I'm Half Way There!

I am so excited! I am half way there. Half way to where you are asking? No, not to being crazy....been halfway there forever! LOL! I'm half way to my total weight loss goal! I'm down 17 pounds and my clothes are fitting sooo much better...My pants are baggy for the first time in years! Yeah!

I've added a few things to my walking routine. I bought a pair of Sketchers Shape Ups. I've been looking at them for a long time but with a price tag of $109, they were staying right on the shelf at Kohl's. Well, got a 30% off coupon and Kohl's had them on sale for $69 and with the coupon that made them $48, so bought them. They really do work your leg muscles if you walk correctly in them. And boy are they comfy!

I also added a set of #1 pound hand weights. Have been using them for about 3 weeks now and almost ready to move up to 2# ones. Last week I added 1 1/2# ankle weights. I gotta tell you that the makers of the ankle weights must think that women all have pencil thin ankles! NOT! Chubby gals want to wear ankle weights too! I don't think I have cankles, but apparently I do. I can barely get the velcro attached! Well hopefully my ankles will shrink and I'll be able to wear them more comfortably.

I also use a pedometer. It helps keep me on track knowing just how far I have walked. My hubby will walk with me some days and while I like to walk a specific route, he doesn't. So I use the pedometer to know when I've walked my 2-2 1/2 miles.

Which brings me to my last indispensible walking tool...my IPOD touch! Gotta have music while walking. Just wish I wasn't so tech challenged with it. Seems like I enlarged the screen the other day. I don't know "how" I did it, but I do know when it happened...I was changing artists. Had to get the 15 yr old son, to help me out and change it back...seems like I pushed something in settings to make the change. Honestly I didn't, but I guess I did! LOL!

Until next time....

My Giveaway Win From York Mountain Mercantile

I have been on a lucky roll lately and have won another giveaway. My name was drawn for a 2nd prize as Traci of York Mountain Mercantile reached her goal of 125 followers. Traci sent a burlap sack of pastel tulips. They are just awesome.

Thank you Traci for hosting an awesome giveaway. There is some wonderful talent out here in blogland. If you aren't a follower of Traci's hop on over to her blog so you can keep up with her newest creations. Traci also has a website, so if you want even more eye candy be sure to check it out.

Until next time....

Only 3 days left til...

The PAFA team Spring Celebration starts. And I gotta tell you the offerings that the artists have put together are fabulous! There will be baskets, bunnies, wood crafts and new springtime signs. Here's a sneak peak at one of my new offerings.




So be sure to check out etsy as the celebration kicks off on Friday April 1st. Just type "STPAFA" in the search box on etsy to bring up all the wonderful celebration items...you won't be disappointed!

Until next time...

My Swap Goodies Came

Tammy at A Primitive Place hosted "So Me, So You" swap and I was paired up with Tracy of The Prairie Patch as partners. We were suppose to send one thing that was "so you" and one thing that was "so me" to our partner.

I gotta tell you that before I even opened the box, the smells that were coming from inside were delicious! Tracy sent me 4 different smelling soaps...can't decide which one I like the most.

I also received a cute round tin plate with a bunny, carrot, Easter egg and Happy Easter sign attached. There was also a tri-colored denim braided wreath. I haven't found homes for everything yet, but will do so in the next few days.

Thank you Tracy for sending such a lovely swap. Yours will be in the mail tomorrow and I sure hope, I have the "so you" part down as you were very hard to figure out what you liked, but hopefully with all my reading and searching, I got it nailed down.

A Primitive Place New Blog

Not only is A Primitive Place a great magazine to read, they now have a great blog to follow. They are having a giveaway of a wonderful tobacco basket for all their followers, so be sure to hurry over and sign up. The giveaway ends March 30th, winner announced March 31st.

Two Great New Giveaways

There are 2 great giveaways to tell you all about. They both contain items perfect to decorate for the upcoming Easter holiday.


Karen of Cedar Creek Primitives Selling Blog is having a cute giveaway. A basket of fabric wrapped eggs and a basket of fabric carrots.






