Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Back in the Habit: Six Simple Adjustments to Get Back on Track

Well, it happened.

I knew I'd gained a bunch of weight, but the reality of it hit me when I went to get dressed for our mid week church service and none of my casual skirts fit me. Yup, not even the "fat" ones.

Yikes! Talk about a wake up call!

I had done really well through Gen's pregnancy. I actually LOST weight by the time she was born, and then lost even more by the Summer! We're not talking a massive amount of weight, but right around the 30lb ballpark. It felt amazing!

But, what did I do? I got cocky and figured I could go back to my old ways and somehow maintain the weight. Idiot.

Now, here I am at my heaviest non-pregnant weight - again.

I'm not gonna sit in my fat pants (which I had to go buy because I couldn't fit the other ones. #truestory) and cry about it. I was the one that stopped exercising. I was the one who over ate...and ate...and ate. I cannot blame anyone but myself, so why bother?

It's time to just suck it up and get back in the habit.

No diet. No weighing. No measuring. No short-term or long term goals.

All of those seem to hurt me in the long run.

Here's my simple plan and new favorite phrase.


Getting healthy can happen in any income level. It doesn't require a gym membership, fancy menu or pricey fitness guru. When it comes right down to it, for the majority of us (without thyroid/metabolism/etc issues) it's all about being more active and eating less.

So then, why is it so hard?!

Friday, April 25, 2014

Penny Pinching


While the vast majority of the US is just now coming out of the worst/longest winter - ever - CA has seemingly avoided the season all together. Okay, so we had this random couple weeks of SUPER cold weather, but then it was right back into the 50's & 60's.  It was like Ca got all of Winter in 2 weeks!


Now, here we are in mid April and we're already in the 80s! Crazy, right?! Even for us!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Perfect Summer Cookie

I teach Sunday School at our church, and I do my best to bring some sort of treat with me each Sunday. I have tried several different cookie & brownie recipes but now that weather is warming up, I thought I'd try something a bit different.

After searching through Pinterest I found something that looked like the perfect fit.


Tuesday, April 15, 2014

We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

I wanted to take a minute and thank all of you for your patience over the last couple months as I stepped away from the blogosphere. You greatly encouraged me by your continued support via facebook, private messages & emails.

From seemingly out of the blue, I fell into some sort of funk. I guess it all started early February.

 Genevieve's birthday was coming & so was a move! I started planning, packing, dreaming, measuring, ordering, etc, and put everything on hold.

I stopped doing schoolwork.

I stopped doing chores around the house - seriously, why put it away if I'm just gonna box it?!

I stopped blogging.

My brain was so focused on what I wanted to do, I couldn't do what I needed to do. 

All of my efforts could not have changed the fact that the Lord had other plans.

2 weeks before the move date - it fell through. Ugh. It was a kick in the gut. I had cleaned out closets, packed boxes, planned each room, measured for furniture, dreamed of parties and family gatherings, and POOF! It was all gone with one phone call.

Not gonna lie: It totally thew me for a loop. I was beyond disappointed. But, after a little cry & some talking/praying with the Hubbs, I was okay. I realized that God has a plan for us, and if it doesn't include a new-to-us house, then so be it! Who knows what He could be saving us from, or what He may have in store for us further down the road!? Who am I to question His plan? I decided to take on the challenge of streamlining the house and am looking forward to buying new furniture and some decorations to make it feel a bit more like "me".  (Can't wait to share what I've done so far!!)


Then the inevitable happened: Gen's birthday came. It was a very emotional day for me, but I was more thrilled than sad. Even tho' we're saying goodbye to our "baby", we are excited to experience the next phase in her life! Bring on the toddler phase!

On the actual day, we enjoyed some family time! We went to the mall to get her ears pierced and treated the family to dinner out & a sweet.

She was such a brave girl! She only cried for a minute and then was back to her normal happy self. 
A couple of days later we had her party! It was a BLAST!

Isn't she the CUTEST?!?! 

Everything went exactly how I wanted! The guests, the food, the cake, the decorations, the atmosphere - it was all perfect!

It should have been like a shot of B12 to get me going again.

But, for some reason, I was still stuck on pause.



Schoolwork was neglected, boxes were still packed and gathering dust and although I had several topics to post, I just couldn't find the energy to blog.  I wish I could give some sort of explanation, but the honest truth is, I just didn't want to.

Maybe it was hormonal? Maybe it was a tiny bit of depression? All I know is I just didn't care.

Well, fast forward to mid-March and I was FINALLY coming out of the funk.

I hit the the house with a vengeance. I started un-packing, purging, cleaning, sorting & organizing and we got back into the schoolwork.




Now, I'm back in the full swing of things. We're getting on task with our school work, the house is under control and my head is clear.

So, guess what?!

We can now return to our regularly scheduled programming!


There is so much coming to the blog! I have more of the Quilting 101 series, a few fun recipes and a series of money saving DIYs that I think you'll really love.

And the BIG NEWS!!!

June first will be the GRAND OPENING of a Lissiegirl Blogs! Planner Store!!! I am SO EXCITED! Currently up to my nose in fonts, images, tables. It's a bit overwhelming, but I'm having a ton of fun designing.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be taking polls, sharing sneak peaks and even doing a give-a-way! Make sure you "like' my fb page & comment every once in a while so you can keep up with the latest news!

Again, thank you for your continued love and support as I plug away.