Apryl -

100 Days made me cry.

Anymore has a really cool rap feel to it.

"just to hear a voice of someone
on the other side of crazy"...LOVE that line!

Expectations - reminds me of me at that age. I ended up just shutting down completely.

In "For Rebecca," I love the way you so eloquently laid out your independence.

The one about the dog you could probably sell to a dog lover's magazine. (I sold a poem about having a crush to a romance magazine once for $25.)

You are quite talented! What are your college plans?

My father was rushed to the hospital last Friday, one of his kidney cysts burst, so now he has a blood infection, coupled with mucus in his lungs, (walking pneumonia).

I visited him last night & he is the crankiest I've ever seen him. He needs a cigarette & a bacon double cheeseburger in the WORST way.

So that is where I've been, will go back tomorrow to see what the tests came up with & how he is doing otherwise.

Jeanne, congrats on the wedding. Take a deep breath & enjoy it!!!

Everyone else, love ya but gotta run!

SAPF! I'm so sorry about your dad. Best wishes for the both of you.

Where/how is everyone else????

SAPF.. I wish a speedy recovery for your dad. Having a parent or any relative in the hospital is rough for everyone! Keep your chin up! We've got you in our thoughts!

Apryl chicky... How are you!!! Back OP.. Good for you! Keep up the great great work!

SAPF, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad....I'll keep him in my prayers. Keep us posted, ok?

Jeanne, I'm exhausted just hearing about those layers! I'm pretty excited for you though.....it's been an amazing few years for you hasn't it? I'm very, very happy for you, and wish for you both a very happy, healthy life together.

Apryl, VERY glad to hear that you're back on plan, girl.......and I don't have time to look at your poems tonight, but I'm super excited that you made your writing available to us, and I will definitely be checking it out tomorrow! I think you're very wise to create this positive, artistic outlet for yourself -- great idea, and very generous of you to share this aspect of yourself with us.

Daners, you go being the vixen on a raft! How great that you guys had that connection, and that you will have an opportunity to follow up and build upon it! I'm happy for you!

Celina, speaking of a love connection -- I hope you and Steve are clicking a bit better now. It can be a cyclical thang, sometimes.....it's good you're not sweating it. Just concentrate on the love, is my advice. Lorraine and I don't always view things exactly the same way, and we don't always want to do the same things.......but the love is the important thing, and we're 6 years strong and counting because we never lose sight of that. And GREAT job on sticking with your plan....I'm really, really proud of you! I'm rooting for you!

Gretchen, I don't have much to say to you, except for the fact that I think you add so much to this group, and I am truly grateful for your presence here. I have found in you a very special friend and a strong kinship, and I thank my lucky stars that 3FC introduced us!

As for me, life is good......busy at work, with a huge project preparing for an annual Affirmative Action audit (I'm in HR, and we're a federal contractor, among other things) -- big task, lotsa details -- and all I want to do is go on vacation and play! Oh woe is me.... I'm calling on my inner adult, though, and sucking it up. But that doesn't mean that I can't have 3FC minimized on my toolbar though, for easy access! Lorraine (the dear partner, for those of you who haven't heard me mention her) started a new district manager job this week -- after 16 years with the same company -- so there's some frenetic energy in our house, and our poor Italian Greyhound pup, Louie, is completely distraught over his sudden solitude. And all seven (yes, 7) cats are intimidating the heck out of him now that they smell uncertainty. That's the quick-and-dirty, the long-and-the-short-of-it, the skinny (as it were) on my wacky family.

Hope everybody's doing well, staying positive, and staying ON PLAN! I'm sorry I didn't reply to everyone personally, but I'm running out of steam! Good night, you guys!

Way too tired to catch up on a CHAT with everyone... especially since these are normally my longest posts... I'll catch up tomorrow! Nighty nite!

SAPF, so sorry to hear about your Dad. Hope he's feeling better soon.

