Kim, I meant to include that I hope your experience with strep is short lived and that your baby is feeling better soon! :)

Deb

Gals!!!!!!
I have been MIA!! I'm so sorry!! My computer crashed and we had to buy another. Two days into setting it up, we had a major thunderstorm and the modem went!! Two days out to be fixed. Then we had a major health crisis. Jim's MRI came back with a suspicious lesion on his kidney. I freaked! More test revealed he has an abnormal kidney, but it isn't life threatening. I have been so out of my mind. Needless to say. I am back online now and I have soooo much to catch up on.
We leave in a week for Hawaii and I am not at the weight I wanted to be. But, I learned that life throws a curve to keep us on our toes. I am happy and grateful for our health.
Love
Lynn

Deb, Kacie is doing much better! Thanks! She just needed a few days of antibiotics to kick in and she is a new kid again! YAY! We were supposed to go to the lake, but stayed home and in the pool all day yesterday and went to a park to see fireworks, so it was a nice fourth anyway. The lake would have probably been so crowded we would have been miserable. We go next weekend for a family reunion though. I pray the rest of us don't end up with strep! UGH!

Lynn, GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK!!!! There is such a love-hate relationship with computers, isn't there? What would we do without them though?? I am so glad that Jim's Ok. I know you were freaked. You are right life throws us curves and that is ok. I am not where I wanted to be for my hubbys and mine trip, but that is ok.

Well, I have lots to do today. I just wanted to check in. The board is so slow! What is going on?????

Hey girls!
Sorry I havent posted. Nic was here to meet my dad. It went great. He loved them. They loved him. It was perfect. He left last night. I leave for Mississippi today. Lots of traveling. Im so ready to back in Qatar though. Ive stayed OP this whole vacation except the 3 days when Nic was here. Now, Im back on track. I lost 2 lbs the second week I was here. Not sure about the first week. Ill be able to see the total loss when I get back to Qatar and can use my scale there.

Im glad everyones doing ok. Ill post more later tonight.

Love yall,
Deanne

good morning,
Kim~~ I am so glad you dad is doing better. You must be thrilled
Deb~~ sounds to me you made the right move in leaving. I think when you leave a job people feel jealous that they are STUCK there! What are your plans now?
Deanne~~ glad your vacation is going well!! How long of a plane ride is it home?
It is ten hours to hawaii, I dunno If I can sit that long!

The story~
Jim's back went out in south carolina on vacation and he ended up the hospital. When he came home his doctor ordered a current MRI. The results just happened to show a lesion on his kidney. So off we went to a specialist. In the mean time I was a wreck. I had chronic diarrehia for a week. I was thinking it was kidney cancer. My own doctor upped my zoloft which made me a zombie. After a week of craziness it showed he has a malformation of the collecting tube. Who woulda thought? He is 43 and this was never picked up. After our vacation he has to see another specialist and have more testing. His MRI showed that he might need surgery on his back and neck. I am trying to be more positve and not worry, but I am a worrier.
Needless to say I have not at all dieted. I have gained. I went back on points yesterday. All of you are doing so well, and right now I need your support. I need a kick in the pants..
I'm throwing a surprise 25th wedding anniversary for some friends in aug and I have to write out the inviations today.
I also have to have my mail stopped for the trip and make last minute arrangements for the pet sitter...
Heather is working in an office two days a week doing clerical work... she loves it.
Jamie on the other hand broke up with Mike, she said it wasn't working out, they both had rebounded from previous relationships and didn't have much in common. She is bummed about it, but felt she needed to do it now so they didn't get too attached.
My gardens are exploding with color!! My sunflowers will bloom when i'm away.. I hope they don't whither till I come back...
hugz to everyone.. thanx for letting me vent...

Lynn, my prayers go out to you and your husband. It sounds like you've really got a plateful right now. You don't need a kick in the pants -- you need a hug! {{{{{{{{{{{Lynn}}}}}}}}}}}

My plans now are to enjoy the rest of the summer until I start school full-time in the fall. Then, I'll be doing the vet tech program. That takes two years to complete and get an associate's degree. It'll be nice to not have to work and be able to just focus solely on school and studying. :)

Again, my prayers go out to you....

