Teachlady

Good Morning, Lovely Violets... Weigh in day today and I didn't lose anything, but then again I weighed earlier this week when I hit my -50# so I'm very ok with it. My next mini-goal is to be out of the 180's by the time we leave for Disney World in two weeks. DH is having a hard time with portion control so I know he's not at his sweet spot yet. I'm doing ok, but I still think I need a little more restriction. Next Friday will be picture day for me. It will be my 4 month bandiversary. Jane... good to hear from you again!! I'm off to get my cottage cheese and blueberries for breakfast and then on my way to church. Everyone have a great day!! WWJD??!!!!

Evening, Violets... Ethan has gone home, the concert is over and we didn't get the boat we went to look at. It wasn't what I wanted. DH was ok with it, but I didn't like the fact that it was strictly a fishing boat. You had to steer the boat with the motor so DH would have to sit in back and I would sit in front and that isn't what I wanted. I wanted one with a steering wheel and seats so we could be next to each other. We looked in the paper and found another boat for sale, went and looked at it and put an offer on it. It is a fixer uppper, but I know we can make it look really nice with some TLC. DSIL has one more he is going to look at on Monday and let us know what he thinks about it compared to the one we made an offer on. So by next week we should be proud boat owners!! The concert was pretty good. Lots of songs to sing along with but too many people so not so much room to dance. Next week the concert is all Beatles music. That should be fun!!! I'm off to go chat in my video program and then head to bed. Church tomorrow and a picnic afterwards. DH is getting a gift from this church.. a new robe. He's going to be soooooooooo surprised and thrilled. He still has the same robe he started out with 35 years ago!!! Everyone have a great evening and remember.. WWJD??!!! LAURA...LOVE the cake! Thanks for sharing the pics... you both look really happy..

Good Lord, Lunasa!!!!!! Is there a dark cloud over you or something??? What an awful run of bad luck you've had. I've been thinking about you lately wondering how you were doing. Now I know!!! You take care of yourself, woman!!!!!! My prayers for healing are sent your way.. and prayers for your guardian angel to step up and take better care of you!!!!!

Here's a link with some info on it. Pedal Comfortably On The Revive! - outspokenbikes.com

Denise.. It's called a Revive and made by Giant. I LOVE it!!

Whew.. what a day. Ethan is here and finally napping so I have a chance to get on here. DH decided he wanted to get a little fishing boat when he got to goal. Well, on the way to our friends for dinner last night he spotted a boat for sale. He stopped and checked it out and it was perfect. We have looked at tons of boats for sale, but this one was far better than any we had looked at. He called this morning and we're going out to pay for it today!! No, DH is NOT at goal yet.. he has 28# to go so I said we can't use the boat until then, but I think I might renig on that.. lol The weather is gorgeous today. It's only 62 right now, but bright sunshine. DH went to Home Depot to pick up the rest of the wood to finish the deck extensions. We are going out to dinner with DD and DSIL tonight and then headed to the bandshell to hear an Oldies concert. Guaranteed she and I will be on our feet dancing and singing.. Terry........ STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALE!!! Take it from one one has been through it. DO NOT weigh more than once a week. You are setting yourself up to be a slave to the scale. My usual weigh in day is Sunday and I try not to even think about weighing in until then. On Sunday morning, I can hear a little drum roll in my head just before I step on the scale. If I have lost, it's fantastic. If I have stayed the same or gained, then I know I have a whole week before I have to step on the scale again! I weighed in early last week because I was so close to -50 and wanted to know the exact day I hit it. Now I'm back to the Sunday routine. Gotta go get some things done before Ethan wakes up. Jennifur.. enjoy your day relaxing.. you deserve it!!! Glad you got a good night's sleep. TracyK... I went to Hobby Lobby for the first time in my life last week. We don't have any near us and I had never heard of it before. We saw one in Port Huron where my doc is. (that's 4 hours from us). Stopped in and my jaw dropped!! I WISH I had known about it when I was teaching. Sooooooooo many kewl projects for kids!!

Good Morning, Violets. Ethan is coming over for the day today so I won't be able to get my rail painting completed. But I don't mind.. I love taking care of him. Jenn... I'm sure I won't be ahead of you for long!! The only area that I didn't lose any inches on was my thighs and I'm sure that's because of all the biking I've been doing. I FINALLY lost 1/2" on my arms. That's the first time I've shown a loss in that area!! Time to go fix my cottage cheese and blueberries!! Everyone have a good day today!! And Jenn... owies on the toes!!! Been there, done that, but only one at a time.

Just got back from Curves. I lost 2.5 inches this month for a total of 41.5 since being banded. Pretty darn cool!!!! Kat..Glad Rick's news was not negative. He must be feeling alright if he's building that woodshed!! Wish him a Happy Birthday from me!! I'm off to go have dinner with our cruising buddies. Everyone have a great night. And remember.... WWJD??!!

Yikes.. we must all have the eyebrow vibe. I got mine waxed yesterday when I got my hair cut and colored. I'm a blonde, blonde now. We call it "screaming blonde". It's not blonde enough unless I'm screamin'!! I got lots of compliments at the beauty shop and all those nsv's sure feel good. One question.... does swatting fruit flies in the kitchen count for a cardio workout??? arghhhhhhhhh they are bad right now. I don't have a clue why! I've not had them for years and years.. ever since I left some potatoes in the pantry and they ummmmmmm rotted. Hmmmmmmmmmm think I'll take a look in the pantry and see what I can find. It's a little cooler here today so I'm going to paint the deck railings. I just finished my tuna fish and watermelon for lunch. I'm good to go until we go out tonight to have dinner with friends. We got our Alaska cruise documents in the mail the other day so we're going to go over them and see what excursions we want to do. I'll be headed to Curves at 3 so DD can weigh me and take my measurements. Laura.... are you exercising?? That's the only thing that will reduce the inches on me and help with the weight loss. I try and do some exercise for 30 min. each day. I'm guessing poker is right up there with fruit fly swatting as far as exercise goes..

Good Morning, Violets!! Whew.. it got chilly last night. Went from 93 during the day to 58 right now. I'm enjoying my cottage cheese and blueberries right now. I don't feel my restriction so much until I try and eat watermelon. Then it kind of sticks in my throat. Other than that I can eat like before, just not hungry inbetween which is a good thing. I did my 30 min. in the pool with my weights and jogging and then did 45 min.. on my bike so I gave myself credit for 2 30 min. workouts! I'll hit Curves today plus try and get in the pool this morning if it didn't cool down too much last night. I got my new angel charm and a special one for -50 yesterday. And the lady said they are coming out with a gold angel charm in November so I have my "I've reached my goal weight" charm all picked out!! Pamela.. have a GREAT vacation!!! Jennifur... good luck on the interview!!! My theory has always been. If it's meant to be, it WILL be!! Hang in there. Your perfect job is out there waiting for you. I feel for you in that awful heat. I'd be dead at the end of the day if I had to do that.... literally!!!! Everyone have a great day and remember.. WWJD??!!

Good morning, Violets. I'm up waiting for Ethan to arrive for the morning. And I DID IT!! As of this morning, I am officially down 50#!!! I'm off to the jewelry store today to get another angel charm and a special one for -50. This has been an awesome journey and I can't believe that I am able to say I have lost 1/2 of 100 pounds!! I NEVER could have done this without the help of my special blessing. That blessing includes not only the band, but you special Violets who motivate and inspire me each and every day. We're in this together and together we will all make goal and STAY there! My only regret is that I didn't get this done years and years ago.. but then again, that would be before the band was even available. Everyone have a great day and remember... WWJD??!!

Evening Violets.. Well, my stint at the fair is done. It got up to 93 today, but really wasn't intolerable where I was. It was in a building so the sun wasn't beating down on me and I had a nice chair with a fan blowing on me. DD stayed with me from 9-2 and DH from 2-5. Long day for me, but I got to jump in the pool when I got home. The water temp was 84 and it felt so good to do my water aerobics. I had a little issue with chicken tonight. I had chicken salad for lunch and it went down fine. But tonight I ate too fast and got some chicken kind of stuck. No sliming or pb'ing thank goodness.. just an uncomfortable feeling. Guess that will teach me to slow down! Tracy.. your pic is so familiar to me. It's like looking in a mirror!! However, until you can fit into them (can't wait for that day), you really should consider backing into a room.. ya look dang good from the rear!!!! I'm off to watch some tv with DH. Ethan is coming tomorrow for the morning, so Grandma will be running!! Everyone have a great evening, sleep well and remember.. WWJD??!!

Good morning, Violets. Denise....I beg to differ!!! I see a big difference all over, especially in your belly and chin!!! 40# is a great accomplishment!! Look at how loose your pants are since the first pic. YES, there is a difference!!! Keep up the good work!! Pamela... August 1st today. New month, new day and you're going to remember WWJD?!!, right?? RIGHT????? I'm sitting here with my cottage cheese and blueberries. Everything is going down well, just like before my fill. I sometimes think the doc didn't put a band in, but then I look at myself and my clothes and think... wow!! This thing is amazing!! I take my 4 month pics in 9 days. I'm wondering if I should take it in the same bathing suit as the other three pics, or in my new suit? Maybe I'll have DH take it both ways. Everyone have a great day today. Gonna be a hot one here and I'm at the fair with the smell of elephant ears and french fries all around me. I'll have to keep repeating to myself.... "it's not about the food... it's not about the food" and WWJD??!!

Good evening, Violets.. Whew.. it was a hot one here in Northern Michigan. It got up to 92 today and will hit 95 tomorrow. And tomorrow I'm stuck in a NON air conditioned building at the fair passing out Democratic Party literature. I'll be there from 9-5. DD is coming to keep me company in the morning while DH has a meeting out of town, but he'll be back at noonish to either relieve us or sit with me while DD goes back home. I've got some Crystal Light in the freezer and will take that with me to get me through the heat. I did two workouts in the pool today. The water temp was 84 so it was a nice relief from the high heat. Tracy... congrats on the NSV!! I can't even get a 14W over my belly, let alone even THINK about zipping it up. I bought a 16W skort today and hope to wear it in Florida n three weeks. I can get it on and zipped up, but I have that infamous "muffin" top. My mini-goal is to be able to wear them comfortably in Florida. We'll see how that goes. Pamela... I agree with Terry 100%!! You shouldn't even have that junk in your house!!! What were you thinkin'??? Certainly not WWJD!!! Get rid of it and start tomorrow fresh. New day, new resolve, new attitude.. K?? Mdrai...sorry to hear about the ticket. That would put me in a bad mood too!! How expensive is it???? Laura.. again Terry is right about setting reasonable goals. Just like our weight.. if we set goals too high, we can't possibly reach them and we give up. We are all taking baby steps in here. And each step gets us closer and closer to our goal. Time for me to head to bed. I'm not feeling a whole lot of restriction with the second fill. Maybe it will show up later. I was nervous that everything would get stuck, but so far, no problems. Everyone have a great night. Sleep well and remember....WWJD???!! Got that Pam???

It slips on and off as easily as panties. There is a split crotch so if you wanted to I guess you could pee with them on, but I'm too uncoordinated to do that. It really is not at all like struggling into the old fashioned girdles. They are literally featherwight.

I've read about it in the tabloids.. it's what the stars use to hide those extra ounces they have.. As for us fluffy ladies.. it's amazing.. I bought the one that goes from mid thigh to just under my boobs. Nothing rolls, nothing hikes up and it is sooooo lightweight, you can't believe it would do any good, but it DOES!! here's the link. Welcome to Spanx by Sara Blakely: Official Site

Hey Tracy..... love your new pic!!! I lived on soup at hand while I was in the all liquids stage post op. I loved the clam chowder and potato soups. Jennifur... thanks for the compliment, but I get my inspiration from you all.. it's kind of a mutual admiration society and that is the special perk of being a Shrink'n Violet!! What a great group to belong to!! Pamela...I know my fill is there.. I couldn't finish all my cottage cheese and blueberries this morning. And it's still kind of sitting in my throat right now. It's been an hour so I can drink now and my Crystal Light is nice and slushy. I had another NSV last week. I got a new bra size.. I'm now a 38D down from a 44DD!!! wooooo hoooo. Only problem is I have to scoop them up to put them in the bra cups. DH says as long as I can get a bra that lifts them up and pushes them out, he's ok with it. lol I know if I was younger I would get a breast lift and tummy tuck, but I just don't want to go through any more surgery and as long as DH doesn't care (he says not to do it for him).. I'll just rely on God's gift to fluffy women... SPANX! I got my first Spanx last week and they are wonderful!! First time in my life my thighs are not rubbing when I walk. It's a really strange feeling when you've never felt that before!!! I have never had a "girdle" that felt so comfortable. I wore it all day without any pulling or tugging or feeling like I had a boa constrictor around my stomach. If you have not tried them, I highly recommend them!!!

Gooooooooooood morning, all you Violets!! I'm home from all the traveling and ready to relax for awhile. Our trip for our fills was a good one. I had lost 6# since the last visit and DH had lost 8. I got 1cc making a total of 2ccs in my 4cc band. DH got 1.5cc for a total of 4.5cc in his 10cc band. Everyone there was congratulating us. They are all so friendly there. The nurse that took care of us this time was celebrating her year bandiversary and she had lost 70#. When she saw I had lost 48# in just under 4 months, she was so excited for me. I'm just now trying solid food after doing liquids all afternoon and evening yesterday. My cottage cheese and blueberries seem to be going down alright, but I do feel that full feeling after just a few bites. This is a good thing!! We of course had to stop by the outlet malls on the way home last night. DH has become a shopaholic since losing weight. He's sooooo excited about getting into XL shirts after being in 2XLs for so long. And he's down from tight size 48 pants to loose 42's. He no longer has to pay for the plus sizes!! Great NSV's!!! One of the ladies at his church said she would love to have my clothes from the garage sale, so I packed up a ton of them and brought them to her last Sunday. She was soooooo thrilled and I was glad they would be put to good use. It's funny though because I never would have thought my clothes would fit her. I thought I was much smaller than she is. Guess my perception was a bit out of whack cause she said everything fit.. !! I have one more session in the pool today between music rehearsals so that will complete my exercise challenge for July. I'll stick with the same goal for August. I know we'll be doing as much bike riding as possible and the temp is supposed to be in the 90's this week so that will mean lots of pool time. Life is really, REALLY good as a bandster!!! Everyone have a great day and remember..... WWJD??!!

Good morning, all you Shrink'n Violets!!! It's a new day, a new week and a new adventure, 1 pound at a time!! Sara.. so sorry to hear about Dave. You and he are in my thoughts and prayers. Pamela.. your closet looks awesome!! Thanks for sharing all the pics!! Kat.. I'm still in awe of the 100#!!! I hope to be able to say that someday. TracyK....isn't it great to know that the weight gain is not permanent anymore??? I just love the fact that this is not going to be yet another yo-yo attempt at dieting. This is the real thing and that little band will help US achieve our goal!! Theresa... woooo hooooo on the ring. It's all those little NSV's that keep us going!! Today I'm going to wear a pair of capri's that are a size 14/16W and I had set aside for when we go to Disney on the 21st of August. They didn't fit when I bought them a couple of weeks ago and now, here I am wearing them!!! Time to get dressed and head on down for our fill. Everyone have a great day and remember... WWJD??!!!

Jen.. you go girl!!! You're gonna walk right over to Michigan at the rate you're going!!! Keep up the great work. It's really going to pay off for you!

Evening Violets.. Was a really nice day today. After church we came home and I took a nice, long nap. Then we went to Home Depot and got the wood to extend our deck. DH will be working on that this week. We went biking and ended up going 9 miles again through the neighborhoods looking at houses and landscaping. It was a great ride. When we got back home I changed into my new, SMALLER bathing suit and I hopped in the pool for 30 minutes of water aerobics. Then into the hot tub for a nice, relaxing half hour and now back inside since it's getting dark. We are headed downstate tomorrow morning for our fills. I'm a little bit nervous because I know there is going to be a new feeling of restriction with this second one and I will really have to watch the bite size and speed of eating. But then again that's what it's all about!!! I finished the Kaliaha Ali book and found it pretty interesting. She sure looks amazing. And my entry for the list is..... ***if you think "WWJD? " when you're sizing up food, then you might be a bandster. AND a Shrink'n Violet!!

Good morning, Violets!!! WOW.. what great news to come back to! KAT!!!!!! CONGRATS ON AN AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT!!!! You give us inspiration and motivation and you have shown us that it CAN be done! You ROCK!!!!! We had a great trip to see the grandkids. We spent time in the pool at the hotel and gramma is now skinnier than DDIL! I never thought I'd see the day. I got a new bathing suit cause my old one was falling off me and what a difference the right size makes!!! I felt goooooood.. na na na na na na na (James Brown singing in the background). We attended the wedding of a young lady who had grown up in our church with DH as her pastor. It was soooo good to see her happy and doing well. She is 35 and never, ever thought she'd be married. She's also 6 months pregnant and never, ever thought that would be possible either. Her parents are now both ministers and they officiated at the ceremony. DH gave the benediction and blessing. Such an honor for him to be asked to do that. We arrived home at 1 a.m. and now are leaving for church and then to Home Depot to get some wood to extend our back deck to accomodate the new grill DH bought last week. We leave tomorrow morning for our 4 hour drive to the doc for a fill. We both know we need one as we are eating way tooooo fast and getting hungry between meals. I'm going to weigh in tomorrow before we take off. I'll catch up on everyone's posts later today. Have a great day!!!

Good evening, lovely Violets..I'm waiting for the last load of laundry before I head to bed. I've packed and am almost ready to head out again tomorrow to see the grandkids who are 5 hours away. Then to a wedding on Saturday and home right afterwards so we can be here for church Sunday morning. THEN we leave on Monday for our fills. It's a hectic week, but loads of fun. I'll be back online Tuesday and hope to catch up with everyone then. After Monday there are no more trips until DisneyWorld August 21-25. But Sept. 1 is our Alaska cruise and Nov. 4 is our Caribbean cruise. Lots of traveling coming up. I LOVE it!! Everyone rest well, have a great weekend and always remember.. WWJD?!!!

GOOD MORNING, SWEET VIOLETS!!! I, like many of you, wrote a nice, LONGGGGGGGGGG post and then the cable went out before I pushed the send button.. arghhhhhhhhh I'm back and late for my volunteer job so I'll check back in later. TRACY.... can't leave without saying CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Evening all... it's dancing Judy here. Tutu and all!! Well the big garden tour is over. And guess what??? We had 9 whole visitors in 4 hours. NINE!! Apparently it was not a biggie for the church folk to do. Not even the Pastor showed up.. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. BUT I love my gardens and I got lots of compliments from the people that DID show. Tomorrow morning I'm off for the girls adventure to go see Clay Aiken and then shopping. I'll be back late Wednesday night. Try not to talk a lot til I get back, k?? I'm really anxious to get my 2nd fill. DH doesn't think he'll get one as he is doing really well, but I get hungry in between meals now and that's not like me. I don't eat... but I sure get hungry! My friend that had it done a month after me just got her second fill and she says it's like night and day. She's not hungry, can only eat little bites and is dropping weight really well again. I lost the pound I gained plus 2 more, but it was not as easy as it has been. One week from tomorrow and I'll have the 2nd fill... wooo hoooooo!! Everyone have a great night and I'll see ya'all on Wednesday!!