What Does The Cox Say?

Witches Hat Bow Tutorial

2020-09-22T18:33:00.002-07:00

Hello Friends! I'm impressed if you've stuck around for all these years! I've decided to get back into blogging and sharing things that bring joy, tips, tutorials, etc. For my first post back, I had to re-share this darling and easy Witches Hat Bow that I made for my baby girl. It has lasted years and still looks great!

Supplies: (I actually used a lot less than what is shown in the picture.)

-1 mini witches hat (I found mine at hobby lobby as a little pick in their halloween section, they had lots of different colors, but you could totally make your own)

-Black feathers

-3x6 inch pieces of black and purple tulle

-Small alligator clip

-Black thread

-Scissors

-Crochet Headband

-Hot glue and gluesticks

Start out by folding your black tulle into thirds.

Repeat with your purple tulle, and put it on top of your black tulle. Pinch them together in the middle to make a little bow. Then wrap your black thread around it a few times to secure your bows shape. Leave a tail of your string to help fasten it to your clip.

Hot glue the bottom of your bow to the alligator clip. Take the tail of your string and wrap it around your clip a few times to really secure it to the clip and make sure it doesn't go anywhere!

From there you just add your embellishments to the top of your tulle bow. I just glued on some feathers and then glued the little witches hat right on top of that!

It's super easy and super quick...which is totally my type of craft!

Here's a few more pictures of my little girlie in her costume!

Please remember that all of my tutorials and printables are for personal use only.

Ribbon Ceiling Medallion Tutorial

2017-04-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter's room has been an ongoing project and I knew I wanted a little something special to put in there with a message from me to bring her heart joy. I truly believe little messages and sayings throughout the home really set the tone of the home.

I bought a chandelier a while ago and kept seeing adorable ceiling medallions but they were over the top expensive, and I knew I could make one myself and personalize it with a message that I wanted to say to her.

I love Ribbon, I think it adds so much fun and dimension to different projects.

Here's what you need to make your own Ribbon Ceiling Medallion:

Supplies:

16" ceiling medallion (this size is perfect for a smaller fixture)

Gold Paint

Foam Paintbrush

Hot Glue Gun & Hot Gluesticks

Needle & Thread

3-25mm Pearl Flowers

18 mm Ivory Pearlies

Lavender & Light Gray Petite Lace

Ivory, Light Orchid, and Light Pink 7/8" Spooled Ruffle Ribbon

7/8" Dainty Lace

Scissors

Washable Marker

Paint the medallion. With the metallic paint I chose, it took several coats of paint but the end result is so perfect it was worth the time. Let your paint sit between coats. I admit, I had to whip out the blow dryer towards the end because I was so excited to get the rest of my project going!

While the paint is drying on your medallion, gather the supplies for your ribbon flowers. This is where I used the Pearlies, Pearl Flowers and Spooled Ruffle Ribbon.

These ribbon flowers were so easy to make! I cut about 24 inches of ribbon and then simply gather stitched right above the bottom ruffle. You can see what that looks like in the picture below. As you stitch, the ribbon will gather itself and start to spiral which is perfect for the flower shape. I fastened the ribbon in a few places with a small amount of hot glue to make sure it kept its shape.

Once I had the flower base, I glued the Pearl Flower directly to the middle of it. I think this flower would be DARLING as a bow for a little girls' hair. So I made a few more just for my daughter. If you'd like to turn it into a bow you could either glue or hand sew it to an alligator clip and voila! You have a classy bow for a little girl, or even for you!

Once the medallion is completely dry, layout your design. I set my flowers on first and added a couple of petite lace leaves to two of my ribbon flowers. Grab your Dainty Lace and start spelling out your word. I wanted mine to say "Sweet Dreams" but you could personalize it with a name or special saying. I fastened the letters with hot glue as I went.

To add more dimension use another type of lace or ribbon for the second word, or even each letter. I used the lavender petite lace. Since I was using cursive with it, I used a washable marker to give myself a guide. You could start out with the washable marker as a guide from the beginning, though I'd recommend using a lighter color marker.

Often times you learn as you go so I learned some lessons for you! The petite lace was a little too thick to pull off cursive but I loved the trim around the edges, so I just used that. This lace has some stretch to it which is perfect for the curves in my letters.

This step is where you get up close and personal with your glue gun. If you don't have a high tolerance for the glue, I'd recommend using the tip of a chopstick to avoid burns. Trace the lines you wrote with your glue then fasten the ribbon to it.

Once you've finished all of your ribbon writing, attach your Ribbon Flowers and that's it! You've got yourself a Ribbon Ceiling Medallion!

All that is left is for you to install your medallion, I think it is the perfect addition to any little girls' room and it has a sweet message from you. There's something special about crafts from the heart and this is one of them!

You guys, this is one of my favorite projects! I love snuggling with her after bedtime stories and looking up at her pretty chandelier complete with a love note from Mamma.

Another cute saying I thought of would be "To the moon", short for "I love you to the moon and back."
Or even simply, "I love you."
What would you write to share joy if you made one?

If you'd like to see Part I of her room makeover, click here!

It's time...

2016-12-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

Since I can feel my fingers again. I decided it was time.

Time to post again.

Time to hopefully find the right words to post how I'm feeling.

I saw Dr. Shami yesterday. You know, the man who saved my life. It was an incredible visit. Though the wait is sometimes a couple of hours. He is so worth it.

I talked to them (Shami's team) a little about how I am feeling lately and I received so much insight. Things started to make sense as to why I'm feeling the way I'm feeling lately.

Rewinding to a week or so ago...

The enormity of what I went through hit me. Like a Mack Truck.

As we were driving down Main Street. My oldest excitedly exclaimed after seeing the decorative Christmas characters on the light posts, "Mom! It's Santa!" I quickly glanced in my rearview mirror in time to see the excitement of Christmas all over his sweet face and it hit me.

I could have missed this.

I could have missed this sweet moment.

I could have missed all of this.

I could have died this year, but I didn't.

I'm alive. I am still alive.

I'm alive to experience the magic of Christmas with my babies.

I'm alive to enjoy our family traditions with them instead of watching from above like John is. I know he is with us, but we can't see him or talk to him so it is so very different.

With that enormity settling in, it has me reflecting on my own mortality.

And feeling like I am falling so very short. But it also has me trying harder to be the best Mom I can be for my babies. Sometimes I totally miss the mark, but sometimes I nail it. And I know that it's completely normal to have those good and bad days. In the end, my little ones know I love them with my whole heart. And I'm so grateful for their love for me.

Reflecting on my own mortality has also had me reflecting on John and how much I miss him. I feel like I'm grieving like he passed away yesterday.

Fast forward to my Dr's visit. As I was talking to Dr. Shami he and I talked a little bit about that grief. When I was diagnosed with Leukemia 3 weeks to the day after John passed away. The three weeks leading up to that diagnosis were a blessing because even though I was growing increasingly ill, I was kept busy with my babies and it helped distract me from the hurt.

Then, on May 27th the brick wall hit and brought my world to a halt (again) and my mind and body went into survival mode. And I took that grief and put it in a pretty little compartmentalized box at the side of my mind and left it while I fought for my life.

And now...now I am in remission. Now I have survived. And now my mind has decided to open up that box to help me work through this enormous loss I feel. And now it really hurts.

I miss the special bond I had with my brother. Though I didn't see him every day, I always knew everything was even steven. I always knew how much he loved me.

And it hurts that he isn't here. And even when you'd tell him you loved him, later in life it became a ditto or a grunt, you still knew he loved you back. I miss hearing his voice. His laugh. Even his sneeze and his yawns.

But in the midst of this heartache I have the unshakeable knowledge that though I can no longer see my big brother. He still lives. Though I can't hear him, I know he still laughs. And thanks to the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, I will see him again. Sunday will come.

I am so grateful for the gift of that innocent babe who slept in a manger. That babe who would grow to be the Savior of the world. That babe who made it possible for me to be with John and other loved ones who have passed away. I am so grateful for Him and that this time of year we are able to celebrate His birth.

If you find yourself in the same position I'm in. May you feel His everlasting love testifying to you that He lives. May you feel your loved ones embraces through the veil that separates us. May you find peace in knowing that they live on and you will see them again. That promise is real and is made to all. Believers or not. And God keeps His promises. I know it. I'm alive because of it.

I Am...

2016-07-07T23:20:00.000-07:00

I am brave.

A common phrase I repeat to myself over and over lately.

But also...

I am sad.

I am grieving.

I am tired.

I am lonely.

I am scared.

And I am mad, really, really mad.

I know how important it is to stay positive, otherwise things tend to spiral. But I was so grateful in the hospital to receive "permission" (I know it's not the right word because I don't need permission to feel how I feel but it fits best here) to be mad, to get angry. Cancer is a messed up thing.

My amazing friend Lindsay brought me an awesome printable/quote that I'd post a picture of but I don't want anyone to steal her design, so I'll just share the quote.

"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade!

Make life take the lemons back.

Get mad!

I don't want your damn lemons

What am I supposed to do with these?

Demand to see life's manager.

Make life rue the day it thought it could give Jessica lemons!

Do you know who I am?

I am the woman who is going to burn your house down,

with Lemons!"

I was set on being an example and inspiration to others who may go through this hell called Cancer by being positive. But that isn't real, and I am. Some parts of this aren't positive. Some parts really, really stink. But I am learning a lot about myself.

I am learning that if I repeat my phrase of "I am brave". I become it.

If I tell myself how much it's going to hurt. It really does.

I've always known that I am stubborn so that is nothing new.

And I really, really, don't like being woken up every night around 4 a.m. for vitals and blood labs.

But onto the positives because there are still many.

I am also learning that I have one heck of a support system. From friends and family visiting me in the hospital. To my amazing neighbor and friend who coordinated meals and many other things for me not to worry about anything at home. To those who have brought the meals, helped clean in preparation for me to come home, or simply sent words of comfort and support. I was so grateful to receive cards in the hospital. I wish I would have taken a picture of my set up the last day I was there. My Mom decorated with family pictures and artificial flowers since real ones weren't allowed. Then I hung or placed every card received on my shelves where I could see them.

This was towards the beginning of my stay.

I had amazing friends from work bring me flowers that the students and my colleagues had colored as well as a huge poster of positive messages from them.

My parents are the biggest support system of all. I can't get over their strength. That on the heels of their sons death they are able to turn around and deal with another child being diagnosed with cancer. One thing we all know is that I am gonna survive this. I am gonna kick cancer's butt. I will rise strong and get through this.

I am also grateful to be back with my sweet family. I missed my kiddos dearly after being away from them for almost 40 days. In the hospital at night I would dream about them. I could hear their laughter and at times I could feel their hugs. I am also thankful for my sweet hubby for doing his best and taking care of my babies.

I had another friend send me a card that she felt she should buy but wasn't sure who it was for. This was before I was even diagnosed. The card she sent was meant for me. It was a reminder to come unto my Savior. I know that without Him I wouldn't be able to get through this. I'm a firm believer that God does give us trails that we can't handle...alone. But if we turn to Him we will get through it. With God anything is possible.

So that's where I'm at right now.

I know I was working on the events leading up to my diagnosis and will continue that in my next post. I just needed to get how I'm feeling out there. I'm not sure why, maybe just to vent. Maybe just to be upfront. To express gratitude. I don't know.

Thank you all for your support as I go through this. It means more than you know.

May 07, 2016-The Day After...

2016-06-21T17:23:00.001-07:00

Since these posts have been so heavy, I decided to share a picture of my two oldest babies. Aren't they cute?!

The morning of the reception I got up early to do some last minute surging and touches. I was ready to head to the church to help decorate when I got sent on a drink run. Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper is good for the soul I tell you. So I get to McDonald's and put in my order. Pay for my drinks. Pull forward to get them and guess what?! They were out of Diet Dr. Pepper. WHO RUNS OUT OF DIET DR. PEPPER AT 8:30am in the morning?! And then they asked me if I want my money back? Of course I want my money back! Sheeesh that totally frosted my cookies! So I'm teetering on tears and so frustrated. I get to the church where the reception is held and I am definitely in the anger stage of grief. I was so upset and definitely shaking my fist at God. How could he take John from us at that time? I would soon understand why. But in that moment I sure was mad and had a lot to do along with the other volunteers there. I was definitely grateful for having a lot to do. I needed it. I needed to stay busy otherwise I would stop to think about John and I couldn't just yet.

I was so impressed by the amount of help offered by various members of their ward family (congregation) as well as the help our family was able to give.

I was in charge of decorating the cake, table centerpieces, and the food table. Shout out to my family for helping me make it happen. There were so many cute details, I wish I would have brought my camera to take pictures as well.

The cake came together beautifully. My Mom helped me with the final touches. and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. You can catch a glimpse of the table centerpieces. I was so proud with how they turned out. I needed successes in the little things...especially because McDonald's didn't have my drink! Who does that?! Clearly I'm still stuck on that.

Here's a picture of me and the finished cake.

A close up of the cake.

And how could I not put in a picture of the beautiful bride and her cutest flower girl!

I know the post was picture heavy. All pictures were taken by my amazing sister.

As far as symptoms, I didn't have time to notice them that day. As I put on my MuuMuu for the Reception I was a little self conscious about my bruises that were all over the back of my calves. But I quickly forgot about them as I went to work. Staying busy was definitely a blessing.

After the reception I went home and picked up all of my pictures I have from when all of us were little. I wanted to go through the pictures, veg, and start to mourn John at my parents house. It was fun going through the pictures with family and remembering the good times.

It was definitely the good times that carried us through the hard times that were looming closely ahead.

May 06, 2016 -That night...

2016-06-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

That night John's sweet baby girl was to be sealed for Time and All Eternity to her future husband.

John had made it clear that if anything were to happen to him the wedding would go on. He had the same expectations for his Children who were serving missions throughout his sickest times. John loved the Lord and His work and wanted to put Him and his family first. Always.

Throughout the morning we mainly clung to each other as much as we could. We couldn't bare the thought of leaving John's house before he did for the last time, so we waited. That's when the reality of us having a sealing that night and a reception the following day really hit. The day needed to be special for John, for Jen, and we were determined to make it be,

An unsung hero in all this and a woman who can always be seen in the background is my Mom. As time passed she passed the cake torch over to me and she has always been right there to provide support and helpful guidance. Not only that, anything for Jenn's wedding that Jennifer presented as a dream or a vision, my Mom would bend over backwards to help make it a reality. She loves so deeply she just wants to help everybody, and she does. Even the day her baby boy (that's what she refers to him, because he is) went home to our Heavenly Father, she spent her day serving others.

We grabbed obligatory caffeine and headed back to Mom and Dad's house where my Dad and I tag teamed my niece's wedding cake. Yep my Dad rolls out the fondant for me and Anna came to the rescue in helping me place it. It only took a couple tries and I believe plenty of tender mercies to finish her cake. It was beautiful like her.

All that I needed to do was finishing touches the morning of the reception. The details were the only thing I knew that could keep me held together, emotionally. I realize now physically those details and blessings to serve were what may have held me together longer.

I started feeling a little weird once we finished the cake. I just wanted to sit a lot. We went to the Provo City Center Temple for Jen's wedding. It was such a bittersweet experience. Bitter for me that John wasn't there, or at least I couldn't see him...and sweet because after being blind for so long, John got to see his baby girl on her wedding day. Yes pause and think on that for a moment. Our John got to see his daughter in all of her beauty and details on her wedding day.

Afterwards a small group of us gathered to chow on some of the most delicious Pizza known to mankind. Two Jacks. Dip it in ranch and you will be in Heaven. Dear Two Jacks, I'm really sorry you're gonna be going out of business now that John is no longer single handedly funding your business.

I could feel my grief swallowing me whole and knew I needed to head home because something didn't feel right. I started feeling weaker and shakier. I went home and changed right back into my California comfort outfit.

I don't know what about the outfit brought me comfort but for days it was the only thing that did, and I still long for it a like a security blanket.

It was all I could do to just curling into a ball on my recliner. It just felt like my body was growing heavier and weaker at the same time. I was asked to go visit John's sweet wife Ali with my Sister and Mom, I knew my body wasn't up to it but it was important for me to let Ali know that we are here for her.

I barely made it into John's house when I started to get fever chills, cold then hot, cold then hot. I had to rest, at first my head, and then my body against the stair wall in order to not collapse. My youngest nephew took me home early and that's when it felt like I'd never be warm or still again. I couldn't stop the rolling shaking.I climbed into bed and my teeth would not stop chattering. No matter what I did I couldn't get my body to still. After applying blanket, and blanket, and blanket on top of me, as well as heating pads, my husband gave me a priesthood blessing which calmed me enough to stop shivering and jerking around and actually fall asleep. I'm so grateful that I received that blessing through my husband by the power of my Heavenly Father, I received true words of comfort from my Father and know that if I was talking to him face to face he would say the same things.

I was grateful for the pause of my body aches and heaving. I began to wonder if perhaps I was feeling such deep grief that my body had literally started to collapse. I had heard of people dying of broken hearts when a loved one passed away. I didn't think that was quite what was happening...

But, the following morning, I started to see and feel more..

May 06, 2016- The Day My World Stood Still

2016-06-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

It's 4:00 am. Everybody else is asleep in the household. If it was a Christmas story the phrase, "not a creature was stirring not even a mouse." Would be a perfectly placed sentence.

And yet for some reason I was startled a wake. It almost felt like my heart received a hug and I uttered one simple name, "John."

I lulled myself back to sleep for a few hours longer since sleep just doesn't happen these days. I put on my favorite pair of leggings and a large California Roots hoodie and headed to my parents house. It was a Friday close to the end of the school year so I knew how I could get away with my outfit. I just wanted to feel comfy that day. Each morning we gather at my parents house to do the baby swap, They keep the 2 youngest and I take the oldest with me to school. It was like any other morning. Slightly over cast and the weather was so nice. Then, the phone's started ringing. I remember looking at Mom as she took the call. I remember her uttering in disbelief "John died last night?" I remember my world crashing to the floor and I along with it. No matter how loud I screamed his name, he wouldn't answer. John was gone.

Anna my oldest sister was in town since his youngest daughter Jennifer was going to be sealed that night for time and all eternity to her eternal sweetheart. Talk about about timing that we sure didn't understand. I will revisit this timing as my journey continues in a later post,

I'm not entirely sure what happened from the time we found out about John and when we all headed over to his home to see him one last time. I know loved ones where contacted, my oldest Son still went to school since he didn't know exactly what was going on. I just didn't want to leave John's side. Here's an excerpt from the post I shared on FB that morning:

"I am so very heartbroken today. Today one of my very first best friends passed away. I saw two ladies running by and I was so upset with them! I wanted them to stop and grieve too. Don't they know that one of the greatest lives the world has ever known passed away?! Please hug your loved ones. Tell them you love them. You never know the last time you will see them again.

Johnny, thank you for being my Evensteven and an amazing big brother. I love you so much! I am so grateful for the atonement of my Savior Jesus Christ, that he overcame death and because of Him, I will see my big brother again. Aloha Oe. — with John Krutsch."

It was crazy to see the outpouring of support from friends and relatives alike and so very very hard to come to terms (I still haven't)that my best friend was gone, in Heaven. And now what do we do? I'm so grateful for all the friends and family who just kept sharing the importance that it is going to take sometime. But I didn't realize that time wsn't something I realized I had much of.

It was only a matter of hours until the symptoms started...

What Does the Cox Say? 4th of July Wreath

2015-06-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of the #TBT posts from when my blog used to be Cox's Corner. I STILL love this wreath so much and it has held up nicely for the last 3 years!

I had seen a wreath similar to this one all over pinterest. I believe the original source is here. I didn't really like the tutorial because I was nervous about the way the tulle was tied that it would fall apart too easily! So I did my own thing and decided to share it with you!

Supplies:

You will need similar supplies as my 4th of July Tutu Tutorial

3- 25 yard spools of tulle (my red and blue are 100 yard spools it's cause I knew I'd be using them a lot!)

Scissors

9 to 11 inch piece of cardboard (depending on how long you want your tulle to stick out from the wreath.

Decorative stars

Small piece of ribbon to hand your wreath

Wreath form (I just took a pool noodle and formed it into a circle and taped it together)

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Wire cutters if your stars have wire sticks on them.

1. You will wrap your tulle around your piece of card board 66 times. One time around is wrapping your tulle from the front all the way around the back. 66 times each color. This number depends on how large your wreath form is, if it's smaller than the diameter of a pool noodle, you will lessen that number.

2. Once you do your 66 loops around, you will cut on the edge that you started at. Cut there ONLY, otherwise your tulle will be too short! Please note my thumb, do you see the first layer of tulle sticking out?

When you are finished looping and cutting, you will have three sets of 66 layers of tulle. Just set the blue aside, you will not need this until later.

3. Take 2 pieces of your first color. Tie your tulle around your wreath form in a square knot (right over left, left over right). REMEMBER how you did it because you will alternate which side goes over as you switch. A good way to remember is that ALL of your red strips are tied right over left, left over right,

and ALL of your white strips are tied left over right, right over left. You dig?

4. Alternate your red and white strips of tulle remembering your rule:

ALL of your red strips are tied right over left, left over right, and ALL of your white strips are tied left over right, right over left. You dig?

By following this method you will achieve a much fuller wreath.

As I tied my knots I made sure that they all lined up together and they were actually closer to the bath of the wreath form instead of directly in the middle. They were slightly off center. You can see in the picture below.

You can also spread out your tulle to make sure that it's covering your wreath form.

This is how your wreath should look about halfway through.

5. You will want to continue alternating your red and white tulle until you get to about 3/4 of the way around. I liked to fluff the tulle edges as I worked my way around.

This is your completely wreath:

You can choose to leave it as is, or you can add some fun embelishments.

I found these stars at our local Hobby Lobby, they were $1 each. They did sell some that were 3 for $1. But I liked the little extra these would add.

If they have wire on them and you don't want to kill your scissors, whip out a pair of wire cutters and cut off the ends.

6. Arrange your stars in a pattern that you like. I have learned that it's good to follow odd numbers. They end up more pleasing to the eye. My momma taught me that one.

7. Once you get the stars how you like them, hot glue those babies on there.

8. Flip your wreath over and hot glue a ribbon loop to the back to hang it up.

9. Hang up your wreath and admire your work! For me, I felt that my ends were too long for my liking...it was either that or my hubby telling me our wreath looked like it had an afro...

This is was your length will be if you use an 11 inch piece of cardboard to measure your tulle and you use a pool noodle sized wreath form.

I went back and cut off a few inches and I like it better, although I find myself wondering how it would look with medium tulle around the edges. I'm still pretty happy with the outcome though!

If you like this tutorial, please follow along! I have so many more planned. And if you super like it, pin it to your hearts content! :) Thanks for visiting.

Baseball Mom Bag with Expressions Heat Transfer Vinyl

2015-05-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

Friends, while at SNAP! I scored some awesome Heat Transfer Vinyl from Expressions Vinyl.

I was hoarding it trying to figure out the perfect craft for it and then it came to me.

My little man has started his very first year of T-Ball this year and I am so excited for him.

He is so cute to watch and I find myself giggling while watching him play. Seeing my little 5 year old run is my favorite! I realized quickly that I needed a place to keep all of his gear, and let's be honest...I needed an excuse to have another bag. :)

I decided to try something I hadn't tried before and layer the Vinyl. I really wanted my Baseball Mom logo to pop. I used black, white, and glitter gold vinyl and I loved the way it turned out.

The most important tip I have for you is to be aware that the more you iron over the vinyl as you layer, the more transparent the white will become. Also, do NOT iron directly over the vinyl. I did that on accident and I melted the vinyl. Good thing it was only a small part of it, otherwise I'd be so bummed that I ruined the bag.

I love that with vinyl, especially the black and white, it was SO easy to weed. I kept telling my husband that it was smooth as butter! Another thing that I loved was that the vinyl has a clear transfer over it to protect the vinyl from melting so it is easy to see where you are placing it on your project. So with layering the vinyl, I could see exactly where I was placing everything.

I shared in my personalized tote in a SNAP! post how to work with the iron on vinyl. I also think a key thing is knowing what setting to cut your vinyl with. Here's a great post to show you what you should have your machine set to if you are using a silhouette or a cricut.

I was so happy with the finished project. It's perfect to show my pride at being a Baseball Mom and also holding all of his stuff.

It was such a fun, easy project. I think what took the most time was figuring out which colors I wanted to stand out and then how to weed out the pieces of vinyl. It really was one of those projects you could do while watching an episode of you favorite show and then be done! I am obsessed with this vinyl! It has been hands down the easiest I have EVER worked with. I will be buying more soon!

I know I might sound like an ad, but seriously, this post isn't compensated, I got the vinyl from SNAP and I had to share how stinking awesome it is. And I love that I get to represent as a Baseball Mom now in such a fun way. Quick, easy, projects are my specialty, so be sure to follow along for more!

Mother's Day Questionnaire and Free Printables

2015-05-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

I always struggle every Mother's Day to find a gift for my mom.

It's not because I don't want to get her anything, but that I want to give her the perfect gift!

My babies are at the perfect stage where they say the funniest things! I thought a questionnaire for them to respond to would be the perfect gift for my mom this year.

I saw a questionnaire I loved but they only had one for Mom and Grandma, but my babies don't call my Mom "Grandma", they call her Tutu, the same name for Grandmother that I called her Mom. It is Hawaiian for Grandma and is a special title, I love that they call her that.

It got me thinking about all of the less common names for Grandma that are used that are just as special as that of Tutu for me, so I designed a few different printables hopefully touching on those names.

I decided to put it in a frame card I designed on my Silhouette but with an X-Acto Knife you could make your own frame card out of a sheet of card stock. You would choose the shape you'd like the frame to be, print it out, place it where you would like the frame to be on the card stock, trace it then cut it out! I would probably decorate the card stock first if you're going that route so you only have to cut once.

I cut out the frame first on the Silhouette, but left the outline on the mat and just removed my card so I could embellish it with some Scotch decorative tape.

After I was finished taping a design I replaced the card back on the cutting mat inside of the original cut so that way the Silhouette would just re-cut the original shape but through my tape. It worked like a charm!

Once it was cut out, I taped in a picture of my babies, put the Questionnaire on the inside and that's it! It was such a simple gift but it was from the heart and I think that is what counts!

Below are the printables that I created for Mother's Day and the multiple titles that those amazing women have.

I hope this gift idea inspires you in your search for the perfect Mother's Day gift!

To print one off right click on the picture, save it and print it on your own computer.

As I was finishing up this post, I thought of one more title that could be recognized on Mother's Day and have included it below.

One of my favorite inspirational speakers named Sheri Dew once gave a talk titled: "Are We Not All Mothers?" One of my favorite excerpts from that talk is: "Motherhood is more than bearing children...it is the essence of who we are as women." Sheri herself has not been blessed to have children of her own (either through adoption or from her womb, etc) but she brings up some amazing points in that talk. If you are looking for inspiration or whispers of peace, check out that talk.

I just want to thank all of the Mothers in my life and their influences on me as I have grown up, especially the influence of my Mother. She is the best Mother I could have asked for and I feel blessed daily that my children get her as their Tutu/Grandmother.

I love you Mom, and I hope you don't see this until after Mother's Day. :)

Personalized Tote in a SNAP! -A 15 minute craft!

2015-04-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!

Today I'm SO excited to be at SNAP Conference in Salt Lake City surrounded by 500 other talented crafty bloggers learning, creating, and celebrating the friendships we've made because of blogging! And to celebrate with you, I teamed up with Abbey from The Cards We Drew and a large group of bloggers to create Crafts in a SNAP {15 Minute Craft Ideas} so that ANYONE, whether beginner or seasoned pro, can learn to create fun and handmade items in no time at all! Check out my tutorial for {fill in here} coming up, then scroll down below and be sure to check out some of what my blogging friends have to offer!! I hope you have fun and find some inspiration to help you get creative!

I am so excited to share with you this easy personalized tote that turns out classy and should only take you about 15 minutes. For this tote I did use my Silhouette and that's why it is so quick but I am willing to bet that if you have to do it by hand it should add an additional 15 minutes or so to your time and it is so worth it.

I made these totes for my SNAP! secret sister and my roommate as gifts. I love how they turned out and I have to admit that I have tote envy now!

Supplies:

Tote that you could use an Iron on.

Iron On Vinyl (I used Expressions Vinyl)

Iron

Silhouette

I found these tote bags on Pick Your Plum for an amazing price but you can usually find totes at Target, Walmart, etc. I just loved the pattern on these for them.

First you will open up your Silhouette program and choose a design or type out the name in the font of your choosing. After you do this step make sure you turn it into a mirror image! If you are using a Cricut and use the software, here's a great tutorial to make an image mirrored in their software. Otherwise you just click the button pictured below where the arrow is pointing to and it turns it into a mirrored image.

