HI GALS ~

Angie is at yoga class and knucklehead nephew is over at my ex-wife's house for dinner. Just me and these barking dogs! everyone in the neighborhood with dogs are walking by my house...mine have to visit with all of them!

I have had a few slow days here at work but am back at it hard tomorrow.

I have been doing amazing, for me, with my drinking and eating! I am at 170 for the second day in a row this morning. That makes 9 straight days at 171 or less! Without going back to look, I think I have had 2 beers in the last 11 days and 10 in the 30 days prior to that....outstanding for me!

I am drinking a boatload each day of Coke 0 and Crystal Light though! Up all night if you know what I mean ....at least I am burning off calories at night too!

TACKLENURSE ~Good job on that one pound loss! Have fun with those water aerobics.

AUNT SUE ~Good to hear from you! Glad you are having a great summer...camping? Hot tubs! You go girl!! See you when you get home!

BEFFIE ~Have fun getting that avatar!

SCOOTER ~I hope that heat and humidity eases for you soon! Get those weeds pulled? Yeah I noticed when I visited my mom in Illinois a few times before she passed away and when Angie and I built a house in Washington a few years ago...NO DOG PARKS! I guess just because there is so much open land. It is hard to get land here where we can chain link fence a good section off, but where they do the dogs have so much fun running around!

SHY ~Still have company?

RONNI ~Oh don't you just hate when you lose a post like that! happens to be sometimes! Sometimes if I have a real long one, trying to catch up when I have been out of town, I will send it about half way...then cont. it on another post. I hope the heat and humidity eases for you too. Luck for those boys as they start school!

ELIZABETH ~ Was it Cherry Garcia? That was my "problem" about 11 years ago!! I got addicted to it!

WILMA ~ You and I would make great walking partners! We could about our kids "ditching" us That is cool on your 40th at church. We just had our 25th for our "new" sanctuary. Our church "started" in 1960 and the first building, now our meeting hall that is about to be torn down, was built in 1961. Our Pastor has been here since 1969, almost 40 years!

ROSEBUD ~ How's your dad and DH doing in this heat with the building? I hope it cools for you soon and you get that cooling rain! Keep an eye on those trees

WELL HI TO ALL THE MIA'S!

A quick fly-by. Church meetings most of the night. Church politics are always "fun". As lay-leader, my role is pretty defined and I end up doing a lot of counseling and peace-making. But, this is where God has called me to be, so ...

You are all in my prayers! I am doing well -trying to keep life "balanced" and my weight is holding at 129.2

Blessings to all - I will catch up tomorrow.

Laurie ( mama)

Well we finally got some rain yesterday and all through the night, so I'm sure our trees, bushes, and gardens are doing better. By this morning the sun was back and we had a warmer day in the 80's. Just did stuff around here: laundry, mending, cooking, and housecleaning as needed.

YES, GARY ~ I am certainly keeping an eye on the trees from now on; I have been doing the trimming lately, while DH works on the foundation. My Dad will be back in September to see how DH is doing and help him start the floor; he helped him start the foundation before he went back home. DH should be ready for the next phase by the time my Dad gets here in the fall. He has had a few problems, but has ironed them out pretty well. Thanks for asking ...

COUNTING ~ I'm sure you are right where GOD/Lord wants you; remember, blessed are the peacemakers; and every church needs some of those.

TACKLENURSE ~ Hey, one pound is one pound: it all counts and so do the inches as they peel off too. Hope you are keeping track of them.

HELLO TO SUE and SHY (nice to see you too drop in again); and BEFFIE and IAMINSPIRED; and RONNIE (DH was kinda sheepish about it; sorry about it) ... and HELLO to all our other friends here too!!!

Well I'm pretty exhausted from all the walking I did today and tonight it is hot and muggy, so I'm off to bed as I'm nodding as I type ~ LOL! Take care and have a great week everyone: your fellow encourager ROSEBUD ^^PRAYERS^^ continue for all ...

Dropping by to say "Hi!" Hope everyone is having a great day!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having fabulous days!

We got a little rain around here yesterday....very little....but the good news is....I walked anyway! In the rain! The Lord is so good...I was getting that, maybe if I just roll over and go back to sleep feeling, it will be okay to skip a day....and then, the Holy Spirit just said, NOPE! You are going walking. And it felt so nice walking in the rain.

I'm so used to using whatever excuse is handy.

But not this time!



Anyway, I hope you guys have a successful day! Keep up the good work everyone!

Rosebud~ Thank you for the prayers. Fortuantly they didnt get caught in that scam. My dad had been laid off work for over a year now. They Lord has blessed us though because he is going back to work!

Stacey~ Welcome! This is a wonderful place to be and I think you will find yourself right at home here.

Wilma~ So glad that your kids made it saflely. Thank you for your prayers.

I Am Inspired~ Try not to get too discouraged. Weight loss is not easy. If it were none of us would be in this situation. Just keep your head up and keep trying. It will happen

Laurie~ Your prayers are greatly appreciated. Glad to see you stayed OP over the weekend.

Ronni~ I have done that before and i was so MAD. Thank you for he prayers. Good luck to your son and football. It can be brutal. Sounds like he is really excited and prolly very dedicated too.

Tacklenurse~ Congrats on the loss. Any loss is better than a gain!

Gary~ Thank you for the prayers. You are doing great w/your drinking. WOOHOO!!!

Beffie~ Great job on actually getting up and walking. In the rain even. Thats awesome

Hello Everyone. This have been very hectic around here, but all of you are in my prayers. Thank you to everyone who sent up prayers for my family. Things are starting to look up a little bit. My dad had been laid off for over a year. Construction in our area isnt such a hot job right now. Thankfully he is going back to work. Things are still way behind, but i am so thankful that the Lord has blessed us and answered our prayers. Ive successfully lost all that pesky vacation gain. This weekend my niece and nephew are coming! I am so excited. I havent seen them in a month and a month is a long time when they are this little and getting bigger by the day. My wonderful boyfriend is going to try and help me financially so i can go back to school. He knows how much it means to me and wants me to be successful. Though im going to wait on him giving me any money cause he might get laid off in September. Man this economy is just ugly. Happy Thursday. Hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

Beffie, WTG on getting that walk in! Good for you!

CandyKisses, Sounds like things are looking up for you and your family. Thanks for your encouragement. You're right, too. It isn't easy and I've just got to stick with it. (I'm used to giving up too easily.) I've found a few challenge threads that I've gotten involved with and am signed up for the new biggest loser challenge here on the board, so that should help keep me motivated. I'm tired of having a pity parties for myself. Time to make it happen! (Lord willing, of course!!!)

Hi all - just checking in. Rosebud - congrats on all of that walking. It is really hard when it is muggy. But, I'm sure the plants were happy to get the rain.

beffle - Great attitude! I laugh when I get caught in the rain - I'm actually pretty water resistant - it never hurts me at all - so why do I dread it? So silly!

Courtney - thanks for sharing your good news! We will continue to keep you in our prayers. With your positive attitude - I KNOW your family is blessed. Congrats on losing the vacation weight too

Inspired - so glad you got in on the next BL challenge. I did 3 of them and they really did help me stay motivated. The mini-challenges were fun, and being part of a team kept me going - I didn't want to hurt my team with my weigh-in.

Hi to everyone else.
I'm doing great - weight is still 129 Work is going well and God did DEFINITELY want me at that meeting last night. The pastor kept me after the meeting and we talked about some of the "stuff" that is going on, I think I helped him come to some decisions on how to handle certain situations. Church politics can be ever-so challenging.

Prayers ascending - I'm blessed to have each of you in my life

Just dropping by ... looks like everyone is doing well! It has been a good week for me - weighed in on Monday as usual and was down 2 lbs.

Rosebud - you are north-east of me? Nice to see a fellow Ontarian (that right??)

Welcome to all the newbies (at least newer than me ).

My goal for August: I am feeding my body better food, now I need to nourish my soul and become more faithful with the Bible reading and prayer.

I pray God will bless you all and help you to reach your healthy weights and maintain your healthy weights!

Have a good day tomorrow! Shari

HI EVERYONE ~ We had a nice day today; stayed home and waited for the real estate to bring a couple around who are interested in buying the building we live in; they sounded pretty interested to me: but we'll see. I have been praying that someone will buy it that really cares about the place and the tenants.

DH is a sweety; he fixed the deck yesterday that had three holes in it, but it was getting too dangerous to leave that way; and today he fixed the taps in our kitchen which had a bad leak in it. Our landlord is quite negligent these days in fixing things; just collects the $$$ and closes her ears! So that's why we have been praying so hard about this. DH did double charity this month: repairs for free; may GOD bless him in return ...

COURTNEY ~ what wonderful answers to prayer; you and your family were on my mind so much: was praying that GOD would fix their issues so that they could keep their home; and that He would find a way for you to go to school thru some other source, if need be ... So PTL! GOD just keeps coming through for people again and again. Yah, our town has suffered some major layoffs in the last year or so too; some are now back, but others are having to sell their homes for the same reason. I have been praying for them too; that GOD will help them find work elsewhere.

COUNTING ~ thanks; and we went out to the lot yesterday and DH did fab; has the foundation 3/4's done now, and I walked around the track loop 3 x times yesterday: I'm getting better. The weather was nice and cool. We had a small sprinkle mid-afternoon but that just gave DH a nice break.

SHARI ~ yes, I live in Northeastern Ontario; on that 2 lb loss!!! After thirty posts, you can have a ticker at the bottom of your post to keep track of your losses. May I ask why you are 'SCARI' Shari; that's an interesting moniker??? Love that kitty pic!

BEFFIE ~ I think walking in the rain is kinda fun; DH has an aversion to it now that he's older, but I actually like it too. I just put on a long coat with a hood I have, and away I go; I take our pooch NIKO with me and he loves it.

IAMINSPIRED ~ As I mentioned to someone else a while back ... This isn't a sprint for a day, it's a marathon for life! I've hit some stalls and plateaus, but always keep losin' something; remember, inches and sizes are NSV's (non-scale victories) that count just as much as the pounds do: and they all work together for a healthier YOU!

HELLO TO ALL OUR OTHER FRIENDS AND MIA'S ~ hope all is well with you ...

We had lovely weather today; sunny with mid 70F temps and a lovely breeze so I put out a bedspread on the line; perfect weather for doing bedding and cutting the grass too. Stayed well on plan today; and I'm glad for that. Have a great weekend everybody; your fellow encourager ROSEBUD ^^PRAYERS^^ continue for you all ...

Good Morning! It's a lazy Saturday morning here in Winnipeg. AND it's gorgeous outside. I am going to have my breakfast watching my favorite Saturday morning show and then I might go do some shopping. DH is at a men's breakfast at church and when he gets home we'll head over to his folk's new apartment and help them get stuff unpacked. They were a bit overwhelmed the past few days and any help we can give them to feel at home is good.

I went for a long walk last weekend and not much else during the week. I have been very busy at work and that means a lot of running around so I am getting some exercise there. I know I need to do more and now with it so beautiful outside I have no reason not to.

Rosebud: your hubby sounds like mine. Can't sit still if there's something to fix. Our big project this fall will be a new deck which he is going to try to do himself. I'm excited about it.

Shari: Super job on the 2 lbs. Keep up the good work.

Counting: You are doing great at maintaining your weight. I've been at this weight for over 2 years now. NOW, I need to get rid of the last 20 but feel so much better than I did 5 years ago!

Inspired: This place has been a big inspiration for my weight loss. I know I get great prayer and moral support here.

Candy: So glad your parents situation is improving a bit. It's hard to see family member struggle. What do you plan on taking when when you go back to school?

Beffie: Walking in the rain sounds so romantic doesn't it? Good on you for not giving up.

Gary: Way to go on that beer consumption! My uncle cured me from desiring the stuff when I was a teenager. He had been eating garlic sausage and having a beer after a long, hot day on the field (he was a farmer) and offered me a drink. The smell of both together turned me right off and I have never gone near either of them. I guess I should thank him shouldn't I? Way to go on maintaining your weight. You are an inspiration to me.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Hi everyone!

Checking in! I'm feeling pretty motivated, this has been a good week for me. Eating and exercise is going well!

I think I was so upset with myself last week because we went out of town for the weekend and I had every intention of staying on plan but there was food everywhere! Hubby wanted to stop at the Dairy Queen (loves, loves, loves his ice cream) and I gave in. But I did pretty good at the family reunion picnic we went to (I stuck to eating fruit, veggies and meat) then the next day came around and I dove into the cookies and I can't even remember what else. And my scale thanked me for it. So I was pretty bummed (having just started out at seriously trying to lose this weight).

Thank you everyone for your encouragement. I know that I know that being here at 3FC has been an answer to prayer for me. So many of my weight-loss attempts have been alone without any support or encouragement and so many times I have just given up and decided that God wants me fat so fat I'll stay. But I have met so many beautiful people at 3FC that will take the time to cheer strangers on and share their ups and downs and just care. (I'm not used to that ... it's a little overwhelming ... but in a good way!) This place has been awesome for my motivation. I really feel like I can do this as long as I just keep coming back to share the journey with others on the same road to weight-loss. I'm so very thankful for this place!

Well, I hate to cut it short but I have to run for now. Have a great day!

I've been doing better on my diet past few days but yesterday I did have trouble again. After dinner I ate what should have been sufficient (was for my dh) but as usual I "wanted" more. The last few days I have been able to say no to myself but it was one of those times when I just HAD to eat more and before I even thought about it I was in the kitchen grabbing a can of chicken, mayo and crackers! I love Costco's Kirkland canned chicken on crackers. 2 oz is only 60 cal ...doesn't sound bad but add mayo and the crackers and multiple servings...yes that's more than one serving, several in fact and you've got a lot of calories! Totally ruins my good eating day!!

After I ate it all I was thinking...why did I do that...but at the time it was like I couldn't NOT do it ...I just had to eat! I was thinking about this later (when my head cleared)...I think that desparate feeling of "having" to eat is a cue to me that that's when I definitely should NOT eat! It means I'm out of control and need to get my mind straight.

I realize now that I should have taken that as my cue and gone back to my bedroom and feasted on God's word instead. I've done that in the past and God's Word says that with every temptation there is a way out. And I remember a brief moment before I got up to grab everything to make my snack, I had a thought that I should not do this. I know that was my way out...I should have gone in the other direction right then!

I think God is giving me some insight into my behaviors and how to prevent these type situations. Now if I will just listen and take the necessary steps of obedience.

I did manage to lose a pound this week despite this but it's a pound I've lost and regained many times. I really want to stop back-tracking and actually lose weight for good.

God has shown me that this weight-loss journey is about much more than just me losing weight, looking better, feeling better and being more healthy...that's all wonderful, but this is about me learning to be obedient to Him and allowing His spirit to live through me and His spirit is disciplined, not a glutton. Don't get me wrong...I am not down on myself...I know God loves me and forgives me, but I want to better represent Him in my life by getting the victory over my eating. Nothing should control us but God.

Please remember me in prayer.

Shari - glad to see you back again!

Rosebud - I will keep your housing situation in my prayers!

Wilma - maintaining is a wonderful accomplishment! I'm know you will get the last few lbs. off soon.

Inspired - I loved your post. I can't remember how many times I said the same thing. If God wanted me to lose weight, he would give me the tools to do it. I was faithful in so many other areas of my life...
And - I agree - finding 3FC really, really helps. Finding other Christian folk - particularly all of the encouragers here - makes a difference! It sure helps me stay focused on what is important, what my priorities are - and put food in its rightful place!

Mary - you are in my prayers! I have been in your shoes many, many times. That food just calls and there is an invisible force that you can't stop even if you try. It does get better and easier, and of course you do have the right answer to the dilemma - it is a control issue and that nasty old Enemy DOES know what our weaknesses are and take advantage at every opportunity.


Having a good weekend - getting some things done that need doing.

Blessings to all - and prayers ascending!

Laurie

Hi all! Just dropping by for a bit.

In answer to a question - ScaryShari is a paintball nickname I was given. I love to play paintball, but I also like to fire off a lot (just in case ). I was the only girl at the time, so I couldn't miss!

This upcoming weigh-in could be tricky - I am trying not to lose focus, but I have had a very hungry week. I am paying for it to - feeling very bloated.

The chocolate craving is trying to defeat me at the moment - good thing I live so far from a store!

Anyway ... take care everyone and God bless!
Shari