It's a Crafty Life

Fit Club: Favorite Reads

2012-02-27T06:30:00.000-05:00

Gooooooooood morning, Fit Clubbers!
Was my Robin Williams "Good morning, Vietnam" voice coming though?
No?
Well, I gave it my best shot. I may have been trying just a wee bit too hard to pump myself up for Fit Club this week.
I have to be honest. My weight loss is not going so well. As a matter of fact, my weight may have even gone UP in the past week. My motivation is not exactly where it should be. So I'm really going to have to try harder. I think I'm just letting myself be lazy. It's frustrating, even though I'm doing it to myself, if that makes any sense.
Anyways, on to today's topic. I wanted to share some fitness blogs & articles that I have really enjoyed reading lately. You may have some favorite sites of your own that are your go to source of fitness inspiration, please share in the comments section!
Sarah-Jane Bedwell has a great column over at Self.com. It's called "Eat Like Me" and she shares her weekly menu along with recipes. I think it's really interesting to see what people {those healthy people who seem to have it all together, haha!} are eating every day.
And on that note...have you guys ever checked out Jennifer's blog Peas & Crayons? She takes eating to a whole new level, in an awesome way! Jen has a weekly link up called What I Ate Wednesday, and you would not believe the food fun and inspiration that is linked up there every week. Don't believe me? Go check it out!
I love this blog just for the title---The Picky Eater. :-) Aaron and my family were just talking today about what a picky eater I can be, although I have come a looooooooong way in what I will eat! Lots of great recipes and pretty food pictures on this site.
Lots of good recipes on Steph Chows too! Healthy mocha peanut butter?? Um, yes, please!
And, just because no blog post is complete without a picture, take a look at what I used to make turkey panini sandwiches this weekend. They were pretty darn tasty too. Has anyone else tried these?

Seriously, there are a ton of great food blogs out there to help us stay on track with our eating. What's your favorite one to visit?
Share your weight loss tips, recipes, weekly report out, whatever is on your mind in regards to getting healthy!

Pinfest

2012-02-24T06:30:00.000-05:00

Here's my pins for the week!

Source: lovely-nest.com via Kim on Pinterest

I'm not really a fan of games at showers, and I think this is a great alternative. Not to mention, the baby would have lots of cute onesies to wear!

Source: iowagirleats.com via Kim on Pinterest

Mini ham & cheese quinoa cups

Source: thevintagelemon.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Lots of cute state printables over at The Vintage Lemon

Source: Uploaded by user via Kim on Pinterest

Who doesn't make a million deviled eggs at Easter, and these are so cute!

Source: vanessasvalues.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Easy to make stamps for kids.

Source: beafunmum.com via Kim on Pinterest

I'm headed to the local Home & Garden show this weekend before helping my dad celebrate his birthday. What are you guys doing this weekend?

Joy & Love

2012-02-21T06:30:00.000-05:00

Do you guys remember when I showed you my bedroom and admitted that after more than six months, we still didn't have anything on the walls? Well, we did have some art above our bed, but that was it.
I've been working on it. Still a work in progress, but it's coming along.
There was lots of good advice and ideas from you guys, and I'll definitely address some of those in another post, but today I just want to show you the wall art that I decided on for the area above my husband's dresser.
One of the reasons we painted our room gray was because we wanted to be able to change out the accent color. We started off with yellow, but since then have already switched to red. And that's one of the reasons that I didn't want to just slap up any old art. I wanted to be able to easily change it out when we switched colors up.
So, here's what I have up there now.

It all started with this print that I found at Home Goods. I'm a sucker for typography or a good monogram, so I snatched this up as soon as I saw it. I love how the letters are going every which way. I also loved how the black and white is neutral enough that I can always have this up, it will go with any color.

Then I knew I wanted a pop of red and I wanted to stick with the typography theme. I originally wanted to make only two prints and put them into their own frames. I wanted the two frames together to be the same height as the "Peace" print. {Am I making sense here??} But finding two frames that would fit in the space and still line up with the bigger print was impossible! And so then I put off finishing this for another couple of weeks.
Until I saw this frame at Target that measures exactly 19 inches tall as well, the same size as the "Peace" print. Perfect! I made three 4 x 6 prints to go in the frame. I just printed them out at home, so it makes me happy to have the option to change things up whenever I want.

Then I added this vase {?? What would you call that exactly, ha?!} to the corner. This was a steal at Hobby Lobby, I think it was like $6.50. Again, I liked that it was neutral and can stay out with whatever accent color we are currently using. I have to tell you, I do not like a lot of things on dressers, coffee tables, and so on. It ends up looking like clutter to me, so keeping decor very simple is always my goal. I know it probably looks bare to some of you guys, but that's how we like it! :-)

So what do you think?

I liked these prints so much that I made some more and added them to my shop. There are lots of color choices, or you can choose your own color. Follow the links to find them!

Love & Joy Prints

Laugh & Love Prints

Hope & Grace Prints

I think the pink one is my favorite, I just love the words. I almost want to print these out in red for my bedroom. :-) But I think it's also a good print for breast cancer awareness. I think it's the words, but also the ampersand kind of reminds me of the pink ribbon. Is that just me?
Hope you guys have a great day and don't forget to join in on the Fit Club linky party this week!

Fit Club: Hanna from {bouffe e bambini}

2012-02-20T06:30:00.000-05:00

You guys are going to be so inspired by today's Fit Club post! When I read about this woman's weight loss journey, I was completely amazed and inspired. I had to immediately contact her to see if she would write a guest post. Of course, she is seriously the nicest and sweetest lady and graciously agreed. So, let me introduce you to....

Hanna from {bouffe e bambini}!

Is there life after having 2 babies and gaining 100 pounds????

ABSOLUTELY!!!

I'm living proof!

Hi there, My name is Hanna and I am so honored to be here guest blogging.
You can find me anytime over on my blog {bouffe e bambini} where I post lots of fun recipes, some cute pictures of my babes, and some fun fashion stuff.
I am a busy mom of two toddlers, a full time critical care nurse, runner, blogger and wife. I'm a busy lady!!!
This is me!

It's so nice to meet you. Today I am going to share my weight loss journey with you.
I hope I can help inspire some of you who have had a baby or two and found yourself stuck in a rut, struggling with weight and just not feeling like your self anymore. I have been there my friends. I have lost 110 pounds and am so excited to share my story and inspiration with you.

Here I am with my little loves. My son little Milton is just over 2 and Ginger is 12 months. I'm a busy lady!

Meet my husband, big Milton!!!

So this is how my story begins.......

1. First, we were a happy couple!!!!

2. Then we fell in love and got married.

3. Then I got pregnant........

4. Gained 100 + pounds........

5. And had a beautiful baby boy.

My life was forever changed in more ways than one.

First of all let me say that I honestly feel like my life had truly just begun with the birth of my children. I have love for them like I never knew existed. I often feel like my heart might burst with joy when look at their shining little faces. You can read more about me and my transition into motherhood here.

However, this is what I looked like with my first born. Then I got preganant again 4 month later. WOW! I was pregnant for 2 years straight.

The wonderful news was I was a mom and had given birth to a healthy baby boy and girl. The not so wonderful news was that I had become obese! Yes, obese. Not exactly how I wanted to describe myeself but the truth.

Honestly, when I was pregnant I thought I was so big because of the baby not realizing that when the baby came out I was going to be just as big. I was completely shocked at my size. When I looked in the mirror I had no idea what I was even looking at. I felt like I was trapped in someones else's body; a very uncomfortable body.

Brutal Honesty of what being Obese feels like:

My thighs rubbed together and I would develop a rash if I didn't have pants between my legs at all times.
I had little bumps in my armpits where I would shave because they would rub against my upper arm and chafe.
I couldn't cross my legs
My back ached; I could barley lift my new born baby without throwing my back out
I was always sweaty, especially under my breasts.

I felt disgusting; I have never been so uncomfortable in my life.

I was embarrassed. I would run into an old friend and they would kind of look at me like "oh that poor girl used to be so cute but now she had kids and look at her" I HATED THAT!!!

I had stretch marks ALL over my abdomen, thighs, upper arms and even down to the back of my shins because I had gotten so big.

Nothing fit. I wore pajamas and plus size maternity clothes for a VERY LONG TIME!

I stopped caring totally about my appearance; Never making an effort to look nice.

My wedding rings didn't fit and I had gained so much weight some of my shoes wouldn't even fit.

Basically, I just felt horrible inside and out. I felt very unattractive. I would hardly let my husband touch me becasue I felt so ashamed of my body. I stopped wearing make up all together. I wore my hair pulled back every single day and always was in old ratty PJ's. It was so depressing. I was really unhappy.

It wasn't long before I knew I had to loose the weight and not just a few pounds, I knew I needed to loose A LOT, and so my journey began.........

I was motivated and darn right DETERMINED to loose this weight. I wanted to be healthy and happy for me, my husband and my kids, It wasn't just about me. I have heard over and over again in my life that "you should just love who you are no matter what size". I love that and I think it's a great sentiment but the honest truth is for me I couldn't love myself in that condition. What's there to love about not feeling good? When I am thinner, I feel healthy, sexy, accomplished and it radiates to all areas of my life.

Here are a couple before and after pictures that I hope you find inspiring.

Starting out is the hardest part of the whole journey. Lossing 100+ pounds is a very daunting task to say the least but I am just an average, everyday woman and I did it. That means you can too!

I did it completely on my own. I never joined Jenny Craig or weight watchers. I didn't take diet pills, have surgery or starve myself. I just had a vision of who I wanted to be and I made that vision come to life, Again, you find my detailed plan {HERE}.

I think it is important to think about it long and hard before committing to something like this becasue it is a long journey but it is VERY attainable. If you have a little will power and a little dicipline you can make it happen. It's important to set a reasonable, realistic goal and you can read more about that in my {GUIDE}.

I wanted to talk a little bit about common pit falls. Many women who desperately want to loose weight will come up with a list of reasons why they don't think they can acheive thier goals so I just wanted to let you know that there is always a way. Here is how I dealt with many typical obsicles while trying to loose weight.

Common Obstacles:

NO CHILDCARE. I am a full time mom and a full time nurse. I have no childcare whatsoever. I made time to exercise anyway. I bought a double stroller and a baby carrier and I walked everyday. You don't need to go to a gym to loose weight. I did while taking care of 2 babies under the age of 2.

FULL TIME WORK. I also work full time as a nurse, 12 hour night shifts to top it off. You must make time to prepare food for yourself to bring with you to work so youtr not tempted to eat the junk in the cafeteria.

A SPOUSE WHO WON'T FOLLOW THE SAME MEAL PLAN AS YOU. My husband eats pretty much everything I don't eat. He eats sweets, breads, potatoes, pastas. He eats whatever he wants. So no big deal. Prepare meals that can be shared by both like prepare chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli. You eat the chicken and broccoli and let him eat everything else. You'll be surprised how easy it is to make it work.

NO TIME. I worked full time and was a full time mom during my entire weight loss plan. My best advice is to be prepared. ALWAYS, keep snack friendly food around the house and carry it with you wherever you go, fruit, almonds, cottage cheese are great examples. This way you won't be tempted to binge on whatever food is lying around the house.

I have dieted many times in the past and this is the first time in my life I have lost this amount of weight in the healthiest way I know how. I never felt hungry or deprived.

My best advice is BE KIND. BE GENTLE. FORGIVE YOURSELF and then jump right back on that wagon and try agin. Concictency was my greatest tool.

A few more tips:

Be grateful everyday

Just let it go

Remind yourself how amazing you are, this is hard work

Talk about it, accept praise from others, if you work hard, you deserve praise. It feels so good!

I just have to say that I feel better now after having 2 babies than I have ever felt in my life. Not only am I in love with being a mother but now I can truly enjoy my kids and feel great about myslelf. What a great example for my kids as well. They see their mom as healthy, happy and radiant. That is a wonderful thing my friends.

I truly hope that I have helped to inspire at least one of you to give it a try. It is possible. It is doable even with kids and work and every other crazy thing life throws at you. I am passionate about this and I would truly be happy to answer any questions or just chat about how difficuilt weight loss can be. Again, you can find EXACTLY how I did it {HERE}. Please feel free to email me anytime at "www.bouffeebambini@hotmail.com".

Thank you so much for sharing your story, Hanna! Did I tell you guys that you would be inspired or what?? The thing I love the most about her post here and her whole blog are her pictures. You can see how great she looks, but more importantly, you can tell how good she feels and happy with herself she is. That's really what we're striving for, right?
Definitely go check out her blog. Hanna is seriously the friendliest girl, you guys are going to love her!
Now it's your turn. How did your week go?

True Love

2012-02-17T18:21:00.002-05:00

When Aaron and I started dating, we would spend the evenings sitting on his front porch talking. I wish I could say it was some old school romantic set up, but really we were just trying to escape the heat of his all brick un-airconditioned house. He would play songs on his guitar and we would watch people go by. We did a lot of talking about a lot of things, and I think it's part of what made us so comfortable with each other in such a short amount of time.
I distinctly remember one of these nights when he told me that he was losing his hearing in one of his ears and the doctors didn't know why. He already had hearing loss in his other ear because of a concussion he suffered in high school, so to be losing hearing in this ear seemed serious. I remember thinking how much I would hate that. Just in an every day you-need-your-hearing kind of way. But also, he loves his music so much, I can't imagine how he would feel if he couldn't hear it anymore; to play the guitar but not be able to know what it sounds like. It would be misreable for him.
Just after a year of dating, we found out why he was losing his hearing. He had a brain tumor. It was growing on his auditory nerve, the nerve that connected his ear to his brain, essentially squashing his nerve and making him lose his hearing slowly. We were completely shocked. He went to see a local neurosurgeon, and he said that the tumor was rare and in such a delicate spot that he didn't think anyone in our area would really be equipped to handle it. But it had to be removed or it would cause extensive damage eventually. He referred us to a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
We headed out there to meet with the doctor, and a month and a half later, we were back for the surgery. It happened so fast we hardly knew what to do or think. I mean, brain surgery! It was a scary time for both of us. I think it was probably a blessing that it did happen so fast and we didn't have any more time to ponder and obssess over it. The surgery was really successful, with no complications, and we were very thankful for that! We were also very blessed that the tumor was benign. Unfortunately, the doctors weren't able to save Aaron's hearing, but he has really learned how to cope with being deaf in one ear.
When we got home, Aaron was off work for a couple of months. He had terrible headaches for a long, long time and he got worn out very quickly. But after a while of being home all day, he got kind of antsy. He decided that he was going to build a guitar. Now, Aaron has some serious love for Stevie Ray Vaughan. I mean, serious. So he made a guitar to look worn and tattered like Stevie Ray's. And he has loved that guitar ever since. He gets totally lost in his own world when playing it. He obviously loves it because it is related to Stevie Ray, but also because he made it with his own hands during a very serious time in his life. I think it really represents a lot to him.
True love.
I don't think there's a guy who loves his guitar any more than Aaron loves this one.
I'm linking up to the Project 52 photo challenge at Life with My 3 Boybarians.This week's challenge was True Love.

Oh, How Pinteresting!

2012-02-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

Wednesday already?This is a four day week for me,so tomorrow is, in essence, FRIDAY!
And we have Monday off for President's Day, so that means a 4 day weekend for me!!
Can you tell that I'm just a tiny bit excited about that? :-)
I'm linking up some of my favorite pins with Michelle over at The Vintage Apple. Her party is so huge, you have to go over and check out all the awesome inspiration!

Source: houseandhome.com via Kim on Pinterest

We will be building a shed this spring {because who knew three garages would fill up so fast, ha!!} and I really like how this one looks kind of like a cottage. But our neighborhood association says our shed has to basically be a mini-version of our house, so it's not likely that we'll use this. Love it though!

Source: thatsmyletter.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

I think this idea for perfect hand painted letters is so smart! Definitely want to give it a try.

Source: celebrationsathomeblog.com via Kim on Pinterest

A chili bar! This is completely made for me...I have chili every year for my birthday dinner.

Source: themuppetmindset.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

A Muppet alphabet...so cute!

Source: etsy.com via Kim on Pinterest

How adorable is this necklace? I found it in a shop on Etsy and so want it now!

Source: skinnytaste.com via Kim on Pinterest

The recipe looks great, but I may be even more in love with the bowl haha!

Source: fatfightertv.com via Kim on Pinterest

Another good sweet potato recipe!

Source: crepesofwrath.net via Kim on Pinterest

Salty, sweet, and YUM!
What have you been pinning?

Color My World {Free Printable}

2012-02-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

As time goes on, I realize
Just what you mean to me.
And now, now that you're near,
Promise your love that I've waited to share
And dreams of our moments together.
Color my world with hopes of loving you
--Color My World by Chicago
That song is actually my parents' wedding song, but I think it is a beautiful one. The longer that I am married to Aaron, the more I see how lucky I am and all the ways that he colors my world.

Who colors your world?

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
Grab the printable here.

5 x 7

8 x 10

Linking up at these fun parties!

Fit Club: Naan Pizza

2012-02-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

Do you guys ever watch The Next Food Network Star?

Maybe it's something about Bobby Flay (I mean, really, how can you go wrong with Bobby?), but I love watching it. A couple of seasons ago, Aarti Sequeira was the winner. It was one of those seasons where you knew who the winner was going to be the whole time, but that didn't stop you from rooting for her anyways. She was just so easy going and camera friendly, not to mention they raved about her cooking. Makes me wish I could be a judge on that show for even just one episode so I could get a little taste!
Anyways, I remember seeing one of Aarti's shows or challenges (I can't remember now?) where she was talking about using naan to make a pizza. I had never even heard of it at the time, but it is a popular Indian bread. (Is it crazy that I've never had Indian food before? I don't like spicy food, and for some reason I think Indian would be crazy spicy.)
I was walking through one of the local stores we have around here that has a lot of grocery items in it as well. But, they are sometimes kind of unusual or an off brand, since it's a discount store. This package of naan caught my eye, and I started thinking about Aarti's suggestion for pizza making.

The calories and nutritional info seemed pretty good. Heaven knows, I'm no expert. But the calories seemed ok, a good amount of fiber, and whole grain...check, check, check.

I pulled out the garlic and herb Laughing Cow cheese (I almost went with the blue cheese version but changed my mind at the last minute!). I used about 1 1/2 wedges on each piece of naan.

Then we added some fresh basil,

some grilled mushrooms and onions,

and then we fell off the wagon a little bit and added some bacon.

We baked them on our pizza stone for about 15 minutes,

before digging in. It was really good! You could definitely taste the garlic and herb cheese, but it wasn't overpowering at all. Yummy, I will definitely be making these again. And maybe with some healthy grilled chicken instead of bacon. ;-)

How did you guys do this week?
As always, please be sure to visit these lovely ladies and leave them some words of encouragement or help them celebrate a good week!

Five on Friday

2012-02-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

I used to do a Ten on Tuesday post until it got kind of hard to write those ten random bits every.single.week. I don't have that much randomness in my life, I suppose? So this week I decided to do Five on Friday and do half the bits.
Cheating? Yeah, maybe.
1. I have been consumed with work this week. For example, yesterday I worked from 7:30 to 5:00, came home and ate a quick dinner, sat down on the couch at 6:00 and graded papers until 10:00 that night. I'm not trying to complain, I know everyone has long days. Just saying that there is so much going on! Teaching is weird that way, I swear you can be ahead of the game one day and completely behind the next. I often wonder how I will find the time if I ever do have kids. I know there are only a million teachers that are also moms, but I would have to really organize myself a whole lot better. Either that or lose my mind.
2. Everything Sunny Always is one of my new favorite blogs. I don't remember quite how I found her blog, but I do love reading her posts. She has such an honest way of telling about her life and stories, and her pictures are really beautiful. Which isn't surprising, since she's a photographer. Anyways, go check it out.
3. I know that I've mentioned before that I love music, all kinds. Anything is better as long as you have some music while you're doing it. I've been on a big country swing lately, and these are two of my favorite songs right now.

