Random Thoughts

A Four-step Beauty Routine Even Busy Moms Can Do By: Trisha Bautista

Once you’re a mom, life can get pretty hectic. Especially when you’re taking care of your child/ren yourself, without an extra hand. Often, things like skincare and makeup routines get pushed to the backseat because you simply don’t have time to do it.

However, if you’re feeling extra un-fab, it might be a good idea to take the time to do things for yourself, even if it’s just putting on a bit of makeup, fixing your kilay, or putting on a red lipstick.

Here’s a five-minute beauty routine you can squeeze into your day—especially because you can spread it out over your morning errands!

1. The base

Apply a light base all over after you apply your usual sun screen and moisturizer. To keep your look light and natural, a BB or CC cream in a sponge compact is a good alternative to foundation. A good BB or CC cream evens out your skin tone and any red areas without being too heavy on the skin. Application’s a breeze, too.

2. The brows

Brows play a big role in your makeup look—it defines your eyes and your face, while making you look a little more polished. This can take a little longer to apply, but if you practice, you’ll be an expert in no time. A brow pen like K-Pallete’s 24-hour Tattoo eyebrow pen is perfect for on-the-go moms, because you don’t have to be as meticulous as when you’re applying brows using a powder. Fill in eyebrows with short, feathery strokes for a natural effect. No need to worry about re-touching throughout the day, because it really does stay on for 24 hours.

3. The glow

We all know blush is used to highlight cheekbones, but with the new trend of Korean beauty that advocates a fresh, dewy look, highlighter has gotten more popular, too. Highlighter is basically a shimmery powder that you add over your blush, on your parts that catch the light. Add a peachy blush to the fleshy part of your cheeks. Dust a highlighter like MAC’s Soft + Strobe on the tops of your cheekbones, the bridge of your nose, and your cupid’s bow (that line between your nose and upper lip) to finish off. You will be getting lots of compliments for glowing skin!

4. The lip

Skip the eyeliner if you’re in a rush, or if you don’t have much time at the end of the day. Opt for a nice lipstick instead. A nice peachy one a few shades darker than your skin tone is a nice go-to, or if you want a bit of a pop, go for a burgundy or wine colored lipstick. Check out Maybelline’s line of natural tones, or Happy Skin’s line of nude and pink lippies.

SOURCE.

A couple of weeks ago, Hubby and I went to this beautiful place in Anilao, Batangas to spend our anniversary. Here's a preview.

A beautiful lobby. Yes, WOW!


So watch out for the posts and photos soon! (*wink*)(*wink*)

Look, another package arrived a couple of months ago and look at what the happy kiddoes got from Grandma Yolly...

Oh these trader joe's are just the B.E.S.T.!

So, yes kiddoes and adults were happy after getting Grandma's packages! ♥♥♥

Happiness is...

1. Happy and Relaxing Weekend
2. Bonding with Kids
3. Movie Night
4. Grocery Time
5. Minimalism
6. Simplying Life by Bo Sanchez
7. New and Unexpected Blessings!
8. More travels soon!
9. Long weekends
10. Working out

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Anyone has tried this already?

I asked my kids if I can have this. HA! Have you tried this? I hope it's good!

Here's another very nice article I came across the other day... Enjoy!

7 Habits of Highly Effective Moms from MomCenter.com.ph

The first version of the 7 habits of highly effective people that I read was the one for teens, written by Sean Covey’s son, Stephen. While I may not have been mature enough the absorb the entire book at the time, there were concepts that stuck with me until adulthood. As a woman juggling numerous roles as a wife, mother, editor, and entrepreneur, I am now constantly on the search for tools that will help me to be the best version of myself for the people I care about, and for the work that I do.

Here is how I believe I can apply the principles of Sean Covey for highly effective people on my life now as a mom.

1. Be Proactive

“We’re in charge. We choose the scripts by which to live our lives. Use this self-awareness to be proactive and take responsibility for your choices”

In this chapter, Covey makes the distinction between individuals who are reactive and those who are proactive. Reactive people have a passive stance on life. They believe that ultimately things happen to them and that there isn’t anything they can do about it. They believe the problem is out there, that they are victimized and out of control.

A reactive mom might say, “there’s nothing I can do about my inability to manage our household budget. I am bad with money, and that is just the way I am.”

A proactive mom might say, “I might be bad at managing money, but I can improve on this by getting advice from financial experts, reading books on financial literacy, and on using tools (apps, etc.) to help me with track expenses and create realistic budgets for our family.

