To the fat farm & goal setting

I have to say I've let my weight spiral out of control. I'm tipping the scale more than I care to admit. So, I went to the weight loss doctor last weekend for a boost and some help. 

Four months ago I started seeing a weight loss lady. She used supplements and carb cycling. I couldn't wrap my head around that idea, and her supplements were costing about $150 a month. I only lost 5 pounds. The weight loss doc only costs $80 a month, so he was the better option. 

My friend Dee has been seeing a speciAlist that caters a plan based on her genetics. It's expensive, but she's lost more in 6 weeks than I lost in 4 months. She's been motivational for sure! She told me to set goals, so here's my first one: by April 1, I will lose 15 pounds. That's 7.5 pounds a month, or a little less than 2 pounds a week. 

Here's to a lighter me! 

Wants and Needs

I had an epiphany just the other day. You see, I was feeling pretty down in the dumps, so I was googling for inspirational sayings and feel goods and blah blah blahs. Yet, what I stumbled upon wasn't any of those things, but I was immediately drawn in to the article. 

The article discussed things like wants and needs. It was rude, crass, and bordered on hateful. For some reason, it was just what I needed to read. So, I read it twice. 

As it turns out, I want a lot of things just like all the other people in the universe-to be rich, to be happy, to quit smoking, to lose weight, to be a great parent, to go to or finish college. I'm not alone and having that knowledge made me feel better. 

However, the difference between me and a lot of "successful" people is that they don't just wish and dream about things. They get off their asses and make things happen. I'm not one for really making anything happen. Sure, I'll spend a lot of time researching something, but I never really do anything about it.

After I read the article last week, I pondered on it. Do I really want the things I say I do? Have I really thought things through? In most cases, no. I have not. That's why things stay the same for me. 

What I'm saying is this...I can only make changes if I really, truly, deep down on the inside DO IT. I have to do the things I don't want to do. 

Today was the day, friends. I saddled up. I got back on my bike. Literally. 

Slapped in my Chubby Face

Sometimes, I look at myself and think "damn. How'd you get to be so overweight?"  I lie to myself most of the time, but the truth is that I've let myself go and haven't eaten well or exercised. I do have a health condition that helps me pack on and keep the pounds, but ultimately, this is my own doing. 

Last night, I had an epiphany. I really can lose weight and get healthy if I choose to.  No one is responsible for me except for me. 

I've lost about 20 pounds or so since January, but that's without really, honest to goodness, working hard at it. If I make health my focus, I should be more successful, right?

My problem is knowing HOW to be healthy. All I know is being unhealthy and unhappy with my body. Guess it's time to do a little thinking and a lot more moving. The rest of my life starts today. 

Boobie beanies...crocheted

Okay. I can do just about anything Martha Stewart can, but I can't crochet or knit. I learnt the basic crochet chain and granny square, but that was a long time ago. I hated it!  

It's a little embaressing. Most of the women in my family crochet, but not me. My mother is annoyed by my lack of crochet skills because I blame her left handedness. Haha! 

At any rate, mom obviously crochets. 

Like a crazy person. 

Well, I'm a huge advocate for breast feeding. I nursed both my kids when it wasn't cool,  and my sisters nurse(d) theirs. Many of my friends breast feed. 

Apparently my aunt is a huge advocate, too. Her church is hosting a breast feeding awareness drive, and my crochet crazy mother is making tons of these: Boobie beanies. 

Oh. 

My. 

God!

The big one is for my aunt. I laughed so hard, I nearly fell over. I put in a request for my 8 week old nephew. His mom, by the way, is a milk cow now. 

Yay! Boobies!

How to make a deco mesh wreath part 2

So, I gathered my supplies for setting up the basic wreath. 

I'm making a small wreath for my cubicle at work, so I'm using a 12" wire frame, 4 rolls of 5" mesh ribbon, and some tiny satin ribbon. Usually I use 2-3 rolls of mesh, but I wanted to make the small wreath extra frou frou in honor of Autism Awareness month in April!  

The first thing I do I select my base mesh color. I ordinarily start with the darkest color and add the lighter colors second or third. For this wreath my base color is blue.

Start by adding pipe cleaners to two rows of rings. Fold the pipe cleaner (chenille stem) in half as pictured. 

You can twist in place around the ring two or three times, but I prefer to use zip ties. 

I place a pipe cleaner and zip tie around each section of the inner rings. You can do all 4 sections, 3, or 2. Most of the time I only put a pipe cleaner on the innermost ring and the third ring (or 2nd from outside). 

Continue adding your folded pipe cleaners to your work wreath. You'll end up with a jumbled mess like mine above. Once you've got all the zip ties or pipe cleaner twists in place, snip the zip ties to get rid of the extra length. If you didn't use zip ties, there's nothing more to do to prepare for your mesh. 

Ready for deco mesh!  This is the fun part. 

Grab your base mesh and gather about. 3-4" section in your hand to create a tail. Insert this into the innermost set of pipe cleaners and twist them around the mesh. Don't twist too tighly, or you'll break the pipe cleaners. Don't twist too loosely, or your mesh will pop out!

The tail!

Pushing the mesh into place between the pipe cleaner. Twist!  You want to make sure the tail is toward the center of the frame because you're going to pull it through to the back when you're done. 

Now, gather up some mesh, and move it toward the next set of pipe cleaners in the inside ring. Push into place. Fluff the mesh when needed and twist! Keep doing this all the way around the center while trying to maintain an even distribution of mesh. 

When you're done with the inner ring and you've reached your tail, move to the back row of pipe cleaners using the same method. When you reach the beginning of the back row, do the final twist, and cut the mesh leaving about a 6" tail. We'll wrap that around the back when we're done. 

Next up, the second color!  Starting in the inner ring again, grab your second color of mesh, grab a 3-4" tail, unwrap a set of ties, insert your starter second color, and twist. Work yourself around the inner and outer rings while untwisting pipe cleaners and inserting the second color. Don't forget to twist back together. 

Keep doing this for both the inner and outer rows. Whenever you want to add a new color, just untwist, add a tail, fluff, and go. Always start with the innermost ring!

Feeling Creative = Feeling Better

Yesterday I started working with some wooden puzzle pieces. As most of you know, my little guy has a very interesting outlook on life. Because of his differences, we, his mom and dad and family, see things a little differently, too. At any rate, he has Asperger's Disorder, which is also called High Functioning Autism. 

Since Autism Awareness month is April, I decided those little wooden puzzle pieces would be great doo-dads for an Autism Awareness frou! 

I painted them up in Folk Art acrilyc primary red, blue, and yellow last night, and today I'm working on the matching frou frou wreath to go with it. 

April is Autism Awareness month

And since my favorite little guy has Asperger's, a frou was in order!

I used a 16" work frame, royal blue pipe cleaners, and my staple:zip ties. First I attached the ties and twists, then I started on the center ring with royal blue. 

After adding blue to the inner and outer rings, I added red to the center, and I added yellow, too! 

Next, I added some matching yellow wire-edged ribbon, a big frou frou bow, and then hot glued the puzzle pieces on the wreath.

Fabulous!