Category Archives: Self Improvement

Getting Back In the Art Studio!

Good evening!

Yesterday there was a Christmas craft bazaar at my office, and I found myself for the second year in a row purchasing a bunch of  these really cool and funky hair flowers. I LOVE Them!!! Most of you may not know this, but I have a tendency to wear hair decorations in my hair A LOT! So anyway, it really got me inspired, “How hard would it be to make some of my own hair decorations??” Well, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head all day yesterday, so…..

This morning my sweetie and I got up early, went and had a lovely breakfast, and then I was on a mission. To go pick up some supplies to make myself some of my own hair decorations. What do you think of these? These were my first attempt at making these – they are not perfect, but I can tell I am going to have fun not making these and wearing these!

Can you believe that this started out as farmy chicken and hen fabric? I am soooo in love with how these look in my brunette hair!

I decided to try some red with black polka dots, one of my favorite fabrics!! and then why not add some buttons and feathers?

This one is going to go perfectly with my FAVORITE green coat!

Here is one more that I made with my farmy chicken and hen fabric!! I am going to attach this one to a headband! These were so much fun to make, and more time consuming then I expected them to be, but I know I will be making plenty more! I might even add some to an Etsy shop for sale! In the meantime, I am hoping to have some more time to play in my art studio again tomorrow!!! I will keep you posted on what else I am able to come up with! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! ;-)

Thank Goodness It Is Friday!

Good evening!
This Friday just could not get here any faster! But here it is, and I am just soooo thankful for a weekend off!!

Today, I unintentionally gave myself a little jolt, and that was because, out of the blue, I signed myself and my sweetie up for a gastric-bypass informational session with our local bariatric office. I am not sure exactly what I was thinking, but it has really made me do a lot of thinking since I have gotten off of work this evening!

The whole idea of gastric bypass, or lap band surgery for me is terrifying! Letting myself get cut open, on purpose, and then having my insides permanently re-arranged just so I can get skinny! Is that just the vain-est thing you have ever heard??? THEN on the other hand, Jason and I talked about it over dinner this evening, and I kind of got excited about having a real life again. You know hiking, playing, jogging, fitting into amusement park rides, fitting comfortably in an airplane seat, being able to cross my legs, touch my toes, or shop in the regular section in a regular department store, being able to keep up with our neice and nephews when we are playing, etc. It is enough to make me seriously consider having the procedure done!

Hmmm..what do you guys think? I would really LOVE to hear your thoughts on this.

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Wanting More!

Good evening!

Life is good, but do you ever get the feeling that there has to be something more? More to life than what you are living? This has been the same revolving thought in my head for quite some time now. This can’t be all there is, is it? There has got to be more to life than this! More purpose! More action! More adventure! More….MORE!

When I went to Women of Faith with my sisters a few weeks ago, Sandi Patty sang a medley of Disney songs that for some reason hit me really hard, and I cannot seem to get their, once unrealized, POWERFUL messages out of my head. Today I decided to actually look up the words to see what they were, and to see if they were really truly as powerful as I thought.

The songs were:

When You Wish Upon a Star

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true

Aren’t these AMAZING lyrics!?!?! When I see them in print, I get a little misty-eyed. What woman doesn’t remember hearing these songs as a fresh-eyed little girl, wishing that if only she could be the princess in the movie, then all her dreams will come true too? Now as an adult, I realize that that little girl inside of me still lives, and she still wants her dreams to come true, even if that means she never gets to be a real princess. It is up to me to make my dreams come true, because there is no prince who is going to do it for me, no magic that will make it happen without some work on my part, and as hard as I call, I can’t seem to find my fairy godmother who is going to make all my dreams come true with just a wave of her want.

As depressing as all that may sound, I am not giving up! I may not know exactly what I want just yet, but I do know what I don’t want, and it is up to me to start taking action to make it happen!!

Here’s to new things coming in my life, and maybe yours too!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Beautiful Wednesday!

