Angie Rambles

A blog of my thoughts from working at home to family life and everything in between

Monday, September 29, 2008

Menu Plan Monday: September 29

It's time for Menu Plan Monday. Kev and I were up late last night and I almost forgot to do the menu plan so we whipped it together. Not sure if we'll change anything but at least there is some type of plan.



Monday-
Pork chops, black eyed peas, veggies

Tuesday-
Tuna sandwiches, Lentil soup

Wednesday-
Chicken Creole

Thursday-
Spaghetti w/ground turkey, biscuits

Friday-
Mexi Turkey burgers

Hope you have a great week!

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Friday, September 26, 2008

Just Sayin'

Some people just irritate me, ROFL! I'm pretty easy going and I don't get bothered by things much but there are some people that just DON'T GET IT.

If you park your car right next to the cart corral it's really not that hard to just take 2 seconds to put the darn cart away already. This lady was parked right next to the corral today at Wal-Mart, loaded her van and drove off leaving the cart in another parking spot. Geesh!

And if you are going to drive, please AT LEAST drive the speed limit and not under. It took me forever to get where I needed to go this afternoon because there was no way to pass this woman.

Oh and here's a little pet peeve while I'm at it. If there is a driveway next to the main road, don't block it. Same with streets, c'mon, if you are stopped in traffic leave space for other cars to turn. It's really not THAT hard is it?

OK, vent over LOL

Guess it's time for some relaxation eh? Great timing for Mom Dot's "Just Relax, Mom" Giveaway. Head on over there to get your entries in so you can have a chance to relax with Happy Company and David Babaii products. It all sounds wonderful to me.

Weekly Round Up Time



I haven't done a Weekly Round Up in quite some time so I thought I would post today.

  1. List two things you are proud of yourself for this week.

    I am most proud that I got the home page of my healthy weight loss website, Losing It and Loving It done. The whole website needs work and I am working on it bit by bit with the help of my business mentor, Lynn Terry of Click Newz, an Internet marketing blog. She's the best!

    The other thing I am proud about is that I listened to my body and made some changes with my weekly exercise routine. I have been having some knee issues and needed to slow down a bit and I did that. You can follow my updates about this on my weight loss blog.

  2. Were you able to work on getting your goals accomplished? (if you met them or not)

    Yes

  3. Share something you learned this week.

    I learned that I just need to take action and that it is OK to make mistakes. That is how you learn.
How was your week?

Hope you have a great weekend!

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Enter to win a handbag

I love handbags! You can never have too many so I entered to try to win one from Hand Bag Planet. I hope I win (and you too of course). I chose to enter to win the green handbag, you can't miss it LOL

Go enter and then tell me what bag you chose. There are a lot to choose from!

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Monday, September 22, 2008

Menu Plan Monday: September 22

It's once again time for menu plan Monday. I have the basics on the menu but we'll play the sides by ear. Laura at Organizing Junkie is having a Family Favorites menu edition this week so be sure to check it out.

On to our menu:

Monday-
Pork Chops/Veggies

Tuesday-
Tuna & Soup (?)

Wednesday-
Chicken/Veggies

Thursday-
Mini tortilla pizzas w/turkey sausage and veggies (Survivor premier night)

Friday-
Breakfast for dinner (we'll try this again, decided to order in last Friday)

Whatcha having?

Make it a great week!

Angie

Healthy Eating Made Simple - Healthy Menu Mailer

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Custom Embroidery-Suzi Home Maker Product Review

I wanted to post a review on some awesome products I just received from Suzi at Suzi Home Maker. Suzi offers custom embroidery on a variety of items in her store. She has quite the selection of items for children and baby gifts, items for the home and more. You can see many neat products in her product gallery. I personally got the Super Snack Square and one of the Travelers. I think they are adorable AND Suzi was able to take a special request and make it happen. I took some pictures for you to see.

Aren't these adorable? In the first two pictures, the traveler is on the left and Super Snack Square is on the right. The handles of the Super Snack Square have flowers on them. The last picture is the inside look of the Super Snack Square.

