Well, kind of gross title, LOL, but the first thing that came to mind when I read it that "eating in private is still eating!" And that's what I've been doing a lot of these past weeks. Even though we might hide to eat our food or just hide our food, it's still massive amounts of calories that just pack on the pounds and make us all the more unhealthy..... physically AND emotionally! It's a double edged sword and a very sharp one, I must admit. I've been piercing myself with it frequently these past weeks as well. I know some of you will know what I'm talking about, how the eating feels so "necessary" and so we do it and then feel TERRIBLE about ourselves for being so weak willed and hating the way I look only compounds the feeling. Self esteem is at an all time low.....

But Lesley suggested I start a new journal.... a fresh start to something I need to do, lose weight and get healthy! So here I am, with a new journal and a new start. I don't know where I'm going yet or exactly how I'm going to get there, but today I'm willing to "take that first step". I love my new quote.... "Baby steps.... you do not need to see the top of the staircase to take the first step." That can be so true in all our endeavors, no matter how far we are from the top of that staircase…. health and healing can only begin AFTER I’ve taken that first step.

You know how they say that you never really fail if you are still trying? Well, I think I stopped trying for awhile, but I want to try again. It might be slow going for me, but once I get my footing, WATCH OUT!! I will be successful again and I will find something that works for me. I am determined to be thinner and ultimately healthier!! No time limits, no expectations except to wake up every morning and try my hardest to make better choices and treat myself more kindly…. I deserve to be treated with respect and I don’t do that. TODAY that changes!! I deserve more from ME….

I’m posting some recent pictures of Zoey for you all. She’s 6 months old now and growing like a weed! She is truly a light in my life right now. She’s just such a pleasant, easy going baby…. and she makes me smile and that’s always a good thing!

Thanks to all of you that posted in my other journal and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers you sent our way. I appreciate all of you more than you know….

Awwwwww! What a CUTIE! 6 months is a GOOD age.. 5 months is hard, but 6 months is awesome. :) Well, I think so.. they are old enough to be entertained by things!

Welcome back. You were missed and I was very worried! :x

Corinna

Thanks, Corinna.... no need to worry. I just wasn't functioning very well. But I need to start pushing myself a little. So here I am!

Zoey is SO busy when she's in that exersaucer! She LOVES it!!

Welcome back! We really did miss you! Glad you are taking time for you!

Thanks, Melissa.... I missed you all, too.

Hi DJ,

I was also getting worried about you. I am so glad you are back with a new journal.

Zoey is absolutely beautiful. Such rosy cheeks. :)

Carol

Hi Dj :wave:

I am THRILLED to see you back :D

Beautiful Grand daughter ! :)

Have you seen the TOPS pledge? Your journal title's reasoning reminds me of it..

http://www.tops.org/ReadArticle.asp?articleId=1705

I'm a happy camper, you're back!

Aaaaw! What sweet cheeks!

So the title of the new journal made me crack up, and after reading your first post I completely understand and agree. How often do we all sneak that bite of this or binge after everyone has gone to bed thinking that no one is looking. But you know, I heard something on Christian radio yesterday that really has me thinking - what can any of us do that God will not see? We're never truly on our own, and He, as much as anyone else, wants us to lead happy and healthy lives. I'm using that faith as my strength to get me through this time - I can't do it on my own & I know I can't. But I can do it with Him!

Sorry... didn't mean to go all preachy there! :) Good luck in those first few steps, with your six month old Zoey in your life I'm sure you realize those first ones are a doozy, but we get the hang of it with practice, patience, and a few tears!

MD

Good to see you back, DJ! Your granddaughter is adorable. :) I absolutely LOVE the pics of her in the hats. When my daughter was little (up to about 5 yrs. old) she had tons of hats. She was always such a cutie, lol. Then suddenly she wouldn't wear them anymore. :( Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, lol.

I like the title of your new journal, although I liked the one about not sending your ducks to eagle school too! That was really original, lol. Start taking those baby steps and you'll be on your way. You'll be glad you did when Zoey starts running around! :D

YAY she's back. Welcome back my dear, glad you decided to finally rejoin our ranks, we missed you.

What an adorable little granddaughter. I bet you are just loving being with her.

Have a great day.

Zoey is SO CUTE -- goodness knows they grow so fast .. DOGGONE it .. Monica

Hi DJ
Ok I am back too. Where do you get these ideas for your journal titles?

Hilarious!

But oh so true... I too am a sneak eater. I don't know who I think I am fooling - I did so well for a while and then ???

Maybe now that you are back you can kick my butt again when I need it!

Welcome back!

Hi Dj: Your little granddaughter Zoey is absolutely a doll and by the looks of it she loves the camera too..:)
Glad you are back with us... and I too love the title of your journal.. When are you going to Wales?
Take care and come in every day.. or we will have to send someone out looking for you.. by the way I don't function well many days:D
Hugs
Lulu

Thanks everyone... and I'll respond individually when I get back in here. It's after 11pm and I'm on my way to bed. I had Zoey today and had a lot of fun with her. She's trying so hard to crawl, but it looks like she's really trying to fly. Too cute....

But I'm bushed and tomorrow morning I have to take my daughter Cimmee to the hospital. Most of you know she hasn't been doing well since Jessie's trial went on and the dr. has diagnosed her with Post traumatic stress disorder. He wants to change all her meds and he wants her in the hospital to do it. She's not eating much and is a little slip of a thing anyway (about 90 pounds now) and she still isn't sleeping. The new meds are supposed to help her sleep, help with the panic attacks and anxiety and the anti-depressant is supposed to also perk up her appetite. So we'll see.... she was fighting going, but has decided (after MUCH talking with her sister, Carah and I this afternoon...) that she'd best trust the Dr. and just try doing what he's telling her to do. I reminded her that what she's been trying hasn't been working so well, so maybe it's time to trust the Dr. to do what he knows how to do.

I don't know if I'll be allowed to visit her or how they'll handle all that, but I'm taking her at 9am tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be back sometime tomorrow in time to respond and update.

I did have a small-ish victory last night.... I've been stress eating at night horribly. Of course after everyone is in bed and asleep. But I decided I would try not to last night and I didn't. I didn't have anything last night and it's been a LONG time since that's happened!! I don't honestly remember the last time I didn't eat in bed before going to sleep. That's shameful, but it's something I really need to change. One night at a time, I guess and hopefully tonight will be night 2 for that particular bad habit.

I'll be back tomorrow... have a good night everyone and thanks so much for all the support. I really, really need it.

I am happy she has agreed to go and will add her to my prayers :)

GREAT to see you back and updating :D

way to go on you not eating in bed ( something I am very guilty of ) :up:

So so sorry to hear about Cimmee.. but the hospital is probably the best place for her due to the circumstances..and ou are right the docs can monitor her closer in there..
Hope she gets back to herself really son.. It has been a long stretch since Jessie's death for Cimmee and all of you

:hug:
Lulu

Hi DJ

I amglad tohearthat your daughter is getting help. Sometimes things are too much to deal with on your own and your body chemistry alters because of it. It may be a few weeks before the meds stabilize in her system and she may get side effects for the first week or 2. The side effects usually disappear with 2 weeks (for me it was a couple of days) and it is worth putting up with them for a short time.

How are YOU doing with all this? I am happy to hear that you didn't stress eat at night. That is a really big habit to stop. You are going to be even more stressed now I tink because of visiting the hospital and all of that in addition to your regular day. It might actually relieve some of the stress to know that she is being monitored and getting help. I think that will take some of the weight off your shoulders.

I wish I could be there and give you a hug!

You need to step back now and take some time for DJ. Perhaps take half an hour every day for a walk (now the weather is getting nicer) and listen to some theraputic music while you walk. Different music will work on different days but a faster beat will keep you walking faster. Taking that half hour also gets you away from all your responsibilities for half an hour. Leave the dishes, the laundry or whatever else and get out for that half hour. You will feel so much better afterwards.

OK DJ - where are you? It is time to get back here.

Hello DJ! I just saw that you have a new journal! (so far behind, I know...) The title made me lol! :rofl:

What wonderful pictures of your little angel Zoey! She has the same kiss-able cheeks as my little Madeline. Looks like she is going to keep those pretty blue eyes, huh? What a fun age Zoey is at -- she'll be crawling before you can blink.

I'm terribly sorry to hear that your younger daughter is having a hard time. I saw parts of the trial on TV. The poor family was so upset at the sentencing hearing -- but he just sat there stone faced. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers!

I'm glad that Cimmee agreed to go in to the hospital. How is that going?

I hope you are doing okay.

Hi Dj,
stopping in to say hello..i have been thinking of Cimmee and wondering how she is going. i will keep her and you all in my thoughts and prayers.
hugs bell :)

Hi DJ

We miss you here and we are all thinking of you and Cimmee. How is she doing? How are you doing with all this? Please let us know.

Well, I am back and am sorry I've been gone so long. We've been CRAZY busy and I feel like I'm just spinning in circles trying to get everything done.

I guess I'll start by telling you all how Cimmee is doing. She's some better, but by no means back to normal yet.... closer, though. She's supposed to be going back to work tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes and if she goes through with it. The dr. keeps upping her dose of meds and she just seems tired and out of it a lot of the time. That's not like her and it concerns me a little. But I'm trying to trust that the dr. knows what he's doing.

Serenity Singers is in full swing of their performance season and we had one performance on Sunday afternoon. We have another one tonight and then Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Next week is Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. And then we're done for the summer. Things are going pretty good, but we've all been a little behind this season. We had some extra evening rehearsals towards the end of practice time to catch up a little.... hopefully, Christmas season will be a little easier. I am SO nervous about June 1st's performance, though... our former director is coming to that performance to see the choir and I have never directed in front of him before. He and his wife (who used to sing with the choir) are coming in from Florida for a few days and he really is excited about seeing my family and me, but also excited to hear the choir. He's a good friend, but his and my taste in music and our thoughts on what kind of stuff the choir should and shouldn't be doing are so different. I'm going to have to work SO hard on not worrying on what he's thinking and keeping my focus on what I'm doing while I'm directing! GAACCKK!!! I'm glad they are coming home for a visit, but I kind of wish he'd skip the Singers. LOL

We're getting ready to go home to Wales, too.... my husband hasn't seen his family for 10 years now and we felt it was time. Tickets were so expensive but we're going for 3 weeks, so it should be well worth it. It'll be especially nice for my mom, who is 78, to see things outside of the U.S.

So on top of Singers stuff and babysitting Zoey 3 to 4 days a week, I will be busy packing and getting things ready to be gone. My daughter, Carah is keeping my dogs with her at her house and I'm am a little nervous about being away from them for so long, but I'm sure she'll take good care of them. I just hope neither one of them gets loose or runs off because they aren't familiar with the area at all. And another friend of mine is going to visit the house everyday to make sure all the plants are watered and things are okay that way, too. I am working hard to put my worries about flying behind me, too. I haven't flown nor have I wanted to since 9/11.... but it's going to be fine, I'm sure. And it'll be wondeful to see my in-laws and friends that I haven't seen in 10 years, although I will be very self conscious to have people see me since I've gained weight this last 10 years.

Which brings me to the diet front.... I haven't been formally dietting, but have been better at being aware of snacking and if I do snack, it's something healthy or measured. And I've almost stopped the eating before sleep at night.... if I do have something, it's been grapefruit or watermelon. And that's been enough. But this month I've been having shots in my knee every Thursday morning and every other Thursday morning I've been getting epidural shots in my back for the spinal stenosis. Both sets of shots has been almost miraculous! I am walking better and in SO much less pain and as a result of that I have been able to move around more. So the combination of just some very small changes in my food and increased activity has helped me to lose weight this month. Since I started my shots at the beginning of May, I've lost 10.5 pounds! I am really happy with that and feel like it's a great start! I know I will be very active in Wales, so that should help me to continue with the weight loss. I am very encouraged for a change! It helps with the attitude when you aren't in pain every day. What a gift!

Anyway, before this turns into a novel, I am going to end this. I will try to come in here several times a week, at least.... I hope everyone's doing well and thanks to everyone who stopped in here to check up on me. Take care!

Hi DJ,

It is good to hear from you. I do miss you when you are gone.

Everything sound so good for you. The trip, the pain control and the Serenity Singers. Keep up the good work.

Carol

I've been thinking a lot about you - glad things are going well. :)

Hi Dj... You've sure been missed around here.. I was just wondering a few days back where you've been. I'm so glad you are back though.
You little grand daughter is a doll.. I don't know if you know this or not but I now have a little grand daughter of my own.. Her name is Brooke-Lynne .. She is the apple of my eye... She is so much fun.. She was born March 6th and she constantly smiles...My daughter took a picture of me holding her when she wasn't even 1 hour old yet and she has this big big smile on her face. We knew it wasn't gas cuz she wasn't fed yet..LOL.. But she has been a smiler from day one.. and so alert... She reaches out for things now and grabs her little hand and likes to touch your face.. Just 2 weeks ago she started giggling out loud .. and she babbles up a storm.. Such an easy going baby. It's so much fun having this little one as an addition to our family..
Wow how awesome for you and hubby on that trip situation.. That is fabulous..
I was also sorry to read what your daughter went through and hope things get 100% better for you.. Thank goodness she has you in her life..
Anyhow..welcome back lady.. :hug:

Hello! congrats on the weight loss and not night eating. that is a big, huge problem for me. I hear you on the hiding the food, eating in bed, eating in private, its all a bad eating disorder, an illness is what i call it.

I remember when your daughter was pg because she was a little ahead of my daughter. Your granddaughter is adorable and i love the name. My first grandchild is almost 4 1/2 months old now. He is the apple of my eye and makes me smile on days i dont want too. My daughter still lives with me so i see the baby every day and i watch him while she works and if she goes out here and there.

Have a good time in wales visiting family., wow 10 yrs of not seeing them is so long. it will be a great reunion for you all. take care.

Hi Dj: A huge congrats on the weight loss... Glad to hear Cimmee is somewhat better. I certainly hope she recovers completely from all that has happened and will not be on meds for the rest of her life..
Am so glad your are enjoying little Zoey and The Serenity Singers.. I bet they sound wonderful.
I was thinking just recently when you were leaving for Wales... What a nice trip for you.. You deserve it and need it.
Take care Dj and if I don't get back here have a wonderful holiday.. Will be thinking of you in such a beautiful country :)

Over 10 pounds! That is fantastic DJ! That will certainly help motivate you to keep going. I hope you come here tonight or tomorrow - I want to hear all about the BIG performance that you were so worried about.

Thank you so much for PMing me. I really do need to get ontrack again and knowing that peopole do care is a big help - it means a lot to me.

I am glad that Cimmee is doing a bit better. The tiredness can be a reaction to facing some of the feelings and working through them. It is VERY important that she eats balanced meals during this time. Try to keep her away from prepared foods, fast foods, sugar and white anything. I have found that antidepressants work best when you eat pure and natural foods. I don't mean you have to goto the health food store or anything - just lots of fresh (locally grown if possible) fruit and vegetables, whole grains and fish. Chicken and other meats are ok too - but the fish is the best.

I don't always follow my own advice and that is something I am working on. When you are depressed like that you don't want to prepare anything so you do what I call "grab and go". You eat anything and everything that is ready to eat. It would be great if you could keep veggie sticks and cut fruit in the fridge so you can all snack on it. Maybe you can interest her in having a cooking night where you cook up and freeze some healthy meals that you can just zap in the microwave later. It would give the 2 of you a chance to do some talking without sitting down to talk - if you know what I mean.

Anyway please come and give us an update.

OK DJ

Now I am back and you are not. We HAVE to do this. I pm'd you this morning - please let me know how things are going.

hi Dj,
been way too long since i have stopped in and seen how you are doing.
i hope that all is well with you and your family.
hugs bell :)

Good morning, everyone. It's been WAY too long since I've been in here! I have been SO busy with Serenity Singers performances and now getting ready for our trip to Great Britain. I have some errands to run this morning and then the packing will begin! :laugh:

Our performances went really, really well. We had so many good (actually wonderful) responses and I am thrilled! The Sunday performance that I wrote about in here that my previous director and his wife were coming to..... well, that was amazing! They LOVED it and couldn't stop talking about it. We went to a picnic at Jeff's daughters house afterwards and they just went on and on about it and that was so thrilling and a relief. We gained a choir member from a gal that heard us at the Founders Day weekend and the day after it was all over, I had the funniest phone call. I picked up the phone not knowing who it was (private number) and she asked for me. After I told her it was me, she started out by saying "I'm really upset about the Serenity Singers"..... I thought, oh great... here it comes. Well, she went on to say that after everything was done at Founders Day, she went to buy a CD of the Serenity Singers and there weren't any! LOL The recording company records all the speakers, but they don't do Serenity Singers.... too many legalities with music for them to do that. But we make our own CD's to give away and I told her when we got them done I would send her one. Too funny.....

Zoey is growing like a weed!! I'm still watching her 3 to 4 days a week and she is so funny. She never ceases to make me laugh. My life is so much richer because she's a part of it now. I'm inserting some pictures of her so you can see how much she's grown. She's 8 months old now and I think she might actually skip crawling and just start walking. She's standing strong, but hasn't mastered getting up on her knees yet. She's just started stage 3 foods and is so funny when she comes across "bumps" in her food! She's not liking that yet..... I'm really going to miss her while we're gone.

