OH Juli

Yeah, a bowl of creamy soup from Applebees is probably way too many calories and it doesn't sit in the pouch and move out slowly like solid food would. It's hard to be stern with yourself when so few foods actually go down, but you might want to give solids a try again. Remember small bites and SLOWLY eat. Good luck!

this is before 2006 This was yesterday, me cooking, not the best picture, but from the dinner party.

Eddie, Glad to know you're doing well and had a good time. Hi new people. I'm doing well and moving right along with the weight loss. XO

JC, how could I forget you????? Hi buddy! I don't get that computer lingo so I can't contribute, but I'm happy to see you here.

Hi kids. The dinner party went really well. We cooked and drank wine and had a very good time. W- Great Job! HP- Happy birthday to you!:happybday2: I love the family challenges. Keep us posted. And IMHO you shouldn't give John any slack. He should shoot for -20 too! BG- We all know you're the sex toy, BJ queen on southwest Michigan. I for one am not surprised. ZZ-I too think majic bullet = sex toy, everytime I use mine (the blender) I giggle. You did well with Grandma's food. That sounds pretty reasonable. TX-Howdy, girl! B- Sorry to hear about your pup. I feel you on the paper. Sometimes half assed is better than no ass at all. It's better than dumb ass or even smart ass in the situation. D-I know you're out living life. XO Oh, and I ran RAN for a solid 40 minutes today in the 53 degree, moist weather... I'll be ready for my 5K in February. I'm stoked. And I've lost two more pounds. (If I see the number twice on the scale I call it real.) So woo hoo. And...jeez, it's a freaking book already, I'm off to Whole Foods here shortly. Happy Day.

BG about the stomach ass, I've always joked that if I got my navel pierced I'd need to use a bracelet... The stomach is gross. It has a mind of its own and its own center of gravity. I'd happily sign up for removal today with knowing I'd need a revision if it were free. Ugh. There you go, an invention idea, something like uber Spankz that will make the MO person who's lost weight look like she's had a TT. We'd make millions.

JC Hi! I've missed you. Glad to see you are super nerding it up with the spreadsheets. I'm jealous as hell actually...so I poke fun. Good to see you're getting churned. ZZ WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Oh what a happy day! That's fantfreakintastic! Please oh please take pics and share them!

Not silly. I've been noticing my hands too. My fingers are no longer little sausages. This past weekend Alison said more than once, "Have you looked at yourself lately? I mean, have your really looked at how different you look now? It's amazing the changes you've made...." She went on and on.... It made me stop and look at myself nakkit in the mirror and wow, amazing what minus 100+ pounds can do for a body. Aside from the frightening stomach ass I'm happy to see what I see looking back at me. My shoulders and neck are particularly good. So yeah, chica, I get the being awstruck by your own damn hands. What else has you going, "that's right mutha fucka, that's me!"?

Gwen, I feel the same way as you do about being tired of this process. But then I think this is not a process, this is my life. There are times when I get tired of my life too! Those are the times where a wait a week to pay my bills or I sleep a few extra hours instead of doing laundry...and when I take a breather from being hyper vigilant about food and exercise for a week or two. The beauty part is, that I know after a small rest I'll get back to it. I'll pay my bills, I do my laundry and I'll take my health serious again. With the band I'm not going to fall away from caring for myself as long (years at times) as I used to AND while I'm on sabbatical I don't gain 10 or 60 pounds as I did in the past. I expect there will come a time when weight loss/health isn't boiling high on my front burner, but I think it will always simmer on stove for the rest of my life, maybe on the back of the stove. I'll stir the pot occasionally but it will never be done. And to extend this metaphor even further...I've cooked the same recipe before but took it off the stove, put it in tupperware, tossed in the back of the fridge and forgot about it until much later; later when I rediscovered the mold growing matter I couldn't even recognize what it once was. I really see the band/having surgery as the key difference in between now and then. XO, y'all.

Jfran- You are beautiful You are motivational You are succeeding You are smart You are witty You are loved And you will continue to be all these things. Happy weekend, Juli

If I can get out shopping this weekend, you know I'll buy something pink just for Tuesday. I have some Kohl's cash....now if I can find the time!

babygirl and I are pretty tight on the bycyling (how horribly wrong is that?) thread. She's the one who got me to rethink it. My foods aren't all the processed so going completely unprocessed isn't a huge jump...but crackers and breads, which I shouldn't be eating are full of hi fruc corn syrup! But this is day three, and it's okay. My cravings aren't so horrible and low and behold I've found myself eating fruit again. I was telling myself there were too many carbs in bananas but I'd eat bread! I also would spend money on wheat thins but not on berries becasue raspberries are so dear, but I love them! I've decided to spend more on the bits of food I eat. You know what I mean? Anyway, a long reply to answer, "pretty good."

