WELCOME

We are a group of people who are working together to lose our excess weight.
We are on different plans and are of different sizes.
We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We recently started a Topic of the Day.

Monday........Motivation Monday
Tuesday.......Tuesday Tips
Wednesday.....Wednesday Weigh ins
Thursday......Thankful Thursday
Friday........Friday Facials, Fingernails and Fun
Saturday.......Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Sunday.........Soup and Salad Sunday - recipes

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share. We have found them very helpful. We also share heartaches and fears...joys and celebrations.

Please feel free to jump right in with us.
And be sure to check if there is a second page. We don't want anyone to miss any posts.

Hi guys... it is me again. LOL

I am here because I am wanting to eat. Sooo I grabbed a bottle of water and came to the computer to get me out of the kitchen. I cleaned all day in our bedroom and it is "noticeably" better. I had clutter everywhere. Not anymore !!!!! I still have some clutter... ... but it is limited and neatly stacked in a corner.

When my hubby went to bed I started working in the kitchen. (I think I am really sick ..LOL) After about 45 minutes I started thinking about snacking. I ate an on program snack. 'BUT...then I wanted MORE. And then I started wanting an "off program" snack. Then I grabbed a bag of doritos.... grabbed just a few... and that is when I closed the bag... and came in here with my water bottle. You all know that saying.. " A thousand bites are NOT ENOUGH.. and one bite is too many" But... I am happy to say...I already feel better. Thanks for being here for me to come to. You all are my guardian angels.

Since I am writing this off line... I am not replying to anyone.
Just know... you being here made a difference for me tonight.
Well... I do have to say... HANG IN THERE !!!!
You all know I have been where you are. AND it does get better.
I wish I could respond more... but I am out of time. I am expecting a phone call in a few minutes and I have to get off the phone line.
JUST HANG IN THERE !!!!

Greetings from the 'bra lady'! I am still trying to catch up but I see there were alot of you addressing the 'bra lady' so I thought I would check in and tell you that I have no idea about boobs! Other than, I have them, they are BIG, and they are getting old (just like me)!!!

I did find this little ditty on boobs, however, that I thought I would share with you. Pick out the type that fit you and then you can put your own signature wherever you want and no one will know the code but us!

Perfect breasts
(o)(o)

Perky breasts
(*)(*)

Big nipple breasts
(@)(@)

A cups
o o

D cups
{ O }{ O }

Wonder bra breasts
(oYo)

Cold breasts
( ^ )( ^ )

Lopsided breasts
(o)(O)

Pierced Breasts
(Q)(O)

Hanging Tassels Breasts
(p)(p)

Grandma's Breasts
\ o /\ o /

Against The Shower Door Breasts
( )( )

Android Breasts
| o | | o |

Martha Stewart's Breasts
($)($)

And God created woman and she had 3 breasts. He then asked the woman, "Is there anything you'd like to have changed?"

She replied, "Yes, could get rid of this middle breast?"

And so it was done, and it was good.

Then the woman exclaimed as she was holding the third breast in her hand," What can be done with this useless boob?"

And God created man.

Ok girls, that's the sum total of my knowledge of boobs. And I think probably next time you will all think twice before invoking the 'bra lady' for any answers to the tough questions!!!

BTW, this week I was playing in men's underwear, but that's another whole story!

Thin... that was tooooo funny. LOL
I was going to tell these lovely ladies that I had to teach you what bras were for. That before I came along you thought they were EAR mufflers.

Here in OKIELAND we call them "Over the shoulder boulder holders" LOL
I had to find a full length mirror to see what I was....
they hang tooo low to see in a mirror that stops at my waist.
When my hubby says "Honey show me your boobs" ... I have to lift my skirt. LOL

To give you idea of me...
I am a combination of grandmas and lopsided. LOL

\o/\ O /

But I want to be....

(oYo)

I'm Baaaaccccckkkkk! I have spent the past 2.5 hours reading all the way back to where I left you all, seems like a hundred light years ago, and I am determined to post my replies before I hit the pillow tonight. So if you see a huge amount of continuous letters not making any sense you will know that my head has hit the keyboard and there is just no hope for me at all! *sigh*

Some of these replies are for stuff that is very old (I had to go back 3 threads, after all ) so please just bear (or bare, whichever you prefer) with me. Gosh, can you tell I'm getting slap happy????

