Cathy Zielske's Blog, page 228

As if there could be any other accent color

We are closing in on finalizing paint color for our house.

Just a quick update: we had our house recovered in Hardie plank/panel and there are a few areas of stucco accents. Presently, it looks like this:

The light grey areas are the stucco accent areas. The siding will be painted and the cedar decking and trim will be stained to bring out a bit more of that lovely cedar red.

But I need to show you the stucco sample and a closer shot of the paint color. Ready?

That's right people. A lovely chartruese-ish green (Martha Stewart Cornichon) for our stucco accent color and Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal for the house color.

Yes, we realize stucco doesn't naturally occur in this color. However, we really wanted something that popped off the grey and cedar. We are partially excited about proceeding with this and partially praying that we aren't creating the neighborhood eyesore.

I don't quite have the right lighting on this, but here is a wider shot of the front of our new porch.

And here is is with a Photoshopped Wall o' Cornichon.

You're not really going to miss that one in a storm, now are you?

Welcome to CZ Design Central. How may I take your order?

Stay tuned.

 

 

Keeping it real.

So you know how last week I posted about skipping the scale and wanting to preserve a little self worth in the process, and everything was going to be just fine, and blah, blah, blah?

I don't think I was being completely honest with you.

Well, I thought I was. I mean, I really am trying to keep it real, as they say, and report the highs and the lows of this Move More, Eat Less quest.

If I was truly keeping it real last week, I would have really let loose and freed my inner whiner. I would have let her have a no holds barred field day. I would have just let those virtual tears of Debbie Downer woe floweth.

I did have a hard month. I am working through some things in my personal life right now that are challenging me to look at who I am and how I operate in the world and how I can make changes to be a much better person for the duration that I get to be here.

Life isn't easy. It is, however, an amazing gift. But that doesn't always guarantee that the ride is going to be bump-free.

I have completely fallen off the Eat Less wagon. I have let carbs and sugar back into my life and they are trying to get a solid foothold. I have put on 17 pounds from my lowest weight back in October. I'm at 159.4 right now.

Does this make me a bad person? Hell no. Does it tell me I'm slipping up in a big way? Hell yes.

Sometimes I confuse being gentler and kinder to myself with eating more cookies. Sound familiar to anyone? Sometimes, I love myself with sugar. In those moments, I say, "I don't care." In those moments, I say, "I can handle this."

A couple of blog readers called BS on me for my post last week. Initially, I was kind of pissed off. Mostly because I don't feel like I'm presenting an overly whine-laden record of late. I feel like I'm trying to show a balance of what success looks and feels like, and what it doesn't look and feel like.

Tough love works for some people. Sometimes, it works for me. But sometimes I can't hear a word of it because of the enormous roar of indignation bouncing between my ears that drowns everything else out.

The facts are these: I lost a lot of weight during a period of time in which I lived a black and white life. Then I started to loosen up a bit. (Sex muffins, anyone?) Then I realized when I play fast and loose with the rules, I see the kind of results I'm not really shooting for.

It's not that I can't eat a muffin here or there. But I don't want just one. I want 5. Possibly 6.

I definitely have much work to do to sort it all out.

I know there are a lot of you for whom this either resonates, or for whom this gets tiresome, or for whom it just pisses off.

Everyone's issues are unique, but for many of us, there is definitely a common thread.

I don't have all the answers today, but I'm absolutely not giving up the quest to understand how to make this particular area of my life click.

Back on the horse, and riding.

 

And the giveaway winners are…

The winner of their choice of a class from simplify 101 is:

The winner of the May Kit, Grandma's Attic, from Scrapbook Circle is:

And the winner of their special edition full sized Anniversary Kit is:

I decided to pick the first and last comment for the Scrapbook Circle giveaway, just to reward those who comment early and late.

Ladies, email me at czdesign@comcast.net to claim your prizes.

And a very happy Mother's day to all you mothers, and those who serve the mother role in many other lives.

 

Sponsor Giveaway: two kits from Scrapbook Circle

Scrapbook Circle is giving away two kits this month in conjunction with their 5th anniversary month-long celebration.

FROM SCRAPBOOK CIRCLE: We are thrilled to be celebrating our 5th anniversary at Scrapbook Circle this month. We are celebrating all month long with a giveaway each weekday on our blog. We hope you will stop by and comment for a chance to win some generously donated products.