The trip is going to be great! My husband hasn't seen his family since we left Wales 10 years ago. I can't believe that much time has passed. It's true when you get older, time goes so much faster! We'll be gone almost a month so that will give us time to visit everyone and still have a little time to take my mom and oldest daughter sight seeing a little. They've never been across and I don't know that my mom who's 78 now, will ever be able to go across again. So this will be especially great for her! I don't know if I'll have opportunity to write while I'm over there, but if I do, I'll let you all know how it's going!

My daugher Cimmee went back to work a week and a half ago, so things are better for her. I was really proud of how she handled Jessies birthday the day before she went back and the anniversary of her death which was just this last Saturday. In those respects, it's been a LONG year. But life goes on and Cimmee is finally on the upswing and for that I am SO very grateful!

I am doing better on the weight front, too. I've lost another 4 pounds which brings my total to 14.5 pounds! And with the epidural shots I had in my back and the series of 5 shots in my knee (can't remember what they are called), I am moving around SO much better!! It's amazing to me how much better one can feel losing such a small amount of weight (relatively speaking). I have a long way to go, but I know that this is a GREAT start.


Thanks, Carol and Corinna! I'm always grateful the the cheerleading the two of you always do for me!

Hi Joanne.... thanks for stopping by. I knew about your granddaughter, too. She's adorable... I stopped by your original post about her some time ago. I'll be she's growing like crazy. I know Zoey is!

Hi Angel! I'm so glad you could stop by. I know how busy you are! Aren't grandbabies so wonderful? I knew you'd love having him around! Glad things are going well for you all. Thanks for stopping by!

Hey lulu! Thanks for always being there for me... I appreciate your support so much! We're going to have a great time, I'm sure. I'll be taking lots of pictures and will share when I get back. Take care!

Hi Leslie! It's always so good to see you! I've missed you a lot! We seem to be out of sync with our visits to dt.... lol Thanks for the suggestions on Cimmee's food, too. I'll pass on the information to her. She's vegetarian, so she'll have to work around that.

bell! Great to see you and thanks for checking in on me! I appreciate it!

Well, I'd better run... my coffee's done and I want to eat a little breakfast before I run my errands. It's dangerous for me to run errands on an empty stomach. Somehow, EVERYTHING looks tempting when I am hungry! Take care and have a great week, everyone!!

Hi DJ,

Losing Jessica was so hard for all of you. I think it is beyond understanding for those who haven't experienced something so horrific. I am glad that Cimmee's treatment has helped her. The first year is the worst and I am glad that is behind for all of you. With time and support the emotional scars will continue to fade.

The founder a domestic violence agency where I worked was murdered by her husband. They made a TV movie out of entitled Deadly Matrimony. It is something you never completely leave behind, but rather you are able to work through with time and support. My prayers continue.

Thanks so mucy, CJL... I do really appreciate that. Take care!

Couldn't resist... here's a couple more of miss cutie pie..... that I affectionately refer to as "cheeky". *grin*

What a cutie, she is just adorable.

I am so glad that Cimmee is improving.

Have a great trip!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Morning Debby,

I concur with Wendy .. ZOEY IS SO PRECIOUS ... it's hard to believe how quickly time passes .. have a SAFE AND WONDERFUL TRIP ..

:congrats: on almost 15 pounds gone .. WHAT A WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENT .. Monica

The pictures are so cute. She looks like she has a wonderful personality.

When are you leaving for Wales? We are planning a trip to Scotland next spring. We tried for fall but could not get the frequent flier miles that we wanted so are going in April, 2009. It is going to be a family thing. Probably 8 of us.

I am glad Cimmee is doing better. This has been a long year for all of you.

It is good to see you here again.

Carol

She is such an adorable little girl and the photographer who took those shots did a wonderful job too :)
So happy Cimmee is doing better.. You will enjoy your trip much more now that you know she is truly on the mend.. :)
hugs Dj.. .Have a great and wonderful time..

Awwwwwwwwww! What a cutie!

Hi DJ,
Wow you have been a busy lady! A GREAT BIG CONGRATS on the weight loss!!!!! You Go!
Sounds like you are getting ready for a nice long trip. I hope yall have a great time. I know your hubby will be happy to see his family. I will keep yall in my prayers.
As you can see I am back at DT, can't seem to lose weight without my DT friends.
Take care!!
....Hugs, Millie

:wave:

Hi DJ,
Wanted to stop and let you know I am thinking of you and hope all is good with you. I am thinking you may be back from your trip. Hope you had a great time!
I still listen to the CD that you sent me, Yall sure are great singers!
Guess I will send you a PM, not sure if I still have your email addy but I think so.
....Hugs, Millie

Good morning, everyone! It's been awhile since I've been here.... wow, so much happening all over the place. We've only been back from our trip for 2 weeks and I've been so busy putting out fires, getting caught up on laundry, getting Serenity Singers music ready for our upcoming Christmas season, babysitting Zoey AND getting ready for my son's wedding which is this coming Friday, reception on Saturday.... whew... makes me tired just thinking about it all.

We had a great time on our trip despite all the rain and cold weather. It rained at least a little every single day of the month we were there.... lol But we didn't let it stop us from doing things and spending time with family! We got home to a huge problem with the bank, but it's pretty much sorted now except for me closing out our accounts! I left some bills to be sent ( I had them already in envelopes etc.) and 2 deposits for my daughter Carah to make. The dates on the checks for deposits were according to Alan's payday and my mom's SS check.... well, long story short, Carah deposited both checks too early and we had checks bouncing all over the place. After two weeks of fighting with the bank and a couple of calls to the Ohio Attorney Generals office, they have refunded all but $25 into my account. They did nothing for the $39 they charged Alan for a bounced check of the $20 my mother's bank charged her for her bounced check. The teller was negligent for sure and it was illegal for her to put that check in before the negotiable date on it. But they know it's not worth the money a lawyer would cost us, so they've relented on most of it. I am making a formal complaint with the Attorney General's office and closing out my account and the Serenity Singers account this week. We had to use Alan's account for paying checks, so once everything clears, we'll close out his account, too. Charter One is a bank that doesn't mind "legally stealing" from people, so if any of you have a mind to go there, think again!!! Do some research on it and you'll find that they have many websites with blogs about things they've done to hundreds of people.

Anyway, Zoey is growing like a weed and I've put a few recent pictures of her up. We just found out a few days ago that she's going to have a little brother or sister in February. We don't have dates yet, but Carah sees her OB on August 4th, so we should know more then. lol accident, but that's life, right? lol

My weight struggle has been a lot easier for some reason. I started losing weight again in May and then it continued while we were over in Wales. We walked SOOOO much and that kept the weight loss going even WITH the fish and chips we had there. LOL
So my totals are 19.5 pounds since the beginning of may, but 25 total pounds since my highest weight. And I've lost 15.5 inches since the last time I measured myself in March.

I'm really pleased with that and am keeping it up for sure. I know that it won't always be so easy, but I'm glad it is right now.... I expected to want to stress eat over the bank stuff, but that didn't happen much. A little, but even that was measured and planned for, so I guess that's why I still lost. I'd like to start walking again on a daily basis like we did in the UK, so I think after all the wedding/reception stuff is done, I'll incorporate that into my daily stuff. I just found out there's another nice walking track by our house, too, so I can go both places for variety.

Anyway, I'm doing laundry amongst other things today, so I want to get going and get busy. Thanks to everyone that stopped by while I was gone and I'm glad to be back! Take care everyone and have a good week!!

It is so good to see you back and I am glad you had a good time in Wales.

Carol

Thanks, Carol..... it was great.

Any pictures of your trip to Wales? Z looks sooooooooo cute!

I didn't know C was getting married - good for him! He's come a long way since we met a gazillion years ago, eh?

Congrats on the loss, too! You rock!

LOL, Corinna... he certainly has come a LONG long way. He's light years from the boy he used to be and thank goodness for that. He just finished his first year of law school in Michigan and got offered a position from 3 of the top law school's here in Ohio, so they've moved back here. I'm really happy about that!

Zoey is a cutie for sure... she's all personality and we have so much fun with her.

I'll have pictures of Wales when we get them all uploaded.... we got some really nice ones.

Thanks a bunch.... it has been a gazillion years since we first met, hasn't it! Where has the time gone????

Hi DJ,
Wow it was nice hearing from you! Sounds like you had a great time on your trip!
A BIG CONGRATS ON THE WEIGHT LOSS!!!!!!! You should feel very proud, it did even on a trip, which is hard to do.

Sounds like you are going to be very busy the next week or so! All The best.
Take Care, ...Hugs, Millie

Hi Millie.... it's so great to come in here and see you back at diettalk! I have missed you!!

Thanks so much for the encouragement... I am grateful to be losing again and I want to keep it going. Take care and thanks again for stopping by.

Great job losing on your trip, that is great.

Sorry to hear about the bank mess up, I've had that happen and it is sooo frustrating. We closed all our accounts and switched banks also after something similar happened to us. It is such a pain to correct.

Congratulations to your son, that is great news, and you will have so much fun at the wedding.

Zoey is absolutely adorable as always.

Have a great day.

Hi DJ,
It is so great to be back and to still have lots of firends here. I sure have missed you and hearing how everything going on with you.

I have not seen Sadie around, do you know how she is doing??

Hope you have a great Wednesday!
....Hugs, Millie

Thanks so much, Raye..... I was so pleased that I continued to lose on our trip, but suspected as much when I had to move my button on both of my jeans over so I wouldn't have to keep pulling them up! lol

I'll be glad when all the accounts are switched over and we don't have to worry anymore.... they are just awful!

Hi Millie.... hey, I haven't seen Sadie for awhile. I've been pretty sporadic around here, so maybe she's here and I just have missed her? I know I'm also missing Lesley, so hopefully they will both turn up. I'm just really glad you are back!

I know dealing with banks is no laughing matter. I do have to tell this story on me. David was an Senior VP at a bank and had just taken a better job with another bank. One of the perks of banking officers was free checks and checking. They provided the checks and since they were usually from the same company they looked alike. I thought I had thrown out all the checks from David's previous employer and when I needed another book of check I just grabbed. You know what happened, I got the wrong book of checks, one that I had not thrown out. Much to my embarrassment I had about 10 checks bouncing all over town. I was horrified. I had to go everywhere I had given a check and explain. I still cringe about that experience.

Zoey is darling. Are you going to take care of both of the babies? That is a lot of work I am sure you remember. lol

We are going to Scotland in the spring. I am working on a side trip to Ireland. Don't know if I can prevail with the family. I am really looking forward to the trip.

Carol

LOL, Carol.... some of the things we go through in life, we never forget. But at least you can laugh about it now.

I don't know about both babies, but I'm assuming I am unless Carah stops working. But I honestly don't know how they can afford that. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

If you find you are going to Ireland, let me know what port you'll be going into and I can tell you about some wonderful places to go and see. If you are going across the Irish Sea from Scottland, you'll take a Stenna liner, too. I've been on both of them and the larger slower one is MUCH nicer. The difference in time isn't all that great either and both of them will take you and your car across, which is really nice. How exciting for you! We have friends that live in St. Andrews Scottland and they love it up there. Do you and David golf? They have a wonderful golf course there.

Thanks for stopping by, Carol. Take care....

Hi DJ,
wanted to stop by and say hi and see how you are doing! Hope you are having a great day!!

Well I hope Sadie and Lesley will show up again. Hope all is well with them.

Have a good Thursday!.....Hugs,
Millie

Hi Millie! I am doing pretty good this morning and looking forward to getting lots done. My son's getting married on Friday night and the reception is Saturday, so today I need to figure out what I'm going to wear. They just changed the weather report this morning to say it's going to rain Friday AND Saturday.... that's not good as the wedding is outside. Oh, well.... hopefully they won't have a long ceremony. lol

I hope Lesley and Sadie are alright, too. I worry about Lesley and her terrible depression that she fights.... I miss her.

So, eating has been good... I have resisted any thoughts of having something at bedtime and that's a good feeling! I picked peppers out of our garden yesterday and got quite a few gypsy peppers and jalepeno's. I used the banana and gypsy peppers in a lite kielbasa concoction that I made for dinner and it was really good. Not sure what we're having for dinner tonight, but I'd better get to the freezer and pull something out.... at least I don't have to cook for the two nights following tonight. It's always nice to have a break from making a meal.

I stopped eating Yoplait yogurt, too.... :( I love that stuff, but realized it's got that "high fructose corn syrup" (or whatever it's technically called) stuff in it that they are saying is so bad for us. I guess lots of things have that in it, but I at least stopped the yogurt. I've started eating Dannon's light Activia and it's really good. It's 70 calories, 0 fat, 9 grams sugar and less than 1% of the fructose in it. I had a hard time finding yogurt that didn't have it in it. Anyway, I've been taking 2 fresh strawberries chopped in the bottom of a small bowl, put 1 container of light vanilla Activia over that, chop up 1 more strawberry and put on top of that and I use 1 tbps of granola over the top of that and it's a great "yogurt parfait". I've been having that for breakfast along with a WW's "egg mcmuffin". They are really tasty, too. Today I had a bowl of Special K with red berries... that's good, too, but not as good as the other stuff. lol

I was supposed to go to the dr. this morning at 10am, but I'm going to reschedule. I'm not in the mood for poking around (my yearly exam) and I just decided that I'm going to go another day when I'm a little less busy.... gotta call them pretty quick here.

I still haven't found my zipper pouch that has ALL my credit cards and my mom's credit cards in it. I didn't take it on our trip with us, so I know it has to be somewhere in the house here, but I have looked everywhere I can think of and still can't find it! I made a pact that if I don't find it by Monday, I'll start phoning and getting replacements..... *sigh* What a pain. I can't imagine where it could be unless somehow it got thrown out accidentally, but I can't think how that would have happened. I must have put it somwhere "safe"..... lol I'll just have to figure out where "safe" is!

So I guess I should get moving here.... I have to phone the dr's and go pick up prescriptions for my mom. Then try to figure out what I'm wearing for the wedding and reception. I hate doing that.... looking in the mirror is NOT my favorite thing to do. Actually, it's probably right up there on my list with PAP smears and yearly exams. LOL

Thanks, Millie for stopping in and have a great Thursday everyone!

Hi DJ,
Now you sound like me, I put something away so I will know were it is then can not find it,lollol! I hope you do find it theo it is a pain to have to call and stop everything!

I hope it does not snow for your son's wedding! I bet it will be rally nice! You will have to tell me all about it when you get time.

Wow your breakfast sounds really good!
It sure does help when we come up with stuff that we really enjoy on our healthy eating.
You sure have been doing really good, so keep rolling it is sure working for you!

have a great Friday and wedding party!
....Hugs, Millie

GAACCKK!! I had a bit of candy today..... I guess it's the let down of the wedding being over and me being EXHAUSTED! No excuses, though. I did it and it's over, so onwards and downwards (with the weight..:laugh:)

Anyway, the wedding was Friday night on a walking bridge that Cory proposed to Jen on. We had a dinner afterwards at the restaurant (very expensive restaurant :O) and then went home. Saturday was the reception that was on a yacht and it went super! Saturday morning I was still shopping for things Jen needed at the last minute AND I was still working on her centerpieces (that I thought she'd already done...lol) at 2pm on Saturday afternoon. My daughter Christen helped me get those set up and finished while Jen and her friend did the table cards. We had to drive back to North Canton to get ready, which is a 1/2 hour drive AWAY from Cleveland where the boat was, and then turn around and drive an hour north again.... we were supposed to be there by 4pm, but didn't make it until after 4:30. But lots of others were late, too, so it was okay. We had some pictures taken and then went to the boat. We had a great time and I'm SO glad it's over! I'm posting some pictures now and I'll post a few later, too.

My weight was still good (well... the weights not good by any means, but I'm losing is what I mean. LOL) I lost 1/2 pound and even though I felt like I lost more, I'll take that. I'm at 25.5 pounds altogether and I feel SO much better already! Just think how I'll feel when I am under 200 again!! WOOHOO! Makes me excited to even think about it.

Gotta run.... I'm going to start dinner. I'll be back hopefully sometime tomorrow. I'd like to get around to some journals, too. I miss hearing how everyone's doing.

Here's some pictures of the boat and the red outfit I'm in is the wedding on Friday night and the black outfit is the reception on Saturday night.

Here are some more pictures. Some of them are taken on the deck of the ship. The weather cooperated wonderfully and it was SO nice outside in the evening as we cruised around Lake Erie! Very nice!

Hi Debbi, :wn

Don't you JUST LOVE WEDDINGS .. love the picture of you and Zoey .. what a cutie pie ..

You're doing great .. YOU'RE GOING TO BE UNDER 200 BEFORE YOU KNOW IT .. take care and lol by the way WELCOME BACK HOME .. have and make it a great day. Monica

Hi DJ,
Loved the pictures, Nice wedding!

I bet you are glad that's over, always so much to do.

Hope you are having a good week!
.....Hugs, Millie

That sure looked like a gorgeous wedding. You looked great, especially in the picture with Zoey, she sure is a cutie.

Glad it was such a good time, and welcome home.

Good Monday morning, everyone!

I am happy to report that I lost another 2 pounds bringing my total to 27.5 pounds!! YAY ME!

I am really thrilled and am excited to keep this up! I don't feel at all deprived and that's the best part of this. It makes it all the easier to keep it up day to day. I still want to add in some planned exercise, but since we've been so busy and active doing things around here, I guess that's been helping for now.

Saturday my girls came over and we all pitched in and cleaned out the garage. The little rat "Mr. Whiskers" aka "rat face" died not too long after we got back from Wales (cat attacked him) so we decided that it was a good time to get the remnants of him out of there and give it a good clean and sort out. We took two station wagons full of stuff to the Salvation Army and lots of stuff to the junk.... (our garbage man hates us anyway because it seems like we're always either sorting and pitching or having some kind of construction going on.... hehehe) Oh, well... such is life, right?

I felt so bad for rat face, though. He lost a lot of blood and we tried to help him, but all he wanted to do was get outside and die. Instincts kicked in and I guess that's better than having to find a little dead body. He was a sweetie, though. And I think we gave him a good life... lol

Anyway, I am getting ready to have my breakfast, a yogurt parfait (of my own making)... fresh strawberries, Activia light yogurt (vanilla) and a tablespoon of granola on top & a WW's breakfast sandwich. I'm having black coffee right now and will be having coffee with a friend later on this morning. I don't usually do that anymore and it'll be nice to get out like that for a change. I've just gotten to the point in my life that if I'm not doing something that "needs" to be done, I feel like I'm wasting time and I think that needs to change.

So I'm off to get my breakfast going and have a shower. Monica... thanks for stopping by and yes, weddings are fun! But I'm glad we are done with family ones for the moment. lol Too much work... and this one particularly at the last minute.

Hi Millie! Thanks for all the support! I really appreciate it! And yes, I am glad it's all over. Now I need to concentrate on the Serenity Singers and getting all their stuff ready for their party on Sept. 7th and then rehearsals begin on September 21st. So lots to do there....

Hi Wendy! So good to see you! Thanks for stopping by! I really appreciate it!

Oh yeah.... I almost forgot to tell everyone our news.... CARAH'S PREGNANT AGAIN!!!! LOL She was as surprised as everyone else was, but looks like he/she will be due sometime in February? She'll find out more today! Boy is "GiGi" going to have her hands full!!! YIKES... there's some exercise for me! LOL Take care everyone and have a great week!

Good Morning Debbi, :wn

:koala: :koala: ON YOUR MARVELOUS TWO POUND LOSS -- plus :congrats: WAY TO GO ON HAVING LOST A TOTAL OF TWENTY-SEVEN .. 1/2 POUNDS .. oh what the heck let's call it TWENTY EIGHT POUNDS ..

Congratulations to your family on Carah's pregnancy .. lol THOSE ARE GREAT SURPRISES .. take care of yourself and have and make it a great day ... Monica

Wonderful pictures !!!!!!!

I can't believe your son is so grown up. They make a nice couple.

Carol

Congratulations all around, weight lost and new baby on the way, how fantastic. Those two little ones will sure keep you hopping.

Have a great day.

Good Monday morning, everyone! I have been up for hours and getting some things done. It always feels good to accomplish even little things!

I decided not to measure this weigh in day.... I think I may just measure on the first weigh in of the month and the last. That will give me what I've lost in inches for that particular month. Anyway.....

I've lost another 1.5 pounds which brings my new total to 29 pounds!

I am thrilled, especially because I expected to have a gain this week. I didn't eat terribly, but wasn't as careful as I've been in past weeks and also stress ate a little. So seeing a lower number on the scales gave me a renewed desire to be more careful and keep on losing! I really want the Singers to notice a difference in me when I see them at our summer picnic here at our house on September 14th. I haven't seen them since our summer season ended middle of June, so hopefully SOMEONE will notice. lol I can tell for sure.... not just in the way my clothes fit, but also in the way I feel. I am sleeping better, I have more energy, can actually do things without totally wiping myself out and all of that is proof positive that I need to keep going!!

Thanks, Monica..... I am thrilled and now can call it 29 and not 28. :laugh:

Thanks, Carol.... I guess it's been awhile since I've posted pictures of my kids and yes, Cory's really grown up. Sometimes I look at all of them and just marvel at how fast the time has gone by....

Thanks, Wendy. You're right... 2 little ones are going to be more than a handful!! I'll need every ounce of energy and patience I can muster, I'm sure. lol Zoey's already a little maniac.... lol Carah calls her "crazy baby". She's so much fun! I can always count on her to make me laugh.

Well, I'm off to get some Serenity Singers stuff done. I have to start phoning the places that we sing to set up our performances for December. I usually have it done in June or July, so I'm pretty late really. Hopefully, that won't cause any problems..... but nevermind. I can always do some juggling of dates.

Take care and have a great week, everyone!

Good Morning Debbi, :wn

WAY TO GO ON YOUR MARVELOUS LOSS :koala: :koala: .. and 29 pounds IS PHENOMENAL :cheer: .. and I'M SURE SOMEONE WILL NOTICE AND RECOGNIZE YOUR SUCCESS .. take care of yourself and have and make it a great day. Monica :hug:

Thanks, Monica I really appreciate the support you always give me! You have a great day, too!

Hi DJ,
Wow lady you are doing just great! A BIG
Congrats to you :koala::cheers:!!!I know It feels great!
Wow you are going to be a greandma again, Congrats on that also!

Keep rolling you are doing so great!....Hugs, Millie

Thanks so much, Millie! I can always count on you to come in here and cheer me on and I really appreciate it!

Grandma is a great thing to be..... I've been looking forward to it for a long time now. FINALLY, it's happening. LOL A little faster than I thought it would. Like rapid fire succession... but still.. it's happening. LOL Thanks again and have a great week!

its been way too long since i have stopped in to visit..and look at that has been going on!!!
Wow CONGRATULATIONS on your awesome loss..you are doing so awesome and not feeling deprived either...thats so important for long term success..
I loved the pictures..you all look so happy...love the pics of you with Zoey...wow another grandbaby on the way..Carah will have her hands full for sure..now doubt you will be there as always helping her out.
hugs bell :)

WOW 29 pounds, that is fantastic. I am sure they will notice a difference, they would have to. I am so proud of you.

Keep up the great work and have a great day.

Good morning, everyone! It's been awhile since I've been on here, but I wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing. We've been busy and things have been hectic, as usual, but we got the tail end of hurrican Ike a week ago Sunday and it knocked out our power until last Thursday! We packed up perishables and went to stay with my daughter Carah and her husband and that was fun, but it was nice to get home and back to a normal routine... whatever that is. lol

Serenity Singers started yesterday, too, so I've been swamped getting things ready for that as well. Our summer get together went well until the hurrican blew in and everyone scattered home to check on their homes. We didn't have any damage, luckily. There were a lot of homes damaged from limbs and trees falling. We had a lot of downed limbs, but nothing that damaged anything.... thank goodness. There were more than 1 million homes in Ohio without power. Who knew a hurricane could sustain all the way up here!

Well, I am so happy to report that I've been losing all along the way since I've been gone from here and I weighed in this morning and have lost another 2 pounds which brings my total to.....
35 pounds

YAY!!!!! I am feeling better, have much more energy and all my clothes are fitting better and are actually baggy on me. So my goals are going along well and my next one is my birthday, which is a little over 2 weeks away, so I have a few pounds to go to reach that one. I'm definitely working on it!

I have much to do today, so there won't be alot of time to eat or munch on.... and besides that, I haven't been to the store since our power was out, so there's not much here anyway! lol I don't have a car today, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to shop. It's the new "no food in the house diet". LOL

Thanks for stopping by, bell! It's been awhile since I've been to your journal as well. I'm hoping to stop by real soon. It'll be good to get caught up with a few people here at dt that I miss.

Hi Wendy and thanks for all your support! The people in the choir still haven't noticed or said anything about my weight... it's a little disappointing, but maybe it's because I'm still wearing my big baggy clothes. My husband mentioned that this morning and that might be what it is. Who knows... it's not disappointing enough to stop doing what I'm doing, though. I am feeling really good these days and want that to continue!

Take care everyone and have a great day. I am off to keep busy with the things I have to do and it's also going to be beautiful here in Ohio today... actually they are predicting gorgeous weather here for the next 7 days! What a great way to start out the first day of fall!!

Congrats on your loss! You ROCK!

(have we heard from Carol since the hurricane?)

Corinna

Hi Corinna! And thanks! I am trying to rock anyway. LOL

I haven't heard from her at all and I sent her an e-mail asking if she and her family were alright. Maybe they just don't have power yet? I was hoping I'd see her in here when I came in, but no sign of her. Let me know if you hear from her and I'll do the same.

Wow DJ, 35 lbs. is wonderful! I'm sure your fellow singers would be able to tell if you wore something smaller - 35 lbs. is like 2 sizes! Congratulations, that's great!

Thanks, Mel... I do feel so much better already. But I'm not ready to wear smaller things just yet. Maybe after I've lost a bit more I'll get some new things. For now, it's just nicer not to have to squeeze into things. lol

Dj - like I said in my journal.. I have only taken the time lately on DT to check to see if she's posted.. I am getting worried! Hopefully, she's just on vacation or something.

Keep up the great work!
Corinna

I agree, Corinna. I've been worried, too. She was right in the thick of it.... I hope they are somewhere safe.

Thanks again and if I hear anything, I'll let you know.

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_1_231.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYYYUS) Hi DJ,
Wow Way To Go Lady! A BIG CONGRATS ON THE LOSS!!!!! You are sure rolling along there. Keep up the great work!
I bet it does feel great and moving better is so worth it!

Glad to hear all has been going good for you! I miss seeing you around DT, but happy you are still poping in some.

Hope you have a great Fall! keep rolling!
....Hugs, Millie

DJ!!!!!!
i am so thrilled for you with your continued loss..you must feel so great!!!!! i am so proud of you for hanging in there..you are reaping the rewards of your hard work!!!!
i bet youare glad to be home and back to a "normal" routine whatever that is hahahaha.
Gosh the time flies by and now here you are starting up again with Serenity singers. the year is flying by!
hugs bell :)

DJ, Congrats on your 35 pound loss! What a great accomplishment! I am so proud of you and so very happy for you! I can't wait until I can say I've lost 35 pounds....I am going to follow your lead!

Do you remember the time when hurricanes only seemed to affect the coast! Who would have ever thought we would be affected by hurricanes so far inland! Now I am starting to track hurricanes for our area!

AACCKK!!! I just got home from the grocery store and I was so PO'd when I left there, I phoned the manager. He said he'd take care of it, but I just don't know.... next time I'm going to say something to the clerk, I think.

The cashier at the grocery store was talking to a man she'd just waited on who was leaving and I was getting my groceries out of the cart and loading them onto the belt. I heard her tell him she has bronchitus! Then while she was touching all my food, she was coughing... covering her mouth with her HANDS and then touching more of my things. AND she had a runny nose and she wiped it a couple of times with the back of her damn hand and then kept touching my things!!! I just got over a bad cold that I could from baby Zoey (who just had her very first cold) and now my mom has it and is just starting to get better and I don't know how to keep her from getting this... I'll have to take lysol wipes and wipe off every canned good and wrappers, etc. I just hope that's enough! I told the manager I totally understand not being able to afford taking off work because you are sick, but I DON'T understand not taking precautions like BLOWING your nose into a TISSUE instead of wiping snot on the back of your hand.... eeeeeuuuu..... AND using hand sanitizer and/or wearing plastic gloves while handling the groceries. How rude AND inconsiderate! I wish I had said something to her there, but I was loading my groceries and didn't take the time. I hope that manager talked to her like he said he would.... there's no excuse for spreading germs like that when it can be helped. I know when I worked outside the home in an office and was sick like that, I lysol sprayed the phones and the door handles and all kinds of stuff to keep other people from getting it. My mom takes prenisone and it's hard on the immune system, too, so I like to be doubly careful with her. Anyway.... just venting.

Still had a good day eating.... my jeans are baggy and I really like that feeling! (except for pulling them up all the time...lol) I'll have to move the button over a bit.

We are having hotdogs for dinner and I got the healthiest kind I could find. I was so disappointed that Healthy Choice no longer makes their hotdogs. They were really healthy AND tasty, so that was doubly good. I can't find them in any of the stores any more. :( But I got fixings for salad and I'm going to try the spray on salad dressing and see what that's like, too. I always get too much on my salad unless I measure.... and that's a pain sometimes.

I watched Zoey yesterday and Carah got her this gynormous blow up bouncing thing....
http://www.diettalk.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3987&stc=1&d=1222283426

....Zoey was SO scared of it, she nearly choked crying so hard. lol Carah was so disappointed, but is going to keep it to see if when the other kids get into it at the party Saturday, she'll realize it's not so scary. We thought she'd love it because she's SO active and loves to bounce on everything else.... go figure. LOL She's just growing up so fast. I can't believe she's going to be a year old on Sunday! We're having the party on Saturday because of Singers. Here's one of her just waking up... almost 1 year old already!

http://www.diettalk.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3995&stc=1&d=1222284740

I've attached a few more.... talk about growing like a weed!

Thanks, Millie! I am going to try to come by more often. I need to give more support and I need to get more, too. lol

Thanks, bell! I remember when you hit your goal all those years ago. I am finally following your lead!

Thanks CJL! I really appreciate you stopping by! and I agree.... how strange that a hurricane has affected us so much clear up north! We've had leftover rain from hurricanes before, but nothing ever like this! We are looking into buying a generator... at least one to run the fridges and freezers (and I told Alan he has to have it do the TV, too... lol)

Thanks everyone for the visits and I'll be back in a day or two. Take care and have a great week!

Glad you are back and doing so well. I would definitely cook everything that cashier touched to death. And wash your own hands. I don't know if I would eat a raw item like fruit that she touched. I have no idea why they would let her work at the cashier's stand. There are other things that she could do there that would not involve touching other people's food. Yucky.

Zoe is a real cutie. Such a grin on that face. I'm sure that she'll get over being scared of the blow-up thing. You never know what kids are going to find frightening, or not (so many kids are not afraid of cars in the street, hot stove tops, etc.)

I hope that you have a great week. Take care!

thats disgusting... to be telling people as well that she has bronchitis and coughing all over everything..the runny nose on the back of the hand was the final straw...yuck!!!
i hope the manager actually follows through as does something.

Zoey is so gorgeous!
you are following the road all the way to goal my friend.
hugs bell :)

Hi Dj: I got to make this short.. but thank you so much for always being so supportive to me and I rarely get to your journal...
Zoey is so adorable ..picture perfect .. and CONGRATS ON LOSING 35 LBS...
That cashier should really know better.. Gloves would be a good beginner or hand sanitizer which usually is available in all grocery stores as you walk in the door and at various stations in the store..
Have yourself a wonderful weekend :hug:

Hi Dj,
Loved the pictures, she is so cute! They are so sweet at that age.

Wow you have done just great! A Big Congrats on the 35 pounds gone for ever!!!! Keep rolling dear, you are doing wonderful!

.....Hugs, Millie

Hi DJ Wow your doing great 35 lbs. since I was last in here that is wonderful.. Your baby is beautiful isn't it to bad they have to grow so fast. Mine is going on three and there's a baby boy coming in around the 25 or so.
Sure hope I can join you in the shedding of the weight.

Thanks for thinking of me. Ike didn't get me but did hit the Houston area where my daughter lives. Her house was okay but the area on the water close to her home was a real mess.

I am sorry I didn't tell you I was going on vacation. The last couple of days I was so busy here in the office and at home packing and worrying about Roxanne. There was a chance Ike could come down here so there were a lot of things going on in my life.

I am back and really busy. Margaret isn't doing very well and I am pretty much in charge of her care. We have caregivers but I am supervising. Her family took turns being down here while I was gone.

Zoey is adorable.

Carol

havent seen a post from you since the last one about the sick cashier..hoping you arent in bed sick with whatever she had????
probably just busy, busy being grandma!
hugs bell :)

Hi DJ come on back.

Hi DJ

Great to see you made it back - now you are probably really busy with the singers, but please come back and post. I just started back today and I will really miss you if you aren't back here.

Happy Birthday DJ.. sorry I am a bit late.. Hope you had a wonderful day..:party::balloons::bd

Happy Birthday DJ. I am sorry I didn't see it here. I seem to have my head somewhere else. Too much going on here now. I am hoping by January life will settle down. :)

Carol

Hi everyone! Well, it's been a bit since I've been in here for an update. Life got crazy, as usual, and I've been (and still am) swamped!! :help: Zoey had her first ear infection and she went to the dr. last Thursday, then we got her for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Of course the meds didn't really kick in until late Saturday and we got very little sleep. I had forgotten how much work it takes to take care of a sick little one!

I weigh in on Monday's and this last Monday I had a 2 pound weight loss. That left me 3 pounds short of my birthday goal. My birthday was Wednesday, so I weighed in again Wednesday morning, and low and behold I had lost another 1.5 pounds, so that left me within 1.5 pounds of my birthday goal! Not too shabby!!! I was pleased. I lost 7.5 pounds and 6 inches for the month of September, so I'd say that was a pretty good month!

I have now officially lost 39 pounds!!! WOOHOO!!!

I feel better and better and even though I still have a long way to go, I still feel great about what I've achieved so far. My next goal is years end and I have 11.5 pounds to lose by Jan. 1, 2009. I'll set another goal after that comes around. I think 11.5 is very doable and honestly I am hoping that it'll be more, but I am just aiming for the 11.5. I know the holidays are coming, but I am still going to try to make things healthier and less calories and of course will try to continue portion control. If I want to, I will have A cookie, not 1/2 dozen or so.... and hopefully, things will go smoothly and I will have a holiday season where I won't gain! Difficult, I know, but NOT impossible!!!

Zoey had her first birthday party on the 27th of September and everything went really well. I'll post some pictures later when I have a bit more time. I am on my way to eat lunch and then do the alto practice tapes for the choir. I have a sectional rehearsal tonight and need to be ready to leave by 5:30pm for that, too. So much to do.....

Hi Fagan.... and thanks for stopping by! Zoey continued to be afraid of that thing, but all the cousins LOVED it! It was a huge hit and kept the other kids busy through the whole party. I'll bet maybe the next time Carah gets it out, she'll be better with it.

Luckily, the cashier that was sick didn't touch any of my actual food.... just cans, boxes etc. Everything else was in a plastic bag. But I always wash my hands as soon as I get home from the grocery because of the dirty cart handles, so hopefully I didn't get what she had. Disgusting really.....

Hi bell! I know what you mean about the cashier wiping her hand on the back of her nose.... no manners what so ever! My mom got really sick, too, and we're not sure if it was from her putting the groceries away. Of all times, she decided she was going to put things away IMMEDIATELY and I never had a chance to wipe things down or tell her not to touch anything. Now Alan's just come down with it and is pretty sick today, too. I have just had a runny nose and seem to be fighting it off... hopefully, it'll stay that way. Thanks for the encouragement, too!

Hey, lulu... thanks so much for the nice words in an earlier post and thanks for the birthday wishes! You're not late at all... the 8th is my birthday. LOL No big deal really, but I appreciate you remembering and thanks so much for your friendship and support! I haven't mailed those coupons yet, but will hopefully, get to it tomorrow morning before the mailman comes. Sorry I've been so slow in doing that.

Thanks so much, Millie! I appreciate the cheering and the nice words about Zoey. Of course I think she's gorgeous, but then I'm her "gigi". lol

Hi Linda! It's so great to see you back here again and you are right... they grow WAY too fast! Has your new grandson arrived yet? Zoey's going to have a SISTER in February... it looks like February 27th this time. Thanks for stopping by!

Hi Carol! I'm just so glad you are injured or worse... and also glad that you didn't have any damage. I was sorry to hear about your daughter having to evacuate.. that must have been really scary! So sorry to hear about Margaret, too. That's got to be a strain on you. I hope you are still taking some time for yourself. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the birthday wishes! I appreciate it!

Leslie!!! I am so happy to see you back here and posting. I got your PM and hope you got my reply. I think it's great that you and I are going to be able to cheer each other on! That always helps when you are trying to lose weight, especially this time of year. Candy, cookies, pies, etc..... YIKES!!!! But we can do it!! Thanks for letting me know you were back!

Well, everyone. I am off to eat lunch now and hopefully will be able to stop in more regularly. Take care and have a great rest of your day, everyone! And thanks to everyone that stopped by! I really appreciate it!!

Dear Debby,

A BELATED :bdaybanne and :congrats: ON YOUR sensational THIRTY-NINE POUND LOSS :cheer: ..

I so remember when Laurie was a year old and had her first ear infction .. I was scared to death by the high temp and thank G-d in those days the doctor's made house calls (lol you know way back in the MIDDLE AGES) .. unfortunately Laurie had frequent ear infections for most of her younger years ..

Well I just wanted to stop by lol and not talk about me or mine .. take care of yourself and I hope that YOU AND YOURS all recover very very soon .. take care of yourself and have and make it a great day .. Monica

Thanks so much, Monica.... I always appreciate your cheerleading!

I know what you mean about the ear aches. My son, Cory, had trouble with them and it's just the worst for little ones. Zoey was miserable, but is feeling much better by now. She's back to her comical little self. What a clown she is... already! LOL

Take care and thanks again!

Good morning fellow dt'ers. I am doing okay... sitting here this morning with a mud mask on my face and having my 2nd cup of coffee! Ummmm.... I do love having coffee in the morning. I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off and since my birthday dinner last Friday night, I haven't been eating so well. I gained a pound on Monday morning (last Monday) and I'm sure it was all the good food at the Mexican restaurant that we had on Friday night and then the hamburger joint we ate at on Sunday night after Singers rehearsal was over. I haven't been bingeing, but I have been snacking more than I should and I haven't been eating very healthy all the time. So this morning I started again..... hopefully, I won't have done too much damage. I had Quaker instant oatmeal, maple brown sugar (the lower sugar brand), a sliced orange and coffee. I'll have my yogurt parfait as one of my snacks today. I'm also going to concentrate on drinking plenty of water, too. I haven't been doing that so much and I think it helps with feeling full. I have a Singers rehearsal tonight so I won't be cooking dinner, but will have a cup of chicken noodle soup and an apple before I go. And I bought some sugar free double chocolate pudding that is scrumptious and I can have that as a bedtime snack when I get back. So all in all, things are planned and my day should be good in the food department.

I have SO much to do today.... feeling a bit overwhelmed, but am going to try to take one task at a time with my priority being Serenity Singers practice tapes and doing some more packing up of our "storage" room. We have ordered the carpet for in there and I need to get it cleaned out so we can paint and rip up the carpet that's in here already. Then we'll put our bedroom in that room and make what is our room now into the baby's room. Luckily we have 5 bedrooms here, so we aren't hurting for space too much. That way Zoey and the new baby (maybe Mackenzie or McKenna) will have their own room (with some of GiGi's sewing stuff in it ) when they come to stay the night. And I can finally get some of the toys out of the living room! It looks like a day care in there right now. lol

I have been a bit stressed and I know that's partly why I haven't been diligent about my eating this last week, but I also know I have a choice in how I react to my stress. So my plan is to stay busy, tackling as many tasks as I can and hopefully that will alleviate some of the stress.

We found out Carah's new baby has cysts on her brain, something called "Choroid Plexis Cysts". We've been a bit stressed and a lot fearful, but we are praying for it to turn out to be nothing. And the dr's told us it could very well end up being nothing. But it could also be very serious if it turns out the baby has something called "trisomy 18". That's a chromosome disorder and it's pretty devastating. Hopefully, it will not be that!!! Carah has a level 2 ultrasound on Friday at one of the hospitals with a specialist and we will know more then. I will keep you posted.

So with all that said, I am off to wipe this "mud" off my face and get dressed and get busy. My first order of the day is to finish the alto practice tapes.

Have a good Thursday, everyone!
__._,_.___ http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97476590/grpId=9951579/grpspId=1705061890/msgId=12169/stime=1224159026

I also like to tackle and accomplish things when I'm stressed out. It helps me feel like I'm doing something to make things better.

I'm sending positive vibes your way concerning the erratic eating issues, and I'm sending prayers your way concerning the baby. Hugs your way. Take care.

Thanks so much, fagan! I really appreciate it. You are an inspiration with all you do to keep your weight off!

You certainly are busy. I seem to get the nesting instinct in the fall instead of the spring.

I have a granddaughter named McKenna. She was going to be either Cameron or McKenna.

I have you and Carah in my prayers. This must be a very had time waiting to find out if the baby does have a major problem.

Hugs, Carol

Thanks so much, Carol. lol I know about that nesting instinct, too. It's getting cold here and I would love to hole up in my sweats and just go nowhere and do nothing! But right now, there's no options as to what I have to do, so I'm just getting it done. I guess that's all I can do. lol

Thanks for the prayers.... Hopefully we'll know more after her test and consult with the specialist. She goes tomorrow at 1pm. So we'll see. I am leaning towards the McKenna name, but right now I think Carah likes Mackenzie better. We'll have to wait and see. Shay has altogether different ideas, but so far they all sound like stripper names. LOL

Dj it makes for a long stressful wait when your waiting to see if all is well with baby. We went through similar situation where they couldn't see the baby's spine in the Cochrane ultra sound then again in Timmins so they had to go to Toronto there they said all was well. We are about to find out the baby is being born on the 24th of this month another few days.

You are still holding good with your weight wow almost 40 lbs. I'll probably hear the whoops and yells all the way here when you reach your 40 lbs.

Take it easy Good luck.

Thanks, Linda....it's comforting to know that even with scary news at first everything can turn out to be okay. I'm glad that was the case with your grandbaby. I'm praying that this will be the case here, too.

And yes... I have a good set of lungs and you just might hear me all the way to Canada! I just hope I can hold this stress eating at bay. I guess I need to remember that it's a learning process and I've only just started to re-learn how to find other things to do when faced with stress eating. I know I can do it because I've been doing it for awhile now. I just need to hold it together. Thanks again for stopping by and for the encouragement!

