Do you hit snooze several times, jump out of bed in a rush grab your ball cap while you slip your jeans on?

Do you get up early but spend most of your morning looking at your closet telling yourself you have nothing to wear?

Or do you lay out your clothes at night complete with your shoes and accessories you will wear?

No matter what category you fall into I am sure we could all use some inspiration to help manage our mornings.

Here are a few simple and elementary tips. I am sure a lot of you might remember your parents telling you some of these.

1. Prepare for your day at night. Make sure your purse, backpack, laptop bag are ready for you to just grab in the morning.
2. Refer to Breakfast on the Run and Lunch to go so you do not have to fuss over your meals for the next day.
3. Go to bed at a decent time. (Sleep is not just for princesses, our bodies need sleep time to grow and heal)
4. Set an alarm clock. If are a serial snooze button hitter place your alarm clock on the other side of your bed; this will require you get up and get your day going.
5. Open the blinds and curtains. Filling your room with daylight will help your body wake up. In just a few weeks we all will be setting our clocks ahead an hour and most of us will wake up to the sun.
6. Eat that yummy breakfast you planned the night before.
7. Do you know how long it takes you to get ready in the morning? If not, time yourself from the moment you get out of bed till you walk out the door. This will give you an idea of when you should wake up so you are not rushed.
8. Stay consistent with your waking time each day. This will train your body to naturally wake up on time. Even on days you don’t have to get up early, do. This will give you a wonderful break from your morning routine. You can spend time in the Word, sip your coffee, watch the news or just enjoy the quietness of the house while the natives sleep.

So what have I missed that you may do that will help another girlfriend out? I want to hear it all. My mornings get by me way too fast!

Tell me in the comments below what your tried and true strategies are for getting up and out the door in a snap. What makes your mornings easier?

Anyone who leaves a comment will be entered to win a $25 Starbucks gift card.

One winner will be chosen from all comments posted for the entire week.

Please, be sure to link to your blog or provide an email address so we can get in touch with you!

Tips to make getting out the door a breeze

“Where’s dinner, honey?”

Sound familiar?

Dinner: The anticipated or dreaded question of the day. The thing we agonize over not long after breakfast.

What are you cooking for dinner tonight?

Hopefully, we can help each other out and make it a bit easier most nights of the week.

If you love your crock pot or need more ideas for your crock pot here are two blogs you need to check out!

Recipes from the Crock Pot Girl

A Year of Slow Cooking

Another time saver is cook a few meals once a week or many meals once a month and put them in the freezer. Make sure you label them well and all you have to do is grab one out of the freezer in the morning and then pop it in the oven.

Fabulously Frugal has some great freezer meal recipes.

Life as a mom also has great recipes and she even points you to posts to help you get started if you have never done freezer cooking before.

Other quick tips can happen as soon as you unload your groceries. When you buy chicken before you place it into the icebox go ahead and prepare a few dinner options. Place desired amount of chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag and add a marinade then pop them into the freezer. As they thaw the chicken pieces will soak up the flavors and all you have to do it grill or bake.

Here are a few marinade options:

• Italian dressing
• Ranch dressing and 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• ½ c Olive Oil, ½ c Lemon Juice and 3 T Italian Dressing
• Barbecue sauce

Now all you need is a salad, veggies and/or fruit.

Did you know I was once a single mom? Yes, I had a time in my life where living on budget was more of a necessity than a plan and time was short each day; between, work, shuffling kids around, homework checks and doing the cleaning and cooking solo. On Monday Nicole Bean, a single mom, featured me on her blog 180 Degrees: Turning your life into a new direction She asked to interview me about the time in my life when I was a single mom. Go over and check that out, you will also find a great recipe as well!

Sharing time! What are your tried and tested tips for making dinner delicious, easy, and stress free.

Tell me all your great ideas in the comments below and you could be entered to win a $25 Starbucks gift card.

One winner will be chosen from all comments posted for the entire week.

Please, be sure to link to your blog or provide an email address so we can get in touch with you!

Getting dinner to the table

For those who work you also must think about lunch when you are thinking about or handling breakfast. So how do you go about in a stress-less way while making it healthy at the same time?

1. For starters there are many things you can do at night to make your lunch a grab and go as you walk out the door.
2. Plan your lunches like you do your dinners and shop accordingly.
3. Grab some of those easy items at the store: snack packs of pretzels, carrots, fruit, nuts and cheeses.
4. Prepare your lunch while you make dinner. Make an extra serving or two so you and your husband have lunch the next day. If you want to trim your waist line or your bottom line then just take half of your regular portion and place it in a container for lunch as you are plating dinner.
5. Do the prep work before bed; the slicing, cutting, placing in bags, or putting leftovers in a container so you can reheat at the office.
6. Pack all the items you can in your lunch bag at night. Fill your water bottle and that will just leave you to grab only the refrigerator items in the morning.
7. You could also do all of the above on the weekend. Spends a few hours prepping and sorting foods to cut down on daily prep time.

Need more ideas or creative ideas for lunch? Here are a few more ideas, recipes and tips.

Healthy recipes and tips

Healthy Lunchbo Preparatixon ideas

More tips to streamline your lunch prep from Weight Watchers.

Are you a pro at lunch? Is it your favorite meal? What is your favorite thing to do for lunch and how do you make it easy?

Tell me all your great ideas in the comments below and you could be entered to win a $25 Starbucks gift card. One winner will be chosen from all comments posted for the entire week.

Please, be sure to link to your blog or provide an email address so we can get in touch with you!

Make lunch healthy & stress free

Breakfast on the Go

Do you have breakfast on the go, or do you go without breakfast? How many of you skip breakfast? I am guessing most of us, or if you do not skip breakfast than you might fall into the eat the donut with your coffee as you walk into work or drive the kiddos around category. Let’s face it our mornings are rushed and tackling the days tasks can seem  more important to us than sitting down to eat breakfast.

All this week we are going to be focusing on getting out the door in the morning and one of the best ways to do that is to have some Breakfast on the go ideas.

But,whether it’s sitting around the table, or  breakfast on the go  it’s so important! It provides the energy we need to start the day, it gets our metabolism going and we all want that to work right. Nobody likes putting on extra pounds or buying a larger size. So how do we start the day off on the right foot, make it quick, easy and healthy and stay on time?

Below are a few links to give you some ideas about breakfast on the go. Many can be made ahead or take little to no time at all to prepare.

If you have kids there is plenty you can do to set up the night before.

1. Before bed set the table with the bowls, spoons, napkins and cereal choices. Add any fruit or bread items needed…anything that does not live in the fridge.
2. Have a list in the kitchen of your current breakfast choices so you do not waste time hunting for food. I have a friend who types up breakfast choices for her kids and before she sends them to bed the kids initial what they want the next day. The list changes as her food choices change. This save several minutes each morning for everyone in the house.
3. Set your coffee pot at night so by the time you wake up you have hot, fresh coffee.
4. Use your Crock Pot for breakfast; it’s not just for dinner.
5. Go ahead and chop the fruit or peel it and place it in a Ziploc bag. If you are prepping apples toss with lemon juice to prevent browning.
6. Have  breakfast on the go choices ready: cheese sticks, yogurts, nuts and homemade breads sliced and in a container as well so you can grab it on your way out the door.

Below are a few sites you can visit to get great crock pot breakfast on the go recipes.

Crock Pot Breakfast ideas

10 Easy Breakfast Crock Pot Recipes

Here are a few places that list great, quick and easy breakfast options.

Top 10 easy breakfast recipes

9 Fast and Healthy Breakfast Ideas

You have to love this next list of breakfast ideas, if only the website address… “Dumb little man” But it is also good to get a man’s perspective as well as a lot of us are taking care of his needs too!

5 Quick & Simple Breakfast-On-the-Run Ideas

And be sure to head over to my Facebook Author Page to download our list of 30 On the Go Breakfast Ideas!

So let’s help each other out. I want to hear what tips and tricks you have to make breakfast simple and healthy and getting out the door on time with little stress.

Tell me all your great ideas in the comments below and you could be entered to win a $25 Starbucks gift card.

One winner will be chosen from all comments posted for the entire week.

Please, be sure to link to your blog or provide an email address so we can get in touch with you!

Getting Out the Door: Breakfast on the Go

Pitching the Pajama Pants (for a night) – Lingerie

Today’s Project: Buy (or dig out) a piece of lingerie that both you and your husband will love – then put it to good use.

Yep – we’re going to go there. It’s time to talk lingerie.

How’s your lingerie wardrobe? A little outdated? Was the last teddy you bought something you got just before your wedding?

Oh there’s so much drama around this subject. Ever since Victoria let her Secret out, you cannot walk in a mall or watch live TV without having a push-up bra or lace thong thrust in your face. And, even worse, in your husband’s face.

How am I, a suburban housewife who has birthed two kids (both weighing in at almost ten pounds) supposed to compete with Gisele Bündchen, in all of her angel, airbrushed, glory? I can’t (duh), but that doesn’t mean that I should give up all together and resort to wearing footie pajamas to bed every night.

We’ve heard over and over that every woman needs a capsule wardrobe – select items of basic clothing that can be mixed and matched and updated with trendy pieces to get you dressed with confidence and out the door in a matter of minutes. Now it’s time to think about your capsule lingerie wardrobe. A few basic pieces in your favorite colors that all go together to make you feel fabulous.

Here are the basics that every woman needs to own and love:

1. Silky pajamas – No, they don’t show a lot of skin, but each piece can be worn separately (the bottoms with a silky camisole, the top all by itself). Plus, you have something cute and fun that keeps you covered when your in-laws come to visit.
2. Silky camisole and boy shorts – These can be mixed and matched with the above items, or worn together when a more bare-bones approach is appropriate.
3. A Kimono – This style of robe looks great on everyone, covers enough to run outside and get the paper, while still looking cool and sexy.
4. A Lacy Bra and Matching Underwear – Sure to be a crowd-of-one pleaser. Your choice on the style of underwear (thong, brief or full coverage).

Consider these optional items to make things a little more fun:

1. Some Fabulous Heels – Heels have the magical ability to make your legs look longer and give definition to your rear end. The nice thing is that it doesn’t matter if they’re not the most comfortable shoes in the world – you probably won’t be wearing them for very long.
2. A Teddy – Hides tummy issues and looks great on every figure.
3.  A Boa – I will leave that to your imagination.

Wear something sexy to sleep in. It doesn’t need to be one of Victoria’s sweet nothings. Perhaps just a silky nightshirt or a lacy camisole; the goal is to dump the Nike t-shirt that you normally sport.

Also, it’s your job to make sure that sleep is not all that happens in your pretty new nighty.

Make the extra effort to feel great about yourself — you know that some of that mood will rub off on your husband.

Tell me in the comments below when you will be pulling out the frills – any other details are up to you… (remember this is a family blog, so please keep all comments PG13…)

The Husband Project Valentines Day Challenge- Day 5 Pitching the Pajama Pants