Hey all you fine looking ladies..... ITS SEPTEMBER !!!

I posted yesterday and also posted some zoo pictures in the august thread.

So how the heck is everyone ???

I'll be back later

How nice, Mary, to read your long and newsy post! Sounds like your life is moving on, and you are doing well! Not that there aren't problems, because there are and always will be, but you have your spunky attitude intact, and that's a victory right there!

Betty, bless you for being a moderator during these silly and hurtful flareups. Thank you.

I had an idea earlier today, and did my best but didn't have much time. When that kind of thing (gang fighting) is going on, one way to combat it is to reply to all the legitimate band support and introduction posts, so that THEY are the ones that come up in New Posts, and the other stupid threads get buried under them. We would be like Posting Angels! We could also start new threads...well, you get the idea...

I'm stressing out, but nothing to do with the crappyola around here...it's just the estate stuff still going on...I don't discuss it much because it's disgusting, but urrrrgggh. Thanks for letting me Urrrrggggh!

Pat, how is your storm....hope there wasn't any more damage!

Hugs to all, Cindy

Dear Dianne,

I just read the August post and your need for PhotoNuts shake.

Here it is:

2cups milk

1 slimfast shake

2 scoops Protein powder

1 teaspoon slenda

1/2 banana

blend. This shake contains 70grams protein. Drink small portions over the whole day.

I noticed that its a pretty thick shake. I pour some in a glass and thin it with more milk/non dairy creamer. My hunger & sugar cravings leave immediately. Been doing this 3 days now.... seems to be working. Keep me posted

Pat: I am so sad that this storm has come to visit your home. Duck & Cover girl.... stay safe. Hugs

Eileen: That camel was about to spit on you! Great photos. I just renewed my AZA(american zooliogical association) zoo pass. This pass allows me to visit hundreds of zoos/aquariums across america for free or discount admission. I can go to the zoo by my house and the one in Santa Barbara for free. The SB zoo lets us take picnic lunches and the have the coolest train ride. I bet your local new jersey zoo is on my list of entrances. I bet your munchkin would love it(think christmas gift) -- Hugs.

Darcy:Are pancakes not band friendly for you? I make scratch pancakes for the boys once a week.... but I found an easy way to prepare them. :hungry: I decided to learn to cook over 10 years ago and certain boxed foods would be excluded from my kitchen. This summer I learned to make my own "Bisquick" baking mix. I hope to package sample jars for Christmas gifts.

Well, I really need to rest my weary head.... been up since 5am. Talk later, we are staying home this labor day weekend. Bye.

PS:I just looked up zoos in New Jersey and I have admission at the Bergen County zoo in Paramus. Also 9 zoos in Texas and 2 in Virginia! All for $45 in membership fees. I tell ya, its the best deal.

Good Morning

Going food shopping AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! be back later to read up.

Cindy-Thanks for the reminder!! It's so true! I love your idea. Sorry your going through ERRRR times. If ya need to talk I'm here I hear I listen pretty good.

Darcy-Lucy is SO hyper! But feeling good the poor girl is just hungry they gave uscanned food for her to eat for a while and I can only give her about 1/4 cup at a time every 2 hours! She's starving!

Mary-Hope things get better for you brother soon!

Betty-I agree with Darcy and thanks for taking the time and caring enough for the website to do it!

Eileen-I didn't even think about the tomato soup! DUH thanks for the reminder. I'm feeling good today not going to crazy with hunger! Sorry about your arthritis acting up that stinks. Don't you feel like you need to borrow the Tim Mans can? I am hearing from everyone that not just here, that they are having a tough food time. Could it have to do with the season change? To many people are eating like crap more the past 2 weeks than usual from what I'm hearing...humm seasonal eating dysfunction!

Patty-Thanks for the recipe I will try it!

Off to Columbia have a nice day girls...

Morning Ladies!

Mary... You really sound like you are in a much better place now! I'm so glad that the yuckiness is almost over and you can just get going with the business of living and enjoying life with your kids.

Patty... Yeah... my band won't let me have ANYTHING remotely similar to bread of any kind...lol. I'd give my left arm for a balogna sandwich. I bet you are a terrific cook... I get by but I can't say it's my favorite thing to do! THey won't be using my name on any food boxes anytime soon! I have some old pictures of a zoo we visited when we came back from Africa (I was 16) and I am pretty sure it was Santa Barbara. I'll have to ask my Momma. THe Milwaukee Zoo is the biggest zoo near us and it is okay... I think the weather in Wisconisin makes having a beautiful big zoo difficult at best.

Cindy... Sorry about the estate issues! We set up our will to be very specific and to take things out of the hands of family as much as possible. My Mom set her will up the same way so hopefully we will never have to have or cause any issues like that!

Eileen... WHEW! Thanks for that piece of mind... I'm running a little short these days...lol. I totally hear you on the being over 300... I was 257 when I got banded and there is not a doubt in my mind I would be well over 300 by now... I was binging out of control! I may have regained and I may never lose again with my band... but I still think it is a success for keeping me fairly steady between 224-226. Anyhoo... Hope you feel better soon and that you had fun shopping this morning!

Pat... You didn't blow away didja???? Hope you didn't suffer a lot of damage and I have a feeling you are going to have a very busy business now!

I'm about ready to send out troups to find Donna...

Dianne... I'm glad Lucy is home... hope she is feeling better! I'm glad your fill went well and darned if this band won't take care of our mental issues with food and eating and weight. My sister and I talk often of going to see a doctor to find out what is going on with the junk in our trunks. THere must be a REASON I can't stop myself from eating... thinking of eating... treating pain with eating... treating anxiety with eating... and the list goes on and on! Good luck with this fill... (((hugs)))

TTFN...

Good morning!

Well, I hope the weather on the east coast is calming down for you guys. I wish here in Texas we could have a real FALL...and we need rain, too. We are going to a Ranger (that's baseball) game tonight, so hope it doesn't rain on us then! We're taking DD and a friend, and some of my teacher friends will be there...one thing for sure, I'm a lot cheaper of a date than I used to be! No soft drinks, no beer, and I eat out of other people's nacho's! LOL!

On the subject of estates, a little lesson...your will only covers property and bank accounts that will go through probate. If you have bank accounts that are set up as joint tenancy or transfer-on-death with rights of survivorship, those accounts WILL NOT go through probate, and are governed by contract law, not probate law. Soooo, if you have your children (or whoever) signed as joint tenants or TOD on your accounts, and you have told them that when you are gone, you want them to take the money and divide it equally, you really have no control whatsoever that what you have said, or what you have written in your will, will actually happen. That's what is happening in our situation. There were three children (my mom was one). Two of the children predeceased my grandmother. Her will states that all of her estate be divided equally among the three branches of her family tree. All her accounts had her 3 children as TOD designees, and the children were told she set it up like that so when she died, there would not be a wait for them to have access to the accounts, and they could then distribute them to the families. The problem is that LEGALLY, my aunt is the only surviving designee on the accounts. The will does not govern these assets. Even though we know what grandma told her to do, there is no legal compunction for her to do so...and she has removed the funds from the account (legally) and reinvestd them in her name somewher else. Thus, we have an attorney, and we are pursuing several courses of action to see if we can see that my grandparent's wishes can be fulfilled for all of their family, not just my aunt's. (I tried to make this as short as possible....sorry.)

If this helps any of you with your estate planning, please change whatever you need to change.

It's not about the money...it's the betrayal. It's the idea that my mom's little sister is able to turn her back on her nieces and nephews and say, "Tough on you. It's legal. It's mine." I wonder what my mom and grandma are thinking...and hope they will be pleased that we are trying to see that the matter is straightened out. I wonder. I mean, we could just roll over and let it go, but that would feel like I was letting my mom and grandma down, and that would feel a lot worse than making my aunt upset that I am challenging her. Oh, I'm not in this alone; my sister and dad are all in this together.

Sorry, if you read this far, I appreciate it. It was good to write all this down. It 's such heartbreaking time. It will get settled in time, one way or another.

On a lighter note, what's everyone doing for Labor Day? Share your plans!

If you have fall weather stories, share those, too!

Ok I was lost again...was wondering why I wasn't getting the daily updates from my NJ friends hahaha. I have a wicked headache trying to become a migraine so I can't post personals yet. I'm doing ok...still stressed but, I'm taking it one day at a time. Supposedly I'll hear next week about this new position and the battle of the wallet will begin. I just HATE that stuff. Just pay me fairly and you'll get double your money back, I've always been that kind of worker.

Another note...THANK YOU each and every one of you for keeping our thread a nice, peaceful, open minded thread. For Valuing others opinions and not snapping their head off if it doesn't match your way of thinking. My God....I was getting sick reading the crap. Who the heck even started a section for Gripes? That to me is just opening the board for this kind of thing? The swearing, name calling, yelling, finger pointing, members with new names, members banned...as Eileen would say WTF!!!!! Me...I'd take the Gripe board off...it's not helping the situation at all. I don't think it's being used for the right reasons IMHO. Eh....enough of this crapola already. I'll stick with my kin here in NJ. Love ya all!

I'll try personals soon I promise. thanks for thinking of me.

Hi there NJ gals!

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I have been popping by and reading everyone's posts. Happy September to you all! While I am sad that summer is over (and even sadder that the past 2-3 weeks have felt like fall) I am starting to get excited for Fall. Summer is my favorite, but Fall is a close second. The cool, crisp air is just awesome!

I have finally confirmed my date for surgery. October 2nd. A month from today exactly. I can hardly believe it! I am very excited to get started!

Well it's about 2:30 and I am still in my jammies. I think it's time to hop in the shower and get out of the house. lol. Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!

Chris

Wow! Look at all these posts and it's only the 2nd day of September. I have to catch up on all of the reading and then I'll do personals. Spent the last 3 days at my sister's house having a garage sale. Woop de doo - $170 split in two. Should have driven the lot to the Salvation Army and taken the tax break. Oh well - at least the closets are cleaned out!

We're having a campout in the backyard tonight with a bunch of the nieces and nephews. The women will be camped out inside with a bottle of wine, which suits me just fine.

Oh yeah... I got my fill on Wednesday. It took just one poke!!! I exhaled and said "Thank God!" when he hit the port. We both started to laugh - after the debacle last time I think he was more nervous than I was. And guess what? RESTRICTION BABY!! I feel like a new bandster again, and I'm so excited to see the scale heading downward. It's gone up and up since March. I might even set a goal of 199 for New Years. Could be a little optimistic, but we'll see...

Hope you're all enjoying your long weekend! Promise to catch up with personals soon!

Anne

Was a cooking day for me today. Made a nice big pot of "Greg's Special Soup" it's actually just like minestrone. The name all started when he was a wee child of about 4 and I couldn't get him to eat much. So one day I told him we'd make Greg's Special Soup that would make him strong. I prepped the ingredients and he mixed them in the pot with a wooden spoon. I told him every time he ate it he'd get much stronger and it would help his muscles grow. It was great when he went up to his grammy and said he was getting stronger because he had special soup. Grammy played along with it and felt his muscles confirming it. WELL that was a hit and he ate lots of it...all the veggies, meat and Pasta Grammy told the aunts and bingo Greg was getting stronger and stronger every time he saw a relative hahaha. Today he still loves it and he's 16. He actually asked if I could make it for him so he could have his soup for after school He's with is father this weekend but it's here for him when he gets home.

I also whipped up a batch of chili while DH dethatched the lawn. It is quite tasty if I say so myself heh heh. I have a small amount I'm trying to get down....used the gold old stick blender on it to make sure I chew it well enough lol. Lots of Protein in this anyway :eek:

Also put together a Southern banana Layer pudding for DH. He got spoiled today but, heck after dethatching and raking all day he deserves it. I HATE that job so I kept myself busy in the kitchen *wink* lol

Its been really chilly here as Chrispy said. She'll be over tomorrow for a visit I'm excited for her with her surgery date. I know she's going to do great with her band

Well folks...time to try to finish dinner and watch some tv with my DH. Oh I just finished "One For the Money" by Janet Evanovich. I really liked it...I guess I'll go for book #2

Hi everyone!

Well I signed up at Curves yesterday. I am getting kinda jiggly!! ok, I always was, but now it is more noticeable! I have my before picture (scary as hell let me tell ya!!) and my current picture, if anyone is willing to help me put them up. I will download them to the computer when I finish here. I have posted pics, but they come out HUGE! And I downloaded the resizing feature, mentioned in another thread, and I was supposed to be able to right click and resize...but I right click, and nothing has changed. So, I need help! I was pleased at being able to see some difference, but it also showed me how far I have to go, thus the Curves!! We did a family breakfast this morning, and spent some time with them shopping, and are waiting to see if DH is going to feel like riding (in the car) up to walk through the motorcycle rally. He is going to be so put out being around all the bikes, it might be better to just stay the heck away!

Cindy--thanks for the info, and yes I read the whole thing! When my Grandma died, well before that she had told my Mom and my Aunt, that she wanted things divided equally, except she wanted me to have a separate cash settlement. I lived right down the street from her, and I cooked for her and Grandpa every day, and I took them to all their appointments, etc. I knew nothing of what she told them, I did it because I loved them! Anyway at the time of her death when my Mom mentioned it to my Aunt, she said no, either they all get it or none. There are 4 of us grandkids, but 2 of them live so far away she had not seen them in almost 15 years. Anyway, because I told her not to Mom did not fight it. When you mentioned how your Grandma would have felt, it made me wish in ways I had let Mom do what was right. But with it being about money, and I was so insecure in myself at that stage of my life, I let it go. I am proud of you for honoring her wishes! She ask for it to be a certain way, and she deserves the respect of honoring those wishes! You go girl!

Patty--I was given jars of cocoa mix, and spiced tea mix last year as gifts, I loved them!!! I really used them up since my surgery. Good idea...you ought to print up a couple of recipes that your baking mix is used in and include with the jars! You are such a thoughtful person!

Eileen--I too was thinking that camel looked ready to spit!!! I love Zoos, and love that my grandkids are getting to the age to take!!

Anne--yard sales are sooo much work!!! I need to have one so badly, but keep putting it off. I had 2 kids move into new houses, so found homes for some of my junk!!! Enjoy your girl time during the campout!

Betty--I too would like to add my thanks.. what a job moderating would be when all this nonsense keeps going! It really does make me appreciate you moderators, and Alex. But mostly it makes me glad I have this group to turn to for advice and support. I find it sad that newbies have no idea these places exist maybe, because so much is being taken up with the battling.

Chris---WooHoo the countdown is on!! Congrats on the surgery date!!!

Mary--glad to see you back!!! You have done so well--you are CLOSE to your goal!!! Impressive! Glad the divorce crap is almost history. Time for new beginings. My wish is that they all be happy for you!

Pat--hope you haven't floated away!! Send your rain to TX!!

Dianne--glad Lucy is home, poor baby, can't you just relate to her hunger!!! Maybe if we had someone just dole out what we NEEDED rather than eating what we WANTED all these years!!! Give her ears a good scratch for me!

Sherry--good thoughts will be with you at work this week. You will make it!!!

Well DH says he is ready to go walk the rally, wish me luck guys he may turn into a total bear once we get there!

Big hugs to all

Kat

Hey gals is anyone interested in getting together in a chat room say yahoo or AIM just to chat sometime. Just to get away from the hull-a-balooey and have our own little chat sometime? I use both AIM and Yahoo for instant messengers if anyone is interested maybe we can figure something out

I think it would be fun to chat live sometime. Anywho....just saw a nice movie about a high school basketball coach..Coach Carter. Loved it...amazing influence on those boys

Hey just discovered that we can actually use the chatroom here and make a private chat if we wanted to or leave it open. I just created one labeled NJ Chat Kinda cool if anyone is interested sometime

Eileen and I went to play in the chatroom one night...it was fun after you get the hang of waiting for the next person to type! Some night when we're all hanging out, let's go chat!

Hey gang, just got an urgent email from Eileenie, she went to a weird thread in the food section and it hacked her computer and now she can't get back on LBT????

She asked me to notify a mod to tell them there's a problem, so Betty, just to let you know there may be a virus, per Eileen. I'm not going to go to her last post for fear of getting locked out.

Will be back later for personals..hugs!

Edited to say:

If you check new posts, you'll see one thread that says weird, just place your curser over the title to get a glimpse of the problem, the other says something about "hacker". I'm not going there, I chicken.