Free Weight Loss App

Since Beth is sharing her triathlon and 10K training journey, I thought these 2 apps that I use and like would be appropriate to share.

The first one is called "Lose It".  It is free and is basically a calorie tracker. I like it because it is super easy to use and being able to track calories on the go is very convenient.  I have also found that when I am forced to eat fast food (on a trip or something), I've been able to look up calorie info quickly through this app and it helps make a decision on what I can eat that wouldn't blow my whole daily calorie consumption. 

Second is an app Beth recommended to me last year called "Log Your Run".  This is basically just what it sounds like -- a way to record your route, time, and distance (and therefore pace) for your run or bike or walk.  I used it quite a bit last spring and summer.  I didn't want to pay for an app, and I will be the first to admit this one is not without its problems.  I found that when I ran on the bike trail near my house I often lost info -- it would tell me I'd gone 1 mile instead of 4.  I was always too preoccupied with running to notice it and problem solve, but I suspect it had more to do with phone reception than the app itself.  But just a warning in case you decide to try it.

Does anyone else have any favorite fitness or health apps they'd like to share -- free or not?

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Project Life 2012

Wow, are we really almost a week into 2012?  I can't believe it.  I feel like time goes faster every year.

I've spent the past month getting ready for Christmas, doing all the fun Christmas activities like making gingerbread houses and watching The Polar Express.  I've volunteered in my kids' classrooms and helped with Christmas parties.  My family spent Christmas Eve in downtown Cincinnati taking a carriage ride, seeing Santa, shopping, and having a great dinner overlooking Fountain Square.  And the day after Christmas we headed to sunny Miami for a week where we had great weather.  Unfortunately, we had to get back to real life and I didn't get to stay long enough to watch my Mountaineers demolish Clemson in The Orange Bowl, but seeing it on tv was pretty great too.  I also worked at the SPCA for a couple of days in early December, doing exams, vaccines and microchips.  It was fun to work again and a great easy way to get my feet wet after a 4 year absence!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season.  I always find it a little hard to transition back to the routine after the holidays, especially knowing how long winters seem in Ohio.   I am still writing thank you notes for Christmas gifts and trying to wrap that up also.

I have written several posts about scrapbooking before and I'm sure you're all aware of my love for digital scrapbooking and photoshop.  This year when I finished my yearly book it wasn't nearly as fun for me as it has been the past 6 years so I decided to try something different to document 2012.  I will still do my yearly digital scrapbook because I love the result too much to abandon it, and I also love that I can print multiple copies as gifts.  At this point, my family expects it  so I'm stuck!  But I thought I would add another scrapbook for just our immediate family this year, one that is a little more personal and maybe captures some of the more mundane aspects of everyday life.  I am choosing a format that will allow lots of flexibility and will also let me incorporate some of the digital scrapbooking into it.

So I decided to do "Project Life".  This system is the brainchild of Becky Higgins, and it is designed to make scrapbooking very easy.  The basic kit looks great, but you can customize it as much as you want and make it as elaborate as you want.  It seems to be a great way to start scrapbooking for those who have never done it before and are intimidated by the idea of creating everything from scratch.

Here's the link for the Becky Higgins website that describes Project Life.  You order a core kit that is made up of journaling and decorative cardstock pieces, a binder (I think you could use any 12x12 scrapbook with rings), and page inserts which come in multiple configurations. 

Here's what I ordered so far.  I can't wait to get it!!

Clementine Core Kit

Clementine Cardstock

I'm waiting to order my page dividers because they are out of the kinds I want (I have a few that will work to start with).  I am also waiting for the black binder, which should be available in a couple of weeks.  I prefer the black exterior to the more colorful ones.

If you're looking for a way to organize your photos and memories in 2012 this is a great system.  Take a look at Becky's blog and you'll see many different ways people have used the basic system to create a personalized scrapbook.



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Progress!

So, I posted pictures of my house on Tuesday evening.  Just wanted to show you the progress I made on Wednesday.

In the living room, we picked up the junk new toys, put the train table back together, took down the Christmas tree and the Christmas decorations from the mantle.  I also swept and really need to shampoo, but didn't get to that yesterday.

In the kitchen, I swept and mopped and even pulled out the stove and fridge and swept and mopped under them as well.  That's a job that I think should be done every 3 months or so but I usually only get to it once or twice a year.  Yuck.  Anyway, I also organized the Christmas cards and presents that were on the counter.  I cleaned the microwave.  I still need to put away the dishes in the drainboard and get rid of the pile of stuff in the corner of the counter, but I still have a few Christmas goodies to give away so it will stay there until I am finished with that task.

The dining room was the dumping ground for most of the new Christmas presents.  It now looks much better!  And even better than looks, most of the Christmas presents are actually put away!

I still have a lot left to do, but it's progress!

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Keepin' it Real

Does your house look like this?

Because I seriously think someone snuck in and sent a tornado through our house.  Or, maybe it was Santa?!

Whatever the case, tomorrow will be spent cleaning the entire first floor.  Then Thursday will be spent cleaning the entire 2nd floor.  And then Friday, it's time for the basement.  Saturday, Steve can help me with the garage.  Sheesh.

Oh, and I will work on some blog posts in my "free time" when I'm not cleaning and not keeping the kids from destroying the progress....

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New Year's Resolutions and Goals

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I've always enjoyed making resolutions for the new year.  Although, my resolutions aren't just things I want to do (or don't want to do).  I try to make my resolutions be real goals.  I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey, and he helps people set goals on his radio talk show all the time.  According to Dave, "For a goal to work, it has to have five components.  It must:

1. Be specific
2. Be measurable
3. Have a time limit
4. Be yours
5. Be in writing

I'm not sure if Dave actually came up with this list...I would guess not.  You can hear him talk about goals by going here.  It seems simple, but most people who set new years goals just say something like, "I want to lose weight".  It's a great thought, but it's not actually a goal.  I guess if you lost one pound during the following year you would have achieved your "goal" but it's not a very good goal because it doesn't have the five components.  

In addition to the five components, I also like to make goals for different areas of my life.  I like to make spiritual goals, health/body goals, financial goals, family goals and business goals.  You could also have reading goals, education goals, marriage goals, etc.  I like making categories because it makes my life seem a little more balanced.

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So why am I writing about New Year's goals mid-December?  Because now is the time to start thinking about them.  What do you want to accomplish next year?  I'm a planner, so I like to start coming up with my goals and a plan to meet these goals before the year begins.  While some people can come up with their resolutions in a few seconds before the clock strikes midnight, I think those are typically the people who don't achieve their goals.  So start thinking now about what you want to accomplish in 2012.  Make sure they meet the 5 components, and then set a plan to achieve those goals!

Need some help keeping your goals?  Here are some links to pretty ways to keep your goals where you can see them!

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Countdown!

So, this is the final full week before baby girl arrives!  I've been creating a to-do list to make sure I get all the last-minute things done.  None of them are necessary, but all of them would be helpful to have finished before I try and manage life with 3 kiddos!

Last weekend, we took a train ride to mark one thing off my list (do something memorable during our final weeks as a family of 4).  Lesley took some maternity photos a few weeks ago as well...though I hate how big my belly is, this is the last baby and wanted a few shots of the kids with "baby sister" in my belly.  We've also been hitting the pool a lot because taking 3 kids is going to be a lot harder and it's been so hot here that it's pretty much the only place I can stand being outside without swelling up like a balloon!

Here's the remainder of my list:


This Week:
-clean kids bathroom
-clean our bathroom
-clean 1/2 bath
-mop kitchen
-shampoo living room carpet
-re-organize kids closets
-organize garage
-organize/clean basement
-Finish gifts for the boys from baby sister
-Birth Announcements?

Next Week:
-change sheets on all beds
-clean & arrange carseats in van
-pack hospital bag
-touch up bathrooms and kitchen
-all laundry
-move chair/changing table to baby room
-setup pack-n-play in dining room
-Abby (our miniature schnauzer) - bath and haircut


Any other suggestions of fun/important/necessary things to accomplish in the next SEVEN days?!

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Three Favorite Websites

I'm sure at this point, you all think I do nothing but spend time on the Internet.  Not true, but after the kids go to sleep I do always spend at least an hour, sometimes two.  I've heard people say "what in the world could he/she possibly be doing on the internet?", but for me it's more of a "I can't go to bed because there is so much to see".  I've already talked about how much I love pinterest, and I spend lots of time looking at recipes and cooking websites.  I also sometimes read blogs about parenting, decorating, and photography.  I have way too many favorite blogs and websites to share, but I thought I'd showcase 3. 

First, google reader.  We've mentioned this one before.  Beth and I both use google reader.  It is just a way to keep all of the blogs you read in one central place and see new posts to those blogs without going to each individual website and checking.  You set up a google reader account/page and then add subscriptions (website or blog addresses) to it.  After that you log in and read new posts.  Here's what it looks like.  Make sure you add our blog!! :)

Another website I've been spending lots of time on is houzz.com.  This is a website with tons of different home pictures.  Very useful for me right now, as we are planning on breaking ground on our new house within the next couple of weeks.  I am decorating challenged, so I've been saving all kinds of pictures to pinterest from this website.

And finally, this one isn't so much a favorite website as something I think all moms should be introduced to.  It is The Flylady.  In a nutshell, this is one woman who has a method of cleaning her house that she shares on her website.  The website itself is, in my opinion, a little hard to navigate and understand.  But the method is great.  She has certain chores she does daily, some she does weekly, and some she does monthly.  I think her method needs to be adjusted to your own needs (I'm not really into her "shine your sink" idea), but if you take the time to read her strategies I think it can really help you develop your own system. flylady.com

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Evernote aka The Way I Organize My Recipes

I know a couple of you are now addicted to Pinterest!  Yay!  I really do love it, although now that we've moved to a small apartment and I am temporarily free from all the cleaning I'm used to doing  I spend too much time on Pinterest!  I love Pinterest as a visual way to organize things I like. As Beth said, it has saved me from bookmarking everything on my computer.   I like finding new recipes on Pinterest, but the downside is accessing them.  To access them, I need to log into my pinterest account, find the board I've posted the recipe on, click on the picture to take me to the original website, and read the recipe from there.  So although I find many recipes and pin them on pinterest, I usually go to the original post and clip them to Evernote for faster, easier access.

Evernote is similar to Pinterest in that it is a way to save any ideas you come across on the web.  The differences, in my opinion, are that Evernote enables you to save way more text along with the picture.  So you can save your entire recipe.  You can also make quick notes, record voice notes, scan pictures or receipts or other info into Evernote, etc.  You organize all your info into "notebooks" (again, similar to pinterest).  But the reason I am in love with Evernote (beyond being able to save alot of text) is that I can clip things into evernote from my computer and it automatically syncs to my ipad and iphone.  When I am cooking, I use the ipad or iphone to view the recipe and it is as easy to access as any other app.  In the grocery store, I can view my recipe and buy ingredients needed.  So that's a really wordy explanation of Evernote, and I'm sure I've made it about as clear as mud!!  For more info, go to evernote.com to read about it.  You download to your pc or mac from evernote.com and then you get the app for your smartphone or ipad from the app store (my husband has a windows based phone and he can get the app; I'm not sure which phones it's compatible with).

In the past, I had a 3-ring binder that I used to store recipes.  Some are handwritten, many are printed from the internet, and some are cut out from magazine.  I like this method so much better and I am slowly transitioning my binder of recipes over to evernote.  I am all for any thing that saves storage space, and I like being able to make menu plans (I have a notebook for that too) while waiting at the doctor's office or anywhere.  If I am not crazy about a recipe I just delete it.

Here's a picture of Evernote open on my ipad and some of my notebooks (click on photo to see larger):

 Here's my ipad with my "recipes- main dishes" notebook open and you can see the recipe for chicken salad at the bottom:

 Here's a screenshot of evernote on my computer with the icons from some of my notes on the left side and my note for Cincinnati Chili open on the right:

 Here is a screenshot of evernote.com:

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Beth's Pinterest

After Lesley posted about her Pinterest a few weeks ago, I decided to check it out for myself and start pinning ideas and things.  I love it!  I always have a ton of tabs open in my Google Chrome browser, so this is a perfect way to save some of those ideas and unclutter my browser a little!  Here are some of my favorites that I've pinned:

Check out these photos and more at MY Pinterest page :)  If you need an invite, just leave a comment here and I will send you one!

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