Dish Soap Comparison - Shaklee vs. Seventh Generation

Here's a question you might not ponder very often: How long does your bottle of dish soap last you?

About two weeks ago, I ran out of my Shaklee Dish Soap and had forgotten to add it to my most recent Shaklee order. Grr. I was super peeved because I love our dish soap, but didn't want to pay shipping on one single bottle. Unfortunately, I'd just placed a HUGE order and really couldn't justify buying anything else that soon.

I grabbed a bottle of Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid at the store. It was $3.78 for 25 oz. OK, not a bad price for a natural cleaner that I can have right away. Since I'm always thinking about cost and getting the most bang for our buck, I started thinking, "Well, this is cheaper, this may be our new dish soap."

Now let me back up a bit and talk about Shaklee's soap. A 16 oz bottle costs $6.90 (member price), plus shipping. What?!? Almost SEVEN dollars for dish soap? I know what you're thinking. "No freaking way, lady."

Hear me out. I was seriously skeptical about it before I tried it. It came in my Get Clean Starter Kit, so I felt obliged to use it. But I knew how much it cost and always rolled my eyes at it. I'd had it for several months and was waiting til I finally got rid of my other dish soap.

OK, we started using the dish soap on our about October 15. I am rinsing or washing some kind of dish all day long. We use dish soap all day long.

We ran out of the 16 oz bottle of soap on or about January 2. That's 2 1/2 months of using the same bottle of dish soap! How long does your bottle of dish soap last you? A few weeks? Maybe a month, tops?

Fast forward to later that day when I was doing dishes for the umpteenth time. (Have I mentioned how much I hate being in the kitchen, yet I'm in there all the livelong day??)

I was sorely disappointed with Seventh Generation's soap.

1. I've been using it since about Jan 3, and it's about 1/4 empty.
2. It DUMPS out every time I tip it over just to get a squeeze. Annoying! So annoying!
3. It works ok, not great. I have to use more than I want to in order to get some dishes really clean.
4. I'll be needing a new bottle of dish soap in just over a week at this rate. Which means the bottle will last 2 weeks. No bueno.
5. $3.78 x 2 = $7.56 for one month of soap. For 2 1/2 months, it's gonna run $18.90. 

Why Shaklee is better

1. The dish soap is so concentrated that you only need a few drops to deal with greasy dishes. Seriously. 
2. It lasts so much longer than store brands!
3. It doesn't dump out when you turn the bottle over. You have to actually squeeze it out, which lets you decide how much soap you want to use!
4. For 2 1/2 months, it's going to cost you less than $10!

This is just another (justified!) reason why I'm choosing to continue Shaklee-izing our home! Our products are safe, they work, and they're saving us money! Woot!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about my personal dish soap revelation!

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Shaklee 180 is Here!

Hip, hip, hooray! Shaklee's newest healthy weight product launched January 1 and I couldn't be more excited. Shaklee 180 is a wonderful way to lose weight or maintain your current weight, without 'magic pills,' body wraps, expensive (and gross) food, counting points, or going to meetings.

And, the best part for me is that Shaklee 180 is all natural, no artificial anything, no GMO's, and low sugar!

Shaklee has gone above and beyond with the 180 products. They've improved their shakes so much that they're now called Smoothees. Cafe Latte and Chocolate are my favorites!

I could sit here and type out everything that Shaklee 180 has to offer, but it would be so redundant, especially when you can find out all the fantastic information right here! Shaklee 180

I attended my team's very first 180 Turnaround Party last night and it was so.much.fun! I ordered my Lean and Healthy Kit right there! I can't wait for it to arrive!

Now, I don't need to lose weight, but I do love to replace my lunch everyday with a Smoothee. Why? Well, I have two small boys who work me over daily. In a good way, of course. :) Lunch time gets crazy around here and a few months ago, I found myself actually forgetting to eat! I'd prepare their lunch, get them fed, off for their naps, then be too tired to move for awhile. Around 3pm, I'd realize that I'd completely forgotten lunch. No bueno.

So I started making a Smoothee (then called a Cinch Shake) while I made the boys' lunches and would sip on it while they ate. Easy-peasy. Super yummy. And I'm not hungry, or experiencing low blood sugar by late afternoon. They fill me up with super healthy nutrients!

My husband has been drinking a Smoothee every morning for lunch because he's usually running late. :) He mentioned to me last week that he's noticed he can go from breakfast to lunch without thinking about food or getting those hunger pangs. Added bonus: he's lost 5lbs...just by replacing one meal per day!

