Mother’s Day Giveaway – Win an ECOSYSTEM Set!

Aren’t they just pretty?

Lately, when I have been asked by my husband what I want for Mother’s Day, I have been thinking the same thing over and over: I need to be more organized.

No more taking notes on the nearest scrap of paper while my son is yanking on my pant leg.  Only to lose those vital scraps of paper in 2 minutes flat.  No more jotting down important appointments on the backs of receipts, only to get quickly swept into the trash.  One word: Please.

That is why I was pretty psyched about my new little set of ecosystem books.  They come in 4 types – Artist (blank), Author (lined), Architect (grid), and Advisor (calendar).   You can also choose the color and size.  They current colors they offer are Kiwi, Clementine, Lagoon, Watermelon, and Onyx.  Soon to be added: Grape.  In addition, all ecosystem books are made from 100-percent post-consumer recycled paper using low-impact processes that are environmentally savvy and responsible

But here is what really sold me – each notebook has a unique ID, which you enter on the ecosystem website when you receive your book.  If, per chance, like any mom out there, you get forgetful and lose your book, the finder can go to the website and enter in the code.  A lost and found system!  If only every stuffed animal had that feature!

And here is the fun news – for Mother’s Day, ecosystem is going to give one very lucky reader a set of books!  The set includes the large watermelon 12-month weekly planner, a medium clementine author (lined) and a small kiwi artist (blank).

Here’s how to enter: Just leave a comment below by midnight, May 13th.  If you would like extra entries, each of the following will count as one entry: Like us on Facebook, subscribe to our emails, or tweet this giveaway!

In the meantime, check out the other ecosystem notebooks and like their awesome Facebook page. 

Happy Mother’s Day!

New Year’s Resolution Check In

Image from Flickr by D Sharon Pruitt

Here I am, the little voice you are going to want to ignore or pretend you don’t hear: How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? Have they fallen off? Are you still going? I am checking in with you today and will do so again on the 29th of this month.

Remember how you felt about yourself when you decided on your resolution.  You could picture a better life, one more organized, more fit or whatever you wanted to focus on.  So what happened?  Is it just too hard to change your life overnight?  Need more inspiration?

How am I doing on my own resolution?  Well, just okay.  I need to renew my commitment.  When I was deciding on mine for this year, one that included eating healthier and actually starting an exercise regime, I found several resources I thought would help.  I’m going to share them with you here.

• The WholeLiving Whole Body Action plan.  This includes detox smoothies and soups, healthy recipes, wellness tools and calculators and much, much more.
• Buttoned Up organization tools and downloads.  Create goal lists, download their monthly spending form, gift lists, thank you notes and more.
• SparkPeople.  A free fitness and weight loss community. I’m a little obsessed with this right now.  It tells you how many calories you need to burn per day and per week.  It also gives you exercise and nutrition suggestions based on your goal weight.  Trust me, this is awesome.

My trick for resolutions: Set a realistic goal in the near future.  Don’t set a goal weight(or whatever your goal may be) that you hope to achieve in 6 months.  Set your goal for one month out, hit it, and then add your next goal for the following month.  It’s much easier to stay motivated and feel like you are achieving your goals that way.

Good luck! And please share any other great motivators with us!

Taking Wine to Someone’s House This Holiday Season?

Image from Flickr by Sébastien Barillot

When we go to anyone’s home during the holidays (and any other gathering during the year), we always come armed with a bottle of wine.  This doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy a $30+ bottle of wine.  Anyone you want to bother with will appreciate ANY bottle of wine.

That is why I loved this Wall Street Journal list of 12 wines that are a great value for under $10.99 (and often less if you can find them on sale).  We drink a fair amount of wine in our house and have tried several of their picks.  All of them are good.

I have also found in my experience that a good Argentinian Malbec is always a crowd-pleaser and often, a wonderful value.  And you can never go wrong with a fun Prosecco to take the place of Champagne.  Because my husband is of Spanish decent, we often buy Spanish Cava (the Spanish equivalent of Champagne) and those can be even more wallet-friendly than Prosecco and oftentimes just as good (or better) than a high end Champagne.

Cheers!

Making Holiday Cookies with the kids?

What’s better than home-made cookies?  Well, when your kids get a hold of  the Press Dough Cookie Characters maker, the real magic begins.  I have very strong memories from my childhood of making cookies with my mom.  I loved cutting them out, decorating each one, and then gobbling them all up!  This cookie maker just takes it to the next level.  I love that you can either make your own dough or use store-bought dough (unlike the Easy Bake where you have to buy the mixes).

The Press Dough set includes character cookie molds, a magic cookie shaper that doubles as a frosting decorator with two frosting tips, a cookie press with 6 different shapers, a cutter wheel, flour shaker, spatula and rolling pin.  All for about $10!

And, right now, you can get a 20% discount on the Press Dough Website if you become a fan on Facebook.

Also available at Amazon, Toys R Us, Kroger and Meijer.

Happy cookie making!

Looking for a unique children’s gift this year?

And, most importantly, a gift that does not require batteries, but does require your child to think.  Enter WheeGo, a scavenger/treasure hunting game for kids between the ages of 4-7 years old.  Get your kids (1 to 4 players) away from the TV and video games and challenge them to use the clues to find a treasure at the end of the game.

I love the WheeGo concept because it involves the kids for every part of the game, including set up.  Meaning, ultimately, this is a game that does not require a lot of parent involvement.  However, for the kids, it requires reading, listening comprehension, and problem solving.

As a child, I was always begging my parents to set up scavenger hunts for me.  The great people of WheeGo have done it for us.   And the best part: the game costs under $10.

Break up the high-tech gifts with something educational AND challenging: WheeGo Home Indoor Quest.