Hooded Scarf for Mom

I made my mom a hooded scarf for Christmas.  This is a little different that most of the hooded scarves out there because there is no seam on the head.  The hood fits that head perfectly.  She really liked her scarf so I was really pleased with how this project turned out.  So here is the beginning of the projects that I could not show.

Crochet It Forward and The Holidays

Yesterday I taught someone how to crochet fr the first time.  I didn't teach her a ton of stitches as time did not permit.  I did however teach her the chain stitch, and the double crochet.  I also left her with a tutorial book.  It was fun to pass along the knowledge that I have learned to one of my friend's.  My hopes is that she will not get frustrated with the learning process and quit.  The first couple of projects can be quite frustrating because it is awkward and new to crochet.  Robin is very smart though and I am confident that she can become a very talented crochet artist.

Then when I got home last night I decided to have a baking party.  I baked 48 sugar cookies, 48 chocolate chip cookies, and a pan of raspberry chocolate brownies.  I am making all of this for a party that I am having with a couple of friends of mine on Tuesday, and for Christmas with my parents.  I will post pictures of both later.

I will also post pictures of all the crochet projects that I have not been able to post after Christmas.  Most of my crochet projects are Christmas presents and I have not wanted to spoil any ones Christmas.   So there's more to come!

Here are some pictures of my Christmas tree and my Christmas decorations.  I hope that you enjoy!

My New Cowl Scarf and Hat Set

I just got done crocheting myself a hat and cowl scarf set for winter.  Thank goodness too because it is starting to get cold here in Michigan and I am thinking that snow is just around the corner.  The scarf is very warm as it wraps around my neck completely.  I am very happy with the way this set turned out.  All together this took me about 7 hours to complete. 

Little Health Expirament

For the next two weeks I have decided to not use the following artificial sweeteners; Aspartame, Cyclamate, Saccharin, and Sucralose.  The reasons that I am doing this is because over the years I have heard really bad things about these sweeteners, and because the other day I was reading a magazine and came across some very interesting information that lead me to believe that I am suffering from Aspartame poisoning.

Some of the symptoms of Aspartame poisoning are depression, anxiety, weight gain due to increased cravings, Fybromyalgia, fatigue, headaches, worsening PMS, shortness of breath, frequent urination, palpitation's, seizures, nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, fluid retention, excessive thrust, frequent infections, itchy skin,  limb numbness, facial pain and restless legs, dizziness, confusion and impaired memory function.

Seeing since I have had a few of these symptoms I thought that now would be the time to stop poisoning myself and find out if that improves things.  So here goes nothing.  Good by diet Mountain Dew.  I will have to drink regular Mountain Dew or Throwback for now.  Hopefully, this is a beneficial move.  Day 1 is almost over and I am about to head to bed.

In closing I have included a picture of some pop that I bought at the Health store today.  This is a diet pop that is made out of Stevia instead of artificial sweeteners.

                                  http://www.zevia.com/  You can buy some here!!!  Its called Zevia.

10 Things I Love About Mom; Happy Birthday!

So, its my moms birthday today and this year I decided that I would write a blog and highlight the top ten reasons that I love my mom.  Of course there are more than ten reasons, but this is a blog, not a book.  So for all of you who do not know this is my mom.

Her name is Robin.  This picture was taken this summer when we went to the Art Barn in Douglas, Mi. for my birthday.
Here are the top 10 reasons I love my mom;
1. She taught me about a faith in God.  I would not have the faith that I have today if my mother had not taught my about God and instilled that in me.  She took my sister and I to church and made having a relationship with Jesus important to me.

2.  If I am sick at 2 o'clock in the morning or if my car breaks down the first person I am going to call is my mom because I know that no matter what she will come to where I am and try to make it better.

3.  She still celebrates my birthday and the little milestones in my life like my smoking quit date and my sobriety date with me.

4.  She is my friend as well as my mom.  She shares her struggles with me, and allows me to help her.  She allows me to see her imperfections.

5.  She still cooks for me on occasion.  Once in a while mom will bring over some dish that she made just because.

6.  She is a wonderful grandma, and I am so proud of the way that she is with Lilly.  I know that when I have children, they will have a wonderful grandma.

7.  She is kindhearted and giving to strangers, and that is part of the reason that I love helping others.  She taught me to help those less fortunate.

8.  She loves animals.  She rescues every stray cat in her neighborhood.  I love that my mom can't let an animal suffer.

9.  She is not lacking in motivation.  No one can ever say that she is lazy.  It took a while but I did learn some of this from her.

