Pics from last week

The fur herd in every-day glory. Enjoy!

I interrupted some bathtub play-time

What IS she doing?

Meanwhile...in the living room...

That is the largest hairball we've found in the drain yet... =)

"Why do you always have to go and ruin our fun with that stupid flashy thing?"

Taking a break from her watch post at the picture window.

It's a dog's life I tells ya! A big mamasan chair all to herself!

Another HUGE hairball in the drain...

Oh wait - it's just Loki! Hai bubs!

While I'm trying to snap pics, Sulley is literally BEGGING to be picked up and snuggled.

Another angle. How DOES he do it folks?!

Titus wants to witness how the amazing Loki manages to remove himself from this tight spot.

"Meh. On second thought, I'll just hang out a while longer. *sigh*"

"Yes?"

"Oh geesh, not that stupid flashy thing again."

Titus wants to show off his mad skillz on the scratch post.

"See, I've got this thing...you twist like this..."

"...and push off with your back feet, like this."

"What's going on down there and why isn't there food involved?"

'I'll stay just out of reach and make HIM work for it for a change..."

"...almost there..."

"...ahhh! Yeah, right there!"

 

"I'm spent!"

=) ~A

Creative Outlet

This blog is a nice way for me to vent some creative energy. It's not quite the same as actually sculpting clay though. I miss it. Unfortunately, I've let that part of my life fall to the wayside for the past 7 or so years. I got into clay sculpting during high school and then took a couple classes in college. My instructors took care of the kiln firing and the glaze technicalities. I never had to worry about it. Anyway - I got a good deal on a kiln a few years back and it's been sitting in my garage since, untouched, because I don't know how to run it!

I have decided to start looking around for ways to get back into clay work. There's a ceramics studio close to my workplace and that might be a good start. I could get some clay and do stuff here at home...and I might do that too. I'd just need to find a place that would allow me to fire stuff....or maybe the self-hardening clay would work. I'll have to look into it.

Now, the hardest part of creating, for me, is coming up with the idea or subject. So - I welcome any ideas, suggestions and such from anyone reading our blog. I would love to be commissioned to do pieces for people too. I specialize in detail, realism, and animals of all sorts, but that doesn't mean I won't consider doing something different. I could also make ceramic pottery that can be used for a multitude of things around your home. I will get some pictures of past works up here for you to see my style and such. Just have to get some time to take the pictures because I haven't really kept up a portfolio.

You WoW players - I could make a figure of one of your favorite characters (you can see what it might potentially look like after I get done making Ryan's character "Elkaboo" as that is what I plan on making first...cuz he's going to be an easy customer for me. hehe). Corgi lovers - I could make a sculpture of your beloved pet(s) in a fun pose. There are multiple options for finishes to customize your piece - for example, I could paint the piece in acrylics to make it extremely detailed, or just glaze a monotone color over the whole piece. That's just the beginning though.

Like I said, I will post some pictures soon...but send me ideas and I will start making a list! =)

~A

Goooooo Steelers!!!

Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC Championship game tonight and are going to the Super Bowl for the 3rd time in 6 years! =) Hubby has always been a big fan, thus I adopted them as my football team when we started dating. (I didn't know anything about football before we met and didn't care about it at all...so I didn't have my own team anyway.) Great timing too...today is the 7th anniversary of our first date and tomorrow is the hubby's birthday. Awesome way to celebrate - We had friends over to our place to watch both AFC and NFC games while snacking on good food and drinking beer. Full day, but fun. Looking forward to our ski trip to Minnesota/Wisconsin at the beginning of February. We will be in a hotel for the Super Bowl, but we will have to have a par-tay!

continued....

Now that I had set my mind to this task of changing my life, it was amazing. Those first few days I experienced a shift in energy, such as I'd never felt before. I actually HAD energy. Ryan felt it too. My migraines practically disappeared...went from having at least 3 a week, to nothing. It was craziness. The pounds started to melt off and clothes fit looser. Something was actually working. I lost as much weight in my first two weeks as I had in the last 3 months doing WW! Wow.

Once I started having more energy, I actually wanted to work out and help my progress along. Again, someone who could hardly walk the dog because of a lack of energy (and motivation) was actually craving an outlet for all the "extra" energy. Ryan wanted to get fit too and we decided to take the plunge and sign up for Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping. I have friends at work that have done the program and they looked amazing, so it seemed only logical that would be my next step. We loved it and completed our 10 weeks on October 30, 2010. I can't believe the results I got and how much stronger I was...and just how much more fit I felt. I lost another 15 pounds; cut my mile run from 14 minutes and 50 seconds to 12 minutes and 9 seconds; sit ups went from 6 to 22; push ups went from 6 to 46; body fat dropped nearly 4 percent; and I lost over 10 inches overall.

