FRAM® Brings a Fresh Breeze Where We Need it Most.

First of all, let me start by introducing my husband to you. 

Hi everybody! This is Michael.

Yeah, he's TOTALLY rugged, and I LOVE that. But notice with me for a second what ELSE all of those above activities have in common. 

I'll give you a second. 

OK, I'll tell you. They SMELL BAD, ok? 

And have you EVER smelled a Honda Accord after a rugged, fishing, camping, sand-covered volleyball lumberjack dude DRIVES IT? The sand in every crevice, the sweat and lake water marinating into the velour seats... 

Think MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS' LOCKER ROOM, only all the odors from hundreds of middle school boys is confined to a tiny little 57.3 cubic feet of space. 

What I'm trying to say is my pretty little Honda Accord STINKS, y'all. 

My poor vehicle reeks of THE STENCH OF AN UNWASHED CAVEMAN. FOR DAYS. IT'S A FORCE MORE POWERFUL THAN ANYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE. 

It's more than just an odor... it's a beast.  I thought I'd need a priest to get rid of it.

So I'll be honest... when I heard about FRAM® Fresh Breeze® cabin air filters, I BEGGED them to let me give it a try. I really had no idea my Honda Accord even HAD a cabin air filter! Because with ALLLLLL that smell going on INSIDE the car, the LAST thing we need is more odors from the outside wafting in.

It was SO EASY... in my car, you get to the cabin air filter through the glove box.  And don't mind the dust on the dashboard... the volleyball playing caveman has been driving it.

You just open the glove box, and squeeze the sides to pop it all the way out.

A little drawer slides out with the air filter in it.

This is it! It was NASTY! As I'm sure you can imagine...

Yes, those are DEAD BUGS AND SPIDERS in my cabin air filter! And probably sand and chainsaw oil...

The new filter goes into the tray, arrows pointing down...

And that's it. Five minutes, tops. See the QR code on the front of the box? When you snap it with your cell phone it takes you to a video showing how to install it.

I'm super impressed already! FINALLY... my the air in my Honda will be safe for my children to breathe again... at least, the air coming IN THROUGH THE VENTS will be safe... even if we can't do a thing about the odors my husband brings into the car with him. 

But for the LOVE, could someone please buy this man a TRUCK?! A truck compatible with FRAM® Fresh Breeze® cabin air filters, that is, because clearly we NEED a little Fresh Breeze in our lives.

Do YOU have to share your vehicle with a man who smells like mine? Leave me a comment telling me why YOU need cleaner air in your vehicle to be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card!

To find the correct Fresh Breeze cabin air filter for your vehicle, click here.

---FRAM® Fresh Breeze cabin air filters may be purchased online at Amazon.com or at your local Walmart, O’Reilly Auto Parts, or Meijer.

---To download a $3 off rebate, click here.

---Visit FRAM® on Facebook and Twitter for more information!

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 7/1-7/31/2014.
Be sure to visit the FRAM® Fresh Breeze® brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

If you liked this post PLEASE share it with your friends! ~ Melissa Beene Taylor

I'm reading: FRAM® Brings a Fresh Breeze Where We Need it Most.

Dirt + Water = A Good Day.....

Baby Susannah Joy is most definitely a 'playing outside' kind of girl. In fact, one of her first words was 'guys?' which means, in Susie language, 'go outside?'


We figured that out because she says, "guys! guys!" as she hangs on the doorknob to the back door. We're smart like that.

Just this past week, she discovered the sprayer at the end of the water hose. She LOVES helping dada water the garden. Helping commandeer the water hose and getting none of the water in the garden, that is... 

It's a whole lot like when she helps me clean the house and helps me with the folded laundry. Thank you for all the help, Susie. 

But as long as she's having fun... 

It was fun until the water just jumped out and hit her in the face for no reason.

It's kind of alarming when that happens.

Good thing dada was right there to run to after that scary water incident... 

....or you can just run away yelling.

You know it's been a good day when... 

If you liked this post PLEASE share it with your friends! ~ Melissa Beene Taylor

I'm reading: Dirt + Water = A Good Day.....

Does Plexus Slim Really Work? A Review and Giveaway.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time you know that I TRY, most of the time, to be a snob about what we put into our bodies, ever since my little Annie was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

I've done some crazy things in the name of better health...

Brewed my own kombucha.

