Hi everyone.
Am feeling better but still tired so I will keep it quick.
With this my brain gets fuzzier then usual so I won't do personals. I so want to get back to having the time and energy to visit with all of you everyday.
Have a peaceful day and thank you so much for all your well wishes.

Hi everyone.

Fi, I am so sorry that you are having to live with so much pain. I hope the doctors get to the bottom of this soon so you can get some relief. While I realize the cramps you experience are horrendous and debilitating, I was just wondering if maybe some of the things that help relieve more run of the mill muscle cramps (If there is such a thing) may offer some relief. Things such as adequate or increased levels of magnesium, potassium and calcium, and also adequate or increased hydration. Just a thought.

Rabid, every half pound counts, regardless of how you lose it.

Betsy, I have a Dyson and I love it. It's an older upright but does a great job getting cat hair off the couch, which is the reason we got it. Congrats on the weight loss. I don't count carbs but I don't eat many either and that seems to work for me.

Sam, I was looking at spiralizers online last week. I didn't get one yet, but I do believe there will be one in my near future, since there will be zucchini in my small garden this summer. I understand your jealousy of your best friend, while also being happy for her. I never had children, and always wanted them. For me, it was just never meant to be and I've come to terms with that, but sometimes I still experience those pangs of jealousy.

Ubee, Tootsie, Terra, Magpie - I hope you are all doing well.

Today was another busy day and I still have to make a grocery list for tomorrow after work, wash the dinner dishes, and straighten up a little as DH's oldest daughter is coming to take him to lunch tomorrow. And it is already 8:40. I guess I better get to it.

Have a lovely day tomorrow ladies!

Hi all. I'm definitely doing better mentally and physically than some people on here. Life sure did throw you all some lemons, huh? Here's to hoping that you're able to make lemonade soon.

I did my Leslie Sansone 3 Mile At Home Walk today. It was so nice to prove to myself that I could still do it.

Going to be getting pics of the kids soon. I got dressy stuff for them. My husband states that maybe he and I should be in the pic as well because it's been 10 years since we got a family pic, and two of our kids don't have pics with mom and dad, and our oldest was a baby when we got pics of us with him. We get pics of the kids every year. I just hate pics. I have nothing to wear, and even if I did, it would be like putting lipstick on a pig in my mind. Anything kind of dressy is expensive for me. I'm very short, pear shaped, and have a small bust, so finding styles in my size is difficult. I'm kind of picky, too. I want to be covered head to toe. Dress styles are short nowadays.

That negativity aside... Remember that Cassey Ho says, "Comparison is the thief of joy." Anyone who doesn't know, she runs a site called Blogilates. I had a thought the other day that I get my inspiration in the wrong way. I do one of two things, and I'll admit, I'm not the nicest person in the world. One: I will read stories about people that I strive not to be, or Two: I'll wish that I was someone else. Those ways are wrong. I quit reading the stories. Here's why: Inspiration should come from myself. I should compare myself to myself. It's wrong to judge others when I haven't been through their walk of life. Striving to be someone else, I may not ever have the mental or physical capability to be someone else. I can control me, though. If I'm not striving to improve and I'm busy looking at others, I'm robbing myself of accomplishments. It feels like bragging, which I'm told is wrong, but it's not. If we continually try to improve ourselves, instead of judging others, it makes us better people. Here's my inspiration from myself: I'm at my lowest weight in 3 years. I'm doing things that I never would've imagined that I can do. I'm gradually changing the way that I think. They are small accomplishments, but they will add up over time. I challenge all of you to inspire yourselves and come with your own accomplishments, no matter how small.

Ubee...I am so sorry you are feeling unwell. Take it easy...my prayers are with you.
Fi.....I add my thoughts to everybody else and hope that they get to the bottom of this debilitating, painful condition as soon as possible.
Betsy......are you able ( or is anyone else able) to explain why vacuum cleaners are soooo expensive? I was desperate for a Dyson when I bought the last one but didn't have the funds so bought a Vax...and frankly with 4 dogs I might just as well have bought a stiff brush! It is a total waste of time. I am hoping that when I sell my puppies I will have enough for a Dyson..if not I shall have to sell a vital organ...or my 10 year old!
I am still on plan...and have walked almost every day. I have started using a much smaller plate for my main meal and I tell you psychologically it makes a massive difference.
The weather has been lovely, though it has changed today to more typical Spring weather.
It is 78 days to the wedding and I actually think I may fit into my lovely outfit!

Have a great day...and be nice to yourselves,
Donna

Good morning all. Rainy here, but it's the Pacific Northwest; i.e., normal weather.

Sam I imagine there are several of us who understand that you can be simultaneously happy for and jealous of your friend. I never had children either in spite of years of our trying -- several miscarriages but never carried to term. Like Cindy said, it's just something I've accepted wasn't meant to be in the cards. But, I have 6 godchildren and we all know that I absolutely dote on both my nephews and grand-nephews. There are always children out there who need love and a special person in their lives. But, I hope that all of the changes you're making will result in a baby for you. On the dieting front......sounds like it's time to look at your calorie and carb counts. Unfortunately as we lose weight, we have to lower our calorie and carb counts along with it. I figure by the time I reach goal I'll be allowed 10 calories and 2 carbs per day!
Ubee Hope that you're back to normal soon. I miss your quick wit and your whip cracking. Were you able to get your daughter back on her previous meds? Hope so.
Cindy I am totally impressed that at 8:40 at night with work looming in the window for today that you had a list of things to do before having a sit down to relax. Hope you have a wonderful day as well.
Tootsie Your observations about making comparisons were interesting. I agree that we don't need to judge ourselves by comparing ourselves to others especially if it results in negative feelings. But I have had several instances in my life where I have been totally inspired by someone else -- which was totally unintentional on their part. But it is important that we all learn to love ourselves a little more as we go through this journey.
Donna The Dysons are ridiculously expensive -- can't imagine what the profit margin on them must be. Unfortunately, they do the best job of sucking up stuff that I've ever seen and apparently last for years. At that price they'd better last for the rest of my lifetime. The canister one I have is a refurbished model and I haven't had a moment's problem from using it. Got that one off of woot.com. Bought the stick off of amazon.com. Either way, better deals are probably from shopping online. Great news on the dieting front. Not a doubt in my mind that you will be a beautiful mother of the bride!

For some reason, I haven't had as much trouble sticking with the low carb eating. Probably a variety of reasons including not wanting to feel yucky. I am finding a lot of recipes on genaw.com as well as in my low carb cookbook. I like genaw so much because she includes the calorie count as well as the carb count. Getting ready for the gym and then need to go to Costco. I'll finish up the day with reconciling the checkbook and then make mustard pork chops with crispy cabbage.

Have a good day.

Ubee Thanks for checking in. I'm sorry to hear you're still in a fog. We'll be here when you're ready to start posting more often. Just be sure to check in every so often so we know you're ok <3

Cindy The sprializer I have is the Vegetti...it's cheap I think maybe $15? and works great. No need in spending hundreds on one really fancy one. I'm glad I'm not alone in the happy/jealousy feeling I have for my friend. Maybe one day...that is my overall goal for now at least.

Tootsie It sounds like you are definitely in a better place now. That makes me smile You are right about comparing others and why we shouldn't do it. Inspiring ourselves does make big changes in our lives and you are on the right path. Good for you lovely!

Donna Glad you've been able to walk for most of the week this week...That is wondeful! Keep going darling you are doing great! The countdown for your daughter's wedding seems like it's getting so close now. The way you're going I bet you will fit into your lovely dress for the occasion!

Betsy It's nice to know that I am not alone in this. I want a child so bad but if for some reason I can't have one then maybe I can adopt. I have my fur babies but sometimes it's not the same as having one grow and teach them to ride a bike, learn to talk and see them turn into people. I want to feel that an experience that for myself..and look at DH and say HEY! We made that!! When I really stop to think about it my heart sinks because I feel in my gut that it's never going to happen. I'm not ready to just accept it quite yet because I truly haven't begun trying. I've been more focused on getting healthy first then I want to give it a go with the help of my doctor and if after that nothing happens then I will give up and look for other routes of raising a child. I've been backing off of some of the things I noticed may have caused the slow pace of my weight loss so hopefully I changed it in enough time to have at least a 2 pound loss this week

I am SO glad it's FRIDAY!!!! I just got home and boy am I tired. Tomorrow is supposed to rain so I guess the mental plan I made in my head to go to the beach is going to be out. But if not I have a lot that can be done at the house such as installing these new blinds I got for my french doors that lead to my balcony. I hardly ever go out there anymore because my vertical blinds have some how messed up on their track over a year ago and I can't get them open. So now I have just the regular blinds I'm going to install on the doors themselves so I won't have to worry about it. I need to also start collecting some pallets as DH and I are going to make a pallet book case and a pallet patio couch/bed thingy so if I want to go lay out in the sunshine on my balcony with a book or something when the weather is nice I can Kind of make it my own sanctuary.

DH has agreed to go on a walk with me here when the sun starts to set a bit. So I think I'm going to do some yoga before we go and get a little bit of a burn on then be ready and all stretched out for our walk. Tonight we're having roasted chicken with green beans and I'll have a 1/2 of a sweet potato.

Hope everyone enjoys their Friday!!

Hi everyone.

Tootsie, so glad to hear you are doing better. I agree that we shouldn't compare ourselves to others, especially if it is going to cause us negative feelings. I think inspiration is something different however. We can admire someone for something they have accomplished and want to the accomplish it for ourselves, without feeling bad about ourselves. Having said that, here is one of my accomplishments - I have just spent the last 3 weeks doing everything right and not losing any weight during that time, and I didn't give up. I believe that is a first for me.

Donna, you sound wonderful. I'm so happy to hear that you are doing so well.

Betsy, don't be too impressed. The only thing I actually accomplished was the grocery list, DH did the dishes and straightened up a little this morning. I'm glad the low carb eating is going well.

Sam, I have seen the cheap and the expensive spiralizers and since they all do basically the same thing I would go for the cheap one. I think it's smart to focus on your health first, and the on having a baby. Don't give up hope. You are still young.

Can someone please tell my why, after spending $200 on groceries, there is nothing to eat for dinner? I had a can of soup, not the healthiest choice but probably the easiest and I'm mostly satisfied. I will probably have a piece of fruit soon and that should hold me until breakfast, and if not, well tough!

Tomorrow is our grandson's 16th birthday party. (For those who are now confused after I've said I never had children, DH has adult children and grandchildren). I will be making ziti and now will also be bringing Italian bread, and my goal is to not eat any of it. Please wish me luck.

I hope you all have a good day tomorrow. I probably won't check in until Sunday.

This morning I fell down two times while trying to get to my shower chair—so I could take a shower—so the day didn't start off very well. But just the experience of washing the EEG grease out of my hair, and getting clean all over, then lying in bed with no cramps, was tremendously restorative. Bob was happily ensconced in a science fiction novel, and it was so nice, just to be silent together in bed.

I decided I didn't want to go downstairs before Grace came, because if I stayed upstairs, we could both work on collage projects in my studio. And so we did! Later on, Grace had a good time playing with Oscar and Nénu while I read Sherlock Holmes aloud to her. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and evening. Now if I can just figure out a less stressful way of climbing the stairs, we'll be living again—not just surviving from one day to the next. =smile=

Sam.....your post touched my heart so much. It is so easy for those of us who are parents to take for granted the wonderful miracle of conception and birth and as you say the feeling of " we did that". Can I please reassure you that if you do adopt, when your children grow up....you will look at them with pride and think " we did that" when you look at the wonderful young man or woman they have become. To me parenthood is the emotional investment over time and that is no different with adopted children. And thank you for your words of encouragement....I am doing OK!

Fi....I am so glad you managed you managed to have a lovely shower and a much more pleasant evening.

Cindy...enjoy your grandson's birthday and stay away from that dip!

Having a relaxed start to my Saturday. Had a wonderful sleep (all that exercise paying off!) and then getting prepared for my son's 5 day school trip to an outward bound centre. The problem is, the British weather being what it is.. we have to pack for pretty much every possible weather condition! He is nervous and excited in equal measure and I shall be home alone from Monday to Friday which will be very weird!
Food is good. Picked a bit last night but stayed well within calories for the day.
Have a great Saturday lovely ladies....hi to everybody else.
Big Hugs
Donna

Good morning all. Woke up to a brilliant blue sky with the mountain out in all her glory and have transitioned to mostly overcast. C'est la vie.

Sam I so remember what you are experiencing right now with the desire (not a strong enough word!) to have a baby. I have often wondered what I would have done if my sister and Bill hadn't allowed me to play such a major role in my nephews' lives. Donna is absolutely right about an adopted child. My older nephew is adopted, but quite truthfully sometimes I just forget. Since my sister's passing 6 years ago (she was only 64), I've definitely stepped into the role of mother and grandmother. Guess what I'm trying to say with relaying my experience is that while this is not what I would have chosen, I have been fortunate to be able to give and receive so much love in my life. With your big heart and generous spirit, I just know that you will find a way. In the meantime, enjoy these walks with DH and good luck with getting the blinds hung.
Cindy Well, you'll be happy to know that you still accomplished more than I did yesterday (had a bit of a slug day). Nice to know there are DHs out there who understand they're part of the household and get to help with maintaining it. Yet again my sarcasm may explain my marital status (or lack thereof! ). It is wonderful to know that I am not alone in having enough food on hand to feed a small army and still have nothing to eat. I thought I was alone in my craziness! Enjoy the birthday party. Your contribution sounds yummy......hard to resist!
Fi You sound so much better (other than the falling down) in this post -- at least emotionally. I was wondering if Grace was going to come over for your Friday date night and was glad to read that she did. Good idea to just stay upstairs so you could be in your studio. Glad you had a good day -- or at least a good day for your soul.
Donna It will definitely be a little weird for you to have so much time to yourself, and I know by the end of the week that you'll be so ready for your little guy to come home. But in the meantime.......sounds like a great week to do all those things that you want to do just for yourself. Congrats on having such success with staying on plan. I know you will look wonderful on the big day -- just the joy on your face let alone the snazzy outfit!

I'm going to be heading off to Tacoma to hit Costco and then over to my nephew's to deliver a new toaster oven to him and take him to lunch. His oven broke a couple of years ago, and he absolutely refuses to buy a new stove since he informed me that the only thing he used the oven for was to bake a pizza which he has figured out how to do using a skillet and the microwave. But he did concede that a toaster oven would be ok. We're going to Chick-fil-a for lunch. Totally off plan, ridiculously high in calories and carbs, and I'm doing it anyway. Love their food, and they are finally opening up restaurants out here. Fortunately, it's a 30 mile trip to get to the nearest one, so it will not be a frequent restaurant choice.

