Orange Julius ~ Yummy in the Tummy!

It's time for throwback Thursday!  This week it's Orange Julius.  When I was a kid and went to the mall that's the snack I wanted.  I thought those things were the best and still do!  There are still a few around here and there but not like back in the day.  Although, after looking it up on the internet you can actually get the real thing at Dairy Queen these days. Check it out HERE for your nearest Orange Julius fix!   Great, we have one going in just a few miles from us!  The point I was going to make was that I recently signed up and started supplementing Herbal Life Shakes as meals/snacks.  The one I found I like the best is the Orange Creme flavored one as it reminds me of Orange Julius except that it is alot healthier and has protein to boot in it.  As you all know summer is quickly approaching.  Summer School just got out so that means it's the start of summer with the kids being home.  The first day of summer according to the calendar is June 20, 2024.  LET'S GET READY FOR SUMMER if you haven't already.  

I'm going to do a 3 day challenge and have the shake for 2 of my meals each day.  Then for supper I'll have a 1 protein, 1 fruit, 1 veggie and 1 carb.  If I'm hungry in between shakes I can have 1 healthy snack.  Let me know if you want more information.

Shake it up!

MEAL REPLACEMENT LINK

Wowzers, there are so many different kinds of Shakes and Meal Replacement Shakes.   Not all are meal replacement.  Some are just good to take after a workout and some are better to drink after your workout.  There's lots of different flavor, brands and types (Keto, Protein, etc.)  I don't have any certain brand of shake I'm currently drinking.  Below is just a sampling of shaker cups at different price ranges and style.

Below you will see just a small sampling of different shake and flavors etc.  They sky  is the limit.  Do your research on what the protein content is if that's what your striving for.   Or start with the flavor and go from there.  You just have to start with one and try it to make sure you like it first.  If not, then try another as they all taste so differently.

            We currently have Equate Chocolate Whey Protein from Wal-Mart and it's nothing                to brag about it.  

KACHAVA.COM SHAKE OPTIONS

*Check out the KACHAVA shake link above. 

5 flavors to select from.

15 servings each bag 

$4.00 per shake

Liberty Nutrition, Smoothie King, GNC & Supplement Super Store

These are different stores we have in the area. 

Liberty Nutrition is home based here in Liberty, MO,  All they have is an app to order from.

Smoothie King - This a location that will make your shank for you.  Search your area for this place.  They have awesome shake flavors to pick from.  There are currently 15 in the KC area.   They are also located in NE & CO.   https://www.smoothieking.com/

GNC - Search your area for this place.  They have awesome shake flavors to pick from.  They have sample sometimes when you stop in.  https://stores.gnc.com/

Supplement Super Store - Search your area for this place.  They have awesome shake flavors to pick from as well. https://supplementsuperstores.com/pages/store-locator.  Our son like the Fruity Pebbles flavor.  I sampled it and it was delicious.  

Day #1 - 4 Lent Activities

This year for Lent our church passed out a similar but different chart to do from past years.   Normally, I don't get very far but this year it's set up differently and you can pick and choose from 80 different random acts of kindness or there are also 16 blank squares that you can make up your own act of kindness.  I decided that I would draw my daily act of kindness from an envelope/hat to see what I get to do each day.  I thought this would be a fun way to do something special each day for the 40 days of lent.  

Here's are the slips of paper I drew out of the envelope for the first 4 days so far.  

Day #1 ~ Learn how to say HELLO in a different language!  I went above and beyond and decided to learn several different languages to say HELLO to people on this day.   They were:

• Spanish  - Hola
• German - Hallo
• French - Bonjour
• Hawaiian - Aloha

Day #2 ~  Donate a bag or box of clothes!

I packed this box full of 28 pairs of boys and girls jeans and stretch pants.





Day #3 ~ Leave a thank you for your mail carrier!  I've always wanted to do this at Christmas time for our mailman but never have, so I'm doing it NOW.    Of  course, I searched online for different ideas and here's what I found:

• M&M's - Thanks for driving Miles & Miles each day! Put this note with a bag of M&M's.  Super cute idea.  I pinned this to my Pinterest page a long time ago, so this is the one I choose to do.  Check it out HERE.
• COOKIES!!!  Give your mailman a box of Girl Scout Cookies during cookie season,  Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies or any type of cookies you wish with a thank you note.  Check it out HERE.
• GUM - Thanks for always going the extra mile! Check it out HERE.  I like this one a lot too!
• COFFEE - Thanks a Latte for all that you do!  Break time, go get some coffee.  Check it out HERE.

Day #4 - Do a 5K for a good cause! 

 
I didn't draw this one, I put this one on day #4 because I had already signed up to do a 5K through the preschool/church I work at.  We did a run that our home town hospital was putting on. The proceeds went to the Hospital Foundation to help families in need. What a great way to help others!

Didn't get this completed and sent our on time but here a few that I liked.  

Sticking Together!

What exactly does this mean?  It was our PTA theme this year and we carried it over into our bulletin boards as well.  The theme was the following:

FAMILIES, TEACHERS, & COMMUNITY “STICKING” TOGETHER.

Be informed.

Be Active.

Be your kid’s biggest fan.

Be Ridgeview PTA!

STICKING TOGETHER!

At first all could think was what the heck am I going to do with this.  Then the gal that came up with it said she wanted to focus on bubble gum as the families and community and glue as the teachers and staff at the school.  I went to Pinterest first to help me come up with ideas but created my own.  I have another mom helping me come up with ideas and put the boards up again every two months except for the first two boards they needed to be done quickly and we couldn't find a time to meet up.  

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER

Rolling out Aug./Sept. Events! This was a challenge to do in such a short time period once I found out what the theme was this year and have it up before school started but I got it done.  I found several different ideas online and designed my own with what I liked from each one and also did my own thing as well.  I love the crumpled up paper gumball to throw definition on the board.  The gumballs have the dates of what's happening in order rolling out of the machine.  

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER

Stuck with PTA!  I really wanted to do someone blowing a bubble out of their mouth, so I grabbed my son one day while up at the school and traced his shadow with the projector they have in the front classroom.  The big bubbles are free hand and I think turned out great! The little round bubbles are the dates of events for the next two months in order.  The pink also worked out great since it was breast cancer month.  

DECEMBER / JANUARY / FEBRUARY

Stuck On PTA!  Guess what that tree is made of?  Hmmmm, bright green sticky notes that I found at the dollar store.  The packages below the tree each have a gift tag with the dates of what's coming up, just like the first two boards this year.  I thought that was rather clever putting the dates on the tags.  It takes time doing all of this but I love it!

MARCH / APRIL

Sticking Together like glue!  Rather clever, if I do say so myself.  Love the RoadRunners spelled out with glue going from one bottle to the other.  The little bottles in the center with globs of glue coming out have the dates of events coming up in March and April.  

The apples on each glue bottle say the following:

#1 Teachers & Staff 

#1 Parents & Students

If that doesn't tie it altogether I don't know what does.

MAY - LAST BOARD OF THE YEAR!

Road Runners Sticking with PTA!  HANDS UP FOR PTA!  With this last board we asked the art teacher if she could help us out.  She had one of her classes trace their arms and hands and decorate them for us to use on the board.  The flowers at the top have the dates of events on them.  

Here's to another great year!

Library Reading Challenge ~ DONE!

I recently finished a fun challenge through my local mid-continent public library.   It was called Read to Reel. You had to read 5 books between January 15th and March 15th.  I thought they were supposed to be books that were turned into movies which is what the program stated online but the librarians said it could be any book really.  I kept to the books that were turned into movies as it was fun to read them and I picked up books I hadn't read before.  The library had lots of recommendations to choose from, with descriptions of them and most of them were checked out via electronically for online reading so it was hard to get them.   I had to find others that weren't as popular and not on the list.  Here's what I ended up reading.  Since, I completed the challenge I got the fun mug pictured above!

1.  The Last Song by Nicolas Sparks
        YouTube Trailer - The Last Song
2.  The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
        YouTube Trailer - The Girl on the Train
3.  This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
         YouTube Trailer - This is Where I Leave You
4.  The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
         YouTube Trailer - The Choice
5.  Still Alice by Lisa Genova
         YouTube Trailer - Still Alice

After reading all 5 books I started checking out the DVD movies from the library and watching them. Like always, some of them followed the books really well and others not so much but I really enjoyed all the books I picked out and the movies were all pretty good as well!   

