Congratulations Jenna Martin! She left several comments on multiple posts to earn extra entries which paid off for this giveaway!
:) Enjoy your free 6 pack of Stevia!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Zevia Free 6 pack WINNER
I'm quite certain the winner of the "Free 6 pack of Zevia" coupon really wanted to win!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Giveaway: A healthier alternative to soda
I have not had a soda in over 5 weeks. Correction: I did have about 1/2 of a diet coke at Chick-Fil-A two weeks ago. But other than that, no soda for 35 days! WOO HOO!
I honestly feel much better without my daily Diet Coke. I realized one day that I was getting nothing beneficial or nutritional out of my daily habit and that it was actually harming me in the long run. Along with my morning cup or two of coffee, I was loading up on so much caffeine daily that I was actually crashing toward the evening and feeling jittery/nauseated off and on throughout the day. This has improved DRASTICALLY since cutting out all of the sodas and cutting way back on caffeine in general.
I was introduced to "Zevia", an all-natural soda, a few weeks ago. A friend of mine drinks them and enjoys them. I tried Zevia for the first time several days ago. I really enjoyed it! I purchased a 6 pack of the Cream Soda flavor and it's been my daily treat this week.
What I personally enjoy about Zevia:
*No calories
*No or low-sodium
*Gluten-free
*No artificial sweeteners or MSG
*It uses Stevia, which is from an herb in the chrysanthemum family, as it's sweetener. Stevia is all natural and is considered SAFE, unlike artificial sweeteners.
*There are caffeinated and non-caffeinated flavors
(I am not being paid or sponsored for posting this. This is just me posting about a product that is a healthier alternative that I discovered and LOVE!)
With all that being said, I'm giving away a coupon for a FREE 6 pack of any flavor of Zevia!
A 6 pack retails for $4.99-$5.99 at the grocery or specialty store. **You can find it at Kroger and Super Target for sure!
This coupon expires 7/31/12.
To enter this giveaway:
1. Follow my blog. Leave me a comment to let me know you have joined my blog and are following me!
2. For extra entries, leave comments on any of my postings. 1 extra entry for each comment you post!
3. Comment on this post and tell me if you've tried Zevia before. If so, which flavors? Did you enjoy it?
I honestly feel much better without my daily Diet Coke. I realized one day that I was getting nothing beneficial or nutritional out of my daily habit and that it was actually harming me in the long run. Along with my morning cup or two of coffee, I was loading up on so much caffeine daily that I was actually crashing toward the evening and feeling jittery/nauseated off and on throughout the day. This has improved DRASTICALLY since cutting out all of the sodas and cutting way back on caffeine in general.
I was introduced to "Zevia", an all-natural soda, a few weeks ago. A friend of mine drinks them and enjoys them. I tried Zevia for the first time several days ago. I really enjoyed it! I purchased a 6 pack of the Cream Soda flavor and it's been my daily treat this week.
What I personally enjoy about Zevia:
*No calories
*No or low-sodium
*Gluten-free
*No artificial sweeteners or MSG
*It uses Stevia, which is from an herb in the chrysanthemum family, as it's sweetener. Stevia is all natural and is considered SAFE, unlike artificial sweeteners.
*There are caffeinated and non-caffeinated flavors
(I am not being paid or sponsored for posting this. This is just me posting about a product that is a healthier alternative that I discovered and LOVE!)
With all that being said, I'm giving away a coupon for a FREE 6 pack of any flavor of Zevia!
A 6 pack retails for $4.99-$5.99 at the grocery or specialty store. **You can find it at Kroger and Super Target for sure!
This coupon expires 7/31/12.
To enter this giveaway:
1. Follow my blog. Leave me a comment to let me know you have joined my blog and are following me!
2. For extra entries, leave comments on any of my postings. 1 extra entry for each comment you post!
3. Comment on this post and tell me if you've tried Zevia before. If so, which flavors? Did you enjoy it?
This giveaway ends at midnight on Saturday, July 21st. Winner will be announced and contacted on Sunday, July 22nd. Coupon will be mailed immediately!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Simple DIY foaming hand soap
If you're anything like me, you probably wash your hands a lot. (Just me then? Ok, I'm cool with that.) I work with children all day long, and also have a child of my own. Oh yeah, and a husband who without loving reminders and a teeny bit of nagging ;) could very possibly be even more messy than my toddler. I admit to having some slight germaphobic tendencies, and having clean hands is part of it! I'm by no means a Mysophobia, such as Mr. Monk, but I do enjoy and insist on having clean hands.
