Truly Rich and Blessed

On being busy and sick (Plus an invitation to the Salamat Nanay Art Exhibit and the Work-at-Home Weekend Expo!)

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I’m back! I know it’s been ages since my last post here. (Well, in the blogging world, I think 12 days between blog posts is considered “ages”!) I also know I said I’d try to chronicle our homeschooling adventures on a daily basis but obviously that hasn’t been happening, for many different reasons.

Mostly, it’s because I have been busy with work and, umm… homeschooling. Ha, ha! Not to mention the routine chores, etc. So I guess, in a way, and by default, I’m back to slow blogging then.

The month of October is flying by all too quickly… After I got sick and recovered, it was my husband’s turn to get sick. And then two out of our three kids. And now, it’s me again. I realize that it’s all probably because I/we have not been being true to my One Word for this year. Unhealthy eating and sleeping habits have taken their toll on me (and I guess, my family too)! I am re-committed to correcting that now though. Lord, help me!

In between being busy and sick, we also celebrated our eldest’s 8th birthday with a (last-minute) surprise party! Wow, time really flies!

tim's bday

I want to thank Max’s Restaurant for their great service — particularly their Scout Tuazon branch. You see, we had less than a week to prepare for the party (toldja it was last minute!), and they really helped us get everything ready. Since our guests were limited to immediate family and Tim’s godparents, we just opted to rent one of the function rooms and order from their set menus. We had a blast! (And no, this is NOT a sponsored post for Max’s! 🙂 )

So anyway, I’d also like to invite you all to two awesome events happening this week: the SALAMAT NANAY Art Exhibit on October 23, and the Work-at-Home Weekend Expo on October 25.

SALAMAT NANAY Art Exhibit

philstar.com-salamat nanay

Here is more information about the exhibit, from our children’s art teacher, Dindi Manlapaz’s website: [Read more…]

Freebie Fridays: Free Work-at-Home Tips Plus An Invitation!

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It has been four months since I became a fulltime work-at-home mom or WAHM. It’s been an exciting and challenging time so far, but I praise God every day for this chance to be at home with our kids, and help support the family, too, as a helpmate to my husband. Of course, a lot of those close to me know that my ultimate dream is to be “just” a wife and mom, who works “on the side” because I want to, and not because I need to. (Yep, I’m being totally honest with you, just like Penelope Trunk says we should be.) But while we’re working to make that dream come true (thank You, Lord, in advance! ;)) I will count everything as joy and embrace the season of life I’m in now.

As we’re only ten days into the New Year, I want to take this opportunity to thank my sisters in the WAHMderful Life community for being with me every step of the way, especially when I was praying about resigning from my fulltime job. Martine was one of my confidantes during that time, and so was Mariel. Other moms like Marge and Ginger also gave bits of advice and inspiration. To all of you, even if I am unable to name you one by one now, THANK YOU! And thank you, too, dear friends, for journeying with me!

Anyway, if you’re looking for FREE tips for how to work at home, I found a FREE downloadable work-at-home guide here. You might want to check out the following links as well:

 — The Facebook page for WAHMderfulLife.com, which I think is “buggy” right now, as I can’t seem to open the link, but still, it’s a good site with helpful tips, too.

The Work At Home Wife Website — Angie Nelson’s site has great tips especially for newbies. You can find links to some of them here.

The Work-at-Home Mom Toolkit on The Mom Writes.com — Prerna Malik shares the tools she uses to manage her home and business in this kit.

Pinoy 500 — This is not necessarily just for moms but for all freelancers, especially Filipinos. The site offers a FREE email course, and is owned by Filipino freelance “rock star” Celine Roque. I got to hear Celine speak at The Freelance Camp run by The Learning Curve last year.

If you’re looking to jumpstart your work-at-home journey, I hope the resources above are helpful.

BUT, if you want to hear actual work-at-home moms speak, then come join the WAHMderful Year-Starter!

WAHMderful Workshops YEAR STARTER

About the WAHMderful Year Starter (Info from ManilaWorkshops.com)

Start the year right! It will be an exciting year especially for us, work-at-home moms/dads (and even single peeps) and for those who are planning to work-from-home this 2014! There will be a lot of classes in store for you and the first workshop will be on January!

ManilaWorkshops.com, Insular Life and the WAHMderfulLife.com collaborated to bring you the first workshop for 2014, entitled WAHMderful Year-Starter. This workshop will be on January 18, 2014 from 10AM to 4PM. The venue will be at Insular Life Makati Multi-Purpose Hall, 12th Floor, Insular Life Building, Ayala Avenue corner Paseo De Roxas, Makati City.

Our first WAHMderful Life workshop for 2014 is going to be epic! We’ll have a half-day time management strategy session, so you can eliminate stress and launch into your success this 2014! We’ll also have a morning brand & portfolio session, where you’ll learn how to get the clients you deserve.

The speakers for this event are Martine De Luna (MartinedeLuna.com) and Teresa Dumadag (FullLifecube.com).

