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A Mom’s Guide to Planning Ahead & Being Prepared This Holiday Season- Family Size

Who Knew A Family Size Lasagna Could Make A Difference This Holiday? – This Mom Does I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and advertiser.2013-12-07 15.41.23 Each year my holiday wish list is the same:

  1. I wish I had more time.
  2. I wish I was more organized.
  3. I wish I were better prepared.

In the past, this is the time of year for me when my best intentions give way to just getting through the holidays. It’s also the time of year when I want to schedule that holiday play date for my kids best friends, or invite my friends over for a girls night. But when “just getting through the holidays” becomes the best you can do, next thing you know it’s February and time to wish for a more organized next year. This year, I’ve decided to plan ahead and share my guide to being prepared this holiday with the help of Nestle #PlanAhead solutions at meals.com. So, for all my fellow busy moms out there who want more time to enjoy the holidays with friends and family this year, I’m sharing these simple steps.

Step 1:

While decorating for the holidays early in December, set out all of your most festive serving ware as if you were decorating for a party, and keep it that way throughout the month. I always like to have my table and buffet set with my best holiday party dishes.

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Step 2:

Keep easy and delicious meals in the freezer so that at a moments notice, you can have hot and healthy food to serve to guests. No more planning a menu for that play date or cocktail party, or running by the grocery store on your way home from work or dance class to pick up days-old veggie trays. Here are a few items I picked up at Walmart to keep on hand this year:

Stouffer’s Party Size Macaroni & Cheese

Stourffers Family Size Macaroni and Cheese

For more #PlanAhead ideas, visit meals.com

 

Stouffer’s Party Size Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Family Size Lasagna

for more Family Size meal ideas, visit meals.com

 

Digiorno Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza

Family Size Pizza

For more Family Size ideas, visit meals.com

 

Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light Ice Cream in A Very Merry Eggnog and Peppermint Wonderland

Peppermint Ice cream

For more #PlanAhead meal ideas, visit meals.com

 

Step 3:

Serve food on your most festive holiday platters, plates and bowls. The table and buffet are already set with your best holiday dishes, so why not use them? This is the one time of year to use those beautiful red glasses, so go ahead and get them dirty!

Peppermint Ice cream

For more #PlanAhead meal ideas, visit meals.com

The desire to be prepared during the holidays is something I share in common with every mom I personally know. The old saying “a stitch in time saves nine” has always resonated with me because I know that just a few simple steps to plan ahead will create a ripple effect that saves me nine times that in the end.

Nestle

Walmart shopping trip to #PlanAhead


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I’m Getting Minted For The Holidays

Christmas cards are but one item on my long list of things to do each holiday season. In past years, I’ve endured hours at my local portrait studio, sweating and chasing after toddlers before turning cartwheels to get them all to smile in one photo. I considered it well worth the effort because after all, I MUST have the best cards each year. I mean, don’t we all? This is our once-a-year opportunity to show off our adorable family!

Recently I’ve discovered that candid photography shoots outside of the studio create some of the best photos for Christmas cards. I’ve even shot some great photos on my iPhone to use this year.

So, what took me hours to create before, will take me just minutes this year with Minted.com. The best part is that I’ll definitely have the best Christmas cards this year (again)!

Here’s just one of my idea inspiration boards from Minted.com for this year’s Christmas cards:

Sparkle & Snow Christmas by Toni, see more Minted.com

Sparkle & Snow Christmas board by Toni. See more Minted.com

Get $25 off your order of $50 or more by joining Minted.com now, click here.

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Meditation Garden – Create Your Outdoor Sanctuary

Meditation is defined in many ways. According to one of my favorite authors, Eckhart Tolle, one conscious breath can qualify as a meditation.

This news is a huge relief to me because one breath is all I have time for most days.

When the sun and moon are aligned just perfectly, however, I’m handed the unexpected gift of an hour or two to sit, contemplate and connect…. yes, meditate.

Now that I’ve covered the “what” and “when” of meditation, it’s time to discuss the “where”.

Inside, my meditation alter is a small corner of my home office that I’ve claimed as my sacred spot, where crystals are arranged perfectly around books, rosaries, candles and other relics that remind me to connect with all that is higher than me while keeping my feet perfectly grounded to this planet (so many who connect with Spirit forget the “stay grounded” part).

 

Spiritual

Are all of these objects necessary for me to meditate? Of course not, but I can’t deny the immediate shift in perspective and mood when I sit down in my spiritual spot after a long frantic day. The smell of sandalwood and frankincense trigger a response in brain that reminds it to shut off, which is so necessary in meditation.

