ATTACK PHASE DAY 2

 First thing this morning I weighed in.  1.8 pounds lost!  I’m sure a lot of it is water and Dr. Dukan acknowledges that in his book.  That’s okay by me as long as the scale keeps going down over time.

I had to get in to work early this morning so I took the time last night to pack up my food for the day.  I had a galette and a hardboiled egg for breakfast.  I suppose I could have heated the galette in the microwave, but it really wasn’t bad cold.  I think it was much better right out of the pan though. 

I packed a small container of boiled shrimp, about half a baked chicken breast, ½ cup of tuna salad and ½ cup a sugar-free, fat-free (sf,ff) jello pudding.  I also have two diet cokes and two SIGG 1.0L of water with me.  I’m set for the day.

So, in an effort to take my mind off food, and also because I said this blog would be about more than my diet, I’m going to show you a few of the projects I worked on for Christmas.

First up was a set of pillows I made for a good friend to give as a gift to another friend.  The giftee is all about Halloween, she LOVES anything and everything to do with that particular holiday.  I was asked to make some pillows with a crocheted spider web on them.  In an effort to be thrifty, I purchased two throw pillows from our local thrift store ($1.50) for both and I bought the black material from the remnant bin at Walmart (<$2.00).  I washed the pillows, removed the piping, turned the covers inside out and reattached them.  I did this because they were originally outdoor pillows and the fabric was slick.  I didn’t want the new covers to be slipping and sliding over the inserts.  I attached the new covers with zippers for easier cleaning, then crocheted up two spider webs.  I had some fine yarn with sparkly threads all over it left over from another project.  It reminded me of dew drops on a morning web.  I think they turned out okay.  The recipient was thrilled.  I would have liked a more draped look to the webs but I was unable to figure out a way to attach them that would allow this.

For my sister and brother-in-law I made a set of dish towels.  I wove these on a rigid heddle loom using two heddles.  The threads are a cotton-linen blend.  I made four towels in teal, purple and white.  I’m fairly new to weaving.  I took my first lesson almost three years ago. 

I also made them a quilted table runner.  I am VERY new to quilting.  This is the third item I’ve made.  I tried to make it reversible which was probably my downfall.  You can probably tell from the photos, it’s a bit warped along the edges.  I think I would have been better off just making the back a solid piece.  Live and learn.

Front Side

Back Side

I usually make more of my gifts for Christmas.  It was a “down” year for me.  I’m trying to be more optimistic in the New Year.  I christened 2013 my Year of Optimism. 

I’m currently working on a crocheted dinosaur for my 15-month old grandson.  I’ll post a photo when it’s done.

So, day two on Dukan has passed and I really can't say I had any major cravings, just a few.  I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from work to pick up some imitation crab, a few seasonings, some egg whites and more SF-FF jello pudding.  I think I would be having a much harder time if it weren't for the pudding.  It satisfies my sweet tooth.  I also picked up two small packages of sugar free hard candies.  Then I searched all over the web and I'm not totally sure I can have them or not.  I'll try to stick to no more than one or two a day.