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Last call for a free ad spot on my blog for the month of July in exchnage for one of my ads for a swap! Ads will be posted tomorrow in the right column and will be up all of July. So if you want to advertise here next month for free, send me a 150 x 150 ad to marilyn @ pulpsushi.com. You can grab yourself one of my buttons here.
Today is also the last day for my 15% off Etsyversary Sale (coupon code happyjune15) & Free Shipping in the Etsy shop. Maybe get yourself one of these necklaces?
Here are some lovely floral (and down right yummy!) tutorials I would like to share with you all this week.
Elsie shares how the bouquets were made for her beautiful wedding
Learn to make a Rose Brooch using an old tie from Little Owl Lucky
A recipe from Leigh-Ann at Freckled Nest: Cubed Cheesy Potatos (I want to try this so bad!)
Ashley from After Nine To Five has a boat load of giveaways going on at her blog right now from herself and her sponsors. There's still time to enter, you have until this Friday July 1st.
One giveaway I'm particularly excited about is for her new upcoming e-course Blog 101. I became friends with Ashley after taking the Indie Biz e-course earlier this year and her blog is one of my favorite and daily reads. She definitely has a passion not only for her business but for her blog which both seem to go hand in hand. She is constantly coming up with new features and projects, I don't know how she does it all.
It goes beyond the basics of creating a blog and discusses how to grow your views, advertising, design, time management, and making your blog work for you + your style.
So be a dear and pay her blog a visit and check out the other neat giveaways she's offering.
Source: rocknrollbride.com via Femke on Pinterest
It seems like I fall back into old eating habits on the weekend - especially when it comes to desserts, and then try to make up for it during the week. Some things have changed when I dine out, I stick to water because truth is I never finish my glass of soda when I'm at a restaurant anyway so I'm wasting money. I recently ordered a burger and instead of fries, I got it with a salad. That's a big step for me, and I'm staying away from creamy salad dressings too.
Here's a picture of a lunch I had this past week
My "All Fruit" lunch was good but I was hungry by 3:30 pm, I don't think I'll be doing that again. I did come across this interesting article on how eating more nuts and fruit help with weight loss as oppose to "dieting". I don't even like to say I'm on a diet, I just say that I'm changing my eating habits. I don't necessarily feel like I'm depriving myself from anything, it just takes me longer to think about what I want to eat and when and if I can based on how many points I've used up. There is one thing I absolutely have to stop consuming:
So I'm only allowed 29 points a day, turns out one bottle of 20 oz Pepsi is TWENTY POINTS! And when I drink these, I don't pace myself and stretch it for a day or two, I'll drink the entire bottle in a couple of hours at my desk in the office. Yeah, no more of that. I try to keep my sugar drinks to one a day, I know this bottle counts as two and a half. That's the end of that!
In a totally unrelated note, I am always proud to be a New Yorker but I am especially proud after this past Friday night when the state passed the bill allowing Gay Marriage in New York. Now the other 44 states need to get on board and acknowledge that marriage should be a right for ALL. I'm sure the Pride Parade in NYC today will extra special. =D
This kind of happened all of the sudden but a Sponsorship swap took over my Twitter feed and I got swept up in it! I think I'll blame Ashley from After Nine To Five, I missed the boat on her blog but it doesn't mean I can't share the same love here and offer free advertisement on my blog for the month of July. Lee Lee from Just Because got on board and I followed suit. :) I've learned that this blog is not meant to make me money which is why I gave up doing paid sponsorships a while back but it doesn't mean I can't continue to share and promote other great talent. That's where you come in.
So if you want to advertise here next month for free, send me a 150 x 150 ad to marilyn @ pulpsushi.com. Ads will appear in the right column of this blog. You'll also post dedicated to your blog or shop or whatever you wish to promote. Remember, this is a swap so let me know if you plan to use any of my buttons. Ads will go up July 1st.
Next Thursday is June 30th which means it will be the last day of my Etsyversary month, which also means the last day to take advantage of my shop's **FREE SHIPPING** and 15% off your purchase!
Don't wait! Check out my Etsy shop today and don't forget to use coupon code "happyjune15" for your 15% off discount.
I should have posted this earlier in the week. I survived Week 1, this week might be more of a challenge for some - Quit Procrastinating!
What have I been procrastinating on? It's actually quite simple: To check off everything on my Pulp Sushi To Do list!
It sounds lame but that's what's up. There are things I need to mail out, supplies I need to order, need to build (online and off). And there are some top secret shop things I still need to work on. :)
I already saw my Cardiologist last week, I have my annual physical scheduled for next Monday, OH! I do need to schedule an appointment with my Dentist who I have not seen in forever so that's something for the non-Pulp Sushi To Do list for this week. I admit that is something I have been holding off on for waaaaay too long.
Source: wanelo.com via Lauren on Pinterest
First day of Summer! Although honestly, it started to feel like Summer around these parts last month but today makes it official. Here are some fun (and sorta Summery) tutorials I've come across
Gum Paste Butterflies from Clockwork Lemon - probably my FAVORITE food blog to visit. She had made this cake for her mom and the butterflies were just a lovely touch.
