Author: Jessica Marie

Professional copywriter, NASM certified personal trainer, mom of 2

August 22, 2016

Wedding Weekend and Our First airbnb Experience

These weekend took Hubster and I to Madison, WI for a family wedding. It was a quick trip and it was just right.

For the most part, the wedding was adults-only, so we had to leave the kiddos behind. My friend Kristi, bless her dear heart, offered to take the kids for the day for her daughter’s birthday party. My mom picked them up from there and took them back to our house for bedtime.

Anyhow, I love the Madison hipster vibe. I really need a dose of that every once in awhile. State Street, how I’ve missed you!

We had our first airbnb experience this weekend too. And I loved it! Ok, so I’ll admit it does feel really awkward to stay in a stranger’s home when they’re going to be there. But for the purpose of this trip, it was perfect for what we needed. And I think it’s healthy in our individualistic society to reach out to new people this way.

We weren’t sure if we were actually going to stay overnight, so we didn’t book a hotel room in advance. Once we finally decided to stay last minute, I thought, well, we only need a bed to sleep in for the night after the reception and before brunch the next morning. Simple. Airbnb it is!

AND, the house we found was only three blocks from the reception venue, so we didn’t need to worry about designated drivers or anything.

So, for $50, we stayed in a room in an adorable bungalow with everything we needed: a bed, a shower and a place to drop our stuff. We were certainly welcome to use the kitchen and other parts of the house as well, but we didn’t need to. And our hosts were great!

We tried not to make much noise when we returned from the reception and our hosts barely made any noise when they got up in the morning. So it was just a nice respectful way to get out of our shells and cohabitate with other humans;)

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. The bride reminded me of Snow White or some other beautiful dark-haired Disney personality. The food was great, the dancing was fun, and the caricatures they did were absolutely hilarious!

The next morning, we were invited to the newlywed’s home for brunch and another family get-together before everyone headed home. It was nice to chill with everyone in a non-chaotic state and tour the newlywed’s new home.

Some of Hubster’s family is still in town for a few days, so we’re hosting a dinner tonight at our house which I’m currently getting ready for and looking forward to. Then, we’re off for a few days of camping before school starts again. We love this kind of travel–laid-back, not too far from home, keep it simple trips.

What do you like to do when you travel?

Do you have any cities that revive you?

August 18, 2016

GlassesShop.com Review

Check out these fun glasses I was given to review for GlassesShop.com, my first sponsored post, y’all. I feel legit now! These nerd glasses are totally not something I would have normally chosen. The glasses frames I usually choose are small, oval, and gold but I loved breaking out of my 20-something-year rut with these!

Seventh grade is when my eyes started breaking down and I’m pretty sure I’ve had almost the same gold, oval frame type since then. These are growing on me.

My eyes are really bad. Like really, really bad. So I was worried about how these might show up looking like cork bottles. But they weren’t at all! They were a decent thickness. And I’m totally vibe-ing on the nerd glasses look.

I thought this was a nice thoughtful touch: each pair is packaged inside this hard plastic case with a nonabrasive cleaning cloth. Sweet!

Here’s an up-close shot. Mwahaha. They’re dark green on the top and purple underneath.

I was just about to order from Zenni when these popped up in my inbox. Perfect timing!

After testing them out, here’s the scoop:

Advantages

You can check out the reviews, but mine came with the right prescription and were just fine. Everything from shipping to finishing this post was smooth, working with them.

These glasses are super cheap. Ok, you might get what you pay for, but if you only wear glasses before bed and on Saturdays when you don’t leave the house, then these are absolutely perfect. It’s the perfect solution to not having to buy a stupid expensive pair at the eye doctor’s.

The glasses stay perched pretty nicely during my workouts so far too!

Drawbacks

Their “try on” feature, where you upload a selfie and virtually try the glasses on, doesn’t work on their website. Zenni has one and it works great. It might be a little too fun.

The glasses I chose give me that little tension headache behind the ears. They’re not uncomfortable to wear in general, but my head must just not be used to them yet.

Again, you get what you pay for. They’re not super quality glasses, but they’re perfect for what I need them for. And cute!

Here’s a fun little incentive for you if you want to try some new glassesshop.com:

Just for you readers, you can get a 50% discount on prescription sunglasses or regular glasses by using the code GSHOT50 at checkout. If you buy a pair, #FlashMe your specs on social. #flashion

Just for fun, here’s a cool picture of a lone rain cloud we went past on Tuesday. It was like a cartoon! You can see the sky is perfectly blue and sunny all around it. Mother Nature, you’re so complicated.

August 15, 2016

DIY Polypro Tote Bag and a Giveaway!!!!

