Thought I would get this started for us.

Let's keep up all the great work, friends!!

12 days until the first day of Spring!!

WLW, I’m glad the back spasms are decreasing.

Petra, dog hair??? Hmm, how could that be (from the person who was still picking fur off her clothes two weeks after arriving in Cancun).

Suzy, enjoy your sunny weather. One never knows when that crazed old man winter will swoop in again.

Annie, I had my real first sign of spring today. An Anna Hummingbird was visiting my feeder. They are so adorable. I am hummingbird obsessed. I made fresh food this morning since the feeder had the winter mix in it so Anna will have fresh food.

I had a great day yesterday. I did the elliptical and pushed it up a notch. Not a lot, just a little. I’d added the arm movement, no effort behind it, to help loosen my arm incisions. Yesterday the arms were much better so I did it again yesterday. Then DH and I did the 1.5 mile walk that exhausted me the week before. It was great. 55 degrees and sunny. I hated wearing a scarf to cover the incisions/scars but long term it was worth it. And I held onto Blizzard’s leash. It was so fun.

Today is DH’s birthday. We’d shopped on Friday and thought I’d share a tidbit of our conversations when I picked up the 4 and 8 candles. BTW, I’m already 48, I’m 7 months older than him.

Me: Ooo, you’re getting old.
DH: Not as old as you.
Me: But I look younger.
DH: But you feel way older.

It was funny as the last two lines referred to the surgery. There was a cute lady, about 75 that looked at us like we were insane young chickies.
Marie

Hello to everyone. I missed you all, but had a wonderful relaxing weekend with fiance. Had lovely weather on Saturday. We heard the frogs waking up around the pond and woods, and boy were they looking for mates! They were louder than I have ever heard, even on a summer evening. Interesting.

I did okay on food for the weekend. As usual weigh in this morning showed me 2 pounds heavier than my low of last week. I am still going with the Thursday weigh-ins for my personal tally. I am going to use that day as my official weigh in once the Biggest Loser at work is done.

I read up on all of ya'll's posts from over the weekend and everyone seems to be doing good and hanging in there. This is such an encouraging and supportive board. Thanks to you all for sharing your journies. And welcome to all the new faces.

So, Marie, you married a comedien??

(Tootsie continues to heal slowly and might get her stitches out Friday. Fingers crossed.)

P.S. After over a year of self-imposed unemployment, fiance finally started a new job today at the local Air Force base. Such a relief and one less thing to worry about.

Wow, are we ever a busy group!

OnMyWay – I hope you have been able to keep those 4 pounds from last week off, and that you got the beautiful weather you were hoping for!

AnnieDrews – I hope your dog is doing well in her recovery!

CruiseCAT – I’m glad your stepson (SS?) has been found… I hope things aren’t too rocky as you all adapt to your new circumstances…

Wizzie – I hope you’re feeling better from your flare-ups last week! Congratulations on being 18 pounds lighter!!

Petra – I hope you are doing well with your calorie limits, and that you had a great weekend!

PeanutsMom – I’m having fun watching you use your new toy – I’m glad it is providing you with some insight!

KittehMomma –Congratulations on breaking into the 130s!!

MySuperHealth – Welcome!

WeightLossWanted – I hope you got some good news on your back and you are feeling better! Oh, I see you did – just pulled muscles. I hope everything is resolved by now!

ICUWishing - Not good when it’s even obvious to a 10 year old… I hope your calorie tracking is going well. Your changes from one birthday to the next are awesome! I hope your meet was great!

AnnieDrews – great job getting the whole family on the veggie kick!

Marie – I hope you are healing up well… yes, it’s depressing when the changes are only incremental now… but they will all add up to good! It sounds like you had a nice, relaxing weekend… nice! It sounds like things are improving for you, with the elliptical, walking, and being able to hold the leash. I’m sure all these mini-improvements must buoy your spirits!

FruitLady – Welcome!

TuningIn – I’m glad the scale is moving for you!

LeitnerFarmLabs – welcome! Congratulations on your 12 pound loss!!

LambChop – I hope your race was awesome and that you aren’t too sore!!

SuzyMc – I hear you about the 4 days, now 5, of sun in a row! My eyes are *not* used to this… I actually think I prefer the grey; the sun bouncing off the snow gives me a headache.

Here, nothing new. I haven’t been exercising and I’ve been lax on food. Those 2 things always go together. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. But today I am doing well with food and I got outside for a hilly 3-mile walk, so that was nice. Did I ever mention that our dishwasher was broken?? It’s going on about 2 weeks now and the part is finally supposed to be in… they should be coming back on Thursday; I can’t wait!

Heidi-when I was growing up we didn't have a dishwasher.......well, I was the dishwasher for our family of 5. I now say that if I didn't have a dishwasher, I would stop eating! I have a total aversion to handwashing dishes. Hope you got your dishwasher fixed.

I'm not feeling very well today. I think I"m coming down with some virus. I have a sore throat and I'm achey all over. I thought a lot of the soreness was from all my exercise videos over the weekend but I'm not so sure that's it. We have 3 patients on my floor in the hospital who have a GI bug right now. Plan to go to bed early tonight and hope I feel better tomorrow. I hate taking off work for being sick.

I had a minor victory tonight. I took off work early to take my younger son to the doc as he has an ear infection. He was feeling okay, so we all went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. It was very hard to pass up my usual ordering habit, but I ordered the grilled lemon pepper tilapia, steamed veg and fresh fruit cup. It was delicious!! I wasn't disappointed at all and didn't feel deprived. The waiter even complimented me on eating healthy.....he probably just wanted a big tip from the old lady. I had a couple of slips today, so it felt good to eat that for supper. I am going to buy a grill pan for the stove and start grilling some meats and fish.

Heidi-I feel for you on the dishwasher situation. I haven't had one since I got divorced 6 years ago and I really miss it. I have gotten used to doing the dishes myself, but hate having a dish drainer taking up space on my already meager coutertops.

Petra-I do hope you feel better! I have dodged the bullet twice in the last couple of weeks....older son had strep and younger son had a cold that turned into an ear infection. I have cut out most of the orange juice I was drinking because of the calories (I really think it helped me ward off major bugs), so I probably ought to at least take a vitamin C supplement. I have some sitting on the kitchen counter for the boys, I will try to start taking them.

We had spring storms here today, even a tornado out west. Straight from winter into spring....that's Oklahoma!

Have a restful evening everyone.

Good evening everyone!

Home all day with DD. She had a stomach ache. Work has been pretty crazy lately so I was kind of glad to be able to call in. We had a good weekend with nice warmer temps and lots of sunshine. Went to a going away party for one of my son's friends, he is leaving for basic training tomorrow. It is awesome to see a young man so eager to serve his country. I did not do well staying on plan over the weekend. Back to it today though.

Welcome to our new friends! This is a great group!

Monday and I made it to the gym!!! I feel so good about that. I am easing back into the groove of the workout. Scale down another pound this am. I mentioned that I am back to my healthy eating habits but I didn't mention I have cut down (more like out) the sugar in my diet. I know I am not able to eliminate all sugar but I am trying. I have stopped the diet sodas too. This has been a hard one but what a difference it is making. I still have an occasional light beer (sugar) but still having succes on the scale.

Glad to read all the posts and remind myself what a great group of people you are and what an inspiration to me. Even being away for a month I though about all of you often and prayed for continued success.

Petra: glad to hear the washing machine is up and running. I am with you on the dishes. I am one of five siblings and was the one who usually got dish duty.

Onmyway: Hope the DD is feeling better. Sorry to hear about work being crazy but at least you are enjoying nice weather. We are expecting sunshine and warmer temps her in sunny California by this weekend. Let us hope. I am a winter person but enough is enough.

Have a good Tuesday everyone.

Hey, everyone! Sorry that I was an over-forty dropout! I went through a month or so of being slightly blue and totally unmotivated. Blech! Oh...hi, new people! In way of an introduction, I'll be turning 50 this summer...I'm a musician (which gives me a good schedule that I pretty much create) and mom to a daughter who is about to turn six. I live a couple of hours north of New York (the city, that is) in a part of the state which is very into good food. (Both the growing of it and the eating of it.)

Something happened last week that snapped me out of my malaise: best friend collapsed while visiting family on the west coast. Finds out that huge mass that we've known about for at least seven years is NOT a uterine fibroid but an actual tumor. (It was 26 centimeters!) After it's removed, spent a few days waiting to find out if it's treatable. And yes, it is...and her prognosis is excellent. But whew! One moment you're standing in Starbucks feeling fine and the next they're talking about your life in terms of months?

So I'm feeling very, very grateful! And ready to get going with losing weight. Will get caught up on what everyone's been up to!!!

Liz

Good morning, everyone. I got my ticker, woo-hoo! Next interim goal--reach the ten pounds down mark. Getting close.

This morning, I'm off to the gym, where I expect to get a really good aerobic workout. I need to work hard these next couple weeks, because I'm going on vacation for a week later this month, and temptation will be going with me.

I've got a lot of catching up to do here--

Petra--sorry to hear you're coming down with a bug. Take care of yourself.

WLW--good to hear the back spasms are getting better.

Marie--Aren't hummingbirds great? I love watching them.

Annie--glad to hear you had a relaxing weekend and that Tootsie is continuing to improve. Way to go at the restaurant.

Connie--welcome.

FruitLady--welcome.

TuningIn--sugar is so difficult to deal with, isn't it? It's so prevalent in our food and our culture.

Sorry if I missed anyone.

I've got to go ready to leave. Havve a great day, everyone.

Oh, one more thing-what is the etiquette about starting the new week's thread? Is it just started by whoever posts first on Monday?

Hey! Where's my ticker?

Never mind, I found it.

No etiquette here... who ever jumps on first on Monday gets the honors...

Morning all. I'm back to 3FC's after being gone for way too long. Thought I'd join in here if that's ok.
I'm trying to make better food choices, choosing more whole foods, more veggies. Need to start doing some kind of exercise, have some limitations due to back/hip troubles that make even walking painful. And no muscle tone. I have stretches, etc from phys. therapy that I need to get back to doing.
It'll take me awhile to 'meet' everyone but I'm looking forward to it. Someone mentioned a dishwasher. I've never had a one, woudln't know how to use it and I'll be 46 this yr! Well, I did have one but she moved to TN!!! Actually I guess I'm one of the few who enjoy washing dishes. I love the feel of the warm soapy water on my hands, it's soothing and it is a time of reflection for me, relaxing. I look out my kitchen window, watch the birds, see our little creek. I know, I'm odd. Now the drying and putting away is anther story.
Hope ya'll have a blessed day!!

Thanks all for welcoming me!!
I just got back from Caldwell Texas on Monday and still haven't started my exercise. I got on the scale and I was 179 instead of 178.

Today I am going to do both weights and get on the treadmill, and as usual walk dogs and do their obedience!! Tomorrow I have to go back to work!!

An old saying is

Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail!!!

Wow Heidi you are close to your goal!!

KittehMomma I am jealous but happy for you, I want to weigh what you do!!

Tuningin: It's great you are down another pound. I like you have gotten rid of all the sugar in my life. I no longer keep anything bagged (chips,soda,breads, or anything with flour etc.) in the house. It was tough at first but my husband is real supportive. I do have one cheat day a week, but it's only one meal I can cheat at it's not the whole day because that would lead me to a disaster.

Petra: Sorry your dishwasher is broken. The only thing I like about washing dishes is that it keeps my hands warm!

Marie: sounds like you had surgery, hope you are doing better!