Weight loss, it’s something I have yet to really come out and talk about so far this year. Bobby and I both started eating healthy on January 1st this year and have not turned back. We started our healthy kick with lots of fruit and vegetables and eating the right things. We’ve both been on a constant steady loss and have already lost quite a substantial amount of weight so far.

We allowed ourselves our very first ‘cheat’ of the year last week when my cousin was here. We both had the BBQ for lunch, some wonderful homemade fudge in the afternoon and fried chicken for dinner (we did not participate in the ice cream cones that evening). One of the things we do every day is step on the scale to weigh in. We’ve done this since around 2001 and it becomes a daily morning routine. A side note… Last Friday when I stepped on the scale, it went up a whole 1.6 pounds from my big cheat the day before. I must say it was well worth it as we have both decided to live and on special occasions to be free. The good news is that I lost that 1.6 pounds the very next day and moved on, with no regrets.

We plot our weight on a graph (each day) which Bobby formatted in Excel. He’s plotted a goal line and a trend line which is pretty neat. I love it when I’m below my trend line as that means I’m way below the goal line that I’ve set for myself. By the way, I’m below my trend line at the moment.

The one thing both Bobby and I miss right now is not being able to meet for lunch like we used too. I pack Bobby’s lunch each day with 2 fruits, vegetables, a yogurt and a good healthy lunch. I do the same for myself at home. Our day to dine out is on the weekends when we decide to go out for dinner. We go all morning without eating and leave for a mid afternoon lunch/dinner which ties us over to the next day. We also decide before hand what we’re going to order and check out the nutritional information before we go. It has been working so well, but I look forward to the day where we can meet for lunch again. Bobby makes the best team player and many thanks to him for his daily encouragement, he’s such a blessing.

P.S. – The fudge I had last Thursday (when company was here) was a big MUST!!! Over Christmas we searched high and low for fudge. In our search we came up empty handed and was not able to fill my fudge craving. Fudge is always a big hit for my family around the holidays as mom always made it (chocolate and peanut putter) and oh is it good. When Bobby found homemade fudge last Thursday, there were no options, I just HAD to have it! Once again, no regrets and I moved on.

Due to the pet food recall, we are taking Magic (Bobby’s sweet kitty) in for a complete checkup, blood work, checking his kidneys and the whole 9 yards. The only reason we started giving him wet food to begin with is because of his recent dandruff trouble. Bobby did some reading online and found that he needed more oils for his skin. The wet food worked its magic on Magic and he’s now dandruff free. Our main concern is the fact that he was eating the food that’s been recalled. His little appointment is tomorrow morning and we pray for a nice healthy kitty.

Hair, I think its every woman’s obsession, or is it? When I’m at my little pottery class, the hair topic is one of the biggest topics there and I believe every woman at some point wonders what she wants to do with it next. Whether it be color, a trim a new style or look, and the list goes on for us. Last Wednesday on a whim, I chopped some bangs for myself and I’m regretting it already.

Back to my hair obsession chatter… Yesterday I had yet another hair discussion with Bobby and asked if he preferred my hair long or short. Once again he responded “honey, if I had a preference I’d tell you, in all honesty I don’t have a preference and like whatever style you like.” The only thing he did tell me is that he would prefer that I don’t cut it so short that it looks like a man’s hairstyle, which he has nothing to worry about there. I really wish I knew what hubby liked the best, guess I can do whatever I want and he’ll like it just the same.

As some of you recall, I chopped my hair off a year ago and have been letting it all grow out since then. I’ve had just one tiny trim between now and then, other than that, its been growing. The great thing about long hair for me, it is so much easier to style and fix and it keeps me warm in the winter. The bad thing about long hair is that I detest the heat of it on my neck in the summer. The other bad thing is that I really don’t like putting my hair up. However, I think I’m going to try to let it grow and we’ll see if I can make it through the summer. I know the only way I can hold onto the hair is to pile it up. That’s the bad thing incase you forgot. Enough pouting already! It’s small potatoes in the whole scheme of things.

We had such a wonderful time with my cousin Lisa “West” Stoner, hubby Jeff, daughter Elizabeth and son Dean. We fell in love with Elizabeth and Dean, they were such well mannered kids with the best behavior. We met them first thing yesterday morning at the Fort Worth Stockyards and planed a nice morning and afternoon over there. We stopped for an early lunch at a famous BBQ place in the Stockyards and had front row seats outside for the cattle drive. We knew the cattle drive would be passing right by the restaurant so we choose to sit out on the porch to enjoy the beautiful weather and view the drive. Pictures Below and a picture of Liz in the Stockyards.

After lunch we had time for a little shopping where the “big kids” found a great candy store for adult’s right next to the kiddy candy store. The adults found some of the best homemade fudge around and the younger kids enjoyed the kiddy candy store. After we entered the kiddy candy store the kids were in awe of just how grandiose the store was and how much taffy, and candy there was to choose from. “I now know the meaning of a kid in a candy store” were the words I heard from Lisa.

Jeff, a lieutenant for the Department of Corrections found a ‘Deputy’ badge while shopping for little Dean. It was so cool and we all named him Deputy Deano the rest of the day. Shortly after Deputy Deano received his badge we happened upon a great place to have the Deputy’s picture taken.

We made our way to the walking tour where they gave the history of Fort Worth in great detail. The kids ‘loved’ it as we felt like we were on a huge farm with animals everywhere. It took me back to wonderful farm memories as we lived on a 100 acre farm years and years ago. There was an area where anyone could feed the goats and everyone enjoyed letting the goats lick the food out of their hands. Deano was a little nervous but warmed up to the goats outside the fence. The goats knew food was around and would jump up on you so Dean opted to stay out of the pen.

Elizabeth had a really nice time horseback riding. Deputy Deano was game to have his picture taken on the horse and that’s it.

After we all had our fill at the Stockyards late afternoon, we made our way to our house to chill, play games and whatnot before dinner. Bobby got out all our Nintendo and Game Cube games and the kids and adults had a ball. The little Deputy keeled over on his mommy and took a nice long nap so Lisa and I had a very nice quiet visit while Bobby and Jeff played some chess and cards. Elizabeth kept herself occupied watching Disney and what a perfect afternoon we all had chilling.

After the Deputy’s nap we headed over to Bobby’s and my favorite fried chicken restaurant Babe’s. Actually, Babe’s is named after the owner’s wife as that was here nickname and became the restaurant name. Bob and I both have commented how the fried chicken served there is the best we’ve ever had in our lives and the kind any great grandma wishes she could make. Mmmmmmm GOOD! The restaurant does not offer a menu, just 7 different choices of meat and then the vegetables (creamed corn, fresh green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy) are all you can eat. The vegetables are fresh from the garden and are the Real McCoy. They serve home-style with each vegetable in a large bowl and you pass around the table like you were at home. Oh yes and then the yummy fresh baked biscuits are all you can eat too.

After dinner we were on our way to Wal-Mart to pick up the pictures we ordered online from our day when Deano perked up and asked if we could have some cones. I had no idea what he was talking about when Lisa told me that cones stood for Ice Cream. With that Bobby wheeled into Brahms Ice Cream to fill his tall order and he & his sister had no trouble packing their cones away.

We came back to the house for some more fun and games and they ended up visiting with us until 11:30 last night. We all had such a great visit and a whole lot of fun was packed into just one day.

This is the way I felt this morning, which is very unusual for me. I normally wake with my feet hitting the floor with a bounce ready to start the day. We awoke with kitty begging for food outside our door. That is a very rare occasion because he is closed into his little castle (complete with a little bed, food, water and litter box) every night. Last night we were too tired to deal with him and just let him out for the night, lucky kitty. Bobby rushed to his aid way before the crack of dawn to survey the problem; kitty was completely out of food and starving, poor kitty.

Last night Bobby and I worked on clearing out the family room of all furniture. I didn’t realize what a chore we had on our hands, one I don’t want to do for a very long time, if ever. Bobby purchased a furniture dolly with 4 wheels and that was a ‘HUGE’ help but it was still a big job as the old leather couch was a sleeper sofa and a very heavy one indeed. We’re done with sleeper sofas as we have 3 guest bedrooms and no use for those extra heavy sofa’s anymore.

Today I’ll be waiting on our furniture deliveries and continue my spring cleaning.

We’ve been busy changing things up a bit. I’ve wanted to change the pictures in the kitchen for some plate racks for quite some time now. While Bobby and I were out shopping at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago I spotted these at a great big discount for just $12.00 a piece and ‘had to have them’.

The racks only had one hook on the back for support and Bobby wanted to ensure that they would go nowhere. He founds some nifty brackets to fasten them to the wall and hung them for me over the weekend. The problem, some of the plates I wanted to use were too large for the rack. The solution, I went on an all out search yesterday for some plates as it drove me nuts just seeing two of my own resting in there and the remainder areas blank. I went to 5 different places on my search yesterday morning and finally resorted to the mall. I shopped both floors looking for the ‘perfect’ plates. My last stop was Macy’s and I found some pretty awesome plates and made my purchase. Got home only to find out my plates were just a ½” shy of fitting. So back to the mall to return my wonderful find. I went on over to Hobby Lobby in Fort Worth not feeling very optimistic as I had already been to the Hobby Lobby in my area and came up empty handed over here. What do you know, Fort Worth had a different selection and I found what I believe to be the perfect plates for the kitchen. Quite frankly, I’m thrilled the first round of plates were too big as I hit a jazzy 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby to boot.

These pictures once hung where my new plate racks reside. I was going to put these pictures in the yard sale /donation pile but then had an idea that they would go perfectly on this stair wall right off the kitchen.

Today is a busy one. I’m working on my spring cleaning this week. The fireplace is already sparkling clean and I’ll be adding that fresh coat of black paint (made for fireplaces) in there today, just to give it that boost I like to see.

Our leather furniture and mattress set will be here tomorrow. Bobby and I did decide on our coffee table and end tables. We went with the ones that don’t have a sofa table but we’ve decided to find something like a console table to match the color of the other tables. We get half of our tables tomorrow and the other two are on backorder until May 8th. Those tables are worth the wait as we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

Thursday my cousin Lisa ‘West’ Stoner and family will be visiting with us for the day. They’re from AZ and vacationing in TX and wanted to spend some time with us during their visit. We just learned about their visit last week, so luckily the delivery date set for our furniture doesn’t conflict with Thursday or we would have a problem. It’s surprising how things are clicking right along. Well, I had better keep moving with my cup of coffee or else…

We have definitely made a break for spring around here. It’s been in the mid 70’s the last four days in a row. The heater has been turned off and we are thoroughly enjoy these beautiful spring days.

Bobby finished loading the kiln for a bisque firing. Then I will be ready for my new commercial glazes next week and I can’t wait! I hope this glaze firing quenches all expectations of how I want the pieces to look as I’ve been told these glazes are top notch. Plans are still in order to enter pieces into some galleries this month; my goal date is set for March 22.

On March 28th I plan to enter one of my pieces into the Fort Worth Potter’s Guild prize picks. The potter, who is selected, will win a little cash as well as have their piece of art featured on the post cards that will be sent out for the summer show. It will be free advertising for the artist and their piece will be featured on all the flyers. It sounds good to me, but I have a lot of stiff competition out there.

Sometime back I mentioned that our home was having some structure problems. The engineer Bobby hired to give us a report did just that as we have a crack running through the complete width of our home.

Bobby contacted the warranty department on our home and they sent out a company to see how level the home is. From the center of the home to the one side, the house has dropped over an inch. We received a letter yesterday from the warranty department and they have agreed to fix the problem.

In order to take care of the foundation, they have to drive a total of 14 steal posts into the ground (somewhere between 15 & 20 feet into the ground until they hit rock) and will hoist that portion of the home back up to the desired level. It will be a couple day ordeal but we are so thankful the warranty is kicking in as it’s a pretty hefty bill.