Today I’m going to share a little simple beginner’s sewing project and a handmade polypro tote giveaway!

I found this super duper cute tree material when I was shopping for something completely unrelated at Joann’s one day. Never happens…

I didn’t exactly know what I’d make with it, but I bought a yard of the fabric just cuz. It was just too cute. Then, of course, the logical thing to do with polypropylene is to make a tote bag out of it! We sell them by the hoards where I work, so I have some background in polypro, yo!

So, instead of losing myself in Pinterest to find a pattern, I winged it and made up my own. And now I’m sharing my mad tote-whip-up secrets with you, haha.

I made one small shortcut that you can totally remedy if you’d like–I didn’t use a separate piece of fabric for one of my gussets like a real pro would (I can’t even sew straight, so pfffff). If you don’t give any cares how a pro would do it, just skip it! And if you don’t like fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants patterns, then this probably isn’t for you;)

By the way, jump to the bottom of this post for a chance to win this very tote, made by me!

DIY Polypropylene Tote Bag

Materials

1 yard polypro material
Matching thread
Regular sewing supplies like a scissors, pins, etc.

Directions

Figure out the size you want your tote bag to be. I knew I wanted mine to fit standard magazines and books, so I used a picture frame that was just bigger than a textbook as my measuring stick. I just used a pencil and traced the frame on the back of the material. Pencils work like a charm on polypro.

I traced the frame for the front and traced it a second time for the back. Then I cut out a 3-1/2″ wide strip that was the length of one horizontal and one vertical side of the picture frame for the bottom and one side gusset.

Then I cut out one more 3-1/2″ wide strip for the other side gusset and two really long handles. I think I cut them to the length of the ream and 3″ wide. If you want to be precise, hang a tape measure over your shoulder to figure out how long you want the straps to hang.

From top: side gusset, side and bottom gusset, and front/back panels

Long strips for the straps, two straps per bag.

First, make your handles. Fold the long sides together, pattern facing inside, pin together and press. Sew down the raw side with 1/4″ seam allowance.

Now, try to get these suckers right-side-out again. It’s a pain in the butt, but using “tools” helps (i.e. a pencil with eraser, tiny kid fingers).

Now get to work on the bag. Begin by sewing the side and bottom gusset panels onto the front bag panel, right sides facing each other.

Pin the side gusset to the front bag panel, starting flush with the top.

Continue around, sewing on the bottom gusset, shown below.

Then sew the back panel to the other side of the gusset, right sides facing each other. And then the bottom gusset too.

You’ll sew on the other side gusset similarly, attaching it to the front panel, back panel and bottom gusset with right sides facing in.

Next, attach the handles. This is probably the trickiest part, but it’s really not all that tricky.

First, line up the open edges of the handles with the top of the bag and pin. Do this on both sides.

Now turn down the top of the bag 1″ all the way around and pin. At this point, you can remove the first set of pins. Sew all the way around this top rim of the bag. You can double needle stitch if you’re so inclined.

Now, fold the handle back upward and sew them onto the top of the bag, back and forth a few times.

I quadruple reinforced these suckers just for good measure.

Now press the bag for crisp seams and snip away any extra threads.

Voila!

Let me know in the comments if any questions come up for you as you’re making this.

The only thing the bag still needs is some kind of bottom support insert. But…it’s suitable for what I wanted, as is. It’s perfect for carrying library books, church supplies, a change of clothes for the gym, some TP and cereal from the store, or whatevs.

NOW FOR THE Polypro Tote GIVEAWAY!!!!

I made two of these bags and only want to keep one. So, the other one I’m raffling off to one lucky reader! You’ll get my very own invented tote bag with this adorable tree print made by my very own (albeit shaky) hands!

To enter, you must join my mailing list. There’s a box at the bottom of this post that offers 14 fat-shredding treadmill workouts. That’s where you can sign up.

Hey hey, you’ll even get a set of free workouts with your entry as a bonus, if you want them. Everyone’s a winner!

Once you’ve done so, leave a comment below. Your comment will be your entry for this giveaway. (edited to add: if you’re already a subscriber, just leave a comment and I’ll add you!)

If you would like one bonus entry, share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and leave another comment with a link to your social post and your name will go in a second time.

Click to Tweet: Win an adorable handmade tote bag over at http://ctt.ec/9wnQa+ And find out how to make one of your own! #sewingproject #giveaway

The contest ends at midnight on August 24th and a winner will be announced on the 26th when I’m back from camping;)

Good Luck!

P.S. I’m sharing this over on Skip to My Lou, Made by You Mondays.

August 9, 2016

My Newest Adventure–Barre Teacher Training

Guess what I’m up to now?

