coming soon...

...a new blog!

i'm excited to announce that i have a new blog coming soon.

it's called, "More than a Scale," and it is specifically to document my weight loss journey, share recipes and workout tips, and inspirational stories and to hopefully give motivation and inspiration to others trying to lose weight and get healthy.

so stay tuned for the launch of this new blog!

love,

lauren

another milestone

today, i crossed over to another "decade" in my weight. this is huge. since i don't remember the last time i was in my last decade, i really don't remember the last time i was at this weight. i'm still in the upper numbers of this "decade," but it's progress. it keeps me motivated to keep moving those numbers down!

my goal is still 30 pounds by May 27th (my brother's wedding). at this point i've lost 8 pounds toward this goal, so i have about 2 months to lose 22 pounds. a big goal, but i'm going to do my best!

this new goal has been slow going. it's been hard to get motivated again. but i'm doing it. i think before Paige's wedding, i had my numbers off a bit. so if i've figured it out right this time, i've lost a total of 29 pounds in 5 and 1/2 months. thinking about it, it doesn't seem like much in that amount of time. but i don't want to lessen what i have accomplished, (and i can't compare myself to those on the Biggest Loser - ha). i've made a lot of changes, and i'm still developing those habits. and i've lost almost 30 pounds!!!

thank you for all your love and support. i really appreciate it!

love,

~lauren

cake pops [part 2]

since the practice batch was such a hit, i decided to make these cake pops for Haley's shower.

this time, i took some pictures along the way, so you could see "the process."

i didn't get any pictures of baking the cake or rolling the balls (that's pretty self-explanatory).

after rolling the balls, put the sticks in and then refrigerate for a few hours (i refrigerated overnight).

i had the cake balls sitting out while i was coating them in chocolate, but they started to warm up again and fall off of the sticks. so, i put them in the freezer and would take a few out as i needed them.

the mess i was making.

it may be hard to tell in the above picture, but i put water in the pot, then put a glass measuring cup into the pot. i melted the chocolate in the glass measuring pot because it was a smaller area, (smaller than my small pot), and made dunking the pops easier. (this idea was curtesy of my very creative husband).

if you have one of those double pots where the water sits in the bottom and heats the top pot, i would recommend using that. i don't have one, so using the measuring cup was a great alternative.

i used double stacked Styrofoam cups to put the cake pops to dry. i would recommend a Styrofoam block (you can get these at Michaels or other craft stores), but i was too cheap to buy one. these worked pretty well, but sometimes the pops made it too top heavy and they fell over. ha. other than that, they worked well.

and here they are...

at the shower, i tried to come up with a creative way to display them. it didn't quite come out the way i had envisioned, but it worked out ok.

i used Starbucks plastic cups for the stands. chris pokes holes in them, then i covered them with gold tissue paper, and stuck the cake pops in the holes.

this was a bit time consuming, so i ended up flipping some of the cups over and just placing the pops in the cups like a cake pop bouquet.

i also stood some on a plate just for a different look.

i was pleased with them, and they tasted delicious. i totally recommend these for a party! enjoy!

~lauren

Haley's shower

last weekend, Haley's bridesmaids from IWU and I threw her an intimate bridal shower, so that she could celebrate with her school friends that likely won't make it to the wedding.

we had a blast and lots of laughs.

here are some pictures from the day.

some delicious food...

we had a potluck desert table (actually 2 tables).

lots of people brought snacks and deserts - we

had way too much food, but it was all delicious!

one of Haley's bridesmaids, Anne, made this

framed picture - so creative and gorgeous.

this was Anne's flower arrangement, too.

i made this 'B' our of tissue paper flowers.

i got the idea and the DIY tutorial from

hostess with the mostess. go here to find out

how to make the little flowers.

cake pops! check out my last post where i shared

how to make these delicious pops of yumminess.

then check out my next post for some more yummy

pop pics.

we played a game where Haley had to answer

questions about Shay. if she got a question

wrong, she had to hold a marshmallow in her

mouth. it was hilarious (maybe not for Haley,

but it was for the rest of us).

another game.

lots of laughs!

group picture.

and of course, the silly pose.

me and my (almost) sister.

me, Haley, and sam. (sam was a bridesmaid in

my wedding).

Haley and her Indiana bridesmaids.

thanks, Haley, for letting us shower you. i'm so excited and blessed that you will be my sister. i can't wait until May 27th, when you get to marry my brother! love you, Hales.

~Lauren

cake balls

if you've read my last couple of blog posts, you may be wondering why i am making/blogging about these cake balls.

well, would you look at them?

they are delicious.

in my defense - i'm actually making them for my future sister-in-law's shower. i did a test run yesterday to see how they would turn out - and i'm planning to take some to church and some to work so that i will not eat them all!!!

i got this idea from bakerella. you can get the recipe here - such cute and creative ideas.

side note - check out hostess with the mostess website for some great party ideas. or you can check out hostess with the mostess blog to see specific party themes/decor. a lot of it is way over the top, but you can get some great ideas.

anyway - i'm planning to make the cake pops - same as the cake balls but with a lollipop stick in them - for the shower. i didn't have the sticks last night so i just made the balls.

picture from bakerella.com

i'm not the most creative person in the world especially when it comes to things like crafts and baking - so i had no idea how these were going to turn out, but they actually turned out pretty good. i need to do a little tweaking and work on the icing decorating, but they tasted great. so i may not be Betty Crocker, but i felt very creative making these little guys.

i made these with funfettie cake and vanilla frosting - then coated them in vanilla and chocolate almond bark. also, i made the cake with egg whites instead of whole eggs. not sure how much healthier that made them, but i tried.

you can use whatever flavors of cake, icing, and coating you want. if you check out bakerella.com you will see that you can get pretty crazy with these - using different colors of chocolate coating, sprinkles, candy, cake shapes - the list goes on.

they are a bit time consuming, so if you don't want to make them - Starbucks is now carrying them.

so here they are - the oh-so-delicious-sugar-filled-can't-eat-them-very-often-but-will-be-a-big hit-at-a-party-CAKE BALLS!

love,

lauren

(the not-so-aspiring baker)

skinny jeans

so yesterday, i went shopping.

i haven't been shopping for a very long time for multiple reasons:

no money

i didn't need new clothes

i was afraid to spend money on new clothes if i was just going to lose more weight and have to buy even more clothes.

but when my husband called my other jeans "frumpy" (in a loving way, of course) that was my cue to go buy some new jeans. and let me tell you - it was very exciting to fit into a smaller size and they are "skinny" jeans, at that.

ok - i've gotten a bit ahead of myself - let me go back a bit.

ever since i came back from vacation in CA, i haven't been very diligent in my weight loss. i would exercise some, try to eat healthy - then i would go a few days without a good workout or have some junk food. but i wasn't losing - i was just maintaining my weight. on the bright side, i wasn't gaining it back, however, i wasn't working to reach my next goal.

so i read some old journal entries from when i first started losing weight. reading these reminded me how i felt when i first started. it reminded me how lost and frustrated and overwhelmed i was feeling. it reminded me that i don't want to go back to that place.

it also reminded me of Psalm 86 - i found this chapter in the beginning of my journey and it had become my prayer through this time. i had forgotten all about it, but it reminded me that i needed to place God first in my life - above all else - food, exercise, work, and even my husband. it helped me to refocus on losing weight.

now, i'm not saying that since reading those entries i've been perfect and lost a ton of weight. i have started losing again, but i have also still had chocolate and sweets and some not so healthy meals. but i'm refocusing.

i'm beginning to find a balance. however, in order to lose weight, it's not going to be completely balanced - i need to burn more calories than i'm consuming (thank you Jillian Michaels) - but if i deny myself all forms of sugar, i will eventually crave it so much that i will eat a ton of sugar and then feel like crap - emotionally and physically.

i haven't quite figured this balance out, but i do think i'm close to figuring out a lifestyle that i can live with.

the other day i realized that i have been on this journey for about 5 months. there have been ups and downs, but i have been pretty consistent for 5 MONTHS! that's huge for me. my whole life i've felt that i needed a quick fix - and even though i knew in my head that there wasn't one - i kept searching for one because i didn't want to put in the work to make it happen.

in the past 5 months, i've developed habits to create a lifestyle that is healthy-er than when i started. it's not perfect - it might not be up to Bob and Jillian or my doctor's standards, but it's working. i've become ok with the process - with the fact that it's not an overnight thing - with the idea that it could take me over a year or more to lose all the weight i need to. a year can seem overwhelming - and for a crash diet, a year is an eternity. but a year is not very long when it means i'm starting habits to create a lifestyle i can live with forever. it's a daily thing. choosing TODAY to make healthy choices.

as i said earlier - i don't have this all figured out, but i am learning. i'm growing. i'm changing. sometimes i fail and it can be debilitating. the guilt can be consuming. but i'm trying to learn that one missed workout or one night of splurging on cupcakes is not the end of the world. my God is bigger than me - pun intended. my God is bigger than my weight loss journey. my God can use my weight loss to develop characteristics in me that i may not have learned or developed otherwise. my faith is growing through this process - and it is a process. slowly but surely, i'm losing weight.

i'm getting healthy.

and i'm buying skinny jeans. :D

with love,

Lauren

observations.

Observations from a girl trying to lose weight:

1. chocolate is an incredible force that can break anyone's will-power to stay away from sweets.

2. i don't enjoy exercising - it is work - no matter how "fun" you make it.

3. playing games/sports for exercise can be fun, but other than dancing or swimming, there aren't many games/sports one can do my themselves - and if you don't have a pool, that also knocks out swimming.

4. Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels will kick your butt regardless of which DVD you use (and you don't even have to be on the BL ranch).

5. chocolate has the power to derail any diet.

6. the show, Biggest Loser, can inspire you and make you feel very guilty all at the same time.

7. buying smaller clothes is very exciting.

8. fitting into those "goal" jeans is a great motivator/reward.

9. i have developed a love/hate relationship with my scale - and sometimes i wonder how accurate it actually is.

10. did i mention chocolate (and pizza) are my cryptonite?

Bonus observation: losing weight and getting healthy is difficult and there are many times i want to quit, but it is also a very rewarding experience that has helped me grow spiritually and emotionally as well as become physically healthy.