A Year of Many Firsts -- Thank You, 2017!

"It is not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratitude that makes us joyful."

2017, you were awesome! I think this is one of the best years for my family, and for myself. I have so much to be thankful for and I honestly don't know where to start.

read more

Musings at 44

Fun Friday:  Celebrations

"Be the best version of you."

I'm still striving to be a better version of myself. Conscious effort talaga! As I celebrated my 44th last week, I realized not much has changed over the past year. Remember my last post here as a mid-lifer? Ganun pa rin naman. Priorities remained the same, but I guess dumami yung goals and wants ko for myself and my family.

read more

Keeping Up With This 40ish Mom

Second Friday of the month:  Personal / Motherhood

My lifestyle has evolved in a major way as I hit 40. It's only now that I took notice and appreciated all these changes in my life as a forty-three-year-old wife, and mother of the boy and the girl. I'm not going to turn serious here ha, but rather finding humor in the simple joys and pleasures that I've been experiencing lately, thanks to a change in perspective and channeling the law of attraction. Good vibes only, okay. It really works!

read more

Mom-Friday OOTD: Events and Tambay Mode

Let's talk about fashion muna.  It's been almost two years na pala since my last Mom-Friday OOTD feature!  I usually post on Instagram if I'm in the mood to take a selfie or OOTD shot. I am terrible at taking selfies and most of my clothes naman are not branded and not IG worthy. Some friends ask me about my outfit posts from time to time so I share my fashion finds as well. This feature is especially for those who don't follow me on Instagram -- kaya follow me na @mymomfriday so you won't miss the few times I pose in my OOTD, heeheehee!

Blouse and Culottes:  Uniqlo

Pointy flats:  Anthology

read more

Family Friday: Taking a Break from the Hustle

Second Friday of the month:  Motherhood / Lifestyle

The New Year of the Fire Monkey has just entered last Monday and my whole month is already full of activities. Looking over my calendar makes me feel stressed and excited at the same time. Lots of things to look forward to, really. Between home management, homeschooling the boy, tutoring the girl, and squeezing dates with J, I know I need to carve out some time for myself. Remember: happy wife, happy life. =)

read more

Six Years and Counting...Keep Calm and Blog On

Second Friday of the month: Blog / Personal

Tomorrow, May 9, this blog will turn 6. 
Wow! THANK YOU for being a part of my blogging journey. Six years. Honestly, I don't know how long I can keep this up! I just write and share whatever I want every week. As long as you are reading, I will keep on writing.

read more

Family Friday: Just Another Candle on the Cake

Second Friday of the month: Personal / Motherhood

My birthday came and went. It was just like any usual Monday, even more stressful actually, kasi it's the girl's assessment week. In short, it was like lessons and studying the whole day for me, from homeschooling the boy, then reviewing the girl until dinner time. So, no birthday "leave" for this mom.  At least a break from cooking that day. We just went to a Japanese resto for dinner to celebrate.  I turned 42.

read more

Mom-Friday's Moments on TV

Second Friday of the month:  Family / Motherhood


Tense. Awkward. Hot spot lights. Beads of sweat building up. Bad angle (for my face!).  Facets of my life revealed. And here's what I got myself into...with the participation of the boy and the girl, for your viewing pleasure (I hope).

July 16.
TV show:  Moments on Net25
Who's behind My Mom-Friday?  In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Mom-Friday on Moments

*The host of the show often speaks in the vernacular, so I did the same and spoke in mixed Filipino and English for the segment.

So how did I get to be on TV talking about motherhood? Let's rewind...

May 20.

"hi mam gud day! thanks so much for the response...just wondering if we can feature you on our show, its a one on one interview talking about mother hood, family etc... anything that you wana share :) our setting will be at your home if you will permit..."[sic]
Now you know what the segment is all about.

Screen capture from the opening sequence - host Gladys Reyes

The show coordinator initially sent me a tweet, then a follow-up email above.  We also talked over the phone.  You see, I was quite hesitant even if I was familiar about Moments, the parenting talk show hosted by young celebrity mom Gladys Reyes on Net25.  First, why me? Secondly, I was not confident enough to appear on any video, more so on a TV show!  Lastly, online pranksters abound and it's best to err on the side of caution.

Coincidentally, a blogger friend tweeted about her recent taping with the said show and encouraged me to go for it.  I later learned that a couple more mom blogger friends also appeared in the past episodes, therefore erasing my doubts. And just for the experience, I finally accepted. After telling the kids they'd appear on TV, they became so excited. That got me nervous! =)

May 31.
Confirmation of shooting day -- June 7, taping at home.
They sent a formal letter from the producer which I've requested.  On hindsight, I think they should have done this from the very beginning to erase doubts, at least to make the introduction official, and the invite more credible.

Finding the right spot in the living room for the "interview"

June 7.
It was a Tuesday afternoon. I arrived home straight from fetching my boy. Living room was set.  No time to be made-up, just a quick change, styled my hair neatly, powdered my face and put on lipstick. I'm all set. Then an outfit change for the cooking portion after the talking head sequence.

Kitchen set-up for the cooking demo with the kids

July 16.
Airing of episode on Moments

* * *
I requested the clip mainly to file for posterity and didn't plan on sharing it to the world.  I even stopped hubby from posting this on Facebook after I got the link a week ago!  With the encouragement from friends who saw the video, I mustered enough confidence to post this for the benefit of other friends and relatives who missed it on TV, and of course, for you my dear readers. ;)

Thank you for watching!
Hope you endured enjoyed my 6 minutes of awkwardness and unnecessary facial expressions.  It was too weird watching myself, but the kids loved seeing themselves on the show and my family is proud of this rare moment on TV.

Try the featured recipe here:  Peanut Butter Banana French Toast

Moments on Net25

Saturdays, 7:00 pm
Replays on Sunday 11:30 am.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
Get instant updates:
My Mom-Friday on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Also on Google Friend Connect, or Subscribe Via Email.
I try my best to reply and answer any questions you may have on each entry so check back if you've left one. Thank you and do visit again!
(Comments with links will automatically be flagged by Disqus.)

read more

Mom-Friday is a Nominee for The Philippine Blog Awards 2010

I am so honored to be nominated to The Philippine Blog Awards for Best Home and Parenting Blog!  A  big, big thanks to friends who believed and nominated this site.

I didn't think much about blogging when I started a year and a half ago. All I wanted was to present the many facets of being a mom -- thus the title, Mom-Friday. This has been a creative outlet for me and a tool to share and exchange ideas, and learnings. I still have so much more to discover about the world of blogging. I don't even know enough of the tech stuff, monetizing, and blog terminologies!

Knowing that there are people like you who actually read and appreciate what I do here is enough encouragement for me to continue blogging. And now with this nomination, it's a big bonus already. Now I really have to push further and do better to really deserve this.

THANK YOU very much.


Mom-Friday's first post, revisited.
Who is Mom-Friday?



If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it! Stay connected and Follow me on Google friends, Facebook and Twitter @mymomfriday, or Subscribe here via email and get the latest updates!

read more

My Mom-Friday is 1: Happy Mother's Day!!!

12 months of blogging.  Wow, I finally reached the 1-year mark!  

THANK YOU, thank you, thank you -- for your encouragement and inspiration, for spending your precious time to read, to share your thoughts, or to simply drop by at the personal (web) journal of this multi-tasking mom.

My Mom-Friday was "conceived" on the eve of Mother's Day 2009, and I took that as a sign to finally start a blog (web log) of my own, at the prodding of a very dear friend from the amazing Folie a Deux site. mymomfriday.com was created as my repository of collected information, parenting-related or otherwise. So every Mother's Day will be a celebration of My Mom-Friday's anniversary as well. No other day could be better -- a special day of recognition and gratitude for all the tireless, fearless and devoted moms.

I can still remember how I struggled for words while composing my maiden post since I haven't written an article in almost half a decade! (I used to work at an advertising-PR-events agency where writing tag-lines, ad copy, and fielding short press releases were part of the daily grind).  I knew that my amateur writing skills have become more rusty through the years.  I thought, 'How the h**l would I be able to publish a decent write-up?!?' Even once a week would be a challenge. And who will read them?

This was my first header, inspired by a "Mom" charm bracelet from Tiffany's website.

Fast forward today, I am proud to have logged in a decent number of entries (106) and hits (close to 14,000) on my first 365 days as a mommy-blogger. Not too shabby.  But what would be most rewarding is knowing that somehow, I was able to bring something positive into your lives. While I learned a lot about myself through this blog, I also gained more knowledge, even friendships, from other inspiring sites that now make up my reading list. This time, I want to learn more about you, my dear readers. I want to make My Mom-Friday better for you.

Now, here's a special note to all the amazing MOM-FRIDAYS out there -- a re-print of my 'Mother' poem as a heartfelt greeting from me to you. You can also share this card to all the moms you know to show your love and appreciation. (Just right-click and save the picture).

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my mama, and TO ALL MOM-FRIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD!

Learn more about My Mom-Friday here, and how this blog all started.
Have a glimpse of my very first post with this poem, published via a print ad on May 9, 1999 -- exactly 11 years ago tomorrow.

p.s.
As you all know, it's gonna be a big and memorable weekend for everyone in the Philippines.  Tomorrow will be Mother's Day and on Monday, the Filipino people will elect a new president. Vote wisely people.


Note:
Card background design by AllieBrownsLayouts. Font by Kevin&Amanda.

read more

Freestyle Friday: The Girl and The Bob

Freestyle Friday:  The Bob Cut 

Today, I am launching another Friday category -- FREESTYLE FRIDAY.

So what is Freestyle Friday?

If you were following my blog for sometime now, you may have noticed the 'renovation' and improvements I have made over the last several weeks, which included a fixed category for all 4 Fridays of the month just to keep things organized in here. But some months have 5 Fridays -- like this month of April. I made an exclusive post about it which I linked below. I'm re-posting a portion for you:

What if there's a FIFTH FRIDAY in a month?
If that's the case, the 5th Friday = LAST Friday of the month = Mom-Finds and Raves post for this last (5th) Friday.
In effect, the 4th Friday for that month will now be:
FREESTYLE FRIDAY - Anything goes...well, sort of.
I will take this opportunity to post anything that strikes my fancy at that moment, or some inspiring images that reflect my interests in fashion, design and photography.  Less words, more pictures. Consider this a pleasant break from the usual write-ups. 

Read the full post on what I am blogging about here on MY FRIDAYS , which you can also find on the sidebar under 'About Mom-Friday'.


"Mommy gave me a trim...I don't know if I like it or not...hmmm..."

Related posts:
About Mom-Friday
Blog Makeover
Blog site makeover in-progress

Entry for Mommy Moments: Hairstyles

read more

Who Is Mom-Friday?

Mom-Friday (noun):  multi-faceted, queen-of-all-trades; a go-to lady; a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or purpose; a derivative of Girl-Friday (a female assistant with a range of duties).

Moms wear different hats:  care-taker, teacher, friend,playmate, working mom, cook, driver, among others. Thus, I coined the name Mom-Friday, as defined above. I say, all moms are mom-fridays!

My Mom-Friday:  a personal blog that celebrates the many facets of being a mom. I shall chronicle my adventures in parenting, post great finds for the family, feature dishes that are quick and easy to prepare, and share personal discoveries and knowledge I gain as I go through this happy-crazy life called motherhood.

My Mom-Friday shall also reflect my interests in food, fashion, design, travel, and photography. My childhood friend, who's also a great travel/lifestyle blogger, has influenced me to start a blog of my own. Here's my first post ever.


So who is Mom-Friday?

Being a mom and homemaker defines my life at this point in time, and this made me decide to blog about being one. I'd like to consider this a family and lifestyle blog.

I am:

• an urban mom to two adorable kids, a boy and a girl
• a wife and a homemaker
• a part-time mom-preneur
• a bargain-hunter and practical shopper
• a home cook and foodie
• a frustrated (fashion / interior) designer
• a shutterbug
• a borderline social media addict

I spent 10 years in the advertising and PR industry, and planned a handful of events, and weddings too! Since I'm now active in social media, if I have the time, I still entertain and accept online projects, and blog-related functions.

Coincidentally, I was born on a Friday, some 30-something years ago. Friday is also my favorite day of the week.

I have committed Friday to be my official blog day, unless the homefront demands less of me during the week (then you can expect more posts).


What am I blogging about?

Click on 'What' (see menu tabs) for my Fridays and special features.

I hope you can follow me through my adventures as Mom-Friday.  Leave your thoughts and let's exchange ideas. I love getting comments and feedback, they make my day!

Thank you for reading up to this point.  I hope you enjoy my entries.  Do drop by again, or better yet, stay connected:

Subscribe by email to receive instant blog updates

'Like' My Mom-Friday on Facebook

Follow me on:


Twitter @mymomfriday

Blog Lovin'

Pinterest

Google Friend Connect (see sidebar)

Happy reading!

Michelle a.k.a. Mom-Friday

read more

Mom-Friday (site) Make-Over In Progress

Mom-Friday Make-over update:

After months of browsing through sites, several trials and errors, downloading and trashing, and a few grades away from having astigmatism, I was quite satisfied with what I have found -- two templates I can easily work with. I only wanted a clean background for my photos to pop, and basic features for ease of use.

The first one was bright white, streamlined and minimalist.

The second is simple, warm and subtly feminine. As much as I wanted a very minimalist look, I finally chose the second for its warm appeal. I thought it was more apt for a "mom blog".

This site is still a work in progress as I am a total HTML Dummy, clueless to what I am doing here. Special thanks to hubby for setting up Blogger with my domain, after almost one year of dormancy! And thank God for free templates and themes with online tutorials and support from the template designers to help struggling bloggers like me.

The new look calls for a new logo and header so the image you see here is only temporary.  I consider this blog site my home online, a journal and repository of my thoughts, and whatever you see here is a reflection of me, of Mom-Friday.  Hopefully, mymomfriday.com can be a worthy platform for what all Mom-Fridays out there represent.

Who knows, maybe after a year, or less, I can have my own customized design!

Incidentally, while I am doing a make-over on this site, we are also undergoing some minor home improvements. On that aspect, I am far from clueless and that deserves a separate post altogether.

Now, back to layout tweaking...


Images from Natuzzi.com

read more

Mom-Friday Site Make-Over In Progress

Wanted:  Mom-Friday Make-Over

Hi friends!
It's the Year of the Tiger tomorrow and I guess it's about time that Mom-Friday undergo some changes.  In the days ahead, you might experience some glitches as you visit the site, and maybe a total "blackout" or temporary no-show of mymomfriday.blogspot.com altogether.  I have been planning some improvements since last year, nothing major, but I did not really had the time to make things happen.  Everything I planned to do on this site is mainly for your reading pleasure, with better content and aesthetics, to show you that I genuinely appreciate all the encouragement and inspiration.

My request is to please bear with me during this whole process. And with your help along the way, a new and improved Mom-Friday will be up and ready to chronicle more mommy adventures, and misadventures!

I would love to know what you think -- what do you like most about this site? what do you like to see more of? what don't you like in here? I will look forward to your feedback in the comment box.

As part of the site's "renovation", I will launch a contest very soon, so watch out for it!

Again, THANK YOU for your continued support.


Here's a box of sinful dark chocolates for a sweet Valentine's Day!







Update on site make-over, click here.

read more

Santa Came To Town Early!

I was supposed to have a Mom-Cook entry today but got immediately side-tracked by a wonderful surprise. So here goes my quickie post for today...

As we prepare for lunch and packing all sorts of stuff for my boy's class party this afternoon, the doorbell rang.  I was told that a man stood outside the gate with a big brown box. It's what we've been expecting to arrive early next week!  But maybe Santa knows we've been good boys and girls and thus granted us our early Christmas wishes!!!

Before I got the chance to whip out my digicam, the ubiquitous big brown Forex balikbayan box was already opened and out came an assortment of goodies, household items, DVDs, shoes, books, gifts from my sis-in-law, and the highlight of them all ...(drum roll...)

... MY Christmas wish -- a brand new Canon 500D (Rebel T1i) digital SLR camera! Woohooo!

Among my many interests, learning photography is the most achievable for me at the moment, and ever since I got hold of our first digital camera almost seven years ago, I got hooked. For months, I've been researching online for the most value-for-money, user-friendly, fit-to-my-needs camera model.  Now here it is at last.

It may take a while before I get the hang of using my new 'toy'. Hopefully, before the wedding next Sunday, I can be comfortable enough to take better shots, and maybe give the official photographer a run for his money, hahahaha! Definitely, you will be seeing future posts with images captured by my first DSLR. I can't wait!

We are very grateful and thankful to my sister-in-law who's living in the U.S. of A. for having painstakingly prepared and boxed all these beautiful things and had it shipped in time for Christmas.  Just like any Filipino families with relatives abroad, having balikbayan boxes is customary, an annual thing.  For our family, we order quite a lot of stuff online, thru Amazon.com, so we get them all packed in one box. Our current camera was also purchased online and shipped to us a few years back, at a very, very good price.

I've been a trying-hard photographer for so long, and now I hope I can better myself with the new cam. You can browse through some of my earlier related posts, as 99% of the images in this blog was taken by me with our handy digicam, currently Lumix TZ3.

If you're a pro or an enthusiast, your photography tips and tricks would be highly appreciated!


