LittleOleMeinFL

Tried to post these earlier and the computer kept freezing. IYSOY~ I am having the same problem with clothes. Isn't it nice?! (in some ways!)

Hey guys~ Busy busy day today! I am exhausted. We had Nelson's class "social" from 10-1. One of his classmate's family hosted the pool party at their house. I couldn't stop thinking I would go NUTS if there were 25 messy kids in my house. I can handle 5-10, but 25 is too much. They had fun playing all together and not having to be in a classroom. 2 of his 3 teachers showed up. It was funny- many of the parents had not seen me since June. To my knowledge only 2 know of my surgery. Everyone noticed and said something on the side. food was not that good so it didn't tempt me too bad. They had wraps that I didn't dare try. There was a bean salad and fruit. The rest was sweets, chips, or hard veggies/dip. After that we had plans to meet a friend of N's that was in his class the last two years and just switched schools. They were best friends last year and had not seen each other since June. We always had our play dates evolve around food. When I told her (the friend's mom) I was going to have surgery last Feb., she made a rude comment and we hadn't talked since. We made plans to meet at 2, and I figure she'd know that were weren't planning on eating. We met at Chuckie cheese (the things we do for kids)!!! She had ordered a LARGE pizza before I got there. I politely declined but offered to pay. Nelson ate one bite and left to play. My friend was visibly shocked when she saw me. (she is overweight and her son is too. I would guess she is about the same size as I am now- maybe 10 lbs more). Normally she would have eaten 4 slices of pizza and today she had one and never ate more. It was nice to see the boys together again. I hadn't realized the depth of their friendship, they had really missed each other. I was glad I put my anger aside for the boys. Nelson was in bed and asleep by 8 tonight! DH is on call and at the hospital- home away from home. Janet~ Do you have windows 95? That may be the problem. I would be happy to try and work on the CD. Let me know and I will PM you my address. DH is a self professed computer geek and is great at recovering my stuff. We have two back up hard drives as Nawlinz stated. I probably have 5000 photos on here. I keep meaning to scrap book but now the number of photos is just too overwhelming. WTG on the gym!!!:tongue2: 480 calories is a workout! JulieB~ so glad mimi is better. Sorry you were up early. : ( I have never eaten Rhubarb in any way shape or form. I can't imagine that it would tempt me either..LOL. I hope you have fun at your reunion. Phyllser~ I am so proud of you! Great job on all the hard work!!! Easy on the espresso! LOL... too much of that and you will be jogging around the complex. Doodle~ <hugs> with your DD coming home. I pray for you and your family, especially Eli that all works out. It must be hard on him. He is so blessed that he has you in his life! Nawlinz~ I can't imagine losing everything or going through Katrina. Those of us who only witnessed it through a tv have no idea what you guys went through. I hope that you and your family were safe though. LauraK~ Welcome. This is a great place for support! That's so neat that you got so much from this thread and we didn't even know you. 53lbs is awesome! WTG! ok all, hope everyone is having a good weekend! TTYL! peasout, Laura

only a second to post.. but just had to tell someone before I bust from excitement! 2 more pounds!!! <doing a tiny victory dance> I decided not to wait to change ticker. Perhaps I am feeling more confident. CBL...peas

Fly by: Worked out with trainer yesterday. Oh my.... the old body is sore today! Feels good sore though, like I actually did something. Last night was my bariatric support group. WONDERFUL group last night... we were led by a pyschologist who specializes in food addiction. A great discussion, the best one so far. I didn't get on the computer once yesterday. (And I think that's a good thing!) Meredith dear, I will write more later... but today is a new day. Pick yourself up and dust yourself off! Glad Mimi is feeling better! Janet, there is a place that recovers disks. I will look for the link later. toodles for now! peas

Janet, agree with you. Silly to have incident reports at this age. Everything is documented these days! He did not get in trouble today. : ) Apples, have fun at the lake! Oh my... that is too many people to have for a wedding! IMHO if you are going to invite that many people- you had better be able to pay to have it catered! Where does one store 450 servings of potato salad?! Wow. You are a very nice friend to help out. Let's plan on touching base next week when you get back. Nawlinz, have you been on a cruise before? What line are you using? I was so seasick on ours that I barely ate. The patch behind the ears and other nausea pills had me loopy. That being said, I would stick to the meals that have sit down service if possible. Much less likely to overeat than a buffet. Be careful even with the healthy choices (fish and chicken) as everything was loaded with oil and butter. Always tons of salads and fresh fruit. Plan on exercising if you can! A friend of mine recently went and everywhere she goes she tells the waiter to tell the chef that she has severe gallbladder disease and cannot have fat. She would ask for hers made special. Worth a try. Great, omw... erosion, eh? I would guess that one would have to have REALLY severe symptoms for that to go unnoticed! Perhaps she could not eat any solids with the near obstruction and that's why she ate yogurt?! For dinner we had grilled tilapia, cauliflower, stuffed vegetarian grapeleaves (thanks IYSOY- since your greek stuff I have had it on the brain!). I only had one b/c they are 75 cal each!!! As it is I was stuffed with VERY little food. And I ate one bite too many and am feeling like Thanksgiving dinner right now....ugghhhhhh. Why do we do that??? when we are full but our heads tell us one more bite and then we feel like $hit after!!! ttyl...Laura

Hi guys~ Oh Julie~ I feel for you so much! I have had many nights exactly as you described. Hopefully this will be the last day of Mimi feeling so bad. When Nelson has the same virus he lived on chocolate milk, gatorade and Popsicles. He didn't eat for an entire week either! Don't worry about her eating, just try to get her to drink. Last time N was sick with sore throat he wanted a milk shake. I managed to sneak in 1/2 scoop of Protein powder! Maybe in her milk you can put just a teaspoon or so in- at least you know she is getting a bit of extra protein. <hugs> Meredith~ Your schedule sounds so demanding! Proud of you though!!! Keep punching. : ) I remember when I was in grad school to be a nurse practitioner- I was working weekends (two 12 hour shifts) as a nurse. (If you did weekends, you worked 24 and got paid 36 and had benefits). Oh but it was exhausting! And school is tough b/c they say 3 hours of reading and studying per academic hour! Leaves very little time for anything else. Had I not been a nurse already, I would have gone the PA route. Have you thought of what specialty you would like to do? I can't tell yet if I have any more restriction. I guess that's ok- maybe it's a sign I am not too tight. This morning had a Muscle Milk before going to the gym. Did 60 min of cardio (30 min step thread and 30 min espresso bike routine). I ran into my old trainer... (she's not old..LOL.. but the first trainer I had after banding).. and scheduled tomorrow with her. I have been without a trainer for a month and I believe it is one of the big reasons I fell off the workout wagon! My free 3 months ended at the hospital fitness center and I thought I would take a week off..ha. Of course that turned into a month. Ready to get back into my routine. lunch I had the Starbucks Vivanno strawberry/banana smoothie. 15 gm protein/280cal. Love those! Had a 4oz cottage cheese and two WW ritz crackers a few minutes ago b/c my stomach was growling. Tolerated it ok. I feel stuffed now. That's a good sign. I am going to officially change my ticker. Was down 2 for last couple days. :blushing: CBL~peas

Good evening buddies~ Apples~ Welcome back from the lake! Can't wait to hook up and plan this "event"!!! :party:What do we call ourselves... the "I'm here to help" group?! LOL. I will PM you my info as well. I was googling some stuff about stones... it seems that "a family history of stones, especially in a first-degree relative (parent or sibling), dramatically increases the probability of having stones." Kidney Stones - The Urology Center of Florida Interesting. I hadn't heard of that before. At first thought I would think that if people lived together and ate the same diet, drank the same water- that this would increased the risk. But for you guys, you are all over the map. I know other kidney diseases can be hereditary, just didn't realize stones were. 1day~ Glad you are feeling better. Also, isn't it amazing when you write things down and realize how many calories you had?! It adds up! IYSOY~ glad you have good restriction. I love iced coffee too. I also freeze some of my leftover coffee and use the coffee cubes to make a Protein shake with vanilla or chocolate Protein Powder, milk and splenda. I usually bring one of these in the afternoon for carline to carry me for dinner. Phyllllll~ WTG on getting up and out! You are doing so good! Very soon you won't need that scooter! and I had a chuckle about the sailor comment..LOL Linda~ recipe sounds yummy. Especially since I am on liquids today..LOL. So far so good today. I had a fairly thick protein shake for dinner and it went down fine. Had Soup this afternoon. The last couple fills I got a little lazy with the 2 days of liquids, but this time I am sticking to dr's orders. Interesting thought about the virus/sinus drainage... I hadn't thought of that. I am so ready to get back on track. This past month just pi$$es me off that I didn't lose. I know there is time... and I have done well... and it's a lifestyle change.. but still! I just hate the feeling of slipping. We have all been there with past healthy lifestyle attempts... where we let it all go. I just had that feeling this last month and I hate it.:ohmy::crying: But no time like the present to kick myself in the butt and get back to biznessssssss! food journal and exercise!!! Nelson got an incident report today...:eek: Apparently another kid took a ball he was playing with during PE. Nelson asked for the ball back and the kid refused. So he pushed the kid down and grabbed the ball. He's still so innocent that he did it right in front of the teacher... and the other kid skinned both his knees and started crying. Nelson cried so hard after he saw the blood and realized that he hurt him... that he vomited. (not from the blood but from crying so hard!) He told me that he hates school and doesn't want to ever go back! We had a long talk tonight and he's feeling a little better. It's tough being 5.:sneaky::thumbup: Janet... I found those more smiles you were talking about! :seeya: CBL friends.. peasout... Laura

