thoughts on life...and paper

my office

2012-01-21T10:08:00.001-06:00

kinda messy. I still have tons of filing to do to get everything caught up. I like to call it organized chaos.

new years eve race...

2011-12-31T19:44:00.001-06:00

mich ran his third race this evening. he started out waaaay too fast, but still finished strong. not sure on his place yet, but I think he finished in the top ten. way to go, little man!

Owen...

2011-12-25T21:41:00.001-06:00

what a goob

Christmas Eve pics...

2011-12-25T20:45:00.001-06:00

my camera was at work and my phone was dead for Christmas morning. but I got these (tried to, anyway) on Christmas Eve. silly boys. and dog. lol!

more race pics and origami with Owen

2011-12-07T21:40:00.001-06:00

mich and I did the turkey trot on thanksgiving morning. he loves it and that's exciting to me. he wants to do the 5k next year. I'm currently scouting out a good race for him.

mich is also into origami. we made our first origami project...samurai hat. I'm going to head to hobby lobby to try to find some squared papers. I'm pretty sure the lobby has them.

just started watching burn notice. not sure about it yet, but I'll let you know. I'm sleepy. we went and saw Santa cow

mich's first race...

2011-11-21T16:43:00.001-06:00

just like his momma, mich made his running debut at the Coyote Chase Race put on by the local college. he came in 5th in his age group. he loved it so much. I'm so proud of him!

we will be running the one mile together again on Thanksgiving Day and then he can recover while I do the 10k.

Sunday soccer

2011-11-13T12:46:00.001-06:00

game two for this weekend. hopefully they'll play better than yesterday. this is the last game for this season. mich has hi fauxhawk going on and Owen wanted one too. always gotta be like bubba.

this little monkey...

2011-11-07T17:38:00.001-06:00

is up to no good. he's a schemer. did I spell that right?

so, the other day he hid mich's iPod. we looked for it for two days. I always tell mich to put it in the little pouch I made for him when it's charging and leave it up on the counter. he never does. the last we saw it, it was sitting on the arm of the couch. I meant to pick it up but didn't. then it was gone. after two days, we were thinking ok it's really gone. so we lifted furniture, dug in couches, looked in baskets and through toys.

...and then we asked Owen. he had NO idea. and then we asked again and he said, "ok, retrace my steps." he went on this big long tangent of places he went and things he did. it led us to the NASCAR bowl on mich's hutch. Owen said, "well, Michael, now you know that you should put your iPod away when you're not using it." that little stinker.

but he's right! taught his bub a lesson--for about 18 hours; the iPod is sitting on the edge of the coffee table.

I am such a dork...

2011-10-30T06:58:00.001-05:00

in an effort to not have to wear khaki pants and a black shirt to work, I dressed up for Halloween. I wore my usual running garb but threw on an old race number so as to look like a runner in a race. how dumb. but it works, I guess.

playing with a Mac at best buy...

2011-10-29T17:37:00.001-05:00

we had some fun. I think I could have done this for hours.

chilly morning

2011-10-27T07:24:00.001-05:00

and still dark. it's 0720. clocks will change soon though.

let's see...I put chocolate chips in my protein shake this morning (cheater). Owen tried to roll up his jeans because he thought they were supposed to be shorts and were just too long. I heard him say, "oh gosh. these are too long." he's a funny little dude.

last night was trunk or treat at Owen's school so we grabbed us a bag full of candy then went to Nizza pizza for some pie and a slice of cheesecake.

watch out Gotham...

2011-10-25T07:23:00.001-05:00

Lego Batman is here! Owen's Halloween costume. he loves it! and so do I. super cute.

supplies:
pizza box (thank you Nizza Pizza...yummy)
black material (about 2x3)
3 pieces black felt
1 sheet each yellow and black cardstock
1 roll yellow Duck brand duct tape
for head...1 large sheet of pliable, corrugated cardboard (so that you can roll it easily) and several pieces heavier cardboard to reinforce head.

I googled for the batman logo and traced and cut.

super easy probably 2.5 hours total.

oh my goodness!

2011-10-23T14:41:00.001-05:00

blogger finally has an app so I can now blog from my phone. I just found this out TODAY!!! woohoo!

so, just a bit of news...I'm a great aunt! yikes! but he's a doll. I was 14 when Sarah Elizabeth was born and now she's a momma.

on way to michs soccer game. we won yesterday. same team, different place today. that's all for now.

uncommon combos, friday five, a recipe, and layouts...

2011-07-22T15:36:00.006-05:00

i like polkadots and houndstooth together. need to make a wallet out of these. or something.

Friday Five:

i'm starting to think the temp reading on my car is busted. it just says 108 all the time.
arugula rocks. i always thought it had a peppery taste and that that was weird. but it says on the package that it really is supposed to have a peppery taste. go figure.
i have about four different kinds of tan lines on my upper body.
wondering if it's lame to go to the gym at 5:00pm on a friday night. cuz i think i might.
my child swims like a fish.

i made this with turkey sausage, onions and green peppers. no grease needed for pan. just sautee and eat. no seasoning either. it's superb.

some layouts i made. i miss making layouts. i need to make more but lack the motivation.

yarn wreath, rosettes, and a wish list item...

2011-07-14T16:43:00.006-05:00

i saw this here, and had to make my own:i will be demonstrating how to make paper rosettes at my crop this saturday. i made this one with some super old scraps from Autumn Leaves paper...wowza...that's old!!! anywho, i had a really hard time finding text weight paper! all my paper is cardstock weight and super hard to fold. i plan to make a banner-type something or other for the store during the crop and this is just a demo project so the ladies can learn and go from there:my mich is about to see Harry Potter before it opens at midnight. he's at some special showing which starts in a little bit. lucky duck. not that i'm into Harry Potter...but he sure is! he read all 8 books in less than three months. he's 9. little stud.

i want these new Mizuno Prophecy...but at $200 a pop, i don't predict them to be a part of my running anytime soon. they're not supposed to breakdown like the foam core in my Wave Riders because they don't have a foam core. Sweet! you just have to replace the insoles. Not to say they'll never wear down, but they'll last much long than shoes with a foam core. And they look like pink snake skin. i think i had a pair of plastic pink snake skin pants back in 1999 or something.

that's all for now. later taters.

this is what happens...

2011-07-03T20:38:00.003-05:00

when you swim for 4 1/2 hours without drying off:

eeeewww!!!! needless to say, he had a great time in the pool all day.

i'm here!

2011-06-23T16:50:00.002-05:00

i suck about keeping up with this like over the last year. but i decided to take a break from my summer class and post something i made. i bought this photo tray forever ago and, since my scraproom is sorta picked up, i decided to work on it. so, here it is as per my usual filling in squares with things...pics taken with a fancy dirty iphone lens:

some pics and ew to new #21

2011-03-25T20:35:00.005-05:00

so i'm cleaning out my scrap room and it's taking me far too long to finish. it's so hard to pick, but the more i dig i'm thinking you know this is stuff you will NEVER use if you haven't yet, so just get rid of it. so...to all my local scrapbookers, it won't be that much longer and hopefully by next week i'll be good to go and you can come over and take a peek at what i have.

in the meantime, don't expect anything creative to come out of that mess because i cannot function at all in there....at all!!!

took the boys to botanic gardens. everytime i told the boys to get together for a pic, mich put his arm around owen and made owen put his arm around him. they're too cute. and mich is such a great big brother.

owen during music class...uh-oh...

Ew:

my old dresser i got when i first got to ft. campbell. it had a lot of stains and water damage on top. NEW:

five cans of paint and 12 glass knobs from hobby lobby (at 1/2 price--yay me!!!) later...and i looove it!!! so pretty :) well, not so much in the garage but i'm not certain where i'm gonna put it yet.

kissy gnomes...

2011-02-05T19:03:00.003-06:00

so funny! i made them for mich's school party, which i'm not ever sure when that'll be but...

snowy day...

2011-02-04T08:28:00.006-06:00

ok, so mich has been home every day this week except for monday. i didn't have to work tuesday and my next scheduled day is this afternoon but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. cuz of this:
made these for mich's vday party which i think might be next friday. i'm not sure yet but i thought i'd get them done. mich seems to be disappointed that all they're going to get is a lollipop. but i also plan to make a pencil topper so they'll get a pencil, a gnome kiss (saw it in a mag yesterday), and a covered box of sweethearts. so that's plenty, right? plus, these stupid flowers took three hours!!!

played play-doh with the oster. gonna have to get the boy some new doh though. we only had one small container to make hamburgers out of and they were like a baby poo color. that color doesn't work well when you're making lettuce, onion and tomatoes...or the burger, for that matter. he's so busy. with his lion tattoo on his chest.
let's see....what else. oh, i made a super yummy dish last night. i got the idea from Feb 2011 Clean Eating Magazine, p. 53. i modified it slightly but it was awesome:
and......I DID IT!!! I crocheted a flower!!!

hi Mom!!!...ew to new #20 and Owen's Bday party pics

2011-01-31T14:11:00.004-06:00

well it's not really ew. it's precious. just needs some tlc. my best friend gave me this nightstand when we were around 12 years old (although she doesn't remember). it was yellow. i stripped the paint off it and stained it. i remember spending hours out on the back patio in NY working on this. I had a dresser to match and I think that dresser made it to a goodwill store in Laurel, MD. not exactly sure. anywho...

the ew:

and some sanding, primer, and paint...

the new:

and we had Owen's 4th Birthday party yesterday. what a doll. he wanted a Superman party, why i do not know. but I'm glad he changed his mind to a baseball party (why, i do not know) because i couldn't find any Superman party supplies. here's a few pics:

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T22:13:00.002-06:00

Owen being weird...

2010-12-20T15:40:00.004-06:00

owen was being weird playing in the laundry and talking to the ghosts on his little snuggle blanket. i missed that part but then he got up and i got this video.

and i'm working on the laundry. the floor was clean on friday so get off my cases. very little of it is mine, too. i am completely clueless how it gets like this.

hey! check me out!!!

2010-12-17T15:08:00.002-06:00

i'm blogging! actually i'm going to start light...here's a video from Owen's Christmas Play:

Owen's Christmas Play 2010 from karenmataraza on Vimeo.

bday, pdw and other tidbits...

2010-09-20T17:49:00.004-05:00

let's see...

mich had a bday party. 9 years old!!! i cannot believe that at all. we kept it small and the boys really enjoyed it. they all had a good time and it was easy on the parents and the party-planning committee (parental units).

ran a race on labor day and came in 12th out of 48 women in my age group. not sure about how many overall; the results weren't listed in that type of fashion. it was a 15k and i didn't gu and i'm starting to think i shouldn't anymore. i ran yesterday a looong run (on accident) and i had a gu and i cramped up real bad. but it could have been the lack of water and the unexpected long distance. that and it was hotter than hay!!!

made this little number with the september pdw kit:

love the clothesline. makes me wish i had one. although the one we had growing up...well, it was weird. it was from the second story porch window and i was always afraid of it cuz i didn't wanna fall out the window. and we never had a working dryer and our clothes would be sort of frozen in the winter, if we didn't try to dry them from the furnace pipes...that was a treat. i remember many a burn mark on our clothes. gotta love older homes in NY :) ahhh, but i miss :(

itchy first day and Ew to New #18

2010-09-09T13:27:00.007-05:00

let's start with owen. i took him to his first day of pre-k at the same place mich went. owen was excited to go, but you could tell he was getting a little nervous. by the time we got to the classroom, he said, "mom, i need to go home." but they told me to leave and he ended up just fine.

except an hour or so before pick up, i got a phone call. "owen was complaining of an itchy head and we checked him out and he does have lice." spectacular!!!the funny thing about it is, just about every pic we took of him, he's scratching his head!

aimee and angie were there and they took pics, too, and almost every pic of theirs...scratchy, scratchy. we saw him keep pulling at his hair, but we just thought he was being silly little owen. poor little fella!

now for the goodies:

i made an ew to new!!! yeah, it's another picture frame but it's so easy to pick these up for a dollar or two and make them all your own.

the ew:

$1 (at 1/2 price at Goodwill):

the new:

i paired it with a card, using September's PDW kit, thinking it would make a cute housewarming gift. not that i have anyone to give it to...

pretty saturday...

2010-09-04T12:17:00.003-05:00

sitting outside enjoying the pretty day. finally it's not scorching hot! enjoying the view without burning up (like our grass is--ugh):
owen got a haircut a few days ago. he really does not like it. but the french fries helped. he sat and snacked while she cut. good job Owen!
that's about it for today. gotta do some laundry and get my food ready for work. i have a 15k on monday and i totally should have run today, but work had me worn out from last night and, after letting gomey out early, i went back back to bed. i slept until Owen came in and sneezed on me then asked me for milk. what a turkey.

no soccer tomorrow. our season is over. i scored two goals total. yay! we start again in a few weeks. can't wait!!! i think tomorrow i might try to paint our hutch and finally finish our dining room chais. and then scrap!!! i got the new PDW September kit and haven't had a chance to dive into it yet. Sunday and Monday i'll get to play, uninterrupted. except for may a sneeze or two.

have a super Saturday!

Monday Mentionables...

2010-08-30T14:40:00.003-05:00

i got my september PDW kit in my hands. i'm gonna play later. i have some home decor projects in mind, like a clean/dirty sign for the dishwasher and perhaps a few other signs for the kitchen, like "get out and stay out". gonna re-do my frame that got messed up when it got knocked off the wall. or maybe ill just make a new one altogether.

now, since my mini herb garden pooped out on me, i decided to use the containers. i labeled them with the month and i have all my pdw goodies organized in them (ok, well they're far from organized--but at least they're not all over my table):
my microwave has a help button that i think i never noticed before:
yummy galas on my kitchen counter. reminds me a little of home. not so much that we had apples in the home, but just all around us outside in the orchards.
im on week three of P90x. it's awesome. i'm just doing the lifting part but i have my running to make up for the plyo and kenpo. running is a lot more strenuous, but eh. i'm used to it.

and i have a sort of monday un-mentionable and didn't/couldn't get a pic. owen found the buzz lightyear bottoms to a build-a-bear bear again. he put them on backwards so that his weewee could stick out the tail hole. nice owen.

this morning i made cinnamon rolls for the boys for breakfast. on the way out to school i said, "let's roll!" owen said, "yeah, let's cinnamon roll!" what a turd.

first day of 3rd...

2010-08-23T19:14:00.004-05:00

oooh, what a handsome fella! he was excited to go. he wasn't sure about the shoes, but he took my advice and they were a hit. same goes for the backpack. i talked him into a non-character backpack and, sure enough, all the boys had hiking type back packs. he looks like such a stud!!! and he smelled good too. we switched to big kid soap rather than baby magic (which still smells awesome).

owen wanted to badly to stay. he was so upset when we left. he didn't cry, but i could tell he really missed his bubby after spending the whole summer with him playing all day.
so, on the way out of school, it was just me and o again...

Be Still Already!!!

2010-08-17T08:06:00.002-05:00

using PDW July kit. also, this works for the sketch over at Sketch Inspirations. i know it's last weeks' sktech but it's still a fun sketch to do. i got to bust out my old CM circle cutters. yes, i still use them. hey, they work, right?

so i watched all these kids and i wanted so badly to take a pic of them. but i had the iphone camera, and it wouldn't take a still shot. but it's most likely because they wouldn't stand still!!!

2010-08-05T18:29:00.002-05:00

made this using pdw's July kit. wow... what awesome goodies! I have to tell you that I saw this mini done similar to this one in scrapbook trends may or June issue not sure who made it, but it totally caught my eye and had to give it a go! I will look it up and give proper credit when I complete and have more to share. I can't access my st mags on my phone anyone. (anyone use st online sub? looove it!) it's not done yet, but wanted to share a few bits of what I got so far!!

have you seen august's kit yet?? go check it now! http://www.polkadotwhimsy.com. and the new site is fabulous!!!

2010-08-02T12:53:00.002-05:00

apparently i don't quite have this mobile blogging thing down yet. but at least i got the stuff to show up. i'll get it straight. i just can't believe that iphone has all that google stuff on it, but then doesn't have any mobile blogging gadgets for blogger. i've tried to post to my blog using safari, but it just doesn't show up. plus, there's no way to access your photos like you would be able to on a regular computer. that sucketh.

anyway, i did get this to post but i had to login on my laptop anyway to correct some things. and you may notice the june 4th post below, which i posted on june 4th and it just now appeared. i wonder if all those other posts will start appearing now that i have this sort of figured out. they were in that strange cyber holding area, i guess. lol!

my projects for the july pdw kit are in the works. and if you haven't checked out the new site yet, DO IT!!! it's beautiful!!! i looove it!!!

full monty...

2010-06-04T09:45:00.005-05:00

here's my june pics for the PDW kit...

and if you haven't stopped by yet, the new site is up and it's wonderful! i feel like i have a new home now. the message board isn't running yet--should be soon. but go on over and check it out!!!

R2P2

2010-06-02T09:30:00.007-05:00

that is the weird name we came up for our little group of crazy runners. ran the american heroes race on saturday. great morning. apache landing, f-19 flyover, bagpipes, national anthem, 21-gun salute, the whole 9-yards. i cried. here's some pics of the powerhouse posse:

looking a little bored, pre-race:

marty, sunny, dave, me, and ange
me and ange checkin' out the apache. i miss that Army smell...it was wonderful and brought back so many memories.we got interviewed for fox 4 news. we didn't make the cut though. :(

came in 2nd in my age group. again. one day i'll get that 1st!!!

pdw june sneakage

2010-05-24T20:57:00.002-05:00

just a few peaks at Polka Dot Whimsy's June kit:

winner, winner...chicken dinner

2010-05-22T10:21:00.004-05:00

yay Ardis!!! you win some horned frog prurple key chains! send your address to polkadothousehousedesign (at) live (dot) com and I will get them out to you.

ok I have to tell you I didn't do the random number generator. there were only two of you. nobody else was up except for me and gomey (my dog), so I wrote Megan and Ardis down and held them each in one hand. he went to my left hand first. he's so cute. but I think he got mad when he realized it wasn't anything to eat. apparently he doesn't like paper as much as I do.

I'm hoping to scrap today. I got PDW's June kit and I loooove. come back soon for sneaks!

R&R (RAK and a Race)

2010-05-18T13:41:00.009-05:00

so, i saw little felt keychains made up in the current issue of SBE and i wanted to give it a go. mine are quite different, but i like!

so, now that i've whipped up a few for my local peeps, i will give two away randomly. just cuz...and i have over 35,000 visits to this little old blog...

i'll pick a winner on saturday morning. so comment before then!
just tell me what kind of car key you're going to put on it and i'll let the random generator pick a comment. you can have one for you and one for your bff :) there's a clip and a regular key ring, so you can even clip it on a backpack or something. now, they're just felt, so don't get all crazy with them. they're not cockroaches and won't survive a nuclear holocaust.

i did a race for the Hemi Foundation. i never really think much about the races i do; i just get my number, slap it on and try to beat my best time. but this one got me a little choked up. the pictures of all the little kids...gosh, i can't even write about it. the co-founder of the Hemi Foundation (whose daughter had a hemispherectomy) actually thanked me personally for coming to the race. how often do you get that? it meant so much to him that so many people gave their money to his cause. amazing.

here's a pic of Robert Rose, me, Dave, and James Michael. i like James Michael. his name is fun to say. i've only said about 5 words to the man, but i see him at every race and he can run! well, all the guys in this pic can run...FAST. and then there's me. i did manage second in my age group and 8th overall in women though.

behold gadgets and paper...

2010-05-12T14:02:00.007-05:00

long time, no post = long post and no time to post it..i'll get up here what i can :)
first, behold my new toy...notice the batter halfway down and it's only 2:10pm. one needs nothing else. the only thing i figured out it doesn't do: take a picture of itself (without using a mirror).
and i'm a bit late with these. sorry :( projects i did for May's PDW kit...beautiful kit...my fave so far!!! colors are so sunny and cheery!
i made this for meemee to hang somewhere in her new apartment:i've done two races, i think, since my last post. Mayfest in Fort Worth and another in Aledo. both 5k races. i placed 2nd in my age group at the Aledo one and 4th in my age group at Mayfest. getting better, but far off the mark when it comes to winning. one more this weekend, then i take a break and then run the heroes run on may 31st.

later peeps!!!

owen, a flashback, and the zoo run

2010-04-26T18:11:00.007-05:00

lots of pics...the first few are from when we got our free tour of the new cowboys stadium. it pays to be in the right place at the right time. or, in this case, it pays to be somewhere you're not supposed to be when the security guard thinks you look dumb enough to lose your tour guide and the entire tour group of about 60 people. pumas rock!!! and so does owen:

and...since mich became infuriated when i told him what owen got to do...i had to remind him that he got to experience the old stadium, which is now gone, back in march of 2005. michael was 4 years old in these pictures. and these are my favorite two pictures ever of this sweet little man:

and here are a few pics from the zoo run...i came in 5th in my age group out of 151 ladies and 158th overall out of 1,942 runners. 24:28. not a PR, but i'll take it.

me and a freaky clown...oh wait, that's me and dave....

and then freaky clown and some lady with a super cool south african accent and some other lady i don't know her name:

finally...

2010-04-23T17:59:00.003-05:00

the old paint bucket is going on a trip...for a much needed girls' night in! i'm even going to have aimee trim my hair! it needs it so badly.

gosh, this bucket is ancient. like 5 or 6 years old. Melody Ross signed it at CKC Nashville. anywho, it's filled with "paint" and ready to go! oops, gotta find my good hair scissors.

this is way better than a spa day. like i've ever had one of those anyway.

later peeps. have a fab friday and wonderful weekend!

Whimsy Wednesday 4/21

2010-04-21T13:10:00.005-05:00

there's a new Whimsy Wednesday post over here...
go check it out. i hope you'll play along. you could win a little something :)

that's all i have time for right now. gotta go help my girlies...

have a wonderful wednesdsay!

yeah....i'm pretty sure

2010-04-15T13:40:00.003-05:00

that i did this not so very long ago...

sweet crap i got some clothes! and not a single on of these fit!!! 27 pairs of jeans, 18 pairs workout pant, 14 pairs slacks (mostly khakis)...and i don't know how many shirts--don't think i can count that high!

i got a wild hair today. tired of hoarding. seriously. none of it fits.

just thought i'd share. hope everyone is having a great thursday!

1:53:11....and TROY AIKMAN

2010-04-12T14:34:00.004-05:00

i think i've typed his name at least a hundred times since yesterday morning. and in all caps. but who can blame me? he's a big dude! you know, you see him on tv and you're like oh yeah, that's TROY AIKMAN and he's a hottie. then you see him in person and you're like, "Holy Crap! That's TROY AIKMAN and he's a real person who is ginormous and even cuter than i thought!!!"

and then you get to run the first 6 miles of a half marathon with him:

so, yeah, my middle 4 miles are slower. he got ahead of me after the 6 mile marker. i couldn't catch back up to him. i wanted to beat him soooooo bad! still though, he only came in 3 1/2 minutes ahead of me. i'm pleased with this race, considering i've been hacking my lungs up for the past 4 weeks. troy came in 190th, i came in 247th out of 1107 overall. 11th out of 90 in my age group for women, and 67th out of 564 women altogether.
ange, me and marty. ange did the 5k and got a mention on the radio as 'purple nike girl' from kid kraddick who was broadcasting live. she set a PR! go ange!!!
marty ran the half with me the whole way and took pics and got me water. he's a running machine, so he totally sacrificed this race as a training run to stay back with me.....me and troy :) lol!
and i didn't even tell you what happened at packet pick-up on friday! another post for another day...

have a great monday peeps. almost pick up time but today was very uneventful. kinda blah. tried to enjoy the sun, but the silly clouds are in the way of the sun tanning me. so...i've been getting grocs, putting them away, and grilling crap to eat.
_

BASB Winner...

2010-03-29T19:18:00.003-05:00

BETH S.

yay, Beth! you win a little pack of goodies from me! how exciting!!! email me at polkadothousedesign [at] live [dot] com with your address and i'll get these out to you! (there's even some newspaper crosswords in here dated 1962 that i found in the back of the old text book from which i included pages.)thanks, everybody who played along :) see you next time!

joe's run...

2010-03-29T11:11:00.009-05:00

another great race. let's see, last year when i did this race i was about 30 pounds heavier and ran a 1:13 and some change. saturday i ran 49:46 (6 seconds slower than my last 10k in january...but it was windy as all get out and much hillier than the einstein run course...and i coughed my brains out through the whole thing. terrible chest cold. so...that's my story and i'm sticking to it). and it's still a huge improvement from last year!!! yikes!

i came in 5th out of 45 ladies in my age group. 89th overall out of 454. here are a few pics:

paper and mango salsa

2010-03-26T14:41:00.007-05:00

here are my full projects for April's PDW kit!

you can see what all the girls created, just hop on over to visit!ETA: sorry forgot to put this in here!!!
this layout is part of the DT's scraplift challenge. Each member had to scraplift a layout from the PDW gallery. I chose Kat's layout 'US'. check out Kat's blog, too--she's a cutie with some cute craft stuff! i loved all her layering...this is my take on her design:this little dude is made by wrapping the glass from a pic frame with the fabric strip from the kit. can't really see the glass, but i like the idea!and here's my new favorite 'clean' meal:

check out the eat clean ideas blog for the recipe! it's super yummy and so very simple!

going live...

2010-03-25T15:52:00.003-05:00

today! April's PDW kit, Sugar Hill:

i'll have my full projects up for you tomorrow!

one more sneak...

2010-03-22T21:40:00.002-05:00

and maybe some more tomorrow, depending on if i get time.

using pdw's april kit...coming soon!

sneak-a-roni

2010-03-21T21:30:00.004-05:00

got some sneaks for you from stuff i put together today using the upcoming April PDW kit. i hope you likey :)

Michelle has a whole new website in the works and it is going to be amazing! i cannot wait for it to go live. in the meantime, come visit us over at the ning site...we have a new challenge every wednesday and you can win something!!!

happy almost monday, peoples!!!

BASB, BASB, BASB, BASB...

2010-03-15T12:00:00.007-05:00

i'm up for this go-round...and it's about repetition. i like to find patterns in things, numbers, colors, shapes, you name it. my mind works that way. maybe i'm weird, or maybe i'm not so alone in that. i don't know too much on the principles of design, i just know what catches my eye and what doesn't. (on a side note, what catches my eye always is this girl right here...amazing creativity...i just love her!)here's a few pics of what i made. hopefully you can see where i'm going with the repetition idea!

anywho, come play along! the idea is to use something over and over again in a layout or other project. shapes, numbers, letters, patterns, colors...repeat them in your most creatively creative manner. go here to the basb blog and post your creation in the comments section. you could win a nice little prize pack from yours truly, which i'll post over at the basb blog in just a bit!

new shoesies...

2010-03-09T17:35:00.005-06:00

smell almost as good as new paper! yummy!!!
new mizunos...starting them tomorrow for America's Run...
and soccer shoes that don't get to play again until march 28th!!! that's way too long. i need to get a gooooooal!!! seriously though. i doubt that would ever happen. it would be sooo much easier if the goalie would just get the heck outta my way!!!
and if you haven't checked out the march PDW kit yet, you're missing out! the april kit is sounding spectacular as well...
here's another layout i did of me and my bub. we call him 'dude'...his name is charles michael II. what a great name :)

oh. my. word.

2010-03-09T11:14:00.001-06:00

i haven't laughed this hard at a video in a while:

thought this was pretty cool...

2010-03-04T18:03:00.001-06:00

http://www.runpix3.com/ftw10/00/finord.php?LastName=5889&lan=&aset=0&dist=21

for all my local peeps who ran, click on restart, enter your bib number and select your race. pretty neat stuff!

ilck...gotta go to work! :(

scrappy goodness...

2010-03-01T21:27:00.008-06:00

here's what i've completed so far for pdw's march kit. the kit is wonderful! i love the colors and can't wait to get time to play again! hope to have more soon later.

have a good one peeps!

pdw sneakage

2010-02-28T11:44:00.003-06:00

the march kit is yummy, people. i am lovin' it like mcdonalds. here's a few peeks .hope to have more soon! go here to see more sneakage.

thanks for stopping by. got a soccer game this afternoon, not quite sure how this buzz killer is going to do, seeing as how she can't walk!!!

3 minutes baby!!!

2010-02-27T16:06:00.005-06:00

over 20,000 people converged on sundance square this morning. oh joy....

did the Cowtown Half this morning...and after coming off a week of working overnights, i had little hopes of even coming close to my White Rock time...

well, what do you know! i beat it by over 3 minutes! 1:50:56!!! 725th/4,777 total, 175th/2,443 women, 40th in age group.

sweet!

aimee did the 10 k and cut 4 minutes off her time and ange did the k and she cut off over a minute. it was a great day for running!

we didn't get any after pics...i don't think we would have been able to hold the camera up anyway. it took us about 1/2 an hour to gimp back to the car! we were all pretty wiped!

and here's before and after our soccer game on sunday. angie's team whipped us, but i did score a goal...sort off. i kicked the ball and it deflected off ange and then went in. we got our one point off her (female goals count as 2 points). so much fun! i hope i can walk for tomorrow's game though...ugh. i'm sore!!!

my girls are very kissy. and sweaty. blech! by the way i really dislike our team name! who the heck picked it!!! so dumb!

Whimsy Wednesday and the Friday Five

2010-02-19T15:49:00.006-06:00

friday five:

i really think i'm narcoleptic. i'm having troubles with my tribbles.
burping on purpose and for fun is normal for children under 9. i'm guessing.
cupcakes and cookies are bad. very bad.
i didn't realize you could still buy tom & jerry episodes on dvd or buy hubba bubba bubble gum. apparently, you can still do both.
don't try to make apple cobbler with buckwheat pancakes, twice. seriously. don't bother the first time. and don't ask either.

i'm hosting the Whimsy Wednesday challenge here...go check it out. you could win something from PDW. here's my challenge. not really much of a challenge. unless you're like me and can't find the punch you want to use when you actually want to use it. so, yeah...you need to use your punches to make something. i did a layout and then used several different punches and layered my shapes and created my own embellishments to use on cards, layouts, etc. you could even make magnets out of them. so, come play along!

oh, and i have my first soccer game this sunday evening here. if you wanna come see me make a complete fool out of myself, please feel free to stop by and enjoy yourselves!

later, peeps! have a great weekend!

win something...

2010-02-17T01:23:00.005-06:00

you could...go here and check out a sneak of PDW's march kit (which i'm dying to get a good whiff off very soon)...you could win some CHA goodies!!! but hurry cuz she's drawing a winner very soon. like wednesday!!!

here's march's sneak anyway. i'm just in love with it...

speaking of winning stuff...i posted a Whimsy Wednesday challenge too! my first one! if you play along, you have a chance to win a whimsy gift! the challenge requires you to use punches. listen to me using the word "requires"...who doesn't love to punch things??? go check out my post for all the details then get to punching! here's a taste:

i hope you'll come play along!

happy valentine's day...two days late

2010-02-15T18:04:00.006-06:00

but i guess it's ok to still post this. all the snow is gone and mich will head back to school tomorrow. my snow people are nothing but a few lumps and shed clothing.

i made these goodies for mich to take to school with him and i'm putting them in his valentine's day box that i made as well. but, on the advice of dad, mich has to make his own v-day goodie box. so we did that last night. i didn't follow instructions (and they're so going to know he didn't make the box). so...for now here's what we got:

Sassafras lines...a mix of several...i love how you can do that with sass--mix several lines together. they all kinda go, ya know? a little Jenni Bowlin, OA and some Making M emories. not sure what the dot paper is:

a monogrammed freaky secret notebook:
and a cool little bookmark:and here's the little baggies i made up:
and here's the big fat mess i made:

later peeps!

snow day...

2010-02-11T18:10:00.006-06:00

let's see...we got some snow!!! and it's still snowing now at 6pm. it's been snowing since around 3am this morning! yikes! we measured on the mailox...6 inches about 2 hours ago and it's still snowing.

i made the snow people all by myself. nobody wanted to help until i was all done. then they wanted me to help them. my hands were frozen by then and my back a little jacked from rolling that huge snowball. whatever. my snow people don't have mouths. they're mute. just the way i like 'em.

i cleaned out my closet today. i purged all my old shorts and capris finally. i even got rid of some gym pants. yikes!!! i still cannot believe it!
and the rest of the day i finished up mich's valentine's day stuff for school. he won't have his party until tuesday now though. school is canceled again for tomorrow and they have off on monday anyway. should be a nice, long four days. ugh...

i really, really, REALLY hope the gym is open tomorrow. i have to get out of this house!

later peeps...

birthday, olh, and cinnamon

2010-01-31T09:33:00.005-06:00

owen's bday party was yesterday. he turned 3 on the 26th, and we had some family and friends over yesterday to celebrate. he was super cute telling everyone happy birthday. and the things he was saying about his gifts...too funny! "ooh, look at that! isn't that just perfect! oh, i love it!" gosh, sooo funny. what a doll.

we did a spongebob and thomas party. sorry owen. mom wore herself out with making cakes and having huge parties for your big bro. that's just the way it goes! but he had a great time and it's nice to not have to worry about planning everything. that is just too much stress. order a few pies, get a cake and some ice cream, a 2 liter, and tell people what time to be there. works out just as well and is far easier!

now, speaking of making things easier...when preparing turkey chili, be sure to read your labels! by this i mean don't grab the cinnamon instead of the chili powder. not. good. at. all. yuck!!!

the February Polka Dot Whimsy kits are live! check out the full gallery here. here's another little sneak of what i created:

ran yesterday outside. it was frigid. well, really it was fine until the wind started going. then it was pretty bad. i was glad to get back inside the gym. but i couldn't do my planned workout because i was just too cold and could not get warm! i tried the bike (btw, the spinning class i signed up for on the 6th? not going to be fun. at all.), i put on two non-sweaty shirts. nothing. was cold to my bones.

so...needless to say, i didn't run this morning. it's cold again. that and my olh is killing me today (old lady hip). i think i've been running too hard again. need to scale it back a bit.

that's all for today. have a super sunday!

pine oil and paper

2010-01-27T13:04:00.005-06:00

not much going on today. trying to keep busy doing some much needed cleaning. oster is asleep though, so i can't touch the master bedroom or bath. darn! :P

i love cleaning my kitchen and getting my sink all shiny. and while i don't like mopping the floor all that much, the smell of pine oil...ahhh...it gets me. i wish i didn't have to exhale so i could just breathe it in constantly and never lose the scent. really, i'm not getting high off it. it just smells fab. and the febreze is pretty nice too. gomey doesn't really stink, but this febreze is the only one i can stand that's clean smelling and isn't all girly and doesn't give me a headache.

here are a few pics of my new-again scrappin' space:

i loooooooooooove my table! it's the best ever! everything fits wonderfully. did i mention how much i love it? sad, really. quite sad.i picked it up a little last night, but it's still quite messy. have to figure out what to do with all my cords though. i want them accessible b/c i move the laptop around a lot throughout the day. to the right of where i have the laptop is where the desktop sits. but it looks so pathetic over there that i didn't include it in the picture. i'm sorry desktop. i didn't mean that. don't break down and eat all my digital pics now, ok?

later peeps. have a wonderful wednesday!

sneakage...

2010-01-22T16:19:00.009-06:00

i got the February PDW kit yesterday...and here are a few sneaks:

go here to see more, if ya wanna!

have a fab friday everyone! i have a race on Sunday, so it will be a light day tomorrow at the gym. thank goodness, cuz today sucked. :P

a little scrappiness and a list...

2010-01-21T14:42:00.004-06:00

ok, i'm gonna start with this bit first...a friend of mine just informed me that i made the fastest run times list for dfw 5k area races!!! wow!!! i'm 'cited! very!!! check it. i'm under the, eh-hem, 30-34 female 5k results, under karen mataraza. that's my name, don't wear it out. :) crap in just a few months i'm going to move up an age group. better check out my competition.

and now for a little bit of scrappy...a layout i started like 2 weeks ago and just now got around to finishing up. it's super simple. probably b/c i've been looking at it layout around forever and i'm tired of it.

my scrappy room is almost complete as far as organization goes. i have a few finished touches then i will post some pics.

later kids! have a thrilling thursday, what's left of it.

a few thoughts...

2010-01-20T19:55:00.005-06:00

the sun was pretty the other day. rather large. i need to research why the sun looks huge somedays and then other days, eh, not so much. perhaps the atmosphere. it was impressive, though, the other morning:

and just a side-note for all you people who drive motor vehicles:

when you go to get gas in your TRUCK, do not take your CAR.

