Catherine: Thank you again for posting about Forgiveness. I know that is the number one key thing to my spiritual life and I often forget that applies to my own personal life. I do wonder if I have been too forgiving with myself in the past when it comes to loosing weight. Maybe not too forgiving maybe just too easy going about loosing. I do tend to down talk myself and belittle myself. Thank you again for posting.

Melissa: Hi and congrats on another -1. Good to see you agian. Post more often if you can.

Ammi: okay Maybe I better run out and buy some stock in Oatmeal. lol. I may have restarted an oatmeal craze! lol. Have a good day.

Laura: Good for you walking. I can see by your post that you feel so proud of yourself. It honestly is helping me to want to do my walk away the pounds tape. I hate to walk because I am so out of shape for walking but you are truly helping inspire me. Thank you.

Vanessa: Have fun with that strip video. Tee hee.

Sharon: Take care of yourself! Don't push your body too hard.

Simone: Yea. Great NSV about eating well at the luncheon. You should be proud.

Hi everyone else. Hope you are all doing well and having wonderful op days. I have done my weight lifting and I am going to go and do the situps, bike and walk now. I'll check in again later. Tomorrow is my weigh in at ww. I'm looking forward to it but a bit nervous too.

Blessings all,
Annie

Annie, Crossing my fingers for your WI!

Simone, I hope you were able to just 'step awaaaaaay from the birthday cake' successfully - BRAVO!

Jilly, Congrats on the baby niece! As soon as she can utter the word "pony", give me a call.

Catherine, Very good post. I'm having a great deal of difficulty this week forgiving myself just for errors I made at work. I think one of the reasons I find it so hard to face my studying is the fear of failure. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, at least at some things. The whole fear of failure, Oh-I-had-one-thing-I-shouldn't-so-the-day-is-a-total-loss mentality is definately negative and NOT condusive to success.

Ladies, I've been out of touch again, but wanted to pop in and say "Howdy!"
On the local news front, there's not much going on. I have a bird feeder that has a spring mechanism so that when a big ole' squirrel jumps on it, it slides down and covers the seed holes. Today a big pack of big blackbirds raided it, and when 3 or more would jump on it, they were so heavy it would close. Made me think... I wish there were a scale like that in front of the snack machines at work or something, so that when I stepped up to something I shouldn't have, a door would just slide shut on it. Of course I wouldn't want one on my refrigerator - that's where all the good stuff is, like the celery ... and the peanut butter.

Staying OP pretty well... except that I was late this morning and only had a couple of slices of tomato for breakfast. I didn't have a lunch packed and got really hungry. All things considered, I did pretty well. I keep a big container of nuts in my desk, so I had a handful of those and the smallest package of pretzels from the junk food machine. Pretzels are only really bad in my case because of the flour in them. Dinner was veggies & chicken in curry sauce, and a small sweet potato. That freaking scale IS going to go down this month, if it kills us both! -------> Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I said I wasn't gonna get on it, but I couldn't stand it anymore. Curiousity is a demon all it's own.

Ya know, my friend is out picking up a video for us to watch tonight. If I don't spend any more time online, I can get in some time on the treadmill before she gets here!

Gotta go!

Annie, And Ammi..i Am Gonna Get A Wii!

Patti - NO WAY....what did you have to do to get hubby to agree to that

Hello again! Finally the weekend and some time to catch up just a little on posts. There are so many new people, please forgive me that I don't mention you all by name when I extend this

Annie - You asked about my bible reading. I will admit that last week I didn't pick it up once but I do intend to get back on track with it. I am extremely serious this year about accomplishing each and every one of my resolutions. Last week was my first week back in school and it really threw a kink into my routine for just about everything! Hopefully soon I will figure out how I can make it all work!


Ammi - My goodness, lady, you are looking younger and younger with every new photo you put up! You are looking terrific!!!!

Jilly - congrats on the new baby in the family.

