Brandnewme - I felt so much emotion as I read your post. Blessings to you and your family.

A great day to work in the garden - I'm off to dig in the dirt.

Have a good day peeps.

I don’t have much time right now because I have to leave for class soon. I will be back later for most personals.

Sharon – You are looking hot! Fantastic!

Brandnewme – I had a friend go through a fire years ago and it was unbelievably disorienting for her. She would go to look for something, like a certain sweater she wanted to wear, and then realize it was gone. However, at least they got out with themselves intact and that is what is really important.

It is also a great reminder to anyone who has thought “Hmmm. . . maybe I should look into renters insurance” and hasn’t. Mine costs something like $100 a year.


On Wednesday I took a class called “Power Dance” the description of which is “Jazz-style dance moves are choreographed into low- and mixed-impact routines.” It is taught by this male waifish Latin hottie who is a great dancer. It is a fully choreographed class and he goes through the steps for part, has you run through them without music, with music and then puts them all together. OMG – I totally SUCKED. This was so unbelievably hard for me. I could hold onto pieces at a time but not the whole. I could know what I needed to do, but I couldn’t translate the instructions from my brain to my body in time to the beat. I felt like I had not rhythm and not one once of flair. By the end of the class my brain hurt as much as my body. The thing is that I loved every minute of it.

I have a major disconnection between my body and brain. I have always been a fairly cerebral person, but I have never let the rest of my body share that. I am not really sure why. I know now that I need to meld these two things, and at least right now, dance is the way to do it. I do have to be careful because this is new and I have been really wearing myself out lately. This guy teaches 3 classes a week at the gym I have been trying out. The problem is that 2 of those classes are up in Norwalk, which is a half hour drive up I-95 (and this stretch of 95 can have horrendous traffic problems). But – so be it. I know this is what I need to be doing now. It might take me a long time to be able to pick up choreography, but I will learn to do it. I feel really determined. Add to these 3 classes the Zumba class on Tuesday and Nia on Saturday and my week will be full of dance. How cool is that?

The only question now is what I am going to do about my old gym and my trainer. I feel a lot of loyalty towards my old gym because it is such a friendly and welcoming place. But in the end, I can’t get what I need there. There is no reason to keep my membership there. The new gym is way more expensive, but overall shouldn’t be too much more once I add in company matching and health insurance reimbursement. But my trainer. Ugh. He is expensive, and I am not sure I really need him right now. I do think I will try to keep up with the weights along with the dance, because they have done so much for me. I am sure I can squeeze in 2 arms and 2 legs sessions a week around the classes. But my trainer. I still have some sessions left and I will definitely use those up, but I am not sure I will buy more. More thinking is needed here. However, if I do decide to stay with him at least he is a trainer at the new gym I am joining so that isn’t an issue.

Also, I got my DDR on Thursday and have started playing with it. Wow – it is tough! The main problem though is that I live on the 2nd floor of an older house and I know I must sound like a stomping elephant when I do it, so I have been careful to stop when I notice my neighbor has gotten home. I was also glad to figure out how to take out the jumping (that was the worst noise issue) and the booing. I do not need to be booed at when I miss a move. I am sure with practice I will get much better at it.

I finally made it back past my ticker weight a whole pound. I have no idea what is going on because I feel like I am doing everything right and nothing is happening, but I guess I just keep on trucking and eventually the work will show up on the scale.

Hello ladies!!

Still busy busy this weekend, but while I had a few moments I thought I would give some updates on my life! Well, Tuesday night we leave for Boston... that's when I will be meeting Jed's parents for the first time. I've decided to go with a digital picture frame as my gift, loaded up initially with some pictures that Jed and I have taken on our drives through the countryside... just for demonstration purposes (and if they want to keep them on there along with others, great!). I figured that although this item is for display, it isn't something that involves matching someone's tastes and they can always buy a new faceplate if black isn't to their liking... haha. Jed said that this would be the perfect gift for them, as it's something he knows they'll love but wouldn't think to buy for themselves and he's jealous he didn't come up with it first! Haha.

