Bye Bye Gluten!

Hola!

So first off I would just like to say I am sooo glad that this was my Friday since I don't have to work tomorrow. I am excited to announce another project Ryan and I started! I swear you buy a house and you never stop working! I love it. It's easier if I show you the picture and then explain our plans.

So this is something that was here when we moved in the used to have the bird feeder and look something like this...

Well we moved the bird feeder and the solar light decorations to the other plot of dirt mulch in the middle of our yard because the rabbit poop. So before we did the digging we did tonight it basically looked like the second picture minus the decor but with like a billion and a half weeds! I got sick of it looking like crap and even though we are going to be busy the next three weekends, I figured let's start it tonight! haha So the top picture it what we have gotten done so far....which may not look like a lot in the picture but it actually took us a good hour and a half to get that all done and move the dirt to another area of our yard. Once we have another chance to work on it we will be digging down roughly two inches and filling the entire thing with pea gravel and then we are going to put some pavers in the middle to set our fire pit on! I am so excited for the project to be done because it hasn't looked the best for awhile now. I like the idea of pea gravel now because its more cost effective for us right now and someday when our kids come along they will be able to play near it without getting all dirty. :-) More to come on this project as we work on it!

So as you guys read in my last blog I have decided to stop eating gluten. Today was my first full day of doing it. To tell you the truth it wasn't all that bad. Ryan is really loving it right now because I just bought a box of Organic Cherry-Pomegranate Toaster Pastries and I can't eat them anymore! :-( But on a happier note I made stir-fry up and we had andouille sausages over the top of it. It was awesome! I am excited to start trying some gluten free recipes and posting there outcomes on here to share with you all. I am just beyond excited because today was the first day in a long time that I haven't had any problems with my stomach and its been a blessing! My mom has been gluten free now for a number of weeks and she feels that it is benefiting her as well. She has lost her last 7-10 pounds doing so! I am so proud of how healthy she and my Dad have become. It really makes me strive to be a healthier person too. :-)

~~~Simple Rose~~~

Eatin' Right for My Blood Type

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Only a few more days til the weekend for most people. I only have one more day of work since I am part time and currently am enjoying my Fridays off for the next two weeks before I go back to my Tues-Fri schedule. Even though we had Memorial Weekend and I have only been to work for two days...it feels like such a long week!

Ryan and I finally got to drop by the Library and I picked up my blood diet book. I just recently found out that I am an O blood type by taking an at home test. I read through most of the book tonight and found out some very interesting things. First of all I was a vegetarian for 4 years and that was the complete wrong diet to be on, which makes sense since I didn't ever feel that great. I have been eating meat again for almost 2 years but still have a lot of issues with my stomach (bloating, gas, not digesting food). After reading through the diet that an O should follow I know why! Gluten is very bad for people who have O blood types and even though I don't eat as much breads and wheat as I did when I was vegetarian, Ryan and I do consume quite a bit of the stuff. So I have decided that I am going to give up gluten for a couple weeks and see if I start to feel better. Since I don't want to give up everything all at once I am going to start with that as my main focus. Next will most likely be to lessen my dairy intake since I am not supposed to have that much dairy. The O diet is centered around meat, fish, and vegetables. Which makes a lot of sense since O is the first blood type in our history. It is definitely all very interesting and I am very excited to see if I will start to feel better and hopefully lose the 10 pounds I have been wanting to shed. I think with dropping the gluten and exercising the way O blood types are supposed to, which is vigorous exercise for 30 min, 3x a week, I'll drop the weight and start to feel healthier in no time.

I have already switched to mostly all organic vegetables and we buy the vast majority of our meats free range. I am doing this not only because it is better for me but since Ryan and I are hoping to have children soon it's a good idea to have my body in tip top shape for my pregnancy. I have been reading books on what Mommy and Baby should eat during and after pregnancy. What I have gathered so far is that a healthy Mommy means a healthier baby. Plus the healthier you are the more energy you have...and I've heard Mom's need plenty of that. ;-)

So the last thing I want to touch base on is the veggie garden! We are so excited that our plants are growing great! The seeds we planted have germinated and the plants are popping up fast! I have to admit that I wasn't overly excited when Ryan told me that he wanted to start the garden this year instead of waiting til next year but I can definitely say now that I am really excited for whats to come! I am sure that next year there will be a lot more added on to our little garden area that we have now. I will take some more pictures of it in another week or so to show you guys the progress that it's making.

Well I am pooped out and I have to go find some camping spots for our camping trip that we are taking next weekend! I am so excited for the little get-a-way. We definitely need one! More to come.

p.s The book that I am getting the Blood Diet information out of is, Eat Right 4 Your Type, by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo

----Simple Rose

Memorial Weekend!

Hey All,

So I have been busy for the last couple days, finishing up my work week and getting ready for the big family gathering Ryan and I are going to today for his side of the family. We are meeting at a local park here and they have rented out a pavilion for us to use all day. The weather is just beautiful, cool and sunny, couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. Excited to have some good eats, fun games, and good conversation.

As I have said before Ryan and I started our first garden this year for the house. We have some big ideas for years to come but for this year we just wanted to start simple. I have some pictures that Ryan took that I want to show all of you! I will be taking pictures throughout the garden season so you can see all of our wonderful plants grow. This year we are doing strawberries, peppers, zucchini, squash, lettuce, Matt's tomato's (my favorite), and daikon radishes.

This is a picture of the strawberry plants that we got from my parents. They do there own starts in their house and offered some to us for our new garden! :-) The plants are already getting runners on them. We know that we probably won't be getting any strawberries this year....but we are excited to see some next year!

This is a picture of the garden bed that we built using concrete blocks. The total cost was around 60 dollars for the entire thing. I also like the idea that since these concrete blocks have the holes around the edges I could do a little herb garden in the holes as well! You can't really see a whole lot in our garden yet since most of this one is seeds with the exception of the Matt's tomatos (right side) and the zucchini plants (left side). 

More pictures on the garden will be coming!

I also wanted to say that my Eating for Your Blood Type book is sitting at the library waiting for me to pick it up! I am excited to see if this could help me with the stomach issues that I have a lot. So I will have more on that front a little later. 

Well I am off to get everything in the car for the family picnic we are going to today! I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend! 

Ton O' Topics

Good Afternoon Fellow Bloggers!

So I have a lot to talk about today in my post. First off I put together some before and after pictures of the renovation we have made to the house since we moved in. I will post the picture and then tell what renovations we made and approx. how much it cost.

Secondly I bought an at home blood test kit from our CO-OP that we have here in town and I am going to start looking into eating for your blood type. I have a lot of stomach issues that stems from food so hopefully this will help! I was vegetarian for 4 years and now I am back to eating meat because I didn't feel that my body was getting the nutrition it needed so I am very interested to see what I can find on blood type dieting. I will talk more about this in future posts.

The third big topic for today is that I am trying out some homemade dishing washing powder today. I love to save money any way that I can. PLUS the dish washing powder I use is far more natural then the stuff you can buy in the store which is a big plus! ANNND great news it's only 2 ingredients! Which are:

1 part 20 Mule Team Borax----Roughly $3.50 at your local supermarket for a 4 lb box!
1 part Baking Soda---Roughly $2.50 at your local supermarket for a 4 lb box!

I use a little over 2 tablespoons to fill my dishwasher dispenser. The savings are great! I was paying 3-4 dollars for a box of dishwasher powder that was a little less then 3 lbs! So as you can tell making your own will take you ALOT further and save you lots of $$$$$!!

If you don't like water stains on your glasses or find that you get them now that you have switched to your homemade, add a little vinegar to your rinse dispenser and that should do the trick. (your dishes will NOT smell like vinegar). That trick is courtesy of my Momma who has taught me most of what I know about homemade tricks! Thanks MOM!


So the last thing I am going to post today are the pictures of the house...Here they are! All of the pics show how the house was set up from before we bought the house from the realtor site because I forgot to take pics before we starting the renovations.

This room is still in progress. Everything I got for this room was from garage sales and the Goodwill. The only thing that is in this room that we brought with us is the TV stand and the tan love-seat  I have everything to complete the room and the total cost was $80 and that includes the practically brand new futon couch and the end tables! I scoured garage sales and the goodwill for the best deals and didn't do to bad. We are going for the fishing lodge look since my husband and I are BIG outdoors people!  

The living room is my favorite room that we redid because of the drastic-ness of the after pics. I got that awesome TV stand for $10 dollars at a garage sale! A lot of what is in the room came with us so the renovation cost isn't that impressive. Total cost of this room included the paint that we got on clearance at Walmart is $40 bucks. The coffee table was hand made by a good friend of me and Ryan's! Love this room the best because we had to take the wallpaper liner off the walls and it was a NIGHTMARE! :-)

Lastly. the master bedroom! This room is one of my favorite rooms in the entire house. When Ryan and I lived in apartments we were in college for a lot of it and defiantly lived that way. Our bedroom never had much decor so we decided that since we are in a house now that we want a bedroom that looks nice! So we bought some lamps and curtains and did it all up the way we always wanted it.  Unfortunately most of the stuff we bought for this room was from Walmart or Target, although I did snag a picture (you can't see in this pic) from a garage sale for $3! Total cost of this room after moving in: $50 bucks. (bed, nightstands, 2 pictures not included.)

I just want to inspire people to not always just run to the mall or expensive department stores every time you need something to decorate your home. There are a TON of great deals out there and if you are patient enough and realize that if you don't have the perfect painting on your wall you WON'T DIE then you can find some pretty great deals out there. I am excited for this new journey in my house with my hubby and our little doggy. More to come. 

----Simple Rose----

Homeowners with adventures to come!

Helllo everyone!

Sorry its been so long. Its been a crazy last couple weeks. We BOUGHT the house that I was talking about in my last blog and closed on it in early April! We have done a ton on renovations and will post pictures as soon as I am on my home computer. We really wanted to redo the house on a budget. We aren't free of credit cards yet but hope to be within the next couple of years. We made a promise that we would only use one credit card and pay cash for everything else! I am pleased to admit that it was EASY to keep our promise to eachother. I have been garage saling quite a bit with my mom and have found AWESOME deals. All the renovations from the pictures including the fence total out to less than 1000 dollars! Thats what a little scaveging for deals and ALOT of hard work will get you! Most of the stuff that we redid the look of our home with came from garage sales! We decided with the help of my parents to not rush into buying everything in the first week but to take out time and remember that you can't have it all in one day. I will be following this post up with two different posts, one about the renovations that we did to the house w/ pics, and the other a post about garage saling and all the great deals you can find out there if you just take the time to look! I can't wait to get this blog going!

I just recently dropped down to part time at work to have more time to devote to my family and my house. Ryan and I are at the mindset that we want to be happy and we have come to realize that we can't find that through lots of money and things but through moments together and a life with little stress. Since I have dropped down to part time my plan is to spend WAY less time sitting in front of the TV and way MORE time doing things. We have started a garden bed in our backyard as well and I will also take pictures and post them as well and keep you all informed on that front as well. I am just so beyond excited to finally be a homeowner so that I can start to do things the simpler way! More to come.....


--Simple Rose