...

I feel like I've been a slacker -as far as my blogging goes- lately...  I just don't know where I want all of this to go.  Not that it has to go anywhere, really, but I feel like it's turned into a place to plan my menus and that's not all that I want it to be.

So, for that reason, I'm taking a break from posting my menu planning on here (for now, at least).  I feel like I've done it enough to give you a good example of how to go about it, and I really don't think that anyone cares about what I'm cooking for my family anyway.  Really, the only feedback I've ever gotten have been negative comments from a guy that I hardly knew in high school that I repeat certain meals too often.  So I'm done with the sharing of my menus for the time being.

On a different note, I've been doing well with my #100daysofyogachallenge...  today was day 41!  Yay!  I'm feeling better and my general mood has improved.

Also, I started a challenge that I saw on Facebook this morning...  the "40 Bags in 40 Days 2014 Decluttering Challenge" (want to know more about it?  Click the link)...  I'm sure I'll share more about it in the future.

I've also created a printable cleaning chart and I hope to do a post about it soon.

Anyway, just putting all that out there for whoever might be reading my blog..............

.............is there anyone who reads this?  ...or am I doing this for myself?

(I think every blogger has this question at some point)

If you're reading this, please leave me a comment and let me know.

Don't forget to breathe...

I've been doing yoga fairly often for about a year now...  When I do it regularly, not only does my body feel better (stronger and less tense), but I feel more focused and driven in life in general.

The problem that I've run into is that occasional "bad day."  We all have those days.  The days where there's just too much to do, or I'm not feeling well or I just don't feel like doing anything.  "Rest days" get me, too.  I have a bad habit of letting myself take one day off from focusing on how my body is feeling and it turns into days, weeks or even months without giving myself time for my physical and mental well-being.

Now, since the beginning of the year, I've been doing better at holding myself accountable for focusing on my health and have been doing yoga most days.  However I'm still missing days at a time and that's not what I want.  As a mother of three human being, I need to take time for myself.

I need to make a point of giving myself time to breathe.

Herein lies the challenge:  100 days of yoga!

I'm taking inspiration from my mom and a woman who made a video that has inspired her to work out everyday for 100 days (yesterday was day 15!  Go Mom!!!).

I think it's a good time to commit myself to a goal...  'cause why not today?  It doesn't have to be anything big, or crazy intense (although it should be some days!), just a way to get moving and motivate myself to build a habit.

So.  The question is, are you willing to do the same for yourself?  To allow yourself to breathe and give your body the attention it deserves?

If you want to join me, check out this group on Facebook and share what you did today!

What have you done for yourself today?

Resolutions and whatnot...

So, I figure that if I'm going to do a post about life changes and resolutions, I should probably do it before January comes to a close...

Last year, my resolution was simply to "be a better version of me."  Overall I would say that I did a pretty good job.  I lost 25 lbs (though I gained 7.5 back thanks to holiday bingeing and a new found addiction to pistachios)...  I've integrated yoga into my life...  I've done well with menu planning (and mostly sticking to it)...  I even yell at my kids [a little] less.

...but isn't that what life is about?  Being the best that you can be, doing the best that you can and trying to make changes when you realize that you were in the wrong or that thing aren't going as planned...

That's what I want my life to be, anyway.

So, I think that this year's "resolution" (if that's what you want to call it) is the same thing as last year.

I'm hoping to continue sharing what works for me -and what doesn't work- and maybe some of you will be able to learn from my accomplishments and mistakes.  A few areas that I'm hoping to continue improving upon include (but are most definitely not limited to):

• being more HEALTH conscious (it's not all about weight loss, it's about eating right and moving more as well!  Also being aware of my mental well-being! )
• being more environmentally aware (reduce, reuse, recycle more!!!)
• loving on my kids more (not reacting so much and hugging and saying, "I love you" more!)
• ORGANIZING and being honest about what should be purged!   (a constant battle in our home, myself included)
• daily journaling (even if it's just a little note on gratitude in my to-do book)

I'm sure I could keep listing off things that I would like to change/areas to grow in, but part of all of this is not overwhelming myself and just doing the best that I, as an individual/mother/human, can do.

Did you make a resolution this year?

Are there specific areas in your life (that you have control over) that you'd like to change?

This week's menu... 11/11/13-11/17/13...

So, I'm doing things a little differently this week...  My friend, Nikki, recently sent me a message saying that she wanted to do this:  wholeliving.com's action plan

Well, my weight-loss could use a kick in the butt, that's for sure.  To be honest, I've hit a BIG plateau and haven't really been motivated lately (thank goodness I haven't gained anything, but I haven't been losing the weight I'd like to either).  I figure that a little motivation from my friend and from Martha Stewart won't hurt.

Because I'm a mother and a wife, I'm planning my meals *around* Whole Living's action plan, I'm most likely not going to follow it exactly (this time, at least).  I'll be adding in extra proteins and making minor changes to keep my husband and kids happy and full.

(we'll be sharing more about this on Create! Don't Consume! as we go)

So, here it is...

...this week's menu...

Blame it on Ariel...

Tonight the kids and I spent some time deep-cleaning the living room while listening to the "Disney (children's)" station on pandora...  While clearing the clutter off of the dresser that we use as a TV stand and listening to Ariel belt out, "I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty, I've got whozits and whatzits galore.  You want thingamabobs?  I've got twenty!  But who cares?  No big deal, I want mooooore," I got to thinking....  

"The Little Mermaid" came out when I was six.  It was the first Disney movie that I ever saw in the theater, so it was a BIG deal to me.  I remember it *very* clearly.  I *loved* it.  Ariel was a smart girl who wasn't afraid to speak her mind and stand up for what she believed in.

And she was a freaking hoarder.

...no wonder I have such a hard time giving up things that I love, Ariel taught me that it's okay to keep crap that means nothing to me.  And that it's okay to want MORE.  

Even a dinglehopper.

...Seriously now, though...  With five people living here, we've accumulated an awful lot of "stuff."  Purging sucks, but it's necessary.  I've gotten a lot better at deciding what to get rid of, now I just need to get it out of the house.  

We have multiple "Goodwill baskets/bins" -a laundry basket sitting in the dining room, a fabric bin in the girls' closet and a large, plastic bin in my husband's and my room.  They're all full, which is great, but they've all been full for awhile.  So, my goal for tonight: sort what goes to Goodwill, what goes to my cousin's daughter and what goes to my husband's cousin's son.  My goal for tomorrow morning: take that s#!+ to Goodwill/schedule when to get stuff to the cousins' houses.

Do you have a hard time following through with plans that you've made with yourself?
Don't forget to check out my giveaway!

...just a note...

(I wrote the first part of this last night...)

I'm being naughty right now...  I'm not making the pot roast that I had planned for dinner.  Instead, I'm hanging out at the park with my two youngest kids while the big one is at Girl Scouts making a scarecrow for our town's upcoming Scarecrow Fest.  We need this.  We all do.  So it's okay that I'm being naughty.

I'm proud of myself for posting so much lately...  I think I'm going to challenge myself to do a post every day of October.  I figure that I've been pretty motivated lately -with life in general- so I might as well keep up the momentum.

It's been awhile since I shared about my weight loss...  I'm currently down 20 lbs. from where I started in January.  Not as much as I'd like, but going in the right direction, so I'm pleased.  (This is where I started writing today...)  I've been using My Fitness Pal -I'm "Zappacat" on there- I love the social aspect of it, especially the encouragement that my friends and I give each other.  

Tonight, Moo had Girl Scouts again...  and again tomorrow...  but they're working hard, so I get it.  I hung out and "helped" (wish I could have done more, but I guess squirting paint on plates for them and throwing some stuff out was still kind of helpful)...  It was fun.  Plus, she had a field trip out in the woods (and in the rain) this morning...  also lots of fun.  Needless to say, I'm exhausted at this point, but it's neat to see her in her "natural habitat" and I'm getting to know more of the moms at school and am finding out that most of them are pretty cool ladies.  

So, yeah I guess there was no real point to this post when I started, but I think it can relate back to my New Year's resolution to be a better version of me.  I honestly feel that I've made a lot of big changes.  Not every day is a great one, but in general my quality of life has improved because of the changes that I've chosen to make in my life that all relate directly to me and my insecurities/health/goals/passions....

In short, I'm a lot happier than I was ten months ago.

My husband took this picture of me today.

...I don't think it's horrible.

Are you making changes in your life?

What have you done lately that's "out of the ordinary" for you?

A family "to do" list...

Just a quick note tonight...

I want to tell you guys about my latest attempt to organize my family and our home: a "to do" list for the whole family!!!  Mind you, this in in addition to the allowance jars and the family contribution flip-charts.  (I know I've shared at least one of these photos here before, but I thought it'd be nice to see them all together)

"to do" list

allowance jars

family contribution flip-charts

Wish me luck!!!

What works in your home?

...for a job well done...

...Er, well, for one that's *done*, at least...

A few months back, I took some inspiration from Pinterest and had the kids make their own flip-up chore charts...  six chores each, nothing they can't handle.  I honestly don't remember if I posted about them or not...  and I can't find the pin that inspired it.  I just don't have time, as I'm writing this, doing dishes, making dinner and yelling at encouraging the kids to do their chores....

Anyhoo, the charts worked really well for awhile, and they still kind of do occasionally, but the girls have started asking for an allowance.  My husband jokingly said that we should pay them in pennies...  So this is what I decided to do:

Everybody has an assigned color, marked with a ribbon.  For each job they complete, they earn a penny.  Simple as that. 

....We're expecting a worker's strike once they realize how low their wages are, at which point we'll increase their pay to a nickle per job.  That's a pretty awesome raise.

Working hard, or hardly working?...

Over the past few weeks -well, since around the beginning of the year, I suppose- I've been much more focused on my overall health and well-being.  I've posted about this before, and I've definitely tried to diet and exercise in the past.........  but for some reason it's different this time.  

...I *want* it.

...I *need* it.

...I finally seem to understand that, if I don't do something about improving my health right at this very moment, I probably never will.

So, where does that put me right now?  

Well, on my previous post I mentioned that I had lost 5 lbs., which was great...  buuuuut, even watching what I was eating, counting calories and all, I gained ALL of it back.  Bummer, I know.  

Well, sort of.  It actually put me in a much better place mentally.  I couldn't ignore that eating well alone isn't enough to help me drop the 70 -yes, that's right- 70 lbs. that I'm hoping going to lose.  I also knew that I was so out of shape that, if I wanted to keep myself motivated and stick with it, I'd have to start with something a little easier.  So, I started with yoga.

Yoga.  Oh, I love it so much!  It was the perfect way for me to regain awareness of my body and to test my strength and agility while not pushing myself too far.  Most of the poses are so easy to modify, which was great for my first couple of weeks.  After a few days, I felt that yoga wasn't quite enough though...  so I started doing pilates as well.  I decided to alternate pilates and yoga, and to do my best to not miss a day of exercise (but not come down on myself too hard if I did).

Around this time, I started reading a book that I happened to come across while my husband was dragging the family through Menards and I had to occupy the kids while he went and looked at grease -or something.....  

...the book is called Organize Now!...

...(although mine isn't the fancy expanded version), and it's pretty great.  One of the first things this book suggests is writing a daily to do list then later, getting a planner where you will eventually end up writing down everything you want to do for the rest of your life (pretty much). 

Rather than getting an actual planner, I picked up a sweet little blank book...

...and went ahead and dated the next few months then wrote in -alternating, of course- "pilates, dishes, laundry" and "yoga, dishes, laundry"  .....and what's really amazing is, I followed my plan!  

...Well, for the most part, anyway.

But what counts is that I make a point of not coming down too hard on myself!!!  Change *is* difficult, after all and I'm freaking proud of myself for even attempting to make so many changes and being even partially successful!

Which brings me to where I've been heading through all of this chatter...  Since the beginning of the year, I am currently down in more ways than one!

WEIGHT: 9 lbs!

WAIST: 1 1/2"!

HIPS: 1 1/2"!

I've got a long way to go, but I know that I can do it!  I ended up changing my workout routine for about a month and have been doing "Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred" for ten days now, which is what seems to have melted off that inch and a half!

Anyhoo, in short:

I'm proud of myself and I plan to keep it up.

No, I *will* keep it up!

This is not a diet.  This is not a phase.

This is a lifestyle change.

Tell me about how you've been working to improve yourself and your life!

I've been a slacker, I know....

Well, happy (belated) holidays and happy new year and all that jazz....  I'll just put it out there and not make excuses:  around the holidays (and, coincidentally, my girls' birthdays), my family and crafting for said holidays/birthdays take precedence over blogging.  I'm sorry.

(from left to right, top to bottom)  A fabric covered, appliqued notebook

that Moo made for me; a Hello Kitty painting that Moo made for Rye;

A Snoopy painting that Moo made for O; Christmas cookie baking!;

an ornament the Rye made for me; bird ornaments that O made for the girls-

he also made one for me and his dad... check him out with his new ukelele!;

a painting the Rye made for Moo; a painting the Rye made for O; and, last but not least,

CHRISTMAS MUMMIES!  ....I know, my kids are strange ones.

