Carlene

Sugarplum... You can get around this by resizing your photos to make them smaller. My camera is 10 megapixels and I post photos all the time.

Nana... Where do you live? I can put you in touch with a good realtor who will do all the work for you. I used to work for Coldwell Banker. They are worldwide. And yes, you live in your home until it sells. You need to start looking for a new place now, however, unless you want to live in an apartment until you find a house. The realtor will do a custom analysis of your neighborhood and suggest a selling price. Their fee is usually 6% of the sales price, but if you use the same agent to list your old house and sell you a new one, you can negotiate a better deal - at least down to 5%. PM me with your address if you want and I will see what I can do for you.

Great idea, but in order to make a custom stock, you have to have the other parts (firing mechanism, barrel, trigger assembly,etc) available to make sure everything fits. I seriously doubt they are going to let the inmates have access to a gun, even if it is in pieces and unloaded.

That's awful!!! I once had a PA try to do a fill on me (under fluoro) and she poked me 5 times and bent the needle. I finally said, "No more...go and get the doctor." He said she was learning. I said not very well, she isn't.

My husband has a "Santa Claus" belly and he has had no complications from his LB surgery. He had the standard 5 hole lap procedure and came home the same day - no staples or stitches, either. He has lost 68 pounds and reduced his Diabetes meds by 3/4.

Dear Koko... I was banded almost 2 years ago and have lost 97 pounds - mostly because my band won't let me eat a lot of the carbs I was soooooooo addicted to: bread, pizza, Pasta, rice, French fries, etc. I also can't eat red meat, and that's a pretty common thing with Bandsters, so be forewarned. You should do great with the band. Most of us struggle to avoid ice cream, chips, chocolate, etc. If you have been low-carbing it for this long and didn't stick your head in the oven, I'd say you are almost home free!

WOW! I did clear liquids for 3 days, full liquids for one week, then mushies, then solids. One month post-op (no fill yet), I was eating steak. All I can say is, you may be VERY hungry those first few weeks. The band doesn't work without at least one fill, and it often takes several to achieve good restriction.

Doing the happy dance for you, Mary. There is no greater blessing than a much-wanted baby.

It took me about 4 months, and that was really pushing the doctor's office. I wanted to be banded before year-end because I had already met my deductible for the year.

And boobs...you forgot to mention boobs!

I still WANT to eat, even though I know that I can't possibly be hungry, but the band will only allow so much of that nonsense. I make myself eat the protein first. That way, there is very little room left for the stuff I really want - like ice cream and Cheetos. If you're really hungry, a pickle will do just fine - at least in theory. When I tried to do South Beach, I ate ALL the time and still thought I was going to starve to death.

I feel your pain. My all time favorite food was fried chicken breast. White meat chicken is hard for a lot of Bandsters to manage. Most of us do better with dark meat, and it has to be skinless. You mentioned gumbo. I make a mean gumbo and have no problem with it because I boil the chicken, then chop it up in the food processor. I omit the rice, however. I also make chicken tortilla soup and again, I chop the chicken up first. I know this isn't the same, comfort-wise, but you get all the nutrition this way, without the upchucking. I'm a Southern girl and sure do miss that deep fried chicken and catfish sometimes, but I sure don't miss a single one of the 97 pounds I've lost with the band. Trust me, the more weight you lose, the less you will grieve over the foods you can no longer eat.

Here you go...

Ladies... August 17th (third Thursday of the month) is our local Bandsters support dinner in Arlington. Could you two possibly come? It's a great Mexican restaurant with fantastic frozen Margaritas.

Sticks and stones may break my bones...who cares what those jealous hussies have to say about how we lost the weight. We lost it, didn't we? Nothing succeeds like success. A pox on the wenches who dare to bad mouth my banded sisters and me.

I agree...probably not a guy movie - no car chases, no dynamite, no blood/gore, no sex, no nudity, no toilet humor. And it's all about clothes. Definitely not a guy movie. If you've ever worked for a Nazi, though, this is your kind of movie. I have (worked for a Nazi), only she wasn't nearly as well dressed (or as pithy) as Meryl Streep. You know the Judge Judy show? You know how smug she is....how nasty and over-bearing and how she loves putting people down? Well, my ex-boss was a Gentile Judge Judy - even looked like her.

