Carri, I taped & watched H.K & M.C. so I could watch the crazy Batchelorette & afterwards @ 10pm I watched them both w/o commercials & when Joe cried I cried too :( after he spoke to the blind cook, she was so inspiring. All 3 chefs cried, wow! I'm watching part 2 tonight ;)

Madonna lived/grew-up a hour from my house, a natural light brunette. All the famous people from MI. I try to see @ least 1 of their concerts. She's much sweeter than many people understand & also a humanitarian, she's the total package of a modern female celeb (the original, prior to Angelina Jolee's bragging). Mario Batali the chef, I see maybe once a year grocery shopping when he's @ his vacation home in Traverse City area/Charlevoix, MI. Mario, several other celebs go on vaca there; our people respect their privacy & r happy for the celebs $$$ spent here. Some people just enjoy our fall/winter weather here in MI. I laughed when some of our friends from Georgia & Ft.Wayne, IN bought vaca homes here in MI.
Do you eat a 'soy milk ice-cream'? Like when I made strawberry shortcake w whipped cream topping, would you use a imitation topping? Cheese-cake, cheese on pizza, lasagna? I'm so sorry for your condition. I cook w whole grain pasta's w fiber, much healthier carbs & use fewer egg-yolks.

Susie, Cassie, Mandy, Liz, Mel, Arabella :hug:

Time to get back to work now & finish details for a graduation party.

Creeping slowly to Onederland...still hoping it will be my Christmas present to myself!

Afternoon Everyone :cool:

Ya know, just now that I have hit this 30lb loss I am REALLY feeling it in my body and clothes ...I thought I was feeling it a little before like when I hit 15 and 20 etc, but no just recently have I been able to really see and feel it...kind of exciting...can't imagine how the next 30 will feel :cb:

Muggles - Its a long journey but we all can do it, good luck :hug:

Susie - :wave: Hope all is well in Susieland, haha

Dee - yes that blind chef is SO inspiring, I do worry about how she is going to get around during challenges though, wonder if she will have an assistant or something...can't wait to watch her progress. I am also watching THe Bachlorette, but I haven't seen this Mondays yet, had to dvr it.
That is so cool that you lived near her, ask anyone I am a HUGE Madonna fan...LOVE her. Today at work I am listening to her new cd and Marilyn Manson's new cd ...I know, what a difference huh? Two different ends of the scope lol
I actually drink only almond milk, I don't like the taste of the soy unless it has chocolate in it, so I use the almond milk for everyone else like my cereal...I use the unsweetened one and it is only 40 cals for a whole cup.

I am really sneezing today, must be something in the air here at work or the pollen outside...woof !

Have a great day everyone !!

Carri

On my Break-time now :dancer:

Muggles :welcome2: Don't b shy about anything, we're here to support each other :smug:

My 2 little babes (age 6 yr & 8 yr) r still here & just came inside from the pool. They peeked inside my client's food-order fridge & then inside our family food-fridge & made their requests & I pointed them to their own, kids tools/cooking cupboard shelf:lol::chef: They chose grilled provolone cheese sandwiches w hard salami & ice water w strawberries & mint leaves for lunch. Because they r too short to use my range, I bought a electric fry pan just for them & made them a short cooking-cart by taking off the wheels & cutting the legs down for safety. (Kylee has all pink utensils/from breast cancer awareness & when the boys met Mario B. 2 yr ago they got hooked on orange, Mario was wearing his orange clogs :) & a orange t-shirt, he is a sweet guy) They r cooking their late snack while I do 'safety supervision' for them. Anyways when they r here they save me some calories by doing quality control for each recipe I have to taste/check.

Today I've made 50 cabbage rolls & 40 spring rolls & I have to make 3 different types of guacamole' yet to b picked-up @ 5:00 for a graduation party. My client's dietician told her not eat mayo in the summer, safety-concerns, so she requested a avacado spread that I'm not familiar with; I'm curious to see how it is, I'm making it in a few minutes. Her bbq pulled-pork & spaghetti salad & cucumber salads r ready & parmesan breadsticks just need toasting & my 2 babes skewered the 40 fruit kabob's for me all morning :hug: I made a frozen icecream-cake & will take it out of the freezer when she gets here.
Okay, time to go finish-up this party & swim w my family :swim: later. Needless to say, I am Not cooking supper tonight....there r 4 different salads in my fridge, or they can grill tonight :cool:

:wave:

Hi Ladies,

Sorry to be MIA. My family has suffered a very tragic death this week. On Monday evening I got a call from my cousin that her brother, who is 32, was found by their mother on the kitchen floor in his house dead.

She found him around 3:00 p.m. He must have died sometime between 6:30 p.m. Sunday night-that was the last phone call on his cell phone and when she found him at 3:00 p.m.

An autopsy showed no foul play, no drugs or alcohol and no heart attack or stroke or anything else like that. It just showed that his heart stopped beating. His funeral arrangements are this Friday for visitation and Sat for the funeral.

It is a very sad time for our family. I haven't had much rest or downtime this week. I was with his mother Monday night from 7:00 p.m until about 1:00 a.m.--waiting for one of her daughters to get there. Her daughters live out of town and I didn't want her to be alone.

Carri: 30 lbs WOW! So happy for you.

Dee: Sounds like you are BUSY and having a great time with your babes!

Muggles: Welcome

Morning Girls, had a not so good night last night food wise and other wise …I went way over calories with some buttered popcorn, pineapple upside down cake, and some chocolate’s…so not feeling too well about myself this morning …I was upset last night and that made me eat I guess…we really hate the neighborhood we live in, there is about 800 homes in it and the place never calms down ( well maybe around two in the morning )…and with that many houses and people ( and cars coming in and out, in and out ) I understand that I am never gonna have full peace like if I lived in the country, but it just never stops. And now that the kids are out of school it will only be worse with the teens running around for the next two months. We have a LOT of kids that drive around with their loud booming car stereos and last night after hearing a lot I just couldn’t handle it anymore…people ( teens ) are just so inconsiderate….we wanted to put our house up for sale this summer but the market is just too bad, so we are going to try for next Summer…because I just need to get out of a neighborhood period, as I get older I just don’t want the noise and hub bub, Bub lol …the main issue is that we live near the clubhouse area, and kids love to hang out there and make all kinds of noise, when I say kids I mean teens….but we have vandalism, loitering, littering, theft – all sorts of issues there …our neighborhood has put in cameras and more lights hoping that would help but not sure it is so much, we will see.

So this put me in to a foul mood because I was really tired from work and just wanted to come home and relax and watch some tv ….like I said, bad night …it also puts dh in a bad mood, him worse than me …

And then with me being so tired and of course it doesn’t get dark around here till almost 10 with stupid DST, so my body won’t shut down and relax for bed until it is dark…lotta issues girls, lotta issues :stress::yes::corn:

So anyway today is a new day and I will try and just work thru the issues knowing that I can get out of the situation at some point…I did contact our police chief this morning and made him aware of all that is going on and asked for his assistance. He said he would pass the information on to his officers so that they could be aware when they are monitoring our area. So maybe that might be of some help, who knows.