Good evening!

Where do I begin? Well, I told you a few days ago that I was on the hunt for me new look!! The hunt is still on, and today I made a point to stop at Sally Beauty Supply and pick up a couple of necessities!!

I made sure to pick up another pair of lashes – I have been wearing a different pair every day for the past 3 days, which has been a lot of fun. It is really cool to see how different people react to them, most people don’t know what is different, but they can’t stop staring!! HEE! HEE! HEE!! 😉

I also got a new boar bristle teasing comb, to help me get some body in my baby-fine hair!! Thank you, Dawn, for that tip!!

I got a container of 300 bobby pins – I may NEVER need to buy new ones again, but then again – I already have a large container floating around SOMEWHERE, and it was because I could not find them that I had to make the stop to Sally’s in the first place. So, I can cross those off of my list now.

Oh, and something, that for some reason didn’t make it into this pic – I am not sure what I was thinking, but I did get a package of clear, easy slip mini hair bands for small pony tails, and braids. I am not sure why I didn’t have any of these, but I am VERY glad that I do now!!

I was very excited to get home from work today, and after I made dinner for my sweetie and I, I watched a few hair tutorials on YouTube!! As soon as I pic a few of my favorites, I will make a point to share some of them with you!! I did find one site that shared a TON of fun hair ideas, and right now I am really looking for some creative ideas! My hair is very thin and mousy, and after my last haircut where I asked for a different kind of layered cut – I have been fighting with my hair like a fiend!!! So, at this point, any help I can get is VERY WELL RECEIVED!! 😉

What else, well, ok maybe not a lot of anything else, but life really is good!! My official plan for this evening, is to give my sweet Fay girl a bath, and then go get some reading done before bed! (I know my life is terribly exciting, right???) LOL! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! 😉

OH CRAP!! I just realized that it is Wednesday , Chunky Dunker night, and I TOTALLY FORGOT!!! What does that say about me! Sheesh!!! 😉 Ok, girls! I owe you!!! 😉

Creating a Look!

Good evening!

I am in the market for a new look. My sweetie and I went out with my bestie and her fiance,  this evening. My girlfriend, Dawn, always looks like she just stepped right off of the latest fashion magazine. Well, tonight, her hair was looking extra especially cute and it has inspired me to stop on the way home to pick up some fashion magazines, and look into some new hairstyles, makeup techniques, and some new fashion looks.

I am not looking for anything super dramatic, but just a few minor tweaks and options for the me that I am right now. I find that I have gotten myself in a bit of a fashion rut, and have been really playing it safe. Super-safe – almost frump girl at times!! I figure if no one notices me, why does it even matter? But, the reality is, is that it matters because I notice!! now that I have started to lose weight, I really want to make sure that my outside is looking as good as my inside is feeling!

Who are some of my dream style icons?

  • Audrey Hepburn
  • Adele
  • Sophia Loren
  • Diane von Furstenberg
  • Kelly Osbourne
  • Katherine Hepburn
  • Diane Keaton

I think my style is feminine, classic, romantic, tailored. When I am not careful, it can run into safe, boring, ho-hum, so I need to make sure to do a good job to keep some life in my look, so that my spirit is truly represented in my overall style look. I am a firm believer that you really do have just moments to make a good first impression!! Besides, what woman doesn’t LOVE feeling FABULOUS??? 😉

What is your style, and who are you style icons? I would love to hear from you in the comments section.

Have a FABULOUS evening! ;-)

 

Chunky Dunkers!

Good evening!

Tonight is Chunky Dunker night, an online fitness/weight loss support group. We are always happy to have visitors so please feel free to stop by the comments section and let us know how you are doing with you weight loss/fitness goals, and please feel free to share any hints/tips/ideas that you have found helpful in getting closer to your goals!! The more the merrier!!

