Featured!!

One of my funky little house charms has been featured on Jenny Doh's blog!  You can see it here!
Thanks Jenny!

Aaaaaaah...

She stepped outside..., originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

Getting ready for a much needed break...
Two of my three kids are home...my boy is at Airborne school...jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.
We're all going to be together soon and I'll be taking a week off for fun.
SO....I will be offering a vacation discount in my shop starting Friday, August 12th...until Monday, August 23rd...mind you, I'll be completely ignoring my shop during that time so you'll have to be patient for your order!
To get a 15% discount on your entire order, use coupon code: funinthesun
at checkout.
Don't you just love discounts?

Friends...

A good friend is hard to find.  My best friend came to visit from California last month.  It was SO FUN to get to spend time with her...laugh...talk...laugh...giggle...laugh...we laugh a lot!   We have history...we've known each other for 35 years.  We love each other's kids...know each others secrets...bear each others burdens...help each other see clearly when things get foggy...
I cherish our friendship...guard it...treasure it in my heart and I get greedy when she's here....because time with her is precious...
We forgot to take a photo of us...so this one will have to do.  (Truth be told, we didn't shut up long enough to pose) These gals look like they're reading each others minds...remembering the time they...(fill in the blank).  They look like they're about to bust up laughing because one of them said "click...click...click..." and the other is about to snort with utter glee!!  (It's a long story...)

10 Pounds Lighter!

Us, originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

A little update...I finally hit 10 pounds lost in spite of a little vacation, family dinners, celebrations and chocolate. Back on the wagon!
I'm going to add more exercise to my routine this week...gotta get moving! Up to this point, exercise has been minimal.
There is 8 weeks left until our cruise...and the absolute certainty that I will be wearing a swim suit...in public...
Wish me luck!

WeightWatchers update!

I'm down 8 pounds...and counting.
A few things I've discovered:
I can live without cookies.
Raw veggies are VERY good dipped in hummus.
Watermelon fills you up.
Sugar is overrated.
You don't have to be a "points nazi" to stay on program.  I'm guesstimating and it's working fine.
A few bonuses I've experienced:
I sleep better when not hopped up on sugar all day.
I don't beat myself up for having that second through fifth cookie ...or piece of chocolate...or cake, etc.  every day...because I'm not having any!
It is MUCH easier as time goes by to tell myself no...and I don't dwell on it.  It's becoming a lifestyle.
My pants are looser...but I'm not quite ready to go down a size...

This is how I feel...so I joined Weight Watchers!

This is how I feel...so I joined Weight Watchers!, originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

Lola, the cat, best depicts how I've been feeling...flubby and chubby. So...I joined Weight Watchers last week and I lost 6.6 pounds!  I'm not very good at detaily stuff...points I can do...and I'm just doing a guesstimate every day. Gosh, they provide all the info for you to get down to the nitty gritty of every little thing, but I'm not.
So...this first week, I really stuck to the points. I don't think I went over even one day. I walked a few days, not every day. 

The thing that REALLY seems to have made a difference for me is that I haven't had any sweets. I have about a half teaspoon of sugar in my morning coffee but that's about it. I've had trouble staying asleep for about the last couple of years...I wake up at 2am and can't go back to sleep until around 5am when my alarm is about to go off! But this week, I've slept until 5am without waking up! It's a freakin' miracle! I had chalked up my sleeplessness to my age...peri-menopause...lovely things like that. But maybe sugar has something to do with it. I have a really HUGE sweet tooth. Surprisingly, I don't miss it!

So, on I go...a journey to a thinner me. I have about 30 more pounds to go...wish me luck!

Tulips!

Oooooh...Aaaaah..., originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

Tulips are a sure sign of spring! This field of tulips is in Mt. Vernon, WA. We took a little trip up north for Easter to see the tulips! It's been so cold...so rainy...so unspringy this year that I had to go get a glimpse of spring to reassure myself that winter is truly over!
It was beautiful! It was colorful! It was heavenly! It looked like spring!
So, now I'm back home enjoying the tulips I bought...on my kitchen table...waiting for my cherry tree to bloom while it pours outside...thanking God for the hope of spring!