I'm still here

Ya, I'm still here. I have been busy playing an online game called World of Warcraft. It's an RPG game that I have found very addicting. But it has helped me work through some things in my life. Unfortunately I haven't been doing very much stitching or any other crafting. But true to my nature the craving to play the game has died down and I have started working on a couple of projects again. I went through my WIP boxes and put aside the projects I want to work on. I have started a kind of cute little project by Janlynn that says "Chocolate makes my day." It is a project that I would normally be too cutsie for me, but for some reason I like it.





I started it today and got a chocolate chip and part of the heart done. I am stitching it on 28 count linen that I had dyed myself. I just hope that the pink in the project doesn't get lost in the pink fabric.



I have also started knitting a pair of socks, but you can see my progress on that in my knitting blog.

I have also been loosing weight. My doctor put me on some diet pills because he was worried about me getting diabetes. Here are some pictures of what I look like. . .

This is me at 350 lbs when I started....

And again at 318.....it's starting to show...mostly in my face.

And this was taken about a week ago. I haven't been weighed in a while, so I couldn't tell you. In addition to the pills, I have been watching what I eat, and doing more cleaning around my house and yard than what I am use to. I still have a long way to go, but I am hoping to get down to a healthier weight before the end of the summer.

I hope to start updating my blogs again so I hope I have more progress to show next week...

Beautiful Me - not about cross stitch

I started another Yahoo group. I am calling it Beautiful Me. Originally I intended it to be for weight loss, but then I realized that people (including me) sometimes need support for more than that.

I have had a break through in my life. It started when I asked my Dr for help with weight loss. I had been trying and failing with weight loss for years. He prescribed me with phenteramine. It has worked, but I needed more. I am an over eater. I thought maybe a support group would be the place for me. But even though this certain group says religion isn't involved, I have found that doesn't seem true. Their 12 step program was all about the Christian God...I am Pagan. We don't believe that a higher power can make all the bad things in our lives go a way. But I figured that I could deal with that. I sent the main office a message asking them about this. They told me that they didn't feel it endorsed one religion. I was worried about religious prejudice. But I decided to try and find an online meeting anyway...so I looked and I found one that was perfect for my schedule. It was a Yahoo group and at the very end of the group description it states, "The mention of God as your Higher Power is welcome and encouraged here". I know this wasn't a religious attack, but it didn't make me feel welcome. I want to know that if I am going to be discussing a topic like my weight, I want to feel completely comfortable in every way. I have absolutely no problem with Christians or their beliefs, but those beliefs are different than my own and I don't want that to be an issue anywhere I go.

Then the other day I had another breakthrough. I realized that all day, every day I do everything in my power to raise my two children to become healthy adults. I make sure the food they eat is healthy, the toys they play with are safe, and they have the proper clothes for the proper season. But the one thing that would kill them if they didn't have wasn't the best I could give them...air. I am a smoker. I have been smoking for 14 years. When I catch a cold, more times than not I get a cough so bad that I loose my voice. It makes it so I can't breath or sleep and it weakens my bladder muscles (OK, that was hard to admit). Before smoking, I could carry a tune. I joined another support group succesfully...quitnet.com. My quit date will be April 22.

So I had 2 break through already this year and realized that it is time for a life style change. And that is why I started this new group. It is a support group for people who want to change their life style. Weather it be one thing or their whole life. And it is open to everybody. If you are interested in joining, here is the link. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/beautifulme/ I will also post the link in the margin of this blog. Thank you for hearing my story...