Goals and then some

Well as I've been sitting down and working out my New Years goals (I'm not a fan of resolutions word, it sounds dirty), I figured I would set up my plan for my healthy living. I plan on using Twitter more so that I can keep up with the Mamavation Sistahood and get support. I've fallen away from Mamavation, and it's an amazing group of women who give amazing support and are doing amazing things. I would love to apply to be a Mamavation Mom, but right now it's not something that is fesible until I can get back in with the doctor and get the ok. But that doesn't mean I can't be supportive.

I received/bought several things to help with my fitness goals. I have Zumba Fitness for PS3, Biggest Loser Challenge for Wii, 30 Day Shred (that hubs bought me), Biggest Loser Power Walk all that I got for Christmas. Plus a new pair of shoes to get me through.

We are cooking more at home, and eating more meals at the table so that has been very helpful, but our meals can improve significantly. And that is a big area that I plan on focusing on this year. D is eating big people food now, and I need to make sure that he is getting everything he needs as well as us getting everything we need.

These are just a few of my goals and I plan to expand on them, but I have to get them out there so that they can be known and I can get support/accountability for them. So make sure to ask me on Twitter how my goals are going, I'll be glad you did.

New year is almost here

With the holidays that have came upon us, I've slacked, and big time. Go figure. Hubs takes leave and I don't do much of anything. He checked into his new ship yesterday, and they let him have off the rest of stand down. Yay. But then we got back to what ship life is like, which we really haven't had to deal with as much the past year since of the previous ship's decommission. I have good hopes for the ship and I'm looking forward to getting involved with the FRG, or at least attending.

Christmas around here was good, minus the fact that it was just the 3 of us. I had a breakdown in Walmart one day while I was picking up last minute stocking stuffers. My mom always puts candy and cute little things in our stockings, and as I was picking up so I realized how much I missed her and how sad it was that we weren't home to be with them. But next year we will, but we wont have hubs. It's soo hard to figure out which is really the worse of the worst.

I got a new hand mixer, new silverware, and a new comforter set. (which we took to the laundry mat today and washed, then I read it was dry clean only... Epic Fail). I also got clothes, and Zumba Fitness, 30 Day Shred, Biggest Loser Challenge for Wii and Biggest Loser Power Walk, along with a new pair of tennis shoes. So it was a good one. Most of that stuff will help with my goals for the new year (which hopefully go much better than last year).

No big plans for New Years here, prolly be just the 3 of us again this year, but we'll stay up later since hubs doesn't have duty on New Years Day like he did last year. 

Burrrrrr and then some

Well even though winter doesn't start for a few more days, Old Man Winter has made is presence felt in so many places. Here in VA we even had some snow. I am now wondering if we will be having a White Christmas. And of course our heating system is not working properly and we are bundled up and cuddled up. But that's ok, I love my boys.

Speaking of Christmas, I've still not done much shopping. I have a couple of things for lil man, and a couple for my mom, but really that's it. I know I better get on it, but things just dont pan out the way I want. So is the story of my life. So.. where are you with your shopping? Almost done? Waiting till the last minute? I know that I need to get the few things for my family and friends back home done ASAP since we have to mail stuff since we aren't able to make the trek home. Blah. Maybe we'll go tomorrow, since I'm going to get hubs present, even though he knows what it is LOL.

New Years Resolutions 2011

It's that time once again, where we all sit down and make our plans for what we want to resolve to do in the coming year. Oh joy. I gave up trying to make 'resolutions', because by naming them that, I was bound to fail. So I changed it to goals. My goals over the last few years have been somewhat the same: lose weight, learn something new, make time for blah blah blah, ya know same as so many people. But despite that fact, I will put my 'goals' out there for the world to see and maybe this year will turn out better than last.

1. Lose weight/Get Healthy. My first goal is to get back on track. This year I started out well, but then somewhere over the summer I lost it, and I've been sporadic and trying, but not giving it the full amount that my goal deserves. So I will be reaffirming my commitment to Mamavation and using the support from the Sistahood through Twitter and our weekly Mamavation Mondays to get back on track Along with the support from my husband and my lovely and wonderful friends here who I miss walking with. I want to do a 5k, and hope that by summers end I will be able to finish one

2. Knit. I really have been trying to get this one done for quite some time, and I have a friend who knows how to and she is going to teach me, plus I've found some groups through meetup.com that are knitting/yarn based to hopefully learn from

3. Get more involved Well if you know me then you'll know that I seem to always be trying to do something, but lately I've been slacking and I need to get back out there. I would love to volunteer more, but with having a One Year old, it can be hard. But thankfully my Navy Wives Clubs of America is active and participates in events ( I just need to make sure I have a babysitter)

4. Read more. This can be for enjoyment or for information (I have a ton of baby/toddler books that I need to read and learn from). Plus I want to try to Blog through the Bible in 90 days, but if I can make it through in a Year I'd be happy.

5. Find some income. I need to figure out a way to bring some income to our family, be it through taking surveys, doing call center work, babysitting, anything.

Ok those are the ones I have now, I will prolly add more

Ways to earn points for gift cards/etc

Being a SAHM trying to become a WAHM is no easy feat. I have been looking for ways to earn money online for several years now, but nothing ever pans out well. But I do rack up some points for gift cards and such. And every little bit will help out. I'm looking into surveys and panels and such, and will update when that all come about. But here are a few sites that I use to earn money/points/gift cards. Maybe they will help you and your family.

MyPoints

I love mypoints. I've be a part of MyPoints for several years now and I adore it. Earning points is as easy as clicking on an email; 5 points per email at times. There are surveys and deals and other ways to get points, and you can trade them in for gift cards for many different things like card for Panera, Walmart, etc. You can also earn points for referring friends. (if you want to join let me know and I'll send you a referral.)

Send Earnings/Inbox Dollars

These are similar in that you get emails in your account and you click on them to earn money. Some at just a few cents, but if you keep up with them then you can get a check mailed to you starting at $30 bucks. (They do take out a processing fee, but once you reach $30 bucks you can request a check). You can also sign up for surveys and other offers that they have which can earn you between 50 cents and a few dollars.
Send Earnings
Inbox Dollars

Swagbucks.

So far I love Swagbucks. I downloaded the toolbar so that I can earn points by doing searches for just simple things (I use their search engine instead of Google, but it all works the same to me lol). You can earn like 5 points up to 100 or so and can rack points and turn them in for gift cards as well. (I have enough points right now for a $50 gift card to Amazon.) Swagbucks also gives out codes on their facebook page and they do code hunts as well and Twitter parties to earn points.

Thanksgiving 2010

We did Thanksgiving here in our new house. It was pretty nice. I cooked the meal, which had Turkey, stuffing made from my mom's recipe, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie. I have never made a pumpkin pie before, I think I've only ever made a cherry pie once and that was years ago. But my pie was wonderful. Hubs took one of the two that I made (the can made two pies lol) to our neighbors, and she said that it was a hit at the party. They had a store bought pie and mine, and mine was gone quickly. Yay me. We had a few friends over, just a small Thanksgiving. Unlike the Thanksgiving that we had 2 years ago where we fed almost 30 people. (Not at my house, we had some friends on duty so they had food taken to them). There were so many people trying to cook in my small kitchen that day, but it was a good meal, minus my failed attempt at Boston Cream Pie. It was nice and quite this year. D had his first big meal, and he loved it. He would have tried to eat all day if he could I think the way he finished his plate. But it was nice to see that he enjoyed it. As did everyone else.

My friend who had came over wanted to go to Toys R Us for their Black Friday deals that started that night. She had never been out on Black Friday, which I did not find out till we were pulling up to TRU at 9 pm and they opened at 10. She was in shock to see the line wrapped around the building. But she was able to get the things she wanted for her daughter for Christmas. I picked up one thing for my lil guy (we are waiting till we get hubs reenlistment bonus and plan on using the Heroes at Home Sears gift card that Sears graciously offers to military families every year). She wanted to go to 3 different places in the morning so I explained that she would have to go and 'camp out' now is she wanted to get anything due to the fact that some people are serious shoppers and will get there really early to get deals. So she figured out what she really wanted and we went to Target. We finished up at TRU at almost midnight, so we drove by Target, saw the line, went back to my house and picked up a blanket and a pillow and back to Target to sleep outside. We were in and out of the store with everything that she wanted within 30 minutes. So I think she had a good Black Friday experience overall, but I think she learned that she will not be doing that again.

Overall I think Thanksgiving this year was really good. We had hubs home, we were together, even though we would have loved to have been with our family, we had some of our made family. I'm thankful for my husband and son, for my family, for my friends that are like family, and that I'm able to be here to share it with them.

Adopted Ed Review

 

I was given the wonderful chance to review Adopted Ed, a book by Darren Maddern for children who are adopted. I, myself, am not adopted, but know many people who are. I enjoyed the illustrations that were by Erin Fusco. It's the simple story of Eddie, who was adopted at birth. He grew up just like anyone else, with parents who loved him and enjoying his life. He was made fun of at school by bullies, but his 'mother' gave him some wonderful words of encouragement and he found comfort in those words, and even told others that he was special because he was chosen, (and his parents weren't stuck with him like the bully's). The story is so simple but is so profound, just because you're adopted, doesn't make you any less special. At the end of the book there is even a list of famous people who are adopted too.

Darren Maddern was adopted in England where he was born, by an American Military Family, which has a special place in my heart. He has been in touch and met his biological family and has a relationship with them to this day. While not all adopted people are as lucky as he has been, that doesn't mean you should give up if you want to find your family. November is National Adoption Month, with November 20 as National Adoption Day. Please take time to remember those that have been adopted, and consider those that still could be adopted. It is a wonderful chance to give love to those that need it. Check out the Adopted Ed site here . And look out for Darren's next book to come out in the near future.

Mamavation Monday 11/29

Wow it's the last Monday of November. Which means we only have a few more Mondays till the new year. Crazy. My week this past week wasn't too bad. Our Thanksgiving meal went well. I did my best to watch what I ate and limited my dessert, but I did eat some pumpkin pie, since it was my first one that I ever made. And it was good. I've not stepped on the scale, but after this coming week I plan on it.

I've been dancing around with Just Dance 2 and Sing Star Dance game for the PS3 Move. Lots of fun and lots of sweat. I've enjoyed the Just Dance game and hopefully hubs will buy it for me for Christmas (we have it from Gamefly). I've been walking a lot more, but hoping to get more in, but now that it's getting colder outside the walks wont be as long lol. But that''s what Leslie Walk at Home is for, and I just need to get one of those for Christmas too. I really want a lot of fitness related things for Christmas. And I think for our tax check back we will be purchasing a treadmill or an eliptical. Come on tax refund.

This week on Mamavation Monday we are gonna be talking about SEX. Yep that's right. Dr. Lynn Anderson will be joining Mamavation to discuss her book, Sex Matters so…Get Sexually Healthy the Natural Way. I'm exciting about this topic, so it should be interesting to hear what Dr. Lynn has to say.

Mamavation Monday 11/22

Wow I can't believe that Thanksgiving is just a few days away. We are going to be hosting it here in our new house so I've very excited. Plus that lets me be in control of what I'm making so I know to a good extent what my calories are going to look like. We are having just a simple meal, turkey, stuffing, potatoes and green bean casserole. Yum. I've been getting out and walking around our new neighborhood. It's very nice. And I love that I can walk to a grocery store. It's so wonderful.

Seems like a funk has come upon me, so I gained a couple of pounds. Not what I wanted to do with Thanksgiving being this week, but it happens. I'll take it and lose it. I'm eating more at home, and not eating out so that is a great thing. But I've been snacking on bread which is not great. I bought some more veggies and fruits at this store this week to curb that snacking bug.

This weeks sponsor is Subway.  Subway is awesome, I was glad that there was a subway close to my high school. Now if there was only one within a decent walking distance for us. For my Commit to Fit challenge I want to walk/run a 5k. My current stroller is not in the best condition to walk around the store let alone try to walk a 5k, so I would love to win the prize for $100 that Subway is giving away to help someone make their Commit to Fit a possibility. What is your Commit to Fit?

A big Congrats to our Sista of the Week Heather at @Notdiyheather. She is an amazing girl and so motivating. Congrats. Until next week, get you groove one!

Homeowner, yep that's me

Well if you read my Mamavation post from the 8th then you will see we moved finally. We've been in the new house for 2 weeks now. i don't know if we will ever be unpacked, but thats ok. There is still some stuff in boxes from a move or two ago. But we did get rid of some stuff finally, and there will be more to get rid of before long too.

Being a homeowner has been a crazy experience so far. We moved in and had to get both toilets fixed (the one in our master bath still needs it's new flapper which we will do tomorrow.) The fridge that we found on Craigslist for $30 didn't work (but that could be because there is a problem with a couple of outlets in the kitchen), so we didn't have a fridge for a week. That was crappy because we had to eat out A LOT. But we found a good deal on a fridge from Home Depot, and they have a stove to match which I may get during tax time. Then there was my closet. I have too many clothes apparently per hubs, but I just say that it was secured to the wall enough, but the wire shelf that was in the closet is now on the floor and has been since we moved in pretty much. But that's ok since I was going to remodel the closet anyway. We will be getting shelves to put in the pantry and now have the space where I fridge should have gone (since we didn't measure right) to make some pantry shelves too.

After all that, we had the problem with the heating. I thought that the ac unit had gone out, hubs said it might be the thermostat, so I went and purchased a programmable one (was planning on it anyway) and he replaced it. But that didn't fix it. So called in the repair guy. He couldn't fix it because it wasn't the unit. It was an electrical problem and the electric company had to come out and rewire an outside line since Verizon had grounded their line to the electric box. Big mess but we have heat again so it's all good.

All in all we're happy here. If we could  just get rid of the ant problem, which is mainly in the back bedrooms, we'd be A ok. Not having cable sucks. I thought it would be ok, but when you've gone through all the movies on Netflix that you could stand to watch, makes for no fun. Hope to post some pics soon, once I get rid of some more boxes.

Mamavation Monday 11/8

Well we finally FINALLY moved. Our new house is great, and I've been going non stop trying to get us settled in. Not going as well as I would like, but it is what it is. We didn't get our fridge delivered till Friday of last week since the one we purchased of Craigslist didn't work which meant we had to eat out every day. And it sucked. I finally was able to cook a meal tonite and it was so wonderful. Even though I made the best choices that I could while we ate out, still didn't like having to spend money on that. But I think I made my muscles hate me as I had to lift a bunch of stuff that I didn't think I could, but I did. Go Girl Power. I've not looked at the scale, for one it's broken and two well no time. So we'll see what it has to tell me end of week. I'm excited to hopefully get out there and walk the neighborhood and meet some of our neighbors. I can't wait to just be able to walk and not fear about getting hurt or anything like that.

Hopefully I'll have a better report for next week since I'm going to be able to finally cook and eat out of my fridge, YAY. This weeks sponsor for Mamavation is Earth Footwear. I've been really wanting a pair for like ever. I've only heard wonderful things about their shoes and products and they have been a great sponsor to Mamavation and our Moms. So stop by them and check them out.

God Strong Giveaway

As I'm still working my way through Sara Horn's God Strong for my Survival Sister Semester, I figured I'd go ahead and post a giveaway. I have been really enjoying the book so far. There are so many things that I can relate to, like the chapter on Superwoman. I have felt time and again that if I can't do it then no one can. But Sara points out that it's not supposed to be like that. God wants to help you with your problems, He wants you to lean on Him and tell Him your worries and fears. I have failed to do that at times when I'm sure that comfort would have helped a difficult time when I was trying to be that Superwoman and do it all. But there is no shame when you need to ask for help. God Strong is wonderful written so that it seems like Sara is talking to you and you can feel a real connection.

