Apples2

Just caught up with posts (double by some...LOL...must be the Baileys....well, maybe the wine). I am up to my eyeballs in cutout Cookies and doing the runny drizzle frosting where it coats the entire cookie. What a mess. Why did I start/??????? I also have a batch of ginger sandwich cookies ready to bake. Why did I start????? Anyway....just a question for Pyll....I want to know what "unusaul acts" your mob did before dispersing?????

Woohoo! Janet is back! Sound like you had a great time. Cannot wait to see your photos. Made some great family memories and hopefully they will always remember the gift of this trip. Great...I think you got out of MPLS at the right time. Was concerned when I heard you were sitting deicing and then after that plane went off the runway, worried you would be stuck there. I guess I was more concerened for you tired little pregnant daughter. I am not a Loft store fan and only been in one or two so cannot compare. I like the Ann Taylor shops better (of course). Has anyone else noticed.....when you scroll down to view who is reading the thread? Well, there's nothing there. Noticed it yesterday.

Arlene...prayers said for your friend. Breaks my heart when families disrespect and do not realize what they have in a person. Hope she fully recovers. Nice to hear you had a good night's sleep. Try to keep that FM at bay. I think of Linda also and wonder how hers is doing with this cold weather. Sandi...You ROCK! Thinking of doing that triathalon. All of you that are striving for higher and higher goals with exercise are so insirational. Just think a year back. Bet you would call someone crazy if they said you could do it. HIGH FIVE for all of you that set these goals for yourself. Weather it just be walking a bit farther each week, walking a MILE (Phyll), getting to the gym many times a week. Give yourselves a nice pat on the back. Me....I'm just stuck in the house running the stairs and doing the treadmill to work off the stress.

Phyll...way to go on the walking the mile! Little Zoey must be a very independent little girl. 1/4 for her little legs is quite a walk. I just think it's so cute that you have a stroller for her. Just like a new momma walking her baby. And.....you "Flash Mob" party made me miss the lake so much. That's the nice thing about being in a resort. There's always something like that going on. I cannot tell you how many impromtu pot lucks we have had. Ususally starts with someone stopping by to talk, then another, then another....and...before you know it everyone is running home to get their meat to grill and a dish to pass. I am actuallly sitting here bawling like a baby missing by lake friends. I have been feeling like a prisoner lately with all the snow and cold. One month from today we are heading south. Jessica...you have such a way with explaining things. I completely understand how you feel about your dad. Our adopted family that we spend all our holidays with, are all very overweight. I love them all so much and worry about them. All are diabetic and really don't watch what they eat. When we get together, I always make low fat/low sugar but just throw my hands up because it makes no difference what I make cuz the choices they make in their food outweighs the healthy dishes I made. I have learned that I do not say it's low fat or low sugar cuz they won't eat it if they know. They are truly a gift from God in my life. I do not nag them about their eating habits but we do have discussions about healthier eating. That goes for a day and then no more. A person just has to "get it" themself. But, gentle urging from loved ones could be the thing that helps. Good morning to all. Just gonna group ya all together this morning. Just waiting for DH to come to Breakfast. Made apple/cinnamon oat muffins with SG lite cream cheese frosting for breakfast. Heading to church and then to brunch with DH after (he visits a friend while I go to church). Hope everyone has a great day. I am ready for Janet to be back! Sending the loves to all.

Welcome Ann Marie...I am by no means a busy young mother with young children but just wanted to let you know that I would be willing to answer any questions you might have. I do have a fairly busy life and was pretty good at juggling and living the lapband life and having great success with it. I was banded June, 2008 and have been in the maintenance mode for a couple of years now. Either fire away with questions here or you can email or PM me any time. Wishing you a great lapband experience.

Bob...were you released the same day as surgery? Good to hear you are doing as well as you are with no major pain. Sorry, but I forget if you talked about where your cut would be located. Hip to hip???? Take care of yourself and looking forward to more posts on how your recovery is going.

Chris...DH's mother was on dialysis for just about 10 yrs and lived a good life. Yes, dialysis altered their way of life for her and her DH but most days she felt pretty good. About the only troubles she had was that the ports in her arms kept blowing out. Wish she would have had the port in the navel. Not sure why she didn't have it. Makes sense that it would cause less trouble. Sorry about your injured back. Hope it heals quickly. Sun is shining this morning. It's been a while since we have seen it. Lots of snow on the ground after the storm that went through. DH is out pushing snow. He has a plow on his pickup. We do not have much snow to shovel...only up in front of the house. Other than that, it is all pretty much done with the truck. Hoping that Great was able to get out of Mpls. Heard on the 10pm Mpls news that a Delta plane went off the runway last night. Of course, panic set in until I heard it was a plane coming in from Atlanta. They had to pull it back to the runway from a grassy area and up to the gate. It seems all DH and I talk about is "when" we can get out of here. And to think....I used to love winter. We each had a snowmobile and would ride over 100 miles some days....even in below zero temps. Used to stand outside and watch snowmobile races all day long for 2 days as DS raced. Now it just running to the car that has been running for 20 minutes to warm it up. Burrrrrr and Damn

No offense taken, Meredith. I just didn't want you to feel as if I was kicking you while you were down.

OK...I am ready to have Janet back and to see Eva posting again.

6pm Mpls new showed traffic just crawling. Great will get out of Mpls. Snow is dry so is easily taken off runways. When driving home about 2:30 today, the roads were thick with finger drifts but one side of the road was blown off. Mpls did not get what we are getting. Cheri...happy you have your concert to keep your mind busy during this horrible time in your life. So good that you recognized what those children are going through and sought some help for them. Opening up and talking about it is a positive thing. I am like you with the chocolate chips and butter. Why bake Cookies or cake with fake butter. I have never been much of a sweet eater though and am amazed that cakes and muffins (that consistency) sticks for me. I can eat cookies or Cereal with not problems. In fact, unlimited amounts. I do love me some good ole' fashioned chocolate chip cookies. Phyll...hope you see some results from your b__tching. What's not fair is that it might take 8 weeks. That little girl of yours is just waaaaaaaay cute in that cart of yours. Loved your shirt also. Linda...nice to see your post. Hope you get your computer up and running. Miss you. We will be leaving for AZ the first week of Jan (hopefully). FIL got to his destination today. SIL sent a photo of him sitting at his kitchen table in his motor home having his daily beer. He is the cutest little 87 yr old. He stands about 5' (or less) and is a walking encyclopedia. He is going to have a great time with all is friends that he has not been able to see for awhile. I am hoping DH will be able to spend a lot of time with him while we are down there.

Arlene...both cakes can be frozen. If you are concerned, frost them when you take them out of the freezer when they are still frozen. I like doing it that way. I do not like a lot of goopy frosting. I put the frosting in a baggy, twist the top and cut a tiny hole in a bottom corner. Makes it easy to just drizzle the frosting and make a nice design. Less calories that way too. I always have a tub of homemade cream cheese frosting in the frig. It goes a long way if you just drizzle it. Well, I sure hope Great does not get stuck in MPLS. Weather report stated last night that the winter storm warning was more for West Central part of our state. I drove DH home from appt in white-out conditions and it has gotten worse in the last hour. Thinking we are housebound for a bit. I know DS (who is out working in the shop) will take off from here after dark to drive the 15 miles home. He had talked of driving to Southern MN tonight. I mentioned to him that would be a huge risk. Not sure if he changed his mind...but...at almost 30 yrs old, what mom says does not register. Not sure. Thank goodness I got my four new books from Amazon. I also think that this will be the weekend I get all of my Christmas baking done.

