February 2019 - Mommy Ginger

Ginger Arboleda February 22, 2019

Izumi is now in the Philippines! Franchise is Now Open

Our grandparents, parents and even us (parents of this generation) were brought up in an environment where education was more about memorization. For most of us, school was a stressful environment where we needed to get good grades to be on the honor roll or to at least not get kicked out of school. This is the reason why the things that we aim for, the things that we prfioritize and goals don’t truly make us happy humans (even if we’re successful).

Happy humans live in an environment where the focus is on self – development and respect for others. The highly competitive environment that we were exposed to just bred a lot of jealousy, dependence on others for self-validation, manipulation, etc. Times have changed though, and for parents like us, we know that a lot of the formative years of people is during their younger years — when they are curious and when they love exploring and learning new things. During these years, we try our best to expose them to environments that will help them to eventually be happy and independent adults.

So how do we determine what quality education is and what kind of environment should we look for? What do we want our children to be when they grow up? What should we aim for (if aim is even the right word)?

I think as parents, the most that we can do is try to bring up our children to be independent and always curious about the things that surround them. This was what I realized when I listened to the briefing of the Izumi Philippines last week.

I’m the type of parent who’s always curious about different things when it comes to the education of my child. I want to test and try different methods and see which will work best for Zeeka. When I heard about Nippon Math (brought in by Izumi Philippines), I was curious to find out and see what it was.

Izumi under i-cube Ltd. in Japan has been in the industry for 42 years already. There mission as a company is to continue to improve themselves so that they can develop people and contribute to society. They manage 60 schools across Asia and they hope to build more that 20 centers here in the Philippines this year.

From what I have gathered, Izumi cultivates an academic culture of intellectual curiosity, independent learning and character building, embodying the principles of Japanese quality education of discipline, punctuality and cleanliness. I’ve been to Japan and truly, these values are seen in every Tom, Dick or Harry that you meet in the street. Once we
asked a saleslady for directions to exit a mall. I was so surprised that she left her post and went down the escalator with us just to lead us to the exit. We were amazed at how much concern, respect and discipline (leaving her stall showed how much she trusted people around her) the Japanese people have.

What Izumi will offer to the Philippine market is supplementary education for Math. What I have seen is that their value proposition and what makes them different is that they make learning Math enjoyable while also teaching the other values like discipline. For example, the students don’t get to touch the materials until it’s time to do so. They also have a structured but super FUN class! They have materials that make kids want to learn more. Zeeka had a fun time doing the activities! She loved the leaping frogs the most! haha!

If you want to know more about Izumi and if you’re interested to franchise and be part of Izumi Philippines, I can tell you offhand that the fees are actually very reasonable. What they look for in their Partners (franchisees) are that they:

Should have a passion for education
Should be ready for a long term commitment
Graduated college
Can foster a good relationship with students and parents
Can focus on their centers

Breakeven on Return on Investment (ROI) will take you around 1-2 years.

Izumi Philippines conducts orientations often. If you are interested to join, you can sign up here: https://ph.izumi-global.net/registration-form/

You can also call them via numbers (02) – 692- 5279 / 0967 207 0545

Ginger Arboleda February 17, 2019

New Mommy Discovery: Nimble Cleaning Products

I now have a yaya, and things have been a bit less stressful these days. Thank you, Ate Niks, for helping us out. As moms, we need to admit that at certain times in our lives, we actually need help (whether it be from your husband, parents, from helpers, etc.).

Speaking of help, since I know have extra time, I’ve been doing a lot of vlogging and research for my blog. Yup! Having a blog is no easy task. We don’t just take fancy pictures of the products that we have. We actually test them out and stand as guinea pigs no matter how grave the consequences are. I remember having severe rashes years ago when I tried out a lotion brand for the first time. I had rashes all over my legs. That time, I wasn’t too careful yet.

Now, I make it a point to test products on a small section of my skin before using them. I am extra careful now, especially for the things that I use for my daughter.

I now love products that are particularly made for sensitive skin, so it saves me the time to go through the plethora of products in the market. Recently, I discovered Nimble Babies, which is now in the Philippines (@nimblebabies.ph). Nimble is actually a brand from the UK and their products are all made to be child-safe and friendly.

These are the three products that I’ve tried from Nimble Babies Philippines:

Nimble Sticky Stopper Antibacterial Toy & Surface Cleaner

As mentioned in my video, I use it to clean Zeeka’s iPad case. Also, I use it to clean the dining table. You’ll never know when your kids pick up food that fall of from their plates. No matter how frequent you tell them to not to eat things that fall of from plates, they don’t listen.

Nimble Sticky Stopper removes sticky and greasy residue from food, chocolate, fruit juices, milk, etc. It also kills 99.9% of germs without using bleach. Bleach is such a strong chemical that is usually the dilution of sodium hypochlorite.

The Nimble Sticky Stopper from Nimble Babies Philippines uses lactic acid, a natural disinfectant derived from fermenting sugar. This is why it is safe for kids and you can use it to clean potties, high chairs, play mats, bibs, etc. It’s also fragrance-free so even if you use it on the dinner table, it’s fine. Some cleaner’s scent go against the aroma of food.

