p.s. excuse the spelling errors I've been reading and writing all day.

Good morning everybody. I'm excited for today. I haven't work up with that feeling in a long time. I'm just happy to be who I am. I swear dieting is hard but it sure does improve the mental wellbeing. I've bee good on my diet and I'm up to 9 days staight on the exercise. I think the exercising has helped my mood and outlook even more than the dieting. Anyways, it's cold here and I hate the cold - who would believe I'd be so cheery. It's almost scary.

Today I'm going to work on stained glass. I have my first order from my internet site and I get to work on it. I started my site because I have too much stained glass in my house. All my windows are full. I'm doing a custom piece - designed the pattern and color scheme and today the work with the glass begins. I'm really excited about this new part of my art.

Also, the Green Bay Packers play today. So I'll watch that.

I almost forgot. Yesterday when I was shopping I bought a PJ outfit of light aqua. It's beautiful. I bought a Large. I havent' fit in a large in sometime and I decided even if it didn't fit, it was so cute I'd work my butt off to be able to fit in it. They had and XL but I just refused to buy it. I tried it on and it fits perfectly. I am so excited about that. What a great motivator it is. BTW, I'm wearing it as I type. I also bought a cute jacket and it was a large too. I'm seeing big time results. Life is great!!!!!!!!

Hi Marie, your positive words have really helped me today. It's one of those days when I want to eat and eat and eat. Yesterday it was just the opposite, I was satisfied with not that much food. Interesting. Anyways, my husband is making a really healthy tofu dish for lunch so that will be good and now I'm drinking lots of water.

Like you I'm fitting into clothes that I didn't fit into. So many things I bought that were too small now fit - it feels great and really does improve my mood too. I can't wait until my course is over so I can give that time to exercise. I am going to try to read on the bicycle machine this week - I heard that's a good way to do both - let's see. Thanks again for the encouragement and all the positive words. It's contagious. Have a good day!

Good morning, ladies!
 

Can't stay long-on my way to court. I have nine cases this morning! Ugh! By the way-in case you didn't know-I work for the district attorney here in Glasgow, KY so that's why you'll hear me talk about court some. Just wanted to make sure you guys knew I'm not wreaking havic here in KY! :D

That's all for now. I'll ck in later w/a longer post/update.

TOF-more info about the Danskins thing, please. I'm considering a run/walk myself when I meet my goals. Hang in there!

Have a good health day. Be good to you! :)

Hello, all
 

Just thought I'd ck in. My date w/my DH went well. We had a good time and got to spend some quality talking time together. I've been looking for a creamer/sugar bowl and he bought me one Sat. We have folks in and out of our house all the time. I think little things are important and when you take the time to get the creamer and sugar bowl it says that your visitor is important to you. Just my thoughts, anyway. Might be silly to others but that's what I think! :)

Marie-Congrats on the exercise and healthy eating! Isn't it amazing how much better you already feel? I'm sure, like me, your energy level is getting better and better. Way to go! :cp: Could you pm me your website? I'd love to take a look at your work! The stain glass windows in our church depict different stages of the life of Christ and they are truly exquisite!

TOF-How's your eating going today? Hope it's going well. BTW-I'm all for going to Oprah! Maybe she could give us a new wardrobe! :D How much have we lost altogether? Any estimates?

Marie/TOF-congrats to both of you for getting into clothes that were too small before. :bravo: It's a great feeling. I'm wearing a new outfit today that is two sizes smaller than I used to wear. Woo-hoo!

Well-have a great day. Be kind to yourself.

Hi Skinny, thanks for sending forth all that positive energy. I think I calculated that we had lost about 88 altogether. I'll calculate again soon when I have a few minutes.
As far as the Danskin sprint triathlons - they are run/walk, swim and bike events - 1/4 mile swim, 10 bike and about 3 run. People say that they really look out for first timers. They probably accept teams too so if your daughters wanted to join you one of you could bike, one swim and one run.

I'm looking forward to putting my energy in that direction after this course ends. I have a big test tomorrow night and a presentation so that's what I'll be working on tonight.

It's interesting that you work for the district attorney's office. My brother is a prosecutor so I get to hear all about the work. It's interesting work although he does deal with many sad cases.

Thanks for sticking with the thread - there's power in numbers and I look forward to my evening "chat," it helps to keep me on track. Have a nice evening.

