Fabulously Domestic: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Slim Me Down - Week 4

Wow, Week 4 already! I honestly can't believe I'm still doing pretty good at this! I have good days and not so good days on the diet. I have a set calorie goal each day (set for me by MyFitnessPal) of 1590 calories. I don't usually go too far over that on my bad days, but the quality of food is BAD. I can always tell if I've had too much sodium, especially the next day on the scale!

Right now I'm working on getting rid of the processed foods - more whole foods every single day. I try to do that, anyway because I don't want to feed that stuff to my kids, but we do have our weaknesses around here! Chips, especially.

I also need to up my water intake drastically! I realized that all I've been drinking AT ALL is coffee. That cannot be good for my body! Especially on those days where I splurge on a little junk food - I need to flush it out with water! So today I'm tracking water intake on my phone along with all my food.

Later today (after LOTS of sewing!), I'll post a few healthier versions of our favorite foods - just in time for our Super Bowl Party this weekend!

So here are my stats:

Starting Weight: 174.6

Week 3: 167.6

Week 4: 165.6

Gain/Loss for week: 2

Total Gain/Loss: -9

Total Goal: 30 lb lost by July

Also linking up here today:

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Great Giveaway at Design Dazzle

It's the last day to enter Design Dazzles' Silhouette Giveaway!!!! This is a $400 value, folks! Head over and enter to win...Now!!!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Slim Me Down - Week 3

Part of the Slim Me Down Challenge - for me at least - is being totally honest with myself. Being honest about my lack of movement, my bad eating habits and my horrible self-control. So lets be honest: I did bad this week. I mean, BAD. I ate an entire box of Hot & Spicy Cheez-its. Yep, by myself. In two sittings. Over this weekend, I ate 8 pieces of pizza. With garlic butter sauce. I also had a bacon cheeseburger on Friday. And fries. And pop. I can make excuses - Friday was a rough, busy day. I didn't "have time" to make dinner. Saturday was my son's birthday party and I needed to eat with him and the rest of the kids.

Umm, no! I'm in control! I can make better decisions! I can eat healthy 90% of the time and give in to temptation 10% - which is a far cry from what I actually did this week!

The bad part - the part that makes me the most angry at myself - I was down another 2 lb on Wednesday. I was down to 165 pounds! But, because of my bad choices, I'm right back up to where I was on Monday.

Today is a new day. This is a new week. I'm done giving in to every temptation! I don't think complete deprivation does anyone good, so I'll have things I like. But it will be balanced with healthy choices every single day.

I hope you guys all did better than I did. But if you didn't, don't give up! Get mad, get motivated, and get moving! This is a new week - we'll have a big loss to show next Monday!

So here are my stats:

Starting Weight: 174.6

Week 2: 167.6

Week 3: 167.6

Gain/Loss for week: 0

Total Gain/Loss: -7

Total Goal: 30 lb lost by July

Today is a new day. This is a new week. I'm done giving in to every temptation! I don't think complete deprivation does anyone good, so I'll have things I like. But it will be balanced with healthy choices every single day.

I hope you guys all did better than I did. But if you didn't, don't give up! Get mad, get motivated, and get moving! This is a new week - we'll have a big loss to show next Monday!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Self Portrait - UGH

This is apparently the year I totally step out of my comfort zone!

I've posted my REAL, honest to goodness weight for all the world to see online - only in hopes of holding myself accountable.

I've posted pictures of my messy house for complete strangers to gawk at - so I wouldn't feel guilty for gawking at other people's messes.

And now...Well, now I've decided to link up with Little Miss Mama and her

I {HEART} YOUR FACES {LINK PARTY}. I must be trying to punish myself!

I HATE pictures of myself. Hate. Hate. Hate.

Little Miss Mama actually posted a tutorial on how to take a good self portrait. This girl is BEAUTIFUL!!! And takes amazing pictures of herself. I do not. Even after trying to follow her directions, mine aren't good. But, they'll get better over time. I figure I'll never like pictures of myself if I'm never on *this* side of the camera. Right? So here are my pics - from "I'm serious about this" to "Crazy lady, watch out!"

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

New Sponsor Spotlight & Giveaway!

I am so excited to tell you all about our new sponsor,

Izzy B Creations!

My friend Elizabeth started Izzy B Creations as a way to tap into her creative side while giving others SUPER cute clothing and accessories! She specializes in pillow case dresses, adorable embellished flip flops, appliqued t-shirts and hairbows! Elizabeth is an amazing woman with two adorable daughters who are her inspiration! She has an etsy shop featuring a few of her items, but if you want something a little different, definitely convo with her - she's very accommodating! Any item she sells is customizable with a large variety of fabrics and embellishments. You will be extremely pleased with your order!

Izzy B Creations has graciously offered to do a fantastic giveaway for the readers of Fabulously Domestic! The prize is an appliqued t-shirt of your choice. Elizabeth will work with you on the design, t-shirt color, applique material - everything! This will be a total custom t-shirt!

Our winner has been chosen!

Congrats to Bree! I've emailed you about your prize - I know whatever you guys come up with will be cute!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Slim Me Down - Week 2

This week has been crazy! I did well with tracking my food almost every day (I did slack over the weekend). I didn't get up and work out as much as I hoped, but it was better than nothing. I weigh pretty much every day. I know some experts say it's a good idea, while others tell you to do it once a week. I feel like if I get on the scale and it's a pound higher than the day before, then I can really focus that day to do better. I need to nip problem eating in the bud! The first thing on my mind when I woke up this morning was this challenge. Funny, huh? I was so excited to see everyone's progress - I really hope there are a lot of people that link up this week!!

So this is the crazy part:

Starting Weight: 174.6

Week 2: 167.6

Gain/Loss: -7

Total Goal: 30 lb lost by July

Umm, 7lb lost in one week?! CrAzY!!! I'm guessing I must have been eating just plain junk before I started tracking my food!!! I know you can't really lose that much "real" weight in a week. It's just water weight, but I'll take it! I'm just so shocked to see that kind of drop so quickly!

This week my goal is to lose one pound. I want to continue tracking my food, but I also want to focus on eating the right balance of carbs, fruits, veggies and protein. I need to figure out a good routine, too so I can add in more exercise.

Sooooo.... How did YOU do this week?!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Mmmmm Chocolate

Ok, so I just posted on Monday about really trying to lose some weight. And I've actually been doing good! You know the first week of eating right and exercising how you lose a lot of "water weight?" Well, it motivates me like crazy! I'm one of those people that needs some instant gratification, I guess. I've been logging onto MyFitnessPal - either online or on my phone at least a few times a day to log my activities and meals, which keeps me accountable. I've been eating much better because I don't want to have to type in "Snickers" or "pizza" and see the calories. BUT, it has not helped with cravings. Strong cravings. For chocolate.

So yesterday I did a search for Chocolate Meringue Cookies. I've had them before, and new they were low-cal. Well, this is the recipe I found on LaaLoosh:

photo credit: a cozy kitchen

Chocolate Meringue Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:
- 5 large egg white
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 225°F. Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Combine 1 egg white, 1/4 cup of cocoa, 2 tablespoons of sugar and both flavors of extract in a large bowl. Beat the remaining 4 egg whites and salt with an electric mixer just until soft peaks form; add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating, until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in three batches. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture and pipe out the cookies onto the cookie sheets. Each cookie should be about 1-inch wide. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes until a dried texture. Let cool completely on wire racks before removing from parchment paper.
Entire recipe makes 10 servings (about 20 cookies)
Serving size is 2 cookies
Each serving = 1 Point Total

I made mine a bit smaller than the recipe said, so I ended up with 90 bite-sized cookies. That makes them less than 6 calories each. AMAZING! These are so chocolatey that they actually DO take care of my craving and I don't have to feel guilty. Besides the baking time, they were super fast and easy to whip up. That means they'll likely be making a few repeat appearances!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Slim Me Down - Week 1

I've decided that since one of my goals (that repeats every stinking year) is to lose weight and get in shape, I might as well join a friend in her weekly weight loss challenge.

Jennifer over at Life With The Lebedas and Emmi from Mommy's Free Time have started the Slim Me Down Weekly Weight Loss Challenge. It's intended to hold people accountable, and I'm sure so we can all encourage each other.

I was so inspired when I saw Jenn post her weight this morning. And you know what? You'd NEVER think she's telling the truth - Jennifer is super cute and I don't know where she hides those pounds. But she made me think - I'm sure I'll be more likely do do something about my weight if I tell the world, too!

