Motivate Me Monday...I'm back with a confession

As a Mormon, we adhere to a health code called The Word of Wisdom.  Basically it means we don't drink alcohol, coffee, or tea and we eat meat sparingly - eating more grains, fruits, and vegetables. 

The purpose is to have a healthy body and to not be addicted to any substance.  Here's what I pulled from lds.org  "When people purposefully take anything harmful into their bodies, they are not living in harmony with the Word of Wisdom."

You're probably thinking that I have a deep dark secret...and I do.

I love Diet Coke. 

There, I said it.  I admit it.

No, the wording of The Word of Wisdom does not say, "Thou shalt not drink Diet Coke" buttttt....I'm sure I crossed the line into being "addicted to to a harmful substance."

Growing up we NEVER drank anything with caffeine in it - my parents felt that it wasn't good for us and I think they are right.  I've actually only drank it for a few years, but my body is VERY sensitive to caffeine and I could tell the minute it hit my bloodstream.  Crazy I know.  It just woke me up and seemed to give me so much more energy but with 0 calories - magical right?!  But in the back of my mind I always knew it was a bad idea...and so...

Last week I gave it up.  We had our goodbyes and every once in a while I wish I had one stashed at the back of the fridge but I don't...and I'm just fine.  Now, I do reserve the right to drink it on road trips...you know, to stay awake ;-) but aside from that I know I need to set a better example for my kids.  Imagine my shame when they would ask for a sip of my drink and I would have to say no...yes, I drank guilt each time that happened and it did not taste good my friend. To make it official I even told my kids that I wasn't drinking it anymore.

 Whew!  I feel so much better since I've gotten that off my chest.  So my challenge to you is to give up something that tastes like guilt every time your kids catch you eating/drinking it..it's a major sign that you're doing something wrong.  But, you probably didn't have a deep dark secret like me.



goodbye old friend. sniff, sniff



Boho Maxi-Dress - Favorite Fabric

 I've owned this gorgeous silk fabric for at least 4 years.  I got it on sale and it's absolutely my favorite fabric.  You can't see the beading in these photos but it has lots of beads and sequins scattered throughout.  I loved it so much that I was too afraid to touch it - waiting until I was a really good seamstress.  That day never came but I decided it was time for the gorgeous fabric to see the world anyway.

You can click to enlarge...really beautiful.

 

beads and sequins.

I love this Maxi-dress that I got at Target (blue one below) so I thought I would use it as the pattern.  Well that story ends there...this dress was haphazardly put together in the end.  If you want a really great tutorial for a maxi dress, go here .

my pattern of sorts. At least it got me started.

You can see Darin's reflection in the door. :-) I hate modeling but this didn't fit over Coco's bust.

I wore it to church and it didn't fall apart.  Yay me!

I have one more dress living in my head that I MUST make this week and a wreck of a dress that I have to tell you about, it's really quite a funny parody - just need time to write about it.

Allie's First Sewing Class & Project

Allie took a 3 hour sewing class last week.  She LOVED it and learned so much.  She made a really cute pillow (need a picture of it) and her confidence in sewing soared.  So while I was working on a project the following day, she begged to sew too.  I remembered I had the materials for some pillowcase dresses and thought she could tackle that project - wow, she amazed me!  I wish I was a better photographer - these are soooo cute!

Allie hard at work.

  

Love the big white bow on one shoulder.

Cuties.



Beautiful Kate. Love the striped ribbon Allie used on her dress.



We had such a fun week with 4 extra kids! Wow, it reminded me of my childhood - so fun, I need to update with those photos soon.

Motivate Me Monday - final weigh-in

Last fitness post...or is it???

I think I'll make this a Hi/Lo post (gotta get back to more of those)

Lo - When I started blogging weekly for Motivate Me Monday I felt like I needed to blog more in general or else the whole blog would be about weight loss and I didn't want the world (or the 4 people who read my blog) to think that's all I cared about.  I didn't realize how quickly things could get out-of-hand...you know, one blog post leads to another and then another and before you know it you've over-shared! haha

Hi - I really did it!  I said I would eat better, exercise, and lose weight and I did.  I didn't do anything crazy - just counted calories (most of the time) and got in a solid 30 minutes (at least) of exercise.  So are you wondering how much I lost???  9 lbs.  I'm pretty happy with that...especially since it wasn't grueling and didn't require fasting or giving up my favorite foods or cutting off a limb.  I do have a few more to lose but it's not going to drive me crazy...just keep swimming, just keep swimming (Nemo).  I have to say that blogging about weight loss just might be a magic pill...something to think about.

What is the future of Motivate Me Monday you ask..well, you didn't really but I'm sure you were about to...hmmmm, I'm trying to decide.  I feel like it's been a great tool for me to do better and there are LOTS of areas that I need to improve upon so next week I'll let you know.  One thing is for sure, it will include a once-a-month weigh-in to keep me on track! ;-)

Happy Monday!

