I’m a former MacBook Air user who fell in love with her HP Chromebook. 

Purchasing an HP Chromebook has helped me simplify my life. I’ve been using Google products for years and never thought about looking into a Chromebook until Aaronica over at The Crunchy Mommy told me about her experience.

After more than two years of using her Chromebook, Aaronica said she had a great experience with her laptop. It was inexpensive and it had all the functionalities she needed for a great price.

I was hesitant to purchase a Chromebook because I hadn’t heard too much about them. Aaronica’s feedback was helpful since she’s doing a lot with her blog and side business.

Slowly, I began to do my research.

Bye Bye, MacBook
After a side by side comparison between an HP Chromebook and a MacBook Air, I realized there were many similarities and very few differences.

The more I began to reach out to brands and receive pitch emails from PR reps, the more I realized I needed a better way to get organized. 

For months I spent hours working on my blog from my iPhone. My blogging friends were always shocked to know that I had been doing it all from a smartphone. Creating images, drafting up posts, scheduling social promo, taking photos of props, and connecting with brands and PR reps on a daily basis… nothing was impossible. It amazes me how much you can do from a smartphone these days. I shared a list of apps I had been using to replace my MacBook Air here.

After my toddler spilled water on my laptop, I was very upset. But something about that incident made me realize I had been failing as a mom.


Spilling The Truth

It was dinner time, and I wanted to finish writing a piece for the next day. I was completely ignoring my son and his needs. And in good ole toddler fashion, a tantrum came about. This time, it meant moving the dining table and causing his water to spill onto my laptop.

I wasn’t too pleased about what happened, but my toddler was already upset with me for placing this deadline above him. It wasn’t the first time I had done this. In fact, I was slowly ignoring my son because I wanted to feel I was still “working”.

I missed so many pitch emails while working from my smartphone and I kept getting confused with the back and forth messages between notifications from social media apps that I knew eventually I’d have to invest in a laptop again.

Although I don’t talk about my blog with everyone, I worked on it heavily so I could continue to build my portfolio. I reached out to several brands and joined blogging communities. I even landed sponsored posts with four of my favorite brands.

But something wasn’t right. 

No matter what I did, I felt I was missing something. I was actually missing out on spending time with my family.

I would attend events with my son, and sometimes while Jeff was home, I’d plan to attend events while he stayed home with our little guy.

Shortly, I realized it wasn’t worth it.

I learned two valuable lessons during the time I worked from my smartphone: 

1. Organization is key.  
Opportunities come and go. You can’t get upset if you won’t be able to make it to an event. You can always make the most out of whatever resources you may have available. Planning ahead always helps, and it gives you back your sanity. 

By working from my phone I was able to prove to myself that if I organize myself and make time for everything that I love, then everything just falls into place. 
2. Nothing should come before family. 
After losing my Macbook Air, my work motto has become “family first, always”. It’s taught me that the most valuable asset I have is my family.

I made a lot of adjustments in the past year, and it’s helped me find the value in things and all the wonderful people in my life.

I’m no longer living for the moments but actually living every moment in my life. I will admit that I do still take photos of my family and I for potential blog posts, but I’ve toned them down. After a couple of photos, I dive in and enjoy the moment.

Note: I picked up my HP Chromebook for $200 during a Memorial Day sale and paid close to $900 for my MacBook Air in 2013. 

                                                                      

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