Bathroom closet madness

How many of you have shelves that look like this in your linen closet?

Yeah those are mine...yikes. Notice there is no room for towels. Ok it is a little extra bad because we still don't have the bottom shelf in from the bathroom demolition (why you may ask? I have no idea I'm putting it back tonight!)

So here is the project I've been working on for a long time, use this stuff up!

I'm to the point of using one dedicated shampoo/soap/lip gloss/whatever till its gone just so I can get rid of something but they are everlasting!!!

I honestly can't tell you the last time I bought lotion, oh ok yes I can it was last March because I needed a certain brand after my new tattoo.) But other than that the only thing I've bought is lip gloss because I use a lot of the CG Bigalow stuff during the winter. My SIL just got me a few more so I should be set for summer!

This is part of my attempt to lessen the clutter in my house and I've moved these items with me between 3 homes and that is enough!

I want to de clutter my life, so bad I've tried a few different ways but its all baby steps and that is ok. I don't want to open my closet and have to take a deep breath before looking for something. I like organization and its just not possible with this much stuff!

What are you doing to pair down in your home?

My next project is to figure our greener alternatives to replace these items with once they are finally used up. If anyone has suggestions for body soap that won't over dry the skin, shampoo for oily hair and a good natural lotion let me know! Extra bonus would be to have it the Minnesota area so that I could buy local.

Just for fun here is the new tattoo it says my hubby's name in Korean.

Raw Week 3

Day 15~ Smoothie for breakfast and lunch (I was in a hurry) with carrots on the side. Dinner was and AMAZING Cashew cheese log and flax crackers from a local raw restaurant. I split it in half and had a 1/2 a grapefruit with it. Full Raw Day!!



Day 16~ Smoothie, and leftover cheese log and grapefruit. For dinner I was at a friends for spaghetti and puppy play time.



Day 17~ Smoothie, Yummy salad with avocado, tomatoes, red pepper, sunflower seeds, and cut up olives for the 'dressing' (the good kind soaked in all sorts of spices and oil from the local co-op) Dinner at friends, we had crock pot chicken burritos.

Day 18~ Smoothie, delish lettuce wraps with my home made tomato pesto (a few substitutions to the recipe) and a salad for dinner.

Day 19~ Smoothie and then hubby was home we had a snack of chips and salsa and then went out for PF Changs for his moms birthday.

Day 20~ Not raw at all celebrating the hubby being home. (ok that is kinda a lie instead of syrup on our pancakes we did a raw berry syrup that was amazing just dates a little water and berries!)

Day 21~ Smoothie with watermelon! Lettuce wraps with homemade sun dried tomato pesto spouts, red peppers and something else I can't remember. Dinner will be Italian before the hockey game we are going to tonight.






Observations~



I know I've said my skin is clearer but I've also noticed that when I do get a blemish it heals much faster. I feel like the world is much clearer, I don't know if this is solely because of the raw diet but I believe its a part of it. My brain just seems to be functioning better. I find I'm full faster and honestly a little longer (I still have a decent metabolism.) I have more resistance to the 'bad' snacks at work and am craving more healthy snacks. The other day all I could think about was an apple with cheese slices!!



Hopes for the future~



I want to keep raw as a part of my diet to help balance out the processed foods that will still be a part of my life. I'm hoping that 2 or 3 days a week I will at least be raw for 2 meals a day and maybe even a full day. Ryan likes salads and summer is coming so that will help a lot. I've seen improvements in my appetite, cravings, and skin, so why would I stop? :)



I want to get a dehydrator (I had a loaned one from my parents for years but they finally wanted it back) and a bigger food processor, I think mine is only 2 or 3 cups. Any suggestions for those to things in a 'normal' price range would be appreciated.

Green Make-up!!!!

Guess what came in the mail this week????
My new make-up from Everyday Minerals!!!
I got a cute spring set of theirs and they just came out with a second set.

Yes I really am that excited. Up until now I've been just trying out their sample foundation and I love it. But I'm not going to buy a bigger size until my skin tone changes this summer a little. I still have a 1/2 full MAC foundation that was so expensive I just cant bare to throw it away. That leads me in to one of the reasons I'm in love with this new make up:

~ The Price!

A full sized foundation is only $12.00 Eye shadows are $6.00 If you just want a mini size of a fun color you won't use much its only $2.50!