Okay, well I feel I have typed a novel now, haha ….I just felt like I binged over emotional, upset crap and I hate that …haven’t done that in a long time, but I know that kind of issue doesn’t go away over night …

Susie – I am SO sorry to hear about that young guy…32 and his heart just stopped? That is very scary and how horrible for the family …after re-reading your post it does make my complaints about my neighborhood seem silly …even though it does drive me bonkers I know I am lucky to have a nice house, and to have my husband, and family, and me all healthy, happy and together.
Hugs to you through this sad time. We totally understand you being MIA. :hug:

Dee – all of that food sounds so good…especially the fruit skewers, I have heard of those and wanted to make them …is this just different fruit on a skewer ? Of course it would need some cream cheese fruit dip.

Hi to everyone, hope you have a good day.

Carri

Susie, I'm very sorry for your loss :( God needed a new angel :angel: & we never know when/who He will call & 'God' knew something was going on w your cousin that was unknown by others & 'called him' to come now. Please find peace in knowing that your cousin enjoyed life during his 32 yrs.

Carri, how is your Grammy doing since her surgery :hug: & your family friend? I'm sorry about your neighborhood problems; it would b stressful going through that daily. When I designed our dream-home w a architect 12 yr ago, we didn't plan for a critical illness w either of us messing-up our income; but we've loved our 30 acres & living in our dream home for +11 yrs now. Health or job-loss is the only way we'll move from here. Recently we got a unexpected medical bill & need $ ASAP so we r going to try to sell our boat to pay it off; we have a long canoe & 2 kayaks & aluminum fishing boat to still play with & dh can fish from :) There's always a solution for problems, we just gotta dig-in & stay positive like you r doing w your dh & your future plans to b amazingly happy w your next home :cheers:
Your stress w your loving family is reason enough for anybody to eat silly-bad foods, especially combined w the rude/thoughtless neighborhood & your daily irritating routine stuff. Please go enjoy yourself this weekend & b silly :beach: maybe go to a waterpark or just crash @ the lake/beach. Water is pretty relaxing :swim: did you get a smaller swimsuit yet w that recent -30# loss....I buy 2 swimsuits on sale/clearance @ www.landsend.com yearly w being in the pool/hot-tub/@ the lake every summer; good quality & prices & free return ship. & most free ship. on orders of $50.
I don't make dip for customer fruit kabobs, it'd b like wrecking a yummy t-bone steaks flavor, they normally serve them cold plain or spray them w a sweet marinade I make. For us I soak the wood skewers & then put the fruit on & then put them on the grill, the fruit sugars develop & fruit is soo juicy~sweet~yummy :p We're having some tonight grilled.
Sleep problems, I've had them too. I go on the deck & lounge in the hot-tub any time of the night spring-fall; our little babes love sitting in it @ night looking @ the constellations & look forwards to bedtime here w us.
My suggestion if you don't have a hot-tub, buy one. My first hot-tub was called a 'Soft Tub', we had it for about 9 yr & it's round & portable, we used it inside the garage in the winter & on the patio other months, we both used it weekly. After we built this home we got a stationary hard-side hot-tub. If your home has a whirl-pool tub, just light candles, put on fav love tunes & sip fruit-water till sleepy, no-thoughts/only dreamy memories allowed. If all else fails, watch old brain-dead shows: Sex In the City, South Park, cartoons, or black & white tv shows that will put you to sleep; or crank-up the AC & toss on a comforter, the humming noise will deaden your brain-cells...:)...That's all I got...

Duets is on tonight, I'm loving John Legend & Kelly C. I'm loving chef Ramsey on MC, such a precious side of his personality is shown on the auditions; he is not the 'big bad wolf' he betrays on HK show :) Everybody has a sweet side to them, I'm happy his is being shown.

Gotta go now, have a fab weekend girls, Dee

Hi Ladies,

Do I look different to you this morning? :) I turned 47 yesterday! lol

Today I am off work as I need to take my car into the shop for some routine maintenance and I have noticed a sound that I want checked out. I took a vacation day to do this and I had planned on doing some looking around at the Mall afterwards but will need to get back home after te car appointment as tonight is the family visitation for my cousin. Please keep all of us in your prayers and thoughts, especially his mom and dad--I can't even imagine what they feel like. I feel like a elephant is sitting on my chest.

Thank you to all of you for your kind words and thoughts.

Carri: Sorry that you had a binge. I understand that feeling of going crazy with so much noise. I like it quiet and my DH always wants the fan on high and the TV turned up...drives me crazy! :dizzy:

Dee: I love your relaxing ideas! and you are so right about God knowing my cousin was going to go through something here that it was better he wasn't here anymore. That was my first thought when I heard he passed.

Have a great day Ladies. I'll be around this weekend checking in.

Morning Girls ....get ready for a TMI moment, but for the last three days I have had gas SO bad ....just popping and moving around inside me and also of course coming out, which isn't making dh that happy ...thank God he was gone last night and I could just let it out at will haha:D Need to look over diet and see what is causing this...

Dee - thank you so much for the suggestions...I am so jealous of your 30 acres, that would be awesome and tranquil ...I hope the money situation comes thru for you, I hate those types of situations :hug: Thank you for asking about my Grandma and friend...my grandma had her surgery to remove the cancerous lump on Weds...they did find another egg sized lump in her chest which was a lymph node that was swollen, they have sent it off to see if it too had cancer in it, if not she will have nothing else done, if it does she will have chemo :( But she is 82 and she just has a good attitude about it, almost like she doesn't care. And my friend had her major heart surgery and is recovering, so good so far ...poor thing...

Susie - Sorry I didnt get on fb and say Happy Birthday to you yesterday, I wasn't on there much last night ...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!!! :carrot: Hope you had a great day...and hope things are getting easier with the loss of your friend...try and have a relaxing weekend.

Have a great day girls !!!

Carri

Hi. It has been some very hard days but we have laid my cousin to rest and have grieved as a family and now we will try and move forward and honor him with the way we live--as this has reminded us how short life can be--and we wll also continue to strengthen our family bonds because family and friends are important.

Personally I need to get back into focus my resolve to ge this weight off, 5lbs a month at a time! Today I will start logging my food again to stay in my calorie range and get back to my workouts.

Carri: Hopefully you are feeling back to yourself--I think it all had to do with the binge you had. Your body was like what that heck!
Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Looking forward to seeing post from everyone.

Susie :bday2: :hb: :woo: how about sending me a pic of you, on pm or e-mail :yay: I'm sure your dh spoiled you all weekend :hug:

Carri :rofl: I hope your feelin better today, I laughed & got tears from your 'gassy post'. TY for the updates on Grammy & your friend, hang-in there :hug: Little moments of kindness really add-up during moments of medical trauma our loved ones go through. My ex-dh's cousin had breast cancer (stage 3) @ 34 yr, her mom died from breast cancer @ 49 yr. I wrote a 'up-beat' letter to her back then, instead of a 'I'm so-sorry/boo-hoo' letter. After she recovered from treatments, she tearfully told me that she kept 'my letter w her always' & before it wore-out from re-reading it, she copied it :angel: I cried when she told me that my words 'made her heart smile & it made her feel fearless over her cancer'. My letter was the only one that spoke about 'fun, guys, tears/call me & we'll cry together, Luv, adventure, girly-stuff, vacations' which she needed; instead of the other people letters/phone calls focusing on 'cancer-treatments/death/past memories'. That was 14 yr ago & Linda is in awesome health. Okay, if I never do anything right in my life again, or if nobody ever likes me, I won't forget that I helped Linda with silly/loving words, just being myself. Funny, sometimes doing what pleases us, nomatter how small it seems, really-really means a lot to somebody else also. Carri, I've had some sad moments & You've helped me w 'your posts' :sunny: thanks so much for being my friend/family :hug: here. Someday we 'all gotta get together, hopefully make a plan for 2013'. Here's my Boo-hoo for the day; my butt was hurting for hours today :o but not from gas :smug: My babes went home today & Kylee wanted to ride our 'neighbors horses' this morning. She rode a pony that trotted & I rode a quarter-horse that chose to gallop today. I couldn't get my horse to slow down in the woods/trail & my 'butt kept slapping against' the saddle. My neighbor rode behind Kylee & they laughed as I argued w my horse trying to slow-it down, & watched me flying through the woods. ouch-ouch-ouch! I blamed-it on my old cowboy boots, I was sorta embarrassed & said I'll buy new boots before my next trail ride :) ......I stood-up all afternoon, eating grilled pineapple slices, a small salad w rib-eye steak & 2-3 watermelon-martini's, then I floated in our pool all evening for my sore butt :( My dh isn't gonna get any Luvin tonight :o

