Manic Mondays Are Back!

I know it's what you, who have came to my blog want to read about~ how Monday's suck right?! lol
Well, they do, particularly if you are not ready for them.  Today was especially hard to get going as I had to attend a work function this weekend, so there was not much of a break in the weekend.

Now, heading into a full work week may be a bit tougher than usual, but the best advice I can give anyone is to pace yourself.  It's going to be a long week.

Make sure to eat your breakfast or pack a lunch.  Pacing yourself may come in the form of a nap after work on Mondays, or a relaxing bubble bath.  You may want to pick up some convenient dinners so there is more time to relax.  Perhaps, that can help you to free up time so you can work on any extra tasks in this time so you don't get behind.  It does save time to not have to cook or clean, but it probably is not the most nutritious so don't forget to have some extra vitamins or even eat a small salad when you need a snack.

Everyday, when I am working and when I finally do arrive home, I go straight away to pick out my clothes for the next day.  If an outfit is questionable in look or size, I may try it on or see if things still fit.  This way, when morning comes as hectic as it already is, my clothes are all ready.  If I don't do this I know I won't have time to change my mind so much on what I want to wear.  So doing this the night before really helps.

Packing up lunches, or the most part also helps in time saving.  One can prepare your sandwich toppings or put out the bag and snacks, like a piece of washed fruit or something of that nature.    If you do wake up late, at least you will not starve all day or have to spend your hard earned money at the cafeteria.  I detest that.  You may decide to spend money there sometimes, but I don't suggest writing over your paycheque for overpriced and expensive sandwiches and soups.  You likely already have groceries in your cupboard to bring these things to work yourself.

You can also program your coffee maker and measure out the grounds and such so it brews before you wake up.  That makes the day a lot better.  If you are over coffee and would prefer a smoothie, then put the washed and chopped up ingredients in a bag or a container for easy blending in the morning.  You could also blend the foods the night before, but you will lose a lot of the nutritional value by the time you drink your smoothie in the morning.  But just saying, it's a great way to get going in the morning.

Now, if you have children, all these time saving tips practically have to be done on a regular basis, such as getting clothes ready for the morning and lunches semi-packed, perhaps make your pancake batter and put it in the fridge the night before for easy breakfast preparation.  I could see how much more one would have to "get ready" if there are kids in the family.

Anyways, speaking of time saving I must cut this post short and if anyone else has some time and pace saving tips~ feel free to leave me a message here.  I would love to hear more about how you carve out more time :) Cheers!

Valentine's Day Coming Right Up

What are you doing on that special and romantic day, called Valentine's Day?  It is sort of a commercialised day and while some couples are good at planning romantics without a lot of money, some are not.

So, I thought I would look back on some ways that men have surprised me with romance without having a lot of mula, and help you out with some suggestions.  These ideas may or may not have been presented to me on Valentine's Day, and some not at all but I wished they would have been.  So not all are tried and tested to be true exactly or are they conventional for just that day.  But  some should help you out- especially if you forgot and are in a pinch to do something special. Again, this can go for both genders, so don't think it's JUST up to the man in a relationship to be the romantic one.

So, first off, a little money doesn't hurt, even a few dollars could go a long way- just to pick up some chocolates and they could be very good ones, or you can buy your significant other their favourite chocolate bar and present it wrapped in a ribbon with a cute card (the dollar store has sufficient cards and ribbon or you can handcraft one), and be sure to write some romantic and meaningful in it.  Right there, only a couple bucks.

You can cook dinner at home and have candles lit when your loved one arrives. So if you have spaghetti sauce and pasta, Parmesan and perhaps a bottle of wine, already in the pantry then it could be a great way to save money and use what you already have.  And for dessert, sometimes less is more.  You could use a touch of white chocolate and milk chocolate, melted in a fondue pot or just use a glass bowl over a pot that it fits on, and melt the chocolate over very hot water.  Then some fresh fruits can be washed, dried and prepared in pieces to dip them into the melted chocolates.  You might have on hand fruit like bananas, strawberries or pineapples.  All delicious on their own or in a fondue session.  Milk chocolate chips work great as well! If you don't have the fruit, simply melt the chocolate and pour it into some sort of heart shaped mold.  Perhaps a little batch of cookies (or even store bought could do the trick) and set out on plate.  Sweet tooth people will NEED something to officiate it's Valentine's Day, so please know the person whom you are trying to woo and impress.

But if you are not such a good cook, even when it comes to boiling water and you couldn't scratch two bucks together to save yourself, then try another approach.  I would suggest not being totally empty handed with ideas, and maybe you can put together a romantic play list of music and have some romantic dance time together.  Then you could decide if you want to play a romantic or another genre movie, or you could have an ace up your sleeve and have the bathtub cleaned and ready to draw a bath.  If it's your wife she would definitely appreciate some spa time after a hard week at work.  It's nice to also come home to a clean house, so maybe if you have time to clean or tidy up- that could be a good start to preparing for a cozy and simple night in.  Dishes being cleaned and put away is always welcomed even Valentine's Day aside!