Here are the sizes you will see they are comparable to most other mineral brands:

Base .19oz/5.5g

Cheek .19oz/5.5g

Conceal .19oz/5.5g

Finishing Dust .42oz/12g

Kaolin Powder .17/5g

Natural Reflections .19oz/5.5g

~Samples

This is my problem with most cosmetics my skin is hard to match. Even if I go to a MAC counter it might look good there but when I get home blah. This company has mini sets of foundations and other products that you can order and try them out free before you buy. You get one free set with every order even if its the only thing your order. Just pay the shipping. Or if you want a few more samples they are only 5 dollars each for the set.

~Free Stuff and Discounts

They always have codes for at least one if not two free item options. Just look under the beauty perks tab for more information about the current promotion. There is also discounts available for volume buying 5-11 full sized items 25% discount 12-infinity 45% discount!

~Materials

Organic and Vegan here is a quote right from their website

"Everyday Minerals and Everyday Naturals products are free of nanotechnology, carmine, dimethicone, fragrance, animal by products, bismuth oxychloride, silicone and lake dyes. We are a vegan line and do not believe that the above ingredients should be included in any products."

~Shipping

The 'regular' shipping is quick and the cost is minimal. They pack in cardboard that can be recycled, and recycled tissue paper.





~Long lasting

I've tried a lot of different foundations and one of my biggest pet peeves is that at the end of the work day it doesn't look like I put anything on that morning...grr. This lasts through the work day sure there is a little fading (especially if your a face touch er like me) but I still look fresh at the end of the day!

~Foundation Options

They have 35 different color options in 4 different styles
Matte – Provides a silky smooth matte finish that is ideal for normal to oily skin.
Semi-Matte – Softer glow for normal to combination skin.
Intensive – Silky near-matte finish, mattify oil where needed without drying your skin.
Original Glo – Gives your face an added touch of dewiness with long lasting coverage and is ideal for normal to dry skin.

Plus you can buy (or get free) 4 color sample packs (one of each style) to find your perfect match.





~Handmade in small batches


"At Everyday Minerals, all of our products are handmade with love in small batches. Each product has a batch code on it, which tells the date of manufacture. To ensure freshness of our products we stock small quantities."



I bought the Spring for Women kit but this picture also includes 5 mini eyeshadows that were free. The rest of the items were part of the kit. This kit is extra fun because all of the profits go to a charity called Women for Women that helps women survivors of war.

Thoughts on Thursday

"Listen to those you love."

Chances are if you love them and you trust them they might just be right. I listened to some advice from my husband this weekend and I think it saved me. I'm all about pushing myself and he has been encouraging me to take care of myself and wouldn't you know he was right. God bless him.

My mind is racing.

I had a really hard weekend I'm not going to lie. Saturday I broke down. These last few weeks have slowly started to remind me of the time right after Mark (my first husband) passed away. I'm alone in a house, with a new puppy that needs to be trained, projects that need to be done, a house that needs to be kept up and a day job...I was overwhelmed and freaking out. One of my biggest fears is looseing my hubby...again. I called Mac and we talked for a while and I started feeling better. This week is going much better PTL! Anyway

These last 2.5 weeks with my hubby gone have been interesting to say the least. There have been highs and lows and a lot of questions. The questions are what have my mind racing. I'm in a stage of life where I'm trying to define myself, don't get me wrong I know who I am, but how does that play out in 'real life?'

Here is what I know I am a believer in Christ and I know that because of my sins, his death and resurrection is the only way I will get to heaven. I know that I am deeply loved by many people, I am truly blessed in this area. I know that I enjoy taking care of people and making them happy. I like to craft, read, and do projects around the house. I enjoy the outdoors and pretty much anything you can do outside. I believe in being responsible with the world we live in. I also believe that our bodies weren't created to live on so much processed food.

So where does that leave me? Spinning that's where, these are some major areas that I want my life to represent. But how does that play out in real life, what does it look like?

I don't want to be the normal everyday Christian but I don't want to be the zealot on the street corner either. If I truly believe what I say I don't why don't I have the desire to be in the word studying more? Why don't I want to share my faith more readily? I know I live it out in general. I know people can see I'm different but I want them to know why.

I want to take care of the ones I love as much as I can but not at the expense of my mental and physical heath. This is honestly new to me, Hubby is trying so hard to help me with this but I'm struggling with accepting what he says as truth. For example I wanted to get the bathroom done before he got home. I was working myself so much that I was falling asleep and taking 3 or 4 naps AT WORK! He told me I didn't need to do it myself and he would help when he got home. But I just kept working on it until I broke down physically and emotionally this weekend. I slept so much over the weekend (multiple hour naps) but at least this week I'm doing well. I've been working on keeping the house together, because that makes me happy. I'm still working on the bathroom but just a project or two a day. This week is so much better my positive attitude is back and I'm definitely more awake! I know the hubby will still love me no matter what but I keep convincing my self he would be happier if...

I want to be green without being a nut job (or have people view me as a nut job.) and I want to eat as healthy as possible, but does that mean organic, raw, local, or do I eat a variety of fruits and veggies so I stay balanced no matter where they came from and what chemicals may have been used? This is a big one right now since I'm doing the whole raw thing. I'm honestly at a loss.




**edited to add the following**
It was pointed out to me that I can be pretty harsh on my self, while that is true, that is not the spirit of this post. I'm actually excited about most of these things. I'm excited to define my beliefs on food and greenness there is so much you can do and say and I want to know where I stand so that I'm not pushed into something I don't want to do. With the pleasing others situation, I'm excited because I'm starting to not only know what is healthy for me but to act on it! Your right however my knowledge of the Bible and my beliefs is something I do get down about.

However I just wanted to point out that this was not meant to be a bummer post.

Raw week 2

Day 8~ Smoothie, leftover tacos from before the hubby left...gotta clear out the fridge. Dinner was raw spaghetti. It was good I reviewed a few recipes for sauce and decided to go basic 2 tomatoes, garlic and green onions all blended up in my food processor. Shredded zucchini as 'pasta.'

Day 9~ Smoothie, healthy frozen dinner, handful of raw nuts for a snack and Zucchini spaghetti and apples with aged cheddar for supper.

Day 10~ Smoothie (with fresh lemon juice a few carrot sticks) Green wraps for lunch with spouts, raw tuna salad, cucumber and carrot sticks on the side, Raw nuts for a snack and a grilled chicken sandwich for dinner.

Day 11~ Smoothie, Green Wraps and Leann Chin for dinner (a friend asked me out and I miss having dinner with people.)

Day 12~ Banana for breakfast, and some pistachios, Lunch was lettuce wraps, and dinner was Mexican out with the family (cuz's birthday)

Day 13~ Banana for breakfast, salad for lunch and apples and cheese for supper. (Day 1 of 4 totally raw.)

Day 14~ Orange and pistachios for breakfast, salad for lunch and banana, nuts and chicken noodle soup for dinner (tummy was bugging me.)

Observations~

My skin is still fairly clear it is definitely better than normal. I feel more awake during the day but still have a need for a nap when I get home. This might have something to do with not getting enough sleep overnight and the work load at home and work. I have noticed the first negative thing all though I don't have any proof it is from the raw diet it has been the only major change lately. I'm having a gas build up problem....embarrassing, it hurts. I found if I eat less more often then that helps a lot. I"m going to try that today and see what happens. As long as we are on gross and embarrassing topics I've also noticed that my body is processing food more efficiently and that is a big plus. Our bodies weren't created to digest all of these crazy chemicals and processed foods.

Blog Happy

I'm starting to realize how happy blogging makes me. Friday morning I started a little down, but by the end of going through my feed reader I was smiling and excited for the day. My blog community inspires, challenged. provokes thoughts, encourages, and keeps me in contact with old friends and new. I like that I can share my thoughts, ideas, hints and progress to anyone who cares.

I love discovering new blogs and then sharing them with all of you so that you can love them too. I've found friends that I haven't spoken to in years and friends I'd forgotten completely about.

My friend Sara's blog was the major inspiration for me going green(er) and my crazy healthy eating (not always but it has improved dramatically.) She is the one who started me on green smoothies and the reason I'm going raw for 3 weeks. Through her blog I've connect to so many others to help me along this journey. I'm discovering myself and who I want to be.

My life up until now has always been controlled by some outside force (good and bad) Being young, parents, school, cancer....but now nothing just God, me, hubby and Cooper. I've learned so much until now I've loved and I've lost but I've never truly figured out me. But I am now, and I like it. I've always been a little different and that hasn't changed, it is just defined now.

I'm working on putting it into words (not my greatest strength which is funny for a blogger) and will share it as soon as I do.

Fridays final thoughts

So you know all of those fun giveaways I post about? Well I won one!

How much fun is that I can't wait to pick out what I'm going to get from http://www.zazzle.com/, I won a $50.00 gift certificate and I just don't know how I'm going to decide. They have pre-designed and customizable everything, t-shirts, dog shirts, bags, shoes, mugs everything check them out. They even offer organic items. I have so many ideas in my head I just don't know what to do...


Oh and I have an amazing give away for all of you photo editing types out there. Check out this overlay giveaway from vol.25

Check out these examples of the use for overlays soo much fun!

Ok on to the raw update, I have good news I'm going to be adding another week to my challenge. hubby's business trip got extended to 3 weeks so, so is my challenge plus starting today I want to add another part. In the next 10 days I want to have at least 4 of them be completely raw not just 2 meals a day. I'm excited to try some new recipes!!





This also lets me take my time and not rush to finish the bathroom which is good because I was wearing myself out. I also am going to show my hubby via video phone and then post some pics for you next week so you don't' have to wait so long.

Cooper is getting so big so to end this week here are come pictures of the man in my life at the moment. Oh and someone asked he is a 42 lb 6 month old goldendoodle.

Google Reader!!!

Here is a screenshot of my google reader, love it!

So here is how it breaks down. This not only pulls together blogs with RSS feeds and the blogs I 'follow' I can also just add the home page web address of any blog I like and it will include them In my list.

I think I follow about 40 blogs right now, I'm currently going through my list and weeding out the ones I don't really care about.

Some of the great things you can do with the reader is tag posts and star them as well. I have tags for sewing projects, crafts, inspiration, photography and Photo shop Elements. I love that I can tag a post and then find it easy later when I want to refer to that craft or hint that I liked.

It is also a great way to read posts on blogs that play music while I'm at work. Plus it just has everything all in one place. This is nice at work too since I can't bookmark anything on my computer here.

Well I better go now, I don't read blogs on the weekend and according to my reader I have 72 blog posts to catch up on.

Thoughts on Thursday

" Love from afar"

My hubby has been out of town for almost 2 weeks now and has one week to go. We dated long distance (4 hours away) and got used to the phone and e-mail thing. However that doesn't make it any easier.



Business trips are a reality of the day so how do we keep in touch with each other and that makes keeping up good communication and a solid relationship tough. Heck its hard when you are both in the same house. Hubby and I are making good use of the technology around us, cell phones, pictures sent via e-mail, skype, blogs, e-mail and the like. Pictures are huge especially if you have children (or a fast growing silly acting puppy like we do.) They are a good way to keep them in the loop. Hubby is also doing a great job of letting me know he is out there by commenting on my blog (thus letting me know he is reading it) it honestly make me feel special to know that he is out there and paying attention.

Also don't forget to keep them in the loop, there are always everyday decisions that you can make on your own but don't make the big decisions without them just because they aren't there. Make sure you still discuss things so that you are on the same page.

Lastly don't forget the use of 'snail' mail. What feels better than getting a care package or note in the mail from you loved one. Just ask their hotel how you can send it to them.

Amber

PS check out this artical on "What really makes a marriage happy"

Mini makeover

I know a lot of you want to see my bathroom progress however I've decided that I want the hubby to be the first one to see it coming together. I will post Saturday afternoon after he gets home and sees it for himself.

So to tide you over I'm going to show you my mini makeover of the week. When we moved in to our house was in immaculate condition just not our style. One very obvious showing of that was the house numbers by our front door. I don't think I even need to explain just take a look:

So while I was looking at drawer hardware for the bathroom I spotted a new cost effective option for replacing it. I picked out the plaque and the numbers stuck them together and here you go:

It makes me smile every time I pull up to the house.

Just for fun here are the drawers out in the garage all primed and ready to be painted. I'm showing you this so you can see how beautiful it was outside this weekend and that all the snow is gone!

Shoe pic #4

I took this one right before all the snow in our yard disappeared. I had to show MN winter somehow right?

Going raw week 1

Click here for day 1

Day 2~ Breakfast was a green smoothie, Lunch was a healthy frozen dinner and yogurt, and Supper was an amazing salad with mixed greens, carrots, red pepper, avocado, and my fake-tuna salad on top it was great!

Day 3~ Today was my first full raw day! Smoothie for breakfast, 'tuna' salad (wanted to use it up) in a 2/3 red pepper for lunch with cucumber slices and and orange for lunch and another good salad for supper.

Day 4~ I honestly can't remember anything but the smoothie...oops.

Day 5~ Breakfast was as aways a smoothie, Lunch was leftovers (not raw) and Dinner was an event. I was in a rush and had to be on the road so I decided to eat McDonald's. This was a bad choice not only heath wise but turned out to be bad because I ended up calling the police on a crazy drunk driver in the drive-thru. She was even yelling at the guy that she wanted curly fries...lol. So lesson learned stick to the min of 2 meals a day raw.

Day 6~ Smoothie, duh. Lunch was a green wrap, yummyness. Dinner was a burrito, chips and salsa. It was dinner out with a friend and it was nice to sit down with a friend and eat looking at a person not a dog or a TV like I've been doing for a while now.

Day 7~ Smoothie, Pad Thai, much healthier and tastier takeout. Dinner was a great big salad with spring greens, tomato, red pepper, carrots, sprouts, green onions and more that I cant even remember.


Observations~
I've noticed that I have a lot more energy, I've also noticed my face clear up quite a bit especially for a 'time of the month' when it would normally at its worst. I've also noticed the fun I have finding and making new recipes. I don't have a lot of extra time since I'm trying to get as much done on the bathroom before the hubby comes home on Saturday morning...I hope.

I like the freshness of my meals they make me happy. I've also noticed my cravings starting to change, today for a snack the first thing I thought of was fruit not crackers or candy. That is the main goal of this self challenge. I hope to keep incorporating raw into my weekly meals after this challenge is over.

A very confusing day.

For those of you who don't know I was married once before. My first husband passed away from cancer in 2007. For more about that you can read my story.

Today would have been Mark's 27th birthday. That made it a very confusing day for me. Its hard when you have 2 men in your life and you miss them both. My husband is away in business and won't be back for a week and Mark is up in heaven healed. MAC (that is what I'm going to call my husband from now on) is great. He understands about Mark and even got to meet him once before he passed away, but still what do you say? I miss MAC and I miss Mark today too. I'm not sure what to even write its so confusing but for some reason I really wanted to share.

My dad called me today and said something pretty cool, he told me that he thinks the post-mark woman is a lot cooler than the never met Mark woman ever would have been. He is right, Mark taught me so much about being independent and strong. He taught me about my faith and how to truly love someone. He taught me how to work hard and take pride in what you do. Without all of these things I wouldn't me the woman MAC fell in love with.

So thanks Mark thanks for making me in to the woman I am today. Thanks for changing my life. I know this isn't the way we planned but I honestly wouldn't change a thing. How many people are blessed enough to marry their soul mate twice?

MAC thank you so much for understanding this confusing time, thank you for loving me even though its more complicated than 'normal.' Thank you for being here for me and for loving me just the way I am. Not alot of men could you are very special and I hope you know that.

Thank you for...

Yesterday I did not want to get out of bed, so when I finally did I started saying thank you to God for all of the reasons I wanted to stay in bed, then that moved on to the things I was thankful for, for real. This little mantra really started my day off right so I thought I would share.

...a bed I didn't want to get out of.

...a job to get out of bed for.

...a cozy house that I didn't want to leave it was cold this morning.

...a whiny cuddly puppy.

...a husband who loves me.

...parents who help me.

What are you thankful for today?

Thoughts on Thursday

"Don't give them leftovers"

Your spouse is the one you love, the one you chose to marry and spend your life with. They are the one you can't imagine your life without, and they always get the short end of the stick. We come home from work tired and crabby and since they are our family they can just deal with it....

Huh? Shouldn't this be the person we are trying our hardest for? Why do those we love get our leftovers?

I know this is hard and there are going to be those days, but we should be giving them as much as we can as often as we can. However, remember there is such a thing as giving to much and exhausting yourself, but I would guess that is not a problem for most Americans.

So lets try to be our best at home and not give our family our leftovers.

*I've got 2 weeks grace on this while my hubby is out of town for work, but you get busy :)*

Oh and here is my inspiration for this blog from Living, Learning and Loving Simply.

First raw day.

