♥ Mommy Miscellaneous ♥

Learning to Let Go of Stubbornness at Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 14:09:00 +0000

My mom is disabled. She has had three strokes to date, she has extremely high blood pressure, diabetes and degenerative disc disease in her back. It's genetic, my grandfather had it, and he eventually ended up in a wheelchair; unfortunately my mom will probably end up in one too eventually. She can't stand or walk for long periods of time and she can't even sleep in a regular bed, she has to sleep on a recliner since she can't lay down straight, she can't sit for long periods of time because the disease she has in her back causes extreme pain down her leg and in her back when she does. My mother definitely can't work and has been trying to get Social Security Disability for two years now. They keep denying her. They keep denying her because her disease isn't causing damage to her internal organs yet. Does she have to be dying in order to get SSD? We've had plenty of arguments with them and obtained the help of a lawyer who decided to work with us on a contingency basis because he believed in my mom's case. However, we still haven't heard back from them. It's been a year,

I love my mom to death and would do anything for her, since she helped me all my life, but paying for her expenses as well as mine and my childrens' is getting extremely difficult. Actually, it's always been difficult but it's been getting even more difficult since her therapy rate went up. No, it's not covered by her Medicaid.

In August one of my mom's friends asked her if she had been getting Widows Benefits, which was my dad's Social Security. My mom called to inquire and she found out that she was eligible for my dad's Social Security, which was a great thing to happen to us. She also found out that if she was approved for SSD, she wouldn't get the monthly payments but she would get the lump sum they owe her for the two years prior; we are still waiting for that. Though she currently does get (since September) my dad's Social Security.

The other day she asked me, "What do you want for Christmas?"

I had no answer for her.

She explained to me that since I've allowed her to live with me and because I've been paying for her expenses for the past two years, she wanted to get me a Christmas gift since she hasn't been able to in years.

I know she needs the money and I really didn't want her to get me anything, but she's insisting. So I told her some small things that I could use such as a new sweater or some of the drug store makeup that I use, but she didn't like that answer. "I could always get you something inexpensive like that. I want to get you something special." She said.

Sigh. She wasn't going to give up, was she? Honestly, I want a lot of things but I don't need them and when I became a mother I learned the importance of want versus need. Of course there are times when I splurge on myself and do get something that I want, but most of the time I don't buy myself anything that would take a big chunk out of my budget.

She didn't give up. I kept telling her that I didn't want her to get me anything too expensive but she kept insisting and asking me what I want. I finally broke down and gave her a small list of things that I've wanted (that weren't too expensive) but that I wouldn't splurge on myself. Such as a waterproof case for my iPhone 6, one of those hair curling wands, a glass screen protector for my phone and a list of some mid-range makeup that I've always wanted. She was happy with that list.

Finally. She told me to shut up, stop complaining and to let her do something nice for me.

Nice for me? She watches my kids every day while I'm at work, she allows me to go out on occasion with my friends for some sanity, she helps my kids with homework when I get so overwhelmed that I want to rip up the worksheets,.. She does something nice for me every single day.

But I understand what she means.

I get her a present every Christmas, even if funds are scarce. I find something nice to get her because I know that I want to get her something to express my gratitude for all she's done for me. She probably feels the same and wants to do that for me. It's just hard for me to let her get me a present.

I'm stubborn, but maybe I shouldn't be.

WE MOVED, PLEASE READ!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:18:00 +0000

We have moved to MOMMYMISC.NET! Please change ALL your bookmarks to that location in order to continue reading the blog! THANK YOU!

How Blogging is a Good Thing for Me

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:58:00 +0000

You have no idea how many times I've gotten crap from family or friends about having a blog. They ask me, "Why do you want strangers to know about your life?" And while I completely understand where they're coming from, I don't feel like the community of moms who I connect with are strangers.

I've been blogging since I was in High School and while I wasn't a mom back then and didn't blog about parenting, I realized that I could connect with some amazing people who understood me and liked what I wrote. That is still the way I feel and I do hope that by writing about my experiences as a mom or writing about products I believe in, that I can help someone someday with my writings. That's my ultimate goal.

The internet really is an amazing tool to get heard. It gives people the chance to have their space of the web and put their voice and opinions out there when they otherwise probably wouldn't have been heard. It really gives you a sense of pride to see your writings and to see others enjoy your writings.

So how is blogging a good thing for me?

I've been able to connect with some amazing people. I'm a very shy person and don't necessarily enjoy talking to strangers that I meet in person. I can express myself much better through text than I ever could face to face, so I think this is a great method to connect with other moms. I've met some great friends through writing, blogging and commenting and I wouldn't have been able to meet those people if I wasn't blogging. I also would have never gotten to connect with amazing brands such as Libman, Disney's Imagination Movers, independent companies that I've worked with and I would have never been able to meet Paula Deen and her sons either. I've had some amazing opportunities through this blog and hope to keep experiencing amazing things.

Writing is an outlet for me and something that I really love to do. I always have these creative ideas in my head about things to write and I'm just so happy that I can express them. I used to write them in my journal and I realized that no one would ever see them. I've always wanted to be a writer so if I can get my work out there in some way, shape or form, I'm very happy. As I've said before, I want to be able to impact someone's life or help them through my writings and I believe that I will someday.

I think that with all of the stress moms have on a daily basis, every mother should have a creative and emotional outlet for themselves! Whether it's writing a blog, a journal, a novel, art, photography, crafts or scrapbooking; it's important to have a way to express yourself and relieve the stress.

I learn more about myself as a mom. Which is funny to say but as I write about experiences and look back at the things I write, I realize how much I've grown. I enjoy reading old blog posts to see what was important to me back then, what was annoying me, my views and issues I had. It helps me to see my progress over the years and shows me that you do get wiser as you get older. (~~Sometimes!~~) I think it's important for every blogger to take a look at their old posts, sometimes it's great to reflect.

Blogging strengthens my writing skills. I used to take creative writing classes but they got too expensive for me and I kept learning the same things over and over again anyway! I'm a strong believer in practice makes perfect and I think by blogging and writing every day, it helps me to practice my writing skills. I do see a huge improvement from 4 years ago to today with my writing. I've gotten better at the humorous tone of writing, I am able to come up with titles easier for posts and I feel like my posts are much stronger than they were back then!

I feel like strenghtening my blogging skills helps me with my business and my career. My business is content marketing, writing for other websites on top of being a Virtual Assistant and Social Media and SEO Consultant. So the more strengths that I have in writing, the more advantages I will have in business.

Blogging gives me another income stream. While it isn't much (for now! I'm determined!) blogging does give me another way of earning income. That income, in turn, helps my family have a little extra for special days with my kids, little surprises for them, a dinner out every once in a while and so on... I don't make millions or even thousands with my blog, but whatever I do make is something more than I had before!

I learn new things. Occasionally I get an amazing post idea in my head and then I realize that it would include researching the topic at hand. At first I get a little discouraged, realizing that I have to have that extra step to create the content, but then I get excited at the thought of learning something new! I enjoy challenging myself and feel that writing on a topic that I have to research is definitely challenging.

Blogging has made me more accountable. That probably sounds weird but I've always been a procrastinator. In High School, I was the queen of waiting until last minute to do things and then rushing the last minute. With blogging you can do that as well, but if you want good, strong content for others to read and to be found in search engines; you can't just wait until last minute to crank out a post. You have to carefully plan your posts and start writing and (if you have to) researching before having the post done. It's also a matter of reading over your post a few times to make sure that everything flows nicely, makes sense and is spell checked.

It's also helped me to be more accountable in my personal/family life as well, since I have stopped procrastinating and tackle things head first and before I have to actually complete them. It's really enabled me to have less stress in my life, which I am very thankful for.

I've learned to handle both criticism and constructive criticism. Being a blogger and expressing your opinion about various topics, some controversial, have it's positives and negatives. You can state your opinion and have your voice heard, but you also sometimes get a lot of crap for doing so. I've gotten a lot of crap for certain posts I've written, from people who think my parenting style is crap and some people who just don't like me! At first it really hurt me to see these comments, but I realized that I couldn't let it bother and discourage me. I learned to brush it off and take it in stride and not to let it bother me because I love what I do and I'm not going to stop.

It's also helped me to handle constructive criticism. Now, some of you are probably saying, "But you were an art major and had pieces ripped up and destroyed right in front of your face. How were you unable to handle constructive criticism?" Well, I look at art and writing as two completely separate things. Art is my creative outlet and passion and writing is more of an emotional outlet and passion. Yes, it took me a long while to get used to the constructive criticism that I got while an art major in college. It hurt for quite a while! However constructive criticism of my writing and blog hurt even more. I worked long and hard on my blog and my posts and honestly, it's more emotional for me. I can crank out a painting pretty quickly but blog posts, planning and design take me a lot longer; but I've learned to deal with it. I've learned to take the constructive criticism and use it to better my writing, my blog and my content. And I appreciate that.

How to Be Productive and Successful While Working from Home

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 14:24:00 +0000

Even though I currently have two full time jobs and my own home business, I worked exclusively at home for four years and loved it. During that time, I made many mistakes and definitely learned from them enough to know what works and what doesn't work. When you start working from home, it's a lot of trial and error, seeing what works for you and what you feel the most comfortable with. I will tell you one thing, I needed a lot of advice and tips when I first started on my WAHM journey! This is why I am compiling all of what I learned and sharing them with all of you! If you have any further tips for Working from Home, please post them in the comments below!

Get dressed every morning.

I know, I know. The temptation to work from home in your pajamas and bunny slippers with your bed head/messy bun is so overwhelming. I've been there, done that. Doing this will only make you more tired, want to go back to bed and definitely won't help you get into the working mode. You don't have to get dressed in full-on work gear, unless you have a Skype meeting, but just throw on a pair of jeans, yoga pants and maybe a t shirt or sweater. Make yourself feel like you are going to work because this will increase your productivity on a daily basis. If it makes you feel better, you can still wear your bunny slippers.

Minimize Distractions

Turn off the TV, stop playing Candy Crush and work. I've been there before -- you're bored, there's downtime and you grab the remote to put the TV or a movie on. Downtime always sucks but once you turn on the TV or grab your phone to play a game, say goodbye to your motivation and productivity. Once you're distracted, you're distracted. Instead of doing something completely unrelated to work during your downtime, do some research on new things that are going on in your industry, browse some new potential clients that you can reach out to, or maybe get some organization done. Either of your work space, files, e-mail, etc... If you really think about it, there is probably plenty that you can do during your downtime!

Wake Up Early

Sleeping late is heaven, I know the feeling. I would love nothing more than to get up, have some coffee, get my kids to school and then go back to sleep for an hour, or two (~~or 5~~), but you can't. I mean, you technically could but it wouldn't help your productivity! (Or your internal clock!) When you're working from home this temptation is strong but fight it! I know you can fight it! Your body will normally wake up when it feels like it's well rested, so go with it. Listen to it! I know you might still feel tired, but you just have to get used to being awake. Have some breakfast, grab your coffee, take a shower, read the paper and then get to work. I can't stress enough how much going back to sleep will mess up your body and your productivity.

If you're not used to waking up early, you will have to transition into it. Keep setting your alarm for a half hour earlier each day until you wake up at the time you want to wake up at. It's hard to get your body used to it, I know, but do it for a month and it will become a habit! (I find that rings true!)