If you haven't seen The Devil Wears Prada and need a good laugh, ante up for the matinee at least and check this one out. Meryl Streep is an absolute RIOT - much, much better than her last comedy (Prime).

I use my slow cooker a lot - just throw some stuff in it and you can leave the house for hours while it cooks. I make chili in it, different types of gumbo, stews, soups, etc. I brown pork tenderloin and then put it in the slow cooker with a little Water and a can of Soup (cream of anything). When we get home it is ready to eat and wonderfully tender and moist. This also works with round steak, although I have to chop mine up before I can eat it. You can cook a whole chicken all night (or all day) in a slow cooker and it is wonderful. Eat it just like it comes out of the pot, or de-bone and use for other dishes. Be sure and chill the broth, skim off the fat, and then save it in the 'fridge. You can also make tacos very quickly (I don't eat the shells). Add some low-fat refried Beans and homemade guacamole on the side. YUM! Do we have a recipe thread on here? If not, we should start one.

Wanna hear a funny story? My two youngest are less than a year apart. We were in a store one day when they were about 4 and 5 years old and there was a lady with a small baby near by. My daughter (the 4 year old) was really into babies and she was talking to the infant, etc. My son asked if it was a boy or a girl, and without missing a beat my DD said, "It's a boy, stupid. Can't you tell?" My DS was at a loss. "He's not wearing blue", he said, "And he's not wearing a dress, so how was I supposed to know?". Very smugly his sister informed him that little girls are born with holes in their ears. I asked her who told her that and she said (proundly), "No one...I figured it out all by myself. I have holes in my ears, and you have holes in your ears, and Granny George and Grandma Darling have holes in their ears, and Aunt Mary has holes in hers....." She's 33 and still jumping to conclusions.

Kim... My band has tightened up on me all by its bad self TWICE - both times were several months after a fill. Just its way of reminding us who's the boss, I think.

I think that's what I had....ovaries on my cysts. I definitely had more cysts than ovaries.

There are companies that provide van service to and from the docks. I don't know how far the airport in San Juan is from where the ship is docked, but if you call your travel agent, he/she can tell you....and they will know about transfers, too. Otherwise, you have to take a cab. We always fly in a day early and stay at a nearby hotel. They often will take you to the dock for free. Is your flight arriving in SJ the same day you sail?

I had PCOS many, many years ago when they called it "Stein Levinthaul Syndrome" (spelling may be inaccurate). They tried to disolve my cysts with BC pills, too but they just got worse and finally removed them surgically (dozens of cysts, some as big as plums). I had "bleeding ovaries" thereafter (very painful), though not every month. Sometimes being a girl really sucks.

You are too tight and are experiencing reflux. You need to find a doctor ASAP and get some saline taken out. Long term, you will wish you had.

The end of summer sales are coming up and you can pick up some great bargains in your gonna be size. One size equals about 15 pounds, so buy some shorts, capris, etc about 4 sizes smaller than what you wear now. It will also be a great incentive - to fit into them come cruise time. I bought my dress for my Oct wedding in Mar and got a great deal. I also bought it two sizes too small and made myself work to fit into it - and I did! I love to cruise! My DH loves to tell people that they do everything for you except powder your butt. For formal night, I would buy a party dress at the after-new-year sales. You will be very close to your 60 pound loss then, so size will be less of an issue. Don't go too naked on the top, though, as they keep the AC turned up on those ships and the dining room gets cold. Money exchange...you can look up the exchange rate online right before you leave and almost all airports have a place to exchange money. Also any bank, once you arrive at a port, will give you current rates. Merchants WILL scam you. We just got back from Mexico and every place was charging 10 pesos to one US dollar. The rate was actually 10 pesos to 90 cents, so they made an extra 10% off every transaction if you paid in USD. Even so, don't expect huge bargains in port cities, or truly "local" stuff. Most of the world's souvenirs are made in China! Alcoholic drinks on cruise ships are very expensive. coffee, tea, juice, and Water are free and more healthy, so I'd stick with them. We were settling up our bill on the last day of one cruise and overheard a party of 3 young women weeping and wailing. Their bar tab was $1300!!! Staterooms are small and the closets are tiny. Don't over-pack. Also, be aware that most airlines allow 40 pounds per bag and if you go over that, there is a steep charge. One last thing...arrange transfers in advance from the airport to the dock and back again. Most cruises do not include these and depending on the distance, a cab ride could be very costly. Hope you have a great time!