Dear Sarah 13 years ago...

Dear 22 year old Sarah,

It's the night before your wedding and I know you're too excited to sleep and well....you should be!  I'm just writing to tell you that after 13 years of marriage and 4...yep, got that right 4 beautiful (amazing, and perfect) children, you made the best decision EVER!  Your dad's right, you married up.  You're going to go through some amazing experiences as well as some trials and hard times, but Darin is a rock and the Lord will guide you.  You should be sooo excited - life just gets better and better.  Great job girl - you sure know how to pick 'em!

Love,

35 year old Sarah

You gotta love these oldies, huh?!  This is Darin and me with his parents...just gazing into the future. ;-)

  

We don't have many pics from the temple..July wedding + Dallas during a terrible heat wave = few pics.  Sad that this is one of the better ones.  Oh well, the day was perfect in every other way!



Family pic in Monterrey...Roman's doing his own thing ;-)

{Motivate Me Monday} Reaching a place of balance and peace

I have ZERO desire to look like the above model but I do appreciate the truth in this Nike ad...it takes work to keep your body healthy.  I think everyone has a place where mentally and physically they feel their best.  Like I said, mine is not having cut abs and ripped biceps...but it is a way that my body moves easily and my mind feels sharper, my stress is down and my energy is up.  I'm grateful that I have happiness in that place without any jealousy or desire to look like anyone else.  How can I complain about my legs when they will run for miles for me?  How can I complain about my arms when I have two of them and the strength to hold my beautiful Scarlett for hours?  How can I complain about my abs when they provided a home to four of the most amazing children on the planet?  I am thankful today for contentment with myself and my body.  I know that the goals I have set are just a place of balance...and I'm almost there.

Our 13th Anniversary is this weekend!  So next Monday is my last Motivate Me Monday post..at least about fitness.  I'm thinking about choosing another area to focus on, hmmmm...we'll see.

Fashion Friday: Maxi-Dress Re-Fashion - it's done!



Before

 


After

 





 



 

This dress has been living in my head for some time now...actually back when I was pregnant with Scarlett. I was wearing lots of maxi-dresses, and when I saw this one at Wal-Mart I thought I would try it. Not sure what I was really thinking because horizontal stripes are especially not cute on 8 month pregnant women...and particularly in bright colors.

I started to think about how I could "save" the dress by adding a new top and possibly bleaching it all white...then I thought hmmmm, maybe navy blue instead. I began the process last January in California, I actually removed the top and replaced it with a t-shirt (also from Wal-Mart). The top looked really boring so then I added the ruffle bib and shortened the sleeves a tad. I love that raw edges are in-style!


Shirt before



Mid-process

Still too boring and the colors were just not me.



Quick pic of the ruffle-bib before I start the dye bath.



I pulled out the dress a few weeks ago when we moved into our new house and didn't really have a minute for it..well every time I got on the treadmill that thing haunted me. It was saying, "Please, can you just give me a chance?! I know I can be sooo cute and you'll love me - just trust me on this." "Sheesh - fine, I'll work on you after dinner." I telepathically replied...I'm so weird! haha

Step 1 to dye the dress was actually to remove the color. I used Rit Color Remover and a pot of water on the stove. Let me warn you that it was a very stinky process. The kids giggled uncontrollably and asked over and over if we were going to eat the dress.



This is how it came out - weird, huh?! I was pretty worried at this point that the whole project was a failure.

Step 2 was to wash it.

Step 3 I dyed it in our kitchen sink (which happens to be black and so I wasn't worried about how the dye might affect it...no problemo.)

Step 4 Wash and dry

I pulled the dress out of the dryer this morning and wasn't sure if I was in love. Darin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you want it to look like denim?" I asked him to go find Coco in the garage and let's see how the dress really looks - he was so great and ran right out to find her (still packed) and also brought in several of my purses and the baby bjorn (woo-hoo).

back on topic...

I put the dress on Coco and was soooooo excited. I love it. What do you think? It definitely turned out different than I expected and the original color of thread is showing but I think imperfection is beautiful. So, yay little dress for coming to life! I can't wait to wear it tomorrow to lunch with a friend and then to get my hair did ;-) !!!





Coco has a cute bum like Pippa..that's why she's modeling.




Love raw edges but I don't love the quality of this fabric, but what can you expect for $4 at Wal-Mart?! Overall, cute.



I have two more dresses living in my head right now and two pillow-case dresses for the girls - can't wait to show you how they turn out.

Be brave..sew or dye something this week - you never know, it just might turn out better than you thought possible!

Quick pic on my way out the door for my hair appt...ya, those roots aren't looking too good!

So whadya think???

Motivate Me Monday..errrr Tuesday ;-)

Don't you just love the 4th of July?!  It does my heart good to look over a sea of people wearing red, white, and blue.  I love the crowds and festivities...happy, patriotic chaos!  That also means I didn't have a moment to blog...besides today feels more like Monday than yesterday did. 

I promised a precise review of the BodyBugg and I must say that I officially stink at precision. Ha. I just couldn't eat pre-packaged food all week and then that led to a LOT of grey area and then blah, blah, blah here we are a week later.  I do have good news though.  I did track my calories and I did wear the BodyBugg all week (oh, but not while sleeping) and in the end it totally helped me!  I lost 2 lbs which is pretty awesome in my world.  I felt much more aware of how much exercise and activity I was getting, as well as being very conscience about what I ate.  So while I may not have been exact to the calorie, I was as honest as I could be.  I seem to burn about 2400 calories a day and eat about 1400...that equates to 1000 calorie deficit each day, which means 2 elbees ;-) in a week.

Curious about the best workouts???  Running totally wins!  I burned 330 in only 30 minutes of running, whereas Zumba was a 440 calorie burn in an hour.  I also jogged in place in between songs in Zumba..totally bugs me that other people just stand there!  They. are. wasting. precious. time! haha  I went to a couple of different instructors and my burn seemed consistent in all the classes.  I also love kickboxing but haven't had a chance to go to a class - I'll let you know how it compares as soon as I go.

Thanks again for checking in and for any tips you've given me!  I was sooooo hesitant to do this series but it's been fun and it's definitely kept me on track.  1/2 way done too!!!! Now I just have to commit myself to those darn weights...uggghhhhh!

Faith vs. Fear

Hope is the anticipation that the outcome will be good.
Worry is the anticipation that the outcome will be bad.
Faith is the anticipation that whatever the outcome, it will be for our good. - Anon.

I shared this quote before...back on this post. I felt a lot of hope and a lot of peace during that time but somewhere between then and now I got turned around. There are lots of factors really. Somehow after going through so many months of really hard trials (i.e. within a 3 week period I had a new baby, found out I had melanoma, and Darin lost his job) I forgot how to relax and fully enjoy life for the moment it is. Since we got to Ohio I've felt like I'm constantly on pins and needles waiting for our next 'big trial', waiting for something to go wrong, waiting for bad news. I hope I'm not the only one who has ever felt this unwarranted anxiety before. It keeps me up at night and gives me a stomach ache all day. It is stealing my joy. I know that the Lord doesn't give us fear, He gives us faith which is peaceful even during the worst storm. My favorite scripture is

Isaiah 41:13

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
That is my prayer today, that I will stop fighting invisible enemies and count my many, many blessings.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

God Bless America, land that I love.

Fashion Friday...Flashback

A few weeks ago there was a lovely, sweet lady at church who wore a dress that made me smile inside...as soon as I saw her I had a flashback to my ten-year old self going to church and seeing my mom in a similar dress. She usually paired it with a large belt, earrings, necklace, and some beautiful pumps...my mom was always (and still is) very stylish. It made me feel proud to walk into church or any other place with her - she was a wonderful example to me of being proud of motherhood and who you are no matter your job or title.

She woke up every morning to the same routine: get dressed, put on makeup, brush teeth, make bed (if dad was out of it), read scriptures while making a big breakfast for her 10+ kids, wake up the kids in a sweet way (how did she do that with teenagers?!), get us all ready and out the door...and then on to laundry and the other household chores. She taught me so many lessons in that simple routine. I still haven't perfected it.

I loved that moment and the flood of memories and that made me think....from now on, when I see someone who chose to hold on to the fashions of a certain era, I'm going back in time for a moment too. So many great memories from the 80s and 90s!

I have a few favorite fashion bloggers that I love to follow. I love to see their creativity in putting outfits together. I've considered doing a Fashion Friday but I get nervous...there are a lot of people who criticize anyone involved in the fashion industry...I've had my share of criticism already and not sure that I'm ready for more....so we'll see how permanent Fashion Friday becomes.

For now..here's what I'm loving for the 4th:

Dress and sweater from Forever 21...actually own the dress and LOVE it. I usually wear it with a soft green cardi and white undershirt, but for the 4th I've got to add some red and I think a flower will be perfect.

PS - I'm doing a maxi-dress re-fashion that is almost done. I finished the sewing but need to dye it...so excited to see how it turns out.

Some beautiful inside and out fashion bloggers...

Kristina J. (also sews)

The Daybook (happens to be a cute *currently pregnant* Mormon so very modest styles)

StylePantry (love her bohemian looks!)

I'll post more next time.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Oh..head over to my sister's blog for an awesome give-away!