Metawnny, You saw what I wrote Janine above, so you can see I can be nice...but DRINKING SODA????????? :faint:What are you thinking? Sugar is hard! I believe I'm addicted to it and I crave it like a junkie craves crack. What I have to do (and I'm on day three) is go cold turkey no sugar, no products with high fructose corn syrup either. Actually I think that's worse than regular sugar. They say after day 5 the cravings stop. Perhaps you too can cold turkey it? Good luck find your remotivation. Oh, and what I'm doing specifically for remotivation is setting goals that really stretch me, like running a 5K next month, etc. XO

Janine- Hi! I've had both my fills under flouro. They have me stand but most people lay down. Aside from seeing your stuff, the band and the port, the metal in your bra, I can't imagine it being all that different from a regular fill. It costs more, but it feels they same. They can see what they are aiming for. You'll do well. 1. Don't worry about being a bothersome patient. Doctors are in the service industry and you are paying for their service. Get what you pay for! 2. Don't worry about what other people do and how successful they may or may not be. This is YOUR journey and nobody else's. It can take up to 5 years to lose all your weight. I don't hear no stinking ticking! Ignore it! Don't worry about it. So long as your weight is generally trending downward and you are behaving like a person who wants to lose weight don't sweat it. If you're weight isn't trending downward and you are behaving badly get your band adjusted and modify your behavior. I know that's an easier statement to write than to do, but on another level it is as easy as one acting differently. Good luck. You'll get there!

I got to get me this book! I love those quotes. As for scrapping 46 pages in a weekend, you are one power scrapper! We'll have to share books when we see each other next time. I have Zoe's 05, 06, 07 books waiting for me to do before I go back to school. I've been having too much fun doing nothing to want to get started. Really, I've got them all lined up, paper pulled with pictures, I just need to give myself a few evenings or a weekend with out other distractions and I'll get um' done. 46, wow.

It's more about speed...I'm actually trying to work on the model now, well, I was before business school. I'll let you know when I start hiring people.

well, I guess I've been told... True I know the CEO is a flake and if you're going to be a contender on the scale that they are you have to piss people off. I've done more studying of Starbucks than any other company that I might want to work for and yes there are pros and cons of their workings too. And for the record, the goal is for me to go work for a multi-national or national company that is related to the food industry. Coca-Cola and Anheiser Busch are big in Columbus so they are on my radar too. To catch anyone who cares up to speed, I've worked in food all my life, from serving to running an independantly own restuaruant/bakery that was whole foods focused to running a cafeteria for a state agency. I've missed the big corperate food companies...I want to get away from where food is served. Ultimately I want to create a business where folks scrap for other people, (actually had that business and is on hold while I go back to school.) I have dreams of franchising it, etc. Think closet organizers but for your precious photos. Now we can resume the conversation about biking (HA) and sex while being blacked out. XO

Happy New Year Gang! Kisses to everyone!

You called me "little".....giggle. (I love that!)

Whole Foods is on my list of places I will apply to after the MBA. They've got good politics and their market value trends upward. Oh, and if it's a big Whole Foods they have a hella fabulous wine selection! I'll have to tell Alison there's one in Ann Arbor. We've been known to drive there for shopping...there or Grand Rapids because there aint shit in Kalamazoo. TX-Funny about that night in '96. Good thing you were with someone you trust....hehehe. I love vicodin comas. I had one of those Tuesday night. Cough syrup and vicodin combo...I slept like a baby...a baby on benadryl.

I want D to show up. D oh Deeeeeeeeeee, where are you???????

When you partner says, "wow you were off the charts last night." and you think, "we had sex?"

A few things: You might want to try an underwire again since you are smaller. They might fit better. Buy cheap but buy often. A $15 bra isn't going to last very long, but your size will change and you'll need new ones anyway! Good luck. Take a friend along and have her run for the bras and keep trying them on until you find a few that work.

TX, You ate ice-cream and don't remember it?! That's worse than blacking out and having crazy sex! Not that I have experience in that department.

I know that HFCS doesn't hit our full indicator like real granulated sugar does. I also know it makes some kids really grouchy. Hence wanting it out of my house. Giving up Jif Peanut Butter will be the biggest challenge for me. I love that stuff. Whole Foods is really mecca. I love their cheeses....and fish. Are they in Detroit? BG, how far are you from one???