October 19, 2011

Not SO bad...

First things first--my Wednesday Weigh-In. I gained. But honestly, I'm HAPPY with the number, because if you consider how much I usually gain on a trip, I should actually have weighed in the 160's today, lol. Tennessee trip in April = 7.5 pounds gained;  Indy trip in May = 12.5 pounds gained. Then this morning, two full days after my Arizona trip?
Weight:  + 1.5 pounds since last week

Waist measurement:  +1 inch since last week




Body fat:  + 0.5% since last week


So to see 150.5 on the scale this morning, meaning a 1.5 pound gain in Arizona, I was actually pleased. I still feel a little puffy, so hopefully lots of water and veggies this week will help me drop back down.  I'm not even going to tell you what I weighed the evening I got back from Arizona 156!

After I weighed in, I thought to myself, "Was it worth it? Was gaining 1.5 pounds WORTH all of the crap you ate in Arizona?"

HELL YES IT WAS WORTH IT! It was worth every calorie. I ate at places that I've never tried before, I had Mexican food with a "real" Mexican, I ate red velvet ice cream, I had cake for breakfast two days in a row, drank enough wine to fill Lake Erie, and ate enough tortilla chips and salsa to feed an Army. And I would do it all again, even knowing I was going to gain 1.5 pounds.

That made me think of the other trips, and how much weight gain they were "worth". Tennessee? 10 pounds! I gladly would gain 10 pounds for the Tennessee experience we had--thankfully, it only cost me 7.5 pounds.  :)  Indy? Indy was probably worth 2 pounds--definitely NOT the 12.5 I gained, especially considering that I ran a half-marathon while I was there!  The wine weekend with my girlfriends? Worth 3 pounds! (It was only 24 hours, so I can't give it TOO much--but all the wine and yummy food was definitely worth 3 pounds. I don't remember what I actually gained).


Anyways, thanks so much for the input on the birthday party Noah was invited to. I should have been more clear (not that it makes a huge difference): Noah is my 7-year old in 2nd grade; ELI is my 5-year old kindergartener. Both of my kids have spent the night at my parents house at least once a week since they were babies, so I wasn't worried about Noah getting homesick. But I definitely worry about my kids getting sexually abused, and I just don't feel comfortable having him spend the night anywhere that I don't know the adults VERY well.

I showed Jerry all of your comments, and he changed his mind. I was expecting Noah to throw a big fit when I told him that he couldn't go, but he was fine with it. I explained to him WHY I was saying no--that I don't let him go anywhere with strangers, and that these parents are strangers to me. I said he could invite his school friend over that day, and he forgot all about the party. Whew!  Now I just have to make the RSVP call, and I am dreading it. I think I mentioned that I have horrible phone anxiety--I HATE to call people on the phone. I know that sounds weird. I might have Jerry do it for me, like I usually do!


Wow, just as I was typing this, Noah lost his first tooth!!  I'm so excited for him! He's the LAST kid in his class to lose a tooth, and the kids were teasing him. He said they called him "Little Tooth". LOL, kids are terrible, aren't they?! It was a little wiggly when we left for Arizona, and I was hoping he'd lose it when my sister was here (she was the one who pulled all my teeth when I was little!) She said she'd give him $100 for his first tooth--crazy, I know. He's only getting $5 from me :)



I made a decision today that I REALLY hope doesn't make my readers think of me as a sell-out. When I first started this blog, I said there was no way I would ever put ads on it. I figured it would be super annoying to readers and I wouldn't make enough money to be worth it. But I've been SO STRESSED about money lately, because of my upcoming surgery, and I've been trying to come up with ways to make (or save) money. I have no idea if adding ads to my blog will generate any income whatsoever, but I figured I'd try it out for a month or two because it can't hurt. I just hope I don't lose readers over it!

I went through my closet and picked out some stuff to take to the consignment shop tomorrow, so there is a little money. I took everything from my chest freezer and crammed it into the freezer in my refrigerator, just to save on electricity. Yes, I'm totally desperate.

I even thought about things I could make in order to sell, because I'm pretty crafty. Ugh, it's just so frustrating! (And if you're thinking the obvious question, "Why don't you get a job?!" the obvious answer is that I need the money for surgery, and if I'm getting surgery, I won't be able to work). So I just need to get creative with ways of making money.

The whole point of all this is to let you know that you may see ads on my blog soon. Hopefully they aren't annoying or distracting. I'm not selling out. I love to write, and this blog has all-but taken over my life because I love it!


31 comments:

  1. Definitely have Jerry make the phonecall. :)

    I don't think you will lose readers. To me, ads are irrelevant. As long as you are writing, I am going to read it.

    If you want to make money, how about pitching your book to some publishing companies??

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  2. I really like the way you rationalized "weight gain" over trips. I always need to work on the positive self talk so I'm trying really hard to focus on things outside of the scale. I won't let the scale dictate how I feel about myself (easier said than done!).

    If you started selling crafty stuff, I'd probably buy LOL! I love etsy.com, have you heard of it?! If not check it out!!!

    Your kids are such cutie pies! Ugh!!! I want a kiddo!!! :)

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  3. My cousin's boyfriend uses Fiverr - you do or make things for people for $5. He paints a picture of whatever animal someone wants - the first one for $5, and after that he does his usual artist rate. He makes a killing on it! If there's anything crafty you do, Fiverr seems like a great idea!

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  4. Oh yes, I forgot to add that ads would never take me away from your blog! If I had a few more readers I would probably have ads too. To me, your time is valuable, and if you get a little bit of money from ads and it helps you to keep writing and entertaining me, then it's a win win!

    AND...(I can't believe I didn't tell you this in my first comment) the Nunaturals stuff already came! I tried it out in my coffee :) Thanks again for the contest!

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  5. Every time I travel, I can't weigh in for about a week because it takes that long for the swelling from the travel itself to go down. When we went to Wisconsin this summer, after one day of driving, I measured my calf and it had expanded by almost three whole inches. Since morning. So you KNOW there's a lot of water retention going on.

    Re: Ads. I have an adblocker on my browser so I don't see ads on any page (not facebook, not Spark, not anywhere) so I won't see them here if you put them up (or if you have put them up - I don't see them). But I do know book bloggers who have ads on their pages, who get thousands of hits every year, and who get less than $5 per year. It's one of those things that gets talked about often in the book blogging world (people get all up in arms about what makes a "classy" blog blah blah blah). So just to warn you up front, it might not bring in a whole lot of income. :/ I do hope you find something to help you with all the money issues. Next year my husband and I are finally going on a honeymoon (after 12 years of marraige...) and it's going to be something like $4000-$6000. We're not quite sure how we're going to finance that either, so I understand where you're coming from.

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  6. Ads are fine with me, do what you gotta do!

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  7. Love your blog ads are fine by me. :)

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  8. 1. I didn't get to comment, but I am glad you told your son no and explained why. You are a good mom.

    2. Ads are fine by me!

    3. You could totally make some crafty stuff! Since you like to sew you could make some car seat tents to sell on Craigslist. The pattern is EASY. Also baby legs are easy to make too! Google them, I bet you could pump out a bunch on a day. =)

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  9. i couldn't care less about ads! and i just had a stay-cation this week! had a couple good friends from out of state fly in and stay the week. we stuffed ourselves with good food, and worked out a little bit (always more fun with peeps who rock!), but not really enough to make up for all the yumminess we devoured like it was going out of style. totally worth it, though. i love how you put them against each other. i would have gladly gained up to 10lbs for this past week! it was that awesome!

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  10. I think if you can make money with ads, then go for it! =) Does it help you if we click on them? Lol. I don't really know how ads work, but I'll click away if you'll make a buck! I love your blog and ads wouldn't deter me from reading it. So glad that Noah took the news so well! Kids are pretty resilient and usually can bounce back from those things pretty easily. (I think I worry more about how my daughter is going to react and she's already over whatever the disappointment was!) Haha. And hooray for only gaining 1.5 lbs on your trip! That's great! I gained 2 lbs over this past weekend...ate Rubio's kid bean and cheese burrito twice for dinner! For some reason, they make the BEST bean and cheese burritos! Do you have Rubio's where you live? I ate there 3-4 times a week when I was pregnant with my daughter! haha.

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  11. Are people really going to stop reading because you put adds up on the blog? That wouldn't bother me at all. As long as the content doesn't change I don't see what the big deal is about having adds on the site. Heck, maybe I'll discover something new that I wouldn't have before! :-)
    And I think it is great you are trying to think of ways to bring in some extra income. Have you thought about knitting stuff to sell on etsy? Up until a year ago I made and sold jewelry out of old game pieces. I made enough in a year to cover my entire trip to Australia. And I actually enjoyed doing it and selling them! I thought about the knitting because one of my friends does photography and is always posting photo shoots of newborn babies in cute hand knit hats or with hand knitted animals. Just the other day she posted on Facebook asking if anyone could knit something for an upcoming session she had for a newborn.

    I love hearing about how much you enjoyed the Mexican food, especially the chips and salsa. Now imaging living in Texas like me where there is a delicious Mexican restaurant on EVERY corner! It definitely doesn't make things easy. But it does make for a nice treat. If you ever make it to Austin, Texas let me know and I'll point you in the direction of the best ones!

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  12. Idea: You could host a Winer's Weekend somewhere cool for all your blog fans. You could charge people to hang out with you and learn about wine! Lol! I would go! I don't know how that would work with the social anxiety but the wine would help, wouldn't it? :)
    Also, I've always wondered how the ad thing on blogs works. You'll have to blog about it.

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  13. Don't worry about the ads, Katie.

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  14. I'm not concerned about the ads. I am good at ignoring them. I know you're a great grocery shopper, so I can't think of any ways to cut back on money there, unless you could use more coupons. I've been finding a lot of mine online at the company's website. I'll see what's on sale and then look to find a coupon, like for frozen meals (for my husband's lunch). Oh, also, "they" recommend skipping grocery shopping (not fresh foods, though) one week per month and eating what's stocked up in your pantry. That's $100/month right there!

    You can try and cut back on using your dryer. Line-dry and then fluff in the dryer. I haven't been doing that a lot lately (I do line-dry all of mine and my daughter's shirts to prevent shrinkage), but I saved $17 in 2 months on my electric bill doing that.

    I know someone that has been making baby bows and headbands for a little while and selling/auctioning on-line. I can ask her how she thinks it's going, if it's worth all of the time and effort on her part. I did a craft fair once. It cost me $25 to rent the table and I don't think I made my money back :(

    You can babysit?

    You could always do what Julie Powell did and connect to PayPal and people can donate! ;)

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  15. I was just thinking of all the ways we raised money for our team for Relay For Life... you can have a yard sale, a raffle/auction live and on-line. You could knit something fabulous, like a scarf or hat that's one size fits all and auction it here!

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  16. I do not see anything wrong with you putting ads on your blog. Just make sure you are passionate about what ads you run. You should start thinking about writing a book. You have great recipes and you will now have your surgery experience. People are interested in real people experiences. You also have devised your schedule for working out. And you have such a great family and support system that you can weave in.
    You also seem to have great computer skills. Im posting as anonymous because I dont know what else to pick!

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  17. Wow Katie!!!! Only 1.5 pounds up!!!! That is great!!!! I can gain more than that from one "bad" meal!!!!!!
    I don't mind ads at all, I have been trying to think of some brilliant idea to help you make money, and I can't think of anything that is already posted.
    I just got the Stevia yesterday, thanks again!!!! I just had some in my pumpkin oatmeal, it was pretty good!!! There are a ton of recipes that came with it, which is great, I just wish that they included nutritional information!!!!
    ~Laura

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  18. First...You only gained 1.5 pounds...celebrate! That is great!

    Second...How crafty are you? I love buying items that have a personal touch...let your readers know what you do and you may make a ton (OK..maybe not a TON..ha!)of money by selling your "crafts" to us!

    Third...Ah, guess I don't really have another item ...just felt there should be a third since there was a first and second.

