June 2, 2016
Join Denise Hunter for ‘The Convenient Groom’ Pre-Premiere Facebook Party
Exciting news for fans of Denise Hunter’s stories: Her book The Convenient Groom is making its silver screen premiere as a Hallmark Channel Original Movie! Join Denise and other readers on Facebook on June 16th for a fun author chat party at 8:00 PM EDT (that’s 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, & 5:00 Pacific)! Denise will be chatting about the book, answering your questions about the book-to-movie process, and of course, there will be plenty of fun giveaways too: a $100 Amazon gift card and 25 signed copies of Denise’s newest book, The Goodbye Bride!
The movie releases two days after the author chat party on Saturday, June 18th, 9 EDT/8 CDT. Click here for details and to find out more about the movie.
Get your copy of The Convenient Groom so you’re ready for a fun book discussion. You can order your copy and find out more about the book here.
Hope to see you on June 16 for Denise’s The Convenient Groom Pre-Premiere Facebook Party!
June 2, 2016
Get Summer Ready Skin with Ureadin
Dry, cracked and itchy skin. Maybe feet that sound like sand paper rubbing against the floor when you rub your foot against a surface. Does any of this sound familiar to you?
Our entire family suffers with dry and itchy skin, myself being the worst. Over the years we have dealt with eczema, psoriasis on the arms and general dry, scaly skin on our legs from swimming. For myself, if it is not dry, red and blistering skin on my arms then it is cracked, rough feet (my family teases me saying that my feet literally sound like sand paper polishing the floor – brutal right?). I am extremely hard on my feet, I am on them all day at work and I love walking around barefoot especially during the summer months and this really shows in my feet. The dryness can quickly get out of hand as you can see below:
Disgusting right? A part of me cringes when looking at this picture and an even greater part of me can’t believe I showed this to you! Honestly the dry, scaly and flakes happen so quickly it is unbelievable. I have to keep a strict foot care routine in place in order to stop and prevent this from happening.
So how do I reverse my feet (and stop this from happening) from looking like this and prevent the all over dry skin in the summer?
Read on to get summer ready, fresh skin and feet. You can follow these simple steps to get ready for summer:
Skip the hot showers! Instead shower every other day in a cool to warm shower as the hot water will actually strip your skin of oils and make it drier. Baths tend to have the same effect as hot showers, so try to avoid them when your skin is very dry. Before I hop in the shower, I also like to gently dry brush my skin with a loofah, it helps to wake up my skin and remove any dry, loose skin before I hop in. I like to work in circular motions from distal regions to closer to the centre of my body (so hands to shoulders, feet to tops of thighs).
After you hop out of the shower, pat dry your skin (never scrub dry) and while it is still moist you should use your moisturizer to help lock in the moisture. You need to be careful when choosing a moisturizer because not all are made the same and some can actually make your skin drier. For us, using the Ureadin Lotion 10 was an obvious choice. The lotion contains Urea Isdin and Dexpanthenol, both of which work together to retain moisture in your skin. Even my husband noticed the huge difference in his own skin. He loved how soft his feet were feeling from using the lotion. You can definitely use this lotion all over you body where your skin is dry, tight and itchy without irritation.
Soak those tender feet! If you have extremely dry feet like me, take some time daily to soak them in the tub in warm water. Not only will this give them some relief to sore achy feet, it also helps to exfoliate the dry skin away. It is important to follow this up with a quick exfoliation with a pumice stone and a moisturizer designed for dry feet, like Ureadin Podos. This specially designed formula uses lactic acid to exfoliate and then emollients like Shea butter to re-hydrate the skin. You can actually expect to begin to see results in three days!
I have been using Ureadin Podos on my feet for the last three weeks and I love the difference it has made in my heels, toes and the balls of my feet. It instantly soothes the dry, sore skin on my feet while improving the look and feel of my feet. This is the difference in my feet over the last three weeks:
My skin is brighter, the cracks have healed and they are definitely not as rough. They are much smoother to the touch and I am not embarrassed to wear sandals.
If you are heading out swimming, pack the moisturizer. Swimming can really dry out your skin with all of the chemicals, so make sure you are applying both sunscreen and moisturizer. The Ureadin spray on moisturizer was a blessing for us. It was easy to pack and even easier to apply. You literally spray on and it dries on its own within seconds (which when you are struggling to get moisturizer on a child this is definitely a win-win for any parent). It has a light scent (almost reminded me of baby powder) and is suitable for all skin types. So no more worrying about carrying different creams for different skin types.
Keep hydrated! This is so important – you really need to ensure you are in taking an adequate amount of water throughout the day especially if you are sweating.
Preventive care is so important to prevent painful, dry and cracked skin – especially now that we have almost reached summer. How do you help prevent and soothe dry and cracked skin?
If you would like more information or would like to purchase the Ureadin Hydration line of products, head over to their website now to get more information and purchasing details.
Disclosure: I am part of the Intega Influencer Campaign and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
June 1, 2016
Richard Mabry’s ‘Medical Judgment’ e-Reader Giveaway
Just what the doctor ordered: heart-thumping suspense and intrigue, courtesy of Richard Mabry’s new medical drama, Medical Judgment. Someone is after Dr. Sarah Gordon. They’ve stalked her and set a fire at her home. Trying to recover from the traumatic deaths of her husband and infant daughter is tough enough, but she has no idea what will come next. As the threats on her life continue to escalate, so do the questions: Who is doing this? Why are they after her? And with her only help being unreliable suitors in competition with each other, whom can she really trust?
