With the Christmas holiday upon us I thought it was a great time to have a guest post talking about healthy foods to eat and which unhealthy foods to avoid.  Today’s guest blogger, Charlie, shines some shocking light on those treats we indulge in just for the holidays and how many calories they’re truly worth.

Everyone loves Santa Claus, but not everyone wants to look like Santa Claus by the time the holidays are over.  If you look past all the Christmas cheer and, you’ll quickly realize that the “happiest time of the year” is also the most trying time of the year.  It’s financially trying, since most of us bring our bank accounts dangerously close to zero buying presents and cards for people who we barely even remember.  Psychologically trying, because the last time I checked, it takes a degree of mental fortitude to successfully convince everyone at a Christmas party that you actually want to be there.  Lastly, and perhaps most of all, the holidays are a biologically trying time, since Christmas food is probably the only food on the planet that is that bad for you yet still doesn’t kill you.  Here are 4 of the unhealthiest Holiday foods to look out for.

• Starbucks’ Eggnog Latte

A free for all of cream, sugar, and eggs, it’s not surprising that many people need a little alcohol with it in order to drink it.  A grande eggnog latte at Starbucks is a shocking 630 calories with 30 g of fat… I’m no nutritionist, but that sounds bad.  A simple solution would be to purchase low-fat eggnog if you can find it, or if you’re making it yourself, use egg whites instead of whole eggs and skim milk instead of whole milk.

• Cheesecake Factory’s Original Cheesecake

A regular Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory will set you back around 500 calories and 30 grams of fat. Instead, try using phyllo dough as a base for a holiday pie. Phyllo dough is much lighter (albeit flakier, if you like that sort of thing) than regular dough, and best of all, is virtually fat free.

•  Cheesecake Factory’s Brownie Sundae Cheesecake

There are 970 calories in just 1 serving of Cheesecake Factory’s Brownie Sundae Cheesecake.  Don’t let this happen to you.  If you’re making your own brownies, using cocoa powder in lieu of real chocolate and skim fat milk will shave hundreds of calories off as well as dollars off your future hospital bills.

•  Sonic’s Holiday Spiced Sugar Cookie Blast

Perhaps the most devastating “food” on this list, Sonic’s Holiday Spiced Sugar Cookie Blast tests the boundaries of what is and isn’t considered edible food.  Potentially the first food to require a calculator in order to count the calories as you eat it, the Holiday Spiced Sugar Cookie Blast bills itself as some sort of milk shake/ice cream inspired treat that clocks in with an unapologetic 1,256 calories and 39.6 grams of fat.

Granted, the holidays are only once a year, so it’s not as if you would be eating this stuff throughout the year.  However, for those of us who value our health more than just our belly fat levels, taking small steps to avoid foods like these could end up saving us lots of money on diabetes medication later on, not to mention time spent being alive.  Don’t feel bad if you’ve already had your fair share of calorie packed Christmas foods, though… you can always ask Santa for liposuction.

Charlie Shavargo is a personal trainer at LAVA Sport & Fitness in San Diego, CA. He specializes in plyometrics and abdominal workouts.

Guest post by Erica Mueller

If you’re working towards treating your blog like a business and you’ve started investing in the tools you need to do so, you know you can’t afford to buy everything up front. One of the most important steps towards monetizing your blog is making it look good, so you’ll be shopping for design software for your blog, business cards, and fliers.

While top of the line software can be a bit pricey, I highly recommend the investment. You can get away with free or cheap software for a while, but the more you learn about graphic design, the more you’ll be frustrated with the limitations of beginner software. So, as soon as you can, start saving up for the good stuff!

Free Graphic Design and Image Editing Software for Bloggers:
Picnik. This free software is especially popular with bloggers because there is nothing to download. The service is all online and can be used from anywhere. You can change colors, do some basic editing, add text and if you’re creative, make buttons, banners, and headers for your blog. If you want you can even upgrade to a paid version to make use of some of their premium tools.

Gimp is a free graphic design software you can download and use on your own computer. It’s a little more advanced than your every day photo editor… you can actually create your own graphics. It’s normally compared to something like Fireworks.

Premium Image Editing and Design Software for Bloggers:
I learned graphic design and photo editing on an old copy of Macromedia Fireworks. It’s what I used to create Dwan’s button and her In The Twilight banner. Using Firework’s tools I was able to take some images, which I cropped and layered, some font, and a border to create a unique banner to promote her series.

Fireworks is now a part of the Adobe family of design software. Adobe is recognized as one of the top providers of imaging software. Photoshop and PS Elements, Illustrator, Fireworks, and InDesign are all part of the Adobe Design Premium Creative Suite. You can purchase them separately, or all together, but it’s been my experience that most people only need one. What you need will depend on whether you plan to design from scratch or work mostly with photos, in which case, you’ll want to pick and image editing software like Photoshop Elements over a more advanced graphic design software like Illustrator.

What have you designed, and which software did you use?

Erica Mueller is a self-taught graphic and web designer who specializes in WordPress theme modification. She resides in Texas with her husband (also a geeky designer) and their two boys. You can find her on Twitter: @EricaMueller.

Below is a guest post by Brandy, my bestfriend that blogs at Happily Blended.

I am the mother of three children; a girl who is 8 years old, a boy who is 4 years old and another boy who is 2 years old. Having two young boys in the house has always created a sense of reluctancy in me when it comes to decorating my home. You see, I long to have a glass top dining table because it’s pretty and I believe it would add a bit of positive energy to my dining room. The problem with a glass dining table is that I would spend my days trying to keep my boys from standing on it while watching the other one through the glass from underneath.

There is never a dull moment in a household with two boys so close in age! My sons are constantly testing limits and boundaries, not only with rules, but with their own bodies and attempting to find out how far one can go before feeling any pain. Since my sons are often getting timeouts due to their boundary testing I have been looking around for a good “time out” chair. As requested by my counselor I should get a chair for time out instead of simply having the boys stand to serve their time. I love the idea of an accent chair for time outs. I fully believe an accent chair would give me more authority and possibly get the boys to stay in a time out better than the traditional “stand in the corner” technique. Not to mention an accent chair is just cute and could serve a purpose late in life when time outs are no longer necessary.

My sons have also masted the act of apology, they are often going outback and picking me my favorite wild flower, or what some may call a weed … the black eyed susan! I love these flowers, so pretty yellow-orange with a nice dark center. The boys know how to win my heart after a foolish day of time outs, silly jokes and testing of limits, now if I only I had some glass vases to put these wild flower bouquets in.

This post was written by Brandy Tanner. Brandy is a work at home NH mom blogger of three children who loves to smile, laugh and love. Brandy writes daily at Happily Blended and can be found on Twitter daily as @brandyellen

For most of us, summer never comes soon enough. With it comes swimming, barbequing, camping, baseball, and for kids – freeeeeeedom! But with these things, come inevitable increases in household spending. Bored kids need entertainment, which usually costs money. The electric bill climbs as the air conditioning gets cranked. Vacation savings are initiated. But there are ways to keep the spending under control, and even add some extra income into your life that are so easy you’ll be beating yourself up over waiting till the summer of 2011 to put them into action.

Let’s talk about that energy. The refrigerator, believe it or not, accounts for one-sixth of a home’s power use. During the summer this only rises, outdone perhaps only by the air conditioning as what sucks the most electricity out of your outlet, but you can cut down on energy use significantly by keeping your refrigerator stocked up. Don’t pack it so full that air can’t circulate, but lots of cold items helps re-cool the inside faster after the door has been opened. Even jugs of water work if you don’t have the funds or the stomachs to keep a fridge full of food.

Your car’s air conditioner is another place where you can cut down easily if you go about it the right way. Everybody knows about the recirculation option available with all car A/C units, but not everybody knows how to use it the right way. The tendency is to hit both buttons as soon as the car starts, but it’s best to run the A/C alone first. This lets the air inside the car get cold before getting recirculated. Otherwise you’re just using more energy making your A/C recycle hot air.

