Scrabble Pendants!

I finished my first set of Scrabble pendants yesterday. They came out pretty good! Here's a pic of them.. mind you, the quality is low - I took the pic with my iPhone. You can't tell from the pic... but they have a glossy top to them...

Is Hanukkah seriously almost here?!

I cannot believe Hanukkah is almost here. It starts on Wednesday night! Luckily, all of my Hanukkah purchases are done for the nieces and nephew. I'm just waiting on an "American Girl" giftcard to arrive in the mail for one of my nieces who has been on an "American Girl" kick. She literally went through the entire catalogue while Video-Skyping me. It was thrilling...to say the least. -yawn-

Anyway, I am working on a few Do-It-Yourself gifts that need to be completed before Saturday. (That's when my family is getting together for Hanukkah to exchange gifts.) Items that need to be completed:

• Scrabble pendant necklaces. I've completed seven of them, but I'd like to create more for them to pick and choose from now that I've perfected how to make them. I'm thinking that I might sell these - if anyone is interested. I'll post pics of the finished product soon.
• Soup or Cookies in a Jar. Basically these are jars that I'm handpainting and then filling with the dry ingredients of either a soup or cookie recipe. I haven't decided which yet.
• Gift Tags: I just need to cut and fill out 8 of these.
• Hanukkah Cards: I've designed the prototype that I'll be using on my Cricut, so I just need to make 6 of them and send them out in the mail.

Other than that, my gifts are pretty complete. By the way, I intend of taking pictures of all of the above. I'm hoping to get an HD camcorder for Hanukkah. I've been looking at the Kodak zx3 Playsport HD *hint* *hint* to my darling husband if he's reading this. Actually, someone should send him a tip if they're reading this haha. Twitter: RyanStern33NYR

Once I get all of these projects done for Hanukkah, my next project will be to overhaul our apartment with cleaning. There's so much to be done and I have put in zero effort. Eek! We're starting to look like hoarders!

I've decided I should create some sort of gift for myself for when I get our apartment all clean and organized, you know, as an incentive. My gift includes:

• Host some sort of party/get-together at our apartment which will most likely include Karaoke On-Demand. (Yes. Our cable has an entire on-demand channel of karaoke songs. It is awesome and you are jealous.)
• Re-organize our apartment and create a "Craft Nook" area where I can do my crafts and keep them organized. I have been watching videos all day, while I've been home sick, of people giving tours of their amazing craft rooms. I definitely got a lot of great ideas from them!

Oh lordy. Apparently my "being sick" insomnia is wearing off, and I'm tired. Time to hit the hay. I have no idea yet if I'm well enough for work tomorrow, but I really don't want to stay out!

My trash, your treasure

My sister has become a Craigslist junkie lately. She's sold and bought tons of things using the online classifieds website. Me? I've always been worried about meeting with some stranger. Oh, and I have an inability to part with my goods. However, the time has come (the walrus said...) to part with some of my things. Which has made me venture into the world of Craigslist. I have listed 4 different things in the last 2 days, and it's a slight "rush" when someone contacts you in regards to purchasing the item. Now, I haven't actually sold anything yet, but the prospect is slightly exhilarating. I'm contemplating going through my entire apartment and finding things to list online. I DO have a lot of stuff that I'm not getting any use out of.

Meet my new friend...

As most of you may know... I've been addicted to my Cricut Create machine. Basically it is a machine that can be programmed to cut different shapes and letters from various materials. I've used it to create car decals, stencils, cards, scrapbook pages, and items for my classroom. The Cricut Create cuts paper up to 6x12 in size. This hasn't been an issue for me. However, I've become more of a craft person as time has gone by... (mind you it has only been a month, lol)... and I've decided I'd like a bigger one. This brings me to my brand new Cricut Expression in black that I purchased around midnight on Black Friday at Walmart. They were actually selling really pretty Expressions in various colors, but of course the one Walmart that I decide to spend 3 hours in until midnight, never ended up getting the advertised Expression. So, a wonderful worker, who was amazing, price matched the normal black Expression, which they usually have in stock, to a much lower price that another store was selling it for. (Oh and he did this all by looking at a little ad on my cell phone - no printed ad was needed!) I love you Andy from Walmart! Did I mention that Walmart had cartridges for the Cricut on sale so I ended up getting the Cricut Expression with 3 cartridges for the same price as I would have paid for the fancy new colored one? Now of course, I still wanted a pretty Expression, and black is kind of boring. So, I used some leftover pink vinyl that I had and cut a fun design for the outside of my Cricut. Yay to me! 

B.E.D.

The letters "B.E.D." define me in many ways.

I have memories of my mom always being in bed when I was younger. I think it was her sanctuary for dealing with her various issues that I could probably sum up via an epic full-length cinematic masterpiece. Perhaps eventually I'll be able to delve deeper into that rabbit hole.

I find comfort in my bed. Although I have a wonderfully comfortable couch in my living room, I immediately hang out in my bed when I get home. This could be for watching TV, hanging out with my dogs, reading, surfing the net, or even blogging (Yes... I am indeed currently blogging in bed). I think this relates to the previous bullet and the connection to my mom. There have been several occasions where I will eat on my bed, as well. No, the food is not on the cover - it is on a plate. I am not a barbarian.

Eating in bed... connects to eating in private... which connects to what I am eventually trying to approach with this post. "B.E.D." has nothing to do with the word "bed", but rather an eating disorder. The eating disorder I am referring to is "Binge Eating Disorder"... something I have self-diagnosed myself with after doing countless hours of research. Some signs of "Binge Eating Disorder" include: (via Wikipedia)

• Periodically does not exercise control over consumption of food.
• Eats an unusually large amount of food at one time, far more than a normal person would eat in the same amount of time.
• Eats much more quickly during binge episodes than during normal eating episodes.
• Eats until physically uncomfortable and nauseated due to the amount of food just consumed.
• Eats when depressed or bored.
• Eats large amounts of food even when not really hungry.
• Usually eats alone during binge eating episodes, in order to avoid discovery of the disorder.
• Often eats alone during periods of normal eating, owing to feelings of embarrassment about food.
• Feels disgusted, depressed, or guilty after binge eating.
• Rapid weight gain, and/or sudden onset of obesity.

It is somewhat comforting to actually know what is "wrong" with me. If you've ever checked out my "weight loss" page above... (the lack of updates is due to the fact that there are no updates - I'm still fat), you'd know that I've been struggling with my weight. I actually don't remember a moment in my entire life where I was happy with my body. However, that is an entirely different post. Anyway, I am hoping that by going on Nutrisystem again (UGH any day, I swear - as soon as that money is in my wallet!) I'll be able to control my binge eating. It really helped me take control the first time I lost the weight, and it's really unfortunate that I gained it back.

Advice of the day: be sensitive to those who over-eat... they may not be able to control it.

My life is semi-complete

Last night I saw my favorite artist of all time for the gazillionth time in concert. Yes, my friends, this artist is Ben Folds. I love this man! However, it gets better. We managed to be front row... managed to get his set list... and managed to meet him and have him sign it. Let's just say that thing is getting framed and put together so that I have a new piece of art for my wall.

Ooo sexy

So, I've decided to begin the transformation and officially moved my blog from Wordpress to Blogger. Eek! Crazy, I know. I've also begun my new layout... I am pretty much waiting on my new header - but I don't mind the one I made above to last me for awhile. Oh, how I've wasted my evening playing with graphics. Where did my evening go?!

New things are on their way...

So, in an effort to organize my life, I'm planning on doing an entire restructuring on my blog. This includes an entirely new layout which is currently being designed :)
New things that are soon to be included:

• As mentioned above, an entirely new layout. I currently have a wonderful graphic artist working on an illustration to be used as my header. He designs shirts. Check his shirts out at: People Like Me
• My soon-to-begin journey back on Nutrisystem. I'm biting the bullet and giving in. NS helped me lose 40lbs a few years ago and due to my own crappyness, I gained it back and then some. So... I'm going with what works, and I will be starting it very soon. The only thing I need to do is order it, and luckily Costco has a cheaper rate. So, what does this mean for the blog? I intend on doing the following as a means of accountability for myself: Food reviews with pictures, run-down of the items I eat each day, and weekly weigh-ins with pictures. Yes. I'm going to suck it up and show my actual weight on here. Usually I would hide it from the internet and people I know, but if I hide it, I can ignore it. This will be step 1 for me in this journey! 
• I've begun crafting. Yes. Crafting. Like an old lady in a rocking chair. I bought a Cricut machine. (Pictures to follow). I intend on including pictures on here and tutorials for the things I make. Perhaps videos in the future, as well. Items I'm currently experimenting with: cards, Christmas ornaments, car decals, Scrabble tile pendants, and classroom decorations. I intend on making more things, but those are my starting points. There may be a "craft of the week.

So, yeah, new things are on their way. I also plan on keeping with reviewing every book I read. Unfortunately, I am not where I wanting to be in the reading department because I've been way too busy. Hopefully all of these changes will happen soon because I'm getting antsy!

New things are coming my friends...

very very soon :)

I cannot stand crazy web-blockers!

I would like to thank the internet guru's for at least allowing Wordpress to show up on the insane web-blocking software at my job. Every little thing is blocked because of silly reasons. Sites that aren't shopping sites, are considered "shopping", so they are blocked. Sites that are "Available to All" are blocked because, apparently, they are available to all. And don't even get me started on "uncategorized" sites! UGH