3 free ways to invest in yourself and 1 that’s worth the money

I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

We moved!! Like yesterday. Into a great new home. Huge yard (chickens here I come) more living space and friends in the area! This house is the total package for us. But there’s one thing about this house I’m the most excited about. It’s this one area. And the thing that makes it so special is that it’s for me. My space to workout. My space to write. My space to be.

This got me thinking about the importance of having your own space. No matter where you are in your life. As a mother I find it’s important to remind myself I’m more than just a mom. So here a little list of things I’m doing/setting myself up to do to keep my space. Both physically and mentally.

Meditation: Cost $0
Create a space that is your own. You don’t need a whole room for this. It can be a chair in the quite part of your home. Or a closet if you have children like mine. Spend a few minutes focusing on your breathing to help clear your mind. Set your intentions and focus on what kind of day you want to have. Then face the crazy awaiting you. If you would like to invest in some training to help you I suggest my friend Emily Aarons from Life Made Simple with Emily Aarons.

Working Out: Cost $0- $50
A walk cost nothing to do but can give you so much back in return. I know first hand there are about a million and one things you can spend you money on for work out gear. From yoga mats to full home gyms. But honestly you are enough. Read that again. You do not need to spend all your money to feel good. You also don’t need to be a size two. You do however need to be healthy to feel good. Think about your area and maybe plan out a walking/running route. Ask a friend to join if you need some accountability. I got an old treadmill from a family member to help me on days when I’m stuck at home with the boys or the weather is bad. I also have a yard. These things are great!! Lunges, planks, push-ups, you can do them all for free in your yard!! Don’t know what to do? Check out my Pinterest board for at home work outs

Claiming a Space: Cost $0 – $100
This can be a big one for some people. Often as a mother I like to make sure there’s a space for my kids, there’s a place for my husband, and that the fridge is full. After that I tend to not think about what I need. I don’t think about what is important to me. But as we are in a new house it’s the perfect time to stop and not only think about it but also do it! Here’s what my thought process was:

What do I want to do in this space? Well I want to be able to work out. I want to be able to blog/work.

What is the most important thing to make sure that happens? Having enough space for a treadmill and a desk. Having electricity and internet connections.

What would be nice to have in the space? Some natural light and the ability to keep an eye on the boys.

After that it comes down to implementing some style. Even if it doesn’t go with the rest of the house it’s ok. The idea is for it to be a space that when you are in it you enjoy it.

Healthy Choices: Cost $15-$70
So with all the changes in my life I started noticing, shall we say, issues with my health. Thankfully nothing serious, just digestive issues. It happens sometimes. Stress wreaks our bodies like my 2 year old wreaks a coloring books. Add in the unavoidable take out and excess coffee intake, I’m less then in my prime right now. So I decided to try Restore. Restore is a health supplement that helps strengthen your gut. I got to try to sinus spay, the travel bottle and the month supply. First honest reaction was it taste like pond water. Tempting I know. But I wanted to try this for two weeks for a few reasons. One, gut health is so important, 60-70% of our immune systems in our gut membranesystem! That’s a lot. The gut also creates 80% of our antibodies.

So when the stress of moving with two kids to an area I don’t really know with only one car stared to get to me, I thought hey couldn’t hurt. And it was weird, it didn’t. It actually helped. I noticed a change in my mood and my digestive issues seemed to subside. Well that’s win for me. Actually Restore was proven in lab studies and peer reviewed studies to protect the gut lining against the effects of gluten. I’ve been eating a lot of pizza.

So how does this magical bottle of not amazing tasting, but worth it stuff work? Well Restore strengthens the gut lining, which keeps chemicals and
fiber from escaping through that lining and getting out into the bloodstream, which the immune system would have to deal with. SCIENCE!

Check them out. And if you want to give them a try use the code B7X66JY. Code expires July 16, 2017

I tried a meal delivery service: Here’s what happened…and what got broke…

Truth time for minute. I love to cook, but I don’t always love cooking every meal every day. So when Green Chef said they would send me a box of organic fresh ready to cook food, well heck yeah I jumped at the chance.

Does this even matter?

I have to write a review about these books got from Moms Meet for free. They are sitting here in front of me. They’re all shiny and happy. They have action figures and bold colors. Nelson Mandela is throwing his fist in the air with a smile on the cover. And yet the only thing I can see is the tab on my computer with the head line of the latest craziness to hit FB or CNN. Cause we all know their the same thing these days. Crazy head lines about crazy things that make me want to hide a bit from this world.

