A Bouquet for Cheryl

Before and after the SAL this weekend.
Stats:
Started Feb. 27, 2008
28 ct. Forget-Me-Not Blue Lugana
Carrie's Creation hand-dyed floss in Lumiere de Cheryl
1 X 1 full cross

Now on to my health news....
I saw an Orthopaedic doctor first thing Monday morning. He said I "sprained my sacroiliac ligament". Gave me a back brace to wear all day, anti-inflammatory meds, and I have to go to physical therapy 3 X's a week for 4 weeks. Told me no Spin classes for 3 weeks (till he sees me again and lets me know).
I'll be out of class, till at least till the middle of Nov. My next appointment with him isn't until Nov. 20th.
I had my first PT session yesterday afternoon. It went well, and I felt better after. This morning is another story, I'm sore in that spot, but at least is isn't a stabbing pain. My next session is Thrusday. I hope to get better faster than 4 weeks.
I'm still doing the transitions lifestyle plan faithfully.

Dragon Charmer (New Start)

The Special New Start SAL ended last night. Presenting my first 1400 stitches of my first Jo Wall chart ever, Drum Roll.....

Dragon Charmer!

Now don't throw stuff at me, but I am going to admit that I am not a big fan of Ms. Wall's charts. Her art is lovely, but not usually anything I would want to stitch, with this ONE exception, a dragon, and beautiful blues (my favorite color)! Plus, to tell the truth, they scared me! They looked like so much detail and I figured every other stitch would be a different color, and it would drive me mad. I am happy to report that is not the case. I am really enjoying this one.
Stats: 28 ct. Joblean - light blue, DMC Floss, 1 X 1 Full Cross.
Once again, here is the original:

The HAEDless SAL is this weekend so I will be working on A Bouquet of Cheryl. Expect an update on that after the weekend.

On the exercise/lifestyle change front I have some not so great news. I hurt my lower back (in class, I think) a week ago Monday (the 12th). I've continued going to classes and hoping that it would work itself out, but I just cannot ignore it anymore. My lower back is screaming at me on full volume. I called an orthopaedist on Tuesday and I can't get in till this coming Monday. I've made the decision to discontinue my classes until I get to the doctor and find out what it going on with my aching back. Sometimes it's a stabbing pain, all other times it's just a nagging like a tooth ache. I am continuing my healthy eating habits, I'm not giving up! I'm 'sticking to the plan'!

Transitions Update

I promised an update after the weigh in Monday night, so here goes....
Weight - down 5 lbs.
Measurements:
Hips - down 2 inches
Waist - down 3.5 inches
Chest - down 3.25 inches
BMI - down 1 point

I lost 8.75 inches over all, not bad. It's so much better to see these numbers going down instead of up!

Monday's exercise classes: Core Sculpt 30 minutes, and RIDE & CURL, 30 min spin & 30 upper body.

I got a few more stitches into Dragon Charmer, look for a pic by Friday!

Exercise Update

I went to class 8AM Saturday. TOTAL WEEKEND RIDE~45min spin & 25 min total body. I was a killer! Went 16 miles in that 45 minutes on the bike. I am keeping on plan. Except for Saturday night, I had a glass of wine, but only ONE glass, which I nursed for 3 hours! We get weighed tonight after class. They will also take our measurements again. It will be interesting to see any changes. I'll keep you posted on that.
Claire asked about motivation. The only advice I can give is:

Find the activity/exercise that you like (I mean REALLY like).
Find a place where you feel comfortable. (class size, location, etc.)
Make friends there.

During this 12 week Transitions Lifestyle weight loss class, the thing that is keeping me on track is that I know the other 12 ladies doing it with me (it's in conjuction with Studio Spin+). We have our weekly meetings there, every Monday after classes. We all ask each other how we're doing on the plan when we see each other at classes. We share tips (low GI sweeteners, recipes, etc.), we also share any challenges we may have had, and how we handled them, or didn't handle them! I'm very lucky, nobody judges. We're all "in it" together. We even email back and forth and just ask "how's it going?" These ladies are truly nice people. No back biting, jealousy, or any of that stuff. And that's important.

