mdrai

It's a Good Morning, Vi's~~ TRACYKS!! Welcome Home!! There are several of us who've put on more than a few lbs and are struggling to get them off... happily, we're all in this together and we've moved SO far beyond our weight issues that initially brought us together... I said the other day that I wish there was a band for my brain to help w/all those crazy "mind games" that I play... but every day is a new slate, another chance to make healthful choices and get back on track -- thank goodness! I don't "do" facebook, so please don't assume that we're all up-to-date from there... hope you continue to check in here!! ((Terry)) I can't imagine. ((Kat)) ditto. You go, TracyK! Drive safely, Suzie! Hope you get out on your bike today, Judy! Cute pic, Janie! Counting down the days, Haydee & Pam!! Hi Jen & Laura (& Carson!!)! It's 8:30am & I've already baked 2 sausage/egg casseroles for the ES Chorus Breakfast this a.m.... popped them in the oven @ 6:30am & delivered them piping hot @ 7:50am. I truly am a "volunteer on crack"!! LOL! :mad2: Am dealing w/crazy whacked-out PTA crap w/the elections for next year... remember that this is it for me, dd "graduates" from ES this year so WE are moving on (& I'm NOT signing up for the MS PTA... I'll stick to helping w/the kids' specific activities, such as soccer, band, riding, etc.)... well, suddenly it's like the PTA is a season of "Survivor" w/all the jockeying for position and trying to create "regimes" and who'll do what to whom when... I HATE IT!!... & now the County & State PTA are involved w/the "technicalities" of our bylaws, etc... & as I'm still the Prez, it involves me & spending HOURS (literally!) on the phone & "he said/she said" & just, well, CRAP! Ugh. The ironic thing is... I technically don't have to resign... I could finish out my 2-year term next year even w/out a kid @ the school! LOL! That would certainly blindside several folks! But DH & one of my BF's have threatened me w/a PTA Intervention if I even *think* about staying on! I hate drama like this. Why can't people do what's right and be nice to each other? Cross your fingers that my phone doesn't ring today! Make it a good one!!

((Terry))... all of our best thoughts & prayers are with you & Evan... purple power to you!!

Really? You think we may have hangovers?? Really? LOLOLOLOLOLOL!! :frown: Fine w/me... it's ALL GOOD with me!! + remember I'm hitting WDW in Sept, so I'll have my MM fix this year... in fact, I just scooped up SouthWest super Web fares this a.m. for that trip... saved $300something... yay!

Good Monday Morning, Vi's~~ A calmer day (& week) this week than last, at least I think so! That's good. I *think* we're on the downward slide to the end of the school year... whew! 5 weeks left! And none of them as busy as last week was... I'm still pooped from that one! Am going to the Y today & do the weights -- Pam & Tracy are models -- my role models!! Thank you, girlies! Make it a great day!

Happy Mother's Day, Vis~~ A lovely day here so far... a sunny day finally!... got to spend about 1/2 hour sitting outside in the sunshine by a babbling fountain quietly enjoying the day before church, then church, then lunch w/the fam @ my fav local spot, now home & nothing particular on the agenda -- for once! -- think I may read / knit / nap in no particular order!... ds is out mowing the lawn... life is good! Enjoy your days!!!

Good Morning Vi's~~ Thinking about the Cali trip is a GREAT way to start the day!! :thumbsup: Today I have loads of baking & cooking to do... + plant sale pick-up + my mom arrives + the PTA scholarship meeting + the PTA Bake Sale (gotta remember to get the cash box, change & ice down the waters!) + the PTA meeting + the Chorus concert... then I can come home & crash!! Phew! Then more of the same tomorrow!! I keep telling myself that this is the last worst (as in crazy busy all over the place) week of PTA of my life -- I hope it's true!! Make it a good one, dearies!

You have NO idea!! I've already dubbed it my "Lost Weekend"! :thumbsup: What happens in Cali, stays in Cali!! I'm so ready for a free-spirited Pammie weekend I can't stand it!!! 3 weeks!!!!!

