melissa made — photography & life

and now some visuals

January 12, 2012

This is where I’ve spent a good portion of my day. Between running after Bella, washing dishes, and doing some laundry, I’ve been sitting right here. Listening to the rain lightly sprinkle the roof. Sipping on coffee and green tea while trying to finish this cross stitch project. I started it right before Christmas as a gift for my sister. Well, not this particular one. It’s a set of three that I found on Etsy and was able to get two of them done by Christmas. I just have to finish up the hair on Lucius and it’s finish and hopefully my sister will love the final set.

By the way, I believe almost all of the pictures in this post were taken with my iPhone. It’s crazy convenient and I’m completely in love with Instagram. I think the picture on the right I took really fast just after framing it and trying to wrap it before my family came over to celebrate Christmas.

The sweater that I, amazingly, finished. Now if I can just get it seamed.

Some cuteness.

Panic attack. It is being repaired, but not quick enough

Pillows I thoroughly enjoyed making for my mom. Now I want to make a 1,000 pillows.

… and now it’s time for me to go back to sorting through the last several weeks of photos.

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Just words.

January 10, 2012

Hello, dear blog world.

Oh how I miss you. Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, and I’m probably sure I missed Thanksgiving as well. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season.

We’re doing fairly decently over here. Bills are paid, foods is on the table, laughter is abound. So maybe we are a bit better than decent. Life is good. I just couldn’t seem to make life slow down long enough to blog. I’ve wanted to write about a lot of things so badly, but couldn’t. I’ve felt extremely overwhelmed. I have weeks and weeks of pictures to sort. Thus why this post is photo less, I hope you all don’t mind too much. I’m actually at work right now, writing all of this on my phone. That’s how badly I wanted to write. Not that I’m neglecting my work, though. I’ve been sick for a couple of days and being head honcho doesn’t exactly afford you sick days. So I’m just here, making sure it runs smoothly.

Enough with the ho hum sickies. What have y’all been up to?

Speaking of y’all, do you know how hard it is for me not to type “y’all”?? I try not to when writing, but I’m southern and I say it all the time so you’re getting it now. To heck with it!

What kind of creativeness have you been up to or wild adventures have you been on? I’ve been sewing and stitching up a storm. Mainly Christmas gifts that I couldn’t talk about. My sister, in her words, “creeps” on all my Internet haunts and would have likely found out what she was getting. I’m excited that I can show you now. Maybe later this week after I sort through hundreds of photos.

I knit a sweater! Don’t get too excited for me, I’ve yet to seam it. Cross stitched Harry Potter. Sewn and quilted pillows. Made bags. It was exciting to just be creating.

I have so much more planned for this year.

I’m going to be farming! Farming a quilt that is! I’m hoping to start on the Farmer’s Wife Sampler quilt this week.
Finishing and framing the cross stitch sampler that I started last summer.
Curtains for the kitchen.
Pillows for the couch and our bed.
I want to sew pillow cases for the bed and even crochet an edging. Found a pattern that I fell in love with.
Grow tomatoes. I have no idea where to begin but I want to grow several kind and most likely in containers. Basil too. I want fresh pesto this year.
Can and preserve my little heart out all year long. I have a stockpile of empty jars screaming for attention.
Lose 76 more pounds. As of 4 hours ago (I lost the energy blogging at work, it’s now 11pm) I have officially lost 24 pounds.
Cook more and cook a variety of things that we’ve never had. December is always crazy and I hardly have time to cook. I could even go for a poached egg right now and be happy. Just a meal made at home and by me would be perfect.
Carry my camera with me more. Lately I’ve been addicted to instagram (find me if I haven’t already stalked you down!). So I haven’t picked my camera up since Christmas.

I’m sure I could keep adding to the list if I sit here any longer. I just have a feeling it’s going to be a beautiful year and I don’t want to miss an ounce of it.

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surviving on peanut butter

November 16, 2011

Surviving on peanut butter sandwiches has pretty much been the deal the last two weeks. They have satisfied my hunger and the unsatisfiable sweet tooth I’ve had since that chocolate cake. I’ve probably consumed more than a healthy share of it. Seriously, I polished off one container and working on another. The small ones though, if that makes it any better. Truth is, we’ve been a bit under the weather around the house and I haven’t felt like being bothered to cook.

