ALSB Bootcamp Entry - Sparkle

Used ClubScrap papers, I made this layout. I used spellbinders embossing folders. Cut the number five on my cricut. The orange sparkes came from Ice Stickles, Orange Peel.. The happy birthday banner also came from ClubScrap.com. Tim Holtz distress inks were used for inking and stamping.

Weigh in day............ again

Drum roll please, it's weigh in day. It sure seems to come around very fast. I hope I do better than last week. I didn't post, but I gained .8 pounds last week. It seems like things started spiralling out of control again after Kurt's birthday party on the 15th. It made me start feeling Stephen's absence again. Stephen was looking forward to that party so much. It was all he could talk about at times. Only a very small handful of his friends came. I'm sure they are busy moving on with their lives. They are young and have their futures ahead of them. His friend Chad came. He saw the memorial photo and candle, it was hard on him. He didn't stay very long. I completely understand. I am more "desensitized" to that particular photo and candle, I see them EVERY single DAY!! But when something catches me off guard, it hurts like a sonofableep all over again. Back to weigh in. I have not exercised much at all this week. Last week I put in a full two hours, and still gained weight. I need to get back in the habit again. It's so hard sometimes, and other times it just feels natural and normal. My worst problem is that I'm not sleeping well. I've worked some different hours than I'm used to, and I don't like going to bed at night anyhow, so I'm not getting much sleep. One of these days it's going to even out again.

I'm feeling nervous about the weigh in. What will the result be? I've thought about Stephen a lot. I haven't worked on scrapbooking much this week. I've spent too much time in front of the television. That sums up my week.

(note to self)

ALSB Entry - Frames

This weeks entry for Club Scrap, theme of the week is FRAMES:

Week 5 Challenge - Masks or Stencils

I made the mask for this card myself. I used Chipped Sapphire distress ink by Tim Holz and a blending tool to make the hills. I had a tree stamp in my stash, and all the paper is Club Scrap paper.

From "Silent Grief, Child Loss Support"

Losing a child isn't just a bump in the road as some would think. Losing a child is an eternal life-altering happening. And, child loss is not a one-time event. Losing a child is an every day, every hour, every minute event. Our hearts are broken, we have an emptiness that nothing or no one can fill, and our minds are forever on our child. Child loss does not disconnect us from our child -- it draws us even closer. But, the horrible part of this is we cannot touch our child, we cannot talk face-to-face with our child, we cannot experience the daily interactions with our child since child loss. We know our child on a spiritual level which leaves us longing to be together more and more with each passing day. Others cannot possibly understand fully unless they, too, have experienced child loss. They think we're crazy. We know we're simply longing for our child. We miss our child so much that our hearts break just a little bit more each day!

Week 4 Club Scrap ALSB Challenge

These were taken when we were riding in Genoa Nebraska at HeadWorks. It was a fun day, Kurt, myself, Little Dawn, & Michael. It was such fun!! Good memories.

Weigh In Thursday

I missed blogging my weigh in from this past Thursday. Amazingly I lost another 2.2 pounds. Not sure how I did it, my eating was a little extreme. Must have been the exercise. I'm down by 24.4 pounds, just a smidgen away from my 25 pound charm. I hope this week is the week.

I was very, very sick yesterday. I'm back at work today, I'm feeling much better. I hate daylight savings time in the spring. I love sleep, thus I hate missing any. Morning comes way to early....

Well, that's about it. I'm going to edit my photos of this weeks layout for the Club Scrap challenge, then get those posted yet today, too.

Little Triumph

This weekend was one that tried my ability to stay within my point allotment. On Sunday, I went with a friend to Omaha. We were shopping for her wedding flowers. One the way home, we stopped at Applebee's. Although Applebee's is very WW friendly, I opted to choose one of my old favorites, as well as the Queso Blanca Dip. It was delish!! But part way through dinner, my friends daughter said to me, "I thought you were on a diet". Well, she's right. I am. But that does not mean that I have to eat a certain way all of the time. It doesn't mean I can't splurge now and again. It doesn't mean that I'm only going to eat things that are what people normally associate with "dieting". At first I was taken aback by her comments. But, then it started me thinking more. People have a preconceived notion of what "dieting" entails. You can only eat this and this. Or you fail. In my opinion, that is why almost all diets fail. You don't allow for living. For eating and making the higher caloric/points foods work into your life. Like I told that girl last night, I don't eat like this all the time. Most of the time it's a lot of chicken, turkey, and tons and tons of fruits and vegetables. There are times when I don't eat any meat all day. There are times I don't eat bread. It just figures into our chosen meals for the day. I've had days where I ate no meals, just snacks. One thing, though, that HAS changed, and I NEVER thought it would, is cheese. I don't eat nearly as much cheese as I used to. I don't eat it on vegetables anymore. No cheese on burgers or sandwiches. I cut way way back, and before I knew it, I'd really cut back. I still have low cal string cheese, laughing cow cheese. But just a bit at a time. I've noticed a little more energy. It's hard to describe, because it's not like I'm peppy. I'm still tired most of the time. But when I get up to do something, it's not near the chore. And I can jump up instead of limping in. All these changes with only 22.2 pounds lost so far. I'm feeling more positive and confident that I can do this.

Feelings: Empowered, strong, positive, eager
Stephen: I'm coping today.
Diet: It's working
Friends: Things are going good.
Meetings: Only missed one and that was due to work.