The rest of days two and three with FASTIN

   When I signed out yesterday I had just taken the recommended dosage of my new diet pill, Fastin. I had the jitters and could barely type so I decided to chill a bit and see what the day brought. I can tell you...my day brought me nausea and not much more. I stayed just at the "slightly queasy" level of functioning all day, with an occasional spinning head tossed in to boot. I was not completely rendered useless, but just felt kind of crummy all day. I had no desire to eat or drink whatsoever, but forced myself to do a little of both. My usual day of eating is three meals (with dinner being way too big) and at least 3 snacks a day (often unhealthy cravings toward bedtime). I also crave sodas continually. I craved NOTHING on Fastin. Not even water. In fact the thought of food made me feel sick. ....all day. :(  By dinner time I forced myself to eat a small cereal bowl of taco salad. I haven't forced myself to eat in years! I guess that's how it works. I can see where there'd be some really rapid weight loss that way, but my goodness, who wants to take that dangerous route?

   Not one to give up so easily but deciding to tweak the program a bit, I only took 1/2 of a pill with my morning cereal today. MUCH improved. No nausea, no jitters, and only slightly (as in reasonably) hungry (I do confess to eating a slice of chocolate loaf bread with our Sunday school class but I felt full really fast and didn't crave that second piece). Now it's 2 pm and I am about to eat a little lunch. That's a big change for me as typically I'd be hearing my stomach growl by 11 am. Just took a full pill, too, to see if the nausea returns. That way I can plan my dosage before I go to work in the morning. I have no desire to feel queasy in a room full of 3-year olds for 8 hours. ;)

    Again, I'm not really hungry; just kind of snacky. This is do-able. This is great. This was what I hoped for on FASTIN. Nothing dangerous or with horrible side-effects. Just a little help suppressing my appetite so I can gradually lose the weight (and hopefully feel better physically so I can up the exercise).

Wish me luck and I want to hear your comments on diets/medications you've tried,
Lynn

My weight loss journey with FASTIN

    I am a mom to three kiddos. Love it! But over the years, as many of us have, I've put on a few *ahem* pounds. I am not the five- foot, seven- inch tall, 117-pound girl I used to be. Now I don't want to be pencil thin, just healthy. But all my plans have been thwarted in the last couple of years by a medicine I have to take to combat horrible hormonal migraines, which sadly, has made me gain eighteen pounds. :(  And the real kicker is this---around the time I began the medicine I learned I have heel spurs and some back and neck problems with arthritis (thank you, genetics).  You can imagine what standing at work most of the day with the heel spurs and that extra eighteen pounds is doing. I don't sleep longer than 5-6 hours at night, most every night, even on sleeping medication, because something, somewhere, begins to ache. Not even middle-aged and I find myself getting up sometimes to sleep upright in the recliner. That in itself sounds like something an eighty-year old would do (my apologies to my sweet senior audience). I am still young and offended that my body doesn't do what I want it to.  I am on a long road to feeling my best and not ending up like other family members whose arthritis became so bad that they became wheel-chair bound.

  Since exercise is a wonderful thing to do daily, God saw fit to move us into town where our dogs have to stay chained in the backyard. And since He knew I would look daily upon their sad little faces and feel compelled to walk them a block or two, that has been my exercise for a while. Every day two strong horses, er, I mean dogs, drag me/walk me/gallop me forcefully one block and back. You'd think that would help my weight loss.... Nada. Zero. Zip.

  From January-February, our staff at the daycare decided to play Biggest Loser. I think only a few people actually lost so I don't feel too bad there with the results. ;) But here's the rub: I banned all colas (at least that weren't zero everything), drank water 'til I could have floated away, and switched most of my foods to healthy ones. Even tried watching portion sizes. Pounds lost at the end=zero!

  I don't know what else to do except try ANOTHER diet pill. And believe me, I've tried quite a few with no results. I read some reviews about Phentermine and I wanted to try it, but it's pricey with the doctor visits and all, and my insurance won't cover it. So after lots of online study, I bought Fastin.


   

     So I began yesterday and plan to keep a daily, if possible, journal of sorts to see if it really works. I also wrote my current weight on the calendar and a goal I want to reach. I will eat and drink normally as this medicine has been claimed by many to work regardless of diet and exercise. I will continue to walk the horses each day but otherwise doubt there'll be much other exercise in my life.

