mdrai

Good Monday Morn, Vi's~~ I was a piggy yesterday, so liquids & small salads it is for this week! + a call to schedule a fill... I was able to comfortably eat a restaurant's entire eggplant parmesean serving last night = need a fill!! Not good... well it was, but it wasn't as well... you understand... Did my 2.25 hrs of aqua exercises this a.m..... feel good about that. Tracy, my sis brought me a bag of clothes from her church's thrift shop... same thing... she thought maybe I'd be insulted... I am definitely *not* a yard sale/thrift shop type of gal... but I happily accepted them! They're mostly bumming-around-the-house type stuff, but hey, that works!! Make it a great day, everyone! Laura -- I e=mailed my info to you... let me know that you got it, k? Thanks!

Laura... so glad to hear from you & that everything is going to be great for you from now on!! You'll get through this painful period and then ROCK the weight off! Watch out Lap Band World -- here she comes!!

TRUST! Patience & Trust! Count on Judy to know it! :eek: Thank you, Judy!!

Congrats on hitting the TEENS, Tracy!! Fantastic! Thinking of you, Laura!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hi to everyone else... Crazy busy day today & Sat & Sun... I promise to be back on Mon if I don't make it before then!! Patience & ... something... what was it??? Peace? no, but that works too... strength?... ack! what was it?? Wisdom?? how funny! Well, I wish for each of you patience and whatever else you need!! & Slow & steady! & WWJD?? I crack myself up sometimes! Seriously, I can't remember what the other word is/was!!

What's up, Ms. Jen?? :ranger:

Shopping was good today! It was so nice to go to a store where the clerks are attentive & helpful & made you feel good! I got a long sort of swirly denim skirt (my dd says it looks like a prairie skirt); 2 tops; and 1 goldish brocade vest. The vest was my "fun" purchase. Oh! & surprise, surprise! The gal who checked me out grew up in the same small town as my DH in New Jersey! They were in the same HS class! It was one of those "small world" stories! Too funny! (He doesn't really remember her, tho.)

Good luck, Laura! We're with you!!!!!

Congratulations, Denise!! Great job! Enjoy it!! :clap2: (I'll leave the 'naners for Pam to post! I know how she loves them so! :eyebrows:)

Tracy, you sound oh-so-professional today! This: "...and I actually have matching earrings..." cracked me up!! I agree w/you 100% re: how out there I was w/being a literal slug & not caring how I looked or anything... last Nov/Dec were the worst, I think... I'd get the kids off to school & then crash on the couch 'til about 1/2 hr before they came home, then I'd jump up & rush around to make it look like I'd actually done something all day... it was bad, bad, bad... but no one knew... it was like I was two different people... the active, PTA mom who had her sh*t together (my "public" persona), and then the "real" me... depressed & lethargic... now I feel as though my "public" and "private" selves are more balanced & it's so much better that way!! I was really serious earlier when I said that my going shopping @ a "real" store is a MAJOR achievement for me because I usually just buy any old piece of crap clothing that would just cover me for as little $ as possible (because I wasn't worth it...) and now I realize that I deserve to have nice clothes & to look good in them! What a change! Who can put a price on that??? And the BEST part is that this is still just the beginning!! I can't imagine how different I'll feel in another 25+ lbs lost... I do not remember a time when I weighed less than 250... so that will be an amazing moment. And actually achieving a wt loss goal??? That has NEVER happened... but now I think it will!!! All this introspection... bleh!... time to shower & hit the store!!

Good Thursday Morn, Vi's~~ This has been a better week than last... the scale is cooperating and validating my hard work, which is how it should be! Have to pop DD onto the school bus, then it's off to the eliptical! THEN... I actually think that I am going to go to a REAL store (not Wally World or Lane Bryant like I always do) -- probably Coldwater Creek (it has + sizes AND I have a coupon) -- and try to get some Fall clothes. (This is major, major, major for me, as I usually get so disappointed/frustrated shopping at "real" stores so I just don't do it... but I'm feeling better w/the 53 lb loss, so...). THEN I'm getting my hair cut & brows done (I look like I have wooly bear catepillars living on my face!). It's kind of a "me" day... & I'm going to enjoy it!! Hope everyone enjoys their days, too!

