Gettin' Together -- June 2005
 

I feel so mean doing this instead of Marge, but I got to June first, being here in Bonnie Old England, so I took the plunge.

Hope everyone has a great June 1, it's pouring with rain here, fabulous. I am going to do some power shopping before work (that counts as exercise doesn't it????)

Two more sleeps til I'm 33, can I not start going backwards now!!!

Thanks for starting the new thread, Kylie. I checked out Marge's profile, too...it said she was active just a couple days ago, but the last time she posted anywhere was May 6--almost a month ago! I sure hope everything's okay...

Well, Happy June, I suppose. I just requested some time off from work yesterday. Towards the end of June (I requested vacation for June 22-24), Jeff and I are going to drive down to Georgia to visit his aunt and uncle who he lived with for a year before I met him. We're also going to see a concert while we're there, but I don't know much about it--something Jeff wants to see. Then, at the end of July, I took 2 days off because my parents are coming to visit from CT for my birthday (they'll be here the weekend of the 30th even though my birthday is actually the 20th). My sister will also come up from Va Beach that weekend, and Jeff will come stay with me as usual, so my whole family will be here :D My parents and sister want to take me shopping--who am I to say no! ;) I know my sister wants to buy me an indor grill thing like hers (it's like a Foreman grill, but the grill trays come out so you can put them in the dishwasher--ingenius!) so I can easily cook burgers and chicken and stuff. I know my mom wants to buy me a good food processor and probably a real vacuum cleaner, too (the one I have is very tiny and not so powerful). I'm so excited, and it's still 2 months away! I'm excited for the trip to Georgia, too, though. It'll be a 12-hour drive each way, so lots of quality Jeff time in the car :p

I do not know what I ate yesterday, but boy did it tear me up! I had horrible crampy gas pains in my stomach aaaaaall day--thank goodness I didn't have to work at the restaurant. I did meet up with a friend whom I haven't seen in over 2 years--we were good friends in high school, but her mother passed away while we were in college, so she never had much reason to return home to CT, so she stayed in Nashville, which is where she went to college. Well, last night she flew into Dulles airport, which is like 10 minutes from my office, so I picked her up and brought her to her hotel in Arlington (she is in town working for a tour guide company--she has to set up the arrangements to get 3 groups of middle school kids from the airport to the Smithsonian to their hotel and then to New York the next day). we ate out at the Macaroni Grill, but my stomach hurt so badly that I only took about 5 bites (and man do I LOVE their chicken parmesan!). The last time my stomach hurt so badly was when I had eaten a bunch of sugar-free Reese's peanut butter cups on an empty stomach (the ones with malitol or lacitol or whatever sugar alcohols Reese's uses). Those KILLED me for an entire day! But I thought and thought and thought, and I just couldn't think of anything that has sugar alcohols in it that I ate. I did splurge and have a box of Junior Mints yesterday at work (much less fat than anything solid chocolate, at least), which is definitelya deviation from my normal food plan, but I have had thembefore without recourse. Who knows--all that matters is that I'm all better now :^:

Well, I came in this morning to an email from my boss. Rather than repeat what she said, here are the highlights (copied and pasted directly from the email):

I do not know the exact number but what Cheryl told me is that you were put in for a raise that would bring you up to $39,500. Usually Cheryl [our group manager] and Tina [other group manager] work the numbers out to be a nice even number for your biweekly salary so it will probably work out to be a few dollars more or less than this.
I do hope that this alleviates some of your stress and that it will keep you with us. This sort of raise is almost unheard of in our group, and certainly within the entire company [I'm sure no one from my company is knowingly reading my posts, but since they have over 90,000 employees worldwide, I'll just go ahead and delete the comany name from here]. But that isn't to say that you haven't earned it! However, there are folks around you who have not been as fortunate so I ask that you keep this information to yourself (I know you know that, that goes without saying but I still have to say it).

I do want to take this opportunity to say it again…I personally appreciate all the hard work you put in to help me produce quality products for our various clients. You are a key member of our team and I think that your contribution to the group/projects will grow exponentially in the next few months. You're ability to work quickly, learn quickly, grow, and make decisions is to be commended considering your very few years of work experience. It is because of these skills that I trust you with our projects and will continue to call upon you to take more of a leadership position on various projects.

How exciting is that!! I'm getting bumped from $31,400 annually to close to $39,500!! That will certainly help to pay the bills and reduce the number of nights per week I have to work at the restaurant! Of course, it all also makes me feel kinda guilty about having gone on that job interview last week (which I have yet to hear a verdict from), but I gotta do what's best for me, right? If that other company comes back offering me nearly $50,000, I will still have to consider it.

Well, I also came in to find a pile of papers awaiting me on my chair, so off to work I go! Have a great day, everyone (it's already Wednesday--gotta love the long weekends!)!

