PicMonkey What can I do?

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PicMonkey What can I do with it?

I have taken two pictures and shown what you can do with them to make them pop to use on your blog.  If you want to get your pictures noticed on sites that are based on pictures, such as Pinterest, you need to accentuate them.


The first picture is untouched!  Of course this picture is already sharp and colorful.

On the second picture I used the following:

Auto Adjust

Colors

Dark Edges

Labels

Text

Two Different Craft Scissor Frames

The next picture is done on the collage function of PicMonkey.  The collage function is a free function.  

On this picture I used the following:

Collage

Pinter-etsy 

Corner rounding

Banner

Emily's Candy Text

All of the flowers, except the mums, are flowers from my garden.

 These are just some pictures I am playing with.  You can just play around with PicMonkey and come up will all kinds of things.




You can make headers for your Facebook page!

Seriously, there are just so many possibilities!  If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them.

LA Fitness - My Ticket to Fitness

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La Fitness - My Ticket To Fitness

My NSV

It has finally happened!  I have finally made the plans for going back to the gym.  I cancelled my membership with the old gym, which was well over a half hour drive, to my new gym.  I haven't been to the old one for about 6 months.  I have just been giving them my money!

My new gym isn't build yet, it won't be ready for about 60 days.  I joined yesterday and got my key card and towel.  I conned a friend into joining with me.  It will good for her health, so I guess I am a good friend.  I mean, I didn't force her, I just told her told her I was in a size 6 and I was going to tone up my body.  I guess she didn't want to hang out with skinny me unless she was working on her own body.

The new gym will only be about 10 minutes from home and very close to the grocery store I go to.  Many of the other places I shop at are right there too!  Sadly though, so are all the restaurants I love!  I am going to work out on Monday!!

Don't worry I am not planning on exercising in their parking lot while the construction crew works on the new building.The gym bought out another location to use temporarily.  It is an older gym without all the amenities, but we are going to start there on Monday.  I is a little further away, but we are excited about getting started.  We are ready to work it, work it!  

My LA Fitness will be opening in early November.  It will have all the newest equipment and will be huge.  They even have the Boot Camp classes and all kinds of torturous classes.  I am ready to start!

I walked with another friend for about 45 minutes today.  I am going to be an exercise super star soon!

I am not being paid by LA Fitness.  I have no connection with them!  I am just giving them my money so I can have a place to work out!

Blog Hop Blitz Is Ready To Go Again!

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The air is a bit more crisp.

The official start of fall starts on Sunday.

We are well underway with the football season.

We are forever banning the existence of the football widow, unless of course, she's a bigger fan than he is! She has her head in the game because she's joining our team and linking up her tailgate recipes, game day decor/rituals, inspirational posts, funny posts, her best post of the week. She's sharing all of this here at our Blog Hop Blitz!

Now, give a big shout to the team:

Terri and Shawna from Easy Life Meal and Party Planning are two amazing sisters who team up to produce amazing foods. They've kicked off the fall season with their Four Seasons Blog Hop.

Check out co-host Betty's amazing weight loss, let her show you how to maintain your new body over at A Gut and a Butt.

Stay in shout mode, cause here are our MVBs from last week, Week #2:


Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen cooked up some awesome meatballs, perfect for game day. They look delicious!

Here on our hop, we enjoy any link that you link up with. The old saying goes "laughter does the heart good", Starting Over...Again provided us with a bit of humor. Keep the laughs coming!

What would game day be without some salsa? Turnips 2 Tangerines gave us not one, but 2. Who's gonna be brave enough to try the Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa or the Salsa Verde? Both look yummy, bring on the tortilla chips!

Congrats to the Week #2 MVBs! All three will pinned to our Football Blog Hop Blitz Pinterest board.

Alright, let's do this! But before you link up, be sure to grab our button, letting everyone know where your linking up this football season.

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Bloggers start your engines (ok, I know that's car racing talk, you know what I mean)!

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Twice Baked Potatoes

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Twice Baked Potatoes

I was fixing dinner for my husband and tried to come up with something different for him.  I haven't made Twice Baked Potatoes for a long time so I went to Pinterest to find a recipe.  I found this recipe from allrecipes.com.  I have been eating a Paleo/Primal/Low Carb diet so I haven't made too many of the things he wants.  Now that I have gotten used to what I eat  I have made more of the foods that he would like to have.  So here is the recipe for the Twice Baked Potatoes I made for him.

Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes

4 large Baking Potatoes 
8 slices Bacon
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Milk
4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup, shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
8 greeen onions, divided

The directions are on the allrecipes.com site.

What happens when you don't have the ingredients on hand!

Well, the recipe is great, but I didn't have all the ingredients it called for and I didn't want to wait an hour for the potatoes to cook in the oven.

I was only going to make 2 potatoes, the recipe said they would heat up well the next day.  I could use on for dinner and save one for later.

First I started by baking the potatoes in the microwave.  It takes 3 to four minutes for each potato.  Don't forget to poke holes in the potatoes or they will explode.  I take a fork and puncture the potatoes in several places.  I baked the potatoes and pushed a fork in them to make sure they were soft.  While the potatoes were cooling I cooked the bacon.  I cooked mine in the microwave, since I only needed four slices.  I let the bacon cool and then crumbled it.

I let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes to cool.  I still burned my hand on them a little bit, so be careful.  I took a spoon and removed the meat of the potato, leaving enough in the potato skin to keep it stable. 

I didn't have any sour cream so I used ranch dressing in place of the sour cream.  I only had Shredded Colby Jack cheese, so I used that in place of the Cheddar.  I didn't have any green onions so I just eliminated them.

I took the meat of the potato and put it into a bowl with the ranch dressing, milk, butter, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup cheese.

I mixed the ingredients with a mixer until they were creamy.  

Next, I spooned the mixture into the potato skins.  

I topped the potatoes with the rest of the cheese and the crumbled bacon.

I baked them in my toaster oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

My husband said the Twice Baked Potatoes were delicious!  They were just as good two days later for lunch!

How to use PicMonkey

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How to use PicMonkey

This is part 1 in a series showing different functions of PicMonkey.

I have been using PicMonkey and really enjoying the different functions.  

  

I downloaded this picture from Pixabay.  I wanted to show you how to make some simple adjustments with PicMonkey.  This picture has had no adjustments.

In Picture No 2, I auto adjusted the picture, then brightened the color.  I also put a simple frame around the picture.  If you want your picture noticed on Pinterest you need to make it brighter than you would for an ordinary picture.  Their are several choices for an outer frame.  You can adjust the thickness of the frame.

The frame in picture 3 was made using Craft Scissors.  This is a function of the paid Royale program.  You can do lots of things with the free version.  I kept clicking on things that were paid and finally decided to buy the Royale option.  It cost me $33.00 and my subscription is for one year.  By the way, I am not being paid to talk about PicMonkey. 

You can add text to your picture, which also makes it much better for Pinterest.  It is reported that Pinterest is in the top views for many bloggers.  It makes sense to get noticed among all the pictures on Pinterest. 



  

Medal of Honor

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Finish the Sentence Friday

This week's sentence is I deserve a medal for the time I............

When I got this prompt I thought about earning a medal. I'm just a normal person, I haven't done anything super courageous.  As I thought about it, I realized I probably have shown lots of courage in my life, maybe not to the extreme of Medal of Honor winners, but still courage just the same.

When my first husband died, I was 24.  I had children 2, 4, and 6. My family wanted me to move back home.  I decided to keep my children in their home and not move them.  I chose to give them a stable home and teach them that we could make it on our own.  I don't know if I would have earned a medal for that, I do know that my children and I are very close.  That is better than a medal any day!

The next big thing in my life that I feel like I deserved a medal for is when I found out I was pregnant for my fourth child.  I was nearing 40, and my children were all nearing their even year birthdays. They were almost 18, 20, and 22.

I had to tell my son who was entering his senior year of high school that his mom was pregnant.  I was not a popular person that day. Then I had to make trips to two separate colleges and inform my other children.  I didn't think it was fair to tell them over the phone. I believe they all thought mom was way past the time to have more children.  My daughter, almost 22, was appalled.  My middle son was probably the most understanding, he worried about my health.

I went through a rough pregnancy.  I had to go and have amniocentesis done.  I had bleeding issues up to about 30 weeks. This was an unplanned pregnancy and I was a little uncertain for a few months how this was going to turn out.  When the doctor decided that I needed to have the test done, that's when I got very possessive of my baby.  I told the doctor that it didn't matter how the tests came out I would go through the pregnancy.  This was my child!

Thank goodness that the test came out fine.  I was having a healthy baby boy.  Then it was just a matter of staying inactive for a while until he got a good hold on things.  My little guy was a fighter and he held on for all he was worth.  

You know, I didn't get a medal for going through that pregnancy at that time in my life.  I got way better than a medal.  I got the most wonderful, caring person to raise.  He has been such a joy to my life.  I can't know now what my life would have been had I not had my son.  I just know I would have missed out on some of the most joyful times of my life.

Did you take a look at that picture of my mom.  She was 75.  She never colored her hair.  Do you see how dark it still was?  I don't think I am doing as well as she did?  She has been gone for 16 years now.  She would be 94 in just a couple of weeks if she were still alive.

Friendship Friday

What activities do you most look forward to each fall?  I enjoy decorating for Halloween.  I look forward to having family gatherings for the Thanksgiving holiday.  

As the days grow shorter are you impacted by Seasonal Affective Disorder?  How do you cope?  I have never been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I do get down when the days shorten.  I hate to see Daylight Savings Time go away, because then it will get dark by 5:00 or so.  When they change back it really seems like the days shorten so quickly.  I spend most of the winter looking forward to spring.  I try to plan a vacation for spring.  A trip to warm temps and sunshine are what I look forward to in the spring.

Do you have any favorite fall recipes or crafts that you would like to share with us?  I shared a recipe for Old Fashioned Homemade Noodles recently that we have for Thanksgiving.  I love making fall crafts.  

I will be linking up with other blog hops and they are all listed on my Blog Hop page.

Now, tell me what you deserve a medal for?  
Leave me a comment, please!!

Bird on a Motorcycle

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Birds

Where do you do your bird watching?  I found this interesting when driving down the road.  I looked up and saw a bird riding on the handlebars of the motorcycle going down the road in front of me.  I had a hard time getting a picture.

I guess this way of traveling takes much less energy for the bird. He seemed to be happy enough riding down the road.  I worried that he might get hurt if the man had an accident, but maybe the bird would fly off if something happened.  

Have you ever seen a bird ride like this?  This was my first bird on a motorcycle spotting.  

Halloween

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Halloween

Halloween is coming soon.  I love decorating for Halloween.  I know you never know what I am going to write about.  I write about weight loss, but this is my place to write about my life.  

My life is made up of many things.  Crafting is one of the things I do for fun.  I actually have a craft room in my house.  So when I am not writing about weight loss, crafting is one of the things I do.  I do lots of scrapbooking too!

So I cook, clean, decorate, craft, scrapbook, play on social media, exercise, have a family and many other things.  I am a mom.  That is what we do.  I guess everyone is supposed to have a niche.  I think my niche is being a Mom.  Maybe I should devote different days to different topics.  Hmmm!  Something for me to think about!

Papercrafting

This is my favorite papercrafting tool.  It is a Cricut.  The Cricut is a die cut machine that uses cartridges.  

I used the cricut to cut the paper to decorate the centerpiece.  You can buy the pre-cut pieces at a Michaels, JoAnn's or Archiver's. You could also use stencils or if you are good, you could free hand cut the decorations.  You can easily make stencils by printing pictures from the computer.

I purchased my mini bale of straw at Michael's.  When I bought it I paid about $3.50 for it.  I used paper to cut out all of the decorations, most of which I already had.  So I made a cut centerpiece for less than $4.00.  

I used straight pins to secure the decorations into the straw.  I used thin wire to suspend the letters and decoration above the other pieces.

I put this together in less than an hour.  It would take longer if you are hand cutting the decorations.

So, if you are looking for a cheap, easy table centerpiece for Halloween, this is it!

Success!

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Success!

This picture shows me that it is important to start gaining muscle.  I am going to sign up with the new gym in the next week or two.  I may have to drive a little further to a gym that is already open as I wait for them to get the one closer to me finished.  Looking at the picture of fat versus muscle shows me I need to work on building muscle.

My Weekly Weight Loss Details

When I started losing weight 7 months ago I was in a size 14. Today I went to Kohl's and bought size 6 jeans.  They feel so small!
I got the new skinny jeans.  I don't know, if your pushing 59 it is appropriate to wear skinny jeans or not.  I actually like them so I think I will be wearing skinny jeans this year.  

I think I could probably wear a large top.  With the size of my chest it's hard to get a smaller size top.  I did go buy some new bras last week.  My others were getting a little too big and stretched out of shape.

Doctor's Appointment

I had my doctor's appointment last week.  It was 6 months ago when I went in the last time.  When my doctor walked in the room he said, "Well, I see you have lost weight!"  He looked at my chart and said, "You've lost lots of weight!"  That was fun!  

