I am still alive!

So, I haven't posted in a while. Life got a little busy. I had almost forgotten about my blog when a student found the link from my Instagram profile. Of course I didn't "add" the student due to ethical concerns, but it did remind me that I had a blog. So... I am back :)

The last two years have been super busy! I graduated with my second degree, earned my teaching license, and was hired for my first classroom teaching job!
I absolutely know that teaching is my life calling. I adore my students. I love my school and co-workers, and I never have a dull moment.

I hope to be a bit more consistent with updating my blog, but I also know that my free time is limited. Summer time is coming!

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

I posted a recipe several years ago for a liquid homemade laundry detergent. I used it for several years because I generally prefer liquid detergent, but I find the powdered version is SO much easier to make and to store.

You will need:

1 bar of Zote soap

3 cups of washing soda

3 cups of borax

 

All you have to do to make the detergent is grate the soap. You can use a cheese grater but I prefer to use the grate blade in my food processor. Once the soap is grated I switch to the all purpose blade to mix the washing soda and borax in with the soap. I find this better than hand mixing because the blade removes all the clumps and make the powder finer, so it dissolves faster in my washing machine.

This is what it should look like after mixing:

 

Keep it in an air tight container. Otherwise moisture in the air may make it clump. A label is always a good idea as well. :)

Add 1 tablespoon for normal loads and 2 tablespoons for large or really dirty loads. I always start my water first, then add the powder, and then add the laundry.

 

This recipe works fine in HE washers as well as my old fashioned top loader.

 

Enjoy!

Christmas Project: Stocking Holder

I am so excited about finally finishing this project!  We don't have a mantle in our home. Every year I fight with sticky backed hooks to try to hold heavy stockings to the wall. I usually give in and use nails and then have to patch the holes on January 2nd. Not this year!!!

 

I made this darling stocking holder from reclaimed wood, paint, and coat hooks. Additionally I used my Silhouette Cameo to make plastic stencils for the first time. I think it turned out cute. What do you all think? I still need to work on some cuter stockings but these were left from last year.

Food Journal and Avoiding Carbs. Mission Possible.

My Crossfit coach asked me to start keeping a food journal this week. I can see this being a very beneficial tool in helping me achieve my fitness goals. I am still tweaking my system but so far I am liking the MyPlate app from LiveStrong.com on my iPhone. I have used the desktop version before but would have to remember to enter what I eat. With the app I can enter things as soon as I eat them.
Yes, I am weighing my servings out on a kitchen scale. Why? BECAUSE ALMOST EVERYTHING HAS CARBS!!! Ugh! Carbs are the crack cocaine of foods. I have to really monitor how many carbs I am eating a day. My coach told me to stay below 50 grams of carbs daily and wants me to be really closer to 30 grams on most days. Did you know one serving of carrots has 7 grams of carbs and one serving of broccoli has 6?!? To stay within my target I have to be really careful. 

So what have I been eating? Well this is what I had on Tuesday.

Breakfast

I have the same thing for breakfast every day, an EAS AdvantEdge ready to drink protein shake. I love these because they are low carb, unlike many of the so called protein shakes out there, and they are something I can grab from the pantry and go straight to the car.
One shake has 100 cal, 2 g fat, 3 g carbs, and 17 g of protein. And they taste good too!

Lunch

 

I love my Planetbox lunch box. For this lunch I packed 1/2 of a cucumber, 5 ozs of cherub tomatoes, 70 ozs red seedless grapes, 2 boiled eggs, 28 grams of roasted almonds, and a lunch size can of tuna (I think it was a 3 oz can). This was plenty for lunch and my afternoon snack.

This meal had 541 cals, 27 g fat, 13 g carbs, and 43 g of protein. It seems like a lot of fat but that was healthy almond fat :)

Dinner

This was dinner last night. That is a 9.3 ounce top sirloin steak with 72 grams of steamed carrots and 91 grams of broccoli.
This dinner had 397 calories, 9.3 grams fat, 12.9 grams carbs and 62 grams of protein. I was happy with that!


My grand total for this day was 1038 calories, 38 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbs, and 122 grams of protein. In the future I may choose a leaner meat at night if I eat almonds during the day to reduce the fat intake just a bit but my carb intake was spot on! It can be done  :)

I cleaned the kitchen after dinner and avoided it for the rest of the night since that is my weak time. Any tips you all have to avoid eating at night?

Fall Decor: Simple Re-purpose Project

I am starting to put I up my Fall decorations, inside and out. Hopefully I can share some of the ideas I use to inspire someone else.

I found this wreath in one of my Halloween storage tubs.

 

It was too small for a door wreath and was old and falling apart. I decide to reuse the items on the wreath to fill one of the apothecary jars I made. 

 

I think it turned out pretty cute. And I love that I recycled something that I was going to toss.

What have you re-purposed lately? Share your comments below :)

More Paleo Lunch Ideas

Paleo Meat Balls

I made Paleo Meatballs for dinner tonight. The recipe is super delicious and can be found here. I am linking to the recipe since it is not mine and I want to give credit where credit is due. :)