Joe anne: The real secret is to keep coming back, no matter how long it is in between. There are some really good people here with lots of great ideas to share.

Nancy: Do your recipe books have nutrition information too, or just the exchanges?

Tina: I love Pigeon Forge. It's been a really long time since I was there though. I'm sure it's really grown up since then. * The Dump Cake recipe sounds good, and easy enough for even me! * Congrats on the 1#. Keep up the good work! * I'm so proud of you putting that cornbread away. And as far as the soapbox goes, stand on it more often. It's hearing of the battles won that makes us all a little stronger. * You talking about all the blooming that's going on there makes me yearn for the south. I miss our home in N. Carolina, even though we were only there for 2 years.

2cute: Sorry you missed your dad's birthday. The big "D" isn't any fun when you're trying to get somewhere. * You're right! I fainted right off the chair when I saw you (of all people) had posted a recipe. Sounds really good. I bet you're a better cook than you make out to be. Have you been sandbaggin' on us???? * Sure, come on by. I have an extra bed from now 'til mid June and then again from the end of September 'til Christmas. * Hey, how did the colored deviled eggs turn out???? That sounded like a novel idea. My father in law gets a kick out of me every Easter. He never knows what to expect at dinner. I made Jello eggs one year and this year I made the Jello beans. He thinks I'm nuts........heck, maybe I am!!!! I'm glad to see you were able to create yourself from the boob examples the 'bra lady' left.

Katrina: Sounds like Curves was a great investment for you. * I didn't try the squash yet either, but it sounded good. No one in this house would eat it but me. I missed my chance. Should have made it for Easter when we were having company. They probably would have eaten it. * There are some real nice places to visit here if you decide to come up. * I loved the description of your hubby. A real keeper!!!

Michelle: Dig out that Foreman, it will be worth it. * That Chicken Florentine Lasagne sounds really wonderful. Recipe please.

Jen: Congrats on the 2# loss! Good job! * I sure hope you didn't get all that sickness passed on to your family. That would be the pitts.

LuckyLadyBug: I made Taco Soup Monday. Just couldn't bear the thoughts of ham leftovers the next day. I had to wait awhile and actually did them tonight.

Mary: Woohoo on your 2# loss! Great going! * That's so cute making a lunch date with your hubby.

Malia: Your Easter table sounded beautiful! I love spring flowers; tulips and daffodils. * You'll have to see if they have the new full figure Playtex bras that I just did out there by you. The one style that wasn't an underwire really fits nice and it came in leopard and shocking pink besides the white. * I have a copy of the desktop WW points calculator (that all the websites took off). PM me with your email addy and I'll see if I can figure out how to forward it to you. * As far as the job goes, everything happens for a reason and maybe the reason is the lady upstairs thinks you should take this year for yourself to get things under control. Look at how much stress you've been under just contemplating the new job.....let alone actually getting it. This may be a good thing!!!

Well girls, I think I've caught up. If I missed you, please don't hold it against me. It's 2 AM my time and I've read and typed about all this girl is going to for one night. I guess, once again, I will promise myself not to get this far behind again. There just was no time to get here the last week or so. I'd like to say that my jobs are slowing down some, but they're not. I have become crazy obsessed with capturing whatever is out there to do. I just don't want to say 'no' and it's making me crazy!!!! Must stop!!!!

Take care, my friends. Love to all of you!!!

"In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principles contain it or stand against it." - Jane Smiley

Good morning everyone!

I'm going to hold my breath when I get on the scale this morning...I didn't put on my light pants today. I am wearing my jeans. Figured I would pay the piper if I wasn't doing what I should be doing on program. I tried!

I had my rice crispies this morning...shared them with my son...and I had just a tad of water. Don't want to weigh it in this morning so I will take it with me and drink it during the meeting. After the meeting I will go to the grocery store to pick up a few things then I have to run and put an ad in the local paper for daycare. Then pick up my son...we usually go somewhere for lunch and we have to go get a gift card from Babies R Us for my neighbor...today is the big day for them. They go to the adoption agency and get their new daughter Brooke! I'm so excited for them!

Thin I loved the bra thingy! LOL \ o /\ o / Thats me...ha ha...grandma's breast! They aren't quite hanging as low as 2Cutes are these days but gravity is on their side!! Thats for sure!! LOL

Well I should get some more laundry going...I can almost see the bedroom floor now! Its been three days of non-stop laundry. I swear it breeds and multiplies right on the bedroom floor in those piles! I'll come back in to let you all know what kind of damage I did this week! I know I say that every week and have a loss but I really am NOT expecting one today!

TTFN Michelle

It is a NEW DAY. A new beginning. A new opportunity to try again.
Today is Thankful Thursday... and it as good of a day as any to be thankful for another chance.

Things we can be thankful for.
1 The opportunity to DRINK MORE WATER
2 The opportunity to improve on ONE food choice
3 The opportunity to re-dedicate ourselves
4 The opportunity to making PROGRESS ...not perfection.
5 The opportunity to be thankful we are not worst than we are.

Yes friends... we have the opportunity to TRY AGAIN.
Let's face the truth here. Each day is a new day , a new beginning.
Even if you ate "perfectly" yesterday... today is a new beginning.
Yesterdays mistakes does not mean you will make them again today.
And yesterdays successes does not guarantee you success today.

It is a NEW DAY for all of us. Today is a great day to try again.

I am walking out the door again... to try and see my dad.
Hopefully I will make it farther than yesterday.
I feel bad about not making it to see him on his birthday.. but I cannot undo what has been done. I can only be thankful that I have the opportunity to try again today.

Hello ladies!

TT: WELCOME BACK!! I loved your run down on the boobs! That was a good laugh. As for me and the kids, it looks like we got off easy cuz we are all A-OK (knock on wood *knock*knock*).

Michelle: Good luck with the scale today!!

2Cute: I'm with you girl. I decided that RIGHT NOW would be a good time to post because I kept finding myself in the kitchen looking in the fridge and the cabinets over and over. You just type at us as much as you want if that's what works!

As for me, I am having a "fat" day. I don't know why. I've been OP all week so far. It's amazing how I can wake up one day and feel like I'm doing great, making progress, and looking good, then the next day I wake up, see myself in the mirror and say "Oh, gross...what a pig I am", even though I look the same as I did the day before.
I did my exercise, and food is good so far today. I weigh in tomorrow and after last weekend, don't really expect much loss if any. I've been hovering in this weight range for over 6 months now. I am back to where I left off before the holidays, but I really need to see more results and I'm getting discouraged again. I sure hope to see a loss next week. I have measured myself, but my measuring isn't terribly accurate. I appear to have lost a 1/2 inch in each thigh, and a 1/2 inch in the butt, but NOTHING in the waist which is where I need to lose it the most!! UGH!!!!
OK,OK. I'm OK. Not giving up. The laws of physics insist that my body MUST give up the fat at some point if I keep doing what I'm doing. I just wish it would do it faster.
Oh, I am just rambling. I think maybe I'd better go for now. I'll pop in later.
Jen

Thankful Thursday
I am thankful for all of you
Thin you crack me up on the boobs I'm grandma too
Dh is home today getting under foot helping get ready for yard sale he just went to put signs up.
Well I better run check in later

Today my friends, I am thankful for many things...........but mostly for you. When I sat down at this computer, I had mean thoughts in my mind and tears in my eyes and I was ready to spill forth all the filth and foul that my boss had spewed upon me this morning for no reason at all...................but then I read the last couple of posts on the last thread and the things that 2cute said made me feel so much better and then when I saw all the descriptions of boobs Thin posted and the joke about the useless boob...............I swear, I not only laughed.......I cackled!! Thank you so much for making me feel better. I have already talked to DH and my Mom about my morning and although both sympathized, and tried to make me feel better...............I still hurt and was mad and then I came here and it totally boosted my spirits. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

In case you were wondering what I was so upset about......I will tell you, but thanks to all the wonderful, inspirational posts I no longer have tears in my eyes and feel much better. Ok, to give you a little background...........I work for an national answering service. We answer for companies nationwide..........retail stores, doctors offices, vets, real estate companies, we even place orders for companies. We are a tech support line for various businesses as well as even answering for branches of police and law enforcement. It is a good job and I am certainly never bored with the variety of clients we have. The only drawback is my boss. She is unlike any other boss I have ever had. She has a short fuse and can go off on you for no reason at all. Heck, what am I saying? Short fuse? Her fuse is non existent! I can't tell you how many people I have seen come and go mainly because of her abuse. Whenever your around her, you feel like your walking on pins and needles and you never know when she is going to go off on you. I have NEVER in my life had a boss yell at me for anything. And to clear something else.........I am a very good employee. I am never late. I think 3 times in the last year I have been late and they were never over 5 minutes. I have called in sick aprox. 3 times in the last year and this was when I had laryngitis and could not talk. And talking of course is something you have to do at an answering service. Anyways, this morning, the girl that was coming in on first shift called in about 6:30 and said she would be late this morning because she was having trouble with her battery and there was nothing open this early for her to get a battery, so she would be in as soon as she could. (I did mention to her that our Walmart is 24 hours and she could get a battery there) which seemed to upset her......like I had blown her cover or something......but that is another story. So, my co-worker called my boss and told her that the girl had called in late and she said that one of us would have to hang out till the girl got there. Well, there is only two of us on third shift because of course, it is slower on thirds, but when someone is late on first, one of us has to stay. Well this presented a problem for both of us, because my co-worker and I both have small children that we have to get home to and get dressed and get off to school. NOT TO MENTION THAT WE HAD DONE OUR JOB AND COMPLETED OUR SHIFT! So, while we are in the midst of discussing who would stay, one of our other co-workers walks in. Well, this surprises both of us because she was not scheduled to come in this morning. So we are both like..."What are you doing here?!!" Although I must say I was never as happy to see anyone in my life. She was under the impression that she was to work this morning. (This is another cute little thing my boss does. She posts the schedule and then she changes it and doesn't let you know when the change affects you. She just expects you to check the board everyday.) So, we told her that the other girl had called in and was going to be late and she said since we had been there all night and she HAD planned to work an eight hour shift, she would be more than happy to stay till the girl got there.......freeing us both up. Well, I knew better than to just accept that, so I called my boss to let her know what was going on and these were my words exactly.... I said, "Boss, (but I used her name) Ann just came in. She thought she was supossed to work today, and said since me and Jo Anne had been here all night, and we have kids to get home to and get ready that she would stay till Tammy gets here." Is that................And before I could even get out the rest of my sentence she started SCREAMING at me!!!! Yes Tina!!! She can stay, but I want a conference with you and Jo Anne on Friday at 4:00 when you come in to pick up your checks!!! Ok!!?
I couldn't even think of anything to say other than, "Ok." And for the life of me I can't figure out what we did wrong. She would have had to pay one of us to stay and it would have been overtime and I don't know any other employee including herself that would have done anything differently. And this really hurt my feelings and made me mad! I mean, if I do something wrong.............then I expect to be told so, but to be yelled at like I was her little dog just made me so mad. I cried all the way home. I can't stand being treated that way. And I still can't figure out what her problem is. I don't know if she was mad because she felt me and Jo Anne were being unhelpful by not staying over and allowing Ann to stay. I just don't know.
I am so frustrated. And I can't quit and go somewhere else. My DH works 2:30 till 10:30 and I have to have a job where I can pick my boys up from school and there's just not that many jobs around here that let you get off work at 3:00 or third shift. Anyways, my fingers are tired now and I'm tired of belly-aching. Thank you so much for listening. Like I said, I've been tore up all day, but just coming here and reading the posts was like a warm blanket around my shoulders. Thank you so much for being my cyber-family and all around angels! I appreciate you and love you guys so much.

Anyways, the picture I'm attaching was what I looked like before I read the posts................as you can see, I was in great need of help. Just imagine how bad it would be if I didn't have you guys??!!

