Another Blanket Down

This blanket took me the most time to finish, if for no other reason than I took the pressure off of myself to try to get it done in 3 weeks. I worked on it when I felt like it, no goal in mind. If I only did a few rows instead of a whole skein of yarn then it was progress in the right direction. 

This past month has been stressful to say the least, and there has been a lot on my mind. I'm thankful to have a hobby I can turn to to distract me.. I'm even more thankful for family and friends who have
been there through every exciting and every devastating moment.

This most recent project is on it's way to someone very special on the other side of the country. 

 (Just a quarter of it's actual size)

This blanket has been loved and I had some special helpers:

I think they'll both miss it.. At least until the next one is big enough to cuddle up against.. 

And the next one has already started to take shape. I'm doing this one a little differently and I love how it's turning out already. Lots of color changes and a new pattern. I have to keep it interesting after all!! 

This one is for my mom. I gave her the yarn for her birthday on June 2nd and am excited to finally get to work on it to actually give it to her. I kept the last blanket a "secret" and didn't share progress pictures, but this one will be seen almost daily. 

I'm trying extremely hard to stay out of Michael's and Joann's. The list of blankets to make is slowly getting shorter and I need to stop trying to think of more people to make blankets for. It is an expensive hobby to have. 

And in reality, I really do want to start making blankets for the animal shelter. But that won't happen until the list of people I'm making blankets for is completed. Good thing I truly enjoy this, since it looks like I'll be at it for quite some time.

Project Landscaping = Complete

We finally finished out front garden area that we started a few weeks ago. 

Due to an unfortunate incident that sent Patrick to Colorado to be with a friend who was in an accident, our front yard project took a break until he got home. 

But we finished tonight!

We don't have a before picture, but this was after everything had been pulled out: 

And after: 

There are weird shadows, but I think that it's enough to tell the amazing difference. 

Onto the next project!!

Weight Watchers- Week Five

Well, it was bound to happen.. My first gain.

Okay, so 0.2 isn't much of a gain, however in the past this would have thrown me for a loop and it would have caused me to be upset for a while. This time I'm all smiles and focusing on the positives. 

Positive: I'm enjoying my food choices.

Positive: I've been tracking everything every day.

Positive: I've been drinking more water.

Positive: I'm ready to start working out again.

Positive: I'm appreciating my body as it is now.

And I ended the week with a weekly point remaining! 

0.2 is nothing and I'm motivated to lose that and more this next week. My other focus is on water, incorporating some exercise, continuing to track, no fast food, and eating closer to my daily points. 

It feels so good to not be so chained to the scale. My emotions are not based on whether I gain or lose. I mean, I won't lie, I do feel happier after I see a loss, but a gain doesn't affect me the way it used to. That feels really good. 

Who would have thought 5 weeks later and I'd still be going strong and continuing my motivation. I'm not concerned that I haven't lost enough, because 5 weeks and I'm 5.4 pounds less than 5 weeks ago. Progress is progress.

Weight Watcher's- Week Four

Well, I didn't reach my goal of having weekly points left over, but I did okay and stayed in the positive.. Technically.

I mean, in all honesty, I did pretty well this week. I made good food choices and I'm proud of myself. 

I took my measurements this morning and was thrilled with the progress I'm making, even without many workouts. Overall, I am down 6.75 inches..

Starting measurements (6/23)

Waist: 40"

Hips: 48"

Bust: 42.5"

Thigh: 27.75"

Arm: 13.75"

Month one (7/21)

Waist: 37.5" (-2.5)

Hips: 46.5" (-1.5)

Bust: 41" (-1.5)

Thigh: 27" (-0.75)

Arm: 13.25" (-0.5)

Although my overall inches and pounds lost is great, my progress pictures were a little less positive. But it's one month and although I personally think they look worse, I'm hoping that's just because I'm more difficult on myself and that eventually I'll be able to see the difference. 

I am starting to get that desire to start working out again.. There are 11 days left of the month including today and I would like to get in 11 workouts. That can include walking the dog, walking alone, running, a strength workout, a DVD, the stationary bike, etc.. I'll even allow myself to count two or more workouts in one day.. For example- walk the dog and a DVD, or a strength workout and then a solo walk. Flexibility helps motivate me and I am actually wanting to get out and do it.

My goal this week is to remember to track my good healthy guidelines (water, fruits & veggies, milk, activity, etc.). I am in no way trying to get them all, but I haven't even been tracking them and I want to see where I am. 

My new motto: 

Weight Watcher's- Week Three

I started this week off strong. Staying as close to my daily points as possible, using my weeklies sparingly.. Then the weekend came. 

After a funeral, a baby shower, and family dinner I found myself running out of weeklies quite quickly and not caring. I honestly thought my "goal" of losing 0.8 pounds this week was out the window.

I may have ended the week using all weeklies and all activity points (which I really didn't want to use) and going in the negative (barely, but it's still a negative number). That didn't stop me though. I still tracked every single bite. 

This is rare for me. At this point there will usually have been at least one day that went without tracking anything, but this isn't usually. This is this time and I'm committed. I'm not falling back to old habits. Tracking is so simple that it's the absolute least I can do.

And it pays off..

I did it!! I got my first sticker and have started my book mark. It's amazing how happy this piece of paper makes me. Not because the number on the scale is going down, but because I'm doing this for me and committing to my health. 

My goal this coming week is to have weeklies left over. No matter if that's by 1 or all 49. Just to have some left over. 

Landscaping

One of the projects we've decided to work on is landscaping the front garden area, as well as cleaning up and organizing the patio and porch. We've attempted to landscape the front garden, but with little planning it didn't turn out quite the way we wanted to..

While at work this past week I called Patrick on his day off. He was out mowing the lawn and decided to clean up under our loquat tree as the weeds had taken over. It was during that conversation that we decided to start fresh. 

He tore everything out and roto tilled the entire area. That night we discussed how we would like to proceed.

It's going to take some time to get the sprinklers set up, the area prepared and the plants planted, but we have the supplies and we are ready to begin the process. 

Until we are ready to start planting, I am working on the patio and porch area. I want to move a lot of the decor to the back area once that's paved and ready to go, so my plan for now is to move the items I want to use back there back to the garage for easy access once we're ready to complete that section. 

As for the patio, we're going to be moving the patio table to the back to go on the pavers, under a nice shaded gazebo, leaving the patio to be more of a hang out area rather than a dining area. 

We just need a small coffee table for the middle of the seats and we'll be ready to entertain! We even have a nice little dresser piece which holds some glasses for wine and other beverages. 

It's coming along and is feeling more inviting every day.. Hopefully sometime soon we can actually throw a party of some sort and have people over to show them what we've accomplished!

The Only Logical Thing to do at 3am

Well, realistically it would be sleeping, but when you hear the Old Spice theme ringtone coming from your husbands phone just after 3am it's difficult to fall back asleep. 

It's probably not a good idea that I keep my phone next to my bed. It's probably not a good idea to memorize the Kohl's coupon code before giving it to your mom because you "really shouldn't be spending money." It's probably not a good idea to think about how you want your current clothes to fit, but in the mean time you also want to dress professionally and feel comfortable. It's probably not a good idea to shop at 3 in the morning..

But, that's what I did. And before those new clothes go into my closet, it's getting completely cleaned out from top to bottom. No article of clothing is safe at this point. Mostly because I need to make room for these:

I am highly excited to try the new items on. Luckily, if they don't fit or if I like them better in a small picture online than I do in person, I can very easily return them. 

I'm hoping that dressing nicely and more professionally will help with my self-esteem. I tend to feel better about myself, to hold my head up higher when I feel good in what I'm wearing, and even when I take the time to do my makeup.. 

I get in these moods where I'm all about pony tails, jeans and a shirt, running shoes, no makeup, etc.. Basically, I roll out of bed, roll into the shower, get dressed in whatever I pick out of my closet in the dark and go. I feel like I'm hiding behind my clothes, which tend to be either too tight or too loose. 

No longer!! I deserve to feel good- no matter my size or shape. I deserve to feel good during the weight loss process, not just when I reach my goal. I deserve nice things, and if that means shopping online with a coupon on already sale priced items, so be it. I will not feel guilty, instead I will wear the clothes proudly, put the credit card away and kindly ask that my husband turns off email notifications on his phone between the hours of 10pm and 5am..

Tae Kwon Do- White Belt

Isabel had her fourth class tonight, and earned her white belt.

Other than having to tell her instructor my birthday (without asking me), she also had her best class so far. She did much better at paying attention during class, I could hear her say "yes sir!", and her form was pretty darn good..

I'm one proud mom!!!

Maybe the purpose of putting her in Tae Kwon Do is starting to come through. Respect and self discipline are our main concerns. I really hope the consistency will pay off.

Weight Watcher's- Week Two

Well that was a pleasant surprise.. 

I felt like I did well this past week, but I did indulge in lots of yummy food over the weekend. 

I guess I'm just really in the right frame of mind to do this. I'm excited about it and I've been consistently tracking for two full weeks. This is definitely different from past attempts. 

So, I want to set a goal for myself for this coming week, but I don't want to at the same time. I'm afraid that if I say I want to lose "x" amount of weight I will enter self sabotage mode or that if I lose less than that goal I won't be as excited about it even though I should be..

But how cool would it be to get my 5 pound sticker next week?!?

In other news, Isabel had her third Tae Kwon Do lesson tonight and has the opportunity to earn her white belt on Thursday!! 

Family Outing

The big kids joined us for the holiday weekend and we made the most of it! We decided yesterday to use Sunday as a beach day, but that plan quickly changed.

Instead, we decided to stay in town and go bowling.

We used a coupon for 2 hours of bowling, which ended up being two games for the 5 of us. I won the first game with a high score of 91.. Isabel was right behind me at 88. 

After warming up, Kaleb and Patrick had quite the game against each other, 116 - 161, with Patrick picking up momentum towards the end and winning.

I'm not going to lie, bowling is not at the top of my mind when I try to think of something for us to do, but we always have so much fun. It's relatively inexpensive and can be a quick 1 hour activity.

After having dinner at the in-laws, I was heading home and had an itch to stop at Home Goods. I let Isabel make te decision on whether we went or not because she hates shopping, but she chose Home Goods. I am so glad she did!

Although the kids bathroom is small, and isn't used often because there's only a bath and no shower, I thought this piece of furniture would work well for added storage. We'll see if it stays there or gets moved to another spot, but I like it.

I also found this bench with locker style drawers. It was originally going to go in the kids room, but didn't quite work in there, so I maneuvered some furniture in our bedroom and it is perfect. I love it so much and feel like it transformed our room a lot. Just need a lamp or other tall item to make the wall space feel less empty. 

This piece was where the new piece was, and I couldn't get rid of it or find another place in the house for it, so it moved spaces. The picture on top was on clearance and fits well with our Mammoth Lakes themed decor. 

I love when I can find goodies that just make me so happy!