Wow, this is awesome! I am SO glad that you guys got to meet! What a sweet & cute picture of you chickies! :)

What was your favorite memory of the trip, besides getting to meet there together as FRIENDS! :grouphug:

can't wait to read more! :wave: :angel:

I finally got the pictures loaded and added some descriptions!! Be sure and read the title and the descriptions. Most of them have more than one line of descriptions!!

Pictures from Chicago 2004

We really had a great time in Chicago!!!! Jiff arrived early because her flight was cancelled, but somehow, she got an earlier flight. Jill got delayed in Customs so long, she missed her connecting flight and Bev’s shuttle from the airport took 2 hours and it’s a 30 min ride!!!!

As Jiff and I were sitting in the lobby I overheard the ladies sitting next to us, introducing themsleves with the screen name and then their real name. Turns out they were from the WW site!! There were 35 of them meeting there!!

Friday night after everyone arrived, we walked down to the Webber Grill for Jiffy’s birthday. The meal was great!! After dinner we walked to Navy Pier. As you’ll see in the pictures, it’s a fun place. We rode the Ferris wheel. Jill and Bev took a chance and rode the swing ride!! Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel and spent some time looking at each other’s weight loss stuff. I brought binders and pictures, Jill brought her ribbons, food journals and weight records. Bev brought some of her stuff from her binder, mainly her charts and graphs. 180 lbs in 14 months!! WOW!!! Jiff brought her wisdom and courage.

Saturday we grabbed a late breakfast and then took a 90 minute boat tour of the lake and river. It was such a nice day and the tour was so informative. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!! Then it was off to The Taste of Chicago! It was crowded, but not too bad. The food was good, and we actually found a shaded place to relax after we had eaten right by the fountain!!! After we relaxed at the hotel a bit, we headed back to navy Pier for evening fireworks!!!

Sunday morning we grabbed an early breakfast. Jiff and Bev were on their way by 10:00, so Jill and I checked out and headed to Water Tower Place for some shopping. Before we knew it, our time was up and Jill had to leave too.

I can honestly say it was a perfect weekend. Everyone got along great and we didn’t have any mishaps (once we got there!!!)

I learned a lot about our on-line friends…

Jiff is a very wise lady with a huge heart. She has many theories and really listens to what you have to say. Jiff is the kind of friend who would be there for you in a heartbeat. She is very well spoken and has an affinity for Lord & Taylor purses (when they are on sale!!)

Beverly is just about as sweet as they come. If you notice, she has a smile from ear to ear in all the pictures. She was that way the whole weekend!!! Her family means the world to her. She lifts weights at home, but really enjoyed trying out the weight machines at the gym. (Yes, we really went to the gym AND did all that walking!!)

Jill is very young at heart. She does silly things like walk on the edges of the street like she’s a gymnast or tries to stand heel to heel like a ballerina. She is very into figure skating, and was utterly appalled every time we jay walked (which was most of the time thanks to New York Jiff!) She is also VERY quick witted!!!

We learned some of each other’s secrets and shared in each other’s successes. It was a wonderful time. Can’t wait to see them again. Hopefully next time, more of you can join us!!! :)

What great pictures! You look like you are having so much fun, and you all look BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! I feel so jealous now :lol: I really wish I could have gone, but the timing was really bad for us right now. I'm glad to see your pics and hear you all tell about it. I'm happy for you all that got to experience this!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I too am jealous. I wish I would've known about it sooner, but I'll be ready for the next trip. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. You can tell in the pics ya'll had a super super time.

Sandi--I really really liked the hot pink color on you. It brings out the color of your eyes.

Thank you for the pictures and telling about your time together in Chicago. I hope there is another one sometime, and that more of us will get a chance to meet.

Gayle

You guys... You are all SO SO Beautiful!! These little avitars don't do justice!!!

Sandi, I think you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen on a person!!! You seem like so much fun to be around and you look wonderful and happy..

Jill-- Wow wee!! You're a little hottie girl! You have really been on quite a journey and I admire you! I hope to look that good someday!!

Jiffy-- You do look REALLY cute in that white outfit! In every picture you look great!

Bev-- What can I say, you are such an inspiration girl, and your beautiful smile says everything.. You are SOOOOO Thin.. You must be so proud! WOW.

WOW!! I love those photos -- and I love that we got to hear about your time together as well as those aspects of your demeanors and personalities that we can't see here in this venue. You guys look so great, and you each have great style too! What a gift to be able to get this kind of glimpse into your time together -- thank you so much, Sandi, for sharing it with us!! :goodvibes

there was an interesting question that came up... and i want you ALL to answer it...

the question was: who in your life is the person that you would most like to emulate?

ok... post your answers.. and i'll give you our answers tomorrow... i REALLY want to see what everyone else says...

For me that would have to be the woman who raised me in a commune in downtown NYC. Her name was Marion Tanner, and she was the aunt of Patrick Dennis (his pen name,) the author of Auntie Mame, upon who's life the book was loosely based. She was an amazing woman. She was brilliant and spirited, and so open to new experiences and lessons. She saw the special nature in everyone, viewing your talents as great ones and easily seeing the best in your character. For that, people were better in her presence, as if they'd finally been recognized for the unique qualities they'd most needed to have known and acknowledged. Marion was humble of self and proud of others, and she appreciated beauty in everything and everyone, and she was immensely loving and unselfish. She was adventurous and spiritual, stylish and quirky. She was everything that was great about that character, and multidimensional in the ways that that Mame was not. She was a feminist, a lady, and a kickass broad. She was also innordinately graceful, possessed of a mercurial wit, and utterly impractical. Marion became my mother when I most needed one, and raised me from a damaged baby to an optimistic young woman who saw possibilities in the world and herself within it. I will always love her, I will always carry her in my heart and see signs of her influence in my reactions to life, and I will always hold her up as my standard for what kind of person I want to be.

Thank you for the pictures - you are all such lovely ladies. It looks like you had a marvelous time. It is so neat to be able to put a face and a personality to the names, friendships in bloom! Thanks Sandi, for posting the pics.

Jenaya

wow, so only 4 people ended up going? at one point we had about 15 - but what can i say, i didn't go either! mey, my roomie (miss chris) didn't go either. sad. =(

i am so glad you guys had fun and if we do it again in another year, i could probably afford it then. especially if we meet up in, oh, i don't know, california???

Oh yes! Northern California would be a fabulous idea! I have to be there next June for my 20 year (!) reunion anyway. :)

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about my little recap of our trip - it's easy to write when it's about a great time with great people!

I'll be absent from the board for a week or so because I'm off to Kentucky at the crack of dawn with my sweetie and his little darlings - 10 hours in a car with 3 kids, am I insane or in love??? (equal measures of both I think).

Before I go, I want to say:
~ Hi to all the newbies - welcome to our world! Stick with us!
~ Tammy, good luck with the smoking cessation plan (not that I'm counting, but I quit smoking about 3 years, 10 months, 4 days, 57 minutes and 11 seconds ago after 30 years of being a slave to nicotine) Stick with it sweetie!
~ Br00klyn, your plan looks like a sound one to me. Stick with it sweetie!
~ Jenaya, you've done me proud with your risk taking! Stick with it sweetie!
~ Jkfla and SAPF, glad you're back and back on track. Stick with it sweeties!
~ Sandi, remember the "C" word (I'm udderly serious here). Stick with it sweetie!
~ To everyone else who's sharing in this weight-loss journey...Stick with it sweeties!

******* HAPPY CANADA DAY *********