Join Richard in celebrating the release of Medical Judgment by entering to win an e-reader!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A copy of Medical Judgment
- A Kindle Fire HD 6
Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on June 21st. The winner will be announced June 22nd on the Litfuse blog.
June 1, 2016
The Better Sleep Month Project
I think we can all agree that sleep deprivation is felt by so many of us, whether it be in the early parenting stages when you are living on two to four hours of sleep or later on when you have multiple commitments to work, family, extra curricular activities and more. We live in a society where we are constantly on the go, our minds never stop and this has in turn harmed our sleep patterns and in turn our overall health. How many of you are miserable after not getting a good sleep at night? I know I am! I can’t concentrate, I am sarcastic and snappier – all of which I don’t want to be.
I know for myself that there are many nights I can not turn my mind off. I am constantly going through lists to see whether I have done everything that I needed to do and the worst is just as you are about to fall asleep you remember that one thing you forgot and bam! I am now officially up and worrying about something I can not even control. Learning how to put this thoughts and troubles on the back burner is key to a good night sleep.
Casper (the makers of the innovative sleep set including mattress, sheets and pillow) are invested in insuring you sleep soundly every night. Casper created the perfect mattress combination after hours of testing (and by real people!) and developed a mattress that combines latex, memory and support foam. This combination provides just enough give but still leaves you feeling supported. Top this off with their sheets and pillows with breathability, softness and strength and you have a win – win situation! Casper gets it – in order to have a healthy, productive day we need a sound sleep. So how do we achieve this? Here are some key problems that have been identified and solutions to them:
This is me in a nut shell. My mind never stops, I am constantly worrying about something, going over lists, etc. So now I have started a physical to do list where I can scratch off items as I complete them and I check it around 7:30pm for the last time of the day, then I take a bath listening to nature sounds and then it is cuddle time with the kids. This has really helped me with calming my mind down during my busy days. I allow myself the reassurance that I have completed everything I needed to do, I give myself some much needed me time and then I spend quiet moments with my kids.
I have suffered with anxiety for years and this kind of ties into my problem of the busy mind at night! Yoga has definitely helped me with my anxiety in the last six months forcing me to focus on my breathing and the movements. Even moving through simple sun salutations while listening to calming music makes a world of a difference to me at night. I forget about the stress of the day as I concentrate on deep breathing and stretching fully through the movements. Or if you are really into it, try a Pranayama app to help with deep breathing and meditation exercises. My kids laugh when I put my app on but I love it as I have to really focus on breathing fully in and exhaling completely.
How many of us have laid there at night, praying for sleep to come as we scroll one more time through Facebook or Pinterest hoping this will help us fall asleep. The key here is to put the distraction away aka your phone, your iPad or any other hand held device (hard for so many of us – especially those who work from home). But it is key to getting a better sleep, our phones distract us and keep us up longer at night.
Invest in your sleep – this means purchasing a comfortable mattress. It seems simple but so many times we put other things in front of our own personal comfort. There is nothing better than laying down in a comfortable, welcoming, soft mattress. Your body and mind will thank you!
These are just a few tips to get you started on your Better Sleep Month Project, what tools do you utilize for ensuring a good night sleep?
May 31, 2016
Summer Fashion To Fall in Love with from Giant Tiger #ShareTheSecret
With the warm weather here, it is time to freshen and lighten up our wardrobes. I love this time of the year as we can brighten up our clothes with splashes of colour, floral prints and cute shoes. Not that we can’t do that in the winter but fashion takes on a whole new meaning in the summer.
My favourite go to store for fashion is Giant Tiger. I have found the quality and price of their clothes can not be beat especially with women’s fashion. At our local GT Boutique that is the first section you walk into and you can become lost in there with the variety and styles of clothes and shoes. On one side you have the MyStyle line which is more casual, fresh and perfect for the beach, going out on the weekends and just relaxing. Then on the other side you have the Lily Morgan line which is a fantastic line of clothes that can take you from work to a night out in style. You also have everything in between from athletic wear to scrub wear for work and shoes.
I desperately needed to freshen up my wardrobe and on top of that I have recently lost close to fifty pounds so none of my older clothes fit me at all or if they did they were baggy and not suited to my body at all. Which made this shopping experience twice as exciting for me. I set out to find tops that I could wear to both work and out for social events, pants that I could interchange with multiple tops, casual wear for around the house and a new pair of cute summer shoes.
So here are my summer fashion finds, which I would love to point out that with the sales that were on this all came up to $100 – this was one of the best parts for me. Where else can you pick up quality and quantity like this at such amazing prices?
Those are all the clothes that I came home with from Giant Tiger and the picture below is a few of those above items with me rocking them. My favourite piece is the Lily Morgan black and white tank, it has this gorgeous lacy back that I wore to my son’s soccer tournament this past weekend.
What I loved the most (besides the quality and price) was how versatile the items were. I could add the tops to different clothes combinations and it would change the look and feel and the same went for the shoes! Which is what I love and need. I found I was hiding behind clothes and my Mom status and I didn’t want to do that anymore. I am proud of who I am as a women and wanted to show it off. Which is exactly how I feel in my new finds: proud, beautiful and smart. Not to mention this is the first time I have worn shorts in over fifteen years – now that was one proud moment for me!
You can find the complete women’s line online to get a shopping list prepared in your mind before heading into the store or just head in store for shopping fun with a best friend. I loved every minute I spent in store finding new tops and trying them on (and taking selfies to send the husband which I am sure he thought I was nuts for!!).
Make sure you follow Giant Tiger on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with new fashion items, sales and more.
Disclosure: I received a Giant Tiger gift card in order to make purchases of women’s clothing in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.