You all know how much I love Jamaica so that inspired me to get the beach design with the saying "Life's a Beach" on each bag. You'll notice the palm tree and hibiscus are only on the snack square and the flip flops on the traveler bag. Great work!

Don't miss many of the other great items in Suzi's store. The messenger bags, minky spa wrap, cosmo and makeup bags are some of my favorite items.

Suzi kept in touch with me throughout the order process, the items were packaged nicely and shipping was quick. Thank you Suzi Home Maker for a great experience. I'll most definitely be recommending your products to others.

PS. Suzi has a Lunch Box sale going on now. Be sure to take advantage of it before it ends.

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Monday, September 15, 2008

Menu Plan Monday: September 15

Here is our menu for this week's Menu Plan Monday. I can't believe it but I'm starting to really like having this done and not having to worry during the week what we'll have.



Monday-
Chopped BBQ Pork & Rice

Tuesday-
Turkey Sausages & Veggies

Wednesday-
Baja Chipotle Chicken & Veggies

Thursday-
Breakfast for Dinner (can't believe we aren't having spaghetti LOL)

Friday-
Hamburgers/Hot Dogs, Potato Fries

Saturday-
Chicken Creole

Sunday-
Play it by ear

Hope you have a great week!
Angie

Check this out:
Are you Meal Planning Yet?

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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Congrats to my hubby

This past Monday, September 8th was my hubby Kevin's ONE YEAR NON SMOKING anniversary. That is very exciting. He made it one year and I'm so proud of him. Thanks to Chantix, a prescription medication, he was able to quit smoking for good.

I shared this milestone with my online friend Dr. Sally Witt who has a Stop Smoking With Dr Sally program that I wish we would've known about sooner for Kevin. But that's OK because I'll still share it with you here. Dr. Sally has been there and kicked the habit so she's now sharing with others how they can too. I think that is awesome.

Visit the Stop Smoking With Dr Sally website and you can see a quick welcome/intro video and a free e-book offer (I'm having an issue with the link for the e-book so I have sent an email to Dr. Sally). Then you'll be taken to a page with a lot more information about the product, the price, etc. If you are a smoker or know one, I hope you'll take a few minutes to check it out or pass the info along. Dr. Sally's program is approximately $200 LESS than the prescription medication that Kevin took. WOW! I think it's definitely worth trying although I have no personal experience with the program. However, there are some testimonials on her website from her clients so you should be sure to check those out.

I just wanted to send out one last CONGRATULATIONS to my super fantastic awesome hubby on a job well done. I love you.

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Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Mom's Affiliate Expo, don't miss it



I'm looking forward to the Mom's Affiliate Expo this Thursday-Saturday. There is no charge for this expo, there will be freebies and a chance to learn how to make money with affiliate marketing and if you have products to offer, you can also learn how to find great affiliates to promote your products.

The Friday night lead speaker is my personal mentor, Lynn Terry. Lynn is someone you really want to get to know and follow. Lynn is REAL and she shares information freely on her Internet Marketing Blog and also has a ton of great info on her website where you can learn Internet marketing strategies free. And if you are in the beginning stages Lynn is sharing how you can be starting a free online business in no time. Follow her and you'll be glad you did.

If you will be attending the Mom's Affiliate Expo, let me know. Here is an affiliate marketing article from Kelly that you might like to read.

Affiliate Marketing – What’s Stopping You?

Once upon at time, and it really wasn’t that long ago – I thought affiliate marketing was something for other people. People with big lists and massive websites. If you’re having similar thoughts, let me tell you now, it’s simply not true.

You don’t need to build a list first. You don’t need to have all the pieces of your business plan in place first. You can get started with affiliate marketing with very little. In affiliate marketing, it’s okay to start small.

Of course, you won’t be making millions in your sleep overnight. That’s not what affiliate marketing is really about. It’s about recommending products and services that you believe will serve others in return for a small commission.

You’ll start small and grow slow, but you’ll be able to build a steady income over time. The beauty of affiliate marketing is the residual effects that are only evident over the passage of time.

I know I had my doubts. For well over a year, I resisted the lure of affiliate marketing. It wasn’t hard to convince myself that it would be a waste of time. Anytime I thought about it, my mind would answer “Who are you kidding? Who is going to buy from me?”

Self-doubt could be keeping you from achieving all you were intended. It gives me shivers to think what my life might be like now if I hadn’t started. Would I have been able to support my son as a single mom over these past years without the income earned through affiliate marketing?

As long as you are willing to commit yourself to working your business and are willing to learn, there is no reason you can’t reap the benefits of affiliate marketing for yourself. It really is a simple matter of deciding that you want to try and then finding the resources that will help you make the journey.

Lack of funds is not a barrier to getting started with affiliate marketing. In many cases, you can get started with no money at all, simply sign up for the programs that appeal to you and start promoting to your existing audience. If you don’t already have a blog and domain name of your own, it might cost $20 to get up and running.

So what’s stopping you from getting started?

Kelly McCausey is the mom behind Work at Home Moms Talk Radio and is hosting Moms Affiliate Expo, a free opportunity for moms to learn more about affiliate marketing.

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Monday, September 08, 2008

I'm entering a blog design giveaway

Today I came across the Mommy Chronicles blog and Lindsey, the owner is giving away a custom blog design for a Blogger blog. Oh you all know how much I need this LOL so of course I'm going to enter. But I really think her blog design is so adorable and I would love to have a design done by her.

Be sure to check out her cute little blog and enter the giveaway too.

Mommy Chronicles

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Menu Plan Monday: September 8

It's Menu Plan Monday, what's on your menu for the week?

Monday-
Portabella Mushrooms with Italian Chicken

Tuesday-
Red Beans & Rice w/hot turkey sausage

Wednesday-
Baja Chipotle Crockpot Chicken thighs

Thursday-
Spaghetti and homemade sauce w/Italian seasoned ground turkey

Friday-
Tuna and Soup (I think!)

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Sunday, September 07, 2008

When Online Friends Meet

Last weekend I had a great opportunity to meet up with two online friends, Patty from Inspired Web Works and Lauren from Greeting Card Workshops and Mom Chats. We had a blast at The Rainforest Cafe (I just love that place!) and we talked, ate, talked, ate, you know the drill. These ladies are so much fun. I'm so glad that Lauren and I were able to meet Patty before she moves. And of course Lauren and I plan to meet again really soon before the snow arrives here in IL. I think we'll plan to bring the hubby's along next time. That should be fun. Lauren and I had met once before and also had a great time. You can read about our 1st meet up in my March blog archives.

If you ever get the opportunity to meet your online friends, I highly recommend it. All of us have known each other online for over 5 years so it's not like we just met online yesterday LOL. I want to thank Anita from Mommy's Helper Community for having such a wonderful forum where we could all come together.

Here are two pictures from our fun visit. Lauren and Patty have pictures too so hopefully we'll get to see those soon. But for now, may I introduce you to the three of us. Thanks ladies, I really enjoyed our lunch (even though I ate too much ha ha).

Left to right: Angie, Patty, Lauren


Left to right: Patty, Lauren, Angie


Have you had the pleasure of meeting any online friends? If so, please do share your experience. Where did you go and who did you meet?

Friday, September 05, 2008

Blog Trip Day 5: Explore the City



Here we are on the last day of the blog trip. It has been fun getting to know so many of you. Today we are exploring our city.

My favorite thing to do, that we do about once a year and I hope to change that is spend the day at Six Flags Great America. I love all the rides and could go on them over and over. Hubby and my stepson are not so much into the spin type rides so I have to ride those alone. Oh well! We went there a few weeks ago and I had a blast. My favorite rides were Vertical Velocity, Superman and Revolution. Do you like amusement parks? If so, please feel free to share your favorites and where they are located. I would love to one day be able to visit them all over the world. How fun would that be?

Next on our trip is the zoo. You definitely don't want to miss the Brookfield Zoo on your trip here. I haven't been there in a long time but would love to go soon. I love animals and they have quite the variety at Brookfield. I like Stingray Bay, Seven Seas and Tropic World. Fun! But there are so many other great exhibits you don't want to miss.

