Cute and Comfy Shoes Just in time for Spring #MC #sponsored #skyscape

Spring has sprung FINALLY in my area. Just in time for spring I have a new pair of shoes to take me all over town. For the past few weeks I have been wearing my new hot pink Pink Fusion/Chalk Reebok Skyscape shoes. These shoes weight just 5 ounces and are just like walking on a cloud! I wear them everywhere from walking with the preschool kids, running errands, hanging out with my teens and even going out on dates with my hubby.  I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Reebok. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

I don't know about you, but I'm always on the go and even more so now that spring is here. Being on my feet all day I know that comfy shoes are needed. I can say that with my new shoes I totally forget that I'm even wearing shoes. I love this bright color and it has given my wardrobe just the right kick for spring! I get compliments all the time on my shoes, too! I plan on getting these in all the colors! I already have then on my wish list! Do you have a pair of shoes like these? If you are busy and on your feet for hours at a time, check out these stylish Reebok's!

Want to know more about these everyday shoes for active and casual wear? 

• The first feature that I totally love is that these shoes are machine washable! I have washed them and the hot pink color has stayed just as bright. The Skyscape features 360 degrees of foam comfort which is why I don't even know that I"m wearing shoes. My feet feel as though they are walking on my foam pillow! 
• They are fashionable, low cut and so far have worked great with jeans, skirts and yoga pants!
• Reebok Skyscape upper is crafted using the same manufacturing techniques and processes as molded foam bras! What? Yes! The materials have been optimized for the stresses and strains placed on the feet all day like running errands all over town! 
• The shoes fit perfectly (I ordered online and didn't try them on at the store) and proud to say that I have yet to get a blister. 
• They are seamless and have a 2 way stretch material creating a soft, comfortable envelope around the top and sides of my foot allowing for natural movement and breathability! Does this sound too good to be true? It does but seriously these are the most comfortable everyday shoes I have ever owned. 
• Guess what? There is more to tell! The sole of the shoes resembles cloud-like pillows providing cushioning, comfort and flexibility.
• They have a flirty lace-up silhouette that comes in a broad range of colors to fit every outfit or mood of the day! 
• All of these features are why I want this shoe in every color and pattern! I ordered these at Kohl.com and they also carry them in store. Go take a peek at the color options. For my first pair I did pick the hot pink to spice up my spring wardrobe.

Of course Reebok has a great ad for these shoes using model and mom, Miranda Kerr. Miranda ends her day in the shower, and as I mentioned several times I have forgotten I'm even wearing shoes, she realizes in the shower that her shoes are still on! Love it!



Hop over at the links and check out these shoes. You've heard my review and feel free to check out what others are saying! 

Cast Your Vote to Give $25,000 Grants in the Neighborhood Assist Program #SFNeighborhoodAssist #mc

What are some of your favorite community programs which you help with or know about? We have several that are our family favorites. The one that keeps us the busiest is the Weekend Warriors food program which provides weekend food bags for school age kids to feed them and/or supplement what they get at home. Our church collects food, bags the food each week, and then drops food off to the local school. The bags are then placed into backpacks of identified students who are in need. That simple. I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for State Farm. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.

My daughter volunteering at our local food pantry. 

We've been doing this community project for 5 years now and it is a huge success. We get thank you notes written from the kids who receive the food. We all are so happy just knowing that our little extra food can help kids from going hungry on the weekend. Sometimes we wish we had more money but we make do. Besides helping others, I love that my daughters have helped collect money, shop and fill the bags for this program. A Community program like this one which brings people of all generations together is priceless! 

For community programs like our Weekend Warrior food program, State Farm Neighborhood Assist has grants available. Now that we know about this program, we will sure keep it in mind for next year. This year, over 4,000 causes were submitted to be selected for grants. Right now this has been narrowed down to the Top 200 programs and they need your help to "assist" them to get the list down to the Top 40. The Top 40 will each receive a $25,000 grant for their program. How exciting that you and I can participate in this and make it happen now through May 16th.

Communities across the United States and Canada are excited to receive these funds to help create a positive impact on their community.  Vote today and daily through May 16th with the free State Farm Neighborhood Assist Facebook application. 

Last year one of the winning groups was a community mentoring program which included a mobile art program that used students in the community to reach out and help other students. The State Farm Neighborhood Assist program allowed this particular group to become more structured and they formed student internships. The other group that I though was innovative was the group who gather tools for the community's Tool Library. These tools could be loaned out to people to do work around their home or to assist others with their homes. 

For my first day to vote, I did a search on fitness in the app. I wanted to vote for a group who wanted to bring exercise or fitness into their community. I am a huge advocate of healthy lifestyle choices which makes exercise a priority. 

After doing the search I gave my first set of 10 votes to: FIT (Fitness in Training) is designed for everyone in our Special Olympics community! It aligns with our focus of promoting inclusion through education, and shared sports training and competition for those with intellectual disabilities. FIT is geared toward our Special Olympics Iowa participants who are ready to make positive lifestyle changes through increased physical activity and healthy eating behaviors. FIT includes weekly physical fitness classes, at-home exercise sessions, and nutrition education.

There are more exercise and fitness community groups and I will keep voting for them through May 16th. Who will you vote for? Go take a peek and find a group in your community or search for a cause which you find important to you and your family.  I love the below infographic which shows all the states who applied as well as all the time that has already gone into narrowing down the Top 200 programs. 

You can help! Go vote today and every day through May 16th!

Top 10 Gifts Mom {REALLY} Wants for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just a few days away. I asked some of my mom friends what they really wanted for Mother's Day and here are the top 10 gifts requested. If you are a mom, do you agree with anything on this list? What would you add to it? Is there anything on the list you do not agree with? I'd love to know.  I've been a mom for over 19 years and do agree with the below list. We all did agree that everyday is Mother's Day because all of us are so blessed to be the mom to our children. None of us felt that we needed a "mothers day" to make us feel special. With that being said and since there is an official American holiday for us, here are our top gift giving idea! These ideas and gifts can be given to mom at anytime, not just Mother's Day! This is a sponsored post and my own personal opinions are expressed here as always on my blog. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the real moms out there. You know who you are.

Favorite gift ideas for moms by moms

Top 10 Gifts Mom {REALLY} Wants - (These aren't in any particular order)

1-Family Peace: Mom wants everyone to get along and play nice.

2-Pedicure/Manicure: Mom wants to not feel guilty to want an occasional trip to the salon to get her nails done. The guilt is from using precious family time and funds.

Mom wants her own headphones

3-Headphones: Mom wants a good pair of headphones and she doesn't want to share them...so don't ask! I personally LOVE my SOL REPUBLIC Relays. If you have a mom on the go, these are perfect for active moms! For me, they fit perfectly in my ears and do not fall out when I'm at the gym. The headphones are flexible, stylish and down right cool! Best features: 3 button mic and music control, come with a small storage case, light weight and sweat/water resistant. 

4-Homemade anything: Mom really does love your homemade cards and gifts no matter what others say or think. It is the thought that counts all year long. All the moms said that they love letters and pictures given to them from their kids. These are priceless and can be pulled out and enjoyed all year long.

5-Family time: Mom loves family time and is thrilled when everyone can actually be together for eating, playing or even just relaxing and chatting. Do not cause family arguments on Mother's Day.

6-Food: Make food for mom or plan food for the day for Mom. Give her at least one day to not have to concern herself with making food or making plans. Don't ask her where to go or what she wants to eat, you should already know this information. Not sure what to make? Find a new recipe!

7-Flowers: Mom really does love flowers. If she loves fresh flowers, get them. If she would prefer potted flowers to keep all season, get them. 

8-Dishes: Do not make mom do any dishes on Mother's Day or any special day for her. Give her a break. She would also love if this daily chore was done by someone else once a week. So why not give her a gift that last all year? 

9-Hugs: Hug your mom every day, especially on Mother's Day. 

10-Just Ask: All moms want you to just ask what you can do to help. Even if she doesn't need your help, she just wants to know that you care and appreciate her. So just ask!

What mom really wants!

Share your ideas below! I want to know what you really want. Happy Mother's Day!

Enter in these 3 giveaways and win something for Mom!

1. $50 Amazon GC Giveaway & other Mothers Day Giveaway 
2. 3 Winners Mothers Day Gift Pack Giveaway
3. 8Ft Uncle Sam Giveaway

Reconnect with Family Meal Time #MC #Disconnect2Reconnect #sponsored

When my girls were younger, we always ate together for almost every meal. This of course didn't last long with girls scouts, sports, church events as well as other commitments. Even though we were super busy most dinners were eaten together and especially Sunday dinner. Almost 10 years ago Hurricane Katrina kicked us out of New Orleans. Since then our lives got really crazy and so did meal time. Just recently I've been working hard to have Sunday meal time after church. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Can you relate to having regular meals dwindle down to just 1-2 a week? I participated in a Blogger Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for the J.M. Smucker Company. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a to thank me for my participation.

Over the past 10 years the biggest change that came into play which most Americans can relate to is the cell phone! Not only did we not have to get up from the table to answer the phone because we had a portable one in our pocket we could also text people, play games, etc. while at the table. The down side to this is that we no longer pay attention to those right in front of us. When you have 30 minutes of time to sit, talk and interact that time looses its value when we disconnect with them to connect with our phone. 

I love having dinner together with my family, at home. So as it works out we won't head out to Sunday lunch with friends but come home and eat together. The fun thing about connecting or reconnecting is that the family works together to get the food on the table quickly because they are all hungry. Then clean up is a breeze because everyone wants to get done and go onto the next big thing. Bringing the family together allows us to connect, talk, laugh, make faces and just be who we are no matter what our moods are. 

Banana Bread Recipe coming tomorrow!

One of our favorite meals has always been breakfast. We can eat breakfast at anytime. When the girls were little breakfast for dinner was always fun. We just celebrated a huge meal together and had breakfast for dinner. Everyone helped in someway with the meal. As a mom of 3 teens this is a blessing. One teen is headed off to get married in 3 months and this meal made me realize that our time is fleeting and slipping away. Do you ever feel that way when you look at your kids? 

We enjoyed a meal together and took the family pledge to "Disconnect to Reconnect" at meals. Why is this important? Family meal time is about so much more than just food. It is really more about connecting with each person at the table. Power of Family Meals is encouraging families to gather together for meals without screens - phones, Tv's, iPads - at one meal, once a week, more often than not! 

As I mentioned earlier, time is fleeting and family meals are a tradition worth maintaining. Disconnecting and reconnecting with family will continue to become even more important and having boundaries to digitally detox together is worth the effort. Technology is every where! Our busy lives will continue to force us into different directions so let's make meal time precious time for our families to stay connect or to reconnect!

Giving Thanks Tips for Teenage Accomplishments

As parents we teach our kids to be thankful for all that they have received. We should also teach them to be thankful for their abilities as they set and accomplish their goals. I think that sometimes we forget to give thanks when it is focused on ourselves. Do you agree? Disagree? This is a sponsored product post with Global Influence and Tiny Prints. My own thoughts and opinions are expressed here on my blog. 

We have three teens but this post is just about one of them, Anna. She graduated homeschool high school last spring with a full load of dual college credit classes. Not only that but she also worked, volunteered, tutored, and did most of it with sheer self will power. Now, a year later, she is graduating with 2 Associate degrees (one came in December) from her local College. Anna not only is graduating but graduating with High Honors, President of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, recipient of All Illinois Academic Team honor, Scholarship recipient and headed off in the fall to finish her studies at a private college in Iowa. Yes, we are proud of Anna. 

Besides her academic accomplishments we are proud of the way she has inspired others to succeed with their college goals. Anna is thankful for what she had done and what she can still accomplish as she heads off in the fall to a new school.

Giving Thanks Tips

• Teach your teens to give thanks to those who have helped them accomplish their goals
• Encourage teens to set goals and give thanks when they meet those goals
• Encourage teens to step out of their comfort zone and do something new like join a club and take an active role as an officer
• Teach your teens to reach out and tutor someone in one of their strong areas. This will make them even stronger in that subject
• Dream Big! Encourage teens to explore new places on their own and be there for them if they fall

In doing these things, Anna does give thanks to those who have helped her along the way and she is thankful for her ability to accomplish great things.

We are so proud of Anna! In less than 2 weeks she is graduating and to celebrate we ordered her a set of beautiful graduation thank you cards and graduation announcements to share with all who have helped her get as far as she has today. We love using the online service of Tiny Prints for all of our announcement needs! We are giving thanks for her and her accomplishments and thrilled that Tiny Prints came through for us and gave us high quality products to share with family and friends.

Do you have someone who is graduating this spring? Check out Tiny Prints for high quality products, huge selections, personalized service and quick delivery! We love the graduation line and especially the cards where photos could be added. We picked one that showed off Anna getting her All Illinois Academic Team medal and she was so proud of that moment that she captured it as a selfie in the bathroom! Such a typical teen photo and one to truly remember! Not only have we taught her to be thankful we live our life thankful for the gift of Anna! Don't forget to dream big and be thankful! 

New Sprint Ambassador and HTC One max smartphone Giveaway #SprintMom #Sponsored #MC

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and to thank me for participating.

I'm so excited to announce that I get to be a Sprint Ambassador for the next 10 months. I'm thrilled to participate in this program which will give me quite a few opportunities to test various Sprint devices and service options over the next year. What does this mean for you as one of my readers? You get the scoop on new products, plans and giveaways! 

Sprint has your family in mind with their Sprint Framily plan for you and up to 10 friends, family members, coworkers, parents for soccer team and more can be part of a Framily group with unlimited talk, text and 1 GB of data each while on the Sprint Network. Can you think of 10 people to be in your Framily group? A few of the cool things about this is that each member of the Framily plan will receive a separate bill, no annual service contract and no early termination fees for as little as $25 per month per line in the 7-10 Family group. 

Who is in your Framily?

Does this sound like something that will save you and a family group some money? What family and friends or as Sprint likes to call it "Framily" would you team up with? There are a lot of people to consider, I know, but it is doable. I'm impressed that this can be done at $25 per line with unlimited text and talk and DATA! Even if this was used within the family it can save a lot of money vs. our current plan. How about yours? 

Right now for a limited time, new customers who bring their number to Sprint and sign up for the Sprint Framily Plan can receive up to $300 in credit for their current phone and a Visa® Prepaid Card worth up to $350 to cover switching fees. Say what? That is what I said when I read this! They are throwing this deal at you because they want your business. This offer is available exclusively at Sprint stores and online at Sprint.com through May 8th. You have a week left to get this done!

Offer ends May 8th for Sprint Framily Plan

To give you an incentive I get to giveaway a HTC One max smartphone to one of you! This phone has a massive screen of 5.9 inch display with amped speakers which is perfect for watching youtube videos and pictures on the go! It comes with a feature-rich camera to take fun, artistic phones and share on social media sites. This giveaway ends May 6th. So who is ready to enter to win? Do it today and stay tuned for more information about Sprint and their cool products & plans!



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{Easy Recipe} Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Mexican Recipe

I love cooking for my family. One of the newest and easiest recipes I put together is this Jalapeño Cheddar cornbread which is perfect for soup, chili, and to go along with Mexican recipes. The fun part of this recipe is that you can make it as spicy hot as you wish. What are some of your favorite easy mexican recipes? 

Make this for Cinco de Mayo!

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

Ingredients

1 box of Cornbread Mix (or make your own mix)
1/2 jar of jalapeños - your choice of heat level and fresh works, too
2 cups cheddar cheese - any variety. We used white sharp cheddar

Directions

1-Make the cornbread mix according to directions on the box. Those ingredients vary so I didn't add them to the list of ingredients.
2-Once mixed, add in coarse chopped jalapeños and cheese.
3-Bake according to box mix directions.

Mexican Recipes

Mexican Ice Cream
Avocado Relish
Chilled Avocado Soup with Roasted Corn and Pico de Gallo Garnish
Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Chile Crema Chipotle Lime Slaw
Chicken Tostada Salad with Salsa Verde
Crockpot Refried Beans
DON'S MEXICAN SALAD
Grilled Sweet Corn with Lime Chive Butter
Happy Margarita
Lamb Tacos
Mexican Fiesta Pinterest Board
Mexican Taco Soup and Tortilla Soup
Pico de gallo 
Pico de Gallo 2
Robert's Corn Dip
Stuffed Corn Bake
Sweet Mexican Corn Cake
Texas Straw Hat
Tortilla Mexican Pinwheels
Tres Leches Cakes

Get even more Mexican Recipes and Cinco de Mayo ideas on my Pinterest Board! 


Follow Susie @SusieQTpiesCafe.com's board Mexican Fiesta on Pinterest.