Finding my weight loss wardrobe at thrift stores

Guest post written by Lisa Stevens I've always admired the vintage look when it comes to fashion, but I always had trouble finding things in my size when I would go shopping. Sizing has changed a whole lot over the years and that means that a lot of the vintage clothes are simply tiny as a result. Well now that I've been working out and lost a bit of weight, I thought that it would be a neat idea to get a lot of my new wardrobe from vintage and thrift shops. But because I generally couldn't wear many of the clothes at those places, I didn't know about many of them in my area. So I went online to find some good shops to check out. While I was doing that I came across some stuff about clear tv. After I read through it some I decided to change over my home TV service to it. It's a little weird trying to figure out which size you are at some of those stores but I think that I'm past that stage now. I found a couple of dresses that look very Betty Draper off of Mad Men, which is a great look.

Meet Ladonna, Mom Blog Society Mastermind

Today I have the honor and pleasure of interviewing, Ladonna, the mastermind of Mom Blog Society, a Knowledge Base for moms...by moms.

Ladonna, thank you for letting me interview you today.  I have really enjoyed being part of Mom Blog Society!  Mom Blog Society is the best place to network, learn and make new blogging friends all over the world. 

P: How long have you been blogging?
L: I started blogging in 2006, my first blog was called Pajama Careers. I had a personal crisis in my life and ended up taking the blog down. But my main goal has always been building a blogging community, hence Mom Blog Society.

P: Do you have more than one blog?
L: No  (When you visit MBS, you will see why she doesn't have another blog:) )


P: What is your favorite part about blogging?
L:  I love the community of bloggers. I love to mingle and learn things from the vast knowledge of bloggers.


P: What do you think the ultimate goal of any blogger should be?
L: I think everyone has a different goal. But, blog for yourself, from your heart and enjoy what you do.


P: What made you decide to start Mom Blog Society?
L: I’ve wanted to start a blogging community for as long as I can remember.  I love meeting bloggers, reading their posts and getting to know people from all over the world.  There are so many bloggers out there that don’t get the recognition they deserve.  Mom Blog Society is designed to give bloggers just that, recognition,. We feature as many of our members as we can. We hope this gets them the recognition they deserve.  (My blog has been featured on MBS many times.  My followers have increased, my traffic, and my Alexa ranking has gone down!  I definitely feel recognized, thanks to MBS)

Dogs love Halloween Mart too!

Halloween Mart doesn't forget your pet!

Every year I promise (or threaten)  to dress my Border Collie up for Halloween.  My wants our pup to wear a costume similar to his Kids Halloween Costume. One year I bought the funniest chicken costume, but apparently I didn't read the size chart.  The large was for a large small dog, not a 50 pound dog.  But, a friend of mine has a 20 pound dog that it fit perfectly.  Jack was the cutest chicken dog in town that year!

Peanuts, milk and playdates

Playdates with the Food Allergic Child

By Lisa Natcharian

Doesn’t it seem as if EVERYONE has food allergies these days?  Between the peanut-free table in the school lunchroom, the gluten-free snacks you need to bring for the team after soccer, and the kid down the street who can’t eat cheese, it’s getting harder and harder to feed other people’s children.  When once we could casually invite a friend to stay for dinner and know that if he didn’t like mac ‘n cheese, we could throw on a hot dog and everyone would be happy, now it’s almost too dangerous to try to be hospitable.

So what CAN you do when you are entertaining a food-allergic child in your home?  The first thing you want to determine is whether your little friend has anaphylactic allergies or food sensitivities.  The well-known peanut allergy is the type that can cause a severe reaction after a very minor exposure to the food.  If a child could possibly get hives, have trouble breathing, or feel his throat close up if he comes near a certain food, his mom will very likely be right on top of that, and probably won’t feel comfortable with you feeding him.  She will also probably leave you an Epi-Pen in case of an emergency, along with her cell phone number, her beeper number, directions to the nearest hospital and probably the keys to her car (just kidding… trying to make the point that with severe allergies, you won’t be at a loss for what to do…not trying to minimize the severity of anaphylactic reactions in any way).

Mommy Morning Survival

How Do I Survive My Morning Routine?

Another great guest post by Rebecca at

  http://dvrdame.blogspot.com/

Every day starts the same. The alarm goes off with a kick to the arm. Yes, my four year old son still sleeps with Momma and Papa Bear. Crawling out of my bed, as if I have a hangover, I quickly groom myself in ten seconds flat. I wouldn't call it grooming, but more like washing my face with whatever was next to the toothpaste.

Quickening the pace I start breakfast before little Mateo starts to cry. The next twenty minutes are a blur of food, clothes, shoes, toothpaste, and a hair brush. After rushing to my son's preschool, which thank God is like two minutes away, I get home to eat my routine breakfast of oatmeal with apples. For the next thirty to forty minutes I salsa my tush to a zumba DVD. I'm sure I look ridiculous as I stumble with the same steps that I've done for almost a year now but hey it's fun. With a speedy shower I'm on to my daily, insert yawn, chores of grocery shopping, and cleaning.

What can YOU do with Peaches?

Thanks to one of my readers, Happy Grandma from The Happiest Family on the Block , I researched her suggestions for peach butter and peach freezer jam.  The peach butter requires canning, which I am capable of, but hate doing.  The peach freezer jam is much easier!  If anyone has a better recipe for either, please let me know!

Recipe-Peach Butter

• 18-Ripe Peaches/4 lbs. (a little on the soft side is o.k.)
• 1/2 Cup-Water
• 4-Cups Sugar
• 1-Cinnamon Stick
• 1/8 tsp-Nutmeg

• Peel, halve, and seed peaches -You can do this by hand or by blanching in boiling hot water for a few minutes,  transferring to an ice-water bath. Then peel. This makes the skins very easy to remove without losing any pulp.
• Place in sauce pan over medium/low heat-At this point, use a potato masher to crush the peaches while cooking

Once the liquid pools have evaporated you can continue with the next step, or transfer pulp to a food mill or processor for further mashing. (we prefer the food mill)
Once to desired pulpiness, bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

• Slowly stir in sugar
• Add cinnamon stick and nutmeg
• Let simmer over rolling boil at medium/low heat and stir by scraping the bottom very frequently to prevent scorching. This should take about 30 minutes or so. This is a great time to get your water bath canner and jars ready!
• Check for readiness by dipping spoon into mixture to check its slump.
• Ladle into 1/2 pint or pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes.
•  

from  http://www.scissorsanddrumsticks.com/2011/07/simple-delicious-peach-butter/

Easy Peach Freezer Jam

Ingredients:

• 4 cups peeled, crushed fresh peaches
• 1/4 cup fresh strained lemon juice
• 1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 5 1/2 cups sugar

Preparation:

Measure peaches into a large kettle; add lemon juice. While stirring with a wooden spoon, slowly add the pectin. Let stand 20 minutes; stir every 5 minutes to blend pectin with fruit. Add syrup and blend well; add sugar and blend well. Cook over low heat to about 100°, just warm to the touch. Do not allow mixture to become hot. Pour jam into jars to within 1/2-inch of top. Cover jars at once. Let stand until jelly consistency. Store in freezer until ready to use. Store in refrigerator once jar has been opened.
Makes about 8 half-pint jars.
from: http://southernfood.about.com/od/jamsjellies/r/bl80711a.htm

One more fun (not edible) thing you can do with peaches:
Make a Peach Pit Monster!






Materials you need:

• Peach pits, clean and dry
• Paint and paint brush
• Googly eyes in different sizes
• Glue
• Playdough

If you don’t have googly eyes on hand, your child can draw eyes on paper or cardboard and cut them out to glue on their monster instead.

How to make peach pit monsters:

1. Paint the peach pits. Add glitter if you’d like and let dry.
2. Glue on eyes and let dry.
3. Make feet by creating balls out of play dough and pressing the pit into the dough. Let dough dry over night to harden.

That’s it! Your child can glue on other accessories or have fun painting your monsters different colors.
I’d love to hear about the fun you make with peach pits!


From: http://www.projectsforpreschoolers.com/make-peach-pit-monsters/