Oh, I don't know about that...my baby is almost 14 and I'm still using that one too!

Nice to 'meet' you, Gloria, thanks for the bio. I have one of those hubbies who still makes me laugh too! That ability has saved him from my wrath quite a few times! Re: Belly dancing. My daughter and her friends at school were just RAVING to me about what a great workout it is. She promises to bring the dvd for me to try next time she comes home.

I don't have to get scarves and finger cymbals, do I?

Tricia...Nice windfall! I love when that happens! Well....I would love it if it happened to me!

Tony...Don't worry...we know you're out there....Just keep studying. Come out and play when you can. Way to go, breaking the plateau!! I'm a poet...

Andria...I'm glad to see you out and about. I have a tendency to burrow myself away at times too. I can go days without leaving the house if I don't have to. I'm fine once I get out there, even feel great being around people...but it takes some doing. (like going to the gym!) I always thought I was just a 'homebody.' Now I see it as a symptom of the depression that I rcould easily let take over. Coming here is a great place to find support, friendship, comfort...even a few laughs! Don't stay away...okay? there's that poet again!

BarbPa...Did you hear some silliness out there about there not being a Super Bowl??? Methinks there's some sour grapes going around.... GO EAGLES!

I'm not snubbing anyone else...just ran out of time. Lots to do today. BUT I did get to the gym this morning for an aerobics class. Feels good to have that out of the way!

Have a terrific Tuesday, all!

Pulling this back up to the top! Come on girls...don't let our thread sink to the second page!!

I'm ignoring the melt-down that is going on. I'm so tired of the fighting and screaming....and now the little one bit Kayla. YIkes. I want a vacation.

Okay...melt-down over for the minute. If ever anyone needed a sanctuary..it would be me.

I'm trying to behave today. I have been striding on my Gazelle and eating GOOD FOR ME food.

Gloria-Hi..I'm Chris. A 33 yr. old over-stressed mother of 3 girls. I am so happy your daughter made it home from Iraq. As for your gardening skills...please send some veggies my way.... I can kill anything green with roots. I DO NOT have a green thumb.

Okay melt-down again. Some little 2 yr. old is going to take a nap. Be back later.

~chris

Hello Chicks & Rooster!
Popping in for a quickie. Life is a little crazy and stressful right now. I had my first scan yesterday and I am once again responding slowly/poorly to the IVF meds. I just keep hoping and praying it was a little too early to tell. I go back on Thursday for another ultrasound and blood work. Yesterday was pretty rough for me, but today I am just reminding myself that I have to stay positive and let my body do the work. It is out of my control.

You liked the smiley faces, you should see my butt now. Yes, it's still big! The marker my nurse put on started wearing off so I gave Jeff free reign with a sharpie. Now I have a sun, arrows and "hi barb" on my butt! It'll wash off eventually.

OH, how about those EAGLES! Super Bowl Baby!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Not much else to report here. Sorry for a lack of personals right now. I am trying not to spend too much time on the internet and more time keeping my mind off everything.

Welcome to the new members of the group!!

Talk to ya later!
Barb

Life is always movement, always change, always-unforeseen circumstances.

We can stop waiting for life to become perfect and start working with what
we’ve got to make it as satisfying as we can.

I read this today and it is SO me when it comes to exercise. I want
everything to go as planned - if not – I crumble. I exercise when I get
home from work, but of course sometimes I can’t go straight home –
groceries, run errands, etc. THAT leads too – well, it’s too late
now to follow my plan for today.

I do try to plan running errands as a rule, but I let myself get thrown by
the “Life is always movement, always change, always-unforeseen
circumstances”.

I will have to work on this stumbling block I put in front of myself –
suggestions?

Of course as I write this I have a conflict already for Wednesday
night!!!!!



5 dogs, aka Gloria and c bo be aka Cheryll

Kat: What am I going to do differently this time – CONSISTENTLY exercise and STICK with it. So don’t let me slack off!!!!



Tony!!!! For breaking your plateau!!!!! I know your busy but I miss
you!!!

Andria: Oh I know where you are – and have been trying to claw my way out !!!!

Tricia: Home grown tomatoes – they make life worth living!!!

BarbPa: You know you are in my thoughts and prayers. Thanks for keeping us updated. Hmmmm will you be posting pics of your hubby's art work?

