the 17 day diet

Have you heard about the 17 day diet? I have been on it since Monday and lost 2 pounds already. It is basically a low carb diet where you drink green tea at each meal- have no fruit after 2pm, make sure to have yogurt daily...eat lots and lots of lean protein and lots of veggies. Each 17 day cycle is a little different (there are 4 cycles) and I think that you can add foods back in each cycle.


I love it when I am on a program- it makes it easier to diet- just follow the rules. No calorie counting, no guessing about what I am going to eat. Oh! And you start the day with a glass of warm water and the juice of one lemon.


Green tea is my friend...with truvia (made from stevia) instead of sugar. Salad is my friend....I have not been hungry on this diet. I think I can last all 17 days...((I think I can, I think I can)) it has helped that I lost a pound right off the first day.


The fried turkey patties are my "treat" :)


Oh yeah- this was a good one....chicken, lettuce, olive oil, lemon juice, pepper...and just for fun- carrot sticks!!! Do you think I'm crazy?


And for dessert- BROCCOLI DELIGHT!

It is all for you, Darlin'....all for you :)

(thank you to my mom for starting me down this way of thinking and then my friend who sent me the 17 day info and my walking partner who has lost 17 pounds on a low carb diet...I would also like to thank my sponsor...Lipton Green Tea........:)

surprise window makeover day!

#1 this is how things looked this morning. The little one has a cold and therefore keeps her kleenex and trashcan close by. I've been on a quest to get rid of these mini blinds. They are so dusty and I just want to get rid of them and have a new solution.


#2 today was just my limit- I tore those puppies off along with the window mis-treatments that have been there for 4 and a half years.


#3 paint! If in doubt- paint! It is almost always the cheapest and most colorful solution.


#4 now we are getting somewhere! (hard to get a picture- but the paint looks better in person- better from the outside and better when it gets dark outside)


#5 add a cafe rod and clip up some fabric to figure out what to do....This is too much with the top patterns going on...hmmmm..


#6- white is definitely a possibility- but it is not quite enough....


#7 yes! Just enough, but not too much! I sewed a little patchwork onto the white. Also at this point added more pattern to the painting and switched to the green lamp.

We can keep the curtain closed- or...


#8- open!


This process started a crazy switch and change of every piece of art in the living room and the chalkboard is now over here with a Helen Keller quote.


I'm happy :) ((don't you dare even look too closely at those patchworks! I meant to sew them crooked!!)) Now gearing up to do the other window..............

all I have to do is:

take down the window treatments
take down the blinds
trash them
clean the window
paint the window
put up the cafe rod
cut the fabric for the curtain
sew the patchwork pieces to the white fabric
clip up the new curtain
take photos (especially the outside view!)
blog about it :)

.............if I can just get up off the couch right now...................

inspiring, gorgeous, adorable, and cute

Meg is selling these prints in her shop. LOVE this verse. NEED this reminder daily...no hourly.


Shannon Berrey drew this with sharpies and painted the birds, all inspired by wallpaper. Totally looks like wallpaper- I am doing this somewhere in my house soon.

Chrissie Grace made these adorable checkbook covers- but hey, wouldn't they be great Dave Ramsey envelope system holders?!

My girl has been busy too. This is entitled: Flower and Scotch Tape on Lined Paper with Border and Glue.

.........................................................................
:::Questions:::
Some of you leave questions in the comments and I feel so bad that I don't usually answer right away. I feel like if I leave an answer in the comment section that it is iffy that you would come back and read it...so I try and remember the question and answer it in a post....but I sometimes forget! Could you do me a big favor and leave a comment on this post with your question? About felt, about paint colors, about anything! And I will be sure and write a post with the answers. Thanks!

we're back!

Oh my goodness, we had a great time. Take:
The beach
The girls
The food
The time in The Word
The movies
The games
The thrift shopping
...and you have a perfect getaway.


It was so relaxing. Thank You, God! Thank you for the beach! For your beautiful creation. Thank You for the shells I collected. Thank You for those free souvenirs :) Thank You for sisters in You! Thank You for so many good cooks in our church :) :) Thank You for the many reminders of Your Love for us! For sending us Your Son. Thank You for the reminder to live every single day in the light of the cross. Please help me to keep the passion we caught this past weekend. To not get complacent and uncaring and forgetful of Your grace and forgiveness and unconditional love.
Amen.

hello + goodbye

I'm leaving and going here again. Wish you all could come with me!

