Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Shape up or ship out


Or should I say Shape up AND Ship out... I've hit a lull in the progress of my workouts. It happens to everyone, I know... but I'm running out of time people!!! Do you know how long it is before Summer??? I honestly can't believe tomorrow is April 1st. Which gives me just over 60 days to get my butt (literally) ready for that cruise. I guess my body knows that I always work better under pressure.

That crazy chic from MTV of yesteryear caught my eye on this month's Shape cover. Now, I'm not sure Jenny McCarthy was at all sober when we were all younger. However, for a while now, I've admired her greatly. She has written some really great books, most recently about her quest to nutritionally help her son's autism. She really is quite amazing and has certainly come a long way. And COME ON... Look at her! Photoshop couldn't make Me look like that... so more power to her! Between her and Valerie Bertinelli... a girl could get a complex... they are two hot mommas!

Anywho, back to Shape. I went online to look up some new inspiration to kick my butt into gear. Shape's website is FABULOUS! There is so much free information on there, I'm shocked they are still selling actual magazines (even though I actually DID pick up a copy to read in car line). Their Workout tab has oodles of great moves, play lists, cardio routines, etc. I signed up for a 2 week newsletter that sends me a new cardio and strength training routine each day. I thought it would be a fun way to beat the workout blahs. And while today was a moderate cardio only day, that 45 minutes on the elliptical still worked up a good sweat. And burned over 650 calories, thank you very much.

So spend some of your "non-workout" time online. You'll be amazed at the information you can find... and it might just help you get your rear in gear!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Art Niche

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OK, so I have to admit. Buying art in Italy made me feel more like a grown up. I mean, come on. I have "Art". Pretty silly I guess, but that's just me. I went strolling around Old Towne Spring a few weeks ago and found a great piece of art from a local lady who has a gallery there. I was pretty homesick that day, and this piece really cheered me up. It was too small. Not the right colors. And seriously, do I NEED any more fleur-de-lis in my house? That's what I thought too. That's when I pulled out ye ole debit card and bought it anyway. Why? Because it spoke to me. Not in the "I'm hearing voices" sort of way. That would just prove I'm crazy. And who needs proof. No, what I mean is that it brought a smile to my face and made me remember home. And it successfully filled the "art niche" at the end of my stairs outside of my bedroom door. Seriously folks, it looked pretty sad... see?

Before...

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After... (I've since moved the sconces down a bit... it was just a little too prozaic and symmetrical...)

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So what if it's little... it gave me room to put up my other iron work. And so what if it's got too much blue in it... it made just the right spot for the beach picture of the girls that I love so much. It's just right in that Goldilocks way. And now that it's a bit more put together (ok, a LOT more put together) maybe I'll be inspired to tackle my bedroom. This piece found a home in my house. And is helping make this house my home.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Totally rigged

OK, so I've hated the paint splattered shade on my breakfast room light fixture since we looked at the house for the first time. I saw a shade in Target that I liked, and well, I rigged it. It looks sooo much better!

Before...

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During...

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After!...

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there, much better!

Disney Pics

OK, so there's probably more than my average reader wants to see here, but my mom requested pictures :-)


Monday, March 23, 2009

Random things I'm totally excited about

Yahoo! Twilight has made it to DVD folks! But a stern warning for all of you TwilightMoms out there... DO NOT WATCH SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL BEFORE YOU WATCH TWILIGHT... it's just soooo wrong.

The Tudors season has finally started back up on Showtime! Woo Hoo!!! The first episode was totally great and you can completely believe in the downward spiral that Henry has started to go down. Captivating.

I also found a great new strength training workout in this month's Real Simple magazine. It's very basic, and easy to follow. I added it to my cardio routine this morning. Let's just say that whoever invented one legged squats should have to come to my house and help me on and off the toilet tomorrow... because I'm SURE I wont be able to do it on my own.

Destination Disney

Woooaaaa.... go away for a week and I get 4 new followers! Hi guys!

Now that I've gotten all of the vacation laundry taken care of... and while I'm trying to NOT finish putting away all of the rest of the junk we packed and bought, I thought I'd give you a bit of an overview of how the trip to the Big D went... That's Disney, not Dallas. ;-)

Our flight was wonderfully overbooked, but Jillian did well with her first flight. Except that she kept asking where the penguins and "sapengies" aka chimpanzees were... apparently we've let her see too much Madagascar. And in her lovely "I'm a 5 year old and I talk too much" way, kept asking the attendants when we were going to crash. I'm surprised we didn't get kicked off the plane. The girl was in RARE form.

We stayed at the Contemporary on the Monorail. I was so super excited. We've stayed at some of the non-monorail deluxe resorts before, but this was different. And MUCH more expensive... so I was practically giddy with anticipation by the time the Magical Express bus got us to the hotel. So when we checked into our "refurbished" room (they aren't done with all of the rooms yet) I *gasped* out loud. Folks, this is definately a "lesson learned" moment for me.

As far as Disney goes, More Money does NOT equal Better Room. Yes, it was a little bigger (because there were no dresser drawers). Yes, the bedding was nicer than the themed bedspreads that we've had. and YES, the walkway to the Magic Kingdom was really nice. That's where my praise ends I'm afraid. It was pretty dark in the room, even with the curtains opened. So when I went to turn on the lights I found that 3 of the main light bulbs were blown. Then I reached for the floor lamp. It was broken and the bulb blown too. The bathrooms were ok, but fancy flat sinks (that didn't drain well) and new wallpaper (which is already peeling) do not make a bathroom fabulous. The separate toilet would have been a nice idea, if you could access it while someone was showering. Not to mention the doors... OH the DOORS... Folks, let me be blunt here... Sliding glass doors with an 1 1/2 inch gap at the bottom does NOTHING to muffle sound. And that's ALL I'll say about that.

I really hope that the rooms in the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian are 100 times better. However, we'll never know, because as far as bang for your buck goes, it'll be Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom lodge for us from now on. Those two... totally worth it.

We did a couple of new things that I have been sooo excited to tell you about.

1st and foremost. Toy Story Mania. It's the newest ride at Hollywood Studios. One of the cast members said it cost Disney $80 million to put in. It's possibly the best family ride in DisneyWorld. We'd heard it was hard to get into, so as soon as we got through the gate (30 min after park open) I sent Levi running to grab our fast passes. FOLKS, the fastpass line took 20 minutes!!!! By 10:30 they had sold out of all of the fastpasses for the day. One Hour and Thirty Minutes from park opening. The regular wait line never fell below 180 minutes . Lucky for us, something technical happened while we were riding, so we got to ride two times in a row. That's the ONLY time you'll ever hear me thankful for a ride malfunction! LOL It was super fun and in 3-D... you use a little canon popper to play carnival games... The girls had a total blast.

And FINALLY! Someone wised up and made The WorldShowcase at EPCOT fun for kids!!! We've always enjoyed the performers there... but you can only stand and watch Chinese acrobats for so long. Now they have the Kim Possible interactive game. You go to the little stations set throughout the park, pick up your cell phone "communicator" and mission and off exploring you go! You're guided to different parts in a "country" and follow the clues around until you solve your mission. Along the way, your communicator interacts with different things on and in the buildings... Our mission was in Germany, so we had coo coo clocks to watch for, singing steins, and a fun end surprise to keep us entertained. The girls LOVED it.

Abby ended up with an awful cold, so Thurs. and Fri. Levi and I split up time with Jillian so that she had something to do while Abby was stuck in bed. For a Daddy who rarely takes the girls out without me for very long, he did really well.

All in all we had a great time. We covered most of our favorites, and enjoyed the new surprises. We'll go again next year, I'm sure. But for now, I'm Disney'd out. If you have any questions about your own upcoming trip, please feel free to email me. Planning is 1/2 the fun! I'll post pics as soon as I locate my camera in all of this luggage mess!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Mmmmm....

Cupcakes!

This is yet ANOTHER Miss Molly that I made for Jillian's birthday party at the Young Chefs Academy. They had such a wonderful time making their own pizza dough, then pizzas, then decorating their own cupcakes. I've never seen 5 year olds sit so still and quiet. They were soaking it all in! They'll all be wonderful chefs at home!

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My little chef... all hearts, flowers, and rainbows for her!

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Happy Birthday my schnookem's wookems!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Can you feel the beat?

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. ~Confucius

I've said it before, but the right music can really move you to certain feelings. Or rythyms. So I give you...... my elliptical playlist. It's just enough to get you moving and keep you there for a while!



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As you can see, I like all sorts of music... and this isn't my entire playlist, but I thought I'd share a few of my favorites for you to burn. If I new how to make an iMix I would, but I don't. So sorry. :-)

Test Run

It's been a while since I've sewn anything for a little girl, so I did a test run on my friend's daughter before I work on a birthday dress for my neice.

This pattern is so easy. If you are a beginner and want to venture into something a little different but totally sweet, I HIGHLY recommend this Miss Molly pattern from youcanmakethis.com

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Kickin it Old School

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Love. Them.