327.2

Yep, you read that right. 327.2 That's how much I currently weigh in pounds. I am so disappointed in myself. I hurt my leg a year ago, and totally let myself go. This ends now.


Yesterday, I went to see the Metabolic Weight Loss doctors at my clinic. Dr. Timsina was so kind and knowledgeable. He treated me like a human, not a number and definitely not the number on the scale.  We had a good discussion, and we have a plan. He also diagnosed me with something called Lipedema. I have a general idea of what it means, but I need to do more research to discuss it logically here on my blog.


Saturday, I will start a combination of Metformin and Phentermine to aid my journey. I'm also starting the steps needed to get cleared for Gastric Sleeve Surgery. I'm not 100% sold on surgery, but we decided it was better to start the process now, and be in the system, than decided 4 months down the road and have to start the process over again. To that end, I'll be going to see Sleep Apnea again and getting compliant with that too.


This is not an easy fix process. It's going to take work. I will have good days, and bad. I know this, and I am heading into the future with clear eyes. My hope is, that by documenting my journey, I will see where I came from on the bad days and remind myself that it's going to be worth the struggle in the end and celebrate my victories as they come.


Join me, if you will, on my journey to a healthier me.


Starting weight: 327.2lb
Ultimate Goal : Below 200lb
First Bench Mark: 10% Loss - 294.48lb (32.82 lb loss)
Benchmark Goal Date 9/4/19 (17 weeks, 2 lbs per week)
Second Benchmark Goal: additional 10% Loss - 265 lb (62.2 lb loss total)
Second Benchmark Goal Date 11/27/19 (My Birthday)

Progress Report – HRM Leif’s Hood

This is slow going. I’m not enjoying the process like I usually do. I’m blaming the purl cotton I am using. I don’t like it, but now I am too far along to go back.  Folks who have seen it in person say it looks good, and I am praying they are not just blowing smoke. I really, really need this to look good when I am done.  I’m freaking out. I have never been this nervous about a project in my life. Do I keep going, or start over? I have a limited amount of this linen, and I still have Anstey’s hood to go. What have I gotten myself into

Hood for HRM Leif III

I'm working on a hood for HRM Leif III, King of the Outlands. It's a honor to be able to make this for him. I just hope that he likes it, and wants to actually wear it.  Its so disappointing to spend hours of your time on a clothing item as a gift for a Royal, and then they never wear it. Anyway, I digress.


I will be making a Skjold Harbor (Skjoldehamn) style hood (11th C.), out of a lovely green linen, lined in gold linen.

I will be doing the embroidery in white pearl cotton. I really wanted to do it in silk floss, but it was not meant to be for this project.  This is the basic design that I will be using, with modifications made by my in-house artist - AKA husband.

So far, I have cut out the pieces, transferred the design and begun the stag part of the embroidery.  I hope to get that finished up this weekend. Then I can sew the pieces together and do some seam treatment embroidery before adding the lining.





About Me

I like Pineapple and Canadian bacon pizza. I also like Pepperoni and Black Olive. Plain Cheese is also good for me.

Purple and teal are my favorite colors.

I like daffodils, violets, hyacinth and roses most, but really all flowers are awesome.

I have loved Squirrels since I was four. I also think Hippos are amazing, love Dogs and adore Otters.

I still want a pony.

I love the rain.

I can get a sunburn in just 5 minutes of direct exposure.

I am afraid of growing old with no one to help me/take care of me when I get there.

Sometimes, I don’t think many people would notice if I were to disappear.

I abhor conflict.  I will avoid it whenever possible, often to my own detriment. I let people get away with things, because confronting them with the issue is more uncomfortable than letting it go.

I have, for as long as I can remember, wanted to be a mommy. I was excited to grow up and get to be pregnant and bring a baby home from the hospital. The only regret I have in my life is not being a mom.

I wanted to be an actress. Not necessarily famous, but a working actress. I have a degree in theatre, but I haven’t been to an audition in 10 years. I think my dream died with my dad.

My dream now? I would like to make a living writing. However, I have no illusions about quitting my day job and spending my days writing the next Great American Novel. Bills have to get paid. I am not sure if that speaks to my work ethic, or being pragmatic.

I believe in freedom of speech. For ALL people on ALL sides of every fence. I believe in the right to peaceful protest. When your protest is no longer peaceful, you forfeit that right.

I believe that if civilians would follow the instructions of the police, even if you are innocent of any wrong doing, there would be far fewer shootings involving officers. If a police officer (I don’t care if he or she is Black, White, Hispanic or Purple) tells you to drop what is in your hand and get down on the ground, just freaking do it.  If you are innocent, the logical thing that will happen next is that the officer is going to thank you for complying with their order, probably apologize for the inconvenience, and let you go on about your way.

I think that political parties could actually learn a lot from each other if they could just drop the ego and actually listen to one another.

I believe in the right to bear arms. I also believe that ammunition should not be available for purchase on the internet, and that anyone seeking to purchase a weapon should have to pass a background check, and a gun safety class before ownership.

I feel that, overall, public education is still the best place for children to learn. I think that teachers are underpaid and overworked, and that testing is NOT an adequate measure of a child’s growth, learning, or aptitude.