Once your image/font has been flipped, send it to the Silhouette and have it cut it out. You want to make sure you've adjusted to the appropriate settings since you only want to cut through the vinyl and not the clear plastic transfer part. I believe they call it a kiss cut. Isn't that cute?

Weed out your image and place it to the side for just a moment. You will prep your tote by ironing over where you want your design for about 10-15 seconds. From there you will place your design on the tote. Using your iron on the cotton/linen setting you will iron it in place for about 25-30 seconds. Be sure to follow the application instructions that are usually included with the vinyl.

After I ironed on the design in the front, I flipped my tote over and ironed from the back to make sure it was on there well.

Once the vinyl was cooled, I removed the clear plastic piece. To be extra sure my vinyl stayed in place I grabbed a thin piece of fabric, placed it on top of the vinyl and went over it one more time. I didn't want my vinyl going anywhere!

It was such a quick and easy project, yet added so much fun and class to a simple tote...I'm itching to make a ton more! After all, it was only 15 minutes, and I made two!

If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment!

Follow me on my other social media channels so that you can continue to see more fun projects and posts that I have for you.

An InLinkz Link-up

Coming Soon To A Blog Near You!

2015-04-09T20:12:00.002-07:00

Hi friends!

As you know, I have taken a long blog hiatus.

There are several reasons: job change, life change, etc. etc.

But this reason is the most exciting!

We are having a baby!

This is an exciting and somewhat overwhelming time for us. I'm a little nervous about being outnumbered by our kiddos but I know that this little one is meant to be a part of our family and will bring something special to our home just like the other two babies have.

This pregnancy has been a little different than my other two, though I have read that no two pregnancies are alike. I've had a ton of morning sickness, it was made even more miserable by my lap band, which I still hate. It is still there but not doing anything other than making it impossible to actually do anything about the nausea. So I'd feel a huge bout of morning sickness, know that I need to be sick but then can't because of my lapband. It is quite frustrating.

Another thing that is different is my weight. The last two pregnancies I gained between 30-40 pounds. This pregnancy I am up 2 pounds. Yep you read it right, 2 pounds. I gained 5 in the first trimester but was sick at the beginning of my second trimester and lost 4 and now I am up another pound so that is two. I'm really striving to eat healthy and just go with the flow. I'm not starving or anything and I occasionally give into my cravings. Please keep in mind that a woman of my size should only gain 15-25 pounds. My doctor and I have discussed my weight and diet and everything is ok and baby is healthy and getting the nutrients it needs so no worries! I credit how healthy I have been this pregnancy to the life changing lessons I learned at Fitness Ridge, now known as Movara Fitness Resort.

Another thing that is different this pregnancy is that at my 20 week ultrasound I was diagnosed with placenta previa as well as placenta posterior. In talking with my amazing doctor he has helped relax some of my nerves and having a posterior placenta with a previa is better since they won't have to cut through the placenta or as much of it if I have to get a c-section. I go back in three weeks to have a thorough ultrasound again and see if my placenta previa has corrected itself. I'm praying that it does and would appreciate prayers from you as well!

Man, I feel like this is such a drab post, I just wanted to update you all and let you know how much I appreciate your support. I will be posting a lot more often because I have missed it so much and blogging makes me happy! So stay tuned for an easy, inexpensive freezer recipe in the next couple of days!

Oh and PS...it's a boy! We are thrilled!

Back to Blogging

2015-03-19T16:55:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry I've been MIA for MONTHS.

A lot has been happening.

There's been some big life changes.

Priority changes.

Just plain old changes so I had to put my blog on hold for a while!

I promise I will post soon and fill you on on what's happening here.

I've missed you!

Witches Hat Bow Tutorial

2014-10-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am participating in the Masquerade Ball hosting by Adrienne from Freetime Frolics!

Today I would like to share with you a tutorial on how to make a fun witches hat bow for your little girlie!

Supplies: (I actually used a lot less than what is shown in the picture.)

-1 mini witches hat (I found mine at hobby lobby as a little pick in their halloween section, they had lots of different colors, but you could totally make your own)

-Black feathers

-3x6 inch pieces of black and purple tulle

-Small alligator clip

-Black thread

-Scissors

-Crochet Headband

-Hot glue and gluesticks

Start out by folding your black tulle into thirds.

Hot glue the bottom of your bow to the alligator clip. Take the tail of your string and wrap it around your clip a few times to really secure it to the clip and make sure it doesn't go anywhere!

From there you just add your embellishments to the top of your tulle bow. I just glued on some feathers and then glued the little witches hat right on top of that!

It's super easy and super quick...which is totally my type of craft!

Here's a few more pictures of my little girlie in her costume!

Please remember that all of my tutorials and printables are for personal use only.

If you'd like to see the other costumes shared, you can head over to the following blogs!

http://new.inlinkz.com/luscript.php?id=196688&nojump=1&key=ILdTXNkShXwuw

Mickey Themed 2nd Birthday Party

2014-10-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

As I was looking through old posts I realized that I never shared any of my kiddos' birthday parties on here. It's a travesty I tell you!

Since I shared the tutorial for the Mickey Mouse Cake. I thought I'd start with his 2nd Birthday Party first. It was so fun to plan. One thing I realized that I would need to do is have a mix between homemade and store bought. It is just to hard and expensive to do everything on your own!

I knew I wanted to make his shirt for sure. I wish I had a fancy embroidery machine but I don't so I did the best I could and I still think it turned out pretty cute!

It was so simple. All I did was cut out a Mickey shaped head, cut a triangle out of red fabric and cut out a little pom pom shape and the shape for the bottom. I did use my cricut to cut out the 2 since I loved the mickey font. I put iron on backing on all of it and ironed it onto the shirt. Then I used a tight zig zag stitch and stitched slowly around the edges. It's not perfect but it adds to the character.

Doesn't he look cute in it?

You can't see all of the decor. I hand made tissue flowers and hung them from the ceiling. Since my little man LOVES balloons I went all out with those. He was in heaven. The best thing you can do is find what your little one loves and go to town.

As far as food goes, I had the intention of making everything myself. But time runs out so quickly! If you are familiar with Costco then you are familiar with my food spread. To class it up a little bit I did put things in dishes that matched my theme and voila...lunch is ready!

I wanted a little something that guests could bring home so I gathered some jars that my mom used at my wedding and we used them for a Candy Bar. It was a hit. I love having these jars so much. You can use them for parties and in your holiday and every day decor. You will see one of these jars in a vignette post I will be sharing soon.

It was such a fun party. It felt well put together and looked like I put a lot of time into it. While I did in some aspects, I loved that I could just focus on my little guy. Especially since at the time of the party it was only a matter of days until his baby sister was born.

Man I love this little guy! I will be posting more of their parties soon!

If you'd like to see those ideas and many more, be sure to follow along. I love new friends!

Quick & Easy Custom Onesie Tutorial

2014-09-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I made this adorable custom onesie for my baby girl for her first Halloween. It was so quick.

It is such an easy and fun tutorial! If you have any questions, please let me know!