Whew! Career Day was fun, but long! You'd think I'd LIKE talking about myself for 2 hours... but the same thing 4 times got to be a bit much! It went well, I had fun with it, applied it to what they use in class, yadda yadda... dd said that when they all got back to their regular class they discussed the presentations and all the kids said that I was funny, and then she asked, "Did you MEAN to be funny?" Uh, Yes! But supposedly I wasn't the favorite, who was the mom who played popular dance music to "get their energy flowing"... I'm not sure what her job is -- I thought she worked for the library!! LOL!! The sun actually shone here for a few hours today... but it is now raining again... it's been a whole week of rain already!... Now it's starting to flood... bleh. Time for soccer practice (I keep hoping the phone will ring & they'll cancel it as it's raining, yeah, right...)... then cleaning & baking!

Good Weds Morn, Vi's~~ Another busy day... today I'm presenting @ Career Day! It's challenging to find a way to make "reading" sound exciting! Cuz' in a nutshell, that's what I do! Oh sure, I make it LOOK all glamorous, but to 3rd - 5th graders? + I have to give 4 25-min presentations! :cool2: They are kookoo!! So you know what I'll be doing today... thrilling the young folks... Then tonight it's cleaning (my mom's coming tomorrow for dd's chorus concert + spend the night) and baking (bake sale @ same concert). Terri -- I made the sopapilla cheesecake for the fam for yesterday and they LOVED it! What's not to love, right? Sugar, butter, puffy bread! Mmmmm. I'm making 2 for Friday's teachers' lunch, too. I am spending TOO much time in the kitchen!! Evil place!! Judy, I hope you're feeling ok! Laura, I *FINALLY* finished Carson's gift & will mail it out probably tomorrow... is it ok to send it to your house since you're home? (I don't want a repeat of "the nursing pad incident"! lol!) Have a good day, everyone!!

You go, Tracy!!! :thumbdown:

Hello everyone! Crazy busy week this week... I keep reminding myself that this is the last Teacher Appreciation week that I have to coordinate... & the last bake sale... & the 2nd to last PTA meeting... + the last Chorus concert + I'm presenting @ Career Day tomorrow (ugh -- I really should've said "no" to THAT one!)... + all the regular activities sprinkled on top... you get the picture... :thumbdown: Yes, Pam, I'd love a celebrity tour! Whatever you want!! I'm just so excited that I get a whole weekend w/ ya'll in Cali and I can't wait!!! Off to work... enjoy the day!

Wow -- you do know how to clear a room, huh TracyK!? A rainy day here today... yesterday I cleaned out & purged my clothes closet... it now looks very tidy & spacious... because it's so empty!! & I even kept a few items that I know I should ditch because I haven't worn them in ages, but then I think, "well, MAYbe I'll wear it..." I don't want to buy anything new @ this weight... so I'm hoping to make do w/what I've got... Today I've got to do a bunch of shopping, cooking & baking for Teacher Appreciation week this week... we're doing teacher lunches on Mon/Wed/Fri and somehow (hmmm, wonder how? lol!) I'm working it each day, filling in where folks didn't sign up to help. Tomorrow is appetizer day so I've got to those today... Weds is Italian... Fri is Mexican... mmmmm. Off to shower! Make it a good one!

September's a lovely time of year... especially the weekend of the 25th to the 29th... hint, hint... nudge, nudge...

Oh, 1 good thing! Yesterday I purchased our NONrefundable, NONtransferable, "Mickey's Not So Very Scary Halloween Party" tickets for the night of Friday, Sept. 25 -- so it's a definite done deal now -- we ARE going to Disney in Sept!! Yay!!

Hey girlies... Everyone sounds busy... must be the time of year! I think my main issue w/wt loss right now is my "all or nothing" attitude... I'm finding that I am either "perfect" with my eating, or I am off-the-charts "horrible" with my eating -- there's no in-between. So I start out each day well... but then just one bite of something "bad" becomes a "oh well, I screwed up, what the hell, I may as well eat the whole bowl of cookie dough batter!" all-out binge! Mental, I know. Ugh. That, and my old but well-ingrained habit of my family driving me to eat -- it's an outlet for stress for me -- I & the weird thing is that I am completely conscious that Kid A just pushed my buttons and I'm peeved and I am shoving a cookie in my mouth to take the edge off. So I am aware of and working on these self-sabatoge tactics & mental quirks!! Too bad there's not a band for my brain!! ha ha!!