My first full raw day had a tough start I forgot my smoothie in the fridge. I know its not the best way but I make mine the night before and then re-blend in the morning. Well yesterday morning I forgot (I may have overslept just a little.) But I had a raw bar in my bag ready for such an occasion.
Anyhow I drank it this morning and as always yumm! Bananas, spinach, blueberries, apple and water de-lish. I really started with my supper last night I had a great veggie salad last night at Potbelly, while listening to two of my Friends sing at the restaurant. The salad had artichoke hearts in it, that is one of those things I never would of thought of on my own but they were great I'm going to have to go get some.




For lunch I had this amazing 'tuna' salad that Leslie mentioned to me. I took it to lunch with a whole tomato and then cut it up and ate it together it was great! However mine was a little salty I used some kiem (Korean word for seaweed) instead of kelp flakes,we had in the house and forgot it was pre salted. Oops. But it was good with the tomato to help tone it down. I know this isn't the greatest picture but its all I've got.

Last night we had a big family dinner and Korean food does not mix with a raw diet but it is fairly healthy. Since my goal was 2 meals a day raw I succeeded!!


I'm looking forward to bringing a raw strawberry pie to work next week for others to help me eat. I'm still looking for recipes to try. Oh I found one for a sun dried tomato pesto lettuce wrap the other day on one of your blogs and I can't find it again. HELP!







On a side note I just got my Posie pins from Pleated Poppy and they are soooo stinking cute!

Tusday randomness. (giveaways and freebies)

I'm out of it today I have a million things going through my head and none of them are related to the other so lets just get it all out on the page here.

First the fun stuff, here are some giveaways and freebies that I'm loving right now, this is also a good way to get a sneak peek at my reading list.

Here is a Sterling Silver hand hammered necklace giveaway. I want one of these so bad.

Here is one for a cute and eco friendly baby shower gift or prize for all you mommies out there.

Here is a link for a free photobook ( I haven't tried it yet I'm at work)

This is a large ‘8×11′ PhotoBook to all new customers {not the small 8×8’s or flip books}. To Get a free Classic photo book at Picaboo! Use code AFFLGB. New customers can choose a 20-page ‘Large Classic’, ‘Classic Leather’, or ‘Classic Custom’ high quality photo book (valued at $39.99).

Now on to my other ramblings. Today is taking forever. It is my Monday (I normally work Tuesday-Friday) without a hubby to go home to its dragging on. I'm just not excited. Normally I would be excited about the bathroom project but I worked on that for about 12 hrs a day for 3 days and I'm kinda over it. I need to get myself excited again or its never going to happen. My goal is to have it painted and all the wood re stained before my Hubby comes home in two weeks. Sounds easy enough but I'm going to be gone for the weekend so yeah.. I would really like to get some of the tile down but we will see.

I've also been reading a lot about people cleaning out their house and getting rid of all of the things they didn't need. This is something I've tried before but it seems like the clutter always comes back. I have a lot of projects I want to do around the house and this is a big one. But I have to finish that bathroom first...

I am excited to see my friends this weekend but that is going to make my 2 weeks of raw a little more hard. I'm going to take things to make my smoothies and for salads but since I only am going raw 2 meals a day I think I can make it. We will see...

Ok long rambling post I"ll be more focused tomorrow

Amber

Lessons from the bathroom.

Yes you read that right.

My parents came up this weekend to help with the bathroom re-construction. But first we had to do more destruction. This is what I've learned in the bathroom this weekend.

Do it right the first time. There was absolutely nothing wrong with our bathroom structurally except the fact it was pink! But the previous owners (who built the house) did everything at the best it could be done in the early 60's and it has held up. But it did use a lot of water. However this did make it a pain to remove everything (there is 2" of cement locking in the tile and bathtub.) It was solid and if not for the color would not have needed anything done. Look at that foil lined insulation that was the best of the best back then. If you look on the floor to the left you can just see where I had to cut out 2" of concrete to get the tub out.

Ask for help when you need it. Hubby and I are pretty smart and fairly handy but there is no way the two of us could have gotten this tub surround in without my Dad. We didn't have the tools or the knowledge. Thanks Dad. Not only was he helpful but Mom kept the house running, made meals did dishes, and folded/washed laundry. It was amazingly helpful. Oh did I mention she did several runs to home improvement stores....

