Monthly Archives: February 2012

God’s Plan Vs. Mine

February 27, 2012

I planned to watch the oscars last night. I planned to work out after they ended. I planned to announce the winner from my last blog post today. I planned to go to work, and enjoy the spring weather this week.

God planned differently.

Last night at my in-laws house, we were eating pizza and getting ready to watch the Oscars when I got that phone call. The phone call that makes you put your hand over your mouth and makes your heart sink to your stomach. There is no worse feeling than knowing you are 1200 miles away, and you can do absolutely nothing to change that phone call. My grandpa “Pa” went to be with Jesus last night. I know few people who love the Lord as much as my Pa did. Nearly every person that met him would hear (whether they wanted to or not) about Jesus, and how he loved Him. My grandma “Mimi” is the same way, and I wish so badly my family was in New Jersey to hug her last night. We’ll be flying out for the funeral this week, and the only thing that makes the past 24 hours seem remotely bearable is that I know 110% that my Pa is in Heaven with my Jesus, and probably telling Him jokes right about now.

God’s Plan Vs. Mine:

I wrote Mimi a letter last week, just to catch her up on our lives since they’re so far away. I don’t get to write her very often, but of all the weeks I could have written her – it was last week. I told her Andrew & I were getting ready to go rent house hunting, and we were getting more and more excited to get a puppy in the fall. I told her we were praying for her and Pa, and to give Pa a hug for me. I told her we missed and loved them. Today, the morning after Pa passed away, I got her letter back in the mail. (God’s plan.) She told me they pray for us often, and how exciting it will be to get a puppy and house. She told me about their cocker spaniel they had when Dad was growing up. And the last few lines of her letter said this:

“Please pray for us. Life gets hard, but God is still in charge. We are still singing His praises. He is such a faithful friend. Always love Him and trust Him and serve Him. Our Love & Prayers, Mimi.”

Please pray for my sweet Mimi, and for all of my family the next few weeks.

“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” -2 Corinthians 5:8-

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” -2 Corinthians 4:17-18-

God’s plan always wins. And I’m so grateful He’s in charge.

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Jesus, Personal

Weight Update – And a Giveaway!

February 24, 2012

Ahem. I’m EVER so thrilled to announce that I have officially lost 10 pounds in three weeks. :-D I didn’t think it was possible, but I did it! The past three weeks have been incredibly trying, and at times utterly depressing and annoying, but they’ve been so worth it. I am a firm believer in the low carb, no sugar diet – it comes off so much quicker when you stick to it. (I know, easier said than done, right!?) I still have about 5 pounds to go if I want to get back to wedding weight (a pound less actually), but tonight I’m going to Red Lobster for dinner with my man and eating cheese rolls to my heart’s delight… and getting a slice of cookie cake for dessert. :) I LOVE reward days! Haha. I’ll go back to healthy food tomorrow. ;)

Here’s a rough breakdown of what I did the past three weeks to lose weight.

1. A Goal. I wrote down a list of how much weight I wanted to lose, when I wanted to lose it, and what treats/rewards I wanted when I got to certain milestones. My total goal is 15 pounds. My 3 pound reward was a chocolate chip cookie and a half cup of milk. At 5 pounds, I had a Peanut Butter Cup Perfection from Coldstone… and I also had a Reese’s because I was really excited. Haha. At 8 pounds, I had pizza. (OH how I had missed pizza.) And now that I’ve reached 10, I’m headed to Red Lobster tonight and getting cookie cake for dessert. :) I might buy a new pair of jeans too…haven’t decided.

2. No sugar. Very few carbs. That means I ate no bread (BREAD PEOPLE…I miss it), I had no chocolate (unless it was for a reward), no milk, no ice cream, no regular soda (diet is okay), no breaded chicken, no french fries (VERY painful), no pizza (ALSO VERY painful), and nothing else that had sugar or a big load of carbs. The few exceptions I made were healthy veggies and salad. I can’t eat a salad without ranch dressing and croutons, so I just had those less often. I ate a lot of meat – burger patties, brisket, chicken (LOTS), steak, etc. I also tried to eat a lot more vegetables. Cauliflower, broccoli, green beans…etc. I stayed away from carrots (sugar and carbs) and I ate less corn than I usually would since it’s more starchy. For snacks, all I really wanted was peanuts. I wish I liked more things with lots of protein, but peanuts at least are fairly yummy. Lol. I won’t stay on this exact diet now that I’ve gotten down several pounds…I will still eat healthy, but I’ll add a couple grains back in, and eat in moderation. I will still stay away from most sugars though.