So tell me, do you want to do a 180 with your health? If so, please contact me via this blog or through my Shaklee site. I'd love to help you get started on your healthy journey, plus get your 180 products for FREE!!!

2013 Goals

Here are my 2013 goals! (I've broken them down into several sections because I'm OCD like that. Order, order, sequence, sequence.)

FAITH

1. Get in the Word daily. Every day. It's not difficult, I just need to do it. I've been very lax with reading and praying, except when I'm in need of something from Him. That's not good enough for me. I clearly remember a sermon from our old church where the pastor said our relationship with God is a two way street...we have to maintain our part of the relationship. Also, how would we feel if someone we really cared about only contacted us when they needed something? That sermon hit home for me big time.
2. Worry less. Stress less. Fear less. Trust more. Believe more. Hope more. Pray more. 

CREATIVE

1. Do a creative project once a month. What? Once a month? That doesn't seem like much, but in my world that seems overwhelming! I used to sew several times per week, but I haven't touched my machine in over two years. I used to journal, but haven't opened my journal in at least a year. Life with two kids that do not sleep well has totally gotten in the way of my creativity and inspiration. That's going to change this year! Here are some of my ideas:
• Take a creative writing class
• Take a painting class
• Bust out the dusty sewing machine and sew...something!

FAMILY

1. More time offline, off phone, off social media. And more time engaged with the ones that are in front of me.  The days can be oh-so-long, but this time with my boys and husband is precious and I don't want to miss it by stuffing my face into a gadget. 
2. Print photo books of each child's first year. My bigger goal is to print a photo book of each child's year of life, but seeing as how my oldest is FOUR and I've not started one for him yet, I'm thinking that goal is too big. We'll start with one book per child. 
3. As a family, get our garden started again. We all had such a great time planning, planting, and reaping the rewards, but then we let life get in the way and neglected it. 
4. Sunday = Rest day. We're going to take it seriously beginning now. 

PERSONAL

1. Blog more. Duh. Why have a blog when I'm not active on it? My goal is to have at least three posts per week. That seems doable, right? Of course, I want to expand my topics to more than Shaklee information. My blog title is Healthy Life, Happy Life so I want to include more information about my family's personal journey to our healthier, happier life. It may include recipes, health information, or even just activities that I'm doing during the day with my boys. 
2. More exercise. We all need it, yes we do. 'Nuff said.
3. Continue building my Shaklee business. 

MY WORD FOR 2013

THANKFUL

I'm going to choose THANKFULNESS over frustration, sadness, exhaustion, weariness, jealousy, anxiety, or stress.

I have SO MUCH to be THANKFUL for. I am blessed, truly blessed and I'm choosing to remember it and be THANKFUL for it every day. 

Do you have 2013 goals?

Mmmm...Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

We LOVE bread in this house. LOVE IT. But we're also very picky about our bread. It has to be just the right texture, just the right amount of wheat, and just the right amount of flavor. Store bought bread is just not very good (in our opinion), has ingredients that we try to keep out of our home, and can be quite expensive.

So, I scoured the web searching for the perfect recipe and found a great one here at 100 Days of Real Food.  I changed the flour contents to 60% wheat flour and 40% white flour. For us, too much wheat is too heavy tasting. We have been known to eat an entire loaf in less than 2 days.



Here's my version of her yummy recipe! Enjoy!
I only use a bread machine. Making bread where I have to actually knead the dough is a disaster for me 100% of the time.

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 cups white flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups warm water (not too hot or it will kill the yeast)
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or melted butter)
• 1 packet or 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast

Place the ingredients in order in your bread machine. I use the regular bread setting with the lightest crust. Once it's ready, I pop it out of the pan and rub butter all over the warm bread. Yum!

On Being a Preschool Mommy

Our oldest (4 years) has been going to a wonderful church preschool for the past two years. We love it and so does he. You know they're doing something right when he asks if he can go to school!

Anyway, I'm not friends with any of the moms in his class. We say "hello" in passing and make small talk when we happen to stand next to each other during pick up times. I believe most of the families that attend the preschool also attend the church. So it makes sense that a lot of the moms know each other and have lots to talk about. Sometimes, I get a feeling of being an outsider when I see small groups of moms chatting and laughing, but I'm not in that mix. I'm pretty shy, so I'm certainly not going to walk up to them and join in on the conversation.  Ugh, feelings of middle school start popping up. Don't get me wrong...when I do chat with these ladies, they are all super nice.