If you haven't noticed, hand soap is pretty expensive! At the rate our family of 3 goes through it, it's a costly item in this home. (I can imagine even more so for larger families!)
I used to splurge on those antibacterial soaps from places such as Bath & Body Works, the Body Shop, etc. They come in such pretty bottles and smell so great! But it's recommended that people actually NOT use so many antibacterial soap and products, as it increases our chances of getting "superbugs". YIKES!
It also kills off most of our important good bacteria, which can actually make us more susceptible to getting sick. (Good article about that here.) They say good old normal soap or a bar of soap is best.
I found several DIY recipes for making your own hand soap at home. I tried several out, and I'm going to share my favorite with you. For me it was the cheapest and easiest to make, plus I had the ingredients on hand. I wanted a nice foamy soap, and this does the trick.
1. Add about 1 inch of the baby wash to the empty soap bottle.
2. Fill the rest of the bottle up SLOWLY (otherwise it's bubble city!) with tap water.
3. Tilt the bottle from side to side to mix up; don't shake!
4. Try it out and enjoy your new hand soap!
I found this idea on Pinterest. Link to original website here. It was marketed as "Make your own foaming baby wash", but this stuff works great for hand soap in my opinion!
Let me know what you think!
If you haven't noticed, hand soap is pretty expensive! At the rate our family of 3 goes through it, it's a costly item in this home. (I can imagine even more so for larger families!)
I used to splurge on those antibacterial soaps from places such as Bath & Body Works, the Body Shop, etc. They come in such pretty bottles and smell so great! But it's recommended that people actually NOT use so many antibacterial soap and products, as it increases our chances of getting "superbugs". YIKES!
It also kills off most of our important good bacteria, which can actually make us more susceptible to getting sick. (Good article about that here.) They say good old normal soap or a bar of soap is best.
I found several DIY recipes for making your own hand soap at home. I tried several out, and I'm going to share my favorite with you. For me it was the cheapest and easiest to make, plus I had the ingredients on hand. I wanted a nice foamy soap, and this does the trick.
Here's what you will need:
*Empty foaming soap bottle (I used an old B & B Works one)
*Johnson's Head to Toe Baby Wash (or off-brand of this product)
1. Add about 1 inch of the baby wash to the empty soap bottle.
2. Fill the rest of the bottle up SLOWLY (otherwise it's bubble city!) with tap water.
3. Tilt the bottle from side to side to mix up; don't shake!
4. Try it out and enjoy your new hand soap!
I found this idea on Pinterest. Link to original website here. It was marketed as "Make your own foaming baby wash", but this stuff works great for hand soap in my opinion!
Let me know what you think!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Safer Sunscreen
If you know me, you probably know I'm not summer's biggest fan. I don't enjoy the heat once the days start reaching 80 degrees or higher. I'd rather by cool and throw on a sweater than be hot and not able to take anything off. Being chilly and warming yourself by the fireplace is relaxing and romantic, while being drenched in sweat and fanning yourself while hovering over the cold air vent paints a slightly different picture! :)
And one of my least favorite things about summer is wearing loads of sunscreen. I'm blue-eyed, fair skinned, and have red undertones in my hair. In other words, the sun loves to burn my delicate skin. I have had to wear sunscreen my whole life, which is a good thing, don't get me wrong. I just don't like how it feels on my face and skin sometimes. Capiche?
But I like skin cancer even less. So I slather it on like a good soldier pretty much every day of the year, but especially on hot, sunny summer days! You can imagine my anxiety level rising after reading up on the new studies about the potentially harmful ingredients in over half of all sun protection products; seeing as how I've probably used over 200 bottles in my lifetime. (Link to news report below)
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/16/health/sunscreen-report/index.html
There is still a lot of research to be done, but several ingredients are considered likely to be toxic to our systems. Think about it...our skin is the largest organ on our body. It has pores and soaks things in. Your sunscreen (and every other product you rub, spray, scrub or smear on your body) doesn't just sit on top of your skin like oil on top of water. It soaks in and absorbs into your body.
