Weight Loss Journey

Ok, so I've been on one diet after another for over 8 years and this time I'm determined to make some changes for myself!!!!  As I continue to grow in maturity and spirit of God I realize that my whole being was in need of a renewing.  So about a month ago I started doing research on what method and I hoovered in the MyFitnessPal group that I was hearing about and knew of a few people that were using them to stay accountable to a better way of nutrition.  So on Feb. 21, 2013 I joined and today I'm happy to say I'm down 5lbs already.

What I've learned in the process so far:

1. You can eat alot if you're willing to move alot.  My caloric intake for a day is 1200 calories. 
2. Your exercise adds more calories to your allotment for the day. ie. walking up stairs instead of taking the elevator or walking upstairs doing chores for me it's laundry I burn 248 which added with my 1200 + 248= 1448 for the day if that's all that I do.  What I'm saying is moving has it's benefits!!!!
3. I'm juicing and doing smoothies which boost my energy in the AM and have me reved and ready to go
4. I've increased my water intake and try to make sure I don't go below 8 glasses daily.  The benefits have been BM's with no problems I don't feel so sluggish and if I miss a day of eating right I can feel it immediately.  
5. All of this has motivated me to join GirlTrek thanks to SewSassy1 for the invite.  I was able to sign up start a team and be ready for the yearly walk which starts tomorrow at 4:30pm.  This is a great way to get motivated by motivating others to join you a great activity to promote women's heart health.  

Well I have a lot more to share but I'll do that later this week.  Be Blessed and be Creative!!!!!

Influenster and Palmolive trying new things

Here's my inital video of my Palmolive Fresh Infusions Natural Dish Soap

Palmolive Fresh Infusions Influenster VoxBox   this video was my first time using Palmolive Dish soap.  I am partial to another brand but I was very surprised at how well it worked on cutting grease and leaving good clean dishes.

Influenster asked would I recommend Palmolive Fresh Infusions Dish Soap to others and after using it for a month with all different types of messes I would have to say yes. I liked all three scents but I find that I keep going back to the Lemon Thyme scent I love a clean citrus smell in my Kitchen just makes me happy.

Thanks again Influenster and Palmolive for allowing me to try your product.  If you a fresh clean scent you definately want to give these products a try.

Wow It's Been a While........but I'm still here

So I haven't posted in almost a month.  God has really been moving in my life and I was ordained as a Minister and Missionary a month ago and have given two sermons to date.  It's not easy being called to minister and serve the needs of people who are searching for something to change their situation but I know that God is able.  I ask that you remember me and the call that is on my life in your prayers that I will serve God so that he is satisfied with my service.

I posted last month about the knit fabric I ordered from Fabric Mart and I kept looking for a pattern but couldn't find anything to suit my vision that would be figure flattering and acceptable for church.  What I did was take an old knit sleeveless dress and layed it on my fabric and cut it out with a 1 1/2 seam allowance. I did a bias trim on the neckline and used a zig zag stitch to get a smooth seam.  I didn't do that for the arm holes but think that I will go back and do that later but I'm so very pleased with the results.  I'm looking for more fabric and will make several more......this is looking like a TNT (Tried and True) pattern.  I have to remember to show a step by step instruction on how easy this is to make.  It took less than 40 minutes from cutting it out to pressing my seams.  You could easily add to your wardrobe in a Saturday afternoon.

this is the old dress that inspired me to go for what was a good fit and let the material's graphics bring the interest

the finished dress 

my finishing on the neckline and the armholes 

For those wondering about progress of my Winterberry Rhapsody Wrap I haven't had a chance to make progress due to helping my cousin who had to have her 4th hand surgery in a 9 month period. God is still good and she's recouperating nicely.

 Well, I will be ending this post for the time being but there is a lot of great things happening for me and my family and I can't wait to share some projects that are currently in the works.  Until next time Stay blessed and stay creative.

It's Time for Truth Tuesday

I like to keep up with what I started but there are times when you get so caught up that you don't keep up with the little things.  This year in order to get where I want to be I have to stay consistent with what I've started.  So here we go:

1. I love to worship God and am excited about my spiritual growth. I'm not saying that I'm perfect but I'm diligently seeking God for the direction my life is taking. 
2. I'm in the process of reading the Bible in it's entirety for the first time in my 45 yrs of life. 
3. As I've mentioned before I don't like to see people being mistreated and believe fair is fair.
4. The fate of my daughters at times is cause for concern (they both sustained injuries due to a car accident back in October 2011) I thought that by this time in my life that they would be well on their way to sustaining themselves in life. But God has other plans and I find strength in the knowledge of that. 
5. I am working on a book. 

I hope you are living your Truth daily and making steps to grow daily.  When you know better you do better.  I pray that you have a great day.  

