Body Shaming: Shame On Us

Sara of All In An Iowa Mom’s Day shared a story on her Facebook page the other day about a teenage girl and her mother at a department store and a clerk who said that the teen age girl needed Spanx.  The discussion that followed in the comments got me thinking about body shaming and how out of control it is.  Some of the comments that followed the story made me furious!  The majority of women on this post were incredibly supportive of course and saying that the clerk was out of line, but there were others that were insinuating that the girl would look better if she was wearing spanx underneath.  I was flabbergasted!

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I Created with Kelly Gau Studio

Last year about this time, I met up with some of the North Iowa Bloggers for one of those wine and painting parties…I’m a terrible painter!  Then, I tried my hand at making my own Christmas wreath and was so in love with
Me and my abysmal painting!
Me and my abysmal painting!

the results that I ended up leaving it hanging on my house until the very end of February!   So, up until this point I had faired a solid 50/50 on my DIY events/projects, so it was all up in the air when I went to the West Fork Wharf in Sheffield the other night to create a mixed media item with Kelly Gau Studio!  I knew that regardless of what my piece of art looked like, I would have a great time because I was with my dear friends (Alicia of Pork Diaries, Laura of Life On Sky View Farms, Val of Corn, Beans, Pigs, & Kids, and Donna of donnahup.com)!

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Social Media and 5 Things I’ve Learned

Social Media and 5 Things I’ve Learned

I’ve been on Facebook (personally) for about 8 years now. I’ve been on Twitter for three, I’ve been on Instagram for about 2, and I’ve been blogging for two as well. That’s a lot of years of social media. That’s a lot of experiences and that’s a lot of lessons learned!  So, here are what I consider my most important lessons that I’ve learned about social media!

1.  Not Everything Has to Go On Social Media – To most people this may seem like common knowledge, but we all know the other group who aren’t quite aware of this yet!  It doesn’t matter if it’s that adorable naked baby picture of your youngest or the reason why you were arguing with your spouse.  Some things just don’t need to be on social media! And, it doesn’t matter whether it’s being posted on Facebook, Instagram, or a blog…somethings just don’t belong.  So, before posting really think about who is going to be viewing it and the message that you want to send to them and everyone else who might see it.

2.  Nothing is ever “Gone” from Social Media – I think we’ve all done it…posted something to a social media and then seconds or minutes later thought, “that probably wasn’t a good idea” (see Item #1); so you go back and delete it and breathe a sigh of relief!  I hate to tell you but…it isn’t gone!  Since the invention of the cellphone and all it’s amazing features, we now have the screen shot!  We all need to remember that when posting because we have no idea who may have taken a screen shot of our post to use for later.  I urge you that if you are posting something on a knee-jerk reaction, please…take a deep breath and step away from the platform.  After you’ve thought about it for several minutes, if not hours, proceed!  Remember, it’s never really gone!!

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Banana Cherry Chewy Granola Bars

Banana Cherry Chewy Granola Bars

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Hang with me as there may be a string of healthy recipes (hence another recipe this week…this time Banana Cherry Chewy Granola Bars). It’s where my life is right now! I actually have the time (basketball season is over and track hasn’t started yet) to focus a little bit more on me, which means working on making healthy whole food taste better than the processed junk!  I’m in my 3rd round of the 21 Day Fix and it’s tough getting back into the swing of things, but I am quickly reminded at how much I can eat when I eat the good stuff!  Seriously…check out that collage of pictures!  That’s the meals I’ve been eating this past week!!

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Honey Glazed Coconut Almonds

Eating healthy and having an extreme sweet tooth is a challenge!  I can easily fall prey to revel bars, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream.  Eating healthy is especially important right now as I’m participating in the Live Healthy Iowa 10-Week Challenge with a team of other Iowa Bloggers (check out more here)!

The Recipe

Thankfully, I’ve found a few healthy items that can fulfill that sweet-tooth as well like my honey apple fries!  Not long ago, I was able to satisfy that sweet tooth with these Honey Glazed Coconut Almonds!  They are just enough sweet without being too sweet and made with all “whole” ingredients!

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Facebook Page or Group for Direct Sales??

Facebook Page or Group for Direct Sales??

You’re in business! You’ve got a brick and mortar store or have just decided to start selling for a direct sales company! You’re very excited to start spreading the word…now, to get a presence on Facebook, right? The number one rule is to not flood your personal feed with your business!!  (See THIS post if you’re curious about why!)  That’s great and I commend you for getting out there.  But, do you start a Facebook page or a group??  It’s all so overwhelming!!  To help you succeed and not lose any friends or family, or even business in the meantime, I’ve created a couple lists for you to consider when choosing a Facebook page or a group!!groups vs pages

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Live Healthy Iowa: A Challenge

Live Healthy Iowa: A Challenge

52bb93ec5f0f8.preview-620I’ve heard of Live Healthy Iowa and their 10 week challenge for quite some time now, but have never actually participated until now! When Kelli of The Sustainable Couple posed the question of some Iowa bloggers partnering up with The Iowa Food & Family Project and Live Healthy Iowa…I knew I had to be all over this! This was right up my alley…fitness, health, fun, and friendly competition!

Let’s break this down now.  What is the Live Healthy Iowa challenge??

“Live Healthy Iowa brings together friends, families, businesses and communities in team-based wellness challenges designed to promote positive lifestyle change. These challenges are proven to change the culture of a company or community, one team at a time!”

 

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