Wow, I actually had something to read when I got on tonight!! And from 2 of my favorite gals!!! Val and Andrea you just don't know how much you have both helped be along this journey! It was so nice to come home and see that you had both been here today!!!!! Yipee! As a matter of fact you have inspired me to take the laundry off the treadmill and actually use it tonight!!! My goal is 2 miles. I haven't been able to do the yoga because of the hernia but walking should be okay. I see a surgeon on the 8th about that. Anyway I am planning on trying to get some things done around the house this weekend. We are trying to get the house ready to put on the market by the first of October at the latest. Need to go feed the kids but I'll check back later.

Paige, don't forget to keep us updated about what the surgeon tells you about your hernia. I still didn't get up and go running this morning. My excuse is that I had to go pick Jacob up from work at 4am and I had a hard time getting back to sleep after that. The kids want to go to the skate park though so maybe I will do a little running while they skate.

Andrea, your breakfast sounds so yummy, I've only got 2 days left on phase one, (actually one and a half) I can't wait to have something besides eggs for breakfast. I couple of days I just couldn't face having eggs so instead as I was hurrying out the door in the morning I would just eat a tablespoon of peanut butter. Its a good thing I love peanut butter!

I'm thinking about going out and getting my hair cut, getting more school supplies, buying a video camera to catch ex at his tricks, new shoes for the kids for the new school year, so much to do! I'll let you guys know if I actually run sometime today or not. Later!

I can't wait to change my ticker on Monday!!!!

Well, I'm not sure coming to Portland was a good idea or not, but I'm here and still procrastinating on getting my schoolwork done. It's just that this one paper has really been a hard one for me, and I'm so stuck on it that all the other assignments are getting piled up. Oh well. As soon as I finish here I will start plugging away on it. I'm at my friend's house using her computer while the kids play. Although, she isn't here and I'm distracted by the worry that my kids are getting into something. Sigh....

Val, you sound so excited about your weight loss! I don't blame you--it feels great, doesn't it?! Last night I met my husband at his brother's house, because my kids haven't seen Uncle Rick in awhile and he wanted to see them as well. When I got out of the car, Rick, looking really surprised, says, "Good grief! You're getting so skinny I almost can't see you!" hehehe...he was joking, of course. He started asking me how I did it, saying I "look great", etc... and then throws in, "you don't drink much whiskey, do you?" hahahaha... I had to laugh. He will always have a gut, because he likes his beer and whiskey in the evenings. Not good for weight loss... Anyway, I had forgotten that he hasn't seen me in months and it was nice to get a fun reaction to my weight loss. It was kind of embarrasing, too, because when I asked Ron if he had told Rick I was losing weight, Rick heard me, and said, oh so smoothly, "I didn't need him to tell me! It's kind of hard to miss--you look WAY better!" Ron and I laughed, because it was kind of funny, but inside I cringed slightly. hehe

Paige, I too want to know how the hernia operation goes. I'll have to go back and read your posts again to know when or if that is scheduled yet. I can't seem to keep anything in my head lately.

Speaking of being forgetful, Ron and I BOTH forgot our anniversary (July 17th). I called him a little while ago to tell him, and it was clear he had truly forgotton. He was really flustered, since he doesn't usually forget those types of things. He asked why I didn't tell him sooner, and I said, "Ron, I just said: WE forgot, which means *I* forgot too, until now." We laughed. It's been a weird and stressful summer, this summer of our 5th wedding anniversary.

Well, I'd better go and get to work on this paper. Ron talked over some of my ideas with me last night, and I feel more ready to get working on it. Wish me luck!

Good luck with that paper Andrea

I didn't run yet today and don't see myself doing it now as it is getting late in the day. Maybe I will get myself up and motivated tomorrow morning. Time will tell and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Hey ladies! I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Well Friday evening the doorbell rang and it was my MIL. Not only did DH forget to tell me she was coming but he forgot she was coming!!!! The house was a mess after being back to work all week. So needless to say it was quite a surprise!! But she did take us out to lunch on Saturday and she left around 4:00 so I guess it wasn't too bad. But DH is going to be in the dog house for awhile!!!

Val- I am so excited about your weight loss!!!! Awesome job! Did you run this morning?? I haven't made it on the treadmill this weekend like I was going to .... hopefully today.

Andrea- Oh, how I don't envy you with all the school stuff! I'm trying to motivate myself to get my doctorate...but I just dread getting back into all that stuff!! YUK! Good luck with it! Let us know how the paper turns out.
At least you both forgot your anniversary. We had ours on the 24th and we mays as well have forgotten. DH was sick and other then telling each other happy anniversary...that was it!! Pretty sad after 12 years! Great story about your BIL!! It's nice to get that acknowledgement for all your hardwork!!! I see the surgeon on the 8th so other then that I don't know anything yet. I'm hoping it is something that can be done on an outpatient basis. But I'll keep you all posted. It's just always something!!!!

hey ladies! I am back from my trip with the hubby! We had a wonderful time and had a gorgeous chalet! It was perfect! I am pooped though. When we got home (lastt Tues.), we left again to go visit his father in Chattanooga. We just got home last night. I think we ate at every restaurant there was this past week. I have gained 7 pounds!!!!! OMG! I am freaking!!!! Anyway, I went to the store last night and got all the stuff to go back to Phase 1 on SBD. Reading Vals posts really has helped me get motivated this morning. THANKS VAL! I am looking forward to going back on it. I will start walking tonight too. It is too hot here to walk when I get up. The kids start school on the 8th, so maybe I will walk morning AND night next week. You cannot imagine all the stuff I have eaten while I was gone!!! I should be (and am) very ashamed!!! So, I guess I will set my ticker back and start over!!!
Good to be back......Maybe I can get back into the swing now!!!

Kim

Glad to have you back Kim, those two weeks of phase one will go by quickly and you'll be back on track. It is very inspiring to see the scale drop during that time!! Today is my first day back on phase 2!! I am ready to go, I've just got to get myself into a different exercise routine. I will continue my walking everyday, but think that I really need to do something else as well.

I am down to 179 this morning!!! Which means I made my end of July goal and it is time to start a new goal for August!

Val, that is awesome!!! You do inspire me with restarting this phase. 2 weeks isn't much though...I will make it. I know I will. I hope to lose 10 pounds this month. That is my goal. I was at 171 and am back up to 178. So that would put me 3 pounds below what I was when I screwed up. I had a shake this morning. Just didn't feel up to the eggs and Turkey bacon this morning. One day at a time.

I have to say I was getting really sick of having eggs for breakfast, of course it is totally worth it, what really helped me was that my mom and dad were giving me home grown tomatoes, and green peppers and my neighbor gave me some home grown onions, so I was chopping those up and having some really nice omelets. Also a couple of mornings when I was in a big hurry and didn't feel like eggs I just scooped out about a tablespoon of peanut butter and ate it for breakfast.

Oh no!!! It is happening again!!!!

I am here!!! What is going on with everyone??? WHERE ARE YOU????

Val, I did good yesterday with my first day of Phase 1!! I walked last night too. YAY! I am going to my mothers today to help organize some things and go to the bank and store for her. I will take some of my food with me. Well, I need to shower and get outa here. I will be back tonight though.
Kim

I'm still in Portland, but am on my way home. I have SO MUCH schoolwork to do when I get there, though, so I'm not sure how much I will be on this week. And then I will be leaving for about 10 days to go down to San Diego for a family reunion. Don't know what kind of internet access I will have there, either. So, it may be awhile! I'll miss you, but I WILL be back.

Have been doing fine on my eating plan, by the way! I'm happy to report that I'm in a size 12 now!!!!!! I went to a thrift store and got some really cute clothes while I was here in Portland! Yay!

Congratulations for getting back to business Kim and Val--You guys are inspiring!

Later!

WAY TO GO ANDREA!!! SIZE 12!!! That is awesome!!!! I know you are on cloud 9! YOU are the inspiring one!!! Woooo hooooo!!!!

I did good today. I spent the day with my mom and dad but I took Tuna and a tomato and lots of bottled water........and for dinner they ordered out, but I got a healthy meal with NO sugar. YAY! I have had a few almonds too.

Well, Just wanted to check in.
Kim

I'm home! Since I wasn't near my own scale (or any scale for that matter) while I was in Portland, I didn't post a weight on Monday. But tomorrow morning, I will weigh myself and post that weight. (Is it cheating to have an extra couple of days to lose?! hehehe)

I just wanted to tell you all that my husband and I seem to have made a real communication breakthrough this weekend, and I'm feeling better about our relationship than I have in years. What led to this "breakthrough" was extremely (EXTREMELY ) unpleasant, and I don't really want to go into all that, but I do think the result makes it worth it--or so I'm hoping. Anyway, there's some good news from my neck of the woods!

Also, although I don't know if I've lost weight, I will say that I'm feeling trimmer. My clothes are fitting better, and some are now too loose, again. In fact, I think I mentioned that I bought myself some new ones while I was in Portland (new to me, that is! Gotta love the thrift stores in Portland!) Anyway, I'm really in a size 12 now!! Some 12's don't fit and there are some cuts of 14's that are still good, but for the most part everything I tried on that worked well for me was a 12!!!

AND, I bought a size 10 swimsuit that fits me great! It's a one piece mocha-colored Speedo with an open back, and it's brand-new. I can't belive I found a new suit at Goodwill, and only had to pay $6.99 for it. And it's totally my style! I'm happy. I was figuring I'd have to spend at least $30 for new suit that worked for me. This is very cool. Now I have a decent swimsuit to wear in San Diego!

The only bad thing about buying new clothes is that now I have no money left until Friday (hopefully). I will have to make the food we have stretch. I also bought Stella some school clothes on Ebay earlier this week, so that's why I'm coming up so short. Oh well, I will be happy I have this stuff, come Fall. I had NO winter clothes left that fit me. Here on the coast, we actually get winter temps in the middle of summer, sometime! Luckily it is pretty mild here, so the temps don't really go that low in Winter--or at least not very often.

Well, I could sit here and jabber all evening, but that wouldn't be very responsible of me now, would it?! I sure hope someone posts, soon, though. I don't want to see this group dissolve--there are some great women here! I would miss you terribly!!!

Hope to see you soon!