Proper Portion Sizes

What a great idea Amy Roskelley had when she invented this simple plate. I saw this in a magazine a few weeks ago.

We have been conditioned to put a large piece of meat on a plate and add a roll and small portion of vegetables. When in reality it should this way, large portion of vegetables and small portion of bread and meat. After seeing this, when I dish up a plate of food, a picture of her plate pops into my mind. I think she is onto something.
Teaching our children proper portion sizes will help it become natural for them to eat this way.
Amy, owner of superhealthykids.com was quoted in the Utah Valley magazine below.

One of her habit changes was not so much about the food she served her children but the plates she served it on. Amy found that she was better able to teach proper portion sizes by giving her kids sectioned plates."A balanced meal should be half fruits and vegetables,"Amy says. "I didn't want my kids to grow up with mac and cheese as the main part of their meal with a couple piesces of broccoli on the side."
And then she took the sectioned plates one step further.
" I thought, 'It sure would be nice to have pictures on the plate,'"Amy says. 'That way the kids are the ones to say, 'Hey mom--I need more vegetables on my plate,'"

Even if you don't buy one of these plates, it is a good idea to teach our children the message, and maybe even have a picture like this on the table for a while as a reminder.

Pink Berry

While I was in California I got to try Pink Berry. It is a very natural tasting frozen yogurt. We went there with friends and absolutely couldn't get over the stuff. We each ordered a medium and then had to go back and get a large. We could have eaten it all night. Needless to say we went back the next day and the next day. We spent more at Pink Berry than we would have spent on Disneyland tickets.
We think it tastes like either frozen Dannonactive or Kiefer. It is something you have to try to believe. It is 70 calories per half cup.
Since we have been home in Arizona we are bummed that they don't have one here. They only have them in California and New York.

This is one of the large yogurts with mango and shaved ice on the bottom. They are huge but don't fill you up at all.
Who knows what's in these that makes them so addicting?!
http://www.pinkberry.com

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

A few years ago when these first came out, my sister Amy was so excited after using a magic eraser that she bought and mailed each of our sisters one. When I got it I started cleaning door handles, door jams, baseboards, scuff marks, dirty walls etc. I think I cleaned with it for a couple of hours.
My kids like using them so much that they ask me to buy them at the grocery store so they can clean walls and baseboards with them. If you haven't tried them you have know idea how fun it is. You actually go around hoping to find more grime.
My sister said that she discovered them when she was getting ready to move. She assumed she would have to repaint most of the walls in her home. She said after washing the walls with the eraser almost all of the rooms looked as good as new. It even erases crayon.
I told my friend about them and she bought the heavy duty ones and cleaned all the grout in her kitchen. I won't tell you how many hours she spent but she said it turned out beautiful.
Have I convinced you?? Thanks Amy!! I love it when I get turned on to new ideas that are inexpensive and practical, don't you? If you haven't tried one, it is DEFINITELY worth $2.99. They are in grocery stores, home depot, drugstores etc.

The Secret Garden-Branson Missouri

I met with Bobigene the owner of the Secret Garden in Branson while I was in town. She owns a romantic clothing store for women and children. I own a children's jewerly business and have been selling my jewelry to The Secret Garden for the past 7 years.
Bobigene the owner was dressed in white linen wide legged crop pants with ruffles on the bottom. She wore white patent leather ballet flats with scalloped edges. She had a lacy shirt and jacket with pens and a flower broach on her lapel. Her hair was up in a big clip and reminded me of a southern belle. She topped off the outfit with several sparkly necklaces, rings and bracelets.
I admired her for "HER" style. I saw the joy she finds in living life "her" way. She also owns the romantic home decor store next door.

This is a dress similar to what she carries in her store. She showed me a dress that was twice as ruffly and feminine as the one above. She told me that her friend goes grocery shopping and around town in the dress. People always stop her and ask if she just came from a wedding. She says, "No this was just hanging in my closet and I thought I would wear it:)"
Isn't that fun? I picture Bobigene and all of her friends playing dress up everyday. Looking in their closet and seeing what to wear, what makes them feel happy, not what other people say is in style. They have a style all their own.
As I was looking around her store, I told Bobigene about my coaching business and how I was trying to look more professional and not wear so much pink. She looked and me and said WHY?
I was stunned. I said I don't know. (I have read about professional dressing. The other coaches look like corporate America and I don't. )
If my mantra is "I've Gotta BE Me"....... Why am I buying manly business suits?. Why don't I have my own fun style?
I ended up buying one of her silk ribbon broaches. She had about 50 to choose from. I thought since my company is called Time to Blossom Coaching that maybe I could wear flowers on my lapel like Bobigene.

