A Gorgeous Afternoon Off!

Collier and I were both lucky enough to get done with work early today so had a little family time. Well, Kermit time I suppose :) We took him down to our favorite park in Milwaukee - it is technically Grant Park but it's the Seven Bridges area that we love. It is a wooded area with seven bridges (big surprise there) over a small river and many hiking trails - a few of which lead to a beach on Lake Michigan! We take Kermit there a lot in the summer as he loves to swim and chase his water Wubba. We've never gone this close to winter though, and we were met with a surprise!


The beach has been replaced with a giant ice shelf. It was really immense. Kermit is so used to swimming at this beach that he just about jumped in - we saw and screamed at him so he learned pretty quickly that this is a no-no, but kept testing it...very nerve wracking!


The natural formations were so amazing.


It reminded me of a canyon, only it was carved in a matter of months, not years.

The Battle of the Bulge - week 4

My current weight: 175.4
My current BMI: 25.2 (overweight)
Pounds lost so far: 9.6
Days of Cardio this week: 4
Days of Yoga this week: 0
Days of Strength training this week: 0

It's hard to believe a whole month has gone by already! And I've lost 9.6 lbs in that month! YAY! I am 27% on my way to my final goal of 35 lb weight loss :)

This week was pretty good, I had my energy back and was able to incorporate more exercise in my daily life. Of course when I say exercise I mean walking around the hospital, but the lot I park in is a 20 minute walk through the tunnels under the hospitals of the Medical Complex to where I was working last month so, it counts in my mind! I also returned to taking the stairs instead of elevator on my walk out which was 8 flights down, 2 up, 2 down! All in all I felt that I did a pretty good job of sticking with my plan, though I did splurge on ice cream a few nights...not part of the "plan" but I really wanted it and made better choices in getting small sizes and one was frozen yogurt!

Weight Loss Tip of the Week:
This week's tip may seem silly, but it is something that I think we frequently overlook. Occasionally I will have the chance to spend a month at a time essentially wearing pajamas - it's called a surgery rotation :) But for people that work at home, sweats can become the "office uniform". They are comfortable, yes, but can hide weight gain so easily due to their extreme stretchability.

The month prior to making my decision to lose the excess baggage I had a vacation month. This was primarily consumed by flying all over the country for residency interviews. I decided at the beginning of the month that I would completely "let go" and eat whatever I wanted while on the road. I bought my interview suit in October and it fit like a glove. In November it still fit great, very comfortable. In my December interviews I started noticing it was a bit snug - in fact, one of the clasps popped in one of my interviews, thank goodness it wasn't noticeable! By mid-January it was actually painful to wear my suit, to the point where I demanded Collier drive me back to the hotel immediately in Albuquerque because I was so uncomfortable when the day was done. But yet, none of this served as a warning sign for me - I just wore my comfy sweats whenever possible and let myself believe it wasn't such a huge deal. It wasn't until I returned home that I realized I'd gained 10 lbs in about 3 weeks.

So, this week's tip is to wear form fitting clothes at least a few times a week. And if those clothes start feeling a bit snug, listen to this feeling and take it to heart and work so that they feel comfortable again!

I know I'm not alone in this...Shannon from The Bath Project posted this great story on her blog about clothes no longer fitting yesterday. She is currently working toward a healthier lifestyle as well and we have been inspiring eachother! Her tale is humorous, but one that anyone who has struggled with their weight will identify with.

Goals for Next Week:
This week will be interesting - I'm on my last surgery rotation ever, and surgeons hours are not...kind. Aside from continuing healthy eating, I am unsure how much exercise I will be able to squeeze in outside of walking around the hospital due to leaving before the sun comes up and returning after it's down. I think my best bet is, instead, to focus on yoga/strengthening exercises which I have clearly been neglecting! I'll do my best!

Etsy Find - Glamarita Tie Me Up Tie me Down Ballgowns!

I must admit - I have a new obsession. And it is Glamarita's line of Tie Me Up Tie Me Down ballgowns! I can't remember how or when I found these but I think it was sometime last week. It must have been a feature somewhere as I don't remember ever searching for a new dress...



Now that I have found them, though, I know that I must have one someday! I realized straight out that ordering one right now is not a wise decision as I still have about 25 lbs to go to my goal weight, now is NOT the time to order a custom-made dress. Then I had a fabulous idea - I will order one as a reward for getting back to my goal weight!! It can also double as my Med School graduation present to myself!



I love the fact the the "Scientifically Recommended Red and Black" ballgown above hits right about mid-shin, I think it's such a flattering line! Glamarita warns in the listing for that dress that the model is 6 feet tall thus it will be longer on most people - but being 5'10" it should fit me just perfect! I love the color of the "Wood Nymph" dress above. I am thinking of maybe browns...blues...greens for my dress? Any thoughts?!

Treasuries I created this week

I haven't been taking screen shots/posting treasuries that I create, and really if they don't make the front page then I have no way to remember them. With all the "hard work" and thought that goes into each treasury I have decided to post them here :)

I made two treasuries this week, on on Treasury West and one on the plain ol' Treasury.

Baby, Baby, It's a Wild World


I didn't have a name for this one but I spent the morning listening to Cat Stevens and went with this last minute. This treasury has been in my mind for a few weeks now, after seeing CricketsCreations awesome photos of her Fringie photo props for professional photographers. I thought that, included with other colorful items, it could make for such a pretty and colorful treasury!

.....She Sells Sea Shells....


The story behind this Treasury is much less "inspired". I just hadn't seen or done a blue treasury for a while and decided to create a blue treasury from items of people in my EtsyVeg team!

This Week's Etsy Features!

As predicted, I had a bit less exposure on Etsy this week, ha ha, but a week like last week is rare! I feel very blessed to have been featured in a gorgeous treasury this week.

........(one inch)........ by 5erg



The story about the title of this one was cute - she said she is always bad at coming up with titles so just wrote the last thing she heard before the treasury opened :) I always have trouble with titles myself, I totally understand!

Etsy Find - Pirate Bed by Barzilla Woods

I stumbled upon this amazing Pirate bed when creating my Pirate treasury a few weeks ago and just knew I would have to showcase it here at some point. I find it so amazing when people have a talent in working with wood, and Barzilla Woods certainly does!



Not only would any pirate-loving or sea-faring kid adore this awesome bed, but it's so practical with all the built in storage.



What a find!

Soap Makeover - Rosemary and Oatmeal!

I recently created a new batch of Rosemary and Oatmeal. This was one of my original soaps which I created well before the idea of selling my soaps came about. It was also one of the original 6 batches that I listed on Etsy (see original photo below!), and it was lucky enough to make it prominently on my business card!


(BEFORE)

I have since modified my techniques a little bit. Prior to selling my soaps I wasn't very concerned about the appearance of my soap - it was all function. Myself and Collier were the main users of my soap, as well as friends and family who received it frequently as gifts. One of the best things selling my soaps has done for me is to really encourage me to work on improving my techniques and focusing on new and interesting ways to create. I am aiming eventually to have a line where you can look at a soap and know what it is without smelling it - which can be really tricky considering I don't use micas (artificial colorants) in my soaps so can't just make them hot pink, neon yellow, etc. I spent some time drawing out my ideas this past weekend and this is what I came up with for the new and improved version of Rosemary and Oatmeal:


(AFTER)

Instead of incorporating the dried rosemary and baby oatmeal throughout the bar, I put oatmeal in the bottom (white) layer, topped it with dried rosemary, and then topped that with a layer of soap infused with rosemary powder. It smells heavenly, just like the old bar. But I think it's a bit more pleasing to the eye than its predecessor.