Empty Bowls 2007 – By the Tarrant Area Food Bank Continued from my post on February 16. I received my thank you letter from the organization over the weekend and wanted to share the update with you. It truly was a great experience and plan to continue donating my pieces and my time to this charity.

The background of Empty Bowls was born in 1990 when a high school art teacher in Michigan was helping his ceramics students find a way to support a food drive. Since then, this special event has spread around the globe.

• This was the 8th year for the Empty Bowls event in Fort Worth
• Raised a total of $70,000
• There were over 160 volunteers, who helped plan, produce & present Empty Bowls

This is the pic that’s been taking over my desktop screen the last couple weeks. We’re just barely starting to see just a few signs of spring as we noticed some very teeny tiny blossoms while we were out this weekend. I’m so very ready for spring to explode!

Wow, just one week from today is Daylight Savings Time. What a treat to enjoy some more daylight in the evenings. We are so looking forward to that, as I’m sure the rest of you are too.

We had a successful day of shopping. We’ve finally found the furniture we want for our family room. Now we need to put our hands on the bar stools, coffee table, sofa table, and end tables that meet our wants and needs. We’re changing out of all of our black leather furniture to brown leather. We’ve been shopping for furniture on and off for over a year and it’s so good to be a little closer to the end result. I’m glad we always make an appoint to agree on the things we’re looking for. The bottom line, if one doesn’t like it, it’s not an option, no questions asked. Bobby really liked a table set today but it wasn’t the style I liked, no feelings hurt and we moved on. When we got to a set I really liked, it didn’t gel with Bobby, no problem, we’ll just keep looking for those tables, that’s the way we roll.

We moved on to our next agenda, a bed. I’ve been having a little back trouble lately, telling Bobby that I think we’re due for a new mattress. Well, he just filled that order today with exactly what I wanted (complete with a pillow top) we should be sleeping on a cloud in a couple weeks. My back can’t wait!

Another 22” H X 15″ W Piece

Just finished adding the final touches to this piece this morning by adding the strips to the sides, the vine, leaves and flower. My dearest is ready to crank up that kiln for a bisque firing but the pieces have to dry first. He’s getting another table for me this weekend so that I can get all set up in the garage for glazing. We’ll probably do a load of bisque the first of the week and then I’ll be in business to start using those commercial glazes we picked up last week. Fingers crossed!

Now I’m off to finish my laundry and cleaning.

From the time I can remember, I’ve always been one who likes doing things ‘big’. I’ll never forget standing on a chair whipping up my favorite chocolate chip cookies when I was a very small girl. When it came time to place the batter on the cookie sheets the cookies came out like giants. More like fitting about 6 cookies on one cookie sheet.

I’ve been a little intimidated making very large things and have stayed in my comfort zone for the most part. Today I just finished putting together my largest piece ever. The piece is desk level and there’s no way I can reach into this piece without my stool. While standing on my little stool took me back to my childhood memories of standing up on chairs to reach the sink to do dishes, cook or whatever… Fond memories they are. I’ll have to get the measurements of my kiln so that I can challenge myself to make something that will take up the whole kit n caboodle.

Oh my word, Chris Sligh sang such a powerful song tonight in our opinion. Bobby and I both thoroughly enjoyed his performance of Trouble. We recorded this on DVR and watched his performance another two times at the end of the show. Then Sundance sang our (Bobby’s & my) absolute favorite swing song. Mustang Sally has been our favorite swing song of all time and we watched his performance a total of 3 times too! We don’t plan to erase this performance and def know we’ll be watching time and time again. Bobby’s figuring out a way to put these on my ipod! Woo Hoo!!!

P.S. Bobby found my cell phone!

The last time I remember having my phone was last night. I was fooling around with my settings and that’s the last thing I remember. While messing with my settings I turned my ringer off so I can’t even dial it in order to track it down. I’m sure it will turn up sometime soon, hopefully.

I just finished another two pieces of pottery with two different patterns. My handbuilding is coming right along and will probably stick with it for a while. I tend to go back and forth between the wheel and handbuilding and rarely do I mix the two. I’m a one track mind kinda gal.