Dazzling Diva Challenge #73 and New Beginnings

Dazzling Diva Challenge #73 and New Beginnings. All of us are on a journey. The situation and circumstances we face in life mold us into who we are and the path we need to follow. Sometimes the current journey is for a season and in preparation for the BIGGER picture God has for our lives. It’s difficult not to fight it when it doesn’t make sense, but I am learning to trust God and embrace the changes so that HE can mold me and use me as He wants.  Everything that happens in our lives if for a BIGGER PURPOSE and New Beginnings. 

 All good things must eventually come to an end and after much consideration my husband and I have decided to close the Dazzling Diva Challenge. Today’s Dazzling Diva Challenge #73 is our final challenge.  ***You can read more about why we are making this change below. 

I am so honored to have worked with such an amazing team of ladies who gave their heart every week to share with you. It isn’t easy as all of us on the team have grown close together. We have gotten to know each other on a personal level and have grown into an “extended family”.  It is hard to say “goodbye” and so we are saying “see you later”.

Dazzling Diva Challenge #73 is a New Beginnings or Anything Goes challenge.  We invite you to create and share a project with us that has something to do with New Beginnings. It can be a card or even a 3d project that showcases something about new beginnings. Here are some ideas: baby, mother-to-be, graduation, weddings, job promotion, nature, butterflies, etc.

If you have Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets, we encourage to use them and if you don’t we encourage you to purchase them in our Boutique and give them a try. I promise you will love them as much as we do.

Sign up for our Mailing List in the right hand column of our blog and receive an EXCLUSIVE OFFER for our Craft Metal Sheets at an AMAZING PRICE. This is only available to new newsletter subscribers. 

The Journey

As many of you know, the past 2 years has been filled with many health challenges for my husband and myself.  The road to recovery has been long and at times it didn’t feel like it would get better.  On top of dealing with our health issues, I had two hernia repair surgeries in 2014 and went in for my third surgery on March 17, 2015 to repair two additional hernias.  In a span of eight months, I had three surgeries and actually got deathly sick after the second surgery.  

All these situations lead me to do a lot of soul searching about our health and what got us to that point.   It wasn’t about the amount of food I ate but about the quality of food I put in my body. Once I knew what caused it, I was determined to do what I had to do to change it.

Unfortunately, many of us equate lower body weight with health and the truth is that there’s more to it than a number on the scale. Yes, a healthy body weight is important but I have seen many people that are at a healthy weight but they are not healthy on the inside.  The quality of food makes a big difference. I will share a recent experience with you about that in tomorrow’s post and what happened to me when the quality of the food I ate wasn’t good and what it did to me. I was shocked at the way my body reacted. 

My Story and My New Beginning

As I shared my story and struggles, many of you emailed me sharing your own stories and struggles.  As I read each one, I cried because I could feel your pain.  It’s so easy for people to say just push the plate away, eat in moderation, eat one or two meals a day.  The truth is that if it were truly that easy we would all be thin.

I have lived most of my life as a Morbidly Obese person.  The struggle is real and the feelings and emotions that come from it can tear you to pieces and make you feel of little value as a person.  It evokes such strong emotions that I still haven’t been able to share my “beginning of the journey before picture” with all of you in which my total weight loss has been 134 lbs.  I am working through that and hope to be able to share it soon.

So many people have emailed me asking for help and as a result I am going in a new direction. I am currently pursuing a Weight Management Specialist Certification. My desire is to be able to share and help others through their own issues with weight and health.  We need to find a healthy balance so that this can be a lifestyle and new way of living that will give you freedom in more ways than just a number on a scale.     

What Does This Mean?  My blog will be a balance of Crafting and Clean Eating.  My crafting will be geared towards more practical uses and party planning crafting (my favorite).  Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets will continue being sold in OUR BOUTIQUE and being used in my projects.  

In addition, you will see more of my kids and husband as they play an active role in our lifestyle change.  You will see kid and man approved recipes, tips, and crafting ideas. Of course, all of this will be wrapped in love as we reach out to each of you to share our story with you. 

Our prayer is that you will stay with us as we continue to share our love from crafting and Clean Eating and that through our posts you will get to know us on a more personal level as we share our hearts with you.  

MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE DESIGN TEAM’S CREATIONS AT THE END OF THIS POST

 
Ready to try out Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets? 

Place your order in the Add a Little Dazzle Boutique today and get your order in time to enter this week’s challenge.

You have until Tuesday, May 5th to enter.  The winner will receive a $15 Metal Sheet Prize Pack. If you use Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets in your project you will not only receive an additional $5 in product but a BONUS PRIZE.

Dazzling Diva Challenge #72 winner is Diane H.