TOPAZ HORIZON

Hello everybody! I disappeared again. This July has been super busy. Lots of changes, lots of work happening. Hence the blog neglect. That's not a good thing. This blog is my job now so I should never neglect it!!! That's one of the things I learned in my 10 years of blogging. So I was inspired to write this post for you!

Thank you all for the warm wishes that you left on my 10th anniversary post last May, my blog's anniversary month. Yes, 10 years is a lot of time doing something and I'm glad the time I spent on blogging has reaped rewards. I got a few emails from readers who said that they're just beginning to blog and they want to know if I had more advice than the ones I gave the last time. So, because I'm feeling generous, instead of doing a workshop and charging people to unlock my blogging secrets, I'll share them here in my second Blog Biz episode!


Dear new bloggers, here are 10 things I learned from 10 years of blogging:

#1
The story is important.
Blogging is storytelling. Even when you create a blog that's just full of images, you can tell a good story. With blogs, you have so much space to create a story, something other media like magazines and newspapers and other social media platforms can't offer. Unlike with print, for example, you're not limited by a word count, a number of pages, an editor, and an editorial budget. You can do whatever you want with your blog so nothing should hold you back from telling a good story.

Why must it be a good story? Well, because online readers are fickle. If you can't hold their attention, they can quickly move on to another tab on their browser. So make your content count! Tell a good story!

#2
Readers expect honesty.
Blogs started as online diaries. I guess that's what made them so popular. They were a peek into someone else's life, they were a bridge across worlds, they were a path to friendships. Now, they're also brands, businesses, and platforms to promote one's pursuits and advocacies. Blogs have really evolved! But what remains is the expectation of readers that you're being honest with them, that what you share is authentic. So be honest, be true, be real.

#3
Love is all you need.
Blogging isn't for everyone. Its very nature of sharing does raise concerns—it invites criticism and ridicule, even hate. There are privacy issues, too. So if you come into blogging hoping for fame and riches but you're not ready for the trolls, the fans, the dedication, and the work, you will not succeed in blogging. You need to love blogging and to love it so much, you're willing to put in the hours and face the consequences of putting yourself out there. You gotta love it! Love for blogging is what will keep you going.

#4
Discipline and deadlines mean more than inspiration.
Before my kids came, I had no problems with blogging. I blogged whenever inspiration hit me and it hit me often. Now that I'm a mom of three, however, finding time to blog is near impossible. And that's a problem. Readers like checking back for new updates. If there are none, they get disappointed and then they don't come back. I know this from experience. That's why I love my dear Loyal Readers—thanks for always checking back!

Don't wait for inspiration. Blog regularly. Even once a week helps. When readers know the times you blog (Mondays? MWF? Weekdays? Every day at 10am?), they come back for more. It helps to create an editorial calendar and a schedule of deadlines to keep yourself blogging. This is advice I need to follow!!!

#5
Giveaways don't work.
Nope, they don't. They only attract the wrong market—professional contest joiners who really don't care about you or your blog anyway. You want to attract readers who will be your friends, and you do that with good, honest, regular content.

#6
Keep it clean, people. Keep it clean.
Okay, hate blogs get a lot of traffic. So if that's what you want, skip #6. I've done my few hate posts, rants, and tantrums. It's been 10 years. I'm still trying to edit and delete my posts from the early years, when I was such a whiny brat. I've learned that negativity attracts negativity and there's a lot of negative people in the world. I've found that even though I enjoy gossip, I don't like it on my blogs. I've done it—I used to be an entertainment journalist—and while those posts got lots of hits, I also got a lot of hate. I don't want that. You don't want that either.

#7
The world is still full of good people.
Now don't let what I wrote above scare you from blogging. Yes, there's a lot of hateful people in the world, but I've discovered to my complete thrill and joy that there is more love, compassion and generosity, too. I've found real friends through my blog. Complete strangers have sent me emails of such profound wisdom and love, it's crazy. Especially when my babies were born and when my mama died, I truly felt the love and hugs of people from all over the world. Emails, presents, comments! God bless my readers, every single one of you!

