Posts by admin:
- How to Build a Community with Facebook Groups with Anne Paris
- I learned how easy it is to gain true engagement on Facebook despite the change that it made to the Facebook pages. I have been seriously disillusioned with my engagement on my own page that I needed to see if there were other ways to revive and keep my readers engaged. If you are interested in hearing more, please feel free to email me.
- Anne Paris was a delight to chat with and very authentic. I am happy to have met her and look forward following her.
- Blogging Authority: How to Master the Media and Gain Credibility with Laura Harders
- I enjoyed meeting Laura and was encouraged by all she shared. I was encouraged how to make my brand well-known beyond the online community through tv networks and even magazines. Even though I have done some magazine submissions I knew I needed a few more options and some encouragement.
- How to Transition from Amateur to Pro Blogger with Blogging Concentrated
- I do not know where to start with everything I heard from Dan Morris and Rachel Martin. At one point I think my head was going to pop from all the information I was receiving. I was amazed by the amount of information and experience these two speakers have, but they obviously KNOW what they are doing because they are quite successful at it.
- The big plus is that I got to be part of a mastermind group at a LATE night session in one of the special conference rooms. Any question could be asked of these two speakers and boy did they share. They share mostly about creating a product for your own personal brand. I was astounded at how easy it was but how thorough I needed to be to make it happen. All this caused me to brainstorm ideas like no one’s business as well as possibly rebranding.
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Healthy Moms Grow Happier Kids
- Dr. Drew Ramsey, DrewRamseyMD.com
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Why Being a Mom is Enough
- Rachel Martin, Finding Joy
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I’d Do Anything for You, Including Change the World
- Gloria Pan, Moms Rising
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How to Give Your Kids Freedom and Independence without Living in Fear
- Lenore Skenazy, Free Range Kids
- Washable Pre-Filter
- Coated Deodorization (CD) Carbon Filter
- Anti-microbial True HEPA Filter
- WINIX PlasmaWave® Technology – this technology creates hydroxyls that instantly neutralize viruses, bacteria, odors, and gases.
- A 360° All-in-One Filter featuring a hair collecting Pre-filter
- Coated DeOdorization (CD) Carbon Filter
- 99.97% True HEPA Filter
- PlasmaWave® Technology, all of which combine to offer superior control of Pet Dander and Odor, as well as capturing other Particles and Allergens.
- 3 medium carrots
- 2 medium red apples (cored)
- 1 large handful kale
- 1 large handful spinach
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 1/2 lemon (cut off peel)
Keeping a Balanced and Active Lifestyle with Dole Packaged Foods
October 24th, 2016This is a sponsored post with Dole Packaged Foods and We All Grow Latina Network. All opinions are my own and based on our personal experiences with our active lifestyle.
It has been 6 weeks since I quit my job in the medical field and 6 weeks since I have been a full-time stay-at-home mom. Truth be told I was doing both at the same time while parenting and it was really challenging. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom, I realized it has its own challenges.
Busy mom of three
Somehow it seemed easier doing it all. Actually I was not doing it all because I focused on my job, taking care of the girls and doing the necessary chores to keep my head above water. The stark reality is that keeping a home and raising kids is definitely a big job even more when the kids start going to school.
I consider myself a mom who is always on the go, I think I get some of this from my mother. I plan activities for our girls and for our family on the weekends, so I really try hard to prepare in advance to have the essentials for my girls when we go places. It does not go so well when I am just too tired to get my act together because I definitely pay for it later.
Wizard of Oz
Last weekend, I took the girls to a local theater to watch Wizard of Oz. It was perfect timing since we had just finished reading the book. Since it was a matinée and a long show a that, I knew that I had to be prepared to have something for the girls to munch on besides the normal concessions. I prefer to give my girls healthy snacks like Dole Packaged Foods which definitely came in handy as I packed our to-go bags. Dole Packaged Foods offers high quality, contemporary products from a long-standing, trusted company that’s been around for over 160 years.
During intermission, the Fruitocracy fruit pouches came in handy for my 3 1/2 and 5 year-old daughters. It made for a great combination with the packaged almonds. If anything, I make sure that my girls are getting a great balance of healthy that is also fun. Fruit pouches are actually pretty special treat for my older girls because it is fast, convenient and satisfying.
Active kids
My girls know I like the be outdoors and for me, it is easier to manage my girls in an outdoor setting. During the weekdays, after I pick my older two girls from preschool, I chose an area playground and have lunch packed for them. My youngest toddler, who is 15-months old, is definitely ready to eat by 11:30, so if I plan to go anywhere, I must have a snack available.
