and cheer's! HAPPY SILLY SEASON.

i can't beilieve it, the bloody concreters just turnd up to do our back verandah, but DH is in town ALL DAY, i didn't realize.

so i have been in the rain (yes, it's wet), shifting cars….hah i got to drive DH's new truck to shift it! first time because it's so prescious…blahblahblah…

of course MINE isn't prescious even though it's near brand-new!.

his is new, too, but you know husbands, MOSTLY (not so much singles reading this - i get that) ...

anyway, i've got a husband who is adorable, but he is STILL a HUSBAND . haha LOL

bfn

Welcome saraphin! We love having you join us and look forward to getting to know you. Such a fun time of the year... I love Christmas!!

baa i don't feel very xmassy.

but i will, once i start some xmas stuff, like planning my xmas cooking, finding decorations, getting out the tree, and my xmas train….oooooohhhh, now i'm thinking about it. ohhhh what fun….my TRAIN!!!!! it actually PLAYS XMAS TUNES TOO!!!!

you are helping me get there also, friends. thanx

bfn

Good morning golden girls. We spend a freezing cold and wet weekend at the camp. I froze on my deer stand Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning the hunt was canceled due to rain so we went to mass. We got home at lunch and went shopping to get a couple more last minute gifts. This morning it's cold and rainy again.
This morning dh trimmed and stuffed a brisket for Xmas day. The holidays are coming fast.

Saraphin welcome.!! These ladies are an awesome group. Watch out for karen3. If you mess up on your diet she will get on you until you get back on track. Lol.

Mary. I feel so sad for you. I fits not colon it's something else. It's time for you to feel better. You're having a rough year.

Gayle maddie sounds like a joy to be around.

Donna Your in the right place for attention after surgery. We love to pamper. Hope you get it scheduled.

Karen31 are you still getting snow. I have a cousin that is stranded in the mountains just south of Branson.

Rosey are you staying warm? How is Steve? Did he make it home ok?

Bobbi I'm wanting another computer something. iPad ir laptop. Just not sure which way to go.

Lynn did you make it to Florida yet?

Hi to all I missed. Gotta get to work.
Hugs
Cajun

I forgot Karen3. Sorry. Get out the club Karen. I had a bad weekend on my diet. The good things is I'm back on this Monday morning. Go easy on me please.
Hugs
Cajun

You forgot me, too! :-) I'm new - and happy to have found a 50+ group. (I'm 51) Just waiting for the ice to melt off this morning. Today's a gym day, but I may do a walk-run around here, rather than risk sliding off the road. Thin ice, but dangerous.

Cajun ~ K3 is ready to get you back in line and Donna is right behind her to help out.

Welcome Delmarva and Saraphin ~ glad you've joined us. Very nice group of ladies.

I can finally post a before-after shot now. Yay! I apparently had to wait until I posted enough, got a ticker, etc. Here it goes! I am sorry if it is too big. I'm learning. What really surprised me, is how I gained an apple shape when I gained weight. All tummy and face. I really thought I'd be a pear, like my mother and others in my family. So, when I started having some metabolic problems usually associated with gaining weight around the middle, it got my attention. Apparently, it wasn't just menopause affecting my waistline (which also just wrapped up along with the weight drop for the most part). I am close to goal, but still losing weight VERY slowly at about 1.5 lbs per month. May drop the goal to 140, then stop. Picture shown is at 150.

Del sorry. I must have missed your post. Welcome. Loved your before and after pic. You look great.

Gayle you're right. That's 2 tough ladies. I have to walk the line with those 2. Lol.

Hello everyone! My back doesn't hurt anymore but I still cough all the time...evenings and nights the worst. Last night was bad so when I could take another dose of Nyquil at 5 am I did and then slept in really late. Usually cough drops help me more than anything but not so much with this cough. Last night Dh went to our seniors Christmas get-together at church, while I had my own party here at home eating the last two leftover pizza slices. He brought home the cake he had bought to share and I ate 1/2 slice but it didn't taste very good to me. Rest is going to our son. Even my beloved mochas don't taste very good to me now. Pizza is good though. I saute peppers and onions and put on top so I get some veggies. Milk , OJ, applesauce and canned peaches usually taste ok too..but that's about it. Dh made a dish with potatoes in it...I love potatoes!...but I wasn't even tempted. Strange how being sick changes our tastes.

