Michigan blanket pattern.

Hello again my friends.

Do you remember this blanket? 

I crochet it a few years ago.

Ever since I blogged it I have been getting many questions about this blanket. Whether or not I had a pattern, how did I do it, ect.

Well,I did try to reply to all the questions. I didn't have a pattern written out. I just drew the M on graph paper and decided each square would equal 8 stitches and 8 rows and went from there.

BUT since I kept getting questions about the pattern....

Here is what I have came up with.

I used a 5.5 mm hook. That is an I or 9

I also used Caron One pound yarn in the colors of Sunflower and midnight blue.

The blanket measures 34 inches wide by 40 inches long without the border.

The blanket is worked in single crochet and is worked from the bottom up.

Directions.

With blue, ch 137

Rows 1-48. sc in each ch across (136 sc) ch 1, turn

 Rows 49-60: with blue, sc in 24 st. Switch to yellow and sc in next 32 sts, switch back to blue and sc in next 24 sc, with yellow, sc in next 32 sts, with blue sc in last 24 st, ch 1 turn.

from here on out I will just tell the color and number of sc to make.

Add yellow

Row 61: Blue, 24 sc, yellow, 32 sc, blue, 11 sc, yellow, 2sc, blue 11 sc, yellow 32 sc, blue 24 sc, ch 1, turn

Row 62: Blue- 24 sc, yellow-32 sc, blue-10 sc, yellow-4 sc, blue- 10 sc, yellow-32 sc, blue-24 sc, ch 1, turn

Row 63: blue- 24sc, yellow-32sc, blue-9sc, yellow-6sc, blue-9sc, yellow-32sc, blue-24 sc, ch 1, turn

Row 64: blue-24sc, yellow-32sc, blue-8sc, yellow-8sc, blue-8s, yellow-32sc, blue-24sc, ch 1, turn

Row 65: blue-32sc, yellow-16sc, blue-15sc, yellow-10sc, blue-15sc, yellow-16sc, blue-32sc, ch 1 turn

Row 66: blue-32sc, yellow-16sc, blue-14sc, yellow-12sc, blue-14sc, yellow-16sc, blue-32sc, ch 1, turn

Row 67: blue-32sc, yellow-16sc, blue-13sc, yellow-14sc, blue-13sc, yellow-16sc, blue-32sc, ch 1, turn

Row 68: blue-32sc, yellow-16sc, blue-12sc, yellow-16sc, blue-12sc, yellow-16sc, blue 32 sc, ch 1, turn

Row 69: blue 32 sc, yellow 16sc, blue 11sc, yellow 18sc, blue 11sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn

Row 70: blue 32 sc, yellow 16sc, blue 10sc, yellow 20sc,  blue 10sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn

Row 71: blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 9sc, yellow 22sc, blue 9sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 72: Blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 8sc, yellow 24sc, blue 8sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 73: Blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 7sc, yellow 26sc, blue 7sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 74: blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 6sc, yellow 28sc, blue 6sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 75: blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 5sc, yellow 30sc, blue 5sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 76: blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 4sc, yellow 32sc, blue 4sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 77: blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 3sc, yellow 34sc, blue 3sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 78: Blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 2sc, yellow 36sc, blue 2sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn

Row 79: Blue 32sc, yellow 16sc, blue 1sc, yellow 38sc, blue 1sc, yellow 16sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Rows 80-92: Blue 32sc, yellow 72sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn

Row 93: Blue 32sc, yellow 35sc, blue 2sc, yellow 35sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 94: Blue 32sc, yellow 34sc, blue 4sc, yellow 34sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 95: Blue 32sc, yellow 33sc, blue 6sc, yellow 33sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn

Row 96: Blue 32sc, yellow 32sc, blue 8sc, yellow 32sc, blue 32sc, ch 1, turn.

Row 97: Blue 24sc, yellow 39sc, blue 10sc, yellow 39sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn.

Row 98: Blue 24sc, yellow 38 sc, blue 12 sc, yellow 38sc, blue 24 sc, ch 1 turn

Row 99: Blue 24 sc, yellow 37sc, blue 14sc, yellow 37sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn.