It is definitely a challenge to be prepared on days that are tight with dropping kids to school and cleaning the daily mess, I know that I have my go-to snacks that I can pop into my lunch bag. Hey, even I can have my daily fruit intake with Fruitocracy pouches. Thanks to Dole Packaged Foods for having fun flavors to keep my kids entertained and even nourished when out and about.
Busy and active lifestyle
I will admit that I am not used to slowing down because having little ones keeps you going but my life has always been like that even as a single woman. It almost seems natural to keep the energy going with your family. Although our family is not quite involved in extracurricular activities like sports, gymnastics and dance, we take a rest in order to enjoy the joys of community with our church.
Knowing that this keeps us busy twice a week is enough to give the other activities a rest until the girls are little older. Sometimes I feel like I need to have an ice chest of snacks ready instead of packing them daily which is what I will probably do next. What an idea!
But while busy schedules and weeks go by, I know that having some downtime at home with my girls is always important in order for them to realize that home is where rest is. Even if it is our communal backyard, I know that letting my girls run in the grass and climbing the trees is just as good as racing around in a car making it to local playgrounds. Even so, the convenience of fruit pouches like Fruitocracy and Dole Packaged Foods make our busy lives so much more easier.
Invite Dole to your home and be surprised with everything they offer. Their products will be helpful in any active lifestyle.
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What I Loved About WOW Summit Weekend
October 12th, 2016WOW Summit weekend was a great with moms and bloggers at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort in Maryland discovering and connecting with healthy brands.
This was my first year to attend WOW Summit even though it is in its 4th year. The first year was held right in my town, but with a new baby, it was not really something I could swing. Three years later and I finally found myself around Moms Meet staff and many bloggers I have come across online.
WOW Summit Weekend with Blogger Pass
I arrived Friday morning after driving from Philadelphia for 2 1/2 hours. I was glad to arrive with one hour to spare so I could relax and check into my room. While I did not have an amazing view from my room, I was not far away from all the scheduled programs. I was in awe with the enormity of the resort and wondered how close everything was going to be during the weekend. Luckily, all activities were centralized.
When I signed up for the conference, I knew there were several different options for me. I chose the blogger pass which allowed me to attend three of ten sessions which also included a speed networking with brands in the early evening. If anything, I was looking forward getting to know new brands and putting a face to some brands I was familiar with.
Blogger Sessions
Originally, I knew there were going to be several sessions but I did not know I was only going to get three choices between ten opportunities. It was quite tough to choose, but at the end I am glad I chose the ones I did. Which ones did I attend?
Networking
After the sessions we had an hour and a half to eat dinner. The Gaylord has great options in-house so we visited the National Pasttime Sports Bar. While the waiter seemed to be distracted with the games on the big screens, we enjoyed crab cakes around the table. It helped us all be prepared for the speed networking we were about to experience.
Wow. SPEEDY it was. I never experiences speed dating but we definitely experienced speed meeting over 20 brands in one of the conference rooms. None of the bloggers really knew what exactly we were doing but I sat with a Carolina from Mama Instincts and we both moved around to each table around the room after 4 minutes with the brand.
Yes. We survived giving each brand our business card and media kits and were excited to get to know more about their product the next day at their showcase. Truth be told, many of the brands were new to me. I was able to read about all of the them before arriving that evening and even found out many were brand new to bloggers. Now it is time to follow-up and see which ones would be a great fit for me and my family.
Cocktails and Comedy
While I dreamed of a little break in my hotel room, we really did not have the time. We went straight from speed networking to cocktail hour. The spread was pretty amazing and healthy! Mediterranean hor d’oeuvres were served with an option for two cocktails. I enjoyed a lovely gin and tonic with my plate of goodies.
A fun ice cream sundae bar was set up for those who wanted to end the night with a sweet treat. The comedy hour unfortunately was not Dena Blizzard because Hurricane Matthew impeded her travel, nonetheless, Moms Meet folks found a last-minute fill in, but unfortunately was not something I cared for. Either way, a group of us sat on the floor outside the ballroom and enjoyed a lovely hour of conversation which then ended with a great view from the 18th floor!
