The Mommying VA

16/06/2025

It’s officially back to school today for many of our basic education learners. What have been your “momma” lines so far? 😁

13/05/2025

About seven years ago, I decided to take the road less traveled. Needless to say, I took a risk.

Right after I was let go (yes, I got terminated for frequently coming in late to work) by the last office-based BPO company I worked for in 2017, I decided to try finding an “online job.” That time, the term “virtual assistant” was not coined yet, and working from home (or anywhere) wasn’t very common. I had my online worker’s profile up in 2013 (oDesk, now Upwork) and in 2015 (Onlinejobs PH). I tried posting my credentials, professional info, and self introduction on these job marketplaces without thinking that it would actually yield any good results.

But a couple of months after I got laid off from my job, someone sent me an email (via OLJ). I didn’t give it much thought because who knew if it was real or just a scam? After a few days of me ignoring the email, the sender messaged me again. This time, with all the details of the job as well as the link to their OLJ job posting. At that time, the offer they gave me was already good, and my only job was to write articles about rice, rice cooker, rice recipes, and anything that mentioned rice. I know, it sounds odd—but guess what? I did it anyway. I accepted the offer because how else would I know if it was real or not if I didn’t? Fortunately, it was real, and I got paid for the articles and website content I wrote. To be honest, I didn’t have any idea about content writing that time—you know, the more technical stuff such as SEO, marketing, creating site traffic, and other related stuff. I literally had zero knowledge on all those. I can confidently say I have always had the skill to write, but was that writing skill enough? Of course not. But it was enough to get me started.

And yep, that’s how and when my WFH journey began. That was November of 2017. I also did some ESL online teaching on the side—thank you so much, Acadsoc, 51Talk, and Bibo Global (now Engoo) for the opportunity. Then I got my second online client in 2018, and that’s also when I started sharing about how I was able to land a job that I could comfortably do at home. No one actually listened or thought it was something of value. I remember vividly that whenever I told others (mostly friends), they would just shrug the idea off and even leave comments with concealed mockery, making me feel that they think it was absurd. I even went above and beyond by doing a video tutorial of how I did it (feeling coach yarrrn? 😅) They would feign interest sometimes, but it was always obvious they were never interested. 💔

Fast forward to 2025, I have had several clients along the way already. And this company that I’m currently working for, I’ve worked here since the first quarter of 2019. I have handled different types of tasks for each client—email management, social media management, customer support, copy editing, content or website optimization, SEO/content writing, digital marketing, graphics, a bit of Youtube-related stuff, Wordpress, Amazon A+ content, ecommerce general tasks (specifically Shopify and Amazon), and others. Hopefully, the list continues because who would want to be stagnant in a world that’s continuously evolving, right?

I would also like to mention how this WFH journey gave me “time freedom” and the opportunity to work anywhere (not just at home). Of course it hasn’t always been easy and convenient. Who said bringing a laptop on every trip was fine? Nope, it’s not. But the fact remains that I get to have some extra quality time to spend with my family—and that, for me, is very important. While this type of work setting may not possibly make me a millionaire nor build my material wealth, it will absolutely give me one of the world’s most valuable gift—TIME. And for that, I will always be grateful. 💖

Sharing here a couple of photos of me and my family enjoying a wonderful time on one of the country’s beautiful islands—Bantayan. 💖

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P.s. “Upskilling” (if that’s even a term already) is very important. Being content with our current skill set is fine, but it’s not always advisable. Why? Because again, the world is constantly evolving. If I stopped at just having the skill to write, how would I be able get my tasks right all the time? Also, with the emergence of AI tools, it’s just a matter of time when our current skill sets become obsolete. So let’s adapt and evolve.

29/04/2025

You know you’re at that age when these goodies become part of your collection. 🤭

Also, Katinko is a top fave here. 👀

28/04/2025

Here's a reminder: Be mindful of how you speak to yourself.

Now go and enjoy your coffee before it gets cold. ☕

08/04/2025

[Reposting this here, but I originally posted this last January. Since it seems that nothing has happened yet, I'm bringing this up again.]

To the local government of the City of Guihulngan,

I would like to raise a serious concern about the dogs that often loiter on the streets, especially at night. Hopefully, this post gets the attention of our esteemed city government officials.

