Kickin' it Old School

I don't have a smart phone. Is that weird? I have an ipad but I don't have or need a smart phone. Being someone who is of the Millennial Generation, I am alone in a sea of similar-aged people bent over a smart phone. And I am 100% okay with that. It's not something that I can justifiably afford, and I am relieved not to own one. Maybe it's because I don't have one that I find myself easily annoyed when I look around to see almost everyone with their eyes glued to a darn phone. I can live without texting someone every two seconds, I can wait to make a phone call and I don't need to see what's going on in social media in real time.

Smart phones are an endless entertainment source and can also really aid in getting things done. Particularly with apps. Toting an ipad around is a little obnoxious but I do it occasionally if I know there will be some good photo opportunities. But that's really what I bring it out for. It's not for note taking, nor is it for to do lists. I prefer the good ol' fashioned notebook for these tasks. I know I'm not completely alone in preferring this method. A lot of people are in love with planners and what have you.

I write down important things, notes, dates, websites to remember and lots more. I prefer this method because I don't have to worry about losing it virtually. It will always be there unless I erase it or throw it away. I find myself going through old notebooks and enjoying what I've written and I can't get that enjoyment from an electronic. 

So I have become a bit of a notebook and office supply hoarder, but I love it! I am never without a place to write something and a utensil to write with.

Do you prefer your phone for lists, planning, or notes?

Organic Matcha Green Tea Kiss Me Organics

***I received this product free of charge in exchange for my unbiased opinion. All thoughts about the product featured are 100% my own!***

I was really excited to get the opportunity to try this. I first discovered green tea in the powdered form in high school. Every year the high school I attended had a day for students called theme day and this one year was an Eastern Asia theme in which I got to partake in a tea ceremony. I've always loved tea but had absolutely loved the powdered tea I got to try that day. Fast forward five or six years and here I am stumbling upon this opportunity.

There are tons of recipes that you can include this powder in for a healthy boost or just for flavoring. I however, wanted to use it just for tea. You don't need a lot of the powder to make an awesome cup, so the package is much bigger and more valuable then you would think. I used 1/2 tsp of powder to 8oz of hot water and it was perfect for me. As someone who loves green tea, I think that the powder form tastes much better than using the traditional teabag.

I was really happy with Kiss Me Organics Matcha Green Tea. The product was packaged well, and reseals perfectly. The quality of the powder matches that of what I remember from the tea ceremony and I would most definitely purchase this in the future. The only thing you should have handy if you're going to drink matcha green tea is a whisk, otherwise you will experience clumps. A lot of people prefer a bamboo whisk but I used what I had which was a metal one and it worked just fine.

Adovia Exfoliating Body Scrub

***Sponsored post- I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion***

  This scrub is made with real salt from the Dead Sea and is not tested on animals. The product is 100% Cruelty free and is offered in Ocean Breeze! Exfoliating in my opinion, is one of the best things you can do for your skin. It removes dead skin cells and also gets your circulation going. This is not something that needs to be done everyday though, as it can cause irritation and actually scratch your skin cells that haven't died yet.
   Anyways, I was super excited to get to try this one because exfoliating feels great. What I really liked about this Adovia Scrub was how moisturizing it was. In the shower I was little concerned because it had an oily texture. However, I found that after I was dry my face didn't look like a slick spot. The product absolutely did it's job and I loved the result. What I didn't love though, was the smell. I hated everything about the scent of this product. It was off-putting to me and very strong. Obviously you can't really do an Ocean Breeze any justice, but it just didn't smell natural or pleasant in my opinion. I would definitely purchase this brand again if they offered a different scent or even an unscented version of this product.

 If you're interested in learning more about the product or want to buy it for yourself you can click here:http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Sea-Salt-Body-Scrub/dp/B00KQWBJ5W/ref=sr_1_25?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1431200726&sr=1-25&keywords=body+scrub http://www.cleopatraschoice.com/adovia-salt-scrub-ocean.html

Online Shoppers- Always check for deals!!