For this giveaway, one reader will receive a signed copy of God Strong.

Ways to enter (leave a comment for each one)

1. Leave me a comment when you feel like you could should have been God Strong.
2. Tweet about my giveaway using @sailorsprincess #milspouse or something like that (unlimited entries for that)
3. Check out the Wives of Faith website that Sara has created. Join the forum and find friends like you.
4. Become a Fan my Facebook Page
5. Become a Fan the God Strong Page
6.Become a Fan Sara Horn's page
7. Follow me on Twitter
8. Follow Wives of Faith on Twitter

This giveaway will end on Nov 20 at midnight.

Date Night with Wanchai Ferry® and Macaroni Grill® Dry Dinner Kits Giveaway

Hubby and I don't get many date nights. His crazy schedule, plus having Baby D and limited finances makes going out impossible at times. And well trying to plan stuff at home hasn't always been easy. But we do love cooking at home, I love cooking things with chicken and we use the Macaroni Grill Dinner Kits a lot. Our favorite is the Chicken Marsala.


Do you remember your first date? Maybe it was dinner at a quiet little Italian restaurant, or dining on some takeout at home. Wherever you were when love first filled the air, Wanchai Ferry® and Macaroni Grill® Dry Dinner Kits can help you recreate that special evening in the comfort of your own home.


Enjoy an Asian escape with Wanchai Ferry restaurant-inspired dishes by simply adding your own protein to delicious entrees like Cashew Chicken, Spicy Garlic Chicken, Orange Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. Or bring the romance of Italian cuisine to your kitchen with Macaroni Grill favorites such as Chicken Piccata and Angel Hair Pasta, Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta, Chicken Alfredo with Linguine, Garlic & Herb Chicken Penne, and Chicken Marsala with Linguine.

So stay in and go all out!® Make your meal an experience by perhaps adding some ambiance with candles and flowers.

For more information and dinner tips, visit WanchaiFerryAtHome.com and MacaroniGrillAtHome.com. And be sure to follow Macaroni Grill on Twitter and “Like” the Facebook page to keep up with all of the latest news on your Macaroni Grill favorites!

Here is even an online coupon http://www.myblogspark.com/uc/main/198d/ for $1.50 off two packages of Wanchai Ferry and/or Macaroni Grill Dinner Kits.

(The products, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all given to me from Wanchai Ferry and Macaroni Grill through MyBlogSpark.)


Here's the giveaway info: One winner will receive Date Night prize pack that includes one Wanchai Ferry dry dinner kit, one Macaroni Grill dry dinner kit, and a $25 Visa gift card that you can use to create a magical date night at home.

Leave a comment for any/all of the way to enter. This giveaway will end Nov 20, 2010.



1. Leave a comment about your first date with your spouse/significant other?

2. Have you ever tried any of the Wanchai Ferry or Macaroni Grill kits? What's your favorite?

3. Follow me on Twitter
4. Become a fan of my blog on Facebook
5. Follow me on Google Friend Connect
6. Follow me by Network Blogs.
 

5 Ingredient Fix by Claire Robinson

I love to cook. I may not be the greatest at it (yet) but I do enjoy cooking and trying to find new, fun, great ideas. And since we are going to have to keep our spending under control once we move and eat at home more often than we do now (we still eat out a couple of times a week=bad for wallet). We are big fans of chicken and ground turkey.

With all that said, I received a copy of 5 Ingredient Fix by Claire Robinson to review. If you are a fan of Food Network (like I am) you will have seen her show of the same title. I love watching the Food Network because so many of the shows give me great ideas, (not that I'd be able to do some of the stuff lol).

In her book, Claire has outlined different types of foods and drinks to make by the type of meals. There are beautiful pictures of what the finished product should be (mine never turn out like that lol). And with so many different and wonderful foods that she has came up with, there should be something for every. I have not tried any yet, as we are in the process of moving, but I have my list for our house warming party, which include: Ginger and Lemon Roasted Chicken with Braised Fennel, (Whole chicken, ginger, butter, lemon and fennel are the only listed ingredients.); Santino's Creme Brulee ( I LOVE Creme Brulee and wonder if I can make some replacements with it to make it healthier but I will prolly stick to her's); Cheesy Penne (Penne, Milk, Dijon Mustard, heavy Cream, and White Cheddar Cheese yum). Also I can't wait to try the Cucumber-Watermelon margarita drink recipe. The recipes are simple and to the point and will help us when we are tight on time, and if you have young children you are always searching for ways to add more time.

So if you are looking for good food to make/try, have a limited budget like we do, and not a lot of time, Claire's book will be a good addition to your collection of cookbooks.

mamavation monday 10/18

Wow, so we had my son's 1st bday party this weekend. I can't believe it's been a year already. But it was a good party. We had a fairly decent menu (with what we could afford) of hot dogs, chicken and pizza (yea I know not the best) and we of course had cake. I was very proud of myself with only having one piece, before I would have had many many more pieces. And there is still half a cake left in my fridge, and it's just hanging out in there. It will prolly be thrown out in the next day.

I have lost 5 lbs, but that's after gaining about 10 lbs over the last few months. UGH, that was a big let down for me ( I finally got on a scale). With the move in 2 weeks, stress is getting higher and not fun. But I'll be working my arms out to lift all those boxes. I'm so looking forward to being out of here and getting to a much safer area.

This Monday is the Mamavation Twitter Party, where we get to meet the finalists and get our new moms, how exciting. Make sure to head over to Mamavation's page and check out the info on the party and everything else Mamavation. I'm looking forward to the Twitter party.

Also a big shout out to our Sista of the week is Angela aka ninemoremonths.  Congrats!!!!

GOD Strong~ Are you God Strong?

I am very fortunate to be participating in Wives of Faith Survival Sister Semester. We are reading our way through GOD Strong by the wonderful Sara Horn. (Which Sara has also graciously allowed me to give away a copy of her book as well to one of my readers~more to come on that later in another post). I figure that I will review the book and discuss it as I read through my chapters (which I will prolly read ahead since I'm really enjoying the book) so that maybe some other Mil spouses will be encouraged to read GOD Strong as well.

I know that for me, to admit that I'm not a strong person is a hard thing to do. I hate to say that I can't handle something and moreover hate to ask for help. I've always been independent and felt that I can handle anything, and if I can't do it then it doesn't need done. This is not the way it should be. More so in the lives that we, as Mil Spouses, lead. We are often enough left alone, without our spouse and family close by, to tend to our house, our kids, and anything else that happens to come into our life. It's not an easy task, and not for the faint of heart. But that doesn't mean that if you can't hack it, quit. What Sara has pointed out is that we need to rely on God and his strength to get through. We need to not be about ME Strength, but GOD Strength. We shouldn't buy into the lines that: God wont give me more than I can handle (I'm a serious offender of that one) and that God helps those that help themselves (which I have been like also). We need to share our problems with God and let him take over some of the burden. Sara also has mentioned in Chpt 2 that we need to learn how to PACE: Pursue, Act, Concentrate, and Encourage. I like her topic on Encouragement, that is an area that I need to work on. I do a lot of negative talk when things are rough or when I feel discouraged, and that doesn't help me or anyone else.

I'm only two chapters in to GOD Strong, but I'm loving every word of it. It's giving me so many of those "Ah Ha" moments, you know the ones where you realize that, "Oh man I just said that I'm fat and not going to lose this weight" yesterday to myself, which is part of that negative self talk that we need to dispose of. I'm looking forward to reading more of this book and sharing it with you.

A year

I can't believe how fast a year goes by. This time last year I was stressing about Homecoming and about having Baby D. I was busying getting the last few thing ready for both the boys to come home. I was anxious about how Hubs would look at me. Seeing as I myself felt like a beached whale.