On the stitchy front, I stated Dragon Charmer, and I'm loving it! It's my very first Jo Wall piece. I always thought JW charts would be hard, but I am happily surprised that they really aren't any different than my other HAED's. The SAL runs till Thursday, so I won't post a pic till after. I have about 900 stitches in so far. I'm hoping that I can get some time this week to get a little more work done on it. Till then, Happy Stitching!

New Lifestyle Update

Did my classes lat night.
BURN BODY BURN, 55 min non-stop body sculpting and JUST RIDE, 45 min spin in various energy zones. Except the 2nd one was even longer, about 55 min. I went 19 miles in those 55 min. WHOA! I weighed myself this morning and it looks like I am now down 8 lbs. But I did it first thing, before any coffee or anything. It's going to be interesting this coming Monday. They will weigh us and take our measurements again. I noticed yesterday while typing on the PC that my rings are flopping around, so that's good news! I hope those 8 lbs. didn't just melt off my hands LOL! I'm really working hard on this and it's nice to finally see some improvement. I also feel better. My DH said that I have a glow in my eyes, and I look better than I have in ages. I do notice more energy, I'm not half asleep by dinner time.

Thank you for your comments/questions. It's nice to see comments, it lets me know that somebody is reading, and keeping track. It also helps me stay 'on plan'.

I don't have any stitching to show today, I haven't had any time this week to stitch! (Hate when that happens!) I think my best choice for the Special New Start SAL that starts today is Dragon Charmer. I have all the floss bobinated, the Needle organizer already all set up, and the fabric chosen, so that makes the most sense. Iron Dragon and Dragon Keeper aren't that far along yet. I have the floss for each, but the rest... It takes some time to bobinate and set up. I've been wanting to start them, but time is an issue. Someday soon!

Moon Fantasy

I don't remember when this started, and I can't find a picture of what it will look like completed. Here's what I do know: This is part of an HAED Freebie SAL. Same rules apply as the HAED 2009 SAL Challenge! It's a Storykeep (Bookmark), named Moon Fantasy, artwork Ching-Chou Kuik. I started work on it last month, but didn't get enough done to post a pic. This past weekend was the HAED Freebie SAL, so instead of working on Dark Cherry, I pulled this out. It is sorely in need of attention (as you can see). I'm sorry I can't show you what it will look like finished, can't locate an original.

I did finally finish frogging all of Arthur, luckly it doesn't look like the fabric was harmed at all in the process. I haven't re-restarted it yet though.
Next up a Special New Start SAL, in honor of HAED's 8th Birthday this Friday. (There is also a 30% off Sale going on there now!) It will run from thursday this week until thursday next week. I have floss gathered for 3 charts, but I am not sure right now which I will pick. It will mosy likely be one of the following: Iron Dragon, Dragons Keeper, or Dragon Charmer. (Do you see any common thread? ;-0) They have all been screaming loudly at me from the stash closet, but I think Iron Dragon and Dragon Charmer are hollering the loudest. I haven't decided on which one, yet.....

I haven't shared pics of Simba in a while, he's over 5 lbs. now! Here he is with his favorite toy. He walks around the house with it in his mouth. I find it in the oddest places... He looks evil in these, but it's just the lighting, he is really a little sweetie pie!

Here is a rare moment... Simba and Storm (this never happens!)







And finally even MORE rare photos, THREE cats together! My hubby was sick with a cold and lounging late in bed. I guess they all knew that he needed comforting, and they were up for the job. (Look for Simba's little head popped up in the first pic, and Simon's tongue in the second.)

Week 2 on Transitions

I weighed myself this morning and finally show a loss. 7 lbs.! But probably more like 5, since I weighed myself before eating or drinking anything at all....
So nice to finally see some results, it's keeps me moving in the right direction.
I did my exercise classes this week. Not last Monday, as we were still in detox week. I was allowed to start back on Wed.

Wednesday - BURN BODY BURN, 55 min non-stop body sculpting
and JUST RIDE, 45 min spin in various energy zones.

Saturday - TOTAL WEEKEND RIDE, 45min spin & 25 min total body.

I will have a stitchy update later on.

