30 Day Challenge - Week 3

Just like my last post, I have to pick my favorite activities from my last post before I can talk about the new things I have done. I will tell you right now that Grace's ashiatsu massage wins for week 2 in the relaxation category, hands down!! There were several enrichment activities that I enjoyed (the mint sachets were fun to make and smelled GREAT) but I really enjoyed washing clothes by hand and hang-drying them. What could have been a chore became something relaxing and fun for me. I enjoyed it so much that I went and bought a better clothesline system at Home Depot (less than $20.00 and worth it if you want to try it out). So hand-washing and hang-drying clothes wins for week 2 in the enrichment category. Now, on to the "new" activities!

Day Thirteen:
Relaxation - EFT Therapy (Emotional Freedom Technique)
Enrichment - Budgeting

I learned about EFT from a wonderful sister in my ward (who I will not name, as I have not received her permission to do so), last year when I was struggling with some emotional issues. I enjoyed using it during quiet time after a particularly hectic morning with the kids. I won't go into the details of it here, but you can find some decent information if you google "EFT Therapy". Budgeting was a BIG cheat, possibly bigger than the other enrichment "cheats", because I update the budget every week. I have a weekly budget, bi-weekly budget (based on paydays and bills), a longterm budget (for mortgage, student loans, medical bills, etc), and seperate budgets for non-cyclical (but estimated and annually expected) spending, such as birthday parties, Christmas, vacation, back-to-school.... anyway. Checking the outgoing versus incoming money, and watching debt totals decrease (no matter how slowly) is something that simply grounds me and makes all sense of calm return. No pics of the budget, for obvious reasons!

Day Fourteen:
Relaxation - Foot soak
Enrichment - Organizing

I used to soak my feet all the time when I waited tables. It felt wonderful then, and it feels wonderful now! Add a little almond oil and lavender to the hot water and soak away! *insert big sigh*
On to the enrichment activity I have been putting off....... I am HORRIBLE at organizing! I may be able to organize a rehearsal, a schedule of songs, a schedule for my family, even a silent auction.... but ask me to organize the drawers and closets in my house and my brain stops working. I even had a conversation on the phone with my husband about my attempt to avoid organizing for this day, but he guilted me into doing it (unintentionally). I am posting pictures of my closets for the first time in my LIFE. This is AFTER organizing.... you should have seen them before if you are not impressed by the pictures..... oh, also, it took over 6 hours of work and concentration to get the closets to this point..... 4 bags of donations and 6 bags of trash later, of course....








Day Fifteen:
Relaxation - Star gazing
Enrichment - Food drying

Star gazing in Katy, TX is a bust (obviously). I counted only 28 stars that I could see through all of the light pollution. But I spent time alone outside at night, and that was relaxint in and of itself. On to food drying! I haven't used my food dehydrator since last Fall, so it was nice to pull it out again and make use of it. The cinnamon apples slices were delish, and they will last through Winter!




Day Sixteen:
Relaxation - Yogic breathing
Enrichment - Yogurt making

Yogic breathing incorporates the concept of deep breathing with basic yoga position and technique. My favorite was "the cooler". You curl your tongue and breathe in slowly and deeply through your mouth, then exhale slowly through your nose. The effect is that only cool air fills your throat, lungs, and diaphragm, therefore creating a cooling effect for the body. Breathe in and out slowly 5-7 times. Nice!
Making yogurt in a crock pot is soooo easy, and the result is tasty yogurt that will last one person at least one week before you need to make more (with your own home-made yogurt as a starter, of course!). You need 1/2 a cup of plain yogurt with live cultures, and half a gallon of milk (whole is preferrable for consistency, but I used 2% organic and the yogurt turned out just fine). Put the milk in the crock pot on low for 2.5-3 hours, then turn off heat, wrap in towel, and let it sit for 3 hours. Remove 2 cups of milk into a bowl and add 1/2 cup of plain yogurt with live cultures, stir, and return to milk in crock pot. Cover with the large towel again and let it sit for 8 hours. Then remvoe the towel, and voila! Yogurt. Save 1/2 cup of the crock pot yogurt to make your next batch. :-) PS - it tastes wonderful with a tiny bit of honey and some granola or fresh fruit.



Day Seventeen:
Relaxation - Nap
Enrichment - "Fishing for Compliments" chart

Can we ever say anything negative about napping? I LOVED my nap! I think this one is an easy relaxation winner for the week, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. ;-)
The "fishing for compliments" chart was an idea I picked up from a teacher's blog. I modified mine according to the supplies I had on hand. I picked up a cheap dry erase board at Wal-Mart, painted it with green and blue acrylic paint, then added foam letters to create the chart. I made the fish out of stickers and small adhesive magnets. The concept is simple, but truly ingenious. Every time one of my kids get a compliment from someone outside of the house, they get a fish by their name. When they earn "x" amount of fish they get a prize (treat, small toy, outing). It is creative bribery to behave in public!


Day Eighteen:
Relaxation - Manicure
Enrichment - Chalkboard menu

I didn't go to the nail salon, I enjoy painting my own nails in the comfort of my own home, for free! I might go get a pedicure once a year with my mom and/or sister for relaxation, but the company is the main reason I do it, not the enviroment. I had fun painting my nails bright blue and adding white polkadots.
The chalkboard menu was a last-minute change to the 30 day challenge. Today's enrichment was supposed to be garden prep, but it's.... HOT. So I am putting it off for now. I got this idea from Anna Mansfield (Hi, Anna!) when I went to her house recently. I found a cute wooden plaque at Hobby Lobby, and I already had the chalkboard paint. I had to buy a gold paint pen for another project, so that was really all I needed. Prime, two layers of chalkboard paint, let it dry, then use the gold paint pen to make it "pretty". This should look better than the hurried menu I write on the dry erase calendar on the pantry door!


Day Nineteen:
Relaxation - Reflexology
Enrichment - FHE ornaments

I didn't put too much effort in to reflexology. I did a double workout on this day, and also felt like I was getting sick. So my reflexology turned in to an absent-minded foot massage. Haha! Oh well.
I have the cutest Family Home Evening board on the wall in my kitchen, and the ornaments I had hanging on there originally were pathetic little wooden stars hanging on black wire with names written in black permanent marker. So I bought new ornaments (wooden hearts), painted them black, used the gold paint pen to write names, and got some fancy ornament hooks at Hobby Lobby. Yes, they are already out, along with all of the other Christams items....


Day Twenty:
Relaxation - Head Massage
Enrichment - Jewelry box

I enjoy a good head massage, and this one was no different. My scalp felt so relaxed afterwards! *insert happy sigh*
Okay, so I have a confession. My necklaces have all been hanging on the inside doorknob of the master bathroom closet for quite some time. I decided to buy a plain box and paint it so I could finally have someplace to store my necklaces! I had to get fancy with the painting so that it would feel unique, and I am happy with the end result.


I did a lot of painting activities this week. Perhaps it is the Summer heat, the business of end-of-summer activities, or the mode switch to prepare for school to start again, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time outside or doing big things around the house.... and I certainly wanted to avoid using heat of any kind in the kitchen!

Until next time!