Keeping Calm & Carrying On

Athlete: Bella Blvd's Making the Team

Ciao Bella! Did you make your way over here from Bella Blvd? Lookin' to win some random Bella Blvd scraps from our not-so-spring-office-cleaning?

Here's How to Enter to Win My Scraps Giveaway:

Leave a comment below telling me the one scrapbooking product/tool that you cannot live without! I'll announce the winner right here on Tuesday. Good luck!

School's almost out for summer which means I will be catching many-a-basketball tournament, gymnastics meets and little league games; Rootin' on my nieces and nephews any opportunity I can get. The layout for today documents my last season coaching my niece Anabelle before she enrolled into middle school. 

I mixed together my Mr. Boy and also my Making the Team product collections.

I fed the graph patterned paper (from the Family Dynamix collection) through my printer for my journaling and then trimmed it into a pennant banner. 

I had to journal about how at this moment in Anabelle's life she is so similar to how I was at that age. I see so much of me in her sometimes that it's scary. And because of Bella's recent team-up with the Twinery have some left over twine o play with! 

The school team is The Star of Bethlehem Stars...so KI's star puffies were a perfect match for the layout, along with Bella Blvd's new Star buttons and referee looking Designer Tape! Here's the finished page that will go into my 2010 album.

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday weekend!

A Favorite Food

TGIF?! Can you please it's Friday already?! Craziness. Well today's post is a mix between these two:

and also

because my Friday Favorite is a scrum-dilly (that's slang for delicious by the way) little snack I eat probably more than 2 times a week:

Edamame Soy Beans.

Steamed. In a Bag. Bought at Target. Delicious. 

(that's my puppy begging for the beans-yes he loves them too, my niece Lauren trying them out...while I much away in the background). 

I first tried Edamame at Fujiyama Japanese Hibachi steakhouse as an appetizer. I fell in love, and quickly began trying out the options from local grocery stores. My favorite is from Target's grocery aisles. The Edamame comes in a steam-able bag---only microwave for 3.5 minutes, drain the extra water and whala!

They are really love in calories and make for a great snack. Just watch how much salt you add, and you're golden! Edamame helps me stay on track while I'm counting calories and trying to stay fit. I love love love them.  There's nothing like a healthy, filling snack. (And it's even green too!)

Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend!

Athlete: A Making the Team Layout

I'm honestly not quite sure if I've shared this layout with you before. I created it for Bella's CHA Booth display, and just recently I've gotten around to completing the coordinating layout for the right side.

The product featured is my Making the Team collection. The products have lots of grays and browns and whites, and includes the common sports colors like red, royal blue and hello. Last year was my niece, Madelyn's, first go-around at basketball.

I used nearly all the chipboard embellishments pieces throughout the layout. Here's a peek at the Making the Team chipboard elements from Bella Blvd:

      

I used  both of these sets---you know me and my need for alpha letters by now ;)

I added several little details to this page including sanding the edges of the elements to create the rustic white edge, adhering coordinating monochromatic pearl to the polka dot and pattern, and also laying word stickers across the dense areas of the alpha title "athlete".

Also incorporated are several of the Cute Cuts paper elements, along with some bling stars by my friend Teresa Collins.

 

The coordinating left-side base is a 12x12" photo enlargement that I adhered strips of the Borders embellishment pattern to the top edge.

Here's a glimpse of the Borders embellishment paper:

"No 23" are corrugated alphas from Jillibean Soup that worked perfectly. I also used one of my favorite supplies, the Photo Signature pen by EK Success to journal right on top of my photograph without having to worry about any smudging.

Love love love this pen (I think I have five at all times in case one dries up or runs out). You can find them here at Amazon for less than $3.

I also added some of my fun brand new Stick Pin Flags to the layout as well.

Have you purchased any of these cuties?...there's so many different kinds, colors and themes...

Two Peas in A Bucket and Scrapbook.com have a whole bunch of them for sale!

I'm excited to have finished this layout after starting one side several months ago.

