The most intense Diet Ever: Why I quit

Just after March 2014 I started to feel sick and I was sure it was from what I was eating. I had heartburn, upset stomachs, and headaches. I started by doing the Wild Rose Cleanse because I had done it before and it helped alot. It did help alot, but did not solve the problem completely this time. I was still having some strange digestion and headaches. Thankfully my husband's work covered Naturopath appointments so I booked an appointment.

Huge snack lifesaver because they taste good cold! Sub parmesan for dairy free cheese

First I would like to say that the Naturopath is very expensive and it took 3 appointments before I actually had a diet plan. The third was completely useless. Thank goodness for good benefits!

I also think its important to point out that I have a very high metabolism. If I don't eat every two hours, I will probably have troubles walking because I will be so weak. I don't necessarily have to eat a lot, but simple sugars that come from a granola bar kick in much faster than the sugars in a carrot.

My favorite weekend breakfast is hashbrowns. Katchup makes a huge difference

To shorten a long story a bit, I was on this diet for 2 months. I could not eat gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar, chocolate, coffee, most teas, corn, most meat, nuts, vinegar, any yeast, and a few other random things. Essentially my diet was rice, veggies, potatoes, and fruit (thankfully it was summer so the fruit options were a life saver). It seems like more when you just hear it, but its harder than you think. Rice everyday gets very repetitive.

Mayo is in a lot of recipes I like. 

A hard part for me was baking. I grew up in a mennonite home and my mom baked a lot of very unhealthy desserts. As a result I developed a sweet tooth, and learned to love to bake as well. I have a sister that is very severely celiac, so we learned to substitute for gluten quite well. Dairy is not too hard, as long as you like the taste of either almond or coconut milk. But sugar? Its really quite challenging to bake without sugar. I did learn to substitute for stevia or agave, but not too many recipes worked very well.

My favorite snack when I needed sweets! Just no ice cream.

Another huge challenge was convenience. First of all there was almost nothing I could eat if I was out. At most restaurants I could eat only fries, which would be great if you love salty food, but I really only like my fries with a big juicy burger. If I was out and just wanted a snack to pull me over until I got home, I had to stop at a grocery store; which is not always the easiest to find (I once walked an hour to find one). I also could not eat at anyones house. Most people don't know how to cook with such limited ingredients. Once I did go to a friends for dinner, but I brought all the food.

I used this mostly for the Zoodles. No wine, adjust sauce to taste

I found myself spending 3/4 of my free time cooking. Now as I mentioned above I do love to bake, but I really only like to bake when either I have tons of free time, or I am having company over. I would often leave a friends house early because I had to cook a meal for my lunch the next day. If I wanted to go out for the afternoon I would have to cook a meal ahead of time and bring it with me. I couldn't go out after work because I couldn't buy dinner, I had to always go home and make food.

Super easy. I just added some agave to sweeten them up a bit

Always preparing food from scratch might seem like it has benefits such as cost savings, but really gluten free dairy free food is very expensive. I did not find any sauce or dressings that I could eat so everything was prepared from scratch, with tons of alterations.

Gnocchi is easier to make that you think. Just sub for gluten-free flour

I did learn a lot through the process. after a month I finally learned that most foods on the candida diet I can eat (why did the naturopath not tell me that?). I also learned some simple ways to eat healthier such as subbing rice noodles for wheat noodles (no extra effort). I am fairly good at baking gluten free and I don't mind buying margarine over butter, or using coconut milk in my recipes. I can sub honey, agave, or stevia for sugar in pretty much anything except baking; which makes a huge difference in the huge amounts of sauces that my husband loves.

A bit more challenging, but worth it. I used Pillsbury gf pie crust, sparkling water, and honey.

I got re-tested after two months and though a lot of foods cleared, I still could not have gluten, dairy, chocolate, and minimal sugar. So I went home and told my husband I quit. He was happy.

My husband made these for me on my birthday. I used my home made mayo (below) subbed stevia for sugar, and used fetta for the cheese

We decided that a stomach ache once a week was well worth spending an extra hour with friends; not to mention the joy I receive from enjoying chocolate! I am much happier now and have learned to balance my health and quality of life. I am not a slave to the kitchen, but can still cook healthier than I was before. If I start to feel horrible again in 6 months, its not a big deal for me to do a 2 week cleanse. But I will not be a slave to my kitchen.

