Redding Handmade Team Charm Swap

There are many reasons I am so excited to be a team member of Redding Handmade, but one of the latest is the upcoming team charm swap!  One of our members, Kimberly Snowden (Garnet Heart) presented the idea to the team along with the starter charm bracelets she made for every member. Right away I was excited by the idea and so thankful to Kimberly for the super cool bracelet.  

At our next monthly meeting we will be having our charm swap with 16 members participating.  Each of us will make 16 identical/similar charms and swap them with the other members, we will end up with a full charm bracelet representing each other.  We all have different styles and materials that we work with, so it's going to be a very eclectic and fun charm bracelet.  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

I have the idea in my head of what my team charm will be, just need to get into production mode!  We will have upcoming posts on our team blog featuring each contributing members charms...check it out here...www.reddinghandmade.com.

What does a number matter?

I'm throwing in the towel with the whole weight tracking thing.  It has gotten me no where but to be unhealthily focused on my weight and what I put in my body.  I had this magical number in my head of where I wanted to be.  Where I needed to be to fit back into my favorite jeans.  Forget it.  I'll buy a new pair of jeans. 

A few days ago, I noticed the quote at the top of my blog....  "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished busines, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."  This is how I viewed this current weight loss fixation--life would just get better/be better if I lost 20 pounds.  No it won't.  It's just fine now.  If anyone has a problem with what size I'm wearing-that's their problem.  I don't need to make it mine.  

As far as I know I'm healthy.  Right now I am within 20 pounds of the weight listed on my license...a weight that I don't think has changed since I was 16.  That was 21 years and 2 children ago.  I should feel good about that.  If I need to buy a new pair of jeans and toss the old favorites, so be it.  (But dang those were expensive jeans!  OK stop it Lisa.)

I know what I need to do to feel good.  What I need to eat.  How I need to move.  If I blow it one weekend, who cares? 

There are obstacles to this.  The times when I will still be down on myself and how I look and forget the bigger picture.  The guilty feelings.  Other people.  What they say and what they don't say and what they say to other people.  Forget them. 

The biggest challenge is what I say to my kids.  How I model proper health, fitness and nutritional issues. How my daughter views her body.  How my son views his.  What they say to other people.  What the other people say or don't say or say to other people about them.  That's all I need to focus on.  Keeping myself and my family healthy and feeling good about ourselves regardless of what the weight on a scale says. 

Food Friday - (and weigh in...ick)

I'm joining up with Eilyne over at Suite 100 for Food Friday again!  Make sure you check out her blog at http://www.eilynedavis.com/

I have recently discovered that the Hungry Girl lists Weight Watchers Plus points on her recipes so I've been having a lot of fun trying out some new recipes - and actually cooking to the surprise of my husband!   So far what I've made has been really good so I question the actual point values.  The best so far is the "HG's Mega-Delicious Chipotle Chicken Panini"  I have seriously had it 5 times in the last week.  She says it's only 6 points and that's what I'm hoping is true!!  Apparently it's a healthier redo of a Panera Bread sandwich, I've never had that one but this one is excellent. 

HG's Mega-Delicious Chipotle Chicken Panini

Ingredients:
Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. adobo sauce (from canned chipotle peppers) or chipotle hot sauce (like the kind by Tabasco)
2 dashes onion powder
2 dashes garlic powder

Sandwich
One 100-calorie flat sandwich bun (like Arnold Select/Oroweat Sandwich Thins)
2 oz. cooked skinless lean chicken breast, shredded or pulled into pieces
1 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh basil
2 thin slices red onion
2 slices plum tomato
1 stick light string cheese, shredded or pulled into pieces

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Set aside.

Split bun in half and lay the halves flat, split sides up. Evenly spread half of the sauce onto the bun halves, leaving half of the sauce in the bowl. Set aside.

To the bowl with the remaining sauce, add chicken and toss to coat. Set aside.

Evenly top one bun half with basil, onion, tomato, saucy chicken, and cheese. Place the other half on top, sauce side down.

Bring a grill pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Place sandwich in the pan. Using a spatula, press down gently but firmly to seal the sandwich. Grill until hot and lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side, flipping carefully and pressing down with the spatula to seal.

Cut in half (or not) and enjoy!

Definitely check out the Hungry Girl's website for even more tasty and healthier dishes.  If you have tried some, please let me know the results in the comments! 

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And now for the dreaded Friday weigh in....

Starting weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  168

My current weight:  167.4

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week:  -.06

Total lost so far:  -4.6

Sigh...

Starting weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  168.9

My current weight:  168

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -.9

Total lost so far: 4

Not where I hoped to be 6 weeks into this Weight Watchers thing.  This past week had a variety of high ups (delicious dinners out with friends) and some downs that all tampered with my ability to eat properly.  I guess given that, at least I didn't gain.  Still.  Sigh....

The particular down caused me to have a couple of stress eating binges this last week.  To be exact I had a car accident last Friday and by the Grace of God no one was injured.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  

Onto a new week.  

RIP-2005 Toyota Matrix (picture not my actual car)
So to lighten this up a little bit we are now in the market for a new car and while I mourn my previous car, to make me feel better I did some fantasy vehicle shoppping online.  Not thinking about money, practicality or anything else these are my current fantasies....

  My ideal life would involve this as my main mode of transportation.  Madsen Bicycle

For when I wanted to go a little faster I would like a turquoise Vespa.

Now I've never been that much into motorcycles but I saw this at a recent boat and RV show had an instant obsession with these things.  Spyder Roadster

For when I live in Hawaii.  Nissan Murano Cabriolet

This one day will be my life.  Darn you gas prices.

  Perfection.  Dragging the dream car out again. 

 

Food Friday!

I am so honored to be asked to participate in my friend Eilyne's "Food Friday" feature!  If you haven't checked out her blog yet, you ABSOLUTELY must.  She has an incredible way with words and inspires me each morning with her posts....please check her out here:  http://www.eilynedavis.com/

So my Food Friday entry is the oh so healthy, "Zero Point Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup"....exciting, no?!  It is, it is!  This is a bit of a twist on the soup that I learned about 5 years ago.  My Mom reintroduced me to it recently and we've been tweaking it to our liking.  The best thing about this soup is that it's low-cal, low-carb, high-fiber and no-fat.  It's also quite filling and keeps me from going crazy at meal times...I have a cup before eating lunch or dinner and find I'm not as hungry and I eat much less.  It's supposedly zero points, even on the new + program, but I still count it as 1 point per cup.  Can't beat that though!

Zero Point Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup

6 cups broth (we actually use water only because of the high content of sodium in broth)
Cooking spray
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoons garlic (from a jar or substitute four cloves minced garlic)
1/2 cabbage, chopped (or use a bag of slaw, the biggest chunks you can find vs the fine, don't skip the cabbage for it somehow makes the soup)
1/2 pound frozen green beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large zucchini, diced

Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini are tender. Serve and enjoy!

Different veggies can be added or substituted.  I love adding bell peppers and a dash of hot sauce. This is a good 'clean out the fridge' soup.  Different spices can be added to give it a different taste too.  Be creative and play around with different tastes.  My next batch I'm going to add in some curry for a twist. 

Thank you so much Eilyne for allowing me to join in on the Food Friday feature!  Make sure you check out her blog at www.EilyneDavis.com....she's sharing yummy, beautiful cake pops...you can indulge in them after eating this healthy soup and feel less guilty!

_____

Since it's Friday, I gotta get my weigh-in in too!  

Starting weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  169.9

My current weight:  168.7

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -1.2

 

What I Wore Wednesday - #4

It's Wednesday again already?? So the idea behind 'What I Wore Wednesday' is to actually put a little effort into what you wear each day and (surprise, surprise) actually get dressed each day...and maybe feel and be a little more productive.  My usual attire is grubby workout clothes, if I actually do get out of my pajamas, so it takes some effort to actually get dressed.  This past week, according to pictures, I got 2 real outfits in! 

Vesty thing - Anthro, birthday weekend purchase...love this thing, it is so super soft.

Black 'mock' turtleneck - Macy's...years ago

Jeans - Target

Flats - Nine West, purchased years ago...TJ Maxx or Marshalls, maybe? 

(Impossible to take a picture this day without a certain pug trying to climb me.)

Green dress - Marshalls

Scarf - World Market - got it free using my birthday coupon!

Jeans - Target--really sick of wearing these...WW hurry up and kick in!

Green loafers - Um, drawing a blank where I got these

Once again linking up with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy!

The Handwriting Game

I thought this was a fun way to actually see other people's handwriting!  I'm forever a voyeur of real life fan so I had to jump into this one. 

 

All you have to do is take out a pen and paper, answer the following questions and post it to your blog.

1. What’s your name / blogger name?

2. What’s your blogs URL?

3. Write, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”.

4. Favorite quote?

5. Your favorite song?

6. Your favorite band / singers?

7. Anything else you want to say?

8. Tag 3 bloggers to participate. I was tagged by Bonita Rose @ A Life Unrehearsed

Try it even if I didn't tag you!! Post a link in the comments, I'd love to check out your contribution!

It's a Miracle! (Week 2 - WW)

Given the week I had celebrating mine and my daughter's birthdays, including a trip out of town, I thought for sure I'd have gained weight.  When on day 2 of my week I had already used up all my points for the week, I knew I had done screwed up.  But I managed to lose a little over a pound!

Starting Weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  171.5

My current weight:  169.9

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -1.6

Looking forward to this next week when I actually fully follow the plan!

Happy Birthday to Ella and I!

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday and my daughter's 7th birthday.  She was born on Feb 27 and I was born on Feb 28.  (I won't say how old I am but let's just say I was 29 the day she was born--you do the math).  We had an incredibly fun weekend!  Friday afternoon was her birthday party (a few pictures posted in a prior post) and Saturday we headed down to Roseville, California for some shopping and a hotel stay.  Weight Watchers was forgotten about for the weekend and we did some good grubbing too! 

We headed back Sunday afternoon and met up with family at Chevy's for dinner and gifts and cake/ice cream.  Monday was back to reality for the kids and work for Aaron but I stayed in my vacation mode cocoon as it was my actual birthday.  I slept in, watched lots of TV and had my favorite Thai food with my mom and bro.  

Celebrating continues as I head out with my girlfriends tonight! 

What I Wore Wednesday - #3

Here for another round of 'What I Wore Wednesday'!  Linking up again with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy...The Pleated Poppy Blog-WIWW

Dress and Cardi - Target

Patterned tights (hard to see, but they have a diamond pattern) - Kohl's

Black sandals - super de dooper old--I've had these since I worked at Riverview Country Club in the mid-90's.  I think they've had their due and this was their retirement wearing.

 

Top - Nordstrom Rack...this is actually a size small junior's dress!!  For me it's a tunic top. 

Jeans - Target

Boots - Kohl's, maybe?

Necklace - Allora Handmade ..I had it on when I tried on the top at the store and that sealed the deal on the top

Watch - "Birthday present!"  Rose gold, Michael Kors -- LOVE this watch!  (It's also my first non-silver item in years)

Sweet Seven Year Old Birthday Party

Last Friday after school we had my daughter's birthday party...we did a Sweets/Pom Pom theme in her favorite colors--black, pink and white.  It worked out perfectly that her birthday comes 2 weeks after Valentine's Day.  Clearance sales!!  I have been collecting anything and everything pink and white I could find. 

We had a full itinerary of activities planned for the girls!  Including:

• Pom Pom necklace craft


• "Minute to Win It" style game using candy


• Pin the Pom on Ella


• Pizza and cupcakes


• Candy Store


• Candy Bingo 


• Wii Let's Dance


• And the ever popular....chase Ella's big brother around the house game! 

Not sure what was more fun, planning the party or actually having it!! 

Some Credits:

Colored paper straws.....Jilly Bean Kids

Minute to Win It printable.....Stacy Julian's Blog

Tissue paper pom poms.....Martha Stewart.com

Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Ella who turns 7 today!!! 

Whew...what a day!

Ella's birthday isn't until Sunday but we had her party today after school.  We went with a candy/pom pom themed party and had a houseful of the cutest little girls!  I'm exhausted from the day so I'll just share a couple quick photos and be back with more later.

 

WW - Week 1 Weigh In

Ugh.  I didn't get the result I was hoping for.  Not a big loser this first week.  

Starting Weight:  172

My current weight:  171.5

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -.5  

I tracked everything ("If you bite it, write it.") and had over 30 points come the end of the week.  Upon some investigation I think the biggest culprit was salt.  Evil, evil sodium.  I was so set on tracking my points that a great deal of my food intake was Weight Watchers sponsored food and Smart Ones.  You know what that means?  Processed food.  Processed food = excessive amounts of sodium.  Oops.  Guess that's why my rings are tight.  So while I was drinking lots of water, it wasn't enough to counteract all the salt. 

Live and learn.  This next week is going to be a rough one.  It's my daughter's birthday and my birthday and there are lots of opportunities to really, really blow it.  Wish me luck!

 

What I Wore Wednesday

It's been awhile since I've done this, but I want to get back into the habit...why?  Cause it's fun!  And I love reading others and finding new blogs to follow. 

I am linking up with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy ....thanks Lindsey for the opportunity!

Dress, Cardigan -- Target

Jeans, Necklace -- LuckyBrand  (My favorite thing to do is wear a dress over jeans-so comfortable)

Boots -- Ariat FatBaby

____________________________

Cardi, Boots -- Target

Dress -- Uh, I don't remember

Jeggings -- Yeah, I have jeggings.  These are Jessica Simpson brand from Macy's.

____________________________

 

Ruffled Cardi -- TJ Maxx

Tank -- Old Navy

Jeans -- Target

Necklace -- Allora Handmade, love these necklace and forever get compliments on it.