When I solely worked from home I would follow a normal schedule as I would have if I worked outside the home. I would wake up early, I would still shower and I would get to work. You have to get in the mindset of thinking of working from home just like working at a job. :)

Prioritize & Set Timers

Take a few minutes every morning to sit down and create your To-Do list for the day. This method may not work for everyone, but I am a very visual person so seeing what I have to do and crossing out things that I've already done is very motivating and helpful to me.

I place my To-Do list in a place that I can see it every time I look at it. Put it on a main section of your desk, tape it on your wall in front of you, put it on your bulletin board, use a sticky note and stick it on your monitor. Justdo not put it in a drawer, in your purse or somewhere that's hidden. You know the old saying, Out of sight, out of mind.

Now, once you've written that list, go back through it and prioritize it. Put a 1 in front of the most important task that you need to get done, a 2 next to the second most important thing and so on. (You get my drift!) Also note next to the task how long you are going to give yourself to get that particular task done. I use an app called 30/30 that times your To-Do list. All you have to do is enter the name of the task, how long you want to spend on it, and the app will let you know when that time is up. Setting timers helps you from spending to much time on one project. If you're anything like me, without a timer you will end up getting carried away and lose track of time on just one task.

Clutter versus a Clean Workspace

I'm definitely not a compulsive neat freak but I'm also not a messy pig either! Most of the time I'm somewhere in between both (just don't ask my mother because she would tell you that I'm the latter!). When it comes to my workspace, however, I can most definitely be a compulsive neat freak. This is mainly because I feel more productive when my home office is actually clean and organized. When it's a mess of papers, toys, clothes, etc... I just feel overwhelmed and find myself concentrating on the mess more than on my work. Invest in a receipt scanner and don't let them pile up on your desk! Scan what you feel you need to scan and if you need physical copies, store them in a photo box or envelope somewhere on a shelf. Scan as many physical papers as you can and store them in the cloud (drop box, google docs, google drive, box, etc...) so you can access them at any time, they will be searchable and accessible from anywhere.

Make sure that your desk only has things pertaining to your business on it. Sure you can have some pictures of your kids or some personal objects, but don't clutter it too much or place distracting objects on your desk. You need to stay focus to be successful in working from home.

Think of Working from Home Like a Regular Job

Designate certain work hours for yourself whether or not you're working full or part time from home. Write down a schedule for yourself and stick to it. (Of course, if an emergency comes up you can stray away from those hours.) The important thing is to not schedule appointments during work hours (if you can help it) and don't make spontaneous plans for lunch, the mall or grocery shopping while you're in the middle of your designated work hours. Would you do that at an actual brick and mortar job? Probably not! Try to plan any appointments or activities for outside of your hours, if at all possible!

The reason I say this isn't just for yourself and your motivation but also for your clients. I let my clients know, up front, what my availability is before I start working with them. I let them know my office hours and what times they can reach me by phone, e-mail or instant messenger and I'm there for them during those hours. If you make plans and decide to disconnect and your client can't get in touch with you when they need you, that's a problem. You could possibly lose that client and get a bad referral. Now, I know things come up that you have to attend to, so if this happens it's important to record a message on your voicemail, e-mail your clients or turn on an auto e-mail message so your clients know that you had an emergency and aren't ignoring them. You want your clients to feel like they are the most important client that you have.

Designate yourself a certain lunch hour as well. Give yourself an hour and stick to that lunch hour! This will help you from forgetting to eat and getting too hungry and binging and this will also keep you from eating too much throughout the day.

Take Breaks

Do I sound contradictory? Maybe I do, but even at a regular full time job you're entitled to breaks! If you work a normal 8 or 9 hour work day (at a regular job) you're usually entitled to two fifteen minute breaks and an hour lunch. Get up and take a short walk, go stretch your legs, go grab a quick coffee at Starbucks or a snack, just take a short break. Yes, you do need to stay in the work mode but you also don't want to overwhelm yourself and your brain either.

Set Realistic Goals

I'm a dreamer and I do admit that openly. I am one of those people who set unrealistic goals for myself just so I work harder to achieve them and that's good on one hand. On the other hand, if your'e one of those people who will stress yourself out if you don't reach those unrealistic goals, that's bad. You need to set goals for yourself that are attainable in the amount of time that you have or want to have. Tackle one to two big projects per day and supplement your day with some smaller projects that aren't so stressful. If you try to take on too much at once, you will overwhelm yourself.

Don't be afraid to say no. If you already have 2-4 large clients and you're already getting overwhelmed, it's okay to say no to a new large client. Don't feel like you'll lose business if you don't take the client on because you won't! Your current clients will still spread the word about your business, you will still get plenty of referrals, and the client that you said "no" to will respect your honesty. That's why it's important to network and have other colleagues who you could refer the client to. If you refer your client to another professional in your field, that professional will be forever grateful to you! They will probably even pay it forward one day when they have a client that they can't handle.

Change the Scenery

If you have a day with no large projects, try to work from a different location. If the weather is nice I would suggest to bring your laptop outside and work from your patio. You could also work from Starbucks or another coffee shop to get out and be around other people. Maybe bring your laptop into the living room where your young children are playing instead of locking yourself in your office. Again don't do this too frequently because you don't want to let distractions keep you from working, but every once in a while changing the scenery is very healthy for you. (As long as you're still working hard and not slacking off!)

Invest in your Office

I don't mean invest in terms of spending a boatload of money but more as in investing in your business and future. You don't have to spend a lot of money to re-do a room. You can get cheap book cases and filing cabinets from Walmart or Target, you can get a nice desk from Ikea or Target, etc... It's important for you to enjoy your home office or you won't want to work. Make it professional but homey and comfortable, make it calming but make sure there is enough storage for your profession. Do you need filing cabinets for important files? Do you need a lot of book shelves for books, manuals, folders, etc..? Do you want a couch in order to be able to move around while you work? Think about what you want and need for your office and start planning out what would make you the most comfortable and happy. After all, this is your workspace! I wrote an article back in 2012 about Creating an Office Space for WAHMs and this article has been viewed over 6,500 times.

What is Life Like as a Single Working Mom?

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 14:33:00 +0000

Yep. I'm a single mom with two jobs and I'm damn proud of it. I work hard to support my family and make up for only one income coming into the house; so I decided to work two jobs. It's hard as hell and I never feel like I'm getting enough sleep, but that's what being a mom is all about. Sacrificing for your children. So this is just some facts about just what being a single working mother is like. :)

» Getting to bed at or after midnight just because you have to make the living room look presentable once the kids finally get to bed. You don't want to walk down the stairs at night only to step on a lego or trip over the Doc McStuffins house in the middle of your floor.

» Hitting the snooze button too many times and then realizing it's almost 8 am...The exact time the kids need to be out the door and you need to leave for work.

» Going two or three days between showers is the norm for you. After all, as long as you slap on some deodorant, body spray and your hair isn't greasy; who will know! Isn't that what dry shampoo is for?

» You know, the messy bun and ponytail are staple hairstyles for you.

» Makeup? Is it a special occasion? You have absolutely no time to throw on any makeup before work in the morning. Unless, of course, it's one of those rare days when you wake up early. (HA! HA! Wait, those days exist?)

» Practically ~~throwing~~ pushing your kids out of the car in front of school in order to get to work on time. KthanksLoveuBye

» Finding random crayons, legos, or Sofia the First toys in your purse...and not understanding how they got there,

» Seeing your school's phone number on the caller ID and praying that one of the kids doesn't have to come home. Only because the nurse gets pissed off when you tell her that it takes you an hour to get back home. And no, your 91 year old grandmother can't walk over to the school to pick her up...not unless it was a dire emergency!

» Giving up food at lunch time so you are able to fit in some errands in order to get some shopping done alone. It's so much more peaceful, even if you are strapped for time.

» Having to take off a whole day for school activities, dance competitions or doctors appointments.

» Hoping that your mom remembers to pick the kids up from school.

» Trying to explain that you can't attend a parent-teacher conference mid day. I work during the day to support my family, sorry that you don't want to stay after school.

» What's for dinner on a busy night when you've worked late? McDonalds of course! You don't want McDonalds? Okay then -- Pizza! No, I don't feel guilty.

» Not being able to enjoy a weekend when the kids are at their father's because I'm too exhausted from the whole week before to do anything fun.

» Feeling guilty that you have to miss so much of their lives in order to work. Though you know they're in good hands with Grandma and can't wait to see you when you get home from work.

When Mom's Text...

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 15:06:00 +0000

I got my mom a smart phone last year because I was tired of her calling me 40 times a day to ask random, stupid, little questions. I taught her to text those random, stupid, little questions to me so my phone wouldn't be ringing off the hook for a simple, "Where is the milk?"

Now she texts me a trillion and one times a day, but that's okay because at least I can silence and ignore those. Sometimes her texts really amuse me and I get a great laugh out of them. My mom, self admittedly, has fat fingers and blames this (and Siri/Voice Text) on every stupid message she sends me. I thought I would share some of the funniest and craziest with you!

Exhibit 1.

Of course mom. Whatever you just said to me, I completely agree.

Exhibit 2.

Oh yeah, you know it mom. I wish I was there with your crazy brain dumps via text that make absolutely no sense. Maybe it's a rousing game of Pick the one that doesn't belong. LIQUID PLUMBER!

Exhibit 3.

Nothing beats a blurry picture of your child! I'm going to print that and frame right now!

Exhibit 4.

The nonsense texts must be contagious because my children now aren't making sense! And you know you can't live without the every-emoji-in-the-book text.

Exhibit 5.

Sure your pocket typed that while you were walking up the stairs. So this is what happens when I'm at work? #horrified

Exhibit 6.

I really have no idea what she's talking about here. Firstly, I don't know anyone named Michael but I was shopping at Michaels (the store) when she texted me this... Secondly, "rose my breakfast"... I can't even half interpret that. Good job, mom!

Exhibit 7.

Last but not least, you can't forget about the every-emoji-in-the-book text, once again. This one seems to be popular.

My Journey to Losing 80 Pounds -- Weight Loss Tips that Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 14:22:00 +0000

I've lost 80lbs since January 4. 2014. For the past two months I have been partially off the wagon because of the Holidays, but I am still eating sensibly to maintain my weight. I know, I know, I could have been closer to my 100lb goal by now if I didn't take a break, but the Holidays are big for me and my family. My family cooks and they cook good food.

Over the past few months I've gotten many e-mails and direct messages asking me how I lost my 80lbs and how I stayed motivated. I'm going to be completely honest with you, it wasn't easy. I struggled everyday with temptation and battling cravings and sometimes I would break down completely and cry over the fact that I couldn't eat what I wanted. It was a very tough, but rewarding, 11 months. Sometimes I still can't believe that I lost 80lbs and can't believe that I can fit into clothes 5 sizes smaller than what I was at this time last year. I still feel like the girl that's over 200 pounds even though I know I'm no longer that person; it's all mental. I think it takes a good while for your brain to adjust to your new body.

I have been trying to lose weight ever since I had my daughter in 2005. I would go on various fad diets and fall off the wagon...hard. I would go back to overeating and not knowing when to shut off. I usually lost a total of 20-25 lbs before I would gain it all back eating fast food, junk food and pure crap. There was a time where I thought that maybe I was just meant to be fat and would never lose the weight, but I learned that when that is your mindset, you won't let yourself lose the weight. I don't know what switched on inside my head, but on New Years last year I decided to make a resolution that I was determined to keep, to start to lose weight and stick to it. Of course, this was my resolution for the previous 8 years as well, what would make this year any different? I didn't know just what it was, but it was different.

Fast forward almost an entire year later and I did stick to my resolution and am now only 20lbs away from my goal weight. I do feel amazing and I'm very happy with myself at this current time. I know that I will lose the last 20lbs, even though I know full well that the last twenty pounds are usually the hardest to lose. Maybe that's why I'm taking a short Holiday break, because I know I need to be set for a longer-than-wanted road ahead of me for these final few pounds.

Since enough people have been asking me what my secrets are to losing 80 pounds, I feel like I should write a post with what I've learned. I will let you know now that there are no secrets to losing weight, it's all trial and error. What worked for me to lose weight may not particularly work for you. When I got tips from other people, I had to try various things and tweak them to what worked for my body to lose weight as well.

Get in the right mindset.

This is first and foremost the most important thing. You have to be in the right mindset. Most people wake up and just decide that they want to go on a diet, I've been there before! Though, that doesn't make for a successful diet. You have to really want this and you have to feel that this is the right time in your life to embark on this journey. I know that sounds so cliche and corny as all hell, but it's true.

Get rid of the junk food in your house.

You don't want chips or chocolate bars or ice cream to cloud your vision of what you want to be. If you don't have the heart to throw all of the junk food out, see if someone else in your house wants it. Come on, you want to be the sexiest person in your house, right? You can also donate it (if unopened) to people who may need it more than you.

If you have kids, now is also a great time to try to get them to eat healthier as well. I'm not saying to put your kids on a diet, I'm actually against that! However you can get them to eat healthier along with you. Try to wean them off of the junk food snacks and onto healthier alternatives. That way you won't have the temptation of the high calorie snacks because you won't be around them!

Go grocery shopping.

I know, no one likes to grocery shop, but I enjoy shopping for healthy foods. Make a list of healthy staples that you should always have in your house (almond or coconut milk, fruit, veggies, low fat cheeses, plenty of water, diet soda (if you must), whole wheat pasta, rice, etc... You can easily look up a list of healthy staple food items on Google and I'm sure you will find what you're looking for! That's what I did. :)

Search the internet for coupons on items that you want to purchase. Target sometimes has coupons for fresh meats & produce, so make sure you look at those. You may also be able to find coupons on fresh meat & produce on your grocery store's website. Eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive.

Before you go grocery shopping, make sure you eat. Do not go to the grocery store hungry, it will cause more impulse buys and unhealthy purchases than if you went shopping while you weren't hungry. Trust me, I know this from experience. :)

Some people may debate this, but it's important to look at the nutrition labels. Eye the calories, eye the calories from fat, eye the carbs. Make sure the calories from fat are less than 50% of the total calories. If you need help figuring out what foods are healthy, I suggest to download Fooducate from the app store. This app still helps me to figure out what foods are healthy and what aren't. When you scan a certain bar code, Fooducate will grade your food from an A (being the healthiest) to an F (don't buy!).

Drink plenty of water or water substitute.

You need to keep hydrated and need to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day to flush the toxins and extra water out of your body. I always thought it sounded funny that you need to drink water to get rid of water, but it's true. The more you pee, the better it is! lol

There are ways to make water better. Use fruits or veggies (cucumbers) to infuse your water, this will give it a much better taste. However if you absolutely can't stand or stomach the taste of water, even infused, go for a seltzer water, flavored water, flavored seltzer or even tea. Whatever you do keep yourself hydrated.

Make your own food.

Buying TV dinners such as Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice, etc... is okay in moderation but if you really look at the nutrition facts the sodium is through the roof. What does sodium contribute to? Water weight and possibly stalling your weight loss. Sometimes you have no choice but to eat these meals and that's fine every once in a while, I do too, but it's important to make your own fresh meals. That way, you know exactly what you're putting into your food, you can more accurately get a better calorie count and you know that your food is fresh.

If you are a working mom or woman and don't have time to make fresh meals from scratch every single night, do some cooking on the weekends and freeze the meals in individual portions for weekdays when you are too strapped for time. That way, you can let the meal defrost while at work and by the time you're ready to eat dinner you can just pop it in the microwave or oven.

Eating SMALLER meals spaced out.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but it's more important to eat foods that are filling than to eat too much at breakfast. Honestly, I've tried a lot of things over the past year, and what helped me the most was eating more small evenly spaced out meals. Eating smaller more substantial meals throughout the day really helps with cravings, hunger and your metabolism. (IMO)

Portion out your snacks in advance.

I have a rolling cart under my cabinet with all of my snacks and also a bin in the refrigerator. When I get home from the grocery store I get out individual sized ziploc bags and portion the box of snacks so I have an easy "grab and go" snack when I need them. It's easier than being in a rush and grabbing the wrong thing or too much of the healthy snack you want. It's also important to always have a snack with you. Even if you go shopping. This will cut down on impulse snacking while you're out. PUT DOWN THAT AUNTIE ANNIE'S PRETZEL! ;)

Utilize Fitness Diary Apps/Communities

MyFitnessPal is what I use faithfully in order to track what I eat and the weight I'm losing. This definitely helps keep me on track. What's great about MyFitnessPal is that they also have a community that you can rely on. You can ask for advice, get motivation, share recipes, tips & tricks... This app and website is a great tool in your weight loss and I considered it a very essential tool in my weight loss since I had a whole community rooting me on. I gave them encouragement in return.

Weigh Ins

In the beginning of my weight loss journey I was a weigh-in freak. I would weigh myself every day, even though I knew that wasn't good for you. I was well aware but I did it anyway. I would also beat myself up if I gained an ounce, a pound, or didn't lose anything and was expecting to. Do not do what I did and do not weigh yourself every day. Limit weigh-ins to once a week or twice if you must do it more than once a week. Do not stress yourself out and beat yourself up over normal every day fluctuations in weight.

Beating Cravings

This is probably the absolute worst worst worst thing, the cravings. There are a lot of ways to beat cravings and that could be an entirely different post but I'll give you a very short version here. If you feel hungry in between meals drink a large glass of water and wait at least 15-30 minutes. If that made you feel better, you probably weren't really hungry. If you are still hungry after that, have a small healthy snack. That's the fool proof way to really tell if you're hungry or just want to eat out of emotion or boredom.

Now, for cravings.

- Ice cream? Freeze yogurt in the freezer for true frozen yogurt. You can also freeze bananas.

- Chips? Have some carrots, carrot chips or homemade cheese crisps instead. You could also microwave pepperoni for delicious pepperoni chips, but they make your kitchen smelly for a few minutes. I make those sparingly or in large batches. :) (I will post that recipe soon!)

- Something sweet? Chew sugar free gum! I like the dessert flavored gum, it gives you the taste of sweet without actually eating it. You can also grab a handful of berries, my favorites are blackberries, raspberries, strawberries or blueberries. Tea sweetened with honey or Splenda/Truvia/etc... can also help with this craving. Especially a very sweet herbal tea!

- Salty? You can have one serving size of pretzels or even freshly popped popcorn with some sea salt and butter spray.

I have a bunch of alternatives for cravings and will definitely make a new post on all of them. I know they will be helpful for anyone in their diet journey.

Working Out

I feel like a hypocrite talking about this because I didn't work out religiously during my journey or even that much. Honestly, I probably could have lost even more weight if I worked out more. Working out is important, however. It helps your metabolism and helps you burn more calories so you can indulge a little more. (Not go overboard!) If you can't afford a gym membership there are many ways that you can work out from home. Walmart has weights/dumbbells for very cheap and you can download different apps such as Pump Up, 7 Minute Workout, Zumba, Blogilates, etc... These will all help you to work out at home and lose some of the pounds/inches too.

I really hope that these tips helped you out a little because they really helped me. Towards the first of the year (2015) I'm going to be doing a series on eating healthy and losing weight -- for all of you who made that difficult resolution to lose weight in the New Year. So keep a look out for that! If you have any questions, feel free to post them below. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about diet, exercise or weight loss. I'm not a professional, but if I could lose 80lbs and counting, anyone can.

Finding Peace and Having a Stress Free Holiday Season

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 14:18:00 +0000

The Holiday Season is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year filled with peace, love, joy and all of that other sentimental bullshit. So why are we so stressed around this time of the year? If you host Christmas, it's probably all the stress of trying to make things perfect to have your family over but if you don't host Christmas, it's probably the stress of finding the money for the right presents and getting the right presents. There are many, many reasons that people stress and don't actually sit down and enjoy the Holidays and I have some tips to try to avoid most of the stress.

>> Helpful Holiday Timeline

Take your time Decorating

After Thankgiving is over don't try to rush Christmas, retail and the media do that enough for us with their Christmas trees out in stores before Halloween is even over. Take the time to enjoy Thanksgiving with your family and then worry about getting your Christmas decorations out. After all, you have to finish those leftovers and recover from your turkey coma, right?

A lot of people try to get the Christmas decorations up right after the Thanksgiving guests leave, but I say to wait a few days. Give it three or four days to plan what you want the tree to look like, how you want to arrange your outdoor decorations and to take inventory of what Christmas lights work and don't work. You don't want to be standing outside in below zero temperatures only to find out that half your string of lights are out, do you? Frankly, that would suck and would piss me off beyond belief.

Shop Throughout the Year

Don't wait until November to start Christmas shopping, it will only stress you out rushing around to find the right presents. After all, they don't call it the Christmas rush for nothing, right? There are plenty of great sales and deals throughout the entire year. Pick things up as you see them and put them away in a place that you will be able to find it come December. There are times that I have taken advantage of the after Christmas sales on Dec 26th in order to shop for the following year. As long as you know where you put the presents you bought in July, you're golden!

Plan Ahead

It's very important to plan ahead so you're not stuck at the last minute trying to think of ideas. I am a big list person and I utilize my Bullet Journal, which you can read about here, in order to plan and organize different things that are going on in my life. You can also find numerous printables on pinterest for this exact purpose that will also help you organize and plan the Holidays,

It's important to plan ahead for:

Gifts for family members and friends. Just jot down ideas off the top of your head that you might want to get people. You can always finalize this later.
Christmas dinner or Holiday get togethers. Once again, just jot down ideas that you might want to cook. Search Pinterest for Holiday appetizers/main dishes/desserts, that's my favorite place to get cuisine inspiration.
Plan decorations for both outside and inside. Test your lights to make sure they work because you will also write a shopping list of things you need before you decorate. It's important to take inventory so you're not stressed or blindsided by missing items when you begin to decorate.
YOUR BUDGET - This might be the most important so as always, save the best for last. Sit down with all of your bills. Write down what you make in a month, all of your bills for that month and with the figure that is left prioritize. What is the most important thing you will have to spend money on? That should be the most amount of money that you allocate. Then you can go down the list of expenses/gifts and allocate the appropriate amount of money for each. Don't leave yourself short either, then you will just get even more stressed.

If you plan ahead and make lists, you will know exactly what you still need, what you have completed, and if you have time to add in any more tasks at that particular time. If you don't want to write a list, download an app that can assist you. My favorites are Any,do, Tasks and Easily,do.

Shop Deals & Save Money

If you are the most stressed about finances and presents there are ways to be smart about this. Keep a look out for sales. Leading up to Black Friday and even Christmas stores start to have some amazing sales, so don't just throw out those store circulars when you receive them on your doorstep. Make sure you have your list of presents that you want for your children, friends or family and keep a look out for that item on sale. It's also important to not purchase the item the first time it goes on sale, especially if the item is just slightly discounted. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more sales there will be. (Just don't procrastinate!)

