WW Staples and a little (not so impressive) trick!

When I first started WW, I was absolutely clueless about what I could and could not eat. It turns out that I can eat whatever the heck I want...as long as I stay within my daily points allowance. Great. It's overwhelming at first and requires a lot of trial and error, but I thought I'd share some of the foods that have helped me out during this WW journey.

I find that I constantly turn to my Oroweat Sandwich Thins, which are only 1 point for the top and bottom! I toast it and spread a wedge of Laughing Cow Lite Original Swiss (1 point) on it for a 2 point breakfast. If you top that with less than 1 cup of blueberries, it's even yummier and still only 2 points. Or, sometimes I'll just toast it and dunk it in my coffee. I even use these sandwich thins to make breakfast sandwiches abd turkey breast sandwiches for lunch. Other people have told me that they work well for sloppy joe's and even a mini pizza crust! Just add your toppings and pop in the oven (or toaster oven). I buy the Sandwich Thins, Laughing Cow and frozen organic blueberries at Costco.

I also buy Yoplait Light Yogurt from Costco. It includes Strawberry, Blueberry and Harvest Peach flavors. Yes, it contains aspartame. If you're violently against it, don't buy it and keep reading. :)

Either the Weight Watchers or Healthy Choice brand fudge bars are a 1 point frozen treat for those chocolate cravings.

Now, on to that little trick I mentioned. I decided to take some of the Healthy Choice fudge bars to leave in our community freezer at work. Something is terribly wrong with our A/C at the office and it gets ridiculously cold. One day, I had the idea to stick one of the fudge bars into a nice hot cup of coffee. It obviously melted, but the resulting concoction tasted just like a mocha latte...completely with a frothy head! Since black coffee is 0 points, the whole thing is only 1 point!

Another staple I keep in my refrigerator is Kirkland "Real Egg" brand egg substitute I buy at Costco. I actually prefer the taste of the Kirkland brand to the "Egg Beaters" brand. I normally have 1/2 cup for only 1 point, whereas a whole egg is 2 points. I have this for breakfast on the weekend and normally have them one night during the week when Brian's working late and I'm only making dinner for myself.

Yet another thing I love is Orville Redenbacher's SmartPop 94% Fat Free Butter Popcorn. The single serve bags are only 1 point each. The larger bags are 3 points for the entire bag. Brian and I normally split the larger bag and I'll have the single serve bags at work.

Another frozen treat I've discovered is Breyers Double Churn ice cream! I remember trying this out about 5 years ago when the Atkin's Diet was all the rage and it tasted pretty nasty, IMO. But, I thought I'd give it another shot and am glad I did! I picked up Breyers Vanilla No Sugar Added Double Churn ice cream. You get 1/2 cup for just 1 point, or 1 whole cup for 3 points. Top that of with 1/2 cup blueberries (0 points) and you've got yourself a yummy, guilt-free dessert! I think I'll pick up the Fat Free (versus No Sugar Added) variety next time, just to see if there is a taste difference.

Okay, this is getting pretty long. I will try to post something new at least once per week, depending on what I'm eating at the time. Stay tuned....

Bleh

I maintained this week. I am happy I didn't gain (yeah, yeah, yeah), but I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed I didn't lose. I was hoping to be down 1 more pound this week for a total of 15, but that didn't happen. And I should not have expected it to happen. I was really, really, bad. I need to hide all that toffee and white chocolate! So, I need to accept it and move on because I start a new week tomorrow!

My Sweet Friends!

Here's what I got in the mail last week from my fellow Nestie (End-of-Summer Nestie Swap!), Marci, all the way from Colorado! I've been so blessed to form friendships with an amazing group of women. :)


Benny really loved the white chocolate!

10% Down, 10% to Go!

I officially reached my 10% goal last week Wendesday!!! Yay!!!

After nearly a week of basking in the glory of being 14 pounds down, and indulging in some yummy confections received from a sweet friend in Colorado, it's time to get serious again. I've been a "tracker slacker" since Las Vegas. I did better at biting-and-writing over the weekend, but need to start making a conscious effort to stick to my 18 points! I'm feeling the effects of all that white chocolate almond toffee!