So hop on over to Karen's selling blog and sign up for this cute giveaway. Deadline is April 9th.



Barb of Barbsheartstrokes is celebrating her one year etsyversary. Barb says she has come a long way from mastering turning on the computer to selling her wares online. So in honor of her etsyversary, she is having a giveaway.



And if that wasn't enough, Barb is also having a drawing for Easter too. So hurry on over to Barb's blog, be sure to check out her etsy shoppe and sign up. Deadline is April 3rd.


You can click on the links to these fabulous giveaways in my post or they will be located on my blogs sidebar too.

Until next time...

My Giveaway Win From Maywood Cottage Came

My giveaway win came from Willa at Maywood Cottage's blog. Willa painted the cutest Terrye French design on a wood door panel. I have the perfect place to hang it but want to paint the stairwell first...have lots of painting to do around here...can't wait til I can leave the windows open and then I can start painting.

Thank you Willa, for hosting an awesome giveaway.

Too Cool Giveaway!

The Artistic Halloween Queens are hosting an Easterween giveaway. And I can tell you that the prizes unveiled so far look awesome. They are sharing pictures of the artistic process on their creations, so hurry on over and check out their blog and to enter their awesome giveaway. They will also be posting more ornies tomorrow.

The Calendar Says...

It's spring! Yippee! And from the looks of things, I have to agree...



The pussy willow tree in my neighbors yard has bloomed and sprouted it's soft little furry buds. I remember as a child rubbing pussy willow buds over my arms...the soft feel was a welcoming sign of spring.



And my rose bushes are already budding! Yeah! These are new bushes from last year and I am pleased to say that they have survived the winter. You never know from one year to the next what will make it.





These irises are just popping up through the mulch. My hubby brought them home from a customers house a few years back. We planted them and last year was the first year that we had blooms on them. Seems like irises need to get a "hold" before they like to share their beauty. Sure hope this year they feel so inclined again to share.






My bee balm is peeking out. Another new addition last year in my new perennial bed and to me as a gardener. I had run out of room for sun loving plants until we added our new sunny perennial bed last year. I am so glad that we did too.






And of course with the warmer temps came a trip to the local nursery to pick up some pansies for my porch pots. They will stay until sometime in June when I will switch over to impatiens as the pansies just don't like my hot sunny front porch then.

It is a beautiful spring day today, sunny and still a little chilly, but I will take it. Enjoy your day.

Until next time....

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Isn't everyone a wee bit Irish today? Whether you are celebrating by going to a parade, eating corned beef, drinking green beer, or wearing of the green, so you don't get pinched, have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

Until next time...

My Giveaway win from Bumble Bee Lane Cottage

I was the lucky winner of another giveaway. Amy from Bumble Bee Lane Cottage sent me the cutest prim Easter egg along with the most yummiest smelling wax bunny tarts all in a cool small hand painted bowl. I could smell the wax bunny tarts before I even had the package opened.



I have found a temporary home for the bowl, bunnies and egg in my bedroom. I would like to put them on my cabinet in the livingroom but the hubby is a klutz and he knocked one of my other bowls off it's shelf and broke it...so for now, the bowl, bunnies and egg are going to stay safely displayed in my bedroom.

Amy, thanks once again for hosting such a wonderful giveaway.

Until next time...

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Now that I have your attention, be sure to hurry on over to the PAFA teams blog and sign up for the huge giveaway. Today is the last chance and you know you don't want to miss out!

Until next time...

My Giveaway Win From PFATT

The artists over on the PFATT blog were having a giveaway and my name was drawn as one of the lucky winners. I received this lil chickie designed by Sylvia Smiser of Annaboocreations. He is the cutest little paper clay chickie. Perfect to display for the upcoming Easter season.

I want to publicly thank Sylvia for sharing a little piece of herself with me. I appreciate the time, effort and talent that it takes to create a wonderful work of art. If you have some time, please pop on over to Sylvia's blog and check out all her wonderful works of art. They are truly awesome!

