Shop Update: Big Dreams

Hi! Card

At the beginning of the year I wrote out some shop goals for myself to complete by the end of this year. Some were small, like making a couple of new cards for some specific categories in the shop, and others were a little bigger, like making a few more sales each month. There is one goal, though, that I know is going to be the biggest one of all, and I'm kind of scared to share it with you -- like it's some sort of big secret or it won't come true if I say it out loud -- but here goes:

I want to get a wholesale account in a local shop!

There. I said it. Does that mean it will come true? I'll keep you posted :)

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The Best Part of Valentine's Day

One of the best parts of Valentine's Day, for me, is that I get to share in the excitement of the children that I work with. This year, one of the kids was hopping up and down excitedly as each child in the room pulled his Valentine out of their mailboxes. "It's mine! It's mine!" He would shout.

It reminded me of my days in school when we would walk around the classroom dropping Valentines into each giant paper envelope hanging from the desks, and then I would open them and judge what the kids in the class thought of me through the Valentine they chose to give me.

Time have changed, though. I don't judge what the children at work think of me through their Valentines, but I did get a good laugh out of a few of them, and I wanted to share them with you.

Apparently, I'm fierce, but I'm really just curious about what that dog is thinking, and why the cat is laughing so hard, or even if the cat is laughing.

Ha! Hot Rod.

This child made special Valentines for each person in the room, and each one made me smile. I will treasure this one forever :)

Even though he doesn't understand Valentine's Day, Little Boy enjoyed playing with the pink play dough he received as a gift with one of his Valentines. He also enjoyed eating a lot of the gifts that came with his Valentines.

I asked him to show me his tattoo so that I could get a photo. He was not a happy camper as I was trying to put it on his arm, but he though it was pretty cool after a few minutes.

Did you receive any special Valentines this year?

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I Like You...

I am so excited for Valentine's Day this year because it is my son's first year giving out Valentines. I found the cutest little Valentines at a shop called Hello Small World. They have a really cute selection of cards available in their shop, amongst other goodies.

I Like You Big Time

I found a simple recipe to make crayons on Pinterest a while ago, and decided to make crayons for all of the kids in his classroom at daycare. I also picked up some bubble wands from a craft store, and attached them all to the envelopes as a little goodie for all the kids on Valentine's Day. We've been having fun playing with the extra bubble wands.

On another note, I found some vintage Valentines at work a long time ago, and this one is my favourite. There's something so strange about it, but I still find it really cute. What do you think?

Do you hand out Valentines at all?

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A Little Pizza Pie

I found this recipe for Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza on Pinterest a little while ago, and my husband said we should pick up the ingredients while were at the grocery store last Saturday. I was eager to make them up, so we had them for lunch that day. It did take a while to make the dough, though. I had to knead it for 10 minutes, which felt like fifty years, and then it had to rise for about an hour to give the yeast time to do its thing.

This is definitely the most delicious home made pizza that I have ever made -- my husband actually liked it. I wouldn't say it was exactly like Pizza Hut pizza -- it's not nearly as greasy -- but it was pretty close. I think I'd need a pizza from Pizza Hut to make a proper comparison :)

Do you have any good recipes you've tried recently?

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DIY: A Coat Hook for Dress-Up Clothes

My son has started accumulating play clothes, and so I decided to make a coat hook with a piece of wood and some hooks for him to hang up all of his dress-up clothes on.

We bought a 4x4x1 piece of pine that we chopped down to the right length, and four hooks at the local hardware store. I also picked up some good painters tape to be able to make a pattern on the piece of wood.

I decided to make a zig-zag pattern -- or chevron. This was a bit of a painstaking process as I had to cut each piece of tape and lay it in place. Don't check my angles or anything because this was all done without any measuring.

I painted it with the paint we had used on the walls in our bedroom -- I like how you can still see the knot in the wood. Once the paint was dry and I was able to take the tape off, I decided to do some blue zig-zags on the wood as well. I painted these by hand.

My husband helped me with the hardware. The pattern actually made it pretty easy to line up the hooks, and so there was no measuring involved with this part either -- notice how there are three zig-zag peaks between each hook.

My husband also helped me hang up the coat hook in Little Boy's room. It looks so much better than having his clothes laying all over the floor. It's not much of a collection yet, but I'm sure he'll get more soon.

What do you use to hang up your children's play clothes?

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Weight Update: My Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight

I am amazed at how different I look compared to this time last year. I saw a photo yesterday that made me realise how much my face has changed, and I've also noticed a huge difference in my arms. 

Several people have asked me recently how I have lost weight, and so I thought I'd write out those tips that I told them to share with you:

At 123lbs.

1. Portion size is everything - Smaller portions are key to losing weight. It doesn't mean that you only eat two baby carrots and a quarter of a chicken breast, but it does mean that you shouldn't be putting that third scoop of potatoes on your plate.

2. Focus on vegetables, protein and fruit (in that order) - Veggies have the least amount of calories, and fill you up really well -- protein and fruit fill you up too, but with a few more calories. We've been told to eat our vegetables our entire lives, so now it's time to eat up.

3. Don't go back for seconds - As hard as this may sound, this is one of the big keys to my weight loss. As good as that burger tasted, as much as you loved that red velvet cake, and as much as you want more rice, don't go back for seconds. This tip is linked to the first point about portion size. You might as well have taken that third scoop of potatoes.

4. Get rid of the soda - I remember a few years ago when my doctor told me that if I ever wanted to lose a little bit of weight, I should cut out the soda and I would lose 5lbs almost instantly. She was right. I lost 8lbs in my first two weeks of trying to lose weight.

5. Exercise and sleep, sleep, sleep - I didn't do a hard core work out every day. The changes in my diet did do a lot for me, but my job keeps me moving and on my feet, and I go for a run every weekend to train for 5K runs. I also go to bed around 10:00-10:30pm every night. Mama needs her sleep. I have since started doing some exercises to tone my muscles, and I've noticed a difference in my weight and definition since then.

Have you lost weight recently? What are some of your tips for weight loss?




*Remember, I am not an expert on nutrition, nor am I a trainer, but these 5 tips are what helped me lose weight. If you are looking to lose weight, do your research and get some ideas from the experts. It's not going to happen unless you try.

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