hugs to Ammie and thanks for all the well wishes.. hope to be back on my feet soon

He everyone,
Just checking in as I'm home from work today.
Ammi~ to you. I hope the meds you got help right away. I hope the visit with Darin's family goes well.
Annie~ Good luck on the testing for the assessor's office. I'm sure you'll do great!
Val~ Thanks so much. I've been trying to think of the positives ......Like my family is relatively healthy, I've got a great hubby, wonderful children. .....mostly. A comfortable home, a car that runs, (even if it does have a ding in it now). My Andy wrote a song for me years back. He got out his guitar last night and sang it for me. It made me cry and remember what a wonderful, loving and secure relationship we have. That in itself is A LOT to be thankful for. And be happy about.
Have a great time on Gabe tonight. Hug his big neck for me.
Luan! Glad you're safe!
Patti~ Hope you feel better soon.

I'm gonna go start some home made split pea soup. Andy loves it!
I also am going to make some home made onion cottage cheese bread.
I found my mom's old recipe. I remember as a child it was to die for.
But, I have to make it healthier. I'm going to use whole wheat flour instead of
the processed white flour that Andy hates. I hope it's as good as I remember it.
TTFN!

GO RED SOX!!!

Hi all,

I'm back in the swing, but at times hanging by my fingernails. Yesterday, I took a walk to the post office, and on the way back, every food outlet I passed called my name. Japanese restaurant, Chinese restaurant, cafe, bakery screaming buy the Black & White cookies now!, etc. I stopped in the bookstore that sells new and used books. Instead of wasting my money on harmful food, I bought myself a few used books.

The more I searched for reasons to binge, the more I found absolutely no justification for doing it. I never want to go back to the way I felt at 330, barely able to function and having a hard time completing a minimal workout. I simply can't afford to feel that bad--there is too much coming up that I want and need to participate in. I can't rob myself of my health.

Another day completed being mostly on plan. Phew.

Sandy: go go go on that 30-minute walk! You may have already completed it now, and are feeling good.

Annie: very funny hubby! But, think of it this way: if he had eaten sugary popsicles, he would have had even more calories! Glad you had a good meeting and are doing well.

Sharon: congrats on the 4 lbs. weight loss. Thanks for updating us about Ammi. I feel so bad and hope that the doctors can find a quick way to clear up the problem.

Peggy: Enjoy your bike ride. I'm going to dust off my bike soon, I think. The weather around here has been glorious. Great for a bike ride.

GTL200: Have a good day back at work. I also try to prepare a lot of food ahead of time. It helps.

Donna: Aren't you the creative one! Can't wait to see pics of Sammi's costume posted.

Catherine: You are really cracking me up with your commentary about the upcoming trip. I know it is super stressful, but you are doing great and will get through it like a champ. It all sounds very exciting to me.

Luan: thank goodness you're not affected directly by the fires, except for the smoky air. I can't believe the pictures they're showing on tv.

Val: Thanks for the good wishes. I think the test went pretty well. They had 60 apps just for this job and they chose 20 people to take the tests. Out of those people they will be taking about 1/3 for interviews. Next week I should know if I have an interview or not. Have a great time with Gabe.

Catherine: I hope you have a blast! Hugs.

Luan: Please stay safe. Try not to breath too much outside. Hugs.

Sandy: The soup sounds good. I am not much of a pea soup fan but on a chilly day it does hit the spot.

Battle: Good for you buying books instead of snacks. I am proud of you.

Well, as I mentioned above, I took the tests and they all seemed pretty easy. I did have trouble with one math question but I know how to do it and if I had been able to use my calculator that question would have been dust. lol. I just was getting frustrated with it. I feel like whatever will be, will be.
I did get a call from a temporary agency today asking me to work tomorrow and Friday in Coeur d' Alene at a Radiology clinic. She said it may work into something more than just those two days. I'm grateful to have 2 days anyway of a paying job. We sure could use the money.

Well, I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the fall.
Blessings to you,
Annie

Luan-yeah, that is an advantage of living around concrete, it doesn’t burn. I saw a show after the last bad fires about 4 years ago, where a guy was rebuilding a home in a way that it wouldn’t burn again. All concrete and glass, and no plants near the house. He had lawn on part of his roof, and a swimming pool on the other part. It was wild. Until you’ve been in one of those fires, you can’t imagine how destructive and scary they are.

Valerie-I’m so glad that you have been able to ride Gabe finally. That has got to be a great feeling.

Annie-I always wanted one of those government jobs that had benefits. I will be praying for you to get it.

Donna-I love Boca stuff. I’ve never tried the wraps though. I can’t get them here anyway. I can order a Boca burger at Denny’s, and that’s about it. You must have gotten a bad batch, or maybe it had defrosted and refrozen. I’ve gotten stuff like that before, and gotten sick. I am not a celebrity, and have no desire to be one. I wish he would be a tad less of one, but I understand what he’s doing and why. Doesn’t make it any easier though.

Brenda-I love your new picture. I wish my hair had that much body and wave.

Ammi-Man, I wish there was something we could do to help.

Peggy-My father may come out of his grave and chase me, but I hope your team (who shall remain nameless as to not awake the dead) does well tonight.

Heather-Yes, if only I was still too large for airplanes too, I’d be a much happier camper right now. They would have sent us on the train (most people who get this are actually quite elderly, and some can’t fly anymore), but if I’m going to be too small to use the bathroom, better for 4 hours than a couple of days.

Sandy-If I had a dime for everytime I fell off the wagon, I could pay someone to diet and exercise for me. Don’t let it get you too down. I put my headphones on too, and zoom out when I need a pick up, but I don’t do i-pods. I’ve got a sansa express. It’s the size of a lipstick, and came with 2GB, and has a slot for one of those micro discs the size of a finger nail that they use in cell phones, so I’ve got it bumped up to 4GB, filled from CDs checked out from the library. Topped off with a pair of white and candy apple red lowrider headphones from skullcandy. We don’t own a car, so my mp3 and headphones are the closest to pimping my ride that I can do. I also can’t use ear buds. Besides the fact that they are bad for your hearing, my ears are too small for them. My ears are so small, that I’d have to get ones designed for kids, and they wouldn’t have the sound quality that I seem to think I need. I have perfect pitch, so any hissing or distortion, and I get cranky.

Battle-I once took a vacation by touring every used book store in New Mexico. I love used book stores, and the book sections of thrift stores. The amount of books we own is staggering. The big day is tomorrow. We leave at 5 am. His big day is Friday, but mine is “will she get on the plane willingly, and how much sedative will it take” Thursday. The government gave us enough money to take a taxi (Edmonton’s airport is two towns away in Leduc, about $75 one way) to the airport, but the tightwads we are, are taking a ride from a friend. He’s Chinese, and has a whole different idea of how close a close call actually is. I kind of like a couple of feet between moving vehicles, and he is content with mere inches. He also drives very fast. He has ADD (I think he is an unmedicated bipolar, but no one asked my opinion), and talks very loud and very fast. His car is small, which means that I will be poured into the back seat. My feet sometimes get wedged under his seat. I have very large feet. For long trips I sit sideways across the whole seat. On the positive side, after that ride, the plane will seem so roomy and peaceful.

Well ladies, the bags are packed, the rhino tranq gun is on top in case it is needed, and I haven’t backed out yet. I’m watching the coverage of the forest fires in California. It just reminds me of how much I have given up in pursuit of trying to be bigger than the fat lady at the circus. I used to be a trained forester, and was on many fire lines when I was younger. I look at those pictures and realize that had I not destroyed my body, I could volunteer to help. It’s embarrassing to realize that I haven’t really been a productive member of society in a long time. I want to feel that way again.

Well I am new to the group, as you can tell by my post count But I love chatting on boards.
My Name is Melissa, I am working on a long term goal to get to 150. We are trying to concieve (TTC) and that's been a 9 month long work out. LOL. I have a 2.5 yo son, Chandler (in siggy) and he's been a great companion for mall walking (and shopping ).
Anyway just wanted to say hello, and I hope to get to know a bunch of you!

That's the BEST attitude! I swear that's the kind of thinking that I had in my head to lose 120 pounds. And even though I have a lot of rough days now, I never eat like I used to and on average exercise a whole lot more than I used to, because I never want to go back there. If you can keep that mindset, you are a big part of the way to success, I think!!

Good luck, Catherine! I hope you manage to have a decent trip and more than survive the plane ride!

Catherine~ my hair is actually poker straight... it looks like that with about 1/2 bottle of curl lotion/spray and hot rollers *L*

Morning my peeps!

A late night last night watching "my boys" in the World Series last night and they did NOT disappoint me. GO RED SOX!! Lets hope they keep it going in this direction tonight!

I did 30 mins of DDR last night before the game and I got up this AM and did 20 minutes (4.6 miles) on my exercise bike this morning. I hope I can keep this up. I really enjoy the DDR...the time just flies by. The bike is OK, but by about 17 minutes I am watching the clock.

Another OP day yesterday. That is officially 8 days in a row completely OP!! Woohoo!! I need to keep stringing these days together and I know I will keep losing!!

I must go and get my lunch together. Tonight's dinner is some chicken soup chock full o'veggies that I made earlier this month. Should be good in this damp cool weather.

to you all.