Row 100: Blue 24sc, yellow 36sc, blue 16sc, yellow 36sc, blue 24sc, ch 1, turn

Row 101: Blue 24sc, yellow 35sc, blue 18sc, yellow 35sc, blue 24sc, ch 1, turn

Row 102: Blue 24sc, yellow 34sc, blue 20sc, yellow 34sc, blue 24sc, ch 1, turn

Row 103: blue 24sc, yellow 33sc, blue 22sc, yellow 33sc, blue 24sc, ch 1, turn

Row 104: blue 24sc, yellow 32sc, blue 24sc, yellow 32sc, blue 24sc, ch 1, turn

Row 105: Blue 24sc, yellow 31sc, blue 26sc, yellow 31sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn

Row 106: blue 24sc, yellow 30 sc, blue 28 sc, yellow 30sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn

Row 107: Blue 24sc, yellow 29sc, blue 30sc, yellow 29sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn

Row 108: Blue 24sc, yellow 28sc, blue 32sc, yellow 28sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn

Row 109: Blue 24sc, yellow 27sc, blue 34sc, yellow 27sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn

Row 110: blue 24sc, yellow 26sc, blue 36sc, yellow 26sc, blue 24sc, ch 1, turn

Row 111: blue 24sc, yellow 25sc, blue 38sc, yellow 25sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn

Row 112: blue 24sc, yellow 24sc, blue 40sc, yellow 24sc, blue 24sc, ch 1 turn

You can drop the yellow now.

Rows 113-160: sc in all sts across. (136sc) fasten off.

I did a border with a couple of rounds of yellow.

I hope this helps all of you out there who want to make this blanket.

Until next time

Be Blessed, 

Erin

WIP Wednesday...plus a little extra

Hello again friends!

How are things where you are?

It is FrEeZiNg here in Ohio.

Today has been a great day! I went to Bible Study and afterwards all 9 of us women went out to lunch. You see, this past week was our faithful teachers birthday!! She is in her mid 70s! We just love her so much we wanted to do something really nice for her.

This has been a pretty good week as well.

I got all caught up on my housework on Monday! Guess why? We had a snow day and my kiddos were out of school so they decided to help me! Wasn't that super awesom of them?

Guess what else...

I actually had a little more time to crochet this week.

Look!

 My lovely ripple has grown from scarf size to "almost" snuggly size. I can't wait to get it all finished.

I also did another project last night that is somewhat crochet related.

You see, here lately I have been having some finger/hand problems when I crochet. My fingers hurt and go numb and it makes my hand hurt. Sometimes it is so bad I can't even hold a hook. Well, I looked online and saw that Walmart had clover hooks so I decided to brave the roads and see if I can buy one. Walmart didn't carry them in store. Well, while I was in there browsing I came across some clay. So guess what I did......

 I made handles for nearly all of my crochet hooks. The ones you see with the same handles are the same size. I have 29 hooks here ranging from 0.9 mm to 6.0 mm. I was shocked I had so many hooks BUT these aren't all I have. I also have a size N that is out on loan to my cousin and a set of plastic hooks. But anyway...Aren't they beautiful?

On each of the hooks I covered up the size but before I placed them on the sheet to bake I put the letter or number (steel hook) of the hook on the bottom.

Then I put the whole number, letter, size on the bottom on the side.

I am so proud of myself for venturing out of my comfort zone and doing this. I was so afraid I was going to ruin my hooks but I think they are so much prettier AND the hook feels so much better on my hands.

OH

AND

You can't have pretty revamped hooks without something pretty to put them in soo.

I bought this spotty dotty bag today.  I am in love with polka dots and this bag just made my heart sing!!

Well that is going to be it for today. I have to go switch out the laundry and then I am gonna snuggle myself on my comfy couch and make my ripple grow even more!

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog. I love you all!

Until next time,

Stay Blessed!

Erin

WIP Wed....er um Thursday

Hello my dear friends.

I sure hope today finds you all well!

It is a grey, dreary day here in Ohio.

See....It is so blah and ick out there...

However, It is cold AND we could see some flurries so that makes it seem ok.

