Hi Everyone,

Just popping in to wish Dahlia a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY My wish for you is that you have the very best of days and get every thing you want for your special day. Don't have any guilt about what you eat at the party, just enjoy the treat and the company of good friends then get back on plan tomorrow!

Pam, I hope Mackenzie has a happy birthday too. And that her whole family and you enjoy her day with her!

I haven't been posting because I haven't been feeling well, I don't know if it was just a cold or some type of flu. But I am feeling better now. We got up this morning to an ice storm. Actually it has been a mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain over the last couple of days. Last night we even had thunder and lightning! At least the temperature was a little better for a while, but now it is clearing and the temperature is going down again! I hope it doesn't go too far!

I haven't been exercising much for the last couple of weeks, but today I decided to get back with the program so after church I walked on the treadmill. I did a mile and a half. And I am doing well with my eating. I hope that pesky scale will finally get moving - I think it is stuck in place

Hi to Terry, Karie, Cat and anyone else I missed I hope everyone has an op day tomorrow. Goodnight all!

Good morning ladies,
Just wanted to say Grandma G..glad you are feeling better. There has been a flu going around here too.. nasty things. But good to know you are back on the road to health and fitness. You do so well on your treadmill...do you do anything while you are walking on it, like music or tv?

Even with all the goodies I ate yesterday I woke up to a 2 pound loss.. so I am all revved up to get under way with my plan again.
We are taking our son for his final check up out of town today, then he plans on heading back to his own place tomorrow.. good and bad... I will miss him, but glad he is well enough to get on with his life.

Pam. that is so neat, your niece and I share a birthday. Hope her's was as much fun as mine was..did she get to eat her cake and ice cream herself...? my grandson who is just 1 loves to feed himself.. he gets so full of it .it is precious..

Well, have to get ready to leave. Hope everyone has a great OP day and will check in this evening.

Dahlia
thanks for all the birthday wishes...

Grandma..so glad you are feeling better and nice to have you back i was a naughty cat last week and missed 3 treadmill sessions but i've done 4 miles the last 2 days to make up for it a bit
Dahlia..Congratulations on the 2lbs loss
I'm just gonna stack some firewood and make hubby's brekky so i'll keep this short..will pop back later to see how you are all doing

A quick one to say hello and then I have to race around the house at warp speed because I have spent way too much time on the computer and EBay this morning. I can't believe it is noon and I have so much to do including some store work that I took home.

Yikes!

Dahlia, so happy to hear that you had a wonderful birthday tea and a 2 pound loss -- what a birthday present that was!!! And, what great motivation to begin your week.

Hey Grandma! So sorry to hear that you were not feeling well, but glad that you are on the mend. There are so many nasty little bugs going around all over. You must be feeling better if you treadmilled! Lots of TLC so you don't relapse because some of those bugs are persistant little critters and just don't want to go away.

Morning, Cathy! Just how much firewood do you stack -- sounds like cords and cords -- or are you just restacking the same cord to get all the activity points that you can?! Teach that hubby of yours to cook his own breakfast! Only kidding of course ....

Well, I had better get organized if anything is going to be accomplished today. I'll be back later as well.

Take care ladies!

Terry

Hi everyone! I have been away, but have been able to lurk from time to time. All this talk of babies! How wonderful!

Interviews went well...now the waiting game begins. I actually broke down and cried to my boss today at work because I have NOTHING to do. I told him how guilty I feel. We brainstormed a few things for me to do, but I am not going to lie - it is busy work.

And - TA-DA! I was holding strong for a few weeks with no loss, and then out of nowhere I finally dropped a few pounds! Lowest I have weighed to date: 176.5!!!!

Pam - hope your FIL and friend are doing better!

Oh, my goodness...there are so many posts to catch up to, and no time! I have to get to the bank before it closes.

I promise to check in more frequently. It is TOO hard to catch up!

Another day, another dollar as they say ......

Worked like the dickens yesterday cleaning this house and I peeked at the scale and it looks like it is slowly moving down. Official weigh-in isn't until Friday. I knew I was getting some activity points in yesterday because I was like a human whirlwind racing through the house . Today I have tons of store work to get done because I didn't touch anything yesterday.

