Last October, I searched stores all over looking for the perfect tea set for my girlfriends daughter.  I could not find what I was looking for, so I settled for something less desirable.

Then, I saw it.  Bethany Actually posted about painting this tea set while in Texas.  I fell in love.  Deeply in love as any little girl who loved tea parties would.  But, it was too late, I missed the birthday.  Not too late for my little girl though!

I told Bethany that if she was going to sell it I would love to have it.  And well, I think you can see that she decided it was for sale.  I am not sure if this was her original intention or not, but I am thankful as it is the perfect set for Apple.  Not right today, mind you as she is still throwing things all over the place and pottery does not mix with ceramic tiles.  But, in time when we can sit together and have tea parties and I can relive my childhood as best I can.

 Even J was excited to help me unwrap it, he has been learning about tea parties lately and I can see him joining in with us in the future.  I should say that he has ‘parties’ but they are snack time, instead of tea parties.

Now, on to my commitment.

I want to write this here in hopes that I will commit myself 100% to this goal.  It is going to be a hard one and I will not call it a resolution, but a commitment.  Why, because if I, at 38 years old cannot commit to it, I cannot ask my Dad at 71 to.

I am committing to losing 20lbs.

There it is in black and white.   Now if I had written this two weeks ago it would have only been 15lbs and it would not have involved my Dad.  Since Christmas and all its deliciousness has come and gone, so has my waistline, so I had to add another 5lbs on there and hope that it is all water.

 Here is my Dad wrestling with J on New Years Day (eve as it was after dinner).  And that is my Sister lazing on the couch beside them.  Dad has to lose at least 20lbs for his heart.   And since we are asking him to do this, it is only fair that I do to.  Not to mention it has been at least six years since I weighed that weight and really, it was my happiest weight of all.

Now how to do it?  I haven’t figured that out yet.  When I was that thin and in shape, I worked 40 or more hours a week in a restaurant slinging beer and running around.  The restaurant was huge and the beer fridge was in the basement 30 stairs below.  I had to count them because when you are carrying three cases of full beer you need to know if you are getting all the steps.  I will be planning this out in the next few days and hopefully can keep track of my goals at least once a week with you all here.  Although I did lose almost 70lbs last year, that was all baby weight and I didn’t really work that hard at it.  Since I have lost all of that, now it is up to me to lose the other junk I have been carrying around.

 Here is reason numbers one and two to get back my body.  J who needs inspiration these days to get moving and Apple who doesn’t stop.  They both deserve a Mom that can keep up with them and I plan to be that Mom.

Ready? Set? Go.

Here is a sneak peak of something I have been working on for a couple of weeks.  The final product is being cut right now as I type.  These are my test ones, which turned out to be a little short for the Calendar Jewel cases.

 I really wanted to make some last year for Christmas gifts but, they just fell by the wayside.  This year, not only will they end up in stockings, but they will also be in my Etsy shop, hopefully by tomorrow night.  And I say hopefully, because we are due for a snow storm tonight and as always, I only drive on snow storm days once the roads are clear of morning rush hour traffic and people who don’t really remember how to drive in the snow.

The calendars are made up of my photos.  The first is some of my favorite tulips and the second, more masculine one, is made up of a wide variety of photos I have taken around town and on trips.

One handmade gift down, a few more to go…