Mandy, Author at Serendipity Mommy

Ring Cleaning 101: How Often Should You Clean Your Jewelry

April 3, 2020 by Mandy

If a wedding ring is a symbol of your relationship with your spouse, what does it mean when you let that ring get dingey and dull?

Lots of married people don’t know where or how to get jewelry cleaned and let their rings get way too dirty before they do anything about it. Think about how often you use your hands for things like doing dishes, exercising, gardening. The grime can really build up!

It’s important to figure out your ring cleaning plan long before it needs it. Think of it as preventative care.

If you’d like to keep the symbol of your marriage as dazzling as it was on your wedding day, read on for some tips on creating your very own jewelry cleaning plan.

Ring Cleaning Schedule

Everyone’s schedule will be different based on their lifestyle. For example, someone who works in a factory will have a different schedule compared to someone who works in an office.

The general rule of thumb for professional cleaning is twice a year. But ,again, if you’re finding yourself washing your hands more than someone with a cubicle, you might want to consider going to the pros at your local jewelers more often.

Professional cleaners will also be able to check for any loose stones and faulty prongs, preventing heartache down the line. If you don’t already have an established relationship with a local jeweler, do some research and find the most trusted one in your area.

In between your professional cleanings, you can take care of your jewelry yourself. Keep track of how long your ring shimmers after a professional cleaning. Once you notice it getting a little dull, give a clean yourself. That should give you a good idea of how often you specifically need to plan to do your wedding ring cleaning.

How to Clean Rings Yourself

If you asked your mother how to clean fine jewelry, she’d likely tell you to let it soak in warm water and dish soap for a few minutes. That will do the trick in a pinch but there are other means of cleaning at your disposal that go a little more in-depth.

Research some products made specifically for cleaning jewelry. In this day and age, you will likely be able to find some honest reviews for just about every ring cleaning product such as Simple Shine.

Some people choose to go big and buy an ultrasonic machine to clean their rings. Others get their deep cleaning by using ammonia to clean their jewelry.

Test a few methods out and see what works best for your ring. Record results so you know which one is the keeper.

Know your Jewelry Type

Different kinds of Jewelry may require different kinds of care. For example, diamond rings are pretty sturdy when compared to an opal ring, so the latter may require more care and attention.

You also have to consider the elements of your jewelry. Necklace chains require a different kind of care than a band on a ring.

You also have to be very diligent about sterilizing any body piercing jewelry like earrings or belly button rings. Body piercing is an entirely different beast when it comes to cleaning because you’re far more likely to get an infection from that than your bracelet.

General Care Tips

Consider more preventive care options for your jewelry. The obvious is to remove your ring while doing messier activities. The less obvious are things like removing your ring while you exercise.

The sweat and oils that your body releases can do just as much harm to your beautiful diamond ring as digging in the dirt. Limit this exposure by removing the ring and keeping it in a safe place in your gym locker. Try to keep it in the same place every time to avoid panic when you can’t find it right away.

You’ll also want to limit your ring’s exposure to hand or body soap. That means removing your ring before you hop into the shower. The ring can create a build-up of soap grime that didn’t have a chance to wash off your body. It’s counter-intuitive because you’d think water and soap would be fine, but not when it contains all the dirt washing off your body.

Where do you store your ring when you’re not wearing it? The best option for storage in for any piece of jewelry is a jewelry box with a soft felt lining. This will help prevent any scratches to your band or stone.

You’ll also want to be careful about what you wear with your ring. Too many accidents have happened with a ring catching on some lace or a necklace on a button. Avoid tangles and tears by being mindful of what you’re wearing.

Lastly, if you’re in an area experiencing extreme weather like snowstorms or tropical storms, your ring care may not be your top priority. It might be worth it, however, to include a ring check in your “getting ready to brave the storm” suit up.

Do It For Your Spouse

Taking care of your wedding ring isn’t being vain, it’s caring for the symbol of marriage to the love of your life. I don’t need to tell you how much the little things can matter in a relationship.

Turn it into a bonding moment with your spouse and do some ring cleaning together. It’s a great opportunity to turn a chore into something a little more special for both of you.