I made this as a gift for my friends baby shower and it seriously took less than 15 minutes. It is so easy! Here's the tutorial:

Supplies:

Onesies or T-Shirt (white works the best)

Piece of cardboard that will stretch out your shirt

Fabric Marker (I prefer the "Stained" brand by Sharpie, they work the best)

Print out using black font of what you'd like your shirt to say

To start out, I searched for free Harry Potter fonts and downloaded them. Then I typed up "Mischief Managed" and "Muggle Born" in my desired fonts. Print them out on cardstock. Trim them to fit in between your shirt and your cardboard piece.

Slide your cut piece in between your shirt and your piece of cardboard.

Anchor your shirt AND the writing so that your shirt is taught and your cardstock underneath doesn't slide around.

Then you just trace over your phrase with your marker carefully.

It won't look identical but it will be pretty darn close!

It was such a seriously quick project that I cranked out several of them at the same time!

If you would like to see how I made the rest of my baby girls outfit, I will be sharing the bow tutorial soon, and you can find the tutu tutorial with a twist here. I used 2 strips of purple and 1 strip of black polka dot tulle.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I love having you here to visit!

Mickey Mouse Cake Tutorial

2014-09-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! I wanted to share with you guys my simple Mickey Mouse Cake tutorial using things you most likely already have at home! I wrote this back when I was Cox's Corner, but it is still one of my favorites!

Supplies:
Cake mix
Pyrex Bowl
Construction Paper
Can or other round object
Toothpicks
Double Sided Tape
Frosting
Black Food Coloring
Golden Yellow Food Coloring (I used the wilton ones)
Star Tip
Writing Tip
Disposable Frosting Bags
Scissors

Bake your cake according to the mix directions in your pyrex bowl. I just searched google to help me figure it out. It's pretty straight forward though...

Step 1: Dye your frosting. I used the end of a spoon for the black and a toothpick for the yellow. You will use a LOT of black food coloring...and heads up...don't freak out if your little ones "business" is a funny color the next day...it's because of the food coloring. Just telling ya like it is. Make sure you mix your frosting really well. There should be no streaks. You basically keep adding color until it's to your desired tone. With the black though, it will still be gray, but as it sits, it gets darker, so keep that in mind...

Step 2: For your ears, find a round can or stencil, whatever you can find that will give you the size of ears you'd like. I was able to just use a can of peaches and it worked great! You will need 4 circles. Double Stick tape your toothpicks to a circle, then place another circle on top of them. Then stick your ears in your cake. Easy peasy. You can totally see the cake taking shape now!

Step 3. I like to keep a damp paper towel next to me when I'm working so that when my tip gets goopy I can wipe it off and continue. Start in the back of your cake and make starts all the way around your base. To make a start tip you basically start close to your cake and squeeze your bag slowly, once your star is the size you want, STOP squeezing the bag, lightly as in barely push your tip in and then pull it straight out away from your cake. If my description was WAY too confusing, I highly recommend just searching on you tube! :) Once you finish a row, start another one right above it and repeat. When you get close to the top of your hat, You may need to add a little frosting to make it more rounded at the top. Just squeeze some frosting on there until you get your rounded shape, then cover it up as you continue your row of stars.

Step 4. To decorate your ears, start from the outer edge and work your way in doing rows of stars. You will do the same thing to all sides of your ears. And that's it for the black! Easy right? This cake seriously took me only 30 minutes to decorate!

Step 5. For your writing, you can choose a larger tip or a smaller one. I personally prefer the smaller tip, but I wanted to show you the difference between the two. I just free handed the writing. If you're uncomfortable with writing, there are tools that you can buy that will help you stamp out the letters and then you just trace them. Or I bet you could use a toothpick and lightly write the letters in your frosting and then go over it with your writing color. Or...you could just leave it blank! It's all up to you!

I just love the way it turned out and it was SO easy to make! If you have any questions please let me know!

Thanks for stopping by! If you liked what you see, I'd love for you to follow me! I'm always thinking up a new tutorial or idea!

ABC-I Love You Free Printable in 5 colors

2014-09-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

I shared an ABC I love you printable on my blog a while ago.

It was only available in one color, but for you I have decided to make 5 more! All you have to do is click on the picture and save it to your computer and you've got yourself a cute ABC/I LOVE YOU Printable!

If you're looking for even more colors, my favorite can be found on ETSY and she can totally personalize the colors just for you!

Halloween Bucket List Printable

2014-09-20T18:49:00.003-07:00

I've been getting so excited for Halloween. Since October is coming in just a matter of days I wanted to do a countdown of sorts for October to get my babies excited for Halloween since I am for some reason. So I created a Halloween Bucket List with 31 activities on it.

I've included the one I will use as well as a blank on for you.

Here's mine with all of our activities on it.

Here's the blank one:

Just in case you can't read the activities on the list or would rather create your own here are all of my activities. I will try and provide a link to as many of them as I can find links for. I'm so looking forward to October!

Homemade Root Beer in a Cauldron

Pumpkin Stew

Ghost Handprint Craft

Give Candy to the Great Pumpkin

Go to the Zoo

Make a Jack-O-Lantern Cake

Make Mummy Cupcakes

Make Witches Hats

Spiderweb Handprint Threading Craft

Make Cat Oreos

Glow Eyes

Trick or Treat at Daddy's Work

Watch Hocus Pocus

Decorate Pumpkins

Backyard Campfire

Make & Share Pumpkin Bread

Make Rice Krispie Jack-O-Lanterns

Take Costume pictures in the Canyon

Make Spider Rocks

Make a Halloween Mobile

Make & Play Halloween Tic Tac Toe

Make Handprint Witches

Decorate Halloween Cookies

Jack-O-Lantern Trio Tutorial

2014-09-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

These Jack-O-Lantern blocks turned out so cute! I'm kinda bummed I gave them away. I think I will have to make myself another set this year!

It is made from three 4x4 pieces of wood ranging in height of 4, 6, and 8 inches. The coolest thing about this is that you can use them for halloween and then flip them around for fall!

Love it! She is selling her own finished sets on her site at Fabdecor.com or you can just buy the wood and vinyl. My kit consisted of the wood and vinyl and I put my own spin on the project. If you'd like to try mine here's the tutorial! You'll have to let me know if you try it!

Supplies:

Scrapbook paper (I used 3 different sheets of orange and one sheet of brown)

Jack-O-Lantern trio OR 3 pieces of 4x4's cut to 4, 6, and 8 inches long. And 3 stems.

Pumpkin Faces

Orange & Brown Paint

Mod Podge

Sponge Brush

Orange Glitter Tulle

Pencil

Craft Wire

To begin trace each of your pieces of wood onto your scrapbook paper twice. So you will have a piece for the front and a piece for the back of your pumpkin in each of your three different sheets of scrapbook paper.

Paint each of your pumpkins and your stems and set them aside to dry. I started from the biggest and went to the smallest so the biggest had the longest time to dry.

I had to make my own brown for the stems and added the scrapbook paper to the top.

Choose which faces go with which scrapbook paper design. Then start mod podging your papers to your pumpkins. I worked largest to smallest again. Front to back. I'd attach the paper to the wood on the front, then attach it to the back. Then I would put a layer of mod podge on top of the scrapbook paper in the back and set it aside and do the next pumpkin.

After they all had a layer mod podge on top of the back piece of the scrapbook paper I went back to the largest pumpkin and started attaching the faces.