Hope y'all had a beautiful weekend. Bedtime now, Dee

Morning Ladies – hope you all had a good weekend, mine was okay …it was really hot out so basically we stayed inside with the a/c…as I hae said before Carri doesn’t do heat …lol

I only lost one pound last week, so now at 207. I realized I was probably gonna have a one lb loss or no lb loss since I had a couple of way high calorie meals last week….but I will take the lb, one more closer to Onederland

I saw this on the WW message board last week and it really struck me: “Time will pass no matter what, I might as well take steps to becoming a healthy and happier me” ….it’s a good thing to remember

Dee – haha, and now your post is making me laugh …I just pictured you being bumped all around on that horse…just thinking about it makes my butt sore…and yes I did get rid of my gas issue, for now …..haha ….that is a great story about your writing the positive letter to your ex dh’s cousin…I bet that was so uplifting…I also have a friend who was diagnosed with brst cancer at 34…she is in remission now ( two years later ) and just had her breast reconstruction surgery a couple of weeks ago, all thru her treatment I tried to bring my silly sense of humor her way any chance I got…I figured she needed to get her mind off of it …she is such a strong lady…

Susie – glad that the services are behind you now and you all can start to heal …hope you had a good weekend otherwise…hugs

Hi Mandy and everyone else !!

Ugghhh, Mondays are so hard to get thru at work after two days off huh? Well everyone have a good one and I will “speak at you later”, that is what my great uncle always said and I thought it sounded so odd …so now I always say it to be funny, haha

See ya

Carri

Life...:dizzy:

I didn't get to see the end of MC or HK last night, dh was having his TOM :mad: night....marriage...if I was perfect, I'd b smart & rich & beautiful & 100% healthy & with a guy that never yelled @ me about anything, he' talk, never yell @ me.......

Did our MC blind girl get to stay? Who got kicked-off HK, from the girls?
I saw the end of the Bachelorette, what the H is wrong w her keeping Ryan :devil: Not the hottest guy there & a big womanizer/player to win a game. If he is in the final 3 I'll feel sick for her :^:
Not sure which guy I'd fall for yet, Sean & Arie r like the perfect guys so far & a couple of the guys like Jef r showing potential...hope her lips can last w all that kissing :o

Watching MC challenges had my brain turning seeing the foods they got to work with, I wanted to be there w them cooking, don't all of you :)

My Boo-Hoo for today :o I feel sick, I always cut b-maids dresses, allowing for up-to a 2 size weight gain, but 2 girls for the August wedding r changing their b-cups into d-cups by July 4. I am stuck w $80 of useless fabric now :( Implants r not written into my contracts, so they do not have to pay for this decision.
A bag of m & m's leaped into my mouth when I wasn't looking....

Hope all of you r having a happy week so far, :hug: Dee

Hi Ladies,

I am doing well with my food but haven't got back into exercise yet. My workout partner is gone this week and so I just keep doing things at home in the evenings, like cleaning or organizing instead of going for a walk.

Last night after work a friend of mine treated me to a pedicure for my b-day...so there wasn't any exercise last night!

Dee: I'm watching the Bachelorette too. sorry to hear about the wasted fabric..who would have thought to put implants in the contract?!
Was the bag of M&M's a regular size bag or a large bag? Those things happen sometime but I know you will not let it get you off track.

Carri: A pound is a good loss and that happened after your binge..so good for you!

Hi ya Girls !!! Not much going on today....well started the day off wrong...woke up at 7:48am, and I normally leave the house by 7:30 so that wasn't good, apparently I forgot to set my alarm last night, which is very unlike me, I am always the non forgetful, responsible one :) Anyhow, so then dh says well I am just going to take a personal day and stay home, well I wanted to as well but I am short on time and just had to go in, so not happy about that...he is going to our friends house and sitting by the pool all afternoon with some fresh sangria....and I will be here :( Oh well I guess...thinking about going to Lowe's after work and getting my flowers for my front porch pots, yes I am very behind on that, normally have them done by Mothers Day.

Dee - I totally agree with you on Ryan...I wish she would send him packing...I didn't watch last nights show yet but I heard there was some drama ....I am also for Sean and Ari - leaning more towards Ari ...but we will see.....and YES the blind girl got to move thru on MC, I was so excited...I can't really remember who all left because there was a lot of them...but it was a good show, I love that both HK and MC come on two nights in a row....I have my MOndays and Tuesdays from 8-10 totally planned out now, haha ...I hear ya on the dh and the TOM, mine gets like that too sometimes....marriage is a daily work in progress....so now are you going to write the breast size change in to the contract? I would...that is pretty popular these days.

Susan - I love pedicures, in fact I need one right now pretty badly...so nice of your friend to give you one for your bday....hope you had a great bday.
Yes, I am glad that I lost the one lb, just getting REALLY anxious to go down in numbers quicker since I am SO close to Onederland.

Well I am getting ready to go have lunch with my brother, nothing fancy - probably just some Wendys or Taco Bell.

You all have a great day.

Carri

BooHoo for today :dizzy: .....I drink ice tea daily in the summer, but not after yesterday's new info. Well my dh's bf Rick's internal doc. told Rick to stop drinking green/black tea, or limit it to 8 oz 2x wk because it adds to kidney stone risk & his bf Rick suffered for 5 weeks to get rid of his k-stones. My dh almost tossed all my yummy green/black tea out. I do make herb tea/fruity water but I like my ice tea/hot tea. Hmmm benefits of caffenated tea VS danger of k-stones inside me :(....I can live w/o caffeine tea, I can make others from fresh herb leaves. I do love the pineapple basil/mint teas & fresh cucumber/watermelon,etc. waters....Bummer about the tea, but the breast surgeon did warn me against drinking more than 8 oz coffee/tea daily after my biopsy years ago....

Carri, I wish I was 'you with a brother' to lunch with. Cancer bit my brother & sis yrs ago & I'm alone now; just my 2 boys & 4 babes & dh; w distant nieces/nephews. Fresh Sangria by the pool yesterday, I'd hit that! I hope your dh brought you home a glass :cool: I watched HC, MC -fox & Love in the Wild -nbc last night & my dh watched sports.

Susie, you r too sweet thinking that I could eat a small bag of m&m's. 'Go Big or Go home' I munched down a mixed zip-lock bag completely filled w 'almond-pb-peanut-mint-plain flavor' that I had for the kids, I ate my son Seth's bag :p I will have a 2# gain @ tops....oh, well....stuff happens....Eve started it all when she ate that yummy apple :devil: I'm still waiting for a Susie pic in my pm/e-mail....I showed everyone my bad hair day, your turn now....

