Friday, September 18, 2015

Planning my Menu's, Wedding Shopping and Whatever Else the Kids Have Planned For Me

I'm trying to plan a few things to make so I'll have healthy foods
 ready to eat when I'm busy this week
 or just to lazy to chop, dice and cook.
 
I'm thinking about making
from Pip & Ebby's blog tonight for dinner.
  I think everyone will like that.
 
Pip & Ebby's photo
 
I'm also thinking about making
from Clinton Kelly's recipes on The Chew.
I'm pretty sure at least Earl and I will like it.
 
I'm also thinking about
These look so yummy and
I can substitute ingredients to make my own little yummy creations!
 
The Garden Grazers Phot
 
I've also got to go shopping and get me a few things
to help me look decent for my son Jesse's wedding tomorrow.
Ezie needs some pants and shoes also so thrifting we will go and then
 to Wal-mart for what I can't find at the thrift stores.
 
High School Football tonight?? 
Maybe....we have to see what kind of a mood Mal is in.
 
 


Day 1 and Day 2 of Eating Right

I did really well if I may say so myself!
Day 1 I stayed under 1500 calories
and even had a beer.
Day 2 I was under 1200 calories.
 
I ate lots of veggies, some fruits, lean meat and good grains.
I wrote everything down and added up the Carbs, Proteins, Fats and Calories that I ate to keep a good proportion of everything.
 
Actually I feel like I'm eating more than I usually do.
The only thing I hate about doing this is all the planning and journaling everything,
but,
I know it will be worth it in the end.
 
Tonight I'm making Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups for dinner.
I found the recipe on Pinterest and the actual recipe is from
(I borrowed her photo also)
 
 
Spinach Lasagna Roll-Up Recipe: An incredible easy weeknight or weekend dinner the entire family will enjoy! Step-by-step photos included!
 
I doubled the recipe and made 35 out of the lasagna noodles for the family
and then I had 2 portabella mushrooms.
 that I put a serving of the cheese mixture in for me.
I added some garlic powder, pepper and oregano to the cheese mixture too
 because we like things spiced up around here.
 
They were so yummy easy to make!
 

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Okay, Here We Go! The Beginning of Losing the Other Half of Me!

Today is my 54th Birthday!
 
I would never have imagined that at 54 or any other age
I would be fat...and definitely not 100lbs overweight.
 
I can remember at 95lbs. feeling so fat. 
 I'm only 4'9" so that was really my target weight.
Even at my due dates with my pregnancies I was only 119lbs.
After I had my 4th son I did get up to 110lbs
 and then when I was 29 I blew up and weighed 136lbs.
 
For my 30th Birthday I worked hard and lost 40lbs in 6 months.
Yay for me!
I felt so good and was really fit.
A few years and pregnancies later up when the weight again.
As time went on more weight came and I became double my size.
A couple of months ago I was at 210lbs. and now I am at 205lbs.
so my goal is to loose 100lbs by my 55th birthday.
 
I am so embarrassed and humiliated by my weight gain and try not to leave the apartment. 
My son is getting married on Saturday and I am going to look like a hippo.
I don't even want to go to the wedding and for people to see me,
but it is an important day for my son and honestly the day isn't about me.
I wish I had gotten motivated sooner,
but better late than never I guess.
 
So I decided that I will blog about my weight loss journey
and completely put myself out in the world for everyone to see....
mainly so I can't back out and secondly because if I don't have someone to answer to I won't follow through.
 
Me at 30 at 95lbs.
 

Me at 40 around 120lbs
I remember feeling so fat this day and so embarrassed to go to church for Lexie's First Communion.
 

 Me right before I turned 50.
 
 
 

Me at 51 at Lexie's wedding.
I was right around 200lbs.
 
 
NOW SOME OF THESE PICTURES MIGHT BE DISTURBING!!
They are very disturbing to me
but I said I was going to be completely forthcoming.
 
So here are my before shots taken this morning and my measurements.
 

 



 
Bust:  49"
Waist:  45"
Hips:  50"
Thighs:  27"
Calves:  17"
 
I can't believe I am posting these photos.
I hope and pray that next year at this time
I can take a photo's of half of me!
 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

A Super Easy, Super $$ Saver Idea

If any of you are like me
I LOVE Pinterest!
 
I find so many useful ideas and wonderful patterns on Pinterest
 and so I wanted to share on of my favorites
for any of you who sew.
 
 
I go through a ton of thread.
 I usually use white thread on everything and it can get expensive.
I buy my thread at Wal-mart and it's around $2.87 a spool.
 
Well thank you to Angie Padilla I am saving a ton of money by
buying the cones of thread for a price even cheaper than one spool of thread.
The cones are equivalent to about 6 or more spools of regular thread.
 
I fixed mine a little different than Angie did,
 but using the same basic ideas.
 
 
 
Thank you Angie for the wonderful,
economical, easy idea that makes sewing so much more enjoyable!

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Why is Communicating With Your Family So Hard?

 
 
I always thought growing up that my family was really close.
I loved that feeling.
After I got married and started growing up
 I realized how much my family was only close on the surface.
I don't think that we ever really learned to communicate how we honestly felt about personal matters or anything controversial.
I always did and still do feel very intimidated by my mom and most of my siblings.
I feel like my opinion doesn't matter and that I am less than,
BUT
I have never told any of them how I feel,
I am 53 years old and have been letting this anger build up in me for years.
I have so much anger and I hate it.
So Why is it so hard to talk to them?
I was the same way with my ex-husband until I finally just blew up and had such a hatred for him that I couldn't stand the sight of him. 
 (We're better now since we've been divorced and are just friends)
That's not what my intention is with my family.
 
 
Now the lack of communication and the build of anger has been passed down to another generation.
Myself,  Earl, my kids and their spouses,
in my opinion have a problem communicating.
In my opinion we get irritated with someone and we gossip about it and keep building up the anger until one of us explodes.
I hate this so much!!
 
I want to learn how to start fixing my communication problem
with my immediate and extended family. 
 
I admit I am scared to death to do this and don't know how to even go about it.
 
I found the following insert today from the book
and I am going to follow up on reading the book so I can try to communicate my feelings better with my family so I can not be so angry and stressed out.
 
Wish me luck! 
 
"Have you ever felt really angry, frustrated, or irritated and then you ended up lashing out at people because of it? There is a way to have those feelings without causing so much damage and it is really simple. Learn to explain your non-positive feelings instead of expressing them!

Explaining how you feel (in a calm tone) rather than expressing yourself (using elevated tones and body language) makes it more likely that other people will listen and actually hear what you say. How many times have you said something in anger and the other person heard it in a way that was much worse than you intended? Your voice tone and body language are far more influential than the actual words you are saying.

You might yell "I am so irritated by you, why don't you ever put the lid back on the toothpaste when you're done?" But what the other person hears is "I hate you, you never do anything right!" It sounds crazy now as you read it, but this is so common! I hear from couples all the time about this. They hear the intention in the voice tone rather than the actual words and it causes bigger problems.

If you choose to explain your non-positive feelings, in a more calm manner, you can get your point across with a better chance of avoiding miscommunications. Try talking about your feelings instead of yelling, screaming, or judging and see how your communication changes! Feel free to express joy, elation, curiosity, and other happy emotions but explain the rest!"

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Jesse's 6th Birthday Party!

My grandson Jesse turned 6 on Friday
and so we went to Chuckie Cheese yesterday to celebrate.
 
Here's the birthday boy!


 
and here's some of the guests
 
 Ezie (he used to LOVE Barney) and my grandsons Mason and Trenton
 
 My grandsons Jesse and Jordan and my Jace
 
 Jace
 
and Jesse with his Rainbow fish pillow that I crocheted for him.
 
and another photo of the fish.
 
Happy Birthday Jesse!!!


Monday, June 1, 2015

My First Attempt at a "Snippet" Sampler

I'm trying to think of something to make for my
granddaughter Vivianna for her upcoming 17th birthday.
 
I can't think of anything and then I thought of a sampler.
I call this a "Snippet" Sampler.
It's little snips of lace, ribbon, papers, felt and fabric.
I added some buttons, a washer and some charms.
 
 
I put all my "snippets" on 1 1/2 inch muslin squares with felt on the inside.
I still need to sew it onto something.
I think it's nice.....
but I'm not sure if my granddaughter will like it????
Here's hoping!


Saturday, May 30, 2015

My Balcony Garden

Living on the third floor of an apartment building
 is nice for the view....
and that's about it!
 
We love fresh veggies, flowers and gardening
so living on the third floor isn't going to stop us.
 
Here's my garden after transplanting my sprouts.
 
 On this privacy lattice I have Morning Glories
that are beginning to go crazy
looping and spreading. 
I also have some spearmint and rosemary on the door.
 
 On this side of the balcony I have 3 different kinds of tomato plants, marigolds,  
sweet peppers, basil and rose moss.
 
 Over here we have Jace's cabbage plant that the school gave him, chives, snow peas
and more of everything else.
 
Finally I have more tomato plants, sweet and hot peppers.
 
The tomato plants smell so good. 
 Just those little plants leaves have the most wonderful scent of summer and fresh tomatoes.
 
Pure Joy and Happiness! 


Monday, May 18, 2015

Viv's Jr. Prom

My second oldest granddaughter went to her Jr. Prom on Saturday.
I can't believe that she's that old already.
I remember when her mom and dad went to their Sr. Prom.
 
Anyway,
here are some pictures of my beautiful granddaughter.
 

 
and here's a picture of her with her sister and brother, Liv and Jesse.
 
 
and then Fatima, Vivianna, Jesse and little Jesse
 
 
I think Jesse and Fatima have 3 great kids!!


Saturday, May 16, 2015

I'm Advertising!

Earl wanted me to get some kind of a sign for the van
to advertise my Etsy Shop so hopefully I can get some local shoppers.
 
So....
Here is my first window sticker!
 


There is some glare from the hazy day
but here is Earl applying my sticker.
 
I love it!
I hope I can get some sales from it and not embarrass Earl and the kids to much!


Friday, May 15, 2015

A Wedding is in Our Family's Future!!

My son Jesse and daughter-in-law Fatima
are officially getting married in Sept.!!
 
Jesse and Fatima have been together for 19 years and have 3 kiddo's.
 
I went to watch her try on dresses,
with not much success,
but I was entertained by my 5 year old grandson Jesse.
 
 
 
Jesse is so darned cute!
He just kept giggling and giggling.
Jesse wants me to wear a rainbow wig, a rainbow dress
a red nose and paint my face white for the wedding.
That would be funny huh?!?!?
 
I also caught him peaking up a maniquins dress.
Hee!  Hee!
 
I had fun with the grandkids and I can't wait to see which dress Fatima picks!!

Monday, May 4, 2015

Baseball with Jace and Matchbox Gifts

I LOVE watching the kids play sports and it's now
Baseball season with Jace!
 
Jace is on a knew team this year and his coach is letting him try out different positions.
I am really happy with this and Jace is having a lot more fun than being stuck in outfield all season.
 


 
Our little friend Amber and my Mallory at the game.
 
 
Between ball practice and games
I've been making some matchboxes
 


 
 
The top matchbox I decorated like a little suitcase for one of my neighbors.
His sister-in-law is going to Germany this week
and he thought this would make a cute going away gift.
 
The other one is 1 of 3 that I made for Mother's Day Gifts.
 
So cute and fun to make!
 


Wednesday, April 22, 2015

I Love Ruffles for Little Girls!

I've been working on some skirts and pillowcase style dresses for my grand daughters, for my shop and for my new blog for families in need, Sew....This is My Gift to You.
 
I really like ruffles and think little girls look so cute in them....
so I've been making lots of ruffles.
 
Here are photos of the things I've made this last week.
 
 
 Same skirt just the hat is reversed
 







 
These are kinda my trial outfits for sizing and once I try them on the g.irls I will be making more


Saturday, April 18, 2015

A Little Monkey for A Little Monkey!.....and Catch Up!

Happy 4th Birthday Owen!!
My grandson Owen is so cute and expressive in his facial gestures.
Mallory picked out a crocheted monkey for me to make for his birthday.
 
I haven't posted for awhile so you won't know this,
I don't really believe in New Years Resolutions,
but I went on and made one this year.
I would make and have them done on time,
homemade gifts for each of my 14 grandkids birthdays this year.
 
I've got 4 down and 10 more to go for the year. 
 
 
Here's what I made for Owen
A Monkey for A Little Monkey!
I bought the pattern on Etsy from Luvly-Gurumi's shop.
The pattern was easy to make and great instructions. 
 

 
I also made Owen a little car case.
I updated this version with 2 roads.
I learned a few things from making the first one and so this one was a little easier to make.
 
 
and now here's Owen 
 Happy Birthday Owen!
 
 
 
....and Catch Up!
 
In January we had 3 grandkids with birthdays.
The second set of  twins, Leigha and Liam turned 5.
I had fun with Liam's toy.  Making it and playing with it in the process.
 
So first is Leigha's cupcakes.  I crocheted her a set of 6 yummy cupcakes.
I just went with the flow and designed my own cupcakes.
I think they turned out pretty darn cute! 
 
 
and a cupcake purse for Leigha's goodies. 
 
 
and the Birthday girl. 
 
 
 
and now for Liam's alligator. 

 
My grandma had made my older kids some animals when they were little
and I found the pamphlet on Etsy.  It is an Aunt Lydia's pamphlet.
The alligator is pretty much completely made of granny squares
....which I altered a little bit to my liking.
 
 
and here's Liam with his brother Austin playing with his alligator.
Hee!  Hee! 
 
 
 
Next we had Chad, Jr.s birthday.
Chad also turned 6 this year.
I made Chad a Minion and a little evil minion. 
 
I bought the pattern from Aradiya Toys on Etsy.
The evil minion I used part of her pattern and my own thing for part of it.
 
 
and here's Chad, Jr.
 
Enjoy Chad!!
 
 
Finally, I can't leave out my Jace who also had a birthday in January.
Jace turned 9 and he is a Pokémon Trainer now.
So I crocheted him so Pokémon Balls by just playing around
and looking at pictures of the balls online. 


and Jace opening a gift. 

 
 
I hope all the grandkids enjoy their gifts from Nana
and Jace from his Mama.


My DIL made this up using the pictures of my 5 oldest boys. So funny!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

All 8 of my kids

All 8 of my kids

My 6 Grandkids

My 6 Grandkids

Me, Earl, My daughter-in-laws, son-in-law, kids & grandkids

Me, Earl, My daughter-in-laws, son-in-law, kids & grandkids

The Whole Family

Use This Calculator and the Math Problem to Find Your Birthday

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Birthday Calculator............................................................ You can try this trick on the calculator, but it will also work with a pen and paper......... (With this calculator, you have to hit the equal (=) sign after each operation.)................................... Enter the number of the month of the birthday.......... Multiply that number by 5............ Add 6............ Multiply by 4........... Add 9............ Multiply by 5......... Add the number of the day of the birthday.............. Subtract 165......... The result will show the first one or two numbers as the month and the last two numbers is the day of their birthday.

On what day of the week were you born?

Enter your birthday

(then hit the "Update" button):

Numeric Month (1-12):

Day of Month (1-31):

Year (eg. 1960):

Date of Birth:

Day of Week:

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Well, here I am - this is me, Sherry

Well, here I am - this is me, Sherry

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My spirit is craving to take me here - a quiet tranquil place!

My spirit is craving to take me here - a quiet tranquil place!
I would love to get away and just find me. Find my artistic side and just be able to let my spirit go!

Personality Test

You Are 9: The Peacemaker
You are emotionally stable and willing to find common ground with others. Your friends and family often look to you to be the mediator when there is conflict. You are easy going and accepting. You take things as they come. Avoiding conflict at all costs, you're content when things are calm. At Your Best: You feel connected, trusting, and fulfilled. You feel at peace with your place in the world. At Your Worst: You compromise your values to make sure peace is maintained. You give in to bullies. Your Fixation: Harmony Your Primary Fear: Causing conflict Your Primary Desire: To preserve things as they are Other Number 9's: Marge Simpson, Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Seinfeld, and Abraham Lincoln.