Menu Plan Monday

I’m linking up with Laura at orgjunkie.com for Menu Planning Monday. This is the first time I’ve done this so I’m a little nervous (weird, I know). Our Happy Box started up a couple weeks ago so we try to use all our fresh produce at the beginning of the week. I plan 4-5 meals per week that are fairly flexible. So if we have any scheduling changes, we can flip flop meals. I also try to plan one meal that can be postponed if need be. We’ve learned this the hard way over time. No one wants to throw away (or compost) produce unnecessarily.

• Salad with baked salmon
• Omelets – Sean’s dying to try the new trick from OrgJunkie. 
• Azuki Bean casserole (Lisa's Kitchen) this is a new dish for us
• Roasted cabbage (Kalyn's Kitchen) and chicken breasts with sautéed mushrooms and green peppers, Swiss, jalapeno salsa and pineapple (this is a dish DH's boss created)
• Greek Salad Sandwich from Everyday Food (p. 95) with frozen barley and vegetable soup – I called my sister to get the name of this recipe and she had the same one bookmarked on her Nook! Spooky

We started planning our meals shortly after we got married. I couldn't handle DH calling me at lunch time and wanting to discuss what's for dinner. I have trouble coming up with meal ideas on the spot. This is one area where I'm NOT spontaneous!

No Shampoo - Day 2

I hadn’t planned on blogging about this so early in the process but I really want to share my thoughts thus far. We went away over the weekend and I something planned tonight so I wanted to wash my hair last night so I wouldn’t have to deal with it after getting home late tonight. When I remembered I was out of shampoo and conditioner, I suddenly regretted my decision to ditch the shampoo. I was feeling particularly lazy after a bad night’s sleep with two 17 month old toddlers in a hotel room and a 3 hour drive home. I didn’t want to take the time to mix up my baking soda/water and apple cider vinegar/water. I realize just how lazy this is because let’s face it, how hard is it to mix up a few things?

But it wasn’t just laziness I was struggling with. I was also dealing with the fear, however small, of what my hair was going to feel like and behave. My hair is very fine but I have a LOT of it and it’s down to the bottom of my shoulder blades. I kept envisioning me trying to detangle my mop instead of doing other important things. In the end, it was the first blog post I wrote that kept me from digging through the closet to find some shampoo/conditioner. I had already committed to doing this…in writing. I had to follow through. I also want to prove a few people wrong. I want to show them you don’t NEED shampoo and conditioner to have clean, healthy, manageable hair.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the whole process. As I knew it would be, it was easy to mix everything up. I used the bottles from my beloved Herbal Essences for my new mixtures. And while my hair wasn’t as easy to detangle as it is with my conditioner, it wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be. And for some reason, I kept expecting it to tangle up as it dried but it continued to stay nice and smooth as it dried. I was happy with how it was today too. We’ll see how it is tomorrow on day 2.

Barring any catastrophes, I plan to stick with this for a minimum of six weeks to see how it goes. I mentioned it to a coworker and asked him if my hair looked any different. He said yes. When probed about what was different, he said it was flatter than usual. While this may be valid, he’s a guy. Can they really be trusted to be a good gauge of anything related to hair?

Ditching shampoo and conditioner

I’ve been wanting to write this post before I went through with this crazy idea. I knew I only had till the last bit of my shampoo and conditioner was gone but I kept putting it off. Maybe I'm subconsciously stalling? I wanted to get my thoughts down and then come back with my thoughts as I’m going through my detox.

I first read about going “no ‘poo” sometime last year. I thought it made sense but quickly decided I couldn’t give up one of my last good-smelling things – my shampoo. I’ve used Herbal Essences as my main shampoo since college. I’ve flirted with others. I’ve even tried some good stuff (my sister has a friend who used to work at L’Oreal). Even over Shu Eumera, Kerastase and MANY other high end shampoos, I prefer my Herbal Essences. I use the formula for extra body and it’s just perfect for my hair. And I love the scent!

