quick walk through on my way to bed...
per my journal entry today:
Alida...so good to see your post this morning. Did you hear from Tammy today?? Hope so!

Barb...COUNTDOWN!!! Need I say more???

Donna...you were a busy bee today! Take care, kiddo.

Bren...hey girl! Yes, I did find a manicurist in the salon that's next to the Chinese Restaurant where we dined. Velly velly close to home!

Peg...glad you had a terrific time with your dgd. Did the *difficult* house guest leave yet?

Heather...sending good thoughts and vibes and prayers to, that your prayers will be answered for a new home.

Judy...Glad you got some home time this weekend. It does feel good to be in your own nest at times, doesn't it?

MK...wowzers on the icey cold ride home! Brrrrrr. Yes, DO TELL us the EXACT location of that dragonfly! hehe.

SistaSue...bet you are spending some quality time with your guys. Glad you get to be on vacation this coming week! That's enough to make a gal smile, eh? Have a fun time.

Bert...let's see...are you back in TX yet? I can't keep up with you, lady!! hehe! Hope you had smooth travels.

I'm outta here.....my brain quit working around 9PM...so forgive the typos and the babble. I had a major back spasm from climbing up and down on the ladder I guess. Anyhoo took a muscle relaxant and I think it has kicked in...oye!

(((hugs all around)))
s

__________________
~~~~
Shelley
~~~~

Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

Barb......... Is this you last Monday? Have a good one!

__________________
Judy
highest = 180, goal = 138-140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more Fooling myself!

Random thought at 7:45 AM-------- I hate going to work in the dark.

__________________
Judy
highest = 180, goal = 138-140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more Fooling myself!

good morning ladies
My tatoos - very conservative
right shoulder, done on my birthday in 2004

left shoulder, done on my birthday in 2008 (still a little crusty - it will brighten up)


not sure what I will do in 2012. just gonna have to wait and see

__________________
Mary Kay 1/1/04 - 232
5/19/08 (5/23/08) - sw226/(cw222)/mg210/fg160

Well, MK, the dragonfly is very pretty. The tattoos make a good pair. I'm thinking no more insects, but maybe a fairy or something.

My retirement announcement appears in the company Noon News today. Final Monday. Three more boxes go home today. And I think the rest of the stuff will fill about two more boxes. I'm glad the car in my garage is a little one.

I'm mostly recovered from that nasty cold. Didn't have time for it! In a few minutes (it's about one o'clock) I think I'll depart for the day. My boss decided not to give me an assignment this week, and seems quite casual about whether I'm here full-time or not. I choose not.

Thinking of all of you, in our various and sundry lives. What a remarkable crew!

__________________
Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Mary Kay: You ROCK, girlfriend! Those are beautiful!!!

Great ink, MK Thanks for sharing!

Barb, what a transition. It must feel strange but exciting, too, to be in the final lap.

Peg! So what's the synopsis of your weekend with dgd. Will be thinking of you and dh, too, and you prepare for surgery. Friday, right?

Donna, not that I'm an expert, but the kind of symptoms you describe are much more and more sudden than what I'd expect of aging. I'm concerned at the wait and see approach.

Judy, no fun going to work in the dark for you, but for me it's so energizing to have more daylight in the afternoon. Sorry!

Shell, how's the back today???

Alida, I'm wondering if you've heard from you sister, too.

Waves to everyone not mentioned!!!

I'm rolling hither and yon today. The fence guy came this morning to hear all the things I don't like about the job they did. I got in a workout afterwards, though, that soothed my ire.

I also remembered today that I forgot the birthday of a dear friend at the end of last month. Oh D*mn. I called and got her machine... so I hope we'll connect some time today. I know she'll understand but it's the first time in 25 years we haven't shared birthday greetings of some kind. I know, I know, Hallmark has cards for this kind of occasion

Ok, better have a bite of lunch before I go into raving hunger mode. Later, kids.....

__________________
BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

hi guys,
had a dental appt today for cleaning and checking; still not my favorite thing to do, and sure enough, I have a residual headache from the dread and the actual cleaning...ack!

Bren...my back is *iffy*. I had another spasm abour 0130 this morning. My Dr has already said if this happened again, he would really like for me to get an MRI of the L-spine. I'm not ready to hollar "Uncle" just yet...

MK...yeah...thanks for sharing a peek at your ink!

Barb...will there be a retirement party for you on Friday?
I'm betting there will be with much fanfare, m'dear!
96 hours until you are a *retiree*! wOOt!

