DIY Swiffer Pads (no sewing involved!)

I have been wanting to share this, but have just been unbelievably busy the past couple of weeks. But I am about to share something SUPER wonderful....ok, well maybe only super wonderful to us moms/ busy house cleaners.

In college, I had a roommate who loved swiffers and basically introduced me to them. Since then I have LOVED them, but am too cheap (hate to admit this) to keep buying those stupid pads/ cleaning liquid. I mean...how brilliant is a swiffer? And how brilliant is the company for sucking you in to keep buying their disposable pads and cleaning solution? Well today they aren't brilliant enough!

IF you've been browsing pinterest for a while, you've probably seen other blogs showing DIY swiffer pads. After all of my researching, I could only find websites that showed pads that required sewing. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love sewing, but I'd rather sew something cute that I can wear or something fun for my son as opposed to boring, old swiffer pads that will soon be dirty! Plus these pads included buying velcro and sewing it on to the pad....I find this to be a BIG waste of velcro.

So I came up with my own solution. Here it is:

What you need:
A swiffer wetjet
micro fiber cloths
homemade cleaning solution/ your favorite floor cleaner

If you have a dry swiffer, you know that they have these little holes on top for you to push the pads into and it holds them in place. Well on a swiffer wetjet they took these convenient little holes out and replaced them with a strip of velcro. This makes using your own pads very difficult (or so they thought). Since I did not want to do any sewing or waste any velcro, I went on a search for some type of fabric to stick to my wetjet. Microfiber cloths are perfect! I went to Walmart and they had these great microfiber dishcloths for $2 and microfiber hand towels for $3. So I snagged a couple and decided to make my own pads

Step 1:

Lay out your microfibers

Step 2: Put your swiffer on top and cut cloths to size

Step 3: Use extra material for a scrubber on the front of the swiffer

Step 4: Start swiffering!

I use the cloths and toss them in the washer. I plan on reusing them until they start falling apart/ gross. From 2 dish cloths and 1 hand towel, I ended up with about 12 swiffer pads and these will probably last me for a long time!

If you have a dry swiffer, just cut your cloths to that size and tuck them in the little holes. You can then use your own cleaning solution and spray it directly on the floor.

I love these for quick clean-ups or maintaining the cleanliness of my floor. With a pre-toddler always running around, my floors get dirty fast and need to be cleaned often! It's nice to know I not wasting money on constantly buying new swiffer pads.

Here is a great video on how to get the cap off the swiffer wetjet solution bottle so you can use it over and over!

Confessions

Ever have those weeks where you just want to eat, eat, eat and cocoon and NOT work out.  Yup...that's how my week went last week. I was doing so awesome the week before and then this past week came and I just didn't feel like putting in any effort. I managed to squeak out a couple of workouts and eat somewhat healthy....except for that lovely chocolate cream pie that one of my students made me....You didn't read that, did you? Hopefully not, because I definitely did NOT eat one slice of it. I couldn't figure out why I was feeling this way until yesterday when my favorite monthly friend came to visit. I have not had my period in 2 years! Between pregnancy and breastfeeding, it has been wonderful. It also made me forget how horribly awful hormones can play with our minds/ bodies.


So if you've been feeling the same way and haven't been trying as hard, don't beat yourself up. Just start over. Hopefully, if you've ever thought that I'm just one of those super-in-control-of-my-eating/ exercising kinda girls this post will let you know that I'm not! Just because I eat healthy does not mean I don't crave all sorts of unhealthy, fatty deliciousness...because I definitely do!

Here's to occasionally needing a couple of slices of chocolate cream pie!

Here's to getting back on track after that piece of pie!

How Bad Do You Want It....How Bad Do You Need It?

LOVE, Love, love country music! So this song popped into my mind when I was thinking about a few more clean eating tips I could share with everyone. How bad do you want to be healthy and in shape? Maybe how bad does your body need for you to eat healthy? Maybe this isn't what the song is talking about, but just make the right food choices and exercise, and you'll have what the song IS talking about! :)

Here's how BADLY I want those abs/ Need them before baby number 2:

Exercise the past 3 days: Thurs--ZWOW and bodyrock; Fri-Rest day w/ 300 abs; Sat--5.5 mi ruck march/ jog with the hubby!

 A couple of days ago I was just talking about being a busy mom/ person and still finding ways to eat clean. One of my favorite things to do is to have what I call a "prep" day. Typically, this "prep" day falls on the day I go grocery shopping or the day after. I should really call it "prep" hour instead of day because it only takes about an hour to prep for my week! It takes me a day because once I start prepping everything then I start cooking, baking etc.

Here's what I do:

1. On shopping day, I stock my fridge with fresh fruits, veggies, and meat.

2. On prep day, I take everything out and prep it for my next week. This includes: washing, chopping, and bagging any veggies I will be cooking that week, marinating and freezing any meats I will be using, and chopping/ bagging any fruit for freezing that week.

Chopped veggies in mason jars

All you need is your food, mason jars or plastic baggies, cutting board, and knife.


Here are my chopped veggies in mason jars! This week I did green beans, Brussels sprouts, yellow squash, broccoli, eggplant, carrots, cucumbers, red potatoes, zucchini, and butternut squash. 

Funny story behind the mason jars....last week, I only needed one mason jar, but my dad (who was trying to be cost effective), instead of buying me 1 mason jar bought an entire 10 or 12 pack. I had NO idea what I was going to do with all those jars!?! So when I started doing my prep, I remembered the jars and figured I would save a few plastic bags from the landfill. I really like using this quart size because I can easily measure out enough for a meal. BUT like I said...plastic baggies will work just as well so don't let not having mason jars stop you from doing weekly prep.

Chopped carrots! Some for cooking and some for snacking!

 If you're wondering if this is really worth the time and effort to do it, let me tell you: IT IS! If you're busy and you're anything like me, you buy all of these great healthy foods on grocery shopping day. By the time it's dinner and you're supposed to be pulling out all those healthy awesome foods, you're tired. You don't want to chop, dice, wash, rinse, peel anything. I got tired of feeling that way and either not pulling the food out or not having time because I was in a rush. So I started prepping my food. I also wash and bag my lettuce on prep day too. If you're wondering why there are white paper towels in the mason jars, that's to absorb any excess water from washing.

For the ambitious, here are a few other things I make on prep day for my following week: homemade instant oatmeal mix, granola bars, homemade fruit rolls-ups, and sometimes bread. I make all of these things as needed for the week. That way when I'm on the go I can grab a healthy snack; I already know where it came from, the ingredients, and calories!

sliced eggplant! Too big for the mason jar

Choosy Moms Choose....

....Jiff? Is that what you were thinking? Well, the popular commercial does end that way, but since I am allergic to peanuts and have no expertise on peanut butter this post is definitely not about choosy moms choosing Jiff. It is about:

Choosy Moms Choosing: healthy, easy, delicious recipes and great exercise choices. If you're like me, you're not just only a choosy mom,

But a:

Busy mom, Working woman, Wife, College Student, or maybe every single one of those fits you! I know busy mom, working woman, and wife describes my category. So how do I have time eat clean, healthy recipes while eliminating processed foods and find time to work out?

I use easy recipes like the one below. Don't think I'm wonder woman or have excessive amounts of energy. Believe I don't! I try to find ways to make my life EASIER while at the same time still healthy. I have to be able to have dinner prepare/ cooked, house cleaned, workout in, daily devotions done, baby played with, napped, and ready for daycare, and get myself ready all before I leave for work at 12:15 Mon-Thurs. Once I walk out that door, I typically won't be back until about 7pm. So if I want my family to eat healthy, nutritious foods, its up to me to do the leg work.

Yummy vegetables lining the bottom!

Here is one recipe I tried today that I loved for its simplicity, tastiness, and adaptability!

Chicken Tortilla Soup:
adapted from: jonandjenmiller.blogspot.com

What You Need:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cans unsalted diced tomatoes (fresh)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 white beans or great northerns
10-15 Brussels sprouts, stemmed and chopped in half
1-2 handfuls of spinach, shredded 
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth
1-2 cups water
4 Tbsp Taco Seasoning(Costco has a great mix!)
OR
1 Tbsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp chile powder, 1 Tbsp ground cumin, 1 Tbsp dried cilantro


Toasted flour tortillas or tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

What to Do:

Put chopped onion, Brussels sprouts, spinach, cans of beans, tomato, chicken broth, water, and spices in Crock Pot and stir to mix. Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving, shred the chicken in the Crock Pot. Stir to combine everything.

 If using toasted tortillas, put one toasted tortilla in the bottom of a bowl and spoon soup on top. If using tortilla chips, put soup in bowl and a few tortilla chips on top. Top either bowl with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Tupperware for lunches; little baggies inside freezer baggy for individual servings!

Just a few reasons this recipe is amazing:
You can sneak extra veggies: the original recipe mentioned nothing of Brussels sprouts and spinach, but I wanted my veggies cooked in all at once and you can't even taste them (in case you have a picky eater)!
I took out the corn because I'm allergic to it and because I did not think an extra starch/ carb was necessary. This recipe could easily be adapted for vegetarians/ vegans by adding the corn back in, taking out the chicken, swapping the broth for chicken broth, and adding extra veggies like chopped carrots, zucchini, or yellow squash.
This makes A LOT of food so I kept some in the fridge for lunch tomorrow and put the rest in individual serving size freezer bags to be kept for a quick lunch or dinner. I love to freeze things for busy days. This ensures that my family will still eat healthy, delicious, wholesome meals and still get variety day to day.

FYI: the hubby said, "Wow Babe, this dinner is legit!"

I'll take that as a job well done!

Run and Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps!

So...I have been gone for a while BECAUSE as usual my life has gotten hectic. This does not mean
I stopped exercising. I did stop for about a week because my poor munchkin caught hand, foot, mouth from the daycare and gave it to me! We had about a week and a half of awfulness. Once it was done my parents came in town for Labor Day Weekend (fabulous!), and then I started my new job this past week.

Today, I want to tell you about my run and my bodyrock. It felt so good to lace up my sneakers and get back to running with Little Moo in the stroller. We ran almost 1.5 miles because we were taking it easy and then after he went down for his nap I did this bodyrock video by Lish. I love her and her videos because she is a mother of 3 kids and is just very realistic with her goals/ workouts!

Lately, I have been toying around with the idea of clean eating and getting defined abs. I have ALWAYS wanted abs, but have never put in the effort. I also eat clean most of the time, but want to start doing this 99% of the time. My goal is to change one thing a week to more homemade clean eating. This SHOULD help my goal of getting defined abs. If I do reach the abs goal, I will definitely post a before and after picture.

Here's one of my favorite, easy, go-to-on-a-busy night recipes:

BUFFALO CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS:

What you need:
Lettuce (I use green leaf or romaine, but really your choice)
1 to 2 cubed chicken breasts
Whole wheat or oat flour
Greek yogurt (cream cheese or sour cream will work)
Cheese
Salt
Pepper,
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Hot sauce

Love seeing so much green on my plate!

What to do:

Cook your chicken on medium high heat in a nonstick pan with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder to taste.  While your chicken is cooking, Rinse your lettuce and cut the end off. Lay out any toppings on the table that you may want in your lettuce wraps. Ideas: cheese, avocados, salsa, black beans, etc. Place 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Once your chicken is cooked thoroughly, add in 3 to 4 tbsps of Greek yogurt (cream cheese or sour cream) and hot sauce to your taste. Mix it in well until excess is soaked into the chicken. Remove pan from heat and toss the chicken into the flour. Make sure chicken is coated well. Put pan back on the heat with a little olive oil. Put chicken back in pan and cook until outside is crispy. Place chicken in lettuce and top with toppings of your choice. Add in an extra vegetable like green beans or broccoli for an extra side!

Big Dog Brag 5k Mud Run/ Obstacle Course

Before sharing with you how my mud run went, I have to say if you have never done one, then sign up and start training for it! It was so much fun and so motivating for my everyday workouts. I loved everything about this mud run (except the price of course) from getting dirty to pushing myself to my limits.

Before the mud run

If you have been following my workouts on here (especially my runs), then you already know I'm kind of, I AM a slow runner. The morning of the mud run, my friend who was doing it also, called me and told me some of the stats of the races. She said that the details page said the average person finished between 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs. Based on this info, I was guesstimating that I would finish around 1 hr 10 mins.

Ok now for the kicker....I actually finished in 47 MINS!!! I know...that's CRAZY! I even surprised myself at how fast I got through it. And don't think this was an easy measy course....it had 21 obstacles along with at least 21, if not more, steep (very steep) hills. This course was at an off road park, like the one they use for ATVs and motorcross; maybe that will help you picture how many hills it had. Had I known this course was going to be so hilly I would have found a hillier course than the one I normally run with Mason.

Despite the hills, sloshing through mud pits, climbing over tires, and on hanging ropes, I still managed to push myself to run most of the way. I did stop after a few hills to catch my breath, but all in all, it was amazing!

Starting up the first hill!

First obstacle

This is what my little turkey and his daddy were doing while I was running!

Down the final hill

Last obstacle

Pulling myself up and over

Through the water to the finish line!

At the end!

I know I'm not that dirty in the end pictures, but I promise I jumped in and sloshed through every mud pit.

FYI: this made my 3.21 miles I ran this morning and my pool workout this evening seem like a breeze.

Stacy's Mom....

This morning I started my run later then I typically do and the sun was blasting heat rays on my back.  Right about the last 1/2 mile of hill I seriously contemplated walking the rest of the way. I mean, who would know that I walked, right? The only people who would actually know would be Mason and me.

Even though I'm cut out he's so cute I had to add this

Prior to our run!

But then 2 little things happened....

I started pressing the next button on my iPod to see what other songs I had added to my playlist and this little gem that I had forgotten about popped up:

One of my favorite scene's from the music video!

Stacy's Mom by Fountain's of Wayne

You know this song. It goes something like:

Stacy's mom has got it going on....

If you're anywhere near my age, I'm sure you know remember this one hit wonder...that everyone, some ashamedly, will admit they absolutely loved it for it's catchy tune and over exaggeration in the music video.

So with a little embarrassment I have to admit that when this came on, I turned it up, and imagined the lyrics to be: Mason's mom has got it going on....

I know, I know.....but I really needed motivation to get over that last hill. 

Just as I turned the song up and decided to push through, what I saw next REALLY made me glad I didn't quit earlier. There was a mom with a DOUBLE JOGGER....running with her kids. Not twin infants....no she had an infant AND a toddler. If I had quit and then she rounded the corner, I would have felt slightly pathetic with just my measly little single jogger. 

So I finished a 2.92 mile jog/ 100 sit-ups/ 50 push-ups (would have been 3 miles but it was too hot for me to get creative and find another loop) because of my 2 awesome, surprise motivators.

What motivates you?

Afterwards: very tired and a lot worse for the wear!

To Wean or Not to Wean: The Pain-free and Tear-free Way (well..almost!)

WARNING: if you are easily embarrassed by the mention of breasts, breastfeeding, boobs, nursing, weaning, or any other form of these words, then this blog post is NOT for you! Just thought I would give a warning to some of my readers :) Also the instructions in this post on how to make weaning easy is just my opinion/ experience. It is not backed by any professional opinions or information, but I would assume it would work for everyone!

But if you want to know a great ALMOST pain-free/ tear-free way to wean...then read on my fellow nursing moms.

He was this happy for the first 5 days of weaning

I have to give a funny story of my little munchkin before I get into the details of the weaning. My title says: pain-free/ tear-free (well almost) because my son did perfectly for 5 days no crying just being a little fussy, but on day 6 and 7 of weaning he was fussing constantly and crying for no reason (didn't know if it was due to weaning or teething). It seemed as though he didn't notice he was missing his daily boob for 5 days straight and then on the 6th day he realized I had been gypping him. Poor thing :( Other than that he has been handling it well!

Here's what I learned from my weaning experience:


1st: Decide your weaning timeline.

I did not have any pressing reason why I should hurry and try to wean my little one by the time he hit a year so I decided to do a mixture of a slow wean and letting him self-wean

2nd: Listen to your body and to your baby

Recently, in probably the past 2 months, my munchkin has acquired another 4 teeth. A baby nursing with 6 teeth is not always the most comfortable feeling especially when they're first coming in. It consists of a LOT of rubbing. I decided that when he was 11 months we would start a slow wean and see how it went. He was already down to 3 feedings a day, but a lot of times during the middle of the day feeding he would play around and only eat for maybe 10 minutes when he typically would nurse for 20 minutes. That's when I decided he was giving me the signal that he was ready to skip that middle of the day nursing session. Once I cut this session out, my breasts were better able to adapt to the teeth and he NEVER even missed/ cared about skipping this feeding

3rd: Let your baby self-wean (if you can/ within reason)

I knew that I did not want to do a cold turkey wean as soon as he turned 1. I didn't want to deal with the discomfort nor did I want to put him through that upset! Since we were already down to 2 feedings a day, I slowly started making sure they were properly spaced out. He would wake up around 530am, nurse, and then go back to sleep. In the evening I tried to feed him between 630-730, and the put him to bed around 830. At this point, I made sure to never nurse him to sleep anymore. I did not want him to associate breastfeeding with sleeping.

One night I was out tutoring and the hubsters was watching little M and he fell asleep without his nightly nursing session! That's when I knew he was ready to give that session up also. From there we were down to once a day, just the 530am session. Another couple of weeks passed and one morning he slept through his usual boobie time until 830 and that's how we cut out the morning nursing session.

4th: Cabbage, cabbage, cabbage, heat, heat, heat, and massages!!!

Thankfully, I did not get engorgement or a lot of discomfort. I'm pretty sure this is because I slowly weaned instead of doing cold turkey. I did put cabbage in my bra during the day to help dry up my milk faster and when they were sore I put heat on them at night or massaged them. I HIGHLY recommend using cabbage; the coolness of it really helps the heat that is radiating off your breasts while you're body is trying to reabsorb your milk. The one mistake I made was not having cabbage in my house the day I started weaning him! If your breasts feel too full or are uncomfortable, you can easily express some milk for relief. I did end up with a couple of hard spots (what felt like clogged ducts) and since they weren't going away as quickly as I wanted, I did let the little munchkin nurse for 3 mins on day 3 while he was still sleeping. BUTTTT, I do not recommend this is your child will fuss. Mine was asleep and did not even notice; he drained my ducts for a few minutes and the spots never came back.

Just a little over a week and we're completely done nursing! Very little discomfort and very little crying. Like I said before he did wake up fussy on day 6 and 7, but I really think it was more teething/ growing then the fact that I cut out his beloved boobie time.


Extra hints: One thing that made this easier was when I would be gone during his feeding time. It made the adjustment easier on him; he didn't have to stare at his food source refusing to feed him!
Also decrease your fluid intake a LOT and start introducing whole milk when you get down to only 2 feedings per day! Slow introducing the whole milk will help them take to it more easily.

If you're weaning, try the above steps and it should go smoothly!

This is what his face looks like when he gets sad....almost made me want to give in on day 6 and 7!

Olympics

There's something about cheering for the USA during the Olympics that makes me want to workout. I think it must be their sheer athleticism that makes me want to achieve just 1/100 of their strength. During the nightly news when the Olympics were on hold, the hubby and I banged out this workout:



3 times through: completed in 24:06 (time went a little longer due to munchkin interruptions..lol)
1. push-ups (20)
2. squats (30)
3. tucks abs (20)
4. shuttle runs (30)
5. Spiderman push-ups (10)
6. wide leg squats (25)
7. leg tuck and twist (20)
8. switch lunges (20)
9. decline push-ups/ reverse pull-ups (15)
10. leg throws (abs--30)

After the third time through, I tossed on my sneakers and tried to beat the thunderstorm that was coming. I only managed to squeak in a mile before the lightening started, but I'll take every little bit!

Here's something motivating that I really liked:

My goal: trying to drown myself in sweat!

Still on track! Booyah!

Before this, I was posting about my Insanity workouts and our (the hubby and I) weekly goals. Don't worry...I did not get off track again! I just traded a few days for hiking with my family, ziplining with my family (this also involved hiking), my Little M's first BIRTHDAY!!!, and the military ball. I did Insanity up until I had to drive to Denver to pick up my sis from the airport and then started with working out again this past Tuesday.

FYI: I did fit into that red dress I wanted and didn't even have to get it altered in the chest!! Push-ups DO work....100%!
Here's a quick picture recap of the fastest, most wonderful 4-day weekend I have had in a while,

Presents!

About to go in

Hiking in Cheyenne Mountain

Yum, Yum, Yum!

Ready to zipline

Coming in for a landing...ignore my facial expression and shirt

Inside!

With my sister

My hubby hanging upside down!

That was our weekend! But as always after lots of fun you have to go back to reality and that means back to working out. I didn't started right back up with Insanity because I'm also in the process of weaning my munchkin. I figured all of the push-ups, bouncing around, etc of Insanity would probably not help with any discomfort I might have. So this is how I supplemented

Wed: 1.72 mile run. Half hills/ half flat land
Thurs: 2.07 mile run. All hills: 1 easy hill, 1 medium, and 1 really hard hill
Thurs: The hubby and I finished strong with Ab Ripper X (P90X: we have the real video, but this is the youtube part 1) video, and 2 bodyrocks! Bodyrock 1 and Bodyrock 2

I must say I'm super proud of him for doing this with me. He did his regular PT and then did the 3 extra workouts with me when I got off work at 8.
Goal for this week: his is portion control; mine is keeping my calories under 1500.

