Why I Became an NYR Organic Independent Consultant

I try to live the most organic lifestyle that I can. I believe in knowing where the food and products I eat and use come from. So when I came across NYR Organic, I was more than intrigued. Their philosophy is simple, “transforming people’s lives, educating and empowering them on how to live more healthy through the power of nature.” What more can you ask for in a company?

Try Neutrogena® Naturals Purifying Makeup Removing Cleansing Wipes for a Great Cause!

I recently joined Influenster and I have been loving it! What is Influenster you ask? As it states on their website, "Influenster is a community of trendsetters, social media hotshots, and educated consumers who live to give opinions of products and experiences." Join them, attach your social media accounts, answer surveys and question and wait to qualify to try some fabulous new products for free, Then all that you have to do is tell all your friends about them.

How to Choose and Take Care of a Cutting Board

Image courtesy of CustomMade blog

I am often forwarded posts from others asking me to share with my readers. I am careful and particular with what I choose to share. I was recently forwarded the post A Cut Above the Rest. It is a really informative post about how to choose a great and eco-friendly cutting board. With so many choices from sustainable and reclaimed woods, cork, recycled paper and even plastic how do you choose? This article provides great information to help you choose the best option for your kitchen. 

Edible Cleveland Making Northeast Ohio A Little Sweeter One Bite at a Time

Are you familiar with Edible Cleveland?  It is a wonderful print and digital publication highlighting all the must have food products and must visit food spots in Cleveland.  It is published quarterly and offers great inspirations to all levels of foodies who live, work or just play in the area.

I recently picked up my copy of the Summer 2014 publication. Immediately I found an article near and dear to my heart about blueberries. What a wonderful article by Karin McKenna about the Nabor Family, owners of the fabulous Mustard Seed Markets and Blueberry Hill Farm a certified organic pick your own blueberry farm in Glenmont, Ohio.

Included in the article was a recipe for Blueberry Almond Flour Muffins.  This recipe spoke to my newly required reduced carbohydrate diet.  As an added bonus to many they are gluten free.  I had to immediately try them!  My children like items made with nut flours but do not like chopped nuts in bakery so I substituted the chopped pecans for dried blueberries which added a very nice texture in the muffin.  These muffins were simply delicious!!

Have we sparked your interest in Edible Cleveland?  Want to get a copy for yourself?  Here is a link to their Summer 2014 Digital Edition.  Complimentary print copies can be found at many local Cleveland establishments which can be located here.  Paid print subscriptions are also available if you don't live in the area and want a print copy delivered directly to your home.

You can also stay informed with everything Edible Cleveland has to offer by following them on Edible Cleveland Facebook Page or on Twitter @edibleCleveland.  Let them know we sent you!

Happy First Birthday Prince George!

Today, July 22, 2014 marks the First Birthday of Prince George.  And what a first year it was!  Three-Hundred and Sixty-Five days of amazing firsts. Our friends at My 1st Years have produced a great info graphic to commemorate this very special occasion and we wanted to share it with you.  Take a glance at the Prince's First Year.

Prince George of Cambridge (George Alexander Louis) was born on July 22, 2013. Prince George is the son of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and the grandchild of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. After his grandfather and father, he is third in line to succeed his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.  From the day Prince William and Catherine announced they were expecting, baby watch began.  The anticipation of Princes's arrival was an event on to its own.  With Prince George's birth not only came a heir to the throne but also a new beautiful new face to the royal family.

Condensing such a monumental first year into one page certainly couldn't be easy, but My 1st Years did a great job!  Take a peek at some of Prince George's stats. He has gone through approximately 2,735 nappies (diapers), consumed approximately 10,230 ounces of milk, been burped 4,092 times and traveled 50 km. Wow!! And consider the fact Prince George, like most babies, has slept for about 232.5 days, or 1/3 of his life, that's a lot of stuff!!

Even the announcement of his birth was amazing!  There were 25,000 tweets a minute about the birth of Prince George.  Can you imagine that?!? Twenty-five thousand tweets a minute.  That is a little over 416 tweets a second.  Unbelievable!!

These are only the items able to be quantitated.  Think back to your baby's first year. All the first that you didn't even know existed until they happened. Priceless!  Think of all the pictures that have been snapped.

Mommy & Daddy Date Day at Firelands Winery

Hubby and I had a chance for a date day today so we headed back to Firelands Winery in Sandusky, Ohio (see our previous post about Firelands here).  We truly enjoy Firelands wines and the lovely experience the winery provides. It is a wonderful day trip if you live in the Cleveland area.

Whether you enjoy dry or sweet wines I am sure that you can find something to like.  The lovely ladies behind the bar will be more than happy to make suggestions.  They also offer a nice tasting experience.  My two favorite Firelands offerings are the Riesling and the Gewurtraminer.

If you live in Ohio but can't make it to the winery in time for your next big or small gathering, click here on the link to their wine list. Just click on the wine you would like and you can add it to your online cart.  Or look for them at your local store and pick up a bottle to try.  And if you already know and love their wines like we do, stop on by and LIKE the Firelands Winery Facebook Page.

New Phone Leads to More Blogging!

So year I finally moved out of the dark ages and retired my flip phone for a smartphone.  I went for a middle of the road base android phone that will remain nameless.  Well it went to its grave this weekend turning off more time than it would turn on.  And if it would stay on it wouldn't ring a call through.  So it was time to go phone shopping again.

I don't need the latest and greatest by any means.  All I want is reliable phone that will turn on, have a battery life longer than my morning shower, rings when it is supposed to and maybe can allow me to send a tweet without tweeting back at me.  I also don't want a contract.  No need.  No contract!

So what did I get?  Virgin Mobile iPhone 4.  Yes just the 4 8GB.  Like I said I don't need the latest and greatest bell and whistles.  It was the perfect phone for the perfect price $199.  And yes no contract.  I really don't use my phone to call much so I can go with the lowest Beyond Talk Plan at $35 month with 300 talk minutes and unlimited everything else- even data!  Not enough for you unlimited everything for $55 still pretty good.  And the best part is if you have an iPhone on the Virgin Mobile network (which is actually the Sprint network) you save $5 a month- score!!

So now I have my new and improved phone I can blog anytime, anywhere.  Better watch out!

Loving Earthfare!

Okay anyone that know me knows how much I love Earthfare. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Earthfare they call themselves "the healthy supermarket." Our store is at Westgate, there is one open in Fairlawn and according to their website a store is coming soon in Solon. There is also rumored to be a store coming to Strongsville. They pride themselves on: no artificial fats or transfats, no high-fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners, no antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones in their fresh meat or dairy and no bleached or bromated flour. They sell a lot of organics and local products. They are kind of like Whole Foods but less pretentious. (Don't get me wrong I love Whole Foods as well but for different reasons. Anyone who has been to both places will know what I mean).

Well today I'm loving Earthfare even more. I wasn't feeling so hot yesterday but I was perked right up when we received a call from Earthfare saying that I won a wellness gift from the store. What could it be? Well my curiosity would have to wait a day. So this morning the kids and I braved the cold and snow and made our way to one of our favorite stores.  The kids asked "where are we going mommy?"  I told them we were going to the grocery store. They immediately yelled out "We're going to Earthfare!" followed shortly by "Can we eat lunch there!?!"  I calmed them down, dress them for the subzero windshields, herded them in the car, strap them in and we're finally off!!

So we get to the store and we stop at the friendly customer service desk. We tell them who we are and that we received a phone call that we had one a wellness gift. They take us to the wellness department. They have great organic hygiene, skin care, make-up and hair products as well as vitamins, supplements etc.  There was a table full of products and baskets to pick from. This is what we got:

Not to shaby! So now mommy just needs to find some quiet time to enjoy her new body wash in a hot bath.  Well one can dream.

Steve would say take your free stuff and run but of course I needed to pick up a few things.  So we got some milk and berries.  The kids picked out and weighed some bananas:

So helpful aren't they?  Then this week's email coupon was for $2.99 lb all natural chicken breasts so we had to pick some up as well.  If you sign up online they will email you coupons and freebies which you can print out or just take your phone to show them the coupon.  Also if you don't mind getting text messages you can get great savings by texting EAT to 71700.  They will send you coupon PLU's for free items or money off your next purchase.  Also they have their new Tomato Bank program where you collect points.  Every 100 points equals $1.  You collect points by giving your number at the register, bringing your own bags, using coupons, buying certain items market in the store, and going to events such as "kids eat free" every Thursday night 4-8pm. (Great deal!)

Then of course the kids still had to eat lunch:

Pizza, fruit and smoothies for them.  A salad with a side of mac and cheese for me.  We followed that by sharing a piece of flourless chocolate cake.  Yum!  I still managed to stay under my Weight Watchers allowance of points.  Bonus!!

Then it was time to bundle back up, pile in the car and off to naps!  And maybe I'll get that hot bubble bath...Hahaha!!  Reality sets back in dishes and laundry to do :)