tapshoes

Aw, shucks!

But we are such a happy folk!!

I couldn't say it any better! It is true. Heartfelt thanks to all!

How old is Matt Damon anyway? Hes in his earlier thirties I think I'm old enough to be Matt Damon's mother ...it definitely torpedo's the appeal factor for me! An older man on the other hand is just so much more appealing!

Excellent Pix...you're 'can do' attitude will be a big help to your success! Sadly, this won't be the only time you will need to 'push through'...but you CAN do it. Way to go!!:cry_smile:

It is fascinating to look at how a 'normal serving size' has changed over time. 20 years ago, soda came in an 8oz bottle; now it is 20oz and (if you read the label) it says it is 2.5 servings! But we still consume it as if it were 1. Similarly, bagels used to be 3" diameter; bagels are now 6" and the serving size is 3! How many of us split (or rather, used to split) a single bagel into 3 servings?? Lots of environmental factors have contributed to our situation, although ultimately we are each responsible for our bodies. But I am making sure I ALWAYS read a serving size on anything just to make sure I don't add those extra calories even if it seems like a small number.

Thanks RSG...will you be my new 'best friend'?

Really?? How could 25% of the people who meet me, not like me? That hurts! Does that mean 25% of the people on this forum don't like me? Oh no, spiralling into the black hole.....:cry_smile:

Shiny - It is an astounding change. Congratulations!

:thumbup: It is a learned process...and I am still learning. Admittedly, sometimes I feel that I am a very slow learner, but it is coming.

Thanks to all. We looked at one of the 'spools'...fabulous idea! And there are two types - one in which the Water force keeps you in place while you swim, the other type in which you wear (in essence) a harness so that you stay in place while swimming or jogging or doing your water aerobics. A great idea but just WAY too expensive.:thumbdown: We think the hot tub wins...now begins the discussions on WHERE to put it! For some reason DH believes that a garage is not meant to house a vehicle but is there as a storage room, or now potentially, a spa room. Me, silly girl, thinks a garage is a structure erected to keep a car out of the elements!:w00t:

DH and I have spring fever. The new-to-us 70 year old long neglected house and yard will be our 'vacation' for a few years! One of the first discussions on the exterior landscaping was on whether to have a hot tub or a small pool. Arguments: Hot tub is less expensive to operate, and can be used year round and does not need the homeowner to erect a fence around the unit if it has a hard top locking cover. Pool: given where we live, the pool would be used ONLY June - Sept, more expensive to purchase, maintain, and the law requires a 6foot fence to be erected around the structure (pool and any deck). BUT (and there is always a but) the pool offers the potential for exercise, and more people/visitors can enjoy it. A hot tub (as we would not be getting a huge 12 person one) would be limited to maybe 3 or 4 people. And finances do NOT allow for both! So, hot tub versus pool...which would you suggest?

I MUST sleep with DH closest to the window. You never know what or who may access the house by spiderman-ing up 3 stories and into the bedroom (bypassing the front door which we sometimes forget to lock, and the open windows in other rooms). So, if DH is away, the spot on the bed closest to the window is vacant. In hotels with 2 beds, the bed furthest from the window is where I will sleep. Multiple pillows?? You guys are nuts! One pillow, flipped to the cool side is the limit - the rest just become like cats in the bed - always in the way! The opening for the pillow into the pillow slip MUST be facing the outside of the bed not inside. Didn't you guys know that was a rule??? Geez! Brandy II - I never knew how to spell it "hooziemagachies" - thanks!

Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! The best money I ever spent on anything. For lots of the reasons others have more eloquently stated, and mainly because I want to be an active participant in life, not someone sitting on the sidelines watching great things unfold for others, drowning my sorrows in potato chips and ice cream!

Congratulations! The first step in a new life...it is exciting! :thumbdown:

50 pounds is fabulous! Celebrate your continuted health without her. Who needs the negativity? Glad to hear you stepped away from the donuts!

...because I forked out too much of my own money to throw it away!

This thread has been wonderfully insightful, and I shall try to incorporate some of these ideas into my routine. The one additional thing that I would suggest (and which has helped me) is to eat later in the evening. DH and I were in a 'get home from work, get changed, read the paper, eat' rut. This meant that we were eating our supper at 530-600. We have changed our routine slightly and put off eating until 730 or so. Oddly enough, although I was hungry from the time I got home to supper, I could work through that hunger with water. This makes the time after supper much easier to deal with as I am still full from the evening meal. Here's hoping we all find a way to beat the munchies!

HeatherO - I am sorry you had that incident, and I continue to hope it never happens to me. Bathroom carpet? I've never heard of a carpet in a bathroom - and the clean freak in me is now imagining the logistics of keeping it clean.

Oh no!! Does that mean my fabulous shoe collection will get tossed?? NO, say it ain't so!! I have spent way too much money building this shoe collection (I am looking at my 3 shoe racks of spring/summer office shoes) in my office, and it would break my heart to have to replace them all. All my other seasonal office shoes, AND my home seasonal collections, AND my party seasonal collections.....

Sadly though, when i was cast aside for the beauties that surround these stars, I would get depressed...and soothe my wounded pride with God's own comfort food - ice cream!

I'm there!!!

Matt Damon just doesn't do it for me. Cute in a little-boy way, but nah..I want someone old enough to know what's what, and how to! Now, Sean Connery on the other hand.............:thumbdown::w00t:

This is for more mellow times... I was born by the river in a little tent Oh and just like the river I've been running ever since It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will I go to the movie and I go downtown Somebody keep telling me don't hang around It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will Then I go to my brother And I say brother help me please But he winds up knocking me Back down on my knees Ohhhhhhhhh..... There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long But now I think I'm able to carry on It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

To expose my upper arms? My shoulders and upper arms have not been sun-kissed in ..oh maybe 20 years. I see lots of before and in-progress pics of people on this site with sleeveless tops, and you all look fine to me. But I look horrid/wretched/ awful/disgusting and otherwise lack a certain appeal wearing something that doesn't have at a minimum a 1/4 sleeve. Perhaps it is all in my head, but I just don't know that I can ever go anywhere in public without my upper arms covered...sleeveless T's or dresses or bathing suits in public just don't seem possible. Assuming that I reach a comfortable body weight, and can wear clothing not made by the local tentmaker, will I ever wear something sleeveless?