Happy birthday, Dee Marie! Hope it's a wonderful birthday. It's finally cold here after weeks of being in the 70's and 80's. The temp is actually dropping this morning. It's now 25 degrees and very windy here in north Texas. But, it's also about time. QOD: I've got lots of picking up, then cleaning, to do, and laundry as always. My last day of work is Monday. I have such mixed feelings about things right now. The parents have been so sweet, but the children are being awful which will actually make it a little easier to go. LOL I have a dr.'s appt. on Tuesday for my pre-op workup, dentist appt. Wed., and helping son move into his first home on Thursday. NHSuzanne, I think it's great that your dh is bonding with the new donkey. Raeanne, I hope the PT works out as you hope. Sounds so ambitious to me. Marci, we had our Valentine party on the Friday before the actual day, sugared them up, then sent them home for the weekend. Tuesday, I brought heart cookies and they each had one. It was a very nice day. Donna, we're going to try to see "Last Holiday" this weekend, too. Hope we all like it. Joanne, sending good thought and ((((hugs))) for you and your dear mom. Zig, being without power is the pits, isn't it? Once we were w/o it during a January ice storm, and I had to finally break down and take a shower and shampoo my dirty hair. It was pure misery, but I had to keep a dentist appt. since the ice had melted, so had no choice. Tikanas, how is your knee now? My knee-replacement surgery may be delayed so that they can attempt some in-office procedure on my other knee so that it's in good shape to see me through. Hi, Maddie, BJ, and Happyto! I miss reading y'all's interesting posts. Happyto, please start posting here. It's such good therapy, and you are such a neat person to read. Take care and stay warm, everyone!

hapyfrustrated..... I mentioned LS on another thread. I just got two of her dvds. I am 58 need to lose 50 lbs and not very active. I bought LS's " Walk at Home, Walk Away Your Waistline" at Barnes & Noble. It has a 3 mile walk with 1, 2 and 3 mile markers, so you can see how far you walk. The tempo of the music increases as you go along. Also it came with a walk belt you use for resistance. I like it, it is easy easy, and that is what I needed to get started. Since I have Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I cannot start out gangbusters and hurt myself, or I will quit. BTDT. So I started with the one mile, then two etc. My DD sent me LS Walk the Walk, it is a Christian-inspired workout for FIRMING, lovely music. I like to alternate the dvds for variety. I also got a Richard Simmons Sweatin' to the Oldies (I know you didn't ask about it, but I like it),. It is fun to dance around to the oldies songs. Today, dh and I took the dogs for a 2 mile walk, so I will do LS dvd tomorrow. We are retired now, and I find that if I get up and do my 'walk' first thing, and get it over with, I don't worry about it. Good luck with what you decide on. June

This is a great website for ordering exercise videos. They have a huge variety of videos including many which aren't available in stores--such as Leslie Sansome's Walk Away series. They will also send you a catalog. What I have found great is how they describe each tape for you. They categorize them into three categories: Aerobics, Muscle Toning, and Stretch , Yoga & Tai Chi; indicate whether it is for beginner, intermediate or advanced users; tell you how long the video is--even breaks it down into a timeline of segments (warm-up, aerobics, toning, cooldown, etc.); and lists the top fitness magazines' ratings of these videos. They have a section of specialty videos including ones for kids, pregnancy, seniors and special health issues (back pain, arthritis). There is also a selection of workout equipment--steps, body bars, balance balls and a great selection of workout music to order. I've never had to wait more than three days for my videos to arrive after ordering. They state they usually ship within 24 hours. I think you will be pleased with their selection and service!! Here is a link that might be useful: Great Workout Videos

Hi everyone my name is Kim and I am a 36 year old mother of 2 very active boys 11 & 7. I work for an elementary school doing tech support for their 130 or so computers and printers. I walk alot somedays and other days not so much. I have been overweight most of my life and still battle it each day. I am 5' 7" and weigh 183 now and at one time weighed 240. I have hopped from one diet to another never really finding anything that worked miracles. Only through healthy eating and regular exercise was I able to achieve weightloss of any kind. I stumbled across this forum on accident by search for Leslie's tapes and really really liked it sooo. I joined. I just received her tapes from Half.com for $19 (which didn't come with any extras just the set of tapes). I did the 2 mi this morning with just plain hand weights and really enjoyed it. There are so many wonderful and encouraging stories on this page I couldn't stop reading it. I really look forward to reading more of them. It really is good to know that I am not the only one who struggles with water intake, food temptations and exercising struggles. Please keep writing. I am really excited to start this program and I hope I can be as determined as you all.