I am not writing this to scare you and I am certainly not an expert on these ingredients. I just personally have taken notice and made the switch to sunscreens with what are considered "safe" (or more safe than the others) ingredients. I am aware that research may find that these ingredients are also unsafe in the next year or two! Thus is the nature of the world of science and research.
Ingredients to avoid:
*Oxybenzone- thought to cause hormone disruption and could lead to cell damage which causes skin cancer. (Yep, you read that right! You may be protecting yourself with sunscreen from skin cancer and GET skin cancer...from the "good guy"? That's what the big shots are saying.) Oxybenzone is present in over 50% of our sun protection products.
*Retinal palmitate- this form of Vitamin A is thought to potentially be able to increase your risk of skin cancer when being used on your skin. (Studies have not yet been done on humans.) This ingredient is only in around 25-30% of sun protection products in comparison to oxybenzone, which is in over 50% of sunscreen products on the market.
*Parabens- thought to mimic the effects of estrogen on your body. Found in many sunscreens and other personal care products. Look for words with "yl" at the end...they are probably parabens. Example: methyl, propyl, etc
*Titanium Dioxide- this is a toss up right now, as some studies are showing it's possibly carcinogenic while others claim it's safe.
The good news is that there are plenty of sun protection products on the market without these ingredients.
What to look for:
*Look for sun protection products with "Zinc Oxide" as the main ingredient. It's considered one of the safer ingredients.
*Don't choose a sunscreen with an SPF of over 50. A sunscreen with an SPF above 50 doesn't protect much better, and often gives people a false sense of increased protection.
*UVA and UVB protection levels
I've been using Banana Boat's Natural Reflect Baby Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 on both Erik and myself. I really like it! It works well and hasn't caused my face to break out as of yet. (We've been using it for a couple of months.) Here are some bullet points for this product I found on the Banana Boat website to share with you:
What sunscreen products do you use? Are you concerned about the potentially harmful ingredients?
Has anyone found a product with more natural ingredients that provides good sun protection?
And one of my least favorite things about summer is wearing loads of sunscreen. I'm blue-eyed, fair skinned, and have red undertones in my hair. In other words, the sun loves to burn my delicate skin. I have had to wear sunscreen my whole life, which is a good thing, don't get me wrong. I just don't like how it feels on my face and skin sometimes. Capiche?
But I like skin cancer even less. So I slather it on like a good soldier pretty much every day of the year, but especially on hot, sunny summer days! You can imagine my anxiety level rising after reading up on the new studies about the potentially harmful ingredients in over half of all sun protection products; seeing as how I've probably used over 200 bottles in my lifetime. (Link to news report below)
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/16/health/sunscreen-report/index.html
There is still a lot of research to be done, but several ingredients are considered likely to be toxic to our systems. Think about it...our skin is the largest organ on our body. It has pores and soaks things in. Your sunscreen (and every other product you rub, spray, scrub or smear on your body) doesn't just sit on top of your skin like oil on top of water. It soaks in and absorbs into your body.
I am not writing this to scare you and I am certainly not an expert on these ingredients. I just personally have taken notice and made the switch to sunscreens with what are considered "safe" (or more safe than the others) ingredients. I am aware that research may find that these ingredients are also unsafe in the next year or two! Thus is the nature of the world of science and research.
Ingredients to avoid:
*Oxybenzone- thought to cause hormone disruption and could lead to cell damage which causes skin cancer. (Yep, you read that right! You may be protecting yourself with sunscreen from skin cancer and GET skin cancer...from the "good guy"? That's what the big shots are saying.) Oxybenzone is present in over 50% of our sun protection products.
*Retinal palmitate- this form of Vitamin A is thought to potentially be able to increase your risk of skin cancer when being used on your skin. (Studies have not yet been done on humans.) This ingredient is only in around 25-30% of sun protection products in comparison to oxybenzone, which is in over 50% of sunscreen products on the market.
*Parabens- thought to mimic the effects of estrogen on your body. Found in many sunscreens and other personal care products. Look for words with "yl" at the end...they are probably parabens. Example: methyl, propyl, etc
*Titanium Dioxide- this is a toss up right now, as some studies are showing it's possibly carcinogenic while others claim it's safe.
