Quick Tip Tuesday: Get all the goo gone

If you've ever been around me while I'm eating, which let's be honest, is often than you know I should be mandated to always wear a bib (no shame in my game). I spill EVERYTHING. Often times, these little mishaps are oil based and leave unfortunate little grease stains on my clothes. WHAT A DOWNER (Am I right?!) However, imagine my happiness and joy when I realized I can get rid of those stains!! This is where I introduce to you: Goo Gone, the handy little tube of liquid that probably has a lot more uses than you ever knew about. For example, as I'm writing this eating my incredible white cheddar ooey gooey grilled cheese I'm thinking about how much I love this sandwich and how much I hate how it leaves my fingers greasy. It's inevitable that before cleaning my hands I'll accidentally touch my shirt and leave a grease stain that I can't get out and then I won't eat my beloved grilled cheese ever again (or at least until I forget that I stained my shirt from the grease). Either way, I digress and want to tell you THIS CAN BE FIXED with the eliminator of all goo, the Goo God, if you will. Even after having shirts that have been stained for, dare I say, months that I couldn't part with, or stains that have already been washed and won't come out... this will save you! Just put some goo gone on as a pre treater before washing your beloved clothing (directly on the stain, rub it in a bit with a clean cloth and let it sit for a minute) and when you pull it out of the wash and it dries... voila! It will be gone. Makeup, or lipstick stained on your clothes? Do the same thing.  (Do I sound like an infomercial yet?) I know it's weird how much I love this trick but it works so well! Basically any oil or grease based stain that you have on carpet, clothing, upholstery, etc. can be cleaned with this lovely bottle of yellow magic. During my 5-year stint as a retail worker, we kept a bottle on hand just in case. I even share this little tip with my mom and was disbelieving until she tried it herself. Take a minute to look at the bottle and see ally the uses this little bottle can give you that you probably did't even know about. This could save your life. Or maybe just your clothes, carpet, sticky situations, and so on. Anyways,  the moral of this story is, go get goo gone and eat all the grilled cheese you want (As long as it's extra cheesy and on sourdough). Until next time, keep it real.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Morning Smoothies

I have no qualms admitting I am a morning person. I'm sorry. However, I don't wake up at 5:30 singing "It's a beautiful morning" (But wouldn't that be nice?) I also have a problem because I don't usually leave tons of time to make breakfast before I run out the door, and I want something that will hold me over until lunch. This is where my love of smoothies come in. It's perfect for just about any occasion and so tasty! It's just enough in the morning when paired with a granola bar to get me through to lunch and somewhat exciting to make. My husband and I recently did the Advocare 24 day Challenge (awesome experience) and a smoothie was part of the morning routine in both cleansing your system and keeping yourself full. It's a great source of protein and fiber (depending on what you add) and limits the "bad sugars" that you can get when adding sugar or sweeteners and flavored creams to coffee or other drinks (I still LOVE my Dunkin Donuts Ice Coffee every once in a while!) Here's my go to:

1 Tbsp. Flax seed meal or Chia Seed

1 Tbsp.  Oats

1 scoop vanilla protein 

1 c. frozen berries (whatever tickles your fancy, I like a mix of rasberries, blackberries, and blueberries)

1 c. almond milk 

1 banana

1 handful of spinach leaves or kale

OR if you're feeling chocolate-y:

1 frozen banana (you need to peel it before putting it in the freezer)

1 Tbsp. peanut butter (organic or regular)

1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 Tbsp. oats and/or chia seeds

1 c. almond milk 

** I like using frozen fruits because then I don't have to use ice (I don't have an ice maker) and it keeps things nice and cool and thickens it up. Until next time, keep it real.

Quick Tip Tuesday

Happy Tuesday! Hopefully I'm not alone in saying my sweet students are ALWAYS losing pens or pencils and seem to ask for them at the most inopportune times. After letting them borrow (keep forever) a pen or pencil here and there I realized one day I didn't have any left! When you're the one buying the supplies, this is a huge bummer and can get expensive. So, here's what I've started doing:

In this cute recycling bin one of my students got me I went out and bough a bunch of regular pencils (maybe I'll upgrade to mechanical soon but who knows). If  a student needs a pencil, they can buy one from me for 25 cents and it is theirs to keep. You'd be surprised how much spare change these kids have hanging out in their pockets and how willing they are to buy pencils. Then, with the money I make I just restock my supply of pencils.

If it's something quick and a pen or a pencil is needed briefly I've added this pretty tape to my pens and pencils so should it go missing and turn up 3 days later in the lunch room (specific example) all the students know to return it to me because of my tape. 

Hope this can help you if you have a case of the missing pencils! Until next time, keep it real.