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Hello, my friends!

I’m seriously busting my buttons while working on this post.  If you’ve followed my blog for awhile you know that I truly LOVE punch art.  I love all the fun things that I see when I look at the fun punch designs and just the endless possibilities that they provide. It’s like I said at the Baltimore Regionals….You should think about punches as a “staple” in your wardrobe…they are capable of creating SO much more than just their regular shape.

Another thing you probably know about me is that I LOVE Disney.  I have LOVED creating punch art Disney Princess Dresses and I have really appreciated all your support (and orders).  Well, tonight I’m adding to the Princess Punch Art line.  Cinderella, Snow White and Belle have made room in the royal court for…..(drumroll)…..

MULAN

Here’s my latest design….

I can’t tell you just how good it feels to be back and creating again.  Ahhhhhh…
I absolutely love the “Happy Day” stamp set.  I know for sure that it’s going to see lots of “ink time”.  Let me show you the card I created today with it.

I used two of the new In Colors…Coastal Cabana and Strawberry Slush.  One of the not so obvious treasures in the catalog (in my opinion) are the Designer Paper Stacks.  All of the paper used on this card are from the In Color Paper Stack (#130136).  What’s great about them is that each of the colors has 4 different patterns all in the same pack.  I love them.

Here are the stamps that are in the “Happy Day” stamp set…

They come in three sizes and absolutely make your envelopes “pop”.  They were definitely on my “Gotta Have It” list when the New Holiday Catalog came out.  (#132172)

 

So I decided today on my wog that I was going to write this post.  Today’s wog (to be absolutely honest) sucked out loud.  I’m going to write about my journey thus far but I preface it by saying that it hasn’t always been sunshine and happiness.  It’s been hard.  Really hard sometimes.  Today my legs felt like Jell-o and I was sore like WHOAH.  But I made it home and I’m incredibly proud of myself for not giving up.  So here’s my story.  The good…the bad…and the jiggly.

Ok, so some of you have asked about my Facebook statuses regarding “wogging”.  Wogging is what I call my walks/jogs.   When Brittany got engaged last year I kept thinking to myself, “I will NOT be the biggest mother of the bride EVER at my daughter’s wedding”.  I wanted to lose weight and just feel better in my own skin.  Now I had gradually put on weight year after year and had hit an all time high of 252 pounds.  Yep….252.  That’s keeping it as real as I can people.  I used to be so secretive about how much I weighed….like saying it made some HUGE difference.  What the heck???  People could SEE I was huge.  THAT’S not exactly a secret.  I found out that once I just said it out loud a few times, it sort of took the fear out of it and made me feel like I was taking ownership of it.

Well….like most things in life I found myself just a few short months away from the wedding and time seemed to be speeding along.  There I sat….no weight loss.  I kept thinking things like “once it warms up I’ll get outside and walk” or “once things slow down I’ll have more time to exercise”.  Yeah, right.
We all know that things NEVER really slow down and we all should stay active…warm or cold…sunny or rainy.  So I decided I was done.  I was taking back my body.  I joined Weight Watchers just to get a starting point and have some accountability.  I had tried other “diets” and they never worked.  I knew that what WW talks about (a lifestyle change) was not a bunch of BS.  It truly is about changing the way you eat and the way you live.  I am NOT an expert….I’m not even really too smart about all things “nutrition and fitness”…I just know what’s been working for me.

I started walking.  Just walking.  I took along my iPhone and I had an app that would measure the distance and time.  I’d listen to music while I walked.  When I started I struggled to go ONE mile.  It sucked out loud.  No lie.  It would take me about 21 minutes to do it and it wasn’t pretty.  I was relentless.  I went when I felt good….I went when I felt like crap.  I went when it was sunny….I went when it drizzled.  I made myself do it.  At first I grumbled and I thought I should just give up.  After all I was 250 pounds! 

Long story short….I didn’t quit.  I kept going out there and slowly the weight  started coming off.  I wasn’t going to WW on a regular basis.  I really figured out the amount of food I could eat….feel satisfied…and still lose weight.  It just started to click.  After awhile I was up to 3 miles!!  My times were getting faster and I didn’t dread it.  I was actually starting to look forward to that time of the day.  Mike started to come along sometimes and we loved being able to just have time to be together and chat.  It was GREAT.

One day my friend, Stephanie came over for a stamp camp.  Now Steph is a runner.  She’s done half marathons!!  WOW!  She said, “You know you should sign up for a 5K.  You’re already going the distance.  Why not?”  I laughed out loud!!  A 5K!  Are you kidding me?  She and her husband had already decided that they were signing up for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon this November.  She said that they have a 5K the day before.  She said I could walk the entire 5K and she’d do it with me.  Wow.  I never in a million years would have thought about a 5K.  Seriously?  Well….within a week I had registered for the race!!  I know, right??

Mike is SO excited for me and he is quite the cheerleader.  I’ve continued my walks and started to jog parts of them. (thus the term “Wog”).  I’m actually starting to miss it when I skip a day.  I’m doing 3.5-5 miles each time and my average pace per mile has gone from 21 minutes to between 13:50-15:00 per mile.  I can’t believe it!!  Even more unbelievable to me is that I’m jogging parts of each mile.  Me??  Jogging??  Yep!  That’s just crazy!  I’m proud of myself….and that’s a very good thing.

Now…even more awesome than that….I’ve gone from 252 pounds down to 214!  I have a long ways to go but I’m on my way.  Some days (like today) I feel crappy most of my wog.  I don’t feel like and athlete.  But…I will go back out there again tomorrow because I want to be the one that is in control of my body and NOT let the food take over again.  I honestly feel better than I ever have physically.  I have a husband who can’t stop telling me how amazing I look. (I still have a hard time believing it…another story)…and shopping for clothes is fun again.  I’ve gone from wearing a size 22 to wearing between a size 14/16.  I love having more energy and just feeling better in my own skin.

So…about the wedding.  One week ago today Brittany and Sam got married.  Yes, I was her matron of honor and YES I wore a dress that I had dreaded buying.  When I was measured earlier this year for my dress I was still huge.  When the dress came in, it was a size 24.  I wanted to throw up.  A few weeks before the wedding we went to have my dress fitted.  The seamstress had to take my dress in SEVEN INCHES!!!  WAHOO!  And I can tell you that on the day of the wedding it was still too big!  HAHAHAHAHA!  What an amazing feeling!!

I’m not writing all of this to toot my own horn.  I’m just hoping that for those of you who have asked about “what” it is that I’m doing this will help you see that YOU can really do it too.  You just have to decide to take the power back.  It’s your body and YOU are in charge.  I still eat things that I love.  I just eat less of them and I burn calories by going out and wogging.  My goal now is to be below 200 pounds by race day, November 9th.  I am enjoying the journey and I’m hopeful I will make it.  I’ll keep you posted.

Wishing you success,
Michelle

Hey there, Stampin’ Peeps!!

So….I had high hopes of posting tons of updates from Convention and it just wasn’t possible for me to do so..  I will be sharing info and photos from that awesome event with you in the coming days and weeks.  But right now I want to share some photos of the other BIG event that has been my primary focus for much of the time for the last, oh…let’s see… YEAR or so.  Brittany and Sam’s wedding.

Our daughter, Brittany, married her love, Sam this past Saturday and it was SO incredible. 
There were lots of our family and friends who came to share in the celebration and we feel SO blessed.  It did rain for a bit but there was a “break” in the weather system and the kids were able to get married outside after all.  It was SO wonderful.  Here are a few photos for you so you can get a feel for what the day was like…..

These were a few of the poses from their portraits after the ceremony.  I will be sharing all of the vendor info here on my blog for any of you who may be looking for any of the services they offer.  We had AMAZING service from absolutely ALL of our vendors and we recommend them ALL highly.

All of the photography was done by Charlotte Parish Photography in Stafford, VA.  We had Charlotte and her assistant, Mary and they were fabulous to work with.  They are online at charlotteparishphotography.com  Check them out.

Hey there, Stampers and Friends!

I’m SO stinkin’ excited!  Not only am I leaving for Stampin’ Up! Convention 2013 in just 24 hours….I am posting my very first “Suitable News for You” video.  I can’t wait to hear what you think….
Lots of info…some samples and a new technique for you.  So…Grab a tall, cold glass of your favorite drink, put your feet up and enjoy! 

Wishing you a magical day!
Michelle