Getting Ready for the First Day of School

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I know some of you have already started school.  But for the rest of you, here’s a fun idea via pinterest. I’m gearing up for packing lunches and hope to add a few more fun items once in awhile.  I’ve put my brainstorm of ideas into my latest eBook, Homemade and Healthy to Go. It will be available for sale on August 15th, After I give all current Grocery Shrink Plus subscribers their free copy.  Membership has its perks and if it’s not the 13th of August yet, you can still subscribe to the menus and get your free copy too.

This next idea isn’t mine, so isn’t in the book. Isn’t it adorable?  And Smarties are at Dollar Tree :).

 

Here’s the original pin:

Click the photo to find the original post and instructions

 

Here’s my version.  Definitely not as cute without the red and white polka dots!  I loved her scallops so splurged on the 3.5 inch cutter below since Joann had them 40% off.  It was still $15 on sale so I will be using these circles everywhere.  On place labels; birthday gifts; Christmas Gifts; baby gifts; cupcake picks…my family is going to get sick of paper scallops.

My color printer is on the fritz, so I opted to cut the scallops out of scrap cardstock, and print just the circles.  Glue dots stuck everything together quickly.

Driving through Needle Pass

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We were watching our home videos after getting home from the trip and had to laugh at ourselves. It doesn’t take much to send me off in a Bible or Science lesson, lol.  Even though I’m sending my older children to Christian school this year and am only homeschooling Preschool, I will always be a home school teacher at heart.

 

Homemade and Healthy to Go

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I’ve written a new eBook!  And now you know why my blog has been a little quiet this summer.  It’s finished, but not quite available yet.  My Grocery Shrink Plus subscribers get the first peek, and they get it for FREE.  The book will sell for $10 to all non-subscribers and at 100 pages of ideas and recipes for packing frugal lunches, it’s well worth the cost.  But there’s no reason not to get it free.

I have more resources in the works and with school starting soon, will have more time to work than ever.  Grocery Shrink Plus subscribers can expect to get a free resource similar to this every month they stay members in good standing.  Now I call that an upgrade!  Not only do you get more recipes, more instructions, more value in your meal plans than any other service….you get free bonus’s too.

There’s still time to subscribe to the menu’s before the bonus goes out, but you need to subscribe before Monday August 13th.  I won’t be emailing out separate bonus’s to all late subscribers like I do the menu plans.  It’s a one time mail out to current subscribers at the moment I hit send.  No exceptions, no apologies.  Make sure you’re on that list :).

Warren Learns to Fight Forest Fires

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Part of our vacation was spent at Crystal Cave, the second largest cave in the United States.  There we took part in a Junior Ranger program which included a lesson on fire safety.  Warren was chosen as the volunteer to demo the fire fighting gear and had me in giggles.

Vlog–Hiking in the Badlands

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Is posting a 4 part video of your family hiking in the badlands as bad as making family members sit through 300 slides of the vacation they did not go on?  I decided it’s not, since you can stop watching at any time and I’ll never know, lol.  So you are spared the “I’d better look interested or look rude” awkwardness.

Anyway, the Badlands were a completely amazing part of South Dakota.  Sections of it had Prairie Dogs which I’ll show you later.  They are cute little things!  It was extremely hot and dry.  The eroded landscape reminded me of what I imagined parts of the moon are like.  Some areas had beautiful colors–which I’ll show you later in the week too.

We stopped and hiked at one point on a medium difficulty trail.  It got super steep and the sandstone crumbled underfoot making it slippery too.  At one point we missed the trail markings and got into an area that was really tough.  You’ll hear Darren ask me something and you can’t quite make out that I said, “I think I’m having a panic attack.”  To which my Dear Son said, “It’s okay Mom, you can do it.”  And Darren said, “Can you breath through it or do we need to stop?”  Which I thought was a very sweet way to respond.  Right at that moment I felt there was no safe place to step that wouldn’t slip out from under me and send me rolling down the mountain to my death.  But then I did take a deep breath and I did take another step and I was okay again.

If you haven’t fallen asleep by video 4, you’ll see we did make it to the top :). At least the videos are short :).

 

So much to blog so little time

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My family and I drove home all day yesterday from South Dakota.  We had a fantastic time seeing the Badlands; Mount Rushmore; Crystal Cave; Driving the Needle Pass; Hiking the Black Hills; Visiting the Journey Museum; climbing all over Dinosaur Park and more.  And our hotel had  a lovely  indoor pool and hot tub, so we stayed up late every night enjoying that too.  I wrote my menu’s partly in the car and partly by the pool.  It’s wonderful to be able to work anywhere my family happens to be.

I just downloaded the pictures off my camera and wowee!  I have a lot blog about. There are ballet pictures; baby gift tutorials; recipes; and of course vacation.  But it will have to wait until our school supplies are purchased and the laundry is done.  Until then, here are a few of my favorite pics from last week.

Be careful with the Baby!

Possibly the only piece of shade in the badlands. Look out for rattlesnakes!

One of the ways we saved money on the trip was to buy picnic groceries and make our own lunch at on of the plentiful picnic areas along the way.

The most important thing…

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There’s still a giveaway for a bodywrap going on around here.  You can enter by leaving a comment on the previous post.

I sat in the community theater crying this afternoon, thankful it was dark. Thankful my children are safe, healthy, and home. It felt wrong to cry  over our last moments with Heidi’s beloved ballet studio, when so many people are truly suffering.   And yet, it is because of that suffering that my emotions are so raw and close to the surface.  In the wake of the news of the Colorado shooting, two church friends were diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, a Grocery Shrink reader lost her 2 year old nephew in a tragic drowning,  a local police officer was killed on his motorcycle while performing an ordinary traffic stop, 3 houses burned in the neighborhood nearby last night, a facebook friend’s father is lost in the woods and faces his second night alone while the search pauses for morning light.

All of these things remind me of how precious life is, how precious family moments are.  I’m supposed to be writing my menus right now for the GSPlus mailing tomorrow at noon, but I had to stop and remind myself and my dear readers of the most important thing.  I’m not talking about faith–of course that is at the top of the list. I’m talking about the most important FOOD thing.

It’s so important that I’m going to use big bold font, and leave lots of space around it, so it’s easy to find.

Eat Together As A Family

 

I don’t care if you eat macaroni and cheese out of box with hot dogs sliced in it. Just do it together, with the TV off, and reading material put away.  Look at each other, smile, talk to each other.

The only certain thing in this life is that it is temporary.  And if a loved one is called home early, it won’t matter how many organic foods he had or whether he stayed under budget.  Relationships matter–they leave the legacy.  It’s easy to build relationships bit by bit around the dinner table.  It just takes commitment–one meal at a time.  Now, go hug your kids and give your husband a big smooch.

Bodywrap Giveaway!

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The giveaway has ended. Thank you to everyone who participated.  Congratulations Megan, our winner!

You’ve seen the hype and may have wondered if it would work for you.  Here’s a chance to find out for free!  If you get the same results from the wraps that many customers have, you might consider making a business from it and helping others improve the appearance of their skin too.

Here are some more before and after pictures of real people using the wraps.

Check out the improvement in her stretch marks.

Amy has generously donated a wrap for one lucky reader who wins our giveaway! If you live near Kansas City, she will come and wrap you personally.  If not, she will ship it to you with ample instructions.

If you would like to become a distributor, it is only $99 through August 31. The kit comes with 4 wraps, which  sell for $30 a piece. Amy sold her 4 wraps her first week and made her money back from her kit very quickly.  The thing she loves is that It Works is a team environment, so they all help each other get to their goals! Their slogan is One Team, One Mission!

You can enter by leaving a comment on this post; friending Amy on Facebook (one entry) and sending her a facebook message with your info and/or sending an email to: amy dot teachingenglish at gmail dot com with your contact info.  She will never share your personal information and will only use the info to send you the information you want.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do Ultimate Body Applicators really work?

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You know the ones I’m talking about.  The body wraps that claim to tighten, tone and firm.  To reduce the appearance of cellulite.  Is it to good to be true?

I invited a local consultant, Amy Castillo, to my home to give it the test.  She brought one wrap, and I elected to use it on my stomach–my troublesome area after having 6 babies.  She spent some time with me ahead and explained that the wraps contain an herbal cream designed to reduce the fat cells.  She said I could see some results after 45 minutes, but I could reapply the wrap for up to 8 hours for maximum efficiency.   She said to make sure I drink a lot of water during the process as this would help expel toxins.  (I ended up drinking about 32 oz in 45 minutes.)

First we cleansed the skin with a witch hazel spray. This helps clean the skin and keeps the pores open so that nothing blocks the skin from absorbing the gel from the werap. Then she applied the wrap to my trouble spot and wrapped it securely with plastic wrap to help it stay in place.  While we waited for the 45 minute timer to ring, I nursed Grant to sleep, and drank water while we talked.  She mentioned that the wraps could be cut and used anywhere on the body. Popular places are things, arms, and special wraps are even used on the face.

It smelled minty and tingled like applying a muscle rub.  The wrap was very thin and had a plastic type back to keep the cream from coming through to the back side. It did not look smooth like the pictures, but did the job just the same.

I looked through the pamphlets she brought and saw some pretty dramatic before and after pictures.  Amy was up front with me and said those ladies used several wraps to achieve their results, each done 3 days apart and kept on for up to 8 hours.  A 4 wrap value pack is sold for $60 which is $15 per wrap.

I should reveal that my air conditioner was broken in my home during this time and it was pretty warm in there.  (Over 100 degrees outside for several days running.) The heat was helping me retain more water than usual.  I asked Amy if the wrap worked by getting rid of excess water in the fat cells.  She said, “No.”  But that the inches lost were from toxin removal.  My weight had been steady for over a week, despite my efforts at eating right and exercising.  The heat was kicking my tail!

After the 45 minutes, we took measurements and photos.  Then I reapplied the wrap for the rest of the afternoon.  I used a lycra maternity belly band from Target to hold it on the second time.  That was more comfortable for me than the plastic wrap.  After 5 more hours, I was ready to be done.  But it was REALLY hot in my house.

Amy had a fancy tape measure from the company that made sure you couldn’t measure incorrectly. The before and after 45 minute measurements were taken by her with the special tape measure. The after 1 day and after 3 day measurements were taken with my normal dressmaker’s tape.  I wish I had thought to follow her measurements with my own tape so I could have a comparison with the same tape for all. Also she made lines on my back with a sharpie so we would be sure to measure in the exact same spot each time.

So here are my personal results:

Upper Waist before:  32.25″ After 45 minutes: 32″ After 1 day: 32.5″ After 3 days: 32″  Total lost  1/4 inch

Naval Before: 35″ After 45 minutes 34.5 After 1 day: 35.25 After 3 days: 34.25  Total Lost: 3/4 inch

Mommy Tummy (below waist) before: 37.5 After 45 minutes: 37.5 After 1 day: 36.5 After 3 days: 36.5 Total Lost: 1 inch

Total overall losses:  2 inches.  Not too shabby.

And my pictures (before and after 45 minutes only):

 

My final thoughts:  The wrap smelled great, had healthful ingredients, and did remove 2 inches in 3 days.  My skin looked a tiny bit smoother, and I’m interested to see what a full 4 wrap program would do for my stretch marks.  Would I use these wraps alone as a weight loss regime?  No.  A healthy diet and exercise are important for building muscle and for continued health–but I would use them along side a good fitness program.  And to help the appearance of the skin. Amy noted the company does not promote only using the wraps for weight loss, etc. They state that maintaining a healthy lifestyle (ie. eating well, exercise, etc) is important or like any weight loss program, if you don’t make a lifestyle change, you won’t maintain any results. The wraps help give individuals a jump start or encouragement to continue to see results WHILE they continue on their way to a healthy way of life. The wraps helps to tighten, tone and firm areas that regular exercise may not (i.e. stretch marks, saggy/excess skin).

The company Amy represents also carries vitamins, powdered greens, face care products, defining gel and more.  She can ship products anywhere in the US and can help you earn money for your family by selling your own wrap products (and getting a nice discount in the process.)  She says:  “I am really looking for distributors in US, Australia, Canada, UK, N. Ireland, Sweden, Holland, Scotland and Wales (those are the countries we are currently in). Readers can buy one from me for $30 (if in KC area, I can wrap them personally)….if not, we can arrange payment (like by Paypal) and I can mail it and send them youtube videos and info on how to do it.

You can reach Amy at (816) 813-7022, her personal email at amy.teachingenglish@gmail.com or through her website:  http://amycastillo.myitworks.com