Dave and the kids are all set. I figured they would sneak out and buy sugar cereal and frozen pizza- so I went ahead and bought them the junk ahead of time- that will save them some time so they can stay home and clean the house :) :)

Have a good weekend. I will miss you and I will miss my Sweetie and my babies and my dog- but I can't wait for this........................................................................
!!!!!!

thrift store fashion

I have been on the lookout for 2 things: dresses in funky patterns to wear over pants, and a jean skirt to wear with boots. And I found them both at goodwill this week! Here: the dress is Old Navy, the cardigan I actually did get at Old Navy on clearance and the pants are Gap from goodwill for 3.49.
The necklace is from Forever 21- super cheap- and is turning my neck green....


Howdy Jean Skirt! Yay! The skirt is z.cavaricci for 3.49 at goodwill. The shirt was from goodwill also and I am trying to figure out if it is supposed to be a pajama shirt.
(what? Oh, I'm just swinging my lasso)

Here is the, "do these stripes make me look fat?" photo. Shirt is Old Navy found at goodwill.

I am linking to the Pleated Poppy.


Answer to yesterday's post - Vault is Dave's new addiction. Sort of like Mountain Dew but with more caffeine.

the diet

You may know from reading this blog, and you definitely know if you know me in real life, that I have been trying to lose 5 pounds forever! At least for a year and a half. At first I had about 8 pounds to lose and then I lost 3, gained 3, lost 3, gained 3....etc.

I just really want to get back to the weight I was before I had our last baby (yes, you heard that right, mom- our last and final :)

I know I am probably being self centered and proud- wanting to look good....but what if I say I just want to be back to how I was for my husband? I know it should be enough to just be healthy- but I think everyone wants to be back to how they used to be...or is it just me?

I have been nagging Dave about a certain soft drink that he has a slight addiction to- (not Diet Coke, that was so 2010. The drink rhymes with salt and is a neon yellow color...). Since I am always trying to make deals and have contests with him about who can lose the most weight, etc., he made a deal....

The deal is that if I lose the 5 pounds (and get to a certain weight) he will quit drinking ____! I think he is hoping I will do it so that I will quit moaning about those pesky 5 pounds and whining about my many diets!!

In the past, I have been on the yogurt diet, the soup diet, Weight Watchers, counting calories, etc, etc......and now I am on the Save My Husband Diet.

And that is why I posted the photo of the cake balls we ate at Starbucks today (see what I am working with here?!? Why would someone go to Starbucks for cake balls when they are supposedly on a diet!?!)


We also went to the library.....



And the park.

Now I am getting on the treadmill and eating cabbage.

How was your day?

happiness on a monday?!?

happiness is flowers in plastic cups on the counter....


Happiness is the change we collected in our Junior Church class yesterday to help the people of Japan. (sadness is seeing the news and all they have lost)


happiness is playing outside in short sleeves.


happiness is sidewalk chalk.


happiness is seeing the kids have fun in the fresh air.
((sadness is looking at this picture and knowing we will have to cut down the trees closest to the house otherwise the roots are going to move in with us :((


happiness is the $8 polka dot rug from Wal-Mart! ((that has already been pottied on and washed :))

We have so much to be thankful for today. So much....then why am I so short and grumpy with the kids?! I do not know...

The only solution I can think of is to think of how much I have to be thankful for....think about how my Monday would be paradise for someone from Japan or Haiti- or any number of places around the world.......to do something nice for those rascally kids....to pray for them....to think of how much I have to be thankful for in the Lord....to eat some more chocolate....

Happiness

–noun

1. the quality or state of being happy.

2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Having contentment and joy is not about what is going on around us- but what is going on within us. And the only way to have true joy is to know God. Do you know Him? Do you know His amazing plan for you? Do you know about His gift? Are you confident that you know what will happen to you after this life?

After reading what I just wrote- how in the world can I complain about anything? Because I do know!

if you are on a diet, read no more

Who knew symphony bars with almonds and toffee were so good?!? Why didn't you tell me?!


I saw the recipe here (figures it would be Paula).


You just make brownie batter like normal, pour in half the batter, lay some symphony bars on top, cover that with the rest of the brownie batter, bake.............


And you have the most delicious brownie ever....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Hope your weekend is one giant symphony bar- with lots of toffee and not too many nuts :) :)

green!