Hey, Alice so nice to hear from you!! Going to Europe is something to look forward too. Good for you and Lacee on doing a half hour everyday. How is the little dear??? Post a pic of her sometime. I would love to see her.

Well, I am back ON again. Did anyone see Seth Roberts on CNN talking about the "Shangrila Diet"? It looks painless...I am going to try it, I ordered the book this morning and am going to do it as well as calorie count. I spent some time 'googling' it this morning. His thing is that everyone's body has a set point it wants to weigh...so you have to trick your body in regards to its set point. How he did it was by a T. of oil and T. of sugar (fructose) and then he explains how it works and his theory behind. It kills the desire to eat more. My DH is an engineer and when he listened to him explain it he said it was very reasonable why it would work (and he knows nothing about dieting at all....but from an engineering perspective he could see that it would work) Roberts just figured it out after years of being on every diet, he lost 30 pounds and his friends all lost on it too. So I will let you know how that goes.

Ledom, you have done so well on your diet...don't be giving yourself a hard time. I think you have the key right there ...."sincere"... commitment and re-determination. Thats my problem I haven't been sincere enough about doing it...sincerity I think would mean a bit longer than two weeks and that is my limit. I am always "thinking" about weight loss but not doing anything about it. So I am going to start there...at the "sincere" part.

Hi LaDean...you and Beau do so well together...walking all the time. You are a real team. Me and Marley are a team too, we are always together but usually it is on the couch. That's OK we can improve.

I just reread "Letter from Peking" by Pearl Buck. If anyone wants a quick nice read that will make you feel good it is a good one. It was published in the fifties. I read a lot of Pearl Buck when I was in my twenties. Her and Willa Cather both leave me feeling the world is a good place.

Alice, I wish I could send you some of our rain. We are having an unusual sunny break though this week.

Enjoy the week everyone!

Hi everyone,

Did not walk yesterday, as I met a friend, who is also a former neighbor where I lived in NH, for breakfast. She & her DH have a summer cottage on the street where I used to live and she and her DH winter in the same city where we live here in FL. We meet every other week. I did get my walk in today, sans Lacee. She overslept. I keep telling her when she snoozes, she loses.

LaDean, glad to see that you and Beau are walking together. He must look really cute in his sweater. Lacee loves to walk too. She's so funny because she usually knows when I'm putting on my sneakers and starts prancing. I have to go around 7:00 am because by 8:00 am it's quite a bit hotter. Pretty soon in the summer I'll have to go even earlier. You're coming right along with your weight loss. Are you still doing Atkins?

judi, I've seen the Shangrila diet book in the book store, but never picked it up. Let us know how you like it. I just bought a book off of Amazon called The Rules of Normal Eating. I haven't read Pearl Buck in years. I read one of her books in my late teens/early 20's, but can't remember which one it was. I would love it if you would send some of your rain our way. We do have a water ban on, where you can only water your lawns on Tues. & Sun. If you have a well, there is no problem, but we are on city water.

ledom, how is your week going so far with your eating plan? You will definitely get to where you want to be, just keep hanging in there. Your trip sounds like it will be really fun.

Enjoy your day everyone.

Morning-Well you two will have to give book reviews when you finish your books. I am still enamored of the Winning by Losing book. I have also subscribed to Jillian Michaels daily newsletter which sends a little diet tip each day. It is sometimes just the reminder I need.

I have had a really good diet week and if I don't screw it up today I will have a 3 lb. loss for the week. It's about time as I haven't had a loss in the last month I don't think. It is so odd how you just rock along and then a lb or two seems to make all the difference. While not securely a size 16/XL, they are fitting more and more. Last night DD came over for a shopping trip and I tried on several pair of size 16 pants that fit. I am overwhelmed by being on the brink of moving into normal sizes. It just makes me so happy.

I have a camping/paddling trip planned this weekend. If it doesn't rain too much and river doesn't go to high I'll be heading to the north part of the state. I am looking to forward to blowing some cobwebs out of my stuffy and studious brain.

Happy Monday Morning all. Well, I ended up at home this weekend as the weather was uncooperative for the paddling trip. Maybe next weekend. Still it was a nice weekend. I was able to hike and I kept to my eating plan.

I have packed up 3 boxes of clothes that are too big for me. I have had them sorted out for a while now, though I keep adding to the pile. I didn't know exactly what to do with them as I thought I'd rather give them away than try to sell them or leave them with the thrift shop. So I finally found someone who wants them. Ye gads, this suprised me by turning out to be kind of emotional. I am overjoyed to have outgrown them, happy to find a place where they can be used, but weirded out by thoughts of what if I need them again? And all this knowing, I can never go back.

This is the last week of school. Yippeee!! Just a couple more days of kind of intense grading and I can move on to my summer. I am playing around with my workouts. For the last little while I have not been doing as much strength training but I have stepped up the hiking. This is the golden time of year when the days are long enough to get in an evening hike and it still hasn't turned into an inferno. I have been doing a pretty strenuous 3 mile hike each evening on a local mountain trail. It really seems to have kicked my weight loss up a notch. I will continue this as long as the weather cooperates and perhaps I will even be able to condition myself so the heat won't be such an issue. We'll see. Sometime mid-week or maybe early next week I plan to add weights back but with a different routine. For the next 2 months my goal is to lose that potential of 10 lbs. a month. For the moment (knock on wood), food seems to be under control.

...and as of this morning I am within 5 lbs. of 199. You know that is going to be a day with lots of dancing carrots.

Hey Ladies - You still out there?!? I have been missing hearing from you.

I am pretty good though mildly freaking out over a drs. visit. Apparently my thyroid reads 0.0. Not good I guess. I can't find any symptoms and this is out of left field. I am having a scan or something this week - I still am not clear exactly what but it involves two mornings in a clinic and no food after midnight. I am trying not to panic! So, I don't think I am a hypochondriac, more of a weinie I guess.

On other fronts, my vacation officially starts today. I brought home a bunch of annuals to plant in my flower garden and plan to work outside today - after I do my indoor workout that is!

OK, this is my third post in a row - someone else's turn.

Hi, so sorry i have not been on. just no excuse. ha so glad all is going ok your way ledom and that your getting rid of the bigger clothes. your doing so good. hope the scan goes ok and all. thinking of you in prayers. things like this make me nervous to. oh so glad your on vacation... you go girl.. Have a nice MOTHERS DAY also.. i had it with the son and family today. and got gifts from d also. tomorrow hubby is getting pizza and i will get a dq blizzard. as this is my day. allowing for. has been awhile since d and i have had any thing like this. so we are splurging. ha ha have a nice day all of you. LaDean

Good morning and a Happy Mother's Day to you all!

ledom, hope everything turns out ok with your scan, I'll keep you in my prayers. That's wonderful you're giving your bigger clothes away. A few years ago when I was going to WW meetings, our leader told us to do exactly that. Reaching 199 will be cause for celebration.

LaDean, it sounds like you have a fun day planned today, so enjoy every minute.

Hi judi, did you get the Shangrila diet book yet? If so, how do you like it?

Have a great day everyone.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL OF YOU....
aleka,, Yes have a fun day planned. yesterday son and family were here so a fun day to.. nice and sunny this am so that helps to. gets me into summer mood. ha
i love our board and working together like this is fun. good luck this week to all of you.. trips sound so fun. i got one in june. can hardly wait.. LaDean

A happy belated Mother's Day to you girls as well. Mine was nice. DD came over and we took my M out for lunch. Then DD and I came home, curled up on my bed with the cats and had a great visit. It was perfect - I enjoyed our visit very much. When DD first came home she took my face in her hands and told me I was beautiful, no really...Can you think of a nicer gift? It made my day.

