Time for a blog trip

My friend Marie, of Mommy Community is hosting a blog trip this coming week. She is celebrating the 5th birthday of Mommy Community. I am so behind on posting about it and hopefully I'll have enough time to participate this week. I meant to plan for it but other things just got in the way but I wanted you to know about this so you have the opportunity to participate and meet other bloggers. Marie comes up with some of the most awesome ideas. I know this blog trip will be a blast. Enjoy!

Happy Friday

It's Friday and I'm finally getting back here to post. I have been busy focusing on my business so my weight loss journal (blog) and website has been getting most of my attention. I finally have focus so things are getting accomplished.

Anyway, Kev and I actually took a friend's two daughters (ages 16 and 12) to Six Flags Great America two weeks ago and had a blast. I absolutely love all the rides and want to go back. Kev doesn't like any rides that spin though but we all got to ride everything we wanted. A few days after we got home from the theme park, there was a show on the Travel Channel highlighting some popular roller coasters all over the US. I am now going to add something new to my vision board. I would like to visit each and every theme park that was highlighted in that show (now if I could find the show again, that would be cool LOL).

Anyway, Kev and I got sick a few days later and were sick for over 10 days. It was not fun but it was relaxing. We spent many hours watching the Olympics. I have never watched so much of them in my life but it was a blast and we really enjoyed it.

So here I am to check in and hope everyone is doing well. Tomorrow we'll go to spin class at the gym and I'll head out to meet two of my online friends. I have met Lauren before but we haven't met Patty yet so we are looking forward to a fun time. I'll post pictures and tell you all about our lunch date. How fun, I can't wait.

Not much else going on except it's a long weekend and Kev and I have spin class Sat. & Sun. and we'll do some grocery shopping plus I want to go to Whole Foods Market to check it out. I have never been there before. Do you shop at Whole Foods Market? If so, come by my weight loss journal and share your favorite items to buy at Whole Foods Market.

Other than that, there are quite a few business things I would like to share so hopefully I'll do that over the next week or so. If you would like to check out my healthy weight loss blog, I would love to have you there.

Have a great weekend!
Angie

Menu Plan Monday: August 25

It's Menu Plan Monday and Laura has some giveaways so be sure to stop on by her blog. Here is our tentative menu for the week.

Monday-
Pork Chops, asparagus and potato

Tuesday-
Tuna & Soup

Wednesday-
Cajun Chicken and broccoli

Thursday-
Spaghetti, homemade sauce w/ground turkey

Friday-
Hot & Spicy BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Potato Fries

Saturday & Sunday-
We always play the weekend by ear but we did get a roast just in case my stepson comes over. I will have lunch out on Saturday afternoon with some online friends. I have met one of them but it will be the first time for the other. Looking forward to it. We are going to The Rainforest Cafe.

That means M, W, and F is all on the grill. Gosh I love grilling. Ran out of propane on Sat. while cooking so had to move it all inside to finish cooking. That was a pain. Went to refill yesterday, thank goodness. We should be OK for a month.

Hope you all have a great week.

Desperate for a blog makeover

I came across a fun blog called Blog Mommas and found they were having a blog makeover contest. The blog makeover will be done by Burg. I'm supposed to write 5 reasons why I think I deserve a blog makeover so here we go.

Honestly, I'm not the best writer in the world but have found that having a personal blog let's me practice writing and putting my words together which is something I have trouble doing sometimes. Having a new design would

1) give me an incentive to post more

and

2) a fun design that would showcase my personality would give me the inspiration to write what's on my mind

plus

3) I have had the same Blogger blog template since I first started this blog back in 2005 YIKES

and

4) I want my blog to be attractive and fun for my guests

and

5) it would give me confidence to just put myself out there more and have fun blogging

Thanks for the chance to enter ladies. There are some great entries so far who are all deserving.

Menu Plan Monday: August 18

Time again for Menu Plan Monday. Last week we didn't stick to the plan so you'll see some of the same things again for this week.Monday-
Baja Chipotle Chicken, potato, veggie

Tuesday-
Enchiladas w/ground turkey

Wednesday-
Tuna & Soup

Thursday-
Spaghetti w/homemade sauce (spicy turkey sausage)

Friday-
BBQ Chicken, potato fries, veggie

Have a great week!

Mr. Beams Stairlight Review

I was asked to do a review on the Mr. Beams Sensor Stair Light and happily agreed. Mr. Beams came with an instruction guide that was easy to understand unlike some product guides.

From the website:

Mounts Anywhere - No Wiring Required!

Weatherproof Design allows the Motion-Sensor Stair Light can be mounted outside or inside.

Perfect for lighting stairs, hallways, decks, patios, or to act as a children's night light.

Motion Sensor Activated: Once motion is detected, your Motion-Sensor Stair Light lights up brightly.

Light shuts off automatically if no motion is detected after 20 seconds or 1 minute (depending on the auto-shut-off mode setting) and returns to Low-Glow mode.

Low-Glow: Your Motion-Sensor Stair Light glows automatically when darkness is detected to show you its location in the dark. When motion is detected, the Stair Light emits a bright light to illuminate your path.

