As many of you know my daughter Abby has started her modeling career. With that comes a healthy diet to stay thin for the camera. According to her Manager they wanted her to lose 10 pounds. Honestly I wasn’t sure where those 10 pounds were going to come from because she was as thin as a rail to me. They told her to have no carbs for 30 days. She wasn’t sure she could do this and was a little nervous about it. So I promised to do it with her. Her Manager at Found Model was presenting her to The Ford Modeling Agency.  We were faithful and she her 10 pounds. I lost 11 pounds in that month.  I was very happy and continued for several months to where it became very easy to me. I wasn’t quite as faithful as she was after that first month. So I’m still sitting where I was and I’m glad I have not gained, but I recognize the foods that are good for me and the foods that are bad for me.

Abby’s doing well,  she signed with The Ford Modeling Agency and she has modeled for The limited, La Senza, Crate and Barrel, Tyson Chicken, Diamond Nexus, Static Nails, Cocovan and many many more. I share some of her pictures on our Facebook page so be sure you watch for them. Theough her journey of trying to acquire more work and maintain her figure she has switched her diet from worrying about carbs to worrying about being healthy. This has been a lifestyle change for her. When she’s home she really tries to share recipes with me to help me live a more healthy lifestyle. We work on perfecting these recipes so they taste as good as possible and still are healthy for us. My Refrigerator has never looked so pretty inside, and I hardly recognize my pantry. 

So now with me trying to eat more healthy she still not getting off my back. She’s pushing me to exercise. Ugh. She sounds like my other daughter Summer who is an exercise machine. Of course I made resolutions like everyone else but I was not too harsh on myself.  I just decided to resolve to keep trying my best. 

The girls bought me an Apple Watch for Christmas which is awesome. I can get phone calls whether the phones in my hand or not. But that wasn’t the point of the gift. There is an activity app that they sent to their phones so they can watch what I’m doing. They’re both telling me I’m not getting my heart rate up. Ugh, technology!!  So with all that being explained I guess the exercise must begin. 

My oldest daughter Summer is getting married in October. Of course I want to look my best. So friends I’m going to start today not tomorrow. I’m not going to wait until Monday or until the new gym opens. I am going to start today. Today for my girls. Today for me!!!  
Do you my friends want to start today with me too?  Let’s do this!!!  

Tami Loves the idea of getting healthy!!! Who’s fridge and pantry is this?  MINE!

Yesterday I took down my tree, and all my holiday decorations. I vacuumed up pine needles, and bits of New Year’s confetti. I carefully packed away my delicate treasures until next year. As I stood in the middle of my family room, looking at the empty space where our tree had been, I was overcome by a sadness, that startled me for a moment. The room seemed to have lost it’s magic. Where there once had been strings of tiny white lights on the mantle, there was now nothing but bare wood. The front door was empty of it’s inviting holly and pine wreath. The stairway was back to its clean, but empty beauty, and the big, over-sized centerpiece was now absent from my dining room table. Every year, since I had become a wife, I was used to taking all the decorations down, and putting them away, without this feeling of loss. So why was I feeling blue this year?
I poured myself a cup of coffee, and sat cross-legged, in the middle of my family room, assessing the situation. It seemed that the room had been transformed from one of liveliness and celebration, to plain old, everyday, run-of-the-mill…room. Then I noticed the spot where the tree had been. I had moved an antique table from that spot a few weeks ago to accommodate the tree. What if, instead of returning the table back to it’s spot, I rearranged the entire room, to give it some new life…a new look. What if I kept some of those tiny white lights on the mantle? Why not? They brightened the room, and gave a soft glow to the fireplace area.
I jumped up so fast with my new idea in my head, I nearly spilled my coffee. I had a plan. I would incorporate some of the items I used at Christmas, into my everyday decor. I busily made a list of what I could make…a big, thick, beautiful gold “winter” style wreath for the front door, and a “winter” themed fireplace mantle complete with lights. My antique table would adorn the bottom of my stairway, complete with a lovely gold-rimmed mirror above it, and candles to light it up. I removed my old throw pillows, and instead, replaced them with vibrant ones which brightened the look of the entire room!
When I was finished, I looked around the house. Not only had I changed the look of the rooms, I changed the FEEL of them. The magic of Christmas had been replaced by the magic of “cozy winter home.” The wreath on the front door beckons friends and neighbors to come in, get warm, and lets chat. To me, that’s the spirit of Christmas being lived each and every day.
So don’t despair, Christmas lives on, in the beauty and charm of your everyday home! Rearrange, change it up, color it, wrap it in lights and call it it magic!! Imagine it, and do it!!
Tami Loves..a cozy winter home. 

Classes at Tami Loves are a great way to spend time with your best friends.  You meet new people and make new friends.  It ‘s a great time to do some much needed team building too.  We love crafting and DIY projects and we especially love sharing our ideas with you!

So, If your finding yourself with nothing to do and you live in our area check out our classes.  You just might meet a great new friend and have a creatively wonderful time!!

Staying positive…”If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” Henry FordWe’ve all been there. You’re somewhere with a group of people, and there’s that one person that is negative about everything. As they talk, you feel like the life is being sucked out of you. When you leave their presence, you feel as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You begin to feel “normal” again. That my friends, is what negativity can do to a person. It affects our minds, our psyches, and our physical bodies. Negativity causes stress. You need to deactivate the negativity. We all do!

Being positive is really just about being grateful, and content. Here’s my daily ritual for staying positive:

1) Wake up and give thanks for being alive, for being warm and cozy, and having the love of family and friends. Because being grateful will cause you to have more to be grateful about! It’s true. Sending out positivism in everything you do, only brings more of it back to you! 
2) Tell yourself as you get ready for your day that it’s going to be a great one! EXPECT it to be a great day! I am always reminded of that quote above from Henry Ford. Decide that you CAN have a great day, in spite of whatever it brings. Life happens, things go awry, but being positive helps you stay balanced and calm. You CAN handle what comes your way. 
3) Give someone your positivism by being kind, complimenting them, and just making them feel better because they encountered you today. Give others your sunny, positive attitude! It’s contagious. Give yours, and you’ll get the same in return!
Everyday is a new day, which brings hope. Staying positive allows that hope, peace and love to come into our hearts and our minds, and makes us want to share it with the people around us. We feel empowered because our positive attitude keeps the negativity at bay. Surround yourself with positive people, and you’ll feel the energy, too. Your mind, body and spirit will thank you for it!

Tami Loves…a positive attitude and being Your Beautiful Best.