A New Year, a New Outlook

OK, here we go. Nope, no resolutions from me this year, they don't stick. I started to change my life last April when I decided to finally get rid of some extra lb's and have reached the 60 lbs gone mark, which I'm very proud of. I'm actually shopping in the 'normal' sized clothing area..it's awesome. My secret? Cutting calories, increasing movement (I walk at least 2 miles a day) and SparkPeople.com.

On a crochet note, I'm back into it again. I had heard that some people get crochet burnout and I thought that was crazy...that is until it happened to me. Luckily I got quite a few orders at Christmas time on my Etsy store so I had to start doing it again. It got me back in the swing of things again and I've been crocheting daily again for over a month now. Lookout world!! *smile*

I've never made many baby things in the past but my husband's best friend and his wife are expecting their first child in May and he asked me to crochet a few things for them. Alrighty then! I started looking and getting ideas and now I may not be able to stop! She may have a whole wardrobe by the time I'm done. Know any really cute patterns? Let me know where to find them.

I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year and that 2009 is the best year ever. I know I'm looking forward to it!!!

By the way, when my parents were here in November we took some pictures and here is one with me and my mom and one with me and my dad.

Just had to share....

I got these in an email and just thought they were too cute....


What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
Mothers don't do spare time.

What's the difference between moms & dads??
Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be??
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Enjoy.............

Crochet Dude's Designs for Guys has dropped!!

At long last, here it is!! I got my pre-order in the mail yesterday from Amazon.com and let's just say I was not disappointed. Ok, I've seen many designs by Drew (aka TheCrochetDude) so I was expecting great things but that was even an underestimation of this book.
Would it sound condescending to say I'm so proud of Drew for this book and the patterns that are in it? I hope not, because I don't mean for it to be. He has just so outdone himself, you'll be surprised too.
There are a number of things in here that I have plans to make. There's even a hoodie that I just L.O.V.E. so much that I'm going to make it for myself.



If you click on the picture of the book it will take you right to the page on Amazon where you can buy this book.
I highly recommend it.

By the way, the book has a lot of Drew's humorous personality in it as well, but there is a spot in there where he talks about his mother and dedicates the book to her. It will touch your heart.

I'm officially published!!

Ok, ok, I do know how long it's been, trust me. I've been so busy doing a crochet dress for a yarn company that I let everything else go. I just finished that dress on Monday and am getting things back in order again. Then yesterday I got this by UPS (dontchya just love UPS??). I was so surprised. Well, I knew it was coming at some point but did not know when exactly.

And here it is....drumroll please...
Blings & Things for Dogs



My designs are as follows.....
Top row middle
Blue & White 81 jersey
Colorful sweater to the right of that
Bottom right pink outfit.

There are some very cute designs in here. Just click on the link above if you are interested.

Oh yeah, something else happened while I was away......I've lost 50 lbs. Please don't try to find it, as I'm not looking for them. I don't want them back! I'm feeling so much better in my own skin now, even though I still have another 50 to go. Heck, if I can do the first 50, the second half should be a breeze!!

I promise I won't wait so long next time to make an entry. I'll get on here at least once a week, if it kills me!!!

Inspiration

It's been a while

Yes, I guess I've been slacking but I have a good reason...well, really I don't but it's an excuse. It's summer! Howdyalikethatone? With the kids home I've barely had more than 5 minutes in a row on the computer...and even then I always here "mom are you done yet"? I swear!

I haven't been doing a lot of crochet for the past month or so, just been so much going on with the kids at home.

We went to the Dallas Zoo a couple of weeks ago and that was a lot of fun. The kids are going with our neighbor to Hurricane Harbor (HUGE waterpark) this coming week, which works out great because dh has this week off. It'll be nice for it to be just the two of us alone all day...what a concept!

I've lost a little over 30 lbs now...and counting. SparkPeople has really been a blessing for me. If you are wanting to lose some weight I highly suggest it. I love it!! It's been making this so much easier for me....really!

On that note, I'll let you go for now. As usual, I have a child over my shoulder asking when I'm going to be done...I swear!!!

I hope y'all are having a great summer so far!!...................

Woman Challenge

This is great for anyone who wants to 'walk across America'. I've joined it. I've become much more active as of late and am hoping to walk as far across America as I can!!

Not a lot has been going on around home. The kids are home from school for the summer so of course it's more hectic around here. I don't get a lot of computer time because they monopolize the computer the entire time I'm awake pretty much. I know I could kick them off, but to be honest with you, it's much quieter when at least one of them are doing something on the computer.

I've lost 25 lbs so far so I'm feeling pretty good about how things are going as far as that goes. I'm still working on crochet stuff too, it just doesn't take up my whole entire day anymore like it used to, which is good and bad.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. If you need any heat sent your way, just let me know. We've had our extreme fair share around here (Texas) for over a month now. It's not been out of the mid to high 90's (or higher) since mid May. I am not looking forward to July and August, I can tell you that much.

K, have a great weekend everyone. Don't forget to leave a comment to let me know how you are doing. Have a good one.

Samantha has graduated

My baby girl is no longer a baby girl. She graduated high school today. The ceremony was relatively quick and at times, emotional. I got through it without crying though..Imagine that!!!





Sam walking down the aisle to get her diploma

Me and Sam after the ceremony

Jamie, Sam and me after the ceremony

Austin and Sam after the ceremony

Congratulations baby girl....momma loves you!!

Been a while, my bad

Wow, hard to believe it's been 3 weeks since I've posted here. Sorry 'bout that. I have lots of pictures to show you.

On May 12 was Austin's 9th birthday. Here he is just before blowing out the candles.

This past weekend we went to Tyler State park. It was so much fun!

Here are Samantha and Austin having watery fun!

Sam, with the lake in the background, and Austin looking cute!

You know it was a good day when...........

And some bird pics.......
Inca Doves doing, I don't know what and a Scissor Tailed Flycatcher

I'm fascinated by this beautiful bird. It's a Painted Bunting. So pretty!!

I promise I won't wait to make my next post. With Samantha's graduation next weekend it will have a lot more pictures, I'm sure.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

To all of us out there that are mothers and that have mothers, I hope you have a fantastic day!! My children spoiled me with breakfast in bed and a lovely card...I feel loved....and to be honest, with them being teens I actually get a great breakfast now, not just a overflowing bowl of cereal!!

So HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!!


My mom and my daughter