Dun dun Duuuuuun!

I am studying to become a barre instructor!!!

What started as a search for a way to fulfill my NASM continuing education requirements, led me to one of the fastest growing, most delicious workouts. I love barre! I’ve been throwing barre workouts into my routine here and there for several years now and when I saw that there were a few barre programs that fulfilled my requirements, I hit “BUY NOW.” I went with American Barre Technique because they seemed to have the least restrictions as far as teaching, re-certifying and licensing are involved. Super straightforward.

Thing is though…I am not very graceful or graceful and I was never a dancer. I hope I’m not too clunky of a teacher. But I just LOVE working out this way, working those muscle with teeny tiny wicked movements.

My textbook and training video came in the mail last week and I devoured the entire book before bed one night. The entire thing.

Then, on Saturday, I tried the workout AND did a 40 minute run. I was hungry…all day. Haha. Now, I just have to work on memorizing the routine. My son and Hubster don’t know what they’re in for. Who else am I going to practice on?

So, my workplace offers on-site exercise classes before work, during lunch and after work. I’m hoping to nab my spot when one becomes available!

Wouldn’t it be fun to have a ladies’ only barre party at my house and teach in the backyard, from the deck, and then have snacks and fun afterward? That’s what I’m planning to do to film my final exam video (read: that’s how I’m planning to lure in my friends to be my guinea pigs). Love you, friends!

Oh yeah, and I published a book of poetry. NBD. Haha. It’s a compilation of all the poetry that I’ve tucked away in boxes and notebooks for years and thought, why the heck not publish it? Get your copy here:

Keep your eye on my Youtube channel because I’m going to be sharing the meaning and stories behind the poetry in a series of videos. In fact, one of them (Dresser for Sale) is already up! Subscribe so you don’t miss any when they go live!

Sometimes I can’t even keep up with me.

Have you tried barre yet? What do you love about it?

Are you a hustler who has one million projects going at all times too?

August 8, 2016

What Summer Weekends Are Made Of!

This weekend was a weekend full of everything that summer weekends should be made of: outdoor picnics, live music, festivals, rides, sweet corn and fun houses.

Saturday, after getting the house cleaning done, our little family went to a benefit for our favorite long-time mechanic who just learned he is facing stage IV lung cancer. Though the circumstances are dire, the event itself was an amazing tribute to this talented man!

They had a really great cookout, a live band, lots of drinks, and a motorcycle rally. It was really quite fun! We tried to spend as much as we could on raffles and face painting and more raffles.

Hey look, we spotted a church friend doing the face painting!

After that, we snuck in our grocery shopping for the week. I am having the most delicious mother-of-a-wrap sandwich for my lunches this week. I haven’t even taken a picture of it yet because of its get-in-my-mouth urgency.

Sunday, we ran away to the county fair. We did all the summer things. Kayne and I went on all the rides. He’s 8 and tall now, so it’s so much fun to be able to ride all the big rides with him. And even some of the kiddie ones too, like the Fun House.

Another passing kid said “look, he’s a cowboy” and Kayne gave me the most “nailed it” smile. Exactly the look he was going for!

We had to stick around and watch the demolition derby at the fair too, of course. Even the baby loves stuff like this! She said “uh oh” about 1,535,654 times. Haha! Yes my dear daughter, uh oh.

Then, my most favorite summer festival thing, the sweeeeeet corn! I looooove me some sweet corn. Best part about summer! I buy it at fairs, I buy it at roadside stands, I buy it at the farmer’s markets and there’s some in my fridge right now.

We finished off Sunday evening with a good pool scrubbing and refill so we can enjoy this other novelty of summer. Meanwhile, kittens!

They’re kid-friendly

They can climb trees.

They’re good with other pets.

And they’re just too stinkin’ cute!

Anyone want one–or three? For real, we have probably 3 that aren’t spoken for yet.

What do your summer weekends typically look like?

August 3, 2016

The Cure for Sitting Disease

If you have a desk job that leaves you sitting all day–or you’re bingeing out on Netflix for hours at a time, you probably already know by now that you need to counter that with movement. Sitting disease is the new smoking. It’s bad. But so far, no one has been able to give any exact recommendations on what the heck to do about it!

Until now…

This article is a great read if you’re interested in a more in-depth look at the study.

Researchers have come to the conclusion that you should do moderate exercise for one hour per day to counteract the horrible side effects of sitting disease.

Maybe that sounds overwhelming to you. But with a few tweaks, it isn’t be hard to manage. Especially since they say it doesn’t have to all be done at once.

