A New Year, A New Resolution

It's been a long time since my last blog. I was in a real frump and was very discouraged for quite a while.  The pounds quit dropping off and I actually started to see them come back on even though I was eating healthier.  I admit that I wasn't exercising as much as I should have, but I felt blah all the time.  To everyone else, I'm sure it looked like laziness.  But for me, I just felt drained...  ALL THE TIME.  I lost motivation due to lack of energy and I really didn't know why. A few months ago I had my regular check up and my doctor referred me to an endocrinologist who diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Hypothyroidism with a multi-nodular goitre. This isn't good news, but at least now I KNOW why I've been so blah.  There is a reason, and it's not because I'm lazy. I've been on hypothyroid medication for about 5 weeks now and so far my energy levels have not improved. I have another appointment on the 5th to see my doctor and have more lab work done to see if my thyroid medicine needs to be adjusted. In the mean time, I've been looking for natural ways to help my thyroid function through diet and supplements.

I usually don't like setting myself up for failure, so I don't normally talk about my resolutions. However, this year I do have a few I want to share.  First, I want to get my health in control. Not the doctor's control,  I'm putting this in God's hands. I want my energy back so that I can do the things I need to do to get my weight back to normal and be able to enjoy time with my kids while they are still young enough to want to spend time with me.  Second, I want to develop a meeker spirit.  I let little things annoy me and I really want to have more patience and be able to speak more quietly.  I guess that means my kids will have to listen to me much closer since I won't be raising my voice to repeat things. And third, I want to learn how to play the new guitar my husband gave me for Christmas.  I'm dedicated to learn and plan to spend about an hour a day practicing along with my children.  What are your resolutions this year?

SmartKlean Laundry Ball (review)

     A while back another blogger had posted about the SmartKlean laundry ball. I became intrigued after checking out their website at http://www.smartklean.com/ .  I've been happy using soap nuts for a while now and feel they are still a fantastic eco friendly way to wash your clothes among other things. However, this laundry ball has some fantastic benefits that soap nuts do not.

     The ball itself is an interesting shape and feels like it's made of a rubbery plastic. It's heavy for its size and is filled with four different little round ceramic beads and magnets.  Their website states that everything inside the ball is biodegradable and the outer casing is recyclable. Each of the different ceramic balls inside have a different purpose, as do the magnets.  One is an antibiotic that eliminates mold and bacteria, another is an alkali that elevates the water's PH to similar levels of soaps & detergents, another is a far infrared and negative ions increasing molecular motion and decreasing surface tension ensuring sterilization, and the last one is for chlorine exclusion eliminating chloride compounds in water.  The tiny, but powerful magnets inside break down water clusters and help reduce rust in your washing machine. The shape and design of the ball beats & agitates dirt off clothing during the wash cycle. I love the idea of reducing chlorine in the water and that is what really attracted me to the SmartKlean ball in the first place.

     The SmartKlean laundry ball is reusable for 365 loads.  They say one year, but I don't do a load of laundry each day, so it could last me longer than that. Included in the package was a chart to mark off each time you do a load to keep track of the 365 uses. This could potentially save a lot of money over purchasing laundry detergent.

     Since the SmartKlean laundry ball does not use soap or detergent, there is no need for the rinse cycle and you can wash all of your clothes in cold water, saving you money on water and electricity, not to mention time.  I have been using the ball for the past few weeks and have been completely satisfied with its ability to clean and deodorize the kids stinky, dirty clothes.  I suppose if I had some really tough stains I could make a liquid soap from my soap nuts to pre-treat the stains before washing with the SmartKlean ball.

This is a great alternative to laundry detergents for people with allergies and sensitive skin. Check it out!

This review is my personal opinion of the product. I am not being compensated by the company in any way, except that they sent me one SmartKlean laundry ball to try out and review on my blog.