Dec 30, 2014

Super cool Chatbooks!

In this day of digital everything I've been wondering what would happen if it were all to just stop working. You know it is just virtual. Plus, what photos are our great grandchildren going to look at?

I have such good intentions to print my photos and then put them in albums but somehow I never get it done. 

...then came Chatbooks! Chatbooks are totally new to me but I'm in love!
Chatbook works with Instagram to save your memories to nice, organized little photo books. The app is super simple and it works by organizing 60 photos in order from Instagram and organizes them on neat little pages with the date taken and the caption from that photo. Then to make it even cooler they send you one book a month or as you build up 60 photos. Oh yea and the cost??? Only $6 per book with free shipping!!! It doesn't get any better than that. 

I love how the spine of the book is printed with whatever you want but by default it's printed with the dates of the beginning and ending photos. 


So this is a public announcement of a super cool new product. 

photos taken from Chatbook Blog


siggy

Dec 28, 2014

2014 Weigth loss progress

Well 2014 is almost over and once again I haven't made it to my goal weight. Having said that, I'm awfully close!

I started the Atkins and gluten free lifestyle back in April and here I am at the end of the year and ready to report my "success". I know, it's not ultimate success but with weight loss there's never an ultimate success because it's a constant battle and journey to keep the weight loss off. But, I'm pretty proud of how far I've come this year and I'm looking forward to making it to goal in the next 4 months.

Right before we started this whole lifestyle change my sweet hubby took me to Salzburg, Austria for my birthday. I told you we're close to everything here! I love it! Anyhow, these are my official before photos and actually they are officials for both Johnny and me. We started together so these are a good indication of how far we've come.
Not sure if it's evident of not but I was in the 220s at this time. As much as I loved the trip I felt frumpy and uncomfortable the whole time. BTW, you know what's in that bag Johnny's holding?? Cronuts!!! Only the best donut/croissant mix ever! They were even filled with Bavarian cream and covered in sprinkels. TO DIE FOR! literally! If I had known I was about to start a major food overhaul I would have eaten three more! We're standing on the actual do-re-mi steps in A Sound of Music. If you wanna see more photos from my 41st birthday trip to Salzburg you can find me blogging about it here. A must see for Sound of Music fans.

This is our OFFICIAL before photo. I weighed 222 in this photo and that wasn't my highest. I had actually started at 235 and lost some and was on my way back up in this photo. 


I've always had a weight problem. Even when I was young and in school. I wasn't fat by any means but I was always larger than everyone else. In my head I was a fat girl and that never went away. 

So we started Atkins and I started eating gluten free for health reasons the end of March right after my 41st birthday. It was hard in the beginning but it's amazing how well low carb eating works if you don't cheat. It has taken me 9 months to lose 52 lbs and I still need to lose 20 but I'm super happy with the results. 

One thing Atkins promises is that you will lose more inches than weight and it is completely true! I weight more now than I did the last time I lost weight, I actually got to 167 but I wore a larger size in clothing then. I was following a low cal diet and while I weighed less I was bigger. Atkins works differently and it takes from fat stores first which makes your body physically leaner instead of losing muscle on a low cal diet. So I'm smaller now that I have been in 20 years. I'm in a large in most things and some mediums in others. I started in an 18/20 and in 9 months I'm down to a size 10 or Large. 

I will say, and if you looked closely at my weight chart above, the last 3 months have been extremely slow. I don't know what's going on. I don't cheat, I'm always on program but my body has just decided to take it slow. I was very bothered with it, since I'm a perfectionist and I usually like to get things done quickly but I realize now, this is a lifestyle. I'm never going back to eating the way I did and for more reasons than one. I can never eat gluten again, I am intolerant to it and it does terrible things to my joints and skin. Plus, gluten-free and low carb just go hand in hand so it's easy to live this way. Another thing is that I'm happy. I'm not at goal yet but I'm at a point that people actually tell me that I've lost enough. I always wanted to be here and now that I am it makes the slow losing more bearable to know that I look like I've lost enough. 

BTW, Johnny has lost 50 lbs also! He's in the best shape of our 24 year marriage and he's healthier than ever. 
So between the two of us we've lost more than 100 lbs since April. Johnny is maintaining and stays between 158-162 and i'm 170 as of today. We're both a year older but life has never been better. It's amazing what losing 50 lbs can do, not only physically but also the whole outlook on life.

