Hey y’all!
I thought I’d pop in with a bit of catching up from the week. It has been a busy one, and so I thought I’d share some of what’s been going on…
I’ll get right to it!
First, a card that I made when I was feeling a huge rush of excitement for the Fall season. Does that ever happen to you? I felt like a little kid, and the thought of cool weather, crispy leaves and yummy heart-warming recipes just made me giddy!
So I created this card with a color palette that I think I’ll be utilizing quite a bit this season. I love pink and blue thrown in with the oranges and neutrals of the fall… it’s such a fresh surprise, isn’t it?
The stamps are all from PTi. I have had them for a while, but hadn’t had a chance to play much until this week. I went ahead and created a little color board for my future reference. I keep all of my color inspirations like these on this Pinterest board, if you want to see the rest.
Up next, I have a card for my Sydney…
My baby girl will be eight tomorrow. *insert weapy Mommy tears* I created this card for that last Paper Crafts call – the focus was on numbers and letters… I thought of Sydney and really wanted to make something she’d like. I knew if it got picked up I could easily recreate another for her, but it turns out I don’t have to, lol! Hey, less work for me, right? *wink*
The papers that I used here are from Echo Park’s Victoria Garden. A dear friend blessed me with some of her stash, and I am SO in love with these! 
I used Waltzingmouse’s Say It Loud set for the “birthday” part of the sentiment. Isn’t it perrty? That number die is from PTI.
I went ahead and made a color board for this one, too. I can see myself using these colors a *lot* this Spring.
Again – you can find these color boards and others on my Pinterest board here.
And this week, I also embarked on a first for me.
My first ever…. diet. *cringe*
I have always felt such a negative connotation with that word, but my friend Michelle told me to look at it more like a lifestyle change, than just a diet. That way I will hold on to the better decision-making habits (as it relates to what I eat and drink) for a lifetime and not just for the period of this diet.
So if you’re interested, it’s called the 17-day diet. You can read all about it here on their website and on their FaceBook page. Miss Ashley introduced me to it, and I’m glad she did. When I took last year off from school to be with my family… well, I gained a lot of quality time, some beautiful memories, and a new love for cooking. And… well… it shows. Lol. I gained about 15-20lbs.
Luckly, I’m 5’9″ so it doesn’t look “as bad” as it would if I were 5’2″, but it still shows. And it’s getting to a point where I’m just not comfortable with myself anymore. But ya know how we always have a plan for how we’re going to break the cycle? But we never follow through, do we? Well I didn’t. I mean I gave up drinking Dr. Pepper for a while, and then I cut back on sweets. But nothing ever lasted, and I’d still revert back to my “eat what I want, when I want” mind frame. It had worked for so long (thanks for the awesome genetics, mom & dad! lol…), but I’m getting closer to 30 every day, and those good genes can only carry me so far.
So when Ash mentioned it, something clicked, and I said, “I’m gonna do that!” And 2 days later (I had to stock up on the right groceries) I was in. Today is day 3 of the diet, and I haven’t cheated! Just 14 more days after this. I won’t go into full detail about the requirements of this diet. It’s nothing outlandish – I don’t have to survive on fish oil and crackers or anything, lol… It’s basically giving up all carbs, sweets, and limiting fruit to the first half of your day, so that you still have time left to burn it off. Dairy is limited, too. You want to keep it as lean as possible… and then after the 17 days are up, the restrictions loosen a bit in phases.
Here are some of the things I’ve been munching on…
Fresh fruit and yogurt… yea, in the car on the way to work, lol, it’s a bad habit.
Green salad with tuna, mushrooms, red peppers & a balsamic vinaigrette drizzle.
Going forward, I’ll be keeping tabs on my journey through this 17-day experience, here in the Journal section of my blog. Feel free to pop in and read if you want, but there’s no obligation. I just wanted a separate place to log my feelings and thoughts as I went through this.
Coming up…
Monday, I’ll be sharing all of the ins and outs (well, as much as I can) about Sydney’s big 8th birthday party this weekend! It’s been a big project for me, and I’m hoping it all goes well. (Nervous doesn’t begin to describe me!) I’m doing all of the baking, and there is lots of handmade decor. I made a pinata that I’m most proud of… if you follow me on Twitter or are Face Book friends with me, then you’ve seen sneaks of all of these. So more to come on Monday!
That’s all folks!
Have a good weekend!
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Happy birthday to your girl – what a pretty card! My oldest daughter is 8 and thinks she’s SO grown up! Super good luck on the diet – I hope you see great results – I’m thankful to be tall too and the extra fifteen pounds I carry doesn’t look so bad…
Sarah, these are BEAUTIFUL!! I just got my Simple Sunflowers (isn’t that the name?) today, so your card has me super excited to ink it up!!! Syd’s card is awesome – I love the cut out!!
I have been on a weight-loss/get healthy journey since June. It’s been slow and steady, but before I went for my surgery last month the anesthetist assured me it was the right way to go for it to stay off. Anyway… I realized that where I go wrong is trying to drastically change the way I eat – so I get bored with the cooking and run out of ideas, then crave the stuff I am used to. So I decided instead to alter the ingredients. I actually started a food blog a few weeks ago to sort of track my journey – I am really getting into making as many things as I can from scratch so I can control exactly what I am eating!!
You didn’t ask for all that!
Good luck with your own journey! I hope you find what you’re looking for
So much to comment on.. First of all, that fall card is so delicious! Love your distress work, stitching, stamping and color choices.. all makes for one gorgeous card! Second, why in the world wouldn’t they pick up that B-day card!??!! It’s so pretty, love the green ribbon (I don’t know what it’s called, looks kinda like a big shoe-lace?), it’s such a nice color with the papers, and the big die-cut 8 is fabulous! Happy Birthday to your little girl! I feel for ya!!! Mine’s 4 and it gets harder every year to watch my baby fade away!!! Keep up the good work on the D-word~~ I’ll have to check into that diet. And you inspired me to choose a good breakfast this morning, I could have went for pizza LOL, but made eggs and grapefruit instead
Have a great party!
Happy birthday to you sweet daughter! I know the party will turn out so great. Can’t wait to hear about it. Also, good to know there is another 5’9 crafter out there.
I hope you hang in there with your diet. I haven’t had to diet yet. In fact I need to gain a little more. So hang in there. You’ll find your way.
Beautiful cards – the colour palette for those sunflowers is wonderful and fresh! Love it
Happy birthday to Syd and I hope you can resist the birthday cake ok
Stick with it… it will be worth it (she said, as one who is hard with her own willpower issues! ha!)
Rx
What a super-cute card you made for Syd! I hope the party went good! Wishing you the best on your resolve to eat healthier. It’s tough to do in this fast-paced life that offers us so many more convenient food choices.
Hi cutie!! I LURVE
Hi cutie!! I LURVE your first card!!!! So you, with my favorite colors!!! And Sydney’s card is wonderful too (and who can say why it wasn’t picked up: not because it wasn’t wondrful)!! And good luck with the party (that is one of the things I DON’T miss about my girls being little
and the diet, oops, I mean change of eating habits! My mom taught me to eat so well, and I’d probably be the healthiest person alive because of her, but I have this awful craving for sweets, so I eat well (except on days like today when I had a Swensen’s ice cream for dinner: but that was my treat to myself for driving my daughter to San Francisco which turned out to be a 6 hour trip because it was during rush our of course!!) Anyway, I eat healthy and then add a big dash of sugar 
EEP!! But I don’t smoke, drink, or even drink coffee or black tea, so I need ONE vice, don’t I? Well, this is getting too long, but have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll be hoping that all goes wonderfully for you! Hugs from Helen