This one came on as I was pulling into work this morning, and I had to sit in my car and wait for it to end. Just couldn't turn it off! There's something about the way he sings it, I just really love it.

4. I've been on such a good eating kick this week. That probably has to do with the fact that I was so sick all weekend. Honestly, I hate being that sick, but there is something about having the flu that resets your body. After tossing my cookies for 24 hours (gross, I know), I don't have any cravings for sweets or carbs anymore and it has been so easy to make the right choices. Like my body is telling me, "Ok, I got rid of all the crappy stuff now, don't load it up with junk anymore." Hmmm, what a novel idea.
5. Speaking of eating right, I am so excited to try this recipe for Moroccan Sweet Potato and Cous Cous Salad from Erin at Eat, Run, Write. I have serious love for sweet potatoes (although they are usually in the form of sweet potato fries or covered with brown sugar at Thanksgiving) and this salad sounds so so good to me! What do you think? Yummy, right?

Fit Club

2012-02-06T09:32:00.001-05:00

What a weekend! Saturday night, I came down with the worst flu bug! I was up all night and it continued into all of yesterday. Let me tell ya, it was not pretty! I stayed in bed literally all day. On the plus side, my husband had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl, and I didn't eat one bit of their food. Even the smell made me feel more sick! I am feeling a little bit better this morning, and have finally managed to keep some saltines down. Ugh, not the way I wanted to spend my weekend!
I've been thinking about setting my specific goals and the rewards I will give myself when I reach them. Meredith from Mer's Memories wrote a great guest post about that a couple of weeks ago and it's been on my mind ever since. I really feel like 10 pounds a month is a reasonable goal, and it seems easier to break it up like that in my mind. So my goals are all pretty much the same (10 pounds a month), but at least they are in writing now, and I have a way to check myself.
1. Lose 10 pounds by February 29---new pair of sneakers (You guys would so laugh at my Nikes right now. They are falling apart! Does anyone else have issues with the rubber separating from the bottom of the shoe? It has happened to every pair of Nikes I have ever bought, but I like their design so much better than the other shoe companies. Any suggestions on a good pair that aren't Nike?)
2. Lose 10 pounds by March 31---a new haircut (I've been wanting this for a while, but I think my hair is kind of like my security blanket haha.)
3. Lose 10 pounds by April 30---a Canon Compact Photo Printer (My printer doesn't have good enough quality for pictures, they come out just a tiny bit blurry. And I haven't done my Project Life in a couple weeks now because I just can not make myself sit down and order the pics. Those uploading programs are so SLOW!)
4. Lose 10 pounds by May 31---a Silhouette (I mentioned buying this to Aaron, and he didn't seem to convinced that I need it ha. And honestly, I'm wondering how much I actually need it too, but I do think it would be fun to play with!)
Looks like losing weight isn't going to be cheap for me!! :-) But I still have all of my "skinny" clothes, so I don't think I'll have to do too much shopping for new clothes, maybe it will balance out. I wouldn't mind losing more than 40 pounds, but I think that's a good start for now. If When I make it there, I can always set new goals.
And I just have to say, having it laid out like that makes it seem much more attainable. Ten pounds a month, I can do that, right?
Ok, let's here how your week went! Share how you did, a great recipe, or anything related to getting healthy!

Fit Club: Exercise Apparel

2012-01-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

Good morning, ladies! I hope you had a good weekend! Mine was great. Saturday was busy meeting up with some new blogger buddies {if you're a teacher, check out my post over here, these ladies have great teaching blogs that you're not going to want to miss out on!} and shopping. And on the drive home, I decided that maybe it's a good thing that The Container Store is so far away...I wouldn't want to be able to stop in there and spend so much money on a regular basis! Yesterday was just a lazy day, I loooooove those kind of days! :-)
Are you ready for Fit Club this week?
I've been wearing the same two pairs of exercise pants for the longest time now, and I'm getting a little tired of them! I mean, come on, black is a girl's best friend, but every day? I found a great article on overstock .com {of all places, why there...who knows?} that talks about things you should look for when shopping for exercise apparel. It was an interesting read because, I have to admit, my first consideration about buying workout clothes is usually the price. I'm willing to put out the money if it's worth it but after all, I'm just going to be sweating in it, right? So anyways, that article put a different spin on it for me.
I've been checking out different sites for some new exercise apparel, and here's some sites that I'll be buying from soon!

I just came across Athleta today, but I have already placed an order for a new sports bra. This company is also owned by the people behind The Gap and Banana Republic, so you know the quality is going to be great. Now, the prices...eh, a little high. But they allow you to return any item if you are not satisfied with it, even if you've worked out in it. It's pretty hard to turn down a money back guarantee, so I'm willing to put out a little more money for certain items.

These yoga pants from Old Navy are my go to exercise pants. They are so comfy!! Seriously can not recommend them enough. And the price is definitely right on these too, so that doesn't hurt.

Love this cute tank top from lululemon .com!

JC Penney is my go to store for a lot of things, and their exercise clothes are cute and inexpensive. Have you heard about how they are shaking up the whole way they do business? Dropping prices, having little "shops" inside the stores, and so on. I'm kind of curious to see how things will change because I was already happy with them. Hope I like their new approach!

I also love Kohl's for their exercise clothes. I think they have so much more color and pattern than a lot of the other stores. This tank is completely calling my name!

Where do you guys like to shop for exercise apparel? Do you have a favorite brand?

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you guys for linking up every week! I know that we are all benefiting from the support. Please be sure to stop by the blogs of the other Fit Club members! We all love getting that support through those comments, so don't forget to boost each other up a little!

Valentines from the Past

2012-01-27T06:15:00.000-05:00

{Let me start off by saying that I am looking for people who are wanting to be involved in a series of giveaways for a celebration on It's a Crafty Life. Email me for details!}

TGIF! Oh my gosh, you guys, am I glad it's Friday! This is just a quickie post, since I feel bad that I haven't stopped in to say hello much this week. Time just flew by, and I am so tired this week! There has been no exercising, not so good eating, and going to bed at 9:00. It just doesn't feel like I can catch up on my sleep! I had big plans this week to make some picture frame key ring holders for my new Etsy shop, but it has been all I can do to keep up with my grading and everything else. How do you make it through a week where you just feel like you are dragging? And I really don't like coffee, so I hope that's not the big suggestion! :-)

Tomorrow, I am headed to Columbus to meet up with some fellow teacher bloggers. I'm excited to meet them and see what we have in common. And I'm also really excited to do some shopping while I'm down there! There's all kinds of bigger stores that we don't have around here, and The Container Store is #1 on my list of stores to hit!

