Am I a Funny Girl?

Rewarding yourself for progress

June 17, 2013

One of the coolest things about being a member of the Shaklee Blogger program is the support system they provide us. Besides the awesome Shaklee website, with recipe and workout ideas, we have a Facebook group where we can talk and support each other, to help ourselves stay accountable and motivated.

One important member of that group, even though she isn’t *technically* a Shaklee Blogger, is Jacqui McCoy. If you don’t know who she is, you totally should. She was featured on Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss edition and is an amazing inspiration to anyone on any sort of life change/weight loss journey. (That’s her Before and After up there. Incredible, right?) Having her in our group, with all of her “Been There, Done That” and her amazing transformation story? That’s a huge benefit in itself.

I told you last month that I’d been slacking off a little; wasn’t sticking quite as close to the plan as I had in the previous months… I said that I was recommitting, which I did. I set a goal to lose 36 lbs by my 36th birthday on July 4, and I’m on track to blow it out of the water! I’ve only got a pound a half to to to that next goal, and 18 days in which to do it. Looking past that one, I’m thinking about aiming for 40 lbs by Blogher, (I think I can, I think I can!).

We had a conference call for the group the other day, and it featured Jacqui talking to us about motivation. Getting, being and staying motivated. When she said this, it really stood out to me:

Try to not make food a part of your family rituals. You eat to celebrate a success. Holidays are all about food; the cookies, the pies, etc. Try to celebrate in other ways. Go out with girlfriends and don’t center it on drinks or coffee. When food is such a central part of everything in your life making healthier changes can be a struggle.

So I started thinking… we do seem to place a lot of reward focus on food.

“You did great at tee ball today! Let’s go get ice cream!”
“Thank you for listening today. Let’s go to Chili’s for dinner?”
“Yay! Promotion at work! Date night! Dinner and drinks! Woo hoo!”

Sound familiar?

I think it’s a challenge, coming up with non-food rewards, both for ourselves and our kids. I mean, Max is certainly easier than me… I’m not quite as entertained by a new Hot Wheels as he is. But I want to raise him thinking outside of food as reward, to set him up with good habits for the rest of his life.

So I’ve compiled this list of non-food reward ideas, whether it’s for hitting a weight loss goal, or just holding yourself to something that might be a challenge.

Under $10.00

Fun new nail polish or lip gloss
Some delicious smelling lotion
Get your eyebrows done
Some new songs to inspire your workout
Cute new socks, or some of those really nice high tech workout ones
New hair clip or headband

$10-25.00

Manicure or Pedicure (or both!)
A new t-shirt that fits better than your old ones
Fab new piece of jewelry; something fun and on-trend
Your favorite movie on DVD/digital copy
A round of mini golf with the family
New makeup

$25-50.00

Some cute new flats or sandals
Date night with the spouse!
Send yourself flowers
Massage
Trip to the blow out bar
New workout wear

$50.00 or more

Haircut and color
Fab new jeans
Get fitted and buy new bras
Spa day with massage AND facial
Day at the amusement park
A photoshoot
New sunglasses
A romantic weekend away

I’m also a fan of cumulative rewards; like adding $10 to my Amazon account every 3 lbs or something, so that it will build up over time… I have lots of things I want that are pretty expensive, what with the photography hobby and all. I keep an ongoing list on Amazon, so if I hit a goal, I can easily order something based on the price/reward level I’m looking at. (Like 40 lbs lost gets a bigger reward than “I worked out 4 times this week!” does) I add stuff as I think of it, or as I come across it, so I can jog my own memory. If you want to take a look, you can find my list right here. (It’s a big list, yes. I like options!)

What are some of your favorite non-food rewards for progress? How do you stay inspired and motivated on your journey?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating in the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. All opinions are my own. I am also a Shaklee distributor. The link to Amazon is an affiliate link.

Thursday #270

June 14, 2013

Death Star Pinata – Star Wars Birthday Party

June 13, 2013

This is the fourth (and final) post in the ones about Max’s Star Wars 5th birthday party!

You can read the first three here: Party Overview | Themed Food | Costumes

Because what’s a party without a pinata, aimirite?

I hadn’t done paper mache since junior high or so, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me! I just used the old flour and water and stoeln-from-parents-newspaper method, and it worked out great!

We started with a beach ball and did 6-8 layers of paper over it, letting each layer dry in between. (I actually tried doing one using one of those punch ball balloon things, but it popped and was very sad when it did. Also, it wasn’t really round.)

So I was in charge of the mache-ing department, but Jamie totally took over the decorating it part.

I alternated where I started each layer as well, because it gets really thick where all those end pile up, so I’d do a layer, let it dry, randomly rotate it and start another layer… it isn’t all that scientific of a thing, but I did want to pay attention to my overall roundness.

Because I made this over the course of several weeks, I’d store my flour and water mixture in the fridge. Protip: If you do the same, dump off the water that separates to the top, and replace with nice warm tap water. Takes off the shock of fridge-cold water!

Once I had my nice paper mache’d ball, we had to set about turning it into the Death Star!

Step one is the indented part. Jamie used a hole saw to cut that out for me. (You’ll notice it goes around the spigot for inflating the beach ball:

Now this is a kinda weird part.

It’s time to situate the hanging hardware and then fill it!

Drill a hole in the top of the sphere, keeping mind where the indented part should be. Then we used paracord and a few circles of scrap wood to create a thing to hold it up. 2 circles of the wood with holes in the middle, then a stick to hold the paracord that ran through the holes, then out and out the top. I’m totally not explaining it well, but I hope you get it! Basically, you want a larger surface area to distribute the weight, instead of a single spot. Nothing worse than a pinata falling down before anyone gets to take a whack at it!

Once it’s filled, use a couple more layers of paper mache to seal up the hole!

This is where I handed the project of to Jamie… he had a vision, and I’d only get in the way.

A couple coats of primer happens to be just the right color grey…

Then he used a brush and black paint to start adding the details…Prepped for the final coat of darker grey spray paint:

And then we’re done!

But wait! There’s more! (I feel like the infomercial guy)

I don’t have a category on my blog called “My Ridiculous Husband” for no reason. He had 2 concerns; how would we HIT this awesome pinata we’d made, and how would we blindfold the kids while they took their swings, and still stay in theme. (Because of COURSE this is a concern!)

His solutions? A lightsaber and a blasting helmet shield, of course!

“Oh, sure!” I think, “We can spray paint a broomstick for the lightsaber! That’ll be cute!”

He looks at me like I’ve spouted a second nose. Shakes his head and goes into the garage.

And about 20 minutes later, comes back in with this:

Because of course he did. Yes, he turned a lightsaber handle on the lathe.

So, he did end up using a broomstick that was spraypainted, but he added this little bonus as well. (It has since been cut down so Max can use it to practice his baseball swing; multitaking!)

And the last little detail, the blindfold for the pinata hitting Jedis. Well, how was Luke Skywalker trained? With a blasting shield that covered his eyes of course! “Find me a cheap helmet!” Jamie said! And so I did. Thanks Amazon, you have everything!

And I came home from work one day to find this:

And as for the pinata?

They killed it.

So that’s it for Max’s amazing 5th birthday Star Wars party! He says he wants Angry Birds next year… we’ll see what happens!

Dressing the Part – Star Wars Birthday Party

June 12, 2013

This is the third post about Max’s Star Wars birthday party; you can read the first two here: Party Overview | Themed Food

We have a great group of friends if for no other reason, they love to get into the theme of a party! Our best friends all showed up to the party decked out in Star Wars themed shirts they’d bought just for the occasion!

We wanted to have more than just t-shirts people happened to wear, so we decided to make Jedi robes and Princess Leia headbands for everyone who wanted them!
The Jedi robes are ridiculously easy. Just a large rectangle of craft felt, with a slit cut up the front for the lapels on the front. Another piece for the belt and you’re done!
I made all of mine 36×72, because it was the easiest, and then we had scissors on hand to cut them to the right length for the kids who wanted to wear them.
If I was a) Better with a sewing machine or B) Had access to a serger, I probably would have just made these out of plain broadcloth. The felt was a little warm in the sun, so they didn’t go over as well as I’d hoped. But I got the felt on crazy good sale, so it wasn’t a big deal!

The party was on a Sunday, and on about Tuesday I had this idea. I’d seen it on Pinterest, but the original blog post it was pinned from was gone, so I was pretty much on my own to get these put together. I managed to make 10 of them in just a couple of hours, and they turned out pretty cute!

Things you need for the headbands:

Headbands, of course! I bought these plain craft headbands on Amazon and spray painted them, but you could probably find brown ones elsewhere, if you have more time to look than I did.
Brown yarn I spent a bunch of time looking for a really thick, chunky yarn, but it was all so expensive, I just bulked up with multiple strands of the cheapy stuff instead.
Brown fun foam I used a couple of the big 11×17 sheets and had just enough to make my 10 headbands
Hot glue gun This really is the best option for the project, rather than some other glue that needs time to dry.
Masking tape
The ability to braid

Cut the fun foam into 4″ circles. You’ll need 2 circles per headband. (My husband cut out a template for me using a hole drill, but anything that’s about 4″ across will work to trace your shapes.
Cut the yarn into 36″ lengths, 18 strands per headband
Tie 9 of the strands together at the top
Use the masking tape to hold the top of the yarn while you braid all 9 strands together.
Tie off the end of the braid with another piece of yarn.
Starting in the center of the foam circle, glue the end of the braid down.
Work your way around the circle, winding and gluing the braid down as you go.
Tuck the loose end of the braid onto the back of the foam and glue it in place.
Glue 2 circles on each headband, leaving the bottom loose from the headband, to allow somewhere for the wearer’s ears to go!

Coming up next? The Death Star pinata and all that goes with it!

Feed the Jedis – Star Wars Birthday Party Food

June 11, 2013

This is the second post about Max’s Star Wars 5th birthday party… you can read the first post here.
I always love to do themed food, even if it’s something as simple as renaming a packaged snack.

Our whole menu was as follows:

HOTH DOGS
SPACE CHIPS : Doritos
DROID PARTS : Chex Mix
WOOKIEE COOKIES : Cocoa & Rice Krispy Treats
BOBA FETTUCINE : Pasta salad made with fettucine
DROID ARMY : R2D2 shaped plastic Easter eggs, stuffed with Star Wars fruit snacks
GRAPE SABERS : Grapes on a bamboo skewer, with a duct tape-covered wine cork at one end for the handle
ASTEROID PUFFS : Pirate’s Booty
JEDI JUICE : Fruit juice pouches and water

For the cake, I didn’t want to challenge myself too much to the actual execution, so we created this “AT-AT Takedown” scene. The cake itself is just a lemon cake (Max’s request) with white frosting to go with the frozen tundra of Hoth.

We topped it with a LEGO A-Wing fighter (yes, we know it’s technically the wrong ship!) and put an AT-AT Walker model behind it, with wire wrapped around its legs, recreating a famous scene in The Empire Strikes Back.

Read the party overview post here: Star Wars Birthday Party and come back next week for tutorials on specific projects!

Turning 5 Max is – Star Wars Birthday Party

June 10, 2013

Shortly after Halloween, our family chats turn to Max’s birthday party. We always spend a bunch of time his costume, so as soon as that’s done, our interests turn to his shindig in April.

I’m not sure who was more excited when he made his “Star Wars” request… me or Jamie.

I instantly thought of all the cool crafty stuff I could do, and Jamie instantly thought STAR WARS!

So once we started brainstorming (read: searching Pinterest) things quickly got crazy, but in the very best way.

I’ll be posting tutorials for a couple of the specific elements, but here’s the round-up of all things Star Wars from Max’s 5th birthday party!

I first need to thank my friend Emily, who came and photographed most of the party action shots! It was SO nice to just be able to enjoy the party, instead of worrying about getting everything documented, both for my readers and for Max! If you ever have a chance to hand off photographer duties at an event like this, I can’t recommend it highly enough!

We planned several activities for the kids, but I really didn’t expect much from them once they got access to the lightsabers we made for them. (Spoiler alert: I was right)

First off, to get everyone into the right look, we had Jedi robes and Princess Leia headbands available for anyone who wanted them.

The robes were super simple to make just a rectangle of felt, that measured about 36″ x 72″ I cut a slit halfway up the middle, to make the front of the robe. A lighter color of felt for the belt, and we were all set! It was ridiculously warm on party day, so they didn’t get worn for very long, but most of them went home to dress up boxes, so I consider that a win!

I got the idea for the Leia headbands on Pinterest, but was unable to find the original post the pin had come from, so I had to wing it. I think they turned out pretty cute!

We had a Darth Vader mask and attached it to an old playground ball. We balanced the ball (Vader head) on Max’s tee ball tee, and kids could take a whack at it to defend the rebel base.

I had pinned this LEGO ornament tutorial some time ago, and had tie fighter kits pre-made for all the kids. It was a great challenge for the older kids, and several of my co-workers were thrilled to get their own little tie fighters as well.

This was the first time we had a pinata at Max’s birthday… we made our own Death Star pinata, and fiiled it with candy like always, but I also found Angry Birds Star Wars stickers and buttons, which Max was thrilled about.

And last, but certainly not least, we made lightsabers.
Nothing more than a pool noodle cut in half and decorated with duct tape, they were the runaway hit of the party. Hands down.
Jamie and I had done “extensive testing” of these things, to make sure that we weren’t really arming the kids with something that could hurt them or others. Jamie and I both hit each other as hard as we could, and it was just a minor smarting… pool noodles really are great for this use!

Admittedly, it turned into a lot of kids chasing grown-ups around, but everyone had a great time while doing it!

Come back tomorrow to see what we fed our hungry Jedis!

Through fresh eyes

June 6, 2013

It’s no secret that I’ve been losing weight.
I still have trouble seeing it sometimes, though. I mean, I feel my pants getting looser, I SEE the size 12 on the tag instead of the 16.
But I don’t necessarily see the changes when I look in the mirror.
I know that I’m wearing clothes that didn’t fit, or didn’t look as good on me a few months ago.
But I still don’t always see it.
Sometimes, you need to look at things from a different perspective.

My friend Ava, from Zemya Photography, has pretty much been our go-to photographer for a couple of years. She’s done our family portraits and my original blog headshots.
When she put out a call for “models” on Facebook, I mentioned that I was interested. I knew I had this blog redesign coming up, and was hoping to get a new profile pic out of the deal, maybe.

She wanted to test out a new location and some poses that she’d read about, so I was going to be her guinea pig for an afternoon, while she worked out the kinks and made a decision about the location.

“I can do that,” I thought.

My only wardrobe requirements were “more form-fitting than loose” and “nothing red” Easy. I put on my size 12 jeans, and my new size medium t-shirt, and headed out to meet her.

We did a fun little shoot, in the lobby of building, of all places.

And a few days later she sent me the images.

I flipped through them, and then again.

And suddenly, I saw what the world sees.

So thank you, Ava, for allowing me to see myself through fresh eyes.

If you’re in the Bay Area and are looking for a photographer, I can’t recommend Ava highly enough! This post isn’t compensated, but I did get the photos in exchange for modeling for her. But truly; find her on Facebook and her blog!

Thursday #269

June 6, 2013

I don’t know which I love more; the popped collar or the lopsided smile.

Heart Healthy Recipe – Chicken Jalapeno Poppers #TSM350

June 4, 2013

CB-sponsored-post-white-600 There are some things I really love about where we live, and one of them is that there’s a Lucky Super Market just a few blocks away. When it’s a gorgeous day, we often walk as a family to the store to our shopping together, and with weather like we had this last weekend, it as the perfect time! I needed to pick up a few things because I had an idea for turning one of our favorite junk foods into a more heart healthy version, and tailgating in honor of the #TSM350 race up in Sonoma seemed like the perfect excuse! You can see our whole shopping excursion album here on G+.