Anyway, back to the harsh realities today. I had my mamogram this a.m. I guess I should be embarrassed to admit it is the first I have ever had at the ripe age of 52. I hated it of course and, bless her heart, the technician told me if there is even anything the least bit questionable they'll want to do another or a ultrasound because they don't have a baseline to compare it to. I am so glad she warned me of that possibility. Thanks for your prayers girls, I haven't really been able to tell my Mom (don't want to worry her) or my friends because I know I am being too weird about it. I just want to get this week over with.

So, I am taking a break now. I have been working in my flower beds. I never seem to get around to it until school is out even though it is a little late. It'll still be nice, I just need to get everything set out. I am also clipping hedges and just generally cleaning up out there. Gotta take breaks though! :-)

So, this morning I weighed 201 1/2. I am getting so very close to my next goal!

Hi, so happy you had a good mothers day with your d. i had one to. I pray all will be ok with your mammogram. i am due for another one. another year passed. seems so fast. ha ha i am sure all will be ok with it. i had to have an untrasound after one and all was ok. just to be safe. its in my family. mother and sister both had it. so i do have that done yearly.. Oh so glad your in your flowers and yard. my hubby being retired does lots of it. so not much to do. i am now going to get some flowers for pots and put around. got the others set out he does. oh i love flowers. garden is coming up good to. work is ahead of us. ha have a great day to all of you.. LaDean

Happy Friday everyone!

On Tues. we got some much needed rain. It did help a little. DH & I have been watching the flooding in NH very closely. The very next town to where we used to live was shut down because they were afraid both dams were going to burst and they were evacuating people who live along the river.

ledom, how did your tests turn out this week? Hope everything came out ok. It sounds like you had a really good Mother's Day with your DD. Glad that you had such a great day.

LaDean, are you and Beau still walking? There have been a few mornings where Lacee has overslept, but she learned her lesson. Now she gets up and keeps an eye on me.

judi, how is the Shangrila Diet coming along?

Have a great weekend, ladies

Oh my Alice - I have been hearing about all that rain. Sometimes you just wish you could divide the rain between those that have too much and those that need some.

Thanks for asking about the tests. I don't know yet. I guess I won't until Monday. They did the thyroid one yesterday. I am on pin and needles waiting to hear but the radiologist has to read the test and then send it to my Dr. and the technicians told me either today or Monday.

I am on my way out of town this morning. I am heading to the north part of the state for a kayaking clinic on moving water. I am looking forward to it, will get to see some old friends I don't see often.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Ledom I am praying all the tests come back good and all. know how the waiting is.. hope your k.clinic is fun. sure sounds fun. you do alot of fun and interesting things good for you. I loss 1.50 lbs this week so a happy one i am. had this friend and her daughter works for jourge cruise the plan i started. well she sent her a book for me and he signed it to me and all. so neat. so that was so special. going to start it strick today now. as i know more about it and all. so exciting. i want to get some wt off before summer. maybe i can stand the heat then. Hey aleka and judi hope all is going good your way to. have a good day all of you. LaDean

Aleka, thanks so much. oh so sorry to hear about all the rain where you use to live. know your concerned. we had some yesterday but not bad for us. some places it was bad though. some place was even in a tornado warning and we hardly ever get those in our area. but never happen things straighten up they said. so thankful for that. hope all goes ok where you use to live to. Yes beau and i walk. been going early as just been so warm. now yesterday rain so just the lots. ha ha and he got wet. but this am looks like a good one. yes they learn he knows when i get dressed its time. so cute how they do that. so glad lacee is fine and all. oh there such precious babies. ha ha so thankful i got beau. never thought i would want another one. but so thankful God answered that prayer and give me beau.. I am going to Reno in June and oh my hes going to miss me. but he loves h and d so much there ok when i am gone. ha ha have a great day .
Ledom. hope your trip is good safe and fun. know it will be.