I feel tired - must have worked to hard !!

I have to go and read Oprah's weight loss plan in her latest magazine. Inspire me, Inspire me!!!! PLEASE!

Ok, another late night for me! Just checking my mail and this website and it is already 10:30. I promised myself that I would try to get more sleep ( I read somewhere that sleep deprivation leads to weight gain - like the sleep deprivation is the only thing that has put this much weight on my oversized body!!!) but getting to bed early is a major problem for me. One, I'm a night owl anyway, and two, I'm always working on school stuff after I get the rest of my crew to bed. Oh well, one more thing for me to work on...along with drinking more water, getting more exercise, eating healthier. I always did love a challenge...!

Welcome Gloria and Cheryl. Glad you could join us. This is a great group - very supportive and lots of fun. I know you will enjoy being with us!

Skittles - I love your idea of a plan! I'm always saying "no, you can't have that" so I can really relate!

kat - Awareness, mindful eating, conscious behavior. Boy are those some great key words. I'm posting them on my refrigerator in the kitchen. Words to live by...

Tony - Good luck on the exams. I know what it is like being snowed under by school work!

Andria - The cats punctured your ball?!!! My boys demolished mine - doing something stupid with it like trying to skateboard over it...

Jawsmom - I'm so used to eating just because I want to eat that it is hard for me to figure out if I'm really hungry or not. I'm programmed to eat just because it is lunchtime or just because it is there...You've got a good idea. I need to work on that...Hey, what a great stroke of luck finding the $2200! I'm going to balance my checkbook right now....

Gloria - I'm the one from GA - this Southen Gal was born and raised here! We love visiting other places but this is definitely home.

Chrily - Hang in there! Little kids can get to you but then they turn around and do something sweet to make up for it. Of course, my 6 years olds at school know they have pushed me too far when I open the window, lean out, and scream at the top of my lungs...

BarbPA - Lots of well wishes coming your way. Think positive!

Lucky - Let me know when you learn to deal with the stumbling blocks...and give me lessons please!!!

Almost 11:00. I really do need to get some sleep...Talk to you later. Have a great day tomorrow!

Laura

Hey everyone

Had to drop in and get a WI number posted for the 2 lb. challenge. I was up again today. So, my starting weight is 286. I honestly don't have a clue why I was up, except when I let pressures get to me, my weight climbs inexplicably. I am keeping my journal, and my food was really good. I'm just accepting the WI and moving on. I worked extra hard to make sure my diet was on target today, drank all my water, and I exercised.

It is really late and the day has been long, but I do have to say that it is really fun reading and getting to know so many new people. Glad to have you here!

Andria

Just wanted everyone to know I'm still here. Some serious things have been going on in my life, and I'm not in a chatty mood here lately, but I am reading everything everyday. For those of you who pray, keep me in your prayers.
And remember, I'm reading everyday.

BarbG, you need prayers, they are on their way. Love and light and everything you need to get through. *HUGS*

Andria

Lucky, I have the exact same problem and that quote may as well have been written about me. I completely understand how it applies to exercising but these days I am so terrified of NOT losing this weight that I feel like I am letting food control ME. For instance, I will have to take the kids out to dinner tonight. I know where we are going and I know all that they have on their menu. They've got plenty of acceptable choices and I am not worried at all about ordering the right thing. But I have gotten so compulsive about keeping track of my calories that it is really bugging me that I won't be able to enter an EXACT amount into Fitday. I have actually been considering just ordering a drink and eating once we get home. I know how silly it is and know that 100 calories, or even 200, up or down isn't going to make or break my over all goal. And, like it or not, I know I've got to learn to eat outside of this box I've created. I really envy people who go through life and don't have to THINK this much about food. It can be sooo frustrating!

BarbPA, you are doing everything right so just keep it up. I did not go through what you are but Greg and I hit some MAJOR stumbling blocks as we tried to make our family. I know it can be a real trial to want something so badly especially when it appears to come so easily for everyone else (even if you know that isn't the case - you are never in a boat alone). Good luck to you and your husband and I will keep you in my thoughts.

Chrily, aren't those meltdowns the worst? I am not one of those mothers that thinks my children are angels and can do no wrong but they are usually very well behaved. But, boy, when they lose it they LOSE IT! And so do I. I've pulled out an old trick that my mom used on us - I start making goofy faces and tell them that if they don't settle down I'll go crazy and little men in white coats will come and carry me away. I make sure that they feel about 98% certain that I am just kidding but leave the other 2% to their imagination. It is just enough to make them calm down "just in case." Sort of like a superstition - I don't really believe that walking under a ladder is bad luck but I walk AROUND them nonetheless! LOL. Oh, and another trick I use is to just start copying them. If they scream, I sream, they stomp their feet, I stomp my feet. They usually get so tickled at seeing how silly that kind of behavior is (especially by a grown up) they give it up for the moment. It at least calms them down long enough for us to talk about anything serious they may have done (biting, hitting, etc.). And, quite frankly, screaming with them gets my frustration out too and I don't have to yell at them to do it. Of course, the neighbors probably think we are all nuts.

Andria, aren't those little gains the pits? Especially when you've gotten as far as you have. But they are normal so you are doing the right thing by moving on and not using it as an excuse to give up all together. It has happened to all of us. I've gotten to the point where I know my weekly weight loss is going to start tapering off. I've gotten really used to losing 3 to 4 pounds a week and then BAM, 1.5 a week, then WHAMMY 1 pound a week. It is so frustrating because I'm still making the exact same sacrifices and not getting the same reward. I am working now to make by self believe that 1 -1.5 pounds are a big deal in the big scheme of things. Sort of like driving a crappy car - sure it might not be as nice as a Jaguar but it still gets you where you are going. And that is all I want - to get to where I am going (135 YIPPEE).

Barb - hope things get back on track for you soon. I will keep you in my thoughts.

Alright, I hope everyone has a great day!

Tricia

Wow, there are so many of you. I hope i don't leave any of you out of this post. If i do, let me say now that i didn't mean to.

Lol. Yes Kat, you have to wear scarves and a belly ring. Just kidding. The first time i took a belly dancing class i wasen't sure what to expect, but after one class, i was hooked. That night after class i couldn't what to show hubby my moves. Lets just say he was impressed. If you want to get rid of the belly and big hips, try belly dancing. Mine still stick out some, but slowley they are getting firmer.

Do you know where Blairsville Ga. is Laura? Hubby and i have a vacation home there that we bought last year Oct. and are going up there next week. We haven't been up there since, so the house has no furniture or even beds. Imagine this. We are taking hubbys truck so we will be able to take a lot of the stuff we have down here in Fl. up there to Ga., along with our five dogs, and two people in the cab. Does the show 'Beverly Hillbillies' come to mind?

I have a question for all of you. I know i need to drink water everyday, but i was wondering if seltzer water counts? What i like to do is get a big glass of seltzer water, with a cap full of extract, (Vanilla, Cherry, Pinapple.......) and a packet of Splenda mixed togather. It tast like soda, but no preservatives.
Also, i would love to do the two pound thing with you, but because of our trip next week, it might be a little hard. Will you be doing it again later? If you are, i would love to start then.

Hello Tricia and Chris. Because we have sugar fine sand down here, vegetables don't do so well. I get big pots and buy potting soil for any vegetable i want to grow. I have them sitting in front of my house and they look like decorative yard plants in pots. I also grow herbs and use them in my cooking. Have you ever had fresh rosemary on fish. It is so good i sometimes eat it for breakfast. Because I hate breakfast and had to make myself eat something in the morning, I started eating a small piece of fish with rosemary and lemon, and have found it keeps me going longer than eggs would.

Barb, i will keep you in my prayers. I know life can be almost to hard to take some time and you just want to SCREAM! Been there, done that. You are not alone.

I must get off this computer now. I have a step class tonight but it looks like rain so......... I need you all to tell me to stop making excuses and get to that step class.

Gloria

I've been busy this morning so far. I got my kids to school and came home. I committed to doing my exercise this morning and it was great. I did a 40 min. dvd workout and then rode on my Gazelle for 20 min. I even had a decent breakfast that wasn't cereal. I had to Morningstar Veggie Sausage Patties and some Eggbeaters. Made me feel like I was having a high-fat breakfast without the guilt. No bread though. I have a yeast allergy.

Hi Gloria-We have really rich soil in our backyard. We just moved into this house almost 2 yrs ago and this year I am going to TRY planting a garden. The last time we did, we had little "baby" pumpkins that were supposed to be huge but they spent too much time in the shade and got about the size of a grape. Houseplants are the things I kill the best. Martha Stewart would just die if she saw my gardening skills or my cooking skills for that matter. BTW What kind of dogs do you have? We had a basset hound and a golden lab but they weren't socialized and weren't used to being in town...we lived in the country before. The basset baby bit the neighbor so to keep peace among us all, we had to get rid of them. We still have our 4 cats. I'm not sure if they bug anyone. Georgie is our little social boy. He loves to visit people...and tries to go inside any open door.

Barb-Hang in there! I've been missing you on this thread and the RA/OA thread too. Hope you're doing okay and somewhat pain-free.

Tricia-I am so with you too. I wish I didn't have to think so much about what goes down my throat either. It's frustrating for me to see my sister's shovel in whatever they want and never gain an ounce, and I can gain weight by just looking at a goodie. My gosh, we have the same genes... Just makes me think about life being unfair and how much I wish I were different.

Okay...I gotta shower, shampoo ,and shine before I go get Kayla from kindergarten. Talk to you all in a while

~chris

This is hubby Carl with our babys. He is eating ice cream and they all want to lick the bowl. Carl can eat anything and not gain an ounce.

Chrile, three of our dogs are just mutts that we save from being put to sleep. The other two were my daughters when she was married and living in Iowa. Jamie's husband at that time decided one day he no longer wanted to be married and Jamie was unable to take care of them, so we took them in.

Gloria

Gloria,
How can Carl sit there with all those puppy dog eyes staring at him? Our Basset had the whole "feel sorry for the starving pup" look down perfect. I sure miss our dogs. Maybe we can find a small one without attitude later on after we get a new fence put up.

~chris

Hello Gloria and everyone for such a good support group. Unfortunately, I had to work 16 hours yesterday and missed my aerobic class, and didn't have any food plans for my evening so I had junk food at work. Bummer. I did not know until the last minute I would be working so long and I had cookies most of my night at work. Anyway, today has not been much better. Ok, it's time to move on, right?

Anyway, so here's my bio. I am 49 years old, married 30 years, have one daughter 25 and a grandson who will be 4 yrs. old in a couple of weeks. I am a cook in our local High School. Yep, I'm a lunchlady. Ha. Ha. Ha.

I too love to excersize. I do step aerobics 2 nights a week, and a toning class 2 nights a week, plus walk with friends 2 nights a week. As a matter of fact I was an aerobic instructor for 5 years. Imagine that. I'm the one who use to motivate other people, and now sometimes I feel just plain lost. What the heck happened? I've had alot of stress the last 4 years, mothers longterm illness and death. I think I just began eating as a stress reliever. Not really caring, basically. Well, I care now, and I'm tired of being overweight and feeling bad about myself. But it's such a struggle to stay on track. I've always been good about working out, but food is my problem right now. I basically am trying to prepare healthy food and snacks, I have alot of weight watcher recipies from a gal at work and I'm constantly searching the internet for more recipies. I like the website, allrecipies.com the best. They have healthy living recipies.

Gloria, I also am a crafty person. I use to have my own woodworking and painting business. Did craft shows, wholesale to retailers and have ads in country sampler magazine. Did that for 18 years while my daughter was in school so i could be a stay at home mom. When she graduated i got a job in the cafeteria at school and started working full time. But all those years of painting, caused me to get burnt out. But now I love to go to the craft shows and enjoy other peoples hard work.

Some of my hobbies are gardening, any type of excersize, dancing, playing cards and board games, entertaining my friends. They are having a Belly dance class where I work out and have thought about giving that a try. Let me know what you think of your class, gloria.

Anyway, I haven't figured out all the smileys, weight charts, and how to do the photos that everyone has yet. But I will try to get that figured out sometime soon.

Also, I think it's amazing that you are working out and doing so much since your accident, it sounds like it was quite serious. You are my inspiration. I think this is a great group of people. I'm on board for the 2 lb. weight loss by feb. 7th.

Woo hoo, I'm excited now. Cheryll