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Awesome job! Linda, In the past we have butchered our deers but it is a lot of work. Now a days we take it to the butcher. We eat a lot of venison. Last year DH got 3 and we managed to eat most of it. I did give some to my nephew who also loves venison but does not hunt. Laura, it sounds like you and DS are staying busy and having some fun with your time together. WTG!

Charlene, WTG on the exercise. Like you, I never exercised and now I look forward to it. I really had to force myself at first but it does grow on you. Janet, love the star! Julie, glad the tens is working for you. It is about time you get some relief. Newsflash - I just got a media message from DH. WooHoo he got a deer. Venison is my favorite! He is almost home so I gotta run and help him.

Just got back from the gym. My trainer really kicked my butt today. We are going to do TRX on Friday. I dont' know what that is but maybe I am better off not knowing. Phyl, Zoey is adorable! No wonder you adore her so much. Charlene, way to go with all of the exercise. Sounds like you have a good trainer who listens to what you are saying. Glad she cut it back. There is no need to hurt. Just build up gradual.

Jessica - WTG

No, he also wouldn't roll in skunk poop and be proud of it. LOL! Charlie got an unexpected bath today. He was not happy to lose his newly aquired cologne.

Laura, good job on exercising when you didn't feel like it. Dogs are like having kids - they are work and worry but they bring great joy and love into your like. Now that my DD is grown she doesn't let me baby her - the dog, on the other hand, loves to be babied. I love my dog. He is worth all the work, worry and love he gives me. Besides, he has become a fantastic jogging partner. Sandy

Charlene, WTG on the water aerobics and food journaling Julie, I truly hope you find relief soon. You have been in pain for too long. Linda, I love the Dr Seuss quote. So appropriate. How is Merry doing? Is she completely back to her old self? Janet, I think with my old brain. Not as much as I used to but often enough that I have to catch myself and reel myself back into control. Old habits really do die hard. Or in my case maybe never. Msampson, Stand up straight, dust yourself off and start again. Just because you slipped is not an excuse to continue. Sorry for the scolding but sometimes we all need one. Welcome to the thread. I think you will like it here. We hiked for 3 hours today at Starved Rock State Park. What a nice way to spend the day. It was sunny and 80. The trees had a lot of yellow and some red. Not peak color yet but it is close.

Good Morning Everyone, I caught up on reading posts and right now I am waiting for my DH to wake up. He has the day off today for the holiday. I do not, so I took a vacation day. We are planning to either take a ride to WI to see the fall colors or to Starved Rock state park for hiking and lunch at the lodge. I am looking forward to a day that is devoted to us. It seems like we just don’t do this enough anymore. On the weekends we are always so busy there is never enough us time. Has anyone read Ceasar Millan’s new book? I got a copy a few days ago but have only gotten through the first couple of chapters. I got interested in his philosophy of dog rehabilitation after I got Charlie about 4 months ago. Charlie is a 2 years old yellow lab. We got him from a shelter that brought him up here from a shelter in southern IL. He was scheduled to be put down because he had been at the shelter for the “allotted time”. He came with some baggage. He is a very good natured dog and does not show any signs of previously being abused. We were told he was a give up. He did however have lots of pent up anxiety and would get wild when we played with him. He would start running in circles around us, jump up on us and mouth at our arms and hands. I was beside myself because he would hurt me (large bruises) and I really did not know what to do so I started looking on the internet and came across “The Dog Whisperer”. He has some interesting and insightful ideas. I like his ideas of calm assertive energy and this has helped Charlie a lot. He is not a perfect dog but he is much closer than he was 4 months ago. I can play with him without getting hurt and I can take him for a walk without being pulled. Anyway I just wondered if anyone else used any of his techniques or if they had other techniques that worked for them. Always open to better ideas. Sandy

Hi girls and TX. Lot's going on tonight. Apples, sorry to hear you have a cyber stalker. creepy. None of our lives are that exciting. Some people just need to get a life. Phyl, my previous dog needed meds for thunder storms. Give it a try to see if it helps Zoey. I found it workded best if I cut the dose in half. A full dose made him a zombie. LauraK - any exercise today? I didn't go to the gym but we were moving into a new building today at work. I got a major workout. I hope your date goes well. Linda - How exciting about your health assesment. That had to make your day. Thank you again for the information you sent about Merry. I appreciate it. As I said, I worked today (uggg) moving into a new building. The new place is nice and is such a huge upgrade from where we were. I am exhausted. Moving is a lot of work, but it is done now. Still some unpacking to do. My DH and I are thinking about going to a state park for a hike. The weather here is going to be perfect for an outing.

Jacob - good luck with the cake, game and calf!!! A picture would be nice. I would love to see your calf:wink:

Congrats on the 3 minute run! That's awesome. I know what you mean about just being happy to be able to climb the stairs. My boss put in for "reserved parking for he and I. All I could think, as he was proundly telling me this, was "WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING?" I go to the gym and pay a trainer to get me to exercise and this will take my walking away.:biggrin: I smiled and said thank you. When I get it I will give it to my secretary. Hopefully, it will make her day.:thumbup: It amazes me how much I have changed. A year ago I would have been greatful for the up close space. Today, I am grateful I can walk far enough to not need it.

Yep, Pup Pup. He is my baby. My DD is 23 and won't let me baby her any more. I was so happy when I got the news I sang a song (made up as I went) and Charlie got excited too. He jumped up on me so I grabbed his paws and danced with him.:biggrin: Crazy I know. Just don't tell anyone.

Chris - You may want to pick up an inverter to keep in your truck. A magic bullet blender would also help. With these two items you can get through the soft and mushie stages (while trucking) with no problems. I have an inverter to use for my CPAP. Where we go fishing there is electricity only during the day. What I do is charge a marine battery during the day and then draw off of it with the inverter at night. The inverter also has a cigarette plug which would be useful to you while trucking.

Just a very quick post to let you know that Charlie's (my dog) pathology report came back - no cancer! WooHoo. He will stay on antibiotics for 3 weeks and we will decide at that time if the bump needs to be surgically removed for his comfort. Cheri ((hugs))I am so sorry for your grieving however it is a process and it takes time. When you are feeling more like socializing let me know and we can meet for lunch. Welcome Neen.

Worked out with my trainer today after work. I am good and tired tonight. Julie, Caught another skunk this morning. I am starting to believe it will never end. I had my Charlie, my dog to the vet last night. He has a lump on his paw. The vet put him on antibiotics and took a needle biopsy. He just called me and said there were some cells present that were not consistent with infection. They could be a hematoma or possibly cancer. He wanted to get permission to send it out to a pathologist for interpretation. Hopefully, it won't take more than a day or two. Joyce, it really sounds like you have recommitted yourself. Good for you! I haven't found any yoga classes but I haven't looked too hard. My trainer is keeping me busy. Heck, she even gives me home work. Sandy

Charlene, WTG on the walking and training! I agree with you about the Beck book. I just took mine out this morning to reread as I have been at the same weight for 6 months now. I am so happy to not have gained but I still have 30-40 pounds to lose. Focus, focus, focus. I have been writing post its as I read to place around my office. Julie, I hope you and Mimi both get some answers. Apples, It sure sounds like you have your hands full right now. It also sounds like you have a plan. Be strong. LauraK- I have been checking around for somewhere to do yoga. I think I would like to give it a try. Good luck on your date.

I have never tried Zumba but it sounds like fun. I work with a trainer 2 times a week and run on the weekend. I would like to give yoga a try.

I enjoyed seeing the pictures from the Vegas trip. I would have loved the western place. Country music is my favorite. I ordered a sports bra because I started to have problems at the gym. It came today. Holy cow, that is some serious underwear. Nothing, I mean nothing could move under that thing. I will give it a workout tomorrow but I am pretty sure it will solve my :hurray:bouncing problems. LOL, as small as am I never thought I would have THAT problem.

It sounds like everyone enjoyed themselves in Vegas. I can't wait to see some pictures! 1day - I am glad the job is getting better. I have always found it hard to be the new kid on the block. Some times we need to give a new situation a little time. I went to exercise tonight. Boy, she had been really tough lately. She told me that a lot of what we did today was from her boot camp class and that I could now handle the class. Move over Janet, I may be joining you in boot camp soon. LOL LauraK - did you get out and run today? Sandy

Congratulations! Awesome job.

It is so great for your confidence level when you see people you haven't seen in a while and they make a fuss. Because we see ourselves everyday it is sometimes hard to visualise just how far we have come. At least I have a hard time. I dont' see the loss in myself until I look at a picture from last summer next to a current picture. Wow, it is a huge difference. Unfortunately, I don't always see it in the mirror. :smile2: I reset the skunk trap. I don't think I am done yet. If you drive down the street after dark you see them everywhere. The village is offering a program in which they will pay 1/2 the price for a removal service. The cost to remove one skunk is $150. At the rate we are removing them I would go broke. A trap cost $60 and is exactly what the service uses and is reusable. My DH has a pick up truck so the cage with the skunk goes in the bed and off he goes to a forest preserve. :thumbup::crying: Way to go on the purple dragon Nels!:lol::lol:

Good morning everyone! It sure has been quiet around here with almost everyone in Vegas. I am sure they will have a few stories when they get back. It truly is a cold and grey Chicago morn (think Elvis). The house was 62 when I woke up. Turned on the furnace for the first time this year, it fired up for about 2 minutes and then shut down. It looks like a service call is in my future. My dog is an awesome exercise partner. He had no problem keeping up and even pushed me a bit. We still need to work on the "squirrel" reflex. We have trapped 5 skunks this week. We put a have-a-heart trap out after the dog got sprayed last week Monday. Skunks have been a problem for the last 3 or 4 years for our area. 3 of the 5 skunks were caught in a 24 hour period. I have found the advice about skunks not liking lights to be a fairy tale. The outside of my house has been lit up like a Christmas tree and still they come. UGGGGGG. Have a good one.

LauraK - I would like to try yoga too. I just haven't gotten up the nerve yet. Laura - You are right; there isn't much of a fort to hold down. I can't wait to see the photos from the Vegas trip. I don't have anybody's facebook info so I will have to wait untill the pictures come out here. It sounds like you have a perfect day for your party. Have fun!

Laura, I felt the same way - unsure of myself. I have to give her credit; my trainer made a world of difference. I have learned so much and my confidene has soared. Maybe you could check into it. It wasn't nearly as expensive as I had feared. I am paying $35.00 a session at the gym I belong to. Just a suggestion.

LauraK - I like your new avatar. Very nice. I wish you were a little closer. I was going to suggest we could meet half way and do a 5K together until I looked on the map to see where St Charles Mich is. OK, even meeting half way would be a long way. :smile2: Congrats on the 2 miles. When I got to 2 miles my trainer said if you can do 2 miles, you can do three. Ya, right. Well, the very next week she proved she was right. We started running and ran for 45 minutes. She said " There you go, you just ran three miles. Don't tell me you can't." OK, this is one time I don't mind being proven wrong. Chris - Welcome. Eating out is more difficult. It is hard to control the ingredients being used. It is not however, impossible. I hope your nutritionist works to help you with your situation. What kinds of things to you like to eat? Maybe we could suggest "healthier versions". Don't be afraid to ask to have your food prepared the way you want it.