Best HP printer for your Home Office and Home Schooling needs from Shopee

Time flies by so fast and in just two months, the school year 2020 - 2021is set to open. With the recent pandemic though, school opening this year is going to be way different. Whereas before parents clamored to get the right bag, shoes, and lunchboxes, this year, it's all about finding the right printer because this year, it's all about distance learning or homeschooling.

Same goes for parents who have been given the opportunity to work from home. To cut down on costs, let's go ahead and have a look at which HP printer is best for both home office and home schooling from HP's official store on Shopee.

HP Deskjet 1112 Printer

If you have an incoming nursery or kinder student, this printer is perfect. The main function of this HP color inkjet compact printer is all about reliable color printing.

Colors are more enticing for kids so this will help them want to learn more.

You can also save space with this printer since it is designed to fit on your desk or on a shelf.

HP Neverstop Laser 1000a Monochrome printer

For those who need a reliable home office printer as well as those who have kids who are already in elementary and high school, the HP Neverstop Laser 1000a Monochrome printer is the best bang for buck.

It is the first printer with the world's first laser tank and it can print 21 pages per minute. It also has  a control panel LED display and can accommodate 150 sheets in it's input tray. Truly functional yet stylish.

HP Officejet Pro 9020 AiO Printer - Print, Fax, Scan, Copy, and Wireless (LIGHT BASALT)

For those who have a more advanced home office set up or have kids who are already in senior high or college, the HP Officejet Pro 9020 AiO Printer - Print, Fax, Scan, Copy, and Wireless (LIGHT BASALT) is the perfect choice.

Print speed is up to 39 pages per minute and for colored photo printing, it can process a page in less than one minute. It also comes with a scanner, digital scanning, mobile printing, fax functions, and copier. It's basically your office printer but at home.

No matter what your printing needs are, be it for your home office or home schooling, HP has a printer for you. Download the Shopee app to your phone from Google Play or App store so you can get your hands on these deals.

Find the best Garmin Smartwatch for every budget from Shopee this Independence Day

Guilty of living a sedentary lifestyle throughout this whole quarantine period? Ate too much? Exercise too little or none at all? Didn't reach the minimum number of steps required daily? Be in control of your health once more and let Garmin help you stay on track.

Acquiring a Garmin smartwatch is easy since you can easily purchase from their official store on Shopee without leaving your home. There's also one for every budget so here's a list of what I recommend since I personally have my own Garmin Venu that helps to remind me about my number of steps and water intake.

Garmin vívofit® jr. Broken Lava Activity Tracker for Kids

This daily activity tracker for kids features 1+ year battery life; no recharging needed. This kid-friendly design is comfortable, durable and swim friendly up to a certain point.

It can track steps, sleep and 60 minutes of daily recommended activity to ensure that your kids remain active. It also comes with a free parent-controlled apps that includes fun and educational mobile adventures for kids and chore/behavior management for parents.

Kids can even earn coins to redeem for agreed-upon rewards managed by parents.

Garmin Forerunner 45 (Red) GPS Running Watch with Garmin Coach

This is an entry level running smartwatch. It comes with Garmin Coach Training Plan Support that is easy to use.

This monitors heart rate at the wrist and features GPS to track your pace, distance, intervals and more. It also works with free Garmin Coach adaptive training plans that bring expert, personalized coaching right to your wrist.

Garmin Vívomove HR Premium Stainless Steel Case

Starting off with the midrange Garmin smartwatch, the Vivomove H Premium helps youto stay connected with smart features such as music controls and smart notifications for incoming calls, text messages, calendar reminders and more.

It also comes with 24/7 heart rate monitoring with Elevate™ wrist heart rate technology. Other features include the wellness monitoring tools, such as all-day stress tracking and a relaxation timer to help you manage stress. This also includes advanced sleep monitoring with REM sleep.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 Shadow Gray

Keep an eye on your health 24/7 with the broadest available range of all-day health monitoring features on your Garmin Vivoactive 4 Shadow Gray.

You can easily download music to your watch for phone-free listening with this model and record all the ways to move with more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps.

Exercising becomes easier with easy-to-follow, animated workouts rights on your watch screen and you don't need to worry about your gadget's juice because it can last 6 hours in GPS and music mode.

Garmin Fenix 5 Black Sapphire Multisport

This is the smartwatch for fitness fanatics and adventure addicts. Fit for adventure with rugged design that features stainless steel bezel, buttons and rear case, the Garmin Fenix is designed to last in the outdoors. Outdoor sensors, including GPS and GLONASS satellite reception and 3-axis compass with gyroscope and barometric altimeter are just some of it's key features.

Put stats at your fingertips with the performance widget that shows the effects and progress of your workouts. Connected features include smart notifications, automatic uploads to Garmin Connect™ online fitness community and personalized through free watch faces and apps from our Connect IQ™ store

Battery life lasts up to 2 weeks in smartwatch mode (depending on settings), up to 24 hours in GPS mode or up to 60 hours in UltraTrac™ battery saver mode.

Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire Carbon Gray DLC with Black Band

This is probably the pretties, in my opinion, amongst all the Garmin smartwatch. The rugged yet sophisticated design features an always-on 1.3” display that’s 18% larger than previous fēnix models. It includes a stainless steel or DLC coated bezel and is tested to U.S. military standards.

These rugged fēnix multisport GPS watches let you add mapping, music, intelligent pace planning and more to your workouts — so you can take any challenge in stride and in style.

The new features helps you run smarter over various types of terrain. It also has preloaded ski maps for more than 2,000 resorts around the world. This Garmin Fenix 6 also lets you navigate your world with multi-GNSS satellite reference and outdoor sensors while you sync your favorite streaming services, and listen to music without your phone.

No matter what your budget is, there's a Garmin smartwatch that's meant for you so make sure to download the free Shopee app to your phone through Google Play or the App store.

Best Anker Powerbanks you can get from Shopee

One of the best inventions since smartphones came into the picture are power banks. You can go anywhere, be anywhere, and stay connected as long as your phone has battery and power banks help to make that happen.

One of the brands that I trust when it comes to power banks is Anker. I've tried them, tested them, and I love them. In fact, I have the Anker Power Lite that is so slim yet powerful. It can easily fit into my night purse without any problem.

Now that we are slowly embracing the new normal, physical shopping is becoming a thing of the past for the meantime which is why it's great that Anker has an official store on Shopee. I know that during the whole ECQ, I had to rely on online shopping to get things that I needed and the Anker store in Shopee was part of my add to cart list.

For those looking for the best Anker power bank, here are two of my recommendations.

Anker PowerCore II Slim 10000mAh PowerBank

I recommend this one to those who are always on the go but hate lugging around a heavy power bank. With 10,000 mAh, this baby can power your phone at leat 3x within the day so even if you're on YouTube or streaming the whole day, you won't ever run out of juice.

It's also slim and stylish so even if you hold it with your phone, it won't feel bulky or a hassle. You can also just slide it in your back pocket though I wouldn't recommend it coz your phone's cable might break.

This is perfect for your average joe to your not so average user such as gamers, vloggers, and people who are glue to their phones but get to go home and recharge at night.

Anker Powercore 26800 mAh Power Bank

If you need the Superman of all power banks, the Anker Powercore 26800 mAh is the one for you. It has 3x USB ports so you can charge multiple gadgets at the same time.

For iPhone users, it can charge 10x as fast and it also has a multi protect system ensuring that your gadgets are protected from voltage boost.

I'd recommend this for people who are always traveling and won't have access to a plug for long hours on end. With 26800 mAh, you're definitely covered for at least 2 days.

If you climb mountains, move from city to city or country to country as part of your job, this power bank will definitely be the perfect fit for you.

Make sure that you download the Shopee app on your phone for free from the App Store or Google Play so that you can get your hands on these lifesavers. I know that I'm definitely getting the Anker Powercore for my partner soon.

5 Tools that I use as a Blogger

Being a blogger is no walk in the park. Aside from coming up with new topics to write and share with your readers, you need to think of the photos that go with the article. You also need to be aware of SEO, digital marketing, and the like to ensure that your posts reaches the right people.

Since I have been doing this for almost 15 years now, some people have asked what I used to make my blogs. Here are some tools that I use to make my blog better.

1. Canva

Canva is a god send for people like me who cannot do graphics to save my life. Canva enables me to create header images such as the one above without too much effort. It looks professional too.

2. Unsplash / Pexels / Pixabay

These sites that have royalty free images are another god send. I am able to use images that look blog worthy without having to conduct a shoot on my own. I can simply type in the "thought" or "look" that I need and almost always, one of these sites will deliver the specific image that I need.

3. Foldio Light Box

I use one for photoshoots of products that I present on the blog. The Foldio Light Box helps me make the photos look more presentable and appealing to the people reading the blog.

4. A Notebook / Google Keep

I use a notebook to list down my ideas when I'm at home and Google Keep when I'm on the move and don't have access to my notebooks. This way, I don't forget an idea and when I've run out of ideas to blog about, I can look at my notebook or keep for some inspiration.

5. ASUS Zenbook, Zenfone 5 and Powerbank

The things I rely on the most for my blogging needs are my laptop, phone, and powerbank. I've had the ASUS Zenbook for over 3 years now and it's still able to perform and meet all my blogging as well as vlogging demands.

For mobile, it's my Zenfone 5 that is able to deliver all that I need. Long battery life, great photos, and video recording that is like no other even under the blistering heat of the sun. For really long travels, the ASUS Powerbank is my best friend. It can power up my phone up to 4x so I'm sure that I can capture all the blog worthy moments that I need to capture.

So there you go. These are the things that I use as a blogger. What's your go to tools?

5 Reasons to still use a Planner

One of the things that I kept seeing as the pandemic hit was that people were regretting buying a planner. Though it is true that being stuck at home for at least 3 months meant that there were no plans being made, it doesn't mean that we don't need a planner anymore.

Here are 5 good reasons why you should still use a planner.

1. You are alive.

This means that there is still something going on with your life. There are things that you need to keep track of and there are things that you need to take care of. This means a planner or a journal is still very much needed.

2. You need to monitor things.

Planners are a great way to monitor habits. With the whole quarantine in place, it's easy to let go and just leave things to rot. Your body and health shouldn't be one of them.

You can use your planner or journal to monitor your sleep pattern, exercise, water intake, and anything that you feel you need to check yourself on to make sure that you are not straying from what is ideal.

3. Take care of your mental health.

You can use your journal to write down your thoughts, worries, and fears. It's normal to feel all these because we are living in uncertain times and we don't know what will happen tomorrow or if we will be alive tomorrow.

Your journal can be your best friend. You can write anything and no one will judge you. You can also track your moods to see if you may be in need of professional help. Again, no judgement because everyone copes in a different manner.

4. You need to adjust to the new normal.

Things are no longer how they were before so it's necessary to keep track of the changes and adjustments needed to survive the new normal. Write down your Zoom meetings and e-events so that you won't forget.

5. Memory keeping.

Just because you are not going out does not mean that you shouldn't keep a record of your daily life. You can document what is happening and this would be something that future generations would want to look at, including yourself when things eventually get back to normal.

I've been keeping one all this time. Have you?

How to Properly Report Fake Facebook Profiles

If you're an ordinary person like me,  Sunday would have come with a surprise of duplicates for you. 

Suddenly, there's more than one account out there with your name on it. Problem is, you didn't create the fake profile. 

Another thing that we noticed: it's always your first name, second last name, and then a series of numbers. 

It's scary to be honest. Almost all my friends have reported having a fake account with their name that they never created. 

So here's how you can properly report those fake profiles. We'll use my best friends fake profile as sample. 

Click on Report Profile

Click on Pretending to be Someone, then a friend if its for a friend or ME if its you.     

After you will be asked to type the name of your friend if you are reporting for someone else. 

This is the crucial part. DO NOT CLICK DONE. Instead, click on Report Profile. 

Then click on the tickbox. 

You should see this. This is when you have successfully reported a fake account. After, you can click done. 

Why do you think there's an influx of fake accounts today? 

on goodbyes and starting over ...

I have said hello to so many people in my life. I have introduced myself and gotten to know them. I have fallen in love, cared for deeply about people, and treasured people that I've come to know.

However, there is something different when it comes to family.

You don't get to introduce yourself to them. They just come into your life and you get hit with this ball of love the moment you lay eyes on them. Something that K said to me before that I still remember now is that we were never introduced to each other. For all her life, I was Atsi and she was Shobe. She grew up with that. I lived with that reality.

Until now ....

The last few months, K and I have stopped talking to each other. I tried reaching out to her twice but she wouldn't let me in. So I stopped.

She's not the little girl that I know. She's not even the teenager that I know, the one who was responsible and mature. In place now is a person that I barely recognize but still care for deeply.

They're moving out today. They found a place to live in where it will just be her and our Mom. M and I have also found a place for our small family to live at. It feels surreal because I never thought that this day would come.

In my head, they were always part of my little world. In my head, it was always my family and them. In my head, I had this perfect little world.

I didn't want to let go, not because I couldn't do well on my own but because I just never imagined in the last 10 years or so living without them. They have become an integral part of my life that the thought never even crossed my mind.

It hurts.

But I have to let go.

I need to let go.

I must let go.

As I move forward, I'm lucky that I have M, B, and baby MK with me. They are my family now. They are my reason for moving forward and for putting one step in front of the other.

I have a partner who needs me to help him lead our family. I have two boys that need me to be a Mom and guide them in life. I have my very own family now.

I have said hello to so many people in my life.

I have said goodbye to so many people in my life.

I have never said goodbye to someone that comes from the same family as I ... so I won't.

It's not goodbye ... perhaps, it's a see you later ... when things are better, when lessons have been learned, when changes for the good happen, and when forgiveness creeps in.

It's not goodbye ... it's I'll see you when I see you.

For now ... we all need to start over and just love each other from a distance.

SLAMCI Market Outlook 2020

One of the things that I love about Sun Life is that they are very transparent when it comes to how the market is performing. You get a sense of reassurance because you know that they are looking out for you and is working with you so that you can have a better understanding of things.

I attended the recent SLAMCI and learned of different ways that I can still invest.

I also learned that they are closely monitoring what the government is doing in response to everything that is happening and how it is affecting the market.

The forecast so far is that it will be at around the 3rd Quarter of the year where we may see a potential rise in the market, granted that there is a strict adherence to all the health and safety protocols.

The economy took a hit but the thing is, it took a hit worldwide so in a way, everyone is still on the same playing field. I guess the main difference is that there are countries who are really helping out the companies in their area while here, we're left to fend for ourselves.

I guess the main thing that makes me feel secure the most about Sun Life is the fact that financial markets have always rebounded from losses. Major economies are slowly reopening which means that we are slowly going on the road to recovery. Most of all, people may feel fear now but eventually, they will have the fear of missing out and they will want to invest once again.

Mang Domeng's Bibingka

One of the things that I missed having during this entire ECQ is being able to buy kakanin. Since I have no talent in making one, I've always made it a point to buy one whenever I see a stall inside SM. However, due to the ECQ, the Mang Domeng's Bibingka stall in SM Center Las Pinas was part of the establishments initially closed.

Thankfully, they are now back in business so I made sure that I would get my hands on them once more. M trooped over to SM Center donned in eye goggles and mask of course to get us some of these goodies.

One of the things I love about Mang Domeng's Bibingka is that it comes in 4 packages. Solo, pasalubong, barkada, and salo salo. Since there was a lot of us at home, we got the barkada and salo salo box. The Barkada Box costs P180 while the Salu Salo Box costs P240.

This sticky bibingka is perfect paired with coffee, hot chocolate, or even soft drinks. It's not too sweet and is heavy enough to make for a filling merienda. It's also perfect for late night snacks as proven by M when he would get 3-4 slices at midnight while watching over our baby.

For those who are interested in buying, here are the stalls currently open for take out.

METRO MANILA
Waltermart Bicutan
Waltermart North Edsa (Munoz)
Guadalupe Kalayaan (infront of Palengke)
Puregold Arvo - Ayala Mall Marikina
Bambang Pasig (F Antonio St)
Tuktukan, Taguig (near PSBank)
Villamor, Pasay ( infront of Metro supermarket)
SM Center Las Pinas

CAVITE
Waltermart Carmona
Waltermart General Trias (Manggahan)
Waltermart Trece Martires
Puregold Buhay na Tubig (Imus)
Mariano Espeleta (Imus)

BULACAN
Waltermart Sta Maria
Waltermart Guiguinto
Waltermart Plaridel

LAGUNA
Waltermart Sta Rosa Bel Air
Puregold Tagapo
Puregold Binan

This is definitely going to be a staple merienda in our household because M loves it so much. He actually finished the two boxes in just 4 days. Now that's a whole lot of bibingka.