Did you notice anything about the picture above?

Well, we had a couple days this week that were in the 60s so I took advantage of the warm weather and went ahead and hung up the outdoor Christmas lights. 

Don't worry, I have only had them on to make sure they were all working properly.

BUT

I couldn't just decorate outside.....

I also decorated inside. I didn't go crazy this year though. All I did was put up our tree and put out the stockings. I love Christmas time!

Now for the TRUE reason for this post.

I actually found time to do some crocheting this week.

I was working on my ripple and my hands were freezing so ....

 I whipped up some fun stripey fingerless gloves to keep my hands warm.

And I added several rows to my ripple. The colors aren't true in this pic. The camera flash washed them out.

OH and do you see in pic above?

NO CARPET!

We tore the carpet out of our living room and dining room and put down wood flooring. 

I will have to do another post about that at another time!!!

Well that is all for now.

I must get crocheting!!!!

Until next time,

Stay blessed,

Erin

Oh Boy...What a busy week!

Hello again friends. 

First I want to say I didn't forget to blog...I seriously didn't have time to do so.

I could take a snapshot of my planner BUT I am being very lazy today and I just didn't want to fish out my camera to do so!!!

I really wanted to post on Wednesday to show progress on my ripple blanket but I really only added one row to that blanket this whole week!!! I squeezed it in one evening right before bed!! I was hoping to get that blanket finished in a month but at this rate...it'll take 6. Tee Hee

So, now about my week.

I had several meetings over this past week. Some were only a half a day...others  a full day.

Thursday of last week I spent catching up on some cleaning. On Friday, I had errands and I had to be at our church for a couple hours. 

Saturday, I was at the Church all day decorating for the Fall Festival.

Hubby and I planned this event for our youth. We had so much fun!! The kids participated in a cake walk, face painting, shooting games, dart games, throwing games..Our church members brought in cakes and soups and desserts. Man it was a blast!!!

Sunday we took a break!

On Monday I had an all day meeting for our church's organization that partners with our community to give Christmas gifts to needy kids in our community. You may remember me saying that the program fell in my lap after it's previous head left our church. I have been very blessed with the help and support from our church family!! I know I would be completely lost without them.

Tuesday I spent on the couch. I cannot wait to get our insurance at the beginning of the year so I can go to the doctor. I have so many female issues and this month was terrible!

Wednesday I had more meetings and yesterday I spent the day planning and doing my grocery shopping (which I saved 42%).

So...I know this post is pretty boring! I just wanted to let everyone know that I am not disappearing again. I love all of you and I love blogging. I love reaching out to everyone and reading everyone else's blogs.

So then...TODAY I HAVE A FREE DAY!

So I am going to catch up on some cleaning and hopefully some crochet!!

Until the next post

Stay Blessed

Erin

Wednesday WIP's

Hello everyone!

I know Wednesday is nearly over BUT I just had to write a post tonight.

I would have posted earlier BUT I was so busy today. 

I took my youngest to school. 

Came home and ate breakfast and had some coffee.

Went to Bible Study.

Then had a couple meetings.

I left my house a little after nine this morning and didn't get back home until nearly 3!!

I thoroughly enjoy doing the Lord's work and I just love staying busy.

Today's post is about my crochet works in progress.

I started this blanket on the 21st and this is as far as I have gotten.

This blanket is being made for another member of my women's Bible study group. 

You know the best part? She has no idea it is for her!

I just love the surprised looks when I give them blankets.

Anyway..that is all for now. I have some studying to do.

Until we meet again..

Stay blessed

Erin

Coupon organization...an update

Hello again all you beautiful people! 

I hope this day finds you well.

Today has been crazy bad for me. I think if anything could go wrong today it did BUT that is another post altogether.

Today I want to chat a little about my coupon ventures. I have posted a few posts about couponing before. I've even shared a video I made about my previous storage method.

Well, I have tried all the methods out there I think. I did the binder thing..Let met tell ya....whew that binder was HEAVY and it was a pain to keep organized and to find coupons and clean out expired coupons. It was a hassle and it made me quit couponing for a while.

Next I ventured into the coupon box. This method was a lot easier than the binder to organize all my clipped coupons. It was easy to take to the store. I loved it. I used it. I was content.

Well, with this summer being so hectic and with no end in sight, I just didn't have the 2-3+ hours on the Sunday or Monday to clip all the coupons...so again I quit using coupons as much as I could have.

So now I am to this method. Using a file box and file folders. I will let the video tell you the details BUT I am loving this method. I can buy my papers and file them in about 15 minutes. When I get ready to go to the store I can clip what I KNOW I am going to use AND since I print out the lists (and I check the list with the inserts...sometimes my inserts don't have some of the coupons on the list and sometimes there are coupons not on the list so that is why it takes me 15 minutes) I can take my coupons to the store to grab an unadvertised deal if I need to. 

Enjoy the video and if there are any questions please feel free to ask in the comments or on youtube and I will try my best to answer them.

Until we meet again

Stay Blessed

Erin

I'm Back!!!

Hello everyone! 

I sure have missed you all! Guess what?!?

I FINALLY GOT MYSELF A NEW COMPUTER!

As most of you who follow me know, my computer decided to quit on me a while ago and being a single income family, we were not able to purchase one right away.

I missed blogging so much. So many things have happened I didn't get to tell you!

So here is a little snippet of what I have been up to.

I have been crocheting my little heart out!

I have also made ninja turtle masks, scarves and a couple other blankets but I was so excited to give them to their owners I forgot to take pictures...shame on me!

My oldest daughter went to homecoming this year! I cannot believe she is in high school already!!!

Daughter number 2 is in marching band so we have been to many football games and parades here lately.She is between the two girls in the front.

And fall is in full swing and the leaves are absolutely gorgeous in my area. This picture doesn't capture the beauty of it all.

We are a super busy family as of late. On top of the kids' activities, we have been remodeling some rooms in our house. We have also been making sure we keep up with our responsibilities at church.

I tell you, we have very few days were we can just sit down and breathe.

I hope all of you are doing well. I also hope you all look forward to more blog posts from me. It may take a bit for me to get on a regular schedule BUT I certainly will try to make sure I post at least once a week.

Until next time,

Stay blessed

Erin

Busy, Busy, and more Busy

My friends I am incredibly sorry I haven't been blogging much. Our life is so full and busy with the kids being older I just have no time to sit down and actually think!!

We have the normal Church activities on Sundays and Wednesday Bible studies.

Our boys have ball games 2-3 days a week. As a matter of fact our oldest son's team are going into the Championships!! GO TIGERS!

We have also been trying to spend time with my parents. My mom lives only 5 minutes away so I can basically see her whenever our schedules meet. My dad, however, lives 45 minutes away and has a wacky work schedule so we have to make plans for seeing him and my little brother.

We have also been trying to do some fun things with the kids.

We took them to Young's Dairy up above Yellow Springs, Oh last week. It was so much fun. We played putt putt golf, hit balls in the batting cages and ate some of the most awesome ice cream ever.

We also do free things like hiking, going to parks, and fishing.

AND last but not least we have a yearly pass for my family +2  to the Columbus Zoo so on hubby's days off (because I hate driving around Columbus) we can take them to the zoo.

Oh and we plan on going to some Chillicothe Paint's baseball games :)

See...we are always doing something.

So when we are at home we are usually cleaning, doing laundry, eating and sleeping.

So my apologies for not being an active blogger.

However, today I wanted to share with you some of my favorite things from this past week.

1. My favorite lotion: Beautiful Day from Bath and Body works. I got it as a Christmas gift and it smells so good. I also use Johnson and Johnson's Honey Apple lotion.

2. Favorite food this week has been eggs. I eat eggs nearly every morning for breakfast.

3. Favorite drink this week: Sweet tea and water

4. Favorite past time: honestly, watching movies. I bet I have watched 10-15 movies this week.

5. What I should have done more of: Reading my Bible and Crochet.

6. Favorite song this week: Blessings by Laura Story

7. Favorite tv show: It's always Criminal Minds.

8. Favorite memory of this past week: Listening to my dad sing

9. Favorite sight this week: Baby tomatoes on my plants!!!!

10. Most used app: Facebook.

Ok so that is 10 very random things. So now I am going to get off of the electronics and crochet a bit.

Ball games start in a few hours and all my housework is done so I think I deserve it!!

Until I write again

Be Blessed

Erin

Coupons and Food Stamps: A financial update.

My friends if you have been following my blog for any length of time you know about my family's financial situation. For those of you who may be new to my blog I will give you a quick rundown.

We moved up here from Florida when child #3 was only a couple months old. While we lived in Florida we didn't have any financial troubles at all. We could go shopping every week and not bat an eye. All of our bills were paid, we had food, we were stable.

We decided a long time ago when my oldest child was very little I would be a stay at home mom. I did work off and on for a while. I did the fast food thing, I worked at a bank. BUT during that time my child was in daycare and seemed to get sick every other week. Each time she got sick I had to take her to the doctor and it would be upper respiratory or ear infections. I'd get her well and then boom as soon as she went back to daycare she was sick again. So we decided then that it would be best if I just stayed at home with our kids.

Fast forward to when we moved here to Ohio. My hubby got a job right away and quit a couple months later. He just couldn't deal with the politics that ran rampant in that place. Then he got another job pretty fast which decided to move to Mexico and permanently lay off their employees. A couple months went by and he got another job that closed its doors for good. Then he worked at a place that used materials he later found out he was allergic to.

As you can see we had a lot of hard times. We ended up getting public assistance as medicaid and food stamps because we just could not feed our kids. 

Luckily, my the last two jobs my hubby has had were long term jobs. One was at a factory and his current job is as a manager at a home improvement store. Once we moved into our new house (which we are buying) we decided we needed to get our finances in order. So over the past 5-6 years we have been taking steps to building our credit, making sure we paid our bills on time, and trying our best to save money.

This whole time we have had public assistance which helped us focus on other things because we knew our food was covered.

Now several years ago I learned how to coupon. I did this as a hobby because I really wanted a stockpile (which I still don't have). However, I kept with it because I was doubling or tripling the amount of food I was getting with our food stamps.

I can proudly say we have finally reached our goal of becoming self-sufficient and not relying on public assistance any longer. We have our own health insurance through my husband's company and with the use of coupons, we have been able to get off of food stamps. I have around $200 dollars a month that I allot for groceries and household needs. I use coupons and bulk stores to get our family's needs for the least amount of money.

On top of my normal coupon routine I am also keeping a notebook with the prices from around 7 stores of our most commonly used items. That way I know I am always getting a great price for the things my family needs. I know this sounds like a lot of work BUT since I am a stay at home mom, I have made couponing and getting the best prices for the items we need as my outside job. This is just one way I can contribute to my family financially.

My friends, that is all I can write for now. I have loads of things to get done today. We don't have any ball games to go to today so I have a full day I can catch up on my house duties which have doubled since the kiddos have been out for summer vacation.

Until we meet again,

Be Blessed

Erin

WIP: Flowers in a Row

Hello friends.  I just wanted to pop in and show you what is on my hook. The pattern is from Red Heart dot com. It is so easy to do and the effect is just lovely. I am starting my second color repeat on the flowers. I have to say I am really enjoying watching those little flowers take shape!

That's all for now as I go back to hooking and watching/listening to movies.

Be blesses,
Erin

Friday Random Five

Hello my friends. 

I have decided to do a Friday Five.

It just sounded like a good thing to do today.

1. This is the pattern (not my picture and pattern is on Redheart.com) of my current crochet project. I am using different colors. I will post a picture of my project once I get a little further along.

2. Baseball season is in full swing in my neighborhood. Both of my boys have decided to play this year. Unfortunately, they have games on the same days of the week and sometimes at the same time! The running back and forth is keeping me in shape.

3. This little beauty was brought to me by my oldest daughter yesterday. We were working with our boys on some baseball mechanics and here she comes with it. I knew it wasn't poisonous because of the shape of it's snout and it's pupils and with a quick google search we found out it was an Eastern Fox Snake and in fact nonvenomous. However, I told my daughter NOT TO PICK UP ANY MORE SNAKES!

