Support Groups - Full Time Working Stiffs!!

Congrats to DH, Paige. I think that if you take it one step at a time, you'll work through the issues. Heck, Kerry did some of the research for you. :) Basically you've got to ask yourself "Do you want to live where you are or in AZ?" Answer that question and the rest will follow. When we made that decision to move across the country, it was scary and felt like I was jumping off a cliff. It was well worth it. I love where I'm at now and I was not pleased to live where I was at.

Kerry, so TOM left you and traveled to me. How nice of him... I think maintaining the 139 is great. It's easy to slip off when near goal and gain weight. You're doing great.

I had a great day yesterday. Got lots of stuff done (including working at home again) and made progress on my sweater. It just might be done in time for my vacation to Alaska. I swam laps and stayed under my calories. Since TOM arrived, I didn't bother to weigh in this morning. I just know that I'm doing so much better staying on track.

Talk to you later.
Marie

Howdy girls!
Seems like forever since I have posted! I managed to sneak a day off yesterday and took my son to zoo camp and then I had a long awaited doctor's appt. It was nice not to be yelled at about my weight. LOL The doctor's scale said 137, but that was with shoes. I also had my weigh in at Jenny Craig last night and it showed I am down to 136.1 only a .9lb loss but I'll take it. Almost a pound right? I am off again on Friday, another zoo camp session and a trip to the amusement park. Should be fun....gotta watch my food! Yikes! I am doing most of the day on my own. (no jc food) Man I love funnel cake and french fries! I have to be strong! :strong:

Glad to see you are back Lori. I am also glad you got the points tossed on the stop sign! :cp: You are doing a great job on the weight loss! 133!!!!! I still have between 11-16lbs to go....I'll decide once I get to 125, but I am betting I won't be happy with that since my gut is huge!!!!!! I don't think 11lbs is going to take care of it.

Welcome back Paige! Congrats to your hubby on the new job! :bravo: I know this is a stressful time, but it should be exciting too! Looks like Kerry found some good info for ya! Take a deep breath! Relax! Everything will work out for the best!

Marie-You are very talented! I could never knit a sweater. I wish I knew how to do stuff like that. I can't even sew a stitch properly. My TOM is due too in about 5 days or so, which is why I think I lost so little this week...at least I am counting on it :lol:

Kerry-Hang in there! You will be moved out and into your new house before you know it! I can't believe we have been in ours for a year already! Time sure does fly! One more piece of advice for all you ladies who are totally stressed out, when I went to the doctor yesterday I had them look up my weight from last year, and I was at 161 last April. By February I was at 171!!!!!!! I was stressed to the max! Eating like mad! So please ladies don't do what I did! I hate to harp, but I don't want to see you guys go through what I went through! Ok, I'm off my soap box. :soap: I just hope I can follow my own advice ;)

Well this is going to be a tough week for me, with going to the amusement park on Friday and my hubby's bday is tomorrow :hb: and we are going to dinner. I am going to buy a couple of those tiny birthday cakes one for him and one for our son...I'm sure I will sneak a taste :s: Better than buying a whole cake and having it around all weekend! :D

ttfn!

Good Evening Chickies!!

Don't be patting me on the back to soon, I haven't seen 133.5 lbs since Monday's weigh in, it might have been an after TOM fluke!

Breath Pagie, breath!!! It's ok, if you want to live in AZ, then for goodness sakes go for it! You couldn't have a better time to sell your house than right now, I don't know what is going on with the market but you'ld more than likely get more out of it than what you paid for it. Yes the cost of living in AZ is high, but so are the wages! My DH's aunt lived out there for about 5 years until she got home sick. You can do it, and before the dust started to kick up it sounded like you wanted to go, so by all means do it!!! Let us know how the Dr. Appt. goes, hope all is ok!!!!

Kerry, how was your Dr. Appt? Not being able to find the kitchen can make life total _ell!! But way to go on the 130's, you broke the bubble!

Marie, I can't begin to imagine moving clean across the US, where did you start out? I'm such a terd, I won't even discuss the issue. This is home, I don't care what comes up over the creek bank, what falls in the yard, and how crazy my neighbors are. Ok, I have some really large issues, I can admit it, but I refuse to deal with it!

Julie, great to see you! Isn't it nice not to get scorned like a little kid when you go to the Dr.'s. I just hated that! Mmmm Funnel Cake! Oh I may have to mix up a batch! Love that grease!!!! No wonder I have weight issues! Zoo camp sound interesting, what do they do?

Ok, I've got to fold some laundry and get to bed. Were going to Lernerville Friday night (dirt track racing) so I'm going to lose a night of keeping the house together (what a shame :D ) So it's a mad dash to get as much done as possible! And I'm slowly getting back into the swing of working out, 2 weeks of being a lazy bum sure is making me drag my feet and I just want to cheat, cheat, cheat. It is sooo easy to get off track!

Julie - You are really doing great girl!! I get excited about .5 ;) And I too am a sucker for funnel cake AND elephant ears and well any fried dough! :lol: I guess I have that in common with Homer Simpson. :p

Lori - Thanks for asking about the doc. I had to reschedule the appt though. My cycle got screwed up in the past 6-7 weeks and since I'd made the appt so far in advance well. . . I couldn't very well go to the OB during TOM. :o So I'm going the first week of Aug. It's ok and after our move, so hopefully I'll have more focus on ME :)

Marie - Sorry I kicked TOM to you. It sounds like you've been enjoying yourself. Way to go on your progress on the sweater, you make me very curious to see this creation.

Paige - How did the doc go? How are you? I hope you're feeling better.

Judy - We haven't seen you in awhile. Are you traveling? I hope your doing good and the weather isn't too hot and muggy to keep you from your walks.

Hi everyone, it's hard to believe another day is almost over. I just love summer so much that I live for each minute of it. Of course, the opposite is true - I hate winter so much I anxiously watch the calendar and the yard for signs of spring.

I spent the day on the pool - first time floating this year. Kerry, I'm eating crow - I got sunburned because of now sunscreen. I'd thought it was too late in the day to get burned (3:00) but I was wrong. I only have a pink nose but it's still burned and I had to admit it to Kerry.

I also finished the knitting part of my sweater. All I have left is to sew up the pieces. I'm going to do a little of that tonight and tomorrow morning. I will take a picture of it and post it. That is, of course, if it turns out right.

Julie, I'm a stress eater too. That and from boredom. It's no wonder I gain weight when eating is my favorite pastime.

Kerry, don't worry about sending TOM to me. It sounds like I'll be sending him to Julie soon. :) and the comment about Homer Simpson was too funny. I love doughnuts - that's my fried food achielles heel.

Lori, have fun at the race on Friday night. I had a blast at the Nascar race a couple weeks ago. I'm not sure I've had so much fun in a long time. And ignore the laundry. It just gets dirty again. :)

Talk to you later.
Marie

Lori, I forgot to answer you. We moved from Virginia to Minnesota without having jobs or housing lined up about 17 years ago. Then I realized I hated Minnesota (family lives there) and told DH that I was moving to the mountains. He decided that he'd join the kids and me, and we moved to Oregon. That was by far the best move of my life. It is paradise here. :) (except when the weather is breaking records for lows in the spring).
Marie

Good morning!
Well today is hubby's birthday and my son and I ended up getting him a nike shirt and a basketball for gifts. We got a hoop installed above our garage a couple of weeks ago, and the ball we had was very old and worn out, not to mention I ran over it with the car :lol: It melted to the undercarriage and was toast! The burning smell that I drove around with for a couple of days was awful! Anyway he was really excited, he had been wanting a regulation size basketball since before I ran the old one over so I got him one. Wish me luck that I don't :ink: pig out at dinner tonight and the park tomorrow.

Lori-Zoo camp is at the Pittsburgh Zoo they have a toddler program, the session is only 45 minutes long, perfect for little ones, it was cute, they brought in a rabbit, an owl and an opossum for the kids to see up close. And we made a couple of art projects. My son loved it. That session was called Down on the Farm. Tomorrow we are doing Itsy Bitsy Bugs :fr: I don't even want to think about what they will be bringing in for the kids to look at. They do have some programs for older kids where you drop them off for a few hours.
I'm sure you will see 133 again! don't sweat it. Have fun at the dirt track. Do you guys participate or watch?

Kerry-Homer Simpson! You crack me up! :lol3: I can just picture him with drool coming from his mouth making that gurgling sound.

Marie-I haaaaate winter too! I have been a bad girl all summer :o ...no sunscreen at all except when I remember on my nose...I have a tendency of looking like Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer LOL. I try not to stay out too long, but I am so tired of looking like a ghost. This is the first time I have had any kind of a tan in years. Do you tan using sunscreen? I know a few people who do, but I am not one of them!

If I don't see you guys before Monday, have a good weekend!

Good Morning!!

Well, this has been such a stressful week!!! Trying to get back on a routine after being gone is hard enough..... We decided not to accept the job offer in Phoenix. We are still planning to go but it would just have been too hard to do it now. I would be a single parent for a year and have to handle selling the house and keeping it in "show" condition and work on my AZ certification. Just too much!!!!! We are going to put the house on the market after Christmas and then in the meantime I am going to take two online classes that I need on Arizona and the constitution, get my fingerprint card, and take the two exams that I need...one for teaching and one for principal certification. That way I can be certified when I start looking for a job in the spring. I won't move unless I have an admininstrative job. I have worked too hard to get were I am professionally to go back to the classroom and teach. Once I have a job then we will move and DH will find something once we get there. That is the plan for now.

I also went to the doctor this morning and I have an umbilical hernia. So I am waiting for the surgeons office to call me this week to schedule an appointment with him. She also put me on blood pressure medicine and I have to go back and see her next week for a physical. Then she is moving to San Deigo so I will have to start seeing someone new after next week. When I was at the doctors office this morning I was so embarrased my kids looked like I had just beat them. Cameron has a bite mark on his cheek that he got from the dog this morning. He deserved it!!! Then Hannah fell out of bed last night and hit her nose on her toy box. So she has a swollen nose with a bruise and a swollen upper lip. It is always something!!!!!!!

Also on Monday while I was at the store the water company came and shut the water off. DH didn't mail the bills while I was gone, he didn't even open any mail...it was all waiting for me....along witht he notice that the water would be shut off if not paid by the 3rd!!!!!! So I had to take care of that with a reconnection fee of $50.

And the doctor wonders why I have high blood pressure!!!!!!!!

The good news is that I am back on plan and doing well....I am still so surprised that I didn't gain any weight on vacation!!!!

Well it is time to take DS to his reading class. I'll check back later today when I have a chance...to much time ranting on my issues I didn't have a chance to respond to any posts...sorry girls I'll do better next time!!!

Paige - holy cr@p girl! My blood pressure is going up just reading your post! It sounds like you and DH made the right decision for you to wait to move. You have some things to get in order before you move and if you don't want to go back to the classroom, I agree that it is wise to take the time for your career to stay on track. Sorry about the hernia. :( I hope you get fixed up and feel better soon. It's good that your staying on plan for eating, but I hope you can destress a bit too. Hang in there :)

Julie - Your hubby and my hubby need to get together and play b-ball. :p That's one of the first things my DH asked about the new house "can I put up a basketball hoop?" Enjoy your dinner and eat what you want, but NOT TOO MUCH ;)

Marie - Sorry about your sunburn :lol: Mine faded in 2 days into a nice tan. I'm hoping to work on the tan a bit more this weekend. Please do share a photo of your sweater when you finish. I'd love to see it! :) oh and I like to use the Banana Boat suntan lotion with low spf to just keep that burn away but still get tan.

Lori - I too am curious about your dirt track racing event on Friday. Do you race yourself or just spectate? My folks used to race their 69 Stingray Corvette before they had kids. They went from that to yelling at me for driving too fast when I learned to drive and criticizing all 3 of their kids for always buying sporty/fast cars. :lol:

As I stood on the scale this morning (weighing on Thur instead of Fri like Im supposed to) DH comes behind me and says "yep it says 138" No way! I told him I don't understand the scale. He says to me that it goes in marks of two and I'm one mark below 140 so that's 138. I can't believe it. I am so close to 135. :eek: i might make it and keep on going. :crossed: Though I do have family vacation coming up. :beach: And my family is a terrible eating influence and then San Fran where I am sure we will eat ourselves silly. Maintenance might be the name of the game ;)

TTYL. Sorry I went on and on and on. I'm a bit bored at work today. :bubbles:

Morning all. Everything is great around here today. The weather, DH coming home from his trip, the sweater looks like it's turning out good, the pool chemicals are finally in blanace and the pool area is clean. Wow! It's a great. DH said I could drive the topless Jeep across the mountain to pick him up from the airport. YEAH!!!! I really love my jeep.

Julie and Kerry, the sunburn is fading and I'm very dark tan. It's almost too much with blonde hair and blue eyes. I usually use SPF 45 but I still tan like crazy. Today I will be covered in it for the trip across the mtn. It's about 75 miles eachway in the sun. So I will be smarter today. I use Neutragena 45 Dry touch. I like it and it doesn't make me oily. I thought of wearing a long sleeve shirt for the drive, but it's going to be 100 degrees on the other side and I'd literally keal over in the heat.

Julie, have fun with DH tonight. The presents sound perfect. Don't eat too much but remember that one day off your diet won't ruin it (unless you let it but that's another soap box).

Paige, it sounds like you made the right choice for you. Best to get your ducks all in a row before jumping in the water. You guys had valid reasons for turning down the job. He'll find something perfect for him once you have your job and move.

Kerry - you are the woman!!! 138!!!! Way to go. I am just so jealous. :) I'll get there and then we'll have to go tanning together.

Good evening Chickies!!!

Paige I don't know if I should laugh or feel bad! It's probably a smart move that you wait til you get your ducks rounded up. Who knows, maybe the company will offer your DH the job again when you are ready. My kids look like battered children during football season, you should see people look at them. And we get lots of questions. You should see them showing off their battle scars, they are so proud and I could just crawl in a hole!

Marie, you may melt! 100 degrees, yuck!!! Although the ride sounds like fun, I think I'ld opt. for AC! Sounds like your having a great day, good for you! Rub some of that my way!!! I had to go to work today and it just s_cked!!!

Julie, have fun playing ball! Yea, that would be rough running around with a smelly melted ball under your car. I thought a skunk was bad, but I may reconsider that!

See Kerry, it's dopping off!! Wahoo!! And to all, no I would never race at a dirt track! They are all crazy, although I've come close to running a bus on the nights when they run the buses, but figured I best not since I usually was the only sober when in the gang and I drove the drunks down on a bus. If I wrecked I'm not sure how they would have all gotten home. I used to drag race in my younger days, and if we had the money we'd all be drag racing now. But for now we're all just watching.
These are sprint cars http://www.lernerville.net/Pictures/7805/DSC_0170.jpg
Here is a crapy bus picture, but you'll get the idea http://www.lernerville.net/Pictures/6705/DSC_5203.jpg
Ok dinners done and I need to work out!
Chat with ya all later!!!!

Morning girls!
I am at home this morning. I had some work to catch up on since I couldn't get anything done at work yesterday! All day long people at the office were driving me nuts and at 5 o'clock my boss comes in my office to chit chat (oh yea personal stuff) while I am frantically trying to finish up so I can meet my family for my husband's birthday dinner. So when 5:45 rolls around and my husband calls to ask where I am, my boss says oops sorry for keeping you...DO YOU THINK THE BIRTHDAY CAKE I HAD SITTING ON MY DESK WAS A HINT??????!!!! Not to mention the fact that the whole office knew it was my husbands birthday....oh well, Not sure what his deal is. :shrug:
Dinner went well, I behaved and only had a tiny piece of cake. :D
Now we're off to the amusement park today....boy I'm starving! I have not had breakfast yet.

Paige-Sounds like you hands are full. Better to hold off until you guys are really ready. No sense in rushing into things if it is not the right time.

Marie-Sounds like you had a wonderful day! How was your jeep ride? I always thought it would be kind of cool to ride in one of those. By the way I am soooo jealous of your ability to tan. I am alot less paler than I use to be, but could stand to be a bit darker.

Kerry-You go girl! 138!!!! :cb: That is great! What kind of hoop are you guys getting? The pole kind or one that hangs above the garage? We have one that hangs above the garage. The guy hung it crooked at first and had to come back and fix it :lol:

Lori-Have fun at the track tonight!

Lori - DH was cracking up last night at the busses!! He said it brought back memories for him - I didn't know he had such!! :lol: Have fun! Thanks for the support on the lbs continuing to drop. I got on the scale again this morning to make sure and it said the same thing. :D How are things going for you getting back on track? I must say that I never really did get back on the exercise kick. I wish I could do what you do... I have no motivation right now to do it though.

Julie - My boss can easily pull that stuff with me too. It sounds like you ended up having fun though once you escaped. Enjoy your day today!! :) I guess we'll be getting one on a poll since we don't have a garage. I wonder how much that's going to set me back. :dizzy: It's always something. And we STILL haven't decided on Lazboys. I'm thinking we should just purchase one for now anyway. Decisions decisions....

Hi all, yesterday was great. Hot, ut great. The ride over the mnt. pass was fun. I slathered on the SPF 45 and sweated. Oh well. It was worth it. I don't like AC and I would have had to use it if I took the Durango. By the time we got home, I was wet - literally soaked the back of my clothes. So we went swimming and did a 1/4 mile. I won't go farther because then I'll start looking at my pool like it's work. A 1/4 mile is about right for an okay workout.

Today we took the dogs hiking and it was gorgeous. Had to get up early since it's supposed to be hot and we wanted the dogs to go in the cooler morning temps. I sure do raise my heart rate when we go up the mtn. Hopefully it'll help me shed a pound. I'll take them anyway that I can.

The sweater will be finished today. I'm almost done. I'm already thinking of the next project, but it wouldn't be done by next week for the cruise, so I'm not in a rush.

Lori, sorry about your day yesterday - TODAY IS FRIDAY!!! :D I think the reason I'm so happy is that I'm not working at the moment. I swear when I get rich, I'm quitting. This is truly the way to live.

Kerry, get both of the recliners - one for you and one for him. Problem solved. :lol:

Julie, I'll give you some of my tan. It's too dark. I'm hoping it'll fade in the next week, but playing in the pool sort of makes that hard. :cool:

Well, I will be back later, taters.

Hi everyone, I did it. I finished the sweater and here it is... BTW, it fits perfectly!

http://www.mariesdogs.info/images/sweater.jpg

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!!

Ahhh, the weekend at last! We had a good time at the track last night, I have dirt and clay all through my hair from the dust they kick up! I'll be needing a shower asap this morning.

Marie, the sweater is just georgous. You'r really making me consider one of those fancy machines!!!! I had no idea it could produce such nice stuff! Remember take lots of pictures on your cruise, I'm very interested. We've kicked around an Alaskan cruise, but I'm so afraid to fly. Maybe someday!

Julie, Glad to hear you eventually got out of work. That always happens to me too, but it's not my boss. As soon as I'm in a hurry something goes wrong and needs my attenetion and I'm stuck at work. We have a big job that we're doing this morning that I set up so I'm just waiting for my phone to start ringing. Are drivers are some of the nicest people, but sometimes they can be real pin heads when it comes to making a decision. I always tell them your there and I'm not, do what you think is best and I'll back you up, just don't get stuck!

Kerry, the bus races are soooo much fun! My kids go nuts, they have to be careful during the powder-puff races, the girls are so much more agressive than the guys. They have a tendancy to roll them over and really smash them up. It's almost like a bus demolition derby! It's going to be on a Sat. night this year so I'll be going. Julie, you ought to come out, it's really not far at all. It's on Sept. 10th. Just follow 228 all the way out to 356 (sarver), hang a left and it's a few miles on your right on 356.

The diet swing went well this week, until last night. But I only had a couple slices of pizza and a hand full of nachos. Bad thing is I need to do a doulbe work out today to make up for what I missed last night and I skipped Tue. coz I thought my blood pressure was going to explode (our fixed van never got out of the driveway) It was stuck in second gear, screaming just another couple of hundred dollars. My mechanic (DH) almost had a stroke, we have reservations at a camp ground for next weekend and there is no way we can get all that crap in my car. DH & I settled down and ordered the part, but now I'm afraid to take it that far. I wanted to drive it for a week or two to see what else falls off it.

OK DS is up and his glasses are bent, so we have to go get them straightend!

Some of our vaction pictures! http://users.adelphia.net/~lmatis/

Where oh where to all the working stiffs go??? On vacation???

Anyway, Lori, thanks for the compliment. The sweater machine isn't too expensive - about 200 at joann.com. I saw at walmart a machine made by bond (the same manufacturer as mine) for 88. I don't know if it's as wide and such, but next time I go, I will look at it more carefully. I will post the cruise pictures on my website (www.mariesdogs.info (http://www.mariesdogs.info/)) when I return. I think I'll bring the whole webpage with me so that I can redo it. I was playing with different dreamweaver functions and it made it sort of screwy. I learned a lot - which had been the goal - but now I want my site to look good.

Today was a great day. About 100 out but the humidity was only 19% so it didn't feel bad. I floated on the pool for about 1.5 hours with SPF45 protecting me this time. I'm also done dog sitting for a friend and that's a relief. There have been a few problems along the way during the owner's 16 day absence and I am very much a perfectionist when it comes to animals. So I'm not sure I like the responsibility. Besides my three pups weren't thrilled with me having the smell of other dogs on me.

Okay, that's about it. I also watched the nascar race and am totally bummed that Gordon had brake problems. I like wearing my new #24 shirt and hat - but I got them at the start of his slump and I'm thinking I should keep them in the drawer from now on. :)

TTYL.

Marie - Your sweater is awesome!!! That is some talent that is worth something or at least you have something to show for it.

Lori - Thanks for sharing the vacation photos! Looks like the boys had fun on the beach even if DH didn't :D

I'm a little down and out recently. Things are really out of sorts for us with the house, the move, etc. DH & I haven't been communicating well and I've let everything build up to the point where all I want to do is cry. Suprsingly I'm not inclined to binge and eat everything in sight. Quite, the opposite - no appetite. :(

I keep telling myself that it's going to get better, we're going to get moved, things will get organized, furniture will get purchased and DH will get less moody. But it is hard to convince myself of all this. I am usually so upbeat and happy, but I just feel so down right now.

Sorry to be a bummer. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Hellloooo!!!!
My day off was nice...missed zoo camp though because hubby was dragging his feet. We had to reschedule for another day. Oh well....had fun at the park though....Lori you have been to Kennywood haven't you? Seems like they changed a few of the rides a little bit, like adding regular seat belts on some of the coasters and adding a no skid surface to the turtle ride...half the fun of that ride was sliding around the seat!!!
LOL...guess you have to have gone there to know what I am talking about, but anyway, it only rained for about 1/2 hour, which helped cool things off a bit. So the rest of the day was nice. I made some poor food choices, but I did not over eat, just had a taste of what hubby and son were eating here and there. I more than made up for it by doing 1hour of cardio the next day!

Lori the bus races sound like fun. I'll have to mention it to my husband and see what we have going on that night.

Marie, I love the sweater! Can't wait to see pics of your trip!

Kerry, Things will calm down I promise! Me and hubby fought all the time when we were moving. Once you get settled things will be ok! Hang in there. We all get down sometimes!

Today was a busy day! I took the kids to work with me this morning so I could plan our back to school staff development for our staff. It will be alot of fun. We got a grant this year so we are going to Kemah (close to Galveston) for a faculty retreat. The leadership team will go down on a Wed. and then the staff will come Thursday and stay through Friday afternoon. It should be alot of fun!!! The school (grant$$) will pay for the hotel and meals for everyone. We are going to focus on teamwork activities and tie them in to how this could help student achievement. Then I took the kids to McDonalds for lunch before DS had to go to his reading class at 2:00. We also went to Target so that the kids could pick out new lunch boxes and backpacks.

Tonight I need to clean out my closet. I know I have a bunch of stuff that I could send to the Salvation Army. Yesterday I went through all the kids clothes and toys and packed up a bunch of stuff to send. I need to call tomorrow and arrange for a pick up this week. I also need to make curtains for my living room this week. I was going to do it back in May and just haven't gotten around to it yet. Since I start back to work on Monday I guess I had better get them done this week.

Kerry- Moving can be really stressful!! But it will be so worth it once you guys get settled and things can get back to normal. Hang in there...I promise you will find light at the end of this tunnel!!!!!

Marie- The sweater is beautiful!!!! You are so talented! I am jealous of your 19% humidity!!! I would kill for that!!! If we end up moving in the next year I will certainly not miss the humidity here!!!!!!

Julie-it has something to do with Murphy's Law...It never fails on days that I have to get out of there early, a teacher or parent has to come in just as I am getting ready to leave and they stay...and stay...and stay....I feel your pain on that one!!!!!!! I'm glad you had a nice day at he amusement park.

