Morning Girls
It's 10 of 2 in lovely scenic NJ and I feel like a freshman again I'm up eating bad ramen noodles and doing a paper
the marked differences are
My 12-pack of Mountain Dew has been replaced by hot tea no sugar no milk
theres no one in the room catycorner to mine tempting me to booze at 2 am
And I realized why i gave up ramen noodles (bleh)
I'm taking the day off from school b/c I'm sick AGAIN! what the heck is going on???
Lori our resident Doc I have a question Does your immune system go down during TOM b/c thats when I'm most suseptible to throat ears body ache thangs
I'm not going to count points this week tho i had intended to but as I'm hitting the store on tuesday I'm going to increase my veggie intake and maybe pick up some ww stuff
I want to try those hotpocket things of theirs they'd be great for breakfast in fact I might get some low fat coldcuts tho I'm not too keen on luncheon meat with that lysteria scare at the mo
weekend was good girlies dinner at a pub on friday then we went downstairs to see this country band (all nj guys singing in southern accents too funny) one of my friends friends was in it
they were pretty good and who was the one singing along with most of the songs it was me 2 years living in the south will do that too ya
and when they played garthbrooks I squeaked in anticipation
Saturday I had dinner with friends
NF had an event at his firehouse that if i had gone with him I would have been alone for about 7 hours So i didnt go
Its a long story
Kirsty I'm probably goign to get to Scotland when I'm over
and I'm trying to see if i can swing london
JAYNE~ My wonderwoman I will email you at some point today
right its 2 am and this lil buckaroo has to head off for the last roundup YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAW
Oh before I forget
JENK!~ congrats honey can't wait to see pics!!!
Belle still praying for your neice hon give us an update
Love Kierie

Morning Kierie....I hope you are not still awake!

I just got to work...and it is going to be a busy one until about 1:00 this afternoon. Then smooooooth sailing. I have class tonight....5:30-8:30 ick!!!

Tomorrow I am going to University of MO-Columbia for a conference. It is about a 2 hour drive each way. There is one other guy going, so at least I wont get too bored.

I am going to try and find a new outfit to wear when I get out of here. I need some new business casual stuff for winter.

Have a great day all!

Morning Ladies!

Rina - Welcome back. Doesn't matter where you are starting from only that you are starting.

JenK - congrats on the nephew. I know how hard it is to wait to see him. My nieces live 5 to 7 hrs from me so I didn't get to see them for 2-3 weeks each time. I'll post later with some yoga tape suggestions.

Marcie - hope you enjoyed the bridal show. Tell us about it.

Ali - sorry that you are anxious about the exam - I was always a stress bunny when it came to school. I think that it is a good thing that things are moving slowly with the guy. If it stops moving at all is when you have to worry!

Kier - sweetie - have you seen a dr. lately? You seem to have been ill an awful lot in the last few months. Hope you feel a little better when you wake up.

Are you ready for my big news? May I have a drum roll please? At WI this weekend, I was down 5.8. I'm so excited. It's the water/vacation weight I'd put on but I'm back down into my fighting range now. No, I'm not going to be fighting (hee) but I'm within range to start fighting towards making goal - finally!

The rest of my weekend went well too. My cousin and I saw Sweet Home Alabama Friday night - we loved it - a great girl bonding or date movie. I worked all day Saturday and Saturday night, CB took me out for a really nice dinner (which I ate with banked points!). Yesterday, we went shopping and I not only got a $50 pair of jeans for $35, but they were a size 8! A size I haven't seen since the early days of college.

Well, I need to get to work. I'll check back in later.

Laura

Good morning Marcie and Kier!!! I hope your days (and everyone else's!) is going well.

I was off on Friday, my husband dropped liquid plaster in his eye plastering our new bedroom ceiling. With the sand and lime in the plaster, it gave him a terrible chemical burn on his eye, so 4 days later and three Opthamalagist appointments later, he is on the road to recovery!! From now on, he will be wearing goggles!!

I am trying to read the past posts to see what all is going on.

Lets see....

JenK ~ Way to go on your midterm, you are doing great!! I can't wait to see a pic of your nephew, I have been going thru the baby blues right now, I want another...I don't know....

Jayne ~ I remember the days of mittens and toddlers, not easy, but they look so darn cute all bundled up!!!

Ali ~ Hang in there with your "friend", it could be the real thing!!

Belle ~ Keep us updated! We are hoping everything turns out just fine.

Jen ~ Like I mentioned to JenK, I am struggling for the last 8-9 months with the baby thing, my son is 4 now, I just don't know if I am ready to be done with the baby stages...advice would be appreciated!!

Marcie ~ I love wedding planning, it is so much fun...I hope you have fun at the bridal shows. An afternoon wedding would be very nice...I am partial to evening, candlelit ceremonies though!

Kier ~ The NF sounds like it could really go places....keep us posted, I have to live my pretend single life through you!

Rina ~ Welcome back, I too, am really struggling, and have gained 20 pounds back in the last year, we can do this!!!

Hi to Lori, Laura, Cat, KT (I am glad you are all moved in!!), and all that I missed!!

Well, I did not stay OP at all this weekend, but today is a new day, and I am going to try my hardest!!! I am "for sure!" going to do the treadmill tonight, and eat within my points today. My goal is to be down 15 pounds by x-mas.

Like I mentioned above, I am really struggling with the thought of having one more baby. I hope you all can give me some advice, you are my friends!!!

My son is now 4. My daughter is 7. I always thought that if I had one of each sex, I would be happy and wouldn't want anymore, but, I just don't know. To have another child, another sibling for my children, would be really nice. But, my concern is that I am I would be giving less love to my two children if I had another, they would have to share me a little more...I don't know. Then, I have the shallow thoughts, more weight gain, having to lose all that weight again (although I know I would do things completely different this time...watch what I eat, still exercise...etc.). My other concern is that my kids will be too far spaced. The advantage is that my daughter (7) and son too (4) would be great helpers....what do you all think. Are my concerns trivial?

Anyway, thanks for the input....DH and I haven't really talked about it, I know he is happy with the two we have, but if I wanted to have another, he would be happy to ablige!

Well, work calls....BBIAB....

The bridal show was smaller than I expected. After talking to a few brides to be there, they said it is really the smallest one in the area. SO...it was a good introduction to the big onces in Nov and Jan! I did get a few good ideas and talked with some vendors.

Good Morning again Ladies
So i dragged my arse out of bed and I'm about to hit the showers ended up staying up till 4 b/c at 3:30 when i finished my paper 16 candles (the end of it) was on tv then I realized the movie is 18 years old I bet the guy who played jake ryan is still hot tho he has to be!

Morning Tonya! I hope Hubbys eye is ok! as for the baby Q now mind you I have no children and due to my single status no immediate plans for Children but here's what I think when you add to your family the love just grows and the cool thing would be your son would get to be a big brother As for your own reasons for possibly not having a child well they are valid too You have worked hard to get and indeed stay in shape but whatever you choose you know we are behind you
Ali you are definitely making good progress
LAURA thats fantastic!!!!!!!!
Marcie when you were talking about your wedding and wanting the poss of an outdoor wedding I had the coolest idea for you if due to or incase of inclement weather you did have it indoors you could still simulate a tent wedding depending on how expensive or inexpensive he place you were having it in is but anyway when i read the description of what your honey wanted all i could picture was dancing to the orchestra in early evening and the accents for the tables would be white roses! and tons of fairy lights (oooh i think i need to be a wedding planner)
alright enough of this novel
bbl
Love Kier

Hey all... It is snowing big time here. We have 3+ inches already and it is still coming down. Way too early for this. I don't even have the yard cleaned up. ARGGG... being PG really takes the energy out of you! Sometimes I feel useless. I was alone a lot with Emma this weekend and running after a 2 year old wiped me out! I didn't get anything done!

Tonya, as for the baby blues. I had them all the time before I got PG. I think the reason for me is that I love little babies. But then I remember all the work they are. And now with Emma being 2, WOW, is it a lot of work. I really want to 2 kids and I know that I will have the baby blues after this one is born, but I am not sure if I will go for 3 or not. What you need to think of is, do you really want to have kids that spread out? Your son would be 5+ by the time a baby is born. Are you liking the freedom that older kids give you? Those are important questions.

I guess I should get some work done. Ughhh...

Hi girls - how are you all doing?

Kier - sounds like you are in a better position than when you were a freshman!! I miss those university days though....

Thanks for your continued prayers for Carmen - she really needs it. I went to see her yesterday and spend some time with my sister. I started to cry, even though I didnt' want to. She is back on the respirator, as she turned blue when they took her off it. Her skin was pink though and she has a hairy back, just like her sister did! Her hair on her head is thick black and its now straight. She is really sweet, doesn't like her bum being patted though - she made a face at me.

Hi Marcie- have fun at the conference!

Laura - woo hoo on the size 8's!! I haven't been an 8 since Grade 2 ha ha!!

Tonya - I am a child of 3 and we love it- its nice to have 2 siblings. the flipside is less time for the first 2....good luck deciding and remember you have lots of time...

I had another totally horrendous weekend. I think I am overwhelmed and I am thinking of going for counselling. I know it sounds stupid, but with the baby and my mom/house stuff and the B/f stuff on top of it all, well, its alot.

Yesterday there was more b/f stuff. We were re-capping Saturday's wedding and he was saying he wanted to get married in New Brunswick. I am in Calgary....my family is about 4 times bigger than his is.....anyway, he went on and told me he really doesn't want to marry me until he is sure he wants to stay here and he asked me if I'd move to Halifax - even further than New Brunswick, and i haven't ever been there. I mean I am sure its nice, but I don't want to move accross the country to somewhere I know no one and I have never even seen. Anyway, I thought that the only way to rectify was to break up now. Its only 2.5 years wasted, better now than later. But when I said it it really seemed like a harsh reality. He started to cry too - I have never seen him cry. And he said he really loved me and thought we were perfect together but that he misses home and that maybe that was all it was. I said he should go home for xmas this year. He said he only had a week and it was too short. Anyway, he felt much better after the talk, I did not. He figures we'll compromise and find a way, but I don't know what that is. I would not move accross the country without at least being married - I mean, if we were a family and having babies and stuff - that is one thing. But if we were just dating no way I'd move. But the truth is, I am very close to my family and I don't really want to move far away like that. I also don't want him to resent me.

At least now I know for sure that this is just a temporary relationship and that I won't be getting married, so i have no illusions. But I keep waking in the night crying and having anxiety. I can't get back to sleep, and the days are really hard b/c I am so tired.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent - feels better even though its just in cyberspace!

Must go - have a good OP day.

Wow, it's certainly a morning for long posts! I think I'll be adding to it. I was away Thursday-Saturday last week so I'm just now catching up on all the posts....

JenK- A nephew! How neat I want nieces and nephews. I bet you can't wait to see him.

Belle- Glad to hear Carmen is doing better. Her picture's adorable. She looks pretty darn good. Sorry to hear the BF situation is up in the air. I hope you two can get things sorted out and move on, either apart or together.

Tonya- Your poor hubby. These home repair accidents can bee kind of bizarre. One time when I was about 8, I was sitting in bed reading, and all of a sudden a pair of legs come through the ceiling. My dad up checking the state of rafters in the attic. As for the babies- I'm the oldest of 3, and I wouldn't trade my baby brother in for anything (even if I tell him I would). BUT, my poor mother was definitely exhausted chasing three kids around all day (we were not the most angelic bunch).

Kier- Ramen's evil evil evil! I went vegetarian when I was 16, so it was pretty much out of the question, until a friend of mine pointed out to me that you could just buy a packet of veggie bouillon and use that as flavoring instead. Went on a bit of a ramen kick for a while. Now I only let myself eat it if I'm sick, and I never buy more than one packet at a time.

JenL- I want some snow! We had a little frost last Thursday and now I want some serious winter.....

Laura- 5.8!!!!!!!!!! Even if it is water weight, it's still awesome awesome awesome! Good for you!

So....I had a pretty good weekend. We had fall break, and Thursday morning I left for a three day backpacking trip. It was my first time out alone and it was AWESOME. I did about 35 miles. Took along my healthy backpacking food (oatmeal for breakfast, homemade trail mix all day, rehydrated beans for dinner), so it was a good time foodwise. A little short on vegetables but so much dried fruit I think it's ok for a few days. It definitely took off a little weight. At any rate, my stomach is not looking so bloated. And I feel so much better now. I'd been feeling kind of ick before and hauling a pack around in the woods just takes all the kinks out of you! So that was that. Now it's back to the grind. I have a semi-off day today, nothing specific to do but a few articles that need reading. Went on a bit of a cleaning spree this morning and decided to attack the stove. I was feeling a little frustrated after a rather heated conversation with the 'rents and the stove got the brunt of it! So now we have a sparkly clean stove and I feel ten times less stressed. Which means it's time to buckle down and do some real work on my darned project.

Cat

Tonya - I don't have kids and have never had the baby blues so I can't really offer too much advice. One concern you had was about how far abpart your kids would be spaced - they might not be playmates as kids but they could still be friends as adults. Hope your hubby is doing better.

JenL - 3" of snow! I'm so jealous. I miss winter.

Belle - sorry to hear of the b/f troubles. It's hard when you love someone and they love you but you don't want the same thins out of life. You mentioned counseling - a session or two might not be a bad idea - sometimes just pouring everything out to an objective listner can help a lot.

Cat - sounds like you had fun backpacking.

About the previously mentioned yoga tapes, if you've never done a yoga pose in your life or aren't athletically inclined, try Living Arts Yoga for Beginners with Patrica Walden or Yoga for Dummies. Annoying instructors but precise instrctions on basic poses. If you've done some yoga once or twice or are fairly athletic, try Living Arts Yoga for Weightloss with Suzanne Deason (good but relatively short and basic) or any of Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners tapes (he's an excellent instructor but some tapes are 70 minutes or more).

Laura

Hey Girls
ARG WHY AM I NOT IN MY BOOKS!
Belle we are here for you and we have shoulders of steel whatever you decide to do base it on what you want and we're behind you alll the way honey
cat the trip sounds great want to come over and attack my stove?
bbl

OH we moved, I almost couldn't find it at first!!!!

We are supposed to get 5-8 inches. We have got to be close to 4 or more by now. Amazing in October!!!

How is everyone doing OP today? I had a muffin and an apple today, doing well!!!

Roasted turkey for supper tonight!!

Hey all.

Not much time for a long post today. To make a long story short, last night we were bringing Aaron into the ER with a temp of 104. We had tried Tylenol and a cool bath, and neither brought the temp down. We found out that both of his ears are infected and that his throat was also pretty raw and swollen. So they sent him home with antibiotics. We had to wake up every 4hours in the night to check his temp, andt to give the tylenol. It was a long night. He's fine this morning, just a little cranky. He's sleeping lots, though, so I'm getting lots done. I will have to find time to have myself a good long sleep too, I think.

Belle, we'll keep Carmen in our prayers still...as for the BF thing, you have to ask yourself...was he showing his true colors by going out drinking with his friends when Carmen was in trouble, or was that really out-of-character for him? I think that's going to be a really important point to consider as you make your decisions. Good luck, honey!!!

Everyone else, I will write you such long chatty posts tomorrow, but for today, I think I'm going to get some shut-eye!

Hey Girls,

Its the end of the day but I thought I'd pop in really quick before I'm off to bed. Today went really well for me WW-wise. I used up all of my points and three of my banked ones from the weekend but for Monday that is good. On Mondays I give treatments at Cosmo which is a place for people who have mental & physical disabilites to work. Anyway I give 9 massages & some of my clients there are very needy & demanding so I find it very draining & usually when I come home I'm starving & I just eat from the time I get home until I go to bed. Today I had everything planned out but I was so hungry when I got home at 4:20 that ate my supper right away. Of course come 9 o'clock my tummy was growling at me so I had some snackwell's which caused me to use my banked points but that's ok b/c that's what they're there for. I am really tired tonight. I didn't do any exercise b/c work was so physically demanding & like I said I'm so tired. Anyway for a Monday I thought I did good. How did you all do?

btw its great to see so many familiar faces & for you all to remember me Its awesome to be back

Belle, don't think its stupid to seek out counselling. It might be what you need to get through this rough time. Seems like you've got a pile of stress right now & you need to take care of yourself too. I'm thinking of you sweetie.

Kierie I hope you get some sleep-that might help you to keep your immune system from getting depleted. Take care of yourself girl!

Tonya, Hope your hubby is doing ok. THat sounds like it would be terribly painful. The men in my life never want to wear goggles either. My Dad ended up with metal filings in his eye twice & almost lost his sight in one eye & we still have to argue with him to wear safety goggles!

Laura, congrats on the major loss! You go girl!

Cat, your trip sounds amazing! 35 miles is amazing! Keep it up

Jen, did you get snowed in? Hope you get some rest.

Jayne, I hope Aaron's feeling better. Take care that you don't catch it!

Marcie, what class are you taking? Have fun at your conference


Hope everyone had a great day! As for me I'm off to bed. Talk to you all sometime tomorrow

-Rina