MM: Weigh-in 4?

So, I'm glad I'm not alone in my serious need for sugar. Other moms I know seem to crave it just as much as I do. Maybe it's a breastfeeding thing. Maybe it's because I ate pretty much whatever I wanted during pregnancy and now it's hard to break the habit. I'm not sure what the reason is... but it's a really difficult thing to overcome.

Amount gained or lost:  

-0. I'm steady at my start weight. Someday it will decline... like this week, hopefully.

What were my obstacles last week?

I have zero self-control when it comes to desserts. Seriously... never let me go to the store alone after dinner. It's bad. 

What are my goals for this week?

Stop eating out so much.
Eat yogurt for dessert. NOT ice cream.
Exercise 5 days.

Any random thoughts on weight-loss last week?

I finally remember what my thought about exercise was... Here goes: 

The only exercise I've ever really done has been through team sports. I played soccer, hockey, and volleyball, took Tae Kwon Do, and danced. I did most of those until I was 14. From 14-15 I went to the gym everyday... but I wasn't all that excited about sitting at home and I didn't have any friends so it was the only way I could get out of the house. At 15 I started playing soccer again for 3 years. But, when I got to college... I didn't have any regular sport team that required intense physical training. When I lived in China for my last 2 years of high school I only played sports 2 days a week and not even for the whole year. But 3-4 nights a week, a group of my friends and I would go dancing for 3-4 hours. And that is a serious work-out. I would always leave there sweating like crazy and feeling like I'd worked every bit of my body. 

Anyway... my point is that I feel VERY unmotivated to do regular exercise because I don't have a team to do it with and a goal (other than weight loss) to achieve. It's frustrating, but I need to get over it. 

My second thought is: I have been switching to all-things "natural". Cloth diapers and wipes for Autumn, natural beauty products for me, organic milk, eggs, vegetables, and meat (when we can) for the family. I'm obsessed with trying to recycle everything that I possibly can now. But the other day I realized that even though I buy organic foods and natural products because I know it's better for my body, I still let myself indulge is TOTAL junk... like Doritos and Ben and Jerry's. Yeah... it's a conundrum that needs to be solved ASAP. 

That's all. :)

What's this week's mantra?

Take it one step at a time.

Any changes to the plan?

Well.. I was walking over a mile, but my chiropractor told me I need to start at 1/2 mile first because of my hip/pelvic/lower back issues. So, I'll be starting 1/2 mile tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. If I can go a week without being sore (not muscle sore, but my issues kind of sore) then I can increase to 3/4 mile the next week and then 1 the week after that. 

 

 

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 On a different note, I've changed my list of things to accomplish by my next birthday. See below: 

And here's a picture of Autumn meeting the cat and finally seeming somewhat interested in her. :) 

 

Until Tomorrow,

Amy

FF: Another year older and maybe a tiny bit wiser.

Okay, so... I haven't blogged in over a week. And a lot has happened in said week. Most importantly, though, I turned 23. Yep...

I didn't want to turn 23. Not because I don't want to get older. I'd be happy with 24. It's just something about the number that I don't like. 23... ick.

And yes... I know I'm weird!

In honor on my 23rd (*shudder*) birthday, I've made a list.

24 Things I Want to Accomplish Before Turning 24

1. Lose 60 pounds (YAY for only 60 more to go till I reach my goal!)
2. Make The Sand Pebbles Quilt (32 x 32") from start to finish.
3. Make the top of The Farmer's Wife Quilt. Dan got me the book for my birthday! LOVE HIM!
4. Read The Complete Book of US Presidents.
5. Memorize the Presidents' order and their years in office
6. Read These High, Green Hills (I've been reading this off and on for over a year... it's time to finish it!)
7. Read The Time Traveler's Wife.
8. Read one book from the BBC's top 100 list.
9. Memorize locations and names of every country (minus those random islands)
10. Teach Autumn Sign Language
11. Go out dancing one night.
12. Learn 2 dinner recipes
13. Learn 2 healthy-ish dessert recipes
14. Use up all of my fabric.
15. Cloth Diaper for the entire year.
16. Learn to take better photographs.
17. Take 6 month and 1 year photos of Autumn with my new photo taking skillz.
18. Go on vacation to a new place.
19. Eat at a Brazilian Steak House.
20. Research Adoption and Foster Care.
21. Help someone that needs help whenever they need it.
22. Get a manicure and a pedicure
23. Make a new friend.   COMPLETED! I've made like 15 in the past week. lol.
24. Practice patience on a daily basis.

The obvious missing thing on the list is: Be a great mom to Autumn and put her before every other agenda I might have.

Do you think I can accomplish all of these things? I hope I can!

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And... because it's actually Fotography Friday and NOT Thoughtful Thursday, here is a picture of Autumn. My mom bought her this dress before she was born. It is 6-9 months. I've got an awesome child. That woman in Target who told me, "You will have champion" was spot on. :)

I know everyone thinks we are twins... but I totally think she looks like her Daddy here!

Until I find the time to blog again,
Amy

No longer "Menu Mondays"

I'm a list maker. An obsessive list maker to be precise. Every time I tell Dan we need to make a list, he rolls his eyes and says, "seriously, we really don't." But I really do. I have to know exactly what to buy at the grocery store. I have to know exactly what chores need to be done. I can't just write "clean" on a piece of paper and be satisfied. It has to include each and every chore. I even split up laundry, i.e. "wash laundry, dry laundry, fold laundry, put laundry away." No joke.

So, as I was making a list of my daily, thrice weekly, and once weekly to-dos, I realized I was way over booked. (Seriously, here's a shout out to single moms who work and take care of their babies... it's seemingly impossible!).

So, to prove to you that I have too much to do, I've typed out my lists for you:

[Disclaimer -- Dan has been doing most of the cleaning for the past 9 months during my pregnancy and of course the first 6 weeks of Autumn's life. But, he's gone back to work now and it's time to start taking over.]

Daily: 
Take Care of Autumn (This really takes up about 12 hours everyday. Well, maybe 10 if she takes a nice nap)
Blog (This typically happens during one of her nursing sessions)
Pick Up Around the House (Thank goodness she likes her swing)
Sew or Craft (This is for my own sanity and obviously a choice, but one that I find completely necessary)
EXERCISE (New to the list since Autumn was born. And... the new topic of Mondays' blog posts)

Thrice Weekly:
Bathe Autumn
Laundry (yes, this includes everything I listed in that first paragraph)
Take out the Trash

Once Weekly:
Grocery Shop
Vacuum
Sweep
Mop
Clean Toilet
Clean Shower
Clean Vanities
Dust

I used to have "cook" and "clean kitchen" on this list of to-dos, but clearly I've got too much going on. So, I've handed that responsibility over to Dan. Well, he's pretty much always had that responsibility, but we've considered having me take over and we finally decided that was just not a great idea. So, needless to say, I won't be doing Menu Mondays anymore. Instead I'll be doing...

Milestone Mondays!!

What is Milestone Monday, you ask?? Well, let's just say that I've got about 80 pounds of fat (Yes... 80!!!!) that I'd like to (and NEED to) shed. And after not exercising at all for the past 11 months, I've just started getting back into it. So, every Monday, I'll post on the past week's progress and put up a couple pictures. I hoping that in about 40 weeks I will have reached my goal (2 pounds lost per week) and that I can compile a slide show of all of the pictures to show exactly what it looks like to lose 80 pounds.

Occasionally I'll still post a recipe, if we've eaten something that I really liked that week. Maybe I'll even post some calorie saving tips.

So, here are the pictures for the start of this journey. Please note the pregnancy pouch I've still got going on. lol.

Hopefully next weeks pictures will look slightly better. :)

Kids Clothes Week Challenge 2011

  Next week - assuming this baby is still inside of me - I'll be participating in the "Kids Clothes Week Challenge" put on by blogger Elsie Marley. The rules are simple: sew clothes for your (or your friend's) children for 1 hour a day every day of the week. I think I can devote 1 hour of my day to sewing kids' clothes, don't you? Anyone else want to join?? Check out that blog link! ^^

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I'm still looking into good places to take maternity pictures. Dan and I ventured to a park yesterday around 7pm and I didn't like hardly any of the pictures that I took. I semi-blame this on the fact that Dan hasn't had his hair cut in 3 months and looks so goofy (sorry, babe). I wasn't taking maternity photos yet, just looking to see how that time of day affected the picture lighting and also how the landscape looked. I did take this "artsy" picture of a leaf while trying out my camera's macro setting:

I should probably mention that I don't know how to use the editing program, yet. lol.

Here's a goofy picture of Dan, just for the fun of it. The haircut is happening today. :) [I know it seems like I'm really getting on him about this hair issue, but seriously we've been planning to get it cut for over a month now. He also hates the way it looks, so I'm not just the crazy, nit-picky wife. lol.]

 

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Things checked off my most recent to-do list: 

Well, none are totally completed, but I have nearly finished Autumn's quilt, and I've also designed Stacy's purse and have bought the fabric for it. I'm realizing now that I forgot to get the zipper... That's okay, when I go to the store to get some fabric for kids clothes, I'll be sure to pick that up. 

I'll post pictures of the quilt probably tomorrow, after it's had its first tumble in the dryer to get it looking nice and "raggie".  

Until next time,

Amy

So Busy, So Little to Show for it.

Somehow, in anticipation for our little one, each day seems to drag on and on. Yet, despite the sense of "added time" in each day, I haven't been very productive at all.

The only project I have managed to complete since my last blog post 2 weeks ago is my niece's dress. Not both, just one. I haven't even cut out the other one. The first dress was the first garment I've made since 10th grade, and it was quite frustrating! I got a little worn out from it and decided to take a bit of break before sewing the next one. I am not a huge fan of the way the pattern was put together, so I may try to change things for the next dress.

They were supposed to be Easter dresses, but now I'm thinking they can be "Meet my new cousin" dresses.

The whole front

The Bodice

The back

I originally picked this dress to sew because I thought it would fit my niece's requirement for a good dress - the ability to "flat out". Meaning, if she twirls, the dress raises and flattens and twirls with her. Unfortunately, this dress probably won't be able to do this. I'll make sure the next dress I make for her will be able to.

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Here's my to do list for before the baby arrives:


1. Design a purse for a friend, buy fabric for that purse, and sew it.
              I've been having trouble with this one. Her birthday party was a few days ago, and due to feeling under the weather I wasn't able to go. I did, however, promise her a purse, so a purse she will get. The problem: the only thing I've ever "designed" is a patchwork pillow. It had very specific dimensions and only had rectangular pieces. I've been trying to find a pattern that will work for her online and in stores, but seriously nothing seems right! So, wish me luck as I try to figure out how to sew a zipper, and put together a purse from the first real pattern I've ever created. At least I have a zipper foot! The only other time I've sewn a zipper, it was on a dress in 10th grade, and I had to sew it by hand. It sucked.

2. Sew dress #2 for niece #2.
               I've just gotta suck it up and do this! And I better do it quickly - this baby could arrive any day now!

3. Sew a "plain bag" for my BFF.
               Megan wanted a simple tote bag for her books. She already has a "fashion statement" purse that she carries to school, but she also needs a purse that will carry her books and not clash with her other bag. I was supposed to sew this a long time ago, but I can't find one of the elements the pattern calls for, and I also don't know if the purse she picked out will reliably hold her books. I'm trying to find a way to make it more stable.

4. Finish the rag quilt I've started for Autumn. 
               I've started sewing my first ever quilt. I've run into some trouble since I don't have a walking foot, which seems to be essential for sewing layers of fabric. But, I'm going to finish this quilt without it, since it's not your typical quilt. Here's a link to the tutorial I'm following for this project: Creations by Kara.

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This isn't obvious by pictures that I post on here, but I love great photography. I especially love great photos of babies, weddings, engagements, families, etc. Recently, I tried to convince Dan that we needed to find a photographer to take pictures of the baby when she's 1-2 weeks old and then at different intervals throughout her first year. But, photographers are expensive! Well, they're priced right for their talent, their time, and what you get from each session, but it's more than we want to spend in a year on pictures. Instead, Dan convinced me (this must have been some weird reverse psychology that I subconsciously did, because I've wanted this outcome for a LONG time) that we need to buy our own camera so that we can have an unlimited amount of pictures! Although I won't be able to take as wonderful of pictures as most professionals can, at least I can take them whenever I want and in whatever situation. Here's the beauty we'll be buying within the next 2 days:

Until next time,
Amy