Welcome Back
Welcome back, I hear the theme song from
Welcome Back Kotter in my head. This is my journey back to my blog much like it was Kotter's journey back to his high school. It is a good day when we look back to where we came from while at the same time look forward to where we are going! I had lost the link to my blog when my previous computer died. Today it came up as a memory on Facebook and I was able to reconnect. I had recently tried to find it, but had been unsuccessful. So happy to be able to reconnect with it today, I am happy to find it again because I see it as my legacy to my grandchildren, They will have my thoughts on life, events happening, some recipes and crafting ideas as well as pictures from along this journey.
My Journey with Profile
As I went back and read older posts, I read that I often started each year with the hopes of losing weight and becoming more healthier. Well, this year will be different. I am now pledging to continue to lose weight and continue on my journey of eating healthier. Last July 24th I joined Profile by Sanford. Profile is a diet plan of cutting down on carbohydrates in your diet, using Profile meal replacement shakes, entrees and bars while eating many more vegetables at lunch and dinner and having a protein with your evening meal. Of course it also involves drinking lots and lots of water. I had pretty much quit drinking pop as I gave up diet soda earlier in the year due to the aspartame and had switched to regular pop and eventually quit drinking all pop. I am happy to report that Profile has worked out very well for me, I meet once a week with my coach, Audrey to discuss my weight loss and to answer questions on my diet. I have a scale that is synced to the Internet that records my weight and other vital information to my account. At the Profile office I get measured throughout my weight loss process. Profile has been very successful for me. It not only has been a method for me to lose weight, but also a way for me to truly examine my eating habits and to modify them so I am eating a more healthy diet. I have lost about 55 pounds and 36 inches. Below are some pictures from my journey thus far. I am not done with this journey. I took a little vacation from my weight loss journey over the holidays, but am back at it and will continue with it well into 2016. Check back later in the year for more updates.
My Journey Thus Far
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| July 24, 2015 |
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| August 15, 2015 |
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| October 10, 2015 |
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| December 7, 2015 |
Our silverware re-purposing
Other things I want to work on this year is to continue in my jewelry making. This past month I added Christmas ornaments into my silverware jewelry creations. Mark and I also want to work on creating both rings and bracelets from the silver plated flatware. Mark will continue to make his beautiful lawn art of flowers, butterflies, dragon flies and angels. I am sure he too will be adding some new items into his art. Check back later and I will post more pictures of our art work as well as updates on where we will be selling our art.
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| My Silver Plated Necklaces |
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| Mark's Lawn Ornaments |
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| My Silver Plated Ornaments |
That horrible 'C' Word-Cancer
Next I want to talk about one of our obstacles Mark and I had to overcome this past year. This past fall Mark found out he had bladder cancer. It was hard for us to hear those words. In September Mark had his bladder scraped and Dr. McGee found that it was cancer and had gone pretty deep. So Mark then had to do 4 rounds of chemo therapy at the Coborn Cancer Center in St. Cloud. He finished his treatments on December 10, 2015. The treatments started out fairly smoothly, but as Mark continued they really took their toll on him. Fatigued set in, he had trouble keeping warm, he lost his appetite and certain foods no longer taste good. We are hoping all of those symptoms will fade away as he continues to get his strength back. Currently he is working on gaining back strength and getting his blood counts back up so he can have surgery on February 2, 2016 to remove the bladder. We are both looking forward to having all of this behind us and concentrate on the future. Please keep Mark in your prayers over the next month as he prepares for his surgery.
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| Mark's first chemo treatment October 1, 2015 |
My Wishes and Thoughts for 2016
With this new year, I am looking forward to Mark feeling good once again and so thankful to have him in my life. Both Mark and I have many things we want to accomplish and do in our lives. We are looking toward the future and making plans to accomplish those plans. Part of those plans include our silverware re-purposing, part include doing some renovations to our home, some are just as simple as enjoying family and friends and others to visit places around this state and others that we would like to see. No matter what we do, we are looking forward to doing them together. I wish everyone who reads my blog that they too will be able to fulfill their dreams in this year and that they too will be able to take time to reflect on what they have and appreciate those in their lives that make their life so special. Below is a picture from Becca's wedding Mark and I went to in October. It was a beautiful wedding and I got a picture of Mark and I together. That is the black dress that I referred to in a blog several years ago. It was so nice to be able to get into it!
