September 06, 2012

Youthberry

I had such a lazy day today! But it was definitely needed. I actually planned on doing my 30-Day Shred DVD, but I couldn't find it for the life of me. I think the last time I used it was about a year ago, so I don't have a clue what happened to it. I'll search some more tomorrow (I need to clean anyways).

My Teavana shipment arrived today! I always get a thrill out of seeing the UPS or FedEx truck outside. It was pretty sobering to open my package and see just how little tea you get for the cost! But hopefully it will last longer than it looks like it will...


That's 8 oz. of the Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom blend, 4 oz. of Chai, and 1 lb. of German rock sugar. It also came with a free sample called Blueberry Kona Pop, which I decided to open and try right away. It suggested having it iced, but I wanted hot tea, so I did that instead. It was really good! The sample had the rock sugar already in it.

I was never really a tea person until I quit drinking coffee; and even then, I couldn't understand that drinking loose tea like this could be that much different than tea bags. Boy, was I wrong!

While I was drinking my tea, Estelle found a nice cozy pillow to lay her head on...


Yes, that is the remote control. Ridiculous cat.

I went to Hobby Lobby this morning to get the fabric to finish off my quilt. Someone suggested flannel, and that sounded very cozy. Since the quilt is pretty ugly, I wanted to just go with it and possibly make it even uglier... so I chose red flannel. I backed the quilt with it, but I haven't tied it yet. I am thinking I might just leave it as-is right now...


There is already a ridiculous amount of cat hair stuck to it. If there is one thing I've learned today, it's that flannel attracts cat hair like Nutella attracts ME. My favorite part about the quilt is that it has pockets! I have no idea why anyone would need pockets in a quilt, but I just used the pockets that were already in the sweatshirts and pants I cut up.



As of today, there are only 7 days left on our Kickstarter page! It's looking pretty hopeless, unfortunately. We've gotten about $9,000 in pledges, but it will all be returned if we don't get a total of $50,000. To those of you that have pledged, THANK YOU--from the bottom of my heart, honestly. Even if we don't get funded, it means so much to me that there are people out there who really believe in our project!

It's actually kind of crazy to think that in less than four months, I'll be in Florida, running from Miami to Key West. I've never been to Miami (or Key West), so that is exciting in itself; but just three years ago, I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I'd be doing something like this! I've always been super introverted, and I had to step waaay out of my comfort zone for this whole project (remember, my entire team were strangers to each other when we came together this year).

Three years ago, I never would have imagined I'd be running, let alone running a relay race with 11 strangers while it's all captured on film! My hope with this whole film is that people see what we did, that we are totally "normal" people who lost a lot of weight through diet and exercise, and now we are doing things we never thought possible. If all of us can do it, ANYONE can. I really believe that!



23 comments:

  1. Ok, first of all, you REALLY should think about making these quilts for other people for money. You did an amazing job and it didn't seem to take you too long. You could make quite a bit of extra money around Christmas I'm sure!!

    Second, even though you think it's not so pretty, I think it looks GREAT!! So warm and cozy.

    Third..pockets in a quilt is an ingenious idea!!!! A place for the remote or glasses?? Perfect!! Awesome idea.

    So cool!
    Bridgette

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  2. I agree! The quilt is super cute! Should make or sell or even have people pay u to turn their old items into useful quilts!!

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  3. I like the quilt. It reminds me of 80's Atari games. Uh, that was meant to be a compliment. :) There's a little tea place locally that had this raspberry tea we sampled and it tasted just like Kool Aid! You've just reminded me I want to go get some! I'm pretty sure that was your intent when you wrote this, right? HA!

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  4. I'm really happy you love MOA and teavana!!! Makes me feel special all the way in Minnesota. =] For tea, I usually re-use my tea leaves another time or two if I'm having more in the day.. that could stretch it? And I've found with my good tea, like from teavana, a smaller amount tastes fine! Love the quilt!!!

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  5. Hi Katie! First off I love the quilt! I always thought it would have been cool to make one from first year baby clothes but alas I didn't lol!!

    I am wondering something...unrelated to this post. I know you work out in the morning, which I think is AMAZING!! Do you eat before you go out to run? If so how long before you leave and what do you eat?

    I am an evening exerciser myself because mornings are the WORST for me, but in the next few weeks I am going to try working out before I go to work because my new workplace has a gym. Any tips are much appreciated!

    As always I LOVE the blog and read it faithfully everyday.

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  6. Hi Katie, love the quilt but love the cats more :) I would probably be the crazy cat lady on our block if I didn't have allergies! :) Last week my husband and I were driving from Saginaw to Muskegon for vacation, and we were on a dinky back road somewhere when I noticed a woman out running. I was So excited because she looked like you! (My husband thought I was crazy when I yelled "is that Katie?") He offered to drive over so I could ask but I didn't want to scare her, lol...I could just see us being questioned down at the police station :)

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  7. just wanted to let you know that the 30DS is on youtube. :)

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  8. About the documentary, and this has probably already been done, but have you all applied for grants like Sundance, Tribeca, etc? I did a google search and there are many that popped up. Just a thought! I would hate to see all the hard work of so many not come to fruition!

