Challenges Everywhere!

Apparently 2015 is the year I take on several new challenges. My 30-day cleaning challenge has gone surprisingly fast, as in like a 3-4 day challenge, not 30. Once I started, I couldn't stop myself.

In addition to my 30-day cleaning challenge, I've started a clean-eating challenge. That's a really big deal for me, not because I'm a nasty, unhealthy slob, but I'm not always conscious of my food choices or the "stuff" that I'm putting in my body on a consistent basis. I eat lots of fruits and veggies, and I drink tons of water, while trying to eat on the "healthier" side of the spectrum, but aside from that I wouldn't say I'm "health conscious". I have shared before how self-conscious I am currently about my post-baby body. I went to the doctor about a week ago for my annual and I weigh as much as I did when I was 8 months pregnant. *jaw drop* To say that I was dumbfounded when I saw the scale would be an understatement, but of course no one saw that because I put on a smile and went about business as usual. I was super healthy while pregnant and I was exercising 3-4 times a week, if not more. I dropped my "baby weight" within a week after giving birth, which I attribute primarily to the insane things that nursing does to your body at first. I was SO excited to have my body back (albeit, it wasn't exactly the same as before, but it was close enough to make me feel good about it)! I've been beating myself up over my body for the past 2-3 months because every time I look in the mirror (sans clothing) I don't recognize the body before me. I hate that. I'm proud of the fact that I housed a baby in there for 9 (10) months, but I can't use that excuse forever. It's time I take my body/health back, for real. I've been seriously contemplating joining the gym (it would also be good bonding time for my husband and I since he works out a lot), but in addition to that I know I have to change my eating habits. I'm not a health-obsessed nut or anything, and I certainly don't intend to become one (as it often irritates me when people over-obsess about what they do/don't eat). I do however intend to become a healthier, fitter version of the person I am now. Trey has vowed to help me any way I would like him to. He's really supportive of a healthy lifestyle and he sets a good example. It's because of him that I was so healthy during my pregnancy in the first place. So, with that being said, I joined a clean eating "support" group (haha, it's not really a support group in the sense you're thinking, but rather a group that encourages clean eating and supports you as you go by offering tips and recipes). I'm actually really pumped about it because not only do they provide you with support, but they provide weekly meal plans for breakfast, lunch & dinner (and 2 snacks daily), with a shopping list included. That's amazeballs. :) I'm all about a whole week's worth of meals being planned for me!

Prior to joining this group, Trey and I discussed some ways that I could potentially cut out some carbs/unnecessary foods. After brainstorming for a while, he suggested I try to do one meal a day low carb/carb-free. I LOVE LOVE LOVE breads. It's seriously a pitfall. So, we decided I would try to do it every day at lunch. I started on Sunday. I ate grilled tilapia, peas, and quinoa as opposed to a sandwich with some chips or fruit. Yesterday for lunch, I wanted tuna fish sandwich, but the bread was a no-go, so I found this recipe for "Tuna Kale Salad". Sounds kind of gross, but tasted so delicious! You can find the recipe here.

I started the breakfast portion of the clean-eating menu this morning. It was "Strawberry Shortcake Oats" and it was freaking amazing. Seriously, I totally recommend it. It was like dessert for breakfast, kind of. 

Smash up 1/2 cup of strawberries in a bowl, then add an additional 1/4 cup sliced strawberries, 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (which I've been drinking ever since having Em and can't tell a difference, but it's SO much healthier), 1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt (I used vanilla), 1/3 cup of quick oats, honey (or stevia) to taste (about 1 tsp.), and a pinch of sea salt. The recipe called for it to sit overnight, but I ate it right after making it and it was SO yum.

Aside from all these challenges, I've been thinking a lot about life in general, primarily as it relates to my daughter. She turned 5 months old yesterday.  F   I   V   E!!! When did that happen? How did that happen? Where is the time going? I actually cried yesterday thinking about how quickly she's growing up. I feel like I've been robbed though. Because I was depressed for a good 2 months at the start of her life, I don't remember much about her first 2 months of life, aside from the fact that she (and I) cried A LOT. She's a different baby now and I'm a different mom (thank God!), but it makes me sad. I'm actually frustrated because I feel like hormones and those horrible emotions robbed me of joy. They robbed me of enjoying my daughter when she was so new to the world. They robbed me of bonding time with her, but most importantly, they robbed me of time; time that I'll never, ever get back. That's a harsh reality. I realize there's not a whole lot I could've done to avoid the emotions I had back then, but it's still hard to think about it now. She is getting to a stage where she doesn't want to just lie in mommy's arms anymore, she wants to play and be active. Don't get me wrong, it's SO fun right now because she is engaging so much with the world around her, but at the same time, it's a little heart-breaking because I already feel like I've lost that "little baby" and it was in the blink of an eye. I know these are normal feelings and that they're only going to intensify the older she gets, but good grief. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be Emerson's mom. I love her more and more with each passing day. I miss her when she's sleeping. I stare at her on the monitor just to feel close to her. I truly, truly, truly have learned the importance of cherishing each and every day that I have with her because these days are fleeting all too quickly. I want to make the most of these "baby days" because they'll be just a memory before I know it and I want to have LOTS of memories to cherish. These five months have no doubt been the MOST challenging, most rewarding, most memorable of my entire life. I am a mommy and I finally feel like I understand what that means. It's a good feeling and I never want to lose it. 

Enjoy the snow VA friends and keep warm! 

