Exercising my Quilting Rights

Yep, here it is, Monday again. Yes, that's Loser Monday! There's been an ever so slight decrease on my scales this week. Maybe close to .5 of a pound, but you know how that is. Tomorrow it could be .5 of a pound increase. But I'm not obsessing about this - that's the new plan.

Last week, Sharon asked if we would share some exercise hints. We all know we've got to do the dreaded "E" word as she says. I've tried to make it something I look forward to and some times it becomes my one consistent social activity for the week. Over a year ago I joined a new health club because they offered Pilates. I've done aerobics and water aerobics for years and though I've had good success with most of those classes, I was ready for something new. Sometimes your body just gets so used to the same movements the challenge is lost. And though I can't say that I've seen a huge weight loss with Pilates, I do feel stronger, flatter (in good places) and even taller! I wanted to take a photo at one of my classes last week, but figured they'd never let me back so you'll just have to imagine several women of varying ages and physical abilities lying on mats, with one of our awesome instructors challenging us to "tighten your core", "draw your navel to the floor" and "strengthen your bu-thighs"! Now I take a pilates class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays I do double duty with a class called Rep/Rebok (a weight class) followed by Hi/Lo Cardio (which is Medium Lo for me!) Honestly, some days I have to give myself a motivational talk to get to those, but I'm always glad I do. My BF, C has started going to these classes too; in addition, I've met some other great gals there and made some new friends. If it wasn't for these exercise classes, I wouldn't have taken up knitting (thanks to T). Of course there's the pilates girls for lunch dates after class and the lottery pool, but the overall effort will surely pay-off someday!

When I read back over all this, it would seem that I should be in great shape. I'm a long, long way from that but I exercise so I can enjoy those french fries once in a great while or have a little candy occasionally. And yes, that is probably one reason why I struggle to lose .5 pound in a month but I've found when I cut those treats out, I don't lose any faster. I'm aware that some people would tell me I should work out harder, or watch my WW points closer. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that tomorrow I'll think that too! It's nice to know that the rest of you "Monday Losers" who are struggling with the same will be there for support !

If you waded through all of that to see the quilt I've been working on, congratulations! This is the new grandbaby's crib quilt. I finished the quilting on this the other day, just it time for the mommy-to-be's birthday! This simple comforter was made using fabric from Ikea, bordered by blue and an outer border of green on green dots. I did some basic vertical lines of quilting surrounded by free motion meandering on the green border. Finally I'm getting the feel for the free motion quilting, but I've still got a problem with how the stitches look on the backside. Hopefully that's just something that will come with practice but I'm open to any suggestions or tips! There's still more sewing to do on other nursery items plus I think the little guy will need another quilt or two!

Since tomorrow is Miss B's birthday, I had to include her photo with the quilt. She has to work tomorrow so we had lunch today at a nearby Chinese restaurant. She and hubby N went crib shopping this evening. The nesting mode is setting in !
Happy Birthday to my baby!