Black suede flats -- Had these forever, Mervyns maybe? 

____________________________

Bonus shot! 
I just got this trench and I LOVE IT!  Love the color and love the print inside!  The trench is by Lauren Conrad. 

Room Redo - Part 1 - The Library

I was getting bored with things around the house and we decided to do a big switch-a-roo.  A few years ago we added an addition onto our home which gave us space to have my office and a family room.  At that time, what was the family room became our 'fancier/quieter' living room.  (i.e. The no TV room).  Given that that room is also open and a major thorough-fare for the house, it never was very quiet and was kind of a waste of space.  I had the idea to move the TV/video games/noise/mess into that room and make the addition space a 'library.'  I must say I am brilliant!  Without further ado, here are some before and after pics....

AFTER:  THE LIBRARY

Oh, did I also mention it's the exercise room?  ;-)

Our pub table is now the perfect game table...Aaron plays the piano and records music almost daily here too. 

My favorite spot in the house is now curled up on the leather loveseat with a book.  The blue couch is really just a large dog bed and space filler.  We now have a wall of books-3 bookshelfs side-by-side --- love the wall of books --- I am still arranging and filling with books that seem to be all over our home.  I have an idea of what to do with the big open space above the loveseat too.

We have enjoyed this room immensely in the short time we've redone it.  So much better functionality and the best part?  It's quiet.  A quiet place to hide.  Ahhhh....

  
 

And the winner is.....

   

Your EOS 'sweet mint' lip balm will be coming to you soon!  Most likely with your son's homework...lol...

Thanks for playing everyone!  I love doing giveaways and I now have a list of new lip balms to try! 

Stay tuned for future giveaways!

Move More, Eat Healthy Update

Yeah it ain't working.  Still can't fit into my favorite jeans.  Or any of my jeans actually.  Had to buy new jeans.  I'm resorting to calling in the big guns.  Weight Watchers it is.  I'm a Weight Watchers veteran and actually have qualified for a lifetime membership so I know that it works.  Point counting is easier than calorie counting for me and so I'm now a slave to the wonderful (seriously) WW Mobile app.

This time around I'm doing Weight Watchers Online vs going to weekly meetings.  It's cheaper and this blog will serve as my weekly meeting.  My weigh in day will be each Friday.  So here we go...

My current weight:  172

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: 0  

 

The mix tape just never goes outta style!

This year for Valentine's Day, Aaron and I exchanged mix 'tapes' full of love songs.  This is SOOO much easier in this day and age to do...download the songs, pop into a playlist and burn a CD--done!  Or even simpler just copy onto an iPod. 

Back in the day (late 80's for me), I'd sit and listen to Power 98.9 on Saturday nights for hours and hours and try to be quick with the record button to tape my favorite songs onto cassettes.  Or I'd tape hours at a time and then go back using the 2 cassette feature on my dad's boom box and 'remaster' an all-hits tape. Priceless to me is that I still have many of the mix tapes I made back then!  In fact I have 4 boxes full of my old tapes...now I just need to hunt down a tape player to actually listen to them...hmmm...  

Anyhow, it's been awhile since Aaron and I made CDs for each other so we decided to resurrect the idea for V-day this year.  Aaron went all sweet and included songs that are meaningful to us over the years.  He even recorded a couple that he played and sang and included them on the CD.  Did I go sweet?  Yeah not so much...started out nice but then took a turn to crazy obsessive love street!  Ahh...talk about going old school....  ;-)

(My 'Crazy Love' mix to Aaron is below.)

 

New Obsession...EOS Lipbalm - (Giveaway Post!)

It's been documented on my blog before but I am lip-gloss addicted.  About a month ago I came across a new to me 'chapstick' that just makes me happy.  It's EOS Lipbalm and comes in the cutest little egg shaped orb!  It's not a chapstick you can pop into your pocket because of the size/shape but it's one you can easily find when it falls to the bottom of your purse.  I started with the honeydew melon and have proceeded to collect 3 more flavors since--can you say obsessive?  I now see on their website there is a tangerine available, gotta have it!  I found my EOS at my local Rite Aid and Walgreens stores and they cost about $3 each.  It's very moisturizing and smooth and all the flavors have a good taste too.  I must say it's not the most long-lasting lip balm I've tried but it's so fun to put on I don't mind! 

And just for fun I picked up an extra EOS 'sweet mint' lip balm that I thought I'd give away to a blog reader!!  Just leave me a comment here on this post telling me what your favorite lip balm/lip gloss/lipstick is and you will be entered to win.  I will draw a name at random on Monday, Feb 21st at 9pm. Good luck!