Day Four and knitting pictures!

Ok...as promised here is at least ONE picture. It isn't great since it is inside...but it will have to do for now. I've left the camera out beside my purse so I'll remember to take it home tonight!

Is pretty no? I so love this yarn and it looks great in the My So called Scarf Pattern I think. I'm hoping this will be the scarf for my scarf buddy exchange...but it is a slow knit for me and I have to have it out by June 8th. So I'm still working on the Baby Alpaca Grande scarf (which knits very fast!) just in case I have to send it. I hope I get some real knitting time in soon so I can wrap these up. My fishtail lace scarf is calling to me but I refuse to pick it up until I finish one of these for my cool scarf buddy. I have to say I've had so much fun doing this exchange. I figured out who was making my scarf but that's ok because she is freaking hilarious and cracks me up! She is also about to take a trip to Ireland and I'm so jealous!

Now on to the healthy portion of our program:

DAY FOUR: Last night was hard because I was really tired and had a lot to get done. I slept great again but didn't exactly SPRING out of bed this morning. I only hit the snooze once or twice (compared to my usual NINE) but I would have liked to have stayed in bed a while longer today. I don't feel quite as sharp today and I'm not sure why. My breakfast shake really filled me up and I wasn't hungry by lunch time. So I had a snack of broth and put my lunch off until about 2:00. Today I had my chicken at lunch instead of dinner. I think this works better for me. I do feel better over all though, and I think my pants are not as snug in my lower stomach area today which is very cool :) After cooking last night I hope to stay out of the kitchen tonight and get in some knitting time.

Results and some observations: A little tired today...don't feel as sharp but still an improvement than before. So far (KNOCKING ON WOOD) I haven't had a headache or sinus pain since starting. My joints don't seem as stiff and achy as before, also, my eyes aren't puffy and swollen shut in the mornings. ALL good things!

So far no excruciating cravings for chocolate but I have craved the taste of something sweet. There is nothing that tastes sweet on this program except a few fruits. So I've tried to combat this with my banana and some fresh peaches in my shakes. This afternoon I have had an odd craving for coffee though. No idea why as I'm not a die hard coffee drinker or anything. I do love me some Starbucks but I mostly only drink it during the fall and winter.

Day Three

Sorry no knitting content lately! I keep forgetting the camera at work so that I can take pictures of my WIP's. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow. Please bare with me regarding the "program" talk this week.

Woke up BEFORE the alarm today! I slept so WONDERFULLY! It was just lovely! I followed the program to the letter today except for only having one of the shakes. I don't have a way to mix one at work. I was hungry today especially in the afternoon. An apple and some almonds helped hold me until dinner. I sauteed some garlic and chicken with asparagus and brown rice. Not too bad :) I've discovered a few things so far. Asparagus isn't bad if it is LIGHTLY steamed. Fresh ginger is cool and I like using it to spice things up...but I don't really like the taste of it if it's strong. For some reason I tend to add garlic and or rosemary to everything lol.

It was a stressful day today at work. Very busy! I stayed on the program but my attempt to stay calm and relaxed didn't exactly work. I felt achy this afternoon and tired. I also took one advil because I had a toothache. I'm trying to avoid all medicines except my prescriptions this week if I can help it.

Results: I feel pretty tired right now and would like to go to bed. However my broth has to cool and I still have my 12 minutes to do on the EFX machine.

So I'm off to finish up so I can have my wonderful hot bath! Pleasant dreams everyone!

Day Two

Despite my rocky start on Monday, I slept good and this morning I woke up (on time) and started my checklist. The green tea was nice and I felt pretty alert although not energetic by any means. I did not feel sluggish and horribly tired as I normally do on Monday mornings which was wonderful!

I did not eat enough today as I still had no blender for my breakfast until this evening. Lunch was great and the broth was even good. I drank all of my water and even walked my 12 minutes that I've committed to every night this week. I'm not doing more than 12 because I think my body is going through enough this week so I don't want to push it.

I had more energy this evening and found myself up and doing things rather than sitting. Still feeling a tiny bit weak though and I'm having muscle cramps. I think all the vitamin C making me tinkle all the time has depleted my potassium so I did take a big dose of potassium tonight and had a banana with my shake for dinner. (For those familiar with the plan I switched my meal order today).

I ended the day with the recommended hot bath and it was HEAVENLY. So nice to relax and feel good about taking the time to take care of myself today. I stayed "unplugged" while at home. No tv, Internet (well its not working anyway) or news or anything. I did listen to music while exercising and during my bath.

Results: I feel good today and I feel great about doing this for myself. Some things may be hard to do and not taste good but I'm proud of myself for scheduling this for myself. I've cancelled all "extra" activities this week such as bunko and lunches so that I won't be tempted to eat and can focus on myself.

Day One

Day one of the program did not go well and it was my fault. For this reason I really am not considering it day one and will do the program for one extra day.

First mistake was that I stayed up WAY too late the night before. Also, even though I know not to drink any alcohol what so ever if I have a sinus infection...I did on Saturday night. So I was not feeling well to begin with and did not get to "prepare" everything on Saturday so therefore was behind. I attempted to make the shake and my blender would not work right. I was a bit timid making the vegetable broth as most of the veggies going into the pot I had never purchased before or cooked with. I should have taken a picture...my fridge was PACKED with green leafy veggies! (side note: Waco doesn't have a Whole foods or organic store. However two stores in town are attempting to carry a nice selection of foods, supplements, and such. They were very helpful for this poor clueless girl and her list).

By the evening I was starving (not having my ultrashake or anything else I could eat). I was cooking a generous pot of spaghetti for Mom. So for dinner I did have a small portion of spaghetti and salad.

The vitamin C I started taking certainly started working!

Results: By the end of the day I felt terrible and stressed and very weak. All my own fault and not the programs.

An unplugged Mothers day weekend

Belated Happy Mothers Day to everyone! I'm back online at home for the moment. The nice phone man did discover my problem. It's a little hard for the phone to work when all the wires (that run under your house) have been gnawed through! Yep!

My Plan for the past weekend was to stay home, hibernate, get ready to start the Ultrasimple program and cook dinner for Mom (and the family). I also planned NOT to answer my cell phone. Well before my phone service died I did get a message from my cousin asking me to come hear his band play Saturday night because it will be the last time they play for a long time (or ever). Three of the band members are expecting babies so they decided to take some time off. Not feeling well with a sinus infection I talked myself out of going. Then my OTHER cousin calls...needless to say I did end up going and had a blast. I took a disposable camera so if they pictures come out I'll try and post a couple.

Sunday I spent the day Sunday cooking my vegetable broth and such while also doing laundry and vacuuming up the massive amounts of hair the kiddos are shedding. Then cooked a big spaghetti dinner for Mom (her request), Dad and my sister. I've thought about doing a post about Mom but she would be horrified if I did lol. I'm still considering it though... lol

Amy's Adventures in getting healthy

Hmm...yeah. Remember me? I am still around. I have NO PHONE or INTERNET at home and I've been so slammed at work there hasn't been time for much blogging or blog reading. My blog roll is getting terribly backed up I'm afraid. HOWEVER I wanted to post quickly about the MAY DAY tales from the scales and what I've been up to.

Well first over at Elizabeth's Blog I read about the May Day Weight Loss Challenge going on over at tales from the scales. (See the button in my side bar.) Honestly I forgot to weigh in this morning to post my progress. I will tonight so I can keep up with the May Day Challenge. I'm actually doing another program as well that has me focused not so much on losing weight this week. I have been following Lolly and her journey.

I have been feeling very Blah the last few weeks. I think it's a combination of many things really. Not eating or being healthy. Over doing it at the garage sale. Not having a vacation in FREAKING FOREVER. No knitting time and not getting to go to the monthly little knitting meet and a tiny bit of just hanging in limbo with the new business thing. So after reading Lolly and the 7 day detox she just completed I bought the Ultrasimple Diet book and have read through it. I have started the 7 day program to try and get all the "junk" out of my system and hopefully stop the cravings for bad things I don't need. I am not looking as this week as a weight loss program. Hopefully that will go along with it, but I am more interested feeling better. I know I have been putting crap in my body...and as a result I felt like crap. Also at the end of the program you can add back certain foods and find out if they cause you to feel bad. For example I had already determined that dairy (mostly milk) increase my sinus problems. So I'm very interested in testing to see which foods make me feel good and bad.

There is an inflammation "test" of sorts in the book to see which areas of your body are the most inflamed. I of course scored off the charts which did not surprise me. I'm really hoping this will make me feel better and have more energy, so I can keep up with all that life is throwing at me. Also, I'm going to budget in time and money for a pedicure in the next week or so. A little me time away from the office and family. Then hopefully Memorial Day weekend we'll head down to our friends Bay house for some "drankin and carrying on" and hopefully some R&R and knitting time.

Since I've had no Internet I've been keeping a written journal and I'll try to get it typed up and posted tomorrow. Not having internet at home puts a big kink in things let me tell you!

So...more soon, I promise!

Garage Sales and Broken Underwires

Ya'll I'm dog tired and the underwires in both of the only bra's that fit me have broke. If that tells you anything.


It probably tells you my wardrobe is as neglected as my house at the moment.

I do believe we swore after the last garage sale we weren't doing this AGAIN. My Mother is a professional garage sale holder. There is none of this toss it out on the lawn unpriced stuff. Oh no! Every item is cleaned and priced. Everything is organized by kitchen/bath/clothes/shoes etc... However she has a very successful garage sale let me tell you!

I did not find a ton of stuff for the garage sale but I did manage to destroy my house today. AND I did not even touch the junk room. Only my bedroom and bath and closet. I also managed numerous loads of laundry, to organize my bathroom closet, throw away two big bags of trash, unearthed 4 cat toys, cleaned out under my bed and now that there is room Abby won't come out from under it. I did not organize my closet but I found the floor of it and now have piles of clothes every where waiting to be sorted. I hate spring cleaning and did I mention garage sales? I guess they are a necessary evil though considering I'm a pack rat. It is nice to organize things but you have to make such a mess in the process.

In a tub under my bed I found some braclets that I had to give out as prizes at my parties when I was a consultant for a certain home party company that has to do with living in the south :) Anyway they are those kind with the big silver beads and then charms on them. I love those bracelets...I've bought a lot of them. I just never wear them because they drive me nuts. ANYWAY I decided I would cut the charms off and make stitch markers from them. They are shoes and purses etc...I think they'll be cute.

I do believe I'm done for tonight. I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped but oh well. I haven't knit all weekend so I'm about to go park it.


p.s. I must be really tired. spell check went into a nervous twitch I misspelled so many words.

The Woolie Ewe and pics!

FINALLY getting to post my pictures of my Stash Enhancement Expedition!

First of all if you live in, around, or near Dallas and you haven't been to the Woolie Ewe...I highly recommend it! Woolie Ewe

Here is a glimpse of my purchases: BEHOLD THE YARNY GOODNESS

This Baby Alpaca Grande....OMGISOOOOOOSOFT!!!!!!!! it is just YUMMY!!!

This is just a sampling. The first pic shows all of it and the dpns I bought. When I walked into the store I did not faint. I may have drooled just a little bit. I did touch, feel, pet, squeeze, and read the labels on almost every kind of yarn in the store. I believe I was in there for over three hours! If had the money I would have filled my car with yarn let me tell ya!

I can't wait to go back!

If the Cranky Pants Fit...Wear 'Em

Why is it that the best laid plans never seem to work out. Well, I really shouldn't say that...sometimes they don't work out but sometimes they do...just later than hoped for. Yes I'm rambling, I know.

I have a confession. I am a big old crankypants today. Ok, FINE I have been a big old crankypants all WEEK. This is for several reasons I think. I drove Mom to Dallas last Friday night to visit her sister. So I had two nights of not so good sleep there. We are having a garage sale in a couple of weeks and so my aunt cleaned out a bunch of stuff that I ended up loading and unloading several times. I arrived home Sunday afternoon and after another session of unloading and reloading I headed to my sisters house. Why? Well because we had to be up at the butt crack of dawn (4am) to go BE ON THE MORNING NEWS. I mean really who gets up at that horrible hour and goes and pretends to be all perky and happy and silly on TV. Well other than news anchor people. That is a special breed of people right there folks. We had a huge event for Habitat for Humanity Monday night and it was a lovely success! Very tiring though. So the long of it is that I'm run down and I haven't been exercising or eating very healthy. Also everyone is on my last nerve. It's me, I know it's me and not them...but still. I'm just in one of those "I wish everyone would go away and leave me the hell alone moods". I am about to loose my mind in this office. I have cabin fever or something. I just want to GO OUTSIDE! The sun is shining and I don't want to work (and yes I sound like a whiny 5 year old)!

Good things have happened in the last week or so and that makes me feel bad that I'm a cranky pants but it is what it is.

I did make my first ever visit to A REAL LIVE YARN STORE. Not a craft store!! OMG. There are almost no words...but I will post about it tonight...or tomorrow with pictures of my lovely lovely lovely yarn that I bought waytoomuchof!!!!!!!!! *SIGH* It is a very good thing I live 2 hours away from it.

Someone seems to be feeling better!

Alice and the White Rabbit

I feel like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. I'm alternately the rabbit yelling LATE I'm LATE!!! AND I'm sometimes Alice, chasing that illusive little bugger thru wonderland trying to get...wherever.

The last month has been crazy busy. Work has been busy (which is a good thing). We have lot's of events and things going this month so free time has been not so much. I FEEL SO BEHIND on blogging! There has been lot's to tell. So to quickly bring things up to speed....

EASTER SNOW!

Yes the day before Easter, in APRIL, in TEXAS we had a lovely lovely lovely SNOW. I took lot's of pictures! Don't worry I'm not going to make you look at all of them heh. Blue Bonnets in the snow...don't see that very often. Lot's of jokes about hell freezing over that weekend let me tell ya!

There was last month's local knitting meet in Copperas Cove at Alice's house. FUN! Great ladies and great food and maybe a wee bit of yarn petting!

I participated in a stitch marker swap over at http://getstitchy.com

These are my awesome stitch markers I got from my AWESOME new pal Melissa!

She sent Popcorn! and Mini Reese's and Life savers yummmm! I'm really enjoying the swaps. I've also joined a secret scarf exchange! My partner has emailed me and asked questions and is teasing me something terrible! It's so much fun!

This weekend I'm going to hit a "REAL" yarn store while we are in Dallas and pick up yarn for my pal's scarf.

While I have been running through wonderland like the mad hatter I have done a little knitting. I'm working on a My so called Scarf and ::drumroll please:::

My first true lace project!

More details soon!

Is that too may pictures? Well in the words of Alice "What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?"

The one with the flood, depression, and BAXTER!

Well...it has certainly been a wild several days around here. First off we have the great flood of 07 in which we ALMOST COULDN'T GET HOME PEOPLE! These pictures here...yeah that water...not usually there!

And then Friday night my cousin invited me over to his new house he just bought for dinner and MOJITO's (YUM)! And I played with this not so little guy right here:

A bundle of energy let me tell you! His name is Baxter and we had some slobbery fun!

Things have been stressful. Most of it boils down to money. Doesn't it always? Money for the new business, money when we start the new business, insurance problems etc...

That and I have realized that Lil Bit is sick. She is drinking lots and lots of water and doing things that I now see Ditto was doing when he first started getting sick. I know it is very likely that she has diabetes. We are heading to the vet to get tested Thursday. It takes about 3 or four days for the results to get back. I'm just worried sick. I honestly have no idea how I can afford shots for her but I will have to find away. I just can't bear losing another one of my kids so soon after Sully and Ditto. Ok...I'm getting teary so enough of that.

There is knitting fun to talk about but I just can't get excited about it right now.

If I look pitiful enough will you let me out?

Things you hear in our breakroom

MOM! Are you smokin' crack??

