Memorial Day Weekend

For me the Memorial Day Weekend does not mean that much. I just remember the first time I was in the US for the memorial day. I was living in Detroit Lakes, a small town in north-west Minnesota, at the time doing an exchange year during my Junior year in high school. The year was 1998 and I was 18 years old.

I remember driving by a cemetery with my host dad (or American dad as I call him, he was actually the one walking me down the isle at my wedding so he is just not a 'host dad' to me) and I could see all these flags everywhere. I had gotten used to seeing the American flag on a daily basis but not like that! That was just crazy - it was beautiful in some way...

Today when I think about it I have more compassion... I realize that most of these people died young, in another country without their loved ones because they wanted to do something good for their country, or the world... It is hard to think that they will never be able to tell their story, the story beyond the media, the story beyond the war...

Bless those many lost souls...

As I wish it

Been looking at tickets to Sweden this past week... it is so expensive to fly over the summer. I hate it! I still want to go but I might wait and go at the end of August instead of in July. It will not be as warm out and people will be back at work and school, but maybe that is ok... I have to ask myself if it is worth $300 more for me to be able to go in the middle of the summer.

Don't get me wrong I can come up with millions of excuses why I have to spend $300 more just to be able to go a certain time of the year.. it is easy! ;) I just miss everything so much right now. Sweden is where half my heart is and it needs to be filled at least twice a year.

I talked to my BFF yesterday and she told me she is planning to visit me around halloween!! YEAH - I know it is forever until that happens, but that gives me so much to look forward to. And if I get to see her over the summer than it will not be that long until I get to see her again.

We for sure will be visiting NYC and will pay for a few dance classes at Broadway dance academy...

BFF Anna

Summertime

Summer time is around the corner and I start to think about Sweden. I love Sweden in the summer. It is my place to relax and be myself. Hang out with friends, listen to how the language sound, look at the new fashion trends that will come to the US within a year or two, eat things I can't get here, walk in parks and enjoy people watching, see my family, enjoy watching all red cottages, see more blonds in a day then anywhere else, enjoy the sense of style in men, dance at my favorite club, walk in grocery stores and being able to trust the labels, stay up all night because it never gets dark, laugh until I cannot laugh anymore...

Yes, I miss my Sweden!

Week 3 update - Miss my BFF

As you already know I forgot to give you a week 2 update... so here comes the week 3 instead. Last week I was still experience my lower back pain and after every session on the elliptical I curve myself up like a ball and roll my back on my yoga mat for probably 10 minutes to stretch and massage that area. I truly miss my best friend who is a fabulous massage therapist, she has helped me with some of my worst pains but she is on the other side of the Atlantic...

Weight: 75.75 kg / 167.2 lbs [78.0 kg / 172.1 lbs]
Fat: 21.10 kg / 46.5 lbs (27.9%) [22.45 kg / 49.5 lbs (28.8%)]
Water 52.6% [51.9%]
BMI: 25.0 [25.8]

Chest: 98 cm / 38.58" [101 cm / 39.76"]
Waist: 78 cm / 30.71" [82 cm / 32.28"]
Stomach: 91 cm / 35.83" [97 cm / 38.19"]
Hips: 107 cm / 42.12" [111 cm / 43.70"]

[original/starting measurements]

Going back to Dermalogica

I have given up hope on AHAVA products right now. I still like the bar soap but I am not seeing any improvements at all by using it or any of the other products that I have from the same brand. After my facial on Thursday I received some tester bags and as I kept using them my face kept improving. But over the weekend I used a lot of them up and now I am back to using my ahava moisturizer and my face is back to looking as a teenager.

I don't think that it is the ahava products that are bad, they are just not what my face need right now. I need to get something stronger for my acne, or for my skin infections as they are truthfully... I know; it sounds so much worse but that is what it is, no point in lying to yourself!

I saw incredible impact in using the 'Dermal Clay Cleanser' - it was a bit uncomfortable on my skin, but it really made an impact. I also am looking into getting the 'Active Moist' day cream and the 'Overnight Clearing Gel' I just feel that I am spending so much money on it... but if it works I really have no other choice... And I rather spend some money than look the way I do right now.