Jodi...thank you for explaining your celebrations and traditions. We have had absolutely no exposure to the Jewish customs as we live in a very rural Catholic/Lutheran area. As far as the baking goes...YUCK...fruit cake. Never have liked it. Same with lefsa and lutefisk. I usually make about a dozen different kinds of pretty little Christmas Cookies, fudge and candies. We indulge in some but give most away to friends, family and landlords. My DH is of normal weight and is very health conscious but he has high cholesteral and he has quite a sweet tooth. As does DS who works with us daily. I try to put just a few out along with other healthy choices (fruit/veggies) and hide the rest so they are not tempted. DH and DS have always tried to stay within a certain range of weight and do a pretty good job of it. I always wished I had their willpower and now, with the help of the band, I developed the same healthy habits. Yeah! Have a wonderful weekend with family, church family and friends. Back from "the procedure"....cyst removed from DH's cheek up by eye. He'll have a black eye but all went well. Such an easy thing to get rid of and he's been dealing with it for at least 5 yrs if not more. Men!

Woohoo! Eva's back!!!!!!!!!

Get lots of rest and fluids, Phyll (I'm pretty sure wine is a fluid). I would be so ticked about the Starbucks overcharge. Hope you can have it reversed. We have a supermarket that my "mom" went to every morning to have Breakfast with her friends (at the deli). We gave her a $50 card for Christmas one year. The first time using it, the clerk somehow used it all up. Took her months to get that straightened out. Hope you have better luck with a credit back than she did. DH and DS have been suffering with that crud for a week. I seem to be immune (knocking on wood). Get better

Welcome Paula and congrats on your decision to make life a healthier one for yourself. I made the decision at the age of 52 to have lapband. I was a walking ticking bomb. But, I can tell you that today at the age of 55, I have so much energy and feel as if I am a impostor...(55 yr old living in a 19 yrs old body)....I feel that good. Wishing you luck as you go through this process. If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to send me a personal message or email. Take care.

I feel for you and the struggles you are going through...especially wanting to stay for your children and the good times. But, if those bad times outweigh the good, it's time to take a really good look at how this affects your children. Children can be very protective of their mother and it is sending the wrong message to them that you are putting up with his treatment towards you. It is so important to recognize ahead of time if you feel physically or emotionally unsafe (your children's safety also) and to pull yourself out of the situation. Have a plan. Check out your options ahead of time so you have some place to go should the necessity arise. Easy to judge not being in your situation. Just keep in mind....a person does not have the right to lay a hand on another person. To belittle them or to force sex upon them. Clear case of abuse and he needs to be held accountable for his actions. Wishing for you strength as you deal with these huge life decisions. Hugs

Oh Meredith...I hope I didn't hurt your feelings with reminding you to not over-do because of your open band. I just don't like to see ppl undo the hard work and the good they have done. And, we all know things can snowball within a week's time. Good to hear that you feel good about where you are at with your food choices and getting to the gym. I am sure it is not easy to stay on task if you are hungry. Keeping track of your intake is such a good way to remind yourself where you are at. How about a gift cert from GNC for your trainer??? Arlene...this friend of mine lived with us for 5 months a couple of years ago. Her live-in BF was cheating on her....actually never did leave is old GF alone. Was seeing her the entire relationship. Well, after leaving here she went back to him and it has not been good so she left again. Don't know if he was still cheating but a very selfish 63 yr old that dresses like he is 19 and LOVES the attention from anything that wears a bra. She's better off not to be his live-in maid. I'd rather not have a man the rest of my life than deal with any man that did not respect me. Sandi....way to go on all the exercising. We do the family gift buying through social services. I would rather do that than buy for ourselves. I could not feel good about getting gifts if I knew there are families and especially children out there that have no gifts. It just melts my heart because most of the lists that are made out by children are clothing. Just necessities...it is rare that there are toys on these children's lists. We try to do two familes a year. It is a very rewarding feeling to know they had at least one gift to open. Better go...DH has a couple of friends that came for coffee. Better find some muffins or Cookies or something to throw their way.

The red flag that hit me was the statement that he would never "let" you leave because he loves you so much. Ummmm.....control. Sounds like he is the type of person that likes to have the upper hand. Controls you with physical abuse, his moods and verbal control. I would be finding a therapist just for you if he is not willing to work on these issues. You need someone to guide you to making the right decision for you and your children.

