My Health: Progress Update

Water, water, and more water!

That's how I wish it had been since Friday. Unfortunately, it hasn't been.

I actually "relapsed" and drank a soda at a baby shower that I attended and had an 8 ounce Red Bull that same day. Shame on me, right?

Ugh. I've made up for it since then---or at least I feel that I have. I've had absolutely nothing but water and I've been watching my portions very closely. I feel a lot better, to my surprise. I thought that the lack of energy drinks would have me feeling lethargic.

Apparently my "wings" are still in tact.

I haven't been keeping track of my progress in the typical way that people trying to lose weight do. That's mainly because my goal here is not necessarily to lose weight, but to be healthy. Of course, losing 20 to 30 pounds would be awesome. Even still, I'm not tracking my weight on a scale. I'm not measuring how many inches lost. All that I'm doing is measuring how much water I drink per day, and how many days I've gone without drinking my calories.

Are you on a journey to a healthier life? Share your story and link to any relevant blog posts that talk about it! I'd love to read them!

Announcing "Frugal Fashion Friday!"

I'm excited to announce that I've finally decided on a weekly series.

Drum roll, please!

Voila! Yes, that's right! Every Friday, starting on May 2, I will share something related to frugal fashion, such as an inexpensive online clothing store, a full outfit under $50, or some of my frugal fashion finds.

Being that I am a plus-sized woman, a lot of what I share will be plus-size friendly. You can rest assured, however, that I'll also be sharing many different sizes as well, to appease all of my readers. After all, women come in all different shapes. *Smile* If you have any questions, comments, or want me to include a specific size once the series begins, contact me! I am always listening!

I really look forward to sharing with you, and I hope that this new weekly series will help you get more bang for your buck when it comes to shopping for clothing, shoes, and accessories!

Earn Money as a Mommy Blogger

If you're a mommy blogger like me, and looking to earn some cash through affiliate programs, then this post is for you.

A few weeks ago, I signed up with the Moms Affiliate program for bloggers. As a member, I have access to dozens and dozens of different brand campaigns, and I get to choose which ones I want to participate in. There are paid articles, advertising commissions, sales commissions, and more. They have various different categories as well, including home, fashion, and baby, so as long as your blog is relevant to motherhood and/or parenting, you're likely to find something suitable for your blog.

In fact, I've seen sales campaigns for fertility treatments, cloth diapers, and even all-natural cosmetics. As an added bonus, some companies will even offer discounts to bloggers to offer to their readers, and if a reader makes a purchase, you receive commission!

I did find that most paid article campaigns require blogs to have at least 1,000 monthly visitors per month (we're not talking page views here). You have to link Google Analytics before you participate in the article campaigns, so keep that in mind. Some bloggers may find that their blog does not yet receive that many visitors, so it may hinder your success at Moms Affiliate. However, I guarantee that if you keep working at it and networking, you'll have your visitor count up in no time.


After signing up, I received a free 100% natural hand sanitizer. It was a full-size bottle, and I was impressed with the simplicity of the art on the label. Being that I despise dry hands, I must admit that at first, I was hesitant to try it. All of the hand sanitizers I've used in the past have caused my hands to dry and flake. After a bit of procrastinating, I finally spritzed it on my hands and to my surprise, even after 10 minutes, they weren't dried out at all. Aaaandddd there is absolutely NO alcohol in the product, so you don't have to deal with that overwhelming chemical scent. As a matter of fact, the hand sanitizer has a very subtle, clean, minty smell to it.

So far, I've really enjoyed being a part of Moms Affiliate, and I think that you will, too. If you're interested, go ahead and sign up via the banner on the left to start getting involved in campaigns.

Do you have experience with Moms Affiliate? Let me know what you think!

The Struggle with My Weight

I want to lose weight.

I am 5'8" and 215 pounds. I want to weigh 165 and be tone.

I think I'm actually ready to make those changes.

Recently, I saw a horrible photograph of myself that really shattered any ounce of self-esteem that I had left. And last night, and I reflected on my weight over the years. And then I thought about how badly I want to take control of that. I'd like to share with you that story today.

From the age of 10 and on, I've struggled with my weight. By the age of 12, I was already tipping the scale at 200 pounds. I endured teasing, bullying, and various forms of abuse due to my weight, but I took it like a champ in the public eye, and cried quietly behind closed doors. My dad was incredibly supportive and always had uplifting words to help me through it.

Around the age of 14, I hit a growth spurt, and I evened out quite a bit. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I weighed around 175 pounds. I was still overweight, but I looked proportioned, and I was generally happy with myself. Around this time, I started spending a lot of time listening to music and dancing away in my bedroom---you know, like a normal teenage girl. All of the extra cardio allowed me to drop 15 more pounds, and by the age of 15, I was 160 pounds and quite happy with my appearance.

Little did I know that 160 would be my lowest post-puberty weight in my life.

Unfortunately, I have no body shots of myself from my lowest weight, but here is a photograph of my "narrow" face when I was 160 pounds.

I stayed at 160 pounds for a few years until I found out that I was pregnant with my son. By the 36th week, I had gained 40 pounds. I was 200 pounds when I gave birth, and post-pregnancy, I dropped 20 pounds and was down to 180. I was incredibly unhappy with myself, but I never did anything about it.

I maintained that weight for six years, when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. By 40 weeks, I had gained 40 pounds (apparently 40 pounds is the norm for me when I'm pregnant). I was 220 when I gave birth, and 200 pounds afterward.

Ready to change my weight, I started working out and making healthier choices. I dropped 10 pounds before I "relapsed." After giving up on my diet and exercise, I ended up at the highest "non-pregnant" weight of my life: 215 pounds.

That is now my current weight.

I have grown to be less concerned with what other people think of me nowadays. I guess having two kids will do that to you. Over time, I started to just be me, without worrying about my weight. I honestly grew to believe that it wasn't that bad, that I wasn't that fat.

I would take full-body photos every now and then that would increase my self-esteem and show me that, no, I actually wasn't incredibly huge.

 

When I went to my friend's daughter's birthday party back in January, she had photographed the kids having a great time, and I was in the background of a couple of them. To my surprise, I actually didn't mind the way that I looked. Sure, I was not thin, but I didn't think my weight looked ridiculously out of control. Another tiny boost of self-esteem.

 

 

 

A few weeks ago, I attended my sister's bridal shower, and even then, I thought I looked nice considering my weight. The first picture boosted my self-esteem (I'm in the middle, wearing the coral shirt with the white blazer), while the second one told me that my posture could improve a bit. Even still, I wasn't totally insecure about them. I even shared them on Facebook.

 



And then the photos of me the day before the bridal shower were published. I had gone to an Easter egg hunt with my kids, and my friend and her daughter.

 

I accepted those photographs and I thought, "Okay, so, yeah. It's true. I'm big. But that's me." I shared them on Facebook and felt my self-esteem drop a bit. And then I saw this photograph:

I gasped. I cringed. I zoomed in and examined every angle of my "ballooned" face. I put my head in my hands. I wanted to cry. I hated that picture. I loved the one of my baby girl and her cheesy little grin, but I couldn't stand to look at myself. I couldn't believe how hideous it was.

You may think that I'm overreacting, but you know, I actually felt confident that day and thought that I looked good. And that was the result.

Maybe it was just a bad picture? Maybe the way I was trying to tickle my daughter caused me to squeeze my chin into my neck? I'm not sure that's the case.

I stared at the picture for what seemed like eternity until I finally accepted it and clicked, "Add to Timeline." After all, it was me. But I spent the rest of the day going back to that horrible photograph. I thought about asking the friend who'd shared it to have it removed.

And then I realized that if I am truly that unhappy with myself, that I'm willing to have an adorable picture of my daughter removed because I look like shit, then I need to get motivated. Removing a picture from Facebook is not going to make me thin. It's not going to give me motivation. It's not going to change a damn thing, except feed into my delusion that my weight is not an issue. It most certainly is an issue. If I'm unhappy, that needs to be resolved.

I've been living a lie in order to mask the problem instead of fix it. On Facebook, none of my photos show exactly what I look like. In fact, when I take selfies, I take them at high angles, in various different lighting, and many times, I'll even add filters to remove some of the wrinkles and double chin shadows.

These photos make it somewhat difficult to tell that I have an issue with my weight. You can also see that I like to utilize scarves to hide my double chin. And sure, we all want to look good. But do we want to look like someone we're not?

Last night, I thought about sharing these photographs on the blog. I was torn. I didn't know if I wanted more people to see them. I decided to sleep on it.

When I woke up, I felt different. I wanted to make a change. I reached for a glass of water instead of my normal sugary drink. My son, who practices Pangai Noon karate, was practicing his exercises, and I joined him. I looked at myself in the mirror, and instead of telling myself how bad I looked, I admired the color of my eyes and the shape of my lips.

I'm ready to do this. I think.

I am going to start by cutting out my sugary drinks and getting in cardio at least 3 days per week. I'm going to drink more water and eat smaller portions.

Baby steps.

I hope I can update with progress.

Homemade Chicken Salad Recipe

I love chicken salad. It's delicious. It's relatively easy. What I like most about it, though, is the versatility of the recipe. You can add dozens of different ingredients, most of which do not jeopardize the flavor. I've seen recipes that call for grapes, almonds, brown sugar, celery, and even fresh herbs.

My particular recipe is quite simple, because well, I'm a simple kind of girl. I like the tried and true and this chicken salad recipe has been with me since I was a child.

Instead of using canned chicken or chicken boiled in water---both of which make the chicken rather bland, in my opinion---I use chicken boiled in chicken broth. Eggs are added to shake up the texture, red bell peppers add color and flavor, and instead of old-fashioned mayo, I opt for Miracle Whip.

I like my chicken salad served on toasted wheat bread, but you can mix it up and try different types of bread, like ciabatta, rye, or even a biscuit. Like I said, chicken salad is incredibly versatile, so everything is up to you!

Get the printable version of this recipe!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
• 6 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup Miracle Whip
• 3 Tbsp. dill relish
• 3 boiled eggs, shelled and chopped
• 2 Tbsp. mustard
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place uncooked whole eggs into a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add one tablespoon of salt. Place on stove on high heat and bring to a boil. Boil eggs for 7 to 10 minutes, then remove from heat. Dump hot water, and replace with cold water. Set aside.
2. Fill a large pot with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add 6 chicken bouillon cubes and stir until dissolved.
3. Very carefully, add chicken tenderloins to the boiling pot with tongs. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked (estimated time for 2 pounds chicken tenderloins).
4. While chicken is boiling, peel and chop eggs, chop red bell pepper, chop onion, and place into a medium size bowl. Mix well and set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, add Miracle Whip, mustard, and chopped dill pickle. Mix well. Add Miracle Whip mixture to boiled egg mixture.
6. Remove chicken from the pot and place on a cutting board. Use a knife to chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. Alternatively, you may wait until the chicken cools, and shred with your fingers.
7. Add chicken to Miracle Whip and egg mixture. Toss until chicken is well-coated.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may also add a bit of cayenne pepper, garlic powder, or even fresh dill.
9. Serve on freshly toasted wheat bread, with raw spinach and mustard, if desired.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think!

Coming Soon to Mommy's Castle

Mommy's Castle has achieved some pretty awesome success ever since the blog's launch four months ago. I'm actually surprised that it's been that long, and even more surprised by the number of visitors the blog began to receive in such a short period of time.

In four months, we went from a rather bland layout, to a more upbeat, vibrant one---one that I am actually quite proud of.

The original header on "Mommy's Castle" after launch.

 

The new header after I redesigned the blog.

 

While I am proud of the blog's success, I want to take things a step further and begin providing more to my readers. With that said, I'm happy to announce that starting in May, I'm going to begin a weekly blog series. I'm not certain what the series will be just yet, or on which day of the week it will be held, but I do have some ideas. I'll make my final decision by the end of April, and you'll begin seeing the series every week beginning in May.

I also want to begin offering free printables to help make your lives easier. I'll be offering everything from blogging binders to budgeting binders, and grocery lists, weekly meal plans, and so much more.

Finally, you can also expect to see more recipes and reviews very, very soon.

After all, it is you, dear reader, that contribute to the success of this blog, and I truly believe that you deserve something in return.

Hot Designs Nail Art Pens Review

Browsing my local Dollar General the other day, I came across Hot Designs Nail Art Pens. If you stay up-to-date with this blog, you know that I am obsessed with all things nail related, so I had to try this product. The kit was $15, which I felt was very reasonable for 6 different shades of nail polish. I purchased the kit with the classic colors, but there was another kit called "Glitz and Glam" that had brighter, more vibrant colors.

The Hot Designs Nail Art Pens kit came with everything you see below, including three double-tubes of nail polish, an instruction pamphlet, and an insert with some tricks and tips.

In the instruction manual, you will find an area of design ideas, along with blank spaces to practice in. I found these things to be very useful, especially in getting the hang of the pen. The tips mentioned that the pen often develops air bubbles, so it's very important in squeezing out as much air as possible before using to prevent a bubble from coming out and bursting all over your nail.

Below is one example of the nail design ideas and step-by-step tutorial.

Now, the coolest part about these nail art brushes is the fact that the cap acts as a nail art pen, and as a regular nail polish brush.

By pulling off the top cap, you get the nail art brush.

Snap the pen cap back on, and unscrew the cap to reveal the actual nail polish brush.

How neat is that?

Now, I tried the actual nail polish brush as a base. I used white. I found the polish to be a nice consistency, bright, and two coats were sufficient enough to cover my nail. The polish had a strong odor, but not unbearable, and it dries rather quickly.

In the following photos, you will see that I removed the white polish and instead, used a base coat of Pure Ice "Happy Hour." This is a coral color. Very bright and pretty for spring. The reason I removed the white polish is because it didn't match my outfit for a bridal shower that I was attending that afternoon.

Once my base coat had dried, I used the nail art pens to create a quilting design on my middle nail, and used it to create a very thin "tip" on the other nails. This is the result.

I'm quite experienced in doing my own nail art, so I didn't have many issues with the Hot Designs Nail Art Pens. There were, however, a few instances where air bubbles would form, but I paid careful attention to the pen tips and removed them from my nail before squeezing out any excess air. Once the air was removed, the pens worked perfectly.

