tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292063592024-03-07T01:13:44.354-05:00Fat and 40A journal about life after 40, including my weight loss struggle; career issues; and whatever else I feel like writing about.fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.comBlogger251125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-76273087122956768352008-06-10T08:38:00.005-05:002008-12-12T23:28:01.093-05:00Where or Where is Fatand40?I know, I know, I have not blogged over here in forever! But, I have a very good excuse because I've turned my personal blogging attention primarily to my web site, now turned weblog, which I call the Crafty Princess Diaries.This will be my second stab at trying out an indie blog, and so far, after making the switch in April 08 from static web site to weblog, it's been going pretty well. fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-14871805970095859952008-04-05T10:45:00.004-05:002008-12-12T23:28:01.262-05:00The New Baby is Home! Yeah! We picked up my new Element yesterday right before the dealership closed. The color is amazing, much better than I had imagined. She is now parked next to my DH's truck, and as you can see, they are about the same as far as height.I need to get used to the clutch, which seems tighter than my old Civic, but otherwise, it was a pretty easy drive home. Since it's a Honda, most of the controlsfatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-49229750473879261052008-04-02T18:57:00.004-05:002008-12-12T23:28:01.556-05:00New Car on the Horizon?I'm exhausted, but we may have a car deal tomorrow. We went to a Honda dealership just north of here, then the Toyota/Scion dealer, and then to a closer local Honda dealership.I drove the Element, then the Scion, and then the Element again. It was a tough decision, but if all goes well tomorrow, I'll be getting an Element at the local dealership. I really liked the Scion, and my DH was also very fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-30016801253728331802008-03-30T16:47:00.002-05:002008-03-30T16:48:18.808-05:00Joined Good ReadsI joined Good Reads as a way to promote my new books, and I have to admit, I find this social network kind of addicting!fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-37553366211130996762008-03-29T17:41:00.007-05:002008-12-12T23:28:01.738-05:00Pushing Cars...Extending a HandYesterday, I was coming home from school, a little giddy because spring break had started, and I stopped to gas up my car. As I pulled into the station, I saw a young man (I'm guessing 18 years old, maybe) pushing his car into the parking lot, and I had to swerve a little to miss him since he was right next to the entrance.I got out and started pumping my gas, and as I did so, he was pushing his fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-54725335495504781712008-03-23T10:18:00.003-05:002008-12-12T23:28:01.743-05:00Metal Clay Book FiniI just finished taking one more look at the last chapter for my metal clay book, so it looks like I'm finished. The DVD went out last week to the publisher's DVD guy, and my editor actually said she really liked it, so that is a huge relief. Here's a little clip I pulled off my new myspace page. It's very fuzzy because the file was condensed, but you can get an idea of what I'm doing on the fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-60105145765707334582008-03-19T13:52:00.001-05:002008-12-12T23:28:02.048-05:00A Pretty Rose [image]fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-10969184940914552032008-03-19T13:28:00.003-05:002008-12-12T23:28:02.614-05:00Picture TextI am just doing a test of uploading an image in this post. I think this picture is so pretty, so I decided to add this one today. Notice how the text is wrapping to the side. How about adding a link? This is a site where you can get free images.fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-11338353244507414172008-03-09T17:25:00.005-05:002008-12-12T23:28:02.864-05:00Tom, You are NOT My Friend!For awhile now, I dismissed social networking. I knew it was powerful, but I just didn't have time to figure it all out, and I confess, I still don't have time. However, more and more people keeping telling me how great it is, so I finally took the Myspace plunge today.I was stumbling around, setting up my site (myspace.com/tammypowley), and I discovered I had some weirdo guy listed as a "friend"fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-91204116520112012912008-03-02T10:34:00.004-05:002008-12-12T23:28:03.066-05:00Help a Girl or Two OutMy bead bud, Margot Potter, writes about more than just beads at her blog, The Impatient Beader. Recently she has a post, entitled "This Is Important Period," about a group of young women that really could use some help from other women.I don't think I can explain it as well as Margot, who is a wonderful and inspiring writer, so I'm not even going to try.Go, read, help...P.S. A BIG thank you to fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-49197856694183705642008-02-21T17:55:00.008-05:002008-02-21T18:30:21.941-05:00Good Grammar DayIn my comp I class, part of the curriculum requires that I teach grammar. Now, supposedly at this level, I'm really providing more of a review, but of course, the average person, let alone the average student, generally has a very limited grammar background. So, while I don't spend a huge amount of time on grammar (it is primarily a writing class), I still try to cover most of the basics.And, fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-63884279196257815642008-02-19T18:57:00.005-05:002008-02-19T19:09:39.713-05:00At the End of One TunnelAhhh....I'm starting to envision the end of one of my book projects! I can almost see it if I squint hard enough.I was doing some major stressing for awhile. One night last week, I had this weird dream where huge wooden boxes where falling from the sky. I mean BIG, as in the size of semi-trucks. Bam! Bam! And, as with most weird dreams like this, I woke up as I was running for my life! So, yes, fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-60668788286408545612008-02-02T14:21:00.000-05:002008-02-02T14:39:28.675-05:00Long Awaited UpdateSee, this is why I cut back on my pro-blogging jobs. I just don't have the time to blog like I used to :(Though, that's not necessarily a bad thing; it just means I'm busy doing a lot of stuff, and most of it is work that I enjoy doing. So, here's a quick update.Writing: I've got one more chapter to finish for my metal clay book. Of course, this is the projects chapter, so that is no small task fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-14189142721035655832008-01-20T18:14:00.000-05:002008-01-20T18:31:49.109-05:00Do It for the Dogs (and Cats)I read over on The Naughty Secretary Club's weblog about an animal shelter called A Place to Bark that is run by a fellow crafter, Bernie Berlin. She has been running the place solo for a long while but is now competing for $50,000 as part of America's Giving Challenge sponsored by Parade.Along with sending in donations via a special badge, you can also host the badge on your blog - unless you fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-43991490731202320132008-01-14T18:48:00.000-05:002008-01-14T19:22:20.314-05:00More ConsumptionPart of my web shopping lately has included some new walking DVDs, and I'm amazed to be able to say that I've actually been able to keep up my exercising to a certain extent, even with the new job. In fact, I even managed to get rid of 1/2 lb of the 4 1/2 that I took on during the holidays.The DVDs are part of a package I got off of QVC: Leslie Sansone "Walk Slim" 5 DVD System with Firming Band. fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-38284454139437700642008-01-10T19:52:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:03.301-05:00New School DudsOne of the rituals about returning to school is getting new school clothes. Starting with the fact that I've only had to look professional a few days a week for a couple of years now and then add to that my small amount of weight loss and then put my new dream job in the mix and you have a totally valid reason for doing lots of Internet shopping for clothes and shoes. I do have a few Burks I can fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-4014956939261811112007-12-31T15:37:00.001-05:002008-12-12T23:28:03.511-05:00Happy 2008!Other than the fact that I've been too busy to blog lately, Blogger.com has decided to force me to use a different log in just about every time I access my account here. Wordpress is looking pretty good, folks!But, it is a good thing that I gave up my other little blogging gigs because I've been cranking away on the books and now on school stuff to get ready for the big day soon.Other than fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-19027760657375546452007-12-20T20:04:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:03.886-05:00So Not a Tyra Today I spent hours and hours shooting for my new DVD that will go with my book Picture Yourself Making Metal Clay Jewelry. I have never enjoyed getting my picture taken, and I have to say video cameras are even worse! We spent at least 3 solid hours working, probably got at least an hour of film, and I would guess that maybe five minutes of that is usable. Luckily, I have a very talented videofatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-81380727592535285242007-12-12T13:27:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:04.088-05:00Hair Today Gone TodayAbout a year ago, right before the my defense, I had the brainy idea of getting my hair cut, like in a "real" salon, not just my husband giving it a trim in the bathroom. As I had feared, I ended getting a major hatchet job on my hair. It was still pretty long, but the woman layered it rather than give me the simple cut and bangs that I had asked. So, it was a mess.A year later now, most of it fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-34502355166732841792007-12-09T10:40:00.000-05:002007-12-09T10:53:45.649-05:00Reading and Cat PeeBecause my friends know I write and teach English and all that, very often they want to give me some book to read. "Oh, you like to read? Then you'll like this." The problem is, though, I don't really have time to read for pleasure. Yes, I read, but I read because I'm prepping for class or I'm researching something I'm writing about or I'm reviewing a jewelry book. Who has the time to sit around fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-70551985767660973712007-12-06T17:25:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:04.760-05:00Burn Calories Grading Research Papers! My pound of turkey is already history! I honestly felt like I wasn't as good about the diet thing last week as I could have been. Getting off the wagon for a few days made it very difficult for me to find my way back to my normal eating routine, and that especially included writing down my food, which I totally hate with a passion. However, it really makes a difference for me, so I know I have fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-3882630999816026842007-11-29T18:47:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:04.907-05:00The Results Are InSo, the turkey verdict is...... one pound! My strategy seemed to work for the most part. I ate a real Thanksgiving meal including my favorite green bean casserole, gravy, stuffing, turkey, and even a piece of pie, and I ended up gaining one pound that week. I know that I really should be grateful, and I am, but of course, part of me is asking myself if it was worth it considering it will fatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-73795969272325208772007-11-25T17:20:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:05.099-05:00Thanksgiving Day Bummer Last year at Thanksgiving time, one of our house guests ended up in the emergency room, not due to the food but to other health issues he had. This year, because of a book deadline looming among other things, we opted for a quiet Thanksgiving with no guests and we had hoped no emergency room visit. Alas, poor Nee Nee started having a diabetic episode around 12:15. I had just finished working outfatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-66968106144289243432007-11-21T17:52:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:05.268-05:00Turkey Day Tricks Normally, we have a few guests for Thanksgiving dinner and my DH cooks a fabulous and fattening meal with way too much food that we continue to gorge on for about a week afterwards. However, this year due to our guests having some health issues and me having some work issues (a book deadline that's coming up soon) , it will be just two of us for dinner, and we both want to avoid the Thanksgivingfatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29206359.post-60891117559622686402007-11-16T10:36:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:28:05.373-05:00Back to School ShoppingBecause of the new teaching gig starting in a few months and the fact that I'm down a size now and can't imagine myself down another size by the time school starts in a few months, I went ahead and did a little back to school shopping.I know most women are supposed to love to shop, but I guess I'm not like most women. I love to have the stuff in my closet, but I hate to go out and get it. On-linefatand40http://www.blogger.com/profile/11164811789022630004noreply@blogger.com0