After the face was attached I put a layer of mod podge on top of the vinyl and scrapbook paper to make sure I had a nice seal and make sure my project was more durable.

Then I started prepping the toppers while the mod podge dried. I cut tulle into rectangle pieces approx 3x6 and pinched them in the middle and fastened it with string so they looked like little bows. I made two per pumpkin.

Then I cut 11 pieces of craft wire 5.5 inches long and wrapped them around a dowel to get them to make a cute little spiral.

I went to work in the tops. For the tallest pumpkin I glued in the stem first with a huge amount of hot glue in the middle of the stem so that it stuck up a little from the top of the pumpkin. Then I added my tulle bows to the front and the back of the pumpkin and 4 of my wire spirals. Two in front, two in back.

For my middle pumpkin I did the same as the tallest except I arranged the wires differently to resemble bangs.

And then for the baby pumpkin I did the same as above with the stem and the tulle, but I only added one curly in the front for a cute little curly q and had two in the back.

I love how they all have different personalities! They look like a little family! Here's another picture of my cute little pumpkin family from the front:

And again from the back:

Isn't it so fun?! There are several other bloggers who took part in this series and you can head over here to check out the different ways that they personalized their kits! It's really cool to see the different ways that people create. I love it!

Fall Wooden Plate Decor

2014-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you're new here then you don't know that I used to be Cox's Corner. A couple years ago I was part of a craft challenge and made this darling fall plate:

I was so excited to receive the package for the challenge!

Inside of it was a wooden plate,
2 pieces of double sided scrapbook paper,
1 sheet of black vinyl,
1 sheet of orange sparkly vinyl,
1 sheet of green sparkly vinyl,
transfer paper,
a roll of adhesive,
small package of Halloween style buttons,
and a few black and white flowers.

Also, there was information on a craft challenge. We were to take the contents of the box and create a fun project out of it!

Would you like to see what I came up with? I'm a little bummed that the pictures don't really do it justice...but here it is!

I first spray painted my plate brown. While it was drying I got out my Cameo and set to work. I'm not going to lie, having a cutting machine, specifically a cameo, really helped in getting this project done quickly. However, if you don't have a cameo you can still try your hand at this project!

1. I decided which sheet would be my bottom layer. I measured the inside circle of my plate and it was approximately 9.8 inches. So I told my Cameo to cut a 9.8 inch circle out of it. You could use a compass (those old school math things with a pencil) or a plate and trace around it.

2. I used the adhesivethey sent me to make sure my bottom sheet stayed in place.

3. I took the second sheet of scrapbook paper and created a scalloped circle border by first choosing a basic 9.8 inch scalloped circle as a background and then adding a smaller circle to the inside. My Cameo then cut both shapes for me leaving me with a border. If you don't have a cameo, You could cut your own scallop edged circle by tracing one you printed off online and cutting around it. Then trace around a smaller plate that is inside of your circle. Then cut it out.

4. Here's where it might get tricky if you don't have a Cameo, but it can still be done. I cut out the word grateful in one of my favorite fonts from the orange vinyl. Then using transfer tape I placed it where I thought it would look best.

5. I cut out two small circles from the green vinyl and put it on each side of my grateful. I could tell that it needed a little more...

6. I then cut out small pumpkins and stems out of the orange and green vinyl and placed them on every other scalloped edge around the circle.

7. I decided as a finished touch, I would add a cute pennant banner. So I cut out triangles from the scraps of my paper that I had left over. Hole punched a couple of corners. Distressed the edges of the triangles with distressing ink. Then threaded some bakers twine to make a banner.

8. I then tied my twine in a bow through two black buttons. One on each side. Then, I stuck my banner on with adhesive on the back of each button, and that's it!

I really LOVE the way this cute little plate turned out.

If you like mine, you should see the Christmas one my mom made! She blogs over at Ninja Grandma!

Halloween Blocks

2014-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

A couple Halloweens ago, my amazing friend Lindsay from Artsy Fartsy Mama hosted a "crafternoon" at her house. It was seriously such a blast! I LOVE crafting, and when I get to spend time with awesome people, it makes it even better! She is so creative and talented and I'm so happy that I know her...she's one of those people where you're certain you were meant to be friends with from the beginning...it just took a little time to find them. Like a bosom buddy or something like that! I seriously LOVE this girl!

Here's how my little mummy block turned out:

Isn't it so cute?! It was awesome because you could copy hers or put your own spin on them! I put my own spin on a couple, and followed hers for the others. Here they are all together:

If you would like to make your own or just see the originals, Lindsay has an awesome tutorial on her blog! So head on over and tell her Jess sent ya!

It's My Birthday and I'll...

2014-08-31T10:36:00.002-07:00

...hike if I want to!

Man, I never thought I'd say that in a million years..

Who am I?!

For my birthday this year, I decided that I wanted to do something big. I knew that I wanted to do something to kick off the next year focusing on my goals.

I decided to give myself the gift of fitness.

Near where I live there is a mountain with a Y on it for the local college.

That hike is kind of a big deal, so I decided for my birthday, that's what I was going to do.

I was going to hike the Y even if it killed me!

I also decided that this was something that I needed to do by myself.

I knew that this hike was going to be symbolic of the journey that lay ahead of me with my weight loss, and though there will be those who support me along the way, ultimately it is something that I need to do on my own.

The night before, I wrote out positive affirmations that I wanted to tell myself along the way and decided that I was going share them with others along the path. At each switchback I taped up one of my affirmations. It was so neat to see people stop and read them on their way up to the Y as I was on my way down.

The affirmations included: You are rooted for, you are capable, you are beautiful, you are enough, you were born to do hard things and you are worth it.

One thing that I loved about the hike was that most people out there were really friendly. As they passed by they would root me on or tell me how awesome I was doing.

I had to take a lot of breaks. We are talking LOTS. The thing that I decided while at Fitness Ridge, and that I decided I would apply to the rest of my life is:

I knew that I would need a lot of breaks to get to the Y. I also know that on my weightloss journey I am going to need to take some breaks and THAT'S OK. I'm not talking about several day or week long breaks. I'm talking about a brief break for a meal or a day here and there to let me catch my breath or let me focus. What matters is that if I do take breaks I continue to work towards my goal and keep accountable for it instead of giving up. Breaks are OK! It's all about progress, NOT perfection.

Once I reached the top I wanted to shout "I DID IT!" but I didn't want to freak anybody out. There's three different paths to reach the Y, one at the bottom, one in the middle, and one at the top. I chose the one at the top. I didn't want to get almost to the top of the Y, I wanted to conquer it, and I did!

It's a fairly busy path. I saw a lot of wildlife. I saw a squirrel, a cotton tailed rabbit and I was pretty sure I was being stalked by a cougar. It turns out it was just a guy on the switchback behind me, he was hidden and all I could hear was his breathing. It got my heart rate up quite a bit which was ok with me! That means more calories burned...BOOM!

The best thing that happened to me while at Fitness Ridge is that I ran out of excuses. I kept saying that I wanted to hike the Y when I was more fit. Well, I learned there that I can do anything I put my mind to. I may huff and puff along the way and make other people think they're being stalked by a cougar. I may have to take some breaks to catch my breath and refocus myself, but at the end of the day I know I can do it.

Set your excuses to the side my friends, you were born to do hard things!

Fitness Ridge-The Week That Changed My Life

2014-08-22T03:59:00.002-07:00

I have been struggling with this post since I've gotten back.

Not because it was a horrible experience. Not because I hated my stay at Fitness Ridge. In fact, it's the opposite.

Source

How do I put into words the experiences I had during this week?

How can I express how important my stay at Fitness Ridge was for me?

How do you explain how something changed your life forever?

I'm going to give it a try...

If you'd like to see what to expect on your first day you can click here. We woke up at 5:50am every morning to get downstairs on time to go on our designated hikes.

The first day's hike was fairly mild but I struggled. I saw the van and thought we were done and I really pushed myself to finish strong.

Once we reached near the van that's when they told me we were only halfway done. My psyche was rocked. It was then that I realized two things. One, my mind was gonna be a huge game player on this journey so I better get it in check, and two, I needed to get a watch. I'm a planner, I know that about myself. So I knew that if I could kind of track the time I would be able to keep my mind in check throughout the hikes. At the end of the hike when they dropped us off the guide asked me if I felt like I could stay with the group tomorrow since they'd be doing a little more difficult hike.

I second guessed myself some but ultimately decided that how would I know if I could or couldn't do it if I didn't try?

For the second hike, we went to The Gap. Not the store.

It was hands down my favorite. I passionately hated hiking up the ridiculously long hill to get to the top. But all of the rock climbing in between was amazing.

I honestly felt that God stepped in and helped me with that hike. I had an experience that I've shared with only a few people, but I know he helped me.

I did things on that hike that I never knew I was capable of doing.

I learned two things on that hike. Are you noticing a trend? One, I learned I really don't like hiking in groups, I really like to huff and puff on my own thank you very much. And two, I learned that I am capable of doing so much more than I realized.

It occurred to me that this week at Fitness Ridge was going to put to rest all of my excuses. Soon I wouldn't have any.

For the rest of the week I hiked West Canyon. It was beautiful.

I also had an important learning moment there that you can read about here.

I missed one hike day, Thursday. I just couldn't do it. I had blisters covering the insides and outsides of both of my feet. I was able to get some rest and was completely ready for the events of the day. When they tell you to wear good shoes and take good care of your feet. They are not messing around. Do it!

The food was delicious throughout the week.

Chef Sam even taught a class where he shared some of his recipes. I left with some awesome meal ideas and I've only eaten out once since then. I had to stop at Subway on the way home from Fitness Ridge since I was starving and it was a bit of a drive. I made up my mind that I wouldn't stop for fast food.

I left there with a taste for healthy food and a love of water, that's all I drink now.

I love water!

The workouts were awesome too! I loved that we were able to have so many different instructors and most of them were workouts that we could bring home to do at home as well.

But I must say my favorite part of the entire week was the lectures.

They helped open my eyes to so many things. I learned how to make meal planning easy. I learned about my belief windows and a lot of my core values. I learned about how to plan in weekly workouts. I learned the importance of loving myself and accepting my choice. I learned that it really just comes down to math. I loved hearing Sione's story for the motivational lecture. It was so neat for me to learn about my emotional eating, why I do it and different ways to cope. I got in touch with my 9 year old self and I couldn't be happier. My coaching session with their life coach Jen was eye opening and really changed a lot of my core beliefs about myself.

The most important thing I learned though, is that I've been making this weight loss journey way too complicated. It's simple.

If the lectures were my favorite part, my close second would be the community at Fitness Ridge. I loved the people that I met. I feel like I made some genuine lifelong friends.

The support I received there especially from the amazing group of bloggers I was with: Jared, Camille, Diana,Mique and Emily as well as my new friend Lorraine was so helpful. I just loved it there. I can't wait until I have the opportunity to go back!

At the end of the week it was time for weigh in. I found myself praying that it would be a number that would motivate me to keep going. I knew it had to be a huge number.

I ended up losing a pound.

Talk about messing with my head! I was so disappointed.

But I feel like seeing that number on the scale ended up being a blessing.

I had to decided then and there whether or not I was going to throw in the towel because it just wasn't worth it, or was I going to commit to this journey whether or not the scale budged. I then set my goal that I wouldn't care us much about the scale, that I would focus on my daily nutrition and fitness and if I focus on both of those things, the scale will move. And it has.

Here's the thing with that pound though. The scale told me that I had only lost one pound. Thank goodness I received a sheet at the beginning of my stay and one at the end when I weighed out. It told a lot about my body composition. I had Jared look at it and pointed out some important information listed on the sheet. The sheet told me that while the scale is a jerk, I lost 6 pounds of body fat and gained five pound of body muscle. I also dropped my weight percentage by 2% AND lost two inches of my hips. So while the scale is telling is one thing, our weight, it isn't breaking down all of that information for us. So DON'T get discouraged if you're working hard and the scale isn't moving. It's just showing weight, nothing more. I'm so grateful that I didn't get discouraged and decide it was too much work because since I've been home:

If you'd like to read the experiences at Fitness Ridge the other bloggers had, you can find them here:

Camille-Six Sisters' Stuff
Diana-Livy Loves to Run
Emily-Favorite Family Recipes
Jared-Tone and Tighten
Mique-Thirty Handmade Days

Now it's your turn! Are you ready to go and have an amazing experience that will change your life forever? Because Fitness Ridge is willing to give that opportunity to one of you! Enter to win one week at Fitness Ridge!

Just complete all of the tasks below for your chance to win. The more you do, the more chances that you have to win!

On Paths and Processes

2014-08-07T19:44:00.002-07:00

I had originally planned to post daily about how my journey has been here at Fitness Ridge, but I have to admit that I am so stinking tired at the end of the day, I just want to veg and go to sleep!

This week has been amazing, I have learned SO much and have grown so much in my short time here. I HIGHLY recommend that if you need to take a break to find yourself again, this IS the place.

I had an awesome experience today that I'd like to share with you.

As you know I believe deeply in God as my higher power. I also believe that there is an adversary that is working hard against us to keep us from becoming closer to God.

As I started my hike today (I burned 1500 calories...w00t), I looked up the path where I was headed. There were a lot of ups and downs on this path.

I saw a lot of steep inclines in the distance.

It was the same path I took yesterday, so this time I had some experience and knew what to expect and my perspective had changed deeply.

Yesterday, I looked at those steep inclines in the distance and immediately thought to myself, there is NO way I am going to ever make it.

I kept psyching myself out saying the path was too hard, or my body was too tired.

But for some reason I pushed myself and I'm so grateful that I did.

Because, you see, those steep inclines in the distance weren't that bad once you got closer. When you viewed them from the distance they looked impossible, but in reality the brush was simply covering up the parts of the path that showed the gradual incline, making it seem steep, when in reality it was doable.

Looking at that view today, I had the realization that the adversary works the same way that my mind was working that first day. As we look upon our path in life and as we travel it, there are a lot of ups and downs. And sometimes the path seems too hard or too steep. That is when the adversary steps in with his own sagebrush to block our view of the real path that helps us gain perspective that though it may be challenging, it is doable.

I'd like to think that it was faith that pushed me to take that path the first time I took it. Faith in my God that He will help me if that path gets too hard. Faith in the process that if I work it, it will work for me, and faith in myself that I can do anything I put my mind to.

I wanted to share with you one last quote that Sione Fa (you know the cool dude from biggest loser season 7) shared with us in one of his lectures:

Now it's your turn, trust the process and see yourself change forever.