Tips For Creating Your New Year’s Resolutions

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I think New Year’s Resolutions are meant to be broken if the aren’t well thought out.

Most people seem to break their resolutions early into the year even if they have good intentions. Last year was my first year EVER where I could honestly say I fulfilled all of my resolutions. I took a few days to come up with three that were important to me that I would fulfill. These weren’t the kind of resolutions you share at a New Year’s Eve party before midnight – those are the kind I try to avoid. These ones were personal, and hard to share with others so they understood why I set them. I am by far no expert at setting resolutions, but here are some tips that were successful for me!

1. Set Specific Goals

Saying “I want to lose weight this year”, or “I want to go to the gym more this year”, are easy resolutions to break because they are not specific. How many times a week will you go to they gym? If you go once a month is that enough to fulfill the resolution? Is losing 5 lbs at one point in the year enough to say you were successful?

Using measurable goals will motivate you more to attain them! There is more of a chance you will fulfill a resolution where you specifically say something like “I will go to the gym 3 times per week for the year”, because if you go once or twice a week (or not at all) then you know you are not reaching your goal. Hopefully there will be some guilt associated with you not fulfilling you end of the deal.

2. Write Your Resolutions Down

Having a visual will remind you to keep up with your resolutions when you wander off track. I had a horrible job once that I just loathed, and someone suggested to me that I write down on a piece of paper “It’s just a job” and hang it somewhere in my office (don’t worry – I worked from home!) to remind me that there was so much more to life than what I was doing for work. This silly piece of paper had this crazy calming effect that would wash over me every time I read it. Speaking it is one thing, but the visual gave me something to focus on.

Writing my resolutions down really inspired me to fulfill what I had set out to do. I wrote them down in my day planner which I looked at every day, and on the days my mind was elsewhere I would inadvertently look at that page and get back on track.

3. Think About Keeping Your Resolutions To Yourself

Sometimes it’s a good idea to keep personal things to yourself. If you are positive this is a resolution you want people to know about, and you know you can achieve it then sharing shouldn’t be a problem. If you are worried you can’t fulfill your end of the deal, it may be a good idea not to Tweet your list of resolutions!

The things I work the hardest at to achieve just seem to be a personal struggle that I’m not ready to share until it flops or becomes a success. I’m a little superstitious when it comes to my personal goals. I feel like if I go ahead and say “I just had the most amazing interview and I’m sure I’m going to get the job!”, then I’ve jinxed myself and have no shot. I feel like the same goes for resolutions – over sharing what you think you will do can backfire. For some people being vocal could push them more to achieve. If that’s you than go for it! I am absolutely not one of those people.

4. Be Realistic. Seriously.

Don’t set yourself up for failure before the year even starts. This seems like a simple one, but in my previous resolutions that were less successful it seems like I picked things that were totally unattainable. Start small! Choose something that you have to work at to attain, but not so hard you are going to be bummed you didn’t make it.

5. Track Your Progress and Celebrate Your Successes

After I had my son I had a pretty specific goal to lose the exact amount of weight I had gained while pregnant. Along the way I used a great App called My Fitness Pal that tracked my progress during my journey. When I reached milestones I usually celebrated with a cheeseburger, but that was celebration enough for me!

Tracking your progress along the way can help you determine how you made it to that point, and what you did right to get there.

Good luck with your resolutions, and have a Happy new Year!

My At-Home Gel Manicure With SensatioNail Fuse Starter Kit

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For a girl who tries to stay on top of the trends, I’m embarrassed to say my first time doing a gel manicure was for this blogpost. Crazy right? I’ve heard rave reviews about them, but I’ve never really looked into doing one myself.

I do my own nails a lot. Like one to two times a week! I’m constantly changing my polish because I’ve either chipped it, or I feel like a colour change.

The hard part about my at-home manicures has been the presence of my toddler. I am always waiting for his nap or bed time to do my nails so they have a chance to dry.

I was a little worried that a gel manicure would be too time consuming for me to take on with the limited time I have to spare.

The SensatioNail Fuse Starter Kit is so pint-sized that it’s hard to believe what it includes. A Fuse Gelnamel colour, nail file, manicure stick, Gel Cleanser, cleansing cloths, and a high-powered Fuse LED lamp is included in the kit.

 

 

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The Fuse Gelnamel polish formula ensures you don’t need a base or top coat which makes life even easier!

Since this was my first time doing a gel manicure, I read the instructions very carefully. I usually skip the whole “instructions” part of a project, but I figured I’d better play by the rules this time around. It was pretty easy because there weren’t many (part of the reason I was following them). Basically I had to wipe my nails with the cleanser, then add the polish. It was important to do very thin coats! The tiny LED lamp easily plugged in, and the button to turn the light on would stay on for 30 seconds, which is all you would need to set the polish on each nail.

 

 

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The final step was to cleanse the nail again, and that’s it. I was surprised how easy it was. Each nail had to be painted and set with the LED lamp one nail at a time, and that was actually a good thing for me because the first time I tried the kit my son woke up with a nightmare (of course) during his nap! Luckily I was able to run upstairs and soothe him without getting my new manicure all over him.

