Do this on your own blog and let me know too!


Making... pillows, hats and skirts.  Not necessarily in that order.
Cooking... more like baking.  Brownies for cub scouts tonight.
Reading... nothing.  I don't have time to read and our ghost stole my Book of Mormon.
Wanting... my house to be finished and on the market.
Looking... at houses on realtor.com
Playing... with Grand Duchess always makes me laugh.  She's funny.
Wasting... away.  This diet thing makes me think I am, anyway.
Sewing... brings me happiness.  A project actually FINISHED!
Wishing... that winning the lottery wasn't such an unreachable desire.
Enjoying... Thor being asleep.
Waiting... for Popeye to bring home a new pinewood derby car for Mr. Fantastic's race tonight.
Liking... roasted red pepper hummus.  It looks nasty but tastes oh, so, yummy!
Wondering... if it's okay for me to feel hopeful that Popeye doesn't bring home that car.

Loving... being a size 8!  YEAH!
Hoping... I can have the energy to get on the treadmill tonight.

Marvelling... that the kids actually "got" the concept of fighting the war between good and evil.
Needing... a date with Popeye.  It's been a really long time.
Smelling... brownies.
Wearing... size 8 jeans!  Sweet!
Following... the leader.
Noticing... a piece of cracker still in my eye from swinging Grand Duchess around.
Knowing... that tears will be coming later this evening.

Thinking... that no matter how hard I try to keep my house clean, it just won't stay that way.

Bookmarking... free crochet patterns and homemade items sites.
Opening... bills. Bah!
Giggling... because it makes the kids giggle.
Feeling... ready to put up more trim or paint or scrape ceilings but frustrated because all 5 kids are at home.

Spruce up my home: project #3

I think I'll have a "Spruce up my home Series" where I'll document all the projects that I complete in my home.  This might just consume my blog - because there are many projects to finish here.  But nonetheless, I'm going to do it!
I'm technincally calling my bathroom complete and that was project #2.  Project #1 was my dining area.  That got completed quite a while ago.
Popeye is feeling some urgency in getting the house finished to put on the market.  He's found what he calls "the perfect house" for us and wants it.  So now we're trying to get everything put together again.  That being said, tomorrow has been deemed "Install The Trim" day.  But I want to show you something that I did last night while Popeye was at work.
On Firday I headed to VoldeMart and got some fabric because that section is leaving so it's all on sale for 50% off right now.  I wasn't even planning on buying any fabric in the first place, but alas, I succumbed to the weakness in me & bought a variety of fabrics.  A few for clothing and some for decorating.
Here's what I did while Popeye was away!!!
Ugly loveseat, no?  This is how it looked yesterday morning.  Don't look too long and hard, you might get sick.  It's really ugly, but the cusions are deep and squishy.

And  this is the after picture!!!  Please give me lots of praise, it's the first time I have ever reupholstered anything.

Don't you love how my pillow came out?  I found this pretty satin-y fabric & added some ties to it.  It's just a simple slip cover  SEW EASY!!  (Get it?  SEW easy?  I crack myself up!)  I still have to make 2 more pillows; a yellow one and another red one.  I'll make those either tonight or tomorrow...

So there you have it.  Thanks be to Ashley at Make It And Love It for teaching me about the pillows & showing me that sprucing up my home can be easy & inexpensive!

(And a happy birthday to Thor today!  He's three now and while he makes me want to pull out my hair most days, I still love him and my heart melts when he says, "Mom?  I love you.")

Lookee Here!

I've been crafty lately.

I made this cute little elephant last week.  And then I made an even cuter frog - but I didn't take a picture of it.  Sorry.

And then tonight I just finished this great little number for Grand Duchess. 

A HUGE thanks to the Relief Society President for helping me figure it out. I had little to no clue as to what I was doing and she was able to help me make sense of Martha's madness (because that's where I got this little pattern).  Isn't so cute?  Martha's pattern is really for a shirt, I just made it a bit longer for a dress for Grand Duchess.  However, I do have some fabric cut out to make a kimono shirt for her.  Now that I know what I'm doing, I look forward to making that one for her!  SWEET!

Losing weight tip

Don't eat. Anything.
You're gauranteed to lose weight.
I'm sick.  I spent ALL DAY either in bed or on the couch yesterday and a majority of that time I was asleep.
It hit me hard.  I felt something wasn't right Wednesday morning when I got up.  I had a hard time getting going but I was able to go to work and with some fervent prayer, was able to get the house done in 3 hours.
Wednesday night met me with weakness and loopiness.
Early Thursday morning I woke up with a headache and sore throat and fever.  I couldn't get out of bed.  All day.
Popeye managed to convince his boss that he needed to stay home.  I'm so glad he did because I couldn't even pick up Grand Duchess let alone stand in the kitchen to make breakfast.
Last night I received a priesthood blessing and am feeling a bit better.
But my throat is still swollen and sore. I'm able to move around the house a bit easier now and haven't had to sleep all day.
But because my throat is so sore, I haven't been able to eat anything.  Talk about weight loss.  I've lost a whole pound in 2 days because of it.  I'm not recommending this form of weight loss to anyone.  It's just not healthy nor is it fun.
But effective, yes.
Oh I hope I feel better by tomorrow night.  Mr. Fantastic got a role in the musical 'Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs'.  His performances are today and tomorrow.  I really want to go see it.
Anyway.  Have a good weekend, everyone!

Bah!

So tomorrow is our first weigh-in since starting this "Biggest Loser" contest.  I'm feeling a bit discouraged because Jillian hasn't delivered the way I was hoping she would. Every night (aside from my nights off) I would sweat and groan and "mormon-curse" while doing her routines.  I would concentrate on form and getting it done right so that I wouldn't be cheating myself.
All for what?
A lousy half a pound, that's what!!!  My wallet is depleted because of all the healthy stuff in my cupboards now, my legs are still a little sore and I'm about to pull out all of my hair because I haven't made any progress.
Ooooh, that's right, I HAVE made progress.  Some would say, "But it's better to lose a half of a pound than to gain, right?"
To them I say, "Ppppbbbbtttt!"  (That's me imitating Grand Duchess spitting with her tongue out.)
Needless to say I'm going to go BACK to my old routine of running every night instead of circuit training with Jillian.  When I was running and eating right I was losing a pound a day.  A POUND A DAY PEOPLE!!!
Some would also ask, "Why are you making such a big deal about this?"
And to them I say, "The pot is up to $580.  I want to win it!"  But if I can't figure out a program that works for me, I'm going to continue to be discouraged.  I miss my comfort foods of clam chowder, homemade bread, and baking yummy desserts to enjoy with my kiddos.  I miss it A LOT!!!
So needless to say, I'm a little cranky right now.
I guess I should give Jillian a little credit.  Since starting her program I have lost around my waist, hips and thighs.  My muscles are more toned and my clothes are starting to become baggy.  But this contest is not about sizes lost.  It's about weight percentages.  And if I maintain my weight of 154 (There, you happy I told you?), I won't win the money at the end.  And I REALLY want that money at the end.
So I have 5 weeks to go and I need a renewed sense of determination.
BAH!

Tuesday Tip!

You know, all this time I've thought I had been doing okay.  (*All this time* meaning my adult married life.)
I would make balanced meals for my family, making sure I always had veggies, protein, dairy & grains. 
Not until I started this biggest loser competition did I realize how off I had been.
Ah well.  At least now I know.  I won't bore you with what I've learned.  I'm just glad I learned it while the kids are all still young and somewhat moldable to their new diets.  (Using the term 'diet' as in - this is the food you eat NOT restricting calories blah blah blah...)