Visit your most trusted jeweler today and ask about their cleaning services (the majority of which are free, especially if you’re an established customer). Then take your sweetie out to dinner and show off your shiny rings.

If you have a passion for jewelry, be sure to check out our other articles on the subject by using the search bar.

Mother’s day gift

April 2, 2020 by Mandy

A mother is not someone who just gives birth to a child. If you ask me, a mother represents the combination of feelings, behaviors and sacrifices that occur while raising a child. They are the heart of the home and without her, there is a kind of emptiness. They do every possible thing they can for their children without any complaints, demands and expectations. From the time she has her child in her womb till forever, she cares, protects and supports her child in every way. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children cannot be calculated.They understand us even without saying a word. She is the greatest strength of a family.

A mother is her son’s best friend, his protector and hope, a source of encouragement, and most of all an adviser to her son.For daughters,mothers are their best secret keepers, their first and best friends, teacher,comforter and what not.She always pushes her children to try harder, to want the best out of their lives, and to always be strong.Mothers leave all their personal needs and comforts behind so their children can have everything they need. They will not sleep or eat until they know you’ve come home and are safe and sound.

She is the only woman in the world who will forgive you for all your mistakes, your lies, no matter how big they are. She will still give you that warm smile just minutes after you misbehaved and made her angry as hell because of the fact that she loves you the most. She will be always there to support and lift your spirit up whenever you’re feeling down.

Mother’s Day is a very important day: though we can never thank her enough for giving us the gift of life and what all she does for us but still by giving a heartfelt gift we can tell her how much we love, appreciate and admire her.

Each one of us has uncountable memories that we like to remember and cherish.

A decent bit of art has this capacity to embody whatever it expects to express and thus, it’s the ideal decision to express feelings.People are more inclined towards artistic things these days. With all those new styles of painting and sketching coming into the market, we are more attracted towards them rather than materialistic gifts which brings only a moment of joy which fades later. Portraits are one of the wonderful ways to preserve cherished memories forever.

BookMyPainting is one such technology-driven platform that combines present-day advancement with hand-painted craftsmanship which gives you several multiple portraits options to choose from. Their team of skilled and dedicated workers with their hard work and passion embodies the true emotions into your portrait.Also, they ensure that your painting retains its credibility when professionals work on it.They have a variety of art styles from which you can choose. All you need to do is select a picture and gee you can get the portrait at your doorstep.

The famous art styles from which you can choose are:

Charcoal sketches:

One of the best options as gift for your mother can be a beautiful Charcoal portrait of hers from her college days. They are excellent options when you need your picture to be classy and have a raw monochromatic vibe. The blending, shading and display of emotions finer details are perfect in this art style.

Oil paintings:

Becoming a mom for the first time is something all mothers cherish for the rest of their lives. So an oil painting on canvas of yours or your siblings’ childhood pictures with your mother can surely make her day. They are lustrous,artistic and captivating and look extremely beautiful on monochromatic, light-colored walls.

Watercolor paintings:

Remember your childhood when you and your siblings spent time painting and splashing all the colors on each other? Bring back the childhood memories of your mom with a watercolor painting of her memorable childhood. You can perhaps select a cute picture of hers or one with her mother.

Pencil color sketches:

The best option for revamping the old black and white paintings or to transform photos since the originality is preserved. These are, as brilliant as an oil painting or a watercolor picture yet they have the surface of a handmade drawing and which makes them a great alternative. You can gift your mother a pencil color sketch of a memorable photograph with your father of their early days of marriage. It will bring back and freshen up all the sweet memories of that time.

Despite the fact that we should show adoration to our mothers each and every day, Mother’s Day is that one day when we demonstrate the most love for her, and make her feel like a Queen.Mothers never retire, no matter how old her children are she is always a Mom, always willing to encourage,advise,protect and help her children in any way she can! No matter we have our kids,for our mother we will always be that immature and small child whom she has to remind of everything.

Here’s Why You Should Consider Catholic Education for Your Child

April 1, 2020 by Mandy

Your kids are finally approaching the age where it’s time to send them to school.

You thought of sending your little ones to the local public school but are wary.

You’ve considered homeschooling them, but there aren’t any local co-ops nearby.

So, you turn to private schools. There may be many, or few options nearby, but your biggest concern is what the possible benefits of Catholic education are.

Whether you’ve received a Catholic education or not, you are certainly wondering why Catholic schools are better than your other options.

Read on to learn why.

Benefits of Catholic Education

An important note: you do not have to be Catholic to attend or send your children to a Catholic school. This leads to the first major reason for considering Catholic education.

A Culture of Service and Respect

There is an important culture of and communal understanding of other persons, from all parts of this world which is integral to Catholic faith and education.

ALL of us are God’s children, and a Catholic education emphasizes as such.

With this in mind, consider how Catholic education, versus a public school education, encourages such respect.

This same community that teaches respect does so through more than policy but through direct acts of service.

The culture and community of respect grow from families, educators, and religious working together–directly forming children into generous persons.

Discipline and Excellence

Catholic education emphasizes academic rigor. Students are taught discipline as part of the faith, which leads to high expectations in scholastic achievement.

Students are seen as good, not simply because they follow rules, but because they were made as such. The discipline taught in Catholic schools stems from the recognition of the inner goodness of all people and then helping students behave accordingly.

Excellence naturally follows, with emphasis on both moral and academic discipline. This often leads to a clear path to college. In fact, the majority of Catholic high school graduates attend college.

An Enlightened Worldview

Through the high expectations of behavior and academic performance, the discipline instilled to achieve them, and the strong, healthy relationships, Catholic school education shows students how their goodness is part of the world.

This results in an emphasis on the arts and humanities less common in public school education–which tends to focus on results, over the quality of independent performance.

In essence, these students learn to see true goodness, in the Catholic, classical sense of goodness, in everyone and everything around them. These are the benefits of a Catholic education from Notre Dame Academy.

Is Catholic School Worth It?

The benefits of Catholic education listed above should be evidence enough, but one last concrete note to consider: on average, Catholic schools are far less costly than other private education.

You’re also investing in more than your child’s academic future, but that of their entire well-being when you choose Catholic education.

Furthermore, the majority of Catholic schools also include financial aid, in light of the necessity of Catholic education.

When you determine the worth of your child’s future, don’t stop at whether they’re academically equipped for this world, but if they’re ready for the emotional and spiritual demands, too.

Top 2 Best Recipes to Make Instant Pot Chum Salmon Chicken Recipes

March 29, 2020 by Mandy

Do you want to know how you can easily make chicken instant pot pie? Well, this chicken instant pot pie has been one of the most top favorites and loved recipes when it comes to the instant pot. Although for the instant pot, you can look for different types of recipes. But right here, we are about to discuss how you can chicken chum salmon instant pot pie.

So let’s get started!

Recipe No 1: Steps by Step Guide to Make Instant Pot Chum Salmon Chicken Pot Pie

First of all, you have to add some minced onion and chicken broth in it along with some diced potatoes. You can take a small number of petite baby carrots over the Instant Pot liner.
Add it with the seasoning of some pepper and salt.
Now lay down almost 6 fresh and uncooked forms of chicken tenders, which will be positioned on top of broth and veggies.
In case if you do not have chicken tenders, then you need to cut around 2 chicken breasts in the form of strips. These strips should be 1/2-1 inch thick.
Now you have to cook them all at a pressure cooker manual temperature. HIGH for around 3 minutes and NPR for almost 6 minutes!
As you are all done with it, you have to remove off the chicken from the instant pot and shred it completely. For shredding the chicken, you can use an electric mixer because it is so much convenient. It will make the whole processing fast and easy for you.
After shredding the chicken, keep it aside.
Now you have to add some frozen peas in instant pot and start stirring it. Adding some peas frozen is so much important.
As you have included the frozen peas in it, it will initially be cooling down the sauce.
In the next step, you have to pour the milk and stir it thoroughly. You have to transform your instant pot into saute.
As everything is at the heating temperature on the instant pot, you have to make some paste at room temperature by using the ingredients of flour and butter.
Once you feel that now instant pot has started to boil, you have to stir the flour and butter paste so it can turn into a thick paste of sauce.
Now add your shredded chicken in it. You are free to serve it now!

