The Creative Princess

As some of you know, I started my weight-loss journey in October. I have lost ALMOST 20 pounds so far!!!  I am SO excited about that!! I have not eliminated anything from my diet, I am just smarter about the foods I eat. I eat a LOT more fruits and veggies now and watch my portions carefully.  One of my FAVORITE things to have for a healthy lunch is a giant salad. I started off making them myself. I would toss in a few pieces of chicken or ham, lots of veggies and a low fat salad dressing. Then, around November (it may have been early December), I discovered the Lean Cuisine Salad Additions. Oh! My! Gosh! My boring salad days were so OVER!  I am not even kidding you! They came out with four varieties, Bistro Chicken, Asian, Cranberry Chicken and a Southwest. I actually first learned about them from my friend Lyndsey on Instagram, she also LOVES them.  I have tried all four varieties but prefer the Asian and Cranberry Chicken over the others. I ...

Eeek!  I am SO excited to be starting my year off with Champions for Kids! For those of you that are new, Champions for Kids is a GREAT organization that teams up with great brands, to mobilize millions in making a difference in the lives of kids. Each month they pair up with a brand for a Simple Service Project. This month, CFK is teaming up with Jennie-O and encouraging you to 'Give Breakfast a Wake-Up Call!'  Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day. For us, on school days, it is a mad rush to get out the door. Mads likes to eat breakfast, with her friends, at school most days.  Some days, she likes to have breakfast at home. Mads is at the age now that she can start cooking a few things on her own. This weekend I made a HUGE batch of Jennie-O Turkey Sausage (more on why in just a bit). I saved a few cups of sausage and put it in a baggie in the fridge. A few months ago I taught Mads how easy it was to make an omelet in the microwave. I was a bit nerv...

A few things you should know... I have lived in my house for nearly 9 years. In that time I have purchased 2 new pieces as "art". All other pieces were hand-me-downs or freebies. My house has never felt like home. This year, I have made it my mission to turn that around and make my house, into my home! Two of my FAVORITE stores for home things are Kirkland's and...... Hobby Lobby !  A lot of people think Hobby Lobby and automatically think of fabric, or art supplies. And they are right.......but! They have an AMAZING selection of pieces for your home! Even better? Their prices are AWESOME! Plus, something is always at least 50% off, or there is a great coupon out. So, a few weeks ago I visited my local HL location and used up some giftcards I received for Christmas. I had already gone in a few weeks prior and had an idea of what I wanted, it was just a matter of deciding which pieces I was getting that week, and which pieces I would add late...

As I told you in November , we switched some of our lights to energy efficient light bulbs thanks to #GELighting . We used an energy saving calculator to help us figure out how much we were saving with our new GE Light Bulbs. The results?? By switching 3 of our bulbs to GE Energy Efficient Soft White bulbs, 3 bulbs to GE Energy Smart Bright from the Start bulbs and 6 bulbs to GE Energy Smart CFL Spiral bulbs.....we will save....$56.37/year!  That's awesome! That's enough to buy a cute new outfit!  WooHoo! Over the past 2 months we have also taught our girls to be more energy efficient by making sure ALL of the lights are off when they leave a room, leave the house or go to bed at night. It was not easy at first, they did not understand, but after a few days they got it. So in the end, which bulb won me over?  I started out loving the GE CFL bulbs. But, after I few weeks I switched to the GE Energy Efficient Soft White Bulbs and I prefer them...