A proactive mom will realize that while life is full of experiences with elements we cannot control, the way we will react to it is within our control. This is what Sean Covey calls “response-ability.”

“It is our willing permission, our consent to what happens to us, that hurts us far more than what happened to us in the first place.” -Stephen Covey


2. Begin with the end in mind.

“Start with a clear destination in mind. Covey says we can use our imagination to develop a vision of what we want to become and use our conscience to decide what values will guide us.”

“Habit 2 suggests that, in everything we do, we should begin with the end in mind. Start with a clear destination. That way, we can make sure the steps we’re taking are in the right direction.”

As moms, our days are full of household tasks, child care, work, and a seemingly endless list of errands. It would be easy for us to get overwhelmed, impatient, and desperate. But if at the beginning and at the end of each day, we remind ourselves about the kind of mothers we truly want to be, this will help us to deal with the small stresses we experience everyday, giving all that we do a higher purpose.

3. Put First Things First

“In order to manage ourselves effectively, we must put first things first. We must have the discipline to prioritize our day-to-day actions based on what is most important, not what is most urgent.”

As moms juggling many roles, our days may change on a regular basis. Thus it is so important for us to learn how to prioritize in such a way that we are not doing through our days responding to every single need the crops up.

Given, if we are the sole caregivers of our children, we cannot necessarily ask a baby to wait if she is hungry or her diapers need to be changed. But we can plan efficiently for the moments our hands are free–such as when our babies are sleeping, or when or when we know a trusted babysitter will be available. By being wise about our free time and knowing exactly what to do during those precious hours.

Covey goes further and provides a quadrant that makes distinctions about time, suggesting that we should dedicate our free time on two types of tasks: those that are 1) urgent and important, and 2) important but not urgent.

As moms, the needs of our children all under the items that are urgent and important, while planning one’s day, organizing our households, and other tasks of similar nature fall under the “important but not urgent” category.

4. Think Win-Win

“In order to establish effective interdependent relationships, we must commit to creating Win-Win situations that are mutually beneficial and satisfying to each party.”

Women are relational beings, and a huge aspect of our overall happiness is the status of our relationships, and Covey believes that in order to take care of them we should always try to strive towards creating mutually beneficial relationships.

We can apply this principle when we are speaking with our spouses, colleagues, household help, and even our children. The challenge here would be to be discerning about when to apply the principle of win-win to our children, because we are also meant to discipline our children…and often this may mean they do not understand that you have their best interests in mind when you reprimand them.

5. Seek first to understand, and then be understood.

“Before we can offer advice, suggest solutions, or effectively interact with another person in any way, we must seek to deeply understand them and their perspective through empathic listening.”

As women with good intentions, it is often difficult for us to hear a person out before offering advice. But we must remind ourselves that we cannot offer genuine help if we don’t know what the person really needs. As moms, this is just as crucial to all of our relationships, especially the most important ones–with our spouses and children.

6. Synergize.

“By understanding and valuing the differences in another person’s perspective, we have the opportunity to create synergy, which allows us to uncover new possibilities through openness and creativity.”

For moms, synergizing can simply mean teamwork. By working as a team, we are able to harness the different talents and perspectives of the different members of our household, and of our colleagues at work.

Synergizing teaches us, as moms, to value differences (because not all of our family members think the same way we do), encourage openness, and catalyze creativity when it comes to solving problems that affect our family.

7. Sharpen the saw.

“To be effective, we must devote the time to renewing ourselves physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially. Continuous renewal allows us to synergistically increase our ability to practice each habit.”

Just because we are moms, it doesn’t mean that is all that we are. We cannot allow ourselves to become stagnant in our personal growth. While becoming a mother does make all these challenging in terms of finding the energy and time, becoming a mother also does give us an extra motivation to become excellent in every aspect of our lives–simply because we want to set a good example to our own children.

SOURCE.

A couple of months ago I took an opportunity to go out on a date wih my kiddo. I've been craving for grilled cheese for quite sometime now so we decided to try UCC clockwork.

It's been months since I wanted to try UCC's grilled cheese so finally, I was able to!

We stayed for a couple of minutes just bonding and talking. And look at the photos that my kid took.





She has a future with photography, don't you think? (*grin*)

I had an opportunity to spend a quick me time a couple of months ago and I decided to have dinner at Mary Grace Cafe. I had this great pasta and hot chocolate (of course!).

I'm just disapointed that this one was not that good like I remember it. Too bad! Even the hot chocolate was not that special anymore.

Hmm, I wonder why!?

But I enjoyed my me time immensely and was able to catch up on my reading. ♥