I would ultimately like to lose another 10%, but that goal is just too far out (and intimidating!) for me at this point. So, I've scaled it back to another 5% (6 pounds), which would put me at 20 pounds total. That's a freakin' scary number to me. I had a chat with my co-worker about my WW progress. One thing led to another and he guessed that my current weight was 118 pounds (18 pounds under the mark (at the time), buddy). Hmm, granted, he's a guy, but people normally are surprised when I tell them how much I really do weigh. I guess it's because I'm short? Or I really am big-boned?! I have no idea.

I see every bulge and roll. They are definitely shrinking, but I have a ways to go. :) I know losing the weight will get harder and harder. I just need to take it one day at a time and try not to beat myself up for my toffee-laden weekend. :P

Progress

I started WW on June 18, 2009, just over three months ago! It's gone by quickly. Here is a photo comparison of my progress. The photo on the left was taken on May 9, 2009 at a Nestie GTG. I was a little heavier by June 18th, but it's a pretty good representation. The photo on the right was taken on September 12, 2009 at my SIL's wedding.

Edit: Some of my fellow WW-ers have requested I bring in these comparison photos to our next meeting. I've printed one out to post, eye-level, on my 'fridge, and another one to keep in my planner. I'm hoping it will be a motivational, daily reminder of how far I've come.

Back from Las Vegas!

I will need to devote a separate post to recap our recent Vegas Vacation, but I need to make some portable pockets for an upcoming bride and need to get on it fast before my wandering hands grab more School Kine Cookies Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nibbles!

After 1 week of Las Vegas gluttonous goodness, I am up 0.6 pounds, which I find quite amazing. I thought I would be lucky to be up even 2 or 3 pounds, but only 0.6? It's miraculous. I didn't track while in Vegas because I honestly forgot my WW points tracker and guide back in Hawaii! I even bummed an extra tracker off a friend so I'd be covered during my entire trip. I was so upset with myself. So, I forgot about tracking and went to town on the buffets and late-night/early-morning meals.

I didn't think we did a lot of walking, but now that I think about it, we never really stayed in one place for very long. I'm sure that was the secret.

My goal for this coming week is to lose 2.4 pounds! I'm sure I can shed more of the Las Vegas weight this week and, if I lose 2.4 pounds, I'll be down 15 pounds total and will earn 1 more gold star for my WW bookmark! I'll need to take a photo of my bookmark and current stars so you all know what the heck I'm talking about! :P

My SIL's Wedding Day

Here are some photos I took at my SIL's wedding. These were taken with a Canon 40D body and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens.

WW Encouragement

Shortly after I reached 10 pounds lost, I received this postcard in the mail. It's not much, but I found it very exciting! :P

What the F#@*

I have no idea what I did to my neck. I felt really tired last night so I went to lie down for a bit before tidying up the kitchen. The pain hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so stiff when I got up this morning. I'm home today because of the pain and the headache it's causing. :(

My SIL's Wedding Rehearsal

Photos I took at my SIL's wedding rehearsal this past Saturday.
Location: Byodo-In Temple, Kaneohe, Hawaii

Almost there!

I did an unofficial weigh-in today. :P We weren't able to weigh in at our meeting today. The scale was inoperable and the meeting leader didn't have a back-up scale with her. I was bummed because I had a feeling I did really good this week! I have the option of attending another meeting tomorrow night, but, eh.... So, I weighed myself on my home scale. I wasn't sure how accurate it was so I took our brand new 10 pound bag of unopened rice and stepped on the scale with it. It weighed in at 10.2 pounds. Pretty good, right? So, I'm calling my weight 135.2 for today, which is a loss of 2.4 pounds from last week. After 12 weeks of WW, I'm still chugging along....

Chugging Along....

I'm down another 0.6 pounds this week, bringing my total loss to 11 pounds! I was sure I had gained this week. We had a luncheon for my SIL at Sam Choy's BLC (Breakfast, Lunch and Crab) on Saturday. I had a veggie wrap, but then went nuts on the french fries. Then, we had dinner at my in-laws' on Sunday night. I always eat way too much because my MIL always makes SO MUCH FOOD! You can overeat just by having a little bit of everything. What was on the menu? Spaghetti, garlic bread, ribeye steak, hot dogs, Portuguese sausage, green salad, chips, salsa, boiled peanuts, grilled shrimp, apples and cantaloupe.

I did okay on Monday. I made some chili and rice for dinner (6 points total). Last night, Brian and I both came home late from work. We decided to go to a nearby Japanese restaurant for dinner. I was in the mood for some comfort food and ordered the chicken sukiyaki. It was delicious and the portion was generous. I ate the whole thing! I have no idea how many points it was, but it was chock full of veggies and I passed on the white rice. I'm actually craving it again!

The first step toward becoming a lifetime WW member is to achieve a weight that is within the range for my height (or outside the range with a doctor's note). The "range" they speak of is based on that stupid BMI. At 4 feet 10-1/2 inches, the absolute maximum I can weigh according to the BMI and still be considered "Normal" is about 122 pounds. That's another 15 pounds!!! The last time my weight was down that low was probably in early high school...14 years ago?! Aah, we'll see where I stand once I reach my 10% goal and go from there. :)

Etsy Addict

It's terrible. Here's what I've purchased...all within about 20 minutes. I had been contemplating it for about a week and then, at the urging of Brian to pamper myself, I bought these (not all for me, BTW):

From Etsy seller JPATPURSES (I LOVE her stuff and am a repeat customer)


The listing for this one no longer works so I could only snag this tiny photo...it does not do the fabric justice!





From Etsy seller Momistyle




I am in LOVE with this "Kiku" fabric!



"Tsumami" flower



Fabric-covered buttons that act as ponytail holders!

A Visual

This is how my weight loss looks to date:

My Weight Chart:


I think that's a pretty good downward trend. :)

I've reached a milestone!

As of today, I am 10.4 pounds closer to my goal!!! I really can't believe it. I've got 3.6 more pounds to go until I achieve my first big goal of a 10% weight reduction.

I haven't been updating as often as I said I would. I've been dealing with some personal issues surrounding the 1st anniversary of my Grandma's passing. It's some pretty heavy emotional stuff that I won't get into. I am feeling better, though. I would have normally turned to food for comfort during such a time, but because of WW, I've had to actually deal with my feelings as opposed to eating a cupcake for temporary relief. Pretty interesting stuff.

I lost 0.2 pounds each of my two previous weigh-ins. 0.2 pounds?! It was initially discouraging, but I tried to stay positive. At least it was -0.2 pounds and not +0.2 pounds, right? A loss is still a loss, no matter how you look at it. :)

I was a bit more diligent this week, but I did eat until I was uncomfortable when we took my Grandpa to Ushio-Tei's all-you-can-eat buffet at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort. Somehow, I still managed to lose. Something else I did differently this week? I started eating yogurt again and cut back on the broccoli. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Maybe I was getting too much fiber from the broccoli? Maybe I wasn't getting enough calcium without the yogurt? Maybe my body just needed a little jump-start by changing up my food? Who knows. :P

Today was the last meeting of my very first 10-week session and I'm down 10.4 pounds. I lost about 1 pound per week! I'm actually quite shocked at the results I've achieved. I went into this with cautious optimism...who am I kidding? I was downright skeptical! But, it has worked. I think I'm also shocked because I haven't "suffered" as much as I thought I would need to in order to lose the weight. This tells me that I'm approaching WW with the right attitude. It's a LIVE-it, NOT a DIE-t! Rather than depriving myself and being overly-restrictive, I'm making changes that I can live with for the long term. I want to be able to sustain this loss once I've reached my ultimate goal (I'd love to get down to 110 pounds, but think I may look malnourished...I'd be ecstatic with 120 pounds).

This is a great way to start my second 10-week session with renewed motivation. Maybe I'll lose another 10 pounds in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Halfway There!

Sorry folks...I've been slacking on the updates.

I gained 1 pound at last week's weigh-in. I think I actually lost last week, but I sabotaged myself by partaking in an "Aloha" luncheon for a co-worker who was leaving the shipyard for greener pastures. I didn't want to be a party-pooper so I ordered the Makino-Chaya fifteen (yes, FIFTEEN!) item bento that everyone was getting. Yikes. Of course, I could have eaten only half and saved the other half for the following day, but I really have ZERO self-control when it comes to Japanese food. The bento included a little bit of everything you could imagine...small quantities, but lots of different items: sushi rice, cone sushi, nishime, azuki bean, shumai, croquette, mochiko chicken, gobo, misoyaki butterfish, fried mahi (I think), shrimp tempura, gyoza...hehe, I forget the rest already!

Anyway, I met a friend for breakfast at the Naupaka Terrace buffet at the Ihilani. Absolutely heavenly! Buffets are this dieter's enemy, but, I really tried to have some self-control. I loaded up on fruits, but still had reasonable portions of breakfast potatoes, chicken-apple sausage, a tiny waffle with fresh berries and creme fraiche (instead of butter and syrup), and I couldn't stay away from the omelet station. I had a bell pepper, mushroom and hint-of-cheese omelet.

