Resolutions

Happy New Year!  

And of course, there's resolutions.  Although this year, I'm opting out of one of the most common: Weight loss.  Instead, I'm resolving to eat healthier and move more.  The number really isn't important if I'm healthy, right?  And I also know that my four-year-old daughter is watching me and seeing how I feel about myself.  I want to be a positive role model for her.  I don't want her to continually worry about what the scale says.  I want her to remember that true beauty is from the inside out.

So, here's my resolutions.  I've written them on a piece of paper in my Filofax, so every day when I look for what I need to be doing that day, I'll see them.

1. Less iPad time. (I really spend too much time on it.  Playing games. Wasting time.)
2. More play time with my kids.
3.Be thankful everyday
4. Devotions (The You Version Bible App has some great options!)
5. Keep up with the blogging.
6. Work out 3-5x a week.  (I have a treadmill.  I need to use it!)
7.  Make my bed everyday.  (I've been putting my bedding on the treadmill each night in the hopes that when I go to use the treadmill in the morning, I'll make my bed.  So far, it's working!)
8.  Live healthier.

Fairly easy, right?  And I know it's all about the baby steps.  And if I fall, it's okay.  Fall forward.  Just get up and try again.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, yesterday, (A Holy Experience)  and came across this printable: 

It's awesome.  Here's Ann's whole post: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/12/a-grace-plan-a-doable-life-change-plan-for-a-new-year-a-new-you-with-printable/

And PRINT the printable.  I printed a couple.  One to hang on the wall in my office,  and one to put in my filofax.  It's SO good!  And such a good reminder!

So Happy New Year! Let's make 2014 the best it can be!

Laundry Bombs!

I've tried several laundry detergent recipes...  Both liquid (which exploded all over my kitchen and was a ginormous mess, and then coagulated when I tried to use it) and powder, which I just didn't care for much.  This is my tried and true recipe.  I love, love, love it!  It's easy to make, it cleans really well, and it's super inexpensive.  Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.savvysugar.com/All--One-Laundry-Bombs-31354476

I've tweaked a little bit to make it my own, so here's my recipe:
1 1/2 c. washing soda
1 c. Borax
1/2 c. Fels-Naptha
2 tbsp. Epsom salts
3 tbsp. hydrogen peroxide
1/4 c. vinegar
15-20 drops essential oil

I always double the recipe and it makes about 60 bombs.  I think it averages to be around .06 (yes, 6 cents) per load.  SCORE!

And of course, I have it written down in my Filofax so the recipe is always with me.  It's also easier to reference from here than from my iPad or computer.

Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment or wax paper, or aluminum foil, which is all I had at the moment.

Assemble all those ingredients!

Here's a tip: Buy a cheap mini food processor.  I got mine for under $10 and all I use it for is to grate soap.  SO much faster than grating it by hand!

Dice up the Fels-Naptha first.

It looks like grated cheese. 

Toss the Fels-Naptha, washing soda and epsom salts into the boil.  Add hydrogen peroxide and vinegar.  (This is my favorite part.  When you add the vinegar it fizzes and makes me feel very mad scientist. Mwahahahaha!)  Then, add the essential oil.  I'd recommend grabbing some inexpensive oil from a health food store as opposed to using DoTerra or a more concentrated brand.  My favorite scents are Wild Orange and Lavender.

Stir it all together.

I use a small cookie scoop for this part.

Scoop them onto your cookie sheets.

And lastly, give them a good squirt of vinegar.  This helps them harden up.  Leave them for 8-10 hours. (I usually just let mine dry overnight.)

There ya go!  I love these things.  They work great in my HE washer, too.  I LOVE these!  I store them in a pretty glass jar that could really use a vinyl decoration on it. Anyone? Anyone? :)  Hope you like them as much as I do!

Make Something Monday

 Or, in this case, makeover Monday.  My choice today was this pair of pants that I bought recently on a trip to visit family.  I absolutely fell in love with them, but I neglected to try them on before I bought them. (BAD Becky!)

