The Sewing Mom

This post brought to you by Slim-Fast. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am not good when it comes to any type of dieting.  I am fortunate that I’ve never been way over weight, but I know I could stand to lose a few pounds.  At this time of year it’s difficult to keep from adding pounds with all the great treats everyone is busy making.  Just the other day I was given a box of homemade chocolate pretzels.  It took all my will power to not down the entire box before I even got home!

To help me keep the excess pounds off so that I don’t look like a blimp in January, I try to eat healthy, low calorie meals that allow me to have a few extra calories worth of treats.  I think that’s why I really like the Slim-Fast 3•2•1 Plan, it pretty much allows me to follow my own plan without sacrificing taste, allowing me to feel satisfied, not hungry, throughout the day.

The Slim-Fast 3•2•1 is easy to follow and it’s flexible.  Each day I can have 3 snacks like fruit, veggies or even the Slim-Fast 100 calorie snack bar which is specifically designed to help curb those in between meal cravings for sweets.  Also, I can either drink 2 Slim-Fast shakes or eat 2 meal bars each day.  I like drinking the creamy milk chocolate shake for breakfast and the other one as a late lunch.  They keep me full while providing balanced nutrition until I cook dinner in the evening.  The shakes come in other flavors too including French vanilla, rich chocolate royale, cuppuccino delight, and strawberries n’ cream.

Finally, as part of the Slim-Fast  3•2•1 plan, I try to fix a balanced 500 calorie meal for dinner.  I’ve also learned that it helps to remember that half my dinner plate should be vegetables, 1/4 should be protein (meat) and the other 1/4 should be whole grains. 

I also like Slim-Fast because it’s available where I normally do my grocery shopping so I don’t have to make an extra trip to another store just to get it.  Heck, it’s even available at Amazon.com.  If you can’t locate it, check the pharmacy section of your grocer and don’t forget to “like” them at http://facebook.com/slimfast

Almost!

That’s right, I’m almost done with my to do list and ready to sit back and simply enjoy the holiday.  I finished my shift this morning and am now sitting here organizing my grocery shopping list and coupons, getting ready to head out the door to get the supplies for Christmas day dinner.  It’s just the 3 of us, so we keep it pretty simple.  We enjoy a spiral sliced ham, some scalloped potatoes and a vegetable or two.  We never ate our asparagus at Thanksgiving, so I think I will try to buy more today, that would go nicely with ham.

I got a few gifts wrapped yesterday and need to go get some gift bags and/or shirt boxes in order to wrap the remaining gifts.  Found out through my daughter that my husband did actually buy me a gift (a rather expensive one at that) even though he said he agreed we wouldn’t exchange with each other this year.  So, I went out and got him something yesterday.  It’s not the gift I really truly want to give him, but I can’t afford that one right now, so went with a plan B, I just hope he’s not disappointed.  Anyway, it’s wrapped and ready to go under the tree.  We don’t put gifts under the tree until the night before Christmas, a tradition started when our daughter was born.

So, I’m off to the grocery, wish me luck and I am hoping it’s not too crazy and crowded! 

This post brought to you by PartyLite Simple Pleasures Holiday Sweepstakes. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever attended or hosted a PartyLite party?  I think I’ve only been to one, and that was years ago.  Why haven’t I gone again?  I don’t know anyone who’s hosted a party!  I would certainly go if I did because I really do like their candles and home accessories.  I would probably host a party myself, but since moving here, I don’t really know that many people, so it would be a pretty tiny party!  I think I will just have to check out ordering from them online.

But, if you’re interested in hosting a party, it’s a great way to earn alot of free products.  Simply invite your friends and neighbors over, serve a light snack and something to drink and next thing you know, your decorating you could be decorating your home with products from the PartyLite Simple Pleasures Holiday Sweepstakes catalog.  Or, since the holidays are actually almost gone (can you believe it?!), you can now order from the new PartyLite Winter/Spring 2012 Catalog which just came out on December 16.

Be sure to visit and “Like” the PartyLite Facebook page so you’ll always know about special monthly offers for both hosts and guests.  We just missed entering the Simple Pleasures Holiday Sweepstakes that ended on 12/15, but I’m sure they’ll soon have something new and exciting happening at PartyLite!

This post brought to you by LG DoublePlay™. All opinions are 100% mine.

My daughter and I have spent the day online shopping for cell phones.  My husband has a cell phone which is a smart phone, that is issued to him by his employer.  Lately though, he seems to think that he needs to have his own personal cell phone.  Truthfully, I think he sees my daughter and I playing around on our phones all the time and he wishes he could do the same.  He’s hesitant to do more than text or make business calls on his current phone since the monthly bill is paid for through work.  So, we started shopping around.  I think he’s crazy to even consider carrying around 2 phones, but hey, he’s so difficult to gift shop for, if he wants a phone, he might just get one!

One phone we came across that would be perfect for him is the LG DoublePlay™.  It’s perfect for texting because it has a full slide out QWERTY keyboard as well as SWYPE.  The keyboard is larger than the one on his current phone so I think he would find it easier to use and reduced the amount of time it takes him to actually send a text.  He doesn’t text nearly as much as I think he would if he could handle the keyboard better with his stubby little fingers!  Honestly, he probably spend a couple of hours a day total texting right now, but I think that would increase.  The phone is Android based, something we are very used to in our household.

The LG DoublePlay™ which is available exclusively at T-Mobile, has dual screens, the primary screen is 3.5″ and the 2nd screen is 2″.  They can operate independently or simultaneously, a very cool feature that would allow him to surf the web at the same time he is attempting to send a text.  That’s something he can’t do at all right now.  In fact, he rarely visits social networking sites because he can’t do that on his current phone.  I know the time he spends doing that right now would certainly increase!  In addition, the phone as a 5 megapixel camera and takes HD video.  I think he would like the addition of the video feature.

So, what do you think?  Do you spend a lot of time texting or visiting social networks on your cell phone?  Let me know, I’m curious!  Would the LG DoublePlay™ change the way you currently use your cell phone for texting or social networking?

I know, I know, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest.  Well, what can I say?  I rested so much earlier in the week that I ended up with a lot of work to be done!

So, here’s my list of things I accomplished today:

• work (yes, I had a 1 1/2 hour shift this morning for my job!)
• shower (it’s nice working from home so I can shower AFTER I work! LOL)
• wash my bed sheets
• clean the dishes
• clean of the kitchen island (buried under mountains of junk mail, coupons, Christmas presents brought home from work/school, cell phone chargers, etc)
• scrub down all the counter tops, including the freshly cleared island!
• vacuum family room
• do a load of laundry
• sweep and mop the kitchen and hallway floors
• make my bed with my freshly cleaned sheets
• write 2 paid ops

So now it’s just after 5 and I feel a sense of accomplishment.  I now need to go unload the freshly run dishwasher so I can reload it with all the dishes that were a result of my husband cooking dinner while I was doing all of the above!  When I get done with that I plan to spend some time dropping EC and maybe some last minute online holiday shopping.

Hoping everyone had a wonderful weekend!