One not-so-good snack that I love is jalapeno poppers. Deep fried cream cheese with the spicy kick of a pepper? What’s not to love? Besides all that fat and calories, of course. We’ve been doing a lot of experimenting lately, in our efforts to eat healthier, and I really loved the idea of making these into something that wasn’t quite so junky.

Rather than deny myself the deliciousness, I just made a few changes, and turned them into Grilled Chicken Jalapeno Poppers instead! Yum. Our version takes them from the 230 calorie per serving frozen ones, to about 175 calories (per 3 poppers). And since we added chicken instead of just cheese, so they could even be an entree, since the protein is there!

When you’re choosing jalapenos for this, you’ll want to pick the biggest ones you can, to really get the best bites (or should I say “pop”?) out of it.

The rest of the shopping list is pretty straightforward; one thing is to pick up neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese; it has about 30% fewer calories, and tastes pretty much the same. It takes incredibly little sacrifice to replace that ingredient without really sacrificing anything! I do not, however, recommend using reduced fat shredded cheese. It just doesn’t melt as well as the regular stuff. But with the other calories we’re savings, it’s pretty much a wash in the end.

What you need:

10 jalapeno peppers, sliced lenghtwise, seeds and pith (the white stuff) scraped out
Disposable gloves (I alwayse wear gloves when working with peppers! Have you ever wiped your eye after cutting jalapenos?)
1-1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. neufchatel cheese
2/3 c. shredded cheese (Cheddar, or a mixed variety, your choice!) [ 1/3 for the filling, 1/3 for sprinkling on top]
Mexican Seasoning
Salt & Pepper

Season and cook the whole chicken breasts. We grilled them because we always grill whenever we can, and they’re more delicious that way! Boiling works too, as does baking. We just used a little salt and pepper on our breasts before cooking.

While still warm, shred the chicken.

I’m hoping you’ve seen the Pinterest sensation that is the “Kitchen Aid chicken trick,” but in case you haven’t, allow me to show you!

It totally works. That’s about 30-40 seconds on medium speed. (And it’s LIFECHANGING!)

So, shred your chicken. Leave it a little chunkier than you might think, because it’ll shred more in the next step:

Add the Mexican seasoning and the cheeses, and turn the mixer back on. You want to be careful here, because it can turn into chicken paste pretty quickly if you let it!

Now your filling is ready to go into your peppers! I find using my gloved hands is the easiest, most efficient way to get this done… Just put a pinchful or so and pack it down. You can mound it up a little above the pepper’s edges if you want, that’s fine.

Now, if you’re going somewhere with these babies, you can stop here. Take your shredded cheese with you, and top them right before you put them on the grill… makes the whole thing less messy and SUPER easy to transport!

Once you’re near the grill, it’s easy to sprinkle a little cheese on top and put them on a hot grill for 6-7 minutes.

The outsides of the peppers get charred, but that’s part of what makes them DELICIOUS!

So next time you’re craving these from your local quick service restaurant, you can throw these together instead!

Overheard in the Twitter stream for #Blogher13

May 31, 2013

“I’m really nervous about #Blogher13 you guys. I’m SO socially awkward!”

“Going to #Blogher13 for the first time, and totally nervous. #SociallyAwkward”

“I get really awkward around big groups of people. #Blogher13″

“There are 5000 people at #Blogher13. I’ll be the biggest loner there. #Shy”

Get the picture?

We are ALL socially awkward. In our own minds.

My theory? I think it’s why we’re drawn to this blogging thing; these online communities where we control the environment. We have a moment to think before we “speak,” and are less likely to spout off something that, we realize later, was really weird/unfunny/rude/random.

How many times have you written out a Tweet, or commented on a Facebook post, or a blog post, or an email, and then deleted it? Held down the backspace key until several lines of your thoughts disappeared in the path of that left-bound cursor? Me? I can’t count that high.

I think I’m pretty funny sometimes (hello, blog title) but often worry too, about how I come across online. I am a sassy, sarcastic kind of girl, and often think twice before posting something that I wouldn’t even hesitate to say if we were face-to-face. It’s why I think I completely overuse “LOL.” So people know I’m kidding.

But anyway, back to the socially awkward thing.

No, you aren’t.

It’s in your head. I actually had a conversation with someone recently (with whom, I cannot recall) but it was someone I had met online, and we were meeting in person for the first time.

“I hate small talk,” I said. “I’m terrible at it. I’m…” you see this coming, right? “totally socially awkward. If I don’t know everyone at a party, I’m really uncomfortable and tend to gravitate towards the food table, just so I can shove food in my face if someone tries to strike up a conversation.”
She just did that thing where she looked at me and kind of blinked. “No, you aren’t.”
I realized then, that she was right!

By opening myself up and forcing myself through it, I’m not as awkward as *know* I was.

Blogging has enhanced my life in so many ways, and this is just one.

So Blogher newbies, here are a few tips that I’ll go ahead and suggest to make your conference experience the best it can be (Disclaimer: These are the things I tell myself and/or do for myself… you may have different results. I’ll give you your money back if these don’t work for you!) You just might find that some of these things leak over into your “real” life as well!

“Is this seat taken?” is your friend! See a spot at a table in a session or meal? Go for it! Worst case, person is saving seat for a friend, so you move on. I promise, NO ONE will punch you for wanting to sit down.
Business cards are the best opening line ever. Once you’ve used tip #1, and had a seat at the table, pull out your cards and say, “Have we already swapped cards?” and then start passing them, Vegas dealer-style, around the table. Seriously. As you collect the cards from your tablemates, take a moment to look at them; you never know when you might be sitting across from someone you “know” or admire! At Blogher11, a random person sat across from me at lunch, spilled her coffee all over the table, and then sat down. Introduced herself and handed out her cards. I looked at it; “OMG, Oh yeah you! You’re @OhYeah_Her!” It turned out we had been chatting on Twitter for ages before we met in San Diego. You never know who you’ll run into!
The “big” bloggers are still bloggers. Don’t be intimidated. Yes, I felt like a dork telling Jenny Lawson how much I adored her. But I also had Jill Smokler sit across the table from her without having any idea who she was, and she talked about how worried she was that no one would come to her session. (It was JAMMED, BTW. People sitting on the floor jammed) And you know what else? Someone said that she was excited to meet ME! Me?!?! Yup. Something I’d written had resonated with her, and she wanted to thank me in person. There’s something to be said for that.
Ignore the drama. I assume you like me until you give me a reason to think otherwise. This makes most of my personal interactions far more pleasant, and have found that it works well to avoid the craziness and drama that can happen in large groups. I literally had 2 less than totally positive first impressions of people at Blogher11, and one of those people I now consider a dear friend.
Consider what you’re wearing. No, I’m not talking about jeans vs. business casual vs. heels vs. sneakers vs. yoga pants. There is no “right” way to dress at Blogher. The only thing I’ll suggest? Wear something you feel GREAT in. Self-confidence makes up for a lot when you’re in potentially challenging situations, and walking into a room feeling your best? You’re already ahead of the game! Some people have a signature “look” that they rock for the duration of the conference, some feel best in jeans and flats (I think I’d recommend against jeans; isn’t it hot and humid in Chicago during the summer?) Me? I’ll be playing it by ear. Probably mostly dresses and skirts for me, since they’re comfortable and I think I look cute in them. But if you prefer slacks? DO IT.
Most important: Don’t overthink it! Just have fun. You’ll have opportunities to meet more brands, and more bloggers, and learn more than you would have thought possible. Of the 5000 people at the conference this year, I can promise that you are not the only one who is feeling anxious and awkward about the whole experience.

Blogher11 changed my life. <– Changed. My. Life. And it can change yours, too.
I made amazing friends, formed an incredible support network, and eventually found a career doing what I love, all because I left my comfort zone and went to the conference. (Also? Had a BLAST!)

When in doubt, just look for me, and I’ll be friendly!
I’m 6′ tall with a red streak in my hair. Hard to miss.