Make it Monday & Try it Tuesday combined!

I didn't forget about Make it Monday! I was just so busy yesterday, that I didn't get a chance. And today is Try it Tuesday! So let's do them both right now!

Today I made carpet freshener. I tried it and I loved it! It's super easy to make and can replace your chemical filled carpet freshener that you currently have in your stash of cleaning products!

Recipe:

1 cup baking soda
15-20 drops of your favorite Young Living essential oils ( I did 10 drops purification and 10 drops of citrus fresh)


Directions:

Mix oils into the baking soda and store in glass mason jar with lid. Poke holes in the top of the lid of the jar to make it into a shaker!

Sprinkle on carpet and let it sit for 15 minutes and then vacuum it up!

Swing of things

It has been a hectic last 6 or so days. Mom left to go back to Florida on Sunday, so the few days before then, I was busy with spending as much time as I could with her! After bringing her to the airport on Sunday morning, I came home, meal planned for the week and just reflected on the time that I got to spend with her. Do any of you meal plan? I try to meal plan our dinners and I try to make them healthy, but with a toddler who likes to show his independence by not eating what you make, it gets quite difficult and frustrating. So now it's time to get back into the swing of things.

Monday it was back to work and I really tried to focus on getting back into the grind of things. When Mom was here, as much as I love her, I didn't really stick to a daily plan, a daily workout, etc. So I really wanted to make Monday count. And I did. I began my 2nd 24 day challenge. Man I love that stuff. I ate some pretty yummy food while Mom was here. And when I say yummy, I don't mean yummy and healthy. I mean bread with cinnamon sugar butter, big fat burgers, pancakes, donuts, etc! (Gotta love it!) So I figured now would be a great time to start another challenge, because the first 10 days is a cleanse. So let's cleanse my system of all the bad food and start filling it the way I was before! I did 2 of my bootcamp workouts and I was dripping sweat by the first 10 minutes. Have you ever heard of BodyRock workouts? They are awesome and free. And they are sent to your inbox everyday and are 10 minutes long a piece. So you can't say you don't have time. You have time. They have beginner and intermediate workouts and you can tailor them to you. But you need to push yourself. In order to change, you need to challenge yourself.

Today was great too! I did another 2 workouts, cuddled with Andrew, and got every thing done on my will-do list. This is all while working full time from home. People always say "Man, I would LOVE to work from home!" But let me tell you something, it is hard. When you are at the office, you work. When you go home, you're home. But when your home is your office, your work hat is always on. (Even if they don't ask you to, you are constantly checking your emails, texts, etc) Now throw a 2 year old short tempered toddler boy into the mix. Now we got ourselves a challenge folks. Between changing diapers, feeding him, holding his cars, him sitting on my lap, stealing my phone, turning the lights off and his screaming fits, I am on the phone, writing emails, answering texts and more. And I'm crazy enough to be an Advocare Advisor and a Young Living distributor all at the same time. Call me crazy, and some days I pull my hair out and just cry because I think it's too much, but I love my life.

I hope everyone else has had a great last few days! Xoxo

It's Make It Monday!

So if anyone in my oily facebook group is reading this, it's Make It Monday! (For all of you newbies, I try to make something new with my oils and I share the recipe and the outcome!)

Today, I made laundry detergent! It turned out awesome and I have a load in the washer right now! So you will have to check back to see how my sheets turned out! (Eeek! Can you feel my excitement?!?)

I had a couple of reasons why I wanted to make my own laundry detergent. First, most store bought laundry detergent is graded D or F on http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners.  And I use Purex All and Clear, which I thought was perfectly safe. Which it totally isn't. Second, Andrew has sensitive skin. I remember one time I bought a different "all and clear" detergent and he broke out on his tummy and back and it wasn't fun. And the last reason why I wanted to make my own detergent is PRICE! Am I cheap? No. Do I always look for a good deal? You betcha.

So on Walmart.com, you can get a bottle of Purex All and Clear for $3.97. And it states on the bottle that it's good for 50 loads. But let's all be honest here, we all measure above the line they recommend. Amiright? Let's say you really only get 40 loads out of your bottle. That makes it $0.99 cents per load. With this recipe that I made, it calls for 1/3 cup for each load and the recipe makes 2 gallons. Which, if I did my math correctly, makes it to be $0.04 cents per load. That is a savings of $0.95 cents a load! Cha-ching!

Homemade Laundry Detergent
3/4 C - Castile soap
1/2 C - Super washing soda
1/2 C - Baking soda
1/4 C - Thieves cleaner
30 drops of essential oils (I did 15 drops of Lavender and 15 drops of Purification)
Hot water
One 2 gallon bucket or one large beverage container (Like the one I used)

Add washing soda and baking soda to the bucket and add enough hot tap water to cover the dry ingredients. Stir well to dissolve.
Fill the bucket with hot tap water, leaving an inch of room at the top of the bucket.
Add the Castile Soap and the Thieves Cleaner.
Add the essential oils.
Be careful and stir everything until well mixed.
Pour detergent into 2 one gallon containers or into a large beverage container.
Use 1/3 cup of the detergent per load.

Is there anything in your house that you would like to replace with a natural, chemical free version? Let me know! Maybe I will make it my next Monday's mission!

I'm also hosting a "Spring Cleaning, Naturally" class on Facebook this Thursday, if you want to join, let me know! I will getcha in there!

Happy cleaning!
Xoxo

Just a girl with goals

It's almost the end of February, is everyone still sticking to their New Years resolutions? I don't call mine resolutions. I call mine goals. Every time I've set "resolutions", I've given up on myself. This year I decided I would call mine goals and for some reason, this year I gave myself more than one goal.

First goal was to read more. To unplug from the computer, TV and to put down the iPhone and pick up a book is what I wanted to gain this year. As of right now, I am 2 books down and on my 3rd. I've learned all about Mindy Kaling from "The Mindy Project." Pretty good book, a super easy read. I really enjoyed reading it. The 2nd book I've read is by Jenna Wolfe and it's titled "Thinner in 30." Totally great book. It is a book of 30 changes. The goal of the book is make one change a day to become a healthier you. I really took to the book. I enjoyed it and now I'm passing it off to a new friend of mine. The book I'm currently reading is #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso. She went from checking ID's in an Art School to becoming a millionaire by selling vintage clothes on Ebay. I'm only on chapter 2, so I got nothing for you on that one. :)

My second goal is to change all of my attempts at being healthy into a permanent change. I faithfully take my supplements every morning with my Spark. Once I have that, I bust my butt and do a workout that Kristi tries to kill me with daily and then drink my delicious meal replacement shake. Then throughout the day, I make sure I get 10,000 steps. If I go to bed at 11:00pm and I see that I didn't get all my steps in, you bet your butt I'm up jogging or walking in place to get there.

Besides the physical part, I am really focusing on my food. I bet Kristi gets 10 pictures a day of what I'm eating and I ask her 20 questions about what I can eat, how does she do this, should i do low carb or high carb today, etc. And don't get me started on macros. But I really enjoy it and every day I wake up ready for the next challenge. When I complete a workout that she gives me or if I make an amazing healthy meal, I really celebrate and I take it in. Because I did it.

Third goal is to really utilize essential oils. I've always diffused and used an oil here or there for headaches, back aches, energy boosts, etc. But this goal is to insert the oils more into our daily lives. So far I've used some in my cooking (lime, cinnamon and nutmeg OH MY!) and I've made a sleepy cream that we rub on Andrew's feet every night after his bath. It helps him relax and gets him to not throw such a fit when it's bedtime. Cos my kid can throw a freaking fit.  Now I have everything I need to make my own homemade laundry soap! All natural laundry detergent is on my "will do list" for tomorrow. I don't make "to do lists". Because I never get them done. But a "will do list" in front of me, makes me do it! So weird how changing one word changes your perspective.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Xoxo

A dress

Mom and I went to Kohl's yesterday to browse the clearance sections and to use up our Kohl's cash. I saw a dress, picked it up and I fell in love with it. Then I looked at the size. Large. I put it back. I can't remember the last time I bought something that said "large" on it, unless the word "extra" came before it. My mom took it back off the shelf and told me she wanted to buy it for me as a goal. Something I could reach for. Something I would one day be able to put on and be proud of the hard work that I've done. 

So she bought the dress, no matter how many times I told her she didn't have to. It was on clearance for $13.00! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Such a good deal. Anyway, we brought it home and put it on a hanger to display. This way I could see it every day and stay on track with my daily and short term goals. 

Today, mom had the idea that I should try it on and take a before picture. This way when I could visually see my hard work. When I took it off the hanger, I totally thought my "before" picture would be of me with my hands above my head with the dress somewhere stuck between my shoulders and my chest. I could just see my mom and I laughing our butts off because I'd be stuck with this stupid dress on me and my mom would be trying to take a picture. Guess what? The dress fit. I am definitely going to keep it hanging up because it will definitely fit a little better once I lose another inch or two. 

But after I was in the dress, twirling around, smiling from ear to ear, I realized just how much I beat myself up over this dress. Before I tried it on, I was telling myself I couldn't fit in a large yet, that the work I have done wasn't enough so far. But I was wrong. The work that I have done has paid off and I can't wait to see what surprises me next. 

Xoxo

Be your own Rocky

So lately I've been really focusing on my health and fitness. I have a friend (Kristi, who is probably reading this right now) who has been keeping me accountable. She's been really helping me keep an eye on my macros and my fitness. Before 2016, I had no idea what a macro was and I couldn't even do 5 sit ups.

I did 10 sit ups tonight. TEN. Can I tell you how amazing that made me feel? I felt like Rocky after winning the world championship. I laid on the floor afterwards in shock and pure happiness. I laid there, punching the air saying 'yes! yes! yes!'. I had my own little celebratory moment. It was my moment and I don't think I will ever forget it.

I've never been able to do a sit up. Like ever. My back couldn't handle it. My stomach was too big and in the way. My boobs are ginormous. You know what those are? Excuses. The truth? I didn't believe in myself. I was lazy and I didn't think I was worth the try. But lately, I've been really focusing on myself.

Now is my time. I make egg white omelets for breakfast (crazy delish!), I make a healthy lunch and I try to eat a sensible dinner. I still love my bad foods, but I really am trying. It took me 33 years to become unhealthy, physically and mentally. I'm not going to become fit and happy with myself overnight. It's going to take small changes, everyday. Tonight, we had homemade stir-fry for dinner. It was oh-my-gosh amazing. It was FULL of veggies like broccoli, red pepper, snap peas, carrots and onions. We added some stir-fry sauce to it, so it wasn't "clean" eating, but that is okay by me. I would have never ate this before. My past self would of seen too many veggies and not enough meat and carbs. It was beautiful, colorful, crunchy and delicious. Definitely going to have to make it again soon.

Note to self, enjoy the small milestones. Be your own Rocky. You are totally loving it and you are worth it.

An introduction.

Before I begin writing and throwing everything that goes through my mind out into a world unknown, let me just go over some background of this life that I've created. Here are some quick facts about me that most of you who read this already know, but there could be one or two people who have no idea who Beth Wellman is.

• I am 33 years old (gasp!), I recently relocated from Florida to Michigan and I am a work-from-home-mom.
• I am married to Rich, he is 31, works at a major retailer and is a sports lover.
• We have a son named Andrew. He is a 2 year old, super curious, short tempered blue eyed boy.
• Chloe is our dog. She is a chihuahua and will be 5 years old this year. She can seriously get on our last nerves, but she is ours.
• I am an assistant at a company that I love very much. I have been there for 5 years. When I moved to Michigan, they changed my position to a virtual position, so I could stay with them.
• I am an essential oil enthusiast, a beginner on my health and fitness journey and a lover of life. 

Welcome to my blog. I hope that you enjoy it.