And lastly for today is the grand city of CHICAGO. So much to do and see, I can't even begin to list it all. I haven't been downtown in quite some time but it's an amazing place. I can just hop on the Metra, the regional rail system here to get to the city. A few of the landmarks and places you should definitely visit are the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and the John Hancock Observatory. And before you leave to come visit, try your hand at getting yourself some tickets to the Oprah Winfrey show. I still haven't made it to a show yet and I have lived in the burbs for over 11 years.

So there you have it, a few fun things to do around my town. This has been a blast and I want to thank all of you for stopping by this week to get to know more about me.

Happy Friday!

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Thursday, September 04, 2008

Blog Trip Day 4: Let's go shopping



Today is Day 4 of the blog trip and it's all about shopping. Although I prefer to shop online, there are still some places that I don't mind going to around town. As far as groceries, the two biggest chain stores around here are Dominicks and Jewel/Osco. We prefer Dominicks although it's a bit more expensive and further away (but we get a discount on gas there, see blog trip Day 2). We also shop at Island Foods (which you might have seen in one of the videos from Day 1) especially for vegetables and fruit. I love this mom and pop store so we try to give them our business as often as possible.

Last week on my weight loss blog I asked for input about Whole Foods Market. We went there for the first time last weekend. I'll be posting about my Whole Foods experience over on that blog soon. But I will say that my two favorite 'healthy' grocery stores are The Fresh Market and Trader Joe's, hands down.

If you want to visit a quaint little town when stopping through, you don't want to miss historic Long Grove. There is a wide variety of cute little shops. You'll find everything from clothes, art, gifts to specialty candy and foods. Don't miss the Confectionary Company for your chocolate fix, love those monstrous dipped strawberries and be sure to check out the Popcorn Shoppe where you'll find the most interesting combinations. There are many events that take place here like the Chocolate Fest, Apple Festival and more. Don't miss driving through this town during the Christmas holiday either. Long Grove even has a one lane covered bridge. Learn about the History of Long Grove when you get a chance. Long Grove is about 20 min. or so from where we live.

Lastly, we have the big premium outlet mall, Gurnee Mills Mall in Gurnee, IL. You might have been to a similar one at one time. They have Potomac Mills in Virginia. I used to live in VA and went there all the time. Gurnee Mills has over 200 stores and quite the variety I might add. I was just there this past weekend where I met two of my online work at home mom friends. We went to The Rainforest Cafe for lunch and had a blast. I'll post about that soon with pictures. I got to the mall early on Saturday and walked the whole length of the mall and back before they arrived. It was a long walk that is for sure. When you visit Gurnee Mills, be sure to stop by Serpent Safari, a reptile zoo and YES it's in the mall, right near The Rainforest Cafe. It will be quite an experience.

We have many other places to shop around here and you might also want to head on into the city of Chicago for a more spectacular shopping experience.

Thanks for stopping by on your blog trip. Have a great day.

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Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Blog Trip Day 3: Let's Eat



We very rarely go out to eat anymore since starting a more healthy lifestyle (you can follow more about that on my weight loss journal) but I will share some of our favorite places to eat. I would have to say my two all time favorite restaurants would be the local Chinese buffet and Hooters.

Here are some local restaurants you should try when you drop by for a visit.

Nancy's Pizza
Pick up or delivery, this little pizza joint has some yummy food. And all of their appetizers are baked. Yum! I'm bummed they no longer have their Marco Polo salad though because it was my favorite. But they do have great tasting pizza (thin for me) and the Chicken Club (oven baked breaded chicken tenders, fresh bacon, melted mozzarella cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and creamy garlic sauce served on their homemade garlic bread) is a favorite around here too, for my step son and myself. Hubby's favorite is their "GODMOTHER" sandwich (oven baked breaded chicken tenders with red sauce and melted mozzarella cheese, served on homemade garlic bread).

Another pizza joint close by that we like is Chicago Classic Pizza. Pick up or delivery, they have tasty food as well. When I want to be really bad, I love their manicotti or ravioli and their hot buffalo shrimp. We don't eat here that often though.

Next on the list is one of our favorites, the Crystal Lake Rib House. Oh my can I get myself into some trouble here. Of course our favorite is their awesome ribs with corn on the cob, coleslaw, baked beans, fresh baked roll and honey butter (oh my!). Hot buffalo wings or crackers (chicken breast strips prepared Buffalo style in your choice of sauce, why hot of course) are on my 'bad' list of favorites.