Toris.. you are my motivation for DDR! I gotta dust it off. I've been an exercise slug these days. I think it's all the funky weather changes! Bleh.

Hugs and Luv,
Rat

Good Morning!

Just a quickie because I still have to beat Slammy up (6 mins and 360 punches!) and then shower and then hit the store for posterboard, glue sticks, and gold glitter hairspray. And all that before work at 11:00 !! The costume is comming along...I am just having trouble keeping Oreo and Jack out of the box while I am decorating it!!!

Catherine: Have an AWESOME trip and ENJOY being proud of Himself!! You are a beautiful person and he will be beaming just to have you by his side!!!!


Have a Great Day Everyone!!

Hi all! Every 4 or 6 weeks or so I find myself in the middle of a binge almost before I know what's happening. I had such an episode on Monday night - probably 1000-1500 calories worth or so. I hate it because I didn't really enjoy the act(s) at the time, felt like **** trying to sleep that night, and well into the next day. It takes about almost a full week for me to shed the excess bloat and calories, and I always feel like I need to get down past my lowest low to truly feel like it's behind me.

The good news is that I now recover from these things immediately, as in the very next meal. Previously it would be a fall off the wagon that I wouldn't recover from for weeks or months, sometimes effectively years. Still, I'm going to try to emulate Battle's excellent efforts next time - put the thinking in BEFORE the act. That 'pause' (as it's called by one of my gurus) *IS* going to be uncomfortable and that's okay because that's where the real work of change can happen. So, hopefully, next time (and there will be a next time) I can report a different outcome as Battle was able to do.

I've had kind of a blah exercise week due to combination of scheduling difficulties, weather and feeling kinda yucky, but ready to climb back on today. Today is another skating day (thanks for peeking at my skates Ratkity! I love them!) and I'll be able to get to the gym as well. Should help things feel more back to normal.

Annie - Bestest good luck on the job hunt! Isn't it wonderful that you can do it so, so much lighter than you were before. It must change your confidence level tremendously and that will shine through in the interviews. I love your 'what will be will be' attitude. You always sounds so much at peace, and I attribute that directly to what is clearly a strong faith.

Battle - As I implied - way to go on dodging the binge. Very proud of you.

Val - I'm a little late, but congrats on riding Gabe. Hope it continues to be and inspiration and everything you've hoped for.

Peggy and Heather - Ummm, GO SOX! I don't have a dog in the fight (other than the Rockies' pitcher being Canadian) so I'm happy to hope your team takes it. Enjoy watching !

Catherine - I hope your travel is more fun than you expect. Enjoy Ottawa and Byward Market. Hope the weather cooperates...we're in a bit of a cooler phase in this neck of the woods.

Have a great day all.

Hi, Sandy SEND ME SOME OF THAT BREAD!!!lol It sounds divine, I did my mum a panini with melted cheese, bacon & tomatoes grilled, I wanted to eat it so bad & today did my youngest a cheese & onion roll with melted cheese on the top, what is it about bread & cheese? Hope that you can refuse some or at least only eat a bit, there's NO WAY I could resist it!xxxxxx
Battle, WTG on passing all those food places, it's so awful when you smell them, I'm glad that you have resolve & kept away.xxxxxx
Patti I hope you're feeling better, are you back Op mow or waiting til you feel better?xxxxxx
Annie good luck with the job searching & hope you enjoy & do well at the hospital temp job.xxxxxxx
Catherine, enjoy your trip & think there ARE worse places to be! At least you're with hubby & not sitting alone waiting for him. I hope you have a FAB time & take some pics!xxxxxx
Torrister, WTG on all that exercise, at least it warms you up, it's really cold here, I might even go on my bike tonight!lolxxxxxxx
Meta, well it's great you can stop at one meal or a couple of days poopy eating, it's great to see our efforts to change REALLY CAN WORK! 150+lbs off IS NOT TO BE SNEEZED AT!!!! I hope you're all fired up, feeling 'off' can so easily lead to a binge, it did last week with me.xxxxxxx
Well I FINALLY managed to get my pics posted of Robin Hood, lol, what a palaver!!!! There weren't any pics of hubby but I didn't have time to post some of Gareth my older son. You ought to have tried on the helmet I wore!!! It must have weighed over 15lbs!! I could hardly hold my head up!! Apparently the full chainmail, hat & PART armour weighs over 70lbs! Those poor guys have to mount horses, fight, fall over then get up in that lot!
Gotta go,
xxxxxsharon
ps OSU WELCOME, we have the same target 150lbs, not that much if you break it into 15 lots of 10lbsxxxxx

voodoo i am half andd half trying to be OP when i feel better... not so good when i dont ..lucky i am not all that hungry when i get bronchitus