I feel like so much has been going on with me this past week or two, I just don't have the energy to tell it all. Let me just say that I am still feeling the joy and sense of hope for this year that I did on Jan. 1. And I mean that not just in terms of weight loss, but just life in general. I have not felt happy in so long and it's as if some switch has been flipped inside me.

Take care everyone. I hope to check back in sometime this weekend.

Ammi well my nephew has a birthday and he wanted a gamecube and his mom was gonna go to a pawn shop so we decided he could have mine and i would get the WII. i hope to go get it tomorrow!

Hi ladies
Just wanted to pop in quickly and say hi. dont have time for personals now, but welcome to all the new posters
Im very happy. i went to the doctors today and my weight was 3lbs down from wednesday i knew that stupid scale was wrong! i have been doing everything i am suppossed to do. anyway, my mood is much better
Unfortunately, my schedule the next week is not good so although i will check in, i may not get to do a personal post for some time.
ANNIE: i know your weigh in will be good, have faith your doing everything right!
JILL: congratulations on the new niece
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend take care!

Val: How is school going my friend? I am glad to hear that you are eating nuts. I read recently in the book "You on a Diet" that a few nuts , about 70 calories worth an hour or so before eating will trick your body into thinking it is fuller than it is. It is as very complicated explanation that makes total sense in the book. lol. Happy to see you post.

Patti: Lucky you. Have fun with it.

Xena: Good for you. I am so glad you are happy. That is such a good feeling to have.

Kymberly: Congrats on -3 pounds. See you are doing so well. You will be missed when you are gone. Come back soon.

Blessings everyone,
Annie

I don't think I have sat down once today until right now. I'm not even sure where my computer is, I'm borrowing my husband's. Since I gave it to him as an anniversary present, he'd better not have a problem with me using it. I'm too tired to post anything long, but I really wanted to post the last of the Top Five Tips to Keeping a Healthy Existence by Dr. Neetash Patel.

#5 - PMA (Positive Mental Attitude). This, by far, is the most important to me. The sheer power of the mind is astounding. We can go from sadness to laughter with a mere thought. My dad used to preach about keeping a positive mental attitude to no end during high school and university days. I feel that every moment in our life is a choice; we can choose to think about all the transgressions against us, or focus on what we have to be grateful for. Keeping our spirits up, trying daily to put "all of our worries into a box," and believing that sometimes good enough really is good enough is a tough but rewarding challenge. Life is way more fun and way easier when we are positive and happy. Think about it.

Next I'm going to be posting on overcoming barriers to physical activity, so stay tuned.

Just wanted to pop in girls -- It's like 4:30 here at work and I'm a little slow. I think that I may have a stomach bug. If I don't feel better tomorrow, I will go to the dr.

I JUST may be able to get all my minutes in for this month. (Please keep your fingers crossed!!) I need to add 10 minutes of pretty strenous running with a 2 year old today. She was a handful. Also 20 minutes from walking.

So tell me girls -- How is it that I get SO to move the 'Gazelle' into the living room and I still haven't used it. Shame on me!! I think I'm scared of RM seeing me on it or something.
Interesting huh?

Ammi -- I think you look happy because you have lost 100 pounds!! (christmas can be happy but being 100 pounds lighter is awesome too!!)

I shall see you girls tomorrow night. I will be off now to add my minutes and then prolly log off and finish some work. Just waiting to do it. LOL

Love you chicks! (What happened to the roosters?!)

Good Morning Everyone! Well, things have been horrid for two weeks.
Work has been awful. So much tension caused by our team leader. Hopefully it'll get resolved soon.

I had an emergency trip to the dentist Thursday. Wednesday night a filling in my front top tooth came out. I looked like a hilly billy, Man, I hate going to the dentist. I get so scared! My heart starts to pound, I get all sweaty, etc. And I LIKE our dentist. After my appointment, I came home and fell asleep. It took all my energy. But, it's better now, looks great. .....And I have to have the one next to it done this Thursday cuz it's ready to break too.