When food calls start singing Get away from me you evil thing you. Write a song anything but stay away from food. You can do it your living proof that you are doing it.

Hi DJ,
It was so nice to see your post!
I am so sorry to hear about the baby! I will keep yall in my prayers and hope it all turns out good!

Just do your best with the eating, as we know stress eating does not really help when we are done eating the stress is still there. I like what Linda said, start singing telling it to go away!!!!

Keep us posted on how it all goes!
Have a great one!....Hugs, Millie

Hi DJ

First a belated Happy Birthday! I am glad you got out to celebrate. The small increas in weight is probably water retention since the meals that you had Friday and Sunday are very high in sodium. This week you should be ok again - just drink that water!

Now congratulations on the weight loss! You are doing so great and I will have a hard time catching up but I will be trying anyway. You are an inspiration and I know you will reach or surpass your goal by Jan1.

I am sorry to hear about the baby. It is really upsetting when you get news like that - specially when it is only HALF the news! It could be...it might be... I think that is harder than knowing for sure. At least if you know for sure you can research and plan so you are a bit more prepared.

Anyway, I am praying for you and I hope everything turns out ok. Please keep us updated.

Hi Dj :wave:

Stopping in to get up to date with you.

My prayers are with your unborn grandchild and whole family :hug:

If your grandchild has this problem, please feel free to reach out and let me help in ANY way I can. My adopted daughter had trisomy 13 - which is close to the 18. I have a lot of resources that I will give to you. My prayer of course is that you won't need them.

Thanks everyone for stopping by.... I just have a minute, but wanted to update you on the new baby.. The dr's say there is only a 1 in 1,300 chance that the baby will have trisomy 18. They think things are normal and fine since she is growing and develping normally and children with this disease stop developing early in the pregnancy. So the prognosis is good and we are all so relieved and happy about that. Thank you for all of your prayers concerning this.

I wish things were as good for our dog, Maggie..... she had a stoke/seizure on Monday and things aren't getting better for her. She's not eating or drinking and we can't get her to keep the meds that the vet gave us for her down. She throws them up. She is pretty much immobilized and the vet told me this afternoon that there's just no hope really and we should do the kind thing and let her go. She's been my companion through some really rough times and I've had her for 14 years.... I just can't believe this is happening and don't feel like I have the strength to do this. But I know I have to for her sake. She's starving and dehydrating herself to death along with all the other things that have happened. So I know I will have to pull it together and do what's best for her. I just hope somewhere in her doggie heart she understands that I'm doing it because I love her so much. My heart is just broken and I can't imagine my life without her...

I'll be back at some point to get caught up and just wanted you all to know what was happening.

DJ,

I am so glad the baby is in good shape. The prognosis sounds very encouraging. Sounds like she is growing normally.

I am so sorry about Maggie. You are in my prayers. It is so sad pets can't live as long as their owners.

Hugs, Carol

Wonderful about the baby ! :D Yes the Dr's are 100% right - trisomy children do not develop at the same rate as healthy babies in utero.

Oh so sad about Maggie - I am not sure if I told you we lost Romeo to that dog food poison and we had to put him to sleep, as of his suffering. My heart goes out to you. I also want to assure you as bad as it hurts our hearts, our pets do know that we are doing what is best for them :hug:

Dear Debbie,

I'm THRILLED :jn with the news about the baby .. and I'm sure that Carah and your entire family ARE greatly RELIEVED :sigh: by the doctor's remarks ..

I'm SO SORRY about Maggie .. and I SO UNDERSTAND :console: your feelings .. we've had to put our dog Spunkie to sleep .. and I WATCH Sammi ever so carefully because both Les and I WOULD BE LOST without our four legged "little girl" ..

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF MY DEAREST FRIEND .. Love you lots, :hug: Monica

DJ,

I am soo sorry to hear about your dog...I have a golden retriever who is 3 1/2 and I can't imagine having to go through losing him. I can only begin to imagine how hard this is, and I am sorry to hear about it! Have you ever read the book Marley and Me? It is about a guy and his dog...it is an amazing book!!!

-Adam

Good morning DJ
That's great news about your baby and i'm sure they will be doing a lot of ultra sounds to keep on top of things great today's technology. So more advanced than when we had baby's. Did she have a 3 d ultra sound done yet. My daughter in law had one done she was 22 or 23 weeks pregnant that's when they seen everything was ok.

Wish I could be there for you in your time of sorrow I don't care what anyone says but losing an animal after that long is like losing a best friend if not harder. There with you from the time they are little until there passing. They need you for there every need.
It will be tough believe me but it's something you will have to do. Take care and be strong.

Hi DJ

What a great relief you must have felt when you heard about the baby. THat is really good news.

Then there is Maggie. You and I seem to go through things together. I had to put my dog Missy down a few weeks ago. She was 15 and a half. One day she was running around (yes running at 15!) and the next day she couldn't walk. She too, must have had a stroke. It broke my heart but I knew that the kindest thing was to put her down. I did it the same day so she wouldn't have to linger on. My heart is with you DJ - it is a difficult and sad time but you have to remember the good times and know that she had a very happy life.

Hang in there kiddo - we will pull through this together

Hey DJ,
I went hunting for your journal and I found it,lol. I wanted to stop by and say I miss seeing you. Thanks for the support in my journal, as I have sure needed it the last few weeks!
So far yesterday and today I seem to be doing better but time will tell!

I am having some trouble with my new knee, so as of right now I will not have the other knee done. At times my new knee hurts as bad as it did before the replacement was done. I am sure this weight just makes it worse, so I really http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_5_20.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=_undefined) need to get it off of my body!!!!!!

Great news about the baby, so you will be a grandma again! I love babies!

Sorry to hear about your dog. They sure do become a part of the family.

Take Care!!! Hugsss, Millie





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Awwww! So sorry about Maggie.. I was told something when Bob (my stepfather) was getting ready to die. They let you know when they stop eating and drinking.. I'm so sorry for your loss. It's rough to lose an animal. I hope it was a peaceful day. Just remember your pain is a sign of how wonderful a pet she was.

Corinna

Hi DJ come on back I know it's the time of year to be busy with your singers. But we want you singing with us in here. Come on back so we can cheer you up. Miss you.

Hi Dj

What happened with Maggie? I am hoping that is not why you haven't been here. We both need to support and encouragement to keep going on our quest for better health. I miss your support here and I want you to come back. I will be as supportive as I can and we will make it thorough together.

Just look at how many people are here to support you! You are NOT letting us down - we are here to help you back up when you need it.

It IS like being neighbours - just farther away. I try to have a cup of tea while I am online and it is like having tea with friends. You aren't sitting across the table but I catch up on what is happening with you and vice versa. It is a nice feeling to have friends to support you and to talk to. You can vent here and people understand. More important - you can say EVERYTING without getting interrupted! That REALLY helps me with the venting (and story telling lol!). It helps me get it out of my system and there is always someone here who understands and even offers advice!

There ae so many of us here from all walks of life with a common goal - to get healthy. We also bring with us our life experiences and can laugh and cry with each other without pressire.

I know you have had some challenging times and I know you are all stronger for it (how is Cimmee?). You and I seem to have a VERY similiar situation and can offer each other a lot of support.

Come back - please? I want to hear how the singers are doing? You do so much work with them and you have sort of cut us off all the "singer stories". It must be just about time for you to start the Christmas circuit so you are probably really busy with that - but try to get in to drop a line or two.

We MISS YOU!

I thought id stop in to see how your doing and i see you are missed. I hope all is well with you.

Hello? Deep breaths. You have friends here. Not just people that want to hear the good stuff. Hope you post soon. Take care.

Still no DJ come on back we want to help you. In whatever it may be.

Dj: My thoughts and prayers are with you dear.. I really hope it is not serious. .I read you have not posted here since October or so.. Please come back... We can help if only by our love and respect and caring/lending an ear for you :hug:

But DJ posted some pictures on the front page. I'll go check the date.

DJ did post here in her journal November 5th.

Hey DJ

Hoping today is a happy one (and less busy so maybe you can get back to us?)

Good morning everyone.... thanks to all of you who have been checking up on me. I will be back later this afternoon to update and acknowledge all of you who came to visit. I only have a minute right now. We have carpet being installed this morning and tomorrow morning and I'm in the way sitting here at the computer.

We've been SO busy getting ready for the carpet to be installed and I am sick.... been to the dr. and got prescriptions. I think I am feeling a bit better this morning for the first time in awhile.

I will definitely be back. I intended to write earlier last week and just got sidetracked.... love you all and thanks again for checking in.

Hi DJ,

Glad you are back posting. I do understand about being busy.

Carol