Sunrise on the Battery

 

Sunrise on the Battery is an emotional story about a family trying to find their way towards there faith in God. I was pleasantly surprised when I received this book free, in exchange of my honest review thanks BookSneeze & the Thomas Nelson publishing company.

The beginning of this book was quite dry & it took a little while to pick up speed & interest for me. The author Beth Webb Hart allowed me to follow the Scoville family as they journeyed together to find a comfortable place with God. The Scovilles were a well to do family from Charleston who had no wants in the world, yet the mother Mary Lynn felt an emptiness in her life that no number of social obligations or worldly possessions could full-fill. However once she joined the social ministry at her local church she began to feel uplifted & complete, until she asked God to help her husband Jackson find the faith as well.

Only, to her surprise when Jackson began his journey towards the faith he “went all in” by committing social suicide to which Mary Lynn began to resent her husband. She never dreamed of him helping the homeless & the prostitutes in the manner that he did.

Disclosure: I received this book free from BookSneeze. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

#Mamavation Crazy Monday

OMG, can not believe how freaking busy I have been the past few weeks.  Time has NOT been on my side, since the two week challenge with Bob Harper ended.  I have been working crazy hours, doing multiple house projects, and dealing with my youngest who has been ill with a nasty cough that keeps her up all night long:(
But there is light at the end of the tunnel as well as some good news!  If your on Facebook you may have seen my post that told you that I had joined a martial arts program.  So far I LOVE it!  Let me tell you that 45 min class just zooms by, but that's not all.  My kids & husband have now joined me!  Were doing this as a family!  Granted were not in the same class but we should  be earning our belts at the same time.  Also, this week is the Turkey Trot that we have been training for.  I haven't seen my kids so enthused about something in a long time.

Here's the nitty gritty...

Current weight:208#s (IF your keeping track thats a gain of 1.3#s, but I'm not worried. I have had less sleep with dealing with my kiddo & that stess always causes a gain)

This week plan....
Monday : Martial Art
Tuesday: 2 mile run, upper body weights
Wednesday: spin, Lower body weights
Thursday:TURKEY TROT with the family
Friday: "rest" I'll be hitting the stores with the rest of the cazies
Saturday: I was invited to try a kettle bell class with a friend.  I may give it a go
Sunday: REST

Goal:  Not gain weight this week, increase my water, get proper amount of sleep at night

“This post is sponsored by Dole and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway”

What to Do With Extra Halloween Candy

If your family is like mine your children come home with more candy than what they can eat in a lifetime.  So every year I am tossing 3/4 of the stuff in the garbage.  Ever since the kids were babies my husband & I both agreed that we would only let the kids eat 3 pieces of candy MAX a day, and we take all the candy away on November 3 (for us that's about a week after trick or treating)  Even than that's too much, but its a number we could agree on.  This year I wanted to do something different.  I don't want to toss the candy, because I know people spend  ton of cash on the stuff, so I did many searches online for ideas of what to do.  Here are some of my favorites & I wanted to share....

1) Send it to our troops.  They work everyday to fight for our freedom & they like sweets too.  Check out Operation Gratitude for a shipping address.

2) Check with your local dentist about Halloween Candy Buy Back.  Local dentists have partnered with Operation Gratitude where dentist "buy back" your children's candy.  Some dentist buy the candy with different hygiene kits (toothbrushes, tooth paste ext.) while other dentist will actually pay the kids cash (who wouldn't like to make money at a dental office)

3) Freeze it, accoding to most sites I found candy can be frozen for up to 1 year.  Its your choice than if you want to hand it out next Halloween 

4) Who says that you can't use Halloween candy during Christmas? Use leftovers to decorate your Gingerbread house!

5)Try dissolving some candies in vodka and creating an infused booze, suggests Wise Bread.

6) Use them for Science!  Find the details of these and other candy science experiments at  Scientific Blooding

7) Bake with it!  Real Simple has 10 recipes that include all those treats your kids brought into your home

8) Stuff an Piñata !  That's right, does your little one have a birthday coming soon?  Why buy more candy when some did it for you already

9) Bring it to the office.  Perhaps someone in your office doesn't have a little one to bring the goodies home.  I'm sure your co-workers would dig right into that bucket of candy

10)  If all else fails eat what you want & toss the rest.

I hope you found this information useful!

#Mamavation Avoid the Weight Gain This Holiday Season & 2Week Challange UpDate

I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to the holidays.  I love spending time with my family & friends, but I hate that all the food that I want to eat comes with all of those unnecessary calories and fat :)  I wish there was a way to eat all the food I want & not gain a pound.  But as we all know that is impossible!  This week all my fellow Mamavation moms & I are getting a HUGE treat during tonight's T.V. Show (to find out more about Mamavation T.V. click here).  The guest this week is a lady whom I had started following right from the start when I joined this group.  Alysa Bajenaru, RD (@InspiredRD).   

I am looking forward to hearing what Alysa has to say regarding how to avoid those extra pounds while still enjoying all that good food.  So be sure to join us tonight as we look for those answers...Maybe she even has a low calorie fudge recipe we can try.

 Two Week Challenge Update

Like many of the mamavation sisters, I am done with week one of this two week challenge.  I was one of the lucky 100 to be chosen to work & follow not just the workouts but also the recipies shared to us with Bob Harper @MyTrainerBob.  So far I have been having a love/hate relationship with those workouts.  Why?  Because I Know that next week I will be hopefully able to see a huge difference (didn't weigh or measure today...too bloated, thank you PMS) but no matter how hard I try I loth the idea of a burpe.   Bob Harper has a way to sneaking them into those "4 min" workouts he shares with us and his other participants on his web site.  I can not wait to share with you my accomplishments with this challenge next week!

Check this out!

Check this out!