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Be Healthy – Day 1 – Get Moving!

Hannah — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:34:40 +0000

Hello Friends! This month I’m writing Series of Series about being free to live the life God is calling you to.

This Week is about being healthy and taking some simple steps towards a healthy lifestyle.

As busy women, trying to “Be Healthy” or “live a healthy lifestyle” can be one of those things that gets put on the back burner for “when we have more time”. But guess what, the time is NOW. NOW is when you can start taking small steps and making healthy decisions for yourself and your family.

For starters, just GET MOVING! You might not think you have time to “exercise” by going to the gym or spending time on long workouts. So don’t think of it as exercising, just think you need to get moving and work your muscles and heart a little bit. These are some easy ways to get started and just spend a short amount of time. (Yes, I know some of these are still “exercise programs, but they are all designed to be quick for busy mom’s and women like you.) (umm, ok, second parentheses, even though it says “for moms” it doesn’t mean single women, or wives without kids, or even guys can’t do this workout – just sayin’).

1 – Choose a workout specifically designed for busy mama’s to do at home. I highly recommend Fit Yummy Mummy . It’s not only an exercise program, but an ebook with instructions on HOW to eat and WHY you should exercise this way. Only 15 minutes a day, but you will feel stronger and have more energy. I have been doing this program off and on since Phoebe was a couple of months old. It will get you moving for sure.

2 – Pop in a video. Confession: I love at home workout videos, definitely better than going to the gym. You can choose any type of workout that you think you will enjoy, from strength training to dance workouts. If you’re looking for something quick so you can get your workout done in a short amount of time, I recommend Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred DVD – Just 20 minutes for a SERIOUS workout.

3 – Get a quick cardio workout just by putting on some music and doing a few quick exercises to get your heart rate up. Check out these 10 Cardio Workouts you can do at Home - Most of these require no equipment, just put on your shoes and go!

4 – Exercise with your kids. You may not have a large junk of time without your kids – or you may not want to spend nap time doing a workout! So let your kids “play exercise” with you. Put some music on and dance and jump around the room. Lay on the floor and do 10 pushups and 20 crunches while they play with a toy. Take them to the park and run laps around the playground. Just take five minutes and do something to get moving and make it fun for you and your kids.

5 – Keep a short list of exercises with you (or even on your phone) and when you find a few minutes just get a few exercises done. Do something quick and easy like this daily “Anywhere Workout”

source

Phoebe – 8 Months – A Picture’s worth a thousand words

Hannah — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:33:26 +0000

Happy Father’s Day!

Real Life

Hannah — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:18:46 +0000

Bloggers are often accused of only showing their best side. Writing about all the smiles and happy moments and leaving out the disappointments and piled up laundry.

I want to be real and genuine in this place, but constantly writing about all the icky stuff wouldn’t be helpful or encouraging to others. And that’s the point after all, to encourage others. So I don’t always bring you down into the “really REAL” places of our home and situation. Because it’s not helpful.

But today, it might be encouraging for you to know that our life is not picture or blog perfect.

Because last night the baby was up most of the night, I’m guessing because we threw her off her routine by staying out at a dinner past her bedtime. And right now there is a McDonald’s sausage burrito wrapper on the coffee table because I forgot to buy eggs yesterday and McDonald’s is closer than Chick-fil-a. And I don’t know what we’re having for dinner because I didn’t write out my weekly plan on Monday and I’m too tired and fuzzy in my head to think about food.

I don’t intend to use my blog as a complaining spot or a place to vent. I just want you to know that all those cute baby pictures and written out weekly plans aren’t always what it looks like around here. I hope you will never read my blog and think, “She’s got it all together”, or even roll your eyes because it looks like I write to make our life look perfect. Be encouraged that we are in this thing together, and I get what you’re going through. It may not be the same thing as me, but I get the struggle and the tiredness and the McDonald’s.

But the real encouraging part is there’s usually more good than bad, and when that baby girl smiled at me this morning, I looked at her with my eyes barely open and covered a yawn and knew that it’s worth it.

This real life thing is awesome.

5 Ways to Refresh

Hannah — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:00:50 +0000

Summer is here! Kids are out of school and it’s time for Summer holidays and vacations. But if you don’t have school-aged kids, or if a vacation is not in the picture, Summer can be just the same old, same old with warmer weather.

I’ve been so encouraged and inspired by Jessi and Hayley’s new ebook, Refresh (not an affiliate link, I just really love this book!).

I’ve been challenged to try some new things and enjoy a little refreshment. I hope you will too, and here’s a few quick ideas for you:

1 - Try a new nail color - A fresh color on your fingers or toes can brighten your day – even if you’re like me, I normally prefer the french manicure (ya know, the once a year that I get my nails done…) but sometimes you gotta step out of the box. And if color is a little daring for you, try just your toes, it’s a little easier to take at first.