I had a big, big NSV on Thursday night. I was looking for some long sleeved t-shirts to go under my sweaters and saw that Old Navy had some thermal t-shirts online, so I decided to go check it out in store, knowing that they don't have plus sizes there anymore... just regular XS through XXL. I thought the XXL might be WAY too tight, but I figured that if it was a little snug that would be okay as I wanted to wear it under stuff. Well, I went in and bought a few items as quickly as possible because I was nervous. I got home to try everything on and... it all fit! Perfectly! Nothing is snug at all! I know Old Navy sizes run big and everything but it still means that my options are expanding and I don't have to go to a special store all of the time anymore. It's nice. Between that day and yesterday when I made a pass with Jed, I bought 2 lovely sweaters, 3 thermal long sleeve t-shirts, a regular scoop neck long sleeve t-shirt, and a grey high-waisted puffy jacket... I thought it would look terrible but it actually looked really good. I actually felt like I was "trendy"... in a good way! Haha.

Last night we went to see As You Like It with Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince) at the Folger and it was fantastic. It was a really nice, small theater which means that there weren't any bad seats! I had such a great time and on the walk back to the metro station I was definitely glad I had bought that grey jacket at Old Navy.. haha.

No time for many personals today...

Brandnewme, my thoughts are with your family. At least everyone was safe. Material goods can be replaced over time...

See you guys later!

Hi everyone. Just doing my end of week check in. Hope you are all doing well.

Annie - I was so happy to see you got the job that you wanted. Good for you! And I am very excited that you are so close to getting out of the 3's. That is wonderful.

Sharon - You are so beautiful in the newest photos you posted. Your skin is just amazing. You look so happy and lit up from the inside. It made me a little sad to hear you say you think you still look horrible. You don't! You are beautful and have a lovely figure.

Zelma - Nice to see you posting. I really admire how much interest you take in your students and the lengths you go to to help them.

Catherine - Your prof sounds like a dud. But since you are complaining about yours, I am going to complain about mine. A couple of weeks ago we presented our group project which accounts for a full one-third of our grade for the course. We were happy to see when he turned our papers back to us we got 97% on it. But the next week he gave us our grades to date and he has our grade recorded wrong. It's so far off that for most of us it makes a full letter grade difference. We have all emailed him to ask him to double-check but he doesn't respond to us. It's highly irritating. He assigns us work and then we try so hard to do a good job of it and he acts like he doesn't care he's not giving us the proper credit. Another girl in my class said she had he same problem with him and he was so nonchalant about it and actually said, "It's really not that big of a deal." What? In school your grade is your reward for your work. How can he tell a student it's no big deal he made a mistake on their grade? It's appalling to me. If I don't hear from him by Monday I need to find out when his office hours are and go camp on his doorstep. And if he doesn't resolve the problem I will have to issue with taking it up with the department head or whoever I need to take it up with. He's been such a lackadaisical instructor all semester and this problem with record-keeping is the straw that has broken this camel's back!

Lindsey - A digital photo frame is a great gift idea. I got one for my dad for Father's Day and he really likes his.

Brandnewme - I am so sorry to hear about your brother's fire. I cannot imagine losing absolutely everything. Thank God no one was hurt, or worse. Still, it must be a terrible blow. It's good to hear their community is pitching in to help them out.

As for me, school is winding down. My last test for the semester is on 11/28 and then I have a break during December. In January I start back with a Finance class and an Economics class. I am looking forward to both because Fin/Econ are the areas I intend to concentrate in.

I just finished week 6 of my bootcamp exercise class and it is going well. I am amazed at how strong I am getting. I am able to do overhead presses with 2-15 pound dumbells now. On my first day I could barely do 8's. I am doing hamstring curls up to 90 pounds. When I started, it was more like 40. And even my abs are getting stronger. I remember the first week we did these lower ab exercises where we layed flat on our back and were supposed to raise our legs to a 90 degree angle up and down. I could not do ANY of those. Just the other day we did them again and I was able to do them! It was hard, but I could do it. I am really feeling good about my progress. I never liked to do weight-training before but it's better in the group setting I am in. Plus now that I have stuck with it long enough to see results, the results are motivating me.

In other news, I get to go see Constantine perform again tonight. I had seen him at our local Greek festival at the end of September but he is coming back to perform at a small studio that caters to independent musicians. It's a very small setting (audience of maybe 80-90 people) so I am really looking forward to it.

And something to look forward to (I hope), after several years of wanting to I have finally worked up the courage and I am going to change my hair color at my next appointment. I am going red! I have always loved red hair and I am going to try it for myself. We'll see how it goes. :o

Just a quickie, Xena, thanks I had TONS of make-up on,;) lol & I was laughing & happy til I saw the pics! :carrot:WTG on that bootcamp,:carrot: it seems to be doing it's stuff! I hope you enjoy seing Constantine, never saw him on TV but he was really gorgeous looking in your pics, does he sing as good as he looks? lol !! About red hair, apparently (natural) redheads & brunettes have many more pheremones than 'regular' colours & are supposed to be the sexiest colour to guys, even though it's traditionall blondes who are SUPPOSED to have more fun, take if from a brunette, they don't!!! ;)Be prepared for some guys giving you the eye, especially as those bootcamp sessions are firming you up!!!xxxxxxx
Brandnewme, I'm happy your family are ok, :hug:sad that they lost stuff, you seem to be getting good & bad news in equal measures!! BIG CONGRATS :carrot:on the job, it sounds fabulous, I'm so jealous! Hope it goes well & you are happy there.xxxxxxx
Catherine, thanks for the info, I'll look it up soon, enjoy your unpacking, laudry & packing, at this rate you'll be expert at travelling & preparation for travel!!;)xxxxxxxx
Valerie how's Gabe doing, have you trotted again yet?xxxxx
Colneen WELCOME BACKxxxxxxx
Gggirls, sorry about the knee but at least now you can get it sorted out. Knees are so important to us keeping mobile, nothing worse than pain & worrying whether you're making it worse or helping it heal by moving & exercise.xxxxxxxxx
Brenda, the card thing sounds great, depending how many sign up (It costs a bomb to post loads of cards to the US from the UK) I'd love to participate.xxxxxxx
I'm back on South Beach (Debbie I thought 1,600-1,800 was the calories you can have to lose healthily, though exercise speeds the loss up an active/physical lifestyle or job may mean you need morexxxx) but I've not been totally OP. Tuesday I had the most awful :(pain around my left cheek, neck, shoulder & arm it's still there even I've been taking really strong pain meds (prescription ones I've had for broken bones) but they are only lessening it, not stopping it. I thought I'd pulled a muscle or something & that it would soon get better, anyway I've had a bottle of red wine the last couple of nights just so I can sleep. Nothing like pain to make you reach for the nearest booze & bad foods!! :devil:BUT I've snacked on low fat hummous & celery or a few almonds!! Gasp, shock!!! So I'm not doing terribly at it, for once.;) Sorry to moan.
xxxxsharon
ps I chatted on messenger to Ammi, her skin problems are still there but she's soldiering on but quite understandingly upset. She's not up to 'socialising' but I'm sure she'll be back here soon.
xxxxxsharon

Brand new-I’m sorry about your brother. I hope they can pull out of this and start over with their feet under them. Great news about the job. I’ve done that kind of work, so I know how rewarding it can be, just remember that it can also be wrenching, so please take care of yourself too. I will give himself a big hug when he comes home.

Jeanne-I have lost a bunch, but have a lot to go yet. I’ve been playing with the same 10 pounds for over a year now.

Heather-I would have loved to have had a syllabus. He never gave us one. He posts the reading assignments, and then just says to read, reflect, and discuss. He actually said by the end of the semester he wanted us to be able to produce a presentation that he could use later. As an author I find that offensive and over the line, but if my grade depends on it, what choice do I have.

Xena-I’ll bet is someone made a no big deal mistake on his paycheck he’d think differently. I have gone over teacher’s heads before, and it usually works out okay, but I made the mistake once of complaining about the competence of an instructor to the department head, and only found out later they were best friends. OUCH! I definitely paid for that one.

