HI all.

Sandy,
That is too funny about the timing of the visit. Hope you all had fun.

Jen,
I am glad you had a great time with your family.

Ruth,
That is horrible about the keys. The chip can be such a hassle. There are pros and cons I guess.

Es,
I agree with Jen about not thinking so hard. When I was younger I did better when I stopped obsessing and just ate small portions and no junk. Just do it one day at a time.
I know you can do it.

Halloween was fine. My 2 boys ended up going like 2 of the Sopranoes. Brandon had a tommy gun and Bradley had a rifle. They had their leather jackets and dress shirts and Brandon had a leather newsy cap. Looked like in Al Capone's day. He could have been my cousin Big Jim Colosimo. He was friends with Al Capone and was eventually killed. His name is mentioned by Queen Latifah in Chicago. Colosimo is my maiden name. He had a restaurant called Colosimos.

Hi Girls,

I will never leave this group. You all keep me going no matter how hard it is for me.

Jen, you are so right. When I don't think about it as much I do better. I'm going to try that for the next few days, not to obsess so much. I remember a few years ago Dolly Parton was on a talk show & they had asked her how did she lose so much weight & she said eating less. She still ate the same but smaller portions so that does work.

Terri, I am going to do it one day at a time. It's too overwhelming when I start thinking where I want to be in 5 months. I bought Chicago & I still haven't watched it. The boys must have looked cute. Did you take pictures?

Ruth, losing keys is a nightmare!

Well, let me go eat my Mikey D's salad. I'm hooked on them.

Have a nice evening my friends. Thanks for your support. :grouphug:

Love you's,
Essie

:moo:

Terri,
I'm intrigued...was Colosimo's in Chicago? just wondering. I LOVE Italian restaurants :D Do you know when the Sopranos begins their new season?
The boys must have looked great!

Es,
I had a co-worker who, 10 years ago, decided to eat just half of what she would normally eat. She would fill her plate, or take a piece of birthday cake, or a slice of pizza, and eat just half of it. In about a year she had lost 50 pounds. Never denied herself anything, just cut down. Can't hurt, right?

We're having Brandon for the weekend, from Thursday evening till probably Sunday :D :D as he's got a long weekend off of school. We will take him shopping for his winter coat, and whatever else we can talk Gramps out of :lol: but that won't be difficult!

luv,
~Jen

Jen, Brandon is very lucky to have such great grandparents. He will cherish all these moments when he gets older.

I'm sitting here just goofing off when I should be working. I just wanted to say hi.

I'll try to be back this evening.

Love you all,
Es

Jen,
Yes Colosimo's was in Chicago. He was my grandfather's first cousin. My grandpa went to see him at the height of the Capone era and Big Jim bought him a suit and told him to go home. He didn't want him around all that. In the Ben Gazzara "Capone" - 1975
movie Frank Campanella played my cousin "Big Jim Colosimo".
It is so cool to see my maiden name in a movie. Al Capone did a lot of business in his restaurant. Big Jim was eventually killed.
See his name? http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0072761/
Also when Geraldo opened Capone's vault Colosimo's restaurant was on that documentary a lot. On my mom's side (Maiden name is Pecci) she had an uncle that was a Pope. Talk about opposites.
:lol:
My mom used to buy all my kid's coats. It was special. I will be a great grandma just like you and my mom. Brandon will have fun.

Es,
Dolly told a story about buying a Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner (her favorite) and eating 3 bites of each and throwing the rest out. That is what she did with all her food. It must work. I just love Dolly. She is so funny. She said that she has had work done to make herself look better and she said "It takes a lot of work to make myself look this cheap." :lol: I love her talking voice in movies.
You can do this Es. One day at a time.

It is so nice having Bruce home. I watched the first 8 Simple Rules... since John Ritter and his character dies and I and the kids cried and cried and the kids ran up to Bruce and attacked him and told him how much they loved him. So sad.

Terri,
How nice that Bruce is home for good. I can't even begin to imagine how you all must have missed him.
That is SO cool about your infamous Italian relatives!Hmmm...hobnobbing with the Vatican? :lol: I'm impressed.
I love Dolly, especially her role in Steel Magnolias.

