It's a New Day...

So, my weigh-in last Wednesday was not what I wanted, but it was what I expected ... a gain a small one ... but a gain all the same. I know what I did wrong and I know what I need to do to prevent it ... it's the weekends ... I go off plan and I don't count my points. I need to get that under control! Again this weekend I did poorly. I need to work so much harder to keep on plan on the weekends. I also need to work hard on giving up soda! Any ideas that have worked for you in giving up soda? I drink Diet Coke and diet Mt. Dew like my life depended on it and I really want to stop. It is such a habit to drink it and I need to break it!

On another note, I am becoming addicted to exercise ... my yoga workout and running to be exact! I have Jillian Micheal's Yoga Meltdown and I love, love, love it! I look forward to doing it and love the way I feel upon completing my workout. Running is wonderful as well! I am doing great ... Did a personal best on my last run ... 3 miles at an average of 11:39 min a mile. I am working up to completing 4.2 miles for a run in 4 weeks. I am excited about my progress!

I thought I would create a line graph showing my progress. This will help keep my motivated, I hope!!! It is nice to see the progress I have made. It has been slow and steady and that is good and ok! I will get there in a healthy way and I will keep it off because I am making changes that are sustainable!

Weight Watchers...

Back in January I joined Weight Watchers. So far I have lost 8.4 lbs and I am just .2 lbs away from my 5% goal. Not only have I lost weight but I have gained so much from this journey so far. I have more confidence and feel so much better about myself now. I have started working out again and have picked up running again. I have signed up to participate in Pat's Run on April 16. This is a 4.2 mile run. Visit the Pat Tillman Foundation to find out more about this run.

My eating habits have changed so much. I still have days when I struggle with cravings for sweets such as Reese's PB cups or a vanilla ice cream cone. I do have room in my eating plan for these items at times but I do blow it at times. I do my best to not beat myself up when I go off plan because it isn't worth it and each day is a new day.

I am going to work on sharing my workouts, runs and eating plans on here. This will be a way for me to hold myself accountable and to track my progress both on the scale and off the scale. Off scale celebrations are just as important as scale celebrations.

Wednesdays are my weigh-in days so tomorrow I will being going to meeting and will post my progress. I am nervous that I have gained this week because I didn't track my food this past weekend and didn't not eat according to my plan. I will not beat myself up about it and will move on and do better this week.

I started doing a Yoga workout and I am loving it. It is a Jillian Micheals workout and I have two other DVD's of hers. I am using all three so that I can keep it mixed up and that will keep me from getting bored and will help in keeping my metabolism from getting stagnant.

This evening I made a delicious pizza that I wanted to share with you all. Mushroom and Spinach Pizza. Very easy to make. I use pre-made dough that I purchase at our local Fresh & Easy Market. I pre-baked the crust with a little bit of oil on the crust. It is baked for about 8 minutes at 450 degrees. After pre-baking I brush the crust with a little bit more oil and top it with fresh spinach, sliced mushrooms and sliced onions. Then I top it with shredded mozzarella cheese and return it to the oven for an additional 8 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and starting to brown. Here is a picture of my delicious master piece:

30 days of blogging challenge...

I am wanting to get into the habit of blogging. I have been hit and miss over the years and I really would like to do more ... as a record of my life ... as a way to document my photography in a way that is important to me ... which is that my photography represents how I see the world. I found this list for the challenge at The House of Hearts blog. So here is the list and I will be working on the first one today to post tomorrow.

The break down:
day 1 – recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2- the meaning behind your blog name
day 3- a picture of you as a child
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you’ve been
day 6- favorite super hero and why
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you’re proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
day 11- write a bucket list of things you want to do before you die
day 12- write a poem to someone you love
day 13- your 5 favorite books and why
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- a picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- write about a sweet memory from your past
day 20- write a letter to someone
day 21-a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave a lot
day 24- post your favorite quote or verse of scripture and why
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- list 10 things that you are thankful for
day 27- my day job verses my passion
day 28- cruise a thesaurus and pick out 10 words you like the sound of
day 29 – favorite tv shows and why you like them
day 30 – movies you can watch again and again.

free download....

that's right.... a freebie!

In honor of Thanksgiving I am offering everyone a free download of an 8.5 x 11 inch digital print of President Gordon B. Hinckley's Six Be's!

Go here to download.

Cutesie Onesies! Oh My! | Mesa Baby Photographer

Recently I have been noticing a lot of custom made onesies on the Internet and decided to take a shot at making some. What you are about to see are the results of my efforts and the SASSAFRAS-iness of one sweet little muffin who modeled the onesies for me. Introducing little Miss P and all her sweetness modeling onesies custom made by Little Tree Company!

If you are interested in purchasing custom made onesies email me at hill.teresa08@gmail.com.

DIY Fabric Mouse Pad...

I recently decided that I had enough of using my magic mouse just on my desktop. I needed a mouse pad...but didn't want just an ordinary one. So I decided to make one. I actually made three until I found the method that would work the best.

My first attempted was made with a fabric and padding sandwich. It turned out very nice looking but it slid around the desktop ... Fail!



The second attempt involved covering a plain mouse pad with fabric and sewing a binding around the outside edge. Works but I didn't like how the corners turned up...Fail!



The third time's the charm right?!?! Third attempted involved using cork board, double stick fusible web and fabric...It works perfectly fine!

I want to share the process with you so here is a quick tutorial:

Supplies:

• Cork board (I bought the rolled up cork board, you may use that or the cork tile squares. Mine isn't very think...I believe the cork squares come in different thicknesses...what you use is totally up to you)


• Double Stick Fusible Web


• Cotton Fabric of you choosing


• X-acto Knife and cutting board


• Scissors


• Iron

Steps:

1. Using the X-acto knife and ruler, place your cork on the cutting board and cut your cork board to the size you desire. I cut mine as an 8" x 8" square.
   


2. Cut your fabric an inch bigger than the cork on each side.


3. Cut fusible web to the same size as your fabric piece
   


4. Iron fusible web to fabric.


5. Center cork piece onto fabric with cork against the web side. With cork on the bottom, iron the web backed fabric to the cork. The fabric should overlap the cork by about 1" on all sides.


6. Fold sides of fabric over one side at a time, working with opposite sides first. Iron each side, over lap corners and trim neatly.

I also made a coaster so I may avoid water rings on my desk. I love the way they both turned out!

I think these would make great gifts for family and friends. After you make yours take some pictures and post them on your blog...then come back here and post a link in the comment section.

Spooktacular Halloween Cupcakes...

Like many kids will be doing today, my son is having a Halloween Party at school. He wanted to make cupcakes that looked like dirt with worms coming out of the dirt. We made cupcakes that look like dirt with bones and skulls coming out of the dirt instead...and the best part is that the cake is red velvet to represent dirt soaked with blood. We had a great time working together on these cupcakes. I wanted to share the process with you because I thought they turned out pretty SPOOKTACULAR.