Monday Coffee

So last week was a weird week. I went on two mini work trips and it threw me off. I am not used to the traveling and didn't get any posts written, didn't respond to any comments or even read any blogs. I was so busy traveling, working, and then doing my travel claims that I got behind. 

So today is just some randomness. Things that have been on my mind lately. Probably some word vomit.

If we were having coffee together, I would tell you....

...I have shared this with a few people that read here, but not with everyone. And now it is time. At the end of June, I am having a partial hysterectomy. After my last surgery in January to remove the scar tissue, it immediately came back and worse. This time it is invading my uterus and possibly outside of my uterus. We just won't know until they get in there. But my doctor told me the baby that we lost last year just didn't have a cozy environment in my uterus. There was too much scar tissue and now that it is worse, I could try to get it taken out and get pregnant right away, but it still may not stick.

After what we went through last year, I am done. I am keeping my ovaries, so I won't have to be on hormone therapy and I could still do an egg retrieval later on if I decided to have kids again. But I just wouldn't be able to carry said child. They are taking my uterus because that has been the problem and then the tubes as that is the first place that ovarian cancer shows up. The cervix is up in the air for now. 

This has been a tough decision, but one that hopefully leads to a pain free life and no more surgeries. 

...I am loving my Peloton. I have already used it 38 times. I was really hoping that I would get a lot of use out of it and I really have. My husband, not so much. I LOVE taking rides with Denis. He plays a lot of rock, classic rock and some punk rock in there. Another favorite is Bradley. He is from/lives in the UK and he has some pretty fun rides too. A lot of the same types of music as Denis, but Bradley has more punk rock.

...I am so out of sync with traveling. I used to pack efficiently, never forget anything, feel confident in what I packed, how I planned everything out, and now I am lost. As I said, last week I went on two work trip. I kept thinking I was forgetting something, I over packed in some items and then didn't bring my workout gear, so I missed out on a Peloton ride with some co-workers. Ugh. I know with time, I will get back into my groove, but for now, I feel lost. BUT can I just say that I am so thankful to be traveling again?!

...I have been watching This is Us since the beginning. The first season was soooo good. The second season was good too. And then season 3, 4 and 5 were just ok. They progressively got worse. So I wasn't expecting much for season 6. But WOW. This season is so good. I have cried so many times this season already and I fully expect I will cry these last three episodes. I don't want it to end. Why couldn't season 3, 4 and 5 been this good? Are you watching?

...I want to know if you wear a bikini, one piece, tankini or what for swimming. I am 38 and I will be 39 this year. Am I too old to rock a bikini?

...Speaking of surgeries, I need some series to watch when I am at home. It isn't until June 27th, so I have some time to figure out things to watch. But I will be home for 2 week straight, no work, nothing. So send me your favorites.

...I had the best Mother's Day yesterday. I will recap it on Monday, but I wanted to put something here. We celebrated me being a mama and celebrated with my little ladies. And I definitely thought about the little one that we lost last year. I hope however you celebrated yesterday helped your heart heal a little bit too. I know some of you want to be mother's and can't. I know some of you don't want to be mother's at all and that is ok too. And I know some of you have lost your mother's and my heart breaks for you as well. 

...After the last two years, I feel like I am a whole other person. The pandemic really took its toll on everyone. Including me. I am thinking about going to therapy. Just to become a better mom, a better wife and a better friend. I think I have been through a lot in life and need to sort things out. I wouldn't say I am depressed or even sad. But I just want to work on becoming a better me. Do any of you go to therapy? If so, please reach out. I have a few questions for you.

...How do I get my butt back in gear to start reading again? I have so many books available to me, and I keep just passing on them. I love to read, but need to get my reading mojo back.

I hope you have a wonderful Monday and enjoyed a cup of coffee, tea or drink of your choice while reading this.

Wednesday Favorites and Happenings

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

So I originally had this post ready for Friday and the one that appeared on Friday to be for today, but I had a deadline that I had to meet and had to change them around. Ugh. But since I had already written both pieces, I still went with them. Just a bit out of order. So you basically get to Favorites posts this week.

ONE. Speaking of softball, the girls have had 3 games now. They should have had four, but one was cancelled due to rain, wind and it being pretty cold. Each game the girls are getting better and better. It amazes me how much they have progressed. 

Here are two snaps from last weekends game.

Sutton (her sister is on 3rd base)

Avery's hit.

TWO. Remember how two weeks ago, I posted that I wanted either Converse or Vans high tops? Well I also mentioned that when we were out shopping for the girls bat (which you can see them using in the above photos), we stopped in Converse and Vans and I tried on both pairs of shoes. The Vans won because they are incredibly comfy and the girls were also getting some (they had a deal going on that day). Rory and the girls got these for me as an early Mother's Day gift.

Vans The Lizzie

I got tons of compliments on these shoes when I wore them out Sunday.

THREE. On Sunday we took the girls to an Aces game. The Aces are the triple A team for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Reno Aces were playing the Salt Lake Bees (the LA Angels) and it was a perfect Spring day out. It was 67 degrees out which felt amazing sitting in those stands.

The Reno Aces ended up winning and we had a great time. Here are some snaps from the game:

FOUR. Do you like clean plant based products for your home? I know I do, so when Vanessa from Wiley Body reached out on IG (she lives local to me) to see if we wanted to try out their new line of body lotion and hand/body wash, I jumped at the chance. I love supporting local, I love supporting friends and I love clean products (now I don't always use clean products, but we try to integrate them into our lives more), so I wanted to try them. 

We got these for free, but were not required to post about them, write about them or anything. BUT since I love the products, I am choosing to share them with you all. And no, there is no affiliate link on these.

We received the Grapefruit and Juniper Berry Hand + Body Wash and the Everything Lotion. The girls and I have been using them in our daily lives and love the smell and the feeling. The hand/body wash lathers really well, smells amazing, cleans well and leaves your hands feeling soft and hydrated. The lotion is amazing. I use it daily after getting out of the shower and it keeps me from being flakey all day.

The girls modeled them for me.

Avery modeling the hand soap.

Sutton modeling the everything lotion.

FIVE. Weekly funnies.

  

Amazon Prime Purchases - April

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes. 

It is time for another round of what did buy from Amazon Prime in April? Last month I bought a ton of things. This month was a lot less. And three of the items were birthday gifts, so it wasn't that much. I am sure my husband is grateful for that since I bought so much last year.

So what did we buy this last month?

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linking up with Tanya

Friendship Bracelets

This was part of the birthday gift. The girls whose birthday it was, loves panda's, so I tried to find some panda jewelry. This way she can give her friends some bracelets too and keep the panda for herself.

Tide Washing Machine Packets

I bought these at the beginning of the month before my mega wash on the washing machine. I wanted to have both Affresh and these Tide ones. 

Girls Hipster Underwear

So for Christmas, I got the girls some underwear, but those came from Santa, so I had to get another brand. I found these Amazon Essentials and they get great reviews. My girls were wearing some size 4-5 undies and they were cutting into their legs, so I had to order more. I threw out all the 4-5 ones.

Girls Eyeshadow Palette

This is another part of the birthday gift. The little girl wanted makeup and this one had good reviews. I was going to get her the kind that I got my girls, but I couldn't get it in time for the birthday. That is what happens when you order the week of.

First Little Readers

I have said this a few times, but these First Little Readers are so good for kids who are learning to read. I buy a new set every couple months. The girls were blowing through the G & H books, so I ordered these. They really like the stories and the words get harder and the books get longer with each level.

FHI Wet Brush

Another blogger/IGer posted about this brush and I was intrigued. I use an old school paddle brush and it was time for a new one. I wanted one that was vented, would dry my hair quicker and was gentle on my extensions. This one fits the bill and gets great reviews. I got it on sale too.

Panda Birthday Card

Amazon is a great place to get birthday cards.

Fairy Tales Rosemary Detangler

This is a repurchase. We use this spray to detangle the girls hair and prevent lice. Since the girls are in school and people are hugging again, anything to help prevent lice, is a good thing. This spray smells good, detangles the hair and helps prevent lice without the garbage in it. It is made from essential oils.

Nespresso Vanilla Custard Pie Pods

This is another repurchase. I love this flavor and use these pods everyday that I am in the office. They are the same price as Nespresso, but free shipping and quicker shipping.

Essential Pet Probiotics

This is another repurchase. I have purchased it 7 times off of Amazon. These are the best probiotics for Walter. We put one in his food each morning and they help his tummy.

Italian Salad Spinner

I have been wanting a salad spinner forever, but never bought one. I would just wash my lettuce or fruit and let it air dry. But sometimes my salad would be "wet" because I didn't get all the water off of it. So I finally caved and bought one. This one works amazing. I even wash my veggies with it.

What did you buy on Amazon Prime this month?

ReadySlim Detox Tea Kit Review

Do you suffer from bloating? Has your metabolism slowed down? Do you need more and better sleep? Because I know these have been some of my issues for the last couple years.

I talked about my miscarriage, my D&C, and my experience with Asherman's recently. All three of those have messed my body up and I am still having problems with the aftermath. I had another HSG which showed the scar tissue has come back, and this time it is also penetrating my uterus. Not just inside my uterus like last time. Anyways, this has caused some major bloating problems. At certain times, the bloating is so bad that I look pregnant, which I am not. 

It has also changed my sleep habits. I often lay awake in bed from the discomfort of the scarring, so I need help with sleep. And since I am approaching 40, my metabolism has slowed down. So basically I have the trifecta of suckiness.

ReadySlim reached out to me to try their Detox Tea Kit. Now at first, I was thinking, I don't want a weight loss system. I don't need that. But then I looked into their website and Instagram to find out more about them. They offer a 28 Day Detox Tea Kit which is a two step tea kit. One for the morning and one for the evening. They are about promoting healthier bodies through detoxing your body. There are no weight loss ingredients, only herbs and fruits to help clean out your body, make your skin look healthier and promote better sleep.

ReadySlim 28 Day Detox Tea Kit

Here are the ingredients and benefits of the morning tea:

And here are the ingredients and benefits of the evening tea:

The teas help with inflammation, bloating, flushing out the toxins from your system, help with digestion, metabolism and helping you sleep better.

Now for the taste test because let's be honest, not all teas taste great. BUT this tea is really good. I love a good cup of chamomile tea in the evenings. Especially when I travel. This tea is really good. I was most excited to try the night time tea because that is when I normally drink tea. The night time tea has chamomile in it, peppermint to settle your stomach, orange peel and lemon verbena for some good flavor, and lavender to help with sleep. I love this combo and will be taking it on my future work trips.

ReadySlim Snoozzzy Night Time Tea

Yes I had to add an ice cube after it was done brewing because it was still too hot.

The daytime tea is just as good. You definitely get the flavors of the passion fruit, apple and ginger without it being over powering. If I am at home, I start my day off with a cup of the tea. If I am in the office, I usually have it after my morning coffee.

Not only am I drinking tea twice a day, but I am cutting back on my coffee, which is a huge deal....also saves me the additional bloat when I don't have as much creamer in my life.

Have I seen less bloat and inflammation? Yes, I have. But I also have coupled this routine with more exercise on my Peloton and have had less dairy/creamer. 

I feel like my sleep is better, and I am averaging about 30 more minutes of sleep a night. This is a big deal because on Monday and Tuesday nights I have to get in bed earlier since I go into the office on Tuesday and Wednesday's. I need to get to sleep faster and stay asleep.

All in all, I am very impressed with this tea system!

Thank you ReadySlim for sponsoring this post. I received these products in exchange for my honest review.

Have a great weekend. I am linking up with A Little Bit of Everything.  

Cleaning Your Washing Machine

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.  

So I have a little story for you all. We have had our washing machine for about 6 years. About 6 months ago, it started to smells quite often. I was using the Affresh washing tabs or the Tide washing machine once a month like normal, but the smells and gunk was still present. I found myself using those about once a week recently, which is overkill.

Let me say that I wasn't as good about cleaning the washing machine on the clean cycle monthly for about the first year or two. I would do it every other month. I was being cheap. That bit me in the butt later on. As in the last month.

The gunk is basically brown or black flakes that end up on the bottom of my washing machine or on my clothes. Gross. 

I took to google to see what it was. Basically it is a build up of iron, minerals and sometimes mold. My clothes always smelled clean, but this was becoming a problem with the persistent smell when we would walk in the door or when it would leave that gunk on clothes. It would really only leave it on the clothes when we didn't have a very full load.

Anyways, I decided one day to clean out the area beneath the cap on the agitator. It was nasty. It was full of that gunk, hair and lint. I didn't take a picture, but it was gross. Then I did another tube clean wash with Affresh, and the gunk was even worse.

The cap in the middle of the picture is what I took off and clean under it.

So I knew it was something deeper. I took to You Tube to see what I could do to clean the rest of it out. I then proceeded to spend about an hour watching videos. I knew it would be a process, so I called two appliance repair companies to see what they would quote me. One said at least $300 to $400 and maybe more. The other said $500 since it will take half a day. I could almost buy a new washing machine for that. 

I figured I could do it myself. And so I did. And it sucked. But I saved us money. I just cut my hand up pretty bad in the process and it took me 4 hours.

After watching ones on the Samsung, I looked for my LG model. Let me tell you, LG sucks in the way they make their products. At least they do for washing machines. Next time I will be getting another brand other than LG or Samsung.

Anyways, this is what I did for my model. I unplugged the washing machine. I DID NOT have to take the water pumps off. I unscrewed 4 screws in the back of the washing machine. Then I lifted the back end and pushed forward. This freed my whole top portion of the washing machine. Then I opened the lid to my washing machine and let it fall back, this held the washing machine open, but I still used a free hand when I could to keep it open. The top weighs quite a bit and I didn't want it falling on me.

Then I started removing the 8 screws that hold the plastic ring above the drum. Once I got all 8 screws out, I unsnapped the ring (there was about 6 snaps), and pulled the top part off. I took it outside and sprayed it with Lysol All Purpose Cleaner and let it sit.

Then I popped the cap off the agitator again and took two small flat head screw drivers and put them around the sides of the agitator to pop it out. When I did that, I was greeted with the most disgusting sight.

This the agitator.

This is what was getting all over my clothes. And the smell. So foul.

I took it outside as well and then sprayed it with the Lysol and let it sit.

Next, I had to take the bolts off the bottom to get the drum out. This is where I sliced my finger open. The outer area, the lip, is very sharp. I was able to remove (with the help of Rory) all but two bolts. The last two we had to put WD-40 on them which was great for getting them off, but not so much for putting it back together. Spoiler: the bolts wouldn't stay in their holes later on.

Even with wearing gloves, when I was wrenching the nut off the bolt with my left hand (yes I am left handed), I finally got it to budge, but then I sliced my finger open even through the glove. I bled everywhere and it wouldn't stop bleeding. I cleaned it and put a paper towel around it to finish cleaning and this project. I had to keep changing the paper towel out and finally put kitchen cleaning gloves around the paper towel and wound to keep it clean and safe.

There is about half an inch to an inch of gunk build up on there.

Once the nuts were off, we pulled out the drum and took it outside to be washed. Once again, I put Lysol all over it to sit for a bit.

The black/brown gunk was all over the bottom and sides. It is hard to see, but the brown flakes were covering the whole outside of the drum.

Once everything sat in the Lysol All Purpose Cleaner for about 15 minutes, I took an old toothbrush and started scrubbing the agitator (top and bottom), the plastic ring, and the bottom of the drum. I used a scrub brush for the inside and outside of the drum. Then I used Rory's Pressure Washer to blast off all the excess gunk. This took a bit, but I got all three pieces completely clean.

Then I had Rory clean up the pressure washer, hose and dry them off for me, so I could go work on the inside of the washer. This is what it looked like before.

I used more of the Lysol spray and then some hot water and Dawn dish soap. I used my old toothbrush and the scrub brush and got them all cleaned out. Now you can use a shop vac to suck out all the water (but make sure you take out the filter) or you can run a short rinse/drain cycle. I chose the shop vac option. Cleaning the inside of the drum took about 20 minutes because we had a ton of gunk build up.

Once everything was clean, we started putting it back together. This is where two of those bolts dropped when we tried to put the drum back in. We ended up super gluing them into their spots otherwise they wouldn't have stayed in their hole. Once they were dry, we put the drum back into place and put the washer and nuts back on. We made sure they were tight and then snapped the cap back on.

Then we snapped the plastic ring back on and put the 8 screws back in. Once they were tightened, we put the washing machine top back into place. Now it was easier to get it off, then put it back on. We had to first put it down with it pushed forward and set it in its tracks. Then we pushed it back and it snapped into place. This was a two person job, when I was able to take it off by myself.

Then I simply screwed back in the 4 screws in the back, plugged in the washing machine, and turned it on to make sure it still worked, and it did.

Then I proceeded to wash the clothes I wore to clean this beast to see if it would work. And guess what, it did. No more flakes, no more smell and no more gunk.

Now here are a few things I learned to help slow this process down (the gunk build up):

- Use powdered detergent. Something about the liquid builds up quicker.

- Wipe out the excess water from your washing machine after your final load for the day. If you are running load after load, you do not need to wipe it in between.

- Once your load of laundry is done, immediately take it out and put it in the dryer. Do not let your wet clothes sit in the washer for long periods of time.

- Use the Affresh washing tabs or the Tide washing machine packets once a month. You can even make your own (there are many recipes on Pinterest and You Tube) and save money.

So I saved us $300 to $500 which was nice. BUT this was a process and I can see why people have someone else do it or just buy a new washing machine.