Category Archives: Mondays Matter

03.04.13

Make Monday Matter.....nine

Posted by Christina // 2 Replies

Ohhhh Monday…we meet again.

I’m thrilled, really. I am.

What do you say we try to take over the world, shall we. This week is something that I absolutely needed a push on. Internet security. I was the girl in college that let her firewall run out and just used her computer until it shut off one day never to return again. I never “backed up” until I met Mr. Handsome. Really until I met Tim I was the perfect target for web creeps.

Now that I have seen these, I am stepping up my game. You know your spam folder is overflowing. All of those emails for “instant weight loss” and “income at home” and well…other unmentionables. Some of those emails are considered phishing emails, not to be confused with catfishing. Wink wink. Phishing is when someone sends you an email pretending to be an established enterprise in an effort to steal your personal information.

As if we don’t have enough to worry about. I mean I have a hard enough time organizing my free shipping coupons and tracking one-day only sales.

Here are a few quick and easy steps to help keep you safe. I feel like a lot of that is common sense. But ask me how much I actually follow.
Actually, don’t ask. Oh the shame.

My goals today are to change passwords, cancel auto-logins, and start a habit of closing the browser. Why does safety make life harder?

Do you have your internet habits on lock down?
Got any tips I didn’t mention?
Is your password crazy long and numerical?

02.25.13

Make Monday Matter.....eight

Posted by Christina // 10 Replies

Have you ever been really, really hungry?

This weekend I told Tim that I was withering away because it was 3 p.m. and I hadn’t eaten. I was hangry….beyond hangry.

Thankfully I have never known true hunger. My mom worked in a grocery store growing up so we were always “the house with the full pantry”. I never had to worry if I wouldn’t have dinner, and most nights I actually complained about what we were eating. What a brat.

Cut to college, a much poorer-and skinnier-version of myself. You could find me scavenging for home cooked meals.

“Oh you live in town?”
“Does your mom make meatloaf?”
“Does she love meeting your friends?”

Although I was far from starving, I finally understood what hungry meant.

So it is not easy for me to relate to those starving kids in Africa, instead my heart just breaks. What hurts even more is that there are millions of kids just like them here in America. Going to bed hungry every night.

This week, I want to help. I can’t believe some of those numbers.

Especially since I always overeat because I don’t want to be wasteful. I know I am not the only one, I mean we are the fattest country in the world right?

When I was growing up, I was so affected by the starving kids commercials that I wanted to set up a “send to hungry bin” next to our recycle bin where you put all of your uneaten food to send to those kiddos. My dad wasn’t down, something about it rotting. But how great would that be, if we could just send the rest of our fries to someone hungry.

I decided that today I am going to take the money I have saved by not eating out for lunch every day and give it to our local food pantry. I love when donations stay local, you never know who you are helping. It could be your neighbor…and one day it could be you. If we are being honest, it pains me to see homeless people in my hometown…but I almost never give them money. I have a much easier time giving them a little bag of Doritos, and it’s an incredible feeling when you see the gratitude in their eyes. I always try to have snacks in my car, just in case.

Do you all have any ideas to help the hungry?
I’m listening.

02.18.13

Make Monday Matter...seven

Posted by Christina // 6 Replies

Can you believe this is our seventh Monday?
Already?

Today’s challenge is near and dear to my little pittering heart.

There is nothing I love more than our military.
Except maybe nachos, I do love nachos.

No matter your political beliefs, or how you feel about war…you have to respect people who are willing to lay their lives on the line day in and day out for all the freedoms we take for granted. I am not tough enough, even though I would love to serve our country, I am just not that brave.

I always try to show support, donate, and send love to our military.
Today I hope you will join me. I hope today you can take a few minutes out of your day to write a little note of encouragement and appreciation to our American heroes.

Don’t know a soldier personally?
Here is a great resource to help you say thanks.