Lessons I Learned from Sky Castle (SPOILER FREE)

I've been hearing so much about Sky Castle that I finally bit the bullet and made time to watch it. I must say that I absolutely do not regret watching this.

It's different from the usual Kdrama that I would watch. This one did not center on a blossoming love between a man and a woman. Sky Castle is a story of a mother's love and determination to make her kid be a success. 

Sky Castle is a series that should be watched by all parents. There are a lot of lessons that can be learned. Here are some that I can share without spoiling the drama for anyone who reads this.

1. Family is everything. There is no amount of success, prestige, and honor that would make up for the love of a whole family.

2. Greed will get you in trouble. When you want everything, you will be left with nothing.

3. True power comes from knowing who you are, what you live for, and what you stand for in life.

4. Your kids success matters but it should never be at the cost of their mental health and happiness.

5. A real partnership between a married couple matters in helping them get through anything.

6. Sometimes, you need to give tough love to make someone realize their mistake.

7. A group of girl friends will drive you crazy but they will also get you through tough times.

8. The butterfly effect is real. Our actions will always affect someone else.

9. Family will always be family. They may fight but in the end, they should fix thing because that's what a family does.

10. No man is an island. We all need other people's help and we should all be willing to help others too.

Sky Castle is quite emotional but it will remind you of what family is about and how sometimes, the persons we love the most can hurt us badly but in the end, we will forgive because that's what family does.

SOLON PUSHES FOR MANDATORY IMMUNIZATION

Since webinars are the new seminars, I made time to attend the Kapihan sa Manila Bay session held earlier today. I've been going crazy wanting to know more about immunization and other things so this webinar was a way to alleviate the worries in my heart as a Mom.

House Committee on Health chair Rep. Angelina Tan reaffirmed her stand on mandatory immunization amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to prevent future outbreaks from happening.

During the very first online “Kapihan Sa Manila Bay” held Wednesday, Tan cited the importance of pursuing the government’s immunization program even during the community quarantine as a way to ensure that children are protected from future pandemics.

“We have several initiatives in Congress in relation to the country’s immunization program,” Tan revealed. “We are pushing for the creation of the NITAG, a national immunization advisory board, and we are trying to adopt a school-based immunization program that will benefit our students,” she added.

Tan also reaffirmed her call for an open, competitive bidding process in vaccines. According to Tan, an important element in the immunization program is to ensure that the procurement of vaccines is done in such a way that no single manufacturer is favored. The specifications in bidding should not favor a single brand.

Late last year, the Department of Health (DOH) suspended a call for bidding for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) after medical experts noted that the bidding favored a single manufacturer.

Health Undersecretary Dr. Ma. Rosario Vergeire explained in the same forum that the DOH suspended the bidding for PCVs after new evidence that they need to look into more carefully was presented.

“Nung lumabas ang bagong ebidensiya na sinubmit sa atin, ang desisyon namin ay ipasok muna sa Health Technology Assessment Center (HTAC). HTAC is reviewing the procurement, which is really the right process. Ngayon po hindi pa lumalabas ang recommendation ng HTAC,” Vergeire revealed.

“Hindi natin tinigil ang programa, hinihintay lang namin ang recommendation ng HTAC at itutuloy natin ang programa,” she added.

The DOH previously requested the HTAC to review the National Immunization Program (NIP), particularly the Pneumococcal Vaccination Program for children, in light of new 2017 and 2019 evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO).

In February 2019, WHO reaffirmed this earlier position saying that the two available PCVs in the market--PCV10 and PCV13--are equally effective in preventing overall pneumococcal diseases in children. The position paper also states that there is at present insufficient evidence of a difference in the net impact of the two available PCVs on overall disease burden.

For her part, Dr. Lulu Bravo, an epidemiologist and professor of Pediatric Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the College of Medicine of UP Manila, stressed that the new evidence regarding PCVs that came out recently came from experts themselves. “According to the WHO, when it comes to pneumococcal vaccination for children, both PCV10 and PCV13 are just as good. The important thing is cost-effectiveness,” Bravo noted. “We should follow what the WHO says, being experts in their field. If you cannot believe WHO, who will you believe?” she added.

In the same Kapihan, epidemiologist Dr. Troy Gepte supported the DOH’s move to have the PCV procurement assessed, stressing that the HTAC review is indeed mandated by law. “It is something that we need to undergo so we can have a more objective way of determining both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of any medicine, vaccine, product or procedure that goes through our medical system,” Gepte noted.

When asked about the P4.9-billion budget for PCVs, Vergeire said, “Talagang mahal po yung bakuna. Matagal na naming pinag-aralan yan, late last year pa. Kaya nga po ay humingi na ng tulong sa HTAC. We wanted to know if we are being cost-effective. Lalo na meron na tayong pangangailangan sa mga ibang bakuna. Kailangan na talagang pag-aralan ang gastusin sa vaccine.”

Tan also stressed, “Both vaccines exist. If the health assessment proves that both PCV10 and PCV13 have the same effects, then we need to go through a procurement process that’s open and competitive so the government can save on costs.”

On a related note, Rep. Adriano A. Ebcas of the Ako Padayon Pilipino Partylist, revealed  that he and three other partylist representatives filed a resolution urging the DOH to ensure the continued safe implementation of the mandated National Immunization Program for children despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House Resolution aims to encourage and support the DOH in its endeavor to contain the current outbreak and prevent future community outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resolution also aims to secure and ensure a stable supply of available vaccines through the continued conduct of open, fair, and competitive bidding, thereby preventing any “outbreak within an outbreak.”

In the resolution, the solons declared, “An open, fair, competitive public procurement of NIP vaccines provide the Filipino people the broadest possible options for affordable, quality, and registered vaccines, allowing for potential significant savings to the government while at the same promoting strong public governance.”

Tom DeBlass may go against Brandon Vera for ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

USE CODE MSKATHYKENNY for 10% OFF WHEN YOU BUY FROM THE ONE CHAMPIONSHIP SHOP 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu icon and mixed martial arts veteran Tom DeBlass is excited to step inside the Circle for ONE Championship as soon as tense circumstances surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic have eased.

The veteran martial artist says the extended period in quarantine allowed him to take a step back and reevaluate his career, which rekindled his passion for professional competition and led to his signing with the Singapore-based martial arts organization.

“This pandemic has really changed my way of thinking and my thought process. It’s very hard for me to just sit in my home, and I started developing a fire, a drive, and a motivation that I didn’t have before, but I put all my faith in God,” said DeBlass. 

“A few days after I had a long prayer, Chatri [Sityodtong] messaged me and asked me what I thought about fighting. If it wasn’t him who messaged me, I wouldn’t have even thought about it. I truly admire what he has done with ONE, and I admire him. I said this must be God’s plan.”

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced that DeBlass would be joining ONE in a Facebook post on Monday, 18 May.

 “Please join me in welcoming legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trailblazer Tom DeBlass (9-2) to ONE Championship! A true champion with Viking warrior blood, he will be competing in mixed martial arts in the heavyweight division, and possibly the light heavyweight division too. With his athleticism and finishing abilities, Tom has the potential to take both divisions by storm, and make a World Title run. Of course, he will have to conquer some monumental challenges in order to do so. He has told me that the world will see the very best version of Tom DeBlass in history,” Sityodtong wrote.

“Not only is Tom a World Champion grappler and a ferocious competitor, but he is also a role model with a heart of gold. I am not sure how it happened, but Tom and I somehow developed a friendship over time through Facebook. We share many of the same life philosophies, and we developed a mutual respect and admiration for each other.”

DeBlass is a multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling World Champion, and one of the grappling arts’ most highly-regarded teachers. He is a product of the Renzo Gracie-Ricardo Almeida lineage and has mentored several high-level grappling competitors, including Jen Allen Russell, Kyle Cranmer, and fifth-ranked ONE featherweight contender, Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon.

DeBlass last competed in mixed martial arts nearly seven years ago. His official record stands at 9-2, which includes four victories by knockout and two by submission. Following stoppage wins over Carlos Brooks and Jason Lambert in 2013, DeBlass decided to put his professional career on the shelf to focus on developing his students at Ocean County Jiu Jitsu (OCJJ). Now, he cannot wait to return to action and make the most of his abilities.

When asked why he chose ONE Championship, DeBlass explained his thought process.

“If I did come back to competition, it’s with ONE and no one else. I love what ONE Championship stands for and I’ve been to the shows multiple times. I love the Samurai spirit. I love the Asian culture. Whether ONE is fighting in Asia or the United States, the culture they have represents much more than mixed martial arts,” he said.

“I look at ONE as a way of life and not fighting. I don’t look at ONE as fighting at all. I look at ONE as a chance to showcase my skills once again, have fun and push myself, and hopefully inspire other people.”

DeBlass is expected to join the heavyweight and light heavyweight ranks, which means match-ups with ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera and ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang could be on the cards if he can work his way to the top.

Though much is expected of him, the American grappling sensation is simply focused on taking one bout at a time and looking for victory each time he steps into the Circle.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I don’t want to disrespect anyone that has been in ONE or any titleholders or anybody who has been putting their time in. I’m just going to say my goal is to inspire everyone, fight by fight,” said DeBlass.

“Every fight I have, I look to win. Every competition I have, I look to win. Whatever path God takes me on, whether that be a World Title or defeat, I accept my fate. Let’s see what happens. It’s going to be phenomenal.”

10 Lessons I Learned from Being a Hoarder

I used to be a hoarder.

In fact, I talked about my multiple efforts to minimize my things here, here, and here. It took me 3 years to actually let go of about 60% of my stuff and another year to get rid of 20% more. Now, I have about 20% of the amount of stuff that I used to own and I have never felt better.

To help someone out there who may be having a hard time letting go, here are 10 lessons / tips / thoughts that I have about being an ex-hoarder.

1. You hoard because you are actually filling up an emotional void. Hoarding makes you feel like you are in control of things and that the more stuff you have, the more you have in life. This is not the case.

People who hoard will never stop hoarding until they actually address the real issue that they are hiding from or running away from.

2. Hoarding is an addiction. It's hard to stop and your mind is always on default between the following:

• but I might need this someday ... 
  
• I'll use this one day.
  
• What if it runs out of stock?
• It's on sale!
• It was really expensive. I can't just let it go.
  

3. Hoarding wastes a lot of resources. I used to have too much of everything. Make up, skin care, clothes, bags, shoes, arts and crafts. I had too much of everything.

Since I had too much of things, I ended up not using a lot of them. I wasted so much make up, skincare items, bath essentials, and even bags and shoes.

Makeup expires within 6 months to 24 months. Please don't hoard this. It is the same with lotion and moisturizers. The temptation to try so may things is great but try to use up what you have first before buying another. There's this wonderful sense when you empty a bottle or pan.

4. Hoarding does not just take up physical space. It takes up mental space and that affects your overall psyche. You might think it's just physical space but our physical space has a lot of effect on our mental health.

When a house is too crowded, there's not enough air or light that gets in. You also need to always navigate around your clutter and the possibility of constantly looking for things is huge. This causes more stress.

5. When you have too many clutter around you, things that you don't use, love, or want, it lowers your creativity as well as your productivity. When there's less distraction around you, you can channel your energy on things that actually matter.

6. When you hoard, you spend money on things that you will never use, never enjoy for more than a moment, and will only add to the clutter in your home. When you finally learn to stop hoarding and just buy what you need or truly love AND will use, you will be able to save money.

7. When you stop being a hoarder, your entire well being improves. You will find that you will smile more, sleep better, and overall feel better.

8. You realize how much you really have the moment you de-clutter and stop hoarding. I recommend shopping your stash. I promise that the amount of items you have will blow your mind.

9. You gain more time. Now that you don't need to navigate your way around your clutter or spend time looking for lost treasures or items, you will have more time doing things that you actually love.

10. You learn to let go. When you de-clutter your hoarded stuff, you learn to let go. It will be really hard in the beginning but eventually, you learn to let go of the following:

• things that belong in the past
  
• things that have no real value
  
• things that someone gave you but you don't really love
  
• things that were handed down to you but you don't really want
  
• things that you have outgrown
  
• things that no longer matter
  
• things that are in excess 
  
• things that are just there because it's expensive 

Even if you have a mansion, hoarding is not a good thing to do. It affects your physical space by causing more dust, dirt, and insects to house in your place. It affects your mental health because it adds more stress and wasted time. It affects the Earth because you will waste more than 80% of what you have. You should buy only what you need.

Lastly, it will affect your finances because you will buy and buy but not end up using things. Wasted resources, wasted money.

I hope that this helped someone choose to not hoard anymore.

10 Lessons I Learned from Negative People

Negative people are around us. Sometimes, they can even be your family, partner, or your closest friends. They suck the energy out of you and they just bring you down.

It's sad when you see a negative person. They are unhappy, miserable, and are never content in life. They blame everyone around them, but never take ownership for the things that they have done.

It's necessary that you cut ties with people like this. Sometimes though, it may seem impossible so you need to learn to cope. Here are some lessons that I learned from having negative people around me.

1. If you are a negative person, don't expect good things to happen. If you constantly complain, whine, curse, yell, and do things that are considered negative, do not expect positive things to happen in your life.

2. If you committed a sin, you will pay for it. This is called justice. Justice is when you receive something good or bad depending on what you have done. You sin, you pay for it. You did a good thing, something good comes your way.

Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Life for life.

Grace will never come for you. Grace is when you receive something that you don't deserve but was given anyway because God granted it to you.

3. If you go about speaking ill of others when their back is turned to you and pretending to be good when they are facing you, it shows how MISERABLE of a person you are. Happy people do not go around trying to destroy others.

4. Ang magnanakaw, galit sa kapwa magnanakaw. A thief will hate another thief because it takes one to know one.

5. Secrets always have a way of coming out. ALWAYS.It's why scandals became a thing.

It's also why I made my life an open book. No one can use anything against you if you have nothing to hide.

6. Misery loves company. Miserable people want to make others feel miserable too. Let these people go, even if they are your closest friend or family. You owe it to yourself to find your happy.

7. You don't demand respect. You earn it. If you lose it, earn it again. Don't impose. Just because you are an adult does not mean you deserve respect.

8. What the adults do, stupid children follow. Smart children learn from the mistakes of the adult.

9. When you turn your back on people who don't deserve it, God will turn his back on you.

10. No amount of prayer will be enough if you live a life of sin and ungratefulness. You will not be blessed.

At the end of the day, face the mirror and ask yourself: "Am I happy? Did I do the best that I could today? Did I make someone's life better by existing? Did I add to the good of the world because I woke up today?"

If you can't answer yes to those questions, ask yourself why?

Life is already hard. If you aren't contributing to the good, then you're one of the problems.

Mother's Day in the time of Pandemic

Times have changed.

These three words could not be more apt as it is now in this time of the pandemic.

It's definitely going to be a different kind of celebration for a lot of families this year since we're all still required to stay home due to COVID-19. A lot of people have been wondering, "what can I do for my Mom if I don't have money or if we can't go out and celebrate?"

Here are a few suggestions that you can do even without preparation.

Coffee / Breakfast in Bed

You can make your Mom's favorite drink or cook her favorite breakfast. If it's too complicated, just cook her something or make her something. She will appreciate the effort.

Gift of Relaxation

If your Mom is the one who does everything at home, taking over her daily chores will mean a lot. Let her sit, relax, and do nothing. If you have essential oils, diffuse so that she can soak it in and feel more calm. Moms worry a lot and a few moments of relaxation matters. You can order some at Legande.

Gift of Happiness

In this sweltering heat, a cup or tub of ice cream can spell a big difference. Let Ice Cream House help you with that. They offer so many flavors, one better than the last that you won't know what to get. You might just get it all.

Gift of Health

You can cook healthy dishes that will help boost their immune system or if you don't know how to cook, just order online these veggies that they can cook for the family. Sometimes, a few savings here and there can matter a lot to Moms.

Gift of Comfort

Moms walk a lot. They run errands, do the groceries, and some of them are the "tributes" in these times of pandemic. Make sure that they are wearing something comfy while they go around taking care of all the essentials for the family. You can order these Bandolino shoes via Zalora.

However, the most important gift that you can give your Mom this Mother's Day is actually your love, respect, and gratitude. Moms are not perfect but they do what they think is best and they will love you no matter what.

Say thank you.

Say I love you.

Say you appreciate her.

To my Mom, no matter what, I will always be thankful to God that you are my Mommy.

I love you Mommy. Thank you for teaching me to be strong, resilient, and to be kind. Thank you for helping me raise B.  Happy Mother's Day!