Now we move onto the topic of earning extra income at home. You probably think the concept is ridiculous, and you’d be right if you’re picturing an actual paycheck getting received or some windfall developing out of working from your home computer part-time. But there are plenty of options available online that enable you to get a hold of a number of promotional gimmicks and other giveaways that can help you keep the weekly household budget down. Survey sites like SurveyHead are such places. All you have to do is fill out a few surveys in your spare time and they reward you with gift cards and other perks. Do enough surveys and you can even turn them in for real dough.

Summer doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need to know how to cut a few of the excesses down and find ways to supplement your income to keep stocked on the necessary summertime supplies. The annual family vacation doesn’t need to be cancelled to make ends meet so long as you stay vigilant as to ways to keep your household spending from rising with the temperature.

Guest post by Rich Tucker from CruiseDeals.com

I’ve been meaning to write a guest blog post about family cruising for my good friend, Dwan for months now.  As I was reading her blog post today about vacation planning which happens to be perfectly timed for the Norwegian Cruise Line one-week kids cruise FREE promotion I asked to share some deals with her readers.  For this promotion, most NCL Fall cruise vacations offer kids under the age of 18 to cruise for FREE when accompanied by two full paying fares.

Cruise Price Trending is my expertise.  I watch rates like a hawk and thanks to this I’ve been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA today, ABCnews.com and others.  While looking over this promotion this morning, it became apparent that this has created some of the best deals I’ve ever seen for a family of four.  This fall, NCL will have ships cruising Europe, Caribbean, Bermuda, Bahamas, and Alaska giving you lots of choices.

Here are some of the best deals from the sale:

4-Night Halloween Bahamas Cruise departing Miami, $199 per person for 2 passengers – Total price for family of four including taxes:  $776.92

11-Night Exotic Southern Caribbean Cruise departing Miami in November is $1763 total including taxes for a family of four!  Receive $100 onboard credit for the November 2nd departure.

7-night Caribbean Cruise Departing Miami in early December is only $1299.56 including all taxes for a family of four plus you will get a $75 onboard spending credit.

7-night Bahamas Cruise Departing New York City in November is only $1459.28 for a family of four plus you get $75 to spend onboard.

There are 140 fall cruise vacations offering the kids sail free promotion.

Yes, these are your standard cruise vacations.  All the meals, entertainment, kids club, fun, and sun are included in the price of the cruise.   Norwegian Cruise Line offers excellent kids programs, so parents can get a well deserved break.   Rates can go up based on availability.  This sale ends on May 7th, 2011.

I’m pleased to introduce the Aunt of my daughter, T, and good friend Amber Hawkins.  Also known in the Twitter and Blog world as AmberDollie.  She is guest posting today on the topic of Life Lists.

It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth — and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up — that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had. ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

I want to live my life to the fullest. I want to spent each day waking up next to my beautiful little girls and tickling them until they wake up. I want to over use the words I love you to the people who mean so much to me. I want to sit back and enjoy today, and look forward at what’s tomorrow.

In saying all of this I have decided to create a life list of things that I plan on accomplishing before I kick the bucket.  Some will happen fast, others will take some years and money but no matter how long it takes I will not stop until I have succeeded. Here is my list!

• Visit Paris
• Stand in two places at once
• Take a family vacation to Walt Disney World
• Go skiing in Colorado
• Go on a cruise ship
• Lay on the beach & watch the ocean
• Get Married
• Love unconditionally
• Take my girls to their first concerts
• Climb a mountain
• Go sky diving
• Give back to family who have helped me
• Never take the word LOVE for granted
• Sample wine at a Winery
• Join a church

Thank you for letting me share my life list with you. Do you have a life list, if so what are some of the things you would like to do in life?

Amber is a Texas mommy of 2 beautiful girls that has recently joined the blogging scene.  You can read her updates as AmberDollie and follow her tweets online @AmberDollie.

I’m proud to share this Life List guest post by my old high school friend, Holly McFarland.

This list is representative of a mom trying to live out her life to the fullest rather than vicariously through her kids. The goal is to balance – be responsible but crazy and spontaneous at the same time. Pretty much nothing on this list has to do with my kids…there are plenty of lists for that…this one’s for me. Like the saying goes – “if momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” I like to think of it as avoiding a midlife crisis. I hope my 40 by 40 is even more ridiculous

30 by 30 List – Thirty things to do before I turn 30 (deadline: 03/09/11)

• Eat at 5 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  My husband and I love this Food Network show, hosted by Guy Fieri, showcasing awesome food at hole-in-the-wall type joints around the country.

DONE Magnolia Café (Austin, TX), Chef Point (Watauga, TX), Twisted Root (Dallas, TX), Brandy’s Restaurant and Bakery (Flagstaff, AZ), Rocco’s Ristorante (San Francisco, CA), Casino El Camino (Austin, TX), Green Mesquite (Austin, TX).

• Eat at a Top Chef related restaurant.

On agenda for this weekend – Tom Callichio’s Craftsteak in Las Vegas, also have purchased Groupon for Iluna Basque (Chef Mattin, season 6) in San Francisco, but haven’t used it yet.

• Ask for a raise.

Kind of done. Negotiated a higher salary for recent job. Moved from old job before I had a chance to ask…

• Go to Las Vegas.

Wahoo! This weekend will be my first Vegas experience!

• Implement a budget.

(after Vegas?) I’ve never been able to do this. It requires too much attention to detail. I’ve spent my whole life just staying in the black with no other financial goals. But I envy those who can do envelopes and all that jazz…so I’m planning for 2011 to be my year!

• Weigh high school weight.

Kind of done.  Accomplished 6/2010, but currently in a relapse whoops!

• Run a half marathon.

DONE San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll half completed 11/2009 with best friend, Erin. Las Vegas half with hubby this weekend!

• Go on a mission trip as a family.

Did this all the time in high school and college, but want to get started as a family now that the kids can go.

• Start planning meals and grocery lists.

This would take a miracle.

• Read 5 books about faith/spirituality.

(purchased, but yet to read – Goodbye Insecurity by Beth Moore, Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, Untamed by Lisa Harper, Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham, Doing Life Differently by Luci Swindoll)

• Take real family pictures. You know, on location photographer style, not Sears.

DONE – 10/2009. If you’re in North Texas let me recommend Phyllis at Lilly Blue Photography – AMAZING!

• Get our own place.

We moved to the Bay Area in the summer (2010) and are living with my husband’s mom while we figure out where we really want to live. In reality, we’re trying to manage the shock of how much houses cost here (median 3 bedroom home here is $788,000, what?!!) So to even get into a rental in the next year is our goal…and we still own in TX till that glorious day of winning the lottery allows us to buy here.

• Send out Christmas cards. (on time)

DONE – 12/2009. This really should be a yearly goal, but don’t hold your breath.

• Plant a garden.

I would LOVE to cook straight from my own garden. This will be MUCH easier to do now that I live in a very temperate Northern California as opposed to dry, clay-filled West Texas, however, it does require one having their own yard in which to garden

• Make Michael get braces.

DONE – 10/2009. Michael is ridiculously handsome and even more ridiculously smart and well-spoken. However, his teeth have always held him back socially – in terms of smiling. So we slapped those braces on and we’ll be seeing a very smiley man in 2011.

• De-clutter…have a huge garage sale/donation.

DONE – 3/13/10. Pre-move to California. Will have to do this again when we move into our own place because I’m sure it will be TINY.

• Get drunk.

DONE – 6th street (Austin), summer 2010. This is a terrible goal on so many levels, but I’m 28 and had never been drunk before, so I tried it in the safest way possible – surrounded by good/mature friends and no driving involved. Then I puked, and all was well.

• Get a “serenity” tattoo.

DONE – Austin, summer 2010.

• Go horseback riding.

Used to ride all the time as a kid at a friend’s farm, miss it.

• Start using a face-care system.

Good grief, I’ve tried 5 million different cleansing/toning/exfoliating/hydrating/clarifying/unclogging products to no avail. Mostly because I tend to quit after two weeks.  But I’ve now invested in Keihl’s Blue Line, so this better work! How is it fair to have acne and the onset of wrinkles at the same time?! Rude.

• Have a party.

I’m thinking an anniversary party or house warming (crossed fingers)  – go all out, catering, center-pieces, etc. This goal is because my wedding was super homemade – by me – and I’ve always wished I would’ve gone all out (with-in reason, of course).

• Learn to stop gossiping.

This is not as prevalent now that I have moved and have all acquaintances and no friends, but still, the temptation will arise once I have someone to gossip to, so I better practice.

• Finish the Family room.

(seal grout, paint ceiling, etc) DONE – Spring 2010…at my old house, don’t even get to enjoy it now. Boo.

• Sew something…an apron maybe?

I’ve purchased many supplies for sewing different things, but have yet to take the cover off my sewing machine. I need a tutor.

• Hang pictures of family and friends.

Sounds easy, but how do you decide? And as soon as you get them up everyone sends you new ones and your kids are a year older. Defeat.

• Apply for a federal job. (DEA, FBI, ICE, etc)

DONE – January 2010. That was a no-go.  My husband now has a federal law enforcement job, and I do contract work for the Sheriff’s Office, does that count?

• Try out for a professional cheerleading team.

Oakland Raiderettes – DONE – April 2010. Didn’t make it, which is probably a good thing, those pirate costumes are awful It was an awesome girls’ weekend with Kristi, LeKeshia and Emerald (my Abilene friends that came with me for support).

• Walk a runway.

When I moved to California I embraced the anonymity of living in the Bay Area by seeking out amateur modeling jobs. DONE – So far I’ve done 4 runway shows– one in a bikini (ahhh!) and 5 photo shoots. At most of these events I have a good 6-7 years, and many more pounds, on all the other wannabe models, but I’m convinced the fashion industry needs a reality check…and I WORK IT, so no complaints from the casting directors

• Launch our blog

My husband and I are getting ready to launch a blog. It’s been a long time coming. Warning, I’ve been told I lack a censor (content, not expletives).

• See myself in print!

The ultimate would be a feature in the “Are you Next?” section of Oxygen magazine. However, I’ll settle for a local dry-cleaner coupon…I just want to feel famous!

Holly McFarland recently moved from TEXAS to the San Francisco Bay Area for her husband’s work and to be closer to his family. They have two boys, Riley (4) and Roman (2 on Christmas Eve!). Holly works from home for a County mentoring program, designing curriculum and pr/marketing campaigns. She has her B.S. and M.A. in Communication from Abilene Christian University and is certified in Conflict Mediation.

The day Subway started offering flatbread my husband and I both rejoiced. And, the day I noticed Sandwich Thins in the grocery store I couldn’t help myself: I knew we HAD to try these. Regular bread is boring, and hoagie buns and hamburger buns just have too. much. bread. Now we’re using Sandwich Thins for sandwiches, burgers, and even mini pizzas!

While I’ve found Sandwich Thins in several stores, no one seems to have the selection that WalMart carries. They’re easy to find, cause they’re with the buns (they should be!) and not with the bagels and English muffins like they are at Kroger. (ahem) All the brands I’ve seen are free of High Fructose Corn Syrup, and are either wheat, multi-grain, or whole grain. They really are the healthy alternative to a hamburger bun.

I think even better than having less carbs than a regular bun, there’s just less of them. Period. I hate biting into a sandwich and getting a whole mouthful of bun and very little fixin’s. Even my kiddo likes the Sandwich Thins and acts like they’re some kind of treat. He’ll eat a plain cheese or peanut butter sandwich on them. They really are tasty!

Check out my shopping experience and how I made today’s lunch-on-the-go easy with Sandwich Thins!

Has your family tried Sandwich Thins? What brand do you like and where do you buy them?

Disclaimer: This shopping trip and post were sponsored by Collective Bias and written by me, Erica Mueller. A big thanks to Dwan for allowing me to post here!!

I’m thrilled that my good friend, Erica Mueller, has decided to share her Life List with my readers.  As you all know my Life List is becoming a big part of my blog and has been very inspiring to me lately.  The excitement I feel when I accomplish something on my list or even work towards my dreams and goals is priceless.  Taking the time to sit back and relax and focus on what’s important, even if it’s a small thing, is precious.  I hope you enjoy Erica’s guest post as much as I do!

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.  -Will Rogers

That Will was a smart fellow, and poor guy, didn’t know it would only get worse. The hurrying that is. We’re so caught up in future we forget that there is a present, or that there will someday be a past to look back upon and regret. I’ve decided I don’t want to hurry any more. I want to sit on the porch and drink a coffee while the hummingbirds hover around my flowers. I want to curl up on the couch in the morning and snuggle my little one while he still wants me near, and I want to live my dreams.

And so, I’ve compiled a list of things I’ve always wanted to do. Some of them are grand and lofty, and may take years to prepare for, while others are more easily attainable with a little effort.

I want to, in no particular order…

Ride a hot air balloon
Go sailing
Learn to pilot a small plane
See dolphins in the wild
Go to Alaska, take a cruise, and see the whales
Visit Oregon and Washington, and maybe Vancouver too
Become a potter and have my own little shop
Record a CD
Sing with a band, again
Become fluent in sign language
Play my guitar well enough to accompany myself when I sing
Learn to play the saxophone
Build a home
Go for a date with my husband, to the carnival where we ride rides, eat cotton candy, and act like kids again
Take my little boy to Lego Land
See the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Shores
Learn to swim
Work in a horse stable
Learn to dance
Have another child
Home school my kid(s)
Celebrate 50 years of marriage with my husband

I’m sure there are a lot more things I’ve thought of, and will think of, but for now, this is my list!

Erica Mueller is a work at home mom and wife. She spends her days building with Legos, pre-schooling her son, and designing WordPress web sites. Her passion is helping bloggers and small businesses have sites they can be proud of! You can find Erica at her blog, Erica Says, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

This is a sponsored guest post written by Zac Johnson on behalf of Sponsored Tweets. Post powered by Sponzai

A couple weeks ago I signed up with Sponsored Tweets, a new program available through Izea. The concept of Sponsored Tweets is simply… get paid to send out tweets through Twitter. Since joining, I’ve had several opportunities come through, and have already made several hundreds of dollars. Here’s a bit more on the site and how you can make money too. View Sponsored Tweets

How does Sponsored Tweets work?

Everything about Sponsored Tweets is very simple and easy to setup. You create your account, and login with your same Twitter account info (through Twitter). Once your account is created, you just need to set how much you want to be paid per tweet, and then you wait for a new opportunity to come in. When you receive a new opportunity, you just need to approve or deny the tweet. Some advertisers write what they want you to say, but many leave that up to the tweeter. You submit the “tweet” for approved, and once approved, the money is deposit into your account.

Is this allowed by Twitter, and Ethical?

To answer the most important question, YES! This is allowed by Twitter! and Sponsored Tweets mentions this several times on their web site, as they have worked with Twitter through the process of making the site. As for being “ethical”, there is full disclosure. When a tweet is sent through Sponsored Tweets, it is seen on twitter as “sponsored by…“, “Ad“, or “brought to you by..“. It’s this full disclosure that keeps the tweeter, the advertiser and the reader all legit.

What does a “sponsored tweet” look like?

Depending on whether or not your advertisers provides an ad copy, your tweet can look like anything. Whatever you submit will be sent over to Sponsored Tweets for approval. Other than that, it will look like a regular tweet going out through your account. The only difference is that the url is through bit.ly and instead of being posted from “web” or “tweetdeck”, it says “from Sponsored Tweets“… as it should for full disclosure.

Is anyone making Money with Sponsored Tweets?

As mentioned, in just my first couple of weeks, I’ve made an extra few hundred bucks just for a few minutes of my time approving ads, and I have a fairly small twitter following. ShoeMoney also posted about how he has earned thousands from tweeting advertiser links independently and through Sponsored Tweets.

Who else is partnered with Sponsored Tweets?

There are actually a decent amount of big name tweeters already signed on with Sponsored Tweets. I haven’t seen a way to signup online (have to call) as an Advertiser to access a full list of tweeters available, but they do have the following “featured tweeters” listed in the login area. Some of these accounts (like Kim Kardashian) have over 2 million followers.

That’s a quick summary of what Sponsored Tweets is all about, and how it’s making money and driving leads through Twitter. It’s fairly new, and always great to get into a new revenue source on the bottom floor.