I wanted to take a minute to share some of my Valentine's Day projects from last year. If you are new to the blog, be sure to check them out!

Treat Toppers

10 Things I Love About You album

S'more Love Treat

Love Magnets

I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Looking in the Same Direction {Free Printable}

2012-01-23T22:13:00.000-05:00

I tend to work in a little bit of organized chaos. I have the best of intentions, but things just get by me. For example, I've made a to do list of all the Valentine's projects that I wanted to get done before it gets here...and haven't looked at it since. Instead, I worked on a new printable tonight that was a spur of the moment thing. Are you like me? Do you make lists, lose them or forget about them, and then start in on something else entirely? Or do you keep that list by your side until every item is crossed off?

Oh well, I think there's something to be said for going with it when the creative spark hits you. So, I'm excited to share this new printable with you! I made it with Valentine's Day in mind, but I think it could be used at any time of the year. {And maybe that's why I included it in turquoise. Or it could just be that I love anything turquoise these days. Totally a nice break from my green fascination.} I've printed mine out on glossy photo paper. I think photo paper gives it a little more rich, deeper coloring, but that's just my preference.

I love the sentiment of this quote. Truly, I am so very lucky that Aaron and I see eye to eye on so many things. I really think we are going in the same direction in our lives, and I'm very thankful for that. Too mushy? ;-)

I made a couple of different color switches on this print. I can never quite decide if I like a white background with colored words, or a colored background with white words. What do you guys think?

Download here.

And then, here's the turquoise one, totally sticking out like a sore thumb. :-)

Download here.

I hope you guys enjoy them, I definitely had fun making them!

I'll be linking up here!

By the way, if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you already know that I have just opened up a new Etsy shop. It only has a few items right now, but I hope to add more soon, so stop by and check it out! This item is my favorite right now!

Also linking to Today's Creative Blog.

Fit Club: Goal Setting

2012-01-22T21:57:00.001-05:00

Monday so soon? Where do the weekends go?? But I have to admit that I do look forward to Mondays a little more now that we have Fit Club. I love hearing how you guys are doing each week!

I'm really excited to have a special guest on the blog today! Meredith from Mer's Memoirs is truly an inspiration when it comes to reaching health goals. Her story and determination are inspiring, and I have totally broken a sweat using the exercises that she shares on her blog. :-) But don't take my word for it, check out her awesome post about goal setting. Take it away, Mer!

Goal-setting

When I started my journey to better health a few years ago (it seems like forever now) my goals were simple, I wanted to climb a few flights of stairs without getting winded and I wanted to be a size 6.

Sticking to my goals was definitely tough. I felt like I was eating too much, I missed some of the foods I could no longer eat on my diet, and I was constantly sore from working out at the gym. Constantly.

But I stuck with it. I was in college and surrounded by lots of thin, pretty girls that were always going on dates. I wanted that too. I wanted to feel and look attractive. I wanted to be a girl that guys were interested in. I wanted confidence! I had to remind myself of those things when I was eating yet another bowl of cheerios, or climbing an endless amount of stairs on the gym’s stairmaster. One day, I would get there. One day I would be a size 6 and be happy with the way I looked. And the more I stuck with it, the closer that day got. When I slacked, I knew I was only pushing that day, and my goals, further away.

I think setting attainable goals is vital to getting in shape and finding motivation. Take a personal gut check and evaluate where you are health-wise. Saying “I want to be healthy” or “I want to lose weight” isn’t a goal. An actual goal needs to be measurable, it needs to have a number, it needs to have meaning. For instance, recently when I wanted to get back into shape, my goal was to not jiggle. Funny, I know. But what does that mean? I want to be toned and trim. So, I’m going to do work outs that tone my body and keep me slim. See? A meaningful goal.

I do have one word of caution: When you are setting goals, try to set goals that aren’t centered around weight. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a goal weight, but muscle weighs more than fat, and as you become smaller, you may not necessarily become lighter. You may be losing inches, but not necessarily pounds. There is a difference. And it can be really discouraging if you’re losing all these inches and your jeans are getting lose, but your weight isn’t moving as rapidly. You don’t want to sabotage yourself. So, think in terms of sizes or inches, something that’s measurable and not tied to a number on the scale.

My recommendation would be to set one big goal, as your “big kahuna” and then set mini goals leading up to it. Here’s an example, of some attainable goals for a woman who is currently a size 12.

And before you know it January will be on your doorstep and you’ll be that size 6! Be sure to display your goals somewhere you’ll be able to view them and be reminded of them everyday.

Setting deadlines for yourself is a great way to work toward something. And tying a reward to that deadline makes it fun and not such a drag. So, let’s say when you meet your first mini goal, you get to eat out at any restaurant you want and pick from any item on the menu. Pick rewards that will have meaning to you and will give you motivation to keep on trucking.

So, here are your action items:

Write out your goals
Display your goals somewhere you’ll remember
Get to work!
When you meet your goals, give yourself a reward

Setting goals is a great way to begin your path to better health and weight loss. I maintain a weekly Work it Wednesday post on my blog where I discuss everything from basic work outs, how to go about working out a gym, dieting, and staying motivated. You’re more than welcome to check it out if you’re stuck in a rut or need a little bit of a push to meet your goals.

***********************************************

Thanks so much for these tips on goal setting, Meredith! I really felt like you were talking directly to me this week, since I am the queen of vague goals. I mean, what does "get healthy" really mean, right? I think I was trying to not set myself up for failure by having a precise goal. In reality, precise goals is the only way to know if I'm being successful or not! This week, I'm going to list out my specific goals and a reward for when I reach each one. I know I saw some of these specific goals and predetermined rewards in the link up last week, so you guys are ahead of the game. :-)

How did you guys do this week? We are more than half way through the month, are you still keeping up with your goals?

Well guys, Linky Tools still isn't working this morning, so I'll try again after I get home from work, but it might be best just to add our links through the comments sections this week!

Framed

2012-01-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post today! I wanted to share with you a present that my best friend Mary Jo gave me for Christmas. Mary Jo and I go way back, all the way to high school, and I don't even want to say how long that has been now. I'm the one responsible for getting her into scrapbooking and blogging. {You can check out her blog here, she just got started.} And if that isn't enough, I am currently even trying to get her into Project Life. She's still holding out on me there, but I'll keep at her. She wouldn't get on Facebook or Twitter either, once upon a time. {Oh, and don't worry, she has gotten me into plenty of things and situations too. She never met a crazy idea that she didn't like. :-)} Anyways, Mary is pretty crafty with her scrapbooking supplies. She sends me pictures all the time of frames that she makes for all kinds of people...her friends, her children's teachers, and so on. And I finally got one too! With chevron and a monogram, I was in love instantly. This isn't the picture that I want to keep in there, but Aaron & I don't have many pictures together lately, so this one will do for now.

I keep telling her that she should open an Etsy shop and try selling some of her beautiful work. I don't think she knows what to do on that front, but I can tell I'm starting to sway her just a tiny bit. I just really think that a lot of people would buy these beauties as a gift for someone or for themselves.

What do you think?

Oh How Pinteresting

2012-01-18T06:30:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong to be wishing for a snow day during what is already a three day work week? Yeah, ok, I suppose it is. I drive Aaron crazy sometimes, always wishing for a snow day when I get so many days off as it is, being a teacher. Guess if you work in a school, you never outgrow the mentality of wanting to jump back in bed instead of heading into work. :-)

Anyways, I've been pinning away and here are some of my favorites!

Source: bhg.com via Kim on Pinterest

I would love to have these in two of my base cabinets instead of having to move things all around to yank my toaster out.

Source: ourfifthhouse.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Love this striped lamp shade.

Source: swanky-chic-fete.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

I once tried to have a slider burger bar, but it wasn't anything near this awesome!

Source: epicureanmom.com via Kim on Pinterest

Southwestern Quinoa Wrap

Source: katyat34.typepad.com via Kim on Pinterest

Um....does that look delicious or what?Brown butter risotto with lobster

Source: sadalewis.com via Kim on Pinterest

Cinnamon Snails

Source: jandaandco.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Free printables...how cute are these? I'm linking up today at Don't forget to stop over at the Fit Club link up to share some love and support for some amazing ladies! They are all doing great in reaching their health goals!

Project Life

2012-01-17T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hello, ladies! I finally have some shots of my Project Life pages ready to share and am excited to be linking up with The Mom Creative again this week. Loved seeing everyone's pages last week, it gave me plenty of inspiration for weeks to come. Week 1 was done with a scrapbooking kit that I have held onto for like 5 or more years? Don't ask me why I hoard my scrapbooking stuff, instead of actually using it! Definitely going to try to use up my stash this year, and this was a good start.

Week one, page one

Week one, page two

Here's a closer look at some of the details.

And here's Week Two, which was a lot more of a basic journal and slide pics in. No fanciness.

Week two, page one

Week two, page two So, I've come to realize a few things after completing a couple weeks of Project Life, and not just thinking about it in theory. #1. Hurry up, Design A! I thought that I would really enjoy using page protectors with different layouts and pockets. And it is kind of fun. But I really think I just want to have the regular Design A protectors. I'm putting enough thought into remembering to get my pictures for the week along with every thing else going on; I kind of just want to be able to slide my pictures in and call it a day. Or at least have that option. Most of my cards from the PL kit don't fit in these pockets, and it makes for a lot of cutting, matting, and so on. #2. A little bit of everything...I also realized that I'm going to have a lot of different colors and styles of paper in my book, which is ok with me. It seems almost more like my regular scrapbooks where I didn't think twice about the color scheme of different pages. And I think PL is going to take the place of my regular scrapbooking for the most part, so I don't want to think of it as "special" anymore. #3. A people person?One more thing...I am not good at taking pictures of people! As I put my pictures for week two into their slots, I realized there was not one shot of a living breathing person in week one OR week two. And that seems like an epic fail. I've got to try harder to get more people into my shots. How do you like doing your PL pages? Scrapbooking & personal touches or just journaling and adding pictures? Maybe you prefer a mix of the two, like I do?

Fit Club: White Bean Burritos

2012-01-16T06:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, let's just jump in today, shall we? Confession time. I am having a terrible time eating healthy on the weekends! I don't know if it's being out of my routine or the fact that I have the freedom to pick up bad things to eat instead of being busy at work all day? I don't know, but it is not a good thing! How do you guys keep from eating too much of the wrong thing on the weekends? Is it just in the planning?

I almost think it's just a matter of being on a roll with the healthy eating. If I'm doing well, I really don't want to cheat. If I'm not....well, you know how that story goes. Maybe I'm just on a bad roll. I'll have to get back on track this week. Are you having a hard time with anything in your diet or exercise program? One of the things I did do right this week is make these amazing white bean burritos. Oh my goodness, I could eat them every day and never get tired of them. This recipe was found on {where else?} Pinterest, but comes from Eating Well. The only thing better than how good they are is how easy they are to make. I could go on and on about them, but I'll be quiet and just share the recipe now!

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

Ingredients:

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp canola oil (we used EVOO)

2 tsp finely diced chipotle chile in adobe sauce

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups shredded red cabbage

1 medium carrot, shredded

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 15 oz can white beans, rinsed

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tbsp minced red onion

whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

1. Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile, and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot, and cilantro, mix thoroughly.

2. Add in beans, avocado, cheese, and onion. Mix well. We kind of smush up the beans as much as we can, but it's up to you how smushed you want them. {How's that for technical cooking terminology?}

3. Spread about 1/2 cup onto a tortilla. We warm ours up in the microwave for about 45 seconds, but they could also be eaten cold. Wrap up and enjoy!

So, how was your week? Did you stay on track? Did you get all of your exercise in? Let's hear it! You can grab a Fit Club button over in the sidebar!

I'm also linking up over at The Scott's Crib! http://craftygsquared.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m587/heyburma/pinneditmadeit.jpg"/>>

Picture This {2}

2012-01-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

Picking up the camera. I've been doing lots of that this week. And it feels really good.

Recording bits of my day. Bits that I would forget otherwise.

Taking on challenges. And boy, were some of these challenges. Here's my best take on them. MorningI've been making myself little egg mcmuffins on whole wheat bread lately. I hate taking the time to do it each morning when I really just want to be running out the door. And that is not coffee, only hot chocolate for me. Made With LoveThis carving was made for me by my dad in 2005. I do love it so, but also love the story that goes along with it. When I was little he used to tell me stories about a little girl named Darlene, who had kind of a mirror image life to mine. He would take things and people and bits of my life and turn them into things in Darlene's life, but always with a twist. He would tell them to me as a good night story, and they were always fun to listen to. This is a continuation of the Darlene stories, who grew up to become a teacher {hmmm, sound familiar?}. But in the story, all of her students are perfect in every way...I mean, check out those spelling words for her fourth grade class! And Darlene is wearing her favorite teacher outfit, which is a long red corduroy skirt and a turtleneck. I had that same outfit when I was kid and always liked it because I thought it made me feel and look like a teacher. I know this was made with lots of love and looks down memory lane.

