Week 3 already! I hope everyone is doing well! I'll update in a reply

Wow, week three already! Doing somewhat better sticking to my foodplan. Trying to get back down to the weight on my ticker, I gained a couple back : ( My DS18 wants to come back home and stay in school (after spending $500 for a week in an extended stay hotel!) so we're renegotiating the house rules...I don't need the stress and drama so this is his last chance. Broke down and called his father after over 2 years, he's actually backing me up this time. Today is my "thursday", I hope everyone is having a great monday, and has a great week!

Ran 3 miles last night...funny how that happens. 3 miles is a short run for me now. It feels weird to say, "I'm JUST going to run 3 tonight".....still trying to wrap my head around that at times.

Ate too many calories over the weekend. Since i leave for vacation in a little over 2 weeks, I'm going to try to push myself to stay 100% on plan for these 2 weeks with the saving grace of -- "in 2 weeks" I can take a breather and enjoy a little more.

I'm burning off more than I eat daily - but the extra calories are helping me maintain my weight, not lose weight...SO, this week the goal is to lose the weight. I have a 10 mile run to do this week. It's my longest to work towards, but after this I go on a 2 week taper (meaning shorter distances, so I don't pick up an injury and my legs will be well rested for my 1/2 marathon)
--
seems like running is such a huge focus right now, not much focus elsewhere...

Will be writing another separate post with personals this morning - 2 or 3 pages to catch up on

Kathi - glad you enjoyed your walk, snow pictures - and the stillness in the air - hope the renegotiating with your son works out...seems like a cycle he needs to break out of...so hopefully this time will help that his dad is backing you up

Petra- how was the pilates and yoga? Which do you prefer? playing ostrich -- glad you realized it for yoruself and you figure out what works for you - neat to know about the oncology. HOw did you decide which way to go? Interest? In high demand? etc

Cindy- love your new picture - hope you enjoyed Box Springs - kept reading, looks like it was great...man, 70's...miss those temps...thankfully FL is only 2 weeks away for me

Kitteh- welcome to our boards, nice to have you here - let's get off that sugar! Rut-roh on the pizza/chocolate...today is a new day

OnMyWay - yeah for making exercise a priority

Heidi- woohoo on the recipe change...mentally will be a good thing for you

Marie- so glad to see you! The peaches are a wonderful treat and glad you're starting to feel better - you're through the worst part, it only gets better from here!

Annie- congrats on getting 18 mins in! GREAT job

LoriAnn- I've heard a lot of people do Shred...let usk now how it goes for you

Peanut- aww, that's nice - hope you enjoy your roses

Becky- waving to you...know your schedule is funky right now, but thinking of you

Natalie- what's going on with you? how was your weekend?

KittehMomma Welcome!

WeightLossWanted Good luck with your DS. Sounds stressful... I wish you strength and resolution!

LambChop Hard to believe that you're in the final phases of training; where does the time go?! Congratulations on all of your progress; you are doing so well!

Marie I'm so glad your recovery is going well! I bet you can't wait to be active again... Thinking of you!

I had a nice visit with my sister and my weight is down significantly enough from Friday that I went ahead and moved my ticker. I've had some bad news recently, which I don't want to specifically post for all the world for all time on a message board... but remember the results I got that I was so ecstatic about a few weeks ago? I went for further testing and it turns out that they were incorrect, so now I'm looking at surgery in the near future and increased surveillance. I'm feeling optimistic, though.

Happy Monday. The other inpatient psychiatrist is away this week. He is takinig his psychiatry recertification exam this week so I have extra responsibilities this week. Friday will be particularly ugly. The nurse practitioner helps out a lot but I still get some extra stuff on my plate. On Friday the NP is off AND I'm on call. Should be pretty unpleasant! I'll be the only psychiatrist for the whole hospital system. That happens when I'm on call over the weekend but its a little different on a weekday.

As for how I ended up doing what I do-when I finished my residency, I applied for both internal medicine and psychiatry jobs. I got a lot more psychiatry interviews. I guess the demand was just higher. Then after I got through my original board exams, and decided to apply for an oncology fellowship, I had been practicing psychiatry for a couple years already. I only applied to about 4 programs which was probably not enough. I only got one interview and I didn't get in. I decided to let it go. I'm sure the fact that I was a practicing psychiatrist raised some eyebrows. I'm okay with that. I'm pretty happy with what I do now.

As for the boyfriend, I think I have this fear that if I can't make things work with him, I'll be alone forever. I suppose I may prefer to be alone forever than to be miserable with the wrong person but I have to come to terms with that idea again. I was alone for 8 years before I started seeing him about a year and a half ago. I was okay during that time but it is difficult to return to living in that kind of isolation again.

