My first 24 point Round Ripple!

As many of you know, my step-sister, Jennifer has been in the hospital for several weeks now after her appendix burst. She's been going through a rough time trying to get better and I feel just awful that I'm all the way down here in Florida and since the only thing I could do was to make her something I thought a nice afghan for when she gets home would be comforting...

This took me 2 weeks to make and although I had some difficulties with it not wanting to lie flat, I finally worked it out and I am pleased with the way it turned out. I think it looks Christmasey even though there aren't any greens in it! Ah well, hopefully she'll like it!

I think I'd like to really carefully choose a cool color scheme for the next one I make. I think it's all about what colors you choose and how you arrange them as to how these end up looking...

21.4 pounds and 4 pant sizes down!!!!

On Tuesday I was pleasantly surprised after getting on the scale at Weight Watchers and finding out that I not only FINALLY hit the 20 pound mark (after teetering near it for a month and a half!) but I surpased it!!!

I knew I had also lost a lost of inches since starting this journey and jokingly told Doug I thought it was about time I went and bought a new outfit. He actually looked at me and said "I think you deserve it." I was so thrilled to go shopping! It was so great to not have to go for the largest things on the rack like I used to! Anyway, I grabbed a bunch of stuff, went into the changing room and nothing I got fit! Everything I grabbed was too big! I couldn't believe how much I had gone down! After all was said and done I am officially down 4 pant sizes and 2 shirt sizes!!!!!

Doug took a couple of pics of me in my new outfit and for comparison's sake I also included a picture of me at the exact same time last year. I think I have toned down in my arms quite a bit and I've lost a lot in my face. I really need to find a way to get my calves to go down. They are still huge. It is hereditary. My grandma who is a toothpick has very large calves. So even though I'm 4 pant sizes down, it's only in shorts or capris because in blue jeans I cannot get the pant legs over my monster calves yet. UGH! So for now I'm forced to wear my oooober loose jeans until I can find a way to lose some weight in my calves...

Other than that I'm thrilled that this program is working for me and just wish Doug was having a better time with it. I know it helps that I stuck with going to the meetings. That really is helping to keep me on track!

Master Bathroom Pictures

Well it only took me a couple of months to upload the pics and get them on my blog but here they are!!! Ok, these are the BEFORE pics... I don't whose brilliant idea it was to paint the walls different colors... UGH!!!



Me in the midst of paint...


My first attempt a a palm tree mural. As you can tell it was AWFUL!!!! I ended up painting over it and starting all over again!


Doug putting back fixtures...

These are the AFTER pics!!! As you can see I did a PALM TREE theme! I stenciled these on both sides of the bathroom door as well as the switch plate and on the cabinet doors over the toilet...


I really think the color brightens the whole room. Believe it or not, Doug picked lavendar! I wanted peach but he didn't. I like it though!

This was an awesome find! Since there are no windows in the bathroom it always seems so closed off. I happened to find these things called "Wallies" at Michaels which are little wallpaper things which you can re-position, put down, put back up, and so on and so forth and I saw this window and had to have it! It really makes the bathroom so much more open now!


And at last, my completed palm tree! This thing took me well over 25 hours of work! It was ALL done in free-hand and a lot of help from a really cool tutorial I found on You-Tube. It is so relaxing now when I take a bath with my palm tree and my window!!!! CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!!!


Now it's on to the guest bathroom which we are going to paint peach (I already bought the paint) and will be doing in a sea-shell theme. I don't know when we'll get started on that but hopefully I'll post pictures much sooner than I did these!!!