Join us for Facebook Live with the empowering Christi Flynn of Inspirata Coaching to discuss building resiliency to weather any storm on Thursday, February 4 at 7:00 pm Central Time on the Messy Mommies Facebook page! The Messy Mommies are so excited to chat with Christi about the concept of resiliency and simple steps we can take to tap into and build a more resilient life. 

Read Christi's insightful guest blog post, We are all connected together and building resiliency can help you weather any storm! Thank you Christi for sharing such helpful advice and easy actions we can all take together to weather these crazy times. 

Christi and I have been friends for many years and I'm thrilled that she is using her many gifts, talents, and kind heart to help people with her life coaching work. Christi shares on her website about her coaching services: "If you come into a coaching relationship with an open heart and mind, you WILL see measurable improvement in your life. As a coach, I am here to listen deeply to you and ask powerful questions. Utilizing different strategies, we work together as a team to move you forward. We explore the possibilities and unleash your potential." Check out Christi's Inspirata Coaching website and connect with her on Facebook! Holly and I hope to see you on Thursday as we chat with Christi for our Messy Mommies Facebook Live at 7:00 pm Central Time! 

We kicked off the New Year with a bang thanks to the fabulous Jill Devine! Holly and I were thrilled to be guests on Jill's Two Kids and a Career Podcast, Being a Messy Mommy Brings Togetherness to chat about the Messy Mommies, supporting women and small businesses, and the importance of being together - even virtually during these challenging times. We laughed from the moment we started talking until the very end! And, I'm sure we could have talked for hours and hours! 

As we've shared in our previous blog about the wonderful Jill Devine, we've been friends on social media for over a year. It was so much fun moving our conversation from social media to real life! We jumped from conversation to conversation - from recipes to our virtual Girls Night In to Holly's 2nd cookbook to how Jill champions small business owners to our shared support for women, the chatter was so easy and filled with laughter, big ideas, and encouragement. 

While we were lighthearted throughout the podcast, I loved our conversation at the end about staying connected and togetherness and I think you will too. We know your days are busy and we value the time you spend with the Messy Mommies. We hope you can carve out a few minutes to listen to our so fun conversation with Jill on Two Kids and a Career! Join us for our next virtual Girls Night In and we can't wait to see you all when we can do in person events together for our epic St. Louis/Chicago meet-up! Thanks again, Jill! You are amazing and we are so glad we are all friends!

Join us and subscribe to Jill's "Two Kids And A Career" podcasts, follow Jill on Instagram @jilldevinve and on Twitter @JillDevineRadio!​

After a year filled with so many no's, we are embracing yes in 2021! We were thrilled that the amazing lifestyle nutritionist Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN said yes to joining our January Girls Night In - A Healthy New Year! We were so excited when the cheerful Chief Sunny Officer, Heidi Scheid of Sunny with a Chance of Flowers wine said yes to doing a video for our GNI! We were so happy that so many of our Messy Mommies girlfriends said yes to joining us for another virtual Girls Night In! Finding ways to connect, laugh, learn, and toast each other has become so important to us during these crazy times! 

To kickoff our Girls Night In we asked our Messy girlfriends to share one of their resolutions! It was so fun and encouraging to hear everyone's goals and many of us shared goals. From cooking healthier to finding happiness everyday to getting out to flossing to being present, we have great goals for 2021. And, with everyone cheering each other on I know we can do it! 

With 2020 such a train wreck, we were looking to start off the New Year with some healthier choices. Holly invited the fabulous Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN to talk with us about boosting our immunity and to share some ideas on healthy food choices. Holly and Vicki's children go to school together at Saint Clement in Chicago. We loved Vicki's practical and easy to implement insights and her encouraging advice! Vicki's passion for helping others make good choices was easy to see and she made me want to swap around several foods! I picked up Clementines and am adding green tea to my day.

I love how Vicki did a quick food demonstration for us and made Spiced Date Walnut Coconut Bites during our Zoom! They looked so easy to make! We had a great chat about the Garam Masala spice in the recipe and its health benefits and great taste. Thanks, Vicki for answering our questions and for helping us see how to nourish our total body with real food first! Check out Vicki'sblog for great advice and recipes! Listen and subscribe to Vicki's mini-podcast, Nourishing Notes with Vicki Shanta Retelny! I love how she shares fun tips in 3 minutes! And, follow Vicki on Instagram! 

Are you doing "dry" January? Holly and I had a big discussion about doing "dry" January and I just couldn't commit to it. You know, the pandemic, politics, etc. - sometimes I just want a cocktail! So, reached out to the fabulous Heide Scheid of Scheid Vineyards for a video for our GNI. I had been following Sunny with a Chance of Flowers wine on Instagram and loved their positivity and healthier wine. Back to the no's. I loved the encouraging vision of Sunny with a Chance of Flowers and thought they seemed like creative people that look for ways to say yes. I was thrilled when Heidi said yes and it was so fun talking with her about their new brand, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers. It was so cool to hear about their meticulous innovation to create a zero sugar, 85 calorie, 9% wine and I loved how they are leading in sustainability. I loved her story about creating this positive wine and how they are bringing people together in a healthier way. They are definitely living their vision of bringing people together to enjoy and savor life! I'm so glad Heidi said yes to us! Check out Heidi's video! 

We love Sunny with a Chance of Flowers wine and know you will too! Order Sunny with a Chance of Flowers today and follow Sunny with a Chance of Flowers on Instagram! 
We had so much fun talking with Vicki, guessing food trivia, and toasting each other with Heidi. It was a great way to take a break and laugh with girlfriends! Judy was the farthest girlfriend joining us on Zoom from Tennessee! We are cheering all our Messy Mommies girlfriends on with their resolutions and know you can do it! Happy New Year! And, we hope to see you at our February Girls Night In on February 18! Cheers! 

To help with your water goals, here are a few of our favorite water bottle! Please note we are part of the Amazon affiliate program and below are paid links. Thanks! 

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I have found myself searching for new recipes to not only change up our menu since pretty much every meal is being made at home, but I'm also looking for new recipes to feature in my second cookbook. If there is a recipe you love and would like it to be featured in my book, please send it along to me. I love to hear about what others are making these days and learning of new recipes. Last week I found several recipes in the Sunday, January 3rd New York Times paper I want to try. The recipe below is adapted from Ali Slagle's Chicken and Rice Soup recipe. Because I had no interest in going to the grocery store yet again this week, I used items I had on hand. The original recipe called for jasmine rice, but I used brown rice.  I love the bright lemon flavor in this soup! Enjoy!
xo,
holly

Chicken & Rice Soup
Ready in 40 minutes
Serves 4 to 6 people
Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth 
​1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 stalks celery, chopped 
¼ to ⅓ cup celery leaves, chopped
1 cup brown rice
Salt and pepper
½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ to ½ cup lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
Preparation
1. In a large pot, combine the broth, celery, and chicken. Season lightly with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 25 minutes. 
​2. While chicken is cooking, combine the chopped celery leaves, parsley, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl.  Set aside.
3.Using tongs, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a cutting board or in a bowl. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite size pieces and then stir back into soup. Turn off heat.
4. Add the butter, if using, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the lemon juice. 
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with approximately one tablespoon of the parsley mixture. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy.
Tips
I used low-sodium chicken broth and the full ½ cup of lemon juice because I LOVE lemon, but you can use less. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.