Begin Again

So maybe you've been reading and maybe you remember me mentioning that wonderful 21 day challenge?
Needless to say I barely made it a week before getting struck with the wretched CEDAR FEVER.
But that's okay.
I'm finally feeling better and it's time to begin again!
There are a few things that I'll begin again as we continue through 2011.
One I'll tell you about in a later post after I've made some progress on it.
Another is of course the 21 day challenge (it's been refined).

1.) Work out 30 minutes everyday: check 30 minutes and 1.55 miles on the treadmill!
2.) No caffeine, that means water and lemonade (although I will probably have the occasional cup of decaf tea or coffee): check...only pink lemonade and water for me today!
3.) Read 3 books.
4.) Journal/Blog daily: check, probably my favorite of all the list items!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
In other news...here are a few things I'm currently working on...

Just a sneak peak....hopefully this will be done 
tomorrow!

more fabric....

a commissioned scarf....should be done by Friday 

one of my craft drawers...see those pink and red 
Pom Poms I can't wait to show you the tutorial
 I am using to create the cutest b-day gifts! 

And then there are the upcoming projects...

16" Wooden Letters....I'll be working on 
those February 5th!

And the on going projects....

I see this sign each morning as I exit my bedroom.
I take that back, I don't always see it, even though it's always there.
So I'm going to make an effort to see it everyday during this 21 day
challenge...and put it into action.  Give GRACE as he gives it to us!

I hope everyone had a BLESSED Monday!

Bridesmaid Diaries Part 1

FYI: I am a bridesmaid in two weddings this coming Summer.

The 1st on June 4th for TV & KS

TV, KS, Biz, & Bud

The 2nd on June 11th for CP & DE

CP & DE

This series will be sporadic and intermitten with my regular postings.
It will help me remember this crazy, busy, exciting time.
It will serve as an additional place for me to write out my ideas so that I can refer back to them.
Feedback is welcome.
Ideas are encouraged!
Help me be the best bridesmaid I can be (this will be my 3rd & 4th time being a bridesmaid)

Tuesday I got an email from the mother of the bride for DE asking for theme ideas for the Bridal Shower.
Yesterday I sent a few ideas as we are having it on April 2nd.
What do you think?

image found here
I was thinking of doing the colors of her wedding.
Maybe a pink table cloth and then I could make the table runner
in a brown and white similar pattern.

I could also maybe whip up one of these:

image found here
Maybe I could do something that either said Bride...OR
The Bride & Groom's name....

I figure we could get coordinating plates from here

Oh and I LOVE this idea...everyone dresses in the colors of the Bridal shower...so either brown and white w/ splashes of baby pink if we go that route or black and white with splashes of an accent color...this way when we can take a beautiful group picture!!!

image from here

So what do you think? 
Any suggestions for games for the Bridal shower?
Also we are trying to decide between finger foods or possibly a taco bar...help!
It's been nearly 7 years since I was a bride (a lot has changed since then & I didn't have a real bridal party) and I haven't been to a bridal shower in quite some time as the other weddings were out of state and I was unable to make the trip.
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I have a confession.  I have fallen all the way off of my 21 day challenge.  Why, you ask?
First off I've been feeling so yucky thanks to Cedar Fever here in Austin and secondly I've been spending all my free time working on Bud's top secret birthday present.
Hopefully when you see it (Monday!) you'll see why it's been so time consuming!
I have every intention of restarting/revamping my 21 day challenge and catching up on my January is Cleaning Month starting on Tuesday the 18th!
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On another note I'll be making Ginger Chicken tonight for dinner so look for that posting!


I hope you are all having a blessed Friday!

Blessed by Bloggers

The blogging community is something I never knew I needed until I was a part of it.
Blogging has connected me with some amazing women!
I look forward to each day when I can log in and see what everyone else has to share.
I have been inspired by many of you, I hope someday I can inspire people the same way!

I purchased this piece from Farmgirl Paints

It helped me remember that God is in control of EVERYTHING and that I should remember to constantly surrender everything to him.

Please check out her etsy store!
Her blog is honest and enlightening, she inspires me to keep on keeping on!

Her art is fun, much like her!

And I have plans to commission a piece from her one of these days.  

Maybe you'll find something!

I have been surprised by your kindness.

I received this little gem as a just because:

I saw these on one of Privet & Holly's posts and asked her how she made them.

About a week later I opened my mail to find she had sent me one of my very own!

I love Suzanne's writing style and look forward to any and everything she posts.

I actually was inspired by her adorable rosette and figure out how to make more....