I haven’t done a weight watchers update in a while. Probably to do with the fact that I’ve been living off of peanut butter, and of course other unmentionable things. I think I’ve lost my way on this journey. I had been trying to do so well and change our habits. I did, well kind of. I got caught up in the easy to grab and eat things. I found myself picking up sugar free/fat free things that I didn’t want to eat even before I started weight watchers. Remember I’ve talked about wanting us to have a more whole foods/real food diet in general and I sped off with convenience so fast that I failed to notice. I guess I didn’t notice because it wasn’t exactly like I pulled up to every fast food window type of convenience. However, I could have made better choices.

I should note that I have lost 18 pounds so far. Which I am so very happy with and is giving me the strength to keep going. I see that is is possible, it really does work, I feel better. I’ve just stalled the last two weeks with a -0.2 and +0.2, but I know why. I’m so happy they weren’t so much more with the amount of peanut butter I’ve wallowed in.

So to help me get back on track, I’ve started to re-read Real Food. It’s helping me to put my own goals back into perspective. I remember now why I didn’t want to have fat free, stripped from it’s orginial state food.

I may still have my beloved peanut butter sandwich from time to time. Just not every day.

Tagged as: peanut butter, weight watchers

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happy birthday, David

November 4, 2011

Happy birthday to David. Who probably tries to hide from pictures about as much as I do. I’m sorry you had to work on your birthday. I hope you enjoyed what time you did have at home with us. I am not sorry, however, that I am blogging about you. I warned you that I would use this picture against you. Secretly, I think you like it. Don’t you? Yeah, I’m pretty certain you do.

Last year I was either feeling sick or busy at work, memory fails. Either way, I didn’t get around to making him a cake like I promised. Then I promised to ‘owe’ him one. So uh, yeah, a year later I got around to it. This is seriously my favorite cake to make. I can’t say much for my decorating prowess, I’ll just call it ‘rustic’. I think I have blogged about this cake before. All the details down to the icing can be found over at Posie Gets Cozy. If you never make the cake, at least make the frosting. It’s like crack. Seriously. I starved myself all day so I could eat a square of lasagna and a huge piece of cake. I ate one ww point all day to save for this cake. ONE point!! The cake slice (1/8 of the cake) ended up being 23 points and so worth every penny. I can’t tell you how good this frosting is without drooling and looking like a raving lunatic.

Bella couldn’t keep her hands out of it. She would have ate all the strawberries had I let her. I’ve made this cake 5-6 times now and used strawberries each time, creature of habit. They weren’t very sweet so I chopped them and tossed with a bit of honey before piling them on top.

There’s still some in the fridge. It’s taking an unprecedented amount of willpower to not attack it.

Tagged as: chocolate cake, cloudberry frosting, strawberries

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two days of halloween

November 2, 2011

Bella had two days of Halloween action this year. Unlike last when we just put her in an adorable lady bug costume for the cuteness factor. Not that she really got the concept this year either. Sunday we went to my sisters church for their fall festival. It was a slight stranger overload, so we didn’t stay very long.

Monday night was quite chilly out, so after visiting my moms we headed to our mall here. Bella is very weary of strangers and some of her own family, walking up to random houses just seemed unlikely. Besides, does a one year old really need that much candy? Daddy said yes, for his sake. The mall was a bust. Hundreds of people, yet nothing worth actually being there for. Is it me, or does days like Halloween lose their luster as you get older? Maybe we are just visiting the wrong places or I am setting my expectations too high. Maybe next year I’ll dress up and wander the neighborhood with my little trick-or-treater.

Tagged as: halloween

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playing catch up

October 14, 2011

I am so tired right now. So much so that I feel I need some toothpicks to hold open my eye lids. I wanted to blog though, even if I didn’t have much to say. The last few weeks have been a blur of waking up ridiculously early at 4:50 am to snag a ride to work with David when he leaves for work, we’re sharing a car since his puttered out. Coming home around 4pm, trying to play with Bella without falling asleep sitting up, feeding the two of us, greeting daddy at 7ish, baths, laundry, rinse and repeat. That’s been our lives for the last 3 weeks. It feels like forever has passed and it has only been 21 days of the this hustle. We will survive. I will survive, I hope.

We’ve celebrated birthdays.

Mine, actually. I requested (demanded) not to have a cake this year. I couldn’t trust myself with the crack called sugar.

Dusted off the embroidery things and began working on upcoming birthday presents for others. One pillowcase down, one to go. I have a week.

Then sometime during all of the chaos, Bella and I have played endlessly with her army of farm animals.