We often forget the walls in our office are very thin and I'm sure the person that has the office on the other side of what is our kitchen (fully loaded I might add, with fridge, micro, ice machine, toaster oven, table top convection oven, and of course coffee pot. Ok so there is actually more but I'm embarassed now. Think we obsess much about food?) thinks we are insane. The very odd noises I was making today while making fun of my sister (boss). Me fussing and mom because she didn't want to help me make lunch but then she wanted to tell me how to do it. And of course my sister exlaiming the above and asking our mother if she was smoking crack. I'm sure the person on the other side of the wall has heard all about our new business venture. Heard gossip about the real estate community here. Oh, I could go on and on :)

However I will miss that office so when we leave it.

That's all for now folks...my connection is running uber slow at the moment. Driving. Me. NUTS. and it's a short trip let me tell ya!

Wine Anyone?

'Tis pity wine should be so deleterious, for tea and coffee leave us much more serious” Lord Byron

Guess where I am going tonight? A wine tasting. Yup. Me. A wine tasting in Waco. merLOT anyone? To those that don't know me you might think...big deal. I don't exactly drink wine. Wine gives me a headache and makes me hot. As in hot flashes. Also, sadly my tastes in libations run to harder and usually more expensive beverages.

The thing is I've never actually been to a wine tasting that I can remember. My sister says they usually end up a "drunk fest". We are going with some friends who do love the drink a touch so I have a feeling the night will live up to that title. :) Honestly I wish I had not committed to go as I will miss the Mavericks game. So on one side we have me in my jammies with a cat in my lap and knitting in hand. OR we have a wine tasting with some lively and fun people. Hmmm...

The good news is they are serving dinner as well. Which I am very thankful for since the piece of cardboard (chicken breast) and veggies I had for lunch have left me ready to chew through my desk.

Tomorrow: more on cardboard chicken and why I need to lose about 100 pounds in 3 months.

Eavesdropping at the movie rental place

Conversations over heard in at the movie rental store.

Woman: Hey look, there is Snakes on a Plane! I wonder what it's about?

( here is where to myself in the span of SECONDS I thought: No she did not just ask that, is she serious? Oh he is going to have some really smart ass answer!)

Man: Snakes. On a plane. Just as serious and straight faced as can be.

He didn't even add HERE'S YOUR SIGN! or a DUH! to the end. Good man.

but you have to wonder...I mean seriously?

Looky What we Have Here!

more stitch markers! Why? I have no idea! It's not like I use them often lol. I just like playing and making them! No idea what I'm going to do with them! Maybe join a stitch marker swap?

I like this one, he's a keeper

Also I have started my LSSK KAL

It's oh so good to be knitting again!

Abby thinks making stitch markers is nonsense! Because when I do I sit in this chair and she really seems to think it is HER chair.

Happy Along Don't Worry!

Well I had hoped to post a HAPPY Along post Monday but work is busy and I wasn't able.

First, what am I knitting for someone else to make them happy? Mom's scarf (I call it the angelhair scarf) is the only thing I've been able to do a few rows on but I love how soft the yarn is!

Second, what am I knitting to make myself happy? Well the hat on dpns even though I haven't been able to work on it in a week makes me very happy!

Other things I am happy about this month:

Getting to meet some of my online knitting sistah's!
Spring!
Nice weather that allows to open the windows!
My swing in my front yard.
While I haven't been able to knit I've read a couple of books, which I really enjoyed!
Getting closer to our new business.
Knowing I will no longer be tied to a computer for work 8 hours plus a day in the near future.
Joining a scarf exchange on myspace knit knack group
A new dish cloth kal on my LSSK group!
Making stitch markers

And now I'm off to finish watching the Mav's game and try casting on for my dishcloth!

Spring Cleaning

I've been thinking about doing a little spring cleaning for the last couple weeks. Notice the THINKING about and not doing. Well Erika over at Red Shirt Knitting http://redshirtknitting.com has the same idea. Go over and check out her strategy!

The idea of spring cleaning gets a little overwhelming since I'm not home that much and most projects take a whole weekend at least to do. However, it needs to be done and it is very likely that by summer time I will have even LESS time. Plus the family is planning to have a garage sale in May so I need to get rid of some stuff!

So I've come up with a plan to break it up and help it not be so overwhelming. I’m going to break it up into small tasks. For example the idea of cleaning my whole bathroom (it is very large) makes my back hurt just thinking about it. So I will break it down by doing the closet (trust me a 2 hour project there) one day and then the cleaning scrubbing part the next day. See? Makes me feel better already!

