Lucky Charms!

So my husband and I decided to buy this bottle of wine. I’ve seen these really cool bottles filled with all sorts of stuff, but of course when I find a cool bottle, I don’t have any idea what to fill it with to make it pretty! So, thanks to lots of pinteresting, I decided to go with stars! They are pretty simple to make, I used scrapbook paper and scissors, and a ruler isn’t a bad idea but I don’t know where mine is, haha! So, with a scrapbook paper for stars, you probably want your strips between a quarter and a half inch thick. Then, make a knot with the paper, pressing the folds flat to make a pentagon.  Fold the paper over itself, keeping it in the pentagon shape. When you reach the end of the strip, fold the end into the open triangle at the base of the pentagon. This is the video that shows the process really well, and the person’s original link for the pictures that I got the idea. I like the idea of them on string too, cute decorating idea.

thecheesethief

and their video

thecheesethief video

Good Food and Weight Loss

I have lost 9 pounds in about a month! Awesome! So, the best thing to do is get yourself somewhere to keep track of calories. My doctor suggested MyFitnessPal on the iPad or iPhone, I love it. It has almost every food I eat in it, and if the restaurant is not in it, you can just look up the food and there are usually tons of listings. I always pick the one with how much I ate, or the most calories so I’m not cheating myself….we all know we want to, so do I! So, I absolutely love food, it is really easy for me to snack all day. I also have a very weird schedule. Some mornings for work, I am up at 4:30 and could never seem to find the time to eat. This means that by lunchtime, I am so hungry I feel like I could eat 2 big steaks! My doctor says protein fills you up fastest and longest, he’s got me on the protein drink called Boost, and or cheese. Most healthy drinks, I just hate the flavor of, they say chocolate, I go no way! And they usually are not very good. Boost seems to be tolerable, I have only tried the vanilla, it’s better than any other I have tried. I also have been eating lots of string cheese. I know it has more fat than we want, but it is light, and lasts in my fridge way longer than meat. Meat is an alternative though. The light string cheese at Trader Joe’s is awesome. Here is another helpful hint about the programs to keep your calories down. I have noticed most websites and even MyFitnessPal give you way too many calories per day. I am 5’4 and to lose weight, can only eat 1400 calories per day. My sister went to a fitness health program, she’s 5’3 and can only eat 1350 calories per day. Don’t let this stop you, though! I totally understand, I need my sugar or I go crazy and get bitchy….eat the cookie! Just make sure for dinner, you have salad! Or exercise. I hope some of this helped! I know it is hard; I personally am worried about keeping it up. I have tried to lose weight twice last year, and this year when I started, I did not lose weight for 3 months! Don't give up, thgou! I am personally setting myself a goal of 15 pounds at a time, because that is way better than the 70 or more pounds I have to lose. Looking at it that way is frightening. My best friend also got me hooked on another very good drink for you, Diet V8 Splash! Very good for you, good juice flavor and low in calories!

Blog Title!

So I have fervently been working on a new blog title and finally came up with one. What do you think?! So exciting! The horse is a personal logo I created for myself a few years ago and have updated slightly since. The blog name will also be my stable name...when if ever I get my own business going! I've been thinking about it a lot, I am going to start promoting my horse training. Exciting! And my "future art studio" has a theme! It is going to be night themed, so lots of stars and some sort of moon! More coming later.......

A Change in Pace

Alright! Something new and different today, I am throwing up some of my photography! These are from the greenways and parks in Charlotte, NC this spring. Tell me what you think! The  first one, the color is edited for more vibrant color. The cherry blossoms bloomed a month early this year, I've got one in image #6 and will try to get more posted at a later date. They were beautiful!

Desensitizing

So work, school and vacation have kept me from writing. I didn't ride last week due to Easter, but we did some desensitizing on Monday, played with a yoga ball! Hobbie was a little shy at first, but only about a half an hour we were bouncing it on his back and rolling it toward his ears. His lunging has greatly improved, his transitions from walk to trot and trot to walk are almost seamless with small commands free lunging, I'm really proud. His canter is rough, but he's just not strong enough to hold it for long yet. Oh my, our ride on Friday was awful. We played with a plastic bag and he was great, head to toe rubbing him down. He needs that a few more times I think though. But when we rode, for some reason he was shying away really bad of pretty much the ground. No progress, but we did at least calm down and go forward after lots of positive motivation. We have a lot more to work on if he's going to shy like that toward stuff. I think next time I need to take a tarp out...