Real Reviews, by Real People
(want to leave a testimonial? email contact@stephanieodea.com)
I didn’t even know what a life coach was before I decided to take Stephanie up on her offer. In four weeks I ended up leaving a toxic friendship, lost 8.75 pounds, and we worked together to plan out a three year life plan. I know now what I was doing wrong with my website and she taught me how to trust my instincts and because of her encouragement I am going to write a book that I stopped and started in college.
I’d recommend working with Steph to anyone. It’s like having coffee with a friend, but a friend who isn’t scared to tell you when you are wrong in your thinking. I’m going to save up to work with her again in a year or so when I need another kick in the tush!
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Hi Everyone!
My name is Angela. I am a wife, mother of one, WAHM, and I have a DARK SECRET. Jk! But, I do have a set of challenges added to the normal ones that are part of being a working mom.
I have struggled with severe anxiety, depression, and PTSD. My son and I both have ADHD and anxiety, which makes homeschooling, managing the house, and working a comedy of errors at times. We’ve tried public school in the past, but have found that our son didn’t thrive in that environment.
As a person with ADHD and anxiety, I tend to be a perfectionist who cannot handle stress well at all. If there is a problem, I want it resolved immediately, or I will make myself ill from the anxiety of it. This, of course, is not always possible, nor is it a great expectation to push onto a marriage partner. As life went on, I was becoming more and more ill, not sleeping well, and feeling like I had no control of my life at all.
I saw many counselors and doctors to try and find help, to no avail. My house, marriage, family, and health felt as though it were helpless.
Then, there was a breakthrough. I was introduced to Mrs. Stephanie O’Dea through Once A Month Meals.
Through working with her, I realized that it was possible to have the clean home, organized life, and quality family time that I had always wanted, but felt was
always out of reach, thus fueling my depression. Her plan gave structure and strategy to the parts of adulting I was struggling with most.
In only a few short months, utilizing Stephanie’s tips, I was feeling happy again and looking to the future, which is something that the many
counselors and doctors haven’t been able to help me feel in almost a decade.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, I highly recommend working with Stephanie to help ease your stress and
improve your life! –Angela
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Ok – I’m a busy lady. Like most ladies… I have career, kids, and a pretty cute man. I also run a website for mothers (danger Will Robinson, DANGER!) and sometimes at the end of the day or week… the burden seems heavy.
I need you to know that I look forward to the blissful simplicity of your blog and the promise that chocolate fluff fondue holds.
I appreciate nothing more than the ease of the crockpot and the promise of the family time it assures me. (kiddos and I made Daddy’s birthday cake together today – fun? YES! Mess… yes… called in the hazmat team…)
In any case… thank you for what you do. You inspire me and bring me a sense of peace!!
Mahalo! (AGAIN!)
Jenifer
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Hi Stephanie,
I don’t remember how I discovered your blog…probably through one of the gluten-free forums I belonged to. I must tell you that I’ve really, really, really enjoyed receiving your daily crock pot e-mails. The format is sweet and simple and the way you write is so friendly and open. The recipes have been fun and I love the verdict section because it helps me get a real life opinion. Who could sneak anything not so tasty past a kid’s nose?
You are close to fulfilling your one-year daily crock potting experiment and my hat is off to you for being so diligent and sharing what you’ve learned. I’m sick at home much of the time and with not being able to get out and about for days and sometimes weeks at a time, your e-mails made me feel like I still had some contact with the outside world. There are a couple friends who have hung in there with me, but we don’t talk recipes which I love to do. My mother and sister and I used to sit around together perusing cook books. They’re gone now and I’ve really missed doing that until I discovered your blog. You can’t imagine how much your writings make me feel like one of the girls again. 🙂
Thanks hun! I wish you and yours the very best!
Lisa in sunny Florida
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Hello Stephanie!
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Tomorrow I turn 68 years old. Most people think of the slow cooker as something that busy Moms and working couples use. I would agree since both of my daughters and my daughter-in-law use their crock pots frequently. However, I like to think of a slow cooker as something that seniors should use more often.