However, the things I see going on there make me question whether I'm a good enough preschool mommy.

Sound crazy?

It is. But it's true.

There is pressure to being a preschool mommy.

I have no idea what preschool was like when I was four back in 1981. (There, you now know my age!) I assume there was the usual birthday party invitations, bringing snacks for the class, having a Christmas book exchange.

Well, let me just tell you what goes on nowadays. It stresses me out. It has made me question myself. It has made me a bit angry, too.

At my son's school (and let's face it, this probably happens at most schools across the country) I've seen mommies this:

• When unable to attend another kids birthday, they bring a gift for said child. OK, while I think it's sweet and thoughtful to bring a birthday gift for a child, is it going a little far to bring one for the kids that you don't know on a personal level? Where you and your child's only interaction with them is at preschool? Am I being unreasonable? 
• Speaking of birthday parties, these parties for 4 year olds that cost minimum $300 just for the party (not including cake, decorations) just drive me crazy! What expecation is being set for next years party? Why do we need to invite every child in the preschool class? And what happened to having a fun party at home with just simple cake and ice cream? We did this last year with our oldest and it was a huge success. We invited his three closest friends, they played inside and out, ate cake, hit a pinata, and opened gifts. It was so much fun! 
• And lastly, as I dropped him off Thursday for the last day before Christmas break, I caught wind of at least 3 moms who brought Christmas 'gifts' for each child. OMG, am I now supposed to bring gifts for 16 kids?? 

Please hear me: I LOVE TO GIVE. I'm HAPPY to give. I LOVE being involved in my boys' preschool class. I get such joy out of seeing him learn, participating in Zoo Days, Fireman visits, etc. But I don't feel the need to buy 'things' all the time. We don't have the money for it, and even if we did, I'm not sure I would spend it on those kinds of things.  

I guess I don't understand the reasoning behind it. Is it out of true kindness? Is it out of a sense of wanting your child to be well-liked (or wanting to be well-liked yourself)?

Those scenarios mentioned above are what stress me out about being a preschool mommy. And make me question myself as to whether I'm doing it 'right.'

On Thursday, as I was stressing to my husband about whether I should've bought gifts for all the kids in class, I was tagged in a Facebook post with a link to this article: Why You're Never Failing as a Mother

It was a true reminder that I don't have to be the 'perfect' mommy and bring Christmas gifts to each kid in my son's class. I'm doing a great job just being a mommy in general. I love my boys, I spend all my days with them interacting, baking, creating, singing, playing, reading...you name it. That's good enough. That's more than good enough.

Are you a preschool mommy? Do you ever feel pressure in the preschool classroom? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Bloggers Block

Have you ever experienced this? I'm in a serious blogging drought right now. I have about 10 posts saved as drafts but I just can't seem to find the creativity (or time, or energy) to finish them.

Hopefully, I'll be back soon...until then, please feel free to keep up with me on Facebook and Twitter!

My Grand Opening!

I had my first official Grand Opening party for my Shaklee business on Tuesday. I called it my Health and Wealth party. It was a great success! Of course, I didn't get pictures. Boo.

I had to give my two minute story on how I found Shaklee. Can I just tell you how much the idea of public speaking terrifies me? I waited until my very last semester of college before I took the required Public Communications class I needed in order to graduate. Surprisingly, I did not die from sharing my story. In fact, my sweet friends told me I looked like a professional up there! Liars.

After sharing my story, my business partners quickly shared theirs, then we launched into the Shaklee presentation...what Shaklee stands for, how we are the NUMBER ONE natural nutrition company in the US, and a demo of some of our best selling products.

My friends were impressed. Some of them were a little hesitant to attend because they didn't want to be sold ocean front property in north Texas, or feel pressured to purchase something. They (and myself) have had experiences like that from other MLM companies. And it is no fun.

I didn't have the party to get them to buy something from me, however, I appreciate greatly those who did. I had the party to share my passion about Shaklee and how the products have helped our family get clean and healthy! I want to spread the word about healthy, non-toxic living...especially to those I care about.

So everyone who attended the party, thanked ME for inviting them! They told me they were pleasantly surprised that they didn't feel pressured to purchase products. They told me, our presentations were wonderful and gave them lots of insight on Shaklee. I'd call that a huge success!

I can't wait to have another party soon! I love helping others!

Would you like to have your own Shaklee Health and Wealth party? Contact me and we can get you set up!