Earlier this week, I had the chance to go to Natural Recharge in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to try something I’ve never done before… Reflexology.  According to Dictionary.com, reflexology is “a system of massaging specific areas of the foot or sometimes the hand in order to promote healing, relieve stress, etc., in other parts of the body.”

OK, if you’re anything like me (a bit of an “alternative medicine” skeptic), you’re thinking, “Yeah, that stuff doesn’t work.” Well, people, you would be wrong. I was wrong. Reflexology does work. So much so, that when I woke up the next morning, I was sore – as if I’d gotten a full-body massage. But, it was that delicious kind of sore. I felt so relaxed, and at ease – despite the soreness (which a couple of Aleve took care of). And, the staff and atmosphere at Natural Recharge was phenomenal.

Guy, this appointment alone may have made me an “alternative medicine” convert. While I won’t be shucking “traditional medicine” anytime soon, I will most definitely be incorporating some alternative methods into my lifestyle.

In fact, I’ll be heading back to Natural Recharge soon, to get a couple of other treatments:

• Mini Raindrop Massage - Massage experts will present the process of integrating Essential Oils and a massage together for either emotional or physical well-being. The Raindrop Technique is a relaxing and energizing sequence of applying therapeutic-grade essential oils combined with specialized massage techniques that bring structural and electrical alignment to the body.
• Zyto Compass Scan - This simple assessment uses your skin’s electricity to determine bio-markers and the body’s systems out of balance (not diagnostic, for educational purposes only). Using the Zyto Compass Scan with the use of Young Living Essential Oils and Nutritional Products can help you measure overall improvements weekly or monthly.  It also can give you an indication of stressed systems in your body. Each scan provides a full detailed report of biomarkers out of sync.

I can’t wait!

About Natural Recharge

Natural Recharge is a wellness center offering alternatives to improve and maintain optimal health.

Their mantra is “We believe that the world offers many treatments and preventative therapies that can energize and empower the body’s own curing potential.  We offer a mix of natural remedies that can enable your body to wellness and to alleviate pain.”

They are located at: 4050 W. Maple, Ste. 201 | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301

Phone: (248) 203-7744 | Email: info@MigunLiving.com

Website: http://www.naturalrecharge.com | Twitter | Facebook

Hours: Mon – Thu: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm | Fri: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm | Sat: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Grand Opening

Set your calendars for our ribbon cutting ceremony and name change to Natural Recharge. There will be door prizes, great food and drinks.

Where: 4050 W. Maple, Ste. 201 | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301.

When:  May 14, 2013 at 4 p.m. (Open House from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.)

Register for door prizes and get FREE sessions with the LiteCure laser, or on the Migun Beds, Reflexology Massage and Functional Movement Screen test!

*Bonus*

The wonderful folks at Natural Recharge are offering the following benefits to The Mom with Moxie readers (valid for the month of May 2013 only):

• Migun Bed Packages – An Additional session added for each 5 sessions purchased ($40 value).
• 10% off the purchase of a Massage Bed or Migun Mat.
• Functional Movement Evaluation and Training a $90 value can be purchased for $45.
• Laser LiteCure Packages – Any package purchased, that was referred through The Mom with Moxie (Bree Glenn) can get an additional session free ($85 value).

Disclosure: Natural Recharge  provided services to me as a TweetTeam.com member.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Infographic brought to you by: Rather-Be-Shopping.com

Hello, good people! Bree here, with my month two Shaklee 180 weight loss update.

This month, I broke even. That’s right, no weight loss. However, with how crazy April was, I’m OK with that. I thought, for sure, that I would’ve gained.

In looking at some of the other Shaklee 180 bloggers posts, I’m super-impressed with what they’ve been able to accomplish.

But, it kind of bums me out that I haven’t done as well.

This month, my video is all about how I stay motivated – in spite of not having as much success.

My Motivation

There are really four things that keep me motivated to try harder to live more healthfully.

1. Setting a good example for my son. Kids do what they see their parents do. So, if I want him to live a life, full of good eating and healthy living, then I need to do the same.
2. Being able to my son, without tiring so easily. Anyone who knows my son knows that is full of energy. Seriously, the kid is at 110 percent All. The. Time. I need as much energy as I can get, to keep up with him.
3. My mom is a two-time breast cancer survivor. Even though genetics play a large part, studies show that maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet may help reduce my risks of getting it.
4. Have you seen my husband? Yeah, this one is totally vain, on my part. But my husband is in really good shape, eats well and exercises regularly. I can’t let him be the only with a hot body, can I?

