Organization

 I'm seriously trying to get my life fully on track for 2021.  I feel like I came a long way in 2020, despite all the things that were going on in the world.  I'm back to a more normal shift (although, it's not entirely NORMAL) and I just need to adjust my cleaning and planning schedule a smidge to be able to keep up.  

I still love Flylady.net and Pinterest.  I pull a lot of organizational ideas from Pinterest on the regular.  I'm just going to throw my ideas out here on the blog...if you have ideas or a site, please share in the comments as I'm always looking to tweak and change things so that I can make my life simpler and keep my house running smoothly and being tidy.  

Here's the plan, and I'm not going to do ALL of them myself sometimes it'll be the kids that do it:

Everyday chores--

Make the bed (this is a habit I used to do, everyday, but I've really gotten out of it!)

Sweep

Make sure the sink is empty before I go to bed

Counters are cleared

Laundry (Monday-sheets, Tuesday-towels, Saturday-work clothes, Sunday-other)

Clean off coffee table (this is hot spot in my home, everything just seems to congregate there)

Weekly--

Toilets

Clean shower 

Dust 

Vacuum (this is done a few times a week actually because we have a cat,) 

Mop floors 

Clean out fridge 

Clean out the burners on the stove

Monthly--

Scrub backsplash and hood

Vacuum baseboards

Clean window sills

Clean the garbage cans

I also have some bigger projects I'm working through.  My closet has become a pit...and I'm working on it with the Flylady method of 15 minutes at a time because it's so bad it feels overwhelming.  I'm also working on some decor projects since I've lived in this house for 4 years now and I've really not made it feel like home. I painted a tray for the coffee table yesterday, and I'm making a sign for above my bed, and lastly I'm converting the crib that Three and Four slept in as babies to a bench for the entryway.  I'm planning to make this house feel like I want my forever house to feel.  

Skinny Housewife: 21 Day Challenge

 I need a kick start to get back on the workout train.  I need quick workouts.  Less than 30 minutes, because I will also need to shower and get myself together before work.  I have a bunch of HITT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout options saved over on Pinterest, because I bore pretty easily.  I also have a couple other fitness trainers that I follow that I love.  

Blogilates on IG, Blogilates.com, and I just realized (because of this challenge) that she has an app!  Today was the start of a 21 day challenge that she's doing.  The app, and the challenge are free.  There is a printable free calendar available too.  It's 21 minutes, for 21 days.  It takes 21 days to ingrain a habit, so I'm hoping this is the kick start I need.  If you decide to do this challenge, please leave me a comment so I can check in with you!

After this 21 day kickoff, I will probably do one of the older Bikini Body Mommy challenges available on YouTube.  I've done them before, but haven't done one in years!  The workouts are short and simple, but HARD and effective.  These usually run 90 days.

The center I teach at was closed because of COVID for most of the year.  I did get 2 months where I was allowed to teach one class a week, outside and socially distanced.  Due to my new promotion though, teaching again when the center reopens doesn't work with my schedule.  I have requested to do a once a month dance party for them because I LOVE teaching and dancing and the center I work for and my students.  Hopefully, that will come to fruition when the world finds it's new normal.  That has gotten me out of the habit of working out, because with that job I HAD to work out.  Either I was teaching, or practicing or learning something new, or creating new choreography so there was always moving.  

On the two days a week I'm off, I plan to do more intense stuff--I'd like to get back to running which I had to give up because I battled Plantar Fascilitis for a BIG chunk of the year.  And I'd like to dance along with my four favorite dance fitness instructors on YouTube.  Those people are:  Dance Fitness with Jessica, Club Fitz, Bernadette Barber, and Turn Up With Tanci  

Intermittent Fasting: Still at it

 I posted a blog back at the end of April, about giving IF a try.  I was unable to work out like I used to because of the pandemic canceling all my classes, and the gym being closed.  I also read a lot about how it just overall made people feel better and increased healthy sleep patterns.  Those benefits were things I definitely needed when I was on third shift, but now that I am back out of the land of the zombies I have found that I'm still reaping those benefits.  There are a ton of other health benefits to IF, and I would encourage you to do your own research as I don't feel like any one plan is right for everyone.  I will say that I have lost probably a couple pounds, but I've definitely lost inches around my waist which is the area I most wanted to shrink if I could choose.  

My original fasting went like this: 

Dinner around 2pm.

Bed around 4pm. This is the time when my eating window closed for the day.

Wake around 9pm.