I think I also forgot to mention that I'm doing a Big Dog Brag mud run in a week. Yipes! I also don't know how prepared I am.
So, Goal for today: Run, abs, bodyrock: hopefully one right after another

Here's just a few of the obstacles:

Hopefully, they don't get a picture of my butt like that...I will be MORTIFIED!

Set your fitness goals this week and do something fun that keeps you active!

Boost!

Today was one of the craziest days I've had in a while....ANNDDD we all know what usually happens on crazy days: your workout time goes right out the window! I thought that's how my day was going to go. I woke up this morning got everything ready for the day, volunteered at VBS, took the baby to daycare, tutored for a couple of hours, then had to take my car to the collision center/ pick up my rental (yup...hubsters got in a little fender bender. OF COURSE in my car.), reschedule a tutoring session, and pick up the baby. I barely felt like I had a minute to breath the entire day. When I finally got home, I put the munchkin down for a nap. My next thought was workout or take a nap myself??? I had been up since 6am and a nap was sounding waaayyy better then a workout. At that moment, my wonderful hubby (who had just done an 1 1/2 workout at the gym himself) popped in the door and the first words out of his mouth were, "Why aren't you dressed?? Let's do Insanity!!" Really!!?!?! Was he insane? But actually, his enthusiasm was contagious. I went upstairs to change and by the time I came down I was geared up and ready to go. Isn't nice how other people can give you a quick boost or kick in the butt and you remember why you wanted to workout? Love it! So hopefully this gives someone else the boost they need to get off the couch and complete their workout for the day.

Do it!

Kick-butt super food smoothie!

So lately, I have been OBSESSED with this smoothie I created. I think it may have to do with the fact that I finally caved in and let the hubby buy us a legit, commercial blender. I love, love, love my new blender. I at least make 1 sometimes 2 smoothies a day and have really been needing this blender. About 2 weeks ago, we were browsing through Costco (very bad idea) and they had the blender display for the Blendtec. I had already been debating about whether or not to get a Vitamix, but after watching this display and weighing the pros and cons......I was pretty much powerless to not buying it. SO here it is loaded up with delicious, healthful, protein and vitamin packed ingredients:

Yum!

But before I give the recipe, here's the rest of the story. Last week the hubsters and I decided to start Insanity. For some crazy reason (I think weight loss, abs, and more toned muscles) we wanted to do it and finish by my birthday. Well, we have one week down and I must say I'm pretty proud of us! We kicked butt this week and did about 5 Insanity workouts and the other two days when we didn't have time we did a bodyrock.

On top of working out we've been setting weekly goals for ourselves. Last week was drink more water and I'd say I did about 80% of what I wanted. This week is no eating after 7 pm. Yikes! I guess that means going to bed earlier. 

When I finally climbed on the scale (my nemesis) yesterday, I had lost a pound. I had hoped for more, but maybe that means I'm building muscle. In lieu of this, I will stick to my workouts, goals, and super amazing smoothies.

Here's the recipe (nothing complicated, but yet OH SO unbelievably Fabulous and Nutritious):

5 oz orange juice
5 oz almond milk (or soy, coconut, or dairy)
1 scoop whey protein
Flax seed (optional/ as much or as little as you want)
1/2 a cucumber w/ or w/out skin
2 to 3 handfuls spinach leaves
1/2 an avocado (this is optional for me based on the price of avocados)
1/2 a cup frozen blueberries
1/2 a cup frozen strawberries (or roughly 5)
1 frozen banana

If you have a superhuman blender like I do, put ingredients in as they specify, push the button and walk about. About 40 secs later you will have a perfectly blended smoothie.

This makes enough for 2 adults to have 1 1/2 glasses (16 oz) and a baby to have a 9 oz sippie cup....I know, I know my munchkin is greedy, BUUUTT it's healthy so I don't mind. With the avocado a serving size (1--16 oz glass) has about 250 calories. So without avocado it would be a little less. I typically drink it as a meal replacement or snack replacement which is why I drink 1 1/2 glasses.

Try it out and get to blending!

Another pic of my beautiful blender and smoothie creation!

Glass size!

Back to Normal Life: FINALLY!

Finally, my life is getting back to normal! I haven't blogged in over a month...which is not like me at all, but during June I worked twice as many hours, my husband was on leave, and then my in-laws came for a visit. All of these things were great, but NOT conducive to my workout schedule or anything else.

To fix this , the hubsters and I decided that we would start Insanity because we borrowed it from a friend. SO with me luck....I might DIE! The plan is to follow the program and finish by my birthday in September. This is the big birthday: 25. UGH!!! I know....turning 25 is horrible on my mental and emotional state, but being in awesome shape will make me feel better about it :).

We started Insanity day 1 yesterday, but really kicked it off today! We went hiking, then I did a bodyrock while hubby when tot the gym, and then we did day 2 of Insanity. Can't wait to keep doing this. Not working out for the past 3 weeks has done a toll on my muscle tone. Haven't gained any weight, but it doesn't really mean anything since I've lost my muscle tone. My goal is to get the killer abs I've always wanted so no more excuses, it's HAPPENING!

Here's the new guest host on bodyrock.tv: she has 3 kids and looks like this!

Cutting Grocery Bill in Half: Part 4

I am starting this blog at midnight and this is really late for me. I usually try to get in bed by 10:30 or the latest by 11, but tonight I just could not sleep and had a lot on my mind. I am absolutely sure I will regret staying up this late tomorrow morning when I have to get up early with the munchkin. Setting my regrets aside, I must say I had a fabulous week shopping! I spent even less than I normally do, ended up making money on some of my purchases, and got a ton of product for my money. All of this is thanks to following my shopping tips and using coupons :). If you read my previous posts and started employing these tips, GOOD FOR YOU! You will definitely start to notice a difference in your grocery budget. But here is a WARNING: If you are not for couponing, reading the rest of this post is probably not for you. If you want to know how to coupon on the small scale, but save a TON of money, then read on follow the guidelines.

Note: I do not go crazy when couponing. I do not cut/ print out every coupon. I do not spend 40 hours a week following the sales and couponing. I spend a couple of hours a week gathering my sale papers, coupons, etc. and use websites to my advantage.

Here's the website I use to match up deals that I have not caught myself: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/category/extreme-couponing/   This website is for extreme couponers so just a warning it can be a little overwhelming! The great parts about this website are: the coupon printing database (they are listed alphabetically and makes it super easy to find what you are looking for), the search bar (you can search by the store and she lists all the deals for that store weekly!).

Here's what I do:
I buy the paper every week and get my coupons. I cut out the ones for products that I know I use. The rest I leave in the coupon insert. I organize my cut out coupons in a binder (not necessary, but I'm slightly OCD and like to be organized). I then save the rest of my insert in the back of the binder in case I need it for later. When they expire I recycle them! Next look at your sale's ads. See if there's anything on sale that you're going to buy that matches with the coupons you have cut out. Next go to her website and see if she has any coupons listed there that match with your sale's ads. Print those out and read her listing about the deals going on at the stores you shop. Simple as Pie! Now get to shopping!

This is how my awesome shopping week went: I spent a total of $59 with tax!
Commissary list: Just going to list what I had coupons for and my total at the end!

2 Salad mixes for free! (I had a coupon from the grand opening of the commissary for free bags of Fresh Express salad!)
12 Reach Dental Floss (Made $.25 off of each one I bought from a coupon!)
6 Kotex Pantiliners (Made $.16 off of each one that I bought because of another coupon!)
10 Beechnut baby food: $.49 for each one minus $1 off 10 coupon
Agave Nectar: $4.94 minus $.75 off coupon
Grapenuts: $3.85 minus $1 off coupon

My total before coupons at the commissary was $63.15. AFTER coupons: $36.51

• Each floss was $.76 and I had a $1 coupon for each one. The commissary will give you overages so I made 24 cents for each one just like the 16 cents I made with the pantiliners. So you're asking (like my husband did), what the heck do you do with all that floss, pantiliners, or anything else I get for free or make money on? My rule for free items or money making items on that I get in large quantities is: donation, donation, donation. I keep what we need, give some to my family (or my friends if they needed/ wanted), and then take the rest to the local food bank. I WILL specifically print/ cut out coupons for things I can get free at a store I am ALREADY visiting so I can donate them. I definitely believe in helping others less fortunate or going through hard times. 
• Now your wondering what was on the rest of my grocery list? I had fresh fruit and veggies (enough for the week), baby food, juice, and English muffins. So you're also wondering where the meat, cheese, milk, or any other foods are? Just wait I got those at Albertson's! I also have some food stocked up in the freezer like fresh meats, cheese, fruit for smoothies, etc. Whenever I find a great deal on something, I buy extra and freeze it.

Albertson's list: Original bill $53.42, paid $23.38!
Grapes: on sale for $.99/lb (got 1.97 lbs)
Pork rib cutlets: 10 lb box on sale for $1.39/lb ($13.90)
Disney Band-aids: on sale for $1.50 and had $.50 off coupons
FRS all natural energy drinks: on sale for $1 and had $.75 off coupons so only paid $.25 for each!
Texas Toast croutons: on sale for $1 a piece and had $.50 off coupons so I paid $.50 each for our favorite croutons!

• So why did I get a 10lb box of rib cutlets? Because they were on sale and I can freeze the rest! I don't leave them in the big box; I section them off into meal portion sizes for my family. 

Saving money and using coupons is not difficult! It does take a little extra effort, but it is so worth it when you can spend between $60-$80 a week and have a freezer full of food, get fresh fruits and veggies, and the usual staples. So get to shopping and couponing!

Cutting the Grocery Bill in Half: Part 3

Today was my sons first day at daycare. I plan on taking on a few extra hours at work and he will be in daycare for a few hours a week. This fact was STRESSING me beyond belief (I know pretty silly). But today, I decided to take him for a "trial" day and see how he would adjust while I was just across the street at the gym. He happened to do wonderful....while I, on the other hand, could barely focus on my workout. I was worried he would be crying uncontrollably, catch a cold, or fall. I kept checking my phone non-stop to look for a call from the daycare. To help myself focus more, I started thinking about what I would say in this post and the next so that I could wrap up these tips and ya'll could get to shopping! This is what I came up with! Enough about my son/ life and onto the shopping tips:

How could I not be in love with this little cutie!?!

It was so hard to leave this precious face...even for a little bit

This past week you should have been paying attention to the sales' ads, your favorite store's prices, and making any adjustments from the previous tips. Here's a quick recap of the tips from the previous posts:

• Pay attention to prices.
• Make a list of ONLY what you need and the items that are on sale that you would buy.
• Remember when buying sale items their expiration, if they can be frozen, or if you have storage for any multiples you buy. 
• Stick to your list!
• Decide if you will go to multiple stores or price match at your favorite store. Note: most grocery stores will not price match, but Walmart and Target will!
• Make sure you're only buying what you need (a lot of people over buy and end up throwing spoiled food away or letting it sit in the cabinet and go past its expiration date).
• Don't only buy name brands some of the store brands are good also!
• Don't buy things strictly out of convenience (baby carrots, snack packs, 100 calorie packs, pre-sliced or precooked foods). Saving money does take a little extra effort, but not much!
• Consider making some things at home: cleaners, food, etc.

A few more things to consider:

Check it out!

10th: Decide if your family could use a membership to a wholesale warehouse like Costco, BJ's or Sam's Club.

• I currently have a membership to Costco and love it! I decided to get it because they carried my contact brand for a really good price and because the cost of their gas is usually the cheapest in town. On top of that, I love some of their food deals! A few things I buy from Costco are even cheaper than on post at the Commissary. 
• What I buy: Maranatha Almond Butter, Kirkland EVOO, sliced almonds or other nuts, cottage cheese for my son, oranges for my husband, dried blueberries and apricots, Bounty paper towels, Quilted Northern toilet paper, honey, soy milk, eggs, cheese, and a few other things. Oh and Costco NOW sells FLAX SEED!!! This is great for us smoothie-making people!
• What's great about Costco: First of all....the SAMPLES....isn't that the reason we all go there around lunch time? Besides the samples, they usually bring you rock bottom prices directly from the retailers and they also put out GREAT coupons! Their coupons make the deals even better....so check it out!
• Note: I do not go to Costco every week! I wait until I need a certain amount of things from Costco and then make my purchases so that I do not ruin my budget.

11th: If you plan on buying extras or multiples, consider investing in another fridge or freezer in your garage. My husband and I found an extra fridge for FREE on craigslist. At first I wanted a freezer, but the fridge/ freezer comes in handy. A couple of weeks ago King Soopers had a great deal on soy milk. Since soy milk is good for a couple of months and since my husband drinks a ton of it, I was able to buy a lot and store it in the extra fridge space, not to mention all of the extra things I freeze. See if it works in your budget of for your family!

12th: Consider couponing AND doing some light drugstore shopping

• I DO use coupons, but I do NOT get excessive or spend 40 hours a week on it. IF you are willing to use coupons and do a little shopping at drugstores, you can get some great deals. 
• I will discuss this more in part 4!

Have fun working on your coupon deals while I try to deal with my daycare anxieties!