Short and Sweet ... that is what this post will be. We are leaving in the morning for the cabin and will not be back for a couple weeks so ... just in case I am "missed" - that is where I will be!

Yesterday was hubby's last day of work - he is in every sense of the word - "retired" ... although his last official day is actually June 29th. He is finishing off the rest of this month using all his vacation days ... They had a very nice retirement party for him yesterday .... it was very very nice. Now when I ask Dick to do something for me, he looks at me and smiles and says "Sorry, I'm retired now" ... hahaha ... of course, he is just fooling around with me .. he is such a wonderful man! Gosh, I love him so much!

Well, is suppose to rain so will go out and swing for a while before it does .... see ya in a couple weeks - hopefully we'll all be a few lbs lighter!

Love you guys!
CJ

CJ, I mean't to tell you what a beautiful retirement home you are looking forward to. It is absolutely gorgeous! Hope that we will both be a couple pounds lighter when you come back.

Talk to you all later. Love, G

Well, we're packing up the truck now and will be off in a few but I just wanted to pop in and say good morning and farewell ... off to the cabin we go and will see you after the 27th! If I get to my friends computer, I will pop in and say hello, but if not, just know that I will be thinking of each and every one of you a lot. I'm hoping I will be able to stay OP all that time (may have a few slipups, who knows) and am going to try to get to a meeting up there, if we are not too busy at the cabin - we're going to be digging trenches to lay our electric lines from the power house to the cabin and new garage that we are finally starting to build this year) We are going to bring our precious cat Elgato with us this trip as we don't want to leave her home that long alone ... our neighbor always comes over and checks her and lets her out but she misses us so much when we are gone, and now since we are going to be up there so much more this year, we are going to start bringing her with us. I'll let ya know how she takes to traveling with us.

Well, got to run. Love you guys! Think THIN! See ya after the 27th!

Love, CJ

WOW...DO I FEEL GREAT...OR WHAT!!! I went for another run/walk this morning...the birds were chirping, sun just peaking through...(well not really, was cloudy and overcast but?...) and I ran!! Only one house worth of walking on my extra large country block!!...haha, can't wait till I actually run past all of them!! (soon...) This was my 3rd run in 4 days. Am I starting a trend or WHAT?

I feel great also because I made some excellent food choices over the weekend. I had a family bday party to go to...(the allergy wheatfree cake was absolutely to die for!! btw) and gave a dinner for some friends as well. ALL GOOD FOOD CHOICES AND NO EXTRA BITS ADDED, DRANK LOTS OF WATER...AND NO GUILT!! The no guilt is a big issue for me, as sometimes I think, "how can I have a good time if I don't eat everything...don't enjoy everything....and be like everyone else?" So I ate what I wanted, did what I wanted and still had a great time. HA!! SO THERE!! I tell you, I am learning so much about myself, that its even surprizing me!!

Well,, looks like rain today...but we sure could use it after the gorgeous weather we had both Sat, and Sun. Have a great day...look forward to reading eveyone's posts. Take care..bye

Happy Monday Thinsters! Hope everyone had a great weekend.
I had a good weekend. Ken and I went to Indianapolis for a Indiana Vintage Wine Festival. My girlfriend gave us some promo tickets she couldn't use cause she had to work. We saved $15 each getting in at the gate. It was great we got to sample wines from over 100 winerys across Indiana there. We even got our own glass wine glass at the gate. Man I sure sampled the wine. LOL They didn't fill the glass up just for a sip or two. I like the sweeter wines like White Zifeldel and I went to alot of booths too. My husband doesn't like wine so my sister in law-his sister and I sampled the wine while he was the designated driver and had free soft drinks while there. I tell you I sure felt good when we left there. LOL It was so great being able to sample all different kinds of wines and even bought a couple of bottles of the ones that I liked. And guess what guys.......when we were about to leave we saw a TV news camera man and he came right over to me (guess I looked like I had a great time) and asked me if he could interview me. So I did an interview and said how great it was at the wine festival. Afterwards I told my husband they probally wouldn't use my interview cause they probally had interviewed lots of people. But guess what? When we saw the news that night, there I was big as life on our TV screen. LOL We laughed so hard and my husband even taped it and plays it again and again whenever someone comes over and embarrases me. HA HA He calls me his TV star now. So I REALLY had a great weekend guys, lots of wine and making the Indianapolis TV news too. WOW!

On the weight front I did pretty good and was glad I didn't overdo this weekend and even though I had lots of wine samples really tried to watch it food wise all weekend. So I had a 1.2 lb loss and am I glad of it. That starts me on getting some of the Memorial Day gain I had-the 2.8 lbs so I lose almost half of it which is good in my book. I am glad I have been getting back on my program and I have exercised quite a bit this week and did real good drinking my water too.

angel-Yahoo girl! It sounds like you have really been getting back on track as well. All that walking, making wise food choices and drinking you water too. Keep on running girl. I think I will start up another exercise thread and why don't you join me there. To tell us about all your walking or any other exercise you did. Anyone else please join in as well.

CJ-So you are off to the cabin for a couple of weeks eh? It sounds like you and Dick are going to be so busy digging those trenches at your new cabin, you should get lots of exercise from that. Have a good time there and just do your best whatever that may be. Don't worry if you go off than don't beat yourself up over things. Just have a great time up there and if you can catch a meeting great. You have been doing such a good job Carol. Above up have fun! See you when you get back. Got your email and thank you for that and your phone number at the cabin. I may give you a call and see how you are doing. Thanks again and see you when you get back! Oh one more thing tell Dick congratulations on his retirement from both Ken and myself. I know he is on cloud 9 now. :

Gail-Hey buddy thanks for posting. How have you been doing? Vacation going great I hope? Sent you an email and hope you got it. Miss you when you are away from us and hope things are going your way program wise. Talk to you later and hope you post again soon.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((GAIL))))))) ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Zoe-I love chinese food, but it always temporily adds some water weight to me. So I have to drink tons and tons of water afterwards. But it is so good and give yourself a pat on the back that you didn't eat as much as you wanted to. You used self control and that is something in itself. So you love sitting out on your deck that your hubby built you? We have one and I just love our deck. I planted lots and lots of flowers in containers and rail boxes, petunia's, gerainiums and snapdragons. They are all blooming beautifully now and I just love sitting out on our table with the umbrella with my cold drink and just reading my paper, magazines or just talking to friends and family out there. Enjoy your new deck, you deserve some rest and relaxion too.

Well guys hope you all have a good evening and talk to you later.
Love ya, Sassy Sharon

Hello all. It has been a very long time but you have always been in my thoughts.I have stayed away from the computer for almst a year only checking my mail every couple of weeks. You can imagine what that is like findng 300 pieces of junk and only a very few messages from real friends. but some of you have also kept me in your hearts and for that I am greatfull.
I decided in January that it was more important to breathe than to be thin so I quit smoking. So far so good. It has been 6 months and that cravings aren't quite as strong but they are still there. Only problem is that all of the weight that I lost is back and I am now right back at square one. It's kind scary because when I dieted before and wanted to eat I would light a cigarette instead. now I'm not sure what to do so I am back on the computer and keeping my hands busy. I have to get used to the new format. How do I put in a little picture next to my name?? it's really cute. I hope to get in touch with you all soon. Sharon I don't have your e-mail adress if you would send it to me. Chrissey would love to catch up with you too. Judy, hope that Cal is feeling better. Promise that I won't fade away so fast this time... Love, Julie

JULIE, JULIE, IS IT REALLY YOU? WELCOME BACK! Gosh, we sure did miss you. Can't tell you how great it is to hear from you. I guess we are in the same boat right now. I somehow managed to go back to square one too. Rats! I did get started again, but then Ken was on holidays for a week and now I have to start all over again. Maybe we can help each other along. So very good to have you back with us. Good Luck with the stopping smoking - you can do it! The little pictures under our names are called avatars. Just go into your profile, click on edit profile and at the bottom of the page, it will explain how to do it.

Sharon, your weekend sounds like it was a ton of fun. How do you manage to do wine tasting and end up losing weight too? And a TV star as well. That was quite a weekend. I know I owe you an email and I promise one very soon. It took me most of the day just to get caught up on all the laundry and housework (YUK!) that I took a vacation from last week. Thank you for your great email. It's always so good to hear from you.

Zoe, speaking of Chinese food, I just helped Ken clean up the leftover Chinese from dinner last night. It was our end of holiday dinner. So I know for sure I have some water weight hanging in there. That darned stuff is so good, but does cause some problems.

Angel, good for you getting all that exercise. That must be helping you for sure. You are doing so well. Good going!

Well, now that vacation is over, guess it's time to get back on track. We had a nice relaxing week and did manage to accomplish a few things as well. Got that tiling done in the kitchen, a new storage cabinet installed in the laundry room and a couple of other jobs that had been waiting for attention. Our weather is very cool and rainy today. Supposed to clear up by Wednesday. Good thing - we haven't had much of a summer yet - or should I say Spring. Well, summer is almost here on the calendar anyways. Hope you are all doing well. Take care everyone. Talk to you soon. Love, G

Just wanted to let you all know I'm back! The vacation was GREAT!!! I'll have to write soon and tell you all about it. It was a great surprise. One of my favorite parts was my niece and brother picking me up at the airport and my niece's first words were "You lost so much weight!!" Ah, yes!

