Organizational Planner for 2013

And so it begins...Were are in mid July and I now only have.. 

3 weeks until we're back to school!!

By back to school I mean back to my classroom for Parents as Teachers AND back to a start of a new Fall semester at UMSL.

Yay......

I am excited to start a new school year both as an educator and also as a student. BUT, I am not excited about all of the work that both entail. However, I LOVE getting organized and being organized is one thing that I must be in both my PAT classroom and in my social work classrooms at UMSL.

So, like any other year I began my search for a new planner for the year. My planner tends to be somewhat neglected during the summer months because I am not AS super duper busy as I normally am AND I'm over it. I don't want to plan anything, I want to take a break! I live out of my planner 10 months out of the year!

In my search I came across a planner that I fell in love with! Martha Stewart with Avery!

I LOVE these products..(I found this planner organization in one of my favorite organization blogs, a bowl full of lemons. She is listed under Blogs I love too!) Actually, I love ANYTHING Martha Stewart. Only one problem, I refuse to pay THAT MUCH for anything really. I like to do what I can for as little as I can. Andrew calls me cheap. I call it thrifty..Whatever... AND its only sold in Staples, which I can't seem to find one around me anymore. LAME.

For my job, PAT, I have to have a full size planner. I live out of this thing. I set my visits with each family and refer back to this daily. So I needed something bigger than that amazing Martha Stewart planner anyways.... Dang.

I like to grab 1 inch binders from Walmart or Target, which are cheap and find some fun scrap booking paper in my room of "crafts" and place it in the clear sleeves of the binder. I can switch these out as I find different styles I love. And I do, a lot!

It helps me to keep things color coded! I am setting appointments for PAT, soon Hospice clients, homework due dates, class times and schedules...the list goes on. So, I keep a color for each so it doesn't all blend together on the calendar! I have a marker and a pen for each color.

I also LOVE sticky notes... Small, medium and big sticky notes! Last semester I was so overwhelming busy that I had to write out what homework was due each week and mark it off as I completed it to make sure I didn't miss any due dates! That was hard, I was always loosing these note cards-NOT GOOD! So, instead I grabbed some lined sticky notes and stick it to my planner each week with a new list of TO DO'S! BTW, these clear pouches are like 86 cents at walmart! I love these and always keep extra in the craft room.

Next, my calendar. Can I just say how annoying it is that Walmart, Target and office stores DO NOT have enough calendars to pick from. I need one with a 3 hole punch already in the calendar and the only one I can ever find are IZA PEARL from Walmart. Super cheap too, like $6!

Behind the planner I like to keep dividers with tabs to keep up with other things like To Do lists for work and school. This is where I keep a list of phone calls that need to be returned at work and homework that needs to be completed each week. Any other things I need to keep behind these, I laminate before putting in my planner. This is where my lined sticky notes come in handy!! These were only $2 from Walmart! Super cute too!

Last, but not least... ;) I keep a heavy duty Mead folder for anything I need to hold onto for a little bit.

I found this one at Walmart and the corners are great for keeping  papers in place and  it has more places to store stuff! SWEET, I can hoard more crap! :) No, that is a good place for my business cards!

I did find smaller binders that I could use to make a smaller planning binder with, however, like I said I have to have the big one for work... :( But most people don't need one as large as mine!

I also, did the same for my school binder. Helps keep me organized with notes and papers in each class! All 5 classes! Yuck.

Also, I will be printing these AWESOME free printables that I found. They will go behind different tabs and will be help me stay organized as well!

I could make these on my own, but hey they are cute and free! The first one is something I would use every week! It would be very helpful! The second one is a great idea! I always store my weigh ins when I am trying to drop weight in my notes app on my phone, but I love this idea! Also, I would like to keep a water intake checklist with this too!

You can find these printables here and here!

Next, I get to organize ALL of my educational tools that I use on visits. Books, games, add on activities I've made, printables, the list goes on.

Karah

I'm through with you, la dee da!

Updates on day 1 and 2 of my 10 day herbal cleanse!!!

Mama always told me that I should play nice

She didn't know you when she gave me that advice

I'm through with you

LA DEE DA

I think that might be my favorite song to jump into the car and  jam out to right now! Done, by The  Band Perry! Right now I'm singing it to all of the yucky foods that I've been in love with for so long, were breaking up!! ;) This also makes me feel better when I am craving a NICE BIG SLICE OF PIZZA!!! YUM!!! 

Honestly, if you put it in front of me right now I wouldn't even be tempted to eat it. I'd probably read the ingredients and tell Andrew about all the crappy stuff he is eating. haha Poor Andrew, I'm sure he is getting sick of this already and its only DAY 3 of my 10 day herbal cleanse!!!

 WOOOOOHOOOOO!! Its day 3!!!! :)

So, what were my first two days like...?

Hold on a second while I run to the bathroom!! I have to pee!!!!

ok..not really..But..really!

I have been drinking a little over a gallon of water each day on the cleanse and going potty every 20 to 30 minutes!!!!!! ......Ain't nobody got time for that.

BTW, saying the word pee, it makes me cringe!! Maybe its because I've worked with children for as long as I can remember, but I prefer to use the word potty much more then pee. Also, I hate the words poop and fart...To my ears, when I hear adults or children say them you would think they just cussed me out! haha  Weird..I know.

Anyways, back to my gallon and something intake of water a day... These tumbler cups, which are everywhere these days are great for drinking lots of water. I have about 100,000,000,000 something of them in my house. I just make sure to keep filling these bad boys up during the day. I can get 3 cups of water with each refill!

My mom just gave me this cup before starting the cleanse! Yes, I am an obsessive dog lover..Well, animal lover!

These are great too!! Found this pack at Sams club for just $20 which is what it typically costs to buy one cup, lid and straw on its own.

Other than having to do the potty dance anytime I was not near a potty or busy doing something, I feel GREAT! I typically eat the crap out of processed (get it, get it...? ha), not so natural and yucky (but yummy!) foods. I'm sure my body is very confused. However, so far though, my body is loving me even more for making a change in my diet.  I have been working two 14 hour days and one 6 hour day each week this summer and those two 14 hour days really get me. Waking up at 5am is awful. I LOVE my sleep. I'm talking I don't feel right if I'm not getting 11 or 12 hours a night! I could go to bed at 7pm every night....Some nights I do!

I starting taking Spark which is an Advocare product a few days before starting the cleanse and I gave up my coffee. Surprisingly, I have not missed my coffee which I had to have EVERY MORNING to feel like I could somewhat function. 

Here is what Spark entails!

I drink a Spark first thing in the morning.Typically mix it and drink it as I am getting dressed and ready for the day. I've tried watermelon, a berry mix and pink lemonade which is my favorite and is the flavor I ordered to drink on my cleanse. I have energy all day long and can't even talk my body into my typical power nap, yes, even with 12 hours of sleep I could still take a nap! I don't feel like I'm dragging, especially on my 14 hour work days. Which is AWESOME!

Shortly after my morning spark, I drink lots of water and take my Advocare fiber drink. Yuck. Its not so yummy, however, I mix 4 oz of orange juice and 4 oz water and  then fiber mix together and chug. I typically down this in about 6 or 7 gulps! After that I again drink lots of water and have a cup of fruit or 3 egg whites and I am STUFFED!

it even looks nasty!

A couple hours later I have to have my second morning meal and I've found that I like doing 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats with a dash of cinnamon. I get my complexed carbs in and it keeps me full!

On day 2 I tried it with raisins...I ended just up picking them all out. I could eat oatmeal plain. Again, I drank lots of water.

Lunch time has been a salad with chicken, nuts and olives. Day 1 I just did a salad with fruit and I found that I was still hungry. I read that I needed to add a complex carb so day 2 I added brown rice. It was actually good and filling! Again, I drank lots of water!

With being so busy, I found it is easiest to always have chicken already baked in the fridge. I also made up two dinners on day 1 because I knew I would not be able to be home to cook on days 2 or 3. So I took 2 lbs of extra lean turkey meat and used 1 lb for meatballs and 1 lb for meatloaf. Neither of which turned out as pretty as they had last time I made them. I will have to compare recipes, as I switched it up a bit to make it a healthier and all natural meal. Both still tasted pretty good! Also, I had asparagus on the side! Yuck.. And..again, I drank lots of water!

I had to pack two lunch boxes to have my meals for my 14 hour work day, but I was well prepared even though I was busy!

My "I love my chihuahua" lunch box! Told you I was a bit obsessive!

Yes, I was hard to not chow down on the kids mac n' cheese and chicken nuggets at dinner or their ice cream sandwich....Really hard...But I ate my yummy and healthy food instead. 

I've learned with Weight Watchers that your weight can fluctuate and that it is best to only weight yourself on the same day, at the same time, once a week every week. SO, my weigh in days will be Mondays! It can truly drive you crazy if you step on that stinking scale every morning. Trust me, I've done it. My body feels good and I have energy and right now, that is enough for me!

Sorry for the super long post. I had planned on posting after each day, however, that's not going to happen. I've just been too busy! Last night when I got home after my 14 hour work day all I wanted to do was spend time with Bailey. Oh and Andrew of course and that's what I did. At bed time I took my herbal cleansing pills which I call my horse pills. These guys are HUGE! Again, drank lots of water and got ready for bed after catching up on Pretty Little Liars! What on earth did I do before tvo????? 

Hopefully, Ill have time to post tonight or tomorrow on day 3 so it is not as long next time however, FINALS are coming up in my summer classes, so again, I'll be busy. Wahhh.

BUT....

Y'all come back now, ya hear!

(haha my Me maw always says this and Andrew makes fun of me when I do. Shes from Texas!)

Karah

Past DIY Projects!

I love trying new DIY projects! Here are some things that I have attempted over the past year.

My next project will be a DIY headboard for our bedroom! Hopefully will be able to have this done soon!

Anyways,

Andrew and I have been in our home for a little over two years now. At first it felt like we would NEVER be able to finish every room! We started with one room at a time. First we did the living room, then the kitchen, our bedroom, the craft room and then our bathrooms! 

There is still so much that needs to be done, BIG THINGS like new counter tops in the kitchen, new flooring in pretty much every room of the house and updating our bathrooms! These are things that will take some time.

Here are some before and afters, what our home looked like at first and how it has slowly changed (and still changing)!

Got rid of that yucky green wall, wall paper, and white walls! It took a lot of painting and time but it was worth it! 

I painted the table in the kitchen an the coffee table in the living room!

Moving onto the craft room! This is where I hide all things craft and for school!

With a little paint on some old furniture, some stenciling and covering old canvases with some new fabric my craft room was finished! Well..almost finished!

Here are some things I did over Christmas!

I love getting into the holidays with making things! Andrew and I even made our own gingerbread house too!

Karah

Been there, done that!

Today I am starting my first day of the 10 day advocare herbal cleanse!

I am pretty excited and ready to get started on my goal of 10 days of clean eating. 

This summer my mom was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.(Post to come later!) Knowing that this is something that is in our family, I have really been obsessing about clean eating lately. I just didn't know where to start. Everything I have read about this cancer has been stressing how important it is to put good things into your body to help prevent your risks of this cancer. 

This is SCARY because everything we eat these days is full of CRAP! 

I am by far no where near a healthy eater! I do not remember being at a healthy weight since high school. About a year or so after high school I was the heaviest and most unhealthy that I have ever been! Living on my own for the first time and not really knowing how or what to eat...it will get ya!

December 2009 185lbs!!

Spring of 2010 140lbs!!

 Yeah...I like the second picture much better than the first!! 