Day 1: took one pill at breakfast only because many reviewers say 2 pills makes you jittery. Only ate 1 slice of pizza with lunch instead of my usual 2. Did cheat and have a cookie as an afternoon snack. Wasn't terribly hungry again until supper, which was late because I worked late and then we grilled out. I ate a plate of grilled chicken, a roll, and corn and green beans. No bedtime snack either, and I ALWAYS get snacky before bed. Felt really sleepy all day yesterday (which surprised me because most reviewers say you can't sleep at all on this pill). I fell asleep on the couch before 9 pm and slept til 6:30! Wow for me.

Day 2: I just had a bowl of shredded wheat and took the recommended 2 pills. My gosh, my hands are so shaky I can barely type this and my heart is racing. I am wide awake and feel like I could run the block and back with the horses' help. We'll see what this day brings. I am not sure about the jitters though.

Will post again soon,

Lynn

Shop/craft room DONE!

     It's been a while since we've updated a room in our fixer-upper but Jarred decided this week was a good time to renovate his shop since we didn't need to buy anything but a gallon of paint. ;)

     Here is what the "shop" looked like when we moved into the house.

   Pretty bad, right? Unfinished walls that resembled cardboard. A previous roof leak had left water stains. More "stuff" from previous owner (I have no complaints there; I love nothing more than pawing through a box of mystery items). Moldy, dusty carpet. Moldy, dusty everything. This room hadn't seen action in years when we walked in.

    First we had to sort the stuff. Then for a time we had to use some of the space to store our own stuff. Meanwhile Jarred has been working around all the piles of things. This is how the shop looked from about November-well, last night night.

My crafting side is beginning to take shape

This old shelf we found in the blue bathroom is about to find new life in my craft area!

soaping supplies

Jarred's side for his game console repair business

Lots of repair work to be done which, praise the Lord, equals lots of paychecks!

      I am so proud of the "new" shop. It is a nice place to go and work when you need a little solitude. It's clean, bright, and airy. It smells good, too. lol    I can hang with my man while he works or maybe find some time to begin my crafting again, since Jarred organized my area too. He even mounted that old bathroom shelf on the wall and repainted it to house my odds and ends. I really enjoyed running my two Etsy stores and have an awful lot of supplies just begging to be used. Now I can locate them and have a wonderful place to spread out and create. :)

Shelf is mounted and paint has begun.

Leftover tiles from our breezeway and Parisian bathroom.

Jarred's side...DONE!

worktable and shipping area

my crafting side....DONE!

I think working here will be great.

And the shelf on the wall is working out just beautifully.

Thanks Sweetie! Everything is so nice and clean and organized.

Take heart those of you with fixer-uppers....we will get this done...one room at a time. And we will make ourselves PROUD.

Blessings,

Lynn

Goodbye, Strep throat...it's kinda been oddly nice knowing you

     I know that sounds weird to say. Strep throat is NOT fun and it's extremely painful. I had it repeatedly as a child and teen, and every five years or so it comes back to haunt me as an adult. It wasn't fun missing work (or the paycheck I WOULD have had if strep had not come knocking on my door over last weekend), but it was nice to be able to stay home (sans kids) the last 3 days. I got to rest (without guilt since I had a good excuse! lol)....clean a little house when I had a burst of energy....plop back down on the couch when the energy failed....catch up on some college course work...goof off for hours on Pinterest when no one wanted to be near me and it hurt to converse anyway...you know the things moms typically don't get to do unless they are sick. It's a shame I can't be some successful blogger...or  novelist....or an uber-talented crafter who actually makes a decent living doing it, because being home this week has reminded me of just how much I L*O*V*E being home. You see, I'm a natural introvert (who also just happens to be quite OCD about order and cleanliness in my home). So being home just makes sense to me because I accomplish all these silly things on my trivial to-do list that no one else ever really notices or cares about in the first place. Check off the list....ahhh...inner-most satisfaction. Now lest you think me totally strange, you other busy women admit it: it IS nice to be home long enough to catch up on stuff, even if you could never ever stay home 24/7.

