Tale of the Multi-Tasking, Craft-and-Design-Loving, Mother-of-Two, Singaporean-Living-in-US, Corporate-Working Mom Named Grace Hester

Why SWAGG Mobile Rocks

So you've heard me mention SWAGG Mobile before but now that I have had 3-4 weeks to really use the SWAGG Mobile iPhone app, I have to share my favourite function of SWAGG Mobile.  But first, a recap as to what SWAGG Mobile can do for you:

1. You can send or receive gift cards from friends, sending a personalized photo of video with the gift.  How revolutionary is that?  Just wished I had thought of it!
2. Ditch the plastics by inputting all of your gift cards in here and never forget to use them anymore!  Input the numbers and just pull them up as needed.
3. And last but not least, my favourite function of all - the "Offers" service.  It lets you browse for nearby promotions or offers by your location!

I like the "Offers" function because if I am already in the vicinity, why not make a quick stop to take advantage of nearby offers?  Also, it feels a little like being an insider to a good deal. *grin*  All you have to do is just show the store the offer information on your mobile phone and you get to enjoy the promotional rate or freebies being offered by the merchants.  Here are two examples of the types of discounts I found near me.  The offers updated when I was recently travelling in New Orleans so I can't wait to try them out in different cities.

  

So you would think that a service like this would have a small fee but this app is free!  Insane!  Just download SWAG&RG Mobile here and gain immediate access to these promotions, and to the ability to send giftcards electronically via your app.  Then enter all of your giftcards and leave them home the next time you head out for some shopping R&R.  Yay! 

I was selected to be a SWAGG Brand Ambassador by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. This is a compensated program, but all of the opinions I share are my own.

 

My One Little Word for 2011 - PREPARE

 
My word for 2011 is actually going to be the same for 2010.  The word is PREPARE.  I have experienced the benefits of constantly referring to it in 2010 and would like to carry over that positive momentum into 2011.  Basically, this entails thinking about the day/week/month/year ahead and noting down any preparatory-type things that can be done ahead and doing so, or adding extra time to prepare before each event.  Our family has some things that are already pre-planned and I (we) have made some strides this year in preparing for things ahead of time (e.g., packing the diaper bag WAY before leaving the house, planning for a week’s worth of meals, and adding an extra 20 minutes to our usual “get-ready-to-go-out-start-time”) but in many cases, we still find ourselves rushing and at times short on the reflective time pre- and post- event that allows us to have a more peaceful vibe around our lives.

I further focused on two aspects of PREPARE into Family and Friends.  These are the two areas of my life that I want to always focus on so it is just a natural extension to start there.

Starting tomorrow, I embark on a new exciting position at my day job which will require us to tighten the morning routine so I can drop off our younger daughter in daycare and still get to work on-time without rushing.  I was able to identify many things that I can prep the night before or even the weekend before, and I know there’s more that will come to me through the year.  For example,

• Lunch notes for my older daughter – I already preprint blank ones but I can easily write these the night before (more reflective messages) as well.
• Packing non perishables in the lunchbag ahead of time – I try to pack my lunch daily and we pack my older daughter’s lunch daily so we can lay out our bags and non perishable items in there the night before
• Laying out clothes for everyone the night before
• Scheduling the replenishment cycles for diapers/wipes/school snacks on our end so we’re not rushing to bring stuff in last-minute. 

We also started using Cozi this year (an online calendar/list/task manager catering to families) and with both our schedules now in e-sync (versus paper-sync which was very unreliable), we can also schedule “prep” time on the calendar so everyone knows when to get started and their tasks.

I have failed miserably this year in terms of keeping in touch with family and friends.  So I am preparing to be better at this by,

• Blocking out a day to write and send out birthday cards for the entire month ahead.
• Committing to calling my family overseas at-minumum once every two weekends and doing a web cam session every two months – this might seem a little to others but my family in Singapore stays very busy (maybe it’s genetics!) and this schedule has to be considerate of their busy schedules and our 12-hour difference as well.
• Making a standing lunch appointment on the calendar with friends.

I really like how the one little word effort is more about making it a way of life, referring to it as a general frame of mind and then extending it through all facets of my life.  Even though I have two focus areas, I can use it in my day job and with my business as well.  What about you?  Do you have a One Little Word for 2011?  If no, consider putting some thought into starting this year. :o)

This post can also be found at my other blog The Productive Mom.

Good Morning!

 

Working Mothers - 6 Reasons Working Mothers Say Thanks

As for working mothers, we've made our own tradeoffs by accepting less time with our family in exchange for a career. But let's focus on the positive. Here are 6 good reasons to shrug off the guilt and be grateful you're a working mother.

via workingmoms.about.com

25% off Entire Store! CLUTTERCREW Promotion Back at The Container Store

I got a betta deal than the 15% click& pick discount!  Right now, The Container Store is offering 25% off storewide!  (Coupons cannot be combined)  My list has grown since so I am so glad I waited but I doubt it'll get any better than 25%!

Drama-drama-drama Week

It's been a crazy 2 weeks for the Hester household.

1. Gianna was home sick with a stomach virus (we think) the entire week last week and I stayed home with her for most of it.  This meant that I am really struggling at work this week since I am really behind on things.  Thankfully, her disposition was not too bad during the week although she was very attached to me since I was on a one-on-one interaction basis with her all of her waking hours.  She is also back to her healthy self so I am going to count me blessings on this front.
   
   
2. I misplaced (or my baby squirrel Gianna may have "hidden" it in her many hiding places) my keys with my access token on it so I could not login into work from home.  Since 95% of the work I do is web-based and requires linking into work, it was pretty much impossible to work from home.  Not to mention having to replace all of the loyalty programs scan cards on my keychain. Frustration.
3. My car experienced some issues yesterday and started smoking just as I turned out into the busy street right outside of the girls' daycare.  Lovely.  But I am thankful for Noah who came to our rescue and who sent the girls and me home in his car while he tried to fix things on the busy highway.  My knight in t-shirt and jeans.  Unfortunately when he brought it to the repair shop, they quoted us $1100 to fix it.  I was not happy.
   

Well, yesterday, I got some small wins that was a nice change to the "drama-drama-drama" theme,

1. An effort that required me pushing for certain elements to be included in a global communication piece worked and today I saw the final piece go out to the targeted audience.  I am expecting some nice return on the effort in the coming months.
   
   
2. An out-of-box idea boosted the lack-lustre results of a project by 800% in just 2 hours of implementing it and is still coming in.  This was my biggest win of the day.
   
   
3. Getting some really responsive support from one of the countries I am working with, despite the strain on their time and resources.  Alot of the open items were closed today.  Progress is great.
4. I am getting some inquiries on my etsy store and I have a tangible list of improvements, and then doable ideas to expand on.  The progress is slow for now because I am working the store in the evening hours and the product development and creation process is time-consuming (also working on improving this to make it a more efficient process).  The good news is that I am starting to show up on google organic search (search "modern animal prints", I am about 4-5 links down for the US search results) and I am seeing more repeat visitors to the blog (i-heart google analytics).

When weeks get rough like that, and I really feel the strains of being a full-time working mom to two young girls, it is good to remember that one cannot be at 120% all the time.  Sometimes, life gets in the way and you just have to ride things out and not let it stress you out too much.  The last time I had such a span of just negative events back to back, was in December when each week, someone in the house got sick and I was running all over the place between doctors' appointments, picking up prescriptions from the pharmacies, wiping snotty noses, comforting crying children, etc.  Well, we certainly recovered from that although everyone's on vitamins now which seem to be working well when I compare previous season changes to this last one - no sniffling noses or allergy flare-ups.

I remind myself how blessed we are everyday - that we have our health, our ability to put a roof over our heads, and have so many opportunities to enjoy the day to day interaction.  This rough 2 weeks will pass soon and all will be well again.

Productive Friday

We have Good Friday off at work today and I had a growing list of tasks to address at home so I conceded the day to house-related chores and it's paying off so far.

It's 1:30pm and I have:

1. Dropped off the girls at daycare/preschool
2. Went through, reorganized, and consolidated both girls' toys and clothes in the basement
3. Filled 4 boxes of items to go to charity
4. Filled 2 laundry baskets of spring/summer clothes for Gianna to wear that were Naia's
5. (still need to wash them)
6. Dismantled Gianna's mobile and swing
7. Went through and organized 4 weeks' worth of grocery coupons (it's never become this bad)
8. Made Easter Dinner shopping list + week's grocery list
9. Made list of medical supplies we need to purchase and did a quick review online on best stores to get them this week based on sales/coupons

Next to-dos:

1. Eat quick lunch
2. Stop by New York and Company to spend $30 in free store money
3. Make it to Naia's 3:30pm Easter party at her preschool where I volunteered to help with the egg-dyeing (Don't forget the camera!)
4. Pick-up both girls and head home for dinner
5. While hanging out with the girls, start on the laundry load for the weekend
6. Bathe and put the girls to bed
7. Take a breather with Noah on the sofa and in front of the TV for a little bit
8. Work on business plan brainstorming or read a little
9. Lights out!

I had 20 tasks on my Outlook Task List this morning and I am down to 11 spread over the weekend.  I love productive days.