Tuesday, January 8, 2013

UGH! I was hacked

So I was awoken this morning by email notifications on my phone. Long story short: looks like I was hacked and spam was sent out to everyone I had ever emailed. If you've ever commented here, and I replied to you, you probably were sent an email.

I AM SO SORRY!!!

I have secured my account, and all passwords have been changed. Sorry for any inconvenience :-(
I really hate shit like that! Grrrr. My email was set up to automatically keep email address that I've ever sent to. I have deleted that option just in case it should happen again. 
Again I am so sorry for any inconvenience. 

I'll be back after my workout :-) See y'all in a bit.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Fitness Friday - New year...now what?

2012 is a thing of the past...it is now 2013. This is the year that you WILL eat better and you WILL workout and get fit. But where the heck do you start?

I read something the other day and I was like yup THAT'S exactly it:

Decide now that quitting is not an option.

Yes, you will fall sometimes, but what you do when you do fall will determine how successful you will be in reaching your goals. Keep trying, and don't stop!

Now with that said and done...oh and P.S. I am so ordering that saying in one of those vinyl saying thingys that you can stick on the wall for the little dudes' room...I think what helps with any fitness and/or lifestyle change is to write what you want (or expect to happen) down.

So you wanna lose weight? Don't stress. Write it down and just do it. Don't worry about how much. All that matters is that you just do it.

With your goals staring up at you, what is your first step? Do you already belong to a gym? Maybe you can get a personal trainer. Do you need to purge the "junk" food and go shopping for healthier choices? Do you want some hand weights? Write all those things down too! All the things you 'need' you might not be able to get right away but write them down and get them when you can. Decide how you will go about getting those things and plan accordingly.

Now what do you do?

With regards to food, I totally suggest meal planning. It was hard for me at first and took a lot of time, but it was all so very worth it. I would start with just planning out your full day of food the day or night before. Once you get used to that, do 3 days at a time, then 5. Next thing you know, it'll be a Sunday or Monday night and you are meal planning a full week. And don't just do 3 meals. Include snacks and drinks too.

If meal planning is just way too much, try keeping a food diary. The hardest part of a food diary is remembering to write in it. I use a cute hello kitty notebook that I carry with me everywhere. Every time I put something in my mouth, yes even a piece of gum, I take out my notebook and write it down. Now you don't have to do it the way I do, but try it...and be honest. If you had a snickers, own that snickers and write it down. You only hurt yourself when you lie. And trust me, once you see everything you're eating on paper, you'll be like WHOA! and want to make good choices.

Now working out...the good stuff. You don't have to make this elaborate show about it, especially if you're just starting out. Find a DVD, check YouTube. You don't NEED a gym or weights. There are a ton of free "workout programs" out there to get you started, just remember to choose one that is right for you.

You may not be the P90x type (heck, neither am I) so don't just do it because you think it's the only option. Do your research because seriously there are a ton of options out there. Don't want such a rigid workout? Try walking and/or running. Shoot hoops, ride your bike....just get moving! Whether you are a beginner or not, I totally suggest checking out Blogilates. Casey is fun and the workouts are easy and great for anyone, and you don't need any equipment. If you're more advanced, check out TheDailyHiit (also known as bodyrock.tv). Don't be discouraged to try something new.

The most important thing is to make time. Decide when the best time for you to workout is. Decide when is the best time to grocery shop or meal plan. You have to make time. Whether it be 15 minutes or an hour, you have to make time.

If you're ready to take on 2013, link up below and tell us what your fitness plans/goals are for this new year!

And before you leave, don't forget to follow your hosts Frikken Duckie and me, Nicole Johnson and grab our button:

(*So in a perfect world the linky should be showing up here in this spot, but its not...and I have no idea why. Let me work on it, but for now, head on over to Frikken Duckie and link up there*)
*Disclaimer - I am by no means a fitness or nutrition expert. These are my opinions based on my experiences alone. Always consult a doctor with any major life changing activities such as diet and exercise*


Thursday, January 3, 2013

Sponsor/Ad space available NOW

2013 = ch, ch, ch, changes...and a SALE!