I have big plans for 2013!  I don't normally "do" the whole New Year's resolution thing because, let's face it, most of us suck at it...  This year I have decided to simply be a better me.  While there are a few specific goals that fit within my overall big change, I figure that focusing on changing everything that I'm not happy with about myself/my life will be easier in the end than making one minor change that I may or may not stick with.

This might not make sense to anyone but me, and you know what?  That doesn't matter.  Doing it this way, I have to focus on every aspect of my life.  Its not just about eating healthier or exercising, its about improving myself- inside and out.  My physical health, my mental health, my relationships with my kids and my husband, the cleanliness of my house, getting my creative energies flowing again (which has a lot to do with my mental health), etc.

I feel that I've been making excellent progress overall...  I'm using myfitnesspal.com to count my calories as well as making a point of getting off my butt and cleaning things up around here (which helps to burn calories - bonus!).  I'm currently down 5 lbs since Jan. 1st!  I've been trying to crack down on the kiddos about getting their clothes and back packs ready for school the night before, which has significantly lightened the overall moods in or house in the mornings.  I've also started journaling again which, for me, usually -well, used to- include lots of sketching and doodling....  I plan to get back to that soon, too.

What about you?  Do you have any permanent changes that you're working on at the moment? 

Crazy-mood-swing-momma is no fun in the morning...

"What is going on with my mood swings today?"  ....I wondered to myself...  But I just checked my "P tracker" app (which proudly displayed a single-digit number) and I know full well what my problem is today (well, that and the fact that I still haven't had any coffee this morning).  I just wish I'd realized what was going on before my girls left for school.

When I woke up and came upstairs, the girls were so well behaved-  dressed for school, willing to help get breakfast ready and even clean up.  I started off the day in a great mood.

Then it happened.........

I became mean Mommy.

It must've happened when I looked at the clock and realized that, if they didn't start moving a little faster, the girls were going to be late for school.  I started rushing them, which eventually turned into yelling, which turned into swearing- not so much *at* them, but more of a general cursing of everything that was going wrong around me.  It want until they left for school that I realized that *I* was what was going wrong.

My urgency to get them out the door on time, but lack of a want to help them get ready.  My wanting for them to get along, yet yelling at them for talking during breakfast because they "didn't have time" (god forbid they not finish their apples). 

......I guess I should see it as a good thing that I realize this is going on, so I can take steps to change it, but now I just feel like a shitty mother.  I don't want to be mean, or scare my kids into behaving.  I don't expect every morning to go by smoothly, but I need to let things happen without flipping out over things that don't necessarily matter.

I love my kids and I want them to remember me as a loving mother, not as some crazy bitch who freaked out every time something went wrong.

So, herein lies the question:  What can I do to change this behavior?

• I can make sure I'm well rested....  I'm no longer in my early twenties, bedtime shouldn't be after midnight anymore.
• I can make sure the kids are prepared ahead of time...  Making sure they have what they need to get ready doesn't mean I'm taking away their independence.
• I can make sure *I'm* prepared ahead of time...  I have sooo many breakfast recipes pinned on Pinterest, I have no excuse to not be at least a little better prepared most days.  Hello, breakfast cookies that I can make a few days ahead of time.

.........I'm sure, no, I *know* that there are so many other things that I can change to improve myself and my attitude, but changes are easier in small doses. 

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"...

...and I *mean* it this time!  I'm sick and tired of being overwhelmed by housework.  Not that I'm whining, but I'm fed up with being the only one that does any work around the house...  that is, unless we battle it out, in which case the kids will eventually come around after a lot of head-butting.

Well, I've had it.  I'm.  Done.

A couple of days ago, I had it up to the figurative "here" and set to work on a household chore chart.  This one is definitely not just for the kids, as I could use some help in the area of being motivated to get off my crafty butt and clean stuff up, too.

First I sat down and wrote out *every* household chore that I could think of.  Then,  I split it up based on where the work is (kitchen, bathrooms, home or laundry.  Finally, I broke it up into what has to be done when (daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly).  I put boxes next to each item, in some cases as many as five (this was in the case of laundry, which gets split up according to each child, Mom and Dad's and household) and color-coded them so the kids know exactly what their responsibilities are.  This was easy for them to grasp, given their colored laundry baskets they each chose a few months ago...

