Good morning all. I spent most of yesterday asleep after a night that had about 2 hours' sleep due to the 4 month old puppy wanting to play with my one year old dog. It was a great day with the family, and once again I realized how lucky I am to be retired and able to just take a day off when I'm pooped out.

Sam Good for you on losing a pound, and I'm glad that your kitties are helping you through this bad time. Our furry family members know when we need that extra love.

Jane Do you think that there's a group rate for the Etsy spell. And I totally know what you mean about being done a year ago.......The dog accident must have been horrific for you to have to deal with -- in so many ways! Hope they're appreciative of what you did.

Ubee I made what is called Banana Split Dessert -- it has absolutely no redeeming qualities except for being delicious. It was half gone, and I sent the rest home with my nephew to take to work because if it had stayed here, it would have been gone! The self control actually went pretty well mainly because I was so busy getting everything done I didn't have time to sit down and eat the junk. My one nephew LOVES deviled eggs, so I always make them. Made a dozen (so 24 eggs on the plate), and they were gone within 30 minutes as his two little ones also love them. After everyone was here, the stupid house needs cleaning again. Ugh!

Fi They're adorable, and obviously have already bonded with you and Bob. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Terra Did you know that doing your 5 miles the way you do it is supposed to be healthier than doing 5 miles all at once. That's why Ubee and I clean house the way we do.....it's healthier! Hope the Dillions trip was good. How's the quilt coming along?

MillieJ Welcome and thanks for giving us an idea of who you are. I chuckled at myself when I was reading that you're engaged with two dogs. In the odd way that my mind works, my first thought was that you were engaged to two dogs.....and what a good idea that was! I completely understand what you mean about understanding what 500 calories means using MFP.

Kayley Any involvement with insurance companies is a love/hate relationship. Don't know if your company has a web site you can go to, but I ran into the same thing with my part of what was due after the insurance paid their part. I found the info I needed on the web site in terms of what I owed, to whom it was owed, and the mailing address. I just printed it out and then would send in the payment. I think I got one bill total this entire year. Even with having to pay the 20%, so many insurance companies just won't pay anything for bariatric surgery. And I agree with you that avoiding the problems down the road is definitely preferable!

Guess I'd better get it in gear. I need to call a friend in NC for her birthday which will be an hour or two phone call. Need to get to the gym. Need to get the beds stripped and remade and laundry done and probably should do some house cleaning......Oh yeah, guess I should worry a little bit about staying on plan! Have a great day.

Ubee - Please don't worry I'm just busy is all and not in weight loss mode I've actually gained weight over the long weekend. Friday drinks as usual, saturday went out to the cabin, and a bonfire, and stayed out, got called a guitar hero, silly people need to get their ears checked lol.

Sunday went to the cabin again after coming into town to get more food/shower/etc. And stayed out and then came into town to pick up supplies to paint the outside of my cabin we have to go back tonight after work to finish parts we couldn't get to (bought telescoping thingy...). Just generally being irresponsible and not doing most of the things that I SHOULD be doing.

The painting is only getting done because my friends organized everything for me up to and including picking the paint colours, providing enthusiasm AND free labour I just had to pony up the cash for the supplies. I am sore from the painting we did yesterday (about 4 hours) so tonight should be interesting being sore and commencing round two lol.

Anyways sorry I don't seem to make the time to check in lately. I'm okay just... distracted.

Ubee ~ I bought a bus pass for 68 dollars and a bag of salad and alot of diet soda cause it was on sale, Yes my favorite color is purple, I went ahead and took off the other two trackers, I'll just post them one at a time but Yes they are all purple.

Betsy ~ Nope I didnt know the way I do my 5 miles is suppose to be healthier then doing 5 miles all at once. Yeah the dillions trip went good. The quilt is coming along nicely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up at 7:00 AM, I let Clyde outside and then Mom and I went to her doctor's appointment and then we left her appointment around 10:00 AM and then we came back home to pick up my boyfriend Scott to take him to CD Trade post so he could try to get money for 2 dvd's but He forgot to put the dvd in one of his cases so he only got money back on one of the dvd's, We're gonna go back next Tuesday so he can get the money for his other dvd. I tried to get money from a dvd I had but they were only gonna pay me a dollar and some change when I bought the dvd for 15 dollars and some change so Im gonna keep my post on craiglist to try to sell the dvd for 10 cause I know I wont get 15 for it but oh well, If I get 10 back I'll be happy with that but I wasnt gonna give it to CD Trade post for a 1 and something when I paid 15 dollars and something for it. Anyway after CD Trade Post we came back home and cleaned house and then we made lunch and thats all we did today. I still need to do my 2 mile walk this evening which I will do for sure.

Hey everyone just wanting to check in real quick...thank you all so much for continuing on showing me so much love during this hard time. Things are starting to get a bit back to normal but I am still hurting. I just need to get back into routine. I went to the gym with my friend tonight...I haven't exercised in a week so it was nice to get back at it. You guys know not exercising for a week is not like me so I'm trying to keep pushing. The exercise has helped.

I'm pretty tired so I'm on my way to bed early but just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here and not going anywhere...and thanks again for being here for me. It means more than you'll ever know.

Hi dear weightloss family...

just wanted to mention I'm still around, reading you all.
Just haven't had the strength to talk, to participate, to be active.

I talked to my doc who made a lot of tests and I start hoping he finds something, so that I don't have to think it's psychological and ask myself if I get a depression.

Yesterday the exboyfriend came over and we talked, because at the weekend he just had some kind of weak spot for me that cried he missed me. But he still doesn't see a way we could have a contact that's good for us both. I'm fed up with all this stuff...what should I do with a statement like: if it weren't for her (his actual girlfriend) I would try again and be with you.
He thinks it shows his affection, I think it shows I'm second best.

I will never be that again or feel like that.

I cut my hair last week, never had really short hair since I was 12 - there is a change going on inside..I feel like I'm waking up and trying to find my life again.
I lost it somewhere on the way,long before the desastrous relationsship, with all my dreams and strengths - and it's hard to understand that and find a new way. It is as if I gave up - on myself, on life.

But I crawl, I still crawl, and soon I'll stand up.
Started to make a meal plan for the week. Planned some trips, did some clean up in my flat and read you all...

will do personals later as my boss wants my attention again.
(you see, I seem to be in a habit to surround myself with bad guys)

Kayleystar ~ Oh okay well thats great that your back

Sugar2go ~ Glad your back

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up at 5:00 AM so I would be awake and ready to go on my 30 min walk outside this morning. I just got back inside from my walk. I have a meeting to go too at 9:30 this morning. I'll be sure to get my evening walk in tonight as well and thats all of my plans for today. Of course I got my daily duties done this morning also.

Good Morning!
Terra good job getting up and out of bed and just doing what needs to get done! $68. for a bus ticket sounds pricey. Is that for a month?
Sugar so happy to see you! If you notice my signature line it shows the day I "Woke Up". That is exactly what happened. Baby steps my friend and we will get there. Everyone deserves a happy life. I am so proud of you. I know it takes a lot of change to take care of ourselves. I know I have a lot of mental work to do with my weightloss but I will get there and so will you.
Kayle I think it is very wise of you to focus on your testing first. You must be getting so excited. I know I am for you!
Sam here is a big ol hug for you. One day at a time. Keep posting, exercising, and eating healthy. We are here.
Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Hi Silent! you know how much you mean to me so of course I am going to worry. What color is the cabin? I don't think your friends are the silly ones. They chose you for a friend and they know good music when they hear it. All right go back to enjoying life and I appreciate you letting worry wart me know you are fine just busy partying!
Betsy I LOVE that banana split desert! Good thing you sent it on it's way or I would be ringing your door bell for coffee and desert. I know you will understand but a day dozing in the recliner sounds lovely. Have you decided where you will take your RV this fall?
Millie I am sorry your mom passed so early in your life. A wedding and a baby is a great motivator. I so understand the support of WW but prefering 500 calories instead. It is like balancing your checkbook, it just makes sense.
Nice to see it so busy on here. I am off to a good start this week and fighting the temptation to step on the scale. You know me two good days and I want to be down 20 pounds!
Have a peaceful day.

