[hope4me]

Hi aliasihaya and welcome to our chat. I'm sorry it's not more active than it is right now. It sounds like you should be proud of yourself for being so proactive in getting better. I just upped my depression meds a little and should be getting my higher dose of thyroid medication soon. That will hopefully help some too. How have you felt this weekend?

Aunty Jam, bravo on getting up early to exercise! I've been trying to talk myself into that for the longest time. That's great!

Vermont, I can't wait to here about your trip when you get back. I hope you are having a great time.

[Ravengirl]

Hey Peeps!

I noticed that everyone has been a little silent or busy or away from home lately. I was dropping off a resume at a local animal shelter on Jan 7th (I didn't get the job by the way) and when I got back to the car I checked my phone for missed calls and messages when I saw that I had a text from my oldest friend in the world. Apparently there had been a tragedy in my home town and my best friend from childhood had been shot and killed by her father the day before. I had just talked to her a few days before and had actually left phone messages for her that day an the day before. Needless to say it knocked my world upside down and things started moving really fast for awhile. It was a blur of getting ready to fly to my parents house to rent a car and drive the five hours or so to go to the funeral. Making sure my homework was completed so that I wouldn't have to think of it during the trip, and getting all the exercise and yoga in that I could before I left. The trip itself actually went pretty well mostly and I got to see my brother and sister in law and Aunt that I love very much. I was pretty much the only friend her age that was there...it was mostly friends of the rest of the family (she was a difficult person to get to know) but I am so glad that I was there.

I barely made it out of Seattle on the way home because the winter storm hit...I mean literally I was one of the last planes to get out and I got home 2 hours late. Ever since I got back I have been busy with errands, classwork, exercise, and going to Tibetan monk teachings. You see, they only come here once a year they give teachings, blessings, and healings. I managed to make it to all of the events that I was here for. I had an extremely profound emotional response to the sacred art blessing that has pretty much confirmed what I have been leaning towards for some time. It is my path...it is real to me and what I am supposed to do. The healing that I attended has pretty much cleared a large part of the grief that I was carrying and gave me the tools to deal with the rest.

I know that a lot of the rest of you have been struggling...I send my heart to you all and hope that you find comfort and peace. I embraced all the moments of my trip that I could enjoy and find comfort in and I invite you to do the same.

I am back...I am feeling strong and motivated and focused! I send that energy out to you all. My exercise...my eating...my energy levels have all been high, I even managed to get one fast one hour walk in while I was away and a pretty fast yoga practice in one day along with stretches most of the rest of the time.

I have missed you guys and I am sorry I didn't get on here to let you all know what had happened before, I just had too much to do and I wasn't ready to talk about it yet...

~Raven~

[Aunty Jam]

Raven - I am so sorry to hear about your friend, what a horrible thing to happen. I can't even imagine how you must be feeling. I don't even know what else to say about it Take your time, we're always here for you.

Hi aliasihaya It's not always this quiet, honest.

Hope - Thanks... but I haven't done it since LoL. Dad ended up in the hospital, he's ok now and back at home but it threw life for a loop (albeit not nearly as big of a loop as Raven's).

How is everyone? I've been such a ditz the last few days, I have no idea what is wrong with me.

[hope4me]

Quick post...

Raven, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. How devastating it must have been! I'm glad you got to go to the funeral despite everything it took to get there. I'll be thinking about you. What a tragedy.

Aunty Jam, I hope your father is doing ok now and things get back to normal.

Gotta get to bed.

[VermontMom]

back from AZ but first...hugs to Ravengirl what a horrible tragedy!! i'm so glad you were able to get out there safely for the service.

and welcome to aliasihaya...I hope so much that the meds and people you have to help you, can help you

hopeforme, I will make an effort to be here more, now that you are!

hey AuntyJam, sorry about your dad but I hope things are better now. Very scary to have a parent in the hospital isn't it.

hello to everyone else!!

Our trip to AZ was fantastic. One and a half days of business (a TNNA convention...The National Needlewords Assn. - my husband was on a buying trip with his boss - it would have been wonderful if I was a knitter or crocheter! but I"m not) and then we picked up the two Harleys and went riding in the desert .

It was as fun and adventurous as it sounds Ate homemade tacos at a roadside stand, the locals came over to admire the bikes and I fed the last of my food to a cute little taco stand doggie The most fantastic scenery...cliffs, mesas, buttes, mountains, valleys, etc. And SUNSHINE and warmth (70 degees) the last day. Only negatives are traffic (eeek!!! 6 lanes all going 75 mph)

I had no limits on my eating and need to buckle down. My chaps were tight on my thighs and they are loose when I am smaller. I think I"m going to try a stint at South Beach.

But it was great to get away from the snow and ice of Vermont. I think I can hang in there until Spring now

[hope4me]

Vermont, I'm so glad you had a great time. That sounds awesome. I would like to take a ride like that, on the back of DF's bike that is, but it would have to be relatively short since I don't ride much and therefore I'm a wuss.

I'm so glad it's Friday and I'm off tomorrow. I don't really have anything planned. I may go see a movie and I definitely need to clean. We'll see if that actually happens.

[VermontMom]

Hello everyone and see, hope, I am here again thanks for your appreciation of how cool our trip was and you are not a wuss

did you see a movie, and/or clean?

today was my first day back at work .. OMG it was busy. It's to be expected on any Saturday from now through the end of March, as we're a convenience/deli on the way to a busy ski resort..but still..it was non-stop!

I've started South Beach diet and have had 2 days on plan. Sure hope i can stick to it.

can I bore you all with some pics from our trip

[Leenie]

Hi Ladies,

Just popping in to say hello and yes, I'm still here

Big hugs to all of you Love ya !
Leenie

[aliasihaya]

I actually haven't been on here for about a week which is unusual for me. I've been obsessive with this site since December. I find that it really does help me stay focused. And this week was pretty unfocused which is partially why I've realized that this site is helping. It also didn't help that I didn't prep my meals for the week, so I was floundering on figuring out my diet. And unfortunately I also didn't shop today, so I'm not prepared for this week. I was doing so well. Isn't it interesting how motivation works and then runs out? I'm hoping I'll get it back soon. But meanwhile I am still working out and seeing my trainer/nutritionist. So I'm not completely at a stand still.

Not looking forward to heading back to work tomorrow. It doesn't help that I had to get on a few conference calls this weekend. That totally makes me feel like my weekend was taken away from me. And then my motivation for work isn't recharged for the next week. Hmmmm, motivation seems to be a theme with me today. I'm hoping I'll just wake up tomorrow and have it all figured out. Is that too much to ask for?

[VermontMom]

aliasihaya - no, that is not too much to ask for I hope today is good for you. I know 'motivation' has been the topic of many threads on this board, some ladies have put down some great thoughts on it.

good morning to all, couple inches of fresh powder here, which in itself is not that bad BUT our driveway is a frozen bumpy wasteland under it, so one cannot simply just push it aside. But our older DS did most of it, yay.

I'm on day 4 of South Beach and it's going good! woohoo.

Also..I am SO VERY THANKFUL that I still havent slipped into my usual winter 'I hate everything' mode!!! I wish you all could feel as well as I have. Well i did have a crabby moment or two this morning, but I"m over it

Work was just as hectic yesterday but I still felt serene with my vacation glow, lol. I hope it lasts for a while longer. I hope everyone has a good day

[Aunty Jam]

Hey everyone... sorry for not being around much, I'm feeling very flightly at the moment and my moods are very up and down.. ug. I seriously hate that! After a week of freezing cold (-40°c!) temps it's finally nice again!

Vermont - Those pictures are awesome Is that the doggy you fed your taco too? Too cute!!! Maybe part border collie? Anyway, I'm glad you had a really good time on your trip. Good luck with the south beach, I've never tried a specific diet. I'm glad you're not in your winter blah's.. I'm not either but I think it's because it's been a really warm winter for us, except for one week (when I was really grumpy actually).

Ali - Did you wake up with everything figured out this morning? That would be wonderful! I agree the weekend just doesn't seem like your own when you have to do work stuff... bleh. I had a super busy weekend and I think I came back to work more tired then I left! I'm in the same boat as your motivation wise... I've added a new ticker and a new determination that I'll get down to my goal weight by my birthday. Enough of simply coasting! Time to get my arse in gear!!! (Hope I can keep this up )

Hi Leenie -

Hope - Don't say your a wuss... I don't ride at all... what does that make me? LoL My hubby wants me to ride but we haven't gotten bikes, I think I'd rather have him drive and me ride.

[bodyTOObootylicious]

Thought I'd say hello... been a huge fan of 3fc for many years, but haven't been on the forums for a while now. It's nice to be back