10.  She is always trying to learn new things which is amazing.  She learned how to drive on the highway, she learned computer, ect. 
I love you mom.  Happy Birthday!!!!!

Why I Hate Winter

OK, so I have whined about this for the entire day to anyone that would listen, and now I know that what I must do is write a blog about it, and just get it out of my system so that my friends can stop having to listen to me complain.  Tomorrow's weather forecast is calling for snow flurries and I am almost wanting to climb under my covers and go into hibernation until next spring.  I HATE WINTER!!!!  No only is it cold but there is no sunlight.  Today we had about 11 hours of potential sunlight but we did not actually receive 11 hours of sunlight because it rained.  So actually there was no sun today.  And since there will be snow flurries tomorrow and the next day then we will not have any sunlight the next two days either.  It seems like with the limited sunlight comes so many things.  First of all people actually go to bed earlier.  I am a night owl so this is not so good for me.  In the summer everyone is up to being up later because the sun does not set until ten pm.  However, in the winter, at like 7 pm people start wanting to go home and go to bed because that is when the sun sets in the winter.  Then in the morning the urge to sleep in longer is stronger because the sun does not rise until almost 8 am.  Also, you can't spend as much time outside so you constantly feel like you are being cooped up like a prisoner.  Everything that you go to do for entertainment costs money because it is inside.  You can't exercise as much because you can't get outside.  Therefore you are eating fattening foods due to the holidays and gaining weight because you can't get outside to exercise it off.  All together these are the reasons that I hate winter.

Dyed My Hair

Before

After

So, I have not posted on here in a couple of days.  I have been working on a couple of projects for Christmas and I can not post the finished pictures until after Christmas because I do not want to ruin the surprise.  So I have not quit crocheting, I just can not show you what I am working on because it will ruin the surprise for someone else should they look at my blog.
Well, I was on a quit smoking site today and I read a very good quote that I would like to share with my recovering friends.  "A trigger is not a command."  That is so true, too.  Just because we are triggered to smoke or drink it is not the same thing as being commanded to do it.  It is not like we are being forced.  This is how we need to look at it.  I think in early sobriety I looked at my triggers for alcohol like they were commands.  That is probably why I relapsed so many times.  Luckily, I can learn form my mistakes and now I have almost 3 years of sobriety.  Now I can take what I learned from quitting drinking and apply it to quitting smoking.  And I am proud to say that as of today I have 2 months and 3 weeks smoke free!

Third Hat for Charity

This is the third hat that I have completed for Warm Up America and Save the Children.  As promised it is a boys cap.  I did it with green denim yarn that did not show up very good when I took the picture.  I really need a better camera.  Hopefully I will get one for Christmas.  Anyways, the hat only took me about two hours to make so I think I will make another one with the blue denim looking yarn as well.

Drinking Coffee for a Good Cause

Tommorrow night at Jumping Java which is my favorite coffee house there's going to be a fundraiser for Transformation Life Center which is a Christian center that helps men with addictions.  There's going to be live music, and a part of the proceeds for all of the drinks sold will go to the center.  This would be a great opportunity to get out and enjoy time with friends and family and support a cause at the same time.  As you all know I am a recovering alcoholic this is a cause that I think is very worthy.  Please come out and get a coffee or smoothie.  You can check out Jumping Java on facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grand-Haven-MI/Jumpin-Java/153975304616848?ref=search&v=wall
I will be there tommorrow night and I hope to see you here too!

Don't Quit 5 Minutes Before The Miracle

Recently a few of my freinds have been going through some hard times and as I am watching them struggle it is reminding me how important it is not to lose faith.  Sometimes in life it can seem like hope is gone and we are as far down as we can get.  I have been there and I know how that feels.  But something that I have learned from being in that spot is that usually when I am at the darkest spots in my life, those are the times that I am closest to a new dawn.  I don't know when I am in the darkness that God is going to make the sun shine again, but he is. 
When I was at the Unity festival this summer one of the artist talked about one of my favorite bible verses.  Phillians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"  What this artist pointed out is something that I had never thought about before.  See I had always focused just on the peace part of this verse.  What I failed to see was that at some point in my life there would be a time that God would give me peace when it would make no sense for me to have peace.  That is why it transends all understanding.  At some point my life may be so bad that no one will understand why I am at peace when everything in my life is going haywire.  Now, how can I have peace like this.  I think I know the answer to this today.  Because the God I worship has conquered this world.  Nothing in this world can hurt me.  John 16:33 ""I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." 
So don't quit before the miracle.  And don't lose your faith.  God has come through before and he will come through again.  Maybe in the struggle you will find your blessing.