Win A 3 Month Subscription To Nostalgic Candy Club!

Good luck! 

Sponsored By: Nostalgic Candy Club

Hosted By: Love, Mrs. Mommy

Co-Hosted By:
Pellerini and Tom's Take On Things

Winner Will Receive:

a 3-Month Subscription to Nostalgic Candy Club! ($54.99 RV)
A $109.98 TRV Giveaway!

Open To US entries and must be 18+ to enter

Giveaway Dates ~ 4/24 9:00 AM EST through 5/18 11:59PM EST

Entry-Form

Disclosure: Love, Mrs. Mommy and all participating bloggers are not held responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill their prize obligations. This giveaway is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Facebook or any other social media site. The winners will be randomly drawn by Giveaway Tools and will be notified by email. Winners have 48 hours to reply before a replacement winner will be drawn. If you would like to participate in an event like this please contact LoveMrsMommy (at) gmail (dot) com.

Love Your Mother

An Icy Future

As I have mentioned before, I'm pretty goal driven this year.

2018 is the year of SERIOUS BUSINESS.

I have been starting to amass the things I am going to need for these future goals and plans so I was super excited to try out this New Air Clear Ice 40 Portable Ice Maker!

It is seriously awesome!

Why would I need a separate ice maker, a portable one at that? One word. 
Camping!

RVing (is that a word? Well, it is now because I say so), specifically. This thing is going to come in handy, absolutely.

It took no time at all to set it up and get it going. The instructions are simple and you literally just fill it, let it go, and in thirty minutes...

It's really simple and you guys know how much I like simple. 

Once the ice is made, it sits in the reservoir and if not used it recycles back into the ice maker to make more ice. I've been running it all week to test it out and have had zero problems with it. 

I can not WAIT to get on the road with this thing! I will never ever have to worry about buying ice again! It's incredibly well made and not even close to as heavy as I thought. New Air Appliances has other great products as well so check them out and let me know what you think!

Customer Onboarding And User Adoption Strategies For Your Business

Business strategies fascinate me. I could sit and read about how to run a successful business all day. I don't think I would ever have a business besides freelance writing/blogging, but a lot of these tips I read about are actually quite useful for my blogging "small business." 

For example, a lot of helpful blogging tools come as a free trial and after a set amount of days, weeks, or months, it expires and you begin your paid subscription. I am always thankful for the free trials and freemium products and usually keep my subscription to the most useful ones. I have even thought about offering my own tools or e-courses to help other bloggers and/or writers, along with my own freemium product or free trial.  Then, of course, I wondered how many people would actually stick with it once their trial was up.

Confidence level = 0

                                                  photo via

So, I decided to research and came upon User IQ and found a lot of great information! After searching and searching it was definitely refreshing to find a website that had all of the information I needed in one place!

According to this article on user adoption, I should utilize a WOW! moment:

"Once you know who your best customers are, you can start to identify the WOW! moments that got them there. Invented by David Skok, a WOW moment refers to the moment where your user suddenly sees the benefit they get from using your product and says to themselves WOW! Even better, a WOW! moment might result in a conversion activity for you, like trial to paid or an upgrade from one version to the next."

I had never even thought about that! As a matter of fact, there are so many really helpful things about customer onboarding there that I found myself reading long into the night. I learned about good user adoption and engagement, how to improve time-to-value, and how user adoption and customer onboarding are the most important for growth. 

I don't want to tell you everything about UserIQ, you should definitely visit their website and check them out. They have a plethora of strategies and information and they even have an User Adoption Toolkit that you can try for free!

These are great tips for the way business is conducted these days. I found it to be incredibly helpful, even for my business of blogging and freelance writing. I am much more confident in offering an ecourse and/or software as a service (SaaS), definitely. Now, imagine what this knowledge could do for you!

Lola & Doe Pamper Yourself Giveaway!

Hi, everyone! I'm happy to bring this giveaway to you today! Good luck!

Lola & Doe Pamper Yourself Giveaway ~ Ends 5/03 @LOLAandDOE @SMGurusNetwork

Welcome to the Lola & Doe Pamper Yourself Giveaway!

1 Winner Will Receive 2 Delicious Products From Lola & Doe!

This giveaway is part of our Mother's and Father's Day Gift Guide – Stop by to see all the giveaways and great products.

This contest is hosted by the Social Media Gurus Network!

Host that put together this giveaway is Deliciously Savvy

My co-hosts for this giveaway are Michigan Saving and More, Heartbeats ~ Soul Stains, and Tales From A Southern Mom

Below is a list of all the bloggers involved in the gift guide giveaways.

A Rain Of Thought, Bargnhtress, Deliciously Savvy, Easter Babe’s Theory, Heartbeats ~ Soul Stains, Here We GO Again Ready, Java John Z’s, Lisa-Queen of Random, Michigan Saving and More, My Silly Little Gang, Tales From A Southern Mom, thestyleride, Views and More, Welcome To My Kitchen

PLUS a Big Thank You To All Blogs Promoting This Giveaway! I Love You All!

This giveaway's Sponsor is:

WEBSITE ~ FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER ~ INSTAGRAM

1 Lucky Winner Receives 1 Lola & Doe Watermelon Body Sugar Scrub Plus 1 Fruit Punch Organic & Artisanal Soap Bar!

Lola & Doe Watermelon Body Scrub

Lola & Doe Fruit Punch Soap Bar

This giveaway is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site. You are not eligible if you have won a prize from this sponsor in the last 12 months. This Giveaway is valid in the United States Only and Entrants must be 18+ years of age to enter. This giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) 5/03/18. The winner will have 24 hours to email their information back to mcushing7 at hotmail dot com or a new winner will be drawn, you may want to put this email address as safe as it could go to spam. The sponsors are each responsible for shipping of the above prizes. No blog associated with this contests are responsible for prize fulfillment. If you would like to be a sponsor in a giveaway like this please email Melissa Cushing at mcushing7 (at)hotmail (dot) com. If you take an entry you must stay following for the entire contest or you will be disqualified.

Also we all “love it if you like us” on Facebook! If you like our blogs on social media it helps us bring you only the best giveaways and more of them!

Enter below and Good Luck!

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You Should Become A Blogger

A decade ago, people probably saw blogging as a fad, or, at best, a useless hobby, but it’s now 2018, and blogging has not only become one of the most popular forms of writing in the world, but it’s also a lucrative business. There are so many things that you can do with your time, but few of them have the potential to change your life quite like blogging does. If you’re considering starting your own blog, but aren’t really sure why you should, then here are six reasons for you to think about. 

To Promote Yourself

We live in a time completely dominated by technology, and as such, technology is often needed when you want to promote yourself or a product or service that you sell. Blogging is a perfect way to sell something, as it allows you to advertise and promote without being pushy and obviously looking like you’re trying to make a sale. 

To Change The World

If there is one thing that I’m certain of, it’s that the world needs bloggers. Most blogs are written to provide advice and give opinions on certain things, and although you won’t be able to help everyone, your blog is going to be able to help someone, and it could help them in a huge way. The comments section also provides a forum for readers to talk and help one another. 

To Have Fun

Most bloggers write about something that they enjoy or know a lot about, and as such, blogging can be really fun. If you’re a fan of a particular TV series or love music and have Begin Your Drumming bookmarked on your phone, tell people about it. If you’re passionate about what you’re writing about, it will shine through in your posts, and people will enjoy reading them much more. 

To Improve Yourself

Blogging doesn’t just make a difference to other people, it can make a difference with you too, and it does so in a variety of ways. As fun as blogging is, it requires a lot of commitment, discipline, and a healthy lifestyle to be successful. You will also improve your writing and will learn a lot about specific topics the more you write about them in your posts. 

To Meet New People

The more your blog grows, the more comments, follows, shares, and emails you will receive, and the easier it will be to meet and develop relationships with like-minded people. You will also make connections with other bloggers and will be able to help each other and share ideas, which will further help to improve your writing and blogging. 

To Make Money

It takes a lot of work to turn blogging from a hobby into a successful business, but it can be done with hard work and dedication. Of course, you don’t need to be making money to love blogging, but it is incredibly rewarding to earn money  doing something that you genuinely enjoy and are passionate about. 

If you’re considering starting a blog, stop considering and get online. I promise you won’t regret it. 

Back And Forth And Around Again

Around this time last year, I was in the process of moving. And so it goes, I'm getting ready to move again.

City life is not for me.

We have been looking all over in quiet little towns to find our perfect place. Where I'm from and where I am right now, the noise never stops. I thoroughly enjoy our trips to the mountains because it's so very peaceful...

Yes, yes I am a little cliche...you know, a writer and shady forest hideaway...

Anyway, I think we have found our perfect little place, but I don't want to say it's ours for sure yet because I did that last year and we ended up in our current terrible apartment.

I lovingly refer to it as "The Box In Rat City."

It was hard for us to decide what we were going to do after my husband retired from the Navy. We want to convert a bus into a camper, we want to travel all around, we want to find land, we want to buy a house...

We ended up in the city where my daughter is attending college. It's her first year so we wanted to make sure she was all set. I thought it was going to be weird for her at first, but it worked out. Her best friend from back home got accepted and they are going to room together next year. So, now...

I will officially be an empty nester. All of my butterflies have grown up and flown away. 

My point is, it's gonna be weird.

Therefore, I am going to need to be busy.

All of the time.

No time to miss my sweet babies, busy busy busy.

I have been thinking about those goals a lot more seriously lately. 

I think my husband and I are finally in fairly stable financial shape. Well, better than we have ever been in our lives.

So, maybe we will convert a skoolie, maybe we'll get an RV instead. Maybe we'll buy a house on a giant piece of land or maybe we'll find something better.

Who knows? It could all change by next week.

What kind of goals or plans do you have? Have they changed as life changed? 

You Should Call Your Mother

Hey, kids.

Mother's day is coming and since that is the best holiday ever in my mom opinion, I'm already thinking about gifts.

I got this amazing Mom ring from ThinkEngraved.com and I thought it would be a great gift for Mother's Day. My mother is so hard to shop for. I'm always ok with a gift card or cash as a gift.

My mom likes thoughtful gifts.

So, this seems perfect for her. Mine is engraved with my children's names and their birthstones. They have all kinds of other jewelry, and they will engrave anything you'd like.

I really hope my mom likes the gift I got for her as well. Finally, I can win most thoughtful gift. 

Maybe. 

There's some new items and all kinds of sales going on. Shopping for Mother's Day, DONE.

You're welcome!

Now, go call your mother.

This post contains affiliate links.

A Surprise In The Beauty Supply Aisle

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine.

There are so many gorgeous hairstyles out there! I am constantly looking for new products to use in my hair and new hairstyles to show off. Like this crochet hair! I love this style!

As I've gotten older, I've noticed that my hair has begun to change. The texture is thicker, it's a little dryer. And just as I have with other parts of my beauty regimen, I am constantly looking for new hair products to try and share with everyone. 

It's the least I could do for you guys.

I decided to look at wigs today after coming across the above style. You wouldn't have to worry about damage from dying or any other harsh chemical processes.  It would be easy to switch hairstyles on a whim with wigs. I spent a lot of time browsing the Black Hairspray Beauty Supply website.

They have gorgeous wigs and all kinds of beauty supplies! I knew I was going to get in trouble. I can not be let loose in any beauty supply around here but let me sit on my couch and browse all of the beauty supply stuff?

Yes, please.

I picked out some hair masks and filled my cart up with way too many other things.

Which I am definitely going to need because, I caved.

I dyed my hair again. 

Good haircare can feel so luxurious. What part of your beauty regimen feels luxurious to you?

Current mood

Prayer Of The Refugee - Rise Against

Fun In The Fog At Grassy Creek Cabooses

For Valentine's day, my husband surprised me with a trip to Grassy Creek Cabooses in Fancy Gap, Virginia. .

It was so nice to get away. 

The Blue Ridge Mountains have always been my favorite place to visit. I hope to one day live there. In the interim, I try to visit as much I can. 

We checked into our caboose and got settled. It was so neat to see how the cabooses were renovated. They were so comfortable and QUIET. Plus, a hot tub.

A glorious, glorious hot tub.

We had arrived a little late in the day, so we decided to get some much needed rest that night. We woke up early the next morning ready to explore after we grabbed some groceries for the weekend. 

The weather had other plans.

We got in the car and started our trip down the mountain. We missed a turn and the GPS rerouted us to the curviest road I have ever seen. It was terrifying. 

For those of you who have never had the good fortune to drive on The Blue Ridge Parkway, in some parts there are no guardrails or anything right next to giant drops and cliffs. The fog did not help the situation at all.

