Doodles, Books and a Tumor

Lookie here! Lookie here! I finally got some artsy time in! It was while I was listening to a class lecture of course but whenever you can fit it in, right?

I'm not sure why I picked opened Domino's sauce containers to draw but they served the purpose. I wasn't too accurate in the shading or perspective either but I'm cool with it.

It's watercolor and ink on a hot pressed watercolor block and it was my first time using hot pressed paper. It's taking a bit to learn how the paper absorbs water and paint compared to the cheapy cold pressed paper I prefer. LOVE the block though so I might stick with it.

~~~~~Books~~~~~
I'm very excited about a new book set I got in the mail today! Cory and I started watching Game of Thrones on HBO a couple of weeks ago and it's kind of hard to understand what's going on. I've heard really good things about the books though so I thought I would supplement the show a bit.


Game of Thrones - 4 Book Boxed Set

Barnes and Noble the series on sale online for $20 versus $36 in store for a four paperback book set so I snatched it up. I was a little bummed that when the books arrived they were all beat to hell but I just went to Barnes and Noble and they exchanged them instore with no hassle at all.

~~~~~and a Tumor~~~~~
So yesterday I woke up and my shoulder blade was achy. Half asleep I scratched at what I assumed was a spider bite or some other bug bite until I looked at it in the mirror. To my surprise there was a two inch welt on my back!

I looked for bite marks from a bug but didn't see anything. I thought maybe it could be a strained muscle or something except that it didn't hurt like one. My muscles around it are achy but that's about it.

None of the women at work could figure out what it was either. I was the little science project for the day and earned the nickname Quasimodo, lol. Oh - and fyi, if you aren't sure what type of squishy lump on your back you're looking for...don't try to look it up on Google.

Anyway, after getting in trouble from Cory I made an appointment with the doctor who determined what I have is a Lipoma which is basically a benign fatty tumor.

Everytime I think of the word tumor all I can think of is Arnold Schwarzenegger from Kindergarten Cop saying "It's not a toomah"

The doctor said he was concerned about how rapidly it developed (it was not there a few days ago) and the size of it. Due to those two things he recommended going ahead and getting it removed and sent off for biopsy.

Fun, fun. I'm going to see if I can get the doctor to do it next Friday so I'll have a weekend to rest in case I'm sore. At least I know I'll have some good books to read!

Weekend Flashback

Here's this week's Weekend Flashback. It's a little late again but I explain why in the video.

I'm a little frustrated at the quality of this video. I changed settings on my camera and need to change them back.

This week I'm touching base on yard work, paint, Easter vs. store closings, the movie "Your Highness", makeup and my upcoming wedding anniversary.

Products/Stores mentioned (This video/post was not sponsored by any brands mentioned.)
Behr Paint
Wal-Mart
Target
Best Buy
Sephora
Medieval Times

Until next time,

Hits and Misses - WW Week 8

Thusday
I cried on my way home today. I got on the scale today so excited because I've been walking everyday this week plus my new bootcamp class and was crushed to discover I have gained 4.2 lbs.

I worked so hard to lose my weight only to gain a huge chunk of it back in seven days. I moped around at Ross after the meeting trying to lose my funk only to start crying on my way home. Then...I ate. I ate fast food for dinner even though I shouldn't have, I had a dessert and then another.

I feel defeated and discouraged. One of the women at the meeting said it's because I've been exercising and I've been gaining muscle instead. That makes sense but it doesn't really help when you're in a program that makes the number on a scale a priority. Plus, I've only been doing cardio and two boot camp classes shouldn't have caused me to gain muscle already. I feel sick with myself. I'm going to bed.

Friday
Yesterday's funk lasted into today. Plus, I got denied an afternoon vacation request with part of the reason being I didn't have collections complete which really ticks me off. I wasn't able to work on collections much this month because 1) I'm overwhelmed with the sheer amount and unless I just stop and do nothing but collections I don't make any headway and 2) I can't work on collections much (if any) when checkers are out because I have to stop and check loans and my supervisor (a checker) been out most of the last two weeks (and off and on the last month). If it was just because we had same day loans I wouldn't have had an issue but the collections thing just isn't right.

