Over the last few years I think I really just floated through my life doing what was needed for everyone around me but not really working towards a healthier self. Last summer I had really had enough. Over the last few years I have had some issues with allergies, my knees, legs and back. I know this is from what I have been doing or not doing to my body. I had really just given up on things that made me healthy and happy and just lived. Not anymore, I really was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have decided that I needed to take care of myself to be the healthiest I can be so I can show my kids how to take care of their own bodies and live a long happy, healthy life.
I started with moving more but without changing your diet (I really dislike that word as everyone seems to think of it as something bad or starving yourself. Instead lets called it nutrition), you will have a harder time becoming the healthiest that you can be. Nutrition is a HUGE part in healing the body and dropping weight. It is a life style change that you need to be able to live with and continue to see the results and keep the weight off. Eating healthy doesn't have to be hard or taste horrible. I guess if you hate veggie and fruit this may be a hard adjustment. I love to eat healthy I just lost the portion size and loved my treats in the evening with the hubby. I also ate out of boredom and for comfort.
If you are looking to change your life to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle fad "diets" that you do for a certain period isn't the way to go. I know some people have done well losing the weight but then after the "diet" went back to eating the same and not exercising gaining all plus more of the weight back. Since starting my journey I have been reading everything I can get my hands on and talking to everyone I can about becoming healthier. Starting small is really what has helped me. Start by adding more water each day. Add a new veggie to your dinner plate that you wouldn't normally eat. Cut out a starchy carb and reach for a protein instead when looking for your next snack. I started out with The Food Lovers Fat Loss system, which I will be reviewing on here soon. It is a great way to get started as you can still eat the foods you love but learn the right portion size and how to pair your foods together to turn your body into a fat burning machine!
How about this weekend drink an extra 8oz glass of water a day and cut out one starchy carb snacks with protein? Lets get healthy together in 2015! Are you with me? Leave a comment below, follow on Twitter or on Instagram (where I post what I am eating and doing for workouts)
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Now that kids are back to school and we have been cracking down with the routines I am turning to my new Mom's Family Calendar to keep myself and the whole family on track. School homework, chores, after school activities, work and everything else we have going on can really get lost if it isn't wrote down.
My kids also find it easier to know when I work if I have it down on a calendar. As I work shift work on overnights the kids like to know when Mommy will be here or when they will be waking up to Nanny.
Now that the kids are both out of Kindergarten they have a steady amount of homework each night - spelling, reading, and assignments this is where the Mom's Family Calendar is going to be really helpful.
The calendar is set up different than most calendars as it goes down with the dates and you have your "boxes" across the page. Like this:
We have a row for Mom, Dad, A and P with an extra row for other things that may be needed to jot down to keep as reminders for each day. The kids can check their names when they get home from school and find out what they need to do that day - what homework assignments are due? are they suppose read tonight? Is is Boys & Girls club? etc.
The calendar starts in August 2013 and ends December 2014. The calendar also includes a full set of stickers, and a handy pocket at the bottom to hold notes or coupons etc.
You can purchase a Mom's Family Calendar on Thomas Allen & Son ltd. website for $16.99
Want to Win a Mom's Family Calendar? Our friends at Thomas Allen & Son Ltd. would like to offer 5 calendars to five Genuine Jenn readers. Please fill in the form below to win! This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only. It will run until September 27th at 11:59pm est. a Rafflecopter giveaway ~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn on behalf of Thomas Allen & Son ltd. I received the above product for review purpose. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Spring is definitely in the air in Ontario and we have spotted tons of what we call Spring signs, last night we saw our neighbours tulips starting to spurt and have seen many robins running around looking for worms. Our neighbourhood blue jay was spotted also in the last week! Just in time for Spring Disneynature film Wings of Life is out on DVD/Blu-ray Combo pack today! This up close look at the world of winged creatures and their life-sustaining relationship with flowers in directed by Louie Schwartzberg and narrated by Meryl Streep. Disneynature has also has other great films out - Earth, Oceans, African Cats and Chimpanzee and will soon have a new Bear film in 2014, see the sneak peak in this dvd pack.
The filmography was very well done, seeing the close ups of these creatures in slow speed. This movie is gear for older children then mine who are 5 and 6 as mine liked the pictures but we not as interested in the narration yet. It is a great movie to learn more about pollination with bees and the life of butterflies.
Head over to Facebook to check out the Disneynature page, follow @Disneynature on Twitter for updates and also head over to the Disneynature website for tons of great clips, photos and information on this film and all the others in the nature series.