I'm always looking to promote my blog and help promote other blogs that I love at the same time. So towards the end of the year, I decided to offer ad space. And today I decided that every month I would try to run some type of special for anyone that might be interested in purchasing ad space.
So for the whole month of January I am offering 50% off ALL ads. Yup any size is 50% off!!! (promo code at bottom of this post) The code is good only for the month of January. Space is limited...BUT if you reserve your spot this month, you can still take advantage of the 50% off when space is opened up again even if the code for the month has changed.

Here are my site and social media stats as of today, January 3, 2013:

Subscribers/Followers via GFC & RSS: 376
Daily page views: 150-250
Monthly page views: 2,019

Twitter followers: 512
FB fan page and personal page: 459
Instagram followers: 268
Pinterest followers: 63

I have worked with a couple of companies (some on an ongoing basis) that include Crocs, PBSkids, BzzAgent and Influenster. I also participate in giveaways on other blogs as well as guest posting. 

Coming soon: Weekly Friday fitness link up (01/04/2013)

My space here in the interwebs is small but growing and I hope that as my blog grows I can help other bloggers and business owners grow their space as well, no matter what size of the blog or business...big, small, or just starting out. :-) 


**CODE: JAN50

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Carabox - December Sparkle

In December I signed up with Kaitlyn of Wifessionals for the very first time to receive a Carabox. What exactly is a Carabox you ask? Well click on that cute button right down there and you can read all about it ;-)




Cara Box


So in a nutshell, you sign up and then are paired up with someone. The person you are sending a box to is NOT the person who is sending you a box. I thought that was the most awesome part about this whole thing...you get to "meet" not just one person, but 2! My partner that I sent my box to was Sarah who blogs over at A Song for the Birds. She is amazeballs :-) VERY sweet and you can totally tell she's one of those old souls :-)

The person who sent me a box was Christina :-) She blogs over at Brown Town. All I have to say is that she got me...I mean email interaction and reading a person's blog, you do get to know someone...but she totally gets me :-)

Each little gift was labeled :-)


  
Super cute right?! I wore them to a Christmas party and to the grocery store and the gas station LOL




TOTALLY CUTE AND AWESOME! 'nuff said!

 


I have an obsession with nail polish...I wonder if she just 'knew' LOL. As you can see my sweet guy decided I was oohing and ahhing too much and unwrapping too slowly, so he helped me out. HE was not impressed but told me that I would look pretty in it....boys...




YES! Those are mint M&Ms. I mentioned to her that I wanted to bake cookies with the dudes :-) We have still yet to make them since we were given so many cookies this year that we need to finish first. And she included the full recipe too



Heehee isn't he cute?! We plan on making everything in this book this year. He loves it can you tell?




HOLY GOODNESS! The creme de la creme!! My new bowl mug. Y'all know how much I love my coffee! HEAVEN!

Thank you so much Christina!!! You GET me :-)

*at the time this was originally scheduled to post, I still had not heard from Sarah as to if she received my box...she still has not :-( I am sending her out some new goodies (along with a couple of things from the original box that was still at the store yesterday) at lunch time and am overnighting them so she does not have to wait any longer. Sarah, I love you and I am so sorry that you did not receive your box. You will be getting something soon for sure :-)*


D.I.M. - Coffee face scrub


*originally posted on 10/16/12 on Workin It (my other blog that I have decided to longer post on)*

(D.I.M. = Do It Myself)*

I've been drinking a lot more coffee these days. Big Daddy always takes coffee to work so he doesn't have to stop and spend the money and of course we all know that work coffee sucks.
Anyway...So yes we drink a lot of coffee now. Throwing out the used coffee grounds seemed like such a waste so I googled what to do with used coffee grounds. Found some great ideas! Then I came across making a face mask and face scrub using the coffee grounds! Boom! Score!!!