Nimble Milk Buster Baby Bottle Cleaner

Nimble Milk Buster from Nimble Babies Philippines makes cloudy and smelly plastic tumblers a thing of the past. It removes milk fat and proteins from containers making them free from cloudiness and nasty odour.

Usually, the liquid soap that we use for cleaning plates, etc. are mostly designed to wash away food grease and oil. This Nimble Milk Buster is especially formulated to take away milk fat and proteins from plastic.

Nimble Milk Buster does not contain chemical nasties like sulphates, dyes, enzymes, and chemical fragrances that can potentially cause irritation.
Because it’s safe to use, I use it to clean Zeeka’s plates, utensils, cups, etc. I personally use it to clean my coffee cup, whenever I have my latte. You can use it following these three easy steps:

Add a bit of water into the container/tumbler.
Spray Nimble Milk Buster 2 times.
Brush, rinse and relax.

Nimble Laundry Lover Non-Bio Detergent

And last but not the least, check out the Nimble Laundry Lover. I use it to remove food and pee stains from Zeeka’s clothes. It’s safe for our sensitive skin, because it is made from 88% naturally-derived ingredients. It has a lovely light powdery fragrance with no allergens. Zeeka and I are prone to have allergies when we use strong and harmful detergents. With this, we didn’t experience any allergies. To make it skin friendly, it’s free from irritating enzymes, optical brighteners & dyes.

Just one capful will go a long way. They say that it can last up to 25 washes. I’ll try to finish one container and I’ll let you know. This can be used for both hand or machine wash.

Even if it’s gentle on the skin, it’s tough on stains! It removes stains like chocolate, tomato sauce, baby food, fruit juices, grass, mud, and more. It also takes care of the color of your clothes and doesn’t damage clothing.

So that’s it, peeps! Do check out Nimble Babies Philippines products.

Facebook: Nimble Babies Philippines

Instagram: @NimbleBabies.ph

Ginger Arboleda February 6, 2019

I Promise to Be a Better Freelancer this 2019

I sound so crazy saying that. You might be wondering, who actually promises to be better at one’s profession or one’s job even.

Well, that’s the entire point. Only a few of us commit to be better at what we do.

When creating goals for this year, most of us write down financial goals, weight loss goals, travel goals, etc. Hardly do we take the time out to create action steps on how we might better our freelancing profession, how we run a company or a business or even how we work in the office. We only think about improving our profession, business or career when the going gets tough, when ratings are involved or when we’re trying to get a promotion.

I think this year is the year that we push ourselves into COMMITTING to do better in what we do. Since I’m a freelancer / entrepreneur, I commit to be better at both these things. I have listed down things that I will commit to.

I will commit to seeing my worth.

Last year, I have been scared of losing. I have been scared of losing a lot of deals with clients, losing relationships and losing opportunities. I agreed to some projects that have lowered my worth as a freelancer. This year, I commit to being braver, to seeing my strengths and to valuing myself. I commit to dealing with people who see the value that I can give them. I will constantly remind myself that I am worth every penny, because I deliver great value.

I will commit to deliver exceptional work.

I will commit to not only deliver projects ask of me, but deliver exceptional work. I will help my client with their objectives and contribute ideas and more than the scope of work given to me. I will continue to provide more value to brands that I trust and love.

I will commit to tracking my finances better.

I will commit to logging my income and expenses dutifully. I will commit to continuously using frequently-used-apps like PayPal, Taxumo, GCASH and UnionBank Mobile Banking and to use my not-so-frequently used apps like Wally, 52 Weeks and other apps that I have downloaded an paid for. I know that these will help me, but lazy me takes over! Haha! So I will commit to fixing my finances better this 2019.

I will commit to writing, blogging and vlogging more consistently.

I commit to creating better content — content that is from the heart and more purposeful. I promise that I will b/vlog about the things that my readers will be interested in and that they will learn from. I promise to be consistent, too. I will not let the week pass without creating content.

I promise to learn more about “other” things this year.

I usually come across things that I use for my craft, but I know that I need to learn or at least read about other things that are not related to what I do. I commit to read more, listen to people, meet new people and create new relationships with people. I commit to widening my network, since I know that this is how I’ll be able to learn more.

That’s about it. These are the things that I commit to as a freelancer.

How about you? Let’s start an accountability thread. Tell me about what you COMMIT to as a freelancer, entrepreneur, employee, profesional, parent, etc. I’d love to hear about it!

Ginger Arboleda February 3, 2019

What is True Beauty?

This year, as I promised to share more about my own personal thoughts, I’ll be sharing some intimate stuff today. I’ll be sharing with you the story of a part of my life where my insecurities run deep.

Let’s talk about beauty, what true beauty is and how my definition of beauty has evolved. Long post ahead! 😀

My Insecurities…

We all give love, and want to be (liked or) loved, too. With this, since (they say) first impressions last, we want to look our best at any given time.

