Bedroom Makeover

We've been busy around here the past week or so making over our master bedroom. I'm so excited with how it's turned out. We had painted it green not long after moving in. I liked the green but it was a little too much. I'm definitely the type of person who likes to change things up every now and then. When I was younger I would rearrange my bedroom furniture every few months or so. Luckily for my husband I don't do that too often any more. I'm surprised he actually helped repaint this time.

Anyway, I decided that I wanted to repaint and after going through about a hundred paint chips, I found a blue and tan that I liked. We decided to paint blue in the bedroom and the tan in the bathroom. We haven't started on that yet but maybe soon. I need to give my poor husband a break from painting for a while I think or he really won't help me. He LOVES the color blue so I knew he would like the paint choices.

Here's a picture of the green before.


We didn't really have any other furniture or accessories other than a dresser that the TV sat on.

Here's the finished room. I'm really excited with how it turned out. Here are a few pics of how it turned out:


I found the quilt and tan blanket at TJ Maxx for a total of $45. It has the perfect shade of blue and brown to match the paint we chose. I'm considering covering the headboard and footboard with some white fabric that ties on the sides. I like the brown in the wood but it doesn't match our other furniture. I would love suggestions.

The picture above the bed came from Kirklands. I get a lot of my home decor items from here because there is usually always a sale. The quote says," Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain."




We found the armoir on Craigslist and had to do just a little bit of touch up. The dresser is something I picked up a while back at a flea market for $90.


The accessories came from both TJ Maxx and Kirklands. Everything was on sale. I love not paying full price. I picked up the curtains from Target. I have such a hard time with curtains. I can rarely find any I actually love. I considered making my own but I like how the brown and white look together. I have a couple of picture frames I'm planning on hanging together as soon as I get the photos developed. Other than that I think I'm pretty much done with the room. Let me know what you think. Is there anything that would look better changed up. I'm sure there is. I would love input.

I linking to Tatertots and Jello and Keeping it Simple

Look what I found...

These beauties are in my flower bed in the front of our house. I planted these early this year and was in the hospital when they first bloomed. By the time I got home, they were a little past their prime. However, I got to see the new blooms this past weekend. I love yellow roses. I also planted a pink rose bush and the blooms on it are just as beautiful.

Backyard Landscaping Project

Well after several bumps in the road, we are finally close to be done with our little landscaping project in the backyard. I'm really happy with the way its turned out so far. I've got a few little things to add to it but it's pretty much done. Here's what it looked like before...

This is a picture taken during the process of clearing out the grass around the patio. My poor husband worked so hard to make this perfect for me. I really couldn't do a lot to help. We did most of the work after I got home from the hospital so I pretty much supervised.


Here's what it looks like after. We built four 3X3 boxes to use as planter boxes. I've got tomatoes planted in two of them and flowers planted in the other two. Right now they don't look like much but I'm hoping in a little while there will be a little more color. I still have some bird feeders to put up in the other corner and we are planning on planting a small flowering tree at some point in time.





This is the beautiful hanging basket I got at Walmart. I love the colors.




Here's the side view. The sunflower looking thing on the ground is actually a bird feeder I got a year or so ago at a craft fair. I'm getting ready to hang it on another hook along with a hummingbird feeder.


I'm really happy with the results and I know it will only get better after things start growing. I would love any input about how to make it even better. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Landscaping Project

We're almost finished with our backyard landscaping project. It's only taken 2 months. There were some setbacks in those 2 months. We had about a months worth of rainy weekends so there was no we were going to be able to till up the ground with all the rain. When we finally get a week where we didn't have any rain, I end up in the hospital and have to have surgery. Finally, after all of that, my amazing husband worked so hard to get the flower beds ready to plant in. I'll post pictures tomorrow! Can't wait to show it off.

Show Us Your Money Saving Tips- $20 Gym Memberships

I'm posted about this in the past but I think it such a great idea that I just had to link it up to Kelly's Korner- Show Us Your Life series.




Last fall when I made the decision to start a weight loss program and work on getting fit, I started looking into gym options. I don't know about you but I don't like the idea of getting stuck in a gym contract and after hearing some of the horror stories about the contracts from some friends I knew that was something I didn't want. My sister-in-law was using the gym at one of the local youth centers and it had everything she was looking for, so I decided to give it a try. The great thing about it was it only cost about $20 for a membership. That's all. No monthly fee. No contract. Now I will say this if you are looking for the personal trainer experience, you're probably not going to get that at a youth center. However, it had all the equipment I was interested in using. Most of the centers in my area offer workout classes for a small fee in addition to the gym equipment. So if you're looking for a place to get that workout in but you're like me and you hate the contracts and high prices, check out your local youth centers and activity centers.

New Goal

So I may be crazy but oh well... I've decided to start training to run in a 10k run this fall. If you know me, you know I've never really done any kind of running. This is a big deal for me but I believe its totally doable. My awesome sister-in-law is going to do it with me. We're going out to buy new running shoes this week and going to get started soon.
I found a running plan that is designed for people who are new to running. It caught my eye because it's call the "Couch potato to 5k" training program. It starts with small steps and works up to a 5k. The race we are striving to run in is both a 5k and 10k. I'm hoping with 4 months to train we will be able to run in the 10k.
I'm not really worried about making a good time. I just want to set the goal to complete it. If I can accomplish that I will be happy. So here's wishing us luck. I know we can do this together.

Happenings of the last month with the Worthys

Let's see... What's been going on with the Worthy's for the past month. Truthfully, not much. It seems like we've had something going on every weekend for the past month. Last weekend we visited some family on the other side of the state. My dad's aunt was celebrating her 80th birthday. We had a big surprise birthday dinner for her. There were 38 people there and she was totally surprised.
Two weekends ago we were in Las Vegas. Daniel's company sent him and coworker to a Microsoft conference and I tagged along. Neither one of us had ever been out there before. I have to say... Vegas is definitely an interesting place. We flew out Sunday night and came back on the following Thursday. I was pretty much ready to come home by Tuesday. I did a ton of walking around while Daniel was in his meetings. I don't know that I've ever walked as much in one day as I walked while in Vegas. We did a little gambling. Mainly we sat at the penny slots and got free drinks. We didn't really win any money but we didn't spend a lot either. At least not in the casinos. The conference was at Mandalay Bay but we stayed at the Luxor. It was okay. I started out in a pyramid room and had to upgrade to a tower room. The Luxor is Egyptian themed and the casino and theaters are in the pyramid. The rooms in the pyramid are really kind of interesting. The windows are slanted and the elevators move sideways. It was weird.

This is one of my best friends, Christina. She was one of my roommates in college and one of my beautiful bridesmaids. She lives in LA now and was out in Vegas for other reasons. When I told her I was coming out, she worked it out so she could stay an extra day and see me. I was so excited to see her again. It had been almost 3 years since we had seen each other. That's the pyramid part of the Luxor in the background. The weather was excellent while we were there.


This is the view from the room I stayed in the first night. I hadn't expected to see the mountains but they were beautiful.

This is the New York New York casino and hotel. I really like this one. That's a roller coaster track that is running in front of it. No... I didn't ride it but it looked like fun. Too bad they make me sick.


This is the Excalibur. It was right next door. Daniel really liked this one.



Here's Daniel sitting at one of the slot machines.

Poppies at the Bellagio. They have a beautiful garden just inside the lobby area. It was gorgeous.

Caesar's Palace. It was huge. The decor inside was amazing. The paintings and statues and ceilings were magnificent.

Standing on the balcony walkway at the Bellagio. That's Paris Casino resort behind us. The Bellagio has some amazing fountains. It was one of my favorite things that we saw while we were there.


Lions at the MGM. They have a lion habitat inside the casino.

Paris Casino Resort.

These are some of the statues inside Caesar's.

I know we didn't even scratch the surface of seeing all there is to see in Vegas. Maybe one day we will make it back out there.

I guess that's about all that has been going on this past month. It will be nice to relax this weekend and enjoy the Easter holiday with family.

Happy Easter to all of you out there in Blogger land.

Catching Up

So I noticed it had been awhile since I had posted anything new and thought I would say a quick hello. Things have been kind of slow the past couple of weeks which is nice. However, it makes for some boring blog posts.
My husband's company is sending him to Las Vegas for a conference and I'm lucky that I get to go along. Unfortunately, the company won't pay for me but its okay. I'm just glad I get a little vacation. One of my best friends lives out in LA and she's meeting me in Vegas. I'm so incredibly excited about seeing her. Its been almost 3 years since we've seen one another. I have no idea what I'm going to do while Daniel is in meetings but I figure its Vegas, the possibilities are endless. I've never been there before so this is bound to be quite an experience.
My weight loss is going well. I've been going to meetings with my sister-in-law. While I've missed the past couple of meetings due to weather, I've still managed to lose a little. I actually purchased pants a size smaller than I normally buy. I was so excited they fit. They are still a little on the tight side but I can button them, so to me they fit.
I have to say that's about it for me right now. Hope all is well with everyone out there in blogger land.

Snow Day!!!