Here are a few tips for you 9-to-5-ers to get your hour in:

Bike or walk briskly to work. Or park far enough away that it will take you 15 minutes to walk to work.
Use your lunch break to get a walk in.
Stand for two hours: If you sit for 6 hours, you only have to work out for 30 minutes to counteract it. So, get a standing desk and reduce the number of hours you’re sitting. Feel free to sway to your favorite music or do intermittent calf raises.
Move once per hour. Sneak into a conference room and do a minute of squats. Be vigilant about this! It’s easy to ignore the clock, but with vigilance, you can make this a habit.

Thankfully I have this amazing riverwalk at my disposal!

If you want to be fit and healthy, this is what needs to be done! Even if you work out in the morning for a half-hour before work and then you sit your shift out, you’re not going to get anywhere. This could be one of those sneaky reasons you’re not losing weight!

So, get up!

Sitting disease is a real thing, and you sure as heck don’t want to catch it!

What are your favorite ways to break up the workday?

July 29, 2016

How to Find the Right Copywriter

Good writing just doesn’t cut it anymore.

I say this a lot, even in my freelance proposals and on my sales page, because it’s something that must be considered in order to hire the right copywriter. Good writers are a dime a dozen. That’s why sites like ODesk and Elance are saturated with writing “talent,” scrambling to outbid each other for jobs. What you’ll most likely get, unless you find a hidden gem, is subpar writing that doesn’t meet your business’s standards. The purpose of this type of writing is to just pump a ton of content out into the webosphere to increase rankings. These sites tend to undermine the skilled craft of careful wordsmithing.

That’s why you won’t find me on any of those sites.

Good spelling and grammar should be nonnegotiable, but even that’s really not enough if you want to kill it in your online business. Successful launches, well-trafficked websites, and ultimately, superior sales require a level of writing that is much rarer, a finer art. An exceptional copywriter should be able to write well but should also have a firm grasp on:

Persuasion techniques and psychology: A good copywriter should know how to gently seduce your audience with effective psychological tactics. Not in a slimeball way, but in a warm way that requires careful craftsmanship. For example, in order to make better sales, you might want some kind of scarcity factor built into your copy otherwise customers won’t pull the trigger and buy. That’s just one of the many psychological tactics that your copywriter must have skill using.
Juicy headlines: A good copywriter knows what kind of headlines are going to pique readers’ interests. What will make them click a link. What will make them open an email. Just this one tiny detail will make a monumental difference in traffic and conversions!
Ideal client profiling: A good copywriter should have some sort of intake questionnaire exploring your brand, voice, audience and other aspects of relevance. Knowing exactly who your business is talking to, what makes them tick, what keeps them up at night–allows your copywriter to speak directly to your ideal client on his/her own terms. By speaking to the right person, your business will start to bring in only the people that are a perfect fit for your company. If your copywriter doesn’t make a diligent effort to understand and study your ideal client, run the other way!
Creating a decent portfolio: Whether it’s on their website, on Contently, or on Linkedin, your copywriter should have a professional place where they share their writing samples. Even if it’s spec work, you should be able get a feel for the competence of your writer from what they’ve previously written. Do they have pieces that reflect their adaptability to different subjects, outlets, and brands? Their quality of work and level of professionalism should shine through their writing samples. Check mine out here.
Adapting their voice for different clients. You might think you need to look for a copywriter who already speaks in your voice, but then you might miss out on a really skilled writer. The best copywriters are actually able to adapt their writing to your particular voice.
Branding: your copywriter needs to be able to adapt his/her wording to reflect the values and voice of your brand. Your copy should not sound like someone else wrote it! It shouldn’t ever sound like you hired someone to do your writing. It should sound just like you, just like your brand. If you have a luxury brand, your words need to reflect luxury, and a good copywriter won’t rest until they’ve got it just right.
Timeline: one of the questions you need to ask your copywriter is what their turnaround time would be for your project. Some are booked quite solid. Some offer turnaround times that can’t possibly be consistent with quality. Some offer turnaround times that just won’t meet your requirements. This is just another aspect to take into consideration when interviewing clients.
Prices: Your copywriter’s prices are a reflection of their work quality and experience. Charging $5 per blog post might sound great for your business budget, but the quality of that type of writing will undermine your business. No copywriter worth her salt will charge anything less than $50 per decent post. If you take your business seriously, you understand this important difference. Paying higher prices typically gets you a more effective copywriter, which ends up getting you more sales and traffic. And remember, content is king (lots of research on that), so writing is not the place to cut budgets. A good writer is going to be sooooo worth the investment.