What is your favorite brand?

Lights went out

Yesterday I was goooone... I had my morning meeting with my elliptical at 5 in the morning and then off to work. I was so bored at work that I ended up leaving a little bit early... I was just thinking about everything else I needed to get done that sitting in my cube was driving me crazy... Then there was the highlight of the day - FACIAL time. I have had issues with acne for maybe four months now and I am trying to find the right products and the right way to take care of it without taking any drugs. It is a very slow process and I am not sure what to do next except having facials. They do make me look a ton better but it only last for so long.

Those 60 minutes of pampering makes me so relaxed and by the time I got home and had dinner I was out! It was only the 3rd inning of the Phillies game and I fell asleep on my hubby's chest... I woke up and it was the 7th inning.. I moved to the other sofa and tried really hard to watch the game but out I went...

Hubby woke me up a little later and off to bed we went. I don't know what happened after that but off I went again! When my alarm rang this morning at 4:50 am I turned it off and fell back asleep again. I was just completely wiped out!

I have been having some horrible cramps and feeling almost like I have had a fever so maybe I needed some extra sleep... I would say that by now I should be rested.

Last day of teaching dance classes tonight, feels strange but nice. I need the break, or I need the time I spend on that on other things for now.

Forgot the week picture

I totally forgot to take a picture on Sunday, and to do my numbers.. it is not like I don't step up on the scale about 5 times a day but I want to stay consistent. I don't want to report my Wednesday number as my Sunday number so I am going to give you an update after 14 days instead of 7 this coming Sunday.

But what I have seen on the scale as been a lot of ups and downs. I have been down to 166 lbs and I have been up to 170 lbs. It all depended on what time of the day and what I was wearing. My officially weigh-in time is at night, since I weigh the most at night time and I weigh myself without any clothes. I would love to do it in the morning, but that would be a fake number to me.

I work out on the elliptical as promised and I have noticed that I no longer can count on 30 minutes to give me a good sweat, but I need to increase it to 40 minutes. I hate the elliptical - it is boring, even if I am reading and listening to music at the same time, and my lower back is hurting so much from it... but I will stick it out because I know it do me more good that bad! And I love getting in shape.

I had a work colleague telling me, when I showed the picture with me and the airplane telling I will own one of those one day, that I will need to keep my good looks and get a little bit more money... Well, good looks will fade with time but money will grow with time... so JUST WATCH ME SUCKER! 

Model found

Reaching out on Facebook is a good thing! A friend of a friend is letting me take pictures of her baby in my clothes - it is going to be so exciting!! I hope to get it done on Saturday.

My weekend is pretty much booked up, but I will make room for this! On Sunday I have the dance recital for NAC where I have been teaching dance since September last year. It is finally time for the recital. All the kids are so excited for it - not all might be ready, but they are excited!

I am even going to be on stage dancing. It has been a while but I am sure I still got the touch... after all I LOVE being on stage!

Like mother and child

Our mind is one of our strongest tool to use when we want to accomplish something, but it is also our greatest enemy! How can one thing be both those things? 

Our mind makes us stronger or weaker, our mind makes us do, or not do, and our mind makes us grow no matter what roads we chose to travel on...

First there is you telling yourself what you want, but it is not until the brain understands it or want it too that you actually do. I sometimes feel I have two people inside of me - like the mother and the child. The mother tells me what I should do and the child usually rejects it with some great excuse... I hate it. I want to do what momma tells me - that is why I am telling me to do one thing in the first place! What is stopping me?

Do I have communication issues? Do I need to explain things better to my inner child?

Yesterday when I was on Facebook I noticed one of my friends saying "step 3" and she explained what it was, after someone asked what she was talking about, that she had reached her 3rd step in accomplishing something she wanted to accomplish. I thought that was great - maybe that is exactly how I need to do it too. Define my steps. When am I done with step one, step two, and so on... I thought that was so great!

