bopeep - WELCOME BACK!!!!! Congrats on living the thin-person lifestyle all summer in spite of, well, summer ... :D

I managed to make myself workout this afternoon 30min of easy cardio, this is what I get for slacking off this summer, I'm not motivated to workout and when I do it wears me out. But at least I finally did something.

OMW, Glad to hear your bath is finished. Looking forward to those photos.

ICU, Judging from the width of the piece of glass he had me try the prism may not be very comfortable to wear after all. I was thinking a light pair of glasses...

Maggie, I can see fairly well until I try and concentrate on something such as reading then one line superimposes on the other and I get confused; I can read with one eye closed but not for long. I've 'picked up' crochet again. I had to quit a few years ago because I just couldn't see the stitches. I enjoy crochet more than knitting and was sorry to give it up. I enjoy making baby things, probably because they go so fast and are adorable! I found several hospitals across the state than I can donate the preemie and baby things to. I've done that before and its always fun.

So I went to the doctor today and in addition to being weighed, they measured my height. It turns out I am not 5'7" but only 5'6 1/4"... I always thought I was 5'6 until a life insurance physical insisted I was 5'7". Oh, well...

The doctor is concerned by my low iron. It's been low since I was in high school so it's not something I've ever worried about, but he sees that it has dropped to even lower since the last time I had a blood test 2 years ago, and is sending me back for more tests.

The other thing he is concerned by is my low heart rate. It's another thing that I always knew was low, but I thought in a good way. I remember it being in the low 60s. Well, it turns out that anything below 60 is not normal and 2 years ago I was 57, now I am 52. It wouldn't be cause for concern for an elite athlete (which I'm not!) so he's concerned about that, too.

Sheesh! The only reason I wanted a physical was to make sure my cholesterol levels are okay, which they are -- great, even.

Thanks ICU! I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised that my weight loss continued in the right direction with all the summer fun. :D

Newleaf - Yikes! It's always good for a bit of anxiety when your doc finds something new to add to the 'things to watch' list!

penguin - great for doing the cardio! :woops: Getting that habit established is soooooo hard!!

BP

Here's the before... Grandma - Eeks. Grandson - adorable!
http://www.mariesdogs.com/images/marieethan5wks.jpg

Now today's shot...
http://www.mariesdogs.com/images/marieandhuskies.jpg

OK, so, yes I'm wearing my too big clothes today but alas, I don't have much that is my new size. But you get the idea. Also, the current is my natural hair color. I used to dye my hair in years past but don't anymore. I did the dying stuff I think to try to look "pretty" but the weight wasn't going to allow that.

And my favorite shot DH took this afternoon...
http://www.mariesdogs.com/images/frame.jpg

Marie - Wow!! What an incredible change you have made; you look like a completely different person! And your dogs, they suit you -- you're all beautiful!

Marie - you look fabulous & so happy with your pups. I would have never guessed that was you in the first photo. Looks nothing like you!

Had a busy day getting indoor soccer shoes for 2 kids & getting the 3rd signed up for dance lessons. She's bouncing off the wall she's so excited!

Thanks everyone for the kind compliments! Pictures don't lie (unless they're photoshopped!-LOL)

Wow Marie!!
 

You look awesome. That pic of you and your babies is so pretty, you should frame it.

I love the pic of you and the baby, even though you are a little heavier, you still have so much love in your eyes for that baby too!

You inspire me.

Marie - I have to agree with Mel.... I NEVER would have believed that those two pictures were of the same person. You look AWESOME.

I have not read what I missed the last couple days, I'm sure I'll get a chance to do that tomorrow while taking it easy in bed. I had a great time in Vegas and our hike was AWESOME (pictures will be posted tomorrow); however, coming down I took a nasty spill and if the pain, swelling, trail rash, and bruising is any indication of how I'm going to feel tomorrow I don't think I'll be doing much of anything.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone tomorrow. Have a good night everyone.

CruiseCAT I hope you woke up feeling better than expected -- OUCH! I'm glad you had a fabulous hike, though!

gardenerjoy - congrats on your weight loss, enjoy! :carrot:

wlw - food scales come in handy and I too purchased a home scale, both of them help to keep me on track with my weight loss. :goodscale

bopeep - hi and nice to meet you. I am new as of this summer. Great work on losing 50 lbs. I have a nice Goodwill near me that has half off sales on the weekends! And I don't think I could buy used bra or undies either. :)

penguin - good job on the exercise. It is hard to get motivated most days for me too. I am trying to make it part of my daily routine, good luck to you! :exercise:

marie - You really look great! I adore the pic of you and your dogs! You look so different from the pic with your grandbaby, who by the way is totally and completely precious! :sunny:

Morning ladies, today is my busy day.

Bopeep,Welcome back!

Marie, speaking of adorable grandbaby, how old is he now? Great photos thanks for posting them!

Hydra, The added frustration to the exercise habit is I used to be very consistant with my exericse, but then summer hit and it all went downhill from there. But thanks for your encouragement! its great to know that I'm not the only one struggling.

On the topic of bras underwear, as I tell my boys, *everyone* deserves fresh underwear. I don't hand-me-down them from one son to the other, even though there is absolutely nothing "wrong" with them.

weightlosswanted: so sorry you're struggling and not seeing results. Hope things turn around for you soon.

dmc2009: sounds like you're staying on top of things, mostly, during a hectic time. Good for you!

patchworkpenguin: yay for getting back to the exercise!

newleaf123: being taller means your healthy weight range is higher! Hope things are okay with the iron and heart rate. It doesn't seem too surprising that both would go lower with the effort to lose weight, but too low isn't good.

Marie: thanks for the inspiring pix -- you look great! The last photo doesn't display your weight loss very well, but it sure is a lovely picture of woman with her dogs. Thanks for sharing it!

CruiseCAT: hope you're healing quickly!

bopeep: nice to meet you!

Hydra: good for you for working on getting exercise into your daily routine!

I get to do my favorite "workout" today -- walking and taking photographs at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

patch - just speaking from the incredible relief my spouse got from the prism, it might be worth a try. He had the same problem with reading that you do, with the lines overlapping. His glasses aren't anything ridiculous given the prism - and he's 20/400 plus astigmatism AND the prism! And great job DOING the exercise. It always sucks getting back, but if you can tough out a couple weeks, it always gets better!

newleaf - cool about the cholesterol! Iron's fixable, and a little more testing will just show that you're in great shape. Try not to freak! :hug:

Marie - I agree with everyone - what a difference! Besides being smaller, MUCH smaller! you just look so serene and content! Your puppies are almost as gorgeous as you!

Mel - sounds like you're going to be doing the chauffeur fun too - DS10 is busy w/swimming, choir, and piano. Piano's the killer for us - it's a 100mile round trip every Saturday!

Cruise - so sorry about your tumble!! Have Mack run out to a GNC or a health food store and get you some arnica gel - I swear by that stuff for faster healing, and the sooner you get it on the bumped bits the better! Owie.

joy - that does sound like an ideal workout! Be ready to share pictures, ok? Between Cruise's hike, and your garden, we'll have some great visuals!

I'm still on plan, and it's still working. I really do have to get moving on the exercise, though. My scale has a body fat calculator. I don't trust it for anything but relative measurements, but that figure has not moved in at least 10 pounds, which would seem to mean I'm losing just as much muscle as fat. I find that kinda grim!