Learning Fee:

Early Bird Rate: Php 1200 per participant (sign up and pay before January 10, 2014)

Regular Rate: Php 1500 per participant (rate on January 11 onwards)

Group Rate: Php 1000 for 3 participants (Kindly form your own group)

*Pay via BPI, UnionBank or Paypal *Includes handouts, lunch and snacks and a Certificate of Attendance *Early Bird Registrants gets a FREE Learning Circle Card which entitles you to a 10% on all workshops of Manila Workshops for 2014

To register, just go  or visit the Manila Workshops website.

I hope to see you there! 🙂

P.S. If you registered for the Ready to Be Rich: Family Finances Workshop last year, you might already know that it was re-scheduled because of Typhoon Yolanda. The new date is January 11 (tomorrow!).

Fam-Fin-Jan-11

You can still sign up here. Don’t forget to use the Blogger Referral Code TrulyRichMom to get P200 off! 🙂

The One Where I Have Too Much to Blog About So I’ll Just Post a Video of Me on TV

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The title above is self-explanatory. I know I have months’ worth of things to blog about and I don’t know if I’ll EVER get around to doing so as my days (and nights!) are more about the kids, homeschooling, work and chores now. I am always amazed (and a tad envious — fleetingly envious, thank God!) at how all those homeschooling moms with more than three kids find the time to blog so regularly and in such detail! And, and, and, seem to do SO many fun and crafty Catholic activities with their kiddos! Take a look at Jessica’s Shower of Roses blog if you want to know what I mean! Or Jennifer on Catholic Inspired! 🙂

(FYI, I love their blogs and have found many inspiring and doable takeaways from them. Many of our family traditions have actually been inspired by Catholic blogs like theirs!)

Anyway, I digress.

Like I said, there’s too much to blog about now — I have posts (in my head) starting from way back in September! Or is it August?! Ha, ha! I need to get more organized soon!

In the meantime, here’s a photo linked to a video of me on a local TV show, where I was featured as one of many others who are now working from home. 🙂 Just click on it to watch the video. (Note to my non-Filipino readers and friends: It’s in Tagalog/Filipino.)

Screen shot 2013-12-17 at 11.14.56 AM

And now… back to beating those deadlines before the Christmas break! 😉

How have you been, friends? I’d love to know what’s been keeping you busy! 🙂

Why I’m Joining the “Real Ways to be a WAHM: The Virtual Assistant Edition” Workshop {Or “The One in Which I Announce Life-Changing News”}

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Regular readers of this blog and those who follow me on and  probably know that I’m a “sumkinda” WAHM (work-at-home mom). Before I was put on strict bed rest prior to Baby Anne’s birth, I reported to the office two days a week. It was a good set-up for our family, and totally in line with what we believe is our call to homeschool our children. Yes, there were days when I was too caught up with deadlines, but we managed.

But then Anne was born and got sick soon afterwards. It was a trying time for our family, a time that I now believe God used to make me and Anthony closer as a couple, and a time for us to realize that we are blessed to have a strong, supportive “village.“ Caring for Anne while I returned to work also led us to think and pray hard about what really matters most.  It prompted me, especially, to go through some serious soul-searching, and be reminded that whatever situation we may face, God is working things out.

Well, it seems that my post late last year on Philstar.com was a bit “prophetic.”

Screen shot 2013-08-26 at 12.56.27 AM

You see, in that post, I had said that I had been asking myself these questions:

“How about you, Tina? What season are you in now? What (or who) should you be ‘`pouring your life into’ at this point in your life?”

Well, my dear friends, it took a while but God has revealed the answers to me, and to Anthony, too.

The “season” I’m in now is one of motherhood. Of molding hearts for the Kingdom. (Though I must say I fail miserably at it most days.)

Thus, I should be “pouring my life into” my children. First and foremost. Despite my imperfections, fears, failures, faults. My “yelli-ness.” My selfishness. My brokenness. God wants me to pour my life into these three little gifts (just three so far) that He has given me and Anthony.

And my work, although it is a great blessing and a ministry of sorts, sometimes makes this “pouring of my life” challenging and difficult.

So.. (and this is the part where I announce my “life-changing news”) after much discernment, seeking wisdom and prayers from wise, loving people — family members, fellow homeschooling parents, trusted colleagues and friends — I have decided to give up my fulltime job and officially become a freelance writer and editor!

I will still be working part-time, handling the inspirational kids’ mag that I’m in charge of. But as a freelancer with no company benefits whatsoever. Just typing that out makes me shiver a bit! I’m still a teeny-tiny bit scared of “letting go and taking the plunge” but just as Bro. Bo said in his talk at The Feast yesterday, we need to surrender.  We need to surrender to God, trusting fully that He is working beyond what is visible to us. 

Which is why I think it’s timely (God’s timing!) that the Real Ways to be a WAHM: The Virtual Assistant Edition Workshop is happening this weekend, on August 31, just before I officially become an honest-to-goodness WAHM!