The good news is that there are plenty of sun protection products on the market without these ingredients.
What to look for:
*Look for sun protection products with "Zinc Oxide" as the main ingredient. It's considered one of the safer ingredients.
*Don't choose a sunscreen with an SPF of over 50. A sunscreen with an SPF above 50 doesn't protect much better, and often gives people a false sense of increased protection.
*UVA and UVB protection levels
I've been using Banana Boat's Natural Reflect Baby Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 on both Erik and myself. I really like it! It works well and hasn't caused my face to break out as of yet. (We've been using it for a couple of months.) Here are some bullet points for this product I found on the Banana Boat website to share with you:
NEW! Banana Boat® Natural Reflect Baby Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proven effective, natural sun protection! Banana Boat® Natural Reflect sunscreen lotion uses naturally sourced sunscreen actives that deflect UVA and UVB rays. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
What sunscreen products do you use? Are you concerned about the potentially harmful ingredients?
Has anyone found a product with more natural ingredients that provides good sun protection?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Giveaway Winner!
Thanks to everyone who is now following my blog! I am very excited to be writing again and so happy you all will be a part of it! I truly value your readership, your comments and suggestions, and your spreading the word to garner some new followers for this blog.
For this very first blog giveaway, each blog reader's name received 1 entry. Everyone who commented on any of my posts also received a 2nd entry.
And the winner of the Mary Kay Timewise Travel Set is....drum roll please...Eric Jenkins. Congratulations! You can make your girlfriend really happy with this set!
**More giveaways to come in the near future...stay tuned...
For this very first blog giveaway, each blog reader's name received 1 entry. Everyone who commented on any of my posts also received a 2nd entry.
And the winner of the Mary Kay Timewise Travel Set is....drum roll please...Eric Jenkins. Congratulations! You can make your girlfriend really happy with this set!
**More giveaways to come in the near future...stay tuned...
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Skincare Giveaway
My first blog giveaway will be for a "Mary Kay Timewise Skincare Travel Set" (Retail $44). This set includes a cleanser, moisturizer, day and night solution.
Don't worry men; if you win we will substitute a more manly item for you if you are not excited about this particular one. (This is a unisex item but I totally get it if you're not stoked!)
Giveaway will end tomorrow night (Monday, July 2nd) at midnight. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 3rd.
**To enter giveaway, you must be one of my blog readers. Do this by clicking "Join This Site" on the right hand side of my blog.
**For an extra entry, comment on any of my blog posts.
Don't worry men; if you win we will substitute a more manly item for you if you are not excited about this particular one. (This is a unisex item but I totally get it if you're not stoked!)
Giveaway will end tomorrow night (Monday, July 2nd) at midnight. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 3rd.
**To enter giveaway, you must be one of my blog readers. Do this by clicking "Join This Site" on the right hand side of my blog.
**For an extra entry, comment on any of my blog posts.
Freshen and Clean your Mattress
Hello everyone! In my quest to provide you with more non-toxic and "green" items to use in your home, I wanted to share this post I posted a while ago on my other blog: www.busymommygoose.blogspot.com. That blog was my first and I plan on keeping up with it as well. I may converge the two eventually, but am not quite sure how to do so without editing this blog's theme and subject matter.
This is an easy, non-toxic way to "spring clean" your mattress. You could also use this for couches, your carpets, rugs, etc.
You will need a shaker-type bottle for this. An empty, washed Parmesan cheese container works great!
You'll also need:
*Baking Soda
*Essential Oils (if you want a light fragrance)
1. Start by removing all bedding from your mattress. Wash your sheets, comforter, and bed skirt while you do this if you want! It's nice to put all clean bedding back on your newly cleaned bed! Vacuum your mattress really well.
3. Shake the mixture onto your mattress and let it sit while you wash some clothes, do some other chores, etc. I let mine sit for about 35 minutes. Different sites say different times. It's up to you.
4. Take the attachment hose from your vacuum and vacuum the entire mattress again. This removes the baking soda and all the yucky stuff it helped pull up. It helps absorb odors, dirt, moisture, etc from your mattress!
Enjoy your clean and fresh-smelling mattress! (And bedding, if you washed it all as well!)
This works GREAT at cleaning/freshening your carpets as well. It just needs to sit at least 15 minutes before being vacuumed up.
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