Apples2

See what I mean???? Every pair of boots I have have this big gap. But, unless they were completely made out of elastic on the tops, not getting around that problem with my chicken legs.

Well, Janet....I could have bought a few Coach purses at regular retail price instead of the many pair of 7 for all Mankind jeans I have in my closet. We all have our thing we are drawn to. My DH says that I don't even have to look at a price tag. I can smell the most expensive item in a showroom. But, I will scrounge and find it on sale somewhere so I can own it. I won't discount someone for their obsession whether it be Coach purses, Ann Taylor (Lori), etc. Mine are the above mentioned jeans, Jones New York clothing (jackets and tops...bottoms don't fit me in that brand), Born shoes/boots. BTW...found a great pair of black leather Born boots the other day. I am on the fence about them though. I should take a photo and see what you girls think. I don't fill them out but I still think I will wear them proudly.

Here's a few places to look. Just go to their sites and type in 100% cotton jeans in their search. LL Bean Lucky Brand Amazon Trade Tang Trade Key Good luck!

Spoiltmom...try Fashion Bug. If you are not near a store, go online. If you are worried about the jeans stretching out (that drives me nuts), make sure they have not more than 2% lycra. I like the 100% cotton jeans. I have been at goal for about 2 yrs and I still make a stop at the local Fashion Bug for my long or short sleeve t-shirts in different colors. They are not clingy like some. Gotta watch though...some of theirs are. Look for the cotton count. I even found a couple of cool knee high boots there last year for $40 each. Give it a try.

Good Morning.... Laura...hope you got back to sleep. Perfect sleeping weather here. Had not turned the furnace on yet. Cold when we get into bed but nice and cool for sleeping. Down in the 30's overnight. Hit the heat button on the thermastat this morning to take the chill out. Woke up to the phone VERY early. One of DH's buddies was working all night out in the feild and was stuck...DH is still over there trying to pull him out. One of the joys of farming. Sandy....loved your story about Charlie having the best day of his life. Our Tanker has that every day. He's a lucky dog. We tend to take for granted what we have at our finger tips. You and DH revel in the fact that you can take a trip and go out to the country. I, on the other hand, look forward to getting off the farm to see real people. City mouse country mouse???? Joyce.......your resort looks wonderful. I am working on finding a place to take DH to for our 31st anniversary (Nov 10). All depends on this harvest. I cannot remember a year that we were done by that time but this might just be the one. Will most likely shoot for the weekend of the 13th for the reservation just to be sure we are done. Hope you have a great time with your family. It's a working day here so better get after it. I love harvest time and all the action in the yard. Love the guys that are hauling and running the machinery. Most are single and young. Last night they each had a dozen banana muffins and a plate of toffee bars on the seat of their trucks to take home. We worked till 10:30 so I am thinking they were dipping into their goodies on the way home. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Sooverit...even though it is Sunday, if you are in pain and think you should not wait, seek medical attention. Please keep us updated.

Welcome...hope things are going well for you. Any questions?

Happy to hear you are being proactive about this. It could be that you are just irritated, but, with symptoms like yours, i.e. throwing up blood, best to do what you can to see someone that can make sure of what it going on. Please keep us informed. Sending hugs.

Joyce...thanks...good going on the Coach. I have yet to buy one. I love Nine West and Stone Mountain. Just a plain ole' farm wife here. Laura...thanks...and thanks for offering the kick-A$$. I can usually hold my own and there's a whole lot of kick-A$$ gonna happen in a legal way soon.

Hey Kimberly...welcome to the thread. I hope you continue to stick around for support. It's nice to be with a group of ppl that understand what we are going through. Hope you enjoy the John Grisham book. I read it a couple of weeks ago. I am usually not a short story person but these were pretty good. I love his books.

Hey TwoScoops...congrats on the weight you have lost so far. Try not to pay attention to the scale during TOM. Just try weighing yourself at a certain time of day once a week. scales tend to play with our minds. Not unusual for a person to jump up a couple of pounds in a day. Lots of factors can cause this. Too much sodium, etc. Are you drinking plenty of fluids??? Relax, stay on plan and hopefully in a few days that scale will be your friend again.:wink2:

Joyce...congrats on fitting into the outfit. Now remember, just cuz you are going on vacation you still need to continue with your new found food plan:thumbup:

Oh yeah...cannot wait for Eva to come back. Really miss her posts. Two weeks was the length of her vacation, right?

Apples2 is back!!! Decided I'm not giving up my power to ANYONE. I tossed and turned last night and decided that no way, no how would I be intimidated by anyone. So, that said, I am going to post whatever the hell I want to post about my daily routine and if that "special someone" that finds my life sooooooooooooooo interesting wants to follow along....she can just "have at it". OK, Jen S.? Ready to follow? Pretty boring stuff, but, whatever. We started our corn harvest about noon today. Thinking this will be a pretty easy harvest with the weather cooperating like it has been. Nice dry corn. Won't need to use much fuel for drying like we did last year. It usually takes us about 14 days for corn harvest. I am thinking that if we don't get rain or snow, we will be done in 10 days. Perfect. Arlene...congrats to Jakob on his cake and bars. Hope he does well with his livestock. You should be very proud of him at that young age. Janet....I haven't bowled for about 4 yrs. It got to be so much for me when I was heavy. I was on a Tuesday night league for many years. Enjoyed it. Been thinking about getting back into it again. The bad part of joining a league again is that I have to fine someone to replace me when we are gone in the winter months. Tough to find. Have fun helping Andrew set up his new apt. Julie...hope you enjoyed the wedding and you were pain free. Could it be that these treatments are working? Would be nice. Laura...sounds and looks like fun was had by all today. Such a nice photo of you and Nels together. That will make DH smile! Jodi...your turning into a gym rat! Good for you. Sounds like quite a schedule. Proud of you. You won't be sorry. Wish I didn't live so far from the gym. I do have a treadmill I use in the winter. LauraK....hope you had a nice time on your walk. Could this be the one???? Hey Cheri...your email helped to push me to get back my name, pull up my boot straps and move on. Thank you for that. Hey TX/Chris...sounds like you turned on your heel when it came to the brownies. YOU GET THE GOLD STAR FOR THE DAY! Melissa...sorry you had that scare at work.. Creepy. Hope you find a new job with insurance soon. I wouldn't want to pay that much for COBRA either. Been there/done that. Like someone else said, check into what is available for your son. Phyll....sending DH (and you) hugs with his upcoming surgery. I've heard it can be a bugger the couple of days after. Sounds like you will be practicing your nursing again. Hope he has an easy time of it. Lori...get some sun for me. It's been awhile since I sat in the sun. Linda...congrats on the casino winnings! Lucky/cute girl! Hey Jessica...what you up to???? Studying???? Way to go on your tests. Joyce...when do you leave for Guam? OK...I missed some of you...so sorry. Will check back later. Nice to be back. (like it was soooooo long)....No one junking up your thread.

There has to be an ER somewhere. Do NOT go unseen by a doctor.

6 raw chicken breasts cut into chunks 16 oz frozen broccoli floweretts 8 oz raw baby carrots Toss the above together and put in crockpot Blend: 2 cups fat free sour cream 16 oz low fat/low sodium chicken broth 1/2 tsp ground mustard 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp curry powder Pour over chicken/vegies. Cook on medium heat for 5 hours

Get someone to take you to E.R. immediately. Once you get there get someone to check for you to see if there is a bariatric doctor that would come in to see you. Demand treatment.

Thanks for your answer, Maggiesmom....

So good to hear you are doing so well. Hopefully, you will get used to your drains with time. I had 4 drains after a gallbladder surgery for 4 weeks. Made me sick to begin with but with time, not so bad. From what I have read, most ppl go up in weight a bit after surgery such as yours. Get your nutrition and rest. Anxious to follow you in the next few weeks and hope you are willing to share with us. I carry a good share of my apron by my hip bones also. Looking forward to initial consult to see what doc has to say. Did your surgery include a mons lift?

Bob...I have had a number (too numerous to mention) of surgeries and I do not do pain meds. Have never filled a prescription on the way out. So figure the panniculectomy will be a breeze. I am waiting for doc's office to get back to me on getting an appt for a consult. I just have to realize that I NEED to do this for me in order to feel 100% about myself and to feel comfortable. The upper part of my torso is not a problem so I figure doc will say just the lower part. I have been the only one holding me back from this. No longer.

Don't mean to hijack your thread, Bob, but feel that this would be a comfy place for me to ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind. History...banded June, 2008 and have been at goal (23lbs below original goal but OK with where I am at and so is doc) since Oct, 2008. At first I was "somewhat" satisfied with my hanging skin on my lower abdomen. I look good in my clothes but feel terrible naked or in underclothes....it hangs out the bottom (tmi). The farther out I get the more the skin seems to hang and bother me. While exercising/walking/exerting myself, the fold becomes icky and irritated. This may seem silly but the problem I am having is with "deserving" to get this problem taken care of. It's almost like I am selling myself short of taking this last step of this journey. Make sense to any of you? As I stated, right after reaching goal I told myself I would be happy with whatever if I looked good in clothes. Now, since it seems to be getting in my way and physically and emotionally bothering me, I feel like I am giving into something that would be egotistical. Silly, I know. Anyone else feel this way?

Whillow...Bend over!!! Honestly, stop kicking yourself. 12lbs? Set a new goal. 12lbs by Christmas. If you are hungry b/4 dinner, try eating something healthy and tell yourself that absolutely NOTHING besides carrots, celery, any raw veggie or fruit. I know that when I was in the weightloss stage, that time of the day and a couple of hours after dinner were the worst for hunger. I would stave it off by making a cup of coffee with a packet of LF Swiss Miss, add a little SF flavoring and sip. It really did help when I was famished (or thought I was. Also, Alpine makes a really good SF apple cider. Try something like that and see if it works. Good luck!

Congrats, Jessica! Gold star for the day!

Poor Puppa

Just plain wonderful that you have a plan while being on vacation and a plan for the future of getting back to where you want to be. Looking into to your future, I don't see a Frito in sight!:smile2: