I’m a print subscriber to Good Housekeeping US and digital subscriber to Good Housekeeping Philippines (from Zinio). I enjoy the feature articles, the great advice and the recipes. I’m subscribed until 2013 because I got a really good deal on it. This is your chance to try it out for yourself! $5 for a year.
 |
Blue Dolphin Today’s Save:$5 for a one-year subscription to Good Housekeeping, Redbook or Woman’s Day |
Here’s our first featured mom, Nikki from Corona, CA.
1. Describe a typical day for you.
I wake up around 7 am. Take a bath, then wake up the girls to wash up and dress up. We then go down to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast. I also prepare their snack and lunch for school. Take the girls to school around 8:30 am because school starts at 8:545 am. When I get home, I prepare breakfast and coffee for my husband and I if he isn’t working. If he works, I pack up a coffee and sandwich to go. After breakfast, I go on facebook and watch some HGTV or anything recorded on dvr. I also feed my pets. I fix the kitchen and the bedroom and bathrroms. I also do laundry every two to three days. At around 1 pm, I start preparing our dinner. I pick up the girls at 2:57. We eat an early dinner at around 4 pm. I do homework with them right after. They can watch cartoons or play on the computer for an hour before bath time. I start fxing the kitchen and watch some t.v. At around 9 pm, I tuck the girls in and we pray and I either read them a story or they read me a story. I sleep around 10 pm.
2. What are some daily challenges that you encounter on a typical day?
Everday, I have to think of something interesting to make.
3. Complete this sentence: “If I had an hour, I would use it to ______”
If I had an hour, I would use it to sleep.
4. When it comes to pampering yourself, what’s on the top of your list?
I would pamper myself by taking a bubble bath and just relax.
5. When it comes to your kids, what are you lenient on and what are you strict about?
I am sometimes lenient on giving my girls sweets because I love sweets, especially chocolate. I am strict about school activities, I make the girts go to all their extra curricular activities. For instance, chess or art club.
6. What money/financial advice can you share to other moms?
Parents should have an emergency fund. A small amount they should put away for a rainy day.
7. What’s one trait or skill that you admire about your spouse or partner that you’re not particularly good at?
I admire his knack for fixing computers.
**If someone were to give you a gift card, which store would you choose and what would you normally buy?
A giftcard to Marshalls.
1. Describe a typical day for you.
We start the day at around 8:30 AM. I prepare lunch for my husband and get breakfast going for my daughter. Then I wash dishes and tidy up. My daughter would ask me to play with her (Legos, Play-doh, coloring books etc.). Around 11:30 AM, I start cooking lunch. Then we do some more games or we go outside. We have a park nearby so we head out there (it usually takes 10 minutes to walk). When we get back I would turn on the TV to watch the afternoon news (I like CBS). My daughter sometimes naps at around this time as well. Then while she’s napping I either watch a streaming video or read or do some sewing. I rarely nap myself when my daughter is napping. Then it’s time to get dinner started while my daughter plays or watches her favorite shows on Netflix. Around 8 PM, we wait for my husband to arrive. When he gets home, I continue doing some other chores while he plays with her. Then it’s sleep time for my daughter around 9:30 PM. I read a book in bed until about midnight.
2. What are some daily challenges that you encounter on a typical day?
The most challenging thing is having the time to write on my blog while keeping my daughter occupied. Sometimes when I have a sewing project, I also have to figure out how to keep her preoccupied so I can finish it. I also need time to practice on my cello. When I’m lucky, I get to play while she’s asleep.
3. Complete this sentence: “If I had an hour, I would use it to ______”
The selfish response: Surf the Internet. The opposite: Organize a cluttered area.
4. When it comes to pampering yourself, what’s on the top of your list?
I like getting a haircut. I go to Victor Paul Salon in Costa Mesa.
5. When it comes to your kids, what are you lenient on and what are you strict about?
I’m lenient on what she eats — if she wanted a chocolate bar for breakfast, I would cave in but I know for sure she’ll have some fruits and veggies for lunch and dinner. I’m very strict about dental hygiene – she has to brush her teeth every night (and flossing if needed).
6. If you can just instill one value to your kids, what would it be?
Respect for parents and everyone else.
7. What money/financial advice can you share to other moms?
Try to use credit cards minimally or if you have to use it, pay off the balance every month.
8. What’s one trait or skill that you admire about your spouse or partner that you’re not particularly good at?
I really admire my husband’s ability to be an all-around handyman. I wasn’t raised to be a DIY-er, so I really appreciate that my husband can pretty much fix plenty of stuff. He’s also good at packing stuff – when we travel, he’s usually the one packing our luggage. I guess those are two things then.
Next week, we’ll feature a lucky lady to share her answers with us!
I just finished re-reading the 800-page book, The Passage by Just Cronin and it was very satisfying the second time around! The first time I read it, I was too rushed–I was reading two other books that needed to be reviewed and the story didn’t unfold as well as I hoped. This time around, I read it from my Kobo reader, which didn’t feel like a chore to handle and also not as daunting because I didn’t have to see the physical pages that I had to go through. I find myself reading fiction at night and non-fiction during the day since I definitely need the peace and quiet at night to imagine my characters whereas I can absorb the facts just fine while attending to my 3-year old daughter during the day. The Passage is about vampires (yet again!), but they are called virals and not all of them are bad. A dozen of them were unleashed in the world and humans have to find a way to survive. The book was entertaining, but to me there were just too many characters to remember which I found a bit irritating because I had to go back to a few chapters to remember who they were. Sometimes it felt like I was on a roller coaster ride because the author would introduce characters that I thought were dead or disclose a new ability that I thought wasn’t possible. Amy, the good viral was a mixed bag–I couldn’t figure out what it is she could do or not do. What I did know for sure was that there were a lot of things happening in this book, something that can easily translate to an exciting movie. The characters were sympathetic, but aside from their names like Chou or Patel, the author didn’t spend a lot of time describing them for the readers. In my mind, they were generic people with their physical attributes defined only by their last names. Maybe I need to read it a third time to really get into the story again, but it was still worth my time. The author is coming out with the sequel, called The Twelve, which I feel can’t get here quick enough (it will be released August of this year). Score: 3.5/5
I used to be a staff writer for a small newspaper and I used to write everyday. Now that I’m mostly a stay-at-home-mom though, having a demanding daughter (she’s almost 3), I find it really hard to stick to my daily routine. So I have to apologize to you dear readers for not writing regularly. Also, I’m in the process of updating my blog so I can install my updates. I also want to resurrect the comments feature so I can interact with you. Stay tuned!
Every Wednesday, I plan to feature a mom on my blog and here are the questions I will be asking her.
**The last question is for a quarterly drawing where one lucky mom will win a gift card of her choice.