Real Ways to be a WAHM with Unilab Logo

The Real Ways to be a WAHM: The Virtual Assistant Edition is the third installment of the “It’s a WAHMderful Life” workshops. I was able to attend the first-ever WAHMderful Life workshop last year and wrote a bit about it here (please forgive the formatting of the post, haven’t gotten around to fixing everything since my “blog-move”) and here.

This Saturday though, the workshop will be all about Virtual Assistance. Aspiring and existing Virtual Assistants or VAs are sure to benefit from this learning experience. WAHMs, WAHDs and work-at-home-singles are all invited to join the event. The workshop is proudly co-sponsored by Unilab.

Here are just some of our topics that attendees can look forward to:

  • Coping strategies for WAHM Virtual Assistants
  • Brand yourself, WAHM!
  • Transcription 101
  • Social Media and Community Management

Although my forte is more of writing, editing, proofreading and public speaking, I’m interested in learning more about social media and community management, which is why I’m attending the workshop. Who knows? Maybe in the distant (?) future, I can put the skills to good use. 🙂 I’ll be going with Baby Anne — thankfully, I already have some WAHMderful friends who have volunteered to help me take care of her during the workshop. (*Waves to Patty and Chinky! Heehee!)

To register for the Real Ways to be a WAHM: The Virtual Assistant Edition Workshop, just go to Manila Workshops by clicking here. I hope to see you there! 🙂

Have you ever made a “life-changing” decision before? How did it turn out for you? Let’s talk in the comments.

Filed Under: FAMILY MATTERS, Work At Home Tagged With: Life Decisions, Manila Workshops, WAHMderful Life Workshops, WAHMs, Work at Home Moms

Truly Rich Tips: Five Quick Lessons from the WAHMderful Life Workshop

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I wanted to write a brief post about what I learned at the “It’s a WAHMderful Life Workshop” organized by Dainty Mom and Manila Workshops earlier (errr… yesterday… Yes, I SHOULD be sleeping, I know! Bad preggy mama!). Just five quick points for now, but I promise to write a more lengthy post soon! 🙂

1. More than being a WAHM (work-at-home-mom), you need to define your purpose in life. You need to be intentional about it. You need to come up with your own mommy mission statement. I realized that although I already came up with my own mission statement (thanks to one of Martine’s blog contests), it needs some tweaking now. 🙂 Something to work on in the coming week! (Lord, help me!)

So what is your purpose, Tina?

2. When it comes to being a WAHM, there is no fixed template/schedule. Each WAHM… well, each woman, in fact, will have to manage their lives and everything that comes with it (their families, homes, work, {for some of us} homeschooling, etc.) the best way they know how. So it’s OK if this other WAHM seems to have it “all together…” and you don’t. What matters is you do your best.

The panel of awesome WAHMs, whom I am blessed to have as my friends:
Marge Aberasturi, Michelle Padrelanan,
Toni Tiu and Jennyfer Ang Tan

3. Just like what I learned from the 1st Mompreneur Summit (oh, I know I have been remiss in posting my lessons from that {yikes!} so for the meantime pls. check out Cai’s post on Apples and Dumplings here, teehee! I learned the same lessons, anyway!), there is no such thing as a work-life balance. There will NEVER be a balance. But, as Martine so aptly put it, “There will be a dance.” And I think dancing is definitely more fun than balancing, don’t you? 🙂

Martine did an excellent job with this event,
along with Ginger of Manila Workshops! 🙂
Thanks for reminding us to “dance!”

4. Always put the kids first before work. They’re the main reason (well, in most cases anyway) why you chose to be a WAHM anyway, right? (Oh I MUST remember this whenever I’m rushing to beat deadlines!) Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t set boundaries. The kids should know when it’s time to play or be with Mama, and when it’s time for Mama to work.

My main reasons (plus Baby no. 3!)
for wanting to work from home fulltime 🙂
Sorry for the blurred pic, Haha!

5. If you’re serious about becoming a WAHM, learn to brand yourself. Learn to market your services. Network with as many people as you can — especially those who will help you grow your business. Never stop learning. Invest in yourself and your business. Find a mentor. Join a support group/community or “tribe” of WAHMs, like the one we have on .

When Martine first formed the Manila WAHMs Facebook group, there were only a handful of us there.
Since I know Michelle and Marge from homeschooling circles and knew that they are also WAHMs,
I asked Martine to add them to the group. 🙂

Well, that’s it for now… My head’s starting to ache, haha! Oh, and an additional tip/reminder-to-myself, it’s never too late to start having a regular skin care regimen! (Come on, Tina, you can do this! Haha!) Thanks to Rhinna of  and for the reminder! 🙂

And thanks, too, to the other sponsors/partners for this event: St. Patrick Baby, Howards Storage World, , Xend and !

And to  for my yummy vegetarian lasagna lunch and  for the merienda! 🙂

Till my next post, folks! 🙂 Have a blessed Sunday!  

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