If you'd like to find more ideas featuring my sports products, visit Bella's Making the Team collection gallery by clicking here. 

5k: Grass hills vs. Pavement Hills

She's my sister, Nicky. She will soon begin training for a half-marathon. WOW! That's something I will never do. It's nothing shy of amazing let me tell you! But I am more than happy to join her at some 5ks around town!

A couple weekends ago we ran the Warrior 5k @ Greenfield Park sponsored by WLC's cross country team. Now....I've ran a couple of them before but nothing like this one!

It was defintely more like a cross-country route: running on grass throughout the entire race, throught the woods, up hills, oh my. I wasn't quite prepared even though I thought I was. (Note in the photo above all the people in the background standing behind me---they had already finished the darn race!)

The thing is I run. I run a lot. But always outside on pavement or on a treadmill. I know the comparison with treadmills is always argued and I second it, however never have I heard how difficult the difference is between grass/hills and payment/hills. Yikes. 

Anyways...Nicky and I both finished in the top half of runners I believe. I had to stay focused on MY PACE. It's easy to try to "keep up" with others and lose your endurance. I ended up finishing at 28 minutes and my goal was 30. All in all it was a GREAT workout and much more challenging than I anticipated which makes for an even bigger accomplishment, in my head at least!

We're signing up for another Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Looking forward to another challenge.

Thanks Nicky for challenging me and inspiring me! 

Fitness Update: One Year +

I am a runner.

Really? I am?

I don't know. I guess so. Between 3-5 days a week I run-both outside or on my treadmill in the basement. This started with a health kick on September 1^st ,2010. More than one year ago I set out to lose 30 pounds before my sister's wedding and accomplish just that!

I have been SO INSPIRED by Cathy Zielske's "Tales from the Scale" and "Move More, Eat Less" blogging stories throughout the past couple of years. I feel like I can relate to her journey so much and appreciate how real she is while documenting it all. What I admire so much about Cathy is that she posts PHOTOS of her progress. Do you know how intimidating that is?! To show people your befores & afters....letting it all hang out?? I have monthly comparison photos for my personal physce to see my progress, but I don't know if I can come to post such personal visuals. What do yout think? Should I put myself out there? Comment below and let me know what you think....but for now, this is the best I can do.

I made a couple side-by-side comparisons for you:

Yikes....I know, right?!

 

I haven't updated you much on my progress mostly because I doubt any of you are interested. But I do find running so freeing and it's a great stress-reliever for me. More than a year later it's still hard for me to get motivated and go running some days. I need to see a swimming suit or something to remind me that I want to maintain this weight. So, I signed up for this Warrior 5k through church and am running it today in Greenfield, Wisconsin.

I'm defintely not racing and not looking forward to those peeps running 7-minute miles. I'm doing it to stay fit and to get some fresh air.....really, for fun. My 9.5-minute miles are a-okay with me! Plus, I get a free t-shirt! Who doesn't love that!?! Wish me luck!

 

 

Champion: Lynnie

10.9.2011

Honestly, she's a soccer star. She scores AT LEAST one goal each game!

I just love this picture of her after receiving a championship medal, as her team went undefeated for the weekend and placed first in the tournment!

It was probably one of the last beautiful fall weekends that we're going to get around here...so I'm glad we were able to enjoy a little warmth. We are her personal little fan club!

I've enlisted Carson to be my photographer on several occasions. He does quite a good job considering the camera is quite heavy! He holds down the shutter for one second too long and always ends up taking nearly 5-10 photos at one time. It makes us laugh! Thank goodness for digital, right?!

She's going to be ten in just a couple weeks. Talk about sadness. I sure am starting to age. ;(

Madelyn tried out for a select basketball team and made the team an age-level above hers! We'll quickly be shifting into a new season of sports!

 

Packers vs. Saints

I mentioned in this post that Steven and I scored some awesome tickets to the Packers home opener (and NFL season opener) on Thursday evening, September 8^th.

