Heartfelt Balance | Handmade Life

Super Saturday Email Subscription Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:00:02 PST

Hi everyone! And welcome to the 5th edition of the Super Saturday Email Subscription hop. Email is a great way to follow your favorite blogs and have people follow yours so that they can keep up with you once GFC is gone.

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Current Giveaways and (New!) Giveaway Linky

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:53:01 PST

I have two great family friendly giveaways going on right now! And a Brand New Giveaway Linky!

La Bella Stella Children's CD. Ends 3/7

Jaycee and I listen to this in the van when we're out running errands. The songs are fun and educational. The CD talks about night time and the solar system. Jaycee already has her favorite songs and asks to repeat certain ones.

Fit Moms for Life. Ends 3/12

This book is a great reference book on how you can become fit for life. Dustin Maher has helped thousands of women get into the best shape of their life. I loved the real-life examples of the thirty one women featured in the book.

Then, List your current Giveaways on the Linky Below! Linky will be open for one week, Friday to Friday.

Sit and Relax Weekend Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:00:00 PST

Hi everyone! And welcome to the 46th edition of the Sit and Relax weekend hop!

I'm Baaack! And Re-Assessing some things

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:53:41 PST

Some of you have probably noticed that I've been MIA for a couple weeks! It's good to be back. We had a wonderful vacation. Mike and I had a good, relaxing time in the Keys. The kids had a great time with their cousins and grandparents (Hi MOM!). In fact, Logan had so much fun he didn't want to leave.

We ended up leaving one day earlier from Florida than we thought we would. Mike likes to drive straight through, which is a seventeen hour trip if you don't stop. It's about 19 hours if you do. And let's face it. You've got to stop, even if it's to get gas. Three times. On our trip back, Logan was sick. He threw up twice in the van.

Share and Share Hop | Link Posts that Need Extra Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:00:05 PST

I created a new Linky for any type of blog posts that you feel need a little extra LOVE! Feel free to add any special posts that you'd like a little more traffic on and help spread the word!

Pinterest Hop--Open Wed - Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:00:05 PST

Hi everyone! And welcome to the fourth Pinterest hop here at Heartfelt Balance Handmade Life. I love finding new boards to follow. Everyone pins the cutest things! You can link to your Pinterest account below.

Twitter Hop Open Tuesday - Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:00:04 PST

Hi y'all! It's time for the Tuesday Twitter hop again. I've decided to leave all of my hops open for 3 days now. So, the Tuesday Twitter hop will run from Tuesday until Thursday night at midnight!

Fit Moms for Life Review and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:54:06 PST

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

I recently had the opportunity to review a great book by Dustin Maher called Fit Moms for Life--How to Have Endless Energy to Outplay your Kids.

Endless Energy? YES, Please!! Being in my early forties with kids that are 5 and 7, I could use a little more energy. It seems like by the time 8:00 in the evening rolls around, I'm completely worn out.

The book is broken down into five main ideas to help you become your healthiest you ever. The five main things covered are Mindset, Nutrition, Strength and burst training and environment. Within each of these sections there are examples of real life women who have gone through the program and had success. I loved reading each woman's own personal journey. There were 31 women who were all different ages, from different backgrounds, areas of the country and with different reasons for wanting to become fit. And each one of them had success with this program.

The reason that I think this program would work is because it is a lifestyle change, not a diet. As I said, it starts with changing your mindset. And it's not just a book about losing weight. This book would be great for anyone who wants to get into the best shape of their life. I am personally a thin person. But, I can relate to one of the women in the book who called herself "skinny fat" before the program and "skinny fit" now. Although I'm thin, I've still struggled with high cholesterol and borderline high blood pressure in the past. And they are both completely controllable for me with food choices and working out.

I love that he gives advice about which foods to eat. His nutrition policy is The Low-Crap diet. I thought that was a pretty good way to put it! He includes a couple recipes and snack ideas as well as giving nutritional guidelines. And in the strength and burst training sections of the book, he actually has one of the real-life moms show how to perform the exercises. And the exercises are all done with things that you can get easily and fairly inexpensively. He tells you exactly what to do and how long to do it. Everything seems very straightforward and easy to follow. I also love that he includes the "environment" section. It gives great ideas for the whole family to stay in shape together.

If you're the type that would rather work out by watching a DVD, he also has a Fit Moms For Life monthly DVD subscription or FMFL Buns, Guns, Backs and Shoulders or Babytone DVDs if you have a baby from 2 months to 20 months old or FMFL Got Core DVDs or FMFL Buddy Bootcamp DVDs. You can find them all on the product page at the Dustin Maher Fit Moms for Life website.

