6 months of WW

It's officially been 6 months since I began my Weight Watchers Adventure...and what an adventure it has been! My grand total loss in this 6 month time frame is 41.4 pounds! What an accomplishment!!

Everyday hasn't been easy- but I'm so proud of what I've accomplished with dedication, commitment and a few moments of indulging :) I feel healthier and happier.

I've noticed that...

• I don't get as tired as I did once before.
• my collarbone is now noticeable
• I'm more flexible
• although I still struggle to find tall boots to fit over my calves, my calves have gotten a bit smaller!
• my face has slimmed down
• I've dropped 3 pants sizes
• people who haven't seen me in awhile do a double take
• jewelry now hangs differently
• I own way too many clothes! Although I'm trying to combat this by getting rid of the stuff that doesn't fit me anymore
• I sit with my legs crossed WAY more often than before (much more comfortable now- duh!)
• I am able to find clothes at stores much easier
• I'M HAPPY BEING ME!

I'm sure there are many more things I haven't mentioned, but you get the idea. So next 6 months- 41.4 more pounds? haha, I think not...but I am working still to loose more. Wish me luck!

I'm alive

I know I've been absent from my blog for a few days. Trust me, I'm alive, and well, and busy!

I hung out with some awesome girls last Friday. We enjoyed dinner, games, nail painting, a movie, and TONS of laughs! We got a ton of snow on Friday too. Look at my accomplished 45 min job of clearing the driveway for my guests! I got my workout! :)

But boy was I exhausted! Can you tell?

Following an awesome Friday evening Kim, Kristyn, Lora and I went to Jumpin Jupiter for Zumba class. It was a great class and a great workout!

Sunday we celebrated with a Birthday party for my dad! Happy 70th Dad!

It was great to spend time with family!

I'm looking forward to this busy weekend too! :)

Have a great Wednesday everyone!





Bits and Pieces

I admit that I didn't do the best at capturing Bits and Pieces from the week. West Michigan got hit pretty hard with snow this week- I was doing my best trying to stay warm, keep my car on the road and my driveway clear! I did manage to include a few...



New highlights! :) It's always great when you feel good about your hair! Love Amber at Focus Salon- you should check her out. You won't be disappointed!

Brent and I met the the pastor for our wedding last night. It was great to discuss happenings for the Big Day! This is a list of potential scripture readings and what version of wedding vows we want to use.

This is my cricut for scrapbooking...as most of you know I love to scrapbook. Camp Newaygo is having an event this weekend and they asked if I could cut some shapes out for them. I brought it to work today to do so. Can't complain- got to use my fun cricut on the clock! :)

Happy Friday everyone! Stay warm!

As always I'm linking up with Erica at Style of a Songbird- check her blog out!

Wedding- I did!

When  you think of weddings you think of "I do"; this is very true.

Today I'm using I did as the phrase! Not because I did already get married (no way!)- it's because I've done a ton off the wedding checklist! I wanted to share with my lovely readers what has been happening. Since I had the day off of work on Friday for MLK day (we work/serve on the actual holiday) I was able to get a ton accomplished!

First I met with Deb at LeFleur to go over all the details and specifics for my wedding flowers. She is so great and helpful. Some of the flowers we picked she didn't have on hand- but I can't wait to see when she gets them in!

After debating if we wanted a wedding videographer or not; we finally committed and I booked one for our Big Day! His work is amazing and I think the day will be captured even better with this detail!

Next I reserved a block of rooms at the Muskegon Fairfield Inn for all our wedding guests.

I attempted to find a place to have the rehearsal dinner. I have a few leads-but this has proved to be difficult! If anyone knows a place in the Muskegon area that will host a dinner for 35-40 people on a Friday night, that would be great.

Saturday three of the girls in the wedding party and myself traveled to Grand Rapids in search of the bridesmaid dress. Happily we had success and purchased the dresses! I even relayed the information to Sara in Indiana and she visited her local Alfred Angelo store and ordered hers on Sunday! Here are the three of them in the dress. This is the style, but not the color. Feel free to view the color here.

Last, and not least, Brent and I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to create our wedding registry. We spent a few hours there and then called it a night! We plan on going back tonight to revise a few things and finish a few areas that we didn't get covered.

All in all it was a busy wedding weekend! Onto other fun wedding stuff now! :)

Bits and Pieces

Friday usually marks my Bits and Pieces blog post. This weekend was so crazy busy, that I never had time to write, and post my bits and pieces from last week! So I'm doing so now. Better late than never; right?!?

Monday night's sky was so beautiful- I had to take some pictures. This is my favorite! I love sunsets!

Tuesday night was a pj's and slipper kind of night. I still managed to get some things accomplished around the house- comfort style!

A huge piece of this week was getting to a 40 pound weight loss. How exciting!!!

Friday I met with the wedding florist. This picture isn't specific to what we are doing; but wanted to capture the shape of the glass bowl to think of other options.

Happy Monday everyone! Stay warm!

Etsy?

If you are friends with me on facebook (and I assume most of you are since that's where most of my blog traffic comes from!) you know that I've posted a few things in regards to starting an Etsy store.  Since Brent has some woodworking pieces and I have my paper crafts, we thought it would be a great fit. I started setting up the shop last weekend, but it has yet to go live. We are still contemplating if we will indeed make it 'live'. I have to do some more reading on costs to list items, processing fees, etc.

In the meantime I thought I would share with you some of the cards that I've recently made! Enjoy

Can you tell that I've been utilizing my Big Shot embossing machine I received for Christmas! Loving it!

Which card is your favorite? You never know...you might be the one receiving one of these!

Happy Friday eve!

Lordy Lordy look who lost 40!

Wow...today was a big mark for me! I hit a 40 pound loss (well 40.2 lbs to be exact!)!!!

After struggling the last few weeks losing some pounds; this week sure helped my spirits! It goes to show that with hard work and dedication; it can be done!

Not the best of pictures but here they are!

Don't judge the clothes; I guess I have to go shopping for some that fit better!

Happy weight loss to me! :)



DIY gathering

This past Saturday our DIY group gathered again! This time we dabbled with homemade products. We made shave cream, body scrub, makeup remover and lip balm.

The products turned out great! Good times, lots of laughs...and a few mishaps in the microwave! Silly Gina!

The sad measuring cup is no longer! Oh well, you live and you learn!

Our next gathering was going to be early February, but then we realized it was Super Bowl Sunday- so I guess we have to reschedule!

Don't forget to keep checking out the DIY tab above that keeps you up to date on all of our projects! You can view them here too.

Bits and Pieces

Happy Friday everyone!
This week has been pretty jam packed for me. Here is a look into my week!


My love brought me diet coke last night. I've had a few headaches this week- this is usually my medicine. Thanks love!


I know I mentioned it earlier this week in a blog post, but I felt very accomplished after tackling such a big project. It was lots of work- but it was worth it!

The beautiful sunset as I drove home from work this week. Beauty.

I still have yet to watch it- but I've heard good things about it. Excited to have friends I can borrow movies from. Movie night anyone?

As always I'm linking up with Erica at Style of a Songbird. Join us!

Enjoy your weekend!

Current "likes"

With facebook being so popular and included in everyday talk; I thought I should share some of the things I've currently been liking- related or unrelated to facebook.

Did you know that Goodwill has an online shopping site? They do! You can search for items at thrift store prices! Pay to have far away locations mail the item to you- or shop specifically in your local area and directly pick-up and save a few bucks on the mailing cost. I love the search feature on this. But like true thrift stores, you never know what you will stumble upon! Check out the site here!

Speaking of thrift stores; a local one in Muskegon, Hope Chest Thrift Store is having a sale tomorrow- 50% off your entire purchase! All profits from this store goes to raise awareness of human trafficking and restoring victims of sex trafficking in Michigan through The Hope Project. Since tomorrow is Human Trafficking Awareness Day- it's only fitting for them to bring more awareness by having a sale! And who doesn't love a good sale? Especially sales at thrift stores! Hope Chest is located at 185 W. Laketon. Check them out Friday between 10 am and 6 pm.

Online recipe blogs- LOVE 'em! They are my go to when I want to try something new. I'm especially fond of Skinnytaste! Gina's blog is awesome! She has a variety of recipes and for those people on WW, she even lists the point values on each recipe. So helpful!

I know all the rage is to play games on facebook. I admit that I do too, however my other game site that I love it Pogo. Pogo is an FREE online game site that allows you to play hundreds of games! There are sponsor adds in between games; otherwise you can pay a fee to become a subscriber, which allows you to play without ad interruption. I've had a few premium trials and I do admit it's nice to play without the ads. Either way; cool site with cool game options!

What are some sites that are on your favorites list? I would love to check out new websites!

Accomplished!

Yesterday was full of accomplishments! I had so much that needed to get done around my house, so I decided to take a vacation day! Boy was it useful!

I finished 5 loads of laundry, did all my dishes (I so want a dishwasher!), cleaned out my freezer, organized all my wedding supplies, organized and cleaned my game area and made dinner for Brent and I! On top of everything I got a good workout too. From lifting laundry up and down the stairs to doing squats while I was arranging games!

Remember what my games looked like before?

Look at them now!



It took awhile, but they all fit! And you can read all of the titles! Now the hard part is keeping them this way! Since Friday night games will be at my house this week, they are bound to stay this way for a bit longer! Last time I spoke of my large amount of games I told you I had 159; well I counted them again when I was rearranging and now I have 174!! I guess I have an addiction :)

After dinner last night Brent and I went and did our wedding registry at Target. In the mail last week I got a coupon for a free $20 gift card if we registered. We were planning to already; but hey I like free gift cards! When registering they gave us a booklet with registering ideas and a few instore coupons. Included in this booklet was a $20 gift card for shutterfly. How awesome! I'll take these anyday!

Tuesday was a very accomplished day. Doesn't it feel great to accomplish things?

Wedding wire!

This past week a few things for the wedding got checked off of the list!

We finished addressing the Save the Dates...can't wait to send these out. Waiting on a few more addresses from Brent and they are good to go! Yee-haw!

Brent also worked on our card box for the wedding. Doesn't it look awesome??

We still have to pick out and decide on a stain color. Afterwards I think we are going to either monogram our initials on the front, or put our actual  names on it. What do you think would look best?

We also worked on a game plan for registering at Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond. We didn't actually register yet, but we compiled a list of what things we will be adding. We hope to make it to at least one of the stores within the next week.

Countdown

It's 2013! yay! It's my wedding year! I'm so excited to become a wife! Brent and I have been working on all the details for the wedding celebration. And for the most part we are enjoying it!

We addressed more of our Save the Dates last night, purchased my wedding band last weekend and made a few appointments for my bridesmaids to try on some dresses! We will be visiting some bridal shops in Grand Rapids on the 19th. Hopefully we will have success!

I've been using Pinterest ideas here and there and have been putting them on my wedding board. I know there is no way that we will be able to use them all (from both a cost and time standpoint), but sometimes it's fun to look at ideas.

Now that the wedding year has arrived we need to meet with the florist, meet with the pastor, decide on invitations, pick out bridesmaid dresses, figure out tuxes, figure out room set-up, decide on food options and so much more! I'm sure there is so much more that isn't even included in my list too! Sounds like a lot, but I'm up to the challenge. Can't wait to hear the wedding bells!

Only 254 more days!

A bit frantic

Today marks back to work! It was a nice few days off...enjoying time with family and friends, waking up without an alarm, relaxing and playing some new games. No complaints for me.

However, today didn't start out how I planned. I set my alarm to get up, I even recall hitting snooze a few times. The next thing I know, I wake up to the clock saying it's 7:45! oops! I'm supposed to be to work at 8:00 and I have a good 35 min drive (on a good day!). Guess it's late to work for me! Oh well, nothing hurt. It happens!

I dislike the feeling of being rushed, and the feeling of being late. I am the person who is always on time (even a bit early!), so you can imagine how unsettling this is for me!

Only after quickly getting out of bed, rushing through my morning routine and getting into my car to drive to work could I really unwind a bit. Thankfully the drive allowed me to do this. I then starting thinking about rushing, how society nowadays seems super rushed, and I'm guilty of it too. But then I recalled my last few days off of work, the enjoyment of family and friends, relaxing and doing things I love. It reminded me that it's important for us to slow down and enjoy life. If we are too busy rushing through life, we aren't really enjoying it to the fullest.


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Since the New Year is here, I challenge you to slow down, be less rushed, and enjoy life! It's worth living!