Cathy Zielske's Blog, page 231

Move More Eat Less April 2011

I thought the bow was a nice touch for this month's installment of Move More Eat Less. No, I don't typically workout with hair accessories, still… they work great for bathroom mirror self portraits.

So where are we this month? Good question. I'd like to jump right into this month's layout because I think it captures what I wanted to say pretty well. Shall we?

JOURNALING READS: You might think this installment would be one giant pity party. Up again in both weight and all measurements for yet another month, why not take a dip into the Pool of Pity and wallow in what seems to be a slow and steady decline of chub reduction? Well for starters, I turned 45 last month and I made a critical and conscious decision in my life: it's time to stop hating my body. I have spent years thinking the only valid me is a thinner me, and as much as being a permanent size 8 woman appeals to me, it says absolutely nothing about who I really am.

I had some serious binge episodes in March. Multiple bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios chased down by Blue Raspberry ICEEs, and Hershey's Kisses. In the moment, I thought, "I don't care." In hindsight, that was incredibly true: I didn't offer any care to me. Instead of trying to figure out why I was bored, sad or otherwise agitated, I copped out and ate shit until there was no tomorrow. This method doesn't work with my new approach, which is to try and live in both truth and reality, two places I haven't always spent most of my vacation dollars. I'm even questioning the side-by- side photos. Is this exploitation or motivation? If I ended up matching the image on the left, would that be the final nail in the coffin of my self image? Or would it simply be a reflection of a physical  reality, showing absolutely nothing of what lives inside the flesh and bone package? I am Moving More and most of the time Eating Less crap. I'm working towards a peaceful compromise with the framework from which I'm operating. It's a work in progress for sure.

As you recall, I decided to stop beating myself up last week. You know, the whole woe is me attitude which is generally followed by throwing the baby out with the bathwater, then settling in for four more bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios, followed by a fresh serving of self-loathing. Mmmm, tasty.

Not going there anymore. At least not as often as I can resist, because as many of us know, it is SO tempting to throw the Party of Pity thereby giving us free reign to just keep on mistreating our bodies.

Blog reader Yolanda sent me a link to a blog post about bingeing and it has stuck with me for the past week. In fact, this woman's entire blog is one ah-ha moment after another. She has a way with nailing food and emotion-related issues. If you're interested, I encourage you to check it out. It's certainly been eye-opening to me. (Thank you, Yolanda!)

It's a journey, to be sure. But with my life now potentially half over, I've wasted too much time already.

Here's to truth and reality and health and vitality, in the forms that work for you and for me.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a three-mile run to peg.

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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.

 

And the giveaway winner is…

The winner of a package of Delish goodness from Joyful Scraps is:

Deonne, email me at czdesign@comcast.net and I'll get you set up with your scrapbooking goodies. Thanks everyone. I'll be checking in tomorrow with my monthly Move More Eat Less report.

Sponsor Giveaway: scrapbooking goodies from Joyful Scraps

One blog reader will a package of Delish goodness from Joyful Scraps. The kit includes:

• 1 Delish High Tea Project Album, Album is 4.75" x 7.5" and has 12 white inner pages.
• 1  Delish Petite Peppercorn kit, This little kit is packed to the brim 54 pieces! It contains four 4 inch cards, five 4 inch single sided papers and three 4 inch single sided embossed papers. A 4 inch die cut sheet to co ordinate as well as embellishments pearls, gems and ribbons.
• 1 Delish Embellishments Bistro Keys, Two gorgeous keys per pack!

ABOUT JOYFUL SCRAPS: Joyful Scraps has been in business for four years and is going from strength to strength. Their retail online store is open 24 hours a day so you can shop in your pj's if you want to.
Joyful Scraps has fantastic range of classes and weekend away retreats to keep our customers creatively energized. They have a huge range of products for all levels of scrapbookers, as well as a monthly embellishment pack to help your creative mojo along. Their motto is "make your dollar go further with Joyful Scraps"  and their focus is on customer service. Every customer is important to us.

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TO ENTER: Leave me a comment today and I'll be choosing a winner at random on Sunday evening. Good luck and have a great weekend!

From blog to layout (plus a freebie template download for you!)

I love when something you write on your blog inspires you to take it one step further and move it into the scrapbook realm. I always thought this would happen with much more frequency than it does, but que sera sera. When it does happen, it's a happy, creative thing.

That said, after writing Aidan's birthday post, I knew it was a stop, drop and save kind of story, and that's exactly what I did. Here is the resulting page:

 
Click on the image to see a larger image in a new window.

I created a design that let me copy and paste the words from my blog post, then dress it up very simply with a photo and some patterned paper. A true hybrid creation. And I'm sorry, but I love this page. I keep walking through my dining room/scrap room, looking at it, and thinking, "Hello! Scrap skills are in the hizzouse!"

Today I've got a free template download of this design for you, my awesome blog readers, as a thank you for all you contribute here, your comments, your support, your encouragement—it has meant and continues to mean a lot to me.

There are two templates in this package, one is an 8.5 x 11 that looks like my page, and one is a 12 x 12 with the same overall design, but including a few more spots for photos.

You will need Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to open and use the templates. Download the package by clicking on the link below:

Download CZ_FreebieTemplates

This is a very simple design to use for creating a hybrid page. After you open the file in Photoshop and type in your journaling and title, you simply turn off the photo layer and send your file to print. Then trim a photo to size and paste it onto your page. The text box on the design is set to have an indent so the photo can jut into the text space creating a wrap effect.

I used a PNG file for my title from my Little Labels 1 Brushes and Stamps set. It's a set of little labels to use on both digital and hybrid pages. Here's a short video showing how to drop a label in and then erase part of the outline frame on the free template to create the same look I did.

Working with templates and PNGs from Cathy Zielske on Vimeo.

Enjoy the templates and if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

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LAYOUT SUPPLIES: Little Labels No. 01 (Cathy Zielske) • patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) •  Threading Water Paper Punch (Fiskars) • Archer font

 

Fifteen.

Written on April 2, 1996, during the whirlwind days following the phenomenal Aidan Zielske's entrance into this world.

My first born is 15 today. One-five. 3 times 5. Half of 30. One year from driving. Three years from—gasp—college. Part of me wants to say, "How did this happen?" even though I know exactly how it happened: this is what life does, it just keeps on moving.

It would be an understatment to say I wish I'd lived more in the moment when she was younger. I wish I'd been able to be aware of the awareness I'd have in the here and now—that this precious and brilliant soul won't always live within these four walls. She won't always sleep just two doors down from me. She won't always need me to make her meals, and clean her clothes and remind her to brush her teeth. And she won't always need or want my opinions and advice.

I plan to make the most of these years with her, even when her teenaged self might want nothing to do with her well-intentioned but slightly annoying mother. I plan to learn as much as I possibly can about who she is and who she is on her way to becoming.

And I'm going to keep trying really hard not to mess it up and get in her way.

Happy birthday, Aidan Isabella. Part of me aches for the little girl you are leaving behind, and part of me tries to imagine the woman you are on your way to becoming.

But the part of me that is the luckiest gets to see who you are, right now, at 15. And every day to follow.

I love you more than french fries.

Love, Mom.

 

What a girl wants.

Blue Raspberry Icee in still life, just prior to ingestion.

March has been a weird one, food wise.

Let's forget about Meatless March for a minute (though I'll be honest with you, I find myself watching the calendar and dreaming about Lighter Beef Chili with an alarming frequency). I'd like to talk about something that happens every now and then in my nutrional world: I go extremely overboard and eat like total crap.

In some circles, it's called bingeing. You decide to have one bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, and that bowl was so good, that what the hell! You have two more. Or three. Okay, four.

And then you figure, "Well, I blew the points for this day," and you head out to your friendly Super America store for a blue raspberry Icee, and quite possibly a glazed donut to chase it down.

And then you get home, and you suddenly feel very, very sleepy as the sugar starts to move through your system, and you wonder, "What was that all about?"

It's those times when you try and eat everything in sight to make up for all this damned healthy living you've been taking part in. It's those times when the sugar just sort of takes over. It's those times wherein you convince yourself, "I don't care."

