July finds me with an enviable book stack, and with more on the way, I decided it would be fun to do a book roundup post sharing six fun and inspiring books I think are perfect for summer reading.
Summer Reading Books!
Showing posts with label
lifestyle
Happy New Year dear readers! Since it’s the seventh day of the month, I’m sure you are getting tired of hearing that, but I would be remiss in my blogging duties if I didn’t extend well wishes here- the hub of all I do online. Now I can dive into today’s topic, my top six blog posts of 2024.
You Love Variety!
We are almost to the end of what is usually a long winter month for me. The weather is a rollercoaster ride here in middle Tennessee, with beautiful spring-like days that have me itching to garden, only to have nights dipping back into the 20s. We have multiple “winters” here in the South, so rather than dwelling on them, I’ve chosen to celebrate Leap Year and share what I’ll be doing with my extra day. I hope my post will help you productively use the extra day.
Happy Leap Year: What will you do with your extra day this Thursday?
Buying a new vehicle is a long and sometimes, highly frustrating task. Beyond all the hype of TV commercials and radio spots from local car dealers, we all want a place that will answer all of our questions quickly and honestly. After a recent trip to the shop, we are thinking it may be time to trade in my beloved minivan and so starts our questions.
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Cars.com I will receive a promotional item to thank me for my time. All opinions are mine.
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We love watching movies from a variety of genres, everything from Sci-Fi to Disney animations we will watch with an open mind. In my opinion, having an open mind is necessary when reviewing any movie; most especially when the film is a un- rated independent film like Urban Hymn. Thanks to my partnership with Level 33 Entertainment, I received a complimentary early screener copy of Urban Hymn to facilitate today’s review. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.
This shop has been compensated by
Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
#TenaTips #CollectiveBias
Just as my husband and I got a handle on the happy, messy,
emotional ride that is raising teen daughters, along came another family
situation we weren’t quite prepared for: helping take care of our senior loved
one. My mother in law started turning
down invitations from friends, she started missing doctor’s appointments, she
even stopped wanting to come to our home for holidays and the main cause, we
later learned, was occasional incontinence.
She
never wanted to tell us she was struggling with this, so she remained silent until
one day a few months ago, she fell. While she was recovering, she asked us to
go shopping for her. She asked for overnight underwear and the look on her face
as she did ‒ full of embarrassment ‒ stayed with me. I vowed to find
ways to help this wonderful senior remain active and not let incontinence leave
her sitting on the sidelines of her life.
The first way to help a senior loved one is the easiest ‒
simply observe their behavior. Do they seem happy when you visit them or do
they look uncomfortable? My mother in law shared with me that when she had to
start using pads for unexpected leakage, she feared she may have an odor when
we hugged her, or that her home might smell unpleasant because she had placed
used product in the trash.
Thankfully, she had discovered TENA® pads and liners which helped eliminate odor and I suggested she get a slightly larger
waste basket for her bathroom and line it with a scented liner.
Second, take in their home. Do they have a towel or a pad on
their favorite chair or part of the couch? That is a red flag to light bladder
leakage or stress incontinence. If you asked to use their bathroom, do they say
sure, or do they ask if they can grab something out of there first? I learned
that my mother in law didn’t want us to see her pads and overnight underwear,
but had to leave them out near the toilet some days. I found an easy solution to this situation by
making her a cute personal hygiene bag that could sit on the back of her toilet, on
the side, or on the counter without advertising the contents.
The third way to help your senior remain active is to make
sure they always have enough pads, liners and overnight underwear on hand. Our local CVS carries the full line of TENA® products, so I can just pop in and purchase what my mother in law needs for the
week.
TENA® is also available online
at CVS.com . You can have them shipped directly to your loved ones’ home. There are rebates available through Ibotta
for pads/liners here and their overnight underwear here. These will be welcome
savings since most seniors are living on
a fixed income.
Bonus tips for all women 35 and over:
I've learned several helpful things from watching my mother in law's decline in health and I'd love to share her wisdom (and that of her doctors) with you so that we can strive to live life without compromise well into our senior years.
1. Strengthen your core. All movement comes from your core and light bladder leakage may be prevented by having a stronger core.
