Well, my weight loss is going OK. I joined Weight Watchers this week and that seems to be going well. It's taken some adjustment, that's for sure, but it's going well overall. I'm also reading a book about quilting. It's a novel but it deals with a lot of things that are quilting related. That's got me inspired to finish Jenni's baby quilt ASAP! I'd like to give it to her for her birthday, but we'll see. Don't know if I can get it done that quick or not. That's what i'll be doing for a while. Quilting and reading about quilting. Geez, from the sound of this, I'm like 70 years old. lol! Pretty weird for a 25 year old to be talking about quilting. :) Oh well! I'd like to think that I'm not your typical 25 year old, so that's ok.

If anyone other than me reads this, I bet they wonder where the name CraftyLilDevil came from. No, I'm neither little, nor a devil. But I am pretty crafty...as in, I like to do lots of crafts. Right now I am in the process of decorating a travel photo frame for my sister Katie who lives in Florida but travels a lot to Oklahoma to visit her grandma. I am also in the process of making several baby quilts for friends and family. (If I can ever get that new sewing machine!)So, that's where the name comes from.
It's gonna be a good day today. Despite getting up at an ungodly hour today and some big guy I didn't know knocking on my door at 6:00 am! (Wrong duplex, buddy. One building down.) Since I couldn't go back to sleep, I decided to go for a bike ride. I was so busy looking at all the beautiful houses in my neighborhood that by the time I made it back home, I had ridden 3.5 miles! Woohoo! A new record for me. Let's hope the rest of the day will be as productive.

I lost 5 lbs! Woohoo! I took a break from the exercise routine today. No bike ride this morning, nothing. Man, I feel lazy! Just me and a book on the couch. I feel like I should not be reading yet. Like I haven't done the bike ride, so I shouldn't be rewarding myself with reading. But my muscles are sore today and I needed a break. So I will run errands instead. Maybe I will sew later today. Going to look for fabric to make my sister a baby blanket. We don't know what she's having yet, so I will have to keep the colors neutral. No pink or blue. I'm getting excited for her! I love making baby blankets. I might be able to get a new sewing machine for my birthday, which is coming up in July (the 7th). That would give me a chance to make some curtains, finish the baby blanket I started for my friend Jennifer's baby boy, work on a blanket for my sister's baby, and maybe finish the quilt I started years ago. I hope I get a sewing machine soon...while I still have a lot of free time to work on things! When school starts, I won't have that much free time, I don't think, so I want to take advantage of it now. I'll keep my fingers crossed. In the meantime, it's back to the bike rides tomorrow! Hopefully the lbs will keep coming off. Meanwhile, I'm doing the happy dance about the 5 lbs. (Which burns calories, by the way.) :)

This workout thing is getting easier. Must be a good sign, right? Today I biked into a part of the neighborhood that I hadn't been in before. I live by some really beautiful houses! Wish I owned one of them myself! Hopefully soon, (within the next year) we can start looking at buying one of our own. I am sick to death of renting and padding someone's pocket with money that could be going toward owning my own home. And I am so tired of white or beige walls! I need some color in my life! (And my friends wondered why I sewed myself a bright colored tie-dyed duvet cover? This is why, people!I need color!)
In addition to riding longer today, I came home and did 8 min. abs and arms again. I was really skeptical about whether or not I could expect any results from them, but MAN, I am sore today!
And I keep finding ways to sneak in more vegetables and cut down on portion sizes. Yay, me!
I feel better about myself. Let's hope I start seeing some results in how my clothes fit...and quick!
I didn't mean for this weblog to be entirely about my weight loss struggles, but I think that it is a good way to chart my progress and keep myself on track.

You know, after 25 years of being a bookworm, I've finally decided to put down the books and get in shape. When I was growing up, my dad and sister were both extremely skinny. (Dad's nickname was "Slim" and my sister's was "Bony Bonnie" if that tells you anything.) Mom and dad got divorced when Bonnie and I were little and we lived with our dad. So it took a while for me to understand that I wasn't like my dad and sis. While they could eat whatever they wanted and not gain weight, I did gain weight...big time. Now, I've never been what anyone would call obese, but I have never been slim or bony either. So now that I am older, I am finally fed up with being overweight and am doing something about it. Now we're not talking about me losing that much weight really. My goal is to drop 2 to 3 pant sizes. Now that would be nice! I have started watching what I eat more closely, going on daily bike rides in my hilly neighborhood, and doing an abs/arms workout. I have also bought a Weight Watchers cookbook, which I think will really help me make over my eating habits. I tried the Hummus Pitas today. Not bad. Not as good as regular fat-laden hummus, but not bad either. It was a nice change from my daily turkey sandwich routine. Blah! Tonight I think we will have broiled shish kebabs. YUM! Now if I can just get Jason to jump on this bandwagon with me, we'd be alright. Come on honey! I need help! :)

