Great Idea - I will do it right now !!

Hi

I am Janet and I am a recovering food addict :wink2:

I was banded 7/17/07 - My starting weight was 250 - I'm 5'4

Today (just over 10 months out) I am 154 - size 8 pants (was 18/20) Medium tops (was 22/24)

I got banded as I wanted to extend the years that I have left on this planet and to do that I knew that I needed to lose weight.

The band has been the tool I needed. For the first time in my life I have been able to achieve this goal (actually getting to my goal weight)

If you want a buddy - support - help - suggestions - Please feel free to call upon me - I will gladly share my journey with you - the journey is still on going and by helping you I will be helping me (staying motivated and accountable) and then one day you can pay it forward and help someone else.

[/color]

act"]

Good Afternoon all.....

Its a raining again in NYC....what else is new? You all seem to be having spring creeping in but....weve only had rain..and more rain....and well nooooo spring????

EVA>>>>>>>>HAPPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope you enjoy the day. Today is the little boy I work withs bday as well so you share good company!!

Linda.... I am soo sorry to hear about your brothers diagnosis...im sure this was a shock to you all...but the consolation if any is that you get the chance to say goodbye and to say all those things that you never had the chance. Its not much but its a little something......again my prayers and thoughts are with you and your family at this time. If you are passing through NY and need a place please come anytime.

Lori....I hope that the meds with help. So important to take care of this problem now before it does turn into anything more serious....Feel better.

Luara....Your Dad is some trouper!!! Im sure alot of his strength has passed on to you because you also demonstrate enormous strength in takeing care of everybody!! I hope he gets some respite soon and feels stronger. Sorry about the Nels situation....you might want to consider giving ball playing a break for a bit. Perhaps another sport would be a better fit....like Soccer or Basketball or even hockey...where the ball is not thrown directily at you. I know I hated baseball when I was younger but loved other sports. We all arent athletically innate to play all sports but maybe one or two.......he has to experiment and find his own. (teacher speaking here, hope you arent offended)

Janet, Hope the vertigo is getting better and life will become normalized again. Never had vertigo but can be so dibiiltating so please take care and take those meds as prescribed!!! Please.

Jewel....You had posted such gorgeous pics of your family!!! You all make such a fabulous family!!!

Yea, about your dad.....so much for approriatenesss was your son with you at the time?? That could have been a little uncomfortable to have to explain. My family is a bit awkwards at times so I can totally relate....and im sorry...but.... YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHER PEOPLES ACTIONS. lol its something I need to keep in mind alot when visiting my family so perhaps it can help you as well.

Karen....Hope things are calming down some!!

LauraK hows things going.....rooting for you and the new friend. Lets hear about him!

Melissa, I am praying that you get that lead job.....crossing those fingers as you surely can use a break.

Cherri, Ive been saying a prayer for your daughter every day for a speedy and fast recovery.

I know im forgetting lots of others....so please forgive its been a trying few weeks so...cant remember all!

This week have been busy getting ready for passover.....its been cleaning and shopping and cleaning and shopping and then some more cleaning!!!

Well....the cleaning girl thank god is doing most of the heavy cleaning...and today that will pretty much be all done!! Yea. The closets are all done, clothes changed over, giveways done and pockets and bags cleaned and organized. Blankets and all the linens being washed as we speak....lol I like that! At the laundromat. Tonight.....I will be koshering the pots and silver stuffs.....Lots still left to do......but its all coming together....

We are going to ahve the second seder by me again...so we are having the whole family plus five friends. That will be 18 all together including my mother and my father and his wife, my half brothers and my sister and all the kids and its going to be another party! WOO HOO ...not...but everyone is chipping in so I dont have to pay for this all myself which would not be able to do. Am happy to do all the cooking and table settings etc and housing.....my mom will help and my sister in law said shel make a main dish...meaning ill have to have two others because shes not the best cook lol. But appreciate the gesture! Everyone else wll bring wine and desert bought as no one else keeps Kosher.

But....Have three days left to shop and get it all together before Monday morning....

Things going so nicely with Phyl. Really like him. Dassi likes him as well we spent sat night together and he will be coming over tonight for a birthday celebration together with Dassi and his son and tomorrow we will be going out alone on another real date. We speak about twice daily now and its....um really nice.....really nice. Have I said I really like him??? hmmm well ....I do. Kind of hard to do all that needs to be done this week with him on my mind but.....am a trying my hardest!!!

Welll must go

Have a great afternoon alll.

Jodi

Happy Birthday Eva!

Jodi, I am so happy you found such a nice man.....he may be a keeper!

Linda, I am so sorry for your brothers news. It sounds as though his body is just shutting down. Where does he live? Are you going to go see him?

Janet, I am watching an infomercial on how to use Chaz Dean's products. I sure hope it takes the friz out of my hair. It is fine right when I wash, dry , and flatiron it then a few hours later it is frizzy.

Melissa, keep us informed on when you have an interview. HUGS!

Apples, You are one busy lady again. When are you opening the lake house? It should be soon. HUGS! on trial and tribulation with peeps trying to steal your joy.....we love you!

Lori, sounds like this new doctor knows what he is doing. I hope the medication works for you. As for me, going back on pepcid has really helped with the pbing. I should have taken it all along. Ever since I had my gall bladder out in 91 I have had an over acid gut. I don't have the reflux when I sleep.....only when I eat. Crazy!

Oh Laura, that must have really hurt Nels. I hope he doesn't stop training with the pro. My DS has gone to several camps with pros and he is on a select team now. The lessons really build confidence.

Phyl, glad you checked in. Bummer having to go back to the cold. It is in the high eighties today. Not complaining......just counting my blessing!

Julie, good to see you posting again. When is the grandbaby due?

Cheri, prayers for Rachel.....Honestly, I do pray for her. I don't say it if I don't do it!

Hey Gang, I am back from my cruise. I had a blast. It was so relaxing and exciting at the same time. I ate well and didn't gain any weight. Probably cause I did alot of dancing. I rode a jetski in key west. That was the most fun of the whole trip. Jake rode with me so Hubby could really ride without throwing him off. He was scared when I first got up to speed but by the end I heard little giggles coming from behind me. Those are the best. We had lots of quailty time. Here are some pictures. these are from our formal night.

I was surprised to get on the scale this morning and see I hadn't gained.

I use my iPad in class all the time. I take attendance on it. Keep grades on it. Do lots of keynote presentations with embedded video, music, text and photos. I can show YouTube and things on the Internet as well. It hooks right up to an LCD projector. My student love all the things I do with it and so do my admins.

I haven't had my iPad2 for very long so I'm still learning how to use it. I'd probably be further along in that if I'd quit playing "Angry Birds" every time I turn it on!! LOL! I know it has a lot of potential and may eventually be using it more than my laptop!! I waited in line here in Palm Springs for many days trying to buy one when my DH finally got up very early in the morning, got to the Apple Store by 6 a.m. and they just happened to have a large shipment of exactly what I wanted that day... ATT, 64 mg (well, the 64 was actually his idea... I was going to settle for 32!) Appreciate your sharing all that you use yours for! And...

welcome to our site! Don't think I've seen you post before.

I uploaded the pictures to facebook first. Once they are uploaded to the internet they are given a url code. You will need this url code to post them. To get it right click on the picture and a menu will appear. Select Properties from that menu and you will see the url code. Copy it. Come here to the area where you type your post and there is a little link on the toolbar that looks like a picture of a beach (beneath the font size). Click on that and a box will appear. Paste your url code into that box and click on "insert image" and you've got it. Just try it a few times and you'll get the hang of it. It is somewhat complicated and I don't understand why they set it up this way. We use to be able to share pictures so easily. Pictures really are an important part of our journey. They give us a fresh, less distorted view of ourselves.

Speaking of that. I still keep getting clothes that are too big. I see the smaller clothes and don't recognize them as my size still. My MIL gave me a couple shirts she thought should fit and I was surprised when they did. We are actually the same size and yet I see her as being alot thinner than me. If that makes sense. On the cruise ship I saw my reflection and thought it was another person walking behind me. I don't see the weightloss until I look at a picture. In the mirror I see the same thing I did 50-60 pounds ago. It's really strange.

We went shopping in the bahamas and I carried a backpack that weighed about 5- 10 pounds. I was really getting tired of carrying it cause it felt heavy but then the thought hit me, I had been carrying around 6-12 times that weight before the lapband.

Really I am still carrying 6-12 times that weight now. I can't imagine how I am gonna feel to get this off. I wonder too how I will be able to run.

You are to be commended for your success on the cruise!! I'm afraid to get on the scale this week after our 8 days in Cabo!!! I'm still catching up on all the posts from when I was gone so it took me until today to finally find your cruise pictures and the picture of Sandy and her daughter that everyone was referring to. AND, I'm so glad you shared those directions as to how to post photos. I have a lot on FB, so I'll try that! Thanks. Your cruise pics are OUTSTANdING! What a beautiful lady and a handsome husband and son... lovely family!

I remember years ago when I got down to 118 lb, I'd go shopping for a uniform (I'm also an RN), and I was always looking at sizes that were too big. And had similar experiences with seeing my reflection. The hospital where I worked had this long passageway that was glass on both sides and I'd walk through there and see my reflection and wonder who that was!!

I am trying our Jessicas picture inserting directions. If this works you will see a picture of my daughter and I from Christmas.

Beautiful photo, Sandy! Glad I finally found it!!

Lori, Just found your ipad questions. As I said, still trying to catch up on a week+ worth of posts!!

You're probably way ahead of me in the learning curve by now! Like I said... if I'd quit playing Angry Birds on it I'd probably be more proficient by now! I bought the blue cover and then I bought a binder type thing at Walmart. I didn't take it to Mexico, but I'm thinking that I need to put it in a purse or bag of some kind if I'm carrying it around! I think I will eventually be using it more than my laptop.

As you can see, I'm working hard at catching up this afternoon!! There is a LOT to read, so forgive me if I don't respond to everything, but just read one of your posts from when I was gone, Jodie, and it really touched my heart... the judge's decision w/Dassi and the distribution of the $$ in her trust. I am so sorry that you are having to struggle with all of this! It just doesn't seem fair not to be able to use those funds for what she needs NOW!! Hoping it somehow all works out for both of you! This is probably a bold and inappropriate comment, but wondering if this new guy that you REALLY like may be part of God's provision for you??!! Please forgive me for saying that, but can't help that it crossed my mind! Seems like you two have really "CLICKED"!! You are a lovely young lady with much to share and a lot of life ahead of you. I know we'd all be tickled pink if you found someone to be a longtime "companion"!

Evening all, Gotta make this quick as I have alot of school work. Made it to the doc today. I have strep throat and it was the birth control pills making me feel faint. He took me off them and asked me to take a baby asprin. I am not sure how my band will like that but The doc is concerned about blood clotting. I am a bit disappointed cause I liked them better than the alternative. But it is what it is. Hubby went with me today and the doctor checked him for strep too. We both have it.

Hubby's boss is making strides to lessen the hours my husband is working. He will have to work some days and nights but will have 3 days off a week. Hopefully they implement that soon. The stress has him so worn out he has bloody diarrhea. Doc knows about that too and gave advice for him to take immodium if it doesn't improve he will be going and having some test run. I have known this doc for so long he told my husband I look a bit worn down.

Phyl, it's so good to see you back again. But you're heading up north again and we won't be hearing from you so much while you travel, will we. Glad your Cabo time was so enjoyable....I could use a little of that right now.

Just emptied "Karen's" house (DH's Mom's house) of all the kitchen, bath, and bedding. Apparently the prospective renters are hyper allergenic and can't handle any of it. It wasn't exactly on my schedule or what I wanted to do today, but it's done. Now I have to figure out what to do with the stuff. My Jeep is stuffed.

DH just drove up...we are going to a concert tonight....later.

Eva

Don't know if I ever said beautiful pic of you and your daughter, Sandi. They were gorgeous.

Happy Birthday Eva!

Had a tearful or verge of tears day today. Rachel is the last thing on my mind when I fall asleep and the first on my mind when I wake up. I'm hoping to take some family leave time next week and spend the week with her after her chemo next Monday. This will be her final dose of the big time chemo. Each time she's been more and more sick and the aftereffects last longer. Her DH needs a break. And I need to spend time with her. For me.

Cheri

Oh yes I must say HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVA.

My brother joined other loved ones in heaven today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. I'm still in pretty much a state of shock. Just doesn't seem real to me. My sister and I will travel to Pittsburgh Thursday and return on Sunday. Going to be a tough time but will get through it with God's help. Thanks for all the prayers -- he went peacefully and that's a blessing.

I'll cbl Thanks for everything.

Linda

My brother joined other loved ones in heaven today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. I'm still in pretty much a state of shock. Just doesn't seem real to me. My sister and I will travel to Pittsburgh Thursday and return on Sunday. Going to be a tough time but will get through it with God's help. Thanks for all the prayers -- he went peacefully and that's a blessing.

I'll cbl Thanks for everything.

Linda

No, Linda...so sorry.. I'm just crying for you right now. I really love you and respect you and I am sooooo sorry for your pain. Words are just word but I hope you can feel what is in my heart for you right now. I love you, Karen

My brother joined other loved ones in heaven today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. I'm still in pretty much a state of shock. Just doesn't seem real to me. My sister and I will travel to Pittsburgh Thursday and return on Sunday. Going to be a tough time but will get through it with God's help. Thanks for all the prayers -- he went peacefully and that's a blessing.

I'll cbl Thanks for everything. Linda

So very, very sorry to hear that, Linda. My heart goes out to you and your family. Will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. Hugs, GF!!!

Linda, I am so sorry for your loss.

My brother joined other loved ones in heaven today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. I'm still in pretty much a state of shock. Just doesn't seem real to me. My sister and I will travel to Pittsburgh Thursday and return on Sunday. Going to be a tough time but will get through it with God's help. Thanks for all the prayers -- he went peacefully and that's a blessing.

I'll cbl Thanks for everything.

Linda

Oh, Linda, I am so sorry for your loss. I will be praying for you and your family.

Thanks everyone. Here's a pic of us last summer during our vacation together. My brother is next to me in the green shirt.