One of my biggest fears has always been my husband's ministry as a missionary being cut short because of my health. I was so fearful and aware that any minute I could become sick and it would be my fault for not doing something about my weight. I'm thankful and glad to be at least trying my best to be healthy and if we have to ever leave the place that God has called us to work in, it's won't be because I neglected the body God gave me.

So there it is, the accumulation of 9 months of faithful eating and I'm pretty proud of it!! 9 short months have changed our lives and I know you can do it too. If you struggle with weight as 90% of us do, it's time to make a change. You can do it!!!

siggy

Dec 26, 2014

No Christmas at our House

This Christmas came and went so fast. I don't really mind though since we weren't all together. Our two oldest children are now living Stateside and we only have our 17 year old here with us. This is her last year and it was tougher than I thought it would be.

In general I'm not a very emotional person. I actually try very hard not to be a crier. I know it's all healthy and we should let emotions out but somewhere along the way I equated crying with weakness. I know it's not weakness and I never feel that way when others cry but when I cry I feel out of control and so I do my best not to if I can help it.

Anyhow, we were all busy getting ready for Christmas dinner and then while standing at the sink I realized this was my last year with my daughter. I hadn't thought that deeply into it until now and before I knew it I was crying. Are you kidding me! I hate crying! Here I was on Christmas, the happiest day of the year and I was whimpering an trying to figure out how to stop it. There I sit realizing I wasn't doing so well with this impending empty nest after all. Evidently, because of the spill of tears, my daughter's leaving was harder on me than I realized.

So the crying wasn't fun, but with all the consoling we came to a conclusion. This is our last Christmas here!! I mean, who wants to wake up to Christmas morning without children anyhow. What's Christmas morning without kids tearing up paper and squealing with delite over the hoped-for gift? The Christmas morning part of our American tradition of Christmas is for children. So what do you do if you're used to having children around and all of the sudden they leave? You travel!! We decided yesterday while drying tears that maybe things need to change now. Since all the other parts of our life are changing we might as well change the Christmas traditions around here too. So we're planning to save up and take a small trip for Christmas somewhere here in Europe. We're so close to everything and it will be nice to be away for Christmas next year. No cooking Christmas dinner for two or having to wake up Christmas morning to an empty house.

Don't get me wrong, we will celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our dear Lord Jesus at Christmas and all year long. But, I'm super excited about our future trips. I love my husband way too much and enjoy every moment we spend together so the idea of traveling and experiencing Christmas together is amazing.

So here's my short list! It's actually a list of Christmas markets around Europe. We've seen the Vienna Christmas markets and they were amazing. So why not see more.

1. Paris, France

2. Cologne, Germany

 3. Prague, Czech Republic

If you loved these you can see a list of the top 10 Christmas markets around Europe here at Europe's Best Destinations.

Anyhow, how all that crying got me fantasy trips around Europe, I'm not sure but I'm glad it did. I'm still going to miss my kids like crazy but it'll be much more bearable while having a ball than it would be otherwise.

Bring on Christmas 2015!!! I'm ready!

siggy

Dec 24, 2014

Zagreb Christmas 2014


One of the things I love most about living in Europe is their Advent celebrations. They do such a wonderful job decorating and all the Christmas markets are amazing. We have been to the Vienna, Austria Christmas market and it was amazing but our own capital of Zagreb has outdone themselves this year. Johnny and I were already in the capital for Hannah's dentist appointment so we headed in town.   

This year there was a living nativity. It was a mini city of Bethlehem. It was nice to see but knowing that they have no idea how much power was in that little city so long ago, it wasn't as nice. My heart breaks for all the beautiful people who still rest in their own goodness for salvation when Jesus already paid it all for them. Salvation is free for all those who will receive it. 

 I love that living in a Catholic country they still celebrate the baby Jesus at Christmas. There's no, "Happy Holidays" here. Instead it's, "Sretan Božić" which means Happy little God. 

 The decorations on town were amazing. I loved all the lights and Christmas music floated on the crisp night air. Hey, that was pretty poetical! 

There were lots of street performers, including this guy making money in a very unique way!


I fell in love with the red, white and blue lights this year. No, they're not honoring the USA instead those are the colors of their flag. I love 'em!


