Friday, December 23, 2016

Don't forget your toilet this Christmas!

This post is brought to you by Domex.

If you live in a house with three little boys, you'd know that the bathroom is a scary place. And if you live with that horror, you kinda get used to it hahaha. Joke joke. Our bathroom's fine! Maybe the grout needs more scrubbing (sigh) but at least the bathrooms are clean. Thanks to my husband and his favorite (as in he will never use anything else!) multi-purpose cleanser, Domex!

Despite the different bottle colors, the concentrate inside is the same color. Wala lang! Observation lang haha

Now, the holidays means we have to clean our home extra. Because visitors, you know! It's not just about presenting your house in the best way possible; it's really also about more people means more germs and you may like the people visiting your home but you definitely do not like the germs they bring. Yes, I said it. Our dearly beloved are full of germs!

So today, the day before Christmas Eve, make sure you give your bathrooms a thorough cleansing, and when all the family and friends leave, make sure you do another, even more thorough cleanup! My recommendation is Domex. I got extra new bottles of Domex (thanks, Domex, Unilever, Bridges PR, and Animetric's World!) when I went to their fun event a few weeks ago. It was a great lunch attended by lots of media and mommy bloggers.


The event was to raise awareness for World Toilet Day. Yes, such a day exists. It's even a United Nations initiative and you can't get more legit than having the United Nations declare a day of observance of the global sanitation crisis. It's their way of making people discuss toilet sanitation, admittedly a gross subject and not something people want to talk about. Not even me. But when I learned something very important about health at the Domex event, I was ready to talk about gross stuff on my working mama blog! 

At the World Toilet Day event, I learned this: "In the developing world, 443 million days of school are missed because of diseases caused by germs found in unsanitary toilets. That is equivalent to 1 month of school missed by every child in the Philippines." That's horrible! Our kids not only get sick, they also miss days of valuable education. As working moms, we are affected doubly because when our kids miss school, we also miss work. Not only do we have to worry about our poor babies, we also now worry because of work we have to leave behind. So this is an issue that should be of extra concern to us!   


Here's just three of the gross and dangerous germs lurking in our toilet:
1. Fungi, which causes skin diseases
2. Gram negative bacteria, which causes diarrhea
3. Myco bacteria, which is the cause of tuberculosis

In the last three years, Domex, with Philippine Public Health Association, Maxicare, and UNICEF, has been pushing the One Million Clean Toilets project, which aims to educate 1 million people on proper toilet sanitation. This year, Domex wants to address homemakers especially because we moms are the vanguards of our family's health. If we can keep our homes, especially our bathrooms, clean, and then teach our children (girls AND boys!) about cleanliness, then we're looking at an entire generation who will become health-conscious.


So, dear mommies, let's join the One Million Clean Toilets project! Say this:

"A toilet that smells nice and looks clean is NOT enough! It must be germ-free. I pledge to use Domex, a special cleanser that is 5x thicker than other bleach, lasts up to 7 flushes, can access hard-to-reach areas inside your toilet, thus thoroughly cleansing the bathroom and effectively killing nasty germs, bacteria and viruses."

Let our 2017 be much better and healthier! Let's keep our kids protected from germs by 

beginning proper cleanliness in our home. I already joined the #1MCleanToilets movement. Join, too, dear mommies! 

Like the Facebook page of Domex Philippines to know more! Then don't forget to make your toilet Domex-clean today! That's what I'm doing after publishing this. Happy Friday before the crazy holiday weekend, mommies!

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Thursday, December 22, 2016

Life as a working mom: Top tips to help you improve your juggling skills

I'm a working mama. I've always been career-driven so when I became a mother six years ago, a lot of changes and adjustments and soul-searching were done. I tried full-time work, I tried exclusive stay-at-home mommyhood, I tried part-time jobs and freelance work, and now that my youngest son has weaned (more on that soon!), I'm actively looking for a full-time job. I now know I'm so much more fulfilled when I'm working—with or without kids, whether I need to or not, and whatever the job may be. I just really like working!