#8
Blogging can open doors.
I'm sure you know this one, considering the proliferation of bloggers who are now formidable brands with followings that make them celebrities. I don't see myself as a famous blogger. You only need to check my social media stats to confirm this. But blogging has opened so many doors for me. My blog is now our main source of income. I've done videos for brands. I represent brands as an ambassador (the photo above is for the Biogenic Alcohol campaign). I've done PR and marketing for brands, too. My latest gig: I am now a public speaker. Despite my awful voice and my propensity to nervous gestures onstage, people seem to enjoy my talks. Either that or people really like my blog! So put yourself out there through your blog and see what unlikely doors will open for you!

#9
Open up. Be brave.
Because blogging is all about sharing and you can't share if you're afraid.

#10
Life first.
If your blog is already a business, of course you need to focus on it. But the foundation of your stories is your life so if you're parked all day in front of your computer, what life will you talk about? I noticed that even though I feature a lot of sponsored posts, it's my posts on my life and my family that get the thousands of hits. Why? Let's go back to #2: Readers want authenticity. They want to see the real you and the real you needs to have a life. So live a real and full life. That's the kind of life worth writing about!

So there you go, dear Loyal Readers! The 10 things I learned from 10 years of blogging. How about you—what are your lessons? Do share!

Hello everybody! Here comes the traditional post-birthday photo essay!!!

But, first, a refresher: My youngest boy, Piero, celebrated his second birthday last Sunday. It was a tiny affair, just us the parents and the bros. Since the kids wake up really early, we (that's Vince and me) had no choice but to do the birthday party before 8am. So we're super groggy and sleepy while the kids are so energetic and excited!

Look! Super ready na si Piero! Nice shirt, nice hair!

And the cake is here! Happy birthday, Piero! Happy birthday, Piero!

Happy birthday, happy birthday...

Happy birthday, Piero! Now make a wish, sweetheart!

And may all your heart's desires come true!

He's so pogi!

He's so happy!

Now for the requisite attempts at family photos:

That wasn't so bad, although I should've brushed my hair haha

Piero and his Papa.

Piero and his dinosaurs. We were supposed to have a Hulk Smash! party but I didn't have the energy to make Hulk stuff. So, since Piero loves Peppa Pig's brother George who loves dinosaurs, we did dinosaurs!

And here come the gifts!

You can tell he's pretty pleased with his big gift!

But he let his brothers assemble it because he's the boss like that.

Then playtime!!!

They spent the rest of the day playing! And for the next few days, too. Our house is littered with toy cars and baby boys yelling and having a grand time. So it's still Piero's birthday here at home!

Happy birthday again, dear Piero! We love you!

Today, while the house is quiet as my little boys are sound asleep, I'm going to stare at my littlest one bathed in the faint light of my computer screen and bless him.

From left: Iñigo, Vito, and birthday boy Piero.

And now I feel like I shouldn't have revealed that. I don't talk much about my youngest. I'm only beginning to process the reasons why, now that he's 2.

It's been strange having babies in the time of social media. In the beginning, with Vito, wow, I practically blogged his whole life for everyone to know. He smiled today! He ate today! He rolled off the bed today yikes! He sat up today! He crawled, he stood up, he walked, he did everything! I don't know if it was because I was a first-time mom in the age of blogging, but it felt really good to share my mommy life to everyone, mostly because people were so interested.

Then my second baby, Iñigo, was born. While I didn't feel the same urge to share (because I was just too tired haha), Iñigo was the crowd favorite. Of my three children, he's the one with the fans club. Just as people clamored for Vito, Iñigo also had an audience who asked for photos and updates. In fact, he's the brand favorite, the one brands wanted to throw parties for and gifts at.

Then Piero came. No one was happy to find out I was pregnant for the third time (sorry, link is dead - my mommy blog is hidden now). Just me and Vince. We were over the moon to be pregnant again, but people treated us like we were irresponsible. It's very strange to be in your late 30s, earning really well, with a fully owned house and car, and people still treated the news of your third pregnancy like you were teenagers who had an accident. "Was this planned?" was a question I got a lot. Yes, Piero was planned, anticipated, and welcomed with so much love! And since Piero turned out to be so lovable and absolutely perfect, everyone soon fell in love with him, too.

Piero loves books, Iron Man, The Hulk, and cuddles.

That is, people fell in love with him when I shared him, which I don't do as often as I did with Vito and Iñigo. Because no one initially welcomed Piero, I'm very protective of him. I feel like he is for me and my family alone, not for sharing, as I had done with his brothers before him. Piero, therefore, enjoys just a wee bit more privacy than his older brothers. People forget about my third boy. When they see him, they go, "Is this Vito? Oh! You have a third one! What's his name? Pierre? Perio? Pietro? Pedro? What?" Then they promptly forget and we have the same conversation when we meet again.