This month has been full of those days. It's also seen me eating out more than I have in months—4 times, to be exact. My problem is that I have yet to master going to a restaurant and ordering the "light" menu items.

A wise person that I know told me, "Cathy, sounds like you're eating your feelings." And perhaps she's right.

All I know is that I've made some really bad choices, and gained some more weight back.

But here is the difference this month: I'm not beating myself up over it.

In the past, any slip on my part was met with fear and self-loathing. Oh God, this is IT! It's all downhill from here. Way to *blank* it up again, Cathy! I always hoped to use that self-loathing as motivation to do better. It rarely worked.

But this time, I'm looking at it from an instructive standpoint, and trying to understand what is it that makes me go overboard on certain days? What are my triggers? And how can I better respond to the things that make me want to nosh like there's no tomorrow?

I said on my birthday that I'm not going to spend the next half of my life hating my body and longing for things that genetically aren't mine to have. I said I was going to be kinder to myself, and guess what? I meant it.

I realize this isn't my official Move More Eat Less check in, that comes a week from today, but I just wanted to say that sometimes—in fact most of the time—the best of intentions are met with obstacles that in the moment seem insurmountable. But you know what? You take a deep breath, gather yourself up and keep moving through Ye Olde Obstacle Course of life and see what shakes out.

Besides, on any given day, being alive is enough to keep me going.

And the giveaway winners are…

The winner of the custom photo frame art from Fritts Creative is:

 

The winner a spot in the upcoming Big Picture Classes workshop, May with May, is:

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

Happy Sunday. See you back here tomorrow!

Sponsor Giveaways: Fritts Creative and Big Picture Classes

Fritts Creative is offering one blog reader their choice of (1) 10- x 20-inch Custom Name Frame Print OR and (1) Word Plate, 8 letters or less. Your choice of word or name, letters and color or BW. (US shipping only please).

ABOUT FRITTS CREATIVE: LeAnne at Fritts Creative has combined her passion for photography with her need to be creative!  By taking pictures of nature, architecture and everyday objects that resemble letters of the alphabet, she creates unique and colorful photographic letter art.  Using these pictures as letters, customers choose their own combinations to make personalized names and words.  Available in either color or B&W and with over 250 letter choices, there is a word for everyone.  From Name Frames to Word Plates, she want you to have fun and be creative!

THE PRODUCTS: Name Frames are 10- x 20-inch collage prints which allows the addition of personalized text—perfect for wedding, anniversaries and family names.  This is a print only, no framing.

Word Plates are individual 4x6 photographic prints, framed under glass and connected into one long framed piece.  A little funkier than name frames, word plates are very popular with kids of all ages.

For sample layouts, letter choices  and ordering please visit her website , Etsy shop  or Facebook page.

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One blog reader will win a spot in the upcoming Big Picture Classes workshop, May with May, taught by the one and only May Flaum.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: Sharing your name with a month isn't always easy, but long time Big Picture instructor May Flaum has turned this month of May into a big scrapbooking party! In this 31-day class students will find daily inspiration delivered to them via email, as well as a classroom where videos, handouts, an active message board, and so much more awaits. Filled with both new layouts and all time scrapbooking favorites, May with May is going to be a crafty good time. To make this class even better – it's priced at just $19 so it's budget friendly too. The fun starts May 1.

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TO ENTER: Leave me a comment today and tell me what is your biggest weakness in life? It can be anything from a shirtless Johnny Depp to McDonald's french fries. I'll draw winners on Sunday evening.

I'll tell you one of my biggest weaknesses right now: Honey Nut Cheerios. For the life of me, I have no reason as to why.

 

Give.

This year, in conjunction with Ali Edwards' One Little Word online workshop, the word I chose to be a beacon of sorts for myself is the word 'give.'

So far, it's been a choice that I really can live with. The word manifests itself in so many ways: giving to others, giving my attention, giving to my health and fitness, and giving myself a break on all of the things I think I should be or do that used to send me into a wee spiral of despair, just to name a few.

Today, I'm just thinking about a straight up definition: giving to those in need.

The tragedy in Japan is weighing heavily on my mind and I'm simply posting today to urge you to consider, if you haven't already, choosing a charity that is supporting those in need. The Huffington Post ran a great article outlining several organizations. I chose to support Shelterbox via For Japan with Love.

Thanks for reading my blog, and for all of you blog readers who have given to me through sharing your thoughts, ideas and opinions.

Here's to giving.

p.s. Thanks to Leanne at Fritts Creative for sending me this 'give' word art. Look for a giveaway from Fritts Creative tomorrow here on the blog.

 

What's on your List of Awesome?

(click on the layout to see a larger version in a new window)

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation about that Louis CK appearance on Conan O'Brien when he gave his "Everything is amazing and nobody's happy" spiel.

Everytime I watch this clip I giggle, and then I try to be much more mindful of stuff that is awesome.

And everytime I get all hung up on things that I think I need to acquire that will somehow make my life that much better, I try to remember that aside from food, love and oxygen, there are so many simpler things in life that aren't big and loud that are really the most amazing things of all.

I made the page above to remind myself of stuff that's awesome that might not seem obvious at first glance, but if I just take a few minutes and really think of how amazing life today is, it's like one big giant, "Duh!"

I've designed a new template to help you capture your list, but you can also simply open a Word doc and just start typing. I think you'll find it's funny how quickly the list comes together when you stop, drop and consider how amazing even the simplest (and some of the most complex) things in life can be.

Here's a peek at mine:

1. Fresh, sweet and tart blueberries.
2. The Barenaked Ladies' "Gordon" album.
3. Aidan, Cole and Dan.
4. All of the products made by Apple.
5. The fact that I can run 5 miles without stopping.
6. Ice cold water.
7. Refrigeration in general.
8. Pan fried tofu and red cabbage wraps.
9. Living in my own house.
10. Being healthy.
11. Seeing both of my kids on stage in their amazing production of "The Wiz."
12. Aidan's grades.
13. Cordless phones and hands-free headsets.
14. Central air conditioning on the muggiest of Minnesota summer days.
15. Falling into a bed freshly made with clean sheets.
16. Putting your jeans on and realizing that, "Hey! These aren't as tight as they used to be!"
17. Losing a pound when you weren't expecting it.
18. When someone waves you ahead in traffic and smiles as they're doing it.
19. Piping hot french fries of any variety.
20. Dancing to an 80s cover band.
21. Looking in the mirror and feeling pretty cute and realizing the pointlessness of beating yourself up over all the things you think you should be but are not.
22. Giant flat screen HD televisions.
23. Heading out for a planned 3-mile run, but going 5 or 6 just because you we're feeling so good.
24. Waking up to find that someone has already unloaded last night's dishes from the dishwasher.
25. Trader Joe's Garlic Hummus with Joesph's Whole Wheat and Flax Seed pita bread. Yum.
26. My daily afternoon cup of piping hot Oregon Chai.
27. Owning a car that hardly every breaks down.
28. My Herman Miller Aeron office chair (because it's beautiful and it saved my wrists.)
29. Having short hair that's easy to work with.
30. The invention of glasses so people can see.
31. Spring after a particularly long, snowy, cold and occasionally brutal winter.
32. Books.
33. The feeling you get when the house is clean, the laundry is folded and put away, and you have zero chores left on your to-do list.
34. Blue raspberry ICEEs from SA. Even though they are  so far removed form any naturally occurring flavor.
35. When your knees don't hurt.
36. Music of pretty much every kind.
37. Our remodel.
38. When people greet you with a kiss on the cheek.
39. Really comfortable shoes.
40.The morning's first cup of coffee.
41. Naps.
42. 62-degree days.
43. Video chatting with people who live halfway across the country.
44. Making a living doing something that you genuinely love.
45. Realizing that even though you're getting older, you can always learn, grown and change.
46. Being an ex-smoker.
47. The fact that you can get into a pool and swim back and forth without stopping for 45 minutes.
48. Gaining that extra hour each Fall when the clocks get set back.
49. Documentation of life.
50. Just being alive period.

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LAYOUT SUPPLIES: StoryGuide No. 04A (Cathy Zielske) • Just Linens No. 1 (Michelle Martin) • Classic Cardstock Hoops Paper Pack (Katie Pertiet)]

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What would you put on your List of Awesome?