All this challenge has to cost you is a little time and one stamp….unless you are like me and sending out as many letters as you can write from the heart before your hand cramps. Holler for soldiers.

02.11.13

Make Mondays Matter....six

Posted by Christina // 4 Replies

Holy lazy weekend….
We did a whole lot of nada.

Did anyone conquer the world this weekend?
Please, inspire me. We all get it….and we all hate it.

Junk Mail.

Most of the time we just toss it when we get it, right? So why is it that we are willing to bring our own cloth shopping bags and drive electric cars to help save the world but we aren’t willing to actively reduce our paper collection.

I know it’s not just me that has a collection of catalogs and a stack of credit card offers. Please tell me it is not just me.

Can you believe that? Eight months opening junk mail, when you already toss almost half of it. What a waste, ain’t nobody got time for dat.

Did you know that if you reduce your junk mail you can save 500 pieces of mail per year, per person. That is a lot of paper.

But how? Today, take an hour out of your day to get yourself off some mailing lists. The Direct Marketing Associations Mail Preference Service is a great place to start.

Remember that top you ordered two years ago, still getting their catalogs? Take ten minutes to call and get removed from their mailing list.

If nothing else, at least set up a small recycling bin to throw all that paper in.

Then pat yourself on the back.

02.04.13

Make Monday Matter....five

Posted by Christina // 10 Replies

This week is a little near and dear to my heart.

I also think it is perfect for anyone that was going strong on their New Years resolutions, but Super Bowl maybe crushed the whole “I am eating so great these pounds better fall of soon” dreams.

And by the way, for anyone that HAS kept their resolutions going strong…
where is our parade?
Seriously, I have not had a soda or a fingernail since 2012 and I think that deserves a blimp and marching band or something.

Stepping off the soapbox now.
I don’t like to share this often but it’s been a part of my life for a few years now.

I have high blood pressure.

It runs in the family, but my love of Mexican food doesn’t help.
I have tried to get it under control without medication for quite sometime, and I am doing well but I really want it to be super-extra-ultra good before I try to do the whole let’s-grow-a-human-inside-of-me thing. Don’t get excited mom, we still have a few years. I figure I better start now.

A lot of health issues face me in my future, and as I get a little older everyday I realize I need to take action now. Bring on the veggies. I know it is really easy to run to Taco Bell for dinner when you busy.
Trust me, I know.

Let’s make a deal….no Taco Bell tonight okay.

I mean, I am sure we all know that America is known as obesity capital of the world. But did you know that we spend $66 billion annually for high blood pressure. I gotta say, I don’t want to be a part of that. Let’s do this. I am here for you mmmkay.

01.28.13

Make Mondays Matter...four

Posted by Christina // 8 Replies

Hey y’all…hope your weekend was fantastic. We have been unbelievably busy these days with birthdays, crafts, and adventures. It has been a total blast and I can’t wait to share everything with you.

While life has handed us many blessings and the laughs have been plentiful my mind often wanders to something a little more serious.

Hurricane Katrina was almost eight years ago, can you believe it? I remember the chaos like it was yesterday. I remember how unprepared everyone, including the government was. For a very long time I thought that Katrina was a once in a lifetime event. Then came Hurricane Sandy.

People were without food and water and crying out for help. It broke my heart.

I realized that Tim and I are totally unprepared. And we live on a fault line. And every year I freak about tornadoes. And then there was the flood of 1993.

And then I read One Second After. Make a plan, and get prepared. If nothing else just run by the store today and buy a couple of gallons of water, a first aid kit, some flashlights, blankets, and rice.

Tim and have recently started collecting dry food goods and water, and we have a spot in the basement for emergency supplies. We have made a plan to buy a gallon of water…which by the way is only eighty cents….every time we go grocery shopping. With it being so cold outside, we are both putting a candle and blankets in our car.

We obviously hope we never have to use any of it, but having a plan today will help reduce panic if anything were to happen.