Luv Saving Money

This is something we can all use a little of.  Thinking of 10 things that can make our lives happier and healthier.  This is my personal list in no certain order:

1.  Make time for the family–My husband and I work opposite shifts.  He doesn’t get to spend as much time with the kids as he’d like and we don’t get to spend enough time together.  But on his days off we try to make up for it.  I make a special meal. We all sit together and eat and discuss our day.  No tv’s on, no cell phone nothing. My husband also tries to make special guy time with our 3 boys.

2.  Take some “you” time–I know, as a mom, that’s probably one of the hardest things to do.  My time, when all the kids are in bed and before my husband gets home from work. I usually have about an hour and a half to myself.  That’s my facebook or blogging time, or my candle making time, or my reading time, whatever I feel like doing for me time.

3.  Get active with the family–Let’s face it, most of us aren’t as active as we should be.  I know I’m guilty. I do have a physical job outside the home which i love. I work as a therapist.  And as a therapist I see the trouble people can into by being sedintary.  I try to find a couple days a week to take all the kids out for a walk around town, kick the soccer ball around with them, take them to the playground (and be active with them….what a mom can enjoy the swings too right?) This also has a secondary benefit (See list number 1)

4.  Read your food labels–again I’m guilty.  I don’t always buy the healthiest things.  I’ve been making an honest effort over the last 2 years though to buy healthier food.  1% milk instead of 2%, having more fruits, veggies, and juices around the house instead of twinkies, soda, etc.Once I started really reading labels I was shocked to see some of the fat content, sodium amounts, calories in some food

5.  Make healthy eating fun and exciting for kids—One of my boys’ favorite treats is apples with peanut butter.  I like to crush plain cornflakes into the peanut butter to to give it a unique crunchy texture.  I started swapping their white bread for whole wheat bread and cutting their sandwiches into cute shapes You can use metal cookie cutters, ravioli cutters whatever you have that works.

6.  Talk to your kids about healthy eating habits–I started talking to my kids about healthy choices and examples of healthy choices in terms they’d understand around 4 years old.  I even made a little quiz:  what’s a better snack?  oranges or a snickers bar, what’s a better drink choice?  chocolate milk or soda?  and so on.  I also tried to explain why it was important to eat healthier: weight gain and the problems that can compound from that, vitamin c to help the immune system etc.

7.  When possible make it from scratch or as much as possible instead of prepackaged:  You can control what goes into your food better.  You can use egg beaters instead of eggs, you can use skim milk instead of whole milk, etc.  I know that’s a toughy especially when companies make it so convenient and quick for us.

8.  Drink more water:  Water as we all know is so important for our bodies.  It helps our skin, keeps us hydrated, helps us decrease our hunger between meals, and so much more.  Milk and Orange Juice like Tropicana is great too!

9.  Don’t sweat the small stuff:  Does it really matter if the dishes sit for an hour after supper if it means getting in some quality time with the family?  Who cares if your mother in law made a surprise visit and your floor wasn’t vacuumed?  Don’t overload yourself at work.  Sure you want to be a superstar or strive for that raise but stress takes a toll on our bodies and can increase sick days.

10.  Get some sleep:  Try to strive for a regular bedtime (for yourself too not just your kids).  Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep.  When you can’t try to find time for a nap.  If you’re fatigued how will you have the energy for the kids?  the family time? work?  whatever.  Renew your body.

I also have a free code for you exclusive for twittermoms.com to offer to my readers for Tropicana Juicy Reward points:

TWMOM-READR  

Tropicana Juicy Rewards website

“This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account. Limit one new account bonus code per new account. All accounts must be created and all codes entered by May 7, 2010 at 11:59 PM EST.”

This blog was written for the opportunity to win an amex gift card from twittermoms.com and Trop50.  Want to write your own blog for a chance to win.  Visit:
Twittermoms.com/Tropicana 10 things to lead to a happier healthier you

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tropicana Trop50 blogging program to be eligible to win 6 free Juicy Rewards points and a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

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As you all know, I love a good bargain, good sale, outlet shopping etc.  I driving my way down south and happened to notice an outlet mall in Hagerstown, MD.  I stopped.  They had a lot of great stores.  I enjoyed the landscaping of the outlets outside.   It was a beautiful day I remember.

I came across a Children’s Place outlet.  You might know from a previous post that I love Children’s Place. I go in and wouldn’t you know, they had an end of season clearance going on.  I had just had my first son.  I love buying baby clothes. I came across this clearance rack with baby clothes labeled for crazy amounts like $1, $2, $3, and so on. I couldn’t believe it.  I stocked up. I got several pieces including dress pants for my son, t-shirts, even a pair of snow pants.  I must have had at least 10 pieces of clothing from him.

The girl at the register starts ringing me up.  Until it was all said and done, my total, $22.  Yes my friends, that’s the way I like to shop!  With a feeling of accomplishment for spending so little and providing some nice clothes for my son, I was back on my road trip.

If you’d like to participate in this go to:
Twittermoms.com and GAP Most Triumphant Outlet shopping experience blogging contest

Also, here is a coupon code for GAP to get 15% off a purchase of $75 or more:
GAP coupon code

http://news.yahoo.com/video/business-15749628/denim-debate-cheap-vs-expensive-19304087

Save money and look good.  It kills me to see people dropping $100 and up on jeans when I see perfectly good
less expensive jeans on the store shelves and racks.  But who am I?  I'm no expert. So Good Morning America
did a great clip on designer vs. less expensive denim.

See the results for yourself.

Earth Brite Natural All-Purpose Cleaner 2-pack at HSN.com

So I’m laying in bed one night flipping channels. I flick past HSN and then click back.  They’re doing the spot on Earth Brite Natural All-Purpose Cleaner.  They are showing all the things this product supposedly cleans.  You know: pots and pans, ovens, mirrors, tennis shoes, grills, PVC furniture, windows,  just lots of stuff.  I’m thinking “wow that would be great if it really worked like that.”  Then there’s the other thing that goes through your head “nothing ever works the way it does on tv”.

Now let me just say I am not typically an HSN, QVC, infomercial shopper.   As I listened it talked about being all natural.  Clay based.  Safe to have around children.  Safe for the environment.

Yea, yea, right.  So I clicked the tv off and went to bed.  The next morning I got up and went into the kitchen.  I noticed the knobs in the kitchen were tarnished.  I tried a stainless steel cleaner and it smelled so bad.  I thought about my once white canvas shoes. I wonder if it would work on that.  I had an HSN giftcard that i received. I went to HSN’s website and decided to order the Earth Brite Natural All-Purpose Cleaner 2 pack.

I got it in the mail, read over the directions and went to work.  I was thrilled to see the knobs on the cupboard in my kitchen shining again!  I tried it on my white canvas shoes..clean!  I was reading all the uses and tried almost all of them.  I was shocked at how great it cleaned the mirror in the bathroom.  Then the big test.  I tried it on one of my old pots. You know that tarnished, baked on whatever you call it on the bottom of your pan.  This did not work like I hoped.  It did clean some of that off but my pots didn’t gleam like my kitchen cabinet knobs and mirrors.  Oh well can’t have it all I guess.  I bought this about 5 months ago and still haven’t used all of the first container.  You don’t need a lot for it to work.

It also gives me piece of mind for my 10 month old, who is now getting into everything.  Even if he would get hold of this product, it’s all natural and non toxic.  Also Earth friendly.

The product is currently selling on HSN for $19.95 plus shipping.  They do occasionally have sales though. Also they have their $70k giveaway right now.  Enter to win gift cards and more.  You also get a chance at a coupon code.

All in all I give the Earth Bright All-Natural Cleaner an A- the only thing it didn’t work for that it claimed was to get that nasty crap off the bottom of your pots but worked wonderful for everything else. Last a long time. Safe around children.  Earth Friendly.  So I think it deserves the A-
Earth Brite All-Natural Cleaner on HSN