What Came In My Mailbox Today & Why I Think You Should Request Freebies Too!

May 18, 2013 by Jordan

(Follow me on Instagram: @growingupnatural)

Remember that free Nature’s Bounty Shaker Bottle offer I posted about back in March? Well, I FINALLY got it in the mail today!!! Not only did I score the shaker for free but it even came with a $2.00 off coupon. I always recommend ordering samples for a few reasons…

1. It’s refreshing to get something in the mail other than bills!
2. Most samples include awesome money saving coupons.
3. You get FREE stuff!

I will only post offers that I strongly feel are legitimate and have personally requested myself! So next time you see me talking one up it’s because I’m actually excited about it and you should definitely request it.

Have you gotten anything fun in your mailbox lately?

Garage Sales, Farmers Markets & Sunshine

May 3, 2013 by Jordan

(Follow me on Instagram: @growingupnatural)

The sun is shinning today!!!!!! Even though I spent well over an hour at the gym this morning, it’s so gorgeous out that I just might go for a run later too. But before that, we’re going to hit up some near by garage sales. I LOVE bargain shopping. We always come home with the most useful, cheap and interesting items. I literally bought McKinley some adorable Old Navy PJ’s for 10¢ last weekend. Seriously! You just can’t beat that.

(Okay so not that big of a basket…LOL!)

On my way home from work yesterday I saw a sign advertising the beginning of Farmers Market season. And to make it even more exciting, they changed the location of it to right down the street from me. I think it’s maybe three blocks away which means we can ride our bikes there. *Happy Dance!* (We don’t have bikes yet but are currently budgeting for them. I told my husband I want a huge basket on mine for Farmers Market stuff… I’ll look like a weirdo but hey! I’ll be saving on gas, exercising, saving car pollution for another day, getting fresh produce at a great price and having fun all at the same time. Worth it? Yes.)

Happy Friday, folks!

We’ve Got Serious Cabin Fever!

May 2, 2013 by Jordan

(Follow me on Instagram: @growingupnatural)

THIS is what I have to deal with all day long. A stinkin’ adorable little girl who tries to fake frown when I tell her she can’t get a burrito from McDonald’s. LOL I sure do love this little one! ♥

(I need a reason to put makeup on today!)

We’ve had our fill of parenting challenges over the past week. Since we’re in the process introducing the “big girl potty” to her, she’s been a little moody. She regularly tells me she’d rather wear a diaper. Plus, we took her completely off her pacifier about a month ago so she regularly asks me for that too. McKinley doesn’t respond too well to the word ‘NO’ so there are constant meltdowns… Growing up sucks when you’re two.

To make things even more blah, it’s MAY and it’s COLD outside. Where is the sunshine? Where are the singing birds? Flowers? I’m all for cooler weather but seriously, world. May is supposed to be warm. Every single day I hear, “mommy, can we go to the parrrrrrrrk?” “mommy, can we go swiiiiiimming?” “MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMMMMYYYY!!!!”. We have some serious cabin fever over here.

Anyway, she just peed on the couch… back to it!

Happy Thursday!!!

Amazon: Dr. Kracker Organic Klassic 3 Seed Crackers Only $2.32 Each + Free Shipping!

Apr 29, 2013 by Jordan

Hurry over to Amazon.com because right now you can score a 6-Pack of Dr. Kracker Snacker Bag n’ Box Klassic 3 Seed Crackers for just $18.85 + free shipping when you check out with Subscribe & Save! Plus, there is even a 25% off coupon available to clip which brings the final total down to only $13.89 (or $2.32 per box).

As a price comparison, my local Walmart sells these for $3.98 per box so talk about some fabulous savings! Who knows how long the savings will be available so be sure to act fast.

What Happens When I Clean the Fridge…

Apr 16, 2013 by Jordan

(Follow me on Instagram: @growingupnatural)

It’s Tuesday, everyone!!!! We’re inching closer to the weekend!!!! As you can see from the picture above, I kind of got started already. You see, the fridge needed to be cleaned/organized so while I busied myself with that I stumbled across a bottle of Boone’s Farm in the back (from months ago.. I seriously hardly ever drink). I couldn’t just leave it in there due to all the other groceries that had to fit in so instead of wasting it… I drank it. With a straw. At one in the afternoon. DON’T JUDGE.

Hope your day was as relaxing as mine. LOL! Happy Tuesday!

