My New Loves

This post has been a long time coming!! So what are my new loves? Knitting and crochet! :) I had learned a little bit of crochet back in 2007 but the friend who was teaching me didn't have a lot of time to get together... so i learned only the very basics and made a few scarves. Since I don't learn well from books I just sort of dropped off. I had been thinking about taking classes but never went for it. Earlier this year my friend Amber took a knitting class and she really took off with it - she is an excellent knitter now and really enjoys it. She had asked if I wanted to take the class with her, but it wasn't very long after my surgery so I held off.

In December I ended up taking a beginner knitting class AND a beginner crochet class at the SAME TIME! I didn't mean to, but one had a cancellation and I got into it early. I really enjoyed both classes so much.

I learned all kinds of fun little things in my crochet class:

The project for my crochet class was a baby blanket. I decided to make mine into a full size blanket for using on the couch. It took me a lot longer to finish it... just over a month! Here are some photos from during the process of working on it:

And here is the finished blanket which I am so proud of!

I just love it. It looks great in our living room and it's so warm and comfy... that is, when the cat lets me have it :-P

In my knitting class, our project was a hat. I was shocked that a beginner class project would be a hat - it seemed so complicated. Turned out to be the perfect thing though because I learned the basic stitches, how to use all the different types of needles, how to increase and decrease, how to pick up stitches, how to change colors, etc. A perfect way to learn a lot!

Here are some photos from working on it...

(Right at the beginning, when we were staying at the Stanley Hotel in December).

And here is my finished hat!

Two other girls in my class finished their hats by the end, so we took a couple photos :)

I'm also working on a crocheted ruffle scarf. It is a very simple pattern but it takes forever to finish it, and 3 skeins of yarn lol. It's sort of a background project for now, but I want to finish it soon and make a 2nd one so I can give them to my aunt and grandma, who both want one really bad :)

I have both purple and pink yarns for the scarves, but they both want purple and I am going to make the pink one for myself :) Should match my knitted hat above!

I have also started a couple of NEW projects! I'm currently in another hat class for knitting and I am learning entrelac.

This is what I have so far on the hat:

I've done quite a bit more now but I don't have a newer picture yet.

Entrelac is a really cool type of knitting... now that I know how to do this, there are tons of things I can make with it. I have this awesome book and there are at least 10 things in it I want to make:

I have two more classes left and hopefully I'll have another finished hat soon!

I am also working on a second blanket. It's not for a class or anything... I'm making it for my grandma. She doesn't have a throw blanket that matches her living room and she sits in there and reads or watches tv every night. It is hard to find things with peach and teal (her colors) these days... but I found a Homespun yarn that has both colors in it, as well as a purple blend to use for the border since purple is her favorite color... and it has hints of the peach and teal in it also.

The blanket is worked diagonally so right now it's a triangle shape and will eventually be a square. I just started the blanket last night, and I worked a little more on it at Starbucks today.

I also have an intermediate crochet class coming up in February. I'm looking forward to it! After that I have to stop taking classes for a while because it's expensive. I will have learned enough that I should be able to take off on my own for a while. I have a lot of projects I want to do already!

WHEW!!!!!! Sorry this is such a BIG blog post it's just been a really long time coming and I had a lot to catch up on! I'll be sure to update about my projects from now on. Also if you are a knitter or crocheter, you can find me on Ravelry as ScrapCrafty!

8 Months

Today is my 8 month "surgaversary"... I wish I actually HAD something to report, but I don't... lol. I am STILL bouncing between 211-212 every time I weigh. I was having a lot of pain so had a hard time working out, but the past two weeks I've worked out 4 days per week. Nothing changed. When I didn't work out... nothing changed. My body seems to be very happy right here. While I do want to get things moving, I am not stressing too much about it because I feel like my body is going through an adjustment period.

I do plan to do new progress photos and measurements for 8 months over this weekend since I haven't done them since my 6 month. I'm hoping I'll see some change in measurements even though my weight hasn't been changing. :)

Also, we had our 6 month appointment with our surgeon last week - yes, 6 month. It was VERY late because it got postponed a couple of times. It was supposed to be Thanksgiving week originally. Oh well.

The appointment was VERY positive. My surgeon did a double take looking at my chart. He said "we did this in MAY?? and you've lost HOW MUCH??" He was thrilled and said he would have expected this amount at one year. He also said my plateau is not the big deal that I've been thinking it is and just give it time, get back into exercise, continue on the same path and everything will work itself out :)

He wants me to try to lose 15 more lbs by my one year... works for me. Hopefully I can do more, but who knows... at this rate, maybe not. My weight hasn't changed at all in almost two months. But I keep reminding myself that maintaining is a great accomplishment too. The fact I am just living my life and not gaining any weight is a great thing :) :)

I REALLY will try to catch up on blogging over the next week - my best friend is coming into town for a long visit a week from today and I want to have some blogging done before then!!

