50 Healthy Habits Every Girl Should Have

I came across this print from Skinny Mom about healthy habits that every woman should have.  I loved reading through all of the habits and seeing which I do and which I need an improvement on.

The habits I do:

1. Start fresh every day
2.  Check my statements and bank account regularly - I confess I don't cross everything off line by line like my husband but I do check my accounts and credit cards often!
3. Adopt a 'meatless Monday' mentality - I don't think I need meat every day.  In fact some times I get tired of eating meat and crave something with just veggies.
4. Cut back on 'evil sugar' - I'm not saying I don't down some skittles every now and then, but I don't over do it with sugars.  I'm more of a salty person anyway ;)
5. Don't try to keep up with the Jonses - I don't do it, it never works and you're never happy that way.  I truly enjoy what we have and appreciate that.
6. Keep healthy snacks at home
7. Practice safe sex - enough said.
8. No drugs, smoking -never.  Bleh!
9. Take care of my clothing
10. Eat whole foods as much as possible - We're really trying at home to do this.  It's a work in progress but I think we're doing pretty good!
11. Pay off debt - we don't have any.  We're always good at paying off our cards when we get the bill, which I love, I'm sure it saves a lot of fights about money!
12. Don't skip yearly "woman" appointment.  I'm very strict about this as I know many women who have found out they have pre-cancerous cells during these check-ups and have possibly saved their lives by going.
13. Don't overdo booze - while I do drink wine most nights, I don't get drunk. There's no worse feeling.
14. Don't snack if you're not hungry - although I probably should!  I'd love to gain a few pounds.
15. Use SPF and wear a hat in the sun - I use SPF all of the time, it's a must down here!
16. Don't rely on pills if you can't sleep - thankfully I don't have this problem, not being able to sleep is awful
17.  Drink eight glasses of fluids a day 
18. Make your home a place you want to be
19. Don't buy things you'll only wear once
20. Stand up for myself
21. Avoid tanning beds
22. Take medications seriously - this took me a while to get used to, but I do.  I can totally tell a difference if I don't take my thyroid medicine daily - no fun!
23. Read labels on everything - I have to because of my son and daughter's food allergies (nuts)
24. Prioritize stress management
25. Optimize fertility, plan kids - done haha
26. Always wear a seatbelt
27. Wash hands often
28. Sneeze into arm
29. For every 20 minutes on the computer look away for 20 seconds - I do this without realizing, usually because I'm being called by one of the kids.

What I could be doing better:

1. Try 20/30 rule: 2 hours of TV, 30 minutes of exercise - great idea!  I never sit in front of the TV that long, but I love the concept 
2. Put down phone when you're with people - I try not to be on my phone too much when I'm with people, but I could be better.
3. Understand exercise doesn't have to be a big time commitment - I just need to get my butt to do some excercise
4. Drink warm water with cayenne pepper daily -  I started off strong earlier in the year, and have been slacking.
5. Use retinol if you're starting to get wrinkles
6. Never grocery shop on an empty stomach - it happens on occasion, and is never pretty!
7. Start biking
8. Don't beat yourself up - I try not to too much.  But we are our own biggest critic 
9. Use YouTube exercise videos 
10. Google how to make own cleaning supplies - I have Googled it, just haven't done it.
11. Drop loose change into same jar daily
12. Don't skimp on sleep - so guilty of this - I'm writing this at 11:30 pm and should be in bed!
13. Do mental health checks - I've never done one!
14. Consider drinking liquid chorophyll - I used to be good at this once upon a time and have stopped drinking it.
15. Floss after every brushing - I usually only floss before bed
16. Count to 10 when angry - good idea!
17. Learn to take constructive criticism - I do ok at this, it just depends on the delivery
18. Never let Google diagnose you - I'm the worst at this - it really is a bad idea to go on and type in symptoms!
19. Ask HR about benefits - great idea - just doesn't apply to me right now

I love doing self examinations and seeing areas that I can improve on - and based on this, it's a lot of exercise!  Ha.

What are some things on this list that you're good/bad at?

Home Garden

 via

With all of the pesticides and just plain gross stuff that's put on our fruits and vegetables, I've been thinking more and more about making a home garden.  It's a way to eat organic and healthier for less.   I think it would be great for the kids to see the food grow, eat it and even help me cook with it.

We are in Florida - South Florida where it is HOT so we can't grow all that I'd like to grow, but we can grow some things: tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, eggplant, lemons, oranges, mangoes, grapefruit, avocado, lettuce, jalapenos, bell peppers -just to name a few.  Throw in some herbs and I'd have a mean batch of guacamole ;)  Not to mention, we don't have the biggest back yard to grow all I would like to, but I still can grow some things and the thought of it being organic and good for my family is a plus!

I love when we go to Oregon, my husband's uncle has two acres of land and literally grows EVERYTHING!  They cook and eat straight off of their garden, and dinners always taste so fresh and SO good!  They also make their own jams, dehydrated fruits, jarred salsa - everything!  It's such a healthy way to eat and live.  When we go, it's so neat to see my kids play in the yard and just pull a cucumber off of a plant and eat it!  Or have an apple handed to them for a snack as they play!  While we don't have all of that space I'd like to implement something smaller.

I'm not known to have the greenest thumb, but it's something that I would at least like to give a shot at doing.  There are so many ideas on how to grow fruits and veggies tiered planters and a lot of things can even be gown in containers!  When we went to Disney a couple of months back, EPCOT was having their Flower and Garden festival, and they gave so many great ideas on things that can be grown in planters, old tires, wheel barrows, old garbage cans - really the possibilities are endless!

It's kind of hard to see but there is a wheelbarrow and a garbage can that they are using to grow fruits and vegetables.

This is what I have in mind for our house:

I like something like this so that it can sit in a corner of our yard along our fence.

I want to start small - maybe with strawberries, tomatoes and a few of the easier fruits and veggies and if my black thumb allows them to live, then go from there. 

Do any of you have home gardens?  What do you grow?  Do you have any tips for a beginner?