I’m back!!! And sharing an awesome Give Away from a fellow blogger!!!!

catalinaislandbride — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:49:40 +0000

Hi there!! Long time to ‘talk’!! It’s Summertime and everyone’s on the go these day!! Here too! But, I wanted to check in with all of you all, and share an amazing Scentsy Give Away that a fellow Blogger is having on her Blog!

I did a similar Give Away last year and had an amazing response, so when I saw that this blogger was doing this one, I knew I had to share with my readers!!!

This is what she’s giving away:

And…

Here’s all the details: Scentsy Give Away from blogger Mrs. to Mama

Her blog is a great read too. She shares couponing tips, as well as some FUNNY daily themes! Like ‘Seriously? Thursdays’ and I love her ‘Let it Out Peeps…anonymous bitching’ days!! So funny!!!

So…go check out her great Give Away she’s hosting! Grab a Margarita or glass of wine and browse through her old blog posts…you’re going to get a chuckle or two!

Until then….. have a wonderful Saturday everyone!!!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal – Free Calorie Counter

On My Way to a Skinnier Me!!!!

catalinaislandbride — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:59:59 +0000

Created by MyFitnessPal – Free Calorie Counter

Ahhhh Technology

catalinaislandbride — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:27:29 +0000

I love technology. I learn something new every.single.day!!

I’ve had this Droid HTC for a year and a half now and I swear, I probably don’t use half of its capabilities!! I check my emails, Facebook, keep up with my Etsy store, do my banking, check message boards on several forums I’m a member of, track my calorie intake/exercises, from my phone, just to name a few. I love the apps that are available, granted I only have maybe 10 or so that I use regularly.

Oh. I also blog from my phone!! Like now….this post is from my phone. It’s awesome that all I have to do is create this post in an email and email it to a specified email address that automatically posts it to my WordPress Blog. I can also do the same for my Blogger Blog. I’ve yet to learn how to do it for my Weight Loss Journey Blog which is hosted thru Tumblr.

Yes… I have a Weight Loss Journey Blog. It’s primarily focused on my quest in attempting to lose at least 19.5 lbs. I have one follower to date on that blog, so at least only that one person can read my epic fails!!! Hahaha.

(My everyday blog has 290 followers, so I’m not going to get too personal on that one!!!!!)

You, too, can read about my epic up & down roller coaster journey of eating healthy, exercising and getting rid of my muffin top. Just visit: http:/www.shellisramblings.tumblr.com

Enjoy!!!

Pinterest!!!!

catalinaislandbride — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:42:24 +0000

This is the latest craze!!! I love Pinterest!!!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with what Pinterest is, here’s a blurb from their website describing what it is in their words:

What is Pinterest?

Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste.

People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things — wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.

We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world.

Here’s a link to one of my ‘Boards’. This one happens to be titled “All Things Apothecary” <—– Thank link will show you what I’ve ‘pinned’ on that specific board.

In fact, here’s the link to my entire Pinterest where you can view all of my Boards! You’ll see I even have one dedicated to my Steelers!!! Woot woot!!! Just click ———> Here!

If you don’t already have an Pinterest ‘account’ (which, by the way, is FREE), just leave me your email address in the comment section of this post, and I’ll send you an invite!! Trust me…it’s addicting!! Not just looking at everyone else’s boards, but pinning photos on your OWN boards!!!

I mean you can make one for ‘Home Decor Inspiration’ if you’re thinking of redecorating; you can make one for and upcoming event or party you’re having…..just pin photos you’ve seen while surfing the web so you can picture everything in one place. It’s awesome!! Especially for brides who are planning their wedding!!!

Enjoy!!!!

DIY’ing it is Fun!!!!

catalinaislandbride — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:22:14 +0000

So, my latest DIY projects are as follows:

Cupcake Toppers

Gift Tags

Happy Birthday Banner

More cute Gift Tags

Cupcake Push Pops and Display***************************

So, today wasn’t a very good day in my weight loss journey. Well, it wasn’t a bad day either. I’m on pace to stay under my maintenance calories, however, I didn’t eat breakfast, nor did I eat lunch either. Which I know is not good.

We had friends come over for dinner and I knew it would be a TON of calories that I would be consuming…or at least I thought I would!

I made homemade Lasagna, Tossed Green Salad, and Garlic Bread. For dessert, we had Strawberry shortcake, Angel Food style. Yummy! I think I did pretty well because I ate an extremely small portion of Lasagna, and stuck to one slice of Garlic Bread…well, once slice cut in half. :)

So, before my after dinner snack……which usually consists of popcorn, here’s what my food journal for the day looks like:

I have 353 calories remaining. That is mostly a result of not eating breakfast and lunch, and splurging during dinner!! I mean the one slice of Lasagna alone was over 300 calories!! Yikes!!

Tomorrow is a new day…(I seem to be saying that a lot lately). I’m going to step up my daily exercise routine and commit to sticking with whatever plan of action I some up with tonight.

While I’m not going to go into detail of my weight loss journey here on this blog, just snippets here and there on my progress (or lack thereof), however, if you’re interested in tagging along with me, please feel free to check out my Weight Loss Journey blog….. just click here ——–> Shelli’s Ramblings

Enjoy!

June 30 Day Photo Challenge {a few days late}

catalinaislandbride — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 17:13:38 +0000

Well, I stumbled upon a fun little blog late last night and decided to join in on their June 30 Day Photo Challenge. I know I’m 4 days late in starting, but I’m jumping on the bandwagon and joining in on their fun!!

And here’s their ‘rules’ for participating in this fun Challenge:

COME JOIN US!!! You DON’T have to take amazing photos, you don’t have to be a photographer, and you don’t need a high-end camera. Use your crap phone, smart phone, point & shoot, SLR, whatever you have – this is not a competition – just an ‘art’ thing. It’s your own personal interpretation of the subject matter.

Get creative! Your self portrait could consist of you wearing a spandex leotard and a feather boa – who cares?! {well…maye I would care…spandex is just gross…} But you get the point, right?!

AND…these photos have to be taken ON THE DAY SPECIFIED – or one day before and posted on the day specified. No old photos are allowed. No cheaties. So since the challenge starts June 1st, you can take your self portrait on May 30th, edit it that night, and post it on June 1st. Make sense? Otherwise, take pictures & post them on the specific day.

So, excuse me if I post my first FOUR photos here in this post! :)

Day 1 – Self Portrait

{dislclaimer….it was very early this morning when I took this photo so please excuse the ultimate Asian, just woke up look.}

Day 2 – Your Favorite Shoes

Now, these shoes are currently my all time favorite of those that I own. I have tons of shoes and they’re all my favorite, but for now, these happen to tickle my fancy!!

Day 3 – Hands

Hands, paws…they’re all the same! Here’s Duke trying to get a toy that I have hidden underneath my hands. He’s pretty smart….I couldn’t fool him!

Day 4 – Clouds

Well, heck….since we’re supposed to take a photo “on the day specified”, and it’s pouring down rain at the moment, not to mention the fact that the entire sky (from where I’m viewing it) is nothing but clouds……this is what I got from my patio…I’m not stepping out in that downpour….sorry!!

Yes….that’s nothing but total cloud cover. Not the best picture in the world, but I refuse to go out there!!

So…now that I’m all caught up with this, let’s see if I can keep up with it!

Hope you all join in the fun!!! If you do, please be sure to leave me a comment here and I’ll follow your blog and check out your photos!!!!

Being Creative is Fun!

catalinaislandbride — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:07:52 +0000

So I tried my hand at several things over the past couple of weeks. With being so wrapped up in Finals and a Wedding in which I coordinated, officiated, did all the flowers for the 16 member Bridal Party (including the Bride & Groom) created the wedding programs and MC’d at the Reception, I actually found time to ‘relax’. My way of relaxing that is. By experimenting.

Here’s the first thing I played around with:

Earrings.

Cute Dangling Earrings.

The ones above are solid black and the ones below are crystal looking.

While I’m no master at Jewelry Making by any means, I am quite proud of these two pairs of earrings.

Here’s another one of my DIY projects I made:

A Birthday Banner for the Hub’s upcoming Beer Tasting Themed Party!

Not bad for my very first banner ever! Needless to say, I have had a few requests for these!!! So, to my Etsy Store this went!!

And here’s a yummy treat I experimented with:

Cake Push Pops!

Adorable huh??? These happened to be French Vanilla with Strawberry Filling. Yummy!!!

I have a few tweaks to work out before I add these to my Etsy Store, however, I have already received an order for these!!! So exciting!!!

And the wedding…well, the wedding was what it was. Here’s a few photos.
(Disclaimer: I didn’t realize how fat I actually looked until I saw these photos!!)

(Notice the big pooch in my belly)

Anyways….. check this out:

I finished today ~ my first day ~ back on my weight loss journey, with 316 calories to spare!

GO ME!!!

I would have had more, but I didn’t do a complete work out today. But tomorrow’s another day!!!

And so it begins!!!

catalinaislandbride — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:08:55 +0000

Yes, I’m re-starting my journey in losing weight and eating healthy.

(I wanna look like this photo)

Yeah right, but one can hope!!! In all seriousness, I’ve been gearing up to start watching my eating habits. I’m back to 1200 calories a day!! I’m also back to my daily workouts (thus burning more calories to add to my daily calorie intake!!)

This is one of the reasons……

Do you see that?? Do you see what that says?

OVERWEIGHT.

O.V.E.R.W.E.I.G.H.T.

Yikes. That right there, in addition to my ever present MUFFIN TOP.

It kinda looks like this:

(Source)

So, in the last week, I’ve been preparing myself for going healthy! I’ve got my menu planned out for the first 15 days of June and have a daily exercise plan in place. My goal is to lose at least 14.5 lbs. but ideally, I’d like to lose 19.5 lb. total. Honestly, losing the weight would be wonderful, however I’d like to lose major inches around my waist and the flab in my arms.

(source)

I belong to a wonderful website called My Fitness Pal which has a number of tools to help me track my daily calorie intake as well as calories burned thru excersing! It has a HUGE data bank with a variety of foods which accurately lists calories, fats, proteins, sugars, etc. for everything!

I absolutely love My Fitness Pal. Check out their website, and join me on this journey!! I officially start tomorrow, June 1st!!

It’s Almost Over!!!!

catalinaislandbride — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:01:11 +0000

While I’ve been neglecting this blog for just about the entire Spring Semester of classes, I can tell you all that I’m one week away from finally getting to relax for the summer!! Woot Woot!

I’m taking the Summer Semester off and will be able to catch up on my blogging – sharing with you all things that have gone on the last 5 to 6 months, as well as any of our Summer adventures!

With school and business booming a bit, I’ve hadn’t had a great deal of time to devote to blogging as I used to (and like to), so I’m going to re-prioritize my days here in the next week or so and make journaling something daily here!!

With that being said, I’m hoping you all have been doing well and I’m going to go catch up on all of your blogs now!!!

Have a GREAT weekend!!!!

One Year Ago Today………

catalinaislandbride — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:30:58 +0000

This was me on the Carnival Elation making my way to the tender that would take me to Catalina Island where……….. Brian was waiting patiently for me!!