2 – Get a tan. - I love to be tan as much as the next girl, but I’m over having a sunburn and risking damaging my skin. So I have a confession to make, I use sunless tanner. If you’ve never used it before, give it a try! Try it on a small, inconspicuous spot on your skin before you use it all over, just to make sure it’s not a crazy orange color. And if you really want to be cautious, go with one that allows you to subtly build a tan.

3 – Take a Bubble bath. Just do it. Schedule a time for yourself, after the kids are in bed, or when your husband can watch them, and take an hour and soak away. Use some nice smelling bubble bath, turn on quiet music, light candles, whatever will help you just relax and breathe.

4 – DIY Spa Treatments - This can go along with #3 if you want, but try out some of these great spa ideas that you can make yourself and do at home for a fraction of a real spa treatment.

5 – Freshen up your home. - Give your home a little bit of refreshment too with a nice, clean air freshener. I LOVE this scent from Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, but find something that you like and that will be pleasing to you and your family.

I hope these will help you refresh and enjoy yourself this summer!

And as a little bonus to help you refresh – THIS WEEKEND ONLY! The first 10 people to use discount code: REFRESH can purchase the ebook Efficient Homemaking for only $3.49 ! (That’s 50% off!)

Happy Weekend!

The Efficient Homemaking Ebook is HERE!

Hannah — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 11:00:07 +0000

I’m so excited to announce that the ebook Efficient Homemaking is AVAILABLE NOW!

If you want to know more about what this ebook is about and why I wrote it, check this out!

The ebook is available for just $6.99 – click here to buy now

Also available for download, as a companion to the ebook is The Efficient Homemaking Planner. This planner will help you in the very first step of having an efficient home – making a plan. The planner is available for you to download and print for just $4.99, click here to buy now. OR you can purchase the ebook AND the printable planner for just $9.99 click here to buy both now.

I hope that this ebook (and or planner) will be a BLESSING to you in your home and help you get your tasks done faster so you can enjoy your home (family, friends, reading, blogging, shopping, vacationing, WHATEVER you do!) more!

Efficient Homemaking Ebook

Hannah — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:00:44 +0000

Whohooooo! You have NO IDEA how excited I am about finally releasing this ebook! I hope it will be an encouragement and a tool for you in your home. Today I wanted to share a little bit about why I wrote the ebook and what I hope you will get out of it, plus a few specifics on what you will actually find in the book.

So, I made two….ummm, really awkward…videos to tell you about it. The first one is more about my heart in writing it and the second one is some details about it. I probably could have re-recorded these like a million times, but I wanted them to be for real. So here there are….all real.

Catching Up

Hannah — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:48:39 +0000

PHEW! Holiday weekends (while I love them…) seriously throw me off. Since Monday is a no-work day, and since we missed church Sunday while we were at the lake, Monday felt like….Saturday? And then Tuesday was Monday…in other words, don’t ask me what today is.

Despite the craziness that follows, we had a lovely, relaxing weekend. We tried out the new donut shop in town, celebrated birthdays with my mom and brother-in-law, and took Phoebe to the lake for her first boat ride!

It was fun for her to wear this life jacket that’s been waiting for her

This week we are catching up around the house, I’m reorganizing my writing calendar and working on some projects that I’m very excited about!

Project number one is that my ebook, Efficient Homemaking is coming out NEXT TUESDAY! I can’t wait to share this ebook with you and I truly hope that it will bless you and help you streamline the work that happens in your home. Tomorrow I will be sharing two quick videos on what the ebook is really all about (and you will actually get to hear me talk and see all my weird facial expressions…eeeek). So be sure to come back and check that out!

Hope you’re having a great….ummmm, whatever day it is…

Pint-Sized Victories

Hannah — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:09:12 +0000

Good morning friends!

I’m taking a little tiny break from my series today to link up with my friend Mackenzie for her new link-up “Pint-Sized Moments”. She’s encouraging us to celebrate life’s little victories, and I’m SO thankful for that!

When I started thinking about writing this post, I couldn’t figure out what to write about, not because I couldn’t think of anything, but because I was thinking of SO many things.

These are just a few small victories I’m excited to celebrate:

Listening to a sermon

Being a stay-at-home mom is the BEST gift I could ever ask for. But as a SAHM I have a tendency to not want to leave Phoebe hardly at all – not because I don’t think someone else can take care of her, I just genuinely do not like being away from her. She has stayed in the church service with us since we first went back when she was about four weeks old. But we finally decided we were ready to give the nursery a try, and I had been a volunteer in the nursery one week, so I was able to see how she did and get to know the workers who are there every Sunday. So she has stayed in the nursery a couple of times now and she has done well. The best part about this is that I’ve been able to actually listen to the sermon and take notes! I’m a very visual learner, so for my to hear something and write it down really helps me internalize it. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to do this again.

Planning out the week

I’ve always been a planner and a list maker. For a long time I have made a To-Do list for the day and tried to accomplish as much as I could, and if something didn’t happen it would get moved to the next day’s list – or sometimes the whole list would become the next day’s list. The past few weeks I have started Monday morning out by not just making a To-Do list for the day, but making a plan for the week as a whole. Since I have several projects going on right now, this really helps me to decide which days I will work on what. This helps to make sure everything gets it’s own day. It also means that I do not have to worry about or even think about the tasks that aren’t assigned to today, because they have a time assigned to them.

Finishing up my ebook

YES. THIS is really happening! I know I’ve been talking about this ebook for a while, but it’s coming out very soon. I’m excited to announce the official release date is June 4th! Efficient Homemaking is an ebook all about helpful ways to plan your housework and efficiently accomplish tasks so that you can spend less time cleaning and enjoying your home and family more. My hope is that you will realize that it’s not about having a perfect home (I do NOT have one!) but about having a place that is peaceful and welcoming to your family and friends. There will be more about the ebook in the coming weeks as we get ready for the release, including some fun extras and giveaways! I can’t wait to share it with you!

Phoebe – Seven Months

Hannah — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:27:29 +0000

(I’m a little overdue on this post…)

OK, I won’t say “I can’t believe she’s already seven months.

And I won’t say “It’s crazy, she’s scooting/army crawling all over the place.”

I won’t even say, “We just love her so much.”

Nope. Won’t. Do. It.

So instead, I’ll just post an obnoxious amount of incredibly cute baby pictures and let myself be a “mommy blogger” for this post.

You’re welcome.

Be Frugal – Day 4: Entertainment

Hannah — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:51:35 +0000

Hello Friends! This month I’m writing Series of Series about being free to live the life God is calling you to.

This week is all about being frugal, whether you’re saving up for a purchase, living on a budget so you can be a stay-at-home mom, or just looking to cut a few corners so you can bless others, I hope you will find some new tips here.

Entertainment in the form of television, movies, books and events can quickly become a big expense. But having fun can be cheap…or free!

TV

When my husband and I bought our first house we were excited to get “the best” cable and internet. Our cable in our apartment was included in the rent, so we didn’t choose the service provider or the package. We loved having fast internet and all our favorite shows with DVR – we hardly ever watched anything live (except football games) and we skipped commercials. But after a while of doing this we realized something – we hardly ever watched anything live. And really we were only watching a few shows that were actually on at the time (like new shows airing). So we completely cut off our cable and now we watch shows on Netflix or Hulu through our AppleTV. What we pay for both of those services is FAR less than what we paid for cable. And if there is a show that’s not on Netflix or Hulu that we really REALLY want to watch right now, and that we can’t find free somewhere online, (Hello Duck Dynasty!) we can buy the whole season on itunes and STILL be paying less than our old cable bill. If you’re looking for a quick way to cut some spending out, consider cutting the cord on your cable.

Movies

I can’t tell you the last time we went to see a movie in the theater – wait, yes I can, my husband’s AWESOME company rents out the theater at Christmas to show a family friendly Christmas movie, and it’s FREE for us to go. But seriously, we VERY rarely go see a movie in the theater, for one because we don’t think there is much worth going to see, but also because it is so expensive! Instead we wait for things to come out on DVD and then we can rent them from RedBox for $1 (or $1.50 if we get the BlueRay). Or if we’re at home and just want to rent something quick, we can rent from iTunes for about $3 through the Apple TV. Chances are if you’re on a tight budget, you aren’t frequenting the movie theater anyway, but these are some great ways to see new movies on the cheap.

Events

Events like concerts, plays and festivals can be fun entertainment for the whole family. And if you pay attention to can find a lot of free or very cheap events to attend in your city. Check community calendars in local publications (especially free publications that you can pick up at the store, library or doctor’s office), there are especially a lot of these events in the Summer months. In our community we have festivals, concerts in the park, food demonstrations and much more.

Library

If you don’t already have a library card, GET ONE! The library has books (of course), but also DVDs of movies and TV shows, magazines, music CDs, books on tape, and some now even have eReader books that you can check out on your Kindle, Nook or iPad. And most library systems work with other libraries in your county or community, so even if your town only has a small library (like ours does), it might be connected to a larger library that you can request material from and pick up at your own library. Plus, libraries often host free events for the community, so be sure to check out the events calendar.

Having fun doesn’t have to be expensive – and might even be free! Be resourceful and find ways to have fun without spending a lot of cash.

Do you have other ideas for cheap or free entertainment?