Week Three Recap

This week was all about Equanimity which means evenness of mind especially under stress. This is a wonderful practice for ALL of us. I have such a tendency to stress about the silliest things in life. I have been known to throw things, hit things, etc to deal with stress. And really what is worth that??? Nothing! I need to practice breathing and controlling myself. I have always had a temper - I know where it comes from and it is something hard for me to control. I cry easily and shut down in times of stress.

This week was a wonderful time for me to practice this. This week I found out that a baby girl that we were in line to adopt (but fell through after thanksgiving) was born three weeks ago (I only found out about it this week). The baby is still in limbo between the family and it truly breaks my heart for that baby girl. I never once stressed about it. I breathed and reminded myself that this was not our baby. That was so unlike me...but I knew it would do nothing for the situation if I stressed about it.

Another stressful event this week was getting a splinter UNDERNEATH my fingernail.....and it is still there btw :( I was so calm dealing with this. My hubby wasn't home and instead of curling up in a ball and sulking over it - I took care of it. And with trying pretty much EVERYTHING it is still there...and I am just watching it and staying calm.

I am prone to anxiety - and since I have started this journey I have notice a HUGE difference in my symptoms. It is amazing what anxiety can do to you - and I have had so many symptoms of anxiety in the past few years. But I always notice if I calm down and don't dwell on things - they seem to go away. It is amazing what patience, breathing and being calm will do for your body.

My practice went great this week - I did another Yin Yoga for Back Care, Slow Flow Yoga, and Heart Centered Flow - home practice was a video and Wii Fit - again I had a very hot class that wasn't suppose to be hot. I will say it is amazing what heat does to me - I feel horrible with it, it immediately makes me doubt myself and I start thinking I can't do anything. I came home in tears wanting to give up again. I am for the most part a very positive person considering all I have been through - but I have weak times. And this was one of them, I start to question what I did to deserve my accident and look at the pain it still causes. This is something I try to work on everyday. I just need to remind myself of what all I have been through and I can get through anything because I am strong.

I did good with my eating minus a sweet little boy's birthday party that my husband catered and the package of sour patch kids I ate today (the snow made me do it) while I started organizing my studio. I am looking forward to the fruit fast next week - I can't wait to see how it makes me feel!

Meditation - again awesome week with that. I can feel so many benefits from it and have started suggesting it to others because it has already been so good to me.

Journaling.....well you are looking at it :)

Until next week.....take care of yourself, breathe and remember to look at all the beauty in your life and be happy.

xo

Good Stuff

I need this to remind me to get stuff done, what about you - would it help you?

Feels good to get some stuff done print by Mary Kate McDevitt

Wild Thing

Foy's Birthday Party was yesterday and the parties theme was Where The Wild Things Are. Here is the little Man ready to eat cake - and below are pictures of the special piece I made for Foy. I loved making this - honestly it is one of my most favorite pieces ever.

Glad it was for this little man ;)

And I leave you with Foy's special shirt I made him for the day :)

My First Onesie: Foy

Photos by Rich Smith Photography

It is hard to believe that it has been 2 years since I made my first onesie. And I love that my first onesie was made for one of my most favorite little boys Foy - the son of our dear friends Shannon & Steve Hamaker. And for those of you wondering....Bamaker = Baby Hamaker. I love you Foy - I am looking forward to celebrating with you and your family today. Happy Birthday! Here are a few photos of the first onesie and I leave you with a photo of Foy now :)

Photo by Soli Photography

Week Two Recap

Week Two - I am in it to win it! This week has been great. I found some great classes this week and fell deeper in love with Yoga. And people are noticing that I feel better, and that is a wonderful compliment. I have more energy - in the afternoons I haven't wanted to nap or have more caffeine. To me that is a huge accomplishment. I still need to work on my sleep schedule. I am so bad about staying up late and sleeping in. But I have this weird thing about if I go to bed earlier, I have to get up early.....and I don't do early.

I did five days of yoga this week including - Beginning Yoga, Yin Yoga for Back Care (my favorite class), Slow Flow and Heart Center Flow, and Wii Fit. I also added in one day of water aerobics and enjoyed being back in the water. It is still a challenge to me when the rooms are too hot - but I am trying to speak up and ask for the fans to be turned on. This week was all about Vitality and turning off those inner tapes we play in our heads. I have tapes that play in my head all the time, whether is about my weight, my scars or I'm not pretty enough. These are all things I need to work on. One day at a time.

I am still not journaling - it is my weakest part in this. Not sure how to work on this part.

Meditation is still amazing - my favorite part is the meditation I practice before bedtime, I feel like it makes me sleep so peacefully. It makes me stop the "to do's" in my head I always get before I fall asleep.

I ate great this week - they said in the weekly meeting last week to not use cans, no microwaves or processed food - and I stuck to that and felt great. I am working on adding more fruit and vegetables - and continue to challenge myself on that everyday.

My biggest challenge for me this week came today - when I was on my Wii Fit and it showed that I haven't really lost weight. I have lost close to 3 pounds. I hate that I look at the scale, I need to remember HOW GOOD I FEEL - but the scale....ugh the scale. I wanted to give up, I wanted to cry, I wanted to crawl in bed and say I'm done. But I have to remember I am feeling better, I feel more alive. I know this takes time - and I know it is actually better to take weight loss slower. I just need to stay positive.

Thank you all for listening to me - I have had such wonderful support through this and will continue to need it throughout my journey.

Until next week.....xoxo

Ava's Hoodie

I was delighted to make a hoodie and headband for my friend Crystal's niece. And it might be one of my favorites. I loved sewing on a navy hoodie - a great backdrop to bright colors. And it was for a 6 year old so it was a little bigger than I usually work on - so that meant a BIGGER flower. And that makes me happy. Thanks Crystal for letting me make this for Ava :) I hope she loves it.

Magdalena the Miniature Bunny

Meet my new friend Magdalena....she is tiny and so cute and a great new addition to my studio (which yes isn't clean yet) made by the lovely Girl Savage.

Look How Tiny She Is????

Threadless Rocks

My hubby and I have loved Threadless for a little while now - Corey is a HUGE tshirt lover and I introduced him to Threadless and he fell in love. The t-shirts rock, the designs are one of a kind and to top it off now they have designed a t-shirt to help Haiti. So they are donating all the proceeds (up to $100,000.00) from this t-shirt - so go buy one and do something good (and get a great t-shirt out of it)

"Men anpil chay pa lou" (Translation: "Many Hands Make the Load Lighter")

Beautiful Life

What BEAUTIFUL words to live by....look at all the beauty in your life!

Your Life is Simply Beautiful by Everything Lovely

Mustaches on a Stick

So for my friend Esme's wedding I made these adorable mustaches on a stick with a smile and some vampire teeth (made by my sweet bunny Danielle). They were to be used in a photobooth but sadly they were forgotten but I am so thankful that I took photos of them before I let them leave the house. So here they go :) I kinda want to make more...they make me smile!

End of My First Week

So this week has been awesome! I didn't get as much accomplished this week as I had wanted too - but I have practiced yoga 6 times this week. I meditated every day and have really enjoyed how this feels. I have SUCH a hard time stopping and not letting thoughts swarm my head. So this is really good for me. Besides two girls nights this week - I have done really well with my diet. I need to add more fruit and veggies - but I am taking it one day at a time. Where I have slacked is journaling....I hope to pick that up a little more next week. I don't know why that is a challenge for me, maybe because I have to respond to questions about myself.

Yesterday I had my first yoga class that was truly hard and emotional for me. The room was too hot for me which made me frustrated from the start. I can't do heat - my burns on my arms and back make it impossible to sweat in those places so I can't cool myself off. So being in a room that is 82 degrees is just too hot. So I was frustrated with myself, the poses were hard (I can feel that today) but I finished. I almost gave up but I stuck it out and finished the class. My lesson was learned to not do any classes with any heat! But I was proud of myself for sticking it out!

One of the highlights of this week was my "goals" meeting with my friend Beth and my friend and sister in law Stacy - We met over a yummy tapas dinner, drinks and talked about our goals for the year and helping each other stay accountable. I am so glad to have this girl's team (along with my bff) to help me reach my goals and I am excited to say some I am already living up too!! Just to have it out there I am including those goals here for you to see - you too can help me stay accountable.

I hope each of you have had a wonderful week! Thanks for checking on me :) xo

New Favorite Etsy Shop

I am in love with Lisa Stubbs. I found this fun site while shopping around Etsy this morning and wanted to share her beautiful work with you. It is delightful and will surely brighten your day...now to decide which piece I love most! xo

this one.....seriously......melts my heart

40 Days to Personal Revolution

The next 40 days I will be challenging myself to a personal revolution at

North Shore Yoga here in the beautiful Chattanooga. This is going to challenge me and I want to come out on the other side a better person. I am also going to use these 40 days to focus on my business and my studio. This will bring balance to my life and work. Join along with me on my journey - I will be checking in quite often to share my journey with you. Below is the class description - the class is based on the following book.

40 Days to Personal Revolution

Are you ready to make permanent changes in your life?

It said that if you do anything for 40 days the changes will last a lifetime.

How it works:

40 days to Personal Revolution is a progressive program that lasts for ~6 weeks. This breakthrough program will radically change your body and awaken your spirit. Each day you will gently be guided through a combination of asana (yoga) practice, mediation, diet, and personal reflection and journaling. No yoga experience is necessary to join this program. All you need to do is show up, we'll guide you through the rest.

4-5 days of studio yoga practice:

Each week you will be asked to take 4-5 studio yoga classes. You can attend any class, any time. All we ask is that you show up, and commit to giving 100%.

1-2 Days of home practice:

Depending on whether you attend 4 or 5 classes a week at the studio we ask that you begin to develop a "home" practice 1-2 days a week. This can be a very powerful tool for you to develop and will take you practice to a new level. You can develop your own sequence, follow one in the book, or do a video.

Rest Day:

We ask that one day a week you rest to allow your body to restore and renew.

Meditation:

You will be asked to meditate twice daily, once in the am & in the pm. These meditations are outlined for you in the book you will recieve.

Diet:

Each of the six weeks will focus on a weekly dietary awareness theme. The fourth week consists of a three day fruit cleanse.

Journaling:

You will be asked to keep a daily journal during the six week period.

Weekly Group discussion & meeting:

You will have the oppurtunity to meet once or twice a week with your fellow "revolutioners" to discuss how your transformation is going and share any thoughts or feelings that have come up for you. This is not a mandatory part of the program, but is HIGHLY recomeended so you can get the most out of this program.

Don't Hesitate...

If not NOW, when...

If not YOU, who?

A Few of my Holiday Works

just a few of my orders over the holidays - I wanted to share my latest works with you and thank each of you for your continued support. I am very blessed with these orders and I love making custom work. Thanks again to all who ordered over the holidays....xoxo

Thankful

I am SUPER thankful for these on my cold night walks with Nellie

My sweet hubby is responsible for all of them :)

Yummy Uggs

cute Hat

beautiful hand knitted Cowl

cozy Monkey Man Jacket

Ben

CUTE OVERLOAD! I was lucky enough to be asked to make sweet little Ben's patch for this adorable red union suit. It is always an honor being asked to make something for a photo shoot - and this one was no exception. Then to see the Christmas card - so special! This particular photo shoot was shot by none other than my sweet and talented friend Brittany of Moncrief Photography. To see more of the pics go here.

Thanks again Betsy for asking me to do this for you - your family is beautiful!