This post is sponsored by MD Diet. However, all opinions are 100% my own.
Diet, everyone’s least favorite four-letter word! Why is that? If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because when we hear the word, “diet,” our thoughts immediately turn to feeling hungry and what we won’t be able to eat. At least, those are the two things I think of as soon as I hear the word diet or start to think about dieting. Oh, and exercise, I loathe exercise!
As a teenager and young adult, I never once had to worry about what I ate. I was the skinny girl in high school and college and had to work to gain weight. Then after I got married and had my first baby, I started struggling with my weight. It seemed the pounds just kept packing on and I was constantly trying different diets and exercise programs. Some seemed to work (for a bit), but on these diets, I constantly felt hungry and limited in what I could eat. I’d stay on the diet for a few weeks, and the hunger got to me and I’d end up not only gaining back the weight I’d lost, but even more.
This year (as my New Year’s Resolution), I made a goal to get back down to the weight which is listed on my Driver’s License. Don’t judge, we all fib a little on that one. The only problem was, I had no idea how I was going to get there. Then about a month ago, I was contacted by a local company to see if I’d be interested in working with them. That was the quickest, “YES!” I’ve ever said.
I began working with MD Diet (located in Salt Lake City, Utah) two weeks ago and have been blown away with how well I’m loving this program. I have not once been hungry, I’m losing weight, and I’m not missing those sugary snacks that I was eating on a daily basis. It sounds too good to be true, but trust me, it’s not!
Photo one week in. At this point, I had lost 5 pounds.
So, what exactly is MD Diet? The answer is simple, it’s a high protein, low carb diet that is customized for you. Unlike other diets, at MD Diet, they use a combination of education, prescription medications, and lifestyle modifications to help improve your health, all while safely losing weight. While on the program, you are under the guidance of nutritionists, a nurse practitioner, and experienced staff. This is what I love! You aren’t left to fend for yourself in the battle of losing weight. Everyone has been so helpful and supportive so far in my weight loss journey.
This is 5 pounds of fat. Two weeks in, and I’ve lost a little more than 1 of these.
I mentioned above that I’ve been doing this diet for two weeks. In those two weeks, I’ve lost 6.5 pounds, all without being hungry. For once, losing weight doesn’t seem like a chore to me. If you’ve been thinking about going on a diet, to shed those unwanted pounds, I suggest giving MD Diet a try.
After weigh in today. I lost another 2.4 pounds, for a total of 6.5 pounds lost.
This post is sponsored by Nomatic. However, all thoughts and opinions, are 100% my own.
I’ve heard the term, “Backpacking through Europe,” countless times in my life, and up until recently, I honestly thought it meant people were taking a tent, sleeping bag, and a backpack, and literally backpacking across the mountains in Europe. It wasn’t until our trip to Europe two years ago, where I finally understood what was meant by “Backpacking through Europe.”
Traveling in Europe can be difficult, especially with a large family. Many of the streets are cobblestone, trains don’t have a lot of room for luggage, hotel rooms are small, and large taxis/Ubers aren’t readily available to fit a family of 5 along with their large amounts of luggage.
Europe Trip 2017
When we went to Europe two years ago, I was unaware of these difficulties. Each of us packed a full size suitcase, as well as a carry-on size piece of luggage. To say we had a difficult time getting around would be an understatement. When we were in London, each time we went to or from the Train Station, we had to take two Taxi’s, because there just wasn’t a taxi large enough to fit us and our luggage. The hotel room was so small, that we literally could barely open the door, because our luggage sat on all available floor space.
So fast forward two years and we once again, decided to vacation in Europe. As soon as we booked our trip to Italy, I knew there was no way we could make the same mistake with our luggage as we did last time. I knew for this trip, we needed to find a way to consolidate all our stuff into two suitcases, or better yet, backpacks.
So back to Backpacking through Europe. If you’re smarter than me, you probably already knew that the phrase, “Backpacking through Europe,” does not mean what I had envisioned. What it actually is, in place of a suitcase, the traveler uses a large backpack (bigger than your school backpack) so they can easily travel on planes, trains, taxis, and not have to roll their suitcase over bridges, stairs, and cobblestone. Genius!
