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Today’s “treasure”…..

Anyone else out there a huge Tim Tebow fan? How about just fans of hot guys who have some morals? I haven’t even gotten to the article yet, but the cover photo of the September 2012 GQ Magazine brought a smile to my face when I saw it. Since I was a college Freshman, I’ve had a framed GQ cover of Troy Aikman hanging in the spare bedroom of every apartment (and now my house) that I’ve lived in. Troy – meet your replacement….

(Mental note – taking a webcam photo of the Tebow cover in front of your husband may be a bad idea as he’s now glaring at the magazine. He, he – oops!). This little beauty is on newsstands now!

Hello little blog! I've missed you!!

Wow!  It's really been almost 4 years since my last blog.  A lot has changed since then....

First of all, I no longer have my online jewelry business.  I brought me so much joy for several years, but the inspiration to create simply left me.  I sold most of my supplies on e-Bay and called it a day.  Maybe one day I'll be inspired again, but until then, I'll stick to buying and selling Lia Sophia (you can visit my website at http://sites.liasophia.com/sites/jewelryaddict) if you're interested in purchasing some goodies. 

My husband, Scott, and I will be celebrating our 4-year wedding anniversary on 9/27/12.  I would love to say marriage has been easy, but it's not.  It seems it's a never-ending negotiation process.  Right now, we're trying to figure out the plan God has for our lives....

Since my last blog, I gained 25 pounds and am now on a mission to loose that weight, as well as about 35 more.  I've been working out with a personal trainer and so far, have lost 12 of the desired 50 pounds.  I've been watching what I eat more, exercising 2-3 times a week (strength training and cardio), and logging my progress on this great little iPhone app I found called "Lose It".  You type in your height, weight, and how much you want to lose, and it tells you how many calories you should eat a day to reach your goal weight.  It says I can have 1452 calories per day, which is very do-able.  I'll keep you updated on my progress...

Most recently, I've discovered beauty boxes.  I just signed up for about 6 (or 8, but who's counting) of them and will post reviews of them next month when they start arriving (I'm so excited)!!  Why do this?  Because reading/viewing blogs and YouTube videos is how I decided which ones to sign up for.  So, if this little blog can help you find some great deals, then I'm all for it.

Welcome to my life!  May it bless you (or at least make you laugh from time-to-time)....

Cheers!
Stephanie

"Gallery" is Coming to my Shop!!

The wedding is over and the new house has come together nicely, so now it's time to get back to making some fabulous baubles!! I've been a jewelry making machine the past week or so, newly inspired and ready to go.

I'm happy to announce that I'm adding a "Gallery" section to my store within the next week or two. This section will feature higher quality gemstones and findings, as well as various items that took more time than usual to make or just have that special "flair" to them. Items in this section will be slightly more expensive than the other items in my shop, buy the quality and attention to detail will be WELL worth it! Enjoy!!

Happy Holidays to all!
Blessings,
Stephanie

Poor, Neglected Blog :0).....

Wow! I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted a blog entry.... As those of you who have read past entries know, this has been a really busy time for me (getting married in September, recently buying a house, and now having even more responsibilities piled on at work). I am happy to report though that I am still relatively sane :0).

Seriously though, things have been going really well. The wedding is now 6 weeks away and I am SO READY for it to be here! A few weeks ago I had my first bridal shower, which was so amazingly fun. It was held at an actual castle, which my aunt and cousin found in Sidney, Ohio. The theme was "a princess meets her prince" and my aunt thought of EVERYTHING!! It was so perfect! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!!!

