My WAHM Plan

Friday Night means Pizza from Papa Murphy's

in #PapaMurphy'sMom, chicken, delite, dinner, Meat lovers, Mediterranean, Pepperoni, Pizza, take and bake, by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, August 15, 2014

My family will be gathering around the dinner table tonight tired but happy to have our first full week of school over and done. Even though we started practicing our back to school schedules ahead of time, it still shocked our systems to get up so early, so I plan on hitting the easy button tonight for dinner. That means it time to visit Papa Murphy’s pizza.

Papa Murphy's take N Bake Pizzas #PapaMurphy'sMom

Long before I became a Papa Murphy’s Mom, I enjoyed the convenience of being able to pick up one of their made to order, take and bake pizzas, through together a quick garden salad and have a wholesome dinner on the table in no time. If I am really time crunched, I can pick up a pre-made salad at Papa Murphy's, right at the check out line.

I’m relying on Papa Murphy’s again tonight and I know their pizzas won’t disappoint us. The hardest part is deciding what to order!

While all Papa Murphy’s Pizzas are tasty, our family has clear favorites like the classic Pepperoni. You can’t go wrong with this for a quick dinner, especially if your teen or tween is having guests over. Pepperoni Pizza is like a whole food group to them and their top pick is always Papa Murphy’s.

Quick health tip: Press a napkin or paper towel on your slice of Pepperoni Pizza to blot off excess oils. Depending on the size of your slice, you could save yourself and your family up to 50 calories a slice.

You can use the blotting technique on Papa Murphy’s Cowboy Pizza too. This pie is one of my husband’s favorites!

Followed closely by the Papa Murphy’s meat lover’s pan pizza. Make no mistake; this is a loaded, man fuel pizza pie sure to please your hungriest bunch! I can eat one slice and I'm done.

Quick cooking tip: Even though Papa Murphy’s cooking instructions say to wipe off the bottom of the pan and to check for holes before baking the Pan Pizza, I still wound up with baked on grease on the bottom of my oven the first time we got this pie. I suggest you always cook this pizza on a pizza pan just to be on the safe side because it does have a fair amount of grease.

I’ve saved my personal favorite for last, This is by far one of the healthiest pizzas I've had in a long time. I LOVE Papa Murphy’s Herb Chicken Mediterranean Delite Pizza.

Papa Murphy's Herb Chicken Mediterranean #Delite Pizza

From its flavorful chicken, Feta cheese, fresh spinach and sun-dried tomatoes to its thin, crispy crust, this pizza is just delicious. Made with olive oil and a zesty herb blend, it is a light pizza that never makes me feel like I ate a heavy meal.

Papa Murphy's thin crust Herb Chicken Med. Delite #Pizza

Have I made you hungry for pizza now? I invite you to learn more about Papa Murphy’s Pizza by visiting their website and following them on Facebook and Twitter.

Please share in comments: What is your family’s favorite kind of pizza? Would your family like one of the pizzas I shared today?

Disclosure: As part of the Papa Murphy's Mom group, I receive promotional and educational items occasionally to use and share my thoughts. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Wordless Wednesday- Summer Watering

in gardening, Peach tree. birdbath, Rosemary, summer, watering, by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, August 13, 2014

A drink for the grass and the Wasps I want to keep away from me

Rosemary gets thirsty quickly in the summer heat

Fresh water in the bird bath and a drink for the Peach tree

Please share in comments: How often do you water during the summer?

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Great scent and a prize awaits you with soy Prize Candle’s

in candles, Prize Candle, scented, soy, with prize, by Linda A Kinsman, Monday, August 11, 2014

I have been hearing about prize candles for some time now, but until I was asked if I’d like to try one free to review via Taste Maker Mom, I was content to burn my regular “no prize candles”. Curiosity got the better of me and my daughter’s. I was happy to learn I’d been selected to participate. All opinions are my own.

Prize Candle offers elegantly crafted scented natural soy candles that contain a hidden prize in every candle.

Our pretty Prize Candle arrived and naturally the first thing we noticed was the scent. We received the Adriatic Fig, which is light and fruity. I also liked the snow white color of the wax.

There’s just something inviting about a snow white candle to me. I almost didn’t want to burn it, but how else were we going to get to the prize? My youngest daughter couldn’t wait to see what we’d win after reading this on the back of our candle box.

With the assurance that we would win a prize of at least $10, we lit our candle.

