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Happy Birthday To Me! Stop By For Some Cake.

January 30, 2012 · by · 37 Comments
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Today is my 45th Birthday! Woo hoo! I’m so glad you stopped by, look! I have my very favorite cake in the whole world, German Chocolate!

 

There’s also a real one in the freezer to have for dinner tonight after we have one of my favorite meals, Cola Chicken with mashed potatoes and peas. Yum.

Kaitlyn has been sick for two days, not keeping anything down, and now she’s complaining about an earache. That’s why I’m up at 2:55 a.m., I was administering a dose of Children’s Tylenol and figured as long as I was up, I’d get my birthday post published. Hopefully she’ll let me sleep in a little in the morning, since I’m definitely not sending her to school.

Anyway, since you’re here, I hope you’ll leave a comment letting me know you stopped by! It’s been my tradition ever since my birthday in 2006 to put up a birthday post and ask my readers to leave at least as many comments as the number of my age. So that means I’m hoping to get 45 comments on this post!

All comments are welcome but could you spammers do me a favor and go someplace else today? I don’t feel like deleting spam on my birthday, especially when I have a sick kid, too. Consider it your gift to me on this momentous occasion :) Everybody else – thanks so much in advance for your comments! I’m going to get my butt to bed before I end up sleeping away my whole birthday.

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Filed Under: Being a Mom, Welcome to my Life · Tagged: , ,

I Just Did Something Really Stupid

January 27, 2012 · by · 11 Comments
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I slept really badly last night and woke up exhausted, clearly that’s not the best state of mind for me to be in when drafting a blog post.  I went into my Friday Fives post from last week to grab the badge code so I could just copy/paste it into today’s post – and somehow ended up writing OVER the post from last week. Like, I have no idea how that even happened. But the 1-20-12 post is gone, and the 16 comments left on it are now attached to today’s post.

And I’ve even had coffee already this morning. Sigh. Okay, so does anyone know how I can recover that post? Shouldn’t it be saved somewhere? Help!

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Filed Under: Born to Blog, Welcome to my Life · Tagged:

Friday Fives 1-27-12 And A Special Reminder!

January 27, 2012 · by · 26 Comments
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Note: This coming Monday, January 30th, is my 45th birthday! Every year since I started blogging I’ve put up a special birthday post and asked my readers to leave the number of comments that equal my age. Which means that this Monday, I’m hoping to get 45 comments! I hope you’ll stop by, delurk, visit again if it’s been a while, and leave a comment. Thanks everybody!

Welcome to Friday Fives, a new weekly meme where we share lists of, well, anything! To participate in this blog hop, all you have to do is write a post on your blog or site and share five things you like, five things you’ve done recently, five places you’d like to visit, five products you can’t live without – the list is endless!

Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started:

Last five TV shows watched
Last five pins on Pinterest
Five favorite blogs or websites
Five favorite types of candy
Five favorite restaurants

In your post, include a link back to the latest Friendly Fives post here on Table for Five, or include this cute button!

Friday Fives Badge

Then, come back here and link up your post so I can come to your blog and read your list. This is a fun way for us to get to know each other better! Want to make sure you don’t miss a post? Add Table for Five to your feed reader or subscribe by email!

Not a blogger? No problem! You can make a list on your Tumblr page, you could create a new board on Pinterest, post your list on your Facebook wall, or even post your list right here in the comments! Wherever you create your list, check here every Friday by 9:00 a.m. EST for the linky.

My Friday Fives list for January 27, 2012:

I thought it would be fun to look back at previous years’ birthday posts!

My 39th Birthday Post
My 40th Birthday Post, the year I got 107 COMMENTS!
My 41st Birthday Post
My 42nd Birthday Post
My 43rd Birthday Post

Okay, I know my rules say five things, but come on, I can’t leave the list hanging like that! So today you get a bonus in the Friday Fives list because I’m just sweet like that. So if you want to do a list of SIX things today, go right ahead :)

Now it’s your turn! Add the URL to your Friday Fives post here, or leave a list of five things in a comment.  I’ll keep the linky open through the end of the day on Sunday. Have fun creating your lists, I can’t wait to read them!