Anyway.
I've learned some new things.  And this tip came in handy the other day.
Just before embarking on my weightloss journey, a client gave me a large bag of sugar cookies (unfrosted) to take home.  I told her thank you and that I appreciated her trying to kill my skinny goals before they even started.  (We have a cool relationship that I can talk with her openly like that.)  She then said to give them all to Thor, knowing his sweet tooth is the size of Lake Michigan.  Let me be honest.  I was secretly hoping she would offer me a cookie before I left and couldn't wait to get my teeth into one.  They are my favorite cookie afterall.  And two of them didn't even meet Thor because they were consumed before I even got into town.
So I went home and had some store-bought frosting in the pantry.  And I remembered this tip to make your frosting go a little further.

Before using your frosting, put it in a mixer and whip it up a bit.  It adds volume to it and you can frost way more cookies and/or cakes and/or cupcakes than if you hadn't.

I had TONS of frosting left over which the kids thought was great to put on graham crackers & Thor thought was great by itself. (He ate half the container while I wasn't watching. But my mothering skills will be discussed on another day.)

Anyway.  There's your tip.  Now that the frosting is gone I can't be tempted to dip my finger in the container for even just a nibble.  (And the kids are a little peeved that I'm not planning on buying anymore.)  Phooey on me I guess.

Onto the biggest loser competition I mentioned.  A bunch of us ladies, I can't even say here in town because some are scattered all over the country (as far away as Florida), have decided to lose weight in a friendly competition.  We all put $20 into the pot and get to work.  No crash diets.  No HCG or other drastic measures (lypo or surgery).  Just good ol' diet and exercise.  At week 3, whoever has lost the most percentage of weight will get 20% of the pot.  At week 6 we'll have the final weigh-in and whoever wins gets the remaining 80%.  And guess what that pot is at.  Go ahead.  Guess.  $500!!!  Holy smokes!  That would give me a nice little wardrobe. (Not to mention pay for all this healthy food I've been buying.) So I've kicked it up a few notches.  Work makes me sweat a little more, the food I consume has little fat but tons of flavor, and at night I sweat like crazy until I want to puke.  (Seriously came thiiiiis close to puking last night.)  Meet my trainer.  It's her fault I almost puked.  Jillian.  She's tough.  And she knows what she's talking about.

I know some of you who visit my blog are in competition with me, so to you I say, "Good luck!!!  Whoever wins, wins!  But at least we're all getting healthy together!"  I'm not even going to talk trash because I hate eating my words.  :)  But I really do hope we all lose a good 10-15 pounds, if not more. (I'm hoping for 25.)  We're all going to be bombshells walking into church!  I feel a shopping trip coming on when our tax refunds come in!

I started eating healthier on the 1st of January.  Not for resolutions or this contest, really, I just wanted to adapt my body to a lower calorie intake.  I wish I would've waited because I've already lost 4 pounds.  I hope this keeps up, I'd hate to plateau too soon. 

Anyway.  That is what's going on.  Oh, and we have a trip to Omaha planned for Mr. Fantastic for his last round of evaluations before he gets his second implant.  That will be EEEEEARLY Friday morning and we'll be getting back LAAAAATE Friday night.  A quick trip and super long drive that will be SO worth it!

Significant things

As I was watching the news this evening, there was a question asked to the people celebrating the new year in downtown Denver.  This question was, "What was the most significant thing that happened to you over the last decade?"  DECADE?!  I didn't even make that connection until that question was asked.  Not only would I have to think of the past 365 days but go back in time 3 THOUSAND 6 HUNDRED and FIFTY days to figure out what was so significant.

I have to admit, I am pretty proud of myself.  I was able to come up with an answer to that question almost immediately.  Most of the people answered with things that have happened in the past year like Obama being elected (dare I say) president and The tsunami across the world.  But I can tell you the 5 best things that happened to me since the year 2000.

Mr. Fantastic: Y2K

Optimus Prime: 2002

Princess Monkey Eyes: 2004

Thor: 2007

Grand Duchess: 2009

Our family was created in the last decade.  You can't ask for anything better than that!

Happy New Year!  And in the words of Jason from 'Ghost Hunters', "On to the next!"