Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Deadlines

Sorry it has been a while since I have checked in. I have a little updating to do. Let's begin where I left off, my darling daughter's birthday.

Birthday bouquet for the little one.
Melody loves flowers. I surprised her with a bouquet on her birthday when she got home from school. You should have seen the expression of delight on her face. She thanked me every day for a week. :-)

5th Birthday
She had a memorable birthday party. Friends and family far and near came to celebrate her special day. She requested a Princess Cake and my local Shop Rite did a fantastic job. The cake is topped with 3 Princess figurines and a Rose Ring that changed color in the sun light. The flavor? It's a vanilla cake with bavarian cream and buttercream frosting.

 Work in progress
After my darling daughter's birthday party, things got busy. It was one deadline project after the next. Currently, I have 2 more design projects due soon. I am just catching my breath since lots of late nights no longer agree with me any more. I remember the last 2 years staying up all night when I needed to and I could still recover. Now my body is protesting against the abuse and it takes me many days to recover. I am no longer a spring chicken and I am trying to listen to my body more.

Before the new year, I was having some health issues. Since the end of December 2012, I have eliminated gluten and grains from my diet. No more processed foods/products and I am cooking all my meals from scratch. It has been 2 months and I am feeling so much better. My energy level has increased and I no longer have any sugar cravings. I was going to do it for 1 month to see how it would affect me. Since things are going so well, I am going to continue this new way of life.

8 comments:

AtPlayWithFiber said...

That was a good looking & good sounding cake! Glad to hear that you are feeling better!!

Mindy said...

My daughter would have loved that cake!

It's good to be busy. I thought about you the other day, wondering why you've been so quiet.

sandra said...

Happy Birthday Melody!
And I wish you luck in your new life style, it is not a easy decision, but if your body need, it will be very good, a very healthy life!

Sam said...

Congratulations on your daughters birthday!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

What a beautiful cake for the beautiful Melody! And you are such a sweet mother to give her flowers. We often have such preconceived ideas of what children will like at a given age, but you have done the smart thing and paid attention to what she really wants. Glad you have found a proactive way to help yourself. (And you ARE still a spring chicken from where I sit. :) )

hetty said...

What a fantastic cake! Glad to hear that you are feeling better. Lifestyle changes are not easy, but worth it in the end.

Vicki Knitorious said...

FIVE! I just can't believe it. What a cute cake.

I would have had a piece, being a special occasion and all, but I have eliminated grain, sugar, and dairy from my diet -- originally for 30 days, too, but here it is more than 6 months later. I've dropped 40 pounds since this time last year to show for it, as well as improvement in health overall -- some nagging problems that have vanished! I have discovered how much of an emotional/stress eater I am in the past month, though, and really have to watch myself when things like that are out of my control. I can control how I react!

I'm so glad you've found something that works for you, too, and that you're seeing results.

Stefanie said...

It is so cute how your little one loves flowers. Her cake is awesome and sounds so yummy!
I am glad you were able to find the source that was affecting your health and are doing better with this new diet. I hear you on how getting older makes it harder to do what we used to when we were young. I find staying up,late fun but I pay for it the next day and I can never sleep in.