Before and after pics are great. They're extremely inspirational...but I am so sick of seeing the pictures that people take at specific angles to make themselves look thinner. C'mon people! Don't just be honest with us, be honest with YOURSELF! Stop holding the camera higher then your face and sticking your neck out. You're not fooling anyone but yourself!

Not sure you would love it this year Bjean! I am in the 4 corners area...NW of Albq. & Santa Fe. Right now I have about a foot and a half of snow in my yard! And the mountains in and around Santa Fe have more than that! In the mountains around Chama they got an additional 2 feet of snow yesterday! We are having a very wet winter!

We usually get quite a bit of snow, I am just a few miles south of the Colorado border---so, close to the mountains, but this year, we have had a lot of snow! Should make for a beautiful Spring!

The balloon fiesta in Albq. is the first weekend in October. The state fair there is the 2nd & 3rd weekends in September. When was the last time you were there for the balloon fiesta? Had they built the new balloon park yet? Sounds kind of odd to say they built it---when in actuality they levelled everything in order to have space! But they did build the museum for it, and vendor stalls, as well as restrooms and parking areas. This last year they broke all kinds of records for the most shaped balloons. We took my granddaughter, she loved it!

A balloon ride is going to be my Moms birthday gift this year from my brother and I.

If EVER you go again, let me know, I will meet you there!

Kat

maybe you need to dig deeper into yourself and see why you are negative and mean spirited.my mom used to say"if you can t say something nice-don t say anything"

Your green -eyed monster came out didn t it?

Please, I beg of you... include me in! I love New Mexico and all things native to it. If I could choose any place to live, it would be the mountains of New Mexico. Second and third choices being Arizona and Colorado. We've spent a few weeks in Albuquerque for the balloon festival over the years. And I love Santa Fe in the winter.

Thanks green. Given the time and money, we could map out a really fun trip to discover the great southwest!

I am oh so for this idea. And I am retired. We should determine on a good time and then the 3 of us will be there because we ain't square. This could be total fun for us.

And what is this about ballooning? I went ballooning in Turkey and it was bluddy brilliant. I sure would love to do this again. And as for shopping and eating bbq, meeting cowboys and horsemen, any of these events sound interesting to me. Remember that I am Canadian. Canadians can do snow.*

*Come to think about it, I live in Toronto, and thanks to global warming and big city micro climate we don't see much snow anymore. Maybe I cannot do snow. !!?!! Just a thought. A thought which other Canucks will appreciate, especially those who detest Toronto. *wink & lol*

I LOVE SNOW!! That's one reason I enjoyed living in Montreal so much!!! Everytime I had the chance I walked miles in the snow - once even got frostbite in a couple of exposed places on my face because I was having so much fun that I was oblivious to the cold.

Gosh, it must have been about 6 years or so since we went to the balloon festival in New Mexico. DH used to have business at Sandia Labs. I don't remember the festival park so I'm sure it hadn't been built yet.

You say you're just south of the Colorado border, Kat? You're probably east of it, but have you ever been to Cuchara, CO? We came this close > < to buying a property there in the late 70's. I've always thought it was a mistake that we didn't. The last time I was there was about 4 years ago and it was still very beautiful. Prices had gone up a tad... surprise, surprise.

I got to go up in a balloon when we lived in Montreal. There is a balloon festival in the fall in Saint Jean sur Richlieu. It was fantastic. They did the whole ceremony when we landed with the dirt on our heads and wine and everything. The farmer was proud that we landed on his property and he was very gracious. Our pilot was very experienced and considered to be the best one at the festival. After he told us a few operating tips about ballooning, I realized how important it is to get an excellent pilot if you ever go up.

They made arrangements at DH's work for us to go up and he had to tell them how much we weighed. Wouldn't you know the funny thing now is I remember how I lied about my weight prior to the flight because I didn't want DH's coworkers to know how fat I was. I had to pull the pilot aside before we went up and tell him the truth. Sigh. Little did I know at the time I could get even bigger!! I guess I figured I'd explode before my skin would stretch so much.

I am actually west...We are about 30 minutes out of Durango CO. I have family all over Colorado---so believe it or not I do know where you are talking about!! Property values have soared in the area, it is getting to be quite the hot spot for celebrities to call home!! My DD went to school functions and met up with Kate Hudson, her Mom, and Kurt Russell have a place in southern Colorado, that they raised the kids at. Oprah has a monsterous place near the slopes in Aspen. I have a friend who has 14 acres unimproved....no utilities other than a Water well drilled, in Telluride, and she rents it for pasture land, to some big computer guru, for over $5K a month!!! He has 6 horses on it...that he never does a thing with. Not too shabby for land that you have to do nothing with!!!

I am not a huge snow fan myself, I am ready for summer!! We ride motorcycles, and I like the warmth!!! I used to handle the winter better---but then I lost my outer layer of insulating fat, and I get cold now!! I seldom wore a jacket before, now I hibernate in front of the fire! Hoping that eases some with the thyroid issue taken care of.

LOL, I have a feeling my Mom is not going to be thrilled with divulging her weight either---but she has always wanted to go up, and has never been. I went years ago when I was married the first time, my ex husband and I were part of a chase crew for a smaller balloon fiesta they hold locally each year over Memorial Day Weekend. I loved it!

Dad's dream was a glider ride, and we have managed that both locally, and then they both went when we were in Hawaii. So now we have to get Mom in a balloon!!!

Kat

BJean and Kat, how wonderful you made this thread a bit more delightful, it was so negative. You brought sunshine to this cloudy place.

I've never been to a pow-wow and not eaten fry bread; that will be a new experience post band....

When y'all get down to San Antonio, make sure and drop in to the Liberty Bar. It's a great place, and a do not miss.

I thought I would pop in for a quick bit and just say HI.. I have been MIA for Awhile - you know always busy with my boys (6) & (10).They do keep me on the go.. Here is my latest Pic - not where I want to be but close, I am working on getting 20lbs off that I gained but I am at least happy with where I am. I attached a before and after Pic of where I started.

Well hope to stop by soon again - you all take Care....OMG can someone make me smaller please...

Mary

Thanks green. Given the time and money, we could map out a really fun trip to discover the great southwest!

Oooh I wanna come. I would love to live in either New Mexico or Arizona. Did live in Tucson very briefly when I was rather young. It's soo much easier for me to cool off than to warm up. I love the land of the southwest, and the culture. I need to get a divorce. My husband cherishes his winters, and swears he's faint if the weather tops 80. Maybe we can just invest in a second household, and spend Spring & Fall together...

Count me in, too, ladies! I've always wanted to see the southwest. My parents lived in Arizona for a few years while my dad did his veterinary residency, but I've only been there when I was a baby.

Grow up Trixie or whatever your name is!! I am geez...you should be happy for people!! Good God!!! Jealous?? Can't work a camera?? They have manuals for that :confused:

Grow up Trixie or whatever your name is!! I am geez...you should be happy for people!! Good God!!! Jealous?? Can't work a camera?? They have manuals for that :tt1:

oh ashley ... dontcha know that the almighty Truxie is a trained photographer and has an eye for this stuff :confused: ... yet, i dont recall ever seeing HER glorious pic on the before/after thread ... guess i wont now ... the ignore function is a glorious tool here!

Oooh I wanna come. I would love to live in either New Mexico or Arizona. Did live in Tucson very briefly when I was rather young. It's soo much easier for me to cool off than to warm up. I love the land of the southwest, and the culture. I need to get a divorce. My husband cherishes his winters, and swears he's faint if the weather tops 80. Maybe we can just invest in a second household, and spend Spring & Fall together...

Yep, Wheets, Laurend, let's all do it! I think that this would be oh so cool.... Whaddya think, Kat, if Wheets, Laurend, BJean, and Green all descend on your part of the world for a visit with you? You could give us the name of a hotel nearby, etc, and one of us, someone more organised than me could work out all the details of the trip. I am good at showing up on time, and being a pleasant and amusing travelling companion.

I thought I would pop in for a quick bit and just say HI.. I have been MIA for Awhile - you know always busy with my boys (6) & (10).They do keep me on the go.. Here is my latest Pic - not where I want to be but close, I am working on getting 20lbs off that I gained but I am at least happy with where I am. I attached a before and after Pic of where I started.

Well hope to stop by soon again - you all take Care....OMG can someone make me smaller please...

Mary

You look absolutely lovely and you have already done a fine job of losing weight. I am sure that you will nail those final 20lbs. It is nice to see you back and great to see your photos and get your update. Congratulations!

I thought I would pop in for a quick bit and just say HI.. I have been MIA for Awhile - you know always busy with my boys (6) & (10).They do keep me on the go.. Here is my latest Pic - not where I want to be but close, I am working on getting 20lbs off that I gained but I am at least happy with where I am. I attached a before and after Pic of where I started.

Well hope to stop by soon again - you all take Care....OMG can someone make me smaller please...

Mary

Hello Mary. Glad to hear you are doing so well. You probably don't even remember me. There were very few of us back in 2004, this site is so big now, it is hard to know everyone on here. Glad to see one of my oldies on here and don't worry you'll get those 20 lbs. :biggrin: