On the Road to Fitness

Per the doctors suggestion and with my husbands 30th birthday party only 22 days away I am putting my diet and fitness into overtime. Currently I am doing physical therapy 1 x week (a little background info: I have been struggling with chronic back pain for the past 10 years. Since March 2012 I have been in so much pain that I decided to get to the bottom of the cause. Long story short I have two herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, and arthritis in the spinal joints all in my lower back.). I go to the gym three days a week doing a very light workout.

I downloaded My Fitness Pal onto my phone. Its a great tool for tracking the foods you eat and making calorie counting super easy. My daily allowance is 1,370 calories. I am still getting used to such a reduced calorie diet...one meal at a time LOL. Trust me there are days when I go over, but I really really try my hardest to stay at my limit!

I am going to start posting about my diet, recipes, and workouts over the next few weeks. If my readers are liking it and want to continue reading then I may post about this topic long term.

For those of you like me that are dealing with back injuries, chronic back pain, and post-op back surgery patients, if you have more questions about my medical struggles please shoot me a comment or email me... I would love to hear your stories as well.

Wordless Wednesday / DIY Eye Candy

 

 

While at Barnes and Noble I checked out the magazine section and found these amazing items.

 



 

Product Links:

 

A Beautiful Mess - Fine Grains

Mel Designs

The Ruby Nest - Original Art and Dolls

Canfolk By Kristen Sunby

 

 

 

Quick and Easy DIY Jewelry

This post is in connection with my Just Can't Seem to Craft.

I was finally able to create something distraction free - well almost distraction free (aka a 2 year old and her shenanigans).

 



I made these sterling silver and shell earrings and a silver and turquoise beaded bar necklace.

Pinned It / Tried It -

Pinned It / Tried it - Jello & Canned Pineapple

Charm and Poise

Drain juice from a can of Sliced Pineapple
Replace with Jello made with 1/2 of the water required on pkg.
Chill until set.
Run hot water on can sides & bottom to loosen.
Cut bottom from can to punch mold out.
Cut between pineapple slices & serve.

I used sugar free strawberry Jello. I did not read the directions about using 1/2 the water so mine was a fail (as far as the form and slicing) it still tasted delicious.

Here is my finished product:

 

I am definitely going to try this again and actually follow the directions :)

Just Can't Seem to Craft

Over the past two weeks every time I sit down to craft I just can't seem to get into it. I think its like writers block, so in an attempt to get my butt in gear I am going to randomly choose an inspiration piece from one of my pinterest boards.

I am going to pick something from my Jewelry Board. I want a jewelry piece that wouldn't take too long and get the creative juices flowing.

Here are the ideas I am going to pick from:

Via Tumblr

Wine Cork Charms from Lavender Clouds

Heart Pendant Necklace from Everyday Life at Leisure



 

I will post some pictures of the process and the reveal of which piece I chose as my inspiration.

Check out the quick and easy jewelry I ended up making: http://house-of-diy.blogspot.com/2013/05/quick-and-easy-diy-jewelry.html

Getting Connected

I never thought starting a new blog would require so much time. I guess I never considered how much my blog and social media have grown over the past year.

I have been hard at work getting my facebook, twitter, instagram, and blog all connected. I wanted to make sure that I am following all the great blogs and the people that run them through all forms of social media.

If you stop by and I haven't posted in a couple days its because I am hard at work making this blog the best it can be.

Quick and Easy Mom Fashion

I am always trying to pinpoint my fashion point of view...what little one I have between fighting with my teen daughter, changing diapers, and keeping up on my household duties. (I am hoping you moms out there can relate, that some days I am lucky to just get out of my pjs let alone look fashionable)

I picked up a great khaki jacket at the Goodwill for about 6.99. The great think about a jacket/ blazer is it can be worn through multiple seasons by simply changing the layers - long sleeve for winter, short sleeve or tank top for warmer weather.

NOTE: When I want to step out of my fashion comfort zone I choose to go to the Goodwill or a thrift store because I can get pieces for under $10.00, and if I don't like it I don't feel bad scraping it.

I paired the jacket with a long sleeve solid colored shirt and jeans. To dress this outfit up a added a scarf bow, large earrings, boots, and brown / gold makeup. Pops of color and patterns are easy to add when done with smaller items i.e. scarf, jewelry, purse, belt or shoes.