Anyway, I'm back at the old grind and trying to figure out who did what at my desk and to my work and just found out that another girl in the dept. will be out for 4-5 weeks. They better hire a temp. for her or there's going to be "heck" to pay!

I lost 0.4 lbs at my weigh-in on Thur. night but threw caution to the wind over the weekend and ate whatever I wanted and really really really enjoyed myself. Got on the scale this AM and realized just how much I enjoyed myself!!! Not going to be pretty at the next weigh-in but I'll accept it and I'm back on track.

Have to go and dive into my in box now. Missed you guys!!!

Much love, Jo

P.S. Welcome back Julie!!!!

Julie Julie Julie! You sure are a great site for sore eyes. I can't tell you how happy I am that you are back. I have really missed you and you don't know how much I have though about you this past year. Quite a bit!

I had hoped that you would come back but when you were gone I just figured that you were busy with your wedding and than just working hard or just wasn't into it anymore. But I still hoped and was even thinking about giving you one of my famous calls just to see how you were and let you know that WHEN you were ready to come back you would be welcome with open arms by all of us Thinsters. You have been in our group almost right from the start too and we really had some good times together didn't we? Remember all those times on ICQ with your, myself, CJ, Gail, Sandi, Joanna, Carolyn/Chglenn and Chrissy? We had some pretty funny talks didn't we? I don't even go there anymore, and not sure if it even works anymore. I should go there though and try to see if I can get on. Maybe we can all go there again. (Anyone is welcome guys just join in and add us to your buddy list).

But I want to give you a big WELCOME BACK to you Jules!
How are you doing and how is Niles and your family. Well you are a Mrs now arn't you? How is married life going for you? I know you are just loving it. I think you said something before you got married about maybe sending Miss CJ a wedding picture. I would really love to see that if you could do that. I have never even seen a picture of you and would love to see one. You are indeed a great part of The Thin Group and I am so happy that you have joined us again. Don't worry we will all help you get where you want to be and you will be lots of help to all of us as well. I am still struggling and had lost over 42 lbs, but gained some back-like 12 lbs and have been working hard to get back to where I was before. But I am still down around 32 lbs so I will get where I was before and am doing well. I want to also congratulate you for quitting smoking too. That is a hard feat to accomplish and I am proud of you for sticking to your guns.

Gail-Hey there. I knew that you were just enjoying your holiday with your husband and I am so glad it went well and man did you ever get alot done around the house as well. Hey it's ok to let the housework and the laundry go when you are on vacation. You are entitled once in a while. Besides you had fun and that is the important thing in life. We deserve some time off from time to time because we work so hard all the time running the household. Glad you are back too and missed you a whole bunch.

Jello-Hey you are back from you trip too. Glad the vacation went great for you and I know that really lifted your spirits when they they all noticed that you had lost lots of weights. It makes it all worth it doesn't it? Not to worry about what you did over the weekend. You enjoyed yourself right? So just get right back on track and don't look back. I always figured if I enjoyed myself it was worth my gain. I refuse to live life deprived of anything I really want.

Oh yes Julie you had asked for my email address. It has changed and a few months ago we crashed and I lost all my email addresses so could you let me know or send me yours as well so I can email you again? Thanks!

Here is mine for you Jules and anyone else who would like it!

[email protected]

Well guys time to get off here. I am going to the Olive Garden in Indianapolis tonight with my daughter and one of my friends. Gosh. being Italian I sure love Italian food. Just gonna have fun and try not to overdo. But you can bet I am gonna have some pasta.

Love you guys, Sassy Sharon

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Just great to come on here and find some nice posts to read. I tell you - it really made my day yesterday to see Julie back with us again.

Julie, we have all missed you so much. It is just super that you are back. I was wondering about that wedding picture also. Would just love to see it. How is Niles and the family doing? Hope all is well with you.

Sharon, have fun at the Olive Garden today! We are finally getting an Olive Garden not too far away from us. Can't wait for them to finish building it. Could you tell me how Italians stay fit? All that wonderful pasta and good food - they must have good metabolisms huh? Hope you have a great time. You must feel a bit more laid back now that all of your company is gone back home. I don't know how you do it girl, but you do it so well.

Jo, terrific that you had such a great time on your visit home. It must have given you a real boost when people commented on your weight loss. Glad that all went well for you and you had such a good time.

Well, I feel back on track - so far today, anyways. It has stopped raining since earlier this morning and looks a bit brighter out there. Hopefully we will have some good weather soon. Have a great day everyone. Hope to hear from more of you Thinsters too. Talk to you soon. Love, G

Hey gals! I'm back from Dallas. I had a great trip. I had so many people to see. I lost 2 lbs too! I think it was because I spent most of my time talking instead of eating. Also I didn't have any time to sit around and get hungry. Plus I was still sick for half the week. Yuck!
I spent all day yesterday here trying to play catch up with the hundreds of e-mails I had waiting and I had a new pc sitting here for me to configure. All in all it's been a great week.

