Mr. Clean for your toilet bowl?

This idea has been everywhere on Pinterest!  It's so easy, just pop a piece of a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser into your toilet bowl and - Voila! - No more gunky toilet bowl ring!  I knew I had to give this one a shot.  Mom never cleans the toilet bowl, it's always me, so if I could find a quicker way to do it, I'll take it!

So essentially, you just cut off a piece of a Magic Eraser, and throw it in your toilet bowl over night.  Then, come morning, the Magic Eraser will have sucked up all the gunk.

Sound too good to be true?  That's because it is.  I was so hopeful!  But it did nothing for my toilet bowl!  No gunk was gone, and now I had to fish out some waterlogged sponge out of the toilet bowl.. EW.  That's worse than just scrubbing the gunk!

So I'd say pass on this one guys!

Next up I'm hoping to make some brownies!  Hopefully that post will be up by Tuesday at the latest.  On Tuesday I'm also going on an all day shopping trip with my mother to IKEA! And Pier 1 Imports! And wherever else our feet take us! :)

Super Protein Parfait

Alright, I'll admit it, this post is not a Pinterest copy.  This is a delicious meal that I decided to make one day as I wanted some protein after going to the gym.  What I really wanted was some of Blogilate's Banana Pancakes, but, after I chopped up the banana I realized I didn't have eggs.  So this left me with chopped up bananas and a grumbling tummy.  I thought I could make a parfait, with the greek yogurt, but I've got to be honest here.  I don't really like greek yogurt that much!  It's just so bitter!  I ussually put some stevia in it to make it a little tastier.  Then I was thinking that I wished Nutella was healthy and that I could put that on my bananas.  THEN IT HIT ME.  Chocolate protein powder... in my greek yogurt?!  So I did it.

Alright, so it doesn't look terribly appetizing, but I swear it was!  A quick and easy snack/meal with a whopping 39 g of protein.  That's 86% of my protein intake for the day (If not exercising my protein is 45g a day.  I use MyFitnessPal to figure out the changes when I do exercise - Add me! )  

But then the next day (Tuesday)  I had to do something even fancier.  I had to go to the next step.

Now that looks tasty!  Same thing, I put 1 scoop of chocolate flavoured protein powder in with 3/4 cup of greek yogurt.  Only this time I added a strawberry layer, a banana layer, and raspberry topping.  Yum!  

You don't have to do just chocolate either!  Today I switched it up and did raspberry protein powder, and put it in a mason jar to bring to school with me.  This may be a new staple in my diet!

Learning from kitchen mistakes

I think breakfasts are the biggest issue for me.  I used to have a toasted bagel with a melted slice of cheese on it for breakfast everyday.  It was delicious, but 1) it wasn't very nutritious, and 2) it was kind of boring.  Then I switched to oatmeal, but then I got tired of that too.  I wake up early in the morning though, and I'm ready for work in 15 minutes.  Thus, I don't have much time for anything all that tasty.

Remember the Breakfast Quinoa and the Baked Oatmeal posts?  Well I made both of those on the same day, and I also made a Spinach and Egg White Frittata  (which actually wasn't all egg whites thanks to my inability to read the box right!).  

So now I had ALL of these premade breakfasts!  And it as a pretty good system.  I could just come downstairs, grab a jar, and go get ready.  And if I didn't finish it all before I had to leave for work? No worries, as it was already in a transportable container.

But herein lies the issue.  There are 12 jars there.  That's almost 2 weeks worth of breakfasts.  I don't know about you, but when something's been sitting in my fridge for that long, I start to get worried.  I just don't trust it.  So the point of the post isn't so much about the delicious egg white frittata (which is full of protein and super tasty!) but more in the issue of waste.  I had to throw a couple of these jars out (though all the breakfast quinoa was eaten lickity split ahah!), and that's just wasteful.  It's a waste of both my money and my time.  we all make mistakes, there's no doubt about it.  The key is to learn from them and, in this case, remember in the future to half my recipes!  If you have a family to feed, then 12 breakfasts is nothing, but when it's just one mouth, it's a lot!