I'm all drenched in sweat and my heart is beating fast, so I'm taking a brief break from the final stage of the BERP to check in. The pressure is really on, because tomorrow (Thursday) is the day when I pick up my 14-yr-old great-niece Grace at her house at 2 PM, and she has dinner with us and stays 'til late. We have a special treat planned for her: not only is she going to get to meet the kittens for the first time, but while she's here, we're going to take the big step of letting Oscar & Nénu out of our bedroom and into the rest of the house. As someone who wants to be a vet when she grows up, but has never had a cat, she will learn a lot about cats tomorrow.

We're probably going to close a couple of doors in the upstairs—not so much that those rooms pose any hazards for the kittens, but because we want to encourage them to take the big trip downstairs and explore the main level of the house. It's fortunate that the wooden stairs are still covered with the ugly beige carpeting we ripped off the floors all over the rest of the house, because they'll be easier for the tiny kittens to negotiate.

The dining room, which was my art studio until I transformed my writing office into a collage studio, had accumulated a vast and bizarre array of trash and mail and art supplies all over the table and floor. I've been gradually working my way into that huge mess of stuff all along during the BERP, but I always knew I would have to save the bulk of it for the end, simply because I didn't know yet where I would put the things I wanted to keep—or even what I wanted to keep.

But now I just about have places for everything I'm encountering there. All the same, it's a lot of hard physical work to pick up things like jack o' lantern stickers & Marcel Duchamp postcards & rolls of packing tape & unused postage stamps and put them all in their appointed locations—like the Hallowe'en box, for example. And then I have to finish the 3-D jigsaw puzzle of squaring away all the labeled boxes onto shelves and into stacks on top of each other. Some of the stuff is going upstairs to my collage studio, of course, and those things go either in stacks on the side of the stairway, or into the small & large unsorted clippings boxes that Grace will have to deal with some day. I also separate out clippings & stickers & other miscellany that I think Grace might like in a small box and a manila folder that she'll take home tomorrow. =whew=

I tell you all this not because it's important, but because it's what I'm doing. If I worked this hard every day of my life, I'd certainly lose weight faster! Tomorrow will be a big fun day, so I'm strongly motivated. Best wishes to all of y'all!

Good morning everyone. It's a nice cool morning here, misty with low cloud cover which will burn off later in the day.

Silent Please send your friends down to visit me (you can come, too and we'll invite Ubee out). My house needs painting, but none of my friends have volunteered. Of course, almost all of my friends are in the "senior" category.....in other words we're all older than dirt and the thought of getting on an extension ladder sends me into hysterical laughter. What a great way to spend the weekend -- got something done, socialized, and got exercise in as well! Glad you responded to Ubee's plea for an update.

Terra Neat idea to have a buy back place for old CDs and DVDs, but I agree that their offerings seem to be on the low side. Hope that bus pass is for at least a month -- nice to have, but that seems expensive (of course, gasoline and wages for the drivers aren't free!).

Sam :hug: Just keep on putting one foot in front of the other. This is going to take awhile and the important thing is to allow yourself to go through the grieving process.

Kayley Oh, I so well remember getting those "helpful" retirement statements and going home depressed thinking that I had to work for what seemed like an eternity. Being retired is a wonderful phase of life in so many ways. Laughed at your weight loss approach of sweating in the theater with no AC -- I use that approach/thinking, too. Doesn't work, but I use it! :dizzy:

Sugar Wow! I remember one of your last posts and worrying about you, and hope you know how far you've come in such a short time. Sometimes we all get lost and re-finding ourselves is hard to do and sometimes very painful. Sounds like you're making great progress. And you're right -- the ex-boyfriend.......well, (I'll just stop because what I'm thinking isn't something that should be put into writing.)

