Liv Life well!

About a month ago, I was introduced to a product called Liv Skinney. It's a phenomenal company with awesome products. I shared it with my friends, and they have seen the same thing I have...it works! So, I decided to use this blog, temporarily, as a posting board. It'll be for posting results, congratulating each other on our successes, ideas and tips to share etc.. This will be for current members only, so you'll have to send me an email (ellenay@cox.net) or post your comment here. I'll start with myself. I've been on it for 4 wks now, and I've lost 5 lbs, 2" on my waist, an inch on my arms, and 2" on my hips. My thyroid issues are almost gone. I was having tons of symptons that I no longer have. I feel so much better. I have energy. I'm no longer addicted to coffee or sweets, and can eat those things in moderation without a problem. My constant headaches are gone as well. My husband has lost 10 lbs (not fair) :) in 3 weeks time, and has seen a major difference in his energy level. Our kids are now starting to drink it, and I'm looking forward to seeing results with their sugar addictions as well. I'm so thankful to have found this awesome company. Have questions? Send me an email.

I'm excited to see your results, and cheer you on!

Liv Life Well.

Sister Wives...really??

Yes, I can't help myself. I have to comment on the show, Sister Wives. I have only seen it twice, but I definitely feel the need to say something about it. My first reaction was total shock that they would even glorify this lifestyle by giving it a show. The second thoughts were how sad that these poor women have such low self esteems that they don't even think they deserve one man all to themselves. It's actually one of the saddest things I've seen in awhile. Maybe it's because it's my Anniversary tomorrow, but it's got me thinking about my life. I thoroughly enjoy being the queen of my own castle, be it ever so humble. I mean, I have the attention, love and nurture from one man, and he from me. Isn't that so beautiful of God's design? My life's accomplishment is met when he is happy, loved, and cared for. That's not my whole life, but you understand what I mean. He has the same goal. I can only imagine what a true mess that situation really is that we don't know about. I can tell by watching that some of the "sisters" are jealous of each other. Yeah, that's a big shock. And not to be mean, but you have to look at the obvious. The ones he's had awhile have lost their looks, and figures a little, and look at the newest edition. She's pretty and fit. I'm only pointing that out because it really shows what this guy, Kody, is all about....himself. I saw the episode where he took one of his wives on a trip with just "their family". She was so needy and desperate. She kept thanking him for making the trip happen to spend time with them all. It was so obvious that this woman was starved for his attention,insecure about the new wife, and saying she was happy without looking like she was. How pathetic for these women to grovel at this man's feet as if he's the one doing them the favor. It really makes me sick. It makes you wonder what kind of teaching they believe that makes this somehow a good idea to them. It's basically legalized cheating where you also bring your affair home to meet the kids and stay awhile. Some setup they have going...for the man.

Yummo

So, I think going from workout posts to a recipe, can't be a good thing. ha! But, actually, I've been exercising, just at a slower pace. A lot went on as far as setbacks, and such. But, I really wanted to keep it up, just blogging everyday started getting old fast. I realized that at my age, I will have to exercise regularly to keep from gaining weight. It's a little depressing to realize your metabolism is slowing down. That's life though.

Because my family is not feeling so great, I decided to make some comfort food. This recipe is a Tuscan white bean soup. I got it from Giada, but I've changed it to make it my own. Here it is:

1-2 shallots, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cans white beans(rinsed)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-2 whole garlic, peeled
white pepper (to taste)
sage seasoning (to taste) I used 2tsp. You can also use fresh if you have it.

Start off by putting the olive oil and chopped shallots on med. to saute. Add the rinsed beans, and 1/2 cup of broth. Simmer. After about 10 minutes, add in your whole garlic clove, pepper and sage. Add in all the rest of the broth. I use a submersible handheld mixer to then puree the beans with the liquids. You could use a blender, just be careful since it's hot. After it simmers for about 20 minutes, add in your cream. Take about a half cup of the hot liquid and add to the cold cream slowly before you add to your soup. You don't want curdled cream. Turn it on low, or serve immediately. I love this with crunchy, thick garlic bread. Yummy!

Enjoy!
Lori

Better late than never...

Wed. are hard for me to get everything done. It's just a busy day with school and church, work etc. I got the workout in ( 2 mile faith walk-Leslie Sansone), but blogging about it had to wait til now. I'm trying to get a rythmn here, but I want to work out first, and that has to be flexible.
So, anyway, at least I did it. Busy day and all, I made my goal. I'm just saying that if you make up your mind that you ARE going to work out each day, even for 10 min, you can do it. It's better late than never!
My tip for today is for you to test yourself. Prove you're stronger than you think. I had a tea for a couple of friends the other day, and it was so nice. I loved having them over and really didn't want to be "on a diet". I went ahead and ate the cookie, had sugar in my tea, etc.. The next day, I was right back on track. I still had leftover cookies, so I told myself I could still have one, but limit it to that. You don't have to cut out everything you love, just do it in moderation. When you feel yourself slipping and thinking, "I can probably have just one more.." Stop there and think about how much time on a treadmill you'd have to do just to burn it off. Then, go work out that long before you'll let yourself have it. Believe me, you will realize it's not worth it! Are you in it for real? Then you have to commit to it when the going gets tough.

Ok, that's all for now...I'm falling asleep as I type...zzzz

Nighty Nite,
Lori

Motivational speech ahead~

I'm on week 3, and I already fell short of my goal...but wait- all is not lost. I had a talk with myself and said,"Get it in gear, girlfriend!!" I had PLANNED to work out on Friday, but the day drug on and I wasn't motivated. I told myself I had earned a day off. Then, Mon. I planned on fitting it in, but you know how it goes... So, here I am on Tues, and I am back in the saddle. I did 20 minute Zumba express & 45 minute strength training with the Leslie Sansone stretchy band workout. It's like working out with a gigantic rubber band and adds resistance and helps you burn more calories. I'm ready to get back in the groove, and remember why I made the decision to do this in the first place. Technically, working out 3-4 times a week is good, but when you have a personality like mine, you need to commit to every day to stay focused. I take off Sunday. I don't count calories and I don't exercise on Sunday. I'm trying to teach myself a new normal. I have heard that if you do something for 21 days straight, you will have a new habit. We are headed in that zone, and I'm committed. Who's with me??!! Everything counts, even a one mile fast walk. It only takes 15 minutes. Commit to even just one mile a day. Get a pedometer, and clip it on your shirt. Even if you walk in your house, you're making progress. No excuses!! Woohoo!

See you here tomorrow!
Lori
p.s. A great calorie saver if you need to cut back a little in your day is to eat cereal for dinner. I love Special K with red berries and vanilla almond.

.....Ireland anyone??

I'm off traveling again, all from the comfort of my bedroom. Today I went to Ireland. My very favorite place I want to go. It was magical! I was so wrapped up in it, I actually walked 10 min. longer than last time! For those of you on CST, Samantha Brown comes on at 11am on the Travel channel.
So I'm doing good on my calorie counting & exercising daily. I'm hoping to have lost more weight by the time I weigh in the morning. I'm an impatient person and this seems to be taking forever. I want everything yesterday. Speaking of that, has anyone ever tried the HCG diet? I'm thinking about it. It's homeopathic, and you lose weight very fast. I don't like the 500 calories a day part of it. I'm pretty much a creature of habit, and I'm cringing at the thought of no orange juice and coffee the way I want it every day. Even if it is for 2 weeks, I gotta live with other people. I'm sure I wouldn't be very friendly.
Some of you have asked me what I typically eat to stay under 1200 calories a day. I actually haven't changed a thing except portion control and limited snacking. I highly recommend writing down every thing you put in your mouth, no matter how unimportant. Even a stick of gum, or a few bites of something. It all adds up. Get a really good calorie counter (there's tons of free ones) and log everything you eat so you can see it. It'll find most anything, even fast food and name brands. That's a great place to start to see where you're at.

That's all for now, Lassies!

Bali was nice...