So here's the lowdown on coffee when used on your skin:

Coffee grounds still have caffeine in them, and what wakes you up in the morning will also wake up your face. Coffee grounds will give your skin a blast of caffeine to improve circulation of the skin and help promote healthier new skin at the same time. 

For starters, coffee that are grind into fine particles actually remove dead tissues and cells that our bodies need to shed. You cannot keep all that dirt hanging on to your face forever. Coffee may be a good source of anti-oxidants, which will help keep cancer at bay, but it is also antibacterial. This antibacterial property should be useful to stop unwanted growth of other harmful microorganisms. Pores should feel tight and the face, clean by the time you finish.
*source*

This is the "recipe" that I used for the scrub..the simplest of all the ones that I found:

2 tablespoons of coffee grounds
1 tablespoon of olive oil
bowl or container

1. Mix together grounds and oil in container. It will kinda look like mud. 
2. Apply to face and gently scrub using a circular motion. 
3. Completely rinse with water and pat dry.

This is the dry grounds 

And of course, on the face

I actually wanted more of a thicker scrub so I measured out my used, still wet coffee grinds and set them in a bowl to dry out a bit. When I figured it was pretty dry throughout, I then aded the olive oil. Do it however you want. 
I have combo skin that is acne prone and this scrub didn't make my skin feel oily at all. I did have a breakout on my chin, so we'll see exactly how the scrub affected it. Right now it looks good and no longer red. My skin feels tighter too. I waited about 10 minutes before I followed up with my moisturizer. 

If you have oily skin or are hesitant to use olive oil, replace the oil with honey. Same ratio 2:1, or even 3:1. (2 tbsp of grounds was just perfect for me). The honey will definitely make this scrub a lot thicker. Also, I would only do this scrub like 1-2 times a week. I separated my 1 batch into 2 separate batches. I just made mine in a glass container that had a lid so I could cover and store until maybe Saturday. I don't think this will keep for a long time so I don't recommend making a bunch and just letting it sit for a couple weeks. I'm going to keep my container in the fridge until I use it.

I'll be posting a killer coffee face mask recipe in a couple days too so stay tuned :-)



Saturday, December 29, 2012

A very classic, no frills wedding

2 of our really good friends were married the day after Christmas. She wore a classic lace dress, and he wore a black suit with bow tie. No frills...just perfectly classic. I wanted to keep that no frills classic too...

A Classic Styled Wedding



Friday, December 28, 2012

And it goes a little something like this...

Dec. 14 - Sandy Hook

Dec. 15 - Came home to find that dog ate Christmas tree and homemade ornaments

Dec. 20 - Big Daddy got laid off from work (yup right before Christmas)

Dec. 24 - went to open our family Christmas gift that Juju made for us in school...there was nothing in it...it probably fell out in his class...he cried so hard that it hurt my heart. I never want to see him that sad ever again.

 Dec. 25 - the dudes rode their bikes we got them for Christmas for the first time and loved every minute of it! Even when BamBam fell off the bike, he was scratched up pretty bad but still had the biggest smile on his face.

Dec. 26 - 2 friends of ours got married. Spent the evening at their house celebrating with great friends, homemade tamales, pecan pie, ice cream cake, beer, wine, and shots. Also found out that Big Daddy is being sponsored to play in the Las Vegas 7s rugby tournament (no out of pocket for this trip at all)

Dec. 27 - I packed the dudes' bag because VonTrapp picked them up in the afternoon to spend the last week of vacation with her. Later made my way to the post office and demanded they tell me where in Carmen San Diego is the package that I mailed last week to N.C. (It's my carabox that I sent)

Dec. 28 - went suit shopping with Big Daddy (needs a dark suit for a job conference in January).  Babysat a friend's kids, ate chicken Alfredo pizza and drank Bud Light platinum (it's gross, but its beer).

Now I am sitting here watching an old Samuel L Jackson movie with Big Daddy, brainstorming.

Tough end of the year for us, but we managed to keep it together. Come on 2013...I'm ready!