More and more moms are working. Going to work every day gives you a sense of purpose, some time to be you, and of course financial independence. To stand on your own two feet financially is one of the most empowering joys in life and I believe every woman should have this. 

However, working and raising children can be a juggling act—and mothers get a lot of criticism for daring to be more than wives and mothers. How do you find time to do everything? Is it cruel to leave the kids in preschool or with a sitter? Is it ever possible to find a solution that benefits everyone? If you’re a working mom, here are top tips that I've used which will hopefully help you achieve the balance that works for you and your family.
My Baby Magazine job was perfect because we all worked from home and met at the office once a month!
1. Choose the right job.
If you already have a job that you love, you probably don’t want to give it up. If this is the case, there are alternatives to looking for a new job. You could ask your boss about reducing hours and working part-time. Or you may wish to consider working from home instead of spending every day at the office. More and more people work remotely, and this can help you to strike a balance between enjoying your work and being there to bring up your kids. When you work from home, you have more flexibility. You also save time on your commute, and you can adjust your working day around your parenting commitments. This is my life now! It's absolutely amazing, but I'm ready for something new now that the kids are more independent.

If you’re looking for a new position, try and opt for child-friendly options. You don’t have to change careers completely but look for ways of making your working week more flexible. I know a few moms who took a nursing job for newborns, for example. This actually pays really well! And they get to take care of cute babies, too. It's not exactly like a nanny job, it's more like an experienced mom helping out a new mom. If you love helping out people but working in someone else's home doesn’t suit you, consider other health care vacancies. 

2. Work near home.
With our terrible commute, people spend up to 6 hours in traffic. That's 6 hours you could've spent with the kids! So much time is wasted just being stuck in traffic and that makes us moms exhausted—physically, mentally and psychologically. So if your dream job is three cities away and your boss won't let you work remotely, you might consider looking for work nearer your home. 

That's my plan. I'm looking for jobs based in my residential community. I'm also considering jobs near my sons' school. It will definitely make it convenient for us because we can go to school together, go home together, and I'll be near in case of emergency.

3. Learn to say no.
When you’re single and you don't have children to rush back to after your working day, you may be more eager when it comes to taking on extra work or working overtime. Yes, do that while you can! But when you're a parent, you’ll quickly learn two things: Your time is precious and you can’t do everything. 

One of the best lessons you can learn is how to say no. You have to prioritize when you have children, and they always come first. Moms actually learn this quite fast because our lives will fall apart if we're not efficient, and ruthlessly so. So many people depend on us—and if you're a working mom, even more people count on you. We need to plan every minute of our day and if something—a project, a favor, work taken home, a night out yet again with co-workers—takes up too much of our time, it makes us less efficient. Worst of all, it takes us away from the most important people in our life. So say no. And don't feel guilty about it!

4. Make the most of your time.
Children grow up rapidly, and before you know it, years have passed, and they’re toddling off through the school gates. This is why working moms feel so much anguish about having a career. Now, I believe that the presence of both parents is vital in their children's lives, especially in the formative years. That's why my husband and I chose to work from home the last 5 years. But not all of us can work from home, so don't feel bad if you do work. Your job puts food in your kids' tummies, clothes on their back, and everything they need. That's a good thing! Be proud of it, mama!

As a working mom, you have limited time with your kids, so make sure you take advantage of every minute. Organize days out, or have fun together at home. I love going out on weekends with my kids—just a simple lunch out and a movie makes everyone happy. If my project allows it, I take my kids with me to work. 

Being stuck in traffic isn't so bad because I get to spend so much time with my kids!

Many of us are working moms trying to establish a balance between work and being a parent. It’s not easy to get it right, especially if you work full-time. However, there are ways of making life easier. Plan ahead, manage your time effectively, and try and come up with solutions that enable you to be more flexible at work. Learn to say no, and make the most of the time you have together as a family. 

Creating happy memories doesn't mean you have to be with your kids 24/7. In fact, I've found that when we spend too much time together, we get annoyed with each other. Just make sure you carve out special times with your kids and be truly present when you're together. Good luck, fellow working mamas! We can do this! 