Now right here, we have another exciting instant pot pie recipe for you, which you can cook with potatoes. Let’s check out how you can cook it for your family:

Recipe No 2: Complete Guide About chicken Chum Salmon Potpie with Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 – 3 boneless of chicken breasts frozen (no need to thaw)
1 Can Cream of the Chicken Soup
1 cup of the Milk
1 cup of the chicken broth
1/2 onion as chopped (optional)
3-4 potatoes, as peeled and diced
1 16 oz bag of the Frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup of the chopped celery
Salt or the Pepper to taste
1 tsp of Garlic salt
1/4 tsp of Poultry Seasoning
canned biscuits or either Homemade biscuits

Steps:

You have to place all the ingredients which we mentioned above in the instant pot except the biscuits.
Now you have to place the lid on its top and be sure that it is completely set to “sealing.”
Click on the manual button and choose pressure time that has to be around 25 minutes.
Now let it come on the pressure, after which you can start cooking.
In that duration, you can prepare some homemade biscuits or can even cook some store-bought biscuits.
As you are done with it, you have to remove the pressure.
Remove off the shred and chicken now.
Please put it back at your instant pot and start stirring it all together.
It’s time to serve it to your kids with the topping of biscuits fun.

Planning for Retirement as a Single Income Working Woman

March 26, 2020 by Mandy

We’ve all heard about the gender wage gap. But what about the retirement gap? We contribute $1,331 to our retirement accounts every year.

That’s only half as much as men. And since we have more golden years to look forward to, we ladies need some extra gold to get by. That’s why it’s never too late to start planning for retirement if you’re a working woman.

Irrespective of whether you are married or single, retirement planning helps you attain a secured life at old age. You can easily save money on grocery shopping, while dining out at restaurants and by adopting some of the very unusual ways. This money could be saved for your post retirement life.

Keep those gray hairs at bay and stop worrying. Retirement planning is easy. Here’s how.

1. Demand Your Fair Share

The more you make, the more you save. But that’s more difficult for women, seeing as we make 20% less than men in the same occupation.

Don’t be afraid to head to the negotiation table and demand the salary you deserve. Make a strong case for yourself based on your accomplishments at the company.

The worst thing you’ll hear is “no.”

2. Follow a Budget

Without a budget, you’re leaving retirement savings to chance. You don’t have to.

Plenty of budget apps and programs are available, but there’s nothing wrong with an Excel worksheet. Track your monthly income after taxes as well as all expenses.

Now you’re ready to set yourself up for success. As a rule of thumb, 10% of your monthly income should go towards a savings account. Struggling to reach that number?

That’s why you should budget. You’ll discover categories where you spend far more than you should. By trimming these discretionary expenses, such as fast food or streaming services, you can funnel the money Into your savings allocation instead.

3. Invest, Invest, Invest

Albert Einstein called compound interest the 8th wonder of the world. The concept is simple. The interest you earn becomes part of the principal balance, and then also earns interest.

In short, it’s the interest you earn on previous interest payments.

Neither men nor women will find success trying to shore up retirement savings without investing. Compound interest is an essential part of the equation. And the sooner you start, the more time you have to earn compound interest.

Your employer’s 401K plan should be your main focus, especially if they match your payments. But few businesses still offer these plans. Instead, open your own individual retirement account and start saving.

4. Calculate Your Retirement Needs

During retirement, financial pundits suggest you shave off about one-third of your current expenses. That means your retirement savings need to cover 70% of what you’re making now. Have enough?

That’s the question. Remember that in addition to your retirement savings accounts and investments, you’ll also gain Social Security payments. Since women are paid less than men, these tend to be less than you may think.

Wherever you are in your journey to retirement, check out this retirement calculator to see where you stand.

Retirement Planning for the Working Woman

It’s true that a working woman faces more financial challenges compared to the working man. But we have to take retirement planning seriously, even if it’s unfair. If you start early and keep this advice close to heart, comfortable retirement is not only possible — it’s easy.

As a working mom, you know money can get tight. Check out my finance section for more financial help.