This is okay. Surprisingly, it's okay. When I still had just one baby, I used to get so annoyed when people didn't get Vito's name. "It's Vito. V, I, T, O. It's not Veto. It's not B2. It's not Don Vito. It's not Jovito. It's just Vito." But now, I don't even tell people Piero's name. "He's my son, yes," and I leave it at that.

Since I was too busy feeding his older brothers at meal times, Piero learned how to feed himself.

I don't want to speak for mothers everywhere who treat their youngest differently. I'm just speaking from what I'm going through. It's been said that the youngest is the closest to the mother's heart. That's not really true. All my boys are dear to me, but Vito and Iñigo are adored enough. In my experience, I dote on Piero extra because no one else dotes on him. Well, Vince and I do. The grand expectations are always on the firstborn. The firstborn is who you share with everyone—it's him everyone asks about: "Is he walking, talking? Is he going to school? Which school?" No one asks those things with the youngest child. It's the firstborn who gets the gifts, the attention. And since people seem to have decided that in their opinion Iñigo is the cutest, they adore him, too. But no one else adores Piero. He's the one who slips through the cracks.

And you know, that's okay with me. I'm not demanding for people to treat him like a star. In fact, I'm grateful that I finally get to revel in motherhood without anyone watching and poking their nosy nose into it. I feel like Piero's the one I don't have to share with anybody. He's the one people left for me to enjoy. And I've talked with other moms who confess to me that they also finally enjoyed motherhood with the third child because people leave them alone now. I guess people think you already know what you're doing by the third kid! Or they don't care anymore. And while this initially bothered me, now I super love it. I do! So much freedom!

His favorite place in the world is in my arms.

I guess I also understand now how my Mama adored my younger siblings. While my older brother and I were pushed to succeed, Mama coddled my younger brother and sister. They were her babies, the light of her life, especially my younger brother. She was a more relaxed mother with them. I never resented this because, well, they really were adorable. But now that I'm a mother, too, I get it. The older children bear the weight of everyone's expectations so of course they're the ones you push and mold and discipline and let go. The younger children, well, no one thinks about them so I guess I can spoil them extra. Like, when Vito goes to school, of course he has to go to school! When Vito graduates, of course he has to graduate! When he leaves home, of course he has to leave home! But when Piero goes, my heart will crumble to dust because there'll be no one left. No, not one.

I'll need to change this attitude, of course. We can't have me raising a spoiled brat. We can't have me treating one son differently. But he's only 2. And I'm going to baby him while I still can. Because they do grow so fast, and my heart is already crumbling at the edges because he's in such a hurry to grow up and be just like his brothers.


Happy birthday, my darling Mr. P! Mama loves you so very much! Tomorrow, I'll write a proper birthday post. Maybe I'll talk about how wonderful you are, and how smart and sweet, how tough and melodramatic you are. Or maybe not. Maybe I'll keep it all in my heart. All I know is you are what this family needed, and we love and appreciate all the chaos and joy you bring every day. God bless you as you have blessed us! We love you, our perfect P!

Hi everyone! Remember when I said I appeared in a print ad? Well, it's out!

I have a print ad, you guys! 😍 I'm with fellow moms and bloggers Nikki Tiu of @askmewhats and Jackie Go of @gojackiego in our @Biogenic_Alcohol ad in the June issue of Good Housekeeping. I'm gonna cut this page and clip it and tell my kids about it! 😄 #BiogenicAlcohol #MyBiogenicWorld #BiogenicMomsReveal #THxBiogenic

A photo posted by Frances (@francesasales) on Jun 18, 2016 at 12:45am PDT

Yey de yey yey!

Okay, my little kilig story of the month done, let me show you a few snaps from the Biogenic photo shoot that didn't make it to the ads. Like these of me gardening:

It is safe to wear white in a fake garden.

Me. Gardening! Imagine that! Well, if you must know, I grew up in the hills of Antipolo and my parents planted all over the empty lots on our street. Kamote, papaya, mais, coconuts, mango, calamansi, sili, and flowering shrubs and trees, too. My parents were amazing at making plants grow. We ate salads picked from dahon ng kamote Papa planted on the lot across our house. We played hide and seek amongst the corn stalks. We made sawsawan with the calamansi and sili from our garden. Good times, good times. So yeah, I know my way around a garden!

I live in a condo now, though. So no more gardening for me. Although if we ever do move to a house with a big yard, I'd love to putter about a lush vegetable garden again. My husband and our kids would love that, too! Playing in the dirt has lots of benefits: it stimulates sense of touch, it provides an opportunity to talk about the ecosystem, and microbes in the soil improves mood. It's fun!


Most people think playing in the dirt is dirty. Well, sure, but it's relatively safer than being with other people! Now that the rainy season is upon us, that means people get stuck in rooms together more, which then allows illness-causing bacteria, viruses, and germs to be spread more. My kids are currently recovering from a really bad cold. I really hate it when they're sick! My poor babies!

That's why I need to be more vigilant! But that's really hard to do especially since the boys are now in school. They have to be vigilant of their own health, too. Here are a few things I do to keep my kids safe from germs at school and anywhere outside our home:

1. Teach kids about germs.
I dunno if you watched the cartoon show G.I. Joe, but they always used to say, "Knowing is half the battle." My kids know about germs—microscopic monsters that are everywhere and cause sickness. So they know better than to eat food dropped on the floor, for example. They also know that they need to cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough. They also know that they need to wash their hands or use sanitizer before eating and after using the toilet. We can't be with our kids 24/7 so we need to teach them not just how to protect themselves but also why. When they know why, they'll be more willing to do it.

2. Wash hands thoroughly.
Nothing kills germs better than a thorough washing of hands with antibacterial soap. You wash palms, fingers, under nails, the backs of hands. Wash every surface!

3. Use hand sanitizer.
Handwashing, sad to say, is not usually doable when you're not home. A washroom is almost always far away so the next best thing is a hand sanitizer. We keep a little spray bottle of Biogenic Alcohol in my purse and in the kids' grooming kits. Very convenient in killing germs! We also use it to clean restaurant tables and toilet seats.

Me at the dental clinic and the dental assistant said, "Don't worry. This is a sterile environment."

4. No sharing.
What?!? Yep. No sharing. Don't bite into someone else's sandwich. Don't drink from someone else's water bottle. Don't borrow someone else's pencil. And vice versa. Use your own stuff! It will really help cut down on touching surfaces that most likely are teeming with germs. Because my kids are still in preschool, this is really difficult. They LOVE sharing. Plus, all the kids are playing with the same toys and reading the same books and hugging and being adorable. So... This is really hard!

5. Keep them healthy. 
Healthy children have strong immune systems that can resist a lot of germs. My kids are up to date with their vaccinations. That's really important in arming their bodies against illnesses that used to kill and maim millions of children. Feed them good food, let them exercise outdoors, and make sure they get lots of sleep. I do have a hard time making them eat healthy food every day. It's really a struggle. I just supplement with multivitamins and probiotics.

I love that meme that says, "If you love them, let them sleep." It's my favorite gift, too!

There! Just a few of my tips to keep my kids protected from germs while they're out and about. How about you? Please share some tips!

To know more about how Biogenic helps us mommies keep our kids safe even though we're not around, like their Facebook page, Official Biogenic Alcohol. You can also follow them on Instagram at @Biogenic_Alcohol and hashtags #BiogenicAlcohol, #MyBiogenicWorld and #BiogenicxHygiene.

My longtime readers know I love shopping online. But, ladies, since having three kids, my body has changed dramatically. I now need to fit the clothes first before I buy them. In days of long ago, I was a size 2 to a size 4. Now? Now??? I'm anywhere from a size 8 to a size 12. It's crazy! I really need to fit the clothes first now. Hence, if in the past couple of years you seem to see a lot of posts of me shopping in Mango, that's because, yes, I shop a lot at Mango!

And lucky me, Mango is on sale! Up to 50% off! It's their End of Season Sale so expect to see all their spring and summer collections with prices slashed. The sale started last week. I checked out the sale last weekend and here's what I saw:

Dozens upon dozens of shirts and blouses.

Trousers and culottes start at P795!

Skinny jeans! I didn't fit in any of them, though. Sigh!

Boyfriend jeans and distressed jeans!

Yes, there were lots of dresses, too.

These off-shoulder dresses were on sale.