Stayed OP with food too but it was a struggle. I was hungry at 8pm last night and bypassed the cupcakes and had some fat free saltines. Believe me, not the same!

Hey, Meig, good to see you again! Excellent job on the weight loss -- doesn't it feel good to know that you are accomplishing your goal? Sorry to hear that work is not going well. I wish you much success on your job search though, and I'll keep fingers and toes crossed for ya.

Cathy, Pam, Grandma and Dahlia -- good morning!

OK, off to get cup of coffee #2 ... have a great day!

Terry

good morning!

Terry - thanks for the kind thoughts. It is nice to finally have a way of eating work after all that I have been thru!

It is COLD here today. It makes the walk to the bus miserable. Anyway, I still have some busy-work to do at work, so I am actually in a good mood for a change!

Need to grab a hot cup of coffee and go!

Hi to Pam, Grandma G, Dahlia, & Cathy

Talk to you later!
M

Good Morning All,

Girls I'm so sad and frustrated today and just feeling yuck! FIL went back into the hospital at 9:00 p.m. last night...he was so blue and said he was so cold. His breathing was very laboured again and his heartbeat was irregular. At least they kept in this time. We had a bit of a go around with Homecare yesterday because his blood sugar levels were so high again and they wanted us to tell them what to do! My DH said "I'm not in the medical profession, you are, you decide!" I just get so frustrated with them. I know they are trying to help but there answer is to take him to ER and we said we've taken him twice already and they just send him home. Hopefully G-d will do what he needs to do. DH had to have the do not resucitate conversation with the Doctor again last night. There were no phone calls so at least we're comforted by that fact. DH will be going in soon to see how he's doing. I just get so sad.

Sorry to be such a bummer. I'll pop back in when I'm a bit happier.

Love you guys,

Pam

Pam, I know it's frustrating, but you and Erwin are doing everything right with your FIL. Sometimes we need to hang tough with the doctors because we know our loved ones better than they do and we know what is "normal" for them and what isn't. If they kept him overnight then perhaps this morning you will have a better feel about what is going on with him and then you can proceed from there. Take it one day and one decision at a time. I know it's not easy, and you do need to talk about your feelings -- we are here for you because it's more than a weight loss thread. If you keep everything bottled up, you won't be any good to your FIL, yourself or Erwin either. Let us know how he is today. Hugs ...

Meig, you sound so much perkier and that's a great way to start your day. What type of "diet" plan are you following -- I've been gone so long from this board, that I need to catch up! I have a friend from another board (Pam, Nancy) that works at the Merc in Chicago -- she's complaining about the cold too!

Grandma, feeling better today??

OK, Dahlia and Cathy - up and at'em!

Time to start my filing -- oh joy.

Always, Terry

I'm Here...just 'fed' hubby he will be out the door soon so its 'my' time then he came up with another load of firewood in the truck last night and the wheelbarrow so i can run over to the house with it thoughtful is'nt he? at least i'm getting plenty of exercise! Terry..no..it is'nt the same cord that i'm re-stacking..cheeky and hardly any of it is for burning now its this winters stock! Firewood..firewood everywhere but not a stick to burn!!! I took some pictures of it yesterday to show you what i have to do around here..but the program kept crashing...btw..i scored 43 on the test..i thought "uh-oh..what a lousy score" thinking that the higher the number the better..glad i was wrong.
Pam..what a mess..how can they treat your FIL like that? shuttling him around..he does'nt sound well at all..poor man..i hope you have better news today i was watching the news last night and they are changing the Pharmacare system which will make it even worse for old people to afford their medications, it makes me sick.
Meg..congrats on the weightloss..i'm glad that Atkins is working for you.

Think i'll change my name to 'firewood queen' i've just took a pic of the firewood outside the house..i've already put about 2 cords under the sundeck as you can see hubby keeps me busy..that wheelbarrow and my little legs will be busy this afternoon

Cat, you bring new meaning to the word "stacked" - now please don't tell me you cut all that yourself too????!

Good morning ladies,

I have to ask you all a guestion.. and see if I am alone in how I feel. In our family, we always remember birthdays, have parties, etc. and I always make sure I remember my children, including their wives... in fact this past year I even sent a package all the way to Okinawa for my dil'b b/d as she is in the marines and stationed there right now... and my other married son, well I am always babysitting for them, and doing little things to help out, giving them things I know they need etc. you know the usual mother stuff we do.. Well dh had a b/d the first of feb. and son #3 called me to go shopping and in on a gift with him for his dad..so I did.. well as you know my b/d was last sunday.. and I invited them over for cake and ice cream, I love to watch my 1 yr. old grandson eat that.. he loves it so much..anyway. they come over and as I am picking up behind the little ones, I find a b/d card sitting on the table by the door... I received nothing from them and they didn't even hand me the card... I feel so insulted and hurt that they seem to care so little for my feelings... and my son #2, with the wife in OKI.. all I got from him was a phone call on sunday after his father reminded him on sat. How would you ladies feel..?
NOw on their birthdays, they will be expecting the usual card and gift... is it me or is this not right? My other 3 sons cannot believe their brothers slighted me so badly.. we can't figure it out.

well, off to work, you ladies all have an op day.. it is 9 degrees here and cold... but the sun is coming out so it will be warm in the greenhouse..

Dahlia
we are doing double petunias today,, we got our pansies all planted, so their cute little faces can appear anytime now..

I am freezing too this morning, Dahlia -- can I come and plant with you in your nice warm greenhouse?! Time to crank up the thermostat I think!

I have two children entirely different -- one I call the "Queen of Cards" because she always remembers to send cards for every occasion and always writes thank you notes. Now, the other is my son, and granted he's only 17, and still in training, but I have to remind him all the time to write that thank you note or remember a birthday.

IMHO, I wouldn't stress too much about it as long as you are secure in their love and affection. You can always say something to them -- are they the type that would take it, or are they the type that would hold it against you? And, is it worth rocking the boat so to speak?

I must admit I stopped sending presents to my best friend's married daughter and her child because she never acknowledges anything -- I never see them either so I can afford to "rock the boat" in this situation!

I know where you are coming from though, and I have felt the same way when Chris "forgets." That old adage to "pick your battles" wisely comes to mind -- good luck on your decision.

It seems to me as an "outsider" that you have a great family -- too bad we can't mold our kids to our liking. Boy, would we moms have a field day if we could. And, if we had the power to do that -- look out, husbands.

I hope what I said comes across in a positive light because I meant it as such ....

I wonder how Pam's FIL is??

Tired today and no energy to do much of anything -- unfortunately, I need to push myself because I need to get caught up on store work because I go back to work Monday and want this all finisehd by then.

Yikes! I "snacked" on cold pasta last night -- not much but I didn't have any points left. I did get in a two mile WATP tape. Oh well, another day today!

OK, everyone, have a wonderful "hump day" -- the weekend's almost here!

Terry

Good morning ladies,

Dahlia, I understand your feelings but agree with Terry about whether or not it's even worth saying anything. I don't blame you a bit for feeling taken advantage of as I'd feel the same way. Perhaps just send a card this year and not a present? Just my opinion. I know you'll do what you feel is best.

Terry, good job on the WATP tape. You are doing so well. I am so proud of you.

My FIL is doing better although they did admit him yesterday (after he'd been in ER for 17 hours) but at least he's where he'll be monitored. They haven't ruled out a heart attack yet but they are stumped as to what is the problem. His lungs sound clear yet his breathing sounds so terrible. He's also agitated and confused which isn't helping matters either. Hopefully today he'll be more settled.

Life in general otherwise is going alright. I've been good with food since Monday so I'm happy...am on schedule with my workout ..got my homework done last night so am on track this week for a change. Year end is looming here soon for work and those of you who have been posting here awhile know how crazy that makes me

I'll check back in later...Hi to Cathy...holy smokes girls that is a lot of wood! Definite workout there!

Grandma G, Karie, Meigg, and all others a big Hi to you and hopes that things are going well.

Pam