Hello, lifers. I hope you had a good weekend. The play was well-received again. We had a good time. I went out to a pub with some of the cast on Saturday night and ate some fried food. I remember now why I haven't been eating it (yuck). I did pretty well the rest of the weekend and WI is tonight. Went running on Sunday and felt good. I would love to see a loss.

I also had a show with my musical group. It was for the Connecticut Club. It was a small audience (about 40), but they really liked us and want us to come back.

Have you seen the fashion for fall? Actually, I don't see much difference from last year.

Weather here is hot, but not as humid. Apparently, Hurricane Ophelia has scooped up the humidity and taken it with her. I wish she would just fall apart.

Hello, Ladies. Sorry for the radio silence last week -- I had a menstrual migraine all week. I've been getting them almost every month these days. I will talk to my doctor about it when I go in for my annual next month. He told me that they are triggered by monthly hormone changes. Yuck! They totally wipe me out.

Lisa - congratulations on the play! Sounds like it has been a sound success. Good luck at the WI - I'm sure the run did some good. I've been walking farther and farther - am up to a 50-minute walk around the neighborhood, which includes a rather large and menacing hill.

Well, my absence from this site coincided with a weight gain. I just didn't feel like tracking food consumption or getting out to walk while my head felt like it was going to fall off! I did get out this weekend and volunteer some time at the local food bank, which was boxing up food to send to the hurricane victims. Also went to DD's first soccer game (luckily, it was overcast and "only" in the low 90's). I wish Ophelia would suck up some of the humidity around here. It's been drizzling for the past day or two -- humidity is about 93%. yuck.

Today, though, I am back on track. I have taken my walk, taken my vitamin, and journaled my food. Hopefully, it won't take long to get back to the point I was at before the headache monster hit me!

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that my week started off with a spectacular surprise -- I got an email last night from the head of my group at work, telling me that the company decided we were underpaid and that I (as well as my colleagues) are getting a significant raise, retroactive to Sept. 1. So, DH and I decided to go out soon and continue our car-shopping. We are leaning a bit more toward and SUV than a mini-van today. Who knows what tomorrow holds?

Hope you are all having a great start to your week.

Austin, sorry about the migraine. A friend of mine gets those, too. I'm thankful that I've never had them.

Good for your for walking--that's great. You'll get back on track. Congrats on the raise--what a nice surprise. Are you sure you want a SUV with the gas prices the way they are?

Hello, lala, Melissa, Susan and Pam

Lisa - Good point about the gas prices. DH seems to think that the 2006 Honda Pilot SUV may have that nifty shut-down-three-cylinders thingy so that it will get decent gas mileage on the highway. Guess we'll find out for sure when we go out for the test drives. DH doesn't work right now and I am a big-time telecommuter, so gas prices, luckily, aren't a huge factor for us right now.

Tonight, I plan to cook Asian-inspired wraps, with catfish and sauteed cabbage. New recipe from Cooking Light. Am dubious, but will let you know how it goes.

Lala, Melissa, Pam, Susan ... hope your week is starting off well. Lala, belated congrats on your 14th Ann. Many happy returns!!

Tootles!

Good news. Went to WI last night and I'm down 3 pounds. I was hoping for a loss as I've really been watching my intake (mainly because of the play). Now I need to keep it off.

Not much happening this week. I have my professional group meeting tomorrow night and the play this weekend. My sister is supposed to be coming into town to see the play. That should be fun.

Good morning ladies!

I've been in a bit of a funk lately and have to admit I haven't been the best in keeping up with my journal. I have been drinking my water and have walked but the rest hasn't been all that pretty. I don't know what to expect at my WI tomorrow so we'll just have to wait and see. My pants don't feel too tight so hopefully that's a good indication! I started the provera and am hoping it will help with my TOM.

We're experiencing more summer-like weather with temps in the mid 80's. Today it's supposed to hit 85-87.

Austin: Congrats on the raise! I wish that'd happen here. Good luck finding a new vehicle. I'm so glad I have my Corolla Good job on getting back on track! I find that when I'm eating right and getting what I need I feel better all the way around.

Lisa: Congrats on your loss!! Woohoo! The hard work is paying off. Glad to hear the play was well received. I hear you on the fried food--I feel awful (like a lead weight is laying in my belly) after I eat it. I used to live for fried stuff. The humidity has found it's way here--but the up side is that it's supposed to cool down later this week.

Not much else happening around here--DS #1 has a GF and she's really nice. I'm happy for him. We went out last evening and ended up stoppping for something to drink and we talked for quite a while. I'm glad we're able to do this! Well, I'm off to get my yearly mammogram...catch up with everyone later.

Hi to Susan, Pam, Lala!

Melissa, good to hear from you. What is provera? I hope your WI goes well. I'm glad you agree with me about fried foods. Like you, I used to eat it a lot more. That's nice that DS #1 has a GF.

Speaking of mammograms, I forgot to tell you all my scare. I had my mammogram a couple weeks ago. Then I got a phone call from my GYN's office saying that I needed a follow-up mammogram. There was something seen on the x-ray. They scared me half to death. Well, I went yesterday and had a spot compression test and then an ultrasound. Thank God, the preliminary results are just dense breast tissue. They acted as if I would already know that. I told them that in 16 years of mammograms, I've never been told that.

Hi Ladies,

I'm feeling a little out of it today. Started off with a picnic this morning for "employee appreciation day".....from 8am to 11am. Kind of strange to have it so early. We had breakfast type foods, lots of sausage, bacon ham eggs etc. I'm trying hard to stay OP so I had a waffle with a few strawberries and that was it. I'm not much of a breakfast person so it was kind of easy to pass up the rest. All kinds of other fun filled activities.. dunk tank raffles etc. It's just hard to go back to work after that. But work I must since I have meetings tomorrow and Thursday that I'm not really prepared enough for.

Lisa A couple of weeks ago Dh and I went out for dinner and I ordered a fried clam roll with a side of fries (yikes, I know) and I really experienced a lot of stomach trouble that evening. The fried stuff is good but not worth the pain that follows. Big congratulations on the 3lb loss...that's terrific! I'm so glad the ultrasound results were fine...that can be scary.

Austin sorry you were plagued with migranes. My aunt gets them due to hormonal changes and she is on medication which appears to help. It's worth looking in to. How did the Asian wraps work out? They sounded yummy, I'm a fan of sauteed cabbage.

Melissa what is provera? If it helps with TOM please let me know. I've been having a tough time with it also lately. Sounds like you and DS #1 have a nice relationship..glad you like his new girlfriend. The weather over here has been similar to yours although it looks like we may be getting a cool down later in the week.

Well ladies I really must get some work done today so I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Lisa: I would've been a nut case waiting if I had to have further tests. Glad everything turned out okay

Pam: I'd probably have a hard time getting into the "work mode" if I started the day off with a picnic too! It's been busy here--getting ready for freshman 4-week grades and getting ready to send out letters to parents as well...it's been crazy! We're supposed to have a cool down on Thursday.

Provera is derived from the female hormone progesterone. It's used for abnormal bleeding (I've had some really heavy days with cramps, etc.). The doctor is hoping that taking it one month will help--you only take it for 10 days starting the 16th day after the start of your TOM. Hopefully this will help. I'm tired of the cramps, headache, heavy flow.

It was too hot/humid to go out and walk over the lunch hour so I'll need to move more tonight at home--I'm figuring running up and down the stairs doing laundry will help.

I was trying not to think about the further testing; being in the play helped.

Thanks for explaining what Provera is. I had not heard of it before. I used to have terrible cramping and heavy flow; I hope this works for you.

It is very warm here, but the humidity is down; gosh in Florida we can almost say "it's a dry heat!" Ha-ha

It's 86 here and the humidity is definitely up. The cold front is supposed to be moving through later which will bring some rain and cooler temps. Tomorrow's high is only supposed to be 72! Perfect walking weather!

I'm hoping the provera helps--I told the dr. that it felt like I was 16 all over again

I went to bed early last night--had a headache and sore throat which I think is allergy-related. I actually slept good and only got up once to go to the br! Anyway, went to the meeting at noon today and I'm down 1.2#--I'm happy with that. I'm working on getting back my cushion which I seem to have lost since June!

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Melissa, congrats on the loss. That's great. Yes, I like to keep a cushion (you never know). Sorry you didn't feel good last night. Your temps sound great. It's 93 here today, but the humidity is still down due to Ophelia.

Tonight I have a professional group meeting. That should be good; I think the speaker is supposed to be interesting.

Tomorrow I'm subbing on one of the company bowling teams. It's fun to be an alternate because I don't have to pay, just play and have fun. The only time it's not fun is when I get put on a team that is too serious.

Hey, anyone have ideas for a gift for a woman who has everything???

Where is lala? I hope she is all right.

Hello, Pam, Susan and Austin

Hi everybody. Yes, I'm still alive and on the planet, but my life has been turned upside down.

The long and short of it is that my DH and I separated on the weekend. It's been coming for some time. We have communication issues, and they've been getting progressively worse over the past few years. We've decided to put some space between us and take some time to figure out what each of us wants and whether we believe we can get it from this relationship.

I'm staying with my sister. It's hard to be away from home, but I think it would be even more difficult to be there alone. I don't seem to fit anywhere since I left.

I'm at work this week even though my I'm not due back til next week. How weird is that?

Anyway, my sister and I are travelling to Prince Edward Island this coming weekend for the 25th anniversary of the Terry Fox run for cancer. That should take my mind off of things. I'll be checking in more regularly starting next week.

Congrats to both Melissa and Lisa on the losses and to Austingal on the salary increase. Pam - I haven't had a period for 7 months but they got really bad before they stopped. My doctor says it takes a full year without one before they're truly behind you. Hi lala and belated anniversary wishes.

Susan, I'm so sorry about the separation. That has to be tough. You are in my thoughts.

You've gone 7 months without a period, huh? I'm waiting for that time. So far, I've only missed a month at a time. You are correct, you need to miss 12 consecutive months before you're considered menopausal.

I hope you have a good run. I'm doing a walk for breast cancer research on 8 October.

Hi Ladies,

I just got out of a 3 hour meeting and my head is pounding...ack! Looks like it's nice outside even though I haven't been outside since 8am. I think tonight is a good night for some of my Barcardi Breeze and diet 7 up...only 1 point ya know!!

Susan I'm so sorry about the separation. I think it's a good idea to stay with your sister for awhile. Hope you enjoy your weekend on Prince Edward Island. My sister and I (and my DD) are spending the weekend on Cape Cod and I am very much looking forward to that. Just hope Ophelia doesn't bring any rain over to us.

Melissa if you're feeling like 16 again I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow for a provera prescription. It's still in the high 80's here today also.

Lisa I have a friend like that. Her birthday is in July and I gave her a wine of the month membership. She receives 2 bottles each month of different types of wine. She received her first delivery a couple of weeks ago and said she loves it. Of course she loves wine.

Well ladies to time get working. I'll talk to you tomorrow.