November 21, 2011

Fun With Music and Video Monday

This week's video is a mini tutorial on miniature paper roses. I was looking for some cool ideas for my Valentine's Day gift boxes and came across this wonderful little idea. She makes it look all so easy. I can't wait to try them out. I'll be posting the trials next Monday for your critiques.

November 18, 2011

Friday is Talent Round-Up Day!

So let me introduce you to one of the men inside one of my favorite Etsy teams - the Promotional Frenzy Team. I first came across Martin while looking for balloon pictures for a treasury and I found this:

So I was pleasantly surprised when a few weeks later, I saw that Martin was a new member of the PFTeam.

Martin's shop is called GraphMagics. A cool shop full of acrylic and metal necklaces, brooches, pins and earrings in funky shapes, many of which evoke memories from my growing up years.

As a graphic design student Martin started experimenting design with different tools and materials. But he's not a limited artist. Not only does he play the guitar (music is one of his passions), he has been learning contact juggling and uses it to relax in his free time.

Hailing from the beautiful Buenos Aires, Martin has also been learning how to work with epoxy resin and polyester resin in many different ways. According to him, "This became more than a hobby, almost an obsession with shapes, colors, light, perfect roundness of my resin pieces. I dedicated a lot of time to it. I love spending all the afternoon paper-sanding and polishing pieces if they look perfect at night. Currently I am working on metal most of my time in my home studio."

Martin wants to share his creations and hopes people like it and get inspired by them. So I was inspired to put Martin to the ABC test. I asked him to choose several random letters from the alphabet and use them to describe himself (yes, a short version of the The ABCs of Me). Here's what he came up with (in random order):

M - Musician, J - Juggler, I - Independent, G - Graphic Designer, S - Skater,
G - Guitarrist, R - Resin Crafter, A - Artistic, D - Drummer, T - Twenty Three Years Old,
D - Dog Lover, S - Shower Singer, M - Metal Crafter

 He forgot one...F - Fantastic!!

Take a moment and drop by GraphMagics. I think you'll like (read LOVE) what you find there!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Social Media Thursday

These awesome images are from my Pinterest "Breathless" board.

What makes you speechless...takes the breath from you simply because it's beautiful, fantastical, inspiring....What makes your mouth drop open and your eyes open wide, like you did when you were a small child seeing holiday lights for the first time.....What makes you reach out, unconsciously, and hold his/her hand, so that you know someone special is sharing a special moment with you....What makes you....Breathless?

Pinterest is a great place to indulge your ultimate wish list. Go shopping, find a new book, read a blog, try something new, find a recipe...whatever. It's all there waiting to be pinned!

November 16, 2011

It's Wednesday! It's Wednesday! That means it's

Anything Can Happen Day!

 So what’s going to happen today? Hmm, I think it’s going to be about…

CLEAN EATING

What is clean eating? Well, it’s not making sure your hands are washed before you eat, although that is important as well. Clean eating is about eating foods as close to their natural state as possible (known as “whole foods”). So basically, we’re talking fresh, fresh, fresh. Fruits and veggies, whole grains and lean proteins. No box ‘mac and cheese’, canned/tinned ‘beef stew’, real butter, not margarine. Clean eating is a Way of Eating, not a “DIET” like say Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, South Beach or Dukkan. In fact (or at least my experienced opinion) the best approach to South Beach and Dukkan is to eat whole foods or eat cleanly while applying their eating plans to your weight loss goal. 

According to Livestrong.com, there are five steps to Clean Eating --

Step 1
"Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Choose fresh, unprocessed foods over canned or processed products. Clean eating enthusiasts believe that we were meant to survive on fresh fruits and vegetables and that processing them reduces their nutritional value and fiber content and adds salt, fat, sugar and chemicals. Choose fruit instead of fruit juice and if you must pick a processed vegetable, frozen is always better than canned."

 Step 2
Balance protein and complex carbohydrates. Incorporate whole grains like brown rice or millet over processed grains. Eat lean meats, and choose organic or grass fed meats when possible as these foods are usually clean of pesticides, hormones and additives. Grill, broil or steam your meats rather than frying.

Step 3
Avoid sodas and high calorie, sugary drinks. Follow the tenant of clean eating that aims to remove added sugars from the diet. Choose water or tea for your beverages, or juice your own fruits and vegetables and enjoy them without added sugars or preservatives.

 Step 4
Trade bad fats for good fats. One of the most important aspects of clean eating is removing saturated fats from the diet. Lower your saturated fat intake by avoiding fast food, choosing lean cuts of meat and getting your fat calories from foods like nuts and fatty fish.

 Step 5
Eat several small meals to keep blood sugar stable and to avoid overeating. Choose snacks like nuts, low-fat or fat free dairy and fruits and vegetables. Note that some people who live a clean eating lifestyle don't eat dairy products while others adapt clean eating to a vegetarian lifestyle.

The photos included here are from Clean Eating Magazine's "Comfort Foods 2011" Special Issue. "With 101 nourishing, never-before-seen recipes, this book is your answer to the winter blues! Features include comforting 15-minute meals, simple slow-cooker recipes, revamped cheese classics and soups, stews & chilies."And they're so tasty, too!