2. Do Kegal exercises, but do them correctly. Pelvic floor muscles can be easy to isolate once you know how to do a proper Kegal. The best way to isolate the right muscles is to clench or stop your urine the next time you go. The muscles you use to do this are the very muscles you need to use to do Kegals. Hold those muscles for 3 seconds and release. Do several times a day anywhere. You can learn more from WebMD here.
3. Walk more, sit less. It sounds easy enough, but just standing more often through out the day and taking short 10 to 15 minute walks helps strengthen your muscles, including your core muscles. And it helps with number 4.
4. Lose weight. Losing just 5 pounds of excess weight can help alleviate light bladder issues such as leakage and stress incontinence.
5. Last, but certainly not least, take the time to fully empty your bladder each time you go to the bathroom. Conversely, don't go to the bathroom at the very first hint of needing to go when at home. Allow your bladder to fill up and use the core and pelvic floor muscles. We all know that a muscle at rest tends to weaken, so use them, don't lose them!
It is my hope that this post will help you take that first important step to talk to your parents or grandparents on this delicate topic and let them know that there are great products to help them. I hope the bonus tips for the 35 and over will help serve as a reminder for all of us women to take better care of ourselves today for a healthier tomorrow.
With a little love, discretion and TENA® products, you can help a senior in your life remain active and enjoy their golden years happily doing the things they love and living life without compromise!
Please share in comments: Do you have a senior in your life that may benefit from this post?
Happy New Year dear readers! I know that some of you are taking time off
work to fully enjoy this special time of year so I’ll keep this post short and
sweet. In an effort to make sure I give
you more of what you like in 2016, I am doing my first ever year in review post
to share with you what posts and topics you liked best in 2015. To really get
a feel for what’s working here (besides giveaways!) I removed those from my
list. What makes me really happy is that my top 10 blog posts that resonated
with you, my readers, is non-sponsored content!
Working from home allows me to work with my daughters, ages
16 and almost 13. I’m so happy that both of their contributions made the top 10
according to my blog stats.
In Fashion/beauty this post on Mom fashion by Melissa (12) was a hit!
Book Reviews are a favorite here on the blog, especially my daughter Tera's reviews like this one.
You enjoyed my creativity and work flow tips found here almost as much as you like my Organizing/life hacks like this post.
Entertaining/ DIY and recipes were well received as well. Top posts like hosting an epic tween party and sipping Mediterranean Orchard Iced tea on the front porch were viewed thousands of times.
What really surprised me was how well all my Wordless Wednesday posts ranked! If they were about flowers, gardening, being outside, our land or my cats, you loved them!
You also really liked my weekly chore prompt series and my Color of the Month series.
What an amazing year 2015 has been! I can't wait to share more of the content you love with you in 2016! If there is a topic you would like to see me cover more on my blog, please feel free to share it in comments.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
We
are not a gluten free family, but several of my daughters friends who visit our
home have dietary restrictions, so when I was asked to review the NoGii line of
protein bars, why protein powder and The G Free Diet book by Elisabeth Hasselbeck for free as part of the MomsMeet
blogger group,
I happily agreed. My opinions are my own and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this
product.
I received a box full of goodies,
much to the delight of my daughters, who live to try new protein bars. Created
by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Gluten-Free Mom, Emmy Award-Winning Talk Show Host,
and New York Times Best-Selling Author of “The G-Free Diet” and “Deliciously
G-Free.
About
NoGii Products:
NoGii is a line of certified gluten-free
protein bars, protein powders, and paleo bars. Made from high quality and
sustainably sourced premium ingredients, all products have an ideal balance of
protein, fat, and carbohydrates and do not contain high fructose corn syrup,
trans fats, or hydrogenated oils.
NoGii offers a variety of choices to provide
you and your family with good, clean, certified gluten-free, and nutritional
food choices that fit your active lifestyle.
We received boxes of high protein bars
in:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Crisp- 30 g protein, 390 calories
- Peanut butter & Chocolate- 20 g protein, 230 calories
- Cocoa & Brownie- 20 g protein, 220 calories
- Chocolate & Mint- 17 g protein, 230 calories
- Chocolate Coconut- 17 g protein 240 calories
My Thoughts:
Even though my whole family enjoyed
these high protein bars, and found them quite tasty and satisfying, I had to
remind them that they each packed a pretty big calorie load and must be
factored into our daily healthy living goals.
Personally, I found the paleo bars a
much better choice for my goals and dietary needs. All bars are free of dairy,
soy, high fructose/corn syrup, gluten, trans fat and peanuts making them a
perfect on the go snack for our busy schedules.
My favorite Paleo bar is Nuts and Berries,
which has 4 grams of protein and just 180 calories. My daughters love the Paleo
Nuts about Nuts bars, which have 5 grams of protein and 200 calories. Unfortunately
none of us liked the flavor of the Nuts about Tropical fruit bars, which have 4
grams of protein and 190 calories. There was a hint of soapiness to the bar
that we all found off putting.
The Vanilla Bean whey and quinoa protein
powder made a delicious, satisfying after work out drink, with none of the
bloating I felt using soy based products, so I’m thrilled with this product as
well.
About
the G Free Diet Book:
"For years, Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn't figure out what was making her sick. She asked doctors and consulted nutritionists, but no one seemed to have the answers. It wasn't until spending time in the Australian outback, living off the land, on the grueling TV Survivor show, that, ironically, her symptoms vanished.Returning home, she pinpointed the food that had been making her sick- gluten, the binding element in wheat."
My
Thoughts:
Elisabeth starts chapter one My G-Free
journey with this “I learned about gluten the hard way. I wrote this book so
you don’t have to.” While I don’t subscribe to some of Elisabeth’s opinions on
living gluten free whether you need to or not, I found The G free Diet book to
be informative and helpful in navigating the gluten free lifestyle. I now know to shop for and cook for company
who come to our home.
If you are interested in learning more about Elisabeth’s
journey from pain to loving what she eats, please visit nogii.com to learn more
about her books and product line, or follow them Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook where you can enter to win a trip to New York City, where you’ll meet and have lunch with
Elisabeth Hasselbeck! To enter, visit facebook.com/nogiinogluten, look for the
link for the contest, and complete the entry form. Hurry! Contest ends on July 31st, 2015.
Please share in comments: Do you or someone you know follow
a gluten free lifestyle?
Disclosure: I
received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May
Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet
blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My
opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the
manufacturer of this product.
We watch the evening news, hoping the bad weather will be
close enough to warrant the happily awaited call from the school district
announcing school closings. But, bedtime comes and the call still hasn’t come
in, so the girls put on their PJ’s inside out and hang a sock on their bedroom
door in an effort to bring on their heartfelt desire for snow!
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The sleet starts tinkling off the roof and deck by 11pm- but
still no call. The children are nestled all snug in their beds with visions of
snow balls dancing in their heads- but the snow didn’t come. Just rain, sleet
then ice.
At 5am, we get the school call that my husband and
I knew had to come because we saw the icy sheen on our road before we finally
fell asleep.
We turned off the alarms and snuggle down for some precious,
indulgent sleep-in time. Secure in the knowledge that as small business owners,
we only answer to ourselves if we don’t make it into work on time.
We are blessed in that way- and we know it. I still remember
clearly working for a boss who didn’t care how treacherous the commute – if he
could make it in, we were all supposed to make it in. Ditto, my husband’s boss,
who had a big 4 wheel Jeep that could have made it through any type of weather.
As we watched the news this morning and saw all the wrecks
from people spinning on ice not just here, but all across our great Nation- I
stopped and said a prayer for all the Moms and Dads who had to be out in this
mess for their job. Our wee bit of ice
is rapidly melting in the sun, but I know by the evening commute- some of our
country roads will be slippery again.
I pray and think “But for the Grace of God go I.” I know that
could easily be me out there, along with my husband- slipping and sliding and
worrying our way to a job we have to get to if we want to eat.
I pray for everyone’s safety.
As I look over at my beloved children- safe and warm with
me, while I hear my husband working in his shop, I tear up a little- overcome
with my Blessings.
Getting the call that
schools are closed are no big deal here for us, we welcome them! But I know,
for some families they are a hardship. I feel sorry for each and every one of
them and vow again- not take this moment or my life for granted.
This post- although very heartfelt- is part of my job. Is there a guaranteed paycheck waiting for me
on Friday? No.
But- I wouldn’t trade being home safe and warm for a paycheck-
unless I had too. And then I would hope somebody would pray for my safe return
home too.
I bid your safe travels and warmth and happiness on your
return home today and if you are blessed like me to be at home- stop a moment
and take it all in. Capture the moment and enjoy!
Please tell me in comments what winter weather do you have today!
Please tell me in comments what winter weather do you have today!
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