My goodness. It's 2:16pm and I finally ate something substantial (had watermelon earlier) and am just feeling so completely stuffed right now!!! And I ate 1/2 the portion of tofu noodles and marinara that I normally would....which, by the way, is so low in calories you'd hardly believe it!! No, I don't and never have normally eaten tofu as a rule. However, I am trying new things!!! And, these tofu noodles have almost no calories at all!!! A huge difference from real pasta. They smell like some crazy kind of funk when you open the package, but after you rinse them and heat them up...well, I don't really notice much of a difference! I mean, the stuff is good. You CAN EAT IT!!! So...yes, this is another little trick that I'm quite excited about. It cuts an amazing amount of calories out of a meal, and leaves you satisfied!!!
I really have not been hungry much. I mean, I'm not even hungry at the REGULAR TIMES OF DAY!!! I'm just NOT HUNGRY! I was discussing this with someone the other day and we were saying how once your body starts to GET WHAT IT REALLY NEEDS from the foods you are eating, then there is no need to keep filling it like we did before....with loads of processed foods. The foods I was eating before just were not nutritious. And you know what one of my favorite awful things to eat was? Noodles. Cheesy noodles, I called them. They came in this package where you rip off the top, dump in water to the fill line, microwave, add a packet of processed cheese powder...and voila...cheesy noodles. Well, there's no fruits and vegetables in it for sure!!! Now, I haven't tried to make some "healthy" cheesy noodles with my new noodles, but I'm gonna!!! Just not now. I've severely cut dairy out of the picture for now. I may have a bit of cheese on something if I really, really want it, or cream in my morning 1/2 caf/ 1/2 decaf cup of coffee (that I only drank 1/2 of today!) It seems the less I have of all this stuff (bread, dairy, starch, meat), the less I want any of it. In fact, I don't have one little desire to even eat any of those things right now.
Along those same lines, I was actually CRAVING A FRUIT SMOOTHIE yesterday!!! And I don't mean some ice cream sundae treat....I mean real fruit...and that's all!!! It was so satisfying that I wasn't even sure I wanted to eat any dinner!!! I did eat some dinner though....because I knew I should. I had some grilled shrimp and steamed broccoli w/ a tiny bit of shredded cheese on top. Completely satisfying in every way.
Am I amazed. Yes. Definitely. Things (diet-wise) haven't really ever seemed to go this well. But, I have been saying no to alcohol completely, and I believe that this alone has helped me stay on track. I know for myself, that when I drink a lot of alcohol in an evening, I always crave terrible foods (McDonald's & cheesy noodles) the next day. I would also drink up to 10 cans of gingerale in one day. Not all the time, but when I was feeling especially dehydrated. I have cut out the gingerale completely and drink spring water with a splash of light cranberry juice...and when I really want it, a diet soda.
Now, because I've actually been out LIVING LIFE, I've not had as much time to keep up with the process on the blog....though I am writing tons in my new journal (especially for this...my new way of living!!!) and hope this will turn into an ECOURSE eventually. That being said, this post was written last Friday. Today is now Tuesday. I was really good all weekend, except I decided to have some drinks Sunday night. And you know what? It just wasn't worth it. I didn't drink a gastly amount or anything, but I could still notice the next day I didn't really feel like LIVING! At least not living well. I think that if I do drink in the future, it will be a 2 drink maximum. But right now, I'm really not interested. I have soooooooooooooo much to do and catch up on that I just don't have time to be mucking things up!
Finally, I was not supposed to weight myself until this Thursday (once a week) but I did it anyway this morning. And, there was virtually no loss. Only .4 of a pound since last Thursday morning. Now, if you knew how good I've been and how overweight I am you'd say, what? And that's what I said too. But I am not giving up because of the number on a stupid gadget. I can tell my face looks so different. My complexion is better, my mind is better and clearer, my body is working better, I am sleeping better....and I FEEL BETTER ABOUT MYSELF, AND HOW I'M LIVING!!!! These are huge things. Also, since I am clearer, I am learning so much about myself, and the way I choose to handle or react to what happens around me. I'm realizing that my ego is quite huge...though I often feel really rotten about myself. Seems like a conflict, but it's not. Goes hand in hand for me. And though I feel bad that I have been behaving this way for so long without realizing it, I am so thankful to be realizing it now, so that I can make that change.
Ok. Enough for today. I know there's like, about 1 person reading my blog....but I don't care. If others need it they will find it. And it is helpful and joyful for me to do it.
Have a blessed and wonderful day dear hearts. Walk through life with your head high, your heart right and a smile on your face. You are special and everyone needs your gifts to help make this world go round!
Thanks for stopping by,
Cynthia
Step One: Choose the Frenchkissed postcard that most inspires you. If there is text to consider (like on the one I used* ) then you need to take the scan into Photoshop or a similar photo-editing program and go to "Image/Rotate Canvas/ Rotate Canvas Horizontal." 
Step Four: Gather some matching fabric scraps, ribbon, trim, lace --whatever you'd like to add to frame the focal piece. For this example, I used ripped strips of remnant fabric, ribbon and Angelina fibers.
Step Five: Working with 'Angelina Fibers.' If you are not familiar with them, don't worry, neither was I! A quick search on the Internet will tell you more, but I'll tell you how I used mine here. I took parchment paper and sandwiched the fibers between the sheets. I layered several colors of the fibers over one another, but had the most fibers the same color as the overall piece. Next, I sprayed the back of this little fiber sheet with quilt basting spray, just so I can get it to lay in place.
Step Seven: To finish, free motion stitch around the figure. Add more Angelina Fibers to the top of the piece, and a little trim to the bottom. I didn't have trim that would match this piece, so I washed it in acrylic paint and water. You can hang the piece by adding a little loop of fabric to the back. Simply place it where you want it, and then turn the piece back over and free motion stitch the bottom of the loop onto the fabric. 
And voila: a lovely little piece to decorate your home! Happy crafting all!!! 
