I am embarrassed to admit this, but I am sooo bad about washing my face before bed.  I usually go to bed with my make up and everything on.  But in the last few weeks, I have changed my ways… thanks to Clarisonic PLUS with Spot Therapy

The Clarisonic PLUS with Spot Therapy uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth the skin.  It’s easy and quick - it only takes 60 seconds (20 seconds for the forehead, 20 for the nose and chin, and 10 for each cheek), and it beeps when it’s time to move on to another part of your face!  It’s waterproof, and I use it in the shower in the morning (and at the sink at night. Most nights.)  I love how clean it makes my face feel.  In fact, when I forget to grab it before I get in the shower, I really miss it and feel like my face isn’t clean at all!

It’s not all about the face, though.  The Clarisonic PLUS with Spot Therapy comes with interchangeable brushes - one for the face and the other for spot therapy on your elbows, knees, feet, etc.  Very cool!

Here are a few more benefits, as stated on the Clarisonic website:

• 6X more makeup removal
• Skin is soft and smooth
• Cleanses so well that products absorb better
• Gentle for use twice daily
• Reduces oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes
• Reduces the appearance of visible pores
• Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

As my 30th birthday rapidly approaches, I’m realizing that I need to take better care of my skin.  The Clarisonic PLUS with Spot Therapy is a huge step in the right direction… I highly recommend this product!

My daughter gets growing pains quite a bit (especially when she’s over-tired) and I hate when it happens… partially because I can remember when it used to happen to me and exactly how bad it hurts, but mostly because there’s nothing I can do about it.  So, I was very excited to have the chance to try out Warm Whiskers.

Warm Whiskers are heatable and freezable aromatherapy pillows.  Theses animal-shaped pillows are filled with all-natural, pesticide-free grains and herbs, and are designed to closely hug the contours of your body.  The warm, moist heat and calming scent of lavender are a great comfort to kids, adults, and even pets!   

They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes - they even have slippers!  Kate particularly likes this eye pillow:

It’s the perfect size for her to cuddle up with, and when she has growing pains now, we’re both glad there’s something we can do to make it better!  

Warm Whiskers makes a great gift for anyone who needs a little TLC!

A few weeks ago, I posted about my husband’s weight-loss efforts with Sensa. Well, he has been using it for six-and-half-weeks now and has lost 16 pounds! He has been working out 3-4 times a week as well. but he feels the Sensa is helping him a lot.

If you missed my first Sensa post, let me tell you how it works: Sensa is a powder that you sprinkle on your food. It’s not chemicals or drugs, but “Tastants” that convince your sense of taste and smell to tell your tummy it’s full BEFORE you overeat. Here’s how the Sensa website explains it:

“The scientific principle behind Sensa is remarkably simple. You may recall learning in biology class that smell and taste are connected. As you eat, the two senses work together to stimulate an area of the brain called the “satiety center,” which tells your body when it’s time to stop eating. By enhancing smell (sensory input), Sensa Tastants help to enable the brain-stomach connection and trigger the ‘feel full’ signal.”

My hubby says Sensa helps him to feel full sooner than he normally would, and it teaching him about appropriate portion sizes. The other night we got pizza for dinner and he made a joke about how he used to be able to eat a whole pizza by himself but that he couldn’t imagine doing that since he’s been taking Sensa. It’s already helped him change the way he thinks about portion sizes.

So, that’s the latest update on how my husband is doing with Sensa! I will keep posting updates! To find out more, visit the Sensa website. If you decide to try it for yourself, use the coupon code “ROCKETXL” at checkout, and you’ll get 15% off your order of Sensa.

If so, you can win $5,000!

The people at Pom Wonderful think that pomegranates are so, well, wonderful, that they are asking bloggers and their readers to submit an original recipe that includes pomegranate for a chance to become the POM Wonderful featured blogger and enjoy the $5,000 prize.

I am not, um, a cook, and I have no idea what you might do with a pomegranate, so while I won’t be entering the contest, I will go check it out! My husband LOVES pom juice and drinks it daily. He heard about how good it is for you, and now he’s hooked. Did you know that pomegranates are good for your heard? Apparently they are even better for your heart than red wine (I wonder if they’ve considered a pomegranate wine. Yes, that sounds like the best of both worlds!), and they’re also good for diabetics, which is why my husband was initially interested.

Pom Wonderful juice is a high-quality product, and it comes in super-cute little bottles. Each bottle has the nutritional information on it, which is very helpful to diabetics like Andy!

So go enter your best recipe here for a chance to win $5,000, and then go drink some Pom Wonderful. It’s good for you!

Those of you who know me know I’m a chronic dieter. I’ve done it all - low carb, Weight Watchers, drinking apple vinegar cider (yes, you read that right), you name it.

Right now I’m doing Weight Watchers (again), and if you’re familiar with that program, you know what a big deal it is to eat the right amount of food, or the right portion size. And what we’re used to seeing at restaurants and in our own kitchens is NOT the right portion size… in fact, a lot of times, we’re probably eating three or four more times as much as we should!

The good news is, though, that if you do eat the right portion size, you can eat more foods that would otherwise be forbidden. That’s what I love about Weight Watchers - a life without any simple carbohydrates is just not for me.

So anyway - I was excited to hear about something that can make getting the right size portion even easier, Portion Pals.

These fun little discs are cutting boards that have the outline of what a correctly-sized portion looks like. There’s one for meat, dessert (depressingly small. But correct, I’m sure), side dishes, etc. It’s a great visual reminder of how much we should be eating, and makes it simple to cut your food down to size, so to speak.

Portion Pals are a nice tool to aid in your weigh-tloss efforts. Click here for more info!

Every once in awhile I get contacted to see if I would like to try and review a certain product, and if it seems like something I’d use or my kids would enjoy, I say “yes” (cause who doesn’t love free stuff, really!?) Recently I was offered a free trial of the weight-loss product Sensa, but I wasn’t really interested in losing weight, so I declined. I still looked at the research on the product, though, and was very intrigued. It sounded very cool, and was unlike anything I’d ever heard of. So, I was telling my hubby about it, and he said, “Well, I’d like to try it. Do you think they’d send it to me?” I asked, and the good folks at Sensa were kind enough to let my hubby try it out. He’s now been using it for two weeks and he’s lost 4.5 pounds already!

Now, let me tell you how it works. It’s crazy cool. Sensa is a powder that you sprinkle on your food. It’s not chemicals or drugs, but “Tastants” that convince your sense of taste and smell to tell your tummy it’s full BEFORE you overeat. Here’s how the Sensa website explains it:

“The scientific principle behind Sensa is remarkably simple. You may recall learning in biology class that smell and taste are connected. As you eat, the two senses work together to stimulate an area of the brain called the “satiety center,” which tells your body when it’s time to stop eating. By enhancing smell (sensory input), Sensa Tastants help to enable the brain-stomach connection and trigger the ‘feel full’ signal.”

The first time my hubby tried it, he sprinkled Sensa (which does not taste bad or add weird texture to your food, by the way) on a bowl of cereal. The first thing he said to me when he was done was, “WOW. I just ate one bowl of cereal and I feel like I ate FIVE!” He’s been using Sensa steadily for two weeks and is loving it. It helps him control his portions and curbs after-dinner cravings.

I am going to keep you posted on how my hubby is doing with Sensa over the next few months. To find out more, visit the Sensa website. If you decide to try it for yourself, use the coupon code “ROCKETXL” at checkout, and you’ll get 15% off your order of Sensa.

Stay tuned!