Hi everyone!

I hear you have been wondering about me so thought I'd better check in first thing. We just got home today after four nights at the OR coast. We crab off the dock there at the Embarcadero (resort) and this time we caught 19 crabs! It was suppose to rain all the time except for yesterday but actually we had pretty nice weather the whole time. The first day was windy but that calmed down and it was fine. It sprinkled now and then and rained at night but the days were plenty nice enough to enjoy being out on the dock. I didn't contribute at all to the crab count but I did have fun. While the pots are out there in the water we "fish" for crabs with a fishing rod with a trap on the end. I got lots of little guys and two HUGE females which of course I had to throw back in. Also got some nice Red Rocks...sometimes we take them for some friends who like them but we didn't this time.
Yesterday after our bait ran out we cleaned up and went into town. I bought some good smelling candles and a device that cuts the crust off the bread and makes sandwiches in the shape of two dinasours. Thought my younger gc would like that. They are at a stage now where they don't like the crust. Oh and I got a bottle of BBQ sauce that sounded good and is low cal/carb. So just a few little things. Can't go there without buying something.
Ok, about my diet, I have good news and bad news. The first good news is that I lost almost 12# in three weeks, but the bad news is that in the 4th week I gained back 3#!! Overnight! I figured it was sodium...that day we were traveling and I had gotten the caesar salad with grilled chicken at McDonalds and shared a diet Dr Pepper with dh. It was a senior drink but he refilled it so I probably got a good 12 oz. That night at the resort I ate some cheese pizza chip-like things of Medifast which were a little salty and decided I had to have another diet soda. I never have them in the house and when I'm at a restaurant is usually the only time, so this was a special treat and I honestly forgot that on Medifast I am only suppose to have one diet soda in a day and I was just thinking no cal so ok. The bottles were 22oz (from vending machine) and I drank one and a little of another! For the 0 cal, I guess they have quite a bit of sodium plus what I got from the chips and who knows how much from McDonalds. I was So disappointed the next day to see the almost 3# gain since it was my 4 week mark and I was hoping to at least maintain.
The next day Joe wanted ice cream at our favorite place in Newport so I knowingly went off-plan and had a one scoop child-size cone which was still pretty big and then yesterday for lunch we shared onion rings (I'm sure a no-no as they are deep fried) and I also had a cup of chili (beans are a no-no I think) and a salad. I made sure I got lots of fiber and protein at the condo each day but that day I was over 1600 cal I think. So, for the first time I did go off-plan these past three days! and today one month from when I started MF, I am up another .4#. But the second good news is that I have still had a 8.8#loss in one month so still not bad but since I thought it was going to be more, I was disappointed. Today we stopped at Denny's on the way home ...I got a classic burger..patty only with LOTS of salad (2 t Ranch dressing but not sure it was low-cal)..but I consider I'm still on-plan today. Ok enough confessing. LOL
The plans for a get-together sound fun but I cannot say for sure whether I can make it. Depends on when and where and how things are with us. So much depends on what we have to do about our son's house right now, so even the travel plans we currently have for the next several months are really tentative.
Best thing to do is go ahead and make your plans and I will do what I can.
I remember Meowee from when I first signed up at this site. She was friendly and welcoming to me. I wasn't very active back then though.
Mom - Congrats on the 10# loss! For some reason I have a lot of trouble getting to 10# down and staying there so you are an inspiration to me. Keep up the good work.