Weight Loss {week 8}

Well, the truth revealed. Did she lose, gain, or maintain?

Start Date: 11/5/12
Total Weight Loss Goal: 55 lbs

Last Weigh in Date: 12/17/12
Total Weight Loss: 18.8

Today's Date: 12/31/12
Weight Loss: + 4 oz

Total Weight Loss to Date: 18.4 lbs

Well, I gained 4 oz, which to me isn't bad at all! I feel like in the pictures I look thinner than I did two weeks ago. I will be honest though and tell you that I have eaten everything I can get my hands on so to only have gained 4 oz is quite an accomplishment. Sorry for the self portrait too, my hubby was working on his dirt bike so I had to do it myself!

Either way, my new goal is to lose 10 more lbs by my birthday. That's 10 lbs in 30 days! So technically speaking I will have to lose 2.33333 and so on lbs per week to accomplish that. Since I've been eating horrible I have a feeling that's not going to be hard to accomplish.

No matter what I keep going back to the top picture and seeing how far I've come. When you lose weight and you have a certain goal you're heading towards you still feel overweight and like nothing is changing so you have to remind yourself and look at before pictures next to the during!

Happy New Years Eve Everyone!!!

May all your Midnight wishes come true!

Friday Letters {12.28.12}

Dear Husband, thanks for a wonderful Christmas. Our life is pretty perfect right now and I love it! I feel so peaceful about everything!
Dear Boots at Target, come home with me! Please! I promise I won't wear you out too much! (Honey?) I know it was just Christmas but I would have asked for them if I saw them earlier!

Dear Mom & Dad, thanks for the Cameo! I can't wait to start too many projects with it!
Dear Snow, you could have come a day earlier so that we would have had a nice white Christmas. I guess I won't complain though. One time is enough...after this week you aren't allowed to come back! I'm ready for summer!
Dear Summer, did you hear that? I'm ready for you!
Dear Readers, I may take some time off after the first of the year so that I can get things in order at home. I feel a little disorganized and I want to work on that!
Dear Quincey, I know you love all your new toys but could you not wake up mom and dad in the middle of the night? Thanks!

Dear Husband, LETS GO SLED RIDDING!!! Oh, and I LOVE YOU!

Lack for Nothing

 

This is so true for me. He is a good God.  It always seems that Mike and I are always provided for and I can't imagine life without God.

 

Do you have a favorite or go to scripture that reminds you how great God is?

Stand Out!

Just some food for thought for today. I love this little saying! It says so much in so few words! I've always struggled with this...wanting to have what others have. I can honestly say right now that I'm content. There are things that I wish I had, or ways I wish I looked, but I am who I am! God made me this way. He made you the way you are! Stand up and Stand out! :)

 

Happy Wednesday Everyone! We're getting TONS of snow here and I love it! I just wish it would have happened yesterday! Oh well!

*Merry Chrismas to You and Yours*

 

Merry Christmas to you and your families! Remember the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas!

{But...I hope you got everything you dreamed and wished for!}

 

Enjoy your holiday and I'll see you in a couple days. I'll be taking the next few days off to spend with family {especially those who are in from out of town} and just relaxing! 

Getting to Know Aimee

If you have been here for any amount of time, you've seen Aimee around here before. She's my cousin-in-law. Her and her husband (my cousin) live in Washington State and are expecting their first child! Eeep! Babies all around! You can check her other guest posts out {here} and {here}!

Go check {her} out. She's super inspiring and loves God! I love her dearly and wish she lived closer!

17 weeks and still teeny tiny! Jealous!

What is your favorite thing about Christmas?
Family and Food! I moved away from home about 4 years ago so I always look forward to going home and seeing my family at Christmas time. And who could not love all the delicous grub? I firmly believe the best fellowship happens around some food.

Are you looking forward to eating anything special at Christmas?

Green Bean Casserole -- my ultimate favorite dish.

What is one thing you wish you could change in this world?

Traffic and gas prices. Sorry that's two. I wish I could make all freeways so there was never traffic and I wish gas could always cost 50 cents/gallon. That'd be a DREAM!

Do you have a favorite or go to scripture?

Oh wow, how do I pick! John 16:33 is one of my most favorites. When I am discouraged with this life, it reminds me that there's nothing Jesus hasn't already won the Victory in. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world"

What's the #1 Song on your Ipod Playlist?

Right this minute? Remember When - Alan Jackson

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

There've been many throughout my life that I'm SO thankful for. In dream land, I think I'd pick Laura Bush!

If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

Oh man...um....a Martin Luther King Speech? So inspiring!

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

Sing.

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

I genuinely love my name...but, if my parents didn't name me Aimee I would have been Emily....

What’s the best/worst gift you’ve ever given/received?

One Christmas my dad got me rollerblades and I LOVED them. Must've been the best cause it's the only one I remember.

What story does your family always tell about you?

One of my brothers loves to tell people how I used to run into walls and pour things on the counter instead of my cup during my pre-glasses days. Assuming this is when my parents figured out that I needed glasses.

Any other advice or information you want the world to know?

You can come visit me @ www.aimeevictoria.blogspot.com!

The Voice of Truth

Sometimes when I think I can't go on, God puts a little message in my day that gives me hope. I've been training to run a 5k with my mom. It's been too cold outside to run so I've been just running on the treadmill at home. When I run I think, now that could be good or could be bad. Recently it's been bad...for reasons you all know of if you you've been around here long enough.

I know I said I wasn't going to talk about it again, but this happened before I said that so you have to listen! :) I was getting down because my body is still not back to normal after my miscarriage. 9 months later and I still don't have regular periods. I didn't have a period for 5 months and have only had 2 since. It's a little overwhelming.

BUT GOD reminded me the other day that no matter what the devil tries to tell me that HIS voice is the voice of truth. I couldn't help but start shouting while I was running. I had my Ipod up as loud as it would go and this song came on and I just started shouting. Whoo, whoo, whoo...hahaha...devil you're a liar!!!!!!!!   I worry so much now about infertility that God has to constantly, I mean constantly remind me that He's in control. Am I going to get pregnant when we start trying? Will we have to try for a while before it happens??!? AHHHHH!!! I just started speaking to my body, LINE UP! I am a planner and this whole not knowing when I'm ovulating this is not working out for me! So, my body needs to listen, get in line, and start having regular cycles! So there!   I hope this encourages someone else. This song is wonderful! It seems that every time I need a pick-me-up, on comes a song that reminds me how incredibly amazing my God is!

Candy Sprinkle Ornaments

Who doesn't love candy sprinkles? I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of them on my cookies because they tend to take too much away from the cookie goodness. But I love looking at them, I think they are wonderful!

 

Materials Needed:

1. Clear Ornaments

2. Candy Sprinkles {Dollar Tree}

3. Some sort of funneling device {Not Pictured, but I just used a paper plate

 

Funnel your sprinkles in to the clear ornament. I only filled mine about 1/2 way because I liked the look of it, but feel free to fill 'em all the way up if you want.

 

Put the top back on your ornament and you're good to go. Simple as that.

I loooove clear ornaments. There are so many options you can do with them. It's amazing. I have to go get some more and do a lot more things with them. Maybe I'll post 'em on here. I might end up doing more than one tutorial a week this month just so I can get these all in.

And there you have it. 6 beautiful candy sprinkle ornaments. These will go great with my candy themed tree!! Love!

 

Weight Loss {week 6}

Here we go, gearing up for Christmas. I'm nervous about keep the weight down due to all the cookies and such. But, I'm determined to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm not expecting to lose much but I am expecting to maintain. NO GAINING! {if I do, it's ok but my goal is not to obviously}

Start Date: 11/5/12
Total Weight Loss Goal: 55 lbs

Last Weigh in Date: 12/3/12
Total Overall Weight Loss: 14.2 lbs

Todays Date: 12/17/12
Weight Loss: 4.6 lbs

Total Weight Loss to Date: 18.8 lbs
Pounds Left to Lose: 36.2 lbs

Sorry about the horrible pictures. I couldn't find my memory card for my camera so my husband had to take them with my cell phone. They are blurry and not straight on. Next time I will make sure they are better. This week I really noticed it in my face and neck and maybe shoulders. Isn't it always that you lose where you don't want to first. I want to get rid of that muffin top and little pouch sticking out! It'll happen though. I sort of took a little break from working out {except my running which I do Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday} and doing strength training. So I'm not tightening up as much as I'd like to. We are just sooooo super busy right now that I don't MAKE the time to do it.

We're getting there people!!

Friday Letters {12.14.12}

 

 

Dear Husband, thanks for waking up with me yesterday and trying to fix the Christmas tree! Sorry I had to wake you up at 6:00 AM! Blame the tree!

Dear Christmas Tree, seriously? 6:00 AM? You couldn't have done it while we were awake? Oh, and I'm going to need you to redecorate yourself! K?!

Dear Quincey Kitty, I'm sorry you were probably scared to death when the tree almost killed you. {I don't know that really but he usually lays under it so I'm assuming}

Dear Christmas, you are by far my favorite but don't tell the rest! But Christmas makes everyone stressed and cranky for some reason. Remember that presents aren't really what matters!

Dear Weight, I'm really {not} going to miss you! We've been together for far too long and it's time to part ways. No hard {flubbery} feelings though! TaTa!

Dear Readers, I still love you. I'm feeling a slight break coming on though. Maybe from Tutorial Tuesdays! I am just soooo busy right now!

Dear Husband, I love you! That's all! I love you!

 

Happy Weekend everyone!

 



Holiday Eye Makeup

I love Pinterest and all the great make-up ideas they have on there! I'm obsessed with all the eye looks for the Holidays! Sparkly, colorful, natural, it doesn't matter. I love them all! They are all perfect for any outfit that you would wear to a Christmas Party or New Years Eve Party!

The Holidays are my favorite time of year, but I especially love Christmas. I'm excited to try some of these looks on my eyes this year! I have a couple different parties to go to so I can do more than one! :)

What do you think about the big, bold eye trend?

Healthy Ice Cream {Guest Post with Emily}

Hi friends! My name is Emily and I blog over at Newlywed Moments about everything from romance to recipes to real life. Some random facts about me: I got married this June to my best friend and high school sweetheart. I love Jesus. I hate coffee but I’m still addicted to Starbucks. I’m from the northeast but secretly wish I lived in the south.  Oh, and I absolutely LOVE making blog friends…so make sure you come visit! Thank you so much Danielle for having me on the blog today -- you're the best!! Onto the good stuff...today, I'm sharing the secret recipe for HEALTHY ICE CREAM! I know what you're thinking...how can that be?!

Well, here's the secret...it's made of bananas. I decided to make this for my husband as an alternative to a 400-calorie bowl of ice cream. There were only two problems. #1: I ended up putting melted chocolate on top (don't ask me why), so it turned into non-healthy ice cream anyway. #2: My husband hates bananas, and while I couldn't tell too much of a difference, he tasted it right away. So here's the deal: if you want to eat healthy ice cream and don't mind bananas, then this recipe is for you!

What You Need...

4 bananas, just slightly overripe

2 tbsp creamy peanut butter 2 tsp cocoa powder

What You Do... 1. Peel the bananas and slice  them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch disks. 2. Put the banana slices in a plastic bag in the freezer for about an hour until they are frozen. 3. Pulse the frozen slices in a food processor / blender until they turn into an ice cream texture.  4. Mix in peanut butter, cocoa powder, and anything else you want! This makes soft serve ice cream, but if you want it firmer, freeze it and then let sit out two minutes before you eat.

ENJOY!!

Walk Through the Candy Cane Forest

"And then...I traveled through the candy cane forest"...Buddy the Elf

 

Materials Needed:

1. Styrofoam Trees

2. Peppermints (I got mine at the dollar tree)

3. Hot Glue Gun

 

 

These are what my mints looked like.

Cover the back of a mint with hot glue and stick it to the styrofoam tree.

 

I had a gap in between my mints, but that was ok with me. If you dont want that to be as obvious, you could cover your tree with felt or fabric. You could also paint them if you wanted to.

 

You can layer them any way that you want. The mints aren't uniform in size. I tried to do place the 2nd row in the gaps of the first row and it didn't end up working out that way so I just placed them randomly.

You can either glue a veritcal mint on the top like I did or you could lay one flat to hide the flat top. I searched every where for cones that had a pointy top and they just don't sell them unless you make them yourself.

Wrap it Up {pinspiration}

I always have the hardest time figuring out what I want to do when it comes to gift wrapping. Do I want to put it in a bag, no that's not any fun to open. Do I want to wrap it, no I hate wrapping in plain old wrapping papper. I've always struggled too with the fact that the paper is just going to get ripped off and my efforts are lost. But this year, I'm determined to make wrapping fun.

Here are some ideas that I've found on Pinterest so far that I'm in LOVE with!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

*1* I love the idea of wrapping in notebook paper with a ribbon. personalize it with a stamped name and you're good to go. {source}

*2* Who would have thought to use paint chips? the 36th avenue has some super cute ideas for wrapping!

*3* Butcher paper, twine, and washi tape will do the trick on this one. {source}

*4* How darling are those little Christmas trees? Love the different textured ribbon on this one. {source}

*5* Sooo simple, yet so personal with butcher paper, ribbon, and stamps. Fast and easy. {source}

*6* This confetti is made out of paper but how cute would it be to use candy sprinkles? {source}

*7* Pom Poms are the perfect touch. Add a twig, some fabric, and twine and you have a dandelion wrapping. {source}

*8* Burlap, twine, and fabric. Genious. Such a cute flower!{source}

*9* Love love love love love {enough love?} this. How creative. {source}

*10* and finally....wrapping in fabric. If they don't want to keep it, take it back. Whaaaat?{source} 

As you can see...majority of these include butcher paper. I love the look of butcher paper. {i've used the word love a lot in this post} I'm excited to customize wrapping this year.

 Do you have any suggestions or ways to wrap that are differnt or unique?

Friday Letters {12.7.12}

First of all, I want to say Happy Birthday to my momma! She's a wonderfully beautiful woman. I love her very much!



Friday...