-Install in Minutes- No Wires!
-Insert 3 C Batteries
-Drill a hole through the two screw holes
-Drive screws into the mounting location
-Mount the Stair Light onto the screws
-Batteries last more than 1 year of normal use

We chose not to install the Mr. Beams Motion-Sensor stair light because we like to be able to use itaround the house if we need to. So far we have been using it in the bathroom and leaving it on top of the sink counter. It definitely solves the darkness problem when we get up in the middle of the night. Not only does it have a small glow all night, it lights up bright and shuts off to go back to a low glow when there is no motion.

The size of Mr. Beams is perfect but it is a bit heavy probably due to the batteries. I personally like it because there are no wires involved. I'm not the least bit technical and I believe even I could install the Mr. Beams light if I wanted to.

I have had the Mr. Beams light for over a month now and it's still going as strong as the day we put the batteries in it.

At $24.99, Mr. Beams is affordable and I would definitely recommend this product.

Summer Blog Party

It's time for the Summer Blog Party



Over on my weight loss journal/blog, I will be a host for Scale Junkie's Summer Blog Party starting this Friday.

I have a special challenge that goes from Friday, Aug. 15th to Friday, Aug. 22nd and I would love for you to participate. There are quite a few chances for you to enter to win a weight loss/fitness themed prize package from me and a chance to help you feel great too.

Will you take my Summer Blog Party challenge?

Menu Plan Monday: August 11

Time for this week's menu plan. Pretty simple week and hubby told me last night that he's liking this menu plan thing LOL He thinks it's nice to know what we are having ahead of time although sometimes it changes. No problem!

Monday-

Steak, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes

Tuesday-
Ham, Eggs and Toast (breakfast for dinner)

Wednesday-
Spaghetti, homemade sauce and biscuits (this is normally our Thurs. meal)

Thursday-
We'll be at Six Flags, Great America

Friday-
Ground Turkey Enchiladas

What is your menu plan for the week? If you post here let me know.

Have a great week!

Contest over at Green & Clean Mom blog

I just have to post about this contest because I am so desperate for a cool blog theme for my name domain (that I have had for months now and haven't done a darn thing with) and haven't had time to look for a theme nor the funds to purchase one so here I am blogging about this awesome contest I found at Green & Clean Mom blog in hopes I have a good chance to win. And this Green & Clean Mom blog is very cool too. I am not very green, I admit it but I tell ya this blog might be my answer to help me along the way. We did buy a cloth grocery bag today at the local mom and pop grocery store so at least we're trying, right? Now I just have to remember to take it with us next time.

So be sure to stop by the Green & Clean Mom blog today and check out the contest for a Wordpress blog theme.

7 Things You Didn't Know About Me

I have been tagged by Cathy.

7 Things You Didn't Know About Me

1) There was a time in my life that I wanted to have 6 kids (then I worked with them all day every day for a few years and that totally cured me ha ha) I have two older step kids, 26 and 24 and hubby and I have no plans of having any kids of our own. I am totally fine with that.

2) I love all amusement park rides

3) I have not had a soda since May 2005

4) I have not had an Oreo cookie since August 2005

5) I do not like the texture of a Koosh ball (ICK!)

6) Hubby and I have been married 11 years and have never had a fight

7) I used to be very organized when I was younger and now I'm not. I need major help! I want to be able to go through the *junk* I have accumulated over the years and just get rid of it.

So those are just a few things you probably didn't know about me.

Menu Plan Monday: August 4

Another menu plan on the books for this week. This makes life much easier for hubby during the weeks as he knows what he's going to cook (I have been helping too). We haven't totally stuck to the menu's I have posted but it's OK. Here are the tentative plans for this week.

Monday-
Jambalaya w/turkey sausage and possibly shrimp

Tuesday-
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers w/quinoa

Wednesday-
Hot & Spicy Chicken

Thursday-
The usual...Spaghetti and homemade pasta sauce w/ground turkey

Friday-
Had tuna and soup on the list but noticed we have no cans of tuna so unless I get to the store we'll have turkey burgers and grilled or baked potato fries

I don't post menu plans for Sat. or Sun. because we play it by ear every weekend. Have a great week!

Angie

My First Saturday Social

I was looking in Google to find a meme for Saturday and came across the Saturday Social. Sounds simple enough for this late at night.

The question posted for today's Saturday Social is:

How is your summer going so far?

My summer has been nice so far. Not much going on except we did go to my mom and dad's in Indiana for a week and it was a great vacation. My parent's live on quite a bit of land so we I had a blast riding the ATV while Kev (hubby) drove his Jeep behind me through the wooded area. It was a total blast and I felt like a kid again. I also shot my first gun (a few times and a few different size guns, scary) plus I did skeet shooting and the boys were shocked that it didn't take me too long to get my first skeet shot either. Didn't get any after that but that's OK. I could've stayed longer, it was so much fun.

That was the most exciting thing this summer so far and we have no plans to do anything else because we are saving to pay for our upcoming Jamaica vacation (oh I can't wait for that!).

Hope your summer is going great too.
Angie