The right tools make the job sooo much easier. I learned how to pre-fill nail holes for my dad and my first putty knife was bent up and made it impossible, once I got a new one I looked like a pro....maybe.


Teamwork makes everything easier. Enough said.

Take time to have some fun. I don't look great but this moment felt so good! Hubby left yesterday for a two week business trip and I think this pic/memory will help me make it through.
There you have it that is what I have learned. Now for some sleep.

I'm going raw! (briefly)

While the hubby is away on business, I'm going raw in an effort to kick some bad habits. Specifically the never ending struggle with processed sugar. When my parents leave on Monday morning that is it. I'm going to eat raw breakfast and dinner and for lunch at work it will very depending on what is on hand and what I can do at work easily since I only have a 30 min break.

So this will be a 2-3 week experiment and I'm really excited to try new things. I'm planning on lots of salads with new toppings, fruits, veggies, raw nuts (not processed, buy in the bulk aisle at my grocery store) and lots of other things I've found on the web. As always one of my fav blog for inspiration is Happy Foody, one dessert I've made before and I'm excited to make again is the Raw Strawberry Pie.
I'm going to continue with my green smoothies in the morning (lately they have been more purple since I've been using blueberries recently.) But the rest of my day is going to change, I hope we will see how it goes.

If you have any good blogs/websites/recipes for me to check out let me know!

Thoughts on Thursday

"Things I've learned"

I've been thinking about what I was going to write about today, about what I've said in the past and what I have to offer in the future with these thoughts on Thursdays.





I don't want to give cliche advice I want what I say to relevant not redundant and overly simple.





So today I'm going to share some observations from my marriage over the last few weeks.



I do better when I take time for myself. I like to do projects, crafts, scrapbook and that kind of thing. I've realized recently that I am happier and less irritable when I get something 'worthy' accomplished everyday. In the last few weeks that has included making cards, and tearing apart my bathroom. I've enjoyed my 1 on 1 time more with the hubby when I have the satisfaction of accomplishing something that day.



We have also learned a little more about communication, and we will be forever learning about it, its just one of those things. The recent talk went very well it was tense at first but we both did a good job of explaining ourselves and we seem to be putting it into action. That is the key, when your spouse communicates to you somethings he or she wants or needs we need to put it into action if at all possible. If we don't they have no reason to bring things up in the future. Plus it just leads to frustration and more problems.



There are just a few things I've noticed the past two weeks.



Always learning,

Amber

Giveaway hints,a freebie and project ideas.

First of all there is a giveaway on Pixiepine for a great looking cookbook called "Rabbit Food." its a vegan cookbook. It sounds like a great way to get some healthy food ideas! Here is the link to the giveaway if you want to enter:

Pixiepine

Now here is the hint if you want to know about all of the giveaways I'm aware of follow me on twitter @amberterp. I post them as soon as I hear about them

I just found this free 8x10 photo canvas all you do is pay shipping! Just click to read all about it.

Here are some great projects that I've added to my to do list (which has to wait until the bathroom is done.)

U-Create is the blog I have most bookmarked for things I want to try here are just a few. Just click on the picture for the blog link.

Green @ Work

Here are some simple, easy, healthy, and money saving ways to be green at work



Stairs-use them instead of the elevator, this is not only green but healthy and a great way to get your blood pumping in the morning.


Coffee Mug- use a coffee mug instead of a cup you can buy a cute homemade one, or just bring your own from home. Another option would be to buy the gas station mug and refill that. They normally give you a refill price when you use it and that will save you money too.


BYON (napkin) I'm amazed at how many paper towels we go through at work. There is this one co-worker who brings her napkin with her everyday. I love that, why don't I do that?


Water bottle- I love my siggs, but you can use whatever style you want. Just don't use the disposable kind. Recycling is better than throwing away but a permanent reusable bottle is better than both. Just make sure you clean it often.


Print on two sides of the paper- I think that explains itself.


E-mail don't print- For example directions to your next meeting? Don't print them off either use your GPS or e-mail them to your phone so you can just read them off of that.

Use technology- I will admit I like using a paper planner, there is just something about it. However these days its very easy to sync your desktop calendar to your pda and often much more convenient. (who wants to lug that planner around all the time.)

Again I understand somethings need to be done fact to face but use web conferencing or video conferencing as much as possible, instead of flying/driving somewhere.


Well there are just a few I'm sure there are a lot more out there.