Love Yourself: Lemon Sugar Scrub

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Welcome to Friday all!

I’m sure a lot of you spent a lot of the week outside. Maybe in pools, maybe just soaking up the sun. Either way I’m sure your skin is feeling thirsty! It can do a number on your skin being outside a lot especially if you’re in the pool or ocean. Also during summer us girls shave our legs a whole lot more. This too can easily dry out and rough up your skin.

Worry not I’m here to help! It’s never a bad time to pamper yourself!

I’ve definitely been feeling that way lately. Like I need to stop ad focus on me for a few. Well sugar scrubs are one of my favorite pamper myself things. Even though it really is something quick and simple that I just add to my shower routine, but it really feels amazing.

Lemon sugar is my favorite!

Citrus is so invigorating the smell is so refreshing and uplifting. This always helps me feel better. And I know that I’m doing something that is for me and that helps too.

There are many other benefits of using a sugar scrub.

Not only does it smell and feel great, but using a sugar scrub can increase circulation. I tend to have not so great circulation in my legs, so any extra help is always good. Using sugar scrub an amazing exfoliator. Using a scrub after you shave ensures that your pores are cleaned out. This prevents those red bumps that no one likes. Lemon oil also is an antifungal which means it can help with dandruff. It may seem weird to use a sugar scrub on your scalp but it can help to refresh your scalp, reduce dandruff, and increase circulation for improved hair growth.

I wouldn’t recommend using the scrub on your scalp more than once a week as the abrasiveness may become too much for your hair.

As for your body I would recommend using the scrub a few times a week, at most every other day. You don’t want to over exfoliate your skin.

Alright let’s make some scrub!

I like to make scrub in small batches. This will help to make sure that the oil is distributed throughout the jar and doesn’t dry out. Also I like to change up the scrubs I used and making small batches means I will actually use up the one I have before making a new one.

I use a small wide mouth mason jars. The ones I have right now hold a cup of sugar perfectly. I also highly recommend getting some plastic screw on lids, because traditional mason jar lids are just no fun when you’re trying to use your scrub in the shower.

For the scrub I use:
-1 cup Sugar
-2 tbsp Almond Oil
-1-2 tbsp Melted Coconut oil
-1 Tsp Lemon Oil

I highly recommend mixing it in a bigger bowl then putting it into the jar. Especially if you tend to be messy like I do. Then you’re good to go! Super easy right? Have you guys made your own scrub before? What’s your favorite scent, or would you like to see more? Please let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to follow! I hope you all have a great weekend and don’t forget to Live Crazed.

Organization: Cleaning Schedual

Happy Friday all!!

Today I want to talk to you about cleaning. I know, I know not a topic we really get excited about, but we all know it’s something that must be done.

I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but I seem to not do anything for a couple days then I hate my house. Then I try to clean everything in one day. This always get super frustrating because with two little guys i really don’t have all day to clean. I knew there must be a better way.

I came up with a cleaning schedule. This way i could have everything planned out instead of just swinging blindly at an ever growing problem. By having it scheduled out I don’t have to think about what i want to get done that day I just have to check what’s listed.

Also this way if i get sick for a few days and get behind if I just stick to my schedule everything will get done. Yes the house might be a little messy for a couple days, but it will all get done. If you keep to the schedule you will be amazed at how clean your house is with only maybe an hour of work a day. For those who aren’t at home all day this will take less time because you wont have as many dishes and kid messes to keep up with.

Just like any habit it does take some time to get into.

Do your best not to get discouraged!! It is possible to have a clean house with minimal effort. Of course my exact schedule may not work for everyone you may need to make your own adjustments. I am very hopeful that i can at lease inspire you and set you on the path to an easier week.

Let’s get this show on the road!!

The way that I break down my schedule is to have morning and evening tasks, then daily tasks, and a couple monthly tasks.

Morning Tasks:

Empty Dishwasher
Clean Counters
Make Beds
Tidy Bedrooms
Load of Laundry

For the morning tasks, I like to try and empty the dishwasher and clean the counters before my boys wake up. Making the beds and tidying the bedrooms is something that I have been trying to get the boys to do when they wake up. Usually it’s nothing more than maybe a few pieces of clothes, a book or two and maybe a couple toys. So it really should only take a couple minutes. It really makes a big difference to me to have clean bedrooms. Also this is the time that I gather up the laundry. Currently I only do laundry Mondays and fridays, with an occasional wednesday load.

Evening Tasks:

Fold/ Put away the laundry
Tidy Living Room
Vacuum
Loose Dishes
Run Dishwasher

For evening tasks, we try to have the living room tidied and vacuumed before dinner. This way after dinner they can play games with Daddy while i clean up from dinner and do the loose dishes. Folding the laundry is not something I”m great it keeping up with. Something new I’m trying is folding the laundry while my boys are watching their nightly movie, or at quiet time. This way I can put the laundry away when we go up for bed. The boys get a minute to be crazy before we settle down for be and I don’t leave laundry baskets everywhere.

Daily Tasks:

Monday

-Wash sheets and blankets

-Clean Couches

-Night- Empty Bathroom Garbages

Tuesday

-Sweep/ Swiffer

-Vacuum bedrooms

Wednesday

-Dust/ Disinfect

-Windows

Thursday

-Declutter

-Tidy Outside

-Sweep/ Swiffer

Friday

-Clean Bathrooms

-Wash towels

-Dusts/ Disinfect

Saturday

– Free day!!!

Sunday:

-Sweep

-Mop

-Monthly Task

Monthly tasks**:

Wash Walls
Clean out fridge and Microwave
Clean/ Tidy Hall closets
Clean Game room

**For the Monthly Tasks I do one a week.

IMG_20180629_130120270 — This is the current schedule I have hanging up but I think its in desperate need of a update!

There it is! My Cleaning Schedule! Do you have any questions? Would any of you be interested in a PDF Printout? Do you guys use a cleaning schedule? If so how is yours different? I’d love to hear from you! Please comment below and follow this blog so we can stick together for this crazy life! Have a great day and weekend and don’t forget to Live Crazed!

Keto: Quick and Simple Snacks

Good Morning! Here we are starting yet another Monday.

I don’t know about you, but over the weekend all I wanted was snacks. To just go through my days munching on things. This actually happens to me ALL the time. I just love snacking. I feel like I’m always on the move, so having something I can munch on over a period of time just sounds amazing. This was definitely a HUGE problem for me before I started Keto, and I’m sure it was part of the reason I had such a hard time losing weight. One of the many pieces of a puzzle.
After starting Keto its definitely been a lot better, there are still days though where the snack attack is real. It did take me a while to find some keto snacks that were quick enough for my level of busy/ laziness. There are some times where I’m willing to take more than a few minutes but not usually.

So lets get started.

We will start with my favorite no prep. Peanut Butter!! Specifically Smuckers Chunky Peanut Butter, or Creamy is really tasty too. This is almost always my go to snack. It may not be the best choice but its probably my favorite. It is a higher calorie choice so it’s not always good that it is my go to snack. It never disappoints and is filling. I do have it a few different ways. Measured out With celery is probably the healthiest option, so it is the one I try to go for. I actually find it pretty filling which is good because of the high calories in the Peanut Butter. IMG_20180607_190813_770
I also like to have a quick spoonful here and there. This is pretty dangerous because it will not be accurate with tracking amounts but in a pinch it’s a great quick snack. If I’m craving a sweeter snack my peanut butter fix is to take a serving ( 2tbs) of PB and add a sprinkle of Lily’s chocolate chips to it. If I had to guess I’d say about 20 chips (60 is a serving.)

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I used to scoop a bite of PB with a square of a 85% chocolate bar. This was is dangerous in the same way as using a spoon. Its not easily track able and also it seems like such a little harmless treat that you could just not track it. This is not a good practice. PB and chocolate both have calories and carbs so if you don’t track these treats you can easily go over. This can cause weight loss stalls and bump you out of ketosis.
The other no prep snack that I really like are pork rinds. BBQ is definitely my favorite. I have tried to stop having these as much however because I seem to always have too many. They are just so crunchy and salty that its very hard to stop eating them. Even though they are a zero carb snack they can still cause you to get your protein up to high, quickly.
This also goes with Nuts. They are a wonderful quick, filling and tasty snack. But they can quickly get your calories, protein and carbs up. When traveling though nuts are a readily available snack. I actually had a good find over this weekend. I went to my in-laws without any snacks. Very unlike me because I usually like to be prepared. On a quick trip to the dollar general I found a nut mix with pistachios!! I probably over did it snacking on those, but it was super delicious.

The next quick snack I like is crisps. There are three different kinds of crisps that I like to make. The fastest would be either pepperoni or salami crisps. I prefer to use the bigger slices over like the pizza topping sized slices. To make them into crisps I just put them between paper towels and stick them in the microwave for 40-60 seconds. After 30-40 seconds I usually check them and flip them, sometimes switching out the paper towels. Then adding more time to reach my desired level of crispiness.

Before

After 50 seconds

The third type of crisp is cheese crisps. These do take 15-20 minutes but you can make larger batches. they could be prepped for the week or just make some extras when you decide you want some. My personal go-to way to make them is using pre-sliced cheddar cheese. You can break one slice into 4 pieces, making 4 crisps. Also this way, vs using shredded cheese, they tend to cook more evenly.

When making the crisp you can simply break up the slices lay them on parchment paper on a pan and pop it into the oven. I usually go with a oven temp of 350, because that’s what it is auto on. Lately though I’ve been adding just a little seasoning to mine, and I’ve got to tell you its amazing. I have been going for a little sprinkle of Lawry salt and/or garlic. Super simple but it makes a big difference. Soon I might try some taco seasoning or ranch mix. If you tend to like spice crushed red peppers or cayenne pepper would be very tasty. And best of all Toddler Approved!

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There it is. My group of little to no effort snacks. Have you tried any of these? What is your go-to when you’re having a snack attack? I would love to hear from you! Follow this blog to stay up to date on all the craziness! You can also find links to my social media accounts in the sidebar! I hope to see you around and don’t forget to Live Crazed!