Breakfast Quinoa

If you haven't tried breakfast quinoa, you need to, right now!  Seriously, I'll just sit here and wait while you go pick up some quinoa.

..Back yet?  Good.  This recipe is so easy, so tasty, and makes enough for you have leftovers!  All you need is

• 2 cups of milk (I used soy)
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 3 tbsp of brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp of cinnamon
• blueberries

Seriously does that not sound delicious?!  This is a protein packed breakfast that you won't even know is healthy!!

This made four servings, which I put in my handy mason jars and quickly devoured :)

I think I might do some baking soon, I'm just so stressed about life right now, I need to bake to unwound!  And with all the fall baking goodness on Pinterest right now, I shouldn't have too hard a time finding something I want to make!  Though deciding on one thing may prove stressful!

Recipe from Martha Stewart.

Organization Station

Since I've started blogging, I've come across a couple blogs dedicated to organizing, and I must say, I've been thoroughly inspired!  From I Heart Organizing, to Delightful Order, and Elementary Organization, these gals just bring up something inside of me that just wants to organize!  There was a time in my life when I was a neat freak.  My room was always meticulous, no clothes on the floor, the blinds open, it was beautiful.  Then one day, when I was still young, maybe 8 or so, I had someone over who spilt fruit juice on my carpet.  That fruit juice stained my carpet and my life.  Ahahah, we perhaps not so dramatic, but seriously!  After that incident I was never as clean as I was before, I think psychologically speaking, it had something to do with a feeling of lack of control.  Obviously there would have been more in my life than just that stain, I just associate it with being the tip of the iceberg.
Anyway, I've found that I've been better, not perfect mind you, but better.  When my parents went away for a week it seemed almost natural to take over the household chores.  I scrubbed the bathroom, swept the floor, and kept the kitchen clean (remember those fruit flies?).  So I knew I needed something for my room to keep me organized.

First off, I needed to organize my life.  So, I made myself a list of things I should be doing daily, weekly, and monthly.  I'm just now trying to figure out some sort of reward system for myself here.  I don't/can't eat anything at McDonalds so I don't even understand why I can't throw out coupons until they expire, haha!  And that other paper is for a future post!

And again, here's more life organization, work, classes, gym, all that good stuff.

And a weekly one, which I desperately need to edit.  This is from last month!  I made this with two Dry Erase peel and stick daily planners.  I used permanent marker to make lines so I could go by the half hour from 7am to 9pm, as I wanted to plan my days more efficiently than just writing down what's going on that day.  I need to see the open spaces so I can fill them!!  I got them at staples, for around $10 each.  Wall Pops have a ton of cute dry erase peel and stick products, and I believe that this is one of their products, but I had bought it at the beginning of last school year!  I'll update later with what my schedule looks like when it's not summer!

Now for my room,  First off, I have a very time closet and a whole lot of things, so I moved my clothes downstairs into the closet in the guest room, and left my closet for all my "things."  I have a couple hangers so I can easily access sweaters, and the two bottom holes in the left organizer hold my "current" clothes, PJS in one, work clothes in the other.  In the middle organizer I've got my workout clothes and some slippers, and on the left is a couple pj pants, work/pj tops, and yoga pants.  An AWESOME shoe rack on the left floor, and a shelf for my flip flops and my money jars.  That cheetah print on the floor in the right is my snuggie!  Up top is books from my previous school year, a memory box, and a clear plastic container with all my electronics in it.

Beside my bed I've used the rest of the shelf to hold a light and some other stuff.

I've just got to organize this thing now...

I really hate this thing and all these wires!  Any suggestions?

Oh, the things you can do with chalkboard paint!

I think I'm addicted to chalkboard paint.  Just saying the words "chalkboard paint" makes my mind start spinning with ideas of all the things I wish I could turn into chalkboards.  Obviously living with my parents seriously limits what I can paint, but if I could I would paint the inside of cabinets - for inventory, or meal planning. The front of the fridge - for reminders and a calendar.  The little bit of wall beside the front door - for last minute reminders before you head out.  Maybe it's because I have so many thoughts and I tend to forget them, but something about chalkboard paint is just so appealing.

