1st Time in over 12 Years I Couldn't PAY My Rent

Wow...now I know I'm living in some hard times.  What a big slap in the face to us plus my landlord.  Ugh... I hate disappointing people too.  In all my years RENT is paid first and everything else is 2nd but this month everyone will be paid late!  Just depressing but my hubby won't let me get down and says PRAY ( if anyone else would like to pray for us- please do).

My hubby is getting garnished for the past couple months and WOW it SUCKS.  For a family who goes from pay check to check and when they take out $600-$900 a month that is a big hit for this family.  The only good thing that is coming out of this is an old bill from before we were married is almost paid off!

I picked up my check from work today and for some strange reason I was expecting more ( I think it was more wishful thinking than anything) but hey it is what it is.  I need to pick up more days or find another job.

This is a time I wish we had credit cards to help us through hard times like this but we don't because we feel if we don't have the money we don't need it.  But guess what we need a roof over our head so maybe we might want  reevaluate the "no credit card" policy.

We will be OK in a couple weeks- thanks to TAX REFUND! It will be a our little shot in the arm we need.

Now let's hope PG&E, Cable, and Car Note people understand this domino effect that is happening in our house.  Times like this I really need appreciate what we have and what we can loose.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer- just expressing what the heck is going on at the Allen's and this is why I love my blog.  It helps me process what is happening and do better.

I still have my smile and I'm not going to let this get me down....I promise!

Mommy Blogger Weight Loss Challenge Feb 7th

I had a bit of a detour but I'm back on track! I went through some health issues that caused me to be in bed for a few days so no exercising at all. However, I kept eating healthy and drinking my water. I didn't want to give up because of this minor setback.  I've stayed away from goodies and sodas! That is a big accomplishment for me so I'm patting myself on the back for that!

PROUD OF:

• I'm eating healthy
• Bought batteries for Wii so I can also do the Wii Fit 
• Not giving in to temptation of goodies even when they are in my face 
• Drinking water 
• Writing in a journal 
• Not giving up

NOT PROUD OF:

• Health issue
• Lack of energy to exercise
• Not keeping track of my points

Usually I would just give up since I didn't exercise for a couple days HOWEVER I'm not going to let myself to do that this time so I'm going to pick myself up and CONTINUE!   I'm going to finish this challenge no matter what!  Also not beating myself up emotionally helps a lot! 

Found this on Pinterest today: 

Stay tuned to see how I do! 

Other Blogs Doing the Challenge:

I'm Feeling HUMAN Again!

Wow, I was pretty much out of commission for 3 days! This might be a TMI post because I'm going to talk about FEMALE ISSUES- that's what I call it, LOL! As I get older my female issues get worse. One month I won't even know it is coming and it will be all good then the next month I'll be a bit bitchy (more than usual)but there is one month it takes over my body and I can't function! I'll be in consistent pain and it feels like I'm in a fricken black bubble of misery! This month it took me down for 3 days. I had to work as a waitress for 2 of those days and let me tell you it was hard not to bite off every single persons head I work with- btw they are all men so man that was super duper hard to keep my cool. It was like I transferred myself to another character (Pam the Super Waitress) but as soon as work was over please let me go home so I can crawl into bed and CRY! Hubby and kids are great during these months- they have been through enough to know I'm not joking I'M IN PAIN LEAVE ME ALONE! I try my hardest not to be mean or cry too much around them though. My hubby yesterday came to me and told me whatever it takes I need to go to the DR! He is worried something is wrong and I'm sure he is right. A big part of me is soooooo scared to learn something bad is wrong so I don't want to go to the doctor but I need to be around for my family so I need to go ASAP! I'm not a young chicken anymore so this is very important and I need to suck it up and just go! Can you tell I'm trying to talk myself into it! I have never been a big fan of DR's due to an incident that happen when I was young. Being out of commission is HORRIBLE because I fall behind on EVERYTHING! The house, laundry, blogging, and the other 100 things I'm doing get pushed to the side and boy its hard to catch up. Today is my catch up day! One blog post down and many more things to do! But hey I feel better and I won't be laying in bed all day so already a good day!

Howard B Wigglebottom REVIEW/BOOK GIVEAWAY

Wow this book came in handy at our house the other night!  When we got the book my daughter was so excited and read it over and over again.  Well last night she was almost ready to hit her brother and I said "What would Howard B Wigglebottom do?"  she felt her tummy and stepped back!  That is what Howard taught her!  This is GREAT book for kids and love the LESSONS that are taught in the book.  Both my kids said they could relate with Howard.  We have read this book every night this week so I know it's a hit.  We plan to bring it to school next week because I'm sure some of my daughter's classmates would like it too.  I give this book a double thumb up!

Also on the website:http://www.wedolisten.org/index.html they have lesson plans, games, free books online, color and print your own book, also stop bullying info! I would love to have every book in the Howard B Wigglebottom series. The sportsmanship book is something my son could use.

These books normally are $15 (hardback) but are now on SALE for $6!  Now that is a DEAL!  I even shared this deal with my school community.

If you want to BUY the Books: https://www.wedolisten.org/shop/

If you want to WIN: Enter BELOW!! And GOOD LUCK- they are worth it!

My 1st Day of the 21 Day Weight Loss Challenge

Wow yesterday was a hard day to start a Weight loss Program but I did what knew I could without stressing myself out even more than I was.  School Drama~ I won't bore ya with all the gory details.  

I've been gearing up for this Mommy Blog Weight loss Challenge for a couple weeks now so I was super excited about FEB 1st! I went grocery shopping and it felt GREAT to buy healthy foods.  I didn't know what the food program was going to be but I did some research online for healthy meals and rolled with that.  I'm a picky eater ( way worse than my kids- its just sad) but I manged to pull some meals together.  I talked to my kids and they are on board!  My hubby is on board but he is SNACKER so I informed him that all his goodies (chips, cookies, cake, candy he will have to buy) and he was OK with that.  BTW he can snack day and night and never gain a pound- hate him (JUST KIDDING)! 

Also I wasn't prepared to give up coffee (quite yet) but I promised (to myself) that I will do 2 cups not 4 a day.  So yes I will get 2 minus points but I'm OK with that.  I did eat healthy and actually had breakfast (oatmeal and a banana), first time in a LONG TIME!  I drank water yesterday- big ol bottle went everywhere with me.  I didn't break when I was in a stressful meeting and DOUGHNUTS (all kinds) were right in front of me!  Usually at this meeting I would have had chocolate sprinkle and a cup of coffee but I sat there with my bottle water- big kudos to me!!!

I took the kids to the park- so I got outside but a friend was there so I ended up sitting down talking to her instead of walking around- bad!  But hey its okay I had a wonderful talk with someone I haven't seen in long time.  Bad News~ I wasn't able to work in a workout but it's OK because I'm going to work extra hard today!  

I did take BEFORE PICS- (ugh do you know how hard it is to post these!!!!) 

Did do my measurements:

Arms: 15/14

Legs: 18/18

Thigh: 27/26

Waist: 42

Chest: 43

Hips: 46

So my 1st day was somewhat of a bust but I didn't give up and continued what I could and I feel really good about that!!  I did 82 points!

On to Day 2- Today!!!!   

If you are interested in Joining please email me at pamallen68@gmail.com and send me a link to your blog (have to be a blogger) and I can send you a code to get in for free!  You can start now or NEXT MONTH March 1st!  

Check out Crystal’s Transformation it is AMAZING! 

http://www.dustinmaherfitness.com and http://www.fitmomsforlife.com,

Also you can follow us on the #21MBC hashtag on twitter

 Please visit  www.mommybloggerweightlosschallenge.com for more info!  

*Disclaimer - I received a copy of the book for review purposes only. I did not receive any other compensation and all opinions are my own.

Last Week's Problogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Homework

Day 4: {Intermediate} Use a Magazine to Improve Your Blog: 
I did this with only magazine I have at home~ Family Circle and I actually got a few ideas for blog post and FONT ideas.  Also let me read my magazine which I do maybe 1 or 2 months down the road.  I will be using this tip from now on when I need some blog ideas! 

Day 5: {Intermediate}: Monitor Statistics on Your Blog Need to start tracking : 
I need to keep track of: Overall Visitors, Most Popular Posts, Referral Stats, Bounce Rates, Daily/Weekly Trends, and Exit Pages. I set up a Google Spreadsheet. 
How to make at Stat Book: http://www.kludgymom.com/creating-a-statbook-tutorial-b2sb2b-week-5/  this how I set up my Goggle Spreadsheet.

Day 6: {Intermediate} Make Your Blog Mobile Friendly 

I have to work on Apple Icons and  Meta Viewpoint Tag  Go to http://marketing.grader.com/ and it will let you know what you need to work on!  LOVE IT!

Day 7: {Intermediate} Create/Update a Sneeze Page for Your Blog


This one was hard but I did a couple: http://pinkmamasplace.blogspot.com/p/about.html and http://pinkmamasplace.blogspot.com/p/giveaways.html.  
Down the road I plan to do a sneeze page for:
*Market Mondays
*Tip Tuesdays
*Win It Wednesday


Day 8: Hunt for Dead Links Day 9: {Intermediate} Interlinking Blog Posts

This post helped me a lot!   I took out some old buttons, widgets, and just silly stuff that wasn't needed on the sidebar:  http://www.kludgymom.com/the-11-point-blog-inspection/


I'm working on my labels/categories and will go in and add to posts I never added the labels too.  If I do one a day I will get caught up soon.  I have a lot of categories and I need to narrow them down.

Guest Giveaway: Love with Food Giveaway/Review

Love With Food Giveaway 

and Review

by Brae Craig at

I am NOT a VOLCANO (and other such stories) Blog

Love With Food is an amazing group of foodies, putting together adventurous tastes for all kinds of chefs, from beginners to the extremely talented! Their website is full of delicious recipes and amazing products. The coolest thing of all are the subscriptions. I received a free subscription for this review, which is a box full of samples to try. If you sign up for the monthly subscription, for a mere 14.00, you get a box, like the one shown below, filled with delicious, healthy samples! 

