Photo Comparison

Today I had a friend take some photos of me so I could show off my 50lb weight loss. I can sure see a difference and I hope you all can too!

January 2010- 50lbs ago!

Me today- 50lbs lighter! I sure can see it in my face:

I wish I had taken more body shots over the last year so I could compare.
At least I took those measurements!

50 Pounds By the Numbers

I have hit my year one weight loss goal today!! Here are the numbers that document my success:

In 11 months I have lost a whopping 50 pounds.

My starting weight was 321lbs and this morning I was 271lbs on the dot.

My starting BMI was 53.4 and it is now 45.1.

I have lost inches!! The initial measurements were taken back in February when I was down to 308lbs. Too bad I didn't think to take them when I first started.

• Chest: 52 1/4 down to 47.5 = 4 3/4"
• Upper Arm 18 down to 16.5 = 1.5"
• Waist 54 down to 48.5 = 5.5"
• Hips 64 down to 59.5 = 4.5"
• Thigh 32 down to 29.5 = 2.5"

I have lost 15.58% of my body weight.

I feel so good with fifty pounds gone. My goal last January was to lose 50lbs a year for the next three years. So I am one third of the way to my final goal.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me through the last year. Those little things, such as an encouraging message/comment on facebook or stopping me in person to say you see a change have really made a difference. Thank you friends and family for helping me to get this far! Please help me get the rest of the way!

I will get some comparison photos up soon!

Self Taught

Lately I have been finding myself wishing I was back at sewing class in Kugluktuk. I love sewing with fur and leather, but there is so much I need to learn and heaps of project ideas stuck in my head. What I need is an elder to look at what I am doing, tsk tsk my mistakes, make me pull it all apart and then show me how to do it right.

I did learn a lot from so many amazing women up north and I have been putting it all to good use over the last three years. But my bin of reject projects is always growing. Take last night for instance.... I was making a gorgeous pair of beaver and smoked elk hide mittens. A pattern I have made about a dozen times. I was at the point where the liners were about to be sewn in when I realized that I had cut the beaver fur for the top of one mitten backwards! So the fur on one mitten was facing the opposite directions of the other mitten. Ack! How did I manage to do that?? Such a silly mistake and of course that was the last of my beaver fur. And for the last week I have been working on making a nice mocassin and finally after some rejects, watching videos on the internet, and looking at heaps of patterns and pictures, I came out with a nice looking one. That was hours of frustration though!

I am proud of myself though when I come out with a nice looking end product all on my own. And even more proud when those items sell!

Horseplay

The boys love to horse around with their dad in the evenings. Lately, Hunter has taken to holding tightly to Matt's ankle to get drug around the house (I have seriously thought about just attaching swiffer cloths to his tummy). Cavan hasn't quite figured out how to hang on for the ride, but he has learned that jumping on top of his brother gets him around! Very entertaining to watch.

Halloween Bonus Pics

A budding young photographer here in Faro volunteered her time at the kid's Halloween party to take photos of each and every child. It was fantastic! This young photographer also happened to be my boy's favorite babysitter and was able to coax the grins out of them- something I had been unable to do!

Check out these two hilarious shots:

Both have evil grins in this shot... the kind of grin that says, "Don't worry brother, we will get even for this. We can always grab their toothbrushes and dip them in the toilet without them know it."

"Oh the humiliation! How will I ever show my face in public again!"

Newest Sewing Projects

With the temperatures dropped, I have been indoors and sewing my little heart out. Still doing all my leather stitching by hand, but that should change soon. My new walking foot sewing machine is here and I will be setting it up this weekend now that I have arranged my sewing lair to create space for it.

Here are some of my newest creations- all of which are up for sale on my Etsy site along with a number of other items. Order early for Christmas or you can always have me whip up a custom order anytime!

Leather gauntlet mittens:

Black Seal and White Rabbit Mittens:

Seal Fur Pill Box Hat (I look so dorky in this picture!):

Kids Beaver Mittens:

Childrens Trapper Hat:

Childrens Seal Mittens:

Winter Walking

We have had very little snow so far this winter and hopefully I didn't just jinx myself there! The trails are perfect for pushing the stroller down and it is easy for the kids to walk. For the last two weeks we have been walking on the trails around our house instead of the roads and even with the cold weather finally arriving, we haven't been deterred. So far the coldest day was -20C and a windchill of -27C and we did a 2.5km walk that day. The boys were happy in their stroller and Hunter even walked 700m of that. I love how much easier it is getting the boys outside this winter as compared to last.

Here are some pictures of our walk on Monday when it was only -18C.

One of the trails we walk almost everyday:

They weren't impressed I was stopped!

He looks so silly with his front teeth poking out!

Happy and warm in his "furry coat" as he calls it:

Bundled-up and snug as bugs in their stroller:

I am looking a little frosty! I get so hot pushing that stroller that I end up taking off my toque and beaver fur mittens.

Little Boy Blue... And Black... And Bloody

Just two days ago Cavan took a wicked fall/jump off of a little chair and landed face first on his wooden toy chest. It left his right eye brow and eye lid scratched up, swollen, bruised and there was little bit of bleeding.

Today he outdid himself. He was spinning himself to become dizzy in the living room and then he would fall over laughing. It was hilarious! But then he decided to spin and run. Bad combination. He ran head first into our kitchen table and gave himself quite the gash over his left eye. There was so much blood! He got over the tears pretty quickly and was just pissed off that I was holding him trying to stop the bleeding. He wanted to go back and play.

So now the kid is going to have two black eyes and he looks a mess. I love my rough and tumble boys, but they are going to give me gray hairs soon.

Check out that gash!

Yeah... it really bothered him, can't you tell?

He was just happy that he got to see his daddy!

All repaired and ready to go- thanks to Daddy!

Geek in the Making

For the last few weeks I have been using Matt's netbook while my MacBook is in being repaired-thank goodness for warranty! While I curse the small size of the netbook there are other members of our household who think it is just their size. If I happen to leave it out on the coffee table, this is what I usually return to:

Hey Mum. Just checking my emails!

Today, I enjoyed being a parent.

Matt was on the road heading to Whitehorse by 7am leaving me on my own with the kids for the next three days. Of course I was dreading it. The boys live for lunchtime and 4:30pm when Matt walks through the door. Days feel so long when he isn't home!

But today turned into one of those days where I truly enjoyed being a parent. Yes, that does mean that there are days when I don't- mainly due to frustration and exhaustion.

It doesn't mean that there weren't tears, time-outs and a bit of blood today.

This morning we played in the house until 10am. The boys both had huge appetites and ate everything in sight. At 10am we headed out of the house for a walk with a friend. The weather was warm (only about -3C) and we walked 3km. The boys didn't fight at all and Hunter only put up a small fuss when I made him walk his 0.7km to the stop sign. Next we played at another mom's house and that passed an hour. No fights over eating at lunch, a bit of play time and then naps. Hunter was down for 2 hours. Cavan cried for half an hour and then crashed for an hour.

The afternoon was just as nice. While they napped I worked on some sewing and caught up on some tv online. The boys woke up happy and snack time was followed by playtime outside where we did some sliding, digging in the snow/dirt and rock hauling. We came inside where the kids were entertained by running water in the sink, bowls and cups while I made a delicious squash soup and applesauce french toast for the boys. Erica joined us for supper and playtime afterwards. Cavan crashed by 7:30pm and Hunter helped me load a dozen apples, six pears, two mango's, a coconut, four oranges and four lemons into the dehydrator (the citrus is for some craft projects). Then Hunter and I read some books and then he asked if he could sleep with me since his dad's spot in the bed was empty. How could I turn that down! So he is now snuggled in my bed fast asleep.

A perfect day. The boys didn't fight that much resulting in just a couple of time outs. No clue how the blood happened. When I came to check on the crying, Cavan's lip was bleeding, but he was over it in a couple of minutes. I am pooped from a busy day, but it is a content type of exhaustion.

I need to remember these days to encourage me on those other days!! Hopefully tomorrow goes just as well.

Thanks Leanne

The other week I was having a great catch up with my friend Leanne over the phone when she totally called me out. I was whining that it was windy and cold outside and I didn't want to go outside for my walk. She then mentioned how I whined all summer that it was too hot to walk. Pretty much I was told to suck it up and get my ass outside for my walk. It was exactly what I needed to hear! We are now back into our walking routine and have walked at least every other day since that phone call.

To make sure I get out for a walk, I get Matt to take our truck to work in the mornings instead of his work vehicle. We can get out for our walk and catch a ride home if we are late and that way I don't feel rushed to get the kids off the playground or stop them playing in the bush if they are having fun. Matt just checks the usual spots for us on his way home for lunch.

So Leanne, it is -13 this morning and we will be gearing up to head out for our walk soon! Thanks for the verbal butt kicking!

Making Tracks

Today the boys and I went on our regular walk around town. We have started taking more of the trails since the mud and puddles have been replaced with ice and snow. I was more than ready to get past the mud season and Cavan's addiciton to puddle jumping!

It snowed last night and we were the first people to walk down most of the trails we were on and Hunter was so excited to see rabbit and squirrel tracks. So often he is begging to ride in the stroller after just half a kilometer, but being distracted with tracks he walked about a kilometer and a half today! Cavan, my little walker, just wanted to roll in the snow today so he got strapped into the stroller and was none to happy about it.

Hunter spent the whole walk talking about tracks. Our tracks, animal tracks, train tracks... It was a fun walk and nice to see my kid happily learning about the outdoors. AND I even pushed them in the stroller, in the snow and up the hill to the house! I hate that hill enough in the summer, but in the winter it is even worse. So I am impressed I made it!

Dead Moth!

This afternoon as I was laying Cavan in his crib for his nap I just happened to glance up and THERE HE WAS!!! The evil moth had made his way upstairs from my lair. I scuttled out of there as fast as I could leaving Cavan behind. Yes, always thinking of my own safety first! When Cavan woke up, I wouldn't even go in there and get him. Matt went to retreive Cavan and then killed the moth for me. My hero!!

Hopefully he was a loner and no moth friends will come to avenge his death.

Toddlers and Toilets

Lately we have been encouraging Hunter to use the bathroom by himself. He has been potty trained since last January when he was two and a half, but he still insists that we come to the bathroom with him every single time. So now instead of Matt or I accompanying him, he takes Cavan. I can hear them talk and laugh and Hunter usually lets Cavan do the flushing part. I have been pleased that they are getting along and Hunter is becoming more independent.

Yesterday morning they went to the bathroom to do their thing. Hunter returned saying he had pooed and wiped his bum all by himself. He also said he and Cavan put all the toilet paper in the toilet. I didn't think anything of the comment. I just figured he put his piece of toilet paper in the bowl.


About a half hour later I went to the bathroom to have my shower....

Nope. They really did put all the toilet paper in the toilet!

All three rolls:

Die Moth, DIE!

I have a completely irrational fear of moths. One can fly by 10 feet away and I am reduced to tears and run in the opposite direction screaming like a little girl.

My relationship with my husband nearly never was because of moths. Our first summer dating we were sleeping in a cabin and some moths were flying around our lantern. I begged him to kill them while in near tears and hiding in my sleeping bag. His solution? To turn out the light and say, "There, now you can't see them!" Needless to say, after a fit of complete hysterics, he turned the light back on and killed them all.

Tonight a moth was flying around in my sewing room. I would take the zombies down there over a moth any day. I cannot bear to go down there! Matt looked for it, but could not find it. Even Hunter was helping to search out the moth with our aquarium fish net so he could kill it for me.

How do I lure a moth out of my sewing room? And how do I prevent more from getting in there? I don't really want to use moth balls because I don't like that smell. Please, send all advice!

Canvas Top Mukluks- Now Taking Orders!

Interested in a custom made pair of mukluks? Place your order now!

Email me for details and pricing:
kara underscore went at hotmail dot com