To mix it up today (yep, I get bored fast) I decided to do the treadmill during Samantha Brown's Travel show. I really like her. She went to Bali, and talk about beautiful! I was so amazed at the country. The time really did fly by, so maybe this is a new thing I'll add in to my weekly routine. I actually still used my ipod just in one ear so I could hear the workout app I've been using. Not only does it have the perfect beat to keep you on track, it also tracks calories burned.
Did you know you can eat 50 Rold Gold pretzels for 120 calories? I don't know about you, but that's great when you really want to have a snack attack. Add in Ruby red grapefruit sustain for 10 calories, and you're doing great.

Ok, so my friend, Steph, sent me a website with dinners under 300 calories. I'll be trying these out for sure and give you some reviews soon. Thanks, Steph!

Happy travels~
Lori

Is everything okey dokey?

"No! It's Inky Stinky!" (Lucy to Ethel)
Actually, everything's really going good, I'm just super busy this week due to meetings at our church. We will be having services all week. I stayed on track with calories yesterday, except for I didn't do a full workout. I did clean the house and even set the timer so I would work fast. It's on my ipod as a way to burn calories, so I thought, why not kill two birds with one stone? I ran out of time to blog though, so..here I am. I haven't done my workout today yet, but I'm going to do the Zumba express. It's 20 min.and pretty intense. My arm is sore from the 45 min one with the toning sticks. I knew I needed to take a break from that for a few days.
Anybody have any tips to share? We're listening! Are you exercising? Let's hear how it's going, what you're using, etc.
Here's my tip today to share. At most health food stores they carry stevia glyceride. It's a healthy sugar alternative (not chemicals that are bad.) It comes in a liquid. They have flavors like French Vanilla too. It has no calories and tastes really good. I only like it in hot tea, not coffee though. Don't know why. Anyway, I made a drink out of it by putting a few drops in ice water. It was delicious! I was surprised. Zero calories, delicious and healthy, you can't ask for more.

Til tomorrow....

Day 5, I'm alive! ha ha

Yep, made it to day 5! I did 45 min. Zumba again today, and let me just say, I was seriously sore. It felt good though. I really think Zumba is the most fun out of all my workouts. I don't even want to admit to how many different ones I have. It's embarrasing. I have Jillian's (Biggest Loser) 30 day shred and Last Chance workout in my menagerie of workout dvd's. Yell at me and call me wrong, but the girls a jerk. ha! I put in the 30 day shred to do today, to mix it up a little, and had to turn it off because it's just no fun. With Zumba, I'm laughing, having a good time, and feel like I'm just dancin' around being silly to salsa music. That's the trick, wanting to do it again. If it's a chore and boring, I won't do it. Jillian never smiles on there either. It's like she's being tortured to even be there. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how it seemed to me....moving on..I have a new favorite drink. It is YUMM-O! I use Melaleuca, and they have a fitness line of drinks and bars etc. The new Sustain energy drink is Red Ruby Grapefruit. I love that anyway, and the drink tastes just like it. It replaces eloctrolytes and has only 10 calories. Definite new fav!
Ok, so I won't post again until Monday. I'll probably do something fun tomorrow, like bike riding, or play the wii, but not a major workout on weekends. Also, I do not count calories on Sunday. It's a free day for me. I don't know what works for you, but I always have to have one day a week to not think about it.

The verdict is in, and I've lost 1 lb. this week! Earth shattering isn't it? I'm ok with it because sometimes it takes a little bit before everything kicks in. Also good to remember that muscle weighs more than fat. Doing any strength training will take longer to see weight dropping. I feel better already, and that's motivation for me!

Here's a great quote that applies to so much in life, but great for what we're doing too. "You can't go back and change the past, but you can start today and change the future" Love it. Stole it from my sister's fb status! ha!

Goodnight friends! Have a great weekend. :)
p.s. here's a great website for tracking calories and daily recipes. My username is: ellenayjay. Add me as a friend!

Day 4

Today, I decided to do my wii fit. I did advanced step for 30 min. Imagine my disappointment when I found out on my calorie counter app that that only burned 85 calories. :( I just have 2 words for that, "BUM....MER!" So, I may have to do something else tonight, like treadmill or a Leslie DVD. Any ole' way, I have stayed on track with doing something everyday since that is the goal. I'm also staying under 1200 calories. It adds up so fast.
How's it going for you? Are you keeping your exercise resolution? If not, jump on board with me. It's so much more fun with friends.
Last night, I was really proud of myself. I didn't eat a snack when we got home from church. I actually wasn't feeling completely ok, so I figured I wouldn't chance it. Then, around 10, I was starving. I felt like I needed something and even headed to the kitchen...."just one cup of popcorn wouldn't be bad..." As I was on the way there, I thought about how hard I'd worked and went and brushed my teeth instead. I was happy to have won that little battle.

Wes(10 yrs.) told me a joke yesterday. Here it is: "What did the Alligator eat after he had his tooth pulled?"......The Dentist! hahahah....

Here's my diet tip of the day: When you're craving something sweet, have a piece of mint gum instead. It totally redirects your craving. Nothing new, I know, but a good reminder.

Happy Thursday!
Lori

Day 3...Weeeeeeeeee!

Hi guys, I'm on day 3, and I'm getting in the groove. Today I did 45 min. kicking butt, cardio Zumba. Man, it's intense! It's so fun though. My favorite parts are Belly dancing & the Flamenco. It really is fun. If you think you have to be coordinated to do Zumba, you do. You can do it the wrong way, and it'll still work because you're moving and sweating. It's just so much more fun to follow along the right way. It only takes a few times to get the hang of it if you try hard. I heard that an hour of Zumba burns 1,000 calories! Yeah baby!

Happy Wed!
Lori :)

Day 2 and a protein snack..

It's day 2, and I'm on track. I did a mile yesterday and played the wii with the kids. Today, I did 2 miles and plan on going bike riding with them this afternoon. I may do 20 min. on the treadmill with my LoLo burn app. It's so cool. You get to use your own music and have a trainer tell you a workout routine. I love it.
Yesterday, while I was doing the Leslie Sansone walking workout, Dasiy Mae(our Jack Russell)was staring at me like "what are you doing, mommy?" It really cracked me up. She thinks she's a ballerina, and starts "dancing" whenever anybody plays with her. There we were, me exercising, and Daisy Mae dancing beside me. I'm sure it couldv'e been on AFV. This is her sleeping after her intense dance routine. :)
Here's something you'll love. My Mom gave me this recipe for Sesame/Peanut butter balls. They are so good and a really healthy snack. Here it is:
3/4 c peanut butter (I used Smucker's all natural creamy)
1/2 c honey
3/4 c non-fat, instant milk powder
1 c uncooked rolled oats
1 & 1/4 c toasted sesame seeds (3/4 c in mix, 3/4 c to roll them in)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. boiling water

Use an iron skillet to toast the sesame seeds. I used organic. It only takes a couple minutes to toast them. Stir constantly. Set aside. Mix together pnb, honey, powd. milk and then add the oats and 3/4 c of sesame seeds. Add boiling water, vanilla and mix thoroughly. Shape in 1" balls and roll in the remaining seeds. Chill in refrigerater or freeze. Makes 2.5 dozen.

These are such a great protein snack with no sugar! Sorry about there being no pictures. I actually took some while I was making these, but I'm pressed for time at the moment. I'll add the pics soon.

Have a very happy day!
Lori

I'm gonna do it!

Day 1~check it out here.
I have decided to do this and today is the first day! I'm excited because I already had my goal in mind to be met by Valentine's Day. It's so cool that this ends on that day and I didn't even know about it until now. So, who's with me? I plan on blogging here each day how it's going, and if I start losing (I mean when) I'll post pounds lost too. This will be open and honest. If I'm doing bad, I'll have to embarrass myself and say it here. So, maybe, that'll help me with my focus. I'm terrible at staying on track with these things, but I seem to be motivated this time more than usual. So, here goes! Cheer me on! I almost forgot, my goal is 20 lbs.

I hope your New Year's resolutions are working for you. We can do this!

Lori~xo

Happy New Year!!!

I know it's been forever since I posted here, but I really do hope to be better in the future. Happy New Year! A time for a great, new beginning. I love that. So here goes my attempt to keep up better. So far, so good...

I have written a ton of new year's resolutions. I really want to improve myself, my family and my business. I think goal setting is a great way to keep up with the things you want. Balancing a family and a business is tricky, but I know I can be better. There's always room for improvement, right? Life is surprising, and keeping up can be a challenge. One of my goals is to get super organized. I'm one of those people who really envy people who have that gift of organization. I try sincerely hard, but it does not come naturally to me. For those of you that are, consider yourself blessed. How about sharing your favorite organizing tip? I'm sure the class would love to hear...
On a completely off the subject side note, I just glanced at the tv and saw there is a city with my maiden name on the weather channel(I didn't even know it existed) -weird..
So, anyway, I think I'll go watch the ball drop and kiss and hug everyone. It's a great way to start a new year. Hope you've had a lovely year and a Happy New Year too.

~xo

Trash to Treasure Lamps

(the base isn't attached yet. I just have it sitting on my iron Eiffel tower for the pic)
I inherited these sad lamps from our neighbors while we helped them move. We were taking a load of stuff to Goodwill for them, and they offered for us to keep anything we could use. I really needed some more lighting in my living room, so I decided to take the lamps with the plan of buying new shades. There was nothing wrong with them except the shades. One was a floor lamp with an attached side table. Somehow, they had gotten too hot and the shade itself had shrunk. After several trips to Lowe's and other stores, I could never decide on what look I wanted. I really liked the handmade, boutique style shades I had just seen in Milton while shopping with Bill on our Anniversary. Only problem was, a.) they weren't exactly what I was looking for. They were close, but not quite there. And b.) expensive as all get out!...Fast forward to today, I'm sitting on my couch thinking about how necessity is indeed the mother of invention. I went and dug out my stash of vintage lace my Aunt gave me last year and some silk roses that could easily be replaced. Hmmmmm.... I see the wheels turning faster and faster....Where's my glue gun??!? ...........


What do you think? Should I paint the base? I don't know what color I'd want it though. Suggestions?

So, there you have it! I love them now!! Today was very satisfying. Not only did I get my "Boutique-quality" handmade shades, it didn't cost me a cent! Yep, I'm a happy girl.

hugs!
Lori

Pizza Post!

This is my all-time favorite pizza recipe. My Mom always wants this when they come over. I found it off my favorite "foodie" blog, Food Wishes. I love that guy! Everything he makes turns out fabulous and he does video classes making it so much easier. Now, on to the recipe...

Start with 1 pkg. yeast
1 tsp. honey
3 cups all-purp. flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. evoo (olive oil)
1/2 cup very warm water

Step 1. Put yeast, honey and water(very warm) in a med. bowl and let it dissolve for 10 min.
Step 2. Add salt, olive oil, and another 1/2 cup of really warm water, and 1 cup flour.
Step 3. Stir, then add another cup of flour, stir, then add another cup of flour. (3 total)
Step 4. Turn onto floured board, will be slightly sticky, knead until smooth and fairly firm..
Step 5.Put a little olive oil in bowl, put dough in and cover with cloth. Turn the oven on 250, then TURN OFF, and put the bowl in the oven to rise for 30-40 min.
Step 6. Turn dough out on floured board, make 4 even quarters, and fold sides underneath itself until you have a smooth, round dough ball.
Step. 7 Put the four pizza dough balls on a lightly floured board and let rest, covered, for 20 min.
Step 8. Press with your fingers to flatten to the size you'd like, or use a rolling pin for very thin crust(my fav). This makes 4 small-med. size pizzas. (I usually double the recipe and have 4 large)
Step. 9. Lightly flour a pizza pan or stone with cornmeal,brush with olive oil, then add 2-3 tbsp. sauce and spread around. Add whatever ingredients you prefer.
Step 10. Preheat oven to 450. Place the first pizza on the bottom rack for 5 min. Then, move to top rack for 5 more minutes. I normally keep 2 pizzas cooking at the same time and keep rotating them.

My favorite toppings are kalamato olives, beef sauteed with garlic and italian seasoning, chopped tomatoes, mozzarella,parmesano/romano cheese, pepperoni, fresh basil,(added after it comes out of the oven) pineapple and pepperoni, chicken alfredo and spinach... What are some of your favorite combinations?

Hope you try this homemade pizza if you have never made it before. I promise, it's so much better than delivery, you'll want to make your own from now on. Not to mention all the options you have. We let each one of our kids create their own pizzas. It's a lot of fun in the kitchen together, and everybody gets their favorite.

