juice fast begins!

I am starting a juice fast today- I promise not to blog about it every day, but I will update my stats so you (and i) can see my progress:

Weight: haha are you kidding me, do you really think i would actually put my weight in print
Skin: pretty good- but I use an awesome face product so acne is not a major issue, but the fast claims to brighten skin. Not sure how im going to measure face brightness, but we will see..
Energy- fine right now, but it could be due to the actual food that i ate yesterday.
Sleep- only with sleep aids for serious insomnia. After a few days i am going to try to skip the meds and see if i can sleep like a normal person

Breakfast- 16 oz: apple, orange, kiwi, and pineapple

Lunch- spinach, carrots, cucumber, lettuce and pepper (have not made this one yet- will let you know)

Any tips, comments, recipes, encouragement etc would be extremely helpful. Happy juicing to me!

meal planning- the next best thing since the collapsible hamper

This morning I am meal planning- I usually do it on Fridays, but what the heck...i feel a little rebellious today. When you have a busy family, you absolutely have to do this. Here are a few tips:
1. Start with a printed grocery list- I use one that I made, typing in the items that we buy often but leave spaces under each category for new things. ...but you can make your own in Excel (you will see that i make spreadsheets for EVERYTHING!!)
2. Put the grocery list on the fridge or cabinet or wherever your family can locate it without asking.
3. Tell family to write things on the list as they need them...by Friday you should know 1 kid needs a binder for school, another needs hairspray, and 3 of them need saline solution. They can also add snacks or things they want that you will never buy anyway, but it makes them feel good if you give them the opportunity to say that they want the twinkies etc.
4. Then sit down with all your cookbooks, your computer for Pinterest recipes, or grannies recipe cards. Plan your meals for 2 weeks- taking into consideration that if you have 2 basketball games and a tennis match to attend in one evening, you can actually write Subway, or Taco Bell or whatever is on the way. Face it, you are not going to have time to whip up a beef wellington that night. It is ok to be realistic! I plan breakfasts and dinners.
5. When you have your meals planned, take your menu and recipes into your kitchen. Write down everything you do not have, making sure to check for spices etc. When that is complete, all you need to do is add necessities like dog food, cat little, deodorant etal. and you have a complete grocery list.
6. Then take your happy, organized self to the store. Shop in order of your store leaving produce and frozen for the end and ONLY buy what is on your list. If you buy ingredients for something not on your list you will be tempted to make it and then have extra stuff in your pantry or fridge. If you stick to this plan, you will be able to budget your meals, plan healthy meals, have a tidy fridge/pantry, and keep your sanity when you hear that dreaded "what's for dinner?" Never make different meals for kids!!! They eat what you eat or wait until breakfast. I promise, after a while the brussels spouts don't seem that bad!

This is a great time, money and stress saving device, but i'm just a mom, what do i know?

Oh, for crafts sake!!!

If you are creative, crafty, bored, or a victim of the Pinterest addiction, then you are guilty of this!! It is the horrible disease called I'mnotbuyingthatcauseIcanprobablymakeit syndrome! You know what I am talking about. After seeing something you run to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, JoAnns, or any local crafty store and start purchasing all the materials you think you will need! Knowing that you will never leave those stores with only the supplies for said project, you have now spent over $100. for something you may or may not know how, or EVER actually make. I am here to help! So, for crafts sake- spend wisely!! Do not make stuff that you want to make just because it looks easy. Only plan projects that actually benefit you. Do you have a clue how to make it? Is is a gift? is it something you can sell? (do you even have a place to sell it and does anyone else actually want to buy it or will they fall victim of the syndrome as well) will you put it in your home? If you started to reply with the word, UMMMMM...then do not spend the money on the supplies. When looking for projects, first start with your home. There are so many great ideas for home decorating that are inexpensive and easy....but only if they fit in your home. If your home style is elegant and classy, then maybe a repurposed canoe made into a bench is probably not going to fit in your dining room. Even if you find a canoe on the side of the road... resist picking it up. What you should do in this situation, is call me and let me go pick it up, because I do crazy stuff like that. Before spending time, money or gas, ask yourself those questions above.  If you really want the $10.00 wine bottle, mason jar, christmas light, modge podged, blingy chandelier but think you can make it...pause and think...how much am I going to have to actually spend. Now, I suppose if you really want to buy 5 bottles of wine in the name of crafting, I am not the one to stop you...but- just suck it up and spend the $10.00 on the chandelier...then go buy the wine and enjoy it in the glow of your new chandelier.
My point is this- For crafts sake- if you dont craft, leave the crafting to the experts and keep them in business. You dont see us trying to do crazy things like accounting just because we can count to 20 by 2s, so just support us and we will support you. If you ever need crafting advice, call in an expert (we LOVE to give advice!!) before you hot glue your eyelashes to a folgers can. But~ i'm just a mom, what do I know!

Ponytail day!!! aka~laundry day, cleaning day, messy craft day!

Tuesday is my ponytail day every week! It is the one day, that if you should happen to show up at my house unexpectedly (please, please, please dont!) you would find me without lipstick on!! (more on my lipstick obsession later) Today is my day that I plan to do everything at home. There will be no errands to bank, grocery store or even Hobby Lobby! I do not fix hair~hence the name ponytail day~ or apply any kind of make up so I am not tempted to leave the house. The day starts with the laundry for the week. Having 4 kids, I do 9-12 loads...however I have made this process very painless with one incredible, inexpensive product! The collapsible hamper! (see picture) On Monday evenings, the kids bring all their laundry to the laundry room and sort it into the hampers. If they screw it up, they are liable to have pink socks instead of white...not my problem....you put it in the wrong hamper. As the day goes by, in between all the other chores I do, I can do all of the laundry. I sort the laundry into each kids basket and when they get home from school, they put them away and return the basket to the laundry room so I know they did it. At the end of the day, all the collapsible hampers are put away in the closet and laundry room is tidy again. No unsightly piles of laundry in there during the week haunting and teasing me on a day that is NOT ponytail day. Voila- easy laundry! Now, since I am scruffy, in sweats, no make up etc....it is the perfect day to get messy craft or home improvement/decor projects done. No one wants to modge podge or spray paint in a cocktail dress, right?! Today, I am spray painting frames, painting a cute sign that goes over my laundry room (the one that will be neat and tidy by the end of today) and decorating my new "eclectic vintage" guest room with all sorts of vintage oddities and handmade coolness (not sure what that will be yet, but I think it sounds like I will get messy) If I have time, I am heading out to the studio (which is located in my barn) to finish 4 awesome necklaces that I started yesterday. I also plan crock pot meals on this day so I have the whole day for the stuff I need to do around the house and dont have dinner stress. By 10 am I will have a great breakfast made for the family (thank you Pintrest for the fun new bfast ideas... not to mention all the other things you teach me every day) 3 loads of laundry done, bedroom vacuumed, pot roast cooking, 1 episode of something that I have DVRd watched while I sorted, and my blog written. So I have turned a day of dreaded chores into a stress free fun day for me....as long as no one shows up and sees me looking like this! There are many ways to turn stressful situations into fun~ but i'm just a mom, what do i know?

Chair Project

Well in the spirit of yesterday's post- i started some of the projects that have been sitting around. About a year ago I found this cute little old chair at a flea market for five bucks, but it was a little beat up and i didn't like the stain so in the closet it went....waiting for a day of inspiration. today was the day! yipppee for the chair! it found a happy home in my kitchen and i made the "junk spot" into a little computer work space for me. that did involve relocating the dog/cat water bowl that used to fit comfortably in that little chair hole. surely they will find in when they get thirsty enough.. Anyway, so I took the cute ugly chair to the garage where it met with a coat of burgundy spray paint. it dried quickly and i brought it in, just long enough to think i needed to add a few more touches. so back to the garage to the stencil and almond spray. (you cant see it, but my kitchen table is a green distressed wood (another fab find made over for $100) with an awesome burgundy and almond rug....so it all goes now. then it needed some distressing to go with the table and the awesome vintage feel that i love. plus since it was a vintage chair to start with i didn't want the chair to get a complex a think i was trying to make it look younger. so in the end, i have a cute little chair that I love...and all for about 8 dollars and 1 hour of my valuable time.  i hope it will inspire me to do my computer work at a desk instead of on the couch in front of Criminal Minds reruns. i think it is adorable~ but then again, i'm just a mom, what do i know?
ps- please don't comment that i don't care about my animals! -they have already found their water and are very happy with its new location.
pss- the other crafty thing in this photo: I had a cork/dry erase board that i stuck on that wall the year we moved in. one day about 3 years ago, in a hurry i jotted a phone number on the dry erase board......in sharpie! horrors!!! sharpie does not erase! last week i decided that i was so tired of looking at Linda's phone number (i cant even remember who Linda is or why i needed her number) and i covered the white board with 2 kinds of scrapbook paper. it no longer works as a white board but is a very cute coordinating magnet board for notes, lists, etal......and i no longer have to rack my brain about who the heck Linda is.