Juiced carrots for breakfast.

I make my own dishwasher detergent. Make my own baby wipes.

I skin brush. I oil pull.

Even gone so far as to - and I've never admitted this in public - wash my hair with baking soda and Apple Cider Vinegar. Yes. It's true. I'm weird, ok? It makes your hair SO incredibly thick and healthy... but that's another blog post.

But when a Facebook friend, Kristen, messaged me about this great new product that was supposedly helping people drop pounds by the bushel basket, and EASILY, I was so far beyond SKEPTICAL.... I was repulsed.

Yes, I will swish coconut oil between my teeth. But do NOT contact me about some SCHEME*. Gosh. And furthermore, anything that works THAT WELL is bound to be some scary* chemical* stuff with horrific side effects* and WHAT IS SHE THINKING?

I told her NO, of course, and would have tossed her straight out of my Facebook friends list like the Soup Nazi tossed Elaine out onto the street... but I do kind of like her; she just had that one lapse of judgement that time, apparently.

What intrigued me, though, was that this was one of my 'crunchiest' Facebook friends.

WAY more of a nutrition snob than I ever thought about being.

Like, among the top tier of my nutrition heroes, even. I knew she wouldn't try this unless it REALLY WAS A GOOD THING.

And she seemed pretty sold on it. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

But I kept saying no, all the while posting on Facebook about my adrenal fatigue... my exhaustion... my total lack of energy.... my inability to sleep at night... and my depression about NOT BEING ABLE TO LOSE WEIGHT NO MATTER HOW FAITHFULLY I STUCK TO THE PLAN.

I was caught in a vicious cycle: diet really hard, diet doesn't work, get depressed about diet not working, eat a cookie to make me feel better, gain one pound. Repeat.

Another friend, Brenda, took pity and sent me a 30-day supply of Slim in the mail because she is awesome and believed she had something that would help with it ALL. Thank you, Brenda; I might not have ever known...

I tried Plexus slim for a month. It's easy enough; you mix one packet of powder with one bottle of water and drink it once a day before breakfast. No shakes. No meal replacements. No melba toast.

That's it. 

Honestly, I felt worse at first... even more tired. Achy. Headachy. And did I mention tired? 

But on day four the cloud lifted and I felt... GOOD.

Energy, nothing too phenomenal, but still.... energy where I had had none before.

I continued to take the Plexus slim for a month, thinking, "my apologies, Brenda, but I'm still not doing this..."'

And then I ran out of Plexus Slim.

You know the saying, "You don't know what you got 'til it's gone?" THAT. With the Plexus Slim out of my system, I crashed again. I was grouchy, moody, irritable, and EXHAUSTED. I don't think I realized how bad I felt until I felt good, and didn't realize how good I felt until I felt bad again. AND I HATED FEELING BAD. Where was the 'me' who used to work two jobs? Or work full time while going to school at night? I MISSED HER AND I WANTED HER BACK.

And that did it. 

I knew I had to have Plexus Slim in my life. I LOVED the feeling of stable blood sugar, the good moods, the ENERGY, and LOVED how THIS finally seemed to be the THING that will bring an end to my YEARS of adrenal fatigue. 

As far as weight loss, I've watched friends drop so much weight so quickly. I haven't noticed much weight loss, myself, yet. I've only been on Plexus eight weeks or so, and I have MANY years of adrenal damage to undo; that didn't come on overnight, and it won't go away overnight. BUT IT IS HEALING, and I know this because.... 

• I have MASSIVE energy. The longer I'm on Plexus, the better I feel. I have more energy now than I did at week 2 or week 6; it keeps compounding. I HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY THAT I HAVE WORKED OUT the past couple of weeks. I used to LOVE exercise; I just haven't been able to GO enough to make that happen the last few years. 

• I'm SLEEPING. And by sleeping, I mean at NIGHT, because...

• I'm not NAPPING anymore. Not even the mandatory Sunday nap. Which is UNHEARD of for me.... even back in the day when I had normal energy levels, before adrenal fatigue, I HAD to take a nap on Sunday. I skipped my nap yesterday and NEVER MISSED IT.

• I'm not craving sugar. I made Michael a batch of peanut butter cookies this week and didn't even eat one. NO DESIRE.

And because of those three phenomenal changes in my life, I KNOW THE WEIGHT LOSS WILL FOLLOW. I KNOW I have enough energy to do what I have to do to get there... but the thing is, I'm so HAPPY right now that I don't even care. Well, let's not go that far. I do care. But I'm no longer caught in that downward spiral of self-pity and weight gain.

*And it turns out I was totally wrong... it's not a 'scheme;' there are all-natural ingredients; the only side effects I've experienced have been good ones. 

And I would LOVE to share this amazing product with YOU. Ever since I wrote the blog post about adrenal fatigue, I've received literally dozens of emails asking for help. I KNOW I have many readers who are where I was. So if I can spread the love like my dear Brenda did for me, I want that. 

So with that in mind I'm offering two things: 1) I'm giving away a Plexus slim trial pack, and 2) EVERYONE who orders from my Plexus website in the month of June will be entered to win a 30-day pack of Plexus slim. 

If you'd like to give it a try, a 3-day trial is available here (my Ambassador number is 251128, if you need that info) and shipping is free (and you will be entered to win the month's supply). Don't wait. Feel better today! Because WHAT IF THIS IS THE LAST THING YOU EVER HAVE TO TRY?! And GOOD LUCK. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you liked this post PLEASE share it with your friends! ~ Melissa Beene Taylor, Independent Ambassador for Plexus Worldwide #251128

I'm reading: Does Plexus Slim Really Work? A Review and Giveaway.

My Husband is My Soul Mate, and There's Nothing Wrong With That.

I've seen a couple of blog posts about how there's no such thing as a soul mate making the rounds on Facebook lately, and it really disturbs me.

It seems people are above the idea, as if rejecting the idea of soul mates is more spiritual.

I have to disagree.

Oh, there was a time in my life I would have been all over the idea that the idea of a soul mate was ridiculous. As a wide-eyed ministry student in college, obsessed with doing E V E R Y T H I N G R I G H T, I would have scoffed, too, at those less-spiritual ones who wanted to marry for passion or chemistry or, God forbid, ATTRACTION. I made my very mature list of requirements for a future spouse, which included...

Christian. And by 'Christian' I wanted someone who LOOKED very Christian on the outside; someone who went to church every Sunday and followed all the rules of good Christian dress code and pew selection and whatnot. 

A Good Family. He must come from a family with NO divorces. That one guy I thought I'd marry in college? I marked him off the list because his parents had been divorced, because just NO. You must have someone with a stellar family track record of no divorces. At the time, not even any of my COUSINS had been divorced, so I deserved to be picky.

A College Degree. In my family, there are degrees in chemistry and double majors and Master's degrees and even my grandparents had college degrees. I can't even fathom being asked out by a non-degreed person in those days, because NO.

Height. I'm 5'10" and need to be able to wear heels when we're sitting together on a well-chosen pew in church.

And then I found myself an Old Maid at the horrifyingly old age of 25.

I know, it's shocking how old I was, and still unmarried. And the LAST of all my friends to get married. Warning bells sounded.

And a guy came along who had all the criteria on my checklist. Christian? Check. Education? Check. Taught Sunday School? Check. He had a really good job, even. Of course that was on my list.

And so, because I had my handy little list of 'musts,' I totally ignored the feeling in my gut, the still, small voice saying that this wasn't IT. This isn't ANYTHING like I've ever dreamed about, or anything close to what I pictured. I was NOT ATTRACTED to him, but I told myself that I was making the spiritually mature choice. And I ignored every one of my friends who said ".....Um.... are you SURE?..." 

I told myself that they just weren't as in tune with what was RIGHT as I was.

Because Godly people KNOW that attraction is fleeting... the righteous thing is to marry someone who repulses you physically, because who's really attracted to their spouse after ten years, anyway?

And you can't trust chemistry. Chemistry is shallow. And by gosh, I was gonna do something mature and un-shallow to prove to EVERYONE...

I mean, if it wasn't meant to be, then WHY would God bring this person into my life who had everything on my VERY inspired list? 

Of course, my gut feeling, which I've since come to believe is the Holy Spirit, told me something different, but I didn't trust that. Heavens, I was the ripe old age of 25, OK? And if I let this one slip away, WOULD I HAVE TO SPEND THANKSGIVINGS ALONE WITH MY CATS UNTIL I DIED?!! TIME WAS TICKING AND THEREFORE THE LORD WANTED ME TO HURRY!

