Sandra

A Tablet That Fits into My Work-at-Home Mom Life – The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3

November 23, 2013 by Sandra 2 Comments

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper
insights study for Collective Bias® and their client.

I’m a work-at-home mom.

Technically, I also work from the library when I need to get away and write or design without a baby on my lap or a little person needing me. Those days, I’ll go to the library and check out a room, so that I can have peace and quiet and just write, return emails, check social media, and do the other things I need to do to keep this little online business of ours moving forward.

Even in the midst of all that’s going on with David, I still have to work, and I’ve been lugging around my crazy-heavy laptop bag filled with everything I need to work while I’m sitting in the emergency room again or spending time with David during another hospital stay.

Decisions, decisions…
I finally decided to stop the madness and get a tablet (for myself), so that I don’t always have to lug around a cumbersome laptop bag.

We trust Best Buy and have made several device purchases there in the past (plus I’m a fan of their warranty program), so we headed there to check out tablets. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 caught my eye. It has a powerful Intel processor (just what I need), and it’s sleek and lightweight, which I love.

The Best Buy Experience
The employees at Best Buy were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable when it came to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. They answered all of my questions, and explained the benefits of owning an Android tablet. They made me feel confident about my decision, and I walked away a happy customer.

How I Use the Tab 3
Now that I’m officially a tablet owner, I’ve stopped lugging around my laptop bag every.single.time. we go to the hospital. David had 8 appointments (yes, EIGHT) to go to this past week, and instead of bringing my laptop with me, I left it and simply slipped my tablet into my purse to take along on our adventures.

Whether I’m at home or in a waiting room, I can write posts and manage my blog on my tablet.

I also use it to check email and social media, listen to my favorite radio station, take pictures, and I even allowed my kids to install ONE game app on it. 😉

In the past, I’ve ever-so-carefully placed my laptop on the treadmill, so that I could walk and work at the same time. I love that I can now easily do the same things I did with my laptop on the treadmill but instead use my lightweight and portable tablet.

Across-the-board, I feel like this tablet is just what I need to be more productive as I juggle being a work-at-home mom with all of my other responsibilities. I know I’ll be using it a lot over the next few months, and I may even use it to create videos to share with you when David is in the hospital next month.

Yes, I do think this tablet will become my new supertool.

Have you ever used a tablet? In what ways do you think it could streamline an area of your life?

Learn More & Be Social
You can learn more about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 at Best Buy & receive Best Buy updates when you follow them on Twitter.

You can also stay up-to-date with Intel when you follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Favorite Thanksgiving Traditions (and a $50 JCPenney Gift Card Giveaway!)

November 22, 2013 by Sandra 36 Comments

This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Latina Mom Bloggers and JCPenney.
However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Thanksgiving is almost here.

And I can’t help but think about what Thanksgiving was like last year and the year before that and when I was a kid. Memories flood my mind, and they’re good memories filled with recollections of happy times that I shared with my family when I was a kid and that I share with my own kids now.

What was Thanksgiving Like When You Were Growing Up?
I thought that today we could reminisce and talk about some of our favorite holiday family traditions growing up – the good ones and even the embarrassing ones, if you have any. 😉

I’ll go first.

As many of you know, I’m Mexican, and I remember my mom and dad always keeping Thanksgiving very traditional. We ate turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

Christmas, on the other hand, that’s when my parents would make loads of tamales, and we’d visit my cousins’ house for their yearly Christmas party. That was so much fun!

Going back to Thanksgiving growing up, I remember that after eating until we could no longer breathe without pain, we’d stay home (no shopping!) and play games, watch TV, or simply talk to each other.

Those were the days…

What Thanksgiving Traditions Do You Keep Now?
Now that I have my own family, I’ve tried to be more intentional each year about keeping Thanksgiving simple yet meaningful.

Here are 3 of our current Thanksgiving Traditions:

We intentionally talk about what and whom we’re thankful for, and we have the kids write their thoughts down ahead of time.

We make a craft or two.

We choose one or two new recipes to try for Thanksgiving dinner.

I’m looking forward to keeping these traditions and building upon them for many, many years to come.