So there you have it – my four reasons for staying motivated – even when my successes aren’t as big as I’d like them to be.

I’d love to hear how you stay motivated to eat and live healthfully. So, leave a comment below.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support, and incentives for participating. My opinions are my 100% own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

You have no idea how glad I’m am, that April is o-v-e-r.

Seriously, guys, last month was an emotional roller coaster of epic proportions.

Family deaths, sicknesses, craziness at work… I’m telling you, April sucked.

But, I am a firm believer that from every experience – good or bad – comes a life lesson.

My lesson: I’m an emotional eater.

Meaning, instead of eating the Shaklee 180 products and sticking to their recommended diet and exercise plan, I totally fell off the “healthy eating” wagon.

Instead of dealing with all of the crap going on, in a healthy way, I turned to food – really tasty, but really bad-for-me food.

With so much going on, I just didn’t make “me” a priority. And as a result, my diet was horribly bad and the amount I exercised was close to none.

However, by the grace of the health gods, I didn’t gain any weight. (Phew!)

Now that I’ve realized I’m an emotional eater (only took me 30+ years), I’m working on dealing with it. Here are a few resources on dealing with emotional eating:

• Emotional Eating: Feeding Your Feelings
• Weight-loss: Gain Control of Emotional Eating
• Emotional Eating: How to Recognize and Stop Emotional Eating

Are you an emotional eater? How do you handle it? Let me know, in the comments section.

photo source

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support, and incentives for participating. My opinions are my 100% own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

The  Day out with Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 provides kiddos the opportunity to climb aboard and take a ride with Thomas as well as participate in Thomas & Friends themed activities.

Thomas the Tank Engine pulled into Greenfield Village this past Saturday, the hubs, the kid and I were there to take part in all the fun. We had a wonderful time. The kid really enjoyed himself. And, since he didn’t remember the first time we went, four years ago, it was like his first time!

Kids, and their families, are invited to take a 25 minute ride around Greenfield Village on Thomas, meet Sir Topham Hatt, and enjoy a day of Thomas & Friends themed activities including arts & crafts, model trains, storytelling and more.

From April 27-28, May 4-5 and 11-12, little engineers and their families are invited to take a Thomas the Tank Engine rides depart every 30 minutes, rain or shine. Departure times begin at 9:30 am through 5:00 pm each day of the event. Tickets for the Day out with Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 are $11.75 for members, age 1 year and older and includes free admission to Greenfield Village. Ticket prices for non-member children age 1-4 is $11.75, youth age 5-12 is $27.75, adults age 13-61 is $33.75 and seniors age 62 and up is $32.75.

Tickets are on sale now by calling The Henry Ford at 313-982-6001 or visiting www.thehenryford.org.

For my readers not living in metro Detroit, click here to see if Thomas is coming to your area!

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again… I absolutely love Ellen. She’s hilarious, and always has the best guests.

Also, it seems like she really appreciates her viewers. Case-in-point: she’s giving away 2 tickets to see Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z in concert.

For more details on how to enter, click here.

She’ll be announcing the winner the week 5/6, so be user to tune in!

And, for my social media aficionados, there’s also a Twitter Party happening, using the #Ellen4Justin hashtag… It’ll be hosted by awesome friends, @laurenweber84 and @emilyahay this Wednesday, from 8 – 9 p.m.  Hope to see you there! Oh, and follow me, while you’re at it (@breeglenn).

photo credit

But, even in light of all the crap, I’m trying to find some good. So, in an attempt to pull myself out of this funk I’m in, here’s a list of five small things going on, that make me smile.

1. My 3+ day migraine is pretty-much gone. Just a dull ache, now. Much better than it was yesterday and the day before.
2. We’re going to see Thomas the Train this weekend, and the weather is looking pretty darn good.
3. The $5 McDonald’s gift card I got, as a Klout perk. I’m using it to try out their new Premium McWrap. Stay tuned to my Twitter feed to see how it goes.
4. I plan on spending an hour this evening, working on my editorial calendar for The Mom with Moxie.
5. This month is almost over. Thank goodness! I’m claiming May as a much better month.

How about you guys? How are you doing? Has April been kind to you? 

Last year, I switched from the iPhone to the Samsung Galaxy sIII. Let me just say… I love it! The kid loves it too. And, like most moms, I use it to keep him busy, when we’re somewhere that requires a wait.