Ubee My nephew called and said that the dessert was a big hit at work. He told me that I'm helping his popularity immensely because I always send him home with dessert (as well as anything else that isn't tied down), and he always takes it into work. No definitely plans for the RV trip -- just SOMEWHERE. Got a bad case of the need to get behind the wheel and go.

Fi Have you thought about what you'll do with all your free time (other than work on collages and play with the kitties, of course) once the BERP gets finished? The bond you've formed with Grace is wonderful -- what a special treat for both of you.

I'm setting up a new schedule and including an hour of housework in it each day. Maybe that way I'll stand some chance of actually keeping some semblance of order around here. Just made out my food menu for the day -- nothing exciting, but good to know what's on tap. Toby is going to get a bath today and a hair trim -- he's getting a little shaggy so some of my exercise will come in the form of wrestling a 90-pound dog while I trim around his parts that he'd prefer not get cut! (Not to mention that I'd feel awful for hurting him). Hopefully tomorrow we'll go in and pick up the RV.....maybe....they're still having trouble getting the window to seat properly so it doesn't leak. Have a great day everyone!

I have to ask what does BERP mean?

I understand what you mean Ubee I have to fight the temptation to get on the scale all the time. I only weight in on Saturdays at WW but I do weight myself on the scale at home so I have an "idea" what it will say at WW. I used to be really bad and would weight myself all day long and what ever those numbers said would determine my mood. I would have to asking my fiancé to hide it from me.

Hey All

Rest day for me so I could go run errands after work. Going back to the gym tomorrow with my friend Suzi.

Spent the evening painting my toes and listening to some of mine and Silviu's favorite music. It's been very therapudic. DH has been working on a friend and fellow bandmate's guitar. He's coming over tonight after he gets off work and wants to surprise him with what he's done. We're both still greiving but both trying to keep on living.

I had rotissere chicken with potatonsalad and green beans for dinner tonight...something quick since we had to run errands. Doing good this week with being on plan. Just gonna keep on pushing and hope for a nice loss this week.

My friend Ana is coming to visit me from Wilmington this weekend. She's about an hour and a half away. I'm gonna try and visit her sometime soon. It'd be easier if she had her own place but she's temporarily living with her parents for now. We're gonna have a girls day on the beach on Saturday I think. I'm really excited to have a girls day. It's very much needed. Then we're gonna live it up in the evenin and have a good old fashioned house party at my place.

Well I gotta get in the shower and ready for bed. Hope everyone has a great night!

Sorry, Millie, to be cryptic in my reference to the BERP. It stands for Big Entropy Reduction Project. It's the acronym I've been using to refer to an enormous house decluttering endeavor that kicked off on April 18th when our kittens were born, and is just now drawing to a close... finally!

I'm a collage artist, but I've only been one for four and a half years. No one explained to me when I started out that because collage artists have to collect paper, they also have to work very hard to prevent their living space from turning into an episode of "Hoarders." My house was an unholy mess—just about every room of it—because of my newfound obsession.

When I realized we were about to get our third consecutive pair of oriental shorthair cats, something clicked inside of me, and I became strongly motivated to bring some order into my and husband's world. So for the last nearly four months I've been working like a woman possessed—40, 50, even 60 hours a week—to make space for our new kittens to run and play. =smile=

Sam— I just gotta say that everything you described in your last posting—painting your toes, listening to your dear friend's favorite music, plans for the girls' day together at the beach and for a party (all right!)—sounds enormously healthy and positive and healing to me. And your husband, too: making new music! Way to go, gal... =warm grin=

Hello Lovely ladies! (I think we are ladies in here correct) I have two more evenings to work out before I have my next weigh in at WW. I have been walking 2 hours every night 3.5-4.0 MPH. Last week I did 90 min and 30 lifting at the gym but this week I was not in the mood for the gym. A few weeks ago I was trying jogging. I would jog for a bit and then walk, but I noticed that when I walk I would walk slow, I feel like I get a "better" work out walking at a steady faster pace then short bits of jogging and slow walking. I am "running" my 3rd qtr marathon at the end of this month. I am going to try the fast walk instead of jog and slow walk to see if I get a better time. We'll see