Real Latino Holidays
To give you an idea of what a Real Latino Holiday is like, watch this video. It definitely reminds me of what Christmas was like growing up! 🙂

And now for the Giveaway!
Because JCPenney understands latinos and wants others to get a peek into what holidays are like for latino families, they’ve generously offered to give ONE of my readers a $50 JCPenney Gift Card!

How to Enter the Giveaway

Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from now until – December 7th at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter Below
a Rafflecopter giveaway

What’s one of your current or past favorite holiday traditions?

Saying Thank You…

November 22, 2013 by Sandra 1 Comment

This is a compensated campaign on behalf of Latina Bloggers Connect and Hallmark.

Wow. Ever since David, our four-year-old son, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, I’ve been overwhelmed by the love, support, and prayers we’ve received from so many family members, friends, and even people we don’t yet know personally but with whom we share a common heart’s desire to see David get well.

I have searched for words and ways to say, “Thank You.” But I’ve found that there really are no words to express how incredibly grateful we are for YOU – all of you – who have unceasingly cared for us these past few months.

Saying Thank You the Hallmark Way
Even though there’s no way I can truly tell you how much I appreciate you, I’ve decided that during the long days that are coming up in the hospital, I can show you in a very small way how thankful I am for you.

I’ll be sending out Hallmark Thank You cards.

Why Hallmark?
I decided on Hallmark cards because I can pretty much find them anywhere, and for a long time now, I’ve been a member of the Hallmark Crown Rewards program.

Hallmark Card Rewards
Now I recently found out that there’s another program called Hallmark Card Rewards, where you can earn rewards for buying Hallmark cards wherever they’re sold, whether it’s at the grocery store or the local drugstore.

Here are Benefits of the Hallmark Card Rewards Program:

Get rewarded everywhere you buy Hallmark cards. This includes more than 30,000 grocery stores and drugstores as well as supercenters across the country.

Earn 1 reward for every 5 Hallmark cards purchased (individual cards – not boxed greeting cards). Rewards include gift cards, discounts, dollars off, and more. *Hallmark Card Reward partners include Starbucks, Land’s End, and many others!

Use the Hallmark Card Rewards mobile app (Android and iPhone) to easily scan the barcode on the back of your purchased Hallmark cards and register your rewards for your account. You can sign up for the program online here.

Elisabeth’s Birthday Card
Besides the thank you cards I recently picked up, I also found a perfectly pink birthday card for Elisabeth. We’ll be celebrating her 2nd birthday while David is in the hospital for his bone marrow transplant. It’s not ideal, obviously, but we’ll make it work.

I think Elisabeth is going to love her card.

Last thing…
I obviously can’t send everyone a card who has prayed for David and showed us kindness in so many ways. I don’t have all of your addresses. 😉

But I still want to say…THANK YOU.

With endless gratitude.

Thank you.

How We Encourage Our Daughter to Play Like a Girl – a Strong Girl

November 21, 2013 by Sandra Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Verizon. The opinions and text are all mine. Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.

Breanna is my oldest daughter. She’s eleven.

She’s thoughtful, helpful, crafty, and beautiful inside and out. She also loves to run. No, she’s not on a track team, and she doesn’t compete with anyone other than her family members at the moment. But still, she loves to run.

Playing and Running Like a Girl
Breanna is obviously a girl, and while we want her to “play like a girl” — which to me means giving it her all while being respectful and careful at the same time, we also want her to be strong and confident in herself and her abilities.

I grew up with four very tough brothers who loved to play sports. I learned how to adapt to the challenges and play sports right along with them. Basically, I learned to play and succeed in sports at home, which gave me the confidence to later on play sports in school – on a team.

I’d share pictures, but this is the internet after all, and I’m afraid they’d never disappear. 😉

Anyway, here are 5 Ways We Encourage Breanna and How You Can Encourage Your Daughter to Play Like a Girl – A Strong Girl:

Cheer her on.

Give her opportunities to do what she loves.

Share words of affirmation.

Do what you can to motivate her.

Provide inspiration.

Looking Ahead
I’m so incredibly blessed to be Breanna’s mom, and I’m looking forward to watching her run and cheering her on for years to come!

Sandra

Footer

Categories