some new favorite pictures....

Picture blogs are my favorite.  I love to take pictures.  I love to edit pictures.  I love it that I live in a time when cameras and photo editing software are so readily available.  Here are some of my recent favorite pictures :)

Matty....being Matty.

Sledding with as many people as possible on the sled.  My BIL, my hubby, my little ones and my sister's youngest.

My boho girl Anna.

Drew, on the day he turned 18.  Such a hard day for this mama and an exciting day for him.

woohoo.....mastering this crochet thing....

my first project crocheted in the round and loving this flower pattern.....

Made this for Anna and I to share :)  We both love the boho colors....turquoise and orange.  The turquoise was hand dyed by me on BBR and the flower is orange "I Love This Yarn".  The flower is so much fun to make :)  The pattern is here.

some Goodwill love...

I always feel like Goodwill or thrift stores are my favorite places in the world.  I love finding something awesome for a tiny little price....or something that is old and can be made new again......or something that someone has gotten rid of and making it relevant again.  Some of my latest finds.....

Blowfish Harporo boots.  Chocolate brown.  Perfect condition.  $6.99/$54.00 retail.

My new fave coffee cup in my mix and match collection.  $0.49

My random collection of coffee cups.  All are from Goodwill.  They were $0.49 each.  

my transformation....

I have lived most of my adult life overweight....not obese, but overweight.  To be honest, I was tiny in high school and didn't have to try.  I was never athletic, and never participated in sports or really anything sporty at all.  My weight fluctuated as I had babies and fought depression.  My life was quite a roller coaster of pregnancy, nursing, PPD, and idleness.

After Anna was born, I decided to become a stay-at-home mama.  I never dreamed of the isolation that would accompany this decision.  I remained a couch potato.  And then I got pregnant with Matty.  I was extremely ill with my last pregnancy.  So in total, I only gained 14 pounds with him.  Afterward, I nursed him for 18 months.  Somewhere in there, I started to lose weight...and I started to feel better. 

I began taking small walks and met a friend that lived close that wanted to walk.  Lisa and I love to talk so walking wasn't even like exercising to me.  We would walk and talk for miles.  And more weight came off.

That is when I decided to try Couch to 5k.  It was slow going and I had to repeat a week or two, but finally started my running journey.

I have had some friends join me along way on their own running journey.  My walking buddy Lisa is running too.  However, we still love to walk together.  My friend Jada is also on her running journey as well.  :)

I am not a star runner.  I am not fast and I do not win races.  But I run a 5k at least 3 times a week and practice yoga.  I have run several 5k's and will run my first 10k this spring.  

Altogether I have lost about 30 pounds.  My legs are so toned and look better than they did when I was a teenager.  I still have flab on my belly.....I still have skin from my c-sections.  But I feel so confident and powerful and can wear a size 6 again.  :)

On the powerful note.......I have mentioned depression in my story.  And I do think that being over weight did not help me feel any better about myself.  With the PPD and the isolation of being a SAHM, I was a mess.  I found a counselor and was put on anti-depression meds.  When I started my weight loss journey, I was taking the maximum amount of Wellbutrin daily. 

But running has done more for me than any medication ever has....it gives me goals and when I reach these goals, it gives me the opportunity to celebrate success.  All of these small achievements started to add up....and my waist line started to go down.  And all the while, my confidence grew.  I am now proud to say that I am completely med free.  Running has given me whatever the meds gave me and so much more.  I can honestly say that running has made me a better person, a happier person, a better wife and a better mama. 

From couch potato to runner......

and me now.......

the graffiti run

with my two youngest kiddos....Anna & Matty

with my sweet friend Jada

running a few weeks ago for #MegsMiles

kitchen chest refinish....

We have the world's tiniest pantry.  So out to Goodwill I went to find an old chest/dresser that would work in our kitchen for cereal, snacks, popcorn, our main junk drawer....

And found this little treasure :)  yes, it is hunter green.  And yes, it has stickers all over it.  But the general idea of it was perfect for the kitchen.  Paid $9.99 for it and called the hubs to pick it up for me on his way home.

Removed all the knobs, sanded it down, including sanding off all the stickers.  Painted it with Chocolate brown paint all over and finished with black tinted glaze all over.  Replaced the knobs with some inexpensive knobs from Menards.  And now we have much more room in our kitchen for all of our food.

valentines day banner & some Goodwill love

I do not typically decorate for every holiday, but the kids and I have a severe case of the winter blahs around here.  Crafting entertains us and I love hanging out at the table seeing what they come up with.....today was one of those "we don't want to do this days" for the kids.  They sat at the table and whined and eventually left me alone while they went to play some Minecraft.

Here is my LOVE banner I made for the mantel.  Made from scrapbook paper, a crocheted chain of yarn and stencils.  I love how it turned out.

So I made a banner for my newly decorated mantel.  I always end up leaving my mantel the exact same, year after year and last week I just got tired of it.  So a redo was in order.....

I got the swirly sconces at Goodwill ($0.99 each) and I have yellow glass tulip candle holders on them instead of candles.  I got those at Goodwill as well ($1.99 for the set).  The greenery was upstairs, the family pic is a picture from our family vacation a couple of years ago.  I had it printed as an 8X10 from Shutterfly for $1.25.  The PITCOCK name plate is a hand crafted wedding gift that I love.  The clock is from a "take it....FREE" pile.  The lantern is from Michaels and I used my 40% off coupon to get it for $8.99.  The bench is my Stool Redo stool and the basket beside the fireplace holds the dog's belongings and it is from Goodwill (2.99) as well.  The rest was laying around the house and finished off with pictures of my kiddos :)

our Sharpie bowls....

Pinterest is too much fun.  I saw this craft and pinned it a while ago....today we were quite bored.  Winter is too long in Indiana and we are ready to go to the park and the pool.  But unfortunately it was cold and rainy today.  So we did our Sharpie bowl projects :)

I picked up 4 white bowls at Goodwill ($0.99 each) and found all my Sharpies laying around the house.

Decorate the bowls and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.



Here are our final results.....

Not sure if they are truly dishwasher safe.  We shall see.