The three places above are close to home.

Now we move on to one of hubby's favorites, Dog N Suds. This is a drive-in and lots of fun. They do a lot of fun things, the most popular being the Classic Car Cruise In every Saturday night. As your basic drive-in, you have various choices like the famous Coney Dog, Texas burger, root beer and more. I personally like their garden burger or fish sandwich.

I love Mexican food so Tacos El Norte wins hands down for me. They have a wide variety of choices (I love their burritos but they are HUGE so it's not something we get often). Then we move on to Yogi's Pizza. They have quite the variety, pizza, salads, Italian Beef & Sausage, Gyros and more. I like their Greek Salad and when I really want to be bad, I choose a gyro. One of my all time favorites.

One last restaurant we like to go to is called The Village Squire. They have a wide variety of foods too and we especially like one of their appetizers. It's a cheese that they set on fire and you eat with pita bread pieces. I tried loading their menu on their site to get the name of the appetizer but their pdf menu crashed my computer LOL! They do have yummy food so we would definitely take you here if you were to come and visit.

So there you have some of our local joints and some of my favorites. Hope you're having fun on your blog trip. I know I am!

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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Blog Trip Day 2: Filler up



Today is Day 2 of the Mommy Community blog trip.

Tried to take a picture of the price of gas last week but you can't really see it (it was $3.99 at this gas station)

Yesterday in one of my videos, we quickly passed a gas station and I mentioned that gas was $3.97. It varies all over, just down the street it was $3.94 and some places as low as $3.84. Wish they would quit playing games.

Luckily we shop at a grocery store where you get a discount on gas depending on how much you spend. Three cents off for just having a grocery card and ten cents off when you spend over $50 and we do that a lot so Kev and I are usually set with discounted gas (if we make it that far LOL). My car has been having gas gauge issues and the other day I was on my way home from the gym and didn't stop to get gas because who knew I only had a mile left of gas ROFL. So I just luckily glided in to the most expensive gas station around OF COURSE.

As far as what I do to save on gas, not much really. We have to pretty much drive everywhere around here. I do try to plan errands together so I'm not wasting and Kev and I drive to the gym together when we can. But that's about all.

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Monday, September 01, 2008

Blog Trip Day 1: Around Town with Angie

It's time for a quick intro and a few videos to show you around our town. I'm Angie (36), step mom of two, 26 and 24 and hubby I live in IL. I'm originally from Virginia. Hubby and I like to work out together, hang out at home and travel. I like to read, love amusement parks and I'm a Reality TV addict.

I am also getting caught by the blogging bug. This is more my personal blog but my main blog is my weight loss journal where I share my progress and healthy weight loss tips.

I'm a newbie at video so hopefully these videos you are about to see here today are OK. Not quite used to using my RCA Small Wonder video camera and it's my first time using You Tube. Ready or not, here we go.

**So I tried to view these videos on You Tube and the video stops every so often. It didn't do this while viewing from my computer so I'm not sure what the problem is. I apologize for the inconvenience if the video cuts out for you too**

Around Town


Around Town 2


We have a few pets, a Blue & Gold Macaw, Basset Hound, cat and turtle. They are a big part of our lives. I was going to take video of them too but didn't want you to have to deal with the messed up videos. Here are pictures of our babies.

Caleb, our Basset Hound

Bam Bam, our Blue & Gold Macaw

Pebbles, our cat

Taz, our turtle

So there you have it, Blog Trip: Day 1 is complete. Hope you had fun here getting to know me better.

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Menu Plan Monday: September 1

Time for Menu Plan Monday.


Monday-
Boneless Sirloin Pork Roast, potatoes, green beans

Tuesday-
The Fresh Market's Chicken Portabella, asparagus

Wednesday-
Lemon Pepper Swordfish, veggie

Thursday-
Spaghetti w/homemade sauce (probably with hot/spicy turkey sausage), biscuits

Friday-

Hot & Spicy BBQ Chicken breasts, brussel sprouts

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