One year ago this week we had the worst ice storm I had ever experienced. Everything shut down for about a week. My parents were without electricity for about 10 days. We lost it for 3 days. We were able to crash at my husband's brother's house. We were lucky they let us stay with them. I don't know what I would have done without them.

Well, we almost had a repeat this year. Luckily, we have gotten more snow than ice. It started last night as freezing rain and sleet but changed over to snow in the middle of the night. It hasn't let up at all today. It's nice to see the snow as long as I don't have to get out in it. I checked the Weather Channel's website. Here's what the radar shows:



Looks like it's going to be coming down for a while longer. At least I don't have to get out and drive in it.

Show Us Your Life- weight loss tips

I've posted about this in the past but I thought I would mention it again because I think its a great tip. Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is hosting a link party to share weight loss tips and ideas and I thought I would link up and share.


One of my resolutions this year was to really commit to losing weight and to exercise more. This past summer I started going to the local youth center with my sister-in-law to workout. They have the basic equipment that I was interested in using. The best thing about the youth center is that it only costs $26 a year for a membership. There's no way a gym membership is going to fit into my budget this year and this is a great alternative. Most of the gyms around here are at least $30 a month plus you have to sign a contract. Not so with the youth center. You don't have to sign any kind of contract. Its a one time fee to use the center. They have decent equipment and a track that I like to use. The center I go to also offers a variety of fitness classes that you have to pay an extra fee for but its minimal.

So if you are looking for a place to workout but the paying the expensive gym fees is not in your budget check out your local youth center. They are not just for the kids.

400 calorie chicken nuggets and fries

Last night my husband had to work late so I ended up making dinner for just me. I decided I wanted chicken nuggets. I love chicken nuggets. I have always loved chicken nuggets. So I started looking for a recipe that would work for my diet plan. I came across a couple that used cornflakes but I didn't have all the ingredients needed. I found a recipe calculator that will give you an estimate of the nutritional value of your meal. Like I said in my last post, I'm trying to stick to four 400 calorie meals a day. This one was pretty close.

I used the recipe calculator to tell me about how many calories would be in my meal. I entered the following ingredients:

chicken breast, no skin
cornflakes
black pepper
paprika

It came out to be about 150 calories per serving. These turned out really good. I ate them with ketchup of course so that added about 20 calories. So far my total is approximately 170 calories.

Since I was having nuggets I decided to make some oven fries. I used sweet potatoes since they are a better for you than other potatoes. I went back to the recipe calculator to make sure I was staying under 400 calories. Here's what I entered in:

sweet potato, 1 medium baked
olive oil
paprika

I used about 1 tbsp of olive oil to coat the potato wedges with the seasoning. Baked them at 400 for about 30 minutes. Delicious. And best yet they were approximately 240 calories. This was what the calculator spit out for one serving. I didn't eat the entire potato so it was probably less than that but we will go with 240 for now.

So I had nuggets and fries for a total of 410 calories. I'm guessing that it was a little less than this but I'll take it. And it was delicious. I felt full and satisfied afterward. I was curious and I entered a serving of chicken nuggets and medium fry from a local fast food chain. The calculator showed that these were approximately 600 calories per serving. That's a saving of about 200 calories. Wow.

I was so proud of myself. It may not seem like much but I love that I can still eat things that I like and still feel good about it. Hopefully it will pay off.

New Diet Plan and Meal Planning

I've never been very consistent with my meal planning. I love having a list when I go to the grocery store and having my weeks meals planned out. I just don't do it that often. I'm trying to get into the habit of it this year. One reason is to simply be more organized and save a little money. The big reason though is due to my New Year's Resolution to lose weight. I've started a new diet plan.
I heard about this book on an episode of "The Doctors."
I'm not following it exactly but I'm using it as my inspiration for my meal planning. The idea behind it is eating 4 400 calorie meals that contain a lot of monounsaturated fatty acids or MUFAs. These are found in things like olives and olive oils, nuts, dark chocolate and avocados.

Now it says on the cover that you can lose 15 pounds in 32 days without doing any crunches. Not that I'm doubting what they say but I personally believe that exercise is just as important as eating the right foods. I'm not expecting these kinds of results but I hope to be successful.

I'm not only using the Flat Belly Diet as inspiration. I have found several recipes from the Weight Watchers cookbooks as well as the Prevention website. Really, its all about watching your calorie intake. I'm going to do my best to stick to the four 400 calorie meal plan. As long as I keep it under this I can eat pretty much anything I want.
I hope to start attending a weekly meeting with my wonderful sister-in-law. The program is called TOPS and I'm hoping that it will help keep me motivated and hold me accountable. Here's to the new me. Can't wait to post some of my results.