     You might not know I am introverted from my job (I'm a daycare worker in a class of sixteen little ones--but my boss and co-workers will likely tell you I am sort of quiet), or from my past (as a high-schooler with a massive list of clubs and activities in which I thrived), or from my homeschooling days (when not teaching my own children I worked with three different homeschool co-ops, 4-H, cub and boy scouting, church, etc.). But even in all this, deep inside, I just always liked being by myself. I love my "littles" at work; I really really do, and have no regrets about the decision to finish college so I can keep working with children, but I relish the quiet time I find at the end of each work day. For an introvert, having a time alone is how we recharge our batteries. Being in the public constantly is actually very emotionally draining to an introvert.

      I have found over the years, that I enjoy the "mundane" duties of a homemaker very much because they require only 1.) ME. I don't need to be out in the public to find satisfaction. Taking a trip to Walmart once a day, sadly enough, is about all I require of interaction. Learning new homemaking skills such as baking fresh bread from a starter I started, to planning a delicious dinner, to cleaning the house, to reading a good book, to getting some in-depth Bible study time, to organizing a closet or room, to learning new crafts from Pinterest, could easily keep this simple mind entertained for years to come. But since I doubt I'll ever get rich from selling glass photo jewelry or writing witty blog posts to the masses, I'll finish my education and continue on in the teaching path. The social path. The path that pays a little (at least I hope, since I'll owe the government a small fortune in college loans). But every so often, when I get worn down or a bit under the weather, I'll *secretly* slightly*enjoy the small break from "normal" society. :)

Blessings,
Lynn

pancakes.... yum yum!

My family loves to eat breakfast for supper. So last night that is what I decided to fix. In my search through the pantry I located a box of pancake quick mix, some muffin mixes, and instant oatmeal, and went crazy making an Ihop-style pancake dinner. By the time my experiment was over we had chocolate pancakes, strawberry pancakes, peanut butter ones, and of course, plain ( my husband is sometimes afraid of my kitchen experiments).

If you think pancakes have to be boring or Plain-Jane, think again. You can do much with a simple pancake batter if you just think outside the box.

*Add flavored oatmeal. That's right, just add one packet of any flavor of oatmeal to your batter. If your batter becomes too thick, add a tiny bit of water,  1-/4 of a cup at a time, until it's more of a pancake batter consistency. Adding oatmeal not only makes your batter healthier but the possibilities for flavors are amazing. We've made pancakes using blueberries and cream, banana, and strawberry flavors, as well as maple and brown sugar, apple cinnamon, and cinnamon roll flavored oats. The kids love the new flavors.

*Just add something....anything...to your batter. Even just a tsp.of extract or flavoring can turn out something new and tasty. Sprinkles stirred into the batter makes a child's morning (especially when topped with Cool Whip, more sprinkles, and a drizzle of berry syrup). We know fresh fruit works well too, but have you ever  made a "meal-in-a-pancake"? Trust me, it's good. Just toss some fried sausage, diced ham, or bacon, a handful of cheddar cheese, and a few scrambled eggs into your batter. You don't have to top these with syrup...and they are a complete meal that you can hold in your hand as you run out the door on a busy morning.

Note: adding things that are too wet or gooey can seriously alter your batter and affect cooking time. Use pureed items such as canned pumpkin sparingly. Same thing goes for peanut butter; just a few tsps. will do. I found out last night that too much peanut butter sure makes for some thick, dense, heavy cakes. :(

*Don't forget the toppings! Again, fruit is a winner. Berries, fried apples with cinnamon, anything goes. My kids like peanut butter and jelly on top. I like banana slices and chopped pecans. Another good version is to add chocolate chips or a TBS. of cocoa to the batter and then top the finished cakes with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

*Use muffin mix instead of pancake batter. Muffin mixes make great pancake flavors. Again, there is a wide variety of delicious muffin mixes that are inexpensive and easy to make. 

*Sometimes you want pancakes but just don't have time to pour and wait and flip and pour and wait and flip...I hear that lovely pancake batter can be poured, all at once, into a baking pan and oven-baked until golden for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Then, voila! Cut the really big pancake into squares and you are done. How much easier can it get folks?

*The idea of baking pancakes so intrigued me that I did a little online digging for more ideas and came across a yummy recipe that will enable me to cook fluffy, mouth-watering pancakes faster (I am thinking this is a great idea and just in time for our church breakfast in the morning). It comes from www.BigRedKitchen.com and is called Pancake Squares. Go give their recipe a try and let me know how it turns out.

