4 Pounds down!

Last week I stumpbled across a website called SparkPeople. It's a website where you can track calories, etc. to lose weight. They have a goals section where you can input goals and such as well. I started tracking tracking what I was eating and was horrified at the calories, fat, carbs, that I was eating. I weighed myself the day I signed for for SP and I weighed 268. OUCH! That is awful.

At the during of Jason, I jumped on the scale on Wednesday, April 12. It said I weight 264. Down 4 pounds!! I truly wasn't expecting a weight loss of that much. It shocked me. I was giddy the rest of the night. I hope to be down to 200 or less by the end of the year.

We haven't eaten out since I started SP and I have felt that I have eaten out every night. I steamed shrimp, made a healthy pizza loaded with veggies, it's been amazing. I'm actually shocked at how much food is in my calorie range. I can make this work. I can meet meet my goal. This is the first time that I have been on a diet that I feel I can stick with this.

Now I just need to keep up this enthusiam!

If you want to join SP, go to www.sparkpeople.com and if you would put my user name (AmPooh) in the referral field that would be great! It is a completely free site and offers, menus and such as well. Even a printable grocery list.

Challege: What's eating me

• People who can't read the simple e-mails that I send. How hard is it to read 3 sentances?
• People who refused to go to the room that they are properly assisgned because it doens't work for them. Well then, why in the hell did they reserve it in the first place???? And of course, they do this 2 freaking days in a row.
• People who knit-pick every little thing.
• People who make small problems large problems.
• (I think I have a problem with people today......)
• My hair. It's at the stage where I don't know what to do with it. I don't want short hair, but the long hair isn't looking too good. I'm sick of the style that I have.
• Pants. Why in the world can't I find any work pants that fit me? They are freaking huge in the butt. I could fit another butt in there.
• People who call and ask the same question over and over again.
• People who call and ask for a room, because they don't like the one that they have. When I tell them they ahve nothing available, they wait about 2-3 hours and then have their secretary call to see if I have anything open. Don't ya think if I would have had something open, I would have given it to you? I'm holding rooms hostage here.....
• Work.
• Work.
• Oh, did I say work?
• And people.

That about sums it up today. Aren't you glad you asked?

Laurie...Scrapbooking :)

Laurie, instead of answering you in the comments section, I thought you deserved your own post, LOL.

I haven't scrapped in ages and ages and I am so far behind it isn't even funny
any more.

Don't worry about getting far behind in scrapbooking. In my opinion, it's not about scrapping in any order, and you shouldn't stress if you are behind! In the "Big Picture Scrapbooking" book by Stacy Julian, she said something to the effect that it's ok to not scrap in order, it's ok to be behind, and it's ok to scrap the same picture more than once. That was very enlightening for me. I mean, all along, I knew that Scrapbooking really had no rules, but for someone to come out and actually say it, that was amazing to me! That book really inspired me.

Now some people might say that I sound all conceited and a know-it-all for this, and I'm not that way. I just wanted to share what I learned, and to hopefully inspire someone to not worry about the "rules." Especially since there are none!

Now Laurie, go scrap a page and forget about everything this else for a bit!

My Points

So I've been using mypoints for well over a year now and it's wonderful! Jason and I do a bit of online shopping, so you earn points that way, but mainly I just click through the e-mails that they send me. We have gotten a bunch of giftcards for free this eay! Since I opened the account, I've earned 15,060 points. We almost have another 4,000 ready to redeem! Just have to decide what we want to get this time around.

I *love* my points! We have earned giftcards to Olive Garden, Toys R Us, and I believe even Target. They really helped out with Christmas shopping one year, since money was tight.

If you want to learned more about MyPoints, let me know, and I can refer you and they will send you an informative e-mail. I earn points that way too, so let me know, LOL.

If you have questions, I will do my best to answer them :)

Boring Life

I live such a boring life. I feel like I don't have anything to say that people would like reading. I enjoy reading others blogs, as they share bits and pieces about their lives and cute kid stories. I don't have cute kids stories, and Jason and I aren't that exciting, lol.
Let's see what's happened since I last updated my blog.
-I got my S.H.E. book. Denise, that means I get to send Chele's copy on to you! Do you still want the Tupperware pitcher? If so, I will send them both at the same time. Let me know! I still haven't made up my SHE cards though, bad Amber.
-I worked at Scraps of Time (Local Scrapbook Store) during their used stamp sale. Got some awesome deals and earned money too, LOL. You wouldn't believe what some of the Stampin' Up set's were going for. CHEAP! I got a brand new, never been mounted set for $8. Can't go wrong there!
-This last weekend I went out to eat with some of the gals from SOT (Scraps of Time) and then went back to the store to crop. Was a lot of fun and we are all saying that we need to do it again soon. It was nice going out with just the gals for a while.