First, eating healthy is important at any age, but especially as we get older. Healthy eating can make the difference between an energetic, illness-free aging process, and spending most of your senior years in bed or in the doctor’s office. In addition, as we age, or memories aren’t as sharp as they should be, and we have all heard the stories of Grandma forgetting that she put dinner on the stove top and went out to work in the garden and came back inside to burned food or worse case scenario to a kitchen fire. I like to think of a Crock Pot as a way for seniors to safely prepare healthy meals.
Stephanie, maybe you could send a few slow cooking recipes to AARP magazine, along with an article on the safety aspects of a slow cooker for seniors and some ideas of how to select a slow cooker and some basic instructions on how to use the newer models. And suggest that next time the family asks Grandma what she wants for her birthday or Christmas, she could ask for a slow cooker!
I really enjoy your daily recipes, often forwarding them to my kids. I also have two of your cookbooks. Thanks for everything.
Hugs, Arlene
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Dear Stephanie,
I’ve been following your blog for a while now and have made many of your wonderful recipes.
When you posted about your planner, Totally Together, I wanted to jump for joy! I know I yelled, “YES! This is what I’ve been looking for!!” because my husband said, “What?” while I was reading your post. I told him all about it and we both decided to support you (& help ourselves out) and pre-ordered it from Amazon. It came, then I gave birth to our second daughter. She is now one month old and we are in our second week of your planner.
We were just talking about how having the Daily 7 as a goal has really helped us! We would always talk about keeping the sink empty and how much easier it would be if we just put our plates straight into the dishwasher, but it never consistently happened. Now because we both have it as a goal in the foremost of our minds, it is becoming a habit. We love it!
And can I say how much I LOVE the boxes to check off every day?! I am such a list girl and that check mark is so gratifying to me at the end of a long day with two under two. I also completely identified with you cringing when a friend was folding the laundry the wrong way…I have been trying to let go more and be present for my girls instead of worrying about everything being just so.
So, from a longtime fan, THANK YOU! You are awesome and I love the way your brain works. Much like mine, but much more organized.
Sincerely,
Kara
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Stephanie,
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Hi Stephanie —
This is going to sound a bit dramatic, and is not something I generally say to strangers, but…you’ve changed my life! Wooohooo. When I graduated from college my Nebraska mom gave me a crockpot – naturally. I gave it away and began my new life as an east coast sophisticate dedicated to learning to cook only from Julia Child and the Washington Post and NYT food pages.
Now, I am a suburban 47 year-old, work-from-home, stay-at-home mother of three (12, 9 & 2). I can say for a fact that there is nothing sophsiticated about having a melt-down every evening while trying to supervise homework, get kids to activities, meet a work deadline of my own, and cook a whole-food, well balanced, economical, delicious meal. Enter my new crockpot and your blog site – both courtesy of a dear friend.
I love that your recipes are diverse, creative, and made with real food – rather than processed “c-r-a-p”. Your writing is a huge added treat and I find myself laughing and relaxing as I cook. My picky, health -conscious husband loves the meals I’ve made so far and my kids are thrilled that I’m not such a grump from 4-6:00 every evening.
Thank you Thank you. The school bus is about to arrive and I have a Cheese Enchilada Stack in my slow cooker, a bowl of strawberries in the fridge, and whole new attitude.
All the best.
Joyce
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Between these calendars and your little blue book that you published, I refer to them every week and plan my week around them.
Through all the big plans that I sometimes try to take on, yours are the ones that always seem doable, that I come back to and can actually complete. Well, mostly, haha. They are like a friend giving me a little nudge.
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PLEASE keep sending the calendars, Stephanie! They are saving my life! Ok, that might be a little dramatic. However, they do help me to keep the chaos at bay. I actually print them off….and copy & cut certain quotes, tasks, recipes, etc. and attach them to my paper planner. I am still a pen and paper gal! I definitely hope you continue and am completely on board with the LESS IS MORE theme. I heard this is recent months and found it encouraging too – “Stop the glorification of busy’”. GREAT REMINDER for us all in this fast-paced culture of ours. THANK YOU for doing your part to help keep overwhelmed mamas on track in their homes and with their families.
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Dear Steph,