A new recipe to try

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxcxfsbLoU1qgh9aoo1_400.jpg

Here's the link for the recipe. It's a tangerine green tea.....


This is how I am going to make it:

I am going to make a pitcher of green tea, slice up two tangerines and put them in the pitcher. Add a few sprigs of mint and let it sit overnight in the fridge....

It says it will increase your metabolism by 12 % with just one cup.WHO KNEW? Well, I didn't, but now I do!!

I will let you know how it goes....

Recycled fashion

So....I got this idea....nothing too novel or earth shattering...nonetheless,I still think it's a pretty good idea.
I have been frequenting the website Pinterest, of late....I sooooo love LOVE love it...you could safely say that I am probably addicted to it, if you want. If you were ever on there, you probably know what I am saying....
So...I really love women's apparel...I wear it, I like shopping...somewhat...I really love clothes and figuring out different things to wear....
Have you seen the prices of clothes....???I was shocked...I guess I have been shopping at target, walmart, and goodwill too long....so I decided to challenge myself...try to find a pretty outfit on Pinterest and find something close at a thrift shop or on clearance obviously cheaper....
So here's what I started with....and here's what I got from the goodwill...check it out...the whole outfit less than 15 bucks....exciting huh?

I got the black pants for 2.50, the cream belt for 1.00, the white shirt for 2.00, the herringbone blazer for 3.50 and the black shoes for 4.00...it took me a few days to assemble the get-up, but I think it works... I already had the necklace in my jewelry box,it wasn't exact...but it was close.

The outfit online was around 400.00 all together...so I think that's pretty substantial.

Let me know what you think....it's amazing what you can do with a little inspiration....who doesn't love inspiration, right?

Now to find my next cute outfit...maybe just dig through my closet this time...

Until next time friends....

The pinterest inspiration is the center picture...the other 2 pictures( top and bottom pictures) are me

New stuff and ideas!!!!

Oh yeah! I have been working feverishly on several different projects, of late. I just sent a huge order to Ellwoods today....I am feeling sort of accomplished. Now to keep ahead of the game so I will have some inventory.....
One of the things I made last night was a oh-so-cute cork board....heart shaped, no less....and it is a real REAL corkboard....made from real recycled corks....
Here it is....I painted the ends of the corks and glued them to a balsa wood heart that has been sitting on a shelf for I don't know how long. To finish it off I used some vintage corsage pins to use as memo tacks to add to the valentine-ish flair.
I think it is cute....what do you think???? Let me know.

Okay....so let us try this....

I know....I know....I am such a slacker...it's true. Perhaps my new iPad will solve some of my slackerness...eh.who am I kidding??? I have been making things like a mad woman....Christmas is upon us...coupled with the fact that I am broke, I am making a whole slew of things to give away and help with the cash flow....here's one thing I am particularly happy with....it's a cute purse I made out of a little girl dress size 12 months....love it!!
Let me know what you think and if this works, I will be posting a lot more .... Promise....pinky swear.... Xoxoxo~Jen

Something positive...

In my previous posts, I have written about what I want to do, what I should and shouldn't do, and basically what I want to be when I grow up. I am evolving, and let's face it...do we ever really grow up? Well, I certainly hope not....I concider myself a lifelong learner, always learning something, trying something...but I really hadn't concidered what is that I am doing right, in the little game that we call life...right?





I had said that I had gotten myself into a rut of sorts...I am guessing that that feeling usually comes along when you are middle aged...children get older...I don't know, I see myself getting older and I really didn't like it...I didnt like the path I was taking and I wanted to be able to enjoy my time after I have an empty nest...mind you i still have a 10 year old, so it's still pretty far off...anyhow, I think that's why I was feeling the way I was...





yesterday it hit me, I hadn't really taken into concideration, the things I had been doing right over the years...for instance, I never pass up the chance to laugh...those of you that know me, I laugh at everything that strikes me as funny, no matter how many times I have seen it...I laugh a really stupid things too, like the shark scene on strange wilderness...





I hope that works...but I laugh every single time, I cant help it...it just never gets old to me..

I absolutely love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...prolly more than I did when I was a kid....and milk, I drink a lot more milk than I used to....

Theres something about sharks...no, TALKING sharks that just make me laugh...I love the snickers squared commercial too...





it's hilarious...
so I laugh a lot, you all get that now, right? it's the best, and prolly my favorite...

I really try to make something everyday...even if it is just somethng small and simple...it makes me feel good....

I am really trying to "Go with the flow" take it as it comes and not go crazy in the process...I will let you know how THAT goes....

One other thing, I am really trying is not to take things so personally....crap happens all the time and I am really trying to give other people the benefit of the doubt(when appropriate) and hopefully that notion will come back to me...

I know, my list isnt as long as my "want to" list...and there is prolly a lot I have left out...but I thought I would share this little bit with ya...

so until next time,
Go with the flow...oh yeah, and laugh a little, will ya?
xoxoxo!
Jen

So...I have been thinking...

Yeah, it's true..I have been thinking..contemplating life in general...trying to be true to myself, I guess. Wanting to be true to myself...

