Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Isagenix Update

Well...the scale read 141.8 lbs this morning. I have lost just over 1/2 pound since last week. That was a really hard 1/2 pound to lose. 


I am just 1.9 pounds away from my goal and we found out this past week that we are leaving for vacation a week earlier than expected! This means I have just 12 days to lose those almost 2 pounds. And believe me...I am trying.


I am walking 2.5 - 3 miles a day. I cannot walk more due to my knee. I am also eating a healthy diet of around 1300-1400 calories. I will get dizzy if I cut out any more calories. I have tried before and it is not good. 

Hopefully the scale will continue to go down and reflect my hard work. I do feel lighter and I have lost 4 pounds off my waist in three months.  I have lost 7% of my body weight in those three weeks. My face shape has changed and I am happy with the results. 


I have to say I love the Isagenix shakes. They are easy, taste pretty good and I can take them with me in the mornings. They fill me up for a few hours and are all natural. I already placed a bulk order for a few months so I can take them with me in FL. 


I will continue to work hard and weigh in regularly. 


For those interested, here is almost exactly what I eat every day:

Yogurt (80 calories) - within 30 minutes of waking up
Isagenix Shake (240 calories) - 2 hours after the yogurt
Yogurt & Fruit (180 calories) - mid morning snack
Salad & Chicken (250 calories) - 3oz of Tyson grilled chicken, 4 cups of spinach, 1 cup of blueberries or strawberries, 1 cup of shredded carrots and 20 squirts of the 1-calorie salad dressing - lunch
Fiber One Granola Bar (140 calories) - mid afternoon snack
Smart Meal from Weight Watchers (200-250 calories) - I buy these at Wal-Mart for around $2 and I alternate the Mesquite Chicken and the Turkey meal - dinner
Snack at night (150 calories) - I get my pick of: pretzels, another granola bar or mini wheats cereal. These keep my stomach quiet while I sleep.


Monday, July 30, 2012

My Day

This morning I woke up excited to weigh myself. My morning schedule it to wake up and almost immediately check my email so I can print ebay package labels before the mail carrier gets here around 9am. 


Unfortunately the computer would not start. I thought it was due to a low battery. I got ready to go thrift shopping and forgot all about weighing in. 


I will have to post my weight tomorrow. 

Why was I excited to weigh in? I feel lighter! I walked 10 miles this weekend. I am thrilled with this number and the fact that my knee only buckled twice. I caught myself both times and did not fall. I think it is finally getting better...three months after surgery! 



Today I went thrifting. My husband called and said the computer still wasn't working. Ugh. I hate when expensive technology breaks! I went to Best Buy and bought a new power cord for it. It cost me $60 but it fixed it. Yippee! Thankfully we don't need to buy a new computer. I really didn't want to shell out $400+ for a laptop right before vacation. 

 A working computer! Yeah!


We then did some errands in town and came back home. My day went from bad to good to great when I saw that the Cable people were here. We haven't had cable since we moved in 10 years ago. In fact, I haven't had cable most of my life.


The cable is being run up our small gravel lane from the main road. It is costing the company around $7,000 to install. Isn't that crazy? 


My hubby is fixing the gravel lane after intense storms last week and I am on the now-working computer. You can see the little white cable flags behind him in the first photo.






Later on we will go for a 2.5 mile walk (perhaps longer?) and then I will print those labels for ebay. 


And tomorrow I WILL remember to weigh in!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

DIY Before/After Photos: Painting Your Tub



Our lovely 1980's home came with a powder blue tub in the main bathroom. As much as I love blue, I am not a fan of powder blue tubs. I guess it is better than avacodo green. 





I did some research and found this product: 


The kit is around $29 on Amazon. Click for the LINK

The kit is around $24 at Home Depot but I could only find it in "Biscuit". I'm not sure what color biscuit is but I wanted white. Click for the LINK.


It is a two part paint that you mix together and roll onto the tub. You can also use a brush but the brush tends to leave little stroke marks. My husband did do the corners with a brush and then went over it with a tiny roller. 