There were hundreds of little shops lining the roads. As usual, we didn't buy anything but there wasn't really anything we wanted. Until we got to the food shops!



 This year there was an amazing ice rink right in town. It was in the park by the theatre and it was amazing. There was a main rink like normal but off that rink there were several paths that went all the way around the park perimeter. It was pretty amazing. No we didn't skate!



I was so happy to spend this time with Hannah. This is her last Christmas here in Croatia with us and it was such a fun time. Doesn't she look adorable.

 
BTW, that's not snow behind us but little silver hearts blowing in the wind. They gave the nicest twinkling effect.

I'm not sure what Johnny said to get such crazy looks from us. I'm sure it was a hoot!

This photo is a freebie! Love him!

I'm so thankful to be spending my 24th Christmas with my honey baby.
  
We finally found what our hearts longed for; the food stands. Johnny and Hannah had fritule, little fried donut balls. They are delish but definitely not low carb or gluten free so I passed and headed to the sausage stand. 


What a fun time we had in Zagreb for the Advent celebration. The weather was perfect, about 49 and clear. We enjoyed ourselves and now we are all ready for Christmas. 

Okay I'm signing out for a few days to enjoy Christmas with my family. I pray you all have the nicest Christmas ever and remember Jesus really is the nicest gift and gift-giver ever! 




siggy

Dec 22, 2014

Sunday Review Monday

I'm seriously gonna have to change the title for this post cause apparently my weekends are more eventful than my Sundays. Actually, I am always very careful about taking photos at church and so I don't have any. Anyhow, this weekend was super busy. We had church Thursday, which is our normal mid-week, then two weddings, a SS Christmas party and then church yesterday.


Dec 19, 2014

Cranberry-Orange Cake



I found this it in a Christmas with Country Living 1997 book I've been browsing through lately. It was so easy and turned out wonderful. Everyone especially loved the candied orange rind and cranberries. Oh yea and I found some tiny little cranberries here in Croatia and they worked wonderfully and I didn't have to chop them, just put them in whole.

Anyhow, since I'm super lazy and wasn't about to retype an entire page of text I copied it and made it into a PDF for easy printing.

Cranberry-Orange Cake PDF

This is a great holiday cake and went over super well with the Croats and they're a tough crowd to please.


siggy
reposted from 2009

Dec 18, 2014

Free Gift Tags Round Up!


I want to share something with you all, don't be shocked, it'll be okay, here goes....I'm cheap! I love to save money and that brings us to this post. I have all most some of my Christmas gifts purchased already and wrapping them is next on my agenda. So going along with my cheap theme, here are several links to some great printable Christmas gift tags. Remember the more we save the more Starbucks we can have! So here goes in no particular order.

Dec 17, 2014

A Thoughtful Gift

The other day I walked to the mailbox expecting my normal store circulars and maybe a phone bill and I was pleasantly surprised by a package from Spain. Olé!! But wait, there's more! It was addressed to....wait for it....ME! We don't often get mail from outside of Croatia so this was very exciting. 

My new friend Lou Ann from In the Way blog sent me one of her books! Are you kidding! And not only did she send me one of her sweet books she also signed it to me! I feel so cool to know the author of a book. So who is Lou Ann? Glad you asked. 

Lou Ann Keiser is a pastor's wife, mother of two married children, and grandmother who lives in a quaint little village in Europe. Her thirty years of ministry to women urged her to compile biblical counsel in her debut book, His Ways, Your Walk. Lou Ann's great loves are: her Lord, the Bible, her family, nature, art, and music. She is an avid reader and blogger.

The one thing her bio didn't say is that she's been a missionary in Spain for 30 years. Anyhoo, the book is called His Ways, Your Walk and it's a Bible application book for women. 

A biblical manual for women of all ages. This book helps you make the connection between the key Bible passages for women and your own Christian experience. It helps you see what the Bible says about the Christian life. Enjoy finding out how you can walk in God's ways!
Clearly, as with any book you read, you'll find somethings you strongly agree with and some that maybe you don't but the important thing to remember is that there are gems to be had. The only book that we will ever agree with 100% is the one we write. I haven't finished the book but I know it's gonna be a blessing. 

You can purchase His Ways, Your Walk through Amazon. Be sure to check out In the Way blog, Lou Ann, has some great posts and she's a wonderful writer. 

