Why Wait?

I don't mind taking turns, exercising patience and waiting for my ship to come in. In fact, it's one of the virtues I try to teach Oona.

However, there are some situations when you just hafta really hustle if you wanna get a move on!

I'm tired of waiting on fate to bring me what I want. I'm tired of watching people achieve their dreams first. I'm tired of putting myself on hold. I'm tired of postponing my plans and delaying my dreams. I'm done, I'm through, I'm stopping this nonsense right now.

That dream career? I'm taking that. That house? I'll take it. Those fat bank accounts and paying investments? They're mine, thank you. That glamorous, wonderful goddess in the mirror? Why, that's me! Worshipping is allowed, mortal. Bring tribute and I shall be pleased.

When you want something done right, you do it yourself. You don't need to hitch your wagon to someone else's shooting star. You can fly yourself to the moon even if you have to build the dang rocket out of scrap metal and spare parts.

What's life without grabbing some bulls by the balls? Er...Horns. I meant, horns.

The Luscious Dare

So in the middle of setting up the foundations for a business, homemaker duties, motherhood and surviving the day, I have officially kicked off the journey to a luscious me.

On September 29, 2010 I weighed 179 lbs. at 5'1.

I have lost 30 lbs. by December 9, 2010. Yup, the power of affirmative thinking and claiming your future breeds positive action and results.

10 weeks. Lose 3 lbs a week.

Hoo-rah.

Have A Party In Your Pajamas...Forget You're Mom (For Awhile)

Okay, I'll say it for all those who feel guilty for even thinking it: Yes, I want to forget I'm Mommy and get REALLY happy drunk JUST ONE TIME.

Especially when the kids just came from being sick, one after the other twice over, coupled with teething tantrums for a total of not one, not two, but *drumroll please!* FOUR WEEKS OF PURE PARENTING H*LL. Minimal sleep at night, toddler meltdown, throwing up, infant crisis (damn teeth won't just come out and get it over with!) and another two front teeth coming out. Oh, and starting solid food too.

Yeah, yeah, some people have it rougher but I'm not other people. You know you've thought it too.

Some days you just want to have a happy buzz at the end of the day like you used to when you were still a working stiff doing 8am-5pm and happy hour starts at 6pm. Just enough time for a good dinner and then off to the videoke bar for your favorite poison.

Nowadays, Happy Hour is when the little tots fall asleep. Buuuuuut, you usually fall asleep ten seconds after they do. Bwahahahaha :D

However, for those with older kids...Well, my friends over at LaForce sent me a heads up about this French liqueur. Mmmm...just saying French and liqueur is making my taste buds buzz! Sounds so smooth, rich, creamy and sooo heady! :D

 
Intensely unique and inviting, Alizé liqueurs infuse premium French Vodka with nectars of luscious fruits from the world's most exotic regions, from the jungles of Brazil, the lush hillsides of Chile to the tropical shores of pacific islands. Alizé is delicious on the rocks or served in martinis, cosmopolitans, margaritas and mimosas. Uncork the possibilities with Alizé!

NEW YORK, NY (July 27, 2010) -- Alizé, the original premium passion fruit liqueur imported from France, is pleased to announce an exciting brand enhancement of its popular line of passion fruit based liqueur products. Seamlessly transitioning to a vodka-based spirit, the portfolio of Alizé’s distinct, all natural fruit flavors will provide superior mixibility without compromising its signature taste. Due to overwhelming consumer demand, the full line, which includes Alizé Red Passion, Alizé Gold Passion, Alizé Wild Passion, Alizé Rose Passion and Alizé Bleu Passion, will now be made exclusively from exotic passion fruit, all natural exotic fruit juices and remarkably smooth premium French vodka.

Introduced to the United States from France by Kobrand Corporation in 1986, the Alizé product line boasts five delicious flavors made from all natural ingredients that stand alone or blend beautifully with other premium spirits and mixers. Whether blended into margaritas, shaken in martinis, used to elevate dangerously delicious punches or drizzled atop Champagne, Alizé is a must-have for any quality bar or club.

"Alizé is embraced by a contemporary, multi-cultural audience while enjoying an Urban edge and universal appeal” says Alizé Brand Manager Cheryl Talley. “The Alizé consumer is sophisticated, successful and sexy – true tastemakers that are always several steps ahead of the next “it” thing, whether it be in fashion, music or nightlife. We are pleased to offer a fresh spin on our classic line of products in an effort to continually meet the specific demands of our discerning consumers.”