So on the way up to Green Bay we stopped at Walmart in hopes to find a small miniature Weber grill because we planned on tailgating before heading inside. We thought it would be a decent little investment because we'd use it again and again for Brewers games, etc. Well, who woulda thunk....NO WEBER brands at Walmart. Huh? So we found this *little* piece of cr*p grill in the clearance section for only $5!!!! We had to attach the wobbly legs and it came with charcoal too! It was hilarious....it was literally 12x12" I kept saying to Steven that it was as big as one of my scrapbooking pages! It just cracked me up!! It could probably fit MAYBE 3 hamburger patties. Too funny. So we had this romantical 2-person tailgate outside the stadium....so memorable!

The game was great!!! We had awesome tickets on the 40 yard line, about 7 rows up. This lady with the Packer puppet just cracked me up throughout the entire game!!! So funny! We even got to participate in 2 different "stunts" during the game. This was our view from the opposite side of the stadium during one of them. Forgive the sloppiness of the pieces together photos. Just wanted to get it on my blog and show you the jist of it!

And how often do you get to sit this close...really?

This was the very first stunt actually. Because the NFL season kicked off the weekend of September 11^th, they planned this totally awesome American flag thing with the audience. I snuck a peek with my camera during the National Anthem, and of course the fighter jets flew over too. It was amazing and very powerful. Pretty empowering actually.

The game finished close, but we came out with a win!

I'm hoping we can repeat again this year! I can't help it-I grew up in a Packer, football-lovin' house and my sisters and I are all Packer freaks. Whatever it takes to see that game....on TV or in real life...we'll do it. I'm definitely not ashamed of being a cheesehead! ;)

Catching Up

Ciao Ciao! Yes, it's me. I'm alive. {I PROMISE.} And, as promised, I have re-designed this place, freshening it up in hopes that you'll want to come back. It's just about done...what do you think? 

Here's a quick re-cap about the NEW FEATURES ON MY BLOG:

1. I'm just about done linking up all the ways you can FOLLOW ME on the left side-bar (Twitter, FB, etc.)

2. WHERE I'M TEACHING shares links to events I'll be at in 2011. My calendar is already filling up for 2012, I'll be adding those links & that info soon too

3. On the right you can find links to Bella's website, Bella's Blog, and "borrow" the Bella Badge for your blog if you'd like!

4. The SEARCH BOX allows you to quickly search my blog in case you're looking for something specific

5. DAILY INSPIRATION are my go-to links (from designers, photographers, manufacturer's, etc. --consider it "my favorites!"

6. Now you can see an overview of CATEGORIES that each of my posts fall into for quick reference. I'm about half-way through categorizing all my old posts, and my new posts will be ready to rock!

7. ARCHIVES....check out the previous stuff if you're staying a while!

Now....I have a ton of time to catch up on, I'm going to show you through photos---

We held the First Annual Christopher Smith Memorial Volleyball Tournament this summer for my sister and the kids in Sussex, WI. The turn-out was awesome. I took a ton of pix, here's just a few.

Here was my team...(from left to right) Me, Anabella (Chris's oldest), Josie (cousin), Madelyn (Chris's second daughter), Angela (my sister, Chris's wife), and Nicky (my little sis). 

The event was a huge success with an awesome turn-out. Family, friends and people we haven't seen in a loooong time came to celebrate Chris's life and his family. The silent raffle was awesome including tons of donated prizes from local business, consultants, sports teams, and more. If you weren't able to make the event, but sent in a donation, THANK YOU......we wish you could have been there in person but you made a big impact silently.

The event raised more that $7,000 for the Anabelle, Madelyn & Carson Smith Education Fund! 

The rest of spring and summer has been filled with lots of family time including welcoming baby Lauren into the Smokovich family,

watching & playing sports, and a big family move as well-Angela and the kids moved into a new home.

 

That's pretty much it in a nutshell! I'll be back soon with some scrapboking album organizing solutions! I've missed you....it's good to be back in the blogging world again!

