Month one and two

November

The first month in weight loss always seems like the easiest to lose weight. 

 

Getting to the gym was my biggest challenge . 

   

I hit the 200 pound mark on December 8th.   

I personally could not tell much of a difference, but others were starting to notice that I was losing weight.  
Here are some of the changes that I made the first month:
1. I gave up pop and McDonald's sweet tea- that was a big one for me.  I love pop and used to drink the Speed Way 40 oz ones everyday along with one or 2 McDonald's sweet teas.  
2. I gave up all fast food.  This was hard because of the convenience.  I work full time and have a part time businesses.  Throw in 4 kids and I do not have a lot of spare time to cook so we were eating fast food almost on a daily basis.  
3. Go to the gym- this one was a struggle for me and still is.  I will be honest and admit I only make it to the gym around once a week.  My goal is to increase that to 3-4 times.  While at the gym I do the couch to 5k app on the treadmill.   

Weight loss journey- the beginning

  

It has been a long time since I have posted and I decided to get back on and share my latest adventure- weight loss.   My youngest and final child turned 1 on October 27 so I decided that was the time I was going to stop breastfeeding and focus on me for the first time in 4 years.  I had literally  been pregnant or nursing the last 4 years of my life.  So on November 1st the journey started.  But first I want to show you what I looked like at my heaviest.  Here I am 9 months pregnant, weighing 248 pounds!! 

 

I left the hospital 30 pounds lighter.  But the rest of the weight stuck around the entire time I was breastfeeding.  Here I am at the start of my journey at 220 pounds 

 

 

Let's catch up

I knew I would not stick with this blog daily, or even weekly but I have been really slacking lately. 

Not much craftiness has been happening is the main reason for the lack of posts. 

I couldn't even find time to decorate pumpkins until after trick or treat was over in my town

My husband even helped out by buying pumpkins and letting the kids decorate them a few weeks ago. 

But I still had to make my annual witch, even though Brutus was skipped this year :(


I also made a recipe from Pinterest, that was a hit! 

Here is the link to the recipe: http://rhodesbread.com/blog/blog/braided-spaghetti-bread



I also found some time to decorate my craft room. 

The flowers are made from toilet paper rolls, cut into 1/4 inch strips, then take 5 or r of them and glue them together.  I used paper clips to hold them in place until they dried.  After they were dry I arranged the flowers into a design and glued them all together.  Then I used spray paint to make them black.  If I did it again I would paint each flower before I made the design.  Live and Learn :)

All year craft project

Here is a craft project I made out of spare pieces of wood. It was pretty simple, I just used mod podge to put card stock on the wood and used my circuit to cut out letters. I plan on using the rest of the wood for a pumpkin and snowman.

B starts kindergarten

So my little man is growing up and has started kindergarten this year!  He was so excited and loved it.  We made his teacher this gift as a back to school present. 

It is a pack of lotions, and the tag says "Hope you have a smooth year."  Once again I got the idea off pinterest.  I wonder if teachers gifts have increased since they became popular?

It's been awhile

Just because I haven't posted doesn't mean I stopped crafting

Do you remember this gift I made for my husband?

Well I broke it apart (I mean who really needs a blue box anyways) and recrafted it.

I used the lid, sanded it down, attached a boarder, and then repainted it. 

I used wood glue to attach the boarders and the letters. 

This turned out to be a really easy project.  I did all my shopping at Michael's for this project
The boarder was $2
Letters were $1 each
All the other supplies I had on hand so the grand total for this project was $6.
The hooks that hold the keys are actually picture hangers I had laying around.  I had to use pliers to pry them open before I screwed them in. 

Now it is hung by my door and I will never have to search for my keys again!!! (yeah right)

I also used chalk board paint so if I ever want to add a piece of chalk I will be able to leave notes by the front door. 

I also tried out one of those baby carriages I have been seeing all over pinterest. 

I used a shoe box and rolled up diapers and then held them together with a ribbon.  I wanted everything to be usable so I did not glue them like I have seen on other posts.  Then you fill it up with all those baby essentials.  I am going to start doing this for all my baby showers.  I coupon now so as long as I stock up on stuff as it goes on sale this will be a great inexpensive gift and save new moms a ton of money because who has time to coupon with a new baby?

Some things I would do different.... If I could find a round box to use I would like to do a basket instead of a carriage. and then I would wrap each diaper in ribbon because I think that looks better. 

I finished my Wedding Album!!!

After 2 entire weekend crops and MANY more hours at home working on my wedding album I finally finished it!!!!! Wooohoooo 

A grand total of 120 layouts.  Here are some of them.  I'm sorry I don't have a scanner so you can't see much detail from my phone's camera.