The design that I drew with the pens has lasted for three days so far without any signs of wear. Fantastic!


Before moving along, let's discuss the pros and cons.

Pros

The polish is a nice consistency.
The polish dries rather quickly.
I have good control with the design of the nail art pen.
The colors are vibrant.
The double-tubes are convenient.
The price is very reasonable.
The color is long lasting, and lasts even longer with a clear top coat.

Cons

The odor of the nail polish is very strong.
The actual nail polish brushes seem rather cheap.
The pens often develop air bubbles that you must get rid of prior to use.

As you can see, there are more pros than cons here. You can even kind of cancel out the cons by taking some precautions. For example, if you're sensitive to smells, make sure the area that you're painting your nails in is well-ventilated. If you're not satisfied with the brushes, you can purchase your own nail brushes to use instead. Finally, if you follow the instructions in the pamphlet, the bubbles in the nail art pen should not be a problem for you.

Overall, I love these pens and I am very satisfied with my purchase. I would definitely recommend them to those of you who are just as obsessed with nail art as I am.

Spur of the Moment Easter Egg Hunt

I woke up at 6 in the morning today so that I could get ready to do some volunteer work at Carriage Hill with a friend of mine. By 8:30 a.m., the kids and I were ready to go, so we hopped in the car and headed off to our destination. Unfortunately, the event was not what we expected, and we weren't going to plant trees at all and we knew that the days tasks were not going to hold the attention of a 5 year old, a 6 year old, and certainly not a 14 month old.

To make a long story short, we decided to bail (I know, bailing on volunteer work is real nice--c'est la vie) and find something else to do.

Pasty skin, black hair, dark clothes, and what else? Volunteer work.
Er...at least I show up?

I was kind of bummed, because I had spent all day yesterday explaining to Carter how we were going to help the environment by planting trees after he'd expressed his dismay about our plans. Of course, that had to blow up in my face. Why don't people properly describe events anymore?

Meh. I digress.

We ended up back in our neighborhood, and lo and behold, an Easter egg hunt was going on. And as fate would have it, we were just in time!

Carter has participated in Easter egg hunts before, but when he was much younger. Ireland, on the other hand, got to enjoy her very first Easter egg hunt. She absolutely loved it. She gathered more eggs than the two older kids combined. She was focused.

 

 

Carter had a blast as well. In fact, he said that today was one of the greatest days he's had in a long time.

 

The temperature was a fantastic 71 degrees with a nice breeze, the sun was shining, and the grass is GREEN (no more yellow!). It was a beautiful day, and I'm thankful that I was able to spend it with the little loves of my life.

One part of me wishes that the volunteer work would have worked out--that the event was actually what it said it was going to be on the website, but the other part of me is happy the day went in the direction that it did. We all had a fantastic time!

I hope your day was equally as great.

Inexpensive Name-Brand Fashion and a Chance to Earn Credits

I'm on a fashion roll today!

Ever since I came across the Lucky21 Pin It to Win It sweepstake, I've been surfing the web in search of inexpensive fashionable pieces to add to my wardrobe. Most of the stores were just too high-priced for my taste, and others didn't have chic clothing for fuller figures like myself.

As mentioned in a previous post, I'm frugal when it comes to fashion, so spending over $30 on a shirt is a big "no-no" for me, unless I absolutely have to have it. And that rarely happens. Needless to say, it's highly unlikely that you'll find name-brand clothing in my closet, unless of course, I purchased it at a thrift store--or discount name-brand clothing stores like LikeTwice.

LikeTwice is an online store where you can purchase name-brand clothing for low prices. And I'm talking extremely low. Below, you'll see two outfits that I put together, and both of them are under $100 each--and both include only name-brand clothing.

 

 

What I love most about LikeTwice is that they often have plus-size name-brand clothing available for low prices. I'm not a small girl by any means, so the fact that they don't leave us big girls out is a big plus for me.

Oh, and did I mention that you can sell your name-brand clothes online at LikeTwice? That's right. If you have clothes lying around that you'd like to get rid of, you can send them in and they'll pay you! It doesn't end there, though. Another bonus is that you can refer friends, and LikeTwice will give you $10 when your referrals make a purchase! Nope. Still not done. If your referrals sell their clothes, you'll get another $10.

You can earn up to $500 in referral bonuses with LikeTwice. Pretty fantastic, if you ask me.

One thing you should be aware of though, is that these clothes go fast. I'm not exaggerating either. While I was browsing, I noticed that one of the shirts that caught my eye was gone by the time I clicked on it! Apparently they're pretty popular, so don't hesitate if you're buying!

I hope you enjoy LikeTwice as much as I do!


*This post contains affiliate links.