The above quotes were taken from Lou Ann's bio and book description on Amazon. 

siggy

Dec 15, 2014

Expanded Sunday Review Monday


I'm expanded my Sunday Review Monday to include the entire weekend. The truth is, I didn't take many photos from Sunday so for this to be an interesting post I'm gonna need to borrow from the rest of the weekend. *wink*


Dec 12, 2014

A Greeting for The Season

To All My Democrat Family and Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2015 but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country, nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wish.


To My Republican Family and Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



Dec 9, 2014

Happy 43rd Johnny


Today I want to wish my dearest friend in the world a happy 43rd birthday. I've been so blessed to spend 23 of those years with him and I can't imagine my life with out him. 
To celebrate his 43 years of life on this Earth I'm gonna share 43 (yes I know that's a lot) things I love about him. 

I love Johnny because...

1. he loves the Lord with his whole heart. 
2. he is real!
3. he is amazingly faithful. 
4. has always makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the room. 
5. my heart safely rests in his hands. 
6. he has always built me up. 
7. he is a wonderful kisser. *wink*
8. he knows me better than I know me and he still loves me. 
9. he is a wonderful father. 
10. he practices what he preaches. 
11. he is gentle. 
12. he loves those who are unlovable. 
13. our story was clearly orchestrated by God. 
14. I know that next to Jesus I am his favorite person in the world. 
15. he has never, ever let me down. 
16. he has kept none of his heart from me.
17. he is content with God's will for his life. 
18. he has never made me feel anything but priceless. 
19. he is not a quitter, ever!
20. he is long suffering. 
21. Jesus is his first Love. 
22. his life is a true reflection of God's grace. 
23. he sees the possibility in all people. 
24. he is a forever faithful a Cowboys fan, win or lose. 
25. he has made me realize that I am precious.
26. he is an amazing preacher, my favorite!
27. he applauds anything I try to do. 
28. when he laughs he has the most amazing lines around his eyes, be still my heart
29. his smile is amazing!
30. the Bible is real and his most valued possession. 
31. he lives by principles and believe them. 
32. he believes what he preaches.
33. he gives the most amazing hugs. 
34. he is incredibly thoughtful.
35. his blue eyes make my knees weak. 
36. he was responsible for getting me to Jesus. 
37. he walks with the Lord daily. 
38. he doesn't realize how amazing he is. 
39. he would give the shirt off his back for someone in need. 
40. he loves to cuddle. 
41. he is an amazing missionary who considers it an honor. 
42. he loves me for me. 
43. he is unselfish.

I know this was a mushy post but he really is that amazing! 
Happy 43rd Johnny!!!

siggy

Dec 5, 2014

Krampus

The other day while out shopping I noticed that some of the stores already had Christmas stuff on the shelves and I was surprised to find these two looking up at me. In the major part of Europe there is some sort of tradition surrounding Saint Nikolas day on December 6th and Croatia isn't any different. The first time my kids were in town and the devil came up to them, they all burst out in tears, not exactly child friendly. Even little kids know what evil is when they see it and it's nothing to be laughed about.


Nov 30, 2014

Beautiful Free Christmas Printables


I can't beieve that Christmas is just around the corner. We thought it was the next big holiday until Johnny informed us his birthday was the next big one and then Christmas. Anyhoo, it's time in the Leslie house to tear down the autumnal decor and replace it with the glitter of Christmas. I luper love this time of year and it's easier than ever to infuse Christmas Spirt in your home thanks to some brillant artists from around the web.

Here's my list of great Christmas printables from arond the www.

1. PeaBee Designs has this really nice printable available for download. Thanks Courtney!




2. Jeni, from the Small Seed has 4 beautiful printables available, they're amazing. 



3. I love the simplicity of this chalk graphic, it's so sweet and simple. You can find it at A Well-Feathered Nest.

5. Look at this lovely printable from Fotina over at Glamourous Affordable Life


6. I love this print from the life of a Crafty Wife.  It says it all!


7. Look at this great burlap printable that Shannon is offering from AKA Design + Life




8. I love the three above printables from Falala Designs



9. Erin is offering this great colorful printable from How to Nest for Less


10. Look at this beautiful chalkboard printable Shannon has made available from AKA Design+Life.

Anyhoo, it's about time to start Christmas-fying your home and I hope this helps!! Make sure to leave a comment for the talented artists that made thses available. 


siggy