Dishes & Blessings

Thank God for Dirty Dishes
author unknown

 

Thank God for Dirty Dishes,

They have a tale to tell.

While others are going hungry,

We're eating very well.

With home and health and happiness,

I shouldn't want to fuss.

For by this stack of evidence, 

God's very good to us.

 

In our cozy little rental, we do not have a dishwasher.  I know there are a ton of people living without a dishwasher.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining or complaining.   I just miss one!  The main reason I miss my dishwasher is because I am the Great Procrastinator.  With a dishwasher, you can load your dirty dishes, out of site until, it is full.  Then you can turn the machine on and walk away.  And if you don't feel like unloading the dishwasher right away, you can let them hang out for a while.

Hand washing dishes means "Thou Shalt Not Procrastinate".  Ugh, not doing the dishes one day means I'll be standing there for 45 minutes to an hour just washing up.  Then the dishes sit on the valuable counter space to dry - cause you know I'm not standing there for another 40 minutes towel drying every dish. 

ANYWAY......

Like the little poem at the top suggests, dishes are a visual reminder of how blessed we are to be healthy and eating well (maybe a little too well)! 

Only on day four of my jog-a-day goal and already hit a speed bump.  My oldest superhero has an earache.  He stayed home from school today.  No jogging.  Hopefully tomorrow.

 

Great For You!

Tonight I made turkey burgers for dinner.  I'm not that great of a cook but I do make a mean turkey burger.  I was trying to come up with a side dish for a turkey burger but the only thing that I could manage was French fries.  But before you gasp and judge me for being such a terrible mom as to serve my children frozen french fries on a Monday night, take a look at this!  Look at the lower right hand corner of the bag!

See? It's okay.  These french fries are Great for you! 

There's even a little man doing a healthy jumping jack!  Or is he jumping for joy?

 

Can you even believe it?  I knew choosing french fries was not the best choice.  I didn't really want to make mac & cheese (really that is no better than fries. Is it?)  We had salads for lunch.  And the only other veggie I have is frozen peas.  My boys would rather eat worms than peas.  So french fries it was.  But then I spotted the little jumping jack man.  My guilt and shame was instantly lifted because choosing frozen french fried potatoes is GREAT FOR YOU!  What's next?  Healthy fish sticks?

On a less sarcastic note, I did it!  I actually went for a walk/jog/walk/jog/walk/jog/walk!
Bring on tomorrow!  Cause rain or shine, I can do this! 

~Big Booty Judy~

Hiya, hello...um...ya....that's me.....Big Booty Judy!  Enough is enough!
As I sit and polish off a bowl of Nilla Wafers and Nutella, I think to myself, tomorrow I am going to go for a jog.  I am going to eat a better breakfast, only drink water and tea and quit carbohydrate loading.   A lot has been going on lately.  We sold our house and are now renting.  We had two separate houses lined up to buy at two separate times and they both fell through.  The realty business out there is rough.  I'm glad I don't make my bread by selling houses!  But we are very happy renting the little house we are in and aren't in any big hurry.  It's kinda nice to just enjoy life and relax a little.  But anyway, back on point......I fell off the healthy wagon face first and then I rolled into a ditch full of Nutella!  I've been off track for months and my pot belly shows it. 
I actually lost some weight during the process of selling our house.  Packing an entire house full of crap counts as exercise, right?  You just never sit still.  There is always more crap to pack.  Honestly, I don't know how I managed to pack it all with two little boys that were home with me all day long!  And the stress of trying to show an immaculate home while your kids leave a trail of crackers and crayon everywhere they've been...oy vey.  And then there's the stress of looking at dozens of houses, bidding on several, loosing bids, making counter offers, signing paperwork at the drop of a hat with a husband that rotates shifts.  Ugh!  That kind of stress curbs your appetite.
But now, here I am.  All moved into my cozy little rental.  Kids are back to school.  No projects to do cause we don't own the house.  No artsy fartsy stuff to tool around with cause Lord only knows where my arts and crafts supplies are (packed up in a box in the furthest corner of the basement under all those extra plastic dishes and cups and utensils you JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH)! And nothing to do but eat.....
 No excuses now!  There is no reason why I can't go for a little jog/ walk tomorrow.  As soon as I drop off my little superheros to school, I will come home and go for a little jog down the road. 
I really hope I can do this!

~10 Reasons to Exercise~

It can be so easy for me to skip exercise.  I put it off and put it off, next thing I know it's the end of the day...I'm tired and I just don't feel like doing it.  I can think of 10 reasons during the day why I should be doing something else instead of exercising.  Isn't there ALWAYS something else to do?

But today, I did it.   Today I accepted NO excuses.  I let the dishes sit in the sink.  I let the Legos stay scattered ALL OVER the floor.  The bathroom could wait one more day.   Today was my day.  And tomorrow is mine too!  I won't meet my goals if I keep making excuses. 

I'm not gonna lie. I did not meet my exercise goal on the ~Spring Fling~ Challenge last week. But I'm not going to let that stop me!

Here are 10 Reasons why we need to exercise!

1. It renews your self confidence
2. It reduces your risk of cancer
3. It makes you feel good
4. It gives you energy
5. It helps you loose weight
6. It boosts your immune system
7. It reduces your blood pressure
8. It reduces stress
9. It builds muscle and prevents muscle loss as you age
10. It revs up your metabolism

And a bonus reason why you should exercise......
Because YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Now go out there and sweat a little. 
We Can Do This!

~blogaliciousness~

I've been messing around with the look of this blog.  Ya know, make it a little more blogalicious.  I really have no idea what the heck I am doing.  Just hoping that I don't up and delete the whole thing with one quick slip of the finger.  I'm pretty sure I backed this baby up....but...you know how that goes.  So if you visit and the place looks a wreck, (like... what the heck is she trying to do..kind of thing) sorry about that!  It's a work in progress.

Anywho, I've been doing some thinking about the direction of this blog.  I've been focusing a lot on the challenges.  You can read about the challenges here and here.  They are my most popular posts and I am really excited about them.  I want this to be a place where we can go to find motivation to get healthy and stay healthy.  Yes the main goal is to be HEALTHY!  Not necessarily to just get skinny.  Weight loss will come if we are making healthy life choices.

We need to take control of our health now!  Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis...the list goes on and on.  These are the things that will steal our bodies away from us.  Forcing us to be on a list of medications.  We need to make better choices now so hopefully we will enjoy full, active and healthy lives no matter how old we are!  I know that healthy people get sick too.  And that sometimes no matter what, it's just in our genes.  I'm not trying to invent a cure-all.  I just believe that when we take care of our bodies, minds and spirits we have a better chance of defending ourselves against the aforementioned diseases.  If we take charge of our health, we can live fuller, happier lives.

And those three words at the top, that's my new motto!  I am going to try very hard to Live Life Well! 

I'm in this for the long haul, the rest of my life!  Join me!  And together...

WE CAN DO THIS!

~Spring Fling~ Check In!

Hi Guys! 

Checking in to see how you are doing on the
~Spring Fling~ Challenge

 

 

I'm doing pretty good.  Today was not as good as the others but I'm not going to let that get in my way.  I still have to get my rear end downstairs to exercise.  Man, when I was single with no kids, exercise fit in any time I wanted it to.  But trying to exercise now is no easy task.  I would like to get up early in the morning to get it done for the day, but my kids seem to always hear me if I'm up.  And when I'm up, they are up.  And believe me, I don't want them up at 5:00 am!  So, I usually wait to exercise until they go to bed. 

 

Oh, I've tried exercising while they play.  Except they usually stop what they are doing and start stealing my hand weights and stretchy bands.  I love that sometimes they try to exercise with me (you know, trying to set a good example by showing them that exercise is a normal part of the day), but they usually end up in the way, and I'm afraid they are going to get trampled or kicked while I pretend to be Jillian Michaels in my living room (funny, I was going to type "pretend to be Jane Fonda", but that would show my age!).

