No meat, no dairy, no eggs

I have tried many things over the years to lose weight.  No carbs--which worked until it didn't.  Calorie counting, because as most of us that have struggled with weight know, the golden rule of dieting is to take in fewer calories that you use in a day.  I have done that for more times than I can count just to get frustrated, quit, and quickly spiral back into bad eating habits.  I have been mostly vegetarian lately, with the occasional meal with meat.

So I have been looking into different lifestyles, not just diets.  I am a firm believer that if you are dieting just for the weight loss, it won't get you anywhere.  Changing your lifestyle is what has to happen if real change is going to work.  I have read a lot about different diets and ways of eating, this is my latest read:

I am not close to finished with it, but I have finished enough of it to know that it makes enough sense to me to give it a go and see what happens...  For those of you that don't know--and didn't get it from the title, being vegan means no meat, dairy (milk/cheese), or eggs.  Anything that had a mother or comes from an animal.  I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

The Great Divide

Read this on Pinterest and it couldn't be more true.

This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find … themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults.

Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. … they mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.  Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck.

Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal.  Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? … Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?”  Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love, and with people who believe … life is a grand adventure. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path.

Sunday Morning

I usually use Sunday mornings to organize myself for the week and sometimes start/finish some creative projects.  I posted this quote a few weeks ago that my yoga teacher read to us.  It makes me cry almost every time I read it.  The meaning becomes more and more apparent to me everyday and I would love to have it hanging somewhere in my house.  I made it into two prints to frame and hang somewhere I can see it daily to remind me to be present.  To remind me that however bad the day might be someone during that bad day gained confidence from my presence, and that's what is important.

Alyssa's Baby Shower

It was a very busy week at work so I am just getting around to posting this...  

Here's the invite, I actually didn't make these, Angie did.  We went with a nautical theme because that's what the little guy's nursery will be.

We did a photo booth for Angie's shower and it was really fun, so I made this anchor as a prop for the photo booth.  We also got some sailor hats for people to wear.

Fab 5 in front of the anchor

We ended up hanging the anchor with some burlap twine, which I quickly became a fan of after this project, it's really strong and looks really cute.

I was in charge of dessert, per usual :) I decided to make Chai Latte Cupcakes because Alyssa is a fan of Chai and its a recipe that I have been wanting to test out for a while so it was the perfect opportunity.  To make these nautical, I made them into boats!

I was having so much fun being creative that I couldn't resist posting this to Instagram, even though the shower theme/details were a surprise for the Mama to Be. 

I started with lollypop sticks that I had left over from the cake pops at Amy's baby shower.  I used cute polka dot scrapbook paper cut into triangles, I punched two holes in each, thread the stick through and tied a red bow at the bottom.

24+ sails for cupcakes...

I also found these cute cupcake wrappers at TJ Maxx of all places, they were too cute to pass up!

These are the water bottle wraps that I designed.  I really like these because they are so easy, once you have the dimensions that you need you can change these up for any occasion.  Being so simple they really pull things together on a drink or food table and I think they look so much better than naked water bottles :)

Up next, favors...  We found a cute idea on Pinterest of using the mint flavored life savors as life preservers for a favor.  So we decided to use just normal snack size ziploc bags and I created a topper to staple on.

I am really proud of these because to challenge myself I created the chevron and striped patterns all on my own.  I couldn't really find any images that I liked online so I just went for it...

Banner!  I really liked the banner I made for Angie's Shower so I had to make one for Alyssa... I used the same stripes and chevron that I used on the favor bags.

We used the same burlap twine that we used to hang the anchor, keeping to the theme.

I made these boats for decoration, we ended up hanging some over the table with burlap twine, but of course I failed to get pictures of it!

For a game we decided on something that we could do as the shower happened.  We gave everyone bracelets with little blue pins on it, if you said the word baby, and someone caught you they got to take your pin.  At the end of the shower the person with the most pins got a prize!

I think it was a success!

We're so excited for Baby Kaldahl to join the Fab 5 Baby Club!  Can't wait to meet you soon kiddo!

Sunday Yoga

I swear by the yoga class I go to on Sundays.  I literally plan my whole day around making it to that class.  It's the perfect way to reset for the week and I find it both hard work and and entirely relaxing at the same time.

A few weeks ago the instructor Penny, read the following and it really touched me, I might have shed a tear or two on my mat before class even started.  I thought I would share it with my faithful blog readers (all 5 of you), enjoy:

Today, may you find happiness by thinking about how “lucky” you are… to simply be WHO you are, WHERE you are, and WHEN you are. 

Stop trying to make so much sense of things! Stop predicating the present and the future upon what has been, or even what appears “to be”. The props of your life are just props; FICTIONAL. You are NOT at the mercy of the past, the present, or the future . . . logic, reason, or rationales . . . 

YOU, are a Being of Light for whom all things remain possible, and there are no caveats to this truth. There are NO caveats to this truth. 

Do you have any idea who you really are? Do you have any idea of your affect on others? Do you know what it’s like to be touched by you? To be held in your glance? To be smiled upon by you? Do you even know what it’s like to brush up along side of you in the streets? To see you from a distance? Up close? Do you know what it’s like to see you approaching? Do you know what it’s like to watch you walk away? Do you know what it does for someone when they realize that you’ve been thinking of them? 

No, you don’t. Your insights, beauty, strength, courage and humility change lives everyday, and you don’t even know it. It’s especially sad, because those you touch think you know, so they might not remind you. 

Well since you don’t know it, and since others may not tell you, let me. YOU are a light in the darkness. A bringer of the dawn. Your touch heals, your gaze inspires, and your smile is like cool water to parched lips. The sight of you stirs confidence, and your shadow even, comfort. Your arrival quickens one’s spirit, and your departure is always too soon. Your profoundly unique journey has been one-of-a-kind, and its yielded compassion and insights as rare as yourself – gifts that sparkle like a diamond in the sun. 

You are a pillar, an icon, and a champion to those who know you, and to those who wish they did. Your affect on the world, TODAY, as you are, when you are you, is AWESOME. Shine your light, because while your significance may sometimes escape you… it changes others forever. 

– Author unknown