tarrn13

books, current favourites are by jen lancaster, all of them. writers I go for jen lancaster, stephanie meyer, jk rowling and laurie notaro, marian keyes although I am open to whatever catches my eye, sometimes it's just a cover of a book that does it. movies: sliding doors, jarhead, ps I love you, that's what comes to mind at this most early hour of the day here in seattle worst movies would be any of the cohen brothers movies, i have tried to get them and i just don't, sitting through them has made me want to stick a fork in my eye

Kerry3, I love your basset!! I have 3, 2 that live here with me and one that lives at my familys home in Canada. I just read a few days worth of posts and don't remember who were the posters but for those that are in a plateau right now, please remember not to limit your cals too much, as if you go to low your body will drop back into starvation and hold onto everything, I would not go much below 1200. Good luck I hope you all get out of your plateau's soon.

annie, i live in seattle which has a really large gay population, it was certainly an adjustment having women look at me now too or to go for lunch or dinner with a friend and have the server assume we're a couple because I have short hair, i've gotten over it by thinking that a. do i really care what a complete stranger thinks about me, who I'll never see again after this encounter and b. a year ago, I didn't get any attention from male or female, I was invisible and now I'm not so I guess I should just be flattered. Not everyone can pull off short hair, you look amazing so don't let the thoughts of stupid strangers make you grow it back out!

speciak K, i love the idea of a donation to mark your losses, I think I will do that for the animal shelter here. You look amazing, congratulations and keep on going!

annie, i love your hair, it is adorable! I too cut my hair off since I figured short and fully of body was a whole lot of a better deal than super fine, limp and hanging there like basset ears. People love my short hair and I get so many compliments on it, yes maybe you do get attention from the same team now but I don't care. The deal I have with my boyfriend is I can have short hair, as long as it is not shorter than his and he is not allowed to have hair longer than mine, works well. Plus I can get ready for work in 25min, shower included, which means a little more precious sleep for me!

Missy, what's the latest on your bf?

1.my goal for March 2009 is to be buying my wedding dress and being able to actually fit into the samples at the shop. 2. for my muscles to be very defined.

you all have to be kidding me! worried about brazillians and getting your nails done, ladies this not a date, as a medical professional (former labour and delivery nurse now ICU) we don't care about your how you've chosen to design your pubic hair, it's about a good safe outcome for the patient cause trust me we are not looking even though we are seeing, it's just part of our job.

yes your naked during the procedure and if that is really your biggest concern, maybe you need to reevaluate your priorities.

neenz, uh no I've never heard that and I have done just fine with being on nights, (I could never work days anyways since I HATE getting up early) you just find a way to make it work for you. Here's my meals: 6pm egg with salsa and some refried beans. 1030pm: either chicken and veggies or maybe some soup and almonds or a piece of ezikial bread toasted with almond butter. 5am: greek yogurt, strawberries and kashi. 9am: usually some fruit or beans again, although sometimes I do go for breakfast with my peeps, rarely, then I usually have some kind of egg. My drinks at work are a soy caramel triple shot machitto and lemon water. It's worked well for me: I am currently in a size 10 comfortable and medium scrubs, I can fit in the smalls but would like to lose another 15 or so lbs before I venture out in them. I started out in a really tight 16, I should have been in an 18 or probably 20 and my scrubs were xl's. Maybe my loss rate has been a bit slower than others but part of that is my choice since I do not think it is really healthy to drop loads so quickly, also I prefer to keep my band on the looser end of things, less risk of slippage etc, I don't think it's healthy when people say I ate 3 teensy bites and a french fry and then I was pb'ing, that's not a normal way to eat to sustain life in the long term (don't attack me everyone for saying that) I eat about 1/2cup at a time and I've lost just fine. Hope that helps!

ajoneen, Quebec Canada, i have found that living here in the US, there are alot of things that people say or reference to that I don't "get". people tend to think canada and the us are so similar but we are really different worlds. There are plenty of things that I say here that i have to explain too so it's hardly one sided.

missy i hope that everything works out ok for your boyfriend, sickness can be very scary esp when the doc's have yet to figure out what is wrong.

Fanny, I too said that same statement so many times I would be a billionaire if I had the numbers, I was always the one wondering how come all my friends met these great guys and all I had to show for it was some loser mooching off me? Jump ahead a few years and now I'm the one with the great guy, to have to go through all those losers again to have what I have now? I wouldn't want to but I'd do it in a heartbeat. Apple, I too want to have kids "someday" being that your my age, I'd say you have at least 5 more years (that's what I've given myself as the cutoff number) only because advanced maternal age significantly increases risk etc.. and I work in NICU so my world is much different that that of the bouncing cherubic babies from the gap ads, but 5 years is a long time to work with so I'm glad that your going to hold out for the right person instead of a "you'll do" moment and then all of a sudden you are stuck connected to this person that you don't really like for the rest of your life.

Let me clairify about what I said, I am not unhappy with my decision to get the band placed, it has made a world of difference since my need for it was not that I ate cheetos 24/7, I ate healthy food, just too much of it. I would not make a different decision if I could turn back the clock and I too did alot of research prior, being a critical care nurse one might say I can be slightly obsessive about things, I just didn't realize how much the weight is connected to my internal stuff. I admit sometimes I misread peoples intonation of things when there is no facial expression to go along with it, every person can read things differently, and sometimes being from a different country figures into that too. Hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend.

SpecialK, did you capitalize honesty because you only want to hear positive wonderful rose coloured glasses type things, what myself and westcoastmom posted were honest, for us and our journey, sorry if it does not fit in with what you think it should. Also, don't stand in judgement of me, if I feel I need counseling, I'll get it, but the way you wrote your post weather you meant it to be or not sounded a little like you were up in the holier than thou group. my post was specifically a response to 1 person so maybe next time I'll just PM them less I offend anyone on the board's feelings.

westcoastmon, I just read your post and don't usually post on this board but wanted to note what you said, alot of what you wrote resonated with me, I have lost very slowly and the thought of carrying around barf bags and knowing where every bathroom here in seattle is scared me so I've opted to be less filled and use it as a tool vs wondering if I too was trading 1 form of eating for another. My issue is now I have about 25 left to lose and am almost feeling scared to do so, I don't know if I want to see what's under this last little bit, or is it more what if I don't like what I find at the end of it all, it was easy to dream about being thin when it was unattainable but now it is and I admit I find myself doing some self sabatoge (i know that is spelled incorrectly) so maybe now for me it's more about something besides the weight, I don't know. I am also getting used to no longer being invisible to men, store clerks, people on the street, normal world is certainly a different world. I'm happy with the decision to do this at the end of the day, there are just things I didn't think of before doing it that I would have to deal with. Anyway I too am not going for the downer post, I just was a little relieved knowing that someone is having some of the same feelings as myself.

I get sexy, beautiful, cutie and snickers, neither of us is really sure where the snickers came from but it's endearing anyway, loving finally feeling special.

missy congratulations!! it's funny who we end up with, since N is totally conservative and I'm the one with the tattoo's and piercings, but I couldn't imagine anyone better. I hope things work out for you guys since you sound so happy. I am making engagement chicken for dinner for us to start the process, I know we have only been together a short time, but this is just right and when your of the older ages such as us (he's 41 in a couple of months) there's no time to be wasting, this is the person I will be with, as I mentioned previously I understand now why all the others didn't work out and I feel like I can stop holding my breath. I have 3.5-5 years left to have a child (it is something I want badly) and want to be able to have time just us before having one but the years are running down so I have to be proactive and I won't have one being unmarried ( call it being raised in a conservative quebecois home). Chrispy and Denise, so happy that everything seems to be working out for all of us, in the forever kind of way. Now Minnimouse, you are better than a friends with benefits kind of deal, because really if they are going to use you for that than they are really not any kind of friend at all, I'm sure some people are ok with that and I don't mean to offend but those situations never work out well and it's usually the female that ends up heart broken and attached, I feel that people take physical love not seriously enough and what happens when it ends, you end up losing a piece of yourself cause you leave it behind. I'm hardly perfect but in this relationship I told N that we were waiting no discussion and he has not bugged about it and just let things happen when they do, there's no need to rush into it when your looking at forever (cheesy sounding I know and if you all knew me in real life I am the least cheesy person you'll ever meet but it's true) So the thing is in black and white, friends with benefits is "your good enough to have sex with (pretty much in secret) but your not good enough to be the girlfriend and meet the friends and family and be a part of the everyday life" I think not, no one will show you anymore respect than you show yourself, I get so worked up about this because I have a friend who does this to herself all the time and I can't stand that she does not love herself enough to say thanks but no thanks. The end of my story today.

fleminld, hope your feeling stronger, I think every day gets easier, enjoy the desire to not eat in the post op period, I did and it lasted for almost a month, it was great actually, a couple of popsicles and a latte at work for 12 hour nights and I was good. I too am a nightshifter, 7p to 7a, NICU nurse in Seattle. Don't lose site of the goal you have, for me more than just being a 6 or an 8, it's that I'm going to have pin up pics done, like the 1940's style since I'm obsessed with them, maybe seeing myself like that I will be able to leave the fat chick in me behind. Almost there.

Missy, Good luck on your date! I kissed A LOT of frogs to find my prince, so worth it to wait though till you meet the right one.

fleminld, im in downtown seattle actually, walking distance to everything which is really nice. I lost 30 on my own, then 35 with the band so far, have really slowed down though and know that it is the exercise componant that I need to re adjust right now. I think that now it is almost a fear of getting to my goal, I'm not sure why though. I started in a tight 16, really an 18, am now a 10 and my doc feels like I will be a 6 or a 4 by the end of this, honestly an 8 would be fine with me although I have found that I am actually pretty tiny, which I never would have believed if you would have told me that 5 years ago!! So here's the food thing, add Protein powder to your liquids, unjury was my favourite, I also would add cottage cheese to tomato Soup and magic bullet it. Unjury has a chicken soup Protein Powder that is actually very tasty! My doc required liquids for I want to say 3 weeks post, if you could drink it you could have it was the rule, then straight to regular foods but here is one of my favourite mushy foods, 1/2 cup refried Beans sprinkled with shredded pepper jack cheese, micro for 1 minute, top with salsa, I still eat that a few times a week, it's a tasty snack or Breakfast for me since my 1st meal is the hardest one to get down, it is almost like i have to wake the band up, but my bean concoction always goes down nicely and is very satisfying, all for maybe 200 cals.

i'm in seattle, banded in mexico in march 08, would be interested if you guys meet up.

lets review here, baggy makes you look bigger, fitted shows your curves, but always remember there is a difference between fitted and too tight. too tight makes you look like your in a sausage casing, so fitted is the way to go.

missy, when i decided to sign up at the begining of june, i did opt to sign for 6 months, only because pay for 6 get 6 for free if you don't meet anyone and of course follow all the criteria to stay eligible for the offer, so imagine my surprise when I met N a little over a month into it, am I out some extra money, yes, was it worth it, totally! ( and to of course have a pessimistic moment, just in case the profile is still there just hidden if things don't work out, but they will.) As I mentioned in an earlier post I was very very picky about who I would spend one of my precious evenings off with and N was the first one who got past the email/phone call part of it.

so the meeting of the family went well, they loved me so should be pretty smooth sailing from now on. I have a quote on my facebook page, one day you'll meet someone and realize exactly why all the others didn't work out. thinking that might have happened since this is the first person ever really that I don't have to censor myself with, its a pretty nice feeling. hope things con't to go well with your man athinnerdenise.