Taking inspiration from my favorite subjects, kids and food! :)
Sepia Moments On A Cloudy Afternoon
In Living Color: Double Take
Weekend Cheap Thrills



I do hope you all get your Christmas wishes too!

read more

My {Vintage} Sanrio and Me

Hello Kitty. Patty and Jimmy. Little Twin Stars. My Melody. These are the original, adorable, cute, and oh-so-addicting Japanese characters from Sanrio that I was obsessed about since more than three decades ago. 

And as far as I can remember, it was my first Patty and Jimmy compact mirror and comb set that started it all. I think I was six then. My humble collection stirs up wonderful childhood memories, and just looking at them certainly brings out the kid in me.

I loved anything and everything about Sanrio. So, you may be wondering why I am writing this blast-from-the-past show-and-tell post today. Well, about a month ago, as I ordered the usual (McDonald's) Happy Meal for my boy, these big, colorful, plastic apples caught my eye (photo above) and it instantly triggered and awakened the Sanrio bug in me that laid dormant for decades. Hello Kitty is now 35! And each Happy Meal comes with a commemorative Kitty -- choose from 1974 to present. I got giddy and too excited that my stupidity reigned and only got myself one, as in ONE item, for that one meal I ordered! I should have ordered more and got all the remaining years! They were sold out when I went back a few days later.

1976.  That's my Hello Kitty apple up there. As soon as I came home, I rushed to look for all that was left of my collection, mostly bought by my mom as a surprise gift or reward. Bringing out each item as I take a picture brought back that magical feeling that you just can't explain. Die-hard Sanrio fans know what I'm talking about! And I guess it was no coincidence that 1976 is the copyright year on most of the toys and trinkets.

And now, it is my pleasure to share with you some of my treasured Sanrio collectibles, some still unused and unopened to this day.

Bright red and striped Hello Kitty mini umbrella -- my girl knows it's now hers to keep

I still have all of my Sanrio toys displayed at my mom's house, mostly Lala dolls. Kiki and Lala are the Twin Stars by the way. Unbelievably, they are still in perfect condition. Sorry I was not able to take photos of the toys. My mom calls them my "pamana" (inheritance) for my kids since they will now get to enjoy them and hopefully give them the same endless pleasure and happiness they have brought me.

A very useful kilogram weighing scale from my aunt-godmother, with the protective plastic film still on!

Now, after more than 30 years, the Sanrio gang's magic is still very much alive, led by the forever popular and lovable Hello Kitty. I will surely visit the recently opened Sanrio Luxe store at Greenbelt 5 one of these days to reward myself of something new, and just relive that girlish thrill once again.

A mini plastic nautical-themed coin purse that can hardly fit 10 quarters (coins)

Barely used, this is my precious Hello Kitty train pencil sharpener -- I'm just praying she won't break it

Another gift from my aunt-godmother who knows I love Sanrio back then

 

Pencil set, stapler, sharpener (still in plastic) and some unique assorted erasers I dare not use

My favorite erasers -- 2D Kitty in her house case, and a 3D inch-high Lala

Little Twin Stars tissue holder, unopened and still with the tag on

A favorite pasttime of mine was drawing and coloring and this was a perfect, handy carry-all kit

 
My Melody Bling!

 Tuxedo Sam wall or desk clock, also a gift I was thrilled to receive! It was used for some time until my little bother got conscious and complained it's not "unisex" (just so you know, we shared a room)

Another pink Tuxedo Sam mechanical pencil and lead refill which I still use. Check out the movable wings that lift up his cap!

And then some other unused stuff mixed in the Sanrio box...

My Sanrio fan club member I.D.  There's no better proof than this.

I only hope these "treasures" will fetch some value in the near future.

P.S.  
Almost forgot about my Little Twin Stars hair barrettes!  I still get paranoid when my nanny or little girl misplaces one of the clips!!!

Now, don't you think I should get an award for this?  :-)

P.P.S.
This is THE bag that my friend Lilibeth (see comment) mentioned below.  My first was in navy, which got worn out, then replaced with this one in camel. I finally unearthed it from my old hutch/cabinet (Thanks mama for keeping it all this time!)

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
Get instant updates:
My Mom-Friday on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Also on Google Friend Connect, or Subscribe Via Email.
I try my best to reply and answer any questions you may have on each entry so check back if you've left one. Thank you and do visit again!
(Comments with links will automatically be flagged by Disqus.)

read more