Hard to believe it's December already . . .

Where did the year go? Are any of you really ready for today to be December 1st? I know I'm not! All the tubs that hold my fall decorations have sat in the living room since last Sunday. My goal is to get them put away today and get the house decorated today and tomorrow. We head to Newberg, Oregon on Sunday to celebrate our daughter-in-law's birthday so everything must be done today and tomorrow if it's to be finished this weekend.

To help me get into the spirit I'll show you the stockings I made a couple years ago. We'd been using old stockings I made years and years ago but I needed to do something new so we'd have a stocking for each of the kid's spouses. I'd had these fabrics around for years and years - left over from my bazaar days - and it was great to use them. I made a bunch of extras to sell when I was doing Quilters Market in Portland, but they didn't sell so I still have them. Certainly enough for as many grandchildren as we'll probably have.

Now on to something not-quilty. I don't talk about not quilty things often, but I'm inspired to talk about this - if only because speaking about it publicly will really help me stick to my guns. Some of you may be able to relate.

As a kid I was always skinny. As a teenager I was always skinny too - below the desired weight for my height and age. I remember having a 23" waist in high school. I ate like a horse - anything I wanted - and never gained weight. When I got married and had kids I gained some, but not a lot. At 35 and 5' 8 1/2" I still weighed only 135 pounds. Well, time and age began to catch up to me. In my late 30's I gained a little more, and still more in my 40's. When I started working at the credit union I started working out in the morning and went back to a size 10 - I was in the best shape of my life. Then I switched to my current department, started work earlier in the day and let the workouts go by the way side. By the time I was in my mid 50's I weighed more than I'd ever weighted before - 30 pounds more that I'd weighed when I was 9 months pregnant! Once again I got serious about it - worked out, went on weight watchers and lost 37 pounds. I looked great! I tossed the fat clothes and bought thin clothes. I was determined not to gain it all back.

Well, for many different reasons I got out of my routine - starting with having some session with a coach at the athletic club who put me on a different diet. It was complicated, I couldn't understand it, and couldn't stick to it. She didn't like weight watchers because she said my percentage of fat was still too high. That got me off my good eating routine. Then I went through a series of bad colds plus a back problem, and there went my workouts. To make a long story a little less long - I am now back to where I was and a little bit more - weighing more than I've ever weighed in my life. Unfortunately, in my mind and subconscious I'm still that skinny girl, so it's been very hard to wrap my mind around the problem.

Don't know what made the difference but now I'm serious once again. I have a closet of beautiful work clothes I bought last year that I want to be able to wear again. I'm back on weight watchers online - they sent me a "join again now and we'll waive the joining fee" offer, so I did it. I've tracked my eating for 5 days now, finished each day with a few points left over, gone shopping for lots of healthy, low fat foods, and have lost two pounds. I can tell the difference in my mental attitude - I am really determined. I've thrown away a mental picture of a skinny person from the past, and am now holding a mental picture of a healthy person of the future.

Wish me luck!

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Gratitudes:

1. Hot oatmeal with a tiny bit of brown sugar and fat free half and half
2. Advent - my favorite time of year
3. The upcoming weekend!
4. Music - how fun to listen to old favorites as I load them onto our new Ipod
5. Weight watchers online

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