Intention Kits Review

I was not sure what to think when I first heard of intention kits. I wondered what exactly they were. I am proud to announce it was one of the most wonderful ideas I have seen in a long time.

A Intention Kit is simply a tool to help you stay focused on your goals.  Each kit comes with 30 Affirmation Cards or Bible verses which is your option and four Wisdom tiles. You can keep your tile or card with you throughout your day to glance at and reaffirm to yourself your goals and help stay focused during your busy day. I love to look at mine first thing in the morning and get my thoughts straight to get me through the day. I love to sneak a peak when I have time too just to reset my thoughts.

The tiles are very stylish and vibrant. Your kit arrives in a gorgeous bag to keep everything in. Super fast shipping. Easy to order.

You can find your kit here at http://www.intentionkits.com/  and also become a fan of theirs to see upcoming items and sales on facebook.  (it is there on the front page of the website)

These make great gifts as well.

Coca-Cola’s new 90 Calorie Mini Can

I love COKE!  Coca-Cola that is. It’s by far my favorite beverage of choice-behind H2O of course.  And now, thanks to Coca-Cola, my favorite soft drink is now available in convenient Mini cans.   The new 90-calorie Mini cans are truly cute, stylish and a great way to manage all  the calories we drink!  The cans are slimmer, smaller and about 7.5 ounces and 90 calories compared to 12 ounces and 140 calories of the regular sized cans. I, myself, would welcome 90 calories over 140 calories any day.   I must admit…I love the stuff!  and nothing else really satisfies my taste buds.  I’m not sure what it is but I’m almost to the point of being addicted…Really! 

I realize that some would say soda is NOT at all good for you and I get that… but for those of us who do enjoy a little can of happiness every now and then,  the new Mini can’s are a great option for a quick treat and a great way to cut back.

The new Mini’s will be available in Sprite, Fanta Orange, Cherry Coca-Cola and Barq’s Root Beer – sold in packs of eight.  I received samples of the new Mini’s  from The Coca-Cola Company and they tasted great.  A new look but same great taste!  The new cans work great for me since I’ve been trying to cut back and incorporate a much healthier diet. I am definitely enjoying these – maybe you will too!

I recently had a conversation with registered dietician, Jan Tilley about the new Coca-Cola Mini cans and how they can fit into one’s diet.   Jan was a pleasure to speak with .  Jan suggests that part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not feeling deprived and  feels that deprivation has been the ruin of many healthier eating plans.   I cannot agree with her more – that’s why I believe the new Mini cans will help out folks like me who are not totally ready to give up their favorite beverage.   Portion control is also the key to any successful diet , Jan explained , and believes the new 90 calorie cans will go a long way to help people who love Coca-Cola but also want to manage their calories. 

For more information,  watch the promotional video here to see what else Jan has to say about the new 90-calorie Mini cans.

“The size of the packaging really reinforces moderation,” Jan says in the video. “And calling out the calorie content on the front of the label helps people to understand how this will fit into their calorie allotment for the day. Plus it’s fun, it’s cute, it’s portable. People still like to enjoy what they eat and drink, it’s one of the small pleasures in life.”

More about Jan Tilley
Jan Tilley, MS RD LD is President of Jan Tilley & Associates, a nutrition consulting firm promoting healthy living through nutrition and fitness. Tilley has written a new wellness book entitled Getting Your Second Wind.  The book focuses on how to build a healthy, balanced life based on healthy eating, physical activity, and a positive attitude.  In the book, she blends healthy living information with real life stories to create a motivating experience for all who are looking for their path to wellness.www.myappetiteforlife.com

Love Your Body, Love Your Life ~ Book Review

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading a book by body image expert and author Sarah Maria, titled ©Love Your Body, Love Your Life: 5 Steps to End Negative Body Obsession and Start Living Happily and Confidently.  For me, this book is one of the most in-depth explorations of mind, body and spirit.  The recommended five steps are laid out in a superb manner.  She has facts to back up her theories throughout the process and she explains the concepts in a simply defined way.  The further I got into it, the more I was reassured that the author did her homework, without a doubt.  To capture all my favorite points about this insightful literary creation would take many hours, so I’ll summarize and let you form your own opinion when you pick up a copy for yourself.  Please keep in mind this book is for anyone who has negative thoughts about their body or their life, in general.  Whether you are large, small, young, old, tall, short, male or female… this book can help you overcome the negative thinking habits that are holding you back.

Negative Body Obsession (NBO) is a term used throughout the book and it describes the feelings of dislike toward your body and/or yourself.  As the author mentions, “NBO makes it difficult to accept the present” and “the resistance you have toward your body – and anything else in your life – is what prevents you from making the changes you want and fulfilling your intentions”.  Maria goes on to say, “accepting the present does not mean you will not or cannot change.  In fact, that is absolutely impossible because everything is constantly changing”.  Grasping the concepts outlined in this book is the beginning of molding the life you deserve to live.

The mental exercises that Sarah Maria provides throughout the book are simple and reflective.  They are designed to help you “identify and detach from your destructive thoughts”.  She explains that “your life is the result of the choices that you have made in the past, whether you were conscious of them or not.  If you want to create a different life with different results, begin by making different choices”.  Her writing style creatively uses metaphors which help to re-program our minds to find beauty in and around us.

One of the most powerful points of the book for me was the teaching of forgiveness.  You must first forgive yourself for hurting yourself emotionally, mentally and physically and for judging yourself too harshly.  If you overindulge, forgive yourself.  If you have an eating disorder, forgive yourself.  If you have negative addictions or habits, forgive yourself and begin the healing.  Then, you must forgive others because “If you are unable to forgive someone, you are the one who will suffer”.  The effects on personal relationships are covered in a special chapter devoted to life with others, which offers value to not only those who live with NBO, but to others that suffer from the damage brought on by NBO.

I make a point to read and review self-improvement books exclusively because they provide both stimulation and relaxation for me. When I see or hear the words ‘self acceptance’ anywhere, I automatically take interest in what someone else has to say about their own personal experiences with accepting themselves just as they are.  When you realize how liberating it is to set yourself free of all the negative self-talk that prevents you from truly living your life to the fullest, you can clearly see the direction you need to take.

This book is a great read and I suggest savoring it and participating in the exercises to gain the most benefit.  I’m actually going through it a second time to drill down further with some of my favorite chapter exercises that I marked for quick reference.  This is not a book that will gather dust on my shelf… it’s a keeper and a life-long reference guide for my continuing journey to love my body and love my life.
©2009 Sarah Maria, author of Love Your Body, Love Your Life: 5 Steps to End Negative Body Obsession and Start Living Happily and Confidently” is published by FSB Associates and currently available at Amazon.com.

EasyBloom Plant Sensor – A MomGadget Review – Just in time for Mother’s Day

One of the most exciting and fun gadgets I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing this spring has been the EasyBloom Plant Sensor.

I’ve often joked about this brown thumb that I sport – that has been known to kill cactus plants – but the older (and wiser) I get, the more I realize that it’s not so much a brown thumb as it is a lack of knowledge of what plants grow and thrive in certain soils and light.

The EasyBloom Plant Sensor is a wonderful gadget that takes the guess work out of gardening, be it flowers, vegetables or any type of plant for that matter.

Determine which plants will thrive in specific spots of your yard or home
Diagnose an ailing plant so you can restore it to good health.
Assess detailed plant information on over 5000 plants
Create a custom plant library of your favorite plants

It’s really very simple to use too!

Plug EasyBloom Plant Sensor into your USB port. You’ll then be wisked off to your EasyBloom Dashboard. This is where you select "monitor" or "recommend" mode.

Place your sensor in a spot you would like analized

Allow 24 hours for your EasyBloom to gather enough data to provide you with all the information you’ll need to determine what, if any, plants will do best in that particular location.

It’s truly as simple as THAT!

This year, instead of giving mom or grandma a bouquet of flowers, why not give them the gift of healthy flowers all summer long?

EasyBloom Plant Sensor is available at Amazon and retails for $59.95

Social Climbers – A MomGadget Review

It doesn’t matter where you are from, there’s always a sector of your surroundings that can be identified as “social climbers.” From the back-stabbing antics to the suck up facades, you’re sure to find a parallel in many of the characters in Social Climbers by Beth Dunn.

If you or someone close to you can be called an addict when it comes to reading blogs or personal journals, this is one book you will want to add to your library collection.

From the socialites to the socialite wannabe’s – this book chocked full of laugh out loud moments.

Consider adding this to your list of must have’s for Mother’s Day. What can be more refreshing than sitting on your porch with a nice mommy cocktail and becoming a voyeur of sorts into the world of a social climber?

Win a copy of Social Climbers!

If you’d like to win, please leave a comment on this post.

Winners will be selected and notified via email on April 15th. Please be sure that the email address that you enter with is one that you check regularly, and also check your spam folder. If winners do not respond with their shipping information within a set time frame – a secondary winner will be drawn.

This MomGadget prize package is open to residents of U.S. and Canada.

 

Buy Your Copy of Social Climbers at Amazon.com

Grad to Great – A MomGadget Review – It’s Graduation Time!

Grad to Great is a must add to your list of gifts for this graduates!

How many of you graduated college only to find that no one prepared you for that first big step into the real world?

Anne Brown and Beth Zefo – with Grad to Great, embrace the journey and cover just about everything a new graduate would want to know about getting and keeping, a job. They share excellent tips for questions to ask in a job interview, and delve deeper into topics such as "Mistakes to avoid at work", "Getting people to listen to you", “Network Like a Pro” and "Working with difficult people".

Why not offer your grad a manual to life this year – something they can reference time and again – to help them succeed in day-to-day life, not just some knickknack or plaque they might dust once a month?

Grad to Great is available on Amazon for $13.88 – Order Your Copy