Update: I am usually NEVER a wishy washy person! EVER! And this dang band has me so darn wishy washy lately. Do I want a fill, do I not want a fill... blah blah blah. My surgeon (who is not the chatty kind) took one look at my Realize Band graph of my weight loss (the nurse can get it from the website).. and saw that the losing just STOPPED. He asked if I am getting hard Proteins stuck/PB. Answer is: no. At the evening meal: Can I eat more than 1/2 cup? Yes. Am I getting in enough protein/calories? Yes/yes. Answer: yes, you need a fill. (IF.. and a big if, if you are comfortable with not being able to eat solids at Breakfast. Which I am. I usually only have a shake/muscle milk. He said that probably 50% of patients are like me. Tight all day, great restriction until early evening. He said that the additional fill should not make me too tight, but should help control the night-eating a little. He said I am still in the 80-90% of percent of total weight loss for his patients at 6 months. (I've lost 25% of my body weight). (he also will admit that his population of patients has had VERY poor success with the band. And he spends a lot of his time trying to talk patients (that he thinks won't do well) out of the band! Keep in mind, he spend the first half of my consultation trying to talk me out of the band and into RNY) He went on to explain about the resting metabolic rate goes DOWN as we lose weight and that it does get harder to lose... and that we won't always lose at the same rate. He also addressed head hunger.... and the need to exercise. I told him everything kinda fell apart at the same time last month... went to NC... stopped exercising... ate more.. blah blah. He feels this should be my last fill for a while. we'll see. Another thing about my surgeon's office... The "support" is really bad. There are no on-site nutritionists, exercise physiologists or psychologists. Just two skinny nurses who JUST started in December, who know very little about WLS and the follow up. They are smart girls, great OR nurses- just very little experience in this field. The office is a "center of excellence" b/c of the number of surgeries the guy has done. When I went to my sister's surgeon's office... OMW! What a set up!!! They have a gym, a kitchen (for classes), a REAL store, staff of 20! Staff nutritionist, psych, exerc. Physiologist, etc. When I was researching doctors- I had a couple choices. The local guys in my town (who just started doing bands a year ago & have only done like 10) or the guy I went to. I wanted the best skilled surgeon- who has one of the lowest complication rates in the country. But would his "results" be better if he had a better staff/education/follow up? I think so. My internist looked at me like, "why are you here?" WTF? I said "for a follow up". He said "ok, looks good. weight is coming down nicely. your BP is perfect. Keep doing what you are doing. I said "that's it?" He asked if there was anything else I wanted to talk about. no. I guess I am used to doctors having tons of problems to talk about... health concerns... lectures about my weight. He said, get used to it. You may not to see any drs for a while, you are doing great. Let's give you a flu shot and see you in 6 months. So, on liquids for the day... and we will see what happens!

Hi all... I don't think I am getting a fill tomorrow. Have been having pain with eating after only a few bites. Feeling like I felt when I was in NC. I am not under stress.. and I am not flying. Not sure why it is suddenly tight. I think I will go to my appt- it's too late to cancel and it's the first appt of the day tomorrow. Besides, I can buy some stuff in their store and weigh. Then I have my internist apppointment right after that just around the corner. I hope everyone enjoyed their labor day. DH decided to grill last minute this afternoon. He made hotdogs and hamburgers. I had a 1/4 of a hamburger on wheat pita bread. Nelson HAD to have some Krispy Kreme donuts today.... urrrgghhh. I just discovered that is something I cannot tolerate! It has been sitting there like a lead balloon for an hour! I feel like I wish I could PB or something! It feels like it's glued in place. Well at least I won't try THAT again anytime soon! 190 calories too... NOT worth it. AT ALL. Mrs B~ Hope the DGD is feeling better. Was thinking about you guys today. 1day~ Hope the z pack knocks it out! Feel better soon. IYSOY~ Hope you enjoyed your day with the grandkids. I love your slide story. So nice. : ) Meredith~ I hope you got all your work caught up! Really enjoyed your photos. : ) I will check in tomorrow. Laura

