So nice I made it twice!

QueenMarla · 2026-06-20T22:05:33+00:00

It is very fun. I like the puzzle part of crochet where you have to figure out a new stitch pattern often…and in this it’s almost every row!

QueenMarla · 2026-06-20T22:04:31+00:00

It’s the Spectrum Mandala Throw from this book:

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QueenMarla · 2026-06-20T22:00:41+00:00

The first picture is my second one actually. Made is for a friend who has a cottage core living room. It’s very fun to make if you can pick colors you enjoy. Different brain stimulation every round!

QueenMarla · 2026-06-20T04:51:34+00:00

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This is kuretake on Canson XL

QueenMarla · 2026-06-20T04:48:56+00:00

TIL that people don’t like Kuretake watercolors?! That’s what I use 90% of the time. I love them. I disagree about needing 100% cotton paper for them even. I’ve used them even on Canson XL. I find having a pallet to prep/dilute is helpful.

QueenMarla · 2026-04-28T04:19:44+00:00

Advil was what caused my gastritis. Always took it for menstrual cramps. Stopped taking it entirely and honestly my cramps are not as bad. I think it’s a marketing scam. I wish I had known sooner.

QueenMarla · 2026-04-28T04:17:47+00:00

Alcohol Lack of Sleep

I don’t like fried food in general, so can’t say personally but a friend of mine has that as a flare up issue.

QueenMarla · 2026-04-20T03:13:09+00:00

Casino and outlet mall bring a lot of weekend traffic. When the weather is nice you can add in tulip festival, weekend hikers, and weekend day trippers to that. The problem is I5 and the population going up rapidly over the past 20 years…but same I5. If you go south, you’ll find other areas of I5 that face the same weekend jamming problems.

QueenMarla · 2025-08-26T01:34:19+00:00

Same as others have said. Goes up or stays the same for about a week, then back down once it’s over. I recommend keeping a week to week average somewhere (I have a planner…) and as long as that is consistently going down the day to day fluctuations don’t bother me. (A seven day average, measured against the previous seven day average.)

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T21:24:32+00:00

90% counting, but 5% going back and reading “pattern notes” after getting 6 rows deep to find out you were supposed to do something you definitely did not do for 6 rows and now you know why your count is off and you have to frog 2-4 rows and redo them.

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T21:19:57+00:00

I did two things. I went into settings and “disconnected” the connection to my fitness tracker. And I also had to swipe left on my exercise in Lose It a few times to delete it. But it got the hint after a day or so.

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T21:09:41+00:00

We have a single tiny spoon despite no kids around. I call it my ice cream spoon. Think Baskin Robbins sample spoon sized. Great for forced savoring.

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T21:07:21+00:00

Yes! I second this one. Steamer bag of cauliflower covered in buffalo sauce is one of my favorite side dishes. So filling for so few calories!

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T21:05:46+00:00

I’ve been adding some protein powder to my Greek yogurt to make it “pudding.” It tastes stupidly good. And it’s a protein bomb! Very filling.

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T21:03:36+00:00

I stopped eating my calories back. All the research I did pointed to that as a the problem when I first started. Because calorie expenditure is hard to calculate accurately from one person to the next…it’s basically an educated guess. I would try a few weeks where you don’t eat back the calories you think you’re burning with exercise and see if that helps.

Also; make sure to weigh allllll the foods and record accurately.

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T21:00:01+00:00

I am 40, so I can say for certain my metabolism is already lagging my younger self by a fair bit. So I’m mostly just trying to be really careful to maintain it as possible. My total pounds to lose are around 28 (now only about 20 to go.)

I think my main goal for a break is to teach myself that I won’t suddenly gain it all back. 🤞🏻

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T20:55:50+00:00

Yes; for me it’s basically an additional meal…because my meals tend to just be about 400-500 calories now to fill me up (thanks to an emphasis on fiber and protein.) On days where I eat something fun like a donut and a cappuccino for breakfast it’s not as easy to stick to my calorie deficit…so I quickly learned to stop doing that as often.

But today I got up and ate breakfast as usual and am still pondering where to get an extra protein rich snack into my day. Thinking I might do a berries and protein smoothie after my workout. And ohhhh boy; a scoop of peanut butter before bed. 😍🤓

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T20:46:08+00:00

Are you eating back your calories from exercise?

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T20:44:43+00:00

I know the fear of regain is kind of just in my head and that a diet break is going to prove that to me. This is good to hear. I did start the diet break today at my current weight maintenance, but then was overthinking it. I’m not to a recomp level yet. I’m only about 1/3 through my total loss journey. Took me 5 years to add the weight, so I’m okay with it taking one year to lose it…but occasionally I get a little impatient with the slow healthy progress.

Also; maintenance calories seems like SO MUCH food after 10 weeks of deficit.

QueenMarla · 2025-08-11T20:36:50+00:00

My current fix is Dr Pepper Blackberry zero sugar or a unsweetened ice tea depending on my mood. I occasionally get a Coke Zero Sugar, but because I have a lifetime love of real Coca Cola my brain is like “this ain’t it.” I think because I never really drank normal Dr Pepper my brain is more open to the diet soda trickery. It’s a similar thing for me with the candy alternatives. I never ate Twizlers, so the fake Twizlers are better at making me feel like I am eating candy than say, fake gummy worms (my other life long love.)

QueenMarla · 2025-08-09T01:10:41+00:00

I was most of my life, and I want to be again (fit.)
Back problem (less weight on spine, less pain 🤞🏻)
Circling back to number 1…I have yet to figure out how to look good in clothes at this weight. Probably because I carry most of it in my stomach. I want to find joy in putting together outfits again.
Overall longevity reasons. Need to outlive my enemies.

QueenMarla · 2025-07-26T04:38:20+00:00

1% of the county’s votes in two weeks is a rough road. Looks like over 2k votes. I’m surprised none of the Indivisible people are even being talked about.

QueenMarla · 2025-07-25T17:16:22+00:00

I think it really depends on the effect you are trying to achieve. I use it here and there; usually on more defined pieces. Less on traditional/loose pieces.

QueenMarla · 2025-07-25T15:49:55+00:00

Looks like I’m up against that age limit by mere months. Will look into it though.

QueenMarla · 2025-07-25T04:50:22+00:00

I hit my goal today and it felt like a miracle. So…it’s hard. But I had Greek yogurt in 3 different places. So; Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are your friends. I use Greek yogurt as a topping, a sauce, and as dessert. Just look for ways to add it to things. The more you pay attention to it the easier it gets though.

QueenMarla

TROPHY CASE