A few creations....

It's been a fairly slow week on the blackmail fodder front.  I've been working all day every day and by the time I get home, everyone's generally too tired to aggravate anyone else, which really cuts into any opportunities for sadistic entertainment.

Once I rotate over to the evening shift, I should have a few choice tidbits make appearances here and there.  And if I can get my paws on the graveyard shift, I'm gonna be all over every piece of lunacy that presents itself again.

As for this week.. really don't have much to go on about.

I'm down to 159 pounds.  My goal when I started this mess was to lose 55 pounds and I gave myself 6 weeks to do it.  It's been 5 weeks and I've lost 8 pounds.  So at this rate, I'll make my goal in about 35 weeks.

I'm close! 

If you call aiming for the North Pole and landing in Antarctica "close".

*mutter*

So it appears I'll be doing the working out thing on a pretty permanent basis.  While I'm less than ecstatic about the results in the weight department, I sure can't complain about everything.  I'm fitting into clothes I haven't been able to wear in months.  My portion sizes when eating have shrunk exponentially.   My energy has skyrocketed.  I still have serious issues breathing while I'm actively working out, but the attacks I was getting on a fairly regular basis at other times have all but vanished.

Plus, now my kids are wanting to workout all the time.  Little Hunter even asked for a set of weights for Christmas!  (We got him a pair of 2 pound weights since he's still so young.)  Heather's mad that she's far too small for the Tread Climber, but Sarah's looking forward to her birthday when she's legally old enough to use it.  We'll see if she's still as enthusiastic after she uses it for the first time.

Muwhahahahaaaaa!

*cough*  Anyhoo....

There were a few accomplishments to brag about this week.

First, check out the magic Manny worked on my cross stitch!

I'm really looking forward to giving this gift to its recipient, but that won't be until I finish the one I'm working on for his wife.  In other words, he'll probably get this sometime in the next decade or so....

I also have to brag on my 13 year old daughter's artwork.  I was going through some more of my mother's things and came across a collection of oil, chalk, and pencil pastels.  Of course, those went straight into Sarah's possession and she set to work immediately experimenting with yet another new medium. 

The first result:

And the second finished product:

From what I understand, she started out wanting to make the eye into a world.  Somehow it evolved into something of its own creation.  I personally think it's amazing regardless of what it was "supposed" to be.


Awesome stuff, right?

Just wait.  I have one more to show off.  The masterpiece of all masterpieces, so wonderful it puts everything else before it to shame.

This one is Steve's work of art.

None of us have his kind of talent and probably never will.

You ready?

You sure?

Okay, here it is.... 

Beef stew with fresh vegetables in a brown gravy sauce and poured over white rice.

Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom!!