The Prize candle burns clean and evenly, just like I’ve come to expect from a soy candle. It also burns slowly, which normally is a good thing- but not when you are waiting for your first glimpse of your prize!

Our candle burned just over an hour before we saw the prize pack. We let it burn another 20 minutes before we could pull our prize from the melting wax.

prize inside melting candle starting to show

Opening the little plastic bag covered in wax was a messy but fun job. My daughter and I were up to the task and this is what we got for our efforts.

The ring, which is a pretty costume jewelry piece, is small for my average size fingers, so it only felt comfortable on my pinkie finger. That didn’t bother me at all because I’d already promised my daughter she could have the ring.

We headed over to the Prize Candle site to redeem our prize next. My daughter was so excited that we had a chance to win lots of money. Her excitement was contagious and I crossed my fingers as we entered our special code in the appraisal box. We won $10 dollars off our first purchase of a Prize Candle which was a bit of a letdown. I will use the coupon code though if I chose to purchase a Prize Candle for a friend.

Prize Candle boxes with flowers, #prizes

All in all we are happy with our wonderfully scented soy Prize Candle and can now join the ranks of others who love the thrill of burning a candle with a prize inside. I invite you to visit their website to discover all their scents and learn more about Prize Candle the company. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Please share in comments: What is your favorite summer candle scent?

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Enough #10things we should be telling our teenage girls book giveaway

in #10things, book, daughters, Enough, girls, parenting teens, teenage, by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, August 08, 2014

Being a Mom of a teenager can be tricky; being a mom of a teen age girl can be sticky. I say this because, if a parent isn’t very careful, she will find herself in one sticky situation after another because teenage girls are full of emotions. That’s why I was thrilled to receive a complimentary copy of Enough by Kate Conner via Flyby Promotions to review and host a giveaway.

Enough by Kate Conner book cover #10things

I couldn’t wait for this book to arrive. Even though I have a good relationship with my 15 yr. old daughter, I’m open to learning all I can about parenting, especially during the turbulent teens years.

Once my copy arrived, I turned the book over to read the back jacket as I always do and these are the words that greeted me.

You are beautiful.
You are valuable.
You are enough.

Those are powerful, beautiful and truthful words. Words that I daresay we do not hear enough in our lives so please take a moment and read those three sentences again. And if you take nothing else with you after you read this post- I will feel honored that I could share those truths with you.

About the Author:

Kate Conner is a 28 year old writer, blogger, speaker, Southerner- hailing from North Carolina, Mom of 3, Counselor of teenage girls, Daughter of Christ, thrift store shopper. That’s what I got from her bio on Enough. After reading this book though, I discovered Kate is so much more than her bio. She’s smart, funny, real, and authentic, the kid sister I never had and the big sister influence teenage girls need.

About Enough- #10 things we should be telling teenage girls

Quotes from Enough book by Kate Conner #10things

This book was born from a blog post on March 25, 2012. I never read Kate’s “10 things I want to tell teenage girls” post, but apparently I was completely out of the loop, because 2 million other people read it in just two weeks. After reading Enough, where Kate expands and explains her 10 things, I can see why her post was so wildly popular.

Kate touches on the teenage girl of today; she talks openly about why men and boys stare, modesty and why how we look matters. She talks openly about drama, using words as weapons and over-sharing on social media. She shares insights into being female and controlling our emotions instead of our emotions controlling us.

In essence, Kate covers most of the power struggle, hot bed topics that will or may have already come up with your teenage girl. I enjoyed this book and found it to be a valuable resource.

If you have found yourself arguing with your teenage girl about clothing, dating, friends etc. and don’t want to wage another war- hand her this book, tell her it’s a “must read” and walk away. She’ll read it and learn from it. My daughter read it and really liked. While our parenting mirrors Kate's wise words- she touched on subjects in a new and different way that resonated with my daughter.

I even recommend that Moms with teenage sons read this book, because if it hasn’t happened yet- girl drama will affect your son and what better way to help him navigate this area than to have an insight?

You can learn more about Enough here and Kate by visiting her sites:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/KateElizabethConner

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kateeconner

Instagram: http://instagram.com/kateelizabethconner

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kateconner/

The Giveaway:

One lucky reader will receive a paper back copy of About Enough- #10 things we should be telling teenage girls courtesy of Propeller Consulting, LLC. Entering is easy using the Rafflecopter form below. Terms: Open to U.S. residents 18+. No purchase necessary to enter/win. My WAHM Plan is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook. Read full terms and conditions on Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

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Adding my voice to Save Nashville’s Printers Alley

in Nashville, Printers Alley, tourists, by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, August 06, 2014

Recently my family decided to be tourists in Nashville again. While we live close to Music City, it had been a while since we’d been downtown with our daughters.

If you have never visited Nashville, let me be the first to invite you to put us on your travel list.

Nashville is a pretty city, seamlessly blending the old and new. From their music scene to the beautiful Architectural wonders of our older buildings, Nashville takes pride in its past, while still welcoming new looks and sounds.

Nashville is a friendly city, full of life, even on a Thursday afternoon when my husband and I decided to take our girls to see Printers Alley. We figured they were old enough to see some of the more adult business venues from the outside, and since it was late afternoon, we felt no adult activities would be going on.

I was excited to see this part of Nashville on foot, having only driven past Printers Alley on previous visits. Up 3^rd Ave. we walked. Laughing and talking and people watching, like true tourists do, so by the time we made it to Printers Alley we were a little hot and hoping it was worth the walk.

It was.

This is a historical landmark. You can feel it as you walk down this little strip of pavement, sandwiched in between old buildings full of history. The iron work, the old doors and windows, the bricks all melded and whispered of times gone by.

Some of Country Music royalty like Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride and Willie Nelson have walked this Alley and played to the patrons who have kept these businesses alive all these years.

While we have never frequented the lounges, bars and other businesses in the Alley, we found it all rather charming and I decided right then to root for saving this part of Nashville history.

Beautiful flowers and iron work Printers Alley #Nashville

Save Printers Alley is a grassroots movement started when a proposal for a new hotel was implemented. While growth is good, I do agree with others who want to preserve the history of Nashville.

I invite you to learn more by visiting The Save Printers Alley website and following them on Facebook and even order a Save Printers Alley tee-shirt to show your support.

We loved being tourists in our local big city and hope to return again soon. I'll be sure to share more each time we visit a part of Nashville, so stay tuned.

Please share in comments: Is there a historical landmark in your hometown in jeopardy due to growth?

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Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango Body Wash Giveaway #GetNoticed #sp

in #getnoticed, body, Coconut, Dial, skincare, wash, by Linda A Kinsman, Sunday, August 03, 2014

We have long been fans of Dial’s skin care products, like their hydrating body wash and antibacterial soap, so I was thrilled when I was selected via Purex Insiders to receive a free sample of Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash in exchange for sharing my thoughts with you and hosting a giveaway. However, all opinions are my own.

Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash #GetNoticed

If you are anything like me, scent plays an important part in the selection of your skin care choices. My daughter’s and I sniff and smell our way down the aisles when shopping, so naturally, the first thing I did upon receiving my Dial package was to smell this newest member of the coconut water family.

Ah- this body wash does not disappoint. It smells so good! Clean and fresh with just the right amount of coconut. Another sniff and I’m thinking beachy, tropical thoughts as the mango comes through.

I couldn’t wait to give this fresh body wash a try! It found its home in my shower first, with the promise that I would share it with my daughters.

As with most Dial hydrating body washes, a little product goes a long way. One small squirt and I had a wonderful amount of lather.

I enjoyed my shower with its tropical scent. My skin feels soft and completely hydrated afterwards so I could skip applying lotion, which is a great time saver in the morning. And my husband did admire my soft and nicely scented skin. I love when he notices the small things.

I know my girls will love this body wash as much as I do. It smells great, lathers without having to use a lot of product and is affordable. A true win for this Mom. You can learn more about Dial by visiting their website and following them on Facebook.

Would you like to try the new Dial Coconut Water refreshing Mango body wash and #GetNoticed too? Thanks to Dial, three lucky readers will receive a coupon for a free full size product by using the Rafflecopter form below.

Entering is easy by following the steps on the form. No purchase is necessary to enter. Open to U.S. residents 18+. This giveaway has no association with Facebook and is brought to you courtesy of our sponsor, Dial. My WAHM Plan is not responsible for prize fulfillment. For full terms and conditions, see Rafflecopter form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Dial for sponsoring today’s post. I did receive free product as a thank you for sharing my thoughts on Dial. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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Easy Chalkboard #Craft

in #back to school, #crafts, #organization, chalkboard, reminders, teens, tweens, by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, July 30, 2014

With back to school looming large for us, we are making the most of every minute of our precious summer vacation. So, we chose a craft that is not only quick and easy, but is also useful when those school bells finally ring. This craft was done in less than thirty minutes, and is a perfect addition to my daughters’ room décor. I’ll be able to leave them reminders all year on their personalized chalkboard.

We found everything we needed for our craft project on sale at our local Joann’s craft store, but you can easily find the needed supplies at any craft store. Feel free to shop the sale items, and pick whatever embellishments that suit your décor and mood. My daughters both wanted something classic and feminine, so naturally we went with pearls, satin and flowers in a subtle creamy white theme.

Supplies:

2 – 12x9 Darice wood framed chalkboards
1 sheet Prima decorative paper flowers
1 sheet- K & Company pearl adhesive gems
1 roll – Offray off-white satin ribbon
1- box white Crayola Chalk
Glue
Q-Tips (to apply glue)

While both my daughters had agreed on an overall theme when they picked out their supplies, each of them had a different vision for the project, making it uniquely theirs, and making directions subjective. I’m sure you’ll find a host of products you could use on this project, from paint pens to scrap-booking letters, so let your imagination take the lead.

The Basics:

My daughters chose different uses for their ribbon, one adding a border around her chalkboard, and one making a simple bow as shown in the picture below.

Glue on ribbons, using Q-Tips to dab on small amounts of glue.
Allow to dry.
Gently remove Prima paper flowers from package, or leaves will stick to paper.
Arrange and glue.
Allow to dry.
Add K & Company pearl gems. These have self-stick backs, so be sure you place them right where you want them the first time.
Tie chalk to ribbon, or allow to rest on top of chalkboard if you’re hanging it up.

This really is a super cute and easy craft your teens and tweens will love to do.

cute chalkboard #craft for #teens #tweens

Please share in comments: What theme would you choose to decorate your chalkboard?

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Middle School Changes Everything

in #back to school, #mom, changes, growing up, middle school, by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, July 25, 2014

As I dropped my youngest daughter off for 6^th grade orientation Wednesday morning, a wave of sadness washed over me. “Where did the time go?” I ask myself as I watch her walk into the middle school without a backwards glance.

“She’s a big girl now,” I chide myself as I slowly pull away.

I see another mom look back too, a brief over the shoulder glance at the door, like I did. In that moment, I know this stranger’s heart.

Why is my youngest going to middle school so much harder emotionally than it was with my first?

Source

I wrestle with this question for a block or two, and finally settle on this answer.

My oldest blazed the trail of “firsts”, and while they were exciting and stressful and bittersweet moments, I still had my youngest at home watching, waiting, growing into being a big girl.

The last of my elementary school days are behind me, and I know what starting middle school means in my world. It means it’s no longer cool to come to school and have lunch with my daughter.

It means I can’t walk her in the first day of school with her 50 pounds of school supplies without getting the “look” from students and faculty. Trust me, you don’t want to draw attention to yourself or your child in middle school ever, but especially not on the first day of school!

Middle school will change everything from bed times to snack times.

It will change my one on one time with both my girls, robbing me of my quite time with my youngest in the morning and my quite time with my oldest in the afternoon.

It’s not like I didn’t know this day was coming. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been down the middle school road before, but this time middle school is taking my youngest daughter one step closer to independence, just like high school is taking my oldest daughter one step closer to college and independence.

And it’s bittersweet.

And I’m just not ready to turn another page in the book of my mom life, so I stopped working as much as possible. I have been in the moment with them as much as humanly possible.

I let the house work go.

I let the yard work go.

I am absorbing as much of them as I can, so when the business of the school year takes over, I know I gave them all of me this summer, and hopefully that helps them move confidently one step closer to their independence.

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3 Pro- Home Improvement Sites that will inspire you

in home improvement, inspiration, remodeling, by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, July 16, 2014

It started out as an innocent enough conversation over toothpaste. My husband and I were getting ready for bed, and he said (for what felt like the 100th time), “I want to remodel this bathroom.”

I nod my agreement to him in the mirror, knowing that I won’t be picking out paint swatches anytime soon. I know that a good remodeling project takes planning and that yes-the devil is in the details, so while I do not have an exact date on our bathroom remodel, I do have a green light to gather ideas. So I do what any sane women would do. I log on to Pinterest.

While I found several wonderful pins (Pinterest never fails) I wanted more. That’s when a great idea popped into my head-I have set up pro accounts on several remodeling and home improvement sites for my husband’s cabinet business. Why not give them a try for remodeling inspiration? I narrowed my list down to three I think any person who’s interested in home improvement projects, both interior and exterior, will find helpful.

Houzz:

Source

Houzz is a place to browse and save beautiful home photos, and find the right professionals if you need help with a project.

This is a very well designed site. It's easy to navigate, with clear labels, and the pictures are worth the visit. Setting up your ideabooks for a project is quick and easy; as is finding a home improvement pro in your area. Houzz offers a wide selection of project ideas with photos you can heart to save to your account. They also offer a shopping portal in case you find an item you just can’t live without.

Porch:

Source

At Porch, they believe that home improvement should be simple. So, they set out to empower people to find professionals and discover what’s possible. They have made it easy to do just that. This site has a streamlined feel to it, with clear labels and easy to navigate projects. I liked browsing projects and starting my own scrapbook.

Hometalk:

Source

Hometalk is the largest home and garden social network on the web. Millions of homeowners and professionals use Hometalk to share their knowledge, and find credible information.

This is one of my favorite sites so far. I love the pictures and ideas. I really love the community of helpful members. If you have a question on anything home and garden, just look through the topics and ask your question. You'll be surprised how quickly you get replies.

While all three of these sites were started to help homeowners find professionals for home improvement projects, I think you'll love them for their inspiration as much as I do.

If you've been thinking about doing any home and garden projects, I invite you to visit each site and get inspired. Feel free to connect with me on Hometalk while you are there.

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Family Night with General Mills Awesome Movies #biggcerealmovies #sponsored

in #biggcerealmovies, family, fun, movie, night., by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, July 11, 2014

Friday nights have been Family fun nights at our house for years. Now that the girls are in their teens and tweens, we let them decide if it’s game night or movie night and it just so happens, tonight is going to be movie night thanks to Big G Cereal Movies. This post is sponsored by General Mills but my love for their cereal and family fun is all my own.

Big G wants to inspire family nights together with classic movies that you can share with your loved ones anytime, anywhere by offering a free HD movie download when you purchase 2 boxes of these participating cereals:

Honey Nut Cheerios
Fruity Cheerios
Frosted Cheerios
Lucky Charms
Reese’s Puffs
Trix
Cocoa Puffs
Golden Grahams

We chose Lucky Charms and Frosted Cheerios. We had to look through the Big G cereals available to make sure we selected boxes with the General Mills and Fox MovieDownload Promotion movie banner across the front to ensure we’d get the code needed.

Big G Cereal Movies

Once you have your Big G cereal home, it’s time to decide what movie you are going to download. There are 10 great movies to choose from.

Big G Cereal Movies

We chose Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Downloading our movie was easy.

We found the codes needed in each cereal box.
Went to Big G Cereal Movies and entered codes.
Downloaded our free movie.

No family movie night would be complete without a snack, so we were happy to see snack recipes on both boxes of Big G cereal. The girls and I raided our pantry and came up with our own version of Lucky Charms Peanutty Good Luck Snack. We added Cashews, Pretzel bites and Frosted Cheerios to our recipe. It is so sweet and salty good that we had to put it away to wait until official movie time tonight.

Here is the recipe for Lucky Charms Peanutty Good Luck Snack from cereal box:

Ingredients:

4 cups Lucky Charms cereal

1 cup candy-coated peanut butter pieces

1 cup yogurt-covered raisins

1 cup peanuts

Directions:

Place all ingredients in resealable plastic food- storage bag; seal.

Shake until mixed. Store at room temperature up to 3 days.

Enjoying our family movie nights is just one of the ways we spend quality time together as a family, and now thanks to Big G, we’ll have Mr. Popper’s Penguins in our movie collection to watch again and again.

Please share in comments: What are some of your favorite family movies?

Disclosure: Many thanks to General Mills for sponsoring today’s post and sharing their family fun with us. I will receive compensation for sharing my thoughts on Big G,. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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Friday Night means Pizza from Papa Murphy's

Wordless Wednesday- Summer Watering

Great scent and a prize awaits you with soy Prize Candle’s

Enough #10things we should be telling our teenage girls book giveaway

Adding my voice to Save Nashville’s Printers Alley

Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango Body Wash Giveaway #GetNoticed #sp

Easy Chalkboard #Craft

Middle School Changes Everything

3 Pro- Home Improvement Sites that will inspire you

Family Night with General Mills Awesome Movies #biggcerealmovies #sponsored

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