Help Support Your Local School with Campbell’s Labels for Education #labels4edu #cbias

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Krissyar

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #CollectiveBias

This year I decided to get more involved in my children’s school. Though I work full-time, I figured I could contribute here and there to try to make the kid’s school experience the best I possibly could. As I joined in with a local PTO group I assumed that we would be discussing dances, the talent show, and the school carnival. I didn’t realize until I really got involved that they weren’t there just to provide our children with entertainment and school spirit t-shirts; but they were doing their best to help financially support the classrooms. Making sure we had enough basketballs and dodge balls for gym class, music for chorus, supplies for art class, and just general supplies for the classroom. That is why Campbell’s Labels for Education is so important to our school.

labels-for-education-2

Did you know there are over 2,500 items through Labels for Education that you can purchase to earn points for your school? From cereals, to drinks, soups and even school supplies you can earn money for your child’s classroom. Taking the time to just clip and save the labels, and sending them with your child to school makes a big difference. You can even go online and watch your schools progress and view their wishlist.

labels-for-education-1

We decided for motivation to get parents and students alike to not only purchase Labels for Education products, we would charge admission to events using the labels. We would also supply the classroom with the most labels at the end of each week with a treat! These few changes have made an awesome impact on our progress towards gym equipment, and art supplies for our school. 

labels-for-education-3

When you purchase Labels for Education products you can not only support your school – but save yourself money as well. Each month the Labels for Education website will feature coupons for their products to give you additional savings on their already affordable products. 

coupons-labels-for-education

Be sure to enter to Campbell’s Labels for Education Sweepstakes – 1,000 schools will win $1,000 towards their wishlist! Contest ends 12/31/14.

labels-for-education-sweepstakes

Posted in Money Matters | 32 Comments

Motivate Yourself with Goal Reaching Rewards

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Krissyar

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BalanceRewards #CollectiveBias

One thing that I’ve always been told as I have struggled with my weight loss, is to reward myself for my hard work. Buy a new outfit, get a pedicure/manicure, get my hair done, buy something to make myself feel better. Though I’ve not always been able to afford to take the spa day, or go on a shopping spree I have made sure to reward myself for my efforts to reach my health goals. My ultimate health goal by the end of this year is to run an entire 5k without the walking. There are some great inexpensive and non-food related ways to reward yourself.

color-run-finish

Here’s a few (affordable) things you can do to reward yourself for reaching your goals:

Buy a Cute Piece of Jewelry:
So you lost 5 lbs and you want to reward yourself – go buy a cute bracelet, pair of earrings, a necklace. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just something cute to add to your outfit. Not only will it be a cute way to ‘dress up’ your everyday wardrobe, but every time you wear it it will remind you of your hard work and the goal you made – and hopefully keep you motivated to lose 5 more!

Take a Healthy Cooking Class:
Take a friend and go take a cooking class – you will learn some awesome things you never knew, not to mention lots of great recipes, and bad vs good exchanges such as using greek yogurt instead of sour cream or cream cheese in a recipe, etc. It’s a fun time, you meet a lot of great new people, and get to try some yummy healthy recipes!

Plan a Day/Night Out: 
Don’t focus your night around food – plan a trip to the local farmer’s market, go putt-putt, rock climbing, take a dance lesson! You’d be surprised about how much better you feel the next morning when you didn’t focus your whole night out on eating out, or drinking. Plus, you may find a new hobby!

Hire a Personal Trainer:
Once you reach a certain goal, take on a personal trainer 1x  week (or even a month). They will give you work out’s to help you reach your next goal and keep you motivated. Nothing keeps you motivated more than someone keeping tabs on you and your goals! 

Track Your Progress with Walgreens Balance Rewards healthy choices program:
If you don’t have a Walgreens Balance Rewards card then you are missing out. You can earn points for select purchases made at Walgreens and the points turn into gift cards! Not only can you earn points with purchases, but you can earn them by tracking your healthy choices via walgreens.com or the Walgreens app.


Walgreens-balance-rewards

By tracking your healthy choices – such as steps, heart rate, etc.,you earn points on your Balance Rewards Card. You can manually enter your activities,or the easiest most convenient way is you can sync your workout device  to track it for you. I was able to connect my FitBit Zip to my Balance Rewards account so it auto loads my progress for me – and I can continue earning points with the healthy choices program. This program is a great way to not only reward yourself for weight loss goals, but weight management as well. 

walgreens-device-connect

What I love about Walgreens is there is always something I can pick  up there to reward myself – and continue to keep on track with my health/fitness goals. With school back in session (along with all the sickness that comes with it) I made a trip to Walgreens to pick up  some much needed/wanted items.. vitamins (for me and the kids), Vitamin C drops, and a treat for me – a yummy Cliff bar and VOSS water (it’s the little things let me tell you…) I was able to save money using my Balance Rewards Card, and earn points for my purchase. It was a win/win.

walgreens-purchase

Hoping to keep me and the kids healthy – and keep me on track to run my next 5k, I love saving up my Balance Reward points for items I want to buy to keep me on my journey. It’s an easy convenient way to reward myself for all my hard work!

color-run-5k

What is your favorite way to reward yourself for your hard work?