I did order a couple gifts online yesterday so now I have bought three gifts. I ordered these from my son (the one in AZ) new online business. http://ow.ly/r1aXa
They just opened it up so thought I'd help them out by buying their kids gifts from it. You can get the child's name put into any item you buy. Today I hope to get the cards and cash gifts together to send to the 15 & older kids/gk that live in other areas. When that's done I hope to be feeling better so I do some offline shopping. The closer it gets to the holiday the more I'm concerned about ordering online. Dh just came in and helped me choose another item for our son. Hope it's what he's been wanting. Not something I know anything about.

So I've taken a long time to type this. Nothing else going on here.

Del - loved the before and after pics! You look so much younger now. I think you've really entered the "WoW" zone now...lookin' good! In mY case I have always been an apple shape...didn't realize it until I gained much bigger but now know I have always been. I knew I didn't look like the "average" woman nor was I the average fit in clothes they sell. My torso is large, I have what the doc calls an obese abdomen, my butts ok, but my general shape is mostly straight...my waist and hips are almost the same size. My legs are the best part but tend to get really skinny as I lose weight. The apple shape as I have it is very hard to fit in clothes. Now that you've lost weight however you do not look like an apple shape. So happy for you!!

Cajun - Sorry you had a frozen weekend! Proud of you for trying though. Yeah, I'm ready for feeling good...and I'm sure it's coming...

You all have a good Monday...

hi girls!, wow your pic's are great del! i have lost the same amount as you but i can hardly tell. only a bit .

but you look wonderful. it's great how everyone's hair grows so long during their journeys. although i'm keeping mine short, bobbed you might say.

i too have to wait until xmas eve until i can show you my pic's. then you will see me.

i'm pretty scared of those 2 ladies with the rolling pins…cajun and karen3. i am not cheating, though, and my weight IS THE SAME AS LAST WEEK!! BAGAAAGAAGA…and i'm eating that horrible stuff 'optifast' and missing real food so bad...



thanxs for your warmth - actually the weather here is beautiful , i'm sorry you are all freezing your t*** off! haha…lol rug up and keep warm especially you, mary.

i'll send some sun your way…it is summer here but raining - lovely for the garden. there are flowers everywhere and i have to tie the tomato plants nearly every day! they are so big!!!!!!

it's great, because DH loves to make tomato chutney to give to people and it's a very successful little process!

bfn xxx

maryea - I am sorry to hear you're feeling so poorly. Losing weight from lack of appetite might work, but isn't how we want to see it work! I, too, love pizza. And, on the rare occasion I get it, I load up the thin crust. At least you can get thin crusts now! I remember when it was a rarity.

On the "apple" waist, I actually wondered why buying clothes seemed to be getting such a problem. Like a tourniquet on the waist, and baggy in the behind. I was not at the higher weight for more than 3 years, and I took very few pictures, because I was so discouraged. I didn't realize that I was thickening only in the middle (and my face) until my doctor started telling me I was having fatty liver problems. I looked it up and saw it was reversible if I hopped to it. My triglycerides also plummeted over 100 points when the weight got down 30 lbs.

You're right that I am happy to see my waist go in again. To be honest, I thought that menopause had taken it away. I did not blame the weight, at the time. I think shifting hormones make it easier to place it there, though, and it surely takes longer to remove!

Thank you for the kind words. I feel younger too. I don't work in a formal office environment any more (those years are past), so I've let my hair grow out for fun. It is 50% grey on top, and deep chestnut at the bottom. It's like my own aging ruler -kinda cool if you take it in good humor.

Get better soon!