Black Friday is a great day to get some amazing prices on items you want, need or want to get as gifts. You don't have to ~~be a crazy person and~~ go out right after Thanksgiving dinner because deals are staggered at different times throughout the night and early morning. Just make a list of the deals you want, bundle up just in case there's a line, grab some hot chocolate to bring with you and head out to save money! At least that's what I do...

Cyber Monday is also a great day to save money! Although, I haven't seen deals as good as Black Friday on Cyber Monday... But I digress... Get on your bunny slippers and cozy robe, grab your morning cup of coffee and log on to shop the Cyber Monday deals. You don't even have to get out of bed if you don't want to!

There are many other ways to find good presents. You can shop flea markets, garage sales, Goodwill, Craigslist, online Faceboook yard sale communities, Thrift stores, etc... You might think that these places wouldn't be good for Christmas shopping, but you can find some very unique gifts there. You can also sometimes find brand named products still in their original packaging, it's all a game of luck, but it doesn't hurt to look!

Easy Gift Giving

Don't stress about finding the perfect gift because it probably don't exist. I think the perfect gift could be a gift card, the recipient could then take that gift card and get exactly what they want with it and you don't have to worry about hoping they like the gift. Another great gift could be something that you can make by yourself. (Keep a look out for my DIY gift posts coming up in the next week!) A gift that is handmade comes directly from the heart and is appreciated. Trust me, I would rather handmade bath salts, lotions, candles, art; it shows that the person cared enough to take the time to create something for you. Truly a one of a kind gift.

You could also get a unique gift basket. These are found at Big Lots, Sams Club, Walmart, BJ's Wholesale, Costco and even some specialty stores and mall kiosks. These gifts are basically already arranged and wrapped for you, just add a gift bag!

Santa Pictures with the Kids

Take this advice from personal experience; Don't wait too long to get your kids' pictures taken with Santa. You will regret it when you see the lines! Santa usually starts to come to the mall the weekend before or after Thanksgiving. (Depending on where you live.) If you are going to go to a mall Santa, go early. You will avoid the lines. If you are on a budget and go see a mall Santa, ask about separate photos. They will try to get you to purchase the package and may sometimes make it seem like the package is the only option, but it's not. You can buy a single 5x7 and that's usually a good $10-15 less than the package. You can always make copies for family members.

If that's still too expensive for your budget, keep a look out for free events for kids. Toys R Us/Babies R Us usually has pictures with Santa for free or for a small donation. Many other community places such as town centers, churches, community centers, etc... probably have free pictures with Santa during their events as well. Just look in your local paper, Facebook or just do an online search.

Tips for Long-Distance Relatives

If you're sending Christmas presents to relatives that live in another city or state, the typical mail by date would be anywhere between December 10th and December 15th. This will give a pretty decent margin for any error by the shipping company; who knows what could happen!? You want your packages to get there on time, so send with plenty of time.

As for Christmas cards, I would say that the typical date to mail your Christmas cards would be December 15th. Once again, you want to give a decent margin for postal service error or any delay in your Christmas cards getting to their recipients on time.

Use Shortcuts

If you don't have to bake a pie from scratch, don't bake a pie from scratch! Is your party or dinner casual? Get Holiday paper plates to minimize your clean up! If you can buy store bought appetizers, go for it. No one is going to punish you for using shortcuts to help keep your stress at bay!

Have Enough Batteries

Nothing is worse than your kids opening that battery operated toy that doesn't have any batteries included. Nothing ruins a perfectly happy Christmas morning like not having batteries for that long-awaited toy and having to deal with all of the stores being closed and an angry, crying, tantrum-throwing child on your hands. Lesson learned? Make sure you have enough batteries on hand!

Stop Bullying the Elf; an Elf on the Shelf Defense Post

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:26:00 +0000

Last year I started the Elf on the Shelf Holiday tradition with my girls because I thought it was the cutest idea. I love anything creative and set off with many different ideas for these two little mischief-makers. This tradition ended up being a great one with our family and began being a whole family tradition every December morning. Before we did anything else, we would go find out what kind of trouble the elves were getting into and see if they left any little goodies or notes while they came to visit. This is a tradition that we are continuing this year and plan on continuing every year to follow until the girls are too old for Elfie and Sofia.

Now I know there are many people who dislike the Elf on the Shelf tradition and I completely understand the reasons they note. Some think they're creepy, some don't like the idea of a magical elf that comes straight from the North Pole to observe children and report back to Santa, some don't want their children to have the emotional trauma of the elf leaving on Christmas Eve and some just think the elf is a stupid idea all together. So in this post, I will address some of these things and voice my opinion about the now notorious elf that makes his appearance the day after Thanksgiving.

The Elves are creepy...

I understand that many people think that the elves are creepy, but I think they're cute in a vintage and whimsical sort of way. My mom and grandma had small elves from the 70's, when I was growing up, that resembled an older version of these elves, so maybe they're somehow nostalgic for me.

But if you think about it, how much more creepy can these Elves be than the big fat man who comes down your chimney on Christmas Eve, eats your cookies, drinks your milk and leaves you presents? I think the thought of Santa being a peeping tom and seeing every move you make leading up to Christmas is a lot creepier than a magical elf... That's like a glorified home invasion, for God's sakes! Sure Santa gives you presents...but we terrify our kids for a hot second with the story of how Santa leaves them presents. At least I was a little terrified at first when I was a child...

So in my mind, Elf on the Shelf is equivalently creepy to Santa.

I don't like lying to my child...

Wait...did you say that you don't like lying to your child? What about that time you let them dress themselves and they ended up looking like a hot mess? I'm sure you said they looked wonderful. What about the tooth fairy, Easter Bunny and Santa? You may say that you're keeping the magic alive, but the Elf on the Shelf is magic too.

I'm sure you tell your child(ren) little white lies as we all do! This is basically the same thing. You're just fibbing to your child to keep the magic of the Holiday season and Elf on the Shelf alive. If you say that you don't lie to your child, you're lying to yourself right there. Lying through your teeth! Give up the perfect parent act -- no parent is perfect!

I don't want an elf to keep my kid's behavior in check...

This one I do completely understand. Part of the idea is that the elf is Santa's Eyes while he is busy preparing for Christmas and some parents do use the elf as a bribe (or a threat) to keep their kid's behavior in check. I'm not going to lie, I do. I use that elf to my advantage when I need to.

Fighting with your sister? The elves are watching!

Not cleaning your room when I ask for the 10th time? The elves are watching!

Arguing with me because you don't want to do your math homework? The damn elves are watching!

Those little plastic black/blue eyes stare right into their souls and make them question their behavior every single time! Okay, maybe not quite...Sometimes it works and sometimes my nine year old laughs in my face, but your bet your ass I use those elves to my advantage; or at least try to. Is it the proper thing to do? Probably not, but whatever maximizes the peace in my home, I'm open to.

But this isn't what everyone does. You don't have to say that the elf reports back to Santa, you don't have to threaten or bribe your kids; every parent is different. You can simply use the Elf on the Shelf as a fun way to have a scavenger hunt every morning. You can say the elf came to visit for the Holiday season to play hide and seek, I don't know! The point I'm trying to make is, you don't have to use the elf as a behavior tool.

I don't have the time.

Look, I have two jobs plus my own business, I am a single mother of two kids, I help with homework, I cook and I also help out my mother who is disabled and I still have time for the elves. Maybe I don't get as creative as some other people and maybe I don't go all out, but we still have the tradition.

There are many nights I wake up in a cold sweat and panic, grabbing my phone to make sure it isn't time for the kids to wake up because I forgot to move the elves. I'm usually quietly running down the stairs in the dark, trying not to stumble and break my ass, to move the elves and think of semi-creative ways to place them while I'm still half asleep. The sad part is, I do have an alarm on my phone at 11pm every night to move the elves. Sometimes I ignore the alarm telling myself that I will move them later on before I go to bed, sometimes I actually go to sleep early (what?!) and sleep through the alarm.

If you have the time to sit down and write a whole post about how you don't have time for the Elf on the Shelf, you have time to move the elf.

It's too commercialized...

Welcome to Christmas, have you been here before? Come on, the whole idea of Christmas is commercialized. It's all about the sales, the shopping, the decorations, who can get the better presents, the new trends every year... The whole basic idea of what Christmas used to be is different now.

Do you have one of the older more vintage elves at home? Use that. Go to the Goodwill store, I'm sure you can find one very cheap. Go to the dollar store and pick up a small plush elf doll -- that works too! I've seen people using non official Elf on the Shelf elves as Santa's helpers as well. You don't need to get the actual elf.

Truth be told, I had two of our old, floppy and vintage elves from when I was a kid that I almost used as the Elves. The only reason we have authentic Elves is because my mom and grandma decided to put their money (and coupons) together and get us the two elves. Otherwise, I wouldn't have purchased them by myself!

It's too much work.

Yes, yes it is.

Especially when you buy a small batch of flour and spread it all over your kitchen table to make elf snow angels. Or when you stick a bunch of Christmas bows all over your house and blame it on the elves. Or...when you take the time to set up elaborate scenes of elves playing Scrabble with the barbies, or elves roasting marshmallows over a candle...

It's a hell of a lot of work.

But it doesn't have to be. You don't have time to make a mess or clean it up? Then don't. You can simply have the elf bring a little surprise (lollipop, candy bar, sheet of stickers) or write a Christmas countdown on a whiteboard or even just surprise the kids in a new place every single day. There's no rule that states that you must take the time to set up elaborate scenes and schemes for the elves. To each parent their own...

But I just don't want to!

There we go! Now we're talking!

Admitting it is the first step to recovery and I'll have a crap load of respect for you if you're just honest about not wanting to do this.

This might go under the category of Not judging a book by it's cover because I've met many moms who couldn't stand this tradition until they tried it for themselves.

But at least you're being honest and not trashing an intimate object disguised as a magical elf.

The Grandma Gift Struggle -- What do you get an old-fashioned grandma?

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 14:47:00 +0000

I absolutely love my grandmother to death. At 90 years of age she is still getting on the ladder to change her curtains bi-weekly, she's still walking the town to get her errands done, she really is sharp as a knife and she does whatever she can to help out me and my girls. She is just a horrible person to shop for during the Holidays and for her birthday as well.

Walking into her house is like walking into the 1960's. She still has the same furniture that she had back then complete with the plastic covers that your legs stick to in the summer. (Ouch!) She has a rotary phone, she doesn't have cable but still has the old television that has the dials to change channels/volume/power in the cabinet with the old speakers with only the channels that the antenna picks up. Her and my (late) grandfather also slept in separate rooms -- sometimes my mom and I joke that my father had to have been adopted because there was no way they would have conceived him on their own. I have to give her credit though, she cleans that house religiously and has made those appliances and furniture last so many years. Her home is spotless and the cleanliness of that place and the fact that you can eat off her floors makes me very jealous.

My mom and I have tried to get her to come into the 21st century. Years ago we purchased a cordless phone, VHS player, an air conditioner and more current appliances; but most of them she turned away at delivery. What she didn't turn away she stored away in her attic -- which honestly looks like a department store with the brand new boxes that she has up there. We found this out last summer when we had a few yard sales. Grandma called us and said she had some things that she wanted us to pick up for our yard sale, so we went over there to get them. To our surprise, most of the presents that we had gotten her in the past 10-15 years, she had given back to us to sell at our yard sale. Her motto is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." She is so very set in her ways and figures that if her appliances still work, why update them?