This is the other thing I bought at her store. She doesn't have a website or I would send you there. If you ever go to Branson look her up. She is a fun lady with great stores.

A Mother's Day Tip

My husband used to be a terrible gift giver. The night before a holiday, he would run up to the corner drugstore. He did this because he had procrastinated, and it was the only place open at 11:00PM. It was a pretty steady practice for him. He just wasn't used to gift buying, because like most women I handled every gift that any person in our family was required to buy.
One of the first gifts I received was a taco holder. I am probably the only person who has gotten such a gift. I was newly married and hadn't learned the art of accepting gifts, sooo...I basically gave him the lecture of a lifetime. I told him that I don't make tacos, I don't eat tacos and if I ever decided to make tacos, I certainly wouldn't need a holder for them. I used the taco holder for laughs at parties and to one up the other wives when talking about the stupid gifts they had received. Months later I even had a hard time selling it at a garage sale for 25 cents. This made the story even juicer.
I never really liked any of my Wallgreen gifts and I told him so each and every time. I finally told him that I didn't need any more gifts. I made a deal with him that I would just buy my own. This was actually a great plan because he was happy that he didn't have the pressure of pleasing a perfectionist wife. I was happy because I knew that I would get the gift that I wanted. I quit fantasizing; dreaming of him picking out the perfect sentimental present. I quit having expectations. I wasn't sad or mad anymore. I thought we had a nice arrangement. But because of this I haven't gotten very many gifts.

Many years later my husband and I were in a fancy boutique killing some time (not something we normally do) and I saw this purse. I went crazy over it. I told Kyle that this was the most beautiful "me" purse I had ever seen. If it didn't cost $300.00, I would buy it in a second. He looked at me and said, "I'm going to buy you the purse." I said that it would be ridiculous to buy such an expensive purse. I tried to talk him out of it, but he bought it anyway.
I couldn't believe it! It was the sweetest thing ever! He was so happy and it made me so happy. I couldn't quit crying because it was such a caring gesture.
Here is a picture of the purse. I love it! I love the color, style, fabric, broach, everything! It is a Glenda Gies. I get 2 or 3 compliments on it a day. Everywhere I go people love it. Whenever I am with him he sees everyone raving about it. This reinforces what a hero he was to buy this beautiful gift. (Guys love to be a hero.)
He was so excited about the great thing he did and how much I appreciated it that he got on ebay and started looking at Glenda Gies purses and started buying me more and more and more.
These are all my purses to date. I try to get him to stop but they keep showing up in the mail.

Here is the tip and what I learned. Men like to buy their wives gifts. Some of them just don't know what to buy. When they do something right, acknowledge it, and like me you might get more and more and more. If you are like the old me, making fun, unappreciative, guess what you get? Nothing! Make sure and let your guy know how great he is in spite of what he gets you for Mother's Day, and appreciate the thought as well as the taco holder. I wonder what would have happened if I started crying over the taco holder?
Oh know........ I would probably have a whole house full by now:)

This has saved me 100's of hours

For years I was the only one in my household that could iron. Yes, I tried to teach my husband but he didn't give it much effort. Why should he when I was so good at it?:)
About 10 years ago I saw this professional steamer at Costco. It was expensive but I thought it was worth a try. It turned out to be one of the best investments in myself and my time that I have ever made!
Why is it that when men have a job to do they go out and buy the best tools for the job and women seem to scrape buy with cheap irons and vacumes and use them many times a week for decades?
My children, starting at 5, could steam their own clothes. My husband has no trouble either. Our family uses it about 98 percent of the time. I rarely ever get out the ironing board. Clothing stores use these because what would normally take 10 minutes to iron, takes 1 or 2 min. to steam.

My daughter knows me well

Mindy gave me this dish towel for my birthday. It was the perfect gift. LOVE IT! Thanks Mindy!