Work til 8am.  I would end my eating window between 6 and 8.  Giving me a 14-16 hour fasting time.  When I told people that they usually would gasp and say "I could never" but I promise you, yes you could.  My body adjusted very quickly, and as long as I made sure to eat enough during my window, and drinking enough water I didn't find it very difficult.  

When I switched back to day shift, I had a hard time adjusting my windows and put it on hold for about a month.  But, I really started to feel YUCKY.  Exhausted allllll the time, no matter how much I slept, or how well I slept.  I realized my body didn't like this state of being, and I needed to figure out how to work my window around my current schedule.

Now, my eating window opens between 11-1, just depends on the day and how busy I am with work.  My goal is always 11, because that gives me a 14 hr fast, but sometimes I get pushed later because I'm just busy at 11 and don't get the chance to eat until closer to 1.  My eating window closes at 9pm.  There are health benefits to longer fasts, but for me personally, 14-16 hours is enough.  I've done a couple 18-hour fasts, just because of not being able to eat when I wanted but that's as long as I've gone.  I didn't feel awful, to be clear, it's just not for me. 

Since returning to the IF lifestyle, I've noticed a significant boost in my energy levels again.  I'm drinking enough water again.  Drinking water is a habit I struggle with, but I'm not sure why exactly.  I don't mind water, but unless I'm in a fast, it's not going to be my drink of choice.  So not only was I giving myself too much sugar, and too much caffeine and calories, I was depriving myself of hydtration.  Because I'm not that bright sometimes.  This is probably the number one benefit of IF for me personally, I'll drink plenty of water and I'm SURE this is part of the higher energy levels.  Hydration and exhaustion go hand in hand and are often an overlooked correlation.  IF gives me the discipline to drink all the water.  You do what works.  

Life Update

 The last life update was back in February, when I pulled Three from school and had moved to 3rd shift.  Then the pandemic hit, and Four was also home from school permanently.  I never slept.  I was one of those people who just couldn't sleep during the day.  I tried, but my body's natural rhythm just never changed and my body was always on some "It's daytime...be awake" while my brain was on some "No, we have to be up when it's night, shut up and sleep NOW."  It was an everyday battle, and truthfully I never got more than a nap unless it was my night off.  So I was sleeping 2-3 nights a week and napping the other 4-5 days.  Good times I tell ya.  

School has been going beautifully for Three though, so that was a silver lining.  He began eating again, and has not really gained a lot of weight (he was severely under weight and the pediatrician was concerned about impending puberty) but he has shot up in height!  Both of his grandfathers were tall and lean, so I'm much less concerned about his growth.  He's taller than me currently, and his 14th birthday is in less than 2 weeks.  

School has not been going as beautifully for Four.  He's totally virtual as his health is always a problem due to a compromised immune system and severe asthma.  The virtual model just doesn't work well for him.  He does it everyday but he's bored out of his mind and his grades aren't great.  He's depressed, from not seeing people and there is no real end in sight.  

I got a second promotion at work (so 2020 wasn't so bad for me.)  This brought me back to a day shift!  I'm so excited, and I love my job.  I enjoyed my job before, don't get me wrong, I just couldn't take being on overnights any longer.  I'm looking for one more job change (still within the company I currently work for) in 2022. Just working my way around.  

Two just turned 21 last week, and that just feels INSANE to me.  She's currently working full time as well, and her brothers are having a difficult time adjusting to her not being home.  It's so sweet for me to watch though, as one of my MAIN parenting goals was strong connection between my kids despite the age gap.  Them all being sad about the lack of time together, while it stinks, it does prove that I was successful.  All four of them still really love being together.  Here's a photo approved by everyone for social media of all of us together the day after our Thanksgiving (which wasn't on Thursday this year lol) when we put up the Christmas Tree.  We assembled a gingerbread village, and listened to Christmas music and made my mama heart so happy.  

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos

 This was a hit in my house with EVERYONE who tried it.  So the exception was Two, my vegan.  

Highly highly recommend and super easy.  

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos

Now comes the what I did different part, as you all expect from me. I rarely follow a recipe exactly (unless it's baking cause that's easy to mess up.)  This one is probably BOMB made a variety of ways, truthfully.  

I used chicken thighs.  I used vegetable broth.  Our little small town grocery store didn't have green chiles that day, so I just omitted it.  I've left it out every time I've made it, because it was so good without it.  But, maybe I'll throw them in next time.  Who knows.  

I also made Goya Mexican Rice and we mostly ate it over rice, instead of as tacos.  