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Monday, December 19, 2016

How to transform your staff into a dream team

I've been thinking of my former editorial team recently because (1) I'm in the middle of being interviewed for some jobs and the topic of managing a team always comes up, so I've been asked about specific stories about my time as an editor-in-chief; and (2) my Facebook feed reminded me that this time 4 years ago was me saying good-bye to my OK! magazine team.

Boy, do I miss them! 

I miss them not because they were my friends (and yes, they are still), but mostly because I've had the immense luck of having had really talented and driven people on my staff. They were much better than I was, to be honest, and my only real skill was I knew how to manage them well and make a group of wildly different, stubborn, passionate, and amazing people work well as a team.

So for today's working woman post, let's talk about turning your staff into an A-team.

In business, there are generally two types of teams. There are those that are unbelievably productive and manage to rattle through projects and churn out new products at lightning pace (like my OK! staff!). And then there are those that are dysfunctional, don’t get things done, and generally cost a lot of money.

But crafting the perfect team is something that is tough to do. Each person might seem like a great addition individually, but once they join the team, they can suddenly become a liability.

So what are the keys to transforming your workers into the A-Team? Let’s take a look.

1. Team members should make decisions together.
The team leader will always make the final decision. That's a fact. But a leader who doesn't listen to her staff or makes decisions without taking her staff's needs, opinions or situations into consideration will face a mutiny sooner or later. 

One of the reasons why teams can become dysfunctional is that one person alone takes over the decision-making process. On one hand, other team members (usually the lazy ones) are happy to let one person take over the difficult task of making decisions allowing them extra time to relax, chill out and exonerate themselves from responsibility. On the other hand, when one person just decides on everything, it will deny other team members a voice and this will make the team less cohesive. 

Teams that don’t rely on the input and intelligence of all members often find that they don’t make the best decisions: many brains are almost always better than just one. For example, in OK! magazine, which was a Hollywood entertainment title, Twilight and Gossip Girl were huge hits. I don't know why. I like sci-fi, mystery, thrillers, crime, and adventure shows so I just couldn't understand the allure of Twilight and Gossip Girl. If I had made all the decisions, we'd never have featured Rob Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, and the whole gang in our pages. So thank goodness I listened to my staff! Whenever we put those people or just even those words on our cover, sales skyrocketed. So listen to your team. They know better than you do sometimes! 

2. Communication needs to be respectful.
As employment law specialists will tell you, there are a lot of rules about how team members can interact with each other in the work environment. These rules are designed to protect individuals and companies from litigation. But all too often, communication is disrespectful or nonexistent, and teams quickly fall apart. If people are unable to express their feelings and opinions, they’ll stop feeling as if they have a stake in the success of the team. When this happens, some members will feel apathetic and not as interested in helping the team achieve its goals. 

I'm sad to say that this happened to us in OK!. When I became a mom for the first time, I was overwhelmed with new motherhood. I focused on my new role so completely that I forgot about my staff. I had mistakenly assumed that because they were so amazing, they can do everything on their own now with minimal supervision. My managing editor now suddenly was taking on my responsibilities and she was feeling the strain. Instead of talking to me, her resentment festered. Instead of me talking to her and to the team, I blissfully basked in my new job as a mommy. You know what happened next. A complete meltdown from my managing editor, who had always been my most trusted member of the team, and me feeling awful and ashamed that I had let them down. We sorted it out, but the damage was done and it took a while to fix things. That experience definitely made me realize that motherhood may be the most important job in the world but that doesn't mean I should forget that other people were counting on me, and in fact my team also sees me as their mother. Because we failed to communicate, I failed them.

Good teams spend time listening to the concerns of all people on the team, making sure that they ask questions and listen deeply to what is being said, rather than dismissing the comments of other team members without proper consideration. Always talk to your staff not just about the work itself, but also how they feel about being part of your team and how you can improve your relationship. If your staff knows they can talk to you anytime, they will give you their undying loyalty.