Sounds like the same weather we're having here, Laura... & that we had the same thoughts on how to spend it! I'm cuddled up on the couch w/a cat on my feet & the laptop on my lap... surfin' & doing some work, too! Rough life, but SOMEone's got to do it. I am trying to get through JUST today as far as eating well goes... just today... just today!!! I weighed today & I'm 252.4 and news flash -- I did NOT just have a babe! Every new month it's the same thing, tears & vows... & then by the end I'm either the same or worse, UP! Ugh. My mental state re: weight & loss is the WORST... in a bad "all or nothing" place... bleh. waah. Good for you Tracyk for getting your groove back! Enjoy the day, in your own way, everyone!

Good Morning! Make it a great day!

Hey girls, Busy, busy, busy still! Now through the end of school. Ugh! BUT... 1 month from today I'll be winging my way to CALI, baby!! :ohmy: I cannot wait!! I'm reading but just not posting much... love you all!!

Good Morning! Another busy day! Make it a good one!!!

Phew! I just Fed Ex'd out the proofing job I had... I logged 56 hours in a week! :thumbup: So much for "part-time" work! I've been up 'til midnight or later the past 3 or 4 nights, my house looks like a bomb went off & we have no clean clothes... yeah, sounds about right!! I do love working for myself, but it really is "feast or famine!" & I am one pooped pup!! I'm also a big fat piggie... but what else is new?... I'm so down on myself... & that sux... yet again I need to summon my positive inner self to overcome this Debbie Downer who's taking over... bleh.

Laura, around here those are called "Mommy Moments" and I'm usually mocked for them by my loving kids... (yeah, just wait 'til THAT starts... oh so much fun!) It's when you imagine either into the future or remember the past & it gets you a bit emotional. I had a "MM" yesterday, in fact! DS ref'd his first soccer game and as he's blowing the whistle to get it started, I have a sudden flashback to when he was 3 (almost 4) and he joined his first soccer team & received his first soccer uniform... he was so little & skinny and the uni was so big on him, his legs stuck out like sticks and the waist was cinched in soooo much... but he LOVED that thing and wouldn't take it off for DAYS!! Same thing when he received his first soccer medal... he slept w/it on! So there I am, watching this big lanky kid who's taller than me now run a soccer game of kids older than he is... and I admit it, a few tears fell.

For "opposite of Alaska" I thought, well, first, Hell... but then the equator, so then I thought it was an African safari! Yes, Judy will get gobs of baby time due to the imbibing... so maybe (maybe?) there'll be less of it since the reward of sobriety is such a good one -- Carson snuggles!! That's one way to sober up this crowd!!!

That middle pic of TracyK in mid-laugh represents what I think of when I think of us together -- laughing and laughing and laughing! Nothing is better!! & I can't wait 'til we're all laughing together in 2 months!! & of course Carson... what a doll baby!!!

Hey girls, I'm home from Mom's... She's doing great... she had some knee surgery... not major, I know, but she's never ill so we all flock in to care for her... I turned on her computer to check e-mails and O.M.G! is dial-up slow... I mean, I know folks joke about it, but WOWZA! Not even funny! I told her that I thought an upgrade was in her future!! No one should spend their time waiting like that!! Even tho she says she hardly goes on the Internet... I bet she would if she only knew! Terry, Haydee & Tracy -- you guys look GREAT!!! I'm so envious! Only 2 months from tomorrow we'll be gathering!! Watch out Alabama!! I'm still swamped w/work... I did a bunch down @ Mom's while she slept yesterday... but I bet I'm up 'til midnight tonight, + working 10+ hrs Sat & Sun, to try to get it done so I can have Mon to review, & then Fed it out for Tues delivery... phew! I've said it before, I love working for myself, but it's always "feast or famine"! Enjoy the eve & have a great weekend!

Good mornin' girlies... My mom is having knee surgery this a.m., so I'm heading down the road to her house to help, will spend the night, & return some time tomorrow... She has DIAL UP!... that says it all, huh?... I won't be back on here 'til I return... 'til then... make it count! Enjoy the Vi's lunch!!! <envious!> Prayers, Suzie! Healing to all who need it -- Terry, Pam & Macy! Hang in there Jane! (I've followed my stylist all over town for about 15 years now! It never occurred to me not to!) ((Laura & Carson)) Hope you get out on your bike, Judy! Hi Kat! & anyone I inadvertently missed!!!