A Little Monday Inspiration

As mothers, we are the barometers for our homes. 

Let's do what we can to make each day

 a bright, sunny and peaceful day.

Kat - Blogger at Inspired to Action

What is the weather like in your home?  Is it Bright and Sunny like a Spring day? Is it Hot and Short-Tempered like a humid Summer day? Is it Cold and gloomy like the middle of Winter?  Your attitude sets the tone for everyone else in the house.  I know this because I see it happen every. single. day. If I wake up with a headache or on a short fuse, everyone else is crabby.  If I am yelling and short-tempered with everyone, I am starting everyone off on the wrong foot.  Thank goodness I have a husband who calls me on it.  I've been really trying to watch the "temperature" of our home and keep it bright and sunny!

Conscious Box Giveaway and Coupon Code

This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all who entered!

Have you heard about Subscription Boxes?  There are all kinds of boxes out there including: makeup boxes, food boxes, clothing boxes, craft boxes, etc.  It is a great way to try new things and if you are like me and LOVE surprises, it is like getting a surprise each month in the mail.

CONSCIOUS BOX allows you to discover the best products on the planet each month.  CONSCIOUS BOX helps you to discover products that are pure, healthy, and natural from the best companies that offer products in the categories of health food, natural beauty, and non-toxic home goods. Each month a box will come packed with a sampling of natural products to help you in your daily activities.  Vegan and Gluten-Free boxes are available as well.

Once you join CONSCIOUS BOX, you can then earn points for leaving feedback and reviews on the products that you try out.  The points you earn can go toward purchasing the products that you liked. 

  

I am giving away a 3 month subscription to CONSCIOUS BOX for one of my readers.  That is a $59 value.  If you can't wait, you can sign up now with a code for 50% off a subscription.  Just go to www.ConsciousBox.com and at checkout use the code LOVELIFE.

To stay up-to-date on the latest from CONSCIOUS BOX, just "Like" their Facebook page www.facebook.com/consciousbox and if you want, tell them Sincerely Stacie sent you! 

I'm looking forward to receiving my first CONSCIOUS BOX and telling you all about it!

I will receive a free box for offering this giveaway.  I was not compensated in any other way for this post.  

A Little Monday Inspiration

www.fitsugar.com

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The twenty minute walk you take is so much better for you than the three mile run you never do.

Gretchen Rubin, author of THE HAPPINESS PROJECT and HAPPIER AT HOME.

I get daily emails from Rubin and when I read this quote a week or two ago in her newsletter, a flashing, LED light bulb went off in my head!  DUH! I do this to myself ALL. THE. TIME.  I can't start this job because I won't get it finished today. I want to get on the treadmill, but don't because I don't want to run and get sweaty before I have to go somewhere.  We can always find excuses for anything, but if we take the perfect out of it, and just do as much as we can, it is better than not doing it at all.

Book Review: Country Road ABC by Arthur Geisert

COUNTRY ROAD ABC
An Illustrated Journey Through America's Farmland

By: Arthur Geisert

Published: May 24, 2010


On today's farm, B is for barn cat...E is for erosion...G is for grinding feed, and I is for...inoculate?  In 26 beautifully detailed spreads, acclaimed illustrator Arthur Geisert takes readers on a literal journey following a real road in Iowa (County Road Y31) through the ins and outs of America's farmland.  This isn't your grandfather's farm book. It still features pigs, hay, and other familiar farm residents, but you'll see a very different kind of quicksand and traffic jam here...Along the bottom of each page is a continuous panorama that totals nearly forty feet of art. Country Road ABC is a unique and funny look at America's present-day farmland.

I found this book at our library and fell in love with it.  Growing up on a farm and around farmers all my life, I just found this book to be such a delight.  Starting off with A is for ammonia fertilizer and ending with Z is for z-brace, children will learn about the everyday life of a farmer.  The illustrations depict real-life farm operations and remind me of my childhood helping on my brother-in-laws hog farm as well as my parent's farm, driving the country roads around my home, and the "good-old days".

I is for inoculate - How cool is that?

D is for disking.

K is for kick - hilarious and wonderful illustrations.

So, if you are looking for a book to teach your kids about farming, to share the joy of country life, or to take a drive down a country road yourself, you should definitely pick up this book.  Our kids are way beyond the age of an ABC book, yet I couldn't resist this one! 

To purchase a copy of this book, click the photo below: 

Today I am linking up with BOOKING MAMA and other bloggers for her Kid Konnection featuring children's books. Be sure to check out other great children's books there!

If you choose to purchase the book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com. 

Book Review: My Planet By Mary Roach

MY PLANET
Finding Humor in the Oddest Places

By: Mary Roach

Published: April 4, 2013

Follow New York Times bestselling author Mary Roach -- but be careful not to trip -- as she weaves through personal anecdotes and everyday musings riddled with her uncanny wit and amazingly analytical eye. These essays, which found a well-deserved home within the pages of Reader's Digest as the column "My Planet," detail the inner workings of hypochondriacs, hoarders, and compulsive cheapskates. (Did we mention neurotic interior designers and professional list-makers?) For Roach, humor is hidden in the most unlikely places, which means that nothing is off limits. Whether she is dwelling on her age or talking about the pros and cons of a bedroom night light -- "A married couple can best be defined as a unit of people whose sleep habits are carefully engineered to keep each other awake" -- Roach finds a lesson, a slice of sarcasm, or a dash of something special that makes each day comical and absolutely priceless.

In keeping with our mission -- curating the best reads in the land -- Reader's Digest editors neatly packaged these timeless (and hilarious) Roach essays together for the first time. Whether you read this cover-to-cover or during spare moments over morning coffee, flip to a page in this volume and try not to smile.

This book came to me for review and when I found it was full of short (3-4 pages) essays, I was eager to pick it up and start reading it.  I grew up reading Reader's Digest with my parents and have even subscribed a few times over the course of my adult life.  I have always loved the short stories and true-to-life wisdom that Reader's Digest shares with its readers.  So, when I saw these essays were from a column in Reader's Digest, I knew it had to be a hit. 

In "Meet the Parents" I found myself laughing along, thinking of past visits and sleepovers with family.  In "Soap Opera" she mentions a professor from Wartburg College, my niece's alma mater, and reminded me of those early stages of dating my husband.  In "Best Cheap Fun" Roach has given me a new list of items to do with our kids this summer...LOL.  After reading "RV There Yet?", I'm seriously reconsidering our plan to rent an RV and drive across the country with our children.  I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  These essays are a delight to read.

This book can be read all at once or you could read a few stories before you drift off to sleep.  Each one will leave you smiling and nodding your head in agreement to her descriptions of family life.  No matter what your age, you will be able to identify with something in the book and realize that your family life isn't so crazy after all.  This book features Roach's wit, humor, and honesty in a delightful package of essays. 

Mary Roach

Mary Roach is the author of STIFF: THE CURIOUS LIVES OF HUMAN CADAVERS and SPOOK: SCIENCE TACKLES THE AFTERLIFE. Her writing has appeared in such publications as Salon, GQ, Vogue, and the New York Times Magazine. She lives in Oakland, California.  Roach has an additional book published this week, GULP: ADVENTURES ON THE ALIMENTARY CANAL.  For more on Mary Roach, visit her website, http://maryroach.net/. 

I was provided a copy of this book from FSB Associates for the purpose of this review.  I was not compensated in any other way for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

Thanks Sincerely Jenni

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to win a prize from SINCERELY JENNI. She is a blogger I "met" that is also an Iowa gal.  She is super funny and keeps it real, so I love checking in on her posts to see what is going on in her life.  Maybe someday we can really meet up in Des Moines for coffee! Jenni is a mom and wife, a Hawk fan, and a reader.  She works full-time and battles the slower metabolism that seems to plague many of us.  She puts her thoughts out there and works hard to make the world a better place.  You really should check her blog out!

Anyway, Jenni recently joined the "40 Club" like I did and treated her readers to a giveaway of a $40 gift card.  I was the lucky winner and I just want to give Jenni a public thanks for being so generous! I chose an Amazon gift card and part of it has already been used to purchase a game that our family wanted...Michigan Rummy!

If you haven't checked Sincerely Jenni out, please do so at her blog site, HERE.
Like Sincerely Jenni on Facebook HERE.
Follow Sincerely Jenni on Twitter HERE.
Follow Sincerely Jenni on Pinterest HERE.

A Little Monday Inspiration

successandfailure.net

Jesus says no one can snatch you out of His hand.  The enemy may try to tell you that isn't true, but God never lies.  Once we give our hearts to Him, we are His forever.
Holley Gerth from God's Heart for You 
www.holleygerth.com

Romans 8: 38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.