Quilt #2

I think I can now call myself a quilter, or at least past true beginner stage. I completed my second baby quilt and I am already planning my next quilt project. Lots of friends are at the baby stage of life and I enjoy being able to make them something special rather than just buying something online. So baby quilt #2 was made for cutie pie who lives up north and needs to stay warm. Below are a few pictures of the process and then final photo. The back is minky and the front is flannel so it's super soft and warm. With every craft project I learned a bit more about quilting and can't wait to start my next quilt.

Meal planning- I'm really trying here

I keep trying to meal plan my way to a healthier diet but life always gets in the way. Here is attempt number who knows to plan out the meals for the week. I found online (oh the joys of Pinterest) a meal planning sheet and printed it out. On Sunday night I looked over the schedule for the week and planned out dinners first, lunches are either leftovers or something else that we already have in the house and breakfast is usually yogurt, cereal or a green smoothie. Here is what I planned for dinners for the week.

Monday
We tried a boxed quinoa thingy and zucchini- Not bad actually

Tuesday
We had meetings so we ate dinner out

Wednesday
Veggies and soup

Thursday
Zucchini boat

Friday
Going out or eating leftovers

Things will probably change since our schedules are so busy but I can at least try to stick with a schedule each week.
 

5 day juice cleanse- a 1 time thing for me

A little over a week ago I finished a 5 day juice cleanse, that will be a 1 time thing only for me. I would consider a few days if I needed to reset my stomach but 5 days while trying to maintain a level of pleasant interaction is not going to happen. That being said I don't think I was mean or unpleasant save for day 2 morning when I first woke up. Day 2 was by far the hardest for me. The caffeine withdrawl, sugar low, lack of sleep and need to function like a human hit me hard all at once. I do drink coffee daily and I think that is why I turned into a zombie.

So it wasn't actually as bad as I'm making it sound. I didn't have to d any of the juicing, bottling or cleaning thanks to Squeeze here in St. Pete. I am no paid by them or given juices to say any of this but they do have some seriously good juice. That made all of this so much easier. There were a few "flavors" that were not my favorite but I can be picky sometimes so that is just me.

Overall here are the benefits I notices from juicing:

• Not as hungry as I thought
• Surprisingly energetic (other than day 2)
• Much less bloated and puffy feeling
• No stomach pain (this is a big deal for my stomach history)
• Slept amazing and fell asleep easily
• Lost a few pounds (this wasn't the point of the cleanse but a bonus for sure)

I did have to supplement my juice with some lean protein each day in order to keep up with my running schedule but I was careful to add clean foods only. 

I'd been wanting to do this for a while and I'm glad I finally did it. I will continue to drink juices but not to quite this level again.

Juice Day #2 complete

No caffeine and no sugar....my body must really need this if it feels like this.

I am not hungry, not craving food, but I'm so groggy and realizing that I was used to drinking a good 3-4 cups of coffee a day, eating more sugar than I needed, and not getting nearly enough good stuff. The juice has tasted really fresh and healthy and all but one flavor tasted delicious.

That was all I could write yesterday between my caffeine headache and busy workday. Day #3 is here and I am so excited to say that I don't have a caffeine headache, I am not hungry, I have more energy and I'm not dreading juice. Last night I did have half a a sausage that Jeff had grilled but I had also run a 5k so I needed a little something extra. I also have been so tired that I've been falling asleep by 10pm. For those of you who know me this is very odd behavior. I'm not sure if it's the cold (yes I know it's all relative) weather, the juice or just coincidence but I did sleep really hard for a long time last night.  I haven't stepped on the scale yet but that wasn't really the point of this so we'll see at the end how I feel.

Have any of you done a cleanse or a juice diet and what days were your bad days?

Goal #3 of 2014: Juice

This week I will be completing goal #3 on my list for 2014: a 1 week juice cleanse. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time and haven't taken the plunge because I didn't know the best way to do it so that I wasn't missing out on any important nutrients. I have tried recipes, juice on my own some and really do like fresh juice so it seemed like it would be easy enough, except I don't have enough recipes to keep me going through a whole week. Luckily I found Squeeze! I first started by buying a few bottles and was instantly convinced that this was how I would get this 5 day of juices complete.

Before I go on I want to address one thing. I understand that not everyone thinks juice cleanses are good for you or healthy. I appreciate your opinion but this is something I'm doing for myself and I know my body is healthy and ready for this.

So this week I will drink a lot of juice, probably consume more fruits and veggies than I have in a while and hopefully not be too hungry.

Are you a juicer? Have you done a cleanse?

My first quilt

"so I saw this thing on Pinterest..."

My dear husband has heard this a lot and some of these "things" don't always turn out so great. My shoe closet, was pretty darn awesome but there were these stuffed cabbage rolls in the crock pot last week that were less than stellar. I'm not sure where I got the idea that I can make a quilt but I was determined. After some youtube videos and a trip to Joann Fabrics I was ready to make my first attempt. I chose a baby quilt size since that is smaller. I was making it for a friend who also wouldn't judge if the stitches weren't totally perfect. :-)

I started with a pre-cut fabric set so that I didn't have a lot of cutting or stitching to do on my first quilt. There were 5 pieces of fabric so I used the 5th as an added strip to make the blanket wider. For the back I used a super soft minky fabric and then precut binding for the edges. My sewing machine is a Janome and it was great. I did get a walking foot for the quilting and that helped a ton.

I am not going to attempt to write tutorial because there are so many online that are more helpful than what I would put together. Here is a picture of the final product and I'm excited to say that I'm already working on the next baby quilt.

 

Happy Belated 2014

I am just horrible about keeping this bog up to date but one of my 2014 goals (not resolutions) is to keep this updated more often. I always make goals, life happens, and goals don't always get accomplished and that's ok. Let's review what I planned to do in 2013 and how that turned out.

~January: Paint the kitchen table and chairs and do backsplash in kitchen- still hasn't happened haha
~February: Run entire 15k Gasparilla Race and take sewing class- only walked a little and have taught myself how to sew
~March: Complete Romp to Stomp in Colorado and enjoy the mountains- we enjoyed the mountains but chose not to do the Romp to Stomp and spend more time with family. It was the right decision.
~April: Sew myself a summer outfit- Started making dog collars instead!
~May: Visit the Everglades- Still hasn't happened
 ~June: Take a mountain biking road trip- We got a new puppy instead haha
~July: Be a good training walk leader and actually doing the training for the 3-Day- I did train...some
~August: Try a new outdoor adventure- I did a triathlon!
~September: Have a second Guide dog pup in training- We brought home Westen in May or June (bad puppy mom for not knowing)
~October: Have a successful Tampa 3-Day- I am very pleased with how the final Tampa 3Day went, not please that it was the final one though
~November: Complete 60 miles in San Diego- Done! I'll try to remember to post about this
~December: Start a new hobby- I taught myself how to quilt! and I'm learning how to box which is on my 30 before 30 list!


And here are the "anytime in 2013 goals"

~Turn Maggie In For Training- Done...sniff*
~Get rid of blue couch!- Done!!!!!!
~Hang all artwork in house- Did this finally!
~Complete craft corner of office- Hubby and his Dad helped finish this and it's great!
 ~Complete the Spartan Challenge in under 1 hour and 15 minutes- Done in April!


Overall I'd say this was a very successfull year for goals accomplished and even those I didn't do. I'm proud of the things I have learned and had to deal with and ready for a wonderful 2014. Speaking of 2014, I have a few goals. I debated putting a goal a month like I did for 2013 but with the uncertainty of life I'm just going to make 14 goals for 2014. Here they are:

1. Get Lucky Paws (my collar et al business) off the ground and running
2. Complete the St. Anthony's Triathlon with Kathy (I am her guide for all 3 disciplines this year yikes!)
3.  1 week juice cleanse- I have been wanting to do this or a while and it's on my 30 before 30 list
4. Sub 30 minute 5k
5. Learn how to box- I already started this but have a lot to learn still
6. 10 real pushups
7. Blog more regularly
8. Redecorate the master bedroom
9. 14 races of any distance
1. Feb 1: Best Damn Race 10k
2. March 16: Sarasota half marathon
3. April 27: St. Anthony's Triathlon
4. At least 1 sprint tri
5. a few more 10k races
6. The rest of the races will be decided on soon and I'll try to post about this throughout the year
10. Read 5 books- I always want to read more and so now I'm going to make it a tangible goal
1. Gone Girl- Everyone says it's a must read
2. The Monuments Men- coming out on film this year and I want to read it before I see it
3. Allegiant- I've read the first and am almost done with the second of this trilogy
4.  Taking suggestions for others
11. Learn a new life skill/hobby
12. Do another sprint triathlon
13. Take a weekend Florida-cation with Jeff
14. Let little things go and have fun!

Do you set goals, resolutions, plans or something else at the beginning of each year? What are some of your favorites?