The 21 Day Challenge

Eating right, working out, body issues, clothes not fitting well, feeling controlled by the sweets that beckon me...UH, I'm so sick of the worry and stress of it all! It never goes away, I'm almost never successful at sticking with a plan, and I've generally just been extremely disheartened by the difficulty these issues pose to my life. 

At probably the peek of my diet misery (this year anyway), this diet and exercise challenge was introduced to me by friend Ashley a few weeks ago.  I thought, you know this might be just what I need to get myself in gear. And so, I signed up, got the food plan via email and committed to my first ever "detox" and a very strict eating plan.  The first three days, I lost 6 pounds! Right now, I'm two weeks in and have lost a total of 9 pounds. This diet isn't sustainable long term for me, but it is completely "resetting" the way I need to view eating.  It's only a 3 week challenge, so the short term goal is motivational and doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm feeling lighter, less bloated and less guilt about my choices when I wake up in the mornings. On top of feeling better, I'm also enjoying how pretty most of my meals are. Whole foods just are more beautiful by nature. 

Here are a few that I snapped pictures of:

good food is pretty

as with most things, i really appreciate it when my food looks beautiful. and i've noticed that most whole foods are really pleasing to the eye, unlike many processed foods. although tasty, does a plate of doritos look as pretty as a piled plate of greens? no comparison! here is some of the food i'm not embarrassed to share!

we joined fair shares csa back in february and have absolutely loved it! it's pushed us out of our box, and we've been making more interesting meals and cooking with ingredients we've never used before. plus, much of the food is organic and all of it is local. fresh produce, pasta, local chips and pizzas, canned and jarred jams and fruits, local breads and cheeses and fish or meat.

 

DIY: Crinkle Tag Toy

I've been collecting these wipes bags because they are perfectly noisy for a little baby toy. Every time I have wipes in London's proximity, she tries desperately to grab the pack. She loves the noise it makes. And one of her favorite things is a Baby Einstein cloth book that crinkles. So, I wanted to make her something that gives her this pleasure, and that I'm OK with her munching on...and of course, by making it, I get to choose the fabric that makes me happy.

I've been collecting these wipes bags because they really are perfectly noisy for a little baby toy. I have way too many now, which means I need to make lots more crinkle tag toys or throw them away! I have several friends with new babies, so I should probably just get busy.

Here's how I made London's crinkle tag toy:

Cut out the hard plastic opening of the wipes bag and both ends. Now, I have a flat plastic piece to fit inside of my fabric. I turned in inside out so that the bright colors would be less likely to show through my fabric.

I chose a few different materials to use as the "tags" for the tag toy. The gray ruffle pieces are a little stretchy, while the blue and yellow pieces are not. Each of them have a different texture so that London has a variety of textures to munch on.

I cut out two pieces of material...I think my dimensions were 7x8. In short, I measured the length and width of my plastic piece and cut my fabric accordingly.Next, I pinned in my plastic and tags.

s

I pinned both sides of material together and sewed around the edge three times. Two for stability, and an extra for the look. 

And a happy baby :)