Back on the Bandwagon - Part 2

Back when I started my weight loss journey, I was anxious to try Shakeology - I had heard so many good things about it. 

Now unfortunately Beachbody doesn't offer "samples" of their shakes - unless you can find a coach who is willing to ship one of the individual packets to you.  You can buy these individual packets on eBay, however, be prepared to pay an arm and leg for one packet.  So to try it, you just have to bite the bullet and buy either a bag or a box of individual packets. 

It is a bit pricey ($120 retail) but if you sign up as a coach (distributor) you can purchase it for 25% off.  But even at that price it's still rather pricey.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to paying money for something that is a superior product, however, I don't want to have to force myself to drink the shakes just for the benefits if I don't like the taste.  I think most people would agree with me on that point.  

When I started to look into Shakeology, I had heard all the stories about how "magical" it was, and I have to say that did peak my interest.  I like that it has all the vitamins and minerals included (I hate to take a bunch of supplements) and love that they have a chocolate flavor option.  So, off to Ebay I went - and found someone who had the single packages for sale for a reasonable price - YAY, I could finally try it!!

While waiting for my "samples" to arrive, I signed up on the TeamBeachbody website - read through the forums, etc. and got a bit anxious when I read that people hated the "new chocolate taste".  Apparently Beachbody had changed their formula and the awesome chocolate flavor was no longer (sad face) - the new "superfood" formula was crap compared to the old formula.  The old formula tasted very much like a chocolate milkshake whereas most people who tried both the old and new formulas did not like the new formula.  General consensus is that the new formula tastes horrible and has a bad aftertaste.

Well, since I hadn't tried the first one, I thought what the heck ... I'll give it a go.   I admit it did have a bit of an aftertaste, however, mixing it with chocolate milk and honey seemed to mask that aftertaste somewhat ... it wasn't horrible by any means.

In reality, I'm just trying to lose the rest of the weight I need to lose, eat healthier and Shakeology seemed to be perfect for me.

When researching Shakeology I had heard that the vegan Strawberry was much better than the "new chocolate", so back to Ebay I went.  I was able to find someone who would ship it to me for a reasonable price and once I tried it, I absolutely LOVED it!!

... continued in part 3

Back on the Bandwagon - Part 1

Some of you may know about my weight loss journey.  For those that don't here's the story ...  I've found that as I have been getting older, I'm truly having a much tougher time losing weight. So in October 2012 I resolved to begin changing by my body image.

This is probably a good time to mention that I'm 5'3" and when I decided that I would seriously try to lose some weight, I weighed 155 lbs - not really a big deal but I knew I needed to lose a few pounds. Plus I was hating the way my tummy and thighs looked ... YUCK!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love my Coke and it wasn't uncommon for me to drink 3-4 cans of Coke a day if not more. So, the first thing I did was cut out any pop/soda from my diet, and I admit, this first step was hard. I was determined and as I struggled I replaced my daily Coke habit with green tea.

For Christmas 2011 my hubby bought me a Keurig coffee maker ... which is funny because I don't drink coffee. But one good thing about the Keurig is you can buy a reusable filter basket that allows you to make your own K-cups with whatever you want. Since the Keurig is so fast at brewing, I can have my green tea (either warm or iced) in less than 1 minute. Awesome!!! That's one thing I always hated about having to use a kettle for tea - took too damn long to boil the water. The Keurig was a perfect solution!!

About a month after cutting out Coke and replacing it with green tea, I decided to weigh myself ... and to my surprise I had lost 15 pounds ... Wow!! Now I really didn't think I looked much different, but in mid-May 2012 we headed down to Orlando for our annual May getaway and friends that had just seen us in October asked if I had lost weight. Awesome!!!!

Heading home from our vacation, I wasn't sure what to expect when I stepped on the scale. We do like to eat well and tend to enjoy a few adult beverages when we are on vacation, and this trip was no exception, however, one thing I did not do was drink any pop/soda whatsoever during our trip (that was truly a test of my willpower by the way). Once again I was surprised ... I had not gained any weight at all ... now, I didn't lose any weight either, but I didn't gain any so it was totally a win in my books!!

Since that time, I have been actively trying to lose the last 15 lbs by exercising more regularly (usually walking a couple times of week) and continued with my green tea.   Unfortunately I'm finding that I seem to be craving junk food later in the evening - which is really something I need to curb.  It's definitely not helping my weight loss.

Then came Winter and our walks stopped (no I'm not walking when it's -40 below) and then the Holiday season and unfortunately, mostly due to laziness on my part and my junk food cravings, I've put back on 5 pounds.  UGH!!

It's now Spring again ... warm enough to start our walks again ... and I'm more determined than ever to lose those 20 pounds.

... continued in part 2

Are You Using Toxic Chemicals in Your Home?

In November 2011, I was introduced to an opportunity that changed my life. I loved the company's mission of being eco green. I loved the idea of it being safe for my family including my pets. I loved the idea of house cleaning supplies without the caustic chemicals and products that were highly concentrated, giving me more for my hard earned money.

Ask yourself this ...
~ Why is there such an epidemic of ADHD in our children?
~ Why are there so many cancers?
~ Why are birth defects, brain, kidney & liver disease such national issues?
~ Sinus & asthma problems have become major health issues
~ Why are so called "old age diseases" now attacking our children?

What's going on? What's the cause of these health issues?