 

And that darn Easter candy needs to be consumed already!  When there is no junk in the house, there is no temptation!  Curse you! Mini M&M's!

 

This challenge is all about making choices to make a healthier you and me!  With heart disease, breast cancer, high cholesterol and high blood pressure in my family I really need to make a whole lifestyle change! 

 

We Can Do This!

 

How are you doing?  What kinds of things motivate you to stay on track?  What things get in your way?  I would love to hear from you! 

 

 

 

 

 



~Short and Sweet~

Hello friends!

Just checking in with a short and sweet post.  I wanted to let you know that you can "like us" on Facebook!  Just click on the link at the top of the page and it will take you to the "We Can Do This" page.

If you are doing the ~Spring Fling~ Challenge, Congratulations!  You have taken a step to a healthier you!  We can do this together. 

If you haven't started yet, it's not too late.  Go here to see the challenge and print out your chart.

If you have started, but it's been a while since you have exercised, don't get discouraged if you aren't able to do a full 30 minutes.  Heck, I just tried to do  The Firm Body Sculpting System workout video (on VHS...haha) that I used to do about 10 years ago.  For the love of Pete, I'm 40 now!  Needless to say I did not make it to the end.  I only made it to 20 minutes.  But I still counted it and put a big ol' smiley face on my chart!  The point is, if you can't do a full 30 minutes yet, keep going.  Do what you can.  I'm right there with you!

We Can Do This!

Drink Your Veggies!

Hello!  I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter.  Did you get a chance to enjoy some yummy treats?  I sure did!

The 21 Day Challenge was a success. 

Now we are on to the April ~Spring Fling~ Challenge.

Part of our new challenge is to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day!

Have you been curious about all the green smoothies and juicing that's buzzing up Pinterest right now?  I sure have.  Everything I read about green smoothies tells me that it's super healthy.  I mean it's a bunch of super healthy fruits and veggies all blended together.  How can you go wrong?  But yet I was scared.  What if I spend all the money on the produce, blend it up and then HATE it?  Money wasted!

But then I came across the website , SuperHealthyKids.com. 

They have a whole post on how to make a green smoothie.

 

Click here to get the recipes from superhealthykids.com

 

 

Go to their website and check it out!  They even have a printable chart to help you mix your own smoothie depending on your own tastes! 

 

I started with the recipe for a Basic Green Smoothie
and modified it just a tad.

 

Green Smoothie

3 cups packed baby spinach

2 cups frozen peaches

1 cup frozen mango (I used more peaches)

1/2 cup skim milk

1 cup orange juice

1 scoop EAS vanilla protein powder (didn't use this)

1 cup vanilla Light and Fit Dannon yogurt ( I used lowfat vanilla yogurt)

1 block silken tofu (I left this out)

{source} 

 

 I used a regular old blender that I bought at Wal-Mart

about seven years ago.  It did the trick with no trouble. 

 

I really liked this smoothie and so did my oldest superhero (he's five).  But my three year old not so much!  And my husband wouldn't dare try it.

It's very green in color and I was afraid it would taste like straight spinach, but I didn't taste spinach at all!

The flavor was like a creamy orange peach.  The vanilla yogurt made it just sweet enough.  I will be making this again!  For Sure!
 

This recipe makes about four servings.  And it freezes really well! 

 

So how many servings of fruits and vegetables do we have here?

• Greens like spinach and lettuce have a serving size equal to one full cup. 
• We generally count one piece of fruit as one serving. 
• One half cup of fruit juices are equal to one serving. 

 

So in this smoothie I'm guesstimating there are about six serving of fruits and veggies all together.  Of course we need to divide that into four individual servings.

One serving of this smoothie will give you about 1 1/2 fruits and veggies for the day.  Not too shabby! 

I'm going to experiment with some other combinations.  Do you juice?  Have you made green smoothies before?  Do you have any yummy recipes to share?  I'd love to hear from you. 

Let's get our five servings of fruits and veggies a day!
We Can Do This!



BTW...I've been hearing some feedback that my comments section is not working.  I've researched and tried to fix the problem.  I'm sorry if you have tried to leave a comment but were unable to.  I'm working on it!

~Spring Fling Challenge~ Here it is!

 

I am so excited to share the new challenge for the month of April. 

 This challenge is all about getting healthy.  

And I'm hoping to shed a few pounds too!

 

Before we begin the challenge:

1. We all need to record our current weight. 
2. Choose a weigh day. 
3. We need to record measurements of our hips, thighs, belly, bust and arms. 

If you need some guidance on how to take your measurements visit LIVESTRONG.COM.

 

It's important to get your measurements because sometimes we don't lose pounds but we do lose inches.  As you make better food choices and exercise, your body will tighten and firm! 

Choose a day that suits you to weigh in.  Don't weigh yourself everyday.  Our body fluctuates from day to day.  Just choose one day to weigh yourself.  Mine is Saturday morning (in my underwear, before I eat and after I pee...eek TMI...but I want the greatest chance of seeing that scale move!).

 

And now without further delay:  

Here are the new goals for the month of April

~Spring Fling Challenge~

• Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (combined)
• Eat an apple a day.  There ya go, one fruit down already
• No fast food, chips, pop, muffins, cookies, brownies, cakes, pies.  You get the picture.  Basically no junk! 
• Don't be discouraged already..I have a surprise....keep reading
• Take a multi-vitamin everyday
• Drink at least 8 eight ounce glasses of water a day
• Do 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week.  Yep you get two days off, you choose which two!
• You get one SPLURGE a week

Splurge!  That's the surprise.  This month long challenge includes one splurge day per week!  What is a splurge?  It's an ice cream cone, a can of soda pop, a serving of chips!  It's whatever you want it to be and whenever you want it to be.  But you only get one per week, so use it wisely.  And be smart.  A splurge is not consuming an entire family size bag of potato chips in one sitting.  It's just one serving to get you over your craving. 

~Bonus~

 

If you add a sixth day of exercise during your week, give yourself a bonus splurge to be used on another day!

And my favorite part...........
The printable chart to keep track of all those things we need to do.

We Can Do This ~Spring Fling~ April Challenge Printable

 

 

This printable is only good for one week.  So you'll need to print out several.  Just check off each section as you go.  The water section only has seven water drops.  I thought we could put eight dots in each water drop to keep track of the day's water intake.  This way the chart wasn't loaded up with a bunch of water drops.  After all we will be drinking 56 glasses of water a week.  Say What? 

We will be starting in the middle of a week so this printable won't match up exactly to the weeks in April.  For example, the first week of April only has six days, but you get the idea.

 

Ready to start with me? 

Go to the store this weekend and buy your fruits and veggies!  Don't forget the apples and a bottle of multi-vitamins too.

 

This challenge begins April 1st and runs the whole month!

 

We Can Do This!

 

 

 

 

As with any diet or exercise program, consult your doctor before starting.  I am not a health care professional.  This is just something I'm doing be a healthier person! 



~Three More Days And A Sneak Peek~

Only three days left on the 21 Day Challenge!  We will wrap up the challenge the day before Easter.  Just in time to delight in whatever the Easter Bunny brings to your house.  Rumor has it that the Easter Bunny is bringing me a new hummingbird feeder instead of chocolate!  I can always pinch the kids candy, right?

My little superheros are getting so excited for Easter.  They love going to church.  They can't wait to wear their new ties to Easter service this Sunday.  And the Easter bunny visiting adds a whole new level of excitement.

I'm excited for Easter too!  I'm excited to celebrate the risen Lord and reaffirm my commitment to Christ!  I'm excited to see those little superhero smiles when they find their Easter baskets full of goodies.

AND...I am excited to have a nibble of chocolate.  Did I say nibble?  Um, probably will have a little more than a nibble on Easter morning.  It's tradition in this family to eat some Easter chocolate for breakfast! 
 
What kind of silly traditions do you have?


The new Spring Fling Challenge will start on April 1st!  I'm really excited about it.  My friend, Karin, and I have been working on some new goals.  We've decided to keep the apple a day from the 21 Day Challenge. 

Here's a little sneak peek of the new printable coming your way.

 

A new post will be up soon detailing the whole Spring Fling Challenge. 

Can't wait to share...I'm kinda like really excited about it  (have I said that already...)

 

We Can Do This!

~The Final Challenge Check In~

How are you doing on the 21 day challenge?

 

 

I really, really want to hear from you...

I want to know what the best part has been so far.

I want to know what the worst part has been so far.

 

 

For me, the best part has been my success in drinking water.  I'm actually doing it.  Yesterday I drank ten 8 ounce glasses!  Can I get a woot woot?  Prior to this challenge I hydrated with coffee and diet soda.  What a poor choice on my part, eh?

 

The worst part has been daily exercise.  I'll be honest, I haven't done 30 minutes EVERY day.  But I'm doing more that I was 16 days ago!  I have more energy now.  I can run around with the kids without getting out of breath!  I'll take it!

 

There's only 5 days left in our 21 Day Challenge.  We got this, baby!

 

If you haven't started this challenge, there will be a new one starting April 1st with new goals!  I'll be putting up a post all about it this week.

 

We Can Do This!

 

 

~New challenge just in time for April~

 

 

We Can Do This

~Spring Fling~

April Challenge

 

A new challenge is being prepared for the month of April!

 

Starts April 1, 2013

 

There will be new goals and a new printable chart to help you stay on track.

 

This week is your prep week. 

We all need to weigh ourselves and take our measurements.

 

Think about what day you want to be your weigh day (once a week).

Record your current weight.

 

Grab a cloth tape measure and record the following

measurements (you may need a friend to help you).

 

Hips, thighs, arms, belly and bust.

 

If you are unsure how to do this go to LIVESTRONG.COM.

There are good directions there.

 

The 21 Day Challenge has motivated me. 

It's a great starting point for anyone wanting to make a healthy change!

 

I hope you will join me for the April ~Spring Fling~ Challenge!

 

We Can Do This!

 

 



~Box Top Bank~

Do you collect Box Tops for your kid's school? 

 

 

 

 

Do you have somewhere to put your Box Tops?

 

I was tired of our Box Tops hanging out in a plastic baggie.  So when I received an email from Box Tops For Education with a link to a cute printable.  I was excited (small things excite me I guess)!

 

Here is the printable: 
Keep Calm and Clip On

I bought a set of magnetic metal baskets from LTD Commodities a few years ago. I knew once I saw this free printable, I would use one of these baskets to hold the Box Tops
(why haven't I been doing this all along? duh!)

I have a package of adhesive magnetic sheets.  I just cut two pieces for the printable and stuck it to the front of the basket. 

And if you like the "Think Spring" chalkboard picture.  Just go here.  It's a free printable that I made.

 

Keep collecting those Box Tops for your school.  They really do help out!

We Can Do This!

 

How do you keep your Box Tops?  Let me know in the comments below!

 

~They Call Me The Wrapper~

Well, they don't really call me the wrapper...but it makes a good title don't ya think?

A few years ago, I bought a wrapping paper organizer that goes under the bed.  I had a love/hate relationship with that thing.  I loved it because it gave my gift wrap a place to live.  I hated it because it just ended up being a big dumping station with everything just jumbled all together.  Plus every time I wanted to wrap something, I had to dig it out from under my bed. 

I LOVE Pinterest.  My goodness, the ideas out there are amazing.  I've always been a good copy cat crafter, so Pinterest is right up my ally. 

I stumbled upon this lovely pin.  You may have seen it.

BHG

 

I knew right away that I wanted NEEDED this lovely set-up! 

 

Here is my version

 

 

I purchased this kitchen shelving system from Wal-Mart.

This system can hang over the door or you can hard mount it.

I decided to hard mount the rack to the inside of our linen closet door (okay, when I say "I" hard mounted, please read "my wonderful husband" ).  This gave me more height to work with.  I was able to utilize the whole length of the door and not be restricted by the length of the rack itself.

 

 

I reused a Victoria's Secret bag to store my tissue paper. 

I just whipped up some letters on my cricut to cover the name of the store.

 

 

I have quite a few giant bags that wouldn't fit anywhere.  I bought a large Command Hook that holds up to 5 pounds.  The bags hang behind the wrapping rolls.  I tied a piece of skinny ribbon on either side of the rack to keep the wrapping paper rolls from falling forward.

 

This brings me to another awesome pin. 

Have you seen this idea?

 

 Karimas Crafts

 

I really like this idea, but I don't like the look of toilet paper tubes.  Enter...scrapbook paper! 

I just wrapped the tube in pretty paper. 

 

 

 

 

Now, that's better!

 

 

 



I'm getting organized, one step at a time. 

I get caught up in all the eye candy organizing out there.  Looking at the beautiful pictures gives me inspiration, but sometimes  it makes me to stumble.  I get caught up in trying to make everything look perfect like the pictures in a magazine. 

This is real life organizing.  My paper, bags and ribbon are not in one beautiful color scheme like the one on BHG.  But it works.  I did it!

We Can Do This!

 

 

 



SPRING BREAK ~ How to survive the kiddos!



My superheros are home all day from school for spring break (that's two full weeks)!  I love being home with the boys.  But let's be real.  Being at home ALL DAY with little superheros can be exhausting, especially if they are having trouble sharing and getting along.  And trying to get anything done around the house is near impossible.  So I decided I would theme a few of the days and do a little homework the night before to try and give our long days some direction and intentional fun. 

Here is what I came up with for day one....

 

A is for Airplane!

 

1.  Airplane coloring page

2.  Build an airport out of Legos

3.  Airplane lunch (chicken salad on celery in the shape of an airplane)

4.  Make paper airplanes

5.  Pretend to fly on an airplane (line up all the chairs)

6.  Airplane balloon science experiment

 

 

Airplane Coloring Pages

There are a million airplane coloring pages on the net.  Just search google images, you won't have a problem finding something you like.

Here is the one we used.

source

 

 

I have preschoolers.  So I wanted a page that had the letter "A" on it so they could see it and color it.  This one also has the dotted word "airplane".  Nice practice for writing.

 

 

 

 

 

Build an airport out of Legos

Next we made an airport out of Lego Duplo Blocks.  I let the boys take the lead.  We made a runway out of some foam puzzle pieces.

 

Bob the Builder is the air traffic controller.  Can you see him at the top?




Airplane Lunch
Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. 

I knew I wanted to make chicken salad today.  Since this was already planned, I had celery on hand.  So I whipped up a batch of chicken salad and just cut some celery to make a very simple airplane.  I filled the celery with the chicken salad and voila!  The boys LOVED it!  And making airplane noises while eating is still cool when you are three and five!

I really wanted the boys to help make this lunch, but they were SO hunrgy, they wanted nothing to do with preparing.  You win some, you loose some.




Make Paper Airplanes

We have a paper airplane book & kit that my oldest superhero received for his fourth birthday.  This will keep us busy for quite a while! 




Airplane Balloon Science Experiment

I pinned this science experiment a while ago. 

 

 

source: DISCOVER EXPLORE LEARN

 

This will fit in with our airplane theme!  Can't wait to give it a try. 

 

 

 

Well, that's it for the day.  We may add a trip to the library to look at airplane books.  If the weather was nicer, we could have made a trip to our local airport to watch some planes land and take off.

 

Some other themes I am exploring for the week are

Under the Sea

America The Beautiful

Diggers, Dozers and Dirt

 

 

We Can Do This!  We can make memories for the kidlets and stay sane while doing it.  It just takes a little planning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Oh my rainbows and leprechauns! Is it too late to decorate?

