charity
This post is sponsored by Arm & Hammer™ Truly Radiant™.
Do you have a moment or experience that you’ve been through that you constantly go back to in your mind? A moment you replay or strive to live up to again or just relish in the memory of the enjoyment or satisfaction?
I do. A few actual. Clearly the birth of my son was a pretty awesome experience in my life, but if I look beyond that, my highlight reel always pauses at the finish line of my first triathlon.
Honestly, completing any triathlon for the first time probably would have stuck with me for awhile, but this one was different because of what I’d been going through at the time and everything that lead up to that monumental finish.
If you’ve been reading for awhile {awhiiiiile} you already know my story. It’s the reason this blog exists, so I’d have an outlet to vent and whine and virtually cry without annoying my family anymore than I already had.
Years ago, out of nowhere, a large bruise appeared on the top of my foot. Instead of fading, it grew and grew, and became more and more painful. The pain spread across my foot, getting worse and worse. As I hunted for an answer, it spread to my other foot. I continued to knock down the doors of a thousand different doctors as it spread to both my hands. I’d reached a point where it consumed my life; everything hurt and simple tasks became nearly impossible. It hurt to walk, to write, to button my pants. But mostly, it crushed my mental resilience. I was depressed and just short of hopeless.
For whatever reason, months and months into the journey, I reached into the deepest depths of my last little bit of mental strength left and decided if I couldn’t physically make myself better I was going to do everything I could to conquer this obstacle in a different way.
I’d been a runner all my life, in some shape or form. I was always active and enjoyed exercising and physical activity. This had brought it all to a halt and that was just one of the many reasons I had a hard time dealing with it – I had no mental outlet left. I couldn’t just take off and run and let the endorphins sort things out for me.
I had to find a way to replace those endorphins, so I got the ridiculous idea to sign up for a triathlon – it would force me to try new things like biking and swimming. I’d figure out the running part later.
Low and behold, months later, I crossed that finish line. It may not have been the most graceful or the most glorious of race moments, but it was pivotal to me. I learned I conquer anything if I put my mind and will to it, even if my body didn’t want to make it easy for me.
Now when things get tough, I look back on that moment and the journey that led up to it, and it’s easier to put things in perspective.
That’s my Truly Radiant Finish. What’s yours?
P.S. As you can see, this post is sponsored by Arm & Hammer™ Truly Radiant™. Through the end of 2015, they’re commemorating #TrulyRadiantFinish moments and allowing women to give back at the same time. They’ve partnered with City of Hope Cancer Treatment Center to launch a social media initiative encouraging women to share their radiant moments using #TrulyRadiantFinish on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and will donate $1 to City of Hope for each use of the hashtag. So get sharing your truly radiant moments so they can get donating!
They also have a line of TrulyRadiant products, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a rinse, to help give a “truly radiant finish” in your every day life. I didn’t think teeth cleansers would interest me but I actually really like the toothbrush and toothpaste. The brush has a spinny head that feels cool when you brush and the toothpaste is kind of baking-soda—y in a good way {not too strong a taste, but refreshing}. So there’s that.
Again, this is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Arm & Hammer™.
Fun
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ZYRTEC®.
This morning I “woke up” to my two year old perched on top of my belly, peering closely into my face. He was poking his chubby little toddler fingers into my eyes, prying open my eyelids. “Wake up eyes, mommy, wake up!”
The last thing I wanted to do was open my eyes. Not just because it wasn’t quite yet six o’clock in the morning, but after an evening spent at a party on an outdoor patio, my eyes were heavy with leftover pollen and puffiness. Ahh, spring. Love it/hate it. Mostly love it. Except for ALLERGY FACE™.
If you succumb to pollen like I do, you know what I’m talking about it. The itchy, watery eyes. The puffy eyelids. The red and swollen nose.
I naively thought I’d escaped allergy season this year as the husband sat sniffling and blowing his nose in the early weeks of spring and I sat there perfectly happy and normal. Then a week later, it hit me. Full-force. And hasn’t stopped yet, though I can hardly imagine how there’s any pollen left after the massive onslaught we had in April – the type of never ending piles of yellow dust that even a good rainstorm can’t wash away.
Even when it eases up a bit, I’m still left with puffy, watery eyes in the morning. Even if you’re not trying to competely hide the effects of ALLERGY FACE™ {I mean face it, sometimes there’s no point}, it can still be tough to wear make-up when you’re battling allergies. Celebrity makeup artist Jamie Greenberg pulled together some tips for ZYRTEC® on how to combat allergy face and still look your best. With tips like sporting bright red lips so you don’t have to worry about watery eyes ruining your mascara, using a highlighting concealer to distract you from the redness, and using cat-eye style liner to demphasize puffy under eyes, Jamie has some great and simple solutions. You can find the six “ALLERGY FACE™” looks she developed here.
Join ZYRTEC® on Twitter Tuesday, June 3rd from 6-7pm for an ALLERGY FACE™ Twitter party. Participants will be entered to win up to $500 in Sephora giftcards, perfect to use towards combating your allergy face. {Simply use the hashtag #AllergyFace to participate.}
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ZYRTEC®.
charity
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Good Scout.
Monday officially wrapped up the 2013-2014 Junior League year, though there are still a few things going on the rest of the month. It’s always sad to see a year end, but it’s also great to be able to look back at the impact we’ve made as a group of women on our community. This year, just counting two events, we raised a little shy of $150K. As in thousands. That’s a huge huge deal for our not so huge huge town.