Everyone else...big shout out to ya! Hope all is well!

I'm digging my heels in to be more aware and careful of my food/carb intake, and I'm going to consider myself back in the "exercise" group. If the weather co-operates, I hope to be back to biking later in the week. Until then, I'll hoof it and hope the heels hold up. So far, it seems I've been averaging about 3 days of walking per week, and so far-so good(on the heels).

Then when bff gets here, I'm almost positive we'll dine out every night(awww...what a shame) complete with dessert. But really, I SOOOO want to make my goal this year. And most important, MAINTAIN it forever!!!
So, that's what is on my agenda!

later, chickadees.
(((hugs to all)))
s

__________________
~~~~
Shelley
~~~~

Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

Barb -- It seems so strange to me that the end of your career comes at such a "middle of everything" time of the year. For as long as I can remember I have "done school". The end date is set and that's when retirements happen, people resign and changes are made. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that everyone does not work in an environment that has a definite beginning and ending cycle each year. I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now. And, like Shelley said, I'm sure there will be a big party for your exit.

Alida, I don't think I have commented on Tammy's move. That must be a tremendous relief for you. Have you heard from her yet?

MK, Tattoos intrigue me. I would never get one, but I do find the process interesting. Did it hurt? How long did it take? I have watched a number of episodes of Miami and LA Ink. Some of those pieces have to be incredibly painful. Funny how the stigma that used to come with tattoos is now completely gone. Cool way to celebrate a birthday........ when you only have one every four years, you should do something special.

Shelley, I need to get some of your determination. Instead of getting better and following your lead, I seem to have somewhat of a what the hell attitude. I'm within 2 pounds of my extreme panic weight, and the mind hasn't caught up with the number yet.

Peg, was the weekend great? When I was in the fabric store I thought of your DGD and her sewing efforts last year. There are some really cute patterns for kids right now. I hope she comes back to it again this summer.

Brenda, did you hear from either of the interviews today? Yeah right, I'm sure the library lady was burning up your phone.... (read my mind -- you can guess what I think of her.)

Donna, your eye worries me. When do you say you see or talk to the doctor again?

Heather, when do you hear about approval for the house. I hope it is positive. I know you will work hard to build and keep it.

-------break from entering grades has ended. I need to finish and get to bed

__________________
Judy
highest = 180, goal = 138-140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more Fooling myself!

__________________

Congratulations, Heather! You have accomplished a great reward for yourself, and I don't mean the rebate. (That too.) You've given yourself (and your family) the gift of health and energy and longer life--the gift of you. I hope the days ahead will hold more and more blessings for your steadfast spirit.

Judy, testing and grading are my least favorite parts of school--whether I'm the teacher or the student. Good luck with that.

I think most of us operate according to the "school year" all our lives. This being spring (almost) helps me accommodate the transition. I can hardly wait to spend more time outdoors. For a number of reasons (vacations, room availability, etc.) my big party will be Friday, April 4. I planned it for 3-5 in the afternoon, so people won't feel pressed to get back to a meeting or something, and can start the weekend with some fun. Well, maybe they won't be as happy as I am. But I hope they can hang around the party a while.

On Friday, my friend is taking me to dinner and then to the opera--The Magic Flute. On Saturday morning, we're running that 4-miler. Right this minute, I don't feel up to it. I'm still in recovery from that cold, and haven't been on the treadmill for a week. We'll see how that goes. If nothing else, it will be a nice walk.

Yes, Brenda, it feels incredibly strange. I've been a cubicle-dweller for forty years. However, the past year has prepared me for plenty of dramatic change, so I'll just keep riding the wave.

Shelley, you wanna come and devote some of that cleaning energy to my place? Your beautiful home sparkles, I'm sure. Have fun with the bff. There will always be a time to skip dessert, and this isn't it.

Judy, you've been under so much stress. When the school year is over, you'll have a chance to regroup and give more to yourself.

Brenda, I'm thinking positive thoughts for you.
Alida, Donna, Mary Kay, Peg--likewise.

Off to Bible study group this morning, and a touch-base at the office. Band practice tonight.

I'll stop by later.

__________________
Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Morning gang! I need to hop in the shower as I just got back from spending an hour at the gym getting the heart rate up. It doesn't stop there today with exercise though. I will take a leisure bike ride with the boys to school this morning then come home to clean. Last week the landlord came in for repairs and tomorrow is an actual inspection. Lots of calories to be burned today but now that I'm at such a healthy weight I can up my carbs and calories to just maintain - yeah! Tonight is Biggest Loser so will be weight training with DH as well.
-
Barb - Thank you!! I feel so good and am excited to not have my hand held anymore. Feel like I've grown up and am out on my own - lol. It's scary without the center ladies looking at the scale each week but I just need to keep the faith that God will help guide the way with just the tools I need. / Have a good day and a nice time at band practice.

__________________

Heather, hope you've noticed that one of the reasons WE are here is to hold your hand. Anytime you need inspiration, a pep talk, or some new tricks, there's plenty on this site. My first recommendation? Weigh yourself every day, but don't obsess over the small ups and downs. Just watch for an upward trend, and put a 5-lb. limit on that. That advice would be straight out of Dr. Atkins, and it's vital to me.

__________________
Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

I just love all my LCE friends too Barb. I feel so blessed to have found such a group of warm friendly people who are working on staying healthy like me. You are who your friends are right? Thank you all for being here for me during my ups and downs. I really am proud to have friends like you all and am so glad that God led me here. I'm thankful for the friends in my laptop - lol. After a couple of days I'll hop on the scale again. I was weighing quite a few times during the day. I'm going to take your advice on the scale weighing Barb. It can be a good tool. Plus if I eat well but the scale is up I'll know that maybe I just need more water because of salt. Using it as a tool....

__________________

Good morning ladies. A cloudy, windy day today. That's okay...maybe the wind will blow away some of this dust that's hanging around.

My eye is still the same and from what the specialist says it might always be like this. He says usually the brain gets used to the floaters and just learns to ignore them. I can be sitting in my chair watching tv and all of a sudden the floater moves and it's like seeing a spider of something out of the corner of your eye. I've turned quickly a few times getting ready to swat at something. lol I go back to the specialist on April 3rd...hoping for good news.

Last night after dinner I was downstairs doing my exercises. Heard the phone ring but figured dh would get it. I didn't hear him come downstairs cause I had my Ipod in. He scared the bejesus out of me when he came around the corner and caught me running on the treadmill! You should have seen the look on his face! All he could say was....you really get that thing moving! In the meantime he's holding the phone out to me. Silly boy...did he think I just turned it on and watched it move. My friend on the other end of the line couldn't figure out what was going on. lol It did make me feel good though. Years ago I never would have figured that I would be running when I was a 58 year old gramma!

Ddil phoned last night and looks like she might get her surgery now to release a few scars. Might be set for March 19th. She had to go cold turkey on a few painkillers but was willing to do it so she could get the surgery. They are coming for dinner this Friday so I get to see my grandkids! We usually have an easter egg hunt for them every year but I guess this year it will have to be put off with ddil being in Vancouer. I'll have to come up with something quick for this Friday...I sure wasn't ready.

Friday is also dd's birthday. She's going to be working on her birthday. But, it's also the first year she hasn't complained about having to work. Lots of firsts for her.

Dh did it again....won $5000 on the lottery. This time he bought the ticket at the Legion so it shouldn't be such a hassle getting the money. Sure would be nice if we could actually do something with it instead of just putting it back into the business. That doesn't seem to make it so much fun.

First ball team meeting this Sunday. Can't wait to see everyone again. I've been working like crazy on the team scrapbook. Right now it doesn't look like I'll have all the pictures done by our first campout in May. Not unless I get a lot of spare time between now and then. (that's not likely)

MaryKay...loved the tattoos. I've toyed with the idea of getting a tiny one where no one could see it. Maybe on my back. But, I think it's the idea of a 90 year old wrinkled lady with a tattoo that changes my mind. lol

Heather: Good going on reaching your goal. I know you've worked hard to get there.

Barb: Just think...soon you will be looking out the window and if the weather is crappy...no worries about getting to work. Lucky girl!

Are you having to do your own retirement party? Seeing as you picked the time it sounded as though you are.

Brenda: Are they going to do anything to fix the mess in the yard? I'd be screaming for sure.

Judy: When is Spring break for you? Ours starts this Friday. Not sure if it will make any difference in the traffic yet...the weather is a big thing here for long weekends.

Shelley: Hope you get that bike out. I guess I'll have to park my butt on the floor beside my bike and start using a saw or something to get the lock off. What a stupid thing to do...use a combination lock on my bike and lose the combination! Pretty hard to ride it when I've got a logging chain holding it down. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Okay...off to work.

__________________
Donna
238.5/168.2/150
I will see my goal weight again!