New Boxes

Ships to Canada

Batch Nasville-for 31.98$ receive products from candles to baked goods.

Kids Stir-  Kits are 19.95$ a month and includes recipes, kids sized tools and much more.

Kiwibop Postcards-Plans start as low a 3.59$ every month you receive 4 post card with fun facts that will get your kids excited about reading and learning. ( not sure if it ships in Canada)

Peekapak- Plans start as low as 19.99$ a month and includes;  A fun story, 2-3 crafts related to the story and all materials needed. Bring your child's imagination to life with this box.

Simple Loose Leaf-  24.95$ receive 2-4 oz of tea from your choosing.

Threaded Canvas- For 20$ receive 3 brand new t-shirts printed with the selected feature artist of the month along with a high quality print and 3 small art pieces.



Ships to US

Cloud9 Sample box-  For 15$( + 5.95 s&h) a month receive 5-6 food and beauty sample items

Mr. Collection- Starting as low as 25$ a month choose between 3 subscription to rent the clothing you want without the commitment of buying. Love a item you are renting feel free to buy it. 

PrettyFit- For 50$ a pack ( option to skip a month) you'll receive anything and everything from snacks to workout gear.

Serebox- Starts at 39$ a month receive a box full of high quality survival and emergency gear based on the theme of the month.

Tasteful Pantry- Receive 6-8 individual sized snacks. They have an option for many "free-from" options. Boxes start as low as 21.99$

The blue Jeans Bar- Pick your style. Get a box delivered to your door. Pay for what you want, return what you don't.

Treatsie-  For 39$ a month plus 6.95 s&h receive a box with 5-6 small vendor batches of gourmet chocolate.

Monopoly Junior Review

I received this product for testing/review purposes through Influenster Canada.

What the outside of the box looked like. Being able to see the game pieces had me already excited . I like that you can see the pieces through the windows.

Now let's take a look inside.

 The board the game is half the size of the adult board. All properties have been cut in half from the adult Version.

 These cut out pieces come are what you will use to place on the board once you have bought a property they match the game pieces.

 The game pieces. I love that these all have faces on them and that they are geared towards younger children. I also love the fact that they aren't just cone shaped like some board game pieces.

They also come in a yellow plastic part which holds them into the box. 

 The rule "book". I like that the instructions are both in French and English ( Yes, I am French). I also love how simple these are to follow. The instructions are quiet large and clear to read which is also a plus in books. 

Chance Card. These are similar to the ones in the adult version and you get two packs. I like that you get two packs in case you lose cards from one you have extra. 

The only money in this game are the 1M, I like that they have these but I would've loved to see at least another denomination in this game. I think children of 5 years know more then the number 1.

Review

I loved this game and here is why:

-The playing period is short. I love that this game isn't extremely long lasting ( the adult version can last for hours). I like this because younger children can get uninterested in things fairly quickly and  the short playing period with this game allows you to actually finish a game. 

I wanted to prolong the game with my little boo so I just handed more money out. 

- I love the game piece choices which make the game that much more interesting. 

- It is easy to understand and learn at any age. 

- If you play with younger kids, they can learn to count up to six and I think that is always a bonus. 

The only change I would like to see in this game as stated before is the money denomination. I would like to see at least one more since kids of age 5 should know more then just the number 1 by now. 

My little guy enjoying the game. We played one game which I prolonged by giving out more money and we had lots of fun. The little bugger won :)




ga

Busy, Busy, Busy

Hello gang,

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy. Last week when it came to exercise and eating healthy everything sort of went down the drain. I've eaten bad food and only did half the workouts. I am back on track this week so far. I am tired and sore today but I am hoping to feel better soon. I am started week 8 last week and I will be doing measurements next Saturday on the 8th.

The kids started daycare again this week and they seem to enjoy it except for the little guy he just wants to cry all the time and my older guy loves it so much I can't get him to leave. I am hoping after next week that the battle of the kids v.s. daycare will be a little easier to win.


I also received a box of Clairol nice n' easy semi-permanent hair dye in mahogany black to try and review ( Complimentary product for reviewing purposes) from Bzzagent.com. I have reviewed other products from them but I they were deleted in the changing of the blog. I did review crest pro-health ( Toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash, Lavazza coffee ( delicious),  Herbal essences Naked line ( Shampoo, Conditioner and mousse). I will be dying my hair hopefully in the next couple of days so I can let you know how my experience went.

I finished my son's Oscar the grouch "costume" for Halloween he is excited for it. It did take me forever top finish this project because I lost my knitting bug half way through making it. He should remain nice and warm in this on Halloween.

My early costume party was enjoyable. I dressed up as a doll and the night was filled with drinks and friends. I had an old dress on, with a faux hawk and some doll make-up.

 

I am also participating in a make-up exchange. I don't have acces to a lot of stores around here that have make-up so I was allowed to knit something up for my partner which I am working on. I did start it but then I had to take it apart because it wasn't working out the way I wanted to.

That is all for today. Although I have still a lot to say I have little ones to go play with and more things to knit up. 

Measurements October

Hello muffins,

I hope you have all been doing well ( I know have). As I have previously told you guys ( and gals) that I am going to take my measurements and weight once a month. Today was that day. I cam currently taking part in a Fitocracy class that is for women using bodyweight.  I am really enjoying this program which consist of 5 workouts a week and to see results we are supposed to do a minimum of 3. I have been doing pretty good at staying at doing all 5 workouts a week. It is trying, sometimes after a day of work and doing all the things mom's do I am tired and do not want to do the workouts and it is really hard to get into the mood ( especially when I am sore).

There is a lot of obstacles that I found in trying ot be healthier but I am slowly finding ways to beat them.  The fight to get moving is actually one of the biggest. As much as my says  I should it also fights to say I shouldn't. I know that I need to exercises, it has many health benefits ( my brain lists a bunch of them), but I am tired and I can't see any physical results ( you don't look thinner my brain argues back). The on going fight is hard I deal with it every day but I fight it. Although part of my says that I am tired and what's the point because I can't really see any changes I have to remind myself why I am doing this.  I want to be healhty and be a good role model for my children. I don't want them to think that sitting on your behind getting physically unfit is good for them. I want them to live a healthy happy life. My life is happy but it is unhealthy which causes problems such as having trouble keeping up with my kids and not being sore all the time. I remind myself that I am doing it for them so they can have a mother that can run and play with them no matter how old they are, but most importantly I am doing this for myself ( plus who ever works out and then tells themselves they regret it).

Food is my second biggest obstacle ( this also needs a lot of fighting with my mind to get over). I am one of those people who crave food all the time for various reasons ( PMS, Boredom, Emotional, Just because). Eating healthy is just as important than the exercising that is why this is probably one of the most frustrating thing is eating. I am not starving myself and I am not eating copious amounts of food. In fact I try for the most part to stick to proper portions through the use of food scales and labels. My issue is the cravings, I have been doing great at not binge eating but I can still do better. Ever since I started to exercise I keep telling myself I can indulge myself a little more and I have to say I did eat a few more cookies and cupcakes then I should've this month. I need to remind myself from now on that the healthier the food I eat the bigger and better healthy result I will get. I am proud though that I haven't binged since this started. I have also learned to fight the cravings by eating small amounts of what I want. For example I crave chocolate all the time but instead of going to the grocery store and buy a ( many) chocolate bar(s) I eat a granola bar instead that has a bit of chocolate and this helps me fight my cravings and keeps me full. I also drink more water, when I have a craving I have a glass of water, I find that sometimes a glass of water is all I need to curb my cravings and make me realize that I don't need that particular item that I wanted to eat. I also don't completely stop eating what I want, I've found this to be a good thing for me because when I deprived myself of all my cravings I binged. I also started eating actual lunches. That was another problem for me, I ate breakfast and supper but lunch was always just putting bit and pieces of whatever food was going on the kids lunch plates. I found that since eating actual meals that my cravings have diminished and I have more energy throughout the day.

I started writing this post yesterday but was uinable to finish due to computer issues, my youngest decided to click a bunch of  buttons and deleted the first post I wrote about my weight loss journey and that is ok ( frustrating but ok). Below I have posted the pictures I took of the beginning of the journey and the measurements as well as this month measurements. I will be taking pictures again at the end of the 12 week period.

Now that all that is said here are my measurements from the beginning of this all

Weight : 178lbs

Neck: 14 1/2

Shoulders; 46 1/2

Chest: 43

Waist: 40

Hips: 41

Biceps: 14

Thighs: 26

Calf: 16

This month measurements ( October)

Weight: 175 lbs

Neck: 14 1/2

Shoulders: 46 ( lost half an inch)

Chest:42 ( lost 1 inch)

Waist: 39 ( lost 1 inch)

Hips: 40 1/2  ( I retook my measurement and it's accurate)

Biceps 14

Thighs: 25 ( lost 1 inch on each side)

Calf: 16 

In total I have lost 5 inches in total and 3 pounds. I have also gained muscles, in my arms even though there is no changes in the inches. 

