Jessica Azar's Blog, page 6
February 16, 2016
How to Build a Car Emergency Kit
Tweet Being Prepared is one of the best methods of surviving any situation, and being stranded in your car is no exclusion. Even if you’re not stranded, there are certainly other hiccups that are bound to happen when you travel with your family (or drive across town!) and having the right tool to alleviate the problem at hand can be worth its weight in gold. I’ve compiled a list of invaluable items to keep in your car, and although certain ones may sound silly, just remember that I have a very good reason for including the ones that I included, even Kitty Litter, and my article explains why each of them are crucial. Go check out the heavily-researched article I’ve written, Car Emergency Checklist and Advice, and get busy adding these items to your kit. Did I miss any “must-have” items that you keep in your Car Emergency Kit? Let me know over on the Herd Management Facebook Page! You could be doing us all a huge favor by sharing your knowledge! Tweet
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February 15, 2016
Sanity-Saving RoadTrip Games
Tweet Roadtrip games are a valuable tool anytime you’re transporting kids from place to place. It’s almost time for Spring Break, which means family vacations, which means kids will be trapped in the car for hours while you drive from Point A to Point B. This is also the time of year when Spring Sports like baseball and softball keep many families like ours in the road with endless practices and games. My kids are pretty well-behaved (sometimes) but there’s only so much drama-free, pleasant riding time that they can muster, and a distraction becomes necessary. WAY necessary. I don’t always have DVD players and books at the ready, so it’s a great idea to know of a few “prop-free” games to put into play when things get hostile in the car. Here’s a great list of games that we love and have had good luck turning a hellish car-situation into a tolerable one: Sanity-Saving RoadTrip Games Did I miss any good ones that you love? Let me know on the Herd Management Facebook page! You might save my life when my games have lost their luster. Tweet
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Deliciously Unhealthy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Tweet You know, sometimes you just have to make a treat so incredibly decadent that you can barely eat a whole piece in one sitting, and that’s exactly what this recipe will do for you. Based off a recipe for the chocolate cake that so many of us remember eating in the lunchroom at school or cafeteria-type establishments (I’m looking at you, Morrison’s) growing up, I altered the recipe a relative gave me to make a Deliciously Unhealthy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake. Eating this cake after I made it was like opening a time portal to being a kid again, only I modified it so that my Gluten-sensitive tendencies wouldn’t drag me back into the present and leave me miserable for a week. You’re going to want, no NEED, to bake this simple recipe and let your kids experience the amazingness that we grew up with, but would now be considered way too unhealthy to be served in the health-conscious lunchrooms of today. You’re going to need Eggs, a ton of Butter (no, really), Gluten-Free Baking Flour, Powdered Sugar, Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, Vanilla, Sugar, Salt and Milk to make the cake and icing. Measure out the correct amounts of ingredients…
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February 10, 2016
What Does Actin Ugly Mean? Talk Southern to Me Episode 5
Tweet Welcome back to Episode 5 of Talk Southern to me! This week we will answer the question : “What does actin ugly mean”? This is one of those phrases that for some reason I never realized was Southern-specific! I guess I just thought everyone everywhere in America knew what “Actin Ugly” or “Ugly-acting” meant and used it in everyday conversation just like we as Southerners do. It’s such a vital phrase that I didn’t even realize it wasn’t universally understood, as I readily realize others are not. My children are told to stop actin ugly at least once a day, and they use the phrase to describe the bad behavior of other kids (or adults, as the case may be). That toddler you saw throwing a fit in Target because he couldn’t have a toy he wanted? He’s actin ugly. A woman losing her ever-loving-mind on a saleswoman for not being fast enough? She’s actin ugly, bless her heart. See, in the South we describe the behavior and inward personality of a person just as we would describe their physical appearance. If someone acts ugly it has a way of making them look less pretty on the outside, no…
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February 8, 2016
How to Take Kids to a Mardi Gras Parade
Tweet Going to take kids to a Mardi Gras Parade? Read these great words of advice. Although the Mardi Gras Season is winding down, there are some amazing parades left to attend! If you’ve been nervous about whether it’s a good idea to take kids to a Mardi Gras parade, these tips just may give you the piece of mind you need to take the plunge. Kids are a vital part of the fun environment at Mardi Gras; they will enjoy the colorful floats and costumes, love catching beads and Moon Pies, and you’ll be making priceless memories with them. Just like any public event, there may be a few people acting inappropriately, but with some research you can find areas and parades that are more conducive to families being a part of the festivities. Check out this piece I’ve written for the Southern Weekend on How to take Kids to a Mardi Gras Parade, and explore their website while yoyu’re at it! Amazing Southern travel, lifestyle, and recipe articles are all over the website! Mardi Gras Parade Tips for Families Tweet
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February 4, 2016
What is a Pulley Bone? Talk Southern to Me Episode 4
Tweet It’s time for this week’s episode of Talk Southern to Me, and today we are looking at the meaning of “Pulley Bone”. What is a Pulley Bone? So keep in mind that if you want to break the wishbone or want to eat what some believe to be the best part of a fried chicken, call dibs on the pulley bone when you’re in a Southern eating establishment or at a get-together down here! For more lessons on Southern speech, come back next week for a new episode of Talk Southern to Me, and check out past lessons! Tweet
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February 3, 2016
Learn About Mardi Gras on The Southern Weekend
Tweet Ever wondered how Mardi Gras as we now know it came to be? Go check out this article I wrote for The Southern Weekend and learn about Mardi Gras through its history and the evolution of its traditions! Laissez les bon temps rouler! Tweet
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February 2, 2016
Gatlinburg Falls Resort
Tweet Oh my goodness, Gatlinburg Falls Resort is one of my favorite places that I’ve stayed on a family vacation. Last month my husband, our pack of kids, and I all went to Gatlinburg for a short getaway. We debated on whether to get a stand-alone cabin from a vacation rental agency, go back to Wilderness at The Smokies, or finding somewhere new to stay. Because I’m an adventurer, I got in touch with Gatlinburg Falls to ask them about reviewing their property (which looked AMAZING on the Gatlinburg Falls website) and they graciously agreed to work with me. One amazing thing about the Gatlinburg Falls property is that it’s SO CLOSE to downtown Gatlinburg. Having stayed in Pigeon Forge before as well as a cabin way out in the woods near Sevierville (both are near Gatlinburg), it was such a treat to spend less time driving to and from other locations we wanted to visit by staying so close to everything. Gatlinburg Falls combines the best of both worlds: guests stay in an actual cabin with porches, hot tubs an some of the other “must-have” amenities travelers look for when they search for a cabin for a mountains vacation…
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February 1, 2016
Yoga Poses to Detox Your Body
Tweet Yoga is my healthy addiction for SO many reasons. One of the biggest benefits is that it gives me an opportunity to get fit AND do yoga poses to detox my body naturally. Being that I’ve been on prescription medicines daily for nearly a decade and love to occasionally drink scotch, my poor liver needs all the help it can get in keeping the toxic sludge to the curb, so in researching ways to accomplish this, I’ve found these poses to be the most helpful. Be sure to click on the name of the pose to be taken to instructions on executing each asana (pose) correctly! Keep in mind that I’m not a yoga instructor, although I might like to be one someday, so if you have any questions seek one out! Also, just to make you feel right at home, I left the laundry that needs to be folded on the couch… for that stressed-out mom vibe. Let’s get started on my favorite yoga poses to detox our bodies! Wide-Leg Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana) Reverses gravity and forces blood to circulate throughout the body. Folding action aids the digestive system by squeezing and massaging the organs around. Also…
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January 26, 2016
What is Pot Likker ? Talk Southern to Me Episode 3
Tweet Welcome back for this week’s episode of Talk Southern to ME, where we take a new word, phrase, or Southernism and do our best to define it in non-Southern terms. Episode 3: What is Pot Likker? We love food, and because Southerners cook some seriously delicious meals, we don’t want even a drop of the amazingness to go to waste. That includes every last drop of the liquid that remains in the pot on the stove after we remove the food that’s been cooking in it. That liquid, many would call it a broth, has been flavored by the vegetables it contained while they were cooked, as well as the spices and butter that we probably used to flavor it. If there’s enough of it left, we might save it in a container in the refrigerator to be used for flavoring other things we will be cooking, and the amount on our plates that remains after the food on it has been eaten is just perfect when soaked up (or ‘sopped’ as I say) with a roll, biscuit, biscuit or bread. I hope you’re more comfortable with using the word y’all after last week’s lesson! Come back next week…
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