Anyone watching 'Love In the Wild' w Jenny M. the next best thing till BB comes on next month...Glass House (sp?) on abc is next to check. It's like we're just a bunch of bored teenagers, watching these brain-dead reality shows to keep our minds off the sad/scary/depressing things that r happening in the world (free & relaxing evening entertainment)

I hope everyone is close to being OP :hug: It's hot & whenever I cann't wear a bathing suit/to b wet & cool; I'll b in the AC on 85* days, like Carri does. Susie is our 5k girl.

Gotta go sew some more sun-dress orders now. Bye Girls, Dee

Afternoon Ladies – hope you all are having a good day so far ….last night was a first – I tried venison ( deer ) for the first time…I was hesitant to try it but the lady who was serving it at our friends house told me it was very good, that she shot the animal and butchered it herself …so I sort of felt in an awkward way that I had to try it, plus it was the only protein they were serving and I have to have that with my meals…so I tried it and much to my amazement it tasted like beef to me, a lot leaner beef ….I still had trouble getting over the whole eating deer issue and don’t think I could eat it regularly but there you go, my story for the day, haha

It is a beautiful day here, in the high 70’s ….better enjoy it while I can since it is gonna be near 90 tomorrow and then 90’s all weekend , ughhhh ….ah well, such is Summer ( although I know technically not Summer yet )

Dee – sorry to hear that, don’t know what I would do without my Starbucks green tea’s in the Summer…I didn’t know that about the stones, that is interesting, my dh loves tea too although he has never had any stones.
I am so sad to hear about your brother and sister, that makes my heart ache for you.
You said you were sewing sun dresses, and I really want some for Summer, at least a couple, I know Old Navy has some nice casual ones I can run around in this Summer
No, I am not watching Love in the Wild, for some reason Jenny McArthy annoys me….lol

Hi Susie !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are going right after work to get some more flats of flowers, so you know what I will be doing for the evening.

Have a great one girls.

Carri

Hello. I meant to make it here yesterday but didn't. It was a long work day; I was at the office from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It's end of fisical so long days here getting everything done.

I have not worked out one day this week! I get so disappointed with myself when I don't. It's because I dont' make myself a priority. I'm going to be up at TOPS tonight. I'll deal with it and get back OP.

Dee: Are you making those maxi dresses that everyone is wearing? I LOVE to wear any sort of dresses and skirts in the summer. It just feels good to have them on with sandels.

I was so sorry to read about your brother and sister. As I have watched my cousin's deal with the loss of their brother it just makes my heart ache for all of you! :hug:

I promise to send a picture. I just haven't been on my home computer to get one sent off to you. It will happen this weekend.

Carri: I think it is very cool that you and your brother "do" lunch.
I was laughing when I read your deer meat story. That is what I go through with EVERY other kind of animal protein.

Just got home from tops WI, only 1/2# gain today :dancer: I am still in shock, I planned the scale to be up 2# from eating a extra 1,000 cal. daily from snacks w my 2 babes. Instead of going to lunch w the girls I went to my fav bakery & got myself my fav 'cookie long-jon', soo rich & sinfully delicious :p

Yep, I love-love-love wearing sundresses/skirts June-Sept. Me & my clients wear all the styles & the styles r classic every season, sundresses r never on the 'don't wear fashion list'. Some colors r the 'in color' to have like 'coral' is a 'in color' now. I love making short wrap-skirts/sarongs to replace shorts; so cute & feminine & easy to wear for sizing-up or down (weight gain/loss during the summer) I love to do long maxi-skirts/dresses w sheer over-lays & so many pretty breathable/cool fabrics for career-wear & casual & dressy days.
But on my tom-boy side, I'll make shorts/slacks/tops w ruffles, eyelet fabric, 'sweet' enough to let a guy know who wears the 'nail polish' :belly: yet we can compete w him & kick his butt if we choose to do it.

Carri, I hope you got some yummy herb plants also, nothing better than cooking w them fresh or making tea/flavored water. One year I mixed some chives in my flower bed & cause chives r perennials & seed themselves, I've had chives pop-up everywhere & dh/friends just pick them & eat. The babes came indoors from playing & had 'sweet oniony breath' last week.

Susie, You always do well w/o your work-out friend :carrot: I know your WI will be good tonight! How did your landscaping go a few weeks ago? I know your pic will b cute as a button :) I have a Asian friend named Suzie too.

If you girls want a kill-resistant perennial plant that multiplies itself, try a Iris for summer & violets for the spring; mine more than triple every year if you have at least 1/2 day of sun. We like trading plants/flowers w friends, cause everybody has different soil content & gets different flower colors/veggie flavors. My apples & grapes r wonderful, but my raspberries have biennial fruit. We grow organically, no chemicals in 11 yr except for dish soap or beer for bugs.
What perennials do you each grow that multiply quickly? I have sun, not much shade in my gardens. What do you enjoy?

Break-time is over, trying to work a 7 hr-8 hr day now, like my doc told me to do.
Be Good y'all :hug: Dee

Hey Girls :bat: Talkin to ya while flying/on a plane ;) down to Georgia to a party tonight. I got bored looking @ the clouds so here I am w you.... I have a salon appt when I land, getting about 4" cut-off, not sure of the style yet & probably go back to my natural color (dark strawberry blonde-light chestnut) I've been medium blonde for 4-5 yr now, it's Time for another adventure :idea:

Girl I've sewn for about 8 yr is turning 40 yr & paid for my ticket :) for the weekend. When she moved south 2 yr ago, we started having skype appointments for her clothing....Of course I'm bringing her a awesome b-day gift, a portfolio/album of pics of her in each garment I've sewn for her :cool: over the years. She's a realator so she likes her clothes....

Dh bought a ticket & came w me; he still gets jealous of me talking w other guys, even though I'm about 11 yr more than him (he says 'I'm only older on my birth-certif/not my body/personality, he gets pissed if I try to use birth age as a Win to get my way on stuff :smug: I will not cheat on a guy I love. After being married to him for 16 yr, I guess his still being jealous isn't a bad thing. He was married to his ex-w 9 yr when she cheated on him & they had 2 kids 4 yr & 7 yr.

Hmmm, turbulance just made me talk tooo much. If dh knew what I just shared, he'd yell @ me, oh wth, it's true. I've heard some of the private & sex talk the guys say omg, like listening to teenage guys sometimes :sssh:

Dh wants to use the laptop now, we'll land in a hour & adventure is waiting.

Have a wonderful weekend, talk to you Monday. :hug: Dee

ps: I am not responsible for anything I said, or my typos while flying above 1,000 feet.

Morning Girls …TGIF !!!!!!! I am tired and need to sleep in and do some house cleaning this weekend ...last night for dinner we had corn on the cob and grilled steak …I bought these sirloin steaks off of QVC ( Kansas City brand ), of course as I have said before I am a QVC idiot ( I buy from them A LOT ) they are 4oz sirloins and only 160 cals, so I thought it would be good for me since I like steak and these are pre-portioned …got them yesterday and they are tiny…looks like a tiny strip steak …but I thought really we are only supposed to have 4 oz portions of meat anyhow so I went with it, probably not enough food for dh though – but we did also have two ears of corn each. I didn’t dare weigh myself this morning because I had a lot of salt last night …I love my corn heavily salted ( used I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter Spray for my butter although I want REAL butter so bad )…so will drink a lot of water today to flush it out and weigh in tomorrow or Sunday ….

I did step on scale yesterday and was 206, so I am hoping to see 205 by Monday to get my 2lb loss for the week. I am on the hunt for Onederland 2 lbs at a time people !!!! LOL

Susie – a 7-7 day ? 12 hours? Woof !! That is a long one. You better do some relaxing this weekend…yes me and my brother only work about 2 mins from eachother so we do lunch once or twice a week …we are pretty close so that is nice …It is hard to eat meat sometime, especially if I have to prepare it and see it raw I have a harder time…chicken is the worst.

Dee – So you celebrate your only 0.5 lb gain with a big cookie??? Now that is my style, haha …sounds delicious. I am going to have to go out this weekend and look for some long maxi summer dresses…gonna be 90’s here this weekend so I need something cooler…no, I didn’t get any herbs but I would like to, I LOVE chives on anything so that sounds really good…

I have a beautiful rose bush that seems to double in size every year, it is beautiful with big pink/fushia ( spelled wrong I know ) blooms …besides that the only thing I have that comes up every year is greenery, like bushes and some hastas.

Have a good Friday everyone…hope my work day FLIES by !!!!

Carri

Hi Ladies,

I only had a .50 gain at TOPS last night. I was sure it would be more as I wasn't working out or keeping track of what was going in my mouth.

I will say that during that time I was trying to be aware of what I was eating at the time and very careful to have water only. So I guess that was a big help.

Dee: WOW! someone is flying you to FL?! how great is that! and what a neat gift you are bringing her.

As for DH..I think it is good that our men get a little jealous sometimes, it means that they think we are valuable and don't want someone to "steal" us away. ;)

Congrats on not having a big gain..let's both work really hard this week to get these gains off along with some more lbs!

As for perennials, I don't have any! I just started working with flowers and such. Right now I am a container/pot flower person. When do you plan iris so it will come up the next year? I like that flower.

Carri: Can't wait to see you hit that 2lb mark at your weigh-in this week..that is a very good steady weight loss! You will be in ONDderland soon.

I am having such a great time talking to Carri and Dee everyday; those of you who used to pop in, you are missing some great posts and we are missing you..so I hope to see you all back soon!

Hi. Seems to be a very quiet weekend here....

I had a great weekend. Saturday I was busy with my friend Ann's girls, who I call my nieces. Ann and her DH had a college graduation to attend on Saturday morning and needed someone they could drop the girls off to unti labout 12:30. So, they were here at 8:30 a.m. and we feed them breakfast, played a game of trouble, then the 5 yr old twins were picked up at 10 for a b-day party, the 8 yr old and I had an errand to run before her drumming lesson at 11 and the 11 year old went grocey shopping with my DH.

The twins had their own b-day party at 2 and at 6:30 was my birthday dinner, that was postponed from last week due to the funeral. I had 18 people there, including all my nieces and nephews. We did it at a local resturant that serves the most wonderful italian food and I enjoyed a nice glass of blush wine from a local vineyard.

The food was good and I was surrounded my "babies" and it was all just perfect. My "babies" who I call my nieces and nephwes are Aiden (2 yrs old) and Asher (1 yr old) (my brother and his partners' sons), my friends Ann and Dow's girls, Cailyn (11), Layna (8), Aidynne (5) and Bryn (5), my friends Dick and Carolyn's gradaughter (they rasie her) MaKenna (10).

Makenna brought me flowers and a card that said I was the best Aunt ever and that I was smart, kind and beautiful! You can't beat that.

Today we took DH's father to breakfast and I bought a few more things to put in the landscaping/decorating project we started over Memorial Day weekend. Then I came home and took a nap!

I have done well with my food and not having any soda..that not having soda is a big thing for me. When I don't have it, I keep my food under control.

My workout partner (Ann) is back until Wednesday so we have workouts planned for Monday and Tuesday. It will be good to get this body moving again.

I'm looking forward to hearing how everyone was this weekend.

Dee: check your email..I sent pictures!

Morning Ladies, hope you all had a good weekend celebrating Fathers day with your Fathers ( if you are lucky enough to still have them as I am ) or with your husbands and children. I don’t feel as if I had much of a weekend since we hardly weren’t home, didn’t get to sit on my butt and relax enough I guess…and now this morning, back to work…ughhhhh

Weigh in showed me at 205 this weekend…had a lot of salt yesterday in my foods and was back up to 206 this morning, but I know that isn’t a true weight and will be back down to 205 tomorrow, so keeping the 205.

Anyone watching the Extreme Makeover; Weightloss Edition? I think they have only had two on so far but they are pretty good…on Sunday nights, but can’t remember what channel…think abc …but anyway check it out if you get a chance.

Susie – GREAT job staying away from the soda, I know it is very hard, I crave it myself…just yesterday I wanted a Welch’s grape soda SO bad, my dh was like just go ahead and have one, “treat yourself”, and in all honesty I probably should have since I have been so strict but I just couldn’t do it, maybe after I am firmly planted back in Onederland will I have my next little cheat…glad you had such a good time with your babies and family at your birthday dinner, I love Italian…love love love it….Don’t worry about the small gain…half a lb is nothing

Hi Dee !! Hope you had a great weekend !!!

Well back to work ….have a good one

Carri

Morning Ladies ….so two months ago I buy the cutest pair of jean capri’s with a design on the leg cuff …they have to be a certain length to be able to wear to work, and these were the first pair I found that were like that ….fast forward to today, I have never worn them but it is getting really hot here so I thought I would wear today ….guess what? Way too big now….and yes, that is a good thing but not really ….one I love them, so cute, and two they were 49.99 …I still wore them to work today because I wanted too, haha….I have only been here for a half hour and two people have told me they are too big, and one person has offered to buy them off of me….looking back I wish I would have bought them really tight ….but ya know I bought them when they first put out all their Summer stuff ( Avenue store ) back in like April, and who would have known I would actually be losing weight still, lol …………………….oh well, what are ya gonna do I guess ….least I got one day out of them ….oh and did I mention that they are SO comfortable ?????

And speaking of comfort, it is so not comfortable weather wise here ….what kind of temps are you girls having? We are having 90’s every day, hot and sticky, ick !!! Of course the a/c is working double time ( have set on 73 though ) …so that bill will be nice ….plus we are getting no rain, everything looks really bad, everybody’s grass is like hay ….not the pretty Summer you think of that is for sure….

If this is the way the Summer is going to be it is going to be a LONG one and one that I stay inside for most of haha …we have close friends that have a really nice in ground pool, but of course at this point I am still not going to get in a suit in front of anyone, not even close friends …but who knows I may get desperate …

Hope you all have a good day today ….and if we have any lurkers come out and start chatting with us, we need more peeps !!!! You are all welcome !!

See ya !!

Carri

Hi y'all :bubbles: We got home from Georgia late Sunday night & I had tons to do so I couldn't drop-by Monday.

Susie, TY :hug: for the pics. You r 'pretty & cute' so don't b shy about your pic :df: Hmm the guys, r they yours too, nice body-guards ;) Your landscaping is pretty, have you ever planted some Violets & hen's & chicks & Iris they'll help keep the weeds from coming by multiplying every year, that's why I love perennials, no expense yearly/just divide them to make more beautiful areas & they block-out the yucky weeds coming back yearly. I loved your wonderful, fun weekend, did you eat any cannolli @ the restaraunt, yumm I love mine filled w chocolate & strawberries! You forgot to tell us your fav cake, I might have made you 1 if you had told me & had it overnighted to you, my b-day present to you :o Well when you r turning 49/50 yr add me to your guest list to come down & celebrate w you :yay: What was your fav b-day gift, not including people/dinner? I hope your wishes come true from blowing out your candles :p

Carri, yesterday was International Sushi day, did you go out to eat? You know I'm a foodie, here's a nice link for you: http://www.wikihow.com/Practice-Sushi-Etiquette :) I stop by QVC to check TSV & shop & look @ the designs to see what the public is buying & I found the cutest dress, go peek ISAACMIZRAHILIVE Sleeveless Ruffle Neck Knit Dress w/ Belt, item A201516 $39.98 Black, Mulberry, Azalea. I'm sure it will look great on 'you, Susie & me', we'd b the 3 Fat Chick triplet-friends, to wear & go-out together :spin: No necklace needed w the ruffle neckline, just some cuff-bracelets, drop earrings, rings & gorgeous nails. I don't have time to sew for myself anymore this summer; only for my clients, so I may order 1 dress for a extra summer back-up, black or mulberry before they sell-out.

:woohoo: on you losses! So r you going back to the store & getting another pair of the capris that r falling off you today :o Remember I told you about landsend.com check out the sale page & buy some swim-suits, buy the new style tankini bottom that has a little skirt & then a tankini top you like, no rules in swimwear colors no-matchy-matchy needed, just buy 1 size larger bottom so it won't stretch-out & will fit great as you lose weight or buy a bottom w tummy control. Plus you can wear a sarong before you get in your friends pool, enjoy yourself & splash :swim:

Girls, rain :rain: we had rain all day Monday in MI, nothing brown here, all green & pretty & low 80*s most of this summer so far. Our weekend trip in Georgia was muggy & hot, but a fun time. Because she always uses me as a business expense for her career-wear/stylist she wrote-off my plane ticket & I did a new fitting while I was there, she hasn't had me do custom measurements since she moved from MI to Georgia 2 yr ago, always e-mailing me any body changes every 6 months, we talk/e-mail monthly w her clothes wardrobe. She is co-owner of a real estate co. & has both casual career-wear & dressy & could buy her clothes anywhere she has the $ & she's a size 10-12 easy to fit, (she calls me her stylist, a affordable-personal Vera Wang). We became friends after I began designing/sewing for her in MI; I did sarongs for the 25 girl guests & tie-dyed shirts for the 25 guys as party favors (she asked everyone their sizes in their RSVP's & they thought it was part of a game) & FedEx delivered them a week prior to her 2-day party weekend.

My desk-top computer bit-it last week & the parts just came yesterday so I'll re-build it tonight while watching HK-MC, if I miss the end, I'll b back tomorrow for details, otherwise I might b too busy to come back for a few days. Okay last night I saw the Bachelorette & was happy w her decisions, yay Ryan is gone, I think she should have kept John & sent Doug home though...I don't like wishy-washy men & Doug seems to b like that. Umm the guy she gave a rose to...25 yr & he didn't win on the challenges something about him annoys the H out of me, something is not right w him....OMG next week Ari gets busted for dating her friend, will he stay or go, I'd kick him to the curb, that is a betrayal keeping that secret, I feel if a guy would do that, he'd cheat/adultery in a marriage...Cut-him loose Emily!
Who went home on HK & MC ??? I saw a few minutes of the shows & The Glass House, seems to suck, Big Brother don't worry, you r still #1 :cool:

I gotta get back to work, I will b MIA on Friday-Thur. next week, we're going camping & my laptop stays home.

Does anyone have a iPad? Which version & your pro's/con's? TY

Mandy, Cassie, Mel, Liz, Arabella :wave: Have a Safe & Fun Summer! :hug: Dee

It felt great to get back to the gym last night. We did the rowing machine for 12 min (mind you we did it in 4 min incraments--there is a game you can play while rowing; you try to eat fishes and not get eaten and it's 4 min long). What a cardio workout! Then we went to the weight room . Usually we are there on Wed and it's just us in the summer, but last night was FULL of eye-candy! ;)

Tonight we will do our 5k walk. We usually do it on the last week of the month but she is gone next week so tonight it is. We have agreed we are just doing it to do the distance. To hot to push for time.

Dee: Thank you for the kind words on my pictures. I'm not to shy about my pictures but I always want to be sure that I have on something flattering.

It's strange but even at my weight I get a lot of looks from men and I get asked out a lot. My DH has told me that he thinks I keep weight on because I hide behind it as best I can. I don't know..I dont' think about that much. I just know I eat for comfort and I work every day on not doing that. It's like a drug to me.

This is my first attempt at any sort of landscaping and so I haven't put anything in the ground. I'm more of a container person right now. :)

Your trip to FL sounds awesome and how nice of you to have a client who can do those sort of things. Dee, I think you could be a STAR (well, you are a star to us) but you have decided to keep it all low-key and that's ok!

Dee: It is hot hear too but we have had some really nice summer storms go through in the past 3 days so everything is watered and pretty lush.

As for your to big jeans..sell them to that lady and go by some that fit! You have worked hard for it!

Ok..got to get back to work.

Morning Ladies …Hope you all had a good night …today is the first official day of Summer :df::sunny::cool: And it is going to be a HOT one :flame::hot: 94 degrees today and still no rain to speak of ...everyone's yard looks like straw, nothing is lush and green...we haven't had rain in what seems like months...we need it so bad. :rain::crossed:

Speaking of first day of Summer, I know that a lot of people say this is the longest day of the year and the days start getting shorter after today but I spoke to a local weatherman recently and he said that technically the days don't start getting short until more like around July 4th...which I have a question for Dee ...right now it gets dark here around 9:50 but someone was telling me that in MI it doesn't get dark until 10:30 ...is that true? If so that stinks, I thought 9:50 was horrible :yikes:

Dee - yes I may end up getting a swimsuit, haven't decided yet ...last night I had a bad night and went over my cals by about 800-900 with popcorn and buttered toast....must have been craving carbs, haha :chockiss::chockiss::chockiss: So feeling bloated today and not real keen on buying clothes, haha ...no, I didnt go and get any sushi, thanks for the link, I will check it out ...I don't have an Ipad but I LOVE my Iphone :love:

Bachlorette - I haven't watched MOndays episode yet but did read that she let Ryan go, I was okay with that ...but am sad to hear that Ari did that...I was kind of thinking her and Ari would end up together in the end.

Master Chef - Glad that the blind chef is doing so well ...she impresses them every time and she impresses me every time... great show :)

HK - I don't understand why these girls argue all of the time, they got a bad group this year...too many cooks in the kitchen I guess :rofl:

Susie - I am so proud of you for all of the exercise that you do...you are doing great :jig::cp: I am so jealous of your storms that went thru, as I said we need it so bad ...the farmers around here are in a lot of trouble right now, feel bad for them.

They have even been telling people around here not to do fireworks because it is so dry we are having little fires...which I don't mind, don't like the noise anyhow haha

As I said to Dee, I didn't have a good night last night OP wise, went over my cals quite a bit, not like I do it that often, so probably helps me a little, keeps my body guessing :D

Today is a NEW day !!! And I want ice cream !!!!!!!!!!! :drool: But maybe I get a Starbucks green tea ( sugar free ) instead.