Ignore the messy desk.  This is the only picture of the pants I had before I started to take them apart....  They're cranberry with a black paisley print on them and they're oh so cute!  They were also oh so tight!  So I decided to add a tuxedo stripe down the sides.

I opened them up on each side with my seam ripper,

And grabbed a pair of leggings with zippers on the sides.  Also an item that I loved, but...  They had all kinds of itty bitty snags on them.  Not attractive.

Press those seams down!

Pin, pin, pin!!  My stripes are about and inch wide on the bottom, where the zippers are, and they go up to 2 inches at the top.

Sew away!

How cute is that?

And they fit me so much better now!

A tour of my Filofax

I have the A5 Domino in Black.  I love it.  The band is stretchy so I can pack her as full as I need to.  This picture makes her look dirty, but really, she's not.

I keep post-its and a picture of my kids in the card slots.  On the fly leaf, there's some post-it flags and a magnetic clip, as well as a couple more sticky pads in case I need to jot something down quickly

All of my dividers are covered with pretty scrapbook paper.  Currently I'm using a tab for each month, and this has been working really well so far.  I used my Dymo label maker for the labels, but I'm definitely going to come up with something that's prettier.

I have Month on 2 pages at the beginning of each monthly section.  I've decorated a bit with some washi tape.

I also use week on two pages inserts, and I actually really like the ones made by filofax.  You can see how I have everything divided, and I use flags to remind me of the things that need to be done daily.  Both of my boys are supposed to read 20 minutes a day, so I have flags to remind me to have them do that.  Once they've completed it, I move their flag to the next day.  I have everything color coded, so I know who needs to do what.  My color is purple, my husband's blue, my oldest son is green, my middle son, orange, and my daughter, pink.  Anything that's for the whole family is written in red.  This week was pretty laid back since the kids are on Christmas break.

This is my BabyDoll's Haven section.  I have a To Do tab here and I list all the things I need to finish as well as when they need to be done.

These are some of my menu flags that I switch out as needed with the ones that are on the bookmark divider I keep in my week on two pages section.  I love this system!  It's really worked well.  I have the meals that we normally eat listed here, and as I'm planning for the week, as well as writing my grocery list, I can swap out the flags.  This way I can see what we have in the cupboards and it really eliminates the "What's for dinner?" question.

This is actually one of my favorite sections.  I've written down some lyrics to some of my favorite songs as well as my favorite quotes and scripture verses.  It helps me to read over these when I'm feeling a little bit down or need some encouragement.

I love Edna Mode! :)

At the back, I have blank note paper.  

My set up has worked really really well for me so far.  I love my iPhone, and it's great for keeping my contacts in, but writing things down in my planner has helped me feel so much more organized and on top of things.

Here's a link to the shop on Amazon.com that I bought my Filofax from: http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A3AUTDG6CSQCKP

Here we go!

*Deep breath*...

     I've been contemplating doing a new blog for quite a while, and I decided to just go for it.  You'll find all my different interests and creations here.  I almost don't know where to begin!

Anyway, here goes nothing!
     We took the kids to see "Frozen."  It was SO cute!  And appropriate considering the weather right now.  This is the view out my front door:   

Gorgeous? Yes.  Icy cold and slippery?  Yes.  And this is the kind of cold that seeps into your bones and chills you all the way through.

The kids really enjoyed the movie.  And, I have to admit, I did too!  So cute!    And I promise this picture was taken before the movie started.  My phone was put away during the film. :)

After the movie, we went and grabbed some lunch and then played a board game.  That's always interesting with 3 kids under the age of 8.  Not to mention that the dog kept walking all over the board on the floor.

We decided to "de-Christmas' the house.  Jim went outside and took down all the lights and the kids and I worked on the tree.

There wasn't that much to do considering this is the first Christmas we've ever celebrated!  Decorations were minimal this year.  But, I'm sure they'll come as the years pass by.

All in all, a pretty good day.  I'm so thankful for days like this.  Days that we are able to spend entirely together.  They're becoming fewer and further between as the kids get older and we get busier and busier.

As for En Vogue Pogue, I have big plans!  Stay tuned!