We have filled our May Kit, Grandma's Attic, with a selection of many of our favorite products from Crate Paper, Cosmo Cricket, The Girls' Paperie, October Afternoon and more! PLUS, we have a special edition full sized Anniversary Kit available for only $18. This price is for anyone who has purchased a kit from us, but if you say that you saw this post on Cathy's blog in the comments at checkout, you can have the Anniversary Kit for only $18. It's a great way to try us out and get an amazing collection of products!

We'd also like to offer a 15% off coupon just for trying us out. Just enter czMAY15 in the promo box at checkout and receive 15% off of your order.

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TO ENTER: Leave me a comment today and tell me what your all-time favorite scrapbooking tool/item/supply is. I'm curious. Mine? Easy. Adhesive from Kokuyo. Mmmm. Two winners will be drawn on Sunday night. Good luck!

Sponsor Giveaway: Create a life you love with simplify 101

simplify 101 is offering one of my readers a spot in their choice of an upcoming online organizing workshop. Plus, my readers can save 15% off all regular price workshops through Thursday, May 12 at 11 PM Eastern. To take advantage of this offer, enter coupon code CZDSAVE15 during checkout. The coupon may not be combined with other offers.

Organizing 101 begins May 10. If you've tried countless times to get organized, only to find yourself frustrated with your results, Organizing 101 will help. Whether you're overwhelmed and don't know where to begin, or you're looking for fresh ideas to improve your existing organizing systems, you'll learn a comprehensive yet simple organizing process to transform your home into an organized, functional and relaxing haven in this online workshop.

How to Achieve Your Goals + Create a Life You Love begins May 19, 2011. If you feel like you don't have time to create a life you love, or you can't allow yourself to be happy until you catch up on your to-do list, organize your home, lose 50 pounds, make a certain level of income or January rolls around again—there is a better way. If you want something different in your life, why not get started now? For the first time ever, simplify 101 is running a summer session of this popular online workshop. So sign up soon and start creating a life you love.

NEW! Organizing with Your Kids begins June 16, 2011. Is your child's clutter a source of stress or disagreement in your home? In this online workshop, you'll learn how to team up with your kids to organize with them and put an end to clutter. Whether your child is a toddler or teenager or somewhere in between, if kid clutter is a source of stress in your home, this workshop will give you concrete ideas to get organized with your child.

Organize Your Paper Clutter begins June 21, 2011. Create effective and attractive organizing systems for every kind of paper in your home. Tackle your projects on your time schedule, with my help and the support of a friendly and encouraging online community. Create results and say goodbye to paper clutter and the stress that comes along with them!

ABOUT SIMPLIFY 101:  Founded by Aby Garvey, the co-author of The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker, simplify 101's mission is to make getting organized fun! Get a taste of simplify 101—and the organized life—with their FREE, simple-to-follow guide How to Create a Command Central Binder. You'll put together a home reference binder that will help you get organized, save time, and minimize paper clutter and the stress that comes along with it!

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TO ENTER: Leave me a comment and tell me what your level of home organization is, high, medium, low or completely nonexistent. I'll choose a winner on Sunday evening.

Things.

First thing: I recently picked up a cozy little holder for iPad 2, you know, in case I take it anywhere with me, like to the grocery store. Or the mall.

Oh, hello iPad 2! What are you doing in there?

What is hilarious to me is that I haven't used it yet, and likely won't use it much. Why? Where would I go? I mean, don't you have to actually leave your dwelling in order to require a protective carrier for your tech gadgets?

Next thing: my photo wall. Now I realize this isn't the greatest picture, because it's not giving you a room context, but it was the only shot I could get where there wasn't horrible reflections all over the respective frame glasses.

It's in the kitchen and is replacing some old silver frames that took up much less space. All the frames are from IKEA, the Ribba line. Show me some cheap frames and I'll follow you anywhere.

Last thing: Aidan bought herself a ukulele.

I swear to you, if you are in a bad mood, ask someone to play "I'm Yours" by Jazon Mraz on the ukulele. You'll be singing in no time at all.

Just a few things for a Wednesday.

 

Move More Eat Less May 2011

I don't have a layout ready to share this month.

I don't know how much I weigh at this exact moment.

I don't particularly want to know how much I weigh at this exact moment.

I don't know if my waist is a 32 or 33.

I don't know the exact measurement of my thighs.

It's been a hard month.

What do I mean by hard, anyway?

