20 Random Facts About Me

Since it is a new year, I wanted to jump on this tag that has been circulating around YouTube and Instagram. Here are 20 random facts about me!

1. I am an only child
2. I will graduate from college in May with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mass Communications, Concentration in Public Relations and a Minor in General Business
3. I am afraid / hate spiders (or most bugs / critters for that matter, but I like caterpillars, especially when they curl up in a ball, I know ... weird, right?)
4. I love raccoons and think they are the cutest things
5. I have a dog and a horse (side note, my family has always owned horses. When I came home from the hospital as a baby, a horse was probably looking at me.)
6. I love being in the pool, but cannot swim
7. I fractured my finger playing varsity softball in high school which required surgery and having pins put in
8. I am an American Cancer Society Relay for Life Committee member
9. I was a Marketing and Communications intern for the American Heart Association (Fall 2013)
10. I started this blog in January 2013 as a way to chronicle my weight loss journey
11. In 2013 I lost 20 pounds!!!!
12. I hate speaking in front of small groups of people, but love speaking in front of large groups of people
13. I want to travel to all 50 states one day (I'm making decent progress)
14. I am obsessed with Nikes, addicted to Instagram and can't go a day without watching YouTube videos
15. I wish I knew sign language
16. My favorite colors are Navy and Gray
17. My favorite movies are Clue and A Christmas Story (I have the collector popcorn tin, cookie cutters, pens and notepads) 
18. I am always hungry (and say it multiple times throughout the day)
19. My mom is my biggest supporter and one of my best friends
20. I come from an amazing family full of successful people and I cannot wait to be the next one embarking on success!

Pounds Lost, Pounds Left to Lose Jars

I am very excited for today's post because it is a DIY project and it is one that I have been wanting to complete for months. If you have read the title, you know today's post features weight loss progress jars.


For this project I used:

Supplies I Used

• Ribbon (any size you like)
• A Sharpie permanent marker and a pencil
• A Bath and Body Works gift / hang tag (for tracing purposes)
• Marbles (for progress purposes)
• Scissors
• A hot glue gun
• 2 jars (I used Bath and Body Works candle jars, removing any left over wax beforehand)
• A hole punch
• Thick paper (for the labels)

Here are the steps I took to create these jars. If you are pretty crafty, you will probably be able to cut some steps in half (step one specifically) or cut some steps out all together.

Steps 3 and 4

1. First, I removed any leftover wax from the candle jars. I did put one candle in the freezer for about an hour before taking it out and letting it rest for about 5 minutes. I then used a sharp knife to carve four sections that I was then able to then pop out. For the second candle, I simply cut the wax out, skipping the freezing portion. 
2. I let the jars soak overnight in dish detergent before washing them in the morning and letting them drain. 
3. I took a thick piece of paper and used a leftover Bath and Body Works Christmas hang tag to trace the shape before cutting it out. This will serve as the labels for the jars indicating which one shows weight lost to date and which one shows weight left to lose. 
4. Using the hole punch, I punched a hole at the end of the tag and threaded the ribbon through the hole.
5. I made sure the jars were dry both inside and out before taking my hot glue gun and adhering the ribbon to the jars. I placed the ribbon about a half an inch to an inch away from the top of each jar, but I am sure placing the ribbon in the middle will look nice as well. 
6. The last step was filling each jar with the marbles!

Step 5

Step 6 (Finished Project)

There are 20 marbles in the pounds lost jar, indicating the pounds I lost during 2013. There are 43 marbles in the pounds left to lose jar indicating the weight I have left to lose.

Side note, I found some motivational print outs on Trendy TreeHouse that I may go back and add to some of the marbles. If so, a few larger marbles will be necessary.