Thank you to everyone who wrote messages of support to me about my clutter situation. All of your thoughts and ideas are helpful. My hubby started cleaning out some stuff on the first floor last night, which actually helped me to see some hope in the situation. He always makes a lot of progress. At first, I feel anxiety when he starts throwing things away, but ~ once it's gone ~ I usually don't miss it. My progress comes much slower, but I am trying to change my frame of mind before I dive in. I need to realize that I CAN clear the clutter ~ one thing at a time ~ and MAINTAIN organization ~ despite my failed attempts in the past. It won't be perfect, but I can certainly make a lot of progress in our house if I regularly attend to the clutter. I CAN DO THIS!!!

Holly: Thank you for being here for me and for sending me ! I need it! Glad to hear that you are holding out HOPE for yourself despite being challenged by your eating habits lately. At least you are being honest with yourself. This too shall pass. Your summer job does sound very KEWL!!!

saraphin: Thank you for taking the time to describe the organization you have achieved in your art area. You gave me many helpful ideas. I wish you could tidy up my clutter in a day!!! I would gladly go out while you work! I just might beg my organizer to do it all for me!!! I thought she was coming this Friday, but it is NEXT Friday, the 24th. I have high hopes for our organizing session! Your heat wave sounds awesome to me right now. I am SO ready for Spring!!! I was not aware of your brain injury either (as VermontMom mentioned). I sure hope everything is okay with you! Please keep us updated on your health. Congratulations on losing another kilo this week!!! That is awesome!!!

Trish (lilturtle): I actually have heard of FlyLady. Tried it awhile back, but I couldn't even maintain the shiny sink. I was in a really bad place then, though. I did like many of her ideas. I have her book Body Clutter that I may revisit ~ since I am now (once again) attempting to conquer both body and house clutter at the same time. It is related, I think. Thanks for the FlyLady reminder! Good suggestion! HOORAY for looser pants!!! That must feel great! I hope you are proud of yourself!

LawGirl88: I like the idea of a task list from my organizer for between visits. She has done that before and it helped. I talked to my son about meeting the gf at a neutral place and it turns out he isn't in a hurry for us to meet her; he just wants to bring her over to our house, I guess, so they can "hang out." I understand. He has been on me about the clutter for awhile now. Takes after my hubby, who is very patient for a long time and then blows his stack about the clutter every now and then. I just felt a bit ganged up on yesterday regarding the clutter. They have every right to a clean home and, as I mentioned above, my hubby cleaned a bunch of stuff last night. He is more than willing to help, which I do not take for granted. He is a very involved husband and dad, thank God! Hey, 30 minutes of cardio 6 of the last 7 days is AWESOME!!! YAY FOR YOU!!! I will take this moment to wish you a very Happy Birthday this Thursday!!! I will be thinking of you and hoping you enjoy your day and weekend trip! You are a great addition to our group!

ohiofreespirit: Ouch and yuck on having to get your finger drained again!!! That sure sounds like a nuisance. Hope it heals soon! Glad you are on an antibiotic. CONGRATS on doing so well on the reading and writing portions of your test to get into DeVry. Best of luck to you on the arithmetic part of the test!!! You can do it!!! Please keep us posted!

seabiscuit: It is great to hear from you again. It's been awhile. Good luck with your decision whether or not to get Lap-Band surgery. Please check in whenever possible with updates. We care about you!

Fi: I hope you are okay! Haven't heard from you in a few days. Please post as soon as you get a chance! Sending you hugs!

Chelsea (CDubsGotGoats): How are things with you?

Thank you all again for taking the time to share your ideas with me about conquering the clutter. You helped me feel like it IS possible, and believing I can do it is half the battle!

Hello everyone,

Kathleen - Sorry for the late response... I too am a clutter queen! It took a long time for me to come to terms with throwing a lot of it away. With our recent move I was able to get rid of a lot of it, but there is still more to go since we don't really have the space. I know you can do it!
I think that the most helpful practice I had was to remind myself that I am not the things, and the things are not me. No matter how much I feel connected to them, in the end they are just items and whatever the emotional connection there is, I will have without the physical representation that the item provides. Some stuff still is hanging around though It is so wonderful that you have the support and help of your husband in this, and that you were able to clarify with your son the situation better, how relieving! I know I would not have been able to make the progress that I have without my partner. Thank you also for your advice on finding a therapist. I am still looking, but it was very helpful to have some feedback. I feel pointed in a good direction now instead of just floundering.

Holly - Your summer job sounds so nice! I love to bake and cook, it must be so satisfying to be able to be queen of a whole kitchen Just keep trying with your eating, every day and every minute are a brand new chance to start making a change.

Fi - Thank you for your advice on finding a therapist. It really put my head in a different and better space about it. I have not had a good history with therapy, so being able to look at it from that perspective has been very healing and I feel like it is doable now, instead of something that is doomed to fail. I hope that you are doing well, and I am sending good healing thoughts and hugs to you!

Lawgirl! Buddies! How great to be able to see someone close to my own goals, a good inspiration to keep on track Also, happy birthday tomorrow! My birthday is this month also. Woohoo!

Things with me are mixed. I have been having mixed episodes, and rapid cycling. I have not had my dr appointment yet, but have been reading up and it seems that the antidepressants possibly have been aggravating my ability to level out. Unfortunately my morning nausea has turned back into morning throwing up again. Yuck.
I didn't get the job that I applied for, but have ben able to talk to my partner about our future and what we are going to do when he is finished with school. He has always been against planning too far in advance, so it was a really big step that he was willing to address it, and we made some really good progress and things are looking pretty good.

Sending the best to all of you,
Chelsea

I say YES that is great!!! sometimes we just don't feel like eating much and I personally am very grateful for those times

Good luck Ohio!

I ate pizza today from Dominos. Not really diet food but I have been doing well otherwise. I'm having some mood swings. I see my doc next week.

Hi everyone.

Thank you all so much for the support. You all are so great. I have a couple more days to study. I am studying fractions right now and not doing too bad. Word problems are a pain and really hard for me.

My finger is healing up finally, I think. It looks pretty good, it's still red but improving. I have been milking it and not getting anything out of it. I am trying my best to do what the Dr told me to do. It's been covered 24/7 to keep it clean.
I'm also soaking it in epsom salts and warm water 3 times a day.


I hope this post finds you all well. I know we all go through our difficulties but being here for each other is so important. I am so lucky to have you all to support me.

Hugs to you all.

Just a quick note to say:



Happy Birthday, LawGirl88!!!

Hope you are having a GREAT day!!!

Happy Birthday, LawGirl88!!!! I hope you are having a great day!

I'm trying to hang in there. I'm going to try a scale a friend bought me to see if it works yet. I hope it does but won't be surprised if it doesn't. I have been craving sweets like ice cream. I haven't eaten yet today. (it's after 4pm) I sort of feel like giving up. I have a lot of other things going on that I need to work on and it is overwhelming me at the moment.

Hi there...

I am a bit depressed tonight, I had to have a pet euthanized this morning, I posted about it in Pudgy Pets. This has been a very rough and traumatic day, I am looking forward to getting some sleep.

I will see my therapist tomorrow, I hope that will help.

Take care.

Amy

belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lawgirl88! hope it was a good day, or that you can celebrate this weekend.

Seabiscuit - I am so sorry about your little fuzzy girl what a shock! You absolutely did everything you could in a bad situation, poor thing. I don't know what to suggest about keeping her cremated remains or scattering back to nature..maybe take time to decide that. You are in our thoughts

I am so sorry for your loss. Nothing is more difficult than getting over the loss of a family member. Hang in there and remember the good times!

I worked out Monday and Wednesday morning with my trainer and walked on the treadmill Tuesday evening. Didn't exercise Thursday at all, but plan to do treadmill sometime today. My eating has been okay ~ much better than it had been, but still room for much improvement. So, I have been doing this for about 2 months now and I finally stepped on the scale yesterday morning.............. and................... NOTHING!!! It read nearly the exact same # as before I started all of this! I know that I am building lean muscle and that muscle weighs more than fat, etc., but come on! I don't care how healthy I am (well, actually I DO!), 220 is NOT a healthy weight for someone who is 5'4". I NEED that scale to move DOWN!!! I am trusting that it will go down if I keep everything up and improve my eating (and limit night-time eating), but I am afraid that I just can't shed this weight. Just venting............ I will be okay and keep on working out and eating better. It would just be nice to see my hard work pay off on the scale at some point.

Chelsea (CDubs): Thank you for your insights about clutter. Very helpful! I am so sorry that you are experiencing morning nausea and vomitting and rapid cycling. That just isn't acceptable. Hope you will see your doc soon and get things resolved. Good that you had a productive talk about your future with your partner.

Trish (lilturtle): Hang in there until you see your doctor next week!!! Please don't give up!!! You matter and so does your health!!! Keep on posting here ~ about ANYTHING ~ and maybe we can help you get through this rough patch. Also, do you journal about your feelings? That often helps me so much when I am feeling overwhelmed. Just write and write and write, without worrying about sentence structure, etc. Just write what is on your mind. It helps to get it out on paper. Then you can throw it away if you want. The process of getting all of the overwhelming thoughts in your mind OUT is what matters. It can be very therapeutic. Sending BIG HUGS your way!

ohiofreespirit: Ugh, word problems! Hate 'em!!! I hope that you have had a good chance to study as planned and that you feel prepared when you take the arithmetic portion of your test for DeVry. Please let us know how everything goes! I will be thinking of you (and I'll say a prayer for you, too). Glad to hear that your finger is finally healing. What a relief! It sounds like you are doing your part to take good care of it. I agree that being here for each other during the hard times is so important. That's why we are called "Ups & Downs." Both times matter and I want everyone to feel free to share both their ups AND downs. We can learn from both.

Amy (seabiscuit): I am so sorry about your beloved hamster! What a horrible experience you endured. It sure sounds like the pet store was either not up front with you about Cashmere or they were negligent for not knowing the correct info about her. (I like her name, btw!) I believe you did the humane thing by having her euthanized. Good luck deciding what to do with her ashes. We have always just opted for common cremation. I hope you are able to get some answers to provide you with some resolution and closure regarding her life and death.

Holly (VermontMom): Thanks for checking in!

LawGirl88: Hope you had a great day yesterday and are enjoying your b-day weekend trip! Please tell us all about it (if you want) when you return!

Fi: Where have you been? I am worried about you! Please post when you can! Hope all is well. Sending you hugs!

LilDazed: Thank you for posting and for supporting seabiscuit! Do you want to share a bit about yourself and your own "Ups and Downs" with weight loss, life in general, and/or life on meds? If so, we are listening/reading.

I would be sooooo very frustrated also!! but do ... not ... give ...up! It's gotta show sometime! maybe it will be a big whoosh. Or even a small whoosh give us any whoosh! You are doing all the work, it WILL pay off.

Amy (seabiscuit): I'm so sorry for your loss. I've lost four legged friends too and it is rough. Be gentle with yourself as you grieve. Big hugs to you.

I'm really getting nervous to get on the scale on Tuesday. What if I haven't lost much or anything? I've been trying although sometimes not as hard as I should especially over the holidays. I wish my scale at home worked so I could check in my own private way. I have about 24 lbs to lose before it will work. I am tired of being fat and all the stress that goes with it. I just feel so overwhelmed by the numbers though. It feels like it is going to take forever and I am going to have to be perfect every single day if it is going to work. I am not a very disciplined person. I'm kind of weak. I guess I am just feeling down about my weightloss. There are other things going on in my life. I made some bad life choices over the holidays and I am paying for them now.