New Wave Enviro Products Stainless Steel Water Bottle Review

Hello Blogosphere! Hope you all are having a fabulously healthy happy day! Life is chugging right along...busily. So busy that remembering to stay hydrated is super important and can easily be forgotten, sadly! What perfect timing when I recently received this stainless steel water bottle from New Wave Enviro Products to test and review.

If you are unfamiliar with this company please check them out at this link:. New Wave Enviro Products. They have lots of options for water bottles..colors, sizes, etc.

First off let me start by saying that I am a lover of staying hydrated. In fact, I almost always have a water bottle with me. My kids are following after my first steps..Which is great!

Importance of hydration: Importance of Hydration
                                         More Info on Staying Hydrated

Re-usable water bottles are the way to go. So much better for you as well as the environment. Less waste is best!!

I have been on the hunt for the "best" water bottle. There are so many on the market, which promise this and that....so, I'm on the hunt to discover my favorites and to share my thoughts with you all.

I have been quite pleased thus far with this water bottle. The color, for one, is very pretty! I love how it comes with a matching colored carabiner! The carabiner is great for when you just want to clip it to your things and go. Being a mother to two this is a great feature for me. Besides being functional..it is also cute, in my opinion.

Drinking from it is also is nice. I like how the cap comes off for easy chugging!

I did accidentally drop it on a sidewalk while trying to quickly feed a parking meter in order to get to an early morning meeting, and it left a couple dents in the water bottle. No biggie, though...I honestly, think it adds some character. So, yes...that has never happened to my bpa-free plastic water bottles, but hey..like I said, life can get "denty" sometimes and I don't mind a few defining marks to give a "history" of my past happenings. I mean...even people fall down and can get a few dents here and there. ;-)
Okay, I may look at things a bit differently than some people. hahaha.

Here is a picture of it after the fall...

A couple dents, but still a fabulous water bottle! Love it!

Overall, I give this water bottle a two thumbs up and would recommend it to all.

So, what's your favorite bpa-free water bottle? Water bottles are kind of like shoes, you really can't have too many of them. ;-) They all serve a purpose for different happenings. Plus, it keeps me from buying those plastic water bottles, which I believe the world could live without those in landfills and littering the earth, correct?

Have a wonderfully, hydrated day!

It Rains in Rain Forests, B-day Fun, and I Heart Sprouts!

Hiya Bloggers!!

Yes..it rains in rain forests...interesting story. But, first off... recap from little guy's  birthday celebration (on the day of)! My son turned 5 this week! 5 years old!! I say it twice, as I am really in shock. It seems like just yesterday that he was born and having taking life by storm. He is my miracle child. Long story short (I'll include his birth story on another post). So, the morning of big birthday he requested apple muffins..okay, simple enough. WRONG! It was a flop but he didn't seem to mind. Yay! Not sure what went wrong. So, at this point the recipe is not worth sharing..but, I'll share some pics..

Happy boy!!

This week I also started sprouting my own alfalfa sprouts! Yay! I love sprouts: the smell, taste, color..the whole nine yards. There is something magical about watching them go from tiny seed to sprout. Just kinda fun! They are like little babies which grow and flourish...okay, I'll stop.  I also love how nutritious they are..so far I have only sprouted lentils and alfalfa seeds. I'm sure I won't be stopping there.

Here's some info on the benefits of eating sprouts in case you haven't jumped on the sprout-eating bandwagon YET!

Sprout Info

More Sprout Info

Right before I put them outside under the sun for 15 minutes to activate enzymes!

Moving back to birthday fun! Here is one of my favorite pictures taken from his birthday party. It was a carousel theme, but little man wanted a super hero thrown into the mix so I made him cupcakes (which didn't make the trip from home to park to well, thus no picture is included) with Spider Man on them. That made him happy..you see, his younger cousin, who has the same birthday as him was also celebrating her birthday on the same day...it was a shared party. So, carousel theme for her with a splash of super hero for him. ;-)

At the fountains, soaking up the sun

Fun times was had by all..

Now back to Rain happening in rain forests...Rocky and I did a day hike of 13.5 miles at Fontana Dam in the Smokies last weekend. It was great fun! Rocky's mom and dad watched the kids for us! Let's see...it's the Smokies, and being a rain forest that it is it rains ALOT! As I get older and become less and less high maintenance (it's true) I decided I would only pack an extra fleece. Just hike in the clothes on my back. 

So, never wear jeans for even a day hike. Let's just say that by the time we reached the trailhead my jeans were soaked and I asked Rocky if he had any scissors..to complete the hike without being tortured with heavy pants we decided to make them into shorts. I did contemplate just hiking in my underwear, but I thought other hikers might be taken a bit off guard by another hiker trekking down the trail in her skiivies.. so shorts it was...it rained and thunder stormed for about four miles of our hike. Great fun! Seriously...this was a blast as I love mud and spening time with the hubster!! I can't wait to do it again! Next time, I will pack appropriate clothing! ;-) Either that or embrace the idea of hiking in underwear. Hahaha!

No pictures were taken during the hike as I did not want the camera getting wet.  It was so fun..I love hiking! Great to get into nature, enjoy each other's company without the business of everyday life, and exercise all at the same time! We were pulling 3-minute miles, roughly. Fun times!

Have you ever not packed appropriately for a long hike? What are your stories?

Thankful Thursday: Rock and a Sunrise

I am thankful for so many things... blessings I do not deserve. Today, I am thankful for my hubby. Truly a gift from God.

Rocky, you are rad! ;-)

Let's also throw into the thankful mix: A beautiful sunrise. Hubby and a sunrise. Ahhhh...the sweet life! Okay, I took this while Rock was still sleeping, but hey...two blessings just the same! ;-)

Have a beautiful day and find lots to be thankful for!

Potato Angels with a Splash of Green Smoothie Mustache

Hi Bloggies! I'm back...it's been awhile! Oh well, life happens! Life is happening, in fact, in a fast and furious, yet fun fashion!

The hubster and I have busy with the new engineering business...getting company logo all designed from our fabulous graphic artist and friend, Mandy Phillips with  Visual Connections. So next up.. business cards done, company brochures, office fixed up (well, my hubby is working on that). So much to do! Through it all , I truly see how God is leading and blessing us, and I am so very thankful. Things are falling into place....Praise be to God, for sure!

Meanwhile on the home front..I am working on marketing for the company and going to as many Chamber of Commerce meetings as I can. I am enjoying getting out and meeting other adults, and of course working with my hubby to better the business is wonderful. When I'm not doing marketing and trying desperately to keep the house clean (a bit hard to do when little hurricanes aka children keep the house in flip flop shape) I am homeschooling my four year old..we are both enjoying all the preschool lovelies..my youngest is also enjoying the activities.

I am also experimenting with going gluten free as much as possible, as I believe I may be gluten intolerant. Really, the only signs of intolerance I have is that feeling sluggish and overall unwell after eating gluten. As if my digestive system is working overtime. A friend told me I should rule this out.

I do feel so much less zombie like when I keep gluten  out of my system. But, I'm a bit nervous about this endeavor. I can do the vegan thing just fine. I am not allergic to dairy, and I generally do not eat dairy at home, but away from home I may have some and that is fine with me. I do it for health reasons..not for animal's sake..though, I do love animals don't get me wrong.

So, I realize to really test for an intolerance to gluten I will have to take it out of my diet for at least six weeks..this is concerning. Simply because it is going to cost more money and take so much work. I work enough as it is about making sure my family and I eat healthfully..I'll figure this out, but am just a bit apprehensive. Would love any one's input and suggestions. I feel as if I don't know where to start...fortunately, I know of some awesome blogs that are gluten free. Here's my issue..every recipe that looks tasty that I come across I find that I am missing ingredients (expensive ones at that) and of course, I do not know how I would replace the missing ingredient with a substitute. Errr....so frustrated! But, I realize I can do this with God's help and support from family, of course. So, I continue to do research and brace myself for the bumpy ride. ;-)

I love this picture of my youngest after she finished her green smoothie. Green mustache, of course! She was about ready for her afternoon nap at this time. Can you see the tired in her eyes? Now, do you all look so green after downing a magical green smoothie? ;-)

Also, I recently made some Potato Angels and they are delish..I love the name. They are a vegan eggless version of deviled eggs..you must make them. My hubby loves them! This is saying ALOT! Trust me! This is from one of my favorite vegan  recipe websites, VegWeb.com. Click here for the recipe and get to making some angelic food. ;-) THE RECIPE. Let me know what you think!

So, anyone else gluten free? Any fabulous resources you would like to share? Maybe some tried and true gluten free recipes??