Plans and Progress

Ok so I've been working on and finally completed the Azzu's Lace Shawl found on Ravelry.com but since this was my first lace shawl and I'm questioning the blocking and think that this still needs to be properly blocked here are some pics what do you think? This is Yarn Pirates Smokerings and I love this yarn so much like the way it knit up and feels against my skin.  It's always fun to try out and explore new things in my creative learning process so knitting my way down this new road to lace means that I need blocking mats and the lace wires so my projects can be a fulfilling experience for me.

Here's my current project I'm calling it Winterberry Rhapsody because I'm using this lovely Cherry Tree Hill Silk blend yarn in Winterberry and I love it well I love all of my yarns but I'm drawn to jewel tones that are rich in color.  The pattern is actually called Amelia's Lace Wrap and this is quite the daunty task for me ask I've never in my 9+ years of knitting knitted anything that has so many rows and this pattern has 367 rows.  Now that I've started it I'm so in love with how the pattern is developing that I can't wait to get to the end.  I'm very thankful that I'm always excited even if I don't get the pattern it's just wonderful to enjoy the process even if you make a mistake hey, I'm human and not exempt from error.  So without further ado here's my yarn and my project so far.

Don't you just love the rich colors of this yarn I know I do and the excitement grows everytime the rich purple and magenta come around my fingers onto the needles.  In this pic I'm on row 64 and I'm currently on row 73 or 74.

Now I decided that I wanted a knit dress so I went to Fabric Mart.com and this is what I got and I'm so excited to get this project planned out and so far I can't find a pattern that suites the vision I have for my dress but here's the material.  What do you think?

Well I know what I will be searching for this week or attempting to draft myself.  Until next time I pray everyone is having a great day and keep me and my family in your prayers.

Knitting Lace......Azzu's Shawl

I'm posting this project to keep me accountable to actually finishing this and not becoming discouraged by the task at hand.  I was looking for a pattern to knit from this lovely yarn purchased a few years ago.

As you can see this is Yarn Pirates yarn in Smoke Ring it's 460.yards of Bamboo, Merino,Nylon goodness.  So I chose this Pattern from Ravelry.com and although I've done a few lace items it's never been this involved.  Thank goodness for me that this pattern came with written instructions instead of a Chart (I just don't do well but that's one of the items on my list to overcome for 2013).  I'm currently on Row 30 and this is what it looks like so far.

Well I need to end this now so that I can resume my knitting I will update you all to my progress in the next few days.  Until have a great day!!!!

Talking Hair........Help!!!!!

I wanted to talk about my hair so here's my video. Let me know what you think.  ENJOY!!!!!

December 2012 CurlKit Reveal

Here's my Reveal for Curlkit December 2012. I love that you can spend $20 and get all of these wonderful goodies.  If you're not already signed up I advise you to give them a try and their Customer Service Reps are awesome.  Thanks again CurlKit.com for providing me with a wonderful treat every month.  

Got My Hook and I've been Busy

If you are new to my blog I love to knit, sew, quilt, make cards but I was looking for some instant gradification and decided to get the hooks out and search Ravelry for some fun projects to work on and came across a few that I've been working away on.  I found some Sugar n Cream 100% cotton yarn and worked on the Diagonal Dishcloths and love how quick they work up made at least 20 of them since I completed the first one.

Then I wanted to do a crochet cowl and found this Brigette's Mobius Cowl because I was using Malabrigo Silky Merino which, by the way, is a wonderful fiber to work with and turned out so wonderful that I'm on my third one already and I just found this pattern 2 days ago.  

then I did one using chunky Malabrigo but I can't remember the colorway cause I've had the yarn for a few years but it turned out nice also.......what do you think??????

So while I was making things I had a few fat quarters, some fleece remnants so I decided to make a lap quilt that I'm call Hypnotic. I hadn't quilt in a while and I'm trying to get rid of some old stash so I can justify getting some new items.  

Well this is all I have for now I hope you enjoyed my little projects and it would be so nice to hear from you when you have a chance.  Hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season.  

True Tuesday

So sorry I missed last week's posting of TT but I had some things called life that needed my attention.

1. Change is not always easy but it's necessary if you intend on reaching your destiny.
2. Being true to yourself is more important than making others happy just to satisfy their expectations for your life. As the famous quote states " To Thine Own Self Be True".
3. Cultivate, nurture, and protect your relationships by being honest and genuine with those that mean the most to you.
4. Realize that above all things you are human and fallible which means you are capable of making mistakes. The character builder is all in how you handle them.
5. If you have a spiritual connection it deserves your commitment as you will find peace as your attention to it grows.

Now that that has been shared I want to say that I made some defining decisions that will greatly impact my future. I'm 45 yrs old and when you're use to making everyone around you happy at the expense of yourself that's not really living a fulfilling life. So as I move into this new way of living my life I know that I'm a person that loves to give, I want the best for those around me, but I will have to find other ways to push those I love!!!

I'm a God fearing woman that wants my life to be pleasing in his sight. I pray that you find strength to find your truths and walk therein. Be Blessed