Then, we BBQ'd on Saturday and Sunday. Chicken tenders, ribeye, hot dogs, cantaloupe, watermelon, and a veggie platter.

I went waaaaay over on points during the weekend, but was surprisingly diligent during the rest of the week. It must have paid off because....

I "lost" 4.2 pounds this week!!! I say "lost" because I think I actually must have lost some of those 4.2 pounds last week, but it didn't show at weigh-in because I was engorged with Makino-Chaya. :P

It's crazy, but, as I mentioned in a previous post, the more weight I lose, the more afraid I get that I won't be able to keep it off. It's a weird feeling. It's my innate pessimistic attitude rearing its ugly head. I think I'm going to have to start incorporating actual exercise soon. I've lost the weight so far by just tracking and being a bit more active around the house. Some of the members exercise for at least an hour every day of the week at the gym. Hmm, I don't think that's for me, but Brian and I could probably go walking around the neighborhood a few times a week (if it's not raining--we live in Mililani, afterall).

Anyway, my new favorite foods have been fresh, steamed broccoli (0 pts), blueberries (1 pt), Healthy Choice Fudge Bars (only 1 pt) and Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop 94% Fat Free Butter Popcorn (1 pt for 6.5 cups)! Need to buy more broccoli and blueberries...I'm addicted! The WW challenge for this coming week is to try a fruit or vegetable that you've never had before or haven't eaten in a really long time and report back on it at next week's meeting. I have NO idea what to pick! Need to hit up the supermarket and browse. Any suggestions?!

Chugging along!

I'm 0.2 pounds away from 5 pounds lost! Yipee! I'm shocked, really. I would have been thrilled with maintaining after the 4th of July I had! Yikes...I totally went overboard and even made myself sick from buffalo wings. :P

It moved again!

I lost another 1.2 pounds this past week!

I still feel like my moods are better. Again, I'm not sure if that's coinciding with work stresses, but I even have a better outlook at work. Things that I'd normally have a meltdown about aren't as upsetting to me.

I've noticed that my gut is shrinking and my jeans are getting loser in the thigh areas!

My digestion has been great. I kind of assumed that my eczema would improve if I began to eat better. No such luck just yet. :( I'm still itchy. The summer heat is not helping.

My energy level is slightly lower this week, but, without getting into details, there's a perfectly good reason for that. :)

I'm surprised at how much I used to NOT do before WW. The mere fact that I'm planning meals ahead of time and preparing healthy snacks for the following day has increased my daily activity level quite a bit.

I'm really surprised that I don't feel deprived. Don't get me wrong, I'm not eating like I used to, but, to be honest, I really don't miss it that much. I ate chili for dinner last week, spaghetti with meat sauce over the weekend, and chicken katsu (all homemade) last night. I'm just controlling my portion size and cutting back on my white rice consumption--I'm struggling to let go of it completely!

I sometimes find myself wondering if I'll be able to keep this up. The progress I'm making is kind of scary, if that makes any sense to anyone. I'm excited about the changes I'm seeing, but I'm also worried I won't be able to maintain it.

When I start to feel overwhelmed, I try to step back and remind myself to take all of this one day at a time.

The Palm Tree Moved!

I had my weigh-in today and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I lost 2.6 pounds this past week!!! :D I would write more, but I need to have a snack. I'm getting hungry....

WW 1:1

I thought it might be fun to share what I've eaten with you all. Here's what I ate during Week 1 Day 1, along with their points:

Breakfast
Plain Instant Oatmeal, 1 packet (2)
Coffee (0--I think this is what did me in on the first day. I've since decided to lay off the coffee)
Equal sweetener (0)
Non-dairy creamer, 1 Tbsp. (1)

Lunch
Lean Cuisine (6--can't remember which flavor)
Leftover Chicken Salad, ~2 Tbsp. (1--I was desperately hungry!)

At-Work Snack
Mixed Vegetables (0)
Edamame, 5.5 oz. with shells (2)

Dinner
Homemade Chili, 1/2 c. (4)
Cheddar Cheese, 1/4 c. (3)

After-Dinner Snack
After going to see "The Hangover", we went to Zippy's since Brian hadn't had dinner yet. In the land of Portuguese Bean Soup and Plate Lunch, I ordered:
Fruit Salad, couple of pieces each of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries (2)
Tossed Salad, greens + mushrooms (0)
Ginger-Sesame Dressing, 1 Tbsp. (1)

Points Target = 19
Points Total = 21
Points Balance = -2 (I went 2 points over my limit for the day)

Update!