I am very happy to report that I am finally losing weight, 8.4 pounds so far. It is coming off slowly but surely, but as long as it is coming off, I will take it!!! YEAH!! I am still not up to exercising too regularly yet, but I have been dealing with a minor health issue that has been leaving me feeling run down and not exactly like my normal self! However, I have been really trying to work around that and make a point to get more movement throughout my day!

Anyway, this week’s topic is: The Importance of Hydration

The following was borrowed from Golds Gym’s Newsletter:

You’ve heard the rule before: Drink eight glasses (or 64 ounces) of water each day. But when you work out, your body’s demand for fluids increases even more, especially if you’re exercising outdoors — or even warming up on the way to the gym — during warm summer months.

5 Easy Ways
To Stay Hydrated

  1. 1. Drink eight glasses of water every day.
  2. 2. Can’t remember the last time you had a glass of water? Go get one now.
  3. 3. Drink 8 ounces of water every 20 minutes during a workout.
  4. 4. Drink 12 to 24 ounces of water before and after your workout.
  5. 5. Grab a low-calorie sports drink at Gold’s Gym.

According to Dr. Sam J. Romeo, CEO of Romeo Medical Clinic, Inc., in Turlock, Calif., half the population is at least mildly dehydrated all the time. These people don’t even know what a day feels like when they’re fully hydrated. Drinking the right amount of water daily can lead to better decision-making skills and concentration, elevated moods and improved coordination. So just imagine how the benefits of proper hydration might affect your workout.

“Dehydration can decrease your strength, endurance and sports performance significantly,” says Romeo. “If we have inadequate fluid intake, every cell and organ system in our body has to work harder. We have less blood volume, so the cardiovascular system has to increase our heart rate.”

Plus, the more you sweat, the more fluid your body loses. To learn specifically how much water your body releases during a workout, weigh yourself without clothes before and after. Every half-pound of weight loss is equivalent to eight ounces of water lost, explains Romeo. Generally, to maintain a healthy hydration level it’s important to drink 12 to 24 ounces before and after as well as about eight ounces every 20 minutes during the workout.

For shorter workouts — those lasting less than one hour — sports drinks are not necessary says Romeo. Longer, more intense workouts, though, require a combination of water and sports drinks to replace lost electrolytes and provide sugar for energy. To avoid the added calories, pick up any of the low-calorie sports drinks offered at Gold’s Gym.

Don’t worry about drinking too much; it’s difficult for a healthy individual to over-hydrate. Those cramps that sometimes creep up during a workout are not generally caused by too much fluid consumption. In fact, they can sometimes be a sign of early dehydration, explains Mary Arnold, a USA Track & Field-certified running coach and two-time national qualifier in long-course triathlon. But most often the dreaded side stitch actually comes from undigested food or an irregular breathing pattern. “I have my athletes slow down or walk for 30 to 60 seconds to alleviate the cramp,” says Arnold. “Walking with your hands stretched over your head — to stretch your diaphragm — and breathing deeply will get rid of the side stitch.”

To beat the summer heat, maximize your workouts and get all the benefits of proper hydration on a daily basis. “Good hydration is not just a part of a workout: It is integral to a healthy lifestyle,” Arnold says. “If you can’t remember when you last had a glass of water, you should stop what you’re doing and get one.”

Have a FABULOUS evening! ;-)

I Must Be Crazy!

Good evening!!

You know, I have decided that I really must be crazy! After being SOOOOO relieved after spending so much time getting Jason’s blanket done, that who would have thought that the VERY NEXT DAY I would choose to pick up another skein of yarn to learn a new stitch!!! Jason’s blanket was a ginormous granny square. This next blanket is called a granny chevron!!! I am REALLY EXCITED to see how it will turn out! Ok, so I realize that sounds a little sad, but I have already done the complete first row (it is much narrower than Jason’s) and I can already see it zig-zagging!! YEAH!!! Ok, so maybe I really am crazy, because this new blanket is going to take me A WHILE!! I am doing this one in all white, soI imagine it will be a pretty throw blanket for our living room!!