<yawn yawn> good morning sunshines! Happy Labor Day! No day off for many of us. DS woke me up at the crack of dawn. Everyone says there will come a time when they won't get out of bed until noon... why don't they do that early in life?! (when it would be beneficial for all involved!) I let DH sleep late. He gets up at 5am every morning and then is at times up all night. He deserves it. <why don't they have an icon with a halo above it! LOL> Julie, you poor thing. Coxsackie virus is NEVER fun. And you won't find out until almost the end which strain it is. Nelson had the hand-foot-mouth(coxsackie A-16, I think?) one once. His palms and mouth were COVERED in blisters! During that time, when his fever got real bad- I would use the tylenol supposiories. You can buy them over the counter. He would gag from the tylenol and sometimes just vomit from high fever. Sometimes his body would just want whatever hot liquid was in his tummy OUT, and then he would be better. Oh, I don't miss those days. I hope she feels better soon!!! <hugs> and I AM SOOOOO PROUD OF YOU for deciding to bite the bullet and come to FL!!!! Meredith~ I love the photos! The lake looks soooo nice! Your DGM is absolutely adorable! I think that is amazing that she is so active at her age! It gives you a window into your life, especially now that you have decided to take hold of your health. Glad you guys had a good time. And I hear you with the hamburger! Linda, I have a toyota sequoia that seats 8. I can always rent something bigger if you guys want me to. : ) Watching some Disney channel..woohoo, my day is starting off so exciting! M I C.... K E Y..... peas...

Hey guys~ Busy board for a weekend.. just caught up on the posts. We are feeling much much better. Thanks for all the well wishes. Well this morning I decided to finally go check on my parent's condo. It's down in Palm Beach Gardens about 35 min. from here. Dad has asked me to go check the renovations that were done last month. I forgot last week when I was down that way. Thank God we went.. the power was turned off! He just had new hardwood floors put in (and those can warp) and the freezer had thawed out. The renter that moved out 3 months ago JUST turned off her power and he had not turned it on in his name. FPL cannot turn it on until Tuesday. We had a babysitter today! Date afternoon (in lieu of date night). Went to see Inglourious Basterds. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but DH liked it. Then we went to Pei Wei for dinner. Pei Wei Asian Diner I ordered a cup of Thai wonton Soup and the lettuce wraps. yummo. I was able to eat a bit more than I should have. I am thinking that fill will be necessary. Re: the FL trip in Feb.... when Apples gets back from the lake I will talk with her about the details. We still need to decide what people are willing to spend. The prices are definitely cheaper for houses in Orlando. I guess it will come down to how much people want to spend. We can do a poll maybe. I just don't want to exclude anyone b/c the price gets too high. Also, we will need to see how many people need their own room. Either make sure there is a hotel nearby... or get enough rooms. I am getting excited though! Looking forward to meeting all you lovely ladies! Happy Labor Day! Glad my DH is not on call. Last year I think half the county went in "labor"...LOL peasout....Laura

Good morning gang~ We are a bunch of snot monsters around this house today. I couldn't even use my cpap last night b/c I was so stuffy. DH said I snored for the first time in 5 months. It seems it's a virus. No fever.. just punky. This too shall pass. Well, I have a fill scheduled for Tuesday. This is the first month that I haven't lost. I was looking at my ticker and realized although it fluctuated up a pound or so- I really am going no where. I spoke with the nurse on Friday. I told her that in the evening it's like the flood gates just open. She said really the only way to see if I would benefit is to try. I am able to eat more than I should. And I am ok with only being able to have a shake for Breakfast, and only eating solids at dinner. (at least until I start losing again). For the last 7 days I have been making good choices and have been exercising- it's just not budging. I am finding myself more and more frustrated. If I get a fill it will be a tiny one. Maybe a tweak will help. It's tough when you get close to where you need to be... deciding if you will benefit from a tiny bit more restriction.... or if it is entirely in the brain. (or both!) My sister went for her 3 month check up. She is in the 40th % of wt loss for gastric bypass patients. She is losing 1.3 lbs a week. My parents have been really giving her a hard time- fearing that she is "screwing this up too". I feel sorry for her. She isn't doing all she is supposed to. She isn't exercising and she is eating way more than she is supposed to. I guess the one thing with RNY is you can still lose if you eat too much- but my fear is she will gain it back if she hasn't changed any of her habits. And everyone is comparing us. "Laura's color is so much better and look how tone she is..." My wish for my sis is that she is healthy. I hope she finds a good job and can move out of my parents house. As wonderful as they are- it cannot be healthy for a 48 yr old woman to be back home with the rents. I better go get on with my day. Hi to everyone. Will write to indiv. later when my brain is turned on. peas...

