion matters being the third person in authority in the family.  Additionally, you are the voice of your siblings.

Siblings look up to you

Your birthright is known to everyone. With your parents putting you in charge of the household in their stead, your younger bros and sissies have to listen to you. You then become their role model. Have you ever realized that every time you lift those weights at your home gym that looks like that of Montrealweights.ca, for instance, your little siblings look so amazed?  It is because they find you so strong and a real protector.

Feel protective of your siblings

You are not a superhero, but you are willing to fight for and protect your siblings. Funny that you could even think no one could bully your siblings other than you.

More responsible

Your mom and dad trust you enough to be left alone with your brothers and sisters. That responsibility at an early age helped you grow up to be a reliable individual.  Later on in life, your parents trust you, too, to survive college life alone and even allow you to attend boarding schools like the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools.           

You are treated like an adult early on.   This makes your maturity level improves as you grow up, too.  Add to that, as your siblings’ first teacher, you can practice your leadership skills. All these make the eldest kid highly motivated to achieve success.

Advantages of Firstborn

Being the first child has many advantages not everyone seems to notice. Having that upper hand is what builds up your personality. That alone is a big lead that makes you successful.  If you are the firstborn and you do not feel good about it, think again.

Have you ever thought about life after Pandemic? Many of us have settled on the idea of the current being the new normal especially that the lockdown seems to be extending much longer than we anticipated.

When people are living a certain way for much too long, we become familiar with the conditions set and we adapt to it and accept it as what is.

But it isn’t what is. 

Unpopular as this view may be, the situation we are in right now is only temporary. Maybe we won’t be giving up wearing masks and face shields soon, but just as with any pandemic that has hit the planet, the virus will go away (or our bodies will develop immunity to it) and we will do away with the masks, and we will be able to walk the streets and interact the way we used to.

Regardless of which, there are many things to learn about the pandemic and the standstill to which it has brought us. Three things stand out in my mind - Health, Income, and the Future.

HEALTH
Firstly, that the pandemic has made us more aware of how valuable health is and how easily our lives can go poof, just like that. Our search for the perfect diet has gone beyond the size of our waistlines to being mindful of what the food we eat does to our body.

Browsing through the web in my free time, I’ve come across many different recommended diets. From the currently popular Keto diet to vegan diets. The amazing thing about what’s happened in the lockdown is how the food industry has found its way online and have made it easier for busy people like us to access our food preferences.

Nowadays, food services not only offer fast food, but also grocery items, fine food, 100% natural meat and organic food items, to gluten free delivery services, which I think is simply fantastic! It makes it easy for me to take care of my children’s meals without feeling guilty that I’m serving them unhealthy junk!

INCOME
Then I thought about income flow. Let’s face it, it sucks for the global economy. Even well-known companies are closing down in different locations, leaving behind a workforce scampering for whatever they can find in order to provide for their families.

Which brings me to my point. Income is important. And the internet brings in the solution - entrepreneurship! The web carries with it a good wealth of resources and options to help us put together a business. What a great time to teach the kids how to put up and run one!

For instance, I was going through this website, motohash.com, and thought doing shirt designs is a great idea for young startups.

Kids love shirts! They wear them all the time. And what better way to come up with designs for them but to ask the wearer themselves, and they can take part in the creative process while you teach them the other aspects in running the biz.

FUTURE
Lastly, I thought about the future. Regardless of whether we are staying home the entire time, our clocks have not, so we can’t shove planning for the future aside while we wait this pandemic out, can we?

Have you ever imagined the things you’ll do once your nest empties? Do you dream of traveling with your husband? Do you have a bucket list of things to do when you finally have the time to do them? How about where you plan to settle and live the rest of your years?

Hawaii is nice. I came upon Soldiertosoldierhawaii.com, which is a real estate site that has an incredible listing of abodes to consider. I can’t help but imagine my older self sipping on fresh juices while hanging out at beaches every day. What a life that would be! That’s just one option, of course.

Being in a pandemic is not an excuse not to continue living. Every situation offers opportunities and it’s up to us to take them and make them into something much more. Life is life. We have to learn to ride its waves and learn the lessons and pass these wisdom to our children.

Motherhood is the most fulfilling yet the busiest job. Everyday We are engaged in so many duties to perform. We do household chores left and right, take good care of our kids, do the laundry, prepare delicious meals for our family and wash the dishes. Mostly, We are also the finance manager who balances the expenses of the family. Multi-tasking is really our thing.

MY DAILY ROUTINE

Let me first share with you my usual everyday routine. My day starts at 7AM. I prepare our breakfast, as well as the things that my husband needs for work. Of course, I should not forget the three most important things he should be wearing while at work during these days. Face shield, face mask and alcohol to keep him protected.

After eating and when husband leaves for work, I wash the dishes then take a bath with my little one. Following that we play with toys, read books, and teach alphabet, numbers, and shapes.  Without realizing it, it’s time for lunch.  I cook for lunch which will also be served for dinner.  This practical tip is to help save time, effort as well gas consumption when preparing dishes.

Yesterday, while waiting for our dish to be cooked, I wondered how meat processors pack our meats. I learned a lot online how this is done by Stemmlers Meat Processors.  Now I understand and am truy amazed how much hard work is put into it.

After lunch, dish duties, my favorite, and make my little one take afternoon nap.  That’s the only time I get to do my thing like laundry or my content creation and PR work.  Snacks follow when my child wakes up.

Dinner time is my most-awaited because it’s when my husband arrives and we get to talk about how our day went.  And when everyone’s asleep at night, I get to have my peace and quiet where I accomplish a few things for my blog or small PR consultancy business. 

To some, my typical day may sound trivial, but there are some things I want to share on how to still keep sane and how to practice self-love amidst the busyness of our mom-life.

• DON'T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF - Ask for help. Yes we are strong but we are only human . Let your husband or anyone around the house takeover. Take a deep breath and have some rest.

• MAKE A WEEKLY BUDGET and MEAL PLAN -  This is to avoid unnecessary expenses and food waste.

• INVEST IN ORGANIZERS - If everything is well-organized, this may save time and give you inner peace when you are doing the house chores.  If you are planning to make furniture pallets for your home, consider having plastic pallets instead of wood because it is more durable and easier to clean. You may check Jeco Plastics for customized plastic pallets.

• CONSIDER EMP SHIELDING - This is to ensure that your home is protected from lightning, power surges and electromagnetic pulse.

• HAVE SOME ME-TIME - Put yourselves back, freshen up and give possible chances to cope up with all the obstacles that might come your way.

“We Mothers might get tired physically everyday, but our love for our family will never be fade.”