Exhibitor Hall on Saturday
Saturday morning’s activities started at 9am for another group of ticket holders: moms. Many of the mornings offerings were special sessions about health, healthy eating, recipes, organic beauty, motherhood, and more. Since that was not my focus, I did not attend but what I did attend was the exhibitor hall.
Remember the brands we met the night before? Well, they each had their own booth in the ballroom floor of the Gaylord National and each shared their products with samples for moms and bloggers to enjoy. It was a nice round-up but I was easily done in less than an hour.
I had lunch with a few bloggers and called the day short because weather was pretty rough and I simply did not want to travel in the dark with storms.
Pros and Cons
While this was my first time attending the conference, I am not sure I would attend again, unless there were sessions I simply could not miss. I would go again for sure for the goody bag! There were so many things in my bag that I have already organized in ways I can use them in my daily use.
One thing I really think staff should have included were more snacks from sponsors during our Friday all-day sessions and meetings. With so many brands representing, I am sure a brand would sponsor snacks to go with the hot drinks that were provided. I kind of expected it!
Saturday morning included no food or snacks at all. A simple continental breakfast since a 9am call was given would be nice for those moms wanting to sleep in. Sessions ran through lunch time so yet again there were no snacks given out.
DO we sense a theme? Food is important, next to coffee, but moms need sustenance. The locations of the conference was great and posh and a nice home away from home stay for this mother of three.
Thanks for Moms Meet for providing my stay at Gaylord National Harbor and for allowing me to experience a nice weekend, discovering great brands for my family.
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WOW Summit 2016 this weekend
October 6th, 2016Hey friends!
I will be out this weekend in Washington D.C. attending the Wow Summit through Moms Meet.
NOW WAIT!
Before you go on deleting my post….this conference is for bloggers and moms. I will be live sometimes on social media sharing some of the sessions I attend on Friday night and even share some of the products and brands that I will be meeting!
Here is a link to Eventbrite to buy your ticket. Save an extra 15% using my code SK15.
Friday at Gaylord Resort
Friday’s events start with TEN different sessions to choose from. I cannot believe I have to choose three of the lot, but it is the way it is. We then get a chance to meet brands and network and then some time for dinner.
Looking forward to cocktails and comedy hour too! I know there will be some ladies I know who will be attending.
Saturday morning at Gaylord Resort
Then on Saturday morning, I will be choosing some sessions that will be directed to moms. Great sessions by well-known speakers. Catch a few of the titles:
I know I have friends that have asked how they could get into blogging, well this weekend is your chance to get a sense of what it is all about. If you are on your phone, (hahahaha, you know you are on all the time, like me) then use this hashtag:
#WOWSummit on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
You won’t just see my posts but the many women who will be attending! If you are not following already, make sure you head to all my channels to keep up with me this weekend!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/singerinkitchen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Singerinkitchen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/singerinkitchen/ and look at IG stories too!
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/singerinkitchen
Look at all these sponsors! Which of these brands are you interested in knowing more about?
Tell me!
If you are already going, let me know! Let’s chat, have coffee, have a party in my room, etc. I am up for anything. Have a safe trip to those attending and those viewing through social media!
Before you leave
Make sure to check out my post about WINIX air purifiers. They will be at the conference and I am so excited to know more about them and their product.
Also read more about the conference in a previous post. Thanks!!
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Keeping Air Clean with Wi-Fi enabled Winix Smart™ Air Purifier
October 5th, 2016Keep an air purifier in your home every season to ensure a cleaner and safer environment. An additional purifier with your home filter will hopefully help keep colds and allergies at a bare minimum.
Allergies during Fall Season
The change of seasons always causes a little havoc in our home between my husband’s allergies and my kid’s developing allergies, it is hard to keep everyone healthy. Ragweed is definitely at a high during the late summer into the end of October, so I have to endure hearing sneezing and seeing runny noses.
As a mother of three toddlers, I am always striving to keep our house clean but while that is impossible, I know that dust is probably the biggest struggle through the blinds, furniture, ceilings, and more. I cringe just thinking of the places I do not get to reach as I clean my home but what if I could have a helper that is behind the scenes, keeping up with me?
Air Purifiers
While our home has a filter, it is hard to remember when to change. With allergy in full swing and then cold season, I really am looking for other options to keep our family healthy this season. Thanks to Winix, there are two new air purifiers on the market that have the Winix Smart™ Wi-Fi app for monitoring air quality in my home including the True HEPA filter for removing allergens and bacteria from the environment.
