Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

ME!!!     I'm doing a Balance Ball workout daily, along with breathing exercises, and some free weights for my arms.  I'm soon to add the Bowflex workouts as well... 

:hug:  I know its a day early, but just wanted to say Merry Christmas to you and your family  :hug:   I hope you have a lovely day!!!

:hug: Dilu you're not going anywhere!!!  :hug:   You make my day, and I would sorely miss your lovely comments, and helpful advice  :hug:

As for your bears...you lucky, lucky girl!!!  I recognized Nancy's work straight off the bat.  I can only hope that someday my own work might have such a strong 'stamp' to it.  Awwwhhh, and Judi's cute diddy bear, and Terri's adorable Jeremy     What a lovely Christmas you've had!  Way to go hubby 

....yawn..what am I doing up?...yawn...but this just kept nagging at me, so here's a link to the official Atkins site for those curious about the approach.  It explains in full detail, and sets you on your path.... http://www.atkins.com/articles/nutritional-approach

Induction (beginning) lasts for approximately two weeks, and is denoted by a number 1.  As your weight begins to come off, you can start to add carbs slowly, and watching portion sizes.  With more carbs comes a slower weight loss, but it still comes off.  If you add too many carbs, and begin to feel yucky again, and start gaining weight, you rebalance your carbs.  Incidentally, for the first addition back you can have a few nuts, or you can add one of my favorites... berries!  :hug: Its just really important to watch your portions.  Yes, you can have them, but you can't eat a whole pint of them!  As you progress and near your ideal weight, you go through the other stages of 2, 3 and 4.

And for those stuck on ideas for recipes, or just curious about Atkins/low carb recipes, here's another link http://www.atkins.com/recipes

Above all.... WATER WATER WATER!!!!! WATER WATER WATER!!!!  No matter what approach you're using for a healthier you, work on drinking more water...your body will thank you.  If you're on a low carb approach, you'll definitely want water as the diet can be very dehydrating at first.   :rose:

....yawn...now I can go back and start dreaming of teds instead of ...water! 

  I"m a wee bit tired as I've spent a long day journeying back and forth to Kansas City, but Shelli's done a brilliant job of covering info.  ...for the record, Dr Atkins did not die of heart disease...he slipped on ice on April 7th, hit his head and went into a coma.  At the hospital, they didn't honor his form of diet, and his body responded badly with water retention, bloating, etc.  Of course he went downhill quickly and died the very next day...

Although this diet does encourage cheeses, please note for the first two weeks, you need to make sure you're not eating more than 4 ounces of cheese a day.  All cheeses have some level of carb content to them.  As for facing greasy breakfasts.... mine is a little bit of butter melted in the pan, and in goes two scrambled eggs with a slice of crumbled cheese.  Sometimes dices of organic hams (be careful there are no nitrates or hidden sugars!) but you could just as easily add a little diced onion, or a tiny bit of pepper or tomato.  There's no need for the bacon if you don't want it.  Dr Atkins says you can eat this way without floating in the grease.....

:clap: Oooh, another developer!  Thanks for the link, Sue Ann  :hug:

I've sent this round off to be developed by WalMart's online digital development, but this Winkflash sounds much more promising.  I especially like the fact they use Fuji products. 

Tell us what you think when you get the prints Nancy 

Nancy I love your quote! 

I was faced with the exact same problem last year and again this spring.  Popped ridiculous money for a 'professional' photographer to photo my bears.  Not only were they subjected to a chain smoker (I don't smoke and it took a solid 2 days in front of the ozone generator for my poor real fur bears to come clean again  )  The pics when I finally got them were hideous!  I thought right, I can do this better, and promptly bought camera and tripod and set out to photograph them. 

Unfortunately my only choice for development was good 'ole WalMart, over an hour's drive one way.  I hear you on that wasted gas too!  My conclusion....I have no idea how, but I think I'm going to start developing and printing my own photos.... 

Let me know if you come up with a better solution! 

:hug: Oh goodie!! Another low carb buddy!!  :hug:

Bonnie I've actually had troubles in the past with switching back to my Atkins diet...no matter how well I stuck to it, I simply could not get the weight to shift as it had before.  I knew Candida could be a problem, but until I found the Candex, had no way to get rid of it.  The Candex is a little spendier, but absolutely worth the cost!!! 

