Hand Print Christmas Tree

Back in December I became addicted to a very popular site, Pinterest. You may have heard of it... If you haven't, you should check it out. (And let me know if you'd like to join; I'd be happy to send you an invite.) There are a bunch of very creative people on there passing on their wonderful ideas for crafts, recipes, home decor, fashion and so much more.

Anyway, I've found several crafts and recipes I'd like to try, some of which I already have. And I've been meaning to blog about them so I could show my progress... so travel back with me to December 4th, where I tried my first hand at a Pinterest project...

A Hand Print Christmas tree.

 (Click here to see the original post on The Other White House blog)

I love crafts that incorporate the kids' hand/feet prints. They're so personal. Years from now those crafts will remind us just how little they once were. I especially liked this one since I can get it out each year and display it. (I'm really into Christmas, fyi.)

So, while Daddy was out doing some Christmas shopping, the kids and I got to work.

Supplies:

Canvas

Paint (green & brown)

Foam brushes

Optional:

Yellow paint, if you'd like to paint a star

Ribbon, needle and thread if you'd prefer to try my topper...

We're ready!!

 1. Squirt some green paint onto a palette or plate

2. Use the foam brush to paint your child's hand

 3. Leaving room at the bottom for the tree trunk, apply the child's hand to the canvas.

I apparently missed the part where she tells you to do the outer edges of the tree first. I started with DD's (Dear Daughter) hand prints as the base and then used DS's (Dear Son, if you hadn't already deduced...) for the top. We started to run out of room before we could get the full tree on there...

Luckily I had purchased a two pack of canvases and we did it the right way the second time. So, like she suggests, we took DS's hand, being the smaller of the two, and did the outline of the tree and then DD came in and filled in the middle.

4. Paint a tree trunk and a star at the top if you'd like.

I thought it would be neat to do something a little different and had my mother-in-law tie a bow for the topper of ours. She sewed it right onto the canvas for me, too.

Since we had two canvases, and the other didn't really turn out so bad, we gave one to my mother-in-law to keep as well. I forgot to get a picture of hers though. I think they were really cute and it was a nice addition to our Christmas decor. Its definitely something I'll cherish forever :-)

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Accountability: Week 2

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Starting weight:   172 lbs.

           Current weight:   170 lbs.           

Weight +/-:          -2         

Total weight loss: -2          

Short term goal:   160 lbs.

Goal weight:        145 lbs.

Whoop-dee-whoop!! Yep, I'm that excited over two pounds! I really pushed myself to do better this week. I used my LoseIt.com app every day and really tried to keep within my calorie allotment for the day. I did good most days, but I noticed I'm still not eating the right foods. But, hey, at least I'm cutting the portions back on the bad foods, right?

Oh! I went to the gym 5 days last week, too! I am really very proud of that one! I'm still only focusing on cardio right now. I'm thinking maybe this week and next and then I'll start on strength training as well. As for now, I'm just glad I'm getting there as often as I'm wanting.

Yay me!!

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Book Review: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This story is set somewhere in the future of our country, although I'm not sure just how far from now it is... where the country is now divided into 5 Factions, Abnegation, Candor, Amity, Dauntless, and Erudite. Each faction consists of people with certain personalitlies and traits. They are raised in their factions until age 16 where they each take an aptitude test to see which faction their true personalities most coincide with. After they get their results they attend a Choosing Ceremony where they make the decision for themselves. Do they stay with their families or set out on their own path choosing a new faction.

Beatrice has never quite felt like she belonged in Abnegation, where the people always put others ahead of themselves. They are brought up to be completely selfless. They all wear grey, aren't allowed many luxuries, appear plain and aren't even allowed to look at themselves in the mirror. Luxuries and vanity make people jealous, so they've eliminated those things making them less selfish. Beatrice just can't always put others first, no matter how hard she tries.

Her aptitude test is inconclusive and sets a series of questions in motion for her. Who is she really? What makes her who she is. Why is she not like the others. She can't even ask anyone. The test administrator warned her that this was not a good thing. Being "Divergent" is dangerous and she should dicsuss it with noone.

When Beatrice decides to leave her faction and join the Dauntless, whose traits are courage and bravery and values are not as strict, her world is quickly turned upside-down. That's not necessarily a bad thing. She feels she fits in more here than she ever did before. Even with that though, she still feels different. She still has questions...

Something big is about to happen and somehow she takes it upon herself to figure things out and make them right. She finds her unorthodox training in Dauntless has definitely prepared her for this task. She is forced to make some very difficult decisions along the way.

Oh, and she meets a boy- Four. Four is two years older than she is and is overseeing her initiate class during training. She can't quite figure him out, but she feels drawn to him nonetheless. They come to learn a few things about eachother and something between them starts to grow.


This book was recommended for those who enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy (which I thoroughly did), so after hearing several other praise it, I decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down! Even though the subjects are technically kids at 16, the society in the book considers them adults, so it's easy to forget they are still so young.

It's hard for me to believe this is Veronica Roth's first novel. She is clearly a creatively talented person. She depicts her characters very well and I find them very intriguing, especially Four. This is definitely a story that will resonate with me as the Hunger Games did. I have already pre-ordered the sequel (Insurgent) which is to be released on May 1st and am wondering if maybe there's any fan fiction to tide me over until then...

Looking forward to the next installment!


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5 Question Friday

Here's a fun little Friday post I picked up over at a blog I enjoy reading, My Little Life. I've done the 5 Question Friday before on my personal family blog, but never linked up for privacy issues. I figured since I'm attempting to be more reserved with names and whereabouts on this blog, that it wouldn't hurt to link up.... Anyway, the concept, for those that don't know, is that each Friday there will be 5 random questions posted to which you post your answers. Simple as that. Enjoy these random tidbits to my life and then go check out what other are saying :-)

1. What have you done recently that you are proud of?
Joining the gym last week! I'm very proud of myself for taking that step! Woohoo! Yay me!! (See? Very proud!)

2. What is your favorite way to work out? Or if you don't workout, what are you wanting to try?
I'm digging the elliptical right now, but am looking forward to getting back to the arc trainer (those things are hard core!)

3. If you knew your best friend was cheating on spouse would you tell?
Eh, probably not. It's not my business. Situations like that are painful, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news...

4. If you could afford a live-in maid or nanny, would you have one?
Nah... not my style. I wouldn't, however, mind someone to come take my kids while I clean my house... or rather someone to come clean my house (I'm talking a good scrubbing from top to bottom) while I take my kids out. Even better :-)

5. Do you stress out about birthdays (specifically the age) or do you enjoy them?
Are you kidding me? I enjoy them to the fullest! As my best friend Dimples (her nickname from like 5th grade which I am recently considering bringing back) once said, "I think people should put up birthday trees!" I'd decorate mine in cupcake ornaments and shiny, sparkling things. Fun, Fun!

Bonus: Lights on or off?
Depends on the mood ;-)

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Book Review: Spying in High Heels

Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Maddie Springer is a fashionista on a budget whose Ken Doll boyfriend has suddenly gone missing. Oh, and she's late... as in late late. She refuses to go through this alone, so she's is on a mission to find out just what's happened when she meets hot cop, Jack Ramirez. While on the case she finds a dead body, lets her best friend convince her to dress as a hooker and winds up at the scene of another murder, and finds out that said boyfriend is married.

It's a whirlwind of craziness with lots of laughs in between.


This was recommended to me by fellow Janet Evanovich fans that say this series is similar to the Stephanie Plum series (which I love). I read the free sample from Amazon and was in love immediately. It's very much like the Plum series, but has its own appeal as well. I love Gemma Hallidays writing style and the charm and wit she's given Maddie. Maddie's best friend Dana is a hoot and I see them getting into lots more trouble in the future! I'll definitely be reading the next in this series soon!

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Lose It dot com

I initially thought by just going to the gym I could start to see some progress and then take baby steps toward working on my diet as well, until eventually I would have changed everything and been looking like a little bombshell. Clearly that's not going to work out like I was hoping. Apparently, going to the gym doesn't do diddly-squat if you're not eating right (but I bet you could have told me that... that is, if there was a "you" out there reading this).

So anyway, in an effort to start watching what I'm eating I thought I'd see if I could find a way to easily track my daily intake. A friend recommended http://www.loseit.com/. since she uses their app and loves it. I'd tried other apps before, a long time ago, but I wasn't happy with their functionality or ease of use. I have to say though, I was pretty impressed with Lose It when I checked them out. Not only do they track your intake, but you can record your daily exercise as well.

You can sign up for an account online, download the app, and you're all set. Lose It asks what your current weight is, what your goal is and how many pounds a week you'd like to try to lose. Then they figure up how many calories per day you can eat in order to reach that goal. When you log your exercise you're allowed more calories based on the exercise.

Lose It has a great database of brand name foods, restaurants, and others that have been added by users. You can create your own custom foods as well. I was also impressed with the list of exercises and activites they have. They make it really easy to log everything and customize the meals and activities to suit me exactly, from portion sizes to speed and effort of an exercise.

I especially like it that I can record on both my phone and at the computer. I can use the app on my phone to quickly record my workout at the gym, and log on the pc at work and record what I ate for lunch. The user interface is great and so easy to read, as you can see here:



I'm hoping to make great use of this tool and see it work for me. I can already tell by using this app I'm making a more conscientious effort to watch my portions and make better decisions. Is that candy bar really worth going over my daily allotment by 87 calories? Nope!

I don't know about you, but seeing something in black and white really helps me to understand. This is just what I needed. The only thing I think they're missing is a blog widget where I could show the world by daily diet and exercise. That'd just make me more accountable...

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think.

This post carries a disclosure Level of 0. Please see my disclosure page for more details. I am in no way affiliated with http://www.loseit.com/, but I am becoming a big fan of their site and accompanying app. and thought I'd share my excitement with you :-)

Accountability: Week 1

via

Starting weight:   172 lbs.

           Current weight:   172 lbs.           

Weight +/-:          0           

Total weight loss: 0           

Short term goal:   160 lbs.

Goal weight:        145 lbs.

As you can imagine, this is a pretty big bummer...

In all honesty though, I think I know exactly what the problem was... it was my birthday. And for my birthday, I went out to eat... a lot. With friends, parents, the fam, you get the idea. Oh, and there was beer... and wine. Not good when you're tyring to lose weight. I shouldn't have let it be an excuse considering I am trying to do this for myself, but what can I say? It was my birthday, and food makes me happy.

Now that my birthday has come and gone, there should be no distractions. Hopefully next week we see better results!