Its been an incredibly busy time over the past couple of months!!

The holiday rush, three trips out of town to work at Disney in Orlando, a family illness, and dealing with upheavals in my children’s lives are only the tip of the iceberg.

Between all that, I’ve also done quite a lot of posting at my fantasy literature site, ImagineDome.  In addition to the posts, I’ve also created a genealogy section using phpGedView, the Genealogy Compendium, to trace the family lineages in the fantasy books I’ve posted about. And, to spark my writing muse, I took the plunge and installed the Xoops and Yogurt CMS platforms to create the Writers Dome, an online community for writers.

The learning curve has been extremely steep considering all the new stuff I’ve been cramming into my mind!

I’ve got two or three other projects that I’ve been brainstorming on….but announcements and updates on those will have to wait till they evolve a bit more.

When I can sneak in some leisure time (not too too often! hah!), I have entered the strange world of golfing…that’s because I bought my hubby a new Xbox360 for Christmas and, since he loves golf, I bought him the Tiger Woods ’07 golf game. I haven’t played too shabby (my drives down the fairway are rather inconsistent), and have even managed 3 holes in one! Yeah!

My Christmas gift turned out to be a Casio electronic keyboard (woohoo!), which I’ve been puttering with in conjunction with using Magix Music Maker. As a passionate music lover, I particularly enjoy composing new tunes, though I’ve yet to learn how to master the tracks.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I’ve re-committed myself to my SparkPeople weight loss and fitness plans. So, in the mornings you can find me hanging in there as user DaphneCS. Hubby and I have had some good tennis sessions and have begun to take walks again. Next is the possibility of getting into P90X….but that’s something I’m still contemplating.

There you go—the latest and greatest from my neck of the woods! I haven’t disappeared by any means, just been a busy, busy lady. And all this right before I turn the big 5-0 birthday on 2/10!! Wowsers!

I hope all is going well with you in your world and that the days are full of peace and joy—

Daphne Cochran-Shapiro is an Author & Poet, Designer & Crafter, and Entrepreneur who specializes in working with folks needing design assistance. My goal is to empower you to be the best you can be in ALL your endeavors. I invite you to browse my sites and share your comments on my works!

It is never too late to create a fit and healthy lifestyle! I was lucky enough and excited to find a super site, perfect for achieving that goal–SparkPeople.com. Although I have only been a member for 3 weeks, I’ve already made surprisingly effective strides towards living fit and healthy. I’ve been watching and tracking what I eat, started an exercise program (cardio and strength training), feel better overall (improved mood, stable blood sugar levels, and more restful sleep), and lost 3 lbs. plus an inch on my waist and hips. Pretty good for just 3 weeks, right?

Oh yeah, and if you’re wondering what my age is, I’m 49! That’s why I say its never too late. I got totally sick of feeling tired, old and sluggish, and I got sick of not being at my ideal weight. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get started, but SP has made the process painless and fun. I’m more active, watch less T.V., my mind is clearer, and my body is stronger. I don’t feel so old and tired anymore!

I’ll add that with SP’s wealth of nutrition, wellness, and fitness information I’ve gained loads of knowledge about living a healthy lifestyle. You can also get great support from the members, who are always willing to give that support just when you need it.

Now having raved about SparkPeople, let me review what you get when you’re a member. {Major + — its FREE to join!!}

SP Features ~

• Free to join!
• Track your nutrition (calories, carbs, fat, protein, water intake and more)
• Track your exercise (cardio activities, strength training, and calories burned)
• Track your weight and measurements
• Reports (nutrition, fitness, and weight)
• Goal setting tools with tracking
• Personal journals and blogs
• Teams (hook up with others who share your interests and goals)
• Your own personal Spark page
• Daily Planner
• Free workout videos
• Health news and articles
• Social networking (add friends, Friend Feed)
• Message boards
• The Spark Diet
• SparkPoints for your site activities
• SparkGoodies (buy and give to your friends)
• Motivational Quotes
• Success Stories (great motivators!)
• SparkRecipes (you can even submit your own)
• Family Adventure (get your entire family to join in)
• SparkMail
• The Spark Store

That’s a brief review of most of the features at SparkPeople (I’m sure I missed a couple). They definitely offer a comprehensive set of features to help you with your health and fitness goals. I’ve totally been enjoying the time I spend there, and totally enjoying the progress I’m making.

I’d love to see you join me, so stop on in to my SparkPage and give me a holler! Let me know you learned about SP here at DreamWeaving with Daphne.

Let’s get Sparkling!

Daphne Cochran-Shapiro is an Author & Poet, Designer & Crafter, and Entrepreneur who specializes in working with folks needing design assistance. My goal is to empower you to be the best you can be in ALL your endeavors. I invite you to browse my sites and share your comments on my works!