I gained 6 pounds since my last weigh in. I was expecting it, but I'm still really mad at myself about it. I do get hung up in the "I already blew it so I'd may as well blow the whole day and start over tomorrow." Then, tomorrow comes and I'm still down.
I WILL get my act together. Today has started ok.....Grapes for breakfast, I'm gonna have a protein shake for lunch, WITH STRAWBERRIES, and something good for dinner. (I have to go shopping). Abby has a basketball game this afternoon, so that'll be fun. My dreadful laundry is HALF done.

On a weird note, Miss Abby has said she doesn't want to play softball this year. Of course, I won't make her. But I hope she doesn't change her mind half way through this spring and then want to play. And, I also worry she'll want to play next year and will be a year behind. BUT, it'll be really nice to have a summer off, where she and I can mess around after work every day. We can go to the park, she can ride her bike, she and I can work in the yard together. Either way, we'll have a wonderful summer. (I know it sounds funny, planning for the summer, but softball regristration is next Saturday.)
She loves basketball and has told me repeatedly, "Basketball is just my thing Mama!"

My youngest ds called me bawling his little eyes out last week. He was feeling emotional he said. (he's 28) He's had a falling out with his dad the past couple months, and it's been really hard on him. I think he's finally realizing how many years he's wasted being mad at me and is finally seeing it really was his dad that was the problem. (3 out of 4 of my adult kids have finally figured this all out.) Anyway, he and his fiancee are going to start planning their wedding and my ds wants dh and I to be a part of the wedding. He doesn't just want to give us things to do and take care of, he wants us part of the whole thing. That's a really, really cool and special thing for him to say. He and I have had a rough time together since he was 12. He's not gotten along with my dh until just recently. (after his falling out with his dad) We went there for Christmas dinner. It was the first time we'd ever been to his home. It was very, very special and he and dh finally, finally connected. I'm so happy about it I want to cry.
The same day, my oldest ds, who's 30, called me and needed me to run to the store for him. He was very, very sick, 105 degree fever. He wanted strawberry fluff (jello with whipped cream) and sports drinks. How funny, 30 years old and still calls his mama.
Same day, my dd, who just got married and lives in Oklahoma City, called to say she was sick. She sounded horrible. She and I are very, very close and even though she's married now, she still calls her mama when she's feeling icky. It made me very happy to have grown children still needing their mama. I miss my grown kids very much. Even the one who lives just 5 minutes away.
See, I told you things have been difficult, and emotional.
I think I've rambled on long enough. Thanks for letting me go on and on. I'll be back op today. I have to. Why? I want to be healthy. I want to look better for ds' wedding. I want to play basketball with Abby. I want to garden without it being a major event to get up and down from the ground.
to all those of you who are new, big, big to everyone else. I'm off to work on laundry, and then but on the gazelle.

Hello All,

It's a chilly yet bright day here today and thankfully the rain that has been threatening hasn't started yet. I even managed to walk to the shops today, so there's a bit of unexpected exercise for me.

At the store there was a set of 3 pairs of weights, 2, 3 and 5 lb ones. They were on sale so I told Daren I would like them to be part of my 100 lbs lost reward. He was quite happy to get them, so as soon as I hit that weight loss goal I will get the weights, some lovely face cream, and an ad free 3FC. Oh and of course a half hour foot massage from hubby

Patti - that's great that your nephew will get the Gamecube and you benefit from letting him have it I hope you get the Wii today and that you will really enjoy playing it. Daren is still hanging in there for the PS3, well he can keep hanging

Kymberly - now didn't we know that if you were doing everything right then you shouldn't take your scales reading too badly? Seems your doctors scales confirmed that and you lost 3 lbs Well done!

