Getting Started--the Beginning was Nearly the End!

We've all probably heard the saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".....I'm not really a believer in that.....but it does do something hopefully....and that is--hopefully it teaches you something!  I say all that to say this....beginnings are rough and well sometimes you may feel like you are going to die in the process...but in the end....I've learned what works for us!

So....the camping version of this....THE BEGINNING....

First you must go find yourself a crazy person and marry them.....be sure they are crazy in such a way they plan to drag you and whatever number of children you intend to have across AMERICA!

This is my crazy person!

Just so you all know we had 2 children....1 girl--2 yo and 1 boy--9 mo when we started this journey.  No future babies to be had....so I thought.  Now we have 4 and well....it's pretty fun, a ton of work, the kids love it and well most of all....memorable!  

Second step....buy yourself a camper.  NOT a nice luxurious camper--nope not us....only the smallest pop-up on the face of the earth will do.

Only Camper pic I could find on my phone...

Anyway....once you have your camper picked out....begin the planning.  Like...where to camp first!

Our first camping trip was to a little place 6 hours south of us in Indiana.  When we arrived....it was a down pour!  Nothing like a ton of rain to set up camp in for the first time!  Needless to say this is the part where I thought camping would kill me.  I was drenched....had two small kids....it was miserable.  I promised to never camp again as--I hated it!  However, my husband still drags me along.  

After years of camping....I've kind of got a system down.  But the beginning was rough!  I've learned quite a bit a long the way.  I'll share more of that in my next post as this one....well it's getting kind of long.  

So....I will leave you with a few pics of our journeys:

New Jersey shoreline

New York City

Up close and in person....Lady Liberty....Amazing!

Wishing you all a Happy 4th of July!

Cathy

Making a Come Back!

So....it's been so long since I've been on this blog!  But I've decided I'm going to start chronicling our family travels!  Oh we've traveled to some really great places....getting there hasn't always been great....but you don't want to miss "The Family Travels"!  My goal is to update this space over time while doing a blog post at least monthly.  We've traveled enough--I think for me to at least get started on this project.

So...stay tuned for slow updates and changes....until then I leave you with this picture of THE BAHAMAS!

This was our first trip this year and boy was it a struggle to get here....stay tuned for that story!

First up will be Camping--Getting Started!  This was an experience for sure--12 years later...we're still camping.

Hope you stick around for my journeys!

Traveling on--Cathy K

Hungry Games #16--I've Been Bad

I've been bad because I haven't updated this space in a long time!  Summer has been busy & crazy.....with little time.

I've been bad because I haven't been keeping track of my calories with the MyFitnessPal app!

So now that school is resuming.....so will routine!  So getting back on track will be nice!

For now I leave you with a promise to update this space more often!  So stay tuned for some posts on my recent DIY projects, recent camping trip, family pics (a sneak peek here...although uncooperative kiddos don't allow for the greatest pics), and more from my heart.  I hope you will stay tuned & follow along!

Hungry Games #15--Yahoo! Down 21!

Whoa!  It's been a while!  So I wanted to do a quick update!  I finally met my first GOAL!  I've lost a total of 21 pounds so far!  20 was my first goal and I couldn't be more excited!  I love that for the first time in my life I'm actually seeing the scale consistently go down!  That's not to say that I don't have those days where it's up a pound then down a pound.  But over all it's slow and steady!  I realize at this point I really need to crack down and be a little LOT stricter with what I'm consuming.  BUT it's summer right.....!

Anyway that's all on this weight loss thing.  I'm trying to get my dining room chairs all finished and in order so I can do a blog post on my new MASSIVE table which I'm absolutely in love with!  And the chair colors....to die for!

More to come in a few weeks!

For now if you have any good "diet" recipes or go to healthy foods you'd love to share.....I'd definitely appreciate it especially if they are summery healthy treats!

Thanks for stopping by!  I leave you with a pic of my sweet baby who's nearing 1 year old so fast (insert tears/sobbing here)!

ok so I couldn't stop at one pic....a sneaky peeky of the chairs!

And the table again

Happy Weekend Friends!
Cathy

Hungry Games #14....better late than never!

so ive lost track of my weekly post...i havent been the best at keeping up with weekly posts.  anyway last week my weight stayed the same this week looks like ill have a gain..boo!  im getting frustrated because i get so close to my first goal & then i sabotage myself....the good ole emotional eater!

these get me everytime...grr why do i make them!

This post was put off only because the home pc died....but has now been brought back to life...thank you smart computer people!  Needless to say it seems like everything is falling apart/breaking all of a sudden!  Grr to that!  The computer went (now fixed) and of course now that summer is here the Wii broke....we had a tire situation because I NAILED and I mean nailed a pot hole square on.....ooh I need to get a pic of it tomorrow!  I think the whole van sunk in it...tire almost went flat and I instantly said to hubby doesn't the van feel different...sure enough....nearly a flat by the time I made it to our destination...YIKES!  Thanks to my dad and hubby who fixed it in the hot sun!

Moving on now......
On the bright side of things my PROJECT DINING ROOM TABLE is almost complete....here's a sneak peek.....a big shout out to my dad for all the help...this thing is one heavy beast....but she's mine (well thanks to some hard work and lots of help from my dad and brother)....a complete post on this will be done once she is home safe and sound :)

She is in the final stages of finishing....(break into song with me here) isn't she lovely....isn't she wonderful!  Much more to come....stay tuned!

Still losing...slowly!
Cathy

The Hungry Games #13--Slow and Steady

it's been a while since my last post.  i don't want everyone to think i've given up....because i haven't.  the past two weeks have been crazy busy with the end of school year functions, my regular 9-5er, and well just other goings on and happenings....not to mention my little diy project!

my dad has been helping me....and let me just say GRATEFUL....wow i could not do this without help....i think i bit off more than i can chew.

okay anyway....a quick update on the weightloss front.  over the past two weeks i've lost 4 pounds.  i'm just a hair shy of hitting my first 20lb mark!  what! say what!  i know--right!  i'm so excited and that excitement just fuels me forward!  this journey seems to be slow...but steady!  and it's working!  for me what has worked is making sure i'm actually eating.  this time of year its so easy to eat good with fresh fruits and veggies.  for the first time in forever i feel like i can actually do this!  i'm going to lose weight and keep it off and reach my goal!  it may take me 2 or 3 years but i'm going to get there!  watch out world.....when i hit my first 20lbs you might hear my scream of excitement from my little corner of the world all the way over to wherever you are!

Now some pics of my last couple of weeks:

i painted a mug....it looked terra cotta(??) before firing and i love love love how it turned out!  the kids and i went to our first movie in the park....i am now in love with movies in the park....or just out door big screen movies!  my dad and i worked on the table (my mom also helped me the day before with cutting the wood)!  i made some strawberry freezer jam....so good!  a local farm....kohler farm grows and picks them and delivered them to me at work.....so nice.  i was thinking of taking the older kids with me to pick but i might just order some more and have them delivered.  and finally i made these tiny little cupcakes (all from scratch) here's the recipe go make these!  i promise they will not disappoint!

cathy

DIY Projects! I'm giving it a go!

So lately I've been wanting to fix things up a bit around the house....or maybe just declutter things a bit!  I got this big idea to install a wall of book shelves since my husband's hobby is to collect books like it's his job (just wait til you see the pics....)!

So I questioned my dad the builder to see if he thought first off if it was something I could do?  Of course he said I could do it but he'd help....  The brat that I am doesn't want help because I want to be able to DO IT MYSELF.  I know I'm a brat....but in my defense how will I learn if someone does it for me.  I need to learn to be a DIYer because I have bigger plans ahead!

Anyway so after a frustrating trip to Menards where we retrieved our shelving supplies...the project began!

This is what my wall looked like before I painted and hung shelving.

After some color.

Tracks are up!

Let me just clarify that there is one more shelf being added to this and one small bookshelf went up stairs to our room and some books even went into our closet shelving.....A LOT OF BOOKS!  Seriously!

So this was my first project....I had to paint, cut the shelf boards down by 1 inch (love power tools), and use a drill to get the tracks up!  Pretty easy...my dad did help with cutting down the boards.  My husband helped by keeping the littles away so I could indulge in this project!

I also did a really easy quick project...no power tools were involved.  My lamp redo:  keep in mind no pictures were taken of the before....but trust me it was a very black lamp....here's it's new look:

This is after a second coat......and the final look is below:

I love it....and all it took was 3 coats of spray paint....well and a new shade!  EASY!

I will be DIYing more for sure!  My next project is a dining room table....painted, stained, and white washed...once its built!  If you want to see what I'm making you can check out my pinterest board here.  All the supplies are bought.....fingers crossed for some good weather so I can get this baby built!

Stay tuned for more info on my table progress and other DIY projects!

Cathy