Good morning, ladies
 

Hello, all. Hope everyone is having a good health day and making great choices! I exercised w/Tony Little today-I used my gazelle! It had been a while and it felt good. I'm doing pretty good. Good food choices yesterday. I use a lot of WW crockpot recipes. Last night's dinner was chicken stroganoff over whole wheat, yolk-free noodles and brocoli. Then SF pudding made w/1% milk for dessert-YUM!

TOF:88 pounds-WOW! We're doing pretty good, aren't we? That was good confirmation for me and encouragement to keep on keeping on! I work for the child support division of the district's atty. office but I worked the criminal end of it for 1.5 years. There are some pretty sad things. The main reason I switched from the criminal end of it was b/c I had worked a case that hit very close to home for me-the molestation of a child. I went through that nightmare w/my oldest daughter but hadn't really dealt w/MY emotions. I sent my daughter to counseling but not myself. So, when the job at child support became available, I jumped at it. I have gone to counseling and feel I could handle that kind of work again. I do know that when I am able to work only part-time next year, I plan on being involved w/CASA-a local child advocacy program. You just have to keep telling yourself that the life of a child is a little better b/c you're doing your job and learn to leave your job at work. I think the Danskin thing sounds good but I would definitely have to practice the swimming part! I took lesson last year to help overcome this life-long fear of water and can do very well when swimming on my back. But swimming face forward-forget about it! I guess I have another challenge ahead of me! :)

Gotta run. Have a great day everyone!

Hi all,

Skinny, thanks for your positive feedback on my exercise program. I'm up to 11 days straight. I think it has to be a record for me. I'm not an exerciser by nature - I do it to feel better in the evenings. Before I was coming home from work and wanting to go to sleep. Now, I exercise and have time for the fun stuff like stained glass. I hope you enjoy my site. It's still in the work in progress area, but it's getting there. I think taking the pictures is the hardest part.

In the last week I haven't lost any weight. I always hope I will but I never do at this time of the month. I lose the third week of my cycle. I think it's really strange, but that's how my body works. I won't see anything but maybe a 1/2 pound progress for the other three weeks. Then bam, a loss of 2 or 3 pounds. So I will wait for another week and a half and I'll add to the 88 pound lost. For now, I've lost 17 pounds of which even I can see when I look in the mirror. I think my face alone lost 2 pounds. It's not bloated anymore.

I guess I should work again. I do admit I like to take breaks and sign in here. Work is still boring and I count the time down till I can go home - - and exercise (since that's the first thing I do when I get home).
Marie

Lots of great news Marie and Skinny. Skinny your volunteer work sounds great. There are lots of children out there who could use a little extra support. I always think of that when I see senseless violence (like after a ball game) or spending. I think of what that energy if turned around and the money could do for so many children.

I'm not making a lot of sense tonight because I'm beat. It's a really busy week this week for me - lots of issues to contend with (not too heavy, but time consuming, mainly at work). I just had my course mid-term and second presentation. I'm halfway there to finishing this course. The test went well. I have a much better idea about the expectations of this course now. Thanks for listening. Have a good day.

FYI - good eating day! Strange, but I'm getting so used to eating healthy that I sometimes forget I'm trying to lose weight. Positive lifestyle change! Yeah

sw210 cw 186 (last time I weighed myself -time for another weigh in) gw 150

Good morning, ladies
 

Hope everyone is having a great health day and making healthy choices! Yesterday was a good eating day for me. I didn't exercise this morning due to time contraints but will try to exercise this evening after church. Perhaps a walk around the neighborhood w/my DH.

Marie-I loved, loved, loved your stained glass creations! How wonderful to be so creative and talented. I especially liked the red daylillies as lillies are my favorite flowers. My 15 year old daughter makes fun of me b/c she says lillies smell like funeral homes! :) Oh, well. I am not talented in the artistic sphere whatsoever but I do appreciate art. My creativity comes in the form of words. I have some short stories I've written as well as poetry. Just a hobby for me, though. Again-really enjoyed your site. Also, you cracked me up w/your comments about losing 2 pounds in your face! :D But you know what it's true. We are losing weight everywhere and it's fun to look in the mirror and see that difference. My DH has placed a photo of me on the mirror in my room. It was taken a year ago-34 pounds ago. He put it there to remind me how far I've come when I get discouraged. He's such a sweetie. It does really help.

TOF-isn't it great to know you're half-way to meeting the goal of this course! What a relief for you! Congrats on doing well on your test! :cp: :bravo: I'm also very glad for you that you feel like you have some idea of the expectations of the teacher. That will help a lot. Keep up the good work and hang in there.

Well, ladies I must go. My cappucino is calling me! :coffee: I found a new one: S'mores flavored. Oh, my goodness-it's delicious. Taste very similar to one I had and fell in love w/while in Minnesota last spring-toasted marshmallows. Both are good stuff.

Remember ladies what we're doing w/our weight and other area's of our lives takes time. So be encouraged! Be grateful for any loss-even if it is only .2 like mine was a few weeks ago. At least it's not a gain! Focus on how much better we feel and how much more energy we have. My mom always used to sing a song to me about being positive. You may recognize these words: Accentuate the positive-eliminate the negative. That's what we're doing. Wel time to get off my soapbox :soap: Have a great day and be kind to yourself!

Hi all. Skinny I actually like your soapbox. It's encouraging. At the end of a busy day I look forward to this encouragement.

Guess where I've lost my weight - my feet! I tried on fairly new pair of shoes and they were really loose. Today someone asked me (in a nice way) if I was shrinking. I definately don't look like I'll wither away but I'm definately thinner. I'm looking forward to weighing myself again if I can every make it to the gym.

Take care all and have a good day. Skinny you are really getting close to your goal - keep up the good work.

Hi all. Thanks skinny for the compliment. I too like lilies. Other than pansies, they're my favorite. I planted 20 bulbs this fall for next year. I'm hoping they'll all come up and that Bambi won't eat them.

I had a good day. A good dr. appointment. A good day at work. Good at my food diet and I exercised. All around good for a weekday. Never will a Wednesday beat a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, but it was good none the less. I have this thing about weekends and I wonder if I'm wishing 4/7ths of my life away. (I love Fridays because they're so far away from Monday).

BTW, all 3 of my dogs say hi to everyone and wish us all luck on Thursday.
Marie

Good morning, ladies
 

Hope everyone is having a good health day! I exercised this morning w/Richard (Simmons) this morning. I've had my cappucino so all is right w/the world. ;)

Yesterday was a good eating day. I didn't exercise, though. Between work, church and school stuff on Weds, I'm lucky to have time to breathe! That will slow down a little next week as yesterday was my DD last Weds. afternoon band practice.

Reds-are you out there? I'm missing you! You are in my thoughts. Hope things are going well.

I have a parenting question-how do you get your kids to take initiative to do things on their own? Example: I came home from work yesterday and both children were stretched out on the couches watching tv-completely ignoring the mess-that they made BTW-and not doing anything. Well, that lead to me complaining which lead to them complaining which lead to everyone feeling yuck. It might not have bothered me so much if we hadn't discussed this very thing yesterday morning. Then, after I got home from church it was the exact same scenario-stretched out on couch-no work done. So we are turning off the cable for a while. It's just so frustrating for me. Is this typical teenager behavior? I sometimes do almost a 1/2 day of work before leaving the house in the morning. Sometimes-like today-I go home and clean some during lunch hour so I can spend time w/my family. Then I'm almost always the last one to go to bed. I enjoy taking care of my family-don't get me wrong but I'd like for them to do some stuff w/o having to be told or having it written on a chore chart. I told them theya re 13 and 15 years old. When they get in college or on their own, no one is going to be there to prod them so they needed to get used to doing things on their own. Tips/advise appreciated! Thanks. :)

Well, ladies have a great day. Be kind to yourself.

Hi all. Marie, it sounds like you had a great day. Keep it up and thanks for the inspiration.

Skinny, I don't know what kind of advice to give you. I do know though that my son has done his laundry a few times (he's thirteen) because I simply haven't had the time to get to it and he got fed up and did it himself. Generally, we have a no tv rule after dinner in the house for the children, so they don't watch it often after dinner on school nights. Lots of our chores get left undone too. Sometimes I just lay it on the line - if you don't do that chore (whatever it is) then I'm not going to be able to support you in what you want to do like driving them somewhere, or giving them the money they need for a social event, etc. I tell them that's life - consequences, if you don't do the job, then you don't what you want (sp?). It's not easy though, and it's not like I don't face the issue too - these are just a few thoughts.

I wore a belt for the first time in a long, long time. I've simply been too wide for belts and today I was able to wear one. I also wore more feminine shoes. Anyways, several people mentioned my weight loss. I've hardly said a word about it at work wanting to keep it private. I was happy with the response but also found myself wanting to eat more and drown out the attention. I clearly remember when my figure started to change at 13. I was scared. I had a more grown up figure than some of my friends. I think that's when I started eating for comfort more and I had that same feeling today. I'm trying to really think about the feelings that make me turn to food. Has anyone else ever felt this way about their bodies and weight loss? Thanks for listening.