Stitching Update Tiny Treasures

I have a little update. I worked on this over the weekend. He is truly a UFO. If it weren't for the HAED SWIP/UFO SALs he would never be worked on! This is Sun Worshiper Cat 3, atrist Katherine Barber. (retired from HAED) On the left the original artwork, on the right my WIP. So happy to see this little guy's face! Interestingly enough, I noticed that he bears a striking resemblance to Simba! Weird, since he was started a very long time ago...











Stats: Started March 2008
Silkweaver 28 ct. Opalescent Lugana, color Chashmere Glitz
Stitched 1 X 1 DMC

Other stitchy news: I am experiencening the Frog Plague with QS Arthur. First I didn't like the fabric, so I re-started it on different fabric. Now I'm having an issue with one of the colors in the background. It doesn't look like the picture and I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with it. The color is DMC #3856 (see the bright orange color below). I checked with Michele at HAED and my chart is correct, but she agrees that is doesn't look right. Could be a dye lot issue, it's just too dark. However, all the 3856 I have looks the same. What to do???? My only option now is to frog it all, and re-restart (yes, re-restart) in the middle of the chart, then maybe not stitch the background at all. I should have done that in the first place. I've been drooling over everyone's wips of their moggies on the HAED BB for weeks, and complaining that I wouldn't get to see any detail on mine for a while since I had started in the upper left corner. Can you imagine frogging 900 stitches, 1 X 1, from my gorgeous Passione Ricamo 30 ct. evenweave linen? It's a nightmare. I started last night and frogged for about 3 hours, and it's not all out yet, of course I am trying be be so very careful, so as to not damage the fabric.

I need to Vent

Okay. I joined a 12 week weight loss class at Spin last week. It's a low GI diet, called Transitions Lifestyle. http://www.transitionslifestyle.com You know me, I'll try anything, ONCE. ;-)

Anyways, they started us off with 7 days of 'detox'. That meant eating only veggies and 3 servings of fruit a day (and water). No caffeine, no sugar substitutes, no crap. So I did it. Today is the last day. I admit that I did have one cup of coffee each day because I don't need the headache. The idea is to 'clean out your system'. They went through all the reasons to do it and what it means to your body. OK fine, I get it. Monday night after class they weighed us and took our measurements. That was a rude awakening for me. I know
I'm fat, but Holy Cow! My measurements are just about straight up and down! I'm a box! Anyways....

So, as I said they did this after Spin, and the discussion, so that was around 9 PM. AFTER I ate dinner, AFTER I drank 2 24oz. Bottles of water during 2 Spin classes. So the weight that they recorded was a bit more than I normally see when I weigh myself in the morning, about 2.5 lbs. more. I expected that....

So here I am into the 7th day of detox. I weighed myself this morning, just because I was curious. I've been working so hard at this and really staying with it. And guess what? I weight about 2.5 lbs. less than I did last Monday night. So that means I weigh EXACTLY THE SAME!
I've eaten nothing but friggin' veggies for a friggin' week and nothing has changed!!!!!
How can this be? My metabolism must be dead, I mean really dead!

I am really depressed over this. I know they said it's inches, not the number on the scale, but I don't feel any different! I've been emailing back and forth with one of the other ladies that's doing this, and she said she feels 'less bloated'. I didn't feel bloated to begin with, I just feel fat. And I STILL feel fat. My clothes don't fit any different, my rings are still tight on my fingers, NOTHING has changed. I'm ready to jump out a window....

Thanks for listening, and letting me vent.

Edited to Add: I joined an exercise place back in 07 (see this post). I do 5 classes a week, faithfully except for when I had surgery last October. Classes I take:
Mondays - Core Sculpt 30 minutes, and RIDE & CURL, 30 min spin & 30 upper body.

Wednesdays - BURN BODY BURN, 55 min non-stop body sculpting
and JUST RIDE, 45 min spin in various energy zones.

Saturdays TOTAL WEEKEND RIDE, 45min spin & 25 min total body (longer class).

This month I added every other Tuesday - CYCLEBOX~Crunch 15 min spin / 35 min kickboxing & 10 min abs

During detox week though, they told us NOT to exercise. So I haven't been since last Monday night.