3. Team members understand goals.
Every team has to have a mission or purpose that each person is able to comprehend. All too often some team members are left in the dark with respect to what a particular team is trying to achieve. When this happens, they are just going through the motions, performing a process, and not really working towards anything greater than themselves. It’s important, therefore, that teams set clear expectations and that everybody is on the same page throughout a project. Shared goals create common purpose and ambition. 

With OK! magazine, we were obviously about reporting entertainment news, celebrity stories, and everything fun and fashionable from the world of glitz and glamour. And that sounds really silly and shallow. So around two years in, we had a big staff pow-wow and talked about how to make our job more meaningful. First, we wanted to make people—the fans—happy. That meant no unflattering stories or photos of their idols ever. Second, we wanted to say thanks to the stars because without them, we wouldn't have our fun jobs. That meant only true stories—no gossip, no unfair treatment, no damaging reports (unless the story is true). Third, we wanted to make our readers aspire for a life that's just as glam as their favorite stars' lifestyles but we promised to make it achievable. That meant local finds that will make fans feel they're living the fine life but on a budget. This part was the hardest haha but we did it!

When your staff feels they're part of something bigger, they all want to help out. Don't just talk about "the job," talk about the dream, the vision, the mission, the purpose. It's easier to get everyone passionate when they're inspired.

I hope these three tips will help you make your team better in 2017! As a sole businesswoman these past 4 years, I really value a good team now more than ever. It's so hard to do everything on your own! So to my former OK! staff, thank you for everything you did for our magazine, for me, and for each other. You were amazing! You inspire me to this day. Mwah!

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Sunday, December 18, 2016

OMG. Duck ham!

Our Noche Buena will be super extra special because I am serving True Deli Peking Duck Ham. And it is the most delicious ham I have ever tasted. Ever!

Kinda strange to call a duck a ham when ham is the upper part of a pig's luscious leg which is preserved through salting, drying or smoking. So I'm going to just accept that ham is now also a bird. And what a bird!

Take a look:

I also got True Deli's Pinoy Pork Ham and we're finishing it off na. As in now pa lang I already opened the big box, sliced it, fried it, and served it. With rice, in sandwiches, in omelettes, and today I'm slicing that ham into cubes for my macaroni salad. It's such a big ham, though, so we're still working through that who leg of sweet, juicy meat. And you know what—kahit ilang ulit ko nang ininit, it's still juicy. It didn't become dry and stringy. Sobrang sarap pa rin!




Mommies, may kamahalan yung duck ham but it is so WORTH IT!!! Like, mapapapikit ka sa sarap. It is that good! Plus, it's also gahigante so sulit. This is not a sponsored review! If wala pa kayong ham for Noche Buena or for New Year's Eve, get the True Deli hams. Get both the Peking Duck and the Pinoy Ham! Pasayahin ang buong pamilya!



True Deli Cafe
Victoria Station 1 South Triangle
EDSA Kamuning, Quezon City
(Beside GMA 7)
Tel no. 441-8560
Mobile no. 0917 524-3815

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Thursday, December 15, 2016

Blog Biz: 7 tips to improve quality no matter what you produce

This post is brought to you by Solane.

I've been in the publishing industry for 18 years. I started as a writer for magazines, websites and newspapers, then I became the editor-in-chief of a magazine. In the middle of all that, I started blogging as a hobby, but my blog soon turned into an income-generating activity and now baliktad na—writing for magazines is now a hobby while I've turned my blogging into a business. This post, for example, is a collaboration between my blog and Solane, and when major companies like Solane want to work with me, I know that I made the right decision to become a digital entrepreneur.


Solane wants working moms like me to be part of their "Dapat Lang" campaign, which encourages everyone—mom, dad, single or married, young and old!—to always do what is right. Kasi ang tama ay dapat lang nating gawin! The campaign hopes to bring back traditional Filipino values of kasipagan, katapatan, paggalang sa matanda, and just being good and decent folk. Part of being a good person is having integrity. For working moms like me, that means being committed to always delivering quality work. Today, I will share with you tips on how to improve the quality of your work. For me, that's my blogging business and if you have a blog, too, then these tips might help.

