kidz zone perfect...

This little girl got a package in the mail not too long ago from our friends at Zone Perfect with all sorts of goodies promoting the new "Kidz Zone Perfect" bars.... 

At two and a half this girl is turning out to be a picky eater...I'm all for trying new, healthy, fun snacks... These bars did the trick! 

Kidz ZonePerfect are available in three delicious flavors:

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
• Caramel Crunch
• Yellow Cupcake

Of course my little's fav was the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip...Taste buds just like her momma...

As for me, I'm always looking for the healthy benefits... and the fact that these are packed full of flavor (yes, I tried them....and I might have bought more and ate one or two myself...) she thinks she's eating some cool big girl treat...

• Contains 23 vitamins and minerals
• Good source of protein (5 grams)
• Kid-friendly amount of fiber (3 grams)
• 140-150 calories per bar
• Great-tasting nutritious snack alternative for active kids

These yummy bars are available at Target as well as many popular grocery stores. I'm all for a quick and easy snack that my girl will love...and the fact they were created by kids along with their parents....seems like a win, win for both kids and parents!

zone perfect...perfectly simple...

 Not too long ago I was sent these new Perfectly Simple bars by Zone Perfect...

As a busy mom, always on the go, they've been perfect for me to throw in my bag and grab as a quick breakfast, a snack, or even a pre work out booster.

They come in three different yummy flavors-

Cranberry Almond
Peanut Crunch
Toasted Coconut

With 10 grams of protein in each bar, 170-200 calories per serving, these gluten free bars are the perfect  alternative for a nutritional snack.

You can find them conveniently located at Target Stores among many others sold individually or packaged containing five to a box. Or online at Abbott Nutrition.

I'm all about living a simple life and Zone Perfect- Perfectly Simple makes it that much easier!

Find more about all Zone Perfect products:

http://zoneperfect.com

https://www.facebook.com/ZonePerfect

http://twitter.com/zoneperfect

the 29th...

On Sunday I turned 29....yes, 29. 

I feel pretty good about it, about the number. I try not to put too much thought into my own birthdays. They aren't as much much fun compared to planning a toddler's birthday party. But a celebration was to be had...

This is the look of a 29 year old woman ready to take on the world...

Maybe not a woman who's ready to take on the world, but one who's ready for whatever my 29th year may bring. I'm looking at it not as number, not as a year...not basing it on a time frame, rather I'm embracing it, take it day by day. I've learned I can't go back and I certainly can't predict the future. I've been realizing lately I need to live in the moment, for the day...I tend to think too much, put too much pressure on myself to create the "perfect" future...when in reality where I'm at in life is trying to create a good day that will eventually lead to an even better life. In my 29th year, things will fall into place for me. I'm starting fresh, surrounded by support and love. Slowly things are happening, good things. I'm making changes daily and vowing to live a better life for myself and my daughter. I feel like the moment 29 came I embraced it and decided to make a change within myself. To see the positive and when the negative creeps in, I choose to turn it around quickly. I'm far from where I want to be in this current moment. I've been struggling with things since my move...but these things don't define me. Nor will I let them.

My birthday was spent with people I love...sadly, some weren't with me, some are near and some are far. Either way I felt the presence of the ones I missed.  Birthdays to me don't need to be celebrated in a huge way...just acknowledged. You have many days to feel appreciated, but there is something extremely special about having one day just as yours....even if there are a million other people with the exact same birthday in the world...still, somehow the day belongs to you.

So we celebrated, had a BBQ, sipped wine, played with silly sting, chatted and laughed...enjoyed a summer night and took in the moment. Embraced the new life I'm living, the people I'm building friendships and relationships with, took in my sweet little girl who was far too excited that it was momma's birthday....and that alone makes the day that much more special.

To share my day with her...is all I could ask for. Although moments with her I feel like she's aging me, oh my how she keeps me young. She keeps laughter in my life and constantly makes me feel loved unconditionally. To see a birthday in her eyes....a cake, a song and blowing out candles is just pure bliss...

I'm proud to be her momma and for her to show me how life is supposed to be: don't over think, laugh more, love harder, live in the moment...before you know it, life might just pass you by. We have far too much ahead of us to not take in life as it comes...the good or the bad...in the end it all makes us who we are. Age doesn't define us...we choose who and what makes us, us...

 Secret wishes...dreams do come true....

xo,

Dani

29 approaching, reflecting on 28

Reflecting on you're life is always a strange feeling. It can bring you back to the good, the moments you took mental notes on, the ones you'll never want to forget. The laughter, the tears, big events or small...when you reflect you can get taken back quickly. Reminded how extremely fast time goes by. Along with bringing back the good you can be reminded of the other stuff...the stuff you would rather erase from your memory and never be reminded of again. But no matter what you choose to look back on or how you see it, it's all a part of who you are today...it's all part of the path that was chosen for you. The good, the bad...it all makes you stronger. It's all made me stronger and who I am today...

I'm turning 29 on Sunday and I'm fully approaching my last year in my 20's with an open mind and heart. When I turned 28 I wrote a "bucket list" of random things I wanted to do or learn...looking back I have done some, and I'm getting better at a few. But the list was silly. My goal at 28 was actually learning about myself. Getting to know the real me as a fully independent woman and mother. Everyday we're always learning something about ourselves some days we're tested and some days we're fully blessed. That's one of the biggest things I've learned over the last year....Things happen, good and bad...but it's how you handle it, how you approach situations and how you let them affect you in your everyday life. I kept myself VERY distracted over the last year...with some good and some bad. But always learning from what each experience had taught me as I walked away. I learned you'll change daily...you're mind, your thoughts, your looks, your feelings, the people you surround yourself with, the things you do. But the one thing that will always stay true is you. You're your own best friend. You need to fully embrace YOU as a person to fully experience life. I've battled with that and for the most part I think 28 gave me a good outlook on who I'd like to become and what direction 29 will bring me.

I've learned a lot about myself in my 28th year. I've learned I'm much more capable of what I thought. I'm a strong woman and I'm building my confidence daily. I owe a lot of who I am today to my daughter. If it weren't for her I'd be weak. She builds me up and gives me the strength to want to chase my dreams. I hit weak moments before my move but I looked at her and looked within myself to find the answers on what needed to be done next, and I did exactly what I needed to do in order to give her and I the life we both deserved. This coming year, I'm not searching. I'm not searching for who I am or for security. I'm content with who I am and where I'm going. It may be a slow process but I've learned patience is key. I've learned that whats meant to be will be....when it's time. 

There is lots of good in my life at the moment. 29 will bring more happiness than I could imagine. More dreams to reality. I'm opening myself up to the things I've been closed off to in the past. I'm embracing fears and chasing passions. Overcoming insecurities and learning to live in the present rather than the past. 

29...I'm ready for you...

i'm good at being a momma...

Day two of the Blog everyday in May challenge, is to talk about what I'm good at...

I'm sure I'm good at A LOT of things...but the only thing that I truly think I'm good at, is being a momma. 

I can hands down say parenting is the HARDEST job...ever. On top of that, single parenting is challenging. I have said before being a single parent isn't "hard" for me because it's the only style of parenting I've known...thankfully. But being a momma is something I feel I was meant to do. I feel it's one of the things I'm truly doing right. This little girl depends on me to guide her through life and this crazy world...so far I think we've done a pretty good job.

This little girl is my WORLD. She's amazing. She has become my strength in my weakest points but has made everything even more perfect than I could have ever imagined. She makes me a better person and makes me look deeper into my own heart and soul. She tests my patience and gives me the kind of love that's unimaginable to most. I wouldn't trade a hard day with her to any day without. She was brought into my life for a reason...and I was chosen to be her momma for a reason. The only reason I can think is true love.

my life in 250 words, or so...

I'm a little late in participating in the Blog Everyday In May challenge that Jenni over at Story Of My Life is hosting...and I can't tell you how excited I am. I'm loosing myself in this space...I can't find motivation to express myself in the only place I can truly release my thoughts. Maybe this will help bring me back to my peaceful, happy place...

First up on the challenge is "The story of my life" in 250 words...give or take....Lets see how this goes.

I'm Dani...Danille actually, yes there is a missing E, which is why I go by Dani...My parents swear to it that they saw it spelled that way...but that doesn't explain why my mom wanted to change my name at 5 days old to Julie, it cost too much so from then on I was Dani, Julie..REALLY? If you call me Danille I will not know you're talking to me, unless you're family. I was born on May 12, 1984...yes my birthday is RIGHT around the corner. BIG 29.  I lived in San Francisco until I was 5, then moved to the East Bay and lived in the same house my parents still live in today. I was a cheerleader for 4 years...ha, yes I was. I hated high school and was checked out my junior year. My senior year I started cosmetology school and after my high school graduation I finished cosmetology school and soon got my licence. Only to never want to do hair in my life...I enjoyed it too much for it to be a job. I was married at 20, a baby at 26, divorce at 28. Life goes on. I'm embracing life now in a new city after deciding to pack up and move. The last few years have been rough but I truly believe my future is only going to get better. I work hard for what we have and I have a beautiful daughter that makes my life worth living and that much more special. I believe in the statement, "when you stop searching you'll find yourself." I've gotten lost in past decisions, good and bad...but every decision has made me who I am today...and I'm truly becoming who I'm meant to be...

paths...

I'm a true believer of "all things happen for a reason." Although we may not know the reasons of certain things and we may never understand them...the things we experience in life, in some odd way we're meant to experience them. Each thing weather it be love, death, breakups, the loss of a job, an accident...whatever it may be, they happen, they make us stronger in our weakest moments. And each of these moments brings us to the next path. There may be something bigger or another hiccup in the road...but we survive them.

My path was bumpy...I have my moments of feeling sorry for myself, still. But when I reached rock bottom I took control. I made the decision to take full control of my life...of this life and move.

Even last week I had a moment of weakness, of second guessing my choices. But if I hadn't made the move I wouldn't be growing, I wouldn't be learning. I'd be stuck. 

I believe my path is taking me out of my guarded comfort zone, letting me be open to new experiences, to people, to places, Thinking out of my own mind set and letting myself explore a new life, one that I'm choosing for myself, my daughter. Each path we go down is a mystery. We will not know what will happen next, if our choices will bring us to the destination intended. But once we truly stop searching and start living, the possibilities are endless. By taking chances and fully living you never know what might be on the path in front of you. There may be an amazing job, new friends, or even a new love that you never knew existed. You'll sit back with a much clearer mind, you'll go over all the the wrong paths in your head and realize everything was supposed to happen in some strange and twisted way to get you exactly to this moment, to this place. Each day is not promised, each breath is not guaranteed...live today as if you're heading down the right path...live it like it's your last. Be open to everything that comes your way, it may be exactly why the past is the past.