Tuesday Tips & Tricks: Leftover Lemons

What do you do with your lemons after squeezing out as much juice as you can into sparkling water, over a chicken your going to roast or a dash to brighten up some pasta? We (meaning my husband) usually leave them sitting next to the sink.

But I've discovered a trick! Move over scrub brushes and sponges! Take your leftover lemon and scrub your sink. Seriously. Not the peel side; use that to hold onto. Then, just scrub as if you're using a sponge and watch the grime come right off!


Give your sink a rinse to remove pulp and then a quick wipe with a dry towel or cloth and there you have it! A clean sink that smells great!

Do you have a tip or trick to share with my readers? I'd love to feature you!
Email me at adgmommy (at) gmail (dot) com!!

Pregnancy or Period?

The one I waited for
(My 1st born at 4 months) 

Have you (mothers) ever noticed that the start of a period is strikingly similar to the early days of pregnancy? Swollen, achy breasts, mild cramping and the sensation that your bladder has shrunk? Every month I wait in anticipation for the proof that it is just a period.

Yet, I can remember not so long ago when I desperately hoped for the very opposite. Those days and months and years of waiting, hoping, trying, wanting...

It seems like we women go through stages:

Stage 1: The Virgin's Period - Yuck. I hate this time of the month. Mother nature sucks!

Stage 2: The Sexually Active Period - Thank God!!! Yes! I have my period!

Stage 3: The Ready and Willing to be a Mom Period - Darn. No baby this month!

    *** Repeat Stages 2 and 3 until you have all the children you want (or more), then back to stage 2 until:

Stage 4: Hey, Where's My Period? Is this Menopause?

For some women, there's one more stage in-between 3 and 4: Stage Infertility: Another period. Heartbreak. Keep hoping. Keep praying. Some, like me, go on to become mothers naturally after some intervention; some become mothers through adoption; some never become mothers.

That's as far as I can get in my own experience. Well, I haven't experienced Menopause yet, but as my doctor mentioned in response to my irregular periods since having the boy, I am getting older!

Currently I'm full-on in Stage 2! I love my babes, but I'm happy (and slightly crazy) with three. So, come Aunt Flow! Show yourself!

In which stage are you?

Ready to Get Famous? Don't Miss this Blogging Resource Review

I was going to write an entire opening about how I discovered Lisa and her blog, www.mompreneurmogul.com, and how timely that discovery was, but instead I'm just going to get straight to the review. However, instead of a traditional review where I tell you what the book is about and give you my thoughts on it, I'm simply going to document my experience and results. Read on. 

The ebook Get Famous ROCKS! It is more than a book; it is a guide, a how-to manual, a reference that I now leave up on my computer's desktop most of the time! It is a must have resource for beginner AND experienced bloggers. I'm not getting paid to write this. I did get a complimentary copy of the book to review and I'll tell you what's happened since, after utilizing just a few, repeat: just a few out of the many tips in her book.

1. Exposure - My stats have gone from 1,500 views a month to around 2,400, my Twitter followers tripled in one week, my Alexa rank changed by 1 million in just a couple of weeks and my Klout score has jumped from 20 to 36. I'm still watching my Google Page Rank, but I switched from blogspot.com to my own .com during this time and it took me back down to 0. I was at 2 with blogspot, now I'm back up to 1.

2. I am getting pitched! Writers are asking to guest post on my blog and companies are pitching me! I've been contacted by several authors for book reviews and companies are emailing me to ask if I'll review their valuable products for giveaways! This just makes me giddy.

3. $$$ - When I examine strictly the paid posts from advertisers I've received, my monthly income from blogging has gone from between $0 and $20 to $30 and $100. If you add in the value of the products I've received, in just one month I've earned around $300.

4. Confidence - You can't pay for it, but it is something Lisa naturally inspires. Her "voice" is unique, uplifting and motivational. What she communicates throughout the book and every day in her blog is her belief in YOU. She makes others feel good about themselves. She's open, honest and funny! Her "can do anything" attitude has helped me gain the confidence to reach out to authors and businesses that I'm interested in working with, to approach parenting websites for pro-blogger jobs, to start (another!) new business (coming soon!) and take my own leap into self-publishing! Her typos inspired me to offer proofreading and polishing services (if you find any in her book it's because she was too eager to get it out to you to let me finish the final read-through! ;) and I've even started copy writing/editing for a local business woman!

5. Friendship - One of Lisa's tips is to reach out and comment on 5 blogs a day. Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but once you start actively doing this, you really can make some amazing friends! I've made one in Lisa and I'm not alone. She is one of the most supportive, genuine and helpful bloggers I've ever "met"  and you'll reap the rewards of her influence.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and GET FAMOUS!

***Disclaimer - Lisa doesn't guarantee results and neither do I. You get out of life what you put into it. The same goes for this excellent ebook!

