How about that!

365 Day 65
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

In case you didn't know, I am a huge Redskins fan. If you know anything about the NFL you know that the Cowboys & Redskins is one of the nastiest rivalries in the NFL. Well, today the Redskins went to Dallas....& BEAT THE MESS OUT OF THEM!!!! We were 11 point underdogs according to Vegas. Well I guess we showed them! HA! Go Redskins!

All ready to go!

All ready to go!
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

We have been going through a lot a work lately. Our Assistant Director lef tin July for a higher position at our central office. Then our program manager retired a few weeks ago. We have had several staff resign & transfer to different counties. Now we are down to a skelton crew, but we are going to be fine! This was our little effor to show our appreciation. I decorated these boxes & made little tags for each worker out of shrinky dink paper. It was quite a labor of love, but so fun! We stuffed each box with little candies & voila, at cute little gift for each & every worker! How sweet, no pun intended!

A Pole New You

Always photo ready!
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

I have been having so much fun these past few months taking pole dacing classes from A Pole New You in Urbana, Maryland. Tammy Frazier is the instructor & she is so AWSOME! First of all, all of the students have a love hate relationship with her because she makes everything look so effortless & easy!!! When we try it often times we look a hot mess! But after plenty of encouragement & practice we look half way decent! Not as sexy as Tammy, but we are getting there! A Pole New You is the cutest little pole dancing studio! The bathroom alone is to die for! With a huge picture of Marilyn Monroe & pink stripes as far as the eye can see, what's not to love? They also offer private sessions, private parties & in home parties. I want a pole (yes, they sell poles too) for my house. Actually, it is at the top of my Christmas list! Can't you see the look on my neighbors face when they walk by & see me flying around a pole right in my living room!?

How I spent my Labor Day Weekend

A coffe & chocolate story
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

It started out on Friday. My husband, Troy & I went antiquing. It was a very cool & rainy day. We stopped at the Candy Kitchen on Market Street to get a couple of chocolates, then we went to Starbucks for a coffee. We had a great day of antiquing, having lunch, coffee & then happy hour all in downtown Frederick. Saturday morning we had to get up extremely early for our son's football game.

After the game Troy had to work. I spent some time online. Posted a few things over on Etsy, yada, yada.

Sunday I had a meeting with my group the DC Craft Mafia in Bethesda.

Troy's family was having a cookout that day too. Troy had to work, but I took the kids anyway.

I caught up with everyone & saw how big all the kids are getting.


Monday we hung around the pool at my parents house most of the day. That was very relaxing and fun, fun, fun!!!




All in all it was a relaxing & non-laborous labor day!

Tag, your it!!

Shayne of Novelty Kitten & Trans-craft-inental tagged me.

The Rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about six unspectacular quirks you possess.
4. Tag six fellow bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

Six Unspectacular Quirks I Possess
1. I can crack my toes repeatedly.
2. I have a very pronounced dimple in my left check and only a tiny speck of a dimple in the right cheek.
3. I pretend that I can understand my two Shih Tzu & I translate what they say, but it is always with a Chinese accent because the breed is from Tibet. I guess that is not very politically correct, huh?
4. In college my friends & I were addicted to playing Scrabble & the card game Speed. We spent many a late night doing both. I know, how exciting for college life.
5. I get obsessed with anything with mint & chocolate about once every 6 months. The rest of the year I almost can't stand the combination at all.
6. I am extremely ticklish under my arms but my feet are not ticklish at all.

I Tag:
Nicole
Amy
Seven
Danielle
Courtney
Sherry & John

Craft Project- Shabby to Chic

Owl
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

I found this old rusty cart at work when we were doing a little cleaning. I thought about taking it the first day but I forgot about it. The cleaning crew left it behind that night, so I thought it must be a sign that it is meant for to take it & love it! You can see the before here:



EWWW!!! It was a rusty mess!


After a little help from my son EJ painting & treating the rust spots


I decoupaged some pretty paper on the tops. I also added a few cute little details like this lucite kissing bird.




Now I have a chic little cart that I have added some zines & trinkets to add a little cheer to my living room. Plus the dogs like to look at it!

Walk to Work

flower
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

These are a few things I saw on my way to work this morning....

A pretty pink flower.



