Welcome Back...

...cupcakes! http://www.elanaspantry.com/
pretty excited for this remodel to get done so i can make some delicious, sugar/white flower free goodness. just thought i'd put that out there. trader joes, i'm coming to you next week. watch out.

the Great Debate

BlendTec VS. VitaMix????

which will win in Amanda's blender race?! who knows. oh my gooooodness. WHY do i feel the need to buy a $400 blender? please, someone, anyone tell me! i've done some research and i'm leaning towards one. although just last week I would have said no way would I ever get anything other than a VITAmix...I feel I've changed my mind. This BlendTec is looking pretty awesome too. Costco, why do you play with my emotions like you do? One week VitaMix is on that little stage making cabbage ice cream look delicious then the next week BlendTec is up on that same stage making the same thing but with 1 more horsepower than VitaMix. is anyone still reading this? haha probably not. I'll end my rant now. I'm still not 100% sure I'm even going to buy one, it's like 2 car payments. decisions decisions. does anyone have either of these? what do you think?


well on to less stressful matters. I'm thinking of ordering some of these little beauties. from this:
the Poster List, website. i guess i really like to spend money or something. i'm thinking 3 of these hanging over my bed would be pretty neat-o now i just need to decide which ones to get! i have way too many choices to make in my life gosh.


i bring it all on myself i tell you.

well i've been blogging a lot lately....weird. i haven't been blogging about anything important (have i ever?!) it's getting boring around these parts with this remodel going on and such. good news, i think he'll be done in 2-ish weeks! the hardwood flooring is almost all done, just half the kitchen and the stairs left. the new wall covering the brick is up and the counter tops got in the other day so things are moving along. i'll spare you the photos since i kind of over do it sometimes.



ok i'm going to be done now. i'm sure nobody even made it through this weird random post anyways ;).

Battery Exhausted

that's what my camera just told me...that my battery is exhausted, why is it that i have 4 batteries for that thing and they are always dead? so please excuse the poor photos i had to take them fast before the camera turned off.

i feel like once my life is back on track this is my next project. it's a frame that michelle bought me for christmas made out of rolled up magazines. it can't be that hard to make right? i just think it looks really cool. i'm collecting fun, mismatched frames to decorate one wall. i have 4...
also that barnes and noble gift card in front of the frame...i FOUND IT FINALLY! i got it for christmas from one of the residents parents and i lost it but i just found it on saturday!! phew

i also don't think i ever blogged about this beauty. this was the last photo i could take before my camera pooped out on me so it's terrible but whatever. it's a BIG HUGE BLACK LOVELY FRAME! i plan on punching out that UNG Drill cardboard and using it as a photography prop. excellent! only at Ikea people. i could literally live there. (p.s. the camera used in these photos is NOT i repeat, NOT my "real" camera, it's just a dumb point and shoot...)

and last but not least MORE remodel pics. you're probably tired of them but it's my life right now what can i say?

we did the bar cabinets a dark brown and i love them.

these are the rest of the cabinets (no counters yet boo)...i didn't choose that color...just saying. i like it though. i wish we could PAINT sooon i'm sick of that splotchy yellow wall. i have some amazing colors picked out. hopefully they translate well :\

he started on the floor today! that's pretty exciting. last week he got the fireplace outta there and started framing the wall he's going to put in front of the brick for the flat screen :). can't wait until it's done. i'm so over living downstairs and not having any way of cooking anything except by microwave. although yesterday i did break out the electric skillet to make some indian curry. yum.

alright i have to go figure out how to make puppets...if anyone has any hints on how to make some please let me know. i have no idea!

also please excuse this dumb stuff at the bottom of all my posts i can't get rid of it. that dang HTML class i took last year obviously stuck with me. NOT. i hate HTML just saying.

Let's get Physical

this losing weight stuff is getting expensive geeze louise! i've decided that just dieting isn't going to cut it anymore so i'm introducing working out! yahooo! i'm actually liking it, although it's only been two days so we'll see how long that lasts. here are a few purchases i made today to work on my fitness.

rocket dog tennis shoes. they are orange inside...might be one reason i got them and i had a coupon ;)

i bought some capri workout pants, basket ball shorts, bike shorts, no slip headbands and those lovely shoes again.

also bought this biggest loser wii game from amazon last week and got it a few days ago. that lady kicks my butttt. she's intense.
sam and i made it a goal to go (fast) walking 4 times a week for at least 30 minutes then do this little game 3-4 times a week. sundays will be a rest day so that means i'll be doing both on a few days.

last but not least some updated remodel pics for those who are interested.

Quick Cards

i was very productive this weekend, card making wise that is. i pretty much stayed in my PJ's and made lots and lots of cards (about 45ish). here are a few of my favorites might post more later but i always say that and never do so there ya go.

i'm going to post what movie i was watching while making each card b/c when i look at them i think of the movie i was watching at the time haha

sweet home alabama

walk to remember

cutting edge (LAME not my choice)

defiantly maybe....i think? i made several of these so i can't remember too well, maybe this one was during the olympics.

walk to remember

mean girls ;)

cutting edge (i did a lot during that movie i'm not a fan)

cutting edge again

and last but not least a walk to remember.

that was strange haha sorry about that.

p.s. i just found a new background site so i'll be having background ADD again for awhile :) go here if you want to see them.

p.p.s. still trying to figure out how to get rid of these dumb icons at the bottom of my posts so just ignore them. dumb things.

RE-model-ING

we are remodeling. the upstairs LR/hallway/entryway/kitchen. it's kind of a big deal ;). we have been waiting and waiting and he's finally started! here are some before pictures:

(nice cape batman)

behind that wall is the kitchen.

ok so there's some before pictures here are the during pictures:

standing in the kitchen looking out. that half wall is going to be a counter/bar. the LR side will be tall with bar stools for eating and the kitchen side will be a working counter. it will have it's own special counter top material separate from the rest of the kitchen. (please ignore the shotty yellow painting. we painted after everything was installed so it looks pretty special)


here's looking into the kitchen from the office area.

looking into the kitchen from the LR

just another angle. all the floors will be ripped out and replaced with dark hardwood. no more gross carpet! and we bought a couch from macy's that is AMAZING. then that big TV you saw is staying downstairs for the boys' game room and the new smaller flat screen will be hung where the fireplace is now after he takes it out.

and ALL THE WALLS WILL BE PAINTED! i am so excited for this part i have so many ideas but they keep getting shot down by the lady in charge. ugggggggg. it would be spectacular if i could just have my way with the color scheme but that won't happen dangit. i have one of those huge swatch color bricks from sherwin williams. well it's a work in progress. i'm "enjoying" the sound of knocking out walls waking me up in the morning. not. but whatever he's working fast hopefully everything will continue going smoothly

i can only cook so much in a microwave and being cramped downstairs with everyone is a blast haha. maybe.

i also just realized i think i forgot to take before pictures of the kitchen. woops. i'll get in trouble for that one later.

i'll post DONE pictures hopefully sooner rather than later.

p.s. i pretty much carried that TV downstairs BTW, with a little help from my dad but just us two did it. it should have been recorded we had to flip, twist and rotate it several times.

heeeedbands

last week i decided to make my own headbands so i went and bought a few things then started making them. i've decided i cannot pull them off, at all. i look like a loony toon to illustrate that point:

the pic. i took with my phone to send to michelle so she could tell me if i look dumb, she never replied so i take that as a yes. haha

please ignore the bags under my eyes that have their own bags and my crazy bang situation.

i just feel this one makes me look like i have a growth on my head. here is another headband and another pic of the same yellow one:

what i did was found those cheaper little girl fabric headbands at walmart for a few dollars then i glued some ribbon on top. the red one is actually a little girls scrunchy i found in a pack again at walmart. i was going to sew it together to make a little ball type thing. then i decided to just wrap the scrunchy around the headband 3 times so i didn't have to sew anything. the yellow one is from a bunch of flowers i got at michaels and the white leaves are also from some fake plant at michaels that i took apart and layered together.

i feel like if i had better hair i might be able to pull them off a little better but maybe not. if my hair had the ability to curl AT ALL it might help hide the bulkiness of them. anyways maybe i'll try again with some smaller objects. but probably not this week. i have a baby shower on sat. for a friend that i'm planning and my gpa was in the hospital all last week (hence the eye bags) so i might go visit him some more.

here is another project i'm working on:

i don't usually like going to walmart but i was there anyways for shelley and i found a $3 shirt so i'll be re-purposing it for something else. if i ever finish i'll post pictures.

Issues

I'm having issues with stupid blogger. i used a template for my last layout instead of just a background like i usually do. well it messed EVERYTHING UP! i'm so frustrated. i've had these terrible head splitting headaches for the last 2 weeks so i'm not going to figure it out right now. i'll try to fix it later for now i'll just have a dumb blog set up. DON'T download and use your own templates it sucks to figure out how to fix it later on. uggggggggggg i might just go take a 16 hour nap now. maybe even 22 hours if i can get away with it :\ ya right.

Obsessed

I love blogs. I go to blogs way too much. I'm always searching for new ones and today I feel like i hit the JACKPOT! seriously. i was looking for DIY headband ideas so michelle and i can make our own. i came across this blog, Kotori and found an idea for ribbon headbands, not exactly what i was looking for. so i closed out of it and searched again. Well i happened to click back to that site a little later and saw the same thing but this time i started looking around. Let's just say i spent the last 1.5 hours looking through all her posts back to jan. 09....ridiculous. she posts A LOT. recipes, jewelery ideas, DIY projects galore everything from sewing, home decorating just EVERYTHING you could want in a blog. ahhhhh i've added her to my blog list and intend to go a little further into her archives (creepy? weird?). there are so many things i've found that i want to do i'll have to make a list. i'll be making her whole wheat lasagna with spinach at some point soon.

go to her blog please. it's amazing.

Operation: Skinny Jeans

i thought i'd write a little bit about my "wellness challenge" (aka diet) we call it the WC b/c it makes it a little easier..? maybe not. probably not. defiantly not. anyways these are NOT the type of jeans i'm talking about:

i'm not much for the emo-esque vibe i get from skinny jeans but, skinnier jeans is what i'm after. i started the Prism diet the week of Halloween. perfect. awesome time to start a diet. halloween, thanksgiving and christmas all within 2 months, please wait until january to start this madness. it will make your life easier. looking back though i'm so glad i started when i did. i ws loosing weight while everyone else was gaining it (hypothetically). i figure if i could skip eating all the junk at those three major holidays i could do it on a day to day basis. (basics of prism: 1st 6 weeks, no white or wheat flour, no sugar, no potatoes 1000 cals a day. next 6 weeks: add in 3 portions of potatoes a week, 2 slices of whole wheat bread a day and 3 sugar free desserts a week. next 6 weeks: add in whole wheat pasta still staying within the 1000 cal range)

i'm happy to say, i didn't cheat once...until christmas eve when i had a piece of bread the pratt's brought over. i thought one little piece of it wouldn't hurt. welllll i was up a large portion of the night feeling like i had a stone lodged in my intestine (sorry if that's a poor image) it was terrible i promised i wouldn't cheat again if it was going to make me feel like that. the next day we had family over for ham and company potatoes, i did eat a lot and the potatoes i ate had stuff i probably shouldn't have had so i made friends with the big box of alkaseltzer. so i've made my final decision: it's not worth it! if something that i was eating every day can cause me to feel like that, it's probably not the best thing to eat. someone told me one time that they used white flour to make glue when she was younger i've decided even though i want a flaky melt in my mouth croissant, i DON'T want it sticking to my insides.

since the end of october i've lost about 35 lbs. i haven't checked in about two weeks so hopefully i'm still on the right track. i really wasn't able to tell, still can't really but i'm down a size in jeans and a size in shirts(or more). none of my old pants fit right anymore they hang off and i walk around like erkel all day when i wear them. anyways this was more of an update for me to keep me motivated. i have a ways to go still but i'm glad i'm finally acting on something i've talked about for a few years. if i can do it, YOU can do it. trust me. i loved me some bread and sweets believe me! no more though. it's a happy and sad thing but more happy.
Operation Skinny (but not in the ankle skinny) Jeans can continue.