Good Wednesday morning, Vi's~~ Off to aqua aerobics this a.m., then work, work, work, then my "taxi" service for kids back & forth to their activities! Phew! Make it a great one!!

I'm here, Laura!!! That IS a lot of info & stress & stuff going on... I think it'd make my brain blow up, too!! I wish I... or another Violet... were close enough to you to help you out... go to WM for fans w/you or drive w/you to your docs or whatever... sometimes these cyberhugs that I send just don't seem like enough!! But that's the best I can do... The worst thing that anyone can say when you make any request is "no". What's so bad about that?? You're no worse off than you were before you asked. And if they say "no" to one request, then you can ask it a different way or ask a different question. It's great that you asked about the free fill extension & deferring payment! Remember that you're in the right when making the requests... it's just good business sense & customer service for them to accomodate as best they can BECAUSE THIS IS ALL THEIR FAULT! If I were you, I'd keep on trying to get lower/no cost on as much of this as possible + possible payment plan for as much of it as you can, again, as this is a major unplanned expense that is NOT YOUR FAULT! Maybe that way you can pay it yourself a little @ a time & not have that hanging over your head w/your parents. Yes, if you did great w/the original surgery, then this should be a "protein bullet shot" for you (just can't use the "cake" expression any more!!). You go, girl! (I feel so "Oprah" when I say that... lol!)

Janie!! 101!!! FANTASTIC!!! CELEBRATE!!! :wow2::cheer2: Laura... It's not YOUR fault that the port was bad!! I'd do everything I could to get THEM (either manufacturer or surgeon) to pay for it!!

So, just to review Tracy... cake & wine go down fine & there was no wedding night nookie. Oh, and today you've worn a thong to work for "show & tell" w/the nuns! Congratulations, you old married lady!

No news from TracyKS?? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Busy day today... lots to do... not enough time... not sure I'll even get in the eliptical! :omg: Who'd've ever thunk I'd be bummed about NOT working out! Make it a great day, everyone! Slow & steady! Patience & trust!

oooh! oooh! oooh! Is Tracy saying "I Do!" right now?? In a new blouse?? I hope her flip-flopping tummy lets her enjoy a nice wedding eve dinner before her "Wedding Night" fun begins!! :confused: Don't forget to count all those expended calories, Tracy!! :)

Good Monday, WEDDING DAY, Violets!~~ OMG Tracy!!! What great news! Enjoy it, sweetie & take pics so we can see!!!!!!! Thanks for all the cheers, everyone, esp the boobie bananas, Pam!! Love them! Just got back from my 3 classes @ the Y... 2.25 straight hrs of exercising! Mondays are tough! Am sitting here in my wet suit... very chilly!... off to the hot shower & then on to work. Make it a great day, everyone!!

Great news, Mel! :confused:

Good Late Afternoon, Vi's~~ Ta Da!! I hit -50 today! :whoo: Yay me! And I had several NSVs also!! The #1 is that, because it is chilly here all of a sudden (60s), I pulled on a pair of jeans (I rarely wear jeans, mostly skirts) to wear and they were too, too big! Like, step right out of them big... invite a friend over into them big... you get the idea. So I try on another pair, and another... 'til I finally find a pair that fits ok (but are actually on the looser side of fit; they won't fit for long!)... & then I couldn't find a Fall top to wear other than t-shirts... so poor ds is waiting for me to take him to soccer & I'm taking a long time because I can't find any clothes that fit! LOL! (It serves me right, as I have been wearing all my summer clothes this whole time, just cinching them tighter & tighter!!) So I guess I'll have to break down & go shopping for some Fall-appropriate things to wear! Immediately! #2: I guess because I wasn't wearing my regular, over-sized, baggy Indian-type skirts, but actually form-fitting clothes, several folks commented on my wt loss @ soccer. FINALLY! Yes! So that felt good, too!! Oh, & #3: Our shower has doors on it, and I have ALWAYS "bumped" into them w/my butt or belly when going in & out of the shower -- but I don't now!! So a good day here in Maryland!! And after I was so pissy this week, too!

Good Saturday Morn, Vi's~~ Hold on to your hats, ladies... I'm down a whopping .6 this week! Ooooh! Aaaah! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr is more like it!! Sigh. I know that this, too, shall pass... but at the moment it's a bummer, esp w/barely eating anything compared w/what I used to eat + all the exercise I'm doing now v. the 0 that I did before... grrrrr. Lots going on today & tomorrow... will see you all on Monday! Enjoy your weekends!

