Spice up your sprinkles!

I remember how excited I was to get married. There were many things that contributed to this excitement. One of the biggies was, of course, the registry. We had the fun of going around stores, armed with scanners, picking items that we “needed”. Everyone remembers how fabulous it is (mostly the ladies…all the men I have talked to dread it). Anyhow, I just HAD to have a spice rack. I assured my husband that since we were getting married we would spend a lot more time cooking and this would be PERFECT!

Well, almost five years later, I have come to the realization that we do not NEED the spice rack. We have only used a handful of spices and the others have gone bad. Did you know spices have an expiration date? I recently found that out! Well, being that the spices were expired, it was time to throw them out. So here I was with this great rack of little glass jars. What was a girl to do?

I soaked and cleaned the jars to rid them of the smell of various herbs and spices. I let the jars dry completely and then I filled them with all of my fabulous sprinkles and colored sugars. Not only does this provide a great storage for all of there items, it keeps them organized AND it looks great sitting on my counter. It adds a nice touch of color to my baking area.

Think twice before you toss out your spice racks! I am sure there are a ton of other uses, such as keeping small, misc crafting supplies like buttons, paper clips, safety pins, etc. What would you use it for?

Get Your Craft On!

One of my goals is to do something for ME once a week. Whether it be cake, cook a new dish, crafts or various projects. All too often, I think we forget to stop and spend time on ourselves. Life gets in the way and we no longer become a priority to ourselves. Well, Im moving myself to the top of the list.

Today I was inspired to do a craft which I have had my eye on for a few weeks. There is this super cool felt flower throw pillow that I saw on www.thecraftingchicks.com that I fell in love with. I have been wanting to do it, but getting to the fabric store was never a priority. Well, I made it one today! It didn’t turn out perfect, but it is still pretty cool. I would make my flower a little smaller (A LITTLE) next time so you can see more of the pillow coloring in the background. I am going to make a few more. The sad part is, I can’t put them out on the couch or bed because my puppy Penny will eat them. So for now, my new crafted pillow is acting as a piece of décor on my shelf!

(Got the pillow part sewn, Cutting out all of the pedals that start as circles)


(Glued on all the pedals, before the stuffing)

It is super easy and took me about an hour and a half from start to finish. I expect my second go round to go faster. I will make my next one black with a hot pink flower and then just an all black one. For step by step instructions, visit http://thecraftingchicks.com/2011/01/felt-flower-pillow-2.html



(Done! The pic makes the bottom look funny, but it is fine!)

Happy Crafting!

Happiness in less then a minute

A friend recommended a book, the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Actually, she heard the intent of my blog and asked if I had read the book. It sounded very similar to my goal of improving myself and my being. Well, I had not read the book, much less heard of it. Once mentioned, I went to my local book store and purchased a copy. The author has made a resolution of becoming happier in all aspects of life. Work, family, leisure, etc. One of her personal goals was that if she could accomplish something in one minute or less, not to put it of, but to do it NOW.

This stuck with me. I find myself more often then not, putting off things. Whether it is putting away the laundry, throwing away my wrappers, filing papers, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to do it now, so I put it off until later. This way of thinking has led to years of getting frustrated with clutter, having to pick up my “messes”, etc. It has let to cranky moods, the hubby being upset by my lack of enthusiasm to clean, etc.

Could it be as simple as doing something NOW that takes less then one minute? I mean, come on. One minute is not that much time. What could you possibly get done in one minute that would have any kind of impact? I immediately put this into effect for every thing in my life….replacing the T.P., putting my shoes away, throwing the ridiculous amount of advertisements that come in the mail away instead of letting them pile up on the counter because I “might” look at them later, load the dishes in the dish washer, etc.

Can I tell you how amazing this has been? This has TOTALLY reduced the amount of clutter we get, the amount of time we spend cleaning up items, and kept us a little more sane. I put my blow dryer and make up away after getting ready instead of leaving it out for tomorrow. This makes my bathroom look SOOO much nicer, making me feel better because it looks clean and pretty! The items I set aside for recycling….well, they make it into the recycling bin that night. The items that I set on my desk because I don’t know what to do with them…they find a home….the right home.