Tina...tell that witch to take a hike! LOL I loved the picture! Is that really YOU? Let me tell you, I had this boss who always talked to people like they were crap and yelled at people all the time. Well one day she started talking to me like that and I looked up at her (I was sitting at the computer at the time and she was standing) and said, "DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" Wellll....all the girls in the office stopped what they were doing and their jaws dropped to the floor....they couldn't believe I talked to her like that. Of course they were all younger...but I said to them...No one deserves to be talked to like that and unless you stand up to her she will continue to do it...she never talked to me like that again! I wouldn't worry about what she has to say...If she complains about you two leaving then I would look at her and say would you rather have paid one of us overtime or pay someone straight time... as long as the shift was covered what difference does it make. We have young children and if they get left alone then child services will be called in and I wouldn't risk losing my kids for anyone or any job! Who does she think she is anyway? Go in there with your head held up HIGH and your guns loaded...but be nice! LOL You would love it if it was me in there with you getting yelled at...I would stand up for us 110%....

Mary...aren't men a pain in the you know what??? Can't live with them can't live without 'em!!

2Cute...hope you made it ok to see your dad today!! Don't fret about not being there yesterday...at least you are planning to see him! He will understand!

Jen...the scale was kind!! LOL Don't know why but it surely was!

I was surprised once again on that scale...I lost 2.6 lbs this week! That makes a total of 12 lbs in 3 weeks..now if I could keep this momentum going....hummmmmmm...I know its not gonna happen....but I could dream can't I? I am more than half way to my first mini goal of 20 lbs....breaking it down to 20 at a time is what I am doing! Once I get that part off then I wipe the slate clean and go for the next 20...and so on and so on and so on.......I got my 10 lb ribbon today...little incentives along the way!

Well I better get going...I want to call my Aunt's in West Virginia to see if my parents got there yet. They were leaving Kentucky today to go to WV and then Monday they are leaving to come here for a couple of days. I will be eating Low Low points all week because when they come its usually nothing but eat out eat out eat out! I have a spiral ham from Easter that I am going to offer to cook one night so that we don't have to eat out. Hopefully they won't be sick of ham from their own Easter dinner. I didn't use mine since we went to John's cousin's for dinner last sunday!

I hope you all have a great night! Michelle

Hi gang...

There's so much I want to write, but it's late, and I must take a nap before work...I have been thinking about Lucky and just had to respond...your last post sounded so sad...and it made me sad. I just happened to open up "Simple Abundance," (I don't look at it every day, but just felt the need to today...) I opened to April, this isn't today's quote but I liked it so I'll share...

"Self-love is the only weight loss aid that really works in the long run." --Jenny Craig


Isn't that so true? We must love ourselves enough to do this. Easier said than done, that's for sure. I know a lot of us struggle with that very issue.

We are moms, wives, girlfriends, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, friends...we are unique and yet we are so much alike. We share this weight problem, we have self esteem issues, we do so much for others, but we neglect ourselves. We give GREAT advice to others that we don't follow.

We must dig deep, if necessary, and look for the love within us, for ourselves. WE DESERVE TO BE HAPPY! We would wish that for everyone else here, so we must include ourselves in those good wishes. We must treat ourselves like we would treat a cherished friend. I cherish all of you in this group.


I'll be back in the morning...have a good night, my friends.

Good evening everyone! Actually, I guess it's good morning already. I had a fairly nice day....almost off today. Just one little job at K-Mart, a CD audit. The rest of the day I spent doing up some laundry for the youngest son as he was stopping by the house on his way to and from court for a traffic ticket. $185 fine later and maybe he'll slow down! OUCH!!!

Oh, almost forgot, we did have a dinner job as well. That was nice. Took both sons out with us and the youngest left from there to go back up to school. Another court date coming in a couple of weeks for a second speeding ticket. Will the boy ever learn???? Maybe when he gets the new insurance bill with all the points on it, ya think?????

My food has been just awful for the past couple of weeks. I'm not even caring this week. No pep talk needed. Just accept me with my defects is all I ask. My head will get turned around here shortly (I hope) and then I'll jump back up on the wagon with all of you 'losers'!!!

