A Chemical Filled House

Recently, a friend of mine talked me into selling Norwex products.  She's a good friend and a good salesman, so I agreed to try it for a little while, you know, just to help her out.  I had a couple of parties to meet my goals and began getting a lot of free products.  Slowly I began replacing all of my household cleaning products with these chemical free cloths and cleaners.  I was, once again, just doing this to help her out, because I'm such a good person. ;) But the more I did with the company, the more I learned about the cleaners that I was using before.   I realized that I had a chemical filled house.  Scary.  The great US of A has little to no regulations on the chemicals that can be put in these cleaners.  That amazed me.

Then the other day, another friend of mine who has begun selling Beautycounter products (another great company), posted this on her Facebook page...

If you can't read that, it says...

"Having spent the past few days at St. Jude Children's research hospital, meeting with some of the most fascinating researchers in the world, I am reminded again of why our work as Beautycounter consultants is so very important.  When a biochemist shows you a piece of a cancerous brain tumor under a microscope and tells you that in those tumors they have found chemicals like formaldehyde and paragons, then tells you to protect my children from such chemicals, you realize this stuff is real! We can make a difference girls and our work matters!!"

Once again...scary.  Instantly I began doing research.  I have read article after article about what chemicals are found in daily household cleaners and how they are harmful.  It ranges anywhere from asthma triggers to cancer causing to even fatal if swallowed.  We do everything we can to make our homes a safe haven for ourselves and our children.  We baby proof the house, get alarm systems, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, lock our doors, etc.  But meanwhile, we are filling our house and sometimes even directly spraying our kids toys and our clothes with chemicals that can cause us more harm than good.  

I will post some of the articles that I came across in my research, but I highly recommend that you do your own research.  You will be amazed at what you find. 

http://www.health-report.co.uk/toxic_household_chemicals.htm

https://experiencelife.com/article/8-hidden-toxins-whats-lurking-in-your-cleaning-products/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10/worst-household-cleaners-cleaning-products_n_1871420.html

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/environmental-breast-cancer-links/household-products/

My small plug about Norwex:  Norwex uses NO chemicals at all, yet has been proven more effective at removing bacteria and other harmful substances from surfaces, using only water, than leading household cleaners.  I have been so amazed by the research I have done about Norwex also.  Bonus: it's really easy to clean with these products and the results will amaze you. 

March Challenge- 30 Days of Plank

I came across this 30 days of plank challenge the other day and thought it would be perfect for this month.

Day 1: 20 seconds
Day 2: 20 seconds
Day 3: 30 seconds
Day 4: 30 seconds
Day 5: 40 seconds
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: 45 seconds
Day 8: 45 seconds
Day 9: 60 seconds
Day 10: 60 seconds
Day 11: 60 seconds
Day 12: 90 seconds
Day 13: Rest
Day 14: 90 seconds
Day 15: 90 seconds
Day 16: 120 seconds
Day 17: 120 seconds
Day 18: 150 seconds
Day 19: Rest
Day 20: 150 seconds
Day 21: 150 seconds
Day 22: 180 seconds
Day 23: 180 seconds
Day 24: 210 seconds
Day 25: 210 seconds
Day 26: Rest
Day 27: 240 seconds
Day 28: 240 seconds
Day 29: 270 seconds
Day 30: 300 seconds

I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull off the last couple of weeks, 300 seconds is a LOOONNNGG time! But I will at least total that time for the day.  If you don't know what a plank is, I recommend you look it up and find out the correct way to do it.  You need to have the right form for it to have the full effect on your body.  Every one has a few minutes a day to do something like this.  If you don't have 5 minutes to spare for your health then you have other problems that you need to work through first.  This is a very simple challenge, so there's really not much to write about here.  Just make sure you are challenging yourself everyday.  You will never see a change unless you make a change.

February Challenge 2014

There have been too many days this past month that I didn't get a chance to get to the gym.  Here is my solution for this problem.  I can usually find about 10 minutes to myself in the mornings or after the kids go to bed at night.  Until now, I have used this time to relax (do nothing).   Where has that gotten me?  Same place I was a month ago, still not in the shape I want to be in, lacking in energy, and still not in the size I want to be wearing.  The challenge for February is to use that time more wisely.  I've found a lot of quick at home workouts that don't require weights or a gym.  I plan on doing one of these workouts everyday.  I really think it will make a big difference in my energy, weight and muscle tone.  I also think it will help me with my half-marathon training.  Here are the workouts:

Morning Workout
80 jumping jacks
20 push-ups
40 sit ups
50 squats
20 lunges (per leg)
60 second wall squats

Bob Harpers Workout
20 jumping jacks
20 lunges
20 push-ups
Repeat 3-5 times

4 Minute Workout
0:00- squat thrust
0:20- rest
0:30- mountain climbers
0:50- rest
1:00- high knees
1:20- rest
1:30- jumping jacks
1:50- rest
2:00- squat thrust
2:20- rest
2:30- mountain climbers
2:50- rest
3:00- high knees
3:20- rest
3:30- jumping jacks
3:50- rest
4:00- DONE!