But he didn't care. He thought I was beautiful. We didn't get any homecoming pics from that day. Things were crazy and there was confusion, but I didn't care, I just was glad he was home.

Well our time together just us was cut short because I ended up in the hospital because of the swine flu. I went in on Saturday, I was due to be induced on the following Wednesday, so they kept me until either I went into labor or was induced, and then stayed till Saturday. So hubby first week was spent mainly in the hospital, and he got to spend 1 day at home before having to go back from leave.

But I would not change any of that crazy time we had together for anything in the world. I was glad to have my hubby home in time for the birth of our first child, and i know that a lot of us mil spouses aren't as lucky. I know that I am lucky for the people in my life and I'm grateful for them every day. Boy what can happen in a year.

Mamavation Monday 10/4

A new month has come. Which will also be a very busy month for us. We've got 2 big birthdays to celebrate, and we are moving. Well we are closing on our house on the 29th and hoping to move the first week of Nov. It's very exciting since we are buying our OWN house. And I'm happy with the area, it's nice and safe and I can take the baby for strolls, and there are parks nearby so that will help.

My last week has had its ups and downs. It rained all but one day last week, which wasn't fun and I didn't get out to walk at the Park like I enjoy, but I did get some workouts in. Plus packing and lifting is helping to build my muscles LOL. I'm hoping that the weather will be fair for the 5k Pink Ribbon Walk on Wednesday. If not, that will be a big dissapointment, but I have another 5k walk at the end of the month to do. I'm very excited and I think it will be great. I've been tracking my meals, but its not been great. Being cooped up inside has made me want to eat, and I've been fighting with bad choices, but thankfully I have some fruit and I love fruit.

I hope that everyone had a great week last week and that this week is good for all the Mamavation Sistas.

Schedule a personal tune-up

Schedule a personal tune-up

Proper nutrition is part of the foundation of a healthy life. Your car needs the right amount of gas and periodic tune-ups to make it run smoothly and prevent future problems. Your body needs healthy food and periodic check-ups too. Make a goal to start treating your body the right way. Take care of yourself. Eat the right foods and make sure to visit your doctor regularly. If you start maintaining and tracking your progress, you will probably see dramatic positive results in the way your body runs.


He who does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else.

- Samuel Johnson



From SparkPeople.com Healthy Reflections email. Check out SparkPeople.com for great diet/fitness tips.

What you really learn from hardships

From SparkPeople Healthy Reflections daily email. Check out SparkPeople.com

What you really learn from hardships

"Perhaps you think this isn't very �positive' sounding, but I find it helps people (patients and friends) put hardship, which is inevitable, to good use," says Richard. "People can use their suffering either to gain character or become bitter. The ones who choose bitterness live a long, slow death. The ones who choose character truly live." Richard is right on the money. Happiness and sadness don't happen to us--they come from within. The story of your life will be written with or without your help. The next chapter is happening while you read this. Will you wait to see what it says later, or will you help write it?

Suffering is the tuition one pays for a character degree. - Richard M. Rayner, M.D., SparkPeople member

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Gotta love rain

Well not really. This week it has pretty much rained here in the area, and it sucks. I'm not thrilled with it because that means I can't get out to walk at the park, and everything floods around here, no fun. And now hubs is trying to see if the house we are buying is flooded. Oh yea, did I mention that we are buying a house? We found the perfect little house in VA Beach. And we should close on the 29th of this month OMG. While I'm typing this hubs called and said the house wasn't flooded, but the streets are. Oh well that happens. But yay. I'm off to get ready to go to commissary soon to get pay day food. LOL.

Mamavation Monday 9/27

I fell off the wagon. HARD. I thought I was doing better, but yea that was so not the case. I've still been having 'episodes' as I'll call them after I walk. I get headaches, followed by nausea and vomiting. I went to the doc yesterday and they don't seem to know the reason. But I'm to keep records of when i get headaches, and gave me a pill for it. So my workouts have been lax. But I'm not giving up this time. I'm motivated to do a breast cancer walk coming up in a couple of weeks. It's a 5k and I really hope to do it and not et sick. I'm hopoing that since its fall now that the heat will end and I'll be able to walk more. Trying to get my Wii time has been hard too. Oh the plus side, we are 'hopefully' going to be homeowners soon. Which I love the area we are going to be moving to, I wont have to drive 20 minutes to find a safe place to walk outdoors, which is exciting, and we'll have a 3rd bedroom which will be the game/fitness/office room. Every time I think I'm back, I'm not, but I want to be here, I need to be here. Support is needed for myself, and I want to give support, which is somehting I've not done in awhile. I want to say that its the fault of not having TweetDeck on my computer anymore and not being able to keep up.

The sweetness of reflecting on a dream

From SparkPeople Healthy Reflections daily email. Check out SparkPeople.com for great info on fitness and healthy living.

Setting goals is easy. The tough part is putting time and hard work into realizing those dreams. The energy you are willing to put forth to reach your dreams is directly related to the probability of achieving them. Above all, be patient with the situation and with yourself. Don't lose your way by being blinded by disappointment, frustrations, and failures. Ponder the goals in your life and the obstacles you might face. Make appropriate plans to overcome those roadblocks even before they occur. Think of the reward of reflecting on a goal you have reached, rather than one you failed to see through. Most big dreams involve big effort!

House hunting: not for the weary of heart

A few weeks ago (after the attempted break in of my SUV) we had decided that we would be moving out of this area. We don't feel comfortable here, and we want lil man to go to another school (even though that is a few years away). We had been talking about renting, but I threw out "What about buying?". Our thoughts about it had been that we really don't know how long the Navy will keep us here, and why buy something that you can't get rid of when you need to move? But it could be cheaper for us in the long run (but now I'm not thinking so). We have a great realtor, that was referred to us by friends from the ship, and he has been wonderful. We've been driving around looking for places, and even went to look at a cute little house yesterday, that would be awesome to work on, and it had a beautiful backyard and a really nice walk in closet. But it's not really in our price range, but it's in a great area and we wouldn't fear for our safety (which is something that is becoming more and more an issue). So we keep looking online and while we are out, get the info and sent it to him. He goes through his searches and sends us what he finds and we go and drive all over. At least we have till February (when our lease is up) to possibly find a place. If not, then we can rent somewhere else, but we will NOT be staying here after this. I didn't have any problems the whole time hubs was deployed, but since Jan we have had 2 break in, and one attempt (that we know of, who knows how many really).

What a week

Well it took a week and a day for me to get my SUV back. I was grateful that I had a rental to get around since hubs car is a standard and he hasn't taught me to drive it yet, but I really didn't care for the Jeep. So yay for having my SUV back. There was a phone that was found in the inside when they had cleaned it. It didn't belong to the people who worked there and it wasn't either of ours so.... Could it be that of the selfish person who stole our stuff and cost us so much money?? How awesome would that be? Not that the police will be able to find him/her, but maybe.

T-minus one month till my boys big days. One turns 30, the other 1, one right after the other. OMG. Plus to add to the festivities, hubs has decided to reenlist on his birthday. Which is very exciting for us. It's so hard to believe that he has been in for 4 years now, and I've been here for 3 1/2 yrs of it. So now I get to plan a reenlistment dinner/party along with the birthday parties (which are pretty much planned minus the food and such). But I'm looking forward to it all.

My lil guy is now 11 months old. I can't believe it. This time last year I was planning for the arrival of both him into the world and for my hubs to come back from our very first deployment (are you noticing a trend-they seem to like to do things together lol). I have loved every minute of the past year with my son. (Not so much with the Navy, but that's a whole other story). I'm looking forward to whats in store for us next.

Selfish

That is going to be the word that I use to describe the person whom broke into my SUV last week and stole my stereo. While they may get $50 out of the stereo that they stole out of my car (which we paid about $100 for last Oct) we get to deal with the bill of $1300 for the damages. Selfish. Selfish is the nice word that I will use to describe them because my actual thoughts and feelings about it should not be put on here. The person broke out the window right by my son's car seat, so there was glass in his car seat. That was the thing that upset me the most about the whole thing to start. I thought that the only thing that we would have to do would be to replace the window. But hubby called the insurance company, they sent an adjuster out and low and behold the damages and repair costs were almost $1300. WOW. Because they had attempted to pry open the both passenger side doors, the track there (I don't know the technical term for it) had to be replaced, and the window and the dash damage from where they ripped out my stereo and the stereo. I could care less about getting a new stereo. I was just glad that I didn't have to replace the car seat, which is an awesome car seat that will last my son for several more years.

This is the 2nd time in less than 9 months that I've had my SUV broken into. The first time was in Jan of this year, they broke out the Driver side passenger window and didn't take anything. So we had to get the money to pay for the glass. I was pissed because they didn't take anything. If they had taken something it would have made more sense, but they didn't take anything. And a few weeks ago, my neighbor had chased off some guy on a bike who was trying to bust my window. I don't leave anything in my SUV, I've learned over the years since I had someone break into my POS car 5-6 yrs ago and steal stuff, I try to make the effort to not leave anything since then. Really the only things I leave in the car are diapers and wipes in case I forget to pack them in his bag (and they are cheap diapers and wipes), his car seat and stroller and his snugli. That's pretty much it. But someone felt that they needed my stereo. Well I hope that they were able to take their small amount of money that they made off of it and buy their drugs/beer/food/whatnot and benefit from it.

I'm a firm believer in Karma, and I know that at some point they will get what is coming to them. I try to be as good a person as I can. I try not to piss people off. But yet some stranger comes and does something like this and it just pisses me off. They don't know me or my family or that we live pay check to pay check because I don't work at the moment because 1. finding a job in this economy is hard enough and 2. I enjoy being able to stay home and teach my son. We are able to keep our bills paid and food on the table, but can't afford things that aren't really needs. So here comes some A$$hole to make my budget all the better. Thanks, you're so sweet for thinking of me and my needs and the needs of my child. Selfish. That is what they are. I just don't understand how people can think it is ok to steal from others. I don't steal from people and yet Karma has me getting stole from several times over the years. I guess I need to make up for something in my life that I'm lacking for. But it really makes me mad that people just don't care enough about others to think what the cost might be for them to have to replace all the damage they did for the small amount that they might get from a stupid car stereo.

September 11

It's so hard to believe that 9 years have come and gone since that fateful day. I will never forget, as will so many many others. I had just moved away from home for the first time to finish my college education a few weeks before. I was still so young and naive about so many things in our world. I had just turned 21 a month before and of course my focus was on boys, college, and other things that college kids think of. I didn't follow the news much, I didn't pay attention to the world around me outside of my friends. I had always wondered what would be the defining moment in my generation/lifetime. There was Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, JFK, WWI and II, and it just seemed that my generation hadn't had a big event that would define us. That was until one day in September.

I was working that morning at Walmart in the Pharmacy. I had afternoon and evening classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I worked the opening shift. There was a girl that had been in the night before to pick up her meds but couldn't because they weren't ready. She was to be on an overseas flight on that Tuesday, but came in to the pharmacy and was complaining that she wouldn't be able to take her flight because someone had crashed into the tower in NYC. Before long the TVs that Walmart had turned into the news coverage and we watched in horror as the 2nd plane hit. To say I was stunned would be an understatement. I couldn't think, couldn't focus. We had the radio on too and were listening to all the news reports that were coming in. So many things were being said, and it just seemed to get worse and worse. I had tried to call my mom at home but couldn't get through. I didn't know what to do, all I knew was that I needed to be with my family and my friends. I had called my roommate and told them what was going on, they had been still asleep and had no idea. We watched as the towers fell, I stood and listened as the plane went down in Washington, and feared as the plane went down in PA, which was not far from where I grew up (by a few hours).

Of course that night, my friends and I sat in my apt and watched the news. Watched as more things happened and waited to see what would be next. People kept talking about how our area would be attacked next since we lived near so many chemical plants and oil refineries. All I could think was that I needed to get home to my mom. So I took a few days off work and went home to hide out and wait for what I thought could have been the end. I went back to school for a few days, then came back home because my best friend had her first child on the 20th. I could not believe that something so beautiful could come into a world so horrible, but was grateful that she had been born and hoped that her world would be good to her.

Over the next few years I made the choice to try to be as informed as I could, I kept up with news and didn't want to be unaware of things that were going on around me. As a military spouse I also use that to know if my husband could be taken away from us to fight in another war or fight. I did not like the way that I felt that day. Scared of everything and everyone. Afraid of what could happen. It is really no way to live, always looking over your shoulder, wondering when the next attack will occur. I try not to think about it as much, but things like this have a larger impact on my life than before. I have always been proud of our servicemembers, they fight to keep us safe. I tear up when I see a flag or hear the National Anthem, but it's more so now that I have a duty to my husband as well as my country. I have a duty to remember what happened that day, to teach my children about that day, and to never forget the lives that were lost and the lives lost since then in response to that day. I'm grateful for my faith, for my friends and family, because without them I would not be able to understand the world we live. And without them I am nothing. I will never forget that day, because a part of my innocence died that day, a part of me that I will never be able to get back. When tragic events happen, we need to learn and grow from them, and I will always carry that day with me and learn from how I felt. I hope that we never have to face something as horrible as that again, but history seems to tell us otherwise. I hope for the sake of my son that he never has to experience it first hand, but I hope to equip him with the knowledge and faith to make it through anything.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, it is jumbled but so our my thoughts at times. Always remember, never forget the sacrifices that are made by our Service Members and their families for the pursuit of Freedom, because Freedom isn't Free.

Need another face lift

Yep, so I've not been around much, it's been crazy the last few months. Which also means that my wonderful blog has been neglected. So besides trying to catch up and get my blog back up and running, I'm going to try and do a face lift, make it pretty and all that. So if you see some changes, well you can understand. Hope you'll come back and check it out. And if you have any suggestions, I'm always open for them. I miss blogging and updating so hopefully soon it will be all good again.

You Are Beautiful

 

Something that we all should remember every day. I know that I have trouble remembering that I'm beautiful, worthy and the like. I don't like being overweight, but I'm working towards my goals to lose the weight. But by reading and learning about Operation Beautiful has helped show me that I'm beautiful. Operation Beautiful was started by one person who (Caitlin) who discovered after years of 'fat talk' and other emotional draining activities that by one day just posting a note that "You are beautiful" could start a revolution for women all over the world.

One reason that I love this book is that the author has put in stories and post-its and other notes that others have submitted to her and stories of how they felt when they left a note for someone else, or when they found a note left by someone else. The fact that finding a note had such a positive impact on people makes me want to share that with others. I love making people smile and I think that passing a simple message like "Remember you are beautiful no matter what' will make someones day. Just like smiling can be contagious, it seems that these notes have the same affect. Anyone who has had trouble with meeting goals or feeling good about themselves will really enjoy this book. Need a pick-me-up? Check out Operation Beautiful the site and see what everyone has shared.



Operation Beautiful by Caitlin Boyle.

Mamavation Monday 8/23

Well it's been a minute since I posted. Tons and Tons and tons have been going on, but it's no excuse to take one day out of the week to let my Sistas know whats what around here. I've been walking more with a group of my friends. It's great to have them to talk to so that the time flies by, but when I've tried to walk around the park more than once I become ill. Like knocked off your ass, can't get off the couch, nauseated, world spinning and I wanna get off at the next stop ill. And it happened twice (two monday in a row when I walked around twice). There could be several reasons as to why this happened: not eating enough before and after, not eating the right stuff, not drinking enough water, and the biggest reason I think is the heat. It's just too dang hot. But I'm not giving up. (I think that it could also be the medication that I was put on recently for depression, and I'm in the process of changing my doctor, which if you know anything about how military things work will understand this can take awhile.) And I know that my Sistas and my friends will be supportive.