See ya girls, stay cool :crazy:

Carri

Hi Ladies.

I want to tell you that 5k walk on Tuesday about killed me. We did it in 50 min, so a bit slower than usual but we weren't trying to do fast just the distance because of the heat and it was HOT! Carri, I think you would have died since you hate the heat so much.

I keep having a issue with my left leg. It is in the hamstring area and up high. It is always tight and when I stretch it hurts and feels good all at the same time. I must have flared up something on Tuesday as it now aches like a toothache. I am stretching and also massaging it using a tennis ball to help work into that muscle. I think that I might need to see a sports theripist or something as that tightness never goes away completely.

I am watching the Bachlorette as while and I felt like Ryan was a player..it would be fun to hang with someone like that for just the thrill but not for the long haul!

I finally watched one of the Extreme Makeovers last night, it was with the guy from CA. He looked amazing and to think what all happened to him in a year and he still lost the weight. Spoke volumes to me ladies....time to pull my head out of my a*#% and start working harder.

We have a company Olympic competetion today at 2 at a local park. I do not want to go...it's going to be hot! I did volunteer to help run one of the games..I asked for something out of the sun. I did bring sunscreen.

Tonight is TOPS and just not sure of this weigh-in.

Carri: It isn't like you to go over your calories like that and I do think it was a carb craving. Enjoy your Starbucks green tea ( sugar free ) and yeah for you for choosing that over ice cream. Stay strong girl!

Dee: Hope to hear from you soon as I know you will be going on your trip next week!

Morning Ladies …hope you are all doing well …I don’t know what it is lately but for the past couple of days I have just been kind of “blah” about my weight loss and dieting …I had a good day yesterday, was OP ….just seems like suddenly the weight loss has slowed to a crawl for some reason and I am getting discouraged…I know a lot of people say that losing 1 – 1.5 a week is good but it’s too slow for me I guess …maybe because I have so much to lose that I want it to happen NOW …and probably because I put so much emphasis on being in Onederland that the closer my body gets to that the more we ( me and my body ) fight it, haha ….I just want to see that 1 number on the scale …

Just having some discouraging days I guess ….plus it’s so hot here lately ( in the mid 90’s ) and that always brings me down, hate heat …plus I want to walk and with it being so hot outside I can’t …Heat effects me really easily for some reason, always has …so don’t want to overheat outside and be sick…suppose to cool off next week quite a bit so I can get out then and get some exercise …I think my body is needing it now to kick in the next chunk of weight loss

How are you all doing?

Susie - you are SO right, I probably would pass out from the heat, like I said above, I just do really bad in it ...my face doesn't sweat and it gets so red that people actually worry about me ...wasnt bred for heat, hahaha :D
But you are doing a great job ...and you know I always think the same thing when I watch those Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition shows...so inspiring ....

Hi Dee !!!

Have a good day all

Carri

Hey Girls :) I'm on a break. I had to check QVC tsv & got their Birki's Soft Footbed Embossed Cutout Sandals $59, I need comfy shoes in the summer.

My Boo-Hoo :cry: for today is: Yesterday was hot 94* & humid, not common to b in the 90*s here, normal summer is the 80*s. I got a migraine that is still going for 24 hr now; if I take my RX I can't function, only sleep. So I'm struggling w the pains today instead of taking my RX until bedtime. I hurt so bad & couldn't sleep so @ 7 am I cleaned our 3 refrigerators & 2 freezers this morning & took some food out to feed the wildlife & heard a fawn. The fawn was still crying a hour later & Doe's never leave their tiny fawns that long. I walked our woods till I found her & then phoned the DNR; he walked our woods looking for the Doe & found it dead near the road (hit by car/truck) & the 2nd fawn was laying near her. DNR took them away to a foster home w other Doe's to nurture them w their fawns. So I'm back to ignoring my pains :( & getting more work done today.

We leave on our 5 day camping trip tomorrow & r taking our 3 babes, 6 yr, 8 yr, 10 yr w us. Our heat wave ends today we r back in our normal 80*s for a week; the weather channel Never lies does it :dizzy: so we'll have a good trip....But dh & I laugh because we bike, fish, swim, canoe & kayak when we're home anytime we want just living within 15 minutes of 3 big lakes & 1 river; but camping is different surroundings & a fun fellowship w neighboring campers. But to the babes its like a exciting, traveling adventure sleeping in our pop-up tent camper w all the extra kids there & we play board games & cards w them, I found my old wooden pick-up sticks & the kids think it's so much fun :) & Kylee loves playing w my old paper-dolls & color-form stickers...do you remember when life was less technical & such a innocent time....

Carri I'm like you, I'm 1/2 Irish & a strawberry blonde & my face gets red & my skin tight to breathe in high heat/humidity & people think I may pass-out. 2 yr ago I actually did pass-out once while doing a 52 mile bike ride (round-trip back to our car) & dh called 911 & they told him how to help me, it was dehydration combined w heat stroke they said (chills, clammy skin, weak body & slow pulse) I drank water about every 10 miles but the humidity made the temps +100*. So now I don't bike or walk between 12pm-5pm.

So please girls NEVER walk, bike or do any sports 'Alone' when the temps r in the +80*s because of heat stroke or dehydration that can kill you if it goes on for long, it's simply to dangerous being alone working-out in the high-temps.

Susie You r our sports warrior here & we all envy & r proud of your work-out dedication & I'm happy that you took a break :hug: when you didn't have a partner to b with last week, instead of being alone & risking getting hurt while alone. I'm adding you to my prayer list w your injury. Good Luck @ tops tonight, I skipped tops today because I don't like driving in the strong sun-light w a migraine, dealing w the traffic.

You'll think I'm crazy girls, but when I'm plugged/yes constipated; instead of pills I eat a big bag of M & M's, peanut or peanut butter so yummy & by bedtime I have relief :^: That's the only sugar/fat I eat on that day so it never shows up:goodscale as a gain, instead I'm always down a --pd. Eating chocolate candy bars doesn't work for me, it just puts pds on me & I can't eat that many fruit & veggies in 1 day to get relief, but the M&M's r easy. I know that was TMI, but if you all have a helpful weight 'hint to share' please spill-it ;) besides common sense eating/moving....

Carri :hug: I'm sorry that you r feeling discouraged. How about sharing a activity w your dh, or play backyard games in the evening or crank-up the AC & dance or do some dvd's a few times a week. At tops we do silly little weekly challenges like; every tv commercial lift hand-wts & do some sets of 15 counts, or other activity. Take your doggie for walks outdoors around your house 3x every hour, etc. Watch some dumb, funny movies; take a 1 hr 1/2 nap to refresh yourself & then get active or prep some healthy-yummy food & Remember to eat Protein & Fiber w Each meal :broc: I just don't know what else I can suggest. I am Proud of all the Progress you've made.....b patient, 'good things' do take time :cool:

Anyone watching Duets? Incase we can't get the abc or fox tv signals, when we r camping w our tiny tv we take using bunny-ears; please pm me here with who goes home next week on: Bachelorette, Glass House, HK, MC, Duets, In the Wild. Googling the recaps is a pain in the butt, so Thank You girls for the Updates on those shows!