Well, that's about it for today. I am off to eat some brunch and enjoy this sunny Saturday. Bon appetit!-Lynn

Please welcome my blog guest Heather Von St. James

    Today I want to introduce you to Heather Von St. James. I recently met her online and she has an incredible testimony of pulling through when life handed her a terrible blow. I am blessed to have Heather as a guest on my blog today to share her story.  I hope you're as inspired by her as I am. Be sure and check Heather out online and help her spread the word about her website so can continue to be a blessing to others.
- Lynn

http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather/ 

 Being a Mother with Cancer: My Story
At some point in life, you may go through a dramatic change. It can happen naturally or be forced upon you by certain circumstances. My circumstances came about eight years ago. It was right after one of the happiest moments in my life: the birth of my first child. Lily was such an amazing baby and gift to my husband and I, so I couldn't imagine all of that joy being taken away so swiftly. However, there it went in a matter of minutes.
Just 4 weeks after Lily was born, I went back to work. I was constantly exhausted, more than I should have been. In the beginning I blamed it on being a new mother. I also began losing weight at a rate of 5 to 7 pounds a week. It wasn't natural and it didn't feel right. I had to see a doctor. I went through all of the tests and started the waiting period. I got my answer about three months later: pleural malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that is caused by asbestos exposure. I was unknowingly exposed as a child. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. Even worse, I only had 15 months to live if I didn't receive treatment right away.
There weren't many programs ready to handle such an aggressive cancer. It had infiltrated my lungs, chest lining, heart lining and diaphragm. We needed to see a specialist and found one in Boston who had helped many patients beat mesothelioma. On February 2, 2006 I underwent a surgery called an extrapleural pneumonectomy, which removed my left lung, part of my chest and heart lining along with part of my diaphragm. I was in the hospital for 18 days, and then after 2 more months of recovery I began chemotherapy and radiation treatment. I didn't even know how to be a mother during all of this, but I was still trying. I had to be strong for my husband and newborn.

My family really came through and provided support at a time when I felt lost. Lily stayed with my parents in South Dakota in my childhood home while I was in the hospital and recovering. Our neighbors, co-workers, friends and extended family all wanted to support us and see me get better. They made it possible for me to get the best treatment in order to be there for Lily and my husband.

Even though cancer is such a terrible battle to be faced with, it has really shaped who I am today. It has given me the opportunity to spread awareness and hope for such an awful disease. I am forever grateful for being able to live my life and watch Lilly grow up.

Elvis has left the building....or bathroom makeover

Well, no more "Elvis" bathroom. This old bathroom was a source of many good-natured jokes since moving into our blue cottage on October of last year. The old wallpaper featured really bold, big red-centered daisies on a black background. The tub is red with a black toilet and sink, and the cabinets were a dingy white with paneling set into the doors. From day one, I knew this bath didn't mesh with my tastes. Working around the red and black color scheme seemed to yield only Asian-inspired decor ideas, until I saw a French/Parisian bath using those same colors. It was tasteful, elegant, feminine, gorgeous. I decided to copy it the best I could. The only thing we didn't do is to tea-stain the walls. One, I was afraid of messing up that technique, and two, we already had a pretty paint color left over from our kitchen that needed to be used.

Here are photos of the bath when we bought the house:

 The wallpaper is going, going, gone....

walls painted with "Tea Stained" by Better Homes and Gardens and flooring begun

new flooring done and it looks amazing!

working with the colors we can't change....

Lots of Parisian-themed finds at our local Goodwill

canvas baskets at Walmart, only $4.97

Shower curtain less than $10 at Dollar General

Lamp at Dollar General, total cost $12

Metal shelf from Goodwill, $2 and random prints found locally

Got to keep my nifty leg lamp (its fragile afterall, and hey, kind of looks like a French can-can girl)

added some memory foam accent rugs

extra metal work here and there (cause you can't have too much black metal)

even the dingy paneled cabinet got an overhaul.

I love my new bathroom. Love it, love it! This bathroom was taken over by the men in my home upon moving in, but I can see the girls taking it over real soon.....it has gone from outdated to elegant for little cash. Thanks to my creative husband who takes my ideas and runs withe them. :)

Blessings,

Lynn