Now onto the household news. We have figured out the bed time routine for monkey. There is a lot less fighting now to get him in bed and most nights he is now asleep by 8-9 pm instead of 9-10 pm so I am happy about that for sure. BB ( which will stand for BIG BOY for my youngest) is doing good he is walking all over the house now.

BB eats a lot and now we have the fight with Monkey to eat. He rarely eats supper and when he does it is usually later. I am not the kind of parent to force my child to eat and I know that when monkey is hungry he will eat. It is just frustrating as a parent that your child doesn't want to eat at the same time as everyone else. The way I see it though is I don't force myself to eat when I am not hungry so I will not force the same on my child even if that means that he eats at 7 instead of 5 with the rest us. 

The hubby has been busy a lot the past few weeks  because of town elections for council and mayor. I am practically a single mom right now for about 3-4 nights a week until these elections are over on October 27th and I can't wait to have the hubby back home at night every night. 

That's all for now. 

Have a good day. 

Hello lovelies,

So I told you that I was going to weigh in and do measurements today but after some discussions with a group that I am on I decided I will only do it once a month. Therefore, my measurement and weigh ins will be on the 8th of every month.

So far I have kept up with working out 5 days a week and will continue on this path. I still have to do today's workout so this blog will be short and sweet. I still haven't added yoga back into my routine yet because I have been getting my sleep instead which is just as important. I have been eating a half decent healthy diet but I still need to do a lot to clean it up.

I am enjoying the program that I am on right now and I am hoping to continue enjoying it. I will also be continuing to add recipes and hopefully add more boxes to the list.

That's all for tonight.

Pat

Bell pepper spinach soup

Bell Pepper and Spinach soup

This is yet another recipe that was created because I had food that was about to spoil in the fridge. I like to buy the packs of mini bell peppers at the grocery but often I don't eat them all on time. We also tend to throw out a lot of spinach ( We try to eat healthy but a lot of time we don't eat enough of the produce on time). 

I decided to make soup because it was a chillier day and I though a good soup would make for a good warm-up. 

Ingredients

360g of Bell peppers( I used Red, Orange and Yellow peppers) 

( Once you weigh them, de-seed them)

1/2 of a large onion ( chopped)

3 tablespoons Olive oil 

1 1/2 Chopped Garlic ( I use already chopped jarred Garlic) 

1 teaspoon  Oregano( fresh or dry )  

1 teaspoon Thyme ( Fresh or dry) 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

900 ml vegetable broth

1/2 cup of rice ( White or Brown)

4 cups of baby spinach 

In a pot cook the onions and peppers together with the garlic, oregano, thyme and cinnamon. Cook until the onions turn clear.

Add the broth and rice into the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. 

In a blender pour 2 cups of the contents of the pot with two cups of spinach ( the whole pot should yield about 4 cups) hit the liquefy button and voilà it is ready to eat.

Kiwi orange bread

Kiwi Orange Bread

Ingredients

3 Cups Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 cup of butter ( I use salted butter and melt a bit)

1 cup white granulated sugar

5 kiwis ( Peeled and mashed yields approximately 2 cups)

The juices and skin of one orange ( grated yields about 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup of water

1 Tablespoon of chia seeds ( I used the ground up type)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix the chia seeds and the water together in a small bowl let set.

In a bowl mix the first three ingredients ( flour, baking soda and baking powder). Set aside. 

Mix the butter and the sugar together in a separate bowl until well blended. ( I do it by hand but by all means use an electric beater if you have one)

Once the sugar and butter are combined add the fruits and chia seed mix and  blend everything  together. 

Make a hole ( or a well) in the middle of the flour mix. Pout the fruit mixture in the middle and mix all the ingredients until well blended ( try not to mix it for to long as it will make your bread harder)

Grease some baking pans. I used a 4" by 8" pan and a multi-sectional pan ( 2" by 4" there is 8 section in the pan) Fill each pan about half way with batter. 

Cook for 15-30 minutes depending on the size of your pans or until a toothpick comes clean after poking it into the center of the bread.

Let cool take out of pans and enjoy.

I came up with this recipe when I had kiwis and an orange becoming a a little too ripe. I decided this year that I wanted to stop wasting food in the house. I used to throw out a lot of vegetables and fruits out every week which adds up to a lot of money. Now I buy flour and butter on sale so I can always bake cookies and breads and good knows what more recipes I can come up with. 

This bread is just a right amount of sweet and really moist. You will mostly taste the orange over the kiwi.