Weight Loss Update - February 2013

As of 2/18/13

I would be lying if I said the ticker above didn't shock me. My weight has been so up and down and up and down and up and down again over the last few months that I'm really surprised that number is so high. It also means I lost 1 pound since my last update.

It's taking me a little longer to settle into some sort of routine with my work schedule than I thought it would. That means that both trying to eat decently and blog have been falling by the wayside. I hate that it's happening but it is so really I just need to figure out how to work on both while working around the rest of my schedule. Both will come eventually.

Until then, I think all I can do is just keep trying. I know that it won't always work out the way I plan, but eventually it all works out. Things will settle down. I'll get into more of a routine. I'll learn to pre-plan things a bit more. Most nights around here, dinner is almost a last minute thought. With me leaving several days to be at work at 2:30 and then I'm not off until 10:30 or even 9:30 the next morning, it's hard. I would really like to get back into meal planning so we'll see how that goes.

How has your weight loss been going if you're also trying? What have you been doing to keep yourself motivated and well fed?

Palmolive Fresh Infusions Dish Soap Review - Influenster

Have you tried the new Palmolive Fresh Infusions dish soap? If not, you really need to!

There are three scents currently available, and I kind of hope they come out with more eventually:

• Basil Lime
• Lemon Thyme
• Ginger White Tea

February 2013 Ipsy Glam Bag

This is my first Ipsy bag. After a few disappointing Birchboxes I decided to dip my toes into something else so that I can decide if I really want to continue my Birchbox subscription. From the looks alone, it's a pretty decent bag!

February 2013 Birchbox

The theme of this month's Birchbox is Red Carpet Ready. It's supposed to be "an assortment of products worth of the red carpet," according to the info card that came with the box. Guess we'll have to see!

How I make my laundry soap

Sometime about a year ago, I stumbled across a pin for this homemade laundry soap. I checked out the recipe and it didn't sound too incredibly hard or even really that complex and I pinned it for "later." As many of us know, "later" on Pinterest means "probably never get to it." This turned out a bit differently though. I actually did make it!

It took a couple of weeks to price and find the materials. I found that everything I needed was cheaper, and available, at Walmart. For less than $10 I was able to purchase everything to make the soap and still have tons of some of it leftover.

Here's what One Good Thing by Jillee's recipe calls for to make 2 gallons:

• 1 bar Fels Naptha soap
• 8 c. hot water
• 1 c. Borax
• 1 c. Washing soda
• More hot water to fill bottles

 I think that somewhere along the line I must have also discovered another, similar recipe for laundry soap and did as I often do when I'm cooking: I mentally tweaked the recipe and came up with my own version.

Here's the recipe I use to make 1 gallon:

• 1/4 bar Fels Naptha soap
• 2 c. hot water
• 1/4 c. Borax
• 1/4 c. Washing soda
• Hot water to fill rest of bottle

Obviously somewhere along the line I cut the amount of Fels Naptha down farther than the original recipe. It still works amazing for my family's laundry. In the future I may try making it again with the "proper" proportions but we'll see.

Quite honestly though, that's the amazing thing about making your own laundry soaps at home. You can tweak the recipes to suit your family's needs. Maybe your family has particularly stinky dirty laundry. You can add more Washing soda to the mix and see if that helps. You can also add scented detergent boosters to add scent if you'd like also. Personally, we don't add a scent because as my mom always says "Clean doesn't have a scent."

Aside from the tweaks in the actual recipe, I follow all other steps found here.

I've recently started making 4 gallon batches in a 5 gallon bucket and it lasts several months. It only takes me about an hour from start to finish to make the huge 4 gallon batch and I'd rather take the hour to make more than make several small batches as we need them.

I also make our own fabric softener so keep an eye out for a post on that coming soon!

Do you make your own laundry soap? What recipe do you use? Has it saved your family money? Would you be interested in seeing a cost savings update for a period of time - 3 months, 6 months, a year, etc.?