Off course that is how I would advise others to do, but with myself I usually skip a few steps since my head is already at the finish line thinking that the work is done. Funny and frustrating how I don't walk the talk.

No... I am not a complete failure - I am still loosing weight and I am still learning about real estate investing, and I am still planning for a life in freedom away from the 8-5 job day in and day out... but there are still things missing... Things I need to figure out.

Are you arguing with your inner selves too?

On a hunt...

I actually kept my promise. I finished the dresses that I was supposed to finish this weekend. As I am sure you have already noticed; I am not a girly-girl when it comes to my baby girl outfits - I like retro and I like to combine what I see in fashion magazine into something that fits a baby or kid. Now, that doesn't mean that I won't throw in a pink muffin dress with whipped cream on top every now and then - but that is not where I am at for the moment. Right now I am all about polka dots and down to earth... what I am tomorrow is another story ;)

So here is the dresses I finished: My "Olivia's Garden" Baby dresses:

100% Cotton (except for ribbon, zipper, and flowers) available in three baby sizes (S, M, L). I have not uploaded this to my Etsy.com shop yet and I don't know if I should, at least not yet. I so want this dress to come out great in the pictures and I feel that a little baby girl would make it look even better. What do you guys think? Does it matter if I have a baby model or not?

Do you know of any baby girls 6-18 months that would look adorable in this dress that would want to be my model?

Any comments are welcome!

Overcome - don't give up!

After my almost two weeks into my new life I have noticed a few things:
Sugar/Carb cravings are not as hard as you think to overcome, I haven't felt it at all, except for at one point when I drove by a Dairy queen and said 'ohh a Blizzard would be nice' and then I remembered that I don't eat that anymore...

Second thing is that you can see improvements so fast! I teach dance and on Thursday I have an adult class that I dance with, not only teach. Yesterday I noticed that I didn't get as tired as I normally get. I think I have the elliptical to thank for that (or myself for using it, haha).

But I have also noticed that new things can hurt you a little. Yesterday I started to feel that my lower back and buttocks were getting tighter and very sore, today they are even worse. So this morning I dedicated on some well needed stretching and self massage. I have a feeling I am going to need more.

So what I really want to say with this is that unexpected things can happen and it is important to take them as challenges and try to overcome them rather than give up. You still have to focus on your goal, it might slow you down a little bit, but don't let it stop you!! You will grow even stronger by stepping over some hurdles you didn't count on.

Be strong and focus!

Energy

It is interesting how your level of energy can vary so much on a daily and weekly basis. Last week I was high, this week I am getting by. And I off course start to wonder what the reasons of it are... Could it be that my body is getting used to the amounts of Kelp I am feeding myself and want more in order to feel what I felt last week? Or is it that last week I was so high on knowledge and what a great opportunity I had in my hand that made me stronger than superman? Or is it something else?

Can my decreased energy be because I have drained my body a little bit and it is not used to it?

I am unsure, all I can say is that I see a difference. After working out for 45 minutes this morning I took a 30 minutes nap before getting ready for work. That was not the idea! The idea was for me to have that time for myself, not for sleeping a little bit extra. That is not going to get me anywhere!

Just have to get through it and go for it stronger tomorrow!

Making a commitment

Ok - tonight I WILL finish one more dress!! I promise! I am not stopping until it is done!

Just so you know - even though Phillies are going to play the whole day and night... I will find the time to do it! Go Phillies... or wait - Go Sewing!!

Focus on the Red Thing

I am a bull that sees red sometimes, but it is not a bad thing necessarily. It is just that when I see red I have a hard time focusing on something else but this red thing!

My red thing for the moment is to learn as much as I can about Real Estate Investing. I am consumed by it. I can't think about anything else. I look at real estate for sale all over when I have a moment over. I try to play the game Rich Dad Cashflow for an hour before I go to bed and I read about real estate investing while on the elliptical, watching TV, and whenever I have a moment over. I am so focused on it!

But I also have my little business that I want to excel in and get more sales from, not because I think I can make Candie Ink to anything big, but I like doing it and I think I can learn from that experience! For the moment I have a hard time taking time to finish some items I have laying around. I have this awesome dress that I love that I just need to finish... but when I sit there or when I get ready to sew I just think about Real Estate. I can juggle tennis balls, but I have a hard time having two bowling balls in the air at the same time; they are a little heavy! And especially when I intend for my real estate ball to grow into something larger than myself one day.

But with you all here - let's do this: If I don't have at least one more item in my little online shop by next weekend you have to promise to NEVER buy anything from me, promise!

Are you in pain?

If you or anyone you know is suffering from pain that no one knows what it is caused by? Or you might have been diagnosed with arthritis or maybe fibro myalgia or any other inflammatory disease simply because it is easier for a doctor to have something to treat - here is a great post by my favorite doctor who describe how you might be able to eliminate your pain simply by changing your diet!


Man walks after eliminating wheat

And even if you are not suffering from joint pain... maybe eliminating wheat could be a good idea for periods of time to cleanse your body. And to make it interesting: Eat everything you normally do - go to your doctor and have your regular blood tests done (Vitamin D, cholesterol, glucose...) and then one month before your next visit stop eating wheat (and other grains if possible) and you both will probably be pretty chocked on what you will see.

It is worth a try, isn't it!?

Week 1 Update - It looks like I am doing something right!

Weight: 76.35 kg / 168.4 lbs [78.0 kg / 172.1 lbs]
Fat: 21.50 kg / 47.4 lbs (28.2%) [22.45 kg / 49.5 lbs (28.8%)]
Water 52.4% [51.9%]
Bone 9.6% [9.6%]
BMI: 25.2 [25.8]

Chest: 99 cm / 38.98" [101 cm / 39.76"]
Waist: 79 cm / 31.10" [82 cm / 32.28"]
Stomach: 94 cm / 37.01" [97 cm / 38.19"]
Hips: 109 cm / 42.91" [111 cm / 43.70"]

[original measurements]

I don't know if I can see that much yet but my stomach feels skinnier and not as 'prego' but I have a few more weeks to go ;)

Day 4 to 7

The rest of my first week has gone pretty smooth. I have been able to start reading while on the elliptical and it saves me so much time, or even better - I can get in more than one hour of reading every day! So my road to my financial investment education is going even faster.

It is always harder to follow a certain diet over the weekend. You are used to having a drink or going for a nice Italian dinner... you have to be strong and keep reminding yourself why you are doing it! But I can also tell you that re-fueling your body with some extra carbohydrates one day a week is not bad, but can actually be beneficial. I am not saying to eat that whole pizza you have been craving for the entire week; that would be counter productive for you. I am talking about eating more fruit one day, or have sushi or similar. I am still saying no to wheat and sugar.

So some new meals I haven't mentioned so far are:
Ribs with steamed veggies - so so so good!!
I had chicken with mozzarella and eggplant on Saturday evening, it was hard to say no to the pasta that comes with it, but I survived!
Friday night I had sushi with some friends and it was very good. I also had two glass of Merlot.
Even though alcohol is something you should try to eliminate, I don't see too much harm in having it every now and then. We don't go out that often so when we do I don't feel bad about having a glass or two.
I also had a salmon lunch with green beans

My exercising have been the elliptical. I have increased the minutes to 45 minutes per session and hope that I can manage 60 minutes next week. I have also counted my dance class I teach on Thursday nights my cardio for the day. It is not as easy to give a value of lost kcalories but it is more than sitting in the office, that's for sure!

As a summary I can say that my mind is still focused and I feel good about what I am doing. I feel more awake during the day and my mind is much stronger than it has been in a long time. I know I will accomplish the results I am looking for here.

How are you guys out there doing?

Second Sale

Things are going slow with my Etsy shop but I finally got a second sale and this one was my favorite - the 'I Love Shoes' printed hot pink toddler t-shirt!!

I have been a little slow in my makings too, I have had so much other stuff going on that I haven't talked to the people that have said I can use their kids as models or even finishing up the dresses I was supposed to finish 3 weeks ago. No rush I guess, we are still going into summer and not going out of it.