I don't think you can REALLY see how much weight I had put on in the first picture because I refused to take any pictures where I was not covered up by people, dogs, blankets or SOMETHING but it was bad! And...I deleted every single picture I found of myself at that weight. I just did not feel like myself. But the reality of it is...we can't put bad food into our bodies and expect to feel or look good! Also, that was a point in my life where I was in a 7 year long relationship and I just was not happy anymore. I found that not being happy with something in my life pushed me to make even unhealthier choices!

I feel like I have truly been there and done that with many "diets" that I hear or read about. Nothing ever really taught me how to eat right and I never kept the weight off. (Until I tried Weight Watchers that is!)

So, what have I tried...?

Lets see.....

In those pictures above I lost about 15lbs without trying to. After ending that relationship, moving back home, not cooking for myself anymore and eating my mom's food again I lost weight. But my mom and I starting doing the HTC diet. 

I know...I know...But it was the cool thing to do then! 

I lost a lot of weight, like 4 or 5lbs a week! That is how I went from 185 to 140 in only a few months! I loved seeing these quick results, BUT as I've learned these get skinny quick diets DO NOT WORK! Yes, I lost weight but NO, I was not able to keep all of it off after the diet. And I did not learn a thing about eating healthy.

Lets see...What did I do next? Counting calories! Yeah.....That did not work well for me! I felt like I was always hungry when doing this and never could keep myself where I needed to be. I used apps like myfitnesspal and other popular apps I found. But I quickly got bored with that!

Between all of this I slowly gained back 10 lbs here and there after dropping 45lbs. I got up to 155 and stayed there for a while. I even attempted nutrisystem! This was incredibly expensive might i add!!! I didn't love the meals, but I did love the protein shakes. I lost maybe 10 lbs in two weeks!! BUT, like I said lose weight quick diets don't work....I gained it all right back. ANNOYING!!!!!!!

But around December of 2011 I began having some serious dizziness! We thought maybe it was vertigo and then a number of other things..It took doctors and specialists months of tests and different meds to figure out that it was inner ear migraines! My doctor put me on a medicine that had some yucky side effects. One of them being that my stomach couldn't tell my brain when it was full! So between December 2011 and May of 2012 I had gained back about 20lbs!!!

 Uhg. Here we go again!

May 2012 back up to 175lbs!
Here is my amazing family! My grandparents came into town from Houston, Texas for my sister, Kayla's hs graduation!

December 2012 back down to 160 lbs!
Crazy what dropping 15lbs can do!

How did I do it this time...?

Well, for starters took myself off of the medicine that was NO HELP and with that alone I felt much better! Also, I spent some many nights praying that God would put his hands on me and help me with these inner ear migraines as they were really affecting my everyday life and nothing I did seemed to help. I tried to focus on getting healthier in hopes that this would help ease some dizziness! After doing some research, I found that Weight Watchers truly has a great reputation for helping people change their lifestyle when it comes to making healthier choices! Well, Weight Watchers helped me! A lot! Over time I gained more knowledge on the foods that I was eating and how to make better choices. This is how I was able to eventually drop the 15 lbs.  It did take time, about a 1 or 2 lbs a week, but It stayed off and I felt much better! My inner ear migraines (dizziness) disappeared with time also! Today, July 2013 I've maintained my weight loss! :) It fluctuates about 2 or 3 lbs depending on when I step on the scale each week. But on my first day of my 10 day challenge, I'm weighing in at 162 and that is where I am starting! 

Again, my hopes here are to gain more knowledge about the foods I am eating and work hard to avoid processed foods, hormones, pesticides and other yucky things like that! To learn more about clean eating. I want to lower my risk of cancer, cancers that run in my family! I just want to try to get rid of my daily headaches! All in all....I would just like to feel healthier! I decided to use a blog as a place to keep track of my progress (and even setbacks) as a way of motivating myself. :) 

We shall see how I feel 10 days from now!

Karah