A water tower with my hometown proudly displayed.




A cat peering out a window.




And a fabulous antique shop.




This is small town living at its finest!
: )

Fun Flickr Game

I got this idea from my friends over at Trans-craft-inental. I thought it would be fun! So here are the directions.
Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
Using only the first page, pick an image. (You can arrange by "Most relevant," "Most recent," or "Most interesting.")
Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Labs mosaic maker. ENJOY!
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Erica
2. What is your favorite food? Risotto
3. What high school did you go to? Walkersville High School
4. What is your favorite color? Red
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Lorenz Tate
6. Favorite drink? Martini (fruity ones)
7. Dream vacation? Paradise
8. Favorite dessert? Red Velvet Cake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Fashion/ Artist
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One Word to describe you? Moody
12. Your flickr name? ericaburnsdesigns






1. Madison and Erica - Bent, 2. Rerun Risotto, 3. George Bennett & Johnny Bennett, 4. `paint the town red., 5. Lorenz Tate, 6. Sunset, 7. Summer time!, 8. I ♥ YOU, 9. Fashion Show Ladies, 10. Duck Family Portrait, 11. Moody sky...over Eiffel Tower, 12. triplets.tealpearls.det

Pole Dancing...Part Deux!

pink feather boa
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

I started part 2 of pole dancing class last night. It was really hard! A lot of swings this time. I pulled a muscle in my leg the day before, which made it even harder. Hopefully, I will be able to get it together next week. I think I might need to take part 2 at least one more time before I move on to the next level. I take classes at A Pole New You in Frederick, MD. It is an awesome studio dedicated strictly to exotic exercise. They have a chair class I'd really love to take as well. The pole classes are set up in a series. First is Conceptions I & II, then Shedding the Skin I & II, then Taking Flight I & II lastly Flying High!

A simple vegan dinner

A simple vegan dinner
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

This is a simple dinner, but it takes a lot of preparing. I had to soak the black beans overnight, slow cook them all day with garlic, onions & spices then served them over brown rice (which takes 55 minutes to cook). Simple, yet time consuming! It sure is good though!


Tonight I start part 2 of pole dancing class! Whoo hoo!

365 Day 8

365 Day 8
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

Over on Flickr I am doing a photo journal. I am doing a year's worth of photos. So far I am only up to day 10. Here is day 8's entry. I went to Starbucks with Troy to try their new smoothies. They are really good. I love a good smoothie! They are opening a Smoothie King in Frederick (where I live) soon too. I am excited about that! Troy turned this into a photoshoot! America's Next Top Smoothie Drinker!

Girls on the bottom

Troy & I had a lunch date the other day. We walked around downtown Frederick, but never actually ate lunch. We played on this see saw for a bit though! It sure was a swell time.



We saw some beautiful sidewalk gardens. Here is me in one of them!

My afro is getting big, huh? Hehe!

Lovebirds

Lovebirds
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

My husband, Troy, took me to a comedy show at Cafe 611 in Frederick, MD on Friday night. It was so fun! The feature act was Howard G. He was so funny! He even called Troy on stage to compete in his version of "The Dating Game." I have not laughed that hard in a long time! After this we went to IHOP & had dessert. It was a great date! We try to go on these dates a few times a month. Go to my flickr to see more date night pics & to see what else I have been up to lately!

Pole Dancing...for exercise???

Me at my first pole dancing class!
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

That's right! You've seen Oprah do it, you've heard about it. Well all the hype is right. This was the most fun I have had working out...maybe ever! I started a class at a pole dancing studio called A Pole New You located in my hometown, Frederick, MD. I had my first class last night with the co-owner, Tammy Frazier. She has training as an educator, dance instructor & cirriculum writer. The perfect combination to start a pole dancing studio! Tammy told us that she taught herself the techniques of pole dancing in a few months. She was great! I can't wait for session # 2! A Pole New You will be having a grand opening this Saturday the 12th. If you are any where near Frederick Maryland you should stop through!

One trick pony

All I seem to blog about is my weight loss escapade. I feel like a one trick pony. Oh well! That is the most exciting thing going on in my life right now. I started March 9 & I am now down 21 pounds in 3 months! I can fit a lot of my skinny(er) clothes now. I am in a weird in between place though right now. I am not quite small enough for my really small clothes, but I am too small for my big girl clothes. I think another 10-15 pounds & I will be able to get into my small clothes. Until then I am going to need some in between things that can take me through the summer.