I still haven't gotten on that nemesis of a treadmill, but I have lost 20 pounds simply by cutting out the pop (Pepsi used to be a comfort food of mine) and by cutting down somewhat on the amount of carbs I eat and with portion control. I've also been drinking LOTS of water. I'm fitting into clothes I purchased months ago and couldn't wear. I feel so much better!! The wedding dress is still going to have to be let out some, but I'm OK with it b/c I feel good about myself. :0)

I guess I have been getting a bit of a workout by painting my office - twice.... Since my dad can build a house with his bare hands from the ground (or basement) up, I mistakingly thought I had a God-given talent to do this little home project. Boy was I wrong!! First of all, I spent 3 hours primering the walls (b/c I didn't know primer didn't have to go on perfect). I later found out from my dad the walls didn't even need to be primered b/c the walls were a light tan color to begin with. Then, I quickly learned that just because the "Passion Pink" paint swatch from Lowe's looks good in a 1 1/2" x 3" swatch doesn't mean it's going to look good when you paint an entire room that color. It looked like a flamingo died in my office - literally. It was so awful that a week later, I began painting the office a red velvet color (AKA - deep berry-ish red). I'm now on my 2nd gallon of red paint (this is not a large office mind you) and regretting the morning I woke up thinking that touching my office with any color of paint would be a good idea!! I'm going to stick to making jewelry :0).

All that, along with writing out/mailing invitations and shower "thank you" notes, which I just finished yesterday, has kept me on my toes. Hopefully things will calm down now so I can enjoy the last 6 weeks leading up to Scott and I's wedding. Say your prayers :0)......

Blessings,
Stephanie

Great NEW Jewelry Creations Just Listed!!

As promised, I've been listing new earrings daily! Please stop by and check them out!! Also, I just placed several orders for new, beautifully unique beads. As long as the inspiration is there, the new jewelry creations will keep coming :0).

As always, THANK YOU for your patronage!!

Stephanie
Stephanie's Treasures

Better Late then Never...

I did it! I got on the treadmill the other day (not a week+ ago like I had hoped for). I told myself if I at least worked out for 20 minutes, I'd let myself go get a pedicure. My feet were hurting so bad from the shoes I'd been wearing (and I wanted the pedicure so bad to make them feel better) that I actually got on the treadmill and worked out for 25 minutes. Yeah!! In the mean time, I've been eating healthier and lost 4 pounds since my last blog entry. Not bad... 4 months until the wedding, so I need to keep going!! (Pray for me) :0).

I put some more earrings on my website today (and renewed a bunch of listings too), so don't forget to check them out. (I sat down and made about 15 pairs of earrings today that I'm really excited about, so please stop back in the days to come)....

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!

Stephanie

Found the Camera, Now I Need to Find Some Willpower...

The good news is that I found my camera and will once again be listing new jewelry on Etsy :0). I just listed a great pair of summery earrings that are LIGHTWEIGHT and FUN!!

Now I need to find some willpower to lose weight before my wedding in September. My dress has been ordered and it was purposely ordered a size smaller than the dress size I currently fit into (OK, so it's about an inch from zipping too) at the bridal shoppe. I intentionally am forcing myself to lose weight only b/c I know I won't be happy w/the photos of me in my dress at my current weight. (Let's just say I'm 65 pounds heavier than I was in college when I felt my "best"/"hottest").

The goal is reasonable - lose 25 pounds in the next 5 months. (Admittedly, when I was 65 pounds skinnier, my clavical bone and ribs stuck out. I was a bit TOO skinny at that time). That will put me at the weight I was when I met my fiancee 2+ years ago and I can live w/that. More importantly, my dress will fit :0). The problem is - I have ZERO, ZILTCH, MINUS ZERO motivation to work out. I hate working out!! Years ago, I was a competitive gymnast and worked out several days a week for hours at a time. I loved it then (b/c I felt healthy and fit), but loathe it now. I think the only way I'm going to be able to make myself do this is to be accountable. So, as embarrassing (and annoying to some) as this might be - I'm going to add bits about this journey to my blog. -And if anyone out there wants to be an accountability partner, let me know. We could support each other :0).

As far as today goes - on the way back from the bridal shop, I kept telling myself I was going to get on my treadmill. Once I got home though, I decided it was a nice, sunny day here in Ohio and I wanted to tan my legs on the back deck. So I did. But I didn't eat the ice cream bar or drink the Pepsi that's in my fridge/freezer. Eating better is half the battle, so I will give myself props for successfully sticking to that part of the plan today. Tomorrow, my goal is to get on the treadmill or take a walk around my neighborhood for at least 30 minutes. I'll keep you posted....