Monthly Archives: February 2012
Minnesota Winter Fashion 2012
Okay, okay… I know I posted already today but guess what? I’m back. I thought, well, I’m stuck in the house and so I might as well dream up some fabulous winter wear. I mean it is technically winter right now – who knew? I just found out today.
Anyways! Browse at your leisure 
Snow-Mageddon Aftermath
Welp! The night we all feared has come (and is actually still continuing). We managed to get about 6-8″ with a solid base of glare ice as it started sleeting before all the fluff last night. Luckily the hubby and I didn’t really have too many places to go, so we managed to stay safe. If it would have been up to me to drive, we would have just stayed home, period. lol but we did make it to the gym which worked out (no pun intended – ba dup ba!)
Anyways, I took a before picture yesterday, and an after picture today of the Minnesota snow storm. Or as twitter’s been calling it, leap day storm (creative #hashtag – I know!)
Here’s the photos I managed:
I wish I had more for you (as far as interesting stuff goes) but today – I really don’t. Hopefully soon
In the meantime, stay safe and warm!
Hearts,
Ruby
Preparing for Snow-Mageddon 2012
The news around here has been ridiculous since yesterday morning. There’s big talk about a severe winter storm coming tomorrow. It’s supposed to rain, then snow, then rain, then snow. People are rescheduling meetings already, planning their days around this storm. Supposedly we’re getting roughly 12″ of snow in a day? We’ll see, but that’s the word on the street.
I’m a little nervous. I suppose I better go raid the grocery store for the essentials, who knows when we will see the light of day again.
That was a joke.
But for real, I am nervous. I’m Minnesotan yes, but I hate driving in the snow. Otherwise I don’t mind it! We can go sledding, and build forts, and have snow ball fights, and… and make cookies!
I will post some pics after this storm. Full-board or fail-whale, I’ll get some photos for the next blog post.
Alright, another thing I have to tell you guys about is the project I worked on for hours last night. Firstly, I’d gotten a picture frame at Goodwill that I liked and knew would work. It was $4.99. This was the whole cost of my project because I had everything else I would need to complete it!
So the project, was a menu board for our kitchen. I’m a little OCD when it comes to organization and planning, so when I can make things organized, you can bet I will do it. So anyways, I’ll give some broad instructions in case you want to try making one at home too!
Menu Frame Craft
Step 1: Take frame apart. Cut a piece of fabric that is large enough to cover the glass/cardboard and overlap on the back. Pull the fabric tight and use a hot glue gun to secure the fabric in the back.
Step 2: Re-insert the newly-covered glass/cardboard back into the frame and secure.
Step 3: Decorate clothes pins to show the days of the week. Spread evenly on the fabric and hot glue them into place.
Step 4: Make a list of all the things you would make for dinner and print them on cardstock paper. Cut out these strips and put them aside. Make the font large enough to read but small enough to fit into your frame. This will all depend on your frame size.
Step 5: Find a little basket or container for your menu items that you just printed.
Step 6: Put it together and what do you get? Bippity boppity men-uuuu.
Okay, and so also at Goodwill, hubby found (well yes, hubby came – against his will, because, you know, it was a form of shopping) a Homedics foot pedicure/massager thing. His eyes lit up and he said, “Can we get it?” I’m serious, I can’t bring him anywhere.
So we got it.
First thing he did when we got home, was fill it up with epsom salt and started that sucker up.
“It’s not as cool as I thought it’d be.” he says. lol – uuugh.
I wish I would have gotten a picture of him sitting there with his feet soaking in a little spa thingie but I didn’t. I did get a pic of the mess he left behind though. Still sitting here today.
MEN! I tell you.
Until next time!
Hearts,
Ruby
So Much to Do and Say!
I feel like I’ve let you guys down. I haven’t written in ages (okay a week) and for that I’m sorry but – be still, my heart, there is much to talk about tonight! So let’s get started, shall we?
Minnesota Fitness
I suppose we’ll start with fitness. The journey has been average as of late. I haven’t lost any more weight, but I’ve maintained my 16 pound weight loss. I still have 4 more to go, so I can smell victory, hopefully soon. Hubby and I have taken to different activities that are fun. This includes (and/or has included):
- Tabata
- Pilates
- Zumba
- Latin Hip Hop
- Kickboxing
- Running (blah, not so fun)
On the non-gym related scene, we’ve also started taking daily walks at night (or at least try to if we have time). We tried hiking, curling, and I even bought Zumba fitness 2 for wii. SOOO fun, by the way
It’s been an experiment, essentially – but when you find something that works, go with it!
Shopaholic Novels
Onto the next topic, let’s discuss my obsession in books – Sophie Kinsella. On Valentine’s Day she released her newest novel, “I’ve Got Your Number” and it was absolutely phenomenal. Seriously, I couldn’t put it down. But I’m like that with all of her books. You might recognize her name when I say she wrote the Shopaholic series of books. I love her books. Have I mentioned that?
Anyways, I finished her newest novel (433 pages) in three days. It was amazing. Have you read it yet? If not, you can get it in stores or you can buy it online (that’s what I did) at Amazon here.
Minnesota Dining
In the next order of business, I have a new restaurant that I must share with you. For a belated Valentine’s dinner (hubby hates crowds) we went to the most divine restaurant I have been to in a long time. Seriously – I’ve raved about it for a week now! It is located in downtown St. Paul, and it’s called Trattoria da Vinci. Some of the best Italian food around if you ask me!
We actually had found a deal on LivingSocial for them ($25 for $50 worth of food and drinks) that we used. It was so good. Have I mentioned that? So good.
When we got there, we were immediately seated. Right away, they brought warm DELICIOUS bread. The bread was so stinking good. I was so happy that we got to bring home what was left in our basket. We ordered some wine (and hubby a beer) and browsed the menu. But what we couldn’t pass up on was the pasta bar. If you know me at all, you’ll know that I’m a HUGE fan of pasta bars. But this one, oh boy. This one was the mother of all pasta bars. It had everything you could dream of and it was SO TASTY. I never use all caps, so you should understand that I thoroughly enjoyed all of this wonderful experience.
Not only was the food delicious, but it was more than plentiful. We had to get a box for both of our meals because it was so much. And the next day, hubs and I split my leftovers and it was more than enough! Yum.
So. Good.
You can even make a reservation with them on OpenTable if you wish – get 100 points!!
Alright, well that’s what I have for now. I’m a tired girl! Until next time!
Hearts,
Ruby
Shortcuts to Losing Weight
You read the title right? How to lose weight, get fit, easy and fast with no effort. People pay big money to find out that secret don’t they? You don’t want to work hard, eat vegetables, cut the sweets, or even sweat – right? We’re American, we want the best thing possible and we want it now. Right?
Well tough.
There is no easy, fast, way that takes no effort. Accept that. Get over it. Then decide this:
How bad to you want to be skinny? Or maybe it’s a matter of how bad do you want to get into shape? Is it important enough to you to get past the fact that it’s not going to be easy? Because if it’s not, then you’re going to keep going down the same road you are on.
If you can accept the fact that it’s going to take work, then you’re already a step ahead. Mentality is half the battle. And with your mentality is habit. Make getting fit your habit.
I read a book recently, “Secrets of a Former Fat Girl” by Lisa Delaney. In this book, she proposes that you make a goal to yourself of two weeks to work out for. Try something new, find something you enjoy, and do it for two weeks. If after two weeks you don’t feel like doing it anymore – then don’t. Find something else! If you’re going to stick with it, you have to somewhat enjoy it.
What my husband and I did a month ago was took pictures of our flabby selves. That marked the point where we started. I looked at these pictures today and even though I don’t feel like I’ve come that far now, I still felt like I’d accomplished something so far. It helped me realize that my hard work really has paid off. Maybe not to the point that I’m aiming for – but I’ll get there.
At first, I tried to find the magic weight loss pill. The magic weight loss exercise. But the thing is, you won’t lose the weight if you don’t accept that the only way it’ll come off (and stay off) is to work for it.
Yeah, the typical “Anything worth having is worth working for” is applicable here, but I wasn’t going to get that corny on you. Yet. Hehe
Anyways, I came to this final conclusion this weekend while I was searching intensely for “Raspberry Ketones” because Dr. Oz sold me on them. I convinced myself that they would do the work for me.. I think that’s how we picture these things that are designed to help. We think, “Perfect, this is my ticket out of the work!” But scratch that out of your heads, because the keyword in this paragraph is ‘help’. These things can ‘help’ you, but they’re not going to do it for you. So treat these things for what they are; which is ‘help’.
And sometimes, they don’t even help. Do the research. If you think that something will help, ask someone who would know. For me, this was a GNC employee. They can help. But what I ended up doing in the very end was buying something that would really, truly, and provably help me.
I bought running shoes.
So if you really want to buy the secret ingredient, the magic miracle, etc. etc. then buy yourself something that really will help you. You can thank me later.
Hearts,
Ruby