Okay, so I haven't been as religious with the updates as I had hoped to. But, I promise to get better.

Things are going better than expected so far. Day 1 was SUPER HARD as you can tell from my last post. :P I think my body was going into shock and I wasn't very well prepared with snacks.

I've noticed a few changes to my energy level, mood and overall well-being, all positive. :)

I assumed that since I'd be eating less food/healthier food, I'd have less energy. Strangely enough, I've felt pretty darn good this week. I'm not nearly as tired/sluggish as I usually am. It's difficult to explain....

My mood has also been better. I feel more positive than I've felt in a really long time. This change in mood has coincided with a slow week at work and my boss being out, but I think the fact that I'm doing something positive for myself must have something to do with it.

My digestion has greatly improved! It's not uncommon for me to have indigestion and an upset bowel (TMI!). I also haven't had a migraine in about a week (also unusual).

Being on the program hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. I won't lie and say I'm never hungry, but at least now when I think I'm hungry, I actually take the time to think about it and make some educated food choices. Am I really hungry or do I just need to drink a little water? Should I have some carrots or a cupcake? The awareness has been great. I'm mostly still eating what I'd normally eat, but I'm keeping my portion sizes in check and am trying to incorporate filling snacks into my days.

Tomorrow is my first weigh-in! I'm excited. Even if it turns out I haven't lost any weight this first week, I know I'm doing the right thing by sticking with it. Hopefully the weight loss ticker will have moved a bit come this time tomorrow!

O.M.G.

I am so hungry.

WeightWatchers: Week #1

I went to my first official WW meeting today after work. It was somewhat overwhelming! I'm sitting here at home and don't have a clue as to what to eat. I got a lot of literature so maybe it's a matter of getting caught up on some of the reading.

I weighed-in today and...ugh.

WW points range: 18-44
My WW points allowed per day: 19!!!

(These points are based on your current weight, sex, age, height and how active you normally are during the work day.)

Anyway, I don't know how I'll be able to keep my daily eating to 19 points. I'm pretty sure I must be eating at least twice that right now. :P

My personal goal was to lose 15 pounds, but I think aiming to lose 10 pounds during this 10-week program will be a huge accomplishment. I'm going to change my weight loss ticker right after I post this. I think seeing my weight in actual numbers on the ticker might be a bit more meaningful to me than how many pounds I've lost. I initially wanted to keep my real weight a secret, but, ah, what the heck. You can tell I'm packing a few extra pounds just by looking at me so who am I kidding. ;)

Note: Okay, I just changed the ticker to pounds. I can't even remember the last time I weighed 134 pounds. Probably in high school or early college. Yeah, probably 10 years ago.)

I really wish that one of my co-workers decided to join so we could motivate and support each other during the week. No such luck, but I do know other people in my "class". I may need to call on them during the week!

On a side note, can you believe that I'd have to weigh 120 pounds in order to be at the highest end of a "normal" weight range according to the BMI?

Well, DAY 1 of this journey starts tomorrow....

Happy Birthday, Steven!

Today, my baby brother turned 24 years old. Where is the time going? The years are just flying by....

Love you, Steven! :D


circa 1989...oh gosh, 20 years ago?!


March 2007

Camera Porn

Hehehehehe....

It is done.

Oh boy. Late last night, I spent more on a camera lens than on my monthly mortgage!

I've been eying this lens for quite some time. Perhaps since last fall? I can't recall exactly when the coveting began, but this is a HUGE purchase for me. I'm glad Brian let me indulge. I'm excited for the lens to get here so I can get ample practice in before my SIL's wedding in September.

Next on the upgrade list is a camera body. I wanted the Canon 40D, but it looks like the camera body has been discontinued. However, it's still available with body/lens kits. Eh, once the shock of this latest lens purchase wears off (our last major camera purchase was 18 months ago), Canon will probably be introducing yet another camera body.

Introducing...

...the weight loss ticker!

I suck

I'm a really crappy blogger. I was thinking of starting a new topic-specific blog, but, eh, may as well stick with this one.

