hello again! Lots of crafty pics!

HI friends! as usual, there's lots going on around our house this week!
my birthday was the 4th and i had a wonderful day! Chris took the day off & we all went to the movies to see UP-i cried of course- twice! we also went to king putt mini golf- it's always fun & the egyptian art drawn all over the walls, rugs & course looks so cool under the black-lights! Mimi won the game of course- she's a great putter!

i took a very informative & fun online class about discovering my scrapbooking style that was taught by my sweet friend Virginia! She's uber talented, super inspiring & always encouraging and supportive- i so hope she'll offer more online workshops soon!

speaking of workshops-Suzi Blu's Les Petit Dolls beginner workshop starts the 15th- i can't wait- it's been too long since i played with drawing in my sketchbook & doing some painting!
Scrappy Times has chosen Suzi as their 'srtist of the month' for June & are doing a series of design team challenges based on her work- be sure to check them out! & did you know our friend LeAnne is on the Scrappy Times DT! i'm so happy for her!

Scripts- the monthly kit club from ScrapETC looks AMAZING this month- make sure you get one of these- i cannot wait for mine!

i finished week 1 of the Couch to 5K program- YAY me!
i'm sure there's more- but for now- let's get on to the pics! these are going to be posted about on various boards & things too, so sorry if you see them twice ;)
{{GIANT HUGS}}
^o^
-g

click to enlarge any image.
card for my friend Z'a birthday (he loves Dragons)



cardstock, woodgrain pattern paper, brads, stamps by Hero Arts (big greetings) & Woodcraft (Wizardry), watercolor pencils, Dove blender pen

my design workbook from Virginia's online class:

i made the flower out of coffee filters & glimmer mist (a la Elizabeth Kartchner's class at the ScrapEtc 09 event!), creative cafe brads, file folder (cute & flowery from office depot), jenni bowlin cardstock alphabet, chipboard frame, letter stamps, american crafts zing embossing powder

Tim Holtz did an awesome video demo on his blog at the end of May- i gave it a try:

you can see the shiny parts better here:

supplies: Distress inks, Tim Holtz stamps, perfect pearls, tag, velvet ribbon

birthday cards (sorry if you get one & i ruined the surprise!)




supplies: cardstock, Bella Boulevard cupcake paper, flower pattern paper (unknown), stamps by Karen Stolper for American Art Stamps (i ADORE her stamps & have quite a collection of them) watercolor pencils, Dove blender pen, stickles, pop dots, vintage daisy trim
close up of the net so you can see the bling better:


mixed media canvass for the Artist of the Month Challenge at Scrappy Times

materials: canvas, watercolor paints, glimmer mists, spray inks, dictionary pages, old sewing patterns, gold confetti hearts, fabric (from an old Scripts kit), matte mod podge

the diet

HI! here we go- i hope you're ready for this intense post.
let me set it up & try to give some of the back story: in January of this year, i started Project g, a set of goals i made to renew my faith, lose some weight, & focus on being a better person. i re-activated my WW online account and enthusiastically started- i love their program. i started off strong, but quickly found that i was easily distracted from counting every point and measuring my portions. i went back & forth with the same 5-8 lbs. and really wasn't losing any significant amount of weight. i did start walking every day, but the weight still didn't move much.

Fast forward to April- i went shopping for some jeans. As i was trying things on, i had a 3 angle view mirror in the dressing room-and honestly, i was shocked at how i looked. i finally hit the wall & broke down. it wasn't pretty. it's not like when you only have 5, 10 or even 20lbs to lose. i have been carrying 40 extra lbs. of "baby weight" for almost 5 years now. my daughter stopped nursing when she was 2- so i've had close to 3 years to work on it, but, like so many of us, i've been putting myself last. After tending to everyone & everything else all day long, there was very little time, energy, will power or anything left for me to take care of myself, but i digress... So i decided right there in that dressing room, that it would be the LAST time i had to shop for a size 16 jean. this isn't about vanity, though who doesn't want to look better naked ;) LOL!, it's about feeling better about myself-picking myself up out of this rut and finally deciding to take active steps towards my goals. i'm always the one telling people to take the action & go for it- it was time for me to do the same. i have to keep up with Mimi- she needs me to stay strong & healthy. When i'm 50 (only 10 years from now), she'll be 14 1/2. if i don't take care of myself, i'm only going to feel worse & may start to have some serious health issues to deal with. taking care of myself IS PART of taking care of my family. the time is NOW. TODAY. one meal at a time. one day at a time, with the Lord at my side. He knows i've been through worse. Donna Downey's amazing transformation has really inspired me too.

