It is that time again! I just noticed the banner promoting the local Relay For Life event on my way from work early this week! When is the event in your town? Be sure to check and participate if you can or if you can’t find a team to support with a donation!
Note: This post is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
Sponsored Video: Relay For Life
May 17, 2012 By 1 Comment
OnePlanetglasses.com
May 8, 2012 By 25 Comments
Last week, I had my eye exam. I should say yearly eye exam but I admit it only happen about once every two years. I gave in and scheduled this exam because my right eye has been blurry lately. Thankfully my eye ball (that is just so weird to say!) is in perfect health. Bad news is they had no reason for my blurry eye that I can still see out of so they are monitoring it right now. Eye health is so important. Did you know that some other health conditions can even impact your vision? An eye exam is so painless and yet so many of miss it because of our budgets. We need to remember to keep our health at the top of our budget.
After my eye exam, I talked to one of my coworkers about buying eyeglasses online. He was telling me how expensive his glasses are and how he only gets them every couple of years due to the cost. He sits at a desk on a computer all day and orders other stuff online but never thought about ordering his eyeglasses online. I explained to him it was cheaper for us to use our medical insurance for the eye exam coverage and then just pay for glasses online than to get the vision coverage my employer offers. He admitted that he had never done that math. He asked about the quality of cheap eyeglasses and I showed him mine that I bought online. I then told him about the glasses I had ordered for Brian earlier this year. I used an online deal to order Brian two pairs of glasses for about half the price of one pair at the eye doctor’s office! We use deals like this to stay on our budget and keep our vision the best it can be!
At Oneplanetglasses.com you can get a complete eyeglasses with prescription lenses starting at $27! You won’t see well know brand names but their lenses are made in the exact same labs as other well known brands! An added bonus to ordering online through this site is that a portion of each sale is donated to Unite for Sight to help get needy people prescription eyeglasses.
We really excited to giveaway a $100 coupon code which, in most cases, should cover the cost of a complete pair of prescription eyeglasses!
Plus we have a 15% coupon code that is BUDGET15.
Wordless Wednesday: Mud Warrior
April 18, 2012 By 18 Comments
Brian ran the Mud Warrior race last Saturday.
Before ... still clean ... did you check out the people in the back?!
Sliding into the mud pool at the end
More than a little muddy!
Let us know where your Wordless Wednesday post is …
Would you ever run the Mud Warrior and get that muddy? Leave us a comment and let us know!
April is Autism Awareness Month
March 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Autism United wants to remind us that April is Autism Awareness Month. I admit that I don’t personally know much about autism but I have been open to learning about it as the number of individuals diagnosed with autism continues to increase. I have gained a lot of my knowledge through Brian and the special education classes he had to take as part of his Masters program. He also had a lot of first hand experience on working with younger children with autism when he worked at the local location of The Little Gym. Thankfully, he has been patient in explaining the spectrum and where some of the children he worked with and that were in the girls classes fell on that spectrum to me.
I say all of that because as with most topics in life the key is to keep an open mind to learn more. There is so much you learn about autism too. You can learn about the early signs of autism in infants and toddlers such as failure to smile by 6 months of age, unable to say phrases by 2 years of age, and avoidance of eye contact. Knowing that doctors cannot accurately diagnose a child until they are least three years old leaves many parents looking for the signs of a lack of response to their name, intense or violent temper tantrums, and the need to follow repetitive patterns in children that are around five years old. Even reading those few signs of autism can show you why it is so complicated to diagnose. We all know children who decide to talk on their own timeline or have the worst tempers in town. Diagnosing autism though has to try to determine what is a child being a child and what may be limiting that child in their development. It is a hard struggle for sure! The struggle continues even after a diagnosis is made though as parents try to determine the best treatment and even lifestyle changes for them and their family through research and support groups.
This is where you can add to the support system! Autism United works closely with TOMS. This relationship has provided the opportunity for Autism United and TOMS to really grow and reach out more together. As part of this partnership, they are excited to share a TOMS Promo Code to our readers so you can add your support to their efforts!