I subscribe to several green living blogs so I kept coming across this whole idea of ditching my shampoo AND conditioner. Here is a good post explaining the process. But basically you use a combination of baking soda and water to wash your hair and apple cider vinegar to condition. And no, your hair will not smell like vinegar. We use white vinegar in lieu of fabric softener and you can’t smell it at all. Honest.

From what I’ve read, there will be an adjustment period while my hair gets used to not having its natural oils stripped every day. I already wash every other day, use minimal conditioner, don’t use anything else on my hair, and let it air dry 99% of the time. So I’m hoping my adjustment period won’t be too awful.

When I told my mom my plans to ditch shampoo she said, “Where did you come from?” I told her she couldn’t give me a hippie name and not expect this to happen! Her real question was, “Why would you want to do that?” I gave her the briefest explanation I could muster, “the chemicals they put in these products are not good for us.” All you have to do is Google Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) and you’ll see what I mean. Eliminating a few chemicals from the many products I use on a daily basis is just the tip of the iceberg for me. But I think this is a good place to start. Plus, it’s much better for the environment AND my body.

Blogging for real

Anyone who’s known me for any length of time, knows I blog (and if you’re reading this, you DEFINITELY know) AND that I’ve considered being a little more serious about. I often go through phases and interests come and go. But blogging has remained. And the thoughts about doing it seriously remain. So what to do?

There is an endless supply of great blogs out there. In my quest for more information about nutrition, green living, cloth diapering, you name it – I’ve come across some really awesome blogs. I mean so good I add them to my Google Reader so I can get updated about new posts. And not only do I add them to my Reader subscription list, but I READ THEM! So yes, I love blogs. I love all things wellness, green living, cloth diapering, and, and, and the list goes on and on. But what do I know enough about to blog about? What would people want to read about?

I’m still thinking about this. My sister came up with some good ideas recently and I’ve been mulling them over. I do know one thing for sure though….you all should be using Google Reader!

Cloth Diaper Giveaway

Check it out and help me win a Flip package! We just got 2 covers and 6 inserts yesterday and we need more so we can travel with these quit disposables altogether!

Advocare Day 22 and other exciting news

I was back up to 172.6 but I'm ok with that after Saturday's eating frenzy. I'll also say that having come this far, I'm definitely more considerate about what I eat. AND everything tastes so much better!

In addition to trying to lose 50 lbs (now 40), I've also been working on closing my abdominal separation. I have a separation of my rectus abdominis muscles. It's not pretty. You can see a diagram and learn all about it here. Many women have this condition, not just moms of multiples. I learned about the Tupler Technique this past spring and took a 3-session class from a local instructor. You measure your separation in finger-widths. Mine was 6 at the top, 8 in the middle and 4 at the bottom. I wore the splint and by the time I was done with my sessions, I was 3 on the top, 6 in the middle and 3 on the bottom.

It was too hot to wear the splint over the summer and I needed a new one since the velcro was shot on mine. So when it cooled down, I got a new splint and have been wearing it. I've been KINDA doing my exercises again but not like I should be. The other night I was laying on the floor with the babies and decided to check again. It's only 3 in the middle now!!! This has given me the motivation to really get on it and get this stupid thing closed! If only it would also get rid of the extra skin and fat :)

Advocare Day 21 - afternoon

As of yesterday I was 171.6. I was 173 this morning but let me tell ya - I ate like a PIG yesterday. We went out for Sean's birthday. I had a stuffed mushroom appetizer at the Pub. Then we had sushi rolls (the fattening kind) at Sake. Then we went bowling and I had 2 appetizers there. It was like I couldn't stop eating. So I think the 173 this morning is AMAZING and also think it was mostly water considering how much salt I consumed last night.

I've more than made up for last night today and am poised to finish out strong. My only concern is dinner Wednesday night since we'll be traveling to visit my family. I'm not sure what I'm going to eat. I'm definitely ready for Thanksgiving dinner!

I keep going back and forth about what I'm going to do after I'm done. I still want to lose another 40 lbs. Sean was like, "Do you really need to lose another 40? Are you supposed to weigh 130?" I told him that that's the "recommended" weight for my height and frame. But in all honesty, I'd be thrilled with 140. I mean, how am I going to get to 130 without exercise?