Blog - Wannabe Balanced Mom

January 11, 2011 · in Fashion· Giveaways

Impel Dress Review & Giveaway!!!

I’m a big fan of Impel Clothing! They are a modest women’s boutique specializing in basic, yet fashionable layering tees and vintage inspired modest clothing for women. Their modestly fitted cap-sleeve, long-sleeve, and v-neck tees have become known for their quality and durability.

They were kind enough to send me this cute dress to review for them, and also offered another one for a GIVEAWAY!!!

I really love the quality and comfort this dress provides. Here are some of the other dresses they have, the prices range from $69-$79, and you can find them HERE.

The winner of the giveaway will get to choose which ever dress they’d like. Ends Jan. 18th

To Enter:

Leave a comment here telling me which dress is your favorite.

For more chances to win you can leave additional comments by fulfilling one or all of the requests below. Leave a SEPARATE comment for each thing you do, and be sure to leave your email address if it’s not already public in a profile.

* Become a fan of Impel Clothing on Facebook.

* Become a fan of Balanced Moms on Facebook.

* Join Impels “Girlfriends” list.

* Share my Wanna Be Balanced Planners with your friends on Facebook. You can copy and paste this link:

http://www.wannabbalancedmom.com/2011/01/planners-are-here.html

* Follow my blog via google friend connect, email, or twitter (If you do all 3, you can leave a separate comment for each one).

January 10, 2011 · in Life of a Wannabe· Photography

Photography 101

As you all know, this is my month to learn more about photography and how to use my camera. I am absolutely a beginner when it comes to taking good pics. About two years ago we invested in a nicer camera, but I haven’t really taken the time to learn how to be creative with it. I have a Canon Rebel xsi.

Until lately I’ve only used the automatic settings which are great, but don’t allow you to use your own creativity.

This is the Mode dial on the Rebel. Above the fully automatic mode is the creative zone, below it is the basic zone.
Although the creative zone is INCREDIBLY confusing to me, I’m beginning to understand a teensy bit more about how it all works.
We spent this weekend up at our cabin and I was able to practice using the M setting which allowed me to change up all kinds of things.

Manual Mode (M) – This mode provides the most control of all, as you are able to adjust every aspect of the shot. There is absolutely no camera assist in this mode. You are able to adjust aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for yourself. Most experienced photographers will exclusively use manual mode due to the level of customization it offers. (source)

Here are a couple pictures I took that demonstrates the difference between using the Auto Mode and the Manual Mode.

ABOUT THIS PHOTO: I used the Auto Mode. Notice how the lake is gray and all looks a little blaw.

ABOUT THIS PHOTO: I just love the difference the Manual Mode can make. Brings out all the colors and really captures the beauty of it all. Taken with a 55-250mm Canon Zoom lens; shot at 1/100 sec., f/4.0, ISO 400

I’m still learning what ISO, F/stop and shutter speed even means. Right now it’s all kind of going over my head, but I’m confident that as I persist I will begin to understand a little better.

Here are a couple more pics I took over the weekend.

Don’t ya just love this picture. I used the Auto Setting here because I had to be quick in order to catch this precious moment of Oliver praying with his daddy. Priceless!

January 7, 2011 · in Life of a Wannabe· Random Fun Posts

Crazy Cat Lady

I’ve always been a major cat lover. I remember obsessing over cats as a child. I desperately wanted one of my own and the only hindrance was my moms allergies to them.
I did have a few OUTDOOR cats, or so my mom thought. When winter came around my heart ached as I watched them sit outside the sliding glass door in the bitter cold wishing to be inside where it was cozy and warm. I would sneak them through my bedroom window at night and I even went as far as hiding a litter box in my closet. I couldn’t get enough of those darn felines. I think I had five all together at one point.
Soon after Sean and I got married he surprised me with a kitten!!! It was the happiest day of my life!!!
Okay, not really, but it was a pretty good day 🙂 I obsessed over that cat like it was my own baby.
Soon after that I wanted yet another kitten. So we got one. Then I wanted ANOTHER, but don’t worry, I didn’t get one. I had a baby instead which cured the obsession. Those cats that were once my babies became nothing more to me than a furry nuisance. Cleaning out that litter box became a chore rather than something I did out of love for them. The constant shedding didn’t make things any better either, funny how I never noticed it before.
So, sadly times have changed and my poor cats weren’t getting the attention they deserved. One of my cats who is mostly an outdoor cat now rarely comes around anymore, but the other one, well she desperately needed a new home. So I finally gave in to the idea. I’d been putting it off for years because I was afraid I would miss her too much.
Just three days ago, a little family came by to pick up my sweet little Jasmine 🙁

I’m not going to lie, I DO miss her…

I think my dog misses her too 🙂 she was more obsessed with her than I ever was.

Lily still doesn’t know that Jasmine is gone, I’m kind of curious to see how long it takes before she notices, hopefully she won’t notice at all. I wouldn’t want her to be sad about it.

…but each time I think of how cute, cuddly, and funny she was I just try to replace the thought with all the things I didn’t like about owning a cat.

Here’s a video I found that best describes me BEFORE kids.

December 30, 2010 · in Health· Isagenix· Life of a Wannabe· Weight Loss

ARE YOU READY FOR 2011!!!!

I really love this time of year, there’s just something so refreshing about a NEW year. It’s a time to take a look at our lives and ask ourselves, Is THIS where I want to be? If not, then What do I need to DO to get to where I want to be?

google images

It’s important to be grateful and content with our lives and where we’re at, but we also need to continue to better ourselves with each passing year. I think one of the biggest mistakes we make when making our new years resolutions, is forgetting to see all that we HAVE accomplished. A lot of times we get discouraged because we haven’t stuck to our goals as perfectly as we had planned. First of all, there is NO such thing as perfect. Don’t beat yourselves up over eating that piece of chocolate cake when you vowed you’d cut out all junk food this year. Don’t throw in the towel, give yourself some credit and try again tomorrow.
One of the most popular new years resolution is to LOSE WEIGHT, don’t we all know it. The market for weight loss products and services was worth nearly $121 billion in 2009 and it only continues to increase. Although I have not ever been overweight, I, like most women, have struggled tremendously with body image. I tried everything under the sun to lose weight, including starving myself which didn’t ever last very long. I was an emotional eater so starving myself just made me MORE anxious and in the end I would binge. Which then of course led me to the idea of purging, and to be completely honest, I tried and tried but could not make myself throw up, sorry for the graphic details. I guess my gag reflexes are pretty strong. Of course I’m glad that I wasn’t able to throw up because that could have led to a major eating disorder I’m sure.

google images

It wasn’t until my mission in Germany where I finally began to love my body the way it was, even 25 pounds heavier. I was able to get to a better place emotionally and I wasn’t so obsessed with the way I looked. I started enjoying food on a healthier level mentally and emotionally. I quit beating myself up each time I indulged in all the yummy food and chocolate Germany had to offer. I noticed I started eating slower and took the time to enjoy what I was eating more and in turn I would eat less.
Overcoming poor body image and loving your body is the first step for an overall healthier life. When I first did a cleanse it wasn’t to lose weight, it was simply to better my health, and when the weight started coming off it was just an added bonus. I’m not saying I’ve got it all figured out and now I NEVER struggle with poor body image, it’s an ongoing battle, especially after having kids. I’m still learning to love my body, saggy skin and all. I think this is something women will constantly have to work on. We need those simple reminders that, looks aren’t everything, our HEALTH is what we need to be concerned about.
I try to make healthier choices where I can, but I also enjoy a nice juicy hamburger or a some chocolate chip cookies once in a while. Oh, and by the way, I found some YUMMY organic candy bars recently you’ll have to try. They are called Angell candy bars, my favorite is the snow angel, it’s white chocolate with a creamy coconut center. You can find them on Amazon, Snow Angell Organic Candy Bar 12-Pack

Okay so anyway, back to new years resolutions. I recently told you about my new goals for trying out all the things on my bucket list. Each month I’m choosing a different item from the list to help me focus on improving my talents and developing new skills. November was to write a song, still in the works, I’m coming back to this one for sure. December was to brush up on my German so I was reading Twilight, watching DVD’s, and reading my scriptures ALL in German. January is going to be my month to learn more about photography. I don’t want to become a professional photographer, I just want to learn how to take better pictures with my camera I got not too long ago. I plan to share what I’m learning too, for all you beginners out there.

Well I hope you are all finding the motivation to make this year the best one yet!!! Have a wonderful weekend and Happy New Year!!!!!!

By the way, if you haven’t entered my giveaway yet, be sure to check it out. I’m giving away one of my planners with 3 complete months of meal plans and grocery lists. Ends January 5th.

December 27, 2010 · in Christmas· Giveaways· Life of a Wannabe

Christmas was a BLAST!!!

I feel like each year just gets better and better as the kids get older and really begin to understand that Santa Clause is coming to deliver presents. This year Lily was more excited than ever, she was awake until 1am. tossing and turning. We kept checking on her, waiting for her to fall asleep so we could go down stairs and start setting up. She kept saying that she couldn’t fall asleep because was just too excited! So we finally finished everything up and went to bed at 3am, only to be woken up at 7:30 by cute little Lily telling us that Santa came 🙂
My sister in law told us about this fun website called Capture The Magic. We got some pictures of the REAL Santa in our house 🙂 and printed off the pics for Lily to see them first thing in the morning. She was so excited about it!!!

Be sure to enter my giveaway I have going on right now for your chance to win one of my binders complete with 3 months of laminated meal plans, grocery lists and activities. GO HERE FOR DETAILS. It ends Jan. 5th!!! If you’d like to buy one you better hurry, I’ve only got TWO left. I’m already working on making another 50, but it will be another couple of weeks before they are all finished.
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!!