God forgive me …

so what have I done now, you may well wonder if I’m asking God to forgive me as the title to this post… well wonder no more for I will tell you exactly what I have done.  But be warned it isn’t exactly pretty.  In fact it is rather all to common in my life.  And I’m still working on changing this habit.
I began this habit at a young age … and I fear so has so many others ~ in fact we think of it as several things so it can be difficult to realize the damage it causes until it is just too late.  
Gossip.  This is the official name of my offense, however because I really don’t talk about anyone behind their back it seems like there should be another name for it and until recently I had no idea that there was!   I’ve been slowly reading through the book by Lois Tverberg with Bruce Okkema titled: Listening to the Language of the Bible   Hearing It Through Jesus’ Ears  and when I got to their description of The Evil Tongue well it really opened my eyes to some of my bad habits.  My heart was pierced to recognize that I am guilty of hurting others based on things I have said.  Now mind you I said them directly to them, or in front of them not necessarily behind their back.  Which I think is even worse.  I do try not to say anything about anyone that I would not be willing to say to their face.  However as I read about the Evil Tongue and how sarcastic speech is just as damaging well my heart sank.  I have been sarcastic for as long as I can remember.  It is something I’ve disliked about myself for just as long.  
I realize now that the habit of speaking so poorly was at first a defensive action on my part.  Growing up with a family that often jested with one another with a lot of sarcastic wit put me in a position of often having to be able to respond with just as much sting as I was being stung with or suffer the deluge of verbal abuse that was sure to follow.  Honestly it was normally all meant in good fun… but when did it stop being just humorous and start being defensive and intended to sting?   I can’t pinpoint just when that happened for me but I do know it’s been years of working on stopping my tongue from lashing out at others for no apparent reason other than they said or did something mistakenly in my hearing or presence.  
So why now make this all public?  Well I noticed I even will respond to facebook posts with a sarcastic bent ~ why???? I wish I knew what motivates me to respond this way but since I don’t have any strong answers to share I think I’ll concentrate on seeking God’s help in changing this as well as all my other bad habits.  I know asking for forgiveness isn’t a ‘cure all’ but it’s the first step in getting help. 
For anyone out there that has been hurt directly or indirectly by my sarcasm I am truly sorry.  I hope nothing I have said to you directly or indirectly has caused you any suffering.  I read how this is worse than stealing since a thief could return what they stole whereas one can not take back the words they’ve spoken, nor can one repair a damaged reputation ~ and let’s face it we do this daily when we pass on the email jokes of those in the public eye pointing out all their faults, whether it is their poor sense of fashion, or their ineptitude in speech, or missteps or mistakes made where a witness was able to report back about it so what might have been nothing much has been spread all over the world through the wonderful world wide web.
I realize my sharing this isn’t earth shattering news, nor is it a complete ‘cure’ for me instantly from this moment on however I hope it will keep me thinking before I speak and perhaps help you to stop and think before you pass on any tidbits about your friends, family or even complete strangers.  The old adage is still right … “If you don’t have anything nice to say about another then don’t say anything at all.”  (If I misquoted that well there you have it .)  
One last thought before I go crochet something … how many times do we speak ill of someone in front of our children?  I know I raised my children with a lot of my sarcasm and they all “got it” from me … for that I’m truly sorry … I know I can’t change it and saying I’m sorry doesn’t make it all better.  For that I ask God to help heal us as a family of sarcasm and let us be a family that can share the fruit of the spirit instead.  That is my wish for all of you too peace within your own heart, within your families and friendships that are blessings not subtle wars of wit that sting underneath all the laughter.  May you  be blessed with kindness one for another so that we truly would show the world we belong to Christ by our Love for one another. Let our Light (Christ in us) so shine in a dark and dying world.

dreaming … not of a white Christmas!

So here it is December 8th well for the next half an hour anyway … the year is winding down and along with it comes the usual heart wrenching ‘review’ of what “I should have, would have, could have” done as well as what I did not do!   But there is hope that springs up within me to sustain even the toughest of “critical moods” I can enter into all because as the year winds down there is a brand new clean slate in sight.  Yes a brand spanking new Year is coming our way and we can pick ourselves up and begin anew.
It’s not too early to be looking ahead!  It is NOT!!!!

Oh the patterns I drooled over and yet they sit undone, the yarns that I just had to have waiting for my hook (or possibly my needles) to put them to good use.  The incredible insights that I just know everyone out there in cyber land would be delighted to read about ~ oh sure I’ll share them even though I believe even my “followers” probably have given up “following” me since I don’t write more regularly!!! 
The house work that beckons and taunts me with my failures … the half finished organization of the upstairs and the upcoming painting to be done which means more cleaning and organization necessary in two more rooms of the house (mind you upstairs was sooooo close to being finished before I traveled in November but fell just short of completion and now I’ll have to get something settled & soon since the bedroom & den will be under attack in a week & a half!!)
The thousands of photos awaiting my sorting for the photo book for my mom of our trip to The Holy Land … yikes I really need to get those sorted and uploaded and a book ordered soon… almost more important than the organization of the house … umm another excuse I’m sure  .
So with the fond memories, the sad ones too I look (early for a change) at the year in review …
2010 held many fun & exciting times … January held our beautiful grandson Anthony as he arrived on the 20th …  April we celebrated my mom’s 75th birthday … May I turned 50!  July we traveled to NC to visit the kids and especially to see our grandson Mikey (moo) … spent time at the beach, brought Sarah & Mikey back to NY for a visit and to surprise Ashley for her bridal shower then back to NC another visit to the beach before heading home … September and it was Adriana’s turn to head off to school, Kindergarten for her & Kyla entered First grade (boy time flies by ever so fast!!!) … very end of September the Pollies arrived and we celebrated Mikey’s “First Birthday” as he turned 11 months old … October ushered in with wedding bells for Ashley & Patrick, followed by Mike coming to our house and repairing our living room ceiling and archway & painting    November mom & I traveled to Israel, and came home changed!!!  December brings more home repair which allows for another visit with Mike & Sarah & Mikey moo! 

As December winds down we will undoubtly be thinking of gifts for family and friends but I hope we could get to the place where we stop and pay attention to the whole reason for celebration … it’s not about the gifts. It’s all about the birth of our Savior! If Jesus had not agreed to come we would not be able to be reconciled with God the Father.  A tall order for a little baby! And yet being fully God while being man He was able to pull it off for us.  So as I let this day come to a close and the thoughts of Christ’s ultimate gift linger in my mind I hope to share with someone out there in cyber land the truth of God’s love. 
We may celebrate and in order to “not offend” someone with a different faith we opt to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas (by the way Holiday comes from Holy Day)  in the end regardless of what we say God cares more about our heart.  He cares more about our actions for our actions speak louder than our words.  I can say with my mouth that I Love God and will live my life for Him but then not put that into action.  Leaving the statement void of conviction.  Or I can live my life for Him and fail to express with words the fact that He is the source of my strength, my love for others, my joy, my peace, my everything.   So I chose again and again and again to Live my Life for Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, my Savior, my Redeemer, My LORD & KING!!!!  May you know Him as I know Him, still ever growing in the knowledge of His Love for me, daily leaning on Him fully for all things. Trusting in His Truth. 
Peace on Earth, Good will toward Men … May God reign in your hearts this day.

A Lefty Crochets: Moving Upstairs what will I manage?

A Lefty Crochets: Moving Upstairs what will I manage?: "Today holds a challenge for me ... to get upstairs & actually work. I managed to clean our bedroom without putting all of the work on John ..."

Moving Upstairs what will I manage?

Today holds a challenge for me ... to get upstairs & actually work.  I managed to clean our bedroom without putting all of the work on John (as has been my habit) so I don't know why I feel so reluctant to get up there & face the mess I created.  OH there it is ... facing the mess I created.  How often we hide from dealing with our messes?  I mean we get into a situation & then don't want to admit our part in it ~ thinking we can ignore it & it will just go away.  Hahaha poor planning that's for sure!  

There is a verse in the bible that states be sure & know your sin will be found out (again my interpretation please read the bible for yourself & see what God reveals to you) .... my mess upstairs should not be so intimidating but for some reason it has been.  But no longer!  Today is the day I will ... you heard me I WILL go up there & make some progress before I have to play with my grandson :)  He's coming this afternoon & I look forward to spending time with him.   But in order to really enjoy our play time I have to make some progress upstairs.

Thinking about this makes me think of making some progress "upstairs" in the thinking process.  I need to make progress with my thoughts.  I need to think like an "organizer" and 'see' things the way they can/ should be and then go from there.

I'll take some before & after pictures.  maybe ... I might even share them with you ;)

I am “brand new” in Christ Jesus

So I have lived my life fairly consistently in that I have a faith in God, believe in Jesus Christ His Son, that He (Jesus) died for my sins (and the sins of everyone in the world) … and yet I have failed to grasp the reality of this concept that I am made new in Jesus.

In this my 50th year of living I feel that it is truly my year of Jubilee ~ in the Bible the year of Jubilee is a time (and it happened every 50 years) when debts were forgiven and you were allowed to have a fresh start. (my interpretation please read the bible for yourself and see what God reveals to you).

As I was saying, I believe this is “MY” year of Jubilee.  I feel as if I have been given a fresh start.  All my debts have been forgiven (that is those debts I had with God not with man) and now looking at my way of living I realize it is beyond time to “step it up” and make the changes in my habits that have been holding me back from living life to the fullest.  I admit to the fact that I do not or rather have not lived my life to the fullest.  I admit that I settled for the bare minimum, with the occasional abundance.

Looking at my living room today, knowing I still need to finish furnishing it, I can see how vastly different living will be in this room!  Before I did not have a “place for everything” and therefore did not put “everything in it’s place” instead my room just got cluttered up and then piled up and then overflowing piles took over half of my living room.   The truth is that “Knowing” and “Doing” are two separate things!!!   I may have known my clutter needed to go but actually making it go didn’t happen!

In fact right now my kitchen is housing the majority of my clutter.  The remainder is upstairs along with a lot more “stuff” that needs organizing, evaluating, and eliminating.    My goal is to have my house in order before I travel this November.   I need to seriously look at things and decide will I really miss it if it’s given away?  Will I be able to replace it?  Will it cost me more to keep it or replace it should it really be needed at a future point in time?   Yes, I am going to be brutally decisive with all of my “things” and I will “possess my things” and not have “ my things possess me”. 

I was looking at the kitchen table, currently covered with stuff.  Half of the table seems to be holding old VCR tapes, empty CD cases and items that were filling my old computer desk & hutch.  Why? Why did I keep the old tapes?  Why did I keep the empty cases?  Why … why… why.   Why ask WHY???

Instead I chose to look at today as a new day and instead of asking why to all of the above (and so much more) I will chose to evaluate the stuff and if I’m wondering why I have it in the first place you can be sure it will not be in my house much longer!  

  So in this my year of Jubilee I now have a fantastic incentive to break the old habits that inhibited me from truly enjoying life the way God intended.  Now I will look at things on a different level.  I will evaluate things with a different standard.  Work smarter not harder ~ which means maintaining the clean rooms instead of putting off until tomorrow what I can do today!   Yes I’ve declared war on my old habits.  Knowing I can change because of Christ in me. Becoming what He wants me to be in all ways not just the comfortable ones.  I am no longer going to call myself a “clutter bug” nor will I refer to myself as a “pack –rat” !  Instead I will simply be and continue to be a new creation in Christ.  Thank you God for your mercies that are new every morning

Finally a long over due repair is getting done :)

Years ago I started writing about my crocheting and various patterns I was trying or hoping / planning to try ... also shared about my designing dreams ... then that blog was moved here to Blogger and my writing became more hit or miss to eh every so often to hey did I want to share that with someone ... anyone out in cyber space??? 


So if you read my blog whenever I actually write something you may be well aware that I have shared how my 'pack rat' habits and  "clutter bug" habits have left my home really messy.   And after so many years of complaining about my procrastination and my mess it looks like I may have a chance to break the cycle ... we've emptied our living room (well almost, we had no place to move the tv, my chair & one of the loveseats so they are still in the room) ... and our son in love (law) has taken on the job of repairing our damaged ceiling, archway, & wall and then painting our entire entry way, living room & hallway. 


Now I have to figure out how I really want my room to be set up ... the saying : "A place for everything & everything in it's place" has been running through my mind for years now ~ the only problem I seem to have (besides being a pack rat & a clutter bug)  is that I've almost never had a "place for everything" in order to have 'everything in it's place!!'    Just how does one have a place for everything???  I mean I have been in homes where their occupants seem to have a grasp on this concept but really how does one manage to maintain this way of living ???   Oh yeah ... they don't have more stuff than they need in each space... which means perhaps it's time for me to actually let go of some things. 
Let go ... give away or throw away or find a "place" for it if it is to remain in my home  :)


Usually I can 'picture' things in my mind's eye ... makes life a bit easier for me when I want to shop for yarn, when I want to decide how I want to arrange the furniture etc ~ however I have no clue how I want my living room to be once the work is done. I can't seem to picture my living room completed.  I know I need to get a clue and move with it but I want our living room to basically be empty.  Just the really necessary items in it ... if only I could figure out what they are ??? I mean do we really need anything more than our t.v ., my chair, and table, and a desk or table for my laptop & printer??? LOL oh sure we'll need a couple of seats for when someone comes over but we don't need wall to wall stuff ever again :)  

Today would have been .....

My dad's 75th Birthday. Dad was running errands on his last day here on earth.  He had been on his way to the store when he didn't feel well, so he turned around and drove back home.  Managed to get upstairs, after "being ill" he went to lay down.  Mom went to check on him and ask if he wanted her to call the doctor, which he said no he didn't ... but she said he looked "wrong"  ~ she ended up calling "9-1-1" and then called us to let us know he was at the hospital & that she didn't think it was good.  That was just a couple of month's after his 62nd birthday.  And after all this time he is still extremely missed.

My dad enjoyed the outdoors ~ fishing, being on the water seemed to be his most favorite activity.  Although he did enjoy hunting too. He wanted to live at the camp year round. But the camp wasn't quite ready for that and if he had lived I am sure he would have managed to get it up to that level of comfort.

I am just sitting here remembering dad, and thinking how short life really is ~ you know you've all had those moments where something happens that drives home that point "LIFE'S SHORT" so live it to the fullest while you can.  But then the every day "routine" takes over again and everyone is doing what needs to be done and they are back in their own little "ruts" until the next time something happens to jar us into realizing that "Life's too Short".  

Anyway ... life is full of so many mundane things but if we take the time to look a bit closer we can see that in among the mundane is a whole assortment of Amazing!  Just take time to stop & smell the roses ...okay not necessarily the roses but have you looked at any flower close up?  They are just one small facet of nature, and yet they are evidence of the Creator.

Everywhere I look I can see something that reminds me of my dad, but that doesn't make me sad... instead it means that he truly is with me in my heart daily.   And it drives home the point that God has left us reminders of Him in all of the every day living we do, if we will only take the time to "see" them.   When I watch our grandchildren playing and I catch a glimpse of them "looking" like another family member it amazes me how much we "look" like one another.   Well in a way that is how it is for us as God's children.  When we look at one another we should be able to "see Christ in them" as they should be able to "see Christ in us" ~ speaking the truth in Love and sharing the Love of God one with another daily.   Life's just too short, so why not live each day to the fullest? This scripture comes to mind and I'd like to leave it as a final thought today ~
 "Whatsoever your hand findeth to do do it with all your might, for there is no work, nor device nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."  Ecclesiastes 9:10  
Thanks dad for the memories.  Thank you God for everything!

Wishing you all great joy.

32 Years of “Wedded Bliss” :)

… it’s been 32 years and although we’ve had our share of ups & downs I can still say it’s been “BLISS” 

We married young and had our beautiful family young… which means we are still “young” at this stage in our life.  With grown children who have blessed us with beautiful grand children we can look back and see the hand of God has been with us through the years. 

To any of you who have weathered the storms of life as long as we have you know it really does take work to keep your relationship ‘fresh’ and strong through the years.  To any of you just beginning your life as a married couple ~ I want to encourage you that it is well worth the effort required to last this long.  And to those of you still “waiting” for your “soul mate” to come along I really would say concentrate more on living each day to the fullest  ~ enjoy what God has given you. 

It’s funny how often our “soul mates” arrive when we aren’t “searching” for them but rather when we are busy enjoying our lives… how do I know this? Well my true love showed up within days of my telling my grandmother I was not dating anyone & had no interest at all in dating someone. I meant it with my whole heart.  I was enjoying my life and had my own “plans” and a “special someone” was not in my plans at that time.  So imagine my surprise when “Bam” he arrived!!!!  

Many of my friends have expressed that they were “taken off guard” in that when they weren’t “looking” for love it came & found them.   So if you are “searching” high & low for your “true love” STOP!!!  You may be prolonging their arrival as you probably can’t “see” them for your searching. 

… life is work … relationships are work… marriage is work… parenting is Work… so WORK at what is truly important to you! 

For as I was growing up my dad used to say (or maybe it was my mom who said this??) … “Anything worth doing is worth doing right! '”

Keep in mind that usually doing something right requires WORK so stop fighting it and get to work ;)

Speaking of work … I’ll busy myself with a little bit of cleaning today so my love won’t come home to a mess (like he does every other day of the year ;) 

Hope you have a great day.  Keep the “frog” away get your UFO’s out and pick one to work on and turn it into a FO!!!!

Testing … testing… is this thing on?

So just really trying to embrace the whole laptop experience and discovered that I have an option to write for my blog and have it show up there while not actually being “on my blog” ;)   now I’m sure many of you were well aware of this option & many others & here I am just “catching up” LOL … or I’m too easily distracted to stick with something long enough to get all the benefits from it in the first place???

Oh well let’s see how this works … if it works & even more importantly if  I like it!!!

It's the Year of Jubilee!!!! for Me anyway :)

Hello there ~ bet you thought I'd just up and walked away from blogging it's been so long since I bothered to write anything at all ... sorry ... to disappoint you that is I'm here & although I am not consistently writing in my blog doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it :)   Yeah I know thinking & doing are two completely different things!!!

So I've got something to share ~ I've officially lost 100 pounds!!! (Last week I pulled it off  & even with indulging for Mother's day I didn't gain for my weigh in yesterday I weighed the same as the week before  ... go ahead & ask I don't mind & I'm not exactly keeping my numbers a secret LOL
My starting weight was 280 (pounds) and my weigh in was yesterday morning ~ 179.6 = 100.4 pounds lost!!!!   I have another 50 to go!  But I know I can reach my desired goal of 130.  It may be hard.  It may seem impossible but I don't care about that I've lost 100 pounds already & I'm going to work hard to be set free of the last 50 pounds I need to get rid of..
And as for numbers ~ if you don't know what a year of Jublilee is all about well it is from the bible (Old Testament)  and it had to do with the 50 th year (now not their birthday's but I'm all about my birthday)
Yes I am 50 yrs. old today!!!  To celebrate I've already gone out for breakfast with a dear friend and this afternoon I am going to surprise my granddaughter by being the "Mystery Reader" for her Kindergarten class.  I'm going to read " A Rose For Pinkerton" by Steven Kellogg... if you haven't read his books I highly recommend them ... his stories are very entertaining & his illustrations are fantastic :)
Yeah I am a big fan of Steven Kellogg's work .

