Friday, July 18, 2014

Happy Birthday, In Heaven, Ma.

How do you celebrate a day that belonged to your mom for your whole entire life, until last year?

I don't feel sad this year, yet. I don't feel as angry as I did last year. Yet. I don't know how I feel. Do I just keep continuing on like today is nothing? Do I honor her some special way and continue that tradition? What if it makes the kids sad? What if they forget her because I don't do something to make them remember that she's still with us, even if her body isn't? 

I decided I'm going to get her ring resized this weekend. I will wear her ring in honor of her. It's a way of keeping her with me.. at all times. I can't tell you how many times I still reach for my phone and get inches away from dialing her number before I realize that heaven doesn't have a phone number. The kids do something awesome, like score a 5 on their FCAT, or master their math level in camp, or speak a full sentence for the first time, and I want to call her.  I want to hear her nag me, and yell at me, and tell me I'm being foolish, or timid, and to go be bold. I know that she would be so excited over what's going on in my world, even if my world seems to be falling apart at times.

Grief counseling is helping a ton. But on days like today, I'm not sure if counseling could even help. I just want to crawl into my mom's arms and have her hold me. I guess we're always our parents kids, huh?

So, ma, I hope you're up in heaven, having one hell of a party with Aunt Normie, Grandmama, Grandpapa, Paul, Colleen, and the rest of our crazy family. I love you, and I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you that as much as I should have. Happy Birthday, ma.

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Saturday, July 12, 2014

7-Eleven Free Treats ALL Week Long!

Yesterday, was free small Slurpee day at 7-Eleven because it was 7/11! But this year, 7-Eleven is celebrating it's 87th birthday and giving away treats ALL WEEK LONG!

This year’s birthday bash is being called, "7-Eleven Week", where guests will be able to redeem a FREE treat each day from July 12-19 through the 7-Eleven App, while supplies last.

The 7-Eleven Week offers change daily and include:
· Saturday, July 12th – Big Gulp®
· Sunday, July 13th – M&M’s® Brand Birthday Cake Candies
· Monday, July 14th – Grandma’s® Cookies
· Tuesday, July 15th – Hostess® Twinkies®
 · Wednesday, July 16th – TWIX® or Snickers® Brand Ice Cream Bar
· Thursday, July 17th – Quaker® Chewy® Yogurt Snack Bar
· Friday, July 18th – Pillsbury® Cookie
· Saturday, July 19th – Small Slurpee drink

To receive each day's free offer, guests must first download and register on the 7-Eleven app. Guests can join in the ‘APP’-y birthday celebration by texting BDAY to 711711 to automatically download the 7-Eleven app, also available on Google Play and the App Store.



Guests will then open the 7-Eleven app at the store and show the member barcode to the sales associate at checkout. The bar code appears below the coupons. Once the associate scans the barcode at the register, guests will receive the item as they check out.

This year, guests can also try the NEW Doritos Loaded, a new nacho cheese snack for the bold, available exclusively at participating 7-Eleven stores across the country. So, what are you waiting for, head to your local 7-Eleven and get your goodies- Oh, thank Heaven!
 

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Sunday, July 6, 2014

Acidic vs. Alkaline and How I'm Changing Me + Giveaway







I'm a total skeptic when it comes to products that are on the market that are supposed to help you detox, lose weight, tone up, "get healthy", etc, without  having some sort of adverse side effects or multiple trips to the bathroom.

I am a big girl. I love my curves, but I want to lose what I call, "My Mom Flap."

If you cannot relate to this term, skip this article and move to the next, but for those of you that know what I'm talking about, it's horrific. After my first c-section I inherited this flap of skin that just sags.. all of the elasticity is gone from it. Like a piece of my youth, withered, and dead.

When the movie "Click" came out, I poked fun at the fat flap scene, but deep down inside felt that embarrassment and shame that comes along with relating to that disgusting feature. As you can hear, this is the area where I'm most self conscious, and awfully disgusted by. I have no problem being positive over my curves- just not my flap.