I've also not been around because my computer has kicked the bucket again. We aren't sure what has brought about its demise this time, but it is currently in the hands of someone who might be able to fix it, but IDK. And the Tweet Deck on my Ipod Touch isn't working so it's been hard, but I'm trying. I miss keeping up with everyone and sharing and supporting. Seems like when it rains it pours.

I can't believe how fast this campaign for our moms has gone by. Congrats to them for the work that they have been doing, such a great job. And soon enough will be the application process again. I hope that we get a lot of moms to submit their applications, I will not be until I get fixed up for good.

The blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear, who has been an amazing sponsor of Mamavation. They really do love our Mamavation sistas and moms. Make sure you check them out here, or on Twitter or Facebook. I do not own a pair, but would love to, as I've heard so much good about them.

I hope that everyone has a great week. I hope to have my computer back soon so that I can keep up with everyone and I hope that our moms keep up the good work that they have done.

Kroger's Add up the Savings. I love Krogers (and a giveaway $25 GC)

Growing up, until Walmart came to town, the only place to really go was Kroger's. There was one by my mom's and one by my Grannie's where I stayed weekends and summers. I just love Kroger's and their prices and their brand items, their chips are really good.

Right now Kroger's is having an Add up the Savings event to help you and  your family get ready for back to school.

While you´re out and about, be sure to stop at your local Kroger Family of Stores (which includes Kroger, Ralph´s, King Soopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith´s, Fry´s, QFC, Baker´s, Owen´s, Jay C Food Stores, Hilander, Gerbes, Food4Less, Pay Less Super Markets and Scott´s Food & Pharmacy) to take advantage of their "Add Up the Savings" Event and stock up on your favorite General Mills & Kimberly Clark brands From August 8 through August 21, when you buy 8 participating items from any Kroger store, you´ll receive $4 off of your purchase. Some of the great participating brands include: Cheerios, Yoplait Yogurt, Pillsbury Cookies & Biscuits, Kleenex, Huggies, Betty Crocker Brownies, Cottonelle, and Lucky Charms.

In addition to these great savings, be sure to take advantage of the special Bonus Box Tops Offers and get a jumpstart on helping the participating school of your choice this year.

All you have to do, if you haven´t already, is register at www.RewardYourSchool.com. Once you register, you will automatically receive 5 Bonus Box Tops just for signing up! You will also receive custom offers for Bonus Box Tops for purchasing participating products.

These great offers are:

• Buy any 4 Box Tops products and get 10 Bonus Box Tops
• Buy any 8 Box Tops products and get 25 Bonus Box Tops

The offers you select will then load onto your Kroger Shopper Card to be redeemed once you purchase the items. It´s extra easy because there´s no clipping! Just remember to scan your Kroger Shopper Card and the Bonus Box Tops will automatically go straight the participating school of your choice. 


I love Box Tops, I've been saving them for my friend's kids and they just love taking them into school. Hopefully this program will still be around when my lil guy goes to school. 

So with all that said, would you like to have the chance to win a $25 gift card to the Kroger's Family of Stores?? If so, please enter your comments below by doing one or all of the following. Giveaway will end on August 21st, the same day that the sale ends.

1. Follow me on Twitter
2. Become a fan of my blog on Facebook
3. Follow me on Google Friend Connect
4. Follow me by Network Blogs.
5. 'Like' Kroger on Facebook

Disclosure: General Mills, Kimberly Clark and the Kroger Family of Stores provided me with the gift card, information, and giveaway through MyBlogSpark

Some what of a check in/update

Wow I didn't realize that it had been SOOOO long since I made a post. The last few weeks have been crazy, non-stop insanity, well maybe not insanity, but non-stop is a good word for it. Family came to visit me and D and we showed them around and spent time with them. They were here the same week that I had started babysitting, which I'm no longer babysitting at the time since the day care spot opened for her, but will prolly do it again once she is finished up there. Hubs has been coming and going and coming and going. We had him for the weekend last weekend and it was really nice. He took me out to dinner on Sunday for my bday and he even had them bring me the birthday dessert. Poor guy lol. But it was sweet of him. He has duty all this weekend, so we'll be going to the boat to see him, and heading over on Monday since that is the day we 'should' get his next orders. I say 'should' since the Navy is famous for changing things at the last minute. But we are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be something good for the whole family and his career. But that I think is an oxymoron.

I have a new obsession, Lego Harry Potter. EEK, but it's so much fun. I'll prolly have the whole game finished before hubs is home for more than a minute lol. I had a great walk yesterday with my friends, and hope to make it a regular event.

D has learned how to pull himself up and crawl around, which happened pretty much overnight and in the same 24 hour period. Of course hubs wasn't home for it, but we went and purchased a video camera so we can record all his fun adventures. D has been having trouble sleeping in his crib, which is partly my fault since when hubs is gone I get lonely so I let him sleep with me. Now he's freaking out about being in his crib, and pretty much any time I leave the room. Welcome separation anxiety, nice to meet you, You can leave now. But we are working through it, and hopefully he'll be back in his crib before long, and before hubs comes home for semi-good since there is not home for good in the Navy until they get out lol.

But that is the short update. Besides the fact that my computer(netbook) has once AGAIN crapped itself, I have to use hubs computer, so I get to use it when D is napping or in bed or eating. I am hoping to have a good report for my Mamavation post on Monday. I miss blogging and tweeting and all that jazz. But hopefully life will work itself out to let me be me again. <3

Who wants an update?

I know I would love to know what is going on with my life, but the Navy has yet to tell us where my hubs is going to be stationed at next. We were told months ago that we'd be able to pick his next set of orders but as of yesterday that is no longer the case. He will go wherever the Navy needs him. As has been the case for the last few sets of orders he has received. So we wait. But we only have to wait till December since the decommission is set for December.

Baby D just turned 9 months. He had his appt this week and he is doing great. He still has reflux, and they are hoping he will grow out of it at some point. He learned to sit up all by himself and he totally loved doing it. He is getting around on his own, not by crawling but rolling and creeping and whatever it takes. We are hoping that he starts crawling soon, but I kind of hope that hubs is home for it (which in case I didn't mention, but he gone underway for who knows how long, wish I could tell ya more, but I am a follower of OPSEC and don't talk about ship movements). We are in the process of trying to find a video camera so that I can record all the fun stuff that D is doing. He's also starting to try to pull himself up which is awesome. I found some of the party supplies for his 1st bday. we are discussing where to have the party, oh the joy.

I recently cut my hair, the shortest it's been in 12 years or more. It was getting too dang hot, the baby loved pulling it and I really wanted to change. Its still taking some getting use to, but its pretty cool. I'm still working on getting my weight down, thanks to the support of friends and the Mamavation Sistahood.

So that's about it for the moment. Hopefully some good news about where we are gonna end up will come soon. thanks ya'll

Mamavation Monday 7/19

Well I'm gonna go ahead and get this posted, not too much to say really. Just another crazy week. But I was active in some form every day, mainly walking and doing a ton of work around my house getting ready for my Sister in Law and her family coming to visit us. Which will be good because we'll be going out to explore the area around here and tons of walking will be involved. So this week I wont be around too much because of them coming to visit. I could really use the family time since things are still crazy around here. But next week I'll be back and ready to roll.

Congrats to our new moms @all_about_savin and @jennydecki. Yay girls you are gonna rock it. And congrats to our Sista of the week Lori. You are an awesome sista full of support and love for the Sistahood. This weeks sponsor of our blogging carnival is @ChiquitaChattter, Chiquita Bananas. I love bananas, they are such a great snack to grab on the way out.

Wanting to make some changes

Well I've been thinking it over and over again about getting my own domain and changing the name of my blog. So yet again more changes. I'm not sure if this is coming from all of the crap that is going on with us and I feel the need to make changes in so any different aspects of my life. But if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears. Hopefully I'll come up with the name changes over the next few days or so, but we'll see.Thanks for being loyal readers.

Mamamavation Monday 7/12

Tonite's the Twitter Party to find out who our new mom's will be. How very exciting. I wish all the Mamas good luck, we can't wait to support you.


Well nothing good to report here, so this post will probably be short as sweet, as its late in the day and I'm trying to figure out my dinner and get the baby fed and finally get some more of a workout in. It's not been great, got some bad news this week from hubs and found out that he wont be coming home much for awhile. And that we still don't have orders which means he will most likely deploy in the near future. There may be the small chance that it might not happen, but I'm trying to prepare for the worse, and its taking a toll since I can't prepare with my hubs since he is currently gone. Thankfully Laura @lpk24 has been asking each morning what I'm doing, so I'm able to be motivated and report to someone. While the last couple of days I've not done what I wanted to do, I've been working and cleaning and working up a sweat moving stuff and getting the house ready for my Sis in Law to come this weekend. I've not utilized the Sistahood the way I should as of late with everything going on, and I need to, that's what we are here for. So I apoligize to my fellow mamas with the goal for the week to get back on track and support everyone more since I'm realizing that I need that support now more than ever with the impending doom that may decend upon me.

Goals for my week, luckily I've had friends come over so I don't have to try and menu plan for one all the time but I'm getting somewhat better at coming up with some one person ideas, and hope to improve upon that. Plus I am going to start babysitting again for a friend full time so I'll have to meal plan for lunches for us too. A habit that I would really like to start would be to workout in the morning, but since the little girl will be here by 730 I dont think that will work, so I have to resolve to do it after dinner. As long as its done.

I hope that everyone has a great week, and I'm going to work on having a much MUCH better week than I've had the last month.

Enjoying the marathon

Enjoying the marathon

Life is like a marathon. We run and run, not knowing where (or how far) the finish line lies. We focus so intensely on prolonging the race but sometimes--despite our best efforts--the race is cut short. Too often we don't relish the path of and enjoy the details instead of just pounding the pavement of life. What personal boundaries can you expand to help you enjoy your life? Today meditate on the simple joys: a warm bath, reading a book to a sleepy toddler, or spending quality time with your family and friends. All of life contains bumps in the road such as losing your job or an unforeseen illness. But it is up to us to determine the quality of our lives. Remember, we don't always determine the distance, but we can determine the path.

You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.

- Shira Tehrani

From SparkPeople.com Healthy Reflection Daily Email.  

Parting with unforgiving ways

Parting with unforgiving ways

Consider the things in your life that you feel are irreversible or too embarrassing to touch upon. The path of least resistance is often the wrong choice, especially when admitting to someone else that you were wrong. Is there anyone in your life that you need to apologize to? Clearing up disagreements--no matter how far removed--frees both parties to move forward in a more healthy way. Not to mention it improves relationships of all kinds. Pride isn't something that is easy to part with, but being unforgiving can eat away at a friendship or marriage. Good relationships have boundless benefits, so work to make them the best they can be!

It's never too late--in fiction or in life--to revise

- Nancy Thayer, author

From Spark People Healthy Reflections daily email  

Valuing time before it is too late

I know that I should apply this to my life, I am so bad about putting things off thinking I'll get around to them another day, but as we all well know tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

Valuing time before it is too late

Often our days are busied with worry, stress, complaining, work, and a general wasting of time. Once we finally realize the value of our time, often for many of us it is too late. While your life might seem like a long time in the midst of it, truly it is a blink of an eye. Today, make more time to be present in your life. Even small moments--enjoying a cup of tea, calling a friend, reading a favorite book--should be enjoyed. Restructure your day so that you can get all of your work done, but allow for extra time to be spent on personal matters. Stop procrastinating!

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness...never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

- Lord Chesterfield

From SparkPeople Healthy Reflections daily email mailer. Check out SparkPeople.com for great diet and healthy living help.

Mamavation Monday Post 7-5

Well I've been MIA for a few weeks, had to go home for a week due a death in the family, which turned into our family reunion of sorts, since my dad came up from Texas and all. So Baby D and I did the drive all by ourselves, and then came home to spend a few days with hubs before he left for an undetermined amount of time. So its been crazy and out of control around here.

I gained while I was home, of course that was a given. I knew I should have been better, but the darn comfort foods that I only get every once in a blue moon called to me, and of course not being able to cook my own meals anywhere wasn't a help either, we ate out every meal pretty much. One of the reasons I don't particularly like going home. I'm sure if I wasn't trying to fit everyone I want/need to see into our short trips I could make more of an effort to cook, but I do the best I can with the choices that I can make when we eat out. I know the pizza was very bad, but so much stress just couldn't keep me away. I'm glad to be home so I can eat the way I want to.

My goals for this week are to get back on schedule, I've lost the weight that I put on while home thankfully, so now to get back on track and get under 190. It's been nicer this week around here, not horribly hot, but I have been having leg pain so that hasn't helped. But I'm hoping for a better week. Going to be baking chicken and saving it for leftovers so that I don't have to cook every day, which will be nice, and hoping to fit in more fruits and veggies, once I get to the store. I picked up a few things today, but it's pay day weekend and a holiday weekend so yea I wasn't going to stay around and fight all that.

The finalists for our next Mamavation Mom will be announced this week. I've been horrible and haven't really be around much, but I"m excited to see who the finalists are so I can start voting. The Twitter party for the Moms will be on the 12th of July from 8 to 10, with @ResourcefulMom aka Amy helping out. Our Sista of the week is @MMScarlett, congrats girl. Our sponsor for this week is @BSkinz. BSkinz is a fitness line for women full of patterned and colorful compression wear. BSkinz products look pretty cool, I'd like to win the GC, but hey we'll see.


I hope that everyone has a great 4th of July and has a great week.

The End of an Era...

So I jumped on the Harry Potter wagon a little late, like right before the 5th book came out and after the 3rd movie came out I believe. I watched my first HP movie on ABC family while hanging out with my friends nephew in 2004. But once I saw the movie I fell in love and bought all the books of Amazon and started reading and well enough said right. The new trailer is out for the last movies, which hopefully they will be much better than the last movie that came out last year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  So I hope you enjoy this trailer. (I'll admit, I was not a Twilight fan at first, I was very upset that it had replaced HP coming out in 2008, but I went with a friend of mine and became hooked, so Twilight made it ok that HP was delayed lol, and now I'm a major Twilight fan, which there will be a post about it coming soon.)

How can you bring out the best in others?

How can you bring out the best in others?

Everyone has hidden treasures of talent and undiscovered potential. Everyone has something substantial to contribute. Why are these valuables still buried beneath the surface? Why don't they shine through? Confidence may be an issue. By teaching someone a new skill, you can help build that confidence. People need someone to believe in them. They need to know that if they take that first step out of their comfort zone, someone will be supporting them all the way. With small words of encouragement, with just a little extra time, that someone could be you. In some cases, others may just be unaware of their true abilities and potential. If you've never tried to shoot an arrow, how do you know that you're not the next Olympic archer? Concentrate on bringing out the best in others, and you'll bring out the best in yourself. Then stand back and watch 'em go.


The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.

- Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman


from Spark People.com Healthy Reflection email. Check out SparkPeople.com for great tips on diet, exercise, and healthy lifestyle. 

Plum Organics Sampler and Boon Spoon review and a giveaway

I recently found out about EcoMom while I was participating in Healthy Child Healthy World's weekly Thursday night chat. So I contacted them and was sent a really cool Plum Organics Sampler with a Boon Spoon. There are really awesome flavors of food for Baby D to eat, like Mangoes, Pears, and Pumpkin and Banana. They come in easy to use packages so that Baby D can try and squeeze it out, which he's still not too strong yet, but will make it easier when he gets older. All you have to do is attach the Boon Spoon to the top of the packet and squeeze out the food, just as simple as that. It was great for the road trip that we had to take recently due to a family situation.

Eco-friendly Baby Products at EcoMom is allowing me to do a giveaway for $15 in Plum Organics and/or Revolution Foods products. Plum and Revolution offer a wide variety of products from the High Chair to the Lunch box, along with baby food and other products. Also they are sharing with my readers a 15% discount for their site over at www.ecomom.com for your first order, how exciting is that. The discount code is SBBL413 and is good through June 30th.

They have an awesome program called EcoPass, which you can purchase a $99 annual membership and you will receive a 15% discount on every order you place as well as free shipping on your orders, without having to have the $75 minimum requirement. (Very awesome).

So for your chance to enter the giveaway for $15 in Plum Organics and/or Revolution Food products you just need to do the following one or more of the following options and let me know. I'll pick a winner with random.org on June 30th.

1. Follow EcoMomCEO on Twitter
2. Become a fan of EcoMom on Facebook
3. Sign up for the EcoMom newsletter.
4. Follow me on Twitter
5. Become a fan of my blog on Facebook
6. Follow me on Google Friend Connect
7. Follow me by Network Blogs.

Leave me a comment for any of the above that you do so that you can be entered in the $15 worth of Plum and/or Revolution Foods products giveaway from EcoMom, the Eco-Friendly Baby Products.Giveaway is good for US and Canada. Thanks so much for checking us out.



While I did receive the Plum Organics Sampler and Boon Spoon, I was not compensated for reviewing the products and the opinions that I posted are my own. Please refer to my disclosure policy if you have any questions.

I'm out..... for a few days

Just in case you were wondering, since I didn't have my weekly Mamavation post, I had to go out of town for a funeral and will be back this weekend to get up and rolling again. Don't forget there are 3 Giveaways that end on the 30th. Look for a couple of reviews and a giveaway too in the next couple of days. And Welcome to all my new followers. And Welcome and Thanks to Trisha for being my 100th follower.

Sunshine Award~ Thanks Photina :)

My pal Photina over at one Guy in a house of Girls gave me an award, The Sunshine Award.

“The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world.”

Of course, awards come with rules…

1. Put the award on your blog and/or within your post.

2. Pass the award on to twelve bloggers.

3. Link to the nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you received this award

Here's some that I would love to share it with:

Kia over at Bodhi Bear

Kim aka "Water Czar" at Mentally Inked

Heather at Not a DIY Life

Colleen at The Princess and the Monkey 

Amanda at Families are Forever

Trish at Succeeding as Mom

Rachel at Following in My Shoes

Lori at My Kinda Rain

Pamela at A Renaissance Woman

Bailey at Makeover Momma

Sespi at And You Never Did Think

Kim at Chubby Cheeks Thinks

Ok so this isn't my first award and I promise I will get the others ones posted and taken care of, I just gotta figure out where the comments were. I forgot thanks to Baby Brain and I'm so sorry. But I'll work on them, it might be a bit since I'm going to be away for a week or so.

 

Seeing the wonder in the smallest details(SP)

Today's Healthy Reflections from Spark People.com Check out SparkPeople.com to get great help with weight loss and healthy living that is free.

Seeing the wonder in the smallest details

What do you appreciate and what do you ignore? Is a sunrise any less special because its image wouldn't make it on a magazine cover? Is any day less precious because, in your mind, "nothing special" happened? For some reason, it's hard to be impressed with anything these days. Driving a car is a source of strain instead of wonder. The internet is already old news. Quick--when was the last time you paid attention to a space shuttle flight? Remember when that was all people could talk about? Once you take something for granted, you also take the life out of it. When nothing is "special," boredom and gloom aren't far behind. Look around where you're sitting right now, and try to see it for the first time, like a child would. Think about the human potential that created the stuff in the room. Think about the miracles of nature right outside your window. Think about how amazing it is that you're even here to see it.


There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.

- Albert Einstein, physicist

The biggest obstacle to your momentum

From Spark People Healthy Reflections email from 6/16/10. Check out Sparkpeople.com for great resources to help you lose weight and get healthy.

The biggest obstacle to your momentum

Farmers rotate different crops on the same piece of land to give the soil a rest and let it replenish nutrients. How do you replenish? How much sleep did you get last night? Two-thirds of Americans get less than the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep can set the tone for your actions for days and weeks to come, not to mention your mood and brain power. Even small amounts of lost sleep add up to a sleep debt that muddles your brain and fatigues the rest of you. The negative cycle created by sleep debt may be the No. 1 way people destroy their healthy lifestyle momentum. Regular amounts of good slumber set a sleeping/waking rhythm that energizes you in the daytime and relaxes you at night. The more your body gets into the rhythm of regular sleep, the more the rest of your life can find a similar, consistent rhythm. So hit the pillow and hit your stride.

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.

- Ovid, Roman poet

Remembering the good times, learning from the bad

From Spark People Healthy Reflections from 6/15/10 

 Remembering the good times, learning from the bad

Memory can be used for good or for evil. If you use your past as a source of learning, it's worth remembering. If, however, all you do is mull over your mistakes and punish yourself for your failures, it's a waste of time. Rehashing failure can paralyze you in mortal fear of making another mistake, which, of course, just makes the feeling worse and practically guarantees future letdowns. The key to making meaningful changes is to pay more attention to the future than to the past. Have you ever noticed that the best athletes also have the shortest and most selective memories? Instead of dwelling on a missed shot or a flawed dive, they concentrate on making corrections and getting the next one right. It's as if the failed attempt never happened. It's forgotten and they don't fear trying again. If you mess up, even in an epic, life-altering way, work hard to leave it behind and concentrate on the possibilities yet to come. Tomorrow is much brighter when it's not smeared with a fixation on yesterday.

Shut out all of your past except that which will help you weather your tomorrows.

- William Osler, Canadian physician

  Check out Sparkpeople.com if you are looking for great inspiration and healthy living tips. 

Giving your body and mind a break

Something that I really REALLY need to do lol. Got this in my email today. 

Giving your body and mind a break

For 16 hours a day, you drive your body hard. You put pressure on joints for hours on end, you expose it to who knows what kinds of germs and bacteria, you put it under major strain and stress, you demand everything it can do and some things that it can't. Let your body have the other 8 hours to itself. It's earned it. After a long day, your body needs to heal and recover. Let your muscles and joints take a break. Your immune system needs strengthened and cannot always be stretched to its limits. Your body has a way of letting you know when it's not getting the rest it needs--it wears down and feels fatigued. And eventually it breaks down. So do everything you can to pay your body back by getting a good dose of sleep. It will love you for it.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.

- Irish Proverb 

From Spark people daily email, check out Sparkpeople.com if you are interesting in getting them in your inbox. s 

Getting to Know YOU

Last week was crazy and I forgot to head over to MannLand5 to get the questions for Getting to Know YOU Sunday, but I remembered this week, thanks to Photina's post, so here it is again.

1. If you could have one of Superman's, powers which one would you want? Superhuman strength..Flight..Superhuman speed..X-Ray vision..etc


I would want to fly so that me and D could go and see hubs when he's in port overseas

2. The best thing I ever won is....?
A diamond necklace that I won in 2006, but on my way to pick it up I was in a car accident lol


3. Have you ever skyped with a bloggy friend?
No I haven't yet, but I wouldn't mind to, I think it would be fun.

4. What is your favorite Summer month?
I like August since its my birthday

5. Pool, Lake, or Ocean?
How bout River, I grew up near the River, but Ocean will do too

6. One of my favorite Summer memories is.....?
Going to Summer camp

7. What's your favorite secret bargain?
I'm not sure, I haven't found one yet that was the best


8. Do you plan on or have you been watching the World Cup?
Nope have no plans on watching it