It's a very real fear, when you're halfway through your twenties and all your friends are already married. But what you might not know at 25 is that men who appear Christian on Sunday might slip off to strip clubs when nobody from church is looking. And a college education doesn't mean intelligent conversation. And the family who LOOKS very together might have ZERO love in their hearts for each other or for anyone else, and those are the most torturous people in the world to have to spend the holidays with.

And all those things that appeared right in the beginning all turned out to be lies, and I found myself alone ... and then, I met a guy who made me laugh. 

And I realized how much I had missed laughing. When there's no laughing, who cares which pew his parents sit on in church?

There was oh, so much laughing. 

And so many things we had in common.... so many remarkable similarities about our childhoods... so many silly things and inside jokes and shared understandings and ridiculousness that would matter ZERO to anyone else, but it's THOSE things that form a soul connection with another person. A marriage without a soul connection is a very lonely and miserable place to be. 

And then there's that whole 'gut feeling' that comes from a still, small voice. Never, ever ignore that. Oh, if ONLY I had not ignored that when I was 25....

So after many years of lessons learned by making bad choices, and the wisdom gained from maturity, I would definitely tell my daughters, contrary to what these other bloggers say, to hold out for their soul mate. Find the one that your soul loves. There's a reason that very phrase is in the Bible.

I don't care if my future son-in-law has a college degree. 

I don't care if he comes from a whole family tree of failed marriages.

I do care that there's lots of laughing.

I do care that we all pray about it, and a still, small voice tells us all, "Yes. This is it. THIS is the one."

I care that he works hard, that he loves Jesus, and that he tells the truth... those intangible qualities that you can't put on paper. 

Marriage is hard. Even under the best of circumstances, even when you're married to your soul mate. Even soul mates can act like total jackwagons and make you want to kill them dead. Seriously, funny is good, but nothing makes me homicidal faster than sarcasm at the wrong moment... 

And when the hard times come, as they inevitably will, it won't be the fact that he does or doesn't have a college degree that makes you want to wake up and do this thing again in the morning.

A good marriage is not about a list you can write down on paper. 

I could find ANY number of men who would score 100% on an arbitrary list of criteria. I canNOT find any other person on this earth who shares the connection that Michael and I have. 

And most importantly, I canNOT find another guy that I know in my gut is the ONE. I prayed, and I know.

In my whole life, there has always ever been only one of those. 

If you liked this post PLEASE share it with your friends! ~ Melissa Beene Taylor

I'm reading: My Husband is My Soul Mate, and There's Nothing Wrong With That.

The Blessed Ending of a School Year.

Oh, y'all. 

We made it. 

Another school year complete. Behind us. Finished.

We did not die. And that's in SPITE of how I caved and allowed my kids to eat Lunchables for one week out of the year (because, you know, I feed my kids kale and stuff...) and I don't even want to hear a single word about it, because since I started my new job I CANNOT KEEP UP.

And I have to say that we not only FINISHED out a school year, my kids finished WELL, which goes to show you that kids are TOUGH, STRONG, and RESILIENT even when they were NEW at their schools this year and had a LOT of catching up to do, and EVEN in the face of the crappy kind of parenting in which THE MOM JUST GOES AHEAD AND LETS THEM EAT THE FIVE BAD THINGS THE WHOLE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL. 

Katie, my lovely firstborn, finished up her first year of middle school. There she is, in the midst of that sea of blonde hair... see? I had to sneak a picture on account of it is NOT COOL for your mom to take your picture when you're graduating from 6th grade.

Nana and Papaw came to cheer Katie on as she got awarded.

Mr. D calling out the names of everyone who made the A Honor Roll (and yes, that's my girl there in the blue dress with her A Honor Roll award... Yay her!)

And she didn't just make the A Honor Roll.... she received the Diligence Award in LATIN. Latin, people. She's brilliant, and she did NOT get her knack for foreign language from me because... well, let's just not even talk about how I did in college Spanish Class. It's not a memory I'm proud of...

The Diligence in Latin award

Sweet friends since age 2. 

All smiles as they head into 7th grade.

And these 2 came to cheer Katie on, as well. Except one of them wanted to yell and run around the auditorium the whole time. I won't say which.