Dilu I always, always, always take mulitvitamins and mineral mixes.  My Dad taught me to do so at a very young age...  :clap: thank you Dad!  :clap:

Shelli yes, eggs n cheese are yuuummmmyy  and to me, a perfect start to my morning.  Its made all the better by the fact that this year I raised my own chickie girls, so I get the eggs totally fresh, and I can control the quality.  And the neat thing, is that I was recently able to switch from 3 eggs to 2 for my morning breakfast, and still feel happily full for the bulk of the day.  I've just finished eating a late lunch of steamed shrimp over raw cabbage with some blue cheese dressing and pepper for garnish. 

With Atkins, I've discovered I like things like kale and bok choy!  Trust me, I would NEVER have bothered to try either without a little pushing.  Raw cabbage is something I've enjoyed even as a kid, and I can also have asparagus tips, and spinach, and the list goes on and on...  No I don't eat loads of it, but that's the point.  Having the protein helps to stablize your blood sugar, and helps you to get by on what your body truly needs.  Oh yes, and I get to eat macadamia nuts and avacodoes too   

Another thing that was a real eye opener for me was flipping the can, bottle or package over in the store and reading the ingredients and nutrition labels      I was SHOCKED at how much sugar gets slipped into food!!!  Its in practically everything.  I especially take a very firm look at packages touted as Low Carb.  So many of them just use this as a marketing ploy and the stuffs listed is no way safe for a low carber.  Sadly, I've also discovered many grocers will inject their meats with sugar.  It seems the lower grade meats can be made more palitable by injecting sugar.  I've had to become massively chosey with the source of my food....but you know what?  If I hadn't been concerned about sticking properly to my diet, I would never have bothered to look at labels...and never known what was going into my food.  I think all in all this has made my diet so much healthier. 

:hug: Ha ha, Sophie!!  AMEN!! 

:hug: Shelli, you can be my diet buddy then  :hug:   I'm following Atkins as well, and have in the past with great results.  I've just given up telling anyone in the past few years because I got SO fed up with anyone telling me how awful it is ~ without reading Dr Atkin's book or even grasping the concept behind it  grrrr.  I actually eat far more dark green veggies on the diet than I ever do with 'normal' eating aka stuffing anything and everything "junk" into my mouth without thinking...

I'm sure my diet and exercise are working and are right for me and that's not to say it will fit everyone's needs, so I'd never presume to tell anyone else how to eat.  Its just that the scales this morning were so brutal.... sigh 

Ah yes, I'm also taking a product called Candex that kills off candida yeast infections.  Brilliant stuffs, as it mechanically kills off any yeast overgrowths of the intestinal tract.  That way my good tummy bacteria can get re established.  Here's a link to explain it a bit better http://www.herbswest.net/items/PEL100.shtml  I kept trying to go back to my Atkin's diet, and kept having it blighted...just like he said it would be if I'd an overgrowth of this icky stuffs.   

  I'm confused over the colour options ... but that's not unusual 

It does look spiffy and brand spanking new...  but where's our cute Intercal logo?  The adorable teddy with the mohair?

Here's Giggle's backside with his wee diddy tail...

I ALWAYS put tails on mine....after all, real bears have tails! 

Oooh, I HATE cravings     Well, at least you won't be craving them for quite sometime to come 

I hopped on my scales this morning feeling all perky that I'd lost some weight and I'd be brave...        I've got over 40lbs (so 3 stone?) to lose!!!    Ah well, I will not derail my healthier eating style and I will continue to exercise.  Somehow I'll get there in the end.....

Hugs to all with your resolutions!!!  :hug:

My first bear was in 2001....and I'm still learning!   Honestly, I hope I never quit learning, because there are so many fascinating ways to make a ted 

I usually use sodium lights, like the kind used for greenhouses.  They're brilliant for getting the natural daylight colours.  The one 'drawback' is that they do throw heat.  For living on the Oregon coast where it seemed 40* to 50*F year round, this was actually a bonus and seemed to drop our heating bill.  But if you live where the temps spike into the 90*s or 100*s you'll bake! 

One thing I would suggest, no matter the lighting is to paint the walls white so as to reflect as much light as possible.  If you feel cramped at all, or in need of a view, posters of landscapes on the walls, and mirrors will make it seem much roomer. 

As for the electrical outlets...yes, put them everywhere!!!  I find it so frustrating to have to run extension cords everywhere because the plugs are in inconvienent places. 

:hug:  I'm so happy for you getting your very own sewing room!!  :hug:

I've used cotton quilting type materials with my first bears.  I loved the 'down home' look on some of my bears, but a bear shop owner told me to steer clear of it if I wanted my bears to look professional.  She said people would think the bear was a 'crafter type' bear and not want to pay $$ for it. 

So I sewed just a couple with moosehide pawpads.  They turned out beautiful!!!  My fingers however, did not    I will say, this learning experience led to me creating my very own moosehide thimbles    I handsew, and simply cannot get a metal thimble to work for me....end up sticking myself even worse, and I cannot feel! 

Then joy upon joys, I stumbled onto ultrasuede and have been hooked ever since     I love all the colours it comes in, plus its very easy to sew the sculpted toes.   

I haven't tried wool or felt, even though I know its traditional.  I worry that the fabric may not hold up...

  I think that covers everything!!       

:bday: HAPPY NEW YEAR Jare!!!  :bday:

:hug: Awwwhhh, have a  :hug: Daphne!  Its not like you set out to do it, and besides, I think you did a great job of compensating later in the day.

I read a fascinating book about a month ago called "French Women Don't Get Fat" written by a woman (because now there's some guy touting his own book as a form of diet).  Anyway she had a fascinating look at the different way Americans vs the French look at food.  It covered things like portion control, as she said the most flavor you will get is in the first few bites.  It had all sorts of tips for slowing down, focusing on what you were eating, etc, etc.  And I have to say its helped tremendously.  Over the holidays I've found my kitchen table again, and forced myself to sit there and focus on my food at mealtimes.  I usually read a book, newspaper, catalog anything, but focus on my food...so this one's been a big help to me.

A couple days back I ate some bad food (nothing like a touch of food poisoning to help with a diet  ) and the morning after I wanted some eggs, but didn't think my tum could handle my usual 3 eggs...so I tried 2 thinking I'll just grab a small something else if I wasn't full enough.  I was shocked to find not only was I full enough, but it was the right amount of full.  I didn't realize with the 3 eggs, I was actually stuffed!!  Bit of an epiphany for me.    I know another tip is to gauge your meal size by the size of your closed fist...that's supposed to be the size of your stomach.  I was a bit put out when I first heard this one because I've got small hands...but I think its right for me. 

Dilu, I'm surprised you didn't take hubby's head off when he came home with chocolate on his breath!!!   :twisted:   I'm sure the cravings will subside the longer you're away from it.   :hug:

:clap: I think you've done VERY well for a first attempt!!  I'm sure your nan will adore her 

  Yeah, sure.... I think you just coaxed a bear cub out of the woods and promised him loads of honey if he'd just sit still when you took the pictures and if someone looked at him!! 

:hug: Seriously, Judi, I think you've outdone yourself with this little (or not so little!) chap  :hug:   I'm in awe at all the hours it must've taken for you to create such a detailed, and marvelous bear cub. 

:hug: Awwwwhhhh, Dilu  :hug:  It'll get easier as time goes on.....   

I was so proud of myself...I did my balance ball workout this morning    Well that's one small step for me  I'll have to park a post it in front of the computer asking if I've done my exercise in the morning before I can get to TT....otherwise I get on here, and the morning flies by and I'm playing catch up the rest of the day, and of course my exercise goes the wayside 

Judi, I really like your idea of parking the weights in the kitchen and doing reps whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.  Oooh, I could even do a few reps while crusing on TT!!!     Now there's an idea....

Ah you lucky girl getting Marie's Qurio!!! 

I have to say, I've thoroughly enjoyed slowly reading through this thread to see what different ideas people have.  Daphne I've even jotted down your ideas for listings on ebay auctions.  I don't see myself ebaying in the near future, but you never know, and I like to keep an ideas list going...

Danni, I think the article's written itself!  You just need to print out this thread and voila! 

  Oh gosh these are funny!!!       Thank you for bringing 2006 in with LAUGHTER for me!!! 

:hug: Well articulated Bonnie!!!!  :hug: I'll second that, and say HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my new friends  :dance:

  Yes, but if you look on ebay, all the horse brasses are for sale in the UK!!    Pretty funny....

I can't have anymore... I'm saving my pennies for mohair and bears ....gotta keep my priorities straight! 

Oooh, that's gorgeous!!!  Small wonder you missed them....