Friendly Friday Starts One Hour Earlier Tonight

We (Christi, Xenia, and myself) decided to start Friendly Friday one hour earlier which will be at 10:00 pm CST tonight. This will make it easier for people who want to add their name before going to bed.   Come join the fun and meet new bloggers and make new friends. If interested, check back here later this evening for the posting of Friendly Friday.

For those of you who do not have blogs, you can join in, too, by going to visit the blogs listed.  I promise you that you will find great variety and some very interesting, talented bloggers.  And keep checking back because some bloggers are planning to add their blogs to the list tonight, some tomorrow, and some may even add their blog on Saturday morning.

Summertime “Dieting”

Although it’s not officially summer, summertime is here. This is the time of year when many people are thinking about dieting and all the different diets out there such as the hcg diet.   I don’t actually diet anymore, I just eat healthy the majority of the time.  I try to eliminate unhealthy fats and use olive oil as much as possible.  Fiber is a must, and there are great breads, granola bars, and cereals these days with a good amount of fiber.  Popcorn is great too.  Add in lean meat and lots of fresh veggies and in-season fruits for a nice healthy “diet.”

Friendly Friday: 5/28/10


Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other!

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!

We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love)…

Who doesn’t love to read about delicious food, find new recipes to try and drool over their pictures? At One Crazy Cookie, Tiffanee offers ideas for every meal, from appetizers to freezer meals to desserts, with a dose of money-saving tips thrown in and a menu plan every Monday for inspiration. You can’t go wrong and you’ll love her warm writing style! Now, please excuse me while I go back to yearning for those Cream Cheese Brownie Bites…

Niky at Design It Chic loves everything pretty and chic and fills her blog with an assortment of thoughts and questions, some of which are both humorous but still thought-provoking. I mean, what do you do when your socks rip? Each week Niky shares a little about herself in her answer and you’ll have a great time getting to know her this way. Plus, she’s right – no one wants neighbors who shovel at 5:45 am!

With the motto “One life = 1000 things left to try,” Mayra at In Lovely Heels provides a place to find inspiration. Whether it be for your home, family, sweet tooth or life, she encourages readers to pursue their dreams and surround themselves with happiness. You’ll find great ideas for home decor and fashion, as well as be able to follow Mayra’s wonderful journey to discover her passion for baking. When do I get a Pink Crafty Room?

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Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Hi!  I’m Charla, and I’m the blogger here for those of you who are new to Healthy Home Blog.   Since Friday Follow ended this last week, Christi at The Frugal Novice , Xenia at Thanks Mail Carrier and I have teamed up to create something new for each Friday called Friendly Friday We wrote Lynn at Midday Escapades and she’s wished us the best with this new venture.  We hope you’ll participate so we can continue to get to know more of the great bloggers that are out there!  There’s still something fun to be a part of every Friday and still an opportunity to meet more awesome bloggers and make new friends, which is what it’s all about!

We’ll post the link list each week at 11pm on Thursdays CST. Include your link in our list, start blog hopping and be sure to comment and follow through Google Friend Connect.  This is a great way to show blog love and get to know each other.  By the way, I’m new to Friend Connect, and I appreciate everyone who follows me.  I will follow you, too!  We bloggers need to help and support each other.

If someone from Friendly Friday comments on your blog, be sure to return the favor and follow them back.  I like to remember the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  This way, everyone gets traffic and followers.  We all help each other out.   If you’d like to make a Friendly Friday post, you can include this with a link back to Friendly Friday.

Also, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many awesome blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week.  I’m excited about that!

We hope you’ll be a part of Friendly Friday and spread the word to your friends! We look forward to getting to know you and provide a great way for bloggers to support each other.

Here’s a little bit about the three of us:

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I’m Christi. I’m 28 years old, and have lived in Texas all my life. I’m a Christian and love the church family we’ve found in our town. I do advertising sales and design, and do a lot of freelance work on the side. I’m married to Brian, a graphic designer, and we have two adorable little boys – J, who will be 3 in August, and C, who turned 1 in April. My other “baby” is our 6-year-old miniature dachshund, Josie. I love spending time with my friends and family, baking, crafty things, shopping (for bargains), and working on fixing up our 1972 house bit by bit. I’ve had a family blog since 2007 when J was born, but started The Frugal Novice more recently after my mom encouraged me to give it a try. I love blogging and all the friends I’ve made through the process. I started my blog focusing solely on ways to save money, but quickly decided that if I’m going to write I want it to be about all sorts of different things I love, so it’s expanded a little since its start.

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Hi everyone, I’m Xenia. I apologize right off the bat that your brain is wondering how in the world to pronounce my name, but I’ll just blame my mom for wanting me to be unique. Try not to let the X throw you off, it’s Za-knee-a, with the stress on the second syllable. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s nice to meet you! Over at Thanks, Mail Carrier, my wonderful husband, 3 and 1-year-old daughters and I love the vrooooom sound the mail truck makes when it heads down our block. Who doesn’t get excited about receiving mail and wouldn‘t like to know what the best products are that they could have their mail carrier deliver right to their door? I love knowing that the information I give to readers helps peak their interest and hopefully aids them in becoming a better consumer and I take a lot of pride in my thorough, honest reviews of items of all kinds. When we’re not trying out great new products, my girls and I love to spend time with good friends and fit as much laughter into the day as possible. Stop by anytime and say hello!

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Hi!  I’m Charla, definitely the oldest of the three.  In fact, I’m Christi’s mom, and I can tell you that it’s such a blessing to have a daughter who is also one of my best friends.  Here are some things about me: I’m not only a Christian wife, mother of two, mother-in-law, and grandmother to Christi & Brian’s two precious little boys, but also a teacher.  I taught school in the Texas public school system for 19 years, and this past year I’ve been doing substitute teaching, hoping to get a full time teaching job again in the fall.  I was encouraged and motivated by our son (a college student) to start blogging back in the summer of 2007, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sure, the money helps out, but what I value most is the connection to all my blogger friends.   My favorite thing to do? Spend time with my wonderful family!
Now, on to the fun part – add your link! Thanks so much for being a part of the very first Friendly Friday!

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Door Mats for Father’s Day?

I was just thinking how Father’s Day is just around the corner.  What do you get a guy for a gift?  Girls are usually easier to shop for, but sometimes I have a hard time coming up with a creative idea for my husband.  There’s always something for his car like door mats or some kind of accessory.   Maybe I should have him make a list and then choose from that.

Defragmenting Computer Hard Drives

When it comes down to defragmenting my computer hard drive, I usually never think about it.  That’s bad, isn’t it!   Fortunately, my husband does it for me when my computer starts running slowly, etc.  I just don’t think about hard drives and what needs to be done to keep my computer healthy.  Instead, my mind is on what ideas I have for writing posts and trying to get the ideas written down in my “Blog Notebook” so I don’t forget. I’m thinking about creating on the computer rather than the maintenance of it!

A Healthy Diet

I weighed last week and was happy to see that I have lost all of the weight I put on during the Christmas holidays.  I won’t need any thermogenic fat burners, but I will continue to try to eat healthy and still allow myself treats now and then.  White flour products are rarely eaten, and mostly whole grain products are in my diet as well as low-fat meats, extra-virgin olive oil, and lots of fruits and veggies.  That’s a healthy diet!

Savvycents Wallet Giveaway at Frugal Novice

Christi is giving away this cool wallet, valued at $24.95 and designed by Melinda at Savvycents.  Melinda designed the wallet so there would be different categories for cash which is great for those who are using the “Envelope System” for budgeting money.  But the wallet is also great for those who are not and for those who use coupons or just like to be organized.  This giveaway runs through midnight on May 6, so if you’re interested then sign up at Frugal Novice.  And while you’re there, be sure to check out her site.   It’s great!  (and it just happens to have some absolutely adorable pictures of our little grandsons)     GIVEAWAY IS OVER!

Different Forms of Advertising

We know some people who work in advertising, and they handle different forms of advertising from newspapers, brochures, and pamphlets to ads on the glass front of a business.  They might handle some insurance advertising from time to time as they deal with different types of businesses.  We have done some of our own advertising in the form of flyers and making our own business cards.   And a lot of us have probably done simple advertising in the form of a garage sale sign, or maybe as a child made a sign to advertise a lemonade stand.   Whatever the form of advertising, it serves a purpose to communicate with people.

Hey, It’s Me…Finally


Finally after blogging for over two and a half years, I’m putting a picture of myself on Healthy Home Blog.  For a long time, it was because of the privacy issue.  Then for a while it was because I didn’t have any pictures of me by myself.   Recently, though, because of my daughter putting pictures of herself, our s-i-l, and our young grandsons on her blog and because of Lori’s post from a Cowboy’s Wife, I’ve decided that I really should put pictures on here to make it more personable.  Our son took a picture of me recently that I decided to post.  It’s pretty much how I look half of the time.  Sometimes I will wear my hear down, but I like to pull it back, twist it and put it up in a clip when the weather gets warm (or I’m having a bad hair day).


UBP10 After-Party!

For those of you who are not familiar with UBP10, that stands for the “Ultimate Blog Party 2010” which is hosted yearly by 5MinutesForMom.com and involves hundreds of people.  It’s a great way to meet new bloggers, discover a lot of great blogs, and also have a chance to win some awesome prizes.  I’ve discovered several new blogs that I’ll enjoy visiting again, and here are three of them: