Transformation: Me

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Kylee

I love Dr. Oz.  LOVE him.  He motivates me and informs me… and inspires me.  Some people don’t share my feelings for him, but that’s okay… more for me! :)

Today I was watching his show about addictive foods and the dangers of a food addiction. Everyone knows about nicotine addiction or alcohol addiction (and the negative connotation surrounding them) but the people in Dr. Oz’s audience today were actually arguing over whether or not food addiction is possible.  Of course it is (in my opinion).  I believe we can be addicted to just about anything.  TV.  Video games.  Activities.  I think at one point in time I was actually addicted to crying.  I know, without a doubt, that I am struggling with an addictive relationship with food.

I’ve stumbled upon a couple of blogs lately talking about food and wellness, and most recently it was Lisa Byrne’s weekly newsletter (delivered this morning) that really spoke to me.  Dr. Oz’s 4 Most Addictive Foods (linked in the photo above) are listed as: sugar, chocolate, meat, and cheese.  Lisa’s list of dangerous acid-forming foods are listed as: caffeine & soft drinks, sugar, white flour, and meat and meat products.  Is it a coincidence that the lists are nearly identical?  Probably not.

Over the last few months I have been struggling with a terrible tummy ache after just about every meal.  The worst time of day is following dinner.  I haven’t been able to figure out just what the problem is, but I’ve decided that it’s time to get to the bottom of it.  I went vegetarian for a while (August-October) and I’ve never felt the same since then.  I felt fine going into the transition (I went vegetarian for ethical reasons rather than dietary) but since then my body seems to have a hard time digesting anything–not just meat.

As a result I have decided to start eating differently.  I plan to cut my sugar and soda consumption WAY back.  I plan to only eat meat that was ethically raised (Lisa’s disclaimer on adding meat to her list) and add in a whole lot more fruits and veggies.  I’m afraid that my tummy could be mad at wheat & wheat products… but I’ll cross that bridge after this one.  I’m hoping these changes will fix me right up and it’s not gluten at all.

Either way… I’m looking for help from you guys.  What do you eat to be healthy?  Where do you get your sweet-but-not-sugar-loaded fixes?  I have a giant sweet tooth and that’s what scares me most about this.  And how do you dress up your veggies?  I’m excited and nervous for this venture all at the same time.  I just have to do something…

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Our Trip to the Farm

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Kylee

I’m a city girl.  Big time.  I really admire the country lifestyle, but it’s just not in my bones.  I try to grow tomatoes every summer… and I end up buying them from the store every summer.  I want to try my hand at raising chickens this year.  I’m not sure I’m cut out for it.  I LOVE livestock… but I’ve only ever really been around it at say, a petting zoo.  I drive by farms and cows all the time (I live in Kansas, after all), but I don’t have much first hand experience with any of it.

Soooo…. all of that being said, my very dear friend (who also happens to be a 4-H agent) texted me yesterday afternoon saying “wanna go see newborn goats?”  My response was something along the lines of “OMG! HECK YES I WANT TO SEE BABY GOATS!!!”  So this afternoon she took me and my boys to her friend’s house to see the babies that were born yesterday afternoon.  Oh. Em. Geeee.  So cute!  He also had goats that were born today, that were only about three hours old when we got there.  Incredible.

The circle of life is so beautiful.  As we walked around this man’s farm, admiring the brand new babies and all of the pregnant mommies (he had somewhere around 50 gals that were about to pop–all due this week), he also told us about the 19 goats he had in a separate pen that would go to auction this week, the 2,700 pound bull that had gotten his 10 or so cows pregnant (all due in March) and the six itty-bitty, pocket-sized piglets he bought last spring and fed goat’s milk to, with the sole intention of slaughtering and roasting them for his daughter’s wedding.  Apparently pigs are more delicious when they are raised on goat’s milk.  Who woulda thought?  (A farmer, I guess.)  This man buys and sells, births and kills, feeds and milks more animals on any given day than I’d know what to do with in a lifetime.

Oh, and he owns his own auto shop.  THAT is his job.  Not this whole farm thing.  He spends almost $1,000 each month in feed alone.  As a country, we have NO CLUE what goes into farming.  What goes into the food we eat.  What we’d do without people like this man.  And he’s small potatoes.  He’s just a guy in Topeka with some goats.  And some cows.  And three chickens.  He had never met me before… never even heard my name before he shook my hand.  And yet he treated us like family.  Even shook Bubbie’s hand when we got there.  He insisted that we come back and visit.  I love the hospitality of the Midwest.  I really can’t imagine raising kids anywhere else.  I love that Bubbie will grow up with these experiences.  He loved the goats so much.  (And so did Momma.)  Here’s some photos from our adventure:

Hey Bubbie… wanna go to the farm?!

We’ve been working on animal sounds.  I’ve “baa’ed” at him reading books and it’s the one sound he wouldn’t imitate.  Until today.  He had to hear it from the goats… he didn’t believe me.  :)

It was a pretty overwhelming experience.  He couldn’t take his eyes off the animals.  This boy LOVES animals.

Three hours old.  These little tiny goats were so sweet.  They were trying so hard to walk.

Look how wide these ladies are!  One of them was so big she would stand up for a minute and have to lay back down.  He suspects she’s having triplets.  She reminded me of myself a year and a half ago!! :)

A beautiful winter sunset…

And a couple of fatty chickens.

BYE-BYE FRIENDS!!!

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Fabric Envelopes (My Very First Tutorial!)

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Kylee

Hubby and I recently sat down to one of my least favorite chores in this whole entire world:

dun, dun, dun…

budgeting.  [[eeeekk!!!]]

The word itself makes my stomach turn.  He is an engineer, and I am… well… whatever it is that I am.  He’s the math guy.  The “let’s-make-a-plan” guy.  The guy that handles all of the hard and scary stuff.  I am the creative one.  The “let’s-make-it-pretty” one.  The one that kind of flies by the seat of her pants.  He is my ‘intricate’ and I am his ‘chaos’.  I love the balance we provide one another.  I’m not such a fan of leaving my doodle filled bubble to hang out in his straight-lined excel sheets.  But that’s what marriage is all about: compromise.

We were both fortunate enough to be able to attend wonderful universities and earn the degrees we wanted, and we are so blessed to own a home with plenty of space for our family.  With that, however, comes a great amount of debt, and I’m sure most of my readers can relate.  Enter Dave Ramsey.  After recommendations from a couple of friends and family we purchased his book and got to reading.  We haven’t gotten through it completely, but we’ve gotten far enough to begin developing a plan.  Part of that plan is Dave’s cash system.  I totally buy into everything he says about spending cash.  It is harder to spend cash, so you are more conscious of the things you purchase, and it makes it so much easier to stick to a budget–when it’s gone, it’s gone.  No cards.  No checks.  Just cash.  But how do you keep it all organized?  I hated the idea of just plain boring envelopes.  I picture myself searching through my diaper bag at the grocery store, fumbling over numerous torn and tattered envelopes, trying to find my cash to pay the poor girl who’s [im]patiently waiting on me to get out of her line so she can go on break.  I don’t like the idea that budgeting and money managing has to be boring.  Or ugly.  Soooo…. I made these:

These are my cash envelopes.  They are economical, super sturdy, and beautiful.  I love them so much.  I also love that they cost me less than $8 to make (and they would have cost me practically nothing if I sewed more often and had more scraps to work with).  I’ll walk you through how I made them, but I’m not promising that this is the easiest or best way to do it.  It’s just the way I did it. :)

First, gather your supplies.  You’ll need:

* Miscellaneous fabrics for the outside of your envelope–I used a quilt bundle like this from Joann (one 7.5″ x 9.5″ rectangle per envelope)

* Coordinating fabric for the inside of your envelope (one 7.5″ x 9.5″ rectangle per envelope)

* Sturdy fusible interfacing (one 6.75″ x 7.5″ rectangle per envelope)

* Coordinating thread, pins, sewing machine, shears, iron & ironing board… you know, typical sewing stuff! :)

These are my very official pattern instructions.  I designed this envelope with inspiration from In Color Order and below those instructions are the cuts of fabric I needed to make a matching wallet, which I found an awesome tutorial for over at Lola Nova.  I am pretty slow when it comes to sewing, but I made five envelopes and a wallet in about 3 multi-tasking hours.  I never work on one thing at a time, so it’s hard to estimate how long it might take someone with the ability to focus. :)

I started with my “pattern” which was a sheet of paper that I cut down to measure 7.5″ x 9.5″.  I cut one piece of lining and one piece of patterned fabric for each envelope I was making.  I also cut one 6.75″ x 7.5″ piece of interfacing for each envelope.

Next I ironed on the interfacing, according to the manufacturer’s directions.  I centered the interfacing along the short edge, and approximated the spacing along the long edge so that I had the same size edge all the way around three sides, and then a longer gap along the top.  This is the “flap” of the envelope.  (By the way, this is my very classy ironing board.  It’s a folded bath towel on my kitchen counter.  Maybe someday, when I grow up, I will have a real ironing board.)

Then, I laid my patterned fabric face up, and then carefully placed my lining piece on top, with the interfacing facing up.  Take care to line up the two pieces from the bottom edge (not the “flap” edge).  The flap doesn’t have to be exact.

Next, I sewed from the top right corner, down along the bottom, and back up to the top left corner (like a pillow case, but not along the top at all) with something between 1/8″ and 1/4″ seam allowance. (I told you, I’m not great at this…)  Then I clipped the corners, turned it inside out and pressed the seams.  I also folded in the fabric at the open end and pressed it so I could sew it closed.

Then I stitched close to the edge where I pressed the flap opening.  After that edge was stitched, I folded the bottom of the envelope up to where the edge of the interfacing is (you can feel the difference) and I pressed that edge.  I then sewed both sides closed to form the envelope.

I then ironed the flap down over the envelope and TA DA!  I was all done!  I’m sure this tutorial makes it sound much more difficult than it really was, but I’m new to this and VERY WORDY (surprise! huh?).  I was left with these:

Aaaannddd… thanks to the awesome tutorial I referenced above, I was also able to make this super cute little wallet for my business cards and frequent buyer cards for my favorite coffee shops and restaurants:

I love it.

And so does Bubbie.

Thanks for being patient with me as I figure out this blogging thing.  I’m loving it so far!

<3 Kylee

Posted in Arts & Crafts, DIY | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

First Trip to the Topeka Children’s Discovery Center

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Kylee

This year for Christmas we asked my in-laws for a gift membership to the new Children’s Discovery Center in town.  Hubby has been working on a project with the CDC at work and he was pretty excited to take Little Bubbie to see it for the first time.  I didn’t snap nearly enough pictures, and I’m still learning the lens (and really, my camera), but I was so grateful to have my new favorite lens from my awesome little brother, Keith.  (Thanks again, bro.)  The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but I’m still exploring this blogging thing–and now, photoblogging–so let’s call this practice. :)

So much wonder and amazement.

Always up to something…

[[Please excuse the dirty face]]

This boy really loves his DaDa <3

He also loves to hit things.

Gosh I love him.  So much.

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The End of 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Kylee

The end of December always brings mixed emotions for me. I’m always anticipating the new year, mourning the loss of another year, and reminiscing on what the finished one brought to me and my family. This year feels a little different, though. I’m not sure if that’s because I feel more accomplished (… maybe…) or if it has more to do with being a mom (… probably…). Everyone has always told me that time moves so much faster once you’ve had children. I had no idea. My son is 17 months old, but this time last year was still a blur, being that it was my first New Year’s as a mom, right after my first Christmas and Thanksgiving as a mom. And he was still tiny. So tiny. Still with that “new baby smell.” Ahh… almost makes me want to give him a sibling. But not quite yet.

I remember this time last year I had been contemplating my resolution(s) for some time. And I began thinking, “screw resolutions. I don’t need one.” And then 2011 was here and I thought, “we’ll call it a goal. That’s not so scary. Not that I NEED one, but it’s just what you do.” So I decided that 2011 would be the year that I would finish all of the unfinished projects I had sitting in my art room. Now, to some, that means a few finishing touches on a couple of craft projects. To me it meant so much more. It meant that I would have to re-introduce myself to a world I had been missing from for all too long. A world that I held so dearly and missed so much. It also meant I could fail. It meant I could fall flat on my face and find that the person I thought had been living at my core wasn’t who I thought she was. Wasn’t there at all. I know, I know, a little dramatic, right? Yeah. I’m a little dramatic. But I would rather we call me “passionate” than dramatic. Deal? :)

So… as I was saying… My “goal” for the year was to tie up loose ends. I think that I knew deep down inside that this would force me to do some serious soul searching. And it did. And I am SO THANKFUL.