Hola amigas~ Great~ the ever contagious dead battery syndrome, eh? I must have built up some immunity or had a vaccine for it- cuz usually I get it, and this year <knocking on wood> I haven't. Lucky you to have big strong capable men around. ; ) Janet~ You sound busy busy. I also love the house warming present. Did your boss ever approve the early Christmas/house warming stuff? Phyllllllll~ So glad to see you posting. The worst is over now in the recovery period. They say it is painful- it must be, your femur was sawed in half kiddo! It sounds like you are doing all the things they tell you to do. Cheri~ WTG!!!!!!!!!!! We are sooo very proud of you! Congrats on onderland! Julie~ Sorry to hear about the DS stuff. I know my parents have had a similar thing with my brother and his wife. The whole time my dad was in the hospital my SIL only visited him once and never even called. Get this- she is a nurse practitioner and lives 5 min. from the hospital!!! She is such a B. When their kids were young they wouldn't let my parents keep them for more than one night at a time. Once they became teens they wanted them to keep them a week and my parents refused. My brother has always let her dictate what he does and how he does it. My dad really could care less but it hurts my mother's feelings. Hope Mimi is feeling better. My DH and DS both have colds. I think I am trying to get one too. Just feeling punky and stuffy. Thank goodness we have a long weekend to get over them. No plans here, except a babysitter on Sunday so DH and I can go see a movie. CBL~ have a good weekend! peas.

hi everyone~ apples~ hi and bye. safe trip to the lake. sorry to hear about your DH's finger. Meredith~ you and your sweetie are such an adorable couple!!! You look awesome! And WTG on the weight! You are officially WAY less than me girl! <uurrggghh> But, for what it's worth, it is motivating me! Rose~ I can't remember if we met on here. If it was, it was right after my surgery- and my memory is shot from that time. You look great my dear! So so sorry to hear about your loved ones health struggles. My dad was recently hospitalized for 5 weeks, so from that experience, I know how tough it is. And it was NOTHING compared to cancer. <hugs> Janet~ That is so sweet what you are doing for that young lady. I know it means the world to her- to have someone like you pulling for her. I loved that movie PAY IT FORWARD. Just a wonderful way to live life. Sorry about the cavities. I just HATE dentists. But I guess there are not too many people that LOVE them. I did my masters thesis on dental fear. I had to be medically evacuated from Paraguay for a root canal. The medical care at that time- just didn't provide safe dentistry for surgery. The altitude KILLED my already achy tooth. Hope it goes ok. DH was on call last night. <yawn> They don't get any easier. He left last time at 4am and I never fell back asleep. Today was busy. And tomorrow Nelson is the "helper" in his class which also means it is our once a month turn to bring snack for all 25 kids. I turned into Apples this afternoon and whipped up some banana muffins from scratch! I made the mini ones. Then cut up a couple huge cantaloupes and had to run and get the other stuff (cheese/crackers and carrots). Not sure why I am on an orange colored themed snack day. He also gets to bring his once a month "sharing" with his class (like show and tell). He has been asking me for MONTHS for a hermit crab. Well, yesterday I realized I had forgotten to feed his fish/snails/frogs and they all died. He was going to bring the frogs for sharing... oops. So, the short of it, I broke down and got the hermits. Good golly they have gotten expensive! By the time I bought all the stuff, it was $40! Let's see how long they can last..LOL. I am sure if they could speak, they would say... NO PLEASE don't' bring us to a class of kindergärtners!!! I am waiting until Friday to do a final post-TOM weigh. <fingers crossed> I hope everyone is doing ok. We are carefully watching Tropical Storm Erika and hoping she doesn't strengthen or come this way. I hope we don't have to spend the holiday weekend putting up shutters! CBL~ peasout~ Laura

Good afternoon guys~ I just noticed that my posting last night, I accidently switched the keyboard to Arabic letters as I was finishing! Did it just show up on yours as jibberish after the last word I typed... areas). Janet, dad was born in 1933 (he's 75)and mom, 1937. I was born in 1967- I am 42. Yeah, but I see where you are coming from, I look and act like I am 30...LOL:lol: MRsB~ congrats on the sleep! Hope you are feeling better. 1day~ hon, hope you feel better soon! Apples, I don't envy you shucking all that corn. But I would love to eat some! I can't believe the lady at the grocery store said that to you. Some people shouldn't leave the house with their tongues! I remember when Nelson was 3 and still using pull ups (Goodness, I thought the time would NEVER EVER EVER come to an end!). I was buying them at Publix and the lady said, "that boy should've been out of diapers a year ago!" I am actually ashamed to admit this, but I started buying them somewhere else- for fear she would comment again! I will never forget my mother's comment to all my worries. She said, "I don't remember that part on college applications. Age potty trained? Nope. Don't think it's there!" I cleaned the pool filter this morning! Took me 2 hours. Last time I pressure cleaned the deck and lanai, I didn't do the filter. All the junk got in the filter and ALL THE hair I AM LOSING! It took forever to get it clean. And then I decided to get rid of the evidence of my failed attempt for a garden and flowers. I had put the pots on the side of my house. (the main garden was pulled months ago). Emptied them, washed them, put them up in the garage. Lots of bending and lifting. At least I did some leg and back work- since I skipped on the gym again. This is the LAST skip. Tomorrow I start back. (again) I am down to 237 this morning. I have a feeling after TOM, it will be down 2-3 more. I will wait to adjust the ole ticker. It hasn't moved in so long, it might just have a heart attack from all the motion! LOL Where did this day go? I have to leave in 45 min for car line. CBL~ peas

That reminds me of something my mother used to say to new babies that were "scrunched up" so to speak. She was an L&D and Newborn Nursery Nurse for YEARS. She would say, with a very sweet Boston accent, "now isn't she just as cute as she can be!" My mother found beauty in all babies, even the butt ugly ones. But she found this way of phrasing it, the most unlikely to hurt feelings without lying or being mean. I just found some of my mom's old nursing pics from Boston in the nursery. Priceless. And one of my Mom and Dad going to a school dance. (My mom is on the left in the 1st and 3rd photo. The last one, mom is in yellow and dad is next to her in far right of photo. Not sure why when they were scanned their are some grainy areas.) شعقش

Hi guys~ I am feeling a million percent better. It's usually a 24 hr crappy time. This weekend was a tad bit longer, probably b/c I didn't sleep well Saturday night. DH was great to step up to the plate this weekend with DS and cooking & grocery shopping. Today with my battery recharged, I got caught up on all my work. Tonight was grilled fish (haddock), green Beans (made with onions and tomato) and salad. Nels was in the mood to bake this afternoon- one of our favorite things to do together (but sadly I have not encouraged it in the last few months). A quick and easy thing we make is a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix made as directed and we add 1/2 can of corn. I found NASCAR muffin cup liners at Big Lots for $0.99. Those were a HIT with the little guy! Apples~ So sorry to hear about your friend's health. <hugs> So glad you can be there for her and with her. The menu sounds Divine. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Alfredo. Doodle~ Oh gosh, 2 out of 3 Fish sticks and mac&cheese my DS won't touch! I think he is the only kid on the planet that won't eat M&C. Julie Bubba~ WOW WOW WOW!!! Love your photos! Your Mimi is absolutely adorable! Love those eyes! She will be a heart breaker one day. And you my dear, look amazing. I almost thought it was a different person. Janet~ Sorry to hear the concert was el crappo. I guess it would be hard for anyone to replace the king. And I totally understand the ST memory problem. I did the metabolic analysis at my docs. It is very neat that a machine can actually MEASURE the amount of oxygen you use/ thus your resting energy expenditure. How many calories your body uses at REST just to breath and other bodily functions. http://www.korr.com/products/reevue_faq.htm Important things to remember before doing the test: Avoid strenuous exercise, caffeine consumption, and tobacco products prior to test. Do not eat or drink 4 Hours before the test- only Water. The test, if done correctly, is very accurate. Unfortunately I have seen people use it after exercising or after eating. Then it will give you an unusually HIGH reading, giving you a sense that you are a marathon runner and can eat 5000 calories a day! The number it gives you is how many calories you need to maintain, and then the range of calories you need to lose weight. My dr's office started bringing it to the support group meetings in an attempt to increase the attendance. At the meetings it is free- in the office, it is $100. Good luck with it Arlene. Let us know how it goes. Hope everyone is ok. Off to watch the Country Music show on tv. peasout~~~Laura

Linda~ East coast oysters are small in September (just beginning their season), so I want to guess they are only a teaspoon each... and DEFINITELY a slider food! I tried eating steamed clams one day and really had a tough time with how TOUGH they were. Oysters can be the same way if cooked too long. And when they are this small, everyone overcooks them. Thanks for the hugs with the endometriosis. Only another person who has suffered like this knows. It's ironic that for YEARS they wanted to put me on hormones but my morbid obesity made me such a high risk. And now, I don't want to be on them. But, I will tell you- it is getting worse these last 3 months. I hate taking pain medication especially having a little boy around to take care of. I ALMOST took something this weekend. I didn't, but almost. I told DH I thought I needed an epidural! He was about to go get the stuff until I told him I was kidding. He cannot STAND to see people hurting and I think my head spun around a couple times on Saturday. <smirk> Your speech sounded so nice and appropriate. So wonderful of you to include the family. I am sure she was looking down on you with a huge smile. Time to race to car line. TTYL

LOL Meredith, sorry about thinking New England. I think I knew that... but I have someone on my FB that was writing about Maine lobster. I think their posting was right under yours and I confused the two. And I agree with you- sometimes a Stay-cation is better then leaving! You don't have to pack/unpack/travel etc. But good thing you have some time off to chill. Good for you. IYSOY~ LOL.. that you realized it was you! Funny. WTG at the party! Also, hope you get to see your granddaughters soon. Boy is in bed... feet up.. 60 min. on and now a little me time. TTYL peas..

Good Sunday afternoon folks~ Hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend. Meredith in New England... apples at the lake... Janet doing the moonwalk... and Julie playing Santa before Labor Day! You guys make me tired just listening. I have had a laid back weekend with the boys. It's my TOM and I have spent the better part of my time hugging my heating pad. In two weeks I have a bunch of dr's appts. I have my 6 month appt with my internist. He hasn't seen me in 50 lbs or so..LOL. I have a fill appt as well, but not sure whether to do one or not. I might do a teenie tiny one. I can cancel that if I change my mind. Hard to believe Sept 2 is 6 months since my band surgery! WOW! And then my favorite, have a f/u gyn appt. Not much she can do for me though... short of a D&C or hysterectomy. Combination of years of endometriosis and now pending menopause... and now weight loss is making my TOM just nearly unbearable. She wanted me to go on the pill but I just don't want the added risk of hormones when I am finally getting healthy. And I don't want another surgery any time soon. The boys have been in the pool most of the weekend. I did go to the Y on Saturday morning. Then we went out to lunch at this cute seafood place near all the local marinas. I was so proud of myself- ordered 6 raw oysters and the vegetable of the day (zucchini). Done. I was really proud of myself. :wub: oysters were 60 cal. and the zucchini was cooked with some oil. Let's give it 100 cal. Still, not bad considering I was dining out. For dinner I had some lentil Soup and grilled eggplant. (and 2 bites of Nels' chicken finger:eek:) Breakfast was my same ole same ole... Muscle Milk. Snack... was my same ole... yoplait with Kashi Go Lean Cereal. I did have 1 cup last night though. (290). 1100 for the day. (I am not entirely sure about the lentil soup calories- don't measure ingredients) I guess for a cup it's 200- 250 cal? Well, looking forward to hearing about everyone's exciting weekend. CBL. peasout!

Janet~ All beautified! ha. Plans? So sad... hanging out in my clean home probably. <sigh> I might try and get a sitter tomorrow night. Maybe movie with my DH. I NEED to work out. This week wasn't as productive as I had hoped. 2 days out of 6. I did rock the calories for 2 whole days. For today I am only at 700. Decided to leave more wiggle room for Snacks tonight. My band seems to open up at 9pm like clockwork. GitR~ I used to work in Tampa/live in Clearwater Beach (Sand Key). I worked right across the street from St. Josephs Hospital @ the Doctor's Walk-In Clinic. I LOVED my drive home everyday. Just GORGEOUS. I am now on the other side of the state. CW will always have a special place in my heart b/c that's where DH and I dated our first 6 months. (back and forth btw there and Miami actually) IYSOY~ Wow, you have been through the ringer with your neck. You have every reason to protect it at all costs! 10 years ago my mom was diagnosed with 3 herniated discs at Duke. They wanted to do immediate surgery. My Dad took her to Boston General for a 2nd opinion and the dr there recommended steroids and PT. They used that midevel looking over the door cervial traction. OMW... within DAYS it completely relieved her pain. Her neck eventually fused naturally which is what they said was the best case scenario. She is painfree these days. Julie~ Glad you didn't overdo it. Your daughter and your mimi are SOOO lucky to have you! So nice of you to let her go out. All you gals that watch your grandkids need major high 5s in my book. Great~ I hear you with the someone noticing the hair. If DH didn't see me with all the foils and coloring in my hair today, he wouldn't have noticed. I have come in with new earrings, new clothes, new hair, make up etc. and doesn't notice a thing. Nelson on the other hand notices EVERYTHING! lol. Especially when I get my toes done! Time to tuck the little one in bed and watch a movie. ta ta for now... peas

Hi gang~ As in the words of an APPLE I know... Do I look younger today? Had my hair cut, roots colored and highlights and lowlights. Plug me in and I probably glow and play music after all that work! LOL. I swear I am having early dementia lately. Yesterday I got home from taking DS to school and the phone rang... it was my salon. I HAD an appt at 9 and had COMPLETELY forgotten!!! I have NEVER done that in all the years I have been going to my girl. She thought something had happened to me or something. (like I had been carjacked and taken hostage). She "worked" me in today. I went in with a peace offering. (some muscle milk and Power Crunch Protein bars). My Angie is on a health kick too and LOVES all my protein stuff. :w00t: Well, I did something even better... I made DH come in and get hair cut while my color was sitting. That way she made more money during my time slot. Great~ LOL.. at the stupid appendectomy comment! Too funny. Yeah, hope DH didn't say "you pulled me out of bed with my wife for this?!" Julie B~ hope you are feeling better. I wouldn't say mopping the floor is taking it easy though. :w00t: Janet~ TGIF!!! What's on tap for the weekend?! ok... I need to go watch my boy. He is in an inflatable kayak in the pool...LOL. $10 (normally $40!!!) He's using a dust pan as an oar. I don't feel like going in b/c I just had my hair straightened.:w00t: ttyl

Morning y'all~ <Said with my best NC southern drawl> Last night was tough... I was sooooo frikkin hungry! I think when you are eating more than you are supposed to for a few days and then suddenly STOP... your body (insulin levels/brain chemistry) needs to readjust to the sudden loss of carbs. I was in a mood (it's also just about TOM) and thank God DH was on call and gone. He was in and out all night. Urrrgghhh. I hate beepers! And pregnant women who want epidurals in the middle of the night! And people who have the GALL to have an emergency appendectomy in the middle of the night! All that trivial stuff kept me from sleeping. <smirk> Watch out world here I come... More later. peas

Hey guys~ ok.. I started using my food diary today. I was also REALLY motivated to start being "good". I really am not hungry the first half of the day, so I decided to try and do shakes for 2 meals for a few days to jump start everything. So far: Breakfast: Muscle Milk 100 cal, Protein 15 grams Lunch: Protein shake (1% milk 1 cup (100), unjury Protein powder (80cal), 1 banana (105), 5 strawberries, (25 c) Snack: 60 cal lime juice Popsicle) Dinner: 2 eggs (155)with 1 tsp butter (35), 1 laughing cow cheese (35), 1 cup V8 Soup (120cal) Total calories: 809 Protein 64 grams Will add a yogurt for snack tonight with 1/2cup GoLean Kashi Cereal. 195 cal for an even steven 1000 cal for the day. I had my Brazilian cleaning crew come do the house today. They pulled up all the area rugs and moved all the furniture and mopped whole house. (4000 sq feet of wall to wall tile). I have them come 2 times a month and boy it's my biggest treat. 4 girls came today and plowed through this house in 2 hours- from top to bottom. I "cleared" a path for them all morning though...LOL. I got all my laundry done, changed all the beds, washed all the bathroom rugs. I even attacked Nelson's playroom. One of the girls is from a poor town in Brazil and she has 14 nephews. Her mom is going back next week and always takes clothes and shoes that Nelson grows out of. I managed to fill 3 garbage bags with odd and end toys. The sad thing- you can't even notice anything is missing! I could probably do 3 more bags! Linda~ so so sorry to hear about your friend. <hugs> It never gets easy when we lose a loved one. My thoughts are with you. ok gang, I will write more later. peasout~

Eva~ I think you were on here when I told Nelson's story. Will repeat a bit of it. He is adopted. He was a little sick homeless baby in a cold Turkish winter. He has blessed our lives in so many ways. In my mid 30s I was diagnosed with ovarian failure. I DID jump through the hoops of infertility. 10+IVFs.. $100,000 later... no baby. Sometimes I wish we hadn't put our marriage and ourselves through that. On the other hand it made me who I am today. No regrets... is how I try to live my life.