MOMents Episode 82 : JLo on being a D-I-Y Party Mom

5 years ago and 15 pounds lighter :-), I was featured on Gladys Reyes TV show on Net 25 entitled MOMents. 

The theme for that episode is party planning and I was one of their featured Mom as the "D-I-Y Party  Mom". My party souvenir business KidiKraft then was so new and  it is really about my blogging then that made me one of their guest Mom.

Now, as I reminisce about my blog "Blogging in..." who died 2 years ago, I can't help but think where it could be now if it still alive. I treated my blog then as my diary, as an extension of myself. Those time that I really don't care if people will read or not, and how I missed those times that I blog like this. 

How I missed my 11 PM blogging time where I usually sit on the stairs just  to get a good internet connection, those times when I have skin breakouts due to lack of sleep as it coincides with my "blogskin's breakout" (Oh my HTML!).

And how I missed my readers. I don't know where they are now, perhaps they are one of those known mom bloggers now. I remember a reader followed me in an event and told me, " I  read your blog, san event mo sa susunod?".

Ok enough. Don't cry over spoiled milk as they say. From now on, I will get back to blogging with straight from the heart post, more sharing, more information, and more importantly, to give more inspiration. 

Tempus fugit, time really flies!

Watch it here. Enjoy!

Top 5 Party Themes of 2014 (1st Quarter)

From now on, I'll be coming up with the Top 5 Party Themes of the Year on a quarterly basis. This is based from the orders of our dear KidiKrafters from January to March of 2014.

Here it is, presenting the Top 5 Party Themes of 2014 (1st Quarter) by KidiKraft :

1. DISNEY CARS

             

Cars is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy-adventure sports film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and directed and co-written by John Lasseter and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, it features voices by Paul Newman (in his final non-documentary feature), Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond, and John Ratzenberger. 

2. MICKEY MOUSE

Mickey Mouse is a funny animal cartoon character and the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company. He was created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at the Walt Disney Studios in 1928. An anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves, Mickey has become one of the most recognizable cartoon characters in the world.

3. HELLO KITTY

Hello Kitty (ハローキティ Harō Kiti) (full name Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト Kiti howaito)) is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow.The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States in 1976. The character is a staple of the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. At age 36 as of 2010, Sanrio has groomed Hello Kitty into a global marketing phenomenon worth $5 billion a year.

4. SAFARI

A Safari /səˈfɑri/ is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the trip was a big-game hunt, but today, safari often refers to trips to observe and photograph wildlife—or hiking and sight-seeing.

5. CIRCUS

Photo Credit : NYGiftworks

A Circus is a company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term 'circus' also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250 year modern history

Source : Wikipedia

My Internet Life Story (since 1994)

29 March 2014 - Today marks the 20th Anniversary of Philippine Internet. As a tribute, I made an infographic showing my Internet Life Story. What's yours?

I Love Being a Mom 2014: Call for Donors and Sponsors

jlofied.com is currently on a lookout for donors and sponsors for the upcoming I Love Being a Mom 2014 happening on 7 May 2014.

The #ibm2014 is an advocacy campaign organized by jlofied.com with the main objective of showing that Social Media can be a platform for social change and anyone has the power to motivate others to give back to society. The project also aims to promote Nazareth Homes as an institution that provides services to single expectant mothers and to encourage these mothers to continue with their lives despite of their unwanted pregnancies, and that life has to go on.

If you would like to be apart of this meaningful initiative to help other moms in need, please feel free to take at the list of support requirements below or you may share this post to your social network. Salamat!

Event Details 

Date    : May 7, 2014 (Wednesday)
Time    : 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Venue  : Nazareth Homes,
                #126 J.P. Rizal St., Project 4, Quezon City

What we can offer 

Diamond Sponsors:

• Mention on all the blog post from each of the participating bloggers + external link to website;
• Inclusion on the Video Invitation, banners and posters
• Mention on the pre-event blog post from each of the participating bloggers + 1 external link to website;
• Mention on the campaign annoucement on jlofied.com + 1 external link to website;
• Mention during the event as a Diamond Sponsor; and 
• Inclusion on marketing materials (e.g. brochures, flyers, and etc.) on the Bloggers Kit.

Ruby Sponsors:

• Mention on the pre-event blog post from each of the participating bloggers + 1 external link to website;
• Mention on the campaign annoucement on jlofied.com + 1 external link to website;
• Mention during the event as a Ruby Sponsor;
• Inclusion on banners and posters;
• Inclusion on marketing materials (e.g. brochures, flyers, and etc.) on the Bloggers Kit.

Emerald Sponsors:

• Mention on the campaign annoucement on jlofied.com + 1 external link to website;
• Mention during the event as a Emerald Sponsor;
• Inclusion on banners and posters;
• Inclusion on marketing materials (e.g. brochures, flyers, and etc.) on the Bloggers Kit.

Pink Sponsors:

• Mention on the campaign annoucement on jlofied.com + 1 external link to website;
• Mentions / Shout outs  on social media (FB, Tweet, Google + etc)

What we need 

Diamond Sponsors        Php 5,000 and above worth of cash sponsorship or
                                             Php 5,000 and above worth of in-kind sponsorhip 

Ruby Sponsors               Php 3,000 - Php 4,999 worth of cash sponsorship or
                                             Php 3,000 - Php 4,999 worth of in-kind sponsorhip 

Bronze Sponsors           Php 1,000 - Php 2,999 worth of cash sponsorship or
                                             Php 1,000 - Php 2,999 worth of in-kind sponsorhip

Pink Sponsors                 Php 1,000 - Php 2,999 worth of cash sponsorship or
                                             Php 1,000 - Php 2,999 worth of in-kind sponsorhip


How to sponsor

Please leave us a message at bonsky_jen@yahoo.com on the kind of donation or sponsorship you would like to give and we will be more than willing to send you our details where you can deposit or send donations or sponsorship.