3. I worked out. Almost every day, but I did miss a few, particularly this week because it’s been crazy busy. I started running/jogging on the treadmill and using the stationary bike when I first started. I did my ab workouts and squats and lots of jumping jacks. I tried to do something little on the days I couldn’t do a full work out. I used my freehand weights a lot the first two weeks, but was afraid to gain weight back with muscles building up, so I stuck to jumping jacks and cardio the last week. I’ll add the weights back in this next week, and hope it levels out. :)

I hope that helps any of you struggling with losing weight or looking for a new method! I’d say the biggest help for me was not cheating… until it was reward day. It’s hard, but I kept thinking of how nice it would be to see those lower numbers on the scale and eat those yummy rewards when I got to my goals!! :) Words cannot express my excitement for cheese rolls and cookie cake tonight. I am so fidgety and anxious at work today!

And in a hearty celebration of my weight loss, I’ve decided to do a giveaway! (I know…ridiculous reason to have a giveaway, but I’m sure you all don’t mind.)

I’m giving away either your choice of one 8×10 print from my etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CaitPhoto) or a set of personalized sticky notes (pictured in my last post). You get to pick if you win. :) To enter, simply post a comment and tell me which print is your favorite or what you would want on your sticky notes. Entries will be valid until Sunday night at 11:59 pm. I’ll draw the person at random and announce early next week!

Happy Friday, and good luck! :)

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Adventures, Cooking, Giveaway, Health, Personal, Photography, Printables

7 comments

More Wednesday Loving

February 22, 2012

I’m linking up for What I’m Loving Wednesday!

I’m loving my new sticky notes! I bought a Vistaprint groupon, and designed these little babies in Photoshop and got them in yesterday. I love them! I’m going to make some more for some friends. :) (Sorry about the phone camera pic)

I’m loving that I’m EIGHT POUNDS DOWN PEOPLE! :) Haha. That means I’m two pounds away from a trip to Red Lobster and then a run to the mall for a slice of cookie cake. I’m trying reaalllly hard today and tomorrow to get down that last two pounds so we can go there Friday for date night…another day of plain hamburger patties, peanuts, and cheese…I can make it. Of course, after my feast the 2 pounds will come right back, but I’ll work on that next week. ;)

Words cannot accurately express how excited I am to get some cheese rolls, and then feast on that icing for dessert! :-D

I’m loving countdowns! Most importantly, we are 7 days away from the end of February! That makes me excited. The next few months are my favorite. We are 22 days away from my birthday! (More info on that to come soon!) 59 days away from Andrew’s birthday! 68 until our lease ends and we’re in a new house!! :-D And 88 days till our 1-year anniversary trip to Disney World! :-D Andrew and I discuss it almost every day.

I’m loving this ridiculously addictive game. Oh my goodness, guys. It’s hilarious. I love seeing how people draw things or try to draw things, myself included. Haha. Sooo fun. Go get the app. :)

And obviously, I love this dude. What a stud. ;) [Side note...I'm dyyying to go back to Colorado. Planning a trip ASAP.]

Happy Wednesday! Be happy! The week is half over! :-D

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Adventures, Crafting, Health, Link-Ups, Love, Personal

1 comment

Chevron Crazy – Free Printable!

February 20, 2012

Last night I had some unexpected free time while Andrew studied the night away, and I decided to do some Photoshop crafting because cleaning my house sounded overrated. :) Several months ago, I fell in love with all things chevron. The result?? These.

Some flat card stationery for myself in one of my new favorite fonts. :)

And all these. Haha. I made some mini thank you notes, some more stationery, some Bible verse cards, some gift tags, and some more things I can’t remember. Lol.

I have a weird obsession with gift tags, and I love finding really cute ones. I made lots of these for future gifts, and I thought I’d share them with you all! :) Download them here. I just printed mine on regular cardstock, and I liked the way they turned out. They’d probably be cute (and brighter) on glossy photo paper too. Let me know what you guys think! I hope to do some more free printables for you in the future. Any suggestions? :)

Happy Tuesday!

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Crafting, Printables

1 comment

Happy Friday!

February 17, 2012

Today has been lovely. I didn’t have to work. :) I went to lunch with my bestie Brette & we dined on fabulous salads and chicken from Louie’s. And, of course, we went to play with puppies afterwards. :)

This little wesite was such a cutie, and he loved him some Brette! :)

After lunch, I visited this cutie…who was not pleased to smell all the new doggie smells on me. Look at that face of disapproval. Baha.

And look what came in the mailbox today! I got a sweet valentine from my friend Sarah. Look at her cute pups! And she made me a super cute decal for our memory jar!! Love her! She wrote on the back of the valentine “Gruffy & Gunny can’t wait to get a valentine someday from their future friend ‘Jack.’” I love anyone who embraces my irrational obsession with a dog that doesn’t yet exist. ;) Haha.

