Well I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. I have been busy finishing school and will graduate with my BA in Psychology on May 16, 2009. I am also engaged to be married and very very happy. I hope to pick up my blogging again, but I have not created anything since last summer. I would like to move on to do only Halloween artwork though and do have some ideas on the drawing board, just not doll related at this time.

Purging is good for the soul

Well, I am still working on myself wholeheartedly and have begun to work on my living space as well. It really is true that clutter can stagnate one's creative processes. I have been in quite a creative slump for so long now that I thought I better purge some of my stuff and reorganize. As a matter of fact I decided that I would not allow myself to begin a new project until I got everything organized. It is taking me longer than I thought, but I am close to being done with everything. I have purged my stash of fabrics and craft supplies and boy does it feel good. I have let go of everything I have held onto for way too long. I'll be starting something new soon and will show you all when I am done.

Reached a turning point

Well, I bit the bullet and cleaned out my closet last night and gave away all of my large size clothes. I wasn't wearing those clothes anyway, plus they made me look dowdy. It was an emotional turning point because in the past I always held onto large size clothes "just in case". Well this time there is no "just in case". I WILL never go back to that again. They say you hit bottom when you are an addict/alcoholic. Well I hit bottom with my health and being only 39 and on 9 prescriptions plus 2 types of insulin sucks. As of this week, week 6 I am off ALL insulin and medication and down 36.5 pounds. I am so happy and feeling well that I keep talking about it. For me, this is the way to go for life. Woo hoo!

Grandson post

It's been awhile since I posted a picture of my grandson. He will be 18 months old on June 25 and boy is he a power house. He is all boy, he is jumping off furniture, climbing on everything, getting into everything and wants to run, run, run us ragged. He is also the sweetest little boy, he comes and hugs and kisses me all the time. I just am so much in love with this baby. Being a grandma is the best.

I am doing great

Well in 45 days I have lost 31 pounds am now taking no medication and no insulin and have started yoga for weight loss, walking and working out on a health rider daily. I hope to post more again soon. This agrees with me for sure. I hope that anyone that is having medical issues will at least look into this program. The catch is that it is for LIFE. It is not a diet!!! :-)

FINALLY! The correct diagnosis

When I started this blog I didn't intend for it to become a health journal, but since I have shared about my health so much this year I wanted to share that I finally found out what is wrong with me. It makes so much sense to me now. I posted about my low-fat vegan journey that I began nearly a month ago. I did this program 10 years ago, but this time instead of eating a bunch of soy and processed products I have stuck to whole fruits, veggies and some grains (not all). I have used no subsitutes for meat and cheese. I began to study the nutrition behind this and in the course of my studying found that living a gluten free life has made me feel better. Finally, I contacted my doctor and told him of my success. I have symptoms that have dissappeared after being told they would never ever go away. They are gone now. But the other day I got hold of something that had gluten in it and I was sick for 48 hours. So I called the doctor again and he sent me for some blood work. Well, for once it came back positive. I have Celiac Disease. If you don't know what Celiac is you can read about it here www.celiac.com. I am thrilled with this diagnosis, not to say that it won't be hard to live gluten free because gluten is in a lot of stuff, but I finally, finally know what is wrong with me and now I can continue to heal my body. The doctor said that the weight should continue to drop now, yay!!!

Anyway, that is my update for now. I am continuing to gain my health back and have even done some spring cleaning in my home (sorely needed). Now maybe I can get back to creating.

Finally...Feeling Better

Well I haven't posted in ages and ages it seems. Almost 2 months. I got so sick in February and it held on and on until about mid April. Then all I could do was sleep after work. I fell into a slump and have not created a thing since March. It was taking all my effort to get better and finally I started to get some energy back and decided that this is the time of my life that I needed to take back my health.

I am type 2 diabetic and was taking a multitude of insulin shots and pills and feeling worse everyd ay and with each new diagnosis of something else from my diabetes my checkbook suffered as well as my mental health. I turned 39 in March, some kind of turning point I guess because all of a sudden it occurred to me that I was in very big danger of dieing young. I have a daughter and grandson to live for. So on May 5 I began a completely low-fat vegan lifestyle change. Since then I am off the insulin and a host of drugs and I have lost 16 pounds and I have not even exercised yet. I am following the Dr. McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Plan for life, haven't heard of Dr. McDougall you can read more here http://www.drmcdougall.com/. I followed this plan ten years ago and lost 60 pounds, but when I went back to eating regular meat and dairy and bread I gained it all back plus 50 pounds.

I feel soooooo much better than I did 3 weeks ago. I imagine that will get even better as the days go by.