Annie wrapped up Second Grade this week, and she had the sweetest teacher in the whole world. It was a great school year for Annie and I was SO proud of all the Bible passages she memorized this year, and how she caught on to cursive so quickly which AMAZED me since she just started school here this year and had a lot of ground to cover just to catch up. But she's smart, and did I mention her great teacher?

Also this week? Steaks with Michael's marinade. Yes, it was important enough to include in this blog post because steak (like chocolate, Starbucks, and shoe shopping) always helps you through the hard times (hard times, e.g., the last week of school). 

And I can't just talk about my oldest two because that wouldn't be fair. Susie has one more week before she wraps up HER school year (Mother's Day Out at Green Acres, in case you wondered). And other than school, she spends her time being a total ham, growing teeth, and eating more than the rest of us put together.

Oh, and she's learned that she disappears when she squeezes her eyes shut. The "where's Susie?" game is one of her favorites so we're not letting on to her that we can STILL SEE HER. It would ruin everything.

Yep, they're smart, happy, and healthy, all three of them, and I couldn't be more proud. 

And oh, so thankful for the end of a school  year. Let the summer fun begin!

If you liked this post PLEASE share it with your friends! ~ Melissa Beene Taylor

I'm reading: The Blessed Ending of a School Year.

{Five Reasons Why THM May Not be Working} It Might be Your Thyroid.

I'm not even gonna try to explain why it's taken me so long to write Reason Two of this series of posts I promised you I'd write months ago.

Sometimes you can manage to do ONLY that which keeps your children alive, one moment at a time, know what I mean?

2014 has been one of those "barely keeping the children alive" kinds of years, but I'm finally breathing some fresh air at the end of this mine shaft that's included starting a new part-time job, reinventing an old business, and just some other crazy nonsense that you don't want to know about.

But SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT MY ADRENAL GLANDS ARE GETTING YET ANOTHER WORKOUT because that is the ONLY way I know how to roll.

Which brings me to the point of this blog post... There are five reasons I can think of why you may not be losing weight, in spite of faithfully following Trim Healthy Mama to a T (or an S or an E, I should say...hehe, get it?) and the first of those reasons is that it might be your adrenal glands. So if you, like me, have been massively stressed out with absolutely NO relief for WAY too long, it's PROBABLY your adrenal glands wigging out on you, so start with this post HERE:

#1 Reason Trim Healthy Mama Might Not Be Working: Adrenal Fatigue.

The thing is, your adrenal glands and your thyroid work so closely together that they're like two cells on your car battery: when one is drained, so is the other. To fill up one, you have to fill up the other. 

At least that's the way an amateur medical expert with a PhD, from the University of Google, understands it. And I also have my IMD (*Imaginary Medicinae Doctor) from BlogLovin, just so you know. Yes, I know it's impressive that I have so many advanced degrees but I try not to make a big deal out of it.

*I'm just kidding. In case it's not painfully obvious, I'm not a doctor and therefore unable to diagnose or prescribe. But it won't stop me from believing... 

The list of hypothyroid symptoms is UNBELIEVABLY long, but these are just a few from hypothyroidmom.com... 

• Chronic fatigue
• Less stamina
• Long recovery period after any activity
• Inability to concentrate
• Sleep apnea
• Snoring
• Insomnia
• Need naps in the afternoon
• Weakness
• Wake feeling tired
• Frequently oversleep

And the symptom most concerning to us non-weight-losing-Trim-Healthy-Mamas *****drumroll*****

• Inability to lose weight

There you have it. The GOOD news is, the Trim Healthy Mama plan is one of the best ways to boost that weary thyroid gland of yours. The BAD news is, the Trim Healthy Mama plan may not be enough.

And as I am prone to do, being the total book-loving geek that I am, I'm going to recommend yet another book to add to your library.

The Iodine Crisis by Lynne Farrow

Because you're already bought The Mood Cure and The Diet Cure by Julia Ross, right? Because Julia delves all the way into what's exactly going on with your thyroid. Those books are life-changing. 

I want you to know that you can trust me when I recommend a book, so in the nicest way possible I want to let you know that The Iodine Crisis isn't the most well-written book I've ever read; she skips around from subject to subject and chases rabbits and repeats herself oh so annoyingly and includes a whole lot of eye-crossing, mind-numbing history (repeatedly) that I didn't think was relevant to the vital information we need about Iodine. But it's an interesting (mostly) easy read (easy to skip to the good stuff, I mean) and very informative and my two cents is that I think all women need to read it. 

AS I have learned in pursuing my advanced imaginary medical degrees, and as Ms. Farrow says in The Iodine Crisis, Iodine is critical to the health of your thyroid gland. There are many ways to add Iodine to your diet with food, but the best way I've found to add Iodine to my diet is through this little supplement called Iodoral. (NOT to be misconstrued as medical advice, mind you... just sharing what works for me, and what works for me is to take 50mg of Iodoral daily!)

I've seen my thyroid symptoms improve by LEAPS AND BOUNDS since I began taking Iodoral. My hair isn't falling out anymore, for one thing... 

There are so many websites devoted to how to help an ailing thyroid that I won't waste your time cutting and pasting; just do your own research. Click the links I included (and this one! Tons of good info on Hypothyroid Mom). Read. Find out for yourself if Iodine is a piece of the puzzle that might help you (and don't forget to ask your doctor because I am NOT one, even though I play one on this blog...)

And one last caveat? JUST BECAUSE your labs come back showing your thyroid to be 'normal' doesn't mean that it is. A standard lab test measures only your TSH level.  And don't ask me what that means because I'm too busy to explain it. Or something. 

But just KNOW... that if you KNOW in your heart that you've faithfully committed to this Trim Healthy Mama thing and the scale isn't budging? And you just KNOW that SOMETHING IS WRONG? It might be your adrenal glands, and it might be your thyroid. 

And then again it might be one of the other three reasons I'm gonna tell you next.

Stay tuned to find out! Follow me on Pinterest if you don't already.

And let's get all buff and trim and healthy together!!

*Another thing I've found to help me with energy levels related to weak thyroid functioning here... 


If you liked this post PLEASE share it with your friends! ~ Melissa Beene Taylor

I'm reading: {Five Reasons Why THM May Not be Working} It Might be Your Thyroid.

Come On SPRING.

I think I speak for all of us when I say I have NEVER longed for spring as much as I am longing for it now. I am so ACHING for spring I can't even stand it. This winter has been a beating and I am OVER IT.

I'm a Texas girl after all, and we like our weather nice and warm down here, and our NORMAL winters that last about 3 days are JUST FINE. Break out the coat and the Uggs, wear them 3 times, THEN YOU PACK THOSE THINGS AWAY because FLIP-FLOP SEASON LASTS 362 DAYS A YEAR. That's how it's supposed to work, down here in Texas.

Remember the days when we got to wear swimsuits on Spring Break? Yeah, those were the good ol' days... 

You're breaking us, Winter, for the LOVE.  All this cold, dreary, icy weather that WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE has me getting all misty-eyed over the garden that isn't quite here yet... 

And sort of misty-eyed from, uh, pollen too. 

Oh, sweet harbingers of better days ahead... and also: harbingers of itchy eyes. 

Such a THRILL to see tiny green leaves poking their heads out of the ground, especially after a long, long, long winter. Did I mention it was long? 

So much hope. So much expectation of a bright and sunny new season. 

And... uh... so much sneezing. And a tiny bit of sore throat... 

It happens every year. Winter gets tedious, and at the first sign of spring's arrival, we can't even help ourselves: the first chance we get we dive head-first into our new garden, and inevitably, head-first into feeling really lousy.

As happy as I am to see spring arrive, I REALLY want to avoid that allergy nonsense that goes along with it. My sore throat is here already, but I have my go-to HALLS® Honey-Lemon drops at the ready. It's a tradition, really; I know there are other cough drops out there, but I'm a classic HALLS Honey-Lemon girl. In fact, I've had one in my mouth the whole time I've been writing this post.

Here's hoping that this year, my HALLS will knock this sore throat out so we can get outside and enjoy our garden before our tiny green babies get any bigger. I think after the brutal never-ending winter, we deserve a bright and sunny (and allergy-free) spring.

HALLS Drops for Allergy Season
When you have a cold, HALLS is the #1 cough drop that most people choose for effective relief. Did you know that the same HALLS you trust is also effective for allergy-related coughs and sore throats? Don’t let allergies get the best of you. Grab your allergy cough by the throat and try HALLS Cough drops or HALLS Breezers throat drops as a complement to your primary allergy medication regimen. Click here to learn more.

If you liked this post PLEASE share it with your friends! ~ Melissa Beene Taylor

I'm reading: Come On SPRING.