I had wanted to spend the afternoon with my husband but since I didn't get to coupled with already being in a funk I stuffed my face instead. Seems like a healthy alternative, right? I had a salad from Schlotzsky's that is probably like 30 points, a piece of chocolate cake, a piece of carrot cake, a salad with full fat dressing, some broccoli cheese soup (it's soooo good!), a bunch of bread and butter, a ribeye, a loaded baked potato and a hot fudge banana split. Oh and did I mention the strawberry margarita?

Saturday
Working on being back on track today. Already walked the dog. Let's see how the rest of the day goes!

Monday
So I didn't get back on track on Saturday...or Sunday...or today. I'm in a funk. I know I'll probably feel better if I get out of it but it's not too much of an incentive to me.

Wednesday
So I never got out of my funk this past week. As you can see I didn't even bother with tracking after I found out about my weight last Thursday.

I splurged today and ate a big lunch with dessert, had some ice cream and then had a big dinner. I figure I may as well eat what I want as tomorrow I get serious again.

Weight gain or no I'm being self destructive and that's not acceptable behavior.

Weekend Flashback

So here it is in all it's rambling glory! A little late I know.

I'm having trouble getting it to transfer in HD. I don't understand why either. I guess it's just one of those things I have to figure out.

This week I'm touching base on feather hair extensions, taxes, weight gain, bedroom redecorating (with pics), winning an online art auction (with pics), and hallway and kitchen decorating plans.

Products/Stores Mentioned (This video/post was not sponsored by any brands mentioned.)
Etsy Fort Worth
Cooper Street
Weight Watchers
The Art of Poverty

Until next time,

Hits and Misses - WW Week 7

Thursday
So today is the start of a new week which means a new start with my points. The day started off well and I feel good at the thought of a fresh start. I even took a walk today on my lunch break while listening to my class lecture on my ipod.

I was worried at my weigh-in since I over ate last week but imagine my surprise when I was down another 1.2 lbs bringing me to a weight of 139.6! So you know how long it's been since I've seen the 130's? A couple of years at least. I am so happy! I am also proud to report that for the month of March I have lost a total of 5.25"! The less I have to lose the harder it's going to be so I've got to stick with it.

In addition to walking at lunch I also made two other healthy decisions today. One, is I plan to participate in the Weight Watchers Walk-!t Challenge on May 22nd. The Walk-!t Challenge is basically gewtting you into the routine of walking so no one gets overwhelmed by the 5k walk that takes place on May 22nd.

I always have so much fun on 5k walks! I wonder why I don't do more of them. I don't usually have a problem with walking 5k's but I figure the training they have you doing each day will be an excellent way to get into the habit of walking each day.

The second healthy decision I made was to start in the kick boxing boot camp that began at our office this week. I can only afford 2-3 days per week but plan to go as much as my work schedule and schooling allow. Monday will be my first session.

Before I do that though I need to purchase some workout clothes this weekend. When you come in from walking the dog around the neighborhood and your husband says you need to get some more clothes before going out into the neighborhood you know you look like a ragamuffin. Target has some really cute ones from what I've seen so I think I will check that out this weekend.

Friday
I have been thirsty like crazy today! Not sure what it is but I'm happy to be getting in my water intake.

Tuesday
So yesterday I did my first bootcamp training xclass. I had a lot of fun! I'm regretting it today though. Geez, am I sore! It got worse as the day went on and then moreso after I took the dog on a walk/jog. I fear what my legs will feel like tomorrow morning. Then come tomorrow evening we get to do it all over again.

I had a lot of trouble with binge eating today. I always do that when I start exercising and I don't know why. It wasn't too bad until I got home then I ate a boiled egg, two lemon mousse bars, three pieces of pizza with ranch dressing, two more lemon mousse bars, some toast with nutella on it and a spoon of nutella straight fron the jar.

