Hello, Lifers! It's rainy and hot here today--it will be in the 80's. Meanwhile I'm packing for my little trip to Canada. It's tough packing sweaters and boots.

I had a good weekend. Played golf with DH on Friday; that was fun. Went to the girls' night out. Ate too much (ridiculous) and drank too much (espresso martinis) There were 4 of us and there was so much food. It was all appetizers, but just enormous amounts. Argh! We watched the movie "The Holiday." If you haven't seen it, rent it; very enjoyable.

On Saturday, I went to my tai chi class, then went shopping with my GF. That was fun. We were shopping for house stuff and we were successful. Then we watched at movie at her house--Michael Clayton. It was pretty good, but I had a previous misconception about the plot.

On Sunday, went to a friend's house for brunch. When I arrived, she just burst into tears. I felt so bad and still do. Her husband has Alzheimers and she just can't deal with him any more. Actually I am fearful for her because he is stronger than she is and he gets so frustrated that he makes threatening motions toward her. I told her that she may have to make the decision to put him in a home. She takes him to an adult daycare a couple times a week, which gives her a little break, but when he's home they just argue and yell.

I finally got some exercise in--went on a 10-mile bike ride. Doesn't sound like much, but it felt good.

Theresa, agree with you that we don't what we have till the people we love are gone from us. Yes, staying home can be fun. I always have projects that I can do around the house (the joys of being a homeowner).

Melissa, those snacks still sound good and I wish we had a Trader Joe's here.

It's warm here by our standards (57) but it's cloudy and rain is on the way. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same with the exception of in the afternoon the temps are supposed to drop into the low 40's. Typical Erie spring!

I had a busy weekend--Saturday I ran a couple of errands then attended our WW Staff meeting from 1-3 and that went okay. My weight was up (yet again) and I was so frustrated! I know it wasn't my normal WI day but it was still there. Yesterday my ankles swelled and they're still swollen today so I have a call into the doctor. I shouldn't have fluid issues because I take a bp pill with a diuretic, albeit a small dose. Saturday night we celebrated my dad's 80th birthday at an Italian restaurant and we had a really nice time.

Yesterday I worked at WW in the morning and I'm mentoring a new receptionist so it was busy. I cooked a turkey (upside down ) and made baked sweet potatoes to go with it. I've been struggling with some extra snacking, etc. and am working on planning ahead and keeping an accurate journal--I'm on day 3 of that one!

Lisa: 80 sounds so hot! I know it's hard to pack for cooler temps when it's that warm outside, I run into the same problem in reverse when I visit my friend in Clearwater.

I can't believe today is the last day of March! Here's to a successful April for all of us!

I need some major help to get back on goal. I have read your entries, sorry to be a bugger. Just trying to do what I can. (a dancing carrot must be good?)

Welcome, missyfi. We all have to work at staying at or getting back to goal. That's what we learn in WW, that it's lifestyle changes and we need to stay on track. You can do it! Every woman here has had struggles. We're here for you.

Melissa, You must be so frustrated with the gain. I feel for you. The swelling ankles does not sound good, so glad you called your MD. Happy belated birthday to your father. That's great that you all gathered to celebrate.

Lori, Sorry you've been so busy. That can't be good. Hope things calm down for you. So, are you lactose-intolerant and have IBS?

Good morning! It's a rainy Tuesday here but at least the temps are good (63) albeit short-lived because a cold front is supposed to come through later and drop us into the 40's.

Lisa: The doctor's office called me back last night and she told me to keep my legs elevated and to try and do that at work too. She also said to watch my sodium intake--I told her I don't eat hardly any processed foods and I'm careful about the sodium because of my blood pressure. I have an appointment next week with her so I'll talk with her more on that!

Lori: I hope things at work settle down for you--we're heading into that time period here and while I enjoy being busy it gets really crazy. The one good thing is that it makes the day go by fast and I don't have time to think about eating or snacking!