4. We have purchased a "new to us" vehicle. My van was screaming to be replaced. So we traded in our 2004 Chevy Venture on a 2008 Chevy Uplander. Let me tell you....I am in love. My kids love it too because it has a DVD player.

5. I have lost enough weight I can share a pic. I started at 168 pounds. I am 153 pounds in this picture. I have been stuck for over a month fluctuating between 152 and 154 pounds. My goal is to get between 130 and 140 eventually BUT right now I would just like to break this plateau and get below 150!

Hope you have enjoyed this post. 

Be blessed,

Erin

I am still alive....I promise.

Friends I am terribly sorry to be MIA for so long. I really am. I miss blogging. Life has been crazy busy lately and I just haven't had time for much of anything.

First, some exciting news.. Hubby and I have been appointed the Youth Coordinators at our church. We are so excited to work with the local youth! 

Secondly, I have been caring for and traveling with my mom. She had surgery and I have been spending a lot of time with her.

Thirdly, my sons are playing baseball this year and we have practice 3 nights a week (if they aren't canceled by rain).

Fourthly, the end of the school year means loads of programs and field trips.

Fifthly, on days I am actually home, I do house work and yard work.

Sixthly, Ok I have nothing but please don't give up on me. I have loads of updates for all of you.

I HAVE been crocheting when I can. A stitch here and a stitch there. Currently I am working on this pattern from Red Heart. I am doing the flowers in pastel colors and I can't wait to show everyone a picture.

I have been taking my little point and shoot camera everywhere with me and have been snapping pictures here and there. I would love to share some moments with you all.

I did something different with my garden this year and want to update you on that.

I also did something different with my flower beds and want to show you that.

So, I need to get on the ball and get it all done.

BUT right now, I am at home and I MUST get caught up with my household chores.

Love and miss all of you!!!!!

Erin

TMI Tag plus a mini update.

Hello again my friends. I know I have been MIA for a little while. There has been a lot going on.

The weather has finally broke here in Ohio so we have been out a lot.

My mom has been having some health issues.

Things have just been a little cray cray so I will try to do some updates very soon.

Today I am having a down day. I did 6.3 miles yesterday and I'm totally feeling it today. On top of that, I have some raging seasonal allergies so I'm just kind of relaxing today. 

That brings me to today's blog post. I like to watch youtube videos and right now there is a tag going around called the TMI tag. I don't really like making videos that show me so I decided to answer all 50 questions here. So let's get on with it then.

1: What are you wearing? A tshirt and pants

2: Ever been in love? yes twice. Once in high school (my first love) and I am now madly in love with my hubby.

3: Ever had a terrible breakup? Yes. With the person I was seeing before my hubby. We had a child together and                                                 it got a little ugly.

4: How tall are you? 5 foot 2

5: How much do you weigh? 152

6: Any tattoos? I have a blue rose tattooed on ankle

7: Any piercings? I once had my nose, tongue, and belly button pierced but I am now just sporting earrings

8: OTP?  This is One true pair or partner? Hubby definitely

9: Favorite show? I love Criminal Minds, Duck Dynasty, Dancing with the Stars, Walking Dead and Sons of                                      Anarchy

10: Favorite bands? Hmm..bands..I dunno about bands but I'm digging Bruno Mars right now.

11: Something you miss? My grandparents.

12: Favorite song? Best Day of My Life, Gorilla, Automatic

13: How old are you? 34

14: Zodiac sign? This is against my religious beliefs but I am an aquarius

15: Quality you look for in a partner? loyalty, trustworthy, funny, fun

16: Favorite Quote? No one can make you feel inferior without your consent~ Eleanor Roosevelt

17: Favorite actor? Jason Statham, Vin Diesel

18: Favorite color? I'm loving Turquoise right now

19: Loud music or soft? Depends on my mood

20: Where do you go when you're sad? Either to my room or I go for a walk or to the lake

21: How long does it take you to shower? 15 minutes or so

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? It depends. If I shower, do hair and makeup it can                                                                                             take an hour or more. If I just get up and throw my                                                                                           hair in a pony then about 5-10 minutes

23: Ever been in a physical fight? Yes

24: Turn on? Great smile, joy, happiness

25: Turn off? people full of themselves, people who think they are better than you or know more than you

26: The reason I joined Youtube? I'm going to sub blogger here. I joined blogger because I love to write. I wanted                                                    to get my struggles out there and possibly help someone who is going through                                                  the same thing.