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  9. I love the quilt! You did a great (and super fast) job!

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  10. I love loose tea. Teavana is great. It is expensive, but I find that I can usually steep the tea twice. It doesn't always work, and they don't always recommend it, but I always try it. You may already do this, but I figured I'd suggest it. Also, I have been reading your blog for several months now, and you have been such an inspiration to me! Thank you for writing this blog!

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  11. That quilt looks awesome, great job!!

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  12. Honestly, it's ticking me off that the Kickstarter project hasn't been funded yet. Maybe try putting it at the beginning of your post instead of the end? The facebook page has 1900+ likes and I don't think people understand that the documentary doesn't exist yet. They are liking a page for nothing! So here anyone reading the comments . . . go and preorder yourself a dvd. If it gets made, you know you'd go buy one anyway so just do it! If they don't get funded, you don't get charged at all, it's not a matter of getting a refund, YOU DO NOT GET CHARGED if it doesn't make it. If they do get funded, you get charged and you get what you ordered when the project is complete. I would think that between Katie's followers, Ada's likes and the likes on the FB page that this would have been a slam dunk. So please go and do it -- $25, go go go!

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/AngelaLee/from-fat-to-finish-line

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  13. Katie- I just got the Teavana app for my phone and I was amazed at all the varieties!!! How did you choose??? I am thinking I might stop at the one in Novi this weekend to try it out!!!
    P.S.- I will be on your side of the state on Sunday!!! I am going to Trenton for a baby shower. :-)
    ~Laura

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  14. I LOVE the quilt! It's perfect as is!

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  15. Love the quilt.. What do you mean by "tie the quilt"? I soo want to be able to sew! I must try a small project soon! I am a crocheter and love that but sewing has always been something I want to be good at.

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  16. I love Teavana! Yes it is expensive but you can use the leaves a few times so if you plan on a second cup don't throw them out just put it in the fridge. I suggest getting an infuser cup. A cheap one on amazon that works great is

    http://www.amazon.com/Adagio-Teas-16-Ounce-Ingenuitea-Teapot/dp/B000FPN8TK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347021809&sr=8-1&keywords=ingenui+tea

    Then you make your tea and just put the cup in the fridge until you use it again. I use this at work and get 2-3 cups a day from the 2 teaspoons of leaves :) I like the Mate Vana and My Morning Mate because they are the ones they say to drink to replace coffee and I don't like coffee but sometimes you need a boost. Plus it tastes like chocolate and the boost isn't a jittery one like red bull or coffee :)

    I am sorry the kickstater hasn't gotten to the goal, I wish I could donate more :(

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  17. I actually LOVE your quilt!

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  18. Hi Katie! Just wanted to say hello--I've lurked on your blog for about a year, and while I feel like I know you (that sounded creepy!) I realized that I've not commented (except once or twice to enter a drawing) to give you encouragement or let you know how much you've impacted my life from afar (kinda creepy, again, sorry!). I've struggled my whole life with weight and especially binge overeating and last year I decided to jump on the running bandwagon, starting with a C25K program. Your blog and Carli's at runningintoshape.com gave me the inspiration and tools I needed to start. I have completed 3 races and I'm training with friends for the Savannah Rock and Roll Half Marathon this November. Several mornings a week I get up at 5:30 to get my short runs in before work and I like to read your posts to remind myself to persevere when I'm tired or sore or just not in the mood. Thanks for sharing your journey--it has definitely helped me on mine!

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  19. Lots of good stuff in this post! I love Teavana. There is a store in the MOA here in the Twin Cities, so you can try all sorts of samples. ;-) That rock sugar is so yummy. I'm curious about the youthberry and the Blueberry Kona sounds good, too. My fave tea of all time though is the Market Spice Tea from Pike Place Market in Seattle. It is uber-flavorful and doesn't need any sugar or anything.

    I think it is so cool that you'll be running from Miami to Key West! I'm sure it will be gorgeous. You picked a good one. Go big or go home, right?

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  20. I love your cats. I have loved cats since I was very young, we always had a cat when I was growing up and usually after I was married, there was at least one cat at our house. At one point--we had SEVEN (7) cats. That's way too many. I couldn't keep up with litter boxes and they started using the carpets at their litter box. YIKES. So I finally got rid of all my cats (I raised Himalayans for a while, but they are the most stand-offish cats I ever had, completely unaffectionate), and got new carpet and swore off getting any more cats. So I get to enjoy them vicariously through you. THANKS!!!

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  21. You are truely inspiring! I run my first relay oct 5th- got the idea from YOU and I cannot wait!

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  22. I LOVE your quilt and think it is beautiful!
    I have made your blueberry muffin smoothie twice this week for breakfast, it is delicious! I am excited to try more of your recipes!

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