Missyfi: Welcome to our group! We're all at different crossroads with our weight. Me, I've been struggling to maintain the past few months and have been working on medication changes, dietary changes, and lastly activity. It's a constant struggle that doesn't end once we hit goal.

I don't know how many of you here remember the old Fast Track that WW had in 2004 but I decided to follow that this week and so far I've been satisfied with what I'm eating. I'm definitely planning and that's good. The biggest challenge I face is the night time snacking--last night I made myself a cup of tea and later on when I "thought" I was getting hungry I headed off to bed! Whatever works, right?

Hope everyone is doing well!! Happy April!!

Hi everyone!

Just a quick hello as well. I am so crazy lately and I have the best of intentions to keep up my posting, but I just haven't had a spare minute. I was up 1# 2 weeks ago and down 2# this past week. Just hoping I kept it off. This weekend was hard. A cousin of mine had Arbonne Launch and I was seated by the picky foods and cookies . Jackson is doing well. He is having surgery in a couple weeks for a urology issue... nothing crazy. DH is working extra shifts and that has been an extra workload for me as well, being w. Jax all day so he can catch up on sleep. My dad is in Vail CO for a ski trip, but was just dx w. an ulcer and some other issues. My Nonno is very sick, and only has about 6months left. The whole family is just stressed and crazy!! My new job is going great and I am starting nursing classes again in a few weeks. Ok, thats all for now. I will post more later... I PROMISE!

Melissa, I'm glad you called your doctor. I know that you are careful about your diet. Wow! 60's? That's warm for you. I'm going on a little vacation tomorrow to Canada and, of course, the office starts to go crazy. One issue has lain dormant for 8 months and now we're being asked about it.

Tanya, Good to hear from you. Gosh, are you busy enough? Sorry to hear about Jax's surgery--hopefully nothing major. Poor little guy. One of my brothers had surgery as an infant and it was quite traumatic for the whole family.

Well we experienced a 20-degree temperature drop yesterday and this morning it's only 33! Yesterday morning it was 63! Yikes! The good news is that the sun is shining so that makes it better and the forecast is mostly sunny the rest of the week.

I can actually see my ankle bones today and for that I'm grateful. I'm not sure what triggers the swelling/fluid but it sure is scary when it happens. I got my lab results back for my thyroid and my one number has dropped from 1.58 to .38 so something is out of whack which could explain some of the weight issues.

I'm on day three of planning and day 5 of tracking so it's going well. I have a couple of friends that I share my journal with and they share theirs with me and what I'm doing is sending my stuff out to them at the end of the day rather than waiting until morning because to me it sends a signal that I'm done for the day! So far it's helping.

Lisa: Have fun on your trip. I hope the weather is nice for you, although I'm sure it will be refreshing after the hot temps you've had in FL.

Tanya: Glad to hear the new job is going well. Little ones generally bounce back quickly from surgery and I'm sure Jax will too. I think it's more stressful on the parents. Good job on the weight!

Lori: No Easter candy left in my house; DH and DS #2 ate theirs and I didn't buy all that much this year. I bought myself a small (2 1/2 oz) bunny and I ate that so I'm clear on that issue. Since I've been eating better I haven't had any major cravings for anything.

I'm heading to my meeting at noon and we'll see how that goes; I'm not expecting a huge loss but something would be nice.

Lori: My DH and DS #2 love peeps--I actually found chocolate covered ones at our local candy shop.

I was down 2#--no rhyme or reason but at least it wasn't a gain!

Ok, I have not been very good about posting in here and I REALLY really want to do that every day to keep me accountable. I have been doing ok. Up and down the same 1# every other week it seems. I know I shouldn't complain about that but I somehow don't feel in control. Does that make any sense? I am still planning my meals every day and writing everything down and I exercise every day but it's just.....something

Lisa-how scary for your friend that has the husband with Alzheimers. I never even thought of that. Have a nice time in Canada. I've only ever been there once to Vancouver, it was beautiful.

Lori-hope you get some relief from your IBS soon. I hate, hate, hate being bloated and it seems I have that sometimes (but definitely not on an IBS level).