Congrats to all of you who have lost this week! GOOD JOB!!!

Glad you all liked the boobie chart. Guess most of us are 'grandma's breasts' \o/ \o/ Do you think we'll ever be 'perky' (*) (*) again??? Eh, probably not!!! One could dream.

Michelle: Nice loss! Isn't it fun when it's a surprise??? Watch the ham on the day before WI, lots of sodium for water retention.

2cute: Hope you were able to get to your dad and had a nice visit.

Jen: Good for you realizing that you are doing the right thing and eventually your body will 'give up the fat'. It's soooo easy to get discouraged at that point and it's so great that you are keeping the faith.

Mary: Good luck with the yard sale. They sure are alot of work. I have a bunch of stuff that I'd like to just donate and get it the heck out of here. But I'm like 2cute and see the $$$$$ potential and find it hard to just give away before trying to sell it.

Tina: Tell the B*&^% you're not going to let her get away with talking to you like that....boss or not. Like Eleanor Roosevelt said, no one can make you feel inferior unless you let them. Don't let her. There is no reason that she should have that kind of power over you. Hasn't she ever heard of "do unto others......"??

Katrina: That was really a powerful quote from Jenny Craig. Maybe that's what our biggest problem is, the inability to love ourselves. But how hard is it when we can't get around so much and have gotten so big that the amount of weight we have to lose is just so overwhelming. Sure seems like it would be a HUGE job to try and start loving ourselves for who we are without letting our size get into the picture.

Baylee: Glad to see you're back! Are you done with the CEU's now or do you still have some of it to go???

Well girls, I'm off to bed. I have another fairly full day of jobs tomorrow. Hosiery to set on the other side of town. Then lunch with hubby and an apartment shop. Then I need to check on my nursing home patient before coming home to put my feet up. See you all later.

"The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference." - Audre Lorde

Hi everyone,

This is a special thread. Make me laugh with boobie jokes (by the way...{@}{@}) and cry with frustration from witchy boss incidents. Tina, don't get sucked in her unprofessional behavior. Sooner or later she'll get hers. Maybe she should get her butt in and cover for her absentee workers. Yuuuuck, ***** bosses are the worst. Mine doesn't lose her cool, she's ice cold hard. She'll be getting hers with this new girl (who has a record of complaints a mile long). Try talking to her about composure. I'll be a lamb in comparison.

In the middle is everyone who are still on plan and exercising. I have to come clean. I totally binged today! Like 2cute's chinesarrhea. My mom dropped a tooth brush in our toilet yesterday. I woke up unable to exercise because it jiggles things loose. I tried to get back to sleep all the while telling my digestive system "go back to sleep now". I ended up driving to McDonalds to do the deed and eat breakfast. Down hill from there...croissant sandwiches, mcd happy meal, chinese food. coca cola. I've hit rock bottom. I'm not even going to say, tomorrow I'll try again. Either do it or cry myself to sleep. time is flying too quickly for me. I want to be like Michelle, steadily losing weight.

Sorry to be such a whine. This period right after TOM should be the high of the month, the most focus. Zilcho.

Time to put a lid on it,
Malia
{@}

Kat: thanks…..I think part of it is this weather…..it can get to you sometimes, especially if you live in the North. I also do not like my job and that wears on me and triggers eating. I had a great job for a wonderful company for 27 years but because of my Dad’s health I quit it to move and be with him. I know it was the right thing for me to do but the job I found here isn’t “my” thing.

Baylee: just read your post and, as I said to Kat, it could very well be the weather. It toyed with us a couple weeks ago and I started thinking painting and planting – then – zap – it was all taken away with snow, snow and more snow.

Malia: Maybe it’s not the weather causing us to have problems with our eating…I say it’s our JOBS!!!!! Haha Actually, the work is okay it’s my co-workers. Not to be judgmental (haha, as I say this!!) but I work with some no-it-all back stabbers and I find it difficult to work with people I can’t trust. Maybe it’s just a sign to keep moving on. I have noticed there are many jobs available in the medical field here. I don’t have any background or education in that but it might be something to check in to. That or hang out in bars looking for a wealthy farmer!!!!!!

Later…..