Annie - I am waiting with baited breath to hear your WI results not that you will need it

Good idea on the oatmeal stocks

Laura - I see you got the emoticons on the go showing your weight loss. I think they look cute, are you really going to delete them and do another tracker

Valerie - great to see your post, you sound determined to have a loss on those scales, YOU CAN DO IT. Beat that dreaded demon scale monster, show it who's boss

Xena - it's was really lovely reading your post and hearing how you are still full of the joys of the new year, and your new life It's amazing isn't it that something triggers that 'switch' and all of a sudden you see things so differently and life is so much happier. That happened to me last April, of course I know what triggered my switch, my new anti depressants Life has been on the up and up ever since.

Is that 7 lbs lost on your ticker just this month? That's brilliant

Thanks for the compliments on my photo. I was always told that the more weight a person looks the older they look, well I have yet to see that. Look at Misti, she's looking younger and younger every day too. As for me, well I certainly feel younger so to look it too is quite wonderful

Catherine - that is really true about the Positive Mental Attitude, it really does make a difference. I am loving all these tips you are posting,

Erika Leigh - don't worry about what anybody including yourself thinks of how you look when you work out on the Gazelle. Just get on it and be proud that you are doing it, and as you shift the lbs and get smaller and smaller and look better and better on the Gazelle you will be even more proud of yourself. Besides it is such good fun you'll forget all about what you look like and just go for it

You are right, I was happy because it was Christmas, but as corny as it sounds I DO feel like I have a glow about me especially if I am telling people about my weight loss so far. When I told my doctor I am sure the smile on my face rivalled the Cheshire Cat She said it was so wonderful to see how well and happy I was looking. She's used to seeing me, huge, in pain and depressed!! Life definitely is wonderful these days. Now if I could just sort out my back pain once and for all it would be perfect

Sandy - so glad you came and posted again my friend. This place and the accountability we get from coming here is a major help to staying OP. You are sounding determined again and I am so happy to hear that. I owe you an email and will get on it as soon as I am done here

Sharon - did you get to catch up on sleep yesterday afternoon. I didn't put MSN on, I played on Pogo, I thought I'd give you chance to sleep and not worry about not chatting I hope you are feeling ok today.

Time to get onto my emails, so bye for now,

Hugs,

Ammi

Well, good morning everyone.

Today is a beautiful bright new day in which we can accomplish everything we want to.

I feel good because yesterday I sweated my way thriough my Slim in 6 dvd. Today I will get my butt out there walking again - it's still cold, but there is no wind.

My mom moves in with us today - have to go lug around more furniture. Am I goin' to sleep well tonight!

Ammi - yeah, I like the little emoticons too, I think I'll keep them. I can't wait to have a dancer for the week!

Keep up all the good work everyone - every little bit now is a little less to do later.
And I want to say: and to everyone who lost, is losing, and to all of those who are trying!

All the best in your success!

Catherine: I agree with your post so much. Positive attitude saved me last week. Thank you for sharing those with us. I am looking forward to your next posts. Hope you are doing well.

Erika: Good luck with your goal. Don't hurt yourself though.

Sandy: Your children are very lucky to have a momma they can call. Even though I didn't have a good relationship with my momma I'd love to call her and just say hi. Hope all your family feels better very soon.

Ammi: Let's just say I will be wearing my new PJ's tonight. LOL. I am posting my weight loss on this post. I wrote to you in an email too. Hugs.

Laura: Great job working out!

Okay as for me. I am so excited. As I said to Ammi above. The new Jammies that I bought and was saving to wear them tonight as a reward if I lost weight, well, they will be worn. I lost 9.4 pounds this week. I am sooooo excited and I want to thank all of you for not letting me get lost in my self pity after last Saturday. Thank you all for helping me see how very far I have come regardless of my weight. I feel so hopeful like our friend Xena. I have hope that I will continue to do well this year. I hope that all of you are welll and staying op and getting in some exercise.

Blessings all,
Annie