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...i am a princess on the way to my throne...

11.30.2005

...and More Less of Me... 

Yep, I weighed again this morning, just to see two more pounds gone. That makes a total of 7 pounds since Sunday.

How on earth is that possible??? If I had been excersicing like crazy, I could understand, but I haven't. I bought a new Leslie Sansone in-home walking tape today at Wal-Mart, and I plan on starting it this afternoon, but I hope it doesn't jinx this rapid weight loss!:)

Back in August I had set a goal for 25 pounds gone by Christmas. Due to my horrible eating and lack of activity since then, I didn't think that would be possible. Now, however, I think I may be able to reach a 20 pound goal if I'm very careful. Hey, at this point I'll take 15 and be thrilled.

Whether I make the Christmas goal or not, my goal of 50 pounds gone by next August is my biggie. I want to lose 80 pounds total, but 50 is a very important mark for me. Once I get there, I'll tell you why.:)

Last night I came up with a little questionaire, which somehow became a little twist on the ABC one that was going around some time last year. I've dubbed it my ABCs and XYZs and I thought I would share it here.:)

Astronomy or Astrology? Astronomy.
Butterflies or Dragonflies? Both.
Coffee or Tea? COFFEE!
Dogs or Cats? Definitely cats.
Energetic or Lazy? Depends on my mood, but most of the time I'm lazy.
Fall or Summer? Fall.
Gold or Silver? Silver (although I "look" more like a gold)
Hot weather or Cold? I prefer somewhere in between.
Ice-cream or Cake? I'm a cake girl, all the way.
Juice or Soft Drink? Soft drink, defintely.
Knitting or cross-stitching? BOTH!
Legolas or Haldir? Haldir!:)
Moon or Sun? Moon.
Night or Day? Night.
Ocean or Mountains? Ocean!!
Pepsi or Coke? Coke (Diet).
Quick-paced life or Slow? I prefer the slow life, to be sure.
Red or Pink? Pink!
Sweet tooth or Sour? Sweet!
Teal or Turquoise? Turquoise.
Underwear or Thong? Please...underwear, thank you!
V-necks or Round? Round.
White chocolate or Milk Chocolate? Yes!!
X-Men or Superman? X-Men are way cooler...
Young or Old? Middle-aged in body but young at heart.
Zagnut or Butterfinger? Zagnut, you just can't beat the toasted coconut!

How about you?:)

I've even thought about making a virtual scrapbook page of these things, but I'm not really good at that sort of thing. I may have to play around in PSP to see what I come up with.:D

On the plate today: laundry, excersice, stitching, knitting, and church! Sounds like a full plan to me.:)
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11.29.2005

Less of Me 

I'm stunned. Absolutely stunned.

I've been fasting carbs over the past two days, and there is exactly five pounds less of me today than there was on Sunday. I have not drank an excessive amount of water, nor have I excercised. I've only been trying to rid my body of all the sugars I've cummulated over the past few months, and hopefully lose some weight in the deal.

5 pounds in two days...not too shabby!

I'm following the food plan for Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet to help me get focused again on weight loss, and it hasn't been as difficult as I thought. I've actually enjoyed meals like sirloin meatballs in light Ragu sauce with fat-free mozeralla cheese and a salad, which I admit was a little weird without the pasta but excellent all the same. Today for dinner I've planned stir-fried chicken with sauteed zucchini, one of my favorite Body-for-Life meals, only it will be without a carb.

The hard, cold truth is that I've gained 17 pounds back over the past year, but considering I'm focused again I don't forsee a problem losing it. I have a goal to lose 35 pounds by May, and 50 by next August. I don't think that is unreasonable, especially once I add my excercise regime back into the plan. Woohoo!



On the knitting front: I'm hooked. Or perhaps I should say, I'm 'needled'. Either way, I told Robert I almost love knitting more than cross stitching. He gasped and told me that was sacriledge, which is why I said almost. It's too much in my blood to give up completely, but I don't think it will mind taking a temporary back seat to my new knitting passion.

Last night was very productive. The colors I bought were Red Heart's Claret and Cornmeal. I did not find a varigated to go with them, but I don't think it will matter. I've decided to change the pattern a little bit and make the Cornmeal stripe longer than the Claret stripe, which I think will work nicely. I didn't find the size 6 needles like I wanted, so I'm using my bamboo 8's instead. I've decided wood is the way to go, and I plan to have a set of bamboo in every size. I saw some beautiful rosewood ones, but they are pretty expensive and I want to become a little more accomplished before I get them. I will consider them a reward for finishing a project or two. Nothing like stash for motivation, hm?:)

I'm also going through my stitching stash. I have so many unfinished projects it's not even funny. What to do? Should I hang on to them in hopes of actually finishing them one day, or should I give them away to people who might actually finish them one day? Ah, the dilemmas in the life of a stitcher. Everyone's life should be this easy.
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11.28.2005

Kitty Love 

Ugh. I am so not a morning person. And, apparently, neither is my son, which makes for some interesting scenarios when trying to get him ready for school.

My daughter, on the other hand, is Miss Sally Sunshine by 7 AM. That may not be early for some of you, but for me it might as well be 3 AM for all concerned. Oh, well...at least one of us is not grumbly before coffee.

It's incredibly dark and rainy, a moment I would relish if I didn't have to get out in it this morning. And, to make things even more interesting, Gypsy has gone into heat. Oh, goody. At least that answers the question on whether she was pregnant or not. It's sending my male cats into a tizzy. Yes, they are all fixed, but just because they don't have the equipment doesn't mean they don't get what's going on. It's also my children's first lesson in sex education, because of course Gypsy has to have a full-blown episode right in the living room. And, of course, both the children are fascinated. Jessi laughed when she first saw it and said, "Look! They are playing horsie!"

Sigh. I am so not ready for this.

Oh, well. I must be off to get little man ready for school. I can already tell it's going to be an intersting day at L'Amore Chez Stacey. I am going to take him to school, come home, and drown myself in a ha-yuge cup of java, loaded with fat-free creamer and packets of Splenda. I'm counting the minutes...



Ahh, there is nothing better than a hot cup of coffee after being in the rain. It makes everything just seem brighter!

In five minutes I'm jetting off once again to make a Hobby Lobby run. I'm trying to hunt down a set of bamboo knitting needles size 6 and some yarn. I have a scarf pattern that consists of the stitches I've already learned, and I thought it would be nice to put that education into practice. One of my favorite color combo is scarlet and deep gold, so I think I will use these to make my stripes. I would like to find a varigated with similar colors to seperate the two colors, but if I don't find what I like I'll just go with the scarlet and gold.

Hopefully Robert will find the digicam software so I can get some pics uploaded to Black Cat. The sooner the better, because our camera's cup runneth over with more pictures than I can count.
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11.27.2005

Barefoot and... 

...knitting!

It's one of my favorite kinds of days: overcast with the promise of rain. The temperature has started to drop, which is appropriate for late November (and after 20 years of living in Georgia, I've learned to expect the unexpected in regards to the weather, even if the weather should be exactly what one would expect. But I digress).

It's no secret I'm a die-hard barefoot kind of chick, and as I type this my feet are indeed bare, albiet rather cold. I need to find some socks. I've been getting away with wearing really fancy sandals to church (which, even I admit, look kind of weird with sweaters) but the weather has grown even a tad too cool for me to try and get away with bare feet anymore. It's one thing when I'm inside and toasty, but quite another when I'm skipping across town. However, the main problem is that aside from my sneakers (which are not appropriate for the platform, which is where I sing with the Praise Team) I do not have any closed shoes. The closest thing I have is my black heeled leathers, but even they are slipper style. That's what I wore this morning with black hose, and what I will wear again tonight. The truth is that I could go to church barefoot and no one would say anything (it is holy ground, after all) but Robert won't hear of it. Besides, even I know a little about good fashion sense, and it would seem rather tacky to be schlepping along in my nice church clothes with bare feet poking out all over the place. Or, I could just start a new fashion trend; you never know.

Yesterday I did what I set out to do: bulldoze my room! I tossed a ton of movies and gathered two huge boxes of books that I intend to give out as Christmas presents. Everyone in my family are huge readers, and whether the book is old or new matters not; if it's the printed word, we're there.

I've also been zipping along with my knitting. I've been knitting away, just keeping in the habit of practice. I have a very simple scarf pattern I want to make, and it involves two colors which will be great at practicing changing colors. The lovely Fudgey sent me some links to making socks, which I don't know in a million years if I'll ever be able to do but I'm sure going to try. These barefeet will give up nekkid status for knitted footsies in a heart beat, be sure of that!

One of the thing I love about knitting is that it makes me feel comfortable. I feel oddly feminine when I knit, as well as productive. I hate my hands to be idle, and sometimes cross stitching just doesn't 'get it', especially when I'm tired and can't read the symbols of the pattern. With knitting, I'm pretty much good to go. I fear I have bitten by the bug hard, and all I have to say is that I hope it remains. So, don't be surprised if my knitting blogs crop up in my blog list.

Ah, I just looked at the time: gotta go! It's church night, and Praise Team practice starts at 5 PM (meet La Soprano).

Nite. Stay warm!

Mah mood: girly
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11.26.2005

FOOOOD 

Yesterday: I went. I saw. I ate. And ate. And ate some more. More. MORE.

Today: Put up tree. Put in Christmas CDs. Went to Outback. And ate. And ate. And ate some MORE.

Got home: Ate more. And more. AND MORE.

:: burp ::

Am blob. Blob. Blobby-blob BLOB.

Oh, and I gave thanks, many many thanks. God is good. God is very, very GOOD.

Thought for the day:
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11.24.2005

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! 

Whoohoo! Turkey Day is here!:)

I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm alive, healthy, and surrounded by people who love me. Truly, it is the simple things that matter the most.

On that note, I've decided to simplify my life all around. I've made an early resolution to declutter my home in the next few weeks before Christmas. I want to be very thorough and reduce things that I am simply not using, no matter how badly I want to hold on to it. I'm tired of being a pack-rat; if it's not beautiful and useful, I don't want it around me anymore. Some things I will keep for sentimental reasons, but these things will be far and few in between.

I do, however, have some collections that I will indeed keep and plan to expand on in the near future:

1) My stuffed unicorn collection (I collect unicorn plushies of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Right now I only have four, but I saw a couple at Target that are going on my Christmas list!).

2) My Faeriessence collection, possibly the most adorable faery figurines around.

3) My cat figurine collection.

4) My dolphin collection.

There! Those are the things I collect with great vigor. I used to collect wolves, and I have the most beautiful wolf statues but they are still in storage. Even my stash collection and DVD collection are going to be narrowed down considerably. Now *those* are going to be hard to do, but I'm so sick of living in a house that is busting at the seams that I'm willing to take extra measure to clear my space once again.



On the knitting front, yesterday I spent a good part of the night playing with my new Clover Bamboo straight needles size 8.

I far prefer to knit with wood than metal, as they don't seem to get 'cold' like the aluminum needles do. I also love how light they are to hold! It's very pleasant. I also got some very cool wool by Essentials TLCSurf N Turf:


Granted, the name is very campy, but it's one of my favorite color combos. I find them very soothing. It's as if the ocean lover and earth mother in my soul have combined into one lovely skein of yarn that sings, "Just for Stacey!". Sigh. Okay, so I'm a geek, so sue me. I also bought another TLC solid called Robin's Egg, which matches the Surf perfectly. It's light enough for me to see the stitches, but no so blah that I get bored of just practicing. Last night I taught myself the one-handed cast on method, as well as reviving myself on the knit stitch and purling. I even learned how to bind off, yippeee! Go me! Of course, I have the best teacher in the world, so I'm sure to succeed.

But do you know what I really want to learn to knit? Socks. Lots of colorful, vibrant, plushie, soft socks. When I was little my mother used to crochet us footies all the time, and to this day they were the most comfortable things around. If I have to cover my feet in the winter, I will choose those footies anytime! Of course, methinks it would be best to master the basic knitting skills first before moving on to something that involves double pointed needles (shudder), so for now I'll stick with my swatches and pot holders, thank you.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone! See you tomorrow!
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11.23.2005

I'm Home 

I'm back, and gosh it feels good.

I honestly didn't think I would ever return to this space, and I'm glad I ventured out onto other blogging quests. I thought this chapter was closed, finished, gone; how was I to know it was only the beginning?

I feel like I'm slipping into an old sweatshirt, the kind that is worn and soft and follows the contours of your body. Like an old friend who is always there for you, I am recapturing my reign as Fully Caffeinated. It had become me, and I never truly felt like myself without it.

As promised, Black Cat of the Family is now my photo blog, something I have been wanting to do for a while but never took the time. I will be posting pictures every month of things that interest me, mainly my family, my furbabies, and my home. I hope they are of interest to you as well, and help give you a visual into the world that is mine.

Welcome home, Freaky Dahlings. I have missed you.:)

Mood:yippeeee!!!
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