What a lazy weekend! Didn't do much at all. Just hung out, read, watched TV. Did watch Mystic River last night. I liked it. I didn't expect to, but I did. We also rented Big Fish, which we will watch tomorrow. It looks interesting. I almost rented "Girl with A Pearl Earring" and "The Hours" but decided I'd wait until I read the books. Usually the book is better, but I still have to watch the movie to see for myself. I'm proud of myself for sticking to my diet this weekend. I even resisted chocolate chip cookies tonight when Jason baked them. That is dedication! And in the past week, I've ridden my bike 6 days. I had to take Saturday off, but still stuck with the healthy eating. We did have some drinks this weekend, which were nothing but empty calories, but it was worth it! Jason and I drank margaritas and played rummy and Trivial Pursuit until late. It was really fun. Tomorrow starts the second week of the diet and I am trying to convince myself to add my 8 minute Abs workout, but we'll see if I actually do it.

OK, I cannot believe the stupidity of some people. I just went to renew the tags on 2 of my husband's vehicles. One is a '71 Chevy truck and the other is a '69 Camaro. The girl at the tag office does all the paperwork at a snail's pace and to save time, she writes '71 chevy and '69 chevy on the tickets. She then asks me, "Do you think your husband will know the difference between the '71 Chevy and the '69 Chevy?" I just said, "Uh, yeah" and hurried out of there. OK, yes, I know they are both Chevy's but one is a car and the other is a truck! Big difference! And they are HIS vehicles, you know. This is the kind of stuff I've been dealing with ever since I moved to this town.

Last night when I went to the grocery store, the checker was telling me about how she gets off work at 1 am and when she goes home, she turns the ringer off of her phone because her ex-husband likes to call and wake her up in the middle of the night. Now, I'm all for friendly conversation, but that is just too much! I didn't ask to know all about your private life, lady. Just give me my total, take my money and tell me to have a nice day, OK? And don't even get me started describing the guy who took our money at Pizza Inn when we ate there. To say that he needed major dental work would be the understatement of the year. He had like 8 teeth in his head and those were grey and rotting out! GROSS! Never eating there again. I love living here in Muskogee, I really do. But the people here never cease to amaze me. I try not to make fun because that is not nice. But man, sometimes it is hard not to!

On my way inside from running my errands today, one of my neighbor ladies was also getting out of her car and I said hello. Let me mention that in our 8 or 10 duplexes, my husband and I are BY FAR the youngest people on our street. The couple who lives next door to me must be in their late 60's or early 70's and they are both so hard of hearing that they yell to each other. We can hear them through the walls and actually understand what they're saying to each other, they are so loud! But, I digress. Anyway, the lady and I said hello and she asked me if we play cards. Well, actually, yes we do play cards, I told her. Now I think she'll be dropping by with her son to play Yahtzee. What have I done? She seems nice, so it may be fun. I'm just hoping I don't regret telling her that we play cards. She may be dropping by when my house is a mess and I'm walking around in just my ratty old t-shirt and shorts, having just exercised like a madwoman. Who knows? At least it will be interesting. Will have to warn my husband.

YUM! I just made the best dinner! It has to be my all-time favorite thing I have ever made. (Sorry, yes, I know I'm bragging...but it is good!) Spicy Broiled Shrimp, a salad, and a baked potato. I am for sure making that for my dad when he comes to visit this weekend. I'm glad I paid attention and grabbed the recipe card for this one at Target when I went. I also grabbed some others that I have yet to try. If they're anything like this one, whoa baby, watch out! Anyway, enough bragging. Today I enrolled at Northeastern State University. I drove all the way to Tahlequah (only 30 minutes) just to find out that I can take classes here at the Muskogee campus. Wish I would have known that! Oh well! It got me out of the house today. Speaking of getting out of the house, I am so proud of myself. I went for a bike ride before it got too hot this morning. I can only do 2 miles right now, because our neighborhood has some killer hills to climb, but that's more than I was doing before. I think we're going for another ride tonight. At this rate, I'll be skinny in no time! I bought a Weight Watchers cookbook today at K-Mart. I know some people who have had tremendous success with the "points" system and think I may try it for myself. Hope it works! Tomorrow I think I will do 2 bike rides and my 8 minute abs tape. If you haven't tried it, it is no joke! It works! I just hope I can stay motivated.

What a busy day! I got lots of new plants to dress up the front sidewalk today. Lantanas, geraniums, hibiscus, salvia, and argyranthemum. I also got a patio tomato plant and a mild jalapeno too. I can't wait to use those to make some homemade salsa! I just need a cilantro plant. Maybe that will be on my list of things to get tomorrow. I go enroll at Northeastern State University tomorrow. I am looking forward to that...sort of. I am kind of enjoying not having anything to do, but it does get boring at times. I will be glad to get back to school and have something worthwhile to occupy my time. In the meantime, I am cooking a lot, buying things for the house, and just generally enjoying the summer. After working 2 and three jobs for the past 10 years, I am really taking advantage of not working. Now I just need to join a gym. Jason and I have started riding our new bikes in the neighborhood. He is in way better shape than I am and pushes me constantly to do more, faster, better, etc. This is good for me, but often I can't realize this while my muscles are screaming and sweat is pouring off of me. Why he picks the hottest time of the day to go for a ride is beyond me. Oh well! I'll sweat off that excess water weight in no time at this rate! I need to get all the remaining boxes unpacked from the computer/craft/exercise room. I can't even use the treadmill we got because of all the boxes in the way. Ugh! I hate unpacking boxes! Wish we made enough money to pay someone to do that for us. Isn't that lazy of me? I can't help it...that's how much I despise moving/packing/unpacking, etc. My friend Jennifer called today to challenge me to a weight-loss competition. I really need that, as I weigh more now than I have ever weighed in my life. Should be interesting. Maybe that will inspire me to unbury (is that a word?) the treadmill.
Wish me luck!

LONG POST! :)
Wow oh wow! A lot has happened since my last post. I got married! Woohoo! I am thoroughly enjoying being a newlywed and all that it entails. We had a blast in Vegas.
On the way home, we went to the Grand Canyon. Breathtaking. Pictures do not do it justice. You absolutely must see this at least once in your life. I'm not an overly spiritual person most of the time, but standing there surrounded by the incredible beauty of the Canyon, you cannot help but acknowledge the existence of a higher power. It is really and truly one of the best things I have ever done. Of course, I took lots of pictures, both in Vegas and at the Grand Canyon. They are now proudly displayed in the gallery that is my living room and on the desktop of my computer. Jason and I moved right after we got back from Vegas. He got a management job at Kingsdown, Inc. in Muskogee, OK. and we moved over Memorial Day weekend. It is really beautiful here in this part of Oklahoma. It is lush and green and there are lakes everywhere. (Thus the title "Lake Country".) I am adjusting to being jobless. I've found that I really like it, but also that I can't be without a job for much longer. I am so BORED! Jason hasn't got his first paycheck yet, so our finances are...well they are virtually nonexistant right now! Can't wait until he gets his first check and I can actually buy something. You know, I'm not a big shopper normally, but even buying myself something small would make me feel better after several months of no shopping at all. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Except for buying groceries, which for someone who likes to cook as much as I do, is actually fun. Today my friend Jennifer came with her to kids. They live in Broken Arrow, which to my happy surprise, is only 30 minutes away. 33 to be exact from my driveway to hers. Woohoo! Now I have someone I know that I can visit while Jason is at work. Since we moved, I have been so bored that I have been cooking massive amounts of food. In Stillwater, that would be fine, because I had lots of broke college-student friends who were more than happy to take some home-cooked leftovers home with them. Not so here. We recently went to a Chinese restaurant here in town and they were having a drawing for a free dinner for 4. Normally, I put my name in for every drawing I see. This time, I joked that if we won, we'd have to make someone come visit us before we could cash it in because we don't actually know 2 other people in this town. Today we've been married for a month exactly. So far, I love it. Wish me luck that I will still be saying the same after a few years. lol