I hate the drab color of the background, but Brian likes it. I changed in a little while back and he noticed. :P He doesn't even post on here!

I joined Weight Watchers yesterday! Yay for me! And what did I do after the Open House meeting? I went to Mililani Mauka Genki Ramen and had a big plate of beef curry and rice. :P The 10-week program doesn't actually start until next Wednesday. I'm indulging while I can and will probably have a "Last Supper" of sorts on Tuesday night.

I've never done anything quite this formal, nor public, when it comes to my weight. I've tried losing on my own a few times, but always fell off the wagon. I decided to take the plunge with WW because my employer's wellness program is sponsoring it. Meetings are right after work, AT WORK, every Wednesday. My health insurance takes care of a portion of the program cost. I only pay $63 total for this first 10 weeks. How could I NOT give it a chance?

I'm hoping the meetings help. I've worked with many of the WW members in the past and they were so supportive yesterday! I also figure I've got some degree of financial incentive to make this work.

I haven't set an official weight loss goal, but given that I'm currently at my all-time heaviest, I'd like to get back down to where I was 5 years ago. That's 15 pounds! Doesn't sound like a lot, right? Well, it's a lot for my 4 foot 10-1/2 inch (yes, every half-inch counts!) frame. It's so funny though. I wasn't even happy with my weight back then. These days, I long to be where I was.

I've accepted that I'll NEVER be a skinny mini. My goal is to lose a reasonable amount of weight and to feel healthier.

I'm hoping to chronicle my 10-week journey right here! Stay tuned....

"Udgy" (pronounced oo-jee)

Here's the urban dictionary definition of the word, but here's my description....

To me, udgy is when you're walking to check the mail after a long day at work, and a truck full of sweaty Filipino yardmen (or "landscape technicians" as I'm sure they like to be called) slows down alongside you, honks its horn prompting you to become startled and turn around, and then proceeds to laugh and cat call. Yes, that is udgy.

Mini Burgers

Have you seen the commercial for the Jack in the Box Mini Sirloin Burgers? The one with the mini cowboys singing the jingle? Brian loves the song and commercial.


How about the McDonald's Filet-o-fish commercial?


I thought the McD's one was annoying at first, but it was very effective marketing as I couldn't get that song out of my head! I wonder how McD's FoF sales changed as a result of this commercial. I mean, the FoF has been around for years. I wonder if this commercial helped at all.

Funny how the other fast food chains are now playing catch-up to McD's catchy little jingle. Even Burger King has that "square butt" one. Now I find that one annoying and a bit inappropriate. :P

So, the point to all of this was that Brian and I had homemade mini burgers for dinner tonight. I made them using lean ground beef, some stale bread that was sitting in our fridge, an egg, mushroom gravy mix and some garlic salt. We didn't have hamburger buns or rolls so we ate the mini burgers between a Roman Meal bread slice cut in half, along with a slice of American cheese and some ketchup...God I love ketchup.

I've felt a bit pudgy since the holidays. I can't seem to shake the weight I gained. It's a few pounds, but a few pounds on my frame is A LOT! Ugh. I only had 1 mini burger. I planned to have some vanilla ice cream after my burger, but that never happened. It's for the best, I suppose.

I suck at blogging

Geez, it's been nearly 1 month since my last post. I wonder if my crappy blogging habits are a direct reflection on how I view life. I think our life is pretty boring. Perhaps I'm not looking at life with the correct perspective. I'm not really good at making weird, boring or random things seem interesting. I think I need to re-evaluate this whole blog thing....

Our Wedding Teaser

Our 2nd anniversary is this Wednesday! I can't believe how quickly time is flying.

(The uploaded video is so tiny!)

Featured in an Etsy Treasury!

I'm not sure how big of a deal this really is, but I'm just surprised that someone actually stumbled upon on of my items and felt compelled to feature it in an Etsy Treasury. I'm hoping this will be good for exposure. :)

Etsy Store Open for Business!

Finally. Hehe, I've only got 1 item listed, though. :P

I Did It!!!

Well, I sorta did it.

Nothing is listed my store yet, as I still need to set my shop policies and figure out if I'm going to offer international shipping. The thought of international shipping overwhelms me, but the Etsy forums say it ain't so bad. There are so many aspects to this endeavor, which is not good for an over-analyzer like me. I keep thinking of every possible thing that can go wrong and the associated risks.

