SHE: Packs a Lunch

Hey Y’all,

Hope you have found lots to be Thankful and Happy about this week! Courtney has shared some really cute quotes ~ I have enjoyed seeing them each day. It’s been a nice reminder to look for the good.

So a few weeks ago I mentioned trying to eat better, walk a little farther and drink more water. I would love to tell you that I have done it all perfectly, but I have not. J   I will say one thing I have done well (for me!) is trying to take my lunch to work. So often for me, lunch is a quick trip out of the office, grabbing something and eating while I peruse social media and hopefully get a chance to chat with my girl.  It is just a mental break away.  But it is often not a healthy break. So I have actually planned lunches a few times lately and I was pleasantly surprised in that I did enjoy my break more. I wasn’t rushed trying to get my food and get back to the office. 

Trying to come up with something that would sound good to me the next day is the hard part. But I found a few guides that really make it pretty simple.

A basic lunch needs to consist of a protein/ starch, fruit, vegetable and a snack. I prepared my lunches on Sunday which made me more apt to pack it in the morning.   Mine was pretty simple, I made a tray in a plastic reusable container with cubes of mild cheddar cheese, grapes, cucumber slices, Triscuit crackers and sliced turkey.  I was full and relaxed & I found I didn’t have that late afternoon drop either. (Just a tip...buying cheese blocks is less expensive that pre-cut cracker slices, use a warmed knife to make it easier to cut). 

Here are some suggestions I found that might work to mix things up, following the same pattern. Misty Nelson over at Frosted Moms has an example (printable) that has a good variety of options.  

Do you pack a lunch? What is your go to lunch style? We would love you to share your ideas and to tell us how cute your lunch box is :)  These are super cute! 

Take care ~ 

Amy

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SHE Shares Happiness

Happy Monday, Friend!

So I'm going to be open here - my happiness levels have been real low here lately. I started the year off with my regular "this is going to be my year!!" I had a great and attainable goal list, was excited about it, and was off to a great start.  Then I hit a roadblock, and another one, and just got down. The back and forth weather hasn't helped much either.  Has this been you too? We've decided to work together to change that for all of us. 

Today is the first day of spring! To kick off a great season and pull us all out of the winter funk, we're starting a 30 Day Happiness Challenge!

The challenge is to find at least one thing every day that makes you happy. We'll be sharing photos on our social media accounts every day during the challenge. Where you come in is to comment what your happy moment of the day was.  Maybe you had a great day and have so many happy moments to share - awesome! Give us all of them. Maybe you had a terrible day and your happy moment is that the day is finally over and you get to start over tomorrow - that's okay to post too.

The point of this challenge is to force your brain to find the happiness in your life. Too often we get focused on what's wrong in the world and our life that we fail to stop and "smell the roses." If I'm being honest, I'm tired of living that way.  

So here's to the next thirty days and to being happier people!

xo Courtney

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SHE: Getting Ready for Spring

Hey *|FNAME|*,

Have you caught Spring Fever yet? We've had a crazy weather week here, but I am definitely feeling a case of spring fever coming on. Pretty crisp sunny days make me long to be outdoors. In fact, I enjoyed a little back porch sitting yesterday and it was fabulous!! These are some of my favorite days. They are cool ( I might have been wrapped up in a blanket, eyes closed and sun shining). Great time to reflect and the sun just warms my soul. Y'all, we had SNOW yesterday! Did you? It was pretty and gone before we got out of church ~ Like I said, crazy weather week!

Well, as I was enjoying my spring I couldn't help but notice all the things that have gone on over winter. Chairs were dirty, weeds are popping up in my flower beds, dead stalks from last year's flowers... things need a little TLC.  Here are some suggestions to get your outdoor space spruced up for the spring.

1) Clean up your flower beds, remove weeds, old plants, twigs.  To kill weeds, you can spray them with white vinegar or pouring salt on them. The salt method takes a few days to work, the vinegar works in 48 hours.  Vinegar will kill any type greenery, so be careful.  Both will work and are good for your environment.

2) I love an assortment of flowers in the summertime, so I tend to plant wild flower mixes. (Once my hubby found out they were "wildflowers" and not weeds, they have faired much better. The first summer, he kept trimming them with the weed eater.... I blamed it on the cute rabbits that live in the yard. Nope, it was him.) I love lots of color and variety. Now is the time to get started. Purchase seeds for your favorite plants and flowers. You can start them indoors and transfer them outside once they are mature enough. Burpee is a very trusted brand and this now shows you just how easy it is to get started. 