I suppose it could have been worse. Thankfully I've only been keeping healthy food inside the house. Nevermind the pizza I had to order but I think the healthy food thing saved me. Otherwise it would have been much worse.

I'll start tomorrow new. My points are shot for the week though. Maybe I can at least break even withsome activity points. I haven't logged any of my food today so I have no clue how far I've truly gone over. We'll see tomorrow once I get it all logged.

Wednesday
So I said I would start new today right? Yeah, that didn't really happen. You know those moments when you are watching what you eat and then you are like - screw it, I want a burger and fries? That's exactly what happened today at lunch...plus an apple pie.

I've been scared to logged my points for yesterday and today for fear of seeing the negative going into like negative 30 or something.

I bit the bullet this evening so I could finish writing this post and was incredibly shocked to see I only went over for the week by three points!!!

Let's just say activity points rock! 18 points of them and they were my only saving grace.

WIP Wednesday - The Green Picture Frame Part II

So I've lost two followers in two days. I wonder if it was the picture of my big ugly toes? More than likely they've lost interest as my blog is starting to evolve again.

My focus is shifting more off of art and more on my daily life which right now is not art related in the least. I go through phases as I think all of us do at some point.

This is another older journal page. I think it's from back in January or somewhere around then. You might remember the previous post about the green picture frame and this is it's progression. I haven't decided if it's finished yet. I think in my gut since I can't decide I really know it's not finished but I don't want to acknowledge it just yet.

I kind of feel like a bit of a fraud posting older journal pages for WIP Wednesday. Like I can only post current ones or something. I guess they still count as they are ones I haven't finished so technically I have no reason to feel fraudulent.

I haven't done anything art related in months. I'm loving it too but at the same time I feel guiltly like I shouldn't be enjoying my life without my artwork. Silly huh? I don't know why I put that kind of pressure on myself.

Weekend Flashback

So I'm thinking on changing Memoir Mondays to Weekend Flashback. What do you think? I think Weekend Flashback sounds all schnazzy like you have to use jazz hands when you say it.

Try it with the jazz hands - come on....fun right? lol

No video this week. I deep conditioned my hair on Sunday so it was all flat against my head on Sunday and then today I started my first class for bootcamp (more on that later) and I am in no appearance to make a video.

My weekend started off pretty good. I got my piggies done with a super cool new crackle polish. Hot pink and white - love it! (Nevermind my ugly toes - look at the polish!).

Saturday I got my taxes worked on and after I get them a few more things for my paperwork I'll be done. I'm not sure how much I'm getting back though. I hope it's a decent amount - Mama wants to pay off some credit cards! Well, at least put a big dent in them. I think I will always have my medical/dental/vet credit card.

Come Sunday I tried my hand at working coupons/sales, etc . and didn't do too well. Thanks to one of the wonderful women at my office was told about a new class online all about couponing!

It's called Extreme Couponing and it's free, free, free! This week's class is about Walgreen's and CVS. I'll actually be doing a bit of "homework" as I plan to go to CVS later this week when Cory gets paid.

Sunday I also made more of my favorite dessert the creamy grape dessert. OMG it's good!



On a side note - do cut up green and red grapes not look beautiful all together? I always take a few moments to look at it when I make this recipe.

So onto this boot camp thing. I already know I will have a love/hate relationship with my instructor. He's very nice and sweet and very funny but I do believe I hate him because he hurts me.

I can't believe I let myself get so out of shape! It's only been a few hours since I took my first class and my muscles are getting stiff. I'm going to be hurting so bad come tomorrow morning.

I felt like a total klutz during the whole session too. I can't keep my balance to save my life. In fact, we even discussed people that fail sobriety tests because they are so uncoordinated. I bet if I ever got pulled over for drunk driving (granted I'd have to drive drunk which IS NOT something I would do) I would fail it easy peasy.

I'm going to try to go three times a week so we'll see if I'm still whining this time next week. Maybe it won't be so bad after I get a few sessions under my belt.

And with that, I'm going to bed. I am wiped.