Hugs, Deb

Deb~~ Thanx for the prayers and well wishes.. and most of all that wonderful hug.. I really was in need of one..
enjoy the summer... I love animals and would love to have done what you are doing.. sounds wonderful.. I instead became a nurse.. but just between you and I.. animals are better.. hhehehee..
I have been home the last year.. mom had a stroke, she is well now. I wanted to go back after the summer, but we shall see what is going on with Jim and his back..
have a wonderful wed.. all
Love
Lynn

hi Lynn,

Well I'm not sure if you know what a vet tech does, but it's pretty much an animal nurse. I've been told that the school for vet tech is as intense as human nursing. So I'm a bit nervous about it. :eek: I thought about doing the human nursing but I really can't stand dealing with sick people. LOL

Deb

bumpity bump... we're on the second page again! :eek:

Hope everybody is having a good friday! It's a gorgeous day here, and I'm going to pull my motorcycle out and wash it up. It got all dirty when we got caught in rain the other day.

Deb

Hi Curvy Ladies.

I want to thank you those of you again who have offered their support to me.
I wish I could say I'm feeling better but I'm still not.

Things are really hard for me and I was told maybe I'm trying to deal with too many things at once so since I've lost over 40 pounds already I should ease up on the dieting thing and get my emotional ducks in a row first. So I thought maybe that's what I would do but then I feel like I'm losing control.

Some days are better than others. I've never been depressed like this before. This is all so new to me and I don't know how to handle it. I want to be my normal happy and perky self again. I just can't find that girl anymore.

wow gals.. where is everyone??/ :)..
I know I haven't been here as well... well I'm off to hawaii tomorrow.. and wanted to say aloha...be well and will post when I get back... :)

hey deb..
yes I have a close friend who is a vet tech... she had alot of schooling, but loved it, as she loves animals... good luck...

Hey chicks...i thought I would have the internet in Mississippi but I didnt. So, Im back in Maryland now. I leave to go back to Qatar tomorrow. I cant wait!!
I just wanted to say hi. Ill post tomorrow.

Love,
Deanne

Ok ladies i'm back.. we went to visit relatives in IN for a few days and then camping for a few days. It was fun.. lots of time at the beach and even a water park. granted it was 75 and i froze my arse off lol but the kids had a blast. I didnt weigh in since i was on "vacation" With 4th of july noone had anything remotely resembling food on plan so I'm back on phase 1 this week. I need to get back on track.. i even had dairy queen!!!! sigh.. it was totally worth it though lol..

I finally found you guys!
 

Sorry I haven't posted:
A) I've been pretty busy and haven't been totally concentrating on my diet due to other health issues - I don't even know how much I weigh right now (though it doesn't seem to have changed much clothes-fitting-wise) cause I haven't been able to go to the gym in almost 2 weeks)
B) I kept checking in my User CP for the Curvy Vixens thread (well, a few times in the last 2 weeks) but it was never updated.
Finally I got smart and went looking for you. Sigh.
Hope everyone's doing well. I'm so out of the loop!

Ok ladies, where is everyone.. i know a couple of you are vacationing but the rest of us have no excuse!!

Hey chicks...I missed y'all! I'm finally back home. I missed my connecting flight in London and had to sit at that airport for 12 hours!! It was awful. Scares me after the bombs they had there last week. They had swat teams all over the place.

Anyway, I lost a total of 5 lbs! Yay! Of course, that was weight that I had gained back after losing it. Oh well, its gone now. So, Im holding steady at 154 lbs. I didn't stay OP today at all. Ill be back on track soon though.

The cats got HUGE. They're so funny. The guy that kept them didnt want to give them back.

Ok, I hope y'all are doing well. Seems like everyone is MIA. Get back here!

Love,
Deanne

I'm back too! My husband and I went camping in Brown County, IN for a week. The weather REALLY sucked for the first few days. I guess it was the after-effects of Hurricane Dennis, but it rained pretty much day and night from Monday (when we got there) til Wednesday evening. :-p

On top of it, I ended up getting two ticks attached to me during the time I was there. I found the first one attached to my calf only an HOUR after we got there. And I just found the second tick attached to my shoulder blade after I got home tonight. It must have been there for a bit because my husband said it was pretty good-sized. EWWWWW! Gawd, I hate ticks. I managed to camp in Arkansas every year when I was a kid, and never got a single one. And, here I end up with two and my husband didn't get any! (grrrr)

I'm glad to be back home. :tired:

Deb

Hi everyone!! Wow, not much activity goin on around here. Where is everyone?
Deanne ~ I bet you are glad to be back home, aren't you? Good for you losing thos pounds!!!
Deb ~ I had a dream a few nights ago that my husband was picking ticks off my back. Your post freaked me out since I had that dream! UGH! I hate bugs. Especially the ones that get under your skin! EWWW!
ctrsara ~ Hope you are doing better! Get your health taken care of first and then you can deal with the diet. Hang in there!

Well, my hubby and I leave for the mountains Thursday. We will take our little one to her grandmothers and then get up Friday and head out. YAY!I feel kind of bad though......She was SUPPOSED to be going to Florida with some friends next week (my son is in Montana on a church mission trip for 10 days), so that is why we planned a getaway! Now everyone will be gone except for my little girl.....I almost want to take her with me, but that defeats the whole purpose of the trip! UGH! I feel guilty!

I decided to start back on SBD Phase 1 when I get back from vacationing. I cannot do phase 1 while gone. It lasts 2 weeks so I will wait till I am home and settled back down. RRRRGGGG! I so wanted to be thinner by now. Just didn't work out.

Well, I have ranted and raved enough.
Kim

Have a fun trip, Kim! Try not to feel TOO guilty about not having your daughter with you. I think that you'll really enjoy the time away. My younger son stayed home while my husband and I went camping. And, I'll tell you ... I really enjoyed the break. Though, when I got home and found that most of my flowers were near death cuz he hadn't watered them enough, I wasn't too happy. :-p

Yep, I was pretty creeped out too when I saw both of those ticks. I can't believe you actually dreamed about having ticks... EWW!

I think I need to go back to Phase 1 for a bit too. I've gotten a little out of control with Phase 2 and need to straighten myself out.

Any how... it's really good to be back! :)

Deb

By the way.... the good news is that I didn't gain any weight while I was on vacation. I just weighed myself this morning and am still at 155 (lost 10 pounds now), even with the TOM coming up pretty soon. Yaaay!

Deb

Where Is Everyone??? I Miss Yall!

hi Deanne,
I'm here! Just getting caught up on stuff since we got home from camping. My younger son called late last night while we were sleeping, said that his car had been broken into and his radio stolen. He was at a local movie theater when it happened. They broke a smaller rear window to get in and unlock the door. (grrrrrr) He didn't mention it last night, but I saw the police report in his car and it said they also stole his drivers license. :-p So, needless to say, he's pretty aggravated.

Deb

Awww...Im sorry Deb. That would probably aggravate the **** out of me too. How is everything else with you?

Things are good here. Just getting back into the groove of things. Im looking for a job. Its a long process. Oh and we're moving this week to new villas. Im so excited!

Well, talk with you later. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Love,
Deanne

Yeah, it was pretty aggravating. They also stole his wallet, which for gawd knows what reason he left in the car. So he has to go get a new drivers license. And his debit card was in the wallet, so he had to let the bank know right away that it had been stolen.

Other than that, things are going okay. I'm having a graduation party for my son on Saturday, so trying to get ready for that. Also, trying to tie up loose ends before I start the vet tech program on August 22nd. I've got to get a couple tests done (EKG and chest x-ray) before the first day of class.

And, we'll be going on another camping trip in about a week. So have to get clothes washed and get ready for that too. We're going to Sturgis, SD for the motorcycle rally there.

How are you?

Deb

Wow you seem so busy! Vet tech sounds like fun. That is right up my alley. I have been looking into it. Something to go back to the States and do.

Nic and I are moving into the new villas on Tuesday. We went to look at them today. They're HUGE! They're 2 stories, 3 living rooms, 3 bedrooms. We get the master bedroom so we have a california king bed in it. They have a clubhouse in the compound. It has a wet bar, a big screen tv, leather sofas, a kitchen, and get this...A GYM!!! No more excuses. Its 15 feet away from our villa. They have a treadmill, stationary bike, 3 of those bowflex thingys and a yoga area. Theres a big pool that I can exercise in too. Its awesome!! Im a little scared of who our roommates will be. Im sure it will be ok though.

Hows your diet? Mine is not so good. Im not that unhappy about it though. I know that I will get back on track. Im just enjoying life right now. Im using Tuesday as my "get back on the track" day. I will ease my way into it between now and then. On Tuesday, its FULLY on track. Im going to try to set up an exercise time for each day at the same time. That way, Im on a good schedule.

Ok chick...I hope everyones ok. No one has been posting. Maybe Ill send an email to Lynn to check on her.

Love,
Deanne

I am kinda busy, and I know it's only going to get worse once I start school. :( I spent the day planting some perennials that I'd bought while we were gone camping. The impatiens that I had planted previously went belly-up cuz of the heat wave and drought we're having here in IL. So, I'm hoping that once these perennials get established, they'll do better. I picked ones that were considered more drought and heat tolerant (i.e., black-eyed susans, columbines, russian sage).

Wow, the villa sounds so cool! You'll have to take some pictures and share them with us, so we can see what it looks like. :)

My diet has been going pretty well, slow but good. A bunch of people were commenting to me last night that they could really tell I'd lost weight. This is the first time that I've seen my change in eating affect the belly and butt area so quickly. This South Beach Diet is amazing for that! My stomach is nearly flat again, which is the first time in a looooooooong time. I think I've lost 10 pounds but won't weigh myself cuz my blasted "Aunt Flo" (the monthly curse) just came. :-p

Yeah, nobody else is writing here. I guess they're all busy doing summer things huh? Hope everybody is ok!

Hugs, Deb

Trying to keep my head above water...
 

Okay, so I'm not sure where I am right now as far as healthy eating and exercising goes. The last few weeks have been pretty intense in some ways, and for a few reasons, my body is just not doing well. I have been having to try to avoid sugary foods, including natural sugar, so some of my "staple" foods have been less- and not-allowed. Even like milk products and fruits. I feel out of control eating-wise, though I'm not eating any junk food (of the sugary variety). My birthday is Friday and I was hoping to be to 147 or at least 150, but with all that's been going on (including a whirlwind 4-day trip to San Diego last weekend) I'm totally off track and a little discouraged. I'm at like 154 or something, and TOM just started, and I just don't know what to do. The same physical problem has kept me from exercising much, though I did it twice last week finally, and I'm going to try to get in 3-4 times this week. I need help!
(and Deanne, where are you? You haven't e-mailed...)
Thanks, and sorry to sound down. I'm going to re-commit to come on this site everyday, hopefully it can help my motivation.

Hey Sara, I know how you feel as far as being a little out of control. I'm trying to follow the south beach diet as well, but it's been iffy at best the last 3 weeks. Summer is hard for me, it's birthday season in my household. Kenzie turned 5 on July 14th, I'll be 33 on Wednesday, then we have Sid 10 on August 22, our anniversary on August 24th .. September we just have one birthday on the 26th (Paige will be 13!!!) and October we have Bailey (she'll be 8) on the 22nd and my hubby on the 24th...
And exercise is almost non existant with the weather. I get up at 7 am and it's to hot to even go walking then. It's so humid you can't hardly breath outside... at 11pm yesterday it was still 87.. so my walks are difficult to get in. I know i can work out inside, but to be honest, I hate working out alone and I was counting on forcing the other Kim to go with me lol..

Ok ladies... where is everyone!!!!

Blah
 

I'm here. And I worked out yesterday. My younger sister will often come up and meet me there, which is motivation for both of us. I shouldn't have weighed though, on the first day of TOM. I'm up 3 lbs from Friday! And I was not bad this weekend. Not wonderful, but not bad. Even though I know it's not "real" weight it's still discouraging... sigh. I'm sure I'll feel better in a few days. Drinking lots of water today, and working out after work at the gym... hope everyone's having a good day!
(Kim, birthdays are the worst for trying to stay on plan. I'm glad we won't be home for my birthday Friday, so no one will feel compelled to make me a cake which I can't eat. I'm sure we'll eat out though, so that won't be healthy... hmm.)

I'm here too. Got results back from bloodwork that I had done for the vet tech program. I found out that I'm hypothyroid, hypoglycemic (I knew that already), and may have gallbladder problems. I have been feeling really tired and mentally foggy lately but thought that was a perimenopause thing. I went for an ultrasound of my gallbladder this morning, and will have to wait 3-5 days to find out whether or not it'll need to be removed.

I was a little bummed out yesterday after finding out about my thyroid and gallbladder. But at least it explains why I've been feeling so tired and mentally out of it for awhile.

It's been REALLY hot here too. We finally got some rain yesterday, and the temps are going to cool down to the mid-70's tomorrow. But then it goes back up to the mid-80's after that. Its really not the heat that stinks though, it's the humidity. :-p

Sorry, guys... I'm still in a whiney kind of mood I guess. :-/

Deb

80's I'd love the 80's lol... we're boardering 100 still, its been this way for almost 2 weeks now. With the heat index it feels like 110 outside so it's brutal if you try to get out in the heat for any amount of time.
I never weigh in the first 3 days of my period. It's just awful how much weight you gain just in water retension. I'm due to start in a few days myself.. boy i wish i could just skip it totally but then i'd have to do something drastic like surgery lol.

Yeah, 80's is MUCH better than the 90's (and even 100) that we've been experiencing. The only thing that I wish would go away is the humidity. We had a couple days where the temp hit 100, with 110 heat index, and it was miserable. Hope my brother-in-law is enjoying the pool that we gave him. ;)

Deb

OK, where is everybody? I just got done planting some more flowers in front, and now I've got to get packing for my trip to Sturgis on Sunday. Got a list of other stuff to get done too before I leave.

Just thought I'd pop on here to see how you're all doing. :)

Deb

I'm here, just not feeling motivated enough to post. I have worked out 3 times this week, and tomorrow we're going to a waterpark, so I think I'll get the equivalent of a work out there. Of course the eating out will completely cancel that out. (It's my birthday tomorrow, and we're going out of town for the weekend.) Hmm.
Heat? I am so sick of it. Here in Arizona we may not have much in the way of humidity (as I experienced one summer in Florida) but it's monsoon season, so the small amount of humidity makes up for the slightly cooler (97º-110º) we are currently having. I hate the heat. It really just ruins my mood. WHY do I live here? WHY has my family lived here for generations? I think we're all slightly off our rockers.
I had a piece of cake and some ice cream today because the office threw me a party. But that's much more than I've had in months. Ever tried the no-sugar-added Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen? They're quite tasty, and about 5-6 pts on WW. Anyway, back to work. I hope you're all doing well! (I agree: where is everyone?)

Hope you have a really happy birthday tomorrow, and a fun time at the water park. :) Since its your birthday, I don't think I'd worry too much about what you eat. It's a special day...celebrate! Tomorrow is my 21st wedding anniversary. My husband and I are going to go riding on our motorcycles (weather cooperating) and then go out to lunch together. He's got to work the midnight shift tomorrow night, so we can't go out in the evening. Also, we're leaving for Sturgis on Sunday. So I guess that counts as part of our wedding anniversary celebration. (grin)

You're right... Arizona is HOT! I was there in August years ago. I remember it was about 118 degrees, and I was laying out in the sun next to a pool. Every so often when I got too hot, I'd flip over into the pool and cool off. By the time I left, I had a wicked tan. Though I guess that isn't something that is socially correct any more. I looked pretty darn good, if I must say so though. LOL

Well, take care, everybody. I'll drop in and post a note before I leave on my trip. After I get back, I'll only have one week to enjoy before my classes start. :eek:

Deb

ALOHA VIXENS...
I am back from vacation.. whew... I'm so tired.. still trying to get on ny time.... we had a fab time..... I'll post pics... when I get back on track.
I weighed in this am.. yikes.... i'm up 6 pounds... how I dunno.. I ate a whole lotta pineapple...
post latah..
love
lynn

Welcome back, Lynn! I'm off to Sturgis, SD on Sunday morning. Hopefully I won't gain a whole lot of weight while I'm gone. I've been so proud about how I'm doing. I've lost 11 pounds so far and am down to 154! (yaaaay!)

Deb

Ok, I am back from vacation and I have gained 7 pounds back. OUCHIE! Good lord, you have no idea how many nice restaurants I have been to these past 10 days! Of course they were all fabulous.....way too fabulous obviously!!! I don't even know if I remember how to cook!! I am starting over on phase 1 SBD today. Went to the store and got all stocked up. SO......here goes. I also talked to Kim last night and we will start walking again tonight. I have GOT to get rid of this fat!!!! I hate myself right now!!!!
Good to be back......
Kim