So here she is, in all her glory: 174.2. Holy Heavens. UGH! I'm up and down, up and down, but never very far down. My total weight loss goal is somewhere around 30 lb. I'll see how I look/feel when I get close to that point. And I'd like to lose around a pound a week, but will count anything more than that a blessing! My plan of action is to get moving!!! I'll post more on that each week. I'll start with three days a week and go from there. Also, I'm tracking my food and exercise and goals through the iPhone App, My Fitness Pal. If you get the app (or use the online version), feel free to add me - my name is brobro13. It's totally free, and it's a GREAT tool. You get a news feed, kind of like facebook where you can encourage your friends!

Ok, so that's it - my starting weight, goals and tools to get there. What are you doing?!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Cute Little Clips

Most of you that are on Facebook have probably seen the status update going around where someone promises to send the first five commenters a handmade gift as long as they promise to pay it forward. Well, I'm a sucker for getting gifts, especially anything handmade!!! I ended up commenting on three friend's statuses, so I think that means I owe 15 people a prize, right? YIKES! Of course there were several requests for aprons, but it would be nearly impossible for me to turn out 15 aprons and not go broke. lol I may surprise a person or two, though. Instead, I thought I'd do something on a smaller scale, but still cute!

Rolled Fabric Flower Clips

There are several ways to make rolled fabric flowers - I've seen a few great tutorials online. For me, the easiest way is to start a little cut in fabric and tear it straight down - I like my strips to be about an inch wide. Then I knot one end (this will be the center of the flower), twist the fabric, roll it and hot glue it. Twist, roll, glue, twist, roll, glue. Repeat until you have burns on all your fingers or the flower is the size you want. For these little clips, I like them to be about an inch or so in diameter.

I used 1 inch alligator clips this time and covered them in grosgrain ribbon. Glue a piece of felt the size of the bottom of your flower to the inside of the clip and then glue the flower on top. There ya go, a cute little flower clip! I like to wear these in my hair - to embellish a pony tail or to hold my bangs to the side or clipped onto a plain headband. You could also use it as a super cute clip to hold a variety of things!

I am loving the rolled fabric flowers in general - I've added them to headbands, rings, bracelets, clothing, aprons, even key chains. Look for some new items soon in my etsy shop!

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Year, New Goals

If you asked me last week, I would have said that I'm NOT allowing 2011 to even happen. I wanted to stay in complete denial about my big birthday that'll happen in a few months (30 yrs!). I wanted to keep my boys at the ages they are now, and I just generally wanted to keep things the way they were. Heck, I was even going to leave up all of our Christmas decor! Well, of course that can't happen.

I'm still not ready for my birthday - how is it that in a matter of months I have gotten more gray hair than my mother, I now have crows feet AND my skin is trying to torture me with not only sun damage spots, but horrible red dry patches?! WHAT?! Time for a good skin regime and hair dye for sure!

I'm also not liking that my babies are growing up. I had the chance to babysit a one year old last week. At nap time he put his soft, chubby little cheek against mine and I melted. I really want another baby, but I'm thinking it would take a small miracle to convince the hubs.

One thing I do want to embrace is that I've somehow managed to start making my own money. No, not a ton, but every bit helps, right? My husband has a lofty goal of retiring from his career before the boys graduate from high school. We are hoping that eventually, my own business can help with that goal. So I think this is the perfect time to set some goals, focus on my business, and really start working!

I have a tiny little etsy shop called Fabulously Domestic. I have a few aprons and baby gifts on there right now. I have several ideas for things I want to add - hopefully this week! My goals for this side of my business are 1) Set aside time to sew and create items 4 days a week to build up my in-stock items. 2) Advertise on blogs and sites I love. 3) Beg a friend to model my aprons for pictures. 4) Learn how to utilize my camera's features for BETTER pictures. 5) Take sewing classes - I'm totally self-taught and I know there is a lot I need to learn! 6) Quit neglecting this blog!!! I have two blogs - this one and For The Luv Of Boys. My other has actually started to grow pretty quickly and has a decent following. Now I need to nurture this one! That will mean setting aside some time every day to focus on my content!

I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for my family! I hope you all have a Fabulous 2011!

Ambrosia