Giana
Giana Gallardo Hesterberg is a native RGV (Brownsville) mom. After graduating from Central College in Pella, Iowa (2004) with a degree in Elementary Education, and residing in the midwest for 7 years, she returned to her roots and married her love. Happily married for 9 years (to Beau), with 3 children (Jack-7, Cecily-4, and Felicity-2) and 1 dog (Hershey, a Chocolate Lab), she is currently living the dream. She is a teacher for VIPKID, a company that trains American teachers to teach ESL to Chinese students online. In her spare time, she enjoys blogging, gardening, baking, traveling, and dancing to 80’s music whenever and wherever it’s played! She has written for Woman’s World, The Mighty, Earnest and God-sized Dreams.
Dear Fellow Mom, I Wrote This for You: Stories by the Seashore
Dear Fellow Mom,
I see you. This phase of life, raising children, is downright exhausting! After seven years of being at home with my three littles and working part-time, the fog is slowly fading. The...
Learning to Love My Unedited Self
I’m not sure when I first noticed the bulge around my belly, but it’s probably been a couple of years now. My early thirties saw me birth three children via cesareans back-to-back-to-back. I’m still...
Marie Kondo is my Spirit Animal
I first heard about Marie Kondo through a friend who read her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, two years ago. She shared that she was in the process of decluttering her childhood...
Hesterberg Spaghetti Family Recipe
Are you looking for a quick and easy dinner dish? We've got you covered! This is a family recipe that's been tweaked to perfection. And did I mention it's quick and easy?!
When I search...
Magical Green Holiday Juice!
Can I let you in on a little Christmas secret? I like to call it my Magical Green Holiday Juice. All around the interwebs, hundreds of testimonials are floating around cyberspace claiming that celery...
Finding the Fall Spirit in the RGV
Mmmmm…can you smell that? Autumn is upon us, and I am ready to paint the town orange! I want to wear jeans and a sweatshirt each day while sipping on apple cider. The leaves reflect...
Back to School: Smell Ya Later!
Someone once told me that of the five senses, smell triggers the most memory. Back to school shopping is a favorite pastime of mine, and a present-day privilege. As I was labeling, sorting, and...
Farewell, First Home
Dear Cozy Home,
As I rounded the corner to wrap up my evening walk today, I stood and admired your beauty. Your red brick exterior covered in ivy with blue-gray shutters is second to none....
Dear Ever-Present Friend: It’s Not You, It’s Me
My dearest Facebook,
You and I have been friends for about as long as I’ve been married – 8 ½ years. I was absolutely smitten with you when we first met! The idea that I...
When Mama Isn’t Well: Battling Hypothyroidism
Moms, can I be honest? I wanted to turn in my Mom Card the other day. I can hear your loud gasps through the interwebs, so let me elaborate.
It seemed like I had the...