It was super easy, delish, and requested again.  5 stars.  

The Best White Bean Chili

Vegetarian White Bean Chili

We love chili in our house.  We make your regular run of the mill version of chili (beef, tomato, beans,) and a delicious black-eyed pea chili variation.  We have tried multiple white bean chili recipes over the years and just never found one we liked. 

Until now. 

This is the best one, BY FAR.  Even though the recipe is labeled vegetarian it is 100% vegan with no adaptations needed.  I think the marketing department just knows people flip out when they see the word vegan so they wisely held off on the label. 

We didn't make any changes to the recipe, except to add more spices as the recipe only calls for oregano.  *eye brown raise*  I definitely used cumin and chili powder, as well as some dried cilantro. 

I had a terrible migraine this night, and Two had to finish making it as I could no longer be upright and had to be at work later that night (where I cried because I was in a tremendous amount of pain, super fun times.)  I didn't get to eat any of it the first day, but she reported that both her and her brothers liked it a lot.  I got to have the leftovers the following day for lunch and they weren't wrong.  Yum! 

Intermittent Fasting

Since moving to 3rd shift, which coincidentally coincides with the canceling of my cardio classes, I've put on weight.  If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I try to be healthy (with balance, I love ice cream and pancakes more than anything!)  I've completed 7 Spartan races, and I teach dance fitness 4 times a week.  I don't own a scale, I use my clothes and how I feel as the guide to where my weight is.  And currently, I'm pretty displeased.  My clothes all still fit, but, I'm not comfortable in them.  I really dislike the way I look without them on.  I tend to gain weight around the middle as my thighs are already pretty THICC.  Nobody wants a chubby waist.  No one. 

I follow a functional medicine doctor, also a fellow cardio dance instructor, on IG and FB.  Dr. Lauren Fitz if you want to look her up.  I've been following her for years just to be clear, she's not someone I just found and decided to jump headfirst into following.  Last week she did a series of posts on IF and its benefits to the body.  I have a work kid (I somehow adopt the kids I work with) that I watched have amazing success with IF last year, but put on 25 pounds after finding a girlfriend and has now gone back to IF to try to rid his body of those pounds.  So I had some experience with the concept, but I eat A LOT so I just couldn't really imagine myself diving in. 

After listening to Dr. Fitz, I thought it is at least worth a try, right?  It's only been a week.  But, so far so good guys.  I'm working up to a 16-8 fasting window.  Currently at 14-10.  I started at 12-12.  I fast the entire time I'm at work overnight because normally I'd be sleeping anyway.  It gets a little dicey around 2 am truthfully.  Dr. Fitz told me though that feeling of hunger usually only lasts 20 minutes and I just chant that to myself when I start to get hangry.  It passes.  I'm proud of my resolve because as I stated earlier I eat a lot.  I mean often.  Every couple of hours normally at least. 

IF has also caused me to be more aware of what I'm putting in because it occurred to me that I should probably be more mindful of what I'm eating first thing when I'm breaking a fast.  Since I'm so used to eating every few hours, it didn't occur to me before because I was just always eating something.  But after NOT consuming anything for 14 hours, I feel like I need to give my body more nutrient based things right from the jump.  Here's a list I found and have been using to remind myself of what to eat first thing. 

Foods to Eat When Breaking Your Fast

My main goal is to kick-start my metabolism again and hopefully burn some fat.  However, this isn't the only thing I'm doing.  I also realized the correlation with stopping my classes, so I've been determined to move more this week too.  I am often exhausted after work, I walk 5 miles each night at work (I'm not even kidding) and my feet HURT.  Hurt so much I've even purchased special toe-flexing socks to wear during my off time to help with the pain.  Adding in dancing or running didn't seem like a lot of fun, and those are my main sources of exercise.  Yesterday I danced.  And it was only the 2nd time since my classes got canceled in the middle of March.  So twice in a month, when I used to dance 4 times a week.  I was DRENCHED at the end of just 30 minutes (my classes are usually an hour but I was dead at the 30-minute mark and decided to be kind to myself.)  Today, I plan to dance--I'm working on my Return To Class After Quarantine Playlist--and hopefully at least walk, maybe a short run.  Running is BY FAR the quickest way for me personally to lose weight.  I can drop a few pounds in a week if I can get in a couple runs. 

If you're interested in learning more, I suggest you follow Dr. Lauren Fitz on IG and FB and go back in her posts to look for all the information she shared last week.  Here is a quick link to some of the benefits:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327398#how-to-do-it