Carol in her skinny pants

I’m almost halfway through my Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge and I’ve lost 7 pounds and almost 8 inches off of my measurements. Unbelievable! I feel fantastic. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. I didn’t realize just how much being overweight was such a drag on my self confidence. I’m not afraid to look in the mirror anymore. I’m losing the double chin. And…. today I was able to put on a pair of skinny pants that I have not been able to wear in years!!!! Not only did they fit, they were a little loose and I was comfortable because I was not “poured” into them. The shakes taste great and I don’t feel hungry.

I still have about 15 lbs to go to reach my goal weight, and when I do I’ll be posting my before and after bikini photos. Hopefully the “after” shots will be taken in a tropical setting, as Paul, my darling husband, has promised me a trip someplace warm very soon.

My step daughter, Cheryl got a new camera for Christmas and recently she showed me her gorgeous photography! What talent. She really captured the beauty of the sea. Here is a sampling, If you would like to see more, please visit SeaweedArt. We have plans to print greeting cards from her photographs and sell them so she can earn money to travel.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine told me about a diet meal replacement drink she was on that helped her lose 9 pounds in a month. She asked me if I were interested in trying it. Even though I have been trying to lose 10 pounds (OK 20) for the last 10 years, I was interested but skeptical because I’ve tried diet drinks before that always left me  hungry, cranky, unsatisfied with the chalky taste or worse, gave me gastrointestinal distress, if you know what I mean. But this was different. A new product that tastes great so I decided to give it a go. The drink is from Visalus, a new company that is growing by leaps and bounds. I decided to take the 90 Day Challenge. Recorded my weight and my measurements and waited for results.

In just over a month I have lost 6 pounds and 6 inches off of my measurements. No more back flab or layers of fat hanging over my jeans.  And I feel great. I’m not hungry. I have lots of energy and no more sugar crashes in the afternoons. I am hooked. So much so that I have decided to become a distributor and sell the product. If you too are looking to lose some pounds and inches, and want to feel good about yourself, send me a message and we can get started.

I have been so busy with my SeaweedArt greeting card business, which has really started to take off, especially over the holidays, that I have not been writing very much here lately. I’m so excited that I am planning to expand my line to include new products like prints for home decor, journals, note cards and other stationery items. In order to raise funds, I have launched a campaign on Kickstarter, an online crowd funding source for entrepreneurs like myself, who need capital for their businesses.

Here’s how it works. Backers make a pledge (for as little as a dollar)  for a project they like and in exchange they receive a reward. In my case I am awarding my cards and my original seaweed art pressings. You can visit my SeaweedArt Kickstarter project here to learn more. Please make a pledge and pass along to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I really need your help.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Sophia is home from college and Sam is home from the Navy. It was very relaxing and stress free, which is the way I like the holidays to be. We baked cookies, created a wreath with fresh garland and made a gingerbread house from scratch. Looking forward to a wonderful New Year.

I love this photo of Paul and me. I had no idea my sister was taking it as we walked down the dock at South Beach Harbor in San Francisco on Sunday morning. I get a very warm and loving feeling whenever I look at it.

This past week I celebrated my birthday with my three sisters. My youngest sister, Jill lives near me in California, but my two oldest sisters, Pam and Nina, live on the East coast and they both flew in on Wednesday. The four of us had a ball. We went to a spa and had facials and then sat in the steam room together (very Sex and the City), dined in very expensive restaurants and shopped until we dropped. It was a very welcome respite for all of us and I couldn’t help but count my blessings that I have such wonderful, generous and loving sisters. It was the best present ever.

What really made my weekend, though, was receiving a phone call from my official Naval Seaman (no longer Seaman “Recruit”) stepson, Sam, who graduated from Naval basic training on my birthday. He sounded so happy and  proud of himself and relieved that he made it through. He is now able to freely communicate by phone and email, which he could not do before. He said the letters we all sent him were most welcome. He bought himself an iPhone. We texted each other and then he called me. He gave me his new address and I told him I would send him a care package.

I am proud of him, but what really matters is that he is so proud of himself. Sam is a smart kid and I am sure he will be a huge success in whatever he does. The only thing we are hoping for now is that he will get stationed in Hawaii. (For obvious reasons.)

Friday marks my 50th birthday and I have a lot to celebrate. Not only did I get carded while buying wine last week, I can honestly count that in the course of my 50 years, I have made at least 50 very dear, close friends. How many people can say that?

I threw myself a girls only party last week and I invited my 50 friends. Not all of them could come, because they either live too far away, or they had other commitments, but I can’t even begin to describe what it felt like to be surrounded by so many wonderful, intelligent and loving people whom I have come to cherish, love and respect all of these years.

My dear husband Paul, the only male in attendance, acted as our host, pouring drinks, serving food and entertaining. Toward the end of the evening, after we cut the cake, he asked everyone to speak about how they got to know me. My friends responses moved me to tears because over the course of the years, I’ve often only considered what my friends have meant to me, and not so much what I have meant to them.

My best friend told me how much she loved me because I was always so kind to her daughter. We met when our girls were in kindergarten and her daughter had a difficult time making friends and I invited her over for a play date. Another friend, who is going through a nasty divorce, said she was inspired by my ability to “always keep going.” And my newer set of friends, the ones I made through Paul, told me how much they appreciate me for how good I am to him and his children.

These are accolades everyone needs to hear once in a while, because believe me, I’m not always so upbeat. I have my moments of self-doubt, regrets of what I should have done etc.But there is one thing I am assured I always got right– I surrounded myself with the best group of girl friends anyone  could ever hope for.

Paul and I had a fabulous weekend in San Francisco. It started Friday afternoon around 3 when I got home from work and Paul already had the car  packed, including our bikes on the rack on the back of the car. He left my suitcase, opened on our bed, waiting for me to toss in the weekend’s essentials. I packed in about 10 minutes and we were outta there.

We drove up the coast and stopped in Pescadero at our usual pit stop, Arcangeli’s Market, where we purchased a bottle of local wine, artisanal goat cheese and Arcangeli’s signature artichoke bread. It was still warm. This is something we have been doing since we first met and the ritual of the routine always gives me a sense of comfort. I’m brimming with love for this man. He’s sooo romantic.

We arrived at South Beach Harbor at about 6, opened up the boat, noshed on our goodies and took a moonlit bike ride up the Embarcadero along the waterfront to the Ferry Plaza Building. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Paul and I love  boating, sailing, harbors, seaports and anything to do with water. We were in our element.

It was Fleet Week in San Francisco and the waterfront was loaded with sailors, in their pegged legged pants and white cupped caps. Paul couldn’t help but feel supreme pride in his son, Sam, who is currently in Naval basic training. I’m sure he imagined seeing him in uniform. I couldn’t help but feel that Paul’s nautical influence has rubbed off on his son, who was a seasoned sailor at a very young age.

The Blue Angels were in town so we biked over to North Beach to watch the show, which also included appearances by the Royal Canadian Snow Birds and the Stealth Bomber. The rest of the weekend was taken up with dinner with friends, lunch at  Ferry Plaza Seafood and quiet, romantic evenings alone. As I mentioned before, we are not going to have any trouble adjusting to an empty nest.