Early in life, my mom taught me that I needed to look good. As compared to my daughter now and how she is, I was the opposite. I hated wearing dresses. I was quite and shy. I loved running around, too. I was always the tallest in my class, and the biggest. These pictures that I’m sharing now was me when I was 3. Can you imagine? I looked more like a 6 year old girl.

Aside from my weight though, I looked very clean. I had an apple cut hair cut with neatly combed bangs. I had nice skin, because of how my parents and yaya took good care of me. When I was little, I remember my mom telling me not to run around too much, because I might trip and hurt myself. She said that scars last a long time, and it wouldn’t look good on my fair skinned legs.

When I was in grade school, I was a chubby kid. I always felt conscious about not being as slim as my classmates. I would compensate by studying hard to get good grades. Even when I lost a lot of weight on my way to high school (dropped from around 130 lbs to 107 lbs), I still felt heavy and big. I always wore a jacket because I was so conscious of showing my arms. Do you know that I only got over that when I was 25 years old? Haha! Talk about having major body issues.

Started losing weight when I was in Grade 6, so I was slimmer when I graduated 7th grade.

I really did have issues with the way I looked. It’s not because I’m vain or anything like that, but it’s about my eternal lack of confidence. Up until now, people don’t know this, but I still get VERY self-conscious. Sometimes, when I go to events, I feel awkward. I don’t know why I still have voices in my head that tell me that I’m not good enough or that I shouldn’t be here because I’m not worthy.

My ever so patient husband would tell me that I’m crazy and weird to think that way about my body. He always assures me that I’m fine.

How I try to stop these thoughts …

I love observing other people — how they react to certain situations, how they cope, how they think, etc. In this journey of mine, what I’ve realized is that people don’t really care so much about the way you look. What matters more to them is who you are as a person — are you reliable? are you trustworthy? do you have integrity? are you honest and kind? are you caring?

I’ve seen movies, films, advertisements, etc. that constantly show us what our standard of beauty should be. They define the standards on what being physically beautiful is.

I was in my late 20s that I realized that people are too busy to care about the way you look. I then consciously made an effort to stop listening to the voices in my head, and committed to to the opposite of what the voice would say. I would wear anything that I wanted to wear. I would eat anything that I wanted to eat. I felt free.

What happened when I stopped listening to the voices in my head…

I started loving myself. I started to see my strengths, utilized these abilities and started to shine! I started seeing problems around me that I wanted to solve. I slowly saw things that I could do, and that eventually led me to find my purpose in life.

This was when my own interpretation of true beauty changed.

About my friend, Cat…

My friend Cat Arambulo-Antonio is the country’s representative for the MASJ Squad (MERZ Aesthetics Serendipity Journey) campaign. She’ll be sharing her journey alongside 10 women from other countries in Asia Pacific to redefine self-care and see it as something that is deeper: Self-love. I attended the launch, and Cat’s words (and the entire campaign) reminded me of my own journey.

“When you look good physically, you will feel much greater inside,”
Cat Arambulo – Antonio
Know more about Cat here: https://myserendipityjourney.com/meet_the_squad/cat-arambulo-antonio/

I, personally, was moved by this campaign about true beauty. Wanting to look good shouldn’t be looked down upon. If we feel good about ourselves and if we love ourselves, then we get to “see” other people. Oftentimes, what happens is, we divert our attention now from ourselves to other people — we focus on taking care and loving others, solving society’s problems and adding value to the world.

On Merz Aesthetics…

(L-R) Merz Asia Pacific Regional Commercial Director Conway Rappa, Merz Philippines Marketing Manager Judith Albano-Cantada, Cat Arambulo-Atonio, Merz Asia Pacific Regional Marketing Communications Manager
Kris Leong, and Merz Philippines Country Manager Jorge Libanan

Merz Aesthetics has been a driver of innovation in the field of aesthetic medicing since one of the first anti-wrinkle moisturizing creams was launched in 1953. They are a global, family-owned aesthetics and neurotoxin company backed by 110 years of trust and commitment.

“I definitely trust the treatments that Merz offers not only because it really works, but it has contributed to building my self-assurance,” says Cat.

I’ve looked at their products and services, and I’m really interested now to try out their services. Cat has been telling me about the wonders of Ultherapy and how it made her face look more elongated.

For more information on the Merz Aesthetics Serendipity Journey, you may visit https://www.myserendipityjourney.com and Like and Follow My Serendipity Journey on Facebook and Instagram. Also, visit www.merzaesthetics.com.

Yours truly with Cat Arambulo – Antonio and Sam Lewis.

When we talk about beauty, it’s really not just about what the human eye can see. It’s also about confidence, charisma and character. Life is not about getting people to like you, but it’s about loving yourself. It’s about wanting to be a better you everyday, so you can be of service to others.

Thanks, Cat and Merz Aesthetics for inspiring me to be a better version of myself again this year! Congratulations on this campaign, and may it inspire more women to love themselves!