The Curvy Life: January 2012

I'm sure many of you are a lot like me and have been bitten by the Pinterest bug...or have a Pinterest Addiction! This year we were on a major budget due to buying our first home this summer. PINTEREST TO THE RESCUE! I was able to make so many great gifts for a fraction of the price I would normally spend!! We even did a "DIY-Pinterest Style" Chinese gift exchange at one of my family Christmas's...you didn't have to make something but you could! It was fun!! I'm bad about taking before and during pictures....but most of the things I made are self explanatory or I'll try and explain! Get ready to enjoy lots of pictures...or eye candy, as I like to call it!

I really wanted to do something for all the guys at work but knew I couldn't afford much. I the idea on Pinterest of putting Chex Mix in a jar. I changed it up a little and found these cute containers at Hobby Lobby. They were around $3 each. And I just followed the Chex Mix recipe on the Chex box. The only changes I made were adding Cheez-It's and a little extra butter and soy sauce! I must say, it was delish!

I didn't see this on Pinterest but I was at HL (Hobby Lobby) getting supplies for something I did and I got the idea. It was just a raw wood frame and HL had these cute Christmas cut-outs. My friend Stacie had mentioned she didn't have a frame for her son Seven's first Christmas w/ Santa, so I decided to make her one! I just added glitter to the cut-outs. Spay painted the frame w/ Chalboard paint and used some scrapbook letters for his name. It turned out so cute!

For my families "Chinese Christmas" we decided to make it fun and have it be DIY if you wanted. I had gotten this frame from a garage sale...for FREE and I knew exactly what I would do with it...make it into a chalkboard, of course! It was gold so I spray painted the frame cream and then took some brown paint we had and dry brushed it to show more of the detail on the frame. I seriously got a steal on this frame! People pay big bucks for frames that are this detailed and intricate! I took the glass out and sprayed 2 coats of chalkboard paint on it and wha-laa, it was complete and freaking adorable!! I added colored chalk and a white chalk pen so that whoever won would be ready to start writing on their new board!

Here you can see some of the detail on the board

Isn't the detail beautiful?

My girlfriends and I had decided not to do Christmas gifts this year but when I saw this printout and idea on Pinterest I knew I had to make it!

Link here

It's a pair of tall socks from Target $2.50 each and a colorful nail polish, $1.99 each!

For my 3 bestest girls I added these cute shoe ornaments I found at Macy's for 60% off!

This was a big one I saw all over Pinterest...the ornament wreath! I originally made it for my Honey's families Chinese Christmas but we ended up not doing that...so my mom got lucky and I gave it to her! The flashiness of the glitter never shows through like I wish it would...but it turned out fab!
Pinterest Link here

SUGAR SCRUB! I made these for several special ladies in my life! It's just brown sugar, olive oil, vitamin E oil and scented oil to get rid of the olive oil scent! Did you know that HL sells all kinds of scents and oil for making soaps, scrubs, etc? I found that out while making this! Awesome! Jars are from HL, too, of course!

Link here to where I got the recipe.

This little charm right here...I made all for myself! I got this at the same garage sale as the other frame! It was gold, as well...but not after a little red spray paint! I had the perfect place for it in my kitchen! When there's not a holiday it will keep our grocery list!

Last...my mom and I made this together for her to give as her Chinese Christmas gift! (I won it, btw! ha!). We took a piece of board purchased from HL and had my dad cut it into squares. Then we took scrapbook paper and Mod Podged the scrapbook paper on the board. I used my Cricut to cut out the cream paper you see and then the "lacy" looking paper. The "J" and "Y" letters were actually metal letters from HL that we mod podged glitter paper onto. The "O" is a doily purchased on the baking isle at HL. Then we added a few other embellishments like ribbon and glitter paint!

Once again...the fabulousness of the glitter doesn't show in these pictures! It's really great in person!!

It was so fun to make!

Well....that's my "Pinterest Christmas" list. I know, it's like January 14...I'm posting this way late!

Enjoy....the Curvy Life!

Hello and HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I haven't posted in awhile (this seems to be a recurring theme...sorry!). I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas and are off to a great new year!!

CONFESSION #1: I'm ashamed. I created this blog last year b/c I "was going to lose weight and get healthy!!" I believe my first post was titled "New Year, New Me". Yeah, well, what had happened was this thing called life got in my way and...ok, ok, not really, I was just lazy and very, very un-self disciplined!! I ended up weighing the most I have ever in my life at the end of 2011! WHAT?!?! That sure wasn't what my blog was created for! I did manage to post some cute crafts and other stuff! That works...right? WRONG! While I absolutely love posting my crafts and WILW and A&A Thursday that is not what my first intention for this blog was. It has morphed into more and I love that...but I want to also become, you know, less curvy....and it would be awesome if I was motivation to at least 1 person along the way!

CONFESSION #2: I'm scared that I'll jinx myself by posting about my recent success (8 lb loss in a week!! Go me!!). I'm not an overly superstitious person but I am enough to be nervous. Regardless, I'm proud of what I've accomplished and I'm going to share it, damn it!

So here is the start of my story...I hope to post weekly on my diet and any successes or trials I run into.

I had it all planned out that starting January 3(I was off the 2nd so I gave myself one more day) I was going to start a low calorie diet and hit the gym 4 days a week. I wasn't excited. Low calorie diets work great for some people...I'm not really one of those people. My theory- I'm not self disciplined enough for a "free" diet. I need a diet that tells me exactly what I can eat and how much. I've been successful before on Weight Watchers but I always end up quiting...you know why? Because you can drink alcohol on WW's if you have enough points. You know what that always leads to for me? A drive thru Taco Bell at 12 am followed by a day full of greasy foods to cure my hangover! Not really the recipe to success for someone trying to lose 40 lbs! My best friend is getting married in May and was starting a diet called "The Dukan Diet". I was highly sceptical at first. I knew it involved low carbs and my ~~mind~~ fat brain said "ha, you're joking, right? you + no carbs = starvation!" She asked me to at least just read into it and think about trying it with her, after all, Kate Middleton did it before her wedding! So, with a lot of doubt I bought the book. I was immediately intrigued. Not because the book was just so interesting! What diet book is? But because even though it was days of pure protein it seemed doable. I don't know what made me think it was but something did, probably God saying "you are destroying your body, your temple. This could help you!" So my low calorie diet went out the window and in came the Dukan Diet! It's been one week since I started the diet and I've lost 8 lbs! In. a. week. Unfathomable! Have I starved, no! Have I been a bit crabby from no carbs, maybe! Are my cravings mostly gone, most definitely! I've been posting on Facebook since I started about the diet and I've had several people ask me what I'm doing. SO...for all of you wanting to know...here's my opinions and tips on the Dukan Diet....

First and foremost - BUY THE BOOK! It's like $14 and worth it! I bought the iBook but I want a hard copy so that I can be old fashioned and highlight and put tabs on my favorite pages! Don't judge!

Second - be prepared...

1) To make a grocery list before you head to the store!

2) To spend more on groceries than you probably have been. If you were like me and shopped in the "boxed" food sections, aka the isles, at the grocery store, you're in for a little bit of a price change on your groceries. I'm sure you've heard before that you should only shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Well, on this diet that's the only place you'll shop! The only isles I go down are the coffee and spices isle! Crazy, right? I never even get in my pantry except for spices and to throw trash away!

3) To be in your kitchen, a lot! Some of my friends that are doing the diet cook all their meat on Sunday for the week. This is so smart. I'm so lazy on Sundays and I haven't mastered this yet. I come home and cook my dinner and lunch for the next day. I'm not in the kitchen all night, but I am in there much more than before!

4) To set aside 30 minutes a day to walk. Yep, just walk. You can always do more if you like but I wouldn't recommend much more during your "Attack" Phase.

5) To drink at least 1.5 quarts of water a day.

6)To maybe be a little crabby and "dumb" for the first few days. For instance, I got all the way to the door at Half Price Books before I realized that I didn't have my car keys...walk back to my car...it's STILL RUNNING! My mind was so simple that day! No carbs makes for a crazy Heather!

NOW...for the most important part, to me, at least...WHAT YOU CAN EAT!

As I said before, read the book! I'm not going to list out all the foods that are allowed in the attack phase, cruise phase, etc, etc....but I will tell you what I've been eating the past week! I even have some pictures...they're by no means pretty pictures of food like you see on most blogs. I was lucky to take a picture before my mouth ate everything on my plate, ok? I believe some pics may even have partial eaten food....deal!

My Attack Phase was 7 days. The more you have to lose the more your attack phase is. I want to lose 47 lbs so mine was longer than any of my other friends. Aren't I the lucky one?

During Attack you can only have protein and 1 1/2 tbs of Oat Bran (I can only find at Whole Foods or Sprouts so far...) Dr. Dukan gives a great recipe in the book for a galette (<--click for recipe) to cook your Oat Bran in. I highly recommend this! I tried it in my yogurt...I'm a texture person and I couldn't do it!

OK, ok...without further adieu...pics of food!

Turkey Sausage cooked in a skillet w/ onions and a egg and yogurt omelet.

SO TASTY!