Guest Speakers

Interview with Book Author Jenna McCarthy

On todays show we welcomed back the always funny Jenna McCarthy to our show! Jenna was here to talk to us about her latest book that was just released a couple of weeks ago titled “Cheers to the New Mom/Cheers to the New Dad!: Tips and Tricks to Help You Ace the Frist Months of Parenthood“. This book is a flip book meaning you read one side of the book and it has tips for Moms and then you flip the book over and now it is Dad’s tips on that side.

Jenna is always one of our favorite guests with her funny wit and her tendacy to leave us speechless and laughing at the same time, and she didn’t disappoint us this time either. Jenna explanied that they wanted a fun and easy to read book that shares all those tips and tricks that maybe people don’t want to tell you when you are becoming a first time parent. Everything from how to keep your new baby happy and healthy, how to deal with well intentioned inlawas, how to keep the Father involved in caring for the new baby, how parents can still have time for themselves and their marriage. Of course this is written with Jenna’s brutal and funny way that not only helps to provide you with great information, but also leaves you with a aching stomach from laughing. We encourage you to sit back and enjoy this great interview! Also if you did not get a chance to listen to our interview with Jenna in February talking about her other book Parent Trip just do a search on our site to find the old interview. Also find below links to both of her books that you can purchase easily by just clicking on the Amazon links below.

Our Interview with Josh from MomFaves.com Come Listen to the Show!

On today’s show we had the pleasure of interviewing Josh from Momfaves.com.  First off let me state that it is so refreshing to meet a man who truly truly understands all the struggles Moms go through in our daily lives. Thank goodness Josh is married to his beautiful wife Rebecca, because I was afraid out chatroom members would try to run way with him lol. Ok seriously, Josh started this site with his wife Rebecca to honor his Mother’s memory who sadly passed away from Cancer four years ago. Having techincal background, he wanted to offer a place that allowed Mom’s to have a voice to share their favorite sites, recipes and so much more.

MomFaves is a Social Networking site that was built just for us Moms! The wonderful thing about this site first off is the ease of use, you can navigate around the site very easily and find everything you are looking for. Whether it be  a great shopping deal, a great recipe, news stories, remedies, causes, Mom’s favorite websites and so much more. Also when you come across a great article or deal or article you can vote on this with the Fave It button which will allow Josh and his wife Rebecca to know which stories or deals or articles really interest other Moms. Along with the great content you can also meet other great Moms online which is where your networking comes in. From finding your favorite friends or Moms and adding them to your Girlfriends Lists or by meeting new Moms in the groups there is simply an endless amount of things you can do on MomFaves.

Josh also talked about his Blog Why Moms Matter Project this is a wonderful blog! On this Blog they have people nominate a Mom that Matters! This is very simple to do on the top of the blog in the cream section simply click on Nominate a Mom and simply fill out the form to tell them why your Mom should be showcased.  Some of the latests nominees on there now is the Famous Kathy Ireland, and then a special article on “Remebering Maddie” which is a touchng story! This is a touching blog posting on little Maddie who lost her life and their special show at Why Moms Matter Radio Show.

Josh also informed us that right before Mothers Day they will be offering a FREE Mother’s Day E-book featuring some of the touching and heartwarming stories that were featured on their Why Moms Matter Blog and Talk Radio Show. So be sure to check back often to see when that will be realeased and we will be sure to list that here on our site as well.  We wanted to remind that you also that MomFaves also has their own podcast that we briefly touched on above but is on Fridays on our Blog Talk Radio Network on this show they also feature their Why Moms Matter Project winners so be sure to tune in and listen. Click our media player below to listen to our latests show and please stop by visit all of Josh’s sites and don’t forget to listen to his Radio Show!

Our Interview with Karen from Relish Come Listen

We were so honored to have Karen as our second guest on today’s show she is from a website called Relish which is located at http://www.relishrelish.com/ Relish is an amazing site that is such a god sent for all of us Moms whether you work from home or out of the home. Relish is a wonderful site that helps you to plan out your dinners for your family throughout the week offering you 5 main dish meals with the sides and desserts. Plus a huge bonus after you have picked out your meals for the week, it will automatically generate a shopping lists for your grocery store so you are ready to go for the week without all the hassle.  Each week you can choose 5 meals out of 15 you have to choose from and you can decide which one will suite your family and their diffrent tastes as well.

Karen also mentioned they even have the recipes broken down into catagories as well like Kid Friendly , Vegetarian or Crock Pot Recipe and Dinner and a Movie which really sparked my interest. She mentioned for example the movie Ice Age and how the entire movie is based around the movie Ice Age. Which would be so fun to pop in your DVD and watch the movie with fun recipes to correspond with that movie.  One of the great things she mentions during our interview is that all the recipes are kitchen tested where they work with several chefs, meaning test for being fast to prepare, easy to make, and tasty as well.  Another great feature is for only $7 a month you can get access to all of these great recipes and the recipes will come in at under $95 which is wonderful for all those that are on a tight budget.

Some of the future plans for the site is that they hope to incorporate a search feature so you can search for recipes you have used or tried before, also a application to download on your Iphone so that you can take your grocery lists with you on your Iphone to the grocery store.  All the meals are budget friendly and kid friendly. Another new site is where they are now offering Gluten-free recipes from their new site called G-Free which you can find at http://www.gfreecuisine.com/ At G-free they offer simple and delicious meals that are all gluten-free. This is great if you maybe have Celiac or maybe have a child with autism, this could be a wonderful alternative for your family and your way of life.  G-free is a litte bit more a month but still a huge deal at only $10 a month please be sure to listen to our interview and also be sure to check out their site for more information.

Be sure to click below to listen to our interview  with Karen it is right after our interview with Carol McManus two great interviews both having to do with getting back to the basics of cooking for your family!

Our Interview with Carol McMannus Come Listen to our Show!

We are so thrilled to have had the opportunity to interview Carol McMannus, she was such a warm hearted lady to interview. Carol as so kind as to send me a copy of her recipe book titled ” Table Talk , Food, Family and Love” and I have to just honestly say I love this cookbook. One of the things that normally deters me from buying cookbooks is that the recipes are too big for me. Meaning I didnt understand half of the ingredients, or understand some of the lingo, or the fact that you needed to be a chef just to prepare the dishes. With this cookbook it was so reminiscent of small town America. The cookbook was full of good wholesome, easy to make but flavorful recipes in such a wide variety of styles. Another wonderful feature of this cookbook is the photos inside, not only is there pictures of the wonderful recipes, but also photos of a dog in the back of a truck, and Carol’s family sitting at a picnic table to a home cooked meal. Also you will find in the sides of the pages you will find great tips or additional recipes maybe to go with the main dish being featured, or wonderful quotes from famous people. There is just so much to love with this cookbook our favorite recipe I created with my twelve year old was the “Tried and True Meatballs” and my daughter just loved them. My daughter is a huge spagetti fan and has always asked me to make meatballs but I did not have a good recipe for meatballs until now.

Carol shared with us that the premise of her book was to get people to sit back down for dinner and to get to know each other. Her recipes do not require alot of ingredients but just fresh and tasty food that will make a big impact on your family. Carol started cooking at an early age and eventually opened up her own restraunt called Expresso Love and soon decided it was time for a cookbook that really showcased the importance of sitting down as a family and start cooking and eating together. We also touched on the subject that in today’s society there is a large number of children with weight problems because we are too reliant on fast foods to feed our kids, instead of getting down to the basics as our parents did and start serving healthy and tasty home cooked meals.

One of the things that Carol finds  so sad in today’s society is how dependant we have become on processed foods and fast food and sadly our families are suffering because of it. Carol also shared how a friend of hers said people should only shop on the outer aisles of your local shopping center because then you are purchasing only fresh foods which is so much better for your bodies and your children. While talking with Cathy we started to talk about how when our parents and grandparents cooked for us they saved all their left overs to use in diffrent meals, and each night we had home cooked meals so that we could take time to sit down and reconnect with each other and get to talk to one another.

We also discussed how alot of us are so busy taking our kids to school functions and sports events that we tend to just grab and go at fast food places to pick up fast food instead of preparing your food ahead of time so that you can enjoy a healthier and home cooked meal.  When Carol’s kids were growing they too were so busy with sporting and school events but she still found the time to make sure her kids had a healthy home cooked meal to enjoy together as a family. And that is not to say that you cannot go out to eat Fast food occasionally but it is nice to make sure you set aside a couple meals a week that are solely time to spend with your family.

Carol’s book is amazing I have already created my grocery lists for next week with recipes from the book so I am so excited to start making and enjoying more of this yummy recipes! Here is just a small sampling of some of the recipes in the book:

• Baked Italian Chicken
• Honey Mustard Beef Stir Fry
• Love’s Fritta
• Walnut Oil Vinaigrette
• California Pizza
• Amish Cocoa Square (Yummy tried this one)
• Raspberry Turnovers

To purchase your own copy of Carol’s book “Table Talk, Food, Family and Love” please click on our link below and Click below to listen to our show!

Our Interview with Suzy Marta founder of Rainbows

On today’s show we had Suzy Yahl Marta The Founder and President  of Rainbows a wonderful organization that helps chidren with grief and loss through situations like divorce, death, family member deployed, in prison, or other painful seperations. This was a wonderful interview, Suzy was very relaxed and very easy to speak to and so informative. Suzy explained how after her own painful divorce and not finding good resources to help her children through this difficult time she began working with other concerned parents. Before she knew she was organizing weekend retreats for both single parents and the children involved to help them deal during this difficult time in their lives.

Soon Suzy began working on a formal curriculum which soon became the foundation for Rainbows. In our interview today we asked Suzy what are some of the signs or symptoms that a parent should look for in a child that says maybe you should seek some assitance for your child. Some of the symptoms she mentioned were if your child started to fail in school or have problems with other students. Another sign is. Suzy also explained that Rainbows is a FREE Non for Profit organization with locations all over the United States to see if there is a location near you please visit Suzy’s site Rainbows to see if there is an organiztion near you.  Also they just recently launched their online store where you will find training materials to help you and your family deal. Inside their store you are going to find material for kids starting from three years and up through adult hood. Also inside the store you will find a copy of Suzy’s book titled “Healing the Hurt, Restoring the Hope” which you can order for your family.

One of the subjects we touched on was divorce and how this is on the rise we speculate due to the hard times and the economy. We asked Suzy what are some tips she could care for our listeners who may be contemplating divorce or whom are getting a divorce and how they can tell this to their children. First and foremost Suzy said tell your children as soon as you know , they are very smart and are probably already feeling the tension in the household, do not wait until the spouse moves out or until your sign the divorce papers. Remember not only does this affect you and your spouse but also your children and they should be included in the discussion.  Also she mentioned to please be sure whatever you do, doing not talk poorly about your spouse in front of your children it will only hurt them and serves no purpose. A great tip Suzy shared was when she was going through her own divorce each night she would sit down with her kids, and ask how their day was, and also ask them how they were dealing with the divorce on that day. Not only did it open the dialogue for discussion but also allowed them a safe enviroment to share their thoughts and feelings with Suzy, she explained she continued this process until they were in college not only talking about divorce but also what was going in their lives and theirdaiily lives.
Suzy also informed us that they are in the process of translating all of the training materials into Spanish to help reach a broader audience and to provide their services to them as well. Also starting in May they will be able to start training volunteers online to start bringing Rainbows to their community, if you are interested in learning more about how you can volunteer for this great organization please visit their website and contact for further information.  Please be sure to stop by and listen to our show, to hear our full interview with Suzy and also please remember Rainbows offers their services for free, so if you would like to donate to this wonderful cause you will find on their front page many avenues to do so.

Guest Speaker Interview with Karen Gonzalez

On today’s show we were so honored to have with us Book Author Karen Gonzalez. Karen was here to share with us her latests E-book titled “Family Folktales: What Are Yours?“. We learned alot about Karen today, she shared with us that every since she was eight years old she found herself writing and it became a passion for her. As a child she remembered taking childhood books and rewriting them to create her own story. Later on Karen developed a career as a journalist featured in several magazine and as a Journalist for several well known companies.

Karen explained to us how she got started in writing FolkTalk writing and she also explained a little bit more about what exactly FolkTale writing is. Along with telling us how she got started she shared some great tips with us for if you wanted to try your pen or keyboard at Folktale writing. Some of the wonderful tips she shared is a FolkTale is simply how you perceived or understood a story you were told or heard. It does not have to be filled with tons of accurate information but it is your sharing a story or something that happened in your point of view or how you saw it.

One of the things we discussed was how easy it is for author’s of any kind whether it is a book author or blog author, how sometimes we can develop “writers block” and what her suggestions were for overcoming this. Some of the great suggestions she suggested was to develop your own writing style and do what works best for you, also maybe write down your ideas so you have a starting point or things to refer to later on. Another thing she suggested is for you to focus on your main idea for your story, she used the example of she was writing on a certain person and was having a bit of writers block and she concentrated on their deep blue eyes and went from there. To allow the words to come of you and just flow, not to over analyze or edit your work just to let it flow first. Get it all down on paper and let it flow before you even decide on editing your work, because alot of times people are so worried about editing their work that they cut out the good stuff in that article or storyline.

Some of the suggestions she had for decideding what to write on were the following:
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Holidays Etc.

FolkTale writing was completely new and foreign subject to me until I had the chance to read Karen’s book, and before I knew it I was taking notes and making notes of diffrent stories in my own family that I could relate to and write in a Folktale fashion. Cathy also was very intersted in all she learned and Karen suggested since Cathy was having a hard time remebering some of the wonderful stories of her father, that she should start writing and before she knew it the stories would just start flowing through onto paper. Karen also suggested to Cathy to maybe start with a blog format something simple and where you don’t have to worry so much about your grammar and editing but simply the heart of the story.

You can easily get a copy of Karen’s book by visiting her site located FolkArt Press and order your E-Book for only $7.95 and don’t forget that we will be giving a away a FREE copy of her e-book to listners that comment on the show we had with her! We will draw a winner in two days for your chance to win a FREE copy! To visit Karen’s site to order your own copy simply click here and don’t forget to click here to listen to our show and listen to all of Karen’s wonderful advice.

Guest Speaker for Today is Karen Gonzalez

Here is a litle information about Karen:

Since 2000, Karen Pierce Gonzalez Public Relations has provided public relations services for businesses, non-profits, art and culture organizations, and individual professionals locally, regionally, and nationally. Founder and president Karen Pierce Gonzalez has twenty-five years experience in the media having worked as a journalist for such media as the San Francisco Chronicle, Marin Independent Journal, and Point Reyes Light, newspapers as well a numerous local and national magazines, including North Bay Biz and Australian Trade Community Journal. She knows what makes the news and what does not.

Karen specializes in identifying newsworthy angles about her clients’ events and activities and obtaining news coverage from appropriate media outlets. She also helps clients maximize their advertising budgets by developing media sponsorships. She works with clients to utilize these sponsorships to generate the community support of businesses and other groups.

She earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in anthropology linguistics and in creative writing from Sonoma State University. A published fiction and non-fiction writer with numerous awards to her credit including a 2006 Pushcart Prize nomination, 2006 Editors’ Choice Farmhouse Magazine, 2005 National League of American Pen Women award for fiction, 2004 National League of American Pen Woman award for creative nonfiction, and 2002 California Writers award for nonfiction, she is also the author of “Family Folktales: Write Your Own Family Stories” and is CEO/Publisher of FolkHeart Press.

Book Description
Folktales Are For Everyone!
They exist everywhere in the world
No matter the culture, religion, or political system, people share family stories. Telling stories is one of the ways human beings connect the dots between their past, present, and future. They help us to know where our ancestors have been and where we might be going. And while the names and places change from country to country, the essential folktale elements remain the same.

Guest Speaker Wendy- From Mobi Stories

We were so pleased last Tuesday to have with us Wendy from Mobi Stories. Mobi Stories is an wonderful site for both parents and children alike, offering digital  reading books for your children. This site offers wonderful stories that are animated with wonderful music and storytelling that you purchase the digital files and download them to your computer. This way your children can enjoy these stories for years to come. With our lives turning to the digital wave of our future Mobi Stories has also jumped on this bandwagon trying to promote literacy to our children by providing these wonderfully interactive digital stories for your children.

Wendy worked with her husband and other great individuals to bring you Mobi Stories to your children. One of the neatest features of their digital download books is all the diffrent formats they offer from applications for your computer or Mac, to applications for your IPod or your Iphone so your children can take their books on the run, which is a wonderful asset with today’s busy schedules.

Mobi Stories has also expanded to offering their digital stories in several libraries around the country including the New York Public Libary. On the site Mobi Stories they offer a FREE Digital book that you can view and try out to get the feel of what their digital books are all about. As a consumer you get a chance to see these wonderful books brought to life with wonderfully whimiscal music, someone acting out the story, beautifully colorful illustrations, and the kids also get to watch the pages flipping automatically. Not only does Mobi Stories bring the love of reading and literacy back to your children’s life, but the offer this in a fun and easy to go format that you can bring the love of reading with you anywhere you go. All of their digital books are very affordable from $2.99 a book and up. A very inexpensive price to be able to keep the digital books on your computers or ipods or iphones for future use.

Mobi Stories has become such a wonderful site that they are even partnering with well known author’s to help bring their books to life. If you are looking for a wonderful site to help promote literacy and reading in a child’s life we all highly recommend checking out Mobi Stories and please do not forget to listen to our interview with Karen by clicking here.

Guest Speaker Interview with Sharon from The Checkout Chicks

Tonight we had our FIRST Evening Broadcast and it was a huge hit! We had a large turnout and we were very happy! On our show tonight we had Sharon who is from CheckoutChicks.com This site is simply a wealth of wonderful information for anyone who is already a couponer or especially for someone who is looking to start couponing. Sharon talked to us about how imporant it is to really start your stockpile by buying those items that your family use and buy them on sale. She also cautioned that in the beginning when you are starting your stockpile you might notice that you are actually spending a little more than you are use to, but remeber that is because you are just starting your stockpile. Once you start to actually build your stockpile you will not have to buy as much, and you can be choosier.

Sharon also discussed how alot of people are worried about starting to stockpiling because you dont have the space, and she explained that you can start with a small space like a close you don’t use and you don’t have to have a huge stockpile. Another thing she said is don’t be afraid you do not need to build a new shed for your stockpile just buy a few storage containers and start small that way. Another thing is if you like name brand items you do not have to stop buying your name brand items, instead use your coupons and buy those items when they are on sale and stock up on your brand name items that way.

Sharon also mentioned how there are several ways you can organize your coupons, one of her girlfriends uses a old baby wipe container and simply puts her coupons in envelopes divided by catagories. You do not have to buy expensive coupon organizers you can be frugal and use things you find in your household like shoeboxes or baby wipe containers etc. Sharon also mentioned that when you start couponing don’t feel like you HAVE to cut out and use every coupon in your Sunday inserts, only cut out the ones you will use and give the rest away to someone else that might be able to use them.  Printable coupons or coupons you print offline was also brought up because alot of stores do not accept them, Sharon recommended finding out your stores policy on online coupons. If they accept them see if you can get a copy of their couponing policy so you have that on hand when go shopping.

Another great tip she shared was check your local area and see if they have Grocery Salvage stores, these are great way to buy your grcoeries cheaply. Maybe the item had a dent in the can or is close to expiring you can really alot by shopping at these type of stores. Also Check to see if you store like Krogers offers double coupons as this is another way to save alot of money! Sharon had such wonderful tips just like above in our interview so please grab your coffee and pen and paper and listen to our show you can listen by clicking here! Be sure to check out Sharon’s site The Checkout Chicks today

ALSO On her site right now:

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Our Interview with Jenna McCarthy Book Author

We we so thrilled to have with us today Book Author Jenna McCarthy. Jenna was such a warm and inviting and FUNNY lady to chat with this morning it was a geat interview. This was probably the funniest interview I have given over my last three years, Jenna was a down to earth lady who talk about the joys of motherhood in the funniest way. Before becoming a renowned book author Jenna started her career writing for large magazine publications like Mademoiselle and Shape just to name a few.

Also during her career she was a Morning Deejay on a popular Early Show where nothing was NO HOLD bar, she talked about her marriage and her kids and it was huge hit. After writing all of her columns for her magazines and realizing that there wasnt any books out there that just told it like it is about being a mother and her pregnancy, she decided to write her book “The Parent Trip”.  Jenna shared with us how there are many baby experts out there telling you to raise your child a certain way, and her philopsy is that every child is diffrent and every Mom has their own parenting techiques. And whatever works for each individual Mom is great!

Jenna ’s book “The Parent Trip-From High Heels and Parties to Highchairs and Potties” is an honest and funny look at the trials and tribulations alot of Mothers go through that you are likely NOT to find in another book. The way Jenna uses humor to talk about such delicate subjects as giving birth is hysterical.  Listed below are just some of these chapters from inside the book:

• Anyone Seen My Maternal Instincts?
• 287 Days is a Really, Really Really Long Time
• This Just In: They Don’t Call It Labor For Nothing
• So That’s What They’re For!

Here is an excerpt from the first book that is so funny it literally sets the tone for this hysterical book.

I was Twelve the first time I had the dream. Maybe the health class I was taking at the time put the idea in my head: perhaps it was the litter of kittens our family cat had recently delivered. It certainly wasnt because I was worried about getting knocked up. That would be at least another four and half years.

Be sure to grab yourself your favorite cup of tea or coffee and sit back and plan on laughing hysterically as we interview the funny and sweet Jenna McCarthy! Also her latest book was just released on Amazon called “Cheers to the New Mom!/Cheers to the New Dad! Tips and Tricks to Help You Ace the First Months of Parenthood” You can purchase both of these books by using our links below and purchasing through Amazon!

Also if you would like to win a FREE Copy of “The Parent Trip” all you need to do is listen to our interview and tell us your favorite part and be sure to include your email address and we will draw a winner in a couple of days! And Don’t forget to stop by Jenna’s site to learn all about this funny lady and to keep updated on her latests books coming out!

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