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weight watchers: week 2

September 22, 2011

Tuesdays are my meeting days and I had planned on taking pictures of all of my food since I was off. I got as far as breakfast and it slipped my mind every time until after everything had been eaten. I think I was just too sidetracked. This, however, has become my favorite breakfast. It is 1 cup of Special K Protein Plus, half cup of either whole milk or 2%, and a banana sliced into it – all for 6pp. I have chosen to stick with full fat dairy after reading books like Real Food and In Defense of Food. Though that is another topic all together, so I’ll save it for another day.

Overall my second week was so much easier than the first week. The constant hunger from adjusting my calorie intake is slowly waning. It is bearable. I have noticed this last week that I do not get as grumpy when hungry as I would after guzzling sugar all day. I have gone 18 days without a Mt Dew. 18 days!! It is a miracle. I did have roughly 4 oz of coke the first week that I thought I wanted. Other than that, I have a cup of coffee with a little cream and truvia ar work, water constantly, and a tea with truvia sometimes. I’m satisfied with that. Water is tasting good and I’m looking foward to it. Who knew?

Maybe my mind set is different now 6 months later. David says he sees the difference in my attitude towards it all. I’m more determined. I’m ready, this is what I want. I’m maybe slightly obsessive. I’ve turned into a list making ocd freak. But that’s okay. I’m tracking everything. I’m double checking nutritional information on everything. I’m paying close attention to all foods as I learn what satisfies me and what leaves me craving for more. I have a long road to travel, but it is going to be worth it.

Of course it hasn’t been all rainbows and daisies. I’m fighting food addiction over here. Just last night at my moms, I was completely overwhelmed and anxiety ridden over something that I shouldn’t have been. There were cupcakes. I made a mad dash to the container and ripped the lid off, all prepared to shove one in my mouth to make me feel better. I stared at those cupckes for what seemed like an eternity. It took all my will power to put the lid back on. If I had one, it was all over. I would have had two. Then depending on how nice I felt, I may have left the third one alone, or not. So I took a swipe of frosting on my finger and walked away. I’ll take that. I may have had a dab of frosting but I did not eat three cupcakes. I’m dealing with similar situations daily and I’m walking away. I may only be in this 2.5 weeks now, but the strength I’m having is ridiculous.

My 0pp snack from yesterday when I started writing this post. I love being a mama. Everything gets put on the back burner when Bella is awake. So very okay with me.

Two days ago I roasted two golden beets. I’m not sure how I feel about beets. I’ve never tried them before. So for now, they are chilling in the fridge. Maybe you guys could share some tips with how you like your beets.

Week 2 +/-: -3.2
total : -6.4

Tagged as: beets, breakfast, snack, week 2, weigh in

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back on the wagon

September 15, 2011

Yep.

I’m going to try this one more time. One more time to do this and get it right because it is going to be the last time.

I really debated on even blogging about this, again. I’m ashamed of myself. I’ve embarrassed myself. I was so excited back in january when I joined WW and was ready to make some changes, for good. Then I started losing family members and scared Bella was going to need surgery. I was lost. I turned to food. I’ve always turned to food. I am completely sure that I’m an emotional eater but also possibly a food addict. That sounds so strange to me. I’ve never associated food to be an addiction. However, I’ve been learning more about it and more and more I feel like I identify with it.

I can’t keep using the excuses such as “I really don’t eat that much” or “I eat pretty healthy I think”. Hello dummy! Drinking soda all day long then getting fast food five out of seven nights a week isn’t “healthy”. I have a lot to work on. As a side, I haven’t had but one soda, roughly 6 oz, in the last two weeks. I haven’t even wanted one after seriously thinking I have drunk myself fat. So yay me on that, I guess.

After a lot of thinking, obsessing and debating, I got off my couch and joined Weight Watchers for the last time. My meetings are on tuesdays and I’m already wishing it were tuesday again. I’m thinking that I want to do a blog post each week after the meeting. If not for anything but to get it out there in the world publicly. So I will feel I have even more accountability.

I don’t want to be known was the fat girl who kept dieting but lost the battle to food every time.

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taking it easy

September 12, 2011

It seems like the last two to three weeks have moved a long at a snails pace. I haven’t had much time off until the last two days. With the holiday and hurricane scare, restaurants get a bit busy. Hopefully things will make themselves normal for the next month or so. What ever little time we had to ourselves lately, we haven’t done much. Just enjoyed our time and worked on mindless little projects. I’ve worked between knitting that cardigan for Bella and a cross stitch sampler I started months ago. In other words, nothing really interesting to blog about.

She climbed right up into the chair to see what I was up to.

Then she wanted to be a part of it.

On to the yoke, then seeming up the sides and arms. I have really enjoyed knitting this cardigan. It has been a quick project so far. Unlike the scarf that took me over a year to finish.