After we whiteknuckled down the mountain, we found the lovely Aunt Bea's Barbecue restaurant. I didn't think I would be able to eat anything with my stomach still doing a gymnastic routine, but as soon as we walked in and I smelled all of the deliciousness, I couldn't wait to devour the entire place. I had a huge plate of barbecue with two heaping helpings of collard greens. Yum!

We drove back up the mountain the right way this time and took a walk around the grounds to see all of the other cabooses and the larger cabin.

By then, the fog had lifted and we were able to sit on the deck and enjoy the gorgeous view. We were able to reconnect as a couple, something we often forget to do with our busy lives of work, kids, and life in general. We talked about our future plans and goals. We talked about so many things. Most of all, we remembered what it was like to just be us.

I was a little sad to leave.

We came home refreshed and rejuvenated and maybe a little pruny from the hot tub. I felt more in tune and in touch with our relationship and positive about our future. We also decided that we really needed to get away, just the two of us, more often.

If you find yourself in the Blue Ridge Mountains and need a place to stay, I highly recommend Grassy Creek Cabooses. The owner is so nice and happy to talk about this wonderful project of his.

Just check the weather first and don't miss any turns.

Do you know any awesome places to visit in the Blue Ridge Mountains? I would love to hear about your adventures as well!

The Wealth Factor

I am constantly trying to find ways to funnel money into our household. It's not always easy, as I am not the best with financial matters. 

I'm pretty sure Google hates me from my overuse.

I came across the book, The Wealth Factor by Mark Royer, and I can't believe how simple financial matters really can be. I really have been making things harder for myself than they need to be.

Within the short 23 pages, I learned exactly what I am doing wrong and exactly how to rectify it.

I had no idea that I was sabotaging myself! 

I have already begun putting the excellent advice found within to good use. I don't want to share too much about it here as the download is free so you can get this ebook for yourself and start gaining your own wealth knowledge! It is an excellent resource to have and I am so very glad to share it with you!

After you download it, don't forget to come back here and let me know how you liked it. I would love to hear your thoughts on it!

Singlecare Prescription Savings Plan

For the first time in my married life, I have had to deal with health insurance.

If you don't already know, my husband just retired from the Navy last year. For over twenty years, we used Tricare and didn't really worry about copays and prescriptions, etc. as Tricare covered everything. 

Everything changed, however, when he retired. We actually have to pay for our health insurance every year now. It's not an exorbitant amount and we have Tricare still, but copays for visits and prescriptions and everything in between is definitely a thing now. I'm learning.

BUT, please don't get me started on veterans' benefits or our healthcare system, we'll be here all day and that's not what I came here to talk about! What I did come here to talk about is Singlecare. 

It's a great prescription cost slasher program. There is a medication that I take that is not completely covered by Tricare and so I always have to pay a huge copay for it. 

However, I came across this program and I really like the benefits that they have to offer which are:

• Up to 80%* off your prescriptions
• 55% savings on dental visits
• Access to 200,000 providers nationwide
• Price estimation tools
• A free account with no membership fees

*Prescription savings vary by prescription and by pharmacy, and may reach up to 80% off cash price.

Tricare has been swapping back and forth between CVS to Walgreens for a few years now. I'm not quite sure why, although I have my suspicions. Because of that, it can be frustrating to pay one price at one pharmacy and then have to turn around and pay a different price, sometimes a higher price, at another. With Singlecare, I can search my surrounding area to find the best price at participating pharmacies! This has especially come in handy since moving into a (huge) city!

I have a serious phobia of the dentist. But, as scared of dentists as I am, I am even more afraid of the dentist's bill. Our dental insurance, even with Tricare, has never been the best. I have always had to supplement it with something else and since learning about Singlecare, I have decided to use their free service to knock those bills right down, phobia or not. 

For a free membership, it certainly has a lot of benefits I didn't expect. I really like the price estimation tool and video visits features. They are definitely the most useful.

I am going to save so much money.

Right now, they have a HUGE discount on Myrbetriq! Check it out and let me know what you think!

Current mood

An Island - Chevelle

Slink

Slink
Into my room
On whispers

Slink
Underneath
Where I
Always
Wait for you

Slink
Into my thoughts
The darkness
Fading the more
You stay

Slink
Away if you must
Go
Leave the whispers
Of you
On the floor.