Good Morning.... Jodi...Happy Chanukah. I see you spell it differently than most. Gosh...your post about everything going on during these days just makes me want to learn more about your traditions, etc. I feel like I'm taking a peek into a whole different world. Take care of yourself. Don't get run down. Sounds like you do not have troubles turning down food that you feel you should not have. Good for you. Hopefully you can fit the gym in somewhere like you want to. Sounds like a crazy/busy week for you. At least your time is limited to a number of days...the rest of us drag out Chrismas for way too long. Melissa...congrats on the new nephew. Hope you don't wake up sick from that cold. Meredith...advice your nutritionist gave you sounds like a plan. Don't over do though...you don't want that to be your ticket to overeat...your "Get out of Jail Free" card. It would be nice to hear that you do not need band repair but it sounds like that is what the plan is. We'll all be here for you holding your hand throughout this. Kelly...wish we were neighbors...I would absolutely love to go on walks a couple of times a day with you. It's so bitter cold here that there is no going out to walk or ride bike. I have a nice treadmill but just not the same and have a hard time forcing myself to walk on it. In a month we will be in warmer weather and plan on working off some of this stress with walking. If I bundled up, I could walk but we have so much ice under the snow that it's not worth a fall. We sure do miss Janet, don't we? Hope she is having a great time. Phyll...are you down and out with the cold???? "Hi" to everyone else and good morning. Have a busy day ahead. Some Christmas baking, some decorating, some cleaning, some bookwork, some laundry. Have to take DH to doc in early afternoon to have a growth cut out of his face by his eye. He did have an appt at 4pm and then we were going to stick around town and go out for dinner. Well, appt was changed to 1pm and will just come home. I doubt we will get out once we get home. Just so hard to force ourselves to go out in this cold. And, just heard a severe winter storm is expected for our area for later this afternoon. DON'T WORRY, GREAT, IF YOU ARE READING THIS. MPLS IS NOT IN THE WARNING...JUST SNOW FLURRIES LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. Have fun with your DD, Great. Times like this, I wish I had a daughter to do things with...No...would be dangerous with both of us shopping. Trying to plan a girls night for me and my friend and get out of Dodge for a bit. She is in a real funk (relationship breakup, moved, financial stress, was laid off 18 months ago and still not a job) and needs a break from it. Well, the only night that works for both of us is Tuesday. Soooooooooooo gotta figure out some things to do that do not involve spending $$$ and a Tuesday night not much entertainment options. My plan so for us to rent a Holiday Inn room (my Chrismas gift to her and she Ok'd it....didn't want her to feel bad), pack a picnic lunch, bring a couple of board games and cards and a bottle of wine (gosh...almost sounds like I should be taking DH instead), and just giggle and have fun and hopefully leave our troubles along the way. Better get moving...been up for 1 1/2 hours and the only thing I have accomplished is to make coffee and oatmeal...You all have a great day.

Hey Kay...welcome. You sounds VERY disgusted. The only thing I can tell you is what I know for sure....life with the LapBand ty outa some menus plankes being very vigilant on a daily basis. Journaling forood intake, exercise and making sure to not have trigger foods in the pantry. Eating Protein first for a meal and then whatever fruit and veggies until you are satisfied (not full bI ate in the pastut satisfied). oing to be opeI am gng this Tell us what you are eating on a regular basis, what type of exercise you are getting, etc. Well, first I am hoping this will be turning over a new leaf so I am going to be open and listen. Now because I found it didn't matter what i ate or didn't eat I couldn't lose weight so I basically eat whatever I want. whenever.. I do get sick quite often on various foods never the same. I have a bad back which I control the pain daily with Vicodin so my exercise is limited to riding a stationary bike for 30 min 3-4 times a week Please lay out some menu plans that have worked for[ you Again thank you Kay Kay...sorry to hear of your bad back. It is tough when you are physically limited with exercise. What I am going to do with your request for menu plans is I am going to give you the basics of what I did/ate during the weightloss stage. I am also going to call on others here to put their 2 cents worth in on this to give you some idea and a variety. I basically cut out all "white" potatoes, any white flour, white potatoes, white rice. Each meal consisted of 3-4 oz of hard protien (eggs, chicken, fish, some beef) and then veggies and fruit if I needed something else. Snacks were beef Jerky, soy nuts, 1/2 Protein Bar, raw veggies. I stuck to this plan and was true to it. If there was a special event and I had treats like birthday cake, I only allowed it if it was within my caloric intake plan. I was very strick with sticking to my plan and believe that this helped me in the long run. I have been in the maintenance stage for over 2 yrs and find it very easy once I got to where I wanted to be. It's a day by day challenge throughout this entire journey.

