EmpowerMoms

“The Brickmaker’s Bride” is a story about a woman named Laura who lives in West Virginia and sells her Birckyard property to a scottish man named Ewan and his uncle Hugh. Laura is a hard worker with a spit-fire personality, who loves to help others around her.

This book had a good story line through out and a good ending. This was my first book by Judith Miller and I would recommend it to others as a clean christian fiction set in the time period of the 1800s after the Civil War.

About the book: 

About the author: 

Don’t miss Judith Miller‘s latest novel, The Brickmaker’s Bride. CBA Retailers + Resources raves, “. . . a wonderful story about faith and love throughout life’s trials.”

Judith is celebrating with a Kindle HDX giveaway and  a “Refined by Love” Facebook author event on November 4th.

 One winner will receive:

• A Kindle HDX
• The Brickmaker’s Bride by Judith Miller

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 4th. Winner will be announced at the Refined by Love Facebook Author Event. Connect with Judith for a fascinating evening centered around her new Civil War-era series. She’ll be hosting a book club discussion, giving away prizes, answering your questions, offering an exclusive peek at the next book in the Refined by Love series, and much more!

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by signing up for a reminder. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 4th!

I’m a blog book reviewer for LitFuse Publicity so I was given this book complimentary in exchange for an honest review on my blog and social media-all opinions are my own.

This month I signed up to become a designer with Origami Owl Jewelry.

The thing that I love about this jewelry is that I personally have been usng it for over a year and none of my pieces have broken or tarnished. I have really sensitive skin so that was a concern for me, but I haven’t had any problems with the metal they use.

I love all my pieces and love that I can personalize my lockets to fit the season, what I’m wearing, my hobbies, or sports team.

Because I am a new designer, I will be having a holiday launch party online and in my home these next two weeks.

For those of you who prefer shopping online or who aren’t local, here’s my direct shopping link.
http://www.rdevaughn4.origamiowl.com/parties/RachelDeVaughn501464/collections.ashx

Once you place an order using my shopping link, come back here and post a comment below letting me know you placed an order and I will enter your name into my drawing!!

GOOD LUCK!

Let me know if you have any questions or problems with ordering!
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I LOVE all the new holiday items they released this month! Check out the video and pictures below:

Here are what some of the pieces look like in person:

(I’m not using a professional camera-sorry!)  

Here’s my direct shopping link.
http://www.rdevaughn4.origamiowl.com/parties/RachelDeVaughn501464/collections.ashx

Don’t forget to order before November 15th
using my direct shopping link above
to be entered in the $25 gift card drawing!! 

Here is a very small sampling of the charms you can order to personalize your necklace or bracelet based on your hobbies or likes: 

Just ended week 4 of my October fitness challenges.

First, I’m following my 30 day Leslie Sansone Walking challenge (found here: http://66.147.244.197/~empowfu5/2014/10/30daywalkoff-free-october-walking-challenge.html )

and the Peak313 5-week exercise/spiritual challenge (found here: http://peak313.com/featured/3rd-annual-living-and-active-week-1-tied-together/ )

10/19 – 10/25 workouts for the week:

Sunday
Rest Day

Monday
(45) mins/3 miles Leslie Sansone, (25) mins Jillian Michaels level 2

Saturday
Rest Day

I had a good week!!
Logged all of my food for the entire week and stayed between 1300-1400 calories. I weighed myself and haven’t lost anything in 2 weeks though. 🙁
I only have one more week left of my Leslie Sansone challenge and about 1.5 weeks left of the dietbet challenge to lose 6.6 pounds. I’m still working hard, but doubt I will make meet that weight loss goal. Boooo!!

I went to my local Sleep Number store and spent over one hour with a great salesman.

He showed me and my husband 3 different style beds. He explained the difference between all three and asked our opinions about them. I liked the pillow top P5 the best!

We also got to try out 2 different pillows which I loved! I will definitely be going back and buying one! It felt really good on my neck and head because it was contoured.

The salesman explained in great detail about the Sleep IQ technology and what specifics it shows on the screen for each individual.

He figured out mine and my husbands sleep number and showed us pictures of our sleeping posture in the bed and how the bed number affects our body.

It was a very good, informative experience. He gave us 4 pricing quotes since I requested them for my personal information.

The Sleep Number® bed is the only bed that lets you track and optimize your sleep with SleepIQ™ technology. Sensors work directly with Sleep Number® DualAir™ technology inside the Sleep Number bed to measure your average breathing rate, average heart rate and movement to track how you’re sleeping.

SleepIQ™ technology provides a simple and intuitive way to know more about your sleep. It tracks your sleep and provides information you can use to make adjustments to your SLEEP NUMBER® setting or daily routine. Best of all, it empowers you so you can achieve your best possible sleep, night after night.

And SleepIQ™ couldn’t be easier to use. Nothing to wear, nothing to turn on. All you have to do is sleep.

