BeddingBlog

Although I’ve never been big on New Year’s Resolutions, this year I have made an exception and set aside a true resolution to get healthy both physically and mentally.  I started this goal before the New Year started simply because there was no reason to wait a couple more weeks to get healthy AND in doing so, I got a head start on losing weight and it’s always easy when you’ve got momentum.  My goal is to get in shape, but more specifically to get toned and to lose weight.  However after saying this so many times before without getting much for results; I knew it was time to make a change.  These are the 5 key steps to reaching my goals.

1. Eat a high fiber and protein diet – cut out super fatty and high carb foods. Shoot for two good sized meals a day plus a snack or two if needed.  I talked to a doctor and he recommended fruits like blueberries and blackberries (really high in fiber) and eating fresh vegetables regularly.  I switched out beef and chicken with salmon and tuna and cut back on the amount of meats I was eating.
2. Don’t throw the diet by the wayside when going out to eat. This was a big problem before, I thought if I was going out to eat, I’d push the diet aside and resume after I had indulged.  There were 2 problems with this. First, I’d gain a pound or two and then feel like I had ruined the whole diet, why start now, it’s already a lost cause.  Two, I could still eat out AND not gain weight – simply order the salmon or fish on the menu, absolutely NO wine, and avoid the bread, vinegar, and oils.
3. Stop expecting it to happen overnight. I can be a very impatient person at times and go really, really hard at exercising and eating right for a week or two, drop a few pounds and then when it gets harder I get impatient and start to get burned out and give up.  I start to accept that I’m just the way I am and can’t change – WRONG! I’ve started to realize that it’s not an overnight thing, or even a month long thing, it’s a lifestyle change.  It might take me a year to get to where I want to be, or maybe I’ll be 30 before I get to my goal, but if I work at it every day, I WILL get there and I’ll be happier and healthier along the way.
4. Create system to keep track of daily exercises and exercising more. I work from home and spend most of the day and evening at my computer, so I created pull tabs on pieces of paper that mark how many exercises I have done.  For example, I have a running sheet, and each one mark 100 calories burned on the elliptical.  Every time I run 100 cal I can tear off a tab, I’ve set it up so that all the tabs must be torn off by a certain day, some days I can slack and other days I’ll have to work harder to catch up, but it always works best to stay right on track.  I’ve stuck to 3 key tear sheets, one for running, and one to each of the two leg exercises I have.
5. Get more sleep and make my days less stressful – take more time to relax. Often I’ll find myself getting caught in the hustle and bustle and realize that I’m always bending over backwards to accommodate other people’s schedules.  It’s easy to do, but I also find that half my day is spent overly stressed about tiny (and likely unimportant) details.  I have set aside times when I don’t work – meals times, exercise times and of course…sleep time.  I allow myself 7 hours for sleep plus a half hour for TV and internet browsing before going to sleep.  This was one of the harder changes to make so, to make it easier, I redecorated my bedroom with a new bedding set, some new artwork and lighting (which made a huge difference).  I decided to take a little time for myself and full advantage of the after Christmas bargains and make my bedroom into a place where I actually wanted to be.

So those are my 5 steps to reaching my New Year’s resolutions and the combination has worked out really well.  So far so good, down 5 lbs and on my way to a healthier and MUCH happier lifestyle and only 10 more lbs to go (plus lots of toning).  Thanks Twitter Moms for this opportunity to share with others and hopefully inspire others to get healthy as well.   It would be great to have a copy of Your Shape (http://www.yourshapegame.com) to make the rest of my resolution more enjoyable!

<!-- UbiSoft_Your_Shape_TM_Badge (1000223271) --><script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www24a.glam.com/appdir/getscript.jsp?view=profile&amp;iid=16791&amp;aid=104510405&amp;render=1"></script>

Welcome to the BeddingBlog – for those of you who are new, I hope to inspire you with the latest decorating trends I come across!  Recently, I found some unique growing trends in the bedding industry that were really, really cool…

First of all – round bedding and round mattresses – if only this had existed when I was a kid.  The pillow fights, and late night girl talks that we could have enjoyed on a round bed would have been so much more comfortable so say the least.

Secondly, I’m absolutely lovin all the photographic bedding out there – you can literally take a picture of your child skateboarding, snowboarding, or just doing what kids do, and have it turned into a bedding set. WOW! talk about ingenious.  I can already close my eyes and picture all my childrens rooms with pictures of them all over! (ok so I’m a little ahead of myself)

All these things are so unique, I can’t say how many times that I wish this was around when i was a kid…  So if you’re looking for a great decorating idea in the bedroom – be sure to check it out (its not just for kids, they have adults designs too)!

my beautiful flowers

By this time I’m thinking that the first delivery person had forgotten both bouquets so they made two separate trips – no big deal…Until the clock hits 11 AM and another delivery person walks in with another flower arrangement. I keep thinking this is so unreal and SOOO not like him. At that point the notes started to create a scenario – “I love it when your hair is down”, “That black sweater is so sexy on you”, “I love it when you cook Italian food”, and so on and so forth.  From lunch break on, every hour on the hour another beautiful flower arrangement arrived with another little note.  As I am ready to leave, the last set of flowers shows up…This time it has a time and place where I’m supposed to go after work.

