Tea and Cookies

My favorite afternoon drink is tea.  I am a coffee girl only in the morning to give me a little kick to start my day.  Hot green tea is what I will drink in hot or cold weather and especially when we go out to eat.  Favored teas just didn’t seem to be for me.

Then I found tea blends created by my dear friend, Kathleen Edinger who is the founder and owner of TeaScapes. This is like no other tea I have ever had. I LOVE it. The Spring Break is a combination of Black tea, papaya, peach, apricot, apple, strawberries, hibiscus, kiwi, orange peel, blackberry leaves, calendula,sunflower, rose petals, and natural flavors.  Check it out….

Jersey Cookie Girl founded by the AMAZING Nicole.  Her cookies are so YUMMY! Now being gluten free, I was sure I would miss these YUMMY cookies.   I was thrilled to taste her gluten free cookies courtesy of TeaScapes (picture on the left). They were just as good as her regular sugar cookies. The cookie tray on the right is a birthday tray Nicole shipped to North Carolina for my daughter’s birthday.  Cookies themed just for her – not a one was cracked or broken. Homemade delicious cookies shipped – YEAH!!! What a great way to share a taste of home with Belinda.

I love sharing my favorite products with you… Check both of these AWESOME business women out.  Have a favorite product you would like me to try and share, send me an email at HopeWs31@gmail.com.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Word of Mom Radio

I met Dori DeCarlo in October of 2014 at ETTW’s annual conference. The first thing that caught my eye was her hat!  Yes, I am a hat fanatic – mostly pink ones but I love all kinds of hats.  Then I got to meet her and her energy was contagious.

Here is the 411 on Dori and Word of Mom Radio:

Word of Mom Radio is on BlogTalkRadio at 10amPT/1pmET Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday our Business Spotlight shares Social Media Help Not Hype with Janice Clark and Managing Mompreneur Mayhem with Cena Block. On Wednesday we have a rotating platform with Kas Winters and The Sneaky Mom Show, Elissa Sungar and Debi Dutton with Productive Play and Glenda Cates and Branding Beyond Blogging. Dori DeCarlo once a month hosts #Music Monday and The Mompreneur Model every Thursday. Meet our show hosts and see our monthly schedule. Whether you tune in while we are on the air or listen LIVE on your time in archive we are here empowering Mompreneurs – the NEW Business Women!

Dori DeCarlo ~founder of Word of Mom Radio, is the “Roz” in the background all of our shows as well as the host of her own shows. The evolution of #WoMRadio, from one show to seven and counting…Dori hosts different shows of her own and produces all of the shows that air during the week. A mompreneur since 1994, Dori began #WoMRadio to give moms who work from home a voice…and that has grown to empowering working women and moms in and out of the house!

Beginning in April, I became a proud sponsor of Word of Mom Radio.  Can I get a WOOP!  WOOP!?  I joined some other AMAZING women who have their own business to be a part of  Mompreneur Marketplace which “focuses on FABULOUS women in business”.  I get to join some of my other fav mompreneurs like: Jersey Cookie Girl, and Teascapes.  Be sure to click the Marketplace link to check out all of the mompreneurs.

Don’t miss the radio shows too because there is lots of great information…

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

 

 

Holiday Choices

Busy day planned as I get ready for the invasion of “the girls” as hubby calls the upcoming visit from Belinda and 3 of her friends from North Carolina.  They are scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow.  I am excited to be able to spend Thanksgiving with my daughter.  Of course this Thanksgiving trip conjures memories of her last Thanksgiving trip to NJ including an expected trip to the ER for an emergency surgery to remove her leaking appendix.  This is a shorter trip, so keep us in prayer that there are no trips to the ER.

My first instinct is to go into Vacation Veronica mode…. you know the one.  The holidays are here, surrounded by family and who wants to work, right?  It was great when I worked for someone else, I could take time off and work didn’t suffer.  The truth is, in direct sales what you do today will effect your business 90 days from now.  Scary thought, huh?  I don’t want to be scrambling in 90 days for bookings or worrying about meeting goals; I want to continue the steady path that I am on now.  So, I am being smart about this holiday… I am scheduling hours to work my business so that I can enjoy Thanksgiving Day in NY with the girls and tine with hubby.  I am fighting Vacation Veronica mode even if it means getting up at 5AM before and after the holiday.  It will be so worth it.

When Vacation Veronica pays a visit not only is work effected but also our eating habits (or at least mine).  Last week at Weight Watchers, we did the PLATE.  It is a visual that show just how many points (or calories) are in each of the items that we eat over Thanksgiving.  Let’s be honest – do the mashed potatoes taste any different on Thanksgiving then any other day of the year?  You can have biscuits anytime, right?  So, if you are watching your weight, you have a decision to make:

1. Am I going to eat everything I want and not worry about the scale?  If so, enjoy.
2. Am I going to eat the things that I really enjoy and hold off on the things that I can have everyday?
3. Am I going to eat a little bit of everything, just smaller amounts, until I am full but not stuffed

Which of those best describe you?  Well, this is Week 1 of being back on program at Weight Watchers.  It has been a definite eye opener for me on how easy old habits creep back into our life.  So, since I am cooking this year and we are having our holiday meal on Wednesday, I think I will choose #2.  I will enjoy the things that I don’t have every day including my Tofurkey (the vegetarian version of stuffed turkey) with some gravy and LOTS of veggies.  I know that Thanksgiving Day will be filled with lots of walking and dinner out in NY after the parade so I want to save my points so I can enjoy the day.