Shoes and bags everywhere!

Accessories, too!

While there was a lot of stuff to love, I found myself drawn to everything stripes! These are my favorites:

I love stripes. Stripes and polka dots actually, but I love stripes super duper. So I spent an hour picking out and trying on the striped outfits:

My picks hanging on the dressing room wall.

Check out my new Mango dress:

It's not halata in this photo but this is a ribbed dress so it's striped!

The Mango End of Season Sale also applies to Mango Man, Mango Kids, Mango Touch (shoes, bags and accessories) and Mango Sport & Intimates. So when you're done shopping for yourself, hop on over to the other Mango shops and buy more stuff for your friends and family!

But I've been receiving lots of stuff from nice brands (thank you all so very much!) and I guess I should do a few reviews. I'm not very big on doing reviews, to be honest. Three reasons:

1. Reviewing products takes so much time and effort! Like weeks and weeks. I don't know how beauty bloggers do it. You ladies have my respect.
2. Reviews are so personal. My experience may not be the same as yours. So something that I loved or hated may be something you hated or loved.
3. Some readers can be so hateful when I do reviews. Like, they tried a product or service based on my review, and they didn't get the same result. Like that time I reviewed Foot Appeal and I was so happy that my feet peeled so disgustingly to reveal perfectly baby-soft feet. Naku, si complainant, hindi raw nangyari sa paa niya so nagalit siya sa akin. As in.

That's why I'm hesitant to do reviews on my blog now.

But I did recently do a product review for the P&G community website, Everydayme.com.ph. I did it because P&G said I'll be called one of their "Family Life Experts." Naks. Thanks! I confess that "family life expert" conjures up images of perfect housewifery. Everyday me, I must admit, is still struggling with home management. As I said before, I'm a fantabulous career woman but home manager? I'm terrible at it. But I think that doesn't invalidate me as a mother and as a woman. I'm an expert at loving my husband and children. I bet my whole life no one else in the entire world can love my husband and kids like I do. That's the only qualification one needs to be a Family Life Expert!

So back to my Everydayme review. Spoiler: I love the Oral-B Ultra Thin Toothbrush with Green Tea (my review here). I need to replace it na actually—every three months, diba?—but I can't find it in the grocery stores I shop at. It's that in-demand!

Anyway, I will be doing a couple of reviews soon on my blog. Yes, even though I'm now hesitant to do reviews. Why? Because I've really been using a lot of amazing new stuff and I want to share with my dear Loyal Readers! Plus, this happened on my Facebook page:

Click here for full comments.

So now I have to review that lash serum!

Do you like reviews, dear Loyal Readers? Is that one of the reasons why you read my blog? I'm in the process of evaluating this blogging thing I do. What should I write about, how often, stuff like that. If you have any suggestions, I hope you can tell me! Thanks so much!

These photos are from Vince's birthday last February. He really doesn't like being celebrated so he gets all bothered on his birthday or Father's Day. Vince thinks it's all one big hullaballoo over something so common (because everyone has a birthday) or over something all fathers should be and do (fathering should be normal, not extraordinary).

But I like to celebrate him anyway, us and the kids, because we love him so very much. We would be absolutely nothing without him. He's a great husband and such an amazing father. He's the fun parent, the smart parent, the cultured parent on top of being a hands-on parent, too. My boys are the fun-loving, happy, intelligent, endlessly curious, and even sophisticated boys that they are because of their Papa. They're exact replicas of him!

I knew I was lucky when this guy fell in love with me and insisted on marrying me. But when we had kids, I was off-the-charts amazed with him. I've been with him 11 years before we became parents so I knew him pretty well, but when we had kids, I saw even more love, wisdom, patience, gentleness and compassion from Vince. He is a better man every day, and every day I fall more in love with him.

Our boys can't get enough of him, too! Their whole world is all about making their Papa proud and happy. They jump on him, clamber all over him, compete and demand for his attention and approval. They're just all over themselves. It makes my mama heart swell with happiness.

We're so lucky to have this man in our lives! What a gift, a blessing, and a treasure. I love him so very much!

Happy Father's Day, Vince. God bless you and God keep you. My heart is overjoyed that you love me! And I'm beyond grateful you gave me children and that you love and care for them 24/7. Parenting is a hard job but I'm having the adventure of a lifetime because I have a true partner in raising our kids. Thank you for being there!