Summer Craftiness

Summer is here!  Although I hate the summer heat, the gnats, and mosquitoes, I love having the summer off.  It gives me more time to craft, paint, and be creative.  I don't have much time for that during the school year, so it's nice. 

I just finished making a wreath for my front door.  I've been wanting to spruce up our "front porch" area for a while now.  I say "front porch" like this because it's not really a porch.  It's a front door and a little bit of space around it.  I bought a cute little plant stand and some potted flowers to go beside the door.  I'm hoping to get some sort of small table and a couple of chairs to go on the other side of the door as well.  I'll try to post a picture of the total package when I get it finished.  For now, I'll just show you the wreath I made. 

It's simple, pretty, and was very easy to make.  It took me all of about 30 minutes to make.  I just bought a simple grapevine wreath, 3 artificial hydrangeas, a wooden "M", and little ribbon.  I painted the "M" the same color green as the ribbon (or pretty close, anyway) and used brown paint and a pencil eraser to paint the polka dots on.  While that was drying, I hot glued the flowers into place.  Then hot glued the "M" on and measured and cut the ribbon.  I wanted to make sure I could still see out of the peep hole, so I measured to make sure it didn't hang to low.  I tied the ribbon and voila.....a new wreath.  I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. 

I am really looking forward to doing more crafty stuff this summer. 

I also got a much needed haircut the other day.  I swear....it was getting so freaking long.  We could have made a wig out of all the hair that was cut off.  She cut lots of layers and it feels so much better.  Long hair and Georgia summers do not make a good combination.

It's still pretty long, but so much shorter than it was.  It's much easier to deal with now.


Thanks for reading.  Hope you all are having a great summer! 

Until next time...

For All The Butter Lovers Out There...

What do you prefer?  Fake butter spray or the real thing?  Real sugar or artificial sweetener? 

I made a grilled turkey, cheese, and tomato sandwich for lunch today, which was delicious by the way.  I was about to spray my bread with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray", and I just couldn't do it.  The REAL butter was calling out to me from the refrigerator.  And it was so worth the extra calories.   

I tend to side with Paula Deen.

Well, not completely.  Yeah, she could take a few lessons in using butter in moderation, but she's right.  Butter is just better!

I think I've gotten to the point in my life where I've realized that the "fake" stuff just doesn't cut it.  I don't buy into the bull about it being better for us anymore.  I've spent my whole life going about this all wrong.  Sometimes I catch myself going for the "diet food" out of pure habit.  I really believe that a lot of these so-called diet foods leave me being more hungry than I was before I ate it.  Or it could be that it just increases cravings.  Either way, it's not working for me.  I'm having to re-train my brain and it's not easy to do.  Real food, real ingredients, in moderation, is what I want to focus on. 

Now, I'm not suggesting that we make homemade brownies using 4 sticks of butter.  But if we want a grilled cheese sandwich or a slice of toast, I think it's okay to use a little butter. 

So, what do you think?  Does using the fake diet stuff and saving calories justify sacrificing flavor and adding the extra chemicals and additives to your body?

It's an interesting topic to me.  In a world where there is a "healthy" lower calorie alternative for just about everything, where do you stand on the topic?

I know this whole butter topic is kind of random, but that's what was on my mind today.   On a funny note, I can't get enough of all the Paula Deen Butter jokes.  Here's a few of my favorites on Pinterest....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                              





Happy Hump Day, everyone! 

Day 4

Okay, so I must confess....I ate some food today.  I couldn't handle the headaches anymore.  BUT, I did eat something healthy.  I made a vegetable salad that was so good!

Organic black beans, organic corn, fresh diced tomatoes, and diced avocados in a homemade balsamic olive oil dressing.  I think I needed some protein and healthy fats. 

I am not going to look at it as a failure.  I made it 3 days with almost nothing but fresh juice.  I am proud of myself.  I'm just adding in the micronutrient foods a little earlier than I originally planned.  If I ever decide to do a juice detox again, I'll know not to go into it cold turkey.  I think if I had changed up my diet to mostly micronutrient foods the week before, it wouldn't have been such a hard adjustment. 

I am still going to be juicing at least twice a day, though.  I would really like to have juice for breakfast, eat a healthy lunch and afternoon snack, and have juice again for dinner.  Nighttime is when I am most hungry, so I don't know if that will work but I'm going to try it.

So, now that I'm done with the "detox" part, it's time to start back adding in some exercise.  I have thought about trying to find some yoga videos that are basic (very basic) and starting with that.  I need to start slow.  So if anyone knows of a good yoga video for beginners, please let me know.

My son and I have been making tent forts today and it's time to get back in the tent and play.  I hope everyone  enjoys the rest of their week!  Make the most of it.....we're not guaranteed tomorrow. 

Peace and love to all :) 

Detox: Day 3

Day 3....wait, only day 3? 

Honestly, it feels like it's been much longer.

This has been hard.  The first day wasn't that bad, but yesterday was really hard and today is a hard one, too.  I still feel a little foggy and have a headache.  I think the headaches could be partly from having no caffeine.  I usually drink 4 cups of coffee a day (I know, that's A LOT!) and I haven't had coffee since Sunday. 

Yesterday, I ended up drinking 2 juice meals, eating a fresh peach for snack, and I ate some watermelon and an avocado last night.  I think it helped to actually eat some food.  It is unlikely that I will be able to detox for the whole 10 days.  I think I was a tad ambitious with that number.  This has been a lot harder than I thought it would be!  I'm thinking I may detox for another 2 days (for a total of 5 days), then starting adding in some beans and nuts.  I probably won't cut out meat completely, but I am definitely not going to be eating it everyday.

My plan is to consume a diet that is:

Low in saturated fat and cholesterol (animal products)

Moderate in whole grains, nuts, and seeds (plant foods)

High in vegetables, fruits, and beans (plant foods)

I feel like this is a healthy plan.  After all, HEALTHY is what I'm aiming for.

So, 2 more days!  I can do it!  I can do it! 

Until tomorrow....

Detox: Day 2

Hi there, folks. 

Well, I made it though Day 1.  I only had juice until about 9 or 10 o'clock.  I got pretty hungry so I sliced up a tomato and ate it.  That was the only solid food I had yesterday.  For the most part, I felt pretty good throughout Day 1 after my headache subsided.  And I wasn't near as hungry as I thought I would be. 

Today, on the other hand, isn't going quite as well.  I have a headache, again.  My head feels foggy and I'm kind of in a daze.  Nonetheless, I'm still chugging along and sticking to it.  Maybe this hazy, foggy feeling won't hang around very long. 

I did have a pretty nice surprise when I stepped on the scale this morning, though.  I dropped a whopping 5 lbs since yesterday!!  Whooo Hoooo! 

I'm not my usual self, so that's all I have for today.  Sorry to be so short but I'm finding it hard to concentrate and focus.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Detox: Day 1

Well.....today's the day.  Day 1 of my detox!

My day didn't start off that great though.  I woke up with a killer headache this morning.  Took some Excedrin Migraine and it has gotten better.  It's bearable now.  Definitely NOT how I wanted to start off the first day of my detox, but it is what it is and I'm committed to seeing this through. 

After my headache subsided, I got in the kitchen and started preparing for my morning juice.  Fresh Carrot-Apple Juice!  It's pretty tasty, if you ask me :)

This one was strictly carrots and apples.  I will start adding in green veggies, like kale and spinach, as the day goes on.  I am going to try to do just juice today and see how it goes.  If I see that I really need something, I'll eat some fresh veggies or something.

Even though the primary focus of this detox isn't weight loss, I did weigh myself this morning.  Yowza!!  Let's just say that it was a tad more than I thought it would be.  "Tad" being code for "A LOT"!  This detox is more about cleansing my body, but I'm still hoping for some weight loss.  I'll try to post weight loss stats each day when I update. 

Tomorrow I'll be able to write more and give more details about how my first day went.  If everything I've read about detoxing is correct, the first 3-4 days will be rough.  It should start to get better after that. 

That's all I have for today.  Keep me in thoughts and prayers as I am going through this.  I have a feeling this will be harder, mentally, than physically. 

We Are What We Eat

The older I get, the more I realize that I have been going about weight loss all wrong.  Our society has been trained to think that calories-in vs. calories-out is the only way to lose weight.  I'm not saying that the idea behind this is wrong, but think about it for a minute.  Yes, restricting calories and increasing exercise will most always result in weight loss.  But I think we've been going about it all wrong.  From an early age, I was pretty much brainwashed into thinking that "diet food" was the way to go.  Commercials and ads can be very convincing.  They convince us that it's okay to drink soda....as long it's diet.  That you can go grocery shopping and as long as it says "sugar free" or "light", it's okay.  It's low calorie and that's all that matters, right?  No.  We've traded in good, healthy nutritious foods for chemically altered "diet food".  No matter how much weight we lose by consuming these foods, are we really doing our bodies any good in the long run?  I'm not an expert in nutrition, but it doesn't take one to realize that our nation consumes WAY too much sugar, WAY too much artificial sweeteners, and WAY too much processed and chemically altered food.  And, for the most part, we think it's okay.  It's convenient and it's cheap.  If I looked like the food I ate, I would have a Doritos bag as my body, a donut for a head, pasta noodles for arms and legs (and not the thin noodles...the thickest noodles out there), and biscuits for boobies. Sounds funny, but it's true.  We are what we eat.  I eat crappy food and most of the time, I feel crappy. 

I've done everything from Low Carb to Weight Watchers and I've had success with both.  Temporary success, that is.  We get in our minds that the numbers are the only thing that matters.  While it works for a while, who wants to be counting calories and measuring their food for the rest of their life?  Not me.  I think we should focusing LESS on the numbers and MORE on the quality of food we put in our bodies and amount of physical activity in our daily lives.  Sounds simple, but it's hard to do. 

I've been dabbling with the idea of doing a detox for a while now and I've made up my mind that I'm going to do it.  Although I would love to do a full-on juice detox (juice made from my own juicer of fresh organic fruits and vegetables only), I'm not going to go that hardcore yet.  My plan is do 2-3 juices per day, but also eat some organic vegetables and fruit throughout the day as well.  I plan to do it for at least 10 days and I plan to do daily blog updates during this.  After the detox, I plan to eat as clean as I possibly can.  I also plan to start some sort of training....not exactly sure what, yet.  I'm still trying to decide what I want to work towards.  Eat clean, train dirty. 

I'm not going to start the detox until May 20th.  I have 3-4 events that I have to go to next week (all including meals) and I want to make sure I start this with a clear schedule so I can focus all my energy and attention on the detox. 

It's going to be hard.  But I'm hoping the benefits will far outweigh the hardships and frustration through this.  I'm hoping to get migraine/headache relief.  I'm hoping to get more energy. I'm hoping I will be able to get off my BP medicine. I'm hoping to get a jump start on migrating to a TRUE healthy lifestyle. 

This week along, I've had 4 really bad headaches.  Chronic headaches are for the birds.  I can't take it anymore.  So as I approach this, I would appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and support.  I am dying for change in my life and I desperately need to make it. 

Food for thought:  If you had to describe yourself only by the foods you most often eat....what would you look like?  Are you happy with that description?