Hope you all had a great weekend. We had rain on Sat., some sun yesterday, but it's wet again this morning. Friday we were able to get out and enlarge our garden area. We had hoped to transfer some lily plants that we have scattered around the yard, but we were so tired from shoveling dirt that we quit. If it clears up later on, we'll do the lily plants today. Then we have to shovel more dirt along the front of the house so that we can plant some tomato plants there.

Next weekend is the annual motorcycle race in the Lakes Region of NH, where I live. It used to be only a weekend event, where the motorcyclists used to arrive the Wed. or Thurs. before. But, the powers that be saw all these $$$$ dancing in their heads and a few years ago they extended it for a week. A week is too much in my opinion.

ANNE, I can't imagine having to wear a surgical mask while I'm working. I think it would drive me crazy having that thing over my nose. How long do you have to wear it? I still haven't been able to find any coconut oil. Have you?

nikki, how is the camping trip? Are you getting a lot of rain? I think that rain you had is what we had overnight.

Cheryl, how is the WW coming along? You must've had a really good weekend with your new kitty.

Have a great day everyone!
Aleka

Good Morning All:

Aleka, it is awful. My nose is always sore across the bridge
due to the metal band across the top. These masks have
to fit the face quite tightly
I managed to buy some coconut oil off of ebay. This was over
a week ago and the seller still has not gotten back to me yet.
She probably sold it privately for more than I bid

We had loads of thunder storms yesterday. I can't beleive the
rain we have rec'd this year. Last year it was the reverse.

Whats all this I am hearing about monkey pox? What next!!!
I don't know you guys.....all these storms and weird illnesses
popping up

Hi Nikkic, hope you are well.
Hi Cheryl hows the kitty.

Anne.

Hi,
The weather has been kind of raining and windy. We have had periods of nice weather, such as today. But, we have so much to catch up on at home in the yard, we have to be home today. DH is mowing our yard and he has to go mow his dad's yard (even though his brother and grown son lives there too, they're rather lazy). I have a lot of weeding to do in the gardens and lettuce and spinach to cut. Plus, I like to come home to exercise in the morning anyway. I walk some out there on the trails, but it's not the same.
Aleka, we have sprint car fans all summer. It is at the fairgrounds in the center of town. It use to be just Fri and Sat and now it's Wed-Sun, almost every week. Plus, this is the 50th Anniversary of the races so during the Nationals (August) the party will be like a roar all week. I can't say anyone but the business owners like them, except for the racefans that live here. They spend a lot of time getting drunk, raising ****, are rude and destructive. The police won't do anything about them, cause they don't want to discourage the "tourists". When the races are going on, people in town can't hear their tv sets unless their windows are closed and ac is on. If your outside, it's even worse.
Anne, do you have to wear the mask all the time? I haven't heard of monkey pox. I'm in the woods (literally). I did get some of that ultrathon from Walmart for moisquitoes and it works very well, in case you want to get bug spray.
Cheryl, how's ww going? Still walking or whatever?
I have got to stop looking at ebay, it's just nuts how much I have spent there. One good thing, my internet server is having troubles, so getting on the computer, staying on and even using it is difficult. Normally, I'd complain, but maybe it's a good thing right now.
Since starting back on my diet and exercise I've lost 8 lbs in 17 days and 1 1/2 % of body fat. I feel like a balloon that is losing air. Currently, I'm at 213 lbs. I started to exercise and diet in August of last year, so I'm hoping by August of this year, I'll be below 200. Looks like it will happen, if I keep at it.
Bye and take care, Nikki
PS-Aleka, did you order the TS from HSN today (tues)? I decided to color my hair darker, just so I can use these hair things. My hair has fallen out by the handfulls this year, I think it's from all the surgery, I'm going to ask my Dr. when I see her next week (decided to see her about my menopausal symptoms and arthritis pain). Anyway, I decided I have got to have some help and these new clips look perfect. I bought the darker blond haircolor yesterday, didn't even know these would be on tonight. I've been using minoxidil for a couple of months, but so far no results with that. It says it can take up to 4 months. My hair has always been thin and fine, but this is ridiculous. Can't wait to get these clips, I think they will really be helpful, plus cool in the summer.

Good Morning All:

Nikkic, yes masks at all times. You drop it in the garbage as you
leave the building.

Wow, you are doing awsome on that program of yours. I am managing to maintain my weight
currently 219 but thats fine by me. I have never been able
to maintain a weight loss this long so I am happy. Ultimately
I would like to weigh in at 160 so I have 59 to go, but heck
for a women who use to weight 309 big ones that ain't too
hard to take

Hi Aleka, hope the rain stopped for you. The kids and I bought
my DH a dvd player for Fathers day so I am going to go out
on my lunch hour today and look for a dvd or two.

Hope you all have a great day.
Hi Cheryl hows it going?
Anne.

Hello Ladies

Nikki--8 pounds--whoo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of you! Yep, I'm still walking! I've worked my way up to 4-miles/day! Takes me forever, but I feel great when I finish!

Alice--I did have fun with the kitties this week-end! Baby still doesn't care for Birdie, but she's getting better! Sorry for the gloomy weather!

Anne--you lost down to 219 from 309? Wow, I'm so impressed! And I'm proud of you, too!!!!!

My 2nd WW weigh-in is tonight! My goal for this week was to lose at least 1/2 pound. I think I did OK, but I screwed up majorly over the week-end (my weakness). Wish me luck!!

Cheryl

A very weird day today. Some sun..some rain..muggy. Tomorrow it's supposed to be nice again.

nikki, WOW!!! you have done fantastic in your weight loss! You will make it below 200 lb. by Aug. How is your ankle doing? They believe the monkey pox is transmitted from Prarie Dogs. They are becoming the newest exotic pets to have. They really are cute! No, I didn't get the TS on HSN. I did see the other clip on hair pieces. I really LOVE my Toni-tail. I have fine hair, it's not thin, yet it's not real thick either..sort of medium I guess. What hair pieces did you get? Sorry you're having problems with your hair. Hopefully the Dr. can tell you why it's falling out. The police are out in force at this event. Last year they were afraid what would happen if two rival gangs got together. There was some violence in other states when these two gangs got together. Thankfully nothing happened. They wanted to cut down on the beer flow, but the people who run the beer tents got all up in arms about it so they relented. So much for protecting the public.

ANNE, you have really done such a wonderful job on your weight loss. From 309 to 219 is fabulous. It took a lot of commitment on your part. You should be so proud of yourself. I too am proud of your accomplishment.

Cheryl, hope your weigh in at WW went well.

Have a great afternoon and evening.
Aleka

HI!
All I can say is OPPSS!! about my hair color change. I used a dark ash blonde on it, because I had too much red and wanted a dark blonde color. Well, you guessed it, it's a dark gray now. I called Revlon to see when I could color it again and what to use on it to lighten it and she said, "It's permanent color. You can't bleach it or lighten it. You can't redo it for 4 weeks." She did tell me to use clarifiying shampoo on it, leaving it set on my head for 25 min and use it 3 times and that would remove some of the color. I spent the rest of the day, shampooing my hair. Some of the color did come out and DH says he likes it now, but it's still way too ash. It does match a tony twist I have much better than my previous color, so when I get those tony clip on hair pieces, it should look ok. I'm going to the beautician next week and have about 3 inches cut off and see if she can get some color back into it. Something like a medium blonde/lighter brown was what I was really shooting for and what I hope she can do for it. I've had all kinds of hair colors in the past, so I'm not too shook up about it. Oh, Aleka, I did buy a curly tony twist too, so I'll have two ways to make my hair look better. My old tony twist is almost worn out from so many twists.
My ankle hurts all the time. It just hurts worse sometimes than others.
We're still camping, it is suppose to rain the next 3 days, so we'll probably not camp.
Anne, I am proud of you too. I know what it's like to be bigger and I know how hard it's been to lose this weight. Maintaining at this current weight isn't a bad thing. I'm just ready to see the scale move down some more. The more weight you lose, the harder it is to see it move. I was reading an article about that tonight and they said that as you lose weight, you will lose it slower, because your metabolism gets slower and you burn less calories when you exercise when you weigh less than when you weigh more. Well, tonight, with the best of intentions, DH took me to Subway for a 6" sub. They had a deal where you could get a 12" for the price of a 6", so I got a 12". Then they gave us a free cookie. I haven't had a cookie in a long time. It tasted so good, I ate 3 more cookies. But, they sure were good.
Did you guys get the message about the post from BittenKitten on the May 26th thread? She says were to get the coconut oil at. I tried to reply, but the thread is closed.
Cheryl, 4 miles, that's a long way to go. I've been doing about a mile at the campground every night. We walked through the woods tonight, it was beautiful. I forgot the bug repellant, so we got a few bites, one on the end of my nose of all places. Hope your weigh in was a happy one.
Got to go, take care, Nikki

Hi Everyone:
Thanks so much for your kind words regarding my weight loss One of these days in the near future I will post those
pictures I have been promising and I will post the 309 pounder
one. I am never ashamed but I always look at that picture to
remind myself of what will become of me if I don't stay on top
of this!!!
Between losing alot of weight and quitting smoking I have really
helped myself become healthier than I was in my 30's believe it
or not. For me the low carbing has been a big part of my answer.
Every other diet I would go on I would always put the weight
right back on. It never failed. Even on days like today when
I did not do my gazelle, I go out on my lunch hour and power
walk. I can pass lots of people half my age. I walk at a pretty
fast clip. I am so thankful I was able to do this.
Nikkic so sorry to hear about your hair. One thing about hair
though, it always grows back I once dyed my hair blood red
by accident when I was in my 20's!

Aleka, it is raining again here. Its on the cold side too. I don't
know what the heck is wrong with our weather!!!

Hi Cheryl hows those kittens doing! Do you still have your
possum?

Anne.

Hi....

We are actually having a wonderful day. Better than expected. It's supposed to cloud over later on and yes...start raining again. SIGH...Now they're saying it should clear up by Mon.

nikki, sorry about your hair. One time a GF of mine had her daughter color her hair a shade of red (her natural hair color until she turned gray), and it came out a deep shade of purple. Off to the hairdresser she went to have it fixed. It finally faded out. Let us know how everything turns out when you get it cut. I did see that message from Bitten Kitten and went into the website. I don't know if I'll order anything from them or not.

ANNE, you have accomplished quite a bit, quitting smoking, losing a lot of weight, and being healthier in general. That really takes committment. Hope your rain clears up soon. I don't know what is wrong with the weather either. I just wish we could have a week's worth of good weather before it started raining instead of one day or a few hrs.

Hi Cheryl

Have a good evening.
Aleka

Just a quick note, we are going to another town on the Mississippi tomorrow to the riverboat for some gambling. I booked a room in a very nice B&B for the night, (I hope it's nice at the price they charge). It's kind of a birthday present to me, a little early. I looked at their menu and it looks very interesting.
My hair is finally more of a light brown, deep golden blonde now. I washed it alot with some heavy detergent shampoos. The last 6 inches are still gray, but I keep it up most of the time anyway and after it's cut it should be something I can live with.
What a day for gambling-Friday the 13th. Hope it's a lucky day for me, take care Nikki

I'll start a new thread for the new week, Nikki