Just call me Shamu

About a year and a half ago I bought Wii Fit. (for those of you that don't know, it's a 'game' for our video game console. You follow along with exercise routines, yoga and balance activities. It also tracks your weight in a graph so you can see your progress) I love it. I lost 20 lbs last summer before I went on vacation. But while on vacation I indulged in whatever I wanted... the problem was, I never got back into my healthy routine once I got back home.

The balance board (which is what you use to interact with the game and it has sensors that weigh you) broke a couple months ago. I had fallen off the weight loss wagon anyway but lately I've been wanting to jump back on. I've been eating super healthy and really watching my calorie intake over the last couple weeks.

I used my brother's scale this morning to see how much I weigh. I haven't had access to a scale for months with my wii fit not working.

I was not impressed.

In fact, I was downright upset and a bit depressed. I'm worse off than I was this time last year. So, here I am... 3 months till summer vacation again and I'm feeling like a baby beached whale.

I really wanted to get a new Wii Fit but it would put me back $100 and I was having a very hard time justifying it. In the end I decided to get it. I figured, I would use it everyday. It costs less than a gym membership. Also, with all the money we are saving this month by not eating out I probably wouldn't be out that much more money that I normally would. That just got me thinking...

How much were we spending on fast food or just eating out in general? (Please hold while I access my online bank info...) I looked at my last couple months bank statements.

In January we spent $172.10! I am shocked. $50 of that was just spent at my work alone for breakfast, lunch, snacks, coffee or soda through out the month. Wait, it gets worse... for February we spent $212.02 and $80 of that was spent at work!! I'm disgusted. No wonder I've gained weight... I've been eating more of the food that isn't great for me to be eating in the first place! "Yes, I'd like to order a number 7 with a side of  'add three inches to my waist' and a large 'make my thighs as huge as possible' please".

I went to two different stores earlier today and both were out of the Wii Fit that I want. Maybe tomorrow I can find it. I'm off to ride my exercise bike...

Off

I had today (Thurs.) off work since I'm working on Saturday. I guess my mind and body took that in the literal sense. Motivation has been nowhere to be found today. Oh well, I deserve a day off I suppose. I'm going to make myself some tea and go to bed early.

Small Miracles

I feel very accomplished. I've had a small corner in my dining room collecting odds and ends of junk over the last month or so and It's nice and clean now. My vacuum now has a home again since I cleaned out the closet it belongs in (I found out I have 3 packages of extra vacuum bags, haha). My kids eagerly grabbed the spray bottles of cleaner again today and asked me what they could clean!!! There's miracles happening in my house, I tell ya!

As I get older.

It's funny how you come more and more appreciative of your parents as your get older. I feel this way about my Mom. I've always been very close to my mom but lately I feel like we are kindred souls. I talk to my mom almost every day. She's always there to listen to me vent or provide me with suggestions on how to over come things when they just aren't going my way. I've had some things weighing heavily on my mind (mostly about parenting) and come to find out it's exactly what she wanted (when she was raising my brother and I).

She has overcome a lot yet has alway stayed true to herself and what she stands for. It's natural for everyone to love and look up to their Mom. But my Mom is truly amazing. If my kids grow up to think of me as even half of what I think of her, I will be happy.

and she said, LET THEM CLEAN!...

We made two cleaners tonight. An all purpose disinfectant and a glass cleaner. They work great and smell good. We got a few supplies at Walmart and it only took a couple min to mix them up.

My wishful thinking came true. As soon as we finished mixing up the all purpose cleaner Ashleigh wanted to test it out and cleaned all the kitchen counters! After that she did the same with the glass cleaner on the mirror in the bathroom while I wiped down the counter. The two of us spend a good 30-45 min with two squirt bottles and a couple of old toothbrushes in our tiny little bathroom. I think we were enjoying each others company and cleaning was just an afterthought (since it really wasn't that dirty). But hey, it's not all that often that your pre-teen actually wants to clean.

We also boiled a dish of water and baking soda in the microwave (which steams everything) and wiped it out... which she did most of that too!

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For dinner tonight I made bacon cheese burgers. I thought I could pull a fast one over on Jackson because I make garden burgers instead of hamburgers. After about 3 bites he said he didn't like it much, pulled the pattie off and then ate the rest. haha oh well, I tried. Ash and I loved ours and at least I know he doesn't like them. Next time we'll make them with the organic beef we have in the freezer.

I'm going o'natural

 I don't mean stop shaving my legs and arm pits kind of natural so let me explain. However, before I do I need to do something...  

... Ok, I'm back. I just counted how many different cleaners I have. Between my bathroom and under my kitchen sink there are 10. Ten chemical, toxic, expensive, don't get on your skin or you have to call poison control, cleaners.  Why?!

There are so many natural cleaners and even disinfectants that we can make right at home. They cost next to nothing to make. You know what's in them and you wont need to wear rubber gloves that go to your elbows or a mask over your nose and mouth in order to use them! You can even add essential oils to make them smell however you want! You can't beat that if you ask me. With everyone being more health conscience and earth friendly there are new cleaners out on the market that are suppose to be more "green". But even those are silly if you think about it.

I've been doing some research tonight and I learned that tea tree oil is a natural disinfectant. (Well before scientific evidence was around The indigenous Bundjalung people of eastern Australia found the leaves from "tea trees" had healing powers for various ailments). I figured this oil would be quite expensive but I found that Walmart carries it and it's just under $5.00 for 2 oz. Most of the cleaning recipes I have found call for 15-30 drops of this oil per 16 oz spray bottle of cleaner. So, of course I was curious how many 'drops' are in an ounce, to my surprise the average is 600! By some quick calculations I figured one bottle of tea tree oil will last between 40 and 80 bottles worth of cleaner. Pretty darn good if you ask me!

I found a great website called, BlissTree.com with some great recipes. When I have time I'll look through more of their site, it looks like there's a lot of good stuff there.

We were planning a trip to Walmart tomorrow anyway but I'm going to add a few things to my list and make up some great cleaners when we get home. The kids will even be able to help! I'm hoping they will be a little more willing to help clean if they were involved in making the cleansers. (I know, I know, wishful thinking! haha).

New Challenge

To avoid fast food for one month.

For the entire month of March, I will not eat fast food.

This also means I need to plan ahead and have some (quick and easy) back up meals readily available at home for those nights I just don't feel like cooking.