This is the best Salmon recipe I'v ever had! It was a 1-2 times a week easy life savor. Sub vinegar for lemon juice

My husband said: "If you die 1 year earlier, at least you enjoyed all the years leading up to it."

Joss: Curtains, remove the eye sore

The next item on the list of boat fixes was for me, what it needed most. The most hideous curtains I have ever seen in my life! This curtain is not only falling apart, but it is weird to start with. I had vinyl "wood" strips aligned vertically. And the best part is, the darker colored horizontal strips are completely plastic, they feel like a plastic tablecloth or shower curtain. So weird!

I just had to go. Being that it was one of the first things that you see when you walk in, there was no avoiding it. There was another curtain only 3 feet away from where the horrible curtain hang that was not as bad, it had green vertical stripes, but the green was much different from the green in the rest of the boat. I thought it would be best if they both matched, so I decided to make two new ones.

So I pulled it off and headed to the fabric store. I didn't buy fabric at the fabric store, because the only fabrics I liked were $16/metre! There was no way Im paying that much for boat curtains. I went home sad until I remembered a post I saw on Pinterest about crafts with drop cloths. Now, I'm not the type of person to re-purpose a drop cloth for the fun of it, but since it was the color I was looking for, and $13 total, there was no better choice. I drove to Home Depot and bought a drop cloth.

Making curtains the way I was doing it was nearly the easiest sewing project I have ever done!.

Materials:

Hooks to hand your curtain

Drop Cloth (or any other heavy fabric)

Sewing Machine

Fabric Scissors 

Pencil

Measuring Tape

Iron/ironing board

What I did:

I started by measuring the original curtains I added 1 inch to the vertical measurement to account for seams, and 3 inches to the horizontal measurement to account for seams because I was screwing it to the wall on one side I needed extra thick seams(normally just add 1 inch per side for 1/2 inch seams). 

Lay the fabric out on the floor. Measure and mark points with a pencil the size of the new curtain, connect the points with a straight line if you are not a super straight cutter (like me). Cut out the new curtain with fabric scissors. One huge benefit if you are using a drop cloth is that the sides already have seams, so in my case I only needed to make seams on two sides!

Next Iron your fabric how you plan to sew it. I needed 1/2 inch seams on the top for the hooks I was using so I folded 1/2 inch over ironed, and folded another 1/2 inch over and ironed. Since the bottom was already heamed I only needed to add 1 inch to my length. Pin the ironed fabric in place. Ironing is VERY important. You might not believe me, but ironing before sewing makes an item look much more professional. If you iron you are more likely to be asked "where did you buy that," then if you don't iron. Don't skip this step!

Next Sew the seams. In this picture I am sewing a piece that I took from one of the curtains that was used to attach the hooks. It is very unlikely that you will have this same piece, bit it was fairly easy if you are interested (I have no idea what its called or where to buy it). 

Once it is sewn that is basically it. I had to attach the hooks onto the top of the other one (not shown in the sewing picture above). Finally hang the curtain and  admire your handy work. 

Ahhh so much better! I am really happy with how the turned out, but next time I have free time (never) I might paint some stripes on the bottom to add a bit more pizazz!

If you need a tutorial on how to make other types of curtains try one of these:

Top Tab Curtains-Stitched by Crystal

Easy Sew Curtains-Visual Eye Candy

Joss: Boat tiles and Nautical Rope Mirror

I have always loved all things nautical. It worked out that the first person I ever sailed with is now my husband. His parents own a Catalina 27. Its great, we mostly do just two hour afternoon trips in the bay, but we did our first overnight trip not too long ago. Since we have never taken an overnight trip before, we spent very little time inside the boat. Spending time inside motivated us to make some major updates to the boat.

This is a picture from our boat (of another boat)

There is a lot of work to do, among the regular maintenance that is required, but I started with the bathroom tiles because my husbands mom could not stand them.

Materials:

Ugly tiles

Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Paint

Painters tape

Paint foam roller and brush

Mirror

Hot Glue (or stronger glue if your mirror does not have a frame)

Nautical style rope

Sand paper (optional)

Rag and cleaning products

What I did:

Nautical Rope Mirror:

Not much required here. Hot glue rope around the mirror adding small sections of glue at a time and quickly placing the rope overtop (because it dries so quickly). I was only able to wrap three times because of the screws holding the mirror on the wall, but feel free to wrap as much as you want. Finish with the rope at the same place you started. 

Tiles:

Let me first note that this was for a small area with not too much traffic. I would use a different method for larger areas or more traffic. 

I forgot to take a before picture. Here is after one coat
you can see a bit of the dated flower design on the tiles. 

I started with a light sanding the tiles, nothing serious, just to be on the safe side. The product does not require it, but I wanted to be extra safe. I then cleaned the tiles with bathroom cleaner to remove any sanding dust, and other previous gunk that had built up over the past 20 years. Next tape the edges of the tiles to prevent painting the walls. 

Paint the tiles. I did my first coat with a brush to allow for a bit more coverage, and because the roller uses more paint and I only had a small bottle. Let the paint dry for 1-2 hours between coats as per instructions. Paint 1-3 more coats with a foam roller as required. I used white over cream tiles so 3 coats was enough, but I would suspect darker colors might only require 2 coats.  

Remove painter's tape. The paint can take up to a month to completely cure before you want to do any abrasive cleaning.

I tried to hide from the picture, but the bathroom is so tiny!

Sore Bum: Stool pillow top

A log stool is just a log if you don't spruce it up!

My log stool was hard and not that exciting until I added a pillow top to it!

Materials:

Stiff Fabric

Foam or Round Pillow

Long screw

Washer the bigger the better

Big Button

Strong glue

First determine how big to make the pillow. I made mine 1" wider than my stump so that it had some overhang. I had some old foam lying around so I cut that to the right size. I wanted the seat to be soft, so I cut an additional circle slightly smaller to go on top for extra padding. If you are using a pillow skip this step.

Making a pillow, I quickly learned, is a very simple task and does not require a pattern. Measure the diameter of the foam and add 3" total to the measurement to account for the 1.5" seam on each side. Fold your fabric in half and cut a circle out of your fabric with the new diameter. To cut a circle I tied a pencil on one end of a string and cut the sting to be the correct length. Hold the sting in the middle and draw a circle with the pencil all the way around keeping the sting tight. It was not 100% accurate for me, but it should be close enough that it will correct when you sew it together. 

Next measure the distance around the outside of the newly cut circles Add a few inches for 'safety' this will be the side panel. Measure the height of your foam/pillow. Mine was 6" tall but I wanted it to squish down inside my pillow case so I only cut 6" total (3" + 1.5" seams on each side). 

Fold the side panel stip in half, and in half again. Pin the corners (3 pins and 4 even sections). Next fold the one circle in half and pin the edges (do this both ways so there are 4 pins dividing the quarters). Match the pins so that the side panel stip is evenly dispursed around the circle. Make sure you do this right side to right side (so when you flip it inside out you see the good side of the fabric). 

Sew the circle on to the side panel strip. Do it again for the other circle but only sew 3/4 of the way around. 

Put the pillow or foam pieces inside and hand sew the opening closed. 

Take a long screw. Mine was 5" but that might have been over kill. Place the washer on the screw. This gives extra security so the fabric doesn't rip and pop over top of the screw. Place the pillow on the stump just how you want it. Find the middle of the pillow (I eyeballed it) and screw down through the pillow into the stup. Go down almost as far as you can so that when you sit down the screw doesn't poke you. Finally glue a big button on top of the screw to hide it.

Finished!

Rustic Cabin: Stool and side table

I don't know if its because I'm Canadian, British Columbian, or if its just me, but there is something fantastic about that deep in the woods Cabin. The kind where the owner says, my grandfather built this cabin and everything in it from the trees on the property. Then you cook the fish you just caught for dinner over a wood burning stove. That to me, sounds delightful!

I have a friend with a cabin like the one I am describing. Its near Egan Lake in BC, which is 1.5 hours to the closest town of under 2000 residents. Its really in the boonies! My friends dad built the entire house, and all the furniture inside. Its probably close to 500 sqft which is very squishy in -15 C  with 8 other people inside...But I love it so much! Unfortunately I can't find a good picture of that cabin, so I will have to update this post next time I go up there.

That being said I made some wooden stools that are very log cabin-esk.

Materials:

Large log stump

Skinny log stump

Sand paper (palm sander if available)

Large circular saw or chainsaw

spray varnish

3 Dowel Screw

What I did:

I started with two big log stumps and two skinny stumps from the pile in our back yard. You can get your from anywhere, I often see free fire wood on craigslist.

Brush off the sides with a coarse broom to get rid of any groseness and any loose bark. Then sand the top and bottom to remove any slime and to level out the surface.

Varnish all sides. I used spray varnish because it was much quicker and easier to get in the cracks. Trust me on this one, when I discovered varnish came in a spray can...my life was very simplified!

Next cut three even pieces from the smaller log. Keep in mind that a chair is about 19" tall. I wanted mine 21" for a bit of a higher stool so we cut the feet to be 3" tall.

Clean up and varnish the feet the same way as the main stool. Use the dowel screws to screw the legs into the side you choose to be on the bottom. Dowel screws are also revolutionary. If you have never used them before. Grip the middle with a pliers while you twist it into the foot. Only twist 1/3 of the way into the foot. Then flip it over and twist it into the stump using the foot as your handle. Once the stump side is tight the foot side will tighten up as well.

If you want a side table or a hard top stool thats it your done!

Pillow Tutorial coming soon...

Bridesmaid bouquets: Paper Flowers

I think, after a year break it is time to start posting about wedding crafts. Since crafting is my hobby anyhow, having a DIY wedding was not only the obvious choice, but was no extra work. I simply replaced my personal crafting time with my wedding crafts. These crafts were more redundant than previously, but I had a bit more motivation to work hard, so it balanced out in the end.

Materials:

Light colored Paper about 1 page/2 flowers (anything less heavy than cardstock, but more heavy than copy paper will do). I used cream

Dark colored Cardstock Paper (I actually used the paper kids make school projects on because it was the only navy paper I could find). The heavier the better

Floral Wire

Hot glue or white glue (I used both)

Scissors

Pliers (or just a pencil will do)

What I did:

I actually followed This tutorial on the Elli blog and made a few of my own variations. She called them roses, but I chose them because I thought they looked like poppies which is what I was going for. 

Cut out TONS of petals in the shape of the picture to the right.. Cut them free hand because you do not want them to all be the same. Vary width, height, and shape if you like. I folded my paper in half and cut two petals at one time. Cut three small slits in the bottom just like the black lines on the picture. Fold the sides over the middle and glue them in place (this is later referred to as the platform). The petal should start to form a curvichure when you do this. I used white glue for this so there was no bump. 

Once the glue on the petals has dried it is time to start to put them together. Start with 3 or 4 of your smaller petals. Arrange them in a circle and use white glue to glue the platforms together one on top of another. Use another 5-4 of your larger petals and glue their platforms underneath. Make sure to stager the petals when you arrange the outer ones so that they are between the inner petals. Continue adding petals staggered to the outside until you are pleased. I used about 6-10 petals/ flower depending on the shape and size.

Next cut 1.5" and 2.5" diameter circles out of the dark paper. Cut slits in the circles from the outside edge to the centre as thin as you can go (mine were about 2mm).  The slits should go 3/4 of the way to the centre. so there is a small uncut spot in the middle. Curl the slits around a pencil or chopstick so they resemble a small bowl. Finally glue the smaller one inside the bigger one. This will be the centre of your flower.

Twist the top of your floral wire 1-2 times around your pliers or pencil and fold that section over so that it creates a platform. Hot glue the flower petals onto the platform. Then use hot glue to place the centre piece inside the newly assembled flower. Finally cut a small cloud shape out of your lighter paper (the same as the petals). Poke a hole in the centre with the floral wire and slide it up the floral wire and hot glue it onto the very bottom to cover up the floral wire platform. 

Ta Da! Beautiful flowers that never wilt!

Wedding Crafts: Challenges of Blogging

I started this blog after I got engaged. I knew, that that time, that most of the crafts I planned to make, were going to be for my wedding.

Well it turned out to be true. I have been crafting a normal amount lately  if not more than normal, and I have not made any crafts that I want to blog about. The thing is, I want all the crafts at my wedding to be new and exciting. I don't want people to walk into my reception and whisper to their friend: "I know exactly how she made those flowers, dresses, necklaces...ect. Even though you might think they look impressive, its actually really easy." I want people to walk in and whisper to their friend: "WOW, thats so cool, where did she find such a cool object! Its so unique!"

Its tough to not blog about my crafts, let alone tell people about them. I would not say that my number one skill is with keeping secrets, when I get excited about something, I just want to tell people! I am so proud of so many of the crafts that I made so far but am really struggling to keep them a secrete.

The funny thing is that I knew this was going to happen as soon as I started the blog. Why couldn't I wait just 7 more months!? When I get excited, I cant hold it in! So I started, and started too early, and now have nothing to share.

In the end this blog post is about nothing really, just that I want to blog, but I cant. :(