Flat Belly Workout
50 jumping jacks
40 crunches
40 squats
40 leg lifts
30 jumping jacks
20 bicycle crunches
20 squats
30 leg lifts

Quads and Core
25 squats
3 minute plank
25 lunges
1 minute elbow side plank
25 star jumps
1 minute elbow side plank
25 split squats (each leg)
1 minute elbow plank
25 wide leg squats
plank with 50 knee to elbow
1 minute wall sit

I challenge you to just take 10-20 minutes everyday and do a workout.  Just try it for one month and see if it makes a difference for you.  I am also making it a goal to get up to 5 miles on my runs this month.  Good luck!!

Brussels Sprout Salad

One of my challenges for the year is to try new foods every month.  Today I was at the grocery store and saw a bag of brussels sprouts.  Before, I never would have even considered them.  But, I challenged myself to try new foods, so I picked them up, along with a bag of kale, spinach and swiss chard, and went home.  I looked up some recipes and found one that sounded good. And it was really good, so here it is for you to try.  I found it on www.justataste.com

Ingredients:

For the dressing:
1 Tablespoon minced shallots or green onions
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil

For the salad:
4 cups finely shredded kale, spinach and swiss chard (or just kale)
4 cups finely shredded Brussels sprouts (loosely packed)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Cut the veggies into narrow strips and put in a large bowl along with sliced almonds.  Mix the ingredients for the dressing

January Challenge

Okay, I know January is over, but here is what we have been doing this month.  I decided we were going to do another month of no eating out and we did.  We did this a little over a year ago and it was a lot less challenging this time.  If you have never tried this before, you should definitely try it.  You won't believe how much less bloated you will feel while saving money at the same time.  What did we eat, you ask.  Well, let me tell you.  At the beginning of each week, I would boil about 4-5 lbs of chicken.  I used that in the majority of our meals for the week.  Here are some examples of our meals.
Chicken and shrimp stir-fry
Beef stuffed bell peppers
Barbeque chicken and potatoes
Grilled chicken salad
Chicken sausage and grains
Sloppy Joe's, rice and slaw
Chicken fajita bowl
Chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries
Chicken salad sandwiches
http://happyhealthyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/10/southwest-chicken-salad.html
http://happyhealthyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/04/tortilla-soup.html

All very simple meals that can be fixed in one pan for the most part.  I'll put some more of the recipes on soon.


The other challenge this month was my personal goal to reach 3 miles in my running.  Done.  Step one of training for my half-marathon is accomplished. Now on to February challenges.

I've Got Some Work to Do

So, I'm trying really hard to eat better.  I was eating so well for a while and then last year, between being pregnant, renovating our house, having a baby, moving into a new city and house, my husband going through chemo and so on, I got in some bad habits.  And needless to say, I gained some weight. Now, with my whole "get back on track in 2014" thing that I'm doing, I'm trying to come up with ways to easily change my bad habits.  My husband is different. He is disciplined. I am not. When he says "I'm only going to only eat chicken and vegetables and drink only water", he actually does it.  When I say that, we both laugh.  So, now I have to be creative.  I need to come up with ways to tame my sweet tooth,  stop grabbing food as I walk through the kitchen, basically, be more disciplined.  Here are my solutions so far.

Substitute food cravings.  Like tonight, I was really craving a burrito.  My solution was to put some Trader Joe's frozen brown (organic) rice, some T.J.'s refried black beans, some T.J's enchilada sauce and a touch of cheese in a bowl and heat it up. I could also add some corn, tomatoes, avocados, peppers, etc. I probably will next time, but it was good and satisfied my craving at the time.  Basically, if I'm wanting something bad for me, just substitute something similar and healthier and less of it.  No problem.  The other option is to ignore the craving until it goes away, but we've already established that I don't have much self-control, so that could be a problem.

Detox myself.  I've decided that sugar and cola's should be treated like any other addiction.  Because they are addicting!! I know from past experiences that the more sugar you eat, the more you crave it and vice versa.  When I was doing really well about not eating sweets, I didn't crave them.  I still enjoyed them when I ate them, but I wasn't craving them after every meal.  So, my plan is to cut sweets down to one a week.  When I lived with my Aunt and Uncle back in college they had Friday night dessert nights.  They took turns getting to pick the dessert for that week.  Sounds like a good plan to me.  I may even go a week or two without any sweets at first, to get it out of my system, detox.  Wish me luck.

Plan meals and try new foods.  As a mom of three, I know it's impossible to plan every meal and snack and stay on track 100% of the time.  It's just not realistic.  But, if I can try to plan most of our meals and stick to the plan as closely as possible, it will help to avoid the junk.  I also need to keep trying new foods.  It's easier to eat healthy when you have a wide variety of foods that you like.  If you will only eat certain fruits and vegetables, they are going to get old after a while.  Another problem I have is that I do not like fish, but it is so good for you.  So, this year, I will learn to like some seafood.  I just need to find some really good recipes.  This is going to be tough, but I'm going to do it.

What are your tricks?

Counting our Blessings in 2013

Well, 2013 is finally coming to an end and what a year it has been for our family.  I realize it has been a year since I last posted on the blog. I only meant to take a few months off, but then life just kept happening.
     Let me start this post by telling you about the past 12 months.  My husband took a job a couple of hours away in March, when I was 6 months pregnant with child number 3. He was working out of town 3-4 days a week until June, when the kids and I could move up with him. On  June 12th we had baby #3, Beckett, the happiest baby you will ever meet. We were so excited to have another healthy, beautiful child.  Three weeks later my husband found out that he had cancer.  To say it was a shock to us would be an understatement.  My husband is a very strong, healthy man, something I had taken for granted until then.  I was scared.  I tried so hard not to show it, but I was scared.
      One week later, we closed on our house on Wednesday, Thursday he went in to surgery to have the tumor removed.  Friday, with him still in the hospital, my mom and I closed on our new house and moved our stuff in. Saturday afternoon he joined us in the new house.  A couple of weeks later, we found out that the surgery did not get all of the cancer.  He was now going to have to go through three rounds of chemotherapy.  In August, my daughter started kindergarten, my son started preschool and my husband started chemo within a week of each other.  My days were filled with dropping off and picking up children, checking on my husband,  grocery shopping, unpacking our house, and everything else a typical house wife does on a daily basis. The hardest part was watching my husband, who just the summer before was stronger than he has ever been (thanks to our addiction to the gym), now coming home worn out and in pain.  I wished that I could trade places with him, but he says if I was the one going through chemo, then we would all be in trouble. In October, he finished his nine weeks of chemo and his blood work came back clear. We were thrilled!! The first of December he went in for a cat scan.  His lymph nodes appeared swollen, which is a sign of cancer.  We were once again scared. What if it had come back? After weeks of waiting, he was finally able to go in for a full-body pet scan.  The Friday before Christmas we got the call that he is 100% cancer-free!  It was the only Christmas present that I needed.  I am so excited to have my healthy, on-the-go husband back. Meanwhile we have also begun the remodel process on our new house.  I guess our life wasn't busy enough.
            I titled this post "counting our blessings" because so many good things have come out of this year. My husband's attitude through this process has been absolutely amazing to me.  He has chosen to look at his cancer as a blessing.  It has changed so many parts of our lives for the better. We still have a long way to go to become the people we want to be, but feel like this year has been a nice wake-up call to get us going. Which brings me to 2014.  I'm in the process of setting goals, coming up with challenges for our family, working on budgets and designing meal plans for us in 2014.   I had a lot that I wanted to do this year, but there is no way I could have known what my year would be like.  I wanted to run a half-marathon this year, so guess what one of my big goals for next year is.  Sometimes we are lucky just to make it through the year and don't meet all of our goals, but we end up accomplishing things that we didn't plan on.  New challenges will present themselves along the way.  You can't get discouraged or disappointed, you just have to take it one challenge at a time.
              I don't know what 2014 will be like, but I learned this year that we have some amazing family and friends to help us get through whatever comes along.  I want to say thanks to everyone in our lives who sent up prayers for us, sent us cards and gifts, called us to see how we were doing,  brought us meals, watched the kids for me, helped us move, and so much more. I especially want to say thanks to our parents,  we could not have made it through the year without you.  It all meant so much to us and we feel so blessed!

            I plan on keeping up with the blog this year.  So get ready for lots of posts on healthy eating, running,  challenges and more!