I've Been Tagged by Yee Wittle Things!

I didn't even know the game of blog tag existed, but here I am! Why not play along, I say?! It's a good way to warm up my writer's mind this morning.

Brandi, from Yee Wittle Things, one of my new favorite blogs and a wonderfully supportive and active follower, has tagged me and asked the following questions:

My Questions:

1. What's your favourite late night snack?

2. If you could interview a celebrity on your blog, who would it be?

3. What are your plans for summer?

4. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

5. What kind of bread do you buy...white, whole wheat, etc.?

1. My favorite late night snack is usually dinner! Hah! My husband and I generally eat dinner around 9:30 or 10pm, when I'd often rather be in bed! But, since our store closes at 8 and one of us is always the closer, that's the deal! The kids have dinner around 6 and we have ours after bedtime. It's a wonderful way to maintain and strengthen our marriage. I'll sacrifice a little sleep for that.

2. I'm debating between Oprah and Angelina Jolie. Oprah because she's such an amazingly inspiring woman who has done so much for others, especially women. Angelina Jolie because she's an incredible humanitarian and she is a mother. Both of these celebrities inspire me!

3. Summer? I hadn't thought of that season yet. Enjoy many days outside with my family! Feeling the warm sun on my (sun-screened) face, feeling sand between my toes and watching my kids joyfully frolic in the water that laps the shore, while my husband and I enjoy a  bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Will it be a lake shore or an ocean shore? I don't know yet!

4. I'm not much of a shoe person! I'm a barefoot kind of girl, but as shoes are legally required in most places and I'm a bit of a germophobe, I have a few pair. The pair I'm wearing right now I've had since I was pregnant with my first-born. Then, a pair of boots equally as old, 1 pair of sandals (I usually have one or two pairs each summer and wear them to death) and 2 pairs of heals that I never, ever wear. Plus, a very cute pair of tennis/loafer style shoes I got in France last year and one pair of proper tennis shoes that get use about once per year! That makes 7. I probably have a few others that I just haven't bothered to get rid of, but never wear!

5. I buy whole wheat bread or cracked wheat. I prefer Aunt Millie's as she (the brand) uses unbleached whole wheat and no high fructose corn syrup. I buy whole wheat flour for making my own bread. I love baking bread. I could happily become a bread baker and do nothing but knead all day! I went through a major bread baking phase a couple of years ago. Click the link to see what I did in just one day!

Now, to tag a few others...

Sarah at Skylar Magazine
Lisa at Mompreneur Mogul
and
Mommy With Selective Memory

My questions:

1. What kind of car do you drive and (for the moms on the list) what would you be driving if you didn't have kids?
2. What makes you laugh out loud?
3. What makes you return to a particular blog again and again?
4. Who is your greatest inspiration?
5. What is your theme-song?

Be sure to drop me a link with your answers!
Thanks to Brandi for tagging me!

The Missing Secret to Parenting - Part 1

I consider myself to be a relatively evolved individual. I'm open-minded, tolerant and full of love for humanity. I think of myself as a confident woman... most of the time. But there is this little "not good enough" voice that pops up often enough to do damage. 

A few weeks ago, the confident me reached out to a woman whom I highly respect, Denny Hagel, author of the ebook The Missing Secret to Parenting, and website of the same name. If you follow me on Twitter, you've likely seen my numerous re-tweets of her poignant parenting tweets. 

You may have heard of the movie The Secret, which is about the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction essentially states that what we think about, we bring about. If we focus on debt, we attract more debt. If we focus on success, we attract success! Easy, right? Not always, because we have these sticky things called "limiting beliefs" of which we may not even be aware. They hide deep in our subconscious and effect our lives without us even realizing it. 

 

In her book, The Missing Secret to Parenting, Denny Hagel demonstrates this concept in the realm of parenting. I've studied the Law of Attraction for the past three years and have often wrestled with how to apply it as a parent. Enter Denny's book. In it, she helps the reader discover their parenting "mindset" and gently guides the discovery of the reader's own limiting beliefs. 

I warn you, it isn't an easy read, thus, the "part 1" of my title, but it is an important one. Having minored in Psychology, I easily recognize avoidance and I have been avoiding this book! I sped right through the first couple of chapters, but then discomfort set in. 

As an evolved individual, I recognize that discomfort serves an important purpose. It's the place between stagnation and growth. Yet, I've been unable unwilling to push past it. It requires me to face my insecurities. It requires me to face that "not good enough" voice that I swore for years didn't exist. It requires me to face and embrace my faults as a parent, of which I have many. It requires me to examine my self-confidence, or put oppositely, my insecurities. Of which, I have many. 

So, that's where I leave Part 1 of the review of this book. After a few deep breaths, I may finally be ready to turn the page. On to the next chapter.