I suppose it means it's been a month without measureable results. On the upside, it's been a month in which save for last week which I spent entirely on the couch miserable with a cold, I definitely kept up my Moving More end of the deal. But Eating Less part? Mmmm. Not so much.

On Saturday morning, I skipped the scale. I've only done this a few times, and this week it was simply a move of self-preservation. After not being able to breathe through my nose for a week (yet strangely able to swallow copious amounts of Goldfish) I knew that to do my monthly weigh in over the weekend was going to make me feel like ka ka du jour. And so, I just said no.

Am I in denial about putting on a few extra pounds this month? Possibly. Probably. Okay, yes, I am.

But at the same time, I am really trying to resist that siren-like lure of self-loathing in my 45th year, so I had to side step the Bearer of My Self Worth for this particular month's end.

I'm reading a book right now called "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes. In it, Taubes challenges the long-standing modus operandi of weight loss—the calories in/calories out model. We know it as Move More, Eat Less. Ingest fewer calories, expend more calories, and the result is weight loss. I'm only on Chapter 6 of this book and I'm already feeling a slight fracture in the foundation of what I've been doing (and preaching) for the past year and a half. I plan to post more about this later, but for now, I just wanted to share what I'm reading and studying.

The key to what I'm facing right now is the notion of sustainability. I dropped 40 pounds in less than a year, only to see a solid 15 of it make its way back onto my frame. During the past 5 months I've been steadfast in my exercise efforts, but not as vigilant on the food side of things.

Right now, I am trying to decide when it's going to be the "when" phase. You know, when can I just say, "when"?

What does sustainability look like as a lifestyle?

Relating back to last week's post about the idea that someone will always be thinner and so forth, maybe I need start moving into a place where I'm okay with where I am and where I realize, in order to be much thinner, I have to adhere to a lifestyle that has nearly zero wiggle room with food. And that lifestyle doesn't have much room for chocolate cupcakes.

And you know what, damn it? I like chocolate cupcakes.

Again, this is me talking out loud instead of measuring my midsection and putting it on a layout.

You dig?

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Want to learn more about Move More Eat Less 2011? Click here to learn more about the concept.

I've also started a flickr group for Move More Eat Less. Feel free to start sharing your pages. You will find the group by clicking here.

The giveaway winner is…

The winner of  a seat in Back to Basics by Renee Pearson, an instant access self-paced workshop from ReneePearson.com is:

Tracy, email me at czdesign@comcast.net. Congrats and enjoy the workshop. Happy May, everyone!

Sponsor Giveaway: Back to Basics Workshop with Renee Pearson

One blog reader will win a seat in Back to Basics by Renee Pearson, an instant access self-paced workshop from ReneePearson.com. This class is perfect for those of you who really want to learn the ins and outs of getting started with Photoshop Elements. I took this class myself when Renee first offered it. Good stuff, indeed!

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: Six years ago, when Renee wrote the first Digital Designs for Scrapbooking, computers were not yet an essential tool for mainstream scrapbooking. As the popularity of digital scrapbooking has grown, so has the need for easy-to-follow instructions. That's why she developed this workshop.

Renee will lead you through the fun, fast and easy lessons designed specifically for the beginning digital scrapbooker or crafter. Using Adobe Photoshop Elements and the digital kits and templates provided, you'll be whipping out digital scrapbook pages in no time.

TRY IT FOR FREE! Take the first three video lessons for free and complete your own digital scrapbook page using the quickpage provided.

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TO ENTER: Leave me a comment today, and tell me: are you a PSE pro, newbie, or somewhere in between? I'll draw a winner

I sort of feel like the title of this book

Okay, so maybe I'm simply suffering from a bad cold and not some zombie-inducing virus, but did any of you watch the AMC series The Walking Dead?

It debuted on Halloween last Fall, and I was curious so I tuned in. I have an affinity for zombies and it turns out, so does my boy.

I wouldn't let him watch it last year, but this year I caved and let him buy the graphic novel the series is based upon. This of course turned into a swift Lego interpretation by my now zombie-obsessed son.

He's been using our new window sill as Zombie Central, creating all the show's cast members, vehicles and zombie killin' weaponry. And, he's been getting all on film, so to speak.

Rest assured, as soon as we get our laptop fixed, the one that contains all the movie segments, a kick ass Zombie short film will be posted soon. Complete with the appropriate amount of Lego blood and gore.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to return to watching shows on the BBC about life as a prince while waiting for my nasal passages to clear.