These two filters, the HR1000 and the NK105 are both new Wi-Fi enabled models and can be used anywhere around the house, from the baby room to the kids activity room or even in an area with the most traffic. All I know is that I want to obliterate any unwelcome viruses or even harmful bacteria, spores, or even mold!
The WINIX HR1000 Air Purifier
This air purifier is large, purifying 400 square feet. It also offers a 5-Stage air purification system with the following:
What are hydroxyls? Hydroxyl is a safe, highly effective, and naturally occurring compound in the earth’s atmosphere that scrubs pollution, odors, and harmful pathogens from the air we breathe. Sounds amazing right?
The WINIX NK105 Air Purifier
This purifier is a medium size and covers 320 square feet of space. It offers a 4-stage system instead of a 5-stage and includes the following:
It seems like this air purifier would be a better fit for people who own pets. Here is a look at how the air circulates:
These purifiers sure do offer a lot of options for homes and even lets owners see when the filters should be replaced and it even alerts when the air quality is excellent, good or poor. What a great way to know that the air quality in your home will be.
WINIX Air Purifiers
Want to know more about the company? Make sure to check out their website. While I do not own a filter, I am looking forward getting to know them more while at Wow Summit in Washington, D.C. this weekend.
What worries do you have about your air quality at home? Any concerns?
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Fall Detox with Zesty Carrot Green Juice
October 3rd, 2016Today I am sharing about fall detox and a great way to jumpstart it during the fall season to prepare for winter. Don’t miss a great green juice at the end.
Stress and Detox
Summer did not know go the way I expected in many ways. When my husband and I spoke about our summer plans we did not think we were going to be busy but summer ended up busier than we expected. In fact, it was a bit stressful with two unexpected deaths in our family and quitting my full-time job. One of the things I have had in mind was to start a detox.
What first comes to mind when you think about detox? Initially for me, I think I getting rid of the things I enjoy the most but in reality it is retreating to actually analyze what has been dominating life and habits. There are so many things in our life that contribute to having a toxic lifestyle that not only harms the emotional being but also the mental and physical being.
Even though I am not a health professional, I am a person who has always been interested in healing my own body with the things that God has given us on this earth. Since being married and having kids I have been less consistent with my health because truth be told, I get distracted by my situations, stress, and by life circumstances.
Being truthful to yourself
I know one of the first places to start is to be truthful with myself. It is not enough to have the desire but to actually follow through so even though I do not have an accountability group, I have been praying that God will give me the strength to be wise to go about a healthy detox so I can have a reset.I think one of the reasons we get stuck is that we get so far into bad habits that any hope of regaining control seems so distant. Well, when I decided to start my slow detox, I read on what would be go for digestion since I have slow digestion due to having no gallbladder.
Ayurveda, which translates into “knowledge of life” is an ancient system of healing that examines physical constitution, emotional nature, and spiritual outlook in the context of the universe. I think it is an interesting system and philosophy but I do not embrace it completely. While I know my spiritual connection is clear through knowing God as my Creator, I know he enlightens us to understand more about our bodies in many ways.
Health Reset
I will not get into this all completely but it helped me in my research on what herbs to use for my own detox. In the last 2 weeks I have been using Organic India‘s triphala, a traditional Ayurvedic digestive tonic (made up of three fruits—amalaki, bibhitaki, and haritaki) with antioxidant properties. These three fruits act as a mild laxative while ridding the body of toxins that will sicken the body. I have seen very great results after taking it twice a day. Let’s just say I am going to the bathroom a lot more.
Additional slow not shocking ways to detox is eliminating processed foods. I get in a rut of picking ready to eat foods that are not as healthy because of convenience especially as a mother of 3. I am being more consistent leaving foods prepared so as not to feel tempted to make wrong choices.
Green Juice and Fall Detox
I am thankful for juice cleanses as well, like my friend Nicole’s recipe called ZESTY CARROT (NOT SO) GREEN JUICE. I made her recipe yesterday and sipped it slowly on an empty stomach and then took a nap instead of eating a heavy meal. I felt energized! I loved the combination of kale and spinach with the apples, ginger, and lemon. It was super tasty and very palatable.
Check out her page for more recipes like these including her Magical Immune Booster Smoothie and her Post-Workout Green Smoothie.
ZESTY CARROT (NOT SO) GREEN JUICE
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients (1 glass)
Instructions
Run all ingredients through the juicer.
Serve immediately
Notes
Depending on the size of your juicer’s feed tube, apples may need to be chopped before juicing.