Mr Potato Head hat from Wattlebird (too cute!)
Granny Square Bracelet from Speckless
If you have a tutorial you would like to share on this blog, drop me a note! Especially tutorials that are geared toward Summer (ie: Wedding DIYs, party decorations) or any other fun afternoon projects you'd like to share!
EARRINGS!
There's still time to take advantage of my **FREE SHIPPING** month and 15% off using coupon code "happyjune15" on Etsy!
Nice birthday weekend for the boyfriend. I treated him to dinner then we checked out the new art opening at Darkside Records & Gallery in Poughkeepsie. Every time we go there we leave with a handful of CDs, mostly for him but I may upload one or two on my ipod (Life of Agony, Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies).
Oh and thank you again for the comments in yesterday's post. I love the feedback and hearing about others experience in weight loss and what worked for them. I really do appreciate it. I do admit that weekends have been quite the challenge because no matter how good I am during the week with the food and exercise, the weekends just goes right out of the window. I need to find a balance.
(Eh.....I'm still trying to think of a good theme name for my Sunday posts)
I mentioned last Sunday that I was participating in the 7 Day Push and our first challenge was to exercise for 15 minutes every day.
As part of the new WW program, they suggest you do something active for a total of 30 minutes every day. I totally could have cheated here. My walk to the office from the train is roughly 10 minutes - that's 20 minutes of fast walking right there, bam! Done! But I didn't want to count that. I threw a few more things in the mix, did a few more reps with my 8 lb weights in the AM, used the stairs instead of the escalators, and an additional 30 minute walk during my lunch hour. I'm starting to find that stairs are not making me as winded as they use to.
Source: whiteonricecouple.com via Kate on Pinterest
I am having a hard time keeping my point intake at 29, I'll hit 30 to 33 usually but I do like that I am thinking about what I eat before I eat it, I try to plan ahead what to have for lunch as oppose to wandering around until something strikes. And lastly, I am eating a lot more vegetables than I'm use to. It's not that I don't like my veggies, it's just not a priority the way carbohydrates would be lol! Well that's flipped now. I took a picture of my lunch last week and it was really good!
This was actually TOO much food for me, I couldn't finish it - but it was tasty. So I did my own weigh in (because I choose not to attend any meetings) and so far since starting on June 1st, I have lost four pounds which I'm content with because it is hard for me to lose weight, it doesn't just burn off. Something in the genes or something, I have to ask my doctor about that when I have my physical next week. My stomach has been getting a little more upset too after I eat, I think it's not use to so much healthy food lol! It's going through junk food withdrawl or something.
Speaking of doctors, I went to my Cardiologist last week for a check up just to make sure my heart is doing ok and the new valve part is working alright. She said everything is looking good, I told her that I had joined WW and would like to exercise more but I wanted to make sure I had the clearance to do so. So she put me on the treadmill to monitor my heart under some stress and it looks like I'm good to go with the Cardio too, woo!
Tomorrow is my boyfriend's birthday and he's a super private person so you will not see any cutesy pictures of us here but I did put a pinterest board together in honor of him. Meet Mike!
Source: laughingsquid.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
Source: piccsy.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
Source: google.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
There's a lot more where that came from. Check out more of the Boyfriend Pinboard.
I might be a little late getting on the Pinterest bandwagon but it didn't take me long to get hooked once I joined.
I've been talking forever about getting an Inspiration board to hang in my teeny tiny craft area - I still haven't but this website helps me with that urge for the visual inspiration. The great thing about this site is that it automatically gives credit to the original source. One of the boards I put together is called Who Am I and it was meant to give people a snapshot of what makes Marilyn who she is, sorry I'll stop talking in the third person. Here are some of my favorite images from that board.
Source: thin-cherry.tumblr.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
Source: mirmii.tumblr.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
Source: allposters.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
Source: flickr.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
Are you on pinterest too? Let's follow each other pinterest.com/pulpsushi
Last Friday I headed up to Hudson, NY for an Etsy Craft Party. It was a beautiful day to head further north and check out a new town. Click the lady below to see more pictures on my Flickr.
Gwen and I headed up to Etsy Hudson early to have lunch, or "Eatsy" with the staff and to explore the area. We walked around town for a while - it was cute! We ate ice cream from this very pink ice cream shop called Lick. I had peanut butter chocolate fudge - it's as good as it sounds. Headed back to Etsy and help set up for the party, some folks even showed up a little before 6:00. It was a great turnout.
More pictures from Etsy Labs Flickr Set were posted, including a picture of me with my terrarium jar. I've always wanted to learn how to make those, I came home with two.
I wish my jar was a little bigger, or I may have packed it in a little too tight, but I love it! I want to make more and give them as gifts to people. It was a great day and the Etsy staff I met were so nice, it's probably good for them that they're so far or else I would be hanging out there all of the time. :)
Time to share who the winner is of the Love Gun Necklace (drumroll please)...
That comment came from GM at GiggedyGeekMum. Congratulations! You will receive an email from me shortly. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Here are some recent items added to the Etsy shop.
Pretty Girl earrings are back!
First, THANK YOU for the comments left in yesterday's post. It took a lot for me to write that and it's nice to see others have read it and share in a similar challenge. I don't regret posting it and looking forward to sharing my weight loss progress and hearing from others. :) There's still time to join in on the 7 Day Push fun, it's not all about weight loss and exercise, the theme could be anything, you just have to join in and find out what they are.
There's been a little bit of buzz recently that I wanted to share today.
Even though I'm admin for the Hudson Valley Etsy Team blog, I was not expecting to be the item of Neely's "Have You See This?" feature this week.
Happy Customer Kelly is modeling my Girl In The Garden necklace with her adorable daughter on her blog Orangie's Attic
Shop Success interview at Pick Some Flowers
What's this? A post on a Sunday? That's a rarity, but I am hoping to change that starting today. I use to be more open online about my personal life, especially on LiveJournal (remember LJ? Anyone still on there?). In the last few years, it was so rare I would share anything personal on my blog. Starting today I would like to change that and share a little more about what's going on in my life but baby steps. So what do I want to share today?
On June 1st I joined Weight Watchers - for the 3rd time. It's been a LONG time since I was last on it, they even changed their point system entirely (which I will go into in a later post). I've always weighed more than I look, when people say I'm not fat or I'm crazy to think that, I don't listen, because my body is telling me I need to lose some weight. I've always struggled with my weight. There's a weight number I never wanted to get to and as of a couple of weeks ago, I reached it. The problem for me is not being active, I just love to eat, especially sweets. I'll always love my cakes.
Source: fitfullfabulous.tumblr.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
Don't get me started on clothing sizes. Some stores I'm a 12, others I'm a 14, some tops are medium, others a large. I'm too small for plus size, too big for everything else. I try not to let the numbers get to me. I didn't start to feel "fat" until the last year. Like I am physically starting to feel the extra weight on me that does not need to be there. I get winded easily and I don't feel as strong as I use to. I'm trying to figure out ways I can keep mobile which can be challenging when you sit at an office for 8 hours and on a train for 3 hours every weekday. I go for walks during my lunch break but I've made bad food choices. I don't eat all the time, but when I do, it's big. I joke that I eat like a man. I might have been able to get away with it when I was in my twenties but my metabolism ain't what it use to be.
Source: debbos.tumblr.com via Marilyn on Pinterest
One of the hesitations I had about posting this was fear of coming across like a nutcase who is obsessed with their weight. I'm not. My goal is to lose 30 pounds, bringing me to 170 which some experts may still consider "obese" for a woman who is 5'4" but whatever, I'm content with that number. If I lose more, great! If I stay in the 170s, still great. I don't want to get back to where I was June 1st that's for sure.
I don't want to turn this into a weight loss blog but I think sharing my progress will help as a incentive to stay on task. If you have any WW tips or recipes worth sharing, I'd love to hear from you. I wanna thank Kristy from The Odd Girl for giving me that little nudge to post this. :)
Look how perfect this timing is??? Ashley from Nine To Five annouced she was starting a new project 7 Day Push and I thought it would be fun to join in.
Every week, there will be something to give up, or do, for seven days straight. This past Sunday (yestetrday) started the first week and what's the theme? Exercise for 15 minutes every day. Can I do it for seven days? Stay tuned to find out. :)
Like an Etsy Craft Party! I am totally playing hooky from work today so I can head up to Hudson, NY with Gwen from Beyond The Picket Fence to Etsy's newest office space and customer service locale. Hopefully we'll be able to check out the town as I have never been to Hudson before and neither has Gwen.
If I'm not mistaken, we will be making recycled planters, indoor and outdoor containers for plants of all kinds, garden markers, terrariums, sewn fabric planter bags, window boxes and more. They'll have dirt, plants to share, some tools and lots of supplies, but all are encouraged to bring objects of interest, plant material, tools and decorative supplies. I plan to destash some things and I have some mason jars I think would be fun to work with. I'll definitely share how this goes next week. Are you going to any of the Etsy Craft Party Meetups happening today?
I snuck in a new item today too, click image to check out the Etsy ilsting. You can purchase this item with Free Shipping all June and a 15% discount using coupon code "happyjune15"
And don't forget to check out my *GIVEAWAY* which ends Sunday night!
Make Fabric Art with Erin from Sunshine and Carousels
DIY Bird Feeder by guest blogger Katie at Moorea Seal
Japanese Flower Tutorial from Revving It Up (lots of pictures for reference) I'm just drawn to the colors used. So pretty!
Summer Twist up-do from A Beautiful Mess
I did my hair like this other day, love it! My hair is pretty thin so I was only able to do three buns but it still looked cute. It was a pretty humid day too so it was perfect.