The absolute best part of this is, when you buy a box, they will donate a meal to No Kid Hungry!!! 

Of course, I was waiting for my sample box, and when I got it, I eagerly opened it to find all these delicious goodies waiting for me! Of course, my children gathered round, ready to sample with me. 

We'll start with my FAVORITE!  Spicy Apple Ginger Cider Chews by The Ginger People. I didn't let my kids try this...because they were too delicious. LOL. Also, it was very hot, but very flavorful. I will be buying some of these on my own! From the same company, The Ginger People, were Original Ginger Chews. I didn't care for these too much, because they were really really strong, and hot, and quite overwhelming. My husband, though, thought they were SUPER good. I'm also very curious about their affect on morning sickness. I have read that ginger can calm the stomach. I think, though, that these would be best cut into 4-5 pieces. A smaller bite might make it less overwhelming.

Sahale Snacks- Almonds with  cranberries, honey and sea salt. - EVERYONE in our family loved these. It was the perfect mix of sweet, tangy and salty.

It's also a given that my whole family thoroughly enjoyed the Plain Jane peanut Butter Granola from Nuts About Granola. It was, mostly, as one might expect, but with a delicious peanut butter flavor. My kids were very disappointed when it was all gone.

Somersault Snacks- Pacific Sea salt. As per the pamphlet I got in the box: These crunchy nuggets are made with sunflower seeds and toasted grains, making them rich in protein and vitamin E. I really REALLY wanted to like these. I like sunflower seeds a lot, and so do my kids. Plus, it had a really super cute package. Alas, it wasn't in the cards. I did not like them at all, and two of my kids actually spit them out. Even my husband didn't care for them, and he likes everything.

Mighty Leaf Tea- Chocolate Mint Truffle.  I let my husband test this, as he is the tea drinker in our house, and, as it's a Rooibos tea, and he LOVES Rooibos, I felt he was a better judge than I. He said that he really liked it, though, it was more of a mint tea than a chocolate mint tea. It didn't taste like chocolate at all, though, there was a hearty, earthy flavor to it, which he suspected to be the "chocolate" flavor. 

Stretch Island Fruit Co- I actually buy these all the time, but i've never had the Mango Sunrise flavor. It was delicious. And I didn't share.

(The Somersault Snacks we didn't like)

(the Delicious almonds and cranberries with sea salt.) 

Now it's your turn! I have been given the ability to award FIVE WINNERS with a sample box similar to mine!!!  Enter to win on the rafflecopter below!

***DISCLAIMER:  I received one or more products for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally, and believe will be good for my readers. ***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Getting Ready for my 21 Day Mom Blogger Weightloss Challenge

Today I'm going FOCUS on what I need to do to get ready for this challenge and not be the spoiled brat who wants to eat and eat.  I need to work on a Food Plan, Exercise Plan, and what I'm going to blog about.  


This is the challenge I'm taking: http://mommybloggerweightlosschallenge.com/ I will be posting 3 times a week about my progress plus I might do a video post too! This is going to be a life changer!


Rules:

MUST BE COMMITTED!

MUST HELP PROMOTE!

MUST EITHER WRITE A PROGRESS POST AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK TO EVERY OTHER DAY OR DO A VIDEO DIARY ONE A WEEK OR EVERY OTHER DAY!

MUST POST YOUR POST TO TWITTER AND FACEBOOK!

I will be posting a GIVEAWAY for his book "FIT MOMS FOR LIFE" by Dustin Maher on Feb 1st!  Come back to enter.  BTW the way its an AWESOME book that every mom who wants a healthier life needs to read.  Look for a REVIEW of the book with my giveaway. 


ALSO WHY DO I DO THIS:  OMG I have been eating and eating like this food won't ever be around again.  My excuse to myself  is I'm starting a diet on Feb 1st so I should eat all the CANDY, CHIPS, and SODA, I can until Feb 1st! What am I doing!  Sabotage comes to mind for sure!  Stop it Pam!!

 I/We are using Dustin Maher's Fit Mom's For Life Program. To learn more please visit Fit Mom's For Life.

CLOSED: FLASH GIVEAWAY- 1 Winner Takes ALL~ Jan 28th-Jan 29th

Mom Blog Society, Mom Does Reviews and many other great bloggers have joined together to bring you a fabulous MBS Daily Flash Giveaway. ONE winner takes all prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!

Funny Friday- Favorite Pinterest Pic of the Week

Now we (bloggers) all know we have said this to ourselves when we say/do/see things that are blog worthy!  


My kids will do something these days and ask "are you going to put this on your blog?" or if they get in trouble its "mom, please don't put this on your blog!" so it sounds like my family knows- I'M GOING TO BLOG ABOUT YOU!  I try not to blog too much about my hubby- that can get a bit messy and of course I don't want him mad at me- don't bite the hand that feeds you kind of thing of going on!!! 


Well of tho work I go but of course I would rather be here BLOGGING!!  


Also FOLLOW me on Pinterest~ http://pinterest.com/pamallen68/


What is Pinterest~ Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.




If you need a Pinterest Invite~ email me at pamallen68@gmail.com and I'll send one :)