When I began my blog ten years ago, it was just an online journal. So I just wrote whatever I wanted and published it without really thinking about how it reads or how it will affect the readers, because back then I had no readers. As the blog's audience grew, I slowly realized that I had to create quality content because I was taking people's time and whatever they read should be worth their time.

This realization was stressed when brands started paying me to work with them. When people are paying you good money, you can't just wing it anymore. I had to make sure what I produce will be worth the brand's budget and will be useful and appreciated by my readers.

Here are a few tips on how I improved the quality of my blog so that both my clients and readers will love it:

1. Plan ahead.
Whether you work from home or in an office, planning always makes your day easier to manage. In my case, as a professional blogger, I create an editorial calendar of blog posts helps me plan out my content better. I can research, do interviews, look for stock photos, and style products and take photos of them well ahead of time. This is especially important when I have a lot of brand collaborations because I have to schedule their sponsored posts and balance them with my own personal stories. No one wants back-to-back sponsored posts—not my clients and definitely not my readers.

 2. Pay attention to details.
With my personal posts, I'm usually more relaxed. But when I'm writing a sponsored post, I have to consider the client's instructions and still make sure that what I write still sounds like me and not a press release. Readers are turned off by press release-types of blog posts. So I have to plan every word in consideration of the needs of both my client and my readers.

 3. Use the right images.
Fact: Blog posts that are accompanied by great photos are read more. So always put at least one photo for every post you write. But it can't be just any kind of photo. It has to support the content of your post and it has to be beautiful. Blog posts that have Pinterest-worthy images are also more likely to be shared so when you plan your calendar and your post, think of the best photos that will accompany your post and prepare to create them.

4. Edit mercilessly.
Write with the heart, edit with the brain. Read what you wrote at least 10 times, then look at it again in the morning. Check for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, especially on sponsored posts because your client has an image to protect. Check the links, especially if they're links provided by your client.

 5. Be visually appealing.
Sometimes, even if you're the best writer in the world, if the reader has a hard time reading what you wrote, they're not going to read it. Your content is your product and the design of your blog is its packaging. Heaven knows that a lot of blogs aren't even that well written but because they look so nice, the blogs become popular. So choose a good design—you can either download free templates or buy them from many designers. You can also hire a designer. Just make sure to keep your blog free of clutter, choose fonts that are easy to read, and pick colors that won't hurt eyes.

6. Be useful.
If you want to succeed in blogging, you have to create content that matters. It's not enough you say what you think about a product, you should also provide information about where it's sold and for how much. When you review restaurants, say how much the dish costs and where the parking is. Always try to add something useful to your blog post so that your readers can take away good things—especially when it's a sponsored post because readers are usually leery of sponsored content but if you included useful tips, not only will they read the whole thing, they might also share it!

7. Engage with readers.
Your readers are your customers. They devour your content and if you're really lucky, they'll tell everyone about you. So always open the comments section and pay attention to what your readers like and dislike. Not only will this help you plan your content better, it also creates a friendship with your readers. And once they're loyal, they'll be your best marketers ever!

I was inspired to write about these tips because I was studying Solane's 7-Point Safety Check, a system they created to make sure their LPG is the best their customers can get. I've been a Solane user for 4 years now and I've been very happy with their service and their product. I like how they have a system for quality control and it made me think: Do I have a system, too? I knew I had one but I've never written it down. And now I have so I can share it with all of you so that your blogs will also improve!

If you're an entrepreneur like me, you can tweak my tips to apply to your own business. For example, if your business is planners, your quality-improvement tips can look like this:
1. Create a production plan.
2. Design the planner down to the very last detail.
3. Use the right illustrations and fonts.
4. Edit mercilessly.
5. Create a planner and a marketing campaign that is visually appealing.
6. Make sure every feature in the planner will be useful.
7. Ask what customers think and take action on improvements they suggest.

I hope you liked my 7 tips to improve the quality of your blog and your business! If you have more tips or a special system for your own blog or business, I hope you can share them in the comments below. Thank you!

For more information or to order your very own Solane LPG tank (like I do!), go to Solane.com.ph or like their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/solane.ph.
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