April 10, 2011

Family Fun in Vegas


Las Vegas Spring Break

Mojito Time!
Michele & Paul


Karen & Sandy

 Sandy & Dave


 Sushi Time!



Dave and I took a little bit of time off from work and the store to make a quick trip to Vegas! We had a nice time meeting up with my Sister, Sandy from Florida AND Dave's Sister Michele and her Hubby, Paul from Wisconsin! 

February 27, 2011

"It looks just like a REAL book!"


I am in a book binding group that meets the last Sunday of the Month and is led by the amazing Tim Ely!  Today we made our first ever hard bound books all by hand!!!  Yes, I made this book from scratch.  I can't believe I did it.  Last month we learned how to sew our inner segments together and over the next few weeks I worked on making the inside pages for my book.  I got a bit creative and used water color paper, scrapbook paper and even a few shipping tags.  I also pre-stamped some pages before sewing them in. 



Here are a few of my inside pages:
We also made our own fabric spines by adhering fabric to paste paper.

Here is a photo of Tim using his home-made book press and gluing the signatures together along the spine.


Here is Julie's finished book!

Here is Kristi's finished book!

It was an amazing process and I can't wait to do it all over again.  My book is going to be used as an art journal and will be filled will lots of paint, collage, stamping and journaling!

(And a quick WW Update - down 25 pounds and still going strong!)

February 5, 2011

Scrappin' in the Mountains




I am at a scrapbook retreat this weekend at The Palouse Divide Lodge with 30 other amazing women.  This is my most favorite place to be!  The proprietors, Shirley and Lane, are such gracious hosts and make us feel like we all own the lodge!  






I completed an 8x8 album of my childhood photos with my siblings.  I made two of these books several years ago to give to my Brother, Mike and my Sister, Sandy.  I never got around to making one for myself and am so thrilled to have gotten this project done. 



I also got 3 sets of Artist Trading Cards made for our upcoming ATC meeting this month.  The theme is Love and/or red.  I went with Love and found some really fun vintage images to use.  Now I am on to making scrapbook pages of photos from 1990 - 1993!  Yes, I am really behind!

January 13, 2011

Ryan Turns 18 Today!




Our youngest son turns 18 today!  Wow!  Where did those 18 years go?  Ryan has been such a joy in our lives.  He is such a funny guy with the biggest heart and the sweetest smile.  Happy Birthday Ryan!  We love you so much!!!

January 9, 2011

Weighing in on Weight Watchers


I just finished up my first week on Weight Watchers and I have lost....5.5 pounds!  Wow!  I must stay I am really happy about that.  I am not attending meetings, but have decided to use the Online program and so far it has been pretty easy to use.  I have found that the site is hard to get onto at certain times of the day.  Have to keep hitting refresh over and over until it loads.  But, once I get into the site, it is full of fun charts, recipes, tips, cooking demos and trackers.  You can track your weight, your food and your activity.  I am loving the calculator that figures out how many points certain foods are for you.  I remember doing Weight Watchers years ago and having a little slider tool for your purse, this is a lot like that but better.   You enter in the amount of Fat, Carbohydrates, Protein and Fiber a serving of food has listed per serving size.  I really like how you skip right over the Calories!  You can also enter a food item into a search bar and it will find it for you and give you the point values.

And here is the BEST part of this program, all of your Fruits and Veggies are FREE!!!  I think this has made the biggest difference for me this first week.  I have had an apple and orange every day this week.  Making a salad for lunch, dinner or as a side is great, because I don't have to count any of it!  O Points!!  I am trying to be very careful with the dressings and have found some low point options from Litehouse.  I really like the Pomegranate Blueberry and Huckleberry Vinaigrette.    They are only 1 point per 2 Tablespoons.  I am counting it as 2 points - because 2 Tablespoons of anything just don't cut it!

For dessert and an afternoon snack at work I have been eating a lot of Yoplait Lights.  My good friend Julie told me they have some really great NEW flavors like Red Velvet Cake, Strawberry Shortcake and Raspberry Cheesecake.  Now they are not as satisfying as the real deal, but for 3 points they are a great alternative!  Also love the Jello Pudding sugar free snacks with a bit of canned whip cream on top.  The whipped cream is free and the pudding is only 2 points.

For dinner we have been eating a lot of rice and stir-fried veggies this week.  We have been having either chicken or fish as our protein.  I just wish white rice was a little lower in points OR I could get myself to like brown rice.  Our family LOVES Basmati rice and we buy it by the pound at Win-co.  I love the popcorn smell and the light and fluffy texture of it.  One cup of steamed white rice is 5 points.  OUCH!  But, I am measuring it all out and adding double the veggies to make the meal more filling.

I plan to spend the day going through my cupboards and fridge to figure out the points on the food that is in the house and add it to my tracker.  Then I am going to spend sometime online finding blogs and websites that have great WW recipes and point values already figured out for me.  I will add them to my blog roll list to share with anyone that is also doing WW.

I hope this second week is just as successful.  I am a little nervous about it.  I don't have a great track record when it comes to dieting!  I also have to come up with the willpower to start exercising this week.  Going to have to plug in the old treadmill and give it a go!