Weight loss journey.

To be honest, the weight loss journey seems to have come to somewhat of a halt. I am not losing too much at the moment...just trying to maintain. I do have a 4 pd...leeway that I allow myself. I made the mistake of letting myself get carried away at Christmas time, and gained about 9 pds. I was down to 183. Now I am between 186 and 189. I do believe that if I could get myself to exercise more, I could get back to the 183 or less. I can't seem to find the time or the energy. I am not giving up though....
As always, my weakness is still the salty chips, etc. Too bad...because they are like poison to me.

Encouragement Booklet

This is actually the first and last page of the booklet. The rose is made from paper...Just in case you couldn't tell....:)

I have a friend who does a lot for others. I figured now would be a good time to let her know that someone notices how much she does. This booklet was made from a set of coasters. I think it turned out quite nicely. Do you agree?

There are 12 pages altogether, but this will give you an idea of what it looks like. I did put some ribbon and fibers on the ring after I was all done. Which of course, I took the pictures before I did that....so you will have to use your imagination a little.

Try one...it's a cinch.

Here is a picture of the back...

Just another scrapbook...

Here is a couple pictures of my newest scrapbook I made for my friend Jessie.

The pages in the album spell out her name. The pages are cut from cardboard, and her theme is owls. She just like owls...so almost every page has an owl or two on it.

Heres the front cover...and hopefully you can see the letters spelling out her name.....

The weight loss journey.

Just thought I'd quicky say...the gastric bypass journey is still and ongoing thing...LOL! I lost one more pound, but that is after gaining 4 of them back. I believe they were water pounds, because I bought some of those little packs of stick pretzels. 120 calories per pack. I ate one pack one day, and the next day...I had gained 2 pds. Now mind you everything else I ate was pretty much as usual. The next day, I ate 1 more pack and gained another pd. One more pack the next day and one more pd. Well, at this point I decided that pretzels are my enemy...and have not eaten the other packs. In the next three days..(yes, even with a water pill it took me three days ) to lose that water wieght, plus one more pd.(not only the water pill, but iced tea, and watermelon...)
I have decided that even though pretzels are lower in fat...they are not a friend to me. No more pretzels...No more pretzels...no more.......I will try really hard...LOL.

Weekend project

Here is my friend album that I made for a special lady. I thought that I would share it with you. I think it turned out quite well and was sooooooo much fun. If you look really close, you can see my first attempt at making a figure out of fimo clay. Back between the roll of tape and the calculater on my desk. .That was unintentional, but well...he wanted to be shared too.

Have a good day...and make it your own. In other words....enjoy it.

Gastric bypass update

Wow, its been a long time since my surgery. I have lost 131 pds. Feeling pretty good most of the time. I can tell when I eat too much and don't forget it...LOL!!! To be honest, I do eat too much sometimes, but mostly I do pretty well. I have not been so good, with the exercising. I probably could lose some more weight if I could only get myself back into excercising. I started this journey weighing 320 pds. Now I am 189. I would like to lose another 14 pds. I am still trying, but sometimes I just need to work a little harder.

Well, here are my latest birthday cakes. I have decided that paper decorations look really cool on a cake and they are so....much fun to make and so easy. If you will notice, the 3-D car on my brothers...The picture is kind of hard to see, but I put my brother at the wheel....LOL....

On the one for Paula, the little eeyore in the middle is made of clay. I was pretty proud of the fact that I made an eeyore figurine, and it came out quite well. Sometimes I even amaze myself...LOL!!!

Christmas tags

Yes, you did read that right. I know it seems like Christmas is a long way away, but it will be here in all of its splendor before we know it. I joined a swap with Christmas tags. I had to make 50 of them, and I will get 50. Here are some pictures of my tags I made. Each one is unique. I hope they make you smile.

cupcake stand for moms day

I finally did it, and was so happy with myself. I wanted one of these so bad, and just couldn't seem to come up with anything that fit just right. Finally, I figured it out, and I can even reuse it. The papers are all removable, so that it can be redone in different themes.

what do you think?

Doily Challenge

I have a friend who presented me with a challenge...she gave me 8 red doilies and asked me to come up with something to use in decoration of a bedroom.

It took some thought, but here is what I came up with...

a Luminary ..............................................................

a kleenex cover.........................................................

and a mobile...........................................

I use all but 2 of the doilies. I think she was happy with the results.

The bed doll caper......

