Tuesday’s Tip: Bad smelling washing machine

Problem: Bad smell in your washing machine leaving you wishing you could give it a breath mint.

Solution: 

• First leave your washing machine lid open after wash till it dries out. This will help cut down on mildewing. 
• Second, apply 1 cup of vinegar to your washing machine (without clothes) and run a full cycle.  This cleans the hoses and unclogs the soap scum that has built up over time. And most importantly gets rid of the foul smell. 

I am going to be a AUNT

Did I make some of you jump out of your seats with this title? No my sisters are not pregnant but my best friend is and she is having a girl!!! Baby Ellery Wynn will be here in early August and I am super super excited. Even though Laura and I are not related we have been best friends since the 3rd grade and thus I feel like this qualifies me to don the Aunt title.

I had the pleasure of visiting Laura, Andrew and Baby Ellery (In Womb) for four days in Texas.We had so much fun shopping and chatting away. Friday was the gender reveal party and it was so much fun. I realized today that I did not even get one picture of Laura and I and her bump :(. She has been sending me a weekly bump picture every Sunday and we should have taken one together. She will be here in June for a baby shower I am throwing her so that is going to be number one priority! 

It is really crazy to have a friend that you grow up with and go through all of life's big changes together. At Laura's wedding rehearsal almost four years ago I sobbed. It was not because I did not want her to get married to Andrew it was because I am not a change person and could not picture how our relationship was going to be after she was married. That has been a great change and seems like the norm now. Saturday night we stayed up so so late and were talking about the baby and all of a sudden the tears started peeping out of my eyes. Baby Ellery is much wanted by her parents, family and friends but I had that same moment I had at her rehearsal. This change is a good change and I know our friendship will just get stronger. 

It was a great visit and I am just sitting here wishing she just did not live so far away!! 

The Amanda's

One of my new favorite show's on TV is called The Amanda's and it airs Wednesdays 11/10c on the Style network.

The show is about the owner,Amanda, and her team of organizers. They take on all sorts of remodeling/organizing projects. Some of the things they are able to do is amazing. 

This show proves just how hard it is to clean out and purge items as well as organizing a system to keep it tidy and in place. It appears that most of the time the team will spend an entire week at a clients house. I did a little math of how long it would take a person who works full time to be able to do what these gals do in a few days to a week.

On average The Amanda's Spend: 5 days x 5 people x 8 hours a day = 200 hours 

If  the average working person were to spend 4 hours a day after work it would take them a total of  50 days to get there space cleaned out and organized. If you only spent 2 hours a day it would take 100 days which is a little over 1/4 a year.

My new dream/wish list item would be to have The Amanda's come over to my house. Organize, install proper lighting, shelving and some sort of foamy lego like floor to the unfinished part of my basement. 

Anyhow check out their their website  HERE or try to catch a episode it is super inspiring. It makes me feel not so bad about being  unable to get rid of/organize my house

Tuesday's Tips: Eye on the prize

Tonight we went to the FCA banquet and heard an awesome speaker, Brian Holman. His testimony was pretty incredible and his message is today's Tuesday tip.

Problem: Life challenges, waterfall experiences and bad days.

Tip: Keep your eye on the prize(heaven).

It has been a crazy last ten months and many times I have been super down but what a awesome testimony to hear today of all days. What matters most is that we share Christ's love with others and we make sure that our main focus and encouragement is what waits for us at the end of our life,heaven. It was very encouraging to hear Brian's story and be able to see him standing on the other side of difficult situations a stronger person. I made it through the day I have been dreading for a long time and I am ready for what is in store. So remember today what is important and keep your eye on the prize.

Bathroom Redo!!

We will have lived in our house for almost two years in May. After purchasing our home in November 2009 we started ripping out almost everything in the house. The one room that just got a mini makeover when we first remodeled was the hall bathroom. The picture below was what the bathroom looked liked when we bought the house.

The bathroom did have a new shower and so after a quick paint job(I know not sure why I got rid of the pink), new toilet(handicapped would have come in handy down the road) and vanity it was for sure the easiest room to complete in the house. We did however leave the flooring even though you can not see it in the picture below.

Fast forward two years later and the linoleum floor was just not cutting it and my cheery pale yellow was feeling kind of sad. So about three weeks ago we pulled up the floor, removed the toilet and sink and repainted the walls and ceiling a warm blue grey color.. My handy husband also laid ceramic tile. Today I came home from work to a  new toilet that actually fits and the vanity put back in place. I can not tell you how much we have missed having the use of this bathroom.

Next up: New bathroom, bedroom and closet doors. Can not wait. This will be a life changer for sure, no more squeaky doors to wake up to in the morning.  :)

My Husband the Stud......

This will be the second year in a row that my husband aka STUD has been one of the top producers in the US and has won a awesome all expenses paid trip. Last year we got to go to Miami Beach and stay at the Lowes hotel. This year we get to go to Laguna Beach and stay HERE

I am super excited to be counting down the days for a relaxing vaca with the hubby.