Missy-Hi!

Melissa- Congratulations on being 2# down! Hope your doctor gets your swelling under control. Swelling also worries me and I'm not sure why. Maybe because when I had my ankle reconstructed after my car accident it was so important to keep the swelling down.

Tanya-I'm sure Jackson's surgery will go well and hopefully he is able to stay comfortable until then Also for you for your Nonno. Glad to hear your job is going well and that you like it.

Ok, better run. I have to go to my son's tennis match. The "real" season just started yesterday. My son did really well, he won all 3 of his sets and then his team won the match overall. He plays singles. This match is about 45 mins away but right in the direction of where one of my older sons goes to college so he's going to meet me there. It will be nice to see him.

Everyone have a great day and I WILL be back in tomorrow to check in. Bye. Jane

Lori, Glad the no-dairy is helping. An endoscopy is not so bad. Hooray for going to the gym. I could ignore peeps, but chocolate-covered ones?? Not good for me. Why do I love chocolate so much?

Melissa, Such temperature shifts! That's springtime for you. I'm glad you can see your ankles. I don't know anything about your thyroid numbers, but it doesn't look right, that's for sure. Congrats to you on the loss! I know that you have been so frustrated. Your planning must be working out.

Jane, That mode of gain one, lose one is not encouraging, but it could be worse I guess. Congrats to your DS who plays tennis so well. That's a tough sport.

Well, I'm off to Canada. Check in with you next week.

Wow! No one has posted since yesterday? Well this is day 2 of posting every day for me!!!

I had to work a little bit of overtime this morning but nothing major. My son had a tennis match again today. He won all 3 sets. But get this, he plays #1 singles for his school and the other school kept their #1 player out of the match until my son's 3rd set then subbed him in. I guess their reasoning was that their guy would be fresh and our guy would be tired! But he beat the other guy 6-4. Whew!! Plus our team won the match overall

I got 45 mins in on the treadmill today and then I walked over to the school for the match. My eating has been good too, less snacks today. I think I snack too much!

Hope everyone is having a good day. Talk to you later. Jane

Jane: The board has been quiet this week. I think both Tanya and Lori are busy with work and Lisa is in Canada. Not sure where everyone else is. I find I do much better if I don't eat a bunch of snacks.

I had a pretty good day yesterday--although I didn't eat enough in the morning and ended up having to use the bulk of my points in the evening, which is not a good idea.

My GF that I went to Cleveland with last Monday had some devastating news on Wednesday evening--her parents were killed in a tragic car accident. She's originally from a small town in central PA so it's 5 1/2 hours away. She and her DH drove there yesterday. I'm still in shock because it just doesn't seem possible. So as a result Wednesday night I didn't get much sleep so Thursday my whole day was off.

I have a somewhat quiet weekend--DS #2 is going to Pittsburgh today for a H.S. rugby game; tomorrow the men's side plays so I'll be able to be outside watching that. Sunday should be quiet other than WW in the morning.

Lori: Don't be ashamed! We've all experienced or are experiencing the same things you are with our weight and that's what we're all here--to support one another with our obstacles/hurdles. I'm finding that if I eat the right mix (protein with each meal, getting my milk, healthy guidelines) in each day I'm satisfied. I've also gone to the point of not buying anything that I know I'll eat and will send me into a tailspin and so far that's been helping. I also ask myself, "Do I reall want this?" and that seems to be helping too. I haven't talked to my friend (doesn't have a cell phone) but when she left me a message yesterday she sounded okay but then it's probably more of just going through the motions.

Oh Melissa, that is horribly sad news for your friend BOTH of her parents. Unthinkable.

Lori-whatever you do, don't be ashamed to come here. If anyone can understand what you are going through, we can

Not much going on here today. I have to work at midnight (my Monday) so I'll be going to sleep around 6 pm (hopefully). After I type this I'm going to Curves and then on the elliptical.

Have a great day and hope everyone has a fun and/or interesting weekend planned! Bye. Jane