Rubber Band Muscles

As most of you know, I am trying to become healthier all around.  By eating better and working out.

It is hit and miss most most days.

I like going to the gym, but I always wonder how effective I am at stretching out afterwards.

I no longer get muscle cramps at night. So that's a plus.

I found a couple of good articles about stretching

here and here .

But for the sake of time, I will give you a synopsis.

Know what muscles you are working, before you stretch.

For example, if you are a runner you really need to focus your stretching on the leg muscles.

If you lift weights you need to focus on those muscles.

It is best to warm up before you stretch.  I actually don't stretch until I am finished with my workout.  Then I know for sure that my muscles are nice and warm.  You never  want to stretch a cold muscle, it would probably hurt and you could tear a muscle.  Not to mention that it is highly ineffective.

Imagine your muscle to be a rubber band.

You put it in the freezer, then try to stretch it to it's limit.  It doesn't work very well, it might even snap.  But if you work it slowly, rolling it around in your hand and stretching it ever so slightly, eventually it will stretch to it's limit very easily.

Muscles are just like that.

You should also hold your stretch, and breathe out while holding.  No bouncing, it is also ineffective.

Start slowly, don't push yourself.  If you can't stretch very far the first time, don't fret.  Keep it up and eventually you will get there.  The most important thing to remember is don't forget to stretch. 

On another note...

I'm still doing well with the no soda thing.  Way better than I ever thought possible.  I don't even miss it (anymore).

Sometimes I go out to a restaurant and order a diet whatever, until I catch myself and change it to iced tea.  :)

I guess I feel better too, but I haven't noticed.

I've been meeting my friend Becky at the gym every so often and that makes it easier to go.  She is a crazy gym addict, she actually has 2 gym memberships!  Now that's dedication!

Too bad I have a husband and kids...(kidding) that monopolize almost all my time!

Hope ya'll have a good day!

:D



T-Shirt Monsters! AAAhhh!

My daughter has been "dying" for me to teach her to sew.

Not really, but those are her exact words.

I was at Joann's the other day and I came across this beginners sewing book.  So, with my 40% off coupon, I bought it.  Right up her alley...

She picked out our first project.

T-Shirt Monsters!

What I really liked about this book is that it is all about hand sewing.  She's only 9, so she is not ready for machine sewing yet. (according to me) Soon...

I let her pick out of my fabric to be recycled and we got started.  She even got to use the rotary cutter and mat.  She liked that part.

First I showed her how to pin both sides together.

Then she threaded the needle and got to sewing.

She did very well and I am so proud of her.

She did the same at the bottom, but remembered to leave a hole for the stuffing.  She liked the stuffing part.

(See the kitty mascot.  He always has to be part of the fun.)

Then I let her pick out scraps for the face and accessories.

She was somewhat patient, but it turned out well.

She was so proud of herself, she even went on to make 2 more all by herself.  That's my girl!

She named her monster Rainbow Devil

(because it has horns)

Her baby brother keeps trying to steal it, I guess I need to make him one.  Someday, soon...

Here's a sneak peak of a future tutorial...

Ruffle bag!

Thanks for reading!

:D

Old Jeans to A-line Skirt ReFashion

Yesterday was the first official get-together of a new sewing group I started.  I have a few friends who have sewing machines, but are not confident enough.

I wanted to help them learn, and become more confident in their abilities....so I started a sewing group.

For our first project we made an old pair of jeans into an A-line skirt.  I haven't made one of these in about 10+years.

It was tons of fun!

We laughed, we munched,

(b/c let's face it, a party is not a party without food!)

we sewed, we seam-ripped...

I know this is not a new project for most of us, but it was for my friends.  We all messed up, but they learned a lot(I hope) and gained some confidence(again, I hope).

I can't wait to wear my new skirt to my nephews birthday party today.  I might post a pic later.

 We are going to get together once a month and sew something.  Next month we are going to do a project with ruffles...I just love ruffles. 

And....I'm going to write up a tutorial for it!

Wish me luck!

:)

Here's the kitty "helper", he kept batting the pins out of our stuff!

Make Your Own!

It is very easy to make yourself one of these too.

Get a pair of jeans that still fit you in the waist.

Put them on and determine how long you want your skirt to be.

Make a mark about 2 inches longer, that is where you will cut.

Take off the pants and lay them out so you only have to make one cut.  Then, cut off the legs.

They will be sorta crooked, but that is OK

(that is what the extra 2 inches is for)

Cut open both of the cut off pant legs,

this is what you will be using to fill the triangles in your pants.

Then you need to cut out the crotch seam.

I had to cut quite a bit off, because I wanted the triangle to lay flat.

It makes a nicer skirt that way.  Very A-line and such.

I matched up the seams in my cut legs to the seam in the pants(skirt)

You can see that in the pictures above.

I sewed it under the triangle so there would be cute fraying of the denim.  After I sewed in the triangle, I trimmed the inside, and evened out the hem(the extra 2 inches) so it was straight across.

I also used a decorative stitch around the bottom so it wouldn't fray too, too much.

It is the perfect length and EXACTLY how I wanted it to look!

If you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment and I'm sure I could help you!

Thanks for reading!

St Pats Tie Tee(and vintage osh kosh)

Here is what I made today.

It was super quick and super easy.

I used a Target tee(only available online)and I bought the tie iron on off a great etsy seller JellyPopChick .  I know I could have made it myself...but I love supporting other esty sellers and spreading the love!

Besides, she only charges $2 with $0.50 shipping.  For the time it would've taken me I considered it a deal!

I ironed on the tie, then I stitched around it with a small zigzag, and Voila!  Adorable tie shirt for $7.50!

Then,

I added his so cute and groovy vintage Osh Kosh Pants!  I LOVE vintage osh kosh!  No other kid at the parade will have any!

Along with my daughters cute tunic, and the dogs green hoodie, they will be the cutest kids at the parade!

It is my favorite part of St Patty's Day!

(Now that I've grown out of the green beer swilling!  HA!)

Don't hate me because I'm on the ball this year, remember that I got the Valentine's stuff done 3 days before I needed it! lol

Please share any green related things you've been working on!  I love to see others projects!

Sexy Me...maybe.

I hate to have my picture taken.

Really hate it.

I never like the way I look in anything.

So for me to do this for my husband for Valentine's Day took a lot of gumption, I almost needed a drink just to go.

I got some boudoir photos taken!

AND

They are actually something that I like.

I know I've got a lot of work to do with being comfortable with my body, and I still need to lose about 40 or 50 lbs, but overall I like the way they look. and,

Just because I think I need work doesn't mean my husband does.  He actually loves me just the way I am, and tells me everyday how beautiful and sexy I am. 

(it kind of embarrasses me...alot)

So I mostly did these for him.

They were taken by this super nice girl named Mandy of Mandy's View Photography.  She has her own studio and does a lovely job.  We are getting the family done this weekend.

She even does Boudoir Picture Parties, so you can grab your girls and some wine and get some hot, sexy photos taken for your hubbies!  How much fun would that be?

I'm going to share a couple (G-rated) photos of my shoot.

I actually got my hair and make-up done for it too, and that made all the difference in the world.

You gotta love the stove ones!

I feel like the Mona Lisa in this one.

(and I was fully clothed under the tulle)

So, for anyone who has been considering it, but wasn't sure..

If I can do it, you can do it!

Your hubby will love it too.

Tell Mandy I sent you!

:D



Getting it together(Behind the Scenes)

Do you remember when I shared those pretty pictures of my sewing/crafting area?

Well, it is never ever that clean.  I actually moved some stuff out of the way to take pictures and then put it back!  :)

So one of my favorite bloggers shared some pics of her house in a not so organized state (her blog is wonderful though)

she calls it Ideal vs. Real

She talks about how you only get to see the perfect part of a bloggers world.  The clean house, the beautiful finished projects, the clean, neatly dressed children...but usually that is totally not the case.  I know firsthand what it feels like.  So...

 I thought I should contribute to the fun!

So here is a picture of my craft area as it usually looks.

Everyday

All the time

Unless I'm expecting company!

So not perfect.

:)

i can't live without food

Well, lately I haven't posted much about....

well....anything to do with being healthy.

It's hard to not want to blog about all the pretty stuff that I make.  It's almost the only thing that makes me happy right now.

The working out thing is still working for me, so is the drinking water thing, but again, the eating thing is sad.  :(

I just can't seem to get it under control.

I eat, therefore I am.

I guess maybe I should get some professional help.  I don't eat because I'm bored, I eat because I want to, because I'm stressed out, because I just gotta sometimes.

It truly is my addiction, the worst one to have.

I wish I was a drug user, or an alcoholic.

Then I could get help, and go to meetings and never drink or do those drugs again.

but i can't live without food

I think it is called anorexia, and I could possibly die from it...

of course, I could die by eating too much food too.

For me, it's a lose/lose situation...

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I need to find some OA meetings in my area, maybe that would help me to focus on my life, not my food.

That about sums it up...