I went to the store today to buy some shipping supplies, including a 25 pack box of bubble mailers. As I stood in the aisle, considering all the packaging options, I thought, "Crap, am I really going to do this?" I ended up at the checkout line with the bubble mailers so I guess I really am doing this! :P

Thanks for all of the encouragement. I apologize for being noticeably absent from e-mail and other various forums I used to frequent. This, along with work and waiting and waiting for things to start moving with our refi, has been consuming my waking hours.

Need some suggestions

I know I don't have a huge readership, but I'm struggling to come up with a potential Etsy store name! It needs to be memorable, practical and relevant.

I've been using "Handmade by Nicole"...well, that's what my custom rubber stamp says, anyway:


So, we could do:

HandmadeByNicole
CardsByNicole
808Cards
808Embossing
EmbossedByNicole

Yeah, that's about all my fried brain could come up with last night. Haven't given much more thought to it.

Any suggestions???

I'm out of practice

This took me 1 hour. :( How much would you be willing to pay for a card like this (4.25" x 5.5")? I originally thought $3/card, but with the amount of effort this one required tonight, I'm thinking $5.


Retirement card for my first "real" boss, David Stock. This man has devoted 40+ years of his life to our United States Navy. He's a great guy and he will be missed as he begins a new journey of travel, golf, and spending time with family. :)

I got an e-mail today!

Dear Nicole,

We are always happy when people use our stencils just as you are doing. Please enjoy handcrafting your creations in your card making business.

Best wishes for success and Mahalo for sharing your blog spot address so I could enjoy seeing them.

Kindest regards,
Lynell Harlow of Dreamweaver Stencils

So, is this it? I have permission?

I did a lot of research on Etsy today! Yeesh, setting up an Etsy store is not as easy as I thought it would be, especially for an overly-analytical person like me. Store names, sale price, shipping charges, paypal transactions, associated fees, etc.

About those fees, here's a breakdown:
Etsy
Listing fee: $0.20 to list an item for 4 months
Transaction fee for sold item: 3.5% of item sale price (excluding shipping charges)
For a $10 sale, that's $0.55

Paypal
Transaction fee: $0.30 (flat fee) + 2.9% of transaction amount (includes shipping charges, I think)
For a $10 sale (assuming shipping is included in that price), that's $0.59 for a total of....

$1.14 total fees for a $10 sale.

I hate that feeling of being nickel-and-dime'd. :P

Anyway, it's late and I'm Etsy'd out. Need to sleep. Gotta work tomorrow. I'm glad it's a short week. :) Have a good one!

Etsy

Etsy is "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade". It's a neat little online shopping mall that I had heard of quite a while ago. I browsed a couple of times, but it never really interested me.

Dior brought it up to me again last May (yep, went back and found that e-mail!) and suggested I sell my dry embossed cards on the site. I was deathly afraid and never acted on the idea.

Long story short, I ended up on Etsy again last week and became hooked! So many items posted by so many talented people! It's mind-boggling, really. Anyway, as I browsed, I began to think, "Hey, if these people can do it, maybe I can, too."

So, I'm now contemplating opening an Etsy store. I've actually taken a huge first step, one that I probably should have taken a year ago. Since the dry embossing stencils I use are copyrighted designs, I need to ask the company for its permission to sell any products made using their stencils. So, I e-mailed them on Friday and am awaiting a response. Dior, I took your advice regarding the content of my request and am hoping for a positive outcome. :)

However, I'm not quite sure what the tax implications are if I start selling stuff on Etsy...how to report the income, expenses, etc. Guess I should consult a tax person about that one. Perhaps I won't want the hassle and will scratch the idea altogether.

Regardless, here are some fun things I found on Etsy.

Cute zipper pouches by Etsy seller JPATPURSES:


Blue Buds Harmony Large Flat Bottom Zipper Pouch
(I actually bought this one!)


Sakura Dynasty Little Zip Pouch
(I also bought this one for a co-worker's upcoming birthday)

And of course, you know I had to search for chrysanthemums. I wish I had known about Etsy while I was planning my wedding. Although it's priced at $105, this would have made an amazing wedding day accessory:


Ivory Silk Chrysanthemum Clutch lined in blue silk
by Etsy seller Red Ruby Rose

Quiet Valentine's Day

We don't "celebrate" Valentine's Day. We did for a couple of years, but that stopped about 7 years ago.

Today, we just bummed around the house after a long work week. I made spaghetti, Brian's favorite meal, and we enjoyed it with our favorite wine. Now, we're watching the UH Men's Basketball game. Brian is scaring Benny. Brian gets emotional when watching sports.

We were supposed to help grandpa pull weeds and clean up his yard, but ended up not going due to inclement weather in Pearl City. It was really overcast, drizzly, and gusty today. We'll try again tomorrow.

What's going on in The Bamboo Village?

Yikes! I'm really terrible at this blogging thing! My goal was to make it a daily (or at least, weekly) thing, but it's becoming monthly. Perhaps I need to increase readership. That might be added motivation to keep up...not that I don't appreciate the 2 or 3 of you who check here religiously. ;)

Like most of you, I've been in a funk since the new year started. I was hopeful for the first week of 2009, especially since I was looking forward for my boss to return to work. However, I've since been deflated and just can't get the motor running!

My boss was supposed to return part-time at the beginning of January. She showed up a couple of times for a couple of hours. Then, last Monday, she broke the news to me that she would be taking the rest of the year off...as in "See you next January!" As the only full-time person working on this shipyard-wide program, I am now the "Program Manager". O.M.G.

I could be coasting down the high road of optimism right now. However, I'm a closet pessimist and have been experiencing some selfish emotions. Afterall, I changed jobs with the understanding that I would be working for my boss, learning and being mentored by her. Now what?

Don't get me wrong. I understand why she's made this decision. I probably would have done the same thing. I think the way this was handled/broken to me just made the blow that much worse. Understandably, she was ecstatic that her extended leave got approved, but she never really acknowledged the impact this would have on others. It was kind of like, "Hehehe, see you, suckers!"

I'm not the type of person who values fortune and fame. Others would probably see this as a springboard for career advancement. I don't see it that way. I don't have those aspirations at this point. In case anyone is wondering, no, this is not a promotion of any kind. Same position/title/pay. That's fine. I don't want to enter the realm of "management"...not officially, anyway.

Like my wise friend, Dior, told me. It's okay to feel grumpy and selfish about it, at least for a little while. :) I'm not going to be in denial about how I really feel about the situation, but at some point, I need to accept it and move on. I'm still grateful and thankful that I have a job. :)

Okay, enough about that. What else...we bought a new refrigerator and are expecting to need a new washer/dryer in the near future. Last December, our water heater died. This year, the refrigerator started making some very scary sounds when the compressor shut off. I was afraid that the compressor wouldn't turn back on. I think the new refrigerator arrived just in time (this past Saturday). This one's Energy Star rated, which was another good reason to replace our ~15 year old Kenmore.

We also went to Kauai over the holidays. Ugh. Still need to upload photos and post reviews! It feels like and overwhelming task!!! It was a nice getaway for me and Brian. I think we'll only need to go back to Kauai one more time since we didn't make it over to the west side. Long story short, I had motion-sickness for most of our travels. It was a nice change of scenery, but I was happy to return to the creature comforts of Oahu!

We are also seriously looking into refinancing. Our current mortgage is with American Savings Bank. In all honesty, we used them because the loan officer was a good friend of our realtor and we didn't know any better. This time, we're shopping around and, come to find out (as a result of my grandma's passing), my 2nd cousin works for a wholesale mortgage broker (808 Home Mortgage). My gut is telling me to go with 808 Home Mortgage. They've already given us more personal attention (perhaps because I'm "family") than ASB ever has. I think ASB is just too big, whereas 808 seems like a smaller operation. ASB just operates differently. I'm still not quite sure how their process works, whereas 808 has walked us through everything as if we were 4 years old, which we really appreciate. Oddly enough, though, I think ASB might be able to offer us a lower fixed interest rate. We'd be dummies to pass that up, even if their customer service isn't the best, right?

Since property values have plummeted, we're going to have to put down some substantial cash to refinance. 808 recommended putting 20% down to avoid paying private mortgage insurance (PMI) and to avoid any hassle due to the fact that our townhouse complex owner occupancy ratio is only 60% (most lenders require at least 70% owner occupancy for 80%+ financing). This could save us $1,000 per month, in addition to what we're already able save every month, even with our current mortgage. However, this would probably require us to drain our savings and borrow some money from my dad. Draining our savings is a super scary thought, but it could potentially save us paying $8,000+ in PMI over 5 years. Aaah, decisions, decisions....

Anyway, now I'm rambling. Dinner is calling my name...homemade chili...yummm....