Archives for July 2017

How to Start a WordPress Blog with Bluehost

July 31, 2017

Hey everyone! Laura here, per usual. If you’re a regular reader, you might be wondering why I am introducing myself when I am the only writer at cleanchefmessymom! Well, that’s because today I am super lucky to have an amazing guest post on my site… and now you’re wondering who it is. It’s the one and the only love of my life, amazing husband, and father to my baby. And why am I having him write? Well, over the last few weeks I have had dozens of you reach out to me asking how I turned my blog into a full time business. I know you really want the nitty-gritty monetization tips, but in order to even work with those tips, you need to know how to set up a blog. Daniel will discuss this, but one thing people often misunderstand is how blogging as a business works. If you really want to make money, there’s only so much you can do with “blogging” platforms such as blogspot, wordpress.com, and Wix. If you really want to build your blog into a business, you need to learn how to build it and host it yourself! And that’s where my knowledge ends, so without wasting any more time, here is my husband and tech expert.…

Seeds Oats & Nuts

July 28, 2017

Let me just start this one off by saying I love a good granola. Almost as much as I love a good cookie, and y’all know how I feel about cookies.

I also really love making my own granola. I love that when I make my own granola I know exactly what goes into it. And I also love that when I make my own granola I am fully in control of the final product. Everyone knows there’s a perfect granola.

But let’s be honest, y’all. As much as I love making all of my own things, sometimes I just honestly run out of time. Want me to be even more honest? Sometimes I just don’t feel like it. And then I am caught between a rock and a hard place.

Because I am too tired (sometimes lazy) to make my own, but I refuse to buy most grocery store options. (Because so. many. ingredients.)…

My Wedding Wasn’t The Best Day Of My Life

July 27, 2017

Isn’t it so interesting how generations and generations of humans have regarded the wedding day as “the best day ever?”

I mean, in a lot of ways, yes, it is the best day of your life. But really, it’s the best day of your life so far…

I am taking a risk here, I know, but I just have to be honest.

My wedding wasn’t the best day of my life.

…

Worry Free Acne Solutions

July 26, 2017

Worry Free Wednesday is back ALREADY. I swear the time between Wednesdays is shorter than the time between Friday and Monday. And we all know how short that is. It’s like the weekend never happened. And then we are back at it.

Okay, the more I think about it, nothing compares to the short duration of the weekend. But Wednesdays do come around super fast.

This Wednesday I wanted to take time to address something that you have been worrying about. Last week I launched a little questionnaire regarding your concerns with both your skin and the beauty industry. The one thing that nearly all of you had in common was your frustration with acne….

The Facebook Addiction

July 25, 2017

Can I be honest for a second? I’m sort of frustrated. I’m frustrated with social media, I’m frustrated with my generation, and I’m frustrated with myself.

Why so bothered, you ask?

Because Facebook.

We are all so wrapped up in it that we have forgotten what it looks like to value real relationships with our friends.

To be quite blunt, we have an addiction. Think you don’t? I challenge you to go an entire week without looking at your Facebook feed. Maybe you can do it. Maybe you can push through. But maybe it will be hard. Maybe you will reach for you phone twenty times and realize just as you open your app that you need to close it….

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

July 24, 2017

Y’all wanna know how I make it through a Monday?

Cookies. So many cookies.

Okay, not every Monday. But this Monday I swear they are calling my name and won’t leave me alone. I have tried everything. I have gone all the way to the laundry room in the basement and put a pillow over my head, but I can still hear them calling from the stovetop. It’s torture. And there’s no way to ever get out.

It’s like Hotel California.

Am I the only person that feels like that? Like you can’t escape the calling of the delicious desserts on your counter? There has to be a support group for that. If you’re a part of one, could you let me know? Anonymously, of course.

But seriously, cookies. These cookies are part two of my “You Asked For It” series and I am in love….

Dear Women, Start Respecting Yourselves

July 20, 2017

This is post is very personal to me. I mean, I guess all my posts are, but I often try to keep it objective and share more about topics and facts and less about emotions and my heart. This is one is straight from my heart. It is a letter to fellow women, and a deep cry for change.

I have wrestled with this for quite some time. I don’t just mean writing this post. I mean that I have literally wrestled with the very thing I want to talk about, and my words come from deep experience and painful process.

So what is it, you are wondering? I want to talk about women posting photos on social media. I want to talk about the photos in swimsuits, the gym selfies, the photos of our kids that conveniently show the muscles we are most proud of, and the selfies we took over and over to get the perfect one that showed our very best features. I want to talk about the photos, and I want to talk about the motives behind them….

No More Sulfates

July 19, 2017

It’s Worry Free Wednesday again!

I feel like it was Wednesday just yesterday so now I am sitting here worrying about how fast time goes by.

So much for being worry free…

Okay, I am worrying about one less thing today, however. We have finally taken the leap in our home and eliminated one more harsh ingredient in our everyday products.

NO MORE HARMFUL SULFATES

…

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 18, 2017

So… the last few weeks have just been draining for us. Between family stuff, post-pregnancy medical issues, and a baby that violently throws up 15-20 times a day, we’ve just been super exhausted.

I’ve tried to gain strength in a variety of ways, and none of them have really worked, so I finally realized I just needed to eat my sorrows away with chocolate chip cookies.

But then I realized I would be even more miserable because I would gain a million pounds, so……

Should We Vaccinate Our Babies?

July 18, 2017

This is more than a can of worms. It’s more like a raging war with arrows on fire, attached to bombs, launched from WWII canons.

The great vaccine debate is one that I honestly don’t usually engage in unless someone directly asks for my opinion. There is so much tension around the matter that I find myself afraid of saying what I think, for fear of being ripped apart. The anti-vaccine community has such strong opinions, and the pro-vaccine community is no different. The thoughts, opinions, and feelings that drive the communication between the two are far from healthy.

And honestly that is kind of sad. We should be able to talk about these things without losing relationship. We should be able to talk about these things without such great offense, and we should be able to agree to disagree.

So today, I am breaking through my fear and talking about it….