Hello Ladies, Fate saved me from the butterfinger, the machine was only taking exact change and I only had 3 quarters, so was 5 cents off.. I had some dried apricots instead :) Let me say it was no easy feat getting back in here. They no longer take payments by mailing them in, so I had to deal with paypal. Last year I gave up on them. I forgot my password from an old account and my credit card changed and I didnt keep the old one.. so after tons of email back and forth with them I gave up. This time I just made a new email and tried to make a new account.. again I had all kinds of issues and it ended up that my cookie settings were too secure. So after the 10th try it finally went through.. all that for $15! but its over and done with. They also toned down the security here at work so I can reach the site again, that could change again soon but hopefully im not here at the hospital much longer. Ive been lurking though, and keeping up a bit with whats going on. Its good to see some new names and always good to see the ole timers (no pun intended!). For thoes who do not know me; I found the site when I started on the SS plan about 5 or 6 years ago. Im a guy :) 34, and live in southern NH, about 60 miles north of Boston. Ive been overweight since about the 7th grade, got down to a slim 170 pounds when I was in the army and ballooned up to 260 about 3 years after I got out and stayed there a few years. Thats about when I found this gem of a place and since then lost and have maintained 30 pounds. I never expect to get back down to 170, I wasnt very happy or comfortable that thin anyhow, but I would like to get back down to under 200. Low carb diets never did work well for me, I lost a whole 1 pound on the Atkins plan, and nothing on SS after over 2 months on each. The way I did loose weight was cutting out the junk food, fast food, and pre packaged crapola, and exercising! Last month my Dr dropped the bomb on me and told me im a diabetic type 2 and my blood pressure is on the high side, so now I have more reasons than vanity to drop some weight. Ive made some pretty decent lifestyle changes so far, cut out a lot of salt, made the computer at home off limits (mainly because I sit in front of one all night at work), stopped smoking, but still have a few to go. I need to exercise more and get off the night shift. The problem I seem to have is that I work overnights, so when I get out of work im beat. It also makes it harder to find people to do activities with as im sleeping or working when they are off. I also work every other weekend so that doesnt help. So thats my story and im sticking to it. Whats been new? well im waiting to hear on a new job. I will find out wed/thur. Its days and I would be managing a product line for a petroleum company. They pay is nice and its a 10 min walk from my place, and it would be great to go back to a normal 8-5 job and have my weekends off. Im keeping my fingers and toes crossed. Ive been datting on and off, some good some bad, but always interesting. Ive been seeing the current vicitm since last july. Weve been taking it fairly slow and really only have been serious about it for the last 4 or 5 months. I was working an odd schedule last fall and she was busy trying to sort out her health, so we would be lucky to see each other once a week. Thats gotten a little better. There is more to the story, but its long and complicated, perhaps another day :) To help us get more exercise we just bought kayaks. The budget was kinda tight so I ended up getting a recreational one that is good for flat water paddling on lakes and easy rivers. Its a Palmico 100, and I got a good deal on it over the web by getting it shipped to a local store where I can pick it up soon I hope! Its a plastic boat and only 10ft, but I was able to pick it up with all the gear for just under $500. I only have a 12 ft wall to store it on, so that kind of limited me as well. There is a huge lake about 5 miles from my house where I can plop it in and get some exercise and a nice view. Its our towns water supply so there are no large boats, swiming or jet skis allowed, so its nice and quiet and has lots of wild life, a good portion of it borders the Audobon societys preserve. I cant wait to get up there and paddle around in the mornings. We also plan to do some river and camping trips this summer. Well that about wraps it up, a small book too! Its good to be back and nice to see you all, take care everyone and keep the faith! John

Hi Maddie~ Glad you checked in, but what a bad situation. Take care--and MOVE out of there. If the cops suspect a meth lab, they likely would have cleared the building immediately. Meth labs are extrememly toxic and smell like cat urine and chemicals---you can tell if there is a meth lab operating. The smell is really (chemically) OUT OF THIS WORLD. Along with the smell, meth labs generate an emormous amount of garbage---bottles and bags of chemicals, used tubing, and LOTS of small boxes of cold medicines. Are their windows covered 24/7? Can you check with the landlord to see if they pay rent in cash only? Are there visitors all night? If you and your neighbors really believe there is a meth lab operation, you should get license plate numbers of their visitors, call the police, and then MOVE OUT. If that place is a meth lab, you will be forced to move anyway! If law enforcement busts a lab, they evacuate the building until the haz-mat process is over and the apartment is cleaned, inspected, and repainted. It's a LONG and expensive process. They might just be smoking and selling crack, which is really as bad and dangerous for the residents of the building, due to the rise in crime associated with crack use, and the acrid odors and weird people you have to deal with. For your own safety, peace of mind, and sanity...MOVE...asap. We love you.

Hello from London! (I wish!) DeeMarie - June 19th is when her new book, Lean Mean Thirteen comes out. I got 2 B&N GCs from my students, so I will be first in line to get it. I had previously pre-ordered it, but they were holding the rest of my order until June, so I canceled it and ordered something else. Now I am Ready, Willing and Able to start my summer reading. (((DONNA))) - Sending much love and many prayers your way. I have one more graduation to get through tonight, and I only say "get through" because of the way I feel. I finally broke down and made a doctor's appt. for tomorrow. This cough just won't go away and now I have a sinus headache to go along with the cough. Hopefully I will feel better by the weekend. NHSuzanne - How are you feeling? How are the chicks coming along? Raeanne - My DH has this habit of planting trees and then chopping them down when he thinks they are too big, the roots too close to the house or whatever. I came home from work one day this spring and he had chopped down 4 large pine trees that we had planted when we moved in in 1979. He also dinged the house while cutting them down, so I was not happy with him that day. Granted they were getting too tall and spindly, but they hid the neighbor's house from view and believe me when I say that was a good thing. Good luck with your landscaper. Gotta run and get ready for tonight. Later, Marci

QOD - no summer vacation for us. We may go to a wedding in San Jose in July - not sure of the date yet - but it will a quick visit. A friend is having an art show in Manhattan, so I am heading there on Monday for 1 night - it should be a fun packed day - we are meeting up with a very eclectic group of people and that always makes for an interesting time. I did my paddling this morning and may hike a piece of property this afternoon that someone is interested in selling. DH's customers invited us over for a BBQ tonight in their new home - so I have to find time to pick up some flowers or something to bring there. I've been thinking of DeeMarie - hope all is well with her and that she is feeling strong. BESH and ADAM ((((((HUGS))))) My eyes teared up reading that WOW. Besh you are so fortunate and Adam must feel that he is too! I'm with you Maddie - I would've panicked. My DD was about 3 years old and she was choking. I picked her up and headed to my next door neighbors house LOL. The motion of me grabbing her - dislodged the food. But I was a total wreck. BJ - I wasn't about to ask what job you were looking into - I wasn't sure if I could handle the answer LOL. I know you can do anything you set your mind too and I know that anyone that would have you working for them would be very fortunate. Marci - You are going into this vacation with a very good attitude - I love it. Congrats on the 5 pounds. NH Suzanne - glad your deadline is nearly over. When you were 8-10 years old what did you like to play with or do? They say that your grown-up job should reflect that. I better get busy, have to make the most of my day off. I saw Monster In-Law last night with a couple girlfriends - we enjoyed it, very cute, romantic and a few good laughs.