Anyway, besides that craziness, I have had a really good day!! Work was very productive, I LOVE THAT by the way! Crossing things off of my daily to-do list! That is VERY SATISFYING!!!

Oh, not to change subjects again, but I am going to, Jason has gone upstairs, taken a skein of yarn, one of my crochet hooks and has started learning how to crochet too!! He is watching a YouTube video and already has about 3 inches of a scarf already made!!! He is such a talented STINKER!! It took me literally YEARS to get to where he has been able to get in less than an hour – however, I will admit that I did NOT have anything like YouTube – I just had to kind of figure it out, with help from anyone who was patient enough to answer all of my crocheting questions (namely, Jason’s mom – THANKS MOM!!!)!!!  😉

So, this evening, I am done crocheting for the night! It is nice and cold in the house this evening, so I think I am going to go cuddle under the blankets with my sweetie in bed tonight and do a little reading! I am reading the latest book in the Lost Heroes Series, by Rick Riordan – you know the continuation of the Percy Jackson series?? Really good book, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!! Reading is MUCH MORE gratifying than watching the tele – I’m just sayin’! 😉

On that note…

Have a FABULOUS evening! ;-)

P.S.  I wanted to make sure that I remind all of you Chunky Dunkers that we are on tomorrow night!!! See you then! GO CHUNKY DUNKER’S!!! 😉

A Quiet Evening At Home!

Good evening!

After a slight change of plans, my sweetie and I have decided to spend a nice, quiet evening at home. My sweetie has made us a lovely lasagna dinner, my mama’s recipe, and he picked up a couple of happy movies to watch this evening!!

Also, something a little fun, and different! After some thinking about being kids and not having to work at being fit because we were always out playing. I started wondering what we could do, as adults, to re-connect with that old adage of playing, so that we can get fit again!! Some of my FAVORITE things were riding bikes, climbing trees,  jumping rope, hopscotch, wall ball, chinese jump rope, monkey bars, swings, swimming and teeter-tottering!! SO, the one thing I thought I would do to try and reconnect with that old self was to purchase old-fashioned beaded jump ropes. One for me and one for my sweetie! I was AMAZED at how easy that was able to find, especially when you realize that my sweetie is about 6′ 8”. Long story short, my sweetie and I are skipping rope a little every day, and I have to tell you – so far, it is REALLY FUN, but waaaaay harder than I remember!! We are playing a game with ourselves that basically is us keeping track of how many continuous skips we can do in one run, and then trying to beat that number the next day!! So far, so good!! I am not at a terribly high number yet, but I am doing better than where I was when I first started!!

Next I would like to see myself be able to ride my bikes for long periods of time, and Jason still needs to get a bike – they are a little spendy when you get one that can accomodate his height/weight! So, that may take us a while!! I also may have to google how to play hopscotch again, I can’t remember off the top of my head exactly how to play it, but I am sure that would be a fun competetive type game to play with Jason, as well as wall-ball!! That might be a little harder since for every one of his steps it takes me two to match it, but I am really enjoying the idea of playing for fitness!!!

WAY TO PLAY!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Finally Home!

Good evening!

I am so happy to report that I am finally home!! WHOO! HOO!!

Yesterday was the last day of my computer training in Wisconsin, so naturally I started the journey home yesterday afternoon. Who knew it would be such a LOOOOONG journey!! 😉

The original plan was that I would leave my class at four to catch the shuttle to the airport in Madison, which would take about an hour to get there. Then I would have about a 2 and a half hour wait before my flight to Chicago. Once to Chicago, I would have one hour to catch that plane, and then my plane to Portland, Oregon would get in at about midnight, and my sweetie would pick me up and drive us home, which would get us home about 1 am. I would get some much needed sleep and then go to work from noon to 5, and life would officially be back to “normal”.