I haven't even had a chance to read the latest posts but I promise I will try to. A big howdy to everyone. It's good to be back.

Gina

Good morning all,
Boy this feels familiar. Sitting at the computer with a cup of coffee, kids in school and Niles at work. The only thing that's missing is my.... Wait while I get some gum. That's better.Gotta tell you that since I quit smoking I have become addicted to Eclipse gum. It has such a strong mint that it helped with the menthol cravings, and thankfully it's sugerfree.
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome back. I rejoined WW last week and I almost died when I got on the scale. But 1 pound at a time right???I am back to walking at night and Sharon I will post with you on the exercise thread so you won't be so lonely.
Let me catch you all up. For those of you who don't know me yet feel free to skip this part so you won't be bored. Niles and I are still married( haven't killed each other yet). Next month will actually be a year. Brian graduated from college last month. I would have never believed that we could get him through those 4 years. He is living in Mass. to establish residency. He wants to get his masters degree at Salem State. Very proud of that young man.
Nicole just had her junior prom and turns 18 on friday. Am I getting old?? And Sean is as weird and goofy as any other 15 year old. His hair has gone from blue to green to fire engine red in the last 3 months. Gbive me strength. That's my life folks.
Gail: Sounds like you are doing a lot of remodeling on your vacation time. Bet it looks great.
Jello: I bet you felt so proud of yourself.Was it a good vacation being home with the family??
Sharon: Can you go to Olive Garden and count points?? My downfall is anything in Alfredo Sauce. I am still on ICQ. Maybe we can all get together for a chat one night. Congrats on the 32 pounds.I will get down there again.
Gina: It's really great to lose weight while you are on vacation. Sounds like you had a better time with people than with food. Good For You.!!!
Well folks, actually should get something accomplished in the house on my day off. Talk to you all soon. Love, Julie

Good Morning Everyone! Where are you all?

Ginabob, nice to have you back. Sounds like you had a great time.

Well, yesterday didn't turn out so well - I got a wicked headache that is still with me. Don't have a clue where these come from, but hoping it goes away soon. I had to cancel a day out with my daughter and grandaughter today. Hopefully will be fit for it tomorrow.

I really hope more of you will post soon. This board gets way too quiet sometimes. Have a good day and talk to you soon. Love, G

[B]HELLO!
tHIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT i HAVE TYPED IN THIS FORUM. i WAS REALLY LOOKING FOR SOMEONE THAT i COULD TALKE TO OR CHAT WITH. i GUESS THIS WILL DUE. I WOULD LOVE TO BE SLIM. I HAVE ALWAYS BATTLED BEING OVER HOWEVER, AS i HAVE GOTTEN OLDER AND OLDER i HAVE SLOOOOOWED DOWN AND PUT ONNNNNN MORE WEIGHT. I HAVE TRIED 1000 DIETS AND I AM REALLY TO TRY NOT ONLY DIETING BUT USING A SUPPORT GROUP ON THE INTERNET. SOMETHING HAS TO WORK. I AM DESPERATE. I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE NICE NOT TO HURT EVERY TIME THAT I WALK OR STAND. SO THIS IS THE FIRST DAY IN THE BEGINNING OF MY NEW LIFE TO WAGE WAR ON MY BODY. I SUCCESSFULY GAVE UP SMOKING A FEW YEARS AGO AFTER SMOKING 26 YEARS. I KNOW THAT I CAN DO THIS! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM SOME ONE SINCE I REALLY DO NOT HAVE ANY ONE AS A SUPPORT PARTNER. I WILL CHECK BACK TOMMORROW. TODAY, I AM GOING TO GET A NEW SET OF SCALES SO THAT I CAN WEIGHT MYSELF AND GRAPH MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS SE

Hi all! Just a quick "snuck in" post between disasters here. The boss is in one of his "moods" so I'd best be quick.

Slim Gram: Welcome!!! If you're looking for support, you'll find lots of it here. I always do. Sometimes just reading this forum helps me sooooo much! Come here anytime for support, laughs, a shoulder, love, and anything else you might want.

Judy, I'm still thinking about you, my friend. {{{JUDY AND CAL}}} Hope to hear from you soon.

Julie, proud of you for going back to WW. I did the same thing last summer. (Yikes! It's been a whole year already!?!?) That first step is always the toughest but you did it! It's all easy now, right?

Well I know I was going to give you all sorts of details about my trip but it'll have to wait for another time. As I said, I can't get caught doing this while I should be working or it could get ugly around here.

Hope you're all having a good one!
Much love, Jo.