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Filed Under: Friday Fives · Tagged: ,

Getting Real About My New Year’s Resolutions

January 25, 2012 · by · 9 Comments
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There’s something about the promise of a New Year that makes people think they can change their entire life, right? I stopped making New Year’s Resolutions years ago, because I was just setting myself up for disappointment come New Year’s Eve.

“I’m going to lose 80 pounds this year! That’s only 6 pounds a month, every month, no problem!”

“I’m going to quit smoking this year! I’m sure once I stop, I’ll never want another cigarette again!”

“I’m going to start exercising this year! Once I start, I’m sure I’ll get hooked and want to do it every day!”

The problem with those resolutions is that I’m not finding a secret motivation to really do any of them.   So I was thrilled when I was chosen through Inspiring Social Media to participate in the Trop50 True Resolutions campaign, celebrating the REAL reasons behind New Year’s resolutions.

A True Resolution is one that has a motivation behind it that you might not want to admit out loud. Like, you want to lose weight so your butt looks better in your jeans, which you know the cute guy you see at the coffee shop every morning is always checking out.  Or you want to start exercising so that when you go to your class reunion this summer, you can wear a cute little sundress and look a million times better than the bitchy former cheerleader who was always mean to you but now she’s just fat.

If one of your resolutions is to consume fewer calories, one delicious switch you can make is to Trop50, which offers fruit juice goodness with 50 percent less sugar and calories, and no artificial sweeteners.  I first tasted Trop50 at BlogHer and immediately fell in love with it.  It’s made with real fruit juices and sweetened with Stevia, a natural sweetener made from a plant that has no carbs or calories.  If you love orange juice, apple juice, or lemonade, you really must try Trop50. And the Pomegranate Blueberry – oh man is it good!

THE CAMPAIGN:

On their Facebook page, Trop50 True Resolutions is celebrating the real reasons behind New Year’s resolutions. Share your secret motivation behind your resolutions and you’ll earn a coupon for $1 off Trop50 for yourself and 50¢ off coupons for up to 50 of your friends.

Even though it’s supposed to be a secret, I decided to tell all my wonderful readers what my REAL resolution is this year and why. Ready?

In 2012, I want to lose 30 pounds by August 1st in order to not be sweaty at BlogHer.

At my current size, I break into a sweat when I walk fast, when it’s hot, when I’m nervous. I feel so totally gross and disgusting when I go to hug someone and I can tell my back is all sweaty. When I weighed less at previous BlogHers, I didn’t have the sweating problem. So that’s my True Resolution and my secret motivation – to not be gross and sweaty at BlogHer.

Now it’s your turn! Click the link above for the Trop50 True Resolutions Facebook page and share your secret resolution in exchange for a whole bunch of coupons! You can also follow #Trop50 and @TropicanaOJ on Twitter.  So come on and share – what’s the real motivation behind your New Year’s Resolution?!?

disclosure: I was provided with Trop50 information to share with my readers and a gift card to thank me for my time to promote.

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Filed Under: Health, Personal · Tagged: , , , ,

Wordless Wednesday 1-18-12

January 18, 2012 · by · 12 Comments
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Guest Post: Money Saving New Year’s Resolutions – How To Stick To Them

January 16, 2012 · by · 10 Comments
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That’s it, you’re going to do it; there’s no excuses this year. You are going to save money, stick by a budget and have so much more money this year that you can buy that house, boat or other expensive item. You probably said that in 2011, and in 2010 and even in 2009. It’s like the “I’m going to lose weight” resolution: easy to make and easy to break. However, there are some helpful tips to make 2012 the first year that you actually stick to your money saving resolution.

Make a Realistic Budget
When making a money saving plan, you need to first make a budget. This will help you know how much money you can spend, and how much you want to save. Write down all the little things you have to buy, and compare it with the money you bring in each week.

