[Shad]

Well, you asked for it. If feeling the luuurrrvvve makes you awesomely adventurous and active - you have my complete blessing. Go for it - it's exercise isn't it?
April in Paris, April Showers, Spring in the north, Easter, Anzac Day in the south, Autumn downunder - what else does April have to be responsible for??

I don't know whether I lost my 4 kilos this month or not. Haven't got a scale handy, but I will check when I get home at Easter and that is only 9 days away. I think I have lost some because some of my clothes aren't as tight as they were.

Any goals for April other than to take the diet thing to a new extreme??? Just a word of warning. I'm happy to join Happy and Ceejay in a non-diet month however I don't want to put any more on so I will be marking time, not non-dieting.

Want to go back to see the erudite and educational comments in the March posts - click here http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...=165735&page=7 to go to there -------->

[happy2bme]

Let's see, if it's April in March then Shad must have set up the new thread

This April marks 5 years that I quit I didn't think I'd see that one through.

Am not on track for my one pound a week weight loss goals. The scale is teasing me getting to a new low again. Bouncy, bouncy. I could use a break.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a rollercoaster of a month. I hope I am wrong.

I'm ready to take a break from the diet thing. Not from eating healthy just sometimes the constant focus gets to be too much. Today I had a (sandwich) wrap for lunch. A small side of broccoli/tomatoes/cucumbers in a light vinagrette and a small side of an apple salad of sorts with diced apples of 3 kinds, a bit of yogurt for a sauce, cinnamon and some finely chopped nuts. It was a healthy, nutrious lunch and I really enjoyed it. Brought my cookie home for DH. And my tummy was happy too. So being on a non diet does not mean hitting the bad stuff, just a break from counting points and beating myself up each week because the scale is not spinning downwards quickly.

Tomorrow DH and I will try to get some answers for the last of the info to make our decisions on where to go forward. I know he'd rather just chuck the whole insurance process but that's fine and dandy until something happens and you have to shell out a ton of money. I'm sure he probably figures if anything happens to him he will just walk into the sunset or wade off into the ocean. Yeah right.

Anyway, I probably should hit the sack. I think tomorrow is going to be a long day. Sleep tight Worldlies...

[MELODY525]

SHAD~ THANKS FOR MOVING US INTO APRIL SHOWERS!! OUR LAWNS AND BUSHES CAN USE THE WET STUFF WITH THESE MILDER TEMPS. GOOD TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR CLOTHES FEELING LOOSER. HOW'S MELBOURNE?

HAPPY~ SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE DH AND THE INS. PROBLEM. SENDING GOOD THOUGHS HIS AND YOUR WAY. INSURANCE IS THE ONE THING WHERE THE COUNTRY HAS US ALL BY THE 'BILLS".

WAVING TO EVERYONE ELSE. I'LL TRY TO STAY CAUGHT UP NOW!

NEW MONTH NEW MEL. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE NOT DOING THE "DIET THING". WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER MANY YEARS DOING IT! I CAN'T PASS THIS MONTH BY AND NOT DO SOMETHING BECAUSE I HAVE GAINED. I WON'T BORE YOU WITH THE DETAILS BUT NOT COOKING ALL MY OWN FOOD HAS ADDED ABOUT 7 LBS THAT I CANNOT KEEP. THEY MUST DEPART AS FAST AS THEY CAME. SO THE OBJECT OF MY ATTENTION WILL BE KEEPING MY EYE ON THE PRIZE AND GET BACK DOWN TO WHERE I WAS BEFORE.
SOME GOOD NEWS IS THAT JEN HAS GAINED AND KEPT ON A FEW POUNDS AND IS HOPING THEY STAY ON OVER THE SUMMER. WE HAD A LAUGH ABOUT CELEBRATING A "GAIN"
OTHER THAN THAT, NOTHING ELSE IS NEW.
HAPPY WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY

[annie175]

Good Wednesday Morning.....Happy Hump Day, once again....

Shad...I bet you have lost some poundage, all the walking you have been doing of late.

Happy....Happy Non-smoking Anniversary! 5 years smoke free. Wonderful, pat yourself on the backside.

MEL...I am with you, I cannot take a break in dieting as it ALWAYS leads to a downfall, after a week or so, then takes forever to get back with it. I hate to break the progress.

I did it, I joined Curves last night. I feel really jazzed about it, but ask me again in a month or so. This Curves has excellent hours. 6:30 am-8:00 pm, M-F. 8:00-Noon on Saturdays. I really clicked with the owner too!....she may be my age or older, needs to lose about 30 lbs but is surprisingly firm. Guess she uses the machines, duh. She is working on losing the rest of the weight. They waived the joining fee if you brought in a bag of groceries for the homeless. That was easy enough. Shopped my closet and got a bagful. It will be 34 bucks a month, not too bad to get myself a little exercise and truly enjoy it also.

The president brought me Starbucks this morning. What a sweetie. She has the kindest heart.

Excellent day in Indy today....Sunny and 65 degrees....I think I shall take a walk at lunch today.

Shouts out to everyone.

Love and Hugs

[diyana]

Happy April everyone!

14 years ago today, I was fortunate enough to marry the most wonderful man in the world...and that's no joke (although we have had a lot of laughs over the years). I don't know if we'll be able to go out tonight to celebrate thanks to the conflicker computer worm/virus. DH has been putting in a lot of extra hours trying to prepare for this latest April Fool's Day computer nasty, and he had to do a lot of repair yesterday and thinks the same might be true for today. Hopefully, he'll get home in time to go out to dinner...if not, we'll just relax and watch TV or something and go out another night. That's what I get for marrying an IT guy on April Fool's Day.

I didn't get to the gym last night...on my way there a website client called and couldn't find a page on the site. There have been weird things happening with his website the last couple months, so I figured I'd better check it out right away. I went home and the pages were there...he just couldn't find them. Arrrgh. Oh well, at least I'm billing him for the time it took to find the pages. While I was on the computer, I also did some other website work for him. And after the computer work was done, I did lots of stretching for my back, legs, hips and glutes. I'm finding that if I do the stretches a few times a day, it really helps keep the little bit of pain I still feel occasionally at bay.

Shad - Congrats on looser fitting clothes! It sounds like you're losing weight and toning up! That's wonderful! It's a much more accurate assessment of success than the scales, according to my trainer and my doctor and pretty much every article I've ready lately.

Happy - I love the new avatar! Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary of being smoke-free! Good for you! I'm gonna join you on the eating healthy plan this month. For me, I'll be eating healthy and getting to the gym or walking at least 3 days a week and stretching every day. I hope you and DH get the answers you need to make an informed decision about the future.

Mel - I hope the eyes are doing better. Too funny about celebrating Jen's gain!

Annie - Congrats on joining Curves! $34/month - that's a bargain! I pay $45 for the Y. How nice that the pres bought you Starbucks! Enjoy your walk at lunch in the warm weather! I'll be walking with ya' in spirit as it's way too chilly and damp here to walk outside. Send some of that warm weather our way....They're saying we may get snow again Sunday or Monday. Hopefully, they'll be wrong.

Love and hugs to everyone,

[annie175]

a cool site, I am sure much like others you have viewed however I am enjoying scanning through it.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

[annie175]

Michelle...

Happy Anniversary, baby, gotcha on my mind!!

[happy2bme]

quick check in chicks - on the phone with DH's benefits dept.

Michelle. Happy happy anniversary to you and DH! I hope he doesn't get stuck too long at work though you are wise to at least temper yourself for him having a long day today. I'm sure you can have a great time no matter what the circumstances as long as you end the day together!

Will try and get back tonight for more comments. Geez I can't believe it's APRIL already.

[diyana]

Annie - Thanks for the link and the anniversary wishes!

Happy - You are so right....doesn't matter what DH and I get to do today to celebrate, as long as we begin and end each day together. I hope the phone call with the benefits dept went well.

Hugs,

[Shad]

I checked out my BMI through Annies link and I have to grow another 7cm (or 3 inches) to be considered not obese.
Thanks for the link Annie

Michelle - Happy, happy, happy, anniversary. and lots more good stuff to follow.

Happy - 5 years wow. This August will be my 20th anniversary of non smoking. 5 years is really good considering how nervous you were of the process in the first place and how long you took to get past the cravings.
I hope you and DH come to a happy place with the insurance. If one proves better than the other, do you just cancel the lesser of the two evils and live on the one or do you have to take both. We don't have workplace health insurances here - so I don't understand the process. Unfortunately we have superannuation ones instead. And they are not all they are cracked up to be!!!!!!

Mel - it can shower all it likes over there. I think we are still dealing with the April fool here - at least as far as work goes.
I'm aiming on not gaining this month - so I'll be for you to deal with the extras. Do not throw them my way OKAY? Send them up to Jen.

Well the system has gone down. The lights are flickering, the coffee machine broke and a few other things have gone down today. Must be our day for the stupids. I'd better go and fix the coffee machine. Yes I know what must be done. It's my business, fixing things. WTF - empty out the dregs and grounds from time to time people. It's that simple. ARRGGHHH

[MELODY525]

I AM READY TO CATCH MY BUS AND GO TO TRADER JOES. HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT DAY. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS NEW MONTH AND PLAN TO TAKE EVEN BETTER CARE OF MYSELF. PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO GET USED TO IT BUT NOT 100% YET. THEY ARE CLINGING ON TO THE HOPE I WILL "SNAP OUT OF IT" AND COME BACK! POOR SODS.
HAPPY THURSDAY/FRIDAY

PS: I WAS A 3 PACK A DAY SMOKER WHEN I QUIT IN 1990. JUST BEFORE THE CHAIR CAME. ONCE IN AWHILE I STILL WANT A PUFF BUT HAVE NEVER SUCCUMBED!

ANNIE~ GOOD FOR YOU...HOPE YOU LIKE CURVES. EVERYONE I KNOW HERE IN TOWN DID. HAPPY EXERCISING.

MICHELLE~ HAPPY ANNIVERSARY...A BIT LATE BUT WELL MEANT HOPE YOU GUYS GOT SOME CUDDLE TIME. I INSTALLED A MICROSOFT UPDATE AND MC AFEE HAD ANOTHER UPDATE ALSO. THEY TOOK ALMOST 5 HOURS ON DIAL-UP!!!!

SHAD...EVER THE RESPONSIBLE ONE!! COFFEE DREGS AND ALL. I DO THE SAME THING WHEN I GO DOWN. CAN'T HELP BUT FIX THE THINGS THAT HAVE GONE WRONG OR UNDONE. I AM THE BANE OF JOHN'S EXISTANCE!!

HELLO MISS HAPPY ON THE PHONE WITH THE INS. DEPT!!

HELLO AND WHERE IS CEEJAY?? MISS RUTH?? MADCAT??? CARLA??? and everyone else???

OK GOTTA CATCH A BUS!!

[annie175]

Good Morning All....

Another lovely day in Indy.....one month till the Indy 500, which I stay far, far away from, as there are too many drunken crazies near the Speedway.

AND........only 80 days till summer.........yeeeeeeeeehawwwwwwwww!!

Shad....I hear ya on the coffee front. A couple of days I left early and didn't turn the pots off, they were burnt up the next morning. and...someone had the nerve to say..."I guess someone forgot to turn the pots off last night". I jumped out of my office and said, I guess SOMEONE did forget. I think they got the hint. haha What a bunch of BOOBS.

I have a slight headache this morning, but I think it is because I stayed in bed til almost 6 am, then had to boogie down to get ready in time, and was still about 5 minutes late. No one else comes in till about 30 minutes after me so who will know besides my guilty self.

Went to Curves last night, I must tell you I am loving it so far. I hope this feeling last a long, long time, don't want to waste my money. Everyone that brought in canned food to waive the registration fee was put in a drawing for prizes. I won a really cute Curves T-shirt. I actually started sweating about halfway through the workout. Last night was crazy. Got home, let the dog out, changed clothes, went to Curves, picked up Samantha, went tanning, went to Subway, went to the liquor store (didn't buy anything), took Sam home, went to CVS (drugstore), came home it was 8:30 pm and went to bed. Sheesh what a night.

Tonight I am going to dinner with a GF at Bonefish Grill. I haven't been there, but heard it is pretty good. I am in the mood for seafood.

Howdie to all.

Love and hugs,

[annie175]

Oh MEL...you snuck in on me. Have fun at Trader Joes. I pass Traders every day to and from work and think of you every time. Get some good stuff, I will be over to help eat and even clean if needed.

Love ya sista

[happy2bme]

Good morning chicks,

This site is very slow and hanging for me today. I almost gave up on it.

Congrats to Mel and Shad - long term quitters. WOW - that's fantastic. 20 years quit - almost like you never smoked at all. Good for you! I will keep you both as inspiration!

Annie - that sure is a great price on Curves. Hope you really enjoy it. We expect a report back! I heard the camraderie of the clients is appealing too. No body beautifuls looking to pick up hard bodies, just some nice people encouraging each other to get healthy. Have fun!

Mel - glad you are feeling well enough to get out. Here's to a clean eating month

Shad - as far as the insurance costs go, it is the generally accepted practice that for most of the jobs, the employer underwrites or subsidizes part of the cost of the health care plan as a benefit to the employee. Some plans are better than others. Some people like waitresses might not get any insurance at all. I know it's different there when you have national health care. Our dental plans don't cover as much of the cost as the medical ones do so in fact I am considering what you do which is put the money aside that I'd pay for premiums and use that to pay for routine dental care. Only thing is, if you don't have any insurance at all, you might be paying the very highest rate they can set. It's all a big rip off. Did you fix the coffee maker? Our hot water spigots are going on the fritz and tea drinkers like me are starting to complain Can't fix what won't come out of the spout in the first place.

Michelle - did you get to at least have a nice dinner with DH last night? Good to hear that you found that stretching helps make you more comfortable. When I stretch I am surprised at how things stiffen up without even realizing it!

Tomorrow is my procedure. I decided to go with it just to rule out any future issues. for me - I'm still a bit nervous about it. Other than that, time to get on with the day. Today is WW weigh in. I don't want to go. I had to stop the glucophage because tomorrow's test uses dyes and as soon as I am off the meds, 2 to 3 pounds creep on the scale. They are gone as quickly when I restart so I know it's the medication. I know I did nothing wrong. It just seems at times you get "the look" from the WW leader - like you didn't try very hard and I am definitely NOT in the mood for that kind of nonsense right now. Next week is the last weigh in for this session. I will not be rejoining next time though I will keep my online subscription.

My backyard is a brilliant riot of colored azaleas which all bloomed - whites, pinks, roses, violets, reds. Wish you could see. Mr. Cardinal is pecking at the front window. They have a nest in the tree out front and each morning he bangs the daylights out of our picture window - guess he thinks his reflection is another male trying to infringe on his woman

to Ceejay, Patty, Ruth and the rest of the crew.

[happy2bme]

Annie - Bonefish Grill is yum yum. Enjoy. It's probably the only decent seafood place down here.

I hear you on the coffee pots. We have a rash of rude people who leave 2 spoons of coffee on a hot plate because they are too lazy to make another pot. All throughout the building there is the smell of burning pots. I used to get mad and shut off the burner but I don't drink coffee at work (mostly because I got tired of making 3 pots to each cup I drank). It used to annoy me to see the burnt pots but now I just leave them. I figure if all the pots eventually burn and crack, then there won't be any coffee to drink and the problem will be solved. Funny that I can never seem to catch the culprits who take the last of the coffee. They deserve a good