Posted in Fitness/Health | 2 Comments

Walmart Savings Catcher: Catching Savings for You

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Krissyar

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

Last week I told you about Walmart’s new Savings Catcher. The  simple process of scanning your receipt into the Walmart app, and the app doing the searching for you. No need to search through dozens of ads to find sales on the items you want, and trying to compare them to Walmart’s everyday low prices.
I made a trip this past weekend to pick up things for dinner, and the oh-so-dreaded school week ahead. Quick and easy breakfast items, stuff for packing lunches, and after school snacks. So without checking the ads, we just headed to Walmart to get our shopping done.

savings catcher

 

We stocked up on a lot of items that we needed for the next week or so, and I even let the kids pick a couple of items I normally wouldn’t. When I got home it was pretty simple to just open the Walmart app, and open the Savings Catcher tab so I could scan my receipt. After I scanned it, it started to scan over 40 local ads to see if any items that I had purchased were on  sale and cheaper at any local store – grocery stores, convenient stores, even dollar stores!

walmart-savings-catcher

 

 The app informed me that it would alert me when the scans were complete – it did take a few days, but they were able to scan all the ads along with my big purchase (nearly $200) and save me $1.41! I love that it not only told me how much much I saved on each item, but also what store had it on sale. Obviously Walmart’s every day low prices saved me a lot of time that I would of spent trying to go through dozens of ads and compare.

The app gives you an option of cashing in and getting your eGift Card now, or saving them up and cashing out all together. Since we frequent Walmart quite often I decided I would save them up and cash them out at the end of the month. It does take a day or two for the eGift card to get to your e-mail so just keep an eye out.

Have you tried the new Walmart Savings Catcher? How much have you saved?

Posted in Deals | 27 Comments

Top 10 Tips to Boost Immunity

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Krissyar

Dr. Hobbs’ Top 10 Tips to Boost Immunity 
Easy, effective tips & tricks to fight cold/flu season for the entire family!

  1. Get regular exercise. Regular exercise helps condition resistance to infections by circulating blood and immune cells.
  2. Practice hydrotherapy. After exercise, get into a cool swimming pool or shower to help circulate surface immunity. Hydrotherapy has been practiced in many cultures for at least 2,000 years to help maintain and restore health.
  3. Sleep is vital. In one study, the cold virus was swabbed into two groups of volunteers. One group was allowed eight hours sleep, while the other was restricted to less than seven hours. The latter group was three times more likely to contract a respiratory infection (Cohen et al, 2009).
  4. Address symptoms early. If you start feeling under the weather, try an herbal remedy with herbs researched for immune support (elderberry, andrographis, berberine) like Rainbow Light® Counter Attack™ Immuno-Response to bolster immunity and reduce symptom severity.
  5. Try adding immune-boosting products and nutrients into your diet.
  6. Limit sugar and processed foods. These items can have a negative effect on your health, especially when immunity is compromised.
  7. Incorporate garlic into dishes. Fresh garlic has natural immune-boosting qualities. Try to incorporate it into dishes, particularly if you aren’t feeling well.
  8. Take a daily multivitamin. It’s difficult to get all of our daily nutrients from food. Fill gaps in your diet through a multivitamin to get what you need for optimal health – Rainbow Light has a great variety of multivitamins for the entire family.
  9. Drink hot green tea. It contains compounds that help strengthen resistance.
  10. Get fresh air. Dress warmly and venture outdoors, even if only for a short, brisk walk. The fresh air invigorates and boosts natural defenses.

 Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D., L.Ac., A.H.G., Director at Rainbow Light – With over 30 years of experience in the health space and as a licensed herbalist at Rainbow Light, Dr. Hobbs has immense experience in the specialties of vitamins, holistic health medicine, natural products, organic, wellness and diet/weight loss and has worked closely with clients to help them achieve optimal health. Following a “whole, simple and nutritious” diet approach, Dr. Hobbs actively motivates clients to participate in personally designed health plans while educating clients on the immense benefits of a clean diet outlook. Hobbs has authored 25 books, including Herbal Remedies for Dummies and Women’s Herbs, Women’s Health. He shares his knowledge of herbal medicine with consumers and educators all over the world through lectures, and utilized his expertise in this field to found the Institute for Natural Products Research. He also serves as a consultant to the herb industry.

Posted in Fitness/Health | Leave a comment

Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is coming to Cincinnati!!!! WIN a Gift Card!

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Krissyar

This post is sponsored by Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. All opinions, as usual, are 100% my own. 

I am so excited to announce that Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is coming to Cincinnati (Oakley actually)!! If you haven’t heard of Fresh Thyme before,be prepared to be amazed! They have natural meat, raised without hormones, seafood flown in daily, hearty breads and delicious treats from local bakeries or right out of their own ovens, healthy meals made in their kitchens for dinners on the run, barrels of natural and organic bulk foods, locally roasted organic coffee beans, earth-friendly cleaning supplies, gluten-free and dairy-free options, plus beauty and other health needs. The best part – they are more affordable than a lot of ‘health’ food stores out there!

At Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets we believe you shouldn’t have to give away the farm to feed your body nutritious food. We’re on a mission to improve the way our communities eat by offering fresh and healthy food at amazing values -all in a vibrant and fun shopping environment, with smiling friendly faces. The foundation of healthy eating is often based on incorporating more fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets. Therefore, at the core of our offerings is an abundant produce department, overflowing with fruits and vegetables, fresh from the farm, often locally grown and much of it organic. We’re so passionate about produce that we’ve made it the nucleus of the store, ensuring the bounty of fruits and vegetables is visible from all other departments.

fresh-thyme-farmers-market

The NEW Oakley store opens at 7 a.m. on August 27th.   Plus the first 150 to attend the grand opening will receive a free reusable bag filled with up to $50 in free groceries!! 

Be sure to sign-up online at FreshThyme.com  to get their weekly sales flyer right to your e-mail! 

Can’t wait to check out Fresh Thyme for yourself? Enter to win a $25 gift card below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted in Cincinnati, Fitness/Health | 9 Comments