My first dwabble in Chalkboard Paint was courtesy of Oh, Hello Friend, who had a post on making your own chalkboard paint and painting the lids of mason jars.  I use mason jars for everything.  I premake meals in them, I used them in my adventure to find a way to balance my budget (a la Gail Vaz Oxlade), I used them in North Bay to sort through my baking goods, so, as you can imagine my jar had lots of different writing on them, and it drove me crazy!

The pro to making your own chalkboard paint is that you can make it in any color you want!  The only thing is to make sure you take out the bigger clumps in the mixture before painting it on.  I'd also like to figure out a way to make my chalk sharper or something, because if you don't write carefully it's quite messy looking.

Next, I was sitting at my desk one day, when I suddenly thought I'd like to paint the side of my desk to put notes on it.  This time I went out and bought some chalkboard paint, so I wouldn't have to use up all my parents grout! Haha!

I may have gone a little crazy with the paint though, and I painted the top and other side of my desk as well.  I couldn't resist.  I thought painting the top would be great for when I have those random little thoughts that creep into my mind, and I thought I'd do the other side so that it would match, colorwise.

So I decided to put a little menu planning thing on the corner there, and above that is my Christmas list (which is pretty unimpressive and not a typical 20 year olds list, I'd say, seeing as how it consists of homesteading how-to books and coasters!)  Off to the left are my random notes, currently consisting of a using magnets to hold my kleenex box under my desk (didn't work), flip flop hangers (haven't tried yet), and a note to organize my white drawer system thing (one day...).  Those cute little containers and the towel rod I got from IKEA for a couple cents more than $10.  Soon they'll be up on the wall, I just hate having thing on my desk. 

And lastly just a little inspirational note for everyday, "You are stronger than you seem, braver than you feel, and smarter than you think you are."

That's it for chalkboard stuff right now!  But I was on a bit of an organization spree following this so I'll make a post about that too!

Where'd you go?!

I'm still here, I promise.  But school just started on September 6th and I'm already stressed!  Between trying to balance all my readings, going to school, working 30 hours, and going to the gym, it's been a tough go and I'm just trying to figure out how best to make this all work!  I do still have the post I'm super excited about and I will write it up soon!

Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Bananas, and Chocolate Chips

You know how sometimes you see something that just looks amazing, that makes you drool just looking at it?  Well, when I saw Inspired Taste's Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Bananas, and Chocolate Chips I knew I had to have it.  It just looks so scrumpcious.  

So I pulled out a bowl and went to work.

Lined everything up to be just as pretty as Inspired Taste's.

And set it in the oven while (im)patiently awaiting their finish.

And loaded it up in Mason Jars for my breakfasts.  In behind is breakfast quinoa, which is TO DIE FOR.  I'll make a post on it later!

Looks can be deceiving though.  Maybe I did something wrong, maybe it just doesn't taste great when not eaten right away.  I'm not sure.  But these tasted kind of bitter.  I'm going to try adding some stevia on top, in hopes that will help, perhaps with some milk too, but on it's own it just didn't live up to my hopes and dreams.  I do know I did one thing wrong though, which may account for the taste.  The recipe calls for MELTED butter, but I just threw in normal butter and tried to mix it as well as possible. I thought it looked kind of odd, but figured it was supposed to melt into the casserole while it was baking. 

Chunky bits of butter.  It's not supposed to look like this!

All in all I think I'd try this one again, but I'd do a couple things different.  First, I'd melt the butter, haha.  Secondly, I'd split the amount of brown sugar and use Stevia in place.  With the brown sugar 1/6 of the casserole has 18g of sugar, which is more than half of what I aim my daily sugar intake to be!

I have what I consider a very exciting post coming up soon!  I can't wait to share it with you :)

Have a fruit fly problem? Here's a solution!

