Changing what I put into my mouth in order to lose weight has been a constant struggle for me.  Going from drinking soda 24/7 to stopping cold turkey was a challenge to say the least.  Once you make the commitment though, it’s worth everything.  I’m helping my body, my skin and even my teeth.  Teeth??  Yes, the soda has done nothing but rot my teeth so drinking water was absolutely necessary for me!

So that’s weight, skin, and teeth so far and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of how beneficial water is. Water means I’ll live longer because my body will be more healthy.

Drinking Water

No biggie right?  You turn the faucet on and bam, you have water.  Sadly though, there are many people without clean drinking water.  Can you imagine??  In fact, over 900 million around the world don’t have clean drinking water. THAT is sad. YOU can help though. You can help Crystal Light bring clean, safe drinking water to those people in need. Just take the Water Way Challenge! All it costs is your time and you’ll be helping someone somewhere get that clean water! And if you need a bit more of an incentive, how about a chance to win a spa trip for two to Jackson Hole, Wyo. And if you want a chance to win $250 bucks, head on over to Divine Caroline and tell your story.

I encourage you read my other posts about water and Crystal Light, learn the benefits, take the challenge and even make the recipe using Crystal Light!  I would love to hear you thoughts and stories about drinking water, playing in water, not having water, etc.  Share it with me won’t ya!

• Learn how to stay hydrated
• Make it a habit!
• Get a little fruity:)

SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE

Like the previous water posts, I have $50 bucks up for grabs.  Two ways to enter.  Leave each one in a separate comment.

1)  Take the Water Way Challenge , quiz, or tell me something you learned from the site. Come back here and tell me.

2) Tweet this giveaway and include @AcowboysWife & the link to this giveaway.

That’s it!  Ends on June 4th.

This is 4 of 4 sponsored posts by Crystal Light, however, I wholeheartedly believe in drinking more water throughout the day and during workouts. All my regular readers already know that I flavor my water as well.

I’ve was very happy to participate in this campaign and hope that you truly learned something and it encouraged you to drink more water and help those without clean drinking water. It really is important!

No matter which flavor I choose, I try to add fruit when I can. If I pick the Peach Tea, I slice up some peaches and add to the drink. If I make my favorite, Strawberry Orange Banana, I slice up oranges and/or strawberries and add it to the drink. It makes for a nice presentation and is a great way to work in those fruit servings for the day. This is the perfect drink to serve at a barbecue! Serve in a pretty glass pitcher and throw in some fruit and you have a very tropical beverage!

Another thing I like about Crystal Light is the 5 calorie per serving. Oh yeah! That’s a whole lot better than 100+ calories per soda and it’s so much better for you.

Oh my gosh! I just remembered a recipe I made a while back!!

Fruity Lemon Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

• • 1 1/2 tsp crystal light lemonade flavor mix
• • 4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
• • 2 containers (8 oz each) vanilla lowfat or fat free vanilla yogurt

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in medium bowl until well blended. Serve as a dip with assorted fresh fruit.
Overall, I love the taste, the variety of flavors, the creative recipes that can be made with the different flavors, and the low calories. If you’ve never given it a try, you really really should.

SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE!

I’ve got $50 bucks to giveaway here but if you want to enter to win $250, head on over to Divine Caroline. It’s easy to enter here and there!

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment telling me your favorite Crystal Light drink and if you do anything special to it like add fruit or mix flavors! If you’ve never tried it, just tell me you haven’t and tell me your “dream” flavor.

Additional ways to enter, each one being left in a separate comment please.

• • Twitter this giveaway, including @ACowboysWife & a link back here.
• • Sign up and take the Water Way Challenge. Literally takes seconds!
• • Enter the $250 Giveaway at Divine Caroline, come back here and tell me you entered.
• • Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS reader.

Ends on May 28st!
This is 3 of 4 sponsored posts by Crystal Light, however, I wholeheartedly believe in drinking more water throughout the day and during workouts. All my regular readers already know that I flavor my water as well. I’ve made that very clear here at my blog and on twitter that I couldn’t drink water otherwise.

You know that drinking water is very beneficial but what actions do you take to insure you’re getting enough? When I quit drinking soda, I had to teach myself to drink water. I had to make it a daily habit or else I would forget to drink anything at all.