I think everyone deserves to make a living wage. That said, if you raise the minimum wage, then I think all other workers should get an equal raise. So, if I make $20.00 an hour now, and they raise minimum wage by $5.00, I should then be making $25.00. It’s not likely to happen, but in my perfect world, that is how it would work.

I think that every woman has the right to choose what happens to her body. That said, I think if you are coming in for your 8^th abortion in less than 2 years, you are now using it for birth control, and should really think about your choices.

I think that every family that wants a child and passes the home study and the back ground check, should be able to adopt.  I don’t think charging thousands of dollars to do exactly what social services is begging people to do should be illegal. Parents are good people? They can provide for the child? Great, give them a kid, don’t make them go bankrupt just getting through the application process.

Sleeves Please

I had the honor of creating a set of sleeves for her Majesty Ansteys to use as favors for her tournaments during her reign. She asked for simple outlines of heraldic roses, as these are both a symbol of the Ladies of the Rose and part of her personal heraldry; one to be a bit fancier that the other.  I absolutely enjoyed this project!

I started of using the Pensic Traceable Art project archive to find a decent heraldic rose (http://www.aeheralds.net/submissions/traceable_art/IndivPDFs/Rose_heraldic.pdf) and then traced it onto tissue paper for transferring onto the linen.

After pining the tissue paper to the fabric, I used a simple basting stich to trace the pattern onto the cloth with a contrasting color sewing thread. Since the fabric is dark green, I used white, other times I have used bright orange. On light fabrics I use dark blue or black as the stitched will be picked out after the embroidery is done

Next, I tore away the tissue, leaving a thread outline for me to follow with my embroidery stitches.

For this project, I used a simple chain stitch for the outlines, and French knots for the pips in the center of each rose. Outlands colors are green and gold, so I chose to use a gold thread for the large roses, with green leaves and black pips. Her Majesties personal heraldry has white Tudor roses, so for the “fancy” sleeve I added two smaller white roses above the large gold rose.

Once the embroidery was complete, I closed up the sleeves using French seams and hemmed the openings. HRM Ansteys was quite pleased with my work, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to do this project for her. 

Next up on my list, a hood for His Majesty, Leif III.

Can't Hammer

Pain is my constant companion.  Sometimes, it fades into the background and I forget it’s there. Then just when I start to enjoy life and do the things I like to do, it trips me up and reminds me that it’s still here. Lurking beneath the surface, always waiting for a chance to bite.

I love to garden. I like to put my hands in the dirt and nurture plants to fruition. I like the feeling of accomplishment I get when I step back and see a clean, tidy, space bursting with potential. The riot of greens and yellows waiting to burst forth into a riot of colors and scents to dazzle the eyes and delight the nose allow me to forget my troubles, even if just for a little while.

This past weekend, my companion and my pastime were at odds with one another. I wanted to start getting the yard cleaned up and ready for planting next weekend. Specifically, I wanted to get my poor clematis plants situated so they were better able to reach the trellis. I wasn’t sure they would come back this year, so unfortunately I didn’t clean up the area properly last fall. To my delight, one of the two plants is growing like gangbusters.

I didn’t want to disturb the delicate root system, so I decided to move the trellis closer to the plants. The trellis has to be staked into the ground to keep it from falling over. Easy peasy right? Just remove the stakes, move the trellis, and then re-stake. Two of the three parts of this task went smoothly, then it was time to put the stakes back in. I couldn’t do it. 

I couldn't get myself bent into a position that didn't cause extreme pain in my lower back, and the hammer was too heavy. I tried a different hammer and it was also too heavy. My arm and hands were crying out in pain. What the h-e-double toothpicks? This is not something that has ever happened to me before. I grew up helping my dad with his projects, I could swing a hammer before I could tie my shoes. I was a techie in the theatre.  I have my own damn PINK hammer for pity’s sake!  What is happening to me?

I was mad, bewildered, and agonized all at once. What’s next? I won’t be able to turn a screwdriver? I cried, and I threw the hammer at the ground. Eventually I had to have DH help. This is not acceptable! I cannot allow pain to take away my safe place. Gardening is my sanctuary. Last year I was in too much pain from my back to do much, and I suffered for it. I need to garden this year. I need to feed my soul in a way that no other activity can.

And here we go, again!

I'm back!  I won't bother to ask if you missed me, as I don't have any followers to care if I post or not. This is mostly okay, as the majority of my writing is more for me that anyone else, but I would like to get feedback...
At any rate, I am resolved to get back to posting to my blog.  Right now, I have a lot of projects that I am going to be working on for the SCA, so I will mostly be posting about them and my never ending weight loss journey.




I am going to be making hoods for their Royal Highnesses Leif III and Ansteys. I was just getting about to start this project, when Her Highness asked for my help with an urgent project for her Coronation Weekend, to which I of course said "Yes!". So I put the hoods on hold and started embroidering sleeves for her Highness to give as favors to the winners of her tournaments on Sunday. Once I finish with the sleeves, I will get back to work on the hoods. Then start working on projects for me.


The list is long, but I have decided that if I break it down into little bits, I will eventually get through it all. To that end, my starting list is as follows:


1. Hood for Leif III
2. Hood for Ansteys
3. Finish embroidering violets
4. Purple Dress
5. Plaid Dress
6. Coats
7. Underpinnings
8. New black tunic for Rick