Fun Frugal Friday

Ahhhh… it’s almost the weekend, and you and your family/friends have been working hard all week.  Time to relax, kick back and enjoy your life a bit.  So on this first weekend of Spring (after an excruciatingly looonggg winter), what can you do that doesn’t involve a screen or a lot of money? 

How about planning a weekend picnic?  Gather family or just meet up with friends and do a pot-luck picnic in the park.  Nothing elaborate, just some sandwiches and salad – toss around a football or baseball or Frisbee, go for a walk/hike, bring the dog.  If you are blessed to own a grill and have a deck or patio or yard, grill up a yummy meal to start off the season – oh won’t it smell just grand?!?!? 

Start to look around your favorite home store like Lowes for spring flowers, bulbs, herbs.  You don’t have to buy anything – just think about what you’d like to put in a garden or flower bed and begin planning it out.  Maybe get one small little pot of daffodils or herbs to brighten up your kitchen.

Check out local activities in the newspaper or online.  Libraries, museums, zoos, nearby places of interest.  Any Spring festivals going on? 

Have an impromptu night with the girls.  Choose someone’s home, pot-luck the food, maybe do a vision board together (check out my posting on vision boards – click HERE).  You could even do it as a family, or with the hubs.  It could be a lot of fun.

If you are blessed to have a fireplace, snuggle up and make s’mores and put on some background music and just… gasp… talk!  Imagine that!

Do an old-fashioned game night with family, friends, neighbors - cards, board games, etc.  When was the last time you played Monopoly or Scrabble or gin rummy?

Make plans for lunch with friends after worship service – or invite a single person/student over to your place.  Reach out and get to know someone new and find ways to bless them this weekend.

Take your journal, a devotional book/Bible/inspirational reading, and go spend time outdoors in the local park and just “BE”!  Write down all your blessings, your hopes, dreams, prayers, goals.  Write down what you see around you – birds chirping, the flowers peeking out from their winter slumbers, new buds on the trees… be mindful and intentional of the sights, sounds, scents around you. 

Take a drive “down the shore” as we say here in New Jersey.  Walk along the boardwalk and enjoy the ocean.  I love walking along the ocean when it’s still cold, with a big cup of tea in my hand.  Ahhhh…. Let those negative ions sooth away your tension.

Whatever you choose, make it a point to be outside and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation this weekend, and spend time with those you love.  Spring is a time of rebirth, renewal and restoration.  Celebrate this season of new beginnings this weekend by loving on yourself and those around you.

Be blessed and be healthy,

Coach Linda Bush

Grateful

Recently I was honored to be recognized by URS Corporation in Princeton, NJ, along with some amazing and wonderful colleagues, during the International Women's Day Week celebrations.  It's very humbling and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to bring health and wellness awareness into the everyday work environment!

Twist It Thursday

Woo-hooo we made it through the winter!!!!!!  What a reason to celebrate!!!!  IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!!

And you know what that means, don't you?!?!?!

SPRING TRAINING!

That's right, wild women, shorts and sleeveless tops and tanks and bathing suits are right around the corner, so let's get out there, stretch from a winter of gray cold dreary hibernation.  Breathe deep, face to the sun, and start movin' that body!!!

Here's a quick but powerful little Pilates move that you can do anywhere, anytime!  It's called the Standing Twist, and is demonstrated in this video clip by Brooke Siler, Pilates expert and author of Women's Health Big Book of Pilates.  As she says, it helps release and rotate the spine while challenging your core, back, inner thigh muscles and balance!

Here's the link: http://bcove.me/tyyyom2j

So start movin' and groovin and GET YOUR SPRING ON!

Blessings,

Coach Linda

Wild Woman Wednesday

Of course it doesn't grow on trees - it magically comes out of ATMs!!!!

Wild women DO NOT purposely financially handicap their kids!

When's the last time you created a long-term action plan on teaching your children how to deal with money?  Been awhile?  Ever? Still trying to figure it out for yourself?  This article in Forbes Magazine was quite informative and provided a lot of great ideas on how to teach your children well the value of the dollar!

Here's the link: 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2013/10/15/the-5-most-important-money-lessons-to-teach-your-kids/

It is crucial to educate your children from toddler on up about how to manage money.  There are soooooo many kids out there that have no bloody clue about how much it takes to earn a dollar, thanks to parents who have abdicated their role as parents and instead become friends who placate/reward/spoil rotten their kids with expensive toys, clothes, gifts and whatever instead of teaching them to save, or get off their sweet little dupahs and earn the money with chores, babysitting, a part-time job, etc.  You are doing SUCH a disservice to your children - you are handicapping them for life!  If they have everything handed to them, they will never feel the satisfaction/personal accomplishment of working hard for their paycheck. They will instead have a sense of entitlement to whatever tickles their fancy and all too often will expect you to provide it for them.  Or they'll just charge it (either on Mommy or Daddy's card or their own) and not realize the consequences that can mount up over that bad choice!

I want this... I want that...  Well guess what?  We ALL want things, but we ALL have to learn to wait until we have the money for it - and not join the bandwagon of all those folks who are now in debt over their heads because they racked up horrific credit card debt for instant (and not long-lasting) gratification.  Do you really want to teach THAT skill to your kids?  I think not!

So read this article from Forbes, and put it into practice - you will help your child, yourself, and the economy over the long run!  Raise financially responsible and frugal children - and be the first and foremost example to them as well!

Blessings,

Coach Linda

Tox Not Tuesday

Maybe you can't cleanse your crazy schedule and life all at once, but here's a little something that can help you healthfully detox your bod!  The editors over at Prevention Magazine posted a great article about a diet detox that isn't crazy or unsafe.  They recommend the following ingredients:  lemon, blueberries, ginger, mango, orange, parsley, peppermint, pomegranate and thyme. 

And did you know that peppermint is a natural appetite suppresant?  Hmmm... think I'll grab my essential oil of peppermint and do some pounds-dropping aromatherapy this week as I sip away at some smoothies made from these ingredients.  Yummy and fragrant!  I may even make some peppermint tea.  

Here's the link: 

http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/9-essentials-diet-detox#.

Now if only it was so easy to eliminate some of the other toxic elements in life, yes?????  Enjoy!

Blessings,
Coach Linda

Wild Woman Wednesday

Wild women are sweet... and they LOVE their sweets!!!!

Unfortunately, sugar cravings are NOT always a good thing.  I'm the first to admit that the words "that's too sweet" have never as a phrase dropped from my lips.  And while I can easily pass the slice of cake (even cheesecake) and most cookies, I'm a GONER when it comes to brownies, Italian pastries, and anything "goopy"!  Over the holidays I overindulged my ravenous sweet tooth (trust me, bigger than the Grand Canyon), and I am still paying with a few extra pounds that I'm working off and those awful cravings.

Today I read a blog posting by Stephanie over at the blog site "Keeper of the Home" dealing with the topic of sugar cravings.  I think it addresses the subject well, and so I'm sharing the link with you here today:

http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2014/03/how-to-deal-with-sugar-cravings.html

Additionally, www.fitbie.com has an article entitled "The Best Sugar-Saving Restaurant Swaps" addressing the high added sugar content in much of our food.  Here's the link:  

http://www.fitbie.com/slideshow/best-sugar-saving-restaurant-swaps?cm_mmc=ETNTNL-_-1620632-_-03052014-_-TheBestSugarSavingRestaurantSwaps-hed

My body always tells me when I've had too much sugar.  I get a sugar "hangover" where my head aches and I am utterly lethargic the day after, as if I were walking through a pool of gray Jell-O!  It's not pretty...  and it's not worth it.  When I look at a brownie now, I remember the old addage "a moment on the lips, forever on the hips."  I calculate - if I scoff this bad boy down in the normal three bites, the moment of indulgence will less than five minutes.  Now how long will it take me at the gym to work it off?  30 minutes?  45?  An hour or more if I reach for the second brownie?  Is it worth it... really?!?!?!

Today, exercise your "step away from the sugar" muscles, consider how much sugar you are loading into your body, and reconsider options that will get rid of most of it!  You will truly feel soooo much better!!!

Sweetest of blessings,

Coach Linda Bush

Thrifty Time/Tracking Techniques 'n Tools Tuesday

Most busy wild women are always keeping an eye out for the holy grail of time management tools.  I admit it, I've been through a number of ways to try and management my time, tasks and life... generally always taken by the glitter, sparkle and wooing of the latest gadget or app. I remember toting every imaginable Franklin Planner -- I usually wound up breaking the spine because I crammed everything in. 

Right now I've been fairly comfortable using a combo of my Google calendar and Evernote.  Years ago I learned a very simple and functional organization/filing method from legendary time management specialist Brian Tracy.  It's called a 45-file system. This is a tickler file that lets you plan and organize your activities and callbacks for the next twenty-four months. This is how it works.

First you get a box of forty-five files with fourteen hanging files to put them in. The forty-five files are divided as follows: There are thirty-one files numbered one through thirty-one for the days of the month. There are twelve files for the months of the year. January through December. The last two files are for the next two years. This is a wonderful system that you can also use with hanging files in your desk drawer. 

Another blogger described it well - here is her blog posting: 

http://organizedlife.blogspot.com/2006/09/creating-and-using-tickler-file.html

About a year ago I was introduced to a simple and frugal method called a "Bullet Journal".  Here is the link:  

http://bulletjournal.com/  

All you use is a notebook and a pen - imagine that!  It's a beautiful thing and I encourage you to check it out.  I actually blogged about it last January!  Click HERE to read it.  I tucked it away in my memory banks, and would like to try it out, but right now I literally am juggling so many balls in the air that I'm just not ready to sit back and try to revamp my organizing methods!  I think I would like to take a mental health day this summer and steal away with just myself and my laptop and a journal/pen -- and rework my life!  

But, in the meantime, I invite you to try these recommendations in your own jugglefest called life, and do please comment or email me and let me know how it works for you, or what methodologies you find successful in your own time and life management!

Blessings,

Coach Linda Bush

Marriage-Minded Monday

You may be asking yourself, where has Linda been? 

You may have been swinging by for tips, tricks, communication and a few giggles to find the same old-same old from a week ago Thursday.  

My apologies.  I have a good reason - I have been in shock. What?  Did something bad happen?  No, no... not at all.  In fact, just the opposite.  I have become engaged to be married to my wonderful future hubs! After a lovely dinner with his family, I opened my fortune cookie and - BAM - there it was, a little piece of paper with the words, "Linda, will you marry me?"  BIG points for creativity!  Talk about being ultra-oober-surprised!!! I have been in a two week flurry of frenzied fun!  And with the wedding coming up in just sixteen short weeks, you can bet your booty that I will be featuring LOTS of workout info - because I am designing my very own "Linda's Lollapalooza Wedding Workout"!!!  

As I create my program, I am also searching the net for the best of the best.  Naturally, there will be LOTS and LOTS of pilates involved, and speaking of booties, today's video clip is a great ten minute "Bootie Barre" exercise segment that will get you kicking your own booty!  After all, when you're walking up the aisle, all eyes are on you and with your back to your family and friends, you want to be sure everything is "in place"!

So enjoy this workout -- here's two separate links that should each take you to the same video clip:

http://youtu.be/1OTZ7mMNnss

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/93660867224986720/

and have a fantastic day starting your week off right with some new exercises!

Blessings,

Coach Linda Bush