Chocolate and Quilting

What causes chocolate cravings?  I wish I could figure it out.  I am definitely having them.  It's hard to keep the calories down when eating chocolate.
Mostly doing okay with the band.  Ate one too many grapes at lunch today and had a difficult few minutes afterwards.  However, kept everything down, so okay.  Trying to eat just the right amount.  Mostly working okay with it.  Hopefully I'll lose this month.
Looking forward to a quilt workshop on Friday.  Lots of good things to learn.  The instructor was the 2010 Quilting Teacher of the Year and seems really good.  I really am looking forward to learning this method of paper piecing.  Ya'll have a great day.  God bless you all.

Where to go now?

Saw the doctor today and convinced him to add .5 ml saline to my band.  Maybe this will lessen the food intake.  I have to figure out how to limit the type of snacks to lower in calories.  I really don't like carrots for snacks anymore.  I think the years of dieting have really made me not like certain foods.  sigh...  The nutritionist gave me a list of things to try and that helps a little bit but I still gained this month.  I really think I just need to exercise so I'm signing up for the Walk 10000 steps program at work.  Paul and I have talked about walking before dinner for several months so maybe we can start that and go together or I'll just take my MP3 player and walk.  Hopefully I can do something that way to keep losing.  Time is the issue.  Never enough but I'm going to have to make the choices.  We went to Las Vegas and I did good there.  Saw some beautiful sights and some ugly sights.  People, people, everywhere, really glad to be home.

Plateaus

Plateaus are interesting in life.  When I think of a plateau, I think of a desert scene with a flat area where you can stand and see a beautiful scene out in the distance.  A plateau in weight loss can be much the same.  I am at a plateau.  I'm not really losing, I'm not really gaining and I'm trying to get a handle on the right way to eat.  But I can look into the distance and know that eventually I'll make it to that beautiful place in the distance.  I'm going to see the nutritionist this next week to discuss ways to handle things like getting so hungry (because we're busy at work) that I eat too fast and then I end up throwing up, dealing with Paul's allergy to fresh fruits and vegetables which means it's not practical to have salad for dinner and few other issues.  Hopefully she will have some good suggestions.  Just another bump on the road.  Ya'll have a good week and God bless.

A storm in the desert

We have had such a cold snap here in Arizona, I was beginning to wonder if we'd get warm  And while I enjoy wearing cold weather clothes, I don't have many and that makes for difficulties, so I layer.  At work, I wear a long sleeve shift under my scrub top under my long sleeve lab coat.  Now in the summer, I complain about the long sleeve lab coat so, because the coat is thrown away after several days, I just take the sleeves and cut them off.  Not right now, though.  However, I am wearing a size medium lab coat.  That was exciting. 
Sometimes in life we go through a cold spell.  I think I may be there.  I keep thinking I'll catch up but the faster I go the behinder I get and if I get any more behind, I'll have gained weight and that would be no fun!  I think that I'll have to just take one project at a time and finish each one and in the year 2525, if anyone is still alive, they can finish my last project :).

May you all have a blessed week and may the cold become warm for you too.

Tucson Quilt Show

I think I lost weight this weekend just because you can't have food in the area of the quilts at the Tucson Quilt Show.  I appreciate this rule as I wouldn't want some child to send some food onto my quilt that I was showing.  However, it makes it inconvenient when one who is working the show gets hungry and it is an hour until her break.  However, I obviously survived and probably ate less than I would have at home. 

It was a great show.  The Tucson Quilters Guild has around 600 members and only members are allowed to enter quilts into the show.  I really don't know how many quilts we had but it was probably around 250 or more.  They were beautiful.  I entered my Daddy's Ties quilt as a memory to my daddy who died 6 years ago this month.  It was made with his ties, his scarf and his handkerchiefs.  It is for my mother as soon as I can get it to her.

I am tired but it is a good tired.  Back to work tomorrow.  Hope everyone has a great week!

New Years is heres

I wanted the title to rhyme but I'm not sure it makes any sense.  Oh well, I don't always make sense either.
The doctor put in another ml today giving me 4 mls.  We are doing this very slowly but I can eat way too much food before I can feel it.  I wouldn't have had a band put in if I could do it on my own so this is frustrating.  At least I did not gain over Christmas.  Way too many good foods in the house.  Have managed to remove most of them (and not by eating them). 
I'm down from a size 22 to a size 16 and it is nice to be able to shop most anywhere.  I'm in a size large rather than 2XL also.  Yeah.  And you now what, my feet are not as wide as they used to be.  Interesting fact, huh.  I can wear size medium rather than wide width.  Only problem seems to be with the clothes.  They are not shrinking with me and since it is illegal, not to mention a bit cold, I'm having to be creative in getting new clothes.  Checked the second hand store today for a black skirt but they didn't have one that fit.  I did find one on sale at Coldwater Creek, of all places, for a price that I deemed "not over the top" and bought it.  I'm trying to stick to staple type clothes so I can still wear things and change them up a bit. 
I pray for all of you a good new year and I wish for you to pray the same for us as we are being audited by the IRS for 2008.  Ain't life grand!



I

Weathering Thanksgiving and the weather

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We spent it in Albuquerque with all of our children, grandchildren, parents and Paul's sister and boyfriend.  We (meaning me) ate too much but God is gracious and I still managed to lose a pound at the doctor today.  We had a wonderful 80th birthday party for my mother the Sunday before Thanksgiving and saw many old friends as well as my brothers and their wives, a niece and her children and a great nephew.  So good to see everyone.  I am working on Christmas Day but will have family here so am looking forward to 2 days before Christmas and 2 days after Christmas off.
There is a new doctor at the bariatric center.  She is very nice but is still learning where the port is placed.  She tried today but after all was not done she knew when to stop and let the more experienced doctor put the fill in.  They only put in one ml so now I thing I have 5.5 ml in.  This is the point we had problems before so I am praying everything will be okay this time.  On liquids again but at least I usually lose on those.  Just for two days, then mushies for two days and then regular food.  I find that I can eat my salad at work and then I don't have to keep some in the house that Paul can't eat them.  He is allergic to lettuce and other fresh fruits and vegetables so we cook the ones we eat at home.  We make it work.  All in all a good several weeks and the future looks wonderful.  May  all have a great week and more and may God bless you in all ways.