I hate fruit flies.  I don't even understand where they come from.  One minute my house is fruit fly free, and the next they're everywhere.  My mother is a neatfreak, so fruit flies are not an issue of a dirty house.  The can come in your house from the produce you buy at the grocery store, and they breed like rabbits.  So if these little buggers find their way into your home, here's what you can do to get rid of them.

First off, you need to clean.  I know I said that fruit flies aren't an issue of dirt, but, any dirt or left over food you have lying around will keep them there.  If you normally leave your dishes until the end of the day, start doing them right away so they don't land on your plates and mate.  Scrub your counter tops and the stove top.  Then take your rag and put it in the wash!  Fruit flies love the dish towel.  Next, if you have any fruit on your counter, like a bowl of bananas or apples, put those in the fridge.  They're called fruit flies for a reason!  And the garbage, take it out, and try to bring your garbage outside right away until the fruit flies go away.  Believe it or not, fruit flies also mate in your drains.  Boil some water and dump it down your drains to help dislodge any.. gunk that might be in your drains.  I also like to spray some raid down the drains.  I really just don't like fruit flies.

Now that everything is clean, we can put out a trap!  There's a couple ways you can do this.  Last time we had a fruit fly problem, we cut a 2l bottle in half, and flipped the top into it to make a funnel.  In the bottom just put some apple cider vinegar and the fruit flies will be attracted to it and drown.  This time, I didn't have any 2l around, so I just used a glass and a plastic bag.  Just put the plastic bag around the cup, secure it with a rubber band or hair elastic, and stab a hole in the top.  Again, I would have put apple cider vinegar in the bottom, but I didn't have any, so I made two and I tried vinegar and honey in one, and just honey in the other.  The one posted was the vinegar and honey mixture, which has worked the best.

Caught a couple little buggers!

Pizza, Anyone?

Who doesn't love pizza?  Really, there's just something so delicious and comforting about a slice of pizza.  It's not really something that helps with the waistline though.
Of course Blogilates has the answer!  If you haven't checked out her site, go, you can thank me later!  She has three different pizza recipes on her website - Oatmeal Crust pizza, Healthiest Pizza in the World, and a Low Carb, Low Fat, Low Cal Pizza.  I'm on a bit of a health kick right now, so I included one of these in my meal plan for the week.

Without further adu, I present - THE HEALTHIEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD!

Alright, so clearly mine is bigger than Blogilates.  Apparently I no longer own pie tins, so I had to use a cake pan, which required 3/4 cup of oats instead of 1/4, I also threw in an extra tablespoon of flax and an extra egg.  I put 1/4 cup of pizza sauce on it, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 stalk green onion, a couple spinach leaves (fresh, not frozen), and 1/3 cup Yves veggie crumbles.  Pretty tasty, but I think I still woulda stuck to one egg if it would work.  

Here's the nutritional info on my huge version of this pizza -   Calories, Carbs, Fat, Protein, Fiber, and Sugar

Quaker Oats - Large Flake 100% Whole Grain Quaker Oats, 0.75 cup (30 gm)	270	45	5	9	7	0
Nordica - Fat Free Cottage Cheese, 1/2 cup (125 g)	100	8	0	16	0	6
Primo - Pizza Sauce Traditional, 1/4 cup (60 ml)	45	8	1	1	1	4
Spinach - Raw, 5 leaf	12	2	0	1	1	0
Yves Veggie Cuisine (Canada) - Original Veggie Ground Round, 55 g (1/3 cup)	60	4	1	9	2	1
Onions - Young green, tops only, 1 stalk	3	1	0	0	0	0
Generic - Egg - Large, 2 egg (68g)	140	2	12	14	0	0
Bob's Red Mill - Whole Ground Flax Seed Meal, 2 tbsp	60	4	5	3	4	0
Add Food Quick Tools	690	74	24	53	15	11

Obviously if you stick to Blogilates version you'll make a pizza with less calories, carbs, etc.   But this kept me full for a couple hours, which just doesn't happen for me with most foods/meals.

Also, I've done a lot the past week!  So expect some new posts!

Yes, that's MyFitnessPal!  Feel free to add me! --->  MyFitnessPal Link
While you're at it, why not follow me on Pinterest? ---> Pinterest Link
On Tumblr?  You can follow me on there too! ---> Tumblr Link
And, of course, I'm working on a Facebook page. ---> Facebook Link

Car Organization

I am an incredibly messy person.  I'll be the first to admit it. When I lived in North Bay, I was the cleaning lady.  I remember when my roommates were all at school and I went on an intense cleaning spree that lead me to the cupboard under the sink.  Of course one of my roommates came home and asked me what I was doing, stating that the cupboard under the sink didn't need to be cleaned because "no one sees under there anyways!"  It was grungy!  The people who lived there before us probably hadn't ever cleaned it.  That being said, I don't know why, but my car and my bedroom just can't stay clean.  My room is covered with my clothes, and my car has everything from clothes to bottles to movies.  It's a mess.

Seeing as my car was getting seriously out of hand, I did what any sane person would do - I logged into Pinterest and typed "car organization" into the search box!  From the pins that popped up, I gathered a couple ideas I liked, and now present you with my totally clean, totally awesome, organized car!

But first!  A couple "before" pictures.

Yup, that's my passenger seat.  Good luck bumming a ride with me.

The back seat.  Yes, those are car mats, why I didn't put them on the floor where they belong, I'll never know.

The glove compartment, everyone's messiest cranny.

And the trunk.

There's really not much hope for organizing that trunk.  I consider having my tent, pillow, and sleeping bag with me to be an essential.  That fish tank, however?  It's about time I bring that into the house.  It's been going on rides with me since I got it from a friend last February.  And the booze?  Should probably take that out too.

So, in cleaning my car, I first took everything out and piled like things together.  Movies in one pile, clothes in another, garbage in the trash.  Looking at all this, we can see where the trouble lies and what I'll need solutions for.  Clearly, I need a garbage can.  And something for recycling.  And something to hold all my... things.  And that glove compartment... something needs to be done about that.  I need a hamper too, but I should probably just bring my clothes inside more often ;)  Anyone else feeling overwhelmed?!

This is everything that was in my car, excluding the trunk.  Yes, that is apple sauce.

And this is everything from my trunk.

So, the first solution I found, was for all of my knick knacks.  There's a couple versions floating around the internet of this handy organizer by Sew4Home, and I thought I'd try to make one myself.  This didn't work.  It was a disaster.  I cannot sew anything.  So, I went off to the big box store and got myself an over the door shoe hanger.  If you go to the car section, they have different types to fit your car, but they are much more expensive.  The only con to getting a door one is that it's too long.  I just cut it though, problem solved.

Now my hairspray, toothpaste, pencils, utensils, tampons, bandaids, and electronics all have a home!

Next I needed something for my garbage.  I had seen this idea of using an old plastic cereal container with a plastic bag in it, and, seeing as I had an unused one of those lying around I figured I'd give it a shot!  

I'm not really a big fan of it in the front seat though, it moves around too much.

And, lastly, the glove compartment storage.  Mine's not nearly as cute as Elementary Organization's is, but it's still the right idea.

Insurance papers, loyalty and gift cards that don't fit in my wallet, canadian tire money, take out menus.

It's a beautiful thing.

And for the finished product!  Drum roll please!

I hope this doesn't mean people are going to start asking me for rides...

So there was a floor!

Like I said, there wasn't much I could do here, but at least now everything I might ever need is at easy access.

Remember when I said earlier that I had felt overwhelmed?  It's really not that difficult to keep things clean, but I find myself in this situation far too often, as I'm sure many of you do.  Instead of putting things away as we go, or spending five minutes a day to tidy things up, we let things get out of hand.  The lesson here is to clean as you go, so you don't end up in stressful and overwhelming situations!  I'm just not sure I've learnt that lesson yet.