I began scouring the web trying to find the perfect travel backpack for our trip. There were many options, some too big, a lot too small, but I finally came across the backpack I knew would be perfect. There is a company (and it just so happens to be in Utah, where I live) by the name of Nomatic that specializes in backpacks for travel. They have many options, but the one I was interested in, is their Nomataic 40L Travel bag. This bag is carry-on size, fits 3-7 days’ worth of clothing, has pockets for your laptop/tablet, shoes, socks/underwear, and water bottle, as well as a safe pocket that you can lock (think passports). The backpack is waterproof, has a sternum strap, as well as a waist strap, for easy backpacking. Also included, is a laundry bag, so you have a place for your dirty clothing. The bag also has handles, if you choose to carry the bag by hand. It’s perfect and I had to have it.
Now let me tell you a trick I learned from a friend. If you roll your clothes instead of folding them, you are able to fit a lot more in your backpack or suitcase. The Nomatic 40L Travel Bag claims to have enough room to fit clothing for 3-7 days. However, with my rolling technique, I was able to fit all my clothes for our 11 day trip. Yes, you read that right! Eleven outfits along with all my underwear, socks, a swimsuit and coverup, a jacket, laptop, and a pair of sandals.
I still don’t think I took full advantage of all the different pockets and compartments for organizing all of my stuff, but I intend to use this backpack for a long, long time so I will have plenty of opportunities to make the most of it. I can’t recommend this highly enough as the best way to travel, whether by plane, train, or automobile, it is the best solution for luggage.
Nomatic has been generous enough to offer my followers a 10% discount with code: MINDIE10. This code is good from now until September 3rd.
This post is sponsored by Mosaic Tile Outlet. All opinions are 100% my own.
I think it’s safe to say that the most used room in our home, is without question, the kitchen. I’d be willing to bet it’s the same for most people. The kitchen is where meals are cooked, snacks are kept, grocery lists are written, and it’s the gathering place for friends and family. With that being said, your kitchen should be a place you enjoy being!
Around the nine year mark, our kitchen started to feel outdated, boring, and dark. Our home was a spec home, so we didn’t have the opportunity to chose any of the colors, cupboards, counter tops, carpet, etc. When we first moved in, and for years after, I loved the dark baseboards and lighter walls, the black granite counter tops, and wood cupboards. Fast forward 9 years, and I was done. I wanted light and bright walls, white cupboards, and a kitchen backsplash!
After convincing my husband, that we did indeed need a kitchen makeover, we started the kitchen re-decorating process. We knew we wanted to keep the cost down, so we kept the current cabinets and painted them white. I added gold hardware, and just like that, new cupboards! We also kept the black granite counter tops, which actually look great against the white cupboards and light gray walls. Now for that kitchen backsplash that I’ve always wanted!
Since we ended up keeping the black counter tops, I wasn’t sure what color and style of backsplash to choose. Should I go light to match the cupboards and baseboards, or slightly darker to balance things out? Subway tile, vinyl tile, brick, or marble? Decisions, decisions, and let me just say, I’m the worst at making decisions! So fast forward almost a year, and I’m still without a kitchen backsplash.
Lucky for me, I came across, Mosaic Tile Outlet online, and began looking at what they had to offer. They specialize in backsplashes, they are reasonably priced, and have hundreds of styles and colors to choose from. After scouring their website, I was able to narrow it down to my 7 favorites. The best part, they send out samples so you can actually see what you’ll be getting!
Here are the samples I requested:
Classic 2×6 Subway Gray Glossy Glass Mosaic Tile
4 Pack Peel and Stick Linear Brick Grey White Stone-Like Vinyl Mosaic Tile
Modern Linear Gray White Glossy Metal Mosaic Tile
Modern Linear White Polished Thassos Marble Mosaic Tile
Peel and Stick Classic Linear White Gray Carrara Marble Mosaic Tile
Modern Designer Gray and White Natural Thassos Carrara Marble Mosaic Tile
Modern Linear Gray Glossy Wood Grain Recycled Glass Mosaic Tile
As you can see, most of the samples I chose were in the gray family. I added in a few darker samples as well as a few lighter ones, just to keep my bases covered. Once I held each sample up to my wall, I was quickly able to decide on my 2 favorites, the Peel and Stick Linear Brick Grey White Stone-Like Vinyl Mosaic Tile and the Modern Linear White Polished Thassos Marble Mosaic Tile. Both of these options offer simplicity and completeness that will end up providing us with an inviting and neutral cooking space for years to come.