so i picked up the phone & ordered Nutrisystem - the box came & i started the diet 28 days ago. the meals are pre-packaged. you heat & eat (or else it's a bar, cereal or cake-like meal)- you add in stuff you're already buying- salad, veggies, fruit and low fat dairy. they even have really good frozen meals (as good as lean cuisine or WW smart ones). it is a high protein, low-glycemic carb diet- so there are carbs- pasta & pizza, which i love, and CHOCOLATE. yes, the portions are SMALL- everything is like a big handful- but you know- i'm learning that's what a REAL portion of food is- it's not that much food! LOL! we're all so used to jumbo meals at every sitting! you also eat 5 times a day- 1 of those times is dessert (awesome!) i really like the food, and i'm surprised at how satisfied i am after each meal. yes, it is EXPENSIVE (299/month, more if you want frozen too) but i've decided the benefits & convenience are worth it- my awesome husband supported me and said "just go ahead & give it a try, if you don't like it, cancel it."

as of yesterday, day 28, i've lost 16 pounds. yes, you read correctly. 16 pounds GONE in 28 days. i almost fell off the scale yesterday (i try to only weigh myself once a week) & it said 159- i haven't seen that number or any number close to it, since i was pregnant & passing it by as my belly grew, almost 5 years ago! LOL! i can breathe better- i'm not as winded getting up the 3 flights of stairs in our house. we can all already see the changes in my body- and those jeans? they're pretty dang baggy already-- and i'm very thankful for that. i can't wait to see where i'm at in another month or two.

up at the crack-o dawn

i woke up really early- around 6:15. that's really early around here- none of us are early morning people. the house is still and quiet- everyone else is still sleeping, and it's a bright, sunny morning- i've opened up all the blinds, fixed some coffee & am just relaxing- it's pretty nice! i'm not sure if it's the diet, or that i'm getting older, but lately i've started waking up after about 6-7.5 hours of sleep. i'm up & ready to go! i've never been like this- i've always needed much more sleep- it's kind of nice for a change. i'm also getting to bed at much more reasonable hours which i'm sure has a lot to do with it too, and although it's cutting into my usual late night/all night crafty time, i'm feeling much more rested. if this keeps up, i might even try to start doing some exercise before anyone else is even up- but i have to work up to that- it's nice to just sit & be reflective before the loud, crazy day begins. it will also be very handy once August rolls around & Mimi has to get up early for school everyday (she's going into Jr. K.) have a great day!

The Girl's Loft-a kit club to check out!

One of the most amazing scrap/life artists & teachers- Margie Romney Aslett is starting a new kit club with her daughters. i'm super excited because i LOVE Margie, and i love that they're doing this as a family-how cool is that?! i was so excited to take Margie's class at this year's ScrapETC event AND that i got to meet her- she's amazing! her mojo is funky, fun & fresh, i love her bold style, her projects & ideas rock, and she's got this super positive, fun, warm-hearted spirit. She's also really flippin' funny! Anyway- their new kit club, called The Girl's Loft is having an amazing giveaway. Please go check out Margie's blog post for your chance to win too & be sure to check in on June 15th when their kits debut!! This is so totally worth spreading the word! YAY!

happy earth day!

it was close to 100 degrees today & just gorgeous here in southern nevada! we went to the local nursery, and got a few marigolds to plant next to our driveway. around 4pm, we slathered on the sunscreen & had a wonderful time digging in the dirt, planting & watering in new flowers. we also got a large color bowl to sit out on the front steps & a bright pink petunia hanging basket. i don't expect they'll last long with the heat moving in- but it was such a pleasant way to spend the day! Mimi went nuts for the tub of ladybugs that we bought too- we put a bunch on all the new plants, though most of then quickly spread their wings & departed). we also brought home a small red fox statue to hang out in the plants- animal garden statues makes 4 and 40 year old girls super happy ^o^
our sweet girl seemed to really be into the spirit of earth day this year. we watch sprout tv & noggin- both channels have been running spots that feature cute songs or activities to celebrate earth day- so she's been looking forward to this for the last week or so-too cute!
i got an awesome quote in my inbox today too from the folks at compendium:
Hold out your hands to feel the luxury of the sunbeams.
-Helen Keller
i just love this quote- made me smile! feel the love all around you today!
^o^
xo
-g
our newly planted marigolds:

a close up:

can you spot the ladybug? :)