Personally, I think a small cell phone would be ideal for her since she does venture off by herself to walk into town to do errands or go to church, but she refuses. She doesn't understand cell phones and figures that she went 90 years without the need for one, why get one now? We explain to her that we worry about her walking by herself, anything could happen, but she just tells us not to worry. She won't let us get her a computer, she won't let us get her cable, she won't let us give her anything that's modern; so what do we get her?

She always says that she doesn't want us to get her anything because she knows that we live from paycheck to paycheck, but I can't let a Holiday go by without getting her a gift. My grandma has done so much for us and has gotten us out of many tight situations, I owe her my life. There are only so many purses and pairs of pajamas you can buy someone who doesn't use anything you give to them! Before you guys say anything, I have tried giving her more personal gifts. The last two years we've given her photo albums of the kids or beautiful frames with the kids photos in them. What did she do with them? She gave them away to other family members. So now you can see my struggle with all of this!

I did get her one present that I think and hope she will use. Every season I get a new Old Navy zipper up fleece. I find them so comfortable and better to drive in than a regular ski jacket. This year I got a black and gray leopard print one and I've used it almost every single day since I bought it. Well, I drove my grandmother to the grocery store a few weeks back and she complimented me on it. She said the pattern wasn't her style but she loved the jacket and said it looked so soft, comfortable and warm. On Black Friday when Old Navy had their 50% off sale, I got her a medium pink zipper up fleece, since she liked mine. Let's hope this present doesn't get returned back to us in a few years for another one of our yard sales!

Kmart's New Why Not Lease It Program! An Easier and More Affordable Wayto Pay!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 15:01:00 +0000

Kmart is sponsoring bloggers who have tried and love the Why Not Lease It option of payment for their new program! The following is my true feelings on this new way to pay!

Kmart has always been a family favorite for over 50 years. It has been, and has stayed, the most affordable place to go for clothing, kids items, home furnishings, electronics and much more; even when other stores seem to have sky rocketed their prices. Well, now Kmart is getting even MORE affordable and budget friendly with their "Lease It" program.

What is their "Lease It" program? I'm going to give you a great example from personal experience. August 2013 we moved to a brand new house and because we had been at our old house for all my life, some of our furniture couldn't fit through the doorway of our old place. I'm a single mom of two girls who is also supporting a disabled mother, and the cost of moving was already way above my budget. I couldn't afford to buy completely new furniture. One day I was at Kmart with my mom and saw a sign that said "Why Not Least It, no credit required." And it really aroused my interest. I did some quick research while I was in Kmart and found out that the program is a credit check free way of leasing or owning big tag items for a very affordable monthly price! I was able to get a brand new kitchen table, 32 in TV, dresser and night stand for the kids room and I only pay a very low monthly payment per month. The best part is, all you need is a job and a photo ID to know that you're approved!

This is a great option especially at this time of year when so many things can happen! What if your refrigerator or oven stops working and you're expecting a large amount of people over the Holiday season? You're already spending enough on presents, Holiday food and your normal bills. Who can afford an unexpected expense? This is exactly why this program is a program that's extremely helpful for those looking to save some money.

What's amazing is that you can lease brand-new items including trusted, quality brands such as Kenmore and Craftsman across a wide variety of departments, including:

Home electronics
Appliances
Household goods
Furniture
Sporting goods
Lawn and garden
Outdoor living

You can even buy more than one item (up to the amount that you are allowed) and still only pay one low monthly payment. The minimum amount that you can lease is just $150!

Your lease contract can be set up in minutes either in the store or online and your payments are quickly and easily drafted right out of your checking account. You don't even have to remember to pay the bill separately!

You have to lease the item for five months, after that it's your choice! You can purchase the item or return it. Of you want to buy out your lease earlier than the five months, you do have options. The Early Purchase Option allows customers to buy the item in 30, 60, or 90 days for a modest premium over the original purchase price.

Since we are at the end of our contract now, we are considering utilizing the program again in the near future. This time we are planning on purchasing a new BBQ grill, patio set, a larger TV for our living room and possibly a dish washer. We love the program and will continue to use it as long as Kmart works with Why Not Lease It!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kmart. These are my opinions and my opinions only. Please note that I have actually taken advantage of the Why Not Lease It program last year and truly believe it is a great option.

What Not to Do (in the Morning) Before I've Had Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 14:25:00 +0000

As I am sure many moms can sympathize, I need my coffee in the morning before I can fully function and my kids do understand that. However, there are occasions where that slips their mind and mommy ends up not so happy. So here is a list of what not to do before my first cup of coffee.

♥ Do not come down the stairs arguing about stupid shit. I don't want to hear that your sister stole your shirt, your stuffed animal, your shoes or that she threw your toothbrush in the toilet just because she could. Not only is it too early to listen to arguments about that but I can't even fathom handling a situation like that before I am fully caffeinated.

♥ Do not ask me Math, English or Science questions. You will not get an answer. In fact, it's not even a guarantee that I will be speaking proper English before I've had coffee. My brain can't comprehend putting words together to form a correct sentence let alone answer homework questions that I wouldn't understand anyway. To avoid me wanting to chuck your entire backpack out the kitchen window, refrain from asking me these questions...ever. (Not even when I have had coffee.)

♥ Do not try to plan my day. My day is already planned and jam packed after I've had my coffee and after you go to school. Do not ask me if you can go to Toys r Us after school, there's no friggin reason for it. Oh? You have no toys to play with? Go tell that to your million-and-one toys upstairs in your room. Do not ask me if you can have McDonalds for dinner when we have a refrigerator full of food. You don't like what I'm making for dinner? Oh well. When I was a kid I had no choice, neither do you! The only thing I might agree to is a question pertaining to you going over a friends house after school...then I might actually have some peace and quiet. Thankyouverymuch.

♥ Do not ask me for lunch money. You get free lunch at school and they no longer sell snacks. So why do you need lunch money? I know you're stashing that money in your wallet for a future shopping trip. No, I'm not psychic, I used to do the same exact thing to my mom. You live and you learn!

♥ Do not pretend to be sick and ask to stay home. Once again, this is something I learned from experience. I was the queen of excuses to stay home from school; don't do as I've done! If you were perfectly fine this morning, fighting with your sister, watching your completely annoying shows and suddenly act like you're on your deathbed, don't even try it. I know the second I agree that you can stay home you'll be bouncing off the walls again. Once I have my coffee then you may act like you're dying. We'll analyze the situation and see if it warrants you staying home (maybe I would even be nice and let you have a mental health day) but do not do this before my coffee I definitely wouldn't be nice!

♥ Do not ask if you can have a bacon and eggs with waffles breakfast. #1 - I am not Ihop, I do not take orders for breakfast and #2 - If you wake up at 7:30 and we have to be dressed and out the door by 8:15 you're lucky if you have time for breakfast!

Are Freelancing Websites Worth the Time and Effort? Getting Jobs from Freelance Websites.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:03:00 +0000

Freelancing is a very brave choice for a work at home mom, but also can be a great and rewarding thing as well. Working on your own terms, being home for your children and having that flexibility is something that we all dream of, right? Often the choice to work from home and freelance would be one that is very carefully made; especially if one is moving from a full-time job to being a freelancer. In that case, the transition would be done very slowly, often including working your full-time job in addition to freelancing for the first few months to even a year. However this transition is very worth it since statistics state that freelancers make 45% more over traditional workers. The most common hourly rate for a freelancer is within the $20-$60 an hour range, depending on your industry. In fact, some even get $80-$100+ per hour!

Something that I have frequently seen is a lot of freelancers considering using freelance "bidding" websites such as O-Desk or Elance to get clients. After all, building up your client base and actually having clients to work for is definitely the hardest part of having your own business. It's definitely the most exhausting and the one thing that causes business owners the most anxiety. Trust me, I know first hand.

These websites are options but they also aren't options at the same time. Now, what do I mean by that? I say that only because they have just as many cons, if not more, than they do pros.

Freelance sites are run on a bidding & short proposal system. Simply put, when you find a job you like, you enter your hourly rate (or full-project rate depending on what the project calls for) and write a short description (or proposal) or what you can do for the client and how you can benefit them. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is simple to bid for jobs that you are interested in, but very difficult to actually get a freelance project from the site. This is mostly because there is so much competition. Not only competition from other qualified freelancers but also competition from the overseas freelancers who work for just pennies. The majority of these freelancers are individuals from overseas and underprivileged countries who post their services for anywhere from $0.88 to $3.00 an hour. (Yes, I have seen $0.88.) So let's put it this way -- if you're selling your services for a carefully calculated and qualified rate of $20 - $30 an hour and someone else is selling theirs for $4 an hour, who do you think is going to get the project?

Now, in this case one would say that is definitely mixed up. That the rate would equal the quality of work and they're "getting what they are paying for", which is true. However people who need a quick project done without concentrating on quality would probably choose the person for working for less. It's frustrating for us freelancers and a very sad fact, but most people are very concerned with price over quality of work. Most of the clients don't take the time to read the proposals, no matter how compelling and professional they are, and they don't take the time to understand that the larger price tag includes experience. It includes individuals with certifications, specialty schooling in their area of expertise, various tests and exams and extensive software training. Qualified freelancers have a fully-stocked home office and have all of the programs up and running to assist their clients. Now isn't that a professional that a client would want to help them out?

On the other hand, those websites are great for someone starting out. A brand new freelancer with no client base may have to lower their rate starting out to get these jobs, but to a reasonable rate not to a rate that's below poverty level! It is a good place to get clients and start building up a client base who will end up trusting you and possibly referring your services. These websites are also a great way to gain multiple income streams while working at home, if you're able to handle it.

I've used these websites before and while I have gotten some clients, I also feel like I sold myself short and under priced myself. I ended up taking projects for 55% less than my normal hourly rate and it was even a rate that was $3 under what I was making in my full time job. (This is an example of what not to do!) I find the process of weeding through the jobs posted to find just what you're looking for and writing a proposal that usually doesn't even get read is very tiring, The time one puts into searching those sites could be better used marketing their own site and their own services via the internet and social media.

From experience, I think your time (and money) would be best spent on creating your own website and looking for some local smaller clients for your first clients. You still may have to lower your rate, but not to a rate that would cheat you out of what you deserve. When you contact your prospective clients yourself (via e-mail, mailer or phone) you can sell yourself better. You are able to attach info-graphics, media kits, examples of your work and so on. Either way you market yourself, it will take time to build your client base and business to one that has a sustainable and steady income. It's hard, but it is very possible.

Have you used any freelancing sites? Have you found success on any?

Goals and Aspirations Now vs. Pre Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 14:15:00 +0000

My life completely changed once I had my first daughter in October of 2005. Before becoming a mom I was very selfish and not concerned with the value of money at all. I would go on shopping sprees with any money I brought in from work, I wasn't concerned with saving any of my money and I only cared about myself and my appearance. I lived for primping myself up to be more attractive to men and my life revolved around finding a boyfriend so that I could fit in.

I was 19 years old and in college when I got pregnant with my oldest daughter. Among spending money on clothing, concerts, going out with my friends and going out with my fiance, I now had another concern; being pregnant. It wasn't easy. I spent many days trying to figure out how I would continue to lead the normal life of a 19/20 year old while pregnant and also while having a newborn. One night I realized that I couldn't, I would just have to completely change the way I thought about myself, money and my free time. It seemed so challenging for me to think about having to change my ways. It only felt challenging to me until she was born.

My oldest was born prematurely on October 5th, 2005. She was 5 weeks early and was put immediately into the NICU for medical reasons and was there for nearly two months. Once that happened everything changed in my life. I was 100% devoted to my daughter and did everything I could to figure out ways to solve questions the doctors had about her and her health. My life now revolved around this little (well, she was 8lbs 7oz) baby that was now mine.

Goals and aspirations definitely changed from pre-mommy to post-mommy. While I used to want to be an artist and figure skater, I had to put those dreams on hold while I tried my best to make a good living for myself and my girls. I used to have goals of making new friends whenever I could and finding a boyfriend, I had to live for myself and my girls and not live for finding someone to be with long term. I left it up to fate and not to my cruising dating websites or bars for a soul mate. My priorities also changed in finding someone to date. Instead of them being cute, having a car, having money and being independent; my main priority was to find someone who would treat my girls as their own and someone who would love me and my kids unconditionally.

Your life, priorities, goals and aspirations completely do a turn once you become a parent. You live for your kids and live for making their lives better; not your own.

How have your priorities and goals changed since becoming a parent?

Best iPhone 6 Apps for 2014 for Moms & Work At Home Moms

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 14:30:00 +0000

A month ago I decided to take the plunge and get the coveted iPhone 6. It took a lot of thinking and re-working my budget but since AT&T Next really makes it easy to get a new phone within your budget, I decided it would work for me. I decided upon the iPhone 6 instead of the iPhone 6 Plus. Why? I really don't know. Occasionally I do regret getting the iPhone 6 and wish I had gotten the 6 Plus, but I think there are times when we all want what we don't have! :) Long story short, I love my phone and am extremely happy that I got it!

I realized that the last Favorite Apps post I did was a very long time ago and my favorites have changed and morphed into new ones since then. That being said, I figured that I would write up a new post with my favorite iPhone 6 apps of 2014.

TweetBot - I've actually written about tweet bot in two other favorite apps posts back in 2013 and 2012 and I actually still do use the app. Currently, I have the app in my Social Media folder because I do yo-yo between the native Twitter app and TweetBot, but I really do prefer TweetBot because of how great it looks, how quick it is and how you can easily switch between Twitter accounts. The native Twitter app is a little roundabout in terms of switching between accounts. It does cost $2.99, but I feel the minimal cost is completely worth the product you get!

Evernote - I also wrote about Evernote in the previous two posts I did as well. This app is always going to be a favorite of mine because it literally stores your entire life. I call this my life in an app and use it to store the novel that I am writing, coupons that I want to use, documents that I scan in and want to keep safe, work documents (business plans, contracts, media kit, etc...), I scan and keep my kids artwork in there from school, I do project and event planning and so much more. This app keeps everything safe that I need and want. The best part is that I can easily go into the app and search for anything that I'm looking for since everything you post is searchable. You can keep voice notes, video notes, picture notes, text notes and even e-mail anything you need to save directly into the app to categorize at a later time.

Cal - In the past I have used Cozi and Agenda as my calendar replacements but I grew tired of those and found flaws that I couldn't let go of in time. I found Cal which is a great calendar app. It has a great interface, is very aesthetically pleasing, and you can sync your Cal app with Any.Do so you can see your to-do list within your calendar app and plan your day to get more done! It also lets you know, in between tasks & events, how much time you have free. I think this is just a terrific app for planning and a great calendar replacement.

Timehop - Still one of my favorite apps. I open it first thing every morning to see what I was up to every year prior on that exact day. It's so interesting to see how far I've come from 5 years ago and to reminisce on what happened on that day in the past. Since I've lost a tremendous amount of weight, I also enjoy looking back on the app when I have old pictures that I posted on that exact day to see how far I've come with my weight loss. This app is a must-have in my opinion!

Misfit - NOTE: You cannot use Misfit unless you have one of their neat little wearable activity trackers. I currently have a Misfit Flash so that's why I use this app! I love Misfit because it gives you an accurate interpretation of how active you were during the day, how many calories you burnt with exercise, how many everyday steps you took and how much & how well you slept that night. I purchased a Misfit Flash on Black Friday and never take this thing off. I'm obsessed with checking my sleep patterns, how many steps I took, etc... If you are considering getting an inexpensive activity tracker, I suggest checking out Misfit and if you get a Misfit, go ahead and download their app! :)

My Fitness Pal - Ever since I set out on my journey to lose weight in January, My Fitness Pal has been the biggest help to me. It's a place where you can track your weight, exercise, goals and also a community where you can lean on others for support, ask questions, etc... I don't think I could have lost 80 pounds without the help of My Fitness Pal! If you are thinking about losing weight or need some help losing weight, I definitely suggest downloading this app.

Things - In the past 7 years that I have had an iPhone, I've been through a large number of different To Do List apps. I may have used the majority of the ones in the app store but I just recently downloaded Things and really like it. You can create projects to categorize tasks under, you can schedule tasks for certain days, you can see what's overdue, current and what is a priority and the "app flag" shows you how many tasks you have to do for that day. Now most people don't care about the app flag but I mention that because I hate app flags and want every single one of them gone so I work harder to complete the tasks for that specific day so I don't have to look at that ugly red flag.

Spotify - There are so many apps just like this but I love Spotify the most. I used to use Rdio but I got tired of it and didn't like how it was laid out. Spotify has a great dark background with bright text, you can follow your friends and listen to their play lists, discover new music, search and listen to almost any song that you want to hear and you can listen offline with their premium subscription. Sure it costs $9.99 a month but students only pay $5.99 a month and it is very much worth the cost. This app has almost taken over the need for the native Music app on my phone.

Inrix Traffic - Since I work (almost) an hour away I need to know the traffic every single morning. Something I loved about my Android was that I would get notifications every morning, 20 minutes before I would leave, telling me the traffic on my way to work. I was upset that the iPhone didn't offer that until I found this app! This app shows you the traffic, suggests alternate routes, shows you the local traffic cameras on your route and NOTIFIES YOU EVERY MORNING! So now I know when to leave, if I should leave earlier, if I could wait a little longer to leave, etc... And I do have to say, this is the most accurate traffic app that I have ever used.

Polyvore - I just recently downloaded this app and I've been obsessed with putting together outfits with this app. They give you a white background and tons of clothing item options to create your own "look". This is my favorite thing to do when I have nothing else to do! :)

VSCO Cam - This is really the only photo editing app that I use even though I have a million and one apps downloaded. I love the filters on this app and the ability to download even more apps from their in-app purchases! You can edit almost anything with this app including contrast, brightness, warmth, filters, etc... This app is the only app you really need for photo editing and the only one that I currently use!

What are your favorite apps?

They Grow Up So Quickly! Olivia's 7th Birthday Party.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 05:41:00 +0000

Time flies when you're having fun. My daughter's birthday is actually on December 21st but after years of having trouble getting kids to come to her party, so close to Christmas, we pushed her party up a few weeks this year. Finally, we were able to have almost everyone that she invited come to her party!

A brand new Chuck E Cheese just opened up two weeks ago about 10 minutes from our house, so we jumped to book the party there. It's actually really funny because that same place is where I had MANY parties as a child. Except back then it was Discovery Zone. (does anyone remember Discovery Zone?)

Her party had a Frozen theme (duh, frozen is life. Doesn't everyone know that?) but I had such a hard time finding any frozen cakes. I usually make my kids' cakes but between her being sick last week, work and just hectic life, I didn't have the time to. I ran to Walmart this morning and found this perfect purple, blue and pink cake and picked up some smaller Frozen figures which worked perfectly on top of the cake. Voila! Frozen themed cake. (How great am I? Go on! You can say it!)

The party ended up being perfect. The girls had so much fun, got tons of tickets to turn in for prizes and my little princess was the happiest kid on the planet.

My girls are very close and my 9 year olds friends are also my 6 (and a half) year olds friends, so we invited three of their mutual 9 year old friends as well. My youngest and her 1st grade friends felt so cool because they were hanging out with third graders. It was adorable! The older kids had fun too but they, of course, thought Chuck E was corny!

After the party, we heard that Geoffrey the Giraffe was at Toys r Us and that they were doing a free ornament decorating activity. Well, Toys r Us was right next door so we went to see what was up! We walked in and Geoffrey was right there in the front and my girls were super excited to meet him! My youngest said, "Wow, you're so tall!" She was absolutely enthralled with the man in the giraffe costume!

Side note: When my 9 year old was just a month old, she was asked to be in a babies r Us fashion show in New York. Well, I have a picture of her with Geoffrey at a month old, screaming her head off. I told her that I was going to find that picture and put that one and the current one side by side, just for my own memories! But I digress...

I can't believe that my baby is going to be 7 years old in two weeks. It really blows my mind to think how fast these 7 years have flown by. No matter how old she gets, she's always going to be my little baby girl! No doubt about that!

A different me, ten years later. Speaking out about bullying -- Don't give up hope!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 17:53:00 +0000

Ten years ago I was an 19 year old about to graduate high school, very unsure of herself or her future. I was extremely concerned about my popularity, fitting in, friends and college. Up until the middle of my Senior year, I had no idea what I wanted to do for college or where I wanted to go. I had absolutely no faith in myself and felt that I was fat, ugly and would never amount to anything. I didn't realize, at that time, that was my depression talking and not my actual self. I had a very morphed image of who I was and who I would become. I wish I could go back and tell my 19 year old self some things because now that I am older, I realize how foolish I was back then.

Popularity doesn't matter, it's not going to last forever.

Very few of the friends you have in High School will even stay with you past college. People change and head in different directions.

Those are two of the most important things that I wish I would have realized back then. It would have made the last year of High School a hell of a lot easier and would have made me not put as much pressure on myself. Dwelling on my depression was not a good idea.

Now, as a 29 year old, I'm happy with myself but know that I could make improvements. I feel better about who I am and where I am heading with my life. I'm still depressed, every once in a while, but I know how to get myself out of that funk and know how to function better than I did back then.

I am friends with two people that I went to High School with and believe it or not, I wasn't great friends with them back then. With age, usually, comes maturity and you realize that what you thought of someone in High School is completely different than what you think of them now as an adult. Of course, this isn't true in all cases. Some people that I went to High School with are just as immature as they were back then; if not more immature now. However, a lot of us have kids or are married and have responsibilities and realize that the bullying and immaturity they had in High School wasn't worth it. I have gotten some apologies from those that I was bullied by and while I didn't need an apology, I surely did appreciate it.

My life also took a completely different path as I now have two children and didn't think I would have had kids as young as I did. I couldn't be happier that I have my girls because they are my life. They make my life complete. They have also taught me what it is to be an adult, how amazing it feels like to give to others instead of being selfish and taught me unconditional love and patience. It was amazing how the second I had my oldest everything changed. I wasn't buying anything for myself anymore but loved buying everything for her. (Maybe too much!) I learned that seeing my kids happy was the most important thing in the world and while they don't know how much they've taught me and wouldn't understand it now, they've taught me more than I could have ever taught myself.

My mother told me, ten years ago, that life would be different as I got older but I never wanted to believe her. After all, how would life get better as I got older? I would have more responsibilities, bills to pay, a house to keep going and so on... But she was right. Even though I have responsibilities, a full time job, a family to support and bills to pay, I don't complain (too much) about any of it. I'm not too keen on paying bills but I do feel proud that even though I struggle, I am able to pay the bills and support my family. It's not easy, but life isn't easy; it's a continuous circle of learning and you surely do learn new things everyday.

