Betsyjane

Anybody want to do the 5 mile Bridgefest run/walk in Kingwood Feb 2? 16TH ANNUAL BRIDGE FEST 5K FUN RUN & WALK SET FOR FEB. 2ND Saturday, January 05, 2008 @ 06:08:06 AM CST Topic Announcements Kingwood Medical Center to be Event Sponsor The Lake Houston Family YMCA announces the 16h Annual Bridge Fest 5K Fun Run and Walk will be held on Saturday, February 2, with Kingwood Medical Center once again as the Event Sponsor. Additional sponsors are The Observer Newspapers, Tejas Toyota, Kingwood Personnel, Wendy’s, Thornton Printers and Zanderman Graphics. The Lake Houston Family YMCA appreciates the generosity of these outstanding businesses as their support helps cover the cost of race expenses so that 100% of race entry fees will go to the Lake Houston Family YMCA Partners Campaign. Last year over 2100 runners, joggers and walkers attended Bridge Fest which began as a celebration of the opening of the Lake Houston Parkway Bridge connecting the communities of Humble, Atascocita and Kingwood. The course is a fast, accurately measured USTA certified 5K, which begins at the YMCA, 2420 West Lake Houston parkway. The route travels across the Lake Houston Parkway Bridge, makes one turn, and returns back to the YMCA. This event offers a great opportunity for families to come out and spend quality time together. The first race will begin at 8:00 am and is a ½ mile event open to ages 6 and under. Following the ½ mile race will be a 1-Mile Race for ages 7 – 10 at 8:20 am and a 1-Mile Race for ages 11 – 14 at 8:40 am. This will allow for the younger runners to race against their own age groups and compete for an award in those age groups. Following the Kids Races, the annual Family Run and Walk will begin at 9:00 am. All Bridge Fest participates can enter the Elementary School or Middle School Challenge which is a friendly competition between schools. The elementary and middle schools with the most participants in Bridge Fest will win a trophy to display at their school, their school name on the plaque that hangs in the lobby of the YMCA and a party at their school. Proceeds from Bridge Fest support the Partners scholarship program offered at the Lake Houston Family YMCA. Many families in the Lake Houston community have little or no ability to pay for the programs and services offered at the YMCA. Last year, Bridge Fest contributed over $35,000 of the $185,000 raised to make certain that children and families were not denied access to character enhancing programs or vital services such as the After School Child Care, Aquatics, Day Camp, Residential Camp, Youth Sports, Teen Leadership Camp and many more because of financial limitations. Families and individuals can apply for financial assistance by completing an Open Door application at the member service desk. Bridge Fest registration is $20.00 for the 5K and $14.00 for the children’s races. There is a special fee of $49.00 for a family of four and $5.00 for each additional family member living in the same household. Registrations received after January 29 will be assessed an additional $5.00 fee. Registration forms are available at the Lake Houston Family YMCA and all Houston area YMCA’s. You may also register on-line at www.signmeup.com New this year is a Spaghetti dinner on Friday, February 1 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm at the Lake Houston Family YMCA sponsored by Italliano’s Restuarnt and Texas Road House. The cost is $3.00 per person and proceeds will also benefit the Partners Campaign. Pick up your packets that night and load up on your carbs before our event on Saturday. There will be a post-race awards celebration following the last race under the pavilion (in the event of inclement weather the awards celebration will be in the gym). All participants are invited for food, music and the presentation of race awards. For additional information on Bridge Fest, call Carol Sutton, Marketing Director (281) 360-2500 or e-mail carols@ymcahouston.org. The Lake Houston Family YMCA is a non-profit organization serving the communities of Huffman, Humble, Atascocita, Kingwood, Porter and New Caney by building strong kids, strong families and strong communities.

I did self pay. Didn't have to go for a psych eval or anything else. Talked to the Dr., paid my money, went right to surgery!

Goood news. I find I'm kind of holding my breath for you. Glad to hear the update.

Now that's really funny. I had just gotten off the phone with anothe rBarbara, and I thought she called me back by mistake. I didn't realize it was you or I would have asked you about your trip! I know what you mean! I had .3 removed, and I'm eating, well, not quite like the old days, but with hints of all my old bad habits and not stopping them! I have to get back in to add some in! Amazing what that little old band can do! Makes me appreciate that little sucker. Texan: Look in the supprt group section to see if there's one in El Paso. Good luck!

I haven't done well with that. I have some motivations clothes always in my closet, but I find that my sillouette changes as I get smaller and different styles look good on my. I haven't guessed well with some of the stuff I grow down into.....

Oh, shut up Missy. Just kidding. Congrats!

Has anyone had experience with this Dr. Schmit in the Bismarck area? If he's a real legit Dr., then this story is hard to believe. Er, if he isn't there at all, the story is harder to believe.

OK. It's Dec. 26. Time to forgive ourselves for any culinary indiscretions at Christmas. What was, was. Today is a new day for keeping a few days of a food journal, regifting chocolate, and heading to the gym. Hope you all had a happy one.

