Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Will this save my sanity???

The title says it all!  As a mother of two children, one who is seven years old and another who is 10 months old, I am running around A LOT!  Whether it is chasing my little walker around the house (silently kicking myself for not childproofing EVERYTHING) or making lunch, I am pretty much always on the go.  When I am not tending to the household duties I am working hard on my candle business - always brainstorming for bigger better ideas to make it a success!  And add in my beautiful garden and the other bits of life that fill in the seconds of the day, I have no time set aside to just say "aah" and breathe.  In fact, just writing about it is spiking my blood pressure (or it could be that I am on my third cup of coffee!).

So, when I was offered to try out the cerra.com program through Shespeaks, I jumped on it!  Cerra defines the program as:
"Cerra™ experiences help you be aware of your thoughts and feelings,
                               act with thoughtful intention, and reflect on your experiences, 
leading to a happier, more balanced life."

It sounds like exactly what I need!  Often, in our busy lives we do not take the time to stop and just look around and take in the beauty of nature or the smell of fresh cut grass.  We are so busy and preoccupied with the distractions of living that little moments fall by the wayside and slip away.  This is so unfortunate because it is the little moments of reflection and peace that spark ingenious ideas.

So today I begin this journey to a more enlightened happier me!  By using Cerra's website and the guided tools they offer, I am hoping that I can re focus and re center myself, making me a better mother, lover, friend, and business woman!  I will be documenting my thoughts, feelings, and emotional state throughout the whole time I am trying out this path and am intrigued to see the difference from beginning to end.  I hope that I do find some gravity and moments of relaxation.  But this is all of the time I have for now (see?  I am already running!).

So follow me on my quest for personal growth and I would even love much more for you to join me!  All you have to do is sign up at cerra.com and make your profile.  Browse through the website - make sure to read about the seven intentions as well as the moments activities they have to do.  If you do decide to join please comment here and let me know!  I would love to share this with you and discuss ideas!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

I am going into business for MYSELF!

Just a quick note - I am starting my own candle business so check out my website.  It is still a work in progress so if you have any ideas or comments, let me know!  

Check it out at www.merrelincandleco.com

I am making my own candles with scents and labels for the masses but am also specializing in customized candles and **hoping** to create custom candles for small/large scale events like weddings and baby showers! 

Thursday, August 11, 2011

My Sample Share of Old Navy jeans thanks to Crowdtap!

Well,  I got the pleasure of being selected through Crowdtap.com to try out some Old Navy Jeans.  How awesome!  I love jeans.  It is almost fall so I will be able to wear them more often!  Plus, I have lost all of my pregnancy/baby weight plus some and my old jeans are too big.  So when I was offered this opportunity I jumped on it!  First I want to say a BIG thanks to Crowdtap and Old Navy for selecting me to be a part of this sample share.  And not only did I get a pair of free jeans but I also had one coupon to give away!  So my BFF also got a pair of free jeans!


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My BFF lives about an hour away and works full time so we had to configure our schedules to have the time to go together and shop.  Well, the perfect time was yesterday because we were taking our girls to go see Selena Gomez in concert.  So she came out to pick us up early and we headed out to Old Navy first.  There were a lot of choices for jeans!  When I first looked up the products online I pretty much was set on the "Skinny Mini Flare" Jeans.  Well after trying them on, I was dead set against them!  They fit all wrong and I was pretty disappointed since they looked so cute on the mannequin!  Of course, the mannequin is NOT a real body type.....I had thought about testing out the "Skinny" jeans look but I am really a boot cut/flare type of girl.  So I ended up getting the "Slim Flare".  They look really cute on and fit great!  My BFF got the same style as me.  She was a little unimpressed with this years line.  She did not like the pocket styles in a lot of the jeans or the fabric.  I really don't care for embellished butt pockets but I do agree with her on the fabric.  It seemed too stretchy and less "jeany" material.


I also question Old Navy's sizing chart.  I wonder if they make the sizes smaller so you feel smaller and want to buy their jeans.  Because the jeans I got are a size 0 and I know that I am not that tiny!  But I guess I shouldn't complain, right?  We had a lot of jeans that didn't make the cut but I am happy that I found an awesome fitting pair!  I wanted to wear them right out of the store to the concert but the jeans had the ink tag on them :-(



The cashier said he had never seen any of these coupons and that he didn't even know Old Navy offered promos like this.  The lady in line behind me was also very interested in what we were doing (we were snapping pics at the counter, see above!)  I told her to go to Crowdtap.com and check it out!  The cashier also said that we made his day with the coupons.  Either he was just excited to see us excited for FREE jeans or he has a really boring job!  So, I changed my into my new jeans in the car and wore them to the concert!



What a great day it was!  Shopping and taking my daughter to her FIRST concert ever!  Yay for days like that and hoping for more in the future!!!!!