Thank you, Pinterest

I can't stand the word "thinspiration". It may motivate some, but to me it seems to glorify being skinny. I don't want to be "skinny". I want to be healthy, strong and fierce.

(For the record, I also can't stand the saying, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.")

I was writing another blog post about getting healthy and did a search on Pinterest for "thinspiration". My intent was to find some of the images of scrawny girls that are so awful for our self-esteem. Instead I found this...

"Eating disorders are not lifestyle choices, they are mental disorders that if left untreated can cause serious health problems or could even be life-threatening.

For treatment referrals, information, and support, you can always contact the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or www.nationaleatingdisorders.org"

I was surprised and touched. Obviously I'm not the only one concerned with the images that I saw.

Well done, Pinterest. Well done.

So Pinteresting! {Glitter Jar Edition}

 Teaching our kids to calm down when they are angry is a tough lesson. They don't want to listen to anything when they are upset and it can escalate easily to a full blown tantrum. I saw an idea for a mind jar and decided to give it a try.  

I used items I had on hand: a clean Miracle Whip jar, glitter glue, glitter and tap water. The jar in the pin is such a pretty blue, but I didn't have enough blue glitter so I mixed it up using red, blue, gold and silver glitter glue and gold and black regular glitter. The colors are darker than what I would like, but it was all free! 

I used black duct tape to prevent the lid from "accidentally" coming open. 

Our glitter jar.

 The idea is that when the kids get upset, they shake the glitter jar and have to watch it until the glitter settles. By then, the initial anger will pass and they will calm down.

Glitter jar love! 

So, does it work? I think so. We've only had to really use it twice (both times with Riley). He initially fights the idea, saying "I hate the glitter jar! It doesn't work!" But he is calmer once the glitter has settled.

It is pretty neat to watch. We keep it on the dining room table and every now and then someone will shake it just to watch it swirl.

I'd like to make another one out of lighter colors. We'll be the calmest home in town!

The pin leads to this website. She seems to have found the idea for the jar from this website.

Happy Pin-Day!

Pinterest is my new favorite way to waste time. I've gotten so many good ideas from there (Follow my boards here!) but was worried that I would never actually implement them. Thankfully I have friends who aren't afraid to call me out. :)

I actually tried the "Egg McMuffin in a Muffin Tin" idea. What it was suppose to look like was this:

I greased up my muffin tin, cracked in my eggs and it looked like this (I forgot to take a picture right away, so this was after like 30 seconds in the hot oven):

Not to bad, right? The "recipe" tells you to take a muffin, slap on the egg and cheese and you have yourself a sandwich. What they failed to mention is that the eggs DO NOT COME OUT OF THE MUFFIN TIN. And the yolk doesn't cook all the way so it looks weird.

The sandwiches were okay. The biggest downfall was in the middle you would get a bite that was only yolk *BLECH*. And I am still trying to scrub that egg out of my muffin tin. I'm seriously considering just pitching it and asking Santa for a new one.

I am considering the Muffin Tin Egg Muffins my first pinterest fail!