Hi everyone - Starting a new thread early because I want to be sure everyone gets to read this. I too spent Friday just in shock over the news on Carlie. I have 2 daughters and my oldest is very shy. We actually purchased the following "game" - which was developed by an investigator. It freaks her out when we take out the box - but going a little at a time has really helped her to start being more aware of her surroundings. Here is the link to the product.
http://www.situationsthegame.com/index.html
It is called "Situations The Game" and it truly has opened my husband and my eyes to all of the dangers that do lie out there. We do not let our kids off our property - our house is the one in the neighborhood that all the kids flock to and we leave our 120lb dog outside at all times with the kids. He will bark like crazy if any stranger even comes near our driveway which is 200 feet from the street.
Hope this game could be helpful to some more parents here - you just need to take it slow because they do feel a little scared to put themselves in those positions - but I really believe it is SO IMPORTANT!

Other than that - I've been sick this whole weel but doing good with my carb intake. Not stepping on the scale until Valentine's Day though just trying to learn to stop playing the scale game in my head!
Have a great weekend all....
Kim

Good Morning Everyone,

-Kim Thanks for the link. That game seems like it's a real eye opener. Will be ordering one one payday.

Well I didn't get much sleep last night. I don't know if it was the 3 hour nap I actually got to take yesterday or if my mind was racing because today I have to drive 50miles in the snow with my sister and her friends to pick out bridesmaids dresses. I am not looking forward to this. These girls are some skinny minnies and trying clothes on is depressing enough as it is for me. I'm going to feel like a heifer next to all them. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I'm going to need major alterations to this dress by the time April comes.
So I'm off...lots to do before I must leave. Hope you all have a great day!

Kim--thanks for the link. You know-it might come in handy for Girl Scouts also! Some of these girls (mine included) need an eye opener and a way to realise what to do if they're put in these situations (besides freak).

Trazzie--Sorry to hear about the not sleeping. I hear you on the trying on clothes and dresses. My sisters are ALL skinny sticks. Then THEY say they've got to lose weight. WHERE?? My mom has joined Atkins and is now slowly losing weight. I'm glad for her because she was in the same boat I was with being disgusted w/the weight on our frames but feeling there was nothing we could do. And she had been on induction and wasn't losing that much. I actually did not think she'd stick with it!

I plan on going to her house today. Well, braving the roads. I HATE driving on snow covered roads. It's not MY driving it's the idiots that share the road with me! GRRRR. But I'll only stay there a little while because hubby is working (again) today and gets done early afternoon. I'd like to spend some time w/him for a change!!

WOOHOO!! Our taxes are finished and got an email confirming the Federal was accepted and we should have an auto-deposit in 1-2 weeks!! YEAH!!!!!!!!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Good Morning Ladies,

My stomach is sick with the news of that little girl, SIGH~ I just have no words that can say how I feel, my heart aches for those parents of missing children. I am always praying for my daughers safety and that she would run screming her head off if that would ever happen.....

Okay off that, my dieting has sucked lately, I am having such a hard time. I have to go on induction again and will for lent. I cant stand not losing for this long, before christmas was the last time I lost, toooo long.

Watcha all doing this weekend anything good ? fun ? exciting ?

TTYL, Leenie

Good Morning Ladies. Its been a few days since I last posted but I can honestly say that yesterday was my first OP day in awhile and boy did it feel great!! No indigestion or heartburn!!! YEAH!! now, that is good news!!

Today we have my son's Blue/Gold dinner which for you non-boy scout families....is the annual cross over from cub scouts to boy scouts. We are having the banquet partially catered and since I've been on the planning committee, will have some good safe atkins food. **fingers crossed** They have this special ceremony with shooting an arrow on fire, and the boy scouts lead the new members to a camp for their first 'official' campout with their new troop. Should be alot of fun,....COLD but fun since the ceremony and the sleepout is all outdoors!

It truly saddens me that the girl was not found alive. I haven't been keeping up with the news lately and I only found out yesterday that they found her body. VERY SAD....my heart goes out to her family. Makes you give an extra hug to your own and to be alert to more around you. Parking lots often make me more cautious and I always look around and lock up as soon as I'm in the car.

HI Everyone!

OK... I am going to be honest.. I have been so busy the last few days that I havent listened to or watched the news. I have no idea what you are all talking about. But IF a child has gone missing and not found alive, I am saddened to hear it... not to mention scared to death for my own kids! My heart and prayers go out to her family! Thanks for the link KIM! I may have to order that too.

Sorry about being MIA everyone! Thursday I had to do a GS Leader Training class and yesterday I was working on a website for my hubby's NEW car club!

I am down 2 pounds as of this morning.. but I am waiting until Monday to make it offical!

anyone got any good books to recommend on Potty training puppies. Sophie is doing well, but we have aproblem with her getting excited or scared and peeing on the way out the door! I know it goes with the territory.. but I really would love some tips on how to deal with this! I am looking for Puppy training classes this weekend too!

Gotta run to DS's Basket ball game.. but I will check in later!

Hugs!

Happy weekend ladies!!!

Thanks for the link Kim that looks like an important piece of info. more people should get it, I will be!

Well this weekend I am doing taxes...YES!! and I am cleaning the house. I have also been invited to the first ever Dock Dog challenge in Portland by a friend it should be fun . The handler throws a toy or bouy out into a pool and the dogs run as fast as they can down the dock jump and fly through the air into the pool, whichever dog jumps the longest distance wins. ONe of the girls who helps in dog rescue is competeing, she is 16 yrs old and her dog is 3 which is young for both. I hope they win!

Still feeling the effects of TOM, I have some water weight I need to drink lotsa water today to get rid of!! and I need to start doing food log again!! I just had sucha crazy week. Oh well start back today!!

Myles (youngest ds) if feeling alot better today thank goodness his fever broke so he is back to his happy self. Nice to see him eating and lively today.

KIm I passed on the link to Situations out to my whole email list!! Thanks again. I hope everyone will do the same.

This weekend I'm throwing a baby shower for a friend...should be fun. I've never done one before, so I hope it goes well.

I'm going to cook some highly dangerous chocolate cupcakes for them (I made my flax ones last night to help relieve the pressure to eat a bad one)...and I bought the world's largest bag of potato chips. I didn't get BBQ chips at least--major weakness for them.

Anyway, work has been stressful, TOM should be here by now, but instead I'm left with chocolate cravings and the need to stuff my face. I've been 100% on legal foods, yet consuming way too many calories of them. I am not expecting to lose weight doing that, but I'm just kind of in a holding pattern right now to avoid bingeing on carbs and falling off the wagon. My ketostix went from dark purple to pale pink now too (my water consumption is steady). Bleh. I wish my dang period would just start so I can get my whoosh. I was 168 when I weighed this morning but I'm not changing my sig until after TOM.

Hi Ladies,

Finally back after 3 days of a burnt modem, the darn thing nearly started smoking, too much posting perhaps It was actually much harder to stay OP these last couple of days w/o fitday and coming here but managed aok, my ratios were off one day but the last 2 were bang on, guess this stuff is finally sinking in. And down a pound to boot (I feel your pain Khem, TOM just left and took a pound with it!) And off pager too, Guess I need to catch up on the postings.

Be back soon.

Oh I heard a quote I liked today, thought I'd share:

"Cravings are like stray cats. They stick around only so long as you feed them. "

Khem: For some odd reason, that quote reminds me of my ex-husband.....hmmmmm..

I have discovered that I am now absolutely, certifiably, incontestably ADDICTED to this website. ****, I had to find something to compensate for the lack of sweet stuff in my diet! I actually look forward to getting up in the morning, making my coffee, and sitting down to catch up on the posts. The story line chronicling Carborina's trials and tribulations has me chuckling throughout the day. And, according to my daughter, when I'm updating my signature to account for pounds lost, I "bang on the keys like [I'm] mad or something." I had to explain it to her: "That's joy, baby. That's joy!!!"

Hi everyone!

Hope your Saturdays are going well! So, oops, I went off plan today, but not too bad and at least it was a lovely meal...I went out to lunch with my friend (she's from Germany doing post-doc work here) in the old part. We went to a quaint, tiny little restaurant ... adorable - one of those old, old places, with stone walls and low ceilings with huge wood beams. Looked beautiful with the snow falling outside. It's snowed all day, but we were out wandering around for a couple of hours, so at least I got my exercise in today and some fresh air. My friend is enjoying the snow so much because she's never seen so much of it stay for so long ... I told her that we'll see if she still enjoys it so much in a month or so! We've still got a long way to go ...

But...no skating today, so hopefully tomorrow. It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow, so that would be a perfect day for skating.

Other than that, not too much to report. I'm just working on an assignment for the class that I am TAing, but it's going well, just one question left to do. Perhaps this evening I'll just curl up with a book and a blanket ...

Take care all.

Good Morning All,
Yesterday was so stressful. We all managed to settle on a bridemaid dress we liked, however its very sheek and will expose my lumpy tummy So I have alot of hard work to get done by April and that includes finding an awesome trimming girdle. The only good news that came out of it is when the lady took my measurements I had shrunk (just a tad) but it's was enough to tell me the inches are slowly coming off

Trazzie: I have a wedding to go to also in April (but luckily I begged out of the bridesmade thing!). That wedding has been my incentive, as I'll be seeing tons of my husbands relatives who last saw me when I was hovering at 190 and didn't fail to come right out and tell me that I looked like I had put on weight. I tend to carry weight all over, but especially in my middle and lower abdomen (thanks to my c-section). I'm usually hesitant to recommend anything to anyone, but I have to mention the piece of equipment I bought to help me because it is making SUCH a difference. Don't laugh, but I went out and bought the "6-Second Abs" machine that they're advertising on TV. I found mine at a Sports Authority store and it is fabulous. Unlike everything else I've tried, it doesn't bother my back, because you can do everything sitting up. It also allows you to start at a really, really, easy tension and then work your way up. I just park a chair in front of the TV and work out for 10 minutes every evening while watching re-runs of "Friends!" Trust me....I've tried tons of products for my middle-region over the years and this one is great. It's about $60.00 and I can tell you I would have paid twice that for the results that I'm seeing.

Good luck!!!