My blood pressure was 100/74.  The doctor told me to quit taking one of my blood pressure meds.  Yeah!!!  Success!!  He thought my cholesterol was still too high to quit taking my cholesterol medicine. I have thought about just stopping it anyway.  I don't like the idea of taking statins.  My sugar was 99.  Other than my cholesterol everything was great.  Very close to a healthy BMI.

The doctor says now is the time that I have to really be careful.   He is worried I will turn around and gain it back.  I don't think so, mister!!  I have this handled!

Surprise

Before I left for the doctor I got on my scale with my clothes on and weighed to see what I weighed on my scale.  It said 149.5.  I went to the doctor and weighed.  I weighed 151.2.  I thought my scale was 3 pounds light.  It is really only a little less than 2 pounds light.  So I actually weigh about 1 pound less than I thought.  When I was heavier the scale was 3 pounds light.  My son told me that it was different at lesser weights.  He was right.

I weighed 151.2.  The top of my healthy BMI is 149.5.  Below is my weight as of today!

Loss 34.0 pounds total

Starting weight - 184.5
Week one - 180.0
Week two - 179.5
Week three - 179.0
Week four - 178.5

Week five - 177.0 
Week six - 176.0
Week seven - skipped, was on vacation
Week eight - 181.5  
Week nine - 174.0
Week ten - 172.5
Week eleven - 172.0
Week twelve - 171.5
Week thirteen - 170.5
Week Fourteen - 172.0
Week Fifteen - 167.5
Week Sixteen - 169.5
Week Seventeen - 168.5
Week Eighteen - 168.0
Week Nineteen - 167.5
Week Twenty - 161.50
Week Twenty-One  161.0
Week Twenty-Two 159.5
Week Twenty-Three 160.0
Week Twenty-Four 159.0
Week Twenty-Five 157.5
Week Twenty-Six 156.5
Week Twenty-Seven  154.5
Week Twenty-Eight 153.5
Week Twenty-Nine 152.5
Week Thirty 152.0
Week Thirty-One 150.5

My scale is 2 pounds light! 

I call this Success!!

Birthday Express

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Birthday Express

The birthday express rolled into town this weekend.  On board was my son who was turning 19.  We picked him up and brought him home for the weekend.  We had a pool party at my daughter's house.  It was only about 73 degrees out.  There was no wind at all and full sunshine and a heated pool that was registering 92 degrees.  I had worried it might be too cool, but there were no complaints.

I was so busy with the food and talking to people I didn't get any pictures.  I guess I am not a good blogger.  I know my older son was taking lots of pictures so maybe I will get some from him later.

On Sunday, it was his birthday.  My husband and I took my son and his girlfriend to lunch.  We took him to his favorite Mexican restaurant.  They do a song and put you into a sombrero.  We have had birthday lunches there before but had never had the birthday celebration.  My son was surprised when they came up to the table and put the sombrero on his head.  They bring a dessert and put whipped cream on your nose.  They got his girlfriend with the whipped cream, too!  My son actually got into it once he got over the surprise.

After the Colts game it was time for the birthday express to head back to college.  My husband and I made the trip to take him back. He isn't supposed to come home again for five weeks.  My hubs and I are a little mopey this week!  We certainly understand the meaning of empty nest.  

Biggest Loser

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Biggest Loser

Are you looking to be the biggest loser.  Do you need real motivation.  If you do there are lots of people that have already lost the weight or are still trying to lose it.  Do you want to know what they are doing and what's working for them.  I have compiled a large group of weight loss blog's for you to read.  There are so many great weight loss bloggers on this list.  My Weight Loss Blog Directory.

When I started out I spent time looking for bloggers who were trying to lose the weight.   I got ideas from some of them and I have lost 33 pounds.  I am nearly into a healthy BMI.  

Not only do the bloggers offer lots of great advice they are also a very supportive group.  Go take a look at some of the blogs and leave them a message.  I bet you find a great support system here.

Do you feel like you just have too much weight to lose?  Do you need to lose weight to be able to get pregnant.  I know there are bloggers that either are in the same boat or have already gotten through the weight loss journey.  There are people who have lost well over 150 pounds.  If you just keep looking you will find someone who has the same issues that you do.  

Guest Posts Guest Posts Guest Posts Guest Posts

I am looking for bloggers who would like to guest post about weight loss.  I would like to feature a guest post on weight loss once a week if I can find bloggers that meet my needs.  If your interested in guest posting, please leave a comment!

Are you the Biggest Loser?