I’m starring at the titles. “The Book of HEROES” “The Book Of HEROINES” I wish I could pull some of these people from the pages and set them free. We could use a few more heroes these days. But where do heroes (and for me that means heroines too) come from? They are the men and women who faced the challenges of their time to better the lives of those around them. These books have many such people in their pages. Some are from fiction like Luke Skywalker, but most are real. Like the Trung Sisters or Witold Pilecki.

These books are designed for kids to want to look at. One page stories about men and women who have done some crazy and not so crazy stuff. Each chapter is broken down into different categories. Action heroes, great minds, heroes for hire (think firemen and police), leading men and leading ladies. Leading Men starts with Barak Obama. Full color, full page smiling photo. And then the opening sentence. “Not every leader is a hero, and not every hero is a leader. Both possess a specific set of qualities – charm, courage, quick thinking, humility – that rarely combine in a single individual.”

I worry about our leaders, I worry about our heroes. Do they have these qualities? I’m not so sure sometimes. I have two sons. The Bears. They will not know the hardship that some others will face. They are luck to have been born in the US. To have been born white. To have been born men. They are the voices that most will listen to. They will not have to fight as hard as others for their cause. At 2 and 5 their cause is pizza for dinner every night. But what will their cause be at 20, at 30? Will they use their voices for those around them? I hope so.

What can I do for them to lead them in the right direction? It seems small, but I will leave these books out. I will leave them open to different heroes. I will show them charm, courage, quick thinking, and humility. No these book will not save the world, but they may help show us a better one. Does this matter? I think it does, because we, the parents of the next generation, need to show them better then we have been.

 

I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

prAna mama: I got to try new clothes on! And you can too! WIN MY PRANA OUTFIT #MomsMeet #MMLovesprAna

So here’s the deal. I think the last time I bought myself new clothes, like respectable go out and be seen clothes, I didn’t have kids. So when Moms Meet offered me a chance to try and review prAna pants and tops for free? Well I’ve never hit reply so fast. Now these are new clothes for their fall line. I got to try on Kara Jeans in indigo and Gemma Sweater in Vintage Blue. Both in my fav colors. So excited! 

Olive Oil: Is it the new snake oil? #momsmeet

Recently I was given a super cute package from Moms Meet about European Olive Oil. Now I know what your thinking. Isn’t all olive oil the same? Well the short answer is no. The long answer is as follows….

Honest Review: Suja Juice

Ever get the feeling you forgot to eat? So you grab something near you and scarf it down. You might not even know what you just consumed but now you’re not going to go full on Hangry Hulk mode. But then you feel hungry again in 10 minutes and repeat the cycle. You eat an empty filler. That’s what I call them. Those food out there that keep you happy and full for the moment but don’t help you reach your nutritional goals. Mostly they are made of sugar or simple carbs. Enter Suja Juices.

The pillow that saved our marriage. Sort of.

Hubs and I have been together since I was 19. Let’s just say that’s a lot closer to two decades then it used to be. I’m really thankful that for most of that time our fights have consisted of disputes about who is going to fold the laundry (that I picked up, washed and dried) or the dishes (that I made the food that was eaten off of). Occasionally money and once and a great while something serious.

Honest Review: Naspira Nasal Aspirator

I was given the chance to try out the NeilMed Naspira Nasal-Oral Aspirator. That’s a mouthful for a nosefull! I would really love to know who thought this one up? “Let’s take a tube and stick in a stuffed up nose and suck!”

Honest Review: Kabrita Goats Milk Toddler Formula and Pouches (#MomsMeet #KABRITA)

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program (greenmomsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

Recently I was given a container of Kabrita Goats Milk Formula to try. They also included a few of their oh so easy to pack pouches. I was thrilled to try this since we’re not a huge cows milk family and Little Bear is growing like a weed and seems to have figured out how to open the fridge.

Honest Review: LeapTV

For Christmas “Santa” brought us a LeapTV (affiliate link). It was a huge debate among the elves about if we they should get this. Bear had been showing interest in Hubs gaming habits. We have a small apartment so we pretty much know what’s going on most of the time. Not many doors. And since he wanted to pay games “like Daddy” we thought he might be ready for his own system. Now before I get too deep into this, we’re a geeky, nerdy family. We always have been and always will be. From Firefly to Fallout we geek out with our Tardis out. So I knew at some point our little ones would want to join in. But I’m not quite ready for him to join in Daddy’s raid parties. Or have him sitting for long periods of time zoning out at a screen. So we did some research on different gaming systems out there.