My First "Stick With it Saturday"

Today is my 1st Stick With it Saturday. I found this weekly linky party over at Sam's Noggin.  So here it goes.

I started my weight loss journey January 18th of this year. So far I have lost 26 pounds and 14 inches.

 I started out with P90X.  It was a little more old school weight lifting than I expected.  I bought it because my doctor recommended it.  I think I may go back to it when I get down to my last 20 pounds or so.

I few weeks ago I started Jillian Michael's Body Revolution. Now this I really like. It is hard, but the moves are efficient. What I mean by that is most of the time you are working upper body, lower body & getting cardio in all in one movement. The workouts are all about 30 minutes long which makes them very doable. P90X was an hour or more most days.  I just ended my 3rd week.

Here is a current progress picture. Please no mean comments about my before picture!

I haven't lost a lot on the scale these last 3 weeks, but I have lost inches & I can see my muscles toning up!

So here's my plan for this week.

Sunday: Work Out 3

Monday: Work Out 4

Tuesday: Cardio 1

Wednesday: Work Out 3

Thursday: Work Out 4

Friday: Cardio 1

Saturday: Rest

Nutrition Goals:

Eat Breakfast Every Day!

Drink 8 glasses of water daily

Eat 5+ servings of vegetables daily

Limit whole grain OR starchy veggie to once daily 

My husband are I are going to Las Vegas May 25th & I'd like to lose 5 more pounds by then. Check in next week to see how I do.

Plarn Tutorial

I decided to try my hand at making plarn today. Plarn = plastic bag yarn.  I took some picture as I went along. You can make several yards with one trip to the grocery store!

First you need grocery bags or other plastic bags and a pair of scissors. I decided to make 2 stranded plarn because the grocery bags I used are very thin.

Step One.  Lay your bag out flat. Right side out and side pleats tucked in.

Step Two. Fold in half top to bottom and and then fold in half again. But off the handles & bottom and toss those. 

Step Three. Now you will have a folded -up tube of plastic. Cut this tube in strips. My strips are approximately 3/4 inch. I wouldn't go any thinner than 1/2 inch. Exact measurements are not crucial.

Step Four. Unfold all your strips. they will be circular strips.

Step Five. Now you need to link up all your strips. Lay one strip down pulled out into an oval shape. Lay another strip down on top overlapping the end. Like this.

Reach under the end of the left hand strip and grab the end on the right hand strip. Pull this end under the left hand strip until a knot forms. Continue to link the rest of your strips this way. 

Pull the grabbed strip through to the right.

From one grocery bag I was able to get just over 9 yards. I thought I might make a sun hat out of it, but I didin't like the way it was working up.  However, I do think it would make a great reusable bag. If you have made something useful with plarn please share! 

Cutting My Own Hair - WHAT???

Yes that's what I said! I cut my own hair. I have been thinking about giving it a go for a while now & finally did it. The hardest part was the first cut. I didn't cut much, but next time I will be braver. Here is the basics of what I did.

First, I followed Feye's Hair Trimming Instructions HERE.
I followed the V-shape method and planned to take it one more step to the U-shape method, but I liked the V-shape. On me, it really came out more like a U-shape anyhow.

The I did the layers and front with the ponytail method. This video HERE is basically what I followed. I watched MANY videos on how to do this before I tried it & no one ruined their hair, so I figured I could do it to. Here are the results.

I am at least as happy with it as when I get it cut professionally. Also I found this great tool to help out next time I cut it. It's called a Creaclip and looks like this.

You can check out this product at http://creaclip.com/ .  I am very excited to try cutting my hair with this tool. I will write a review after I give it a try. I figured it was worth a try for $30. We'll see.....
Do you have any adventurous DIY stories. If so, I'd love to hear about them in the comments! Till next time!

Pixie Bonnet Tutorial

Hope you enjoy this tutorial on making a basic Pixie Bonnet. With this tutorial you can use any yarn, hook, stitches or stitch pattern you like.  Have fun and please share what you create!!  This pattern can be downloaded from Ravelry Here or Craftsy Here!

The Versatile Blogger Award!!!

I received my first blog award!!!

Olga from OlgaSoleil  has awarded me The Versatile Blogger Award! I am super excited since it is my first blog award ever!!  

Thank you so much Olga!!!

The Award has Rules:

1. Add the award to your blog

2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you

3. Mention 7 random things about yourself

4. List the rules

5. Award to 15 bloggers

6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 FUN FACTS ABOUT ME!

1. I was named after a Holly's song title "Carrie-Anne".

2. I love orange.

3. When I was 8 years old I won the "Holiday Muppet's' Drawing Contest" put on by our local PBS Station.

4. I grew up in Upstate New York, but have lived "Out West" for almost 19 years.

5. I love long motorcycle trips and once rode from Phoenix, AZ to NY in 3 days.

6. I have one child and like it that way!!

7. I have recently taken up knitting & really like it!

And below are the

15 wonderful and inspiring to whom

I am passing on "The Versatile Blogger"award. 
Check them out!
1. A Jennuine Life
2. Aesthetic Nest
3. Alli Crafts
4. Easy Makes Me Happy
5. icandy handmade
6. Little Big Gir Studio
7. One Sheepish Girl
8. Our Seven Dwarfs
9. Room 118 Photography
10. The Royal Sisters
11. Julie Kundhi
12. Make It Do
13. Simply Notable
14. Roman Sock
15. The Purl Bee


Again, Thanks so much and enjoy!!

Cai's Birthday Tiara

Another new pattern! This is the birthday tiara I made for my friend's daughter. It's super easy. Enjoy it! Download from Ravelry Here or Craftsy Here.

Crochet Hat Sizing Guide

I wanted to share my chart for sizing crochet hats. I came up with this chart by researching average head sizes. Sizing crocheted hats is not an exact science, but maybe this will help you get started. Enjoy!

Hat Sizing Guide