Making A Difference

Coach Brian,

You are such a wonderful example, role model and coach for Anabelle. Having a dependable man in her life is very important for her right now-even though she might not recognize that's what you are at this exact moment, our family sure does.

Thank you for teaching her discipline and commitment, attitude and strength.

Basketball is a great "constant" she has in her life. Something she loves. Something she lives, breathes and sleeps.

Thank you coach Brian for a wonderful weekend at the 6th Grade State Basketball Tournament.

Congratulations girls on your 7th place finish. You should be proud.

Hoopin' It Up

2.12.2010

I spent the day with Angela watching Anabelle play in an all-day tournament at Waukesha South for her select league. They had an uncharacteristically bad day, but I must Anabelle played very well!

For a team that has only lost 3 games of 22 all season, their losses were heart-breaking in the tournament. 

It was fun to sit on the sidelines and snag some photos. I'm always coaching usually and don't get that opportunity. Basketball is such a big part of Anabelle's life right now that I know how important it to capture it. 

Her father would be INCREDIBLY proud. I konw I keep saying that, but it's so true. Chris used to help assistant coach this team. He would have actually been headed straight to Anabelle's basketball practice that night after work, the day of his accident.

I know, for that reason, Anabelle will always want to play her hardest, be her toughest and prove to him that she's stickin' with it. He always told her she was "his tomboy, his little athlete....." and now just look at how grown up she is!

Go Pack Go!

Steven & I have definitely been to, and hosted our fare share of Packer Parties this year. So when Superbowl time came around, we asked just a small group of friends and family to join us for the BIG game. Mom & dad were able to make it,

Justin & Jenna,

Jen also stopped in and Kevin too!

What a great game with a great ending! 

 

Thanks for hangin' with us guys! We hope you had a great time.

Bittersweet

Anabelle is a girl after my own heart. When I was in sixth grade one could argue that I was an exact replica of what she is today: a basketball-lovin', not-so-into-fashion, or-boys-tomboy! This has been my second year coaching her at Star of Bethlehem's school team. She's turning into such a talented young post player.

It's really quite hard to put exactly into words just how amazing Anabelle is. It brought tears to my eyes at our final tournament (Feb. 5^th) seeing her overcome and fight through her sprained ankle and lead her team to the championship. She is the reason I love coaching. She is the reason I am able to tap into those wonderful gradeschool and high school memories of basketball and all the great coaches and friends I made because of the sport. Chris would be SO PROUD of her. SO PROUD watching her execute the new post moves we worked on this year, tearin' up the boards and being a leader. I just love her. It's that simple. Like she's my own.

As the tournament, and our nearly perfect season came to an end a couple weeks ago, I couldn't help but realize this is probably the last time I will ever coach Anabelle. (Unless, of course, someway somehow I squeeze my way into her select league!) After this year she'll move on to a new school, which means they won't need me to coach. And while, Maddie already has me lined up to coach her team which will be great as well, I can't help but be sad to see this door close.

They're a great group of girls, with a lot of personality. Making time for this team was often very hard, but was so fulfilling for me. They are my girls, all of them, and I can't wait to take them to the new Justin Beiber movie, "Never Say Never," for our end-of-the-season party!

Los Angeles in a Glimpse Part 1 (un-edited)

We (thankfully) got the Bella Blvd crates back in great timing after the show closed, and we worked our tail-ends off to get eveything packed up so that we could make it to a Lakers Game while we were just steps away from the Staples Center......and guess what?! WE DID!

What a cool experience....I must say it was much more dramatic than any Milwaukee Bucks game I've been to! There wasn't an empty seat in the house, the fans have very high expectation for, especially of Kobe, and of course there were the Laker Girls! :)

(That's Odem!) After gushing to the box office about how far we'd come to see a Lakers game, I know they thought we were MAJOR nerds because we were so excited.....I'm convinced they "hooked us up" with some great seats....only 20-some rows behind one of the hoops. At half-time we visited one of the team shops. After spending some serious $$ on Steven, I only had enough money left to afford these...

(in case you're wondering....these are Lakers thongs!) So excited about them...and only $9! Score!

Such a great time...wish Anabelle and Steven could have been there with us! We knew they would have loved it too!

Stay tuned......Hollywood Part 2 coming up tomorrow....

In Case You're Wondering

I am still working out.

So many of my friends and online pals have asked me how my Operation-lose-30-pounds-before-April is going. These are the questions I'm getting lately...With all the unforeseen and tragic family events have you given up? Are you too stressed to exercise? I bet you're indulging in chocolate when you're sad. Have you been making time to work-out after so many hours of work each week?

Well, the answer is that all the stress and tears from losing a loved one have actually motivated me more. I find that by exerisizng I can let go of some stress and I can make myself "physically" tired so that I can sleep at night a big easier. Does that make sense? It is really hard to MAKE the time, but I am doing my absolute best right now-because I know that I need this FOR ME.

So my journey so far goes like this: I did Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred video series for 30 days (I missed 6), and lost 10 pounds in the first month by working out 1/2 hour a day and staying within my daily calorie allowance according to The Biggest Loser. Then, I traveled to Canada to teach for Bella Blvd with my dear friend and fellow Bella Artista, Allyson....

It was a beautiful trip, in fact the first time I've ever set foot on a beach that overlooks beautiful mountains! The day after I returned is when my brother-in-law died at only 29 in a horrific car accident. I had 2 choices: eat, cry. eat some more and cry. OR cry and pray, and decide to stay committed to what I started. Of course it was easy to not eat at all the first couple of days, because I just had no appetite and was in complete shock. I realized I needed to take out some agression, so the kick-boxing and treadmill were my next work-out additions. 

I am 2.5 months in, and have lost 19 pounds. These photos from Canada are about a month ago-me 10 pounds heavier.

Each day it's still a CHALLENGE to make time to exercise between work, work, work, basketball practice (coaching my nieces team), being there for my family, and scrapbooking (of course!). The eating better part has actually come pretty easily. I'm well on my way-and plan to stay comitted. I know it will make me stronger both physically and emotionally, and that will prepare me to help others too. 

Now that you know WAAAAY too much about me ;) I must say Canada super-seeded all of my expectations. The BC Crop for kids raised more that $25,000 for the local Hospital! What an honor to be a part of that event! Congratulations to Sandra and Mary for all your success - your hard work has certainly paid off.

And this was the beautiful resort we stayed at on Vancouver Island. Wow, seriously....look at this!

If only I could have gotten a suntan! But, seriously, Scrapbookin' Adventures was a beautiful store, and Jennifer took very good care of us-even running home for brown sugar to go on top of my SLOW CHURNED (less calorie-but yes, I MUST eat it!) ice cream! Our students were great and super inspiring. It was so great meeting you on this journey and I hope we will meet again soon! Thank you for being a part of my small business and for opening up your world of memory making with me!

 

 

Day 30

So I posted on Facebook a month ago that I was beginning Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred workout in hopes to begin my weight loss goal: 30 pounds in 7 months. 

I have also begun counting every calorie I put in my mouth (by creating a food journal), and staying on the Biggest Loser Diet program. For those of you wondering how effective this really is, I KNOW it works for me because I did it 2 years ago (before moving home from Texas) and lost about 25 pounds by counting calories alone.

It takes time, but I'm getting stronger. I can already tell in some of my clothes. So, you are supposed to work out with Jillian everyday for 30 days, advancing from the level 1 & 2 workouts to level 3 by the end of the month. I have made it to level 3, granted I still need to take breaks here and there. I must confess I have missed 6 days of workouts this month (between wanting a break, needing some sleep and traveling) I think that's not too shabby.

Why am I posting about this and telling you about it? One reason: because it makes me accountable. I'm going to add running into my workouts and mixing it up with the Biggest Loser cardio dvd's as well. So far I'm down 7 pounds in 1 month.