Christmas is coming and that means baking...

Hi!! Sorry I have been absent for a while. It's a busy time of year. Well I have been making buckeyes, fudge and tried making divinity for the first time eva!! It actually turned out very good. I absolutely love buckeyes. They are my all time favorite.

Okay, so on the exercise front. I have been doing anywhere from 2 to 5 hours of cardio a week since August. I am in better shape but I have not lost one pound. I am going to have to get over that. I feel better and have much more endurance. Let alone how much better and clearer my mind is, so it is worth it.

I am so glad that my friend has been coming over and helping make Christmas candies. I love it. It is so much fun being in the kitchen with a great friend. It makes time fly by and you have something scrumptious when you are done. Like I said earlier, we made divinity one night last week and it was trying to say the least. We did not want to cook the sugar and syrup on the eye of the stove for fear of it burning in the pan, so we thought we would put it in a make shift double broiler. Well, we couldn't get the candy to get any hotter than 200 degrees no matter what we tried. We even called all our families and friends who made fudge and we couldn't get it to work. Everyone we called just said wait and be patient. My mother even suggested we get out our Bible and read about patience while we were waiting. Whatever!!

Well, after about 3 hours we decided to put the pan on the eye and see if it would heat up to the temperature we needed. And Presto, Magico!! It worked!! From there we poured it into the beaten egg whites and there you go you have divinity. We poured it into a pan and let it set up. It actually worked. So, from now on when we make divinity again (waiting for the weather to cooperate), we will just heat it to 200 degrees and then put it on the eye of the stove. Good grief. I know a lot of things are live and learn. Boy, we have learned from this one.

My grandmother would make the following every Christmas: Divinity, Date Nut Balls, Sugar cookies in shapes with icing and sprinkles, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Fudge (with and without nuts), Peanut Brittle and pies of all kinds. Unbelievable. I can't imagine how hard she worked just to keep all of us happy. I wish I would have realized it earlier. It is fun to bake some of the things she made because it makes me feel closer to her. She passed away in late April and it feels like it was yesterday. I can say it is getting easier but it is still hard.

I finished making my Christmas cards last week and mailed them tonight. This is the first time I have had made all my cards. It was so much fun. Not one of them are alike. I like that, they are all original creations. I will do this from now on. I am looking forward to starting my stampin' up club again in January. I am learning new techniques all the time and getting better at making cards. I hope you all are having a fabby Holiday season. Bye!!

Ramblings

Okay, so I have been reading my many blogs that I enjoy throughout the week and have came to a conclusion, many of you have joined WW again to lose the poundage. I have been trying to lose weight for quite some time now, especially since the complete hysterectomy at 34 and dealing with sudden menopause almost a year ago. I had stage V endometriosis and had to go to a cancer specialist for surgery. My endometriosis specialist said that when it advanced too far he would send me to a specialist and he did that this past year. I am getting ready to celebrate a year since the hysto. It is wonderful to be free of pain for the first time in almost 10 years. That is awesome to be able to say. Looking back on it, I can not believe how much pain I was in. I am glad very thankful that that chapter of my life is finished.

I have been exercising at least 3 days a week and doing lots of cardio and water aerobics. I do at least 50 minutes on the elliptical, arc trainer and bicycle. I am a little hyperactive so I can not stay on one machine for more than 40 minutes, so I switch it up every day I am at the gym. I do water aerobics to tone and do resistance training. I have only been doing this intensely for about 3 weeks now. I finally fit into some of my skirts that I have not been able to wear at work in about a year. I can not believe I just wrote this and said it aloud. I am proud of myself for being able to get back into them, but I have not lost a pound, yes that's right, not one pound.

It is exhausting exercising so much of the week, on top of working a full-time job and taking care of the hubby. I have toned and built muscle but I would like to lose some weight. I am encouraged by my friends because they tell me that it will pay off coming up very soon. I hope so because it really makes me angry that I am not losing any weight. I know deep down somewhere that it will pay off I just want instant satisfaction. Isn't that what we all want?

I am going to work extra hard this week starting Monday afternoon. I upped my resistance on the cardio machines last week and I am going to work even harder this week. Wish me luck. See ya!!

First attempt at this!!

Hi, this is my first attempt at blogging. I enjoy reading blogs and thought I would give it a try!!