Image courtesy of [ Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We’ve said it once before, but one day is never enough to thank our mother’s for all that they do and have done. We’re thankful there is still a day set aside to make all you moms, mums, mother’s and anyone who takes on the role feel special.

HAPPY Mother’s Day from Your Life After 25!

The post Happy Mother’s Day 2013! appeared first on Your Life After 25.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending The Great Gatsby screening in Atlanta.  It was a fabulous event with wine, hor d’oeuvres, and some of Atlanta’s stars and media. Fun times!

Now down to the nitty gritty, like many of you I remember reading The Great Gatsby in high school and falling in love with the great American novel.  F. Scott Fitzgerald, took us to a place where the 20′s were roaring and intrigue captivated our minds.  When I read the book, I always wondered what it would be like as a movie so I was ecstatic when I found out this film was being made.  I’ve been watching the production schedule for awhile, so when it was pushed back from the December release I was slightly disheartened.  Moving forward to May 8th, 2013…

As I watched The Great Gatsby film, which stars  Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, with Joel Edgerton,Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke,  I tried to go into the movie with no expectations… but let’s face it, this is one of the staples of American literature we’re talking about here, lol.  So, I’ve decided to do this review in 3 stages from worts to best, I like to end things on a good note

The Ugly and Bad:

This soundtrack had to be THE WORST idea ever, as I watched the imagery of flapper girls and 20′s style parties in New York I was disappointed to listen to Jay Z and Beyoncè’s ill fitted music disrupting the flow of the setting.  When a soundtrack is made for a movie, it’s supposed to be an addition to the scene/setting and provoke emotional thought and connection… for me I found the music to be highly disjointed and more like a running commercial for The Carters.  I have no problem with Jay Z or Beyoncè doing the music for the movie, I just think their execution was poor and slightly on the egotistical side.  It’s almost like no effort was made to compliment the movie…  I would have preferred OutKast do the full soundtrack in the style they did for Idlewyde.  Overall, the music dragged the movie down a FULL 2-3 points in my book.

Da Vinci gives The Great Gatsby Soundtrack a 2/10

Buy Movie Tickets Online Now!

Da Vinci gives The Great Gatsby movie 7/10 Butterflies

Check out The Great Gatsby Trailer

Grab Your Tickets Here!

The post The Great Gatsby Movie Review- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly appeared first on Your Life After 25.

Ok, soooo many of you know that I’m a HUGE fan of Iron Man, in fact he’s probably my favorite super hero… with that said I went into Iron Man 3 with as little bias a possible.  Iron Man 1 was AWESOME, 2 was good but could have been better but 3 definitely brought back that pizazz and made you fall in love with the characters again.

In the beginning the storyline may be slightly slower for some… but I think it was necessary to build the story, anticipation and understanding of what Tony Stark aka Iron Man is going through.  If you’ve been following the Marvel franchise movies, you’ll realize they are all connected, which I love, and this movie opens up after what happened in New York with the aliens in the last Avengers movie.   I enjoyed that this movie wasn’t completely predictable and that all the good scenes were not shown in the trailers.  We meet a new villain The Mandarin, who is working to push the war on terror… something we can relate to in the world we live.

The Mandarin from IRON MAN 3

 Gwyneth Paltrow, Pepper Potts, gets to show the heroine in her… Girl Power!  She added a new appeal and dimension to the movie, which allowed for us to see some sensitivity in Tony Starks (Robert Downey Jr.).  I’m hoping that Marvel starts showing more of our Super Heroines in this light, I’m looking forward to seeing Natasha Romanoff become Black Widow… hopefully in the 2nd Avengers movie.

Iron Man‘s New Suits

In this one we get to see some more fun technology from Iron Man, new suits that were AWESOME…  we meet new characters and old faves like Happy or James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) are back on the scene.  Even Rhodey gets a new suit as War Machine, now known as Iron Patriot.

War Machine, aka Iron Patriot

All in all, the action was great and storyline was jam-packed… I feel the NEED to watch it again because I know I probably missed a few things, lol.  If you can get through the slow start, this film is one you’re sure to love.  I definitely recommend giving it a watch.

Da Vinci gives Iron Man 3, 8 Butterflies

Check out the Iron Man 3 Trailer if you haven’t watched yet.

Grab Your Tickets Here!