I know that no bullied or isolated teenager things that things will get better, but they do. They get better as long as you have a positive outlook and believe that things will get better. When you're in High School this is easier said than done, sure, I know that first hand but it's true. As long as you work to put aside the nasty comments that you hear about yourself and feel confident in yourself, you will get through it. It's definitely something you have to learn and something that I wish I had learned early on, but you can do it if you just believe in yourself.

Kids and teenagers are getting bullied every single day and I cringe when I hear about young people committing suicide or considering committing suicide because they feel hopeless and depressed from things that others say. It makes me cringe because I've been there and I realize that could have been me if I had given into my depression but I chose to try to fight against the bullies. Not physically but emotionally. I'm lucky that I had a great family and two friends that I could always complain to. They helped tremendously in keeping me going on even when I felt like there was no hope for me. I just wish more bullied kids or teenagers had the nerve to speak up and tell someone what they're feeling or what they're going through. I'm sure that if they didn't keep it inside they would have an amazing support system to help them rather than take tragic measures into their own hands.

One day I would love to speak up against bullying in some way, shape or form. It's something that is very important to me and something that I feel is important to me. I would love to help others who are going through what I went through because now that I am older, I know methods that I could have utilized to stop the bullying or to put that behind me rather than dwelling on it and listening to it. I would love to have be a voice in other's lives when they don't feel like there's one and I would love to be someone that others can lean on when they have no one else.

I just want everyone that is being bullied to know that there is hope and I wish I could have told myself that ten years ago, but I can't go back in time and change what happened to me or how I felt. All I can do is hopefully help another generation who cannot help themselves.

If it Wasn't for Bad Luck, I Wouldn't Have Any at All.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 19:33:00 +0000

I'm very stressed out today. Why, you might ask? Because I can be stressed out, that's why.

Actually, I think everyone is stressed out around the Holiday season -- which is funny because isn't it the season to sit back and relax? Unfortunately, when you're a single mom working full-time with a 6 year old's birthday coming up right before Christmas and two family get together's that you're hosting...things get even more stressful.

My youngest was due on Christmas Day but because my OB/GYN was due on the exact same day that I was, she chose to induce me on December 21. 2007. Since my daughter was born so close to Christmas I need to throw Olivia a party for her friends (usually a few weeks before her birthday), a birthday party for mine & her father's side of the family and I also host Christmas at my house as well. That's a hell of a lot of money and way too many parties in such a close span of time, but I wouldn't change it for the world no matter how stressful it is.

As I sit here, I'm thinking about everything I need to do for this weekend, which is her friend's party at Chuck-E-Cheese. Since I live paycheck to paycheck until my second job starts up in January, everything is done very last minute. So yes, I have to run out tonight and get a cake, order balloons, grab some decorations and get goody bag items as well. All 48 hours before the party, which is absolutely lovely. Not only am I thinking about what I have to do for this weekend but I am also planning the menu for her family party (On Dec 21st) and trying to figure out what activities I am going to have for the 6 kids that will be there.

I also have to plan when we are going to get Santa pictures done for the girls, when we are going to get Christmas card pictures done and that damn elf...I have to keep thinking up creative ideas of where to put the damn thing. That's pretty stressful in itself; especially when I'm going to bed at midnight! I'm usually dragging myself back out of bed, unwillingly, to go put the elves out.

Want to hear the best part? The icing on the freaking cake? My daughter, who's Birthday party is on Saturday, got sent home from school today with a 102 fever. Of course, never fails. Why would things actually go smoothly? Ironically, she's taking after me. As a child I always got sick, without fail, right before my birthday and right before a major holiday that we were hosting. That was the two times out of the year that I actually would get sick. I had pretty shitty timing and it seems like my daughter is following right in my footsteps. Of all the traits she could have gotten from me, THAT'S the one she chooses to get! I'm just kidding -- ~~mostly~~ -- but when it rains, it pours in my family. If it wasn't for bad luck, we wouldn't have any at all.

I sound just like my mom; Things I swore I would never do as a parent.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 17:52:00 +0000

I remember my mom telling me when I was a child, one day you will understand what it's like to be a parent & you will sound like me too.

I didn't believe her.

Actually, I laughed at her and may have rolled my eyes...

Years later, as a mother, I completely understand what she was saying to me. There are times where I take a minute and think, wow, I am just like my mother...and it scares me! It scares me because I swore I would be a great single mother just like her but I also swore I wouldn't do certain things that I ended up doing anyway.

1. Use electronics as my babysitter

When I was pregnant with my oldest I swore to myself that I would never use electronics as my babysitter. I told myself that I would make time to spend as much time with my daughter as humanly possible and I did achieve this for the first few years of her life. When she got older and I actually got a job outside of the house, I found that it was impossible to be with her at every second of the day. My mom would babysit her while I was at work and she would turn the TV on for my daughter when she had to get some work done...and I ended up doing the same.

It's so hard, as a working mother, to come home from work, make dinner and clean the house while also entertaining my kids. I had to depend on the TV, computer, their ipods, etc... when I'm trying to get the essential things done. I know some parents are going to think that I'm horrible for it, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

2. Yelling at my kids
Sometimes I say that my mom doesn't know how to communicate by speech, she only knows how to yell. Though that's a joke, she did yell a lot at me when I was a kid. I understand now that she was a single mother who tried to do everything for me and sometimes I was not grateful for all she did for me. I completely understand that! When I had my kids, I promised myself that I would never yell at them...I was wrong.

"Clean your room!"
"Do your homework!"
"Get your leg off your sisters lap!"
"Don't touch that, it's not yours!"

I find myself losing patience so often that I feel horrible about yelling at my kids. Though I know every parent does at some point in time...especially when they have kids who deliberately disobey or who don't listen to a word that their parents say. *cough*mykids*cough*

3. Say things that my mother said to me
Although my mother was a great single mother who did everything possible for me, I still said I wouldn't become her. I told myself that I would never say anything that she said;

"Stop it or I will turn this car around right now."
"If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you?"
"Eat your food, there are kids starving in the world!"
"Clean your room or I'll get trash bags and clean it for you!"

Stuff like that...but there's more I can't remember right now. Sometimes I just stop and say to myself, "Did I just say what my mother used to say to me?" It's shocking how natural those words seem now that I'm a mother versus how unnatural they seemed beforehand.

4. Get my kids something at the store just to shut them up
If you've ever been to a grocery store with your kids, you completely know what I'm saying! There are times that I can't stand hearing my kids beg for this and that. Most of the time I don't give in (when it's higher priced things they don't need) but if it's a candy bar or a bottle of soda most of the time I will tell my kids to shut up and just throw it in the cart. It stops them from annoying me...for a few minutes...

Though I did swear to myself that I would never give in to my kids just because I didn't want to spoil them like I was spoiled as a kid.

5. Let them have junk food
I remember when I would say that I would never let my kids have junk food because I didn't want them to be unhealthy or have weight problems like I did. Well, I learned to choose my battles in life. When they were younger I would say no to junk food and really tried to have them eat healthy but it just became impossible as time went on. I do limit junk food and make healthy lunches and dinners for them, but sometimes for breakfast you have to pop in frozen waffles or give them sugary cereals. If you're pressed for time, there's nothing else that you can do!

6. Leave their room a mess and close the door
Never have I been a super organized person but honestly I've never been a completely messy person either. For the first few years I would clean their room when it got messy and then as they got older I had them clean it. I would literally be on them like white on rice until it was cleaned. Eventually, I realized just how much effort and time that took and started telling them & asking them to clean their rooms. Occasionally they did and occasionally I walked into a room that looks like a hurricane hit it. I would get angry and frustrated until I realized that no one goes to the second floor and no one really cares except me. Sure I would love to have a house that's spotless and looks like it's never been lived in but that is theoretically impossible with the two crazies I have living in my house. I've learned that when they don't listen to me and clean, just shut the door and walk past. Unless they are having friends over, no one is going to see it anyway. Once again -- pick your battles.

Wordless Wednesday and the Holiday Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 14:39:00 +0000

I was going to leave this as just a normal Wordless Wednesday post but I decided to add some words because I just love the Holidays and I absolutely love Holiday decorating/decorations. :) This is our second Christmas in our home and Holiday decorating in this house is just amazing. The reason we moved here is because of the cabin-like vibe that the house gave. The wooden planked ceilings, the warm colors and the stone entry way/wood flooring really makes it feel cozy and more unique than other homes that are in the area. It is especially cozy around the Holidays when everything is decorated, lit and the glow from the Christmas lights are warm but also bright.

White lights, though they're beautiful, are not my "cup of tea" for the tree, but I absolutely love them for the (faux) fireplace and for decorating other areas. Mostly because I feel like the white lights are very classy and they really make the tree pop. The only other part of my house that has the colored lights are the exterior (of course) and the banister -- because I love the colored glow that shines upstairs at night from the colored banister lights!

Our pesky & trouble-making elves are also back; Elfie and Sofia. They've been making their appearance each day in silly places that my children absolutely love. This morning they showed up hanging from the very wreath that is hanging over our faux fireplace! My girls searched and searched until they finally figured out that the crazy elves were hiding in plain sight!

This is definitely my favorite time of the year and I am definitely in the Holiday spirit! Well, this ended up being more of a wordful wednesday than a wordless one!

Staying Organized & Getting Things Done: My Modified Bullet Journal Method of Organizing

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 15:26:00 +0000

Meet my new organizational method: The Bullet Journal. I've posted about how I keep myself organized in the past on this blog but I started to get slightly overwhelmed with all of the methods I had and making sure that my actual planner was the same as my iPhone calender and that the iPhone calendar was synced with my computer & iPad. I also had a separate notebook for to-do lists, shopping lists, wishlists, planning lists, blog posts, YouTube video lists, etc... Those methods worked for me for quite a while but I started to feel like I needed to just simplify my planning methods. After searching and deciding that the majority of the good planners cost way too much, I went searching for other methods of planning that maybe I could utilize. I came across the Bullet Journal Planning Method and fell in love.

I started my first Bullet Journal in September in a very old leather bound journal that I found in my book case and tried it to see if I liked it. Well, I loved it. I loved that you could customize your journal/planner to exactly how you want it, you could decorate it however way you wanted, you could write just about anything in it and you can clearly see all of your events, tasks, priority tasks,etc... without worrying that you will forget something or won't get something done.

The photo above is of my brand new Bullet Journal that I am starting for Dec 2014 and going forward. I used a plain composition book with graphing paper that I purchased from Walmart and decorated the front with scrap embellishments, washi tape and scrapbook paper. I also added a "strap" to help close my book that I made out of polka dot elastic and a pen loop that I made out of washi tape. Yes, I do have a Frozen pen -- so what?

The wonderful thing about a bullet journal is that you have a key and an index to help identify certain things. The key is made out of a few symbols that symbolize a task, completed, in progress, cancelled, migrated or moved, e-mails, phone calls, events, appointments, notes, etc... You could really make a symbol for anything you want that you find you put on your to-do list frequently. My key is also my Dashboard for some sticky notes that I have. I have some post it flags and my totally awesome Olaf sticky notes that I got at Target. On the opposite side of my key/dashboard is a folder that I made out of an old handmade greeting card and some washi tape. This folder holds my extra monthly calendars that I still have to input into my journal and some stickers that I'm currently using frequently.

My index isn't that creative and decorative but it does the job. I can put everything that I need to find quickly into my index and be able to turn to that page without searching through. I do have special pages within my December pages such as Gift Ideas, Olivia's Birthday Party Ideas, Dec to-do & shopping list, etc... I didn't put those specifically in my Index but in the future I may put them under the month's category...I'm easily able to find it now but once I get further into the book I may not be able to find special month-related things as quickly. My Index will be evolving throughout the journal.

