Pinteresting: Maroon 5 – How Lyrics

by Christina on January 26, 2012

I'm asking for you help. I am going through hell. Afraid nothing can save me but the sound of your voice.
“I’m asking for your help. I am going through hell. Afraid nothing can save me but the sound of your voice…”

Maroon 5, “How” | Listen on Spotify | Download the MP3 | Pin This

Tags: , ,

{ 0 comments }

So apparently there’s been another factor in my increasing waistline that I didn’t even realize until this week… My prescription medication. Depression itself is a huge factor in my appetite and eating habits, but apparently my antidepressant of choice is, too.

Effexor XR

It turns out that Effexor XR (venlafaxine hydrochloride) has a side effect of weight gain. I just never noticed it before because I’ve been on a relatively low dose for approximately two years, so the increase in my appetite was insidiously unnoticeable. This is likely because the drug I switched from was Remeron (mirtazapine) – which had me absolutely ravenous all day, every day. By comparison, Effexor brought my appetite back to normal.

But my doctor and I agreed to increase my dosage this week, and I haven’t felt full for more than 30 minutes after a good meal since then. With weight loss as one of my goals for 2012, this is a big problem. And no – I can’t stop taking it. Effexor XR helps me too much. I need it for my mental health; I don’t think I could function without it.

So what am I going to do about this?

[click to continue…]

Tags: ,

{ 0 comments }

Video: If TJ Made a Website

by Christina on January 18, 2012


This is too funny. TJ wants to make a website to help people make websites. It’s on Google. LOL

Tags: , ,

{ 0 comments }

Most people I know have some sort of weight loss or fitness goal, if they make New Year’s resolutions at all. Well, I know me, and I’ve gone and done just that. Why? Because 4.5 years ago, I posted this about how I’d gotten down to 135 pounds after having TJ. I’ve put on slightly more than 20 pounds since then, and it’s really stressing me out. It’s not just a body image issue, it’s an I-can’t-afford-to-buy-a-whole-new-wardrobe issue. I’ve purchased two new pairs of size 10 jeans after having to retire a few too-tight pairs of size 8 jeans, but the rest of the size 8s are pretty uncomfortable, too.

Chicago Fire

[click to continue…]

Tags: , ,

{ 39 comments }

GoalForIt Chore Chart Review

by Christina on January 13, 2012

As a Mom Select member, I was asked to try out GoalForIt’s Chore Chart and review it on my blog in exchange for financial compensation. It sounded like something I’d want to check out anyways, since we’ve done sticker charts with TJ in the past, so I went for the opportunity. (Don’t worry: even though I am getting paid for talking about the chore chart, my opinions are my own, and I always give my honest opinion!) TJ was recently asking me when we were going to start a new sticker chart for him anyways, so this spurred me into action!

Sample Chore Chart

Sample Chore Chart from GoalForIt

[click to continue…]

Tags: , ,

{ 0 comments }

There are a lot of great lessons that kids learn on the television shows on Nick Junior, Disney Junior, and PBS Kids. Kids learn manners, how to share with friends, how to recognize and understand feelings, and a host of other helpful things by watching their favorite characters. But there are also some really horrible lessons some of these shows are trying to teach them. Here are some of the worst.

You Don’t Need to Respect Your Friends’ Boundaries

[click to continue…]

Tags: , , ,

{ 5 comments }

No, Virginia, you can’t have people LIKE your Facebook page as a method of entry for your blog giveaway. Facebook released a video earlier in December that has confused much of the blogosphere. The video can be summed up as Facebook’s official Facebook promotion guidelines.

The most important thing to note is that it is the official FACEBOOK PROMOTION guidelines. The video is specifically address the rules for how to administer a contest or sweepstakes ON FACEBOOK. This is not a set of rules for blog giveaways. This video is telling you the rules for how to run a promotion that is being administered via a Facebook tab on a Facebook page. When it talks about third party apps, it is talking about third party Facebook apps like Wildfire.

[click to continue…]

Tags: , ,

{ 8 comments }

Heartbreak – Baby’s First Breakup

by Christina on December 27, 2011

Originally posted elsewhere on October 1, 2010.

My son is 5 years old, but he’s still my baby. You know what I mean. At 5 years old, isn’t he too young for heartbreak?

Earlier this week, TJ came home and announced that his girlfriend had broken up with him. This was news to me, because I didn’t even know the girl’s name. (Last year in preschool, he proudly told us he had three girlfriends. One was a classmate and the other two were family friends of ours.) So not only did he have a girlfriend, but he hadn’t told us about her. Isn’t this sort of behavior supposed to wait until the teen years?

[click to continue…]

Tags: , ,

{ 1 comment }

Video: The Christmas News 2011

by Christina on December 25, 2011

This video was mainly recorded for family, but after TJ’s masterful performance, I thought I’d share with the world. I asked him to talk about Christmas morning and what he got… This is his response.

Tags: ,

{ 1 comment }

Video: The One Thing I Have to Say

by Christina on December 23, 2011

After a day like today…

Tags: ,

{ 1 comment }