Moo is green, Rye is pink and O is blue.

This has made for easy organization

over the past few months and I can only 

assume that it will continue to help over the years.

This is what I came up with...

Keep in mind, this is only the first page -daily and weekly- my plan is to print up both pages, plus my recipes for cleaners, laminate and hang them from rings.  So I'll have a flip chart with everything right there.  Here's one that you can print for yourself if your chores are anything like my family's (I only put one box next to each task here, but feel free to copy, paste and edit to your heart's content).

On a lighter note...  my last two manicures were fun, so I wanted to share... 

This one was inspired by the vital juice purple kale manicure

that one of my friends linked to on Facebook.

...and this one was inspired by 

Mr. Kate's "on beyond neon" mani.

And, last-but-most-definitely-not-least, I made my very first apron this week!!!  It consists of four coordinating fat quarters, it took about an hour in total (well, it would have if I hadn't been running around the house mothering my children), and it's *reversible*!!!  I used this tutorial.

I like this side the best...

this fabric was the whole reason 

that I bought this particular fat quarter bundle.

...but I really am happy with both sides.

I finally have a cute apron to bake in...

Now to go make some cookies!

Yikes, I go a few days without posting and I end up having *so much* to catch up on!  Thanks for reading and please let me know if my chore chart was helpful for you/your family!  

(And, in case you didn't catch the reference in this post's title...  it's from this movie.  Check out this famous clip)

February's inspiration...

...from my inspiration jar is "Exercise/get moving 3x a week."  Not a bad one.  I'm not sure if I put this on the list of things I was going to put in the jar, but it's one that I need to make a point of following through with.  I'm going to start today by lengthening the walk home from Rye's bus stop this afternoon- instead of the two blocks home, we'll walk a few extra blocks.  I'll make it at least twenty minutes and get the kids involved, too.

I'm also working on changing my eating habits, adding LOTS more veggies and upping my proteins with lots of good, organic, cage-free eggs (they're TWO DOZEN for $5.99 at Costco!  Cheap!) and Greek yogurt.

Another change I'm making this month is omitting the use of grocery bags...  this one is going to take teamwork with my fiance, but it was kind of his idea so it shouldn't take too much prodding, right?  We already have a whole bunch of reusable shopping bags, and I'm making some that are smaller and lighter weight produce bags (with these patterns).  Now to remember to bring them IN the store!  I remembered to bring them with me the other day, but then forgot them in the car...  if I had been alone, or even had another adult with me, I would have gone out and gotten them, but I wasn't going to with the kids with me.  Next time.

Some of this month's inspiration...

(yeah, I know I misspelled "exercise")

February is going to be a good month.  Garden planning, seed starting and hopefully starting to compost (depending on the weather), lots more changes!

...remember when I mentioned changes?

...I didn't forget!  I swear!  This year, rather than having a New Year's resolution, which I surely would have broken by now, I decided to make some life changes and set realistic goals for myself.  Some of these changes are definitely much bigger than others...

The first one was changing my eating habits and, in turn, my family's as well.  We are now "flexitarian," so to speak....  not in the fancy "the only meat we eat is free range, organic, no antibiotic, etc." sort of way (I wish we could, but with a family of five living on one income, we just plain can't afford it).  We are simply limiting our meat-based meals to every-other dinner or less.  That was an easy enough change, given that we're all pretty open to trying new foods.  :o)

My next change is challenging myself to drink more water.  I want my eight cups a day.  I feel better when I drink it, and I start to lose weight, which boosts my self-esteem.

Another change was having my no-more-babies surgery.  Done and recovering.  No more worries, yay!

Other changes include being more active, playing more (especially with my kids), starting to compost come springtime, and completing at least one challenge from my inspiration jar each month.

....which brings us to the inspiration jar itself...

Things it's filled with are:

• poach an egg
• make croissants
• make pot stickers
• make pirogi
• make myself a skirt
• make myself an apron
• finish Rye's doll (I started crocheting a doll for her a year ago and *need* to finish it!)
• make moussaka
• finish O's painting (same deal as Rye's doll)
• finish my zebra painting (yeah, this is something I started in high school -it's about time I finish it)

...I'm sure I'll keep adding to this list as time goes on, too.

Oh, and I have to plan our September wedding.

Looking at all of it here, it looks like a lot...  but I know that if I break it all down I can totally do it.  And I'll do it all well, goshdarnit.