Do you love to decorate for the holidays?  We love all things holiday at our house.

My oldest superhero asked me if we could decorate for Easter today.  "Sure, just as soon as I decorate for St. Patrick's Day" I said.  We're a little behind in the holiday round up this year.

My husband bought me a Cricut for Christmas!  Yippeeeee!  I've been playing with it here and there.  But I haven't had a good chunk of time to really explore and create something. 
My superheros have been begging me to get the cricut out so they can help.  So that's just what we did.  I pulled out some paper and started cutting shamrocks.  One superhero loads the cutting mat, one superhero gets to push the cut button.  They were delighted!

Here is what we made!  A shamrock garland.  It's simple but I'm still learning.

 

 

I'm not thrilled with the lettering color.  I should have picked out something brighter.  But hey, It's done.  In the past I would have ruminated over color choice, shape, size and never took action to actually DO the project.  I would have been afraid that it wouldn't turn out perfectly.  Well, in this case, it's better to have a done project than to not have one at all.  And the bonus is the boys had a blast! 
Do you put off doing things because you are afraid they won't be perfect?  I have in the past, but I'm breaking out!  You can do it too.  Go ahead, who cares if it's not perfect! 
We Can Do This!

Challenge Check In!

Hi guys!  This is an official challenge check in!  If you are following the 21 Day Challenge, I want to know how you are doing!  Are you eating your apple?  Having any challenges fitting in 30 minutes of exercise?  What kind of exercise are you doing?

I'm doing pretty good.  Eating an apple a day is easy.  Geez, why have I not been doing this all along?

Drinking a glass of water before my meal is actually making me eat a little less.  Usually I clean up my plate and go back for seconds.  Now I can feel my tummy getting full before I'm half way done with my meal.  I'm liking this! 

What's really weird is I haven't craved chocolate or cookies or cake!  I'm not sure why.  I can say I've been drinking eight 8 oz glasses of water a day.  That tends to keep my belly occupied (and my bladder.......if ya know what I mean!)

It is only Day 4.  I'll have to see how it goes.

If you are just joining the 21 Day Challenge, welcome!  Be sure to print out the chart to keep track of your progress.

Come along with me. Kick butt and take names!  It's time to make some changes that will make us feel better and be healthier!
We Can Do This!

Is there a Method to her madness?

So I took a trip to the local Target store.  I went on a task to raid the dollar section for some little organizing bins.  I LOVE Target's dollar section!  Look what I found!  These cute little things make me want to tear apart a drawer and organize!  I'll post pics once they find a home.

With my hands full of tiny bins, I decided to take a walk around (which is always hazardous for my wallet).  I landed in the cleaning section...somehow I always end up there.   I LOVE to clean!  There I said it!  I really do love to clean.  I oogled over the Method cleaning section.  I've been reading a bit about cleaning with natural products.  There is a lot of buzz out in blog land about them. I thought I would give them try.  I was drawn to the sleek, modern look of the Method packaging, but more importantly I was drawn to the natural ingredients and the price.  This bottle is only $2.99 for 28 fluid ounces.  This is comparable to what I currently pay for my cleaners.   I chose an all purpose cleaner in the scent of clementine.  I'll let you know what I think. 
Do you use all natural products?  If so, which ones do you use?  What are your favorites?  I really would like to know your opinions. 

I am not being paid by Target or Method to write this.  It's just my own personal opinion.  I'm hoping you'll share your thoughts on all natural cleaners...I need a little help here.

an apple a day!

Just finished eating my apple for the day.  Eating an apple a day is part of the 21 Day Challenge (read about the challenge here)  I like Gala apples....nice and sweet and crisp. 
Are you following along on the 21 Day Challenge?  What kind of apples are you eating?

Here are 6 reasons why we SHOULD be eating an apple a day according to an article by Care2.com on the Mother Nature Network.

1. Apples are loaded with soluble fiber.  It helps to stabalize insulin levels by releasing sugar slowly into the bloodstream. 
2. Apple pectin helps in reducing cholesterol by lowering insulin secretion.
3. Researchers have found by eating five apples a week, one can lower the risk for respiratory diseases like asthma.
4. Apples are packed with vitamins C and A.
5. According to a Brazilian study, eating an apple before a meal helped women lose 33 percent more weight than those who didn't.
6. An apple has only 50-80 calories and has no fat or sodium.

I'd love to hear from you.  Let me know how you are doing on the challenge!
We Can Do This!

21 Day Challenge!

Here it is!

 

21 Day Challenge Graphic thanks to Karin Tomson!

 

My friend, Karin, and I have come up with a challenge that we believe we can do! It's only for 21 days. This challenge is going to rev of some weight loss and turn us into two healthier mommies!

We are starting this Sunday, March 10th! The challenge will end the day before Easter Sunday (just in time to reward ourselves with a little Easter treat--note to self, this does not mean you get to eat ALL of the Cadbury Eggs!)

I would love for you to join us! And I would love to hear from you!  
Good luck and remember:
WE CAN DO THIS!

Here's a free printable chart to help us keep track!

Stay tuned for a 21 day challenge!

Yesterday I mentioned that I was going to revisit a 21 Day Challenge that my friend and I took part in last year.  This challenge is to jump start weight loss and hopefully get us back on track.  We are in the process of tweaking the challenge a bit.  We should have everything ready to start on Sunday, March 10th!

I shared a post in July 2012 titled Staring 40 In The Face.  Guess what?  I'm gonna be 40 in sixteen days.  Yoish!  Where did the time go?  I didn't meet my weight loss goal, but I did manage to stay the same.  Good that I didn't gain, right?  I wouldn't really call that an accomplishment--maybe just luck!  I guess what I need to focus on is the fact that I keep trying.  I have incorporated some exercise into my life.  But I need to do more.  And I need to keep that darn Nutella out of my house (hey that's not a cookie so I'm good, right? That's It! No More Cookies! )

Check back and join in. This is going to be doable.  We would love to have some company! Leave me a message if you're joining us.   

We Can Do This!

I'm quitting....In a Good Way!

Today my little superheros made a decision to quit sucking on their thumbs.  Well one sucks his thumb, the other sucks his arm.  It's a habit they both formed while infants.  But now they are three and five.  I was a thumb sucker well into Kindergarten.  I remember getting much comfort from sucking my thumb but feeling shame because everyone around me told me how bad and yucky it was.  I would still suck my thumb, but just hide it from everyone.  I didn't want my boys to have the same feelings of shame and guilt.  Today we talked about trying to stop.  I didn't use negative words, I just told them I thought it was time to quit because arms and thumbs weren't made to suck on forever.  My husband and I came up with a reward of going to a very fun local indoor playground.  The boys rarely get to go there, so they were so excited and on board from the minute we mentioned the place.  We decided as a family that the boys would have to go seven days without sucking their thumb/ arm.  If they can stop for seven days, they can go to the indoor playground (this place is awesome, a huge labyrinth of climbing tubes and slides, a train, miniature golf and even a little pizza shop). 

We aren't going to be crazy strict about enforcing this.  We realize they will make mistakes.  It's such a habit to slip that thumb in the mouth, especially when they are having down time like watching TV or listening to a story.  As long as they are really trying, they will be rewarded.

As the day went on, I wondered what habit I could give up.  I could join my boys in a lesson of self control.  I was having trouble coming up with something but then one of my good friends messaged me on FB later in the evening.  She wanted to know if I would be interested in revisiting a 21 day challenge that we did a year ago.  What great timing!

Here is the 21 Day Challenge:

 

 

I pinned this on Pinterest about a year ago.  I tried to find the source, but it didn't link to anything.  If this is your "No Junk Food Challenge"  please let me know so that I may give you credit.

 

We are going to start a new challenge soon.  We may follow this one just as it is, or we might tweak it a little.  I'll let you know when we start.  You can join us too! 



 

We Can Do This!