HI Es :wave: Dianne, Ruth, Sandy, Zoe and Janie!

~Jen

Hi buddies:

Terri - I watched that show last night and cried so much - it hit me that they were really feeling the way they acted since they must miss him so much in real life - very sad. I wonder if the show will continue or eventually be phased out.
Too funny about your cousin Big Jim - you should be on the Sopranos:lol:

Jen - Glad you had such a great halloween with the family - you must love that Brandon will be staying with you for awhile. Enjoy him. How old are he and Matthew now? Steel Magnolias is one of my all time favorite movies - I have it on video. I also bought the old movie - The Stepford Wives with Katherine Ross - still give me the shivers. I wanted Alana to see it before the new one comes out.

Es - Don't give up mi amiga - Jen and Terri had some excellent thoughts on this. I think we each have to find what works best for us and sometimes it takes awhile to do that. We are not perfect (except for Terri;):lol: (just kidding Terri)! The thing I admire about you Es, is that you don't totally give up no matter what. You keep coming back and that's the important thing! That and your fantastic personality!!!

This past saturday my wi showed a GAIN of .2:s: But that's okay, cause I know what happened - I didn't do what I normally do on Friday nights, namely, eat a ww meal and do the walk away the pounds tape. I was sick since last wednesday with a cold, so I really wasn't totally on program. So I gained .2 - BIG DEAL!!! I was disappointed at first, but I quickly got over it and decided to give myself a break. I still have a loss of 5.4 lbs, so I'm not gonna worry about 2 ounces:D
WE CAN DO THIS!

Well, gotta run - hi to Ruthie, Sandy, ZoeGirl and Janie (where are you guys???:( I miss you - come in and say hi, pretty please with sugar on top???

Have a great night everyone.

Hugs,
Dianne

Hi Girls,

Mi amiga, you are too sweet. I know if I was to give up I would be miserable. So even though I whine I'm still here. The most important thing is the exercise. I'll never give that up. You had a small gain & you have a great attitude about it. I'm very proud of you. ;)

Terri, so you have mafia blood huh. :lol: I'm defintely watching Chicago this weekend. Happy to hear Bruce is home. :love:

I have to go work out.

Have a good night everybody.

Hi Jen, Sandy, Ruth, Janie & Zoe:wave:

Love you guys:grouphug:

Hi Buddies,:wave:

I am fine, not on the wagon, but fine.

Es I started exercising more this week, but it is not making up for all of the grazing that I have been doing. One thing about the exercise is that I already feel like I have more energy to get through the day.

The Transylvanians are still here until this Saturday. The partner church committee is all participating in taking them on touristy type stuff in Boston and in the surrounding area. It includes dinners out and a lot of home parties. I have been off program, and indulging in some really great cooking. I know that I am up a few lbs, but we sure are having some fun. These people all grew up under very brutal communism (Ceaucsescu in Romania), and are among the few in their country who have learned the ropes of democratic capitalism. They are amazing party people, they really appreciate being alive and having freedom.
:hat: :dancer: :hat:
I hope I can get back on the wagon and start journalling by Sunday. I am really searching for what works for me individually. I had been watching Dr. Phil when I get the chance. His plan looks like a derivative of a lot of the best of the others. Some of WW and Prevention magazine, South Beach, etc. I think that whatever we all do, we really have some great tools using the framework of WW and the support group we have right here.

In the meantime, I am still working on my database project, I have another one coming up too, looking out for my mom, taking care of all my guys. Whew!

Love ya all,
:grouphug:
Sandy

Es,
I don't have your current email address...would you send it to me? Chicago is a favorite of mine, I hope you like it also. I could watch it every day. The soundtrack is so good, it's what I blast on the stereo when I'm cleaning!

Dianne,
Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well. You've got a great attitude about the small, teeny, infinitesmal gain ;) no need to worry about it!
I didn't know a new Stepford Wives is coming out. I'll have to rent and watch the original.
Brandon is now 8, in second grade, and Matthew is 3 (but thinks he's 8). They grow up too quickly. How old is Jessa now? I am so grateful to have a close relationship with the boys, which is probably why I go overboard :lol: But that's ok. We were very close to my Gram, she lived with us. I want the boys to know that even though we live 30 miles apart, I'm always here for them.

Sandy,
What a great opportunity you have, in meeting and learning from the Transylvanians! Enjoy the partying, this is a very special time for everyone involved.
Way to go on the exercising :cp: Every bit helps.
Hope all is ok with your Mom.

Terri,
Survivor night!
Did you buy Finding Nemo or will Santa bring it? It's so much fun to watch; the colors and scenes are beautiful.


later,
~Jen

Hey girls, well I'm in the Math lab goofing off. I forgot my excel and SPSS books at home so I can't work on a math computer assignment. So, I thought I'd do the next best thing with my time, visit my friends!

I so enjoy the conversations here. I see that several of you like Dolly and the movie Steel Magnolias. That movie was actually filmed the oldest town in Louisiana. Natchitoches, Louisiana is an hour from me. Every Christmas they have this amazing light festival with fireworks on the Cane River. They actually recreated those Christmas scenes in the steaming Summer. Those folks had to be miserable. Oh, next time you watch the movie, when Darryl Hannah tells them where she is from, she gives the name of my hometown "Zwolle". (pronounced Z-wally)

Sounds like several of us are still struggling. I had two good weeks, then I've blown it for the last week or so!! I so need to get on the right track. Maybe I'll try eating only half of what I want. I'm ready to try anything. Well, I guess anything but exercise!!

JEN, sounds like you will have a good weekend with Brandon. When I had my grandsons a few weekends ago, I stopped at the store on the way home and spent more money than I should have!! LOL Wednesday my daughter and I went to visit with my oldest grandson's teacher. He hates reading and hasn't been applying himself. I bought myself a copy of the book he had to read, brought him home with me and we read several chapters together and I had him redo his reading summaries. He wanted to know if he could come back the next night. He said he could concentrate better at my house. I wish I didn't live across town.

TERRI, I had class last night and missed Survivor. Was it a good show?

ES, hang in there. My friend and I always give ourselves credit for trying. We keep telling ourselves "Just think how big we would be if we didn't try!"

Well, I better get off the computer. Hey Dianne & Sandy. Has anyone heard from Janie and Zoe?

Ruth

Ruth,
I love Steel Magnolias. I loved all the characters but my favorites were Ouiser and Clairee. They were hysterical. Tom Skerrit is always a favorite too. Sally Filed's part at the graveyard was great. I saw the Sybil personalities coming out. :lol:
I remember Darryl saying saying Zwolle. :cool: I love that Christmas tradition.

Survivor was great. Burton and Lill came back in. They had to go to the same tribes who booted them out by luck of the draw. They merged and Lill and Burton had immunity but they still got to compete for immunity and Burton barely beat Rupert and at tribal council Burton got to give it up if he wanted because he already had immunity si he gave it to Rupert. Rupert told Burton how hurt he was that he and Shawn made fun of him and that it made the mad little 8 yr. old in him come out. That was cool when he apologized. Drake got Lill on their side. Their new tribe is called Balboa. They voted out Andrew and John wasn't far behind. He is the one who I really can't stand.
I like this Survivor better than any of them so far. I love Rupert. I will cry when if gets voted out. I hope he wins all the immunity challenges.

Jen,
I loved Finding Nemo. Doria was my favorite. I will get it this weekend. That and Holes. Loved Holes. Bradley read the book last year in 2 days. He was engrossed.

Sandy,
Have fun. You will get back on. Like riding a bicycle.


Dianne,
.2 is like a maintain in my book. No problem. I know you will get more off than that next week.

Es,
Enjoy Chicago. It is great. We watched it again 2 days ago.

I took Britts and Bruce to the airport. They are going to Ohio so he can go to the Ohio State- Michigan State game (He gets to go
to the recruiting breakfast with Tressle, the coach) and Britts is staying with my sister. I am so nervous about the dang flight.
We went to IVY'S Country breakfast on way to airport and I ordered a Bacon, Egg and Cheese biscuit and I ate half. I also ordered a hasbrown casserole and I ate 4 bites. It felt so good and I was satisfied.

Happy Friday everyone :wave:

Jen - The new version of the Stepford Wives is due out some time next year - it will star Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, Glenn Close, Matthew Broderick, Christopher Walken, Faith Hill and Jon Lovitt. I wanted to see the old version again before I see the new one - it should be somewhat different time-wise anyway since the first one took place in the '70's.

I can't believe Brandon is 8 years old already - wow. Jessa is 2 1/2 now and talking like crazy. She's too funny, when willie is with her (if I'm not there) she's fine with him, but once I come she gives him mean looks and pushes him away - he says she's a user:lol:

Alana's coming in with her boyfriend Casey tomorrow so she can pick up her car. I'm gonna miss that car, its so cute!

Well, just came in to say a quick hi Es, Ruthie, Sandy, Terri, Janie and ZoeGirl - I hope you all have a great weekend. Tomorrow's wi so tonight I will have my ww meal and do the 2 mile walk-away-the-pounds tape - hope it works.

Talk to you's soon.

P.S. Here's one of the stepford wives, below:lol:

Hugs,

Morning Ladies,

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Maurice has to work today and possibly tomorrow so I'm going to use the time to wash clothes and to study. If I buckle down for the next 4 weeks I may actually get a 4.0 this semester.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Our accounting club at the university held elections for officers last week. The other positions were unopposed, but not mine. I was nominated for treasurer along with this other guy. I didn't know him so I had no idea what the outcome would be. But, I won 16-6. It felt so good have all those young people vote for me!!!

DIANNE, The new movie has a good cast. You know, I don't know if I ever so the original one. Do you remember who was in it? What type of car does Alana have? I must have missed it. How are all your grandbabies? Good luck with your weigh in.

TERRI, it sounds as if I missed an exciting Survivor. I wish I didn't have classes on Thursday night. I'm usually home by 7:30 and only miss a little of it, but we had a test last week, then he started on a new chapter afterwards.

SANDY, sounds like your schedule is full at the moment. Great going with the exercise. I wish I could motivate myself to get off my rear end!!

Well, I better get back to the books. Have a good weekend. I'll check in later during the day.

Ruth

It's Me!!
 

Hello there my wonderful friends :wave:

Ok, I've been gone. I've been so OFF program that it isn't funny. Me, who had done so well, who had lost just points away from 45 lbs, me who now has GAINED too much of it back......yes, it's me. It's a long story, one of those boring tales.....my friend Tracy who went to WW with me on Saturday mornings stopped going. Come to find out, the REAL reason was that she hated getting up early on a Satruday. (early??? 9:30 meeting is early?? :lol: ) Anyway, when she decided to go back, she wanted to go to another meeting, one that was on Tuesday nights, after work, on the way home. So I thought, heck, I'll try it with her. After all, since moving to my new house, WW was 20 miles away now. So I went with her......transferred to that meeting......the leader wasn't as good but she was ok. Then Tracy and I both missed 3 weeks, then Tracy stopped going again...and then I missed 3 weeks again and I didn't do well and, and, and, and....you know the story. So this morning, I went back to my OLD meeting and they were SO happy to see me. <sigh> I feel good. I weighed and didn't look.....well, I peeked when I got home. (did y'all hear me screaming????) Ok, so it's bad. I didn't gain ALL of it, Lord help me. I didn't even gain half of it back, but it was pretty bad. I'm too ashamed to say how bad but hey, I'm here, I'm there, I'm on my way back. And just to let you's all know how close I was to goal.......3 lbs!!! Yes, 3 lbs left and I blew it BIG TIME.

Ok, enough of that. I was too ashamed to be here but now, I'm here and I'm so glad. I missed you's guys and I love that you've never stopped asking about me.

gotta run but I'll WILL be back.

Love you all,
Me <><