Sugar is vegan. Right?
WRONG.
Not all sugar is vegan. Per the USDA [i], any sugar product (white, brown, etc.) labeled as “100% Organic” cannot be filtered / bleached through natural carbon Continue reading “Organic Sugar? *Inserts Eye Roll*”
Raw Cookie Dough: The Remix
What’s better than Chocolate Covered Katie’s Cookie Dough?
How about a Cookie Doughnut?!
Amirite?!
Here’s how:
Just. Keep. Swimming.
Have you seen the movie Finding Dory? If not, you really should.
One central theme that tugged at my heart was to just keep swimming at all costs. You know why? Well plain and simple:
Wow. What a powerful thought. You know, sometimes we have to embrace those negative memories with the same open arms in which we embrace the good memories. Those bad memories through the more troublesome times in our lives, those stepping stones we had to trudge over are all apart of a foundation of faith in which when faced with an equally onerous situation – we can say to ourselves, “Been here – done that. I will excel, I will not fail.”
If we are faced in a situation that we put ourselves in, the key seek out the lesson taught to us in those darker times and be sure not to repeat in the future. Although we will continually experience peaks and valleys in our lives, we do not have to experience the same valleys over and over again …
If we had no control over some fate we suffered, let us still have quiet reflection on the lesson the universe was trying to teach us. For the universe then expects great thing of us and had to make us stronger.
Have faith and believe in yourself if going through a tough time. It will get better. Just keep swimming.
Don’t Belittle the Baby Steps …
You can’t fit into your jeans.
You can’t fit into your fat jeans.
Your sweat pants make you work up a sweat just trying to get them on.
I get it.
Here’s what you do about that excess weight: Continue reading “Don’t Belittle the Baby Steps …”
Wait, how much does that cost?
So it is a beautiful day in my hometown. I am at work thinking, “Boy! I can’t wait to get outside and spend some money!”
Well, not really.
However, all of the wonderful activities I want to do today with my kiddies involve some exchange of cash. Possibly lots of exchange of cash. Or giving up of cash would be a more accurate assessment.
Some of the ideas I’ve narrowed down are:
– Getting frozen yogurt
– Eating out for dinner
– Going to an outdoor movie
– Going grocery shopping (not so much a want, but a need!)
As the dollar signs started to amass, I had to reel myself back in and do a quick mental costs benefit analysis.
A cost benefit analysis is simply a method to carefully analyze and decide on a course of action, after weighing all of the costs and benefits associated with the decision.
After a mental brainstorming session, my cost benefit analysis looked like this:
Note: Although I love hanging with my kiddoes, I also work full time and study part time. Therefore I, like a majority of the population, am habitually exhausted! So these scenarios bring me about 75% happiness … the other %25 represents the cost of me being tired but still engaging in these activities. In other words, I am not technically totally “happy,” I am 75% happy because I am 25% exhausted. Makes sense, right?
It is always best to write this down, as write out your ideas and action with every other aspect of your life as feasibly possible. You’ve heard over and over again how putting ink (or pencil) to paper makes us more likely to achieve our goals.
I am willing to risk being too tired to not finish my chores after the kids have gone to bed tonight, to hit snooze on the alarm clock when it goes off at 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, etc.
This cost benefits analysis is specific to today. See, I am willing to risk it all because (1) you’re kids grow up faster than you can mentally process and (2) we are coming off a very cold winter. We ALL could use an afternoon in the sun!
I’ve decided on the last option, particularly because I like taking my children grocery shopping. It is a good habit to have children follow along at the grocery store, farmer’s market, etc. so they can begin understand the dynamic of preparing meals. Plus, this option will yield us meals for days, and not just today. Next (while the groceries are chillin’ in a cooler in my trunk), we will be swinging by a new park. After that we will whip up a quick dinner and finally get our frozen yogurt, because that is one benefit that is worth every bit of its cost!
Have a great weekend!
MistleToes
I always remember this song around the holiday season. My class performed in when I was in Kindergarten and I distinctly remember some of us students dressing up as a gift boxes. That performance had helped me, even at a young age, to always express my gratitude for those who have done so much for me over the year.
Now that I have a kindergartener [and a preschooler] of my own, I alway try to do a little something for my children’s teachers. After all – they are like an extended family. Although we are on a strict budget, I made sure to allot some funds to buy some small tokens of thanks.
After perusing the aisles of my local Family Dollar, I walked past some cozy socks. I instantly remembered my daughter’s kindergarten teacher saying how cold her house is in the winter. From there, and with the help of Pinterest, I came up with these inexpensive and practical gift bags:
The contents of the bags include:
*Warm Skid-Proof Socks
*Nail Polish
*Soap and Lotion
Total cost: about $4.50 per bag! Not too expensive and more personable than a $5.00 gift card to Wawa or Target (although I did buy some for other folks – I love gift cards!)
The teachers loved them and were very appreciative! And that’s what it is all about. Just being grateful towards others, and letting them know how grateful you are 🙂
C’mon – Give Me Some Credit!
Happy Holidays!
Sharing some quick tips for purchasing items on a credit card….
First things first –
You should only use your credit card in two instances: Continue reading “C’mon – Give Me Some Credit!”
