Thursday, January 9, 2014

Weekly Weigh In

After the first week of the new year, I'm officially down 3.3 pounds!

 I'm super happy about that start, especially considering we were snowed in for a few days thanks to the crazy polar vortex and 12 inches of snow. Indianapolis was experiencing the coldest temperatures in about 30 years. We fared pretty well through the whole mess. We had some frozen pipes, but luckily they didn't burst. Our power only went out for a short period of time and we got to spend lots of time as a family cuddled up near the fire. The girls were out of school for three days, but went back today on a delay this morning. I think everyone is ready to get back into a routine.

Have a great week!

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Resolutions

First of all, let me say that I don't really like New Year's Resolutions. The idea of jumping on the bandwagon with everyone else who decides to lose weight, get organized, exercise, etc. is supremely annoying to me. However, here I am. The timing is right and I'm not waiting any longer to make changes, so here goes. 1. Complete the Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon 2. Run 1000 miles this year 3. Earn my Spartan trifecta 4. Lose 75 pounds Bring it on, 2014! I'm ready!!!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Workout Priorities

For the last few months, Ryan and I have been focusing on weightlifting and building strength. Basically, the only cardio that I've done is our warmup on the treadmill, which is only about a mile.

I've decided that I need to re-evaluate my priorities to meet my goals for this year.  My cardio base needs a lot of work, so I'm mainly going to work on building my cardio endurance while trying to maintain most of my muscle mass.

I've always had the goal of wanting to run in the Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon. But, it's always seemed like such a BIG goal that its out of reach.  Before I realized that I was pregnant with our youngest daughter in 2008, I actually signed up for the Mini. I let it go to waste though, as she was born at the end of March and the Mini is the first weekend in May.  Well, this is my year, so my first big goal for the year will be to complete the Mini Marathon.

So, as much as I hate it, you'll find me running from now until then.  For now, I'm focused on using my heart rate rate monitor to make sure I'm staying in my aerobic zone in order to build my aerobic base.



Ryan got me this one for Christmas.

I've also joined in with some of my Corn Fed Spartans peeps to participate in the 1000 Mile Challenge.

I'm hoping this gets easier! I'm sure many of you can relate, but I really do hate this running stuff.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

This is my year.

Enough.

I've been working on weight loss for forever.  Or at least it feels that way.  It's time to change for good.

I'm ready to break my pattern. I'm ready for a big change. I'm ready to quit thinking about the future and actually do something to change the future.

I've learned a lot in the past year about pushing my limits, but it's time to take it to the next level.

I make excuses and cheat on myself so this is another way for me to be accountable, which means I need to come on out and say it.  I want to lose 100 pounds.  That feels so daunting, but it's important to me to have it written down and just out there.

So, if you want to see what this year has in store for me, feel free to follow along. It may not be pretty, but I can promise that it will be memorable.

I'm Jamie and this is my year.

I am a mom to three precious little girls.

I am wife with a supportive husband.

I am an over-eater.

I am an obstacle course racer.

I am stubborn.

I am not happy with myself right now.

I am strong.

I am full of self doubt.

I am ready.


This is my year.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

I'm alive!

After a long blogging break, I've decided to revisit the ol' blog.

Things may not look the same.  My focus in life has shifted a bit since I was here last. I spend a lot more time working towards my goal of getting healthy now.  I still enjoy crafting and making things, but our family's health and fitness has taken a priority.

So, if you're interested, check back and get ready for me to share about some different aspects of my life.  There will be still be a little bit of DIY thrown in along the way!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Dartboard Jewelry Cabinet Tutorial

 My final entry for the So You Think You're Crafty competition was this Dartboard Jewelry Cabinet.  The theme for the finale was purple, which I wasn't too excited about when I first heard about it.  But, I managed to add some light purple accents onto my jewelry cabinet. 

 Unfortunately, I didn't win the competition, but second place isn't too shabby!

I started with an older dartboard in a wooden cabinet that my cousin picked up at a garage sale for $5.

After a good cleaning, I removed the dartboard from the inside and took all of the hardware off.  I gave everything a couple coats of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White.

I picked out a geometric design stencil at Hobby Lobby (with a coupon, of course).

I mixed up some purple and white acrylic craft paint until I got the shade I wanted and began dabbing away with a sponge brush.

Here she is after the stenciling was complete on the doors.

Then, I roughed the whole thing up with a palm sander.  I distressed it pretty heavily, which toned the purple down a lot.

I covered the whole thing in a clear paste wax and then began re-assembling the cabinet.  I spray painted the brass hardware with brushed nickel paint and added some crystal knobs on the front from Hobby Lobby.

I covered the back of the inside of the cabinet with some wrapping paper and then added some screw hooks for hanging necklaces and bracelets.

On the insides of the doors, I painted some small picture frames the same color of purple as my stenciling and added some perforated sheet metal from Lowe's to hang earrings.

I also used heavy duty glue to attach a small oval frame to the inside of the door.  I used a purple Sharpie to add the phrase "The prettiest thing you can wear is a smile."  The jewelry cabinet is now hanging in my daughters' closet, so it was important to me to add a positive message that they would see when they looked in the mirror.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Dartboard Jewelry Cabinet


It's the season finale over at So You Think You're Crafty!  I'm so excited that I made it this far!  For the finale week theme of "Purple" I made an old dartboard cabinet into a jewelry storage cabinet for my daughters' closet.

I'll be posting the tutorial on the blog after the contest is over, but in the meantime, I would really appreciate your vote!

Head over to So You Think You're Crafty sometime before Thursday night and cast your vote!

I really appreciate everyone's support throughout this whole contest!