January 2013 Guest Blogger!

I'm very excited to have my first guest blogger. My sister! I couldn't think of a better person to guest  post first then my big sister. I used to follow her around everywhere, try on her makeup, and drive her crazy. I'm hoping to have a guest blogger every month to bring you something different and have different points of views. Enjoy!

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child. " ~Linda Sunshine

Name: Laura Goodermont
Age: 37
Kids: 12 yr old son 6 yr old twin girls
Location: Southern California
How did you find Gina's blog: Sister’s blog
Links to Find Laura:
Blog: http://foodieandbaker.blogspot.com
Twitter: @lcrazymom3
Favorite quote: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” – Maya Angelou

My name is Laura Goodermont and I am a single mom of three kids. I currently am a stay at home mom right now but will return back to the work force once my twins go to school full time. I do run a small cupcake business out of my house that I do part-time.

I’m approaching 38 and its right around the corner. And the issue of health has been my goal to focus on the last couple of years. It’s been a very slow progression and I have learned a lot by reading certain articles, watching documentaries, and learning from health experts and doctors on TV. My first step to living a healthier lifestyle was to completely change my diet for good and become a full vegetarian. Now I know most of you are probably either rolling your eyes or scrunching up your nose but this was a decision I was ready for in my life. I just couldn’t close my eyes and stay naïve of what I was putting into my body anymore and what that process was. I also started making the effort into buying more organic foods such as eggs, milk, and produce. Yes it can be expensive but you would be surprised in how many times I’ve bought organic items on sale or even found some at the .99 store.

In addition to committing to vegetarianism and veganism (no I’m not a fully committed Vegan-yet). I also started hearing things like staying active will help keep you young and help you to live a longer healthier life. As I’ve become a little bit older I now look at eating right and exercise not as a way to lose weight but as a healthier happier me.

No it is absolutely not easy at all. After all I’m a foodie and a baker! Making the effort to plan meals, portion control, and exercise every day is really hard. I’ll be the first to admit that. But as being a mom of twin girls I want to set a good healthy example for them. And I want to stick around for all my kids as long as my body will last. But you have to take care of your body just like you take care of your children’s. That in itself can be a very hard thing to do for us mothers I know.

Currently my goal is to lose 40lbs. I’ve lost around 18lbs and so excited about being almost half way there. So here’s what I’m doing. I use a phone app called MyFitnessPal which helps to keep track of how many calories I eat each day, your activity (exercise), and weight tracker. I also fell in love with Zumba over a year ago and I currently just started the Zumba fitness connect on Xbox. This is great because it keeps track or your daily progress, how many minutes you work out, and the calories burned. In addition to that I take natural supplements. I use the Vegan Sport recovery drink (right after my hard workouts) and potassium for my muscles. I also take a multi vitamin, cinnamon (which helps supports sugar and fat metabolism), and Green Coffee Bean with Svetol (supports weight control). I just started taking this strict supplement regime and hope that it aids in my weight loss. Oh also forgot I’ve cut down on drinking. I try to only have a few cocktails for weekends only. I know this helps a lot with the puffiness and water retention.

I also want to mention that I’m no expert and my weight loss is a slow and hopefully permanent life style change. I’m a large woman of almost 6ft tall and like most women have gone through major body changes after having three kids (especially twins-yikes).

I’m going to include a healthy vegetarian recipe for you to try that even my picky twin girls like.
Chickpea curry (Cooking Light Janurary/February 2013)
Serves 4 (1 ¼ cups curry mixture & ½ cup rice)
Calories per serving: 305 Fat: 5.8g
2 cups of cooked basmati rice
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 ½ tsp garam masala (I add two tsp)
2 (15oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (15oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6oz) package fresh baby spinach
½ cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
½ tsp salt (I use 1 tsp)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in garam masala; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in yogurt and salt. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve over rice


Thank you to my sister Gina for inviting me to her first guest blogger and hope you all try to make your life the best and healthiest you can.
Thanks, Laura

4 Easy Ways to Make the Internet Work for You

Paying for your internet monthly? Make the internet profitable for you! I'm going to show you some of my favorite and easiest top sites. For those of you who watch me on YouTube, you may already know these sites. Most of them I've been using for years. The key to most of these sites is to use social media. Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. If you don't like to use these sites in your personal life I recommend using them just for these sites. Most social sites giveaway a lot of free stuff, so that's a reason in its self.

Swagbucks: My top pick! You can earn "Swagbuck", points you earn to get real prizes. I save mine for amazon gift cards. I have racked up quite a few in 3 years. The trick to swagbucks is using it and getting people to follow you. You get swagbucks for using their search engine, taking polls, printing coupons, looking at special offers, shopping online, and using social media.

Buzzagent: This is a WOM (word of mouth) company. This company is great because you can try out many different products for FREE. Most products are products you use every day. Every product is called a campaign. All you have to do is share your opinion on products using social media. The trick getting campaigns is by taking EVERY survey.

Influenster: This site is mainly for women. You take surveys and use social media. You can earn products and Vox Boxes. Vox Boxes are nice little boxes filled with goodies that usually have a theme. You try them out and give your opinion, you also have a chance to Win more products by doing brand challenges. The trick to getting more free products here is vlogging/blogging. Just a tip you don't have to show your face in video and you can set up a blog easily just for this. If you want an invitation to be an Influenster ? I have some so let me know and I'll get back to you ASAP .

Freebie Ninja: This guy lets you know about every freebie out there. He is amazing! Now I follow him on Facebook because it is always up to date. There's no tricks or tips here. Just fill out your forms and keep checking his timeline, because fans put freebies on there too.

“Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” -Oprah Winfrey

Do you have any favorite sites that earn money or products from?