It is kind of amazing how keeping on top of small tasks can lead to eliminating some tasks all together. I find myself walking by an item or task, thinking in my mind, “I could do that in less then a minute”. I turn myself around and put the item away or complete the task. Even just walking into the kitchen and not having ANY dishes on the counter because I have taken the time to put them in the dishwasher gives me a great feeling of satisfaction.

So, it seems, even the smallest of things can have amazing impacts. Give it a try. See how it feels. It only takes a minute ;) You can learn more about the Happiness Project at www.happiness-project.com

Kicking one of my many addictions....

I am addicted to television. I mean I really LOVE TV. I love watching funny shows, educational shows, dramas, etc. You name it, I watch it. My FAVORITE shows happen to be crappy reality TV. Jersey Shore, the Bad Girls Club, the Housewives of any damn city, back in the day, Flava flave..i think you get the idea. I love it. I think I secretly wish I could behave as badly as they do and have no repercussions. Ah, to be a crazy, easy alcoholic…

Since I was in middle school, I have had a TV in my room. This hasn’t caused me to spend an obscene amount of time in my room, but it has kept me up late, sometimes very late. My bedtime routine, well, honestly, I don’t have one. I crawl into bed, sometimes I’m tired, sometimes I’m not, and I watch TV. I watch it, and watch it and watch it. I am one of those folks, much to my husband’s dismay, that falls asleep with my TV on. He wakes up in the middle of the night to turn it off. If I am only half asleep, and not even watching it, I scold him for turning it off. Perhaps I enjoy the background noise and the comfort of the Bad Girls Club girls yelling at one another over missing hairspray and hooking up with their boyfriends.

One thing is for sure, I stay up WAY past my bedtime watching TV. Sometimes I will watch crappy shows that I have already watched because I am bored. If I missed a show, instead of recording it to view another day, I will stay up extra hours to catch it. So one of my latest self projects was to remove the TV from our bedroom allowing me to not only go to sleep at a decent time, but to get quiet, sound sleep. Oh yeah, also so my husband can have peaceful sleep as well! I also read somewhere that you tend to communicate with your spouse more without a TV in the room. This way, as you lay in bed, you are forced to chat, vs watching Basketball Wives.

I’ve had the TV out of the room for two nights so far. It is kind of nice to have an actual bedtime routine. I am going to bed because I am tired and want to go to sleep. Because I don’t hit the pillows till I am sleepy, I have had no problems getting right to sleep. So this should contribute to a more rested, happy, healthy Shannon! I’ll keep you posted if the TV mysteriously returns back into my room!
Am I alone here? How many of you DO NOT have TV’s in your rooms?

I Think ALL My Pants Shrunk!

Okay, so, most people have New Year’s resolutions that revolve around weight loss, being healthy, etc. Well, I am no different. Somehow, over the last year and a half I packed on 25 pounds (give or take a few). I am at my heaviest weight I have ever been. Now, I say “somehow”, as if I am unaware how or why the weight came, and came, and kept coming. Could it be my sudden decrease in working out? How about my decisions to eat fast food almost every day for lunch? Or enjoying an Arby’s milkshake before bed as a reward? I slowly realized that my pants were a little more snug, I didn’t feel as fabulous in my little black dress and I had developed what most of us know as a muffin top.

Once I started packing on the pounds, instead of doing something about it, like working out, eating healthier, etc, I just seemed to get more depressed and eat more, exercise less, etc. I use to love to get dressed up to go out with friends. Getting dressed now just put me in a foul mood since nothing fit. I didn’t look good, I didn’t feel good and it started to reflect in my attitude.

So it is now my goal to make healthier lifestyle choices. Whether it is food, activities, etc, I am going to make a choice to live healthier overall. I decided that I am not going to be obsessed about weighing myself of the dreaded scale. I have had a love/hate relationship with scales. One day they are your best friend. A few days later they turn on you. I will weigh myself tomorrow morning and then only once a month after that. I figured I could tell how I am doing weight wise better by monitoring how my clothing is fitting.

So I am finding fun and exciting ways to live healthier. Thanks to Groupon I have some fitness pole dancing classes coming up, Bikram Yoga and a fabulous body boot camp. Perhaps I will buy a shake weight....nope, not that desperate. I am also seeking out healthy recipes to try and I am going to start hitting my local farmers market. I am dedicating Wednesdays as “Wellness Wednesdays”. Each Wednesday I will fill you in on my latest healthy lifestyle changes, challenges, accomplishments, failures, how my pants are fitting, etc. Once I reach my goal, I will share with you all (if you dare to look) my before and my after photos! Uggg.

Thanks for coming on my journey with my!

De Clutter Phase 1

It has been a little while since my last post. But I SWEAR, I have been super busy in a big, beneficial way. I spent the last week de-cluttering and purging my house of unused, unneeded and unwanted items. I LOVE stuff. I love to buy stuff. I love to get stuff. All kinds of stuff. Kitchen stuff, entertainment stuff, clothing, shoes, accessories, etc. Buying stuff makes me happy (a completely separate issue I am working on).

I knew we had a lot of stuff that we didn’t use or need, but I didn’t really know the extent of it until I started to go through our whole house and garage. OMG! So much stuff. Stuff that still has the price tags on it because it has never been used. That fondue pot that I HAD to have? Well, I got it 6 years ago. Guess how many times I used it? 0! Still in the box unused!

The worst part of the house was my closet. I have a tendency to buy clothes and never wear them. I purchase them because I fall in love with them at the store. Once I get home, I realize I have nothing to wear them with or that they looked much cuter on the size 0 mannequin. So they go to the back of my closet and I forget about them. OR I tell myself that someday, I will wear them. If clothes don’t fit, I put them in the back of my closet and tell myself, someday, I will wear them.

I tried EVERY item on that I had in my closet. If it didn’t fit, I hadn’t worn it in the last year, or it didn’t make me FEEL great, I put it in the get rid of pile. There were a few items that I could not bear to get rid of yet, but it became easier and easier to get rid of items. It started to feel GOOD. I had a little more trouble with the shoes, but I think I did pretty well.

Overall, it felt great to get rid of stuff. That’s all it was…stuff. It had no meaning, no purpose. It took up space and it felt freeing to decide I did not need these items to make me happy. It’s amazing how much clutter you can accumulate until you see it all piled up in boxes. We starred at it in amazement realizing that all that STUFF was once scattered across our house.

I would also like to mention that my junk brought in a little over $400 in 3 hours at a yard sale we had on Saturday! Now, I would love to use that money to do buy more stuff..but I wont. In the savings account it went. But the feeling of accomplishment, cleanliness and satisfaction is still hear with me. Now, to just de-clutter my LIFE ;)

I challange you to take a few days and de-clutter your home!

Mi Familia

One of my goals this year is to reconnect with my family. My folks live in New Mexico and my sister and her family are located in California. We typically see each other just once a year for the holidays. I chat with my mother on the phone maybe once every two weeks….maybe. My sister and I typically only chat on the phone if there is a special occasion. There were a few recent events that made me realize that I not only need better relationships with my family, but I WANT better relationships with them.

My sister recently got married. I found myself a little jealous and saddened when I realized what amazing friends she has. I wasn’t sad that she had great friends, I was sad that her friends knew her better then I did, they had inside jokes with one another, they knew each others favorite drinks. They KNEW EACHOTHER. It made my heart heavy and made me remember back in the day when I knew everything there was to know about my sister. I knew what drove her crazy, I knew what her favorite food was and who her favorite basketball player was. Even though we spent most of our high school days arguing with one another and rolling on the floor with one another in headlocks, we knew each other, we loved each other and we would do anything for each other.

My second eye opener came during Christmas. It was a little disturbing that I had no idea what to get any of my family for Christmas. I didn’t know what they were currently into, what their hobbies were, and what style of clothing they were wearing now. I didn’t know what my nieces favorite colors were, what she enjoyed doing. I didn’t know. I had to buy each person a gift off of their list (which isn’t a horrible thing). I could not have completed my Christmas shopping without my family telling me who they are and what they like.

My visit home this year was one of the best I have had in YEARS. My sister and I did not fight with our mom, nor did we fight with each other. Some of you might not understand what a huge accomplishment this is for us. We are all free speaking, open, honest women and sometimes, having three of us together can be a bit much. Not this year. I don’t know what was different but we all were able to enjoy each other and appreciate each other. It was nice to have a conversation with them and not once did I imagine myself choking one of them out…..that is huge! I think the number of time my eyes rolled on this trip took a huge dive as well.


My niece and nephew have turned into two amazing, smart, talented, considerate and kind young adults, and I have missed most of it. That in itself is heartbreaking.

It made me realize that this is MY family. They have always been there for me. They love me unconditionally and always will. They have stood by me when my decisions were not always the best and they have celebrated achievements with me. I realize I need to know these people. These people helped create and mold me into the person that I am today. I am me because of them. I am committing to call my family at least once a week. This may drive my niece and nephew crazy having to chat with aunt Shannon that regularly, but you know what? Tough! I am also committing to making that 8 hour drive to Albuquerque more then once a year. And California…here I come!

I miss them, I love them, they are my family and family is forever!

A Closet Full of Nothing...

I had a super informative first image/style class with Dana Lam, from Does This Ponytail Make My Butt Look Big. We discussed the importance of looking good for other people, as well as, and especially for ourselves. When you look good, you feel good. You walk a little taller and feel a little more confident. We learned some great tips that can help you make wise shopping decisions that wont end up unworn in the back of your closet. We also talked about defining our style. I never new there were so many different types! I am still trying to figure out what category (or categories) I fit into.




My main frustration is the fact that I have a walk in closet FULL of clothing and shoes. I mean FULL. But every time (ok, most of the time) I walk in, I end up frustrated and upset because I “don’t have anything to wear”. This is insane! Did you know most people only wear about 10=20% of what is in their closet (Thanks for that fact Dana)? This happens for a few reasons.

First, when I am able to find something I like, I have no clue what to wear it with. Does this top go best with jeans or dress pants? What shoes would go best? High heels? Boots? Sandals? Don’t event get me started on accessories! I have so many amazing shoes that I have never worn because I don’t know what to wear them with. They just looked killer at the store!

Sometimes I spy something in my closet that I am super excited to wear. I put it on and it doesn’t fit! Either I gained weight, lost weight, just bought it knowing someday I would fit into it or just bought it because I loved it (without trying it on). That never leaves you with a good feeling. Excited to put something on, only to have your heart torn out because you can’t get it up over your butt, or if you do, there is no way in hell you are going to be able to button it….staple gun anyone?

Back to the accessories. I love accessories. They are so fun and add so much. I think I am scared of them. I have no clue what to pair with what. When is it too much? Hats, scarves, jewelry, etc. I love it. Every time I walk by displays with accessories, I fantasize for a few moments about me rocking this hat or those gloves, or these tights and then I walk away, a little sad, that I may never experience the joy of rocking them in real life…only in my mind.

I adore color. Again, I am a little afraid of it. The vast majority of my closet is black (I separate my clothing by color). A small sliver is white and then there are a few splashes of color here or there. I wear these sparingly, because quite frankly, I don’t want to overdo it. I don’t want to wear loud colors that call too much attention to me, make my skin look pale, etc. I would like to work on building a relationship with color…a positive one.