Here are some tips that have helped me:

• * How much water? The recommendation of “8  glasses a day” is recommended, but keep these things in mind- that amount includes all dietary water intake, including food and non-water beverages;  factor in a person’s body weight, which is an important factor in figuring the amount;  it also varies if you are sick or exercise.  It’s also not good to just drink when you’re thirsty — you’re already dehydrated by then. Form a routine: drink a glass when you wake up, a glass with each meal, a glass in between meals, and be sure to drink before, during and after exercise. Try to generally keep yourself from getting thirsty.
• * Carry a water bottle. A lot of people find it useful to get a big plastic drinking bottle, fill it with water, and carry it around with them all day. I like a reusable water bottle at my desk, and I drink from it all day long.   I keep two filled with water in the fridge so that when I run out of my current one, I can quickly grab another.
• * Set a reminder. Set your watch to beep at the top of each hour, or set a periodic computer reminder, so that you don’t forget to drink water.
• * Substitute water. If you would normally get a soda, or an alcoholic beverage, get a glass of water instead.  You can always use my favorite way which is flavoring your water.
• * Filter. Instead of spending a fortune on bottled water, invest in a filter for your home faucet. It’ll make tap water taste like bottled, at a fraction of the price.
• * Exercise. Exercising can help make you want to drink water more.  If you’re going to exercise, be sure to drink water a couple hours ahead of time, so that it will get through your system in time, and again, drink during and after exercise as well.
• * Track it. It often helps, when forming a new habit, to keep track of the water you drink — it increases awareness and helps you ensure that you’re staying on track.

Drinking water can be difficult on busy days so setting a reminder and carrying a water bottle are the two that I recommend if you are forgetful (or too busy).  I’ve seen so many changes in my skin and hair from cutting out soda and drinking water instead and only wish I had taught myself this habit a long time ago.

Share your tips for making water a habit!

SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE!

I’ve got $50 bucks to giveaway (I’ll be giving away $50 on 4 posts:) and it’s easy to enter.

Leave a comment using water in a poem.

I love to read these! Y’all always crack me up.

Additional ways to enter, each one being left in a separate comment please.

• Twitter this giveaway, including @ACowboysWife & a link back here.
• Sign up and take the Water Way Challenge.
• Enter the $250 Giveaway at Divine Caroline, come back here and tell me you entered.
• Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS reader.

Ends on May 21st!
This is 2 of 4 sponsored posts by Crystal Light, however, I wholeheartedly believe in drinking more water throughout the day and during workouts. All my regular readers already know that I flavor my water as well. I’ve made that very clear here at my blog and on twitter that I couldn’t drink water otherwise.

THE WATER WAY CHALLENGE

This Water Way Challenge is to encourage people to drink more water. By participating in the challenge, you’ll also be helping those who otherwise would not have clean drinking water, not to mention yourself. Over 900 million people around the world have no access to clean water. Just like anything else, I’m sure we all tend to take water for granted because it is so accessible to us. I know I do and then something happens and we’re out of water for a day or so; I remembered quickly just how precious water is. Just think about those who live without clean drinking water on a regular basis. This is a great way to do our part in helping them and kudos to Crystal Light for making a difference as well.

How to Participate in the Challenge

• 1. You need to register, which takes all of 10 seconds.
• 2. Pick the day you want to track.
• 3. Mark it off for each glass of water you drink.

It’s that simple. Basically it’s a way to hold you accountable, which I often need with everything I do. It also keeps track of your hydration level everyday to insure that you are drinking enough. And if you want to see just how much you know about hydration, take the Water Wisdom Assessment. I found it very interesting to see how much water we lose just with breathing, sweating, and eliminated waste. It was more than I answered, which made me realize how important it is to stay hydrated even when I’m not working out!!

It’s a proven fact that water makes you healthier; your body, your skin, your hair, and so much more. If you can drink water and participate in the challenge, you’ll be helping so many more than just yourself.  Oh, I forgot to mention that by registering, you’ll also be entered to win a spa vacation for two to Jackson Hole!!

My secret for staying hydrated is to use products like Crystal Light to flavor my water and to keep a water bottle at my desk, and to have another water bottle filled in the fridge. What is YOUR secret for staying hydrated? I would love to know how you get 8+ glasses of water down each day.

Share your secrets over at Divine Caroline’s chit-chat and you could win $250!!

I encourage you to sign up for the Water Way Challenge and track your hydration journey with me. Each week, I’ll be updating you on how I’m doing it with it and would love for us to be able to chat about our experiences.

SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE!

I’ve got $50 bucks to giveaway (I’ll be giving away $50 on 4 posts:) and it’s easy to enter.  Leave a comment here telling me how much water you think you drink on  a daily basis and how you like it.  Cold, room temperature, or flavored?

Additional ways to enter, each one being left in a separate comment please.

• Twitter this giveaway, including @ACowboysWife & a link back here.
• Enter the $250 Giveaway at Divine Caroline, come back here and tell me you entered.
• Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS reader.

Ends on May 14th!
This is 1 of 4 sponsored posts by Crystal Light, however, I wholeheartedly believe in drinking more water throughout the day and during workouts. All my regular readers already know that I flavor my water as well. I’ve made that very clear here at my blog and on twitter that I couldn’t drink water otherwise.

With so many people looking for a way to start a business or be a entrepreneur they even offer this option.  Maybe you have a Green Irene come to your house and love it so much you want to become a Green Irene too!  Why not?  Reading it over, there’s a lot of benefits to being a Green Irene!  It could be a great addition to an existing business or just the kick in the pants you need to start your own green business, help others and help the environment.  No franchise fee, the marketing is done, the support is there and training.

Do you have a Green Irene in your area?  If you did, what would you need their help with?