Women Changing the World Together - Make an Impact, Skyrocket your Business (or start one) and Make Money!

If you've ever dreamed of making a better life for yourself and your family, of making an impact on other women and the world, this is your opportunity. I am so excited about this program because with a little luck, it means I'll finally be able to get my Passion Test Certification, launch my own business and make the impact I want to make. That I'm meant to make.

You don't have to have long lists, lots of clients or even your own business yet. You just have to have that little feeling inside or that voice in your head that says it is time to take a chance, make a change and rock the world.

How are you going to do that? Join Impact Posse this instant! Kristin Sweeting Morelli is launching a program that breaks every entrepreneurial rule out there!

She can do that because she was a self-made millionaire by the age of 30. After being retired for several years, focusing on her job as a single mom, she started a business with her (then new) husband called Everything Is Energy, from scratch, not using her personal wealth. Within a year or two she turned that into a multi-million dollar business! She is a rock star and she wants you and I to be rock stars too!

Impact Posse is an affiliate program like no other. She is paying out big time money to affiliates, but you have to sign up NOW to get the best out of it. Today is the last day you'll be able to make money off of the people who sign up under you.

PLUS: She's launching Booty Camp - a program for women entrepreneurs like nothing you've seen before! I'll tell you more about that soon.

I'll let Kristin herself tell you all about it. I hope you'll find her as inspiring and amazing as I do! Click the link, watch the video and do yourself a favor: sign up! This is for you!!! Feel that spark? That little lightness in your heart? That's your inner guidance saying DO IT NOW!!!

Love and blessings!! See you in the Posse.

Writer's Workshop: Learning to Celebrate Myself Again - 15 Reasons I am Awesome!

Somewhere along the road of my life, I learned that it wasn't OK to compliment myself or point out the great things about me or speak proudly of an accomplishment. That would be bragging and bragging is very bad indeed, says some deep-seeded programming in my subconscious mind.

It got so bad that all too recently I wouldn't have been able to tell you one thing wonderful about myself or one thing I did well, even if I knew I was really good at something. I was even surprised when I would see someone on some social media platform shouting about how great they were.

This is a flaw from which I'm still... let's say... recovering. In big step forward, I'm linking up with Mama Kat (again!) today to give you 15 Reasons I am awesome! I actually feel intense discomfort at the thought of writing this, but growth requires squiggling out of old skin and though sometimes the process hurts, once you're on the other side it feels amazing! So, here we go:

1. I can bake a kick-ass bread better than anything they're selling on your supermarket shelves.

See that? That's what I made last night. Delicious!

2. I can type at a rate of 65 wpm with perfect accuracy.

3. I get 3 little kids ready, out the door and to school on time every single school day.

4. I can be ready myself in 20 minutes flat, when necessary (try that, Wonder Woman! And by 'Wonder Woman' I mean my sister).

5. I can pick up numerous toys with my toes and heave them into the toy box in a single bound.

6. I always admit my mistakes and apologize, especially with my kids.

7. I have beautiful greenish-hazel eyes. My favorite feature.

8. I'm good at writing silly, somewhat nonsensical poetry to make loved ones laugh their way through challenging situations (hard times, boot camp, police academy) as well as write beautiful verse for birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations.

9. I'm a good mom. I'm raising people who have the freedom to express who they are, follow their interests and be anything they want to be. I encourage them to follow their passions and their joy and I accept them for who they are and who they will become.

10. I am like Mary Poppins when it comes to getting a whole lot of stuff into a small purse - diapers (though happily we don't need those anymore), wipes, hand-sanitizer, lipstick, a wallet, sunglasses x4, etc...

11. I have the ability to recognize a fault, and instead of complain about it to others, or ignore it, I challenge myself to change and become better than I was before. (This one is c/o my wonderful little brother).

12. I give really great hugs and I never let go too soon.

13. I can sing some mean Disney Princess songs, do a one-woman performance of Miss Saigon, frighten and entertain children with my version of The Witches Rap (Beans) from Into The Woods. Essentially, I'm trying to say that I'm a pretty good singer.

14. I constantly endeavor to improve myself. To become a better, more loving, more conscious person.

15. I have an adventurous spirit. I'll try almost anything at least once! And I never turn away from a challenge... like this list, moving across oceans, eating weird food that the French call 'delicacies', etc...

There! I did it. That was both harder and easier than I thought it would be. The hardest part was resisting the urge to qualify my awesome points (especially the 'good mom' one) with derogatory comments.

So, what about you? Tell me what makes you awesome! Then, go tell someone else something awesome about them. You can't always tell who deals with massive insecurity. Sometimes the ones who seem the most confident are the ones struggling the most.

Vlog Talk: Disney Princesses - Good Role Models or Bad News for your Daughters?

I say... well, you'll just have to watch to find out what I say. And perhaps sing. Find out! Then, tell me what you think!

Or, go make your own vlog and link up with Mama Kat!

Dragons Aren't Just For Boys - A Guide to a Girl's Dragon Themed Birthday Party

Girls like dragons too!

Look up "Dragon Birthday Party" on the Internet and you'll find a lot of How to Train Your Dragon, or Knights with swords. That was not what we were going for. There's a balance to be struck and I think we found it this year. Besides the challenge of the theme, we're working off of a very tight budget.

We pulled off our most successful birthday party ever! Our dragon-loving daughter turned 7 on Saturday the 26th (2012!). This is the second year in a row she has requested a dragon-themed birthday party. Before that, when she turned 5, it was Dinosaurs. She hasn't been girly since her Ariel-themed 4th birthday. She's a budding scientist, my Nature Girl, and fantasy has its part.

So, how did we plan and execute a very successful Dragon party on a budget, for 5 girls ages 4 - 7 (plus a 2-year-old brother)? Let me break it down for you!

Materials:

Dragons - we had quite a few toy dragons from the year before, purchased at my local Michael's for a couple of dollars each, plus the cute little dragons from their Little People Castle Playset  from when my girls were toddlers. I used these, along with a balloon and streamers, as the centerpiece.

Table Cloth - Purple is my girl's favorite color, so we skipped the party in a box and spent just $2.99 on a plastic table cloth that was super easy to clean and will top our own picnic table all summer long.

Plates, Cups, Napkins & Cutlery - The budget in mind, we used our own and skipped the matching napkins. Birthday parties do not have to be picture perfect, fellow parents. They just need to be fun! By using our own, we saved money and a tree or two (no plastic or carton to throw away).

Balloons - We spent $23 at Meijer for a Helium Balloon Kit  with 30 balloons. We spent a couple of dollars extra on a "Happy Birthday" balloon, but overall saved money by doing it ourselves, as opposed to having Party City do it for us.

Favors - A last-minute planner, I express shipped Dragon Tattoos and Dragon Stickers from Amazon. I spent $0 on the shipping by signing up for a trial of Amazon Prime, which I'll cancel before the 30-day period is up. The guests went home with their choice balloon and a sheet of stickers. We forgot to do the tattoos, so that will be a little extra dragon fun for my kids soon!

Schedule of Events:

3:00PM - Guests arrive. We kept things small with just 3 guests (plus my 3). This was a drop-off party, meant to be a sleepover for two of the girls. I'll address the sleepover in another post!

3:30PM - Dragon Hunt! For our first gift, we bought an interactive dragon. It was supposed to be storming outside, according to weather.com, so we planned the hunt indoors instead of in the woods behind our house. My daughter was the one to suggest going on a dragon hunt. She wanted to find one and keep it as a pet, or steal the eggs and raise a baby dragon of her own!

That morning, knowing it should storm during her party, I wondered aloud about where we might look for a dragon in the house if we had to hunt inside. She suggested our very messy storage room or the closet in the basement. Good idea! We hid this dragon in that very closet, behind the big cardboard playhouse that is stuffed in there. We hid it in its nest (cardboard box with shredded paper) with colored "dragon" eggs (hard-boiled and colored like you do Easter Eggs, but very roughly for an authentic look) and a few dragon treasures. "Magical" stones led the way from upstairs to the closet. The dragon has a remote control, so we made it roar as the girls searched the house. Once they were close enough to hear it they saw the stones and followed the path. My husband kept making it roar with the remote control hidden in his shirt pocket. The girls tore through the closet until they all giggled and shrieked upon discovering the dragon! It was great fun!

4:00PM - Gifts! The younger kids (and Papa) just couldn't wait until cake time for the gifts, so we did this before dinner. New earrings, a couple of cool Dragonology books (this one is her favorite) and a hand-made book from her best friend topped the list.

5:00PM - Dinner & Birthday Cake! My homemade pizza was a hit with the kids and obviously so was the cake.

Add a cool Dragon to a store-bought cake and BOOM! There you go!

6:00PM How To Train Your Dragon Movie Time!

8:00PM Goodbye!

It was a very fun day. Long, fun, delicious. So there, if you have a girl who loves dragons, fear not! You can make a great party too!




Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I just might get paid a few pennies if you click and buy. 

Rebecca and the Strangest Garden on Earth - Review & Giveaway

If you ever thought that talking to your plants was a silly idea, Rebecca and the Strangest Garden on Earth just might have you changing your mind!

Rebecca is a delightful young girl spending a long holiday weekend with her Auntie. The warm summer sun makes the colorful, varied garden the perfect place to balance the dullness of the homework she must do. When the Clematis starts talking to her, Rebecca is taken quite by surprise!

Pest invasions, suspicious characters and curiously quiet African Lily make for a sweet, entertaining story perfect for children 4+. My daughters (6 and 8) were completely entranced by the story. They got totally caught up in the gentle emotions skillfully portrayed by author Imogen Daley.

By the end, they were on the edge of their seats, giddy with excitement and joy and wanting to read it again straightaway. Overall, we loved it. My only complaint is that it is an e-book only; I'm still happiest with paper in my hands.

To me, this is simple children's lit at its best. Clean, innocent and it inspires the imagination! It may also inspire little gardeners! You can win a copy simply by way of the easy entry Rafflecopter form below just in time for summer holidays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway