Smart Solutions for Busy Moms!
I’m a big believer in the importance of family nights – whether it’s a Smurf-themed dinner and a movie, a Little Mermaid day of crafting and snacks, or a family-friendly game night – making time to have fun together is a must in our home. If you feel the same way, then you’ll love this fun “Banish Boredome Board Game Giveaway” – giving you some great games to get your family playing together….
Starring Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey, Disney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour where they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper.
Ok, seriously – is there anyone who doesn’t love the Muppets? My first Muppet memory {Muppery?… } is of that old 80’s Christmas special, A Muppet Family Christmas. Remember that one, from the late 80’s? {Does that age me, mentioning that I’m a child of the 80’s?} Kermit and the gang go to spend the holidays with Fozzie and his family, at the farmhouse. I also was a total Fraggle Rock junkie as a kid, and they make an appearance in this movie too – making it even better. I cannot even count how many times I watched this as a kid. Need a trip down memory lane?….
I was given a free one month subscription to Weight Watchers to try their new Simple Start plan and write about my experience. Though I was compensated for my time and commitment, all views, positive and negative, are my own.
“We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.” – Calvin Coolidge… This quote comes from the Weight Watchers Simple Start plan app, and I can’t agree more. It’s similar to one of my all-time favorite quotes, “How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world.” And by changing the world, that doesn’t have to mean the whole big ol’ world – it can mean your world. I know that I have a bad habit of thinking I’ll make a change “tomorrow,” “next week,” or “next month,” – “when I have time.” But man, isn’t “tomorrow” the busiest darn day of any given month? Instead of thinking of something like getting in shape, eating healthier, and losing weight as a great big giant project – what if I told you I have a great way to just get started? Don’t worry about all of the details – joining a gym, overhauling your pantry, buying workout clothes, and counting calories. Just get started. Easy peasy. That’s where I’m at and I’d love to introduce you to what I’m up to. I think it’ll help some of you other busy ladies too. Check it…
If you’re reading this, I’m gonna guess that you’ve at least thought about losing weight a time or two. {But really, who hasn’t, right?} If you’ve followed this blog for awhile, you’d know that I’ve been struggling a bit with my weight for the past few years. I’d never ever given much thought to my weight until I got pregnant – and gained over 70 pounds. Woah. I’ve been making simple swaps {like adding an extra veggie to every meal}, and a having “slow and steady wins the race” type of attitude – Which is why I’m very excited about the new Simple Start plan from Weight Watchers. I’ve never tried Weight Watchers, but know friends who have. I like that it’s not a diet – it’s a lifestyle. It teaches you healthy eating habits – YOU choose your foods, and it helps you realize how eating better foods means getting to eat more food.
Well, the Simple Start app eases you in to the program, so that it doesn’t feel like a burden, sacrifice, or obstacle. It’s a free app that guides you along, and helps encourage you, as you switch from chips and cookies for snacks, to things like fruits and veggies. And trust me, it is so seriously easy. Even if you don’t plan right now to join Weight Watchers, I cannot recommend the app enough – you will LOVE the healthy recipes and helpful tips.
To get started, just take a minute to download the free app. You’ll get a huge list of free foods you can eat, with no portion restrictions. {Why? Because they’re total rockstar foods. Filled with nutrition, filling, and yummy.} Then the app gives you great recipe ideas using those foods, like the uber yummy ones above. Breakfast pizza, grilled cheese and veggie soup, roasted turkey and potatoes – plus TWO snacks a day? Sounds do-able to me :) You can use the app to create your own meals, track what you eat, get recipes, and more. It gives you a list of foods to buy at the grocery store, and so many other totally free tools – to give you a two-week jump start towards your new weight loss goals, without a huge commitment or crazy sacrifice. It rocks my socks – and I know you’ll love it too!
Don’t take my word for it, check out what other awesome women have to say about the plan by following the #SimpleStart hashtag on all of your fave social media. And then be sure to follow Weight Watchers for new products, promotions, and cool ideas – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
“I don’t want to go viral – I want to set hearts on fire!” – Coco J. Ginger… When working on the web, having something you’ve created “go viral” is kind of like winning the lottery – most of it is luck, but you have more chances at getting lucky the more you play. And in 2013, I got lucky – An old post I’d written over a year before, explaining how I used the web to earn money from home after losing my job, went viral on Pinterest. {See it here: 10 Ways to Earn Money from Home.} I had no idea how powerful Pinterest could be until then, and have no idea still who pinned it to make it take off so well. But, while after 7 months of consistent pageviews, it’s settled back down again, it definitely showed me why it’s important to create good content – you never know what someone will find in your archives and fall in love with! So, as we roll into 2014, I took a hard look at my statistics in Google Analytics, to determine just what worked well this year, what didn’t, and how to hopefully double my traffic again in this new year!
