01Jan
Hi, I’m Katie and I’m a Pinterest addict.
But, at least I don’t Pinterest alone. I am here to share with you what I find, whether you want to hear about it or not. You are supporting my Pinterest habit. Thank you for your contribution to my non-existent social life. (My user name is MarriageConfess, by the way…)
Anyway, the other day I was browsing through the household goods pins (I have become so good at my addiction that I can now hone in on what I’m looking for by using the “Search” box at the top of the website…) and I came across this brilliant idea for storing cleaning products.
We have been contemplating our cleaning products lately. Odd, yes. But it’s been a problem. We store them under our kitchen sink, but with two little ones running around, we’ve been wanting to move them somewhere else. But where? And then I found this…
It’s a shoe hanger for your closet door that you put your cleaning supplies in! BRILLIANT! I immediately went out and bought a shoe hanger for $6 from Target and hung it on our closet door in our foyer. It hangs over the door and is so inconspicuous that you would never even know it was there.
I love this for the obvious storage reasons, but I love it even more because not only does it lift everything away from the kids (that closet door has a child latch on it, so they couldn’t get in there anyway), but it makes it so much easier to see what cleaning supplies I have. I am always on my hands and knees, digging around to find the 409 or to see if we need more Windex. But now, one look at my door will tell me what I need and what I have. So simple! I even used the bottom two rows of pockets to hold things like our trash bags, plastic grocery bags, dust cloths and rags, and plastic cleaning gloves.
I have found so many things I love on Pinterest, but this might be at the top of my list for 2011. Such a great, practical, cheap, simple idea for making life easier!
******
I wanted to link to the actual blog post that originally posted this idea to give the girl credit, but I couldn’t find the post on her blog. So, here’s the link to her homepage instead. Go visit her and tell her how brilliant she is!
02Jan
Hello, Imaginary Friends! I feel like it has been weeks since we’ve chatted! I hope you all had a great holiday season and that your new year was merry and bright. Chris and I rang in the new year like we do every year – in bed, barely awake enough to see the ball drop. We go wild.
This year was kind of fun though because the Orlando Sentinel did a whole article on Chris building the Time Square Ball. He was all kinds of weirded out to see himself front and center in the newspaper and, of course, he went through the article with a fine-tooth comb, analyzing every word (“Why’d they have to call it MY ball? Isn’t that weird?” or “I think they made me sound more important than I really was. Should I tell them that?”). Finally, I told him to relax. It’s a great article, he was part of a great, historical project, and he gets to go on the refrigerator next to Bean’s hand print turkey from Thanksgiving. I am super proud of him. Just like I’m super proud of Bean’s turkey.
On New Year’s Day, Chris and I took down all the Christmas decorations. Normally, I hate to see Christmas go, but this year I was ready. We have gotten so many Christmas presents and goodies that we’ve been hauling around in my parent’s van that we drove for the past week on vacation. So we spent yesterday unloading everything and making room in our house for all the new things.
This led to one of my resolutions for 2012. Normally, I don’t make new years resolutions, but this year I have a few distinct things that I want to change or start, and the new year seems like the right time to begin.
Be healthier. I know everyone makes a resolution like this one and this year I’m joining the masses. I was fairly lucky after both my babies in that I lost most of my baby weight within a year. But with Gracie, I’ve seen that initial loss of baby weight creeping back up. I blame the cookies that keep spontaneously jumping into my mouth. But this resolution isn’t really about weight loss. If I wanted to just lose weight, I’d go on a diet. What this one stems from is how I feel. For the past six months, I have felt so tired and run down. I think a lot of that comes from my diet. I tend to go for the easy option 99% of the time and I usually blame that on being a working mom. But, cream of whatever isn’t the only quick option out there for dinner. Here are the changes I’m making:
1. No soda – This is a huge thing for me. I hate to admit this, but I drink Diet Dr. Pepper pretty much all day at work. Granted, it’s usually the same single can that lasts me all day, but still. Instead, I’m trying to only drink water and, occasionally, unsweetened iced tea. Because I can’t live without iced tea every now and then.
2. No sweets – I’m not cutting all sugar because my only criteria for this whole healthy thing is that I’m not running around reading labels all the time, but I’m cutting general sweets like cookies, candy, dessert, etc.
3. Some kind of activity every week day – I don’t work out, like, at all. I used to in college and some in grad school, but since having babies I’ve used that as an excuse to not work out. But I really think that is part of the reason I feel so sluggish all the time. My body is bored. So, every day after work I am going to try to do something. Either walking around the block with the kids or running for 20 minutes or so when Chris gets home or a yoga DVD…something to get me moving. I’ll share little ideas I find along the way.
4. Healthier family meals – This one comes at a good time for us because Gracie is starting to eat meals with us and she needs pretty simple, healthy, clean meals. And, really, don’t we all? So, basically, we’re all going to start eating like Gracie. I’m switching from white rice to brown rice, from regular pasta to whole grain pasta, from butter coated veggies to steamed. Simple little changes to our diet that will make all of us feel better.
5. Less meat, more veggies – I love meat, so I don’t know that I could ever actually become a vegetarian, but I have several friends who are vegetarians and the one thing they all said about becoming one is that they just felt lighter. They said that their bodies felt so sluggish digesting all the meat they used to eat and when they eliminated that from their diet, their bodies just seemed to work easier and they felt lighter. That’s exactly how I feel right now – heavy. Not in weight, but my body just feels like there are sandbags in my feet. And if cutting back on meat a bit will get rid of that feeling, then I’m willing to try. I’ll still have meat (mostly chicken and turkey) for dinner at home with the family, but I think I might try cutting it out of my lunch every day, just to see how that feels.
2012 will be the first year in three years that I am not either pregnant or birthing a child. For those three years, I let myself slip. And that’s okay. I’ve been busy creating life and then making sure that life survives and takes baths every day and doesn’t pick its nose in public. But, my kids are getting more self-sufficient and I think my grace period of using them as an excuse for not taking care of myself is over. So, this year, I’m putting myself at the top of the list. Just like it’s important that I take care of my family, it’s just as important that I take care of myself. Because in order to keep up with these lives that I’ve created, I’m going to have to be at the top of my game. These suckers around here are quick!
*****
P.S. These pictures have nothing to do with the post. They are just the only pictures I’ve taken in the past few days. And they’re cute. The End.
03Jan
1. I am finally getting up the courage to wear leggings and I think they are going out of style. Are they going out of style? I feel like I haven’t seen them in a while, but maybe I’m just missing them. I always miss trends by two or three months.
2. I just finished reading “Little Bee,” by Chris Cleave. It was so good. It’s a lot like “The Kite Runner,” if you read that one. You don’t REALLY want to know what is happening because it is so heartbreaking, but yet you can’t stop reading! It is incredibly well written. If you’re looking for something to read, I highly recommend that one.
3. I blogged this week over at Southern Weddings about mine and Chris’s New Years resolutions as a couple. We have occasional “State of Our Union” dinners and we usually kick off the New Year with one where we set our goals and priorities for our marriage for the upcoming year. For tips on how to have your own “State of the Union” dinner or conversation, be sure to go check it out. (And then leave me some comment love…)
4. Today I booked our air travel with the travel agent for our trip to Costa Rica in March. I am so freaking excited. I haven’t blogged or even talked too much about it though because I am so afraid something will go wrong and I won’t be able to take the trip or something. I think I’m just nervous and can’t believe we won something so incredible! I’ll feel better once I have my passport (yes, I had to apply for a new passport so I could take this trip and, naturally, it is taking FOREVER to get it back!) and our plane tickets in hand!
5. I am on Day Three of cutting soda out of my diet and I think I am going to die. I miss my Diet Dr. Pepper! I miss it so much! By 2:00 in the afternoon, I am craving caffeine. But I have been a good girl and have resisted and am only drinking water instead. It sucks. I hate it. But I’m doing it because I’m supposed to feel good…or WHATEVER.
6. My friend, Sarah, is doing this whole “refreshing our lifestyle” resolution thing with me and so yesterday she dragged me to a yoga class. I hadn’t been to yoga in four or five years and I had forgotten how much I love it. Even my mind felt better by the time the class had ended. Of course, this morning at school when I raised my arm to write on the board, I thought my arm was going to fall off because it was so sore. Hopefully, that’s a muscle growing in there!
7. My kids are the coolest. Hands down. They are the coolest people I know. I have so much fun with them. Bean and Gracie are starting to play together a little and it just melts my heart. Gracie got a tea set for Christmas and Bean has spent the past two days sitting down with her, drinking tea. He gets really frustrated that she doesn’t know how to hold the cup. She just gives this warrior cry and hurls something across the room. It’s pretty entertaining to watch, actually. I went back to work today for the first time in two weeks and I really missed them. Bean cried when I dropped him at daycare this morning and I kind of wanted to, too. I miss those boogers when they aren’t with me!
8. At Christmas, I stole a really warm, super soft fleece blanket from my sister’s house and I have to mail it back this week. I will be very sorry to see it go. If she was a good sister, she’d insist that I keep it… (hint, hint)
9. We had taco night tonight and to trick Bean into eating some of it, I told him the black beans were boiled peanuts. He loves peanuts. As soon as I said that, he started eating black beans by the handful. Mom wins. I love when I outsmart a two year old. Surprisingly, that doesn’t happen often…
10. It’s that time of year again, imaginary friends. The Bloggies are upon us. Every year I cringe at the thought of asking for you all to go vote, but, alas, here I am again. Asking you to go vote. This year they have added a new category called “Best Parenting or Family Weblog,” and I think that’s the category I fit best into. Why are the Bloggies so important, you may ask? Well, if you’re a blogger who makes money off of their blog, like me, then it’s a fantastic way to get your numbers up, which generates more revenue. It also looks really great to publishers for someone who might possibly be working on their book in super secret right now. So, if you’re feeling generous, head over to the Bloggies website and drop a vote for me into the Parenting or Family Weblog category. Then, if you’re feeling extra nice, Tweet it, Facebook it, blog it, tell your Grandma about it, and just generally spread the word that you know this super lame blogger who is asking for votes. It would be much appreciated. (P.S. I’m going to ask you to do this all again if I’m nominated. So, you have that to look forward to…)
Namaste.
03Jan
(Yes, I know that I didn’t turn my phone the correct way to take the video. I’m sorry. iPhones confuse me.)