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  19. KJ had a great idea!
    Make a section of your blog for crafting, or a link to items you make. Just with your spark buddies you could make a killing, lol! Also, have you thought about advertising seamstress work in your local paper? If you are confident with your sewing, that'd be a great side job. I go to a local lady for all the things I am not adept at with sewing and it's great.

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  20. I am a new reader, and I didn't read all of your comments, but have you tried swagbucks.com? I have earned over $100 of amazon.com giftcards. Also do you use coupons? I save so much using coupons and buying what is on sale. My older brother feeds a family of 5 for less than $50 a week. I am not that good, I don't have time to go to all of the different stores, and there they have double coupons. Plus they have a pantry in their basement that is bigger than my kitchn. I also cut out cable, dropped the temperature while we are home to 60, and while we are out to 53. We just wear sweaters and use the space heater to heat up the bathroom a bit. I also started using the dryer/dishwasher in the evening when it is colder.

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  21. The fact that Noah is 7 doesn't change my opinion at all! My daughter is almost 9 and I wouldn't let her spend the night somewhere I didn't know the parents! I'm glad that Jerry changed his mind! You just can't be too careful these days!
    I really don't think that you will lose any readers because of the ads but if you do it's their loss not yours! I would guess that anyone can understand needing money and if it helps you out even a little then it's worth it! I hope the ads help you! I think you should think about making something and selling it online and I'm sure some of your readers would want to buy whatever it is! I don't know if the other person was serious but if you set up a paypal account I'm sure everyone could donate a couple dollars! I would because you have helped me from getting divorced because since I have lost some weight I enjoy shopping a lot more and after reading your blog I have been shopping at Goodwill! There is no way I could shop every weekend at a normal store however I'm sure I would have tried if I hadn't read your blog and realized what good deals you get! So since I'm not paying retail or paying for a divorce I can donate a little :)! By the way I'm just kidding about getting divorced but if it wasn't for you I would be spending a lot more money on clothes! I'm always looking for cute hats for me and my kids so if you can make winter hats let me know!
    Anyway, congrats on not gaining much weight and don't feel bad about the ads! If you lose anyone then they seriously weren't worth it! Do what you need to do and don't worry about anyone but you and your family!

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  22. Congratulations on the pretty-darned-good-as-far-as-I-can-see weigh in. And don't worry about the ads. I think anyone who uses the internet is so used to them that we've learned to ignore them. I hope you earn something from them. I'm really excited about your surgery and want everything to go well for you. =-)
    Good luck all around!

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  23. Since you love to write, how about writing magazine articles? You could write a story about your weight-loss or write a recipe or something about food / parenting ???

    BTW, I am currently reading (okay, listening to the audiobook of) Unlimited by Jillian Michaels. I really think you would love it - she talks about overcoming fears and stuff like how to get the most out of life. I'm finding myself listening to certain parts over and over plus I like all her stories about her own life. Just thought I'd share ... :o)

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  24. I don't know if it's a viable option for you, but I often donate plasma. It might not be something you're allowed to do before surgery, though. I can twice a week and make $20 and $25 each time. So that can add up to $180 extra a month. It's kind of a process to get started, but I found it worth it. And I used to HATE needles! Now, I kinda enjoy an hour to myself to read ;)

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  25. Hi Katie. Nothing wrong with the ads at all. And BIG yay for Noah!!! First tooth gone? That's a big deal. Have a fantastic Thursday.

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  26. I got a new fundraising idea!!! You can always tell your sister you lost a few teeth!!!

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  27. I wouldn't mind the ads either - If I had blog that I could possibly make money on, I'd have the ads, too :)

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  28. Katie, I thought I was the only one who had a phone phobia. I could go on and on about the anxiety I get when I know I have to call someone. Ugh. Change the subject.....
    Your ads won't deter me from reading your blog. I read it because it's real and honest and I can relate to it. 'Nuff said.

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  29. Not gonna lose me! No way, NEVER!!!

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  30. You won't lose me! I know I've never posted on here, but I just started my own blog and have been reading anonymously for months now. I'm a friend on Sparkpeople, OkieLoser1, and you have inspired me tremendously!

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  31. Katie, its good to hear you talk about money,being tight on money is as hard to talk about as being fat! (i'm usually both;)

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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