Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

My guest bloggers are amazing and they’re the ones that help me keep the WAHM-Articles blog going. If it weren’t for them I’d find fewer posts on the blog and that’s not what I want for the readers of this blog.

I’m thankful for each one of them and I’m so glad they’ve decided to take part and help me with this wonderful blog. I know I’ve learned a lot from each of them and I know that will continue into the future as well.

Just in case you’re not sure who my wonderful guest bloggers are, you can see my list below.

Sophia McIntyre – http://www.workathomespace.com
Tammy Embrich – http://www.onestopwebemployment.com
Michelle Shaeffer – http://michelleshaeffer.com
Amy Royce – http://itsabloggylife.com
Deb Bixler – http://createcashflowshow.com

If it weren’t for you five ladies, the WAHM-Articles blog wouldn’t be what it is today. We wouldn’t have the help you supply with your posts and we wouldn’t have the information our readers come to look for each day.

I thank all of you for your help and I look forward to many more blog posts to come!

Today is my sister Amy’s birthday and I’ll tell you I wouldn’t be where I am with my business without her. She does a ton of behind the scenes stuff for WAHM-Articles and I’m so grateful to have her working with me. If it weren’t for her you wouldn’t see these daily blog posts and many other things that she does to help me out.

Amy and I have a unique situation and it’s one that a lot of people are surprised to hear, but it’s fun to talk about. You see we are 11 months a part. So, for 29 days we’re the exact same age. Now you may think that’s not so unique or out of the ordinary, but what is, is that our birthdays are in the same month and we are known as Irish twins. LOL

As kids we didn’t get a long so well, but tell me what siblings do when you’re that close in age? LOL Now we’re like best friends. We help each other out and we are there for each other when the other one needs the other. It’s perfect!

I’m so glad God gave Amy to me as a sister. I couldn’t imagine being without her and it’s just wonderful having her work with me to help me continue to grow my business.

I love you Amy and I hope you have a great birthday!!

Corrie

I think I have said this before, but it’s not very often I fix a meal that my family actually likes! I’ve never been much of a cook, as much as I would like to be! So a couple of days ago, I decided to be brave and try a new recipe. I told my family that I was making Cowboy Spaghetti, and I got “the look”. The one that said “Oh geez…get Pizza Hut on speed dial!”

Cowboy Spaghetti (Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray)

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
3 slices smoky bacon, chopped
1 pound ground sirloin
1 medium onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
Ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce, eyeball it
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1/2 cup beer
1 (14-ounce) can, chopped or crushed fire roasted tomatoes
1 (8-ounces) can, tomato sauce
8 ounces sharp Cheddar
4 scallions, chopped

Directions:
Heat a pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and salt the water. Cook to al dente or with a bite to it.
Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and bacon. Brown and crisp bacon, 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. Drain off a little excess fat if necessary. Leave just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add beef and crumble it as it browns, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, garlic and stir into meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Add 1/2 cup beer and deglaze the pan. Cook 5 to 6 minutes more then stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Add hot spaghetti to meat and sauce and combine. Adjust seasonings and serve up pasta in shallow bowls. Grate some cheese over the pasta and sprinkle with scallions. Garnish with crisp bacon.

It’s nice that my family actually does try my new recipes, because they all said it wasn’t bad. Just that it needed something. So, I thought I would share the recipe I used with you and maybe I’ll get some comments on it with some ideas to make it better.

Amy Royce has two children and has been married since 1995. She is an affiliate marketer and a Virtual Assistant. She enjoys helping others through the programs she markets and the tasks she performs as a VA. To learn more about Amy and what she offers, visit her site by clicking here. Also visit her new Health and Fitness blog by clicking here.

We all know that exercise is important for maintaining a healthy weight or getting your body into shape, but not everyone knows that there are other, little known benefits of it. Here are five:

1. To let off steam after a bad day: One of my favorite times to go to the gym is when I have had a bad or stressful day. I always say “The treadmill will never complain when you take your bad day out on it!” ‘Nuff said!

2. Increased energy: Yes, I said “increased energy”! Try running the stairs at your office instead of taking the elevator. You will be out of energy when you first start out, but over time, you will find that it’s no problem running them anymore. The same applies at the gym. Yes, you will be worn out and sore, but eventually, you will have more energy…even after a tough workout!

3. Healthy Skin: By increasing blood flow, exercise helps nourish skin cells and keep them vital. “Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to working cells throughout the body, including the skin,” says Ellen Marmur, MD, author of Simple Skin Beauty: Every Woman’s Guide to a Lifetime of Healthy, Gorgeous Skin and associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. To read the article where I got this information on exercise and skin care, click here.

4. Helps keep families together: Any time you spend time with your family, you will become closer. We all read about having family dinners together, but it doesn’t have to stop there. Go to the park and play tag with your kids. Go to the gym and have a race on the treadmill with your spouse. You’ll have fun and get your exercise in too!

5. Improved sexual function and better sex life: First of all, since exercise is proven to help you lose weight and get a toned figure, it is obvious that it will change the way you feel about yourself! You will have increased confidence and be less worried about your body! You will also see impovements in your endurance and heart function, which all will enhance sexual functioning.

So there you have it! 5 additional reasons to exercise! What are you waiting for?

Amy Royce has two children and has been married since 1995. She is an affiliate marketer and a Virtual Assistant. She enjoys helping others through the programs she markets and the tasks she performs as a VA. To learn more about Amy and what she offers, visit her site by clicking here. Also visit her new Health and Fitness blog by clicking here.

If you’ve ever used your credit cards to pay your monthly bills, you know how stressful that can be. It’s worse when you become dependent on them each month to survive. What you may not be thinking about is the more you use the card, the higher the monthly payment will be, but what’s worse is when you get to a certain point, the credit card company will either lower your limit or they’ll tell you, the card can’t be used.

Another thing that may cause a problem is if you max your card out and the interest puts you over the limit. You’ll receive over the limit fees and your payment will increase to accommodate those fees. If this happens, the stress is going to go through the roof and you may find you feel like you’re losing it all. If you’re a work at home mom and you depend on the income you make from your business to keep you at home, this can be devastating.

While coming out of this may be really difficult and you may feel it’s nearly impossible, just remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With a little hard work, dedication, and the control to not make purchases, you can turn this around and have the money you need. You may need to be creative in finding ways to make this happen through your business, but it is possible when you look at the big picture and you consider everything.

Last year one of my authors wrote an article about paying cash for your purchases. She talks about the Minimum Payment Warning and how long it will take you to pay off a credit card when you only pay the minimum due each month. Click here to see what she discovered and how she was going to handle things so she could purchase a new dishwasher.

This author knows how hard it will be, but when that monthly minimum payment number goes down and she begins to see the balance go down as well, she’ll be jumping up and down for joy because she won’t be paying large amounts of interest and her family will be able to do things they want to do. She won’t have to worry if her vehicle breaks down and she won’t have to worry if she’s going to have enough money for groceries.

My daughter and my nephew recently celebrated their 16th birthdays. As everyone knows, your 16th birthday is a pretty major milestone. Both of them got their drivers licenses on their birthdays and they were thrilled with themselves.

A few days before their birthday party, I decided that this was an occasion to make them a special cake. I found a recipe on Pinterest for a delicious looking cake. The name of the cake, was “Better than “you know what” Cake” Ok, most people know the real name of the cake, so I won’t say it. Obviously, we didn’t call it by it’s real name at the party. I called it a “Better than homework cake” Hahaha!!!! I received so many compliments on it, I thought I would share the recipe here…just in case one of the WAHM-Articles readers have never heard of it. Brace yourselves for perhaps the easiest and most delicious cake you have ever put in your mouth.

Better Than (you know what) Cake

1 pkg. devil’s food, chocolate, or German chocolate cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
caramel ice cream topping
1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
4-5 Health or Skor bars, chopped up

Bake cake according to package directions for a 9×13 inch pan; cool for about 5 minutes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the cake. Let the cake cool for a little while. Slowly pour sweetened condensed milk over the cake, letting it sink into the holes; then drizzle some of the caramel over the top of the cake. Let cake cool completely (I usually cover it and put it in the fridge for a while). Top cake with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with candy bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate a little longer, then serve!

Well, there you have it. Simple as…well, cake! Also, I thought I would mention that you do not have to put Heath or Skor candy on it. My nephew is unable to eat those two candies, so I put Reeses Peanut Butter Cups on it.

You can find this recipe here. This wonderful website also has many other fabulous recipes you can try. Simply click on the home tab to find them.

Amy Royce has two children and has been married since 1995. She is an affiliate marketer and a Virtual Assistant. She enjoys helping others through the programs she markets and the tasks she performs as a VA. To learn more about Amy and what she offers, visit her site by clicking here.

Have you ever had one of those days when you knew right away in the morning that you would not have much time, if any, to cook dinner that night. You know the ones where your day planner couldn’t hold even one more appointment or business event! Those are the days that you would contemplate ordering a pizza or hitting a fast food restaurant. YUCK! Well, I am going to give you a couple of very quick and easy meals to help you out on those days!

This first recipe is so easy. It literally takes 3 minutes to prepare! How great is that!

Slow Cooker Beef Tips over Rice (or Noodles)
2-3 lbs Stew Meat
2 cans Cream Mushroom Soup
2 cans Golden Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can French Onion Soup

Mix all ingredients into your slow cooker and cook covered on low for 8-10 hours
Serve over cooked Rice or Egg Noodles

Yep!! That’s it. Dinner is cooking itself and you have all day to conquer that To-Do-List!!

I don’t know about anyone else, but I love having breakfast for dinner once in a while.

Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
1 package of frozen hash browns
1 lb of cooked sausage
2 cups of Colby jack cheese – shredded
1 cup of diced peppers – green, red, yellow and/or orange
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
Optional:
1 can of diced chilis
1 quart-size cart of EggBeaters

Spray the slow cooker with Pam.
Starting with the frozen hash browns, layer the ingredients, repeating twice.
Shake the EggBeaters well and pour over the top.
Cook on WARM overnight, turn to LOW when you get up if needed.
Serve with Salsa and some fresh fruit.

Both of these recipes were found at http://crockingirls.com/. They have a bunch of crockpot recipes you can try on their website! Dinner doesn’t have to be fast food or pizza on those busy days. With a little planning, you can have a wonderful home cooked meal!

In my personal opinion, far too many of us believe that we are fat, ugly, or worthless. I have decided that I needed to share my own struggles with body image and self esteem. This isn’t an easy thing for me to do. I am a very private person, but I feel like if I share this, then I can overcome them. I need to overcome them not only for me, but for my family.

I am 4’11” tall and I weigh right around 120 pounds. I will start out by saying that I don’t think I am fat, but I feel like there are parts of my body that could look better. I started feeling this way very recently…within the last 3 years or so. It got to the point that I hated looking at myself in the mirror. This whole scenario might sound familiar to some reading this. I started working out regularly about a year ago. While I physically felt better, I still had those negative thoughts about my body. Everyone around me would tell me how great I looked, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I still saw the same “problem areas”.

Another thing that I have been struggling with is my facial appearances. I am 35 years old but I feel like my forehead shows a different age. I have wrinkles and sometimes people think that I am angry all the time because the area between my eyes (just above my nose) is always wrinkled up like I had just had a major argument with someone. I actually had a friend of mine tell me, during a night out, that I need to be happier and that I needed to stop glaring all the time. I told her that I was having a really good time until she said that. That really hurt me. My self esteem went to almost nothing at that point.

To continue reading this article, click here.

Every Christmas, our neighbors Bill and Anna give our family a big basket of mostly homemade goodies! This year was no different. There was a new item added to our basket this year. One that I have always loved. She made us some peppermint bark! YUMMY! I have to admit that I did eat all of it. I dug through the basket until I found every last piece of it! It was mean…I know! I just couldn’t help myself! I decided that I needed to find a recipe so I could make more for my husband and kids who didn’t get any. I found the perfect one and I decided to share it with my favorite WAHM’s! YOU!!

Peppermint Bark
Ingredients:
20 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided
30 peppermint candies, crushed, divided
10 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Here’s how to make them:
1. Line a 9×12 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2. Melt half of the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Spread the white chocolate into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the crushed peppermints evenly over white chocolate. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate, heavy cream, and peppermint extract together in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until just melted. Quickly pour the chocolate layer over the chilled white chocolate layer; spread evenly. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt the remaining white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until just melted. Spread quickly over the chilled bark. Sprinkle with the remaining peppermint pieces; chill until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut or break into small pieces to serve.

Well, there you have it! These yummy treats are sure to be a big hit at your upcoming New Year’s Party! Be sure to share!!!

This recipe and the picture were provided by allrecipes.com. Be sure to visit this website for all of your recipe needs!

Thanksgiving is over now and we are 25 days from Christmas. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to tell you about my Thanksgiving.

This year, my mother in law asked us all to come to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with them. It was almost 4 years ago when we all got together for a holiday, so it was definitely overdue! This year also was important because we have a new member of the family. My nephew, Tommy, was born in July and I am sad and ashamed to say that I had never met him until last week. I live in the same town as they do, so I really have no excuse for that. Getting to visit with my niece, Mia, was great too! She loves horses! We took a carriage ride through downtown Denver, and every time the horse neighed , she got a huge smile on her face, looked at me and said “Horsey!!!” I loved it!

So the week consisted of football games (GO PACKERS) food, laughter, family pictures and the carriage ride, but the most important part was just being together. We got to know a little more about each other. We reminisced about the past and even talked a little about our futures. To me, that is what the Holiday’s are all about! I pray that your Christmas and New Years are filled with lots of love and happiness.