“So do you have a business card?” someone asks me as we wrap up our client meeting.

It was the first time someone asked me for a card after leaving my office job.

“Let me get back to you on that, I’ll email you a virtual card via email.”

And then it dawned on me: I am in business. It’s a small business. But that’s a word I don’t take lightly.

It’s definitely not something I trained for but it’s something I am definitely into for the rest of my working life. I’ve mentioned before that I wanted to be a work at home mom and now it’s coming true.

I am building blogs and online shops at MomBlogger.net.

I’m partly a WAHM since I still teach at university. But I still love the flexibility and time freedom this new set up gives me.

Now it made me wonder about registering business names or getting some business cards and flyers printed. I am thinking of doing it myself, at least for now. And then when the small business gets a little bigger, I’ll outsource them to a professional printer like Presslink printing services.

Of course, before anything else, I am focused on making the business grow and building my portfolio.

In the first month of the business, I worked with three clients and I’m working on getting their feedback for my services.

But one of them wants to keep the site confidential, because the business has something to do with shipping hazardous materials and lots of permits, so I can’t really put it on my portfolio.

So yes, building up my client base is something that I really want to work on right now. And I’m grateful I’m getting inquiries and referrals every week.

Being a WAHM definitely has it’s challenges, this business thing is a whole new territory for me and the learning curve is quite steep.

But I’m getting the hang of it.

My intention is to have the business in full swing by next year, enough to let me work on it full time.

So here goes. Wish me luck!

Jamaine tries to play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” with her red and yellow toy piano.

“Mommy, can you buy me a piano?”
“Your piano is still okay, baby. It’s still working isn’t it?”
“I mean a real piano, with the real sound. Not a toy.”

First, it was a guitar, now it’s a piano. My little rockstar is exploring her instrument options. Lately, she’s been very keen on getting the “real” stuff, not toys.

I remembered hubby had an old keyboard back at his parents’ home. He actually took lessons when he was a kid. But I doubt that would still work after years of being stocked up.

I looked it up online and something like the akai lpk25 costs around three thousand. Definitely not for playing.

So I thought of giving her the next best thing: I got the Ipad and downloaded a piano app and a drum app too, just in case.

“How about you try this?”
“That’s cool, Mom,” she said as she tap-tapped away.

Seeing this bed on Pinterest makes me want to sleep, sleep and sleep some more. Would be nice to sleep on a custom mattress surrounded by fluffy pillows and cozy sheets.

Lately, I’ve been having back pains because of sleeping between my girls’ uneven beds. We bought them single beds for their own room to prepare them to sleep on their own. But they always ask me to put them to sleep so we push the two beds together and I sleep in between. They beds are not exactly the same height so there goes my back.

I’m guessing it will take some time before they can manage to sleep on their own so this set up has to do for now. In the meantime, I’ll dream of my perfect bed in my sleep.

The books on my work table are piling up and that can only mean one thing: I need to start reading again. I was on a reading high at the beginning of the year, from zero books last year to about four books a month this year.

I had a fiction phase then a business books and personal development phase. I also had writing books on my wish list.

I thought I’d finish all of them in record time but now I’ve got about six of them waiting to be read. I’m rearranging my schedule again and managing my time better so I can make time for reading again.

I’ve been feeling a little out of sorts lately and that means I haven’t been setting aside time to do things just for the love of it.

Besides I miss the thrill of digging for a golden nugget or two and discovering tidbits of information I’ve never known before. I also noticed I write more when I read more.

When I’m done with my list, I’m considering downloading audio books so I can at least listen to them while in transit. I found some on Amazon and there are even some sites that offer online audio books free of charge. That way I can make the most of those times when I’m stuck in traffic. I did try reading a book one time and I got real dizzy. :S

I’m challenging myself to read at least one chapter a day from now on. Hopefully, I’ll finish all books before the end of the year and maybe more.

Okay, maybe not really. What I meant was, payoff time.

Got some good news last week that made me really happy: I stepped on the scales and I found out I already lost 10 pounds. Yay!