HELLOOOOO!!! and don't feel mean Kylee..I am sure she will understand...and I am hoping along with all of you, that she is okay....Not been to Curves yet this morning, just woke up after a long night of terrible sleep...I will go after I consume some much needed JAVA...wel..., Jill, WTG, that must be a wonderful feeling...and you should be proud of yourself for such a great compliment they have given you!!! And, on that note, am off...HAPPY JUNE Ya'll!!;)

Goodmorning! I am up EARLY!! I have my first morning shift at this new job, I'd like to say I get off early because of it.. but I'm working 9:30 am until 6:30pm. Loooong day! It's raining here too I suspect, I haven't looked outside yet, just watching the morning news and they say heavy rain. Which means it'll be dead all day at work, so we can finally get the 10 boxes of stock out.

kykaree - thanks for starting this :) I totally think power shopping should count as exercise! Its hard work! Happy early bday incase I don't see yah then.. I love love love birthdays :)

Jill - congrats on the raise! It doesn't quite compare to 50,000 a year, but it sure is a start :) Sometimes I find if I eat something completely different than what I've been eating lately, I get a really upset tummy... so I'm betting it was the chocolate things you ate that did it... I once ate TONS of gumym bears without sugar.. oh lordy, I could hear my tummy gurgling and the bears making their way down. It was completely unpleasant! Thankfully I was at home...ouchies. my tummy hurts THINKING about it! heh..

Diana - Thats too bad you had such a bad sleep last night, I read your post.. it was very late! I actually went to bed early last night, well semi early. I was in bed by 10:45pm, but I had to get up at 7:30.... so it didn't really feel early enough.

Well I am off to finish my breakfast and get ready for work! Have a good one :)

-Aimee

Good Morning! Happy June!!!

I got up early this morning (5:20) and was out the door at 5:35 to go rollerblading before work! Sam and I took Lexi with us... first time. She did very well, didn't get ran over or make either of us fall down! It only took us 20 mins to go about 2.5 miles, Lexi got to run which she really likes to do, then she just DROPPED when we got home! Too much for her so early!!! I forgot how much fun blading was! Haven't done it for about 7 years until Monday. Needless to say... my a$$ is sore from using a muscle that I didn't know I had in there!!!

It is going to be a beautiful day today... high of 78. I have to work in a room with no windows until 8pm tonight. Tomorrow I'm off of work so I'm hopeing it's just as nice out.

Jill, awesome deal on the job front! Way to go!!

Aimee, have a great 'long' day at work. I work 11 hour days so your 'long' makes me giggle!

Marge, ??? Hello!? Are you there??

Kimberly, Good morning sunshine!!! (you're almost awake by now)

Diane, hope you sleep better tonight!

Hey... just browsing... I don't usually post here, but I know Kylie and Jill! I just had to stop and say, WAY TO GO JILL!!! what type of work do you do and how long have you been with the company? It's always nice to see that your employor appreciates your work, isn't it? congrats...

I started working there in November as a Technical Writer/Editor. I don't do much writing--mostly editing, proofreading, QCing, researching, procrastinating...;) So I will have been with the company for 7 months as of June 11. It DEFINITELY feels good to know they want me to stay so badly! Here I am, an itty bitty nobody in a corporation of over 90,000 employees, and I have never felt so appreciated :p It's a good company to stick with, though, since they have offices practically everywhere, so no matter where my future takes me, I should be able to stay with them. Another bonus of such a huge corporation is the benefits--I've got a 401k and pension plan plus inexpensive (but good enough for me!) medical, dental, and vision coverage. I also get a 10% discount on my car insurance and a discount on my personal cell phone service just for working here. I also get discounts for other stuff, too (theme park tickets, flower delivery, certain online retailers, etc.), so I've discovered first-hand that while I may feel like a nobody in the grand scheme of things, sometimes it's worth it!

hehe Sara, I chuckle at Aimee's "long day" too--but then I remember what working retail was like, and 9 hours of that really does seem like forever! I'll take my 8 hours in the office plus 5-ish hours of serving at the restaurant over her 9 hours of retail any day!

Jill, How TRUE! If I never work retail again my life will be complete! Oh how I hated it.

First off, hi Biggirl - welcome, you! Jump on in any time.

Kykaree, absolutely shopping counts. ;) What'd you amass?

Jill, what a great e-mail from your boss - aside from the excellent raise, it's obvious she really appreciates you!

Diana, here's to java! :cheer:

Aimee, those Lane Bryant bras sound good. I should at least go get fitted and then I can order them online once I know what fits well.

Sara, I've never roller bladed. I used to roller skate all the time, back in the mid to late 1980's. We have a really good family-owned rink here in town, with owners who keep it clean and well maintained.

I'm feeling kind of subdued today. My working out in the yard yesterday netted me a sinus headache today. Hopefully acetominophen and aspirin with my morning coffee will help. I need to get back out there and finish up those beds! (We need a gardening smiley)

I am home!! Home sweet home.. I had a LONG LONG day. Yes, 9 hours retail insane, there really is nothing like it. Dealing with customers, pretending to look busy (which I didn't get to do today :( ). It was overall a good day, I got up, got ready for work, the bf came home at 9:10, and we left again at 9:15am to head to work (it's SO nice working in the same mall!), we stopped for coffee, he gave me a kiss on the cheek and I headed to work. I was busy with stock and customers, and one of my fav co-workers came in, we babbled for a bit, and did some more work. To top THAT off, my other FAV co-worker came in and we all worked together, and then I took a lunch break with the first girl. Other than my incredibly upset tummy, it was good :)

So a long time ago, and far far away, I used to work in a photo lab. Very little dealing with customers, and I gotta tell yah, the 12 hour days I used to pull without breaks was EASY compared to this kinda retail. It's draining! It was SUCH an interesting job, not great pay in the long run though.

Jill - a job with benefits is a nice thing :)

Josh gets benefits at his job, really really good ones, and since I'm living with him, I get them too :) He pays 22.19 once a month, which covers our Medical Services Plan fee ($50 each a month). We get dental (1500 each a calender year), free prescriptions, vision, naturalpath, chiropracter, massage therapist, psychologists, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. His company is in the business to compete with Unions, they don't want to become unionized, so they offer good wages and insane benefits. It baffles me the medical system in the USA, I know when I was in university I was fairly poor, and I got REALLY sick and had to see like 6 doctors in the quest to find out what was wrong with me. It was all covered, and all the hospital visits were covered as well.. but I guess our world isn't perfect..

Kimberley - I am sure we've covered this ground before... why can't you take sinus medication? I get those sinus headaches every once in a while, they are killer, it feels like your face is throbbing and you wanna rip it off! heh. Hope you are feeling better!

Alrighty, my tummy is fricking INSANE, so i'm going to go lay down and try not to move. Be good :)

-Aimee

Just a quickie, early start at work. Hi tammara!!!! (biggirl)

I bought towels and sheets coz I have a friend sleeping over, and I didn't have any spare linen to speak of. We have never had anyone to stay!!! I got some new jeans and a nice red top to wear out tonight (and on Saturday - going to a concert for my birthday)

I feel so bad coz I haven't replied to Jill or anyone else properly but must jump on the broomstick, gonna be late for work!!!

Why am I so dang tired?! :tired: I was in bed by 10 last night--got out of work just a little after 9 (a nice early night!) and walked with $45. Not bad at all for a not-too-long shift. I also found some $$ in my server book from tips that I had forgotten to take out and put in my purse from last time I work. I love that--it's like when you find $$ in the laundry: even though it's rightfully yours, you feel like you just discovered a little treasure :p

So, my stomach hurt AGAIN yesterday. I got up in the morning feeling just fine. I didn't eat any candy like I had the day before, so I didn't know what it was! The only thing I had both days that I don't normally eat is my breakfast--Kashi GoLean Crunch. Maybe since I don't eat much in the way of veggies, this has more fiber than I'm used to? :?: I've eaten other Kashi cereals without a problem before, but I haven't had time to sit and compare the labels to see if there's really that much more fiber in the Crunch kind. I'm having a bagel with cream cheese fr breakfast today, so I'll see if I get an icky tummy again. If I do, then I really don't know what it could be!

Kylie--don't feel obligated to write personal responses to everyone individually--we're just glad you're here, and hearing about your experiences could help us out even if you never even acknowledged our existence ;)

Aimee--yeah, the US medical system--HA! Just for my ingrown toenail, I spent about 2 nights worth of tips. First, I had to go to my regular doctor to get a referral to a podiatrist (they won't cover fees for a specialist unless you get a referral), so I had to pay the copay ($10) for that visit. Then he gave me the prescription for my antibiotic for the infection, so I had to pay the copay for that ($20). Then I had to go to the podiatrist for the procedure ($20 copay) and then back to the podiatrist again for a follow-up appointment ($20). I know I'm lucky to have insurance or else it would have been hundreds of dollars for all of this, but it's still a pain in my butt. I know I have to go to a dentist, but I don't want to because I don't want to have to pay for it! I know I have at least one cavity to be filled, and I'll have to pay a certain percentage of whatever the cost for that is plus the copay for the cleaning plus the copay for the filling appointment...jeez, I hate being a grown up! :p

Kimberley--hope today finds you feeling a bit better!

Ahh, our medical care, and a lot of thigs, in fact, really bites here...if it weren't for our families, and his job, we would move to Canada in a heartbeat...I love it there...hehe..
was a short note, am off to Curves, bbl all, hag1, Diana

I'm off work today!! JOY! It's supposed to be 80 degrees today! I'm soooo excited! Leaving with the dog when Sam leaves for work and taking her to the dog club so she can run off leash for a while. Then my plan for the day is to go to a few consignment shops in the area to look for some clothes that actually FIT me! I have exactly 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of capri's and 4 skirts that can be worn to work, and I'm fast shrinking out of them! I have 2 pairs of jeans that are the next size down and a really cute Tommy Girl denim dress that I got for $8 last time I went to the consignment shops. That's it! I need to find things soon in 22's and lower for work clothes or I'll be going in wearing a potato sack! We can only wear blue jeans on Fri,Sat,Sun. Rest of the week it's business casual. Really sucks when I'M the hand-me-downer to everyone else!!

I'm also closing in on my next goal of 240 and need to start calling places to get prices on that hot stone massage! I want to be at 240 by the time we go to the Dells on July 24th... 7 1/2 weeks - 15 pounds... no problem!

Later when Sam get's home we're planning on walking to a new chinese food place for dinner. I mapquested it and it's only 2.4 miles. Good walk for (hopefully) good food?!!?

Have a great morning!! I'll talk to y'all later!

Goodmorning! I was feeling pretty nasty last night, so I got into bed at 9:30pm, and was sleeping by about 10:30pm. I was up in the middle of the night with a sore tummy (Jill maybe we have the same thing? ;) Mine is IBS, grr I hate it!). So I am feeling tired this morning as well.

Jill - your medical system sucks... however if the Canadian one isn't managed properly, it ain't gonna be around for too long. I can't imagine paying for seeing a doctor... it completely baffles me.. I think depending on your medical coverage here you have to pay for part of chiropracter visits.. I haven't been to one in YEARS, so I can't remember. I hope your tummy feels better, drink some peppermint tea, eat some fat free yogurt with active bacterial cultures!

kykaree - I love love new sheets, heh. I'm addicted to bed stuff, I sleep with 2 blankets (one against the wall) and 8 pillows. 3 of them are feather pillows. I also have a feather matress cover.. I'm SERIOUS about bedtime ;)

Diana - you can come stay in my guest bedroom! Josh and I were having a hard time sleeping in the bedroom, so we moved into the livingroom (couch is pullout). We've been using our bedroom for guests.. hehe..

Sara - I am trying to lose 15 pounds in 5 weeks! I am down 1 pound thus far (today is weigh in). I hope to be handing down more clothes soon, you should live closer to me! I gave away all my 20's (except 2 pairs which fit TIGHT!), and some 22's. I hope to be shrunk down to a 16 with those 15 pounds (I am on the border right now), so I'll be getting rid of my 18's! I should figure out how much it would actually cost to send stuff via greyhound. We also might have different taste in clothes..

Alrighty! I am off to drink some water, make some breakfast, and I guess do that weigh in.. I don't like weighing in these days... I always worry the scale won't move.. oh well!

-Aimee

I weighed in! And I am down 2 pounds this week! Yay :) I got on my older (wrong!) scale and it said 239, so I'm really only about 5 pounds from where I was when I first moved out here (about 2.5 years ago). I'm excited :)

-Aimee

Aimee - Good job this week!!! I'm so happy for you, you've been staying on plan and it really shows!! I think we probably have the same taste in clothes... a little funky, a little sassy, but still wearable and not too revealing! I haven't made it out to the shops yet... I'm leaving shortly though, really!!

Lexi and I walked around the yard at her school, (the Dog Club we belong to) 4 times before another dog showed up. The other dog happened to be 'Chipper', Lexi's sister (I know, REALLY stupid name for a girl dog!!). Well the owner is an idiot, and Lexi hates Chipper with a passion. A little info about the Boxer breed; female Boxers can not get along and will, at times, fight to the death! (What *****es huh?!) Well the dumb broad lets her dog in the yard (off leash) and she get all up in Lexi's face, so, of course, Lexi growls at her and still she dosen't recall her dog! UUUGH. I hate people! So she got to run, uninterrupted, for almost a half hour. Then I took her to the pet store to pick out treats! What a good mom I am!

I got my June issue of Cooking Light in the mail, so I need to read that today too! I love getting new ideas and recipes to try! If I ever had to get rid of my cookbooks or lose a limb, well I guess I'd change my name to Ilean! (but then I weigh less, hmmm, maybe not a bad plan... )

later chicks!

Ugh, I am having issues sleeping. I will be SO glad on Monday when he gets home from his LAST morning (4am-12:30pm) shift!! He woke me up about 10 minutes ago when he got up and left, but I just can't get back to sleep. I have a stitch above my belly button on the right hand side, and down also on the right hand side, but just above my pubic bone. TMI? I really have to take better care of my body, I know these symtoms all too well.. It's a nasty combination of Vestibulitis and IBS, I was reading somewhere that they definitely are known to co-exist. I can get rid of all of this by sticking to an almost bland diet, with very very little sugar, lots of water and veggies. Our bodies are so complicated at times, and I know I kinda deserve this with the pasta I ate for dinner tonight..

Sara - you are close to it with my style, however, I do wear a lot of form fitted clothes, and have a few shirts that are low cut without being sl*tty. The biggest difference might be that ALL of my pants are low rise, I have an incredibly low rise, and if I find "ultra" low rise anywhere, I scoop it up! I am SO casual most of the time too, with wearing a t-shirt and jeans a lot.

Alrighty, my stitch is gone, so I'm going to go diveinto bed and hope to fall asleep pronto :) Hey Jill, you are already up on your end of the world!

-Aimee

Yupyup, I'm already up! I know I didn't weigh in yesterday--I didn't today, either. I know I'm up, and I don't want to face it, so why frustrate myself with the scale when I can just wait another week and maybe see a loss?

Last night was pretty busy--I walked with $69, so not bad. My partner made over $90, but he got over $45 in tips from ONE table of 8 people, so had he gotten a normal tip there, we would have made around the same amount, so it's all good.

I have been so bad with my food this week (which is why my weight is up, duh). Not only did I eat on Monday like it was still the weekend (since it was a holiday), but I also ate out on Tuesday night, and then for lunch on Wednesday and Thursday, I had leftovers from the Tuesday night dinner (chicken parm with pasta on Wednesday, barbecue chicken pizza yesterday). Last night, I also had some loaded cheese fries at the restaurant because they were extra (the kitchen made them, but the server forgot to say they wanted no bacon, so they had to make new ones, so the loaded cheese fries were just tsitting there). I didn't only eat them because they were good (REALLY good)--I ate them also because they were FREE :p A free dinner totally works for me! But I'm paying for it this week. I also haven't been drinking nearly enough water, so I'm sure I'm retaining some (additional sodium in restaurant food + drinkning entirely too little water = major water retention!). I need to get back into the swing of things right quick if I have to find a dress for a wedding in the beginning of July (Jeff's friends' wedding).

On a happier note, I finally hauled my butt over to my doctor's office between jobs yesterday and picked up the results from the blood work I'd had done a month ago. Apparently, I'm a vision of health! EVERYTHING they tested (all different cholesterols, thyroid, sugar, minerals--potassium, sodium, etc.--blood cells, and all other kinds of fun stuff) was in a normal range. the only exception is my HDL (good) cholesterol--mine is 33 and they like it to be above 40. All considered, though, I'm glad to be healthy (despite the 15 years I've spent being clinically obese).

Well, only have to work one job today (YAY!). Then home to clean up and meet my Jeff for the weekend. Here's wishing a Fabulous Friday to my FABULOUS ladies!

Hi all...hope all is well with you...been busy...had to set up the new PC yesterday, and reconfigure everything onto it ( favorites, etc)...Sigh!!! Everyone keeps telling me I am really losing weight...my clothes are getting bigger, so something must be happening there. I weigh in at Curves tomorrow, then will measure Sunday, so wish me luck there! Other than that, not much else to report, just trying not too eat too badly, trying to stay somewhat focused, and working in the yard...Hope ya all have a wonderful weekend, and all that jazz!! WTG on losses, raises, and what have you!!! Diana

Good Morning Fabulous Ladies!!!

Working today... yuck! I work with some cranky people!

Did a sneak-peak at the scale this morning; after working out, drinking water, and having sweaty clothes on, and I was down 2 pounds! This comes the morning AFTER walking 5 miles for chinese food!!

getting too busy on my radio at work now... chat with you all later!

Goodmorning! I don't know what was with me last night, but I am feelng better today. Hmm, I guess it's not morning anymore, it hurt to drag my butt out of bed this morning.. lol.. I didn't REALLY have to get out of bed, I don't work until 5:30pm. I have most of next week off, my manager is mad at me I suspect, so I only have 2 shifts. I imagine I'll get called in when someone calls in sick.

Jill - Get back on plan.. NOW! Hmm, did that work? Cuz I could do it in caps lock ;) Remember, the instant gratification isn't worth it. Thats all I've got so far..

Diana - I can't wait to hear about your weigh in and measurements, you are doing so well, and it's time for that signature to change! :)

Sara - yay 2 pounds is awesome :) Whats your weigh in day?

I am feeling super lazy, but I need to do some laundry.. I did the dishes this morning... I am slightly productive... see? heh. I feel so boring, lol... have a good one :)

-Aimee

LOL @Aimee~ I will change it after I know...lol, you are so funny...what happened at work to make the boss mad? You seem like such a sweet person, why on Earth could she be upset with you? And WTG Sara, 2 pounds down is way better than 2 pounds up...Keep up the great work...Where is Kimberley too? Must just be that time of year...everyone is busy busy busy. Well, gotta go shower, just planted the last of my flowers, and am filthy, and so hot, we go from "BRRRR" to "Pant, Pant, Pant" here, lol...And going out for my fave pizza and salad, too, YUMMMM!! hag1 gals! ;)

PS: in High school, I dressed very odd...Sometimes my hair was purple or bright red too, and I dressed very preppy to boot...Ahh, the 80s, I wanted soooo to be like Molly Ringwald, even made a lot of my own clothes or improvised the ones I had...then I geot into a wild phase, used to be called Boogie Bunns, and dressed sort of trampy I guess...Very mini skirts, and very high pumps, and VERY big hair, LOL...then went into a Biker type of phase, ( black and leather mostly), now, in my old age ( LOL) I am reverting back to my casual, preppy like ways...I am sooooo looking forward to filling my closet with jeans, new ts, polos, dresses, skirts, shorts, etc...etc...etc...hehe..

Hi all, what a day!!! Last night I went out for dinner with work colleagues, my best work friend, Laura, is leaving to travel the world, then she came to stay at our house, to celebrate my birthday this morning. We went for a long walk, then out for breakfast. We went to a very swish gym for a workout, swim, spa and sauna. So it's been a great birthday, a mix of indulging and exercising!!! I'll miss Laura, she and I workout a lot together at work.She is 5 foot 9 and about 130 pounds, but I don't feel weird going to the gym or swimming with her!!!!

My dh bought me new pyjamas for my birthday, he got the right size!!! I was so proud of him, not even I know what my correct size is at the moment!!!!!

Happy bday kykaree! I just left you a little thread over in 100LB group! Sounds like you are having a good one :)

Diana - I made my boss mad by not taking every single shift she's offering me, which I don't get, because the most recent one was at a different store... and I EXPLAINED to her that Josh gets weekends off, and I'm working weekends, and thats its important for me to spend time with him. She's single.. so maybe thats why she doesn't exactly get it? Either way, I don't WANT every single day off to be spent at home waiting for her to call, and cancelling MY plans. The other day I was going to hang out with my friend, and she called me to come in, I told her I was gonna be out until 4pm, and she asked me to come in at 4 until 6:30, I said yes. And then when I talked to my friend, she said we wouldn't be back until 5. I couldn't get ahold of my manager so I just cancelled my plans. I also found out recently that the maximum raise I can get a year is 17 cents!!! 17 CENTS?!?! Thats just ******ed! I'm done venting.. lol..

I went grocery shopping today, and the parking lot has put in some speed bumps, which when we went over it, cracked part of my car. I called the mall admin, and hope they will be calling me back soon. In the mean time.. I am off to have some lunch!

-Aimee

Happy birthday, Kykaree!

Hey, ladies - sorry I've been AWOL. Wednesday evening I was going to settle down and do some posting, but I felt cruddy and went to bed very early. Yesterday was just plain busy with stuff.

But I'm alive and kicking, and today feel pretty good. Aimee, I am not taking Sudafed and its generic equivalents because they raise blood pressure. The doc has me on Zyrtec and Flonaise for my allergies, and Ultracet for when the headaches get too bad for over-the-counter analgesics.

Promised Howie I'd at least get the office and kitchen clean tonight, heh. I got behind this week and last since I've been working out in the yard more and just plain spending more time outside photographing and enjoying the days. I can't seem to do both, you know? ;) it's such a gorgeous evening, and what I really want to do is sack out by the pond with a book.

A family of common grackles, especially the fledgling chicks, has taken a keen interest in our pond's water feature. Moving water really is a bird magnet. There are five babies, and today I watched them squawk and jostle for the best position on the flat rock where the water disperses and falls back into the pond. They're considered a nuisance bird because of the great numbers they tend to flock in and their tendancy to raid birdfeeders down to nothing in a day or two, but these babies are really entertaining.

A friend of ours from Dave's Garden who farms and sells produce at a farmer's market in North Carolina is going to mail us some herbs, pepper, tomato and cucumber plants on Monday. What a cool thing to get plants in the mail from friends...And we even have these plants' bed ready, for once.

How can I forget one other thing. The scale made me happy today -- I was down 4 pounds since last week, so I'm now 221. One more pound and I'll be at my wedding weight. Yahoo! I'm thinkin' my treat for reaching that milestone is going to be some highlights when I get my hair cut next time. ;)

I forgot the photos! As you can see, the young robin really blends in with the dappled light. He sat very still as I approached, hoping I would not see him. I got within about 3' of him before he flapped off to another part of the yard. The grackle babies are a little more savvy, though I was able to sneak the back door open enough to put my camera outside and get a few shots. Unfortunately, none of those came out well, so the grackle shots taken through the window screen were all I got today.

All right, where are you all? Come out, come out wherever you are....

Olly olly oxen free! :lol:

Goodmorning!! I am SO excited to go to work today... yah right... the fulltime employee (there is only one), is giving her notice today. The staff is going to be lost without her, and I'm not in any position to take on all the extra crap that she did. They really need to get rid of the manager, because the employee would stay .. we'll see how things will turn out..

Kimberley - you are all alone, whats going on here?!?! I remember now about the raising of the blood pressure thing.. I wonder if I have to worry about that.. I should go to the doctor and get all of that checked out. I take the no-name brand of sinus medication for my sinus headaches, I'd be stuck in bed, dying, if I didn't. I don't know how you do it! Congrats on that weigh in :) 4 pounds is GREAT :)

Well I must run off to work, have a great one gals :) I'll bbl!

-Aimee

Wow, it must be the weekend again.. it's so quiet! Whats going on out there? This is my work week damnit! heh..

So work yesterday was SO boring! It was pretty quiet most of the day, so we just kinda hung out... My manager was totally into the idea of not working hard (as per), thankfully tho, because if we had to look busy all day, that would have been twice as much work! I tried on some jeans at work yesterday, in a size 18, I don't know how I feel about that.. I was a 20 when I started there, so shrinking a size is pretty good, Again with those high expectations though.. I didn't buy the jeans, but only because they fit SO bad.. there were WELL above my belly button, which makes my belly look larger. I suspect I might have issues with our pants, there are just too high in the rise for me. I'll find something... sometime.. it's gotta happen!

Well I am off to work again... I guess things will pick up tomorrow.. on my weekend!

-Aimee

I waver about low-rise pants. Right now, I've lost a lot of inches total, but disoportionately skewed toward my upper body - still have a belly pooching out. At least my boobs stick out farther than my belly now, though. I like the feeling of higher-rise pants because they hold in the pooch. I wish they made form-fitting bootcut jeans that had just a little higher waist! LOL Once I lose the pooch and start tucking stuff in, though, I won't want a waist defined 3" below my boobs, though, I know.

Kimberley - so whats the deal with sinus headaches? I have NO idea why I am getting them, and they are killing me. I should look it up online.. The reason I wear low rise pants is so that they sit on my waist.. also for some reason I have a fairly flat tummy, I wear tighter shirts, and they look alright. I prefer to have my pants sit just below my belly button. It's too bad you don't live in Canada, I know where you can get the exact jeans you are talking about.. I don't know if people sell them online.. but both Reitmans and Pennington's have that type of jean. Reitmans jeans go up to a 24 I believe, and Penningtons goes up to a 32. So I looked up the causes of sinus headaches, and since I don't have allergies.. I suspect it's because my nose was broken. I went to the doctor and they said that since my nose didn't bleed it wasn't likely broken.. but my nose hasn't ever done that before.. which means, in order to fix it they will likely have to fix it. Scary. I notice it the most when we have a weather change.. I woke up with a sinus headache on Friday and knew we were going to have a temp change... which we did.

Alrighty, I am totally babbling! So I'm going to go be productive..

-Aimee

So I found Marge's email address and sent her an email! I will let you all know if I hear from her!

-Aimee

Happy Monday--hope everyone had a great weekend (despite the lack of activity on here and the sinus headaches!).

On Friday night, Jeff and I went to Carrabba's--an Italian chain owned by the same company as Outback. It was really good. We got mozzarella sticks appetizer, and we each got soup, plus they gave us bread, so by the time our actual meals came out, we each literally only ate about 3 bites! Now, there was a time when I would have eaten the entire meal whether I was still hungry or not just because it was there and it was good, ya know? So I had a bit of satisfaction when I had almost the entire entree put in a to-go box. We had the leftovers for lunch the next day, so the calories I would have crammed into one meal were split between 2 instead--much better!

Saturday, I had a minor emotional breakdown. They seem to be happening more frequently. I think it was a good thing, though. Here's what happened: Jeff told me he had called his aunt in Georgia, and it was all set for us to go down there to stay with them later this month. He was thinking of things for us to do while we were down there, and he suggested Six Flags. Now, I LOVE theme parks and roller coasters, the whole bit, but I told him I didn't want to go. He said, "Don't you like roller coasters?" To which I replied, "Yeah, I love them...but there's a really good chance I won't fit in them." Wow--to say something like that out loud, to admit that my weight was keeping me from doing the things I love--that was rough. Of course, the tears immediately followed. Jeff just held me and said it was okay, we didn't have to go, but I think it finally clicked in him that this was such a huge issue for me.

After dinner on Friday, I had told him that we needed to go back to eating out only once a week. After the little crying session, I told him that this was why I only wanted to eat out once a week. Of course, he's never argued me on that, but if I decided I anted something out after we'd already eaten out, he definitely never protested. That all changed when we went to see Madagascar that night (really cute movie). When we left, the amazing Chinese restaurant, PF Chang's, is right across the parking lot. I asked him if he wanted to go for dinner--I said I could just get the chicken and broccoli. He said, "No. I'm putting my foot down. You only want to eat out once a week, then we're only eating out once a week. We can go there next weekend." I just smiled and gave him a huge hug. We went home, and I made turkey burgers with turkey bacon and reduced-fat cheddar cheese on whole-wheat buns and some low-fat sweet and sour noodles. It was good, and I know it was probably healthier than even the chicken and broccoli at PF Chang's (since it is, of course, dripping with a dark sauce).
So yeah, it was a good weekend. I also made a HUGE fruit salad (watermelon, pineapple, green and red grapes, plums, and strawberries), so I'll have that to munch on all week. I even had to go out and buy a bowl big enough to hold it all :lol: Yesterday, we had a homemade salad bar for lunch/dinner, and it was SO good! I bought lettuce (bagged iceburg and romaine), bagged baby spinach, bagged shredded carrots (for him--I hate carrots), and I cut up red onion, a cucumber, some hard-boiled eggs, and some boneless skinless chicken breasts. Then we topped em off with some shredded cheddar cheese, bac'n bits, and low-fat croutons--SO good! Honestly, probably the best salad I have ever made myself at home. I also bought a new organic honey mustard dressing that has nearly half the calories of the regular stuff, and that was really good, too. So now I have a salad packed for dinner today, too. I also drank more water this weekend than I had been (still not really enough, but at least more, which is good).

So, Here I am, back on plan. I got on the scale this morning just to see what kind of damage I had done to myself between last weekend and this weekend. 298. Up a pound. Not horrible, but you bet your butt that pound will be gone by the time I weigh in on Thursday!

Alright, enough of a novel from me to start the week off. Time to get to work. Start of the week right, ladies!

hey all...well, measured and weighed in, lost nothing...Sigh...So, kicked it up a notch at Curves this morning, and plan to do the walking thing and biking thing too...UGH!!! frustrating...Aimee~~I never had a sinus headache in my life until I moved here. I am thinking, at least on my end, it is the higher altitude doing it...My neighbor has the same problem, and she is from Long Island NY, so she says she never had them til she moved here either.... Low rise jeans? LOL LOL LOL....I am too old for those babies...Just give me a comfy pair of relaxed fit Levis and I will be happy...I have never been into the wider legs( flared), or the boot cut, and bell bottoms, ugh, I always hated them...but some people like them I guess, just not me...Well, hope someone keeps us posted about Marge...I wonder what happened there? HAG1 all, Di

morning all.....
 

Wow, I haven't been here in a while. I see you've moved into June..lol. I just wanted to hop on and say hi. Missed reading your posts. I'll do that after I finish a project that's due for class today, and hopefully reply. I'm still plugging away. I was eating really bad for a couple of weeks, but I'm back on track and managed to lose 3 more pounds, so I'm happy about that. I'll be back more often again,but I wanted to say hi, miss you all, keep up the excellent work in life, love, and the pursuit of a smaller waist!

I'm working outside today, so just popping in to say hi before the patio pulls me back out to the begonias and window boxes. ;)

Jill, your guy sounds like a good man. I'm thrilled you guys were able to talk like you did, and that he cares enough to support you. That's so great. Your post brought tears to my eyes.

I read everyone else's, too, but I've gotta get back out there! More later!

Kimberley - I had to laugh, one of my goals has been for my boobs to stick out further than my belly!!! They're about the same now!!! I am starting to wear slightly lower rise pants coz my waist is right under my boobs!!!

Aimee - get thee to a specialist and get them to look at your hooter. It might be a deviated nasal septum (inside your schnozz - you don't have to bleed to have a broken nose). These days the op is quite simple, usually just an overnight stay in hospital and about two weeks recovery time.

Jill - Jeff sounds like a keeper to me!!!!! Bless him for making you stick to the once a week thing - I do hope you can open up to him soon, it sounds like he will be a great ally in your weight loss.

I've had a crazy day, it's been kinda nice to be back at work, the weekend was chaotic, but fun. I have been to the gym tonight and did a load of leg weights. I can push 160lbs with my legs now!!!!

Hi! So I had QUITE a few problems with my computer and internet today! I got some nasty new virus.. ugh, I don't even know that I've gotten rid of it yet. It came thru via msn, ugh.. I swear I am getting a mac!

I got a hold of Marge! She was on vacation, and then her boss was having some heart problems so she's been SO busy with work and hasn't had time to get online. She's also had to let up on diet.. But she's alive :) She should be back to us in a couple or 3 weeks!

Jill - good to hear you and your man got things worked out... or at least talked about it! Thats half the battle... being able to talk about it.

Diana - I don't get it! You are dieting, exercising, and walking.. your body is as confusing as mine!

kykaree - I dislike doctors with a passion :) But I will go before the summer is over.. I promise... even tho I don't like hospitals either!

Well this is just a short one from me.. I have more scanning to do, gotta get this all worked out. Have a great one gals :)

-Aimee