Lori-I think in another life I was a race car driver of some kind...I'm not really into NASCAR and all that but I remember when I was in St. Louis at a wedding my BF and I were looking for something to do and we made a wrong turn and ended up a the drag races....it ended up being so much fun!!!!! I love to drive fast anyway!!!

Well I guess I should go fix dinner. DH just got home and I can already here him in the kitchen.

Good Evening Chickies!!!

Well I'm not going to whine to loud, but I stayed the same weight at weigh in today. The 133.5 came back, but yesterday afternoon I was 132.5, but that was after I sweated a gallon bucket! I drank 4 glasses of water before I went to bed and still slept all night! Yikes, I was a little de-hydrated! I scrubbed our van inside top to bottom and man was the humidity awful!!! But it looks great!

Kerry, don't let the communication be an issue! My DH is a real gabber, but very MOODY! I just keep yacking away and eventually he has to give in and talk back. Just hold back from pointing fingers (which can be extremely hard) When all else fails, give it up! I don't know what is wrong with men, but when they are all stressed out it seems to lighten them up. We women just want to talk and they just want a quickie! DH and I have many issues, and are exteme oppisites on alot of things, but the one thing that has changed with maturity is the ablility to step back and look at the whole picture. That and being open, as in he can tell me I'm actting like an _ss, and I may get irritated, but he is usually right (which I hate to admit) and that goes both ways. Smile, your getting a new house that you can do what ever you want to. DH probably feels like your stepping on his toes over the furniture and decorating. So to save the peace let him make the final decision, show him what you like and see if that works (just mention that it's not fair you don't get some comfy furniture). And if all else fails, let him get what he wants, nothing lasts forever. You'll eventually need new stuff. Trust me life is tooo short to fight over what your sitting on! And the next time around you can use "we spent $1000 on a chair that the dog won't even sit on!" :D

Julie, I love Kennywood, I haven't been there this year, but last year the turtle didn't have the skid proof seats. I'm assuming your talking about the Jack Rabbit coaster?? Regular seat belts would be an improvement for the young ones, but I get a hoot out of hopping out of my seat! Mention the bus races, your kids will go nuts! And they are fun!

Kuck Paige, back to work already!!!! Man where did the summer go??? Sounds like the little trip will be fun! At least your getting a hotel, DH is all into the tent thing we may never see a hotel room again. :lol: Wonder if he'd feel the same way about camping out at 7 springs in January. (our local ski resort) Love those drag races, I spent $50 a person for DH and I to see the Nationals in Ohio one year, best money I ever spent! I just have to remember ear plugs next time!

Marie, I wouldn't know what 19% humidity was!!! You mean no curly frizzy hair??? The closest we get to that low of humidity here in PA is in Feb. Wait till I tell DH that's why Jeff's not winning, you'll have to burn that shirt :o !!! Oh and the dogs are sooo sweet, but all that hair! You must have a dozen of those sticky roller deals to get that hair of you :lol: !! My friend had one husky and introduced me to the sticky rolly thing.

Ok I've have seriously blabbed tonight, I'm going to run! Busy week and I'm not getting a thing done sitting on this computer!

Hi, everybody! I almost have my life back....today was my first day at my new job. I'll be busy, but not crazed, and I have my own office again, so I can check in here briefly without people peering at my screen all day. I'll be leaving town for over a week soon, but by August 1, I plan to be a regular visitor again. Thanks for bearing with me!

There are too many post for me to catch up with. So I'll send a blanket cheer to all of you for being here and cheering the rest of us on. I feel like I have such a long way to go...but whenever I think of where I was (and how I felt) last winter, I am grateful for progress, no matter how slow. This has been a difficult year, but the transitions are nearly over (I hope!), and I know that the momentum will pick up again. I appreciate your support in getting this far.

hugs--judy

Judy - Great to see you and to hear such great things about the new job!! :dance: Sounds like things have really come around for you and you are in a much better frame of mind. I'm sure the weight will be easier to lose with life going more how you like it to.

Lori - You hit the nail on the head with DH & I :lol: You should be a marriage counselor or something!! :p You are right on about the furniture and house design as well. We have talked about it and I think it's better and I guess part of the issue is that he can't believe how much $$ we are spending and feel ok about it. (We've been broke for years) But things are better and I gave it up :o so I'm sure that helped too!! ----- And it is good that you've maintained through all the travel and family time, etc. Good for you!!

Paige - I can't believe it is time for the schools to start getting into gear to start in the fall. I was helping my mom last night find some of her materials she needs for curriculum. The summer has flown by! Enjoy the rest of it!! ---- and thanks for the support on the move. It will get better, bc it must!

Julie - it sounds like you've been having a lot of fun with your family. Thanks for sharing your experience moving with your DH. It is tough to get along when everything is a mess and out of order and decisions have to be made...

Marie - I forgot to say yesterday that I looked at the photos of your dogs as well and they are so gorgeous!!

Things did not improve with my mood yesterday since one of the old bittys that I work with decided to corner me to talk about "why we're not such good friends". I had to lay it on the line and tell her how it is - that I don't talk to her bc I don't trust her. She's all bent out of shape at me now and not speaking at ALL. The boss was out when she pulled the cornering move, so now I have to talk to the boss about it today. :rolleyes: Again, I'm prolly going to he!! for it, but I wish those in their 70's would retire or just stop showing up :censored: I'll shutup now.

Didn't feel like eating much yesterday. Maybe that will help with a loss this week. I'm staying off the scale until we leave for the beach.

Good morning!!!!
Ok Lori, since you mentioned hair and humidity living here in wonderful PA here goes my whine. I hope I am being just paranoid here, but it seems that I have been losing alot of hair lately, I read somewhere, not sure if it is this board or another board that when you go below 1200 cals per day you can start to lose some hair. (I have been trying not to go below 1200) I have noticed a ton of hair in the drain after I wash it, and I wash it daily...I am probably being paranoid, I do shed alot this time of year :lol: my hair is fine, but I have a ton of it plus the fact that the humiditiy is so high my hair is extra flat...I don't frizz, my hair is too straight. So I went to get my hair cut last night because it is so limp anymore, that I can't even curl it with an iron, I thought it might help if it was shorter, but the girl talked me into going back on Saturday for a body wave...sure hope it doesn't make my hair fall out worse :fr:

Paige- I can't believe that it is time to start thinking about back to school already! The retreat sounds like fun! How did the closet cleaning go? I reallllly need to do that and I have only been in my house a year :lol: ....I'm such a slacker! Oh yea I drive really fast too...my hubby is always yelling at me to slow down!

Kerry-I agree with Lori that sometimes it is better to just keep the peace. I am the moody one in our relationship LOL hubby is the one who wants to talk everything out....that is why we argue sometimes. He hashes and rehashes everything to death to convince me of his way of thinking. Sometimes I just glaze over when he starts talking LOL...we are total opposites when it comes to likes and dislikes, but we are on the same page when it comes to the big picture. So sometimes I try to just let him do things his way and act enthusiastic about it. I know that may be wrong, but it saves me an ear beating. LOL Sorry you are still in a blue mood :( I can relate, I can't believe that woman cornered you like that. Hope things get better at work for you.

Judy- Hello! It is nice to have your own office...I do now sort of :lol: there is another desk in here, but it is only used as a "guest desk" when we have someone from our corporate office visiting which is only a few times a year.

Lori-great job on maintaining or should I say a possible loss! :bravo: You never know, that 1lb may be a real loss!

Oh well...guess I better get back to work...I really have been a slacker, I have soooo much to do I don't know if I will ever get caught up!
Cya later!

Hi everyone, just a note to say that everything is going good. I started another sweater and have gottenpretty far on it today. I swam my laps and floated in the pool for about 2 hours. I used sunscreen and avoided a burn. I would have been toast if I floated that long in the sun but SPF45 let me listen to an audiobook while staying cool. It's about 100 out but the 17% humidity is still with us. So it's not unbearable.

Kerry, I think my dogs are cute, but it sure is great to have someone else say it - so thanks. I really hope the old biddy stays shut up. What is with work place politics anyways? It drives me nuts. And that's the last stressor you need in your life at the moment.

Julie, when I was on a very low cal diet with a place called Weight Loss Clinic, I lost weight fast and my hair feel out just as fast. I too have fine hair but lots of it. But I noticed that my ponytail was much smaller diameter and the drain was always plugged. You might want to make sure that you're taking vitamins and that you're really eating enough. Your hair is giving you a signal.

Judy, great to hear from you. I hope that you enjoy the new job and your life becomes more even keeled.

Lori, no frizzy hair. Mine's stick straight. It looks the same in humidity or no humidity. I definitely don't want to burn the shirt but I'm not wearing any Gordon paraphrenalia on Sunday. It's just so weird that his slide started when I got my shirt. So on the cruise (which I hope has TNT on Sunday) I will be wearing my cruise clothes and no Jeff Gordon stuff. If he still slumps then I'm free not to burn the clothes. :)

Paige, you only have a week left of summer vacation!?!?!?!? I still have 3 weeks. I would be in a real down mood if I had to go back in July. August is bad enough. :) The retreat sounds like fun and will be good for your staff. I thought of you yesterday when I read about the temperatures in Phoenix. Bet you're glad at the moment that you're not there. 115 degrees, humidity or not, is unbearable. I read it even got up to 125 in places. Yuck!

Well, I chat with you later. I'm going to go knit and see if I can finish a yellow sweater in less months than it took me to do the jade colored one. :) I took 5 months with the last one and they say you can finish one in 2 evenings. Ha, not me.

Good Morning!
I went for my weigh in last night...down another 2.2lbs for a total of 37.8lbs!!!! I'm down to 133.9 and only have 8.9 lbs to go to my original goal weight. So why do I still feel so fat? I told my consultant that I want to lose 5 more lbs on top of the 46 that I originally wanted to lose. Not a big deal since I am so short (only 5 ft 2) If only my belly would catch up to the rest of me I would be one happy camper!

Marie, another sweater? You are the woman! You'll have to show pics when you are finished. Do you leave on your cruise this week?
I meant to talk to my consultant last night about my hair concerns and I forgot. The good news though is that I did not lose much today. I am starting to wonder if it is a combo of the weather, hormones and diet. I am finishing up TOM I wonder if it is possible that has anything to do with it...just a crazy thought. I am taking the jenny craig vitamins and an extra calcium daily. Do you know of anything else I could take to help with this?
Thanks.

:bravo: Julie on your loss!! I have the same issue with my belly. I am happy with how everything else is shaping up except this little pooch!

Marie - I'll say it again, I am soooo jealous of your pool time! Enjoy! :cool: Good luck on the next sweater. Maybe it won't take as long now that you've got it down.


I'm not doing an official WI until Friday, but I peaked this morning and it might say lower than I expected. I feel a bit bloated for some reason, but it might just be the humidity.

Things are still icky at the office and I HATE office politics. This is why I want to work alone. I always forget that in the beginning and then it comes rushing back. Oh well, I'll survive. I'll be out a couple days next week and then we'll be moved and that will help me feel better ;) Then I have the San Francisco trip in 3 weeks. Hopefully after all that people will be in a better mood around here. :) A girl can hope right?

Julie, WAY TO GO!!! You are just cruising in weight loss. I wish I had an answer for you but increasing my calories a little stopped the hair loss. I'll post this sweater when it's done. It's a lot like the other one other than just a little longer. I might be one skein short though. If I can't find on in town today, I'll pick one up in Seattle on Saturday before we get onboard. I can't believe I'm going on a cruise to Alaska in 3 days!!!! I am very excited.

Kerry, I definitely have the mechanics of the sweater machine done now. The first couple sweaters were pure luck that the worked, but now I really understand the machine and how to knit and rib. I sure hope the peak comes true. I looked this morning and I stayed the same.

Since I've been very good on my diet and exercise, but still haven't lost weight in months, my dr. is doing one more blood test for diabetes today. My sister, grandmother and mother are either pre-diabetic of diabetic. Monday my brother was diagnosed. There's a part of me that want to be prediabetic so that I could lose weight again, but then there's the rational side that knows that is stupid. Oh well, I will be fine either way. If I never lose a pound but at least never gain, I will be happy. I hate any higher than this.

Kerry, if I could have you over, I would daily. The pool is great, but I have no one to enjoy it with. I love these boards because we're all located everywhere, but I'd love to have some of my friends over.

That's about it for now. I'll check back in this evening.

Good Evening Chickies!!!

Really, really bad day at work today! Only two more days and the big dogs will be back from vacation and I can get back to normal. The small dogs they sent to baby-sit are making a mess of things and then they run like he!! when the _hit hits the fan, then I'm left holding the bag. Which I have one thing that they don't, I did it, it's my fault and how can we fix it??? They can't admit to nothing and it really drives me crazy! I had no business getting involved with the loads they had me working on. Now I have an entire tanker full of Haz. material and no where to get rid of it. I pray that the disposal facility has room tomorrow. I'm going in early to call so I can beg and plead. Oh and the other load issue is kind of funny, somebody filling in for someone on vacation ordered a box switch, when my driver go there, they weren't ready, then the box was too heavy. He asked that they remove some, the kid left and didn't come back (reg. guy on vacation too) So he called me, I called them. They got another guy out to run the bucket to take some out and he didn't know what he was doing either. Next phone call I got my driver was still sitting and these fools were hand shoveling the material out. I almost fell over, they are paying us by the hour. Next call, the driver weighed again to get out and was still over by 500 lbs. They were shoveling again! What a mess, the driver missed his unload time so we couldn't get him rescheduled until Fri. I know you may not understand what I'm describing but a normal over load would only take 15 mins. to lighten, today, by hand, it took over 3 hours.

Ok diet went ok, then after all the stress I caved and took a piece of cold pizza and ate it on my way out the door, damn was it good! I didn't know I stress ate until today, I realized I went to Wendy's yesterday for no good reason, I had a lunch. So If I can behave for 2 more days and avoid stuff I don't know what to do with maybe I'll survive!

Marie, you have a great time on your cruise!!! I want pictures and details upon return! If I can't go I'm going to enjoy your trip! Some day I'll get on that plane and go, but not for a few more years. And I hope you don't have diabetes (sp), you will lose the weight, we just need to re-focus you again! When you get back we'll buckle down on that working out and snack choices! I'm going to hit goal weight and still have my spare tire, granted it's smaller, but still attached! So don't get discouraged, we're all still working on something!

Julie, the only two times my hair fell out was from living on McDonalds food once and the second is when I was having thyroid issues. Both times it was from not eating right. So check those vitamans and see if it's missing something.

Kerry, glad things are slowly getting better! I found to help keep the piece at work it is easier to be nice to the _itch, don't gossip with the nosy ones (tell them nothing), and smile all day! You get to go home to DH, bella, the cat and you can tell them anything you want, they won't judge you! Although I know the old lady stinks, get some candels or fresh smelly things and avoid her. She won't last forever either :D !!!!

Wow this got long, I'm going to run! I'll talk to you all later!

Judy GREAT to see you, glad you got that new job!!!! Hope to see more of you soon!

Good morning chickies! We are so close to Friday I can feel the tension starting to release! I only have to work until 12:30 today since I closed the place last night. I'm planning to do all kinds of errands: get oil changed, pick up misc things at store, pay phone bill, and pack the kitchen when I finally arrive home. Then DH & I are coming back up to the city to purchase the lazboy tonight. We've decided to buy just one and it isn't either of the models we were considering before. It's a compromise we can both live with and enjoy. Only one for now, bc we've decided to buy nicer bar stools than we had thought - they have backs and swivel and we can pick out the fabric that covers them. So we're getting two of those for now. We figure we are buying from places that are good enough we can go back and order another stool or recliner in 6 months if we so decide.

Then on Saturday morning we're leaving for Myrtle Beach. We're going to leave early and get there before noon. Can't check-in until 2, but who cares! I can plop my butt on the beach for a few hours or swim in the pool! ;) We all know by now how much I love pools - right!? :cool: We won't be back until Tuesday evening to pick up Bella by 9 pm. Then I close on the house on Thurs afternoon and we'll be moving next Sat!! Wow! :dizzy:

Marie - Enjoy every second of your cruise and do take lots of photos! Our close friends did an Alaskan Cruise Honeymoon and LOVED it! And I too hope you don't have diabetes and there is another reason for the weight not coming off. My SIL is on an rx diet pill that is working great for her. I'll ask her again what it is.

Lori - Work stress is the worst. Esp when you do a good job at work and hold yourself accountable. I hope it all gets smoothed out today and things ease up when the bosses return. I don't think you're really stress eating as much as convenience eating - you're on the go and busy so you eat what's convenient and fast. ---- and I am trying to smile and be nice at work and know that it will improve with time. I just have to pull through and enjoy life outside of here.

Alrighty, I gotta go work. I'll check back later :)

Top o the mornin' :D
Not too much going on around here, just busy as heck! Not to mention some of the people here are driving me crazy :dizzy: We have a woman in our office that talks soooo loud, it's unbearable, the sad thing is I have my own office and I can still hear her. I changed my password on my computer yesterday and could not remember what it was today when I went to sign on :lol: and I could not think because all I could hear was her big mouth. :p I finally got up and closed my door. Thank goodness I finally remembered my password. That would have been an embarassing call to the IT dept.

Marie- I sure hope that you aren't diabetic! It runs in my family too. My mom and brother had it. Only my brother had the juvenile form. That is something my doctor tests me for fairly regularly. In fact I have to get to the lab to get tested soon, got my orders last week, been putting it off because of my schedule, but I need to get in. Anyway, I'm sure once you get back into the swing of things you will start to lose.

Lori-Sorry about your crappy day at work :stress: ...I can so relate! This past week has been awful for me. I think it is payback since I took two days off last week!
I agree with Kerry. I don't think you are stress eating, I think you are convenience eating. I think we all suffer from that from time to time. One thing JC has taught me is to plan my food out for the day. That seems to be the biggest key to the progress that I have made so far. I know if I did not plan my food for the day, I would be making some horrible choices!

Kerry-Sounds like you are in better spirits! ;) I'm glad you and hubby have decided on a chair that you both like. Have fun in Myrtle Beach! My brother in law and his family are down there. I think they are coming home this weekend. Get some sun for me! The little bit of tan that I have is fading fast!

Oh well, guess I better get my nose to the grindstone so to speak, talk to you girls later!

Good morning!! It is a nice rainy humid day here in Texas!!! Yesterday the humidity was 83%!!!! I worked out in the yard for awhile yesterday and ended up with a gazillion fire ant bites to prove it. I have almost finished cleaning my closet. I keep getting sidetracked and starting new projects. I also need to make my curtains for the living room before I go back to work on Monday (yuck). You wouldn't think that a 6 week vacation could fly by so fast!!!!

Kerry- Way to go on compromising on the chair!!! It seems like you are starting to destress alittle. What a great idea to get away for a few days before you move!! My dad was a lifeguard in Myrtle Beach for the summer back in 1963. It was the summer before my parents got married. He has fond memories of it. I remember he went back about 15 years ago and didn't even recognize it because it had built up so much over the years. Anyway ENJOY!!!!

Lori-I'm sorry yesterday was such a bad day at work. I hope things are better today. And I agree with everyone else on the convenience eating. Hang in there!

Julie- Congrats on the 2.2lbs!!! That is awesome. You are so close to your goal!!!!!! I can really relate to the password thing!! I hope I can remember all of mine when I go back to work!!

Marie- Wow just a few days until your cruise!!! Take lots of pictures to share with us when youget back!

I hope everyone has a great day!!!

Good Evening Chickies!!!

Looks like it is going to be a quiet weekend around here! Judy away on business, Marie heading for Alaska, Paige getting ready to go back to work, Kerry to the beach, I'm heading camping for the weekend boy are we going to look like a bunch of dead beats! Well that's ok, I hope everybody has a great time and EVERYBODY best get back here when they get home!!! We'll all be waiting to hear about everyone's trips!!

Today at work was worse, if you can imagine that (I couldn't)!!! I won't go into details, but it was bad enough that I'm leaving tomorrow as soon as my load disappears! Thank you for the convience thoughts, but it's not. I never noticed it before, but I rarely get stressed like this either. I had a wonderful healthy lunch and healthy snacks (that I like). Tossed it all in the garbage and went to Wendy's for a burger & fries with ranch. Then stuffed pizza in my mouth on my way out the door. It really boiled down to pure disgust with the whole situation. I was in F it mode, and I just ran for the grease! (good old comfort food) I'm glad that don't happen too often, but that also points out what happened the whole time I was at Verizon too. I was fed up every day for 2 years. That was alot of Quizno subs and frappochinos (sp)!!! No wonder I was so stinken over weight!

Julie, your going to be my new idol if you keep dropping weight! I'm also very short, a whopping 5'1" and it really looks like my 130 lb goal may not be enough. Oh well, if I need to I make a new one after the kids get back to school.

Kerry, glad you guys settled the recliner debate! I'm interested, you didn't break down and go for the big fluffy one did you! :o

Ok I've got to get to bed tonight, I've been up too late every night this week, I've had enough! Everyone be safe while traveling and I'm looking forward to hearing about everybody's trips!!!!!!

Lori - Sorry things haven't improved at work. Can't say there much better for me either. I think the planets are out of alignment or something. :p Enjoy your weekend with the family!

Paige - Nice job on the closet. Now for the curtains. . . :lol: You've really packed it in this summer! Sorry you have to go back to work so soon :(

Julie - I plan on working on my tan most of the time I am there - actually it will be my primary activity. ;) I have one book to finish and another I'd like to read and I'll have to hit the magazine racks for some mindless garble.

Here is the LINK (http://www.crawfordmedical.net/sullivan/lazboy.htm) to the lazboy we decided on. The color is kinda off on the web, but it is close. I think it will go well with the style of our couch and in the end I let him choose the fabric and color. ;) I'm learning to deal with all this. Now we just need to order the bar stools. Oh and move! :D

I am so excited about our trip!! Then the move!! Wow!

See you ladies later. I'll have my laptop with me while at the beach and might check in at the beginning of next week one evening. :s:

Hey Chickies, yea it's really quite around here!!!

Kerry, I like this one better than the wooden arm one! I hope everyone is having a great time! We had a blast at the lake, add another wish item to the family wish list. Everybody had boats and it really looked fun! Some day my ship will come in and I can sail off! Yea right, then I woke up!

The kids started football practice today and is it hot! Poor guys! And yes I'm doing very poorly with my eating, away only for the weekend is he!! getting back into the swing of things!

Well I'm going to run, but I'll keep checking in!!!!

Bummer!!! First day back to work! I can't believe I have to work another 204 days until next summer!! But who's counting!!!!

Sure is quiet around here. Hope everyone is doing well.

I'm back. I've been doing awful on the diet. I'm just hoping I haven't gained, but I have a bad feeling that I might see a pound or two more on the scale this Friday.

The trip was ok. There was some family drama and some awful things said to me by my younger brother. I don't see any forgiveness in the near future. My SILs SUV got broken into when they were at the water park. Her purse and my mom's got stolen along with cell phones & mp3 player. My older brother and his family ended up leaving a day early. I don't think we'll be doing another family vacation EVER.

I'm closing on the house tomorrow. There are still things not done by the builder, so I am nervous about it. It is SOOO HOT here and I am dreading moving everything in the heat this weekend. We do have some friends coming to help and my folks.

I am trying to just look forward to being in our new house and then going to San Francisco with DH. It will be nice to be settling into our new home and taking a REAL vacation together.

Enough feeling sorry for myself for now. I hope we see some of you around :)

Welcome back guys!
I had some drama this past Friday when my husband passed out in the bathroom on Friday. I was talking to him one minute while I was getting ready for work and the next thing I know I watch him keeling over in the bathroom! I called 911 and the paramedics took him to the hospital. He is fine, did an EKG. blood work and had him on a heart monitfor for a couple of hours. Everything checked out ok. They sent him home and just chalked it up to a fainting spell. Thank God! Needless to say I was pretty shaken. One good thing that came out of this is that I did not go back to my old ways...normally I would have made this an opportunity to overeat....we did go to breakfast after leaving the hospital, since my husband was starving and I did not want him passing out again! I ate off plan, but I did pretty well. But the main thing is he is ok!
My weigh in wasn't too bad, not great but not bad, down .7lbs.

Lori- welcome back! Glad your trip went well. Must be rough for the little guys playing football in this heat!

Paige-Sorry summer went by so quick! I sometimes think it is harder to go back after being gone a while than it is to just keep working...if that makes any sense.

Kerry-Sorry about your trip! What a nightmare! Any chance of getting your stuff back?

Hey Gang!
I want to blab, blab, blab, but I have no time! I must have had too much coffee today!! I'm all wound up and feel completely unguled! (while I sip on another cup) I had to take the boys to practice tonight, much cooler, but the youngest one was embarrassed he fell when running through the tires (no coordination) He wouldn't get in the car and I had to pee! I wanted to KILL him. Any way we did get home, but late. The family got deep fried bad food and I'm going to try to whip something up for me, tired of the same chicken every day, wish I wouldn't have made so much!

Kerry, glad your home! I can sympathize with the family deal, my SIL asked us to go to Erie with her and her sisters family. Thank goodness DH has a good sense about him, told them we already had plans and came home and said he ain't spending a weekend with the psyco sisters :D ! Gotta love him, feel so sorry for his brother though! I hope they got all their cards and phones turned off before any damage was done.

Julie, I hope DH is ok, tell him no more skipping breakfast!!! Although he shouldn't be passing out for just no reason either. Where did you take him?? Glad you don't live here in Kittanning, they told my dad he was light headed coz he didn't eat breakfast, two days later he was in Pittsburgh having a triple by-pass. I wouldn't even call our hospital a band-aid station, they don't rank that high! Everyone I know goes gets X-rays, told their fine and sent home. 1-5 days later when some one with a degree looks at the x-rays they get called to come back and get the broken bones set! JERKS!!!

Ok I have to run, miss everybody!!! Talk to you soon!

Julie - that is really scary about your DH! I hope all is well for him now and it's nothing serious in the future. Good job on the loss too! Every little bit you know!?

Lori - Thanks for sharing about DH's lack of participation with his family. My DH is the same way, but it took this nasty situation for me to learn. I wish I would have learned before but hindsigt and all. . . You're boys sound like a hoot! I hope this heat eases soon or I'm going to melt!

I peaked at the scale this morning and I think it says 137. I'm shocked! I'll count for sure tomorrow and it may very well be a 1 lb loss. I hope!

Gotta go work now. TTYL!

what's going on?? Where is everyone???

I closed on my house today!! Yay!! I own a house!!

AND I ate really bad all day, but I don't care. We had a BBQ picnic on the floor of the new house tonight and it was GOOD! I luv bbq - the chopped pork kind with hush puppies - YUM!!

So I may not see that loss tomorrow... I'll see in the morning.

I hope to see some of you around. How's everyone doing? Are you surviving the heat? It finally cooled a bit here thankfully.

Goodnight ladies :)

Hi everyone!
I guess we still have a few on vacation....


Lori-I hear ya kids can be frustrating at times :tantrum: even though you love them to death. We have our son in a swimming class that my husband is taking him to or should I say was, anyway he had been in it for the past week, and on tuesday when they dunked his head in the water he freaked out and refuses to go back in, he clings to hubby for dear life and screams his head off, this has gone on since tuesday so we are taking him out of the class for now. Needless to say my husband was pretty embarrassed. What can you do? :shrug:

Kerry-Congrats on the house closing!!!!!! :cb: Fun isn't it? Don't feel guilty about celebrating. Just enjoy yourself!

Hey ladies! I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Well Friday evening the doorbell rang and it was my MIL. Not only did DH forget to tell me she was coming but he forgot she was coming!!!! The house was a mess after being back to work all week. So needless to say it was quite a surprise!! But she did take us out to lunch on Saturday and she left around 4:00 so I guess it wasn't too bad. But DH is going to be in the dog house for awhile!!!

Well it was back to work for me this week!! Once I'm at work I'm fine but getting up at 5:30 was hard!! Even the kids were complaining...and they usually don't! This next week is going to be a challenge I have 2 new teacher luncheons, 1 new teacher breakfast, 2 retreat dinners, 2 retreat breakfast buffets, and 2 retreat lunch buffets!!! Can you say TEMPTATION!!!!
I am really going to have to be carefull. I will really have to hit WW hard after we get back from the retreat!!

Kerry- Congrats on the house and welcome to home ownership!!!

Julie- That's awful about DH I hope he is feeling better!! My daughter did the same thing in her swimming lessons but we just kept on taking her and if she screamed and didn't want in I would take her and toss her in!!! She quickly learned that she would rather get in on her own then to have mommy do it!! I'm sure people thought I was a terrrible mommy!!!! But I just feel like everyone should know how to swim! My niece is only 12 months and she knows how to roll over and float on her back. They have a pool and they enrolled her in this special class...and she knows that if her face goes under water she rolls over...it's amazing to see her do it!!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!!! Ugh, tomorrow's Monday!!!

I HATE MONDAYS!!!!

I want more weekend, and TOM stopped by to make Monday even more misserable!

Sorry I was MIA, I have a bizzare week, but a really fun weekend. We went to my friends camp, which is only 10 mins. from my house. Cooked out swam in the river, road the boat, and went fishing. I really shouldn't have spent the whole day there, but it was nice. I finally left go of an other pound, thought I was going to be stuck again forever. 132!!!!

Kerry, way to go!!! You now own a house, and the BBQ sounds like fun, you deserve it after all this insanity!!! When are you moving??

Julie, my sympathys on the screamming kid! I have had more than my share of embarrissing screaming fits from my youngest one. We had a Wal-Mart incedent a few years back, he hung on the side of the cart, face bluish red from screaming, and drug his feet as I pushed the buggy. I really thought about leaving him at that moment, but I stuck to my guns and he didn't get squat. He has a quirky personality, he is really good for everybody else, but he has special fits just for my benefit. What are you going to do!

Paige, I love that!!! I can really apperciate you tossing the kid in!!! And you are right, it is very important for them to know how to swim. We've been in the water alot this year and my boys both could stand to have proffessional lessons. The doggy paddle isn't going to save them in an emergency, so I'm going to break down and pay the big bucks for lessons this winter. Hang tight, the eating fest will be over quickly and you can get back to businness.

Ok I have to get ready for work, check in later!!!!

Well, I'm exhausted and have had a headache for a couple days now, but we're completely moved. :dizzy: It was maddening and DH & I nearly killed one another. It poured on Sat when we were moving things and we had to wait for it to slow to a sprinkle and move things in. Then on Sunday when I went to the grocery to stock the kitchen, I got caught in a HUGE downpour and came home drenched from loading the car.

The guys that delivered the refrigerator did not properly install the water line so I have to find a time that one of us can be home so they can come back out and fix it. :rolleyes: We also had issues with the phone company hooking up one of the lines and I had to wait on them this morning again. On top of everything we don't know the first thing about electrical and we have to switch out the plug on the dryer. DH is scared of electricity and hesitant since it threw sparks the first try he made. Yikes! No wonder my head hurts.

I have no idea if I have gained or lost. I'm afraid to get on the scale.

:bravo: LORI!! Another pound - way to go!! Sounds like you had a great weekend. Good for you :)

Paige - Sorry your summer is over hun. Good luck surviving all those lunches and breakfast get togethers! I bet you can make good choices and stay on track. Once you get back into a schedule it will get easier. You've done so well!!

Julie - I helped my brother teach a couple of his daughters to swim and it was hard to be so forceful, but it worked. We'd stand about 5 feet apart and push them back and forth, head under. Jessica would scream and cling to me and it was so hard to keep at it, but with a few of those sessions she learned to come up for air, hold it and swim with her face in the water. Good luck with DS. . . I think it is so imp to teach kids how to swim.

Well, I guess I should go work, not that I want to. . . See you later ladies.

Hi everybody... I'm back from the cruise. I loved Kerry's description of Paige's eatfest and that was what I was on for 7 days. Eat, eat, then eat some more. Alaska is beautiful and the time in the ports was great. I had a lot of problems with the time cruising from port to port. I was bored to death - so I ate and ate and ate. I gained three pounds. There, I said it. Now you all know. What is surprising is that since I got back I haven't had any trouble getting back on the wagon. I immediately started to eat normally. Sort of strange.

As I said the ports were beautiful We shopped and hiked in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria, BC. The very best place on the cruise was Hubbard Glacier. It was breathtaking. I took 98 pictures. Over the next couple days, I will put together a website with some of the pictures. Since eating was such a major part of the trip, I took a picture of the dining room. The whole cruise was pretty lavish and I wouldn't do it again. I'm more of a camper than a person who likes to have my napkin discreetly laid in my lap by the steward. It was like I was pretending I was rich for a week. Since I'm not, it felt pretty phony. But don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it. The towns were great and the glacier unforgetable.

Kerry, sounds like your family reunion was worse than mine. My family members can drive me nuts sometimes, but they were pretty good this time. Wish you had had the same. Also, congrats on being a homeowner. It's pretty neat knowing that when you do something to improve on the house, you'll get it back in equity. I love not renting.

Lori, I had to laugh at your DS not getting in the car. When I have to go, I have to go so I understand your impatience.

Paige, sorry about your summer being over. Mine will be next Wednesday. I have 9 days left. I hope you're getting back into the swing of things and are able to avoid the food fest better than I did.

I need to exercise today. Normally I'd swim but my pool is too cold for my liking so I'll wait a day or two. I think I'll use the exercycle. I will lose the 3 pounds and more - that's my motto. Oh, BTW, my A1C test came back and I'm not even close to diabetic. They'll keep a watch on it since most of my family is diabetic, but I am not as of now. That was great news.

TTYL.

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!

Marie, glad to see your back and only 3 lbs, that's not bad at all!!! I'm with you, camping is more up my alley, not rich for a week. But I still would like to take a cruise to Alaska just to see the place. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Kerry, moving in one weekend, I remember those days. Now it takes months! I have accumulated so much crap that it takes forever. Owning a home is great, but there will be times when you'll be thinking what did I do!!!

I have a very busy week this week, the boys are practicing, my mom is getting her house in order for annual get together for our local festival and we have to help her. It wouldn't be bad but she only weeds once a year so it's slightly out of hand. So this weekend we'll be cooking out, roasting hot dogs, and the kids have a scrimmage game on Sat. and we have a reunion too. I'll never get back to normal, if there is such a thing.

Ok I have to shower and go to that darn old work!

Welcome back Marie!!! :dance: You were missed :) It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I would love all that fancy stuff for a week, but my DH would hate it! I think it's fun to act all fancy for a time and then go back to reality. I don't like roughing it so much anymore. I did the whole backpack thing when I was younger and I burnt myself out on it. I do like being in the mountains, but like to rent cabins and such. Don't worry about the 3 lbs. You'll take them off quickly.

Lori - We about killed ourselves moving in 3 days. I've been exhausted since. I finally got rid of the headache so that is good. Sounds like you do have a busy week. You'll probably shake another pound off without trying.

I peaked at the scale today and it said I hadn't gained or lost. I guess that's good. I've stayed the same through all this. Although, it is almost TOM so I might see a loss after that. I just pigged out :ink: on breakfast, bc I was dying for breakfast foods. I will be trying to make up for it all day now. I have a light lunch planned so it should even out (maybe). I don't think I'm going to see 135 before San Fran. :p

Ok, so I should go work I guess. . . not that I want to or anything. :D TTYL!

Hi Chicks, today has been a good day. I'm eating reasonably well and I've stayed away from the bad snacks. I took control of some financial matters and now I'm waiting on a bank reply (in other words - home equity loan to pay off credit card debt). That always makes me nervous, but if they say no, there are other banks, right? I finally finished the wash from the trip and I did the web page of pictures. It is at www.mariesdogs.info/cruise/index.htm if you want to check the pictures out. It too a little bit to do it since the computer I had been working on didn't want to create a web photo album. But I got it done and it looks pretty good. There are about 200 pictures total that I took and I think I put about 15 of them on the site.

I got a call from work and I am returning to work a couple days early. My vacation was supposed to end on Aug. 10 but now I'm going back on the 8th. I don't really mind. I'm getting a little too spoiled by being at home.

Kerry, you are so close to 135 that I bet you do make it by the trip and if you don't, within 3 pounds is still awfully close. I'm so proud of you for accomplishing that. And thanks for the great welcome back.

Lori, I used to love my son's football practices. It just so real and homey. The brisk autumn air, the little munchkins dressed up with all the pads. It was great. My DS blew out his knee and was done with all sports but it was fun while it lasted. FYI, I'm a Packer fan.

That's about it. Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm starting to feel old. 44 just seems too old when I'm such a kid still. DH made me a lo-cal fudge cake and I have to wait till tomorrow to have any. I already got most of my presents. DH got me a dark purple leather jacket, parents gave me peridot earrings, and the money I knew I'd get from MIL was spent on hair clips in Victoria, BC - they are literally pieces of art. DSs still have presents to give to me and I haven't tried on the jacket so it will still be nice.

TTYL.

Howdy!
Glad to see everyone. Crazy crazy week...I'm busier at work now than I ever have been since I started working here. Not sure if I can handle it, but I'm doing my best. Hubby seems to be fully recovered from his fainting spell, and we did stop the swimming classes, but we continue to take him to the kiddie pool on our own so he won't be so scared of the water, he seems to enjoy that, I'm hoping he will be a little braver next summer. It's tough to make him do this when I don't even know how to swim myself :( My weigh in went well. Down almost a 1lb for a total loss of 39.3 lbs and 22 inches almost two feet!!!! :lol: Was I really that big?????

Paige-I hear ya about getting up early. I'm up at 6. :yawn: Tough dragging my butt out of bed that early...I couldn't imagine having to get up at 5:30. I'm ok once I get moving though, just takes me a few minutes, but it is a rough few minutes. Sorry your vacation is over.

Lori-The get together sounds like fun and alot of work. Have fun at practice...I'm sure I'll be taking my little one to stuff like that soon enough, but he's not even 3 yet so I have a little time before he gets into football anyway...but I heard there is a toddler soccer league in Cranberry and a girl I work with is thinking about enrolling her daughter and asked if I was interested...If my boss will let me skip out early I might do it. That should be hysterical a bunch of two and three year olds kicking around a soccer ball. :lol:

Kerry- congrats on maintenance through the move! ;) It took us about a week or so to get all of our crap out of our old house. Amazing how much stuff you accumulate through the years! Not to mention all the stuff we threw out!

Marie-Welcome back! I'm a princess at heart...I love cruises! The fancier the better! I was a little uncomfortable at first but I got use to it...too use to it :D My dream is a Hawaiian cruise. The islands look so beautiful, and cruising is so relaxing to me. I love your pictures of Alaska! The landscape is so beautiful! By the way the sweater looks great on you! Looks like you had a wonderful time! Way to go only gaining 3 lbs! Most people I know gain more after a cruise, it's so hard not to gain anything with all that food there for you all the time! Great job jumping right back in on healthier eating! :bravo: Happy Birthday :hb: Have fun!!!!

Happy Birthday Marie!!! :hb: :woo: I hope you enjoy your day!

Way to go on the loss JULIE!! Even with all the chaos at work! :dizzy: That's awesome.

Well, I had my doctors visit today and we have a plan of action in place. Starting in Sept I am going to be on the Clomid and he'll be monitoring my immune disorder as well. We're going to do that for 3 cycles and if not pg by the end of Nov then we'll do an HSG and Laproscopy to check for blockages and endometrosis. He doesn't think I have any endo, which is good, but can't be 100%. Hopefully the Clomid will do the trick and we'll get pregnant and keep the progesterone up through meds to sustain the pregnancy. I am really hopeful that we'll get there soon now. My doc is wonderful and is very calm and confident that we'll get pregnant with a little help. He was proud of me for losing the weight. :D And for getting right in the heart/head before coming back to be aggressive. Though, of course I can't be dieting too severely and will move to more of a maintenance plan come Sept.

So I guess that gives me about 4 weeks to lose 3 lbs. :p I think I can do it or at least get close. Stopping the diet then will be for a very good cause though even if I'm not at goal. ;)

Hi everybody, first thanks to everybody for the birthday wishes. I had a great birthday. I went hiking with DH and the dogs first thing in the morning so my exercise was done for the day. Later I jumped in my pool and played a bit. It was really nice. DH made me fajitas and a birthday cake (both lo-cal) and it was great. Then DS and his girlfriend took me out to dinner. We went to applebees and I looked at things only on the WW part of the menu. I had Tango Chicken Sandwich with only 350 cals. Then the brought me a happy birthday ice cream which I only at a couple bites of. So I survived the birthday without going over my calories. YEAH!!!!! I'd say I've made a bit of progress.

Today I don't have anything planned except doing my situps and floating on the pool, then swimming laps. I decided that this year of my life, I'm going to strengthen my stomach muscles so I did the unthinkable - I did a situp. Acutally I did 10 of them. Crunches do nothing for me so I thought I'd do the real thing. So now I'm going to increase them every other day by one until I'm up to 50. Interesting goal, huh?

Julile, way to go on the loss. The amount of inches is truly inspiring. 22 - WOW!!!!

Kerry, I'm so happy for you that the dr. appointment went good. I pray that you'll be preggers in no time flat. Having kids is just such a blessing. And I bet it felt great that the dr. was proud of you for losing weight.

I will chat with you all later. DH needs the computer.

Hi everyone! Just a quick post because I am exhausted!!! I just got back from our school retreat which was awesome!!!! But it was along 3 days!!

Kerry- Yeah!!! Your on your way! I tried clomid but it didn't work for me but it did for several friends of mine! Good luck!!!!

I post more tomorrow when I can think!!! I'm just so tireeeeeeeeeeeeeed!
Later.

Not much new since yesterday, but I did exercise both yesterday and today. Yesterday I did my situps and weights, and swam laps. Today it was situps and laps. Weights are every other day.

I guess there is something monumental in my world. I am trying to go med free for my bipolar. I've been so steady for so long that I want to try without. So I'm weaning off my meds but promised DH that I would go back on them if I needed them. I'd ask my dr. about doing this but, heck, she's on a 6 month sabbatical and I am left on my own. :) Hence my brainstorm. I really think it is one of my meds that is causing me to not lose hardly anything. I've been near angelic and the scale and fat won't budge. So I'm on a trial run. If you guys notice me going manic/depressive, yell at me to go back to them. :)

TTYL.

Hey Paige - Glad that your retreat was good :) I can understand being tired and drained with all those non-stop activities. When do classes officially start for you? They're starting back here in SC next week and then NC the week after that. Plus they're messing with all their vacation days. Not good if you ask me. I remember the days of getting 2 full weeks off for Christmas, Spring break around East and 3 whole months for summer. I guess the states feel like they gotta keep in the classroom more to get those scores up. :rolleyes:

Marie - Good luck going off the meds. I hope you are able to do it and stay on an even-keel. If not, go back ;) Nothing wrong with being medicated to live a happy life, but I can see how you might thing the med is messing with your weight loss. I hope it works for you :)

Well I ate awful yesterday... PMS and all then we went out to the club since DH was DJing and I drank all kinds of bad sweet stuff. My belly aches a bit this morning, but I'm trying to put some coffee down to ward of the headache. I think it's more sinus than anything bc I forgot to take any decon last night and just fell into bed upon safe arrival home.

I would like to share that I got the most wonderful compliments last night. I wore a low-cut tie dyed (khaki, into white and most black) tank top with tight white pants and strappy heals. Even the bartender girls kept telling me how hot I looked :o I told them thanks and everyone kept going on to the point I was a bit embarrassed (but still proud). Then later an old friend showed up that we hadn't seen in about 4-5 months and he didn't even recognize me! I finally went over to say hi and he was like WOW! You look GREAT! Did you lose some weight (he whispered that in my ear)? I beamed at him a big yes - thanks for noticing. He just kept telling me how happy he was to see me looking good and so happy with myself. It was such a good feeling. He made my night :)

Alrighty, I'll stop gushing... I weighed in yesterday and I might be down .5, but I am so bloated from PMS that I just don't care right now. I figure next Friday will be most telling. I'm good on my calories (below what I need to lose) about every other - every third day nowadays. But I think the other days I stay on a maintanance amount. I really think I might have it somewhat under control for the first time in my life and know my body enough to lose and maintain. Of course we'll see what happens when I get preggers. :p (Positive thinking here - when not if)

TTYL! Hope you're all doing well and enjoying your weekends.

Hello everyone!!! I have been so lazy today!! Just trying to regroup after such a long few days. Our school retreat was just so incredible...just what our faculty needed. Forget the fact that we were all staying at this incredible resort that over looked the harbor. Sailboats and yachts were parked in the docks just below our balcony....BEAUTIFUL!!!! The actual staff development that we did for the teachers was the best!!!!! Not one person complained about anything!!!!! And that never happens.

The kids start school on Thursday...where did the summer go...oh yeah we spent it in Arizona!!!

I only lost about 5lbs this summer but I am okay with that. Considering all that we did I can't believe I didn't gain 10!!!!!!

Today it is back on the program 100%. My goal is to lose 80 more lbs between now and May!! That gives me 10 months so that is only an average of 8lbs. a month. I think that is realistic...some months may be less, some may be more. I think that losing weight is most effective when you do it slowly and besides this is something that I'm doing for life...its not a diet but something I am going to have to do to some degree forever!!!

Well I here the laundry calling my name!!! I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!!! Check back later!

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!

First off Happy Birthday Marie, you are not that old, well you sure don't look it!!! The cruse pictures are beautiful!!!! My DH is bi-polar, he quite taking meds awhile ago and dosen't do to bad, he seems to suffer from seasonal depression. Now that he sees it, we're having a better time getting him out of the slumps when they happen. I hope it works for you, but just watch. You are doing very well on your focus and yea I've got some real tummy tire going on too, but you look great I think I'm going to ask for a sweater machine for Christmas!

Julie, soccer for the little ones sounds fun. You have lost a ton of inches, I forgot to measure in last month so I'll have to check it out this month. And get the little one back to swimming lessons as soon as possible!!! My youngest is afraid of the water, but he is getting better. I decided after the winter sports I'm going to get them both lessons to have them be stronger swimmers.

Kerry, the Dr. sounds very promising!!!! And your maintance plan seems very reasonable. Something I want to suggest that helped me keep the weight off during my first pregnancy start walking now and keep going. Nothing crazy or out of hand, just a nice short walk every day. It will help keep the weight down and keep you a little more flexable too! Can't wait for you to get prego, but shhhh, I'm glad it's not me!!!!

Paige, the weekend sounds great, but very tiresome! Can't believe you guys are back to school already! Our first day back is Aug. 29th, I can't wait but we need to go shopping and now we have no time with football going on. Are they going to do WW again at the school or are you going to have to still go to Sat. meetings? Your goal is very reasonable, 8lbs a month is do-able (is that a word???) Anyway YOU can do it with out a doubt!

Ok I've had a fun, but crazy weekend!! I'm glad my mom will be retired next year when this goes on!! I fell way off track about mid-week so back to the grind stone today! And I'm very sorry to say both my little guys need to drop between 5-10 lbs each so it looks like the whole family is going on a diet, they just don't know it! I have to take them to the Dr. next week and I can see they are both getting a little too chuncky. Dan's going to be 9 on the 28th and he's up to 103 lbs and Jake will be 12 in Oct. and is up to 112 lbs (if he'd get taller he'd be fine) but they are both really looking like couch potatoes!! I don't want to upset them, but I don't want them to get picked on eiter so guess we're going to have to moniter them better and cut out the junk, that should fix it coz they are both pretty active. Ok I have to go to work, my weigh in was up today to 133.5 lbs again so I'm going to have to get my focus back! I cleaned up 1/4 of my closet and only had 3 pair of jeans that fit YIKES but in a good way. One of my friends traded up so she has my heavier ones and I snagged up her thinner jeans so I'm not buying anything right now (well mabybe bras and undies) Ok I'm going to be late if I don't quit yacking!!!

Well, DH said I could tell any of my online friends that I want to so here goes . . .

I got a POSITIVE pregnancy test this morning!!! :cloud9: We are both in SHOCK and can't believe we did it all on our own! :p So I guess no more dieting for me, huh?

Thanks for the advice on the walking Lori, I guess I should get on that to start the maintenance thing from the get go. I am just barely pg right now and it really scares the crap out of me after our last loss, but I will be seeking the overprotective care of my wonderful OB immediately.

So that's all I can think about right now - Having a baby in April. WOW!!! Guess I'm going to be putting on some pounds! :lol:

Oh my God!!!!!!!!! Yippee!!! Whooooooo Hoooooo!!!!!!!! I am so excited for you Kerry!!!!! (We won't tell anyone..hee hee) That is such great news!!! I am sooooooooooooooo happy for you. I've been there and I know how it feels after being so disappointed!!!!! Just think how healthy you will be for this pregnancy!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats to the both of you...or should I say the three of you!!!!!!

Just take one day at a time!!! I know it is hard and I was so scared too when I was pregnant with my son that it would happen again. You just have to focus on the future and not the past. Have you called your doctor yet???
All my positive thoughts are directed your way!!!!!!

Yahooo Kerry!!!

Well we know you can get them, get to the DR. ASAP, have them check you all out!!! (like you weren't just there and they did that) But get moving, keep your eating habits in check, (don't fall in the trap of eating for two) what a bunch of bull! And get some sleep!!!! It will be the last for many years to come (just kidding!!!!) Maybe that's why your so tired when your prego, coz your body suspects you may never sleep again :lol: !!!! Ok now I'll be quite and keep my fingers crossed that all goes well! Man am I glad you got moved into the new house already!!!!!

YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kerry!!!!!!!!