I hit 40 last year, I guess you could say it really hit me hard. Thinking about all I have been through, how fortunate I was to actually be here..and how scary it was to think if it weren't for the great doctors I have encountered in my life, I wouldn't be here...

So, at the age of 40, I realized that I had let myself go. I had gotten myself into the metaphorical rut, so to say. ( I know I am not the only one) I am pretty easy going...not too high maintenance...I go with the flow...yeah, yeah, yeah...yadda...yadda...yadda..

I started taking better care of myself. I started exercising regularly, eating better, researching better ways to take care of my body, my mind and my soul...It has been a year and half since my journey began...

Needless to say, I am still working on big facets of this so-called "renewal". I want to have that " I don't care what anybody else thinks" kind of attitude...I want to be confident in myself...but it's hard...

I have been toying with the idea of wearing a bikini for a while....which is a BIG thing for me...I have had 12 surgeries...all abdominal surgeries....What to do?

weight lost....check
(went from a 41" waist to a 31 1/2" waist in a year and a 1/2) (still working on it though)
toned up...check (check out my yoga post)
bikini bought....check
bikini fits...check...
just can't do it...

I want to...people are so mean..
It's not even that I think i look that great in a bikini...it's just HAVE YOU SEEN THE WHOLE PEICES, OF LATE...They suck!

I mean, why shouldn't I ? Should I hide my scars? Should I just pretend that they aren't there? (What? ) I know they are ugly...BUT...they have made me who I am today....Right?(what don't kill ya will make ya stronger...) I don't know....maybe I should just go for it... afterall, I will be in the water past my navel for the most part, so who cares...

That takes me to things I have read on the message boards about this subject...Its sad really...I don't think people take other people circumstances into account...They can be just mean...I thought I found something a couple of weeks ago...On the cover of Woman's World magazine there was a girl in a bikini, who said she wore a bikini DESPITE her scars...WOW! I was impressed...(I still am, she was on the cover, afterall...) BUT she was like 23...she too had a kidney surgery of some sort...like 15 years ago, instead of 30 years ago....big difference in the scars...I would definitely not have a problem with that...it would be a non issue...little bit of a tan and I am good to go(perhaps...I don't know)I don't think people(especially me) really grasp the concept of how bad is it, really?....I see people all the time that I wouldnt want to trade places with...not that I think it's that bad, just a different set of problems...
Maybe I will set a goal... and then MAKE myself do it...couldn't be that bad...Could it? I have sang in front of loads of people...carried on and acted foolish, probably in front of more people that I care to mention....I can do this...it's not like I am a stripper or something, asking for money( just in case there are any "exotic dancers"with scars out there, reading my blog, I want your confidence, let me know how you do it...) ( I need as much help as I can get)......I just want to swim...comfortably...I think emotionally comfortable falls under that umbrella too, right?

so until, I figure this out...cover up, it is....

For obvious reasons, there will be no pictures with this post....

until we meet again!
xoxo!

it's YOGA time!

I love yoga...and I never really thought about it before, but I actually fought doing yoga...mostly because I didn't think I was strong enough. I had always heard that you needed a strong core to do yoga. What I didn't know is that Yoga will develop a strong core for you...it just takes time. (I have had 12 abdominal surgeries, in my life, and if I can do it ANYONE can do it) BESIDES, it makes me feel SOOO FREAKING GOOD!

Let me start off by saying this before I go any further, I am not, by any stretch of the word, good at yoga. I do yoga in my livingroom, by myself, to a video, or looking at a book or magazine. I have watched videos on youtube, and I own 2 or 3 videos...plus there are some decent videos on demand or through excercise TV...I have never set foot in a yoga studio...nonetheless, I feel really good after yoga...I have stretched my muscles, cleansed my mind, and released the achyness in my body....Did I say it feels good? WELL, IT DOES, for sure.

I generally do "vinyasa" or flows that involve downward facing dog, plank, upward facing dog, etc etc...The part I love the most is the poses, or "asana" I love trying new poses and trying to the the poses I can do better...holding them longer, figuring out how to breathe and staying balanced has always been a struggle for me, but I am learning...(ha!)

The three poses I love the most are; "the tree"

Like this pose right here

It makes me feel so good, I can hold it for 60 seconds if I want to, and that is no small feat, I tell you.

it just makes me happy...

I also love the dancers pose....

I can't hold it as long as "the tree" pose...but I am getting better at it...I am getting a little more bendy and am able to raise my leg a little more...when I started my back was almost completely flat...I cant bend as much as I wish I could, but I am getting there...

This pose always makes me smile...and sometime laugh...at myself...cause I am on the floor..BUT IT'S FUN! no doubt about it...

The third on I love to do is the bow...no falling here..

cause you are on the floor, on your belly already...

just like in this picture

It feels so good on my chest and the backs of my legs...sometimes if I am out of alignment(which may not be anybody elses case, except mine) this pose pops me back into place...my spine, that is...it gives me energy

So that's all I got on yoga, for now,(I will let you know if I figure anything else out)...I LOVE it...makes me feel so good, it challenges you and really builds your core( I am living proof of that) If you have thought about it before, but kinda shyed away from it...just GO FOR IT...it's awesome!