Giving Aspertame the boot...

I've been working on several things lately. The first one is trying to give up Diet Coke and drink more water. I don't know that I believe all the horror stories you read about aspertame, but I also know that I was drinking entirely too much diet pop, and that can't be good. And drinking more water has to be a good idea anyway.

So, I started by cutting down on the number of bottles (told you I drank too much!) of Diet Coke a day. I got a good start while I was on vacation in March, because I didn't drink near as much pop during that month. A couple of weeks ago, I had one pop a day and the rest water...then last week and this week I've been just drinking water. When I want something sweet to drink, I've been having a lemonade with good old fashioned sugar, and just remembering that it's part of my calories for the day. I don't actually "count" calories, but I keep the idea in the back of my mind and watch my portions. It works for me. A few years ago I lost 55 pounds that way, and kept it off. In the last month I've lost another 10.

I think sometimes I'll still have a diet pop...pizza and pop go so great together, but it will be more of an occasional treat.

The other thing I've been working on is my yard, and I'll tell you more about that soon!

Window Film for Privacy

 This is the bathroom window.  It's a bit of a problem...I've just had a blanket hanging there for privacy. During that time I realized that I didn't want to lose all the light with curtains hanging here all the time.

 When you walk out of the bathroom you are looking toward the stairs and this is what you see, so you'd better be sure you are dressed! This house has so many windows, and even the interior hall upstairs is flooded with light. I love that and didn't want to lose it!

Here's the bedroom. I like the view of the tree. It's like being in a treehouse, especially when it's all green and leafy. I decided to block out the view of the roof (and from some angles, the neighbor's garage).

 I'd been looking for a window film at the home improvement stores, but didn't find a design I liked, so I went online and looked around.  I found this window film by Emma Jeffs at PureModern.

These are the tools you need, plus a spray bottle of water. The window film is renter friendly because you can remove it without any residue or damage to the windows. It takes a bit of patience, but is not really too hard to put up. I did all these windows on Christmas morning.

First you roll the film out flat the night before and let it rest. Then cut the film slightly bigger than the window pane, peel the backing off, and mist the back side of the film with plain water. Then you apply the film to your clean window, using a credit card and a soft cloth to squeegee the bubbles and extra water out. At this stage you can still slide the film around a bit to get it just the way you want it. Finally, trim the edges with a sharp blade.

 Here's the bedroom now. No more rooftop, or view of the neighbor's garage, and I can lay down for a nap and have a bit of privacy. Of course, I still pull the curtains at night for total privacy and to keep the room warmer.

 

 It's great for the bathroom. It obscures the view and provides privacy without sacrificing light.

When you come out of the bathroom, this is what you see now, and no one can see you either!

 

 Here's the view from the entry downstairs as we were nearing evening. I was worried when I bought this product, because it's rather pricy, and if it turned out to be hard to apply, I'd be out the money. I'm glad I tried it though!

Here are some sites with pretty designs in window film:

PureModern

Studio Haikje

2jane

Trove

Strossel Design

Scandinavian Design Center

Brume

Removing Paint from Hardware

On someone's blog I read that you can remove paint from hardware by boiling it. I tried it today, it worked great, and was much less messy than using stripper. Not smelly like stripper either!

 They had many layers of paint ...on the brass and on the glass. I simmered them for a while, and watched the paint losening and bubbling away from the knobs. Then, handling them carefully (hot, hot, hot!!), I used a green scotch brite pad to rub at the paint. It came right off.

 Here I've rubbed a bit and removed most of the paint. Then I put it back in the pan for a bit and repeated the process.

 Pretty much done! Just a couple of bits to take off.

Here's were they go...on a little medicine cabinet that for some reason is over the bathtub instead of the sink. Old houses are quirky like that sometimes. I need to touch up the paint under where the knobs go, as soon as Jane brings me a bit of the white she used when she painted. It looks much better though!

"Love the Process" - SaFire's Hooping Manifesto (Song: Taio Cruz - I Can...

Love this little video.. it's about learning and enjoying the process and not giving up too easily. Oh and hula hooping. But mostly it's about learning...and applies to just about everything!

Let's see...I can make it go around my waist...yea!!! :D

How to Make a Hula Hoop

 

Last night we made our own hula hoops! I've been wanting to try this ever since seeing how much easier it looks to hoop with one of these large hoops....the ones you buy at the dime store are just too small for grown ups. They turned out to be very easy to make and to use! And ...whew! You can get a pretty good workout hula hooping! So here's how to make a hula hoop:

 Label from the couplings-------label from the Sil-O-Flex tubing

I bought some 3/4 inch irrigation tubing in the plumbing department at Lowes. It's the 160 psi, and seems to be a nice weight for hula hoops. Not too heavy, and not too bendy. I bought a roll of 100 feet for 25 dollars. We made 4 hoops last night and probably have enough left for four or five more.

 

In this photo I'm figuring out how big to make the hoop. They say when the hoop rests on the ground it should come somewhere from your belly button to your chest....the larger the hoop, the easier it is to use. Since I'm a beginner, I'm making mine chest high.

 I got these nifty cutters at Lowes too...but you could use a saw. This tool is  made to cut this type of pipe and is sold right next to the pipe. It cut through the pipe like a hot knife through butter!

 The connectors are sold next to the pipe too...just get the same size as your pipe (3/4 inch). I think they are called couplers.

 Dip the end of your hoop into boiling water for about 20-30 seconds....

 And then slip the coupler into the softened pipe...be careful...it's hot! Do the same with the other end, so that you have a hoop! When it cools it will be a nice tight join. If you want you can put a little duct or gaffer's tape around the join...I did.

 Here I'm wrapping the hoop with some gaffer's tape. This tape has a texture to it that gives the hoop a little grip. You do not have to use gaffer's tape, but I had some because I sometimes use it to reinforce the bindings of my journals and books. The only color I've ever seen in a store around here is black, but you can get it in all kinds of cool colors. A good place to get tape is hooptape.com. I just used what I had.

 Here I'm adding some electrical tape to make it pretty. I picked up several different colors at Lowes. The electrical tape is easy to use because it's stretchy.

Here's a couple of videos for you. The first one is my sister trying out a hoop we just made for her. The second one is an instructional video of a good hooper teaching some moves...you can find lots of videos teaching you how to do all kinds of hula hoop moves on youtube.

 

 

How to Workout with a Hula Hoop -- powered by eHow.com

Valentine's Day....or month?

I've been playing with paper...lovely, lovely paper. I got this collection of scrapbooking paper at Michael's and it's so rich looking. I punched out a bunch of hearts and ran them through the sewing machine and will probably hang them in a window of a room at the shop. I'll post a pic when I get them up. And then I think I will have to declare Valentine's Day to be for the whole month of February so I can enjoy them for a while.

Gift Idea....Spineless Classics

Do you know a bookworm who is hard to shop for? Instead of a gift card at the bookstore, one of these might be the answer! I found these prints online at Spineless Classics, and I think they are such a neat idea. So I thought I'd share it with you. The entire text of the book is printed on heavy stock....and the print is readable with the naked eye.

This would be perfect for my Jane Austen-loving sister.

It's a little late for this Christmas, but it's an idea to keep in mind for future gifts. Another "why didn't I think of that?" idea!

Baby Time and Baking Time...Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

These are just some random shots from the weekend...I went to my sister and brother-in-law's house to see their new grandbaby. We were overtaken by an urge to bake Christmas cookies. These are Chocolate Crinkle Cookies...so yummy.

Holly and Nicole baking.

Holly wondered aloud if she had the cookies rolled out to l2 inches and her engineer hubby stepped in to check it out.

Little Avery was not put down once during the weekend.

Aunt Nicole is pretty smitten with her I think.

 

We noticed that Hawkeye and Dad are starting to look alike...they may be spending too much time together!

Four generations of Harbin girls.

And finally I leave you with two beautiful photos my brother-in-law took:

Lamb's Lace Cardigan

This is the first sweater I've ever knitted, and I'm pretty pleased because it turned out wearable! It's the Lamb's Lace Cardi pattern available on Ravelry. If I had it to do over, I'd make a couple of changes to make it fit a little closer across the back, but all in all I'm happy with it. I finished this a couple of months ago, but it took a while for me to get a pic....and even now, it's a headless one! Oh well, that's what you get when you are shooting yourself.

Knitted Fish Scarf

It's a fun pattern to knit up and goes pretty fast since I used a size 6 needle instead of the 2s I use when I knit socks. The info on the pattern is here. The yarn is actually a little greener than it looks here...with lots of blues  mixed in...pretty!

And here's one of me wearing it. I made it 11 repeats instead of the 9 called for, to make it a little longer. Please excuse the foggy mirror...it's an oldie, and we all get a little foggier with age.

One Fish, Two Fish, Knit Fish Scarf

I'm spending a little time working on a scarf...it's cold out and I need one. I have lots of sock yarn, so I figure that's the way to go. This pattern is the School at Play Scarf from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks!. If you are a sock yarn addict/collector this is good book to have around. There are so many beautiful hand dyed sock yarns out there, and it's easy, easy, easy to find yourself with more sock yarn than you will ever knit socks from. This beautiful yarn is from Suzan at Barking Dog Yarns.  And here's why I'm happy to be sitting inside watching a movie and knitting:

Baby, it's cold outside!

So I switched out the bedding and went to flannel. And added some lights for a little Christmas sparkle. That's Michael's old monkey on the bed...he's dressed for Christmas year 'round.

Not your everyday barn....

Today Mom and I took a drive out to the country to check out the barns of two of our dealers at Old City Hall Shoppes. The first one belongs to Maurine. She and her sons put this giant garden together from old farm tools and all sorts of bits and pieces. You cannot help but smile when you see a garden like this blooming. It's going to be great in the winter too...with all these bright flowers popping out of the snow!

Maurine is a dynamo...she's just a little thing, and an octogenarian, and she has enough energy for 6 women.

Then we drove through the rain showers, which were popping up all over the prairie today, to Diana's house.

Diana has the cutest portrait of her and Ed and their grandchildren painted on their barn. Bill and Ben Diaz painted Diana's sketch on the barn for her. You can tell that is Diana too....she has the wildest, most beautiful, curly red hair.

That's our rainy day tour of the Livingston County countryside!

Indiana on Dwellable