morning girls!
how are we all doing today? ready for the weekend? welcome to wintergirl - great to have you posting! well done on the 35 pounds. if i were you i'd lose a little bit more to get the top end of the weight range for your height and see how you feel. i got to goal 2 years ago and i've stayed pretty much around my goal weight since then. but after a while i wanted to lose a bit more, but never quite gone OP and did it. until now. i think it takes your body and brain a while to adjust to the new you. the main thing is to be healthy and not put the pounds back on.
becky and kim - i actually prefer the string bikinis. i always find normal bikini bottoms dig into my sides and make me look like i've got lots of fat on my hips (i have a bit, but not that much!). string bottoms i find more flattering. maybe you should bite the bullet and try one on sometime?
kim - i really hope you feel better soon. i hate when i get an annoying cough. it really hurts after a while.
jess - don't worry. you were put on the spot and you said what you knew. you're not a failure. maybe next time you should tell them that it's not your place to name names, but you've probably done this girl a favour cos at least the guy will stop hassling her now.
ooh - this morning i went shopping. i need to find something red to wear to a friend's wedding (it's the theme). only red is not the in colour and very few shops have anything red in them!! add to that the fact that i really do not suit red (fair hair and extremely white skin!). sheesh. anyhow, i was trying on some frocks and i did my usual and picked up the 12 and the 14 to see what one fitted best. (that's UK sizes, i think they are at least 2 bigger than US ones). anyhow, the smaller one fitted fine (even though i didn't like it), but it wasn't till i took it off that i realised it was on the wrong hanger and it was actually a 10!!! so that's an 8 i think over there. which is a first for me. i think the last time i was a 10 i was aged 10!!
right, almost lunch time. will check in later. hello to everyone about to post.
kirsty

Kirsty ~ That is great about the size. I love when that happens. Especially when two years ago, I would try on jeans, and end up going home to cry cause none of the cool styles fit. I feel so much better now. Can shop anywhere.

Well, even though I have had allergy problems for the last few days, I still walked on my treadmill again last night, and I stayed at the low end of my points again. I am so proud of myself, can't wait til weigh in on Monday!!

I am only working til 10:30 this morning, then my mom and I (my mom is the secretary of my department) are going shopping in Madison. Kohls is having a big sale and it is time to do a complete rehaul on my DH's wardrobe. He is still wearing t-shirts and such from high school. He is 30 years old now!! So, I am buying him all new shorts, some nice shirts (no t-shirts!!!) and some new tennis shoes (he only wears work boots, so this should be interesting). I just think he needs a new look, the work "blue" uniforms he wears each day do nothing for me!! And he is hot and has a great body, he needs to show it off!

Anyway, my DS needs new tennis shoes too, so I will pick those up as well.

Anybody have plans for the weekend? I have lots of running around to do, but that is about it. My little brother is coming home from Minneapolis this weekend, so I will see him. That is about it. DH is still working all the time, so no dates for me.

Well, better get back to work. TTYL....

tonya - hope you have fun shopping. make sure you buy something for yourself too! is your hubby likely to get some time off work soon? sounds like he is working a lot of hours. but good on you for staying OP. i'm sure WI will go great.
kim - i meant to say, what are you going to do about your BF? do you reckon it's time to get serious with him. if he isn't willing to get married, but just live with you forever, could you deal with that? does he want to get married? and if so, why not to you? if he does want to get married to you, then why the wait? maybe he isn't the right one for you, but neither of you are going to do anything about it. and what would you do? i guess you have to think about what you really want. why are you so desparate to get engaged and get married? is it to have a big white wedding and tell the world how happy you and he are together? or is it for other reasons? is it because everyone else is and you feel that you should too? i hope i don't sound mean, i'm just trying to get you thinking about it all and what you should do to make yourself happy. try not to get too worked up about it though. i'm sure your BF doesn't mean to make you so unhappy. and if he does, then maybe you should be dumping him!

Kirsty - Hi! Congrats on the smaller size!! Red is not my color either. I also have light hair, and my complexion is rosy enough without wearing red! By the way, I thought your advice to Kim was great. The questions you posed were very thought-provoking, and I may try to use a few of them to analyze my own situation.

Tonya - You may be gone for the day, but have a good weekend! I agree with Kirsty - buy yourself something too! You deserve it!

I am SOOOOO glad it is Friday. I woke up feeling a bit blue today again so I can't wait for this week to end. I am meeting a friend for a beer after work to talk about what has been bothering me, so that should help cheer me up a bit. Then, tomorrow morning I have my ww meeting and then I am heading to Ikea. Tomorrow night a few of my girlfriends are coming over to eat pizza, watch movies and drink lemon martinis (my fave!) That should help get me out of my funk...
But I do have to make my law school decision by Monday so I still have that looming over me.

I'll be back to check in later to see if anyone else has posted!

Wrote a nice long post last night and then lost it somehow when I went to post. Argghh!

Anyways this a quick post to say hi. Congrats Becky on the engagement!! Hopefully I can come back and post more later.

Noelle

Ohh, I'm going to try and post a poll. If it doesn't work tho, my question is how often does everyone weigh themselves. I'm bad and weigh myself almost every morning.

Hi Ladies -

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Kristy - I've been so set on what my personal goal is within my healthy weight range that it never occured to me that I could just get to any healthy weight and "try it on" for awhile. Thanks for the suggestion - I'll have to think about it. Congrats on getting into a smaller size dress than expected - what fun that must have been!

Tonya - hope that you have much fun shopping with your Mom and enjoy visiting with your brother this weekend.

Jen - going out with friends sounds like just the thing to cure the blues - I've been in a wretched mood lately and joining a friend for dinner out earlier this week sure improved my outlook. I know the lawschool decision must be a tough one - I hate having large decisions hanging over my head - so much easier once the decision is made and all you have to do is follow thru.

Little frustrated today - I forgot my breakfast and lunch - I don't know how I managed that - I always bring my meals to work. Luckily, the building I work in has a cafeteria and I can grab meals here but I'm pouting a little because I've gotten used to having all the fruit and veggies I pack as snacks throughout the day.

Well, I'm going to get back to work as I have no intention of working late tonight. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Winter

hey girls just here for a sec coz i'm doing notes
Kim: on the bf thing if you want to be with him and can see a future with him plan a winter wedding and get the church decorated for free ( i love xmas at church) if you can't look at him and see yourself in 10 years with him and the pleasures and stresses of marriage run fast b/c thats what i had to do

Kirsty wooohoooooo on the size you slender vixen you
JK your girls night sounds great whats in a lemon martini?
Hey Winter
Tonya good luck doing battle with Kohls and most definitely buy something for your self

my fantasy outfit or one of them is one of those very body concious dresses doesnt reveal a truckload but clings in all the right places a sex siren dress

I think this has been stress **** week for everyone yesterday i had a breakdown called my friend who met me for coffee and when i started to tear up b/c everything was coming down on me
he just hugged me alot and made everything better we went for a walk (i scooted he walked) and eventually I walked him home and I hugged him and as i was going thru the gates he put his arms around me and his cheek on top of my head
now usually i dont show anyone my vulnerable side b/c well I dont
i knew it was ok to show him
and i swear after i did he looked at me differently
wierd
anyway
back to work!
Love
Kier

Hey Chickees!

How are you all today? Yesterday was nice & busy & we even managed to out a lurker! Yay! WELCOME WINTERGIRL!! All you other lurkers take note-she was scared to jump but she did & we din't bite her head off-Have NO Fear!!

I had some ice cream last night & then I had a very upset tummy all night. I didn't fall asleep until 5 am!!! Argh! Thank God today is my day off. I slept until 11 this morning. So no more ice cream for me. Its justnot worth it. Usually I get frozen yogurt but they weer all out (we were at Dairy Queen).

I've been on the computer for a most of the day now trying to get caught up on all of my email correspondence. I didn't realize I had so many people to write! After this I have to get up & outside. I think I'll go to the gym because its a little windy today & I get earaches bad when its windy & i'm outside for more than half an hour.

Has anyone heard this? My friend was telling me that she watched this show about the chocolate trade. The show revealed that most of the major chocolate companies use slave labor to harvest the cocoa!! Has anyone heard this? Apparently the beans mostly come from the Ivory Coast & the slaves are almost all CHILDREN!! I felt so sick when she told me this. I feel so guilty for enjoying chocolate. I am going to try to find out what companies don't engage in slave-child labor so that if I absolutely have to indulge I can do it without putting some poor child to work. My friends said the conditions were appalling. How can these practices still be tolerated? Makes me sick. I for one & going to not eat anymore chocolate until I can sort this out. Its sad that these kids are getting worked to death to feed us glutenous western consumers. Who would have thought that eating chocolate puts children in harms way?? If anyone else has any further info on this I'd like to hear about it. Sorry for going on & on.

We went & looked at this awesome place last night! Its a three bedroom duplex with 5 appliances, a/c, new rugs, tile floor, lots of natural light, etc etc. We love it. We filled out the application form & are waiting to hear if we're approved. There was another couple looking at it right after us. I hope that it didn't suit their purposes or that the landlady liked us better. Keep your fingers crossed. We should findout by the end of the weekend.

Anyway I've bablled on enough. I might pop back later & reply to what you've all said today but this post is long enough already!
Take care girls!

-Rina

Kirsty: Thanks for all the advice. Believe me, those are all questions I've asked myself many, many times. I want to marry him because I want that last commitment from him. I don't really care about a big fancy wedding, and I don't even really need a ring. I just want us to take that plunge if we're deciding to be together. He keeps telling me he wants to spent his life with me, that he wants to marry me, even that he already has a ring and is waiting for the right time. But he's been saying that a long time. I don't really want to give him an ultimatum, because I don't want to feel as though I'm forcing him into something. Then again, I don't understand why he's just living with me and doesn't move forward. What's really strange is that he asked my dad for permission to marry me ... at Christmas! So what's the hold up? Good question. It leaves me confused.

A friend of mine met a woman three months ago and has already asked her to marry him. I love stories like that. Someone who knows something is right and goes for it.

As far as trying on a bikini, no offense, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! There's no way I would try one now. I don't even want to try a regular bathing suit on. Maybe in 50 pounds, I will! But it was a nice thought, though.

Kierie: Unfortunately, I'm not really a church-goer anymore, much to the chagrin of my parents and grandmother. I've always thought I'd have my wedding outside.

Hi to everyone! Gotta run and get some work done so I can get out of there. I have to work on Sunday, with an assignment that requires me to leave at 7 a.m. UGGGHHHHH!