• Like SLEEP NUMBER and enter a sweepstakes for chance to WIN a FREE SLEEP NUMBER® bed with SleepIQ™ technology with standard UPS shipping 

• Click here to learn more about the SLEEP NUMBER® SleepIQ™ technology
• Click here to find a SLEEP NUMBER® store near you
• Follow @SleepNumber onTwitter for deals, sleep tips and news

**By going to the Sleep Number store and posting my experience on my blog and other social media, I will be sent a complimentary pillow from Smiley360 and Sleep Number. All opinions and pictures are my own**

Last month I was suppose to receive a box from Influenster containing a complimentary sports bra and pair of bottoms from Victoria Secret Sport line for blog review. I was SUPER excited but after 6 weeks and multiple emails later, was told there was a mix up and I would not be receiving my box.

I had already been preparing my blog post and pictures since I have been using the VS sport line for at least a year now, so I  decided to post a VS sports review anyway even though this post is now NOT affliated with a product review for Influenster.

These are my personal pictures and experiences with the VS sports line and I have personally paid for all my items. I have the angel CC bill to prove it! 😉
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Did you know that Victoria Secret even had a sports line?

https://www.victoriassecret.com/victorias-secret-sport

They started it a couple years ago and to be honest, when I got the catalog showing their sports line,  I wondered if they were just overpriced clothes. I decided to buy some crop bottoms and I’ve been buying them ever since!!

I love to buy them when they have coupons or during the semi-annual sales. I mostly wear VS sports bottoms, as well as Old Navy active line.

I exercise every day so it’s VERY important to me that the clothes fit, wash well, and hold up! I hate spending money on clothes that I have to keep adjusting or that wear out after a couple of uses. I also LOVE that the VS bottoms dont show sweating in personal areas and don’t show my underwear underneath. I know they are expensive, but I find them well worth the money!

I love my crops so much, that I’ve gotten a couple VS tanks as well as just started buying their new incredible sports bras that launched a couple months ago.

I went to my local store last month and was so happy to see a small selection of the sports line!

This is my new sports bra that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

I am really picky about my bras because (1) even though I’m small, I don’t want a push up bra when I’m trying to workout! (2) I need adjustible straps because I have a longer torso and I actually get neck strain when my bra straps are too tight (3) because I’m small (36b) I like to have light padding. I’ve been using the VS pink yoga sports bras, but they recently changed the style to be more pushup style so I was so happy to see this new line!

NEW! INCREDIBLE BY VICTORIAS SECRET FRONT-CLOSE SPORT BRA

For some reason, there are some negative reviews about the zipper. I haven’t had any problems with zipping it up or staying in place. You have to use both hands to zip it up though.

(from their website) Fit tip: Make sure the zipper locks into place! Pull the zipper firmly into the zipper box and hold securely as you zip upwards. Place the fabric zipper cover over the zipper box for ultimate comfort.

https://www.victoriassecret.com/victorias-secret-sport/sports-bras/incredible-by-victorias-secret-front-close-sport-bra-victorias-secret-sport?ProductID=205933&CatalogueType=OLS

These are the crops that I adore! seriously-best thing ever!

I am in between the medium (8/10) and large (12/14) because of my larger hips/butt, but I hate pulling up my bottoms around my waist, so I chose to wear size mediums so they are snug on me. 

I’m 5 feet, 4 inches so one thing I’ve found is that sometimes “crops” will look longer on me which I hate because I mine as well wear leggings. So another thing I love is the length of these crops. They fit me just below my knee. 

I also love that they sit on my waist. I have had 2 kids (1 was a c-section) and I’ve lost over 75 pounds so I have some stomach fat that I don’t like jiggling around. The crops have great compression with holding the fat in and being comfortable and flattering. and when I bend down, no one will see my butt or underwear! 😉   

KNOCKOUT BY VICTORIA’S SECRET CROP

https://www.victoriassecret.com/victorias-secret-sport/all-bottoms/knockout-by-victoria39s-secret-crop-victorias-secret-sport?ProductID=208630&CatalogueType=OLS

I’ve pinned some items on my Pinterest boad if you’re interested:
http://www.pinterest.com/rdevaughn4/influenster-vssportbra-voxbox-board/
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So in answer to my beginning question-is the VS sports line for the average fitness woman? I say ABSOLUTLY!! I’m obviously not skinny-I still have alot of weight to lose. But I love waking up every morning to workout in great fitting, great quaility exercise clothes that make me feel sexy and confident!

Are you ready for a GIVEAWAY?? 

You can win (USA only):

-a new HUGE VS sport duffle,
-medium resistance tubing (I will be removing them from the box for cheaper shipping),
-samples of Delta Labs Hair skin and nails supplement,
-2 Ellie hairbands,
-Fresh feet wipes sample,
-VS small lotion.

All fun things to get your started on your fitness journey!

a Rafflecopter giveaway