Hey Ladies! So nice and wonderful to see your smiling faces. You guys are doing great, way to go. Long story made short...I had a very big "nervous breakdown"....I had lost 50 lbs, doc wants me to eat plenty of food to help in my recovery, NO food journal he says :( I will follow his orders, try not to freak if I gain back some weight....I see him in two weeks, he says then we will see about your weight plan.....I worked so hard, I changed habits, I lost 50 pounds.....sigh, I am doing my best to eat without calorie counting.....I plan to spend time on 3FC and try really hard to not get freaked about this.....by the way, I told him about this site and he was very impressed, he is going to recommend it to his other patients....he was amazed at all the different forums, the amazing support we give each other, the recipes, the encouragement, the accountability...any way I am glad to be back and I will come every day...oh, grandbaby is fine, she did the cutest thing today....I get her up from her nap and her daddy was napping on the couch, she wakes up her daddy and she very carefully picks up his glasses from the coffee table, hands them to her daddy, and says, daddy daddy daddy see. Damn I love that little girl.

Hellloooo

Thank you for your kind welcomes! You are having a good influence on me already. I took myself to acqua aerobics yesterday and today :-) Two days in a row - woo-hoo!! I'm recovering from a knee injury and my knee always feels so much better after going to the pool, so I hope I can get back to an acqua class a couple more times this week. Eating hasn't been so great - it was a friend's birthday and I invited a few people for a little cocktail party this afternoon. I made raspberry and lime daiquiris - yummo!, and some reasonably healthy canapes. But, I've spent the day grazing rather than having a decent meal. Back to work tomorrow and back to routine should make eating proper meals a bit easier.

angelskeep - great going on your steps - that's a fantastic effort!

petra - I really enjoy Mediterranean food too! I think it's a really healthy and tasty way of eating with lots of fresh yummy flavours. One time when visiting my cousin in Italy, she made guinea fowl in a sort of casserole with caramelised orange slices - it was soooo delicious, and the flavour wasn't too overwhelming. Your holiday plans sound so exotic - remind me of that fabbo book "Midnight in the garden of good and evil". Yay on getting to the yoga class!

Onmyway - nice to hear your nephew had a good time in Oz. I think the USA and Oz are quite similar in that the landscapes get into your soul. I visited a little bit of the west of the USA a few years ago - went to a friend's wedding in Portland Oregon, and also went to Cannon Beach, Las Vegas, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon, and San Francisco. All was fantastic! The geography was amazing.

weightlosswanted - you make Charleston sound so fascinating - do people still do the "Charleston" dance?! I hope you enjoy your holiday in Texas.

newleaf - sorry to hear about your upcoming doctors' appointments and looming surgery. It all sounds very daunting - I hope all goes smoothly. Make sure you look after yourself after your surgery - lots of healthy high protein meals should help with your recovery. I had minor surgery on my knee a few months ago, and I was surprised at the toll it took on me.

lambchop - wow - tackling a half marathon - truly awesome!

Hydra - sending you best wishes for your recovery. Your grandie sounds too cute!

Bye for now.

Good morning! Yesterday turned into a busy day so I didn't check in, but here's my Friday and Saturday report:

Friday: exercise—yes; eat well—yes; water—yes; vitamins—forgot.
Saturday: exercise—yes; eat well—yes; water—yes; vitamins—yes.

My exercise both days wasn't stellar, but I did it. They were both just 30 minute walks on flat ground. I prefer hills or extending the time, but my goal was 30 minutes of something and I did it. I think today I'll have time for something more.

I also planted peas and lettuce in my little raised bed garden. Can't wait for fresh veggies.

Koala--welcome and great job going water aerobics two days in a row! Keep up the good work. I find that once I start exercising regularly, the eating follows...I hope that works for you too!

My sick son is feeling better and goes back to school today. I should have more time for better exercise and regular posting this week.

--Sue

Koala-the southeastern part of the US doesn't have as much amazing geography as we do interesting history. Of course, the US is still a young country by the standards of any European country but we have some beautiful architecture, and cultural elements that you really can't "see"-you more have to experience. I'm gonna try to attach a few pics of some of the antebellum (pre-civilwar) architecture from this part of the country. It gives you a flavor of what this part of the country was once. Unfortnately, that included slaves. I think I have a couple pictures of slave quarters as well.

I have some pictures from the garden district in New Orleans but not on this computer. These are from Natchez, MS

Hydra! Welcome back : ) so sorry to hear about the breakdown : ( weight-wise you're doing great. I'm sure you and the doc will get the rest under control. We'll be happy to give you any support you need!

Mary: I would love to figure out how to post pictures on the site

Kathi-hit the go advanced button under the reply box, then under additional options, click on manage attachments. It will give you an option to upload pictures from your computer or from the web. There is a limit to how big they can be which is where I run into trouble. I haven't figured out how to resize pictures very well without distorting them.