Looking at the list above here are my thoughts on each.  

• Nicholas Sparks -  You can never go wrong with his books.  They pull you in from start to finish. 
• Paula Hawkins - Wow!  This book had me on the seat of my pants.  Make sure to write down the characters to help keep them straight or you will be flipping back trying to figure out who is who.  Great movie as well!
• Johnathan Tropper - I had no idea what this book was about when I got it.   It was on the list from the library but I forgot what it was about by the time I got it on my kindle.   It pulled me in rather quickly as it's about a family that loses their father and they come together and have to sit Shiva for a week.  But with all the dysfunction it is a long hellish week.  Read it to find out what all happens in this drama. 
• Lisa Genova - I knew that this movie was  out, but wanted to read the book first and this challenge gave me a good reason to finally pick it up.  It was kind of a tough read for me as my Grandma passed away from Alzheimer's and it was very hard to see her deteriorate and not be herself anymore.  But in the end this book was great and made me feel better and understand the disease.  Praying for a cure!

Reading Recommendations from the challenge HERE!

#lovetoread #books

Be A Star!

To finish up last school years 2014-15 bulletin board designs, here's what we created.  I now have someone on my team (another mom, yeah!) to help get them put up and come up with ideas.  This year was all about being on the RED CARPET and MOVIES!  Hope the ideas help you out.  



I put the first two boards on my blog earlier this year.  You can check them out on the sneak peak post HERE!

JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH 

APRIL / MAY

For a recap, we did the following:

August/September --- Be A Star! (Curtain Call)

October/November/December --- Be A Star and POP into PTA!

January/February/March --- Lights, Camera, Action, Only 5 More Months to Be A Star and Join RV PTA!

April/May ---  Thank You For a Picture Perfect Year!

If you decide to do this theme for PTA or any other organization have fun with it!  It's an easy one to do.  

Happy Scrappin' Everyone!

On the Edge of Your Seat!

Sooo, I went to the book store the other day to use a gift card I had gotten and had no clue what to get.  I asked the book store associate to give me some ideas and they directed me to the favorites section that the employees pick out.  After looking them all over I found several books that I hadn't heard of before that I thought would be good reads.   Before I bought the books though, I called the library right then and there in the book store to see if I could get it from them for free to read and then buy a book that the library didn't carry.  Well this particular book the library had so I didn't buy it at the bookstore.  The library did have to get it from another library in town but I got it the next day and started reading it.  I actually had to order the one book that I wanted and go back a week later to get it.  I'll do a review on that one later after I read it. 

This particular book, you won't want to put down (It's definitely a Thriller)!  It keeps you coming back for more as each chapter passes and you will want to know what's going to happen next.  It's all about One Road in and No Road Out....but what does that mean?   Ethan Burke a secret service agent is headed to town with his partner to find two other agents that have gone missing.  What happens next is just mind blowing.  He wakes up from an accident with no id, no cell phone, nothing.  The town seems to good to be real and no one really wants to help him get out.  He keeps on having to go back to the hospital but they are messing with him so he goes to the authorities for help, but that doesn't happen either.  Read the book to find out what happens to Ethan Burke.  

Plus, they made it into a television series on FOX.  At this point I can't find any links to watch session #1 but session #2 is coming out this summer 2016 so hopefully I can catch session #1 then, in order to catch up for the new session coming out!  Someone else put out there that the book and movie didn't follow each other completely but it doesn't seem like they ever do, when they make a book into a TV show or movie.    

PINES....A Wayward Pines Thriller 
By Blake Crouch

Thought I better finish up this post and just looked up the author and found out this was a Trilogy series, now I have two more books to read.  I loved the first one and can't wait to read the next two.  

Check out all 3 Wayward Pine books at Author Blake Crouch's website HERE. 

I gave this book 5 stars, hands down on Goodreads.com

PICK UP A BOOK AND READ!

#love to read #books