God Bless America!

We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We recently started a Topic of the Day.

Monday........Motivation Monday
Tuesday.......Tuesday Tips
Wednesday.....Wednesday Weigh ins
Thursday......Thankful Thursday
Friday........Friday Facials, Fingernails and Fun
Saturday.......Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Sunday.........Soup and Salad Sunday - recipes

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share. We have found them very helpful. We also share heartaches and fears...joys and celebrations.

WELCOME!

I had foot surgery because of a heel spur and plantar fasciia. They cut the arch tendon (where it the plantar fasciia comes in) that had attached itself to the heel spur through scar tissue. Two very small incisions. Piece of cake. And it was done by a podiatrist.

Now I make sure to keep that tendon stretched and no more heel pain.

Its Fun Friday! Do something fun! I think I'll go to Kohl's at lunch.

Do something healthy for yourself today! Syn is doing great.

Come on ladies, it has gotten very dead around here and we're not focusing on being healthy. We don't want to the group to die out and we're not attractive to new members either at this rate.

Let's get up and get focused! Let's get healthy! Let's kick these bad habits and show some enthusiasm!

I need some help here being cheerleader.

Hello everyone - I'm finally back! It's been so crazy busy here. You'd think with school finally being out that things would slow down a little, but it just isn't happening!

For fun today I'm going to play in the sun this morning & I'll scrap while the kiddies are napping.

Terri, I'm with you, we need to get up and get going - c'mon everyone - where are ya!?

I had a BAD food day yesterday - the first one in quite a while - and I'm not giving in just because of one bad day. I'm gonna keep on working. I've lost 20 lbs so far and I'm not going to sabatoge myself because of one bad day.

What are the fun plans for the weekend that everyone has?! I don't have anything planned - that's my fun - I can stay home and RELAX or work in my garden, whatever I choose!!!!!!!! As my son would say "yee haw!"

I'll be back later, and I hope to see some more posts!

My internet provider is have some "issues" with my phone company AND I still have a cold. This cold medicine makes me

Any way off to have some soup and guzzle Nyquil then lay on the couch - read, watch TV - TRY to get over this cold. UGH!!!!

Where is everybody?

I was able to scrap today for about three hours! I don't know if I'd exactly call it fun, but I enjoy it. Right now I'm working on albums for my daughters. Their biological father abandoned us when I was pregnant with my second. Lately they've been asking a lot of questions, so I decided to put an album together with pictures of he & I. They're turning out nice and it's a little bittersweet. I hope that the girls will appreciate them - and I think they're ready for that stuff. I even have two of all my wedding stuff saved - napkin, invitation, bulletin etc to put in the books. Ah well . . . kinda makes me a little meloncholy thinking about it.

So - what did everyone else do for fun today?! I think I'm going to take an evening walk when dh gets in from mowing lawn. That way I can go ALONE and leave my son with him.

Lucky - hope you feel better soon!

Terri - did ya make it to Kohl's? Find anything FUN?

Better scoot - be back tomorrow - until then . . . 'night all!

I'm here, but very tired. Today is the last day of our prepared food. It was just too expensive and we had to commit and pay for 4 weeks in advance. That made it a chunk of change at one time. The food wasn't bad, and it was great no to have to figure out what to eat, but even with the controled portions and balanced meals I did not manage to loose any. Dh lost about 10 pounds the first couple of weeks, but nothing after that.

I've got to get back to reading Dr Phill,just haven't taken the time. But I don't want everyone to get ahead of me!

Good evening ladies. Just a quick pop in to say thank you for all the support and prayers for my sister. It has been one **** of a roller coaster ride.
One morning they call at 7am and say her kidneys are shutting down and other organs and they need permission for specialists to give her some treatment and a swan in her heart AND that her chances of living have been cut in half from 35-40% chance of living to 20%. And then before they can do all of these things she gets better on her own. A nurse told me Friday morning 9am that she was far from being well enough to even think about removing the respirator... and at 1pm Friday afternoon it had been removed and she was doing well. I asked the nurse what changed... and she said she was in shock just like me. She thought the doctor was crazy removing it... but obviously he knew better than her.
There has been soooooooooo many up and down stories to tell you... but I won't.
I will just say... "my sister is breathing on her own and eating ice chips".
I don't know what her prognosis is now... I just want to enjoy her being alive.

I really need to get some sleep. Just had to share the good news.

As for heel spurs... here is what I was told and it has helped me.
Drink lots of water, before getting out of bed in the mornings exercise your feet. He suggested spelling the alphabet with your feet every morning. And exercise them before standing every time too. And while sitting... exercise them too. Stand on tippy toes while sitting...(if that makes sense) LOL. And thick soled support shoes. They are not pretty but it sure does help.

Good night dear friends. Love ya !!

Hi chickies!

I've been periodically lurking. Military life has had me on such a roller coaster ride lately that I can't think straight. I'm supposed to be leaving for Boise on Tuesday and YESTERDAY I'm hearing that the guys are coming home early!! So now I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear if I'm going to stay or go. I have to decide by Monday of course. i would just DIE if I got to Boise and then he comes home! How horrible would that be? Of course I have a really hard time believing that they would be sent home early, but it would just figure the ONE TIME the military does something right, I'll be half way around the world. UGH!!

Food has had it's ups and downs. And exercise is just walking and going up and down these stairs all the time. Weight is holding pretty much steady. I bounce up and down a couple of pounds. I think I've lost one more pound though.

Anyhoo, just thought I'd let everyone know I was still around.
Talk at ya later,
jen

Good morning ladies!

Well, my Fun Friday was to get my good bike out for a short spin to find that it works great and then go over and spend time with the horse. I decided not to go to Kohl's but to stay and read. I'm reading "One Hundred Years of Solitude" that Oprah's book club read. Bizarre but oddly enough, good so far. I have a long ways to go!

I'm on vacation! I don't go back until 6/16!! We plan on spending lots of time at the boat and just goofing around the place. I have a list of stuff to do but nothing major.

Its official. I'm in training for the MS150 in September. I got up and rode early this morning. I rode for 32 minutes and it was fantastic. I am really feeling the difference in my back from all the pilates and conditioning work I did all winter. Plus the 27 pounds gone!

Now, we're off for breakfast out (I will be sensible), get a hoof pick, go to the horse, get a seasick patch script filled, over to the nursery for flowers, and then back home. I have this motion problem that I am going to try a patch to see if it helps. I never feel sick on the water but when I get off the boat, I feel like the ground is moving. After I rode the ferry at NYC last fall, I felt it for a month. Hope this helps or else it will be November before the ground quits moving.

2Cute - The power of prayer! I'm so glad that your sis has made this turn around and will continue to pray that she keeps getting better. Thanks for the update. I hope you get some rest. Love ya!

Jen - Its good to see an update from you too. You'll be in my prayers too.

Barb.G - That's a bummer about the food. I'm spoiled in that DH does all the food prep. I just make the menus. Get some rest!

Lisa - I have some scrapbooking ideas I want to try. But I don't want to go hog wild and invest a bunch of money in tools. Your's sound like a really good thing to do for your daughters. That will give them something to cherish for a lifetime.

DH is up and I'm hungry. I better scoot for now.

Have a great Saturday and make it a healthy weekend!

I'm still here lurking occasionally

just want to say thanks for all the advise on heel spurs. i am doing ultasound with a therapist. feels a little better after one treatment. i am going to keep it excersized too. would love to try the high heels but i am on my feet 8 hours at a time and don't think my back would hold up to that.anyway thanks! everyone have a nice weekend. pat

determined I do not knwo where you take your classes but I am interested. I work out at the YMC. I just got my bike out and am going to try and learn to ride it. I am told there is some great riding up north of me in tiffany springs. I am just trying ot increase my aerobic now. I am a big weight lifter I love it and could do it every day but it does not burn the calories I need. So I have to find something else to float my boat. Today it was to walk around the nelson atkins and the plaza. I may try my tae bo video later. it depends how tired I am

Hey everyone

It sounds like lots of us are working hard out there. I have some great news to report (pointing down to signature line). I lost two more pounds! Half a pound more and I'm in a new decade. 10.5 and I'm out of the 300's! Wahoo!

My WLS friend and I talked last night and she told me about her surgery. I asked her why she didn't feel she could tell me, and it was mostly because she had made up her mind and was afraid to hear more negatives instead of the support she needed. And I have to admit, I do find myself somewhat jealous of her for having made it down the path already. Yes, I'm still struggling, and my journey isn't going to be nearing an end for quite some time at the rate I'm going. But surgery isn't the right option for me right now. I don't have high blood pressure like she did, and I haven't been newly diagnosed with diabetes like she was. Maybe if that was the case I would feel differently. Still, I was supportive of her and reminded her that I am her friend, thick or thin. It was a good conversation.

I've got to get out of here. My daughter was baptized and the confirmation is tomorrow. Even though I told everyone there wasn't going to be a get together afterwards, I know they are going to try and show up at my house anyway. They might actually listen, but this is family, and they can ignore your requests without a second thought. In other words, I'd better make sure the house is moderately presentable.

Take care!

Andria

OMG look who the cat just drug in! LOL

I have been so so busy with school. This has been the worst semester yet. The three classes I picked all had major papers to write. Two term papers and a thesis! I got an A on the thesis which I did on vampirism!

Anyways, I haven't even had time to lurk so I have no clue whats going on with anyone these days. Only what I read here and I have to say 2Cute your sister is surely in my prayers!!

Lucky I had a scratchy throat all day yesterday and knew I would wake up sick today! Sure enough, full blown cold. Only I can't take my nyquil until I go to bed. I had to do two final exams today and I need to throw together one more term paper then I have one more final to take on monday! Only then can I crash on the couch!! I will have a week in between this semester and my next one! And yes...I am taking 3 classes again! Glutton!! If I take 3 classes per semester then I can graduate in one year with my bachelors! FINALLY!

OK I babbled enough! I really need to get going! I will be back again I promise!

TTFN Michelle

Hi ladies!

We had a good day. Breakfast out was nice and we were both sensible - no biscuits & gravy or pancakes. Ginger is looking just about back to her normal self. And I spent too much money at the flower place and I didn't even get that much! But I got some beautiful plants to put in big pots. We were kind of lazy this afternoon. I spent a couple of hours working on paperwork and bills.

We had to watch the Belmont Stakes and it was disappointing.

Tonight, I almost got into a fight at the stable. When we got there, this one particular man was mouthing off about something and throwing around a lot of obscenities. He didn't even stop when I got out of the van. We got Ginger out and was working with her. This guy and some other guy, both of whom were obviously drunk, almost got into a fight. DH was not happy. They have a roping arena and there were a bunch of guys there most of whom looked to be drinking. I thought at one point there was going to be a fight and I saw one with his hunting knife out. This guy and one of the other workers got into a heated discussion and he went into the barn and I could hear him yelling and cussing even more. By then, I was angry. I put Ginger back into the lot, had the rope in my hand, and when flying around the front of the barn and told him if he didn't shut his big mouth, I would be moving my horse. Poor DH couldn't keep up with me but he lit into the man for talking to me like he did. I made it abundantly clear to the owner's nephew that I pay money to be there and if it happened again, we'd be calling the sheriff. DH was a little stunned that I was going to kick the man's a$$ because he was a big man! His behavior was inexcusable especially since he was claiming to be one of the barn managers. I wasn't even scared. Maybe lifting weights has gone to my head!

Amy - No classes; I do it all at home on my own. The pilates I do are from the Winsor pilates series that I got from Collagevideo.com. As far as the general conditioning, I use a weight training book to design my workouts. What area of town are you in? I'm in Blue Springs. You've done great so far! Feel free to call me Terri. Welcome to the group!

Michelle - Great to see you! Wow, you have had a killer semester. You've done great to keep up with all that classwork, a family and a job!

Andria - Slow and steady! Just remember you're building lifelong healthy habits. You've done so great and you will get there!