Admittedly for quite some time, I’ve been a little lazy to go to the gym. Add to that, Kernan is now more focused on his triathlon training which means he’s mostly out swimming and biking: two things I’m not ready to get into just yet.

And when I don’t have a gym buddy, well I’d rather stay at home.

I’ve also stopped dieting though I cut back significantly on the sweets and chocolates.

I still have no plans to diet but I now feel more motivated to go to the gym more regularly again.

Wedding season is just a month away, more than enough time to get back into gear and get fit.

So I’ll start tomorrow. Right.

Now my ear phones can finally rest easy. Hubby and I found these useful twisty ties at Handyman and our wires and charger cables have never been happier.

Before this, I would use my hair ties to keep my earphones and charger cables from being a tangled mess. I even used old hair ribbons to tie up the component video cables behind the TV. (Can you tell I hardly go to hardware and handyman stores?)

Then one day hubby and I needed a night light and went to Handyman to get one. Just as we were lining up at the counter, I saw these twisty things at the rack and wondered, now why didn’t I think of that? We grabbed a couple of pieces for our chargers. These actually come in different lengths so you can use the longer ones for thicker cables. (Ohhhh… so that’s what you’re supposed to use for them cables! )

So now the hair ties are back in the beauty pouch and my chargers are coexisting peacefully in the gadget pouch. Yay for being organized.

Since we have three weddings lined up this year ’til early next year, it’s still gym season. At least for me.

Well it’s actually my girls who were asked to be flower girls. And I will be the stage mother, er support assistant.

I refuse to use “having two kids” as an excuse to be frumpy. So I’ve been going to the gym with the hubby at least three times a week.

It’s not always an easy task given the cold weather and warm sheets in the bedroom. But just thinking about fitting into those formal dresses kicks my butt up and out of bed.

It’s a good thing there are retro dancing and Zumba classes at the gym. Or else I might get totally bored lifting weights and running on the treadmill.

I like to keep my workouts fun and fast because that’s the only way I can stick with them.

So far, so good.

I can actually see my cheekbones again. And my jeans fit.

I used to say I don’t like going to the gym, but seeing the results and all, I might actually continue my membership past my initial six months.

Anyway, I’ve got a few more inches to go. Hopefully next time, I (and not just my feet) will actually be in the picture, and with a much better shape.

My little rockstars are getting fond of performing in our home.

“Mommy, can I borrow your phone?”

“Why?”

“We’re going to do our show.”

So everyday, their bedroom is transformed into a little recording studio. I am their cameraperson and they are the stars.

Kernan and I had this idea to buy studio microphones for the kiddies. You know those little plastic ones that have a stand and echo voices.

I bet they’ll have a blast singing their heart out and feel like it’s the real thing.

So one day Jamaine comes up to me and says, “Mom, I had a dream last night. I was a rockstar. I want to be a rock star.”

She says she is going to live in a rockstar home and and ride in a rockstar car.

“Well, what exactly does that look like?”

“With stars!”

She’s pretty focused on her rockstar dream right now. She’s wearing her shades all the time and lugging around her guitar.

No black eyeliner and famous stars and straps shirts for now.

My mom says I should try and buy Jamaine a real guitar and see if she’d like to learn how to really play.

Come to think of it, she’s always wondering why her guitar playing doesn’t sound like the one on TV.

If this fascination lasts, maybe we can get one for her next birthday.

That is the question. Every moment of the day and every where we go, there is always bound to be a “Why” question from my girls.

Yes, they are at that stage when they want to know the reason behind everything. Thankfully, most of their questions, so far can be easily answered.

It just takes a lot of patience especially when they have lots of follow up questions.

Like one time, when we were on the way home from the mall, they saw the orange cones on the road.

“Mommy, what are those for?”
“They’re like portable barriers baby, so cars will know where they should go.”
“Why Mom?”
“So they would always be in the proper lane.”
“Why Mom?”
“So they would always be safe.”
“Why Mom?”

Sometimes it could become an endless stream of “Whys.” So I would throw the question back at them.

“Well, why do you think they need to be safe?”
“So they won’t bump into each other and have an accident.”
“There you go.”

Hopefully, when the tough questions come, I’ll be ready with the answers.