W Hey Kay...welcome. You sounds VERY disgusted. The only thing I can tell you is what I know for sure....life with the LapBand takes being very vigilant on a daily basis. Journaling food intake, exercise and making sure to not have trigger foods in the pantry. Eating Protein first for a meal and then whatever fruit and veggies until you are satisfied (not full but satisfied). Tell us what you are eating on a regular basis, what type of exercise you are getting, etc.

Morning to all.... Janet...hope you are enjoying some nice weather and having a great time with family. You are missed. Give anything for just a few minutes of warm weather right now. DH and I are sooooooooo ready to head south. Figure we will leave around the 5th (hopefully). Our tax appt on the 4th of Jan should go smoothly and that would be the only thing that would delay us. Got a photo of FIL last night on his travels to AZ. He had on a spring jacket. What's a spring jacket? Thanks for all the "teeth" comments. Such a joy to just brush and not worry about hamburger mouth. I hope you all realize that last photo was a b/4. Gosh..I look at that and know why I was so self-conscience of my smile. Now just practice, practice, practice on realizing I can smile without embarrassment. No big plans for today. Some bookkeeping, Christmas decorating, some Christmas baking, laundry, do some Christmas cards and a plan to not go outside if I can help it. Bitter cold. I have eggs on to boil for some egg salad for lunch. My favorite. The scale is down a bit. Too much stress. I eat and sometimes force-feed to make sure to get calories. But, stress brings it down. B/4 WLS stress added the pounds. Not a big deal...just 3lbs. Need to take DH in tomorrow to have a growth cut out from under his eye. Have bugged him for a few years about it. It would get to be about the size of a dime and then diminish a bit so he would not consider going in. I made him make an appt after he had his annual physical. It's now again the size of a dime and very pronounced. They will need to dig a bit deep to get the core so will drive him just in case. Part of the stress I am feeling is due to his PSA numbers doubling since his last physical. He has an appt with a specialist on the 22nd of Dec. Fingers crossed and praying this is nothing. His father went thru chemo treatments for prostate cancer in the last 5 yrs. I know I should not worry unless I know for sure what is going on. Crazy thoughts and worries going through my mind. I am hoping it's nothing and we can put this crazy-A$$ed year behind us. This year has aged us and hoping next is more carefree. Phyll...hope you are feeling better today. DH has been suffering with a cold and crap for a couple of weeks and has really been run down. Didn't help that he worked out in the cold for 12 hours a day. He did get some good rest yesterday after I fed him some nice, warm liquid meds. He woke up and said he felt hungover. Told him it was night time med and he went right back to sleep, got up, went to bed and slept all night. Did him good. Gotta rein him in once in awhile and slow him down. Julie...hope you fill us in on what you found out. Isn't that the same thing Cheri has????? Well...better hit it. Got some things done and checked off my list for today. But, with what is on the rest to get accomplished today, I'd better kick it up a notch.

Thanks for the teeth comments Laura and Great.

There are lockers back by security...look on their map. They are by one of the entrances but not the one you will come in. Get a big locker for shopping. Have DD bring an empty carry on so you can fill it!

Why is it that when you click on an attached photo, it is soooooooooooo big. You can see nose hairs. But, I will have to say that I like the way my eyebrows lay that day. Darn that's a big me face