My Weight Loss Journey

My whole life I have been overweight. Of course throughout the years it has bothered me, but I never did anything to change it. That was until January of last year. My husband and I were both at our peak of "fatness." He weighed 270 and I weighed 250. We decided together that we were going to go on a diet and start exercising. Now over a year later, I am proud to say I have lost over 40 pounds! 

It has definitely been a daunting task. I've had my ups and downs, my good days, even better days, and days where I wanted to disappear from the earth. But through all the struggles, I have found the courage to make a change for the better. I may have my days where I cheat (for instance, I ate like 10 cookies today!), but I always start the next day fresh.  I'm human..I make mistakes. I may not always learn from those mistakes, but I try to make better choices the next time around.

There were times where I would get so disappointed and overwhelmed. I wouldn't lose any weight for months at a time. I would read stories of women who would lose 80 or a 100 pounds a more in the same time period it has taken me to lose 40! But, I've come to the realization that I am for once, really happy with how I look and how I feel. I am not "skinny" by any means, but I am a lot healthier and am much more confident. 

These past 16 months, I lived my life. I ate healthier, but enjoyed a slice of cake on occasion. I learned to be more active. I never got a chance to go to a gym; mostly because I live in rural area and because I have to stay home to take care of my two daughters. I walked! At first 30-35 minutes at a very slow pace. I have now worked up to a 45 minute (almost 3 mile) walk/jog. For me, this has been just right, Maybe that is why my progress has been more slow, but it's okay. It works for me! 

It took me a while to find what worked for me. At first, I used something called the Military diet. You can find it on Pinterest. It might be a fad diet, but it did work for me in the beginning. It kicked started my body and I lost about 15 pounds after doing it (and exercise) for 3 months. Then I tried not eating as much...I lost some...slowly...but who wants to be starving!? Not me! So then I tried Slim Fast. Lost about 5 pounds, but still found myself hungry. Then I turned to Weight Watchers. I can honestly say I liked it the most! I at 3 meals a day and never found myself to be hungry. I would eat mostly anything (except I really cut back on the junk foods).  Now, I'm not following any particular diet. Just eating healthy and exercising 5 days a week.

When I first started, I never even thought I would lose a pound. Now with these 40 pounds gone, I am down 3 dress sizes. I can wear clothes that I would never had worn before. I want my confidence to shine through... I am beautiful...I am strong....I am healthy...I am happy! If you too are on a weight loss journey, don't give up hope...you can do this!

Coconut Poke Cake!

I Love Love Love to bake! I have a sweet tooth like no other! My husband and I have been dieting over this past year, so I don't eat sweets like I used to...Now it has turned into a once in a while treat! Every other weekend or so, we travel to see my In-Laws (who I absolutely love!). My parents in law are fellow sweet-a-holics, so on those weekends, I usually bake something to take with us (since they usually always have a full house, we don't have to worry about eating too much!) 

So for this weekend, I am taking one of our new favorites, Coconut Poke Cake! I found a recipe similar to this on Pinterest, but I changed it up a bit. The ones that I did see, called for cream of coconut, rather than coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk.  I thought that by adding the cream of coconut with the condensed milk would be overly sweet, so I instead used coconut milk. And let me tell you, it came out Yummy! 

For the Ingredients you will need:

1. Any Brand White Cake Mix

2. Sweetened Condensed Milk

3. Sweetened Coconut Flakes

4. Coconut Milk

5. Whipped Topping (Cool Whip)

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, bake cake as directed on box.

2. While the cake is baking, take your coconut (about 1-2 cups, depending on how much you want) and toast it.  You can put in the oven on a baking sheet, but I prefer to toast it on a non-stick pan while the cake is cooking, that way I don't bother the cake as it's baking! I like my coconut to be really toasty and crunchy...I think it makes the cake test better! But of course it is up to you on how toasty you want it! I think I ended up toasting mine for about 10 minutes on low-medium heat.

 3. By this time your cake should be coming out of the oven! Get it out and let it cool for about 12-15 minutes.

4. Once your cake has cooled, use the end of a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the cake...it should look something like this:

5. Next, mix together your coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk together and pour it all over the cake to let it soak in!

6. Once you have poured the coconut mixture all over your cake, it is best to put it in the fridge and let it cool for at least a couple of hours (overnight is best).

7. Now, when your cake is cooled, take the cool whip and frost the cake. Then top it with your toasted coconut and there you have it-An absolutely delicious Coconut Poke Cake!

Enjoy!

Hair Bow Triumphs and Disasters

So something you need to know about me...Sometimes I'll find a new "hobby" and become obsessed with it...case in point-Hair Bows! For the past two weeks, I have created probably over a dozen bows (see, the word obsession totally fits in here!) for my daughters. They range from simple to well, over the top! Here is my newest creation...

This is called a burst bow! I ended up finding some great tutorials online from MommyCraftsAlot. I'll put a link to her tutorials here to guide you in making your own bow! I'm really pleased in how this bow came out, except for the "disaster" part that I pointed out in my title....So, here's the scenario: I'm making my bow, hot gluing the center, when I decided to not pay attention and instead of gluing it to the bow itself, Miss genius over here glued it to my finger. So of course, when something like this happens, you remain calm, Ummm....NO! I freaked out, screamed, and tried to pull the glue off...would have worked, except for one thing, the glue was still hot and instead just pulled off a couple of layers of skin, along with the glue.....So needless to say, I definitely sacrificed something for this bow....Now my finger is red, swollen, and blistered and I'm typing with one hand...Awesome....My daughter better at least get one complement, or else!

Anyhow, back to the bows! I'll post some more pictures of my other creations some other time.  Right now, the kids are asleep and I think it's time for another cup of coffee and some Tylenol! If you are interested in creating this bow, just follow the links!


-Daniela


Burst Bow Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc616lw-KSE

How to Make Spikes for Bow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXdVKfs-q4c

I'm going to start rambling

So, I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while now.  Not sure if anyone will even read it, but what the heck, you only live once right!? So, let me start by introducing myself! I am a stay at home mom with two beautiful daughters (ages 1 1/2 and 2 1/2). So for you fellow moms out there, you know how busy life can be with two little ones running around! Before the kids, I was a High School History Teacher and a Pre-K Teacher.  Once I had my first daughter, I decided not to go back to work and stay home to raise her.  The thought of leaving her everyday was breaking my heart (I'm a big baby myself!). Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who gave me the opportunity to stay home with her!  When Lorena (my oldest daughter) was around 4 months old, I found out I was pregnant with another baby (SURPRISE!). I was freaked out, but these two munchkins have been the biggest blessing and I can't imagine my life without them!

Now that I stay at home, I take my new job very seriously...you know, because cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, playing outside, being a nurse, driver, teacher and what not is very important! (I saw that with a bit of sarcasm, but really it's the truth!). When I do have a moment of free time, I consider myself somewhat crafty...I love to cook, bake, make jewelry, and arts and crafts.  With this blog, I hope to share some of my adventures of mommyhood and craftiness. So Enjoy!

 

-Daniela