Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I'm late for one and early for the other LOL
It has been absolutely crazy around here but in a good way. I've managed to continue to lose weight over this "eating" holiday, even though I baked and fed people along the way.
I've heard people use this holiday as an excuse and can't quite figure it out. Don't we eat every day? Don't we go out for dinners and socialize all year long? So what makes "Holiday" so different ? Not a darn thing people...it's just an excuse to let your guard down and not feel guilty about it.
I had a long talk with myself prior to the holiday. I reminded myself how hard I worked to get where I am today..Yes all you people who think surgery is the easy way out...Think again. It was work and it still is work and will be work for the rest of my life. I'm addicted to food. A drug addict can stay away from his/her addiction, so can an alcoholic. I can't, so I have to be mindful 24/7 to retrain myself and stay away from old habits. It ain't easy....However it is so worth it.
To look back on this past year and see the differences is totally amazing. I remember all too well the excruciating pain I was in on a daily basis , not being able to walk or stand for any length of time, using a cane for support, all those pills and shots to maintain my diabetes, acid reflux, High BP, God I could go on and on by the point is, it's all gone...along with the FAT. Why would I ever want to go back there? There isn't a masochistic bone in my body, I assure you.
Yes I was very, very busy. Busy works for me, it keeps my mind off food and my head out of the refrigerator. If my hands are busy , my mouth isn't. Did I take on too much this year? Probably...Will all this change in me, change that fact in the coming year? Probably not.
All crafty, quilting people seem to suffer from the same illness LOL We all try and turn over a new leaf in Jan. and vow to be better prepared for the holidays next year. It doesn't happen... I still sent out gifts late, but they were made with love and "friends" know that.
Who knows, maybe next year I will be ahead of things and not working like a maniac up until the last minute. Considering I am now involved in a business that will probably get even busier toward next Christmas, I'm not holding out much hope for change LOL
I am however, hoping that everyone reading this has a healthy, happy and Blessed New Year!!

Food Talk

Of course with the holidays upon us, people who struggle with WL are thinking about how they will manage through the holidays. I've heard a lot of talk about this subject and perhaps my mind is just too darned simplistic. What makes this season any different from any other?
We are social animals who seem to center everything we do around food, when in fact it is the company we should be enjoying.
Planning for the holidays is like planning for any other meal. There are so many low calorie foods out there, so much that taste good..I don't really see a problem. Yes there will be more cookies and sweets then usual. Do you really think you got fat on one cookie?
One cookie taste the same as the 10th so why not just nibble at one cookie and savor the flavor.
WL is not about suffering for the foods we love. Enjoy the holiday, plan ahead, keep in mind NOTHING is fattening when eaten properly.
I plan of stuffing my guest with Ham, lots of veggies and a SF/FF dessert. Cheese and crackers is fine add a sliced olive a piece on pimento and it even looks like a holiday treat. Eat ONE it won't hurt you. Take a thin piece of cake or pie, you won't die and you won't be heavier in the morning.
Being mindful of everything you eat is the key... You know if you are going back for the 4th cookie, you are in trouble. Think about how hard you have worked to take off what ever weight you have lost... Perhaps that cookie won't look so inviting.
Plan everything that comes into the house...make low cal food look inviting and festive and everyone will enjoy. The food is only part of the celebration...being together with good friends and loving family is wha tit is all about...Fill your heart with love and your stomach only with what it needs.
Now I am off to bake these fabulous pinwheel cookies. Holiday baking is part of the real world for me, it is something I have to learn to deal with. I already know how these cookies taste, so I don't need to sample. I'm proud of how far I've come so I don't plan to undermine my success with cookies. Will I eat them...?You can bet I'll have one ...Probably on Christmas day...if I weaken, I'll let you know.

Christmas Marathon

Holy Cow!!! This year I was way ahead of previous years and all was going well, so I figured "Gee, why not add more to my plate, cause after all, I'm so far ahead" LOL
I got some names off www.anysoldier.com and began making boxes up. That was so easy , I went back and got more names. they really don't ask for much...snack, puzzles, games, hygiene products.
Then we have the business, not that we are doing much before the holidays..But we still meet at the house and discuss plans for the future. There are things to set up and lots to make.

Speaking of making. I will post one of my projects AFTER Christmas, once I give it to the person. What the HELL was I thinking? There is a funny part to the story, but you'll have to wait.

Now I have some boxes that need to go out and some of you know me and the Post Office, it's like a wooden spike to a vampire..I hate that place almost as much as I hate food stores. Two places you will rarely find me in willingly.

I have totally enjoyed the preparation for this Holiday, 8 ball or not, it's good to feel GOOD. Things that were a big chore when I was heavy, are no longer an effort. I enjoyed cutting out my pillow cases (gifts I made this year) and sewing love into every stitch. I've made a few lap quilts and finished up another QOV..all with a big ole' smile on my face. Just the fact that I could do it without pain.
A year out of surgery has been like a rebirth. I wish I could give this feeling to everyone as a Christmas Gift... There are a few so called "friends" who were a terrible disappointment this year. People who have been in my life a VERY long time, that for some reason, just can't be happy for me. At first it hurt and now it's okay...Their ugliness is their burden, not mine.

I look forward to this Christmas, it will be spent with friends and family. I've been able to meet the challenge of shopping, wrapping, making, baking, working and fitting in some of Richards chores as well. How lucky can you get...I am truly blessed.

A Wonderful Party

This is a very busy time of year for all. I seem to be a bit more organized this year then in past years...or maybe not. maybe it just seems that way because I'm feeling so positive about life in general.
We had a wonderful Christmas Party after our last WLS Meeting. The meeting itself was lots of fun. I was given a beautiful Plant as a Thank you for the Butterfly Project, I thought that's was very thoughtful of the team. We did not have the usual lesson so that time could be found for an adorable song the team gave us all as a Gift. It was sung to "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" and it was hysterical. I nice start to a perfect evening.
Our party was in the "Party Room " at the Neptune. Our very own Party Planner, Kittie, went above and beyond and took a plain ordinary meeting room and turned it into a winter wonderland. A beautiful white tree all decorated with Butterflies was a show piece..each of us got a bag with our name on it and we were told to take home an ornament for our own tree. Santa came and gave gifts to every person there (by name yet) and then we played trivia for more prizes, followed by name that tune for even more prizes. Jules graced us with music and song and Lisa made absolutely gorgeous center pieces for the table...She gifted me with one at the end of the evening so I felt very special. It has been a while since I have enjoyed myself like that at a party...It was a nice break from gift making.
We got our first real snow fall yesterday so I am looking out the window at a winter wonderland..Gosh I love the seasons...
Today Rich and I will wrap AGAIN!!! And try to get some organization going around here. I will head on down to the "other house" to finish up some more gifts. I promised myself I would not be sewing on Christmas eve and I intend to keep that promise.
I have gifts to mail that must go out soon...Busy, busy busy...So much prep and then it's all over for another year...I LOVE Christmas, just the over all joy that the season seems to bring to every ones heart..I wish it could last all year.
If you are reading this and you feel the love of giving inside you, please visit Anysoldier.com,
read some of the stories and see what our fighting men are asking for...it isn't much and the average person can afford to "adopt" a soldier for Christmas. Once you pick someone, you will get an actual address for that soldier...your gift goes to him /her, it is not a scam like some...so give it a look and really fill your heart with joy through an act of "GIVING"...
Off to fill up some boxes for some very special soldiers....