Monday, March 28, 2011

Easter - One of My Favorite Times of the Year #HOPParty

I was just putting in my requests off for the next few months, when I realized that easter was just around the corner. I made sure to quickly request that day off .... Since I work retail, my store is not closed for Easter....And it is slow that day anways, So I dont think they will miss me too much.

I love the holidays.... And easter is one of my favorite holidays. It is a holiday based around religion - Which yes I am Catholic. I do belive in the regious reasons behind Easter! And I try to abide by most of the traiditions that Lent and Easter that I grew up with. That includes no meat on fridays and then silence and prayer between 1:00 and 3:00pm on Good Friday.
We do celebrate using the traditional easter egg hunt and candy giving... But My most favorite thing about easter is being with my family! I work 2 jobs, so spending time a whole day with my husband and son is not something that happens very often. And as an added bonus we spend it with the extended family.

The night or two before Easter Sunday, we make hard boiled eggs... Which... My 4 year old son LOVES. HE so enjoys decorating the eggs, and it is a great way for him to learn his colors - and how to make new colors (Ex: Red and blue make purple.... ) Also, with the crayons that you use to write on eggs with... He can learn how to spell things like Mommy and Daddy and his name! After they are all decorated they go in the fridge for easter morning.

Since we have 3 cats, and 2 dogs, we do not leave the eggs out overnight. Last year we "hid" just a couple of Real eggs and a couple of the plastic eggs for Lil C to find. This way the animals wouldnt break the real ones (nor would they hide it) Lil C had so much fun finding them... that I look forward to finding new and creative places to hide them.

After we find the eggs and eat breakfast, We have a few hours of relax time... before having to get ready for my Grandma's house. This has to be one of my favorite parts of the day. At my grandma's I get to see almost all my aunts and uncles....and Lil C gets to see all his cousins... So he has someone to play with! We have Delicious Dinner that EVERYONE helps make. Ever family brings part of the meal or desert for dinner - and Grandma makes the Main meat (usually a ham or a roast) and everyone Picks... It is always better right off of the hot pan. After visiting time with my family, we then usually head over to my husbands family for the same thing - More dinner and family visiting. Then a long drive home!

What is your favorite part of Easter?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hop blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Friday, March 25, 2011

Something Borrowed - Relationship Questions.

All relationships begin somewhere... Usually they begin with a friendship and progress from there.  Something Borrowed is a great upcoming movie for realtionships. In the movie Something Borrowed, Rachel and Darcy’s lifelong friendship collides with true love, when perpetual good girl Rachel unexpectedly ends up in bed with the guy she’s had a crush on since law school, Dex…who just happens to be Darcy’s fiancĂ©! This leads to unexpected complications and potentially explosive romantic revelations in all of their relationships...

I have been married for 5 years now... and when you think you have things figured out... life throws you a curveball.  It never seems to fail...  I have learned that relationships are not a one sided thing.  They are suppose to be two sided..  Communication is key... But what happens when that 2 person relationship starts to turn into a one sided effort.  What happens when there is no communcation?  Or broken communication. 
How do you fix it when it has seemed to have gotten to the point of no repair? 

I have come across many different obsticles - and it seems that they all revolve around communication skills.  When my husband and I were going through marriage consuling, the one thing that was always stressed was keeping an open line of communication... And not to go to bed angry... It sounds so easy in theory, but when it comes to practice.... It wasnt as easy.

If you could give your best piece of advice to a couple what would it be?  Whether it is for a guy and girl going on their first date... or a newly engaged couple... Or even someone who has just gotten married and are starting out their new life as husband and wife. And knowing that we all have questions about relationships...  What question would you like to have answered? 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Lets get fit - Swimsuit time is coming

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

This past month I have been doing my best to try to loose weight and tone my shape - so I can wear great  swimwear -like the ones from Express.  Express has women's swimwear to fit every body type. Advertisement.  I love when a company has a great tagline.  The one that they stand behind is "Dive into the season's sexiest swimwear" and that is what I plan on doing!  Express has a great line of swimwear.  They have suits for every body type. I personally love two piece swimwear.  That way I can get the correct size for each piece to fit my body style. One of my favorite swimsuits on the market this year is the one shown below.

Express Swimsuit

I love this design.  I love the colors and the shape.... And I am hoping that by the end of the spring I will have the perfect body shape to fit this suit!  Actually printing out the swim suits of my choice is a good form of motivation for my weight loss goal


Some of the great features about Express:
* Available in always-popular monokini, sexiest string bikini and must-have strapless and halter bikini styles

*Shop Bright solids, on trend graphic prints, the essential reversible style, nautica-inspired striped and sleek metallic styles.