Dustin Maher has a goal of helping 1,000,000 moms become the best that they can be by joining a local Fit Moms for Life community by 2015. If you would like to start your own community, visit fitmomsforlife.com He also hosts his own Fit Moms for Life talk radio show at http://webtalkradio.net/shows/fit-moms-for-life.

You can find out more info at his website at www.dustinmaherfitness.com

If you are interested in the book, you can WIN ONE here!

GIVEAWAY

Open until Monday March 12, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST

Open to US and Canadian residents

MANDATORY ENTRY

Follow FitMomsforLife on Twitter

EXTRA ENTRIES (please leave a separate comment for each entry)

(1 entry) LIKE Fit Moms for Life on Facebook

(1 entry) Follow Heartfelt Balance Handmade Life on Linky Followers (in right sidebar)

(1 entry) Follow @HBHandmadeLife on Twitter

(2 entries) Tweet about this giveaway and leave Tweet URL in comments below

(5 entries) Blog about this giveaway and leave URL in comments below

Thanks and Good Luck!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Circling Monday Google Plus Hop--Open Monday - Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:00:00 PST

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Circling Monday Google Plus hop. This is where you can list your Google + pages and have people add you to their circles. Or vice versa!

The hop will be open until Wednesday night at 11:59 PM EST!

Spread Some Like Facebook Hop Open Sun - Tues

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:37:18 PST

Welcome to the Spread some Like Sunday Facebook hop.

Super Saturday Email Subscription Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:00:01 PST

Sit and Relax Weekend Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:00:02 PST

Hi everyone! And welcome to the 45th edition of the Sit and Relax weekend hop!

Share and Share Hop | Link Posts that Need Extra Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:00:00 PST

I created a new Linky for any type of blog posts that you feel need a little extra LOVE! Feel free to add any special posts that you'd like a little more traffic on and help spread the word!

Pinterest Hop--Open Wed - Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:00:00 PST

Twitter Hop Open Tuesday - Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:00:01 PST

Hi y'all! It's time for the Tuesday Twitter hop again. I've decided to leave all of my hops open for 3 days now. So, the Tuesday Twitter hop will run from Tuesday until Thursday night at midnight!

Contest: $150,000 College Scholarship at CutiesKids.com

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:01:00 PST

I saw this on a package of Cuties we bought last week. Thought I'd share!

If you go to CutiesKids.com you can upload a video for whichever contest Cuties is running at the time.

Current Contests include

Creative Cuties and

Kids say the Cutest Things

Once you upload your video, people can vote for which video they like the best. Then, all weekly contest winners will go head to head for the Grand Prize: $150,000 College education.

There are also daily prizes and weekly prizes.

The first entries each day will win a Cuties gift or a bundle of Cuties.

Weekly prizes ( for most votes on your entry) include an Xbox 360+ Kinect, a $500 DonorsChoose.org card and free Cuties.

Check out the current contest and enter your cute video! You might be able to win cool stuff!

Circling Monday Google Plus Hop--Open Monday - Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:00:03 PST

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Circling Monday Google Plus hop. This is where you can list your Google + pages and have people add you to their circles. Or vice versa!

The hop will be open until Wednesday night at 11:59 PM EST!

LEGO freak in your house? Alternatives to buying more Kits

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:01:01 PST

Do you have a LEGO freak in your house? You might have a LEGO freak in your house if any of these apply to you.

Do you have nightmares about being buried alive underneath a pile of LEGOs?
Have there been times when you've picked up LEGOs and thrown them across the room because a LEGO just inflicted major pain to the bottom of your foot?
Do you have random LEGOs in EVERY room of your house?
Do you have pictures of the many LEGO creations that have been built in your house?
Do you curse the day you bought that first LEGO kit for your child?
Have you had to purchase more than 5 bins to put LEGO bricks in?
Have you ever found a LEGO in your shoe?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you probably have enough LEGOs in your house. But, I bet your child still asks for LEGOs for every birthday and holiday and a lot of times, just because it's a Wednesday. So, what can you do when you just don't need any more LEGO bricks, but your child is still interested in building bigger and better things?

There are design books out there that give you ideas and instructions for building things with the bricks that you already own! Logan received two for Christmas and he and my husband just purchased another one on Amazon.

Here are the three books that we own.

Also, if you don't already subscribe to LEGO Club magazine, it's FREE! Logan looks forward to receiving his every two months. He asks me about twice a week whether or not he got one in the mail. They have LEGO Club Jr. for kids under 7. Logan's automatically upgraded to LEGO Club magazine once he turned 7. We didn't have to do anything. He also got a really cool DVD in one of his Fall issues. He loves that thing! And it was FREE!

He also enjoys watching the videos and playing the games online at LEGO.com

You can also find cool stuff at the Mega Bloks website.

What other ways do you enjoy building bricks without adding to the amount you already have?

Spread Some Like Facebook Hop Open Sun - Tues

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:00:03 PST

Welcome to the Spread some Like Sunday Facebook hop.

Tutorial | How to get a Screen Shot

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:01:01 PST

I just recently learned how to get a screenshot of a computer screen and I thought I'd share the things I've learned. Sometimes before when I've done some promotional posts, the people have told me that I could include screenshots. But, I didn't know how to do it, so I was just taking pictures of the computer screen. Silly me!

Here's what I've learned.

1. There is a button on most keyboards that says

PrtScn

SysRq

2. To get the screen shot, scroll on the computer screen to the part that you'd like to save. Hit the "PrtScn" button. You must be on the part of the page that you'd like to save because it only saves what it "sees". It will save the picture.

3. Once you've hit the button, go to your "Paint" program. My paint program is under "Accessories", under "All Programs"

4. Once you are in Paint, click "Edit" then click "Paste"

5. At that point, you can crop the picture to just the area of the screenshot that you'd like to show.

To crop, click "Image", then click "Crop", then make the square around the area you want to crop by dragging the cursor. Then click "Image" again, and "crop" again. (The second image shows what the blue rectangle looks like while you're cropping)

6. Once cropped, click "File", then click "Save As" and give it a title. Then, you'll be able to save it as a picture and retrieve it when you need it.

I can't believe I didn't know how to do that before! It's so easy.

Super Saturday Email Subscription Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:00:02 PST

Kid Science | Turkey Bone in Vinegar

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:01:00 PST

We have a lot of books about kid stuff--crafts, experiments, activities, etc. We found this experiment in one of our Kid Concoctions Books.

All you have to do for the experiment is cover a chicken bone with vinegar for a week (or more).

It is supposed to become "rubbery". We used a Turkey leg bone, so it actually took ours about 3 weeks before it started working.

We checked it yesterday. Here are our pics. After 24 hours of being out of the vinegar, it started hardening up again. I didn't realize it was going to do that!

I think we'll try an egg in vinegar next. That experiment sound really cool! Which science experiments with vinegar have you done?

Sit and Relax Weekend Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:00:04 PST

Hi everyone! And welcome to the 44th edition of the Sit and Relax weekend hop!

Netflix and my Hubby = Good Stuff!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:01:00 PST

My hubby and I have very little in common. I like to be a passenger on boats. He gets boat sick. He likes jumping out of airplanes. I'm more than likely never going to do that. He likes gory action adventures. I like Romantic comedies. He listens to books on tape because he can't stand to read. I can't stand to hear someone else's voice read to me. I would rather read the book myself. He sweats when it reaches 60 degrees out. I put sweaters on once it goes down to 72 degrees. I love spicy food. It gives him heartburn.

Usually if he watches something on TV, I try to make my way through it to spend time with him. But, usually, I'm like. . . "I could be blogging right now"

He threw the Wii remote at me one night and I put on "Breaking Bad". We had seen it one time during the regular season or as a repeat on whichever station it comes on. So, I decided to watch "Breaking Bad". He said, "This is what you chose? Really?" But, we both ended up watching the entire episode and then watched 2 more episodes. Now, we're about half way through the amount of episodes that Netflix has available. We are going through about 2 - 3 episodes a night.

It is now how we spend our mommy-daddy time together. And we can't wait for the kids to go to bed so that we can watch it. I don't know what we're going to do when we run out of episodes. Because we'll never be able to watch it the "real" way with commercials and having to wait an entire week between episodes. We decided that we'd just find a new series to watch. Then we'll wait for the next season available to come out on Netflix for Breaking Bad. We're spoiled now, afterall!

But, it is nice that we have something that we can do together now, even if it is watching TV.

If you're married, what's one thing that you and your hubby do together?

Share and Share Hop | Link Posts that Need Extra Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:00:03 PST

I created a new Linky for any type of blog posts that you feel need a little extra LOVE! Feel free to add any special posts that you'd like a little more traffic on and help spread the word!