mdrai

Good Thursday Morn, Vi's~~ I have aqua ai chi first thing this a.m... then work -- busy season is starting, where the publishers try to get as much published by the end of the year as possible, so I do as much as possible, too!... then riding, soccer and a big rivalry football game tonight! The countdown is on!: 8 days 'til Disney! Everyone make it a great day!

& did I mention... "soooooooooooo exciting"! LOL :tt1: I am cracking myself up again...

I will certainly let DH know that he is welcome to come, but knowing him, he won't want to because he doesn't know any of you & won't want to cramp our style (oh yes, he's heard some tales of our style! :tt1:)... + then he can hold down the fort here... As for Carson, well... I would love to see him... BUT... I also want you to be able to enjoy yourself... so no guilt for whatever you decide, ok?

No, Judy, I never did figure it out... I just kept hitting "refresh" until it finally did! :tt1:

Dr. Jazzy, as always, you CRACK ME UP and make me SMILE! :tt1: Thank you! I wish I lived closer & would make you homemade chicken matzo ball soup... soooo yummy with magical healing powers!! Healing vibes to you!! Laura, yes, I was having problems, thought maybe there was voodoo or something blocking me... but now... voila! Judy e-mailed me your suggestions -- thank you!! I can't wait to see Carson's 6mo pics... I can't believe he's 6 mo already!! Actually, Haydee, my kids are really good ones and they are appreciative of me & all I do... most of the time, anyways! :cool: Especially NOW... 9 days 'til Disneyworld!! :thumbup: :smile: & yes, count me in w/those who like to plan ahead for things, like weddings! I'm already getting my kayak.com price updates for that weekend... I was thinking that flying in on that Thursday (the 13th) & home on that Monday (the 17th) would give me/us time to enjoy each other & Haydee & the whole she-bang. Is there a certain, nice hotel where we could get a group rate? Pool, please (right, Judy?)! I do love to plan!!

Hello my lovelies!~~ I'm baaaack! Literally & figuratively! :tt1: MIL is doing as well as can be expected after having such major surgery... she's a trooper! We should have the additional test results back in a couple of weeks, and then based on those, they'll complete her follow-up care plan... cross fingers for NO CHEMO! My mom did a fabulous job "being me" while I was gone... she rocks! I am blessed to have her. Sorry to read about everyone's woes... you're all in my good thoughts, as always!! Love you all!

MIL is doing well... up & walking around, doing breathing exercises... still no word on when she'll be released from the hospital, looks like tomorrow or Monday. Thanks for your continued support!!

Just want to update everyone on my MIL. She was in surgery for 6+ hours & was in recovery when DH called. Everything went fine with the surgery, they removed the lower lobe of her lung. She had trouble waking up in recovery, and when she did finally wake up, the epidural didn't work & she was in excruciating pain until they fixed it. That just upsets me so much! But supposedly now she is resting comfortably, and they'll move her up to her room soon. The lymph node section they took first thing showed no additional cancer, but when he was in there, the surgeon took out additional lymph nodes that looked "suspicious" to him... they'll get the results back in about a week. DH sounded tired & upset... it is so hard to see your parent sick and in pain... & it is hard to transition the lifelong roles of care giver and receiver... but he is doing a great job and I am proud of him. (He has a brother, who is hiding out from all this "reality". Not a surprise, but a disappointment.) Thank you so much for your good thoughts & prayers for her.

:biggrin::blushing::biggrin:

Hmmm, wonder why. Try copying them from here & pasting them into Word & then increase the font in Word & maybe they'll print bigger?

Um... ok... then don't come to a place designed specifically to provide encouragement. & if you do, & all you want to do is vent, then say so... provide a disclaimer, so to speak. & if you don't do that, & -- heaven forbid -- someone tries to encourage you to look on the bright side... then don't get all Reality TV Show on her ass and ruin her day, as well... just leave it alone. Common sense, folks.

Sounds like fun, Laura, altho, yeah, a little head's up on the attire would've been nice! Go Carson!

Ok, I know I'm over-posting this morning, but... here's something I found that I thought I'd share... do with it what you will: Step 1: Choose a goal Then ask yourself, “Do I really want it?” Make sure you’re not creating a goal to please someone else (i.e., going to Med school to make your parents happy, or learning a new language to impress your friends). If the answer is yes, that you really want to reach this goal, then write it below. Be specific and give yourself a deadline for meeting the goal, if possible. Step 2: What will make my goal more appealing? If you want to exercise more often, you might write buy a new pair of sneakers or find a friend to exercise with you. Step 3: Come up with the emotions that will help motivate you. For instance, if I don’t quit smoking I will worry about my health or if I find a new job I will be so much happier at work and home. Step 4: List the obstacles and their solutions. If you think you lack the time to organize your closets, write, obstacle: time; solution: I will get up 20 minutes early two times a week until my closets look like a Real Simple cover. Step 5: What other steps will help you achieve the goal? If you want to buy a new home, write down steps such as: call a mortgage broker, ask friends for the names of realtors, check on-line real estate listings twice a week. Step 6: Call in reinforcements. List the people who can help you and how you will ask for their support. This could include your spouse, your kids, a best friend or even a coach or trainer Step 7: Visualize your goal. Come up with a clear image of what you want to achieve—it may be a vision of yourself feeling invigorated after a workout, or a beautifully organized bedroom closet, or the new home you hope to buy with money you’ve saved. Step 8: Create a mantra, a phrase you can say to yourself when you feel frustrated or ready to quit. For instance, no pain no gain or I won’t give up, no matter what. Step 9: Promise yourself a reward. What will you give yourself when you complete your goal, or stages of your goal? Sometimes completion is the reward itself (like feeling thinner, finishing your thesis, or having a new home). Sometimes you need a perk to motivate you like a new pair of shoes, or a mini vacation. Step 10: Refer to this worksheet. Put it in a place where you will see it everyday—by your bedside table, taped to your bathroom mirror, or on your bulletin board at work.

New month, new motivation!! You can do it Janie... you know you can because you have before!! Take some time to figure out what self-motivation works for you. I've been pondering this, too. I'm thinking: weigh 1x/week (Friday); take the aqua classes again (accountability to exercise) + weights; focus on 1 week at a time (plan menus, exercise); and then plan a non-food reward for each week of sticking to plan (this is not weight-goal dependent!) such as a mani, pedi, morning to hang out @ Borders, new song download, etc.

There you go! Now was that so hard?? Great job (on the loss AND the positive comment)!! :biggrin:

This is all so exciting, Haydee!! :biggrin: Great job on the workouts. I feel the same way about weighing... if I see a "bad" number or if it doesn't go down as quickly as I think it should (a lb a day), then I get discouraged & cave. I'm trying to weigh on just Fridays, now. I need new walking shoes anyway, & I figure they'll be great for all the Disney walking... I'm a sucker for any gimmick to try to get myself to move more!!!

Quiet in here this morning! Of course, I'm stuck @ home w/out a car... dh is getting his detailed, so he took mine to work... I'm so nice. My MIL is having her consult w/the surgeon on Weds... the scans showed NO cancer anywhere else! Just this one small spot on her lung. So we'll see what he recommends. She just wants to be ok for their annual Winter Mexico trip! Priorities!! lol... Back to work...

AGAIN we're on the same wavelength, Judy!! I just came here to tell you that I just ordered MY shapeups @ Finishline.com, free shipping... but I was going to share my coupon code w/you for a future order that they sent w/my confirmation e-mail! We'll be rockin' & rollin' soon, huh?? There's an "instructional" video on Youtube... it seems like it takes some getting used to... so you don't wibbledy wobbledy all over the place! That's why I want them asap... so I can get used to them before all the Disney walking! I got the white/silver/powder blue ones... which color did you get??

Good Monday Morning!! Pam -- lol, I know just what you mean about FEELING skinny(ier) when I work out (even tho I'm not) than when I don't! I'm w/ya, chica! I'll be thinking about you today -- make them call you DOCTOR [Lastname]! :wink2: Go Carson! I signed up for my classes! Yay! They're Tues/Thurs. Yay! I'll do weights M/W/F. Yay! TracyK... I now challenge you to type one positive thing... you've got to get rid of your "stinkin' thinkin' " gf!! I've been reading the book "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite" by David A Kessler, MD (former FDA Commissioner). It's very interesting. Not a diet book, really... more of a behind-the-scenes look at the food industry and how they work *very* hard to make it very hard for us to resist food. It was very eye-openining for me. It's almost as if we just can't win... they have so much money & science on their side v. lil' ol' us who are just trying to eat properly. Basically anything that's not "natural" (meaning straight from nature: fruit, veggie, plain meat, dairy) has the potential to have been "tampered" with (read: modified to have added sugar/fat added)... for example, many frozen chicken breasts have added stuff injected into them for "moistness," which is really just full of extra crap we don't need! It's a Michelle-recommended read. Everyone make it a great day!

Hey girlies... Sorry to have been away for a bit... too much going on... big surprise! But what fun news to come back to! Yay Haydee!! I've already marked me GONE Thurs 5/13 - Mon 5/17 on our 2010 calendar. Maybe we can get a block of rooms somewhere?? Somewhere nice!! A pool, definitely! & yes, I'd like to be *much* smaller by then!! Oh this is just too much fun!!! Pam... I was picturing the pool party in my mind... they have such a great backyard & pool!! Best wishes on your 1st day of school! TracyK... SO glad to read your post... I think about you & send you good vibes more than you know... Suzie... cute pics! Kat... I told you all that the new Prez called me to vent @ 8:59am on Monday morning, right? Well he bookended my week w/2 calls on Friday evening, too! Seems they're going to be having a big, cards-on-the-table, resign if you're not up to working together meeting next week. Wish I could be a fly on the wall! I've bumped into a few more PTA folks, as well... I listen politely & then just say the same thing to each of them: Focus on the kids & best wishes! Judy... here we go again -- great minds, etc. -- I'm on the search for those shoes, too! They didn't have my size online... I'm hoping to get a pair before Disney! Laura... Ice cream diet... mmmmmmm... Janie... you always make me smile!! TracyKS... hope that starts to feel better soon! Jen... KUTGW! Hi Terry!! I'm signing up for 2 aqua exercise classes that start this week: aqua ai chi (soooo relaxing!) and aqua aerobics. Getting back to basics, & these classes are what helped me back @ the beginning! Other than that... I'm just working & driving, driving & working! DD starts her horse lease on Tuesday, which = going to the barn 5x/week! + DS's soccer EVERY day. + Poms. + Jazz band. Phew! Love each of you!! Smooches!!

Judy said "crap"! (just in case you missed it!) tee hee!

Sorry janie, I don't do "chain" anything... not socks or books or dishtowels or underwear (yes, I once got one for underwear!! :thumbdown:) or, well, anything. (Now watch one of you win big-time! That'll show me!!)

Hello from Panera, girlies! DS's busy Weds eve is my 2-hr respite! He has soccer practice from 5:30 - 7pm, then I hustle him over to the community college for jazz band from 7:30 - 10pm... & in between, I decided to come here & hang for a bit... do some personal stuff... sip some decaf... I could've gone home, I suppose... but then I'd be doing laundry & cleaning, etc... so made the "selfish" decision to treat myself to some time out to myself... ahhhhh...

((Tracyks))... when it rains, it pours. :thumbdown:

Good Morning, Haydee... keep it up! I know exactly what you mean about the sugar withdrawals and the food being friend thing... that's just how I feel, too. It's like breaking up! You (we!) can do it! Pam... I hope you get the High Point classes! Sounds like you're rarin' to go with the new school year! Yay, you! Oh, & you're right that my days haven't included much "me" time yet... didn't I tell you all that on Monday I dressed in my workout gear & was all ready to hit the Y... & then I get an e-mail "reminding" me that the Y is closed this week for annual rehab! LOL! Foiled again! So NEXT WEEK, for sure. & I'm finalizing which classes I'm going to take, too. Jenn... you are doing so great & are really motivating me!!! Judy... go fimming today! Yep, summer's over... Laura... that was my fear, too. So sad. Terri... Good for you! Giving back just feels so good, & puts life into perspective, huh? Hi TracyK, Suzie, Janie, Kat! My dd's science teacher is a gal who I know from the ES... she had gastric bypass a year ago... she knows about my banding... so yesterday she asks dd how much I've lost, but dd doesn't know & said so (& thankfully didn't tell her that I've actually GAINED this year!), & then this gal tells her to tell me that she's down -110! Ack! Good for her, but for some reason it made me feel like CRAP! So I'm trying to use that as motivation for me. and so it goes... Make it a good day, everyone! We can do this!