I made this in black and another in brown and I also have a matching pin to go with each!

Below are the headband and pin my boss commissioned me to do for her granddaughter. 

I purchased these adorable banners from La Famille:

Sorry these pictures were taken with my cell phone.

Alicia makes a lot of really cute stuff.
Her blog is amazing as well.
We share some life experiences.
It's nice knowing someone else has been where you have been or are or want to be.

You should check out her etsy store too!

I am amazed by all the beautiful pictures people take and I hope that once I finally read through this

...maybe I'll be as good as you all are!

I can't express how much blogging has changed my life.

Each time I get a new follower I'm amazed that someone finds me interesting enough to care what I have to say!

I'm hoping to share more tutorials this year and spotlight more of the bloggers I follow and why.

This is a beautiful place to be for me, among other creative minds.

Thank you so much for blessing me each and every day!

I pray for you when you ask, I cry with you when your sad, and I rejoice with you when you are happy.

I hope you are all feeling as blessed as I am, have a Blessed Tuesday!

Building a Better Biz

So as I stated a few days ago I don't do New Years Resolutions.
It just so happens that I've been wanting to challenge myself to another 21 day challenge and it happens to be that I can finally get started now, after the holidays.
I had been in a really good habit of working out 5 days a week for awhile, but in November I had surgery and I was told not to work out for a while and quite frankly I never got back in the habit and then the holidays hit and well I can make a million excuses....
So my new 21 Day Challenge:

1. Excercise- 50 Squats, 50 Crunches, 30 minutes/2 miles on the treamill- EVERYDAY

2. Read Bible Everyday

3. Blog & Journal daily

4. 3 books in 3 weeks.

So there it is.  My 2nd-21 Day Challenge!
Help keep me accountable!
I hope you all are having a Blessed Monday!

P.S. I forgot to mention my intentions to try Clean Mama's January Cleaning Calendar.  Take a look, she's amazing!  I, fortunately, do not accumulate enough laundry to do a load daily, but I'm excited to see how much cleaner my house can be!

Beyond what was planned.

21 DAY CHALLENGE COMPLETE!
Yesterday...haha!  I seriously thought I was still being held to this today!
But when I looked back at my calendar I noticed I said it would go from 8/25-9/14.
Oh well, I did an extra day beyond what was planned.

How did I do though based on my 1st-21st days?

1.) No diet soda.- 19 days out of 21 days = 90.5%
2.) Exercise for 30 minutes everyday.- 19 days out of 21 days = 90.5%
3.) Read Bible everyday. 100%
4.) Blog/Journal everyday.- 100%
5.) Read 3 books.- Well I'm 1/2 through my 3rd book so 2.5 books out of 3 = 83.3%
 
OVERALL GRADE = 92.86%
An A- for all my hardwork.  I'm so proud of myself.

Now that I've officially continued onto day 22 I might want to set up a few new guidelines for what I expect of myself.  The previous ones weren't too demanding, but with work and extracurricular activities it can be a tight fit somedays.  So as for my new guidelines hmmm....

1.) I'm going to stick with the NO DIET SODA, it wasn't that difficult and I have probably been more hydrated in the last 3 weeks because of it.

2.) Exercising 30 minutes 4x a week.  7 days a week was rough.  I'm not saying that I won't do 5 or 6 days, but Fridays are next to impossible to fit in a workout.  Mostly because after work on Fridays I meet up with Eric and ROTC peeps and we hang out until I'm ready to pass out from exhaustion.  Also I have a few things coming up that might make a workout impossible.  September 27th I'm taking a intro to sewing class from 6:30 pm-10pm and every Monday night in November from 6-8 I'll be taking a digital photography class.  Plus I read somewhere that it's good to have rest days.

3.) Read Bible everyday.  I'm going to keep up with this one.  As a Christian I need to be well versed and I need to learn God's word.

4.) Blog/Journal everyday.  I think I'll be able to do this 90% of the time.  However, I do anticipate some weekends when Bud & I will be out of town that will hinder me from accessing a computer.  So I'll just have to make my posts bigger and better when I get home!

5.) Read 3 books.  I almost succeeded on this one, however, according to that 8 books in 8 weeks goal I set for myself.  I'm already 1 week and 1 book behind.  So I'm just going to change this to say that I should def. try to read for fun everyday!

I LOVE all the time I get to spend with my husband!  He is my BEST friend!  My helpmate!

On, another note, Bud & I have a Groupon for Froyoyo that is going to expire in a month.  I bought it a while back.  Basically, I spent $10 to get a coupon worth $20 of frozen yogurt.  So after dinner we rushed over and loaded up!  I had the peanut butter yogurt with crushed Oreos, brownie bits, & Butterfinger pieces (I think I negated all the benefits of frozen yogurt)!  It's only 8pm & I just threw in a load of laundry and I'm gonna cuddle up next to my hubby and watch the season finale of Prison Break via Netflix!  I hope everyone has a blessed evening!

Breaking the rules..

I broke the rules.
They aren't rules set by anyone but myself, so I don't know if I can really say I broke them.
But for the sake of this blog entry....I broke the rules.

Point in case:
21 Day Challenge (8/25-9/14)
1.) No diet soda.
2.) Exercise for 30 minutes everyday.
3.) Read Bible everyday.
4.) Blog/Journal everyday.
5.) Read 3 books.

What did I do after work today....
Well I didn't work out, no time.  I had to come home walk the boys and shower.  There was a new exhibit opening at the museum that Bud works at w/ free dinner & drinks.  No time to workout.  After that we had to go to TGIF to hang out with ROTC cadets.  I shouldn't say we had to, we wanted to make an appearance. After TGIF Bud treated me to a movie, where we shared a GIANT diet coke.

Except for the overuse of the F-word (I really dislike cussing).
This movie was hilarious and entertaining!  I laughed enough to make up for how bad The American was last weekend.

I didn't read my Bible today.  The only reading I did today was everyone else's blogs while at work.  So I broke the rules.  It's 11:51 pm and I am dead tired.  Time to hit the hay.

Tomorrow, I will wake up and work out.  I'll post my first book review for BookSneeze.  I may even post a 2nd blog on my Boo-tiful Rag Wreath Tutorial.  Please have a blessed evening!

Bad Weather= Lazy Biz

Okay gigs up.  I skipped my workout 100% today.  Voluntarily I vocalized to my husband that I was not going to workout and I immediately went to the bedroom and slipped into a comfy v-neck and pj pants.  It's been raining and I mean pouring buckets all day....

I love a good rainy day

We are under flash flood warnings and apparently we were under a tornado warning.  After additional research I found out the tornado was in North Austin and continuing North...so we should be fine.  I really wish there was some lightening and thunder to go with this rain though.  You might think I'm crazy for thinking this, but I really enjoy a good rainy, stormy day.  It brings back memories of being little.  My younger brother who was maybe 4 at the time was afraid of the thunder.  My Dad scooped him up in his lap and told my brother that he needed to not be afraid of the thunder.  As a threesome we proceeded to have a call and response with the thunder.  Every time the thunder cracked we responded by YELLING, "ROAR Thunder....I'm not afraid of you"!
So besides skipping my workout I started my new work schedule today.  It's really not a HUGE difference, but for some reason it feels so much different.  I used to work from 7:30-4 with a 30 minute lunch.  NOW I work 7-3:30 still with a 30 minute lunch.  I love that first hour of the day when the office is mostly empty.  I can concentrate and by the time everyone else shows up to start their day I know I'm an hour ahead of them.
My book review for OUT LIVE YOUR LIFE will be posted soon.  I found out today that I'm not allowed to post my review for it UNTIL September 10th.  No worries.  I still have 8 days left on my 21 day challenge.  So here are my stats for everything:

1. No diet soda! Drink tea, water, Crystal light, milk or coffee. - My only fault here was that yummy virgin mojito I had Saturday night at the Speakeasy, there was sprite in it.

2. Exercise every day for at least 30 minutes.- Well I asked if you thought my night of dancing could replace my regular workout and since I didn't hear any objections...I'm counting it!  So I have only missed 1 workout in 13 days, today's workout.  Not to bad if I do say so myself.

3. Read Bible EVERY day.- Done!  I started reading Psalms and I am up through Psalms 44

I know I'm not a Mom, but when I bought this Bible I realized it fit me best!  It has reading plans for 1, 5, and 10 minute daily reading plans depending on the amount of time you have.  

4. Blog & Journal Daily.- Done!  You can all attest to my daily blogs and my journal is the place where I can vent and write stuff that I can't quite share with my readers yet.  FYI- it's been hard for me to open up to people throughout my life, don't take it personal.  This blog is a huge step for me in being honest with everyone!

5. Read 3 books.-  I read Breaking Dawn, I'm finishing OUT LIVE YOUR LIFE, and I still have 8 days to pick up and read another book, so far so good.

Well that is all for now, I'm going to go cuddle up with the hubby on the couch, watch t.v. and maybe listen to the rain.  Have a blessed evening!