Have a Happy, Safe & Blessed weekend & next week, :hug: Luv, Dee

ps: my dh told me yesterday I'm looking a little fat this week to him :dizzy: so I told him to 'close your eyes' or 'stop looking @ me' :smug:

Morning Girls, my blah attitude carried over in to last night ...I was good all day but then we were going to Culvers for dinner and I wanted to treat myself so I had a cheeseburger with everything on it, fries, and their root beer....their root beer is so good ...anyway I just wanted to eat a meal and enjoy it without thinking about how many calories it had in it ....a few hours later I had some cake and ice cream for dessert. :o So now that is out of my system ...

Dee - so sorry you get migraines, my Mom gets them really bad ...she also takes a med that pretty much knocks her out for a while, but takes care of the pain. Hope you are feeling better today. Have a great time camping with your babes, sounds like a lot of fun...we are also gonna get a little time without such hot temps...it is gonna be in lowers 80's next week and that is gonna be wonderful here too. I do hate that my face gets that red anytime I get hot, my like you I am really fair and it just happens...Thanks for suggestions on how to get out of my diet funk...I am sure the weekend will refresh me, haha ...

Hi Susie :wave:

Have a great weekend everyone !!!!

Carri

Ladies, TOPS last night was ugly! I had a 4 lb gain! :?::sp: I was shocked!

Then I thought about it and I haven't "been to the bathroom" in a couple of days, so maybe that was it. I was so disheartened and then I thought to myself "Dang it Susie", you are letting your emotions control you and YOU are in charge of your body and mind and if some pretty much homeless man whose son died in the middle of his yearlong weight loss challenge, what the HECK is wrong with you? NOTHING! You just need to committ to yourself."

Then I thought, how am I going to tell Dee and Carri and then I thought, they love me, they understand and they will drag me back on my feet and cheer me on as I once again...start anew.

Ladies, this is huge for me as I rarely share my failures. I had a NSV this morning. On Friday's my DH always takes doughnuts to work and I have him get me one--a buttertwist--today I said "no thanks".

So there it is..the good the bad and the ugyly.

Carri: You have come a long way and it's hard work so I'm sure you are tired. I think that maybe for the next 2-3 weeks you don't work on losing weight but rather maintaining it. I know you want in ONDerland so much but when you get there you will have to maintain at sometime, so give yourself a break...not by binging or "cheating" but rather maintaining and loving how you look at almost 199 lbs. :hug:

Dee: I suffer from migrains as well at times. It's a b*tch for sure! After I have one, it can take me two days to get back to myself. I hope you are feeling better.

Enjoy your trip with your babes and yes, I remember when life was less technical and life such a innocent time. It is good to slow down to that once in awhile.

You both were talking about the heat and how red your faces get..mine does too..people think I'm going to have a stroke or something..I'm just fair skinned and "flush" easily, sounds like you all do to.

So, DH and I have one week of work and then we are on our Staycation the first week of July. We need to have some work done on our car and we want to sell his car and let the other car we have now become a second one and buy a new car. DH needs to have his annual blood work and physical and I just want some lazy time too so we took the 4th holiday and planned a home vacation around it.

Then we were just talking with our friends that we usually vacation with but was finding a hard time when we all could take off. They raise their grandaughter and she usually goes with us on vacation but it seems this year she is very busy with camps and girlscouts. So, we found about 3 days to get away together. July 28, 29, 30, 31 we are going to Mackinaw, Michigan. We plan to spend a day on Mackinaw Island as well.

Dee: am I going to be close to you? :D

It has cooled down here this weekend and I hope you all are getting some relief. I'll be around off and on all weekend. I know Dee is gone for a week.

Carri: I hope to see you here.

and if anyone is lurking it would be so nice to hear from you all too!
Or even if someone is new and wants to join a wonderful bunch of gals!

Just stoping by to see if anyone is around. I expect it will be pretty quiet here this weekend and week.

I had another NSV last night. I choose not to have any ice cream after dinner for dessert. We ate out local last night and they have very good homemade ice cream but I was full and so I declined.

Today after lunch I thought about having a Reese Cup that was in the fridge but had watermelon instead. We are going out to dinner tonight with your Personal Chef before she leaves for Mexico in about 3 weeks and we are going to a place in Cincinnati called Terry's Turf Club. It was on that show Drive-in, Dinners and Dives. You should google and check it out. I want to save my calories for dinner tonight.

Feeling very accomplished today, the house is cleaned, everything in my home office is filedand put away and groceries are bought (my DH helped with that!).

Have a great Satruday everyone.

I can't believe the weekend is winding down already.

We had a great time out to dinner last night and I stayed within my calorie range.

Not much else going on. I did see the extended forcast for this week. YIKES!
In the 100's!

HELLOOOOOOOOOOO????!!!!

Just popping in to say on track for the day and meeting my workout partner at the Y tonight for cardio and weight-training.

It was such a beautiful night last night that we changed our plans and walked for the entire workout hour.

Planning a walk in the neighborhood tonight..all by myself. My workout partner is on vacation and has left the city.

Morning Ladies !!!! Had a very nice weekend, hope you all did too ...

Susie - sorry you had to hold up the thread all by yourself this weekend, haha...and yes, you are totally right, we don't care about those 4lbs , we are here to support you thru good and bad, we all have those times...so don't worry about it, come here with your truth !!!! :hug: I
I understand what you are saying about maintaining but I am so close to Onederland I can taste it so I can't slow down now, lol ...even though I am having some burn out, I will just try and work thru it. I am at 204 now with another 1lb gone last week ....but ....drumroll please .........

I have started exercising, well I guess tonight ...my good friend has a really nice in ground pool and we are going to start doing water aerobics 2-3 times a week since it is too hot to walk ( yes Susie we are also getting in to the 100's this week, super sick !!! ) ...so I am looking forward to it, we are actually starting tonight as a matter of fact ...so I figure I will be really sore tomorrow ...let you know.

A week off to stay at home sounds so great Susie - enjoy !!!!

The Bachlorette - this is getting exciting now that we are down to the last four, can't wait to see the home visits next Monday ...still saying it is gonna be either Sean or Arie ....right now, from last nights episode though I am kind of leaning towards Sean, she was kissing him so passionately last night, and I haven't seen her do that with Arie, I mean they do kiss a lot but not like that ....hubba hubba :D

Hi Dee !!! Hope you had a great weekend...

Here is to a good week !!!! and hope that our a/c's can handle the heat....

stay cool !!!

Carri

Morning !!! Oh Ladies my butt muscles and lower back muscles are really yelling at me today…last night me and my friend did water aerobics in her pool for about 45 mins and I am really feeling it today…it actually good be a lot worse …I just wanted to feel some muscle pain so I knew that I actually did something, haha ….we had fun, gonna do it again tomorrow night….maybe try every other night or so, schedule permitting…my suit is too loose in the boob area ( of course with this 34 lb loss my boobs are practically gone ) and go that was hard to keep up …might go after work tonight and see if I can find a nicer one on sale …

Peeked on the scale this morning and I am down another lb at 203 …getting so close !!!

My stomach is really growling at me this morning…I normally have a late snack at 8 every night but since we were at the pool working out I didn’t have anything after about 6:30 …it will probably be good for me to skip that and work out but I will just have to make sure I am eating enough ( and a lot of protein ) at dinner then.

Think me and a friend of mine here at work are gonna go and get a pedicure one day after work this week…my feet are really needing some attention and I LOVE pedicures…what woman doesn’t???? haha

Susie and Dee – Hi Girls !!! Hope you both are doing well ….102 here tomorrow and probably just as hot where you guys are , well at least Susie…so keep cool

Have a great day everyone !!!

Carri

Where my girls at ? LOL