For now, here's a couple photos of me from last weekend :) As an example of where I'm at at 8 months out. Although I'm in my puffy clothes since we were out in the snow all day :)

A few notes about the wardrobe... I made the hat :) Still need to blog about that. Also, I was able to buy snow pants. They are men's XL but they run small, usually in men's pants I'd wear an L. They were out of women's so I didn't even get to try any on. But my husband and I both bought snow pants... in past years, we could never fit into any!!! Also - my new snow boots are a Women's 9.5 - not wide width... not mens... just NORMAL women's 9.5... this is a huge accomplishment in my world too.

Another milestone this month... I can now wrap a regular bath towel around myself. It covers me and it stays. I am not sure when this happened because I hadn't even tried it before... but now it fits :) I did actually take a pic... but I am not sharing it here LOL.

That's all for now... more soon :)

So close!

I am reusing this photo because I am exactly this weight again today. Finally a little movement downward, although I was this weight several weeks ago. I am happy to see it moving though! Nothing at all has changed, just the natural ebb and flow I guess. SO CLOSE to my 100 lb mark which is officially 210 lbs... although in my mind it's 211 because I know I started at 311 even though they won't put that on my chart :-P

Hubby and I are talking about trying to get our workout routine going really good again. I would say workouts have been sporadic at best since before Thanksgiving. It really had nothing at all to do with the holidays, for me anyway. It was realizing I am in a lot less pain when I'm not working out. My hip and back feel better. So hard to want to get back into it... but I am going to, in the hopes that SOMEDAY the pain will be less because I'm more fit... but honestly no one knows if that is true or not, it's just something I have to hope for! My hubby isn't that self-motivated so me not working out for this long has affected him too. He gained a few pounds these past couple weeks and said to me this morning that he really needs to get back into good habits. So I am going to go with this and make it my time as well. I'm scared of having more pain, but I guess if I do I can always persue pain meds - just hope I don't have to!

So it starts tonight... we are going to work out when hubby gets home from work. I also have tentative plans to walk with a friend on Sunday depending on how cold it is.

I know I am starting to sound like a really annoying parrot, but... I really do have so much more to blog about and so many photos to share. Hopefully soon?

Unofficial 7 Month Update and Some Photos

Time for a much needed update! Yes, I have passed my 7 month mark now. I didn't take photos or measurements, or make a video, because not much has changed, so I think I'm going to wait until my 8th month to do so. Although when I *finally* hit 100 lbs lost I'll probably take some photos. I am currently still bouncing between 211.5 and 213. My body seems to really like hanging out at this weight... and I am actually okay with it. I am totally enjoying my life and my body and how I feel health-wise. So let's just call this my unofficial 7  month update :)
 So on my 7 month (Dec 20th) this was my weight:

Yes I still would like to lose more, but I'm not in a hurry :) Things are good and I'm letting my body do what it needs to do. I'm trying to up my exercise again, but every time I do it causes a lot more hip and back pain, so I'm trying to keep a balance and respect what my body needs. Damn pain :(

 Anyway, while I am perfectly fine with things going slow right now, friends and family are constantly asking me if I have hit the 100 mark yet. That gets a little frustrating - I know they all mean well but it just seems like they are so disappointed when I tell them nothing has changed. So I'd love to hit that mark just so I can shut everyone up and say yup I'm there lol. Other than that I'm good.

We've been having an EXTREMELY busy holiday season - I am up to my ears in photos I want to share and blog posts I want to write. I hope I can start catching up soon. I'm so busy with my knittng and crochet classes right now too! Just know that I'm here and I do have lots to share :)

While things have been slow the past couple months... there's nothing like seeing how far you've come to make you realize things are really freaking good.

The other day I was going through my husband's phone and emailing myself photos of his that I wanted. I came cross some old photos I don't ever remember seeing... why he even took these I don't know lol but man, were they crazy to see....

Then I also found this photo from my honeymoon:

Then I started getting a chance to look at photos that have been taken THIS holiday season (haven't even put any of these on Flickr yet)... and I am just so happy with what I am seeing these days!

That last one, while not a particularly flattering photo, is a special photo for me. It's one that made me go... wow... that's me? I know I'm still a big girl but man, I feel like I am starting to look pretty normal. My stomach looks fairly flat (at least it's not sticking out) and I am just happy with what I see. Can't remember the last time I saw a side-view photo and I liked what I saw. This feels great :)

Well I'm off to try and finish up a knitting assignment before class tonight. I hope to be back with more to share soon!

I'm Alive :)

Hey all! So I got a few comments and emails from people wondering where I was. Thank you so much for being concerned. Nothing at all is wrong... I have just been really busy!! Between workouts, household chores, family stuff, Christmas preparations, my FIL's cancer treatments... I'm keeping busy. Then last week I started a crochet class and this week I started a knitting class. I'm in them simultaneously now and have class 4 nights a week and many projects to put time in on every day as homework for class. Eek!!! Busy busy busy.

I have sooo many blog posts I want to write and hopefully I can start catching up. As for weight, I have been bouncing between 211 and 213 for two weeks. I didn't get to weigh in today (forgot before eating breakfast) so I will do so tomorrow and see where things are at. Want to hit that damn -100 mark by my 7 months which is coming up in just 4 days... but I don't know if it will happen.... again.... grrr. Things sure are slow but I still feel I am doing everything I need to be doing so I will just hang in there and be patient!!!

Hopefully I'll be back soon with more blog posts and photos to share!

First Sleeved Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was... interesting. I don't like to sound negative, but family drama is never a good thing, and we certainly had some of that this year. BUT, I will say, the cooking & eating part of the holiday went very well :) My dad made the turkey & stuffing and my aunt brought a delicious Costco pumpkin pie. Other than that, the rest was up to hubby and me!! He was my kitchen assistant and chopped all the things I hate chopping lol and he helped me stay calm. Cooking really overwhelms me, especially making several dishes at once!!

I opted to pick up mac and cheese from Panera so I had one less thing to worry about, so I just warmed that up in a small crock pot for about an hour before dinner.

The first thing I made was garlic mashed potatoes. I made them in the crock pot so I had to start them about 5 hours before dinner.

I'm having trouble locating the recipe I used but basically it is red potatoes (3 lbs), a whole white onion, diced... minced garlic. After that cooked through, I mashed them up and then added onion and chive cream cheese, milk, butter, and some additional spices. Forgot to take a pic of them finished but you will see a little bit of them on my plate later :)

The second dish I made was Shelly's Crazy Corn Casserole. For me this was a lot of work compared to stuff I usually cook, but not too bad and DEFINITELY worth it because it tasted absolutely AMAZING!

It then got cheese on top and baked in the oven til melty and bubbly. It was a crowd pleaser. I am already thinking about making this a meal casserole by adding beef and possibly beans also. Will have to try that sometime soon! This thing has just so much flavor.

The third dish I made was something I have done for about the past 6 years - green beans with almonds. I buy frozen whole green beans and cook them in the microwave first. I sautee sliced almonds in a little butter and with a lot of minced garlic. Then I add the green beans to the skillet and add a little garlic powder, salt and pepper. This is always tasty. I didn't take a specific photo of this either but they are on my plate.

Here's my Thanksgiving plate. FYI, it is a salad sized plate not a dinner plate!

On the left you see my green beans with almonds! Going clockwise there is panera mac and cheese, then my garlic mashed potatoes, then turkey, stuffing, and finally corn casserole. Everything was awesome!

Here is what I wasn't able to eat:

About an hour and a half later I had a 1/2 slice of pumpkin pie. YUM!!!

We had lots of leftovers. I only ate them a few times though. One time I used turkey to make a melt, and had veggies with it:

Another day I had some leftover meat loaf with some of the potatoes and mac and cheese. And I also had another 1/2 slice of pumpkin pie the day after Thanksgiving.

It's nice to enjoy this holiday, still eat all of the food, but not stuff myself. I never felt uncomfortable and never went into a turkey coma LOL. Enjoyed the leftovers too... but never any pigging out. And I lost 4 pounds this week, how wonderful is that?!

Thanks for stopping by my Thanksgiving table :)

28 Weeks Post Op Update

So this week included Thanksgiving... not to mention a lack of workouts due to pain and tiredness. But lo and behold, my body decided this was a week for letting go. I lost FOUR POUNDS this week!!!! My current weight is:

This puts my total lost at 98.6 lbs! Finally getting close to 100 lbs lost :) Yay!

I have to say I am feeling quite "zen" lately. Even on a week like this week where I wasn't able to work out much, I didn't stress about it. I knew I was listening to my body and what it needed - not avoiding working out for no reason. The weight on the scale doesn't hurt either in telling myself I was right to listen to my body. Awesome!

The biggest thing to talk about from the past week is Thanksgiving of course, so I will be sharing a bit about our holiday meal in the next post, hopefully tonight. Just wanted to share my news for today.