What if you are crunched for time and had to stay late at work, even on Valentine's Day?  Perhaps the industry you work in just works later all the time.  So if you know this will be the case, you could celebrate Valentine's Day prior on a day you may have off, or you can use a half vacation day and take the morning or evening off- (book ahead).  This will automatically show your loved one some special consideration that you would not miss that day or in lieu of, that they should not miss out on any romance.  Then make them breakfast in bed or you can write a love letter and women spray it with perfume - men with cologne?

Perhaps have a long-stemmed rose ready to go with it and their favourite coffee or tea, or even a coffee mug filled with English toffee candies, and well it should be a hit.  I would recommend your love letter is sincere and to the best of your abilities of writing one.  For instance, don't just write to so-and-so from you, and don't just write "love you" -unless that is something special that you both know of.  I once got a card like that and to say the least it looked effortless.  Put something in the content that will melt a heart.

Sometimes you might have a couple movie tickets that came free with something else laying around.  It's time to use those up and provided you have enough money for your movie snacks, you can also probably survive with out them.  That aside, there are also many great movies on Netflix.

You might want to take a drive, provided the roads and weather is favourable in February, where you might live and get out of the house and the city.  You could go to a look out spot over your city or town and take in the sunset, have some cup of noodles soups and a thermos of hot water and make it a elegant time.  To make it more fun, provided it's allowed and available, you could light a fire in a park metal fire pit as well, and use that as entertainment.  If you are far away from the city lights, you could do some star gazing and who knows, maybe you both will see something in the night sky that surprises you such as a shooting star or an unidentified flying object, jetting off to an unknown galaxy.

Anyways, I also had been given hand made gifts such as a customized t-shirt or pencil with my name on it and some drawing paper.  If your loved one is a smoker, perhaps you can pre-make a beaded lighter case or something of that nature.  I was once was given a amethyst stone bracelet and that is nice since my birthday is on Valentine's Day, and so my birthstone is an amethyst.  Those are a few cheap and sweet ideas for a Valentine's Day gift, but of course you are not limited to those.  It's nice to look on deal sites for extra special things you may otherwise not be able to afford, such as a dinner for two at a special place or maybe some lingerie, or even just something you know your lovie would appreciate.

I think the most important advice I could give any man or woman, and this is being said you care about the person in your life- do NOT stand them up.  If you do plan something and tell them to be ready or will be meeting them at a time, please stick to it.  Also, don't treat it just like a regular day and fall asleep snoring on the couch.  At least attempt to do something with that person, even if it's just have a dance to a song or a nice chat and a hug.  I am no relationship expert by any means and my disclaimer would be, that perhaps nothing works out for you if you take the cheap way and you don't "Get Lucky" but these ideas are merely just ways you can connect and make it a special day~!

Have a great week!

Photo Book Your Memories!

It seems these days we take pictures with our digital cameras or devices, store them on our computers or storage devices and if we get around to developing them or showing them to our friends, we don't have the pictures in one spot or some pictures don't even see the light of day.

If you are a bit of an amateur photographer, then this could be just the thing to showcase those lovely and well hunted for photos.  Why not make yourself a classic and clean looking photo book, where you can put your most cherished and impressive digital pictures together?  It can also serve as a nice coffee table book for display.

I will try to put together a special photo book in memory of my Grandma.  If you have some pictures of your family or perhaps some of your own photography it can be admired and used as a portfolio book.  Those are just a couple ideas and you can find plenty of deals when it comes to buying photo books.

I suggest checking around on such deal sites like Groupon, Wag Jag or more for a great deal to save money on a photo book as you can save some money!  Also, Staples offers photo book services.  I hope that helps.

Have a great week!

Attention Chocolate Lovers!

Dimmed lights, candles, romantic music and chocolate are primary to set the mood for any couples evening in.   Cupid has come out to play and get ready for the most romantic day of the year~ Valentine's Day! 

You don't have to be in a relationship to enjoy this sweet deal and it's healthy too! 

I had visited ZexyBerry this weekend and tried their fondue cup this weekend and it's was truly amazing!!!

I loved the milk chocolate melted fondue chocolate and the fresh fruit was so fabulous!
ZexyBerry is a new retail store that serves chocolate lover's in Sunridge Mallm and it certainly had everything when it came to fruit and chocolate treats!  I recommend the beautiful hand-dipped chocolate strawberries box, or your choice of other fruit, with dark and white swizzles.  I can see this being a new favorite regular!!!
 
For only $20, enjoy yourself a Chocolate Fondue Package for Two.  It comes with only the freshest fruit including strawberries, pineapple, kiwis and bananas.  You have the choice of melted white, dark, or milk fondue chocolates and 2 skewer dipping sticks that certainly make it easier to eat.

Check out today's deal, because it's sweet like honey!

http://www.swarmjam.com/waf.srv/sj/sj/cn/auction_ActionLogoff?ONSUCCESS=home.jsp