Life is full of surprises

Fearless girls ... I'm in the middle

I am still amazed on how everything has just tumbled upon me - it truly feels like it has. I haven't been looking for it because I had no idea what to look for or where. Donald Trump to me just a few weeks ago was one of those 'rich ignorant guys' - how wrong I was!!

How can I learn to be rich, or at least a little bit more financial stable, from someone that is still going to work every day, maybe even two jobs??? On what planet does that makes sense??? Apparently on this one! Why don't we learn from the best, from the people that have done it, tried it and have succeeded from basically nothing?? When you ask it like that it is pretty obvious but do people in general think about that stuff?? I don't think so, at least I didn't. But I do now...

I went to this workshop yesterday presented by Rich Dad Education and I was literally bubbling of excitement. It wasn't like all other workshops where you find the sales pitch in every sentence (yes it was a great sales pitch going on but it was beyond the point) this sales pitch made so much sense to me and it felt like it hit me right in the heart. All I wanted to do was to stand up and scream, that is how excited I was. I so know I am capable of doing this, I truly am. Yeah sure, some seconds here and there I get these fear attacks and think to myself 'who the heck do I think I am' but the excitement takes right over... And there is a drive inside of me that I almost can't manage.

It off course helps that every night when I come home I found a sad hubby from disliking his job, feeling that he is worth so much more. Yesterday I whispered to him 'I will get you out of this'... and I truly mean it, I truly believe that it will happen!! And it will happen in probably less than one year.

Fear not the fear itself but what will happen if you do not try!

Day 3 - Ohhh... my body is TIRED

The third day of my new life and I was very sore waking up. My back felt stiff and my legs felt like they were made out of lead. The exercise for the day was yoga/pilates/weights and I did a shorter yoga session by myself. I focused on a lot of stretching so some might say that it was not really yoga. But to get started for real with my yoga I need to warm myself up for it. It is not easy!

After work I went to a workshop that I signed up for over the weekend as a part of my new life achievements and have gotten one step closer to that airplane ;) The workshop was so exciting that I was literally bubbling inside; I just wanted to stand up and scream!! It is like someone just opened the door to a better life and I have not hesitated to step through.... inside the doors there is this stairway and I have just started to climb them. I signed up for a class about Investing in Real Estate that is going to be a 3 day course in the beginning of June, trying to get my hubby to come with me so we can learn together and be Powerful Together!!

30 minutes yoga and stretch - ??? kcal burned

Food
Breakfast - One Fage Greek Yogurt 2% (I really like the regular one but they don't have that one at the grocery stores around me) and some organic crushed rasberries
Lunch - Salad with Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, swiss cheese and ranch dressing, diet coke
Snack - strawberries and cashews on my way to the workshop
Dinner - Fried mozzarella cheese. (Buy the nicest mozzarella you can find and slice it, rinse with cold water and roll them in crushed almonds, fry in pan with butter on both sides for a little bit. Eat right away) with tomato and extra virgin olive oil. Delicious!!

Supplements
Are same as always just go back to Day 1

Day 2 - Not as energetic

After doing my last pole dancing class on Monday night I was pretty sore and tired on Tuesday morning. I had planed to do 45 minutes on the elliptical but ended up not getting out of bed until 5:15 so I had only time for 30 minutes. At least I made sure I got to 400 kcal on that thing, but it wasn't as easy as the day before.

30 minutes elliptical - 3.6 km / 2.24 miles - 402 kcal burned

Food
Breakfast - One Fage Greek Yogurt 2% (I really like the regular one but they don't have that one at the grocery stores around me) and some organic crushed rasberries
Snack - 8 unsalted cashews
Lunch - 2 hard boiled eggs into a sallad with mayo, relish, and Dijon mustard, lettuce with tomato, swiss cheese and balsamic
Snack - 4 strawberries
Dinner - LCHF pancakes with organic heavy whipping cream and blackberries, 1 glass of organic whole milk

Supplements
Are same as always just go back to Day 1

Day 1 - I have been ready for it

Day one came probably one day too early as my weekend didn't turn out the way I had planed but never the less my first day felt good. I crawled out of bed at 5:15am and stepped up on the elliptical right away.

30 minutes elliptical - 3.7 km / 2.32 miles - 430 kcal burned

Food
Breakfast - 2 hard boiled eggs with mayo, relish,  and Dijon mustard
Snack - 8 unsalted cashews
Lunch - 3 hard boiled eggs with mayo, relish, and Dijon mustard, 1 cheese stick, 1 diet coke
Snack - 3 large strawberries
Dinner - One low carb wrap with grilled chicken, bell pepper, and avocado
Before Bedtime - Glass of milk

Supplements
Morning
1000 mg Omega-3
400 IU Vitamin D (d-alpha)
300 mcg Kelp
1000 mg Vitamin C
1 capsule Cinnamon
Lunch
150 mcg Kelp
1000 mg Vitamin C
250 mg SeaCalcium w/ 170 mg Magnesium
Night
5000 IU Vitamin D
1000 mg Omega-3 
1 capsule Cinnamon
150 mcg Kelp
250 mg SeaCalcium w/ 170 mg Magnesium
150 mg Magnesium

Starting numbers

Weight: 78.0 kg / 172.1 Lb
Fat: 22.45 kg / 49.5 Lb (28.8%)
Water 51.9%
Bone 9.6%
BMI: 25.8

Chest: 101 cm / 39.76"
Waist: 82 cm / 32.28"
Stomach: 97 cm / 38.19"
Hips: 111 cm / 43.70"

Horrifying I know! Nothing in the closet fits anymore and I feel like a fat slob! I have gone from a steady size 8 to a 12 in just a few months. If it is due to the birth control or not I don't know - but I think that some if it may be related. Since I stopped I have been facing horrible sugar rushes and think that my thyroid is a little out of function.

Anyway - that is who I am today and hopefully there will be less of me very soon ;)

Just a few tips

To be successful in weight loss there is a little more to it than to eat less and exercise more. We also have to make sure that the body is prepared for the sometimes big changes we will be going through.

So there is generally four things that you should NOT ignore:

• Exercise - this is very personal to us all depending on how much we are used to move around. For some a walk in the park could be hard and for some a 5k run is like warm-up. Normally best result is achieved by doing 60 minutes of cardio per day, 5-6 days a week. (you need a day of rest per week too). Make sure you are breaking a sweat! When you get the hang of it - interval training will boost your metabolism even more. So vary your training so your body does not get used to it and need more in order for you to loose weight.

• What you eat - The first and most important step in changing your diet is to get rid of your carb-cravings. This is easiest achieved by having regular meals, and rather eat too much than too little or eat more often than not, just so you don't get to the point where you just have to have that snickers or something similar. Normally it takes between 2 to 3 weeks to get rid of the cravings for sugar and other carbs so hang in there and don't give up! After you have stabilized your blood sugar and your cravings you can start putting up a good meal plan, with regular times. Some people say that more meals with less food is good, and others say that less meals with more food is ok too. I have tried them both and find that eating 6-7 times a day is hard - I just can't get it all in a day with everything that has to get done. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and will have two snacks during the day - that should do it for me. If you like protein shakes eating 6-7 meals might not be that hard but I can't stand them!

• Water - I am sure you all know to drink lots of water. But in a weight loss process the water is a way to flush your system and is crucial for success! If you aren't already drinking at least one gallon (4 liters) a day start NOW! If you have a hard time doing it get into the habit of drinking a large glass before every meal (it will not equal up to everything you need but at least it is a start). 

• Supplements - Our bodies need to stay healthy in order to achieve our goals. If we don't take supplements we are bound to quit before we are done because we get sick... A cold or even sore muscles can make people quit. So supplements are more important than you would think. And I am off course NOT recommending a multivitamin or synthetic vitamins and minerals. All natural please! I will provide you with what I am taking in my first update. 

Any more tips out there?