..thinking about going to start...

In the spirit of the new year and new decisions/resolutions i thought i would post this:
Several months ago i had someone tell me that they were "thinking about going to start" doing something. Now i will say to preface this, she was serious- it was her serious thought about a serious matter. At first i just looked perplexed, as one would do when they hear something as asinine as that, then i thought that that sounded like a lot of work....thinking about going to start. Seems to me like its a lot less work to go ahead and get off your butt and start. Why go to all the trouble to think about going to do it? But, the more i think of it now- i guess it makes a little sense. i have so many craft and home projects in my head, supplies bought and just sitting there collecting dust in my studio...so i guess i thought about going to start them but never did. Well, not to get all Opera-y but i guess it is a new year, new you type of thing so this week i am going to start and hopefully complete (at least half) of those projects. i will keep you posted on how that goes and hopefully add some pictures (as soon as i figure out how) of some of my accomplishments. So, in closing- if you are thinking about going to start anything at all- just get off your hindquarters and go ahead and start it- and for the love of everything holy- dont ever tell anyone you are thinking about going to start something because it may end up the topic of some silly blog! ~but then again, i'm just a mom, what do i know?

Starting 2012!

Welcome to my blog! I have no idea where this will go, because I am not an expert on anything, but in  my years of being a stay home mom, a working mom, a mom of 4, and all that comes with those I sure have learned a lot. Some by trial and error and some by my pure genius! (haha) I will share stories or parenting, home making, crafting and cooking. So here goes......

The very first blog ever.....
Well, once again it is time for New Years resolutions....frankly, it seems like a lot of pressure to call it a resolution so I am just making decisions. I am deciding to be more organized, more healthy, and more fun! A great way to start a new organized life is to start with your closet:

1. Completely empty the closet
2. Sort through your hangers and keep ONE consistent type that will fit in your closet. If you are feeling very mommy dearest, toss all the WIRE HANGERS! The plastic ones are great, but do take up a lot of real estate so if space is a factor then use them, but make sure you use the same size. I love the ones from the dry cleaner because they are wider and do not leave hanger bruises on clothes.
3. Arrange the clothes into seasons/ types (long sleeve, short sleeve, tanks, winter dresses, summer dresses etc)
4. Put summer clothes to side- if you are able to hang them in a guest closet or attic closet do so now.
5. Sort through the current season and all year clothes and make piles. Pile one=Will wear for sure right now because it is cute and it fits me and Pile two=I cant even remember the last time I wore it, it is ugly, it is from high school, I'm going to fit into it when I lose 20 pounds...you know the drill. Take pile two and put it in garbage bags and go put in your car right now. The next time you go out- take them to the nearest donation station, church, salvation army, goodwill etc. and don't ever speak of them again- they are gone! And for heavens sake, do not try to go buy them back!!!
6. Now- take pile one and hang by type in spaces in closet. (work, casual, dresses, pants, skirts blah,blah, blah- surely you can figure that out) Hang them on the hanger where the hook is a BACKWARDS question mark. Now place them in color order- light to dark or ROYGBIV scheme (that is the artist in me) Now here is the VERY IMPORTANT step......
7. HANG THE HANGERS BACKWARDS ON THE ROD. Backwards as in you have to hang the hanger from the back of the rod. If you have put them all on the hangers correctly, you should see the front of the garment. 
8. Now- as you wear your clothes and wash them- put them away (in correct color coded spot) on the hanger with the hanger as a question mark. All your clothes will stay front facing out, but as time goes on some hangers will be forward and some will be backward.
9. This is where you see the organizational awesomeness. At the end of the season take all the clothes that are still on a backwards hanging hanger and put them in garbage bags. NO MATTER WHAT! If you have not worn it in the past 3 to 4 months you are not going to wear it next year. It will still not fit, it will be even more out of date and you still won't like it- so GIVE IT AWAY!!!!  
10. Now that the season changed- go get those spring summer clothes and start at step 5!

Voila- you have a neat and organized, stylish closet!!! Your clothes all fit and they are in current fashion. No more getting dressed stress!!!

So, now that you have started with the closet you can tackle other organizational disasters in your house....but at least you look good doing it!