 While we haven't made the total switch to clean eating, my little family is probably at 65% Clean. As the boys learn to prepare meals on the stove and in the oven, I add about 2% a month. Of course, with all things healthy, it can be expensive to eat clean. Clean Eating Magazine has loads of helpful items to make things easier to achieve your goals. Each issue (and available online for free) are shopping lists for the recipes in each issue and each issue includes a set of budget menus and a shopping lists for those as well!

Ain't life grand!?! Are you eating clean?

Resources for this information: Livestrong.com, CleanEatingMagazine.com

November 15, 2011

Hello there and Hello Tuesday! The second day of a lovely week. I have two items that I'm posting today, both of which I found on other blogs that I follow. Since this is LL's Guide to Renewal - I guess I need to get back to the renewal part of the blog. First the ABC's of me - I thought this was a great way to get to know some things about someone. I saw this first on Edi Royer's blog, memoriesforlifescrapbooks.blogspot.com and decided to try it here.

 

The ABC’s of ME

A – aunt to 5 wonderful nephews, B – bargain hunter, C – choreographer,  

D – dancer/dance teacher, E – ex- tax preparer, F – forty something,  

G – God fearing, H – happy (much of the time), I – Internet addict, 

J –jelly beans (2^nd favorite candy), K – kids (four of them), L – Lostlemonade

M – multi-tasker, N – Nerd for life,  

O – Operations Manager (for art shows/festivals),

P – popcorn (favorite snack food), Q – quiet, R – rebellious,  

S – sister (second oldest),

T – tinkerer, U – upbeat, V – violet (favorite color), W – Wii Player,

X – xenodochial (isn’t that a cool word? Means hospitable)

Y – yellow roses (favorite color to receive), Z – zealous

This was so much fun to do. I am a list maker as well, so this was a task right up my alley. Try it and let me know how it goes (you can post your link in the comments).

The second thing I borrowed is from VictorianSwag.blogspot.com. She talks about personal progression and goal keeping. In this particular, she mentions a professor she had that required the students to daily chart their progress in each of five areas:

1. Spiritual - Examples: Reading Scriptures, Prayer, Meditation
2. Mental - Examples: Learning a new word, starting a new book, watching a documentary
3. Physical - Run a mile, Do 30 lunges, run the stadium steps, eat a healthy breakfast
4. Service - Call an old friend, find a way to get involved with community, volunteer
5. Other - Come up with something on your own, something you've been putting off

This was so simple and life changing to me, I have decided to adopt it into my own life (thanks, VS!). So last week, I added this plan to my Renewal process and here's what I've done so far this week.

• 1. Spiritual - Meditated 10 minutes each day, returned to Women's Bible Study classes on Thursday.
• 2. Mental - Read two new books, learned a new word (see X above)
• 3. Physical - Added work out portion to Monday night dance class, walked 7 total miles this week
• 4. Service - Involved in two fundraising activities with sons' schools (two schools)
• 5. Other - Staying away from my bad habit (I'll tell more about that at later date)

I've set up a little bulletin board on the wall (right behind my trusty laptop) and I've added my ABC's and my Personal Progression Goals Overview List to it. It's my Daily Motivation Board and it's simply fabric covered foam core board with some bricbrac edging, double sided foam taped to the wall so that I can "push pin" and "thumb tack" and "post-it" everything I need to follow my path towards renewal.

So far, so good! I ended my week with a positive affirmation of things about me, a refreshed zeal and a positive attitude about the week ahead! 

How do you "re-new"? Any ideas that you use to keep yourself going on those days you don't quite feel like doing anything?

November 14, 2011

So many things going on this week, I decided to try a new trick for my blogs. What's the trick you ask? Okay, hold your breath, it's an amazing thing........"Plan My Blogs"! I know right, calm down, settle down over there in the back. Never in a million would have seen that one coming, right?

For you regular bloggers, I'm sure this is no world trade secret, this planning, but for me - goodness knows, I'm usually typing frantically, trying to decide on a topic at about 4am, bleary eyed and stumbly fingered. But no more! Or at least I'm gonna try for "No more".

If I come up with a suitable plan, which I think I have, this will ultimately make blogging not only easier but much more fun for me and hopefully interesting for you.

I'm still working out the kinks of this (what kinks, you say? I hear you scoffing in the background) but I tried it last week and it was cool and I'm going to do it again for the next two weeks. It should be a habit in no time and smoothly transition into part of my weekly "run-around-like-a-chicken-with-two-heads-where-one-head- is-cut-off-and-one-leg-has-a-bum-foot" routine. You don't know that routine? Really? You must not be a semi stay at home, trying to be self employed, mother of four (ages 21-15-13-6), with no car and multiple obligations....no...no one....anyone? Alrighty then (big sigh)

from www.outersketcher.com

So my first blog for the week is this one - obviously - and you'll just have to check back for the rest. I know you're thinking - Yeah, cause she doesn't have a plan. Hah, I do to - I'm taking my cues from the Original Mickey Mouse Club plan -
Them                                                                                                    

• Mondays - Fun With Music                                                       (LL101) Fun with Music and Video

• Tuesdays - Guest Star Day                                                        (LL101) Getting To Know Who

• Wednesdays - Anything Can Happen Day                                 (LL101) Anything Can Happen

• Thursdays - Circus Day                                                             (LL101) Social Media Day (Pinterest, Kaboodle, etc) 

• Fridays - Talent Round-Up Day                                                (LL101) Formerly known as "Artist to Know"

So, now you that you tortured my plan from me, here is today's fab video -

Enjoy and see you tomorrow!

November 11, 2011

reprinted from www.mlive.com

Motown and mistletoe: New festival seeks to re-create Detroit Christmas past

Published: Sunday, October 30, 2011, 3:31 AM     Updated: Monday, October 31, 2011, 11:13 AM

By Kim Schneider

Courtesy photo

DETROIT — The magic of Detroit Christmas past is what event organizer Mark Loeb is trying to bring back with the city’s newest festival, the nine-day Christmas WonderFest, running Nov. 18-27.
From the time he was 7 or 8 years old, Loeb, 51, remembers where Christmas magic happened — and it was not the North Pole for his Ann Arbor-based family. It was downtown Detroit. As for many families at the time, the holiday tradition was an excursion to Hudson’s Department store, the Christmas mecca of its day.
“It was a completely overwhelming feeling, the lights everywhere, moving mechanical figures, trains running around,” Loeb said. “Everywhere you looked, there was motion and lights and everybody was having a good time.”
He hopes the new festival becomes part of Detroit Christmas future for each family that visits today.
“I want people to feel astounded, even people in their 50s to feel 7 again,” he said.
The new festival spans the period between the ceremonial lighting of the city’s Christmas tree in Campus Martius Park, and America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade weekend. The main feature will be the European-style Christmas markets featuring gifts from around the globe.

Those booths will be supplemented by live music, food and a “Motor City Market,” featuring Detroit-centric gifts. A giant Ferris wheel will dwarf Campus Martius park, home to the city’s official Christmas tree and an ice skating rink. A carousel and a “magic” elevator will transport children straight to the North Pole with special effects.
Magic for adults will come in the form of a traditional German beer garden where brews will be served in traditional boot-shaped mugs. There also will be mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. A Michigan twist on the European traditions will be the addition of a giant heated tent, Loeb said.
“In Christmas markets all over the world, the event is outdoors and people stay outdoors,” he said. “In Michigan, I’m not feeling the love for that yet.”
Organizers are working with the International Institute of Detroit to spotlight many countries with Christmas booths, food and gifts and to weave traditions of those countries in with the holiday traditions of the United States and the Midwest. While keeping “Christmas” in the name might be somewhat controversial, Loeb said, organizers wanted to establish a link to some 800 years of Christmas markets in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
The establishment of such markets as a way to help spark a renaissance of downtown shopping was part of the plan when Campus Martius Park was created nearly a decade ago, Loeb said, but other improvements kept taking precedence. This seemed to be the year to make it happen, partly because several prominent businesses moved back to downtown, bringing back 200 stores spread across many buildings throughout downtown. This also seems to be the year of Detroit, Loeb believes, thanks in part to the feel-good Chrysler commercial that aired during the Super Bowl and the winning seasons of the city's sports teams.
Those who want to identify with Detroit will have their chance through the festival and available gifts. The Motor City Marketplace will give people a chance to “really show their colors,” Loeb said, through merchandise provided by a variety of city institutions, including the Henry Ford museum, Motown Museum, Pewabic Pottery, the Charles W. Wright Museum of African American History and the Detroit Historical Museum.
“For years, Detroit events were about bringing people downtown to show them they might want to come back,” Loeb said. “Now that they’re willing to go downtown, let’s get them exploring a little more, making them Detroiters again.”
The commercial and sports aren’t the only reasons for the downtown renaissance, said Renee Monforton, communications director of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. There’s been a transformation of the riverfront with a new five-mile pedestrian walkway and, over the past few years, the addition of 2,000 new hotel rooms, three casinos and several new restaurants.
She’s excited about the timing of this festival, she said, because she, too, remembers the magic of Christmas in Detroit. As a young girl, she would get dressed up to go to Hudson’s with her family, then to Sanders for a hot fudge cream puff.
It’s great to kick the event off with the lighting of a tree she thinks will come to rival the one in Rockefeller Center and go through the America’s Thanksgiving Parade, this year themed “So Much to Believe In.”
“I think there’ll be a lot of people who remember how great it was to be here,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

DETROIT-AREA EVENTS

Christmas WonderFest: For information on the festival and a detailed schedule of events, go to christmaswonderfest.com or call (248) 486-3424.

America’s Thanksgiving Parde: Go to theparade.org, or visit campusmartiuspark.org for more on the annual tree lighting and related events.

Noel Night: Another reason to visit comes Dec. 3, when, in honor of Noel Night, all museums in Detroit’s cultural center offer free admission (detroitmidtown.com).

Email Kim Schneider: kimschneider@chartermi.net