Fingers and Toes

Who doesn't love festive nails!

This was super easy to do. All you do is take a bobby pin and dip one of the rounded ends in polish and put your dots where you want them. The end of the bobby pin i used wasn't super round so i didn't get perfect circles but you get the idea. 

Its easier then using the brush, where you know in the back of your head you are just going to end up with a blob instead of a dot, but you do it anyways.

I am officially done with crochet orders for before Christmas, I have a lot of spare time now so i will probably end up working on some of the others i have to do just so i am really caught up on things. It was a little scary there for a few days and i didn't think i was going to finish, but i did and it was a huge relief.

Kendall is so excited for Christmas and i really can't wait either.

Merry Christmas Friends!

First time Auntie!!!

Today in the next few hours (hopefully for my sisters sake) I will become an Auntie. My older sister Prairie Princess and her hubby made their way to the hospital last night around midnight to start preparing for Puppy Marshmallow's big arrival.

Puppy Marshmallow is the name Kendall gave to him because they are keeping his name a secret until he is born.

I so wish i could be there for her and even make a trip in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately due to work and time off it will be a couple months before we get to go :(

I am so anxious and excited that i can hardly contain myself. I got lucky with only 5 hours of labor before Kendall was born and i know that is not the case with most first time labors. This waiting game is hard though. It is driving me crazy but i know soon enough that sweet little boy will make his appearance. 

Happy Thursday Friends, I hope you are having a Merry Christmas season and that you are all getting your shopping done.

Mission Almost Accomplished

This is what a typical work week looks like for me. This was last week. It only lasted 2 days and ya there are a lot of people here but when someone brings in food people chow down. This is also why i didn't reach my goal by Thanksgiving. There is always snacks here. One of the ladies likes to go to the grocery store before work and you can tell when she is hungry when she goes cause she brings back Puffcorn (which is AMAZING by the way) those are oreo marshmallow squares you see on the side, then some peanut butter fudge, butterfingers and whoppers. This week there are turtle pretzels, peppermint oreo white truffle bark, sugar cookies and truffles.

This was our Thanksgiving spread. We like to have potlucks here and they definitely don't disappoint. When you have 15 people each bring something different in large portions. It usually results in almost everyone leaving early to go home and take a nap. Every couple of months we will do this to just reward everyone for the hard work they have been doing and its a great way to socialize with the other workers on a different level instead of only chatting while we work.

These are reasons why i have struggled to reach my goal. However as of today i am only 3 lbs away and i am determined to get there by the end of the year. Which means it took me almost a whole year but i lost 20 lbs, WOW, i am more then happy with myself for this.

I have been so busy with crocheting that i decided until i am caught up i am going to take some time off from the gym and will most likely start going back after Christmas. I have however been going to a pound rock out class twice a week and it is awesome. I have never had my whole body worked so hard in 45 minutes before. I am literally sore for days after and even though i have only been a couple times i can definitely see a transformation in my body from using my muscles differently.

That is one of the things that is the hardest for a lot of people who get into a consistent routine. You do the same thing over and over and over and your body gets used to it, that is where i am at right now with the gym. But since adding in this pound class i get a good cardio and muscle workout. It has been a nice change. Best part about it is the whole month of December the pound class is FREE.

Happy Tuesday Friends. Only a week until Christmas and i haven't wrapped a single present, oops.

Such a sweet face

Last night after i finished a couple more beanies and was cleaning up i looked over and saw this sweet face just staring off into space "thinking" of course then she saw me taking her picture and had to ham it up for a few more until she wanted to do the picture taking.

It reminds me, that even though she may drive me crazy with her nonstop talking and constantly asking why, she is still my sweet and innocent little girl and i love her so much!

And she now lets me do her hair, FINALLY!!!! She was bald until she was over a year old so we never had a reason for bows or headbands and she hated when i did try to put headbands on her so we opted not to. Then she went through a phase when she finally had hair that she hated having it messed with. I finally managed to talk her into letting me at least brush her hair everyday so it wasn't a tangled mess. We were constantly battling with her hair being in her eyes and getting food in her hair.

When i picked her up from school Monday she had pigtails in and she left them in ALL DAY until i took them out before bath. Which is a huge accomplishment. Usually as soon as you mentioned how cute her hair looked she would rip out the pony tails. Every day this week we have done her hair. She can't just have 1 pony she has to have 2 ponies. So I pull the front into a small pony and then bundle it all up in the back for one big pony and after i finish i have to take her hands and let her touch where they are so she knows there is 2.

Its been nice actually getting to do her hair and i noticed recently it is starting to get pretty long. She sat still and let me snap a quick picture of her this morning right before we were on our way out the door for school we will see if she leaves it in all day again. Whats really cute though is when she asks Jason to do her hair for her.

Happy Thursday Friends!

Stocking

This is the first year Kendall will have a stocking. We didn't do one last year because she was still too young to really understand presents and a stocking and she was pretty overwhelmed with the amount of presents she got. It took her almost all day to open everything.

This year we intentionally are keeping Christmas smaller (she is still getting a ton of stuff though). There is just going to be a few of us and instead of doing Christmas Eve with Jason's family we are going to go spend Christmas afternoon with them.

Anyways, back to the original topic. The stocking! Walmart had them for $1.98 which is great, i picked one up last week when i finished my Christmas shopping. The lady who babysits for us in the afternoon is a big crafter and has all sorts of sewing stuff so i took it over to her and she put Kendall's name on it.

Kendall is very excited about Christmas. Every day when we get home the first thing we do is put a cotton ball on her little advent calendar and she says "Ooh Santa's beard is getting bigger so Christmas is getting closer."

We have been working with her and talking about why we celebrate Christmas, and she will yell "It's Jesus' Birthday!" 

I am very excited for Christmas as well. I need to wrap all my presents still but there is plenty of time! I have seen the Christmas Eve gift lots of places so we are going to start that tradition this year with one present to open on Christmas Eve. I got a Christmas book, Christmas jammies and I am going to get a snack to put in with it. I can't wait to see how excited Kendall is Christmas morning when she wakes up and sees what Santa brought her.

Her future career

Kendall loves to use my phone. She is constantly asking if she can look at pictures or take pictures.

She is getting a little better at it.

Usually i get my phone back and have to go through and delete them because she takes so many.

These are the few that have still survived. Look at those cute little feet :)

Oh there i am just working away. Do you like my Minnie Mouse ears?

She must like taking pictures of feet, she has a few of those.

Happy Monday Friends, hope you all had a nice weekend. We are over her in the arctic trying to stay warm. Hoping that maybe we see double digits today that are not on the negative side of the thermometer.

7 days later

Now that i think about it i should have taken a picture of day 1 to go with this post. But I usually don't plan my posts in advance.

This is my nail polish after 7 days using Essie No Chips Ahead Top Coat! There is a couple minor chips on 1 finger and there is some wear on the tips because I use my hands a lot. I bet if i put another top coat on they would last longer and look just as good for another week. The nail polish that i used cost $1.99, so its not some fancy expensive brand.

However that isn't going to happen. I will probably take this off and give my nails a few days of rest without polish on them before i decide what color i want to do next.

I need to correct myself. When i last posted about the nail polish brand i love i gave the wrong name. It is called Sinful Colors not Sinful Creations. Oops, i really did mean what i said when i come up with posts the day i post them and when i was writing i for sure thought that was the name.

I am excited for this coming Friday. I took the day off so i could go finish my Christmas shopping. Kendall will be in daycare and a good friend is going up with me. We will get some good quality girl time in and she can help me pick out lots of fun things to get K for Christmas. I only have a few things left to get. I am trying to use self control when it comes to buying her presents. She has so much stuff, I went through and cleaned out all the random stuff from her toy boxes (yes she has more then 1 toy box) but i am thinking that i need to do it again. She has a hard time letting go of things so i am thinking her and Jason are going to need to have some daddy/daughter time so i can do it without her being there so she hopefully wont notice anything missing.

Happy Hump Day Friends!

Tis the Season

I am so excited for Christmas this year! I only have a few gifts left to get and then the wrapping begins.

Kendall now has a little better understanding of what Christmas is and she keeps asking when Jesus' birthday is going to be. My sister and I did all our decorating this weekend and we put a few presents under the tree.

I found this Santa printout on Pinterest and thought it would be the perfect thing for her to be able to do every morning. All you do is glue a cotton ball on Santa's beard for each day before Christmas. Its definitely simple enough for a 2 year old to be able to do on their own (with parent supervision of course).

We are a couple days behind on it, but i figured she wont know plus she will enjoy getting to put more then one on when we get home today.

She is so excited about all the decorations. She got special lights in her room that Auntie made her and she helped Grandpa put the Christmas lights up outside. 

Yesterday she got scratched by the cat. It was a huge ordeal even though it is something that happens quite often. She is OBSESSED with the cat. Kendall is a pretty horrible sleeper. She wakes up at least once a night and gets out of bed and is usually awake by 6:30 most mornings. Last week one day at about 3:30 AM she comes into my room and says "Mom, i found Tamale (the cat), I am petting her." Then "No Tamale don't come in here! Mom, I don't want her in here." 

She was pretty upset about being scratched so Grandpa took her to get a band aid and next thing you know she is coming down the hall in a sling made out of a pillowcase with a band aid on a scratch that barely exists.

She walked around with it on for about 45 minutes until it finally fell off. She still held her arm up and could barely stand to take a bath because it would hurt her owie.

She enjoyed getting to take a few days off from school and spend time at home but at the same time it is almost too much time at home and by last night she was ready to go back to daycare and to see her friends.

Happy Monday Friends!

My Obsession

Well i think it is time to admit (to the world) that i have an obsession with nail polish and i just cant help myself. I love nail polish. Once i laid it all out i realized if i am going to keep buying it i need to expand my colors. There seems to be more then enough shades of pink, red and blue. Oh and the side opposite of the pink is mostly glitter.

Just seeing this makes me want to go out and buy lots of nice dark colors for the fall.

Purple is not my color, as you can see i only have 1 purple and i just don't like how any color of purple looks on my fingers or my toes so i don't buy it, but Kendall loves purple so that's why I haven't got rid of that one yet.

I love Essie polish but can't make myself go out and spend $9 on a bottle of polish since i am buying it so often, it is great polish and good quality but i am more of a bargain shopper. My go to brand right now is Sinful Creations, it is $1.99 a bottle and is really good polish. I haven't had many problems with it and now paired with the new Essie No Chips Ahead top coat, i will be having fabulous nails all winter long.

I repainted my nails last night. I needed to paint my toenails so while i had the time i did my fingernails as well. Tonight will be the ultimate test for them because i am going to be making a very hands-on dinner and then having to hand wash all the dishes when we are done. I am hoping that i get it to at least last until Monday.

A couple things you may not know about me is:

~I have my toes painted all winter long even though no one ever sees them cause i have my shoes or slippers on.

~ I have to keep my fingernails short. I cannot stand when they are long, it makes my hands feel dirty. Don't ask me why, it is weird i know, but i just don't like it. I see people with long beautiful nails and i am envious but i just can't grow mine that long. Having acrylic nails is different though, i would have them but it is an expense i would rather not pay.

I have one other obsession that I will go into another day, recipes and cookbooks. They are also amazing and i love them!

Happy Friday!

Ah Thursday!

Today I am going to dedicate to crocheting and probably a couple other random things i got going on in my head. 

I have been one busy busy bee and i LOVE it! When i decided that i was going to turn this into more then a hobby I had no idea how busy i was going to get. I originally decided to start selling because well i love to crochet but can only crochet so many things for myself and my family before we are over run with yarn. I was looking for something i could do to supplement my income since Christmas was coming up.

I have had several people tell me i need to increase my prices but i don't want to. I have more then covered my expenses and i want to keep my items priced so they are more affordable. I would rather have a higher volume of orders at a lower price then the other way around where i only have a few orders but charge an arm and a leg.

I literally have to crochet every single day or i fall behind. Occasionally there are times when life happens and i don't get as much done as i would like. This week Kendall has been sick so i have been very unproductive and haven't been able to get through as many orders this week as i have the past few weeks. But this weekend I will be able to catch up and get a few things done.

This is what it looks like from my view, although i hardly actually "watch" what is on TV i mostly just am listening so i can concentrate on what i am making. 

Just in the short time i have really pursued making the hats my skills have greatly improved. There are so many things i was scared to try before cause i didn't really know how to make them because i didn't take the extra time to learn more then just the basics. But now that i know i am unstoppable!

Click HERE if you want to go check out my Facebook page where i am posting pics of all the items i am making

***An update for the Essie No Chips Ahead top coat. I am impressed! I painted my nails Sunday and 4 days later i only have 2 spots where it chipped off and they are just little spots. I even have glitter polish on and we all know that usually peels off practically the next day. I highly recommend everyone to try this.

*** I am almost too my goal. This week since K has been sick i only went to the gym once and next week is going to be hard cause they have holiday hours. However I did lose another pound so i only have 4 pounds to go until i reach my goal!

Happy Thursday!

A day of Randoms

Kendall has caught an illness. And it is the cutest but at the same time saddest thing when she is sick and not feeling well. She has something like laryngitis, its not really a cold other then she has a little runny nose but she croaks like a frog and when she talk she squeaks. The unfortunate part for her is that she doesn't realize that if she doesn't talk it will get better but since she has a million questions she talks non stop. She even talks in her sleep. We will have to try and see if she will drink some tea with honey in it.

This is my latest nail polish trial. I hate buying all these different products to try cause they may not be super expensive but when you keep buying new things they start to add up. 

So far i really like it, it is holding up well. I painted my nails Sunday evening and there are a couple flaws but there are no chips, woohoo! The one thing i am learning though is that after it works really well a few times it starts to not work as well which is a big bummer. I am hoping that is not the case for the No Chips Ahead because i really like to paint my nails and there are so many fun fall ideas i am wanting to try on my nails.

For a while there i was feeling a real lack of motivation for the gym, it was just hard to go. By the time i get there after work it is dark outside and it has been so busy that it has been frustrating going and having to switch up your routine because there are so many people using the same things you want to use. So i made a new routine for myself and although other people are getting in my way still i am trying to work around it and be a little more flexible.

Last week i was frustrated cause i didn't lose any weight even though I stuck to the diet and worked out like normal. I came to the conclusion that even though i was eating good i really wasn't eating enough. I just never felt REALLY hungry so I didn't eat my usual morning snack. So this week I have been making myself eat the snack and just like that bam, down 1 pound. I have 5 lbs to go and my deadline for my goal is next week for Thanksgiving, I am determined to meet my goal.

Major Accomplishment!

I am so excited! 

To my surprise when i logged in today i now officially have over 10,000 page views on the ol' blog. I love blogging. I may have taken a few REALLY long breaks from it but i always come back to it.

This weekend went the same as the last few, crocheting and filling orders as fast as i can. As soon as i think i am going to run out of stuff to do a bunch of more orders come in. As of right now I have enough orders to do to last me the next 3 weeks. When i think about it, it overwhelms me so i try to take it one order at a time.

Here is the latest thing i thought i was going to be obsessed with by turns out i am thoroughly disappointed in it. 

This bottle is full of lies!!! It tastes NOTHING like pumpkin spice. I am not even really sure what it tastes like but i can tell you that it does not taste good.

I was so bummed after i took my first sip of coffee this morning. I didn't even finish it and that is a huge thing for me because I LOVE my morning coffee. Our store has been carrying this for about a month and every time i went in they were always out. So when finally they had some yesterday i grabbed a bottle with high hopes of having that amazing pumpkiny flavor in my coffee in the morning. My coffee doesn't even taste like coffee anymore. It was horrible. Now i get to make a special trip to the store to buy a new creamer cause there is no way i am going to use this until its gone, its going straight down the drain when i get home. It was not a good start to my Monday.

Camouflage Accessories

If you are a country girl and don't like camo, something has got to be wrong with  you (not really) but who doesn't love some camo. Last night i was between orders so i decided i would make one of the ideas i have had floating around in my head. I really need to start writing more of them down.

I made some camo beanies the other day and I have TONS of camo yarn left so i need to use it somehow and this is what i came up with? What lady doesn't want to accessorize while they are hunting? Yea you don't really need to wear camo when you are rifle hunting but a lot of people still do.

I am thinking of making another version of this except it will have hot pink instead of orange for the REALLY girly hunters out there.

I know i was going to talk about Kendall's flu shot experience the other day. She did really well. She sat in my lap and she looked like she was about to cry but then it was over with and she was like "That's it?" It was pretty funny. She got a sticker and a piece of candy for being tough. Later that night after we got home and took the band-aid off is when she decided it really hurt and she would walk around the house and every step she took she would say ouch.

Her attitude has been much better these last few days. We really struggled last week with getting her to listen and do things like put her coat and shoes on, it was a hard week. She has really taken a liking to playing games on the Kindle and she now knows that if she isn't good and doesn't do what she is supposed to then she gets it taken away. So far it has worked well and she is being better about listening and we have had almost no tantrums but have had to have several reminders, which seem to change her attitude around real quick.

The nail polish trial seems to be holding up ok. There are a few small chips but i am trying not to look at them. I got a couple other suggestions from people i am going to be trying out.

We are in the home stretch to the weekend, yahoo!

Nail polish battle

I love painting my nails, however, I hate that literally the next day it is already starting to chip. I cannot stand chipped nail polish, it makes me feel self conscience and i can't help but think people are staring at my chipped nails. 

I have tried many ways to keep them nice for at least a couple days before i have to take it off and give up. 

The other day i had a revelation that i think may work but it does have one flaw. IBD Intense seal is a product that you put on your acrylic nails to make them shiny (it has to be dried with a UV nail light). The flaw....you have to file it off. Nail polish remover or acetone will not get it off. Regardless of that i wanted to try it and see if it would make my polish last longer.

So last night around 9pm after i finished an order that i was working on, i decided to give it a shot and see if it will work better then just a regular top coat.

Here is the polish i used. I did 2 coats of polish (i did not use a base coat).

Once that was dry i put on a thin layer of the IBD Intense Seal. I only do 1 hand at a time cause i have the smaller light. Plus since this stuff does not dry unless its put under the light it would be running all over your fingers if you tried to do both hands at once.

This is what my little light looks like. You have to let each hand cure under the light for about a minute. It is only 9Watts so it will not work with gel products. You have to have at least a 36Watt light for that. ( I tried that and failed at it)

Here is the finished product. I think they turned out pretty good. All in all it took me about 35 minutes from start to finish and when i was done i didn't have to worry about not doing anything because the IBD makes the outside like a hard shell so there is no chance of smudging.

So far today they are holding up nicely, there are no chips and they are still very shiny.

IBD also makes a product that is a UV Top Coat that is just as durable as the Intense Seal but it does come off with acetone. I am going to invest in one of those, but will have to order online. I will let you know how the nails hold up. Hopefully they last longer then just a couple of days.

Happy Hump Day!

Monday Madness

This weekend went very much the same as the last few weekends have gone. I have been crocheting and when i am done with one project i start another and try to fit in loads of laundry and cleaning in between. I am loving all the items i am getting to make for people. There are a few things i have up my sleeve that i want to try out and surprise people with but i have to work on orders first before i can do any of those things. I am trying to fit in a few here and there like this cute Bears beanie. My model wasn't wanting to model for me and out of lots of pictures we only got a couple of good ones.

 The Packers beanie i made is such a huge hit that I had to counteract it with The Bears beanie. Jason is a huge bears fan so of course i had to make one for Kendall, who knows maybe i will even make him one for Christmas.

I was totally surprised with this BEAUTIFUL birthday cake last night made by my friend Toni. Her and my mom got together and collaborated on this idea. I love nail polish and have a slight obsession with it. Like I can't go to the store without buying a nail polish. I have more pink nail polishes then i care to admit, they are all different shades though which makes it OK.

Not only did the cake look awesome, it tasted fantastic. It was chocolate with caramel filling. It is amazing. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water. Her timing was perfect when she showed up I had literally just finished this Hello Kitty beanie I was making for her daughter. 

 

Here is to another productive week and to getting lots of projects done. Wish us luck tomorrow as Kendall is going to be getting her flu shot. Right now she doesn't exactly remember what a shot is so she is probably not going to be happy when we get there and they stick a needle in her.

It's my Birthday product review!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

My little seester got me this loot for my birthday. I was pretty stoked about it since just yesterday i was browsing their website trying to figure out what I wanted to buy. We only have a couple stores around here that sell it and their options are very limited, plus they are both an hour away so most of the shopping for it consists of doing it online. 

I love e.l.f they offer such a wide variety of products ranging from $1 each to $6 each and that you cannot beat! I have pretty sensitive skin to some products but i have had no problems with e.l.f i don't break out from it. I still do use my regular foundation which i believe is Covergirl and i use Maybeline mascara cause those are 2 things that once you find the one you like you don't change, especially since its so hard to find a good mascara.

I am not receiving any kickback from e.l.f for posting this, i just really love their products and especially for the price. Go check out their website!

What's your favorite makeup product?

Hungry Girl Diet

I found this gem of a book on our local Facebook yard sale page and had to have it. Most of my meals i eat are right at around 250 calories, I do eat about 5 meals a day and sometimes still don't reach the 1200 calories My Fitness Pal says I am supposed to eat in a day.

I like this book but at the same time i am slightly disappointed in it. Seems like literally half of it is dessert recipes. The first half is all great recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks but there are so many dessert recipes. And to tell the truth if i am going to eat a cupcake it's not going to be a healthy one. There are some great healthy alternatives to some dips that we all love but that are sooooo bad for us.

It has also given me some good ideas that i came up with on my own for meals. I find myself eating a lot of the same healthy food over and over because i really don't know much about all of it.

I am pretty proud of myself  after this past week/weekend. I usually tend to not eat as good on weekends and then Monday when i get back on the scale i am disappointed. I didn't get to work out much last week and yesterday when i got on the scale i was pleasantly surprised to see that my sort of being good over the weekend really paid off. I think it helps that I am crocheting so much on weekends and evenings that i don't have time to sit around and snack or do any bored eating. I have 3 weeks to lose 5 more lbs and i really hope i can do it. I need to step up my cardio and do a little more then i have been doing. Its been a long journey but i am ready to finally reach my goal.

In other news, we are supposed to hear something about our house tomorrow. They were going to escalate the paperwork and hopefully get it done so we could set a closing date tomorrow. If all goes according to plan and they finish the paperwork tomorrow, after a 45 day closing period we should be moving into our house around Christmas.

Halloween!!!

Kendall had a little bit of a hard time getting into Halloween. She loved that she got to dress up and loved being Minnie Mouse, but when it came time to play the games she wasn't having any of it. All she wanted to do was be held and eat the candy.

  She was very curious about what was going on.

 It took lots of coaxing from Auntie but after a little while she was running around like she owned the place going back and forth between the bounce house and games.

Contemplating what to do next.

After she went in the bounce house a few times all she would do was hop around instead of walking. This carnival is put on by our church, they have done it the last 18 years and it is all free. There is food, tons of candy and lots of games to play. Last year when we went it was WAY to crowded so we didn't stay long at all. This year I wanted to beat the crowd so i told Jason we needed to get there as soon as it opened since people don't tend to show up until a little later. She got to eat some food, play several games and by 6:30 we were home. 

I had to make it a short night mostly cause i had 3 beanies i needed to finish last night, which didn't end up happening since Kendall decided to throw a terrible fit and it took me forever to get her to bed. I still have to finish up one hat but should be able to do it this afternoon.

I have lots of orders i will be catching up on this weekend and am looking forward to getting a larger variety of things made up so i can create a FB page so i can show them off.

Happy Friday!

Pumpkin Carving

I originally wasn't going to carve a pumpkin with Kendall because when my sister came to visit she had brought some of hers from her garden for Kendall to paint. Well Sunday night for some reason Kendall was having a REALLY hard time going to sleep. It was stormy outside and really windy and i think the sounds were scaring her. So in one of my attempts to get her to fall asleep I was laying in her bed with her when she asked if we could carve a jack-o-lantern.

It was really hard to resist the sad, scared face of a toddler. So I gave in and said yes.

We cut out gym time short on Monday so we could make it home early enough to be able to fit carving a pumpkin into our evening schedule.

This is the only picture i got of her doing any work. One touch of the pumpkin guts and she was disgusted and didn't want anything to do with it.

I ended up doing all the work. She took my phone and walked around and took pictures and when she got bored with that she went in the other room to play games on the Kindle.

I am not a huge fan of pumpkin carving, it's a lot of work. She did tell me though once it was finished and had a candle in it that it looked "pretty neat" so i guess she is impressed with my carving skills. Thank goodness it only comes around 1 time a year. I think i would rather bake Christmas cookies with her instead.

Happy Hump Day!

Dedication

This will totally be me after tonight's workout. Last night i had to cut it short because i needed extra time at home for Kendall and I to be able to carve a pumpkin. As it turns out though she isn't so much into carving pumpkins and i ended up doing most of it as she walked around with my phone and took a lot of random pictures of the floor. More on that tomorrow.

As of today, i have lost 3 more lbs for a grand total of 13 lbs lost since February when i started the zumba challenge. I am glad i set a goal for myself. And it goes to show that clean eating is really the way to go for everyday eating. 

My Fitness Pal is still telling me that i am not eating enough but other then adding an insane amount of veggies into my diet i am not sure what else to eat. I do get hungry at times but it's mostly before meals. There has been zero snacking before bedtime and a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that i am so busy crocheting to get up and go find a snack. Plus i haven't had that hungry urge to snack so when it prompts me to eat more at the end of the day i just kind of brush it off and don't worry about it. 

It is amazing the difference 3 lbs makes. Well and the fact that i cut out almost all carbs. My clothes fit better, i don't have the wonderful tummy pooch and over all my body just feels good because it isn't weighed down with the heavy starchy foods. I will admit i have tried lots of pills to help aid with my diet and i have yet to find one that actually works. My journey this year has gone to prove to me personally that putting in the work at the gym and the extra time it takes to cook a clean meal is more then worth it to me. Now if only i could get my 2 year old to not be so picky and want to eat the good stuff too :)

Weekend review

We had a fairly busy weekend. I was planning on going on going to Missoula to buy yarn only and then spend all weekend crocheting to try and get most of my orders complete. Well only part of that happened. When i got to Jason's Friday after work. He told me that a friend couldn't use their tickets to go to the Griz football game this weekend and he gave them to him. So immediately i had to try and find a babysitter. My mom ended up watching Kendall for us since we were planning on going to Missoula with her we just changed our plans.

Early Saturday morning Jason and I headed up to the game to meet some friends at the tailgates. It was the perfect day for football. The weather was a little cool but not freezing.

We had a really good time at the game but I told him when the game was over we had to go yarn shopping. There was no way we were driving all the way up there and not making the trip to Michael's to buy yarn. 

I bought so much yarn. The plus side is I have orders for everything i bought so it all evens out. I am hoping that sometime this week i will have a chance to make a few more varieties of hats to show people what i am able to do. 

This Packers beanie is just completely wrong. We are Bears fans, but i wasn't going to pass up a sale because of our football preference. Since I have plenty of yarn left over i plan on making one for my little tiny nephew who is yet to be born since my older sister and her husband are HUGE Packers fans. As soon as i get some orange yarn i am going to have to make her a Bears beanie.

I have to make Kendall try on most of the hats for kids i am making them for that are around her age so i know i made the right size. Of course it was hard to pass up to opportunity to take a picture of her in a Packers hat. Her dad sure loved that but at least she is making a funny face.

 Do you like her outfit? She dressed herself, Tinkerbell pajama pants and a polka dot turtle neck with miss-matched socks and her black boots. She was pretty proud of herself so we let her wear it.

Balance

I made this owl beanie last night. We are our own worst critics and i truly believe that. The hat shell turned out great. I am not satisfied with the ears so i am going to try and make a few different options and i think the eyes need to be a little bit bigger. I already have an order for a girls version of this in pink and brown and i will probably do the accents in purple.

I am so happy that people are wanting them, that was the whole idea behind REALLY getting into the crocheting. What I didn't realize though is how little extra time i do have in a day. I am only able to make about 1 item a day whether it is a hat or a scarf. I leave the house at 7:30 in the morning and don't get home until around 6 in the evening when I have to do dinner stuff and get Kendall ready for bed. Once that is all done usually around 7:30pm is when i get to sit down and get to work on whatever i need to make that night.

I am sure eventually i will find a balance and figure out a way that works best for me without having to stay up until the morning to get each project done. This weekend I am making another bulk yarn shopping trip so i can get enough to fulfill the orders i have got in the last 2 days just from posting the couple pictures i have. I am going to try and make a few stock owl hats so i can have a little stock built up. 

I love the colors of yarn i bought and i am going to be able to come up with some really good combinations to make for boys and girls.

Next on the agenda is to get some boot cuffs and arm warmers made :)

Busy Bee!

Last night i made this infinite scarf. We have a local page on Facebook that is a yard sale page and a girl was looking for a scarf so to promote myself i told her i could make it and have it done by today. So last night after i got Kendall ready for bed (we had a pooping incident in the bathtub, it was disgusting and i think it even caught her by surprise, it has never happened before even when she was a baby), anyways after she was ready for bed, i started crocheting and about 2 and a half hours later i was finished. 

I have crocheted for long periods of time before and i don't know if it was a combination of my arms being sore from working out but by the time i was finished with the thing my arms were like jello.

It turned out really good, i am pleased with it and i hope she really likes it. I am most likely going to have to make a return trip to Missoula in the very near future to get more yarn because i have to make 4 more scarfs and 2 more beanies by next month. We do have a yarn store here in town but it is so much more expensive per skein and there isn't as many color/material options.

Lastly here is this little gem, she was so excited about the hat that she had to show everyone we saw. It is a little too big on her and i had to pull it down to right above her eyes so that you could see the ears and bow but she loves it.

Happy Hump Day, the week is half over!

Hat Success

Over the past couple of days I have been working on this hat. I had a little bit of a hard time with it. Sunday i made the body of the hat and on Monday i made the ears and bow. 

Sewing the ears on proved to be rather tricky getting them to line up just right. I think they could be a little bigger but at the same time they cant be too big or they wont stand up and i ended up sewing them a little farther back then they are supposed to be. In the end it did work out because i sewed the bow on right into the center of the hat and did a little stitch on each side to hold the bow to the ears. Because the bow is right in the middle and the ears are attached to it, it helps them stay upright. 

This is going to go with Kendall's Halloween costume. She wanted to be Minnie Mouse and since its not exactly going to be warm out when we go trick-or-treating i thought this would be a nice way to keep her head warm but still tie into her costume. I am really excited to give it to her and let her wear it around. Kendall has a friend who is also obsessed with Minnie so i am going to make her one too. 

From what i am finding out the first time i make each hat is the hardest and the second one seems to turn out much better once i know what i do and don't like about the instructions on the pattern.

I am getting better at it. I have a few more I have a few more styles i want to practice. I did get my first "order" I am not making any money off of it but one of the guys at work gave me money for the materials and I am going to make matching camo beanies for his sons.

On a side note, day 1 back on the diet was pretty easy and i am feeling really confident about it. My Fitness Pal said i didn't eat enough so i am going to have to get some veggies to keep on hand to munch on. 

Back at it...again!

Whenever I have a day where I am feeling unmotivated and don't want to go to the gym i look at this picture and tell myself to quit making excuses and just go. 

Yet again getting back on the bandwagon! I have been seriously slacking in the gym and healthy eating department. After almost taking the whole summer off from healthy eating cause we were so busy is really making it hard to get back into it. I have started using My Fitness Pal again and am keeping track of everything i eat and all my exercise.

I still have 10 lbs to go to get to my goal and these are going to be the hardest 10 lbs to get rid of. I am giving myself until Thanksgiving to do it, which means i am seriously going to have to commit myself and not give in to the temptation of the pineapple cupcakes and Halloween candy someone brought into work today. I have come to the realization that if i don't set the goal then i wont be able to accomplish what i want.

This is the first time in quite a while where i will be able to go to the gym more then 2 or 3 days a week. I am going to try to go Mon-Thurs and then (hopefully) take the yoga class they offer on Saturday mornings.

I am determined to get to where i want to be and will work as hard as i have to, to get there. 

***As a side note, my hats are coming along good. I still need to practice some things more but i found a couple patterns that i really like and will be able to mold them into how i want them to look. More pics to come as soon as i get a few decent ones made up.

Happy Monday!

Holy Smokes it's working again

I bet you thought i dropped off the face of the earth. Well after weeks (probably more like months) my computer is working. Don't know why it decided to all of a sudden but it is. SOOOO much has been going on i don't know where to start.

We still don't have the house, thank you Govt shutdown (not really). I am hoping now that they are back open they will get their act together and sign off on the paperwork. Jason had to move out of his house and is currently living with a friend who had a couple extra bedrooms to spare. 

We had my sisters baby shower and it was fabulous. We surprised her with her best friend coming in from Texas to be there for it. 

Here is a little project i did for Kendall's bedroom. I desperately needed to get the changing table out of their since we didn't use it anymore other then for storage.

Before...

After

It turned out really well and i am proud of my self. I am going to put a little lamp on it and she has some books stored on it. The changing table still is in her room, mainly because i needed it to store pull ups on and her shoes are on it also. But we took the pad off of it and it looks more like a shelf now.

I am going to start a new project/hobby hopefully this weekend. I love to crochet. My Grandma taught me years ago and i have always kept up with it but never really learned a lot other then the basics. I just finished a blanket for Kendall but am now going to expand my knowledge and I would like to be able to make (and hopefully sell) the little animal beanies you see that are just so adorable. I have been making some hand warmers and leg warmers for my sister but so far all it has been is experimenting and i am hoping to get better at it. This weekend I am making the trek to Missoula to stock up on yarn and i am going to practice, practice, practice until i get it right.

That's  what is currently going on and now that blogspot is working for me again i am going to be a crazy posting person :) Happy Thursday Friends, it feels good to be back.

Oh you know, just another Monday

I wanted to share these pictures with you all. I am still having technical difficulties with the 'ol blog, but it is driving me crazy to not post.

Our friend Robyn needed a model to practice pictures with a new camera lens so I offered Kendall up and she was not very cooperative but Robyn still managed to get a bunch of great pics of her. 

The picture up top is from the newspaper talking about the daycare where Kendall goes. This is her second time being in the paper.