All Alizé products are 16% ABV and retail at $19.99 for 750 ml and $23.99 for 1 liter. For more information on the Alizé product line and recipe ideas, please visit http://www.alize.com/.

So, for all you Mommies and Daddies who can grab these lovelies, please toast to us who are breastfeeding (hence an alcohol ban) and would be stuck fantasizing about this for the time being! Check back on me as I'll be posting some recipes you can easily whip up with Alizé and common household weapons - er, ingredients :D Mix 'em, put your feet up and drink 'em down :D Or turn up the radio or the iPod (to a safe, sleeping-child-sensitive volume) and dance in your pajamas and let your inner diva out of hibernation.

Just for awhile. :)

Mead Johnson Nutrition: Alactagrow and Sustagen Junior are SAFE

I'm reposting this for the benefit of concerned parents:

Mead Johnson Nutrition clarifies issues on Philippine FDA order

Responding to an administrative recall order from the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove current supplies from distribution and sale, Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) Philippines assured consumers that there is no safety issue with the products Alactagrow® and Sustagen Junior®.

The Philippine FDA has issued a Class III order, the lowest level, which is used for products that have technical compliance issues. The regulatory definition of a Class III order specifically states that the use of or exposure to the product “is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.”

“Safety is Mead Johnson’s highest priority and the company spares no effort to comply with the laws of all of the countries in which it operates,” said Paul Richards, President and General Manager of Mead Johnson Nutrition Philippines. “All of the company’s products are produced in accordance with the CODEX Code of Hygienic Practice for Foods for Infants and Children.”

The Philippine FDA said it was issuing the order because the fat content in the products is below the new standard listed in the revised CODEX Standards for Follow-Up Formula, which it has recently adopted in the Philippines.

Richards explained that when the Philippine FDA recently adopted additional CODEX regulations applying specifically to follow-up formulas, Mead Johnson proactively cooperated and has stayed in frequent communication with the Philippine FDA to ensure that Mead Johnson products would continue to be available for the families that use them, and in compliance with the new regulations. The process of reformulating the products so that they comply with the new CODEX regulations is elaborate and requires considerable time so Mead Johnson requested a renewed Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) prior to the end of the product’s term. CODEX is an international organization that develops and promotes food standards.

"Our company is committed to bringing safe, effective, nutritious and high quality products to meet the nutritional needs of the Philippines’ children," said Richards.

Richards said they were surprised by the recall orders, but said they are committed to resolving the issue with the Philippine FDA so that Mead Johnson can continue to offer the children in the Philippines the many nutritional benefits of Alactagrow and Sustagen Junior.

Mead Johnson stressed that all of their products currently sold in the Philippines, including Alactagrow and Sustagen Junior, have passed stringent Philippine FDA health and safety requirements and are considered to be safe for consumption and of high quality. While the fat level requirement does not relate to the safety or quality of the product, Mead Johnson is taking steps to meet that requirement also.

Mead Johnson is launching today a reformulated version of Alactagrow that meets the new regulatory requirements. Work is also underway to develop an updated version of Sustagen to meet the revised standards.

Richards emphasized that Mead Johnson is committed to its mission to nourish the world’s children for the best start in life. Mead Johnson is involved in efforts to address malnutrition through a country-wide feeding and growth-monitoring program called Feeding Hope in partnership with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the non-government organization Kabisig ng Kalahi. In addition, since 1991 Mead Johnson has provided sustained support to children afflicted with rare metabolic diseases.

Consumer health and collaboration with the government and the Food and Drug Administration are Mead Johnson’s top priorities. The company has been for some time and is currently in regular contact with the Philippine FDA regarding the recall and the Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) for the affected products.

A Price On Your Head

Being a mom really rewires your head somehow. For the survival of the species, I suppose, parenthood produces organic mind-altering drugs and suddenly makes the synapses in your brain fire differently from what you thought was already your hard-wiring.

I always thought along the lines of, 'I'm an artist, math is not my friend and I have no head for business.' Not so now, because of the kids.

