Imy's Joy=My Joy

Our house is in a constant state of redecoration...I get bored looking at the same walls day after day. We've had a big blank way in our entry way for quite awhile now. It's right by a taller dresser so it needed something big for balance. As much as I don't like blank spaces I am a firm believer in waiting for the perfect piece. Inspiration will come...eventually. 

At the beginning of the month a great crafty destination opened in our town. Best of What's Around is crafty girls dream. It's full of repurposed, refurbished furniture, handmade clothes and tons of wall decorations and vintage knick-knacks. The best part? It's all LOCAL crafty gals and it's all handmade!!! My good friend Erin from Lois Pearl Designs has a wonderful corner of her goodies there (and you can even see my girls on the wall showing off their favorite Lois Pearl outfits). Seriously, it's an awesome place and if you're near Indy you need to check it out!!! You can find their address and hours {HERE}.

So back to my blank wall....I found a few quick, rare alone shopping minutes and stopped by Best of What's Around and I found the most perfect item for my big blank wall. The magnetic board in the picture is from Imy's Joy. When I saw it I KNEW I had to have it!!! It was the perfect color and size (it's hard to tell in the picture but it's 29"x 23") for the spot! I also love that it gives me some flexibility. I can change what I hang on it daily or hourly if that's what I feel like!

Imy's Joy also has tons of other items too, lots of signs with inspirational quotes on them and pretty things to hang on your wall. There was a super cute chalkboard menu planner for the wall that I really liked too. It would be perfect for our kitchen and would definitely cut down on the "MOM! What's for dinner??!?!" shouts I get every night.

What's your favorite handmade crafty designer? Do you have a place like BWA where you are? Shout em' out! We want to support them too!

Have a great Tuesday and thanks for checking in!!!

The Long Run Diaries - Week 8

...next week I'm totally trying horizontal running...

Week 8

15 miles

2:43:15

10:53 pace

Ahhhh week 8! First the weather was so much better than last weekend! It was in the 40s and the roads and sidewalks were clear. Not having to wear several layers of clothes made everything so much more enjoyable! I felt really strong this week, even after running my 15 miles. I had my usual oatmeal breakfast and ate my yummy Honey Stinger Waffle bars along the way and I'm happy to report that there were no belly issues. Luckily I had no problems with my water and was able to keep myself hydrated. My running partner Traci and I had decided that we were going to incorporate walking breaks into the actual race. Our feeling is that we'd rather take the first part of the race easier and feel stronger at the end rather than go out strong and hard and suffer at the end. No matter what, the last 8 or so miles are going to be challenging, we're just hoping that with walking breaks they will be manageable. We started them on our run this week. It was definitely helpful, both mentally and physically. They're not long breaks, but every few miles we'd walk, have a drink and eat our snacks if needed. I'm definitely sore today, but that's to be expected and I'm hoping to get in a little yoga today to stretch out a bit. I also thought I was getting another migraine last night, but I was able to calm it down with some Naproxen. I'm really hoping that it doesn't become a regular occurrence because the last thing I need is a weekly migraine that lasts 3 days!

This week has a slight taper-AWESOME!

Have a great Monday and thanks for checking in!

Flying Photo School Comes To An End-Weeks 3 &4

Last week I finished my on-line photography class.

Week 3 was all about Aperture. I had heard and read a lot about Aperture, but I never really understood it.  After week 3 I had a much better grasp and I'm definitely able to adjust my camera accordingly. Aperture deals with light and depth of field. It's how people get the blurred backgrounds in their photos or bokeh. The lower the Aperture the shorter the depth of field and the more blurry the background (to put it simply). Week 3 also helped explain the different numbers on the lenses and why some lenses are more expensive than others. Our assignment for the week was to submit a picture in Aperture Priority Mode. 

This is the picture I submitted:

I like the brightness of the ball and I thought I did a pretty good job on my bokeh. I also thought I had my WB adjusted well since you can see GG's carrot lovin' nose!

Week 4 talked more about manual mode and different camera accessories and what you may "need" vs. what's nice to have. 

Overall I think the class was helpful. I certainly learned way more in 4 weeks than I did the whole time I've had my camera. The "classes" were very manageable for a busy mama, everything was explained very well and you can't beat the flexibility of going to school in your jammies. I liked the mix of videos and handouts and I really enjoyed seeing my classmates assignments and what our instructor had to say about them. I paid for my class with a Groupon so it was VERY reasonable. The downside is the lack of an actual classroom. It was a little frustrating that I could only submit one photo each week. It would have been nice to share a few and get feedback on why one was better than the other and hear what adjustments I could have made. I also feel that Week 4 was not very informative, I wanted more information about picture taking, not what to buy (again, my personal opinion). Another frustration is that the classes fill up super quick. The level 2 class I would need isn't available until June! I feel like I'm on a roll and I don't want to wait 4 months for my next class!

So would I recommend Flying Photo School? ABSOLUTELY! I think it's a great way to learn more about how to use your SLR camera, especially if you have NO idea how to use it (like I did!). I also think you need to be willing to practice, practice, practice (that's true with everything right?!?!). I don't think I practiced nearly as much as I should have. Sure I've taken lots of pictures these past few months, but most of them were "in the moment" shots. I really needed to take more pictures when the picture itself wasn't that important so when the important shots come up I'm ready!

If you want to try Flying Photo School you're in luck! I did a quick search and "for a limited time" you can get a Groupon for 68% off the regular class price. I picked up one for myself-you can't beat the price! I'm thinking of taking the Creative Composition Class in May. Click {HERE} for more information. 

Thanks for being with me on my photo journey! If you sign up for a class let me know! I'd love to hear about what classes you take and what you thought of them! 

Happy shotin'

It's A Boy! (more freezer paper stencil fun)

Last week we had a baby shower for a friend. She has two girls and #3 is a bouncing baby boy! I always think it's so much fun to make personalized gifts. One of my favorite crafty activities is freezer paper stenciling. The possibilities are endless and it's so much fun! For my full tutorial you can go {HERE}.

Little man is going to be named after his daddy, who is also named after HIS daddy, so he will be John III.

Oh boy so many fun ideas come to my mind!!!

Here are the ones I decided on...

There definitely is a mustache craze going on right now and I couldn't resist...

This one is my most favoritest!!! (...if you get the joke than you're my most favoritest and I'm going to take you to San Diego to eat a dolphin!...I like pizza!...Hi Steve!)

Package them all up real nice and purdy and you've got a super-duper fun and unique gift that didn't require any special crafting supplies!

Happy stenciling!

What I Like On Wednesday-Broward Patch

I recently got some new bling for my Big Girl Camera...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new camera strap from Broward Patch! I was shopping in her Etsy shop looking for a bday gift for a friend and couldn't resist picking up this beauty for myself! It was listed as a plain strap without the flowers, but after a few quick conversations back and forth she had a SUPER QUICK custom order listed and ready for me to purchase!

I've already gotten several compliments on my new accessory and I totally agree! Did I mention I LOVE it?!??!

Go checkout her Esty shop {HERE}. There are lots of fun camera straps and key chains to choose from. If you don't see what you're looking for don't hesitate to contact her. She was SUPER helpful and friendly, and my order shipped the very next day! 

The Long Run Diaries-Week 7

When I woke up yesterday morning for my long run this is what I found...

...and this is what I looked like...

To run in this ridiculously cold weather I needed the following: 

• jogging bra x2 (not because of the weather...b/c I'm still nursing GG) 
• Thick long-sleeve dri-fit shirt
• Shell
• running tights
• running pants
• 2 pairs of socks
• dri-fit running underwear
• 1 pair of gloves
• 1 pair of mittens to wear over gloves
• full face mask
• dri-fit running beanie

Additional items

• Camelbak water pack w/ insulated tube
• Yaktrax
• Honey Stingers Waffle Bars
• iPhone and ear buds 
• Money incase I need a drink or snack along the way

PHEW! Cold weather running is high maintenance!!! 

So week 7 was definitely NOT a taper week and definitely came with it's own set of issues. I had a lot of technical difficulties this week! The biggest issue was that our treadmill was, and still is, out of lubricant for the belt. It won't work without it making my mid-week runs harder to get in. It's been ordered and hopefully it will be delivered in the next few days. The weather does not look too favorable for outdoor running with a jogging stroller (as far as I know they don't make Yaktrax for strollers) and I REALLY don't want to run at the Y again. If I have to run on the tready I want to do it in my house in front of my own TV.

So...this week's long run...

Distance: 14 miles

Total Time: 2:32:00

Pace: 10:51

My running partner was out of town this weekend so I was running solo. Despite the low temps the weather really wasn't too much of an issue. Luckily I was warm enough and there was little wind. My biggest problems were with my accessories...listening to Pandora sucked my phone battery dry and I was without music for the last 8 miles and my water tube was kinked or something. I didn't have water for most of the run and wasted quite a bit of time trying to fix it. It finally started working towards the end of the run which made the last 4 miles much, much better. Overall it was a pretty good run. I could definitely feel that I had gotten stronger and I didn't have any belly issues. I got up two hours before I planned on leaving and had a bowl of Muesli, I wanted to make sure I gave it plenty of time to digest. I had a Gatorade Prime 30 minutes before I left. It was a great combination. I didn't feel full or heavy. I make sure I ate small pieces of the waffle bars every few miles and drank water when I could. Once I got home I had another bowl of Muesli, a Gatorade Recover (so gross) and took another electrolyte pill. I felt tired but not exhausted most of the day. 

Later in the evening I got a migraine and had to call it a night. I'm guessing it was from the lack of water on my run but it's hard to say. I get them occasionally so it could have been completely unrelated to the run.

So glad to have another successful week done! I really appreciate all the encouragement and suggestions you've been sending me! Your kind words keep me moving along!

Thanks for checking in!

Aleida's Challenge-January

Last month I told you about Aleida's Challenge (read more about it {HERE} and {HERE}) and how I was taking it on. I wanted to share with you the pictures I took of me and the kids (somehow Noa did not make any of the Mommy pics, but I did get a ton of her by herself...hmmmm gotta work on that...). Despite the fact there are only 3 pictures for the month, it's a HUGE improvement. It wouldn't have been uncommon for a whole month's worth of picture not to include me at all. Clearly I still  need to be better about handing over the camera, but I'm proud of my progress. These pics were taken with the front camera on my phone and as you can see they're not too great. I know the point isn't to have fabulous pictures, but it would be nice to have a few that aren't completely fuzzy! 

So how did you do on the challenge? Were you able to get more pictures with YOU in them?

Happy Sunday!