Hey there all,

I'm just about to go to bed, but I thought I'd cheat just a bit to start the thread for the weekend.

I've seen fullfig's name popping up this week! And Froufy! *waves* It's been awhile!

Jina: Listen. We have to talk. This night's behaviour was completely unacceptable! What right do the Tampa Bay Lightning have to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0? *sigh* So embarrassing.


I had a meeting with my supervisors today (er...yesterday actually, I guess) regarding my thesis work, and we've determined that my experimental validation is going to be impossible to perform (I'm glad we determined this after I spent a couple weeks working on it! ), so we made a few changes for the direction of this last part of my thesis. This means about another month of simulations/analysis, then, hopefully, I can write, write, write and get this baby done. Then be free .... to do .... something. Unfortunately, I have come to realize that this 'something' of which I speak, is likely going to have to be a job. But, if it's overseas, then I'll be happy! That's all I'm asking for.


I'm a bit excited because I just received an invitation for a wedding in Quebec City in August, and a 'casual' invite for one in Holland in September! And maybe, just maybe, I'll be going to both. Here's hoping!


Well, that's it for now ... have a good weekend everyone,
Julie

lekker--it's good to see you too. how's it going? i was a little nervous about finally starting my career as i was closing in on finishing my master's degrees. it was all good and very fulfilling once it did get started. once i got pregnant, however, i decided that i really did want to be a stay-at-home mom until the second child was in full day school, maybe even beyond that time. i have not worked outside the home in 6 years and have never regretted my decision. i absolutely love being with my dd all the time. as i stated earlier in the week, we have just begun trying to create a second child. sorry i got into so many details. i started out thinking about how you are getting ready to start a completely different phase of your life and career. seems like ages ago. have a great weekend nonetheless!

spedmom--you are an inspiration to me as well. although we have lost almost the same amounts, you have accomplished yours in about half the time that i have. i've let myself have far too many breaks. i know though that eventually i will get to where i want to be. if i am able to get pregnant again, i know that i'll be hitting induction level after the breastfeeding stops. my dd nursed until she was 38 months. for that reason, i really wanted to have as much weight off beforehand as possible. i've been reading a lot lately about fertility in mid-thirties. what an eyeopener. i could actually have plenty of time between now and conception to hit goal. we have 14 months left here. i would really prefer to not be due right around the time of moving. soooo, we are starting the "trying" phase now. man am i chatty today. good luck with finishing out the school year!

marie and genghis cohen--nice to meet y'all too. there are truly some of the nicest folks in the world right here on this board!

mrs h--i am in turkey. we've been here for 10 months. it is a whole different world here. not all women here enjoy the same choices and freedoms that we do in the states. living here for nearly a year has really reaffirmed my love of our country. i know we have folks posting from all over the world. i'm not saying that america is superior to anyone else's country. i'm just saying that i love the usa and am proud to be an american. i do not want to offend anyone. i love that our world is made of so many unique and vastly different countries and look forward to visiting more of them.

brenda--i believe you are in the central time zone, which is one hour behind est. in other words, if it is 8 am at your house, it is 9 am in est, and 4 pm in turkey. this is why most of you are in the bed when i get on in the morning or around lunchtime.

i know i am probably forgetting to mention someone from yesterday. thanks for welcoming me back after being gone for so long. y'all are truly the cream of the crop. i love watching each of you progress in your journey to healthier living. although i feel so much better about myself when i am thinner, it truly is about being healthier this time. here i am at 34 with an almost 5 yo and getting ready to hopefully have another. i've got to be around for a long time to raise my yunguns. my dh will be 40 in the fall. between a few months last spring and then started with me last fall, he has dropped almost 45 lbs and is feeling better than he has in a very long time. there are lots of hereditary diseases and health problems in both of our families. so we decided last year that we really needed to make some changes in lifestlye and be much more proactive in our health. so here we are--him at 145 and me at 177, trying to be healthy for ourselves and our children. okay enough with my chattiness. don't want to bore anyone. i'll probably be scarce a good bit over the next couple of weeks, as my dh is taking two weeks leave for us to visit different parts of turkey. with him preaching every sunday, we don't get to take advantage of long weekends. hopefully i want do too much damage carbwise while we are out and about. the pide, especially kesharle pide is scrumptous. it is a cheese bread, almost like a cheese pizza with no tomato sauce. i always have them to not cook the egg on top, just having the bread and cheese. okay i am getting hungry. have a great weekend everyone!

ok, i was doing fine eatingwise, until about half an hour ago. the kapigi (superintendent of our apt building) just brought up a big pide that his wife had just made. i had a handsized piece. it was the plain kind, no cheese, and was so flaky. oh my gosh. his wife makes the best pide that i have ever eaten. i exchange dishes with her and the landlord's wife. i'm guessing that pulled my carb count up to around 20 for the day, so i'm hoping if i keep the rest of the day low that i won't have done too much damage. it sure was worth it though.

Good Morning Ladies,

Its wonderful outside today. I'm gonna shower and dress, gotta go to my MIL's house for her birthday. Then after that its outside to play

Right now I'm having coffee and watching the Wiggles with dd (hot lookin men )

Have a wonderful Saturday.

RANDI !! good luck today .

Morning Leenie! Have a good time today.

Hey fullfig! Yeah, it's a bit overwhelming to know what to do next. I had similar feelings after my undergrad, but then I went into grad school and put that off for a bit. I love hearing you write about Turkey. It must be so very different to live in a country where the women don't have as much freedom as we do over here. (And probably frustrating, I imagine) I lived in the Netherlands for a year, but the Netherlands are probably one of the most forward thinking countries, so I'm sure the experience was nothing like the one you're having in Turkey ... I mean, Holland is a great place where I could actually see myself living longterm (of course my heart will always be at home in Canada).

You know, before I went overseas I had thought that I was pretty open-minded about other cultures and countries etc., but when I actually got to the Netherlands (it was my first time out of North America), I realized that I was quite a bit more arrogant about Canada and 'the way we do things at home' than I thought I was! It was actually living with my Dutch housemates, and listening to some of their comments, that made me realize this over time. I was still proud to be Canadian, but I think the way I presented myself changed. I don't know if I became more humble or what, but I could tell that something was different about me, after I realized what sort of image I was presenting, even unknowingly. I think one of the most interesting things that I learned from my little stint overseas was how to have a more critical eye towards my own country, or just the ability to be more objective when comparing how we do things in Canada to how things were done in Holland.

Has anyone else felt anything similar when they lived overseas? I assume that it's possibly a much different experience in a country like Turkey though, where social rights of certain groups are limited. I could see myself being frustrated and wanting to change some of those things.

... sorry for spamming the board with my Holland talk, everyone. I'm always interested in what other people think when they travel/live in another country.

UGH. What's w/this connection? It took me 5 minutes to get into this from the main page! I'm sorry I don't have time for personals now. All is well here and just wanted to let you know if ya don't see me all is well. I'm just frustrated with this slow connection.
On a good note--the WI today says I'm down a pound. Would have been more but I had a "Steamer" which was 1/2 & 1/2 & chocolate. Plus a huge salad (once again I ate more than I should have and felt like puking. Gotta quit that.). So it's my own fault--but I'll gladly take the pound. And work to get the rest off

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!!

Happy weekend ladies, well I have already been to the gym and out petsitting and Leenie all I have to say is (singing) "LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION WIGGLES!!!" I was watching too this morning. I am now having lunch and getting ready to clean the house it is nice outside so the boys are outside playing and dh went to work!! Yeah clean house by myself whatta concept! Well TOM is offically over and I had no cheats!! I am so proud! I am almost ready to weigh in after my 2 weeks of induction, I am anxious to se what happened. Well off to clean Talk to you all later!!!

Yay!! the board is back up! I was going through withdrawals. Not much to report. Unfortunately it's Sunday and that means tomorrow is the dreaded "M" word. I'll report in more tomorrow

Good Everning Everyone!
Sorry that I don't have time for personals, but we just got in grom the beach and so now I have lots to catch up on before bedtime. Hope everyone had a great weekend. It was beautiful at the beach so sunny and warm. So sunny that now I look like a lobster Have a good evening everyone, and will check back in later if I get caught up on all my stuff!
Lisa

Just had to respond to Julie: The Lightning are hot. They are now up 2-0 in the series. I read a humorous article in the paper yesterday. Some folks from Montreal came down to watch the Canadiens play. They said hockey was much different in Florida. They said it had a real party atmosphere. They said they take hockey MUCH more seriously in Montreal. Maybe they should lighten up a little?

By the way, it's great seeing you around again!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Take care,
Jina