What really happened though, was this:

I left my class at 4 to take the hour long drive to the airport on the shuttle. Got to the airport, as expected, and when I got there found out my flight to Chicago had been delayed by an extra hour, because there was a really bad wind storm in Chicago. This would also mean that if I was going to make my connecting flight, I was going to have to SERIOUSLY run, which, at that point, I was sooooo tired, and sooooo ready to be home, I was more than willing to do.

At a little after 8 pm, they finally gave the a-ok to board our plane, but when we taxi’d out, we found out we had that we were grounded and had to wait on the Tarmac until air traffic control gave us the green light to go. It was quite a wait, but at this point, in my mind, it was still all good because it was a small plane, with even less passengers, so they let us sit wherever we wanted, and by that time there were about 4 of us who were really getting to know each other,nervously  laughing and joking, and three of us four, were all heading to Portland on the same flights. Come rain or come shine, I knew I wasn’t going to be alone!! What a blessing!! 😉

Well, I am not sure what time we actually got to take off, but we all knew we were going to miss our connecting flights! and boy, did we ever!

Before I tell you what happened next, I think I had better tell you about our AMAZING flight crew from Madison to Chicago! We flew United, and I have never really had any problems with them, so I knew we were going to be in good hands! That might have been the UNDERSTATEMENT of the whole trip!!! Seeing that they were forecasting cross winds of up to 50 miles an hour, we had a relatively smooth, and comfortable ride – considering the weather. There were times that I was sure we would NEVER get off of that Tarmac, but once we did the professionalism and skill of our crew was extremely self-evident! You  could tell that the plane was trying hard to roll, and the pilots did a lot of compensating to make sure we made it to Chicago safely! I am not saying that I was completely worry free during our flight. It was a lot bumpier than normal after all, but I had decided to just pray about it, and let God take care of getting us there. one way or the other, I knew I would be in His hands.

We did finally get there safely, and we had an AMAZINGLY smooth landing, which was a feat unto itself because it was SO RAINY and SO WINDY!! WHEW!!! but, I knew God was helping fly that little plane. When we finally got off the plane, I headed right to the gate to ask the person at the counter if our connecting flight had taken off, well, let’s just say he practically laughed his confirmation at me, as if I were some silly dreamer, which I guess I am, but a girl could hope that it had been delayed too can’t she?

So, the three of us Portland bound ladies, myself, Eartha, and KJ (short for Kathy Jo)  had decided that we were all in this together, and made the trek to find out how to go about getting ourselves set up with new flights so we could FINALLY get to Portland. After finding where we were supposed to go to get help, we found ourselves in the LOOOOOONGEST line and if we had any doubts before that this was going to be a long night, we knew for SURE now!! 😉 Thankfully, by the time I finally made it to the associate, she was still smiling – bless her heart!!  I had been watching and she had people yelling at her, and being downright rude, and I was just soooo impressed that she had kept her cool, and not only that, but to do it all with a SMILE?? She was VERY IMPRESSIVE!! So, when I go to her window, I had decided to tell her so, and thank her for what a GREAT job she was doing!!  She reserved me a seat on the next flight back to the Pacific Northwest, which was going to be going to Seattle, and we would be on the plane by about  8 am the next morning! WHOO! HOO!! as long as we were on our way! (Yes, all three of us girls ended up on the same flights, thankfully!!)

By this time it was a little past 11 at night, the airport had practically closed down for the evening and I was hungry because I had missed dinner that evening, and the young lady who had helped us reschedule our flights, I believe her name was Mary Jane, was just getting off of her shift, and had by then, made it her mission to make sure that the three of us had ANYTHING that we needed, food, drinks, etc!!! She kept offering to drive and get us some food, and bring it back. 🙂 We kept thanking her and telling her that wasn’t going to be necessary! She then said she was willing to go home, and bring us back some apples from an orchard that she had just picked these fresh apples from, she was VERY SWEET, but we assured her that we would be fine, and she headed home for the evening! Well, Eartha, KJ and myself had found our hunkering down spots in the airport and were busy chatting and getting to know each other a little better, when lo and behold, Mary Jane came back!!! She said that she had searched all over the airport and found that there was a Starbuck’s not to far away that would be open all night! She let us know that they had fruit, veggies, sandwiches, etc, on top of there coffee selections!!  We were soooo very appreciative!! I know that she was a walking angel, and that when I had prayed for God to take care of us getting us home, he had gone above and beyond, by sending us this AMAZING lady to help make us comfortable!!!

