Whoa Buddy!

WHOA BUDDY have we been busy!  The last two days have consisted of purging, cleaning, and organizing of mass proportions!  You see, I had a VERY cluttered garage.  I've been cleaning it out here and there when the hubby wasn't looking, but nothing massive.  And I had been helping him to organize the things he wanted to keep.  I'm a store and label kinda gal, so that's what I had been doing slowly as to not KILL myself.  Well, then the farm called and said *GASP* our meat will be delivered Weds.!  WOOT!  So, I needed to clean out the garage to get a clear path to the deep freezer.  AND I also needed to get that deep freezer organized like crazy.  And I did!  THANK YOU TARGET!  I got 4 of those milk crates for $3 each and then some other little nesting/stacking storage bins and now you can get to ANYTHING in that bad puppy!  I dig it.  But, I also took a HUGE load of stuff to Goodwill.  Then there are TWO trashcans stuffed to the gills.  Luckily, regular trash ran today, but now recycling is overflowing.  Going to have to break out the spare can!  I really should take a pic and post since I searched and searched for ideas to organize a deep freezer and no one seemed to have any great ideas.  My hubby was impressed!  He even got out there today and ended up doing a bunch of organizing and purging, too!  This is the best our garage has looked in FOREVER!  While he worked in the garage, my oldest and I got to work on the family room and rec area.  He was GOOD and got rid of a bunch of stuff.  Now that area is neat and organized again!

I am thinking we will take a break from that for a bit to do a few projects.  Then once those are done, we will go back and do some more organizing and whatnot.  I would really like to do the area under our stairs and go through the attic again.  We did it once before, but at the time we didn't have much money to put into replacing things so I know we sorta held on to a lot of stuff.  I'd like to clear it back out.  I think when money is tight, you're more reluctant to get rid of things because you just never know when you will get to replace it.  And even though I wouldn't consider us 'broke' or 'poor', I tend to be a worrier.  I live on a budget and like to save and if there are changes, my darn brain panics and reads us as broke.  LOL  So, when I feel like we are 'short', I automatically tend to slightly hoard things for 'just in case'.  I'm trying to get out of that mindset.  And now that we have paid off some things and built our savings back up, I'm feeling more at ease.  So, it's time to go through those boxes and things again with a fresh eye.  And if I don't use it and haven't used it in a while, it's going to be time to let it go.  I can donate, sell, or recycle it.  Last resort is trash.

Another thing I've been thinking on lately is my oldest's bedroom.  They make these loft beds with a futon under them and he loves them... but he won't sleep on the top bunk.  So, we have a futon downstairs and we've been thinking of using that for his bed.  It would take up about the same amount of room as his current bed, but if he wanted to sit it up and use it for a couch, he could.  I just don't know if it's worth the trouble from day to day.  Right now, we're not super happy with his room because it seems as if the furniture is just too large.  But at the same time, we hate to buy new furniture that he might just up and destroy.  Our original plan was to use old furniture from other things (that I refinished black) until he was old enough to get a more 'big boy' style bedroom.  He got this stuff at about... 3?  Maybe 4... Anyways, we thought he could use it until he was about 8 to 10, but now we are wondering if that was the best idea.  It's holding up well, it's just BIG!  We had thought of an IKEA bedroom since it wouldn't be crazy expensive.  UGH.  Not sure WHAT to do!  But I feel like something needs to give because his room always looks... crowded.  My Mom thinks we're crazy and should just leave it alone, but we need better organization for in there.  It's one of the few rooms that I have REALLY had an issue with getting together.  I think the solution is to get rid of the armoir, dresser, and bookshelf and get an all-in-one system.  Maybe mixing some of the Trofast and Malm stuff from Ikea.  We could keep the bed and maybe the nightstand.  I'm just not sure what to do.  I'm not sure why his room is proving to be so difficult!

On a good note, I have been keeping busy.  I weighed this AM and saw 201.5.  I know that is only another half a pound down, but considering I am about to start my cycle and this is only Weds., I'll take it!  Every little bit will help.  But today, I think I will take it easy.  I do need to do a few things, but I have had 4 pretty busy days so today should be a calmer day.  I need a down day once in a while!  LOL  I may read and take it easy.  But I probably should do some stuff!  LOL  Like, fold another load or two of laundry.  But I don't want to be on my feet for hours and hours today.  Especially since I took a fall downstairs on the concrete floor.  My knee is a bit sore.  Yup, sounds like a good day to take it easy if I can actually do it!  LOL  But already, my brain is thinking it would be nice to go outside and do some weeding during naptime.  But I really shouldn't.  LOL

I don't know what to say about food.  I haven't done much with it to be honest.  I am still trying to have my shakes but I am attempting to have a different kind each day.  I was reading that your body absorbs nutrients best when you mix them up.  So, one day I have a blueberry and spinach, the next raspberry and banana, and then today I was thinking of having strawberry.  I may have some mango or something left in the freezer to mix in with it.  Or I could do a splash of orange juice.  Now, I know what you're thinking... this isn't low carb!  Well, yes and no.  It's not traditional low carb, but I'm not using anything artificial and I am focusing on getting in a mixture of nutrients.  I am having carbs.  Just not cheap, highly processed, lack of nutrient carbs.  I just feel like maybe the reason I keep stalling out is I am missing something, nutrient wise.  I have been feeling better getting in the extra protein and the mixture of greens and fruits.  The only other thing is I have been trying not to eat carbs later in the day and evening and when I eat a meal, I'm focusing more on the veggies.  I am pretty much eating two bites of veg for every bite of protein.  And of course lots of water.  I DO need to get better about my vitamins, though.  I do great for a couple of days and then backslide and forget.  Hard to keep up with that when there are SO many things to keep up with!

But I'm feeling good.  I just really want to focus on the type of foods and staying busy since I don't seem to ever be able to do 'formal' exercise anymore.  I do miss it, and we're working towards it.  I just think that right now I need to focus on my protein shakes and getting lots of extra fruit and veg in there and continuing to stay away from man-made carbs.  I probably still won't go back to eating rice and potatoes, but I may have them when they sound good.  I just hope that I figure out what I am lacking that is slowing me down and can get it straightened out.  Especially if it is a nutrient thing!  I never understood why people tracked their micro and macronutrient intake until now.  Makes lots of sense!  Now I just need to find a way to incorporate even more veg and some fruit into my diet.  I'm loving the shakes, but I'm a bit.... hesitant, I guess is the word... to try other greens.  I've read that parsley is great, and so is kale, but kale is bitter.  Going to do some more research here in a bit to see what I can find.

I think that is enough rambling for today.   You ladies have a great day!