It’s been awhile, my friends. I took a bit of time off in December – partly because we went through about 27 million rounds of the flu, and party because of the holidays, lol. But I’m back to regular posting again – and to celebrate, I have a fun giveaway for you guys to enter! Good luck – and happy new year!
At every corner of the Earth, there are artisans of all kinds – making beautiful products for your home and for you in the form of clothing, jewelry and more. While we have become accustomed to jumping online and ordering pretty much anything we want, what about the artists that do not have access to the internet or ability to run an online shop? Often times, these wares are even more beautiful than what we have immediate access to, but just do not know it exists. GlobeIn is an online marketplace with the intent to bring those artisans to the worldwide marketplace. When you visit GlobeIn, you learn the stories of the artisans, their work and their culture. So not only do you get unique jewelry or homegoods, but you also get the unique experience of the artist. In addition to being able to purchase individual pieces for sale, you can also sign up for their monthly subscription box. Choosing between jewelry, home or home accessories, you can bring world travel to your home each month for just $29.99.
logo ““Christmas is a race to see which gives out first – your money or your feet.” – Unknown… I’ve been sharing tips on how to slow down, savor the season, and truly enjoy the holidays – for a few weeks now. I hope you’ve been enjoying the daily tips on the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Facebook page as much as I have.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, I totally recommend you take a minute to look at some of the fun daily ideas on their free Holiday Countdown calendar today, and start making a minute in your crazy-busy daily schedule to find some “me time” each day.
This was one of my fave tips this past week – Buy yourself a gift day. Because honestly – as moms, don’t we usually end up getting shorted a bit when it comes to holiday gifts? We make lists, check sales, drive all over town, surf the web – all to make sure we buy amazing gifts for the whole family, our girlfriends, our partners family and friends, coworkers… And on an on. But – if you’re anything like me, your own pile of presents is kind of small. Which is ok – my holiday joy comes from watching others open the presents I so lovingly bought. But, hey – after all the work we do to try and create our version of a “perfect” Christmas, we deserve to buy ourselves a little gift too, right?
So – this tip was perfect, since I’d just bought myself a new goodie. How fun is this “Kickasserole” dish? It’s even personalized with my name, so if you see the whole lid, it says, “Meagan’s Kickasserole.” Love-love this. I can’t wait to plan new dinner parties just to show this off at the table :)
In such a crazy time of the year, it’s never been more important to go to Your Chateau. This holiday season, Chateau Ste. Michelle wants to help you find that time or place where YOU can become YOU again. Follow the MY CHATEAU Holiday Calendar: http://www.facebook.com/stemichelle.
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” – Norman Vincent Peale
{Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Chateau Ste. Michelle via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Chateau Ste. Michelle.}
“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” – Roy L. Smith… I love this quote. It’s one of those things you read that really help you remember to stop and slow down for a minute. The holidays are such a crazy-busy time of year for most of us – there is just so much fun to pack into such a short time. Parties to host, events to attend, holiday attire to shop for, gifts to buy, relatives to visit, trees to decorate, cookies to bake… But along with all of that fun can come a lot of stress, as you strive to do everything you feel you “have to” do, and attempt to create the “perfect” Christmas. But like the quote says – the most important part of the season is to feel Christmas in your heart. What does that mean? Well, it’ll be different for each person… For me, it’s remembering what I’m thankful for. Counting the blessings we’ve had this past year. Taking time to do good, give back, and donate gifts to the less fortunate. And to take the focus off of buying and spending and let myself just enjoy the little moments – snuggling on the couch with Abby to watch old Christmas cartoons, or watching the snow fall late at night while enjoying a glass of wine – peaceful.
Another thing that’s been helping me slow down and savor the season is this super fun holiday countdown calendar from Chateau Ste. Michelle. Each day you get a new idea that encourages you to take time for yourself, do something fun, and remember to enjoy the holiday craziness. A few of my favorites this week….
"The phrase "working mother" is redundant." I'm Meagan - a Momma, a Blogger, a Freelance Writer, and a total Social Media Junkie. I love sparkles and … [Read More...]