I hope this article gives you some perspective on the world of copywriting and helps you narrow down your search for the perfect copywriter. There are so many factors to take into consideration, but you should be able to trust your gut when you find a good one. A little chat with them and a quick look at their portfolio should immediately indicate their competence. You’ll just know…

If you’re currently looking for a copywriter with all these qualities, I’m your girl! You can check out my packages here. If you need something not listed, hit me up and we can make arrangements.

July 27, 2016

Full-Body Back Porch Workout

So, I’ve been loving working out on my back porch lately on Mondays and Wednesdays, when I do my regular strength training. (Tues, Thurs and Sat are cardio/running and Fridays are Pilates/Yoga/Barre day).

I realized what an asset this natural setting is for workouts. Why work out inside when I can work out here, listening to the morning birds and crickets?

I’d also like to share the workout I did this morning with you. Feel free to pin it so you can try it out this week:

I don’t have visuals of the moves, but you can easily Google them if you don’t know what they mean. I was thinking about Livestreaming parts of my workouts, so let me know in the comments if that’s something that would be helpful.

For this workout, I used 15 lb dumbbells to really burn out my muscles. And I just used the stopwatch clock on my smartphone to time the moves. The faster you go through the circuits, the more fat you’ll burn. I was dripping from head to toe after this!

Let me know in the comments: would you be interested in seeing my workouts Livestreamed?

Where is your favorite workout spot? #FlashMe your workout hideout.

July 19, 2016

Walking Barefoot in the Grass

I found out something fascinating today.

Walking barefoot in the grass is magical. Like literally and figuratively.

I have long been drawn to taking my shoes off and walking through the grass. There’s just something so calming and gentle about it.

Turns out, there’s also something scientific about it.

So today, I found this entire article about how walking barefoot through the grass (officially called “earthing” btw) resets your entire body through electron transfer with the earth. It helps regulate our body rhythms.

Ok, even to me that might sound a little woo-woo. But there’s got to be something to this right? Because doesn’t just the suggestion of walking barefoot in the grass make you want to do it right now?

If you really think about it, shoes do insulate us from the world, don’t they? They disconnect us from the Earth one level.

And that’s before you add flooring and rugs and carpet and cars and concrete….

And if I really start to think about it, my feet barely touch the actual ground during the day and my face barely gets shone the sun. I wake up, get ready (vinyl) and go to my car, which is parked in the garage (concrete). I get a bit of sun through the windshield on my way to work.

Drop off the kids (sidewalk). Go into work (concrete). Don’t see any nature for 8 hours, except when I take a break outside (all paved). Then I go home and I might, only might, go outside. And I might, only MIGHT run my bare feet through the grass.

That’s a whole lot of disconnect between me and nature. And between me and the real actual earth in particular.

Guess what I did on my lunch break today? I totally kicked off my shoes to try and absorb a few electrons…er…run my feet through the tickle of the grass.

Whether or not this reset my body, it was an enjoyable experience. Research says it may have lowered cortisol and inflammation levels. I do know that it provided gentle stimulation, it provided a dose of green, it gave me a real connection to the earth, it gave me a little stress relief, at least for a few moments.

I challenge you too, dear #flasher, to kick your own shoes off and allow your feet to “feel” and experience something living and be part of the flow of Earth’s electrons.

Alright, #flashme your bare feet in the grass!

June 20, 2016

I Got Published in the Huff Post

Eeeeee!!!! Yes I did!

I got published in the Huffington Post!

You’re definitely going to want to earmark this article for workout inspiration!

As a writer, this is a huge privilege and accomplishment. And let me tell you, I was totally fitness fan-girling at some of the people I got in contact with. Autumn Calabrese!!! Karena & Katrina!!! Lauren Gleisberg!!! If you’re a fitness nut, these are some of the celebrities in our world! I got well over 100 replies and selected only the best ones. And I tried to get a good variety in there as well.

I asked fitness entrepreneurs (the ones who live, breathe and eat fitness) how they would work out if they only had 30 minutes. Because if this is how they do it, then you know it must be effective!

This process completely validated the premise of my very own FlashFit workouts that I’ve been designing myself. Total-body strength training and cardio built into one 30 minute workout.

We can learn so much from some of the overarching themes I found:

Do cardio intervals in between strength moves to increase calorie burn.
OR shorten rest periods and move quickly from one move to the next (circuits).
Target your biggest muscle groups as they’ll give you the most afterburn.
Compound moves give you the most bang for your buck.
Intervals are bomb.
30 minutes is more than enough time to work out every day.

So basically, to build a workout that’s the best use of your time, do one compound move followed by one minute of cardio until you reach 30 minutes. This will scorch the most fat and lean you out in the shortest time.

What do you do when you only have 30 minutes to work out?