Oh and by the way ... this post is being written directly from my very own laptop!  My husband was thoughtful and bought it for me so that I can have my computer when I travel, etc.   I do enjoy my desktop however there are so many times that if I could just take it with me how much more I could do ... well you understand I do not need to ramble on ~  I know why stop now? LOL

On a crochet note ... well I am thrilled to say I gave my 5 yr. old granddaughter a crochet lesson and she has already made two "chain" bracelets.  I am so looking forward to our next lesson. When I will show her how to work a sc stitch.
Okay need to get moving I just realized what time it is & I have a few things to do in order to go to read at her school.  Have a great day ~ may your hooks be moving swiftly and may your projects be UFO's no longer!!!  :)

Rambling thoughts & Update :)

Good Morning everyone :)   
I am happy to report that although I had a slight gain this past week I am well aware of why and how to correct the behavior this week.   I over indulged over several different days during the past week & failed to compensate for it with movement (Exercise)  so it was not shocking to me to see the weight gain show up on the scale.

I have so many rambling thoughts running through my mind so in no particular order here goes ~

why is is that when we think we know something we are faced with the realization that we really Don't know it at all?

As for crocheting ideas why do I see so many creative crocheted items in my mind's eye yet fail to know how to capture them on paper or in actual work so that I could put it into a pattern?  I want to be able to take it from my "mind's eye" to finished product complete with working pattern so others could make them too  ~ God Help me with this please as I really want to see this come about.

I will go "there" ... yes I will .... my faith.  My faith is in God.  And since it is I am confident that although I am not perfect I can strive for / towards perfection (HIM) God is perfect, God alone. No one else is even close to perfect .   So as I struggle to live my life in a manner that brings Glory to the One who is Worthy of all Glory I hope my little light can shine in the darkness that tries to snuff it out ...


Women need to recognize that they are precious in God's sight ~ in fact God LOVES YOU ~ but if you don't "feel loved" you may miss out on what God is trying to show you, to bring you through etc ... so often we ( we as women) fail to be completely honest with ourselves. (No offense meant if you have managed to be completely honest with yourself ... the truth is I know how hard it has been for me to be that open & honest with myself  ~ often I hide the unpleasant sides of "me" from "ME")   if you have managed to be & remain completely open & honest with yourself (which means you are thereby completely open & honest with/ & before God) kuodo's to you and would you share any tips with me?  

What do you hide from yourself? do I still have anger issues?  I mean yeah when someone cuts me off or someone drives rather stupidly I vent a bit of "rage" but honestly that can't be the full force behind my "vent"... or can it?? ... let's face it I'm not perfect so therefore I must make driving errors just like the ones that will tick me off ... anyway bearing oneself completely before God is hard (for me anyway) and slow & progressive ~ but worth it every time I manage to bear a bit more of the hidden recesses of my heart before HIM and find that He knew it all along & forgave me for it already & covered me in His Mercy & Grace allowing me to face it and move past it ... not that everything that has been "hidden" has been "bad" some things that have come to light have been positive & uplifting ... like I do have some strength to make progress in my daily habits towards my God :)

and there is an ever increasing burden on my heart for women ~ all women everywhere to come to the knowledge of God's love for them no matter what they may have done or been through ... I have a book being birthed in me and that is scary ... I know I need to shut myself up with God and move when He allows me to move so that I can accomplish what He has in mind for me to accomplish.

That's it for now I'm tired ... it's hard to open up & reveal the things that lurk deep within or actually some things that lay right on the surface that we like to think aren't seen because they are right in front of our eyes...

Be Blessed Embrace the Love of God in your life & if you don't know HIM as your personal Lord & Savior then ask Him to reveal Himself  so that you can know HIM fully.  He is there waiting for you.  He won't turn His back on you when you call out to HIM.

Our Fifth Grandchild has arrived :) ... & other thoughts

So he kept us waiting but it was well worth it!  Anthony arrived on Jan. 20th at 10:04 am and all 8lbs 4ozs of him is simply adorable :)
His big sister is crazy about him & I have been told she often refers to him as "little man" it's so cute!!!

