Temporary Lapses and New Beginnings - and Reposting Everything, grrrrr.......

I can't believe what just happened. I'd written a whole LONG post - updates on weight (or lack of progress therein), highlights of the past year, Christmas, and crochet projects currently working on and being planned. I had the WHOLE thing written, and ALL I did was to highlight the whole dang thing so I could adjust the font and the size. I did NOT hit delete or anything else to cause Blogger to think I was erasing the WHOLE thing, but that is exactly what happened. I have been lax in updating my blog and felt a sense of accomplishment in finally doing so, and was just about to go for a nice long walk (it's already 2:25 and with the short days, I would have had just about time for my planned 5-mile walk). And now.......what do I do; do I start all over and forget my walk? Or do I do the walk and have to waste the time later to rewrite everything I wrote? I had just been writing about how, on the whole, 2007 was a good year. And it was, but then things like this happen which shouldn't be a big deal but do bother me and do hurt. God knew I was just about to resume my temporarily lapsed commitment to weight loss by taking a walk, and He knew that if He erased all the stuff I just wrote, it would not only hurt me but I would feel compelled to redo it right now and not be able to take my walk. But He did it anyway. Yes, I am stubborn and I am watching the "That's Entertainment" series on TCM, so yes, I am going to sit here and try to remember everything I just wrote and try to recreate it right now and not be able to go on my walk, and get on my stepper twice instead to try to make up for it. Dang it all already!!!

OK, so like I was trying to write before it mysteriously and inexplicably got wiped off the face of the earth, 2007 WAS a good year. We DO have our house and have lived in it going on 7 months now, our doggies and guinea pigs (NINE of them now in case I hadn't mentioned that before) are doing well. My job is going good after a rough spot last year, and Rex has been getting needed full-time hours at his, though that could be reduced somewhat now that the holidays are over. I got the 56-square peach and green "Friends and Family" ghan and the 20-square sampler burgundy/cream/green sampler ghan both assembled and they both look great in the living room. And I rejoined TOPS and did lose 20 pounds to date. However....that is over a span of 5 months. I should have lost at least 30 by now; that was the goal and that would have been absolutely doable. But December brought a small setback. Not a huge setback, and I WILL get back on track. But I indulged several times in my downfall of crunchy snacks and onion dip. I didn't get on my stepper every day to make up for the evening walking it is not safe to do after work with it being pitch black outside now by the time I get off the ferry from work. Then there was the 4-pound bag of pistachios my boss brought to the office in Dec. I must have eaten 3 of those pounds. No one forced them on me and I should have used more willpower, but DANG, they were good. But it's time to STOP indulging and sabotaging my efforts. NO more excuses!!! I MUST get on the stepper every evening that I can't walk outside, and I MUST stop giving it to temptation. I am VERY disappointed in myself that my original achievable plan to hit my weight goal by our anniversary in April is not going to happen. I've set a new final deadline of June 30 and if I lose it before then, great. I'm SO disgusted with myself that I need to change subjects now.....

Crochet-wise, I'm currently working on what was originally going to be a large dresserscarf for my dresser but which is instead going to be a runner for the oblong coffee table in the great room. It will likely consist of 17 Midnight Star motifs (5" six-pointed pineapple stars) in 3 rows of 6, 5 and 6, which will make it about 30 x 18", a nice size for that table. I love making these motifs and had originally considered making a bedspread using them. But I decided one huge thread project (the 55" square table cover finally finished several months ago) was enough for this life! There are too many other thread projects I want to make, and I have at least three more planned after this one is done: a dresserscarf which will tentatively be a beautiful long filet runner with a swan at each end (using the same #10 light green Opera thread as the Midnight Star runner), my first beaded doily which will be medium sage #10 Opera with variegated green/purple/blue glass beads (the funny-looking super-skinny beading needles do work like a charm for pre-stringing the beads - no more broken beads/needles/threaders or frayed nerves, but it will be tricky to not lose the needles which are not much thicker than a hair!) and a beaded Barbie dress (color TBD). After that, I may go back to making a couple afghans and hopefully a couple more hats/scarves for charity, but have really missed working with thread, so will stick with that for the next few months.

WELL, I got smart this time and adjusted my font before typing this whole dang thing, so here we go again. It's 3:00 and too late to go out for my walk, so I'm getting on the stepper!