(i speak from experience.)

finally getting my scrapbook room organized for the second time this week. but at least this time i purged a bit. however, i just don't like getting rid of things that are fairly new, yet unused, when i have a pile of old crap that has been sitting in the closet for exactly ever and twenty-two days.

i will have a finished (i hope) scrappy room pic tomorrow night. ok, maybe sunday. that might be more do-able.

later peeps!

i'm a polkadot!

2010-01-16T10:53:00.002-06:00

check it out! that's my big news. i'm SUPER excited and thanks so much to Michelle for choosing me!She's a cutie and so are the kits! i have to be honest, though. i'd never heard of Polka Dot Whimsy before and now i'm wondering where they've been all my life! i mean, helloooo, polka dots!!!??? i have seen links for past kits and they are filled with all sorts of goodies and beautiful coordination and color and textures. oh how i love paper!

anyway, they have set up a very cool ning site and will launch a completely new website over the next month or so. check out the typepad blog, too! go visit and see what we're all up to! here's the monthly newsletter, too!

that's all i have time for now...i have to update my sidebars with all the great talent i get to work with! yay!!!

getting excited...

2010-01-15T06:40:00.001-06:00

to share some very big news with everyone!!!

later today, i hope :)

organizing...and eating...

2010-01-11T12:59:00.004-06:00

ok, so i got a laptop!!!! yay!!!! now i can actually upload pics and blog again with ease. sweetness. so far i'm liking windows 7, too. pretty cool stuff.

so i got me a new scrap table. it's fab. 3 bookshelves from wally underneath mike's old subbuteo table. will most likely paint or finish the tabletop someday, but it will work fine for now.
i'm organizing my scrap room but i have waaaay too much stuff! it will be fab once i get it finished though. mike is going to hate the table in the middle of the room...but it's a work room. he'll live.

a few pics to share:
my lunch for today. shrimp and spinach over whole wheat pasta. super easy and i'll post the recipe on the clean eating blog maybe later today.

the 3 amigos vehicles. ange, mee mee, and mine. i need an SUV. i'll take a big fat hummer h2...all white. like completely whited out. is that a word? whited? it is now. that would be sweet. far better than the camo ones i used to drive ; )

crazy mushrooms at central market. what a place! and what prices! holy pete, that place is expensive. you know it's pricey when a hungry girl like me comes out with a small box of clementines and a box of tea. but the food is beautiful. had a nice time browsing, except for the sub-zero temps inside...turn on the flippin' heat people!

that's about all. trying to keep busy. sometimes it works, most times it doesn't. i didn't run today; taking a break from my chilly run yesterday. brrrr! had to work at 2 so i couldn't swing the gym at noon when it opened. i ran outside in 16 degree weather. it wasn't windy, so it really wasn't all that bad. 5.6 miles. people driving kept looking at me like i was nuts. well, i am nuts, thank you very much! have a race coming up on jan 24th and then the cowtown half is on feb 27th.

ooh! and i forgot to mention that my new year's day race...i came in first in my age group! check it out! and i came in 46th out of 206. not too shabby!

guess that's about all for now. i don't work again until thursday night, so i have a little bit of time to get this crazy mess of a house in order. it's BAD!!!

later peeps. have a marvelous monday!!!

i like coffee, i like tea...

2009-12-30T13:35:00.003-06:00

i like the boys and the boys love me! my nana used to sing that song. but i don't like coffee. the rest...all true :)

in an effort to put the kabosh on my diet coke drinking, i've taken to tea. tazo tea. this kind is particularly good, although it's rather tart without any sugar. but i'm sticking with it. except that i'm at the bottom of my first diet coke for the day.

whatever. owen is running around pantless. later kids. have a wonderful wednesday!

seriously picture heavy...

2009-12-26T20:42:00.009-06:00

i'll just post the pics...just way too many! sorry! hope everyone had a fab Christmas. i did. my mom and sis and bil came to visit. i haven't seen them since may 2007!

owen being silly at mike's niece's 18th bday party...and we had to carry this balloon around for 3 days. and yes, he's pickin':
enjoying a cupcake at mich's 2nd grade Christmas party:
at first, they didn't give owen a piece of paper to make a card out of. so he sat down and started sticking the letters on his face. the room mom asked if it was ok to give him a piece to make something, and as she said it that's when he started sticking the stuff on his face. she said, "oh my...i guess...he...doesn't...need one! " it was quite funny. he also provided the entertainment for the entire class. what a ham!
mich and his creation. what a cutie...
ma, my oldest sister laura and me eating at mcalister's deli. lunch was ok, the company was perfect, however!
at Starbucks in downtown ft. worth:
being tourists...my sis, laura and my bil, jim:
enjoying hot chocolate and water :)
momma:
me. somebody fix that tooth already! ugh:
sundance square in downtown ft. worth. it was such a pretty day:
the tree on the square. no santa :( he must have been busy...
we opened presents a little early from aunt laura and uncle jim and gramma. mich helping o with his wings. now o won't have to wear the build-a-bear buzz lightyear wings anymore:
ok, now this is gross. at least they taste good! do you know what it is? the pit from a mango!!! wow! the brown pod was inside the furry pod...eeeeeewwww! it looked like some kind of alien creature! the worst part? it was caught in the disposal and we couldn't see it. we dug it out and were like wth is THAT!!!???
i saw these here and made them for ange and aimee...

frames for angie...same as the ones i made for aim, just different colors/style:

a clean pizza...whole wheat crust, grilled chicken (just sea salt and fresh pepper), green bells, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, scallions, italian seasoning, and a tiny bit of fresh parm cheese. the sauce is homemade tomato with a clove garlic, a tsp. olive oil, basil, diced toms and paste:
the Christmas Bunny:
otameal cookies for Santa and a very good friend of mine who looooves oatmeal cookies!!!
Christmas morning:
we got SNOW!!! in TX!!! it looks so pretty. it was a very wet snow and much different than NY snow, but it was pretty darn cool! and it was almost blizzard-like outside on Christmas eve. it was crazy!!!
i made us all get dressed in mid-present unwrapping in the a.m. it will most likely never snow like this again on Christmas day, so i figured what the hay?
snow in backyard:
me and momma on Christmas day at mike's sister's house:
that's about all for now. that pretty much sums up the last week. have a super Sunday!!!

a card and snow...

2009-12-21T21:45:00.003-06:00

a few things to share...

our house in the snow from a few weeks ago:
a little bday card i made for a friend to pass off as her own...shhhh...don't tell anyone:
that's about all. my mom and sis are visiting, but my sis and bil are about to head out in the a.m. for denver. my mom will stay until after Christmas. we are having a good time doing a whole lot of nothing. it's nice.

later peeps!

just a little something for today...

2009-12-16T13:23:00.002-06:00

i'm working on making a few Christmas gifts for my girls here in town. but i don't have any pics of that to post yet. i will try to get them up over the weekend. this whole puter thing really sucks and i see no remedy in sight!!! ick.

anywho, just a little birthday card i made. just kidding. i got nothing. STUPID COMPUTER!!!

1:54:05

2009-12-13T14:44:00.008-06:00

my official time for the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon!!! YAHOOOO!!! i cannot believe it! i'm looking at the official results right now and i'm in complete shock. maybe i'm misreading them.

i came in 91st in the half in my age group for women, 450th overall for the women's half marathon (out of 4,801 women) and 1553rd overall for the half (out of 8,355 men and women half marathoners)!!! is that right? i HAVE GOT TO BE MISREADING THAT!!! here's the link...i am in shock! tell me if i am WRONG!!?!?!

my girls were there in dallas to cheer me on. they completely rock. i had my peeps texting me all along the way and it made me feel phenomenal. but i must say, the last two miles SUCKED! we were on Katy Trail and i couldn't judge anything, my feel for mileage was completely lost...it was the longest two miles EVAH!!! i couldn't get my fat, cold hands in my pouch to get out my jolly rancher and those dopes handing out the oranges really sucked at it. i never get that last little bit of sugar. but i did it...and now my old lady hips are screaming at me!

here are a few pics from my weekend:

check the 'bar' in the room. strange.
we decided Wolfgang Puck sucks. he practically took over Reunion Tower and you can't even go up there and just look around and observe. suckage. ange should have been flipping him off in this pic:

aim, ange and me waiting for din-din. aimee is covering up mort with the water bottle lid. dork.
next year girls, we are all doing it together...and no free chocolate chip cookies for dessert either!gearing up in the purple, baby! how convenient that the 1/2 marathon bibs were purple this year! i think i'm the only tool-box who wrote on her body. whatever. those other people are no fun! if my Korean is any good, this says, "I run kind of fast." or something like that: and this says (again, if i'm correct), "hot like fire" ick. they misspelled my name completely! random favorite number for today:
and b/c...be cuz silly! why do i ever do anything? i'm so dumb...i took this picture of aim and yelled out in a crowd of people, "you look like the unabomber!" duh!!!

i don't have any finish pics. just too many people. i'll have to look at the professional running photos they take at the finish and afterwards.

ugh...needing a nap!!!

shopping list...

2009-12-11T13:33:00.002-06:00

since i can't post any pics of the scrappy things i haven't been making this past week, i'm going to post my basic shopping lists:

green is my food items (cuz i'm lean, mean and clean...not sure how that equates to being green, cuz i'm far from it) orange is crap i buy for da boys, blue is for both:

Crap i buy every week:

sweet potatoes ($.25 lb)
Grape tomatoes ($2)
2 pears ($1)
Green bell peppers ($2)
Onion ($1)
5 or 6 Gala Apples ($3)
Orowheat bread ($2.50)
Grapes ($3)
Strawberries ($3)
Squash ($2)
2 cans Amy's Organic Soup ($4.14)
2 bags 50/50 lettuce ($6)
3-4 Star Kist Tuna Creations Hickory Smoked Packs ($1.48 each)
Ground Turkey ($4.28/lb.)
Emerald Almonds (single serving packs $2.98)
Skim Milk (1/2 gallon $2)

Juice ($3.98)
Fruit Snacks ($2.98)
Capri Sun ($1.97)
Box Cereal ($2.50)
2 packsYogurt Drinks (Bio-Salud--little mini deals. boys love them) ($.88 each)
2 loaves White Bread ($2 each)
Whole Milk or 2%
Lunch Meat ($4 average)
Chips of some sort ($3.50)
Microwave Popcorn ($4)
Granola Bars ($2.50)
2 Dozen eggs ($3)
Canned Beans, try to get those with no color enhancers and just sea salt--i guess that's organic (average about $1.50 per can)
2 cans No-Salt-added Diced Tomatoes ($2)
2 cans No-Salt-Added Tomato Sauce ($1-- i get the small cans)

----------------> 88.53 total for the week. my items are slightly more expensive and it's just one of me eating. of course i have non-food items, but for the week at the most it adds on an extra $25 or so dollars. like diapers (which are usually a two-week purchase).

Things I buy every two weeks or less:

Frozen Chicken Breast in bag ($7)
Pork Tenderloin ($8)
Ground Beef ($13 -- 80/20 jumbo pack)
Thin cut Steaks ($7 ave)like flank or sirloin for stir-frying)
Frozen Perch or Salmon Filets ($5--individually frozen)
Shrimp in Bag ($4 Frozen)
Brown Rice in bag ($2)
Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal ($2.50)
Raisins ($2)
Cinnamon ($2)
Wheat Germ ($4)
Naturally More Natural Peanut Butter ($3)
Low-Fat Yogurt ($3 like Oikos or Stonyfield Farms)
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Cilantro
Whole Wheat Rotini or Spaghetti ($2)
Clove Garlic ($1)
Haagen Dazs Five Vanilla Ice Cream ($3)
Nestle Toll-House Semi-Sweet Morsels ($2.50)

SHHH on the last two. a girl's gotta have something good!!!

This might be a good way to get started. Categorize things you will eat and things the rest of the family will eat. See what dishes they'll like that you can eat. Leave the things they don't like just for you. Example: i make 4 pieces of baked chicken & parsley that they don't like. I'll eat it over the course of 3 days.

i set it up...

2009-12-06T11:18:00.003-06:00

a blog to share clean eating ideas and recipes...check it. it's over here

<---------------------

i hope you'll join and add to the recipes and tips, as i don't have that many to share :)

http://eatcleanideas.blogspot.com

it's sunday here. i don't work until 6pm. hoping we might actually do something today. although it's hard to say; we all just woke up. i was up at 3:40 like normal (owen--still!!!) and then at 5:43 (mike's normal work-week alarm) and then at 6:15 (my normal week alarm). had to let the dog out. but then i managed to get some more sleep (like it's hard for me to fall asleep). but i REALLY needed it. i did 8.5 miles yesterday.

and i have WHITE ROCK NEXT WEEKEND!!! WOO-HOOOOO!!!

How? sorry, it's a long story...

2009-12-05T13:16:00.006-06:00

ok, so to start:

when i got out of the Army I was a size 10 and weighed 137 pounds back in 2001. I was in great shape, but was still pretty darn chunky. strong, but no definition. i could run my tail off though.

then i had michael. 198 pounds, gave birth and was down to 163 after i breast fed. size 12 or 14, depending. started ww. got down to 140. ran but it hurt. still too much weight. then i had owen. back up to 198 and down to 163 after breast feeding. weird. i know. size 12/14. same thing again.

joined our local gym in 2007 and tried, tried, tried. lost a few pounds here and there but always gained it back. i mostly did those kick-boxing classes. all diet food, artificial sweeteners, fat-free crap. followed ww loosely. made whatever i felt like eating for dinner. basically, i did the same thing i had always done before when i never lost any weight. didn't budge.

then, finally sick of having sore throats, i decided to get my tonsils out. surgery april 27th 2009. recovery of about 3 weeks. lost 12 pounds. and i said, 'you know what? i ain't stopping!!!' i was lucky to have a little kick-start.

got down to 130-ish by eating 3 times a day and having the same thing every day. same breakfast of cereal or packaged oatmeal. all diet food, artificial sweeteners, fat-free crap. followed ww loosely. made whatever i felt like eating for dinner, just tried not to eat too much. was still going to the gym, but running this time instead of the kick-boxing. my old 140lb size 10s were getting loose. i did this from may to mid august.

then a friend of mine insisted i follow a new eating plan. 5 to 6 small meals a day. complex carb and protein each meal. and eat CLEAN. so what's that mean?

i already knew about this book and have owned it since about 2004, but thought, "crap! i have a picky eater boy and a hubby who likes select items. they're never going to eat this stuff!!! there's no way i can do this." then i said, "you know what? if they're hungry, they'll eat it. and it's better for them any way."

so...i don't eat anything processed or packaged. none of that fat-free stuff. or any artificial sweeteners (i have yet to give up my diet coke. i simply can't yet. that's the only artificial thing i eat, but it is too much and it has to go.) everything i eat, i make myself. here's an example. i'm eating this today, and pretty much the same structure every day of the week:

7:00 a.m.

1/4 cup Quaker oats...like the old-fashioned ones in the canister. no package. prepared with 1/2 cup water in microwave. i add about 10 raisins, ground cinnamon and about 1 tsp wheat germ
2 hard-boiled egg whites and 1/2 of one of the yolks (i boil a dozen eggs and keep them in the fridge--grab and go)

spend 2 hours at the gym. i run about 15 miles a week, sometimes more. i lift every day, rotating bi's/tri's, legs, shoulder/back/chest. i do abs every other day.

10:00 a.m.

apple
1 100-calorie pack emerald almonds or 1 slice oro-wheat bread with natural peanut butter (not homogenized--smuckers or naturally more are the best)

12:30/1:00 p.m.

1 cup turkey chili-- homemade. 97% ff ground turkey. no oil. i cook turkey in pan first with chili powder then add to crock pot with organic kidney beans, chopped green peppers and onions, no salt added diced tomatoes, a little bit of sea salt and chili powder
2 flatbread crackers with a teeny bit of hummus

3:30/4:00 p.m.

perch fillet baked in toaster oven with dried tarragon (very, very yummy)
half of a baked sweet potato with about 10 raisins, cinnamon, wheat germ

6:30 p.m.

1 slice oro-wheat bread with natural pb and all-fruit black cherry jelly (VERY small amount of jelly, like not even a teaspoon)

then i have to get to work. during my break at about 9 p.m.

1 package hickory smoked tuna (star-kist makes this. very tasty. the package has about 2.5 servings in it, but i eat the whole thing. i work hard and i get pretty hungry)
salad with homemade balsamic dressing

some other things i prepare:

chicken breast with fresh italian parsley, grape tomatoes baked in oven.
turkey breast fillets with fresh thyme
pork tenderloin with fresh thyme or cayenne pepper
ground turkey with pasta and homemade marinara
squash and chicken casserole
veggies and brown rice (all raw except for rice--cut up mushrooms, red peppers, tomatoes, can of black eyed peas, crushed garlic clove, add a little hot sauce and add to cooked rice.)

watch the SALT!!! i haven't used table salt since i started eating this way. i use instead SEA SALT. and read the labels of canned items and try to get low-sodium.
also, if you're going to buy something in a box... if the ingredient label has more than a few iems listed, don't frikkin' buy it! lookie here:

this is what's in your cheerios milk and cereal bars. what in the holy heck is a distilled monoglyceride? i know b/c i took a 4 semesters of chem. i can't believe i used to eat it ALL THE TIME! i really still don't even know what it is. as for the rest of it...just have some oatmeal made with skim milk or something. i eat in my car all the time. just don't get in a wreck. k???

now, don't get me wrong!!! i cheat!!! sometimes really bad. i'm talking dq blizzards, cheesecake, entire bags of lindor truffles, breyers' ice cream with dark chocolate chips. you name it. BUT, i don't skip a meal when i cheat. i only replace what i really should have eaten with the bad crap. and i try, try, try to do it only one or two times a week. stay solid for at least the first 3 weeks. SOLID. don't cheat at all. if you're craving junk, drink water and go do something else! scrapbook, just don't eat the pretty papers. after that, for me, i can feel my body rejecting the bad...quickly. :) it doesn't like it. it only wants to use the good now. i don't know how scientific all that is, but that's what it seems like to me.

i don't eat fast food anymore. i don't think i've had a mcdonald's fry in 3 months. and i really have no craving for it either. the less i eat the grease, the less i CAN eat the grease. makes me ill. wingstop? haven't had wingstop in over 2 months. i really thought i wanted it once and i ate it and felt ill for two days. same thing with Thanksgiving dinner. i ate cupcakes, turkey skin, pumpkin pie. i had to work that night and i thought i was going to fall down on the floor and die. i felt HORRIBLE!!!

i keep food with me in the car. i have a little lunch bag with an ice pack and i keep a pb sandwich, a piece of fruit, a little bag of almonds, some crackers, a tuna pouch....just in case i'm out when i need to eat. if i stop to get the boys something fast, i grab one of my items. it may not be time for me to eat, but it darn sure beats fries! and i know, you're thinking, "you feed your kids that crap and you don't eat it?" yes, i do. sorry. they don't want to eat apples, i'm tired of arguing about it with them. I AM TIRED OF ARGUING WITH THEM ABOUT IT. sorry to yell. :)

now, getting home from work kills me. i usually want something. bad. anything. but once i start i get super hungry. i drink at least 30 oz or water a day with lemon. and i certainly could use more. i recently started making iced green tea with pomegranate. it's good, but i still can't replace my diet cokes. eek! i'm trying. the artificial sweetener really makes me crave sweet things. and once i start, it's hard to stop.

so...for the 1st 3 weeks i did this eating program, i did it solid and didn't cheat AT ALL. i lost 10 pounds. i couldn't believe it. i went to a 6. bought size 6 pants for work, 3 weeks after that they were falling off me. went to a 4. saggy britches. can't even find a size 2!!! now that's the kind of size i like to be unable to find!

i do run a lot. perhaps more than i should. but i can't not. it's my high. so...i have toned it down the last few weeks though, substituting the stair-master for my run. that thing really is the devil. i can run all day long, but can't do more than 30 minutes on that sucker.

a few things:
sugar is bad. even real sugar. raisins, dates, dried fruit...tons of sugar. i love them and that is my new 'sweetener' but i try to limit them. i was eating two or three pieces of fruit a day, but on the advice of a friend i have been eating only one piece of fruit and substituting more veggies.

i know for certain i don't eat enough, but i have been at the same weight for 2 months. i'm not hungry or tired and i feel fabulous. i fluctuate between 118 and 124 on my scale at home. my hips still hurt (i have bursitis) but they're not nearly as bad as they were with that extra weight on there.

and i can actually see my ab muscles and my biceps have veins running down the length (AWE-SOME).

i told my sister about this almost three months ago. she has lost, i think, 30 pounds. she's in a size 8 right now. she's 44. she has been at least a size 12 for like the last 15 years. she has even run a full marathon back in 2007 at that size. it wasn't until she changed the way she eats that she has noticed a difference. she currently does not exercise all that much.

so... i also started a sub to clean eating magazine and the recipes in there are really good so far:

i usually cook one main meal every other day. like a chicken or turkey dish, with enough chicken for me for two days and for my boys for dinner that night, if they choose to eat it. the rest of the items i eat are quick to make, like the tuna or the frozen fish fillets, etc. salad, grab the apple or the egg. i had red meat for the first time in months a few nights ago and i felt not so good. not to say you shouldn't eat it...it's ok if it's lean, i just haven't eaten it in so long that i felt blech.

i was thinking of starting an eating clean blog for all the scrappy gals who might want to share recipes and what-not. maybe i will work on that tomorrow. if you think you might be interested, email me at the above link (by the little envelope under my pic) with a good email address. i'll add you to the list just in case you might want to post something you might have. it would be an open deal, so you can share recipes and stories. i'll put up the blog address when i get it going.

thanks for reading my ramble. you know, i'm very lucky to be able to spend so much time at the gym. but the eating has really done it for me (and for my sis, as she really doesn't exercise that much and feels better than she every has). you do have the time to eat right. it just takes a little planning. do something for you. if you don't eat out a lot, you're family will eat what you make...when they realize that's all there is to eat!!! and they will thank you for it later on.

yeah, i know...

2009-12-01T21:13:00.003-06:00

i'm in my sports bra, but really i run like this. i had to share:

size 12 to a size 2!!! these jeans were my favorite but i never want to wear them again! i cannot believe i used to wear them just this past may. i didn't think i was that big.

Big Turkey and Joy (sort of an ew to new--#20)

2009-11-29T18:08:00.007-06:00

i did the turkey trot with ange on thanksgiving morning. just now getting around to posting a pic. we were part of a record crowd--close to 12,000! wow! i didn't get any post race pics. my race didn't start until after ange's and so i didn't get to see her finish.

ange did the 5k and i did the 10k. i managed to cut 20 minutes off my time since i did my last 10k back in march of this year. i'm pretty excited about that!

i have a half marathon coming up in december. sometime this week or next i'm gonna have to do 8 or 10 miles. i might need help from my girls to feed me along the way. if i can do the 8, it's not much after that. i can pretty much run all day if i can do 8. as long as i have something to munch on.

anywho, i made this little number:

i originally saw it here at jen's fab-o website. check out her tutorial on the right hand column. she's got all kinds of goodies on her blog, so be sure to check her out. i used cardstock letters instead and, of course, i had to junk mine up a bit. ;)

it's kind of an ew to new but i didn't get an 'ew' picture. they were just some picture frames from goodwill; 25-cent and 50-cent little numbers. good deal. i used the new basic grey papers and painted the frames black. the letters are traced off my monitor and cut out (p.i.t.a.!) then i added some embellies.

i like looking at them. makes me happy.

I really wish...

2009-11-29T16:19:00.000-06:00

that this didn't bother me so. But it drives me absolutely insane. Each day I think more and more that i was meant to live all by myself. I won't even take a picture of what's under his side of the bed. Not done by a child either.

new moon...

2009-11-21T12:03:00.006-06:00

so, me and my girls went friday (12:30am) to see new moon. i didn't remember how it ended b/c it's been a while since i read the books. so that was cool. ummm, i thought it was better than the first one. the acting was a tad bit better (like it could have gotten any worse).

but...it's twilight. what's not to love? even if it is perhaps one of the worst movies ever made? seriously:and some people were making fun of my poor edward. cuz he's skinny. whatever.

anywho...i went with aim, ange, and aim's daughter, randa-roo. yup. randa-roo. that's really her name! can you believe that? some parents are just so cruel ;)

oh, and i'm still paying for the late night. and the horrible popcorn that i ate without even a second thought. cuz it's popcorn. how bad could it be? i didn't get any butter on it.

ooh...and i saw a preview for that new movie avatar. not really into it, but my boyfriend is going to be in it. one thing though...why do they always have to mess up his face? i mean come on!!! they jacked with his face in terminator and in this new movie they're making him into some weird lizard thing. listen here, sam. tell them to give you a part where i can see your pretty face!!!

have a stupendous saturday!

Ew to New #19!!! hooray! and the friday 5

2009-11-20T14:13:00.005-06:00

the ew part:

$1.00 frame from goodwilll (half price day, of course).

the new:

i made this the other day and have been waiting to get pics on the desktop so i could upload them here. uses new basic grey, thickers, jb, making memories, ribbon from michael's and one of martha's new punches (i love that punch!!!)

and now for a friday 5:

go visit your parents. as much as you can. and if you're young and still live with them, suck it up and stay there as long as they'll allow you to.
eating clean makes your body snobbish. i fell ill after eating movie popcorn. and staying up until 4:12am.
neighbors do weird things. i wonder if they think the same about me?
gomey is annoying as all get out...he's been getting loose and getting a taste of the real world.
gomey needs to suck it up and stay with his parents as long as we'll let him.

better late than never...

2009-11-16T17:55:00.003-06:00

i guess. i made this a while back and gave it to my friend Angie. i never took pics of it, so here goes. it's a boo banner... :) i like saying that. boo banner.

boo banner!

stole the laptop for a bit but still had to upload photos to photobucket. don't feel like figuring out photoshop in 15 minutes to crop/compress the pics. like figuring out photoshop could happen in 15 minutes.

mich received the good citizenship award again! what a kid! he really is a good child. who can't keep his room clean and goes from A honor roll to not getting on any honor roll at all this time b/c of a 78 in science!!! in science no less!!! what the heck??? really, he got one bad grade. on some ridiculous 'flu symptoms' quiz that had information about vaccines, placebos, and what not. what 2nd grader needs to know that crap? really irritates me to no end:
and, maybe i'm being sexist...but where are all the male teachers? it's all women in my child's school and i really don't like that. at least the principal is male. sorry. i'll stop rambling. on to more pics...
oster, being all sun-shiney:
playing in the leaves at angie's with her kids and aimee's kids:

at our new mcdonald's. the decor in this one is pretty special. i read in the paper that the owners had it specially designed to fit our town. there is no other mcdonald's like this one....

but....unfortunately, they CANNOT SPELL!!! how horrible is this???
having a little fun at soccer pics:
hope everyone had a marvelous monday!!!

i'm curious...

2009-11-08T09:18:00.003-06:00

about this:

anybody know anything? i can't find any pics of the line, but it has definitely piqued my interest.

have a spectacular Sunday!

no school tomorrow. should be an interesting day. maybe we'll hit Chick-Fil-A, and go to the park on the way, and take a walk by the bay....ok. i made up the last one b/c i was rhyming.

Build-A-Bear Owen Lightyear.

2009-11-05T17:16:00.000-06:00

Weirdo

Wow!!!

2009-11-03T12:18:00.005-06:00

i miss blogging! my computer is still jacked (and running SUPER SLOW), nothing works on it. lousy keyboard, tiny monitor (but it's a free one--thanks to Aimsters...so i really can't complain about that) and non-functioning usb ports...that means no pics, no printer, no ipod...no nothing!!! and it stinks!

i want to post a pic, but it's going to have to be an older one. let's see...let me dig. can't be the halloween banner i made because i already gave it away without taking a picture of it. big dummy...thinking...can you hear it?

ok, i'm going to post something that i hope to get accomplished over the next few months. a master bedroom re-do. this will be the comforter set, with light blue walls. maybe. i may decide to paint the nightstand we have now (an ew-to-new), and that would have to go black. so...i may decide on this comforter instead and go 'green' (the only green i'll be going), along with black furniture and the blue walls still. i don't know. what do you think?

the new BASB challenge is up, so head on over there and check it out! you've got to see what you can win!!! i've been slacking in the BASB arena, but being without a puter that has picture/printing capabilities is seriously cramping my style.

i tried to make pumpkin soup last night. it was weird. i found a recipe online and modified it. it was one of those things where i had to keep tasting it to see what was up with it. it wasn't awful, but it just wasn't getting me like i thought it would. i'm hunting now for a pumpkin muffin recipe. hopefully that will turn out better.

not much going on here other than that. ssdd basically. working, running, cleaning, hanging out. that's what i do. i did rent g.i. joe from the red box so maybe i'll watch that in a bit. o-ster is napping. he was up like 4 times last night. wth? he's snotty today and is zonked on the couch right now.

hmmm...my scrap area is clean. maybe i'll go mess it up a bit.

Multimedia message

2009-10-31T12:16:00.000-05:00

The roaming gnome...

well, gee...

2009-10-06T19:00:00.003-05:00

i'd love to post some pictures of the boys and of some stuff i've been creating lately, but mike has disabled all my usb ports. nice. maybe some other day when he gets around to it. boys suck.

Multimedia message

2009-09-30T11:46:00.000-05:00

We all jump on a broken trampoline.

Multimedia message

2009-09-29T14:59:00.000-05:00

C? Fun!

Multimedia message

2009-09-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

Byc'n rocks!

winner winner!!!

2009-09-17T10:59:00.003-05:00

i'm a day late on this one...sorry chickadees.

but we have a random winner for BASB challenge #20!

Jenny!!! check out her blog, and see her layout here.

Jenny, email me at polkadothousedesign[at]live[dot]com and i'll email you the promo code so you get your free $15 to spend at Studio Calico!

thanks to all the ladies who played along this time around and be sure to check BASB's blog for a new challenge coming soon!

have a thrilling thursday!!!

i can't believe...

2009-09-12T18:58:00.002-05:00

it's been a year already...

we miss you, A.

friday 5...

2009-09-11T14:10:00.007-05:00

so, i usually feel that if i didn't do anything scrappy or don't have a picture to post then i probably shouldn't bother blogging. but then i realized that it's friday! here's my 5:

1. i'm so glad i'm an American. i try to explain to mich about how good we have it here and i use examples of how things are in other places around the world. i don't think it will sink in just yet. heck, it took me 20 years to figure it out.

2. 1/2 cup sorbet in three bites equals brain freeze

3. it's raining today. i love the rain. so peaceful...

4. i'm still just a valley-girl i guess. hudson valley, that is. dying for the fall weather that will never arrive. wishing i could see this again:

(i changed the photo. i like this one better.)

5. and for the love of Pete...learn how to aim, boys!!! 34 years combined experience and they still can't figure it out.

yay! i scrapped!

2009-09-01T14:13:00.010-05:00

i filled in for aimee on the latest BASB challenge...Title Envy...super simple, so go check it out. you could win $15 from Studio Calico! the challenge runs until 9/15 and i'll pick a big weiner on 9/16.

here's what i did for the challenge (i used the August SC paper line):

i completed three others, so head on over there and check out the rest, as well as to see what the other gals did!

anywho, mich is back in school and seems to be enjoying it. but, i'm sure i've mentioned before that getting info out of mich is very, VERY difficult. oh well. we shall see!

grocery shopping this evening. i'm going to try to do this plan, at least a little bit. it's a HUGE commitment, but one that i'm willing to make. that is, if i lived by myself. i foresee great difficulties ahead as far as, "what is that? i'm not going to eat that!" or, "do we have to eat that again?" and the favorite, "there's nothing to eat." and i'm not about to make 20 different things everyday. i don't have the patience for that. 'eat it or starve' is my motto. and there's not going to be any packaged crap in the house (at least not any that i simply can't do without).

as for me, i'm not about to give up certain things just yet...like my diet sodas, or the occasional wingstop lunch, or the once every two months or so double doozie cookie from the great american cookie company (good thing i don't live close to the mall). i'm thinking though, that once i get used to this type of eating, i might no longer have the desire to stuff my face with fake crap. i think that will be the case--i ate wingstop with angie today and i'm not feeling all that great. so....oops, and my 'one-day-a-month-eat-nothing-but-a-bag-of-dark-chocolates' celebration. i love being female. not so much.

that's about it. glad to be back scrappin' and i think i'll do more later tonight after groceries. the boys have soccer practice and i don't work again 'til tomorrow night!

have a tank-top tuesday! ;)

my face hurts...

2009-08-29T21:28:00.005-05:00

well, it's killing me! ha ha...my grandmother or uncle ray used to say that. one of them. probably both. they were both silly. maybe that's where i get my goofiness from. who knows.

anywho, i say my face hurts b/c i fell asleep a bit ago on owen's head. we are wathcing endless summer on pbs or on one of the three channels we get. his head is like a rock. i don't know how his head doesn't hurt b/c my nose is killing me. he's all sweaty and i hate to wake him. (mostly b/c he'll be the biggest crab ever.)

anywho, work tomorrow. short day, but it's kind of right smack in the middle, so no gym. i ran tonight at the track. i was dead tired when i came home from work that i didn't even get out of the truck--i dozed right in there. mike was wondering where the heck i was. eh, just sleepin' in the car, babe. you know me :) soooo...i didn't make dinner. nobody was hungry. so i ran up to the track and did a few laps around. there was some dude who was trying to catch me, but i didn't let him. he finally jetted past me on his last lap and stopped for a drink. i ran by and waved. sucka!

that was fun though. his family was there and they were probably like, "um, did you know that person?" he probably wishes he did :)

monday is almost here. my saturday. i'd say i'm going to scrapbook, but i think i'll just stop saying that until i actually do. i'm just not in the mood. i think not having the desktop computer working has a ton to do with that. i have no inspo. i mean, i can look on the laptop, but its location is not conducive to scrapping.

oops, endless summer is over. that's not supposed to happen.

ok. i'm rambling. i have no pics to share. i can't even remember the last time i took a picture other than mich's 1st day. but that's definitely a keeper. owen is stirring and he is so sweaty on my arms that he is starting to slip.

later peeps!

a good day...

2009-08-24T17:09:00.004-05:00

haven't blogged in a while. and now i don't have a monitor either. i'm over at aimee's. wanted to check my email b/c it's been a few days. had a few etsy convos to catch up on, so it's nice to have an emergency back-up computer when you need it.

mich started 2nd grade today. i think he had a good day. not sure. getting any info out of mich is like trying to get the dern flies out of my kitchen. and what's up with that anyway? i bought fly paper. it doesn't work. it might as well be the local fly newspaper b/c all they do is look at it. no landing and/or sticking.

and i'm certain that mike was wondering what the heck kind of concoction i made and put on that baking sheet (syrup and brown sugar) to catch them. btw, the only thing that did was make my house smell like cracker barrell (mixed with a few poo diapers).

anyway, maybe tomorrow i'll get some scrapping done. i say that, but we'll see. it's tuesday and mike will be home, so maybe. i hope to cuz i need to...gotta sniff me some paper.

tomorrow is school drop off, then gym, then an errand here and there then back home. c u later! hope you had a marvelous monday!

check back for a RAK...i'm almost at 30,000 hits peeps!

wow...more than a week! lots of pics...

2009-08-17T11:38:00.006-05:00

i've been busy. ok, not really. just haven't been blogging.

let's see...i'll share some pics from this past week:

me and my besties took the kids to the water park. they got better pics than i and it's impossible to handle owen and try to keep a camera from getting wet, so...

mich took this pic...good job babe!then the boys and i went to the botanic gardens:

the swamp in the background was covered with little tiny leaves...so cool. we were picking out camouflaged turtles. we'd throw rocks in the water and make them swim. the boys loved it. tormenting the turtles:
i'm not sure what mike is doing here:

my peeps and me, doing a little byd. i was just having a soda though. i had to work the next morning. ick.
that's about all for now. i guess that's enough. have a marvelous monday!

i feel better now...

2009-08-07T17:20:00.006-05:00

i just needed to scrap. this is for pink sketches #39:

a 13 minute page. letters are SUPER old AC thickers that i stamped with the latest SC exclusive stamp.

oh, and if you don't SC, check out these puppies you can get there...crop bags:

they come in packs of six and are super heavy duty plastic. i'm going to mark them with months, so i know what kit is what. this will be a new effort to not mix all my kit papers together (although, many of them are great to mix and match). i just hate not knowing what's what. maybe they'll sell some that have months printed on them...hmmmmm...really, i don't advertise for them. i just reeeallly like their stuff.

anywho, it's friday. off to work. i switched days this week. i worked weds, thurs, tonight, sat, sun, mon, and tues. yipes!!!

Wth?

2009-08-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

Does that say what i think it says?

Morning dumbo...

2009-08-06T08:55:00.000-05:00

Owen grabbed my bag and asked 4 money 2 go on this. He put quarters in all by himself and pushed the button. He's so independent.