Take the It Can Wait pledge today

Did you know that those that send texts while driving are 23 times more like to be in a car crash then those that do not? I had no idea the statistics were that high and honestly that's a downright scary number. I've posted before about how scary the statistics are turning for those that text and drive, heck even talking on the phone, looking for directions, tweeting, etc. Trust me, I get it, we are a technology society but just like admitting an addiction we as a society need to realize the dangers that these electronics pose for not only ourselves but to our children as well. Monkey see monkey do runs true no matter what anyone says. If your kids see you texting and driving they wont see anything wrong with it when they turn 16 and get their first set of wheels. Is that the kind of example you want to se for your children? 

I am no saint but I am trying my damnedest to not text and drive. Most of the time it's seriously simple, especially if you leave your phone on vibrate and in your purse like I tend to do. Out of site out of mind hence no temptation. But there are the occasional times say when I am lost or running late somewhere that I, without thinking grab my phone to text for directions or quickly say I am running late. 99% of the time I wait until I am at a stop but I admit, there are those few times I grab it while driving. That is what I am pledging to not do anymore. I do not want to set that as an example for my children and let them think it's okay to be distracted while driving. 

So today I took the pledge not just for myself but for my children. Will you take the pledge with me? To take the pledge visit It Can Wait. You can sign up via Facebook, the entire process takes less then five minutes. If you do decide to join this movement be sure to come back and let me know so I can virtually give you a high five!

Wordless Wednesday - A day at Belmar

Last week I had the honor to go on the first ever Social Good retreat, Jersey Love where I got to meet the most amazing women. I could gush all day about how much I love them, that's how amazing everyone was. But the one thing that hit me the most was visiting Belmar. As soon as I stepped out of the car it was as if I got hit in the face by a brick wall of amazing. The smell from the ocean was an instant flash back for me and it smelled absolutely wonderful. I almost broke down into tears just from the smell alone. But then I walked off alone to put my feet in the water and it was as if every thing just rushed away. I felt....home.

If you didn't know the Belmar boardwalk was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy. In seven short months

the town has rebuilt all 1.3 miles of it destroyed boardwalk. 

A few weeks ago at a ceremony for the efforts made towards the shore Mayor Matt Doherty said "We promised that a new boardwalk would be built in time for Memorial Day, and today I can proudly say we have delivered." And delivered they have! Not only is the boardwalk new and beautiful but they have playgrounds along the beach for the children as well as plans to add showers for easier clean up after spending the day at the beach. If you've ever gone to the beach you know how huge it is to have a shower for a quick rinse off before heading home. 

Look ma I see a surfer out in the distance. Can you spot him?

 
These ladies rocked the waves!

Be sure to check out the links below from other lovely ladies that attended this amazing trip. Thank you again to Caesars Atlantic City, D6 Surf Skimmers & D'Jais for everything! You guys are truly amazing.

Invisalign, the new alternative to metal braces

This is a Sponsored Post. The company who sponsored this post compensated me via cash payment, gift or something else of value to write this post. Regardless of payment I only recommend products and/or services that I would personally use and that I believe to be a good fit for my readers.

Eight years, that's how long I had braces. Eight painstaking YEARS. Whenever I discuss my braces story with friends or even new Dentists they all say pretty much the same thing, "eight years is a really long time". You're telling me folks.

It all started the year the photo on the left was taken, look how bitty I was. Ignore the awesomeness that is known as the fanny pack, jelly shoes, leggings and over sized sweater worn as a dress. Yeah it was the late 80's early 90's what can I say. I didn't get my braces off until right before high school. So all through elementary and middle school I had braces. To say I didn't smile often would be an understatement. Or if I did smile I did it with my mouth closed because in addition to the braces I also had to do the rubber band from my top teeth to my bottom teeth. Two rubber bands in my mouth to be changed daily. The only thing I was fortunate not to have to get was head gear. I ended up getting so used to smiling with my mouth closed that even to this day I do not like to smile with my mouth open. What I wouldn't have given to not have to deal with braces. And to think Invisalign started being used by Orthodontists in 1999, one year after I had my braces removed. 

Invisalign has brought the world of brace's to a whole new level. By taking away metal braces and introducing removable aligners they have quickly become the favored choice between adults and teens alike. By using a series of clear plastic aligners that fit flat on your teeth you take away the pain from getting metal braces adjusted, use of rubber bands, possible cuts from metal wires coming loose or brackets falling off. I experienced all of the above with my braces, I even had a wire pop off and go straight into my cheek! 

Benefits of using Invisalign:

• Because you can remove the aligners there are no restrictions on what you can or can't eat! That's right no more grabbing a giant jaw breaker and gnawing on that just because you were told you weren't allowed to.
• Adults, teens and even pre-teens can smile with confidence while using the aligners because unlike metal braces Invisalign aligners are almost invisible. 
• Since you don't need to constantly have adjustments done as you do with metal braces you will have fewer orthodontic visits. For us busy moms this is big as I am sure it is for teens as well, because who wants to be bogged down going to the ortho every week.
• You can start seeing progress with your teeth in as little as 90 days! 
• And one of my favorite benefits is NO more goopy clay like molds that make you gag as it drips down your throat....shudders, that is one feeling I will never forget.

Okay now in all honesty here, can you tell she's wearing aligners? I can't and as a former braces wearer I think it's awesome and I may or may not be slightly jealous of the amazing options that are available now. Have you or someone you’ve known used Invisalign? If so, what was their experience? Would you consider getting Invisalign?

If you'd like to learn more about invisible braces offered by Invisalign you can visit their website here. You can also find them onTwitter as well as Facebook. An interesting tool they have is the Smile Assessment where you fill out questions and they will send you an email with results of why Invisalign could be a good option for your or your teen.

This is a Sponsored Post. The company who sponsored this post compensated me via cash payment, gift or something else of value to write this post. Regardless of payment I only recommend products and/or services that I would personally use and that I believe to be a good fit for my readers.

Join us tomorrow for the #JerseyLove Twitter Party

Come join us June 3rd (tomorrow!) at 6:00pm PST / 9:00pm EST for what is sure to be an amazing twitter party. To celebrate the launch of D6 Surf Skimmer we are having a party, and what better way to invite all of your friends then to do in on Twitter where everyone can come! We will be talking about surfing, skimming, beach fun and so much more!

Make sure you follow the hosts of this awesome chat @D6SurfSkimmer @SMMoms @DawnSandomeno @hollywoodhotmom @njdigitalmoms 

You can join in using the custom Tweetgrid http://bit.ly/1163gqw or just search for the #JerseyLove #SurfSkimmer #HangTen hashtag.

Want to win a D6 Surfskimmer and Beach Bags? Tweet to win and follow #JerseyLove #HangTen and #SurfSkimmer hastags!  You MUST fill out the Rafflecopter below to be entered!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Restore the Shore #JerseyLove

As many of you remember Hurricane Sandy went through the Jersey area and devastated most of the shore line. Small shops, homes, restaurants and boardwalks were destroyed. Some have rebuilt, other's are still working on rebuilding but they will come back and some have sadly had to close their doors. 

In less then one week I will be on my way to the first EVER Social Good retreat where a group of 40 incredible women from both Social Media Moms and NJ Digital Moms will come together to do Social Good in Jersey. I am humbled to be a part of this amazing opportunity to show Social Good throughout those areas hit hardest by the hurricane. A huge thank you to D6 Sports and Caesars Entertainment for joining forces and supporting this amazing trip for all of us! From June 6 – 9, 2013, we will be visiting Atlantic City and Belmar for a retreat. While there we will be sharing our entire experience along our social media channels. The goal is to encourage people to come back to the shore if they used to be regulars and encourage newbies (such as myself) to experience it for the first time.

If you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow me at @ShanaMama9197 to catch before, during and after  tweets. To keep up with everyone during the event follow along by searching for the #JerseyLove hashtag. You can also follow along on Facebook through the Social Media Moms page, my page ShanaMama and of course I'll be sharing on Instagram on Piscesvirgo, because as you all know I am a wee bit photo addicted. And lastly make sure to keep an eye out on Pinterest as everyone will be sharing there too. If you would like to help us get the word out about our mission to get people to visit the Jersey shore (that would be awesome and we will love you forever if you do). You can help by retweeting, sharing, repinning, and some all around spreading of the #JerseyLove!

All opinions in this post are my own.

Under Armour What's Beautiful

You are beautiful in every single way, words can't bring me down. It may be corny and tacky and all that sappy stuff but I don't care. It's what I sing to myself whenever I get down and feel like just giving up on my journey to a healthier me. Yeah sure I have my down days where I just want to shove my face and veg out but all I have to do is look at my kids and I snap myself out of it.

See my kids are my inspiration. I want to be there for them as long as I can. My body has been falling apart the last ten years, I simply let myself go and I am paying the price for it. When you don't take care of yourself things don't just magically happen so I am done being that person. I am taking better care of myself. Part of my commitment to myself is to include exercise in my weekly routine as often as I can and on the days I don't get a chance to then I have to have walked at least 5,000 steps. No more I cants, all I will be chanting is #IWILL

I know you may be thinking what a low goal that is but let me explain a little. I work from home, on the computer all.day.long. So while I do get up to do lunch and dinner and household chores I still spend the better part of my day on my rear end. Not good for me and sure as heck not good on my butt. So while 5,000 steps is in fact a small number for the avid runner or walker for me it's a start to my journey and get back to the kick butt, in shape, running for the pure enjoyment of it person that I used to be.

Under Armour wants to help redefine the female athlete. But not just in their eyes, in yours. What does it mean to you to be a female athlete? Sounds like something you want to do right?

• Set up an account at Under Armour: What's Beautiful
• Put in your goal(s). Don't be scared to aim big because 3 finalist will get to attend the Under Armour Retreat in Costa Rica! They will also receive yoga sessions, surfing lessons, spa treatments and more.
• Do whatever you need to do to reach those goals and don't forget to keep track of it on the website.
• Encourage, Inspire and Support others the community. 

One of the fabulous things about this community is that you can encourage others to keep up the amazing work. Think of it like a giant message board. You can see others status updates and completed challenges and comment on their progress. 

If you'd like to see a quick demo on how the site works be sure to check out this video What’s Beautiful 3.0. When you sign up and do your social sharing (you like how I said when not if, that's the #IWILL speaking there) use the hashtags #whatsbeautiful and #IWILL to follow along with everyone else! And don't forget to follow Under Armour on Twitter and Facebook.

This is a sponsored campaign through FitFluential that I am receiving product for my participation. All opinions expressed therein are as always my own.

The Oklahoma tragedy and how to help

First let me say thank you to those that have messaged and called, we are okay. We are safe, our kiddos and our home are all safe. I still haven’t been able to fully process everything that happened yesterday. I personally have never experienced this kind of weather before, I am not from Oklahoma originally so I don't have the May 3, 1999 devastation to refer to like so many of the lifers out here. All I know is that this tragedy happened close to home. I had a few hours of panic when I couldn't get a hold of my one my close friends who resides in Moore with her family. I was finally able to get a hold of her and thank goodness she was one of the lucky ones. The tornado hit 1/2 mile from her. 

My heart absolutely breaks for the families affected by this disaster, especially for those parents who lost their children. I just cannot imagine what they are going through right now. I want to do something and I know I cannot go over there and help, not yet. They are asking that people stay out until given the okay that it is safe and to let the professionals do their thing. So until we are given the go ahead all I can do is pray and spread the word on how to help.

If you want to help the victims in Oklahoma (Moore and Shawnee) here are some ways you can.

• Feed the Children: They have set up donations areas at some local news stations and are accepting  donations in the form of water, sports drinks, canned food, diapers and blankets.  

• Samaritan's Purse:  Samaritan's Purse is on their way to the Moore and Shawnee area ready to help in any way they can. You can donate via their site and/or volunteer to help in the efforts. You can volunteer here.

• The Salvation Army: You can donate online, text STORM to 80888 to donate $10 or you can call in a donation to 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

• Red Cross: You can donate at Redcross.org call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation

• Disaster Relief of Oklahoma: You can donate here or mail a donation to this address BGCO
  Attn: Disaster Relief, 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73112 

• Animal Resource Center: If you find any animals, you can take them to the Animal Resource Center at 7949 S. I-35 Service Road (405) 604-2892.

• The Pet Food Pantry of OKC is offering dog food, cat food, leashes, collars, food bowls, etc to those in need (405) 664-2858
   
• Central Oklahoma Humane Society: You can make donations online or if you are local they have two drop off locations set up at 5420 N Classen Blvd Oklahoma City, OK AND 2905 NW 70th St. Oklahoma City, OK. They also have a lost and found page set up here.
  
  
• Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma : http://www.regionalfoodbank.org/ or text FOOD to 32333

If you are in need of shelter here is a list of local shelters

• University of Oklahoma – they released a statement earlier that they have opened up student housing in Norman for those seeking shelter

• Oklahoma Baptist University – student housing (Shawnee)

• Graceway Baptist Church, located at 1100 S.W. 104th in Oklahoma City.

• Oakcrest Church of Christ at 1111 S.W. 89th Street in Moore.

• Victory Church, located 4300 North MacArthur in Oklahoma City.

• Journey Church in Norman I-35 and Tecumseh Road is open as a shelter.

• Fifth Street Missionary Baptist Church, located at 801 N.E. 5th St. Oklahoma City.

• St. Andrews Church, located at S.W. 119th and May.

• Trinity Church of the Nazarene is open as an emergency shelter. It is located at 7301 S. Walker, just on the north side of I-240.

Friends of mine, Amy Bellgardt of Mom Spark and Kelby Carr of Type-A-Parent  posted a list of ways you can help the residents out here.  

If you have a family member in the area and cannot locate them please make sure to check the Red Cross Safe and Well site. You can check in for loved one's to know you're safe or you can search for your loved one's.

Please continue to send your thoughts, prayers and love to Oklahoma.