-Went up to IKEA 2 weekends in a row, LOL. I got my IKEA Expedit shelf for my scraproom. That means my scrap area is a *DISASTER* but is getting organized.

-Jason and I are going through purging a ton of stuff and trying to re-organize the house a bit. I must admit it's a great feeling!

-Valentine's Day was good! Jason spoiled me, as usual!

-Work is still work. I dream about being at home, working in my crafting area when I'm at work.
-Jason and I are looking into refinancing the house. We got 1 rate back, and I think that it should be lower. Will do a little more looking before we sign anything.

I like my lists, LOL. (Yes, I know I'm weird!)

Not much else, see I told you life is boring!

Rain & Class

Class went very well!! I had about 12 students and they all made the box, whoo hoo! They said that I was very patient and they want to take another class from me. *Shock* So I should see what else I can bring in and turn into a class. LOL.

And it's been raining all day! I left for class about 10:30 and it was a little sprinkley, and it's been rainy all day now.

I also got the Sidetracked Home Executive book from Chele in the mail yesterday, I believe. And I got a couple lovely birthday tags in the mail. Chele and Jen's. They are both awesome!!! Thanks guys!

Oh sorry, went off on a tanget there....anyway, I'm going to try the S.H.E method out. I went and bought the colored cards and dividers today. I'm thinking I'm going to dress the box and dividers up though. I'm a scrapper, how can I leave them alone, LOL. Does anyone do the S.H.E. style? Does it work for you? I'm thinking I'm going to get my own copy of the book off of eBay because I truly think that it will work for me! I really enjoyed reading it.

Springtime!

Yup, you read that right, it's looking like spring out there already! We have no snow on the ground and it's been in the upper 30's or lower 40's all week! Yesterday we grilled outside for lunch. Hamburgers and brats, boy was that good....and the best part is we still have leftovers.....yummy.

Today I'm teaching a class at the LSS on the Ikea box. I'm nervous about it since I don't like to talk in front of people, so I hope it goes ok.

Dinking Around

I'm loving this week off! I'm having so much fun just dinking around, doing whatever I want. It's great!! I'm still working on my big project and haven't done any scrappin' except for that, but that's ok. I'm having so much fun!

I did go and buy a sizzix die cut machine today, now I just need some dies, LOL. Money only goes so far though! So if you know of some cheap places, besides eBay to buy some dies let me know. Or if you are selling them, let me know, I'm interested!

Denise, thank you for showing me that set! Do you know approximately how big the { is? Or even the words?

Today Jason and I are going to give blood. Appointment is at 2 p.m. Should be fun. I haven't given blood since I was in high school. Almost 5 years ago now. Gosh, I'm getting old! Yesterday I turned 23. I feel older...that can't be good, ROFL.

Well, I best be off, want to work a little more on my project. Lots of fun, but very time consuming!!

Bad blogger

Yes, I know, I've been a terrilbe blogger. *hangs head in shame* But in all honestly, not too much is going on.

I'm off work next week, WHOO HOO. I can't wait! I need this time to relax and rejuvenate.

I got the Big Picture book earlier this week. Started reading it today at lunch. *loving* it. I can't wait to finish it and re-read it, LOL. I can definately see how this would change a persons view on scrapping and inspire them. Fav quote so far, "Scrapbooking products don't have expiration dates."

I'm in seach of a stamp that has the { included in it. Anyone know where I can find a set?

I so want a sizzix for my Birthday!

I'm so looking forward to going up north this weekend and seeing everyone. Going to be great fun.

I'm teaching a class at the LSS on the 28th and am nervous.

I'm almost done with work today!

Amber :)

Good Day!

For the most part anyway!! I completely spaced a meeting today and got there 30 minutes late. But at least it was my co-workers, and not someone from an outside department and the meeting hadn't really gotten started anyway! Got a good laugh about it. :)

Anyway, I'm proud of myself. There was a bunch of food at the department today, none of it healthy and I didn't touch it! Usually I gotta sample a couple things, but I completely left it alone. That may not sound like much for some, but for me, it was an accomplishment.

I also had a Burger and Salad for supper instead of 2 burgers and french fries or chips.

Now I need to make myself a big glass of water and drink more water!

All in all, a good day.

Crazy

Have you ever felt so busy that you feel like you will never get caught up? That's now I feel right now. And I truly don't have that much going on. It's crazy. And I don't like it.

I gotta do my design team projects.

Prep for my class at the end of the month.

We still have our Christmas Tree up. That needs to come down.

Work with Nick on the Scrappy-Chic website.

Mod Podge Kim's paint can.

And in the midst of all of this, I want to get rid of stuff. I want to simplify. I want to be free of all of these things weighing me down. I want to toss crap that we don't need. This should be fun. I feel overwhelmed. This will pass and I will simplify.

On top of all of that, guess what dumb thing I did today.






Did ya guess yet?











How about now?











Well, you should have!

I was opening a supply box at work, using scissors and somehow managed to cut my finger! Bleeding and everything. Now I have a band-aid on my finger and it feels funny typing. I drew blood and I wasn't even scrapbooking! Gosh, freakin' idiot!

Challenges!

This is Sheila's challenge! What a fun one, LOL.

~~5 Wierd Habits~~

1. Sometimes, I can't talk and get all tounge tied. For instance, i was talking to Jason last night and said Seat Heeking instead of Heat Seeking, LOL. I've done this so many times, ROFL.

2. The very first thing I look at when I get up is Scrappy Chic. Usually the last thing before I go to bed, but not always, depends on what I'm doing.

3. In order to fall asleep, I have to rub my feet together in a circular motion. Used to drive Jason crazy...now I think he's used to it, LOL. I also twirl my hair around my finger when I'm tired. Used to do that when I was little and I still do, LOL.

4. I talk with my hands. I have a very hard time talking if Jason is holding my hand. He once told me to sit on my hands to try to talk. Couldn't do it, LOL. I also tend to pace when I talk on the phone. Or I'm always doing soemthing else like doodling, or something. I can't just talk on the phone.

5. I hate walking over man hole covers, or gates of any kind. Or if there is a metal covering on the floor or outside, I won't walk on it. They just freak me out!

How's that for werid??? Hope you guys will still be my friend, LOL.


Now I'm also challenging you to post about 5 funny things that you have done or said. LOL, after this you all will think I'm even more nuts, LOL.

~~5 funnies about me!~~

1. I once walked into a glass door. Jason thought I was kidding and said that it looked like something out of a movie. I thought that the door was automatic and would open for me....I busted up laughing right after it happened. Jason was worried that I was hurt, I wasn't, LOL.

2. When Ma, Dad, and I were driving somewhere, I was amazed at the size of the cornfield. I said, in utter amazement, "There's a lot of corn in that field over there." Mom and dad started cracking up and said yea, that's cuz it's a cornfield, LOL.

3. I was drivng in the car with Jason, Sue, Julie, and Ma. I was following a grater and asked, "Sooo....is it okay to pass this." In my defense, I was thinking that it was like a snowplow that you shouldn't pass, LOL. They still tease me about that one!!!

4. I meant to say, Big Black Smoke Cloud and it came out, "Big-bak-moke-coud." You should have seen the look that Jason gave me. It was one of those what-the-hell-are-you-trying-to-say looks.

5. Me on Christmas Eve. 'Nuff said.

Another Christmas Challenge

1. Growing up at home, we each got at least 1 ornament each year. When we packed the tree away we each got our own box. When we put the tree up, we each got to put up our box of ornaments. When I moved out of the house, Ma gave me my box of ornaments. I love putting them up on the tree. Full of memories!! Jason and I continue to carry this tradition.

2. There has only been 1 year that we have not had a real Christmas tree. Usually we get a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, but this year, we got a beautiful nice full Christmas tree.

3. I remember getting up on Christmas morning, and seeing my cabbage patch highchair sitting in front of the Christmas tree. I think that was my favorite gift that year.

4. I remember getting a Tea Set when I was 12 or 13 and was thinking that the gift must have been Susan's because I was too old for plastic tea set. I was going to tell Grandma Gladys and then Jodi opened the same gift, so I knew it was for me. I was disappointed because Grandma Gladys gave really cool gifts.

5. Jason and I don't suprise each other on Chrimstas. We know what we are getting eachother. We haven't done stockings yet, and I don't know if we will or not. If we do, that might not be a surprise either!

6. I'm feeling stressed because I'm not done wrapping presents and Christmas is this weekend.

7. I second guess a ton of gifts I buy for people. I don't want to come across as cheap or gift them a gift that will end up in the White Elephant pile.

8. I don't like to give gift cards as gifts. I would much rather buy people a gift. Jason used to buy everyone a Best Buy gift card for Christmas, but now I think he enjoys shopping for actual gifts.

12 days of Christmas...Amber syle

Love this Challenge Sheila!!

One the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me.......
Twelve acres in the country, with a huge house and scrapping room!
Eleven new books to read.
Ten gift certifcates to Scraps of Time!
Nine hundred dollars attend CKU.
Eight hundred dollars of spending money for CKU.
Seven days to tell my boss, that I'm no longer working there...I am going to be a SAHW/M.
Six itunes gift cards.
Five more lifetimes with him and his goofy self!
Four children.
Three smell good candles.
Two new necklaces, silver of course!
One Rebel Digital camera with classes on how to use it.

Scrappy Chic is down...

Jason was installing a mod for me and something went wrong, LOL. We need a sessions table in the database and it isn't there. Jason is working on trying to fix it, but it might take a while...he hopes to have it up this morning before he goes to sleep, but he's not having any luck so far....

I need my Scrappy Chic fix....

I don't know many e-mails, but thought I would post on my blog, incase you are wondering what is going on...hopefully the board will be up soon!

Amber :)

22

On one of the many other blogs that I read, they posted a list of random facts and tid bits about themself...so I'm copying and doing the same. Hope someone else copies me, ROFL. Oh, and I first put 23 up at the top then realized that I'm only 22, DUH. I'm such a dork.

1. I'm 22 years old...which I can't seem to remember
2. I love mexican food.
3. I either fall asleep watching TV or reading my book each night.
4. I love that Jason opens the doors for me wherever we go...even simply opening the door for me to get out of the car. Love it. Isn't he the best?
5. Jason is 9 years older than me. (And yes, I lovingly call him my old man, LOL.)
6. I wanted to put the Christmas tree up in November.
7. I collect recipe books, but don't seem to use them.
8. I'm not that good of a cook....but I try!
9. People tell me I'm so organzied, but I don't think I am...I need help, LOL.
10. I tend to buy things or request samples and then every use them.
11. I'm the youngest person in my area at work. Most people could me my mom/dad or grandma/grandpa and have kids or grandkids my age.
12. I need to lose weight, but keep doing nothing about it.
13. I love watching the snow fall, and taking pictures of it, but I had driving in it, and shoveling in it and everything else about it.
14. Jason and I got 99% of all places together and he drives. People think it's wierd that he goes to the scrappin' store with me, but he sees things I don't, LOL.
15. I don't have any real life friends that live nearby me. And I don't mind.
16. I can drink iced tea at any meal, and love it with breakfast.
17. Even though I've donated blood before, I'm a little freaked out about donating again. Nothing bad happened, just freaked, LOL.
18. I'm loving the color pink. I want a cute pink purse. I have a pink cup that I use at work and love it. But I use a purple pen to write at work. How does that work?
19. When I'm tired, I get crabby, snarky, whiney, and pouty, LOL.
20. I enjoy writing in my blog even though I tend to say nothing, LOL.
21. Halo2 is what I play most nights/weekends, when I'm not scrapping.
22. I haven't wrapped 1 Christmas present yet.

That was fairly easy.....might have to do this again!

Another Ornament!

I actually made this one before the other ones, and then realized I never took a picture of it.

Here it is!

Advent Calendar...finished!

Here is my finished Advent Calendar!


Took forever, but was so worth it. I {LOVE} it!!!

Journaling Prompts?

I'm looking for a site that has a question of the day, or like a journaling prompt of the day. Something to go with the seasons and such.....like for December, Christmas themed ones....oh and I want a free one....LOL. Demanding aren't I? Anyone have any ideas???? Please...I'm begging here.............................

Ornaments

Here are the Christmas Ornaments that I decorated up a bit.

First one is Let it Snow...I used the Heidi Swapp Corner Rub on's and just cut the Let it Snow out. I also put a little bit of that fake snow in there as well, since I thought it looked too plain.


This next one is also an ornament. I took one of the wooden Chatterbox frames printed a picture to go in it, attached fun fur to hang it, put paper over the back and cut off the brad fasteners and used the brads to decorate it. I also use Making Memories Rub Ons to add sisters to the frame.


This third ornament, I cut strips of 12 by 12 paper, I believe it was the Reminensce Brand (Shimmery, like KI paper) in half and then in half again, curled them around a pen, and twisted them to make them more curly and filled the ornament with them.



This last one is my favorite so far....I filled the ball with Fun Fur (got glass in my finger while doing it), and added the Heidi Swapp Tape to the Outside. {LOVE} This one.


I also have 1 more that I did that I haven't take pictures of yet. Will post that as soon as I take pictures. It is done! Also I realized that the pictures just do not do the ornaments justice....they look better in person.....