mdrai

Wowza Janie!! What a difference!! You should be so proud!! And congrats on all your good news these days, Tracy!! What a whirlwind your life has been lately!! & you're handling it all w/such grace & positive attitude! Welcome back, Kat!! So glad to "see" you!! Take it easy & be gentle with yourself while you heal!!

Good Morning, Vi's~~ Up again today... up/down/up/down... it's a workout for my scale! lol! Not much to report... we're going to NJ to my in-laws' house for Thanksgiving... we'll leave tomorrow night & be back Friday... will check in from there... I'll take the ingredients to make a few items... & I hope I can work out w/her at her Curves while there... ummmmm... that's it, I guess, for now... make it a great day, everyone!

other smilies that I find comical but can't imagine how to use in a post: :flock: :kev: :chinese :llama: odd ones, these... oh yeah, and this one: who's proud to be #2??

oh c'mon... hit yourself w/a fish!

meow. :cat:

Yes, Rick, it is the exact right place to put that! Thank you for letting us know how she is doing!! Give her a big hug from us!!

Do you know that there aren't any "kick me in the pants" smilies?? hmmmmm... Well, here are the best I could find... the ever popular "hit me in the head with a fish": or the tried and true "whip me into shape": :whip: Pick whichever works for you Laura, and consider yourself "fished" or "whipped"! I can empathize with you, Laura, because this is what happens w/me. I lose a chunk of weight (say, 50-60lbs, like now), & I can start wearing new clothes & feeling good & folks start to notice & comment & make a fuss and so then I start getting cocky... all the while somehow completely forgetting that I am STILL clocking in @ 254 or some ridiculously high number and that that is still flippin' FAT! Sorry, but it is! Yes, I've done good so far, but I still have at least that much more to go! This is exactly where traditionally I would've "lost" control of whatever diet I was on & started working my way back up the scale. I am hopeful that, even w/my reduced restriction lately, that the band will prevent that from being able to happen... either through eating less or giving me PBs to remind me who's boss... & that I'll get it that it's easier to eat the proper way, keep exercising (which makes me feel good AFTER I do it but I still fight going), and keep losing. <Michelle steps down off soapbox, but hey, you *did* ask for it! and I quote "Someone kick me in the pants.">

Good Saturday Morn, Vi's~~ Sounds like we're doing pretty well... Terri, purple power to you as you seek to do the best for your Mom... Taking dd to get her hair cut (TRIMMED, as she reminds me... the only "style" she wants is LONG)... then to her poms banquet... then maybe to see "Nancy Drew" @ the re-run theatre in town. (We're having a nice girls weekend w/dh & ds in NC @ the soccer tournament.) Last night she & I went to Kohl's and shopped for 2 hours & she came out w/$200 in clothes, from underwear & sox & boots to tops, jeans & dresses! And the very best part of that is that we actually had fun doing it! Usually it's a long, drawn-out, argumentative experience, because we have completely different ideas about what type of clothing a 9yo should be wearing, but we both noticed how enjoyable it was last night. Maybe she's growing up (or me!)! Make it a great day, Vi's!

Yay! Now I know what Janiebug looks like! You look GREAT! Love the bracelet! Fantastic article! Yay you!!

TracyKS -- I see that new number!! 206.6! Wowza!

Good, well it's Afternoon now, Vi's~~ Busy morning... was up 'til 2am doing a 1-day turnaround edit job, up @ 6 to get dh & ds packed for their soccer weekend in NC, then made a birthday b'fast for ds -- he turns 13 tomorrow! -- + he opened his presents... got them out the door & I zipped to coffee w/my friend who's loser husband left her on her b'day (she's doing GREAT, btw! I'm so happy for her!)... just firing on all cylinders today! Now I'm home & my head hurts & I'm sooooo tired. Think I'll nap 'til dd comes home @ 4... then she & I have a "shopping date" + dinner out tonight... I feel so weird... I'm in a funky, sorta blue mood... don't know why... TOM isn't due for a week or so... I know some of it has to do w/me not being w/ds tomorrow for his 13th birthday... maybe it's the lack of sleep and overabundance of things I've got going on lately... whatever... just feel kind of weepy & emotional... oh yeah, + that stupid scale that won't budge more than .2 a day... ugh! Sorry... just venting... sometimes I kind of zone out when I'm typing on here & just journal my thoughts/feelings more for ME than you guys... that's probably not what this space is for, but... oh well... sue me! Ha! Thinking of Kat right now... sending her all my purple power!! Hang tough, everyone!

Yeah, we pretty much rock! :cool:

188! Fantastic, Tracy! Love, love, love the pic! Macy's a doll! & look how great you look! You're right... your face is so lean now... wow!

I did the same thing... ordered samples from unjury.com and bariatriceating.com and tried them all... vanilla unjury is #1 for me right now (Every morning I mix it w/1/2 carton of vanilla micellar Protein milk & 1/2 scoop of low-carb chai tea mix and am in heaven w/40 g of protein!). My other fav is whey Gourmet choc/pb cup Protein powder... I mix it w/either the vanilla or chocolate micellar milk... yum! Another recipe that's great for this time of year: 1 Jello sugar-free vanilla pudding (60 calories), mixed w/1 scoop vanilla unjury, 2 packets of splenda, 2 T of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) & a dash of cinnamon... mix it all up & it tastes like you're eating the inside of a pumpkin pie! Yum-o!

Comfort food is just that, Terri, comforting... be gentle with yourself during this stressful time... it's ok... I bet that altho you're eating "off" plan, you're not eating as much, am I right?? (I like to be right.) ((cyberhugs))

Good Thursday Morn, Vi's~~ Cold, windy & rainy here today. Wish I didn't have to go out, but I do. Such is life. Scale is still stuck. I was so mad at it this morning. I thought I was alone, but as you mom's know, you're never really alone, so anyway, I thought I was alone & when I saw the number I sort of whined/yelled at it, "No, No, No you stupid thing! That cannot be right! What is wrong with you?" stuff like that... and then I hear dd in my room asking, "Mommy? Are you ok?" Whoopsie! I try so hard to not ingrain my bad food/body image crap on her... it's not easy. In my logical mind (yes, I have one in there somewhere) I think that my body is just catching up, holding on, giving it one last gasp at keeping itself the only way it knows itself -- fat. I think that if I can resist getting discouraged and can keep eating properly & exercising, then EVENTUALLY I will begin losing again. I just think this 1/2 way point is a biggie to get through, but once I do... watch out! There's no way I think that this is it, the best I can do. So I'll just try to keep all that in the front of my mind as I wait it out. This is definitely a major, defining moment, as in the past if I'd have "dieted" to this point, this is where I would've caved/given in. Not this time. Not only can't I, I won't! So there! Jen, my thoughts are with you today. Kat, my thoughts are with you tomorrow. Purple power, ladies! Truly, think of us when you need that extra zap of strength. I used it on my band day and I swear it worked!! Make it a great one, Vi's!

Ugh! My Internet connection has been out all day. The Comcast guy came but didn't fix it. Says it's something outside the house & has to schedule another guy to do that. Then dd comes home and does something to it and it works. But it's been spotty on & off for a month, so if they want to come out & check the lines, then fine. Whatever. But boy did I have withdrawal! I finally dozed off at about 4am. That was weird. Haven't had insomnia like that in a LONG time. The cat didn't come back 'til about 7p tonight... stupid cat. His name is "Mo" (it was "Moses" when we got him from the pound)... but we swear it stands for "Mo - ron!" I ate ok today & did my aqua exercising... still up tho... teensy tinsy movement down, but barely registering at all... .10s of a pd don't thrill me... no call yet to go back to doc's... waaah. I think I'm going to bed... need to make up for last night. Cross your fingers that I'm not back down here @ 2am again! Oh -- NO carbonation for me, not even a sip, since, well, way before May 15 of this year... my doc's instructions read like Judy's & I figure it's there for a reason... & flat soda doesn't sound appealing... but man, is it just me, or can Judy make a slushie CL sound tropical and festive or what??! G'night, Vi's!

It's 2:39am and here I am! I woke up w/a very dry throat & having to pee, so I got up to take care of that... & then I remembered that our indoor cat, Mo, snuck out tonight & I realized he was still outside... so I came down to call him... but he didn't come... so then I stopped by the 'puter to check e-mails, and one thing lead to another... and here I am! The really sad thing is, I don't even have my glasses on and I'm amazed at how blind I am w/out them! I can barely see what I'm typing! If it turns out that my fingers were shifted one key to the left this whole time & this reads like gooble-d-good, sorry!! Hmmm... maybe the cat is in my son's room! Time to pick up the search!! G'night!

Ok, here's a snippet from my day... Was at dd's school today for Parent Day for Am. Education Week... I was eating lunch w/her in the caf (I packed a healthy one!) and this other mom walks up to me and says, "I don't know your name..." and so I jump right in w/ "Oh hi, my name is....." & chit chatting about PTA & stuff (cuz' everybody KNOWS my name even if they don't associate it w/me... I do or have done frickin' everything @ the school & my name & phone number are always the one to call)... and she's waiting for me to stop talking and when I finally do she says, "but you've lost a LOT of weight!" HA HA! & here I thought she wanted to introduce herself to me! HA! So I told her how much & she naturally wanted to know how, so I did a mini-band lecture... my dd was rolling her eyes like, "here she goes again!" The lady never did tell me HER name! Ha! But it's nice that folks are noticing!

Hello all! Here are 3 cabins from which to choose for our gathering the weekend of Fri., May 16 - Mon., May 19. Click on the links for complete detailed description of the ameneties, # of bedrooms, types of beds, pictures, etc. You'll immediately notice that there is one in each price range -- high, medium, & low. As of right now, we have 13 gals signed up to go, so the prices below reflect that. If more gals come, all the prices will go down. If some gals drop out, the prices will go up. PLEASE VOTE FOR THE ONE YOU WANT! Or rank them w/ #1 being your fav, #2 2nd fav, #3 third choice. Majority rules! I'll begin! My #1 is "Splash Mountain"! (A pool AND a workout room!); #2 is Beats Workin' (this is the one we stayed in last month); #3 is Ritz (unless gobs of other folks suddenly want to join us, I think it's just too big). Your turn! Have fun! Ritz on the Lake: http://rentals.deepcreek.com/book/house.html?PMSUnitID=RITZOL Total $4275.52 / 13 = $329 per person Splash Mountain: http://rentals.deepcreek.com/book/house.html?PMSUnitID=SPLMTN Total $2636.99 / 13 = $203 per person Beats Workin’: http://rentals.deepcreek.com/book/house.html?PMSUnitID=BEATWRK Total $1266.57 / 13 = $98 per person

((Jen!)) I am so sorry for you. What a run you're having! Know we're here for you & love you! Judy -- How's your knee this morning?? Yikes, I'm worried about it!

Size 12 doesn't sound like any preggo nesting mom I ever heard of, Tracy! Yay you!! I'll keep you all in my good thoughts... focus on the positive... it really is such an amazing opportunity for him... I hope he realizes that & appreciates it! TV in his room?? Please tell me it ain't so! At *least* let him "earn" it w/good behaviour/grades, etc. (That is one of my all-time pet peeves, sorry!)

Hey -- check out this link I saw just now on hungrygirl's site... interesting! "Donate Your Calories"—brought to you by Diet Power, Inc.

Good Monday Morn, Vi's~~ Who can believe that Turkey Day is next week?? Wow time sure is flying! Just regular stuff going on today... aqua class @ the Y & work. woo. hoo. Make it a great one, everyone! Judy -- Your pics are great & very inspiring for me to go on a cruise! Welcome back!

((Jennifur))