Virginia was hot and steamy, but we had a great visit with friends we hadn't seen for over a decade. My daughter's wedding was nice, but stressful. She and her new husband were 100% calmer when we took them to dinner the Monday after the wedding. I'm including a photo of my daughter right before the wedding. I don't have any of me--hopefully someone will send me some. We got our fingernails done before the wedding. I've never had mine done, and I'm finding them annoying, but glamorous Hope they fall off soon, though.

Sheila - Your daughter is just beautiful. The photo almost made me cry. I can remember back in the day when life was full o exciting things like getting married. I am so glad you are back!! I have missed you!!!

SAPF - So sorry to hear about your dad. What's the update? how is he??

Apryl - Wow, that poetry is great!! You rock! Thank you so much for sharing with us! Did you and your best friend ever make up??? Where is pur Spain report???

JML - I will be thinking of you on Saturday!!

Hi to everyone else!!

Things here are good. Trying to stay on plan and get on with life. Better get back to work!!

Hey Sheila, great to see you back and glad to hear the wedding went off without a hitch (poor choice of words....) Your daughter certainly made a beautiful bride! Speaking of weddings, I'll be thinking of you on Saturday Jeanne and am anxious to see all the pics! Oh, and I've got a wedding coming up soon. A couple of my diet cohorts, Barb and Rochelle, are taking advantage of the change in Ontario's legislation and will be "making it legal" at City Hall. Both are following Weight Watchers - so they've promised a celebratory feast afterwards that should allow everyone to stay on plan.

Hope your dad's improving SAPF, I know it must be worriesome for you.

Very nice poems Apryl; you're a very thoughtful young woman who expresses her feelings well - these qualities will bode well in all aspects of your future (gawd, does that sound like a report card comment, or what??)

I'm on plan and feeling strong and in control. I like this feeling much more than the momentary pleasure of a candy bar and hope I can use it to gang up against the "diet demons" when they come a-visiting.

Aprylbaby I loved your writing!!!! You ever think about submitting one anonymously to the school paper? I was the editor of ours, I would've published one! (Jeez, not sure if you were even born then--1991/1992!!! )

Thanks for the well wishes everyone!!!. He's still in the hosp, they're getting his fever down, and won't let him out until tomorrow or the next day. Wish I could afford to go again, but my car is about ready to die.

The worst part is, he will have to have experimental surgery later this year to have the

****DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE EATING****

kidney cysts drained. His kidneys are huge, and they are pushing on his other organs, making him not hungry, ever. Someone else we heard about had the surgery done & they removed....20 2 liter bottles FULL of fluid from the kidney cysts. So we are hoping when he has the surgery, he will have that kind of success.

So that's where we're at. I will give him another call tomorrow to see how he's doing.

I got on the scale at the hospital & it said 296. I wasn't happy about that. I've been hemming & hawing about joining a new gym, since I'm unemployed right now & can't afford it, but can I afford NOT to? I'm right where I started at the gym last summer. I've gained 20# since April if that scale is right. So I think tomorrow afternoon I'm going to go sign up.

That is one of the worst parts of my kidney disease--looking at my father & knowing that's what I have to look forward to in 18 years. Guh. My friend Daniel is trying to get me to turn vegetarian. I told him cow meat tasted too good. But 2 days a week I could handle meatless.

I sent out another 7 resumes this week & am tired of this , so tomorrow I go to apply at Kohl's Dept store, to see if i can stock shelves 3rd shift. I've applied TWICE now @ their corporate offices, no response.

Sheila, your daughter looks so beautiful!!!! I'm glad you had a good time.

SAPF - I'm soooo sorry to hear about everything you're going through. Stay strong and you'll get through it hun. You're in my thoughts and my love truly goes out to you and your family! Good Luck on the Job hunt, Steve just went through that a few months ago and I know how hard it can be... Stay Positive! Things WILL get better!

Sheila - That picture is absolutely beautiful! That's all I can say...

JML - Wow the wedding's tomorrow! Lady, you're so in my thoughts now.. Congrats and Enjoy it!

Apryl - You are very talented and thank you very much for sharing those beautiful poems..

As for me, things are pretty good, very stressful but good. Got a phone call yesterday from our insurance company and just because Steve got 1 extra speeding ticket, our car insurance is going up to $450 per month I've been shopping around and so far the cheapest is $375... Makes it tough when we're already struggling with money... But, there's always something when it comes to your finances, isn't there?

As for on plan.. I'm still really focused and going strong.. Down another 2 lbs. this week which is totally making me realize that i CAN do this and I'm ing doing it... Still have 1 treat per week... and I find that's more than enough. I'm loving the gym right now, its getting a little easier and today I even pushed it to 20 minutes on this one machine that I've never been able to do more than 15 mins on..

And that's about it in the world of Celina.. Until next time...

Well, gee, thanks everyone. I'm still working on the Spain report! Give me time... it's long and I don't want to leave any of the good stuff out.

Jennelle: I want to go to the best school that'll pay me to be there! I'm not sure yet what I want to study. Maybe the first four years of English, political science, history.... one of those. Then maybe law. *Or* I want to become a psychiatrist; Dr. Apryl. (Looks GOOD doesn't it??)

SAPF: Yeah, our school has a literary magazine every year I'm going to publish in next year! Also, I'm glad he's doing better. Best wishes for the both of you.

Celina: You are kicking butt. I'm so proud of you. YOU GO GIRL!

Sheila: Your daughter is sooooooo beautiful. Wow! wow! (No surprise though...)

Hey gals, I wonder what Jeanne (JML for the newbies) is up to *right now*?!!?!! I'm just so excited for her! Wedding bells are ringing today, that is great news.

SAPF = so sorry to hear about your father. DH also has PDK and had two ruptures a year and a half ago. Because he's also on blood thinners for another condition, he lost so much blood, well -- things are better now.

But I know your concerns about the future. Because of the strict diet dh is on though I would recommend you not go strictly vegetarian. I'd say eat all the fruits and veggies you can now to make you as healthy as possible. His f/v servings are limited to five servings of a very restricted list. And oh does he miss his bananas and orange juice (we won't even get into the chocolate and nuts part).

His protein intake is very limited (you probably know all this stuff since your Dad has the problem) and because he is/was a finicky eater, it is sometimes difficult to come up with meals meating all the criteria. For this reason, I'd say keep a taste for various kinds of foods - you don't need to eat a lot of them but don't rule out the occasional.
He was on dialysis for four months after that episode and has been able to be off that by following this really strict regimen. He was hospitalized this month for an unrelated incident which nonetheless threw his numbers off and we're waiting now for word on whether his BUN/Creat. are coming down to where he's ok to continue this way. (I must note he's been really good about it all and an inspiration to me in my efforts to eat for health.) Obviously, I wish all the best for you and I'm hopeful medicine will continue to come up with new things so that you never need to even get to the restricted diet point.

JML - thinking of you on your big day - hope all goes well but even little imperfections lead to wonderful stories to laugh about later. Will miss you while your on that extended honeymoon.

Sheila, your daughter looks fabulous and I'll bet you did too.

Sheila - Your daughter is gorgeous, and so is her dress, and so are her flowers, but what is most beautiful about the picture is her radiance! She just glows with happiness.
JML - hope you are feeling some of that joy at this moment - that is, if you ever read this - tonight you will be on your honeymoon and probably won't read this!

You know, all this talk about health reminds me - as much fun as the idea of being skinny is, what I'm really in the weight loss thing for is my health. The medical name for what those of us with over 100 lbs to lose is morbid obesity, and morbid means it can kill me - so I'm glad that we're talking about what's going on in our lives, rather than eating over it.
Have a good day, all, I love being here.

Sue
278/265/160
SW/CW/GW

I've been thinking about Jeanne all day. Bet she looks absolutely beautiful today.

So, Sandi, how's your son doing with sleeping lately? My son started climbing out of his crib when he was about 18 mos. old. I tell him that he didn't sleep through the night until he was three. Now I can't get him off the couch when he comes over on Sunday to do his laundry.