Well, it was waaay past midnight by now, someone from the airport had come around and given all of us stranded travelers fleece blankets to help keep us warm. I was convinced that God had placed people as angels all around us!! 😉 We knew it was going to be a long night trying to get any kind of sleep in those hard chairs, but we all took turns trying to catch some shut eye, while one of the other of us watched all of our bags, and belongings. I really couldn’t have asked for better company!!

So long story short, none of us really got much in the way of sleep, but we weren’t alone and by about 2-ish I was finally, and GRATEFULLY home!! When my sweetie got to the airport to pick me up, I almost cried with joy to see him!!! His twinkling blue eyes, smiling at me, was just almost more than my happy to be home self could bear!!

Looking back on this trip, I am sure that this will be one I will NEVER forget!! and KJ and Eartha, wherever you are – I do have your contact information, I want to say thank you to you both, you made a very scary situation, a fun, and memorable adventure, and I will forever be grateful to you both!!!

With my story told, it is time for me to go back to bed (I literally climbed in as soon as we got home, and I only got up because I ALMOST forgot to blog today!!)

Have a FABULOUS evening!!

The Life of My Dreams?

Good morning!

“Who you’re meant to be evolves from where you are right now.” ~Oprah Winfrey

Since I have have to get going to class today, and am not sure how mentally exhausted I am going to be when I get back, I thought I would take some time to blog this morning!

After breakfast, this morning, I have spent some quiet time reading the latest issue of Oprah’s magazine. I picked it up in the airport yesterday because the headlines plastering the cover were exactly the same things that I have been questioning a lot lately.

“Find Your True Calling! A Guide to Discovering Who You’re Meant to Be”

“O’s Self-Awareness Workbook”

“Tired of Being Tired? 5 Ways to Bring Yourself Back from Burnout”

These are all things that I have been seriously searching for answers to!!

I have just finished one article where the woman, Today Show anchor, Ann Curry. I won’t tell you her whole story, you will have to pick up O to read that yourself, but something in her story has really struck a chord with me:

Ann had found a lump in her breast, and after going to her doctor and finding out that she did not have cancer, that was not the end of her physician’s news. He said, “Every day I have to tell a women she’s got a disease that might kill her. Each one of them says, ‘I didn’t get a chance to do this,’ or ‘I should have done that.’ I don’t want you to be one of those women.”

He then proceeds to tell her that no matter what is going on in her life, she needs to start by taking one full day to take care of herself, to make sure she was taking that time to do whatever fulfilled her.

At the very end of her story, Ann says, ‘I’ve learned to be deliberate about how I spend my time on this Earth. I choose to fill my days with that I’m passionate about, and live with purpose. In the end, I want to be able to say, “My life was what I made it.”

WOW!!! This really resonated with me!! Here I have been complaining about where my life is heading right now, and I realize that I have power to redirect the entire direction of my life, one decision at a time!

So this has now led me to more questions,

If my life is what I make it, what the heck do I want to see in it?

  • A strong spiritual connection to my creator
  • Loving and healthy relationships with family and friends
  • Adventures in traveling and experiencing different cultures firsthand
  • Giving back and making a contribution to the world around me
  • Helping others see and realize the potential in their own lives

The question is, how the heck do I go about making all of that happen? Ok, I guess I have already answered this question – by being mindful in every decision I make! That is going to be easier said than done, I am sure! 😉

Anyway, I am g0ing to go enjoy some more quiet time before my class gets underway, oh that, and checking in with the office to make sure that I am not missing anything urgent!!

Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