In the first place, being an artist is never a reason or an excuse not to know your rights and your own commercial value. It's part of protecting oneself and ensuring that you have resources to maintain a quality of life comfortable enough to enable you to keep on doing what you enjoy.

Knowing your rights protects you from greedy and unscrupulous people out to make money from your honest sweat. EDUCATE YOURSELF. Read up on Intellectual Property Rights, that's a start! What's a few hours spent on reading compared to a lifetime of regret? Find out how to register your work, be it an idea, invention, process, tangible or intangible. Watch out for seminars on the subject and talk to people, especially lawyers. Hire a lawyer if your stature demands it or you can well afford it.

Philippine Intellectual Property Office
Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines
Intellectual Property Protection in the Philippines

When you're aware of your rights, it will be easier to determine your correct commercial value. I know it sounds like you're a piece of meat. Well, make no bones about it, YOU ARE. And it's a competitive market out there. You are selling yourself, your service, your product.

Under or overvaluing yourself are huge problems for any artist. Market value stems from studying your rights, your product or service AND your competition. Slash current market trends.

What the heck do I mean?

When you undervalue yourself or your product, and you sell cheaper than you should, you only send the message that you're insecure about your skills. Especially when people see how incredibly talented you are. That's sad in itself, really. You open yourself to being taken advantage of, being arm-twisted into lowering your prices because you seem desperate for the job. It's putting them in control of the situation wherein there should be a mutual respect and balance in the first place. There would be doubt as well that even if your portfolio looks impressive, you may not be giving it your all since you're throwing it away for peanuts. You also bring the floor price of the entire industry down. The thought that someone managed a huge job on a few pesos causes a lot of problematic questions. Most of the time, quality suffers and people are forced to bring their prices down even if overhead expenses stay the same. Loss or lugi. And beware your personal safety and reputation when people find out you're the juggernaut that started the crash.

Of course if it's discounts and personal favors for a job we're talking about, that's a different story. But beware of that too. People love to haggle or assume that you would automatically give a discount or even do it for free especially when you're friends or when you're just starting. Treat discounts and freebies as you would a secret super power. It's a power you would only use when the occasion merits it and with utmost discretion. You're running a business, not a charity. Spot the free loaders and sic some good verbal kung-fu on them. Don't forget your manners, okay? Be polite, firm but gracious as you need to maintain a good image and you don't need the bad juju :) Don't give in to the pressure or fear that they won't buy from you. You are not begging for patronage. The world is a huge place, someone ought to like or need what you have. It also makes people feel special when you do give freebies and discounts. They're more likely to come back for more and bring others with them because you were able to make a special connection with them. I hope that made sense!

Overvaluing or overpricing on the other hand could drive customers and clients away. Of course there's the off chance that you could single-handedly drive up industry prices but unless you're God's gift to your particular job description, don't bet on it. You can be easily replaced by a dozen with the same skill set and cheaper demands. Besides, there's the bigger pressure for performance according to how much you're being paid. If you really deserve it, props to you! But if you don't, the resulting fall can reverberate through the next few jobs. You don't want that, right?

So how do we put a price on our heads?

Read. Research. Talk to people. Use the net. Find out how much others are charging. Look up the highest and lowest asking price and hit an average. Compare your folio with these people and see what pricing bracket you could fall under. If you're starting but think you can compete with the ones asking for higher pay-out, go for it! :)

Attend business seminars to find out how MONEY WORKS FOR YOU. You'll be amazed at so many simple solutions rooted in common sense out there remain unused. Break out of the mentality that you have to work for your money and turn it around to work for you.

Always price right!

Mathematics isn't even a problem. That's what calculators are for! Lolz. And accountants too, by the way. Aside from lawyers, talking to accountants reveal a lot you can do to augment the income you generate on a monthly basis. Any bank would be happy to accomodate your questions if you don't personally know an accountant. And those paycheck deductions that go to your housing, social security and health insurance funds? Ah! You DO have so much, you just don't know it.

So in a nutshell, I thought I wouldn't ever have a head for business until my kids showed me otherwise. When you're a mom, you want to ensure your kids have what they need for a good future. And let's face it, you need money to do that.

Educate yourself. Know your rights. Know your value. Empower yourself.

Philippine Intellectual Property Office
Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines
Intellectual Property Protection in the Philippines

Online Copyright Protection