I've been working hard & have finally gotten under 200 lbs ~ this past Monday I hit my 3rd weight loss goal.  (I have set them at 10% increments) and now I am working to meet the next one.  Some days are harder than others but I push through to the best of my ability.  Some days I fail horribly while others I seem to sail through without any mishap in my choices.  So I want to share with all of you that there will be days like that & we have to pick ourselves up & move on without wallowing in the poor choices of the day before otherwise we go on a downward spiral that gets increasingly harder to break free from.

I will be alternating between the walk away the pounds & the Wii Fit exercises since I have found that I am getting too comfortable with my "routine" and I know it is important to try & keep the body moving & not in the same "rut" to stay successful.    So yeah the hula hoop exercise was fun but I still feel it two days later!!  And the boxing (Wii Sports) I am so funny trying to do it right but it gets the heart pumping!  And tennis yeah could never play it all that well in person so to see YOU LOSE come across the screen makes YOU WIN all the sweeter!!!
Yes I am enjoying this form of activity very much & often find I can play for an hour or more & not even realize the time has passed.

Okay need to move away from my computer ... get up move, run some errands etc.  But I will ck back in soon.
Maybe get a chance to go hold Anthony again ;)
Now that's one "activity" I could do forever :)
Wishing you all a "frog free" day & may your crochet hooks be busy busy busy !!!

Hello 2010!!!!

Okay so if you are wondering where in the world did Anne go?  Let me tell you I've had an incredible time finishing up 2009 and entering into 2010.
I am happy to say my darling grandson arrived October 25, 2009 ~ just 3 weeks before his "due date" so he was waiting for my arrival instead of the other way around :)  and I was able to spend all of November with him and his parents.  Made a quick, short return to his side in December so that grandpa could meet him too.  And now we pine for him.  Thankfully Skype (even though we don't have a web camera here) so we can see him and hear him over the video conference call from our computer does make us pine for him more :)
Excitement in Dec. of 2009 as we thought our other grandson was going to make an early appearance on Dec. 19th he was putting up quite a fuss but not enough of one to show up just yet... and here it is Jan.11th, 2010 & he still has us waiting on him :)

As for the whole weight loss journey I am thrilled to report that I am officially half way to my goal!  YAY ~ hard work and even with slacking for the family Christmas party & for the rest of the "holidays" which of course resulted with a weight gain (come on this is the reality of over indulging) I was glad to get back to the seriousness of watching what I eat counting those calories & carbs and seeing the number on the scale going back in the right direction.   So since Mondays are my "official" weigh in day this morning was no different ~ I am 203 ... yes 77 pounds and counting since July 6th. (that is the day I officially began counting calories & carbs)   and I do exercise daily.  At least half an hour of "activity" or more.  Something to get the heart pumping.

And let's not forget the whole crocheting aspect of my life.  I finally took the time to work on a basic diagonal box stitch in order to "learn" it for the first time!  And I love it!!!  (It goes by several names, corner to corner etc) ~ my project to learn this stitch was a simple little doll blanket so when the girls come over they can play with the dolls & put them in a little cradle that we pulled out of storage (my dad, God rest his soul) made it for our daughter and now our granddaughters can all enjoy it every time they come over.

So I'm excited to see what this year holds in store not only for my weight loss journey but for my crocheting journey as well.   I still haven't sat down long enough to attempt Broomstick Lace (which you might recall was one of my "resolutions" in the past to learn it before the yr. was done oops missed out on that one) ...
Okay so my challenge to you is to make an honest review of where you stand crochet wise ... do you need more time to organize your stash? do you need to settle into a regular routine to finish up outstanding projects?  do you need to just face the challenge of learning that new stitch or moving from scarves & afghans to sweaters or hats or slippers?  Whether it is learning something new or just finishing up projects to make room for new ones my challenge is for each one of us to face it this year.  Grade them if you must hard, easy really difficult ... then chose one of the hard to difficult ones & one of the easy ones ~ once you finish with them then chose another and before you know it you will have accomplished it all and new challenges will come along :)

Happy New Year ~ happy crocheting :)   Happy journey to being the healthiest YOU that YOU can be :)