Congratulations. That is absolutely fabulous. I couldn't be happier for you. Just a little note from my past. I'd lost 40 pounds and got pregnant. I didn't eat much since I was sick most of the pregnancy but I gained all of it back and more. The dr. was really ticked off at me and DH said to him that I'd lost all this weight right before I got pregnant - dr. didn't know that. At that point he was pissed at me for not having told him that because he said that the weight was going to naturally come back on. I'm not telling this to scare you just that it can happen but it was worth every pound to have DS. So if you do gain weight faster than you expect, that could be the reason. Also keep in mind I have always put on pounds very quickly. :D

Lori, thanks for the info on your DH. I am very against being on my meds anymore. Not only have they caused a weight gain and inability to lose weight at 1300 cals per day, but they've been messing with my mind. I started reducing the antidepressants then forgot totally yesterday to take any - so my thought process was why bother taking any - so now I'm totally off. I'm a bit dizzy with a slight headache but it's not bad. It's really nice to know that your DH is surviving BP without meds. When I started meds I gave up writing (I have about 15 manuscripts written) and it was a big part of my life. But the meds made me so I wasn't creative. For the first time in five years, guess what I WANT to do tonight???? I will be writing again. It has always been my favorite thing to do and the desire is finally back. I will never, ever go back on drugs. I'll treat the depression with the lightbox and the mania with DH's control on the credit cards. BTW, I lost 1 pound of the cruise weight since tapering off/cold turkeying the meds. Pretty cool, huh?

Paige, I'm really sorry you had to start school already. I had to go back today and it was pretty hectic since I'd been gone 5 weeks, but it was also relaxed since the teachers aren't back. Our school year doesn't start until the 6th of Sept.

I had a great weekend, full of exercise, water and eating good. Other than feeling sort of high coming off the meds, I felt wonderful and had ambition. I'm so excited to start this new phase of my life that I'm almost giddy. of course it could also be the mania speaking. :devil:

Well, I'm going to get some chores done then I'm going to get my laptop out and start writing. Yeah!!

Again, Kerry, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
Marie

Thank you so much for all the well wishes and congrats! It's nice to be able to tell my online friends, since we don't figure we'll tell people IRL (other than a couple bf) until around the holidays (probably christmas). I am trying to kick the caffeine and eat well, but not for two. I definitely need to increase my calories since I've been eating only around 1400/day to lose weight. I've hit my stopping point at 138 and if my bbs weren't so swollen and I weren't so bloated, I might be 136. :p Of course I am worried worried worried and haven't heard back from the nurse about my blood draw from yesterday. I went to the lab at 11 am to get HCG, Progesterone & ANA tested. I'm anxious to hear.

Marie - I am so happy for you that you are feeling good and creative! I think you've made an important decision for your happiness and that is so great. I hope the pounds start to melt away for you with this change. ;)

Lori - Thanks for the sleeping advice :devil: I hope I can keep my energy up through the trip to San Fran. I know that the evil sleepiness and sickness did not take over last time until about week 7 so I am hoping I can stay strong until our return. It is SUCH IRONY that we'll be going into wine country and I can't drink. :lol: I guess I'm the designated driver and DH will be one happy camper. I did tell him last night that I'll be eating more than my fair share while on vacation since I can't drink. :o

Paige - I know you understand how I feel about all this and how unbelievably elated I was to see that second line yesterday. The first thing I told the nurse is - We did it on our own, but I'm HIGH RISK. She's been very sweet to get me tested and going.

I'll let you all know how things go and check in on you regularly. I can't leave you ladies. :( I adore you so much and want to see each of you reach your goals!!!

KERRY!!!!!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!!!!!! I'm so excited for you!!!! :woo: Isn't it something seeing that second line come up? Lori is right. Get as much rest as you can now! :lol: And walking does wonders...here's my two cents. Do short walks at various times of the day. Like 10 minutes or so. That is what I did when I was pregnant. I didn't gain alot during my pregnany, but I was overweight to begin with so my doc was on me not to gain much. Walking also helped me sleep. You might want to ask your doctor for a diet recommendation while you are pregnant so that you gain enough but not too much. Are you on prenatal vitamins yet?
By the way... is that chair you bought a recliner??? :lol: I used mine a bit toward the end of my pregnancy.
Enjoy yourself this is such a great time! I loved being pregnant!
I'm sooooo happy for you!!!! :cb:

Thanks Julie - I'll be taking this walking stuff seriously while in San Fran next week. I sure hope the energy holds up. It's so nice to have people excited for us already :)

I got the test results back and things look good. Both HCG & Progesterone are in the normal range. They won't get the ANA test for about a week. I'm going back for another HCG tomorrow. Hoping those numbers are doubling like MADDDDD!!@!!

Just a quick note to say I had a blast writing last night. My whole mind is filled with all the stuff I want to do. I can not stress how much better I feel. It's too cool!

AND!!!!!

I lost the other 2 pounds that I gained on the cruise. So I'm seeing lots of progress now that the meds are gone. I weighed in this morning during TOM and was so excited when I saw the loss. I'm seeing progress - FINALLY!!!!!!!! Life is too cool.

Kerry, I am still so excited for you. You will be in my thoughts for the next nine months, always wishing you and bambino the best health.
Marie

Good morning!

Kerry-I'm so glad the blood tests were good! ;) Walking is one of the safest excerises you can do while you are pregnant...Keeping fit also helps with labor! Just don't overdue!

Marie- WTG on the weight loss! :bravo: Sounds like The meds were holding you back a bit. Congrats and enjoy the loss!

I went for my weigh in last night. Down 1.6lbs...Yea I think I am going for 120 instead of 125....I at least want to be able to fit comfortably into an 8...probably could fit now in some clothes, but I think would be tight in most, I won't be happy until an 8 in jeans is comfortable....haven't tried in a while, but I am waiting for at least a month.

Cya later!

Julie, you are just doing so great. Can you believe how much weight you've lost? It is fantastic. Way to go on the recent loss. And I am enjoying the novelty of losing weight doing what I've been doing for 14 months. In that period of time, I'd lost only 7 pounds net (too much up and down on the other 11 pounds which ended up being an up).

My withdrawal problems are lessening every day. The wishy washy dizzy feeling is just moderate now instead of feeling like a raving drunk. I know I've already bounded to the manic side of my disorder but it's my favorite side. :) Loing term it's harmful since I usually end up in credit card **** and financial problems. But I gave DH all the keys to how I get what I want so he knows what to look for. I'm hoping he can keep that in check because he knows how I do it. The other side effects of the mania for me are not sleeping (oh well, who needs sleep anyway) and having raging hormones for DH (he doesn't particularly mind that effect). Then there's the point that I'm endlessly jubilant. I've really missed my mania to be honest. The depressive side I can do without. :)

The last hour has been frustrating with little things but I'm going to do Tae Bo and get rid of the anger. Much more productive than getting upset, right???

I saw the scale flip to the next lower number this morning (yes I peeked) but settled at 197. But I briefly saw 196 so I'm excited for Friday's weigh in.

Okay, time to exercise. TTYL.
Marie

Wow you guys are doing great!!!

Julie, I know what you mean about re-adjusting your goal. I'm thinking 130 may have been a bit high for my short frame. Way to go on the loss.

Kerry, glad the tests look good. I agree that you should take short walks, like during lunches and after dinner. I don't know why but it seems to help with the "I'm going to bed and never getting up feeling" Take pictures in San-Fran, I've never been there either!!!

Marie, Glad to hear your hanging in with out the meds. I hope it continues to go smoothly. I'm a spending freak myself! I created a 3 day rule that has saved us probably hundreds of dollars. If it's still a good idea in 3 days then I buy it. Usually within 3 days I can't remember what the heck I wanted let alone the terrible urge to SPEND!!!

I've got to go, it's really late and I'm really hungery. So I'll check back soon!

I seem to have lost a pound... :?: I don't see how with my bbs so swollen, but the scale said 137. I guess I need to step up the calories, but I haven't felt much like eating in the evening and I'm on such a rigid schedule during the day.

Still don't have results back from the second beta. I'm a wreck about the whole thing. They've put me on progesterone and luckily it hasn't made me feel too bad.

Marie - sounds like you are enjoying this new phase. You crack me up! :lol: I hope the pounds keeps falling off :)

Julie - You really are doing GREAT!!! WAY TO GO!!

Lori - Have you gotten back on track since the summer waylay? You are such a fitness freak, I hope you're back at it!

I wonder how Judy is doing? We haven't seen her in awhile. Who else is missing??

Hey girls!
Not much going on. Just wanted to check in. I think I am going to have to get my wedding ring cut down since it seems to be falling off of my finger :rolleyes: ....didn't think my fingers were big to begin with...oh well.

Marie- Glad comming off of meds is making you feel better! Watch those credit cards! I have a $900 debt that my hubby doesn't know about, :s: and it's tough getting money out of our savings without him knowing so I can pay it down.

Lori- The 3 day rule sounds like a good idea! :D I should do that before things get anymore out of hand LOL

Kerry- Don't worry about the loss....it's not uncommon for a woman to lose a little in the first trimester. I know easier said than done, but don't stress about it. Won't hurt to up your calories a little! Just make healthy choices ;)

Cya later!

Julie, tell DH about the $900. It's lousy to have to sneak and actually easier to tell the truth. From my rich and vast experience in this, I have finally learned this as the truth. It might be hard and he'd be pissed for a couple days, but then he knows that you told him the truth.

Kerry, a loss is normal at the beginning. don't sweat that. I'm still so excited for you.

Lori, I like your 3 day rule. I will have to see if I can incorporate it into my mania. Yes, I swung to the mania without the stabilizers. I admit I'm having a blast. So far, so good on the spending. I have no desire to buy anything. Perhaps I did all my purchases in all the past manias. ;)

As I mentioned I'm definitely manic. I'm having so much fun writing and chatting at everyone. No one here (work) has known me without meds so they're wondering what the heck happened to me. I'm usually quiet and introverted on meds, and now I'm extroverted and chatting up a storm (the real me).

I'm in love. Yes, I met a man yesterday on the phone and I was thinking that he was one of the coolest men I've met. All heck broke free at work (our 4 district servers crashed almost simaultaneously - I know that's spelled wrong... but who cares -) and I had to call him, our district's go to person that we contract out for his services. He had the coolest voice and sense of humor. He knew I was stressed and over my head. He calmed me down and made jokes the whole time. I fell in love. Cool, guy. I told DH he was great. Didn't tell DH that I thought phone sex would be fun. Okay, just kidding (a little). So I have a crush on him. BTW, incredibly smart - I have no idea if he's old, young, ugly, cute, etc. Just that he had a great presonality. I will grill my co-worker when he returns to get a basic picture. Ha, ha, ha. I love mania.

I suppose I should work again. I'll chat with you later.
Marie

my computer is broken so I'm quickly letting you guys know I didn't jump ship. I'm at my mom's and I'll be back tomorrow to catch up!

I think I'm miscarrying again. :cry: I started bleeding this morning. I guess I've done all I could to sustain this one. I feel kinda numb to it. :( DH is taking it hard.

Kerry- My thoughts and prayers are with you today.

Kerry, I hope your not, but if you are it's ok! It's so hard to have this keep happening. What do they say is the problem? Tell DH not to get to bent out of shape, this happens to ALOT of people. I know my mom had 3-4 miscarrages before she got me. She took a fertility pill of some kind and well here I am. Now granted she did have my brother 5 years before I came along, but she had a hard time the next time. Oh and BTW her friend took the same pill and wound up with 4 babies so guess it was what my mom needed. Now as for me, I can't carry them when they start getting big I go into labor. I'll tell you what I was 18 the first time I got preg. carried the baby for 5 months and went into labor, went to the hospital and they gave me a shot for the pain and sent me home. I passed out and all but had the baby at home coz I was overly drugged. By the time we got back to the hospital it was to late so they made me deliver him. I was a basket case for months. But when I wound up prego with my oldest son I was 21 and I was a wreck, but numb just incase it happened again, that's why I wouldn't buy anything, do anything, and we didn't have the shower until after he was born. I was not getting attached period. And yes I went into labor early with him, but I went to the city and they stopped it and gave me steriods to get his lungs functioning. When I had him he was only 4 lbs 13 oz. but looked like a monster in the neo unit. Those babies were 2-3 lbs. Dust your butt off, keep taking good care of yourself and you'll get that baby if you have to do a head stand for 9 months!!!! Snap out of the depression right now, you've made huge progress and you need to keep up the good habits. I look back now and I was way to immature at 18 to have a kid, 21 was almost still to young. Your getting yourself established with the job, house, and your health. Don't dwell on it the doc may hold the key with the meds they are planning on giving you! I hope you can still do this again in Sept. Well keep us posted were all thinking of you.

BTW, picked up a moniter and it seems to have solved the computer problem! I have to get a shower, were running the sticks at the football games tonight, have to take our turn helping out. Love you Kerry big Huggs it will be fine I PROMISE!!!!! Tell DH to not whine look at the practice he's getting!!!!

Kerry, my thoughts and prayers are with you today. Know that you're loved.
Marie

Well I'm home today with a sick child. She is still running a temp off and on and doesn't have an appetite yet....wish I had that problem!!! I hate taking off work when school just started but not much I could do about it. DH is leaving tomorrow and will be gone until Sunday so it might be along week. I was bored this weekend so I updated a bunch of pics to the blog I have for the kids at http://www.camandhan.blogspot.com if anyone wants to check it out. I don't know why but I decided to play around with one for me and I have spent days trying to customize a template on blogger...it is so hard!!! I finally went over to typepad.com and they have a free 30 day trial right now so I signed up. It is definately easier to customize then blogger is. You can check it out at http://www.pagebypaige.typepad.com . Let me know what you think, I am still playing around with it and have already changed the customized header twice. I might play around some more today and if I can come up with a better one using my digital scrapbook kits I'll change it again.

Kerry- I have been thinking about you all weekend and I hope you are doing better. Big hugs!!!!!!!

Anyway I will check back in later to see if anyone has been around.

Kerry- I'm so sorry. Are you ok? You and your husband are in my prayers.

Marie-You are probably right. I should tell him, he knows that the balance is higher than normal, but he doesn't know by how much....it is really bugging me and I am trying to put the breaks on my spending...it's tough with all the weight that I lost. I desperately need new clothes. The last couple of pairs of capris I bought are getting too big already. It's nice that I am losing weight, but this is going to be costly, since I have to at least buy business casual clothes.

Paige-Your kids are adorable! Cool blog!

Lori-good to see that you are still around!

ttyl

Thanks for all the kind word, thoughts and prayers. You are kind and wonderful friends. I don't know what I would do without my online buddies since almost no one IRL knows. I did tell my boss this morning and she was just great about all of it. My bf at work knows too, which is helpful.

The bleeding has slowed. I had blood drawn first things this morning to check my levels and I'm going to the doc at 1:30 for the results and consult.

I'll let you know what I learn and how it turns out. I'm trying to remain somewhat hopeful since things have slowed to almost nothing today.

Thought I should check in with you quickly since I didn't get back in here before we left town. I have WiFi in the hotel and my laptop. NICE ;)

Spent most of Monday afternoon with my OB. Not good news. I seem to have lost what there was of an early pg. He was much afeared of ectopic, but could not find anything to confirm. So he cleared me for travel. Thank GOD! I needed to escape.

So as you can imagine, I am indulging in all earthly pleasures and will enjoy that trip to Napa to the fullest. We've had our moments of sadness, but also renewed vigor to try again and get it right.

Doc was awesome, reassuring and ready to back us to do whatever we want. Those decisions will be confronted when I see him next week.

Thanks again for being such awesome friends and support. Funny how my weight loss support group has turned into my all-around support group :) I'll admit I've put on a few pounds and I'm not going to do good in SF either, but I'll make up for it next month and maybe even get to that 135!

See you when I get back! (((Hugs))) to all of you - You ROCK!

Can you say BUSY????

Man, I forgot how crazy football was last year!!! Well I had to leave work early today for the kid's physicals so I have an extra 2 seconds and I couldn't wait to spend it chatting with you guys!!!

Kerry, I'm sorry that it was a miscary, I was kinda hoping for one of those odd bleeds that don't really mean anything, but guess not. Glad your in SF parting til the cows come home, when you get back you can re-focus your weight loss with ease! How much easier it is to lose a couple of pounds instead of 30+!!!! Keep us posted to see what the doc suggests for your next move!!!! And start walking now, you'll enjoy it and it will be good for you in all kinds of ways.

Paige, love the sites!! The kids are just too cute!!! Love the canyon pictures that is really cool. I can't wait till we go, in 2 summers!!!! How's that sick kid??? How's the new school year going? I can't wait for our boys to start back in 2 weeks!!! I'm just slightly awed, this is my oldest's last year in grade school, I wasn't ready for high school, guess I have a year to adjust!!

Marie, where are you?? How's the non-meds going???? Are you still seeing a loss??? Guess I just want to be sure your doing ok!!!!

Julie, I know about needing new clothes. I cleaned out my closet and couldn't find anybody to take my old clothes. I was horrified, none of our local donation stores would take them. I said to the lady, "You mean you don't want all of these name brand jeans that I have probably spent hundreds of dollars on???" They wouldn't take them, so I dropped them off for a friend to sift through and hopefully pass on. I never spend cheap on my clothes coz I'm a jerk about them lasting. Let me buy one thing that dosen't last and I'll never buy anything from that company again. Like my LEI jeans, I'll never buy another pair of them again. They are wearing out way to fast for the money that they cost. Oh and my son's South Pole shorts, the button fell off the 3rd week of school last year (that's 3 times worn) and they wouldn't replace them or send me a new button. Guess what I'm not buying this year!!!!

Ok, I have to run, the kids have practice soon and I need to start dinner. BTW my weight is up this week, but I've noticed during TOM and then 2 weeks later during my ovulation (sp) I seem to put on 2 lbs faithfully for a couple of days so I'll re-check it again on Monday.

Hi Lori, Kerry, Julie and Paige, First I am so sorry Kerry. I checked everyday to see if you wrote how you are. I've been overwhelmed and busy, but I still checked daily. There are times that being a woman sucks and I swear pregnancy issues is one of them. Then on the other hand we're the ones that get to carry the baby. Ah, life is interesting. Regardless, Kerry, you have my condolescences.

Lori, don't you just love football? Might be crazy but it's fun. Little boys (or girls I guess) in their full armor running around after the funny shaped ball is great. I loved when DS played.

Speaking of DS - the one that moved out in May with plantonic friend who happens to be a girl - yep, you're getting the picture... I found out that I'm going to have a grandbaby. I am so completely excited, it's just awesome. Soon to be DIL is 13 weeks so the scariest time is over. The ultrasound picture is really neat. She and I went over DS's baby book and baby pictures last night after we swam. We had a nice time. Anyway, I'm going to be a grandma and they're moving in with us. DS2 is leaving soon for basic training so it won't be quite as busy. We're converting the garage into a big open room for them. They'll be on the opposite side of the house with firewall insulation so I'll still be able to sleep. Play with baby all day, I get to sleep all night. Sound perfecto to moi. :) They'll be moving in during the next month. We have a month to remodel a garage into a real room. $$$ At least we have them for this.

Julie, I know my advice was easy to give, but hard to do. I just know that I can sleep at night and I couldn't when I kept the balances from DH. I wish you a lot of good thoughts. It's truly a hard thing to face the music.

Paige, the pictures are great. You have adorable kids. I do admit I admired the landscaping around the pool. I love the rocks.

I'm still doing good off the meds. I told DH to take my credit cards since I'm manic and I have a grandbaby to shop for. He hasn't done it but I warned him. :) I will never go back on them unless I get really, really, institutionalized type of bad. I have lost 4.5 pounds since getting back from the cruise and my clothes are getting lose. I'm up to 20 situps and I've been exercising regularly. The odd thing is that I'm drinking water. The meds made me so thisty with a nasty taste in my mouth that I drank and drank lots of soda. Soda is now upsetting my tummy (enough to actually puke today) and only water is good. I guess caffeine withdrawal is next because the thought of a soda is nauseating.

Kerry, I hope you're having fun 325 miles south of here. Napa and SF are great. I'm so glad you had this planned out.

TTYL.
Marie

Hi all, :wave:
I came across your thread and thought I'd post and say hello. I hope you don't mind! It's always great to meet people that have some of the same goals as me (weight loss)! I enjoy meeting new people from all over. I hope everyone is having a great week so far...and here's hoping that Friday comes very soon! :)
Jen

Kerry-I don't know what to say other than I'm so sorry for your loss, and that we are all here for you. I'm glad you got to go away. Sometimes that is the best thing to clear your head. Just take it easy and enjoy yourself!

Lori- I often wonder how moms who work handle all that running around :dizzy: I'm due to find out myself soon. Right now the only thing I am dealing with is picking my son up from the baby sitter after work a couple of days a week and that takes up enough time. Poor kid has not been napping lately and when I pick him up he is so exhausted. The drive is about 35 minutes and he is out cold in the first 5. And when I get him home I can't wake him up. He missed dinner last night, I tried everything I could think of to wake him but nothing worked. So of course at 10:30 last night he woke wanting to eat :lol: So he ate and went back to bed. Thank goodness. We have all been walking around like zombies lately.

Marie-Congrats on becomming a grandma! :bravo: I'm sure you will enjoy having your son around again. Not to mention a new baby to help look after! You can spoil him or her rotten!

I lost another pound this week...don't hate me too much. :^: I think the girls in the office are ready to lynch me. I started off heavier than most of the women here now I weigh less than everyone except one person. And now I have everyone in the office, including 2 of the guys on diets :lol: They all keep telling me I need to stop. That I don't need to lose anymore, but I am going for another 9 lbs...I can't stand having this pot belly. Besides that will put me right in the middle of most weight chart recommendations. ;) Guess I should get back to work. Have a good day everyone! :)

TTYL

Welcome Jen! Sorry we must have been posting at the same time.

Thanks for the welcome Julie! Keep up the great work with your weight loss efforts! Sounds like you've had much success so far!! :)

Hi Jen, welcome to a great board. You sure are doing great on your weight loss.

Julie, I may envy your one pound loss, but hate it, NAH!!!!! That is great. I have the same type of thought process with my sister. She'd always been thin and when she ballooned I was like, oh my, she weighs more than me. Cool. I do the same thing wiht growing my heair out. Call me immature but I think I'm only competitive with her. There is probably some deep dark secret reason why. No one else am I competitive with.

I feel better today. I had a little breakfast and no throwing it up. I'm at work and don't want to be. It is gorgeous out and I want to go outside and play.

I didn't lose any weight, but the flipping of the numbers was on the lower side and decided on the same weight. So I know I'm a day or two from taking another .5 pound off. Yeah!

TTYL.
Marie

Hi Marie! Thanks for the welcome. I don't want to be at work, either. It's gorgeous here (for once) and I'd much rather be outside enjoying the outdoors then in this cramped up office... ;)

Hey gang!
Tomorrow is Friday, I just love the weekends, just wish it was longer!!!

Welcome Viva! Looks like you've done pretty well so far with your weight loss! Where is Norristown PA??? Is that out East?

Marie, congratulations!!! Grandma, wow things are moving at a little different direction. Dosen't DS want to stay in the purple room??? :lol: Look we made fun now he's taking over the garage!!! Good for you, sounds like you'll have somebody to share that pool with next summer!!!

Julie, Yea it's hard to work, get home, get everyone where they need to be, keep up with laundry and dishes. Then make sure we're all eating healthy, as in cooking dinner! My evening are so full it just makes me feel dis-organized.

I seem to be getting back into the swing of working out. I'm just starving all over again like I was when I raised my weights. It just freaks me out after all this hard work and all I can think about is eating, munching, eating and eating some more. I hope it dosen't last too long. And the Dr. did lower my meds. My thyroid levels were pretty high, so she backed them down a little and we will re-check in Oct. Ok, time to pack lunches and get to bed!!!

Welcome Viva! Looks like you've done pretty well so far with your weight loss! Where is Norristown PA??? Is that out East?

Hi IMATIS/Lori! Norristown, PA is right outside of Philadelphia. Have you ever heard of King of Prussia Mall? If so, it's a few minutes from there (talk about dangerous!) - Where in Pittsburgh are you? I went to college about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and both of my roommates were from the Pittsburgh area! Nice to meet you!! And congrats on being so close to your goal! :goodvibes

Hi all, I have a fun day planned. How about you????

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!!

Marie, I don't know about fun, I have to go school clothes shopping with my two kids and DH (the big kid) Bad thing is I still have to go to work tomorrow after shopping like an idiot!

Viva, sounds like you went to college up my way. I'm thinking Indiana, PA? Am I right? If I am then you know exactly where I live. I'm actually from Kittanning, PA. I always use Pittsburgh, coz most people can't pronounce Kittaning let alone where it is.

Well we did the Football games on Sat., it was so stinken hot I thought we would melt. I actually used an umbrella for shade. DH put sunblock on twice and still looks like a lobster. Our forcast is looking like cooler weather this week (thank goodness). I stopped yesterday in the midst of getting ready to go and measured myself. I weigh one pound less than last month but I've lost some decent inches. It's the strangest thing when that happens, I know it's good but it is still kind of weird. Ok I have to get a shower and go shopping, cross your fingers and hope it goes smooth.

Hi Lori, so you're feady for fall huh? Football and heat is not a good mixture. I hope all the kids had plenty to drink.

Want to know something funny? You all know I gave up my meds - well one of them always caused a load of side effects, one being cotton mouth. So I drank lots and lots of Diet Pepsi because water just made the taste worse. Well, now that I'm med free, soda makes my stomach turn. I haven't had one in four days. I took a taste of DH's and spit it out. Yuck. So the days of 36 2 liter bottles of soda being pushed around the store are over. DH and I calculated how much I was spending on soda and it was 80/month. Pretty cool huh? Now my favorite drink is ice water - FREE.

We spent a little less then 2500 for remodeling the garage into a gigantic room for DS and GF (and baby to be). Now the hard part begins. The Work. I feel a little shell shocked at the price but we decided that we would build another attached garage to it and keep the room. So there will a lot of home equity added with the additions.

Got a call. Talk to you later

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!!

Marie, I don't know about fun, I have to go school clothes shopping with my two kids and DH (the big kid) Bad thing is I still have to go to work tomorrow after shopping like an idiot!

Viva, sounds like you went to college up my way. I'm thinking Indiana, PA? Am I right? If I am then you know exactly where I live. I'm actually from Kittanning, PA. I always use Pittsburgh, coz most people can't pronounce Kittaning let alone where it is.

Well we did the Football games on Sat., it was so stinken hot I thought we would melt. I actually used an umbrella for shade. DH put sunblock on twice and still looks like a lobster. Our forcast is looking like cooler weather this week (thank goodness). I stopped yesterday in the midst of getting ready to go and measured myself. I weigh one pound less than last month but I've lost some decent inches. It's the strangest thing when that happens, I know it's good but it is still kind of weird. Ok I have to get a shower and go shopping, cross your fingers and hope it goes smooth.

LORI: Actually I went to Clarion University...I think I know where Kittanning is! If I'm correct, I think it's south of Clarion if you take 28? It's been a little while since I've been back up there, but I think I remember...:lol:

MMARIE: Good luck remodeling! I bet after you're done that you'll appreciate just WATCHING Trading Spaces and other shows like that!!!

Hello Ladies! :) We're back from our trip. We had a wonderful and exhausting time in San Francisco and in wine country. I ate too much and drank too much, but it was well worth it! ;)

I held up quite well considering the circumstances up until the last couple days. I was quite ill and felt awful on the return flight and couldn't get home fast enough. I'm still spinning from everything happening when it did and the continuing saga of our sad pregnancies. I see the doc again on Wed to see where we stand moving forward.

I meant to get on the scale this morning to see what the damage is, but forgot. I'll try to remember tomorrow. I'm going to try to get back on some sort of diet plan and lose those last few pounds.

I'll get the photos from the trip up soon and post a link.

Welcome to Viva! Glad you found our group. Good luck taking off the pounds!

Marie - CONGRATS Grandma!! That is so exciting! And they're moving in with you WOW!! :dizzy: You are so brave! ;) Good luck with the addition. Let us know how it goes and try to stay sane you funny girl!

Julie and Paige have been scarce, I hope you are both well. We haven't seen Judy in awhile either. I hope she's doing ok.

Thanks for all your kind thoughts, prayers and wishes again. It really means a lot. (((Hugs)))

Hello Ladies! :) We're back from our trip. We had a wonderful and exhausting time in San Francisco and in wine country. I ate too much and drank too much, but it was well worth it! ;)

I held up quite well considering the circumstances up until the last couple days. I was quite ill and felt awful on the return flight and couldn't get home fast enough. I'm still spinning from everything happening when it did and the continuing saga of our sad pregnancies. I see the doc again on Wed to see where we stand moving forward.

I meant to get on the scale this morning to see what the damage is, but forgot. I'll try to remember tomorrow. I'm going to try to get back on some sort of diet plan and lose those last few pounds.

I'll get the photos from the trip up soon and post a link.

Welcome to Viva! Glad you found our group. Good luck taking off the pounds!

Marie - CONGRATS Grandma!! That is so exciting! And they're moving in with you WOW!! :dizzy: You are so brave! ;) Good luck with the addition. Let us know how it goes and try to stay sane you funny girl!

Julie and Paige have been scarce, I hope you are both well. We haven't seen Judy in awhile either. I hope she's doing ok.

Thanks for all your kind thoughts, prayers and wishes again. It really means a lot. (((Hugs)))

Hi KERRY! Nice to hear that you had a wonderful trip. I'm actually going to San Francisco in 3 weeks - I've never been there before and I'm excited to go!! Where did you stay?

Hi Kerry, I'm glad you had a good time in San Fran. It's a beautiful city and the Napa Valley is just awesome. I love seeing the fields upon fields of grapes. The vineyards are so meticulous. I sure hope you get good news from the dr.

I've had an icky day. Since I can't drink diet pepsi without throwing up, I'm going through caffeine withdrawal. I thought I weaned myself down the last few days but today without any, I have a killer headache (even left work early to go to bed) and am really tired. I'll be glad when this passes. I'm trying to make myself go swimming even without swimming laps to see if that makes me feel better.

DH has started the remodeling and I got an appointment with DirecTv to install receivers in their room, my craft room, and our bedroom. It'll be a whoppoing 12 buck a month more. I'd have done this a long time ago if I'd known that. This project is pretty overwhelming but we'll live through it. DS and GF gave their 30 day notice last week so we sort of have a time frame to follow. If we don't make it, they'll set their bed up in my craft room for a temp solution.

Well, that's about it. I'll chat with you soon. Kerry, I'm glad you're back. :)

Ok, I got the photos uploaded tonight. Here is the link:

http://community.webshots.com/user/sullivansf

Viva - we stayed the first two nights at The Pickwick: http://www.thepickwickhotel.com/
It was very affordable and in a good location. This is not downtown, but close.

Then we went to Wine country and stayed at the Redwood Inn Napa Valley that night.

The final 2 nights we were there we stayed at the Pan Pacific. We paid more those nights, but that was the plan to stay at the nicest places the last of the trip. I highly recommend using tripadvisor.com to check out any place you consider staying. You can also check rates and reviews from that site. You might want to try to make your reservations soon to get better rates ;)

Ok, I got the photos uploaded tonight. Here is the link:

http://community.webshots.com/user/sullivansf

Viva - we stayed the first two nights at The Pickwick: http://www.thepickwickhotel.com/
It was very affordable and in a good location. This is not downtown, but close.

Then we went to Wine country and stayed at the Redwood Inn Napa Valley that night.

The final 2 nights we were there we stayed at the Pan Pacific. We paid more those nights, but that was the plan to stay at the nicest places the last of the trip. I highly recommend using tripadvisor.com to check out any place you consider staying. You can also check rates and reviews from that site. You might want to try to make your reservations soon to get better rates ;)

I already have reservations at The Fairmont. I am going there for a conference for work, and that's where it's being held. From the pictures on the website, it looks very nice. I'm definitely looking forward to it. Then I'll be home for about 3 weeks and then I go to Las Vegas. I can't wait to check out your pictures--I'll do that soon!

Hi ladies...
Sorry I have been MIA for a while.
Hate to sound like a broken record, but things are crazy!

Kerry-Glad you had a nice trip..You needed the break! The pics are awesome!

Marie-I understand about the headaches! :dizzy: I have to have at least one-two cups of coffee per day otherwise I am sick with a headache all day long! I use to be a heavy regular coke/pepsi drinker and I have completely cut it from my diet. I do still have the occasional diet pepsi when I go out to dinner though. Hang in there...I gave up all caffiene when I was pregnant...tough but worth it! Wish I never went back on it.

Viva-Have fun on your trip! I have never been to San Fran, but have been to Vegas many times! It is my favorite vacation spot. Where are you staying there? I'm going to New York in October for a sales meeting at the Turning Stone Casino...That was the only way I would go since there will be gambling ;) By the way I am from Pittbsurgh and still live close to the area.

Lori- Football in the heat we had last week???!!! Yikes! Tis the season I guess :lol:

Julie: I'm staying at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas...I'm definitely looking forward to it!!! I've always wanted to go, and here's my chance. Have fun in New York at your sale meetings! That's a great place! :)

Well girls, I got on the scale this morning. . . :( 141!! :eek: :cry: NOOOOO!!! I have been good today after seeing that - oh boy, now I have to get back on track. I can't believe 4 whole lbs. Sneaky weight :s:

Hi, gals--

Just passing through to say hello! I'm settling into a new job, and all aspects of my life are much more manageable than they have been in some time. Thanks so much for your support, especially last spring. I gained a few pounds this summer, after being stuck for so long, but I'm feeling in control again. Back on my plan, going to Curves, found good long walks to my new office, signing up for a Pilates class that starts in September....the journey continues.

I probably won't be a regular on this thread, but I pop in to read how you're doing now and again, and I'm very proud of your progress. Keep it going, girls!

hugs--judy

Hey Gang!

Judy great to hear from you, glad things are going better!!!! You hang in there and keep up the progress!!

Kerry, I went through the slide show, I had to stop it a few time to catch the memos with the photos, but it was really good. Don't know if I'll ever get to SF in my lifetime. You know how I HATE the whole flying thing, but I enjoyed your photos!!!! Don't worry about the 4 lbs, just get back on the wagon. The fitness/diet wagon, but after all that wine you might need a booze wagon :lol: !!!!! Just kidding, somebody else would have to drive me to wine country, I'm such a lush when I start I don't know how to stop!

Julie, Yea I know all about crazy!!! We have another day time game this Sat. and it's supposed to be hot again! I'm getting real fed up with baking, my toes look dirty from the tan strip where my sandels were!!!

Viva, Vegas sounds like fun, but I have a gambeling problem, well maybe I do. If you can count strip tickets and scratch offs then yea I'ld be real dangerous with the big boys!!! I have a real obsession of not knowing when to say no, no wonder I put on weight like it's a sport (sure I'll go out for lunch, sure I'll have a piece of cake, sure I'ld rather eat out than cook)

Ok, I have to get some things done and get to bed, chat with you all soon!!!!

Hi everyone, today is going to be a fun one. I took the day off from work. My 2 day headache is starting to ease and we're going to Portland to the American Idol concert. It should be a fun day. Mainly, I don't have to work - I think a big factor in the long headache.

DS knows that his brother and GF are having a baby. That makes why remodeling the house less of a secret. I didn't agree with their reasons to not tell him, but it was their choice. Now he knows. I don't know if he's happy or not about being an uncle. He's a born again Christian and doesn't approve of premarital sex, so I think he's having a hard time with that. He'll be in basic training or tech school when the baby is born so I guess it's not too big of a deal.

That's it for now. I'll let you know how the concert is.

Good morning girls!!
Ok I am super stressed! :stress: Work has been weird, home has been out of control (don't want to get into it on a public message board) and I have no appetite whatsoever. I am trying to force the food on my menu down, but it is getting increasingly difficult! So as a result I lost 3.3lbs in 1 week....my jc consultant was not overjoyed with this...I wasn't either. Too much of a loss too fast! I stepped up the exercise to try to relieve the stress a bit, it helps at the time, but is only temporary. At this rate I will waste away. I did promise my consultant that I would make myself eat everything on the menu this week. And so far I am keeping my promise. So we will see what happens. The good news is I am officially in a size 6! Gotta love that! :smoking:

Viva-Monte Carlo is nice...have not stayed there, but I have played there :lol: and Ate there a few times. You'll have fun! I'm so jealous!

Kerry-Don't sweat the gain! You're catching it now. That is what is important!

Judy-Good to hear from you! I'm thinking of joining Curves myself to try and tone a bit. I am wayyyyy to flabby! You'd never guess that I exercise for a minimum of 40 minutes per day. I think I need some professional help :lol:

Lori- You are too funny! :rofl: Dirty looking toes from your tan strip. I have the same problem...unfortunately for me I am way too pale everywhere else so it makes things worse LOL. Although this has been a banner year for me in the tan department. I at least have some color this year! Haven't had any since I was a teenager, except for the farmer's tan on my arms from driving :lol:

Chat with you girls later.

Hey Marie-must have been posting at the same time...I seem to do that alot.
Have fun at the concert tonight! I'm sure everything will work out with your sons. He may have a hard time with it now, but it will work out!

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!

Marie, that's a long time for the headache to last. I remember when my thyroid was super over active. I had the jitters and heart palipatations (sp). I gave up coffee very easily at that time. Now that that is all fixed I drink coffee like it was not going to be around tomorrow! And if you look closely this morning, you can tell I haven't had enough. Words misspelled and I'm probabling not making sense! I have to give you a pat on the back though!! You bit off way more than I could handel at one time!!!! I'm glad the soon to be parents spilled the beans, even if other DS dosen't approve a secret like that is never a good idea! Keep your chin up and keep chugging along, your haning in there quite well!!!

Julie, please be careful to eat enough!!! 3 lbs in one week wouldn't be too bad, but your too far down on the scale to have a loss like that now. Just be careful and take care of yourself!!! Working out is one of the best stress reliefs I've ever found. Since your a little flabby I would suggest hitting the weights. If your interested in something at home let me know, I have tons of books and videos. I would be glad to give you a hand getting a work out toghether.. I wish I could get to a gym, but I have so little time already it would never work out! My all time favorite stress relief is going to the driving range. Something about smashing that little golf ball does wonders for me!!!

I went mad last night and spent way too much money on e-bay buying new bras. I'm down to 3 bras and 2 are black (and none are in good shape) so I was in desperate need of new ones, but I didn't mean to buy them all at once. Oh well, guess I won't buy anything else for a few months! Ok I have to run to work. Chat with you all later!!!!

Hey guys I'm here and I have been checking in and catching up...just not posting. I quess I just haven't had much to say. Work has been busy and DH was out of town last week and got home late Sunday night. We ate out alot while he was gone (bad, bad, bad!!!) Oh well, life goes on. We are starting WW back up on Sept. 1st so things should get back on track soon.

Well, I got off work early because I had a meeting to go to so I came home for awhile and so I'm off now to pick up the kids.

I'll check back later.

Hi everyone, the 4 day headache is starting to ease. I feel way better and think I might have had a bug. I know that I was finishing caffeine withdrawal, but I barely was on any (30 mg/day) when I reduced it to none. Hopefully I feel good tomorrow since I have to go to work and the people there were starting to drive me nuts. Just my close co-workers weren't. Tomorrow I will be tolerant of dumb questions because I truly don't subscribe to the idea that there are no stupid questions. Since I'm asked many of them, I know that there are.

I exercised today (I had hiked yesterday, too). Thirty minutes on the exercycle, situps and arm weights. Food wise I'm still being very good (except the cinnamon roll for breakfast - long story why that was chosen - but I made room for it in my calories so it should be okay). I've been drinking lots of water. Tomorrow is weighin and I have my fingers crossed - really they're not since I'm typing.

The Armeican Idol concert was good. Bo Bice wasn't there since he just had surgery, but the other 9 were good. They've gotten better and less nervous since the show. Carrie Underwood was great but the one that was so surprising was Jessica Sierra. She was awesome - I'd go see her in concert anytime. Anyway it was a good time.

Told my parents I cold turkeyed all my meds and they're supportive. I love not taking meds anymore. I gave up my allergy and asthma meds too, but that didn't work out so great. I'm back on the asthma drugs. I guess I can't be totally free.

Julie, I'm sorry about all your home life stress. One thing positive is that you're not reaching for food for comfort. That's good. I hope it all works out.

Paige, good luck getting back on track. It's a lot harder than one would think, but you can do it. Ask yourself when your choosing food, do you really want the food more than you want to be slender. Since I really internalized that, I've been able to say no to food. Good luck.

Kerry, where are you? I sure hope you're doing okay.

Lori, have fun with all the bras. Don't wear them all at once. :rofl: Don't you just love ebay? I've been trying to stay away because I get addicted and buy too much.

Well, I guess that's it. I plan to go to be bed earlier tonight so I'd better go and get the vacuuming done before I write for a while. TTYL.

Hi Marie! I'm still here. :wave: I just haven't felt too great this week and haven't been logged on as much.

But I did manage to lose a pound! Yay! So I'm back at 140. I just started cutting out the junk I was eating too regularly and I'm sure I lost some of the bloat. I hope I can get back down to where I was quickly.

Marie - you have to stay on the asthma drugs or you could suffocate and die!! :eek: OK?

Paige - I ate out to much too and felt bad. It's just so easy. I hope things slow down a bit. It sounds like getting back with the WW is going to be good.

Lori - I want to go shopping so bad, but don't have the energy. Ebay sounds perfect!

Julie - I hope you're feeling better and eating what you're supposed to this week. We don't want you to waste away.

DH's birthday is on Sunday so I am sure we will splurge with a nice dinner and I'm making him sausage gravy & biscuits for breakfast. Uh-oh! :p We're getting the new Lazboy today and also putting up window treatments in the living room this weekend. Other than that it is rest and relax!

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!!

I can't believe I have to get so darn early on a Sat. morning!!!! We have football games today and they are away so we have to get up at the crack of dawn to get everybody ready!

Paige, I'm glad to hear they are going to WW at the school again this year. It's so convient for you guys and such a great idea! Just keep up the good work, and hey who dosen't eat out while their away!!!!

Marie, glad to hear the headache is easing up! I can't believe how well your doing with out meds. It's nice your feeling good with out them, but isn't it strange that the diet pepsi is making you not feel good after you drank so much of it before. I still take some of my allergy meds, but mine are only seasonal so I just need it from mid Aug. till about Nov., but I prefer the nasal spray over the pills. I just had to get some allergy meds for my poor boys, looks like they might have seasonal allergies too!

Kerry, E-bay was the ticket. The bras that I like are $40 from Vicky and I picked up the exact same ones for $10 a piece. I truley waited too long to buy new ones. The ones that I just loved Vicky don't make anymore and I just drug my feet about getting new ones. I need those darn "add-a-cup" bras and everybody either adds the gel filling to theirs (which makes you sweat) or they have the push up pad (that I lose in a matter of weeks) Oh well what are you going to do??? Any way sounds like the house is moving in the right direction and you'll always find something that needs done! The joys of home ownership!

Well the kids start back to school on Monday this weekend should be pure kaos, so maybe we can get back into a regular routine soon!!!! And I want to mention that I have been holding at 131 lbs for a week so I'm one pound away from my first goal. Which is great, but I still have the big old pooch belly going on. I'm not sure how I'm going to handel this, I really don't care if the number it's self don't move, but I would love to see my tummy flaten up. So I'm not sure how to go about this. It's still a big roll so I can't imagine losing it with out shedding a few more pounds, but the rest of me looks fine and I don't want to look too thin every where else. (thought I'd never say that agian) But anyway I'm going to have to re-vist my goals and see what I should do. (my mom is already freaking out telling me I'm thin enough)

Ok enough yacking I need to get everybody up and moving, I'll check back later!!!!

Lori :bravo: Maintaining 131. That is just so awesome and only a pound away from your goal. Tell DH to give you a pat on the back from me. That is just so awesome.

Kerry, enjoy the new lazyboy. The are so nice and comfy. I was hoping the asthma would be reduced with the lack of meds and losing weight and exercising regularly. But alas, this so far isn't the case. I've been using the advair inhaler and then the abuterol pretty regularly so I need to add the singulair back in. I threw all my meds in the garbage and don't have any. I will call the pharmacy today. I promise.

DH and I are $14,000 richer on paper. Remember we did a 1st mortgage 6 months ago. We didn't take extra to pay off loans - stupid yes - so we're doing a 2nd mortgage to pay off everything and pay for the garage conversion for DS. Anyway, the same appriaser as 6 months ago came back 14000 higher. Housing prices are just astounding. They just are going up like a rocket.

Today is remodeling of the garage day. DH has worked on it all week - got it all empty and the window in (framed another for when we add another garage on next summer). He's been busy. Me, I haven't done anything for the conversion since last weekend. So I am guessing I won't have too much fun this weekend. Ah, the joys of home ownership - you can remodel, convert and change what you want. Only thing is that you have to do the work. Good think I have DH.:lol:

I forgot to tell you guys that I lost another pound on Friday's weigh in. I'm down 6.5 pounds since the cruise and getting off the meds. Four weeks - 6.5 pounds. I am so happy, I did the dance of joy after the scale yesterday. I had to be quiet because DH was sleeping so I couldn't scream. After 14 months of being pretty darn good, to see a lose without changing anything is so amazing. Those meds really screwed my up. But yes Kerry, some seem to be necessary. :rofl:

I will chat at you guys later. Have a great day.

This will be short, cleaning house for DS birthday party this weekend! This full time working business really cuts into getting the house work done!

Well I was 130.5 this morning, I almost fell off the scale!!!! 1/2 lb to the first goal!!!! I'm going to refigure, but not till I hit the first goal.

Marie, way to go on the loss, your burning that fat now!!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Ok, have to go scrub another toilet, yea fun!!!!

Good morning chickies!!!
Had a busy :dizzy: weekend, took my son to see the Wiggles :lol: and then we had his cousin's birthday party to go to right after. Sunday my husband had a family reunion on his mom's side. My husband's mom died when he was very young, so he hardly knew anyone there, but they welcomed us with open arms and lots of food :D It was great! Hubby had a good time as well as his brother and wife and our kids. Unfortunately I ate like mad!!! When I get around my sis in law I tend to over eat! We parked ourselves right at the chip and dip table and didn't leave for like an hour :lol: and the desserts OH MY!!! I did the best I could under the circumstances :) oh and I had a couple of beers too to help break the ice :devil: ...oh well you only live once...I had fun! And I made up for it yesterday and today, I exercised a bit more. So we'll see how weigh in goes tonight.


Marie- I'm sounds like you are doing great! 6.5lbs gone after going off meds! :smoking: That is wonderful! But I'm with Kerry....there are some things you still need to have like your asthma meds!

Kerry- congrats on the loss! Hope that chair is comfy! How did dinner go?

Lori- :bravo: You're almost there! You know I understand about the belly flab...I have so much of it myself. My in laws made comments about me looking too thin this weekend...I think I look ok right now, except my gut of course, but I certainly don't want to lose any more anywhere else, unfortunately you can't dictate to your body :( I wish I knew what to do as well....I have been trying sit ups, crunches, twists side stretches etc. it does seem to at least be helping some...since I am currently in a size 6 pants and it only took about two weeks of doing those excersises more religously, but I still think I look pregnant :lol:

Wish me luck at my weigh in tonight!
Cya girls.

Julie, it sounds like your weekend was fun. I know that in a social situation, eating is the greatest comfort - especially when you don't know many people. You'll be fine weight wise, you got back on track immediately. That's a big WAY TO GO!!!

Lori, :bravo: a half pound to go. You and Julie have me very jealous. :)

Work was crappy yesterday and then DS and GF were here for the evening. I wasn't in the mood to entertain but I survived. Today I have a bunch of icky stuff to do including teaching a 1.5 hour class (it should be only 1/2 hour long so I have to talk really slow or BS a whole lot). Work is really driving me nuts lately.

Weigh in was this morning and I didn't lose anything - stayed the same. That's good but I admit I was a little bummed. I'm doing better at staying off the scale except Tuesdays and Fridays. I was weighing every morning. Anyway, I was a little bummed. I really wanted to see another .5 or 1 pound come off. Regardless, my clothes are fitting great or are loose. So I know I'm making progress.

The asthma is recovering okay. I'm still having a little problems and am having to use the abuterol occassionaly. Usually just the Advair and Singulair are enough but I made my bronchial tubes made. So Kerry and Julie were right. There are just some meds I can't do without. I am still trying to do without Allegra but I don't know how long that will last. :)

That's about it. TTYL.

Hi ladies. I know I've been MIA for some time. I just wanted to let you know I'm still hanging in there. If you all remember I had gotten back up to 165 after my vacation, but am back down to 149 again. I started doing a Bible study called The Lord's Table. Someone recommended it from this website and it has helped me so much. It's at settingcaptivesfree.com if any of you are interested. Anyway, I'm super excited about it and have a totally different view of food now. I haven't had a binge since I started and that's a big deal for me. Anyway, I wish you all the best and will try to check in from time to time. :)

Hi there everyone. Just a quick note to say hello. Kerry, I thought of you today. I was teaching an inservice and I used my inhaler right before starting since I was a little wheezy. So I'm going along with the class, having to use lots of lung power to talk non-stop and it wore off. I had to apologize for broken sentences by the end, etc. Anyway, that should teach me from going off the asthma drugs in the future. I'm hoping that I can get rid of this problem time soon or I'll have to go to the dr. for prednisone - i.e. a drug that's great for gaining weight. Stupid me.

Today was okay. The inservice minus the asthma problem was good and I was well prepared. There weren't any questions I couldn't answer. That was pretty cool. I knew my subject completely.

Food I did really good today. Exercise I didn't do at all. I was totally wiped out from work and took 2 naps this evening and am just counting the hours till bedtime (only 1/2 hour left).

kimberlydrn, I remember you. You are doing just awesome. Drop by more often. I'm glad you found something to alter your thoughts about food. That's very cool. I will check out the website.

Well, have a good night.

I started to post yesterday, but got distracted. Work has been busy, which is good I guess. :p Annoying, but good.

DH's birthday was good even though we ate like pigs. :devil: I made his favorite breakfast of biscuits & sausage gravy. Then we went out to dinner at a place called Firebirds. I had bbq ribs & chicken and DH had ribs & steak. We couldn't resist the lobster spinach queso dip for an appetizer either. :ink: But we had fun and he had a great birthday, so that's what matters!

Marie - Sorry the asthma is giving you so much trouble. You may need to go on the steroids for a brief period of time. I usually only have to do it for a few days in conjunction with my advair to get things straight. Also you might want to go back on the allergy meds as well. I find that not medicating my allergies can hugely affect my asthma flare ups.

Kimberly - good to see you and hear that you are doing well. Keep it up!

Julie - sounds like you had a lot of fun at the family reunion! That's great! You're right, you only live once and there are some times that you just gotta enjoy yourself.

Lori - You are almost there!! WOW! I don't know what to say about the belly flab ladies. I think it is one of those things that is just hard to lose. It's not like you have a lot of fat there right? It's just that little pooch. If you find the secret let me know ok?

Paige - I keep thinking about you when I see the new WW commercials. They're using that Cher song and it is very inspiring/compelling. It's good to see you pop in when you can.

Take care girls! I'll *see* you later!

Hello girls :D
Well even with my little eating binge I managed to lose .6lbs. ;) I'm kinda glad I didn't lose more since I had that huge loss last week. Only 5.7lbs to go. Hubby wants me to stop now but I'm going for the extra 5 so I have some leeway. My husband talked to a personal trainer for me at his gym. He was going to buy me a membership and 4 sessions with a trainer for my bday, but it is going to cost over $500.00 so I told him I would rather he spent the money on a shopping trip for me. I have nothing to wear to work!

Hi Kim! Good to hear from you! Good job! 149 is awesome! :cool: Glad to hear you have found something that you feel good about.

Marie-Please take care. I hope you get your asthma under control. I remember my mom and an old roomate of mine going through attacks. :( I know it is not pleasant. Please call the doc soon if you don't get things under control. I know the pred can cause weight gain, but your health is more important!

Kerry-Lobster spinach queso??? Drool!!!! :T Glad you guys had a nice celebration!

Cya later!

Hi everyone!!! Sorry I haven't been around much in the last few weeks. Things have been so insane at work. We have a couple of kids that words can not even describe. Yesterday I got a good workout in around 8am as I followed a student around the neighborhood until we could get him back to school... he has huge issues and then I have one that started today and 2 others that started last week that are a handful and they all happen to be ADD/ADHD one if not two are bipolar and one we like might be borderline mentally ******ed. It is so sad to see such young children with such issues. Two are in kinder, one in first grade and one in second grade. The one I chased yesterday his parents had attempted to drop him off three times that morning before he finally ran away. He screams, crys, and will run the first chance he gets until he finally settles down around noon. Makes for a long day for all of us!!!! Anyway enough about my wonderful job!!

We are starting WW tomorrow at work!!! Yeah! We have 18 people doing it and about half of them did it last time. So I will try and get back to posting more regularly now that things will be getting back on track.

We just got home from swimming lessons so I need to sit down with DS and do homework!!!!

Hi everyone, Paige - and people think being a teacher/school administrator is a fluffy job because you get the summer off. Ha! I say to them. Being bipolar and ADD, I know that I would act like the child you described if given the opportunity. By adulthood, you do get the idea to act normal even if it's a struggle. As a kid, I ate my frustrations and aggressions away.

Julie - smart choice on the $500. At your smaller size you need new clothes and the personal trainer would just torture you anyway. :) Very nice of DH, though. Give him a big kiss.

Kerry, DH birthday sounds like you had a blast. You know, we only live once so there are times to blow the diet. Sounds like that was a really good choice. Did Bella get to celebrate too? Are you super busy at work because the school year is going to start or are you just a straight medical library? Also, I had the prednisone in my hand but chose to wait a little longer. I think the asthma is better today. I exercised without using the inhaler. At about 25 minutes of the 30 I noticed a little losing of my exhale, but it wasn't too bad. I think it really is better.

Drum roll!!! I was bad in a good way. My weigh in days are Tuesday and Friday. Yesterday I didn't lose anything so I peeked this morning. TWO POUNDS GONE!!!!!!! I've now lost 8.5 since the cruise. I was so pumped that it made me happy at work for at least a few hours. :)

Work is the bane of my existence these days. People do ask stupid questions and they're all aimed at me. I was so frustrated with one employee that I punched my other hand (I was on the phone with her so she didn't see). I thought I was going to explode while trying to tell dummy how to log into her computer. BTW, that isn't my job - I was just the lucky recipient of her misdialed call. Some people just should never be given a computer. It just isn't fair to the computer people. I exercised when I got home and feel much calmer now. I really need to get DH to move my TaeBo punching bag to my office. I'd use it a lot more there. :) All I can say is that Friday is coming and many of the staff have it off. YEAH!!!! Then it's weekend.

I guess I ranted enough. Thanks all for listening. Usually my job is stress free and a little boring. Right now it's nasty with the start of the school year (not to mention the stupid budget cutbacks that have made everyone's job harder). Oh, the damn servers keep crashing too (that is my job). EEEKKKKKKK!! Marie, Friday's coming...

TTYL.

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!

The house is almost clean, wow was it bad!!!!

Marie, I understand about work frustrations! One of my co-workers can make me completely batty!! If you get in the least bit irritated with him he feels the need to explain, explain, and explain some more. I have PMS so i'm irritated about everything in general, get him on the phone and I want to jump out the window! Friday is calling my name this week! We are always making changes at work, but it still seems we are still lacking in comunication and I'm not sure it is getting any better!

Kerry, DH's birthday sounds like you guys had fun, sorry I missed the biscusts and gravey! My B-day is in Nov. can you hook me up? That is one of my favorite meals too!!!! And who cares, you only live once, but just remember not to have that food attitude every day, only on special occasions! Wow just noticed can't spell worth a darn this morning!

Paige, regular kids are frustrating enough, add in some home issues and medical problems and nobody gets any piece. I had a kid on the bus one time that screamed the whole way to school, and on occasion rode on the steps beside me (must have thought he would escape or I wouldn't drive) wrong, when I pulled into the school the staff was waiting, the doors flew open and he jumped up to run to the back of the bus and they would pluck him off before he could get away. It lasted for about a month then he realized that he had to go to school no matter what.

Julie, I think the shopping spree is a great idea, don't waste your money on the personal trainer! I'll help you find some great home work outs that are so cheap you won't belive it. All you need to do is tone up and stick with the healthy eating and you'll be set! Between my last measure in, I lost no pounds but lost a few inches every where, it was such a boost! The belly is ever so slowly pulling in and shrinking up, it is going to be such a long processes but it has already shrunk so much I can't believe it.

Kim, great to see you! Glad your still hanging in! Way to go on finding help with your binge issue! Keep checking in were still here to help!

Ok I have to get a shower and go to work! I can't wait for this 3 day weekend! I so need an extra day off!!!

Wow! It sounds like everyone is having working struggles :mad: I LOVE my career/profession and even love my library, but I hate hate hate the old bitties I work with. My boss is completely tuned out and I just got an email this morning (it was to the whole staff) about following dress code by ALWAYS wearing nylons. It's 100 degrees outside and I HAVE to wear nylons! Plus why the he!! should it matter that we follow dress code when senile incompetent people who are a hazard are allowed to work here. OK, I'm done, but it really has me riled up today. :tantrum:

Marie - You know you can take just one prednisone to fix a flare up and it helps better than anything. Just wanted to let you know that. Glad that things are clearing up on their own. I can relate to needing a punching bag in your office. ;) BTW, my library is a hospital library and also a education library bc we support all the residency programs (16) here. We wear many hats.

Julie - Yay for you on the shopping spree!! I told DH just last weekend that I'm going to have to buy some things for the fall bc most of what I have is size 12-14 and much too big :( Have fun with it and buy stuff that shows off the slimmer you. That was a huge adjustment for me to buy things that are fitting instead of baggy!

Paige - I don't envy you with your job hun. Sorry it's been so rough. I hope that it calms down as the school year progresses. It sounds like you have a great WW group. I hope it goes well and you lose hit goal ASAP!

Lori - Sounds like you're having a rough week too. I can't wait until Friday and I think I've been saying that since Monday! Do you have any big plans for the long weekend?

So how are gas prices and supply holding up for all of you? They've told us not to travel in the Carolinas and conserve. I saw prices up to 3.09 this morning. What a bad state of affairs. I think the govt needs to do something about the energy issues in this country. One little thing goes wrong and we're all hurtin. Anyway, we don't have any big plans for the weekend. DH is playing out on Friday so we'll be back up on Charlotte, but that's it. He doesn't have Monday off school, so I'll be having a lazy day to myself. :) I'm looking forward to it.

Hi Lori and Kerry, well another long day at work is finally over. Eleven hours on top of not sleeping last night. By the end, I just told my co-worker I was oging home, my brain was dead. It's livened up a little since getting home. I had to go to Super Walmart for some graceries. I'd have put it off if we weren't totally out of milk. Cool hting was that I had Lean Hot Dogs at home and no buns, so I bought fresh buns and had a hot dog and potato salad for dinner. A whopping 450 calories. It sure did taste good. My co-worker wanted ice cream when the Schwan's man came today at work, so he bought us all a brownie a la mode. Oh, it was good. Another 270 calories. Add my lunch of a cheese Schwan's pizza for 450 calories and my 200 calorie breackfast, I'm at about So for the day I'm at 1370 calories. Considering I had plenty to eat and nothing but the hot dog was diet, that's not too bad.

Kerry, I decided that I would take the prednisone starting this evening. TOM is coming so I won't lose any weight anyway. :) I've been using the abuterol every 2-3 hours so I've given up. Hopefully just a dose or two will right the bronchial tubes. On the way home form work the gas prices were up to $3.09. I paid $2.99 this morning. $55.00 later, I had a full tank. Eeks, I hope this lets up pretty soon. What amazes me is that they blame the huirricane, but what the stations paid for what is in their tanks and going into our cars at the moment didn't cost them more since they bought it days ago. I think that the gas stations are robbers, pure and simple. When they pay more, then I should pay more, not just because in a few weeks there will be a shortage. It seems wrong.

Lori, enjoy the clean house. I have to vacuum tonight since the sheddy dogs have big bunnies of fur floating in my house. Without carpet, they just roll around. Hang in there - it's a long weekend in less than 24 hours... I'm so sick of work I could scream. I hate the week before and the week of school starting. It's hectic and people are just so demanding. I know they're busy, why can't they make the same conclusion that I'm busy too? The phone rings this weekend from work, I'm not answering. 4:00 tomorrow, I'm off. Okay enough whining.

I've been reading about the lawlessness in New Orleans and wonder what planet some people come from. Shooting at rescue helicopters, raping people, setting fires, stealing without conscience... every time I read more, I'm dumbfounded at the horror these people are going through. Our government should be ashamed of its response. Get the troops out of Iraq and restore law to our own country. Okay, enough of my soapbox. I'm just so darn mad that we're letting these people suffer.

tonight I'm going to ride my exercycle and watch David Letterman in a half an hour. We get west and east coast feeds for the network TV stations so I don't have to wait until 11:30 to watch Dave. Since my nocturnal surfing last night, I'm a bit tired and plan to go to bed at a decent hour. So I will chat with you later - hopefully not in the middle of the night again. :)

Morning all,

Paige, good to hear from you! Sorry work is so difficult right now. You must have alot of patience! I don't think I could do it. Sounds like you have alot of support with your WW group! :)

Lori-AAAHHH the joys of a clean house! What is that like :lol: ...even when I think I am done, there is always more to do! Guess it comes with the territory when you have an almost 3 year old. Glad you are making progress in the belly area! Everyone else I talk to says to forget about it, that I will never lose that last bit, but I am up for the challenge! One thing about me is don't tell me I CAN'T because I will set myself to prove you wrong every time ;) .

Kerry, Nylons in the heat??? Ughh! :eek: That is just gross! At least winter is almost around the corner, but I'm not sure how much relief you get living in the Carolinas. Hang in there.

Marie, sounds like you did pretty well with your calories. You need to eat what you like sometimes otherwise you will never stick to it. And 1370 cals is excellent! ;)

Yes gas prices here are horrendous! :fr: The last gas station I passed was at $3.01 if I remember correctly. I filled up the other day when it was at $2.59. And I thought that was bad! I swear they do this so when it drops to something like $2.30 we will all think it's a bargain. I hear groceries and utilities will be going up as well.Things just keep getting crazier and crazier. What is a person to do who is living on minimum wage?
It is a shame what is going on in New Orleans, I feel horrible for anyone who had no means to get out of there and aren't doing anything wrong. I can understand looting for food, meds etc. but the idiots taking things like tv's and vacuum cleaners...and shooting at people etc...whatever happens to them. OH WELL! I did hear this morning that they have declared martial law down there.
The government really needs to get the families with children and elderly out of there. Ok I am done ranting.

Good evening ladies!!!

Yea it's FRIDAY and I could kick myself for not getting gas last night or this morning, it was $2.99 but on my way home up to $3.19 so I didn't stop. DH was laughing at me he said do you think it will get any cheaper? You need gas!

I hate panty hose in the worst way, I swear Kerry a man must have invented them!!!! Go for the knee highs and to HE!! with them!

I know, if feel sooooo bad for those people down in the big easy, things are looking pretty tough right now! I'm ashamed at the US, it's been almost a week and they are just now getting them supplies! Who ever said they would be evacuated in 24-36 hrs. must drink or need glasses! I'm a terrible bleeding heart and I could cry everytime I look at the situation, I want to fly down and take care of it myself. And remember I don't fly!!!! Get off your D_mn high horses and get those people moving, stop driving by and start loading up every vehicle, wagons, and anything that will move and get those people to saftey!!!!!! That pig president flew in looked around and flew out, whats the matter with him can't he roll up his sleeves and hand out water and food????? I dislike the oil guy can ya tell???? I'll stop, I don't want to offend anybody.

Julie, the bus races are next Sat. if your still interested! I've been doing Tony Little's old abb roller and I'm seeing some slow but steady progress! Next week when TOM and the bloating are gone I swear I'll get a snap shot for everybody!

I need to get rolling, the kids are over at my mom's and it's getting dark so I better feed them something!

Lori!!!! Pig President!!! :rofl: You said it better than I ever could have. I wish I had any money and I'd donate it. I bet they'll still need donations on payday - then we'll make a good donation. I can't believe the pig flew over the top and left. He's such a jerk.

Julie, I love your determination. I hate when someone tells me it can't be done - especially a damn computer. I hate when they think they're in control - I have to prove I'm smarter. My motto is to never let a computer get the best of you.

TGIF!!!! Three whole days away from he!! Can you tell I'm happy????

I started prednisone Kerry. I feel better already. No abuterol so far, but I haven't exercised yet and I will. I think I'm going to use my Gazelle - I haven't used it in months. My left knee didn't like biking yesterday so I thought I try something else.

I've been good food wise, water wise and exercise wise. I'm like an angel. Just call my Angel Marie. This dieting is easy once off the meds and I see progress. What a difference losing weight while eating 1350 calories is compared to eating 1350 calories and gaining. My motivation is much stronger now. :)

Okay, I'm being a little sarcastic today. I'm just so happy it is after 4:00 on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

I'm still an insomniac and was up at 2:30 this morning. I think I'll take my allegra today to help with the allergies and see if it'll make me sleep through the night.

Oh yeah, I'm ready for the school year to start. We got through all the problems and things are ready. I made it by 3:55 today. What a relief. This weekend is still remodeling for DS, GF and grandbaby. So it won't be fun, but it'll be better than work.

And, I hate ditech.com. Our damn loan has been approved for a month, they got the appraisal 2 weeks ago and they're sitting on their hands on closing. I can't get a straight answer from them. I swear I'm going to tell them to go to he!! next week if they don' do something. Don't ever use them. Okay enough venting but it is really making me mad. I had to pay another monthly installment on our credit cards at a high interest rate and I should have had to do that. Makes me MAD.

Well, if you read this whole thing, you're probably just as nuts as I am. :)

Hey ladies!!!

First of all just that me say that this whole Katrina thing is just so overwhelming!!! I can't even imagine how these people are feeling. We have alot of people on our staff that have family in Louisianna. I have several teachers that have up to 20 family members staying with them. We have been trying to help them out with food and other things that they need. We are all cleaning out our closets this weekend and we are going to fill up a bunch of our gas guzzling SUV's on Tuesday and take the clothes to a donation center. We are also collecting books and things for the kids. One of the things that the shelters need the most is underwear!!! We are also trying to get a team together to volunteer at a local shelter.

Last night DS made me so proud to be his mommy!!! It is amazing that a 6 year old could be so compassionate. I didn't get home from work until around 8:00 and when I got home he ran up to me asking if I had any jobs for him to do this weekend. He then asked me for a dollar if he spelled his spelling words for me. He did so I gave him a dollar and then he asked me for a bag to put it in. I told him to just put it in his piggy bank and he said I can't mommy I have to give this to the families that don't have anything. It brought tears to my eyes that this little man was mine!!!!! So he has made a list of jobs he is going to do this weekend to earn more money to donate at school on Tuesday. Although DD is holding on to her money!!! She can't quite figure out why she would want to give her money away. DS was very upset with her!!! Kids....don't we just love them to pieces!!!

We have enrolled 6 kids in the last 2 days but I think the next 2 weeks we will see alot more enrolling. Right now they are just arriving in town and once they get rested and settled (as much as they can be ) I think we will start seeing more of an increase. Our PTA is donating school supplies and backpacks to all new students affected by this tragedy.

It is just heatbreaking... but it is good to see our city and state stepping up and helping out.

We started WW at work on Thursday so I am glad to get that back up and running. Oh, and our gas prices today on the way home ranged from $3.39 to 2.75 a gallon. I'd say most stations were around 2.99. Yikes!!! And I paid $2.40 just on Monday.

Paige, let me know if there's anything I can do do help. I am cleaning my closets this weekend to get rid of size 20 clothes. I bought them all this spring and they're not too big. Mostly it's a few capris and a pair of jeans. If you wouldn't mind, I will send them to you for donation. Could you do that for me, be my liaison? PM if you would. They're in nice shape and great summer/fall clothes for people in the south. I'm so proud of your son. I wish our government cared 1/2 as much. Let me know what I can do to help your town help the survivors.

Since I'm now an insomniac, I was excited to see I slept till almost 5:00 today. I took my allergy meds last night and I think they helped knock me out a little. I slept almost 7 hours - a record lately. The asthma is doing okay, the prednisone is helping. It think restarting the allergy meds is the best thing.

Today is drywall day for the kids room. Putting it up should be no problem. But when we sand - my asthma is going to go bananas. I think I'll have to beg off that one. Also, I'm going to paint the outside of my house where we put up the siding.

At work we changed from Sophos to Panda antivirus and we have the license agreement to have home users. So last night I uninstalled the current, updated version of Sophos and installed Panda. When all was said and done, Panda found and disinfected 17 viruses. I called our network admin at home and told him since he was getting tons of flak about switching. The Panda works great so now I'm installing it on my laptop. Can you believe that, Sophos didn't find 17 viruses? I'm sure glad we switched. So today I'm updating home computers to Panda (DS has a mess on his computer so it should take a while).

DS2 and I made up and I let him know his options since he isn't going to basic training for 3.5 months. We talked medical insurance, school, working, etc. I think we had a good talk yesterday - we'd fought on Monday and didn't see each other all week. This stage between high school and real life is pretty annoying. He's acting like a kid/adult. I want the adult reasoning, not the kid "I'm irresponsible" attitude. So last night we had good open communication. This was needed - I've been mad at him as well as work all week. So now I'm not mad at him and I'm not at work. A perfect combination.

Well I think my laptop is probably done scanning, so I'm going to check on it.

Have a great Saturday!

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!

Don't you just love days off???? I do!! Sat. was beautiful here for the kid's football game. We had the usual out come, oldest son's team won, and yongest son's team lost (but they at least got a score this time!) I'm stiff as a board from sleeping in all these days, but it's nice.

Marie, hope your ok after all they dry wall dust!! I don't know anything about the virus programs your talking about, so I can't give you an opinion just the same observation you had, 17 virusus is alot for a program to miss! Don't worry DS will get his head out of his _ss soon, it's hard to get them to understand what we know and they don't yet (even at their age) I'm the poster child for wasted education, I didn't finish high school coz I knew it all, yea right! Had to go on get the GED and an associates degree to get a decent job. (there is way more to this story, but you get the idea!) Keep up the good work with the diet, it is real motivation when you finally see those lbs. shedding away!

Paige, I'm glad your in a position to help! And that is too sweet about your son!!! I'm hoping our kids school does either a food drive or the quarter for help program (they bring in all the quarters they can get) I was out shopping over the weekend and I saw donation cups all over the place, it is such a great idea, but all I keep hearing is about how broke everybody is over the gas crunch. If everybody in the US would just donate a dollar could you imagine how much money that would be. I guess my friend has me a little baffeled coz she keeps saying if I had the money I donate, but she keeps thinking in the hundreds instead of what she can afford. And the other thing that bugs me is that if I donate I want to be sure that's where my stuff is going (not just to our local chapter) I'm a jerk about people getting free help that don't need it and that happens alot locally, when I worked for the county as a case worker in the housing department it just blew my mind how many people that their goal in life was to make $500 a month on social security! I mean really, get a job and stop wasting my time and money!!!!

Ok I best get something done here, with a free day off there is no excuse not to get the laundry done!

Lori, Saturday sounds like fun. I remember fall football days with the kids. It was fun and like the picture perfect way to spend a weekend. Are you a professional football fan? I love the Packers - I buy NFL Sunday Ticket so DS1 and I can watch football. He's a MN Viking fan (sinc ehe grew up in MN). So next week football starts. That officially means summer is over. Oh, and what the he!! is Jeff Gordon's problem. I decided it's not me and shirt/hat. I haven't worn it in a couple weeks and he's still lousy. It's sort of depressing to watch Nascar.

All the sheetrock is up. Now it's the muddy time and such. I told DH that I can't have the room open to the rest of the house and I can't be around when he sands after mudding and taping. The asthma is not recovering whatsoever. If I use abuterol every two hours it's not bad. I need the Advair and Singulair to do it's job. But the sheetrock dust is probably what bothering it. I'd quit but then DH would be totally by himself doing this stupid project. Yes, I'm getting resentful of my DS(s) non-help. They're both slugs - so into their own life that they have no idea how much work DH is doing for them (I say them because the equity in our house will skyrocket with this and they're the ones that inherit our money so the room may be for DS1 at the moment but there is a payoff for DS2 if he'd bother to look for it. Can you tell I'm mad at them?????

I'm going to puff on the abuterol then head up the mountain pass. DH said he'd take the puppies and me out hiking before working on the room. And yesterday we cleaned the pool and deck so maybe we'll take a dunk later in the afternoon.

Really I'm not in as bad of a mood as the post probably sounds. I'm just frustrated with my kids and I'm worried that having DS and GF move here is more than I can handle. I was looking forward to this fall that DS2 would go to basic training and I'd have an empty nest. Now DS2 isn't going into basic training until January 17 (so much for the Guard really needing recruits) and DS is moving back with GF. I'm going to have a full house instead. I am concerned about that but I'll get used to it. Maybe just because the room project is so overwhelming I'm too moody about it. Who knows.

Enough ranting. I'm going to be happy today regardless because I get to go hiking this am. Talk to you later.

Wow Marie - I am so sorry your asthma hasn't cleared up. Did you stay on the prednisone? You might need a whole weeks worth if you've detiorated that bad. :( Sorry hun. I can't say that I personally understand your frustrations with your sons, but I've watched my mom dealing with my little bro and it can really mess with your head when you think your children are raised and on their own and then they burden you again. This is a real problem for the Boomer with their Gen X/Y kids. We've found it harder to make it in the world than our parents did. No factory jobs, only specialized. Education and training is a must and takes so much time and then your broke. Vent away! Enjoy your hike!

Lori - Sounds like you've had a great weekend. Not a big football fan but DH is winning me over as time goes by. I do remember the games in school being so much fun though :) I'm doing laundry today too! :p

Paige! Your DS has such a kind heart! That is so great that you are doing what you can. You're a bit closer so it sounds like the impact is bigger. I hear about what they're doing at work: dispatched the mobile hospital to the gulf states, donated 500k and took in 100 patients already. They expect more. Then our convention center took in 100s this weekend.

I've slept in all weekend and it felt great! I needed it. DH and I spent the weekend grilling, drinking beer and watching movies - ALL romantic comedies - FUN :) He has school today so he's off at class. I'm going to do a little work from home today and a couple evening this week so I don't lose PTO. I need to save it for my surgery at the end of the month. Boss was cool with that since I have this web dev to do that I can't seem to focus on for all the interuptions. So I'll do a bit of that today. It is just beautiful here today. It felt cool this morning. I love that! It's only supposed to get into the 80s today. I need to get outside at some point probably with Bella ;)

Alrighty, I'm off here for now. See you all later!

Marie, have you flat out asked the kids to help? You should use my moms method, she guilts me into helping every time. It could go something to this effect, dad is only one person, the dust bothers your asthma (could land in the hospital if it continues) and unless they want to pitch a tent in the front yard they best come help!!!! I know it sounds stupid, and they should want to help, but like you said they are so wrapped up in their own worlds right now that they need a shove in the right direction. I remember fighting with my parents one time, I only stayed in their house that they are living in for a few years so it dosen't really feel like my home and I don't get the house when they go, my brother does and he has more money then anybody I personally know. So I get furious when he won't get off his butt and help with the manual labor, we all work too!!!! Marie I don't know if you have or not but if you haven't asked do so and don't be subtle about it!

Kerry, surgery???? Did I miss something??? Not serious I hope or is it for the fertility thing???

Yea we did have fun this weekend and I love fall football, I don't follow the NFL too much coz I think they are so over paid! But I have a soft spot for our home town Steelers. As for the kids moving back in now a days I remember my mom telling me that their was NO WAY that I was staying with her with both my kids, that's what her parents did to her when she was having problems. I didn't move in, but I went and bought another house so I'm not so sure her reasoning helped me, but what are you going to do.

Ok back to the laundry!!!

Yep it's for the fertility thing. He's going to do the HSG which is basically a saline injection into my tubes to do an extensive x-ray. Then right after that I'll be prepped for surgery where I'll have a the least the Laproscopy invasion into my tubes/ovaries: they cut a small incision under the naval and go in and look around. If he sees anything during the HSG he's also scheduled a hysteroscopy for when I am already under the anesthetic. I hope he doesn't have to do that as well. ALL of it sounds very icky and they have to cut on me :( It is scheduled for Sept 30th.

Ah Kerry, I'm sorry about the surgery. Hopefully they'll solve whatever is wrong and you'll get pregnant again without the big worries of miscarriage. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Lori, yesterday I told DS2 that I will not work on his computer until he helps with the addition. That he can live iwth the viruses and spam. I told him that he helps us that I will help him. I think that I was as subtle as a freight train (DH cringed as I said this). He still went on his merry way to goof off with friends. Now, DS1 I haven't said much too and the room is for him and his GF. Since he lives 30 minute away, I understand the gas crunch/$$$ that it takes. There's a part of me that wants him to come out and help but Lori, his help is atrocious. Hammering - he misses the nail completely and breaks the siding. Stapling the insulation - not strong enough sot he insulation isn't tacked down all the way. Screwing the drywall (which he did on Sunday), he kept missing the stud so we have more holes to fill. I think you get the picture - he is a genius with no practical homeowner skills. His help is a hindrance and I guess we would just like some appreciation bu we don't see that either.

Anyway, DH and I talked about our kids and I told him under no circumstances in the future is he to help them when they buy/build their own houses. They both made the bed, so to speak on our help. DH liked that statement because he is just as frustrated with them as I am. Then we talked about the room and how much we're going to like it when DS1 and GF move out. It's turning out so cool. We're going to put all of our exercise equipment in it and move it out of our living room. Move the big screen and projector out there for movie entertainment. Then we're going to get a sleeper sofa for it so that guests will have a nice place to stay. After we talked about 2.5 years down the road for the room, my anger/resentment at the kids subsided. Now I'm not looking at it as something for them, but something for us.

Kerry, I'm going to baby my lungs all week - no drywalling and mudding. I'm going to use the abuterol regularly and take all my other meds. If by Friday it's not better I'm going to go to the dr. for a full prescription of prednisone. I think it I don't aggravate them beyond exercising, I should see some improvement. This is the worst the asthma has been since we moved from MN to OR and I don't have a specialist like I did in MN. That's sort of a bummer.

On a good note, I did use the abuterol yesterday before hiking and I just strode up the mountain path. It was beautiful out and I enjoyed myself tremendously. If I could hike everyday, I'd have my exercise all done. But it's not too convenient and DH and I work opposite shifts. I also did my situps last night (yes even after working on the addition all day). I think I've really turned a corner in the exercise department.

I will weigh in on Friday and hopefully I will see another loss. I didn't today since I got up at 2:30 in the morning and my scale is in my bedroom where DH is slumbering peacefully - yeah I am jealous... :) For now, my clothes are definitely feeling loose and I'm enjoying that fit.

TTYL.

Whoa Marie that's some heavy stuff. . . I'm glad your feeling better about it all. Keepin it in perspective is important. I swear that is my mantra lately ;)

I lost another pound. I have no idea how, but the scale said so this morning. I'm not even supposed to weigh in early in the week, but after our wild eating weekend I was afraid I had gained. So I wanted to see how severly to restrict myself. I was very surprised to see a loss. I guess I've just made changes that are reflected without suffering. I don't overeat as much and I don't indulge in candy and baked good binges like I once did. I'm still on the diet soda and water kick and it all seems to work in my favor. I am going to buckle down though and try to do restrict some of my cheating to see if I can lose these last 4 pounds before the doc puts me on the fertility drugs in Oct. I guess that would make my goal to lose 4 pounds before the middle of Oct. Although, I can tell that I could stand to lose more that 4 more with all this pudge around the middle. :( I probably need to lost 14 more to lose the pudge, but I don't know if I can do it in that time frame. . . We'll see. :p

:wl: Good Evening Chickies :wl:

Well ladies the hard work has paid off!!!!! I saw it today 130 lbs.!!!!!

I almost fell off the scale, I forgot to weigh in yesterday so I did today and I'm there, but my tummy still has a roll, so I'm not done with that by no means! I raised my weights yesterday and my arms are soooo sore that seeing the lose this morning motivated me enough to keep working through the soreness.

Marie, it's good you expressed yourself, holding that in can be even harder than no help. And if DS is that bad with a hammer than just have him mudd! Too funny though!!!! Anyway your future plans for yourself will help keep the situation a little lighter.

Kerry, way to go on the pound! 4 lbs. is a very do-able goal for mid Oct. I know about maybe needing more, but just keep watching to you're expecting then we'll have to switch your goals a little!

Ok not much time to chat, tomorrow is my early day so I need to get lunches packed and get to bed!

HI Ladies,
I hope everyone had a good weekend. It went way to fast for me!!!!

Kerry- don't worry about the surgery too much....... I had all those done as well. It will take a couple of days to recover and then your back to new. I have to say the most vibrant, beautiful picture I own is the one of my ovaries!!!! I'm not kidding.... it was amazing!!!! It ended up that they couldn't find a reason why I was having so much trouble. Good Luck with it all!!!!

Well DD and I just got back from her dance class and I'm starving!!!!!! Check back later.

Well everyone, this morning looked to be a continuation of yesterday's lousy day and then, voila, a few kisses from my puppies and I have my head back together. Had a nasty run in with the scale - I hate the damn thing - but my puppies didn't care that it said I gained a pound. Which, btw, is physically impossible since I didn't consume enough calories to gain, just the opposite, I consumed enough to lose but he!! at this point I'm better with it. An hour ago I was near tears. Really lousy day yesterday. I don't like those, so I played with puppies and feel better. The scale can just go @#$@$#@$ itself. How's that for attitude?

I have told both kids how I feel about the lack of help and that was a stupid thing to do. I feel worse for hurting them. I know that the world is going to hurt their feelings but I shouldn't be the one to do it. Given the choice to do it again, I wouldn't. At least my feelings aren't stuffed anymore. :?: There's the only good point in it.

I didn't exercise yesterday. I should have since I was so volitile emotion wise. Probably would have been better than curling up in a ball in the middle of my bed (at least I got some sleep that way though). Today will be better, I swear it will.

Blizzie, my Alaskan Husky gave my hugs and kisses this morning and it's amazing how she calmed me down. Then I think of all the abandoned puppies in NO and I want to cry again. This whole hurricane thing is so upsetting and I think that's why I'm so easily upset. Yesterday I did give my can food to the boy scouts for a drive for the survivors. I should have given my puppies canned food too.

Sorry this is a disjointed post. I'm really struggling emotionally and can't keep a straight thought. Is it the hurricane stuff? Is it the onslaught of irritants thrown my way? Or is it because I'm off meds? I don't know which way is up. But I do know I'm not going back on meds so I've got to tough it out and hopefully not blow up at anyone at work - or then I'll have a bigger problem. So thanks friends for letting me think/vent here.

Take care and I'll be more chipper and less self involved later.

Good Evening Chickies!!!!

Goodness Marie, yes I do believe is appears to be a down swing that your having. As long as you can see it it shouldn't last to long!!!! Whats bad is when you don't realize your having down time, that's rough. DH is having a down swing this week too, he has missed 2 days of work and he didn't do anything over the weekend. I know he is not sleeping and this makes it harder to push through it. He's at least smiling today and not ripping everybody's heads off! So maybe we're on our way back up!!!! You hang in there Marie, Rome wasn't built in a day and just getting off you meds will take some time to adjust. Just promise me if you start having visions about were to burry the bodies you'll talk to the Dr. :lol: !!!!!!

I'm doing a new work out routine this week and it's tough to push through it, it takes so much longer than my old one, I just hate it. I may alternate between workouts instead of trying to do the same one all week. Thank goodness the weekend is just around the corner, I really need some sleep myself!

Hi Paige, looks like you guys are getting back into your working/winter routine! Let us know how the WW meetings go this time around. I'm curious, how many stayed with the program over the summer? Personally I think you did exceptional being away from home for 3 whole weeks!

Well I'm going to get our lunches packed and hit the sack, I've got to get some sleep soon or my eyes my just fall right out :dizzy: !!!!!

Lori, no visions of where to bury the bodies. I'm doing better emotionally than I was on Tuesday. It was just a bad day all around. Yesterday and today were much better. Tomorrow is Friday and that's always good. I love Fridays.

I lost the battle fighting the asthma on my own. I spent the afternoon at the dr. and got the nebulizer treatment and a full pack of prednisone. My pulse-ox was really low so I was told not to exercise - by a dr. no less. How cool. So here I type not getting short winded. I'm not losing any weight either, but that's life. I'm going to put my scale in the closet for two weeks since I'll be on steroids for the next week and I know I won't lose weight then. No reason to weigh and get irritated.

DS1 is still a slug. DS2 seems to realize that he was being self-centered. At least half my children get that DH and I aren't their slaves. DS1's GF called last night and apologized on her behalf. She said DS1 said that I'd get over my resentment of him. Yeah, like that's going to happen until he gets his head out of his you know what.

I guess that's all that's happening. We're closing on the home equity loan on Saturday so that irritant of Ditech.com being so slow is almost over. I complained to a higher up on Tuesday when I was in such a bad mood and suddenly they're ready to close the loan. How surprising. :)

Take care everybody.

Hi Ladies!

I've tried to be better this week. Bella and I have been walking, but not with a lot of vigor. ;) We've been strolling really and enjoying the weather. It's been beautiful here. As for eating, I do great during the day (except today when I'm taking an ice cream break with my bud) but in the evening I think I'm blowing it. DH made peach daquaris one night and that was bad. I thought I'd dropped another pound, but the scale this morning said no. That's probably due to my salty meal last night of lo mein and eggrolls. Anyway, I'm not to upset about it really. I'm still maintaining and that's better than gaining I guess.

We're grilling out tonight and drinking beer. Tomorrow we're going to go see Batman Begins at the $1.50 theater. I also have a good book going that I hope to read more of. DH has some homework as well. The weather is just great and we're going to take advantage of it. I promised Bella a trip to the park or lake so we'll fit that in too.

Have a great weekend ladies! I hope you feel better Marie! I hope the workout gets easier for you Lori - You're such a good girl with your workouts!!

Just a quick check in......
Lori-Congrats on reaching your goal weight.....You're an inspiration to us all!

Yeah!! It's Friday!! I don't know why but it always seems when we have a shorter work week...the week seems sooooooooooo long. I don't know if I will ever figure that one out.

Anyway, I am excited that I was finally able to change my tracker by 2lbs. I really like our new WW leader I think she is going to be just what those of us returning need!! Only 4 of us that are returning have been able to maintain or have continued to lose! 10/18 of us are returning and we have 7 new people this time around. However of those returning...only 4 of us have continued to lose or have maintained. The other 6 really never gave it a chance and I'm kindof surprised that they are giving it another go. One of them did lose 23lbs. last time but has gained 20 back since the middle of May. It's funny because the "food police" is everywhere!!!! And you get a lot of grief if your caught eating something "bad"!!! I'm really motivated right now and I only have 4 more pounds to go before I get to lower my points. I will miss those 2 points but it means I'm getting that much closer to my goal!!!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will check in but it I know it tends to be quiet around here on the weekend.

Yes Paige,
I agree the short week seems to take twice a long!!!! And everbody is out of their routine. I'm glad the new WW group is shapping up to be a good thing. I'm not sure I'ld like the food police though. I might get a little irate about that! Maybe the few that came back are ready to try again. I couldn't even count the times that I started and quit again. The one that lost 20 lbs. and put it back on needs some extra support. Have you shared our online group with them for extra support? It's ok if you haven't not sure how you would feel about some co-workers hanging out, but if it dosen't bother you give them the site address. This has truley helped me in ways I can't even explain. I've reached my first goal and still want to keep going (just not over board)

I'm waiting for the mail lady to come, I'm out of my meds and I'm starting to get worried that they won't come today either! I'm going to be mad if they don't come, I can't take the pill to late or I'll be up 1/2 the night and I can't stand that!

Thanks Kim, always glad to see you, wish you'ld pop in more!

Kerry, Hope you and Bella have fun at the park, I kind of feel guilty that we are having all this beautiful weather and those poor people in the gulf are having such a horrible time. My company offered up some equipment and people, but no calls yet. We're good at cleaning up haz. waste, but it's a huge job! I'm pretty sure they'll need many companies and equipment. Any way Kerry, maintaining is 90% of the battle so keep up the good work and have a beer for me! I don't care much for beer and the hard stuff is really starting to be a problem for my tummy, I haven't drank in months!!!!

Marie, glad your not having visions!!! You were really having a rough one so I was hoping to lighten it up a bit, hope it helped!!! And if nothing else, at least your rant woke up one son. Sorry you can't work out, but it's best to fix the problem and take a break! I know all about the bad scale, some days I love it, other days I want to toss it out the window. I'm so bad though, I watch my lbs. daily and I see all kinds of funky numbers. I know I shouldn't do it, but it does keep me in check!

Well I have to get moving, I have to go to the store and we have a really late game tonight and it isn't close either! So I'll check back tomorrow!!!!

Morning all. I slept for 7 hours - no 2:00am wanderings!!!! I feel great this morning (except breathing wise whic is better but not great). I had DS2 pick up some trazedone (an antidepressant for sleeping) so I might try that tonight. I really liked not getting up in the middle of the night!!!

Lori, I'm definitely doing better. Still mad at DS1 but I have a feeling that we'll have it out this weekend. He's a hug football fan and I pay for Sunday ticket - for him to see his beloved Vikings he has to come here. Should be interesting. And he's planning on moving in next weekend - the room won't be done. Oh well for him. :) Can you feel my sympathy????

Paige, your new group sounds great. I agree wiht Lori, the food police would piss me off. All it does is make you a closet eater. Maybe that would be a good WW meeting topic? I think it's cool you have support so close. One of my co-workers knows about 3FC and likes it. I don't know if she's seen this thread. It doesn't bother me if she did, but you're in a position of authority and that might be different.

DS2 starts his military career this morning. Even though he hasn't done basic training and tech school, he has to work Guard weekends. Today is his first day. I have to wake him up momentarily since I'm awake and will buzz his hair. It's definitely not at regulation length. Bye bye locks.

The locks are gone.. He looks like a little military guy. So cute.

Today we sign on our home equity loan. That will be a relief when that process is done. I want all the credit cards paid off. Weith the remodeling we added another 3000 onto the debt and that will go away. BTW, ditech.com stinks. If we hadn't signed the app with them and had the appraisal done, I don't think we would have stayed with them. But we got a good rate, so I guess it's all working out. I'll be almost 2 months since we applied - they definitely fumbled the ball on this one - that we'll get the money.

That's it. Have a great day!

Sounds like everyone is doing great! :) Thanks for the vote of confidence Lori. I do think I've made some permanent changes that make it easier to stay under 140. I'm just not sure how serious I need to be to get lower. I feel really good about myself and when I see my reflection in the door walking into the building in the morning - I'm like wow! That's so much better than how I was feeling 10 months ago when I saw myself and though OMG what have you done? KWIM?

DH is a horrible influence and we've been spending loads of time together. It's been wonderful for us, but not for my diet. He loves to grill ribs and steak and pork chops, etc. To our credit though we do eat a lot of grilled veggies too. My friend & I got cheated out of our ice cream date yesterday so DH took me out for ice cream last night and that was fun :) See, I'm very bad sometimes...

Well I'm gonna get off here and read a little. Keep up the great work all of you are really doing great! I'll check in later this weekend.

Hi all, I've got good news. I weighed in on a lark, even though I'm on prednisone which makes you gain weight, and I lost 2 pounds. That's 10 pounds since the cruise. I am so happy. I did though try on jeans that fit at this weight last year and they still are a little tight. That was sort of depressing but I figure I'm a little bloated from the meds.

The asthma is about the smae but I'm hoping the last couple days of the prescription will kick the rest in place. My peak flows are better but still down about 5% (better than the 15% it was on Thursday).

Kerry, don't change what you're eating, just how much of it you eat. I'm a big believer of eating what you like. since I've adopted that attitude and just eat small portions, I've been able to drop weight. I figure it should work for maintaining (where you are) so enjoy the time with your hubby.

Just poppin into report that somehow I dropped a Pound!! :cb: After all my complaining I was happy to see it drop a little bit. I wasn't even supposed to WI today, but I did and I'm glad I did. I figure I'll start bloating soon due to PMS so it was good to look at the scale today instead of waiting until Friday. :)

That's a good way to start the week ;) Not too happy that it's Monday, but I'll survive I guess. . . Hope you all will as well. I'll check in later and see if any of you are around.

Hi all, I'm on my last day of prednisone and I will be really thankful if I never have to be on it again. It's really warped my mental well being. I'm irritable and apathetic about every. So that's why I haven't posted much. Just don't care to. So hopefully I'll feel normal again tomorrow. I really don't want to take the last dose.

Kerry, I'm not too happy it's Tuesday. I hate Tuesdays worse than Mondays. Could be that I take every other Monday off and yesterday I was off. Didn't have a great day but I think that's the prednisone talking.

TTYL.

Good evening all!

Kerry, way to go on the loss!!! Yea!!! I seem to be hanging on to my usual extra 2 lbs. for that special ovulation that I really don't need anymore. I bloat up worse this time every month than I do from PMS. Kerry, did you have the surgery yet?? If so how did it go???? Don't worry about DH being a bad influence, just load up on the veggies and you'll be fine!

Marie, I'm glad your about done with the meds, that's just awful that it makes you feel the yucky! I seem to have caught myself a good old fashion head cold. If my ears would just pop I'ld feel way better! I hate being sick, it dosen't happen often, but when it does it really sucks!!!

My oldest DS's football team lost their first game Sat. night in 2 years. They were so upset, I almost feel bad for the team they will be playing this weekend, there not as good and I'm afraid they will just crush them. Speaking of a good crushing youngest DS's team lost as usual, but the final score was 57 to 0, the sad part is that not enough of them care that they lose, they haven't won a game in the 2 years so they don't have a clue. How about that for a record, one team never had lost and the other had never won. I hope DS's team wins at least one game this year.

Ok, I'm going to bed I feel awful!!!! I'll check back, hope everybody is hanging in!!!!

Gee I guess everyone has been just as busy as I have been. I can't believe no one has been here since Wed. Anyway I lost a pound this week...I'm retaining alot of water right now so hopefully next weeks WI will be better. I'll check back in later to see if anyone is around.

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!!

Paige, way to go on the pound! 1 pound gone today is one less you will deal with tomorrow!!!! Although I'm not having that kind of luck. I seem to be having some kind of fluctuation, I hoping water retention, going on. Everyday, up one pound down 1/2, then up by 2 lbs, then only down by 1 I'm getting dizzy :dizzy: !!! I don't know where everybody is, I'm hoping just they are all busy! :crossed: I think Kerry was due to have her surgery soon, but I can't remember so I hope she checks in soon to let us know how she is. And Marie was getting her new live inns this week, I think, so she's probably just about frazzeled!

I have had alot of internet issues this week, something is going on with our cable and that's what I'm hooked up to so we have gone quite a few nights with no TV and no internet, the kids thought it was the end of the world :lol: !!! Well to make the week longer, I've been fighting a head cold all week, if my ears would stop popping and just get unclogged I'ld be alright.

Ok I want to discuss with you guys about starting a new thread again! This one is getting a really long and we seem to get a few new people when we start a new thread. It's up to you guys, we seem to be down to only about 4 of us, but it is completely up to you guys. Are you at all interested in picking up some new people or do we just want to stay like we are???? Let me know your thoughts!

Morning all, it's good to read everyone has been doing pretty good. Thanks for missing me.

Paige, way to go on the wieght loss. You are doing so awesome!

Lori, Maybe it's the full moon causing the fluctuations in weight. I'm having the same problem. At least that reason makes some sense. :)

I had a bad week and didn't feel like posting. Work was irritating but overall I was just cranky. This morning is better and since I don't have to go to work, I think it'll be a good day. I did start exercising on Wednesday again. The asthma is still no good, but it is better. I thought that would improve my mood, but it didn't. I think I should have lost weight considering how much I didn't want to exercise. Instead, I think last Sunday's number on the mean scale was just a fluke. So after weighing a few times this week at 192, I moved the slider back up this morning. I guess I'm pretty stuck there since I've been there for a couple weeks (except the 190 last Sunday). I think the scale has made me a little cranky but mostly it has been work and my kids. DS2 decided to not go to college until he goes to basic training in January. Instead he took a job in construction so he can earn $$$. I don't think he has a clue how hard he'll have to work to get those $$$. He's 5-6" and 120 pounds. He's totally clueless. I let our benefits dept know that he won't be a fulltime student so he's getting cancelled off the medical/dental insurance. So now he'll have to pay for that. So much for the extra $$$ - I told him he has to buy med insurance and that we won't pay a cent of it or medical costs. Dumb boy...

DS1's GF listened to me when I asked that they ask for a week extension on staying in the house that they're renting. The room isn't done - it will be this coming week - and she called and got the extension. DS1 said no, it wasn't possible. Another dumb boy. Just where did he think he was going to put all his stuff??? At least GF thinks about more than just herself. DH was quite relieved they weren't moving in this weekend. He's going to sand the walls today and then spray the texture tomorrow. Then we can paint the ceiling and walls. Then we can put the laminate flooring down and voila, it'll be done. I will be happy when that's the case. Oh, DS1's GF also asked if they should get a storage locker - I said yes if all their stuff won't fit in the room. As I said, she thinks about more than herself. DS1 just figured he could store all the extra stuff he has throughout my house.

Just had a good conversation with DS2. It's the first good one in a while. I actually said something positive about his choice of new jobs. He's currently working for an inconsiderate employer (they have him working till midnight on Fridays and then at 8:00 on Saturday mornings) and I said that it'll be nice that he'll have a regular schedule with his new job. I think he was shocked that I said something nice about his choice. :) We talked about what to do for his birthday on Tuesday. We decided that we'll go out to Applebees and have DH meet us there (DH hubby works swings so he'll just have to take a long dinner break). We'll invite DS1 and GF but I don't think they'll be able to make it. So at least he has DH and I instead of just me. So my baby will be 19. I'm sure getting old. :)

Eating wise, I'm doing good. No reason for a 2 pound gain since Sunday, but I think I was dehydrated on Sunday from drinking tea all day on Saturday (since tea is a diuretic). Exercise wise, I've exercised for 3 days in a row and DH said that we will take the puppies for a mountain hike this morning. We haven't gone in 2 weeks because of the asthma (the mountain is so dusty since we haven't had rain in 3 months). But yesterday it rained a little, enough to make the dust level a little less so I'm excited to go out. I'll use the abuterol before we go.

That's about enough since I rambled for so long. I will check back later.
Marie

Well I just ate my bowl of WW cereal this morning. Dh and I made this new arrangement...he gets up with the kids on Sat. and I get up on Sunday. So we at least get one day a week we can sleep late if we want. I wasn't really tired because who do they wake up at 6:30 ME not daddy!! When they need something do they go tell daddy...NOOOOOOOOOOOOO they come in to tell me. I tried locking the door, but then they would just beat on it. Funny, they don't do all that on Sunday mornings when daddy is sleeping!!!!!!!

Speaking of DH we had a scene right out of the movies the other night. His heart was in the right place...he decided to load the dishwasher and do a load of dishes for me. We had run out of dishwasher soap so he thought he would just squirt a little Palmolive in it. I was in the office and DD came in to tell me something about daddy, soap, and bubbles. But I heard DH in the kitchen and he wasn't asking for help or anything so I just ignored her. Then she came back a few minutes later and said daddy really needed me, bubbles were everywhere. Of course DH won't answer me when I call to him. So when I walk in the kitchen...bubbles are everywhere and he is trying to scoop them before I see what he had done. All I could do was laugh when he told me what he had done!!! He wasn't too pleased with DD for ratting him out!

I had to take DD to the doctor yesterday, she has this strange lump in her cheek that is about the size of a nickle. They gave her a shot and put her on antibiotics for 10 days. It kindof worries me the doc wasn't sure what it could be...but decided to treat it as an infection. So I have to keep an eye on that and make sure it doesn't get worse.

I am getting my hair done in about an hour. I would like to do something new with it but don't know what. Then I am going to get a pedicure before I go to Walmart and Target.

I have to really stick to my diet this week. Our leader at work is really good!! I kindof had the same problem as you, Lori. At one point last week I was up 4lbs but ended up by WI at -1. I've been trying to limit myself to only 1 diet coke a day and drinking at least 8-10 glasses of water a day. So you would think I'd be peeing all day!! Not. So I know that I have been retaining water. It does seem to be getting a little better. Hopefully by next Thursday I will see a bigger lose on the scale.

I'm really open as far as starting a new thread goes. It doesn't matter to me. Sometimes a long thread can be itimidating to new people. It might help. Anyway enough for my ramble I'm off to run all my errands! Enjoy the day ladies.

Hiya Girls! :)

Well, I've been busy busy busy! I kept thinking I would find time to post last week, but time kept getting away from me. Work has been crazy with lots of people out and tied up PLUS the stupid United Way campaign wrap up.

I'm leaving town tomorrow for a Workshop in Washington, DC. I'll be gone until Thursday night. I've tried to be good on my eating, but this week will be a serious test. I actully thought I saw slightly below 138 last week, but then TOM ruined that. LOL I think I've gotten a system down though of being good and careful during the week and then enjoying myself a bit on the weekends and it seems I can still take off a pound a week doing it. That works for me. :)

It sounds like Lori you are struggling with scale fluctuations like me. I hate it! I guess the only way to deal with it is to set one day of the week that is the official WI and stick with that days weight as the REAL one. It's tough though. How's the belly flab workout going? Any tips to share?

Paige - Way to go on the loss!! It sounds like you need to retrain the kids though so that you can get some extra sleep. ;) I would hate that. Of course I forsee my DH being a better parent than be anyway. Plus he already does all the dishes, vacuuming and de-cluttering around our house. I got me a house-husband LOL! :)

Marie- Hang in there hun (((Hugs))) your kids are driving you crazy and you can't let them. Their probably sabotaging your weight loss goals too. :( It sounds like the key to dealing with DS that's moving in is to talk to the GF. Women always have it together more at that age. As for the other... well at least he's eventually shipping out with the military and maybe they'll whip him into shape ;) Glad that the asthma is doing better.

As for my surgery, it's scheduled for Sept 30th. I'm dreading it, but looking forward to being able to get back to trying again in Oct. We're building a shed with my Dad next weekend and my mom is bringing up my 3 nieces for a visit on Sat night as well. I'll be glad to get my kid fix since I haven't seen them in awhile. It'll also be nice to have the shed and finally get the tools and ladders out of my laundry room in the house!

Alright, I gotta go pack and we're hitting Old Navy today to get me some more pants bc DH says most of my stuff looks too big and we're dressing casual in DC. All I've bought since losing weight is dress clothes for work. Should be fun since I fit into size 6 at target last night! I almost passed out in the dressing room from shock and disbelief.

I'll checkin when out of town, but can't promise much. Hope you all stay on track. Thanks for thinking of me. :) I'm not looking forward to the surgery and I"ll need some support.

I swear it was the full moon causing the weight fluctuations for us all. :)

Thanks for the hugs, Kerry. I really love all of you guys. Have fun in DC. And I hope the military whips DS2 into shape. He needs it. Now if they would just take DS1, too. ;)

Paige, you need to retrain those kids. I loved the dishwasher story. Thank DH for entertaining us.

Lori, I think it's time to start a new thread. Just don't put a number in the title - that scares people off too. I know I don't look at threads that are beyond the first one and not that many pages.

BTW, I'm on a different thread with Judy and she's doing great on her diet. I think she's lost 27 pounds so far.

This morning's hike was great. The asthma didn't slow me down too much. I love going into the mountains. I feel so much better than I do during the week. We also went into town to deposit the ditech.com 2nd mortgage check. I got a coffee and it was worth every calorie. Yummy!!!! Then we paid off all our credit cards online. It was like a good enema. :rofl:

Off to the craft room. I'm going to cut out some glass and work on my sweater. TTYL.
Marie

Yeah, if you want to start a new thread Lori, I'm down. I think a new thread might draw in some new people.

I wonder what happened to Kim and Julie... It's good to hear the Judy is still around and doing well. I thought about her since I'm heading to DC.

I'll just look for our subject line. I like keeping up with you. Can you believe we've been here/doing this for so long? It's like a good luck charm at this point.

Grr :mad: I am experiencing problem number one with working full-time and trying to diet and exercise. I ate an egg white and canadian bacon omelet for b'fast, and have been at work since 8:00 a.m. I grabbed a V-8 out of the fridge around 1:00 p.m. It is now almost 4. I have not had time to get lunch, or get to the gym.

The only reason i can post on here is because I can type and review contracts at the same time. I cannot carry the docs around with me because of client confidentiality, and I literally cannot spare the 10 minutes to go get something healthy for lunch (as opposed to the high calorie junk they have in the deli that is close) because the phone and e-mail are going off non-stop. (It has taken me over 10 minutes just to type this post.)

So my question is: by the time I leave work around 6-6:30, how do I fit in a workout on an empty stomach and/or keep from eating everything in the world by the time I get home an hour later?

Usually I remember to make a salad in the morning so that I can grab it out of the fridge, but I didn't get to the store yesterday. I know I am complaining, but I am very frustrated right now.

Hi Fish, welcome to the thread. This is definitely a problem we can all relate to. Eating and work are always a problem. Try packing a lunch the night before or get frozen entrees that you could bring and microwave. I tend to buy Schwan's products and make them at work. Fast and easy and good.

Good luck!!!!
Marie

Thanks, Marie.

I am doing better today. I ended up taking a bunch of work home so that I could leave at 5:30. I went grocery shopping so that I now have food to bring to work and went for a three-mile run before I ate anything.

I know that I probably shouldn't have run on a completely empty stomach, but I also knew that if I ate dinner first, that not only would it be too dark out to run, but that i would just want to finish my work instead of exercising.

Today I brought blackened salmon and snow peas in for lunch!

Fish, I'm glad you had a chance to go shopping. Proactive works so much better when dieting. Yesterday was a point in case for me. I forgot my lunch so I thought that Schwan man was coming so I'd buy a lean pocket for lunch and leave the rest at work so I wouldn't have to buy food during work hours. Well he showed up today (yes I remembered lunch today) so I had to buy lunch yesterday. That just was a bad thing. I bought chicken strips (lovely tasting but high in calories). It just threw off the whole day diet wise. Today should be much better. And way to go on the 3 mile run. I can bike, rollerblade and walk for three miles, but no running. I'm impressed with anyone that can run that far.

I will be exercising tonight. I try to exercise 30 minutes everyday since if I take a day off it's really hard for me to start back up the next day. Well, yesterday was DS2 birthday and we went out to Applebee's for dinner. I had a huge portion of Chicken Parmesan - mmmmm it was great - and was a stuffed pig afterwards. At least it stopped me from having more than a 1.5 x 1.5" piece of birthday cake. :)

Well, back to work. TTYL.
Marie

Just wanted you all to know that I think we are evacuating tomorrow due to hurricane Rita. They have closed all of the schools and although I don't think we will have any water, there is a 99.9% chance that we won't have electricity for at least a few days and we will proabably have wind damage. So I think we are going to Tyler for a few days. We had thought about just staying put here but the kids are pretty upset and want to leave after all they have seen in the aftermath of Katrina. Also you can't find food, batteries or water ANYWHERE!!!! I think people are over reacting a bit due to Katrina. So DH is securing the house and putting stuff from outside in the garage right now. I will let you know when we return.

Good luck, Paige. My thoughts are with you. I am sure everything will be fine. I agree that much of this may be over reaction to Katrina. However, better to be safe than sorry, as they say.

Plus, who wants to be stuck w/o electricity? Find a nice hotel to stay in!

Good Morning Chickies :coffee: !!!!

Paige, first thing I want to say is I'M GLAD YOUR LEAVING!!! I don't care if you don't get not one broken tree branch in the storm, I feel better knowing that you aren't in the path period, dosen't matter if it's mild or not! No taking chances!!!! Get back on and let us know how you are when you get back!!!

Welcome Fish! I work alot of hours too, you should see my lunch box! My kids are alway horrified by the amount of food that goes in it. (It's actually a small cooler) but I'm ready for anything! I usually cook ahead on the weekends to help with time for working out during the week. It takes a little messing around to get it all together, but when you do you'll find it's a breeze to eat better and get that work-out in!

Marie, I love Apple's Chicken Parm, I've never eaten anything else from there but the Chicken Parm! YUM!!! I want you to know I've turned around to come back home and get my lunch when I forgot it, late for work and all, not sure it wouldn't have been easier to just buy out a day and move on :lol: !!!! Glad you're finding time to squeeze that work out in! Keep it up!!!!!

Sorry I have been MIA all week, it's been the week from he!!, I actually took today off to clean the house and cook something. My dad was admitted to the hospital on Monday and I've been eating the same chicken that I made for dinner Monday night all week long! Yuck, I've had enough! My dad looks better, hope he gets home today, I'm beat and the kids need clean underwear!!!! We had a suprise practice for youngest DS football team on Tue., then a suprise game on Wed.! How about a little notice??? Some of us work!!! Although I survived, I feel like I'm totaly scattered all over the walls from the insanity! I'm by far not the best organized person so when ya toss the monkey wrench at me I all but fall apart!!! The house looks horrible, laundry is behind, and I need to cook!!! Well I have all day, unless the hospital calls and I have to pick up my dad (wich will be fine) I'm getting caught up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll check in later!

Lori, my thoughts are with you and your dad. I hope he gets better soon. Enjoy your day off but don't spend it all cleaning. I played hooky yesterday and it was great. I have Monday off, too. I truly hate working.

Paige, I hope all is going okay for you and your family. When you get a chance, drop us a note.

I weighed in this morning and gained a .5 pound. Since I haven't been good, I guess that's not too bad. It's Friday and I'm happy anyhow. I dind't exercise yesterday - just call me lazy butt.

It's actually raining here today. It's been 3 months since it last rained. It's sort of cool. I hope it doesn't last though. After a couple days, it's depressing. I could never live in Seattle - too much raining.

the countdown is on - 6.5 hours till weekend!!! YEAH!!!

DS1 and GF are moving in this weekend. We're almost done with the room - DH is working on the floor today. It will be really nice when it's done and we don't have to have that hanging over our heads anymore. Should be interesting going from a nearly empty nest to a really full nest. since I'm lonely in the evenings because DH is on swing shift, I think it'll be all right.

Guess I should work. TTYL.
Marie

Hi Ladies, Well I'm back from DC. The trip was good - educational and fun. Altough I'm sad to report that I gained 2 pounds while up there. There was so much food and I was so dependent on what they were serving for breakfast/lunch. I tried to make good choices, but I was SO hungry from all the walking. Anyway, I'm kinda mad at myself for gaining 2, but I'll get it back down.

We're heading down to visit my folks on the lake today. My nieces are there too so it should be fun. I figured I should take advantage of feeling good and energetic this weekend since next will be pure recovery after the surgery.

I hope Paige is ok!

It sounds like everyone has been busy. Marie, I'm glad your room is almost finished. THat's GREAT!

Lori - I hope your dad is doing better. Take care and hopefully next week won't be so crazy!

I'll check in early next week. :)

Just wanted you all to know that we are back and safe! We certainly had an adventure!!! Check out my journal below to hear more about our trip and see some pictures I took along the way. The whole thing was just insane!!! But I would and will do it again if the need arises. Any way lots to do now that we are back. I'll check back in later.

Good Morning Chickies,

Paige, I'm soo glad you and your family are ok!!!! What an evacutaion mess, what did they think was going to happen when they tryed to get that many people out of town??? I think the bigger cities need to really think about better plans for evacuations. Although the majority of everyone got out, I'ld have just freaked out if I got on the highway and was stuck unable to turn around, get gas, food, or what about bathrooms???? But anyway, glad you guys are home and all is fine.

Kerry, as soon as you are up to it, please post about your surgery!!! Any news, findings, and how you are. Shame you had to get surgery to get the week off work ;) ! All joking aside, keep us up to speed when you can.

Dad is home, I don't know if he is feeling much better. He can breath better, but he still has post nasal drip causing him to keep coughing. They wouldn't even address the coughing when he was in the hospital for a week, which is really making him misserable and is what caused him not to sleep for 3-4 nights and then he was week and winded. I think I've mentioned it, but if I didn't my dad has a bad heart, and his kidneys aren't functioning like they used to. But he gets along damn good for all the problems and being 71 years old.

Marie, how's the new tenants? Glad the room project is almost, or done by now. What a relief!!! I can't believe you asthma is still bothering you, man that really bites. Well moving forward, stay on those meds. They are very much needed by the sounds of things :) !

Ok I have to jump in the shower and get to work! I'll check back soon!!!! Oh and Kerry, don't worry about the 2 lbs, you had fun and that's what counts! You can drop those 2 lbs easily!

Surgery isn't until Friday and that is actually the only day I am taking off work. Although, I am going to a Research Forum out of town tomorrow so that gets me out of the office so that's good. But I'm hoping to only lose one day of work (actually my boss is kind enough to let me make up the time from home) bc I am saving my PTO like a mad woman.

I think I've already shed .5 of the 2 I gained. I do know how to take it off now, but I'm not willing to be nearly as strict.

Lori - I'm glad your dad is doing better. It must be difficult to be in bad health and the doctors not listen to you. How are things otherwise?

Paige - Glad that you are safe! What a mess for sure!! I am so glad that your home was just fine (aside from that tree ;) ).

Marie - Is your son and gf settled yet? I hope things are going well and no undue stress is driving you crazy!! :)

Hey Kerry, I will be praying for you on Friday. I hope that the surgery works and you get preggers really quickly. DS1 and GF are moved in but the room looks like a bomb hit it. Thankfully, the door is always closed. :)

Paige, I'm glad that you're back and safe and sound. How's the WW at work going?

Lori, I definitely am staying on the meds but I haven't gone back to the dr. because I don't want anymore prednisone. That made me into a big b!tch and I'm a little on the depressed side of the bipolar so I don't need that. I use the abuterol before any exercise and that's been helping. The Advair and Singulair are keeping it basically in line. So how's your father doing?

Well, I'll chat with you all later.
Marie

Wow, everyone must be having a busy week!!!! Awfully quiet around here this week.

Kerry, I'll be thinking of you on Friday. I've been there and done that so just hang in there!! Don't feel like you have to rush back to work on Monday. You might need another day. I remember that I went back on Monday and wished I hadn't. Get up and walk around as much as you can...it will help the recovery time. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Well I think things are finally starting to get back to normal around here. Hopefully we won't have any more hurricanes for awhile!!!!

We didn't get to have our WW meeting last week since school was closed. Everyone was really nervous about WI today since everyone seemed to think that they overindulged during the hurricane scare. However, almost everyone lost and I lost 5lbs!!!!! I am so excited. It's been awhile since I have been able to change my tracker. I'd really like to lose 20-25lbs by Christmas. I swear though we have several people that totally wasted the $180 to join!!! They don't even try. One girl walks through the office eating a candybar or bag of chips and doesnt' understand why she isn't losing!!! I think she has actually gained several pounds since we started. I feel bad that this isn't working for them but I truly believe that if your not ready mentally then you won't be successful regardless of the plan. It is just too easy to make excuses. On the other hand our secretary is doing a great job she has already lost 16lbs in 3 weeks!!! We are all so proud of her!!!!!! We have a really good leader and is good at giving us suggestions to overcome our obstacles. I wasn't too sure about her when we first met but we all really like her now.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the evening. I'll try and check back in tomorrow.

Hey Kerry, how are you doing???

Lori, where are you?

Paige, I know what you mean about watching other people eat and wondering how they can say they're tyring to lose weight. I have a co-worker that desparately want to lose weight but is always eating McDonalds. I just shake my head. Be glad that you're doing so well.

I'm going to go with DH shopping at Home Depot today. We're building a storage shed (displaced items from the front garage). So more money will fly from our account. Past that I have a relaxing weekend planned. I just want to enjoy the day and not feel like I have to accomplish anything.

Well, have a great day.
Marie

Hello girls.

Well yesterday was a long day. Some of it was very painful some just uncomfortable, but I survived. He did find some Endometriosis and blasted about 75% of it. I am a bit sad that I have endo, but glad that it is now known. My tubes are clear though and we are planning to go ahead and try next cycle. I go to see the doc next week to discuss further since I was pretty groggy when we spoke at the hospital.

I'm doing ok today. I'm sore and a bit out of it. I'm just taking it easy and laying around. I ended up with 2 incisions, but the one at my naval hurts the worst. I can't take a shower for two days either - yuck! :(

Well that's all for now. I'll check back later when I'm feeling better.

Hey Chickies!!!!

I'm sorry I've been MIA, I never have alot of time nomally, but last weekend I had an adult party (what a hoot) and many people wanted to see the books. I have spent so many days running around and getting orders after work this week. I'm so bad and apperantly need you all way more than you can imagine. I didn't get around to logging on and checking in with you guys and ate like a pig and didnt' work out from Wed. on! No more of that! Even if I can only pop in and say hey you'll be hearing from me a little more regularly!!!

Kerry, I'm glad the surgery is all over and it sucks that it was uncomfy, but like you said, now you know what your dealing with. My sis-in-law's whole family has that problem, and they all had kids then histo's after they were done. Only one opted to adopt, cause her husband's a freak and wouldn't let her have the dr. help them get prego! What a whack! Anyway, glad it went well and now we know when you do get prego it will work this time!!!!! Oh and when they gave me my tubal I have a cut in the belly button and one on my hair line. Let me just say, it was the first stiches I'd ever had that I could see and I was way more than a weirdo about it! I was getting a shower too, not waiting for days. Mother-in-law is a nurse so we put saran-wrap over the stitch and taped it on all the way around. I got a shower with my back to the shower head and I lived. And moving around is the only thing that sped up the gas leaving that they blow you up with. My shoulders hurt worse than anything from the gas.

Paige, glad life is moving more towards a normal state! Way to go on the 5 lbs.!!!!!! you may ditch that 20 by X-mas if you keep up the good work. 20 is a reasonable number by X-mas. Sounds like a new short goal!!! I need to get a few new goals to stay focused! Only problem is that I really don't know if the lower gut will go away so I'm afraid to committ to that goal and then be let down if it dosen't happen.

Marie, I would love to have a shed! Since we bought this double wide I don't have a basement or a garage anymore, and I miss both. I hope your enjoying you no-plans relaxing weekend! I'm going in my mom's attic today and getting down the fall/halloween decorations. I LOVE halloween, it's my favorite holiday. Before I had the kids I used to dress up and give out candy at my moms, scared the living crap out of the kids here. Then when I drove school bus I dressed up for that too. I just love it! When else can you dress up, nobody sure who you are, and eat lots of choclate!!!!! Yea, it's my holiday!

Ok, I'm gonna chat all day if I don't get moving! I'll be back later!!!!!

I hope I'm not talking to myself!!! :shrug:

Everybody appears busy, I know the feeling! We're have a sleep over this weekend. 8-10 stinky little 12 year old boys hogging up my living room! I may need a serious drink after this one!!! How is everybody??? Kerry how are you feeling???? Paige, did you guys get the school all re-opened and life back to some what normal??? Marie, how's the new live ins??? Did you get that shed up???? Well I'm going to get to bed, it's late but I thought I'ld take 10 seconds and say hi!!! :wave:

I'm still lurking around out here :)

I'm recovering from the surgery. My belly is still a little tender. I saw the doc this morning and we have a plan. I'll be going on the Clomid next cycle and we'll be trying our best to get pg again. We'll do that for three cycles w/one cycle break in Dec. If not pg by Feb then I will have to go on the Lupron to induce menopause and put the Endo in remission for SIX months. :mad: But then when I come off the lupron we'd do IUIs & IVFs until pg. I sure hope it doesn't come to all that.

In the meantime, I've put on a few lbs and then taken off a few lbs. I seem to be able to keep it right around 139-142 without too much effort. I'm having TOM cravings right now and I'm sure it will be crazy when I start the fertility drugs. Plus he doesn't want me dieting at all while we're trying all this. SOOOO.... I guess I'm just going to try to maintain by staying away from sugar and sweets and HF foods as much as possible.

I'm glad everyone is busy. Busy is good :) I hope you're finding time for yourselves in the madness that is life.

Take care!

Hi Kerry and Lori, I'm glad you're both doing pretty good. Kerry, that sounds like quite a plan. I would like that drug that induces menopause. Doing this the old fashion way isn't any fun. Lori, you're nuts for having that many 12 yo boys. Yeesh. I don't think I could handle it.

I've been busy at work and trying not to take my frustrations home. I promised my doggie that I would stop coming home cranky. I really need to win the lottery and quit. I think that would be best. :)

Food and exercise are so-so at best. I'm doing better on the eating than I was for the past week - the last two days I'v been in control. But exercise - I just don't like to do it. But tonight, DS's GF and I are going for a walk when I get home. She weighed herself and said she didn't like the number even though she's pregnant. So she wants to start to exercise.

DH is working on the shed. I've done nothing with it. He has the cement down and is going to start the walls. I've been goofing off when I'm not at work. That's been sort of nice.

I will talk with you later.
Marie

I survived the sleep over!!! I need to get a T-shirt printed up with that on it!!! With my two boys we had 15 boys and 12 spent the night. About 2:30 AM 2 were sleeping and I couldn't take anymore. I got my youngest son to sleep in my room and I came to bed. I just couldn't stay up any more! Then at 10:30 am DH woke me up to let me know they were up again! But by 11:00 am 1/2 were gone and my 1:00 Pm there were only a couple hanging around so it wasn't too bad.

Kerry, glad your doing well! Yea that sounds like a bit much, I hope you get pg now and don't have to go through all that! Don't worry about dieting, just eat like a normal person, start walking and you will be fine. Maintain for now, lose again when your done!

Marie, it will be good for you to have somebody to walk with. Glad things are going well at home, and trust me the lottery would be a great thing about now. I would quit work in 2 seconds flat, and I don't even mind my job too bad.

Oh and I have to mention, my youngest DS team won their first football game Sat. in two years. (it's about time) It's a shame, they have some talent, but not enough of them know what to do.

Ok I'm going to bed it's late, and I'm beat! I'll catch up soon!!!! And get us a new post going asap!

Lori, tell DS congrats on the win. That's a cool thing after such a long drought.

Where is everybody????

Things are going good. I'm in the exercise mode, but not the dieting mode. So I'm maintaining. I guess it could be worse.

TTYL.
Marie

Where is everyone!!!!! I can't believe how quiet it has been here!!!! Marie, glad to see you have been here!

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66837

Here's are new thread!!!!!!

Hi Marie,
You are in inspiration. Your starting weight is close to where I am now and your current is where I would like to be (I am fine with a few lbs more even) and we are the same height. What is your secret?

Hi all,

Well I had to go back to work today and I'm having a really hard time. While I was off for spring break, I was literally perfect on my diet. No cheating, I exercised and drank plenty of water. Now that I'm back, I want to munch. I gave away my one good for you snack to a co-worker but kept the pretzels just in case I get hungry with the munchies. But it's so hard not to eat while I work. It's like it's ingrained in my routine. Type some at the keyboard, stick food in my mouth, type some more. I walked in the door this morning and immediately wanted to reach for my snacks. At least they're healthy ones - thanks to all of your suggestions. But I still have to be aware that they have calories and will sabotage me just as much as a candy bar would.

Okay enough about that. I like the new thread and welcome Kim.

Marie