I hope to learn how to resolve most of these issues in this class. Next week we will learn about purging our closets. Getting rid of what we don’t wear, what doesn’t fit and what doesn’t make us feel fabulous. I have a feeling I will have A LOT of room in my closet after that!

I found my COLOR!

At work, all employees are to take the “True Colors” test. This test is designed to assist you in identifying your core values, motivations, sources of dignity, causes of stress, communication styles, social skills, learning styles, ethical behaviors and much more. This is a simple test that not only tells you a lot about yourself, but assists you with learning how to best communicate and work with other “colors”. After completing a simple test, you are scored and assigned a color. There are four colors- Gold, Orange, Green and Blue. Everyone has a primary color, secondary and so on. Once I found out what my colors were, I was able to learn about that colors strengths, weaknesses, communication styles, etc. So many of the traits were right on!

Gold folks tend to:
Follow the rules and respect authority
Conservative
Value home, family and tradition
They tend to be:Prepares, thorough, sensible, punctual, faithful, stable, and organized.

Orange folks tend to:
Act on a moments notice
Consider life as a game, here and now
Need fun, variety, stimulation and excitement
They tend to be:Charming, spontaneous, witty, impulsive, generous, impactful, optimistic, eager, courageous,

Green Folks tend to:
Seek knowledge and understanding
Need explanation and answers
Value intelligence, insight, integrity, and justice
They tend to be:Analytical, conceptual, calm, collected, logical, perfectionistic, hypothetical and investigative

Blue folks tend to:
Need to feel unique and authentic
Look for meaning and significance in life
Need to contribute, encourage and care
They tend to be:Enthusiastic, sympathetic, warm, compassionate, spiritual, flexible, imaginative


My primary color is Orange, followed by Blue, then Green, and lastly, Gold.

Orange attributes are playful, energetic, risk taker, test limits, creative, a natural entertainer and thrives on competition. Others perceive oranges as goofing off, scattered, immature, unable to stay on task. Famous oranges are/were Elvis, Johnny Carson, Clint Eastwood and Donald Trump. 38% of the population are oranges.

Attributes of my secondary color, blue, are optimistic, passionate, cause-oriented, motivate and encourage others and sensitive to the needs of others. Others perceive blue as very emotional, easily persuaded, weak, illogical and too trusting. Famous blues include Oprah and Gandhi. Only 12% of the population are blues.

What color do you identify with?
You can get more info on this at http://www.true-colors.com/

Ringing In the New Year

Wow. It is hard to believe that it is already 2011. I know I cannot be the only one asking where the heck 2010 went. I had a fabulous New Years and was able to spend it with some amazing people. We played board games, sang karaoke, played in the snow and had an opportunity to just enjoy hanging out in beautiful Prescott. I am ready to embrace this New Year and OWN IT!



I decided the perfect way to kick of my year of transformation would be something simple that would have a big effect and was long lasting. Clothing is a powerful thing. It can make you feel beautiful, confident and sassy or it can make you feel fat, ugly and insecure. I don’t know how many times I have stepped into my closet and felt as though I have nothing to wear. I have enough clothing for 3 people to wear. I just don’t know what to mix and match to make the perfect outfit for my body. Hence my usual jeans, v neck t-shirt and flip flops. You can tell a lot about a person by how they dress. It contributes to people’s first impression about you.

For these reasons, I will be taking a 5 week Image and Style Class offered by Dana Lam, Image Consultant with Does This Ponytail Make My Butt Look Big. This fabulous image consulting company is located in Phoenix, Arizona. They cover how to define your image and set style goals, basic elements every wardrobe should include, how to shop for and find the missing pieces in your wardrobe, how to work accessories to your advantage, how to maintain your look and much more. You can check out their website for more information on this class or Dana’s other services: www.doesthisponytailmakemybuttlookbig.com

The class starts this Wednesday and I am excited to see what I can learn and share with you! This is my first step towards my year long transformation of body, mind and soul. I thank you for following me on my journey to a better me!