I Love Being a Mom 2014 : An Extraordinary Way to Honour Mothers on Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a celebration honouring mothers, motherhood and the influence of mothers in the society. This is a day for many people to show their appreciation towards their mothers. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world most commonly on May. Here in the Philippines, Mother's Day is celebrated every 2nd Sunday of May.

I still remember when I was pregnant with my eldest 11 years ago, a simple SMS from friends greeting me a Happy Mother's Day brought a smile on my face. It is an extraordinary feeling especially for first time mothers.

Celebrating Mother's Day

I am sure some of you were already making plans to make the day special for your mom, wife, or sister. Sharing a meal with her, giving her gifts, or perhaps pamper her by bringing her out for a luxurious bubble bath. Or maybe, if you are already a mother, you are now planning for yourself and just wanted to enjoy your "me" time, or by simply going out with your family. I am sure it will be fun. And like you, I will still be celebrating it with my family.

Giving Back to Society

For Mother’s Day 2014, I am taking another step through the “I Love Being a Mom” project. This is a project born out of my earnest desire to give back to society.

I’ve always wanted to do something good to society, whether small acts, volunteering or becoming involved in a community. This is one of the many values I learned in College where I used to be active in the Student government.

And it feels good to do good.

I Love Being a Mom 2014

The #ibm2014 is an advocacy campaign organized by jlofied.com with the  main objective of showing that Social Media can be a platform for social change and anyone has the power to motivate others to give back to society. The project also aims to promote Nazareth Homes as an institution that provides services to single expectant mothers and to encourage these mothers to continue with their lives despite of their unwanted pregnancies, and that life has to go on.

Moms Helping Moms

The #ibm2014 will be needing 12 mommy bloggers who will be the Campaign Ambassadors of #ibm2014. If you would like to be a part of this meaningful initiative to help other moms in need, please feel free to email me at bonsky_jen@yahoo.com or share this post to your social network.

For more details on Nazareth Homes, please visit Kaisang Buhay Foundation Website at www.kbf.ph 

Thank you !

Party Planning Budget Calculator : How to Avoid Going Over Budget

A party budget is one of your best tools for reaching your dream party. It is a plan on how  you expect to spend it for your event. If you are already planning for your child's birthday party, keeping a budget will help you organized and help you avoid going over budget.

Use the Party Planning Budget Calculator to set an estimated and actual budget for your party. Utilize only the sections that apply to your event because not all categories will be used.

If your budget shows you don't have enough, you will need to adjust your spending or find other ways to save.

Focus.

I know we only want the best for our children, but be firm with your decision on how much you are willing to spend for the party. The key to  a party with a "wow factor" is to think presentation. You can make anything look special by squeezing out those creative juices in you and I am sure you will have a fab one.

Party Planning Budget Calculator
Download Excel File here

Life Begins at 40 : Forty (40) Awesome Ideas to Add to Your Bucket List

They say that life begins at 40. And as  I am about to enter this new phase in my life, I reviewed my list which I first crafted 20 years ago. Looking back, I discovered that I had done most of the things and became ambitious to the do the ones that had gone undone.

With eight months to go before my BIG 4-0 celebration, I added exciting and challenging but achievable items on my bucket list. These are the things that I always wanted to see, experience, do or feel. I could only pray to do all of these in my lifetime.

So whether you started crafting your bucket list or not, here are some awesome ideas that you could add to it, for the adventurous, talented and the creative you.  

1.     Appear on Philippine National TV

JLo on TV5 "What's up Doods!" hosted by Edu Manzano (October 2013)
 

2.     Appear on a TV Commercial / Print Ad or Be a movie extra

3.     Be a McDonald's Service Crew for a day

4.     Be a part of an International Chorale Music Festival

5.     Become a title holder

Grand Prize Winner - Pag-IBIG Fund Singing Idol
(February 2009)

6.     Build a snowman

7.     Buy stocks and play the stock market (2013)

8.   Catch, cook and eat fish

9.    Celebrate  Birthdays with the less fortunate

10. Contribute an article for a magazine / newspaper

11. Drive an ATV

12. Finish a 3k Run

13. Fire a gun

14. Go parasailing

15. Go rock climbing / rapelling

16. Go wakeboarding

CamSur (May 2010)

17. Go white water rafting in CDO

18. Have drinks at an ice bar

19. Hit the archery bulls eye

20. Horseback ride on a beach

21. “Kawa” hot bath in Antique

22. Launch a new blogsite

www.JLofied.com (January 2014)

23. Learn a new/foreign language

24. Learn how to drive (2008)

25. Learn how to sail

26. Receive a bloggers award / citation

27. Receive a fan letter

28. Record a song and do a music video

29. Ride in a hot air balloon

30. Ride a cable car  (July 2006 in Hongkong)

31. Serve food at a soup kitchen

32. Sing for a Children’s TV Show (like Batibot etc)

33. Stand under a waterfall

Pagsanjan Falls (April 2012)

34. Start your own business

Wooden KidiKraft at the World Trade Center (October 2009)

35. Swim with the Butandings in Sorsogon

Bicol Adventure (May 2010)

36. Take a helicopter ride

37. Take a zipline ride

Zipline at Lingon Hills (May 2010)

38. Visit a Buddhist Temple

Me and my  College Buddies in Bangkok, Thailand (November 2013)

39. Visit the 7 continents

40.  Win in a sports competition / tournament

But wait there's more :-) 
And the list goes on... (updated as of 03/08/14)

41.  Kite Surfing in Seco Island, Tibiao, Antique

Do you have any ideas to add on my list? I love to hear from you,.