Reminisce DT call 2009

Reminisce DT call 2009

Here are my submissions for the design team call. I have included many of my Reminisce layouts, cards, projects and mini albums on the slide show. This is my latest project. I found this divided wooden box at a garage sale. It was ugly!! It was plain wood and had some really outdated ribbon on it. I decided to make it into a fall center piece/napkin/salt/pepper holder. I painted it in brown and green and distressed it a bit. I then used paper and stickers as well as these foil leaves to decorate the outside of the box. I also put paper and ribbon the salt and pepper. I covered chipboard with paper and then ribbon and the foil leaves to make the adorable napkin rings. I cannot wait to use this for Thanksgiving and throughout the fall. I love these colors.

Playground

The time is here. One year ago I headed up a committee to raise money for new playground equipment in our town park. What we had was old, out dated, and not safe. So, with my committee of 8 in place we began raising money and our goal was 100,000!! Well, we successfully made our goal in July (much sooner then we had anticipated) and ordered our equipment in August. So, today and tomorrow is the community build. We have many volunteers lined up (we still need more if you are available) and as a community we will spend the day creating this amazing new park for our town. I cannot wait to post pictures. Trust me, I will be taking plenty!!

Scrapfest

Well, this is the second year I have had the privilege of going to Scrapfest and working at the Reminisce booth. It is something I look forward to doing. This year didn't start off so well, but overall the rest of the weekend went great. We originally were to have four people going to do the booth and then Andria was there to do the classes. Two of the four ended up with medical issues that prevented them from coming. One of those was my good friend Stephanie so needless to say I was very bummed that she was not going to be able to come. So, Shelly and I headed out and decided we would make the very best of it and we did. Working at the booth was fun but very busy all three days. I then also helped Andria with her jungle safari class all three days. The album is so cute, I will have to post some pictures. We stayed at the Embassy Suites which is a very nice hotel. We ate really good food and even got some shopping in!! I also got to see two of my college friends, Ann and Corrie, who live in the cities so that was a treat as well. I was very tired when I arrived home at 10pm on Sunday but it was all worth it. I definitely missed the family, but it seems like they all survived just fine with out me! I will have to gear up for next year!!!

My Story

It all started in February of 2008. I had my routine yearly physical with my doctor. I stepped on the scale only to notice the number to go higher then it ever has for me, 158lbs. I left there that day knowing I needed to make some changes in m life. I talked with Dale and we started shopping for a recumbent bike and I tried to watch what I was eating. We bought a bike and I tried to exercise when I found the time (which wasn’t real regular). By April I had lost 5lbs, but it seemed like no matter what I tried, I couldn’t lose any more. With the encouragement of a new co-worker of mine I decided to join a local Weight Watchers group and this is one of the best decisions, in terms of my physical health, that I have made in a very long time. I joined on May 5th and weighed in at 153lbs. I knew for me that just watching what I ate was not going to be enough, I needed to get in a good exercise routine. Dale and I watch the show the Biggest Loser and I am always motivated by the amount of exercise they do and how the ones that really lose the weight become runners, so I decided if I was going to do this I needed to give running a try. I started waking up at 5am and started running. Shortly after I started running I saw that Marengo would be having a 5K run on August 23rd. With that in mind I made some goals. I decided that I would run in that 5K and I would be at my goal weight with WW by then. I was working at running and also doing weight training and I began to fall in love. I found myself day dreaming about my next run. I would wake up excited in the morning to go for my run. These were feelings I had never experienced before when it came to exercising and I have NEVER enjoyed running. I dreaded having to run laps in gym class!!
On July 26th I ran a 5k distance on my morning run and I felt great about it. Unfortunately, as the day wore on my left foot was not feeling so great. The short story is that I had tendonitis and it took 3 weeks before I was able to run again. It was very painful and even more discouraging that I had found a routine and found something I enjoyed but had to stop doing it. I rode my bike to keep the exercise going but it just wasn’t the same. One week before the 5K I was able to start running again and I ran in the Marengo 5K on August 23rd. It was a very hot and humid morning, but I did it. It was a great run and I crossed the finish line, that was all I cared about.
Throughout all of this, I was losing weight each week as I stepped on the scale at the Weight Watchers meeting. I was learning great tips each week at the meetings and found myself looking forward to each meeting.
On Monday, September 8th, 4 months after joining weight watchers, I became a life time member by meeting and maintaining my goal weight. I am thrilled to say that I have lost a total (since my doctors appointment in February) of 25lbs. I am at 133lbs today and have never felt better!!

More pics

I have a few more pictures of Jackson that I took that I want to share. He is so precious.