Fab Feb Facebook Craftalong Challenge

Hey friends!  Here is yet another crafty challenge ~ this time it's from my awesome sister!  The challenge is for the whole month of February.  She is challenging my mom and I (and anyone else who wants to join in) to make a new project for each week of February.  I know it's technically January, but I'm going to post my first week's project because I got them done today.  :0)  I made several fabric flowers pins / hair pretties.  My inspiration came from Niecy Nash of the awesome show Clean House on the Style Network.  :0)  I hope you like them!  If you want to participate in the Facebook Challenge, go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=277278654138&ref=mf and sign up.  It's open to the public!  Enjoy!

This is my favorite flower so far.  I love the lady bug on this button!  Would you believe these are actually large fabric brads from K&Company?  I found them the other day at our local Michaels store.  They had JUST gotten them in.  They are $4.99 for a pack of 12 and were in the stamping isle with all the other brads, jewels & flowers.  The fabric petals are from a "Charms" pack from JoAnn Fabrics.  (30 squares of fabric for $6.99.  Of course, I used my 40% off coupons to buy everything.)  :0)

My Pink Stamper Cold Day Challenge Number Three: make a tag

Robyn said she doesn't make too many tags ~ I concur!  I don't really either, but I loved participating in the challenges this week so I decided to tackle the tag challenge.  This tag was made out of paint sample cards from The Home Depot.  I heat embossed the heart stamp (from Stampin' Up) with silver detail embossing powder (also from SU).  My anniversary is this coming Friday and I just might attach this tag to a card for my husband.  It is pretty pink though....maybe I'll just hang it on my shelf.  :0)  I hope you like it!

My Pink Stamper Cold Day Challenge Number 2: make a spring time card

Okay, I made this card and then realized that it looks a LOT like the one I made for the first "cold day challenge"! So, I added in the owl card. To be honest, I don't love either one, but it's what I came up with. :0) Enjoy!

Homemade Bread Rocks!

Hi Everyone!  We are home from church today with some "yuckies" so I decided to boost my kid's immune system with a big dose of homemade wheat bread.  (Okay, so I don't know if it really helps their immune system, but it DOES make me feel like a good mom, so either way, I'm okay with it.)  :0)  I sure wish we had a "smell" option for internet applications because my house smells so stinkin' good!  Enjoy! 

Here's the recipe - slightly altered - originally from Robyn Cardon from My Pink Stamper.

3 1/2 cups very warm water

1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1 Tbsp. white sugar

Mix together in a large mixer and let sit for 8 minutes.

Add...

2 1/2 cups white bread flour

2 cups wheat flour

2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cups white sugar or honey

2 eggs

Mix well and then slowly add 5-6 cups of wheat flour until dough starts pulling away

from the sides of your mixing bowl; knead for 8 minutes.

While that's kneading, grease 3 large loaf pans with cooking spray & preheat your oven to 170 degrees.

Divide dough into three loaves and press down into pans.

Place pans in 170 degree oven for 10 minutes then turn the oven off.  Let sit in warm oven until doubled in size.  Then, turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes.

My Pink Stamper Cold Day Challenge: use black with your favorite color

Okay, so I have a new secret hobby. You all know that I like to do paper crafts, especially making cards & scrapbooking. Well, my new secret hobby is watching crafty You Tube videos.  My new "online" friend, The Pink Stamper, has issued a "cold day challenge" for this afternoon. I had a bit of time, so I came up with this card using black and my favorite color, of course...pink! :0) The butterfly is heat embossed with Stampin' Up embossing powder and the bling on his wings are rhinestones from Martha Stewart crafts. The patterned paper is from the Old World Stack that my 12 year old son, Jake, gave me for Christmas.  :0)  Enjoy!

Down SIX pounds!

Woo-hoo! After one week of eating less than 1200 calories, I am down SIX pounds! I am so happy and feel like I have finally found something that works! My daughter is also joining me on this weight loss journey! I'm not sure how much she has lost....I haven't pushed her to weigh, but I can tell in her face that she is losing too! Yeah!

I am pretty much combining a bunch of cool weight loss ideas into one plan. I LOVE the Weigh Down Workshop, which is a Bible based program in which you eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full. The Lord designed our bodies so perfectly and the program teaches you to only fill your body when you are actually hungry...not just "heart hungry". I love the idea of waiting until I've "got the growl" (as my good friend, Kristine, says) however, I have a hard time with emotional eating and a hard time with stopping when I'm full.

When I was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic over 16 years ago, I was put on a 2000 calorie diet. (I was six weeks pregnant at the time.) I was taught that every food had a caloric value and given a pocket chart to let me know how many calories to eat at every meal and snack. At first I lost weight. (I seem to do better when I'm told what to do....I don't think Aaron - my husband - would agree with that.) As my pregnancy progressed, of course, I gained weight. After my daughter was born, I was able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight fairly quickly. However, my pre-pregnancy weight was high (190). After four more children, I am still in the 190s and still wanting to lost weight.

I think the Lord showed me a great way to have fun and combine all of the weight loss success I've experienced into one. I don't have a name for my program yet, but I'm thinking I may name it the Dollar Diet. I don't really like the word "diet" because I think that diets don't work and to have true success, you need to change your lifestyle. Maybe I could call it a food budget. I need something catchy. Email me if you have any ideas!

For every calorie you need in a day, deal yourself play money. (We're using Pokemon Monopoly money.) As you eat throughout the day, you "pay" for your food choices and when your money is gone, you brush your teeth and stop eating for the day. (The "brush your teeth to determine you're done eating for the day" is from Dr. Phil's book.) In order to determine your caloric need, just do a Google search for a calorie calculator. Email if you need help!

That's all for now....my Bojangles biscuit just arrived via my awesome husband. Oh yeah....did I mention you can eat WHATEVER you want? You just have to pay for it! :0)

My New Best Friend (Non-living, that is)

Okay, so in my married life, I think Aaron and I have purchased over a dozen vacuums. Seriously....a dozen or more. It's crazy!! We have never spent more than $50 on one, but still....that's a lot of cash over a marriage of not quite 16 years!! Last fall....I think in September or October....we purchased yet another Bissel vacuum from Wal-Mart for $35. (It was during the "back to school" savings time.) I had a Bissel before and really liked it. It was a 'bagless' model and easy to use & keep clean. Well, until I creviced the front porch two weeks ago. {PLEASE tell me that I am not the only person who would crevis their front porch!!} Anyway, apparently $35 Bissel vacuums are not the best choice to use when vacuuming your front porch.....should you feel the need to vacuum your porch. (I just can't talk about that right now.)

In the meantime, we have had this big home improvement project going on that involves drywall and a LOT of dust. I know what you're thinking....if I can't handle dirt on my front porch, how can I handle all of the construction debris & dust? YES!! So, in order to clean the messes up while we work, I asked Aaron to bring in his 12 gallon Shop Vac for me to use. Since my vacuum wasn't working, I started using the shop vac to vacuum the whole house.

I have to interject something here: I have NO carpet. Seriously....no carpet in my home. I have all hardwood or laminate flooring in my home. (Would you believe I can't stand dirty carpet? I know...it's shocking!) Seeing how I have no carpet, all I ever do with my vacuum is crevis around the edges of rooms to get all of the massive amounts of dog hair that Angel leaves behind. So, the shop vac works great!

I jokingly said to Aaron, "Forget buying a new vacuum....I'll just get my own shop vac." He said, "That's a GREAT idea!!" So, off we went to the stores to price out a smaller version. After checking prices at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart and Target, we decided to go with the 5 horse power, 2 gallon Rigid brand vet / dry vac. She has swivel wheels and a 20 foot cord. She also has a ton of optional attachments....even mini attachments that will crevis vacuum my baby grand piano. (Oh, my heart just fluttered again!)

Needless to say, I have a new, non-living best friend. Her name is Gidget and she follows me all around the house, asking, "What can I do for you now?" I have vacuumed under all of our appliances, vacuumed out all of our kitchen cabinets & drawers, the furnace filter, you name it and it's been vacuumed! :0)

You can say it.....I really suck! Ba-doom-ching!