Are you embracing Vacation Veronica this week or are you only allowing her a SHORT visit?  Whatever you decide, enjoy the moment and don’t beat yourself up.  Embrace the choices that you make, enjoy and jump back into work or your weight loss program the next day.

It is time to go bake a pumpkin pie and pick up cookies from Jersey Cookie Girl.…

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

#holidaychoices

#Thanksgivingblessings

Tea and Cookies

My favorite drink is tea… I know it used to be coffee but I found that coffee and my stomach are not a good mix.  Hot black tea and green tea have become my new best friends.  The flavored teas just didn’t seem to be for me.  Of course, I use Equal (artificial sweetener) which is a no-no as far as hubby is concerned.  His latest mission is to get me away from the “poison” of artificial sweeteners – could be a tough one but he is not giving up the fight. Okay, I squirreled!

I would have to admit though that he may win the no sweetener battle if the only tea I drink is from my dear friend, Kathleen Edinger who is the founder and owner of TeaScapes.  This is like no other tea I have ever had.  I LOVE it.  The Spring Break is a black tea combined with some other flavors.  SHH!!!! Don’t tell hubby but I didn’t use any artificial sweetener with it.  A small out of raw cane sugar and I was good to go.  Check it out….

 

I often talk about Jersey Cookie Girl – her cookies are so YUMMY!  Now that I am gluten free (actually trying to stay away from all wheat), I was sure that I would miss these YUMMY cookies.  YEAH!! I was thrilled to taste her gluten free cookies courtesy of TeaScapes (picture on the left).  They were just as good as her regular sugar cookies. The cookie tray on the right is the birthday tray that Nicole shipped to North Carolina to arrive on my daughter’s birthday.  Cookies themed just for her – not a one was cracked or broken.  Homemade delicious cookies shipped – YEAH!!! What a great way to share a taste of home with Belinda.

I love sharing my favorite products with you… Check both of these AWESOME business women out.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Happy Birthday!

WOW!  I can’t believe that I actually know THREE people who have birthdays today.. all of them have had an impact on my life….

I will start with Stephanie Loder.  Who would have thought that when our daughters became friends 24 years ago at Apple Acres that our lives would be so intertwined.  We have been through ups and downs, good times and bad and although distance keeps us apart – you are always in my thoughts and prayers.  The girls with their adventures.  Watch the boys grow up was a blessing.  Bill being deployed.  The countless birthdays, anniversaries, christenings and graduations. Our girls are even still the best of friends.  Wishing you a day filled with joy, peace and happiness.

Vanessa Coppes….where do I begin???  When I walked into the first meeting of the Entrepreneurial Think Tank for  Moms last year, I was nervous.  I had stepped out of my comfort zone into a world where I didn’t think I belonged but figured I would go ONCE.  Thank you Nicole Boratto. BAM!  You (and Lynette) were there!  You welcomed me with open arms and shall I say the rest is history.  I mean, I wouldn’t even be writing this blog if you hadn’t issued a challenged to me.  My 30 day challenged has turned into a 17 month journey that just continues to grow and get better.  YOU have helped me to grow personally and professionally for which I will be eternally grateful.  I wonder what the next challenge will be???  Enjoy your day Chica!!!

The last birthday wish goes to my hubby, Rob.  I saved the best for last (sorry ladies).  My rock when things go wrong.  The ying to my yang.  The logical to my creative side.  The planner to my spontaneous side.  The budgeter to my impulses.  The home-body to my on the go girl.  The love of my life.  Never did I dream that our paths would cross again after 30 years. I never could have imagined us being married (okay maybe when we were dating in HS), and having the life we have together.  We have survived the good times and the bad.  There were some rocky roads during those 5 years that you commuted back and forth to EHT.  We have survived in sickness and in health.  I praise God that he guided us through the last year with your health issues.  Now, it is time for us to relax for a little bit .  I know that there may be hiccups along the way BUT as long as we are together, I know that we can get through them together.  You are the love of my life and my best friend.  There aren’t enough words to tell you how much you mean to me.  Today is YOUR day!  I will TRY to not answer my phone, be on the internet or talk business – that is my gift to you!  For others, it may not sound like a lot but YOU know it is.  TIME is my biggest gift to you this year.  I mean the girls are coming in about 3 weeks and we need to be ready, right?

Happy Birthday to each of you who have helped me to grow into the person that I am today…Best wishes for a day filled with joy.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!