This summer evening was a cool 88 degrees in Las Vegas and I couldn’t help taking advantage of it by enjoying some time outside. As I sauntered over to my meditation garden I was struck by how neglected and sad it looked. I’ve spent so much time indoors lately that I’d forgotten how much more connected and spiritual I feel when I take my meditation outside. I wondered if this former outdoor sanctuary in any way reflected a neglected spiritual need within me.

Meditation garden

Before throwing away a decaying bouquet of flowers, I pluck off the living buds and toss them in my fountain

Before you write me off as dramatic or crazy, know that I’m already ahead of you in that area, we can agree to agree. The fact of the matter, however, is that your home is your sanctuary. Monks and nuns work tirelessly in the monastery or convent to create purposefully tended outdoor retreats to pray. Why should these spiritual spots and practices be left only to the sequestered divine?

Today, the kids and I have decided to get to work and rebuild our meditation garden. We’re de-spidering (yes, I know that’s not a word), planting, arranging and building. Check back soon for our “after” photos!

meditation garden

Meditation garden collage courtesy of #Muzy

 

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I love my garden statues. I don’t shop for statues the way I would clothing or curtains, rather I let them find me. To steal the phrase from Pier 1, I wait to “find what speaks to me”.

I have a great story about my big angel statue. I was shopping one day at Sam’s Club and saw this statue among other large garden items. They had boxes of them lined up next to each other. I thought it was beautiful. but I just continued on my way shopping.

From my kitchen sink I can see my meditation garden, and that night while washing dishes I looked out at this area and saw this empty spot that made me think of that angel statue. I had never considered placing anything there before, but all of the sudden it looked like it was missing something.

For several following nights, I looked out from my kitchen window and each time I felt like that statue was meant to go there.

I went back to Sam’s Club to find two things. One, there was only one angel statue left in stock. Two, it had been discounted in price to nearly half. Angel and I left Sam’s Club together and every night I see her from my kitchen, and sometimes I sit with her in my garden to meditate.

Meditation garden

Love my garden statues

 

Follow Our Garden Progress on Instagram!

My Instagram feed will, no doubt, be filled with all things “meditation garden” as long as you don’t mind the intermingling of cooking, fashion and wine photos.

 

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Losing The Blogging Weight with Mangodrin

You’ve probably heard of women trying to lose the “baby weight”, and may have fought the battle yourself to shed extra pounds that stick around way too long after the birth of your youngest child.

Not me.

Losing the baby weight was easier for me than losing the blogging weight.  After giving birth to three babies in two years, the only time I ever sat still was to nurse or rock them to sleep.  I was regimented in my nighttime routine of bathing and getting the babies off to sleep by 7:00PM  before collapsing into bed myself by 9.  So even if I woke up for feedings at midnight, I still had a good three hours of sleep under my eyes.

When my baby girl turned four I began blogging, and that’s when the weight came on. Routine bedtime became a thing of the past for me while I stayed up writing until 2 in the morning with potato chips beckoning me from the pantry.

My constant state of motion turned sedentary and food companies began sending me samples of the latest products to review for my blog.

Although I may not be considered “obese”, at 127 pounds I’m well over my target weight of 115.  Fortunately, the ladies of RECESS are giving me a jump start on my plan to get lean for bikini season with their #MangoChallenge 30-Day Challenge to “lose the blogging weight”.  At a recent Blogger Event at our local GNC Store, I discovered that I’m not the only blogger with this problem.

African Mango

RECESS Blogger Event for Mangodrin at GNC

I heard about the African Mango first on the Dr. Oz Show and thought about trying it out.  Mangrodrin is an all-natural patented formula made by a local nutraceutical company truDERMA and promises that I’ll lose “up to 28 pounds in 10 weeks”.

I’m in.

Follow me during the month as I work towards 115 pounds with Mangodrin’s #MangoChallenge.  I’m one of about twelve bloggers participating in the weight loss challenge, so if you want to check in on their progress or read about their individual struggles, head over to RECESS.

Join The #MangoChallenge

I love it when businesses want to share discounts and coupons with my readers.  During my #MangoChallenge I’m passing on a special discount for 30% off your entire order of Mangodrin.  This is a great opportunity if you would like to join me and share your results along the way.  This promotion is for online sales only by using THANKYOU in the coupon code section during checkout.

African Mango Mangodrin

use coupon code THANKYOU during checkout for 30% off your entire purchase

 

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