Progress

So a lot has been happening in the last month to month and a half. I have moved to another city, so I'm farther away from my family again (but still only 15 miles away), in a wonderful relationship with someone who supports and helps, and I am (as of last Saturday) down 24.2 pounds!!

I am so excited, and I'm over a quarter of the way there!

I'm baaaaa-acccckk!

This is going to be the start of a different kind of posting.  I am on a journey beginning today, and I am slightly terrified.  Luckily I have an amazing mother & father, wonderful friends, and a sweet man to back me up.  My journey is one of a lifestyle change...learning how to eat all over again.  Let me just say that I am doing this because I want to have a healthy, long, rewarding life where I get to play with my (very future) children, and (even farther) future grandchildren.  I'm not going to disclose my weight (ha, why would I do that??) but I will post a beginning picture.  This is mostly for myself, so that when I am having a hard time of it, and even when thoughts and words of support aren't enough, I can come here and see how far I've come.

I am a little scared, but mostly excited.  Excited to get a new wardrobe and for looking AND feeling fabulous (I feel *good* most of the time, but...c'mon...).  I won't make this blog ALL about my journey, but I am going to update my progress from time to time.

Hope y'all are all well...and GOOD LUCK TO ME!

Goodness, am I late...

...to posting Christmas gifts.  Sheesh!  It took a sick day (or two) for me to sit down and write.  Or at least upload pictures.  :)  Here we go:

Now, I know I didn't "make" this gift, but I did take photos at my nephew's 1st birthday and print them out for lots of family.  This one is pretty special, since it was my nephew holding on to my dad and watching him play guitar... as my dad said, it made his Christmas.  :)

And obviously this one is a gift for myself :-) --- Oh, sweet Molly.

This was for my (music teacher) cousin, just a little vase.

What a sweet frame :-) (yes, that's me in there)

And a sweet little vase for my math teacher Mama.  

That's not everything, but I think it covers a majority of it (plus I didn't get photos of everything).  I really enjoyed getting to see reactions to the things I'd made from my heart.  Definitely doing this again.  

Christmas Eve Post

As I sit here and stare at the gifts I made (and one or two that I didn't), I'm left wondering...what the heck happened to the rest of this year???  It FLEW by so quickly - my nephew turned one, I played with fireworks for the first time (with my family, which was great), I got my amazing doggie friend - and all in all, I think it was a great (!) year.  :)  I can't reveal the gifts *just* yet, but I will leave you with this:

So until next time, MURRAY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

DIY Christmas Part Deaux

:) Merry Christmas from Molly and Me!

To continue my DIY (on a budget) Christmas blogging, let's move onto my test runs and LEARNING HOW TO SEW!!!!  YAAAAY!  Haha, I feel silly saying that I'm *just* now learning at 26...but at least I could always sew my buttons back on.  :)  So I started with this here scarf because 1. I'd already bought the t-shirts, and 2. I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted my mom and I to have some crafty time this weekend.  Which, thankfully, we did (and had a blast).

Here are my steps, which is by no means a tutorial...just me showing my progress to y'all.  :)

Sidenote:  I decided to go with only one "braid" or "knot" b/c the t-shirts were a little on the thicker side, making the braid look a little wonky.  I'm pretty excited about how this turned out, anyway.

Shout out to the momz! (She was working on my "crescent santa" sweatshirt in the picture - we matched today)

Now, once I was finished with the yellow and gray scarf, I wanted to practice my newly found skillz with another beautiful scarf tutorial.  Real quick, a HUGE thank you to the two ladies who posted both of their "how-to's" - they were wonderful and I can't wait to make more!

(Notice the hand on my hip, indicating my pride in what I'd just accomplished, lol)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, URRVABODY!

DIY Christmas Part I

Remember this "sneak peak?"  Total cost in this picture is about $10...

Well, here's what I'm doing!

This is just the beginning of the pink frame....wait for it...wait for it....

...BAM!

I got the flowers at Joann in the Martha Stewart scrapbooking area for $6.99, but thanks to a 50% off coupon, the package was $3.50.  And I have a couple little flowers left over to make a frame as a reward for all of my hard work and budgeting.  :)  Hooray!

Recipes!

I shared some photos a few days ago from Thanksgiving dinner, and as promised, here are the links to what I made:

Asparagus Gratin

Crock-Pot Baked Apples

AAAAAAND, I'm starving...off to make dinner!