During the year when there are a thousand meetings and I’m occasionally stressing on getting a million things done, the husband always asks why I do it when I don’t have to. It’s an easy answer: volunteering has always been a part of me. My high school emphasized community service, my sorority in college worked with the Make a Wish Foundation and Susan G. Komen, and Junior League fills my volunteer role as an “adult”.{<—how old do I have to be to stop using quotes here?} In between official fundraising and volunteer duties with specific organizations, I’m always willing to support another cause, either by participating or donating. I’ve always leaned towards the participation side; I like to get involved and get my hands dirty. Some people prefer to support causes financially instead. Sometimes there’s a crossover between the two, like riding a bike for 24 hours to raise money for cancer.
Good Scout is working on understanding the “donor experience” – why people choose to give the way they do and what ways they preferred to be asked to give or participate. They’re a “social good consultancy” that helps brands do a better job at doing “greater good”. They’re hosting an online focus group {several actually} to get a better picture of the why and how of charitable giving. If you’re like me, you’re asked a 1,000 times a year to give or help in some way or another, and that number seems to increase every year. Good Scout is looking to figure out what people prefer when it comes to being asked to give in order for brands or organizations to make a better impact. If you participate in one of the focus groups you’ll receive an Amazon gift card for $20. The online survey lists the dates and times of the focus group.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Good Scout.
What drives you to give? Do you prefer donating money or time?
Baby
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Well.
I’d started writing a post over on tiny sneakers a couple weeks back {and never finished, shocker} about how much easier a toddler is than a baby. I could probably still write write that post, but had I published it before last week I would’ve had to eat my words.
It was spring break and the husband was out of town, meaning no school and the toddler and I were on our own for a week. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but sometimes a little break and some adult company goes a long way. 
Only, The Kynado decided to throw a wrench in the already off-normal week. He got sick.
What I thought was just allergies {goodness knows we’re all hurting from them this year} rapidly turned into pinkeye and a never-ending toddler plague. Meaning instead of filling our days with parks, projects, potty training, and play, we were stuck inside, mostly glued to the couch.
The second I saw the goop in his eye, I knew what it was. I can only remember having pinkeye once – it was in college {when I wore contacts} and it was dreadful. I knew he’d be super contagious if it was bacterial and he didn’t get on antibiotics soon, but it was nearing after-hours at the ped’s office and he was so miserable I couldn’t imagine dragging him to sit in the waiting room.
Instead I tried out American Well, one of those mobile doctor-on-your-phone apps. You can see doctors or nutritionists from your computer or phone 24-7 and they even take insurance which is cool. I’m not sure I’d do it for every ailment, but definitely for nutrition and definitely for this quick visit that I knew we needed. {I had a coupon code for a free appointment – you can have one too: use SPRING to get a free doc visit {$49} or free nutrition visit {$25}. As long as you register in April, you can use the code for a year – aka wait until you need it.} It’s HIPAA-secure and they can share notes with your regular physician, which is convenient.
We waited maybe three minutes for the family physician I picked to review our files and then she popped up on the screen. It was perfect because my cranky toddler could stay cuddled up in my lap distracted by some random truck song on YouTube on the TV. She quickly confirmed what I’d suspected and sent an Rx to the pharmacy while KB was thoroughly distracted by “doctor on phone! doctor on phone!” He kept trying to grab the phone from me and wanted to keep waving bye-bye after she was gone. Anyways, an hour later he had his drops and woke up almost goop-free. Hooray for quick treatment.
So I should probably still write that post about toddler’s being easier, even if only so I can go back and remind myself that when we’re having a rough day.
Have you ever tried a mobile doc? What are your thoughts? In true toddler fashion, I’m still hearing requests for the “doctor on phone, mommy!”
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Well.
Holidays
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cottonelle.
I can think of a lot of things I’d like to have more of. Cookies. Dollar bills. Gluten-dairy-soy free foods. Time. Sunshine. Energy.
I say most of those things as I joke, but I’m not so un-serious about the time part. Time with my family to be specifically. Actually being a family, not doing 394 different things all at the same time. To spend the holidays soaking up the season, cherishing the twinkling Christmas lights and the smell of evergreen. Savoring each moment as my son experience’s the first Christmas where he’s aware something special is happening. To have my husband not traveling for work, missing bedtime stories and bath times. Wrapping presents for weeks. Burning frosted cranberry candles when it sun sets too early. A glass of wine at 5 when the kiddo’s asleep, sitting down to … nothing.
To revel in the moment of having nothing to do {what’s that?}. Not worry about cleaning up after a hurricane of a meal with toddler three times a day. Forget about the bills that need to be paid and paperwork I need to. Toss aside the research I need to do for an article and instead curl up with a good novel, drinking hot apple cider while the husband watches football.
Instead I’d like to spend that time watching my son’s face light up as he finds his stuffed elf hiding in a new place each morning. Laughing in awe as he counts all the snowmen on the Christmas tree and finds each ornament as we call them out. Big bird! Football! Rocking horse! Heart! Train! {He finds them all. I’m thinking about rearranging them and seeing what happens.}
Spending more moments watching him jump on my bed or in his crib and telling me what sounds all the different animals make. {Most of them roar, of course.}
If I had 25% more time to cram into the holiday season, it’d be right here in my living room, living for the moment. Having 25% more of whatever you desire this holiday season makes an impact. Be it time, money, peppermint bark, or toilet paper, more is better.
So in case what you desire more of this holiday season is in fact toilet paper {or money}, you’re in luck. Here’s a giveaway for a chance to win $500 from American Express DAILY between Dec 9 – 20h. And since more is better, the winner also gets $500 for a charity of their choice. Now that’s what the holidays are about.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cottonelle.