Just wanted to pop on and say good morning. Mack is home today so I'll be hanging with him after I get done with the treadmill. I did put some of our hike pictures up on WebShots:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/576743343NYKnYY

Heidi - Sorry to hear the news. I too am still dealing with issues from my visit back in September. My specialist also wants to do surgery; however, if my CA125 comes back normal I think I'm going to ask that we do PAP's, Ultrasounds, and bloodwork for awhile. For me EVERYTHING keeps coming back negative but he still wants to cut on me. Most recently they found a dime sized cyst; I've been dealing with ovarian cyst since I was a young adult (some as big as an orange) and they always go away. My feeling is if there is no indication of a problem they don't need to cut. For me this all started because they didn't like the "feel" of my cervix. I tried to tell them it had been that way for many years (probably from when I was pregnant with Karl and they stitched it). Like I said, everything keeps coming back negative and if the CA125 does too then I will run things by my primary and go from there.

Kathi - One of the best things we did was speak to a professional regarding the difference between supporting and enabling . It's a fine line and one that is easily crossed.

Deb - WOW.... 10 miles..... YOU ROCK

Mack is up so I'm going to get my workout done so we can spend the day together.

Hello everyone! Weigh-in at work was this morning. I was at 184.6, down 3 pounds from last Monday's Biggest Loser weigh-in, but up 2 from my home low of 182.5. Wondering if I should move me ticker back up or see how the rest of the week goes? Glad to be less any pounds, but wish it had showed 182.5!! Oh well, new week for everyone!!

Took my dog, Tootsie, in to the vet for EKG, lab and chest x-ray today. She needs to have some surgery and they want to make sure she is healthy enough. The vet seems to think she may not be. She is 11-years-old. I hope the news is good when I pick her up today.

AZ Manatee-Thank you so much for the offer of the videos!! That is so kind. I don't have a working VCR though, so I wouldn't be able to use them anyway. I am so excited to have found WATP, I really think it is something that will work for me, along with the belly dancing. Low impact and all.

Petra-I think what you said about being alone and being happy instead of having the BF around and NOT being happy makes a lot of sense. I do hope you can move on and possibly find a more worthy companion to spend time with. Good luck on your studying. I can't imagine trying to take such a test at my age!! Even just to re-test for Radiography!

NewLeaf-I do hope your health situation proves that you don't have to have surgery.

LambChop-Reading about your running is always such great motivation for me. Thanks!

CruiseCat-Glad you were able to get out and enjoy nature on your hike. I can't wait until things green up around here. I hate brown!

WLW-Stand your ground on the rules of your home with your son. I hope things can be better for you both.

I hope everyone has a healthy day!!

Don't know if ya'll have a way to do this chat, but I'm jumping right in.

I lost 2 pounds last week and bought a pair of dress pants 2 sizes down. I was estatic.

CruiseCat I've been through the ovarian cyst monster and endometriosis. I know what that's like girlfriend. My heart goes out to you.

I just joined the site last week and look forward to getting to know you ladies!

Lamb, it’s so great that a 3 miler is “just” a run now. You have come so far. When is the marathon?

WLW, my thoughts are with you and your decision. I don’t have a clue what I’d do in your position. Child issues are the most difficult.

Newleaf, oh man! How cruel to have given you false hope. At least you know early and can make thought out decisions. My thoughts are with you.

Petra, I’m so surprised that having a practicing psychiatrist wasn’t a huge plus for getting you into an oncology program. Empathy and compassion would have to be the top requirement in an oncologist. BTW, never say never on career choices. You still could go back and do both. Can you imagine how your expertise would benefit people? As for the BF, the cool thing about being in the 40s is we can really think our way out of the emotions. Equating being alone forever with breaking up with Mr Wrong is so wrong. I know you are a compassionate, giving woman that will find the right person when she is ready. Don’t settle.

Cruise, the hills are so green. Very different for the high desert. I’m glad you enjoyed your day and will enjoy today with Mack.

Annie, my thoughts are with you and your pup. Aging dogs is so difficult because knowing the fine line of when to keep fighting and when to let them go to slumber is so hard. I hope Tootsie will be well enough for the fight and if not, that you will be comforted by her 11 years of love.

Welcome Wizzie, Congrats on the smaller sizes. Each progress marker on our journey is so motivating. We’re glad to have you here.

I have a dr. appt in 3 hours and I am hoping the drainage tubes come out. I really hate them!!! I miss exercising and sitting/reclining all day is yucky. But I do remember a time not long ago that doing nothing was my good days. As long as I keep hating the inactivity, getting back where I was 1 week ago will be not nearly as hard as I worried about.
Marie

BTW, I’m sitting looking out the window, palm trees and vegetation growing like crazy. I really like the tropics.

NewLeaf-I thought of you and your resolve to skip the Valentine hearts today as I walked by the marshmallow Peeps with barely a glance! They are one of my weaknesses, especially at Easter time.

Hello everyone!

Marie: So glad to see that you've come through your surgery with flying colors! I thought about you often, and your comment about the peach was so very, very on target! Rest and renew - those cankles will be gone soon!

Deb - thanks for thinking of me! You are doing so well with the running and overcoming the obstacles! It must be working gangbusters, given how your BP dropped. Is your resting HR improved as much too? You're going to have a kick-butt half marathon!

Kathi - I've been following your posts about DS ... sorry you're having to deal with the stress ! You've had the patience of well, a Mom ... and this is a tough lesson to have to teach. Really, really glad to hear your ex is backing you up!

Petra: Best wishes for productive studies! I'm a little jealous (just a smidge!) because I love learning and I miss being in school. I love reading about your eating adventures too - we have been so blessed with wonderful critters and plants to feed on - why eat something that comes out of a yucky ol' factory? Re the BF - sounds like you have all the self-awareness you need. Doesn't mean it's easy. Nothing in relationships is easy!

Heidi: Sorry to read about your medical stressors in the midst of your victories with a healthy lifestyle. Keep kickin' butt with the candy hearts - I tried a couple and they didn't tempt me like they used to. I think I'm too freaked about the artificial colors still! Didn't have quite as much resistance for the really, really dark chocolate that showed up yesterday!

Cindy: Your hikes are just divine! Thank you so much for sharing the photos and showing us how beautiful the place you live is!

OMW - I always count the swim meet timing as exercise! That slippery deck has to be a core workout! DS10 has a league champ meet this coming weekend, and in two weeks his season is done. Yay! He's not planning to go back next year - just burned out. He has mandatory sports built into his new school program, so I'm good with that. He can always get back into it on his own - it's like riding a bike.

Annie - sorry to hear about your dog - we had our Shorty put to sleep last Feb, and it's still tough to think about that decision process. We love them hard, don't we?

Wizzie- welcome! I've been gone so much in the last couple of months I'm practically a newbie again myself!

Many more folks to say hello to from the prior weeks - but I'm going to go forward from here. If I don't, I'll end up missing another week!

I'm still holding on a very slow downward trend. I gave away the last of my size 12's and bigger 10's, so there's no going back. Goal is close, but it just doesn't feel like the best I can do. I'm going to concentrate on getting ready for Atlanta, and see where that takes me (end of May). Will just work on eating well, and swimswimswimswimswim!

I promise to check in more - and thank you for not forgetting me! The schedule has not/will not let up in the near term, but I am going to carve out 3FC time even if it means giving up a few minutes of my beloved sleep. Bizarre that it's come to this; I kinda feel like I'm shooting Class 5 rapids and just hanging on. It CAN'T stay like this forever.

Well, it was good news from the vet. He said she is doing "amazingly well" for her age (11 years old). Yes, she has an arrhythmia and some arthritis, but he thinks it is relatively safe to sedate her for surgery. Her lab was good except for a slightly low white count. I am so glad, we need to get those breast tumors off of her. Her CXR was clear for mets (in case the tumors are cancer), so I feel it is the best thing to get them removed now. Will have to plan this and get it scheduled. I am so relieved.

Just for fun, here are a couple of pics of my girl, Tootsie. (Click to enlarge.)

ICU, Glad to see you again. Sounds like your life is pretty hectic but thru it all you are still losing! That's terrific!

Marie, Hope the tubes are out by now. Sounds like you are starting to feel human again. You'll be back on that elliptical in no time!

Wizzie, Welcome to the 40's chat. Hope you continue to post with us!

Annie, There are a lot of dog lovers in this group so many of us understand what you are going through. Hope the news is positive.

Cruise, Hike pictures are awesome! You do live in a beautiful place!

Petra, Relationships are so hard. Like someone else posted, don't settle. You have a lot to offer, hope you find Mr. Right. Hope you survive being on call!

Newleaf, Sorry to hear there was a turnabout with your test results. I'll be thinking of you!

Lambchop, you are doing so well. 3 miles is not a short run in my book. You are getting very close to your 1/2 marathon and a warm vacation!

WLW, Glad your ex is in your corner. Sounds like you need his support to deal with your son. Hang in there!

Peanutsmom, Sounds like you had a terrific Valentine's day! Hope things are going well with your little guy.

Kitteh, taking leftovers to work is a great idea. Get it out of your house if it could cause a problem!

AZ, Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

Took DD to the mall since we were off school today. Bought myself a very cute purse with some birthday money from MIL. Laundry to finish and still need to exercise. Booked our anniversary vacation today. Finally decided on the US Virgin Islands. Found a beautiful cottage to rent. There is something about planning a warm vacation when it is snowing outside! Also a great incentive to stick to my program!

I'm bloating....I hate bloating. Guess I wont see a change on the scale til the very end of the month now.

Going to do the JM 30 Day Shred tonight.

Annie: Best wishes with Tootsie. I had to take my one cat in for thyroid removal 10 days ago. At least now she is eating again and gaining weight.

Wizzie: Hi! Welcome!