90 day challenge update 8/30

I realized due to vacation and other things I haven't posted an update for a couple weeks!

(If you haven't read my first post about starting a 90 day health challenge, you can read about it here )

Things are still going very well. I haven't lost any more weight, but I feel good about where I'm at and I can tell I'm really toning up. Especially in my stomach, which is where I really wanted to target after having a baby. :)

I'm feeling a lot better about how I look in my clothes and I've started wearing belts at my waist again. I'm back in all my old clothes, some that I didn't even fit in before I had C!. That's a great feeling. I've gone down a size since I started my challenge.

Here's to another great week!

Bridal shower

One of my cousins is getting married next week. He and I have always been really close. For awhile when we were growing up he told me we were going to get married, but I told him that that's not done. When he hit the ripe old age of 10 he decided he wasn't going to get married at all and for that matter didn't really like girls..... So, yeah.

My mom and aunt hosted a shower for my cousin's fiancee a recently and it was lovely. We had the shower at my parents church, a cute little  country church that's over 100 years old!

The whole shower was very sweet, simple and county-ish. It was lovely. Here are a few photos;

 The food table. These are my favorite types of shower foods. Fruits, veggies, and a few sweets.

Flowers from my mom's flower gardens. (I plan on doing a blog post with some pictures of my mom's lovely gardens soon.)

 Chocolate revel bars.

The hostesses.

One of the games was a competition between 2 teams to see who could create a better dress. The one on the left was voted the winner. (That darling young lady is also my cousin's fiancee.)

C. even got to go, but I didn't take any pictures of him because I was chasing him all over and trying to keep him out of people's food.

Birthday Recap

I had a birthday yesterday and it was lovely. I mentioned to Hubby that it would be great if he got up with C (who usually gets up around 6) and feed him his breakfast. My sweet husband did this and also unloaded the dishwasher and made me breakfast.

Birthday flowers

I decided to get perfume for my birthday. 

It's one of those things that makes me feel pretty and feminine and I haven't had any for awhile.

 

It even came in a cute pink box. I love the scent!

Hubby took me to a Greek restaurant for dinner and it was so fun! We got to sit on a patio and since we came a little early for dinner we had it all to ourselves.

 

Here's a few shots of the Greek food we ate. (So yummy!)

 Flaming cheese appetizer. (they actually light it on fire!)

 Hubby got this Gyro meat platter.

 I got this sampler that had several different Greek specialties. One of them is called Dolmathes. (Rice and hamburger wrapped in a grape leaf and cooked.)

It was a fun memory because I grew up next to a Greek Orthodox couple and I remember seeing her out in the ditches hunting for the perfect size grape leaves. We had a vine in our yard too and sometimes she would come over and pick leaves, showing us which ones were the right size. Aparently, the woman who makes these has been making them at this restaurant for 20 years. Sheesh!

 Tiramisu. The last time I had this was in Italy, and although this was good it really didn't compare. :)

Baklava. When our waiter found out it was my birthday he said that I would get a free piece of baklava on the house. He also told me he picked the largest piece in the pan. It was scrumptious!

It was a fabulous birthday! My hubby is really sweet about doing it up on my birthdays and makes me feel like a princess. :)

Freezing Sweet Corn

Since we live in the heart of the mid west this is the season of sweet corn. We have some friends that have a large garden and they had an over abundance of sweet corn. They asked if we wanted any, and of course we said, "Yes!"

The only problem was we had nearly 2 bushels of corn (nearly 150 ears) and Hubby was working. I was going to have to tackle it by myself. Not a problem, except for the fact that I have a very active almost 1 year old who loves to be under foot in the kitchen.

My solution: a barricade

 This worked well for a little while, but then C. realized he could push the chairs.

Take two. Doubling up.

I don't know how he did it, but he still got through!

Thinking face. How can I get through here?.....

Finally resigned to his fate and decided to play with his fire truck.

I shucked the corn and then boiled it for 5 minutes.

Cut off the corn and measure it in to freezer ziplocs.

The finished product!

Super easy and it will be fun to pull out come winter!

Summer Vacation!

You may have noticed things have been a little quiet around here.... That's because we took a 5 day vacation up to a lake in MN. We had a great time! My grandpa and his 9 (!) siblings own a small lake resort that my family has gone to every year since I can remember.

It's so neat because I get to see my great aunts and uncles and second cousins every year and have been able to maintain those relationships. Lot's of work to do to get caught up now that we're home (I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel with laundry!), but it was definitely fun to get away.

Here are a few snap shots from our time:

 Eating leaves. Almost C's favorite thing at the lake.

 Water swing. C's favorite thing at the lake.

 Cute town where we did some shopping.

 Playing at the beach.

 As Hubby says, "He doesn't miss many meals."

 Milk break with Dad.

 

 Boat ride

 Being ornery.

                                                  A few of the family as we were leaving.

Have a great week!

handmade invitations

C's first birthday is in a couple weeks. We are just inviting our immediate family and doing something simple at home. I thought it would be fun to hand make the invitations since I'm not making that many. I wanted something simple and I knew I wanted a fun ribbon at the top.

I went shopping at Michael's and found a lovely yellow one with a white stitched edging. They also had plain notecards in several fun colors. I chose an apple green.

The first thing I did was punch holes in the top for the ribbon. The only punch I had was this diamond one, so I just did several. I wanted the opening for the ribbon to be large so you could see the design.

Next I threaded the ribbon through the holes.

 I looped one of the ends back up through the holes to the front.

 This is a back view. Then I brought the other end back through to the front.

 This is how the back should look.

Here's the front.

Trim the ends in a 'v' and that part is finished!

I also found some cute acrylic block stamps in the dollar section at Michael's. They are the coolest! You can peel and stick the design onto the block. It's so much less to store than traditional rubber stamps.

I found one that says "It's a party!" and also a cute little elephant. C's room is a jungle theme so the elephant caught my eye right away.

 

And here's the finished product!

Jewelry Giveaway @ The Domestic Fashionista!

Ashley over at The Domestic Fashionista is doing a  giveaway for a pair of earrings from my Etsy shop. Head on over to get entered in the drawing!

Giveaway 

Be sure to check out some of her other posts! I recently discovered her blog and love following her life. She's a great writer and I just love her sense of style in how she decorates and dresses.

What was I doing....?

Today was one of those days. You know, when you start something only to get sidetracked by something else and then get distracted by yet something else.

All I was trying to do was wipe the counter top on our pennisula in our kitchen.

It started at 7 this morning. I spilled milk on it. I wanted to clean it up with the wash cloth, but at the same time C got baby food spilled all over his high chair, so I used the wash cloth on that. I decided it was now too dirty to use on the counter so I set it aside to wash and went to get a clean one.

Then the tea kettle started whistling. I needed to heat C's bottle. Then of course, I needed to feed him. And change his diaper. And put on a clean shirt. And brush my teeth. 1 hour later....

Back in the kitchen, I realize after I open the drawer that I don't have any more clean dish rags. I start back to get the hamper from the bed room to do laundry. I decide to grab a couple things that need to go to C's room on the way. C follows me and gets my curling iron out. I take it away and smell he has a dirty diaper. After I change it I realize it's time for him to eat.

While he's munching some cheerios I hop online to check my email. I remember I need to send a couple emails.I send one to a relative which reminds me I need to call my mom to find out what I need to bring for food for my cousins wedding shower on Saturday.

After I write down what I need to get at the store I see mail that needs sorting through.

This reminds me I should get today's mail.

Then I remember it's trash day tomorrow, so I empty all the trash and clean out the fridge......

Lunch time.
I notice the dirty counter and remember I need to start laundry so I have a clean wash cloth. I actually accomplish this. After cleaning up dishes and food from lunch I run the vacuum after C tries to eat large pieces of grass that got tracked in the night before. In the meantime he find the power cord to the lap top and is chewing it contentedly. I take him in to the living room to distract him with his toys.

Dinner.
Again notice the dirty counter, but the clothes are still wet in the washer. I throw everything into the dryer. I remember I need to take things back to the library. After I get back, C needs to eat again (Yes, he does that a lot) after he's finished and playing I actually take the clean and dry wash rag out of the dryer and wipe the counter.

It is now 8pm.

This is the story of my life.

Does this ever happen to you? (Please say yes.)


This is my messy kitchen, pre-counter wiping. (Before)

  

And after. Ahhhhh....

Would you just look at that sparkly clean counter???

(Yes, I know there are dishes in the strainer.Don't expect miracles.)

Body by Vi 90 day challenge update 8/8

This week was very encouraging! I can really tell my clothes are fitting better and I've even pulled out a few things that were snug before I got pregnant and they fit again! Yay!

I'm down another pound this week. Just one more to lose and I'll be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I have lost a total of an inch around my waist now. I think I'll probably see more toning rather than the pounds coming off from here on out, since I'm almost to my goal weight.

I think one of the things I love the most about the challenge is that you don't have to stop eating certain foods or starve yourself. I do the shake for breakfast and a light snack mid morning (If I wasn't still breastfeeding, I wouldn't do the snack, but right now I get a little hungry.) and then I basically just eat normally the rest of the day. I have done diets in the past where all you can really eat is salad, fruit, and seeds. Fun.

This, on the other hand, fits well into my lifestyle and doesn't require drastic changes. I still get to go out to eat and eat foods I love, but I'm seeing great results! And the best part if that it's free (If you have 3 friends doing the same kit as you, yours is free.) so it's not costing me anything and I'm saving on my grocery bill by not having to buy breakfast groceries.

C is 11 months!

This month has been full of new things! The biggest news is that C is now walking! It's just a few steps on his own, but I bet that soon he'll be running! :)

He is learning that certain words mean things and will clap when I say "Yay!" or "clap, clap." He also knows to wave goodbye when the Hubs leaves for work. Adorable.

Eating solid foods has really taken off. C loves eating things off our plates and is game for about anything. A couple big highlights this month were sorbet and potato.

C is becoming much more exploratory. He loves to head down the hallway towards the bedrooms and bathroom. I've caught him with the toilet bowl brush, cleaner bottles from under the sink, my curling iron, (pulled out of a drawer) and my cell phone charger, to name a few.

I've found myself saying things like:
"Let's not eat dirt from Mommy's plants."
"Let's not eat Mommy's plants."
"The baby gate is not a climbing wall. Neither is your (rolling) high chair."
"Lazy susan's are a no-no."

Hubby watched C for me earlier in the week so I could run errands for a few hours. ( Sweet man!) When I got back home he was like, " I could hardly get anything done! He just got into one thing after another!"

He's been working on some molars which has caused some grumpy days and interrupted nights, but most of the time he's a happy, smiley boy!

Here's a few pictures I snapped recently:

   Snuggles with Tigger!

 

It didn't take long for this.....

 

To turn into this:

All boy, this one!

Feeling creative

A couple days ago I got the bug. The creative bug. So much for housework and laundry, I decided to bead.

Usually my creativity comes in streaks so I just go with it when it comes. I think I made 20 pairs of earrings in one day. One day's worth of nap times, mind you. :)

Here's a sampling of what I was working on:

I'd love your feedback!

What pair (pairs) are you favorite??