Dear Husband, you're the best. You're my man and no one else can have you and your sweet love. I can't wait to find out what you got me for Christmas. It must be something I really want because you told me I couldn't look at the bank account. hmm...shouldn't tell me I can't look at things.
Dear Christmas, I'm enjoying all my decorations so I'm being patient and waiting for you. I don't like to take my decorations down. It makes the house feel so homey.
Dear People at Lowe's that put a dent in my car, seriously? I don't wish ill on anyone but you could have at least left a note saying you were sorry. Instead you just leave and act like you didn't do anything. grrr.
Dear Quincey Kitty, you seem to be enjoying the tree more than you did last year. If you could please stay out of it you would make momma very happy!
Dear Niece/Nephew, I can't wait to find out what you are. I want to start buying things for you but I don't know if you're a little princess or a handsome prince. I'm going to spoil the crap out of you! 5 more weeks...seems like a lifetime but it will come fast!
Dear Weight Loss, you and me are getting along pretty well. I'd like to become closer friends so that my neice/nephew will have someone close in age to play with.
Dear Husband, thanks for putting up with me this week. I know I wasn't the best of companions due to it being our due date week. I love you!

Holiday Nutcrackers {obsession}

 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

 

Do you love Nutcrackers? OMG I do! I'm so in love with them! I might have a slight obsession {confession}! World Market has some amazing and hilarious choices for this Christmas. {p.s. if you want to get me anything this would be the choice} Look at the sports ones, the occupation ones, and the santa ones?! Buuuuut my absolute favorite is the gnomies!! You all know if you have been here for any time that I'm OBSESSED with gnomes.

 

I love World Market. They have great stuff and I could spend hours and LOTS of money in there!!!

The Grass is Greener where you Water it!

I was pondering on the phrase the grass is always greener on the other side the other day. Then I heard a song on the radio...I'm sure it's a popular song but I can't remember the name of it {I think it's sung by Drake?} and it says the grass is greener where you water it.

This is so true. This applies to any relationship in our lives...marriage, friendships, child to parent, ect. You have to "water" your relationship in order to keep it alive. Go on dates with your husband, go on "girl dates" with your friends, do something with your mother or father. Feed and grow that relationship. If you don't, it will die. There is no doubt about it.

The grass may seem greener now, but just wait til you get over there. It's really not, it's a deception! Of course what you can't have is going to look better than a broken marriage or a marriage that has gone loveless. Remember that love is a choice! Speaking from experience, you won't always have those tingly feelings when you're with someone. Especially after you move in with them and the claws come out.

I'm challenging you to feed and grow your relationships. Whether it be a marriage, friendship, parent/child relationship, ect. You will be surprised at what a positive attitude and patience can do for a marriage.

Here are a few resources to help you out if you need it...

1. Love Dare by Alex and Stephen Kendrick
2. 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
3. Rock Solid Marriage by Kenneth W. Hagin
4. Love at Last Sight by Kerry Shook
5. Building Better Relationships by Bobbie Yagel
6. Friendships for Grownups by Lisa Whelchel
7. Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman
8. 5 Languages of Apology by Gary Chapman

{Gary Chapman has TONS of resources on marriage and relationships...here}

p.s. I am by NO MEANS an expert on relationships. I have been through tough ones though and am married so I know a few things that I do to try to help my relationships.

Snowballs that Never Melt

 

Materials Needed:

1. Styrofoam Balls {whatever size you want}

2. Mod Podge

3. Epsom Salt

4. Paint Brush {Not Pictured}

5. Paper Plate

6. Styrofoam Board {Not Pictured}

7. Toothpicks {Not Pictured}

 

 

Pour some Mod Podge on a plate. Stick a toothpick in to your Styrofoam ball and brush Mod Podge ALLLL over. Make sure it's covered completely. Sorry I didn't take a picture of this but I'm pretty sure it's self-explanatory.

 

Grab a handfull of Epsom Salt and pour over your gluey styrofoam ball.

 

This is what you should have after you're done.

 

Stick them into a foam board to let dry. Make sure you let them dry completely before putting them in a container. They will dry stuck together and you don't want that.

 

Put them in a vase, add some lights, and sparkly tulle and you're good to go. It's hard to see in the picture but when the lights are on them they sparkle. It's sooo preeeetty!

Weight Loss Progress {Week 4}

I'm on my way to skinny! It hasn't been easy. Trust me. I've been struggling with the holidays, but I'm holding my own. We have so many things going on right now that require eating that it was hard to maintain/lose. But I did it!

Start Date: 11/5/12
Total Weight Loss Goal: 55 lbs

Last Weigh in Date: 11/19/12
Weight Loss: 10 lbs

Todays Date: 12/3/12
2 week weight loss: 4.2 lbs

Total Weight Loss to Date: 14.2 lbs

 

To me I can't see a difference but I guess that's just because I'm my own WORST critic. Seriously!!!

On my way people!