meow

I finished this kitty, Sox, late Saturday night.  She was a birthday present for one of Tallulah's friends from church.  She looks a lot like Lulu's kitty that I made her for Christmas back in 2009.  There are more kitties in the making, but some other business stuff has pushed them aside for the moment.

And in other news I started the paleo diet again this morning.  Not quite as strict as when we did it last summer- I'm eating butter this time :)  but I needed something to kick start my metabolism and get all that sugar out of my body.  This was my breakfast this morning.

cathcing up

We dropped another kid at camp this morning. This is Micah's first time, and he was pretty excited, he's been trying to pack for a week :)
I think it made it easier for him to go knowing his sister has gone twice and having seen a lot of the counselors last week when we were dropping off/picking up Regan.

I finally got a hair cut yesterday... it's only been 21 months since my last!
I am still not sure what I think of all those bangs... I know I am NOT happy that she cut them CROOKED! Oh well, it's only hair :)

Awhile back one of the ladies at church gave me this serger that she was not using. I was super excited, since I had one on my birthday wish list. Unfortunately life has been so busy that I did not find the time to sit down and figure out how it works until last week!
I am so glad I finally pulled out the manual and got the thing threaded- finishing hems with this is SO much easier than with the zig zag stitch on my regular machine!

I started this table cloth months ago, but have been waiting to get the serger working to to the edges.
It was inspired by this table cloth on Aesthetic Nest.

I have been wanting to teach Regan how to make friendship bracelets for awhile, so I was super excited to find this on The Purl Bee over the weekend! I may have been a bit too ambitions when I started this one!

Lastly, today is day 30 of our Whole30, but really we ended it yesterday. Some friends invited us out for lunch and we ended up at a pizza place... pretty hard to find something grain and dairy free at a pizza joint! Even after that I still find myself reaching for the Whole30 approved foods for meals and snacks. Although I do not plan to continue eating "Paleo" now that we are done, I do hope that my eating habits really are changed for the better. I lost a total of 8 pounds during the 30 days (I think my hubby lost 15!) and for the most part had more energy (except for when I stayed up too late).

Okay, enough of my random rambling, we are headed to 7-11 for free Slurpee's (since it is 7/11). Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!

whole30 update

I went shopping today. I just barely got all the produce in the fridge. I like buying so many fresh fruits and veggies.
So, week two is coming to a close. My weight loss has plateaued. I am still at about 5-6 pounds (same as last week), but I am finding I don't need/want to eat as much food, so I think I will start to lose again, hopefully. I still am really not missing the sugar or even craving the carbs (except when I am baking bread for the kids (: that is torture). I do miss butter, though.

As far as continuing for the rest of the 30 days we have made a few small changes, hoping they will ease the grocery bill a bit. We will remain sugar, dairy and grain free with two addendum's- I have added beans and corn back into our menu and I also bought a bag of (gasp!) white potatoes! We are both feeling good and hoping that this small change will allow us to continue for the next two weeks. I don't have plans to continue eating "paleo" past the 30 days, but this has definitely changed the way we look at food and I hope will have lasting effects on the way we eat.

discouraged

Today... I'm tired, The plateau in my weight loss has reversed and I gained a pound, the thought of eating another egg nauseates me, and to top it all off, I really don't think that we are going to be able to afford to continue eating this way. It turns out it is quite costly to keep enough fresh produce in the house to feed 7 people, especially when it is one of the main sources of sustenance for the two biggest consumers. So now I am trying to figure out how I might modify our plans, so as not to totally give up, but just to make this little adventure more affordable. I've got til Friday to figure it out, as that is shopping day.

Got to go stop the baby from destroying the whole house while I type... we have reached that stage where if she is awake, she is getting into trouble. Her favorite spot? On top of any table :)

Week 1

Well, really today is only day 6, but I figured I would give a Whole30 update anyway. So far, so good. It really has not been as hard as I thought it would be, although, as I was slicing banana bread for the kids this morning I really would have liked to have eaten a piece, and I am thinking that eggs for breakfast e.v.e.r.y. d.a.y. is going to get old really fast.

I am definitely motivated by how easily I am loosing weight, nearly 6 pounds so far. I know, if you read the fine print on the Whole30 page they say not to stand on the scale for the whole month, but loosing the extra pounds I put on before my miscarriage was one of the major motivators for me, so I am standing on the scale, daily.

I am also loving that this is pushing me to try new things that I never would have considered before. I am a pretty boring eater. Sometimes I think I would be happy to eat steak and cheese, fries, pizza and chicken salad from the local farm market (it is sooo yummy) all the time. I am also not good at eating as much fresh fruits and veggies as I should, so this is definitely changing that!

Some of my favorite snacks so far have been plantain chips from Trader Joe's (I am totally kicking myself for not buying more, especially since it is a 50 mile round trip to go back!), dried mango (also from TJ's), almonds, carrots, fudge babies, and fresh fruit.

What I miss the most? Probably the grains, and white potatoes. I think the first thing I will add back in at the end of the Whole30 will be corn, I mean it is corn on the cob season, my favorite way to eat corn.

I think right now the biggest hurtle for us to continue is the cost. It is really expensive to eat this way! I've already spent most of my grocery budget for this pay period and we have eaten through almost all of the produce and more than half of the nuts and snacks in less than one week. I am heading to the store this morning and hoping, between the few $ left in the grocery budget and my garden (that is just starting to produce) we will have enough produce to go with the meat I already have in my deep freeze.

So, anybody inspired enough to join in? Have you ever tired something like this? I'd love to hear about it!

today:

Trying to keep little fingers away from these yummy, Whole30 approved, snacks.
(I used almonds instead of walnuts and they are super delish... the kids want to make these on a regular basis! Yay for healthy dessert!)

Loving these pictures I found on my camera just now...
Aren't those chubby little fingers the best? (Regan took these photos.)

Still sewing for my shop up date

And watching this great video workshop on photographing your wears for Etsy.

What have you been up to today?

whole 30

While in Maryland my friend Jen told me that Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles had been documenting her experience doing Whole 30 as I way to break her addiction to soda and sugar. I posted a few weeks back about how I had given up Coke, but have still really been struggling with major sugar cravings. When I got home I read what Heidi had to say, and the Whole 30, 2001 web page, and although I found it interesting, I knew there was just no way I could pull it off. But I kept thinking about it... I really need to change the way that I eat, but feel overwhelmed at figuring out the how and what of actually doing it. Then, late last night, after thinking and thinking about it, I told Phil I wanted to do it, not sure how he would respond. I was totally surprised when the first question he asked was, "can I still drink coffee?" When I said "yes, it just has to be black." (he does not put sugar in his coffee), he said he was "in"! I never expected to have him join me, so I am thrilled to not go it alone! So, I am headed to the store this morning with a grocery list full of meat and veggies, planning to start on Sunday! I will keep you updated on how it is going :)