Hayley's Off to College & a Day at Dave & Buster's with Kathleen

I look back to when I started this blog and how our family's story has unfolded and I can't believe my little girl is all grown and off on her own to college. This past Thursday was an emotional day for all 4 of us. But I am so proud of her and how hard she has worked to get where she is. Appalachian State was always her dream college and she set her sights on going there and she did it!

Though I miss her a ton, I know this is the best experience she can have and I support her every step of the way.

                         Kathleen has taken it pretty hard.... they have always been very close.

 You are going to do so many amazing things in your life Hayley, you fill my heart with so much joy and I can't wait to see all the new things you will accomplish!

   Made a little stop at Sweet Frog before heading back down the road to go home...without her :-(

We wanted to try to get Kathleen's mind off of Hayley leaving so we took her to get her hair cut for back to school and then to visit Dave and Buster's.

We had a great time there! If you would like to see my short vlog of our time there I posted it on my YouTube channel. :-) I will still be doing the meal prep, cooking videos and more. It will also be vlogging and lifestyle too. Hope you're having a great Monday!

                                                                       Blessings,
                                                                             Jill

Healthy Living, WW, Recent Grocery Haul, Jerry's Angel Food Cake and More :-)

                                                            This sign could not be more true!

Since being diagnosed in December 2018 with heart failure; I've made a lot of positive, healthy changes in my lifestyle. While some are unsure that I will get better or increase my ejection fraction, I for one refuse to give up the fight. I exercise every day, no matter how tired I may be. I've also stayed with a very strict diet and I have lost a lot of fluid weight between the hospital and being home. I am doing all I can to continue to lose it until I feel I am at a healthier weight. :-) I've decided to try out the WW freestyle plan to help me manage portions of the foods I eat and I like being able to track everything.

My new normal is carrying my food with me wherever I go, unless I find a restaurant like the one featured in my last blog post that I know I can eat healthy, low sodium foods there. You can read my last post by clicking here. On this particular trip we had taken the girls to the mall and I was happy as can be to sit in the food court with them and enjoy a meal :-) The meal was only 1 point for the little bit of oil I cooked the chicken and veggies in. I found these great glass containers on Amazon and they are leakproof.



                                                                 

I also bought my Pioneer Woman lunch bag on Amazon and I love all the room it has in it for everything. Plus it's pretty and feels more like carrying a purse! ;-)

                                                                 

This was delicious as well, it is 2 slices of the mini whole wheat bread from Pepperidge Farms. I added some Can't Believe it's not Butter spray, then added no sodium turkey breast, a slice of Swiss cheese and thinly sliced apples and heated it on the stove. So delicious! Points only 5 and that's because the turkey was a point from the deli. Each slice of bread was 1 point and the Swiss cheese was 3.

This was an easy, quick snack too. The unsweetened almond milk is only 1 point for a cup. The baby bel cheese is 3 points and the grapes are free. :-) Holds me over in the afternoon until dinner time. I've also stopped eating anything past 7 PM and I only have a plain hot cup of tea before bed.

I had to share this Angel Food cake fail with you, lol. We all had a good laugh about it, because it had to be the type of mix he picked up. Jerry picked up the Angel food cake mix at Save-A-Lot grocery store and I was pretty skeptical..... needless to say the mix suggestions did not fluff up the cake.... Luckily we still had another mix in the pantry from a better brand and he redeemed himself, lol. One slice of Angel food cake is only 4 points! Helps when you just want a little treat. :-)

                                                                 Now that's more like it! ;-)

So excited to announce that Perfectly Posh is releasing new products again! I wasn't able to make it to Uncon this year, which I'm really bummed about because Rachel Hollis will be a presenter and I just love her! But I will be featuring all the latest products on my business page if you'd like to follow along there :-) You can also find all the products on my website I also have a YouTube for my business you can find the link here. We have a huge retirement sale going on right now and products as low as $5.00 each! Sad to see some of my favorites go, but excited for the new launch!

I completed 3 grocery hauls this past weekend to Sav-A-Lot, Aldi's and Harris Teeter. In my latest YouTube video I go through all the details. :-)

  Lots of good things planned for our menus the next two weeks. This was just the Harris teeter haul.

                Do you plan your meals each week? What are your favorite stores to get groceries?

                                                                  Have an amazing week!!

                                                                            Blessings,
                                                                                 Jill

Day Trip to Boone, NC

Won't be much longer and these views will be a regular part of traveling for us. Still hard to believe Hayley will be off to college soon... that's going to be a hard day. I'll miss her terribly, but I'm so very happy for her too, she's worked very hard for this.

It's a beautiful ride up into the mountains, so peaceful and relaxing.

There are two houses way up on the hillside... hard to imagine living up there especially when all the snow arrives. I wouldn't want to shovel that driveway, lol.

                                                   We fed a lot of parking meters that day.....

 Before we traveled I found out about this restaurant up there called Clean Eatz, it's all healthy and low sodium foods. Plus they accommodate a variety of food allergies. I was so happy to know I could eat somewhere healthy!

                                                       It's a nice little place inside to eat :-)

This was my lunch, veggies and plain chicken on top of quinoa and no spices or dressings, although they were part of the option. Everything is made fresh when you place the order.

Jerry tried the bison burger and BBQ cauliflower. He said it was really good. The girls got wraps and veggies and also enjoyed their meals. We will definitely be back there again.

Hayley wanted to stop in some thrift places while we were there and I saw this hand carved chest in there. Really neat to see all the work that went into it.

                 I absolutely adored these goats we saw in there and just had to have a picture :-)

Kathleen fell in love with this little reading chair for her room and we were able to get that chair, shorts for Jerry, and a cookbook for me for only $20.00!! Great deal :-)

Flowers were so pretty..... we did have a passing rain shower while we were there, which seems common in the mountains. Usually when we've been there it's been torrential rains. We planned this trip because it was supposed to stay sunny.... luckily the rain shower was short lived!

                    Had a wonderful day spending time with the girls, cherishing every moment.

     Found this shirt funny as they take it pretty seriously it seems on how you pronounce it ;-)

 As you can see when we got home and set the chair in her room the cats took it over, lol. Mirabelle our 3rd cat likes to hide underneath. :-)

I posted another video on my YouTube channel tonight. Thank you to all of you that have been by to check out my channel. I appreciate it :-) I plan to post 3-4 lifestyle videos a week and keep building.

                                             Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!

                                                                      Blessings,
                                                                           Jill

Two Year Anniversary of Losing My Mom and Dusting Off My YouTube Channel

Two years ago today, the world lost one of the most amazing women ever. My mom...

As I sat around the pond this evening overlooking her memorial bench and listening to all the sounds of nature that she loved so much, I realized how much more of her I wish I had.

In that I mean the memories left behind; how I wish I had more photos, more videos and most of all more time. I'd give anything....

So my thoughts I've had lately of social media and what I really want to leave behind has shifted as well. I want my girls, my grandkids to be able to hear my voice and know our story for many generations to come. So I decided to dust off my YouTube channel I created awhile back, but didn't nurture. I changed the name from Blessings of a Stay at  Home Mom to Life With Jill and posted a new video tonight.

My channel will be featuring a lifestyle variety. I will be sharing my grocery hauls, meal plans, recipes and cooking, homestead news, day in the life, and whatever else is in my heart that day. :-) I'd love if you have a few moments to stop by and check it out. New content will be added regularly, I promise ;-) If you would like to subscribe it would mean a lot don't forget to hit the bell next to the subscribe button for notifications of when I download a new video. If you'd like to follow me on Facebook I have a page there and may do some live videos soon as well. Here is the link! On Instagram I also share a lot and add to my stories, you can find me there @jillkh.

      Here is my latest video and thank you all for your support through the years, it means a lot!

                                                                       Blessings,
                                                                            Jill

Forbrain Review

Forbrain is a unique tool to help with learning and concentration. "It is a bone conduction headphone, with a very sensitive microphone. It also has a dynamic filter to create a perceptive contrast". (Forbrain literature)

It is recommended to only be used at a minimum of at least 20 minutes a day and for children to be supervised while using it. Forbrain's concept is to help improve perception of the voice. Therefore creating an audio-vocal loop and that gives the nervous system a solid sensory workout. (Forbrain literature)

It is to be used with children and adults. Exercises are provided with the product and you can also find more on their website and other links I have provided in this review below.

I was recently given the opportunity to review Forbrain and found the concept quite interesting. You can learn more by visiting their website by clicking here. It will offer a more in depth overview about their product. I also like that they offer a blog you can go to that will help to answer some questions you may have. You can find the blog by clicking here. To follow them on a daily basis and get all the latest updates, you can follow them on their Facebook page by clicking here.

    When I received Forbrain in the mail it came in a nice hard case for protection and easy storage.

                 There is a pocket at the top for information on the product and accessories.

The first thing you will want to do after opening the product, is to be sure to charge it fully before use. It has a USB cord to plug into your computer or if you have an attachment piece you can charge it that way, like you would your phone.

Kathleen was my model for this particular review and she did a great job :-) She demonstrates how the head piece is worn for best results.

The headset is placed just in front of the ears, but never in them and the microphone wraps around the front of the face and it is adjustable.

     The power packet to turn it on and make adjustments to the volume sits back behind the ear.

We both tried it as well as Jerry and Hayley and felt it was quite comfortable. The microphone definitely works quite well in hearing our voices clearly.

We tried some of the recommended activities and for one of them Kathleen chose her math book to read over out loud as she enjoys math a great deal.

           It is recommended to sit up tall with feet on the floor when doing the various exercises.

Using Forbrain can help with attention, speech and memory of its user. Their website explains this in greater detail so be sure to check it out and the blog as well to get a better idea of how this works. It is also good for a school setting for use with a speech pathologist in helping children who struggle with their learning. Using it for just a few minutes a day, every day for 6 weeks you will start to notice a difference. Forbrain comes with a 2 year warranty and sells for $299.00 and you can receive it in about 3-5 days after placing the order. They also offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the product.

Kathleen tried out the device each day for the past 2 weeks since we received it and found it comfortable to wear. She liked how her voice sounded and found it neat to hear it louder without placing anything directly inside her ears. She felt she had good concentration when using it and found the whole technology of it interesting.

I think it would be beneficial in a school setting, especially with all the background noise; to help students focus on their voice and concentrating better. Under supervision with specific activities could definitely make a difference for children who may have special needs or speech or language difficulties. Being a former teacher I found it quite interesting reviewing the technology and also reading the information online; as well as others testimonies using the product long term.

                                                                       Blessings,
                                                                            Jill

     * I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*