Taxes

Working on taxes. They are a friggin' nightmare and I'm only working on the mileage.

I should have gotten something like quick book or whatever that bookkeeping software is for home and business.

Ugh. I wasn't sure how to do any of my stuff between the medical expenses this year and all the stuff for my dba so I'm paying someone to do them for me.

Taxes by John-Morgan

I'm a little scared to tell the truth.

I'm worried if they will do them right or screw me over.

How much it will end up running me (they gave me a variable)?

Am I bringing all the right stuff with me?

Wish me luck.

Hits and Misses - WW Week 6

Thursday
I hit my 5% goal! Yea! A total of 8 pounds down with about 12 to go. I've very proud to be sticking with this for so long.

I think having support from the other girls at the office, my husband and actually feeling like I'm not starving myself is making a big difference.

At this week's meeting we were talking about buddies and motivation and one of the girls mentioned something that kind of made a light bulb go off for me.

She said she used to hoard her points throughout the day so that she could have a big dinner and dessert which is exactly what I do. She said she was talking to our group leader, Shannon, and she told her to change the time her day starts. "Calories don't have watches." is what Shannon said.

What an ingenious thing to do! Since I eat the majority of my calories in the evening I am starting my day at 5pm. That way I know that if I eat a big dinner I just need to eat a lighter breakfast or lunch to recoup the points.

Granted, it doesn't really work when you decide to go out and eat pizza the night before but I think on average it will work really well...

Tuesday
Okay, the changing times thing didn't work - at all. It was like I told my mind that evening time was the time I get to eat what ever I want because I can always just starve myself the next day.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think that's the way this is suppose to work.

Wednesday
As you can see from my journal numbers I kind of crashed and burned this week. I'm a little nervous about about my weigh in on Thursday as I think the scale will a little higher this time.

Note: You may have noticed that time passes as I write my Weight Watchers posts. I start each post right after my weigh in and write on it a bit as the week progresses. So when you see me doing a complete 180 degrees in the same post (like in this one), that's why. Edit: A special thanks goes out to Christy for giving me the idea of subheadings!!

WIP Wednesday - Everyday Doodles

I told you I was going to have something art related on here again! I bet you were thinking this blogged turned into all Weight Watchers all the time. Not really what I plannned on happening but you guys know how life works out sometimes.

I confess, this one isn't one I worked on yesterday. This is one I found that I worked on a while back. I chose to clean up my studio while listening to my lecture rather than doodling. Kind of a kill two birds with one stone thing.

I still need to add lots of detail and add some more color but that's why it's a work in progress right? The skew is a little wonky on the tray table and my poor doggy has a broken leg in this picture but I think it's pretty clear what each thing is suppose to be.

Memoir Monday - My First Vlog

I'm doing something a little different this Monday and doing a vlog update instead my traditional blogging. Partially because I'm being lazy and partially because I want to try something new.

Let me know what you think. Keep in mind it's only my second video so be easy on me. I know I need improvement. I have a lot of "ums" in there because the camera made me a little nervous.

I am kind of thinking about doing these every Monday.

This video touches base on my first vlog attempt, healthier self image, makeup, my new vanity (with pics), lack of chores being done around the house, school and learning to say no to things.

Products/Stores mentioned in this video (This video/post was not sponsored by any brands mentioned.)
Weight Watchers
Urban Decay
Target

Until next time,

Chayote Squash

So in my search to try new fruits and vegetables I ran across a new (to me) kind of squash. It's a Cheyote (pronounced che-OH-tay) Squash.

Looking at it I'm reminded of an old person that doesn't have any teeth. You know, where they are just gumming it? Despite appearances, however, it's quite tasty!

Chayote Squash by DeBaird
As always I referred to my trusty friend Google to figure out how to cook it. Turns out this guy is pretty versitale as far as how it can be cooked and eaten.

I ended up cutting it into show string pieces and sauteing it in a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.

I ended up undercooking them a little bit (I'll have to remember that for next time) but they still turned out really, really good. Cory and I are both fans now and plan on including them into more meals in the future.