Thanks, Kathi. We looked for 2 yesterday, and found one. One may be missing; it's gone missing before and been replaced. The other one...who knows. Even on the one we couldn't find yesterday, we got to slog through the weeds and swamp, so I got some exercise, and I just have to keep in mind that the real goal is to get out of the house, get exercise, and not spend a ton of money to do it.

We have to finish getting ready for open house and then that is tomorrow. Sunday will be a caching day. I'll be ready for the break.

Barb

what do you know - geocaching - another new word!!

I googled it and it sounds like fun, and there are quite a few near my house in Sydney apparently. I might give it a go when my foot stops being broken.

Just wanted to share my good news. My son, Ian, got his acceptance letter to the Academy of Contemporary Music at Univ. of Central Oklahoma today! He is going to be in the music business/production program. If I was smiling any bigger my face would split! So proud of him. He really needed this boost of confidence.

Ohhh AnnieDrews! GO IAN! Congratulations to you and him. Be proud of yourself too...you raised him!

Quick check in...good day yesterday and good exercise today. I actually ran for about 5 minutes (down hill, but it still counts) and nothing is hurting. I might make it a May challenge to increase my running time slowly.

And I have a plan for DH time this weekend...we have a gift certificate to a restaurant and I already looked at the menu online and decided what I'm getting (salmon, potato, salad, veggie). Having made the decision, I'll avoid all the other not-so-good choices.

Happy Friday everyone!

Annie-CONGRATS TO YOU AND TO YOUR DS! That's great news.

Ange-geocaching is fun and can be done worldwide. I'm just starting out...was looking for something fun to do outside and a little bit active and read a thread on here about it. www.geocaching.com has lots of information about it. We have an open house here tomorrow, and then have to go to one in the next town over when ours is done, and will stop and try to find a couple on the way home.

slroth-your date night sounds wonderful! Glad you've done well, and maybe with that as an incentive, it will help you stay motivated.

So, I am finishing things now that I sold on ebay today so they can be shipped tomorrow. House is all clean, except that we are still sleeping in one of the guest rooms, so we'll make that room and bed beautiful real quick in the morning, and hten give everything a little fluff. It was crazy windy the last few days here, and I don't know how, but silt and LEAVES blow in through the windows, so we wait until the last minute just to make sure we vac it all. I haven't really done any exercise proper this week, just a cople of short walks and all that housework. I always stay on track with food though, so I suppose there's hope when I hop on the scales on Sunday.

Here's what we're having for dinner tomorrow:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/...es.asp?id=1260

The waffle one looked so good I had to go and get the stuff to make it. With some ham, and a couple of eggs for Robert, it will still be a nice skinny dinner and right on plan. I saw the link on another thread and of course had to go look. It's pretty amazig how much more you can eat at home. I am still not brave enough to eat out! Surprisingly, most of the time, it doesn't matter, though sometimes I still miss the drive thru hamburgers...

Barb

Annie: congrats to your son! That's great news

Barb: good luck with your open house. Sounds like you have been busy

I'm glad it's the weekend. Not sure what our weather will be like. If it rains, I'm planning to study for my test. If it doesn't rain, I want to work in my yard.

I'm typing on my new iPad. Neat toy I will have to play with this weekend too.

Hi, everyone. Thanks for all your well wishes!

AnnieDrews congrats to your son; how wonderful!

Petra enjoy your iPad!

Here, my recovery is going very well. I've stopped all pain medication, incl. tylenol, and feel great. I'm back to my normal weight and normal clothes, although I do still have some abdominal swelling. I'm not really able to exercise but I do get out and walk a few times a day. I'm back to eating normal food, and all seems good. Although I can't really commit to losing weight right now I am committed to not gaining weight and will try to be more of a presence here again.

Heidi: Glad to hear your recovery is going so well : )

Quick break in the midst of my packing frenzy, the stuff is multiplying faster than I can shove it into the boxes! I signed my lease yesterday though the officaial date is the 7th, and the movers are coming on the 8th. I just did this 18 months ago, where did all this extra junk come from?!

I actually saw a momentary dip, .5 lbs on Thursday before I fell off the wagon food wise 2 nights in a row...not sure if the dip was due to being stricter on the diet or the herbal life product I'm taking to up my metabolism. (or a combination) If I see it dip again I'll claim it : ) Geeze if only taking it 1x a day instead of 3 helps I need to find a way to try for at least 2x. It's caffeine based so I can't take any after 12ish if I want to sleep.

Have a friend picking me up to run to the drug store. I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

I'm realizing that this focusing on my weight (the actual number not the journey) is starting to make me miserable. I"m wondering if I should just forget about that for awhile and just focus on being healthy. Making healthy food choices, trying to exercise more, and whatever happens on the scale, happens.

Petra-keep at it. You'll figure it out. But if the scale isn't your friend, maybe it would help to put it aside for a month or two and just focus on the food and activity part and see what happens.

Heidi-congrats. Sounds like you are recovering nicely. And wlaking is good exercise while you finish recuperating.

WLW-almost over for your move. I promised myself never to move again...too much accumulated stuff. Or sell house and contents and start from scratch. Crossing my finges that your .5 lb sticks and stays gone!

We had a great time this weekend once the open house was over. Went geocaching yesterday with Buster the dog and had fun. Did more today without Buster and I'm glad we didn't taking him because we had to pick our way through cacti and climbed up a steep rocky cliff-ish sort of place which was a lot of fun. I have to say, I am impressed with myself becuase when I started the weight loss journey just 10 weeks ago, no way could I have done even the easy walks, let alone the more rugged hikes, and even though I'm tuckered out, I made it and did them. Each little loss or NSV seems to add to the next. I am grateful for progress.

Barb

Petra65 - i think you should stick with it too. You've lost 24lb. That's heaps. Keep reminding yourself what you have done, and where you'd be if you didn't do anything. What is it that's actually making you miserable? Not fast enough progress?
I used to have the aim of being hungry as soon as i woke up each morning - if i woke up and felt hungry then i thought it meant i'd been sufficiently 'good' the day before, and that was a tick of approval. So as long as i could achieve that each day then i knew i was eating responsibly and eventually it would show on the scales. Maybe you just need something similar to make you feel like you are achieving something each day (although i guess this is what people have food diaries for, which i've never done myself).

Barb - i love a good news story! That's fantastic that you've been able to do some strenuous trekking. And you've obviously enjoyed it. There's nothing more rewarding than sinking into a pillow at night when you're physically stuffed!

WeightlossWanted – enjoy your new home!

Petra – I’m all for focusing on being healthy rather than on the number. With the caveat of watching the number to ensure that it doesn’t go up. As long as it stays the same or goes down, you’re good!

AngelsKeep – sounds like the geocaching is a great way to keep you moving! And great NSV to know it’s getting easier.

The one unexpected change from my surgery is that my stomach seems to be putting up very strong, much stronger than before, “I’m full, NO MORE” signals. DH tells me it will get back to normal, but I’m frankly hoping it will stay.

Heidi, thanks for the update - it's great to hear that your recovery is progressing well! I'd be thinking the same thing about the full signals - blessing in disguise! And it has to be a terrific stress reliever to know that those possible future health problems are gone, gone, gone. Now you can look ahead to that summer trip without distractions.

petra - tell ya what - if you'd like to do a May challenge that says we WON'T get on the scale, and will just be accountable for good food and exercise, I am with you all the way. Even though I've hit the "pause" button on the weight loss for about 7 months, I think I'd be better off with a full reboot. I want to do some serious introspective journaling and see what I can learn about where I'm at. Weight loss and better health should never make us miserable - it really defeats the purpose!

kathi - best wishes with the packing adventures! It's real - you did it! Change is scary, but it's a fine line between scary and thrill!

I'm really curious about this geocaching. You chicks need to post some pics of these hunts! It sounds like a lot of fun!

Here - the weekend's been a bit of a funk, half driven by gray, wet weather, and some by a looming showdown at work, some by the usual "OMG there's no time to do anything", and some genuine midlife crisis/discontent. I need a massive shakeup or a kick in the @$$.

Petra -

I'm going to suggest not weighing for a couple of weeks, even a month. I think for a lot of people, when there is a number that is a major hurdle to cross, the mind games start causing all sorts of havoc. I think you should stay on plan, veering towards the lower end of the calorie range and then in a few weeks, you should be safely below 220! I'm thinking I'll have to do this to get across the 200/199 barrier, but depending on what happens this time, I may end up needing to for 220/219 too. I got within 2 lbs, and then ended up bouncing back up again, so I'll see what happens this time but if I can't make it while doing my normal daily WI, I think I will take a scale vacation.

Newleaf -

I'm so glad you are having such a good recovery!!

Re: the full stomach, I have to admit that unfortunately, my appetite returned to normal eventually, after abdominal surgery. But for now, just listen to your body, and when you are back to 100%, you can worry about it. You have some good habits in place already and I think they will return when you are back to normal.