* Designer details include flirty ruffles, sexy self-tie sides, glam beaded embellishments and polished metal hardware

* Removable padding in tops

*Bottoms fit smaller to size for moderate back coverage

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What is your favorite style?   Also don't for get to take a moment to sign up for the Express e-mail.  With entering for the email you are entered to win one of 10 - $200.00 Express Giftcards!  Take a moment to look over the sweepstakes rules

What is your favorite Swim Suit?  Are you a 1 piece, a bikinis or a string bikini person?  Don't worry men, they didn't forget about you.  They also do have swim shorts available for me!








 

Visit Sponsor's Site

Thursday, March 17, 2011

To all my mommies to be out there...

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CryoCell International for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was pregnant... I learned very little about Cord Blood banking....  It was mentioned once at a doctors appointment... and that was that... I got a little brochure at the visit along with some magazines.... I read the magazines but never looked into Cord Blood Banking.  I just saw the dollar amount that one company was saying - and had total sticker shock!  That was something that I could not get past.  Well, over the past 4 years, I have head more and more advertised about Cord Blood Banking...  So I figured it would be something worth Looking into.


There's a lot of great sites out there that have to deal with cord blood - one great site is www.Cryo-Cell.com.  I took a few moment to check it out.  It has a lot of great information about Cord Blood Banking, Like reasons that it is important to look into. 
Are you going to be a mom soon?  Well, if you are, you can always go to www.Cryo-Cell.net to request more information.  Also with this request you can get a a Free Belly Bag!  How cool is that? 
If you or someone you know is going to be a parent - defiantly make sure to at least consider Cord Blood Banking.


 

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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

10 tips and tricks for #GreatGetaways

I don't get to travel very often but when I do, I make sure to get all the great deals possible.  You know that traveling as a family can be hard - especially when you have 1  or more children... I remember the last trip that I took family vacation ... It was a couple years ago... and Lil C was just under the age of passengers being charged (children under 2 flew free)... So... we took advantage ...and went and saw family down south.
There are a lot of ways to save money when traveling.  Here are some helpful tips I have learned.

1.  Plan in advance.  Unless It is a last minute emergency that you have to travel somewhere.. I try to plan a trip at least 6 months in advance.  (usually more)  This way I can keep my eyes open for the best deals possible when it comes to traveling.

2.  Decide if you are going to drive or fly.  If It is a long distance... Take into consideration your mental health vs. the dollar amount.  I know Driving to Florida from my home is about 20-24 hours ... That long in a car with a 4 year old... Sanity may be lost... This is when I may take into consideration flying and then renting a car.

3. Keep your eyes open for special events that may be going on in the area you are traveling to.  There may be some great plays or shows that sound fun...and If you reserve your tickets early enough - or have a large enough group, you may be able to get them cheaper.

4.  Check Craigs list for different side events that may be going on.  I know I  love to shop - and in MI, we have mom 2 mom sales... but when I traveled to Georgia, they had no clue what I was talking about.  If you are going for a concert or other event - check eBay. Sometimes you can get some tickets really cheap...

5.  Check different hotel prices in the area. Compare how close they are to your destination and what you pay vs. the features a room has.  You really dont need a fancy room - becuase... Hopefully you wont be spending your whole trip in it.

6.  If you know you are planning on eating out, check online for restaurants in the area you will be traveling to.  That way you can always sign up with their email services... Some restaurants offer you savings on their meals when you become an email member.

7.  With planning early, you can also do some clearance shopping.  I know when I went to Georgia Last, I didn't have a swim suit that fit me (because I was still carrying around baby weight).. I was able to shop the clearance racks ...for summer swimwear...since it was end of Season in Michigan.  This saved me a little money - that I could use towards the trip itself.

8.  If you have children -some of the most fun things i have found to do on vacation was going to the different states' Zoo.  Save yourself a TON of money by packing your own lunch and drinks.  They charge an arm and a leg for food and drinks at tourist attractions!

9.  Instead of buying a ton of souvenirs, take TONS of pictures.  Most people have a digital camera that they use all the time, Why not bring that with you and take pictures .. stand by attraction signs... so you can pinpoint where you were on that particular day.  Then when the trip is over you can put together your own photo album to remember your trip by...

10.  If you have signed up with any reward points - or airline perks... this would be a great time to cash some of them out.  Unfortunatly I don't belong to any airline rewards anymore!  Shucks.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.