Bargain Shopping

I told myself that I wasn't going to buy my daughter lots of unnecessary toys. While that still holds true, it seems I get more excited now about purchases for her than for me. "She" got an exersaucer for Christmas from my parents, but because she's apparently shorter than average, her little chunky feet can't reach the floor, leaving her just dangling and unsteady. I also recently purchased a Johnny Jump Up that hooks in the door way (my mom said when I was little I would bounce in that thing for hours). Well, guess what? She's too short for that too. She looks SO tiny in it and her feet are nowhere close to the floor. So in a last ditch effort to get her something that she could enjoy from an upright position (she's getting antsy just laying on the floor to play), I bought her the contraption seen bottom right.

For the record, these things are entirely too pricey for being made of a bunch of plastic. This one retails for close to $100. Yeah to the freaking right. I found this one on Craigslist, my go-to place for otherwise expensive items (strollers, furniture, etc).  I got this one for a quarter of the retail price. The seller was asking $25, but it didn't say "price is firm" in the ad, so I asked if she'd take $20 and she agreed without question. :) Score! I picked it up last night and gave it a good clean. If you're ever in need of a sanitizing solution (not store bought), just take a ratio of 1 TBSP bleach to 1 Gallon of water. That's the recommended solution to be used in restaurants as indicated by the health department. It worked like a charm and jazzed this thing right up. I threw the seat cover in the wash with some Oxiclean and let all the chew toys sit in some sanitizing solution, and now this thing looks brand new. I do wish it bounced, but I guess she'll eventually grow into the Johnny Jump-Up. 

Yesterday, I mentioned how I was starting my 30 day cleaning challenge. I lied. I did not start yesterday as planned. I do, however, plan to start today. I think I'm going to just start on the 22nd day of the challenge and work my way through until I reach the last item on the list. So, I'm kind of working backwards. That means today is "spices". Well, I recently went through my spice rack, so I may try to do the 3-bags-in-thirty-minutes thing. If not, I'll choose the next item on the list and start there. I'll keep you updated. 

My sweet mama offered to babysit Emerson for a few hours tomorrow so I could get some stuff done. I REALLY want to go thrift store shopping. A friend of mine told me about a Goodwill that is like an outlet store and you pay by the pound. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. I would leave there with wayyyy too much stuff. Until I finish decluttering my house, I may try to refrain from doing any shopping. I feel like once I declutter and whatnot I'll have a better idea of items that would benefit us. This is totally random, but is the rule that you aren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition still a thing? I just retyped the sentence before this like 5 times trying to avoid a preposition at the end of the sentence. I think I learned that in middle school and somehow still remember it. Though, it makes it tough because I don't recall all of the prepositions. Thank goodness for Google because it just told me that I'm in the clear because 'us' does not fall under the list of "English prepositions". As for other countries, I'm not entirely sure. :P  

 I better get off this piece of equipment and get to de-cluttering while I have some free time (aka: nap time). Have a great Thursday, friends! It's almost Fri-yay! :)

The Need for Clean

Two blogs, Chelsea? No, no! I didn't delete my other blog, but I'm going to. I decided to switch over to blogger because my previous host has been giving me nothing but trouble for the past month. Hence, why I haven't posted in a while. Trust me, I've tried. Anyway, this is my new blog address. I had to change my blog name slightly because my original (Thrifty Chic) was already taken. This whole process totally reminded me of coming up with an AIM screen name years and years ago. Whatever happened to AIM anyway? I used to think it was so awesome. HA, I guess someone invented text messaging and gmail chat. ;p

Today's post is all about cleaning, in case you missed the title. I don't have a need for speed, but rather a need for clean. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a little (okay, a lot) OCD and I am quite a neat freak. My house is generally pretty tidy not because I have people over or anything, but because I live here. I can't stand clutter or mess in general. You know that saying that says "Don't mind the mess, we actually live here". That saying does not apply to me. I MUST keep my house clean. I clean something or some part of the house every day without fail. I have decided that to minimize time spent cleaning on a daily basis and maximize efficiency, I need a schedule. I created a cleaning schedule (see below) as a means of holding myself accountable to daily tasks, as well as monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Not that I don't already do most of these, but I do them TOO frequently and I wear myself out. My hope is that this will limit what I do each day, week, etc.

Not only do I love cleaning, but I also love being clutter-free. Since becoming a stay at home mom I have become more and more aware of all the STUFF that's in our home. I don't like extra stuff, especially if it hasn't been used in a while or serves little purpose. I stumbled upon this instagram challenge called "clutter free 30" and it was initiated by 3 different bloggers, one of which is Angie over at Country Chic Cottage. I'm a little behind the eight ball because she started the challenge on January 1st and it's now January 21st. Regardless, it's 30 days of de-cluttering your home. She has broken down each day into a 5-30 minute task so that by the end of 30 days you have your entire house de-cluttered. I'M SO EXCITED to do this! It's going to require some diligence on my part, as well as some creativity in keeping the babe occupied, but I'm going to commit to doing it, starting today with 3 bags of "stuff" in 30 minutes. That ought to be pretty easy right...*cough cough*

I also follow BuzzFeed, and they e-mail newsletters to my inbox with the coolest life hacks and tips for all kinds of stuff, specifically cleaning. :) I can't wait to get started! Hopefully this has encouraged you to try something maybe you're not super into. Does anyone have any useful tips or tricks that you use when cleaning/de-cluttering? If so, please share below or on my facebook post!