Happy 4th of July!

I wish I could say I'll be out shooting fireworks tonight and dancing around the yard with sprinklers, but due to the dry weather we're all waiting for a massive rain before that will be happening. I did, however, go to the lake last weekend for an early 4th of July celebration! I had a blast hanging out with my family and friends even in the triple digit heat weather. It was too hot to be out on the boat, but we hung out at the pool, watched the parade (which consists of everyone decking out their golf carts), had a bbq at a friend's camper, and watched the fireworks later that night!

The camera decided to poop out on us so the only picture I snapped besides the beautiful lake you can see here is my brother-in-law at his finest in the parade. If you're thinking he reminds you of Larry the Cable Guy you'd be correct on that.

But on the more serious note, 4th of July isn't just about fireworks and get-togethers, it's the celebration of our freedom. Though this country has a lot of issues and a lot of things that wrong with it, there is a lot of good too. I'm reminded of a few things today like how I am allowed to believe in God and go to the church of my choosing, as a woman I can wear what I want in public and never have to hide my face, I can speak my opinion even though sometimes it may not be the best thing, and I can pursue so many dreams that I want to have in my life. I think sometimes, especially with how things are at this moment, we forget how lucky our lives are here and how thankful we should be for all the service men and woman who are keeping and have kept that freedom for us. If you are one of those fine people, thank you thank you thank you.

I hope you all have a very fantastic (and safe) day of freedom!

a must list of summer

. :Summer 2012 Must Haves: .

cute polished toes

 flip flops, flip flops, flip flops

upbeat tunes

favorite pair of sunglasses

air on me 

lots and lots of water or fruity drinks
fresh fruit
homemade ice cream 

. :Summer 2012 Must Do's: . 

more aunt/niece and aunt/nephew days

swim my little heart out

spend more time with friends

sunday dinners with the family

take more photos

go to the ozark empire fair

go to an art walk

 fourth of july celebration at the lake 
(picture above is of that)

harry potter marathon
work on crafting ninja skills

. :Summer 2012 Must Feels: .

relaxed

breezy

excited

blessed
happy

Weight Loss Sucks - 15 POUNDS DOWN!

Sooo I haven't did a monthly update on my weight loss since March mainly cause the last two months of school killed me. I started out at the beginning of the year at 195 then went up to 197 and kinda yo-yo around the 189 for a while and maintaining it for a couple months. I've been fighting some bad stomach issues for a year (as of the beginning of June). I've had just about every test you can think of done, and then started doing things for myself like cutting out a massive part of gluten from my eating. While I still have some bad days, I have more good than normal and a lot of issues are fading away. Since carbs were a huge part of my diet (I'm the head baker at my work for crying out loud!), I've dropped a little more weight which brings me to the grand total as of two days ago to.....

182 pounds!

That means I have lost 15 pounds!!! 

Because of all my stomach crud I had went into my old doctor's a few weeks back to get put on a new medication. I hadn't been there in two years and she told me since my last visit I've lost 21 pounds! Looking back at photos I can definitely see a difference with my body which I plan on posting on the next month's update. I know going semi-gluten free isn't going to necessarily help me loose ton of weight since most gluten free products do have a higher calorie count, but since I don't have a lot of products available in my area, I am making healthier decisions on what I eat. Tons of fruits, veggies, and leaner meats! And water is like my favorite thing now which is so odd to say, but since it's about a billion degrees outside (PLEASE GOD LET IT RAIN!) I am sucking that down like I'm a friggin' plant. 

Today is my first day of Hip Hop Abs. Oh, this is gonna be fun. (<-- I'm using my sarcasm font in case you didn't catch it.)

I ripped up a book and I liked it.

I more in likely committed a bookwormer's sin a while back, but it was all in the name of art so that's forgiven, right?

I saw the idea of putting this all together on a blog that I now cannot find the link to! If you happen to have seen something similar please leave it in the comment section so I can give some credit. When I saw the idea, I knew I wanted to create one. It wasn't hard for me to figure out what book needed to be sacrificed. If you know me well enough you know it had to be This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. It's my all-time favorite book, and during high school and still today, Sarah Dessen is an author I admire because she can write such great contemporary novels.

Some of the pages include:

page 344 where the lyrics to the song are,

page 182 Remy showing Dexter the science of laundry

page 307 just one of the many spots where Hate Spinnerbait comes about

page 173 Dexter informs Remy she loves him because she bought him plastic ware

page 148 Dexter and Remy grocery shopping together - "What if I embarrass you? What if I break some heirloom family china? Or talk about you in your underwear?" 

page 336 - "Did you really believe, that first day, that we were meant to be together?" I asked him. Enough said. 

Then I brewed a cup of coffee, took out the filter and started dabbing the pages. While they dried, I laid out how I wanted my scrapbook pages to go, grabbed some Mod Podge, and got to placing.  After the pages were dry, I started layering them around.  IN some ways I wish I would have done more layering with the scrapbook pages, but all in all I still love the end result. The lettering was some K & Company ones I had lying around. Kinda of crazy how perfectly they matched with it!

five questions

I saw this over at pocketful of pretty and I'm bored on this blazing 105 and up summer day so I'm rolling with it.

 5 places you need to visit: 

Ireland

 New York

 Canada

London

Australia 

5 places you would love to call home: 

Hhmm this one had me thinking because I've only moved outside my hometown once. 

Charleston

San Diego

Portland

St. Augustine 

Chicago 

Top 5 favorite things in your life: 

This very moment:

Writing

Being a crafting ninja 

My record player

The smell of summer

Growing closer and closer in my faith 

 5 things you want to cross off your bucket list or goal list this year:

Start an Etsy shop

Finish a novel

Get a new tattoo

Loose 30 pounds (13 down - holla!)

Take a mini road trip

 5 random facts about yourself: 

 My entire name is in the dictionary. 

By the time I die I will have spent 8 to 10 years of my life riding in a car listening to music for fun. 

I freaking hate snakes. Like screaming - cursing type of reaction when I see one. 

I randomly break out into song and dance. You've been warned if we ever meet. 

I have a smell phobia which means I carry deodorant in my purse at all times and have a much too large collection of perfumes and body sprays. 

DIY: Fabric Covered Bookcase

After doing the kitchen I was on a kick to do more. I have a lot of dark wood furniture in my living room. I'm still in the process of fixing things up in there as well. Like the trim you'll see in the pictures, it has got to go! The green is now clashing with a lot of things, and I don't like it at all.

I had seen on Pinterest  about how you can stencil your bookcase, paint a bookcase, but I liked the idea of putting fabric on the removable boards a lot better. My bookcases are the cheap ones from Wal-Mart, and to be honest it's a miracle this thing hasn't collapsed yet so taking off the backing was a no-no. Plus it didn't hurt that the fabric I liked was on a super cheap clearance.

. : Before : . 

When I said I had been ignoring my house, I wasn't exactly lying. Just look how bare that is!

. : Middle : . 

. : After : .

I didn't bother doing the bottom shelf due to my records being there, but I'm kinda giddy that it's building up nicely :)

Things I learned during this project:

a. I still cannot cut a straight line

b. I need to hit up some flea markets to find neat stuff to add onto my bookcase

c. Always put newspaper down when working on the coffee table. 

DIY: Sprucing up the kitchen

I've been on this crazy crafting spree for a while now. I think it's the lack of not constantly having to be somewhere and do something. Lemme just say, it's freaking awesome having to spare time to do whatever I please. I've ignored my kitchen like crazy and have been taking it one section at a time.

The place is small, I don't call it Little House for nothing, and the kitchen? Very tiny. Thankfully my landlord had a baker's rack for me to use so I could add stuff on it. Only problem was the wire type racks. Nothing would fit on there right so after getting so annoyed one day, I just cut up some foam boards and threw them on there. I couldn't leave it like that for long because it was just dull. That's where a little bit of fabric and my trusty friend Mod Podge came in hand.

Before 

After

Looks so much better!

There this thing in my genes (comes from my Padre's side of the family) where we hate seeing any wall bare so I wanted to add a little something-something above it. 

And now my little corner of the kitchen is complete! 

Things I learned by doing this:

a. I suck at cutting a straight line. 

b. An exacto type knife will hurt you.

c. Spray painting plastic frames is a pain in the rear. 

I've also decided to set up an etsy shop in the future and thought about doing a few different type wall art projects like I did with the cherries and fork. What's your opinion on them?