BicBand Winner!

WOW...I have a lot of fit and active readers!  Thanks for sharing how you keep in shape and get exercise.  Definitely got a lot of new ideas.

Congrats, Tara!

Email me your address and I'll get it in the mail ASAP!

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I did it! (and a giveaway)

I did it!  Today, I officially hit my 20 pound weight loss.  It all started last year (January 24, 2012) and one year and 3 weeks later, I finally met my first BIG goal.  20 pounds!  I promised a giveaway so here we go.  One of my favorite things!

It is a BicBand (my favorite headband EVER...doesn't slip) and the only chevron one offered on the site. It is a little "Christmas-y" but not really.  The pink and lime green give it a fun, cute feel.  All you have to do is comment and I will use the Random Number Generator to choose a number on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20th! 

What is your favorite workout? Do you run?  Crossfit?  Yoga?  Videos at home?

My new goal is to lose another 10 by my sister's wedding in June.  Let's do this!

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Preserving Memories

Something I have never been good at is organization.  I am a self-proclaimed hoarder (I mean, not as bad as the people on TV but I HATE throwing things away) and have been known to have piles of "stuff" all over the house.  My OCD husband can't stand it and gets great joy out of throwing stuff out (asking first, of course).

I decided to upload all of our pictures to Shutterfly.  That way, I could order prints, create books, and have a place that would store all of my pictures.  (Wishing I would have done Flickr too because when Shutterfly doesn't exist anymore, a bunch of my pictures won't either.)

I have two 12 by 12 Shutterfly albums- one of my pregnancy photos and one for Ethan's first year.

When I was pregnant with Ethan, I was inspired with all of the pregnant mamas taking weekly pictures.  Although I never posted them, I wrote a few sentences and posed in the basement each week and described how I was feeling and what was new that week.  I had to turn into a complete nag to get my husband's help but I am so happy with how our little project turned out.  (MAN, I got big!!!)

 Once Ethan was born, I knew I would need a baby book.  I searched the shelves at Barnes&Noble and Borders, searched Etsy, and look up online-templates and nothing fit what I had in mind.  So instead, I created my own through Shutterfly and I ABSOLUTELY love it...all 111 pages of it.  I kept a Word document to record all of the monthly "happenings" and just cut/pasted it into my album where I needed.  Here are some of my favorite spreads:

I also create 8 X 8 books for each of our professional photos sessions.  I always try to keep an album created in my "cart" because Shutterfly often offers free 8 X 8 books.  For Ethan's Goodnight Moon photos, I added the words from the book to his pictures and he loves to hear the story and see picture of himself.  So cute!

I am definitely behind in our vacations photos.  I haven't made a book for Italy (yeah, 3 years ago) or Alaska but they are on the to-do list.

I also like to upload all of my cell-phone pictures to Shutterfly and drag them all into an 8 X 11 book.  I fit 6 pictures on a page but each year, my book gets longer and longer.  Waiting till a good coupon code comes through to order my 2012 book but it is finished and waiting in my cart.

 Back before Ethan when Mia was boss.

I posted about my memory keeper for Ethan from Paper Coterie for Ethan, but I recently purchased another one.  Because I didn't have a place for our wedding "stuff", I decided to get another memory keeper to hold our wedding invitation, program, shower invitations, and various wedding items.

 I had a coupon code (of course) so I ended up ordering a book to keep track of the hilarious things that Ethan says and does.  I ordered it when he first started talking about 9 months ago and I am so glad I did.  He is like his mommy and has A LOT to say.  He is also like his daddy so he is pretty darn funny.  It is so great to have a place to put it all. 

So, that is what I do to try to capture and preserve our family memories.  Although I was completely organized his first year, I can honestly say that more pictures are taken on my iPhone than real camera.  I haven't uploaded anything to Shutterfly (because there isn't anything to upload but cell pics...ugh).  Even though I'm married to a professional photographer, we don't take many pictures of our own family.  Always striving to improve in that area. 

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Things I'm Loving

Some totally random things that I'm loving right now:
BP. Wide Waistband Essential Leggings

This things are awesome.  Super tight and they totally suck it all in.  I love how thick they are and how high they come on the tummy.  Bit of a steep price for leggings but since I wear dresses and boots so often, leggings are totally a staple in my wardrobe.

Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter

The only ingredient is peanuts.  It is SO good.  Mike flies through jars and I really like to put it on a banana before I work out.  YUMMMMM.

Aldi

How did we not shop at Aldi until now?  There is one by our new house and it is freaking awesome.  I can't get over how much money we save by shopping there. 

My Fitness Pal

I have been logging my workouts and food intake on this app for the past month.  I've lost 4 pounds so far (1 lbs a week isn't too bad) and I hope to continue to lose using it.  My username is lhcass if you want to find me on there.  I could always use the extra motivation.

Workouts App

I really like this free app.  When I don't feel like getting on the treadmill or doing 30 Day Shred, I just do a quick full body workout with this app.  I've done it a couple of times and it is really easy.  Just choose a body part (I choose full body) and a time (I've done 15 and 20 minute workouts before bed).  I like doing it while watching Bachelor and Biggest Loser and it makes the time go by pretty fast.

***I am thisclose to hitting my 20 pound weight loss.  When I get there, I will be doing my first ever giveaway.  It is one of my fitness favorite things (I bet you can guess what it is)!!!

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State of the Body

I have written a lot about my struggle with my weight.  Feeling good about myself has never been something that has been easy for me.  I was never a skinny girl growing up and although I wouldn't have ever described myself as obese (well, other than postpartum on the BMI chart), I have had weight issues for over 15 years.  For the first time in a long time, I am starting to feel more confidence that I'm moving in the right direction.  I wrote this post in January of last year, and since then I have lost 17 pounds.

 

I know the picture isn't the best with different angles, outfits, picture orientation, etc. but I thought it would work.  At the end of the day, I still lost the weight. (Seriously, please don't pin the picture above...don't know why anyone would anyway.  It took enough courage to post this on my blog, I really don't need it on other forms of social media.  Thanks!)
I work with a personal trainer once a week, I'm tracking my food on My Fitness Pal (find me, I'm lhcass on there and can always use the extra motivation/accountability), and I'm trying to squeeze in 30 Day Shred videos during the week.  My goal is to lose 10 more pounds before my sister's wedding in June.  I'm currently 15 pounds more than my wedding weight and getting back to that size just seems pretty impossible to me.  So, 10 more pounds is my goal (and I will finally be in the "healthy weight" category according to the BMI chart) and I'm really hoping to get there.  I just need to find a way to stay motivated without getting down on myself.  My stretchmarks aren't going to go away.  My skin isn't going to suddenly tighten back up.  Sooooo, I need to find a way to embrace the skin I'm in.  Stop comparing myself to the Hollywood moms, bloggers, pinterest pictures, and even my own friends.  Easier said than done, huh?

To celebrate my efforts, for Christmas, my mom gave me my first LuluLemon gift...the Cosmo Pant.  The clothes are outrageously expensive and I can't imagine buying anything for myself...but man, they are amazing. 

 I think I am going to treat myself to a new pair of Nike Free shoes.  I love them.  They are so comfy and cute.  They aren't great for running but I can use them for other workouts.  I have the neon green ones below but Nordstrom has a cute pair or grey/pink that I have my eyes on.

I'm also obsessed with my BicBand headbands.  They are the ONLY headbands that I have found that stay put.  I wear the skinny bands in turquoise and yellow but might have to get a few more.

Alrighty, that's it.  Hope everyone has a nice week!



 

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Damhorst Toys and Puzzles

This past week, Ethan has actually started to play with his name stool and I realized that I have never talked about this product/company on my blog before, so here we go!

My sister-in-law has a "little" family business that isn't quite so little. In fact, they have a client list of celebrities and recently made items for Beyonce and JayZ's new little one.
Growing up, I had a name stool and so did both of my siblings. Recently, I flipped it over and found out it was made by Damhorst. How amazing that my sister-in-law's family made our stools! Ethan already has a stool and a name puzzle and I hope that he can add to his collection.
I love so many products on their website. They have great, classic gifts for any child or baby. Go check 'em out!

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Things I'm Loving

In no particular order...








And of course, this little guy :)

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