Guess I'd better get a shower and get it in gear. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Fi Your day sounded so much brighter and like the old you I'm so glad that you were able to get a shower and feel great all snuggled in your bed with Bob. Hearing Grace came for a visit and you were able to work on some projects is wonderful!! Collaging sounds like your way of destressing and keeping your sanity. For me it's writing or doing makeup on myself and others. I hope your days from here on out get better and better

Cindy Thank you for the love and engouragement. (((HUGS)))

Donna <3 <3 <3 I'm in tears. You are so heart warming and I'm so glad to know you even if it is just online. Adopting is something both DH and I have agreed on if there's just no way to have a baby on our own. At first he wasn't sure if he would be able to love he/she like his own but I told him to give that thought some time and sure enough he is ready. I think he worries about our financial state and if it were up to him we would wait until we are more financially stable, but I tell him that we will never be financially stable enough...it just doesn't happen. So now we're focusing on what we need to do to have a healthy and happy home then work on trying for baby. My OBGYN seems to think it is possible for me even with a little help like clomid or something.

Betsy I'm glad you shared your experience with me. It means a lot. I am right there with you on playing a big role in a childs life. You are extremely lucky to have all that love around you and you are such a wonderful person to be around. Maybe as my BFF's boy and possibly new baby grow I can be the other important person in their lives. I have 4 nieces but haven't seen 1 since she was a month old, the other one 2 months old, never met the 3rd and the oldest one I just met a couple of years ago...she lives close by but I don't get to see her often. I need to make a point to be there for her a little more. I LOVE Chik fil a too....It's hard to resist and there's one about 8 minutes from my house lol...When I go now I will usually get their grilled nuggets by themselves with a side salad, no dressing. They give you these fried red peppers to put on top of your salad but I always throw it away. The way the chicken is marinated or seasoned tastes so good that I don't need a dressing to go with it. Sometimes if I want to drink something other than water I'll get their diet lemonade as it's much less sweet than the other one and I hate all teas lol...It's probably the better thing to eat on their menu since everything else is fried or has too many carbs, and even their regular salads have too many things that are too many carbs or sugars like the one with beans and corn in it. Ok enough about chik fil a I'm starting to get hungry LOL...Hope you enjoy your day.

Ubee I'm not leaving you out either doll even though I know it may be a bit before you're able to post again. I just want you to know that I'm thinking about you hun and hope things are getting better for you. Don't ever hesitate to reach out to me if you need someone to talk to (((HUGS)))

Well today was a total flop....Last night at about 4 am DH went to the kitchen for a late night snack to find that my BIL toilet had backed up so bad that the toilet over flowed and water continue to be pushed in because the flap on the back of the toilet was stuck up so his bathroom and our hallway was flooded with water and it was starting to make it's way into both our bedrooms!!! I was dead asleep when DH woke me up I thought the house was on fire the way he was freaking out LOL...I was really surprised that when I called the after hours line for the apartment complex they sent somebody up right away with water extractors, a giant fan to dry it and a dehumidifier. I felt bad because the gentleman was so nice and he was woken up from his sleep too. We helped with getting the water up so he didn't have to do it all alone and it only took about an hour to get all the water up. I have all the towels in the house to wash and dry now lol....The floor is still wet but the toilet is fixed and we're slowly drying it out. I hope it didn't damage the apartment underneath me...that lady isn't the nicest person to talk to lol...So with that I ended up not getting up until about 11:00, DH is still asleep. I just had my brunch not too long ago...made a egg bowl with veggies and a couple slices of ham with some coffee. The blinds aren't going to get installed today. I have to go to the hardware store and get some special screws that can go through metal doors. Those types of screws didn't come with the blinds, only the regular ones that can go through wood or drywall so I'll probably go get that tomorrow and try to get it done. DH doesn't have to go to the studio tomorrow so we'll get to spend some time together since this day has been pretty much shot. I'm also going to get my hair done tomorrow I'm so excited!! I'll be sure to post a picture of it when I'm done It's going to be a violet color with purple highlights!!!

Ok I think I need to cuddle up with my oldest cat (she's laying next to me on my couch) and watch something on Netflix...I earned this rest day! LOL Have a great afternoon everyone!

SamIAm, home maintenance issues stink. I just discovered yesterday, after going out back for the first time since before winter, that RATS and water damage have taken a huge chunk, like 3 or 4 feet big hole, out of my eaves, opening up into the attic! Ugh. And I pay a service for rat removal around my place because of the draining ditch I up against. How could they not notice that huge hole and tell me about it? They check the traps outside every month, allegedly! I'm giving them a piece of my mind on Monday.