Be sure to follow Autism United on their social media pages where you can like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and add them to your circle on G+!
Trudie Styler’s Strengthen & Restore Yoga DVD
March 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Details …
Four unique practices to strengthen and restore the body.
DVD INCLUDES: Toning Practice (20 minutes) Lengthen and stretch the muscles with this gentle toning practice .
Main Practice (45 minutes) Vinyasa Flow sequence to build heat (for weight loss) while increasing strength, flexibility and endurance.
Calming Meditation (6 minutes) Visualize and focus to achieve both inner and outer strength.
BONUS DOWNLOADABLE: Winding Down (10 minutes)- a restorative PM practice to bring peace and serenity to your nighttime routine.
My Thoughts …
Pros: This has two challenging workouts. I like that you aren’t asked to hold positions for a very long time. Many of the programs that I’ve tried ask you to hold positions for far too long. This video has you hold the poses for a just a couple of seconds, but you repeat the pose several times. That leads to a great stretch and a great workout. The short program (20 minutes) really seemed to focus on the glutes and hips. Since these are the spots that give me the most trouble, I’ll be doing this workout regularly.
Cons: The background music is a low droning and chanting thing which can be a little annoying and the instructor is constantly reminding you about your breathing, distracting from the actual instruction. Another thing that I couldn’t help but notice is that, while Trudie Styler’s name is on the DVD, she’s not leading the workouts. She’s there and smiling in the background, but you never hear from her, making it less her DVD than the instructor’s.
Overall thoughts: I like this program. It stretches and works out all of the areas where I need the most work. The music is pretty distracting, so I would like to go through it a few times to learn the flow a little bit so that I can shut off the sound and just follow along.
You can find this DVD over on Amazon right now!
Waterpik SinuSense: Natural Remedy for Spring Allergies
March 20, 2012 By 1 Comment
We were recently asked to try out the Waterpik SinuSense. To be honest, we weren’t sure about this product when we received it. We use nose spray from time to time but that is honestly about it. Beth suffers a lot from allergies (year round, not just in the Spring) so I had her try this product. I think she was more wary than I was because she is not a huge fan of nose sprays. I tried the SinuSense first and felt it cleared up my head fairly well. Beth was still unsure. She finally it a try the day she came down with a cold topped with Spring allergies. How do I know Beth was impressed? She used the SinuSense twice that day to try to clear her head up and felt it actually worked. She said by the second time she used it, she figured out how to get the flow right.
If you are good with using nose sprays then you will probably have no issues using this product right off the bat. If you are not a big nose spray user like us, then just give it a chance to see if the SinuSense works for you. It could be a great allergy budget saver at your house like we think it will be here!
What are some of the features of the Waterpik SinuSense?
Massage, cleanse and moisten your sinus passages with the gentle, pulsating stream of the Waterpik® SinuSense™ Water Pulsator.
- Reduces Risk of Cold and Allergy Symptoms
- SoftSeal™ Nozzle
- Comfortable, custom-fit nozzle
- 2 nozzles included
- Gentle Pulsating Water Flow
- Maximum cleanse
- Maximum comfort
- Cordless
- Includes 3 AA batteries
- No electricity required
- Easy to Clean
The SinuSense by WaterPik– retail value of $29.99 . Plus there is a coupon out for the Waterpik so be sure to check that out. You can also keep up with Waterpick on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
Family Health Tips
March 19, 2012 By 2 Comments
We are excited to share some of our health tips that are great for families!
1. Exercise as a family. You don’t have to break out the Richard Simmons DVDs to do family exercise! Try going for a walk around the shopping mall or plaza when you go to the store or restaurant. We took a long walk around an outdoor shopping mall this past Saturday. The kids loved the fountain if you wondering!;)
2. Make healthy food choices when you can. You don’t have to give up the foods you love but consider adding something healthy to your meal. For our dinner out on Friday, we split a big salad and a pizza. Sure we could of ordered a bigger pizza and loved it but the salad added some great veggies to the meal. Plus Sophie only ate the salad … I want to love salads as much as my four year old does when I grow up!
