Flock Together Blog Hop 12/13

Originally published in 2011 as part of a weekly blog hop — a kind of online meet-and-greet where everyone shared a post and wandered from blog to blog.

Welcome to the Flock Together Tuesday Blog Hop!

No rules! This is a button list, but you DON'T NEED to have a button to participate! Linky Tools will create one for you in a couple of easy steps. Simply...

1. Click on "Click here to enter" at the bottom of this post and follow the Linky Tools directions. In step 4, I recommend selecting "Auto Crop" and "From Web."
2. Click through the blogs and follow the ones you love in whatever manner you prefer (Google+, RSS, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Kindly pass on the ones you don't.

If this is all new to you, click here. If your goal is to find friends and gain followers, may I recommend that you also:

• Set a goal to find and follow a minimum number of blogs that interest you.
• Check back throughout the day to visit late entries They just may be your cup of tea!
• Leave a comment if you follow, and consider following back those who follow you.

This week's "Fine Feathered Friend" and guest host is Sarah at

I am a 21 year old wanna-be Southern Belle. I was born in North Carolina, raised in Alabama, then transplanted back in North Carolina by my Marine Corps Veteran husband. We have been married for a little over 2 years now. I'm a little old fashioned, but with a modern twist. I do not have any children, yet, but I do have one very cute, cuddly fur baby. I am almost finished with my Associates degree after almost four years of college? I try not to think about it... The worst part, I really have no intention of being a career woman. Don't get me wrong, I work to support my family as much as possible, and that's what the degree is for, but my ultimate goal in life is to have beautiful babies and raise them. Call it instinct? A need to pro-create? haha.. But anyway.. luckily, I have found myself a husband that believes the man is supposed to provide for his family. I like to coupon, not so much in the extreme sense, but I like catching a good deal. I like saving money. I'd rather find a cute top at good will than a cute top at Belk. Did you know, sometimes you will find things at goodwill that still have the tags on them? Okay, I'm drifting.. back to the subject... I like to pretend that I am creative, so you might see me getting a little crafty, or doing things myself (DIY?) I like to pretend I'm a good cook, so occasionally you might see me post a good recipe I've found and mastered. Oh, and beyond babies, my ultimate goal right now is to lose weight. I'm about 75 pounds too fat, and I'd like to be down to about 150 pounds. I struggle daily with avoiding chinese food and mountain dew, so this is a work-in-progress. Thanks for reading this, and I hope that you will stick around to learn more about me! READ MORE >>

Flock Together Blog Hop 12/6

Originally published in 2011 as part of a weekly blog hop — a kind of online meet-and-greet where everyone shared a post and wandered from blog to blog.

Welcome to the Flock Together Tuesday Blog Hop!

No rules! This is a button list, but you DON'T NEED to have a button to participate! Linky Tools will create one for you in a couple of easy steps. Simply...

1. Click on "Click here to enter" at the bottom of this post and follow the Linky Tools directions. In step 4, I recommend selecting "Auto Crop" and "From Web."
2. Click through the blogs and follow the ones you love in whatever manner you prefer (Google+, RSS, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Kindly pass on the ones you don't.

If this is all new to you, click here. If your goal is to find friends and gain followers, may I recommend that you also:

• Set a goal to find and follow a minimum number of blogs that interest you.
• Check back throughout the day to visit late entries They just may be your cup of tea!
• Leave a comment if you follow, and consider following back those who follow you.

This week's "Fine Feathered Friend" and guest host is Angela from

I was a wife. Now I’m a girlfriend. I am a mom. Now I am also a grandma. I used to prepare taxes, now I sell insurance. I like Harley’s, but own a Mustang. also like to recycle and try to take care of our world, so there is something here for my grandkids to enjoy later. I enjoy my life with my family and friends. We play games, work on puzzles, plant things, read books, watch movies, plan trips, find good places to eat, and fun places to go. Oh, and a few things I don’t like to do. I don’t like to cook. I am not a shopper either. I’m not a morning person, but being a responsible working woman I am up and on my job first thing Monday – Friday. I do like Saturday morning yard sales, but you will find me closing them down instead of starting them up. I love the "Put it all in a bag for a dollar” offers you get when everyone is hot and tired and ready to close down. READ MORE >>

50 lbs in 3 Months: Nicole's DIY Weight-Loss Plan

Before 

After

My friend, Nicole is a real inspiration, having lost 50 pounds in approximately three months! This is her story.

Nicole's weight problem was primarily the result of the emotional toll of four miscarriages. The weight eventually affected her mobility and caused foot pain. Her doctor advised that she wear foot braces to deal with the problem and indicated that surgery may be inevitable. Dissatisfied with either option, she decided to see if losing weight would help alleviate the problem.

I was under the impression that  Nicole had followed a plan prescribed by her doctor, but it turns out that she did this all by herself. She decided to apply the same guidelines she used feeding her daughter to feeding herself. She thought, "If I wouldn't allow my daughter to eat half of a bag of Oreos, then I probably shouldn't either."

Here are the nuts and bolts of her program:

• PORTION CONTROL: She serves herself her meals on her daughter's toddler's plates in order to control the portion sizes.
• WATER, WATER, and more WATER: She tries to drink a glass of water before each meal. She also fights temptations by drinking water and sips between each bite.
• FRUITS & VEGGIES: While not limited to fruits and vegetables, she allows herself to eat as much of them as she likes.  
• CUT IT OFF AT 6 PM: She stops eating around 6 PM.
• INDULGE ON LIMITED OCCASIONS: She allows herself to eat a small portion of her favorite indulgences on occasion.
• NO EXERCISE: She isn't adamant about this, but did mention that her weight loss occurred without additional exercise.

Nicole has lost over 50 pounds in the last three months. She no longer has trouble walking and enjoys being more active with her daughter. She's very humble about the entire experience and only discusses it if asked. I truly wish that you could have seen the radical metamorphosis my colleagues and I have witnessed. Using what little I knew about the plan before this interview, I have lost 3 pounds, and that was over Thanksgiving! Now that I know the entire "program," I am looking forward to letting the weight melt off me too :)