Morning all. I've got a nasty head cold. I'm supposed to go to a polymer clay class this afternoon, but not sure if I want to head out. I need to get moving on a beaded surround for one of my fused glass cabs. I've been slacking off alot lately and need to get back into it.

Hey Everyone,
Down .5..slow but steady :) Went to the post office and grocery without having breakfast this morning. Bad move. They had hot chicken tenders at the deli..one of my downfalls. Got some with my fruit and veggies lol When I got home, I fixed a plate and sat down to eat my illegal chicken..had two and didn't want anymore. Very strange! I used to love chicken tenders. Even the ones that I ate sitting like lead in my stomach. My dogs had a feast.

Craft wise..working on an orchid painting, thinking about my mil's quilted jacket. Can't decide if I want to do the sweatshirt kind, or follow a more formal pattern. Cheryl, what do you sell on eBay? I sell paintings and prints there sometimes.

Beth

Wow . . . did I ever get an unexpected but pleasant surprise this morning . . . my little 'running-cat' slider thingee got to move 3 pounds to the right. :goodscale Boy, the idiocyncracies (sp?) of the human body will never cease to amaze me. :D

The weather here in eastern Nova Scotia is definitely not feeling as warm and sunny as I am right now. :cool: But the radio is predicting sunny breaks and a high of 10C (50) for later today . . . we'll just have to wait and see.

Well, gang, I've got to run and do a couple of errands and then get started on that work-related project. Don't know when I'll be able to get back to the fun stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to fit in some quilting over the next few days as well.

Have a great day, everybody. I hope you each get at least one pleasant surprise today. Keep heading in the right direction. :carrot:

Congrats meowee!

I'm still under the wearther so I'm going to try to rest most of today. Luckily, beading doesnt require much movement. I finished the cab surround and embellished it with a beaded dragonfly. Turned out nice. I'm undecided as to what to start next, either some samples for my next few beading classes, or a painting of a fairie. I've never done fantasy art before and want to try it out. Maybe I'll sketch it and wait til the kids are gone before I pull out the paints. Hopefully I can avoid a big mess that way. Have a good one.

Don't know, Brandy, whether long-distance contagion is a possibility . . . but I'm definitely not feeling too good today . . . most of the time I'm not in bed, I'm in the bathroom. See you soon, gang. Hope everybody else is doing well.

Meowee-I spent lots of time in the bathroom yesterday BUT feel TERRIFIC today. Hopefully yours will be a quicky as well. Get lots of rest that helped.

Another quick little whimpering hello from me . . . still feeling yicky. See you soon.

Meowee - Congrats on your loss, and I hope you feel better soon!

Not much quilting for me lately..more painting. I did hear back from the print people and they are interested in two painting, and more paintings in that series as I get them done. (One of them is the strawberry painting in my avatar. I will probably have to change it soon as the contracts are signed..so look now LOL ) I really want to work on my mil's jacket this weekend. Maybe sunday afternoon I will start on it.

Tofat - have you seen some of the polymer fairies and babies on ebay? they go for outrageous prices!

Cheryl - I hope you post a picture of your quilt when you have it ready! I can't wait to see it.

ejm, your avatar is beautiful!!! I thought it was a photo and it's actually a painting? My goodness you're talented!

Morning Ladies,

Sorry I've been AWOL, having problems with my laptop, need a new battery and can't find one anywhere around us. Had to buy one on ebay, so it will be about a week before it get's here. Anyway, I'm still maintaining at 338, hope to break this cycle by next week.:D

Working on my quilt and I haven't even set up my new machine yet. I did get my sewing room cleaned up yesterday, so maybe today after church I do that.

Ejm...I was selling finished quilts on ebay, but closed that business up with my friend. People want something for nothing, and I have too much money into my quilts to let them go for $150.00. So I'm going to start selling just the quilt tops, and probable buy my material at place other than quilt shops. I usually have about $350.00 into my quilts by the time they are finished.

Linda...Hope you are feeling better soon.:hug:

Battery is acting us, so I better go before I loose everything.

Cheryl

Good Morning, gang. I think I'm almost human again. Still a little fuzzy around the edges, but definitely better than a couple of days ago. :dizzy: Temperature is down and I'm not eating every carbohydrate in sight any more (result of the fever demanding to be fed). Don't think this will be one of my better weeks, but up until late yesterday I didn't even care.

Hopefully, everybody (including me) is going to be moving and shaking and heading in the downward direction today. Have a great one. :carrot:

Cheryl, totally agree with you about people wanting something for nothing. I used to sell my stained glass and was probably making less than a buck an hour - so now I do it for just me. Besides no one loves your work more than yourself. "ooo it's pretty" is nothing like "I cut myself 5 time on it and you should appreciate my blood, sweat and tears."

I am making sweaters for my sisters for their birthdays. I gave my older sister hers in March and my other sister's birthday is in April. I have to knit half the sleeve, the facings, then put it together. I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow. Then it's back to being selfish about the knitting too. :)

Meowee, glad you're starting to feel a little better.

I've already done my exercise for the day, my "homework" for work, and rebuilt my DH computer. And it's only 8:45 in the morning. I'm already exhausted. :)

TTTYL.
Marie

Morning-

ejm-WOW! I went and looked at the polymer fairys. Some of them are incredible. I've sculpted father christmas dolls. (Sculpted face/hands/feet) and made an armature/fabric body) I'm not sure if I could do the fairy sculpting. Everything is so small. I might give it a try and see what happens.

I started my fairy painting and its going really well. I'm using acrylics and most of them are metallics. I've never done anything like this before and its fun to learn something new.

Meoww-glad you're feeling better. Hope your week gets ya back in the swing of things.

eBay is so tough on artists of all kinds. I try to just put up 1 hour paintings and prints. Cheryl, I would love to see your quilt tops when you put them up.

MMarie, I have always wanted to learn to make stained glass. I would probably rip my hands to shreds..I'm a clutz :dizzy:

tofat (I really need something else to call you! lol) I got some polymer clay over the weekend to play with..any suggestions welcome :) I just got a stack of different colors. I already had tools from working with regular clay.

Waiting to hear back from the print people. Went ahead and change my avatar to some daffodils. I'm going to change it every 5 lbs :)

Beth

Hello out there . . . The sun is shining in Nova Scotia today and the temperature is about 10C (50F). :cool: Everything is looking pretty good in my little world at the moment, although I haven't made it back to the quilted poncho project yet. Unfortunately that little work project is taking a fair bit of time.

It's definitely looking very spring-like around here, what with your daffodils, Beth, and your tulips, Marie. I definitely know what both of you and you, too, Cheryl, mean about people wanting something for nothing. When I lived in Ontario, a friend once convinced me to sell a couple of quilts at her booth at the local flea market and I think they brought in about $150 each . . . definitely peanuts when you think about the hours that went into them.

Anyway, I hope you are all having a good day. Keep moving and shaking, gang and I'll see you soon. :carrot:

Hi guys-Its supposed to be a beautiful day here in Michigan and I'm hoping to get in a bike ride for my afternoon activity. Got one in yesterday and loved every moment of being out there.

ejm-you can call me Brandy. I've been considering asking to have my named changed (had quite a few suggest it) but can't decide what i'd like to change it to. As for the polymer clay, look around the net-I think polymerclaycentral is one of them. LOTS of free tuts. I personally love caning. I just think the whole process is amazing when you finally get your end product. A pasta machine makes this process MUCH easier, but you can roll it out the old fashioned way if need be.

Well, weigh in at the gym showed a 2 lb. loss (still up from 2 weeks ago overall) but afternoon at home showed a 4 lb. loss. We'll have to see what today holds. Keep working hard everyone.

Morning everyone.

ejm, those daffadils are so gorgeous. You are one talented lady. They look so lovely. I take it you lost 5 pounds. Way to go!!!!

Brandy, enjoy your bike ride. You mentioned the pasta machine and i'm thinking YUMMY. Then I realized that isn't quite what you meant. :)

Meowee, enjoy your beautiful weather. Isn't spring wonderful???

I walked early this am - before work so I get to play tonight after work. Hopefully I'll work on my sister's sweater. I just was so unmotivated yesterday that I listened to a complete book (8 hours) on my Ipod. I didn't hardly do anything else. Yes, I could have knitted and listened but I kept closing my eyes to envision the story. tonight though I will knit.
Marie

Marie - Thank you! Tell me more about books on ipod? I don't know anything about them, except I would love to not have to carry around my cd player while I'm walking! Are they expensive? Hard to use? Are the books hard to find or expensive?

Brandy! Congrats on your loss! What a great excuse to get a pasta machine! I'm going to try my hand at a little sculpture tonight. Should be fun!

Contract negotiations are still on for the prints..which is good! Looks like I will have the final contract in my hands next week, and be sending off work to them shortly there after. Oh... my bank account and I can't wait..it was either this or start flipping burgers somewhere :)

I drew out three new paintings today. I like to get the pencil work done on several at the same time. A grapes and crystal, and pears and crystal, and then a zinna for fun! The zinnias are from photos I took last summer...they were so pretty.

ejm, the zinnias sound beautiful I love flowers. Go to www.audible.com to see about the audiobooks on an MP3 player. I've been getting 2 books a month for $22/month for the last few years. I got my Ipod mini last year for $99 by signing up for a year membership (the $22/month). I just love my Ipod Mini - it's pretty pink. I have currently about 5 books on it and hundreds of songs. But they also have other MP3s that work with audible. I really, really like it.

Finger crossed for you and your bank account. :)
Marie

Good Morning . . . another beautiful sunny day here in Atlantic Canada . . . temperature is supposed to hit 18C (64F) today . . . almost :beach: weather.

Just wanted to report another pound sent off to ugly-pound-heaven this morning. Actually a little bit more, but these tickers don't reflect part pounds (maybe I'll start looking around for some that do). In the meantime, I'm happy with one at a time. :D

Don't you forget us when you're rich and famous, Beth. Keep up the good work, Brandy and Marie. Well. I'd better get going on my real-world work project . . . hope things slow down soon so I can find some crafting time, too. :^:

Have a great moving and shaking day, gang. See you soon. :hug:

Congrats on your loss! rich and famous! ha! I will be happy just to make as much as I did teaching lol

I tried out my polymer clay last night.. it was so much fun! I made a very beautiful multi-colored lump...maybe it's a clump. :rofl:

I'm down 1.5 this week and so thrilled. I don't know why I am losing fast this time..but I will take it :carrot:

Another beautiful, sunny morning although the forecast is for rain later this afternoon and then all weekend . . . typical.

Don't despair, Beth . . . I bet even Michaelangelo created a few 'lumps' before David came along. :D

Anyway, gang, do the best you can in the face of the chocolate explosion this weekend. Here's a double dose of :dust: :dust: to help us along the way. Don't know how much time I'll get for anything. The office is of the impression that they can work like mad today and then pass it along to me to do my stuff before Monday. Once you're retired, I guess you don't need to celebrate holidays anymore. :^:

See you soon. :carrot:

Hey gals-My scale had a sudden leap this morning and I may actually reach my easter goal. This morning was 129.6. If I lose the .6 I will make it. I am excited cuz I thought there was no chance of that happening a week and a half ago.

ejm-I'm sure your clump is wonderful. Don't worry, we all make them.

Meoww-thanks for the willpower dust. I'm going to need lots of it this weekend!

Brandy - eat lots of fiber and drink lots of water LOL Got my fingers crossed for you to make your goal!

I DID IT!!!!!I just did my normal morning weigh in and the scale read 128.8!!!!!!
That means I met my Easter goal AND
I HAVE LOST 40 POUNDS!!!
I am so happy:carrot:

ejm-Thanks for the encouragement

tofat, you are divine!!!! GREAT JOB!!! Have a great Easter and be very proud of yourself.

I LOVE YOUR NEW NICK!!! ArtsyGirl! Perfect :carrot: :carrot:

Congratulations!! You are my hero! You and I are the same height, and I would love to meet you down there in the 120s. (I would be thrilled with the 140's LOL )

:woo: Fantastic job, Artsygirl and a nice new name, too. Way to go!

Well, it's raining and dull and I match the weather . . . hopefully my gray mood will be gone before the weather clears up since it's supposed to rain for most of the next week. One day is even threatening snow according to the weather station. :(

I've been sitting reading through some old quilting books and since I'm so tied up with this work project instead of giving me new inspiration, I think looking at the books is only adding to my depression because I have no time for crafty things so I decided to stop and check in on a couple of my favourite virtual worlds. This gang always cheers me up. Hopefully the magic will happen soon. :dizzy:

Have a good day, gang. We'll see you soon. :carrot:

Hey where did everybody go ???? Wherever it is, I hope you're having fun.

Since I posted that little rant from a couple of days ago, things have gone downhill . . . although I am in better humour, go figure. :) Missed a deadline that's going to cost me some money and then cut my finger quite badly (trying to type with one less operational finger is really the pits).

Then this morning I broke my rule about getting on the scale in mid week because I wanted to see how close I came to my Easter goal. . . Wow, was that ever a mistake. The mean old scale-:devil: says I gained 4 pounds in 4 days. Now I know that's not true, but it's depressing just the same. I hope it goes away before my official WWI. :^:

Hope to see you all again soon, gang. :carrot:

Hey Meowee, I hope your day starts to go better. I'm betting you didn't gain 4 pounds of fat. That would be an additional 14,000 calories. Just the pesky female body thing just to screw us up. Sorry about your finger. It's amazing how you never notice the digits until you hurt them (toes and fingers).

Things are going good. I finished the knitting on my sister's sweater, now I just need to sew it together and sew on the buttons. Then it'll be done. I will be happy about that. My goal had been to finish it last Monday but I missed it by a mile. :)

Exercise is going good. I finally took a day off yesterday, first time since March 25th. But I exercised this morning so I didn't fall off the wagon. That's a relief.

Talk to you later.
Marie

Hi ladies-

Meoww-Hope your scale took a dive for you since your last post. Hope the finger heals fast for you. I cut the tip of my thumb off about 5 yrs ago and it was terrible painful.

Marie-good job on the exercise and finishing the knitting portion of the sweater. I took an aerobics class at the gym this morning and had a really great time. I also took a rest day yesterday. Part of me really didn't want to but time constraints required it.

Weigh in at the gym kept me at 129. I am thrilled because I ate to much yesterday. I'm ok with it because it WAS a special occasion and this is a lifestyle, and there is no way I'll never have dessert or always stop after 1 serving. As long as I'm good most of the time I can be happy with everything. I need to get some cleaning done before I start my lessons. Have a great day.

Hi gang . . . the finger has graduated to a smaller bandage and it doesn't hit so many keys at the same time anymore so I get to spend a little more time typing forward and a little less time typing backward. ;)

It is raining and raining and raining and the forecast says it is going to keep on raining and raining and raining for another few days. :mad: It is also cold with a high today of about 2C (35F), and did I mention that it is raining? :D

This little (?) work project is trying to turn into a full time occupation and is really leaving me next to no time for all the fun things that make retirement worthwhile . . . I'm in the mood to quilt, not fiddle with complex mathematical calculations. :( And now I also must get my Income Tax return finished. In Canada we have to file by April 30 and, since I usually owe them money, I tend to leave it until the last minute. :^: And did I mention that it's raining? :D

Anyway gang, try to stay away from those left-over bunny droppings. Here's a little shot of :dust: to help us all keep hopping along that downward trail. Keep up all the good stuff and the rewards will follow (and, hopefully my four 'funny-pounds' will be gone, too). See you soon. :carrot:

Meowee I hope your finger feels better soon! ouch! What do you do that you are working with icky math problems? (If I am being nosy, just ignore me...math people just fascinate me ;) )

I signed my contract today! I wonder if this legally makes me an artist? I was defined in a legal document as "referred to herein as the artist"

Still working on the grapes painting, and started a little fairy sculpture. So interesting working in 3-d again. It's so relaxing and so different from the crystal painting lol

Walked 2 miles today and stayed in points. We didn't have any Easter goodies around, so that wasn't a problem. Weigh is Wednesday..keeping my fingers crossed.

Good Morning, gang . . . Just for a change, it is raining in Nova Scotia this morning, and it's still cold, and now we've added very windy into the mix . . . Oh my, isn't spring wonderful? :dizzy:

Beth . . . sometimes you just have to accept the inevitable . . . girl, you are an ARTIST :yes: and you've got it in writing. :yes:

Trust me, by training I'm an academic not a mathematician. I'm verifying a bunch of calculations of a type with which nobody else has a lot of experience. Sometimes the knowledge stored in your head is clearer than what is written down. The Company is very large and very old and has gone through quite a few amalgamations and reorganizations in it's long existence (four of them during my career) and that makes for some very convoluted methodologies for doing thngs.

Anyway everybody . . . have a great day. Keep moving and shaking and heading in that wonderful downward direction. See you soon. :carrot:

Beth, congratulations, you artist you. :) Good job on the walking and staying on plan. You're doing great.

Meowee, we have 2 days of sun forecasted. Since it's done that once in the last 6 weeks. I'm very happy with it. I'm almost tempted to find my suit and go sunbathing. Of course the high is only 50 degrees. I'd need a blanket too. Here's hoping your rain goes away soon.

i did my walking this morning and finished my sister's sweater. It's in a box in the car, ready to be mailed. Yeah!!!

Congrats Beth!!!

Great job staying on your programs. I finally get to go spinning today. I'm looking forward to being whipped afterwards! Haven't done much craft wise, but have some beading that needs to be done this week so I'll start that this afternoon. Have a great one.

Good Morning . . . Atlantic Canada is cold, very windy, and (surprise, surprise) it's RAINING :( This is becoming very tiresome.

The finger is free of bandage this morning and feeling pretty good. Sure looks a little funny . . . guess it will have a shiny, kind of bald looking tip for quite some time. I remember a TV program where the bad guy shaved off all his fingertips in order to disquise his fingerprints . . . personally I don't recommend it. :D

Anyway it's WWI morning and the WWF :angel: (weight-watching-fairy) was kind enough to get rid of those four weird pounds for me, along with .2 of a real one (that a whole 2/10 of a pound lost, folks). Hey, I'm thankful for anything that goes in the right direction . . . downward is good! :D

After complaining loudly about having no time for crafting, I went out and bought another $40 of fabric yesterday to make myself (or my SIL - not sure yet) a burgundy (basically) quilted jacket. Don't ask me when I think I'm going to do this . . . but buying the supplies was fun. :^: Oh well, we live in hope. The work-project won't last forever.

Speaking of which, I'd better get a move on (even though it is a very slow move -- this damp weather is really making the arthritis kick up). Have a great day, gang. Keep on moving and shaking and heading in that wonderful downward direction. :carrot:

Marie - I wish I had a sister knitting me sweaters! my sis in law is a potter and gives gorgeous bowls for presents. Everyone wants her to get their names when we draw at Christmas.

Artsy - do you like spinning? it always looks scary on tv ...and it looks like it might be painful to your posterier parts.

Now meowee.. you know that aquiring fabric doesn't have anything to do with actually using or needed it...simple having it is enough to have fulfilled it's purpose ;) And you really need to move south. It rained here today and was probably in the 60's and we all whined about freezing. Congrats on your loss!

I'm down a pound this week. I have had pms munchies all week, so I am happy with this. Today was bad..chick-fil-a for lunch and then pizza with the girls for dinner. First time in weeks I have been off plan. Ah well.. salads and tuna tomorrow :)

Good Morning, chickies . . . and congrats on the loss, Beth. :hug:

What, move south and give up all this? Actually today is only drizzling and cold . . . no torrential downpour. The real treat is coming tonight. According to the Weather Network, we are going to get 3-4 cm (1.5") of SNOW. Then, on Saturday, the sun is actually supposed to peek through and the temperature is predicted to go waaaaaay up to +7C (about 45F). Wow . . . a :beach: day (she says with tongue planted firmly in cheek). :D Guess we are paying for our mild winter with a yucky spring. Keep sending those warm thoughts.

Well, back to the grind. See you all soon, gang. Have a great day moving and shaking and heading in the great downward direction. :carrot:

I'm Baaack and Good Morning Ladies!!

I have to say while I was gone, I gained a few pounds, but I'm back on track again.:carrot: At my WW weigh in yesterday, I loss .7 pounds and the week before that was -1.5. I'm at 340.0, but I'm not changing my ticker, I plan on being back at 338 by next week.

It's cool and damp here, but I'm getting ready to go out for a walk and get some much needed exercise in, before I go up and work on my quilt. It's almost done and I will post a picture of it when I have the top done.

I'll come back later and write personals.

Cheryl