A Happy Heart featured sponsor

I have a wonderful blogger that I want to introduce you all to! Her name is Kristy from A Happy Heart-- I'm sure you've all seen her button on my sidebar over there -->
Kristy and I met a few years ago through blogger while I was living in Alaska and she was living in New York. We quickly discovered that we grew up just a few towns from each other, and since then we've both been on the go, moving from state-to-state while raising our babies and making memories with our little families.
Enough of the introduction, scroll down and read more about her!

PS she's having a thirty-one thermal tote GIVEAWAY that ends today. Click here to enter!

hi! i'm kristy. i write a blog about my life & family called a happy heart. it's basically me writing our happy, beautiful life down so i can remember all the details! i'm a wife to my handsome husband, mama to our crazy/beautiful daughter and our stinky dachshund tries to run our lives.

we've moved several times and called new york and north carolina home. we call south carolina our home now. it's full of palm trees, southern charm & blue skies. we're a former military family trying to figure out the ins & outs of settling down in one place, in a civilian lifestyle.

i'm a stay-at-home mama, diving into the adventures of running my own business while encouraging my toddler to explore and be her beautiful self (& keeping my cool!), cleaning up after our crazy dachshund who thinks he's a human and doing my best to support my husband as he takes on two jobs and going back to school all while being the most amazing guy we could ask for.

the nitty gritty about me : i bake. i try my hand at crafting. i read books by the handfuls and i have matryoshka dolls all over my house. organziation makes me happy and i have a slight obsession with list making and crisp new notebooks.

i became a thirty-one consultant a few months ago. if you haven't heard of the company, thirty-one is a faith-based company that sells bags, purses, thermal totes, organizational totes & more!

we celebrate and encourage the hard-working women and i LOVE my job. we focus on the indivudial "why". everyone has one : why they started, why they keep going, it's their personal story. but, as a newbie (in my state & job), i'm still working hard to get myself out there! i am always looking for new people to share my why with. new ways to branch out my business and meet new people! i'd love to show you what thirty-one is all about and well, the bags are amazing!

my blog is chock full of all the little and big things in our lives. it's about who and what i love. it's what makes this happy life, our happy life. and i wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm Guest Blogging...

Today I'm guest blogging about it's-not-the-price-tag-or-the-gift-under-the-tree-that-matters over at  

Moore to Love! 

Head on over and check it out!

~Em

GUEST BLOGGER: Jessica Costello

During the holidays we all become crazy busy trying to cook, clean, and prepare for Christmas parties and socials, and despite our best attempts to keep a work-out schedule, trips to the gym often times takes the back-burner. 

Jessica from gymsource.com contacted me with helpful fitness information that she thought my readers would enjoy. I excitedly agreed to pass on her article...

Find 30 Minutes a Day, Find a New You.
By Jessica Costello

One of the hardest parts of working out is finding the time
to do it with all the chaos of everyday life. The world is moving at a fast
pace that makes it almost impossible to find a moment to do something that
benefits yourself and your health, and if you do, chances are you'll feel
guilty for not using that time to dust the bathroom or make cookies.  For
mothers this is a constant battle, but if you do take the time, you will not be
the only one to benefit from it.

Being a parent is a hard job as is, add a part-time or
full-time job and getting through the day without mishaps is nearly impossible.
Between taking care of their families, their households, and their careers it
seems like there’s never enough time for Mothers to truly take care of
themselves and this is especially true when it comes to exercising. However,
some studies have shown that finding only 30 minutes a day to workout may be
all that you really need to get a truly healthy benefit.

Researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in
Baton Rouge, LA held a <a href=“http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/exercising-10-to-30-minutes-a-day-boosts-quality-of-life-for-overweight-obese-women_10027244.html”>
study with 430 women to see the effects on 30 minute workouts with women of the
average age of 57</a>. What the study showed is that the women who did
workout for at least 10 to 30 minutes a day had a better quality of life. In
fact, it boosted the quality of their life along with their general health,
vitality, and mental health compared to those who didn’t work out at all. This
shows that working out even for a small amount of time can be really
beneficial. But the question remains on what to do when working out and how to
eat while doing so.

Still having doubts? It’s about more than just getting the
body up and going and that is important to remember.   Considering that the goal
in working out in quick spurts everyday is cutting fat and cutting it fast,
it’s vital to put together a healthy eating regiment that will work with your
30 minute a day exercising routine. Eating food like lean meats (turkey is a
great one to consider) and fish while avoiding foods heavy in carbohydrates and
saturated fats can help burn calories quick and easy. That being said, it’s
also important to work out in the correct manner and focus on the important
areas of you body while doing so.

Fitness magazine presents <a href=“http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/lose-weight/total-body/workout-30-minutes-a-day/”>
a great routine for working out 30 minutes a day</a> that includes (but
isn’t limited to) steady paced cardio, strength training, and a cardio circuit
that helps work the whole body. The best thing about this plan is that for some
women who may not be confident enough to work out at a public gym it allows you
to stay home and work at home gyms and it’s various fitness equipment like an elliptical.

Having children, looking after them, feeding them, etc. is a
job in itself.   As a mom you deserve to take time for yourself each day after
putting everyone before you.  This will not only help you stay fit but get you
refreshed and ready to face the day!

The Blog Guidebook

As I was blog hopping and catching up on my reading, I came across this- "THE BLOG GUIDEBOOK." Since I'm a newbie to blogspot, it immediately got my attention. I'm all for learning new ways to enhance my blog and meet other military wives, parents, photographers, artists- you name it! The Blog Guidebook is perfect for just that! It's so easy to navigate around and view other blogs, which are narrowed down by category.

Check them out and jump on board to "The Blog Guidebook".