Pay It Forward 2011

I have never participated in a PIF (Pay it forward) before, but when I saw Hollie's of Where The Rooster Crows post come up on my blog roll, I was curious and interested. So I hopped on over to Hollies blog to see what it was all about and decided it was time to play and pay it forward.


How ir all works:

The first 5 people that comment on this post will receive something handmade from yours truly. But first you have to write a blog post explaining Pay it Forward 2011. Then you will send out a handmade gift to the first five visitors who leave a comment on your blog post. Your handmade gifties don't all have to be in the mail tomorrow, so take your time in creating your heartfelt treasures. This is a great way to meet new friends and share a little bit of yourself with them.

Remember it's not the size of the gift but the thought that counts...so let's all have fun and Pay it Forward!

Til next time...

Edited to add: Please everyone that is signing up to Pay it Forward only do so one one blog. The whole idea is for one act of kindness to grow into 5 and then that 5 to grow into 25 and those 25 to grow into 125 and those 125 to grow into lets see if I can do the math on this...625 and so on and so on.

A tisket, a tasket...

it's a shaker cheese basket! I've been eyeing this basket for awhile ever since I saw it on one of the blogs I read. So decided I waited long enough and had a little extra money, so I bought one for myself. Ann over at 1803Ohiofarmbaskets has some of the neatest baskets including a smaller version of this shaker cheese basket. Ann also included a set of 2 grubbied up candle tapers in my package.


As a former dabbler in basket making...I made a few in my time, but have since given up basket making in favor of painting, know that basket weaving is a true labor of love. It is definitely an artform to get a basket to turn out the way you envision it. Ann is very skilled at her craft.

I have found a home for it already but will have to wait to share that with you as I need to repaint that wall before I can display it. Darn Glidden discontinued making the 1000 paint colors and of course my paint color is one of them. Talked to the guy in the paint dept at Home Depot and my only hope is finding the color chip card, that I kept for them to make the paint from. Now I know that I kept that card, but where, oh where did I put it? But I digress from my original topic...

So if you are looking for some well made baskets, head on over to Ann's etsy shoppe and check out what she has to offer. I can tell you, you won't be disappointed.

Til next time...

And The Winner Is...

It seems like since I posted my "I lost but someone will Gain" giveaway, I have come across lots of blogs of ladies dieting or trying to lose weight. Why does weight seem to be such a hard thing to lose? I mean it sure finds us easy enough now doesn't it! LOL! It's incredible to read about everyone's diets. We've all heard of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and of course lean cuisine. But some of the new one such as the Cinch diet, have never heard of it before. I guess what works for one person doesn't always work for another. I also want to take the time to thank you all for your words of encouragement. They mean so much and keep me going. I know, you are all saying will she just hurry up and tell us...so for those of you that have been patiently waiting, reading my post and not scrolling down.

The winner of my cute Easter Blessings bunny sign ...Carmen C. from Waxed Out Creative Life. Can you see her name? Lucky #4. Thanks everyone for entering and Carmen if you can send me your mailing info, I will get this bunny sign hopping his way over to your house.

Guess Who's Having A Birthday Today?

Nope, not me! It's my BFF Sharon's birthday today! Hop on over to her blog and wish her a Happy Birthday. I won't tell you just "how" old she is!
But lets just say that she celebrated her sweet 16 many, many moons ago! LOL!

And there's this rumor going around about her...watch the video clip and you see what it is...



Anyway, Happy Birthday my friend...wishing you many, many more! Luv ya!

Isn't She The Sweetest?

Little Raggedy Annie? Well she's all mine! I received her in the mail yesterday and just had to share her with you all. I first saw her pop up on my blog roll. So I clicked on the post to check her out. There staring at me was the sweetest little Annie with her kitty friend. I just couldn't resist her...well I did at first, when I made my first comment but not more than a few minutes went by and I decided that I had to have her. Diane did an excellent job on making her. Be sure to check out Diane's blog Country Doings and her etsy shoppe.

For now, Annie is sitting patiently waiting for her new home to be finished...my new peg shelf. It's all painted and just needs some sanding and a little waxing and I'll share the pictures with you once I get the hubby to hang it.

Til next time...