And Shortly After The New Year Begins...

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, BUT I have been noticing my weight creeping upwards again, a pound here and a pound there, until I gained back a good 15 lbs of what I had lost. I knew before the holidays that this upward trend must stop, not so much for the sake of my looks, but for the sake of my general health.

So, yesterday I "re-upped" with Weight Watchers Online. I use a military term for re-joining the program, because it must be regimented as strictly as military units are, or I will start cutting myself too much slack and/or rationalizing.

The good news is, Weight Watchers has revamped the old Points program to something called "Points Plus." Well!

On the old program, it was really hard to stay within my daily allotment of points, because almost everything I put in my mouth had a "value," even healthy stuff like fruit, and certain veggies. Now, every fruit and veggie I have looked up says 0 points! I no longer have to regretfully allow myself 6 sugar snap peas and sacrifice valuable points, and discover that I have no points left by suppertime. Even a whole cup of the darn things has 0 points now!

Tonight when I was famished and supper wasn't even close to being done, I could -- and did, with no guilt -- eat 5 fresh strawberries and one celery rib to take the edge off. It worked, and again -- 0 points!

Trouble is, I am allowed 29 points per day, and am going to have a really hard time racking up my total daily allowance! Yesterday I made it to 16 points by bedtime. Today I've done better. I only have one point left to use up, and being that it's nearly 7 PM, I probably won't bother, though I suppose I could eat a few almonds, and that would take care of it.

I've been told that it's not good to eat less than the daily limit, and that this could force my body into "starvation mode," and I might end up putting on weight instead of losing it. So I will have to be careful to consume them all in a day, or come within a point or two of it.

So much to remember!  But I am so excited about the fruit and veggies. I think this time around, I won't be anywhere near as hungry and cranky as I was last time.

OK, for that final point of the day, the almonds won! (6 of them equal a point, if anyone wants to know...)

2012 Begins...

New Year, new online shop.

I decided to give Artfire a whirl, but will also continue to maintain a presence on Etsy, at least until I see which will be the more successful venue.

In the next few weeks, I'll be adding more hand painted yarns and hand blended spinning fibers, and continuing to contribute to the Phat Fiber Sampler Box.

As soon as I can get some decent photographs of the latest yarns, I'll be making new listings and posting a few shots here, and hopefully lead folks into serious temptation.

Hey, it's a New Year. New yarn will make it a HAPPY New Year...and cashmere blends are coming soon!