Add to that a problem with carpenter bees chewing up my house and ugh. It's like one big rodent & pest party at my place, it seems. There goes my tax refund!

Otherwise things have been lowkey. I feel kind of in a rut, probably because I've not lost any weight in a month despite eating healthy and exercise. You'd think averaging 2000 calories or less, at 300+ pounds, I'd lose weight! I don't know why my body thinks it's doing. Oh well, I'll see how it does in another month. Maybe it's just trying to adapt to exercise, I'm doing cardio and strength training both.

Three weeks until my vacation! It's a week-long cruise. Never cruised before, and I'm just going by myself which means I had to pay a small fortune as I had no one to share the cabin cost with. But I need to get away, I really really do!

Hello ladies! This week was insanity, so my apologies for not stopping in! I ate terribly at work on Wednesday (thanks to stress and a catered lunch) but still managed to be down 2.6 pounds this morning during my weekly weigh-in. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, and then this afternoon happened. I had an eye appt with my optometrist who is GORGEOUS (like, Bollywood/Indian model gorgeous) and when I got home after being all flushed with my little crush, I thought to myself "a guy like that would never want a girl like me". It's amazing how we can hurt ourselves more than others could even dream to hurt us. I don't know where this came from. I rarely care about what other people think of me physically, and I rather enjoy being single, so I'm disappointed in myself for letting something like that cross my mind.

Mandy (is that right? your name is Mandy?): Please don't take the grace—the gift of Fate—of having a gorgeous optometrist as a reason to bash yourself. Two self-castigations in one short posting is way too many! It is indeed amazing how we hurt ourselves more than others would dream to hurt us.... but that particular weed in our inner garden has to be rooted out. I caught a glimpse of my face in a mirror while my 15-yr-old great niece Grace was visiting, and purely reflexively I thought, "I look so old. No wonder Grace is surprised I consider us equals." But I have a habit I strive to keep in place—before I leave the mirror, before I heap more abuse on myself, I reframe the thought in a positive way: Grace looks at me and sees an older person, of course, but she's told me in many ways how grateful she is for our Fridays together, how my commitment to being her mentor is such a blessing for her. So who cares what I look like? Grace certainly doesn't. So lay off on yourself, Mae: instead of being a self-castigator, be a secret source of self-praise.

Hi everybody.
Sam..... I am glad that my words brought a modicum of comfort to you. I think that you are doing exactly the right thing in focussing on your home. What a plumbing nightmare! I had my own minor plumbing crises yesterday, I am sure it was God's way of keeping me from the housework! First the sink was blocked and the stuff I bought didn't work to unblock it. Then the washing machine flooded and the towels I hung on the washing line were too heavy and snapped the line (it was very old!) then I tried to fix the sink myself thinking I would only need to take the trap off but I made the whole thing worse and the sink is unusable! So I sat with my 10 year old and watched Toy Story 2 for the zillionth time!

Mae.....the optometrist may have been thinking that you have a beautiful smile, or lovely hair or a wonderful sense of humour....it is quite possible to be big AND beautiful, especially if you have a beauty that comes from inside as well as out.....which is much more important and long lived than the skin-deep kind! So focus on something wonderful about yourself! There will be lots....it's a question of perspective!

Ubee....how are your grumbly bits? My grumpy gall bladder is quiet at present but I have made a promise to it NEVER to take it for granted EVER again!

Rabid....I am again grateful for living in a Temperate country without many of the pests that you US girls have to cope with.....I do have rats in my coal shed but that is as far as it goes!!

Fi.....how are you today?

Betsy...how is Toby? My dogs send a woof!

Well off to finish packing...young man off tomorrow!
Have a great Sunday,
Love from Sunny Wales!!
Donna