Walk at Home ... Kicked My Ass

Due to the lack of popularity in my blog, I'm going to go ahead and write about a few changes I'm making in my life. If you know me very well then you know that my weight has been an issue most of my life and that my excess weight is the result of bad eating habits and lack of exercise.

Over the last few months a few things have happened that have made me want to focus on changing my bad eating habits and lack of exercise. Perhaps those things will be covered in a future post. Since I've have a 25 plus year history with weight issues, I know what works for me and what doesn't. 

My latest exercise adventure.

Exercise is something I don't mind, it's just something I haven't made a priority. Food is something I love and controlling it is something that I need to make a priority.

I'm a huge fan of QVC. You can't be a QVC fan and not know about Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home program. I decided why not give it a shot. I bought one of her DVDs at my local Walmart. 

Last night, I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill - we have a Gold's Gym Trainer 410 from Walmart - and then decided to give Mile 1 a try. You should know that I walked at 0 incline and averaged 2 to 2.3 mile per hour in speed.

That's right, no warm up ... take me straight to Mile 1. The description for Mile 1 is A fresh Walk at Home - 15 minute mile! It's a 4 mile per hour pace and a new cast of walkers makes it fun and inspirational. I didn't make it five minutes! 

I really don't know what I was expecting, but I do know I wasn't expecting it to kick my ass. I ended up watching the rest of Mile 1 in addition to Mile 2 and Mile 3. 

Today, I decided it was best to start with the warm up. I found myself swearing at the television and calling Leslie names. And, I called myself a few while I was at it. Needless, to say I'm so out of shape the warm up wore me out. 

The leg lifts about killed me. My dear husband pointed out that the ladies in the video have skinny legs. Don't get me wrong, he was nice about it and helped put thing in perspective.

I do think the program is a good one for anyone that wants to give exercise a try without going to the gym or buying equipment. You need enough space to take two steps forward and two steps back and to the side. The thing to remember is that you didn't get out of shape over night, so give yourself a chance to get back in the groove.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm determined to get back to my old self that enjoyed exercising ... so, I'll be giving Leslie another shot. My thought is that by next week, I will work my way up to Mile 1.

Stay tuned ...

Love of Post-it Notes

The ribbon might be a little long, but it
gives it a bit of sass.

Most of my close friends and former co-workers know that I love Post-it notes. I got super excited, when I saw the Post-It Present pinned on Pinterest. The pin came from the blog Paper Wings.

It didn't take long for me to head to Hobby Lobby for scrapbook paper. Walmart is a weekly trip for me, so I bought a few of the 5 x 7 acrylic frames for less than $1 each. I already have a decent inventory of fabric ribbon. I also bought a few packs diamond embellishments at Hobby Lobby.

Quick note about Hobby Lobby: unless you are on a time crunch, you should never pay full price at Hobby Lobby. Their weekly sale rotates every four two six weeks, so with a little planning you can get all your crafting supplies on sale. The sale runs Monday (close on Sunday) to Saturday, and the latest sale flyer is available online.

This Post-it stand has to be one of the easiest and quickest things you can make. I think it would be a great gift for just about anyone. The picture is of the first one I made - I made it in less than five minutes. I'm going to give it to the receptionist at my husband's office - I think she'll be a good user to see how it holds up. It seems like it would be functional, but I'll let her put it to the test before making more.

The Stella & Dot version.
I think the turquoise Post-its would look great,
I used what was available in my office.

Here's how simple the Post-it stand is to make:

• Cut a piece of scrapbook paper to the size of the acrylic frame. I used a 5 x 7 frame because I like the proportions with the pad of Post-its.
• Add a band of paper (if you like that look) about 1/4 of the way down the main piece of paper.
• Use ribbon and embellishments as desired.
• Peel / remove the protect cover from the frame. Stick the pad of Post-its to the frame. I did not use glue.

Here's how to make it using Stella & Dot jewelry boxes.

• Cut the back of a large jewelry box down to 5 x 7. 
• The medium size jewelry box works well for cutting the bands.
• Use ribbon and embellishment if desired.
• Peel / remove the protective wrap from the frame then stick the Post-it to the frame.