A "weighty" Issue Part 2

I just completed my first week doing the Weight Watchers Point Plus program. I lost 5.4 pounds!! Yay!

I have to say that I don't feel deprived at all. I didn't really exercise this week because it's been so stinkin' hot! I also ate out...a LOT! No real exercise plus eating out and I still lost weight?? I'm loving this program. :)

Linking up at these great parties!!

Ruffled Bag

I went on a fabric craze a couple of weeks ago with my sister. We hit the sale section at Jo-Ann's and bought a ton of fabric. I just bought 1/2 yard of each. I had no idea what I was going to do with them but the colors made me happy. :)

A couple of days later I went to Wal-Mart in Brea (one of the few that carry fabric) and bought even more fabric. The lady asked me if I was a quilter. "No, just a crazy lady that loves the possibilities of all these fabrics." Although, I would LOVE to learn how to quilt.

Browsing through the blogs I follow, I hit upon some inspiration. I've seen a couple of ruffled bags and wondered if I could make one.

Here is the combination I chose.

And here is the (almost) finished product. Please ignore my dirty cabinets. That's my soon to be next project...

I bought a 3 pack of canvas totes at Michael's. I figured it would save me the few steps of making my own purse. I decided on the placement of fabric and set about measuring. I didn't think it would be easy to sew anywhere on this bag but at the top so the bottom fabric actually reached up to the top. Each succeeding piece was just a little shorter.

Then, I hemmed each piece at the bottom and made my gathering stitches at the top. After each piece was gathered, I fit them to the bag. Once that was done, I sewed the bottom two pieces together, then the top two pieces. In the end, I sewed all four pieces together. I did this so that in pinning all the pieces together, my gathering stitches wouldn't let out. I'm no expert seamstress,

so this made sense in my head. lol

Before I stitched the ruffles to the canvas bag, I needed to add a border to hide all the gathered mess on top. I used a bandana that I bought at Wal-Mart for a dollar. Once that was done, I attached it all to the canvas bag. I still need to add something to the top...maybe a fabric flower or one of these leather flowers found at http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/2011/08/funky-friday-feature-gunny-sack.html

All in all, it cost me less than $10.00! Woo Hoo!

A "weighty" Issue

I did it! I joined Weight Watchers today! God helped me to see that if I cancelled my membership to FaceLogic (monthly facials) I could afford Weight Watchers. I guess at this time, being healthy and losing weight is more important than glowing skin. lol

I exercised a little last week, some on purpose and some by accident. The accidental exercise came with a lovely little trip to Pasadena with Matt. We were looking for Blick Art Supply and Matt said we should park and walk. WHAT? Right in the heat of the day????

Well, we missed the parking structure right off the street that the art store was on and parked in the next one we saw. We walked about 4-5 blocks. Boy does Matt walk fast! Whew! When we got to the store, it wasn't exactly a meat locker so I was sweating bullets. One of the workers asked if we wanted a flyer and I took it...mostly so I could fan myself. LOL

After about an hour, gazing around the store, it was time to walk back to the parking structure. Boo! It was hot and I was thirsty but it WAS good exercise.

Now, I have some brain exercise coming up...trying to figure out the Points Plus Value system and tracking everything that I put in my mouth. Wish me luck!

Highs and Lows 8/22

Linking up to this great party...

Here are my Highs for this past week...

1. Went to Splash water park in La Mirada with my friend and her boys. Spent some time in the lazy river. FUN!

2. Went to Blick Art Supply in Pasadena with my son. Yay for time with Matt! :)

3. Surprised a friend with a birthday balloon bouquet left on her doorstep. Note to self: When on a secret mission...do NOT wear flip flops...they're too noisy! haha

4. Had a great breakfast with friends on Friday.

5. My in-laws came over to visit on Saturday.

6. Joined Weight Watchers today!!! Huge step

Here are my lows...

1. My husband wasn't feeling well on Friday and had to go to ER.

2. I had to miss my appointment to get my hair feathers because of said ER visit.

3. Kind of a high/low...I have to cancel my membership to FaceLogic (monthly facials) to afford Weight Watchers. I guess a healthier body is worth more right now than glowing skin. lol

All in all, the highs out numbered the lows. That's always a great week in my book. :)

Weight Struggles

Hey there bloggy friends! I interrupt the craft ideas and recipes for a real struggle. I'm so tired of being FAT! I want to be healthy and really LIVE life but it's not easy. I figure if I share it with the blog world, I will feel more accountable. So, here's my story...

Obviously, I've been overweight since I was a baby. My mom, God bless her, thought she knew best...even when the doctors told her not to feed me so much.
As I got older, I was always heavier than most of my peers. I am the youngest of 5 and we always had sweets in the house. My mom would go to the Oroweat bakery and buy Ding Dongs and Twinkies. We would get donuts from the Helm's man. Everyone else got to eat their fill but I could only have one of whatever sweet it was. This created in me the desire for more. Sometimes I would get up in the middle of the night and sneak in an extra Ding Dong or Twinkie.
In high school, I was on the dance team and I was the heaviest girl.
When I got married, I weighed 190 lbs. That was about 50-60 lbs more than my "ideal" weight. I quickly gained about 10-20 lbs because NOW I could buy my own sweets and there was no one to watch how much I ate.
After I had kids, the weight just piled on. In the picture below, I was probably at my heaviest...295!
In 2006, I found out that I had diabetes. Something in me sparked and I changed my eating habits completely. I cut out all candies and sweets. My only desserts were various fruits. I quickly lost 65 lbs. The most I had ever lost! And believe me, I did every diet there was...Weight Watchers (multiple times), NutriSystem, Diet Center, Lindora, Jenny Craig...you name it, I tried it. And this time, I did it on my own...with God's help. :)

I kept the weight off for almost two years. Then, in 2008, I found out my youngest son had cancer. During the months of chemo, he lost weight and I gained. He was sick for 10 months and during that time, I gained about 20 lbs. Here is a pic of us a few days before he died.

