Are Excuses Holding You Back?

All my life I was told I was too small, too weak to do so many things. I was picked last for everything from preschool to high school. I once dated someone who told me that his hitting me, torturing me and scaring me was his way of making me better and stronger. He was "toughening me up" because I was weak. I wasn't capable of being strong. When I decided to run my first 5k someone told me that I wasn't a runner. I wouldn't be until I had been doing it at least six months. WTF, right? I believed it all. I used them as reasons to dictate my life and keep me from trying things. It kept me scared and immobile and afraid to try anything physical or new. In the end, they were all excuses. Excuses I held on to because it felt safer that way than trying something new and possibly … [Read more...]

How to Make Sure Your Car is Road Trip-Ready This Summer

With kids out of school and tons of family activities planned, you're bound to be doing a lot of driving this summer. But there's one thing that can put a major damper on your summer fun: a broken-down vehicle. So before you head off on a summer road trip, check out these few tips to make sure your car is road-ready. One of the first things you should do is check your vehicle for any damage or wear and tear that the harsh winter weather may have caused. You should look both inside and outside and check for rust or other damages. Additionally, give your wiper blades a once over to make sure they're ready to handle the summer rain storms. And lastly, you should wash your car. Both the interior and exterior take a major beating during the winter, so make sure your car is free of any … [Read more...]

3 Helpful Tips For Protecting Your Skin This Summer

Before we get into how you can protect your skin, it's important that you understand why your skin needs to be protected. As much as the sun feels great, especially after a long winter, it can be seriously damaging to your skin. First, the sun can prematurely age your skin. Over 90% of the visible changes commonly attributed to skin aging are a result of the sun, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. This means that the sun is causing your skin to wrinkle, spot, and look older than it really is. According to the Institute on Aging, 5.5 million Americans lived to age 85+ by 2010. The number of Americans aged 85 and up is expected to reach 19 million, or 5% of the population, by 2050. Imagine what your skin might look like when you're 85 if it's already aging prematurely from the … [Read more...]

Fashion Tips For Every Busy Mom Out There

Can you remember a time before your kids, when you had the time to really invest in your clothes? Your keen sense of fashion doesn't have to go away just because you're a mom now. Moms have every right to love their fashion just as much as childless twenty-somethings. However, being a mom is a full-time job, without the financial benefits, so you're crazy busy all the time. If you want to spend your days rocking the sweatpants and bed head look, then go crazy, but you can still find the time to upgrade your fashion game. Don't forget to take care of yourself while you're busy taking care of your kids. While no one ever said that being fashionable was easy, there are plenty of items that look great and are easy to throw on in a hurry. Here are some fashion tips that every mom should have … [Read more...]

8 Genius Fitness Tips for Full Time Working Moms

Yes, we've got them! Fitness tips for full time working moms and ALL moms.  We need them and we need to stick together! Working full time comes with a set of stresses. You need to be focused, and give your best efforts. Raising a baby is exactly the same. There’s so much for you to do, from laundry to cleaning, from cooking to organizing childcare. You can get help for a few of those things, like working with a laundry delivery service for example, but there are a few things for which you'll have to try to organize things yourself. It’s so easy for certain things to slip off your to do list, like keeping fit. Keeping fit is still important because, besides the health benefits, it’s one of the things that you can still do for you. Source: Daily Burn Prioritize your … [Read more...]

How to Dress Up a Flannel Shirt

On Saturday I was out to lunch with my family, when a friend and blog reader came up to me and said that she loved my 'Holiday Plaid' post but when she tried to replicate the look at home it just didn't work out. How many times has that happened to you?  You see an outfit that you absolutely adore on a blogger and even if you buy the exact same pieces it just didn't look right for you.  What happened? I spotted this casual look from A Thoughtful Place through my link up and decided to replicate it at home. I added my own spin with a darker wash denim and was happy with it.  That's not always the case. It is usually one of two things. You are not that blogger.  Your body type is different. You are taller, shorter or a hourglass where she has a totally different build.  Trust … [Read more...]