Is this work or play?.....

This is most definitely PLAY!

I was soo excited when this treasure was put in my garage that I started my project that night! I knew from this awesome blog
                       http://www.domesticimperfection.com/2012/05/paisley-stenciled-table/ 
 what I wanted to do and I was ready to put it into action. In fact I was soo excited I forgot to take a before picture so below is pretty much what my table looked like before I got my hands on it. 

First we primed the legs, and sanded the top. Then we painted the legs and let it dry overnight. All the fancy stencils online were around $50-- which was NOT in the budget, but I was able to find a cute one at Michael's that I like and with their 40% off coupon I scored it for $8! Then began the LONGEST 3 days of my life. Stenciling can be easy--- and can be hard. I bought a removable spray adhesive to help hold it in place. That helped a lot but there was still some bleeding. In the end I learned to just go very slow which was not easy for me because I wanted it done-- but it worked out.  below is the stenciling before I stained it.

 

I sanded the top a little bit just to make it smooth and even and then stained it! I cannot wait to put this in my kitchen! 

I have a secret....

I have a secret little hobby I picked up right around the time I quit my full time corporate job to stay home and take care of my little dolly. I want to have a cute house but we became even poorer then we originally were (I really didn't think that was possible) so instead of going out and buying things that caught my eye I now have to make them. This isn't really too big of a problem for me because I love all things crafty, but I never realized (until Pinterest) how much I can really create and how easy it really is!

For my first big project I ventured out to our local DI and found these beauties:

I wish I could really show you all the awful stains on these babies. They were pretty rough and I seriously considered putting on gloves to my elbows before touching them. However after a little pep talk I put on my big girl panties and dug right in taking off the seat, ripping apart the fabric, and separating it from the foam. I unpicked the seams and made a pattern out of the original

From there it was easy! I lucked out because the original foam was miraculously still good so I picked out some cute canvas fabric from the store, cut out my pattern, sewed it up,fit it over the foam, and stapled it to the seat underneath. I also gave the legs a little TLC and gave them a fresh coat of paint. The results were just what I wanted and I couldn't be more proud!

Easter!

Jocelynne's 1st Easter was a success! We woke her up early and gave her her Easter basket..

She is a bit spoiled!

We live across the street from Wheeler Farm and signed Jocey up for their annual Easter Egg hunt. Unfortunately it was right at her nap time so she was semi-cranky. She didn't care that I was trying to make memories here! -- oh well.. I think we still go some good pictures.

                                                                           Cute Hubby!

I love this little girl soo dang much!

This week has been a crazy one!  We finally made it up to the new City Creek Shopping Mall yesterday and loved it! It was nice because it wasn't too crammed with people. I wasn't feeling too good and had been stuck in the house all day so it was nice to get out and walk around for a bit. Jocey got a new pair of shoes for our Disney World trip in May, and we ate at a yummy restaurant in the Aves called Pagoda. I am starting Ignite again tomorrow and cannot wait!

Day 4

Day three complete and down 9.5 lbs and 8.5 inches! Feeling great! I have an igniter who started the same time as me and on day two was down 7 lbs! soo excited for her!

Day four has been hard for me. Weekends in general are hard for me because I am off of my daily schedule and have a little bit more time on my hands. I am a late night snacker and tonight Jocelynne went to bed early and Alex is working. I have tried to keep myself as busy as possible but I would give anything for a bite of those cinnamon rolls my mother in law made today. AHH!-- NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS SKINNY FEELS!!

So question of the week-- "Corinne what the heck have you been doing to lose weight?"

I have been getting a ton of questions about what I am doing so I decided to have a Meeting for anyone who wants to come to learn more about the products and taste them. They are all natural and have many benfits besides weight loss! -- but that is my favorite one :o)

Please come and bring your friends and family! No obligation-leave your checkbooks at home.

Thursday April 5th at 630 pm. I will hopfully have a location finalized this week and will update everyone.

I've got the XYNGULAR bug!

I seriously cannot get this company out of my mind!! My end results were 7lbs and 7 inches in 7 days... hmm.. 777 thats has got to mean something. I am going to think it is lucky-- hey at least it wasn't 666.

Since I ended my round of Ignite all I can think about is when am I going to get back on it again. I was initially going to take a week off and then jump back on but I cant wait that long! I have been taking the products XYNG , Accelerate, and Flush the last couple of days I have been off Ignite and feeling good. My mood is the main thing besides the weight that I am noticing changing. I cant believe what a slump I was in before hand. I feel happy and energized and SOCIAL.. which is weird because I normally try to avoid people.

I know that you might think I am crazy for being soo excited about this but seriously take this for a week and tell me that you don't feel any different.

I am going to start Ignite again tomorrow! I will most definitely keep you updated!

ps: please please please feel free to ask me any questions about the products or the company. I want to share without overwhelming people.

The Truth

I was an average little girl, but a fat child. I have tried to remember when the change took place - I keep trying to rack my brain for maybe a specific incident that would have lead to me gaining weight, but nothing comes to mind. I was never blind to the fact that I was heavier. I always knew, and I always hated myself for it. When I would look in the mirror I would see a stranger and pass every judgement imaginable. My soul is bright,beautiful, talented and skinny, but my body does not reflect the girl inside. I cannot tell you how irritate I was at this imbalance. I grew bitter.

Going to school as a heavier kid was rough. I isolated myself somewhat because of my low self worth but also because of some very vivid hurtful comments I remember to this day. Those comments haunt me and still run through my head on bad days-- taunting me. I started dieting around Jr. High, and I'm pretty sure I have tried everything imaginable!   My dad and I went on a cabbage soup diet once -- not only did it not work but to this day I cannot eat or be around vegetable soup! Another time my mom paid me $100 to not eat candy for a year. $100 was like $1million dollars to me as a kid so I jumped at the chance. -- want to know the outcome? I was a chubby kid $100 richer! -- Didn't quite work the way my mom had planned. And with my diet attempts and fails I began to face to inevitable truth... this is who I am. I will forever be the chubby girl with a pretty face. The wing man for all of my girlfriends, always the "friend".

Then I graduated high school and a new, fun, confusing world opened up to me. I met someone who accepted me. He changed my view on life, and religion, and myself. We would have conversations that would last a life time. He made me happy--- something I had not felt in a long time. I was able to see a different girl when I was around him. I liked that girl. Well.. life happens and as hard as I tired to make that boy my husband God had different plans for us both. So to get over my heartache I started running off the emptiness. The more I ran the better I felt. It was my escape from the world and from myself. It was soo unlike (chubby) me in every which way and I thrived on that. I wanted to leave my life and this girl- I wanted to be someone else. Running is not easy for me. It hurts! From my head to my toes it hurts, and I felt pleasure in putting myself through the pain. I became addicted to the results. For the first time in my life I recognized the girl in the mirror, and I found a good place in my life. I had direction and focus and it was life changing.

Then March 30, 2010 happened. My last 1st date. I had known my (now) husband for a couple months prior and had no idea of what was in store for me that year. We were engaged on May 27th 2010 and Married August 13th 2010.  I was in love and happy. I looked the best I have ever looked and met the love of my life!  My dreams were becoming a reality I gain some pounds through our engagement but thought once the wedding was over I would get back on track.

Nine months and three days after our wedding we welcomed a gorgeous baby girl to our home! Neither one of us were expecting her to come soo fast. Finding out I was pregnant caught me off guard and I got scared. Being a mommy is something I have wanted and it was finally happening. I was afraid something bad would happen and I hibernated for 9 months. 80 lbs later I was a brand new wife and mom and a mental case. Lucky for me I lost 40lbs right away. The second 40 was not so easy--I am still working on that part. So now I have a wonderful, amazing husband, and beautiful 10 month old daughter and have once again lost sight of that girl in the mirror.

I know what it takes- I've done it before and it is hard work and determination. A lot easier when you are single with no life. After 40 hours of work a week and the rest of my time spent trying to be a good mommy and wife I have failed at taking care of myself.

Then came along a blessing! I found an amazing company called Xyngular. I am ready and committed and it is already proving to be worth it. Today was day 4 and I am down 5 lbs and 7 inches all around. I put on a pair of jeans this morning that I haven't fit into for over a year, and for the most part have been in a great mood because I feel good! My house has been getting cleaned and with the good weather and my energy boost Jocelynne and I have gone on many walks this week.  I plan on posting my results on Facebook and on my blog to fill everyone in on how I am doing. I honestly want to share this product with the world and whoever will listen because I am having such great results all around.

Has it been 6 months already??

Wow! 6 months sure does fly these days! I cannot believe Christmas is almost here again and this year I get to share it with 2 of the most important people in my life. I am soo blessed to have such a loving husband and a beautiful baby girl.

Life is a bit crazy right now and I am doing everything in my power to keep on swimming. Alex is working full time at Jet Blue (yeah!) and I am still at Miche Bag full time. Between the two of us we are able to pass Jocelynne back and forth most days, but there are a couple days a week where our schedules overlap and we have to find someone to help us out. Alex's family has been great at helping us out, but I think we are going to have to hire someone --unless I win the lottery, which is REALLY hard to do in Utah!. I am having a very hard time with the fact that I might have to hire a babysitter. For one I feel like I am letting Jocelynne down and I am not fulfilling my obligation as a mother to watch over her. For two I can't afford to pay $60 a week. I would give anything to be at home with her. I pray I will be able to work something out soon.

Speaking of Jocelynne she is getting bigger by the minute! She has her 6 month check up last week and weighed in at 17lbs! She is such a happy girl- most of the time- and LOVES to learn and do big girl things.  Her favorite things at the moment are eating whatever I am eating, spitting, saying baba, giving slobbery kisses, putting her binky in her mouth by herself, making friends with strangers at the store, and rolling all over the place! She has been sitting up by herself for a good month or two and had her first big girl bath tonight! Her absolute favorite thing in this world is baths! Her least favorite things are getting her nose wiped, teething, being alone, and falling off the couch. -- you'll have to ask Alex about that one.