After he died, I gave up caring. I ate whatever I felt like, as much as I felt like. If I went to the market when I was particularly sad, I bought junk...cookies, chips...whatever would drown my sorrows. I continued to eat crap and gained back another 35 lbs. I probably would have just gone to bed and covered my head and slept my life away if not for my other son. He gave me a reason to get up in the morning...even if I did stay in my pj's all day.

Within this time, my doctor wanted to put me on diabetes medicine and I kept fighting him on it. "I'll work at it and lose weight" I would tell him. Finally, one day I went in and told him, "Just give me the stupid medicines. I give up...I can't do this anymore." So, I've been taking them for about a year and a half but still eating junk. One day, I would be "good" and then eat whatever for the next two weeks. I've been on this cycle for quite some time.

In January of this year, I felt the fog of depression lifting a little. I still miss my son, but I can do things I once enjoyed. I feel like I can see daylight again. Still, I tried half-heartedly to lose weight. This past June, I got the word that if I didn't clean up my act and get my glucose level under control, I would be put on Insulin. Ugh! Shots. More finger sticks to check my blood sugar. I had until this month and guess what? I did it! I got my sugar under control and I don't have to go on Insulin. I still haven't lost any weight though. It's so much harder at 42 than it was at 37.

This is me now. I'm tired of looking like this and having to shop at "fat" stores. Lane Bryant and Avenue have lots of cute things but most of them don't flatter my body type.

So, I considered the gastric bypass for months and really thought I was going to do it. I went to two seminars for information and didn't have a peace about it. Two weeks ago, I decided that the surgery wasn't for me.

Now what do I do? I'm thinking about joining Weight Watchers again. I can't really afford it, but I can't afford all these health issues either. My body is paying the price for my stupidity.

So, there it is...the ugly truth. I'll post weekly (along with crafts and any new recipes) to update you on my progress...or lack of it. Hopefully, this will keep me on the right track. :)

Another Great Link Party

Linking up here...

Linking up...

Linking up to this great party! All the painting from my last post didn't cost me a penny! My sis bought the paints and left them at my house and I already had the craft paints for the owls. Also, my son used some scrap wood that he already had. I love it when you can create things from what's already cluttering up the house. :)

Painting Fun

My sister and I decided to do a craft day each month. For our first session, we decided to paint. I should say-SHE decided we were painting. She bought all the supplies so who am I to complain? :)

She saw this idea on a Candace Olson show. We couldn't find it on youtube so we just went with what she remembered. This is her masterpiece.And here is mine. After we are done, my sister tells me where I can hang them in MY house. LOL!! I like hers but it doesn't quite go with my Americana theme in the kitchen. I don't really like mine so it's not going to be on any of my walls. haha

For some reason, I'm in love with owls right now. The cutesy, cartoony looking owls. I found a cute little pencil bag at Target and fell in love. I bought it even though I had no use for it. I took a picture of it and sent it to my son. I asked him if he would make some wooden cut outs for me to paint and here they are...Don't you just LOVE them? I think they are so cute. Um...Matt? Get ready to be cutting out more owls...in various sizes. :)
On to another painting project. I tried to paint a rooster for my kitchen. An artist I am not! He looks funky...
I thought maybe an ocean scene would be easier. It was. BUT, I think this picture lacks depth. I also need to paint a few clouds.

Happy Crafting!! :)

Highs and Lows 8/7

Sharing my highs and lows of last week here...

Highs:

1. Went to another seminar on the gastric bypass. Made me realize that the surgery is not for me...at least right now.

2. Worked a memorial service at my church which meant some extra money.

3. Did a small catering job for a pastor at my church which meant even more extra money. :)

4. Went to Big Bear with 3 of my dearest friends and all their kids (10 in total). Had a blast painting nails with the 3 girls...even some of the boys joined in.

5. Went to the movies to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes with my husband and son. It was GOOD!

Lows:

1. All that extra money is gone! :( Money sure goes out faster than it comes in.

2. The plumbing went bad in the cabin in Big Bear. We didn't have any running water the last night we were there! Peeing in a cup and dumping it down the shower drain=GROSS!! :o

I love it when the highs outweigh the lows. Thanks again Jenn for this great idea. Really puts things in perspective. :)

Highs and Lows 8/1

Linking up to this great blog party...

Here are my highs and lows for last week:

Highs-

1. Had final birthday celebration...lunch with a dear friend.

2. My friends and their kids came over to swim on Tuesday.

3. My blood sugar is finally coming under control.

4. Had a good beach day with a friend and her kids.

5. Got contacts...yay! It's been awhile.

6. Went to a bird/bat walk at a wildlife sanctuary where my sis volunteers. Here's a pic of one of the bats we saw. How cool is that? :)
Lows-

1. July is over and that means summer is coming to an end. I love summer when I can go to the beach and have friends over to swim.

2. My friend was LATE to the beach. GRR! I really don't like waiting for people.

3. I sold my late son's car. That was both a high and low. High because it will finally get some use and I got some extra money. Low because I'm sad that it's gone which means he's really NOT here anymore to need a car. :'(

Just another great week when the highs outweigh the lows. Yipee!