He had me at chocolate

My mother always said the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. To get to my heart, you have to pass my sweet tooth. So I was so excited when my boot camp leader said that a great inexpensive recovery drink was chocolate milk. Of course he suggested 1% milk, which is just FINE with me. It is high in protein and the sugar in the chocolate will raise your glucose which can become low after a work out.

I knew then that I was at the right place...TexasBootCamp. I was nervous at my first session. I imagined people yelling and cursing at me. I imagined that it was pouring and that I would be shivering in the cold rain. I imagined crawling through mud and holding a log over my head for hours on end. Then I realized...that was GI Jane.

Don't get me wrong, boot camp is tough but it is full of words of encouragement and praise. Michael plays Toby Mac and we end in prayer. I absolutely love it! It is tough. I won't lie. My legs hurt, my arms ache and my core muscles are sore but as my daughter says, "it's not pain, its progress." Pin It

Meet my friends Shame, Comfy and Fear

I have been frustrated with my pace lately. By now I should be running circles around others. I don't know who those "others" are but I should be running circles around them. But I think I have become comfortable with my pace.

Now I love a comfy couch, a comfy bed and comfy chair. But I don't think my workouts should be comfy. Working out is about getting stronger and healthier and that takes breaking down muscle to build them back up again. There is nothing comfy about breaking down something. I mean comfy is what got me to where I am now...fluffy and unhealthy. Comfy says to sit on the couch and watch a good movie. Comfy says it is easier to sleep in than get up and work out. Comfy says it is easier to grab a few pieces of chocolate as oppose to a few pieces of fruit. Yes, comfy can be our enemy.

But comfy loves company. My comfy loves fear. Each day during my 3 day, I made note of how I felt during mile 15. I was tired. My feet hurt, my legs ached and I was just tired. And I told myself..."If you feel like this after 15 miles of walking, how are you going to feel after 13 miles of running?" You see, I had signed up a 1/2 mary in January. And well after my 3 day, Fear joined Comfy as my companions.

They became good friends. One would convince me that the bed was too comfy and the other would convince me that I couldn't do it. And they did this until 1 day before the run, when I went to pick up my race packet. Yeah you heard me, I picked up my race packet and went to the expo. Look, I may not be running but I want my t-shirt!

It was at the expo that Comfy and Fear met their bigger brother, Shame. Yes, I felt shame as I picked up my packet, knowing darn well I wasn't running. I felt shame as I went from booth to booth looking at things and people looking at me like "what are you doing here?". A few months ago I would have held my head high and said, "yeah I am fluffy but I am a runner!". Now, all I could do is agree.

And the next morning as I met all my friends to cheer them on during the race, Shame stood next to me. As my friend that just jumped back from a bad MS episode where she was blind and couldn't walk for long periods of time, came out dressed to run as much of the 1/2 mary as possible, Shame clung to me. She made it 6 miles, then had to SAG. But she had the courage to start and isn't that what Bingham says? The miracle is not that I finished but I had the courage to start?

So I am starting over. I want to increase my speed and get my passion back. I am going to attempt C25K again but at a faster pace. I am going to break out of comfy running (slower pace) and break into pushing myself.

I am doing WW also. Now I have been a member since 2009. I haven't followed the program but I have been a member. Well I started counting my points and realized...I eat alot. I eat more than I realized. It has been a week and so far so good. I am within points and I have lost 2 pounds. I figure I will be able to run faster if I have less weight to carry. Pin It

My Digital Studio

I have been playing around with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! I have to say I am really impressed. I am almost done with my Puerto Rico album. But you ever work so much on a project that you just have to take a break? Well that is me. I needed a break from my PR album and just have fun with MDS.


Well this past weekend I went to a Close To My Heart Party and bought a few things. I was looking through their catalog and I noticed a layout that I liked so I used to to make this layout in MDS. I am happy with the look of it, considering it is my first one a la carte. I need to play with it some more.

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Paparrazi! Paparrazi!

Believe it or not I have been busy. A new year, a new...well, uh year. I am kidding. After my trip to Puerto Rico, I have decided that I need to take a class on photography. You see, last year my dear husband bought me a camera...a SLR camera. I wanted one for years and years and years. Then on a whim, he bought it for me. I was so excited...for two days. Then I was just scared of it.
I mean, sure I could shoot in manual mode but what good is an SLR if all you really are going to do is point and shoot? That was my delimma. When I used my P&S, I felt justified in just, well, pointing and shooting. But now I had as SLR and I just felt like a "fake" when I pulled it out to use it. It implied that I knew how to take a picture. And I don't. So instead of embracing my new camera, I just hid it away or asked my hubby to take pictures for me. Thank goodness, he loves photography as much as I do, because he loved taking pictures. But I was feeling left out.

Then I came across this class at TwoPeasinaBucket and it was for free! And you know how I love free. Ok, let me back up. I found the class about a year before I received my SLR (mental note: I really need to give her a name...well at least I have established it's gender). And after I found the class, I kept saying, under my breath, "Ya know, I really want to take this class but I don't have the right equipment...blah blah blah." So I get the camera and never take the class...until now.

I love the gals at 2peas message board. I love all the encouragement and everyone has great questions but most importantly, someone has the answer! So I thought I would share my pictures as I take the class.

Week 1 Aperture setting F-stop. Ok so this is what I remember. The smaller the F stop, the less that is in focus and the larger the F stop, the more that is in focus. But get this, the larger the F stop number the smaller the hole opening. Ok, now my head is spinning.

So the one above was done at a low F stop. My next was middle range so more is in focus.

Now at this point, it isn't about composition or lighting, just playing with your camera. Same as Week 2 (ISO and Shutter Speed). But Iwill post that tomorrow.

We are in the middle of week two so there is still time to join. Click HERE if you want to join. This is the 2peas photography forum.

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Baby's First year

I can't believe I am almost to a resting point. I have done so many projects and really no time to relax and enjoy them. Well now I am R-E-L-A-X-I-N-G.

First up:
My Baby's first year album I took a class several years ago from Scrap-a-faire, hosted by Scrapbooks etc. Jana Wilson was the teacher. I could not find it at SBE site but I did find mention of it at Jana Wilson's website. I loved the class and have made several baby albums for friends and family. The concept is simple. Create a 12 month album that tracks a Baby's first year. And to make it simple, you have three templates that you repeat four times (3x4=12). You end up with twelve two page layouts.

This is the first album that I made for a stranger. A friend, that received one as a gift, requested one for her friend. So this is my first requested album and my first boy album. I am so much into bling, pink and ruffle that I really had to change my thinking to make this album. No matter, I still enjoyed making it.

Above is the front cover. A close up is available on the video below.

Above is just one of the three templates used to create this album. I used the following items to make this album. most were bought at Joann's and on sale.

• DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy
• Core'dinations Cardstock
• 8x8 Bind It All covers
• Binder rings from Office Supply Store
• Animal buttons from Michaels
• Transparency from Office Supply store
• Thread from Joanns
• Cartridges: Nursery Tails (Cricut Imagine), Plantin Schoolbook and Gypsy Wanderings
• Jolees Hotfix Crystals

Here is the video with a page by page look at the album.

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Menus....done

Can I just say I love my Irock? I bought one a couple of weeks ago because I saw it on the Cricut boards. I love bling so something that lets me add bling quickly and permanently was perfect for me. At the time that I bought it, I was not thinking of the menus that I needed to create for my friends wedding.

But after googling thousands and thousands of pictures of menus and getting the template from my friend...the bling just seemed natural. We had bling and ribbon on the invitations and we are trying to make everything cohesive. I took the pictures with my IPhone because...well because..I am just tired and didn't want to go downstairs and grab my camera. I am in my last week of training for my 60 mile walk and I am just plain tired.

Next up....Programs

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A week from now

A week from now I will be with thousands of women and men...walking 60 miles for breast cancer. I can't wait. I think I am prepared mentally. I have trained, sacrificed and at times cried on my journey. I am not worried about pace or breathing but walking and enjoying the day. And when I walk, I reflect. I reflect on all the women I have met these past few months that have shared their stories with me. They have honored with the names of loved one that have fought this battle. I will wear their names on ribbons on my TUTU. I hope to share it with you this weekend. Next weekened I will Facebook my journey. I hope you will join me. Pin It