The post Iron Man 3 – Movie Review appeared first on Your Life After 25.

We’re big on supporting causes in the community when we can, I was pleased to be invited to check out  People’s Food Truck because what better way than to raise money while pleasing the tummy.  Tonight promises to be a yummy sneak peek into what the food truck will be offering in the future and boasts a menu full of delicacies.   Take a look at the menu:

People’s Menu Highlights (full menu options will be available):

Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales:
Heritage pork tamales, chile “gravy” (3)

Tacos (2) or Po Boy:
“Pig n pickle” / wood grilled pork shoulder, house mayo, pickles & herbs
The “el rancho” / wood grilled steak, smoky onion, pickled carrot & avocado

Sides:
Papas Fritas (paper cone) / naked, chile gravy y queso, or OOOEEE!!! Sauce
Wood roasted corn on the cob / mayonnaise, cotija, chile and lime

Desserts:
Rum “sopped” coconut cake
Blue ribbon banana pudding

People’s is a non-profit food truck that is bringing ‘feel good food’ to Atlanta. Owned and operated by City of Refuge, and with a menu created by Chef Ford Fry (The Optimist, No. 246, JCT Kitchen), every meal purchased from People’s will in turn feed those in need!

Join me tonight Atlanta as I  get to support the only food truck that is by the people and FOR THE PEOPLE!

Click here to make a donation to People’s Food Truck!

After all that good food you can also sign up to help City of Refuge at their first annual Refuge Run (5K)

The post If You’re In #Atlanta Join Me TODAY In Supporting @CityOfRefuge At Chef Ford Fry’s food truck! appeared first on Your Life After 25.

]I grew up with a love of word games from word scrambles to scrabble, I guess you can say I was a bit of a nerd.  But hey, nerds rule the world, right? LOL.  Anyway, let's not get sidetracked I have an awesome new tool for my fellow blogging friends that's sure to engage their readers in a new way.

BlogMyBrain has launched a new Scrabble Word Finder widget for bloggers and webmasters to be able to embed in their sites, cool right?  

So, how can this help YOU?  As bloggers we're always working hard to keep readers engaged and entertained.   And let's face it, sometimes you just want to connect in another way besides written content.  That's where the Word Finder Widget comes in.  

Here are some perks of the Word Finder Widget:

• It's easily embeddable within a 250×250 space.  So you can just pop it into one of your sidebars.
• Once a reader engages with the widget they'll more than likely be hooked, this means longer site visits for you and lowered bounce rates.
• When readers have fun with something it will bring them back and leave them wanting more, so that's another plus.
• And last but not least, you can also play with it yourself from time to time, lol

Word Finder Widget Demo & Code

As always, I'm glad I can find neat things to share with you Lifers. Not conviced or still wondering how it might work for you? Give it a try!  Couldn't hurt, right?

The post Calling All Bloggers and Fans of Word Games! appeared first on Your Life After 25.

As a person who has worked in a home office environment for several years, I know just how easy it can be to get stuck into bad working habits.  One of the major things office workers, at home agents, and we bloggers experience is chronic pain.  Whether it's in your back, neck, or shoulders setting up an ergonomic office envionment is key.  Another essential thing to consider is taking adequate breaks from work and walking around when possible to keep your blood flowing.

Accordin to a new survey from the American Osteopathic Association or AOA, "2 out of 3 workers have experienced physical pain in the last 6 months and nearly 1 out of 4 believe it's just a standard part of having an office job".  Having this thought process can be quite dangerous because it can cause you to ignore the tell tale warning signs and many times pain goes untreated.  If your pain is untreated for too long it can cause long term damage, resulting in chronic or reoccuring pain.

Now it's time to Break Through Your Pain and get into some better work habits.  If you have your own home office, you should consider the type of office chair you use, doing stretches, how long you stare at your monitor, your posture as you work and more.  If you work in a corporate office environment, cosider purchasing padding you can put in your chair to make it more comfortable, take breaks when you can to keep up that blood flow, don't focus on your screen too much… practice good office habits while being productive for your job.  At the end of the day, YOU are irreplaceable, so don't kill yourself trying to do your job.

Tell Us About Some of Your Experiences with Chronic Pain 

and

Share ANY Tips You Have for Better Office Practices.

