Atkins, Low-Carb, Oh No, Here I Go!

Once, years ago, I decided to drop some pounds and used Atkins.  It worked like a charm - and I was able to stay full and ate fairly well.  Problem was, you were really limited in the food selections back then.  Just in the past few years the low-carb selection has gotten much better - really great in fact - due to two things: popularity of the Paleo diet and popularity of the gluten free diet.  I only realized how many interesting new products there were because my father has Celiac Disease. Everytime he visits it becomes a mad dash to de-gluten the house, and I get to check out the gluten-free sections at the local stores.  I'm pretty impressed with what's available!
  Well...  I have three kids, currently aged 4, 5, and 8.  This means there are lots of yucky carbs in the house, and despite my best intentions, I have been known to graze, nibble, and sample my fair share of these goodies.  My waistline doesn't approve.

  In an attempt to get back towards a healthier lifestyle, I'm going back to the low-carb diet.  This time, I have a blog to record the journey on!  In just the past 3-4 days I've perused many a store looking for low-carb alternatives, and I've already started recipe testing.  So I'll try to share some
of my successes (and maybe a failure or two...) .

Emma in the Night

She Speaks was nice enough to grant me an advance copy of the psychological thriller, Emma In The Night, by Wendy Walker.  I took the reading challenge in force - a free book, I'm down for that!  The novel started by switching between first person narration of who I believed to be the sister of the protagonist and the FBI psychologist that helped with the investigation into the sisters' disappearance.  As the novel wore on, it became clear that Emma, one of the sisters that disappeared, was not nearly as interesting as Cass, her sister.  Not to mention the crazy family dynamic, and the kidnappers!
  The story unfolded into the panoply of crazy that surrounds a narcissistic personality.   This was portrayed very well, and you really felt the sisnister characters and the pain that was caused to everyone involved.
  I really can't say much more without giving up the plot!  Give the book a try: Emma In The Night

My hair turned WHAT color?! Or, ‘Yes, I’m pregnant’

My parents hadn’t seen my son since Christmas, so it was time for a trip. For all the (shudder) pictures, I decided it was time to freshen up my hair color. Hmm, how about a nice medium blonde, to match what I had been growing out for the past few years? Sure! I used an at-home kit, and I SWEAR to you that I picked medium blonde. Yet, when I got out of the shower, my hair looked disturbingly red. I thought it was perhaps that my hair was still wet – I ran all over looking for a dryer, no luck. Convinced it was no big deal, I let my hair air dry and went back to my day. Whoops.

Several hours later I got a chance to look at myself in the mirror. It.Was.Still.Red. Really red. I checked the box – had I made a mistake? Nope, girl on the front still smirked at me with blonde hair. I checked the bottle – had someone mixed up the colors? Nope, it claimed to be blonde. Disturbing.

Until I started to think about it… what day of the month was it? Uh-oh. I made a quick stop at CVS, bought one of those digital pregnancy kits that can’t be misread – it either blinks pregnant or not pregnant. I was on my way to lunch at the time, so I had to take the test in the Cheesecake Factory bathroom. Yeah, classy! I sat down at the table with my friends, only mildly thinking I could get a pregnant – it just didn’t add up. Well, a few minutes later, I reached into my bag, and WHAT?! I shook the test; it was playing a prank on me. Nope! I was pregnant!

I had read that this could happen – the funny hair color deal, but didn’t actually think it could happen to moi. Seems those funny first trimester hormones have a wicked sense of humor. Luckily, my hair magically went back to blonde in about a week, so other than being a redhead in some pictures, no harm done.

Zicam Cold Remedy Chews

Thanks to BzzAgent, I was recently selected to review Zicam's new Cold Remedy Chews in Cherry! I love the Zicam line, as the zinc has been shown in peer-reviewed journals to enhance the body's response to the common cold. In the past, I have used the Zicam swab, which while messy, gets the job done quickly. The cherry chews I was sent were a great alternative to having to stick goo up my nose! When I recently came down with a cold I grabbed my samples and took my first chew. On first taste, it was yummy, a sweet and tangy cherry. However, I found the metallic taste to get a little noticeable before swallowing. My family, however, disagrees. My husband really likes the chews, even after I asked him to try and keep chewing until the cherry taste faded. He still found the taste pleasant and will definitely be using this in the future over the swabs. My son is still too young to try a chew, but I'm sure a cherry candy will be a bigger hit than holding a gooey cotton swab in his nostril! Overall, my family will be using this product again, and keep some in the medicine cabinet for any future colds. Severity and length seemed lessened, and the product is tasty enough to take every 3 hours, as directed.

My Review of Nativity Play Mat

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Nativity Play Mat

Adorable product, safe for baby

By Beth from Atlanta, GA on 10/18/2009

 

5out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Durable, Safe, Soft

Cons: Smaller than pictured

Best Uses: Baby's first christmas

We received this for our son's first Christmas a week ago, I wanted to let him play around with it before I reviewed. Other than it being slightly smaller than it looks in the picture (no big deal, it was just the way the picture was angled) it's really a very clever and cute idea. Most nativity sets are basically hands-off for small children, but this one has had my 10-month old stuffing in his mouth and playing with the different dolls. Each doll comes with a little slot for a finger on the back, so they make great finger dolls. We got the bag personalized, which looks great, and the whole thing just zips up so you can port it around. We will probably be bringing this out on the holidays for years to come!

(legalese)

Win a Lucky Mom Prize Pack!

Hey everyone! I was just wanting to let you know about The Giveaway's 1st Birthday Bash that will run June 5th-12th. Haven't heard about 'The Giveaway'? It's this great blog that has several easy-to-enter giveaways starting every week!

And the Birthday Bash will be the biggest week ever! There are over $2100 in prizes to be given out! Starting with a Giveaway Carnival on Friday, June 5th, a Photo Contest on Saturday, Scavenger Hunt on Sunday, regular giveaways Mon-Thurs, a LIVE Grand Prize Giveaway on Friday, June 12th, and Daily Door Prizes. This is going to be HUGE!

For more info on the Birthday Bash, here's the link: http://www.the-giveaway.com/2009/05/giveaways-1st-birthday-bash.html

Remember, it starts this Friday, June 5th with The Giveaway's 1st Annual Birthday Carnival! So if you are hosting a family-friendly giveaway on your blog, you can enter it in the Carnival and be entered to win a great Prize Package, as well as Friday's Door Prize!

And if you blog about this too (before Friday, June 5th) (just copy and paste this post), then you will be entered to win the special Early Bird Prize! Just come back here: http://www.the-giveaway.com/2009/06/birthday-bash-early-bird-giveaway.html and leave a comment with your blog post url!

Hope to see you there!
http://www.the-giveaway.com/

Win Grill Accessories

Want some very nice grill accessories? I know my husband would love these! Check them out at Barbecue Grill Tools and enter to win them here:

J. leigh Designz