My exercise has been going really well. I am doing about 2-2.50 miles on the treadmill in interval training. I mix it up between a fast walk and a jog and also add in slower paced hills. I also have been doing the elliptical machine. I have done a few classes at my gym like body pump, which is weight lifting exercises. I tried awesome abs, which is just like it sounds, nothing but abs exercises. It was pretty killer! I also have been doing weight training on my own which is pretty good. I am posting a new pic of me here:


This is me and my friend Kim from this past weekend in Georgetown.

Still coming down...

I currently down 17 pounds! Whoo hoo! That is my grand total so far from March 9th to May 4th. So in almost 2 months I am down 17 pounds. Not bad at all.

I have a lot more to say, but not much time to say it.

But later, for sure.

Losing It

It's been a minute since I have posted. My bad! I got over my illness from a few weeks ago and got very busy at work. Other than work all I have really been doing is keeping my exercise up. I have done very well with that. I also have been REALLY changing my eating habits. I have been on a detox for the last week and a half which has worked wonders for the way I feel. I was off sugar, caffiene & all meat for the first 9 days. Now I can have caffiene (just a little) and meat. I did start drinking coffee again, but no meat. I am really enjoying the no meat thing. Not to say I'll never again eat anything that had a mother. I am sure I will, but very limited I think. I have been eating a lot of brown rice, beans, veggies, fruit and tofu. I know what you are thinking. Toufu?! Beans?! EWWWW! but I am kind of a weird eater anyway. I like tofu & beans. It is primarily a whole foods diet. I got this diet plan from Dr. Ian Smith's Fat Smash Diet book. It is easy to follow and sets you up for a lifetime of healthy eating. A lot of people at work are on Weight Watchers, which is great, but i am also more of a health food/ healthy lifestyle person rather than just a dieter. The people on Weight Watchers don't necessarily eat all that well. I think some people do what is being called the "Junk Food Diet." It is all about the artificial sweetner and 100 calorie pack. So, anyway I am down a total of 15 pounds! Whoo hoo! Uh huh! Whoo hoo! I have also been in the gym like 4-5 times per week so I am getting fit & toned too. I will be in my sexy clothes before too long!
Peace

I am sick

I have been sick for the pass couple of days. I have missed work for a few days. I got a lot of rest yesterday and today and now I think I am all better. I may still be a little weak, but I think I can make it to work the rest week.

I have also missed the gym since Sunday, which sucks. I have been on a really good roll. I lost another 1.5 pounds for a total weight loss of 10 pounds in 4 weeks. I am super psyched about that! I also lost several inches off of my waist, hips and breast so far. I can fit several things I have not been able to get into for quite sometime. This makes me happy. Very happy!

When I get skinny...

When I lose all the weight I want to lose (which will probably take many months) I am going to go on a major shopping spree. So far I have lost 8 pounds (in 3 weeks). More importantly I have lost a lot of inches in my waist, thighs and hips. Although the big shopping spree probably won't happen until next year or the end of this year I have been checking out some cute dresses, career wear, and other outfits. I've picked out a few to share with you here!

First for that special date night with the husband to Georgetown, or even Gallery Walk in my hometown, I could try this very cute, but expensive dress:


Or this more affordable piece with a pair of jeans:




Maybe with these shoes:




And this bag:




Maybe for a cocktail party I could go with this fun pink dress:


or this to really sex it up:



My husband is in school right now, but when he gets out and we can afford a really nice vacation again we want to go island hopping. I love both of these for a tropical vacation on the beach:



Swimwear:


Then I'd like to wear stuff like this for work:




Sleek and Professional:




Finally for the weekend I like to keep it relaxed but I have to show off my new toned body too!
Things like thisjacket or these tops from BLUE FLY would be nice:




Ok, that is my mini-fashion show for my future body!

Don't get me wrong though, until then I will wear my cute plus sized clothes. I am all about the wrapped dress and wide leg trousers for now, but I can just feel the sleek new clothes coming! I like a lot of the styles on this site. Here are a few of my favorites: