Happy Halloween and a Cinch Challenge

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Remember, the Healthiest Loser Cinch Challenge starts tomorrow!

Do you have everything you need to lose those extra inches for good?

If you want more information on Cinch and how to join me, read THIS POST.

Let's get Cinched together!

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Today is Halloween and we'll be heading out later tonight to take Maia on her first Trick or Treating adventure!  She is going dressed as a little pumpkin.  I can't wait to share pictures!  We're also bringing a couple kids from our neighborhood to the military installation with us.  They trick or treat here in Germany, but it's not nearly as big a deal as it is in the States.  We thought it would be fun to bring them and let them experience Halloween in a very American environment.  Plus, they'll get American candy!  Bonus!!  

Last year I bought Maia a pattern for a Halloween bag and I just finished it last night.  Typical!  It was actually really simple to make, though.  Definitely perfect for a beginner like me!  I bought the pattern from Shelley Wallace Designs on Etsy.  I love her patterns - they're well written and have plenty of pictures to help me visualize what I'm supposed to do.  

I started by cutting the material, felt, and cotton webbing (handles).  

Next, I cut the felt pumpkin using the pattern, embroidered Maia's name on the felt, and sewed it all onto the fabric.  The pattern actually has "lil' pumpkin" embroidered on the black felt, but I really wanted Maia's name instead.

I attached the cotton webbing for the handles and sewed the sides according to the directions in the pattern.  This is what it looks like finished:

Isn't it cute??  I can't wait to trick-or-treat tomorrow with the little Bee!

Happy Halloween!  

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Mmmm…Gelato!

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Have you ever had gelato?  It's becoming trendy in the States, but here it's everywhere.  They don't really eat ice cream in Europe, they eat gelato instead.

My favorite thing to do on a beautiful fall day is wander through town and get a gelato.  (Ok, honestly, I love wandering through town eating gelato any day!)  I spend all spring using the excuse: "I haven't had gelato in months!"  Then, I move right into my summer excuse: "It's such a beautiful night!"  And that leads to my current (fall) excuse: "But this could be my last gelato of the season!"  All of the gelato shops I've seen in Germany are owned by Italians who go back to Italy during the winter months.  They close in the end of October or beginning of November, when the weather here starts to get bad.  

It's actually been incredibly nice lately, so I'm making good use of my "But this could be my last gelato of the season!" excuse.  I need to get my fix before they lock their doors until April!  

This was my view as I sat and ate my yummy chocolate gelato.  Not bad, huh?  We're still in awe of how incredibly old these towns are.  Most were founded before Columbus even sailed to North America!

The local shop has these incredibly huge cones lately.  I almost always get chocolate gelato.  It's my favorite!

Of course we had our favorite four-legged friends with us.  Here is Budva (a.k.a. Dingo).  Doesn't she have the biggest ears you've ever seen?

And this is Inmate.

The Bee was there, too!  Unfortunately, she's not allowed to have any gelato yet.  It's so sad that we can't share.  The doctors want us to wait until after her first birthday before we start trying to re-introduce dairy and soy.  So, at least for now, she can't share with us.  She always has a great time people-watching with us, though!

Have you ever had gelato?  Is there a shop nearby your home?

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Healthiest Loser Cinch Challenge

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I'm going to be taking the next few days off.  We have family visiting from the States and there won't be much time left for projects and blogging!  Thanks for spending the better part of a month with me!  I hope you enjoyed our projects and continue to follow along in the future!

But before I go, I have some exciting news!  A new challenge begins on November 1 and I am super excited!  If you know me, you'll know that I gained a ton of weight while I was pregnant with Maia.  I've already lost a lot of it, but I'm still wearing my "fat pants."  Any of you know that no woman wants to still be wearing her "fat pants" on her child's 1st birthday (or, at the rate I'm going, forever!) so I'm joining the challenge to lose the last 20 pounds for good.

What about you?  

Do you need to lose weight?  Drop inches?  Get healthy?  Feel better?  Boost your metabolism?  Increase your energy level?

If you answered, "Yes!" to any of the above, you'll be happy to hear about our new challenge!

What is the challenge?

Join a group of serious people who want to lose weight during the three holiday months that usually present us with the biggest weight maintenance challenges. By starting now, we’ll not only avoid gaining extra weight, we’ll even lose weight!

