You didn't win but you could still buy it!

UPDATE!
The highest bidder was $100!
Thanks so much to everyone who participated and donated!!! You helped me raise money to go back to Mongolia!

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CONGRATULATIONS to Kay for winning the quilt!

Yup, my Aunt Nancy actually drew my mother's name out of the box...and I have several witnesses that can testify to the fact that hers was the first ticket pulled - crazy huh?!

However, she has offered to sell the quilt to the highest bidder!

 So, if you are interested in bidding, email me at brandie.kitchens@elic.org - it's begun today, Friday, August 8th and will end on Sunday, August 10th at 5pm.

The bid is up to $40 as of August 8th at 1:10pm.

Good Luck!

Another FABULOUS Quilt!!

****UPDATE****

And the winner is....

CAROL BOUNDS!!!

Congratulations and enjoy that adorable quilt!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this fundraiser!!

****UPDATE****

New pictures of the completed quilt - it's even MORE ADORABLE than before!!

This is the back.

We have received almost 100 donations and therefore, almost 100 entries to win! Is your name in the drawing yet? To donate and get your name in the drawing, click on the link to the left to donate through PayPal or email me!

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My incredibly talented Aunt Nancy is up to her fancy crafty ways again and is working on a quilt to help me raise funds to stay in Mongolia! (Click here to know why I'm in Mongolia.)

This "Lone Star Quilt" is even cuter up close and is currently being finished up! 

For every $10 you donate your name gets put into the drawing!* 

*No donation necessary. If you would like a chance to win this quilt without giving a donation, email me for details!

Aunt Nancy and me!

Click on the link to the left to donate through PayPal 

or 

Email me!

Once you donate, your name will be written on one ticket per $10 donation!

Weighty Goals Update 2013 #2

"The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends." ~Author Unknown~


 So, my 42 pound weight loss has turned into more of a 33-ish pound weight loss. Still good but considering that I'm going in the wrong direction it's discouraging! This change of life over the past 14 months has been difficult (why did I move to Mongolia?) and there have been so many times when I've been incredibly tempted to go back to my old ways of bulimia. However, (and thank goodness there's a however) because I have a loving Father, I have not gone back and in fact, this August will mark my 6th year of not purging! You can read my CR journey by clicking here. Since August, I moved and live only a 5 minute walk from school and to get to the city, I take a bus now so I don't walk nearly as much as I did when I first moved here. While my feet are grateful and blister-free, my weight loss slowed way down. I sometimes climb Zaisan, a monument on top of a hill not far from my apartment, but I haven't made that a regular thing like I had planned to.

Inspired by my mom who has lost over 30 pounds this year, I decided I needed to clean my diet up also. I have a fear that I while I'm home this summer I'll binge on all the foods I've missed over the past year (there's no fast food here or Chili's, Chipotle, Blue Goose, Babes, Denton County Hamburger, Texas Roadhouse or any of the other restaurants I used to love...it's sad isn't? Poor Mongolians don't know what they are missing. But I'm supposed to be talking about weight loss. Ahem.) And then of course, having access to a car and not having to walk at all really (and therefore, my exercise gets cut dramatically) also scares me. My mom was able to get herself off caffeine, sugar and bread - no easy feat but if she can, I can! Here is a picture of us when she came to she came to visit me in Mongolia!

Something that I've found to help greatly in the past is accountability. If you read weight loss success stories (and there are TONS out there), many of them include some sort of accountability whether it be a trainer, doctor or just a few like minded friends. Enter my fellow UB teacher, Pam! Here is my favorite picture of us on the left. At this point, we both have our weight loss goals and plans on how to do this and will be keeping each other accountable through an app we share on our computers. My hope is that I can wean myself off of some of these foods before I go home and hopefully, won't be tempted (or as tempted) to binge on them.

I have proved this impossible but know Who this is possible with!
If you would like to join us, email me and I'll fill you in!

Planes, Trains and Elephants

 On January 16th, I boarded a plane and headed to Las Vegas, Nevada to meet my dad for vacation. We watched the Bellagio Fountains, ate nachos at El Diablos, played "toy dice" and walked all over the strip!

Dad and I in front of the Golden Nugget!

We went to see Terry Fator (a big ventriloquist who won America's Got Talent several years ago). He was great!

From there, I boarded a plane to LA, California to vacation with my mom, brother, sister (Cody's wife) and most importantly, my nephew! We rented a house, walked along the pier, shopped in some cute places, slept in and played Mexican Train every night!

My nephew, Gideon - the one I was most looking forward to seeing as he was born after I left for Mongolia! He's wearing a shirt I made for him before I left - it says "I love you" in Mongolian.

My brother, sister, nephew, mom and I at the San Clemente Pier - it was beautiful.

Yup, I'm his favorite. Aunt.

Amy and I with mom in the background.

Mom loves the ocean - too bad it was too cold to swim in.

This is how he and I spent all our time in the car - staring at each other. I couldn't get enough of that face!!!

 After that, I boarded another plane and went to Chiang Mai, Thailand to meet one of my closest friends, Karen for vacation. We went washed and fed elephants, flew to Bangkok, went to an aquarium, saw several temples, took an overnight train back to Chiang Mai, ate at some fancy places, had our feet done and explored Thailand. So. Much. Fun.

Karen and I went to an Elephant Sanctuary in the jungle near Chiang Mai - they were incredible!

No girls trip is complete without a few fun drinks!

China Town in Bangkok!

And finally, I joined about 600 others who work for the same company I do for our Annual Thailand Retreat (ATC). I had a blast.

When I met up with friends at ATC, I ran into an old friend Michelle. She was one of the reasons I joined this company!

We had a ton of fun going to the Night Market and eating Thai food - so fun!

8 plane rides

7 hotels

5 time zones

1 house

1 train

Loved every minute!

She did it y'all!

Yup! My awesome (not to mention brave) mom took her first transcontinental trip and came to see me in Mongolia! She came for about 9 days and while she was here she slept on my couch, tried some Mongolian dishes, went to see Spider Man 3 with me, went to Naadam, pampered me at a 5 star hotel and spa, met my team, and basically got a taste for what life is like out here on the other side of the world!

 This is us at Sukhbataar Square getting ready to watch the opening ceremonies of Naadam!

And this is my attempt at taking our picture at Naadam.

We were afraid to get any closer - he kept making noises at us. At least he was smiling for the picture!!

My team went with us on a tour of Terelj National Park and we stopped by a real Mongolian family ger!

Saw the Genghis Khan statue! He's sitting on the largest statue of a horse in the world!

Here we are at Turtle Rock!!

You can see it better in this picture I think.

This is a fountain at a hotel we visited.

Mongolia has several statues of Lenin, probably left over from when Russia was in control. Here is one at The Terelj Hotel we stayed at. We usually get a picture of ourselves with the Lenin statue in Las Vegas, only his head is missing...

We had a fun time. I love that she came and she loves that she now knows a little more about where I am and who I'm with. I just regret that she didn't do as I asked and pack my four month old nephew or my dogs so I could visit with them too. Maybe next time...