Fourteen Loads of Laundry Later…

Apr 15, 2013 by Jordan

(Follow me on Instagram: @growingupnatural)

Today is just one of those cloudy blah Mondays… nothing much going on over here. I carted (wait for it…) FOURTEEN loads of laundry over to the laundry mat where I spent most of my morning! Yuck, seriously.

I’ve told you all before that I live in an apartment but what’s even worse is the only laundry facility is downstairs. And there is just one machine for the complex consisting of 4 separate apartments. We’ve been so busy that I’ve fallen way far behind on housework… So, I went to the laundry mat instead of spending 4 days straight utilizing our apartments one community washer/dryer. OMGosh I can’t wait until we get a house!!!!

While waiting for the laundry to dry, I pushed McKinley around in their awesome laundry carts. She had a BLAST and honestly so did I. It was just us in there which gave us the opportunity to play and get in trouble (we went around a turn too fast and popped a wheel off a cart. Sorry to whoever has to fix it).

Lastly, my husband called just a little bit ago and said he was getting off early. It’s hospital policy to let the staff go home after witnessing a death during their shift. My husband was one of the staff members who helped a woman during her traumatic miscarriage… she’s now in the ICU due to massive blood loss. If you’re a praying person, please pray that her body quickly heals so she can somehow begin to heal emotionally as well.

My Honest.com Order, The Best Deal of the Week & An Awesome Goodwill Find!

Apr 12, 2013 by Jordan

(Follow me on Instagram: @growingupnatural)

It’s Friday evening and I’m bored at home… I haven’t really been feeling all that well this week which has made me extremely lazy. LOL! Anyway, I thought I’d tell you all about some of the products I’ve been excited about!

First of all, my Honest.com natural sunscreen finally came in the mail. We’re now officially ready for summer! My daughter asks me every. single. day if we can go to the swimming pool. I keep telling her that we’ll all go as soon as it gets hot outside but she’s 2 so of course that concept is hard for her to grasp. Two days ago we had an incredible ice storm but right now it’s sunny and 60 degrees out! Spring weather is crazy.

My other fav is the free organic rice drink deal I previously posted about here. Seriously, I love grabbing shelf-stable products on the cheap! And you just can’t ask for a better deal than free. I’ve rotated these into my stockpile and am glad to have them on hand because they’re PERFECT for baking when I’m out of my usual refrigerated products. I ♥ free organic stuff!!

Isn’t McKinley just the cutest in this picture? She’s modeling my new spring scarf… that I got at Goodwill… for 99¢. It’s a GAP one… be jealous. It was brand new and still had the original tag on it! People donate the craziest things. Every time I shop at Goodwill the Thift Shop song by Macklemore pops into my head (That link is to the non-edited version. Kick your kids out of the house before playing it… seriously). I prefer the clean version personally but the music video is hilarious!

Anyhoooo I’m off to go take a walk with my girlie girl and hubs. HAPPY FRIDAY!!

My Awesome 5K Results!

Apr 2, 2013 by Jordan

(Me and Jessica before our 5K over the weekend)

I promised you pictures of my 5K so here ya go! This pic was taken well before the race started so no sweat, blood or tears yet. I SO wanted to have some taken as I was running but it was completely dark by then so this is the only one we got. Disappointing, I know.

Running was actually EASY. Can you believe it? I guess working out more really does pay off. LOL! My watch said I ran it in 29 minutes but the official time said 34:05.39. Either way, I finished what I started without needing to walk once. In fact, I feel like I could’ve gone a longer distance. Maybe I’m ready for a 10K?? I never once thought I could be a runner but I felt like one for the first time in my life as I crossed the finish line. Knowing I can push my body that way is incredible! I’m certainly no one special but even having just another 5K (the baby of all races) under my belt made me feel accomplished. If you don’t currently have a workout routine then I highly recommend you getting one. If not for the health benefits then for the way it makes you feel.

(Follow me on Instagram: @growingupnatural)

John hates this picture so of course it’s the one I’m putting up. Have I ever really introduced you all to him? Johnatta is his actual name… he’s from Brazil, would love a long walk on the beach if we lived near one and is an electronic geek. We recently celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary so I thought I’d show him some love.

He’s a nut (a Brazil nut.. get it? LOL) but shows me support in everything I do. He doesn’t just think I can kick the butt of my extra pounds, he knows I can. He was SO proud of me after running the race this past weekend and to be honest, all I could think about while I was running was I have to do good so I can tell him about it. ♥ The picture below is us while we were dating about 4 years ago. Awww……

HAPPY TUESDAY, EVERYONE!