What is Cinch?

The Plan involves setting personal goals and following guidelines based on how much you want to lose, your current weight, and activity levels. If you have dieted before this may sound familiar, but the familiarity stops here. Cinch works by preserving your lean body muscle mass and promoting your weight loss from fat. When you keep lean body mass, you maintain your metabolic rate or calorie-burning ability. Cinch is designed to help you break the cycle of dieting, falling off the wagon, and dieting again.

The exclusive Cinch Inch Loss Plan products are powered by leucine, an essential amino acid that helps you maintain lean muscle while you lose inches.  Oh, and they taste good!

The Shaklee Difference

Cinch products are:

ALWAYS SAFE

Based on over 50 years of nutrition science expertise

No artificial flavors or sweeteners

Healthy rate of weight and inch loss

No trans fats

ALWAYS EFFECTIVE

Powered by Leucine, which helps retain muscle while you lose fat

Pilot (12 week) study showed participants retained 100% of lean muscle mass while losing an average of:

16.3 pounds of fat

4.1 inches from their waists

2.6 inches from their hips

More than 90% of participants in a study reported having “very good” energy levels

Officially tested to have a low glycemic index for a more steady rate of digestion and better hunger control

ALWAYS GREEN

Non-GMO soy protein

Recyclable packaging

The Value of Cinch

Cinch is the real deal. With the Cinch Inch Loss Plan, which includes a regimen of protein-packed shakes and energy-boosting teas, you will lose inches and pounds. Period.

Our medical doctors, nutritionists, and scientists have drawn on years of sports and nutrition science to develop a plan that works. In fact, those who participated in our clinical study lost an average of 16.3 pounds of fat, 4.1 inches from their waists, and 2.6 inches from their hips over a 12-week period.

Easy On Your Wallet

Why pay for calorie-rich fast food that can add more inches to your waist when you could have a tasty, wholesome, protein-rich Cinch meal replacement for a fraction of the cost?

For steady weight loss, this plan has everything your body needs to help you increase your muscle mass. Increasing muscle mass improves metabolism, which helps you to keep those extra pounds off, long-term.

How do you join the Challenge?

1.  Sign up and share your health/weight goals with your leader so she can help you choose the Shaklee Cinch products that are right for you.  Use this sign up form. 

2.  Order your Shaklee products in October as a Shaklee Member or Distributor so they arrive in time.

  

For best results, order Ultra Cinch on autoship and get your 4th month FREE!!!

4 meal options (includes any combination of Cinch Shakes and Meal-in-a-Bars)

3 boxes of Cinch® Snack Bars

1 Cinch® 3-in-1 Boost™

1 box of Cinch® Energy Tea Mix

To get the 4th month free, simply make your order with everything listed above on autoship!

Remember: That’s for 2 meals a day, plus snacks, teas, and multivitamins!

Please note - If you become a Gold Ambassador (like me) and share the challenge with 3 others while you are on it, yours will be free. If you share it will more than 3 people, you will get paid from Shaklee…can’t beat that, right?  Ask me for more details.

3.  Get invited to our online Cinch Support Team by paying the $10 entry fee to your business leader and attend our weekly, 30-minute support conference calls.  Here you will be able to connect with others in the challenge, get daily motivation, recipes, workout tips, and more!  These teams are your opportunity to share your successes and challenges as you head toward your goals.  Once you have registered, you will receive an email with more directions for this step.  (Your $10 entry fee will go into the end-of-program prizes.  Prizes will be announced after the group size is determined.)  

4.  Attend the Cinch Webinar with our Certified Personal Trainer and Cinch Weight Loss Expert, Bonnie Donahue and our Registered Nurse, Sarah Finks.  They will show you how to drop your inches and live healthier with Cinch.  Go here to register today!

5.  Tell your friends!  Blog, facebook, tweet, and tell your friends about the challenge!  The more people in the challenge, the greater the prizes…so start sharing!

Let's Start Cinching!

Free Services: Bonnie Donahue, Certified Personal Trainer and Cinch Weight Loss Expert and our Registered Nurse with a Masters Degree in Adult Health with a Specialty in weight loss and healthy living counseling, Sarah Finks, will support you daily and weekly with our online community and group conference calls. 

Please note: Not all Shaklee Distributors are doing this challenge.  You must join with a participating Distributor.

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31 Days: Day 22 DIY Cork Board

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Day 22 already!!  It's been a really busy month, but this has been really fun!

***

Today's project is a DIY cork board.  I'm SUPER excited to show you what I made!  I've been drooling over photos and tutorials for at least two months and now I've finally gotten everything together to show you!  I tend to have piles of paper, receipts, and notes to myself strewn all over my desk.  My "desk" is actually a space-saving kitchen table from Ikea.  I adore it!  But it's a space saver, so it's really small.  It's also in the dining room, so having a mess of papers isn't exactly appropriate.  I wanted some place to stick them where I could still see my notes and reminders, but where they would look cute and not messy.

I know that all of my other projects have been really inexpensive, but this one wasn't.  (At least it wasn't here in Germany!)  I bought the frame at the PX and it cost $20.  I was disappointed because I really wanted a thrift shop/cheap old frame but I wasn't able to find one large enough.  The fabric also cost me $11 for a yard.  It's highway robbery, but it's all I've got!  If you're in the States, go to JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby and I'm sure you'll do much better!  Bring your coupons!

Here are most of the items I needed for the project, including a frame, cork tiles, fabric, and glue.  I ended up not using the gorilla glue - I used super glue instead.  I couldn't find my Tacky Glue and (gasp!) I don't own a hot glue gun.  I wouldn't recommend the super glue.  It worked better at sticking my fingers together than it did sticking fabric to cork!

First I spray painted the frame with two coats of black and then two coats of glossy sealant.  I've honestly never spray painted before and I was having a TON of fun!  Unfortunately it was raining and I was working in the basement - which I don't recommend!

While the frame was drying, I put all four cork squares together and cut out the exact size I needed.  I used the back of the frame as a guide and used an Exacto knife with my self-healing rotary mat underneath.  

Once I had it cut out, I used the little adhesive squares that came with the cork tiles to stick a piece of cardstock on top.  I would have preferred cardboard, but I didn't have any large enough.  You just need something that will keep all of the pieces together so you can cover it in fabric.  

Now, I put the fabric upside down on the table with the cork board on top of it.  

I cut the corners out so it would be easier to fold over and glue.  It has to fit in the frame so you don't want any bulkiness!

Once I glued the flaps over (and my fingers together!) I flipped it over so you could see what it looks like!

Then I put it into the frame and hung it over my desk.  I bought push pins that are red, black, and white to use.  You can't really see them in the photo, but they're in the center of some of the flowers.  They look fantastic!

I absolutely love how it looks!  I'm so excited for my husband to see it when he comes home next week! I was disappointed at how much it cost, but I am so pleased with it.  I honestly feel it was worth the price  and I would love to make another one for the kitchen to use as a calendar!

What do you think?  Do you need a solution for the random papers floating around your office?  Do you have an old frame that's collecting dust in the basement or garage?  Maybe you just want an excuse to spray paint? :)

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31 Days: Day 21 Enjoy Yourself!

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Today is Day 21 and I've been getting lots of requests for "more Maia!"

I know you're all going through Maia withdrawal, so I thought I would share.

***

Maia was on a roll last night after taking a quick, ten minute "power nap" in the car at 5pm.  She was totally recharged and buzzing all around the house.  As you can see in the video, Maia has an incredibly fun and spirited personality.  She is so entertaining and I'm so lucky I have the privilege of hanging out with her everyday!

This is Maia in a nutshell:

She's started 'dancing' lately, too.  She'll stomp her feet when she hears a song she likes.  She also does it when she's sitting down:

Maybe now you understand why she has trouble gaining weight even though she eats adult portions of food!  She never. stops. moving.

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31 Days: Day 20 DIY Coasters

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It's Day 20 and today I'll show you how to make your own coasters!

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This project is a lot of fun and incredibly easy!  I bought coasters from a shop on Etsy last year and that got me thinking (in the words of my mom!) "I could make these!"  And I did!

Believe it or not, it's also one of the cheapest projects I've made!  I think they'd be great hostess gifts or to bring to a party along with a bottle of wine.  

The first thing I did was go to the hardware store and buy tiles.  I had never bought tiles before and I have no idea how to say "tiles" in German, so it was interesting!  Apparently they come in a sheet of 12 here.  How are they sold in the States?  The entire sheet only cost about $2 so I was thrilled.  I can make three sets of coasters for less than $2 a set!

I wanted mine to be seasonal, so I chose paper seemed wintery without being traditional green, brown, or red.  My paper is a pack of 60 sheets (4.5x6.5inches) called "The Luxury Stack."  I already had it in my collection of scrapbooking goodies, so I was able to just sort through and find four papers I liked.  I had to cut them down to fit the tiles.  My tiles are 10x10cm, which is roughly about 4x4inches.  I cut my paper about 1/4 inch smaller to fit nicely on the tile.  Use a paper cutter if you have one.  A nice straight line is really necessary so if you're cutting with scissors, be careful!

Lay your tiles out and clean them.  I used my Basic H2 All-Purpose cleaner.  (I use it to clean just about everything!)

I experimented with the Mod Podge because I wasn't sure what would be the best way to stick the paper to the tile: painting only a thin coat or painting a thick coat.  Painting a thin coat was, by far, the way to go.  It was much easier to position and smooth the paper.  The thick coat left me with air bubbles and Mod Podge dripping over the side.  It was definitely not fun!

So paint a thin coat of Mod Podge on your tile and lay your paper on the tile.  Make sure it's centered!  Let it dry about 20 minutes (or, if you're impatient like me, only wait 10!) and then paint a thin layer on top of the paper.  Make sure your brushstrokes are always in the same direction!  Once you pick a direction, stick with it for the entire process.  You'll need to put about six coats on the paper, waiting at least 10 minutes in between each coat.

Once the final layer is dry, spray the coaster with a waterproofing sealant.  You don't want to ruin your coaster the first time a drink sweats!  Let that dry according to the directions on the can.

You'll want to add either felt or cork to the bottoms of your tiles.  I added felt, but it's super thick.  I didn't have many options so it will have to do!  Cut it 1/4 inch smaller than your tiles as well.  Stick the felt on the back of the tile and you're done!

These are adorable wrapped in a bow or in tissue paper as a gift, party favor, or wedding favor.  You can make them any color or theme you want and they're super cheap!

I'm using mine this holiday season.  I love them!  I'm so happy with how they turned out!  And I still have 8 more tiles to play with in the future…!

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31 Days: Day 19 Pumpkin Pie Double Take

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***

Today I'll show you how my husband and I compromise on Thanksgiving each year.  I started making this in 2007 when we first moved to Germany.  Want to hear a little about our first Thanksgiving?  It was definitely one we'll never forget!

We'd only been in country 3 weeks and were living in temporary housing with a dog and a cat.  We had no car and only the clothes we brought in our suitcases - everything else we owned was en route on a boat.  (Our car would arrive the next week, but nothing else would arrive until the second week of January!)  We were preparing for a small Thanksgiving in our temporary living space and I was cooking with and serving on items loaned from the military.  Already it had the makings for an interesting story, but when we talk about our first Thanksgiving we skip over most of this and get to the good part!

We knew that with our situation we didn't need to bake a whole turkey.  There was a small shop in town that had rotisserie chickens and we decided that would be plenty.  We'd buy the chicken and make all of the sides and desserts.  We went into town Thanksgiving morning to buy the chicken and some apples and cheese for appetizers.  Remember, Thanksgiving is just another Thursday around here!  We got home and prepared our meal for the rest of the afternoon.  We ate our wonderful dinner and simply reveled in the fact that we were in Germany, together for the next three years.  (We'd been dating from opposite sides of the US for over a year!)  

The next morning we walked back into town to check out the first day of their Christmas Market.  For any of you who haven't yet experienced a German Christmas Market, it should absolutely go on your Bucket List.  Christmas is celebrated from about our Thanksgiving Day until Christmas Eve here and almost every major town has a Christmas Market, called Christkindlmarkt or Weihnachtsmarkt.  They are absolutely amazing and really get you in the holiday spirit!

We walked back later that afternoon and found a very excited dog.  For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Inmate, he is a slow-moving, cuddling, furry dog who is all heart.  When he met us at the door that afternoon, he was running laps between the front door and the bedroom.  He never moves that fast.  Something was definitely up.

Laughing, I followed him into the bedroom where he was jumping on and off the bed.  Again, not normal.  He is not allowed on the bed and has never really cared.  He prefers his own bed on the floor.

The fifth time he jumped on the bed, he nuzzled Romas' pillow.  He stood next to me on the bed and got more and more excited as I slowly picked up the pillow and saw…

a chicken carcass!

Apparently, while we were at the Christmas Market, he did a little dumpster diving in our trash can and rescued the remainder of our Thanksgiving chicken.  After picking it clean, he stashed it under Romas' pillow for safe-keeping.  Romas thinks he did it to "share" with us; that his wild dog instincts were suddenly in high-gear and he was thinking of us as part of his pack.

Whatever the reason, it's not everyday you find a chicken carcass under your pillow!  It made for quite a memorable holiday and every year on Thanksgiving we think of Innie and his thoughtful gift to us.  Crazy dog.

Anyway, I'm sure you're anxious to hear about the recipe, so I'll get on with it!  The original recipe is from a 2004 Food & Family magazine.  It's been traveling the world in my recipe binder for 7 years now!  (The printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.)

I'm a diehard pumpkin pie fan but Romas really doesn't like it.  For our first Thanksgiving together I decided to give this recipe a try because it's still kind of like pumpkin pie, but not quite.  It was a huge hit and now I make it every year.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!

Here's what you'll need to get started:

You start by mixing the cream cheese with 1 Tablespoon of milk and 1 Tablespoon of sugar in a bowl with a whisk.  Then you add half of the Cool Whip and put it into the pie crust.

Next you mix the rest of the milk, pumpkin, pudding mixes, and spices until they're well blended.  You spread it over the cream cheese layer.

You have to refrigerate it at least 4 hours.  For the holidays, I like to make it the day before and leave it in the refrigerator until we're ready to eat it.  It's so much easier to have it made and ready to serve a day before guests arrive!

I love the layered look.  You can garnish each slice with a dollop of Cool Whip as you serve it, if you'd like.  Enjoy!

For the printable recipe, click HERE.

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31 Days: Day 18 A Photo Shoot

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It's Day 18 already!  Have you been enjoying our 31 days together?

You can start at Day 1 by clicking HERE. 

***

I wanted to change it up a little today, so I decided to make today's project a photo shoot with editing.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day with amazing lighting and a brisk temperature.  We don't have very many days like this left before winter sets in on us here in Bavaria, so I wanted to take advantage of such a perfect day.

I grabbed my camera and The Bee herself, and headed out into the fields surrounding our house.  I wanted to get some cute pictures of her in the grass and I also wanted to play with editing them to see what I could come up with.  

I use Picnik.com to edit all of my photos for this blog.  They offer free registration and use of their website.  They also have a premium membership for only about $25 a year.  You get more storage and more editing options with the premium package so if you're going to be using the site a lot, I would recommend an upgrade.  

I never get overly creative with any of my pictures, so I thought today it would be fun to experiment!  There's no denying we live in an incredibly gorgeous place.  This photo has only basic edits.

Here I decided to make the photo Black and White.

I love how you can soften and darken the edges to frame your picture.

She was having a blast picking grass, so I just kept shooting!  Here I made the colors more vibrant...

In this photo, I made the entire photo Black and White but then added color back into the grass.

Here I made the photo Black and White but added the color back to Maia's fleece.

This is really cool.  The effect is called 1960's.  It fades the photo and rounds the edges to make it look like it was developed in the sixties.  

I added a frame to this photo.  You can choose the width of both the black and white portions.

And here I added not only a border, but a place for a caption.  I added the words "Mommy's Little Bee" as the title.  

I had so much fun taking these pictures.  We were in the field less than ten minutes to get a ton of shots.  The hardest part was deciding which photos I was going to edit!  I have so many photos of Maia, but I never take the time to sit and play with any editing features.  It was really fun to play a little and see what I could come up with.

Today's project is to get out your camera, pick a scenic location, and snap away!  Don't have kids to photograph?  Use your pets!  Before we had Maia, we took a zillion pictures of the dogs.  They haven't been the focus of a photo shoot for almost a year now, but they always made really great subjects! 

You don't need a super fancy camera to get great photos.  These were all captured using a point-and-shoot camera!  Just take lots of photos so you can have a variety to choose from, even after all of the blinks and blurs that are bound to happen.

Have fun!

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