Anyway. I tried the gym. I lost a few pounds, but over all gained about 20 pounds when I was going religiously for 4 months. I now pay for a membership and don't go. I can't afford another 20 pounds. I know the old saying muscle weighs more than fat, but I have a lot of fat to burn. My body works backwards. I've come to terms with that. Now I needed a solution.

I started researching different detox products on the market. I figured that I've been exposed to both environmental and product toxins for over 30 years of life.. maybe that would be a good place to start.

While I was narrowing down the field, searching many blogs, review sites, and online shops, I came across an article about cancer and alkaline foods. This article resonated within me, on many levels, mainly because my mom had recently passed away, but more so because I *know* that I'm very acidic. I touch plants and they die.. seriously, within 24 hours.  

While I can't find the actual article to quote, the information was eye opening. While your body metabolizes all night, you wake up with a naturally acidic body. An acidic pH can also occur from emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions. This causes the body to not absorb vitamin and minerals properly from the foods you eat, as well as a decrease in energy, a decrease in the body's ability to repair damaged cells efficiently, and its ability to naturally detoxify itself, or heavy metals. Cancer cannot grow in an alkaline environment. An alkaline forming environment also boosts the oxygen levels in the blood making it impossible for bacteria, viruses, and yeasts (as well as other pathogens) to survive and thrive.
An alkaline-forming diet also boosts the oxygen levels in the blood, making it impossible for bacteria, viruses, yeasts and other pathogens to survive and thrive. - See more at: http://vidyacleanse.com/2013/03/acid-vs-alkaline-the-science-behind-balancing-your-ph/#sthash.pngx8F7V.dpuf

The processed foods we eat, as well as the abundance of animal products like meat, eggs, and dairy are acidic, and the amount of alkaline foods we eat are just not enough. To maintain a healthy diet, it  should be made up  70% alkaline forming foods, and 30% acid forming foods. To restore health, the diet should be an 80/20 split.

Click on this picture to enlarge it
 Therein laid my problem. I hate vegetables. The only veggies I do eat are the acidic ones- potatoes, string beans, corn. I do eat a lot of the fruits on the Alkaline side, but not enough, and definitely not regularly.

With this new information, I started to research ways to help alkalize and detox my body. I found may super green supplements, shakes and powders. I couldn't get past some of the names, textures, or tastes. {I mean, algae grows in a pond!!!!}

I tried quite a few products, but I just couldn't do it. I tried a handful of natural detox methods found off of Pinterest and Google. I started changing my eating habits, a little at a time. I started drinking mostly water. Thanks to Pinterest, I started drinking lemon or watermelon infused waters, too. Some things worked, and they worked well- like the infused waters. I lost a few pounds of water weight right off of the top. It stalled out, though, and I needed more.

I was afraid that a detox available from my local vitamin store would have me running to the bathroom. I have a really sensitive tummy, after all, and really, really couldn't do that to myself. When I spoke with the salesman in the store, multiple times, about multiple products, I still couldn't bring myself to do it, and in turn, was stressing out completely. I started researching seaweed wraps at a local spa, and thinking maybe I'd do something relaxing, instead.

And then I went to a home party for one of my friends who was advertising a detox wrap, and a greens supplement. I went with the intention of learning more about the greens supplement, and ONLY for the greens. As mentioned earlier, I'm a total skeptic when it comes to crap that sounds too good to be true. I was a little discouraged seeing all of the promotional material with people who were skinnier than me, but I figured it was worth a try.  I figured I've wasted a lot more than $30 on a product to help with these things the lady was claiming it did, so what the heck?! So I did it.. and was ecstatic with the results! 45 minutes later, the wrap came off, and the distributor explained that it continued to work over the course of 72 hours.

I've wrapped a total of three times, and I've gone down a full pant size, am sleeping through the night, and am waking up well rested. My stomach issues have virtually vanished, and I only *just* started the greens last Monday when my shipment arrived.

According to the lady, my results are "not typical", and she can't quite explain how it works, all I know is so far, It Works works! Will this be my only stop? Right now, I'm letting it work. I am excited to try some more of the items they offer since I've been happy with my results. I've never tried a product where I had instant results, visual results, and results other people noticed, too.

I got to try their chocolate shake at the party, and it wasn't grainy at all. That's a big positive for me, texture. I will continue to drink my infused water, but I'm also drinking the greens supplement, knowing that it helps to alkalize my body, and contains 8+ servings of green veggies and fruits makes me happy, too. I chose the berry flavor, because in my opinion it tasted better. They say you can mix it with juice or tea, too, but I tried that with the orange flavor and it turned my OJ green!!



There are real results with this company, and if you google it, a plethora of amazing before and after pictures. Some people call it a gimmick, but I can tell you, so far, all of my results are real. I'm not confident enough in my body image to share my results, but maybe one day, I will.

Thanks to my It Works! distributor, I am giving away a wrap for you to try. It can be worn anywhere (except for your face) including your belly, thighs, arms, love handles, back, and butt!

Here's How to Enter:

Comment on this post and tell us where YOU would like to wrap. Include your email address in your comment.

Click here more information on the Crazy Wrap Thing, or for a list of product ingredients. This giveaway is open to residents of the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Norway, & Switzerland.

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Saturday, July 5, 2014

Evolution of Drag- A Musical

Last Saturday, I was invited to step out of the box and attend a show at the Palace Show Theater in Spring Hill, Florida with a friend and her mother in law. This was a show like no other, not only because of the theme, or actors and actresses involved, but because I am a self-proclaimed music lover.

My first job was at Record Town at our local mall, and I prized myself on the fact that I could "Name That Tune" within the first few notes 99% of the time, from almost every generation of music. I was not the typical kid in High School, some called me "goth" and there was no where to get fishnet stockings from, so I had to hop on a train and take it to Avenue A in The City, until the very first Hot Topic opened in our mall. I wasn't a complete freak, as I didn't pierce anything except my ears, until I was over age, and I listened to everything from the 20's to the 90's.. and I loved it. I preferred big hair bands of the 80's and grunge and electronica of the late 80's and early 90's. I jammed out to hard rock, and spent my entire paycheck on concerts, concert tees, and black lipstick.

Looking at me, 15 years later, one would never suspect that that was the 'label' I wore back then, but it was what it was. It was an awesome, exciting, awful, and enlightening time in my life, and made me into the person I am today.

So, here I sat, in a theater filled with people of all ages, giggling, singing along, and hooting and hollering at the show before us like nothing we'd ever seen before. The audience ranged from young to old; one patron was even celebrating their 80th birthday!

The Evolution of Drag took us on a musical journey from the roaring 20's through the new millennium, demonstrating classic favorites through the decades, in a show that had us all giving a standing ovation at the close of this comical, inspiring, and insanely enjoyable evening out.

Brilliantly organized to bullet, illustrate, and poke fun at the history of  U.S. pop culture, this performance was so much fun.  

As a person who overly criticizes cover bands and cover performers, I can genuinely tell you that our group was blown away by how spot on the lipsynching, dancing, and acting was. Did I mention we had a blast?! A lot of the more mature crowd mentioned that they weren't familiar with the artists after 'Cyndi Lauper' made her dash across the stage as Evolution of Drag brought the audience into the new millennium with special guests 'Katy Perry' and 'Lady Gaga'. However, the interactions with the audience kept everyone on their seats, clapping, tapping, and whistling! My only complaint was due to the sequins on a lot of the costumes, I was unable to get pictures that truly showed how fabulous the costumes were.

While The Evolution of Drag has already made its way through the Spring Hill/Hudson area, have no worries, because you'll be able to catch it at The Parliament House in late July/early August. Follow their Facebook page for more details and show times.
 




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