:I feel like I am back in kindergarten in many ways... personal, sometimes at work and now with the weight loss. I have done so many things wrong over the years.....emotional eating, pills for weight loss, eating the wrong things, failed diets, etc.
Now it's time to start fresh, kinda like back in kindergarten......"

Please pull up a chair and join us on our weight loss journey!!

Hello ladies, and a Happy Saturday!

SASSY...sorry about the noisy neighbors...been there, done that. I hated living in an apartment and swore I would never do it again! Sometimes it's bad enough living in a house, lol! Hope you were able to get some sleep.

JULES...babies/children grow too stinking fast! Was just looking at pictures and told DD I wish there was a pill to make them stay small...they were too darn cute! Still are, lol.

SUSAN...speaking of families, lol. I'm not close to mine either, even though I try. We were all close growing up and then everyone went their own ways, well some of us did, lol. Anyway...would love to go to Seattle, jealous! Oh, thanks for the card and pictures...I LOVE them! And you look GREAT! I can't believe how big Gaby has gotten...she is tall! But a cutie...as are Rachel and Rebecca...love the red hair! They looked so happy on that cow train, lol! Love it!

HIYA KATY! Hoping all is well with you and yours.

HIYA CAROL, SUE, MICHELLE & KATHY...hope I didn't miss anyone.

Well, as I said, nothing special going on with me today. Have yet to start reading. Woke up at 4:30 a.m. again and couln't go back to sleep until about 7. Normally I would just get up but I did the same yesterday and I was sleepy. So didn't get up until 10, lol. I am getting my walking in...already did a 20 minute walk on the treadmill and will be doing more plus my 2 mile WATP. Received my last dvd and since tomorrow is a free exercise day for me I think I will try one of the dance ones...they look like fun, lol. Thought I would kill two birds with one stone sort of. Walk, time on computer, walk, computer, etc. lol. Hey, you do what ya gotta do, lol!

Have a GREAT weekend ladies!

Hola! I am back!!..........

And so the long weekend without Gaby begins!! hehe....

Jules, thanks for starting the new #30 thread!!

Cristina - You are welcome about the card and pic's. I never got a chance to download at sisters last night. If anyone wants a peek at the loonies email me an address. haha.....

Try and download with teens and toddlers running amok on a sugar high in the room..........

k- so I slept and listened to Rach whine a moan. Went to the store and bought a chicken for the soup.Beck called and was doing fine. Gab's dad called wanting to know if I wanted to go halloween costume shopping with him for Gab.......and of course I didn't call him back. A trend??? lol ....I mean....buy the dang thing, make sure it fits and that is all I care about. His weekend....deal with it.....hmmm, ya...pmsing??

Seattle is beautiful Cristine!! I have only driven through a few times but I love all the water.

I guess I will trek over to Powells (a huge bookstore in the PDX city) and find me a book to read. Carry on and wishing you all a fun weekend.

Jules - thx for the comment on my tootsies - er - blog I love those pictures. The sky was so blue that day...and it is so NOT today. It's the kind of weather where my hair just does what its going to do (friz) so why bother blowing it dry?

Susan - Smart woman- costume shopping is a rite of passage that I can live without. Have you ever been to Party City...just getting through the aisles of crappy toys and candy to get to the actual costumes bleh ...then all the ones the kids want cost 40 bucks - no way jose! We got lucky this year; I had the kiddoes on high alert - one step outta line and we were leaving I MEANT it!! Hee hee. They ended up with some cute stuff. It's amazing how sexy looking some of these wee girly costumes are - I mean, they DO have to go outside at some point to trick or treat? I'm not putting my five year old in fish nets...she ended up with a butterfly costume that can be worn over regular clothing. DS is going as a ninja...a peaceful one because I wouldn't buy him any weapons to go with it.
OH - please send me pictures...same old email...pm me if you don't have it. Would love to see what the girls are looking like these days!

Cristina - how's your day going? Did you get some reading in? I am supposed to be reading Team of Rivals - about Abraham Lincoln. It's really good, but I'm not making enough time to read it. My book group is going to discuss it over the next two months, so if I get cracking I won't be too far behind.