Basically you clean your tub really well and scuff it up a bit using Brill-O or another type scouring pad. Tape off the sections you don't want painted. 


Paint a first coat. The paint fumes are strong so make sure you have a mask and a lot of ventilation. You will want to get a roller that does not give off a lot of lint. 


Wait about an hour and do a second coat (if needed). You then have to wait 72 hours to shower in your tub.


Here are our results:


 Please ignore the tape still on our hardware.



My bathroom lighting is not very good -the tub is a bright, shiny true white color. It looks incredible! 


We did this project for the first time about 3 years ago. It has lasted 3 years (even with my dropping the shaving cream more than a few times). 


This weekend the hubby did another application. The first time we did this we were "newbies" and we weren't sure of what we were doing. We forgot to de-lint the roller and there were little lint bits in the paint. He scoured them off and this time it truly looks like new. 


Please note that Amazon sells another product that will supposedly do the same thing. It is by Homax and is terrible. We tried it and hated it. It did not cover well. I would suggest getting the Rustoleum 2-part kit version. 


We have also tried the kit where you spray on the paint. It was also terrible. I wound up with white hair and although our bathroom is well ventilated, I felt sick and dizzy the entire time.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Recently Ebay Sales - 7/28

Well, my hubby & I leave for our month in FL in two weeks. We are counting down the days and we are really looking forward to it.

I am taking most of my inventory with me since we are driving down. Everything will get packed in its own plastic Ziploc bag and then put in a tote according to the type of garment (dresses, skirts, etc). 


In preparation for this, I have been having a sale in my ebay store. I am hoping to sell off a few things before we leave. Here are some of the recent sales:

1. Patagonia dress. I picked this one up & put it down a few times. I finally got it since it was in perfect condition. I came home, looked it up and found the style is desirable. I sold it for $36. 

2. Vintage ZumZum dress. I really need to be invited to more 1980's parties. I have a love of all things '80s! Sold for $45. 

3. Flowbee hair cutting system. This was my husband's system and we used it for the last few years to cut his hair. We found something we liked better and it sold for $61 (!). 

4. Talbots dress, sold for $30. 

5. Eddie Bauer rayon dress, sold for $20. 

6. Storybook Knits 3-piece outfit. I have had this for too many months. It finally sold for $18.39. I would not pick up this brand again unless it was a themed piece (i.e. Christmas or Easter) in a plus size.  


7. Ann Taylor LOFT skirt, sold for $16. 


8. Talbot skirt, sold for $15. 


9. Under Armour sleeveless vest/top, sold for $16. 


10. Berek sweater, sold for $14.39. This is another piece I have had for months. I am glad it sold. Again, I don't think I would pick up this brand unless it was more themed. 


11. Calvin Klein dress & jacket suit, sold for $30. 


12. Jennifer George Sketchbook top. This was an odd piece. I have never sold this brand. In fact, I had never even heard of this brand. But, it was a plus size and I liked the look of it. Sold for $25. 


13. Skyr wool sweater, sold for $17.

14. Ralph Lauren silk dress, sold for $20. 


15. Talbots dress, sold for $15. 


16. Tadashi dress, sold for $30. 


17. Lot of 200 box tops, sold for $14.50. I probably should have saved these a bit longer and listed them in September. They usually bring about 10 cents a box top. 



Friday, July 27, 2012

What can you do with $5?

There is not much you can do with a $5 bill nowadays. Perhaps get a Happy Meal from a fast food place. You could go to the dollar store and get four cheap items (Why only four? Because the tax on five items would put you over the $5). You could rent a movie but probably wouldn't have too much left over for snacks. You could buy a gallon of gas and a few packs of gum. 


Not too much. But, here in Pennsylvania there is an amusement park called Lakemont Park. It is about 40 minutes from our home and we LOVE going there! 


Photo Source

The park opened in 1894 and is the 8th oldest amusement park in the USA. Lakemont Park has the world's oldest roller coaster called Leap the Dips. It was built in 1902 and is still being ridden today! 




On Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays, you pay just $5 for all day admission. Parking is free and you can bring your own food. 


There are a number of the usual amusement park rides including roller coasters, bumper cars, scramblers, etc. There are rides for kids including kiddie Ferris wheels, go carts, kiddie coasters and more. 









And then there is our favorite part of the park...the water park! We love the water slides and there are two parks. Our favorite is the kiddie pool that has a pirate ship. The water is just about 1.5 feet and you can just sit in the water and cool off. 

The park has grassy areas, dozens of picnic tables and huge umbrellas and chairs (also free!). 



We went yesterday since it was over 90 degrees and it is one of my new favorite spots to go in the summertime. 



This is "our" spot - the large tree in the back that provides lots of shade.


Every Thursday there is a wing cook off and...you guessed it...there are free wings. 

Once a month there is a free family movie night as well.


After the park, you can go to Wendy's for a Frosty. Did I mention they are free with your Lakemont Park admission bracelet? Love this place!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Ebay Sales - 7/24/12

Well, a lot of things have sold due to the listing sale ebay was offering last week. I love the listing sales - you can list anything for free on ebay. It really gets me motivated. Here are a few things that have sold over the last few days: 


1. Calvin Klein suit. Suits cost me around $6.99 at the thrift ($3.50 on 1/2 off days) which is more pricey than anything else there. I usually spend a lot of time looking through them because of that. Last week I picked up a few to try them and I was happy with the sales. This one sold for $35. 




2. Nanette Lepore jacket. This is the second time this one has sold since the original buyer never paid. It sold (again) for $35. 


3. A doll from 1964. I found her at the thrift shop and she was marked $2.99. Thankfully I had my phone on me and I looked up her mark. Not a huge sale, but I will take it. She sold for $25. 


4. Ann Taylor skirt, new with tags. Sold for $18. Skirts are super easy to list and I tend to pick up a lot of them. They are the cheapest item at the thrift shop, easy to hang up & photograph and easy to measure (waist & length). 


5. Ann Taylor strapless dress. Sold for $18. 


6. Talbots wool blend skirt. Sold for $18. 


7. Talbots silk dress. Sold for $25.


8. Carole Little outfit. These are desirable in larger sizes (usually over a size 12 or so) and if the material is rayon from Germany. Mine was a size 12 & 14. Sold for $41!


9. Gap puffer vest. This was my second vest. The first sold to an international buyer for $40 since it was new and this one sold to a US buyer. Vests at my thrift are $1.99. I will have to look for these in the future. This one sold for $25.


10. Another Talbots skirt, sold for $15. 


11. Yet another Talbots skirt. This one was plaid (perfect for the holidays) and was a plus size. Sold for $25. 


12. An Ann Taylor sweater top that I had in my closet and wore only a few times. Sold for $25. 


13. J. Crew silk skirt, sold for $18. 


14. Kasper suit, sold for $25. 


15. Tahari suit, sold for $25. This one had a few flaws along the waistband. I took photos of them and listed it since I paid $6.99 for it. I started it at $9.99 hoping to atleast break even. I was glad it went for more :) 


16. Anne Klein suit, sold for $35.


17. Talbots skirt, sold for $15. 


18. Talbots skirt (yup...another), sold for $18. 


19. A kilt! I found two of these and looked them up on my phone. They seem to go for about $20-$30 depending on who makes them. This particular one was by James Pringle and it went for $25. 


20. Joseph Ribkoff dress, sold for $30. 


21. Max Studio dress, sold for $20. 


22. Garmin GPS Ireland & UK map and some other things from our trip. This had previously sold and the buyer didn't pay. I re-listed it and it sold for just a bit more. Sold for $48. 


Today I am listing, listing, listing. Yesterday I went to 6 thrifts and came home with about 8 bags of clothing. I am home alone since my hubby took my father-in-law in for a colonoscopy. His last showed small tumors (that no one seemed concerned about) and we are hoping this one shows everything is okay.