Before finalizing your budget, make sure it’s realistic. Be honest: if you have to spend $500 a week, there is no way you are going to just spend that $500. You may want to eat out, buy something fun or go out for a night. Give yourself a little leeway, or there is no way you will stick to your plan.

Use Credit Cards
It goes against most money saving plans, but using credit cards can be beneficial. When you purchase through credit cards, or even debit cards, you get a distinct paper trail of your purchases so you can easily compare your expenditures to your budget. Just make sure you pay the amount so you don’t incur any interest.

Set a Goal
Saving money forever until you die isn’t a very good reason to save money, and you will get bored of it eventually. If you want to effectively save money, set some goal. It can be as simple as having $1,000 by the end of the month, but usually this isn’t good enough. What do you need the $1,000 for? Keep thinking about what you need the money for and it will help you stick to your plan.

Setup a Penalty
All of the above tips are useful, but what you really need is willpower. Without this, there is no way you will stick to your plan, regardless of all the planning you do. To ensure you don’t slip, setup a penalty whenever you don’t listen to your budget.

For example, if you want to save $1,000 a month and you only have $300, give it to charity. If you can’t save the full amount, then you don’t deserve to have any of the savings. Be sure to stick with your penalty, or soon it will become ineffective.

About the Author: This article was written by Phill representing FreeStuff.co.uk – with all the latest freestuff, competitions, samples and more.

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Filed Under: Stuff I think about ·

Friday Fives – New Blog Hop!

January 13, 2012 · by · 5 Comments
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It came to me just as I was falling asleep last night – an idea for a fun and easy meme to do on Fridays! Welcome to Friday Fives, a new weekly meme where we share lists of, well, anything! To participate in this blog hop, all you have to do is write a post on your blog or site and share five things you like, five things you’ve done recently, five places you’d like to visit, five products you can’t live without – the list is endless!

Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started:

Last five TV shows watched
Last five pins on Pinterest
Five favorite blogs or websites
Five favorite types of candy
Five favorite restaurants

In your post, include a link back to the latest Friendly Fives post here on Table for Five, or include this cute button!

Friday Fives Badge

Then, come back here and link up your post so I can come to your blog and read your list.  This is a fun way for us to get to know each other better!  Want to make sure you don’t miss a post? Add Table for Five to your feed reader or subscribe by email!

Not a blogger? You can make a list on your Tumblr page, you could create a new board on Pinterest, post your list on your Facebook wall, or even post your list right here in the comments!  Wherever you create your list, check here every Friday by 9:00 a.m. EST for the linky.

Okay, here’s my first Friday Fives list!

Last Five TV Shows I DVR’d

  • The Big Bang Theory
  • Grey’s Anatomy
  • Private Practice
  • Body of Proof
  • The Soup

Add the URL to your Friday Fives post here. I’ll keep the linky open through the end of the day on Sunday. Have fun creating your lists, I can’t wait to read them!

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Geez, January, What Did I Do To You?

January 8, 2012 · by · 20 Comments
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If the past eight days are indicative of what the rest of 2012 is going to be like, I might be looking at one tough year. I’m just getting over a bad cold and now I have a bladder infection or a UTI or something.  I had the doctor on call paged and she says to go to Urgent Care, which is exactly what I want to be doing today. Yippee.

Meanwhile, Chris found out late Friday afternoon that he has to go to California tomorrow and be gone until Thursday.  So I get to deal with the bladder thing AND the kids and the house and everything by myself.  Fun.

Chris is in a bad mood, too, probably because all I’ve been doing for the last eight days is sleeping and blowing my nose and now, running to the bathroom every five minutes, which isn’t exactly putting me in the mood for sexy time, if you know what I mean.

Guess I have to go pee in a cup for a strange doctor now.  I just really hope that January and the rest of 2012 are going to be better than these last eight days or else I may just go into hibernation and come out when it’s 2013. If the world hasn’t ended, that is.

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Filed Under: Welcome to my Life · Tagged: