Home and Garden, Tips and Tricks

Home + Garden: How To Design A Family-Friendly Garden

No Comments

tips and tricks, home and garden, home improvement

Do you recall the last time your children played outdoors? If you don’t remember your kids heading outside to play an old-fashioned game of hide-and-seek or patintero, you’re not alone as many parents are lamenting the fact that their children are spending more time playing with their smartphones or computers. As a result, a survey has revealed that the Philippines is one of the unhealthiest countries in Asia as 30% of parents admit that their children don’t get enough exercise. Often, the culprits of this unhealthy lifestyle are being too engrossed in computer games, watching online videos, and overuse of social media. By living a sedentary lifestyle, Pinoy kids are missing out on the benefits of being in nature, but you can improve
matters by designing a garden that your family will enjoy. By improving your outdoor space, you can create a garden that will encourage your loved ones to spend more time enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Here are a few
tips to help you design a family friendly garden.

Create Zones In Your Garden

If you happen to have a reasonably large backyard, it may be a great idea to create zones in your garden. Divide your outdoor space into several sections, such as a sitting area, an active play section, a flower or vegetable garden section, and the like. Doing so makes your garden a lot more interesting to young ones and increases the number of outdoor activities you can do with your kids.

Make It Colorful And Beautiful

Continue Reading

Home, Home and Garden, Tips and Tricks

Tips + Tricks: How To House Train A Puppy Fast

No Comments

home, home and garden, tips and tricks, pets, homemaking

From the moment your eyes light up when you’re surprised with a puppy until it’s grown you’ll have fond memories.

But your memories can be clouded if your puppy isn’t house trained properly. I once walked into a room where my puppy had spent a few hours alone, and it was a mess!

So we learn from our faults and house train our puppies, right? Trust me, you wouldn’t want to be stuck in a cycle of constantly cleaning up your puppy’s messes.

And some dog owners still do so after years of failed house training. Eeek!

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

It’s best to keep your puppy with you always. There are actions that will tell you he needs to potty. He can turn in circles or sniff & scratch the floor.

You must stop what you’re doing and rush him to a designated potty spot in the yard. Your puppy will get used to the grass on his paws and only want that feeling when he needs to go.

Form these habits and you can slowly build up assurance that your puppy won’t mess inside.

Clean Up Accidents Instantly and Thoroughly

There have been times where I thought my puppy was being good and wouldn’t “go” inside. This confidence was shattered when one room had plenty of messes.

My puppy had created an indoor designated area to potty!

There is a good chance the same will happen to you. Before you reprimand your puppy, you must clean up the messes immediately and remove any stains & smells. Smells tell your puppy that it’s ok to potty inside—which it’s not.

Remember to take him outside. Your puppy must still believe it’s okay to go potty, just not in the house.

Set Up an Eating Schedule

These schedules in come handy because you can time when to take your puppy outside. When your puppy finishes his meal & water, take him outside 15-20 minutes later.

You can also associate the action with a command. Every time you take him outside you can say “hurry up” or “go potty”. If you’re persistent with this, when your puppy is older you can just yell out the command and it’ll go outside without your help.

Reward Your Puppy

You love incentives for good work, and so does your puppy. Give him a treat or rub his head when he does his business outside. These rewards make your puppy happy and he will do things to get more.

Your puppy will even wait to go outside just to receive the rewards you provide.

Continue Reading

Home and Garden, Tips and Tricks

Tips + Tricks On Pursuing Your Passion Without Breaking The Bank

No Comments

I strongly believe that we should not stop pursuing our passions even now that we are mums and have to take care of so many things {and people}, all at the same time. And because we have to look after so many concerns, all the more that we have to take much-needed breaks and pursue activities that are not only great for passing the time but also ideal in nurturing our inner child and our soul.

Sharing with you a few of my passions in life and some tips and tricks on how I manage to pursue them without spending too much moolah:

Yoga + Meditation

Some would spend too much and enroll themselves in the gym to practice yoga. Since the old yoga center I used to go to has closed down, I had no choice but to practice at home with my trusty yoga mat as my companion. For newbies, there are many educational videos on youtube you can watch to learn how to do yoga, or other form of exercises, in the safety of your home.

In the same manner, there are also many instructional materials online on meditation. Personally, I absolutely enjoy Oprah & Deepak 21-Day Meditation Experience and have been doing this for a while now. What’s even better is that I do not need to spend a cent in enjoying this. I just registered on the site and wait for their free 21-Day Meditation Experience, which usually comes about 2-3 times in a year, and enjoy meditation when it is out! It even has an app version, so you can do your meditation practice with your mobile device. You can download the Meditation Experience app on Play Store here.

Calligraphy

I am a total newbie in calligraphy and have been wanting to learn more since last year when I discovered all these awesome calligraphy accounts on Instagram. Most workshops are costly and this mum can spend the money on other necessities, so when I heard that they are offering free basic calligraphy workshop at the SM Stationery Art Festival last summer, I just knew I had to attend. A minimum purchase earned me a slot at the free workshop! What got me even more excited is that Meeya Cruz of Calligrafriends PH was teaching calligraphy that day. I love her work and I have been following her for awhile. I have also joined their Facebook group and am just in awe at the many calligraphy works members share there. I tagged along my sister and the little man to this event at the SM Megamall Fashion Hall and was even lucky to be chosen as one of the winners to get Faber-Castell freebies! 😀

We absolutely enjoyed our experience that we even joined their Journaling Workshop at the SM North Edsa run of the Art Festival, where we got to learn some journaling tips from Abbey Sy.

Continue Reading