Good Friday morn, Vi's~~ Same weight, bouncing the same .5 or so lbs up & down... this must be some major set-point for me or something... but will keep keeping on. Make it a great one!

Oh man, Laura!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it!!! But it certainly does explain a lot!!! Oh man oh man oh man!! I know it sux to have to have it fixed, but just like Tracy said: "FLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAABLAM!" The weight will fly off!! You'll feel sooooooooooooooo great & it'll be so easy compared w/what you've been going through. & all us Vi's will be there w/you in spirit!! You can do this!!

Me, again! So, I just need to vent. This week has been a struggle weight-wise. I've been eating great & exercising like, well, a Terri, and the ding-danged scale is BARELY BUDGING! Seriously, I think it's down .2 or .4 or something like that. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Of course it has to be the week when I'm trying to break through a major milestone... this must be some lesson about patience or endurance or something. All I wanted was to show a measly -2 for the week, is that too much to ask?? I know my bod is probably "catching up" or "rearranging" or some such thing... but it's still frustrating. Couldn't it have done that NEXT week, after the 2?? (LOL) HOWEVER... the good side to this is that, in the past, if I'd gotten to this point, down 48, feeling good, looking better, loose clothing, etc., and I was being "good" but the scale "stopped" moving, I'd be done. Finished. I'd be mad & go eat a pizza just for spite & most likely, that would've triggered more eating, and more... and then I'd gain back what I'd lost + some. But NOW... w/my little friend the band... I PHYSICALLY CAN'T DO THAT! Hallelujah! I HAVE to keep on keeping on! I can't go stuff myself. I have to do something else, something more constructive, w/my feelings of frustration -- like kick it on the eliptical! You guys, this is MAJOR, MEANINGFUL stuff here!! The realization combined w/the actual DOING of it!! THIS IS WHY I GOT THE BAND! I could lose weight before, but I couldn't KEEP losing it so that I got to where I needed to be for health, etc. & I obviously never have had to maintain (ha!)! So frustration? Yes! But really, much more EXCITEMENT and AWE and GRATITUDE and AMAZEMENT that this time I may actually MAKE IT to my goals!! Hey... how did this start out a rant/vent & end up a cheer?? Hmmmmm...)

Jen: "...i am the type of person who is a people pleaser" -- this is ME to a T!... but I've learned to let the "...worry how people feel about me and people who I care about - OMG if they are upset with me I can't deal with it" go... that's their problem, not mine. It's self-preservation, missy! The only person I have control over is ME... and really, when I think about it, that's a big enough job! Phew! I guess it's all part of the journey, huh?? & we're all doing the best we can... ((hugs)) TracyKS:... oh, I thought it was like, "AWANA go to the movies tonight." (LOL! I'm just being goofy!) Judy: And I think I"M busy! Wow!

Good Thursday Morn, Vi's~~ Kat -- good thoughts for you & your mouth... it sounds so painful & frustrating! TracyK -- I noticed the "203"... I'm excited for you! You're so close! Pam -- Fantastic about the -6!! Now that you're back in your regular routine, I bet you'll be able to make great progress! Spontentaity (sp?) is great, but I love routine for wt loss! TracyKS -- For us East Coasters... what is Awana (sp?) (why can't I spell today??) I'm guessing a camp or something?? Janie -- There must've been something wrong w/the sizing!! No matter what the size, it's alwys nice to have new clothes!! Jen -- What good does all this worry do you?? If I remember my "Jen" info (& I admit, I may have many details of all our lives all jumbled up re: who did/is doing what -- ha ha!)... maybe he forgot that he spoke w/the $ guy! I used to be THE BIGGEST worry-wort... I'd literally make myself sick w/it sometimes (esp. when the kids were babies, oh my!)... but I've learned that it does NO GOOD... it's better to "let go" and focus on something else -- suggestion: YOURSELF! -- that is positive... you can control only what YOU can control... it's a hard concept to learn/accept, I'll admit... sorry to go on & on about this... it's obviously a sore spot for me... one I'm working on personally as well, so let's work on it together!! Is there a "worry-wort BB" somewhere? (probably! :car:) Off to the eliptical!