I am not quite certain on whether these dogs are stray or if someone in the area owns them. However, they usually run after motorcycles or even pedestrians who pass by the area, even at times when these dogs are not actually triggered or "angered" by those who are merely passing by. Frankly speaking, this poses significant safety risks.

If this matter stays unresolved, either of the following outcomes could potentially happen:
👉🏻 Someone could get bitten by these dogs.
👉🏻 Motorcycle riders or passersby could get into accidents while trying to avoid them.

A couple of weeks ago, while my husband and I were traversing the Paterno Street route on our motorcycle around 10pm or 11pm, a really angry dog suddenly barked and chased us just a few blocks past Puregold and all the way to the old public market. We didn’t even do anything that could have possibly triggered it to chase us. We weren’t talking loudly or making noises to annoy that dog.

As someone who had a traumatic experience of being chased and almost getting bitten by an angry dog, this almost cost me my sanity for a couple of minutes and could have caused me to faint while still on the motorcycle. Call it overreacting but that’s the truth, and I won’t sugarcoat it. Besides, I believe you have an idea of how dogs are when they go around chasing motorcycles on the streets.

Just last night, the same thing happened. AGAIN.

While we were on the way home from my grandmother’s house in Osmeña, a group of dogs barked at us and chased us as if they were mad at us for passing through. This was near the national high school. The worst part is, our eight-year-old daughter was with us when this happened. If my husband hadn’t maneuvered well, this could have really caused another road accident to happen. Ang nakapait ra ba kay ang motorista pa ang ma-blame kung naay iro nga madasmagan or makadisgrasya. Yes, ALWAYS. How sad is that?

Don’t get me wrong. We don’t hate dogs. We even do have our own, and we take care of her well. We don’t let her go around lingering on the streets as what RESPONSIBLE dog owners should do.

This would possibly sound harsh and inhumane especially to animal lovers and defenders, but if the dog owners could tie their dogs or ensure they stay at home and not on the streets, they would be doing the community a huge favor.

If these dogs are strays, I sincerely hope our local government will take responsibility of them and do something to avoid such things from happening again. I know it’s really cruel to keep animals—let alone dogs—captive, but again, it’s really just one of two things.
Even if they aren’t stray, I believe that something can be done by our local government to ensure that their owners won’t let them linger on the streets anymore.

This is not just about the inconvenience it causes, but more importantly, the safety of the people. That being said, I would really like to call on the city government to do something—anything—that will help resolve this public safety issue. The government could try to lead proper dog-catching initiatives or to collaborate with animal shelters in the area (or even in the whole province) that can help find a home for the stray dogs in a humane way.

I hope we act now to prevent accidents and ensure the safety of both residents and the dogs themselves. And we really need this solution to be an effective and lasting one—not something that only works for a couple of weeks and then the same thing happens all over again because the efficacy has worn off. As they always, “consistency is key.”

Sincerely,
A concerned citizen

[Photo below is from Google]

08/04/2025

First and foremost, we need to find that desire in our hearts.

08/04/2025

Wealth and financial growth do not happen overnight—unless you're a lottery winner or a nepo baby. But even then, the ones that came before you surely worked hard for that wealth too, so yeah.

Sharing here some tips on how to build your wealth (from scratch). Not that I am wealthy myself, but who knows you might pick a point or two from this blog post. 😊

(This article was originally written in April of 2019.) What do rich people do to continuously become rich? A question you might have asked yourself at some points in your life. You’re not alone th…

07/04/2025

How cute is this? 😍

It would be really nice to have a doll or any kind of figurines that represent us, don't you think?

P.S. wala ni nag-represent nako kay gwapa ra kaayo nga doll. 🙈

07/04/2025

Have you been struggling on finding the VA/freelance work that suits you best? Here's a blog post I made about it.

Over the years, there had been quite a lot of websites, marketplaces, and social media pages where we can find an "online" job or any work that we can conveniently do at home or anywhere.

These are the legit websites/marketplaces that I have personally tried ever since I started working from home (2017). Hope this helps!

Read 👉🏻

Torn between wanting to earn an income and chilling at home, having the freedom to do the things you love? Are you a parent who wants to give your children your time and attention while also being …