27: Fears? Losing my family. Failure

28: Last thing that made you cry? A video I watched from facebook 

29: Last time you said you loved someone? A few mins ago to my daughter

30: Meaning behind your Youtube Name? My BLOG name is what this blog is about. Just the things that go on                                                                in an ordinary stay at home mom's life.

31: Last book you read? Mocking jay

32: The book you're currently reading? I am always reading the Bible

33: Last show you watched? Noon news

 
34: Last person you talked to? My daughter 

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted? She is my other daughter :)

36: Favorite food? Chicken. I love chicken

37: Place you want to visit? Scotland 

38: Last place you were? Uptown with my hubby last night

39: Do you have a crush? Yes on my hubby

40: Last time you kissed someone? Last night before I went to sleep

41: Last time you were insulted? Yesterday

42: Favourite flavour of sweet? I love chocolate but I also love cherry flavored hard candies like jolly ranchers

43: What instruments do you play?? None too well. I can play a little piano that my grandma taught me but that's                                                        all

44: Favourite piece of jewellery? Wedding set hubby got me for Valentine's day

45: Last sport you played? baseball

46: Last song you sang? Daydream Believer by the Monkees

47: Favourite chat up line? hmm. pick up line, chat line..don't use either

48: Have you ever used it? see previous question.

49: Last time you hung out with anyone? Last evening. Walked with a good friend of mine.

50: Who should answer these questions next? Whoever wants too.

Ok my friends. There you have it. 50 questions. Did you learn anything about me? 

Until we meet again,

Be Blessed

Erin

Getting healthy: Week 10

Hello again my friends.

I just realized that I haven't been updating all of you on how I've been doing on my new lifestyle. SHAME ON ME!

Well I have to say it is going pretty good!

I am currently in the middle of week 11. I will weigh in again on Friday.

So let me see.

I have been doing pretty good. I am keeping my calories pretty much in check. Usually I stay right around 1200-1300 a day but sometimes if I feel I need more like around that time of the month and when I have a cold (like last week) I will take my caloric intake up to 1500 calories per day.

As far as exercising..well I started planning my workouts in advance the weekend before last and it has helped me be more consistent with my workouts.

I also started doing Fitnessblender workouts on YouTube. If you are trying to lose weight and you want some great workouts then look them up. 

I know I haven't updated in a few weeks and I honestly couldn't tell you what happened but I know I was losing a pound or so then gained a pound and a half. Then last weigh in I had lost 3 pounds putting me at 154 pounds. So that means that I have lost a total of 9 pounds since January 1st and a total of 14 pounds since November.  

As I stated earlier I had a horrible head cold starting last Wednesday. I literally couldn't breathe!!

However, I did manage a couple workouts while I was sick.  I honestly don't know how I lost 3 whole pounds but I imagine it was the mixture of Zumba and the fitness blender workouts I did.

This week I have my workout schedule as follows: 

Monday-FitnessBlender- arms/cardio

Tuesday-Walk or Zumba

Wednesday- Fitness Blender Legs

Thursday- walk or Zumba

Friday- Fitness Blender Core

Saturday- Walk or Zumba or Yoga

Sunday- Rest and cheat day.

As far as eating: I kind of have it down to a science at this point.

For breakfast I will have a couple eggs with a little shredded cheese and salsa plus a cup of coffee with French vanilla international delight creamer.

Lunch I will have anything really. Usually it's a tuna on a whole wheat sandwich round or a salad. 

But sometimes I will have a few potato and cheddar perogies ore a couple of chicken and cabbage egg rolls.

Dinner will be whatever I fix for the family. However, if there is something particularly unhealthy (like 400 calorie per half cup serving of Mac n cheese) I will substitute it with a salad.

I also try to make sure I have a snack or two between meals if I am going to go longer than a few hours without eating. I will have some hummus and blue corn chips or some veggies and hummus, guacamole, fruit, muscle milk. 

I dunno. I just have a simple approach to eating. I know how many calories I  need to consume daily (at least 1200) I eat what I want to eat (I'll have a small piece of cake if I want it) and just make sure I exercise!

Also, Sunday is my rest day and my cheat day. I eat whatever I would like (in moderation) and I try not to go too crazy. I try to stay below 1500 calories that day.

So there you have it. Today's workout was a walk/run. I did 3.41 miles in 58 minutes and 22 seconds. I burned 290 calories. I'm happy with that!

Ok my friends, it's gorgeous outside today so I'm gonna go out and enjoy it before dinner.

Until we meet again,

Be Blessed,

Erin

Cleaning: Before and After; Just keeping it real.

Hello again my friends.

I'm going to apologize ahead of time if this post seems off a bit. I am still sick! 

My head is so stuffy it is hard for me to think straight.

My friends, I'm gonna keep it real! I'm gonna show you what happens when I don't keep up with my house every day! This is going to be a cleaning before and after of some of the rooms in my home. I didn't do the laundry room or the bathroom because those two rooms were pretty clean to begin with. I just picked up and mopped those rooms. I also didn't include my kids' bedrooms because I just feel a little funny about showing them. However, those rooms have been cleaned by their occupants. :)

Now for a little background. We had a sleepover on Saturday. The house was cleaned on Sunday. So that means that this mess was 3 days in the making. Now sometimes things will be worse than this (a lot worse) and sometimes better. This was an in between week.

So lets start in the living room.

Here in photo one you can see the blankets and just ordinary mess on the couch. Those laundry baskets are full of clean clothes. My hubby washes and dries the laundry and I fold and put it away.

Here is the other side of the room. It isn't as bad. I just needed to put a few things away and straighten up some stuff.

Here is a good view of the majority of my living room. I put everything in it's place and dusted and vacuumed.

Here is the other side. The room looks much bigger when it is picked up.

Now for my kitchen.

My kids's chores are to do the dishes after dinner every night so there are only the morning's breakfast dishes to wash. Other than that I just had to pick up a few things and empty the trash. I also swept and mopped the floor.

Here is my kitchen after I cleaned it.

Next is the dining room.

My dining room is only 10 feet by 10 feet. So I literally divided it up into two sections. First is the dining room table. This is where my hubby does his school work and my kids do their homework. I also spend a lot of time here planning, studying, and deciding on things.

Here is the other side of my dining room. It contains the kennels my puppies sleep in at night, the school supply tote and my really messy bookshelves that housed books we have already read and no one touches.

My dining room table looks so much bigger after it is cleaned off. 

Here is the after of the other side. I tracked down the lid to the school supply tote and I put a lot of our books in the purge basket. We will be selling them in a yard sale when the weather is better.

Next is my bedroom. When we moved into this house my hubby and I took the smallest bedroom in the house. My room is where everything goes when we are deciding what to do with it. I wish I could say it stays clean but most of the time it isn't.

This is how my room looked before I cleaned it up.

(Please don't be offended by the flag. It is a state of Georgia flag. That is where hubby and I met and where we are from)

Here is after. 

Our room feels so much bigger and comfortable when it is cleaned up.

This shows the same view as the before picture above.

My friends please don't think ill of me or think I don't keep my house clean because I do clean a lot. However, I just to keep it real! This is what happens to my house in just a few days of me not tidying up every day. If I am sick or if we are really busy and I don't have time to clean, this is what happens.

Mainly I just want to let anyone out there who is struggling to keep their house clean know that it is normal. I have 4 kids and 3 pets and honestly I have to tidy up about an hour every day to maintain a clean house. If I skip a day or two then I have to spend a day cleaning up. This cleaning adventure took me around 6 hours to complete from start to finish and as long as I continue to tidy up daily, I will maintain my house as it is now.

I hope you all enjoyed this "keepin it real" post.

Until we meet again,

Be Blessed,

Erin