July 31st, 2011

Life is a Special Occasion

The old saying, “Bad things happen to good people” happened on the afternoon of July 5, 2011 on a quite street in one of America’s oldest hometowns.

Melanie of The Coupon Goddess and Melanie in the Middle was hit full force by car as she walked down the street in her neighborhood. After being thrown 15 feet in the air, Melanie suffered severe injuries. Her son witnessed the horrendous event and did not know if his Mom would live.

Melanie has endured emotional and physical agony since the accident. Surgeries and therapies have replaced walks and family dinners with her husband and four children. Yet, while the doctors determined that Melanie will walk again, she cannot stand up for three months and it will take up to a year for her to walk fully again.

Her house is now a construction zone with ramps and lifts and other modifications to enable her to come home to her family, as they continue to assume the reality of mounting medical bills.  Yet, through all this, Melanie held on hope for her trip to BlogHer. As a rising star with her work featured in Money Magazine and her recipes honored by the Pioneer Woman and more, Melanie’s hopes were crushed when doctors informed her that she would not be fit to travel to San Diego for BlogHer.

What Melanie has to keep her strong are the beautiful cards that people send her. Her rehabilitation room looks fun and fresh with the love and well wishes people have sent her, but since her ordeal is long, we hope to keep the cards coming her way.

Since the first official day of the BlogHer conference will mark the one month anniversary of her accident, we wanted to share Melanie’s story with our fellow BlogHer attendees with the humble request that they would consider sending her a Hallmark card from BlogHer.

Hallmark, a super fabulous BlogHer sponsor, will have a Card Corner at their Expo Booth (#307) where you can choose from a variety of Postage Paid cards (as well have fun with other Hallmark awesomeness). So, if you aren’t sure who to send a card to, we hope you’ll consider sending one to Melanie or to any other Blogger that cannot make BlogHer this year because of an accident or illness.

Melanie is someone who is always giving back, whether it’s sending care packages to the troops or donating items for her local food pantry. While she would love getting cards, she would love it if another Blogger who couldn’t make it to BlogHer this year because of a challenge they are facing get a card too. So please share their information in the comments below and perhaps they will get a card too! (Please be sure to confirm that the Blogger you mention is comfortable sharing their plight, and address, publicly!)

As Hallmark continues their new campaign at BlogHer called “Life is a Special Occasion”, we cannot help but note that Melanie’s survival, as well as those of other injured and ill Bloggers, truly is a “Special Occasion”.

♥

Melanie Feehan
PO Box 135
Manomet, MA 02345

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Image Credit: TheCouponGoddess.com

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July 28th, 2011

California Raisin Grab and Go Bar

the california raisins

Image by Chaymation via Flickr

This past January at the Blissdom Conference, I got a chance to workout with, and interview, celebrity fitness trainer Valerie Waters. (She had great health and fitness tips, so check it out the video.)

The event was sponsored by California Raisins and they had super-delish snack bars we grabbed post-workout. The recipe for the snack bar was created by Meal Makeover Moms, and California Raisins has more recipes on their website (with a great recalculator that changes the recipe based on the number of servings you want). However, this grab and go snack bar is so easy to make, and is super fabulous for a healthy snack on the go, that I had to share it directly. So this is what you need to yield 12 bars:

 

  • 1 c. quick cooking oats (like Quaker Oats)
  • 1 c. spoon-sized shredded wheat cereal
  • 1 c. walnuts
  • 1 1/2 c. California raisins
  • 1/4 c. honey
  • 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly coat or oil an 8×8 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the oats, shredded wheat, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse until mixture is finely chopped. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey and vanilla until well blended. Then add the oat mixture and chocolate chips and stir to combine. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan pressing gently with a spoon or spatula. Bake about 18 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. Let cool before slicing. (Full nutrition details can be found on the California Raisins website.)

Enjoy!

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This is an uncompensated post.

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July 27th, 2011

The Similarities Between Puppies and Babies

When I pulled out the puppy books again this past weekend after we picked up our third family dog (first-post baby), I came to the startling realization that these “How-To” puppy and baby books are similar in many ways.

After my son was born, I read lots of books about how to have a happy baby, a well-fed baby, happy toddler, potty-trained toddler, etc. Each time I have gotten a puppy, I have read books about how to have a happy puppy, a quiet puppy, well-fed puppy, potty-trained puppy, etc. Hmmmm. Here are my (tongue-in-cheek) comparisons.

1. Dog training books talk about positive reinforcement vs. discipline of your puppy. (Toddler books discuss the various ways to use positive reinforcement vs. disciplining your child.)

2. Dog training books tell you not to put the puppy in bed with you even though they may be whining those first few nights home. (Baby books advise not to place a baby in bed with you if they are crying at night those first few weeks at home.)

3. Dog training books provide step-by-step guidance on how to potty train, including being proactive, consistently bringing the puppy to the potty area so they will learn, and offering lots of praise and treats. (Hmmm, so do toddler potty training books.)

4. Training books tell you to distract a puppy from chewing on your shoe, by giving them another object that is acceptable to mouth. (Baby books tell you to offer your baby another object to mouth if they are mouthing an unacceptable object.)

5. Dog training books discuss developmental games, such as throwing and retrieving objects, and providing stimulating toys that crinkle, make noise and have texture. (Do you see where I am going here?)

At least dog training books don’t get into college tuition costs, but the sleep deprivation from having a new puppy during these past three days? Brings back the fuzzy/caffeine induced baby memories.

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I love my son and I love my three dogs. I do know which is which, and this post does not imply that kids are dogs or that dogs are kids or that kids are kids or that dogs are dogs or that cats are dogs for that matter.

Image Credit: yoshimia via stock.xchng

 

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July 27th, 2011

Run a 5k

I took up running today

Image by Myles! via Flickr

Couch to 5k Program

I know a lot of you want to run a 5k, but don’t know where to start. If you have clearance to begin a running program, then you may want to check out Couch to 5k (C25K).

What I like about this plan is that is about time and not distance. You think of running in blocks of time, like 5 minutes. Not 1/2 mile. For some it make be semantics, but for many, it is a mental change that brings success.

However, what I love about this program is that it is only 20-30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. So even with a hectic parent life, it is totally doable. Plus, if Mom and Dad are fit, you are setting a great example for your kids. I can’t wait for the day when my toddler is able to do those kid fun runs and we can make a day out of participating in a road race. (They are so much fun….Yes, really.)

It is a 9 (free) week program, with a Facebook page, Twitter account and smartphone apps for the iPhone ($2.99) and Android ($1.99). So there is great support, encouragement and accessability. They also have a treadmill version and a great forum with podcasts and more for your new 5k regime. (When you are ready, they even have a 10k program. Just sayin’.)

Also check out CoolRunning.com. They are the folks who started all of this, and they are the place to go to find that first 5k race you will be running.

You can do it. Now get started.

{Charlene has 7 marathons under her belt, but after having a baby, she had to start from square one and this got her butt in gear. She is now learning how to run with a jogging stroller, which is a separate post entirely.}

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