I put my New Orleans pictures on my Picasa website and thought I could figure out how to attach them from there but I can't. If anyone wants to look at them you can look at my picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/mcmsbelle.

Petra-the Indian cookbook I love is: complete indian cooking ISBN 0-600-59947-7 I think my daughter was able to order it from amazon a couple of years ago. The other one is: Lebanese cookbook ISBN 1-86302-071-3.

Off to work on the yard some more, back later to get caught up. I lost another lousy lb. this week. UGH!

WLW, Hope you are enjoying your visit in Texas!

Newleaf, Thinking of you this week as you move closer to scheduling your upcoming surgery. Keeping my fingers crossed that you can move that ticker tomorrow!

Hydra, Glad to have you back with us!

Lambchop, Hope you conquered that 13 miles today! Let us know how it went!

Petra, Sorry that he guinea hen was not as tasty as you had hoped! Loved your photos! I love southern architecture.

Koala, I love water aerobics. I have a hard time fitting it into my schedule during the winter but am hoping to get back to going more regularly when school is out. It’s a great workout!

Slroth, You are doing s great job sticking to your plan! Keep it up!

Angelskeep, One lost pound is not lousy! It is always better that a pound gained! All those pounds add up to big losses!

We had friends here from out of town and had a wonderful visit. Took some time to take a nap this afternoon, something I haven’t done in a long time. Back to school tomorrow. Counting down to the end of the school year – 6 ½ weeks!

Hi Ya'll,

Just catching up from the weekend. We've been working on our garden, so I've been away from the computer for the most part.

Koala - Welcome! Aussie's rock! I'm sooo going to go there one day. I've had a pen pal ( now an email pal ) who lives in Penrith, NSW.

Kathi - 82 Queen! Sorry about the 89. I knew it was something like that. It was a special occasion that I went there. My hubby and I spent the night in a B & B downtown and we ate dinner there. It was incredible. We also like the Mustard Seed though in Mt. Pleasant.

Petra - Love all the recipes. My mouth is watering! Love the Natchez pics too.
What kind of breadmaker do you have?

Hydra - Welcome back and lots of :hug:

Annie - A tomato shortage? Haven't heard about that. That does wreck salsa! Bummer.

Kitty - Hang in there. The 20 days and 20 posts go fast. Please add me when you can. :)

Angels - Yeah for you on the pedometer. I just loaded one on my Droid. We'll see how it works out.

Deb - One foot in front of the other. You're doing GREAT!

Other than being outside with the garden stuff, I haven't done a lot in the exercise dept. I've been so fatigued. I have thyroid issues but they have until recently been under control. Most of the time I just push through and get it done, but the past few days I just haven't had it in me.

I have done very well with my eating plan so at least I'm not off the wagon. Tomorrow starts a new week and I determined to work through it. I have a lab appointment to check the thyroid numbers to make sure they are where they are supposed to be this week. We'll see.

Sue - Glad your sick son is feeling some better.

Helllooo

I'm happy with my day - I've stayed on the straight and narrow foodwise. Quite an achievement - especially when I consider my eating habits of late! I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself - I popped into the supermarket after work and Tim Tams were on super special - but I walked right past them. :angel:

slroth - you are showing great commitment to your program - way to go! I agree with exercise and eating being intertwined - I don't love exercise enough to want to waste my effort and give in to temptation! There's nothing quite like homegrown vegies - it's great watching them grow and they taste so sweet! Good to hear your son is on the improve.

petra - thank you for posting the photos, also the picasa link - they are great pics, you've got a good eye. The buildings and grounds look very well tended.

angelskeep - yay on the lb - it's not lousy, I'd be doing the happy dance! Better gone than on, I reckon!

Onmyway - sounds like you had a fun weekend with your visitors, if a tad exhausting! It's incredible to think that the end of the school year is fast approaching. Hope you have some nice plans for the school holidays.

Wizzie - I hope you get to visit Oz one day! I haven't been to Penrith - I think it's in Sydney? I moved to Canberra from Western Australia a few years ago - I've done a bit of exploring of the east, but there's still a lot to see. Sorry to hear your thyroid is playing up - hope it gets sorted soon. You've done well to stay on plan through all that.

Bye for now.

Good morning!!

Was MIA for a few days. Took some time off to get some painting done at home. Painted the kitchen and working on my daughters bedroom now. How I let her convince me to do it checkerboard . .grrrr but its coming out nice. So I've been getting my workouts doing all of that.

Hi RedRose! Just wanted to let you know that we start a new thread each week. The current one is here...

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/40-s...12th-chat.html

...you can join us there. So glad you are here!!