Sharon-I don’t want to be alarmist, but pain on the left side like that isn’t good. Just remember that women don’t have the same type of symptoms for heart trouble that men do. My angina attack didn’t start in the chest, it started in the front of my neck and shoulders. If it’s not immediately better, go to the doctor, please.

I’m supposed to be reading, but I’m doing laundry and just as soon as I get started it will be time to check on it, so I’m waiting so I can concentrate.

Sandy, Hopefully a job will come thru soon. It's so hard to struggle during this time of year. Best of luck!!

Angie, Glad to see you here!!
I think where I've been going wrong on this is that on Fridays I would just eat what I wanted and didn't do portion control at all. Then it was so hard to get back on track. So I'm not doing that any more. Just staying on track 24/7 and occasionally I will have an extra portion of something. I'm hoping this will work better for me so I can see a gosh darn weight loss soon! :rofl:

Colneen, Welcome back!! It certainly is hard to find what will work for each individual. If you feel this is what will work for you...go for it!! Just check into it completely. Ask tons of questions!! The main thing is to get the weight off in a healthy way to where you can have a healthier, happier life. And make sure that there is some kind of support group to go to because it is alot of mental things going on that keep us the way we are. My dil had it done and within 3 weeks she was eating chips and salsa and even gained weight because she didn't attend meetings dealing with "why" she ate the way she did.

Catherine, geeze...he sounds like a flake. I'm surprised they even hired him to teach. A cold in Hawaii....o poor baby...NOT. Hopefully he will get his act together and not punish the students for his stupidity. I think you're rubbing off on me..:rofl: <stomping off>

Brandnewme, :congrat: on the new job!!!! And thank God your family is ok. They still have each other and you, so they can rebuild again. It's just a shame that photos and other things that can't be replaced are gone. Hopefully they will find a nice place and things will get better for them. :hug:

Nancy, whew...you just wear me out reading about all of your exercising!!! I really admire you though for your determination. I have to tell ya, I don't think my brain and body think together either and I would totally suck at the dancing. I bet it is sooooooo much fun though. Enjoy it. As for the other trainer at the old gym....well, he gets paid for what he does and I don't think you should feel guilty for not signing up again with him. Would he give you free classes because you've become friends? I don't think so, so just look at it as a contract with someone and you don't need their services anymore. OMG!!! the DDr actually boos you???? :rofl:

Lindsay, doncha just love those digital picture frames?? I think they are the most inovative gift out there!!! I'm sure they are going to love it.
The clothes you bought sound really nice. A bunch of nice things to keep you warm. Take some pics for us and post!!!

Xena, have fun seeing Constantine again you lucky lady!!! O red!!!! Wow, I bet you're going to look great!! Post pictures so we can see the transformation.

Sharon, I hope you find out what happened to cause you so much pain. Your pics are very nice and you look pretty, so don't be disappointed..you look great!! I sure hope Ammi gets to feelin better soon. That must be miserable. And no, it doesn't sound like you are doing to bad at all on your eating. Just get better soon. :hug:

Not much going on here. No llamas since its been raining but I can hear the hunters around here alot lately. Sure hope they don't aim and miss and hit us!!! :rofl: Still OP and very happy. Getting ready for the casino next week for Thanksgiving. I will probably cave and still make a turkey, just not all the other fattening stuff that I usually make to go with it. I am making some cinnamon bread today though. Two loaves, one of which I will give my parents. I haven't made bread from scratch in a long time...and no...I'm not using a bread machine either..:lol:
Well gotta run
have a wonderful weekend!!
Debbie

HI Everyone
We were very busy today both outside and inside getting ready for the upcoming holiday. We always host Thanksgiving and this year we will have 18 for dinner. Additionally - today is one of the last "nice" days to get the garden put to bed for the winter - we dug our banana trees, elephant ears and a few other things that will not survive the midwestern winter. I also did quite a bit of "spring" cleaning - for some reason having my sister come always stresses me out that my house isn't clean enough or that this isn't painted right or etc,etc. Most everything is done just a few touch up things on Wednesday or Thursday - now just have to shop for groceries. That list is made - what a tough decision - pumpkin mousse or pumpkin pudding - both WW recipes - any thoughts?

I've worked hard today and I'm ready to sit down and relax - not fix dinner - I'm probably going to see if hubby is up to going out tonight - two nights in a row is not a good thing for me but I feel it coming.

Debbie - congrats on the new clothes - I never thought of comparing the new vs the old. Good for you!

Sandy - good luck on the job front - that is probably my least favorite thing to do is seek new employment. Is there any chance you can work through things there - maybe a different position? What kind of work do you do? Can the differences with the witch be ironed out - or is there any shot she will leave the company?

Angie - great job on eating well and losing weight - nice to see you.

Colneen - nice to meet you. Glad you're here.

Catherine - leave it to you to worry about everyone else and how they will accomplish the difficult task of completing the work in a short time with their schedules. I've said it before - you are an amazing lady. And a seamstress to boot - I'm jealous.

Jeanne - how did the holdiay open house go? I'm sure you are tired tonight.

Nancy - my body and brain don't move together either. How I wish I could dance - my hubby is a fantastic dancer - I wish I had more sense of rhythm - even when I was thinner it wasn't there. As for the trainer - it's a professional relationship (I think) - treat it as the professional you are.

Lindsey - a digital frame - what a great idea. Are you nervous at all? Old Navy - wow your horizons certainly are expanding.

Xena - how cool is it with the changes you have seen since starting boot camp. Do you feel strong?

Sharon - you need to take care of that pain right away. And please tell Ammi how much we miss her - she's never far away in our thoughts and prayers.

Debbie - feel better being OP?

OK - I'm hoping the urge to go out has passed.

Hugs to you all and anyone I may have missed

Carol

Sandy: It's okay if you don't do personals. I just want to ask that you please don't ever go away again for such a long stretch of time. I really miss you sincerely and wonder how you are. Hugs.

Lindsey: Great NSV's on the clothes. I hope you have so much fun. I think that the gift you bought is a fantastic one!

Patti: My job title is Vocational Consultant. I will be helping people on welfare find work and get ready for work. If they need clothes, gas for job searching etc. Ocassionally I will teach or facilitate classes on job searching etc. I'm so excited about it.

Meta: Hugs. Yeah for less than 100 pounds to go to reach goal. I'm so proud of you.

Jeanne: Sorry that you didn't see a loss but excellent that there was no gain either.

Carol: I'm glad that you went to the Dr. and got another opinion. Sorry that the scale isn't moving but I'm sure soon it will surprise you. hugs.I bet your house looks lovely and is perfectly ready for your sister. I hope that you are able to relax and enjoy your company.

Colneen: Welcome back. I had to have weight loss surgery too and I really feel it may have saved my life. You do what you have to do to get healthy. Hugs.

Catherine: sorry that your professor is being a *&)_+*^ lol. Hang in there sweet friend.

Brandnewme: Huge, ginormous hugs to you about yoru brother and his family. Thank God that no body was injured. Congrats on the new job. I know you will do fantastic!

Nancy: sorry that the dance class sucked. I hope your other classes are more to your liking.

Storey: I hope that you will be feeling better very soon now that you have things figured out.

Brenda: I love the Christmas card list idea. I have pmd you with my address etc. Thanks for getting it started.

Debbie: woo hoo on being op for the past 3 days. You are doing so well. Congrats on the new clothes fitting too! How exciting. One of my sister in laws came yesterday and she was so complimentary on my 178 pounds lost. It felt good. I am enjoying her visit so far.

Angie: Congrats that you are continuing to loose weight. Great job.

Battle: Hi ya.

Xena" I hope that you have a great time watching Constantine. He was truly my favorite before he got voted off. He is a doll. I bet you will look amazing with red hair. Please post a pic after.

Sharon: Your photos you posted are so beautiful. You really are a very pretty lady. Sorry that you are in pain. I hope it goes quickly.

Okay. I think I caught up. Whew. I have been enjoying my sister in law. Today I went and got my nails done. Silk wraps. They look really good. I got so many compliments from other ladies getting my nails done. a couple of them said they think that I can be a hand model. Lol. It was a nice compliment anyway. I actually do get lots of compliments on my hands. I enjoy being girly and having longer nails. My sister in law got a pedicure and manicure and she really enjoyed herself. For dinner we made beaf hamburgers for my sister in law and my Dh and myself ate Venison hamburgers. Well, I ate about 2 tablespoons of ground venison. It was so delicious. I mixed whorschersire sauce with it. They had potato chips with theirs and i ate tiny pretzel sticks. I am still pretty full but it was a nice simple dinner.

Friday I went in to do paper work for my new job and I got to take a tour of the office and there were two empty offices that they let me choose from for my new office. I know it is silly but, I am so excited to have my own office. It will be nice. On Monday I am going to Sandpoint to work all day because it is a smaller and quieter office there. It is about an hour's drive from here so they are cutting my hours down from 8 to 5 for that day to 10-4. I still get paid for the whole day because gas is so high which is so sweet of them.

I hope that you are all doing well and staying safe.
Blessings to you all,
Annie

I just looked at my tracker and realized that I have a tiny bit weight less to loose than I have already lost. I am a bit more than half way to goal! Yeah. How exciting that is to see. It is still a long way away but wow. I have come very far this year. I set a goal for myself in December of last year that in 2007 I wanted to loose 150 pounds. Honestly thinking it would be a miracle if I came close and, I have passed my goal. I hope I can continue to loose more before the end of the year. Maybe if I work hard I will loose another 22pounds making my total weight loss of 200 for the year!

Blessings,
annie

Hi all,

Today was a busy day. We finished decorating for Christmas (even outside lights are up), sent Christmas presents for my family and a friend, cleaned the house, bought a pool table (with air hockey and table tennis), and played table tennis for about an hour. It was FUN. We are both tired now, but soon we will have time to do NOTHING. Tomorrow we need to get the rest of the Thanksgiving fixings, clean the bathrooms, do laundry, and then I think I am going shopping for my DH. I have everyone else done. I love shopping for my DH!!

Slowly weight seems to be coming off. It makes me so happy. I really want to hit my mini-goal (25 pounds lost) by the end of the year. Losing more than that would be great. Annie, I noticed in your post you mentioned trying to lose 22 more pounds...wow. Good for you. I am working at hard at understanding how I lose weight, and be ok with that. For me, I feel disappointed with the amount of weight I have lost this year...but, I will be 25 pounds less than I was in the beginning of the year. That is better than gaining.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Take care and be well,
Angie

Nancy – I, too, have always been a cerebral person. For me, one of the joys (the few) of exercise is discovering what my body CAN do. My trainer has me working on a lot more “functional fitness” now and I’m incorporating a lot more core work into my weight routine, plus doing yoga. I am feeling exactly that disconnect you talk about in dance class.

Sometimes the trainer will show me what he wants me to do, and this little voice in my head will say “You can’t do that.” I am slowly starting to learn to tell that voice to stick it, because while I can’t always do the moves the first time (or even the 2nd or 3rd), I AM learning the mind-body connection!!

Good luck with the dance!

Lindsey – That’s a great gift idea – good luck!

Xena – That’s a shame about the prof. Keep your records of everything and if he won’t resolve it, the department chair should be able to help. There’s definitely a process in place in schools for this kind of thing. At my school, the student needs to be able to demonstrate why the grade is wrong, but if you have the paper with his grade on it, that would be great. As Catherine alludes, go in very straightforward and not complainy – just in case they’re friends!

That’s awesome about your progress with the weights! Seeing results is definitely motivating. Start doing a “muscle check”! I love finding new ones!

Catherine – Wow, that sounds like he wants you to do all the work. That happened to me somewhat in grad school… Some profs really cross the line… Keep track of all YOUR work too. Just in case (though I suspect I’m not telling you anything you don’t know!)

Annie – Congrats on getting past the halfway point! PHENOMENAL!!!

Yesterday was our last day of classes. Today I was back in the office. My tests are written. I will have some grading to do. Then I have to read files for the job searches we're doing this year. It's a lot of work to hire another professor!

I'm bushed, because before work I went to the gym, and after work grocery shopping and then house organizing. I've been on the go all day. I know I have so much more stamina than I used to!!!!

Greetings from the Outer Banks, NC!

I am here with my family and all the food we usually bring. I'm doing well with my eating and have my bicycle ready to go riding. I also have brought DDR! My baby sister brought one of her homemade cakes. I have no desire to eat any of it.

My ticker moved a little bit yesterday too w00h00!

Ya know, my leeetle fat "friends" (cells) just hang on until the last sec. Then I'm sure they say "Dang! She's really serious about this" and fade away. They can hang on for WEEKS!

Nancy, you rock for doing all that dancing..WOW! Your needs are changing and your old gym and trainer should realize that. My DDR has a "Lite Mode" and you can unlock a lot of songs. Yup, under preferences, you can take out different moves. Don't be discouraged! I have gone to the next level to Basic from Beginner. You can do it!!

Hugs and Luv from the Beach,
Ratkity

Morning everyone! Well Open House went really well. Last year we opened a shop in November right before Open House, so this year we really saw a great increase! Like 40%! Yay! My "base" store - which is always very busy just had a small increase over last year - about 15% when all was done! But we have had that one for 4 years! Thanks for all the interest girls! FYI: Our stores are like a version of Hallmark?!?!?!? (The owner actually owns a Hallmark & we kinda follow in their shadows)!

Lindsey - OH my goodness~!!!!! I know exactly what you are saying about Old Navy & I too just bought 2 of those thermal long sleeve shirts plus a hoodie (which wasn't from the mens department - for the first time ever) and a "cute" sweater with fur around the hood! I bought them on my lunch break a week ago and when I came back I did a dance:carrot:and shared it with everyone I work with!
And..................good luck meeting Jed's family! That is so exciting too! And, yea, great gift you came up with!;)

RatKitten - Hope you are having a great time in NC! That is my favorite place to be!

Realist - sounds like you had a great day! You got tons accomplished too!

dogpal - I love getting my nails done too! I feel like a full size princess! lol!
Congrats on getting your "own" office! That is such a giddy feeling isn't it!?!?!?! I had a cubical at my old job (police department) and I remember when they built the new building and we had "offices" - I was so thrilled! I felt so important! We even got our own phone extentions and emails! lol!

gggirls - thanx for asking about the Open House! It was a ton of work - but it was fun!

Debbie - have fun this week! My in-laws are going to NC for the holidays and my brother is going to his partners family - so......it is just my husband and girls! I went Weds. and bought a little turkey and stuff to make a ww (2 pt. a piece ) of pumpkin pie! I'm not doing the fattening stuff either this year!

Xena2005 - I always wondered about the boot camp exercise? It sounds like you have had a huge success with it!:cool:

voodoo1 - Ouch! Hope your neck is getting better and yeah.......good job not reaching for the booze & bad food! Kudos to you!

Not the Cheat - Congrats on getting past your target weight!!! :carrot:

Brandnewme - hope things are coming together for your brother! You guys are all still in my thoughts and prayers!

Heather - you know what.......it is unusal! I use to come here back when I lost that 100#! Well, it just seemed no matter which thread I went to, most didn't last and escpecially once folks met their personal goals - you really didn't see them around! It is really great that you guys continue to come here to get and GIVE support!:hug:

Well, I sure hope I didn't miss anyone! Woooosh, the threads I have done in the past never had so many folks!!;) This is new (and exciting) for me! So bare with me if I missed anyone!
Have a super day girls!

jeanne -- Don't feel you have to answer all the posts! It can get overwhelming! Just do what you can/want. You'll see a lot of variation, both between people, but also over time. Some people have time for personals some times but not others, and that's fine!