This is my latest caper...or adventure. I made one of these some years ago, for a lady at work. I never took a picture of that one. This one is also for a lady at work, and I had no idea how much work it was going to be. Not hard work, just time consuming. I like to crochet, but working with paper goes so much quicker, so paper is usually my craft of choice...thus the scrapbooking interests.
I think she turned out quite pretty. I sewed lace under each ruffle to make it a little more frilly. I hope she likes it. What do you think?

I had two sheets of inkjet shrinkydinks, for the longest time. I have been "afraid" to use them, because they were a little on the expensive side. I know, $8.00 for two 8 1/2x11 sheets doesn't sound too bad, but I was afraid that I would mess them up and it would all be a waste. Well, they turned out pretty good, and I have made two pair of earrings (already sent one pair out, and didn't take a pic) But here is a pair I made for my sister, along with a charm bracelet. She likes pandas, and I liked the cupcake. The little girl is our niece. Her favorite color is purple, so the other charms have a purple bead in the center. What do you think? Anyone want a personalized charm bracelet?????

ok, this is what happens when you take your own picture. I made my Mom a scrapbook about her life accomplishments. I included pictures of each of us kids, when were were babies, kids, and now. This is my Now picture. Whenever I try to take a picture of myself, it always looks like I am craning my neck...or some silly nonsens. Oh well, it did the job, and gave my mom a smile. That was definitely worth the effort.

This is me and Mark Richards from Lite 98.7. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to the Taste of Home Cooking Show this past year, and 98.7 hosted it. I love his smile. I hope I am not breaking any copywright laws by posting this. It is my picture, so I should be able to post it. Anyway, I really enjoyed the show, and my sister who was with me, also had a grand time. She is the one who likes to cook. I cook, because I like to eat...LOL!!!! We did learn some great tricks while there. If you have one in your area..."Taste of home cooking show"...you might like to check it out. It really is worth a visit.

Simply Ages...take a deep breath...

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. Yes, Christmas has come and gone. I miss it, It didn't even feel like it was here when it was here. I suppose a lot of that has to do with my Dad being gone. I thought it was supposed to get easier, but instead, I think I miss him even more. I love you Dad. We all miss you so much.
Now I will try to get back to topics...
Managed to get most of my Christmas presents made that I planned on. There were a couple that will have to be birthday presents, the time just wasn't there when I needed it.
Can't wait for winter to be over. Come on Spring. We need some flowers and lots of sunshine. Well we did get some sunshine a couple days ago. Life is good..it could be so much worse. We could be homeless and without any family...so I will smile and be cheerful and life will get better. Do you hear me out there. It will be what we make it.

Phew!!!! Another Black Friday over and done. Are you a Black Friday shopper? I do not have the patience to wait in those horrifically long lines. It amazes me that anyone does. Now some of the deals I admit are very good, but I would just have to go without. I wait until the rush is over, and if it is left then I will get it, and if its not well...too bad for me.
Today is another wonderful day with a clean slate for me to fill. I am excited to see what wonders will unfold.
Have a beautiful day after black Friday everyone.

Thanksgiving

Wow...had a wonderful thanksgiving day. Was a little tired...but the who wouldn't be. All my food turned out great, except the brown and serve rolls that I burned on the bottom and were as hard as rocks...oh well something had to go wrong...LOL!!!
At least it wasn't something important.
Thank you Lord for a wonderful day. Missed my Dad something fierce, but I know that he would have been proud of us and happy that we were happy.
Well, off to work for the "yearly event " at wally world. I hope everyone gets what they need to start off their Christmas shopping.
Have a wonderful day all...I am planning on it.

Woo hooooooo Turkey day is almost here. How am I going to manage that with this bypass surgery????? Should be interesting...LOL!!! I will just have to be a good girl, and have a bite of 5 or 6 things! No matter what, the food will be good and the company will be better. I will be having dinner with my family. That is something to be grateful for.
I will miss my Dad. Holidays are just not quite the same without him, but we still love and miss him. We find it helps to talk about him. I think it makes us feel like even though he isn't with us in body, he is still there in our hearts.
Mom is still with us, and though she is in a lot of pain she still seems to be in good spirits most of the time. Thank you Lord for giving us more time to spend with her. We are grateful for every single day.
Enjoy your turkey everyone. Have a happy turkey day.

Just a quick note...to say hello...and thank God I am alive. I had a few bad days last week...won't go into details, but just suffice it to say....I am glad it's over. Now life it good...Christmas is coming, and after today I am off for two days. Yay!!!! That means I get to spend time with family, and maybe friends. Those are the best times...and I love spending time with family and friends. Life is good, God is great...and I am looking forward to this day. Smile everybody...it is catching.