Today in the car I was listening to Vermont Public Radio in which they aired a segment about people who buy products for low prices, mark them up and sell them on places like Ebay or Amazon. They make a killer profit! They interviewed a man who makes millions doing this and the interviewer followed him into Babies R Us. The man loaded his car up with a bunch of Babies R Us brand baby wipes that sold for under $20 and then sold them on Amazon for $40+ ! I looked into this myself and it's true! On Amazon, there are Babies R Us brand wipes (500 count) for sale ranging from $35.23 to as high as $41.02. That same box of wipes is actually $13.99 on the Babies R Us website. Shipping rates vary from the direct retailer site, but for me the total of the wipes including shipping was $19.98. That's a huge difference! I wanted to share this because I love and trust Amazon, but after hearing this and seeing it for myself, it's always worth looking around for the best price possible on any product you're looking into purchasing. Yes, it may take a little longer, but this is your hard earned money.
As a consumer I think it is so important to not put my money into the pockets of people whose entire business is unethical.

Thoughts for Wednesday

So, I've been busy trying to sign up for some blogging networks and have joined some blogging support groups as well. As a newbie to blogging, I think it's really important to rally support. One of the most difficult and absolutely annoying questions I get when I try to sign up for networks is what is my niche, or what is my blog about. I have a hard time answering this question because my idea of what a blog is supposed to be and what blogs have become are entirely different. I want to share all kinds of things with you. It's great that there are blogs out there that are focused on one specific thing like green living for example. My life is about so much more than just one thing though. I really like reviewing products, but I have a lot of ideas for the future and direction of my blog. Unfortunately due to current circumstances, I'm a little limited as to what I can bring here. But within a few months things will get really interesting. I'm not a one-category kind of person and I don't want my blog to be either.It would be great to make a living off of blogging someday, but if that never happens I'll be alright with that as long as I can do this my way. I'm not trying to attack bloggers that have a niche in any way I think it's awesome if you have a niche. I'm not an expert in really anything, and I don't want to pretend to be. In the future I will be doing giveaways, and sharing about weight loss (post baby), recipes, more reviews and whatever else I feel like. The giveaway part is the first and most important thing I want to be able to bring to the table. Right now, I don't have the traffic to do a sponsored one and with me being out of work it is not an affordable option to host one myself at this time. I promise this will change. I truly hope this didn't sound like a rant. I want to give you an idea of where this thing is going and how I want it to be. -Gina

Exspiral Veggie Spiralizer

**THIS ITEM WAS GIVEN TO ME FOR FREE BY THE COMPANY TO USE AND GIVE MY HONEST OPINION ABOUT THEIR PRODUCT**

I had always wanted to try one of these things, and I was so glad when I got my hands on this one! You can use this to spiralize carrots, cucumbers, and zucchini and it's a really fun way to eat healthy. It's really easy to use and pretty entertaining as well. I made some zucchini "spaghetti" with mushrooms and panko encrusted chicken. It was really easy. I got the product in black and I didn't see any options on Amazon, but on the box it looks like the product can be ordered in white, green or red as well. What I found to be really neat was that the spiralizer is double ended, so you can do zucchini on one end and carrots on the other without having to take a break in between to clean it. This particular spiralizer comes with two really cool things! The first being a top grip so that when your veggie gets low you can use the grip to twist it and not have to waste the food or shred your hand. It also comes with a brush to aid in cleaning as well as help poke broken bits through. I absolutely loved getting to try this out and now with my gestational diabetes this will be a great tool to implement more often since real pasta is pretty much off limits for me.

Oh Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! I have been a severe procrastinator in regards to blogging over the last week. I've been extremely tired and in lots of pain, pregnancy is starting to wear on me! The weekend was pretty low-key so no real excitement to talk about. I did want to share about my morning though. Today I went to the hospital for three appointments. As of Friday I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Keeping my weight gain in check has been difficult and I haven't been making the healthiest food choices. As an already overweight woman I told myself I would worry about my weight after the baby and obviously that was a mistake. So I had a checkup and baby is fine. Next I had a meeting with someone to teach me how to use a glucometer and my last appointment was to go over nutrition and diet so I can not have to go on medication, not have a huge baby, and lower my chances of contracting Diabetes type 2 after birth. I have to say the diet is much easier than I had expected so with commitment and help things should go very well. The appointments were a little early in the morning so my husband and our daughter stayed home and slept in (lucky ducks!) When I got home Justin was really interested in the diet and blood sugar reading process so it was cool to share that with him. He is really supportive and it's exciting because he wants to partake in the diet as well. How was your weekend? Did you have gestational diabetes or do you have diabetes? Product review later today!