Check out the Trailer below for Wings of Life
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. We received the above movie for review purpose. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Monday, April 18, 2011Canadian Coupon MomNo comments
I recently reviewed a book called He Kan’t Kill Your Future by Sharquent Webster. I will give you a little information on the book, and then I will have a short interview with the writer.
He Kan’t Kill Your Future is a glimpse of Sharquent Webster’s life growing up in South Central Los Angeles. Sharquent has been to hell and back for sure. Sharquent tells her story of her family separating, being molested as a child and then living on the streets and using drugs. The book continues on as Sharquent stumbles upon Victory Outreach, which is a women’s rehabilitation home and ministry. From there we follow Sharquent through her discovery of God and finding herself again.
I have been lucky to chat with Sharquent about her book and life and this is what we talked about.
Before starting I just want to let you know I think you are a very strong person. I want to thank you for taking the time to write this book for people who may be going through something similar or someone who may be trying to help someone through something similar. It is great to see such a happy end to such a scary life. I was at the edge of my seat through the whole book.
You start off your book mentioning your parents separating but then there is no mention to what happened to your father, is he still around in your life? Did he have no contact with you or any of your siblings?
You were right, I never mentioned anything else about my father after he and my mother split up. I guess because once he left the house, he was pretty much gone out of our lives for the most part. After he left he maybe came bac twice to pick us up to visit him. After that we did not keep contact, until we were in our late teens.
No he is NOT still around in our lives today. He does not have any contact with any of us. I believe thats because when we got a little older it was always a BIG mistery rather he was our biological father or not. They NEVER told us the truth even after many attempts. So it leads us to believe he is not our father. So I guess it doesn’t matter to us that he is not in our lives.
While reading your book, I did get a little lost on the time line. Can you give my readers an idea of how many years the book took place over?
It all began in Elementary School about the 5th or 6th grade. I walked into that rehab home at 23 years old. I am now 45 years old next month, and I have never looked bac. God has KEPT me, by his grace and mercy :)!!
How many siblings do you have any do you keep in touch, has this caused a lot of space between you and your family?
There is ten of us. One passed away after about 1 year of age. Nine of us are still living. We do keep in touch some what. We all live our own seperate lives. Two of my sisters reside in Sacramento Ca, I reside in Atlanta Ga, and the rest are still living in Los Angeles. Its kinda hard to answer that question,, I do believe it has created some space in our lives. We don’t go out of our way to visit each other, but we do get along well when we are together.
When you look back on your early years can you believe that you were able to walk away from all of that?
Well that is an emotional question for me. But its ok. Yes when I look back on my early years, and through out my entire life,,, NO I cant believe I made it through it. It is a MIRACLE what God has done in my life. And for that I am forever grateful!! I often think about my child hood and still weap as though it happend yesterday! I some times dont understand "why" I still cry. It was a horiable life to live!! It was so much mintal and psycal abuse that some of my siblings are a little slow mintaly. a few of them get disability checks because of it.
Is this your first book that you have written? Will we see anymore? Is this a self – published book?
Yes this is my first book, yes there will be a few more. I have already written my second book titled "IM STILL STANDING!" And yes I self published the book.
Can you tell us about the making of this book, why did you decide to write a book about your life?
My husband of twelve years kept saying through out the years that I should write a book. But I kept saying no. So as we were leaving our church in San Diego Ca, I was sitting looking at every one being busy moving around. And I said to my self "Ive ben in this church for fifteen years and nobody knows "my life story." So that motivated me to write. And I emmediately began to write. Also I knew I had a story to tell.
Would you like to share anything else with the readers of Canadian Coupon Mom?
Well there is one thing I would like to say to your readers. And that is,,, I would realy love to finaly know if my father is my biological father. It means more than the world to me for him to look me in my eyes and finaly tell me the truth. Ill always wonder. Thank you and God bless you!
I would like to thank you Sharquent for taking the time to answer some questions and chat with us.
My thoughts, this is definitely a book for anyone who may be struggling with a life of drugs and abuse to help you know that you too can find a better life. God is around even if we are not huge believers or of different faith. There is a higher presence there helping us find our way. I highly recommend reading this book if you work in a women's shelter or as a social worker. This is an eye opener, to another persons life and experience for sure. The chapters are short and the book is raw, to the point and it does have a few spelling and grammar errors. If you don't mind these things I would suggest reading this book.
~*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of He Kan’t Kill Your Future from Bostick Communitcation and Sharquent Webster for review purpose. All opinions are honest and my own. I would like to Thank Sharquent for taking time to answer some questions for Canadian Coupon Mom.*~