Have fun and enjoy!

Sugarbelle's Boutique

My little sugar pie and I had a bright idea to start making our own boutique-style hair bows. After countless "where are your hair bows young lady!!???" I got fed up. I figured this is one business venture that will kill two birds with one stone. Not only can we make all the bows we want, we know where we can easily get more if they don't make it home! (not that I'm encouraging that, mind you) I think the straw for me was when I bought a gorgeous, black rose, linen headband, and she lost it the second time she wore it. If I didn't know better, I'd think there was a Bermuda triangle for bows that aimed for her head every time she left the house. So, here we are...Bow makers extraordinaire. Well, not really, but we are going to try some new looks in the near future. For now, we have sweet, little clippy type bows. We'd love it if you'd stop by the blog and drop us a quick note on what you think of them. There will be many more and several new styles soon. Also, we'll be having a giveaway to promote our new venture. Hope to see you there! Click here to jump to the blog.

Hugs~
Lori

Alyssa's Antiques- One of my favorite things..

So I got to go shopping yesterday at Alyssa's. Fun! I found some totally cool things that I'll be using for decor at my shows this year. They need a little fixing up, but they are sooo great! I'll post those when they're ready. Anyway, I highly recommend going to Alyssa's in Milton, Fl. There are 2 shops, one around the corner from the other. The first one is a good size, but the other one is huge! You will find something for sure! The best part is, I got to drag, I mean go with my sweetie! He doesn't care about that sort of thing, but he was a good sport anyway. :) It was a lot of fun.

Oh My! I've finally learned to "FLY"

I'm not going to even start telling you about all my organizing troubles. It would bore you to death as well as embarrass me, so let's just not go there, K? But, I will say, I must have adult ADD or some other problem because I can never seem to finish anything. I go from one thing to the next, leaving the remnants of whatever project I'm working on wondering if I'll ever come back. I do, eventually, but everyone else has had to stare at my project until that finally happens. Needless to say, "if it's not fun for all, it's not fun at all". Well, here's where my story begins. A new chapter is here, and hopefully, will be my forever story as a new inproved, organized freak. Allow me to introduce you to my new best friend, The Fly Lady. You heard it here folks. My friend is a fly. Not really, but she is unique. Fly means "Finally loving yourself." This is because when we are not organized and things are not where they should be, you are unhappy with yourself. Possibly, it's even made you a little depressed and having self-loathing. I know because I did that. Flylady.net is a service (free) that you can join that puts a little routine and daily activities to help you stay focused on what needs to get done. Having such a simple helper has really changed the way I look at things. I'm calmer, and feel much more in control of my day. Check it out and see what you think. By the way, the shoes habit, wearing lace up shoes everyday is never gonna happen for me. I wear flip flops everyday. I live in Florida. It's in our rule book somewhere that we have to wear them. I go to Old Navy and buy them in every color. Love them, love them, don't even try to take them away from me. Besides that, I agree with her 100%.

Happy "FLYing" girls!
Lori

p.s. These are the best things ever invinted! If you've never tried them, you're gonna love them!!! They clean just about everything. I have a huge stash of these.

You keep me in stitches...

Ok, so here's my newest obsession....knitting! It's great, and I really love doing it. I find it's very relaxing, and fun to create something out of otherwise wasted time. My very favorite needles are my bamboo ones. They make no noise and they aren't cold like the metal ones. They really make my hands freeze. Whether or not I'm the only weird one that has that problem, I don't know, but it happens to me. You see the white scarf? It's my first "big" project and has several, shall we say, "issues" wink wink. That's ok though, I'm just a beginner, and I'm sure it's all part of the learning what not to do process. The two washcloths, I'm pretty proud of as they are mistake-free. I plan on making matching ones for each bathroom as well as kitchen towels. Yay! This is fun. So, if you're a knitter, feel free to share what you're working on, any great tips, websites etc. I'd appreciate any knitting info. I do plan on going to Unwind the Yarn Shop in Ft.Walton Beach soon. They have classes and lots of cool projects.

Happy knitting!
Lori