November 06, 2013

Headbands

Today, my main focus was to just stay busy and stay on track. Today was my rest day, so no running. It was raining all day anyway, so it was a good day to stay busy with a project at home. This morning after breakfast, I made a cup of the Coffee Cake tea I just got from David's. It was really good! I would definitely order it again. It tastes very similar to the Red Velvet Cake tea.

A while ago, I bought some ribbon on sale for half-off, and had plans of making a bunch of running headbands out of them. I made a small batch before, basically making a copycat version of Sweaty Bands. I like them because they actually stay on my head, and they keep stray hairs from getting in my face.

Sweaty Bands are pretty expensive, so I made my own. It's pretty cheap to do a big batch; but the downside is that I have several that are identical, because I bought rolls of ribbon. You only need 16" of ribbon to make them, and with the rolls of felt ribbon, I can get 4 bands. I think they end up costing roughly $1 each to make, if you make them in a big batch. It's not worth it to make just one, though.

Anyway, today I decided to stay busy by sewing a big batch of them. I had everything on hand, but they just aren't very fun to make ;)  I wound up making 14... that will last me a long time!



The headbands are just two 16" ribbons (one velvet ribbon, which keeps the headband from slipping, the other whatever pattern you'd like), stacked on top of each other and sewn with right sides facing outward. The short ends are connected with a 6" piece of elastic.

I was glad to have that done, and I worked on those right up until it was time to go to parent-teacher conferences with Eli's teacher. He's doing really well this year, and I'm so happy about that! Last year, he had a very hard time with reading comprehension. I really love his teacher this year, and he's come a LONG way in just a couple of months. She said she's very pleased with him, and doesn't have any issues that need attention, so I'm glad. I have a conference with Noah's teacher next week.

When I got home, I mapped out a meal plan for a week. I included a lot of slow cooker dinners, because they really help me to stay on track when the house gets crazy mid-afternoon. I also made sure to fit in the Weight Watchers Good Health Guidelines, which made it a little trickier. But I feel like I have a pretty solid plan for the next week, which will hopefully get me back in the routine after all the Halloween candy I ate last week!


I just realized that there are only 11 1/2 weeks until my 32nd birthday. This time last year, I announced that I would do a Virtual 5K race (3.1 miles) for my 31st birthday. There was such a great turnout, and I LOVED looking at the pictures and reading all the race reports (either blog posts or just a sentence or two on Facebook). I think I'd like to do it again this year! The second annual Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K :)

Last year, I gave away 31 prizes, but I'm going to keep it much simpler this time--maybe just 3 prizes, given by random drawing (of the finishers). I'll post finish times and link to some race reports. I can't even describe how inspiring it was to read about all the finishers from all over the world last year!

Anyway, I'll post more details of that soon, but if you'd like to participate, this is the time to get started training! My birthday falls on a Saturday (January 25th), so it's perfect for a race. Run or walk, I'd love to have you do a 5K "with" me that day :)

26 comments:

  1. Last year was fun!! I would love to run "with" you again. :) Sounds like a productive day...so hard to stay away from the food when the hands are not busy.

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  2. You should start selling those head bands. I would totally buy one from you! I'm interested how you do your virtual run. It sounds like fun! I'd be interested.

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  3. Those headbands are so cute! I wish i were crafty - I always buy them (I'm in Ohio and I buy from a local Ohio company that sells similar ones) and they're clearly overpriced.
    Can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you virtually! Mine's Jan 23 so I'll likely be celebrating that weekend anyway. And running is a great way to celebrate :)

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  4. I'd love to know what slow cooker recipes you're having that are WW friendly (are they listed with your recipes?)

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    1. My favorites are listed in my recipes blog, but there are a few that I need to add--will do that soon!

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  5. Those headbands are adorable! Have you thought of selling them? It sounds like you could get a good profit margin from them and I'm sure you'd have lots of customers!

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  6. I would love to run the virtual 5k! It would be my first :)

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  7. YES PLEASE to the 2nd annual Runs for Cookies 5k! I'd love to compete with my last years time. Too fun :)

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  8. I'd love to hear about your WW crockpot recipes! I'm always looking for some new ideas. :) Love your headbands!

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  9. I love the bands, but they still slide up in back of my head. I need some with the felt in the back too. Not sure how that would work..but I must have a flat back side of my head

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  10. I enjoyed reading about the virtual 5K last year. I hope to participate this year!

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  11. About the headbands.... the is the felt piece purchased as ribbon or do you cut it to the size of the ribbon? My sister sells spandex headbands and makes a killing! Start an etsy store!

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    1. Doh! I wrote "felt" but I actually meant "velvet". It's with all the other ribbon at the store. I just buy the same width as the top ribbon I'm using.

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  12. What a fun idea! I'm going to put Jan 25th on my calendar! I love that you call it the "dreadmill" ! We need to put the TV in front of ours. The iPod music doesn't help, I still focus on the screen!

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  13. I remember that last year, it was a little after I started reading your blog which was about October. I would love to participate this year. :D

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  14. i'm in for the 2nd annual virtual 5K!

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  15. I'm in! I'll run the same course as last year and beat my previous time. You're going down Jan 2013 Thomas!

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  16. A virtual 5K? How does that work? Either way I would love to do it! Love reading your blog!

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    1. A "virtual" race is a race where I'll choose the date (in this case, Jan. 25), and anyone who wants to do it can participate. You run or walk 5K, and then I'll have a form for you to report your time, and a link to your race report (if applicable). I'll have a bib that you can print and wear during your "race", too :) It can be done anywhere you want, even on the treadmill!

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  17. I love the headbands! I'll have to look for some felt ribbon. I haven't seen that before. I would like to make these. I see them all over but never want to spend the money to buy one :)

    I am currently on weight watchers also and wondered if you've tried the 3 2 1 cake? I tried it last night and liked it a lot. In case you aren't familiar with it..you mix a box of angel food cake mix with a box of any flavored cake mix together in a big ziploc. In a mug, add 3 T cake mix, 2T water, and microwave for 1 minute. I bought german chocolate cake and added the smallest dollop of nutella on top and a spoonful of fat free cool whip. I like how you only make one serving at a time. I don't do well with a whole cake sitting on the counter :)

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    1. I've heard of that cake, and I've been meaning to try it, but I never remember to buy the ingredients! It sound perfect for me, because I love sweets, but like you, I don't do well with a whole cake on my counter!

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  18. Your virtual 5K was the very first 5K I ever ran (read shuffled, limped, and walked) I believe it took me about 48 minutes to complete. Thanks to you and your inspirational blog I have continued to train and in October ran a 31.12 5K in a local festival. I can't wait to run with you again this year! Thanks so much

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  19. I need to try making headbands of my own too! I recently posted a blog on various brands of fitness headbands because I'm (slightly) obsessed. hehe. www.projectfit4life.blogspot.com

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  20. I'd love to do the virtual 5k!! I'm so in!!

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