3) If you don’t have an exterminator, spring (and fall) is a great time to spray the perimeter of your home and yard to prevent bugs. Less bugs in the yard the better. We use Home Defense, it works very well and lasts 3 months. With the very mild winter we have had, I think the bugs are going to be abundant.

4) We use our grill year round. Clean up the grill racks and check for any repairs that might be needed. Refill propane tanks or stock up on charcoal supplies.

5) And finally, the patio furniture. Ours is quite dirty and will take some elbow grease.  I will be using this bleach mixture to spruce it up.  Be sure to wear gloves and rinse the furniture and the area around you thoroughly when you finish. 

So there you are ~ bring on springtime! You are ready.

image via google

image via google

my garden

   xoxo,  Amy

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SHE: Amy's Tips

Hey *|FNAME|*,

It was too pretty this weekend to be inside blogging, please forgive me!!  But I do have a few of my random tips to start off your week.  Whether you are a young girl or family starting out with only a little wiggle room in your budget or a queen with NO budget, don’t you hate to waste food?  I feel like we toss so much because I either didn’t get to use it quickly enough or overbought.   Regardless, it is food (and pennies) going into the trash.  So here are a few quick tips to hopefully help you protect your pennies.

Eggs: How long do they last? I had no idea, but I “googled” it last week when I was boiling eggs. I had 4 eggs, 3 sunk to the bottom, 1 floated.  Guess what they are supposed to do… SINK.  Floaters are old and need to be discarded.

Fresh lemons and limes are so pretty.  If you need only a few drops of lemon juice, avoid cutting the lemon in half — it will dry out quickly that way. Instead, puncture the fruit with a metal skewer and squeeze out exactly what you require. The lemon, when refrigerated will last a few more days.

Bananas: how do you like yours?  I tend to like mine yellow (and really a little on the green side is better- no brown spots!) You know they go from green to Grinch greasy black in a short amount of time.  Keep them bunched, don’t separate them until you are ready to eat it. And don’t store in a bowl with your apples. The apples give off a fruit gas that ripens the bananas faster.  Avoid separating bananas until you plan to eat them—they spoil less quickly in a bunch.

I think we have mentioned before, but salt absorbs moisture and clumps together. A few grains of rice in the salt shaker eliminates that and keeps your salt fresh.

If you get a little salt happy with your soup, here are a few tips to try: add wedges of raw potato or apple to absorb the salt. Simmer for 10 minutes or so, then remove the wedges;  sprinkle in a spoonful of sugar; add a dash of apple-cider vinegar; OR  dilute with water or low-sodium broth.

 To help tenderize a less expensive cut of meat try to marinate overnight or at least 30 minutes prior to preparing in at least one of the following: beer; vinegar; or citrus, papaya, tomato, or pineapple juices. These liquids contain enzymes or acids that will combat the meat's toughness.  (This is a super easy one to try for beef,chicken or shrimp.)  You can also tenderize tough meat by gently scoring the surface with a pizza cutter—for better results, go against the grain of the meat.

Don’t toss out your day–old muffins. Sprinkle them with water, place in a paper bag, and pop in a hot oven for five to 10 seconds. The steam created by the water will restore moisture. Please don’t forget them… the paper bag will ignite!

Smelly plastic storage bowls? Wash and dry and then place pieces of crumbled newspaper in the bowl and seal. The newspaper absorbs the odors. This works for anything smelly. Put the item in a plastic trash bag and many sheets of crumbled newspaper and close the bag. May take a few days to absorb depending on the smelliness of the item.

image via google

                                                             
I love these tips!
Freeze leftover pancakes or waffles in a freezer bag. When you are ready to eat them, just pop in the toaster.

Make a double batch of rice. Store the extra in a freezer bag.  Use the rice for your next casserole.

Leftover pasta can be revived by popping back into boiling water for just a few minutes When making pasta sauce, use the water from your pasta to add to the sauce. Gives flavor plain water can’t add.

And finally, a couple of clean up tips. And we all need them! I have a tendency to forget I am cooking… these come in very handy for me.

If you have a scorched pan, sprinkle the burned bottom with baking soda, then add four to five tablespoons salt, plus enough water to cover, and let stand overnight. Scrape out charred remains with a rubber spatula.

Rubbing alcohol will remove spots from stainless steel—pour a little of the liquid on a cotton ball and wipe over problem areas.

I hope you learned a tip or two today.
We thank you so much for allowing us the opportunity to be the little
Birdie whispering in your ear each week. Tweet, tweet~

Xoxo, Amy

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SHE: Answers Your Questions (and is giving away a gift card)

Hey *|FNAME|*

We share lots of information each week with you. But what do you really want to hear about? What questions do you have? What's your go to crock pot recipe?  How do you get chocolate out of clothes?  How do we ( & you) do.....This can be a great way of sharing information and tips with other fabulous SHE's.

Email us any questions you have about SHE Degree, Home Ec, cooking, cleaning, children, meal planning, getting through the day with a smile on our face....Really! We want to hear from you and we want you to invite your friends to join us. 

The premise of SHE Degree is helping other ladies in our lives to be the best "SHE" she can be and by working together and sharing our tips and secrets we can be just that.

Plus, isn't it so much more fun doing life with friends who are always there for you. Maybe you have your own group of SHE's, we would love to hear about them and the blessing that they are to you.

Please join us and send in your tips, recipes, questions.... We are excited about sharing our ideas with you.

To show our appreciation, we will be giving away a $50 Target gift card to one lucky person!
She must "LIKE" SHE Degree on Facebook, share the Facebook post and invite a friend to do the same and subscribe to email (if you are not already doing so).
Comment with "LIKED, SHARED, SUBSCRIBED and tag your friend.

Good luck ladies!! This has been such a fun experience and we feel it can benefit so many.  Please help us get SHE Degree into your community. 

The Ladies of SHE Degree

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Self Defense and Common Sense

Picture via Internet

Self Defense and common sense we all need to practice these things in our world today.   Crimes are committed against women of all ages at an alarming rate.  We need to practice some self defense everywhere we go, more importantly we need to use common sense.  For example, get your head out of your apps!  Seriously, get off your phone.  I think it makes us more of a target because we are not paying attention.  Yes, I love a good selfie and my Target cartwheel app.  However, we need to be aware of surroundings at all times.  Here are a few of the things I teach my children and believe we should practice.

1. Get your head out of your apps!-Seriously, put the phone down.
2. If you see someone at your car, go back inside the building and get a security guard. ( They will love to help you and will not feel inconvenienced.)
3. If you feel like you are being followed, then go to the service desk and ask for a manager.  Trust me they would rather be safe than sorry. 
4. Trust your gut feeling!!!  God gives us special senses for just this reason.  Trust them.  I don't care how nice the person looks.  If your "gut " says there is a problem, always go with your "gut feeling".
5.  Keep your keys in your hand as you walk out to your car.  They can be used as a weapon if you need one.  Also, you don't need to be digging for keys just like you don't need to be on your phone.
6. At night park in a well-lit area. 
7. If the worst happens and someone does try to attack you ...LOOK them in the eye!  Criminals don't want someone who can identify them. 
8. NEVER, ever go to a second location with someone.  I don't care if they have a gun or knife, run and scream.  Get away!! 
9. This one is hard for me.  I like to help people.  BUT, if someone comes up to you and needs help.  Remember your gut feelings.  If it feels wrong, it is wrong.  Run from them.  I always tell my children no one needs your help.  I know that sounds harsh.  However, if I as an adult am in trouble I don't go looking for a child to help me....or a cute teenager either. 
10. Again with the gut feelings...if someone offers to carry your packages and is acting all nice.  Or you are a young mother and they try to help you because you are jugging babies and diaper bags and shopping bags.  DO NOT accept help if your gut is screaming this is not right!! 

This list of 10 things is just a start.  I would like for you to be aware of your surroundings.  Pay attention.  The above list is just a few of the things we can do to make ourselves more safe.  Yes, you can get a gun and a carry permit.  Yes, you can visit my friend Katy's website and buy pepper spray and kubatons.  http://damselkaty.com

  Honestly, it all starts with common sense and being aware. Quick question,  would you be interested in a self-defense class where you learned techniques and try them out?  I have a friend that would love to teach women to defend themselves.  He even has that suit and we can really hit him.  Let me know if you are interested in a class by commenting below.  Oh, and what are your tips to stay safe???  We SHE's have to help each other!

Have a great weekend,

Lisa B

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