Weekly Chore Prompt- Cleaning patio table and chairs

in , , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Monday, June 15, 2015
Ah, summer. You may be officially arriving next week- but here in the south, you are here in a big way. Temperatures will soar to a sultry 96 today in the Nashville area, so I’m making plans to tackle cleaning our patio table and chairs as early in the morning as possible this week. 

Patio Time!




chore,prompt,clean,patio,table,chairs,flowers,
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Kick off your summer with a Free #Kraft #CookingUpSummer Cookbook!

in , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Saturday, June 13, 2015

The warm summer days and long summer nights are finally here! It's time to get ready to kick off the official start of summer next Sunday by planning your first family picnic, or cook-out!  This is a sponsored post by Lunchbox and I will receive compensation for each approved download. However, I only share information I feel will benefit my readers. 


Kraft can help you plan the perfect celebration with the FREE “Kick Off Your Summer” cookbook! In this cookbook, you’ll find delicious recipes and tips for your picnics, cook-offs, parties and more so you can be known as the “Official Cook of the Summer!”

You'll find awesome recipes like the Philadelphia Fruit Pizza. 

Or these Memphis-Style BBQ Sliders!



Let Kraft help you plan the perfect celebration with the Free Kick off your Summer cookbook! Download your copy today by clicking the pictures above and get busy #CookingUpSummer!  

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Color of the Month - June 2015 - Turquoise

in , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Thursday, June 11, 2015

One of the easiest and often prettiest ways I've found to lighten and brighten our home is with decorative glass items. My husband and I are both drawn to unique glass pieces, so you'll find of lot of it in our home. June's color of the month- Turquoise, was inspired by some of my favorite bottles and vases.

Turquoise bottles, vases, home decor, color, design, improve


The wonderful thing about  the color Turquoise is how each piece is unique in color depending on the light and the material. Some pieces look bluer, some pieces, greener. Yet all of them beckon you to dream of water and warm days.

Here's my Pinterest board for more inspiration and ideas on how to decorate your home and your life with this beautiful color.


Follow Linda A.'s board Color of the Month - June 2015 - Turquoise on Pinterest.


Happy warm summer days everyone!


Please share in comments: Do you collect glass pieces as well? If so, what?
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Weekly Chore Prompt: Organizing Shoes

in , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Monday, June 08, 2015
Happy Monday dear readers! As I was trying to get out the door to my very first blog conference on a recent Saturday morning, I tried multiple times to shut our foyer closet door but couldn’t because there was a rogue sneaker blocking the door. I picked the shoe up, looked for a free space to call its temporary home and found zero free space. Zip, nada. I couldn’t even find the sneaker's mate, so I did what any sane mom would do when she’s pressed for time - I chucked in the shoe and slammed the closet door. I knew the weekly chore prompt had to be organizing shoes!

Time To Corral Shoes:



weekly,chore,prompt,organizing,shoes

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5 easy ways to keep your yearly business goals on track

in , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Tuesday, June 02, 2015
It’s hard to believe it, but here we are- starting the sixth month of 2015! It wasn’t that long ago that we were all dreaming and setting goals for the New Year.  The first week of June is the perfect time for a mid-year check in with those goals. I did this on Sunday and while I have met some goals in my most areas of my life; I found I needed to re-route my path in other areas. Here are my 5 easy tips to get my yearly business goals back on track. 


On My WAHM Plan tips to keep business goals on track



1. Make planning time a priority.
It’s not enough for me to say I want to re-work how I’m tracking my blog and social media assignments; I need to formulate an action plan. By setting aside 30 minutes to review what I’ve been doing so far this year, figure out what parts work and what parts are making me dislike this necessary task, I’ll be able to finish 2015 strong and have a true workable solution moving forward.


2. Purge,  Often.
This goes for all incoming items in your life: junk mail, emails from companies you might shop with in the summer, company catalogs, group invitations that don’t fit into your wheelhouse, etc.  Allow yourself to pass on a request or business event if it truly isn’t a good fit. Purging is easy once you allow yourself to make a decisive decision and then stick with it, which leads me to number three.


 3. Decide.
In business you can’t sit on the fence for long when it comes to making decisions to approve or reject money making projects, because at the end of the day- all businesses need to have money coming in at all times.  Set aside 15 minutes to list the pros and cons of a given situation and then make your choice. Then take an actionable step: make that call, or send that email, something that will put forward motion on your decision so you won’t talk yourself out if it.  


4. Write it down.
You’ve made your decision; you’ve set your goals in motion. Good! But did you know that the simple act of writing them down helps your brain store them in your memory, making them much easier for you to remember and stick with? Try it! Write out one goal on a piece of pretty stationery, or jot it down on a colorful post-it note (my personal favorite), and it’s almost guaranteed you’ll remember to focus on that goal.

My WAHM Plan: grab a good pen and write it down!


5.Ask for help.
This tip is still a work in progress for me.  I still struggle with asking for help from my family. As a work-at-home-mom, (WAHM), I felt if I managed my time better, I could still do it all and take on a bigger work load. Wrong! 
Now, my goal is to let my family and co-workers know when I have a big assignment, and then be ready to delegate when people ask me how they can help me. It’s easy for us to shrug off offers of help, but we really shouldn’t. Whether we need task oriented help, like please unload the dishwasher, or we just need an ally to help us remember to drink more water, by asking others to help you, you are inviting them into your life on a more personal level, which helps you be a better you!


Hopefully, my 5 easy tips will help you stay, or get back on track with your yearly business goals! 


Please share in comments: What goal do you hope to accomplish before the end of the year? 
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End the battle with your Mayo container and #SqueezeMoreOut!

in , , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, May 29, 2015
My thanks to Influenster and Hellmann’s® for sending me complimentary product to try and share my thoughts with you today. All opinions are my own. 
Lots of fun and happy things happen at our home around Memorial Day.  I took a week off work to help welcome the unofficial start of summer, the girls end another year of school, I celebrate a birthday (of course I am 39 again!) and we kick off grilling season, usually with big, juicy burgers like this one. 

burgers,fries,#Hellmann's, Mayo
Notice the mayo on that burger? My husband wouldn’t have one any other way, and his go to Mayonnaise brand is Hellmann’s. We use it on everything from burgers to potato salad this time of year but it is a challenge to get the very last bit out of a jar of squeeze bottle; until now. 
The nice folks at Hellmann’s came up with a new bottle design that will help put an end to the battle with your mayo container!

mayo, bottle, squeeze, flip, top, lid

About Hellmann’s new bottle: 
"Hellman's new and improved squeeze bottle provides a best-in-class squeeze experience with less waste, less mess and more control. Its unique design allows you to get more mayonnaise out without all the shaking, banging and mess and with the same unmistakable taste of Hellmann’s®. The new Hellmann’s® squeeze bottle allows you to squeeze more out, complete with three main improvements:
A Precision Tip, for pinpoint mayonnaise deployment
A Clean-Lock Cap, custom designed for a cleaner experience 
A Sleek New Design including unique slip agent technology for getting more mayonnaise out."

A photo posted by Linda Kinsman (@ismilefirst) on

I’m really enjoying the no mess feature! Making sandwiches for my girls or watching them make their own is no longer a messy task! Plus, the cap really does stay clean, so I don’t have to wipe it off or run it under water with each use making it a perfect go to Mayo container, for home, picnics, BBQ’s and more. 

I invite #SqueezeMoreOut this summer by learning more about this product by visiting Hellmann’s website where you can find recipes and tips and by following them on Twitter, or visiting them on Facebook. 


Please share in comments: What is your favorite summer recipe that uses Mayo?

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