The next five pictures are all part of the challenge at Ramblings And Photos. 1. Stacked UpGrading language arts journals. This stack always seems insurmountably tall to me. 2. Winter Wonderland

This has been a pretty average temperature for us lately, and it's not all typical of an Ohio winter. So, no snowy pictures for me. Although, we are supposed to get some snow overnight, so maybe I will come back and edit this for Sunday's link up?

3. Sweet

I wasn't really happy with this shot. It just didn't turn out like I was thinking in my head? But I played around with some effects, and we'll call it done. These are some gummy oranges completely covered in sugar that my sister gave me as a stocking stuffer. Which worked, because my original thought was an actual orange.

4. Hole

There are lots of little holes in the sandwich thin I eat every day. I got the Goldfish brand this time, and my students think it is so silly that a grown up eats a sandwich that is shaped like a fish for lunch. Love that it amuses them.

5. Frozen

A moment frozen in time. Isn't it crazy to look at pictures of your grandparents when they were young? Sometimes I forget that they were ever anything but my grandparents, that they were once right where I am now in life. It really brings it home to me about why I should take so many pictures.

Whew, I know that was probably picture overload, so thanks for sticking with me! Can't wait to see what next week brings.

I'm also linking to:

Etsy Finds {Ice Blue}

2012-01-12T06:30:00.000-05:00

Ice blue. Something we're not very familiar with around here. This is one of the mildest winters I can ever remember. Two of my photo challenges this week have to do with winter, snow, and ice, but we're sitting here with temps in the 40s! I'll just have to get my taste of winter and ice blue on Etsy. {Not that I'm really complaining!}

Ice Blue Porcelain Tumbler from Kieffer Ceramics

Ice Blue Bridal Wedding Clutch from Lolo Sinclair

{Although I would use this all the time!}

Ice Blue Bling Bracelet AMI Designs

Ice Blue Bobby Pin Flowers from Juja Crafts

Ice Blue Wall Art from Rose

Blue Snowflake Cookies from The Kooky Cookie

Frosty Musk Olive Oil Shea Butter Soap from So Stinking Sweet

Are you guys having a mild winter as well? Or have you seen enough winter blue to last until spring?

Valentine Coupon Mini Clipboard

2012-01-10T22:23:00.000-05:00

We made it to the middle of the week! Time is flying by for me lately. I’m so busy at work, and I’ve been catching up on grading quite a few stacks of papers. Not to mention that I have finally felt like doing some crafting lately, which hasn’t happened in a looooong time. It definitely is fun to be back in the swing of things.

We’ve been seeing Valentine’s projects popping up everywhere already. There was candy in the store before New Year’s, for heaven’s sake! Oh well, what can we do but go with it right? Last year, I made a 10 Things mini album for my husband, and this year I decided to give him some fun Valentine’s coupons.

The idea didn’t exactly come out of nowhere. Last week, I was in Michael’s looking for 9x9 picture frames. {Which I am having such a hard time finding, but that’s another story!} You know I couldn’t walk past the $1 aisle, right? I really love getting their magnetic note pads from this section. They’re always cute and I go through them quickly at work.

Instead of cute note pads though, my eyes were immediately drawn to these cute mini clipboards. For $0.99? I knew I could do something fun with it. And now I’m already wondering if I should go pick up some more?

Adorable, right? Just calling out to have something fun done with it. So of course, I had to oblige.

There was a little painting. {Ok, a lot of painting. Like four coats of craft paint. Those black centers of the flowers? Not so easy to cover.}

And in the middle of the coats, there was a little tracing on the back of an old piece of scrapbooking paper. This paper was bought in the height of my poker obssession, but never used. So typical of me to buy supplies and never use them!

Next came some careful cutting on the inside of this line and adhering it to the back of the clipboard. The paper gave it a more finished look and really complimented the red paint. Plus the Queen of Hearts? Loved it, perfect for Valentine’s.

After a couple more coats of paint (!), the clipboard was ready to go. If I make another one of these, I think I would take some fine sandpaper and just do some light sanding on the front. That would help take away the gloss of the clipboard and let the paint grab onto something.

My clipboard was coming along, but it needed a little flair! Some colorful ribbon tied along both sides of the clip did the trick.

Next up, the coupons. What I love about using coupons is you can make them for any price range, all the way to down to $0.00. Yup, gotta love the free things in life every now and then. I did a little mix of the two---one for a guitar related item {which could possibly cost some big bucks, but this also may be the most direct way to Aaron’s heart} and control of the tv remote for one night {it’s the little things, people, the little things…and with his taste in tv, this might not even be so little.}

I printed them out on photo paper so they had a glossy and finished look to them, then just wrote on them with a fine point Sharpie. Love my Sharpies, I use them for everything! {And now for some reason, every time I mention Sharpies, I think of this song. Yes, I know, it’s a bit of a random connection. What can I say? My brain’s kinda random like that.}

Want to grab these coupons? Download them here.

What do you think? Will you be heading to Michael’s soon?

Linking up here!

and here:

Fit Club: Keeping Track

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

So, let's hear it guys, how did your first week go? I'm sure we all hit the gym and planned out our meals oh so carefully this week, since it is the first one and all. I really want to stive to keep that mindset for the entire year. Guess that's the challenge, right?

This week, I wanted to share how I am keeping track of my goals and what I'm eating. I found a completely awesome app to help with that. And no it is not an iphone app. I tell ya, as a Droid owner, it drives me a little crazy to see everyone talking about Instagram or any of the other cool apps that iphones have. Don't get me wrong, I love my phone, but come on, Android! Catch up already! Especially on that Pinterest app, I'm still waiting! Anyways, this app is called Lose It and it is available on Android or iphones. You can also keep track of things online, but I've just been using my phone. Seriously guys, I love this app.

When you download it, you are asked for your age, current weight, and goal weight. Then it asks you how much weight you want to lose in a week. It won't let you choose any more than two pounds, which I think is awesome. Setting reasonable goals is sometimes tough for me. I always want to lose 4 or 5 like that first week, which I know is really nothing but water weight anyways.

With this information, it gives you a daily calorie allowance. Too often, when I diet, it's an all or nothing kind of thing. I eat very little or I cheat like crazy. Neither is going to help me reach my goal. So by tracking my calories, I know how close I am to a reasonable amount for the day. It reminds me of Weight Watchers, but instead of converting everything to points, I just use the calories. It even gives you the date you will reach your goal based on how many pounds a week you want to lose.

Let me tell you, I have no idea how to take a screen shot of my cell phone, so I just snapped some pictures of what this app does with my camera. Oh, and I've trained myself to remember to try using different angles for interest, so that's why all these photos have a funny tilt to them. I did it without even thinking, sorry! (But yay that taking pictures is getting more natural!)

You start your day off with an overall view of the day. It shows how many calories you've taken in, how many you have left, and how many calories you've burned through exercise.

You can also look at a bar graph of your calorie intake for the week. You can see on Thursday, I was going back to my old ways of hardly eating anything. I only ate half of my alotted calories. The last thing I want is for my body to think I'm starving it, so I tried to reach my budgeted amount the next couple of days.

Throughout the day, you can add your meals and snacks to the app.

It is so easy to find foods on this thing! You can search by food name or you can just scan the bar code of what you are about to eat and it comes right up. I even tried this with the generic brand at my local grocery store, and it worked. Another nice feature is that once you look something up, it is stored in the "My Foods" or "Previous Meals" section. That way you don't have to waste time finding it every single time. I've been eating the same thing for breakfast every day, and it's so easy to go into my previous meals and just hit one item.

This is what came up when I scanned a pickle jar. (Which is funny that I even grabbed that because I hate pickles, but anyways...). All you have to do is select how much you ate and hit add.

You can also search by restaurant (I've used this a lot this week, love this part) or name brand.

Once you select from this menu, all of the food choices are listed alphabetically. The app also has a graph that shows your weight loss, but I'm not quite brave enough to post my weight on here yet. :-) I don't mean to go on about this app, and I certainly am not being compensated in any way for doing so. It may not work for everyone, but if you're looking for something similar, check it out. I just think it has really helped me out this week. I've always read that you should keep a food journal, but that always seemed so hard. One more thing to lug around. But I always have my phone with me anyways, and Lose It just makes it so easy! And there's one more piece of technology I'm using to help me while I'm at the gym.

I've started checking out Playaways from my local library. Does yours have these? It's like a little MP3 player that already has a book loaded onto it. All you have to do is put in a AAA battery and plug in your earphones.

I know this nothing too groundbreaking in terms of technology (and I really don't think it's as old as it looks here, ha!) but I am loving these. I don't want to pay for a book, whether it's one I can hold in my hands or one to put on my ipod. Not when the library here is so awesome and has so many books for free. And I'm not really interested in the books that can be downloaded for free. Yep, that's right, I'm super picky. So these are perfect for me. You should check to see if you have them at your local library. There are a ton of new titles available and they are free!

I know this post is getting long, but just a little more housekeeping. I originally intended the Fit Club series to be a monthly link up. Then we wouldn't be pressured to report out on progress too soon. Instead we'd have a month to see changes. But I started to wonder if maybe having the linky only once a month would give people time to get off track, and not have the support of others to get back on? So I decided to make a linky party every week. Link up whenever you feel like you want support or have some good news or ideas to share!

Don't forget to grab a button and spread the word! And please be sure to stop by and visit some other blogs, we all need some support to reach our goals. Besides, what a great way to meet a new friend!

So let's hear how your week went!

What did you do to stay on track?

Do you have a new recipe to share?

Oh, How Pinteresting

2012-01-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

Lots of great pins out there lately! I'm wondering if that's because of all the "Best of 2011" posts we've been seeing too!

Here are some of my favorite pins for the week.

Source: betterafter.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Kim on Pinterest

Source: pluckymomo.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: americancrafts.typepad.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: fiskars.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Kim on Pinterest

Source: savorysweetlife.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: rik-seephotography.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: iheart2stamp.com via Kim on Pinterest

I'll be linking up here this week!

Picture This {1}

2012-01-06T05:30:00.000-05:00

So, I am well on track with my fitness goals and drinking more water. Misreably drinking more water, but drinking it none the less. I've also been meeting my goal of being more focused on my blog. I started my first series and I've got lots of other fun ideas planned.

Now to make sure that I am meeting my last goal, taking more pictures! I've decided the best way to get in the habit of taking more pictures is to be actively thinking about it through photo challenges. I absolutely love that there are fabulous blogs who give us a way to think more about our photos and show off ones we are proud of. So Fridays on the ol' blog will now be all about how I am challenging myself to take more photos. And not just more, but more interesting photos. I've only joined in on one specific challenge this week (but several fun linky parties), and the theme was Resolutions. Good thing I've got plenty to choose from. :-)

I've been seeing plenty of this tape measure lately, and hoping to see a change in my measurements as the year goes by. Linking here:

Project Life: Title Page

2012-01-05T12:11:00.000-05:00

First of all, let me say thank you to all who gave suggestions for decorating my master bedroom over the past couple of days! There were some great ideas in there, and you've definitely given me something to chew on. I guess I didn't really say that part of the reason I'm having a hard time is because I don't want any fixtures that are too permanent. Part of the reason we liked the gray is because we could switch out the accent color when we got tired of the yellow. As a matter of fact, we just bought a winter comforter that has a lot of red in it. I wonder if I will just be switching out wall art at the same time as the bedding and everything else? Anyways, thanks for your input, I really appreciated it!

Now, on to Project Life!

So here it is, the first week of my Project Life album, and I'm just finishing up my title page mid-week? Eeek, not the best start, I'm thinking. But vacation is over for me, and I'm hoping to get back on track. I really have put so many things on hold this vacation, and just relaxed. It was wonderful. When I asked Aaron to get me a PL kit for Christmas this year, I didn't tell him about the page protectors. I knew that Archiver's sells some {I can't remember the name brand right now?} and I figured I would order Becky's Design A protectors after the new year. Little did I know that they would be out of them! I did read on her blog that they will be back in stock in February, so until then, I'll be using what I've got! Since I'm a little off the grid with the standard sized pockets, I used a combo of an old scrapbooking kit and some digital elements for my title page. I do love the colors and papers in this kit, they always make me feel happy when I look at them! I took these at night, so they are a little grainy from where I tried to edit & adjust the coloring.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I do want to add a half circle on the middle section of the page, centered under the two top left pictures. I just think it is missing a little something there. I want it to say "Our Story" in a circular pattern. {Anyone know of a good tutorial for writing text in a circle?} I'll update the picture when it's done. And tell me, do you guys also go back and add touches to your scrapbooking pages even after you are "done"? Or is that just me?

Ok, here are some more of the details!

Now, to get started on my layout for the first week! At least I've been taking my pictures. Have a good day, everyone!