Dirt Pudding - Ready For the Colts Game

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Dirt Pudding 

Football game parties always need a yummy dessert!  One of my families favorite is Dirt Pudding.  What a delicious cool dessert.

Today we had a family birthday party for my son and I brought along Dirt Pudding for my husband and the grandkids.  We had a pool party and had lots of food to eat.  My son and I don't eat sugar anymore so we avoided the Dirt Pudding.

After the party it was time to watch Notre Dame Football.  The game just finished up with a big Notre Dame win against in state rival Purdue!  Go ND!!

We are all primed and ready to watch our favorite Indianapolis Colts play the Miami Dolphins tomorrow.  We have a few season tickets in the family so I get to attend a some games.

Here are some pics from last week's game with the Oakland Raiders.

The Manning Brother's Match-up!

When it comes to the Manning brothers, I like them both very much.  I mean, Peyton belonged to Indianapolis for so many years. We had to root for his little brother, Eli, except when he played against Peyton.  

I know, I know, Peyton has moved on to Denver.  Peyton will always have a place in my heart.  I root for him, except when he plays my Colts.

Here is one of my old Manning jerseys!  I have a few of those.  

Dirt Pudding Recipe

3 1/2 cups Milk

2 sm boxes French Vanilla Pudding

1 12 oz tub Cool Whip

8 ounces Cream Cheese

1 cup Powdered Sugar

1/4 Cup Butter

1 Pkg Oreo Cookies

Step 1 - Crush 2 rows of Oreo Cookies.  Put into a 9 X 13 container.

Step 2 - Melt the butter and mix with the crushed Oreos.

Step 3 - Press the Oreos and butter mixture into the pan.  Put in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Step 4 - Pour the milk into a mixing bowl.  Add the pudding and mix for two minutes.  Set aside.

Step 5 - Cream together the cream cheese and powdered sugar.

Step 6 - Add the Cool Whip to the pudding.

Step 7 - Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and mix thoroughly.

Step 8 - Pour over the Oreo crust you made in the earlier steps.

Step 9 - Crush the remaining row of Oreos and sprinkle over the top of pudding.  Refrigerate at least one hour.

I am not sure where I got this recipe from.  It may have come from Pinterest.  I have been using it for a few years so I really can't tell you.  It is so great!  It has been popular every where I take it.  My son's high school football team members would get some of it when they went through the line for regular food.  They were afraid it would be gone when they came back for dessert.  I always made at least a double recipe.  

Grab some Dirt Pudding and enjoy the game!!

I linked this post with Blog Hop Blitz!

Blog Hop Blitz Week 2

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Week #2 looks to bring some heated battles to the field:

Eli vs. Peyton (brothers who come from a football legacy family, they play on separate teams, Peyton is the oldest).

Seahawks vs. 49ers (showdown on the west coast, both teams have sensational, young quarterbacks).

Your tailgate recipes, game decor and rituals, your best post, being put on display (you, yes you, linking up your best of the best).

Speaking of the best, here is our awesome host team for week #2:

Terri and Shawna, from Easy Life Meal and Party Planning are two amazing sisters who team up to produce amazing foods. Hopefully, some of their skills will rub off on me.

Betty shares her victories of weight loss and how she maintains keeping it off over at A Gut and a Butt.

Jessica gives us a peek into her Wondering Brain, sharing insight on being wife, mom, and doctoral student.

Please be sure to show them some love by clicking their linky to follow them. 

Alright, the moment you've been waiting for, well, one of the moments you've been waiting for! Right before you link up, take a look (and a follow would be awesome) at our Week #1 Most Valuable Bloggers (MVBs)!

1. Thank you Esther at Enchanted Beginnings for getting us in the spirit. Esther points out "10 things she loves about football season". She gets us motivated while...
2. Getting Stuffed takes care of our hunger pains with her Buffalo Chicken Mini Muffin Poppers. 
3. The title says it all, "I don't care for football chili" from Such a Mama! She found a way to cope by making her chili and now, hopefully, linking up with us every Sunday. 
4. This Picadillo Stromboli Braid from Sourdough Native made our mouths water. Simply delicious!

We had an awesome time picking the Week #1 MVBs. All 4 MVBs will be pinned to our Pinterest board for additional exposure.

One more thing before we get to the moment you've been waiting for. Grab our Blog Hop Blitz button (say that 10 times fast), letting everyone know where you're linking up this football season.

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On your mark, get set, go (wait, is that even how they start a football game)!

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