Lean In

I was tagged...

Oh Elizabeth, Elizabeth, did you really think you'd catch me with no makeup and lipstick? I think NOT...I wear it even at home, my dear...nice try..lol...

So, here are the rules:

1. Take a picture of yourself right now. No primping or preparing. Just snap a picture.

2. Load the picture onto your blog.

3. Tag three people to play.

Remember, if you are tagged on another blog, we will all be heading to yours to see if you played along.

Bailey took this for me, hence it is crooked, but I kindof like it that way...

I tag Ashley, Laura, and Colleen...

and this is for you Elizabeth...

Good for the soul...

Girl time, that is..a whole weekend of gabbing, scrapbooking, laughing, singing, eating, not having to wait on anyone or do anything "productive"..lol..I love this hobby of mine..and the friends I've made through it..both in real life and online..

So, as I share these pictures, please keep in mind that comfort is at the forefront of our minds and these pictures were taken well into Saturday...it rained all Friday and Saturday, so the weather was perfect for scrapbooking...

This is Joanna, my sweet, sweet friend, the one that coordinated, planned, kept everyone informed and updated, and answered her cell phone one million times when we all called her about one thing or the other..love her..and guess what? She actually got a few layouts done! I always tease her because she usually spends the whole time piddling around and helping everyone else with all the machines and stuff and not getting any of her own stuff done...She was set up like the captain of a ship down there on the end of the table..

This is Joy, my other sweet friend--who I went to nursing school with , and that I lost touch with and then ended up running into at a local park one day and finding out that we both are obsessed with scrapbooking and we were about to be on a design team together for a local store (we don't do that anymore)...I am so glad she got to go..loved spending time with her..she's one of the most laid back girls I know..always has been...

and then my friend Laura, who rode with me and talked nonstop with me..we never run out of things to talk about..poor thing, we got all the way up to the place (1 1/2 hours from home) and she realized that she had left her whole bin of pictures/work in her garage when we were loading up..and she was cool about it..I was freaking out for her..thankfully she had stuck some pictures in another bin to work on that first night and morning, and then her saint of a husband drove all the way and met us at the Mall of Georgia with her stuff the next day..I told her, uh oh, you're going to owe him BIG TIME for that one..lol...

Oh, and that's me with my Disney album that I half way finished..but the front sure is cute, isn't it?

and then I had met/scrapped with these three at some time or another through Joanna...

My new blog buddy, Colleen, excuse me, Dr. Colleen..this girl is a college history professor! ..and she has a cool blog too...check it out..she designs layouts for an online kit club too..she used to own her own kit club, but it was too much with teaching..

and Linda, the nicest woman you'll ever meet, who quietly sat at the end of her table and ran control central with her Cricut Expressions churning out titles to the million layouts she got done..this woman is a machine when it comes to scrapbooking!

and Cindy, who hooks us up with all the stamping supplies we could need. She sells Close to My Heart..and used to sell Stampin Up, so she's got quite the collection when it comes to stamps..and she is a connoiseur of all things chocolate..lol...and she kept our music clean by pressing the fast forward button on the Ipod when it got a little too skanky..lol..although Laura and I would be right in the middle of grooving to it...

and then two new friends..

Trina, who talks as much as me and is a trip!..she's just getting back into scrapbooking, so we had to update her on all the new stuff and techniques...she caught right on ...loved her...

and last, but not least, Tania, who's Ipod kept us entertained the whole time and amused too..she shares it with her kids, so we never knew what was coming next..we'd go from praising the Lord with something like Point of Grace to Nirvana to Walk it Out..and then back to Third Day..it was so funny, but like I said, Cindy kept it clean for us..wish I had another picture of her, but the other one was way blurry...

and you should have seen our "community table"..well, three tables actually, of die cutting machines (we had everything except a Silhouette), stamps, punches, paper, and anything else you could need to complete a page..it was obnoxious the amount of stuff we owned between us..but FUN!

So, to make a long story short, it was a great time! and if you're interested, this is where we went...

Happy Tuesday!

Another food suggestion...

While I was gone this weekend, I discovered from my friend Laura the California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas for one...now, Brad and I eat this one all the time..SO good, especially with a little olive oil drizzled over it...

but I had never really paid attention to the small ones..we decided we didn't want to have to keep going out for meals, so we each bought two of these to eat for lunch/dinner...and I'm picky about frozen pizzas, but I even made this one in the microwave and it was awesome!

I had this flavor and one that had chicken and pesto, but I can't even find mention of it on their site? which is weird, but they had them at Publix...anyways, SO good! but the calories are like 430, which, if you are watching your calories is kindof a lot for a 1000 or 1200 calorie diet for the day...so, I came up with this today...eat half of the pizza with a garden salad with lite dressing..it was a great lunch and kept me full for most of the afternoon...and guess what? I've already crunched the numbers for you...

So, 1/2 a pizza would be 210 calories plus the lite dressing was 80 for 2 tablespoons ( I don't add much to my salad greens, just a touch of cheese and a lite sprinkling of real bacon bits) and there's a lunch for 290 calories! For you Weight Watcher's folks, that's 4.5 points for the pizza and the salad dressing is like 1 point? 

The salad dressing I am loving is this...SO good!

I've found in this journey that eating half of a serving of something makes for better calorie counts and usually half satisfies me..like even those protein bars and the Kashi cereal, I half the serving size..a whole cup of that Kashi cereal is actually A LOT..normally, I only really eat half of that..I have those serving spoons from Weight Watchers and I love them..you don't realize that a cup of something is actually a lot of food, so most of the time, I can half that..

Alrighty then, go forth and eat light!

 

I'm baaaack....

Whoa, now that's what I'm talking about..nonstop scrapbooking, well, let's be honest, not "non stop"..there were a few trips to some scrapbooking stores and to eat and stuff and to sit in the massage chair that I almost had to load up in my van and bring home, it was THAT good, ...but, A LOT of scrapbooking took place..Got lots of layouts done..my Disney album, ahem, sadly started, not finished ( I was in more of a layout kind of mood)...

Got home around 4 yesterday to be attacked by my kids who were in Mommy withdrawl..and to a super neat and clean house, bless Brad's heart..he rules...AND he had taken them to church and all too...it was nice...

Pictures, links, and layouts to share, but right now, Bailey and I have to get our booties to the grocery store and get the house dusted...Life Group at our house tomorrow night ..I'm doing a baked potato bar..

See you soon..

Checking in from the crop...

Howdy! All ten of us have been busy at work, scrapping, eating, talking, listening to music, having a grand ol time...so far, I've completed 3 layouts and am currently on my fourth..that, my friends, is a record...going with the flow..

This place we are at is perfect...!

Check ya later...

To thine own self be kind...

I just saw that quote in a Stampin' Up catalog online and thought "how fitting" for my post today...Ya know, I've been going through lots of pictures on my computer in Picasa, looking for ones I wanted to scrap, etc..and something that stood out to me were pictures of me..what I mean is, I look back and think "I remember feeling like I looked so fat" or " I was hating the way I looked at that time" ..and looking back, I think, darn, I didn't look fat..it's all perspective..I wasted a lot of energy obsessing over how I looked when I was just fine how I was and wish I looked now how I looked then..this time around when I get myself back in order and where I want to be size wise, there's not going to be any more of that nonsense..life is too short and really, I've decided to be kind to myself how I am right now...to just stop all the negative self talk ...and be kind to MYSELF...as Winona Judd says "I'm so much more than a number on the scale"..so true..

Ok, went off on a tangent there..what I was really going to post were some foods that were getting me through this slim down/eating habit change..and it's going pretty well..it could be my imagination, but I think my clothes are starting to feel the slightest bit looser...I've been exercising four days a week and doing weights on two of those..planned to go today, but woke up this morning with my right knee killing me..I may have overdone it yesterday with the squats and all..lol...my eating could always be better, but I'm trying...

So most mornings, I have a bowl of this..now, I know die hard work out people harp on the sugar content of it, but whatever, it works for me and keeps me the fullest of any cereal I've ever eaten..lots of fiber and protein, and I like the fact that it doesn't get mushy..I detest "mushy"...mushy makes me gag..this stays nice and well, "crunchy"..

Now, I get hungry between meals..I just have an appetite that doesn't go away for much of anything, unfortunately, and I have to eat or I get shakey and irritable..so, these things have been my stand bys..

A little handful of these between breakfast and lunch..yum...and usually with my one Diet Coke for the day..doing way better with those than I used to..

and around 4-ish in the afternoon, this is what I look forward to..now, I have to say, the Wasa toast is a little, ummm, "cardboard-ish" at first, but with a slice of that Provolone on it, it's good..and filling..and each slice is only 45 calories..

They do make the reduced fat kind of this cheese, but  I just hate low fat cheese..and really, a slice of this is only 70 calories..so, I'm going with it...

And then, for keeping water around, do you have your Bubba Keg?

This thing cracked me up..I got a cute turquoise (one of my favorite colors) one at Walmart..they have a whole line of "Bubba" products..this one is around 54 ounces and keeps your water nice and cold..and it doesn't sweat and leave rings on all of your tables and stuff..and I carry it in the car too..and the best part? It has a bottle opener right there on the handle for the times when you've just had enough and want to pop open a few beers and fill it up with that instead of water..I kid you not..ha..but for right now, I'm using it for water..I know if I drink two of these a day, I'm good..and it will be great to take to the pool and stuff this summer...

So, those are a few things that are keeping me hanging on..thought they might give someone some ideas?

Ok, off to finish packing for leaving for my crop in the a.m...Yay..will share a picture of my mess of things I'm taking..it's looking pretty good as of right now..not an obnoxious amount...we'll see how much it grows..

Journaling...

I came across this post on Debbie Hodge's blog..loved it and plan to try to apply it more..Journaling on scrapbook pages is often the hardest part for many people..my problem is, I tend to be way "wordy"..who me? ..lol...but I love the part about telling the story BEHIND the pictures, not just stating the obvious..seems like I remember that from some English class or something way back in high school...or maybe it was when I was on the Annual staff in high school..actually, I think that's where it's from..ya know, when writing the captions, tell more of a story that's not obvious...So, check it out..it's a good short little read..because years from now, when people are looking at your scrapbook, they're gonna want to know the funny little stories behind the pictures..how cool would it be to have something like that from when your Grandmother was growing up or was a Mom..?

Hump Day...

Just some things on hump day..

Like my new song? I love that song by the Black Eyed Peas (and this version has a little Justin Timberlake added in..love me some Justin)...and I like to listen to it REALLY loud in my car..ha..and that second song too..Puddle of Mud (you know, Brad sings.. And he can sing Puddle of Mud really well..love to hear him singing away to their songs)..they actually played this song in church one Sunday morning set to a video of Jesus serving and helping people..it was REALLY good and Brad and I were two of the FEW people who were mouthing the words..not sure it went over so well with most members, but we thought it rocked and fit the theme of the video so well..people in church need to loosen up and open their minds a little, in my opinion...Our old music minister used to push the envelope a little..his wife sang that song by Evanescence "Wake Me Up Inside" one Sunday too..totally rocked that out too..and once again Brad and I were singing right along..I miss that music minister (Shout out to Johnny Prettyman)...

It's funny..Chaz has gotten where he's all about our music..he won an Ipod Shuffle for winning in points in his BMX racing last year and Brad loaded it up with songs..he goes in our bedroom and hooks it up to the speakers we have and blasts it..so funny..the only problem is, he likes to skip around too much..I'll be in the kitchen rocking out and he'll change the song right in the middle of it..his favorite songs right now? Soldja Boy, Walk it Out by DJ UNK, and Psycho by Puddle of Mud..hope we aren't corrupting him..ha

A few layouts...

(not crooked in real life..crooked photographer is the problem)

These are blooming right now and smell so good..this vine is awesome because the leaves stay green all year and then it blooms briefly during this time of year, oh and it grows like CRAZY..perfect for an arbor..Evergreen Clematis..we've got in on a wall right next to our back patio...

and thank you dollar bucket of sidewalk chalk..you have kept Bailey busy and detached her from my hip for about two days straight..sadly, today it is raining..see, Bailey follows me EVERYWHERE..not that I don't love being around her, but sometimes I'm just like "BAILEY, go find something to do"..lol..

Alrighty, got to go put an order in for pictures to pick up today...I LOVE Ritzpix.com..just love how my pictures look that they develop...

Uh Oh...

She's gotten the scrapbooking bug...Ms Joann gave her a little scrapbooking kit for her birthday and well, now I can't go into my room to work on my stuff without her close behind wanting help with HER stuff..so, we decide who she wants to do a page about and I grab some pictures out of a container full of older pictures..obviously, this day, it was all about Buster..so far, we've done Papa, Nannie, and Buster...lol...

and here's a layout of her birthday party from last year..made the collages in Picasa (made them a few different sizes and printed the picture of Bailey big and pieced it together)...I just keep feeling like this page needs something else added, but I'm over it and moving on, but if anyone has a suggestion, please comment (especially Laura Vegas..I keep wanting to add some of that string tied like you use all the time, but can never figure out where to add it?)

Have I mentioned I'm going on a scrapbook retreat Fri-Sun this week? lol..yes, I know I have..I'm just really excited..and I've been working like a mad woman printing pictures/collages out to work on..just now, I finished printing the gazillion collages/pics for my Disney album..it's so fun to look back on those pictures..and I popped the color on some of the pictures, so the album is going to be so colorful and bright..can't wait to get it all put together!

Ok, gotta go hop in the shower and get moving!

Happy Tuesday!

Catch up...

Didn't mean to go MIA for several days..I worked Friday and Saturday and then yesterday was a lot of church and hanging out outside and stuff...

Well, I have to say that fresh new pictures of my kids make me VERY happy and we were so on the ball yesterday morning that we had time to go out and take a few pictures before we left for church..I needed some new ones of Chaz (ahem, to make Mimi happy, plus I wanted a new one to frame)and he looked so darn cute in that new orange shirt I got him for his school pictures this week ..he rocks the orange, don't you think?

and he is so darn cooperative when it comes to pictures..love that..

and Bailey, being the jealous little sister she can be lately, wanted in on the action too..she is really hard to get pictures of if the lighting is barely bright..she cannot keep her eyes open, they are really sensitive..but here's one I got of her..

and holy cow, can it be? That they could be getting to the age where they'll let me get pictures of the BOTH of them together? I LOVE this one...

Ok, got a few layouts to share once I take pictures today..see ya..