AND another announcement…I’m 7 pounds down today! And therefore, I get Pizza Hut tonight. REJOICE. :)

How is YOUR Friday? Hope it’s fabulous. :)

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Adventures, Animals, Health, Personal

1 comment

Valentine’s Day Part II – The World’s Greatest Husband

February 16, 2012

Ladies and gentlemen…I have the best.

If you read Tuesday’s post, you saw that my fabulous husband took me to IHOP for a champion’s breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon ;) and got me beautiful red roses. :) Andrew had a test that night, so he said we’d celebrate Wednesday night. I thought this meant we’d be going out to dinner, maybe a movie, or something like that. After work yesterday, Mom stalled taking me home and claimed she had to take something to my Grandma’s house quickly before she could drop me off. On the way, she pulled into a plaza where my favorite massage place is, and told me she lied, and Andrew had arranged for me to get a massage. :-D After my fabulous hour-long massage (it.was.glorious.), Mom dropped me off at home, where I was greeted by a handsome, well-dressed man who opened the door to a trail of rose petals on our floor. ;) They led to a cutely-decorated table that had brisket, green beans, a Longhorn salad (HOORAY), and…wait for it…a REESE’S. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Check out his handiwork.

(Ignore the Fresca on the couch, I’d just gone food shopping. Haha.)

Stud. Muffin.

Mom-in-law’s brisket. Deliiiiish.

I could eat this salad every day for the rest of my life.

Hello old friend. :) (I AM still going strong on my diet…this was a special occasion, and I still lost .2 pounds even with this treat! Hooray!)

Mom-in-law came over to help him make everything look so cute. :)

Silly boy loves his Star Wars. ;-P I had to get him a few little things.

Our new favorite show…love it.

He did well. :) It was much more than I expected to get now that we’re married and he doesn’t have to be impressive anymore. ;)

End of bragging. Kudos to whoever made it this far. :) Happy Thursday!

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Adventures, Cooking, Decorating, Love, Personal

Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2012

This morning, I woke up to Andrew telling me he’d made me a bubble bath, and later I walked into the kitchen to find these babies. That man rocks. ;) (Excuse our messy table. We both work a lot. Haha.)

Dear sweet Andrew took me to IHOP for a fabulous Valentine’s Day breakfast this morning. (I took a break from the diet this morning.) If you know me well, you know there is no greater gesture of love than taking me to a place that hands me chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Hallelujah, I am happy. :)

This is our first married Valentine’s Day, and I can’t wait to celebrate more! We’re going to officially celebrate tomorrow because Andrew has a test in his night class tonight. You know that teacher has to be a bitter single person. Lol. :-P Andrew’s got more surprises planned, so I’ll let you know how everything goes later this week. :) And while I’m EVER so thrilled I can call the best-looking man in the world my valentine, I have been thinking a lot this week about Jesus also being my “valentine.” It sounds cheesy to the max, I know, forgive me…but what greater love is there?! I’ve been celebrating and cherishing God’s great love this week, and thought I’d post a few reminders in case any of you are feeling like you have a lame valentine this year. ;)

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” -Jeremiah 31:3-

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.” -Hosea 2:19-20-

“You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” -Psalm 86:15-

“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.” -Psalm 143:8-

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8-

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39-

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you, loves! Hope you have a wonderful chocolate-filled day! :)

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Adventures, Jesus, Love, Personal

1 comment

Color Palettes

February 12, 2012

Hello loves! Since Andrew & I will be moving in the next few months, I’ve been brainstorming some new color options for our house lately. I love all of our colors we currently have, and I’m still going to use most/all of them when we move, but hopefully we’ll get to change things around just a little bit.

I found these next two color palette inspirations on Pinterest, and I LOVE them!

I’m hoping to use the first one for our bedroom inspiration when we move, and the second I’d like to use for our living room. I suppose it depends on the type of house we get, but these are my rough plans. ;) [Side note...if anyone comes across a nice 2-3 bed/2 bath pet-friendly house for rent in the next two months, PLEASE let me know! :) Thanks!]

I started making some of my own color palettes and got a little carried away…:) Obviously, I don’t plan on using all of these, but they were so fun and easy to make! I like the idea of taking colors from an actual picture I love and using it as room inspiration. It makes me feel like I could have these views every day!

Which colors do you like best? I’d love to make more color palettes – if any of you want to send me your inspiration pictures, I’ll make some for you! Happy weekend! :)

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Crafting, Decorating, Photography, Random

Just What I Needed

February 11, 2012

I have loved this weekend dearly. And this is why.

I ate this. And a Like It from Coldstone was my dinner last night. It was my “reward” but I felt ashamed…HOWEVER, I weighed this morning, and I am still down 6 pounds. :D

I hung out with this cutie! Love my sweet friend Mikaela!

We had Coldstone (and rejoiced) and she brought me presents cuz she’s the best!! :)

This made me laugh out loud this morning, and follow with an “aww.” Oh, Pinterest.

Andrew had to study a bunch last night and even more tonight, so I made a meal that took a while to make since I thought I might be bored. ;) Haha. We had chicken pot piiiiiie tonight. It was fabulous.

Praise the Lord Almighty.

This is why I don’t make it that often…

Let me just say…Beth Moore is the funniest and greatest. I am loving this Bible Study! James is probably the most convicting book in the Bible, but it’s one of my favorites. This week’s reality check from the Lord: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” -James 1:19- I’ve read it a million times…but every time: hello, slap in the face. How I long to be slow to speak! This week’s study was just what I needed.

Hope you all are having a marvelous weekend! :)

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Adventures, Cooking, Health, Jesus, Personal, Random

5 Pounds in a Week!

February 9, 2012

I’ve always been a food lover. When I was not even 2 years old, my family had this “game” where they would ask “Who loves ice cream?” and I would yell “I do!” I kid you not. I was the world’s most unbelievable chubs, even as a baby. See for yourself. (And know that this picture doesn’t even do it justice. Haha.)

They called me “The Michelin Man” for a while because of my rolls.

I’ve also always been a very determined, independent, and competitive person…which is one of those gift/curses. After coming to terms with the fact that I’d gained nearly 15 pounds in the 8 months after my wedding, I was determined to get back to a weight I didn’t shriek at when I saw it on the scale. I almost wish someone had said a few months back, “You can’t lose that weight,” because I’m also one of those people who likes to prove people wrong…that one’s definitely just a curse. Haha. I’m not sure what set off my recent vehemence toward dieting, but thank goodness something did!

I’ve heard so, so many people say they just can’t lose weight. I think it’s possible for everyone (without serious medical issues) – you just have to be willing to ~~be utterly miserable for a while~~ give up a lot of things. My diet the past 7 days has been no sugar, low carb, and lots of veggies & protein. I poured out the remaining chocolate milk I had in my fridge, stayed away from the Klondike bars in my freezer, and bought a huge supply of cheese and chicken. I stopped getting cherry cokes from sonic and eating chocolates at the office (insert giant sad face) and bought some low carb Fuze drinks. Luckily, I really love chicken, so I could eat that for several days in a row and not get bored. I had already been working out pretty frequently, but I started running/walking on the treadmill and using the stationary bike at the gym at our apartment. I didn’t get to work out every single day, but I tried hard to do it most days…or at least do some ab workouts and weights and even jumping jacks if I couldn’t do a full workout. AND in 7 days, I’ve lost 5 pounds! Yay!!! :D :D :D

Now. I have to admit to you that it’s been fairly awful. I’m very much obsessed with sweets – chocolate is my addiction, and it was very hard to let it go. Letting go of pizza and french fries was almost just as hard. For the first three days, food was literally all I was thinking about. Pathetic, right? But once I got past the first 4 or 5 days, it got easier to turn things down. The weight going down on the scale is a huge helper. I will say that stopping sugar & going low carb for a few days helps me lose weight so much quicker than just exercising a lot and still eating poorly.

I also have to admit that I love rewards. I know people say, “you shouldn’t reward yourself; you’re not a dog.” BUT I am reward-driven. It gives me a sense of determination (and makes it seem worth it) to get to my next goal/treat. (Side note: Brad & I once sold 24 boxes of chocolate to win Frontier City/White Water Bay passes at school because we wanted that reward so bad…yeah, definitely reward-driven.) After I lost 3 pounds, I had one chocolate chip cookie in place of my breakfast. And it was glorious. Now that I’ve lost 5, I’m going to get a small ice cream for dinner when my friend Mikaela and I go hang out tomorrow. When I’ve lost 10 pounds (hopefully by my birthday in a month) I’m going to eat cookie cake. Lots of cookie cake. :) My total goal is 15 pounds, and if I get down there before summer, I’ll weigh one pound less than what I did on my wedding day, and that’ll be better than good enough for me. This time around, however, I’m going to try harder to make the “rewards” occasional treats, and not every day treats like I have in the past. Eating healthy is something I’d like to do daily once I get down to a certain weight – not necessarily a hard core diet like the past week, but just generally more good stuff and less bad stuff.

Anyone else have success stories to encourage me?? Haha. :) If you want to know exactly what I’ve eaten the past week, just ask – I have it all written down. Lol.

Happy Thursday! :D

~Cait

Posted by Caitlin in Adventures, Cooking, Health, Personal, Uncategorized

5 comments

Monthly Archives: February 2012

God’s Plan Vs. Mine

Weight Update – And a Giveaway!

More Wednesday Loving

Chevron Crazy – Free Printable!

Happy Friday!

Valentine’s Day Part II – The World’s Greatest Husband

Valentine’s Day

Color Palettes

Just What I Needed

5 Pounds in a Week!

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