Today has just been run run run. I did bake some ezekiel bread today. DH and I got a great deal on a couple of wool jackets on JCPenny online. big fall blowout sale. Now I have to get the kitchen cleaned up and plan my SS lesson for tomorrow before I have to go pick up DS at a birthday party. Naturopath update: She added a sleep blend that has valerian and melatonin in it and I have been sleeping great! I'm still working on weaning myself off of coffee. Managed to get off of dairy completely. She thinks I'm not losing weight faster because of a sensitivity to wheat. Have to cut out refined wheat for sure, and cut waaay back on whole wheat. Now I'm exploring all the wonderful things I can do with spelt and oat flour. Despite how awful those things sound, she did say that I don't need to take a multivitamin. She looked at my food diaries and said they were some of the best she had seen and that she had maybe told 20 people ever that they did not need a multivitamin. Yippee!

Hi to everyone else! Hope everyone is having a good weekend

Hi Sassy!

Hope the neighbrs weren't too loud and you were able to get a good night's sleep. You know, I'm kind of the oddball at my family gatherings as well. I do my own thing....everyone else just does something different :P DH and I are not into climbing the corporate ladder, big houses, vacation homes, and that seems to be the topics of conversation. Then someone will ask, Well what are you up to, Katy? And I'll say, oh I just knit some socks...or I spread a bunch of compost on my back yard, ....tends to shut down the conversation, lol!

Takes all kinds, right? We should all be proud to be different

Did a full day of dairy-free wheat-free Zone and it went ok. Ate a ton o' broccoli Definitely slept well and did not wake up feeling bloated or with puffy eyes. Guess I am on the right track....

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Good Sunday!!

I am almost back to 170!! Yippeeeeee. October has not been kind. lol

Katy - lol - funny!! I was going to Halloween Spirts this morning. Seems Ex (the other Ex - haha) bought Gab a Power Ranger too small at Value Village. Now he can not exchange and she has a skin tight costume. I asked him "is it too small with her clothes on or off??" and he said "no clothes on"...hmmmmm, "she has to go outside in that outfit, she needs clothes on underneath....paper thin , you know???".......
Gads....he doesn't know. lol...........I should have called back but he will learn faster this way. Waited for HSpirits to open at 11am but they never did. Ex will have to do it. He says Gab is too scared to go in the store......if she wants the costume she will....pete sakes....I hate dressing up begging for candy......lol

Sassy - curious....are you a middle child?? I am.

k- off to do something....clock is ticking til Gab comes home. Chicken soup is delish and eating leftovers today.

Hi to everyone else! We miss you!!

chat later!

Hola Chicka's !!!

Sassy - I love your signature! Way cute. I grew up the middle but always felt like an only child because no one wanted to hang with me. lol - Speaking of neighbors mine were *gasp* having some recreation in their bed last night. I felt ---> ewwww, violated. lol I usually don't stay up late and Gab and I sleep in the smaller bedroom so I was in the master watching tv and ....ya, whatever,,,,,,,

Hoisted myself onto the scale and it landed on 170! Never again am I going to Arkansas and eating velvetta cheese. Evil happenings in the Ozarks.

Was in a tiff with Gaby's father last night about child support.I need to go pray about him because at the moment I can not stand him.

anyway - off to get some things done. It is beautiful here in Portland!! Would love to take Gab to the pumpkin patch again.

Hello to everyone and if you are passing through post and say howdy! We would love to have you!

Hello ladies...

Kind of a quickie here today. Busy running around this morning after a late start. Trying to find stuff to decorate for Josh's homecoming. There was a party store that changed, was actually changing the sign today, yikes! They have made it into a Halloween Warehouse-WTF! Just when I NEED party stuff! Not so much plates and such but some kind of decorations. So on to plan B if I can't find more stuff. Should be taking stuff off the walls in the main bath but that can wait until 3. V gets home at about 3:45'ish and he will be painting the bath and replacing the toilet. We bought new toilets for both baths a couple of months after moving in but haven't gotten around to changing them. The ones in this house are made for little people...they are low to the floor. Another house we bought after everything was done, ugh. So now we have to spend money to change it...or live with it. Plus the flusher thing is on the left instead of the right...or right as you are looking at it, but left to flush, lol. Anyway...going to get an early start tomorrow and try again and get some exercise in...have yet to do that also ugh! I hate days like this.

SUSAN...I like your siggy! I am glad that you added your highest weight...you should as you have come a long way baby!

HIYA KATY & SASSY!

More tomorrow ladies, ciao!

Quick hi...Just waiting for the rain to come. It is very overcast and the wind is picking up.

Have been on the phone several times today to my "baby boy" in San Diego. Worried mother here due to the fires raging out there. He assures me they are keeping an eye on things and will get out if they have to. My advice was to have your gas tank full and a bag packed of anything you can't live without. BE READY to evacuate if needed. He drives all over the area for work, but is grounded for now listening to the news reports. Promised to call me back in a few hours. I am praying for the boys and ALL of Southern CA.

Mom is better today, I on the other hand have had a bug. Thought I was better yesterday, then got weak. Thought I was better today, went to the bank and gas station, came home and had a dizzy spell and weakness. Hmmm...maybe I jumped the gun on this running around. The bug had a different idea.
I shall return...be good everyone.

Hi all

My dairy-free/ wheat-free existence is going ok today. Fortunately WINE is an approved substance, lol! Drank some last night, yum. I improvised some homemade pizzas last night. I made one for the kids with whole wheat crust and cheese. I made a crust for me that was out of spelt flour and oat flour. Then I skipped the cheese and piled on fresh spinach, broccoli, roasted chicken and canned diced tomatoes. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and an herb blend from Penzey's. It was really good!

Susan - Sorry about the ex, hope he gets with the program real soon. It is just gorgeous today. I took a walk around Gabriel Park and it was full of fall color as well as sunny and warm. Yay for getting back to 170...hopefully I will meet you there soon.

Cristina - toilets for midgets, eh? I bet you are SO excited for Josh to come home...heck - I'm excited for you....such a special time!

Sue - glad your mom is feeling better...hope you do too soon. Hope your son takes your advice about getting ready to go at a moment's notice. It is fire season in S. CA right now after all...he should be ready even if there weren't any fires close by, ya know? I'm sure he'll be alright; he sounds like a smart man.

OK - I may be heading for a breakthrough today in that I am getting ready to pack up the coffeemaker - Yikes - I can't be serious, right? I think I am going to do it. I have a Rival HotPot - heats up water really fast for tea. I'm going to keep that out on the counter to make tea and if I absolutely have to have a cup of coffee I'll use it to make up a french press. Turns out I really like a good nights' sleep. Thanks to the herbs the NP gave me, I have been sleeping really well and I am feeling kinda normal again. It's nice to feel like I have my old energy back. So, I'm feeling motivated to get over the caffeine addiction. We'll see how it goes.....

Hola, I am back....

Excuse my hola's. Rebecca says it all the time and I am just a 14 year old wanna be.

Thanks about the siggy! That is sweet. Just shows I had too much time yesterday on the computer I see others claim the weight they have already lost in years past.....doesn't make too much sense to me so I just claimed the weight in a different way.....kind of through the back door so to speak.....huh, she wrote what???

Hi to Sassy and Cristina!! Excited for you and Josh's homecoming Cristina!!

Thanks for giving us an update on your mother Sue

I need to run and spend some time outside before I need to get the Gabster.

edit for Katy omg- no coffee?? Yikes..... .....it is soooooo nice today. My ex is a turd, he gets by with $33 a week and no way can I support the child on that amount. What sucks is he makes good money and if I ask for extra he acts like he is doing me a favor.....*snicker*....burns my butt.

k- off I go..... lol

Hola...........back again!

Good morning.........or is it?? I feel so stressed w/ my 16 year old, she wants to drop out of school. Met with the dean of students and he was very impressed with her grades, considering she has missed classes she is pulling in A's.
Course her father was there and turns it around to him,him,him.Poor thing. I only care about Rach, he needs to grow up! Argh,,,so she stomped out and he stomped out and we probably look like a bunch of loons. I just leaned forward and said "do you have my telephone number??" He didn't so I gave it to him. Cute dean....lol. ....jk.....

Annoyed with the other ex too. We have a teachers meeting at 7pm in 2 weeks and another meeting about Gab's speech in 3 weeks at 3:15pm with the principal and speech teacher.
I guess the Ex decided he can't make it to the 3:15pm meeting - so is seeing just the teacher tomorrow night. WhatEVER,,,,,,,I am not going.
He has 3 weeks to get off work if he wants to attend and we are meeting with the teacher in 2 weeks anyway ,,,,,annoys me he is asking the teacher for an appt at 7 when she has to make a special effort to come into school. Besides without everyone there what is the point?

argh......

I had 1/2 a bagel this morning. Rach spent the night and we were all late in getting ready.

Katy- The pizza sounds yummy!!

k- going to slink away and adjust my attitude! lol