Don't Forget to Share, Tweet and Pin That Infographic

to help your Friends and Family also.

The post #Bloggers, Setup A Better Working Environment and Break Through Your Pain! appeared first on Your Life After 25.

Young people need to intelligently plan their career path. A good way to do this is to study the current job market and find important trends. What is it that makes some places better than others? Let’s take a closer look at the situation within the United States to understand what is going on.

When we observe closely, there seems to be a trend amongst the states with the the least unemployment rates. Below you will find a top ten list of the states with the lowest employment rates, their major industry sectors, along with the most useful fields of study to get a job. So, Let’s see which states have the lowest employment rate and why?

Source: Best Therapy Degrees

The post Outsmart the Economic Crisis appeared first on Your Life After 25.

While nursing has existed for centuries, Ellen Dougherty is credited with being the world’s first RN. A commitment to the wellbeing of a hospital inspired her at an early stage to promote the needs of the institution through sewing bees that led to making sheets and other linens needed. Her philosophy of improving the conditions of the medical institution in which you believe also aided her in the position of pharmacist at the hospital dispensary. A New Zealand citizen, she was the first to become an RN when the country passed the Nurses Registration Act.

Every influential woman in the nursing movement is known for a philosophy that involves caring for the wellbeing of others, whether there is a specific cause or institution at issue. Today, these examples serve as inspiration for those who have compassion for the sick and underprivileged. Some aim their efforts at end of life care. Others dedicate themselves to those struggling for basic necessities. All demonstrate commitment to the care of others.

Source: Best RN to BSN

The post Nurses Impacting the World Through Compassion and Commitment appeared first on Your Life After 25.

Rules: **Must** be a blogger or vlogger to be eligible. At least 18 years old, WW. Blog MUST be self-hosted. Enter the contest (Note: Your site must be “family friendly.” No illegal, violent, adult-content, etc.) Choose whatever challenges you want to gain “entries.”

Fill out the form below and Tell us why your blog needs a makeover AND what you would like to learn from The Blog Workshop -Online Conference.

Good Luck and Help Spread The Word!

The post #Bloggers, Enter To Win A Blog Makeover + $25 Gift Card via @TheBlogWorkshop #tbwc13 appeared first on Your Life After 25.

For many people, pets are as much a part of the family as any child. When pet parents vacation, it is only natural for them to want their pets to come along. Unfortunately, this is not always easy to accomplish. Below are some tips for those who wish to take their beloved pet on vacation.

Determine how you will travel:

Before beginning preparation for your vacation, determine how you will travel. Traveling in a vehicle is typically easier on a pet than air travel. This is because, to airline companies, pets are often considered cargo and they treat them as such. There are a few exceptions, but you would need to check with the airline beforehand if having your pet in the cargo area is unfavorable. Because of airline restrictions, most pet parents choose to travel by car as this allows the freedom to make as many stops as needed.

Prepare:

If you have decided to travel by car, make your pet a care package to take along. Include a few favorite toys or blankets and some treats. Make sure you take bags for waste clean up, a leash and your pet’s medical documents. Having records of your pet’s medical history is a good idea in case they become injured or sick and need treatment while on vacation. It is also a good idea to make sure your pet is up-to-date on all their shots and treatments before leaving for vacation.

Another aspect that is important in preparing for a vacation with your pet is determining where you pet can and cannot go. Of course, you will need to stay at a pet friendly hotel. However, you also should call around to area businesses, restaurants and attractions to see if they allow pets. If you find there are places you would like to visit that do not allow pets, it is a good idea to check out the local pet sitting locations. This will allow you the freedom to enjoy your vacation without worrying about your pet’s well being.

Nowadays many people feel their pets are part of their family and wanting to bring them along on vacation is only a natural response to that feeling. Bringing a pet on vacation is a wonderful experience if it is well thought out and planned ahead of time. Thankfully, many vacation destinations are becoming more pet friendly in response to customer‘s expressed desire to bring their pets on vacation. The above tips will help those that wish to take their pets on vacation but are not sure what steps they should take to accomplish that goal.

Eric Blair writes about traveling internationally and locally with quickly renewed USA passports from TravelDocs.com to avoid any delays and headaches while traveling.

The post Hassle Free Tips for Traveling With Your Pet appeared first on Your Life After 25.