Ok so here is my list I'm drawing up by room and I'm also going from one end of the house to the other.

Spring Cleaning To Do List:

My bathroom:
1. Clean out and organize closet. Get rid of unnecessary bathroom clutter including extra towels I don't need.
2. Scrub down tub, shower, sink, toilet, and mop floor.

Bedroom:
1. Clean out and reorganize dresser and night stand.
2. Wash all curtains, bed clothes, dust ceiling fan and vacuum floor.
3. Clean out under bed and hang picture, and clean out reorganize closet

Washer/Dryer area
1. Reorganize cabinet above washer/dryer and clean off dryer (it is right inside my back door so it tends to collect junk).
2. Optional but I would like to put up a shelf above dryer and hang a curtain in front of the washer dryer to hide it as it is not in its own little room

Kitchen:
1. Remove everything from counter tops and clean.
2. Dust bakers rack and top of fridge and clean out under sink. Get rid of any cleaners or things I haven't used.
3. Clean out pots and pans that I don't need and reorganize under cabinets.
4. Clean inside and out the oven and fridge
5. Mop floor

Desk: (It's not really a desk but serves as one. It's actually an antique possum belly table loll everyone who has never heard of that raise your hand!)
1. Clean off desk and clean out drawers.
2. File all paperwork and bills
3. Clean and old english desk.

Living Room:

1.Dust all shelves and knick knacks
2. Clean out book shelves of any books to get rid of and go thru movies to see if any can be sold.
3 Wash curtains and vacuum furniture mop floor
4. Organize yarn stash and cedar chest.

Cat's Bathroom
1. Clean out under sink and closet.
2. Wipe down counters, tub, and mop floor.

Spare Bedroom
1. Put away Christmas decorations that are piled on bed.
2. Wash all bed clothes and curtains and vacuum
3. Dust shelves and hang mirror and picture.
4. Check under bed, in craft dresser and in closet for anything to get rid of.

Front Porch and Carport
1. Clean off empty plant holders and sweep porch
2. Clean out storage shed under car port
3. Optional- I would like to sand down the rocker on the porch and paint it


Now obviously some of those I can do on the same day and I will. However it helps by breaking it down into manageable portions. That way if I don't have a lot of time that day I can do one of the smaller projects. Now for today I've already done my chores so I'm off to plop my rear on the couch and rest for what little is left of my weekend.

I'll get pictures this week of some of my trouble area's I'm going to tackle!

Happy Spring Cleaning!

The Chocolate part

Since the motto of this blog is knitting and chocolate are better than zoloft, and I can't knit I thought I should throw in some chocolate!

BEHOLD.....HEAVEN

or my idea of it anyway

On an unrelated note...I have a snoring poodle under my desk at work. The camera battery is dead or else their would be pictures!

picture alert! Furry kids!

Bonnie Bell

She came to visit last weekend. I tried getting her to grin for the camera but she would get too close and the pics came out fuzzy.

Here is her adopted sister Dixie

Not a great pic I know, but she RARELY stands still so I had to get her laying down.

And another one of Bonnie looking really goofy...this just cracks me up!

I'm off to play bunko...sorry for no knitting content...my hand and wrist are still causing me a lot of pain so I haven't been knitting. I'm not happy about that either!

Forecast: Good chance of storms

googles weather for Waco, TX today

73°F Overcast Wind: E at 6 mph Humidity: 64% Thunderstorms

Yep I'd say that was pretty dead on today. Looks like the stormy season is upon us. So. Thrilled.

This was Sunday when the storms were blowing in

It brought a MUCH needed rain and I am thankful for that! So are my trees! However this gloomy weather outside my window is making me want to go home and curl up and knit or read. My wrist is protesting so I haven't been knitting much and I'm wearing the dreaded brace. The upside is I've been reading Kim Harrison's Every Which Way But Dead since I can't knit. Awesome so far! I do believe I'm enjoying it more than the first two in the series. If you haven't read her books and I recommend them! http://www.kimharrison.net/

Ok now I gotta get back to work! (insert heavy sigh here)