5K Race

About a year and a half ago I decided I wanted to learn how to run. Sounds funny, I mean who doesn't know how to run? But every time I would try to run for exercise I would barely make it 30 seconds and I'd be heaving in pain, side stitches killing me and legs cramping up. Running has NEVER come easy to me even way back when I was a kid.

But my hubby comes from a family of runners, his Dad has even run the Boston Marathon several times. His Mom used to run {but now because of injuries does other exercise}, my hubby and his 2 brothers were all runners. We definitely came from different families as no one in my family was into running. {Baseball/softball was always our thing growing up.}

Anyway, I decided I'd like to learn to run. It's always nice when you and your husband have more things in common that you can do or share together. And since he was a runner and would sometimes do 5k races, I wanted to do it too. So I used a program called the Couch to 5k - basically it takes you from being a Couch Potato {which I was pretty close to being!} to being able to run a 5k in about 8 weeks.

So I started training in August of 2010 with the goal of running a 5k on Thanksgiving Day. And I did it! I went from not being able to run for more than 30 seconds to being able to run for a whole half hour! I was shocked to see that the program really does work if you take it slow and do it one step at a time {no pun intended!}.

Since then I have run in (5) 5k races!! And this year I have a couple more I'm planning to do. Each time my goal is simply to run the whole time without walking but interestingly I have somehow managed to improve my time every single time.

Yesterday I ran a 5k with a couple friends and my hubby. The race was actually a bit longer than a 5k, it was 3.425 miles. My friend on the left just did the Couch to 5k plan starting this January and this was her 2nd 5k - she has done AMAZING for someone who just started running this year! My friend in the middle has been running for years and definitely beat my time, she has been a great inspiration to me in my fitness goals. And I'm on the right in my cotton candy colors. I asked for a ticket to the Diva Dash for Mother's Day and hubby was so great, he paid for the ticket AND took my shopping for a new running outfit! I LOVE bright colors and love the lightweight feel of my new outfit.

My overall time at yesterday's race was 34.04 which was a 9.56 mile! I usually do between a 10 and 12 min mile so I was THRILLED that I have improved my time!

I'm here to encourage you that if you have something you've been wanting to try but were too afraid or thought you couldn't do it - just TRY! Set a goal, go out there and give it your best shot. You'll never know if you can do something unless you give it your best shot!

Craft / Vendor Fair

A little over a week ago I got to participate in a great craft / vendor fair for a great cause. The event was to support Autism Speaks and it was a really great time.

I had a whole table FULL of all my crafty things that I make and I spent several weeks preparing for the event. I dabble in a bunch of different crafts and am always trying to think of new things to create. All of these things will soon be listed on my Etsy shop, but I need a few days to catch up on life first. =)

So here are some pictures from the event ... My table display:

I buy old quilting hoops and make them pretty with all sorts of designs. These are meant to be wall hangings and can be used in any room. I have some in my living room, my master bedroom and my daughter's rooms. These are just a few of the ones I made:

These are a bunch of the Fabric flower pins. These are made from t-shirt material and are nice and soft and fluffy. I currently have about 20-25 different colors!

I also sew these fabric covers for journaling books. I use a standard composition book and sew a pretty cover to go over it. The cover has a pocket for a pen or pencil, and ribbon ties to keep it closed. They can also be used over and over again because when your notebook is full you just slip the notebook out and put a new one in.

 These are a slightly different style of fabric flower pin. They have both a bar pin AND a hair clip on the back so you get to choose how you want to use it. They are mostly made from cotton fabric and all have some sort of button or 'bling' in the center.

Then we have the hair clip minis ... same thing as the t-shirt flowers only slightly smaller and they have a hair clip on the back. I also stamped some fun gift tags so people could buy them to use for gift giving.

A fun little reminder to shoppers:

I tried something new with making these cute little girly totes. They are big enough to hold a chapter book and probably a pair of sunglasses or a snack. They come with a fabric flower pin and it can be removed from the bag if you'd rather wear it somewhere else.

More of the notebooks:

Lots more quilt hoops!

And the whole table again!

It was a fun event and I was glad to be a part of it. I met some great ladies that were vendors at other tables and was happy to see a few of my friends come out and check out my table. I'm so very thankful to have the creative bug and really enjoy making new things. =)

The Dreaded Over-the-fridge cabinet

I saw this idea on a blog recently, I WISH I could remember where it was cause I'd love to show you the photo that inspired me, but anyway, here is the before of my cabinet over the fridge. You know the one ... it's so high and unreachable that it's virtually a waste. I know that whatever I put in it cannot and will not be reached on a regular basis. Because of the height of our fridge I actually have to get on a chair in order to reach anything in this cabinet ... so anyway, here's what I did ...

Removed the doors, put up pretty contact paper, and filled it up with pretty things!

Isn't it SO much better?! I'm still playing around with the placement of everything but for now I like it as it is...

My only gripe ... well, OK two gripes - first, that center post that just feels in the way. But I don't want to take it out in case we ever decide we want the doors back on. {or when we sell the house}. And second, the contact paper keeps falling down on me! Does anyone have a good trick to keep it in place?

I SOOOO want to take the doors off another cabinet now and have open shelving for my white dishes but hubby says no ... {for now at least!} =)

Painted Dresser Project

Remember this ol' beauty I posted about a couple weeks ago?

I forgot to show you the AFTER!

We are planning to mount the TV on the wall soon, but until then it's sitting on the dresser. We used to have a HUGE, MAMMOTH entertainment center and I felt like it took up the whole room and made the room look so small ... so I painted this dresser a GORGEOUS light blue color, got some pretty new hardware for it, and moved it in to it's new home!

Sorry this one is a bit blurry ... I am IN LOVE with it!

It has such beautiful details! This is a dresser I got FOR FREE from a friend who was getting rid of it. So much of our furniture is stuff that has been given to us and I just love re-purposing things!

I used a runner on the top so the paint wouldn't get scratched by the TV and DVD player. I used the drawers to hold all of our videos, DVD's, CD's, etc ...

So what do you think?!

{I wish you could see the color in real life, the color is dreamy!}

Being a Mom

Being a Mom means you're a protector ...

encourager ...

leader ...

motivator ...

cheerleader ...

world changer ...

Isn't it the BEST?!

ON Vacation ... well not really!

Just an FYI, my Etsy shop is on 'vacation' mode for a few days ... I have a craft fair this weekend and I'm taking all my items to that, so I'll be back early next week to update the shop with what I still have on hand.

That being said ... if you live locally to me and want to stop by and find a great Mother's Day gift, please contact me and I can give you details about the craft show and would LOVE it to see some friends stop by! {It's on Sunday afternoon}

AND, a little bonus ... items will be sold at a discount for the craft show ONLY! So if you'd like to get a good deal, you'll have to come out and see for yourself!

Have a great weekend!