3.Get enough sleep. If you stay up half the night and then get up at the crack of dawn, you probably aren’t getting enough sleep. Are your kids getting enough sleep. It is easy to look up how much sleep kids need. Everyone in our neighborhood thinks our kids go to bed too early but they are getting the 10-12 hours of sleep they need!
4. Think about alternative health options. Brian started to see a chiropractor last year and it is really helped his back. Locations such as Natural Horizons are also a great natural health option.
5. Focus on drinking water. Trade the soda, coffee, or tea for a glass of water and save those calories. Get your kids to drink water by adding a lemon slice or frozen blueberries!
What is your favorite family health tip? Leave us a comment and let us know!
Waterpik: Flossing without the Pain
March 18, 2012 By 1 Comment
We were recently asked to try out the Waterpik. Since my one comment every dentist visit is to floss more, I figured it was worth the try. The setup of the Waterpik is really simple. It does require an outlet so be sure to place it next to one and not across the counter from your outlet. There are several tips to the Waterpik but we have been using the original one since I set it up in the bathroom. Once you get over the fact that water is spraying in your mouth and not coming out, you will find the Waterpik to be great. The Waterpik leaves your mouth feeling extra clean like at the end of those dentist visits. The best part is you aren’t in pain from it. For Beth, it it has been even better since her gums bleed really easily and she doesn’t have to deal with that when using the Waterpik!
What are some of the features of the Waterpik?
The Waterpik® Ultra Water Flosser (WP-100) is the ultimate in water flossing performance. It features ten pressure settings, a contemporary design that is smaller and quieter than previous models, a covered reservoir with in-lid tip storage, and six unique tips.
- 6 unique tips
- Advanced pressure control system with 10 settings
- 5 to 90 psi
- Reservoir capacity of 90 seconds+
- Pause button on handle
- Can be used with water or your favorite mouthwash
- Smaller and quieter than previous models
- Covered reservoir with built-in tip storage
The Waterpik Ultra WaterFlosser has a retail value of $59.99. Plus there is a coupon out for the Waterpik so be sure to check that out. You can also keep up with Waterpick on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
Well, it was a good plan!
March 12, 2012 By 4 Comments
If you’ve paid much attention to our blog this year, you know that Beth and I challenged ourselves with a pretty specific diet plan this year. We started off going vegan for six weeks, including a three-week detox, and planned to follow that up with six weeks on a vegetarian diet. Unfortunately, that ended on Tuesday when we both took our first bite of meat for the year.
We have both been craving little bits of meat here and there and we have been more and more concerned about our kids diet. We just don’t have time to spend cooking up two complete meals each night, so we cook for us, offer them a try and, when they refuse it, they wind up with pizza, chicken nuggets, or hot dogs. Even our diet, as we moved onto the vegetarian diet, got worse as we started eating more bread and cheese as fillers. It started to seem pretty counterproductive, so we started to question whether a little bit of lean protein would actually wind up being healthier for us. We decided that we would begin allowing poultry and seafood, still refraining from beef and pork.
So we took the first dive on Tuesday when biting into a turkey sandwich. Since then, I’ve hit up Chick-Fil-A once and Beth has yet to have another bite. It has not become our focus, just another option for eating a healthy meal. On the one hand, we feel like we failed in our plan. On the other, we went a full nine weeks without eating a bite of meat. For these meat lovers, that is quite an accomplishment!
Since making our decision we have looked at our menu plan and we realized that we do not really have to change it at all. We can add a little chicken to pot pie or nachos or have some sliced turkey on a sub. We will likely continue this trend in future meal plans.
Did you start a new diet plan this year? How are you doing with it? Leave us a comment and let us know what’s going on!
Thursday Thought: A Simple Smile
March 8, 2012 By 1 Comment
I saw this quote earlier this week and it reminded me that I need to smile more. How about you?
Have a favorite quote? Leave a comment and let us know!
14 Days Left 
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