Month: March 2021

2-in-1 KumiKreator Necklace and Bracelet

On By Michel McDonaldIn craftsLeave a comment

I have had this in my Amazon wish list for a very long time, but it wasn’t this particular one, it was the one that only made bracelets. I deleted it from my wish list because I didn’t think I would ever buy it. Then a couple of days ago I wondered how much it was, and I found this one, the 2-in-1 that makes bracelets and necklaces, and I thought, I gotta buy it! So I did, and to my surprise it was on sale for $13.69, regular price $24.99. So I thought I better buy it before it goes back up in price.

This thing arrived today and right out of the box one of the spools wouldn’t snap into place, but that’s fine because it comes with 12 spots for spools, so I could either make a bracelet with 8 strings or 10 strings. It’s not really that big of a deal. I mean, it would be nice if I could use all 12, but it’s fine. I don’t want to try to force it to snap into place and end up breaking the entire thing, you know?

I made a bracelet, as you can see in the image. It is an 8 strand bracelet and it is so tight. Oh my goodness, I can’t even tell you how happy I am about that. I was so afraid the strands would be too loose and it would look stupid, but it really surprised me. I think that’s the reason I don’t care that one of the spools won’t snap in place, because I can overlook that one issue because of the tightness of the bracelet.

So obviously when I run out of the strings they give you, I can just add new embroidery floss from my stash. There’s no way I’m paying for refills. The only thing I would really be concerned about is the clasps because they only give you so many of those, and then once you run out, you’re screwed, unless you can find something similar at a craft store. I have my own way of doing these things. I much prefer to add a braided loop at the very top with a knot in place, then make the Kumihimo bracelet, and then braid the very end and use a button to fit through the braided loop. That’s my preferred method, but while I have the strings that came with this, I will just use them up with their clasps until I run out, then go back to making them with braided loops and buttons.

I bought a My Circle of Creativity many years ago that has a Kumihimo pattern wheel. I searched Amazon for it to add a link here, but they don’t sell it anymore. I also went to their website and it’s not there either. Perhaps they discontinued it. Anyway, that’s how I used to make Kumihimo bracelets, and I did pretty good with that, but it’s slow. This 2-in-1 machine is really fast. I literally made the bracelet in the picture in 5 minutes.

So I’m thinking if you want to make something like this, either bracelet or a necklace, this is the thing to buy.

Update: Ok so I fixed the problem. There is a jam fix that they talk about on their website where you remove one of those plugs on the inner circle of the machine, and then you just line it up with the spool holders, and then you can remove them. Well, I did that and noticed there are screws in the back. I took a tiny phillips head screwdriver and just unscrewed it a little bit and that fixed it. Now the spools pop in place like it is supposed to and now I can make a bracelet with 12 strands.

I’ve been approved for surgery

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, ketoLeave a comment

Let me just backtrack just in case someone is reading this post and they haven’t read any of my other posts. I had a colonoscopy in September 2020 and they found and removed several polyps. There were also several that were lying flat that they could not remove, so the only way to remove them is with surgery. They sent me to a surgeon who will do the surgery, but I’m overweight, so he asked me to lose 15 to 20 lbs so things are loose to make the surgery easier on both of us.

I went to my follow up appointment today with the surgeon, and he approved my surgery because I had lost 18lbs. So the surgery will be in 3 weeks and it isn’t exactly what I had expected. I thought he was just going to make me do the colonoscopy prep and then he would go in and basically do another colonoscopy, but with scrapers that could scrape the tissue to remove the polyps. Instead, he has to remove a section of my colon. I will still have to do a colon prep, but it’s a little different. I will have to be on a liquid diet for 2 days and take some medication and I will be in the hospital for 2-3 days after the surgery to make sure I don’t get an infection, which will just make things worse because I could end up with a colostomy. I. Do. Not. Want. That.

Even though I don’t technically have cancer, he is treating the surgery as if I have cancer. The polyps could turn into cancer if they are not removed, and they couldn’t be removed from a colonoscopy, so this is the alternative, and removing this section of my colon will keep me from having cancer. I’m not sure if I want to cry or not. I know it’s not cancer, yet, but, I don’t know. I’m just a little emotional I guess. I just didn’t expect to hear what he has to do to remove these polyps.

My paternal father died from cancer, so it was very important for me to get this screening done as soon as I turned 50. They wouldn’t give me a colonoscopy until I turned 50, so I had to make the appointment as soon as I could after my birthday last year. I’m glad they found it early enough and they will be able to take care of it.

After my surgery is done, I’m going to stay on my Keto diet and it is possible I’ve already decided this is it for myself. No more bad carbs. No more fried foods or fast food or junk food. I have learned while on this Keto diet that I can still eat the food I want to eat, I just have to go about it a little bit differently. I can still eat bread and tortillas, they just have to be carb free or low carb. Aldi has bread that is 0 net carbs and tortillas that actually taste good that are 5 net carbs. I can still eat a burger, I just have to use the Aldi bread, or I can make a chaffle. And speaking of chaffles, I love eating chaffles for breakfast with the sugar free pancake syrup. And I don’t have to worry about candy bars because I have the Fiber One snack bars that are pretty close to a candy bar. Atkin’s sells candy that is like M&M’s, so if I get hungry for that, they sell them at the grocery store near my house. Everything I like is available to me, I just have to find a way to make it healthy. There are also tons of recipes for making things I love, like egg nog.

I made some hamburgers with my mini dash waffle maker and made a big mess, so I bought another Dash, but it’s a griddle that will make pancakes and eggs and it is also for making hamburgers. So I can eat a burger guilt free any time I want.

Yes I’m a little sad at what has to happen, but I’m happy that I’m not going to have cancer and this has helped me work on my weight loss finally. And as always, I will follow up after my surgery.

I did it! I lost 15+lbs for surgery.

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, ketoLeave a comment

With all the struggling that I did during the last couple of months trying to lose 15 lb, I never thought that the weight would actually come off. I’m so happy that I finally lost 15 pounds and now I can get my surgery.

I still have four more days until I see the doctor to check my weight. He said 15 to 20 lb, so who knows how much more weight I might lose until then.

My appetite is under control and I am only eating breakfast, lunch, a 3:00 p.m. snack which is a 70 calorie Fiber One snack, and dinner at 6:00 p.m. I’m drinking coffee from when I wake up until a little after noon and then water for the rest of the day.

Like I’ve said before, I’m going to continue losing weight after my surgery until I get down below 200 lb. I would like to get down to 160 or 170, but I guess I’ll see what happens when it happens. Got to just keep going.

My weight loss update

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Health, ketoLeave a comment

I started my Atkins Keto diet on January 12, 2021 at 253lbs per my surgeons request. On February 17, 2021 I had lost 11.6lbs, but then the weight stopped dropping and I had gained a few pounds and I got extremely frustrated.

I wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong. I was always hungry, so I figured I needed a supplement, so I went on YouTube to find out what works, and someone said Apple Cider Vinegar, so I went on Amazon and found something in pill form called Apple Cider Vinegar+KETO in a bottle with 120 capsules. Instructions were to take 2 pills in the morning with food. I did that and the first couple of days it helped me to suppress my appetite, but then it stopped suppressing my appetite and I was always hungry again. So then I bought a bottle of Metamucil with Psyllium Husk Powder and the instructions were to take 2 rounded teaspoons with 8oz glass of water before every meal, and that actually helped to suppress my appetite. I took it for 3 days in a row and started feeling horrible stomach cramps, but I took it for a 4th day and I regretted taking it. I looked on Google for how long you should take Metamucil and it said maximum of 7 days. Well, 4 days was too many for me. Perhaps 7 days if you only take 1 rounded teaspoon before meals.

Yesterday and today I didn’t take anything. No apple cider vinegar, no metamucil and I seem to be doing fine with my appetite. My stomach is still cramping up a lot, but that’s going away. I don’t feel hungry between meals and that’s pretty much the whole point of me doing that, to help shrink my stomach and to help shrink my appetite. I weighed myself this morning and I was 239.4lbs.

My goal is to lose 15-20lbs for surgery, and my appointment with the surgeon is on March 11, 2021 to check my weight to see if I have lost anything to be eligible for surgery, which is in exactly 1 week from today. I am hoping to get down to 233 by then, but I will be happy if I’ve only lost 15lbs. Then of course there will be from the day of my appointment next week until the day of the surgery, and I may possibly have gone down to 233 or lower.

I have to lose weight for surgery, but I want to lose weight for my health sake. I have sleep apnea and I have bad knees, and I’m guessing is due to the fact that I am, or was 100lbs overweight. I’m still at least 90lbs overweight. I was 150 before I quit smoking and gained all this weight, and I don’t expect to go back down to 150lbs, but I’d at least like to get down to 170 again. I know I can do it if I try hard enough, but that all depends on my appetite. I’ve always had a huge appetite since I was a kid when I was skinny and couldn’t gain any weight even if I tried because I was very active.

Of course I will keep this blog updated when I go to the appointment next week and when I have the surgery, and when I lose more weight beyond the surgery.

Oh and just to make it clear, the surgery isn’t for weight loss as someone thought on Facebook. The surgery is to remove some colon polyps that they couldn’t remove during my colonoscopy in September of 2020. I need these extra polyps removed before they turn to cancer. Even if it was for weight loss, I’m sure I do not qualify for weight loss surgery because I am not an extreme case like you see on tv.

I finally found my groove

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, ketoLeave a comment

Ok. I’ve been on this Keto diet to lose weight for surgery for 7 weeks and I’ve had a lot of trouble losing weight. The first 2 weeks I was on this diet I lost 8lbs. I think because I was eating less, and I had almost completely cut out carbs. I mean, you can’t cut out ALL carbs. There are foods that are low carb, but they do have carbs. Then a few days after I had lost 8lbs on the scale, it dropped another few pounds for a total of 11lbs. But then I think I got cocky because the weight stopped coming off and I couldn’t lose any more weight to save my life.

I’m back on track now. I noticed I wasn’t going to the bathroom, like at all. I finally bought some Metamucil with Psyllium fiber. That helps me go to the bathroom and it also helps to control my appetite after my meals. I’m not eating as much food as I was and I’m losing weight again. I’m finally back down to that 11lb weight loss. I have 9 more days until my appointment with the surgeon to check on my weight loss, then he will schedule my surgery. And then of course I will have to stay on my diet until the surgery date, so I will hopefully lose more weight before then. I will also continue this diet until I’ve gone down to at least 200lbs. I’d like to keep going and lose all my weight, but I also don’t want to put any pressure on myself to lose weight.

My daily routine so far. I will drink the metamucil and then make my breakfast which is usually always chaffles. 2 eggs with some shredded cheddar cheese in the mini Dash waffle maker. For lunch more metamucil, then I will make a turkey sandwich with Foster Farms turkey that we buy from Aldi, L’Oven Fresh Zero Net Carbs Multiseed Keto bread also from Aldi with a little bit of mayo. Then at 3pm I’ll eat a Fiber One 70 calorie 5g net carbs brownie. For dinner more metamucil, then I make a chicken and cheese wrap thing. It looks more like a taco though, but I bake it like a quesadilla lol. The tortilla I’m using is called Fit & Active low carb tortillas that are 4g net carbs also from Aldi, and of course more shredded cheddar cheese, 28 grams to be precise and 3oz of chicken. That’s pretty much my whole day. Sometimes I will eat chicken and broccoli instead of making a wrap.

I’m sure someone’s going to say I’m doing everything wrong, but I am losing weight again, so I’m just going to do what works for me. But I don’t mind suggestions if anyone has any.

Edit: I Googled how many days you can take Metamucil, and it said do not take for more than 7 days. I’ve only taken it for 4 days, and my stomach is cramping hard today. I think I will stop taking it after today and then start up again in about a week I think. I didn’t know it was going to do this. I also didn’t know it was a laxative lol.