Here's a list of the top 12 toxic ingredients you'll find in your home
~ Propylene Glycol / Butylene Glycol / Ethylene Glycol
~ Sodium Hydroxide
~ Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS)
~ DEA / MEA / TEA
~ PEG - Polyethylene Glycol
~ DMDM / UREA
~ Mineral Oil
~ Triclosan
~ Parabens
~ Isopropyl Alcohol
~ FD&C Color Pigments
~ Fragrance

Seriously grab this list of chemicals. Then look at the products in your home like your deodorant, shampoo, mouthwash, baby lotion, hand creams, household cleaners and make up. See if they contain any one of these products.

Scentsy Warmer of the Month - April 2013 - Big Apple

Big Apple is the April Scentsy warmer of the month.

A three-piece warmer with amazing, hand-painted details. Topped with a pair of glossy green leaves, it looks so good you might be tempted to take a bite! Perfect as an end-of-the-year teacher gift for your child’s favorite teacher–or as a gift to yourself!

Big Apple uses 20-watt light bulb.
Available April 1, 2013

Regular Price: $42.00 CDN / $35.00 US
April 2013 Price: $37.80 CDN / $31.50 US

Scentsy's April Scent of the Month

Sunny & Share*: A sunny shore washed clean by a spring shower–soft sea air, golden citrus, and dewy driftwood scattered with white beach daisies.

* Available April 1, 2013

New Scentsy Products for Spring/Summer 2013

Our New Spring/Summer 2013 Scentsy Products and Catalog are the BEST EVER! Seriously. I am so excited to share them all with you. Here is a short Video that you can watch to Learn about ALL of the Scentsy Products that are Available as of Today!  Buy Now.

Email me to find out my Customer Specials - BonnyL@Live.com

Oh, and before I forget, this month it will have been 1 year since I joined the Scentsy Family.

Visit me on Facebook:  Finest Scents by Bonny
Follow me on Twitter:  @CdnDznyLuvr

My Scentsy Website:  Finest Scents by Bonny
To Join My Scentsy Team:  Click Here

Tips For Using Pinterest Well

As someone who has been avidly using Pinterest for about 6 months, I can honestly say it has greatly impacted my internet consumption, creativity and blog content.  I know many of you are on Pinterest, but probably a greater amount have only stuck your toe in the Pinterest waters or are thinking, “I don’t need ANOTHER thing online.” This post is for ALL of you. I hope these tips will help you start or improve your Pinterest experience.

Create very specific boards 
This is very important. When you first get started on Pinterest, you will be tempted to have general boards. Don’t do this. What will happen is that you will start pinning all recipes to recipes and then before you know it you will have 300 recipes – from dips to desserts to crock pot beef stew. Segment as much as possible. Some examples

• Tips and tricks (for posts like this one!)
• One board per type of recipe (meals, crock pot, desserts, breakfast, sides and apps, parties, etc.)
• One board per holiday (Christmas, Valentines, Easter, Halloween, etc.)
• Sewing
• Project Life
• Memory Keeping (general scrapbook pages/scrapbook ideas)
• Printables
• Favorite books/books I want to read
• Inspirational words
• Photo inspiration

Create a completed pins board 
I have pinned about 2,000 items to Pinterest. That is a lot. I have found it very gratifying to create and use a completed pins board. Once I have made a recipe, done a craft project, etc. from Pinterest, I will repin the item to my completed pins board, along with comments about what worked/didn’t work, etc. This is very helpful for me – and for the followers of that board.

Follow a lot of people 
I love following a lot of people on Pinterest because it means I find a lot of great items to pin. Interestingly, Pinterest also adds you as a follower to boards that their algorithm thinks you will like. This helps you to find more great stuff to pin.

Pin from your favorite sites 
If you see something you like on a website pin it! (I have the Pin It tool installed on my toolbar, which makes it really easy to pin from any site. It takes about 5 seconds to install.) Pinterest is only as good as the stuff that is pinned on it, so it needs people to pin new items to it. Plus, pins help drive traffic to your favorite sites. (I’m so thankful every time you pin something from this site.)

Pin the specific URL of a post to Pinterest (not the generic site URL) 
This is an important one! When you see something on a site that you want to pin, be sure to click on the post so that you pin from the actual post – and not the main site URL. Otherwise, once that post moves from the main page, no one will be able to  find it. (Similarly don’t pin from a google image search – pin from the site the image came from).

Search pins to find new inspiration 
If you are researching ideas, check out the search function on Pinterest to find new ideas. The search function isn’t as robust as I would like it to be (it isn’t endless, you can’t sort by recent or popular, etc.), but I do always find SOMETHING worth repinning. I especially like using search when I am looking for a recipe, home dec ideas or party inspiration.

Write meaningful descriptions (include key words, @+a name will tag someone) 
Pinterest requires you to write a description of some sort. It is frustrating when a description is something like yum or must try and doesn’t tell the viewer what the picture is of. Be sure your description tells what the pin is.  It is also nice when you include the blog name or tag someone.  You may have noticed that more and more bloggers are including text on their images to make the images “Pinterest friendly” and helpful for viewers on Pinterest.

Don’t post an entire blog post in your pin 
It is poor etiquette to paste an entire post/recipe etc. on a pin. Instead, when you pin an item, write a simple description of the item so people will click to get the full tutorial, recipe, etc.

Comment! Pinterest is a social site like Facebook and Twitter, so interact!

What would you add to this list? Please feel free to leave your Pinterest name in the comments so I can follow you. AND, if you are not on Pinterest and need an invitation, send me an email and I will happily send you an invite.