My clothes...what a change! I resorted to digging out clothes I hadn't worn since high school and could never fit into since. Why had I even saved them for nearly 10 years? I don't know...but I'm glad I did! It postponed some much needed shopping, and I didn't want to spend a bunch of money since I wasn't even close to hitting my goal weight yet. Those clothes started to become too big also...so I went to Goodwill and bought some threads to get me by (who can beat $4 for a pair of Columbia jeans!? thankyouverymuch).

We've continued with the FIT program for maintenance and to keep working towards my goal weight. It's become a part of our routine and couldn't be happier. Exercising used to be a chore, but now it's fun and we've made some friends along the way, which helps. We keep each other motivated and accountable...huge plus. We also continue to watch carbohydrate intake and I've realized it's going to be a way of life for me. I will never return to the old way of eating...our typical American diet, if you will. I can't...I've come too far and worked too hard to lose it all.

So - the big news...last week I weighed in and had hit the 50 pounds lost mark!!! I only have about 30 or so more pounds until I reach my goal weight. I used to think that losing 80 pounds would be impossible. Negative thinking like that has become a thing of the past for me. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me still, but now I enjoy it, look forward to it, and crave it.

Before...at my heaviest in 2009

 

 

 

At Christmas 2010

~A

So far...

For those who may be reading this and won't know what I'm talking about, here's a little info to fill you in. Last year I embarked on a weight loss journey. I tried Weight Watchers first (as I had once before without much success) and started on April 27th. By the time we decided to visit with a midwife in June for a consultation about plans to start a family and figure out what we needed to do to make my goals happen...things got REAL. Let's just say I had a panic attack for the first time in my life after she brought up my health and weight issues...which made it painfully obvious how deep my demons ran. She was very brunt, though not unkind, and I am thankful for it every day.

I realized it was time to get my head on straight, get healthy, and mean it...and for real this time. No pussy-footing around! I was wasting precious time in life acting like I was fine being the unhealthy person I'd become. Things had to happen if I wanted to reach certain goals in my life.

After my husband suggested we, "think outside the box and try something new," because everything I'd done in the past hadn't worked, I relinquished some control and let him figure something out for me. He suggested we try a low-carb/no sugar diet, a la "Atkins." I was adamantly against the idea because of all the stigma associated with it and played the part of a mule well. Unfortunately, we were on a 5 hour drive to the Ozarks for a long vacation and he was in the passenger seat, with nothing to do. He pulled out Dr. Atkins' book and started reading to me while I drove. Grrrr! I had no escape and had to listen! Luckily, everything he read hit home and I realized I was one of the carb-intolerant people Dr. Atkins was addressing. Why not try it? He was right...everything else hadn't worked. (I had only lost like 8 pounds on WW in the 3 months I'd been doing it.) We started doing the diet that weekend. Yes, I said, "we." He was so supportive of me he felt that it was in my best interest if he did it as well...and he wanted to lose a few pounds anyway. What a lucky gal I am!

That was the best thing - to have someone in it with me. And my husband, no less! It made shopping, cooking, and motivation so much easier! When we got home from our trip, we emptied out the house and donated 10 (yes, 10!) grocery sacks of carb-laden food so that we wouldn't have a thing to tempt us within reach. I had gotten a physical and had my bloodwork done before we started the diet luckily, so I already had a baseline established too.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...to be continued. (Gotta run for now.)
~A

For a laugh

Here are a few videos that make me giggle with delight! Enjoy!

Patty-cake

This will be stuck in your head the rest of the day. Be warned.

Will give you cavities...

I'm a terrible person...it's so funny.

Heavy Metal Kitties

Corgi flop!

~A

Oh Christmas tree...

This year marked a great milestone for me. It was the first time I've had a Christmas with a real tree!

A beautiful fir

What a beautiful tree it was too. The biggest motivator for us to get a real tree was to try to make it impossible for Sulley to destroy it. Our fake trees have all suffered the same fate: they've been converted to cat-perches while we weren't looking. Sulley had a knack for jumping into the tree while we were at work, knocking it over, while at the same time bending the branches to the point of no-return. Well not this year! Success was ours...and it was sweet. =) We got to enjoy a tree the whole Christmas season because of one thing. The minute we brought the tree into the house, ol' Sulley tried to jump into it before it was even in the stand...and the branches just flopped down and gave him no leg to stand on (pun intended)! He felt defeated and left it alone! (Well, except for the few ornaments he tore down and the dog destroyed, but I digress.)

Just because he didn't get to sit in the tree this year didn't stop him from claiming it as his territory.

Looks cozy, no?

I can't say I'm sad to see the holidays go, what with all the hub-bub and stress involved, but I will miss that tree.

~A

Under construction...

Will get some posts up when I get a chance...hopefully this week. Until then, enjoy this pic with a cute Cardi ear silhouette. =)