No Time! No Time! No Time!

So things have been super crazilicious around here lately.  I feel like I have absolutely no time to get anything done, and I have so much to get done!  In fact the last few days have felt kind of like a big blur!  Do you ever have days like that?

Lately, if I'm not online checking in with groups, or on Team Beachbody, or reading other blogs, I'm cleaning up my house (it has gotten quite messy over the last few months), working out, making food to eat later or RIGHT NOW CUZ I'M HUNGRY, taking kids to classes and concerts and open house, cleaning up dead fish and shopping for new ones, looking into getting either a hamster or guinea pig for my daughter (BIG MAYBE ON THAT - AND WE ALREADY HAVE 2 DOGS AND 2 CATS), squeezing in time to catch up with friends, and trying to plan Mother's Day lunch at my house.

Let me give you an example of what this week has been like.
Tuesday:
-Get up
-Get kids dressed
-Feed kids
-Chug water
-Eat breakfast
-Take kids to school (although my awesome husband usually does that)
-Check in on my FB groups and post on my FB page
-Workout (lately with hubby)
-Chug more water
-Eat a mid morning snack
-Check in on FB again and check Team Beachbody, all my emails, and read some blogs, and comment on some blogs,
-Walk the dogs (this is a real walk, not some sissy take them out to do their thing kind of walk)
-Chug more water
-Pick up kids from school
-Make a late lunch for me
-Have kids do their homework
-Have son take a shower (they had a school thing that night)
-Get daughter ready for tap and ballet
-Chug some water
-Take daughter to dance classes
-Come home and shower
-Get dressed and start make-up
-Chug some more water
-Go back and pick up daughter with wet hair and almost no make-up on
-Get both children dressed for their Open House/Spring Concert thing
-Blow-dry my hair and finish make-up
-Go downstairs and wait while husband comes home lets out the dogs, feeds them and locks them up, then leave for the Open House/Concert
-Find seats in the gym, and then take daughter to her classroom
-Watch daughter's class sing (and during the last song my husband takes my son to his classroom and then waits to pick up my daughter from hers)
-Watch son's class sing (oh and I videotaped all of this with my phone - my arms were very tired)
-Go pick up son in his room, say hello to the teacher, look at all the stuff there is to see in his room and take a picture of him with his teacher
-Head back down to my daughter's classroom to say hello to the teacher, look at all the stuff there is to see in her room and take a picture of her with her teacher
-Finally go home
-Take the kids up to get them ready for bed (pajamas, tooth-brushing, washing hands, and snuggles)
-Change into pajamas
-Come back downstairs and eat something and collapse on the couch!
-Enjoy some decaf green tea, a very small and healthy treat, and some TV time with my hubby
-Chug some more water
-Go to bed.

You will notice that while I was this busy, I still took time to exercise, eat regularly and drink plenty of water.  Although I left out all the times I peed.  I didn't think you needed to know each and every time that happened (but it was a lot).
And all I have to show for this are some videos on my phone and these great pictures of my kids.  :)

So this is why I haven't been blogging as much lately, but I will continue to make the effort to be here more often for those of you who like to read what I have to say...even when it's crazy!  But after Mother's day I plan on being much more consistent.  And I'll have a much cleaner house too!  LOL!

Do you have a good story about a crazy week?  Or even just a super crazy day?  I'd love to hear about it.

Shopping Therapy

So I meant to post this last Friday, but life got in the way...again.  What else is new?  LOL! 

ANYWAY...  I was having a real slump of a day last week and I just couldn't seem to get over the hump.  I woke up with a really bad headache.  One of those that is all over your head.  Bleh.  I took some meds and that seemed to help, but I was still kind of blah.  So I did my workout, I showered, I read part of a book, but nothing seemed to be helping.  I even cleaned up part of my kitchen hoping that the accomplishment would make me feel better.  Nope!

Later in the day I'd finally had it.  I had promised my daughter we would go get her new shoes after we took her brother to his class.  We went to the store, and not only did she get shoes, but she got a new wallet and a hat to boot!  Now shopping with my daughter is always fun because she is such a fashionista (and I could kind of care less)!  But once we were done with her, we wandered into the women's section and it occurred to me that maybe what I need is something to look forward to, like maybe some new workout clothes!  Oh yeah, that was totally what I needed!  Here's what I got:

I know it may seem boring to buy new workout clothes, but when you also need to get them in a smaller size, then it's extra fun!

So that was pretty much all I would have told you about if I had posted this last Friday.  But I'm happy to say there is now more to the story.  :)

This weekend I had a chance to spend time with some dear friends.  And believe it or not, we went shopping!  I don't know if you know this, but I am also pretty crafty.  I like to make a lot of my own stuff.  I don't mean clothes, but jewelry, purses, etc.  That kind of stuff.  Anyway, my friends have some projects they wanted to work on and they wanted my help.  So I went down to the city (Chicago) to visit and we ended up running over to Michael's Craft Store while I was there.  Now, this can be very dangerous for me.  Every time I go there I find more stuff that I HAVE to have.  And NO!  It can not wait.  I must have it now!  (And if you saw all the stuff I already have, you'd wonder what the heck is wrong with me. I think it's an addiction.) 
So we went to get them some extra beads and some stuff to string them on, and of course I ended up with some beads of my own, some new string, earring hooks, and a few other things to make said earrings.
We went back to their apartment and since they needed so much help I ended up not making anything!  LOL!  (Guess I didn't NEED to buy that stuff after all, huh?)  But it was still so much fun.  And I DID end up making something this morning before I posted this, and I'm really excited about it.  It's not much, but, well, you'll see in a minute.

So this week I am trying very hard to be aware of my water intake.  I mean I usually get my 64 oz. minimum, but this week I want to make sure I get MORE!  I'm holding water again and I really want to flush it out.  So this is what I made this morning as a constant reminder to keep drinking the H2O!

I plan to wear this everyday for the next week or 2.  And I am not alone in this either.  I'm having a bunch of my friends track their daily water with me.
Anyway, all I can say is that by doing some shopping therapy, and getting out my normal rut, I was able to find my mojo again and keep going.

So what do you do when you find yourself in a slump?

Milk and Cookies! Oh Yeah!

Well, I took a week off of blogging.  Oops!  It happens.  Last week was rough, so this just dropped lower on my priority list.  But I'm back and as a thanks for still being a follower I've got a sweet treat for you!  And it's all clean!  (ok, well mostly  =D  )

So I've decided that it is more economical to make my own Almond Milk since I am using it every day now.  There are a TON of different recipes out there for this, but I kind of found a few and then adjusted to my own liking.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of plain almonds
16 oz hot water
24 oz filtered water (cold)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Take the almonds and soak them overnight in the hot water.  You can leave them out or throw them in the fridge once the water cools.  (If you are in a serious rush, you CAN soak them for only an hour-it comes out almost the same.)  Once you are done soaking, rinse the almonds well and place in a blender with 24 oz filtered water, vanilla, and cinnamon (in reality I probably shake the cinnamon in and use about 3-4 shakes, but thought you'd like an actual measurement.)

Blend on the highest setting for about 2-3 minutes.  Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or use a nut bag (I need to get one of these!)  Make sure to press or squeeze out all the moisture.  And "Ta-Da!"  You now have almond milk.  Just pour it into a container and store it in the refrigerator.
By the way, you can make it plain too or add any other seasonings to it when mixing to create different flavors.

Now before you throw away all that great nut pulp, here are some things you can do with it so you don't waste it!  You can toast it and use it as a topping on yogurt, you can mix it in with granola or cereal, you can dry it out and grind it up more and use it as almond flour, or you can store it in the fridge or freezer as is and use it in this next recipe...for COOKIES!

A friend of mine recently posted about finding some easy and quick to make cookies that were totally clean and healthy for you.  So of course I had to try them... I LOVE COOKIES!!!!  They really are totally easy, and they are pretty good too.

The basic recipe is:
2 ripe bananas
1 cup quick oats
(and then add anything you want, I used cinnamon, raisins, and some vanilla extract).

The second time I made these I changed it a little because I thought my first batch was a little too gooey.  So here is my revamped version of this easy cookie.  And of course this time I made them chocolate chip!

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1 1/4 cups quick oats
2 tbsp. flax seeds
almond pulp (from making almond milk - it's around 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 cup Enjoy Life brand semi-sweet mini chips (depends how much chocolate you want!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mash the bananas until they are basically like baby food.  (I just mash them up with a fork - I get a good arm workout that way - LOL!)  Add in oats, vanilla, flax seeds, and almond pulp.  Stir all ingredients together by hand until well blended.  Add in the chocolate chips (or whatever you decide to use).  Spoon mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet (I make them about 1 1/2 inch diameter).  I usually get about 8 on each sheet.  Bake for 15-17 minutes.  Let cool on the sheet for about 1-2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Then EAT!  Just don't eat the whole batch!
I seriously have to watch how many of these I eat each day.  When someone tells you that there is a cookie out there that you can eat while staying healthy, it can be pretty hard to stop.  But I limit myself to 3 max per day (if I can!)  I also added dried cherries to part of this batch, but the plain chocolate chip ones were my favorite.  Kind of like chocolate chip banana bread...YUM!  But there is so much you can do with this recipe.  That's one of the reasons I love it.  I think next time I'm going to try them with chopped up apple.  Maybe I'll be able to control myself better that way!  LOL!

What would you put in them?