About five months ago I had a series of revelations that turned my life inside out and backwards. And I like it so much better this way. SO. MUCH. BETTER. It’s crazy how we lose sight of the things that matter to us (or gain sight on something we think might possibly matter more), for whatever reason, and how beautiful and rewarding it feels to be able to admit to yourself, “I’m glad I tried it, but it’s not my favorite.” To be able to love yourself enough to walk away. To be able to love your family and friends enough to stop pretending to be something you aren’t.

I am currently in a place where I feel like I belong. I feel… right. I’m being true to myself, and that is such a big deal to me. I guess what I’m saying is that I feel accomplished. And you know what? I didn’t finish my unfinished projects. Not even half of them. And you know what else? I am A. O.K. with that. Because when I was talking with my sister the other day about her list of resolutions for 2012 I got to thinking… I accomplished A LOT in 2011. And for no reason other than it felt right. My heart told me to do something, and I LISTENED. For no one but myself, I would love to recap these accomplishments here. I’m hoping they might bring you some inspiration, because I want you to know, none of these things had a deadline. Not one of them was something I said to myself “I NEED to do this. And I need to do it in 2011.” These were just things that were important to me.

-February 2011: I joined Weight Watchers. By May 2011 I had lost 40 pounds.

-May 2011: I completed a 5K. I didn’t run the whole thing, but I didn’t walk the whole thing either. What mattered to me was that I finished.

-July 2011: my beautiful baby boy turned one. And exactly one week before his birthday I quit smoking. For him and for me. At the time of this post it has been five and a half months since I had a cigarette. And I feel amazing. This was also the month that my beautiful baby boy was admitted to the hospital for 3 days over a serious and unexplained virus. I held him down for a spinal tap. Me and three doctors. It’s true that you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

-August 2011: I went to California with my mom, dad, brother, sister, husband, and [very recently discharged from the hospital] son. My hubby and my baby got to see the beach and meet my [extended] family for the first time. I learned that I could enjoy and find peace in an overwhelmingly uncomfortable situation. (I hate to travel. But I did it. And I didn’t lose anything or anyone. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT!!) That month I also turned 26. This age is beautiful.

-October 2011 I made the leap to leave my job and be a true stay at home/work at home mom. I think I enjoy Sesame Street more than I should.

-November 2011: I posted my first original piece to Etsy.com. Within one week I had made my first sale and I have made 5 more since then. Etsy is a safe place for me. A place where I feel appreciated when I live in a community that doesn’t seem to have much of an appreciation for the arts. It’s my happy place.

-December 2011: I joined the beautiful Scentsy family as a consultant and began producing some extra income for my family. I truly love the product and I have felt so important to the gals around me.

All of that being said…. I still don’t have a resolution this year. And maybe I will resolve not to. I don’t want the motivation and energy I’ve gained in 2011 to redirect. I love the direction I’m headed. So I’m going to roll 2011 right into 2012. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

And I’m going to make it all beautiful.

That’s what I will resolve to do.

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Welcome!

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Kylee

Hi!!!

Thanks for stopping by! As you can see, I’m just getting started here, but I wanted to give you a bit of an “intro” into my world.

My name is Kylee and I am a little bit of everything.

My most important (and favorite) job is being a mommy. I have the very best little boy in the world (I’m only slightly biased!) and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to stay at home with him. Bubbie is a year and a half old and he is the joy of my life.

My next most important job (okay, it’s probably tied with the first :) ) is being a wife. My hubby is crazy smart and super sweet. He is undoubtedly the man God made just for me.

I love pretty things, and crafty is kind of my thing. I think the best projects are the ones that cost very little and reuse or repurpose other items. In order to stay home with my little Bubbie, I sell a few of my creations on Etsy. It is such a great community and I am so honored to get to play with these fantastic people!

I am also a Scentsy girl! If you don’t know Scentsy, please check out my website over here!

I have all sorts of silly quirks (as you will see) and I am very new to the blogging world. I have great aspirations, though, as I have been snooping on some other very talented ladies’ blogs for some time now. I do hope that you will visit often and let me know what you think. I’ve been wandering for a while now, looking for my “career,” and I recently decided that not everyone has to have just one job, and that work doesn’t have to be boring… so I’m doing what I love (ALL of the things I love!) and hoping to make a bit of a living while I’m at it. Thanks for joining me!!

–Kylee

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