Unfortunately, sifting through all the apps available can be a chore, and a bore. No worries, though! I’ve done the work for you… Here is a list of the top Android apps, for kids that we’re digging, right now (some have a minimal cost):

Educational

1. Kids Math
2. PopMath
3. Smart Kids Games
4. Pop Science Kids Game Free
5. Kids ABC Phonics Lite

Games

6. Temple Run 2
7. Angry Birds
8. Ant Smasher
9. Fruit Ninja
10. Candy Crush Saga

Creative

11. Kids Doodle – Color & Draw
12. How to make Paper Airplanes
13. Funny Kids Cams
14. Christmas Story: Elf Adventure
15. Kids Piano

What are some of your kids’ favorite apps?

Now that the weather is getting nice(er), here in Michigan, I’m excited to begin spring cleaning.

Since being a mom who works outside the home means I don’t have much time to do so, I came up with this list of  things I (and maybe you too) can do, to jump-start the process.

In addition to the cleaning (I hope) you’re doing on the regular…

Bedroom

• Have rugs cleaned.
• Have pillows cleaned.
• Flip and rotate mattresses.
• Dust down the ceiling and corners.
• Wash mattress pads and bed skirts.
• Get blankets and comforters cleaned.

Bathroom

• Dust down the ceiling and corners.
• Replace worn bath mats, shower curtains/liners.
• Clean out medicine cabinets and safely discard any outdated products.

Kitchen

• Dust down the ceiling and corners.
• Clean the refrigerator and freezer.
  • Wipe them out.
  • Get rid of expired items.
• Clear out your pantry, cabinets and drawers.
  • Wipe them out and install fresh shelf paper.
  • Get rid of expired items, as well as items you don’t use.
• Store or donate any small appliances or cookware that you don’t use.

Since this is a ‘quick and dirty’ list, I wanted to include a few resources you can use, to organize and execute your deep spring cleaning:

Home Organizing Ideas and Storage for Home Office, Pantry, Garage & More

Cleaning Tips : Home Improvement : DIY Network

TLC Home “Spring Cleaning Guide”

What are you all doing, to plan out and organize your spring cleaning? Any tips you want to share? Do so, in the comments section!

photo source

As most of you know, I’m a Shaklee 180 blogger. What that means, is that I get Shaklee 180 weight loss products to try out – free of charge – in exchange for talking about it, as well as my progress, to you fine folks.

When I started this program, at the beginning of March, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was it was a diet plan that included meal bars and protein shakes. I didn’t even know if the stuff would taste good. Would it be yummy? Or, would it taste like cardboard?

I am happy to report that everything is – for the most part – not that bad. I’m not going to lie to you and say everything tastes wonderful. But, it’s all good enough, and I have no problem getting it in and keeping it down. Heck, it’s not like I expected it to taste like pizza, steak and all the other tasty food that got me into the unhealthy shape I’m in. The best part, for me, is the protein shakes – mainly, because I add 2% milk and fruit to it. That way, I get my calcium and natural vitamins in, in one or two meals. And, they’re pretty tasty – when blended well.

Since I began the program in March, I’ve lost a total of 4 lbs. Not as much as I would’ve liked, but that’s OK, since on average with Shaklee you can expect to lose 1 – 2 lbs. a week.

Of course, I’d love to lose more than that, this month. In order to do so, I’ve come up with a list of action items – a plan of attack, if you will. They’re all things that I know I should be doing, but just haven’t made the time to do.

1. Drink more water. I actually do pretty well with this one. But, I need to up my H2O intake, so I don’t eat when I’m not really hungry.
2. Cut out the pop (or “soda” if that’s your thing). I know, I know… it’s totally bad for me. But, it’s an addiction that’s hard to break. I will say, however, that I’ve cut back TREMENDOUSLY. For April, I want to cut it out completely.
3. Be more consistent with my diet. I’ve been doing the Shaklee 180 program, but I haven’t been consistent with it. Way too many “cheats,” out of convenience. To remedy this, I’ve stashed some meal and snack bars in my car, purse and desk at work.
4. Exercise regularly. I don’t do this nearly enough. I’m very sporadic, with my efforts. Life just seems to get in the way. And, exercising at home was just too hard, with a 6-year-old underfoot. In order to combat it, I’ve joined a gym.

Now that I’ve laid out what I plan on doing this month, I hope I do a better job this month. Stay tuned for more posts, on how I’m doing!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support, and incentives for participating. My opinions are my 100% own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.