Hurrying to carry all the pretty flowers into my car, drive home, shower, change and then an hour back to our college town to meet up, I made sure to follow his instructions (wearing his favorite sweater and jeans, making sure my hair was down and extra pretty As I walked into the restaurant where I was told to meet at, there was a balcony table set up just for us, candlelit and a single last rose sitting on the table with a bottle of our favorite wine awaiting us.  We sat and talked for hours after enjoying an amazing Italian meal and at that point I knew he was not only the love of my life, but would always rise to the occasion and go that extra mile (or five) to show how me much he really truly cares.

BUT – it didn’t end there, as he walked me back to my apartment and kissed goodnight, he waited for me to get inside before acting like he had left.  I was tired after such a wonderful and busy day – that I barely noticed the best surprise of all – on my bed was a photo blanket with a collage of all of our best memories together – a snowboarding trip, our first date, wakeboarding together for the first time – everything was right there in front of me… Another single rose, laid on top with a note tied to it.  The note said “I will love you forever” and nothing more – as I started to cry, I reached for my phone to call him only to realize he was still sitting in his car in the parking lot waiting for me.  Now that we’re married and we have so many more memories together – I take that blanket with me everywhere, on vacation, road trips, you name it…It’s the most special gift I’ve ever been given and it reminds me of how gr8ful I am to have love like this in my life.

Thanks Target for the opportunity to share such a special memory with everyone!

The sweetest gift I've ever received

//

Vivid color images and super sharp photo clarity are just two benefits of camouflage bedding.

Camouflage bedding refers to the incredibly sharp images that you can have put on bedding material. Whether it is a photo or a graphic element, such as a cartoon character or a unique design, you can spice up any room with this incredible technology.

One example of the camouflage bedding includes photo blankets, where new parents will put adorable photos of their newborn on the blanket. Another idea that parents of older children will do is put images of soccer balls, race cars, exotic beaches, movie stars, and more on the machine washer-safe bedding,

There is an incredible array of available images, depending on the camouflage bedding company you go with. One website had images of animals that included tigers, horses, and dinosaurs. Another category had sports images of basketball, football, BMX, snowboarding and surfing. Whether the camouflage bedding is for a girl or boy, a style and image category is sure to catch your interest.

And for folks with furry, four-legged children, there are pet beds that can be adorned with your favorite photos of your dog or cat. Options include a collage of 12 or four images on bedding for small, medium or large dogs.

This is where you can really get creative because you can submit your own photos. Your imagination is the only limit when it comes to the images you want to put on your pet’s bed. Check and see if you can add text and what kind of fonts are available. Also, the best kind of pet bedding is one that will not fade or tear after years of use.

Various sizes and bedding types are available for your camouflage bedding. Some companies offer the image installation on different sized pillows and throws, as well as blankets and comforters.

The secret to the long life of the image is that the photo is dyed into the fabric of the bedding material. This makes it much more durable and fade resistant than an image that has been ironed on.

Check out all the various options for borders between photos in a collage and the different materials available. You’ll also have to decide on what color you want the non-image side to be, so get creative and create your own camouflage bedding today.

Do you realize that it’s now possible to have just about any image you want printed on your bedding? It’s true. You can get custom bedding, everything from your wedding and vacation photos to pictures of your grandkids, that special pet, your favorite movie star, an Art Deco design, a Hawaiian sunset over the ocean, or an exploding supernova. With modern digital imaging technology and digital printing techniques it’s possible to pull an image off the Internet, e-mail it to your custom bedding manufacturer, and get it shipped right to your home in the space of a few days or weeks. The design possibilities are literally without limit (except for your own conception of appropriateness and good taste, of course). But think about this, if you’re fascinated by the world’s big cats, you could quite reasonably have a bedspread, sheets, pillowcases, duvets, and bed skirts all printed in a leopard skin pattern, or even bearing the images of a whole galaxy of different big cats from tigers to snow leopards to the magnificent black jaguar. If you want, you can even get a matching dog bed made up with your personal pattern. The versatility of custom printing can enable you to have your entire bedroom coordinated with a single unified theme so that everywhere you look, you’ll see pleasing, soothing images. This kind of customized interior was formerly only available to the very wealthy at great expense, but now, thanks to the magic of digital technology, it’s within the reach of even a modest home-decorating budget. There’s at least one bedding company out there that puts out high quality, totally customizable bedding that’s starting to create quite a stir.

One of the great things about this customizable, modern bedding is that it’s not only beautiful, but the quality and prices are comparable with regular bedding. The images are permanently dyed into the material and won’t wash out or fade. Plus the fabric used to manufacture this bedding is top quality plush, micro suede fabric for the top layer; with 320 thread count sateen cotton on the bottom. This is great quality. Having a pretty, soothing pattern on your bedding is so important, especially as you age, since it becomes even more important to have sound, restful sleep when you’re older to maintain your health and mental clarity. To learn more, consult the info at http://www.apa.org/topics/whysleep.html/.

Because it’s so important to sleep soundly, custom bedding is one of the best investments that you can possibly make.