If you go specifically by the Bullet Journal Guide that the founder created, you're not supposed to have a full monthly calendar within the journal. You can watch the original video for the explanation of what I mean and what they substitute it with. However, the original method just didn't work for me because I enjoy seeing the entire month on one page. I found printables that were small enough to fit in my book and leave me room on the bottom for any notes about the month, tasks or future planning that I would need to migrate over to other months. I use a color coding method for my calendar so I can find things quickly. Color coding is something that I have used on every calendar/planner I've had and it's what works best for me.

On the opposite page is my running to-do list for December. These are just tasks and things that don't have to be done on a specific day, but need to be done (if possible) in December. Since I completely forgot to include a running December shopping list, I affixed a page to the edge of the to-do list with Washi tape. This page folds in and out of the journal and includes the Dec. running shopping list.

Next I have my weekly to-do pages which is like a normal "Week on Two Pages" format in a traditional planner. I'm still playing with how I want these weekly pages laid out, but this is the way that I did it for this week. In my old bullet journal I did write the entire week down (measuring out equal spaces) for Mon-Sun but I found myself running out of space on certain days or having too much ~~wasted~~ space on other days. My new method is every day I write down what I need to do for the current day and around 8-9pm I will start writing down things I need to do on the following day. This just prevents me from getting frustrated if I don't have enough space! :) I'm currently also playing around with a highlighting method for these pages. It looked slightly cluttered when I just had everything written in there so I decided to highlight the tasks according to my color code. I may or may not keep this method or I may switch to colored pens for this. I'm not quite sure yet but we will see.

Then I have some other pages such as a Fios Channel Listing so I can flip to that page when I don't know a channel number, I also have a Blog & YouTube planning spread so I know what I still have to post, I also have a Wishlist page just for my own amusement. Things from this page may eventually be purchased and some may never be purchased! (Like my desire for a way-too-expensive Louis Vuitton Never-full bag!)

Honestly, there's just so much you can do with the Bullet Journal and I'm extremely glad that I found this method of planning. It's a great way to stay organized and one that I've been absolutely loving since September! I wish I could afford a full sized Moleskine for my journal but a Walmart composition book will do just fine until I can save up the money once I finish this notebook. :)

Do any of you use the Bullet Journal? What do you think of it? Do you have any questions about the Bullet Journal or my method of a modified Bullet Journal? Just ask below and I will get back to you! Do you have any suggestions? They're always welcome too!

Where in the world have I been?

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 15:59:00 +0000

I know I have been MIA for almost a year and I have actually been getting some e-mails and messages asking if I am doing well or where I've been for almost a year. The truth is, I just needed a break.

As you all know, I was working as an office manager for a tax office last year during the tax season and things just got too hectic with that and with my daughter being a competitive dancer. Her schedule was absolutely insane and we had to travel the state; a lot. I didn't have any time to sit down, draw up a plan, make a schedule and be consistent and I didn't want to just throw out one or two posts if I couldn't be consistent. I didn't just want to dangle a carrot in front of you and hope you keep waiting until I came back for another post. I figured that I would just take a break for the tax and competition season and come back afterward with a great plan and hundreds of posts to schedule.

Life doesn't go as planned and after tax/competition season was over I was depressed. I was severely depressed, couldn't get a job after tax season was over, bills were piling up, life was just getting hopeless and all I did was cry, look for jobs, do my best to take care of my kids and cry some more. It was horrible and I knew that posting my drama, depression and crap wasn't going to make anyone happy. As much as I wanted to post, I decided that for myself, my family and my sanity I needed to disconnect and not worry about posting anything while I was trying to find a job.

It took much longer than I had hoped but over the summer I finally found a job! While it's not the job that fits my qualifications or was in the field I had previously been in, it was a job nonetheless and I enjoyed it. It challenged me, it made me feel like I was a part of something again and best of all I had a steady income and could get caught up on all of my bills. That's where I am at now. :) Most of my bills are caught up again, I'm starting to put money back into savings and I finally feel much better about myself and my life.

I also wanted to announce that...I lost EIGHTY POUNDS since I last posted. Yes, yes, I lost 70% of the weight I wanted to lose and I feel wonderful about myself. I'm planning on writing about my diet journey in another post. It's been a crazy ride but I'm finally back and ready to get serious about blogging. I finished a business plan, promotional plan, my blogging goals and I am in a pretty decent place right now.

Thank you guys for staying with me through this crazy ride. You all mean the world to me and all of the positive thoughts and sentiments that were sent to me really made me feel better. Hugs to you all!

Stay tuned... :)

Most Popular Blog Post of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:31:00 +0000

I wanted to do a quick recap on what my most popular blog post of 2013 was because it really surprised me. What was it, you ask? 15 Reasons I'm Awesome.

Why was that such a popular post? I have absolutely no idea but I have over 1000 views on that. Am I really that awesome?

I wrote about my life, how I overcame some obstacles in my life, why I sometimes lie to my kids and how I can entertain them on almost no money. Is that interesting to people? Maybe.

Maybe it's because I had low self esteem at that point but yet I was able to come up with 15 reasons why I was awesome.

Or maybe it's because I seem to be supermom.

I mean, I can shower in 10 minutes or less... I can also do my makeup while holding a bathroom door closed with my kids trying to break the door down... Or maybe because despite having a full time job and being a single mom, I can still make dinner from scratch and attempt to clean my house.

Hey, maybe it's even because I could care less if my house is a huge pig sty. I have kids, that's always my excuse for surprise visitors. And because if they came unannounced, they shouldn't judge me. Pick up a damn phone and call before you come. At least give me a frikkin heads up so I can shove shit into a closet.

I've also become a pro at getting my 8 year old's extremely thin and soft hair into a ballet bun for her dance classes. How? Well, I'm supermom. And that bun donut thing is a lifesaver. With a crap load of bobby pins. But if anyone asks, I'm just going to stick with the fact that I am supermom.

My 8 year old also says "I hate you" almost once a day but it doesn't phase me. I feel like if she hates me, I'm doing something right. She won't hate me for long, she knows I'm her ride for going over her friends houses, I can pay for her dance classes and I can say "no" to just about anything. ;) Her "I hate you's" are very short lived.

Eyes in the back of my head? Forget that! I have eyes in every single room. I can sense with my mommy-senses if there is trouble brewing or if my 6 year old decided that our wall is better than her easel paper. (It happens!) I can also clean that damn wall better than anyone else can. (Or so I think.)

I still wonder why that was the most popular post of 2013 but then I think to myself...Hey, it is because I am that awesome. :)

There is a method to all of my productivity and daily madness

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 15:25:00 +0000

I'm going to tell you a secret...

I'm crazy but ~~sort of~~ organized and very productive. Is that really a secret?

Ok, scratch that...I'm sometimes productive and that's not really a secret at all.

What's the secret to my madness of being a single mother with a full time job?

I'm fanatical about using my favorite iPhone apps to keep me organized. While I may not be a perfectionist and have a crazy organized house, when it comes to the hours in the day I need to prioritize and utilize my apps or I would go insane.

Or may I am insane to begin with.

Organizing My Days

Agenda, my calendar app, is my go to app for my main organization and prioritizing my day. I use different calendars that I set in the native iPhone app for different categories of what I have to organize every day.

Work is blue.

To Do's are green.

Kids are purple.

Important Reminders are brown.

And the list goes on and on...

I love how the categories are put into my main month view as little dots so I can go into the day at anytime and see exactly what I need to get done or remember. That app has been a huge lifesaver in the past few months.

Organizing My Errands & Reminders Further

I also utilize Any.DO for reminders and categorizing my lists of what I have to do. I'm able to see what I have to do for the month as a whole and in the categories I place them into. (Blog, Kids, Work, Life, Groceries, Shopping, etc...) It allows for me to see if I can get something done earlier than the date I wanted to have it done by.

If I have any extra time in my day, which is rare.

I can also have a electronic copy of things that I need to get done for work just in case my paper to-do list gets lost for any reason... or if something is spilled on it. (I blame my kids)

Shopping lists? Since I'm crazy anal about having things categorized into aisles when I'm going grocery shopping I use Grocery IQ. It allows me to have multiple lists stored for multiple stores while being categorized by aisle, which makes me happy. I'm just too damn lazy to keep walking back and forth around the store if I forgot something... that's why I like having everything categorized into aisles and organized all nice and neatly. :)

I also use Evernote for my reminders and documents that I need an electronic back up for.

Am I still stressed even though I prioritize my day and my to-do's? Of course I am. There aren't enough hours in the day and I can't split myself between a million places at once. (It would be cool if I could, that would be my go-to superpower.)

How do you stay organized and less stressed?

Random Facts about Me! Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 16:52:00 +0000

I do have some new followers and hope to gain some as well so I decided to write another post with more random facts about myself. I'm not too interesting but I do have some pretty damn good facts that may seem a bit interesting to some of you! :) If you have any other questions for me, post them in the comments section!

1. I have an addiction to cell phone cases. With my iPhone 4 I had about 20 cases that I would change with my mood. I wish I was joking with you! Every time I go to a mall that has a cell phone accessory kiosk or Target, Walmart, Apple, etc... I had to look at the cases to see if anything caught my eye. Now that I have the iPhone 5, I need to rebuild my collection. I have only 4 for the iPhone 5 so far. (And have had the phone for 2 months.)

2. I love to take photos. In fact, I have taken over 1,000 photos on my phone that I have taken with it. I used to have over 3,500 but most of them are now on an external hard drive. Constantly I am downloading new photography and photographing apps to try to get new inspiration.

3. My first celebrity crush was Jonathan Taylor Thomas. My friend, at the time, loved Leonardo Dicaprio. We used to have fights (for hours) about who was hotter.

4. My dream as a child was to be a figure skater. I figure skated locally (competitively) for 16 years solo and synchro. When I was 17 I took a bad fall during an exhibition and broke my ankle. Unfortunately, after a cast and physical therapy, I never got back into figure skating. It was a passion of mine and I regret that until this very day.

5. I own my own business. Aside from my full time day job I own my own Virtual Assistant & SEO/Social Media business doing consulting, managing and coordinating. My day job is being a SEO Analyst for a large corporation. Somehow, I manage being a mom, having a FT day job and my own business... I constantly wonder how I do it.

6. I have the thickest hair ever. I hate it. I've always hated it and get it thinned out as much as I can. My hair is also extremely damaged from years and years of drastically dying it constantly.

7. My uncle is a Roman Catholic priest. He's been a priest for 35 years and despite this fact, I am not religious. My uncle has been like a second dad to me since my dad died when I was 2. I don't know what I would do without my uncle and his understanding and compassion for others.

8. I went to High School 2 blocks away but my mom drove me every single day. Mostly because I would have been late every single day if I had walked and the fact that I was very bullied and had numerous physical threats.

9. I've lived in the same house all my life. For the exception of the 2 years that I lived in Philadelphia due to art school. I probably would still be living in Philadelphia if I hadn't gotten pregnant when I was in college.

10. I am extremely picky about pens. I will not write with a pen that doesn't have a cap and the ink flow has to be perfect. Again, I wish I was kidding.

11. I LOVE LOTIONS! My favorite lotions are the super thick ones with cocoa & shea butters. (I.E. B&BW Shea Cashmere and just traditional Cocoa Butter.)