Hi. I've been banded over a year. I went to Spivak and adore him. You won't see complaints about him anywhere. I have firends who went to Speigel and have ongoing concerns about his bedside manner. But both are accomplished lap band surgeons. Go to the free opening seminar for each of them and then decide! You'll learn a bunch!

Hye, if anybody wants to see the pictures of the 34 big dogs living in our house for Christmas, please email me at giddyyuppie@aol.com and I'll be happy to send them on. We can't stop laughing. And they have all been so good.

That's great. We'll keep a good thought, Barbara. Merry Christmas, everyone.

I'll keep a good thought. Shoot...I should be going with you. I need .1 of the .3 they took out, put back in. I'm almost right, but not quite enough restriction.....

How was your test?

I think you're right about the slang. I do think there is a street-black way of talking, but that can't be generalized to all blacks, just like redneck talk can't be generalized from Jeff Foxworthy to all whites. Even as slang, it's still a shorthand so it's often wrong. Or Eminem would be black.... Oddly, when I moved to the South, I thought everyone of every race "sounded black". Just goes to show how stupid gross generalizations can be.....

Mom's coming home Tuesday. I took her out of "the home" this afternoon to go grocery shopping to stock her up at home. I was really pleased with how well she did. Good energy, good brain power. Jeez...91 years old, two broken hips and a stroke, and she's healthy as a horse. Amazing. So it's 34 dogs and Mom for Christmas. Yippee!

FaithMD....I've had my plateaus too. I'm amazed that the band will hold my weight while it's waiting for me to figure out how to get my act together. Before, that gaining and losing of 10 pounds would have been a steady gain! Do you know how you're off the wagon? Usually I know. Once I had to keep a food journal for just a day to realize how out of balance my protein/carbs/fat/calories were.

Who knows what will work...we all have such individual experiences. I like the band..... I've had a stretched pouch, and it was no big deal. I've had GERD from too tight a band, and the solution was no big deal. Just minor stuff. Seems like one reason the complications appear so high here is that it's a support group so people who are just cruising along are less likely to post. On the other hand, I know one person with the sleeve, and she is no longer losing weight, eats a bunch more than I do at a sitting, and is starting to gain weight. Who knows.... All I know is that I was supposed to go to the gym today and talked myself out of it. My own kind of complication....

There are so many presonal preferences! My Dr. said you can't absorb more than around 25-30g of soy at a sitting so not to get any higher. Who knows. I like EAS CARB CONTROL chocolate liquid shake. I can get it at my grocery store, it's not way over priced, and it only has around 100 calories for around 20g of Protein. Just be use to get the one that says Carb Control. My shake is rather complicated, but I get a lot done with it. I put in a blender the EAS shake, ice, some Water, a scoop of Any Whey (pure protein and nothing else), Benefiber powder for Fiber and regularity, a little frozen fruit, some fresh berries (so I have fruit, since I usually don't have any the rest of the day), some flax seed oil....and I blend it and sip on it for part of the morning. I've tried also putting my daily chewable Vitamin and Calcium pills in the blender with everything, but it ruins the taste. Anyway, then I don't have to worry much about getting enough protein, fiber, or fruit the rest of my day.

Hi everybody. I was where you are. I felt so stupid for not being able to "diet and exercise"like all the ads say we should be able to do. What ignorance about obesity! With the band, I have to work hard at being healthy and losing weight, but it works! That's a huge difference for me. It used to be impossible. Now I see results for the things I do. It's a new world. PLUS I am no longer diabetic and I no longer test as having osteoporosis. And I can cross my legs. And I can shop in regular stores. And I fit into just part of an airplane seat. Welcome to the journey.

I did mine last year. You can only write off your medical bills exceeding 7.5% of your income. So I did...surgery, travel, meds, supplies.

Funny you should mention a drivers license. Mine expires next month, so I just went in yesterday. I'll be interested to see how the photos compare. A few weeks ago a neighbor guy wanted to say something to me, and didn't know how to address weight with a woman, I guess. He did it well. He said,"You're looking so fit!"

You know how sometimes it's difficult to see progress? I had lunch with a friend today who moved out of state a year ago. Her response to my weight loss felt so good to me. She was floored...and gushing. What a great way to put things in context. I keep looking at the last pounds I have to lose and forgetting to be grateful...or even notice...the pounds:whoo: I've already lost!

Keep this in mind too. A lot of times a leak can be fixed by filling with Omnipak instead of saline, because Omnipak is thicker. Someone I know had a leak and has had Omnipak for over a year without a problem.

Sometimes insurance will pay for it to be taken out because it is emergency surgery. You might check.....

BArbara, congrats on scheduling your test. I think that's terrific. There has to be some answer for your finicky esophagus. I'm game for tomorrow if we can draw a crowd! Otherwise I'd prefer to wait until after the holidays.