Trim Down Tuesday

Well, I did it! I exercised every day this week... problem is I didn't watch what I was eating as much as I should so I'm not really surprised by my measurements this morning, plus I'm really bloated and feel sick thanks to my lack of self control and craving for gluten yesterday. I'm such an emotional eater and was super stressed out yesterday and ate a whole box of granola bars... well, I gave one to Moriah but still, that was about 1,000 calories consumed not including the rest of the day. I really need to have better self control when it comes to gluten it makes me feel soooooo miserable and I'm beginning to think the yummy factor doesn't out weigh the way I feel afterwards. Anyways, physically I'm feeling really great. I really like the 30 day shred and I much prefer the alternating levels and really think this has helped me to not injure my back again. I even feel like some of the moves I could increase my hand weights if I wanted to, but I think I'll stick to the 5lb weights for now.

On to the measurements:
arms 11", same as last week
chest 39", same as last week
waist 33", 1" less than last week
hip 39", same as last week
thigh 23", same as last week
weight 140lbs, same as last week

since there hasn't really been any change I don't think I'll take any pictures this week... I look the same.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday will be a day when I'll post about anything random.

Today, I'd like you share with you about a new forum that I've become active in. I love forums, I've met many people and become friends with them from all over the world. These forums are for specific interests and I have grown and learned so much from being a part of these forums. So, one of my friends told me about a new forum that she had started that she thought I would really like to be a part of... it's The Dressing Room and it's for women who bloggers, photographers, DIYers and WAHMs. Yeah, that just seems like the perfect fit for me.

I've been following several blogs and always thought it would be fun to really get into blogging and this new forum has got me going. I also am excited to meet and get to know other photographers and learn from each other. My favorite part is "Picture Play" where someone posts a picture and we all get to edit it and post our edits and what we did. Then there is the DIY section which has everything I enjoy doing from scrapbooking to sewing to knitting and so much more. Lastly, there is the WAHM biz section which I hope to someday be a part of and learn from some of my favorite WAHMs. They've already helped a bit with coming up with a business name. You can also promote your business and I'm really enjoying finding out about new to me WAHM buisnesses.

It's still a new forum and I'm hoping there will be more members soon to really get it going. There's even a referral contest going on right now with great prizes to get more women joining and the site growing. There is even a special prize for the 100th registered member... currently we're at 97 members.

My most favorite part of the forum is the assignments... TWBA (This Week's Blog Assignment) is a random question that you are to blog about and TWPA (This Week's Blog Assignment) is posting pictures that go with the theme of the week.

If any of this sounds interesting to you, come join me in The Dressing Room.

Scrumptious Sunday - Cold Quinoa Salad

Every Sunday I'm going to post a recipe... most of them will be gluten free since gluten tends to make me sick, so don't expect too many carb loaded recipes ;)

A few days ago we were in the midst of our third day in a row of a heat advisory. There was no way I was going to do any cooking and I wasn't going to have Mark stand outside grilling. I didn't know what to make and one of my local facebook friends said she had made cold couscous salad. That's when it hit me... I should make that only I can't have couscous so I'll see if I can make something with quinoa. I just looked through my cabinets and grabbed a bunch of cans and the quinoa and started working. It was so yummy that I thought I'd try to put together the recipe for you. Since everything was just thrown together... the measurements are approximate.

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
2 cups chicken stock, veggie stock or water
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans of shredded chicken breast... I use the shredded chicken cans from Costco.
1-2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the quinoa in the stock according to the directions on the box (I made it in the microwave since I was not in the mood to cook). While the quinoa is cooking mix together all the remaining ingredients. When the quinoa has soaked up all the liquid add it to the other ingredients. Cover and refridgerate for a couple hours until cold. Serve and enjoy!

To make this vegetarian, skip the chicken and use a vegetarian stock. It's so yummy either way!

Saturday Social

On Saturdays I've decided to get to know my readers so I'll be asking a get to know you question that hopefully my readers will comment on and tell me about themselves.

This week's question is:

What is your favorite season and why?


My favorite season is autumn, I just love the colors and I love the cooler weather. During the autumn, I love to take the kids out to the zoo or the Arboretum and just walk around and not worry about overheating or freezing our bottoms.

Pic from last year... I was hugely pregnant and another reason I love autumn so much is my sweet little dude was born then.

Foto Friday - My love and passion for editing!

I'm merging this with the TWPA assignment for this week...

So this week's TWPA (this week's photography assignment) at The Dressing Room is to take a self portrait. For extra credit we can post our favorite picture on our blog for an extra TDR buck. So, I brought out my camera (Nikon D50) with my favorite lens (Nikkor 50mm f/1.4), my tripod and my remote. I also pinned up some fabric to the wall as a backdrop. I wanted to really focus on the eyes so I set the aperture to 1.4. I sat in a chair and started clicking away with the remote... This is the one I decided I liked the most SOOC (straight out of camera)


What I like to do is a bit of editing in PSE (Photoshop Elements) and see what I get doing that... sometimes there are actions that I think fit the picture so I'll do a little of that if needed like brightening up the eyes. So, here's the edit from that.


Then the fun begins in Lightroom... I'll do some editing and then I'll walk away and then I'll do some more editing and then walk away and then come back and hopefully it's the way I like it or I'll do some editing. Here's the progression from today's editing.


And here is my final edit for today... never know I may go back and do something else but I really like this one.

Wordless Wednesday

TDT (Trim Down Tuesdays)

OK, I'm working through the days of the weeks and deciding what I will blog about on each day...

Tuesday is going to be "Trim Down Tuesdays". Every Tuesday is my personal weigh-in day but I'm been really bad about losing the final 10lbs so I'm challenging myself for the next 5 weeks, 35 days to "trim down". This morning I took my measurements and took before pictures... let's see how I progress over the next 5 weeks. My challenge will be some kind of active activity every day (probably a workout video or really long hike) and eating appropriate for my medical conditions of PCOS w/ insulin resistance and gluten intolerance... I'm also still nursing so dairy free for Isaac. Also, watching my portions since I'm pretty sure I'm eating too much food... I LOVE food!

OK, coming out of my shell to post some not so flattering pictures but I can't wait to see what I look like in 5 weeks.




My measurements:
arms 11"
chest 39"
waist 34"
hips 39"
thighs 23"
weight 140lbs

TWBA: What part of summer can I live without? Icky sweaty hair on my neck!

This week's blog assignment at The Dressing Room is to blog about what we dislike about summer. Living in Chicagoland I'm just so used to it being cold most of the year, but then the summer comes and the humidity is so bad you can't even breathe and it's so extreme. A couple days ago we stepped outside to go shopping... it was only a walk to the van, and the first thing Moriah says to me is, "Why am I all sweaty, Mommy?" That's how bad it was, we were sweating as soon as we opened the door. The next day I call the hair salon and ask to have my hair chopped. I really do like summer but the one thing I hate the most is sweaty hair on my neck. I have really nice thick hair that could use a bit of dye to get rid of the greys, lol, but it's so thick that I get a headache if I put it up in a ponytail. The best solution is to cut it off. I can live with the humidity, but sweaty hair on my neck icks me out.

I love my new haircut, Mark likes to kiss my neck now that it's all bare. I'm almost tempted to go even shorter.

TWBA: A perfect summer day

At the beginning of each week at The Dressing Room, "This Week's Blog Assignment," or TWBA is posted. This week's topic: What is a perfect summer day to you?

A perfect summer day would be partly cloudy, beautiful blue skies with a few puffy white clouds, and around 80 degrees with no humidity. We would pack a lunch and some blankets and head over to the Morton Arboretum. We would sit and/or play in one of the big fields and then eat our lunch. After lunch we'd go for a hike on one of the trails while the kids take a nap. I'd of course have my camera on me and would be snapping pictures along the way. Around dinner time we'd head home and Mark would grill out... probably beer brats and grilled onions and would pop a couple sweet potatoes in the microwave and Moriah would have a grilled cheese burger. We'd eat outside enjoying the nice fresh air. After the kids go to bed, Mark and I would go sit outside on the deck/balcony and just chat all evening.

Decorating a kid's bedroom while waiting to close on a house

So, this has been the longest process ever and if any of my friends every think about purchasing a short sale... be prepared to wait a really really really long time. Although, I just recommend you totally avoid them, sigh...

So, in the mean time I've been working on Riah's room. She had picked out her bedding set several months ago and I found some fabric that coordinated well with it. I bought 5 yards to make curtains... well, I totally forgot to measure the window in what will eventually be her room so the curtains are unfinished but I'll finish them quickly when we finally close and I can get in there to measure the window and I've also bought some Black Out fabric to line the back with.

With 5 yards of fabric I was able to make 2 curtain panels (loved that I was able to easily match up the pattern in the center between the two panels), a bedskirt, 2 wall frames and a really long bolster pillow.