I decided to try one of the SensatioNail colour kits because it included a matching sparkle polish. Fuse also sells individual colours as well which you can use once you buy the starter kit.

 

 

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The real test for me would be how long this polish would last without chipping. My nails are the worst – they are always breaking, and I chip my polish all the time. I kept track of my progress to see how long the manicure would last over the holidays.

 

 

 

 

Eight days is a new record for me for sure. I’m used to making it three days without a chip if I’m lucky! On the 9th day I finally chipped a nail, and decided it was time to remove the polish.

I used the SensatioNail Gel Polish Removal Kit and SensatioNail Gel Polish Removal Tool for this part. The foil had pads inside that I saturated with acetone, and left on for fifteen minutes. Once I removed the foil, most of the polish slid off as well. I used the removal tool to remove the rest of the polish easily.

 

 

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The whole process ended up being a lot easier than I expected! It gave my nails a chance to grow as well since the gel manicure prevented my nails from breaking. The best part was how quick the process was. Thirty seconds for each nail to dry was very impressive, and was perfect for someone like me who doesn’t have a lot of time to work on their manicure.

 

 

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I’m not sure why it took me so long to try a gel manicure, but now I get what everyone is raving about. This home kit couldn’t have made it easier for me!

You can find the SensatioNail Fuse Starter Kit, and other SensatioNail products at most major drug stores (including Shoppers Drug Mart), and online here.

 

 

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Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival Ticket Giveaway!

Disney Live! Mickeys Music Festival

 

 

I’ve found that my son tends to jump from one character obsession to the next, but the one character that has stayed constant in his life thus far has been Mickey Mouse. Since he was an infant there has been a Mickey toy here or there, onesies, shirts, and even his diapers have borne a photo of the Mouse. Now that he has grown up to the ripe old age of two and a half, he still loves to watch the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on T.V., and loves playing with Mickey Mouse toys.

Last year we took our son to the Disney Live! Rockin’ Road Show at the GM Centre in Oshawa, and our son had a blast. We signed him up for a special VIP event where he could have lunch, do some crafts, and he was able to have a special meet and greet with some of the stars of the show. He was quite young at the time, but had a great time at the Road Show.

 

 

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Now he is a little older, and is even more excited to see Mickey again this year. Just yesterday he asked to wear his new Mickey Mouse pyjamas all day. Yes I allowed it, mostly because I wanted to wear my pyjamas all day too, and it seemed like a great excuse. My son was doing it more for the love of Mickey than comfort, while I was just doing it for my love of pyjamas.

 

 

Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival

 

 

This year there is a new show heading to the GM Centre in Oshawa – Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival.

There are more than 25 Disney stars featured in the show including those from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story.

Disney hits will be remixed so us parents can be entertained as well!

 

 

Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival

 

 

There will be two shows on Thursday, January 8th 2015 at 10:30am and 6:30pm.

You can purchase tickets here, or you can try to win four free tickets from me!

 

 

Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival
 

 

I’ve made it very easy for you! Just enter via Rafflecopter below to win 4 tickets to Disney Live on Thursday, January 8th 2015 at the GM Centre in Oshawa. And that’s it! The contest begins Monday, December 29th 2014 and ends Friday, January 2nd 2015 at 12:00am EST. This contest is open to residents of Canada only.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Review of Finesse Dry Shampoo with Keratin Protein

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I love a good dry shampoo. Mostly because washing my hair can seem like a huge pain. I have to wait until my son is in bed because when I need to wash it I also need to blow dry it, and then straighten it. It takes forever! Ok not forever, but long enough that I don’t have time to so it every day. Using a dry shampoo in between washes saves me some valuable time, and prevents some damage to my hair. I have reviewed a few other dry shampoos in the past here.

Last week I started using Finesse Dry Shampoo with Keratin Protein. This is by far the most affordable dry shampoo I have ever purchased! At under $5.00 CDN (depending on the retailer – Walmart has it right now for $3.97!), it can’t be beat for price.

I’ve never purchased a dry shampoo before that claims to do anything more than refresh your hair. This Finesse Dry Shampoo has Keratin Protein. Keratin provides added conditioning and shine. It also strengthen’s hair, which helps prevent split ends.

 

 

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With the holidays being last week, I needed to use a lot of this stuff! I needed some great hair days for all of the events we had, but at the same time I didn’t have a lot of time to spend on my hair.

I found it was really important to shake this dry shampoo. It said to do so right in the instructions, but I tend to ignore those sorts of things most of the time. It still worked without shaking it, but I found that the product was less tacky in my hair after I shook it.

The smell was pretty refreshing! It was a strong smell (and a good one!), but it faded once the shampoo had dried in my hair.

The spray was clear which is great for a sometimes-brunette like myself, and it did a great job of absorbing oil and giving me some volume! I used it one day just before curling my hair and it gave me an extra boost.

 

 
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I liked this dry shampoo a lot, and it’s got a price that cannot be beat! You can purchase it at most drug stores, but if you need some ASAP then click here to order online.