26 Goals UPDATE - February aka Love Month

So here is my update after February.   Updates in pink my favorite color. 

#1: Have a baby - Still trying :(
#2: Become more healthy - I have been eating yogurt and granola again but I went on a terrible terrible week and a half chocolate binge. I mean it was really really bad people. You know when life gets a little crazy and you think hey what things in my life can I control well that translated into me eating a LOT of chocolate.
#3: Workout 2 to 3 times a week - welll........................ I am not sure what has happened the last two weeks except I just have not wanted to do anything.
#4: Stay away from pop and Starbucks hot chocolate - POP yes, HOT CHOCOLATE - I bet I only had this maybe 2 times :)
#5: Make dinner at least once a week  - YES but only once, hey its a start
#6: Do Laundry twice a week so that it stays current  - I think so and believe it or not I am still caught up.
#7: Clean out my clothes closet and get rid of at least ten items a month  - NO, but my sisters are home this week so march will defiantly be a yes. It is easy to gove away when they are here b/c I make them come over so I can give them stuff,
#8: Use all the food in my fridge so it does not go to waste :(
#9: Start or join a women's bible study - Still reading THE Story
#10: Go on a date with my hubby once a week. - YES, My husband has really carried us on this goal.
#11: Get something for my fish tank once a month. - I bought a cleaning product for the tank
#12: Send a encouraging note via mail once a month to one of my family or friends. - NO - Dissappointed in myself
#13: Make my bed everyday - Horrible x 100
#14: Get up at 6:30 everyday so I have some down time. - Same as above
#15: Go to bed by 11:00pm every night on the weekdays - I bet half of the month I did this only b/c I felt exhausted!
#16: Write down one positive of the day - No but I have been trying to speak something positive each day does that count.
#17: Tell my husband at least one thing I appreciate or love about him every day. - I think about 80% of the time. This needs to be moved to number 1 priority this is his love language. 
#18: Eat breakfast every morning - NO
#19: Do not nag my husband about his shoes or clothes being everywhere when he gets home - I think I have done better..... I really do you can ask him
#20: Call my sisters at least once a week - no did better with erica and not meg. Sorry meg I love you I will do better.
#21: Go above and beyond at work at least once a week - I think so
#22: Not complain when I feel sad or bad - Tried to do better
#23: Learn a new scripture once a week and memorize it - :(
#24: Read a book once a month - Yes! Mic gave me a book called Look Again by Lisa Scottoline and it was super good. Thanks Mic!
#25: Start and finish projects within a two week period - No - we are working on our bathroom redo and we are in week three of a disastrous house.
#26: Blog at least twice a week - I did terrible

Welp that is it for February. Crazy how fast life goes and how much this makes you realize that each day is important and to make it count.

Fallin off the wagon

The blog wagon that is. Whew it has been a while since I have posted anything. I was thinking about this last night and I think the reason has been my emotions have been in a little bit of  turmoil.  Luke and I had a doctors appointment on Friday and got good news all around. He is totally fine and now that my thyroid levels are totally fine there is no obvious reason why we should not get pregnant.

While that felt like good news, that still does not change the fact that their is no baby now or in the near future.  We were also informed that we would not be able to receive any infertility treatment until July b/c our  insurance company consider's our one year of trying to conceive at the date of  my miscarriage. Funny thing about this is we have crappy crappy infertility coverage. Basically it is not even going to cover hardly anything and there is a lifetime maximum. I have considered going on my works insurance in august when the enrollment comes around, however after looking into it that plan does not cover infertility either. And b/c it is a policy of less then 25 people it does not have to go by the state mandate rules.  So at this moment I feel a little defeated playing the waiting game for something that really is not going to get us anywhere. That's where I am at and that is what really has been occupying my thoughts thus hindering my blogging creativity for some reason. However, for those of you who are not pregnant each month you have to help out your heart a little and come up with  reasons why the next month will be your month. Here is my list for March.

• March 13th would have been our baby's due date and so it seems fitting that maybe we will conceive again this month.
• I have always thought that a Christmas time baby would be really awesome and if we get pregnant this month we would be due Dec 8th.
• I still want to coach swimming and I was a little worried about getting pregnant and having a baby mid season so now we have entered a time where it would not be affected at all(I would be a huge whale walking around a pool deck but hey bring it on!!)
• I have actually had 2 whole baby dreams about a baby that was Luke and I's.  (This either means 1 of 2 things it will be a baby for us or someone else we know is going to tell us they are knocked up)
• And last but not least the last 11 months have allowed us to become 100% ready to be parents and fully grasp how precious the gift of a child is. I think that this experience has changed me(even  though I do not handle my emotions very well still sometimes). I think it has taught me more patience and it has given me a experience that not everyone gets to have and be able to fully understand. I pray that God uses me forever to be a comfort to someone else going through the same things I am going through right now.