Wow Time Flies!!

So sorry that it has been so long since my last post.  SO MUCH has happened!  We have moved back to my hometown of Bartlesville, OK which has been a very difficult move for us so far.  The main reason it has been so hard this time, is because it was a choice, not a mandatory move, like we have had to deal with in the past.  In the Army you went where they sent you, when we went to San Diego it was because we went for the job. 

This time was different, there was nothing wrong with the job or our life in San Diego, in fact we were quite happy.  But one of the great regrets in my life was not getting to grow up around my grandparents.  They were all such wonderful people and I really wish I could have dinner with them just one time as an adult and parent.  I am sure the stories they could tell would be priceless.  I really want that for my kids and Joel got such a great job offer that it made that decision a little easier to make.  But WHAMMO!  this has been a hard move.   Although we sold our house in 9 days, we lost money and had to replace the heat and air unit in the house, a week before we listed it.  Yikes!! I guess I should have seen the foreboding there!  Pulling the Uhaul out to Bartlesville was an adventure as always, including having to load and reload it two times along the way…NOT FUN!  I think that will be our last Uhaul trip, if my husband has anything to say about it.

Then we arrive in Bartlesville where we thought we would be able to find an amazing house for half the cost of our house in San Diego.  This did NOT turn out to be the case.  All the homes that were in that price range needed LOTS of work.  (Or they were located on a busy corner or had a fault in the foundation and were literally leaning!!) Some of the houses needed 100k to 200k just to be safe (roof, electrical, windows.)   We were starting to think we would never, ever find a house!  Yes, we are kind of picky and we had a huge list of “wants” (big yard, trees, lots of light and an open floor plan were the biggies) but we really thought we could find it.  We found one house we both loved but the house had some major issues ie, it was not finished and liens, and we never felt quite comfortable with the deal, so we opted out of it.

Long story I know, but it does appear that after 70 days of intense searching we have finally found our home.  So as of December 1, we will officially have a Mooney residence in Bartlesville.  Just in the nick of time too, because I don’t think my hubby can handle sleeping on the couch anymore at my Mom’s.  The bed hurts his back, so that is where he finds the most comfortable spot but he is really looking forward to our mattress arriving!

We have had quite a few adventures these past few months and I will tell you all about them one by one as I get the chance to write more!!

Here is a pic of one of my favorite moments since we have moved..seeing these wild turkey’s in my Mom’s front yard!!

and a card I made using the direct to paper method which is fast and easy!!

Ciao for now….Deidre

So Neglected!!

Man it has been way too long since I posted.  I am sorry I have so neglected the ole blog but it has been a crazy 6 or 7 weeks.  I just finished my third half marathon in 87 days, so as you can assume, that means I have been running…A LOT! I am really proud of getting that accomplished, but I am even more excited about my upcoming runs because A) they are short….5k and 10K and B) They are crazy fun!!  Both are team events and the little 5k is called the ridiculous obstacle course challenge and we have a team of 30 ladies called “Moms Gone Mad.”  It should be similar to the show called wipeout, except I don’t think they are going to have moving things, but I could be wrong.  We are going to wear wacky costumes and just have a fun time.  With 20 obstacles in 3 miles it is just going to be a hoot.  We have the biggest team in the competition and as such, we also won tickets to a Padres game, so even more exciting!!  In June, I have the infamous Camp Pendleton Mud Run which is a 5 person team.  I did this race last year injured and am looking forward to doing it strong and healthy this year….our team for it is called “Moms Gone Mud!!”

I finally hit the ole 20 pound weight loss mark and then I went and blew it by going on vacation with my hubby!  We went to San Francisco for two nights and then to wine country for two nights and had a wonderful time.  We had great food, great wine and just really enjoyed the time together.  We visited Alcatraz, ran through the presidio and along the bay, walked the golden gate bridge and hiked lake Sonoma.  But despite all the activity I still managed to gain 4 pounds in 5 days.  Isn’t that crazy that I can gain 20% back in 5 days when it took me a month to lose that much?  YIKES!  Luckily it has come back off pretty fast and I am only up a pound now so I know I will get back down there and I wouldn’t change a thing as I enjoyed every last bite!!

Here’s a couple of my favorite pics from the trip:

I was amazed at how much there was to do in wine country.  It would be great for a family trip as well..hiking, quaint towns and festivals, the russian river and of course wine for the parents at the end of the day!  I had always wanted to visit this area and now I really want to go back, as there is so much more to see and do!

When we got home from SF, the girls and I took my Mom to the Carlsbad flower fields which you may remember I have blogged about before.  I have to share the beautiful wedding though, that they were preparing for while we were there…I just love the rustic feel of it….see for yourself:

the reception area:

table seating chart:

the bar area:

and the bridesmaids, LOVE the boots!!

Last, I will leave you with my latest creation:

 

This card uses the emboss resist technique.  I embossed using versamark and clear embossing powder onto decorator paper and then brayered over it with melon mambo.  When you wipe the ink of your embossed area the flowers just pop off the page!  Try it sometime!

Ciao for now!!!   Deidre

Happy Belated Valentines Day!

Hey everyone!  Hope you all had a great Valentines Day with your loved ones.  Life has been unusually busy.  The whole running thing kind of overtakes your world when you are training for a race!  16 days until my next half marathon!  I am just hoping to have a strong finish this go around.  Normally when we run, I can sprint at the end.  Most people would say that means that I did not run fast enough during the race.  Well, the last race I did, I ran too fast the first half, averaging 8:48 per mile going into mile 7 and I totally fell apart during mile 11.  My heart rate got up to 192 and I could not get it down.  I was so happy to see that finish line, but I had absolutely no juice left. 

My running buddy Patty, normally hollers at me…..”you know you have a sprint left in you Deidre!!” as I am finishing and she is usually so right!  That is my goal for this race, just to finish strong.  I really don’t care about my time so much, I am more wanting this not to be such a big deal.  Last time I got canker sores from the stress, my stomach was upset, all kinds of trouble.  This time none of that nonsense.    It is so weird how your mind can wreak havoc on the body.  I have been running 10 and 11 miles during my long runs pretty much every weekend for a while now… 2-3 more miles should not be such a big deal!  Here’s hoping!!  I am lucky this race is closer to home too, so we don’t have to get up at such ungodly hours which will also help cut down on the stress.

I hit 19 pounds on my weight loss only to get sidetracked by Valentines Day and overeat on chocolate and gain two back!!  I only weigh once a week so hopefully, I have been tighter on my eating this week and will be back to 19 pounds lost.  I am ready to make it 20! 

Here’s a belated Valentine for all you wonderful people out there using the inlaid embossing technique.  Basically you punch out shapes and adhere them to cardstock and run that through your big shot, in an embossing folder, to create a wonderful textured piece!  Love the texture and the colors of this card! 

Hope your Valentines Day was filled with love…..

Ciao for now….Deidre

Half Marathon-DONE!! Another one on the horizon!!

So I finished the Carlsbad half marathon and although it wasn’t easy, I did not get injured and I finished in 2:01!  If I had been looking at my time ( I purposely DID NOT look at my time...I just wanted to do my best)  I might have been able to squeak in under 2, so I am so stoked and excited about it, that I don’t want to let all the training go to waste, so I signed up for another one!!  I figure, I actually kind of like running (up until about 7 or 8 miles..then not so much!!) and it’s beautiful here, so why not just keep going??  Here is a pic of me and my constant inspiration, Patty, who inspires me to do better every run!

Patty is a faster runner than me, which I have decided really helps you when you are training because you push a little harder just to keep up with them!!  She too, is a twin Mommy and I am so glad that she is my running buddy!!!  Patty had an asthma attack during the race and still finished in a  really good time so we both are excited to get another shot in 6 weeks.  Not to mention the fact that the shirt and medal they have developed for this race are just amazing….check it out:

So yes folks, I am doing it for the shirt and the medal and to get under 2 hours.  Madness, but you know what?  It keeps me moving!!!  I have 10 pounds left to lose!!

I wanted to show you guys how I decorated my house for New Years because I thought it was cute…at the last minute we decided to have a family come over for a low key New Years so I threw some decorations together and thought they were pretty good for not buying anything...here is the table..with the clock..get it??

Here is my buffet near the front door:

and for all the stamper’s out there, here is a cute card that I got in swap I recently participated in that was made by Dee Shore…isn’t it “unBEElievably” cute?

  

Ciao for now….Deidre

New Year, New Me!!!

If you are here for the stamping and don’t care about my dieting adventure...scroll down for some eye candy!  For anyone else who cares…I have lost 15 pounds since October and I am thrilled!  I actually didn’t think I could ever do it.  Now don’t get me wrong and think that weight is all that important to me...I knew I was healthy, I knew I had curves and I didn’t want to change any of that, still don’t!  But Susan Lucci is my height and her, albeit bony self, weighs 100 pounds.  I was at 157.5…so I knew somewhere in the middle was much more appropriate for me!!  But anyone who knows me knows I work out like a maniac and what else could I do?  I was getting really tired of not seeing any results and of getting injured.  My Mom actually thinks I am addicted to exercise.  I can guarantee you that is not the case!!!  But I do love regular exercise; especially here in San Diego where you can do so much outside. 

I guess it all kind of hit me last fall when I was talking to a friend about my running partner being so fit and she made the comment, “well she works out all the time!”  I just looked at her and she goes, “but you do too, don’t you?”  I thought to myself what the heck am I doing, I know for a fact that I work out as much, if not MORE, than my running friend!  It is kind of like the definition of insanity…doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  I was definitely ready for a change. 

I have had success in the past with the Bill Phillips Body for Life plan so I tried that..basically healthy eating, one cheat day per week and weights and cardio.  So I tried that again…I couldn’t go two days without cheating!  The sweet tooth always gets me.  I have tried weight watchers before and had moderate success on that, but I really hate keeping track of my points.  That is where I am the most horrible…writing it all down.  I also knew what I didn’t want…even though I know people who have had great luck with medfast and with the HCG diet it just never made sense to me to try a diet where the calories are so low you shouldn’t exercise.  I knew I didn’t want to give up my exercise!!  I had tried Nutri System when I was training for a triathlon a few years back and although the food tasted good, I still overate, justifying it with my workouts.  Nothing worked for me!

I read Jacquie Werner’s new book called “This is why you are fat” that is just fantastic and kind of made some things click in my head.  She discusses in the book about supplements and vitamins and how they all effect your hormones and how that all ties in to weight and the stuff she said made sense.  I knew I needed a good multivitamin and I was especially interested in using some amino acids.  A friend had just started selling Advocare and I remembered Advocare.  I had taken some of their vitamins in the past, but I had a hard time remembering to take them on time, but I did remember I liked them and knew they had been around a while.  My friend suggested I try the 24 day challenge.  I was leery, I freely admit!  She broke it down into two parts for me, a 10 day cleanse and 14 day follow-up.  I had to be super good on the 10 days..no coffee, no alcohol, no sugar.  YIKES!!!  On the 14 days I could be good 80% of the time and bad 20% of the time.  Which meant a glass of wine or two per week, some small deviants with the attempt to be mostly good.  I decided to give it a try.  I could do anything for 10 days right??  I was really unhappy about giving up my coffee and creamer…man I love that stuff, but I knew I had to try something different.  The first day was pretty hard but it started to get easier and surprisingly, I didn’t cheat!   I made it through the first 10 days but only lost about 3.5 pounds.  I was happy but I also was expecting something more. I mean I didn’t cheat!!  I always cheat..I thought that would make such a difference!!  I was expecting Biggest Loser type results I guess! I will have to say that my cravings had completely gone away by this time.

During the second phase I met with my friends upline who was on the US Bobsled team!!  Very fit chick who has so much cool information to share with me and we discussed my food intake.  She strongly felt that I wasn’t eating enough and encouraged me to eat a higher protein snack around 8:30 at night, since I normally go to bed at 11.  That shocked me, as I thought you really shouldn’t eat after dinner and would try my hardest not to.  But I started having a snack at night, usually my greek yogurt with some berries and fiber cereal and lost another 4 pounds.  Then I went to Vegas and had a great time with hubby and ate and drank…not crazy and we did exercise but we had a good time, then we had Thanksgiving and I weighed and had gained 1.2 pounds back! (but it was worth it!!)   

Now we are at the holidays...dangerous territory!!   I could easily gain 5 pounds in one week of parties, wine, cheese, Christmas cookies and candy.  Luckily the gym I work out at (Studio Sweat, so awesome!) decided to do a healthy holidays contest.  The whole goal of the contest was to lose weight or NOT GAIN any during the month of Christmas.  I loved that idea and although I did have my share of Christmas goodies, (gingerbread crème Brulee on Christmas day just to name one!!) wine..three parties in one week too!  But thanks to the vitamins I didn’t have cravings…I used some techniques like, I have to drink two glasses of water before I can have another glass of wine, and I was running a bunch as I prepare for my second half marathon in three weeks so I was burning quite a few calories. I was pretty sure I was at least staying the course and not gaining at least.  (I hate the scale and rarely weigh myself unless I have to!!) I had decided that I wanted to do the 10 day cleanse again starting January 1 to clean out all the junk from the holidays and get a fresh start for 2011.  I had to weigh in the first day and you can only imagine my surprise when I saw that I had actually lost 3 pounds over the holidays.  I was stunned. 

Now, I am on day 6 of this cleanse and down another 3 pounds and am so happy!  No wonder I am feeling faster when I run…I have removed 60 pounds of pressure (5 pounds =20 pounds of pressure) off my knees alone!!  I feel so much better, my clothes look better on me, and I know that I am not going to get injured this time.  Can I get a YAHOO!!

Anyways that is my journey..I am 7.6 pounds away from my goal weight.  Even more importantly, on Sunday I plan on doing my second half marathon WITHOUT injury.  2011 is going to be my healthiest year ever!!! 

Joel has been out of town but as soon as I can get him to take some pictures I will show you guys the new me!!!

For all you stampers out there..I am so far behind!!  Here is the technique called bleach pastels that I did in November for my club members..basically you stamp in bleach and then rub pastels over for a soft color look..I love how it turned out and love that peach parfait color!!!

All images @ Stampin’ Up

Ciao for now!!  Deidre