BONUS: I love taking car selfies.

© Sophistishe 2013 | Permalink | No comment - Oh, I see how it is...

I’m consistently inconsistent, in that I have a habit of starting things that I never finish. Jayden’s baby book that was supposed to be done before Jaxon was born? Incomplete. Jaxon’s monthly photo updates? Well, I took the photos. I can go on about the many things I have failed at, but that would be quite depressing. What I will do is pick up the pieces and finish things on my on time… no time constraints.

I’m adding something to my queue for Jayden, Jaxon, and future Tatumlets. It’s a fun little project I found over at Jen’s blog, Baby Making Machine. It’s called “30 Things My Kids Should Know About Me”. You post the prompts on your blog and turn it into an 8×8 printable book using the graphics she’s provided or you can make your own. You can read her list and snag the graphics here.

This project is similar to one I planned on doing using a memoir book my mother-in-law gave me as inspiration. I still plan to do that, but this one’s a little easier and will help me get into the swing of things. My list is below and I will be updating it as I complete each assignment!

THE LIST:
1. List 20 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?
14. Describe 5 strengths and weaknesses you have.
15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.
16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?
19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. Describe your relationship with your parents.
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?
24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?
29. What are your hopes and dreams for your prosperity?
30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.

© Sophistishe 2013 | Permalink | No comment - Oh, I see how it is...

Seaweed. Ever eat it? I know I never thought I’d ever try it until I developed a strong interest in bettering my health through my food choices. I was recently offered the opportunity to try some roasted seaweed snacks by gimMe. I had no idea what I was getting myself in to, but I thought it’d be a great way for me to get some extra protein. Most seaweeds are high in amino acids, making them a great source of protein for those looking to cut back on meat consumption. Seaweeds are rich in potassium, iron, calcium, iodine, magnesium, and vitamin B-12. They also contain vitamins A (beta carotene) and C.

GimMe’s Organic Roasted Seaweed snacks are 100 calories per serving, gluten and GMO free. Healthy stuff. They’re new to Walmart, available in family size and single size sheets as well as crumbles. GimMe offers four flavors of their Roasted Seaweed snack; honey dijon, sea salt, sesame, and cheddar cheese. Lets get into taste. It’s an acquired taste to be honest. The flavors are yummy, but there’s a noticeable after taste of fish once the crumbles dissolve. If you love the taste of ocean (lol), you’ll really love these. I am particular about the fish that I eat, in that it can’t be too fishy. To accommodate to my tastes, I sprinkled a few crumbles on a salad and it was delicious. Just a few crumbles go a long way when it comes to adding a hint of fish. The seaweed sheets and crumbles would also be great on a burger, topped on an Asian soup, or any fish dish. I’ll admit, they are growing on me and I’m noticing the fishy taste a lot less the more I eat them.

Have you tried seaweed? How’d it taste?

As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

© Sophistishe 2013 | Permalink | No comment - Oh, I see how it is...

Today, more and more companies are helping those in need and protecting the environment, by selling unique, clever stuff.   Some of these companies like Warby Parker, Smile Squared and Two Degrees Food give back to the world by helping needy children.  Ecojet and Alchemy Goods are focused on recycling existing stuff to make original art and fashion.

Four friends started Warby Parker while in business school, to give customers an alternative to expensive glasses.  They provide limited edition boutique level eyewear directly through their website to consumers, no middle men.  For every pair of eyeglasses they sell, they give one to someone in need through their partnerships with nonprofits like VisionSpring.

You can also help out children when you buy from Smile Squared, They sell Bamboo toothbrushes for children and adults, in 100% recyclable products boxes.  For every toothbrush a customer buys, Smile Squared donates one to a needy child.

The next time you want a snack, check out Two Degrees Food, Founded to help  feed the hungry kids of the world, they offer delicious vegan, gluten free snack bars made of ancient grains, like quinoa, and chia.  For every bar the company sells, they donate a meal to a hungry kid through one of their world-wide partners.

Looking for some more ideas?  Check out Ecojot, They have beautiful, sustainable stationary.  Whenever possible their stationary is 100% post-consumer waste.  In addition to stationary, they have wrapping paper, journals, pretty much anything to meet your paper needs. In addition to being a sustainable company, they give workbooks and pens to children in need from Haiti to Zimbabwe.

Alchemy Goods, upcycles bike inner tubes to create messenger bags.  The tubes are found locally. The bags are cleaned and assembled in the same neighborhood.  They also offer belts, and wallets all made out of the same material.  They are eco-friendly, turning something used into something new.

Fortunately there are countless companies like this now, and you can choose to buy from them.  They are easy to find too, just a quick internet search, and you are you way to helping out the planet and your neighbors. You may want to try search terms like: local, sustainable and eco-friendly.  Try to buy from the local bookstore as well as companies that give back instead of the big chain alternatives, and you will be helping out more than you know.

© Sophistishe 2013 | Permalink | No comment - Oh, I see how it is...

Spring usually means a new beauty routine. Mine has pretty much stayed the same, but I’ve been pampering my feet and shaving more. I mean who really shaves during Winter? I start the day by washing my face with a mixture of tea tree oil face wash and black soap. I used to exfoliate each day with a face scrub, but now I’ll exfoliate (home scrub here) maybe once a week or as needed… depending on how often I use tinted moisturizer or makeup.

After a shower, I moisturize with whatever lotion and face moisturizer I have on hand. Lately, I’ve been working on my glow by using Jergens Natural Glow products. I LURVE them. I don’t use the face moisturizer as much as the moisturizing lotions because I prefer using something lighter (in consistency) on my face. On my lips, I use Carmex and whatever lip color tickles my fancy. I like to keep it natural on most days. If I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll apply a bold lip color or on the rare occasion, a colorful eye shadow.

Jergens makes it easier than ever to glow with the NEW Natural Glow Moisturizers that provides great color, year-round, without the sunless tanner odor.

Share how natural-looking skin color makes you feel for a chance to win $500!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Jergens. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules 

© Sophistishe 2013 | Permalink | No comment - Oh, I see how it is...

I’m at it again. I’m doing doing another DIY project in Jayden’s room. This time, I’m spray painting some frames and bookshelves for his walls. Lately, I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to complete projects so it’s super important that the projects that I do start aren’t too complicated. Walmart just started carrying a new spray paint by Rust-Oleum that offers twice the coverage as other general spray paints. When offered the opportunity to try them, I jumped at the chance. Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover 2X (say that twice as fast) covers twice the square footage of other general purpose spray paints. It contains up to 44% more solids so just one can of paint performs and covers like two. Score!

Here’s a little sneak peek of everything before I got started. I may or may not spray paint a few extra items/use the orange spray paint. This is a work in progress that I’m sharing and I’ll share the final results in a separate post.

 Here are the bookshelves. They’re actually BEKVÄM spice racks from IKEA ;-).

 This is just one coat Lagoon. The color is amaaaaziiiing!

 Here’s a set of frames I found at Family Dollar. Coinkydink? The first coat of Flat White looks very fresh!

Having only used one coat of Ultra Cover 2x paint so far, I am sold! At $3.77 per can, you can’t beat that! The coverage is great and it dries pretty fast (outside) too! Stay tuned as I will be revealing how these pieces look in Jaydens room!

As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

© Sophistishe 2013 | Permalink | No comment - Oh, I see how it is...

To celebrate Strawberry season, Walmart asked me to come up with a recipe using… wait for it… strawberries! I really wanted to share a strawberry pound cake recipe, but it failed horribly. I may post about that disaster later. To recover, I decided to make something fool-proof… strawberry salsa! Salsa and chips is one of my favorite snacks and I love me some strawberries. This strawberry salsa came out absolutely perfect, although I really didn’t know what to expect. I honestly like it better than traditional tomato salsa.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup diced strawberries
1/4 cup onions
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 tsp lime juice
1 sprinkle of orange peel granules
1 sprinkle of black pepper
1 tbsp diced jalapeno peppers

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, and lime juice. Stir and top with orange peel granules and black pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.

Keep Strawberries Fresh In The Fridge

To keep strawberries fresh in the refridgerator, rinse them only when you are ready to eat them. You can also spray them with citrus juice or any juice that has a high acidity to keep them fresh.

As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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